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CH.3 AL 'IMRAN PT. 4

91. «Surely, those who disbelieve afterthey have believed and then increasein disbelief, their repentance shallnot be accepted, and these are theywho have gone astray.377

.

92. As for bthose who have dis-believed, and die while they are dis-believers, there shall not be acceptedfrom anyone of them even an earth-full of gold though he offer it in ransom.It is these for whom shall be a grievouspunishment, and they shall have nohelpers.378

R. 10 93. cNever shall you attain torighteousness unless you spend out ofthat which you love; and whateveryou spend, Allah surely knows it well.379

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C9 : i14, 111; 63: 11.a4: 138; 63 : 4. b2:162; 4:19; 47:35.

377. Commentary:

The verse does not mean that the repentanceof apostates shall in no case be acceptedbecause this inference runs counter to 3: 90according to which repentance is acceptableat every stage. So the reference in the words,their repentance shall not be accepted, is tothose persons only who make a professionof repentance but are not sincere in it, and,instead of reinforcing their profession bybringing about a real and practical changein their Jives, actuaHy increase in disbelief,The words, these are they who have goneastray, placed at the end of the versecorroborate this inference, for they show thatin spite of a lip-profession of repentance theystill continue to follow a course of error. Suchrepentance cannot be genuine and hence ca.nnotbe accepted.

works is open, the door of repentance i,s alsoopen. But in no case will mere lip-repentanceof disbelievers or their alms be accepted. Ifthere is nO faith in the heart, mere giving ofalms or mere ;~pparently good workscaDnotwin the pleasure of God, even if One spendslarge quantitie8 of gold.

379. Important Words:.) I (righteousness) n~eans, goodness of a

high order (Mufradii.t). The Holy Prophet ha.~explained the word J. as J.I;.JI V- i.e.t,he excellence of moral qualities (Muslim &Musnad). See :~lso 2: 45, 178. As tnte beliefis the basis of aU goodness, so the word .).\may also be taken to mean true belief.

Commentary:

Since the word.) I means, goodness orrighteousness of a high order or excellence of

378. Commentary: morals, the verse purports to say that thoughThis verse further explains the true significance God is cognizant of, and suitably rewards,

of repentance. So long as death does not each and every thing that one spends in the

overtake one and the door of perfofIning good cause of Allah, yet the goodness of a bighorder,

426

PT. 4 AL 'IMRAN CR. 3

94. All food was lawful to thechildren",o£ Israel,' except what I8r~e]forbade himself before the Torah wassent down.. Say, 'Bring, then, theTorah and read it, if you are truthful. '380

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most acceptable in His sight, can be achievedonly by spending out of thi,Ilgs be theymaterial 01' otherwise, which one loves most,for. the obvious reason that such spendinginvolves the greatest sacrifice.

.'In the preceding verse it is said, ther~,shaU not

be acceptedJrom anyone of t~m ete.nan ea-rth-full of gold, though he offer it in ransom. Fromtl.Us Bo:mepeople :might conc~ude that spendingirl.the ca.use of God was of no use. To removethis possible misunderstanding it ;s pointedout, here that spending in the cause of God isa highly meritorious a~tand spendin,gwhatis best naturally brin~ the highest good.The preceding verse refers

'.

only to such <M.S-

believers as die in their disbelief.'..

The verse may be interpreted in three ways:(1) if ~ I 'is taken to mean true faith,

the verse would mea~ that as dIsbelievers thinkmOre of their worldly interests than of God,they are unable to recognize the truth of Islam.Thus the ver~e signifies that in order toattain true faith, which js the essence tf allrighteousness and, the highe!lt form of good,one must be prepared to sacrifice everythingthat one holds dear. (2) ,If" ~ 1 'is takenin the sense of goodness of a bighorder,the' verse would mean that though 'whateveris spent in the cause of God is an act ofrighteousness, yet the highest stage ofrighteousness caD be attained only by spend-ing in the way of God that which one lovesbest. (3) If, however, the word .fl.J istaken to mean high morals,tbe' verse 'wouldsignify that high morals cannot be attainedwithout inculcating a true~pirit of sacrifice.

It is on record in the IJadith that when thisverse was revealed, Abu Taltta, a Co:mpanionof the Holy Prophet, stood up and addressingbim said, "0 Messenger of God, my gardenknown as Bi'r Raul].a (this garden was situatedopposite to the Mosque at Medina) is to me thedearest of my property anI:! I hereby give itin charity" (Bukhiri, ch. on Tafsir). T}Usillustrates how the early converts to Islamst~ove to practise the highest good, as theQuran enjoined upon them.

380. Important Words:;§ (all) is a very COD\mon Arabic word used

to express two senses: (1) all members of agroup; (2) all parts of an individual thing. Theword D\ay generalJy be rendered as, all ; whole;each; everyone, etc. It is also sometiD\eBused in the sense of not" all " but" themajority of", and rarely even in the senseof " Bome" or "parti of" (Aqrab & Taj).

Commentary:

The preceding verses e:mphasize the i,mportanceof co:mplete submission to the will of God.The highest good cannot be attained withoutthe sacrifice of most beloved things, inoludingpersonal and national sentiments. The presentverse cites an apt illustration. Whereas Godhad allowed" all food" to the Jews, theIsraelites forbade themselves parts thereof onthe ground that Jacob, for personal and medicalconsiderations, abstaj](led from partaking ofthe:m. But. as the word Israel, primarilythe name of Jacob, is, also used about hischildren and descenda.nts and has been so usedlD the Bible, it may also be taken in tlije

427


95. Now whoso forges a lie againstAllah after this, then it is these thatare the wrongdoers.38!

96. Say, 'Allah has spoken the truth:follow, therefore, the religion ofAbraham, awho was ever inclined toGod; and he was not of those whoassociate gods with God. '382

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sense in the second clauBe of the presentverse.

By saying, All food was lawful to the childrenof IBrael, the Quran also refutes an objection ofthe People of the Book, which served as anobstacle in the way of their accepting Islam.There were certain kinds of food which theJews abstained from eating but which werean owed by Islam. One such thing was thesciatic nerve, to which reference is made inGen. 32: 32. Jacob suffered from sciatica,and, therefore, for medical reasons he forbadehimself the use of the sciatic nerve as food.This was a personal matter but the childrenof Israel followed his example blindly andmade it a rule of conduct to abstain from theeating of the sinew. It was not forbidden byLaw, the abstention being purely voluntary.

Moreover, the incident which led to theabandonment of the sciatic nerve as food byIsrael and later by the Israelites took placelong before the Torah was revealed. TheTorah itself does not forbid it but merelymentions it as a practice of the Jews whohad, therefore, no right to object to its useby the Muslims. The objection, if valid, alsoheld good against Abraham and many otherProphets. Besides, there are SOme foodswhich were used by Abraham and his descen-dants but were later forbidden by the Torah.The camel is an instance of this kind. Hence,

the verse purports to say that if cerf;ainfoods

used by the patriarchs are allowed to otherpeoples, the Jews have no light to object.It may be pointed out here that there is

a difference of meaning between rI.J.,:f(kullu-la'amin) ;I'nd rI.J.l\,:f (kullal-la'ami) asused in the present verse. The former means,every kind of fOQd, while the latter means.all food i.e. the whole food. It appears thatthe Jews objec:ted that the Muslims ate thewhole meat, not; excepting even the nerve.

381. ~ommentary:

The word ~I~I (this) refers to the statementmade in the preceding verse. To say thatsuch and sucb parts of food were disallowedby God whereas He had not forbidden them,or even without directly attributing anycommandant to God persistently to abstain frompartaking of a lawful food without just reasonvirtually amounted to forging a lie against.God whiah only wrongdoers could resort to.

382. Commentary:By saying that Abraham was ever obedient

to God, the vers.e hints tbat he did not prohibitthe eating of any particular meat of his ownaccord, as the Israelites have done. So bydiffering from the Israelites in this rn.atter,Islam does not go agatnst the way and thepractice of the Prophets of God, particularlythat of Abraham.

By saying that Abraham did not associate

gods with Godw the Jews are tenUnded thati~

4~

PT. 4 A.L 'iMRA.N tit. 3.

97. Sure~y, ath~ first House founded (~;ol' ~ I ~ ~1~ ~ ~9: ~~ J/.

~ 6'for mankmd 18 that at Becca, O~. ':' ~~ V; ".\-:" .p...~

'"abounding in blessings and a guidance 'to~ ? S''"for all peoples. 383 e ..." , c.S1,,).A) .J

9.

8. In it are manifest signs; bit is "12/""'" '''''''t:"" I. ~r~-:; i§,.." rt1,' ..the place of Abraham ; and cwhOBo C)O ~)~J tt"..oMa.);'t~\Ji.A ~ ~.t ~enters it, enters peace. And dpilgrimage ., 9. ",'" , Ito the House is a duty which men- ~~.~I~~' ~~\1JI~4L~b~1those who can find a way thither- '- 'iJ''' ..' .". I' "'''

,

owe to Allah. And whoever dis- G:\"~1~~,,~~"J I:r~":t,'" '" J>{l:,.;.A;\tbelieves, let him 'remember that Allah CJ~ ~ ..,.4U t:J..,.)SJJcY'.J ..~ ~'".is surely independent of all creatures.3S(

"5:98; 27:92; 28:58; 29:68; 106:4,5. b2:126. c14:36; 28:58; 29:68. d22:28.

i3 they themselves who set up gods with Godand go against the religio1\ of Abraham, towho:m the will of his Master was all i1\ aU.

383. Important Words:

~ (Becca) is the na:m6 given to the valleyof Mecca. The word is probably derived fro:m~. They say ~ i.e. he pushed him intoa narrow and crowded place. ~ ~ meaI\S,

he dealt blows on his neck aI\d broke it.

~ IJ. rJAIl~1i :mea.ns, tbe people crowdedround the thing. The valley of ~ (Mecca)

. is called ~ (Becca) probably on account of

. the crowding of the people there, or becauseit used to break the necks of the tyrants(Aqrab). The word ~ (Becca) is also

oonsidered by some to be the sa:me as Mecca,its I"="having been changed into <..:J. Thesetwo letters are interchangeable as in rJ'iand tiooJj"/.

"Commentary :See note on 2 : 128 with regard to the antiquity

ofthe Ka'ba.

In this verse, tbe Quran draws the attentionof the People of the Book to the a1\tiquity ofthe Ka'ba in order to point out that tbe real

. and original centre of God's religion is theK",'ba. those adopted by Jews and Christian.sbeing of later origin. Juat as certain foods

which Jews abstained from were not originallyforbidden but came subsequently to be heldunlawful, si:milarly their Qibla was not theoriginal Qibla but was adopted as such at asubsequent ti:me.

384. Commentary::After alluding to the historical evidence In

favour ofthe Ka'ba, t,he Quran proceeds to statethat reason also demands that the Ka 'ba shouldbe adopted as the Qibla. The verse gives threereasons to show that the Ka'ba is entitled tobe adopted as the Qibla or the oentre of God'sreligion.

The first reason, as hinted in the words, theplace of Abraham, is that Abraham came andprayed here. Jews and Christians, to both ofwho:m Abraha:m is worthy of great reverence,have to admit that Abl:aha:m visited the place.Therefore it cannot be denied that it is a blessedplace.

The seoond reason, referred to in the wordswhoso enters it enters 'Peace, is that the Ka'banot only promises but also affords peace andse<mrity to those who enter it. This promisehas been literally fulfilled. Temporally, Godhas ever proteoted it against wars 31\dinvasioI\Sboth in ancient and rn.odem titnes. The wayin whioh Abraha, ruler of Ye:meDt Bnd his hosta

429

CH.3 AL 'IMRAN .PT. 4

were destroyed when they tried to invade theKa'ba and the way in which this territory, whichthen formed a part of the dOlninion of Turkey,was kept outside the conflict during the .lastW orId War(19] 4-18)afford remarkable instancesof how miraaulously God protects the Ka'ba.Unlike the sacred places of other nations, ithas never fallen into the hands of a peoplewho would not revere it. Even in.the Daysof Ignorance when the different tribes of paganArabia were con.'!tantly at war with. one another,the territory of the Ka'ba was held to besacred and no fighting was allowed therein.Spiritually, also, it is a place of security forthose who enter it in the spiritual sense, i.e.e:mbrace the religion of Islam. They beco:merecipients of divine favours and enjoy se~urityfrom the punishment of God.

The third reason which entitles the Ka'ba tobe adopted as the Qibla is hinted at in tbewords, pilgrimage to the House is a dutywhich men.. . . . . owe to God. The versecontains an implied prowse on the part ofGod that the Ka 'ba shall ever continue to bethe centre to which :men of different countriesand diverse nations will resort for Plgrimage.The fulfi.]ment of this promise i.s proof of thefact that the Ka 'ba has indeed been designedby God to be the Qibla of all nations.

Every Muslim who can find a way to Meccais bound to perfor:m Pilgrimage to the Ka 'baonce in his lifetime. If he perforII\S it morethan. once, it is regarded as ~ supererogatoryact of devotion.

The words, who can find a way thither, embodythree conditions; (1) one should have thenecessary conveyance for performing thejourney; (2) one should have the necessarymoney to bear the expenses; and (3) there shouldbe peace and security on the way (Dii.wud). Ifa person is sick, be is supposed to have no

'.' way". and Pilgrimage does not beco:rneobligafiory on him.

The words, (md whoever disbelieves (let himre'm(!mber) that: Alfu.h is surely independentof all creatures, signify that whoever refuscs toaccept the Ka'ba as the Qibla, in spite of theargmnents given in its favour, should rememberthat these conunandments have been given forthe good of ma.n himself; so if he does not actupon them, he only harms" hill'self and does noharm to God, Who is "independent of allcreatures,"

The object of Pilgrimage is toaccust'Om mento leave their home and country and sufferseparation from relatives and frien.ds for thesake of God. The Pilgrimage to Mecca is alsoa symbol of the respect shown to places wherethe will of God was specially manifested anda reminder of tl>e. incidents connected withthat manifestation. It reminds believers ofthe long and hazardous journey. of Abrahamand Ishmael to the desert valley of Mecca and ofIshmael's being left in that desert by Abraham;it tells them in speechless eloquence how thosewho make sacrifices in the way of Qod areprotected and honoured by Him; and it fosters~heir faith in the power and might of God.Again. the pijg:rim, on finding himself near theplace which has, from the beginning of theworld, been dedicated to the worship ofGod, is Sure to experience a peculiar spiritualassociation with those who have, throughcenturies, been bound together by the Jove andremembrance iOfGod.

Beside this, tJllePilgrimage to Mecca has greatsocial and political significance; for Muslimsfrom all parts of the world who meet here Oncea year can e,x,~hange views and establish andrenew relations of love and brotherhood. Theyhave opportunities of acquainting themselveswith the problems that confront Muslims indifferent couD~ries, of copying one another'sgood points. profiting by One another's experi-ence and of co-operating with one another.

It is, however, a matter of grea.t regret thai

~.3Q

:1>1'.4 AL 'IMRAN Cli.3

99. Say, a'O People.of the Book! whydeny, Y6the Signs of Allah, while Allahis Watchful of what you do 1 '385

.100. Say, '0 People of the Book 1bwh:r-hinder ye the believers from thepath of Allah, seeking to make itcrooked, while you are witnessesthereof 1 And Allah is not unmindfulof what you do. '386

101. cO ya who believe! if you obeyany party of those who have been giventhe Book, they will turn you again intodisbelievers after you have believed.387

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at present little advantage is being taken ofthis aspect of the Pilgrimage. .


~ (Watchful), for which see also 2 : 24,is here used for the first time in conneotionwith God. The word is derived from 0/which rocsPs, he gave information or deoisiveinformation of what he had witnessed orseen; he declared what he knew; he gavetestiD40ny or p-vidence; he saw or watched orwitnessed 01' beheld a thing; he W88 presentata place. ~ means, one who gives

information of, or declares, wbat he knows orhas seen or witnessed; ODe wbo gives decisiveinformation; one who sees or beholds a thing;witriess or an eye-witnes8; one posse88ingmuch knowledge; a martyr slain in the causeof God. When used about God the wordsignifies, the Faithful; tbe Trusty in testi-D4ony; He from ,"'hose knowledge nothing ishidden (Lane). Other similar words used bythe Quran about God are (1) J!"~ meaningGuardian (e.g. 3: 174); and (2) ~) me~ingWatcber (e.g. 4 : 2); and (3) ~ also D4eaning

Guardian or Keep(~r (e.g. 11 :58 and 4 :8J).See also 2 : 24 ; 4 : 2 ; 3 : 174 and 4 : 81.

Commentary:

Tbewords (,)J ~ 1.1 rendered as, why deny ye,

may also be rendered. as, why are you ungrate-ful respecting. . . .

Tbe institution of P'ilgrimage and other formsof worship prescribed by Islam are all fOJ" thegood of man, but in Ma ignorance he refuses torecognize, or be thankful for, this good.

386. Commentary:

The. words t..;.~ lti_# (seeking to m.ake itcrooked) may also be translated as, you seekin it crookedness, i.e., you desire that thereshould appear crookedness in IslaJJl; or youdesire to turn the truths of this reJigion fromtheir real import and to pervert its tenets.

387. Commentary:

The words, any party QJthose who have beengiven tlte Book, refer to that party of thePeople of the :Book who were most hostileto Islam, there being a seotion of them who

431

AL '1MRANCR. 3 PT. 4

102. How would you disbelieve, while", : !.' 'ffi:, ~ ,!.:,I'" '" ,,'.~ $~to you are rehearsed the Signs of Allah, -,;w\~' .. ~I.J ~"'~- .. -'

and His Messenger is present among 9 "I " " "(', 9.you 1 aAnd he who holds fast to Allah J~ JJj ~~~~~.JJ.~~~is indeed guided to the right path.388

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R. 11 103. 0 ye who believe! fear Allah~'"

~~~, "'.or. J.~ ""I "'~ \r"!..f~-

as He should be feared; and blet not ~ -' ~ ~'W'!,AJ'~t ~~ ~.~death overtake YOU exce pt when vou , It",

. ,. . ~"', "t ',~.'T '''''' " ,'"are in a state of SUbm18S1on.389 e~~ ~t", ~11!i"':;, ~- ~ ,

a4: 147, 176. b2: 133.

had turned believers and others who wereindifferent. Muslims have already been warnedof this danger in 2: no.

388. Commentary:

'rhe words, who holds Jast to .Allah,have twomeanings: {I> whoever preserves hiDlselffrom sin by acting on God's commandments;(2) whoever connects himself with Allah andcleaves firmly to Him, thereby securing forhimself an everlasting source of rise andprogress.

389. Commentary:

As the spiritual degradation of the Jews wasdue to Jack of c.5;;'; or God-fearingness, Muslimsare warned to be ever-watchful in this respect.'l'he words rendered as, Fea, .Allah as Heshould be feared, embody a strong appeal infavour of c.5';; (righteousness) and signifythat on the one hand we should have a firmconviotion that if we are rem.iss God will visitOUrsins with His punishment; and on the otherwe should also have a firm faith in His mercyand forgiveness. Tllere is a tradition relatedby 'AbdulJah bin 'Abbas which explains

the above words as meaIri,ng: .. God should beobeyed, and should not be disobeyed. Weshould be grateful to Him, and should notshow ingratitude to Him. We should rem.emberHim. and not forget Him" (KathIr). Thewords also n~ean that one should not fearan}' reproach witlt respect to God, andshould observe equity for God's sake even ifby doing so one may have to injure one'sown self or one's parents or (Jhildren or othernear relatives.

The words, lee not deatla overtake you ezceptwhen you are in a state oj submission, meatJthat we should be ever resigned to the will ofGod, so that when death overtakes us, it shouldfind us obedient and resigned to His will. As thehour of death is not known, one can be sure ofdying in a state of resignation to God only ifone is continually in that condition, hence'theexpression means tbat one should alwaysremain obedient to God. It may also meanthat our love of obedience to God should besuch that He, out of regard for our feelings,may not let death come upon \'s at a timewhen we ate n(~t perfectly resigned to Him.

432

':PT.4 AL 'IMRAN CH.3

104. , And ahold fast, ~ll toget?cr, byt"

~.::-:~.,,~~ ~ . \ ..--- r' ~ ~

"the rope of Allah and be not dIvided;(JO ~ j.SJ)

.." ~ ..,' ~ I~ ~ ~

an~ "remember the favour of Allah ~1~1..~'('~ ,'t","i> ' ""'~'., ~ '"which He be~towed upon :you when ,.\v;~ )~~;W\ ~~~j\-,

you were enenues and cHe umted your r: ,.,

hearts in love so that by His grace ~~Id.":~~U''c-'' ~ '":'''':Jr-:you became as brothers; and you were '"

I ' "';' . ~ c.& uon the brink of apit-of-fircP1tnd-- He '~~!:U UJ\" '" ..,! y l"'~ .'\-~- ~~. ?{--''''saved you from it. Thus does Allah ~~..J ~ J..>A> c.r ~ ~explain to you

-

His commandments" -:'p , ,"'~,' ~ 9" ',,-

that you may be guided.no ~~\~~I~.~$j,C.6}o,;... .".

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e\:)-,~a3: 106 ; 6 : 160; 8 : 47. b2: 232. c8: 64.

390. Important Words:J:.- {rope}. They Bay ~ i.e. he bound or tied

him with a rope or oord. ~ IJ..- means,he caught the game with a snare or net.ol.r"..:.l;pomeans. the woman became pregnant.J:..means. a rope or oord or anythingwith whioh a thing is tied or made fast;3 bond oruau'3e of union or link of COnneo-tion. sl10h 3sabond of love or friendship;mutual oonneotion by sucb a bond; a oovenantor oompaot; an obligation by which one be-comes responsible for the safety of a person ort!hing; a promise or assuranc& of security orsafety; an artery. vein or nerve (Lane). Italso means allianoe and protection (Aqrab).

Commentary :Another cause of the spiritual degradation

of the Israelites was that they did not remainunited but -spHtup into sections, findiug fauJtwith one another. Tbe verse warns Muslimsagainst that danger. Tbe Holy Prophet isreported to have said: II The Book of God isthe rope of Allah which has been extendedfrom the heavens to the earth" (Jarir. iv. 30).Broadly speaking, there are three thinggwhioh may be taken to have been here meantby the rope of God. by holding fast towhiob Musli,DlSmay remain united &nd be safe

against disunion and disruption: (1) tbe Quran ;(2) the Messenger of God; (3) the Successors tothe Messenger of God.

The similitude n\ay have reference to sea-life. Ropes are thrown to save the life of adrowning man. 'Vhen a man falls into thesea or when a boat is wrecked by a storm,people in the boat or those i:!ta.nrnng on theshore throw out ropes to those who are struggl-ing for their lives in the sea. The similitudeis thus incidentally a. refutation of the objec-tion that the QUTan restricts its similitudesto such objects only as were known to thedesert-dwellers of Arabia.

It roay be noted here that whenever theQaran speaks of the open or secret hostility ofthe enemies of Islam, it exhorts Muslims to,be strOl\g of faith; for it is at such time~that one is likely to waver and show weaknessin resolution. Thus after referring to thehostility of the People of t.he Book (3 : 100,101)the QUTan exhorts Muslims: (1) to fE-ar Godas He should be feared (3: 103); (2) to beconstant in obedience to God {3: I03}; and(3) to hold fast to the rope of God and preservethemselves from disunion (3: 104).

The words. remember the lat:our oJ Al~h.signify that as one can appreciate a boon of

~a, 28

CR. 3 AL '1MRAN' PT. 4

105. And let there be among you abody of men awho should invite togoodness, and enjoin equity andforbid evil. And it is they who shallprosper. 391

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1 ".

"9 ~"".."'. '~f

. .~jo

..C).JyOu.J.m ~ ~..c..J.j cL01 ' !..~ <. ".. ",..

"" ~... IfII1' '.J

~~;i~~I~/~';4~:-' "y:JrA."

." ~ ...J ~~'":>' . - . ;..

'" ", If"

Sc>~1a3: 111, 115; 7: ]58; 9: 71; 31: ]8.

God properly only when one experiences thedisadvantages that result from its a.bsence,so the Quran reminds Muslims of the discordand enmity that existed between them beforethey became united in Islam.

The words, He united your hearts in love,show that according to Islam it is nogreat virtue to bear no malice or hatred toothers. Nor dOe$ Islam inculcate a life ofseclusion and detachment. What it requiresis positive love for, and active sympathywith, fellow beings. One who is devoidof this is really devoid of true faith.

391. Commentary:

The word .Po (goodness) here signifiesIslam, because goodness in general is includedin the word .j.J J"" (equity) used immediatelyafter it. In fact, the true Faith (Islam) is theonly goodness in tl>e true sense of the word.The verse purports to say that as by makingyou ent,er the fold of Islam God has deliveredyou from a pit of fire, you should also try todeliver others from the fire of disbelief.

The words, And let there be amO'flgyou a body ojmen who should invite to good'Tl£ss,do not meanthat the duty of preaching is confined to &few only. What is meant is that, wl>ereasall should try to preach and propagate the

truth of Islam" there should be a party of menan1.Ong Muslin~ who shouJd be wholly aDdsolely devoted to this work.

As for the method of preaching, tbe Quransays elsewhere. Oall unto the way oj thy Lordwith wisdom and goodly exkortationand arguewith them (the disbelievers) in a way that is best(16: ]26). And the Holy Propl1~t is reported tohave said, 'c Hany one of you sees anything evil,let him remove it with his hand. If he cannotdo it with hie :hand, then let him forbid it withhis tongue. If he cannot do even that, then lethim at least detest it in his mind, and that isthe weakest kind of faitb " (Muslim).

The verse also suggests a way by followingwbich Muslims can maintain their unity. Solong as a Muslim people have their attentionconcentrat~d on the preaching of Islam anddoing good, they will live in peace amongthemselves, for disunion is mostly born ofidleness ands. false sense of security.

Each and every individual :Muslim is notenjoined here to devote himself wholly to thepreaching of Islam; for if it were 80, :Muslimscould not earn their livelihood nor takepart in other healthy pursuits of life. So,though all must contribute their quota, only Sosection of the comIl'unity is required to devoteitself exclusively to tbe work of preaching.

434

PT. 4 AL'IMRAN (JI.3

106. And be not, Ilke . those awhobecame divided and who' disagreedqmong themselves after clear proofs hadcome'to them: And it is they for whomthere shall be a great punishment,392

',.

107. ,On the day bwhell some facesshall be white, and some faces shall beblack. As for those whose faces willbe black,. it will be said to them: 'Didyon disbelieve after believing ~ Taste,then, the punishment because of yourdisbelief. '393

~l:rl~IJ~~q~~~~)J~ "'-", ",-",,-, 1>9 ., ,....

yt~~~ I" ~\ ~-""'r;~LI.J.J .., ;:?""

.

~ G~I' ~~~

'"

,..1\ r~i<'t-t9'''. -!''''''';'' -;:~".9

51 -9'i'""~,,;;'-

C)-:! ~ \.Q'"

1S.J:tj JywJ""

1J-*.J ~ /l~I,,,'f~:(.;r/" "'''/''-!,,'~11''''''' ", .,,,,""J~~'1!!~~..>A>I~~.J I.:),);;t

c ",."~.'~~.J!.'.9. r,,;

"'",

~/.,

~~". ~ u\~\~... .;, .

b10: 27, 28; 39 : 61 ; 80 : 39-43.a3: 104; 6: 160; 8 : 47.

392. Commentary:

The Quran does not merely give generalphilosophic teachings but actually refers tohistorical facts to bring borne to the Faithfulthe gravity of the dangers that proved the ruinof peoples gone by. The verse, therefore,aptly refers to the dissensions of the Peopleof the Book, and Muslims are enjoined toavoid them. The Holy Prophet says: "Whososeparates himself from the body of the Muslimseven by the space of a span, throws off from higneck the rope of Muslim brotherbood (Darid).Again, cowho&osevers his con.nection (with thecODUnunity of the Muslims) will be cast intothe Fire" (Tirmidhi, ch. on Fitan).


~ (shaH be white) is derived from u6~ .They say ~.y; cJo~ i.e. he exceeded him inwhiteness. ~I meaDS, he or it turned white.u#1t signifies whiteness, and ..fo':!I meanswhite (Aqrab). The expression ~ J Jo!!'means, his face became white, nleaning, hisface became expressive of joy i,e. hebecame joyful (Lane).

~~ (will turn black) is derived from .)t.. .

They say ~")\;.)\.. i.e. .he exceeded him inblackness. .)yo I means, he or it turned

black. .)Iyo means, blackness, and .)yolm.eans, black (Aqrab). ~.J .)yol means,

his face became black, meaning, hisface beaam.e expressive of grief or sorrow(Lane). Whiteness is som.etimes used to denotea good and bappy c:onditioD; while blacknessis a token of a bad condition and failure(Aqrab under ui~)

,

Commentary:

The Quran itself explains" whiteness U and

" blackness" as emblematic of "happiness"and" sorrow" respectively (see 3: 108 and16 : 59 and also com.pare 75: 23 and 80:39, 40). Similarly, when a person does a deedfor which he is praised, the .Arabs say of him",-J; 9: J Jo!! I i.e. the faGe of such a onehas become white or ",-}; O;.J .&ill~ .ij

i.e. God has made the face of such a onewhite. On the cont.rary, if a person doesa deed for which he is repr08ched, it is saidof him 4¥':'J .)YOI i.e. his ff ce has becomeblack) or ~ J .&ill:Iyo i.e. .Allah hasblackened bis face. Thus the words

...JI6':.1 .)~ .J ..Y: J Jmj' r~ (lit. when somefaces shall turn white and some faces shan

43S

CH.S' AL 'IMRAN PT. 4

108. And aas for those whose faces .b~~ ~.~ ," ,99 '''..", ",.<r~""'"will be white, they will be in the mercy ~\; ~~~.9:~~' ~~I \-.01"

of Allah; therein will they abide.e~J~(~J,~

109. These are the Signs of Allah,We rehearse them to thee while theycomprise the truth; and Allah willsnot any wrong to His creatures.39'

~;~\~;~~~~(.t~~\~,~~~ '\ ~'a"n~-r,!~~~~

Hi' ....

110. And btoAllah belongs whatever ,,"! ~ /r'j,"',' .I"''' 11-::; . f.; ~,

is in the heavens and whatever is in e:J'~'J ''-f)~t ~~J9~' ~"~,,the earth, and to Allah shall all afiairs t. 9 9"be returned 1M decision.39s 8,;;0"

alO : 27. b3 : 130, 190; 4: 132; 57: 11.

tttrn black) ml'an, when some will be praisedfor their deeds, and some will be reproached;or they mean, when some will rejoice andsome will grieve.

Tbe present verse speaks of discord and dis-agreement mentioned in tbe preceding verseas disbelief; for the ultimate end of such dis-agreement and dissension is notbing but dig-belief.

394. Important Words:The words J.L~ (lit. 'with truth' and

translated as, while they comprise the truth)signify, ,firstly, that these Signs or words of Godare full of truths; secondly, that they havecome as a matter of right i.e. you had a rightto receive them; thirdly that, this was theproper time for their recital. See also 3 : 4

The words, Allah wiUs not any wrong, meanthat by calling upon mankind to accept theHoly Prophet, God does not intend to caUsethem harm; in fact, He desires to have mercyon them. The interests of mankind requiredthat a Prophet should have been sent tothem.

395. Commentary:

As whatever is in the heavens and in theearth belongs to God, so it was in the fitness ofthings that fin.ally a Prophet with a universalmission should have been raised. The previoussystem of raising separate Prophets forseparate peoples and separate periods Wasmeant only by way of preparation. Now wasthe time of one God and one Prophet.

4JQ

PT. 4 AL<IMRAN Cli.3

. 12 111. ayou are the best people raisedfor the good of mankind; byou enjoinwhat is good and forbid evil and believein Allah. And if the People of theBook had believed, it would have,surely, been better for them. Someof them are believers, but most of themare disobedient.396-

.:'~\~,,,,,f~ r~.. ~". ,,9 .",9""", ;:,:k..,~? C).JJ~~WI ~ ~\ ~ \ w..:. ".

," "".",,?~-

::~i~" ~~ '" ,! ~".~, "" ,"':""...:r- "'" ;,~..rljJ~...' cr ~*-'"" " J 9(,' J' J.'~ ?.,,, "I~

. \(( ~.".Jc:J~~~ ~~~~~\\JAt

"", I" , !,~-~.@CJ~~...;.JI

112. They cannot har.

m you save a ,Jr;'''"", ~~~f~!' "j,9r,,- !~.91'" ,,,,

slight hurt; and cif they fight you, they "o-1Y~~;';w O~J\Sj,J}J,~.J~ Jshall show you their backs. Then they .." 9

..

h n t b hId 397 '.,

J"'~' "':. "'r"""8 a no e e pe . @\:).J~~;o.>W.J~J)J1

a2: 144. b3: 105, 115; 7 : 158 ; 9: 71 ; 3J : 18. c59: 13.

396. Commentary:

Tbe verse not only claims that the Muslimsare the best people-a great claim indeed- butalso {lives reasons for it. These reasons are:(1) Muslims have been raised for the good ofothers; (2) they have been raised not for thegood of anyone people or anyone country butfor the good of all mankind; (3) it has beenmade their duty to enjoin what is good andforbid evil and believe in one God. The historyof Islam bears ample testimony to the fact thatMuslims fulfilled all tbe hopes expressed in thisverse. They were not only the torch-bearersof Islam to the four corners of the world butthey also contributed to the betterment ofother peoples in a most remarkable manner.The renaissance of the West was mostly, if notentirely, due to their influence (e.g. TheMa~ing of Humanity by Robert Briffault).

The greatness of a people is proportionateto the ma.gnitude of their work. As Muslimswere to bri-ng about the good of all mankind.they have been declared the greatest of allpeoples. In fact, the real purpose of aMuslim's life is to do good to humanity. AsIslam is the greatest good, so Muslims havebeeD enjoined to convey its me~~8.ge to the

whole world. They are also required to enjoinwhat is good and forbid what is evil. Thereare other people also who claim to enjoingood and forbid evil, but their aim indoing so is to contribute to the strength orbetterment of their own respective communi-ties. The Quran warns Muslims against havingsuch restri~ted motives by adding the words,and you believe in .A.llah, i.e. your preachingshould be for God's sake only Who is theLord of the worlds.

The assignment of this great task toMuslims also implies. the appearance of divineMessengers among them from time to time,for it is heavenly Messengers alone who canbest perform this duty; and it is throughthem that we can properly reali,ze the truesigni ficance of this ta,sk.

It may also be pointed out here that,accordingto this verse, the exceUence of the Mu.."Ilimpeople is governed by, and is subject to, theabove conditions i.e. preaching Islam to man.kind and enjcining what is good and forbiddingwhat is evil; mere lip-profession of Jslamr.annot entitle anyone to claim excellmce.

397. Commentary:The words, they cannot harm yo" save a slight

437

CH.3 AL 'IMRAN PT. ~

113. aSmitten shall they be withabasement wherever they are found,unless they have protection from Allah,or protection from men. They haveincurred the wrath of Allah,

. andsmitten are they with wretchedness.bThat is because they would reject the

Signs of Allah and kill the Prophetsunjustly. That is because theyrebelled and used to transgress.39B

62: 62, 91; 5: 61; 7 : 168.

I .. ~~. "'(? 1..(""''''''..1'' 'J ~""".,,,

'-dL\I~.A~ "In'"'' ~ . I~JJ\ ~j~~ ., v" ~. ,,;;)~ ~ ,,\~ ~.-I -'7" '." ..1.\".. --:--: "I;" ~t,~.4 \ ":"~~-'~ ~~-'.J. .-'~' v"y,::--', , ?-- , ;;;00

~.flr.:? ~I~L~'~2~\!.~!:t~;$\ ~:l;:~~~~ "..;, ~~.~ rr ~ "

f.f.7"~".""",... ,f.r~{.I'''''r -:11~j,:",,'-:''Vf;""@C'J~~O.J~W:-~.)~fri ~~~\

b2 : 62, 92; 3: 22.

hurt, signify that Jews. in spite of their grea.tenmity to Islam, will not be able to do Muslimsmore than a slight injury, and this is whataatual1y happened.

The words, they shall show you their backs,contain a prophecy which met with its fulfil-ment three times by the defeat at Medinaof the hostile Jewish tribes who made commoncause with the Arab tribes. They were guiltyof treachery and met with the punishmentthey deserved.

The words are equally applicable to theene:mies of Islam in general. Preaching of thedivine message can bring upon Muslims onlytemporary trouble. If they persevere inpreaching with sincerity and patience, theyare sure to come out successful in theirendeavour. On the other hand,ifthe enemiesof Islam take up arms agaiI1st Muslims fortheir preaching of Islam, God will help the latteragainst their enemies and grant them victory.

and wretohedness (Aqrab); also loss of thepower of movement (Mufradiit).

Commentary:

This verse contains an important and far-reaching prophecy regarding Jews. They arefor ever doomed to disgrace and humiliation.They have ever to live in subjection to otherPowers. The history of the Jewish peoplefrom the t~me of the Holy Prophet up to thepresent day bears woeful testimony to the truthof this awful prophecy. In all countries and inaU ages, the present age of enlightenment andtoleration not heing excepted, tbey have beenthe victims of bitter persecution and havebeen subjected to diverse kinds of disgraceand humiliation. Their practice of usury hasalso made them the hated of all nations.

The word ~ rendered here as "protec-

tion" is full of significance and is applicablein almost all its different n~eanings for whichsee 3: 104. Generally spf'aking, the divinerope, or in other words, "protection. from

398. Important Words: Allah," refers to Islam; and "protection fromJ:-- (protection). See 3: 104. men" rf'fers to the protection of non-Muslim

~ (wretchedness) is derived from ~ Powers. The latter may bp. illustrated byi.e. be or it was or became still or silent or the Treaty of Versailles, which afforded themotionless. ..;(... means. the state of a Jews a temporj~ry protection, while the former

rR-; lowliness or submissiveness; lowness. was made possible through a section of tbemabasement or humiliation; paucity of property; accepting the Holy Prophet. In the present.'viI state or oondition; weakness; poverty of age. the Promised Messiah (Holy Founder of

mindJ etc. (Lane). It also means disgrace the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam}twhom438

f~. 4 AL 'IMRAN CR. 3

114. aThey are not all alike. AIpongthe People of the Book there is a partywho stand by their covenant; they recitethe word of Allah in the hours of nightand prostrate themselves beforeHim.S9O

Ilo. They believe in Allah and theLast Day, and benjoin what is goodand forbid evil, and chasten, vyingwith one another, to good works. Andthese are a.mong the righteous.

~ <

", r:< ";, '1~~, ;', \ ('(

\:"10","/.,

!,". ~5~~~u-Ut~'U&'\~~\...:, :;;It' ", ~ ..

" ",,

""., 9;, -;./

;"" I ~ It@(.:JJ~.~ -' ~\ ,~\ ~\ ~\

. ~:~L ;'" t~;, .~il ,'/tv a1~",~ i

~-'- ;.<.:).Jy ' j:"..:J~~ J'"

:.-I.:J~.Y-

I,~~"t ~,; "~9 r;,.9"

.J;.:J \;';' '''!'' '"J.~~, ~1:J.c.\'-J" . ~o~~--',- it' r..;--~ M..tIIi'

",,~

"., I,,;, '""', "@~I~~.JI.J,.a4: 163. b3: 105, 111; 9: 71. c21 : 91 ; 23: 62; 35: 33.

God has raised as the saviour of mankind, isthe emblem of protection for the Jews. Theycan save themselves by accepting him.

The word ~ rendered as " wretohed-

ness" also signifies, humiliation, disgraC'e,and loss of the power of movement. Allthese have been the fate of the Jews. Theyhave often been expelled from countries, andeven today in Russia there are certain districtswhich they are not permitted to enter. Therecent persecution of the Jews in Germanyand other countires of Europe is only toowell-known to need a reference.

The clause, kill the Prophets unjustly, refersnot only to the attempt of the Jews to crucifyJesus, but also to their plots to kill the HolyProphet of Islam.

The verse also serves as a warning to Muslimsthat if they rejected the Promised Messiah, whohas come in the epirit and power of Jesus l!8well as of the Holy Prophet and whose dutyit is to preach and rejuvenate Islam, they wouldalso be smitten with the same disgrace which

has been the lot of the Jews for their rejeC'tionof Jesus and the Uoly Prophet.

399. hnportant Words::;\; ~I (a party who stand by the covenant)

may give a number of meanings besides theone given in the text e.g.: (1) a party orpeople who perform well the duties entrustedto them; (2) a people who stand up for Prayerin the latter part of the night. an act ofworshi'p h~ghly eommended both in theQuran and the sayings of the Holy Prophet.

Commentary :

The words, a party who stand by their cotlenant.refer to those among the Jews who embracedIslam (see the next verse and also 4: 163).The view finds further support from the words,and prostrate themselves wfore Him, for ;~(prostration) was not included in the worship

-performed by JeWH. The exhortation toMary conveyed in the words, and prostratethyself (3: 44), was only an exceptionalcommandment specifically meant for her.

439

CR. 3 AL 'IMRAN n~4

116. And awhatever good they do,they shall not be denied its duereward; and Allah well knows the God-fearing. 4.00

117 bAs for those who disbelieve,their possessions and their childrenshall not avail them aught againstAllah; and these are the inmates of theFire; therein shall they abide.4Gl

lIS. cThe likene.ss of what they spendfor the present life is as the likeness ofa wind wherein there is intense cold.which smites the harvest of a peoplewho have wronged themselves anddestroys it. And Allah has not wrongedthem, but they wrong themselves. 402

r~'.\:.

'~t"Ir'.'~'~.

~' 'l :l~ ..l..:.

.

'~ .:..0 '1~~ ~,.~ CW.J a,,~cr ~ \WT,. ...J

~~~'\r@~'t

~""'- ~"I/''''',1'''' ...rw~'6J'''' I'~~~ "",~ t.~

'O.J~~I~ . l' ciw~'I"''' ..",~r'.\ ' I ''''Ia.! P

\"b~~ J ". .'~'''

..)\.:J ~ !.. ~) So'. 4.U1~~)~.JI~. ~..,"

... .~ d ~:; "8<:J.J~ ..~

$Cij},i~, ~~!; ~.!.~, ~ 'l~~"

.. 7... ,." ~~~ ~,?I

.

t ~1

"1 'l/i1'~,t.,," -: ,,,

'''f'''' ~~:;

,~ ~\&~~~~1...ftg ..,,~J

~":~i"l 't.c:...\"'~ Je:G;r"lt~.

r1r r- ~., @\ .\,OJ..' .;~ ,.

~9 ~~\!!:JO

~ ..

U28 : 85; 99: 8. C:IO: 25; 68: 18-21.b3 : 11; 58: 18.

400. Commentary:

The verse shows that Islam is not a nationalor tribal religion, but that whoever joinsit, no matter from what nation or creedhe comes, will receive the same reward as anyother follower of the Faith, provided, of course.he acts righteously. In Islam no preferentialor pre} udicial treatment is meted out to themembers of any particular natioDality. AJew, and for that matter any other man, afterembracing Islam, is on a par with an ArabMuslim.

401. Commentary:

If disbelievers employ their wealth and theirchildren in opposition to God, these shall notserve as protection against divine punishmentwhioh must overtake them. But if theyemploy their wealth an.d their children in

orqer to win the pleasure of God, tbiB iB

sure ultimately to lead to their guidance.A Companion of the Holy Prophet is r~portedto have once ~aid to him that in theDays of Ignorance i.e., before he acceptedIslam, he had given a hundred camels incharity and asked him whether that charitywould bring him any reward. The HolyProphet prom}ltly replied, .. Your acceptanceof Islam is a result of the very charity youpractised to (Bukhiri, ch. On ZaTcat).


.r" (intense cold). They say ,,:,I:JI.r"'i.e. the door made a soun.d or a oreakingsound. ;I\.J1"..- mea.ns, the bird (hawkor falcon) uttered its cry. r mean8.it (plant) became smitten. with intense cold;or he (a person) had an iron collar put roundhis neck. So r m~ans: (1) intensl.'Gold; (2) cold that; BnUteB the herbage al\d

44Q


119. 0 ye who believe! "take notothers than your own. people. asintimate friends: bthey wIll not fall to

'.

corrupt you. They love to see you. in trouble. Hatred has already shown

itself through the utterances of theirmouths and what their breasts concealis greater still. We have made clearto you Our commandments, if youwill understand: 408

~t:"~ :. ~~(~ :,:~~,~~"\G;Jj\("!.(u-~.J ~ ;,'-'~ ~ ~ ~."

9~ JJ %~~3;J.~~ ~~~i, t ,,""7 "" 'ftk~"~1"..(~\,.P~,~)-'~ \Sr !-'~~ ~ J. .

~~~.s :, ~~\ 't'1 {!fv ,~.~~.,»'- C)...",.." ~ .., w ., .,;

061; .0;

b9: 47.a3 : 29; 4: 140, 145.

destroys it; (3) sound or noise; (4) a windwith an excessively loud sound; (5) fire (Lane& Lisau).

Commentary:

The idea underlying this verse is that theefforts of the disbelievers against Islam "willreact only against themselves. Whatever theydo and whatever they spend with a view toinjuring or destroying Islam will only injurethe disbelievers themselves. God sent Islamfor the good of the people, but by rejecthJg itthey are br~nging about their own ruin.

403. Important Words:-:.;~ (intimate friends) is derived from vb!

t.e.it was or became hidden. ~~m.eans; alining; an inner vest; a close and intimatefriend or friends; a. friend or friends towbom one reveals one's secrets (Aqrab).

JI;o:- (corruption) is derived from J:':'.They say ~ i.e. he made him or it. corrupt

or evil. .:>vJ-1~ means, the grief affected

a.nd vitiated his reason. I.l.) ~ J-:-JI J:.:. mean~,bElconfined the man and prevented him fromit. JI;o:- means, corruption or bad conditionwhether of body or reason or actioDs ; loss ordeterioration; ruin or destruction; fatalpoison (Aqrab).

f* (in. trouble) is derived from .:..i..They say ~,~ i.e. the thing became bad

or corrupt. ~~ ~ means, misfortune befellhim and he got into trouble. ~;.:..~ meansZaid w.et with a ualamity and was ruined,

~ I ~ means, tbe bone became weak andbroke after it was in a good condition.J-:-) I ~ means. the :man committed a sin(Aqrab). See also 2: 221.

Commentary :

The words 'J~":'~}~ 'J rendered as, theywill not fail to corrupt you, may also wean;(1) they have no scruple in ruining you; (2)they leave no stone unturned to spoil yourwork; (3) they will do what they can to corruptyour religion; (4) they are always busy ininjur~ng you.

The words f';' t. I.J.:IJ(they love to see youin trouble) may, in the light of the meaningsgiven under Important Words above, mean,:(1) they love to s('e you fall into calamity

and misfortune; (2) they love to see youperish; (3) they love to see you become weakand broken; (4) they love to see you becomesinful.

Obviously, this verse l'efers to avoiding suchnon-Muslim.s onl:}'as are at war with Muslimsor such as seek to injure Islam in any otherway. It does not require Mmdims to haveabsolutely no relations with any non-Muslim..Elsewhere, the Quran says: Allah. jorbidsllou

441


120. Behold, you are those who lovethem, but they love you not. aAndyou believe in all the Book. Whenthey meet you, they say, 'We believe;'but when they are alone, they bite theirfinger-tips at yoq for rage. Say,'Perish in your rage'. Surely, Allahknows well what is hidden in yourbreasts. 404

121. bIf anything good befall you,it grieves them; and if an evilbefall you, they rejoice thereat. Butif you be steadfast and righteous,their designs will not harm youat all: surely, Allah encompasses alltha.t they do.405

"fI,~'''P.

~''''fJfJ "

.

~ ,9"',,99 , " "'1!.

. .,..~ '1-~~ "'I' ...b\" .. J::"" ". ~c:)~~J ~.;;~~~ ,,;J~~

" o¥.'f""I"""\'~' ~ 9"" '7.... 9.

. I~r"\~ ,-:'\" %~n'\~' ~~q'I" "0$ ~\a~ )1'-' ~ ~), ~

I" ~":'", 0 ".9 ,

r~"' ~ "",9..

\~'-' \'~ J.b~H.:~~\,j~P ~ ~7'~ c..J-' ;,.. \;J",. "'.,j , -: r,,'''~,'', b/~.,~.

0J'~'9\~~4U\c),,~

,r; {.: \ " j" ~9' t-".; 'It' ",~ :I~ C>,,~~j...J ~ .,> c)"

., ~"" " 9 ".." .." i?

"~\.,...,:..,' ""\".M"_.\'''' .\&I'~,:,~",!.'~~"J ~~~ .., ... ...

-:,l\,I'-:'~ ~\ -: L~\t1; "J.:r'P(~~'c>~. ;,4O~,. .. ~ ..~~.t. I~'. ~

@~

a2 : 15, 77; 5 : 62. b9: 50.

not respecting those who have not fought againstyou on account of your religion and who havenot driven you out from your homes, that yoube kind tQ them and deal equitably with them.Surely Allah loves those who are equitable(60: 9).

404. Commentary:

As borne out by the context, words like" andthey do not believe in all the Book" must betaken to be understood after the words, youbelieve in all the Book.

The words, perish in your rage, have beenaddressed to such Jews as are the enemies ofIslam and seek to destroy it. The words aremeant as a rebuke. When every effort hasbeen made to reform them, and they would not

listen, then they sbould suffer the consequencesof their blind hostility.

405. Commentary:

The enemies of Islam, both open and secret,are grieved to see tile 8uccess of believers andtry to minimize it. But when Muslims meetwith some failure, tbey rejoice and try toexaggerate it. Their object is to disheartenani! disoourage beJievers. .

The words, Allah encompasses their deeds,signify that God will bring to nought alltheir doings and destroy them. Muslimsshould not therefore fear them. All machina.tions of the enemies of Is)am are known toGod, Who will frustrate them.

#2

PT:4 ALi'lMRAN CH.3

13 l~~. .,And remembert~e ti~ w~en "~"'" ;'li ~'..."!~\\'~! I""~ ~,'"thou dldst'gof6rthearly mthe morning-:~ ~;~\ cS~ ~,~ o,,~ )~"fro~ thy ho~hold~ .assigning to the ., (i~ "

Ii, ,,: ".r, r'..~,. beheverstheir posItIons for battle. ~ ~ @\,,::1\4»

And Allah is All-Hearjng, An~..,., ,,,,

Knowing ;408

406. Commentuy: matter and veered round to tbe opinion of theIn, the preceding verses Muslims .have been Holy Prophet. But now the Holy Prophet

ta.ught the lesson of patience, perseverance refused to change his mind, saying that it did

and righteoUB'ness. If they act ,upon it, they Dot.behove a Prophet of God to put down his

will succeed and .no enemy can injure them. armour after he had once put it on tiU GodNow the same lesson IS bro\1ght home to deoided between him and the enemy. So hethem by an illustration. from their current marohed out of Medina with a force of 1,000history. men. A large party of Jews, who were

The verse refers to the important Battle ofapparently in alIiancewith the Muslims,wisbed

{]bud, which was fought in the third year of to join him. But the Holy Prophet did not

Hijra. After sustaining a. orushing defeat ataccept thE'ir help. They ",ere a treacherous

Badr, the Quraisb of'Mecca began to makepeople and God had just warned him against

preparations in earnest for another attaok onthem, saying, They will not faiZ to corrupt you;

the Holy Prophet and his followers at, Medina.they love to see you in trouble (3 : 119).

Accordingly, next year &:well-equipped armf When the Holy Prophet had proceeded SODl6

of 3,000 warriors marched against Medina distanoe, 'Abdullah bin Ubayy, leader o!the

under the leadership of Abii Sufyan. When hypoorites, deserted and returned to Medina

tbe Holy Prophet heard of it, he consulted his on the pretext tbat his advice to stayCompanions as to the best way of meeting the in Medina bad been igI\ored and that the helpenemy. The IDajority of the oldetCompaniotlS ofthe Jews, whom he had brought as reinforce-were of the opinion that they sbould remain ment, had also been rejected. This reduced the

in the city a.nddefend them.selves. 'Abdullah Muslim army to only 700 mcn. At this sudden

bin Ubayy bin Saliil,lE'ad,er of the hypoo?ites, defection on the part of 'Abdullah, a tribe fromwas also of the sau\,e opinion. The Holy the Khazraj called Bani lJiritAa, and a tribeProphet also held the same view. He had seen from the Aus called Banu Salma, in spite ofin a dream that the Muslim army had suffered being sincere MIl8Iim.s,showed sign" of wave"riug

a loss, althougl it had also infticted loss and thought of deserting, but God saved themon the enemy. So he desired to remain in from suoh defection (3: 123).

the' city and there wait for the enemy. On entering tbe valley of U{\ud,. the HolyBut the n\ajorityof his followers, mostly Prophet arrayed. his men in battle order withyoung men and such of the older people their backs towards the hill and their facesas had. not takeI' part in the Battle of Badr, towards Medina. As a further preoaution, bewere eager to march out of Medina and stationed 50 archers at a certain point on themeet the enemy in pitched battle. The hill in the rear of the Muslim army under theHoly Prophet respeoted the wisbag of the lead.ership of'AbdulJah bin Jubair, withexpre88majority and decided tomaroh out. Later, orders not to quit tbe pIaoe until 80 orderedhowever, the majority thought; better of the by the Prophet himself, eveD if they-" the

~3


123. When two of your groupsmeditated cowardice, although Allah'was their friend. And upon Allahshould, the believers rely. 407

~:~~~,,~1t~ ~,~..~'i~c;~ 't..'}, ~'"

CJ , ~~ )...,

-:~! ,~~" t2-~~ ~."~..eC'~,. v:. .. ~'tj J

Meocans fleeing before the Muslims or even ifthey saw the Muslims being defeated and theirbodies being eaten by birds.

ABwas the custom in Arabia, the battleoommenoed'with sin.gle oombats, resulting inthe death of several disbelievers and someMuslims. Then the enemy made a generalassault, which was repeated thrice, and eachtime tbey were completely repulsed. Thebattle waged hot, but at last the enemyforce broke and they were forced to 1Iee,pursued by the Muslims, so much so thatsome of "he latter began to collect the booty.

When the party stationed on the bill in therear of the army saw this, they thoughtof leaving their position, thinking that asthe battle was over the object of the HolyProphet's commandment was fulfilled' andtheir presence on the hill was no longer needed.Their leader remonstrated with thf'm and askedthem to stick to the place in obedience to theHoly Prophet's command. But they paid noheed to his words and left the place. A few,however, remained behind with him onthe hill. KUlid bin Walid, who was amongthe disbelievers, having not yet embracedI::ilam. at once saw his opportunity and with aparty of disbelievers attacked and killed thefew men with their leader who bad remainedbehind, and fell on the Muslims from therear. Seeing this, the 1IeeingMeccans also tookheart and returned to the attack, and in thenonfusion that followed some one mischievouslyshOuted that the Prophet had been killed.This disheartened the balievers, some of whomHed to Medina, and others left the battlefield,'overwhelmed with grief at the supposed deathof their Holy Master. Many, how-eyer, not

desiring to live when the Prophet waB dead,

rushed into the ranks of the enemy and diedfighting bravely.

The confusion was so complete that the HolyProphet was at one time left with only twelveCompanionR; at another time, he had onlytwo Companions' with him and was thuspractically left aJl alone. AU this time, hewas the centre of the enemy's attaoks,but the few Companions that stood by himshielded him with their bodies and, standinglike statues of stc:me, reoeived all thearrows and all the blows on tbeir bodieswhich became pierced like sieves. But theydid not swerve even by the fraction of aninoh from their place lest by 80 doing theyshould expoRe the body of the Holy Prophet.Whenever anyone of them feJl, his placewas promptly taken by another. The HolyProphet was also wounded. One of bis teethwas broken by a stone and a ring of hishelmet was smashed into his face by aruthless blow. When the Companions whostill remained in or near the battlefieldlearned that their Master was alive, asection of th"em gathered round him and,repelling the attacks of the enemy, slowly tookhim to a safe place on the hillside. Then tbeenemy withdrew. More than seventy of theCQmpaniODllfell inthe battle,inoludingl;lamza,the valian.t unole of the Holy Prophet; andmany were wounded. But as later eventsshowed, this oalamity, however great in itself,did not prove a cheok to tbe forward maroh ofIslam. The rest of the battle is described inthe succeeding verses.


,y~ (should rely) is derived from:h (tDakala).They say .,..'J141~J i.6. he.left tbematter

4#:

PT. 4, AL 'IMRAN CH.3

124. aAnd Allah had already helpedyou at Badr bwhen you were weak.

q So take Allah for your protector that.c.

you may be gratefu1.408

''':.r~ q" ' ","'-: ., ,~ I't' , ,,"' '"\,A:) \i ~tU~t.:J,~ ~~ a1)t,.J ~ c).i).., ,

~ .~.'~ !~'f --~8<:),

.10~ 4b'a8 :8, 11; 9: 25. b2: 250

to' hl~ far .dispasal as he might think' fit.\~ K) (wakkalahii) means, he appointed himhis Jr) ar agent far the dispasal ar manage-ment of such and such a matter. v'~~:f.Jme'ans, he became responsible, or acceptedrespons},bility, for the management of theaffair. 4\ J- 5i means, he relied on God;

he put his trust in Him; he submittedhimself to' Him. The infinitive noun :f.Jsignifies rel}rin g an, and trusting in, Godalane, to' the exclusion af worldly means(Aqrab &.Lane).

Commentary:

The twO'graups mentioned here were, as statedabave, the twO' tribes af BaniiSalma and BaniQiiritha, belongiD.g respectively to' Aus andKhazraj. Their idea af returning (referred to'in the note under the preceding verse) was notdue to' any doubt on their part with regard to'the truth af Islam, but Was merely due toweakness barn of attending circumstances.But as they were sincere believers, Gad savedthem fram yielding to' this weakness. SeealsO' note an 3: 122.

.. The clause, upon Allah should the believers.rely, daes nat mean tbat 8 Muslim sbouldneglect material meana and confine himselfto praying to' God and wa.iting far His h~lp.This is a misguided cO'nceptian O'f$ ~ (trustingiil God) whioh finds nO' support ill Islamicteachings. Wbat Islam teaches is this, tbat

'"tme believer should use all the available meansof attaining an O'bject but should, at tbe sametimet Dot ff!ly upon tbem. He should trust in

.

"

Gad alone laoking upon warldly n\eans as onlybe.ing

.effective under the will of God. "Tie

the knees afyour camel and then trust in God",says the Holy Praphet-an extremely difficultposition but nevertl>eless tbe anly right wayof demonstrating true faith in God!


J~ (Badr) literally means tbe full II'Oall.The verb form J~ from which the noun formis derived gives tbe sense of making haste.They say ~ \ J \ J~ i.e. he hastened towar4iait. Badr, in the sense of full maon, is so calledbecause it hastens to rise before the sun setsand to set before the sun rises. Badr is alsothe name of a place on tbe route between Meccaand Medina. It takes its name fram a springwhich belonged to' a man named Badr. TheBattle of Badr referred to here took place nearthis place.

Commentary :

These words are addressed to Muslims throughthe Holy Prophet, who actually used tbemafter tbe Battle ofUl}ud. They remind tbeFaithful that God had granted them victoryat Boor while they were much weaker than attl e time of the Battle of Ul}ud, because theybehaved abediently, patiently and G<ld-fearingly on that occasion. So the setbackat UJ;1ud was due to' their OWn weakDt'SB aDdthe disobedience, thO'ugh not quite intevtional,which some of them showed to' their !\faster.But the words alsO' imply a pramise of help infuture if the Muslims repent of their nustakeand bebave like true believers.

44S

eIt.3 .AL 'IMRAN PT. 4

125. When thou didst say to thebelievers, a' Will it not 8ufficey,outhat your Lord should help you withthree. thousand angels sent downfrom on high ~ '409

126. Yea, if you be steadfast andrighteous and they come upon youimmediately in hot haste, your Lordwill help you with five thousandangels, attacking vehemently.uo

~~~..' '.. " # ';.!: """, .,

" """~ . \., ,. ..~ '\ ;.oCA.VII J .\

. "..e> .., ..~ ,""..H~ ~ J...b ..

" 9 ~~., II

"'I ~~@.. .." \.~wOUj\ ~ ., !~

v.:.!7..~;t'"

v" ~ ' ~ . ~

~:i~.r~~'I"!-:':""'" .~ :\-::I~P"~::r. ,o).Jr..~ ~ ~ ~~ ~...c.r:

~~~ -: \AH d~.~~~" ~~~ tlA~ ~ ~ '.!J"oJJ,.. ..~" .

", .11'€}~~

1.08: 10.

409. Commentary:'fbe verse means that if the Mecoans.made

another attack upon Muslims sometime afterUltud, God would help the la';terby sendingdown a force of three thousand angels. It is amistake to tbinkthat these words refer tothe Battle of Badr which has been mentionedin the preceding verse only incidentally inorder to cite an illustration of how God helpedsteadfast Muslims in times of danger.Moreover, the number of angels sent at theBattle of Badr was, according to 8: 10, onethousand and not three thousand, as herestated. The fulfilment of the present promiseis referred to in 3 : 152 below.


J'; (immediately) is derived from ;It.They say _WI;lii.e. the water gushed forthfrom the earth. ).uJI..:..;Itmeans, the contertsof.the oooking pot vehemently boiled and rosehigh in it. -).; means, the intensity of heator ~nger or tbe like. J~ 1-,;'; means, theftrstpart of the day. ,;.) signifies the stateor cOndition that comes without delay. TheArabs say. J'; ~ r:: J i.e. he returned orturned back immediately. without tarrying(Aqrab).

~.JM'" (attacking vehemently) ill derivedfro~ (y. They say ",,;/Iry '.8. he

branded the horse with a brand. J::O.I'(ym,eaIJS, he let loose the horses for grazing,

~ (J"" means, he suddenly andvehemently attacked tbem and wrought havocamong them (Aqrab). In the verse undercomment tbe word is use(1 in tbe last-mentiol'edsense.

Commentary :The verse signifies tbat if the disbelievers

returned to the attack at once, without givingtbe MusHms any opportunity to recoup tbem-selves, God would help the latter with fivethousand angels. The difference in the numberof angels,-in the preceding verse tbe nwnbermentioned being 3,OOO-was due to thedifference in tbe condition of the Muslims.They were.at that time exbausted and woundedand, therefore, needed greater help than theywould ha.ve needed, if the enemy attaok hadbeen delayed.

The enemy did indeed think of returning, butGod prevented them from doing so. Brieftystated, the facts are that when the Quraishwere retracing their steps towards Mecoa,m~mbers of the Arab tribes living in thevicinity of Medina asked them about the resultof the battle, and when they declared thatthey were viotorioU5, the5e Inen put theD\ toshame by saying, .. If you. have been really

.~

at3

~:(!"t:-:'~~,~!~ 1L".'5~\~~/:i~!'~~':,.r...t"I'~"',.Oo'II.I7V-:""'...cw~ -'

~ .,~j,~...r\~\.\{~,?..,~\~,~"~ i~.. .

~...,..,;J~.. J

PT: 4' AL 'iMRAN

127. And aAllah has made it only asglad tidings for you and to put yoUrhearts at reat thereby; and help comesnom Allah alone, the Mighty, theWise.Ul

128. God will do so that He mightcut off a part of the disbelievers orabase them so that they might go backfrustrated.uz

~~!~~J\~~~~\ ~~J;~..~ """,~.~~~..)}-,

as : 11.

victorious, where a.re the spoils! What haveyou brought from the battlefield!" Touchedto tile quiok by this tau:nt, tl>e Quraish' deoidedto retrieve tbeir shame by attacking theMuslims once more. When the Holy Prophetcame to know of tl>is, on the day following thebattle, he gave inunediate orders to mUI'ch anddireoted tbat only those of his followerswbobad taken part in the Battle of Ul)ud shouldjoin him. The Muslims we,nt as far as l.Iamrii.'al-Asad, a place about eight miles from Medina.The Meccans were, however, so overawed bythis unex;pectedly bold and pI'ompt appeaI'a.nceof the Holy Prophet and his followers thatthey decided to retreat hastily to Mecca. Tl)iswas due tp tlte fear which the a~els hadinspired in theiI' hearts. Otherwise theI'e wasno reason for tbem to flee fro1I' an enemy uponwhoU\ tbey had inflicted so heavy a 108s onlya day before and who, besides being very muchreduced in nUmber, were utterly exhaustedand we~e8uffering from wievous wounds asa result of the previous day's fighting.

A'I'ecent Commentator, having translatedthe words, J.1. rr-J,j CI" 3S "in a headlongmaDner,'. has applied tl>em to the Battle ofAl)zib. This is not right. The fact isthat ve1'8es 125 and 126, as already ex-plained, are bQth connected with the Battleof U"ud and relate to the ~ime inunediatelyfollowing it. The word J! (yea) occurring in

tbe beginning of the verse also denotes a

connection between the verses and supplies theanswer to the question in 3 : 125, "iz: tDiUienot 8uffice you! Thus the WOI'd ~ would heremean "yes, it will suffice, and 80 will s1Ulicea force of 5,000 angels if the enemy' were toretw:n to the' attack at this very moment."

411. Commentary:

The verse is intended to warn Muslimsagainst treating angels as gods or 'even 8S anindependent source of help. Help comea frottlAllah alone; angels are entirely subservient toHim and do nothing by their own will. Theycome oDly by the coU\mand of God and do01)ly what God commands them. The way inwhich angels help meD is that they strengthentheir hearts and fill their enemies witlt aweand feaI'. If God had so willed, a single angelwould have been enough to help the Muslims,but He pI'omiaed to send as many &8 fivethousand angels in order to cheer andstrengthen their hearts and to hint that avery large number of the hidden forces ofn~ture weI'e working in theiI' favour. For tbework and duties of angels see 2: 31.

It may incidentally be noted heI'e that somebelieve~, and even ~ome disbelievers, arereported to haveaetually seen the angelsat the Battle of Badr. (Jam, iv. 47). Seealso 8: 11.

412. bnportant Words:

~ (abase) is derived hom .~ .ThD)'

441

CH.' 3 AL 'IMRAN PT. 4

129. Thou hast no concern in thematter: He may turn to them inmercy or punish them, for they arewrongdoers. 413

"'''fIJ'' ~l~ ;' " ,"tJ.'1."""" ~\~,,':\

~~-,Ir~~-*.J'~~~H~~~;?)I,~ ,,~(/.

@cJ~~>'

say ~ i.e. (I) he overthrew or. prostratedhinu (2) he humbled or abased him; (3) .}leturried him away; (4) he turned, him back withhis fury; (5) he destroyed him or caused him toperish (Aqrab).

Commentary :

The words, or abase them, mean that if thedisbelievers attacked tbe Muslims, they wouldbe . punished and a part of them killed, and ifthey did not attack the Muslims., they would

,retreat in abasement and disgrace. ActuaUy,it was the lesser of the two alternatives thatcame to pass;. for when the Holy Prophet,learning that the Meccans were contemplatingan immediate attack on Medina marched outWitb his followers, tbe Meccansfied in disgraceand abasement (see note on 3: 126).

The verse also shows that God sometimesmakes conditional prophecies ..e. He predictstwo alternative events of which only One is tooccur, according I\ScircumstaJ)ces demand. Inthe present case, God knew that only the latteralternative would come to pass, yet He did notforetell it definitely .The coming of the angels,it may be noted further, was meant 88 aguarantee of the punishmeDt or disgrace of theenemy, as the case might be.

413. Commentary:

This verse is erroneously supposed to containa sort of admonition or warning to. the HolyProphet for his having prayed to God for tbedeStruction of the Meccans. There is no men-tion of any such prayer here, nor was there anyoocasion for such a prayer. In fact, a Prophetnever prays for the destructioDof any peoplewithout the permission of God.

The words are meant only as an answer to

those who "attributed the reverse of the Muslims

at Ul}ud to the alleged error of their leavingthe city against t.he advice of experiencedmen. The Quran says that the result wasbrought about by the supreme wisdom of Godand that the Holy Prophet had nothing todo with the matter. One good result of this re-verse was that many were guided to acceptanct'of Islam,' seeing how God helped the HolyProphet and how He afforded him protectionalthough he was left alone in the batble.

The verse also contains a reply to the hypo-crites, 'Abdullah bin Ubayy and his followers,who had deserted the Holy Prophet at Ul}ud,saying that he had not foUowed their advice.It tells them that it was God Who was helpingthe Prophet, and Who, even after the reverseat Ul}nd, had fulfilled His promise regardingthe ignominious retreat of the Meccans refer-red to in the preceding verse.

The words, that He might cUt off a part of thedislJelievers, and, or abase them, occurring inthe preceding verse correspond to the wordsHe may turn to them in mercy, and, or punishthem, occurring in the present verse in thereverse order, the suggestion being that thepart that will be cut off will be those who areto be punished by God, while those whom Godwill temporarily abase and who will returnunsuccessful will be those to whom God isfinally to turn in mercy; i.e. by returningsafe, though un succe8I'ful, they will beafforded an opportunity to repent. Accord-ingly, we find that many of those whoescaped alive were afterwards converted ~oIslam, and among them were men likeKhiHd, son of WalId; 'Ikrima, son of AbUJab}; 'Abd al-Ral}min, son of Abii B$kr, andmany others who later made a name in tbe

history of Islam. Abu Bufyin, Commander

448

PT. 4 AL 'IMRAN CII.3

. l~O.. aAnd to Allah belongs whateverIS m the heavens and whatever is inthe earth. ' He forgives whomsoeverHe ,pleases and punishes whomsoeverHe' 'pleases, and Allah is mostForgiving, Mercifu1.4u

14. 131. 0 ye who believe! bdevour notinterest involving diverse additions;and fear Allah that you may prosper.us

':. ~ I~~ ... '",i, , ~f"'" ..~ ~~." . ~f'" ~ ,

~ ..U;>JJ ~ \..O.J9 ,~ ,,~ -'l: /0" '"

(q'"

, I j,"", <I. ,0 ,.,'"t:::\~... ",.

,

. ,

* , '" ,r::~ ,'", / .' ."'''

, Jf-'.'~,

~. 'I""

~1-,V".JP40 -'~~~~~L"~ t!I"

.., ,... ,..,~'/" I~v~'" I

' '{:: '" "...~'

~~~tk'~'~~)J~'~~\~~~ "'" '': ~U~...t '''.-..eC>~~4b\~\~

~-_.~------

a3: 110, 190; 4: 132; 57: 11.

..

of the Meooan army, was also among them.

The verse also throws light on the generalnature of prophecies made by the Prophets ofGod. There is often an element of contingencyor uncertainty in them; sOmetimes it is hiddenand sometiInes expressed as in the presentverse. A clear alternative is put forward herein the form of mercy and punishment to beshown according to the will of God. Thereason for this is thaI; prophecies do not proceedfrom a mechanical or rigid source which isarbitrary and inflexible, but from God, WhopossesSes both the quality of mercy 'and thepower to punish. which He exercises.according as circumstances demand. In keepingwith this principle. the Prophets of ' God holdout the hope of salvation on conditdon ofgenuine repentance, even when they utterunqualined predictions about the doom of theirenemies.

'

414.Commentary: .As Master and Owner, Allah is tnore inclined

to forgiveness and tnercy than to punishment,although He has sometimes to resort to thelatter for the ultimate good of mankind.

415. Important Words.

'J!,)I (mteie8t). See 2: 276.~ \.8. It~ I (involving diverse addi tiODS).

~~ I is tbe plural of ~ which originally

"------b2 : 276; 30: 40.

means, the like of a thing. In its wider signi-ficance, the word means the like of a thing ormore than that indefinitely. So ~L.;.J means,manifold or simply a great addition, the additionbeing unlimited. ~L.8. is the infinitive ofv..l,;.. They 8ay l,;. i.e., he doubled it,

or trebled it, or redoubled it, or, simplyincreased it indefinitely (Aqrab& Tij). Theexpression U. L.8. 1;'-..;.\ would mean, increasedmanifold; or increased indefinitely. ftshould be noted that the words ~L.8. It1..,;.\are not used here as a qualifying phrase torestrict the meani:r>g of 1..1..1(interest) so as toconfine it to a particular kind of interest. Theyare used 8S a descriptive clause to point to theipherent nature of 1..1..1(interest) which involvesa continual increase that never ends.

Commentary :

The charging of interest, although nowlegali.zed by Christian nations, was prohibitedby Moses (see Exod. 22. 25; Lev; 26 : 36, 37;Deut ; 23 : 19).

The verse does not mean that usury is per-missible at &moderate rate, only' a high ratebeing disallowed. All interest is prohibited,whether moderate or excessive; and the words~t.;... ItI..;.J rendered as. invoZving diverseadditions. have been added only to pointto the practice that was actually in vogue in

44~ 29

AL 'IMRAN PT.~CR. 3

132. And afear the Fire prepared forthe disbelievers.416

133. And bobey Allah and theMessenger that you be shown mercy.

134. I:And vie with one another inaskiDg for forgiveness from your Lord,and for a Paradise whose price is theheavens and the eartll, prepared forthe God-fearing-",.-U?

t ~ "-""- ,',. ,".

, ~ , "- ,," .

~'"@c,:t.. .o~\~~T\ )

.

\1\\ L7u1JJJI ",,,

II'lSj .;--

~'"

", ,!.!~'~. J""'~W'

.

...:,

"~'L'

.'.

"~h:>,.=-J~ ~.J' J@ ~"-'

~.,... ..:" ,,~-:, ?'";;. ~' J I~' t:'IJ&-~J~)~~~ Iio!.rd J

)J~'JJ3 ' ~ '''J'.''''' \ '. '~~-:.\ \M\. ".. ~~, ~)~ .JQ~~ -",,,, ",

a2 : 25; 66: 7. bSee 3 ; 33. 1:57: 22. See also 2: 26.

the t.ime of the Prophet. Thus the extremelimit has been n\Cl1tioned merely to bring outits heinousness whereas, in fact, all interest isprohibited, as clearly stated in 2: 27~281.

The mention of the prohibition of interestwhile dealing with the subject of war issignificant. We find that in 2: 276-281 alsothe prohibition of interest has been mentionedin connectiol\ with the question of war. Thisshows that war and interest are closely relatedto one another-a fact amply borne out bythe history of modern times. As a l1\3tterof fact, interest is one of the causes ofwar, and it also h~lps to prolong it.If there were no iending and borrowing atinterest, warS could not be prolonged. If itis asked how the expenses of war are to bemet in Islam, if money is not to be borrowedon interest, the answer is that when anaggressive war is f~rced upon Muslims, theyare required to make free contributioI\S for tbesake of their religion and country. Suitabletaxes also provide a fair means to meetthe. expenses of war, and taxes automaticaJlyprove a check on the undue prolongation ofho..<ttilities. See also 2: 276, 277; 2: 279,280.

The mention of the prohibition of interest inconnection with wars also shows that the verses

of the QuraD have DOt.been throWD together

4SO

at random but that there runs a wise andnatural order through them.

416. Commentary:

In 2: 276 also the prohibition of interest hasbeen followed by a warning against Bfe.]i~vidently it is the fire of war that is primarilymeant here. The word "disbelir-vers" besidesbeing general may also here m.ean those whodisobey the divine commandment relating tointerest.


';'.r (price). The verb';'.r gives a numberof meanings. They say ~ ~ I ';'.r i.e. beshowed him the thing. ,;,)1,. oJ ,;,

-'means,

SOmedifficulty confronted him, or cam.eacrossbis way, or some accident happened to him.,;,-' means: (1) price of a thing in a formother than money; (2) breadth .or width j(3) vastness; (4) goods; (5) a valley; (6) sideof a mountaIn (Aqrab).

Commentary:

This verse is an answer to those who, obsessedby their present envirorunents, think thatcommerce and other affairs of the world cannotbe carried on without interest. God says thatby folJowing the teachings of Islam Mu.<iliJ:nscan and will enjoy all sorts of benefits. .

The verse is an invitation to follow thecommandments of Islam, whioh has bee»

PT:'4 AL 'IMRAN ctt.3

135. Those who spend in prosperityand'adversity, and those who suppressanger and pardon men; and Allah lovesthose who do good; 418

.

~ '

, ,.,,,,,, . ,,", ......

~ ., ~

J!;~jn ~ $,'" ~(' ~ \:)~ ~ ~it

..;11' JIll~ .J"~" ~7. ..~

~l- "'. t.

'\ 9'1 '.l ...p r~ "". r"'~t "". ~:~ J'. ~4IJ\ \,;Jt.."..J..III\.A)\ ...

.i' -.".. ~~ ~ ~.~ :J ..

spoken of as leading to "forgiveness" and.. Paradise". The fonner im.plies freedomfrom.pain and afilictions; the latter stands forbliss.

.

The word .jI.J" rendered as "price" gives, asshown abovE', a number of meanings. Theidea is that the blessings of Paradise will not belimited. While in Paradise, a man will feelhappy wherever he may be. On the contraryin this world, we find that a m.an often possessesthe necessary means of enjoyment while athmne, but when he is on journey, he is oftenput to inconvenience. Such wiII not be thecase in Paradise.

The clause also n\eaus that believers will begranted a Paradise which will comprise bothheaven and earth, i.e., the believers wiH be inParadise both on this earth and in the life tocome.

There is a tradition to the effect tbat oncecertain rA>mpanioJ\s asked the Holy Prophet,"If Paradise encompasses the heaven!:! and theearth, where is Hell!" To this the .Prophetreplied: .,Where is the night when the dayoomes ?" (Kathir). This reply tbrows veryin,tere!\ting light 01) the nature of Heaven andHell. l'he Holy Prophet has also said that thesmallest reward of the inmates of Paradise willbe as immense as the space between heavenand eartb.

418. Important Words.

~LJ' (those who pardon) is derived from~ which means, to obliterate or removetraces of a thing (Aqrab). See also 2: 188.

A man is said to exercise the quality of ~when he obliterates from his mind, or totallyforgets, the sins ormistakes oommitted againsthim by others. Wber used with referepce toGod, the word sigr.ifies not only obliterationof sins but also obliteration of an tracesthereof.

Commentary :

The verse describes three stages of dealingwith other people. In the first stage, a spiritualwayfarer, when offended agaipst, restrains orsuppresses his anger. In the second stage,he goes a step further and grants forgiveI!essand free pardon to the offender. In the thirdstage,"he not only grants the offender completepardon, but also does a suitable act of kindnessto him and bestows some favour upon hiln.These three stages ~re well illustrated by allincident in the life ofI;laslID, son of 'AU andgrandson of the Holy Prophet. A slave ofhis once committed an offence, and I;Iasanbeoame very angry and decided to punishhim. Thereupon. the slave recited tbe firstpart of the verse i.e. those who suppress anger.Hearing these words, l;Iasan withheld hiB handand stood sWI where he was. 1'hen the slaverecited the second part i.e. and pardon men.Hearing this, I;Iasan promptly complied withthe divine behest by saying, "Go, I pardonthee." Then the slave rccited the Jast partof the verse i.e. and Allah loves t},ose who dogood. In obedience to tbis command of God,I;Iasan at once set the slave free, saying, "Youare a free man and may go where you like"(Bayan, i. 366).

451

CH.3 AL 'IMRAN--"

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-

136. And those who, awhen theycomn:iit a foul deed or wrong them-selves, remember Allah and i;mploreforgiveness for their sins,-and bwhocan forgive sins except Allah ~-anddo not persist knowingly in what theyhave done,419

137. eIt is these whose reward isforgiveness from their Lord, andgardens beneath which rivers flow,wherein they shall abide; and howgood is the reward of those whowork!420

PT. 4

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It7 : 202. b14: 11; 39: 54; 61 : ] 3.

419. Commentary:

This verse embodies a refutation of theChristian doctrine of AtoneI]'\ent. The words,remember Allah, Ine311 that righteous p~rsonsare at once reminded of Allah whenever thpyhappen to commit a sin. As a matter of fact,though even good men n\ay occasionally fallinto sin, their hearts are not dead and they arealways ready to repent. So if they happen tocommit a sin, it is due only to a temporarylapse, and not because they love toindulge in sin. Thus so long as a man"remembers God" immediately after hecommits a sin and feels sincere remorse andcompunction at his evil deed, there. is alwaystime for his repentance to be accepted.But when he goes on sinning until he losesall sense of sin and ceases to feel compunctionand remorse at his evil deeds, heloses the power to repent and is doomed,unless God should work some special changein him.

The words., and who can forgive sins excep'Allah? have been introduced as a parenthetica.lclause to exhort sinners to repent They arenot made to repent through feal', but by

e39 : 75.

being reminded of divine forgiveness. WhenGod is Gracious and Forgiving, why should notman repent 1

The words, do not persist knowingly" in~plythat whenever good men happen to commit anerror, they do not try to justify their conduct,but frankly admit their mistake and thenreform themselves. The verse does not, how-ever, mean that a man should confess his sinsto others. What is meant is that one shouldconfess one's guilt to oneself i.e. one shouldfeel that one has been in the wrong and shouldnot proceed to defend one's conduct when someone else. or, for that matter, when one's ownconsoience reproaches one for one's misdeeds.Those truly righteous never try to deoeivethemselves.

420. Commentary:

When a man truly turns to God, aftercommitting a sin, and sincerely repents of hismisdeeds. he is forgiven by God. The versemakes it further clear that forgiveness is onlythe first stage. God leads those who repentto higher stages of spiritual progress andpromises them Heaven.

~52

1'1'.4 AL '1MRAN' CH.3

a7 : 39 ;, 13: 31; 4J: 26; 46: 19. b6: 12; 12: 110; 27: 70. ' c5: 16; 36 :70.

d2: 3, 186; 31 : 4. 624: 35. 14. : 105; 41: 36.

~38. S~ly,.athere have boon-manydispensatIons before you j,.b80'tra,velthrough the earth and see how evilw~the ~nd. of tl1,osewho treated theProphets as liars.421

."

139. This,tke Qu,.~n, is ca "~£leardemonstration to men, and a.(I,guidanceapd ean admonition to the God-fearing. en

140. /Slacken not, nor grieve; andyou shall certainly have the upperhand, if you are believers.423

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:? (dispensations) is the plural of ~whioh is derived from,y'. They say' "-i.e. he whetted or sharpened it (knife, appetite,etc.). ...ti.J\,y' means, he undid the knot.

~I,y' means, he made known or manifestedthe matter or the affair or the case. ~ 1tJ'"means, he shaped or formed or fashioned thething. ~1t:)J\,y' means, he followed or pursuedthat way or course. ~ ~ ,y' means,he establisned or instituted or prescribed forthem a law or custom or mode of conduct.~ means, (1) face or form; (2)" way orcourse or rule of conduct; (3) way of I\ctinginstituted 'or pursued by a people and followedby othera after them.; (4) oharacter or conductor ,nature ot disposition; (5) law or religiouslaw or dispensation (Aqrab& Tij).

Commentary :

The cla118e, th6f'6 have been many dispensation,before you, means that there have gone beforeyou men wbo followed differeDt ways andpossessed diverse characters; or there havepassed befole you many dispensations andmany nations following different systems or

laws. So you shouJd journey in tbe earthand see what class of D;len were saved andwho perisljed and what was the end of thosewho persisted in evil.

422. Commentary:The pronoun 1.1. (this) may be taken to refer

to (1) the Quran, or (2) the verse immediatelypreceding, or (3) the subject of repentancediscussed in the foregoing verses.

The word ~ (God-fearing or righteous)does not here necessarily apply to Muslimsonly. It extends to all persons who earnestlydesire to guard against things that are fraughtwith danger to their souls and who' take heedof their spiritual good. It is only such personsas are likely to benefit 1>y:admonition.

423. Important Words:'.jt (if) is a common Arabic word giving anumber ofmeamngs: (1) if, (2) not, (3) yeriIy,(4) because, (5) when, etc. (Lane).

Commentary :

The expression, Slacken not, nor grieve, em.bodies a very important principle of nationalor, for tbat m.atter, personal strength, the words

453'


141. alf you~av~ r~ceived aninjur~, tt~~ {~~<'-~,\.~ .'t~ ~'j !(", , f~ ~ ,surely the d'Mbel'temng people have ~'l?'~~ ...,- ~.~...:r- ~. ~~....already received a similar injury., I "",,, . l: r~I

".,,, r~~ ' n,'" '.

.,And such days We cause to alternate 4L~j~~'~"@r.",u:,..-"u~\~Jamong men that they may be admonished., :"" b- 9; "

. .." ,.

and tha~ Allah may disting~is~ those ~j~r, ;~~'~~.J~\~Jj,who. belIeve, and may take wItnesses". " "

.."from a~ong you; and Allah loves not , ~~ \~'\the unJust ;424 0~

a4 : 105.

"slacken not" pertaining to future dangersand the words "grieve not" to past errors andmisfortunes. Nations fan only when, eitherthrough lack of true realization of their res-ponsibili~ies they begin to slacken, or tbroughbrooding over the past, they give way to despair.Tbe words warn against both these dangers.

The clause, you shall certainly have the upperhand, means that if Muslims foHow the aboveadvice, they will certainly be victotious inthe enJ. Intervening failures are indeed nofa~lures if the final triumph. is assured. Muslimshad appare~tly met with a reverse at Ut1ud,so God exhorts the Faithful to let no sort ofweakness get hold oJ them on account of thatreverse, either in boq.y or in actions or infaitb. .

The Arabic clause rendered as, if you arebeZtefHWB, may also be rendered as "becauseyon are believers ". In this case the. versewould embody a more positive promise ofvictory.

424. Important Words :

r:- (distinguish) is llerived.-froIn r.. whichordinarily Ineans, he knew, but is also usedin the senSeof distinguishing. Ibn J arir. saystinder this verse that the e'xpression .r».":/

v" ~ 41~ IneaDS, t.la ~ l.la .j,? 'J i.e.that I Inay distinguish' Abdullah froIn 'UInar.The word is used in this sense in 2 : 144 and2 : 221 also. In fact, God, being Omniscient,does not stand in need of knowing a thing,

for everythinF' is ever known to Hiln. Itis only distinguishing between two. thingsthat is meant. Even, however, if t istaken here in the sense of knowing, theexpression may be explained by thefact that knowledge is of two kinds. Onekind of knowledge consists of knowing a thingbefore it comes into existence; and the otherkind consists of knowing,it when~ and as, itactually COInes ~nto existence. Here it istbelatter kind of knowledge .that is meant.

Commentary :Else'Yhere. (in 3: 166 below) it is said that

MusliIns infiict61l upon disbelievers an injurydouble of what they themselves suffered. Thisrefers to the Battle of Badr, when seventyMeccans wer.e killed and seventy were takenprisoner, thus making a total of 140. In theBattle of Uttud, on the other hand, seventyMuslims were killed, but nove of them weretaken prisoner.. Thus MusliIns had infliotedQn the disb~lievers a double injury in the Battle

of Badr oompa.red with what they themselvessuffered in ~be Battle of Uttud. CQuntiDg,however. only those killed in the two battles,the los8 to Muslims and disbelievers has beenspoken Qf in tbe prese~t verse as simil~r. Orthe verse Inight betaken to refer to tbe natureor quality Qf the misfortune, whicb was alikein botb cases. In that case verse 166 belowInight be. taken to refer to quantity and the

present verse to quality.

:454

RT.4 AL 'IMRAN CH.3

14~. And that Allahth6s& who believe, anddisbelievers.426

.4.

143. aDo Y01l8uppose:that you willenter Rea ven whjle Allah has not y,~t~ting~hed t~~ of. you tbat ~trjveom the way of AJlah and has not yetdistinguished'. the steadfa~t 1428

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a2: 215; 9: 16.

Tbeword" days ., is used both for the" daysof sucoess" and the" days of misfortune ".Here either of these may be taken, but prefer-ably the latter. .

The worcU, .And such days We cause 10 alter-~. mean that even .believers sometimes sulIerreverses. If it were not so. then there wowdbe little credit in being a believer. N.o elIortis:required to find or see'the sun, and so oned~:rves no reward for it. In matters offaith.therefore, there is always present an elementof. secrecy. and o.nly those who are seriouslyand earnestly desirous of knowing the truthcan discern and accept it. Hence. they becomedeserving of reward in the sight of God. Thewords also implied a prophec.y that the reverseat Uttud was to be followed by vir-tory for theMuslims; and so it actually came to pass.

The words. Allah may distinguish those who be-liet1e.signify that misfortunes are also intendedto make the faith of true believers evident toaU. When believers endure trials with patienceand steadfastne8B and do not swerve from thepath of faith. their sincerity becomes evident.

. Trials also serve to distinguish true ~liever8from hypocrites. If there had. been no trials.the hypocrisy of men like ~Abdullah biD Ubayyand his associates would have remained un-detected and unknown.

'!'he' 'word ~I~ (witnesses) does not

here mean n~artyrs..for a true Muslim isalways a martyr ifkilJed in the cause of God.Moreover, there is no sense in saying that thereverse at UJ.tud was meant to take martyrsfron~ among Muslims. Here, therefore, theword means witneskles. The .Faithful bearwitness to the truth of Islam by theirsteadfastne!\s and by the noble example theyset in times of misfortune. They are eloquentwitnesses to the truth of Islain.

The word. unju81 at the end of the versesignifies that in view of the facts stated aboveit is unjust to find fault with Islam on thebasis of such reverses.

425. Commentary :

The reverse suffered at UJ.tud'cleansed Muslimsof their sins. It served as a sort of atonementfor their sins. Moreover, the Battle of Uttudmade Rome disbelievers realize that Islam wasGod's religion. The very Meccans wbo tooka leading part against the Muslims in thatbattle became ulti,matev converted to Islam.The)1' hearts were conquned and disbelief wasthereby destroyed.

426. Commentary :

It is trials. and afBictions whioh prove theworth of man ~ and there can be no advance~m&nt or spiritual purification withoot them.

455


144. And you used to wish for thisdeath -, before" you met it; :how youhave seen it while you were actuallylooking for it.U7

R. 15 145. "And Muhammad is only al\,:Iessenger~, Verily, ,all; Messengershave passed away before hIm. If thenhe die or be slain, win, you turn backon your heels ~ bAnd he who turnsback on bis heels shall not harm Allahat all. And Allah will certainlyreward the grateful. 428

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~ J ja:.; (1~)Qking for) is derived from ).iwhich ordinarily means, he saw or he looked.0> or ~ I )2i means, he looked at, or he lookedtowards, him in order to see him; or he ex-tended or stretched his sight towards himwhether he saw him or not. op also means,be waited for him or it. 0.)1,)j;a;; IS.)I,) means,mybouse faces his house (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary :

The word UJ" (death) bere stands forwar, for the result of war is death. War wasdeath particularlx for the Muslims, who wereextremely weak, both in equipment and num-bers cQmpared with their powerful enemy. InZurqini we read that when before the Battleof UtJ-ud the Holy Prophet proposed to fightthe enemy from inf\ide Medina, some of bis Com-panions, particularly those who had not takenpart in the Battle of Badr, @aid, .. We hadlonged for this day. So go out with us toour enemies, so .that they may not thinkthat we have played the coward" (Zurqini,i. 22). It is to tbis lODging of the Muslimsthat reference is made in the words, you U8eato wisla lor tlais tleatla. This longing meant

t\at the MusliD\s wished to aohieve something

in the way of God, but God here reprimandsthem by saying that now they have seen thatthey could do notl>ing by themselves. This iswhy Islam teaches that one should neverdesire enoounter with the enemy; buttbat if and when the occasion actuallycomes, one should be brave and steadfast.

'1'he Holy Prophet says: "Do not desireencounter with the enemy; rather ask for peaceand security from Allah. 'But when you meet

,the enemy, then be steadfast and patient andknow that Paradise lies under the shadow ofthe swords i.e. if you die fighting in the causeof God, He will surely grant you bliss andhappiness in the life to come (Muslim, ch.on Jihaa).

The pronoun in the words, 8Ben ie,l'efers tofighting~ It signifies that you have now seenfighting and have, a.s a result of that, realizedthat without the help of God you posSess nopower to fight the:enemy and can achieve noth-ing. The closing words, while you tI16f'6aceually'looking for it, are intended to cheer up thespirits of believers. The reverse only broughtthem the thing they were actually lookin~ for.

428. CommentRrJ:

As already mentioned (3: 122), the {alse report

4~

PT. 4 AL 'IMRAN CH.3

was spread ~t Ul}ud that the noly,Prophetwas killed. The verse refers to this' incidentand purports to say that although the r6P.°rtabout the tIeath'of the" Prophet was untrue,yet eveD if it had been true, that should nothave made the Faithful" waver ~n their faith.Muhammad was only a Prophet; and as otherProphets before him had died, so would he.But the God of Islam ever lives.

It is also on record that when, seven yearslater, the Holy Prophet died, 'Umarstood up in the Mosque at MediI!8with a drawnsW9rdin his hand, and said, "Whoever wiUsaytbat the Prophet of God is dead, I will cut offhis head. He is not dead, but has gone tobis Lord (i.e. he bas ascended to heaven) evenas Moses had gODato bis Lord, and be wouldcorne back and punisb the hypocrites." Atthis stage, Abu Bakr, who happened to be awayat the time of the Prophet's death, hurriedlycame back, went straight into the Prophet'schamber andi, seeing that he was really dead,kissed his forehead, saying, "Sweet art thouin death as thou wert in life, and surely Godwill not bring on thee two deaths." Then hecame out, strong and firm, asked 'Umarto sit down and, addre8EQngthe Companions,who were gathered in the Mosque, recited tothem tbis very verse i.e. Muhammad is onlya Me88enger ; wrily all M eBsenger, ha've passedawaybejore him; if then he die or be slain, willyou turn back on your neeu t meaning, that inthe circumstances it was no wonder that theHoly Prophet also had passed away. Hearingthis timely recital, 'Umar, and all others, wereco'nvinced of the death of the Holy Prophetand were overpowered with grief. Thus theverse incidentally proves that the Prophetsthat lived b~fore the Holy Prophet had alldied; for i.f any of them had been alive, theverse could not have been quoted as proofof the Holy Prophet's death.

The verse also negatives the idea that any:Prophet has risen to heaven; for it was used to

falsify 'Umar's contention to the effect thatthe Holy Prophet was not dead but had'risento heaven. The verse thus proves, withouta shadow of doubt, tbat Jesus too, who wasone of the Prophets that had appeared beforethe Holy Prophet, is not physically alive in theheavens, as some present-day Muslims, follow-ing the Christian belief, erroneously think. Heis certainly dead, as proved by this verse andthe consensus of the Companions' opinionon the occasion of the death of the HolyProphet.

In fact, religion does not depend on . any

personality. It belongs to God alone.That is why the Quran says that if the HolyPropbet dies or is killed, it will be no groundfor Muslims to turn away from Islam; forthe Prophet is only a Measenge:c and thereligion is God's. Elsewhere, however, theQuran clearly says: Jl.nd Allah will protectthee from men (5 : 68). These two verses. arenot at variance with each other. Wbat theQuran ~tends to emphasize in the presentverse is the fundamental truth of Islamicteachings. Muslims had seen how pure andtrue these teachings were. Their truth wasevident and they could not ha ve become falseeven if the Holy Prophet had been slaiD. Forinstance ,the fundamental teaching of Islamis the Unity of God. Now, this truth couldnot become an untruth if the Prophet werekilled. But apart from this announcementin principle, the Prophet could not be killed,for God had definitt>ly promised to protecthim.

It should also be remembered that immunityfrom beiJJg murdered is not given in the Quranas a criterion of a Prophet's truth. Peopleare required to accept a Prophet in his lifetime,and therefore they must have proofs of histrutb in his lifetime, so tbat, by witne/;'singthem, they may believe in him. They cannotwait till the time of his death in order toknow whether he is a true or a false claimaDt.

~51


146. And no soul can die except byAllah~s leave,-a decree with a fixedterm. aAnd whoever desires the rewardof the present world, We will give himthereof; and whoever desires thereward of the life to come, We willgive him thereof ;ahd We will surelyreward the grateful. 429

147. And many a Prophet there hasbeen beside whom fought numerouscompanies of their followers. bTheyslackened not for aught that befellthem in the way of Allah, nor did theyweaken, nor did they humiliate them-selves before the ene;my. And Allahloves the steadfast.430

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Once a Prophet has furnished clear proofsof his truth in his lifetime, bis claim is estab.lished and nothing can undo those proofs.Only if a Prophet were murdered beforehe had been able to give any proof of his truthcould we conclude that he had proved a failureand was not a true claimant. But such a thinghas never happened.

The enemy rejoiced when the report wentround that the Prophet had been slain, butthat supposed death of the Prophetturned out to be the veritable" life"of Islam. It fulfilled a great purpose.It prepared Muslims for the actual passingof the Holy Prophet. If this event had notoccurred, the death of the Holy Prophet wouldhave proved an unbearable trial for MusHms.In fact this painful experience brought in dis-guise many blessings for Islam. At the Battleof U1.1Ud,it brought to light the unshakablefaith of the believers; at the time of hisdeath it ~erved to save Islam from goingto pieces; and now that Islam is to all

a~pearances dead, it is servi.ng as a means of

----breathing new life into it, by provin{l thatJesus, wbom Christians have deified, is dead,like all other Prophets that lived beforeIslam.

429. Commentary :

The preceding verse spoke of the possible deathof the Holy Prophet. But that Was mentionedonly as a matter of principle. Otherwise, howcould the Holy Proph-et, whom God had pro-mised to protect;, die except by His leave 1Whenever death comes, it comes with thepermission of God; but that permission couldnot be yet given in the case of the HolyProphet. There is a fixed time for it and theenmity or the secret machinations of dis-believers could not hasten that time.


~~J (compa.niesof followers) is the plural of~J (ribbi) which is derived from '-:'J for whichsee 1 : 2. tJ.J means, one related to ~J i.e. a

company or' a large company or a numerouscompany. Thus ~ JH) means, those forming

a large company or a large body of persons

458

PT. 4 1\.L. 'IMRAN CR. 3

148. And they. uttered not a wordexcept that they 'said :': a' Our Lord,forgive us our errors and our excessesin our conduct, and make firm ,oursteps and' help us against thedisbelieving people. ',431

149~ bSo Allah gave them the rewardof this world, .a8a180 an excellentreward of the next; and Allah lovesthose who do good.~32

16 150. cO ye who believe! if you obeythose who have disbelieved, they Willcause you to turn back on your }leels,and you will become losers. 433

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i.e. followers (Aqrab). It~lso j3ignifies learned,pious and patient DIeD(Lane).

Ij~1 (did ,humiliate themselves) is derivedfrom ~ which means, he or it became stilIor stationary; or the word is derived fromiJ~ which means, he or it came into exist-ence ; or he or it was in a certain condition.iJ~1 means, he was or became lowly,humble, humiliated, or in a state of a.basement(Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse exhorts believers to profit bythe good example set. by their righteouspredecessors. The latter were not foundlac)cing in preparati()Ds for fighting in thecause of Allah nor were,- they slack in actU/lo1fighting or wanting in steadfastness.

431. Commentary:Each part of toe prayer contained in this

verse corresponds to the points mentioned inthe previous one. In fact, Sl1ooe88comes onlybytbe help and grace of God. Human effortalone is not eno1I$h.

~t should, however, be noted that, corres-ponding to the last part of the prayer in thisverse, there is mentioned no correspondingeffort on the part of believers in the precedingverse, thus indicating that final victory andsuccess come solely through the gra.ce of Godand are noti the result of our actions.

43'2. Commentary:The rewards of the next life are of va.rious

degrees, and such believers as have beendescribed above will get the best of them. Theword LJ-- rendered as "excellent" does notnecessarily indicate superlative dl'gree but isalso used to express an intensified senseabsolutely.

433. Commentary:It should be noted tbat Muslims are not

enjoined hp.re to have no dealings with non-Muslims; they are only warned against follow-ing such disbelievers as are enemies of Islam.They should remain on the alert againstthese, thougb they need not fear them, becauseGod is on their side, as pointed out in thenext verse.

459


151. Nay, aAllah is your Protector,and He is the best of helpers.

152. bWe shall strike terror into thehearts of those that have disbelievedbecause they associate partners withAllah, for which He has sent downno authority. Their abode is theFire; and evil is the habitation ofthe wrongdoers. 434

153. And Allah had surely madegood to you His promise when youwere slaying and destroying them byHis leave, until, when you became laxand disagreed among yourselvesconcerning the order and you disobeyedafter He had shown you that whichyou loved, He withdrew His help.Among you were those who desiredthe present world, and among youwere those who desired the next.Then He turned you away from them,that He might try you-and He hassurely pardoned you, and Allah isGracious to the believers-~o

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434. Commentary:

The words, because they a880ciate partner.~with AUah, signify that he who associatesgods with God can never be truly brave, for belacks complete devotion to anyone. It is onlycomplete devotion that can inspire a personto make sacrifices. As a believer is completelydevoted to the One God. therefore, he is everready to make every kind of sacri,fice in Hiscause.

Moreover, it is through lack of perseverancethat idolaters go from one god to another.and perseverance is an essentia] cODcpmitantof bravery. Where there is no perseverance.there is no bravery. Again, idolaters arerebels in setting up gods with God. and a rebel's

heart is never at rest; and a heart that is notat ease canr>ot be brave. Yet again, poly-theism springs from superstitious fear and ODepossessed of that sort of fear can never be trulybrave.

It should, however. be remembered that it isonly relative bravery that is meant bere;otherwise even among idolaters and polytheists.there are men who possess bravery and<,ourage. but their courar,e and bravery isinferior to that of true believers who put faithin One God and believe in His great powers andin the life after death.

435. Commentary:

The word" promise" occurring in the verserefers to the general {)romis8 of vi_y

460


154. When you were running awayand looked not back at. anyone whilethe Messenger was. calling out to you

: from your rear, then He gave you asorrow in recompense for a sorrow,athat you might not grieve for whatescaped you, nor for what befellyou. And Allah is wen aware ofwhat you do.436

J',

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-- and suocess repeatedly given to MDBliUlS.

The clause. when ydU beoame la~. refers tothe party of archers posted at the rear of theMuslim army at Ultud. and signifies that theycould not resist the temptation of taking part inthe actual fighting and in coneoting the booty.and their failure to oontrol that desire wasan aot of cowardioe on their part. It i8 indeedthe heartwhiob. is the 8'eat of. true braveryand courage. Says the Holy Prophet: "Strongis not he who overthrows his rival in a wrestlingmatch, but strong is he who controls himselfin times of anger" (Bukhirl ch. on Adab).The word. O'Ider.in the clause. you diBagreedatMng your8eWes concerning tAe Of'der.mayrefer either to the order of the Holy Prophetgiven to the party of archers not to leavetheir station without his permission or to theimport of the order i.e. whether the HolyProphet really meant them to stay there evenafter the battle had been won, some saying$hat he did mean that and others allegin gthat, he did not. .

The words, you atsobeyed, signify that theypaid no heed to their leader, CAbdullah binJubair. who. in compliance with the order ofthe Prophet, directed them not to quit the plaoe.in spite of the fact that viotory was withina.j,ght. The.ycould not oontrol theD\8elves

. and so brought misfortune on the Muslims.

etc., refer to the party that quitted the placeat whioh they had been stationed. The Arabicolause may also be rendered as meaning thatsome members of the party desired the nearerthing i.e. taking part in fighting and collectingthe booty, while others (v~. 'Abdullah binJubair and those of hi6 comrades who did notquit their post) desired what was farther off i.e.they thought of the ultimate consequence ofdisobeying the command of the Holy Prophet.Some were short-sighted, while others werefar-sighted.

The words, He 'umea you away frOm them. . .slgwfy that God imposed the reverse in orderto make this incident a lesson for the future.

436. Important Words:~.J.w(you were running away) is derived

from -'-I which again is d(lrived from .......which primarily means, he ascended or climbeda hejgbt, eto. J-J"il ~ ~ I means, he wentfrom a low piece of land to one that is highboth physically and figuratively; or adversely:be descended or went down into the land.JJ,J I~ -'-, means. he exerted himself inrun Ding. -'- I also means. he went forth orwent away iD any di~ction (Lane).

~,"I (gave inreoompense) is from the sameroot as -~,~ and~';' and ~t:. and means,he gave in reward or reoompense or return;or he .gave as a substitute (Aqrab). See also

The words, 14086who desired the "."em world 2: 1Otand 2 : 126.

~t

cH.3 AL 'IMRm PT. 4

Commentary :

The words, When yoU were running awa1/,tmdlooked not back at anyone, refer to the incidentwbich happened when in the Battle of. Utlud theMuslims were attacked from both the rear andthe front and their ranks were broken and manyof them were fleeing in different direotioDs.' Atfirst, when the Muslims beard that the enemywas ooming from behind, they turned baok toattaok tbe enemy, but it so happened that alarge bOdy of Muslims was also coming fromtbe rear at that time. In the oonfusion of thehour, these were mistaken for the enemy andattaoked. Such was the confusion a~d thepanic tbat even the voioe of the Holy Prophet'was not heeded. '

The words, gave you a sorrow in recompensefor a sorrow, refer to the report of the HolyProphet's death in the Battle of Utlud.Thusthe first-mentioned" sorrow" ,whioh waslater in oocurring, refers to the false reportof the Holy Prophet's deatb and the second.mentioned" sorrow", which was first inoccurring, refers to the sorrow that theCompanions of tbe Holy Prophet-the archersstationed at the back-caused bim by havingfailed faithfully to follow his order. Onesorrow came in reoompense of the other.The report of the Itoly Pioph~t's'. deathreferred to above spread wbena Muslim,named Mu,'ab bin 'Umair, the Companion whocarried tbe flag, was killed ,being mistakenfor the Holy Prophet. The second~mentioned

" sorrow" does not obviously refer to thewounds reoeived by the Holy Prophet, ,forthe wounds were received not before but afterthe archers left their station and' after theabove-mentioned errone@us report about thedeath of the Holy Prophet.

The sotroW which oertain Musliins c311sedthe Holy Prophet by paying no heed tobis voice when at the ensuing disolder

he called out to them from tbe rear was,

also recompensed. When the Muslims didnot pay beed to the oalLofthe Prophet, Godcaused them to thiilkfor a. wbi,le that he wasdead, which was to them a punishment simHarto their offenoe. If they did not pay heed tothe voice of the divine'Messenf6r, of whatui!e : to tbem was his existence in thisworld 1 Thus when they heard of thereported death of the Holy Prophet , theirthougbts naturally and immediately turned tothe great benefits whioh they had received andwere reoeiving througb him and they were atonce made to realize' not only the greatnessof his rank but. also the magnitude of theirown mistake.

The Arabio words ~~, rendered as, a Borrowin recompense for asorroio, may also berendered as " a sorrow in addition to anothersorrow" i.e. one sorrow coming after another.In that case, th~words would mean that Godso designed that the sorrow per,tainingto tl>eunfounded report of tbe Holy Propbet's deathshould come immediately after the sorrow ofa reverse so that the latter sorrow, which laterproved to be unfounded, shollld obliteratethe effect of the former sorrow. thus effacingthe harmful effects of the defe.at.

Tbeolause, what escaped you, refers 1;0victorywhich the Mus]ims l08tafter tbey had almostgained it. So great was the joy of the Muslimsat the safety of the HoJy Prophet that theyactually forgot their sorrow, at the loss ofviotory. Similarly, tbe olause, what befell you,refers to the loss of tbeir men in the battle-field. The Muslims lost 70 killed, while theMeccaus lost only about 20. The words mayalso refefto the wounds reoeived by theMuslims on that oocasion.

The words, that you- might not grieve, may alsosignify that, having reQeived some punish-ment then and there fo,r .the offence committed,the Muslims might feel secure from punish-

ment in the Hereafter.

462

PT. 4 AL'):MRAN at. 3

155. 'Then after the sorrow, aH.

e.

Bent ~,~r~(~~"'''N ". ,,, f., -, /(;1''' J"""""~down peace onyou-a.;slumb~J;, that ~~\Jj~~:J'~ ~~ ~,~,overca.me a party of you, while

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then own selves, thinlQng wrongly of'

.,. '" ~Allah ZikeUfltQthe thoughtofignorance. "'t'!'" J.~~\ -::\f ':~\'fl ~~

...,':r!~They said, 'Is th~r~ for UI3any part ~.)J~" ..,,,,.. I:P~ .. 1JJ" CJ~.

h ,,f .R:' 2' Sa 'ill t e government OJ a.(la~rs. y, . ~("1.,.,-",~ .'~ ~'':., ,'"'" r:r '...'All government belong~ to Allah.' @ ~U(,.o~'o'J;j,~~~~'~\:J~

They hide in their minds what they'" i'.,. '" . ."disclose not to 'the~.

.'

They say, 6'1f ~~1~J.cl).~ ;;: ':i UAJ~;'~ b~we had any part m the government .. ... . -, ., ~ ..oj aJIaws, we sho1:1ld not have been ,'f '\~

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killed here.' Say, 'If you had y~ . ~\.O~;-oo'~\;.J~~remaine

.

d in yo.

ur.

home.

s, surely those Jt9"" ~f\~ "'-~'"-: """,,".t:,91,. ,,{.:~

on whom fighting had been .enjoined J;i)\r;:"~ C!~'j~~~~~would have gQne forthto th~Ir death- "'. ,be?s,

,tkatAZlah might bri!"g about ,~"" ,,'f"9~ ~l~~~\",'t., ~ J tHu deore~.and that Allahmight.test ~ ;>~ ~,. @t~.J ~ ~ ,

w~at was inyourbr~ast.8'and that He ...

~ ..~~\~,~ , ~!t: ,. f' "'.""nnght purge what wasm yo~ ~eart8. 9'~ ~ @\--, .;.~ i.\ \.o~,.JAnd AlIa:llknow8 well what 18 III the 9 ,mfuds ;.31 @..>;~,....

a8: 12; 63 : 169.

437. Important Words: Battle of U~ud. Abu Tal~a says, "I lifted~I (i~6vern.ment) means: (1) order or my head on the day of Utlud and began to

cODunand; (2) tnatter or affair; (3) state or look about, imd there was none among us oncondition; (4) authority, government' or that day but was bending down h~s head withmanagement. ",,':III)} I means, tbose who Blu1riber.'~ This incident has been narrated byhold command or exercise authority (Aqrab). Tirmidhi, Nasai and others (see Kathir, ii. 303).~. (fighting) being noun-infin~tive :tneans both As sleep or slufilber is. a symbol of peacefulto kill and to be killed. Another reading of ('oDdition, being a sign of hearts that are calmthe word J:i here is J\:i(Mulfi~, iii. 90 &, and at test; the Quran refers to this incidentKa$hshif)' which shows that the word Ja as a sort of ravour. The incident e~ndently(qatl) has been used here in the sense of oCGurredwhentbe battle was practically overfighting and not kin~ng. Thc word J:i has and the Muslims had returned to thebeen used elsewhere also in the Quran in 1leighbouring height.tbe sense of fighting (see 2: 192). See alsoJam under 3: 155.

Commentary :

The worda, a slumber that Qtlefcamea parrty0/ you, refer to an incident connected with the

The reference in the words, the otherparey.is to the hypocrites who were at Medina andwho had not taken part in the battle. Whenthey heard of the reverse which overtook theMuslims and of the reported death of the

463

CR. 3 AL 'IMRAN PT. 4-~--~

Holy Prophet, they, in spite of rejoicing at themisfortune that had befallen the Muslims,became anxious about their own lives andfeared what would happen to them incase theMeooans should attack Medina. The wordscannot apply to the party of Muslims thattook part in the battle, of whom the Quransays, He has surely pardoned you and Allah isGracious to the beUevers (3; 163 above).

The words, 18 there for U8 any par~ in . thegovernment of affairs', uttered. by thehypocrites mean, "nobody listens to ouropinion in matters of administration; we hadadvised the Muslims not to go out of Medinato fight, but our advice was ignored, withthe result that theywer~ defeated". Thesentence might also mean, "now (i.e. afterthis reverse) real government and power havegOne into the hands of the idolaters andnothing has been left for UB."

The words, All gove'1"ri#n6ntbelongs to Allah,signify that the decision in all matters re.stswith God; or that wha~ever might happen inthe intervening period God has ordained thateventually power and government shall bevouchsafed to Muslims, who will have domi-nio~ in the land.

The words, we sMuld not have been killed here,mean, "If we had any voice in the tnanagementof affairs and if our advice had been accepted,our brethren would not have been killed inbattle," it being insinuated that while theyWere wise, the Muslims were simply foolish.The words may also be understood to mean,"if we were to have a.ny government (asthe Prophet had promised), we should not have

been defeated in the battle." By saying sothe hypooriteshinted that the prophecies ofthe Holy Prophet regarding the triumph ofIslam had turned out to be false.

It may be noted here that by saying, we should

'~ot have been killed here, the hypocrites didnot evidently mean that they themselveswould not have been killed. What they meantwas that their brethren or comrades who werekilled wou.1dnot have been killed. This showsthat by the slaying of one's self is sOInetimesmeant the slaying of one's brethren or com-panions.This explains the words ~.\ \)l:i'in 2: 55, and ~ I iJ):Ar in 2 : 86. See alsonote on 2 : 56.

The divine words, If you had remained in yourhomes, refer .to the hypocrites; and by thewords, those on wJwm.Jighting had been enj6ined,are meant the true believers. The injunctionreferred to ~s contained in 2: 191.

In the claus.e,wQuld have gone forth to theirdeath-beds, the word ~I.;... (death-beds) hasbeen used in order to point to theabject cowardice of the hypocrites on the onehand, and the steadfast devotion of the truebelievers on the oth~r. ~t reminds thehypocrites that whereas they returned. toMedina, thinking that fighting in the existingcircumstances was sure death, such was thefaith of the true believers that even if thehypocrites had kept back from the very begin-ning they would have cheerfully gone forthto the battle-field, or the place of death, asit was commonly thought to be. All thishappened that God might purify and ennoblethe Faithful.

464

CH.3PT. 4 AL 'IMRAN

156. Those of you who turned theirbacks on the day when the two hostsmet, surely it was Satan who soughtto make. them slip because of certaindoings of theirs. But certainly Allahhas already pardoned them~ VerilyAllah is Most Forgiving, Forbearing. 438'

17 157. 0 ye who believe! be not likethose who have disbelieved, and whosay' of their brethren when theytravel in the land or go forth to war:'Had they been with us, they wouldnot have died or been slain:' Thisis 80, that Allah may make it a causeof regret in their hearts. And Allahgives life and causes death and Allahis Mindful of what you do.439

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438. Commentary:The" slipping" spoken of in the verse refers

to the disobeying of tl>e order given to theparty stationed on the hill at the baok of themain body of the Faithful. It may also referto the running a~..y of some Muslims from thebattle-field. But God, out of His great mercy,and considering all the attending circum-stances, par<1oDed them all.

The wvrds, because oj certain doings oJIheir8,contain an implied praise. Tbese men weretruly righteous people. It was only U

some"

of their misdeeds that brougbt them thistemporary disgrace. An their doings were notbad; only some were bad. The words alsoemMdy 8 warning that a true believer shouldnot rest ~atisfied even if most of his deeds arerighteous. He is never quite out of dangerunless all of his deeds are good. He ('an,however, hope for forgiveness, if he managesto make the majority of' his deeds good.

439. Commentary:The expression, when they trGvel in tAt laM,

means, when they travel in the land in thecause of God. This meaning is supported bythe context,

The idea contained in the words, so ~t Allahmay make it a cause oj regret in their heans,is that when Muslims refused to act upon theadvioe of disbelievers not to fight, and instead,came forth in large numbers to fight in the wayof God, the disbelievers were naturaHygrieved a.t their failure to win them overto their way of thinking.

The ~nterpretation of the cJause, and Allahgives life and causes death, would vary accord-ing to the different meanings of the words

':"Y' (death) and ;~ (life) ocourring in it.If the death referred to in the verse is takenin the senSe of destruction, the clause wouldmean that with the death of a few Muslims,Islam would not go to ruin. God hasdecreed to vouchsafe victory to Muslimsand the death in fighting of a Dumber ofthe viotorioUB army cannot possibly resultin their destruotion, If, however, death

~ 30

CH.3 AL 'IMRAN PT.~

158. And if you are slain in thecause of Allah or you die, asurelyforgiveness from Allah and mercy. shallbQ better than what they hoard:44O

159. And if you die or be slain,bSurely unto Allah shan you be gatheredtogether.441

160. And it is by the great mercyof Allah that thou art kind towardsthem, and if thou hadst been roughaM hard-hearted, they would surelyhave dispersed from around thee. Sopardon them and ask forgiveness f()rthem, and cconsult them in matters ofadministration; and when thou artdetermined, then put thy trust inAllah. Surely, Allah loves those whoput their trust in Him. 442

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alO :59; 43: 33. 1:42:39.b5 : 97 ; 6 : 73; 8: 25; 23: 80.

is here taken to mean" disgrace" then theclause would mean that God's votariesand true servants never meet with disgrace.because all honour is in His hands and Hegives it to whomsoever He pleases. Trulyspeaking, he who fights and lays down his lifein the cause of truth Can in no sense be regardedas dead, because such a one gives his life for thesake of Him Who is the controller of all lifeand death. Such a person can never die; forthough physically he may die. spiritually helives for ever. In this connection see al&>2: 155.

440. Commentary:

The woro.c;,fO'T.'�itleness from Allah and mercyshall be better than what they hQard, mean thathypocrites are afraid of death because of thewealth and property which they have to leavebehind; whereas, if believers are killed in theGause of Allah, they wiJI get what is incompar-

~blt greater than-)Vha~ hypocrites are greedily

hoardi:ng up, or what Muslims ibemselveEmay hl\ve col1ected in the form of wealth andother worldly things. Thereis thus no reaSonfor true believers to be afraid of death.

441. Commentary :

The pronoun" you tt includes both hypocriteEand believers; for all will be gathered unt()God for reward or punishment, as the castma.y be.

442. Important Words:)J~ (consult) is derived from .)~

which means, he gathered or extracted bODe)from the comb, and Repa.rated it from the wax~I.lII)~ means, he rode the be~st in ordeJto ascertain its true- worth. ~I J~I mea.nshe pointed towards him or it. ~.J~means, he gave him advice; he offered hincounsel. o.1j~ means, he consulted himhe sought bis. opinion or advice; hIdiscussed with him in order to fiDd out hi.()piDion. '.)":'" meaDs, good counsel 0

4(j6

PT. 4 AL 'IMRAN Cli.3

oonsultation. c$J.t:' means, mutual oonsulta-tion (Aqrab).

:f;; (then put thy trust). For the meaningof :f.J see 3: 123.

Commenta~ :

The verse gives an insight into the beautifulcharaoter of the Holy Prophet, of which themost effable and prominent traitw&s his aU-comprehensive mercy. He was full of themilkof human kindness and was not only kindtowards his Companions and followers butwas also full of mercy for hi.s enemies whowere always On the look-out to stab him inthe baok. It is on record that he tookno aotion even against those treaoheroushypocrites who had deserted him. in theBattle of UJ.tud. He even conaulted them inaffairs of State.

The verse also oonstitutes an effective answerto the oharge of the hypocrites that the HolyProphet attached no importance to their adviceand did what he liked. The Quran refutes thischarge by saying that if the Holy Prophet hadnot been kind and gentle towards themJ theywould have left him long ago. Thus theircontinuing to remain with him falsified theiraccusation and proved that the Prophet'streatm.ent of them was very kind and that incoilformity with the divine con~mand (see also4-2: 39) he used to oonsult them regardi,ngaffairs of State, with the result that many ofthem afrerwards repented of their deeds andbecame sincere Muslims. The injunction aboutc()nsultation contained in the present vers~,alt}jough general in application, refers to thehypocrites of Medina in particular.

It may be noted that Islam stands alone inincluding the institution of 0.) ~ (consulta-tion) among its fundamental principles.It lays down as a rule that both the Prophetand his Successors should, whenever necessary,consult their followers in important affairsof State. A religion claiming to be uDiversal II!

bound to oontain suoh a teaching; for personsof different"classes and different communitiesoontinue to enter its fold, and if these areconsulted ,in matters of momentJ it is oalcula-ted not only to add to their experienoe andpraotical wisdom, bllt also to inorease and keepalive their interest in affairs of State. Thisis why the Holy Prophet used to'oonsult hisfollowers in aU important matter'S'~ as he didbefore the Battles of Badr, UJ.tud, and AQzab,and also when a false aocusation waS broughtagainst his wife, 'A'isha. Baihaqi reports:

" Certainly AUah and His MessengO"rdid notstand in need of the advioe of anybody, butGod has made it (the seeking of advioe) asource of meroy for men. Those who holdoonsultation will not stray away from thepath of rectitude, while those who do not areliable to do so." Abu Huraira says = "TheHoly Prophet was most solicitous in consult-ing others in all matters of importance"(Manthur, ii. 90).

'Umar, the Second Suocessor of the HolyProphet, is reported to have said: ~;')\.:. YOJ ~~ YI i.e. "There is no Khilajat withoutconsultation" (Izalat al-Khifa 'an KhiJiifatal-Khulafa). Thus the holding of oonsultationin matters of consequence is an importantinjunction of I~lam and is binding on bothspiritual and temporal Obiefs, though theyare not bound to aooept that consultation,as the words, when thou art determined, thenput thy trust in Allah, show. The Khalifamust seek the advice of leading Muslimp, butthe final deoision always rests with him. Heis not bound to accept in full or in part theadvice tendered to him by a majority ofthem. This view has ever been held by themain body of Muslims throughout thecenturies and finds ample support in thesayings of the Holy Prophet as well as in hispractice and in that of his Rightly~gnidedSuocessors.

The objection) tha.t if tne Khalifa is not

461

AL 'IMRANCH.3

bound to act upon the advice of the majority,what is the use of hiB seeking advice, or ofothers offering it, is unwise and beside thepoint. The verse gives to the Khalifa the rightto reject advice if he is convinced that it isin the interest of religion or t4e communityto do so. Normally,'he respects the views ofthe majority, but the Islamic ($J .Yo or; J J L:.. (Shura or Mushawarat) is not

a parliament in the sense in which the word isgenerally understood in the West. Islamenjoins only consultation and not decisionby votes, which are two different things.Consultation is meant to help the Khalifato know the views of his followers and toenable him to respect them as far as possible.It is not at all intended to tie his hands.It is on record that the Holy Prophetrejected the advioe of the majority of hisfollowers on certain occasions, and on othershe even refused to accept the,r unani,mousopinion. }i'or instanue, regardi,ng the treat-ment of the prisoners of Badr he accepted theadvice of Abu Bakr and rejected that of 'UOlar,"Abdullah bin Rawiil).a and Sa'd bin Mu'ii.dh(Musnad, i. 283). At l.Iudaibiya, he s~gl}edthe treaty in clear. opposition to the adviceof his Companions (Bl1khiiri, ch. on Shuriil.)Similarly, Abu Bakr discarded the almostunanimous advice of the Muslims by sendingthe expedition to Syria under Usama, immedi-ately after the death of the Holy Prophet(Athir, ii. 139). In contrast to this, i~is also on record that the Holy Prophetsometimes sacrificed his own view to that ofhis followers as he did in marching out ofMedina for the Battle of Ul).ud.

The oontext of the verse, however, showsthat here the injunction was primarily meantwith regard to the hypocrites, and nobodycould say tbat the Holy Prophet wag bound

PT.~

to do what the hypocrites advised him.

The advantages of consultation are: (1)The Khalifa or the Amir C01nes to knowthe views of his followers. '(2) He ishelped in arriving at a correct decision. (3)Representative Muslims get an opportunityto think about, and take personal interestin, important State aft'airs, thus receivingmost useful traiuing in m.atters of administra-tion. (4) The Khalifa is enabled to judgethe mental and administrative capabilitiesof different individuals, which help him toassign the right work to the right ll\an. (5)Itenables him to know the aptitudes, aspira-tions and tendencies as well 80Sthe moral al\dspiritual condition of the different membersof his community, and thus he becomes able toeffect an improvement, wherever necessary,in his people.

The meaning of expreBBions like, put ,hytrust in Allah, is generally misunderstood.In the langllageof the Quran §.i (trustingin God) does not consist in disregarding themateri~l means of doing a thing. On thecontrary, §j as taught by Islam meansthat a person should first make use ofall the resources at his comm.and and thenplace his trust in God to bless his efforts withsuoceBB,believing all the time that the meanScan be successful only if and when God willsit and that the true cause and the realsource of all success is God alone.

The words, put thy tr'Ust in.A.Uah, as usedin thepresent context, also bint that if the Prophetor the Khalifa were to be bound to accept thecounsel of his followers, it would be againstthe spirit of § j (trusting in God). Infact, one who is bound to act in accordancewith the advice of another cannot be said tobe trusting in God so far as acting on thatadvice is concerned.

.

468


161. If Allah help you, none shallovercome you; but if He forsake you,then who is there that can help youbeside Him 1 In Allah, then, let thebelievers put their trust;443

162. And it is not possible for a Pro-phet to act dishonestly, and whoeveracts dishonestly shall. bring with himthat about which he has been dishoneston the Day of Resurrection. aThenshall every soul be fully paid what ithas earned; and they shall not bewronged.4u

tJ,,-,,,., ~~,e \f-: "'-: ~~ ~).:

"J'",., ~~t.J ~~~a.u\ ~~,

. .. iI'., .. -"

~~~ ' t".l> ""'r, "')19 J"'" ",,~ ,'",,,,~

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~~rU;~ 1.vt

:"!~~''{,4~,i\\ """'1-:. ~~"~»',, /4~~... ,,'"

'"...

." '"9C>~~~.J

a3 : 26; 14; 52; 40 : 18.

443. Commentary:The words .~ U- translated a8, beside

Him, literally Jllean "after Him" and mayalso be rendered as "in oppositiou to Him".The verse throws further light on the philo-sophy of :§.i (trusting in God). In spite of .

making use of the necessary means, a truebeliever should, and in fact does, put histrust in God alone.

444. Commentary:The verse can be iuterpreted in two ways.

'rhe archers stationed by the Holy Prophet atth~ mount of Ul)ud to protect the rear of theMuslim army left their post when they saw theMeccan army in full flight. They thought that

. by leaving the mount at that stage theywould not be contravening the spirit of theProphet's orders, which were to the effect thatthey were not to leave their post in any circum.stances. They further tbought that as, accord-ing to Arab custODl, a soldier was entitled tothe pO'lsession of the booty he laid his hand on.during the fight, they might be deprived of

their share of the spoils of war if they stuckto their post. This precipitate action of thearchers implied an apprehension on their partthat the Prophet might ignore their right tothe booty and might thus prove faithless tothem. It is this apprehension that the versecondemns in the words, .And it is not possible

for a PropJlet to act dishonestly. But no im-putation of actual faithlessness to the Holy

.Prophet is iJIlplied. The verse simply purportsto say that it was far from the Prophetto ignore the rights to the booty of thosewhom he himself had stationed at a certainpla.ce.

The verse may also be taken a.s a rebuke tothe hypoorites who deserted the Holy Prophetin the Battle of Ul}ud. In this case, theimplication would be that while the hypocriteshad proved faithless to the Prophet by leavinghim in the lurch, the Prophet wouM not provefaithless to God by refusing to fight in Hiscause even when weak and deserted. Thismeaning is also supported by the context.

469

cn.3 AL 'IMRAN PT. 4

163. als he who follows the pleasureof Allah like him who draws on himselfthe wrath of Allah and whose abodeis Hell 1 And an evil retreat it is !446

164. They have different grades ofgrace with Allah; and Allah sees whatthey do.u6

165. Verily, Allah has conferred afavour on the believers by braisingamong them a Messenger from amongthemselves who recites to them HisSigns, and purifies them and teachesthem the Book and Wisdom; and,before that, they were surely inmanifest error. 447

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.

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a2 : 208, 266; 3: 16 ; 5 : 3, 17 ; 9 : 72. b2: 130, 152; 9:128; 62 :3; 65: 12.

445. Commentary:

.The words, who follows the pleasure of Allah,apply to the Holy Prophet and his true follow-ers who, undaunted by the defection of thehypocrites at Ul,:md, which considerably wea-kened their ranks, proceeded to fight theenemies of Islam. The hypocrites, on theother hand, by their act of desertion, drew upontbemeelves the wrath of God. They turnedaway from the fire of war, but a much worsefire awaited them in Hell. They retreated fromthe battle-field in order to seek security, buttheir retreat proved to be the gate ofGehennafor them.

The expression d I a- ~ - \ vf re11deredas, like him who draws on himself the wrath

of Allah, may also be translated as "likehim who turns (or returns) with the wrath ofAllah." The latter rendering wo.uld llelpfurther to clarify the explanation givenabove~

446. Commentary:

The words ..:."-:-J:> r-- literany mean; they are

different grades. ActuaHy, however, theymean, they are the possessors of differentgrades of grace, the word IJJ' (possessors)

.being understood before the word ..:.1..;J~ .'lthe word 'J J' hll.sbeen dropped to intensifythe meaning, as if the bolders of these gradesof grace were the very grades personified.

447. Commentary:

The expression, by raising among t1~em aMeBsenger from among themselves, is intendedto awaken in the hearts of Muslims a desireto follow the example of the Holy Propbet,who was like them and one of them. TheProphet was not only a man like them butwas actually One of them. If he could riseto such spiritual heights, why could nottbey"

AJ] .Messengers of God are raised fromarnong

human beings and they possess the satnefaculties and are actuated by the same desiresand aspirations as other human beings, andtherefore they can serve as true models fOJ

their fellow-beings. But a so-called II son oj

470

PT. 4 .AL 'IMR.AN CH.3

166. What! awhen a misfortunebefalls you~and you had inflictedthe double of that-you say, whenceis this 1 Say) It is from your ownselves. Surely, Allah has power overall things~4 48

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... .J,,; ,~'-. ~,,,'

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Ij, ~ ~~"'-.

:. ;} I~" ~Ie.>:'~ ~ ~ I.$"4U

a4: 80.

God" does n()t possess the same desires and. the same faculties. as we have, and cannot

therefore be a model for us. Our modelshould be from our own kind. He who is notof our kind, being a divine being, free fromhuman passione and human weaknesses,cannot be held out to us as a model for imita-tion.

'fhe verse also points to the fulfihnent of theprayer of Abraham contained in 2: 130 inwhich the different functions of the PromisedProphet have been mentioned just as they arementioned here.

448. Commentary:The words, and you had inflicted the double

of that, refer to tbe Battle of Badr, whel' 70Meccans were killed and 70 taken captive.At {J\\ud, 70 Muslims were killed, none beingtaken prisoner. Thus the Muslims had inflicteda double loss on the Meocans.

The fact that no Muslim was taken prisonerat UtJ.ud demonstrates their hig4 sense ofhonour. They preferred death to dishonour.They would die fighting rather than lay downtheir arms. Some of them, were found kiJIed onthe b3ttle-field with as many as eighty woundson their b9dies. How couId such men allowthemselves to be taken prisoner by the enemy?It is most significanttbat in all the differentbattlcs that were fought by Muslims till thetime of 'Uthmin~and they were many, and

hundreds of thou9ands of men took part inthem-the number of Muslim prisoners didnot exceed a few hundred.

'l11Ie'expression, It is from your own selves,Seems to contradict the succeeding verse whereit is said, ,4.nd that which befell you on theday when two parties met was by Allah's com-mand, and also 4: 79, 80 wbere it is said:And if some good befalls them, they say, . this,i,'tfrom Allah' and if evil befall them, they say,,

this i,~ from thee'. Say, All is from Allah.What has happened to these peol,le that they COfYtenot near ttnderstanding anything? Whatet;erof good comes to thee is from Allah, and whatever

0./ evil befalls thee is from thy.<;elf. On a dceper.reflect,ion, however, no conflict or contradic-tion is found to exist; for the different state-ments, apparently contradictory, have beenmade from di1Ierent view-poir~ts. As for thereal ('.ause of man's actions, both the good andevil actions are said to emanate from him,because he is their doer; but a1'tit is GodWho, as the final Judge, brings about theresults of man's actions, whether good orbad, th.ey Can equally be said to proceed fromHim. In this sense, both the good and evilresults of man's actions would be attributedto God. Again. as God has created aU thingsfor our good and it is through their misusethat we suffe-r, therefore the evil that befaUsus can legitimately be said to proceed fromour ownselves. But when that evil is removedby the right USe of the tbings provided by God,and good results ensue, then that goo(l must beattributed to God, for it is He Who hasendowed tbings with the properties by therigbt use of which we benefit. In this sensegood results will be attributed to God. and

4'1

CR. 3 AL 'lMRAN PT.~

167. And that which befell you, onthe day when the two parties met, wasby Allah's command; and this wasso that He might distinguish thebelievers; 449

168. And that He might distinguish-the hypocrites. And it was said tothem, t' Come ye, fight in the cause ofAllah and repel the attack of the .enemy;

,

they said, 'If we knew how to fight,we would surely follow you. ' Theywere, that day, nearer to disbelief thanto belief. aThey say with their mouthswhat is not in their hearts. And Allahknows well what they concea1.4so

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a48: 12.

evil ones to man. Thus all the three asser-tions, though apparently contradicting oneanother, prove to be true.

449. Commentary:

The" meeting of the parties U refers to theBat.tle of Ul.lUd which is under review here.

The clause ~ j1.1 H rendered as, thatHe might distinguish the believeTB, doesnot mean, "that He might know thebelievers", as generally translated. Accord-ing to Quranic idiom, the expressi9n simplymeans that Allah mi:ght mark out, or makeknown, or disti,nguish believers from dis-believers. See also note on 3: 141.

450. Commentary:Trials come to bring about a distinction

between true believers and those weak offaith Qr insincere. In this way, the sufferingsof the Muslims lit Ul;md proved a blessing indisguise. They served to distinguish the truebelievers from the hypocrites who had so farremained intermixed with the true believers.While professing to be true Muslims, theywere, at heart, enemies of !81am; and. their

passing for Muslims Was injurious to the Muslimcommunity. The believers, taking tbem fortrue Muslim~, remained unaware of the seoretmachinatiors by wbioh they sought to injurethe oause of Islam. So it was in the intereBteof Islam that their hypocrisy beoame unmaskedand the Muslims bec~me on their guardagainst them. On the other hand, just asthe exposure of the hypocrites proved beneficialto the believers, similarly the ooming to lightof their own sincerity and devotion servoo amost useful purpose. it served not only todisappoint the enemies of Islam who came torealize tha.t with such devoted followers theycould make no headway against Islam, butit also opened their eyes to its truth; for itbeoame clear to them that a religion whiohcould inspire its votaries with such selfless zealand steadfast devotion could not but be true.

The particle .11 rendered as U and" in theclause,fiont in the cause of Allah and relleZ the

1. .F I. all "..aUacliiOJ the enemy, Iter y means or

and is equivalent to "in other words", or"what is the 8ame thiuS" etc. It i.s usedhere: (1) to explain the meaning of the

472

PT. 4 ~L ,IIMR.AN . CR. 3

169. It is these who said oftheir brethren, while they themselvesremained behind,

,If they had

obeyed us, athey would not have beenslain.' Say, b' Then avert death fromyourselves, if you are truthful. '451

a3 : 155. b4: 79.

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M'~1o;1If;~~,~~~;~~j~/' .. ,

~~~~.."'"""

preceding clause i.e. fight in the cause &fAllah.So the whole sentence would read somethinglike this : "It was said to them (the hypocrites),Come ye, fight in the cause of Allah, which

..' was the same thing 80Srepelling the attack ofthe enemy". This rendering would go to provethat the Companions of the Holy Prophetwaged no aggressive war and aU thei,r fightingwas undertaken in self-defence. (2) Or theword J I (and) is used bere in the sense of., at least." According to this rendering,the sentence would meau: "Fight in thecause of Allah; and if you cannot fight inthe cause of Allah, at least fight in defence ofyour own homes and hea.rths," i.e., your owninterest!1 require that you should defend Medinaagainst the attack of the enemy. (3) Or asrendered in the text the word is used in thesense of

.,and". With this meaning of J I,

the whole sentence would mean, " fight in thecause of Allah and repel the attack of the{'nemy!'

The expression ~t:; f J translated in. thofext as, If we knew how to fight, may havethree meanings: (1) If we knew that therewould be fighting i.e. we thought there wouldhe n'o fighting. By using this expressionthe hypocrites meant that seeing thestrength of the enclny, the Muslims wouldat once run away and thf're will be nofighting. (2) If we knew it to be a fight i.e.it was no fight in whiGh the Muslin~8 weregoing to be engaged, but certain destructionill view of the appal1ing difference between

. the numbers and equipment of the opposing

forces. (3) Or, as rendered in the text, theexpression luay mean, if we knew how to fight.In this case, i~ must be taken to have bep.nused ironically, signifying: "We are unawareof the art of war; if we had been acquaint-ed with it, we would have fought alongwith you."

The allusion in the verse is obviously to thedefection at UllUd of a party of 300 hypocritesunder their leader 'Abdullah bin. Ubayy, who,at a crucial moment, deserted the Muslimsaud went back to Medina, saying, "He (theProphet) has di.sregarded my advice aud hasfollowed the advice of mere lads." Seeingthis, 'Abdullah bin' Amr, father of Jabir,approached him and asked him not to desertthe Prophet in that manlier, upon which.Abdullah replied in the very words quotedby the Quran i.e. fl..!~ ~I:; t Jmeaning, "If we knew there wou! befighting, we would have surely followed you."At this' Abdullah b. 'Amr exclaimed, saying ~"God's curse be upon you. Surdy, HeHi.mself will help His Messenger" (Jarir,iii. 104.).

451. Commentary:

The word ~1y:.1 (brethren) may refer to boththe Muslims and the hypocrites. If t,aken to re-fer to the 'hluslims, the expression ~ 1.".:- ~ I) Ii(said oftheir bretlneD) would either mean, "saidconcerning their bretlllen, tbe Muslims", or itwould mf>8n "said to their brethren, theMuslims". If, however, it is taken to referto tbe hypocrites, the expression would meaD,

473

CR. 3 . XL 'IM:tlN PT. ..

170. aThink not of those, who havebeen slain in. the cause of Allah, asdead. Nay, they are, living, in thepresence of their Lord, and are grantedgifts from Him, 462

171. Jubilant because of that whichAllah has given them of His bounty;and rejoicing for those who have notyet joined them from behind them,because on bthem shall come no fear,nor shall they grieve.463

" ~I """,;"""..,;~

. \ -:). ~I" ~\4l)\ ("/ 7;~. . :~t, .:..I~ ~..v-! "0,, ~~. "qlp1 IWf:-- J

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8 <:J--".J...t~..) ~ 1- ..

, .,-'G~iL ~;;;~.,~/~ ,;WO 9,..)

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:.-~J~{I"?",~" f1,,~"/)J~.;~ .,.., I'~:'f~,"r ;JJ~u~~1 \"~~~~~;.I

~ '" '."'I'@\:>~~a2 : 155. b2 : 63 ; 6 : 49; 7 : 50; 46 : 14.

"said to their own brethern" i.e. talkedamong themselves.

The expression, Then avertdea,th from. your-selves, embodies a prophecy about the destruc-tion of the hypocrites. The clause wouldthus signify, "You stayed in your homes inorder to save yourselves. Now, the time ofyour destruction has arrived. So protectyourselves if you can."

from, and superior to, that of ordinary be-liever!!.


~) (jubilant) is the plural of c..}which is the verbal adjective from the verb

c.} (Fari[ta) meaning, he rejoiced; he wasglad and jubilant; he exulted and behavedproudly. i1- j therefore, means, (1)exultant and- proud; (2) glad and jubilant,being well-pleased and sat~sfied (Lane &

452. Important Words:Aqrab). The word \is used here in the latter

.;.Iy' (dead) is the plural of ~ which sense.besides meaning a dead person, also means:

.JJ~ (they rejoice) is derived from(1) one whose blood has not been avenged;

A. The word At-' means, (1) he(2) one ~ho leaves behind no successors;

rejoiced or' became rejoiced by receivin~(3) one stricken with sorrow and grief.

good and happy news; (2) he gave 0]See also 2: 29. conveyed good news so as to make thlCommentary: hearer rejoice at it (Aqrab & Lane). See als(

According to the above tbree significations 2: 26.of the word lily' (dead) the verse would Commentary: .

mean: (1) tbat the blood of Muslim martyrs Taking the word iJJ~ (they rejoiceshall certainly be avenged; (2) that tbeirplace in the first-mentioned sense, (see Importanshall be taken by others equally zealows; (3) Words above) thevers6 would mean, they (thothat these martyrs, though apparently martyrs) are glad that their brethren, whodead, are leading happy lives in the presence are left behind in the world and will foUo,of their Lord. them later, will soon be victorious and wi1

As lI\Srtyrs lay down their lives for the sake triumph over their enemies i.e. after deatof God, therefore they are granted in the next the veils have been removed and the marty]world a special kind of life which is different ha.ve become definitely aware of the victoriE

414

PT. 4 AL '1MRAN PI: 3

172. They rejoice at the favour ofAllah and His bounty, and at the factthataAllah suffers not the rewardof; the believers to be lost.454

",,,,,,

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,,"(:;\'t ""~:..oJ"~\\"~';~\~J!I~ <J.:a.lv" ",~.:rJ .,., .. .."~~~~(f11(~(1'~ (!n, G~t .9~1'CI~.:P: ~~~~ "II' ~ C

IS 173. Asto.those who banswered thecall of Allah and the Messenger afterthey h~d received an injury-such ofthem !as do good and act righteouslyshall have a great reward ;456

a7 : 171 ; 9 : 120; 11 : 116.

in store for Muslims. Accordillg to the secondsignification of the word, the verse wouldmean, they give good tidings to theirbrethren by appearing to them in dreams.The verse may also mean, they receive goodtidings concerning their brethren. i.e. theangels of God keep them informed of thelater su('cesses and victories of Islam.

454. Commentary:

Tbe expression, Allah S?lJlersnot tke reward ojthe believers to be lost, means t.hat the works ofthe believers will not go in vain. They wi!!Clertainly bring their due reward.

455. Commentary:

The ref~.rel.'ce \n this and the next verSe isto the two expeditions led by the Holy Prophetagainst the Meccans as a result of the Battleof U\1ud. The first was undertaken on the dayimmediately foHowing that battle. When theMeccaD8 withdrew from Uqud, and took theirway back to Me('ca, they were, as narratedabove, taunted by the Arab tribes f()r havingbr~ught no booty and no prisoners of war froma battle in which they claitned to havewon a victory. The Mecc8.ns, thereupon,thought of returning to Medina with a viewto re-attaoking the Muslims and completingtheir viotory. The Holy Prophet, who hadalso anticipated the return of the 1I{eccans,at once called upon his Companions to joinhim in the pursuit of the enemy and most

bS: 25.

wisely restricted the ('all to only such able-bodied Muslims as had taken part in theBattle of U1}ud. So on the following day, heleft Medina with 250 men. When the Meccansheard of the Muslims advanoi;ng towards them,they lost heart and fled. The Holy Prophetwent as far as I,Iamra' al-Asad, a di8tance ofabout eight miles from Medina on the route toMecca, and seeing that t~e enemy had Bed,returned to Medina. , ..) .

The second expedition came a year later.Before leaviJJg the battle-field of Uqud, AbuSufYin, commander of the Meccan army, hadpro~ised the Muslims another engagementnext year at Badr. But the ensuing yearbeing a year of famine, he could not keep hisappointment. So he sent Nu:aim b. Mas'iid toMedina to terrify the Muslims by spreadingfalse rumours of great preparatioDs havingbeen made by the Meccans. This rllumsyruse completely failed to frighten the Muslims,who came to Badr at the appointed time onlyto find that the Meccans had not appeared.The Muslims profited by this opportunity bytaking part in trafficking at the great annualfair that used to be held tbere every yearand returned prosperous as well as triumphantto Medina. This expedition is known inhistory as the eXpedi~ion of Badr al-~tlghri,(i.e. the smaller Badr), to distinguish it fromthe great Battle of Badr which had taken placeabout two years earlIer.

~,.s

CH.3 AL 'IMRAN rr. .174. Those to whom men said,

'People have mustered against you,therefore fear them,' but this onlyincreased their faith and they said,'Sufficient for us is Allah, and anexcellent guardian is He.'UG

175. So they returned with a mightyfavour from Allah and a great bounty,while no evil had touched them; andthey followed athe pleasure of Allah;and Allah is the Lord of great bounty. 457

176. It is Satan who only frighten8bhis friends; so fear them not but fearMe, if you are believers.458

~:;(

"

,,,,/" ...~.

, -::I.

1f"I'~ J/.t~;".,~.r,

~LJ..j I ..,\:OJ CJ U"'\:rJ .~~ ~,v... ..",

~\ ~~~ijj ~~C;}~;~ ~;£;.~~f\/~';'@ ..".J"~'

"'1;" " ';"/ ~-: ~/ J \ /* J~;"I !,

'~!r{'--~. ..~~ II4.U JJ \t'..7 .

iF ..""

V ~ /;. .

S-~I..:.~~'~ ?~\",J.~I;'I"'~ "'''~I~I~~~ '.)J CW .J ~ (.:)~J ~~

" ,?~"t'(i::J'fjw'-:j ~~,,:~! f":,~~ ~&J...r) ~ .. ~J~...

"" "~"l.., 9'r.-:"tW;\~;; ". c)'I.:);;~JQ ..;';' ...",

67:28; 16:101; 35:7.a2: 208,266; 3: 16, 163; 5: 3,17; 9: 72; 57: 21,28.


JFJI (guardian). §"J is derived from:fJ' They say ~~\.JI:fJ i.e. he left thematter to him and did not interfere in it.\L> JI ~ means, leave thou me to

manage this thing as I may deem proper.§" J means, one to whom the managementof an affair is left or cODsigned; guardian;ap:ent or deputy. J:->JI is one of of thenames of God meaning, Guardian; One Whowatches or looks after the affairs of theFaithful; One suffioing for His servants(Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

The reference here is to the false rumoUl'Sspread by Nu'aiin bin Mas'id that the Meccanshad made great preparations against the Muslimsand were about to attack them. See also thepreoeding verse.

457. Commentary:As stated above, the Muslims returned from

Badr al-~uohra after having made great profitby trading at the annual fair held there. Thisis hinted in the word" bounty". The words.no evil had touched them, :mean that therewas no figbting, the Meccana having failedto appear.

458. Commentary:

The expression u VJ I ~.;: rendered in thetext as, Satan only frightens his friends,may mean: (1) Satan. tries to make believersfear disbelievers, who are his friends; (2) hefrightens disbelievers themselves i.e. hf!becomes the cause of their fear, for thofriends of Satan can never be brave. In tholatter case the pronoun" them" in, 80 fearthem not, would refer to the noun ~ M I(people) in 3 : 174: above.

476


177. aAnd let not those who hastilyfall into disbelief grieve thee; surely,they cannot harm Allah in any way.Allah desires not to assign any portionfor them in the life to come; and theyshall have a severe punishment.469

.-

178. Surely, bthose who have pur-chased disbelief at the price of faithcannot harm Allah at all; and theyshall have a grievous punishment. 460

179. And let not the disbelieversthink that cOur granting them respiteis good for them; the result of Ourgranting them respite will only be thatthey wil1 increase in sin; and they shallhave, an humiliating punishment.461

7\ .., 1 \ 1:"!~,J -:..,

~ -:"j\~!~~".;.r~... ~ ...~!f--: ..~... ~. IJ )

L~.$"\~!"'~"' I '~.I"jb~"'~n '-~1.

... r'"~..;1 ~ ~;:t.. .. 4.\) ~~

e&~~~ ~,~~~~i~)\~.. ~""

4L \ b'tJ J ~(:;~~ ~, ~".£f,~jJ\~\,", ..", r ~..."" """

to. ~, (,(j

\~...

:~,'" eJb~ Yv..~)~~:

~},

~?~~~'" "\'~ltl('{f'~':1\

~:""""' )J""'"-" ~.. IJ7' ~.j4J <:JVJ )- ..", . ..

~I~;~" r:f~£,,'J'(~rl~ ~'1.V~. J ~""~.))~ ~,.. ItJ'"

r" ,@~

HI'

a5: 42. C22 ~ 45.b2:J7, 87; 14:29.

459. Commentary:

The olause, who hastily fall into disbelief,refers to the hypocrites and the weak in faitbwhom the slightest trial throws into disbelief.The word" portion" means" portion of graceand God's mercy."

460. Commentary:

As in the preceding verse, the word Allah inthe clau~e, cannot harm Allah, stands eitherfor the cause of AJIall or for the HaIr Prophetand tbe believers, because God is evidently

:.. above being harmed. The expression hasbeen lIsed to show that tho!!e who try todo ,harm to Islam or to the Holy Prophetand his followers, reaUy try to do harm to GodHin\self, for the obvious reMon that thecause of the Holy Prophet or that of Islamis tbe cause of God Himself.

461. Important Words:The paticleJ (lam) in the exprcssio~ IJ~I~;.t

here denotes not purpose but result orconsequence: as in the well-known Arabiccouplet:

'7'l; JI ~ ~~ '7'ljJll~IJ...: n I.J~i.e. Bear children that they should die andbuild houses that they should fall into ruins, forall of you are marching towards destruction.Thus tlie Yer~e would mean: We grant themrespite that they should mend their ways, butthe result is that they increase in sin: SuchJ (liim) is known as 4t-(~ in Arabio.

.

'j'he particle J may, in one sense, alsodenote cause, as an Arab would S&v,;. ~t;...J -U}I ~ ':-:V> i.e. I left the tow~because of the fear of evil. In this sense, theclause would mean, We grant them respitebecause they have increased in evil, i.e., tl,eirincreasing in evil has been the cause of Ourgranting them respite so that they mav havean opportunity to mend their ways and"reformtbemselves.

9'1

GH. 3> AL '1M RAN ~.4

180. aAllah would not leave the be-lievers as you are, until He separatedthe wicked from ~he good. Nor wouldAllah breveal to you the unseen. ButAllah chooses of His Messengers whomHe pleases. Believe, therefore, inAllah and His Messengers. If youbelieve and be righteous, you shallhave a gr~at reward.4611

~ ~!':'tt,~ (.~~"":"t~~'~ I -:,r~r~'" - /o-! t!:!::.V..';'7~ J '.." 4IJ ~o \.0

~'"'I, ~\~~\:" ~I::.A ~~~\~" ~ ~~

~.." ~ J... r,;;,r~..~ :Me,

"Ii" ""..

~""" 09 I ~.PJ0d~W! ''':'''''''''''''', ~ I"'~I ~/'"w ,,,,~~~,4U'"

-'...,."'1/(f~1~~1''''''1'~ 1!. :(1:~I""'" ~~I'~ k~~ ~ -'!rlY <.:J,.,.J~JJ~ ;.~'"

C\~' ."~ .. ..,

a8 : 38 ; 29: 3-4. b72: 27-28.


~~ (would reveal t,o you). ~~ isderived from ~ whioh means, he appeared;he rose; be t scended. ~,,~I means, herevealed it. to him or he_made himacquainted with it; or lifted him high up sothat he might have a clear view of it. Theexpression ~ I~ ~ therefore, wouldmean, that He should ca.use you to ascendthe unseen; or lift you high up to havea clear view of the unseen i.e. cause you toobtain mastery of the unseen; or in otherwords, reveal to you the secrets of the unseenin abundance.. Elsewhere the Quran saysI~I ~ ~ A 'i i.e. God discloses not theunseen to anyone in abundance (72 : 27).Here too the word used i.e. A points to

mastery of a thing or having a thing inabundance.

Commentary:

The sentence, Allah would not leave thebelievers as YOtl are, signifies that the trials andtribulations through which Muslims have so farpassed would not soon end. There are yetmany more in store for them, and they will

continue to COme till true believers andiscriminated from hypocrites and those weakin f8it}..

The expressiolJ, Allah chooses of His Messenger8whom He pleases, does not mean that some ofthe Messengers are chosen and others not, butthat of the persons whom He has ordt-inedto be sent as His Messengers, He choosesthe one suited for t}.e particular age in whichhe is sent. Or the particle ~ (of) maybe taken to give the sense of intensificatioll oremphasis without restricting the seDse to aspecified section of the class. In that casethe sentence will read as, Allah does chooseas His Messengers whom He pleases. It mustbe remembered that all Messengers are raisedunder a special divine decree.

When it was stated that God intended toseparate the wicked from the good by revealingHis will to His Messengers, the question wasasked by disbelieyers, why did not God revealHimself to them! To this question God hasgiven the answer that He reveals His willonly to His Messengers and the Elect. AUare not pure or ennobled enough to receiveHis revelation.

478..

PT. 4 AL'IMRAN (1J.3

181. And let not those, awho areniggardly with respect to what Allahhas given them of His bounty J thinkthat it is good for them; nay, it is evilfor them. That with respect to whichthey were niggardly shall be put as acollar round their necks on the Dayof Resurrection. And to Allah belongsthe heritage of the heayens and theearth, and Allah is well aware of whatyou do.463

9 182. And surely Allah has heard the: utterance of those who said, b'Allah:

is' poor and we are rich'--We shallrecord what they have said, and ctheirattempts to kill the Prophets unjustly;and We shall say, 'Taste ye the punish-ment of burning.'464

.,"" 4'0<>"- ~ ;'!'"..I ~:'.:~~\?" "I ~ -:., ~.'" -:z ~tt 1~ "'~

~'"Wwr/' ~ :,eJ "..~~ ~..;J.J

~IJ~~'" :"~~~b~'-:;Z:."" \-:'b~'~\~~-:~!'}~" t.;)j' .. ~~~U!~~Ji6

9',;. j' ,.. . "(t@I"b.~~! '"~;~~1\~1"" a.U :;~d..;::.iH "'.,

;, J l..f J., ~ ...", ... ~~t. ", "

.,it:.'f; ,"

8~~ li" q

...:, t). ..~ ",',;

""'!\{~ ''',~' J'"':: 7.r. '" '" ""''''-' ~ 4U' 61 \';'\i cr.~\ ~ 'WI~ v.A)

. ~t\ ~~::" l!tr~~ $~.JI !''-;J-..}..;J~.J.Y~ ." ~

~~r ,,. "'''' ,e.'9.~'9/"'~../.,,,

e~~ ul~I~..)~:o)~~M#11'.., .. r;t""'.." '.;-,; ~ ",.."

a4: 38; 17: 30; 25: 68. c4 : 166.b5: 65.


":'I~.. (heritage) is derived from ":'J.J i.e. heinherited. .~I ":'J.J or ~I Jt. ":'J.J nteans,he inherited the property of his father.They say .J.!f .:J J.J i.e. I inherited bis glory.~I ~ ":'J.J or ~~I u-- ":'J.J means, he inheritedfrom his fatber, or he inherited part of theproperty of his father. ~I ~J.JI means, hemade him inherit the thing. \A;..;.~ ~ I ~).J 1means, the disease occasioned him, as itsresult, weakness. ":'J.J and ':"JI and ':"IJand ":'I~ all mean, what is inberited; allinheritance; a heritage whether property, rank,quality, nobility, etc. ":'JI.J means, an beir.':"J '} 1 as an epithet applied to God means,He Who rentains after the creatures haveperished (Lane). Primarily ':tjIJ} I signifiesthe transfer of property, etc. from one toanother without sale or gift. The Arabs saytJ"'}.;~ ~ ':':J' i.e. I gained or acquiredknowldege from such a one (Mufradat).

Commentary:

The chief obstacle in the way of tbe hYl,ocrites

to accept Islam was that constant calls weremade Oil Muslims to spend money in the causeof God and make sacrifices for it. They aretold in this verse that their unwillingness tospend would eventually do them no good norwould it save their possessions from destruc-tion.

The sentence, And to Allah belongs th.e heritage

of the heavens and the earth, obviously does notmean that Allah will receive heavens anc1 earthin inheritance from some one else. The word

":'I~ rendered ae heritage here signifiesownership. ']'he word also means portionallotted to one, as in the verse "JI I~.J,).}II tJ';.;: i.e. those who shall inheritParadise (23: 12). Now Paradise is notinherited by anyone; it 1Sonly received as anallotted portion from God.

464. Commentary:

The" words, Allah has heard tke utterance ofthose, have been used by way of rebuke andwarning, meaning that God is not unawareof these impudeI\t utteran,ces and that the

479


183. That is because of that whichyour hands have sent on before your-selves, and the truth is that aAllah isnot at all unjust to His Servants-465

,",,, "-t",, I"" "~ "" -t""" I

~~~4U\~\~' :.~I~~~~)"

~ ,'C "-Q.I't "u

~~184. Those who say, 'Allah has J "9/

";~ -:''''Y:f " " ~ """,9.~ n

charged us not to believe in any .II~)~y~\~, ~QJ.)10' ~\i G~IMessenger until he bring us an offering

r1.

, "p j, 9:;~ ; ,..~

whichfiredevours.'Say,'Therehave;J";.~~J; )~\ d$(;~~~ ~~ ~already come to you Messengers before. ~ . ;, Mh.

.th b I R' d' h h.., 9"/'" ,," 9", ., ~

me WJ c ear dgns an WJt t at ~~:\:.~~,}.T~... ~~ 'L~ ,," :'l'.'which you speak of. Why, then, did r .~~ , r--Io.7~; J

"~. ;,W ~ r..JMI~

you seek.. to kill them, if you are. ..

!I ..;.

truthful? 'U6 e~~ .,~.~?'~,

u"" ~ '- ,I

a8 : 52; 41 : 47 ; 50: 30. b5 : 33; 14: 10; 40: 84.

utterers will certainly have to al\Swer forthen\.

'J'he words, Allah is poor and we are rich, wereuttered by the Jews on hehalf of the hypocritesand as an expression of their tboughtswhen the latter were caned upon to spendtheir wealth in the cause of Allah (3: 181).These words also express the thoughts of thoseniggardly persons and t.he weak of faith whojoin \I, new religion but find it hard to complywith it!! ever-growing monetary demands andsometimes cry out in impatience: "Has Allahbecome poor that we are asked to spend ourhard-earned money in His cause" 1 In fact,one of the prinoipal causes of the oppositionto a new religious n\Ovement is reluctance onthe part of the people to undergo the sacrificesof money and comfort that the new faithdemands.

The words, We shall record what they hatJf~said, signify that God will not let such mis.chievous utterances go unpunished, implyingthat what is foigiven is, as it were, notreoorded.

465. Commentary:The expression, Allah is not at all unjust to

His 8ertants, falsifies the inference to which

the statement of the disbelievers mentionedin the previous verse gives rise. They seemto say that if Islam had been true, GodHiwself would have helped it, and would nothave asked others to help it with their money.To this objection the answer is given that iftIle Prophet is an impostor and yet God ishelping him to thrive and prosper, it meansthat God is doing a great wrong to the peopleby granting respite to an impostor and byallowing the people to be led astray by helpinga wrong cause. But as God cannot be unjust,so the cause of Islam must he, and is, a rightcause.

466. Commentary:

The enemies of truth never admit their defeat.They continue to seek new pretexts for refusingto believe in it. When the Jews were toldthat they had opposed the Prophets of Godthrough covetousness (3: 181-182), they retortedby saying that they did not oppose Muslimsthrough covetousness but because, unlikethem, the Muslims devoured even the animalswhich they offered as sacrifices, instead ofburning theln at the altar according to theJewish Law (Lev. 1: 11-17). Thus it was not

they but the Muslims who were greedy and

480


185. aAnd if they accuse thee oflying, even 80 were accused of lyingMessengers before thee who came withclaar Si~ and books of wisdom andthe Bhimng Book.467 .

~ ~~~? w~'.9U 1~~~r'~~:\j-' . ,,' &!~J .~ I ~~ 1.:)"

, 9' It"."'" " ,,,C

G~~\ ~'-' ;!y\ J~~'t

a35 : 5,26.

covetous and they oould not, therefore,consistently with the Law of Moses, accept theProphet who did not observe that Law.

The Quran answers this objection by sayingthat the observance of the law about burntofferings was ))0 oriterion to test the truth ofa Prophet, beoause that could easily bedone by an impostor. It was ..:.4 (clearSigns) only that demonstrated and establishedthe truth of a clain1ant. But even if obser-vance of burnt offerings was the criterion of 11true Prophet. the Jews had no right toraise an objection; for in that caso thequestion arose, why did they reject thoseProphets wbo strictly conformed to tbat law iThe fact that the Jewish demand referred to inthe words, that fohich you speak of, has b",enmentioned in the verse separately froni clearSigns, shows that what the Jews spoke of wasnot a mi.racle, but that they were onlyreferring to the law about burnt offerings, andnot to the miracle of fire descending fromheaven to consume a sacrifice, as is generallybut wrongly believed.


J; (books of wisdom) is the plural ofJ ~; which is derived from J.;. Theysay ~ I..d i.e. he cased or lined the wellwith stones or bricks, etc. -~:";.j means,he raised the wall by placing layers ofstones or bricks on one another. ,,:,,1:0I .r.j

means, he wrote the writing or the book.

JU!..r.j means, he chid or soolded tbebeggar. J..J!j (zabiir) means. a writing

or a book: a book of wisdom and in-telleotual science, not cont.aining legal statutes.ordinanoes or commandments. Bwed on it.sverbal senses. the word would also m.ean a hookthat protects and beautifies a source ofknowledge just as a casing protects andbeautifies a well; or a book that containswarnings. The word is partioularly USed.aboutthe Book of David cont{1in~ng the Psalms.

J..1.j (zubur) is the plural of .d (zibr) which

means. a writing or a book; also wisdom andreason (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary :

It is worthy of note that unlike its predecessorthe pre~nt verse ntakes no reference to aburnt. offering after the word.;.4 (olearSigns) which shows that a burnt offeringformed no proof of tbe tenth of a claimant toproplJ ethood.

It will be noted that whereas the words J.j(books of wisdom) and .;.4 (clear Signs)

are both in the plural number, the word

~ I '";'1:(/I (the shining Book) has beenput in the singular number, the reasonbeing that all the Israelite Prophets followedOne Book of I,aw ody. viz., the Torahgiven to Moses, while each of them. camewith separate clear Signs as wen as withseparate Books or revelations containing thingsof wisdom and warnings.

481 31

CH.3 AL 'IMRAN PT. ~

186. aEvery soul shall taste of death. , ~'9'- \,;

~"""'!f':;\,,1. ,,,' 9..,,~ .,/ttJ

And you shall be paid in full your ~.J~ CJ~" ~".J ,;,;JI ~'3 U~P\ U,rewards only on the Day of ',,",,' " 9 I' "" 1.""- ~.. ,Resurrection. So whosoever is removed ~I,,*)I.J )lin ~ ~ bJ ~\;~away from the Fire and is made to

",,, ,.,,..,,,...

H h.

d d.

d h' "9' 'V".:Tr,,7'" "enter eaven as m ee attame IS e.J;~I~w~'CiJJ\~I~/},.f('~goal. bAnd the life of this world is " ' :" .. .. .J :J'" ~nothing but an illusory enjoyment~468

187. cYou shall surely be tried inyour possessions and in your personsand dyou shall surely hear many hurtfulthings from those who were given theBook before you and from those whoset up equals to God. But if youshow fortitude and act righteously.that indeed is a matter of strongdetermination.469

188. And remember when Allah tooka covenant from those who were giventhe Book, saying, 'You shall make thisBook known to the people and notconceal it.' But ethey threw it awaybehind their backs, and bartered itfor a paltry price. Evil is that whichthey have purchased. 470

a21 :36; 29: 58. b4: 174; 35 :31; 39 :36.

gJjI.:,~~~(;,,~ ~\r '~('I~ ~~""

!;,J"0""'- J / ~ ~ 'Y "Co) .1'''-:-;~'''." ~

J. ~It1 ,~ I\~.s:.,C;JJI~'" ::',:-0 ~II"" I;)~..'" "'--'/' '-F';;. "

~.J

y.~!£,:~~It! ~(~.'!.~:.''' \'' ,-:. .,I

"j,~~,./.

~v,,~) ~""~ J ~ ..L~' ,., . II

../"

,,~- ~ ""'''--' .."

""€9J~~t",

f(;J ~~ "It:. \~""', ,,' :f, "..f'.' ,~

,.("",

~, I'. Of..~I~.J c:J1JJ,-,~4U ~ ). J'

;:" .""

..,,'" i'

~ ,~t.f ,,""'// 'dl'~-:'j~.;'~",,,.

(Z.1J\~~ ~'(("-' ~-'~ ;;.J ~"

/'., ".b~

" :'-:// .

~ -: '9..::~ "'" ~~4..tI'" :'1/Ib c,:)JA. ~ .., I~!J~ J

c2 ; 156; 8: 29; 64: 1&. d5 : 83. e2 : 102.

468. Commentary:

Death is perhaps the most certain pheno-menon in nature and yet man's attitude towardsit is of disregard and indifference. The worldlylife has been here called a vain and illusorything, because on the face of it it appearsto be a very attractive and sweet thing, butwhen one becomes engrossed iu seeking itspleasures and profits, One finds it bitter anddeceptive.

469. Commentary:

Tests and trials are necessary and serve afour-fold purpose: (I) They distinguisll thewaverers and the weak of faith from those

sincere and steadfast votaries whose fait11 is

strong and firm. (2) They. become a meansof spiritual adva.ncemellt for those sincere infaith. (3) Those who are tried come to knowof the ~trength or otherwsie of their own faithand are thUR enabled to shape their conductacnordingly. (4) Trials also establish the titleto reward of those deserving it.

Indeed there never was a Prophet who,.along

with hiR followers, was not ca.lIed UpOll toput up with abuse an.d hardships.

470. Commentary:

The reference here is to no particular covenantbut to a general covenant taken from thefollowe1'8of every Prophet that they would

4S~

PT. 4 XL 'IMRAN CR. 3

189. Think not that those awho exultin what they have done, and love tobe praised for what they have notdone-think not that they are securefrom punishment. They shall Buffera grievous chastisement.471

190. bAnd to Allah belongs thekingdom of the heavens and the earth;and Allah has power over all things.472

'20 191. eIn the creation of the heavens: and the earth and in the alternation of

the night and the day there are indeedsigns for men of understanding; 473

,"''''''9~,

'''''r", ,,"9;""';;'~ "',"'f"'"c>J~~-, ~\~cJ~Ac.r.~1 ~~

'". ;~ '9''''''':-'.:I:1!r~~ "f"'. "",,,

<;H7S),'y8~'J'~~~;"'~~~

""",. ";,...

~~~t.

rJ' (r; ~'" '..''''''' ~"""~~I ~,~~ -' ~tJ..:.)\

fs1;jj:,~ ~\-' ~jg\;o~~~"\~~ >.,. -",... ,.'"

t r,., '",q

@.>:~ ~I'

.1:'1' "" "",,, ",'.,.~\~~\'" .

~I'" Q~""\' ..\~ ~~ :\",.. ... '"

.J~V" -'...~ ~~C)'"~ '

/~ f,. ~"'~ J '".'f I v ~ ,.@~'-:J~I",'~~~~ .

'"a61:3-4. b5 : 18-19, 121; 24: 13; 42: 50.

preach and promulgate the mesRsge tltY hadaccepted and would live up to it. Thepronoun" it" in the clause, and not concealit, may refer eitlwr to the Book or thecovenant.

471. Important Words:ojli.. (sccurp) is derivtd from jli which

means, he wus succcs!!ful and gained whathe desired. .u jli means, he cscaped it(d~nger, etc.), ur he becallte secure from it.So 0jli.. means, a place or state of securityor escape; a means of success and prosperit.y(Aqrab).

Commentary:

'fhe expression" think not" mentioned twicein the verse not only makes the sentence moreclear but aJE:o adds to it. beauty and force.Snch people as exult in evil deeds and ha,,-e 1\0anxiety and no deBire for t.h~ir spiritual wel-fare, being satisfied with false praise only,must not consider thcH\Selves se~ure fromdivine punisl1mentne.

C2: 165 ; 3 :28 ; 45: 6.

472. Commentary:

After having dealt, at Borne length, wi/;h theincid,mts connected with the Battle of Uhudand the hardships that the Muslims had' tosuffer as a result. thereof, God comforts tl1Cmwith the declaration that their interveningsufferings are only I!, passing pha.so and thefinal victory will surely be theirs, because toGod belongs the kingdom of the heavpn8a,nd the earth and He has graciously decreedto bestow both spiritual and temporal blessingson MusJin\s.

473. Commentary:

The lesson implied in the creation of theheavens and the earth and iI\ the alternationof night and day is tbat man has been createdboth for spirHual and temporal progress, andthat if he acts righteously, his period ofdarkness and afiliction must needs be followedby one of sunshine and happiness. Forfurther explanation of this verse see nextverse.

4SJ

CR. 3 AL 'IMRAN PT. 4

"192. aThose who remember Allahstanding, sitting, and lying on theirsides, and ponder over the creation ofthe hea ve:ns and the earth,., b"Our Lord,Thou hast not created this in vain;Nay, Holy art Thou; save us, then,from the punishment of the Fire. 474

~.,~, I\~~ ~.,,'..-:.~ l "'.,,~;' ",.,t.r~;.~ ~ -'\.>~-' ..,4IJI~.J.i~ q~1

'"r r~~""'" .,,~;\ ~~~r

.'\~"~ ;~."'''%'''\;0 \:oj..,)u;:a)}

-'~ ~~. '.. J':i' "'" "-,, ~

k ..

@)(JJI~~~~~t , ,~~~, . (/II '". ~

a4:104; 10:13; 39:10; 62:11. b38 : 28.

474. Important Words:')\!.~ (in vain) is derived from J~

meaning, it was or became false or vain, orvoid or futile or devoid of virtue or of noaccount. They say' ')\!.~ 40~ ~~ meaning, hisblood went for nothing i.e. went unretaliated.~+ ~ J~ mea~B,he .jested or was not

,

serious in his discourse. Jl.~ therefore, means:false, spurious, va!n, useless, void and of noaccount (Lane).

Commentary:

Such a grand system to which an allusionhas heen made in the previous verae couldcertainly not have b~en brought into beingwithout a definite purpose. 'l.'he phenomenonof da r and night referred to in the precedingverse affords an illustration of how this purposeis served. With the rising ofthe sun the wholeworld is illuminated, and men begin to work.Then night fans and the light of the sun ishidden from our view and men go to sleep, buteven then som~ heavenly bodies are bw~ydoing their allotted work. ']'hus both during4ay and night heavenly bodies perfor.tn their

appointpd functions and loyally serve m:1n.The whole universe having been created toserve man, the creation of man also must havea great purpose. Of men some are bright inthemselves like the sun, and there are otherswho possess no intrinsic light of their ownbut borrow it from others. Such men as placethemf!lJ!ves in right reJation to the Sun of thespiritual realm get lighted, while thOi:;e thatkeep away from it are left in the dark.

When Ulan ponder!! over the spiritual implica-tion of thp physical phenomenon of thecreation of heavens and eRrth, the alternationof day and night and the consum.mateorder thatpervades the universe, he is deeply impre!!8edby the great wisdom. of the Creator, aud fromthe inmost dppths of h~s being riscs the cry:OUT Lurd, 11ho7tha,~t not created this in vain.Then apprehension takes hold of him leBthe should become deprived of the light ofthe spiritual Sun and he cries out: Save 'Usfrom, the punishment of Fire, which is notillngbut being overtaken by 8p!ritual darkness andnwral degradation.

4$4


193. "Our Lord, whomsoever Thoucausest to enter the Fire, him Thouhast surely disgraced. And the wrong-doers shall have no helpers.476

194. "Our Lord, we have heard aCrier calling unto faith, 'Believe yein your Lord', and we have believed.Our Lord, forgive us, therefore, ourerrors and remove from us our evilsand in death number us with therighteous.476

195. "Our Lord, give us awhat Thouhast promised to us through ThyMessengers; and disgrace us not onthe Day of Resurrection. Surely, Thoubreakest not Thy promise."

r (~~'.'~ (~~'.'~\ ~-::'-:""r~, 1.,9~"'" ~"r;,~....

\..4-,b~..» ~.J\;J\~w ,...0 .;.\ ~,.. -,,'" . '-'"- *,..'J

",'''';~ ~

@.)~'Jfi~"P ..",tI' '"

\.1~~;b1~~~ ~.>~~)t;;~;.;.. ~\fir." ..II'~ -",.. .."" ~

. till' .~

("~., :..r v:""1.-!

r""1'. ~f« (/~"!:!e~III)

ij~. 1.. J-!U.J~.:J.)\:J.4~"'\:.j-. ., ..""... .:.:r ~ .~ .., .oJ.!...

'to

I,,,,~

;';'f"~"""'" r I@;!J:I~\~~~J~~

. ;;

"",'''''f~.' ""''''' ~.

YI ~"" r,.~~""""r r ' v~"'"._~u"" 'I' s \.:oj. I -. \.0\:,;\..~,, o.:r.. ,~~~ !J. ~ -'" .~

., ,"""'''''''.b''

.,~""'~I~~~' ~\~.> ' ""......

aU : 48; 40: 52.

475. Commentary:

A true believer dreads n.othing so much as thedispleai'ure of God which is like fire that burnsup all traces of goodnes3, and this fire is theheritage of the wrongo.oers only, whom nothingcan eave from punishment.


":,,j~ (errors), which is of lighter signi-ficance and which gen~ral}y refers to naturalweaknesses and ordinary mist.akes andomissions, may represent those dark recesses inus where the light of the sun does not properlyreach; while .:..~ (evils) which is a com-parativdy stronger word, may mean theclouds of dust which hide the light of the Stillfrom onr view. See a180 2 :81 &.3: 17.

Commentary:

In 3: 191 above the word "day" in. theexpres-

sion, the alternation oj the night and the day, isplaced after the word" night," which points tothe fact that ~he spiritual wayfarer, after havingpassed through the night of trials and sins,finally iJasks in the light of the spiritual Sun byaccepti.ng and following the o.iviDe Crier. But..as the present verse points out, he is afraid lesthis weaknel'ses should ret,ard his progress orlest the dust of his sins and the clouds of hismisdeeds should intervene and hide from himthe .ight and warm.th of the spiritual Sun. sohe humbly prays God to disperse tbe dust of hissins aDd drive away the clouds of I,is misdeeds.

'l'ne expression J';;)f\ r::. I:i.i rend!C'red as,in death number u.; with the righteous, literallymean.s, cause us to die with the righteous,meaning, cause us to die when we are righteous,or let not death corne upon us except when weare righteous.

48S

CR. 3 AL <IMRAN PT. 4

196. So their Lord answered theirprayers, saying, a' I will allow notthe work of any worker: from amongyou, whether male or fema!le, to be lost.You are from one another. bThose,therefore, who have emigrated, andhave been driven out from their homes,and have been persecuted in My cause,and have fought and been killed, I willsurely remove from them their evilsand cwill cause them to enter gardensthrough which streams flow-a rewardfrom Allah, and with Allah is the begtof rewards.'477

197. dLet not the moving about ofthe disbelievers in the land deceivethee.478

~~ ~h .~~ 7;, "' '~'f ~{"~'(~-p". ~ .;J~~.J~~~"

~~. ~~'/:" ~"(?-,!( ~ ,~~ l:~', ~ ., w~t.:X~ vr!~~ r.sv ~..jj Cfi ...

'l~'~JI",'r" ~ ~~,?~f" :t"I""~~ ,,~,)-' ~ "~.." ,-,,~~ .J!J~9"" ""I; I. ""... II 1"" 9;1Q1;. ~I A:~ ~~ :'1";.~,I 1'\';: ~

t'F': '"r"~.;J)\;", ~~~~~.J~J

~~~(.(~I~"'I~: ,~'~~i;~ .~ W..., ~ ~~J?t)'"

.,'" ~

1 J'~ r"" ,1 ".b~~~~t ~~~~I~;WIj,

." ~ . .,~

//.'" ',",,,,,

~I~" J"...

@.>~IJI . ~.~~tl~~~~\'"~ ",,!J ~. :r:

198. It is a small and lnief 9[4 "}."Jo,~:,,,,," '~~!.a;~I"lf"~

advantage, then Hell shall be their @.\~u1.J~A-' ~ ~ ~(abode. What an evil place of rest! 479

a4: 125; 16: 98; 20: 113. bI6: 42. 22: 59, 60. cSee 2: 26. d40: 5.

477. Commentary:

_t\s this sUra mainly deals with Christian

doctrines and ideals and t,hei~ way of life, andas Christianity, in spite of its claims to t.hecontrary, gives woman a sta.tUJ! definitelyinferior to that of man, the itl8istence on theequality of the status of woman with manin the spiritual spher~ fOTms a fittingsequel to it.. At several places in theQuran, believi,ng men and believing womenare addressed in the same lang~age and aremade equally subject to the same command.ments and entitled to the same rights andprivileges. Briefly, Islam recognizes theequality of the soc\al and religious rights ofman and woman. The words, you are Jrt»none a"other, are intended to emphaeize theequality of status lli(>utioned in the precedingpart of the verse.

The verse also constitutes an eft'ecti\Te

refutation of the charges of the Shias againstthe Holy Prophet'l> Companions whose failingsand shortcomings, if any, were all forgivenby God in view of the good works theyperformed.

478. Commentary:The verse, besides relating to the time of the

Holy Prophet, has also a most appropriateapplic:\tion to the present dazzling materialprogress of Christian nations i,n all departmentsof life, a.nd warns :Muslims not to be deceivedor overawed by the glamour of this transitoryand fleeting progress.

479. Commentary:

The prosperity of Christian nations is onlytemporary, and the verse hints at tbe dreadfulpunishment which is in store for them andwhich has now actually begun to overtake

them.

486

PT. '4 AL 'IMRAN CR. 3

199. But athose who fear their Lordshall have gardena through whichstreams How; therein shall they abide-an entertainment from Allah. Andthat which is with Allah is still betterfor the righteous.48o

200. bAnd surely a.mong the Peopleof the Book there are some who believein Allah and in what has been sentdown to you and in what was sentdown to them, humbling themselvesbefore Allah. They barter not theSigns of Allah for a paltry price. eIt isthese who shall have their reward withtheir Lord. Surely, Allah is swift inaccount. 481

~ ' .-:. If t , tJ/.." ",,--'"

cIi..,

,7J1.

It""_~ '':''- :.~t'/"" '..:'! ;"." I

"~j\,,7..p~~~.J ~I <.:t~1.

.."" "

o.k~'" ~T.to\~" I~~~~~~ "", .I! "~'",

'" '-'~ ~v :Iy ~<=t~~~"1f.., MjtI~ ~..:J

~)G;'~~~,~.".."~ ,j"'" Ir tJ ,1. ,,,/ I~J..,t: doUu:".~"'~l.I?.I: :1"'-:r ~,,;.~~Q"';"" ~ ~C),J

-'" .,J" "" "",I I"'/, 'J- ~ "C).J~~4L -:' :.. ~~\lJ"I~"" ., I.. ,,, ~1"~'-'.:';, ~ -' .. ~

~?~~~~A~;'~~~J~I~~t-- "III' ",.

'"

.. ;,

r" 1 J' ",,~ -:: .1" ..'"0~~Id:~~I~L&J

aSee 2: 26. e57 : 29.b3 : 111.

480. Important Words:J; Nuzul (entertainment) is the noun-Infini-

tive from J; (nazala) meaning, he alighted,descended or came down; he lodged or setth'din a place. J:; means, guests; place whereguests are made to lodge; food prepared forgllests; a blessed food (Lane & Aqrab).

)1J.I (the righteous) is the plural of J.(a righteous person). Though for the sakeof brevity the word has been translated hereas "the righteous", it really signifies" highlyrighteous Pf'rsons". See al.so 2: 45, 178.

Commentary:

Righteous people will be, as it \vere, the guestsof' God, being housed and fed by Him withblessed food. This, as the verse puts it,willbe an entertainment frofn, Allah; but what isactually Wieh Allah for the particularly righteouspeople is still better.

It must be noted that the verse mentions two

ela!:1sef!of good people: (1) I';; 1 1f}11 i.e.those who f~ar God, viz., orJil!arily righteouspersons; and (2) JIJ.'YI i.e. those who arehighly righteous. For the former the word~used are .iil1.t:s.a- i.e. they will have enter.tainmellt from God, whereas for the latterthe words used are .ii I.t:s. i.e. the highlyrighteous will, as it were, live with GodHimself and elljoy His company.

481'. Commentary:The verse embodies a prophecy to the effect

that many Christiaus and Jews will finallyacee pt Islam.

The Arabic words rendered here as, A.llah is81llift ,in aecount, when used in regard todisbelievers, would mean that God is swift attakivg account and dea.ling out punishment;but when used about helievers they wouldlnean tha.t God ill quick in settling accountsau.d giving out rewards.

487

CH.3 XL 'IMRAN PT. ~

201. 0 ye who believe! be steadfastand strive to excel in steadfastness andabe on your guard and fear Allah thatyou may prosper.482

"; II'Il. I'~ I"r" " 1 " ~

I" ""

"'.-:: r",-(rr"u~~-'!..'..Y.~J ~~ ~ ~cjJ' ~~

;' -", .."" .."t ,;,,~

" ;tw'" ..'"<8~~" ..'" ",..,(-:,"" r.

'"4.b ~-'~

a8 : 61.

482. Important Wbrds:

I.JJ.L. (strive to excel in steadfastness)is derived from .JW' which means he was. ,patient or steadfa.st ; or he exercised rrst-raintover himself; or he bore hard~hips withpatience. 6 J.L. mean~, he excelled him in:patience and steadfastness; he excelled h.imin patiently bearing hardships; he vide withhim in patienee or steadfastness (I.ane &Aqrab).

1J.! I) (be on your guard) is derivedfron~ ~) meaning, he tied or bound or madefast It thing; he tied or bound a beastwith a rope in order that it might not run awayand lH~ kept handy. ~b.; ~) means, llcstrengthened or fortified his heart.

~ J. ..11\~J means, God strengthenedhis heart with pati~l1ce and steadfastness..,..")11~I.) means, he kept or applied him.selfconstantly or 3ssiduously to the thing or affair..J~.}I 1~ I) means, the two parties tied their

horses atl,heir respective frontiers, each inpreparatioJ1 for the other. IJ4 I) wouldtht::refore mean, persevere in fighting againstyour enemy; or tie your horses in rea.dinellsat the frontier; or keep post or remain at thefrontier of the enemy in preparation; orapply yourselves constantly and assiduouslyto the obligations of your religion; or bemindful of the times of Prayer (Lane &Aqrab ).

Commentary:The verse, which is the last of the present

Sura, is important and mentions the essentialmeans for thl! attainment of national goal.'Taken in the physical sen~e, it signifie~ thatin order to attain their goal, Muslims should notonly be pa.tient and steadfa.'!t and make greatersacrifices than their oppoIlCnts but shouldalways be on their guard and shouldparti-cularly be watchful about strengthening theirfrontiers. 'J.'aken in the spi,ritual sense, theinjunctioDs contained in the verse would meanthat Muslims should not only hold fast to theirreligion and faithfully act upon its teachingsbut should also zealoThsly carry the messageofIslam to non-1\1uslims and establish missionsin their countries, at the same time vigorouslydefending thcm~el ves against aU their attacks.The rt'fl'.rence particularly is to the Christianpeople who have proved to be the most bitterenemies of 11'1am.

'J.'he five requisites of success mentioned \nthe Vt'r:>e are: (1) exerc\se of patience andsteadfastness absolutely; (2) showing greaterpatience and greater steadfastness than theenemy; (3) applying constantly and assiduouslyto the lIervice of religion and community;(4) keeping vigilant watch at the frontiers,both for the purposes of defence and attack;a.nd (5) leading lives of righteousness andfearing God. Ah, what. a panacea for the ills ofIslam but how woefully neglected I

~~

488

CHAP'TER 4AL..NISA

(Revealed after Hijra)Date and Place of ReveLation.

This SiWa consists of 177 verses including Bism~1lah. '.A'isha is reported by :Bukhari to

have said that this chapter was revealed when, after her marriage\with the Holy Prophet, shehad come into his house; and as.' .A'isha came into the Holy Propllet's house some time afterthe Hijra, the chap~er proves to be whoHy of Medinite origin. Qur~ubi says that the verse, VerilyAllah commands you to give fYljerthetrusts to these entitled to them (4: 58), belongs to Meccan revela-tions and was revealed at the time of the fall of Mecca. This is a case of faulty nomenclature, foreverything revealed after Hijra is Medinite, even though it may have been revealed at Mecca.

The Rev. E. M. Wherry, Noeldeke and some other European scholars are agreed .on itsbeing of the Medinite period and regard it as having been revealed between the fourth and fifthyears of the Hijra. Noeldeke,. however, is inclined to place some of its verses among t1 e Meccanrev~lations because in them" Jews are referred to in a friendly spirit." Wherry thinks that the

words" 0 people" occurring in verse 134 of this Sura show that it was revealedat Mecca because this form of add~ess has been exclusively used in the Meccan Buras.

The fact, however, remains that this is a Medinitp, Bura and some of its parts were revealedvery late in the Holy Prophet's ministry. European scholars are wrong in inferring fHm the

form of address, viz. "0 people," used in this Sura that some of its verses belong to the Meccanperiod. Similarly, their inference that, because in some of its verses Jews are referred to in afriendly spirit, therefore those verses must belong to the Meccan period, carries no weight. The

inference that the above-mentioned form of address was used only at Mecca has no basis inas-much as this form of address has also been used in Buras which by the consensus of the opinionof scholars belong to the Medinite period, viz., chapters Al-Baqara and Al-{lajj, (e.g. 2: 22; 22:2),though because this form of address has been used in these BUras, these European scholarsregard some of their verses also as having been revealed at Mecca. :But to say that becausea certain verse uses the expression" 0 people" it must, in spite of all contrary evidence, belong

to the Meccan period is.anything but reasonable.The truth, however, is that as long as the Holy Prophet was at Mecca, very few oIthe

commandments of the Shari'at had been revealed and the people of Mecca were the principaladdressees. Therefore in the Meccan Buras the words" 0 people" were frequently employedas a form of address. But with the Holy Prophet's coming to Medina, Muslims became weldedinto an organised community, therefore at Medina the form of address" 0 people" generaHybecame changed into" 0 ye who believe." This change was quite natural. But with the

Prophet's advent to Medina, disbelievers were not altogether ignored. At Medina also theyused to enquire of the Holy Prophet about many things and their questions were answered andthose answers are recorded in the Quran. So whenever in Medina an answer to a certainquestion was revealed in which, along with Muslims, disbelievers were also addressed, the form of

489

address consisted of the words" 0 people/' But when the revealed answer or commandmentconcerned only Muslims, the words" 0 ye who believe Hwere uscd. So there was no reasonfor the words " 0 people" to be definitely given up at Medina; and to fix Mecca as the place ofrevelation of a specific Stira because of these words having been used in it is simply arbitrary.

Similarly, the inference of Noeldeke thlit b€cause Jews have been referred to in some of

the verses of this Sara in a friendly spirit, therefore these" V€IHS must b€loI1g to the Meccanperiod, is iII-based. In the verses which deal with Jews, the Quran maintaiI1s an attitude of

uniform fairness to them whether thoge verses belong to the Meccan or the Medinite period.For inl'tance, it is in a Medinite Sara i.e. .Al-Baqara, that cccurs the v€Ise, .And the Jews say,,

the Christians stand on nothing,' and the Christians say, . the Jews stand on nothing' whilethey both read the same Book (2: 114). In this verse the Quran has been scrupulously fairtowards both Jews and Christians. So the argument that because in a certain verse Jews havebeen referred to in a friendly spirit, therefore that verse must necessarily belong to the Meccanperiod, carries no weight.

Subject-Matter.As in Al 'I mtiin", the Christian Faith constitutes the main theme of this Sura. But in

this Sara greater space has been assigned to a comparison of the detailed teachings of the tworeligions, Isla.m and Christianity, with special reference to the progress and domination of

Christianity in the Latter Days. As in the Latter Days, Christianity was loudly to profess andproclaim its superiority over Islam on the basis of its teachings regarding women, this chapterlarj:tely deals with them, and even a cursory glance over these teachings establishes the fact that

e"en in this respeot Islamic teachings are infinitely superior to those of Christianity. And as thesubject of orphans is intimately connccted with that of women, it has also received special

mention here. The Sura is the first among divine revelations to safeguard the rights of women.They a.re not only given the right of inheritance along with men but have also been declaredto be the masters and arbiters of their property.

The second main topic dealt with in this chapter is that of hypocrisy. As in the LatterDays Christianity was to gain world-wide predominance and a large number of Muslims wereto live under Christian governments and, as a result of their subservience to Christian rulers andtheir fear of Christian criticism of Islam, they were to adopt an hyprocritical attitude towardstheir own faith, the subject of hypocrisy has been particularly treated in this chapter along withthat of women, and light is thrown on the depths to which an hypocrite sinks spiritually andtemporally. Pointed reference has also been made to the ultimate success of Islam, when shame

and abasement will seize these weak-hearted and hypocritical Muslims who feared men more

than their Creator.Towards the end of the Sara a somewhat detailed mention is made of tbe crucifixion of

Jesus, and it is declared that the religious predominance of Christianity is due to the belief thatJesus is not dead but living. This belief is sbown to be utterly unfounded because as Jesus isproved not to have died on the Cross, but to have died a. natural death. the question of hisresurrection simply does not arise. In the concluding verses of this SUra it is declared that

this false doctrine will in the end be oblite~ted and the doctrine of the Oneness of God will

reign supreIXlein the world.

~90

n. 4 At-NtSA

~--

CH..4

(It iI' .. -.";,, r 11". -:'" , .."" ,~~ .~~ l!.J~

1. In the name of Al1ah,the Gracious,the Merciful. «8,3 0/9 ~tt. I

"5'r~1 .

,,\...,':.)1 ~->' ~ ~

2. 0 Yf'ppople! afear y~:>urLord, bW~o.

~-: "":/~.~{ .,~T~~( Il~1 ~~,r;!u;'[created you from a smgle soul and ~ cIJ~ tS~ .!)~ <..f ~..

created therefrom.

its ma

.

te,

.

and from~~,:.rt . f/~~- ;"N ~',... r-::::

.

' -''''; "'..,...,...

them twain. spread m~ny men and ~ ~~)~ ~-'. .~)~ ~ j ~~!Jwomen; and fear Allah, In whose name

.

.". , J ~

1.~,... /. I '.. 'Zo'-"yO? appea~ to one anoth~r, an~ fear .b~r;:'SJI"~~j"'Q<sJ.JI4b1~\':; ~~jH~m partwuZarZy respectmg ties of ~ ~ -', ".$o , . "

relationship. Verily, Allah watches~'''/ ,t;~,... ,...r9"'~

1~I

over yoU.484 <V~)~ CJt) 4U CJ,...

a33:71; 59: 19. ~7:190; 16:73; 30:22; 39:7.


See under 1 : 1.

484. Important Words:~.) (Watcher) is derived from y;. They

say "h i.e. he' watched him; or guardedhim; or waited for him; or he kept or preservedit. ~J is one of God's attributes meaning,Watcher, Gua.rdian, Keeper; One from Whomnothing is hidden. ~J also means, an observer;a spy (Laue & Aqrab).

Commentary:

Tbe words o.b-IJ ~ (single BOul) may

signify: (1) Ada.m; or (2) man and womantaken together, because when two things jointlyperform one function, they may be spoken ofas -one. For instance, 2: 62 speaks of onefood, while it consisted of Manna and quails;or (3) man and woman taken individually,because mankind n\ay be said to have beencreated from one "single soul" in the sensethat each and every individual is created fromthe see(l of man wbo is " one soul" and is alsoborn of woman who is likewise" one sow."

The expression, and created thertfrom its tnCIte,

does not mean that woman was created out ofthe body of man but that she belonged to inesame kind and species as man, having the samenature and the same propensities. The meaningof this expressinn becomes clear when else-where we read jn tbe Quran: And Allah hasmade for you mates from among yourselves(16: 73); and He has m,ade for you pairs of

yO'Urown selves, and of the cattle alsopair8(42: 12). This means that, like other humanbeings, a wife was provided for Adam. fromhis own species. And just as other men'swives are not created fromtbeir ribs, so wasthe wife of Adam not created out of his rib!!;and just as our wives have been made fromourselves in the sense that they are of .thesame kind as ourselves, so was the wife ofAdam created from his ri.b in the sense thatsbe belonged to the same race as Adam did.The prepol!ltion V" (from) which has givenrise to this misconception has been used int~e Quran not only about Ad,arobut shoutoth.er men as wen (e.g. 4 :60; 9: 128 ;10: 3; 62: 3, 4.), and in both cases itshould mean the Same thing i.e. belongingto the same kind or species. The Quran

~1

CH.4 AL-NISA

3. And agive to the orphans theirproperty and exchange not the bad forthe good, and devour not theirproperty with your own. Surely, itis a great sin.486

PT..."'::""

~.

~~2'~j1S",/ ~r"IJ~~'I'!I"~'};...)- ...;J -' ~ ($-:: ~ "~,? ~f~ ~\ ~~("I",~/," ,

;J

ll&f::.(./.~\:.I~ ",~:,.o~... 1)0 ~\J..:J.J

eJZl.."

a4: 11, 128; 6: 153; 17: 35.

lends no support whatever to the view thatEve was actually created {rom the rib of Adam.as is clear from the following verses : Wehaw Ct'eatedyou in pairs (78 : 9); And of every-thing have We created pairs (51 : 50), whichmeaDS that, just as God created a mate forevery li:ving thing, so did He make one forAdam. He did not need to depart from thislaw in respect of Adam and to create a femalefor him out of his own body.

The idea of Eve baving been created out ofthe rib of Adam seems to have arisen from asay~ng of the Holy Prophet to the effect"Women have been created from a rib, andsurely, the most crooked part of a rib is thehigbest part thereof. If you set yourself tostraighten it, you W\11 break it" (Bukh8ri,ch. on Nikap). Thi6 !)adith is, however, anargument against the above view rather thanin favour of it, for it makes no mentjon of Eve,and speaks of all women, and it is clear thatevery woman has not been created from a rib.

The expression " created from a rib" isevidently figurative and must not be takenliterally. What it means is only that, like untoa rib, there is a sort of crookedness in the natureof woman and that this very crookednesslends charm to her. An analogous Quranicexpression,

.. N. : ~ (J" iJW')I1 J.:. i.e.

"man is made of (lit. from) haste" (21 : 38)helps to illustrate the point. These wordsolearty do not mean that man has been oreatedout of a substance called ~ or haste. Tbeymean onlytha.t man is hasty by nD-ture. The

above view has been supported by Majm.a' a1

Bj!)ar, Ba!)r al-Mu!)i~ and Si.aj al-Wahhaj,which all agree that in the above !)adith theArabic word & means a certain crookedness ofmanners, the word itself meaning crookedness.

In fact, this!)adUh refers to a certain peculia-rity of woman,viz., ber affectation of displeasureand coquetry. This" crookedness" has beenspoken of in tbe !)adith as the highest or thebest trait in her character, and those who takeaffectation of anger on her part as an expressionof her real anger and begin to deal harshlywith her for that reason, in fact destroy woman'smost attractive and winning feature.

The verse places" the fear of God," side byside with" respect for the ties of relationship",thus emphasizing th~mportance of good treat-ment of relatives, on which the Quran lays somuch stress. The Holy Prophet used to recitethis verse wben delivering a marriage sermonin order to remind the parties of their dutiesto one another.


Lr (sin) is derived from "':'~ m.eaning,he sinned; he did. what was unlawful. ",:,..rmeans: (1) a great ~n or simply si,n or crime;(2) wrong or injustice; (3) perdition, des-truction or death; (4) disease; (5) a trial,trouble or affiiction (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:After mentioning two favours of God in the

previous verse, viz., the multiplyiug of manymen and women from a .. single l!ouI," and

preserving them from destruotion by instituting

492

PT. 4 AL-NISA CH.4

.4. ~n~ if you. fear~hat you will not" n..-r/,,?6r{.~"'J I. ; ~ ~;1, ~t? ; I '

De faIr In dealing wIth the orphans, y\b~ ~~~'"':" ~ ';, ..;J~ c)J,-'then marry of women as may be , ,

r"t:;'f,;'

'"'9. ",,""" II "Ill I~

agreeable to you, two, or three, or ~~\i ~V"~~:;~ ~r:::at~~four; and aif you fear you will not deal ;' '"

,. ..j

justly, .then marry only one or wh~t ~~b/~~,~~;ti~~\.y~~your rIght ha.nds possess.. That IS ,,~ .. .

",.

~~h.e ~6

.

ar6st way for you to avoid ~\" ~,t.~I'" ;,"mJU$tlc6.~B8 \V!Y~,;; ~.),

a4: 130.

ties of relationship, the Quran proceeds toemphasize the need of protecting posterity bysafeguarding the rights and intereflts oforphans.

The expression, and exchange not the bad JOTthe good, means that if yc,\l do not give theorphans their property, tbe result wilJ be thatyour own pure possessions wiU become i.mpureand you yourselves wiH suffer in the long run.

The wordR, devouT not their property w~'tkyourown, contain a warning to guardians not tomix up the property of orphans with their ownwith the intention of misappropriatilig it. Theclause also hints that if the guardian of anorphan possesses sufficient means of subsistence,be should not take anything out of the propertyof his ward as a oompensstion for his guardian-ship.

486. Important Words:~\J., (as may be agreeable). J~I ~\J.,

means, the thing was or became pleasing,delightful, agreeable or delicious. ~..i ~ ~ \J.,weans, my mind or my soul' became pleasedand satisfied with it. iJ":}..iJ~I ~\J., means,life became pleasant and free from cares forfluch a one Wi ~ I U" ~u. means, he willinglyparted with the thing (Aqrab & Lane).

,,;.. (two) is derived from J. They say. t:; i.e. he doubled it or folded it; or he

. ~urned ODe part of it upon another. c$~

signHies the repetition of a. thing, doing it ODe

time after another, or a thing or affair donetwice. ~ means c)l:Jl iJl:Jl i.e. two andtwo; two and two together; or two at a timeand two at a time. Similarly, ~")\) means,three and three; three and three together j orthree at a time and three at a time; and sois the meaning of t.\) (Lane & Aqrab). Theexpression t \) .J~.y.'.J~ would thus mean,two at a time or three at time or four at a time.

IJyoi (do injustice) is derived from J~wh)(;h means: (1) he had a family or a. large

family; (2) he sustained a.nd supported thefamily; (3) he was or became poor j (4-) heacted unjustly and wrongfully, or he deviatedfrom the right course.

Commentary :

The verse is important inasmuch as itpermits polygamy under spedal circwn-stances. Islam allows (though it certainly docsnot enjoin) a man to have more than onewife up to four. at a time. As the permissionconcem~ng polygamy has been given inconnection with the subject of orphans, itshould be taken to be primarily based on thequestion of the care of that much-neglectedclass of society. There are cases when theinterests of orphans can best be protectedby marrying one or mo~e wives from amongthe female wards or from other women asthe exigencies of circumstances may require.This can generally happen in one of thefollowing cases:

~93.

CH.4 AL-NISA PT. 4

(1) A man has a number of orphans, includinggirls, to look after. He is unmarried and thereis danger of his falling into temptation. Intbis caae he should marry one or more girls,as the case may be, from among his wardsand th~s proteot himself from falling into sinor from betraying his trust and aoting wrong-fully towards his wards.

(2) He is married, but his wife fails to treatthe orphans properly. He may iIl such a casealso marry one of his female wards so that theymay have a good and separate home of theirown.

(3) Some of his younger relations, e.g., brothersor sisters, beoome orphans and he finds that heor his existing wife cannot properly look afterthem. In such an eventuality, he n\ay marrya suitable woman of mature age who may treatthem like a mother. It is on record that insimilar oircumstances J iibir, a young man andone of the Holy Prophet's distinguishedOompanions, married a widow of mature ageand when the Prophet asked him why he hadnot married a young girl, Ja.bir replied that hehad done so that his wife migbt look after hisbrothers and sisters who were left orphans bythe death of his father. The Holy Prophetwas much pleased at this act of Ja.bir andprayed for him (Bukh8.ri, ch. on Buyu').

4. If a, person is afraid that the orphansunder his care being strangers to him, he maynot treat them as kindly as he should do, hemay establish d~rect relationship with them bymarrying one of the female wards.

(5) If a person has a large number of orphansunder his care and he finds that he cannot dofull justice to them without marrying morewives than one, he is permitted to do so tothe limit of four.

The words, two or three or four, signify tbat thelast number marks the utmost limit. It is

related thata£ter this verse was revealed, theHoly Prophet a.skedthose of his Companions

,who had more than fOUl wives to keep ally fQurof them they liked and divorce the reet, so thatthe number might not exoeed four (Tirmidhi,ch. on NikOi).

~A general note on polygamy is appropriate

here. 'Though the verse mentions polygamyin conn('ction with the subject of orphans, yetother situations may also arise in which poly-gamy may become a necessary remedy formany social or moral evils.

If only the objects of marriage itself be con-sid'Cred, tbe permission of the Quran to itsfollowers to wed more wives than one, appearsto be not only justifiable but in Some casesdesirable and even necess8.ry; nay, in such casesit may beoome positively injurious to the bestinterests of individuals and of the communitynot to take advantage of this permission.According to the Quran, the objects of marriageare four, i.e., (1) protection againSt physioal,moral and spirit,ual maladiep; (2) peace ofmind and the availability of a loving com,-panton; (3) procreation of children; -a.nd (4)widening of the circle of relationship.

With respect to the first-mentioned object,the Quran says: ".And allowed to you arethose beyond that (i.e. the cases mentionedin the earlier verses) that you seek them bymeans of your properly-marryiny themproperly (and guarding yourselves againstanimal passions) and not eommitting fornication(and not indulging in unrestricted gratifioa-tion) (4 : 25). The word '-':,i.J. ocourring inthe verse quoted above is derived from~,-, which means, to seek protectionfrom the at.tacks of an enemy by enteringinto a fort. Thus Islam regards marriageas a sort of fort, or a. means of proteotionagainst moral and spiritual diseases. Withrespect to this objeot the Quran furthersays : They (your wives) are a garm.en/

for 'YoUand you are a garlt/ent for them (2: 188).

Now the dress of 0. pereon eerves a three-foldpurpose: (1) It protects him against thE

494

PT. 4 AL-NISA: CH.4

inolemenoy of weather; (2) it serves as anembe1lishment and adornment; and (3) itCQvers one's private parts and any defects thatmay be in one's physical formation. Withrespect to the second object the Qur3lU says:And oj His Signs is this, tAnt He has createdwives Jor you from among yourselves that youmay find peace of mind in them and /Ie hasengendered love and tena.erneu between you(30 : 22). . About the third object it S~y8:Your wives "re a tiUh for you; sO ap'fJt"oachyour tilth ~hen and h01JJyou like (2 : 224).

Now everyone can easily conceive that oneor all of the above-mentioned four objects ofm.arriage, i.e., (1) protection against physical,moral and spiritual diseases; (2) procreationand propagation of the human race; (3)oompa.ny of a Ufe-Iong and loving companionand (4) widening of the circle of relationshipare, sometimes, not realized in tIle case of onewife only. It is a hard fact which cannotbe denied that there are persons whosesexual instinct is too strong to be satisfiedwitb one wife. This is a physical necessityinherent in man aud it is playing with fireto make light of this, tbe most powerfulof all physical instincts. l'be only saneand proper course open to a man whosesexual powers are abnormally strong is tomarry another, if One wife does not satisfyhim. Such oases may be rare but you cannotignore tbeir existence altogether. And a

. perfect religious system, as Islam claims to:. be, has to provide for the pbysical and spiritual

requirements of all sorts of people. Again,if the wife of a person becomes a permanentinvalid or suffers from a contagious disease,the object of nmrriage is certainly defeated ifBuoh a person does not marry anot~er wife.Indeed, no course is left to him but either tooontract anotber lawful marriage or, failingsuocespfully to combat the attacks of hispassions, to lead a dis80lute life. And an ailingwife cannot make a good companion eitber,because however worthy of regard and com..

495

passion she may be, her company cannot givepeace of mind to her h usb8nd in all respects.In the. third instance, if the wife of a personhappens to be barren, tl1e natural and perfectlylegitimate desire of the husband to have anissue to succeed him and perpetuate bis nameremains unfulfilled in the absence of a poly-gamous marriage. It is to meet tbe require-ment8 of aU such persons tbat Islam has alJpwedthe contraction of plural matrimoviaI relations.If, however, in any of these cases a husbanddivorces his first wife, it would be a shameand disgrace for him. For instance, in thecase of an invalid wife it would mean that helived with her ps long as sbe was whole anddeserted her at a tiffe wbeD sbe most oeededhis protect'ion. The only honourable course insuch a ca~e would be to look after the diseasedwife tenderly and marry another woman whoIT-ayfulfil the functions of a wife.

It will thus be seen that the objects ofa polygamous marriage are, to a certainextent, the same as those of a mono-gamous marriage. When one or all of thoseobjects are not realized by a monogamousmarriage, a polygamous marriage becomes anecessity and is allowed. There are, however,other reasons also which may render it necessaryfor a person to have one or more wives inaddition to t\e one whom he dearly loves andwho also fulfils the objects of marriage. Thosereasons are: (a) to protect orphans; (b) toprovide husbands for marriageable widowsand (c) to supplement the decreasing manhoodof a family or community.

It is manifestly clear from the verse under.comment in which permission is given to marryn~ore wives than one that polygamy isresorted to particularly with a view to takingunder one's protection orphans left unprotected.The verse clearly states: If yQfJ,fear thatyou will not be fair in dealitJg ttritAorphan!!(under your prot.ection), then marry of women.aa may be agreeab16 10 you, two 0'1 . three or Jou,. ;

CH.4

5. And agive the women their dowrieswillingly. But if they, of their ownpleasure, remit to you a part thereof,then enjoy it as something pleasantand wholesome:187

AL-NISA PT. 4

:$i ~ c>(it~ ~:;&:O~.~, ,~(~

. ,. it' .,.".J '.:T J

@~~~~ ':Il!~.~::;~:~.~ :~..~ ""'~ .~ ~ ~

a4: 25-26; 60: n.

and if you fear you will not deal justly (betweenyour wives) t!ten ma"y only one. The wordshint that the motber of such orphans a8 areleft in the guardianship of a person shouldpreferably be married by him so that heshould become directly related to, and moreintimately connected with, them and thusbecome more interested in their welfare thanhe otherwise could be.

Again, the Quran says: And marry widows

from among you (24 : 33). To provide husbandsfor widows is thus anotber object which theinstitution of polygamy fulfils. Muslims wereperpetually engaged in fighting in the time ofthe Holy Prophet. Many fell in wars and leftbehind widows and orphans without near rela-tions to look after them. The preponderanceof women over men and an exceptionally largenumber of orphans with no one to look afterthem, which is the inevitable result of war,neoessitated that, to save the Muslim societyfrom moral degeneration, polygamous marriagesshould be enoouraged. The last World Waralso vindioated this useful institution of IslaD~.It left an abnormally large number of youngwomen without. husbands. Indeed, the greatpreponderance of females over males in theWest, due to the appalling loss of manhood 487. Important Words:oaused by the War, is respo{lSible for the present':" \i.1..P(dowries) which is the plural of ~.1..P

awful laxity of morals which IS 3a.ting into the (~aduqa) and not ~.1..P (~adaqa), as might bevitals of Western society. Young girls fail to wrongly supposed, is derived from J.LP. Theyget suitable husbands. But natural passions sl\Y .:.t.~1 ~ J.LP i.e. he was true in his speech,

must be satisfied. The result- is dissolution or he spoke thp, truth, Or be spoke trutbfully.and depravity. In view of the moral depravity J\:AIIIi J.LP means, he fought well; he gaveprevailing in many countries, who has the a good account of himself in the fight; he was.hardihood to deny the wisdomofthe IslalIlic true to bis duty in the fight. J#.)1 iJ J-"

4%

institution of polygamy 1 Many indescribablemoral and physical evils have arisen in the \Vestas the result of this preponderance of womenover men, the only proper remedy for which ispolygamy.

The institution of polygamy if! also intendedto meet the serious situation that follows inthe wake of a war, when, besides other aspectsof decline, the manhood of a nati~n becomesso depleted as to threaten national destruction.The fall of birth-rate, which is a potentcause of the decay of a people and from whichsome Western countries ure badly Buffering,can be effectively remedied only by resortingto polygamy. The West will never recoverfrom the terrible moral and social diseasesfrom which it is suffering as well as from theappalling numerical decline facing certaincountries and comD\unitiep, unless, settingaside all false notions and false sentiments,it submits to the Islamic injunctions aboutpolygamy. It is a sacrifice demanded ofmen and women alike-a sacrifioe in whichpersonal and passing sentiments are requiredto be partly ignored for the wider andpermanent interests of whole oommunities andcountries.

PT. 4 AL-NISA CR. 4

meaDS he was truthful in his promise. The, .expre!!sjon .\":'~I J ~...A!I .;..wo means, :be wassincere to biD! in his advice and brotherlyaffec-tion. SE-ealso 2: 32. :";..wo(~adaqa) of whichthe plural is ..:.1i.1.<> (~ad(lqat)meltnS, anythinggiven to wiD the pleasure of God.and a goodreward from Bim; alms and charity; Zakiit, i.e.,the prescribed tax of Islam for helping thepoor, etc. ~..wo(faduqa) of which the plural is..:.Ii..wo(fadtegdt) ae in the present verse, ~e8ns,dowry or nuptial gift i.e. a gift tbat is givento or for a bride (LaDe & Aqrab). Anotherwordfor it is JI.1.<>(or -*) whioh Islam prescribesfor every marriage tiE', making it binding onthe husband to pay to bis wife. It is so caHedbecause it is a symhol of truthfuJness andsincerity ODthe part of the husband.

~ (wHlingly) is derived from J~. Tbeexpression ; IJI~ meanR, he gave his. wifeher -* or dowry. Tiley say t~; ~ i.e.be gave ~ucp a ODe willingly and cheerfullywithout expecting a return. :',6:::mean.'!, givinga thing willingly and c1eerfully withoutexpecting a return; payment of tbe dowry toa wife; a free gift. :'J,.i is distinguisbable from.~ (8 free gift) in that every ~ is ~ butenry ~ is not ~ (Aqrab & Mufradiit).

. Commentary:The verse may be taken to be a.ddressed to

both tIle husba.nd and the relations of the wife.In the latter case, it wonld. mean that therelations of a woman should not spend berdowry reoeived frolp the husband to meet theirowv needs, but should faithfully haDd it overto her. Some persons receive the dowry oftheIr female warda frolI' their husbands nnd

tben, iustead of giving it to them, keep it forthemselves. Primarily, however, the verse isaddressed to the husband whom it requires topay the agreed dowry to his wife willingly,cheerfully a.nd without dem.ur.' Some peoplefix dowries for their wives and then hesitate oreven refuse to pay them, expecting them andeven urging them to forego the rigbt. Theverse condemns this evil practice.

. The word :u..: (paying the dowry willinglyand cheerfuUy) also points to the amount ofthe dowry being rea<wnable i.e. it should bewell witbin the means of the husband so thatits payment may DOt be a paiuful burd~D tohim; He should be in a position to pay itwillingly and cheerfully. '

.

The clause, if they, of their own pleasure, remittoyo'U. a part thereof, :!pplies to those wiveswho voluntarily and willingly give up or payba.ck anytbing out of the agreed dowry. Itdoes not apply to a case in which the wife isasked or made to relinquish the whole or partof the dowry beforc it has been a.ctually paidto her. According to 'Umar, a.woman mightclaim back her dowry even after she has givenit up, if she has done 80 under any vestige ofpressure.

The words, then enjoy it as somethingplea,ant and wholesome, imply a compliment tosuch husbands as evoke a willing and voluntaryresponse from their wives owing to their kindand loving treatment of them. In such casesthe wives are so pleased with their husbal'dsthat they offer to them a part of their dowryout of their oWn free will, as a tokel' of thetrue love that exists between them.

497 32

CR. 4 AL-NISA PT. 4

o. And give Ii61 to the foolish yourproperty which Allah has made for youa means of support; but feed themtherewith and clothe them and speakto them words of kind advice.488

~~I ~~~I;;f [4,i~H ,;~.y;

~ 1

1~{'1..;," "1:",, ~:; "'1..1.' I~ ~~~~ ~.J~-"""".J ~~~J.J J ....

rf,,''''&'(.G) \8.J..,a.o .0,.


\..1; (means cf support). is derived from(Ii i.e. he stood up. v"~~ (Ii IAeans, heundertook or managed the affair. ~ (Ii

means, he took care of him or it. ~~ (Ii

means, he supported or maintained the orphan(Lane). So (t; would mean, the act .orstate of standing; a means of support orsustenance.

Commentary:

The verse speaks of the property of theorphans as " your property," hinting therebytha.t the guardians of orphans should be verycareful about spending the orphans' propertyand should in this respect treat it as theirown. The expression" your property" mayalso signify" the property of the orphaitswhich is in your custody." It is also possibletbat the expression has been ru:ed here toinclude all property whether belonging to theorphans or to their guardians.

As special emphasis was laid in the precedingverses on the car~ and good treatment oforphans, ther£' was a likelihood that someMuslims might too readBy give orphans their

money on demand from them. This versecautions guardians against such a hasty step,because, bE'ing young apd in£'xperienoed,orphans might waste their money and mightalso thereby spoil their character. Muslimsare, therefore, bidden to meet the legitimateneeds of orphans but not to squandt'tr awaytheir money, which is a means of tbE'irsupport and maintenance. The same injunctionapplies to the children or persons of weak1mderstanding in general, the reason being thesame in both cases.

The word. -ItA- translated as ccCoolieb '.but properly n\eaning. "those who cannot takeproper care of their possessions ", has beensubstituted for the word cc orphans U inthe present verse to supply the needed reasonfor the injunction, as well as to make itof general application, including ill its scopeall mob persons a.s are unab1e to taJre ('are ofthE'ir possessions.

In the case of grown-up imbeciles, the versewould. be taken to bc. addressed to the .State

which should take effective steps to set up insti-tutions like Courts of Wa.rds tQ look after theproperty of such persons as cannot manageit t,hemselvefl~

498

PT. 4 AL-NISA ClI.4

7. And prove the orphans until theyattain the age 01 marriage ; then, ifyou find in them sound judgement,deliver to 'them their property; anddevour it not in extra vagance andhaste against their growing up. Andwhoso is rich, let him abstain; andwhoso is poor, let him eat thereof withequity. And when you deliver to themth~ir property, then take witnesses intheir presence. And Allah is sufficientas a Reckoner.489

~'!. to, :(i~;r~~,\,_'~~ ,~\ :1., ,~Jn~(~ c> t:~ ~ .) t2<5~ ...J

~;. ~ b w1:~, "''\ ~" f9;;'~ §l9~~~~;,).J

\'V ~ \",::,,,t9o'J ~ ....

~~.,(.'''~~ r~'''''''~' ~''' ~,

\~,,, "rt,

,;

~qll s. 00,...0.1. ,.,t 1\1'\. :"'I~I, .~..,. '-F-"".:..'.. ..'-' .",tJ#~J r:.:"r--"

, ,9," , .. -!.';''' I;;r~''to. "~""If ,\.?r i{ ,f,..". (~ 1""""~.) ,)' ,=,J~~(,p~~~Oero-,

r~ 'r jl" "''''.. ,,,

0~ "\1. "~.l:,.7 :.f'. """"''', :''M"'~;' -'v~~~aAfoJ~I~l

489. Commentary:

GuardiaI>s of orphans are enjoit'c,d to continueto test them so that if, after having reachedthe age of puberty, which according to someauthorities is 18 years and according to others21, they are found to be capable of takingcharge of their property, it should be handedover to them. But in no circumstances is itto be made over to them before puberty isattained and before they are so mature ofintellect as to take care of and manage theirproperty. If even at tlce mature age of 18or 21, they are found to be incapable ofmanaging their property, it m8,y be witbheldfrom them for a further period, with thesanction of the State.

The verse also warns guardian.s not to squand~rawa.y in haste the money of their wards beforethey are old enough to t8ke c]Jarge of it. Theguardian is, however, allowed a reasonablewage,ifheispoor, which should be in proportiontit' thp- amount of work he does and to the valueof the ward's property.

But if the guardian is a person of ample

means, he I'hould take nothing out of theorphan's property. In that case, his should be a.labouroflove, done in hopeofreward from God.This verse is not a repetition but an explanationof 4 : 3 which contains a prohibitory injurctionfvr such guardians as possess sufficient income,with the addition tbat it allows a certaiuremuneration for guardians of meagre meanS.

The words, when you deZiver to them theirproperty, then take witnesses in their presence,have been added as a safeguard agailJst allpossible frauds as weB as misunderstandings.The property should be handed over to thewards in the presence of reliable witnesseswhen both the wards and the witnesses arepresent a!' the word c.cpresence" bints.

The yerse ends with a stern wa.rning in thewords, Allah is sufficient as tJ Recleoner. So allconcerned should fear the AU-Seein#{and AIl-Knowing God. Indeed, the fear of being calledto account before God is the only true basisof an righteousness and the real and mosteirective preventive against sin and iniquity.One should fear not only the punishment ofGod but also losing His love and mercy.

.499

CH.4 AL-NISA PT. 4

8. aFor men is a share of that whichparents and near relations leave; andfor women is a share of that whichparents and near relations leave,whether it be little or much-a deter-mined share.490

9. And when other relations andorphans and the poor are present atthe division of heritage, give themsomething therefrom and speak to themwords of kindness.491

10. And let those fea.r God who, ifthey should leave behind them theirown "~ak offspring, would be anxiousfor them. Let them, therefore, fearAllah and let them say the right word, 49~

Ci,-~ 1:JjJ"v"~~91:"i\", ',\'\\ ~,~\:; ~, ~Jr;"11~ ..'" ~ ",,-'t:)j:J;;IJ~V:~~...t~~ ~, , ",

1'" t/I'

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/.'" "'" 9

0 \.Q7,

..~:~!o:, "19~ i',:f-'. "".";(,; I 1:1 1//~ !.'p '..,. J~~~C»)~)J1-'9~)I~;

!,,?,..,'\; '1--.\,,,~r~iIlJ i~~\;~" ,-:,;~J(5'-:: -'~~ ~-' ,. ~ )~~

I

~ ",~ ~H-:,9'" 9'2"" 9,.. ' 9'!9'f~~ ""y..o ~-"~ IY.",-' ~,...o-tb ~ .))\j

~ ~'" 9 ~; ~,; ; ~

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'99'"

9 '"9 '9"'; .I''9{'''''''uP ~: I'

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10\!N\J...w,I:;,"'--='., ~\ \'-.:.:'"\. ~~\:J ..", ;J::r~~ ~ ill..

a4: 34.

490. Commentary:This verse, without giving the cletails, forms

the basil! of the Islamic law of inheritance.Detailed rules are given in the succeeding verses.The verse lays down the general principle ofthe social equality of man and woman. Bothare entitled to a suitable share in the property.

49!. Commentary:

The Sura began by enjoining men and womento treat one another with kindness. Next,it exhorted believers to take Care of orphans,for these matters have an important bearingupon socia] order. The present verse treatsof yet another social Snbject of importance.

By the words, relations and orphans and thepoor, are here meant those distant relatives,and those orphans and poor persons who, beingnot among the testator's lawful heirs, are notentitled to receive any part of his propertyas of right. The verse, though not giving alegal right of inheritance to them, exhorts alltrue Muslims, while making a will about thedivision of their property, to set apart aportion of it for orphans and the poor and

8uch distant relatives as are entitled to nolegal share. A testator, however, can leaveby will not more than one.third of his pro.perty to other than his lawful heirs (Bukh8.ri,ch. on Wo~iiya).

According to Ibn 'Abbas, Ibn Musa.yyib, IbnSa'id and Abu Ja'far, the time referred to inthe verse is when a person is abont to make hiswill regarding the di-vision of his property(MulJ.i~). If nothing can be sparecl out of theproperty for this class of people, the testatorshould at least state in the will that they shouldbe treated with kindness and he himself shouldalso say kind words to them. The injunctionlaid down in the verse does not concern orphansparticularly, but forms a part of the law ofinheritance in general. As death leaves behindorphans, therefore injunctions pertaining toorphans have been coupled with tl:ose per-taini.ng to the disposal of a deceased person'sproperty.

492. Commentary:

The verse contains a strong and highlyforcoful appeal in favour of orphans, Those to

500

PT. 4 AL-NISA CH.4

II. Surely, uthey who devour theproperty of orphans unjustly, onlyswallow fire into their bellies, andthey shall burn in a blazing fire.493

2 12. Allah commands you concerningyour children: a bmale shall have asmuch as the share of two females;but if there be females only, numberingmore than two, then they shall havetwo-thirds of what the deceased leaves;and if there be one, she shall have thehalf. And his parents shall have eachof them a sixth of the inheritance, ifhe 'have a child; but if he have nochild and his parents be his heirs, thenhis mother shall have a third; and ifhe have brothers and sisters, then hismother shall have a sixth, after thepayment of any bequests he may havebequeathed or of debt. Your fathersand your children: you know notwhich of them is nearest to you inbenefit. This fixing of p(}rtions is fromAllah. Surely, Allah is All-Knowing,Wise.494

~l~"~ r;:' \~ '~<I\ J~ (~\ ~!~t ~~~I~ I

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Jr ~ ~;JC:"0 ..", .."

USee4: 3. bi: 177.

whom the guardianHhip of orphans is entrustedare told to imagine just how they would feelif they knew that they were to die leavingbehind little children and no one to take careof them. The implication is that they shouldtreat their wards as kindly as they would liket~eir own little children to be treated in caseof their own death.


~~ (burn) is derived from J Theysay ~ 1J... i.e. he roasted the meat. ~ 1J..'means, he threw the thing into the fire tobe burned. JU\ J..- mean,s, he felt the burningheat of the fire, or he entered the fire and wasburnt (Aqrab).

~---

Commentary :The words, into their bellies, in. the cia USi',

(they) onl!! swallow fire into their bellies, thoughseemingly superfluous are not really So. Theyhave been added to point out that the firewhich they swallow will, as it were, becomea part of their bodies and coptinue asaconstant source of burning.

494. Important Words ~

~J!I(his parents) is really ~J!I, theletter ~ b~ing dropped owing to ~t.&I.The word W'1. 1 is the genitive of ~I 1.1 whichis the dual-form of ,:,,1 which is originaHy

YoI meaning, father or grandfather or anyn\ale ancestor or paternal uncle. iJ\.J.\ literally

50~

CH.4 AL-NISA PT. 4

meaning " two fathers" signifies" father andmother" (Lane).

JJJ (child) is very general in its significancemeaning: (1) a child, son, daughter or ayoung one; (2) children, sons, daughters,offspring or young ones. Thus the word isused both as singular and plural, feminine andmasculine (Lane).

Commentary:

'l'his and the succeeding verse combined withthe last verse of the Sura givetbe Islamiclaw of inheritance iT' a nutsbell.

Islam preflcribes fluitable shares for all nearrelatives in the property of a deceased personwithout distinction of sex or order of birth.Childrep, parents, husbands and wives are theprincipal heirs who, if alive, get suitableshares in all circumstances, other relation,shaving a title only in special cases. A malehas been given double the share of a femalebecause he has been made responsible for themaintenance of the family (Ma'ani, ii. 32).

The Islamic law of inheritance is perfectand it safeguards against all evils that resultfrom laws prescribed by, or in vogue in,other faiths and communities. It aims at afair distribution of wealth and equal chancesof progress for all. To give the property ofa deceased parent to the first-born son only orto exclude the female members from inheritanceor to disinherit parents in the presence orchildren has proved a veritable curse for societyin many ways-moral, social and economic.Tbe Islamic law of inheritance, reinforced bythe system of Zaldit (prescribed alms) and bythe injunction prohibiting the giving and takingof interest, provides a golden mean betweencapitalism and communism-the two evilextremes of present-day economic system.

The verse begins by laying down a generalrule as to the proportion of shares betweensons 3nd"daughters. A SODis to have as muchas two daughttrs. So wherever there are l\oth

sons and daughters, this rule will come inforce. When, however, there are onlydaughters and no son, the verse allots two-thirds of the legacy to the daugDters, if thereare more than two of them, and one-half ifthere is only one. The share" of daughters incase there are two, is not expressly stated,But the use of the conjunction Ii (but) in theclanse, but if there be females only, numberingmore than two, clearly points to the fact thatthe share of two females hI's been referred to inthe preceding words" two females." Moreover,the share of two females can be gathered fromwhat has already been said in the beginning ofthe verse about the ratio between the sharesof the males and the females. According tothat ratio, a SOn is to get 3S much as twodaughters. Thus, if there be one son and onedaughter, the son will have two-thirds. Butas the share of one son has been made equalto that of" two daughters," the latter, in casethere is no son, will have two-thirds, viz., thesame share as has been expressly fixed for threedaughters. Thus, the very construction of theverse shows that if there be two daughtersand no son, they too, as in the case of threedaughters, will get two-thirds. If it had notbeen the object of the Quran to point to theshare of two daughters in the clause, it wouldhave beeD something like this, "a maleshall have twice as much as a female ", and notas it is now.

The above meaning is corroborated hy a sayingof the Holy Prophet bimself. It is related thatwhen a Companion of the Hely Prophet namedSa'd bin Rabi'a died in the Battle of Ul.tud,leaving two daughters and one widow, hisbrother took away the whole property, leavingl\othing for the two daughters. Thereupon thewidow of Sa'd went to the Holy Prophet andsaid, "Here are the two daughters af Sa'd.Their uncle has taken the whole of his propertyand has left nothing for them." 'fhe HolyProphet told lier to wait till God should decide

502

PT. 4 AL-NlSA Cll.4

13. And you shaH have half of thatwhich your wives leave, -if they haveno child; but if they have a child, thenyou shaH have a fourth of that whichthey leave, after the payment of anybequests they may have bequeathedor of debt. And they shall have afourth of that which you leave, if youhave no child; but if you have a child,then they shall have an eighth of thatwhich you leave, after the paymentof any bequests you may havebequeathed or of debt. (lAnd if therebe a .man or a woman whose heritage isto be divided and he or she has neitherparent nor child, and he or ,r;hehas abrother and a sister, then each one ofthem shall have a sixth. But if theybe more than that, then they shall beequal sharers in one-third, after thepayment of any bequests which mayhave been bequeathed or of debt,without prejudice to the debt. This isan injunction from Allah and Allahis Wise, Forbearing}95

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a4: 177

the IIlatter. Tben this verse was revealed andthe Prophet called upon Sa'd's brother to givetwo-thirds of Sa'd's property to his twodaughters and one-eighth to their mother andkeep the rest for himself (Tirmidhi &.Dirid).

The verse speak1! of tbree cases 0.'3 regard.,the, share of the parents: (1) If a. person diel'leaving one or more children, then each of hisparents shall have one-sixth; (2) If a persondies issueless sud his parents are the sole heirs(there being no wife or husband. of the deoeasedpe1'l"0n), then the mother will have one-thirdof the property and the remaining two-thirdswill go to the father; (3) There ie a third case,which is really ~n exception to thp. s{'Cond case.A man dies without issue and his pa.rents are

his sole beirs, but he has brothers or sisters.Then, although his brothers or sisters will notinherit from hin1, yet their presence will affectthe share of the parent..'�, for, in this CMe, tbemot1er will have one-sixth (instead of Ol~e-third,as in the second case) and the rel1l'l.ining five-sixtp.s will go to the father. The reason whythe father if! awardl;!d a larger share in t!lil!case is that -the father has also to supt>ortthe brothers or sisters of the d~(}eaged. Tbesubject of inheritarace is continued in tbe8ucceedin~ verse.

495. Important Words:';d~5" (one who hM neither parent nor

child) is derived from :f £.e. he was or beoame

fatigued, tired or wearied and could proceed1\0 further; he was or beoame one having no

503

CR. 4 AL-NISA PT. 4

child and no parent, the latter meaning' beingbased on the former, as a person. having nochild or parent beoomes, as it were, too fatiguedfor the racial maroh. ~J\S" is (1) a personwho leaves behind neither father nor child,male or female; or (2) a person who leavesbehind neither father nor son. Acco~dingto Ibn 'Abbas ~J\S" is a person who leavesno son irrespective of the faot whether hisfather is living or not, This would thus be the

.third meaning of ~J\J'" (Lane, Aqrab &Mufradat).

Commentary:

The first part of this verse determinesthe share of the husband and the wife ininheritance and needs no comment. '1'helatter part deals with the case of a KaliiZai.e. one who leaves neither parent nor child andw~ose properly is inherited by his or her brotherand sister. Now, if there is only one brotheraud one sister, eaoh of them will get one-sixth..:But if tbey are more than that, they will besharers in one-third.

It should, however, be noted that in thisrespect brothers and, Risters fall under three!tepds; firstly, real brothers or siRters, offspl"ing(If tte same parents (such brothers or sistersare technically known as J~I, a'ylini);secondly, brothers and sisters on the side ofthe father only (thcse are technically knownas J'Y/), 'Izlliiti); thirdly, brothers and sisters onthe side of the mother only, their father beingnot the same as that of the d(:ceased (suchbrothers and sisters being tecbnically called

~~ I, akpyiifi). It is to the last-mentionedclass that tbe comw.audment given in thepresent verse pertains; the law witII regard tothe first two classes of brothers and si8tersbeing given in the last verse of this Stira .

The reader 'Will further note that the sharesallotted to the brothers and sisters of the last-mentioned class are sroaner than those allotted

tp ~be bl'otpers and sisters of the first two

classes, the reason being that the brothers andsisters of this clasS are on the side of the motberonly, while the brothers and the sisters of theother two classes are the ohildren of the ",a1U8father as the deceased.

It is also noteworthy that in the property ofa person who dies as a Kalii,la, as mentionedin tlte present verse, both brothers and sisterahave equal sbares, the usual ratio of two toone being not observed in their case.

The words, "without prejudioe to the debt,"are important, They mean that the paymentof debts should not suffer by the payment ofbequests. In other words, debts are to be paidprior to the payment of bequests. It W8Sincompliance with this Quranio injunotion thatthe Holy Prophet used to have the debts paidbefore the payment of bequest~. Tbl,' rightsof other people must be safeguarded beforelillY bequest made by tbe deceased is oompliedwith. So strict was the Holy Prophet in thesePlatters that he refused to perrorIn the funeralservice of the man whose debts were likely toremain unpaid.

It may incidentally be noted here thatheirs are divided into two main groups:-

1. uAil.;JII.J.J~ (Dkawii'Z.,Farii'i4) i.e. persoI1$to whom Islam allots a fixed and definiteshare (1,1.1, t, ! or!) in. the estate of adeceased person.

2. ..:..~ ('A~abiit) i.e. the heirs who receivethe residue after the Dhawti'Z Farii'if have.received their allotted shares.

It is, however, not necesgary that a memberof thp. first group should alwaya rem!\in a DAti'.Farida. In certain cases, .he may be both aDhti'; FariiJa (sharer) and an 'Afaba (residuary,)and in other cases he IW\Ybe simply an 'A,aba.

The Dhau-ii'l~Farii'i4 (sharers) are 12 innumber, four males and eight females. The!rales are 1. father, 2. paternal grandfa.ther, 3.husband and 4. h3lf-brother 011the materna.l sid".

']'1e females are (1) daughter, (2) ~Dts daughtef,

~04

PT. 4 AL-NISA CH.4

14. These are the limits set by Allah;and awhoso obeys Allah and HisMessenger, bHe will make him entergardena' through which streams flow;therein shall they abide; and that isa great triumph.

.3

15. cAnd whoso disobeys Allah andHis Messenger and transgresses Hiscommandments, He will 'make himenter into Fire; therein he shall abide;and he shall have an humiliatingpunishment.

16. dAnd those of your women whoare guilty of lewdness-call to witnessfour of you against them; and if theybear witness, then confine them to thehouses until death overtake them orAllah open for them a way.4!1G

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~ 9G~~a3 : 133 ; 8 : 21 ; 33 : 72. bSee 2 : 26. c72 : 24-. d4: 20,26; 21: 20.

(3) D'other, (4) wife, (5) full sister, (6) balt-sister on paternal side~ (7) half-sister OIlmaternalside, and (8) grandmotber whetber pII,terral or

. maternaL

'fhe .A~abat (residuaries) are of four kinds, (1)ascendants of the deceased i.e. father, paternalgrandfather, etc. (2) descendants of the a.~ceasedi.e. "°1:, Ron's son, etc. (3) descendants of the

. father oHhe deceased i.e. Cullbrother, brother'sson, etc. (4) descendaDts of the gran(lfatheri.e. f~l1 paternal uncle, paternal uncle's 8on~etc.

496:"Important Words:.~ \AI\ (lewdness) is deri ved trom ,,;:..; .

They say ~':ill";':"; i.e. the matter or theaffair or th~ thi_ng was or became toul, evil~immodest or lewd; or it; became excessivelyfoul, etc. ;tvll ~ m~ans, the womanbecan:~efoul or uSl,.. ~Ii means~ he vied

with him or strove to surpass him in foul orobscene sp~ech or language, etc. ~tttherefore means~ an excess or enormity or any-thing exceeding the bounds of rectitude; or athing excessively and enormously foul, evil,immoral, lewd or obsceM ; a sin or crime whichis excessively foul; adultery or fornication..c ; besides giving the same meaniI\g as~Ii also signifies avarice or nigga.!dliness inthe payment. of Zakit or the poor-rate (Laue).

Commentary :

The women referred to in this verse are thoeeguilty of foul or immoral conduct sbort ofadultery. Abu Muslim and Mujahid, \mODI;others, have also beld this view.

The werd!!, cO'YIflneth~m to the houses untildeatJh ooertaJce them Of'Allah open for them away, mean that they should be preven.ted froIij

~O5

r&:II"'

CH.4, AL-NISA PT. 4

17. And if two men from amongyou are guilty of it, punish them both.And if they repent and amend, thenleave Hem alone; surely, Allah isOft-Returning with compassion andMerciful. 497

~ "~\J :~\~'~~ ~~!. ~;\; . \.~t'). ~ ... ~ ~ ... ..,... ':f~ .)I 1. ...'

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'~ ' ~(0 =>. ~ <.:) ~ <.:)...'.. '...~-f'

mixing with other women until they reformthelll8elves or get married, marriage being aneffective mean8 of weaning people from immoralpractices. As the offence mentioned is aserious one, four witnesses are considerednecessary in order to prevent injustice beingdone to women.

Some scholars have s011ght to interpret theverse in the )jght of a saying of the Holyprophet which runs as follows: '.' Learn fromme, Allah has indeea opened for them a way,which is that if an unm.arried couple commitfornication with each other, they should receivea hundred stripes and should be banished forone year. But if a married man comm.1t.sadultery with a married woman, then theyshould receive a hundred stripes each andbe stoned to death U (Jarir, iv. 182). Thesescholars hold that the word ~I; f,Jabisha)mentioned in the verl:'e means" adultery"and that this verse prescribed that the womenwbo conunitted adultery were to be detainedin their houses till their death or till the timewhen God should open a way for them i.e.reveal the law cOJ1cerrjng them; and that thelaw which was afterwards rcvealed Was to theeffect that 3n unmarried woman committingfornicatioD should receive a hundred stripesand one year's banishnwnt, while a marriedwoman guilty of adultery should be stoned todeath after sbe had received a hundred stripes.This interpretation, however, is open to manyobjections:-

1. If the words, confine fJ,em to the homestmtil death OtJe,.takethem Of'Allah open for them

a way, m.ef.n that tiley were to be detained in1iheir houses until God gave IIis law cOI\('erning

t}lem, the question is, what hindered Godfrom giv.ing His law at tbe very time of therevelation of the verse under comment., Thereis no hint bere that the: time was not yet ripefl)r such a law to be revealed. In this case.

the only inference will be that God heritatedto giv£' the necessary law at the time when thisverse was revealed because He was not yetdecided, the matter being still tJDder Hisoonsideration SUC}Ia supposition ca.nnot bemade p.bout Hod.

2. The law mentioned in the above-quotQdl,1adith is not found in the Quran.

3. The Holy Prophet.'s oWII practice wasagainst this l,1adith. No less than four personswere stoned to death for adultery in his life-time, but none of them was given the punishmentof a hundred stripes before being stoned as theabQve-m.entioned l,1adith prescribeI:'.

It may also be l)oin.ted out here that accordingto the usage of the Quran, the word ~ I;(jiU}isha) does not alwaY3 mean" adultery"but as shown under Important Words aboveit is (Ilso applied to all sorts of excesses orsins or crimes or acts exceeding the boundsof rectitude. For this meaning of the word thereader is referred to 33::31 which says: 0 wiyes Qjthe Prophet, if any of you beguilty '!! ~-:"

~I;

(manifestly dishonourable conduct): and 65: 2which says: unless they commit ~;~ ~It(an act which i, manifestly foul) ; and 7: 29which saya: and when they commit ~\;(a foul deed). In none of these verses ~oesthe word ~I; wean ad.uhery.

497. Commentary:

'l'he vefSe refers to two males who are guilty

506

PT. 4 AL-NISA CR. 4

18. Verily, aAllah under.

takes to ';~~"'~\\"'~"".~ ~ l~~~':l l r'"accept the repentance of only those ~ .;J.~ ~, ..C(.~ q,ultJ'" ""-!~ ~~,who do evil ign

.,

o.

ra

.

ntlY and then rep.

e,

n

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t 10"'" "

, "" ,,- 9r~ ')'-:'.. '" "'"", "'tsoon after.. These areth~y,to whom ~dL\~~~-,~~~~C)y~;4.JAllah turns with mercy; and Allah is ..' .'''? ." '" .

All-Knowin g , Wise.us' e' ~(~'1"9;." ~'.. -~ 4.\)110:> ...; ..,. ..t1I

19. There is, no acceptance ofrepentance 'for those whotJontinue todo evil until, when death faces oneof them, he says, 'I do repent now;

,

bnor for those who die disbelievers. Itis these for whom We have prepareda painful punishment.

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of an unnatural offence or sometbing approach-ing it. What particular form the punishmentmentioned here should take has been left tothe diecretion of the authorities concerned.

Both this verse and the preceding one referto offences fot" wbich n9 J'..r ...;. (punishment

deihliiely fixed by the Law) hss been prescrib-ed, the matter having been left to thediscretion of the authorities to be decidedaocording to ciroumstances.

498. Commentary:

The expression ':.JIttt: (ignorantly) does not meanthat the offenders do evil without knowingthat it is evil. In fact, every evil deed whicha man dOE'Sis an act of ignoranoE', bon) of lackof true knowledge. The Holy Prophet isrePorted to have said, CCThere are some kinds

of Cknowledge' whic1: are really Cignorance' ,.

i.e. the learning of which is injurious to man(Bil;1ir). So the expression "N1tf: (ignorantly)has been added to point to the philosophyof sin and to exhort people to acquire trueknowledge with a view to avoidiDg sjn.

The words 'rl j ,:;- (BOon after) here mean

" before death" which may come at any timeand is thus always near. 'J'be Holy Prophetis reported to have said: 'c Allah acoopts therepentanoo of man till the agonies of death"(Muslim, ch. on Tauba). This explanation jllcorroborated by what ie said in the next verse(4 : 19), viz., who continue to do #wil untl1 whendeath/fJCe8 oM o/therrl', he says, J do repent now.This shows that repentance may be acceptedof any person. if he sincerely repents ~foredeath actually overtakP.,s him.

5al

CH.4 AL-NISA PT. 4

20. 0 Y6 who believe, it is not lawfulfor you to inherit women aga~st theirwill; nor should you detam themwrongfully that you may take 3:waypart of that which you ha~e giventhem, except-;that athey be guIlty of aflagrant evil; and consort with themin kindness; and bif.you dislike them,it may be that you dislike a thingwherein Allah has placed much goOd.499

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r. \~':. t",~,~ a:..;0~ IJ':;>".."aSee4 : 16. b2: 217.

499. Commentary: live with their husbands and seek s~a:ratioD

Men become heirs of women against their from them, wbich they can do by means ofwill in varbus ways: (1) A man doel" not like KkuZ', the husbands should not prevent thembis wife and doeH not treat ber. well, y~t he from doing so out of greed for their money.doce not divorce her, hoping to possess ber Rut thpy can do so, if the wiveg are going toproperty after her d~ath; (2) He treat!! his be guilty of a manifestly foul act.

.

wife harshly and compels her by ill-treatment The wordg, consort with them in lc~'ndnes',to obt8i:Q separation (KhuZ') from him by embody th~ pith of the Islamic teachings aboutgiving him Ii part or whole of ber property, or the treatment of wives. They are not to beby surrendering her dowry; (3) The relatiol's of treated in a 4ry, business-like way but withtbe deceased husband of a widow prevent her love and kindnes!!. The Holy Prophet isfrom marrying another busband in order to reported to bvE' said: ~~ f' Jf- f'.J'..';"i.e.gt>:tpossession of her property after her dea.th ; "the best !J.lnong you is he who is best in(4) They force her to marry some one from his trea.tment of his wife" (Tirmidhi). Butamong' themselves against her will, treating as a one-sidcrl affair can never be trulyher virtually as a part of the property left by successful, the Qllran uses the expression ~ J f~ t-her dead husband; (5) The husband takes (consort witb them) which bein~ of theby force the property of his wife, as if it were measure ~\;.. denotes reciprocity. So hushandshis' by legal right; (6) The relative!! of the and wives are both enjoined to live amicablydeceased husband take away by force the with each other and reciprocate each other's'property of his widow, depriving her of her love anrl kindness.right of inheritance.

Woman cannot adequately appreciate andThe dec(,8sed person's relatives cannot prevent acknowledge the great d(~bt she owes to the

bis widow from contracting a new marriage so Quran. No other scripture has ~iven to herthat they may get hold. of her property; but the bigh status that the QuraI1 gives her. Itthey oan. pJlevent her from doing so, if not only lays down her inalienable rigbt3 butshe intends to marry a person of manifestly also exhorts men to overlook the wcaknesl!Csobjectionahle cllaracter. 81Jd shortcomings of their wives aDd treat

If tbe addresl'. is to the husbands, the verse them with kindpess and benevol('Dce, even if

would JJ~('anthat if the wives do not w3nt to tbey do r.ot like them. The memorable words

5(»3

PT. 4 At-Nt sA CH 4

21. And if you desire to take onewife in. place of another and you havegiven one of them a treasure, take notaught therefrom. Will you take it bylying and with manifest sinfulness~500

. 22. And how can you take it whenone of you has been alone with theother, and they (the women) havetaken from you a strong covenant ~501

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.~ ff.r1.....~ ' ",..e .~. \)~'! .'. \ ... ~~ "of the Holy Prophet quoted above i.e. "tbebest of you is he who is best in his treatmentof rus wife" (Tirrnid4i), are only an echo of thenoble teacuings of the Quran with regard towomen.


~~ (lying) is the noun-infinitive from~. They say ~ i.e. he slandered himor accused him fakely; or he did so insuch a manner as to make him confoundedat the falsity of the charge. ~~ thereforemeans, a calumny, slander or false accusa.tion ;

falsehood by reason of which one is perplexedor confounded and is rendered unable to seebis right course; a false accusation of adulteryagainst a woman (Lane &:,Aqrab).

Commentary :

The verse does Dot mean that man can divorcehis wife at will. Anas, a Companion ofthe Holy Prophet, relates that once AbiiAyyiib and Abii 'fall,1a wantE:'d to divor!'e theirwives (without valid reason) and asked theHoly Prophet about; it. He counselledthem not to do so, characterizing their act asan act of injusticE:'. TbereuIJon, theyabandoned their intention of divorcing theirwives and retained them. This does notmean that a husband cannot divorce hiswife without obtaining the permission of theauthorities; he can do so, if he so desires; buthe wilJ certainly be accountable before God if

be does so without valid reason. Elsewberethe Holy Prophet is reported to lave said,

" Surely of the things sanctioned by tl>eL~wofII:I}am.the most hl\teful in the sight of God isdivorce " (Dawiid ch. on ,/,aliiq).

If for some special reason a m.an wishes todivorce ope wife and marry another, he is notallowed to take back from the former whathe has already given. her, no matter howeverbig the snm may be. If he does so, he willbe guilty of infidelity and sin.

501'. Important Words:

\5;'; \ (has been alone) is formed from \..;um.rani[lg, it was or became empty or vacant,or void; it was or becan\e wide or spacious.~I JI ..:.~I means, 1 oame t.o or readIeda tbing.

""""I J I ~ I means, he went in

unto his wife; or he came in contact withhis wife, skin toOskin; he was with her alone inprivate (Lane).

Commentary:

The words, one of yott has been alone witb theother, do not necessarily imply sexual inter-Course. They only mean living with eachother and meeting each other in private on

,

terms of extreme intimacy. According to this. verse, a man cannot take back from his wifeany propE:'rtyor sum of m.oney he may havegiven her, even though he may not ha~e gonein unto her.

The E'xprcssion, and they (the tDon&en) 1u.we

~

CH.4 AL-NISA PT. 4

23. And marry not those womenwhom your f thers married, exceptw~at has already passed. It is a thingfoul and hateful, and an evil way,602

R. 4 24, . Foridden to you are yourmothers, and your daughters, and Joursisters, and yonr fathers' sisters, andyour mothers' sIsters,. and brother'sdaughter~, and sister's daughters, andyour foster-mothers that have givenyou suck, and your foster-sisters, andthe mothers of your wives, and yourstep-daughters, who are your wards,by your wives to whom you have gonein-but if you have not gone in untothem, there shall be no sin upon you-and the wives of your sons that arefrom your loins; and it is forbidden toyou to have two sisters together inmarriage, except what has alreadypassed; surely, Allah is Most For.giving, Merciful. &03

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taken front yott a strong covenant, shows thatwomen are not the slaves of the whim or capriceof men. Both are bound by a sacred contractand Dlen owe to their wives obligations whichthey must respert and faithfully discharge,because, as regards social rights, both are onmuch the same level. Men are warned berenot to treat light-heartedly the covena.nt theyhave m.ade with their wives, the very tio ofmarriage having the force of a oovenant.

502. Impbrtant Words:

I:A. (hateful). .cA. means, he hated himon acoount of a foul or evil action com.m.ittedbv him; he hated him with a violent hatredo~ account of a foul or evil action. .:..A.otherefore, means, violent hatred based onsome foul or evil action; contracting marriagewith the former wife of one's father which is

con&idered to be a most hateful act (Aqrab).

Commentary:The clause, except 'what has already lJa8sed,

does not mean that step-mothers taken aswives before thi,Etverse was revealed could beretained. What the words mean is, simply,that if such m<,n repent and amend, no harmwill come to them for what unlawful acts theymight have comnritted in the past. The pastwill certainty be forgiven but the women whomit was unlawful to In:ury were to be divorcedat once after this vl'rse Was revealed. In fact,the position of women in pre-Islamic Arabiawas so degraded that men looked upon theirstep-m.others as part of the chattels, left bythoir fathers, with whom they did what theyliked. Islam accorded to women ~nviolablerights which could not be infringed ~withimpunity.


~~) (step-daughters) is derived from ~.I

51Q

PT. 4 AL-NISi\

an.d i~ the plural of ~¥.J meau.ing, the daughterof a. woman's husband by another wife or thedaughter of a man's wife by another husband,because he or'she rears her in spite of her beingDot a real daughter; or it means the wife of aman having child by another wife; a180 awoman who has the charge of a. cmid, ",-horears or fosters it (Lane & Aqrab).

j P' (warde) is the plural of .J':- whichis derived from f:- mea.ning, he preventedor hhldered it. ft- means, bosom or breastor the part beneath thp. armpit; custody, careor guardianship. ,]~hey say, .J ~ ~ ~ ~ j t:.i

i.e. Zaid grew up in the nare and protec-tion of 'Amr. 1'he expressionf'J ~ ~ JIIwould, therefore, mean, those who are underyour care or guardianship i.e. your warels(Lane, Aqrab & Mufradiit).

,J'>- (wives) is the plural of J:I-- and-~ whieh are both derived from J. i.e.he alighted or took up his abode; or lie or itbecame lawful; or he ul'lt.ieda knot, etc. J:I...means, husband and ~ wife. ~ alsomeans, a feHow-lodger or fellow-resident ofanother in one hOl1se (Aqrab). It also meansa neighbour and a gUE-st(I.-ane).

~JI (have given you suck) is derivedfrom cl'). 'l'hey say 40I e

j i.e. he sucked

the breast of his mother. ~lPjl (f ~I 1.1.means, he is n~y foster-brother, we both havingsucked the breast of the same wo~n.~ I .w..;..) I means, bis mother suckled him; and(JJJ) ;;tv11 .:-;. ;..1 means, I sought ordemanded of ihe woman that she should sucklemy, ohild (Lane).

Commentary :

'1'be prohibition 3bout marrying mothers,sisters and daugbters may look superfluous;but there arc certain people (e.g. certain !!ectsnmo,ng the Hindus) wlw regard such marriagesas not only pernUssible but even meritorious.The Quran, being a perfel"t code of Law, containseverything essential for man's physicaJ, moral

ClI.4

and spiritual well-being. The Quranic lawsare in perfect harmony with hUllian nature;in fact, they only renUl1d UBof what is writlarge on the book of human nature by God'sown htjnd. Huma.n nature respOJ'ds to whatis taught by the Quran and the Quran commandsthat whieh human nature demands, and itprohibits wnat DUn\3Unature revolts against.The Holy Prophet is reported to have saidthat t.he relatives of foster-mothers are asforbidden as those within prohibit~d degreeof reJat~onship of real mothers. It is not la.wiulto Inarry fost.er-sisteis an(1 fost.er-daughtera andso on. There exists, however, a difference ofopinion among Muslim theologians as to wbata.mount of suckling makes the marriage offoster-mothers and foster-sisters and theirrelations (within prohibited degree of marriage)unlawful. Some hold tho? view tbat the pro-hibition ('omes into operation in all cases evt>nwhen a woman has given suck to a. ohild onlyonct>. According to others who derive theirauthority from a !'laying of the Holy Piophetreported by 'l'isha, f,;iz.~UI"JJ~...llr~.'~Ii.e... a suck or two do not n\ake marriage unlawful ..

(Tirmidhi, ch. on Riija'), the least number ofsucks to render marriage unlawful is thrt>e.nut there is yet another sayi.ng of the HolyProphet, also reported by 'l'jsha. thatmentions .:,1.)... .:,\";'J ~. (five distinctlyknown sucks) as necessary to make marriageUDlawful (Muslim), and this appears toLe the correct view. One suck amountsto the quantity taken by a child at onestretch i.e. when for the time being it shouldleave off sucking of its own accord and beforereturni,ng to it. Tbe age of the child must bewithin two years at the time of sucking.

The qualifying c1au::oe,trho are your fl'ards,is only added to draw our attention to the factthat we should bring up our wards with thesame care and tenderness that we bestow uponour own children; otherm'\e marriage withtbe daughters of wotnen witL wbom conjugai

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