يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ
الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ
وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ
مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًا كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاءً
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءَلُونَ
بِهِ وَالْأَرْحَامَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ
عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا
﴿4:1﴾
(4:1) O men! Fear your Lord Who created
you from a single being and out of it
created its mate; and out of the two
spread many men and women. *1
Fear Allah in Whose name you plead for
rights, and heed the ties of kinship.
Surely, Allah is ever watchful over you.
*1. What are the mutual rights of human
beings, what are the principles on which
a sound and stable family life can be
established, are questions that are
discussed a little further on in this
surah. As an appropriate introduction to
the subject, the surah opens by
exhorting the believers to fear God and
to avoid courting His displeasure, and
by urging them to recognize that all
human beings have sprung from the same
root and that all of them are,
therefore, of one another's flesh and
blood. The expression 'Who created you
from a single being (nafs)' indicates
that the creation of the human species
began with the creation of one
individual. At another place, the Qur'an
specifies that the one person from whom
the human race spread in the world was
Adam. (For Adam being the progenitor of
mankind see Towards Understanding the
Qur'an, Surah 2, verses 31 f. and Surah
al-A'raf: 11, etc. - Ed.)
The details how out of that 'being' its
mate was created are not known to us.
The explanation which is generally given
by the commentators of the Qur'an and
which is also found in the Bible is that
Eve was, created out of a rib of Adam.
(The Talmud is even more detailed in
that it states that Eve was created out
of Adam's thirteenth rib on the left
side.) The Qur'an, however, is silent on
the matter and the tradition which is
adduced in support of this statement
does not mean what it is often thought
to be. It is thus better that we leave
the matter in the same state of
ambiguity in which it was left by God,
rather than waste our time trying to
determine, in detail, the actual process
of the creation of man's mate.*
'The author alludes to, but does not
quote, the text of the following
tradition:
Muslim, 'Rida'ah', 61 and 62; Tirmidhi,
'Talaq'' 12; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad,
vol. 2, pp. 428, 449, 497, 530 and vol.
6, p. 279 - Ed.
وَآَتُوا الْيَتَامَى أَمْوَالَهُمْ وَلَا
تَتَبَدَّلُوا الْخَبِيثَ بِالطَّيِّبِ
وَلَا تَأْكُلُوا أَمْوَالَهُمْ إِلَى
أَمْوَالِكُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ حُوبًا
كَبِيرًا
﴿4:2﴾
(4:2) Give orphans their property, *2
and do not exchange the bad for the
good, *3
and do not eat up their property by
mixing it with your own. This surely is
a mighty sin.
*2. God directs the guardians of the
orphans to spend out of the latter's
property while they are still minors,
and to restore it to them when they
attain majority.
*3. The order not to exchange the bad
for the good has several meanings. On
the one hand, it means that one should
not replace honest by dishonest living.
At the same time, it also means that one
should not exchange one's own property
which is of little value for the more
valuable property of the orphans.
وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تُقْسِطُوا فِي
الْيَتَامَى فَانْكِحُوا مَا طَابَ لَكُمْ
مِنَ النِّسَاءِ مَثْنَى وَثُلَاثَ
وَرُبَاعَ فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا
تَعْدِلُوا فَوَاحِدَةً أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ
أَيْمَانُكُمْ ذَلِكَ أَدْنَى أَلَّا
تَعُولُوا
﴿4:3﴾
(4:3) If you fear that you might not
treat the orphans justly, then marry the
women that seem good to you: two, or
three, or four. *4
If you fear that you will not be able to
treat them justly, then marry (only)
one, *5
or marry from among those whom your
right hands possess. *6
This will make it more likely that you
will avoid injustice.
*4. Commentators have explained this in
the following ways:
(i) There is the view of 'A'ishah who
says that men tended to marry orphan
girls who were under their guardianship
out of consideration for either their
property, beauty or because they thought
they would be able to treat them
according to their whims, as they had no
one to protect them. After marriage such
men sometimes committed excesses against
these girls. It is in this context that
the Muslims are told that if they fear
they will not be able to do justice to
the orphan girls, then they should marry
other girls whom they like. (This
interpretation seems to be supported by
verse 127 of this surah.)
(ii) The second view is that of Ibn 'Abbas
and his disciple 'Ikrimah who expressed
the opinion that in the Jahiliyah period
there was no limit on the number of
wives a man could take. The result was
that a man sometimes married as many as
ten women and, when expenses increased
because of a large family, he encroached
on the rights either of his orphan
nephews or other relatives. It was in
this context that God fixed the limit of
four wives and instructed the Muslims
that they may marry up to four wives
providing they possessed the capacity to
treat them equitably.
(iii) Sa'id b. Jubayr, Qatadah and some
other commentators say that while the
Arabs of the Jahiliyah period did not
approve of subjecting orphans to wrong,
they had no concept of justice and
equity with regard to women. They
married as many women as they wanted and
then subjected them to injustice and
oppression. It is in this context that
people are told that if they fear
perpetrating wrongs on orphans they
ought to be equally worried about
perpetrating them on women. In the first
place they should never marry more than
four, and of those four, they should
marry only as many as they can treat
fairly.
Each of the three interpretations is
plausible and all three may possibly be
correct. Moreover, the verse could also
mean that if a person does not find
himself able to treat orphans in a fair
manner, then he might as well marry the
women who are looking after those
orphans.
*5. Muslim jurists are agreed that
according to this verse the maximum
number Of wives has been fixed at four.
This conclusion is also supported by
traditions. It is reported that when
Ghaylan, the chief of Ta'if, embraced
Islam he had nine wives. The Prophet
(peace be on him) ordered him to keep
only four wives and divorce the rest.
Another person, Nawfal b. Mu'awiyah, had
five wives. The Prophet (peace be on
him) ordered him to divorce one of them.
(For the relevant traditions see the
comments of Ibn Kathir and Qurtubi on
this verse - Ed.)
This verse stipulates that marrying more
wives than one is permissible on the
condition that one treats his wives
equitably. A person who avails himself
of this permission granted by God to
have a plurality of wives, and
disregards the condition laid down by
God to treat them equitably has not
acted in good faith with God. In case
there are complaints from wives that
they are not being treated equitably,
the Islamic state has the right to
intervene and redress such grievances.
Some people who have been overwhelmed
and overawed by the Christianized
outlook of Westerners have tried to
prove that the real aim of the Qur'an
was to put an end to polygamy (which, in
their opinion, is intrinsically evil).
Since it was widely practised at that
time, however, Islam confined itself to
placing restrictions on it. Such
arguments only show the mental slavery
to which these people have succumbed.
That polygamy is an evil per se is an
unacceptable proposition, for under
certain conditions it becomes a moral
and social necessity. If polygamy is
totally prohibited men who cannot remain
satisfied with only one wife will look
outside the bounds of matrimonial life
and create sexual anarchy and
corruption. This is likely to cause much
greater harm than polygamy to the moral
and social order. For this reason the
Qur'an has allowed those who feel the
need for it to resort to polygamy. Those
who consider it an evil in itself may
certainly denounce it in disregard of
the Qur'an and may even argue for its
abolition. But they have no right to
attribute such a view to the Qur'an, for
it has expressed its permission of
polygamy in quite categorical terms.
Indeed, there is not the slightest hint
in the Qur'an that could justify the
conclusion that it advocates abolition
of polygamy. (For further elaboration
see my book, Sunnat k A'iniHaythiyat,
Lahore, 3rd edition, 1975, pp. 307-16.)
*6. This expression denotes
'slave-girls', i.e. female captives of
war who are distributed by the state
among individuals. The purpose of this
verse is to tell men that if their
financial circumstances do not permit
them to support a free woman as their
wife then they may marry a slave-girl
(see verse 25 below); if they consider
it necessary to have more than one wife
and it would be difficult for them to
treat their free wives equitably they
may resort to slave-girls, for here the
burden of obligations is lighter by
comparison. (For further injunctions
regarding slave-girls seen. 44 below.)
وَآَتُوا النِّسَاءَ صَدُقَاتِهِنَّ
نِحْلَةً فَإِنْ طِبْنَ لَكُمْ عَنْ شَيْءٍ
مِنْهُ نَفْسًا فَكُلُوهُ هَنِيئًا
مَرِيئًا
﴿4:4﴾
(4:4) Give women their bridal-due in
good cheer (considering it a duty); but
if they willingly remit any part of it,
consume it with good pleasure. *7
*7. In the opinion of 'Umar and Shurayh,
if a woman gives up either the whole or
a part of the bridal-due (mahr) in
favour of her husband and later reclaims
it from him then he is bound to pay it.
The claim on the woman's part would be
tantamount to her unwillingness to remit
either the whole or a part of the
bridal-due. For further details see the
section entitled 'Mahr' in my book Huquq
al-Zawjayn, 16th edition, Lahore, 1976,
pp. 31-3 and 119-23.
وَلَا تُؤْتُوا السُّفَهَاءَ أَمْوَالَكُمُ
الَّتِي جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ قِيَامًا
وَارْزُقُوهُمْ فِيهَا وَاكْسُوهُمْ
وَقُولُوا لَهُمْ قَوْلًا مَعْرُوفًا
﴿4:5﴾
(4:5) Do not entrust your properties -
which Allah hasmade a means of support
for you - to the weak of understanding,
but maintain and clothe them out of it,
and say to them a kind word of
admonition. *8
*8. This verse covers a very wide
spectrum of meaning. It emphasizes to
the community of believers that wealth
is one of the main supports of human
life. It should not be left, therefore,
at the mercy of those who are
incompetent to handle it properly. By
misusing wealth such people might
destroy the bases of social and economic
life and wreck the moral foundations of
human society. The right to private
property is not so absolute; if a person
is incapable of exercising this right
properly and if he might cause grave
social harm by wanton expenditure then
his right may be forfeited. The
necessities of such a person's life
should always be provided for. But so
far as the exercise of his proprietary
rights is concerned, due restrictions
should be placed on it in order that the
owner is restrained from spending his
resources in brazen disregard of the
dictates of morality, collective welfare
and economic interests of the community.
According to the directive embodied in
the verse, anyone who entrusts his
property to someone else's care should
satisfy himself that the latter is
capable of making good use of it. At a
higher level, it is incumbent upon an
Islamic state to take over the
management of the properties of those
who either lack totally the capacity for
good management or cause social damage
by misuse. In such cases the state is
responsible for providing these people
with their livelihood.
وَابْتَلُوا الْيَتَامَى حَتَّى إِذَا
بَلَغُوا النِّكَاحَ فَإِنْ آَنَسْتُمْ
مِنْهُمْ رُشْدًا فَادْفَعُوا إِلَيْهِمْ
أَمْوَالَهُمْ وَلَا تَأْكُلُوهَا
إِسْرَافًا وَبِدَارًا أَنْ يَكْبَرُوا
وَمَنْ كَانَ غَنِيًّا فَلْيَسْتَعْفِفْ
وَمَنْ كَانَ فَقِيرًا فَلْيَأْكُلْ
بِالْمَعْرُوفِ فَإِذَا دَفَعْتُمْ
إِلَيْهِمْ أَمْوَالَهُمْ فَأَشْهِدُوا
عَلَيْهِمْ وَكَفَى بِاللَّهِ حَسِيبًا
﴿4:6﴾
(4:6) Test the orphans until they reach
the age of marriage, *9
and then if you find them mature of mind
hand over to them their property, *10
and do not eat it up by either spending
extravagantly or in haste, fearing that
they would grow up (and claim it). If
the guardian of the orphan is rich let
him abstain entirely (from his ward's
property); and if he is poor, let him
partake of it in a fair measure. *11
When you hand over their property to
them let there be witnesses on their
behalf. Allah is sufficient to take
account (of your deeds).
*9. When such people approach their
majority their mental development should
be watched so as to determine to what
extent they have become capable of
managing their own affairs.
*10. Two conditions have been laid down
for handing over the charge of their
properties to such people. The first of
these is the attainment of puberty, and
the second is that of mental maturity -
i.e. the capacity to manage their
affairs in a sound and appropriate
manner. There is full agreement among
Muslim jurists with regard to the first
condition. As for the second condition,
Abu Hanifah is of the opinion that if an
orphan does not attain mental maturity
after he has attained puberty, the
guardian of the orphan should wait for a
maximum of seven years after which he
should hand over the property to its
owner regardless of whether he has
attained maturity or not. According to
Abu Yusuf, Muhammad b. al-Hasan and
Shafi'i, maturity is an indispensable
pre-condition for the handing over of
property. If one were to apply the
doctrine of the latter jurists it would
probably be more appropriate to refer
particular cases to a judge under
Islamic law. If the judge is convinced
that the person concerned lacks maturity
he should make adequate arrangements for
the supervision of that person's
financial affairs. (For a more complete
study of the subject see Jassas, vol. 2,
pp. 59 ff.; Ibn Rushd, Biddyat
al-Mujtahid, 2 vols., Cairo,
Al-Maktabahal-Tijariyahal-Kubra, n.d.,
vol. 2, pp. 275ff.-Ed.)
*11. The guardian is entitled to
remuneration for his service. The amount
of this remuneration should be such as
is deemed to be fair by neutral and
reasonable people. Moreover, the
guardian is instructed that he should
take a fixed and known amount by way of
remuneration, that he should take it
openly rather than secretly, and that he
should keep an account of it.
لِلرِّجَالِ نَصِيبٌ مِمَّا تَرَكَ
الْوَالِدَانِ وَالْأَقْرَبُونَ
وَلِلنِّسَاءِ نَصِيبٌ مِمَّا تَرَكَ
الْوَالِدَانِ وَالْأَقْرَبُونَ مِمَّا
قَلَّ مِنْهُ أَوْ كَثُرَ نَصِيبًا
مَفْرُوضًا
﴿4:7﴾
(4:7) Just as there is a share for men
in what their parents and kinsfolk leave
behind, so there is a share for women in
what their parents and kinsfolk leave
behind - be it little or much *12
- a share ordained (by Allah).
*12. This verse embodies five legal
injunctions. First, that women as well
as men are entitled to inheritance.
Second, that inheritance, however meagre
it might be, should be distributed; even
if the deceased has left a small piece
of cloth and he has ten heirs, that
piece of cloth should be distributed
among them all. This does not exclude,
however, the permissibility of one heir
purchasing the shares of other heirs
with their consent. Third, this verse
indicates that the law of inheritance is
applicable to all kinds of property -
movable and immovable, agricultural,
industrial and so on. Fourth, it shows
that the right of inheritance comes into
force as soon as a person dies leaving
property. Fifth, it implies the rule
that immediate blood-relatives exclude
those that are further removed.
وَإِذَا حَضَرَ الْقِسْمَةَ أُولُواْ
الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينُ
فَارْزُقُوهُمْ مِنْهُ وَقُولُوا لَهُمْ
قَوْلًا مَعْرُوفًا
﴿4:8﴾
(4:8) If other near of kin orphans and
needy are pre sent at the time of
division of inheritance give them some
thing of it and speak to them kindly. *13
*13. This directive is addressed to the
heirs of the deceased. They are told not
to be niggardly towards their relatives
whether they be close or distant. Nor
should they be niggardly towards either
poor and needy members of the family or
towards orphans who are present when the
inheritance is distributed. Although
they are not legally entitled to any
share it is seemly for people to act
magnanimously and give them something
out of their inheritance, and especially
to desist from making hurtful remarks.
وَلْيَخْشَ الَّذِينَ لَوْ تَرَكُوا مِنْ
خَلْفِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّةً ضِعَافًا خَافُوا
عَلَيْهِمْ فَلْيَتَّقُوا اللَّهَ
وَلْيَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا
﴿4:9﴾
(4:9) And let them fear, those who, if
they would themselves leave behind
helpless offspring, they would surely
have been fearful on their account. Let
them, then, fear Allah and make the
right statement.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ أَمْوَالَ
الْيَتَامَى ظُلْمًا إِنَّمَا يَأْكُلُونَ
فِي بُطُونِهِمْ نَارًا وَسَيَصْلَوْنَ
سَعِيرًا
﴿4:10﴾
(4:10) Behold, those who wrongfully
devour the properties of orphans only
fill their bellies with fire. Soon they
will burn in the Blazing Flame. *14
*14. It is reported in a tradition that
after the Battle of Uhud the wife of
Sa'd b. Rabi' brought her two daughters
to the Prophet (peace be on him) and
said: 'O Messenger of God! These are
daughters of Sa'd who was with you in
the Battle of Uhud, where he was
martyred. The girls' uncles have seized
the whole property and left nothing for
them. Who will now marry these girls?'
It was after this incident that these
verses were revealed. (See Muhammad 'Ali
al-Sabuni's comments on this verse in
his Safwat al-Tafasir and the sources
quoted therein - Ed.)
يُوصِيكُمُ اللَّهُ فِي أَوْلَادِكُمْ
لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الْأُنْثَيَيْنِ
فَإِنْ كُنَّ نِسَاءً فَوْقَ اثْنَتَيْنِ
فَلَهُنَّ ثُلُثَا مَا تَرَكَ وَإِنْ
كَانَتْ وَاحِدَةً فَلَهَا النِّصْفُ
وَلِأَبَوَيْهِ لِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا
السُّدُسُ مِمَّا تَرَكَ إِنْ كَانَ لَهُ
وَلَدٌ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ وَلَدٌ
وَوَرِثَهُ أَبَوَاهُ فَلِأُمِّهِ
الثُّلُثُ فَإِنْ كَانَ لَهُ إِخْوَةٌ
فَلِأُمِّهِ السُّدُسُ مِنْ بَعْدِ
وَصِيَّةٍ يُوصِي بِهَا أَوْ دَيْنٍ
آَبَاؤُكُمْ وَأَبْنَاؤُكُمْ لَا
تَدْرُونَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ لَكُمْ
نَفْعًا فَرِيضَةً مِنَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ
اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا
﴿4:11﴾
(4:11) Allah thus commands you
concerning your children: the share of
the male is like that of two females. *15
If (the heirs of the deceased are) more
than two daughters, they shall have
two-thirds of the inheritance; *16
and if there is only one daughter, then
she shall have half the inheritance. If
the deceased has any offspring, each of
his parents shall have a sixth of the
inheritance; *17
and if the deceased has no child and his
parents alone inherit him, then
one-third shall go to his mother; *18
and if the deceased has brothers and
sisters, then one-sixth shall go to his
mother. *19
All these shares are to be given after
payment of the bequest he might have
made or any debts outstanding against
him. *20
You do not know which of them, your
parents or your children, are more
beneficial to you. But these portions
have been determined by Allah, for He
indeed knows all, is cognizant of all
beneficent considerations. *21
*15. This is the first general rule in
connection with inheritance, viz., that
the share of the male should be double
that of the female. Since Islamic law
imposes greater financial obligations on
men in respect of family life and
relieves women of a number of such
obligations, justice demands that a
woman's share in inheritance should be
less than that of a man.
*16. The same applies in the case where
there are two daughters. If the deceased
leaves only daughters, and if there are
two or more daughters then they will
receive two-thirds of the inheritance
and the remaining one-third will go to
the other heirs. But if the deceased has
only one son there is a consensus among
jurists that in the absence of other
heirs he is entitled to all the property
and if the deceased has other heirs, he
is entitled to the property left after
their shares have been distributed.
*17. If the deceased leaves issue each
of his parents will receive one-sixth of
the inheritance irrespective of whether
the issue consists either only of
daughters, only of sons, of both sons
and daughters, of just one son or just
one daughter. The remaining two-thirds
will be distributed among the rest of
the heirs.
*18. If there are no other heirs than
the parents, the remaining two-thirds
will go to the share of the father;
otherwise the two-thirds will be
distributed between the father and other
heirs.
*19. In the case where the deceased also
has brothers and sisters the share of
the mother will be one-sixth rather than
one-third. In this case the sixth that
was deducted from the share of the
mother will be added to that of the
father, for in this circumstance the
father's obligations are heavier. It
should be noted that if the parents of
the deceased are alive, the brothers and
sisters will not be entitled to any
share in the inheritance.
*20. The mention of bequest precedes the
mention of debt, for although not
everyone need be encumbered with debt it
is necessary that everyone should make a
bequest. (However, other Mufassirun
(exegetes) regard making a bequest as a
discretionary act - Ed.) As for
legalities, there is consensus among
Muslims that the payment of debts takes
precedence over the payment of bequests,
i.e. if the deceased owes a debt and
also leaves a bequest, the debt will
first be paid out of the inheritance,
and only then will his bequest be
fulfilled.
We have already stated in connection
with bequest (see Towards Understanding
the Qur'an, vol. I, Surah 2, n. 182)
that a man has the right to bequeath up
to a maximum of one-third of his
inheritance. The principle laid down in
regard to bequest is that a man can
-^\ot a portion of his inheritance
either to a relative who is not legally
entitled to any prescribed share in the
inheritance or to others whom he
considers deserving of help, e.g. either
an orphaned grandson or grand-daughter,
the widow of a son in financial
distress, any brother, sister, brother's
wife, nephew, and other relatives who
seem to be in need of support. If there
are no such relatives bequests can be
made either to other needy people or for
charitable purposes. In short, the Law
has fixed regulations for the
distribution of two-thirds or more of
one's inheritance, out of which the
legal heirs are to receive their shares
according to the regulations laid down
by the Law. A maximum of one-third of
the inheritance has been left to the
discretion of the person concerned, who
can dispose of it by means of bequest in
light of his particular family
circumstances. If anyone makes either an
inequitable bequest or misuses his
discretion so as to hurt the legitimate
rights of others, it is permissible for
the members of the family to rectify the
situation either by mutual agreement or
by requesting a judge to intervene. For
further details see my booklet Yatim
Pot6 ki Wirathat ka Mas'alah, Lahore,
1954.
*21. This is in response to those
feeble-minded people who do not fully
appreciate God's law of inheritance and
try to fill, with the help of their
limited intellect, what they see as gaps
in God's Laws.
وَلَكُمْ نِصْفُ مَا تَرَكَ أَزْوَاجُكُمْ
إِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُنَّ وَلَدٌ فَإِنْ
كَانَ لَهُنَّ وَلَدٌ فَلَكُمُ الرُّبُعُ
مِمَّا تَرَكْنَ مِنْ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ
يُوصِينَ بِهَا أَوْ دَيْنٍ وَلَهُنَّ
الرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُمْ إِنْ لَمْ
يَكُنْ لَكُمْ وَلَدٌ فَإِنْ كَانَ لَكُمْ
وَلَدٌ فَلَهُنَّ الثُّمُنُ مِمَّا
تَرَكْتُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ
تُوصُونَ بِهَا أَوْ دَيْنٍ وَإِنْ كَانَ
رَجُلٌ يُورَثُ كَلَالَةً أَوِ امْرَأَةٌ
وَلَهُ أَخٌ أَوْ أُخْتٌ فَلِكُلِّ
وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا السُّدُسُ فَإِنْ
كَانُوا أَكْثَرَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ فَهُمْ
شُرَكَاءُ فِي الثُّلُثِ مِنْ بَعْدِ
وَصِيَّةٍ يُوصَى بِهَا أَوْ دَيْنٍ
غَيْرَ مُضَارٍّ وَصِيَّةً مِنَ اللَّهِ
وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَلِيمٌ
﴿4:12﴾
(4:12) And to you belongs half of
whatever has been left behind by your
wives if they die childless; but if they
have any children then to you belongs a
fourth of what they have left behind,
after payment of the bequest they might
have made or any debts outstanding
against them. And to them belongs a
fourth of what you leave behind, if you
die childless; and if you have any child
then to them belongs one-eighth of what
you have left behind, *22
after the payment of the bequest you
might have made or any debts outstanding
against you.
And if the man or woman has no heir in
the direct line, but has a brother or
sister, then each of these shall inherit
one-sixth; but if they are more than
two, then they shall inherit one-third
of the inheritance, *23
after the payment of the bequest that
might have been made or any debts
outstanding against the deceased,
providing that the bequest causes no
injury. *24
This is a commandment from Allah; Allah
is All-Knowing, All-Forbearing. *25
*22. Whether a man has one wife or
several wives the share of the
wife/wives is one-eighth of the
inheritance when the deceased has issue,
and one-fourth when he has no issue. The
share of the wives, whether one-fourth
or one-eighth, will be distributed
equally among them.
*23. The remaining five-sixths or
two-thirds of the inheritance goes to
the legal heirs, if any. Where there are
no legal heirs, the person concerned is
entitled to make a bequest with regard
to the remaining part of the
inheritance. Commentators are agreed
that the sisters and brothers mentioned
here mean half-brothers and
half-sisters, i.e. those who have
kinship with the deceased on the
mother's side. Injunctions affecting
full brothers and sisters, and
half-brothers and half-sisters on the
father's side are mentioned towards the
end of the present surah. (See verse 176
below, and nn. 219 ff. - Ed.)
*24.'Bequests which cause injury' are
those that entail depriving deserving
kin of their legitimate rights.
Similarly, the debt which causes injury
is the fake debt which one falsely
admits to owing, and any other device to
which one resorts merely in order to
deprive the rightful heirs of their
shares in inheritance. This kind of
injury has been declared to be a major
sin in a tradition from the Prophet
(peace be on him). According to another
tradition the Prophet (peace be on him)
said that even if a man worked all his
life, like the men of Paradise, yet
ended his life's record by making a
wrongful bequest, he would be consigned
to Hell. (Ibn Kathir, vol. 2, p. 218.)
Such an act of deliberate injury and
calculated effort designed to deprive
people of their due rights is always a
sin, but it is mentioned by God
particularly in the case of kalalah (the
person who leaves behind neither parents
nor descendants). (For kalalah see nn.
219 ff. below - Ed.) The reason for this
seems to be that a man who has neither
issue nor parents is often prone to
squander his property and somehow
prevent his distant relatives from
receiving any share in the inheritance.
*25. God's knowledge is referred to here
for two reasons. First, to stress that
if a man violates God's Law he will not
be able to escape from the grip of God,
for He is Omniscient. Second, to
emphasize that the shares in inheritance
fixed by God are absolutely sound, for
God knows better than His creatures
where their true interests lie.
Reference is also made to God's
forbearance. This is in order to point
out that harshness could not
characterize the laws laid down by God
in respect of inheritance since He
Himself is not harsh. On the contrary,
the aim of God's laws is to prevent
people suffering inconvenience and
hardship.
تِلْكَ حُدُودُ اللَّهِ وَمَنْ يُطِعِ
اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ يُدْخِلْهُ جَنَّاتٍ
تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ
خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا وَذَلِكَ الْفَوْزُ
الْعَظِيمُ
﴿4:13﴾
(4:13) These are the bounds set by
Allah. Allah will make the man who obeys
Allah and His Messenger enter the
Gardens beneath which rivers flow. He
will abide there for ever. That is the
mighty triumph.
وَمَنْ يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ
وَيَتَعَدَّ حُدُودَهُ يُدْخِلْهُ نَارًا
خَالِدًا فِيهَا وَلَهُ عَذَابٌ مُهِينٌ
﴿4:14﴾
(4:14) And he who disobeys Allah and His
Messenger and transgresses the bounds
set by Him - him shall Allah cause to
enter the Fire. There he will abide. A
humiliating chastisement awaits him.25a
*25a. This is a terrifying verse in
which those who either tamper with God's
laws of inheritance or violate the legal
bounds categorically laid down by God in
His Book are warned of unending
punishment. It is lamentable that, in
spite of these very stern warnings,
Muslims have occasionally been guilty of
breaching God's laws with the same
boldness and insolence as that of the
Jews. Disobedience to God's law of
inheritance has occasionally assumed the
proportion of open rebellion against
Him. In some instances, women have been
disinherited altogether. In others, the
eldest son has been declared the only
legal heir. There are also instances
where the entire system of inheritance
distribution has been replaced by the
system of joint family property. In
still other instances, the shares of
women have been made equal to those of
men. In our time a few Muslim states, in
imitation of the West, even contrived a
new form of disobedience. This consists
of imposing death duties so that
governments, too, become one of the
heirs of the deceased, an heir whose
share God had altogether failed to
mention! This is despite the fact that
under Islamic dispensation governments
may assume control of a dead man's
inheritance only if it is either
unclaimed or if the person concerned has
specifically so bequeathed part of his
inheritance.
وَاللَّاتِي يَأْتِينَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مِنْ
نِسَائِكُمْ فَاسْتَشْهِدُوا عَلَيْهِنَّ
أَرْبَعَةً مِنْكُمْ فَإِنْ شَهِدُوا
فَأَمْسِكُوهُنَّ فِي الْبُيُوتِ حَتَّى
يَتَوَفَّاهُنَّ الْمَوْتُ أَوْ يَجْعَلَ
اللَّهُ لَهُنَّ سَبِيلًا
﴿4:15﴾
(4:15) As for those of your women who
are guilty of immoral conduct, call upon
four from amongst you to bear witness
against them. And if four men do bear
witness, confine those women to their
houses until either death takes them
away or Allah opens some way for them.
وَاللَّذَانِ يَأْتِيَانِهَا مِنْكُمْ
فَآَذُوهُمَا فَإِنْ تَابَا وَأَصْلَحَا
فَأَعْرِضُوا عَنْهُمَا إِنَّ اللَّهَ
كَانَ تَوَّابًا رَحِيمًا
﴿4:16﴾
(4:16) Punish both of those among you
who are guilty of this sin, then if they
repent and mend their ways, leave them
alone. For Allah is always ready to
accept repentance. He is
All-Compassionate. *26
*26. In these two verses (15-16) the
first, preliminary directives for the
punishment for unlawful sexual
intercourse are stated. The first verse
deals with women. The punishment laid
down was to confine them until further
directives were revealed. The second
verse (i.e. 16) relates to both sexes.
The injunction lays down that they
should be punished - that is, they
should be beaten and publicly
reproached. Later, another injunction
was revealed (see Surah al-Nur 24: 2)
which laid down that both the male and
female should be given a hundred lashes.
These injunctions are necessarily of a
preliminary nature since the people of
Arabia were neither used to obeying the
orders of any established government,
the verdicts of any courts of law nor to
following any legal code; it would
therefore have been unwise to try to
force acceptance of a penal code upon
them so soon after the establishment of
the Islamic state. In due course, the
punishments for unlawful sexual
intercourse, for slanderous accusations
of unchastity against women, and for
theft were laid down in their definitive
form and served as the basis of that
detailed penal code which was enforced
by the Prophet (peace be on him) and the
Rightly-Guided Caliphs.
The apparent difference between the
contents of the two verses led al-Suddi
to the misconceived belief that the
first verse lays down the punishment for
married women, and the second that for
unmarried men and women. This is a
tenuous explanation unsupported by any
serious evidence and argument. Even less
convincing is the opinion expressed by
Abu Muslim al-Isfahani that the first
verse relates to lesbian relations
between females, and the second to
homosexual relations between males. It
is strange that al-Isfahani ignored the
basic fact that the Qur'an seeks merely
to chart a broad code of law and
morality and hence deals only with
fundamental questions. It is
inconsistent with the majestic style of
the Qur'an to discuss secondary details
which have been left to people to decide
through the exercise of their legal
judgement. It is for this reason that
when the problem of fixing a punishment
for sodomy came up for consideration
after the time of the Prophet (peace be
on him), none of the Companions thought
that the above-mentioned verse contained
any relevant injunction.
إِنَّمَا التَّوْبَةُ عَلَى اللَّهِ
لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السُّوءَ
بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ يَتُوبُونَ مِنْ
قَرِيبٍ فَأُولَئِكَ يَتُوبُ اللَّهُ
عَلَيْهِمْ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلِيمًا
حَكِيمًا
﴿4:17﴾
(4:17) (And remember that) Allah's
acceptance of repentance is only for
those who commit evil out of ignorance
and then soon repent. It is towards such
persons that Allah turns graciously.
Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
وَلَيْسَتِ التَّوْبَةُ لِلَّذِينَ
يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ حَتَّى إِذَا
حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ إِنِّي
تُبْتُ الْآَنَ وَلَا الَّذِينَ
يَمُوتُونَ وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ أُولَئِكَ
أَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا
﴿4:18﴾
(4:18) But of no avail is repentance of
those who do evil until death approaches
any one of them and then he says: 'Now I
repent.' Nor is the repentance of those
who die in the state of unbelief of any
avail to them. For them We have kept in
readiness a painful chastisement. *27
*27. The Arabic word tawbah means 'to
return, to come back'. A man's tawbah
after he has sinned means that God's
servant, who had turned away from his
Master in disobedience, has repented,
and has returned to obedience and
service. On the other hand, tawbah on
the part of God means that the attention
of the Master, which had turned away
from His erring servant, has once again
turned towards him. In this verse,
however, God makes it clear to His
servants that tawbah is acceptable only
from those who commit errors
inadvertently and out of ignorance. Such
persons will always find the door of God
open for them whenever they turn to Him
in repentance.
But this tawbah is not for those who
pile sin upon sin throughout their lives
in sheer indifference to God and who cry
for pardon as soon as they see the angel
of death approaching. The Prophet (peace
be on him) has warned against this
attitude in the following words: 'God
accepts the repentance of a slave until
the gurgling (of death) begins.'
(Tirmidhi, 'Da'wat', 98; Ibn Majah,
'Zuhd', 30; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad,
vol. 2, pp. 132 and 153, and vol. 3, pp.
425 - Ed.) For when the last leaf of a
man's book of life has been turned, what
opportunity remains for a man to return
to righteous conduct? Likewise, if a
person spends even the very last moment
of his life in a state of disbelief and
then on the threshold of the Next Life
he comes to discover that the facts are
quite contrary to what he had imagined,
what sense is there for him to seek
forgiveness?
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لَا
يَحِلُّ لَكُمْ أَنْ تَرِثُوا النِّسَاءَ
كَرْهًا وَلَا تَعْضُلُوهُنَّ
لِتَذْهَبُوا بِبَعْضِ مَا
آَتَيْتُمُوهُنَّ إِلَّا أَنْ يَأْتِينَ
بِفَاحِشَةٍ مُبَيِّنَةٍ وَعَاشِرُوهُنَّ
بِالْمَعْرُوفِ فَإِنْ كَرِهْتُمُوهُنَّ
فَعَسَى أَنْ تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا
وَيَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ فِيهِ خَيْرًا
كَثِيرًا
﴿4:19﴾
(4:19) Believers! It is not lawful for
you to become heirs to women against
their will. *28
It is not lawful that you should put
constraint upon them that you may take
away anything of what you have given
them; (you may not put constraint upon
them) unless they are guilty of brazenly
immoral conduct. *29
Live with your wives in a good manner.
If you dislike them in any manner, it
may be that you dislike something in
which Allah has placed much good for
you. *30
*28. This means that the relatives of
the husband should not treat the widow
of the deceased as if she were a part of
the inheritance and begin imposing their
will on her. Upon the death of her
husband a woman becomes independent. As
soon as her legally-prescribed period of
waiting ends, she is free to go to
wherever she likes and to marry anyone
she wishes.
*29. This permission is intended not in
order to provide them with an excuse to
misappropriate her property but to
exercise a restraint on her conduct and
prevent her from lewdness.
*30. This means that if the wife is
either not beautiful or has some
shortcoming because of which she does
not seem attractive enough to her
husband, the latter should not suddenly
decide, in a fit of rage and disgust, to
part with her. Rather he should act with
patience and forbearance. It often
happens that a woman lacks physical
attraction but has other qualities which
are of much greater value for the
success of married life. Hence if such a
woman finds the opportunity to express
her qualities, the same husband who
initially felt revulsion towards her
becomes captivated by her attractive
conduct and character. Sometimes in the
early stages of married life a husband
dislikes certain things in his wife, and
this initial dislike may even grow to
revulsion. Were a man to be patient and
allow all the potentialities of the
woman to be realized, it would become
evident to him that her merits
outweighed her weaknesses. Hence a man's
haste in taking the decision to rupture
the matrimonial bond is not
praiseworthy. Repudiation of marriage
should be a man's last resort, a resort
towards which he should turn only in
unavoidable circumstances. The Prophet
(peace be on him) has said: For God,
divorce is the most reprehensible of all
lawful things.' (Abu Da'ud, Talaq', 3;
Ibn Majah, 'Talaq', 1 - Ed.) In another
tradition the Prophet (peace be on him)
said: 'Marry and do not go about
divorcing. For God does not like men and
women who keep on changing partners
merely for a change of taste.'
(al-Tabrani, cited by 'Ajluni in Kashf
al-Khifa. vol. 1, p. 304 - Ed.)
وَإِنْ أَرَدْتُمُ اسْتِبْدَالَ زَوْجٍ
مَكَانَ زَوْجٍ وَآَتَيْتُمْ إِحْدَاهُنَّ
قِنْطَارًا فَلَا تَأْخُذُوا مِنْهُ
شَيْئًا أَتَأْخُذُونَهُ بُهْتَانًا
وَإِثْمًا مُبِينًا
﴿4:20﴾
(4:20) And if you decide to dispense
with a wife in order to take another, do
not take away anything of what you might
have given the first one, even if you
had given her a heap of gold. Would you
take it back by slandering her and
committing a manifest wrong?
وَكَيْفَ تَأْخُذُونَهُ وَقَدْ أَفْضَى
بَعْضُكُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ وَأَخَذْنَ
مِنْكُمْ مِيثَاقًا غَلِيظًا
﴿4:21﴾
(4:21) How can you take it away after
each one has enjoyed the other, and they
have taken a firm covenant from you? *31
*31. The 'firm covenant' in this verse
refers to marriage. For marriage is a
firm covenant of fidelity. It is only
because a woman has faith in the
firmness of this covenant that she
entrusts herself to a man. If a man
decides of his own will to break it, he
has no right to withdraw the amount he
offered his wife by way of bridal-due at
the time of entering into that covenant.
(See Towards Understanding the Qur'an,
vol. I, Surah 2, n. 251.)
وَلَا تَنْكِحُوا مَا نَكَحَ آَبَاؤُكُمْ
مِنَ النِّسَاءِ إِلَّا مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ
إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَاحِشَةً وَمَقْتًا
وَسَاءَ سَبِيلًا
﴿4:22﴾
(4:22) Do not marry the women whom your
fathers married, although what is past
is past. *32
This indeed was a shameful deed, a
hateful thing, and an evil way. *33
*32. The Qur'an rounds off all
statements prohibiting the objectionable
features of the social life of the
Jahiliyah period by condoning violations
of those prohibitions prior to their
revelation: 'What is past is past.' This
has two meanings. First, that those
concerned would not be punished for
mistakes committed in their state of
Ignorance, providing they rectified
their conduct after the prohibitory
injunction had been revealed. Second,
that the prohibition of any ancient
custom, usage and law did not mean that
all acts which took place in the past
would be nullified, and that all the
consequences of those acts would be
deemed void, and people absolved of all
the obligations which ensued from them.
If marriage with the step-mother, for
instance, was prohibited it did not
necessarily follow that the children of
all such marriages which had been
contracted in the past were to be
reckoned illegitimate, and that the
offspring from such marriages would be
disinherited. Similarly, if a certain
transaction was declared unlawful it did
not mean that all such transactions
which had taken place prior to the
prohibition should be deemed void and
that all the earnings of people
accumulated through those transactions
would be either seized or declared
illegitimate property.
*33. In Islamic law marrying women who
fall in the prohibited degrees of
marriage is a recognized criminal
offence. According to traditions in the
Hadith collections of Abu Da'ud, Nasa'i
and Ahmad b. Hanbal, people guilty of
this offence were punished by the
Prophet (peace be on him) with death and
confiscation of property. It appears
from the tradition related by Ibn 'Abbas
(found in the collection of Ibn Majah),
that the Prophet (peace be on him) had
devised the following general rule:
'Kill whosoever commits sexual
intercourse with a woman forbidden to
him' (Ibn Majah; 'Hudud', 13, 35; also
Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 1, p. 300
- Ed.) There is some disagreement,
however, among jurists on this question.
Ahmad b. Hanbal is of the opinion that
the convicted person should be put to
death and his property confiscated. Abu
Hanifah, Malik and Shafi'i are of the
opinion that if a person commits sexual
intercourse with a woman within the
prohibited degrees he should be punished
for adultery; and if he merely marries
(but has not actually had sexual
intercourse - Ed.) he should be
subjected to severe punishment.
حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ أُمَّهَاتُكُمْ
وَبَنَاتُكُمْ وَأَخَوَاتُكُمْ
وَعَمَّاتُكُمْ وَخَالَاتُكُمْ وَبَنَاتُ
الْأَخِ وَبَنَاتُ الْأُخْتِ
وَأُمَّهَاتُكُمُ اللَّاتِي
أَرْضَعْنَكُمْ وَأَخَوَاتُكُمْ مِنَ
الرَّضَاعَةِ وَأُمَّهَاتُ نِسَائِكُمْ
وَرَبَائِبُكُمُ اللَّاتِي فِي
حُجُورِكُمْ مِنْ نِسَائِكُمُ اللَّاتِي
دَخَلْتُمْ بِهِنَّ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُونُوا
دَخَلْتُمْ بِهِنَّ فَلَا جُنَاحَ
عَلَيْكُمْ وَحَلَائِلُ أَبْنَائِكُمُ
الَّذِينَ مِنْ أَصْلَابِكُمْ وَأَنْ
تَجْمَعُوا بَيْنَ الْأُخْتَيْنِ إِلَّا
مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ
غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا
﴿4:23﴾
(4:23) Forbidden to you are your
mothers, *34
your daughters, *35
your sisters, *36
your father's sisters and your mother's
sisters, your brother's daughters and
your sister's daughters, *37
your milk-mothers, your milk-sisters, *38
the mothers of your wives, *39
and the stepdaughters - who are your
foster-children, *40
born of your wives with whom you have
consummated the marriage; but if you
have not consummated the marriage with
them, there will be no blame upon you
(if you marry their daughters).
It is also forbidden for you to take the
wives of the sons who have sprung from
your loins *41
and to take two sisters together in
marriage, *42
although what is past is past. Surely
Allah is All-Forgiving,
All-Compassionate. *43
*34. The word 'mother' applies to one's
step-mother as well as to one's real
mother. Hence the prohibition extends to
both. This injunction also includes
prohibition of the grandmother, both
paternal and maternal. There is
disagreement on whether a woman with
whom a father has had an unlawful sexual
relationship is prohibited to his son or
not. There are some among the early
authorities who do not believe in such
prohibition. But there are others who go
so far as to say that a woman whom a
father has touched with sexual desire
becomes prohibited to the son. Likewise,
there is disagreement among the scholars
of the early period of Islam in regard
to a woman with whom a person has had an
illegitimate sexual relationship whether
she is prohibited to his father or not.
In the same way there has been
disagreement in regard to a man with
whom a mother or daughter has had an
illegitimate sexual relationship,
whether or not marriage with him is
prohibited for both the mother and
daughter. (See Jassas, vol. 2, pp. 113
ff., and Bidayat al-Mujtahid, vol. 2,
pp. 33 f. - Ed.) There is a great deal
of formal, legal discussion on this
point. But even a little reflection
makes it evident that if a man marries a
woman who is at once the object of the
desire of either his father or his son,
and if a man marries a woman and is
attracted to either her mother or
daughter, this militates against the
requirements of a righteous society. The
spirit of the Law is opposed to the
legal hair-splitting which makes a
distinction between sexual relations
that take place either within the
marital framework or outside it, and
between either touching or looking with
desire and so on. The plain fact is that
if the sexual passions of both the
father and the son are focused on the
same woman, or conversely, if the sexual
passions of both the mother and daughter
are focused on the same man, this
situation is full of evil and mischief
for family life and the Law can never
tolerate it. The Prophet (peace be on
him) has said: 'Whoever looks at the
genitals of a woman, both the mother and
daughter of that woman become prohibited
for him.' In another tradition, the
Prophet (peace-be on him) said: 'God
will not even care to look at the person
who casts his look at the genitals of a
woman as well as those of her daughter.'
(Jassas, Ahkam al-Qur'an, vol. IV, p.
141.) These traditions bring out the
intent of the Law very clearly.
*35. The injunction with regard to
daughters applies to grand-daughters on
both the paternal and maternal sides as
well. There is disagreement, however,
whether a daughter born of an
illegitimate relationship becomes
prohibited or not. According to Abu
Hanifah, Malik and Ahmad b. Hanbal such
a daughter is prohibited in the same way
as a daughter born in wedlock; Shafi'i,
however, is of the opinion that such
daughters are not prohibited. The very
idea, however, of marrying a girl who
was born of one's own semen would be
repulsive to any decent person.
*36. This applies to full sisters as
well as to half-sisters.
*37. In all these relationships, no
distinction is made between the full and
step-relationships. The sister of a
man's father or mother, whether full
sister or step-sister, is prohibited to
him. Likewise, the daughters of a man's
brothers and sisters are prohibited just
as if they were one's own daughters.
(See Bidayat al-Mujtahid, vol. 2, pp. 31
ff. - Ed.)
*38. There is consensus among Muslims
that if a boy or girl is breast-fed by a
woman, that woman attains the status of
mother, and her husband the status of
father. It is forbidden to marry
relatives through milk where the degree
of relationship is such as /to
constitute a bar to marriage in the case
of blood-relations. The basis of this
rule is the saying of the Prophet (peace
be on him): 'Whatever is rendered
prohibited by descent (nasab) is
likewise rendered prohibited by
breast-feeding.' (Bukhari, 'Shahadat',
4, 7,13,14; Muslim, 'Rida'ah',
1-14,26-30; etc. - Ed.) According to Abu
Hanifah and Malik prohibition is
established if a child suckles milk from
a woman's breast equal to that minimum
quantity which nullifies fasting. But
according to Ahmad b. Hanbal, it is
established by three sucklings; and
according to Shafi'i by five. There is
also disagreement about the maximum age
up to which breast-feeding leads to
prohibition of marriage with the woman
concerned. In this connection, jurists
have expressed the following opinions:
(1) Suckling is of legal significance
only when it occurs before a child has
been weaned, and when milk is its main
source of nourishment. If a child
suckles from a woman's breast after
having been weaned, this is legally no
different from drinking anything else.
This is the opinion of Umm Salamah and
Ibn 'Abbas, and a tradition to this
effect has also been reported from 'Ali.
This is also the view of al-Zuhri, Hasan
al-Basri, Qatadah, 'Ikrimah and Awza'i.
(2) Prohibition is established by
breast-feeding during the first two
years of a child's life. This is the
view of 'Umar, Ibn Mas'ud, Abu Hurayrah
and 'Abd Allah b. 'Umar. Among jurists,
Shafi'i, Ahmad b. Hanbal, Abu Yusuf,
Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Shaybani and
Sufyan al-Thawri followed this view; and
according to a report, so did Abu
Hanifah. Malik largely followed this
view, but he was of the opinion that if
breast-feeding took place a month or two
after the age of two, the prohibition
would still remain in effect.
(3) The generally-reported opinion of
Abu Hanifah and Zufar is that a bar to
marriage is created by breast-feeding up
to an age limit of two and a half years.
(4) Some other jurists are of the
opinion that the prohibition comes into
effect irrespective of the age when
breast-feeding takes place. This opinion
is based on the view that the effective
cause of the prohibition is a woman's
milk, rather than the age of the person
fed. Hence, even in the case of an older
person, the same prohibition would apply
as in the case of an infant. This is the
view of 'A'ishah and this has been
supported on the basis of a tradition
from 'Ali, which is presumably
.authentic. Among the jurists this
opinion has been followed by 'Urwah b.
al-Zubayr, 'Ata', Layth b. Sa'd and Ibn
Hazm. (On this subject see Jassas, vol.
2, pp. 124 ff.; and Ibn Rushd, Biddyat
al-Mujtahid, vol. 2,'pp'. 35 ff. -Ed.)
*39. There is disagreement about
prohibition in respect of the mother of
the woman with whom one has merely
contracted marriage (without having
consummated it). Abu Hanifah, Malik,
Ahmad b. Hanbal and Shafi'i believe that
such a relationship is prohibited. 'Ali,
however, holds the opinion that unless
the marriage has been consummated the
mother of one's wife does not become
prohibited.
*40. The prohibitive restriction in
regard to such girls is not based on the
consideration of their having been
brought up in the house of a
step-father. The reference to the
child's upbringing in his house points
to the delicacy of this relationship.
The jurists are almost unanimous that it
is prohibited to marry one's
step-daughter irrespective of whether or
not she has been raised in the
step-father's house.
*41. This restriction has been added
because the widow of one's adopted son
is, according to Islam, not prohibited.
It is only the wife of one's own son who
is prohibited. Likewise, the wives of
grandsons (paternal and maternal) are
prohibited to grandfathers (on both the
mother's and father's side).
*42. The Prophet (peace be on him) has
taught that it is prohibited for a man
to combine in marriage an aunt - whether
maternal or paternal - with her niece.
The guiding principle is that it is
prohibited to have as wives two women
who, if one were male, would be
prohibited to each other. (See Bidayat
al-Mujtahid, vol. 2, p. 41 - Ed.)
*43. This is an assurance that God would
not call them to task for such misdeeds
of the Jahiliyah period as combining two
sisters in matrimony, provided they
abstained from doing so in the future.
(See also n. 32 above.) For this reason
a man with two sisters as his wives is
required to divorce one of them when he
embraces Islam.
وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ إِلَّا
مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ كِتَابَ
اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأُحِلَّ لَكُمْ مَا
وَرَاءَ ذَلِكُمْ أَنْ تَبْتَغُوا
بِأَمْوَالِكُمْ مُحْصِنِينَ غَيْرَ
مُسَافِحِينَ فَمَا اسْتَمْتَعْتُمْ بِهِ
مِنْهُنَّ فَآَتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ
فَرِيضَةً وَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ
فِيمَا تَرَاضَيْتُمْ بِهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ
الْفَرِيضَةِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ
عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا
﴿4:24﴾
(4:24) And also forbidden to you are all
married women (muhsanat) except those
women whom your right hands have come to
possess (as a result of war). *44
This is Allah's decree and it is binding
upon you. But it is lawful for you to
seek out all women except these,
offering them your wealth and the
protection of wedlock rather than using
them for the unfettered satisfaction of
lust. And in exchange of what you enjoy
by marrying them pay their bridal-due as
an obligation. But there is no blame on
you if you mutually agree to alter the
settlement after it has been made.
Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
*44. Women who come as captives of war,
leaving their husbands behind in Dar
al-Harb (Domain of War), are not
prohibited, for their marriage is
nullified by virtue of their entry into
Dar al-Islam (Domain of Islam). A man
may marry such women and, if they happen
to be his slave-girls, he may have
sexual relations with them. There is
disagreement, however, among jurists as
to what should be done if both husband
and wife have been taken captive
together. Abu Hanifah and the jurists of
his school are of the opinion that their
marriage should remain intact. Malik and
Shafi'i, on the other hand, argue that
their matrimonial contract should be
rendered void.
Many misunderstandings seem to persist
about the right to have sexual relations
with one's slave-girls. It is pertinent
to call attention to the following
regulations of Islam:
(1) Islam does not permit soldiers of
the Islamic army to have sexual
relations with women they capture in
war. Islamic Law requires that such
women should first be handed over to the
government, which then has the right to
decide what should be done with them. It
may either set them free
unconditionally, release them on payment
of ransom, exchange them for Muslim
prisoners of war held by the enemy or
distribute them among the soldiers. A
soldier may have sexual relations only
with that woman who has been entrusted
to him by the government.
(2) Even then, he may not have sexual
relations with her until at least one
menstrual period has expired; this is in
order to establish that she is not
already pregnant. If the woman concerned
is pregnant one may not have sexual
relations with her until after the birth
of her child.
(3) It is not necessary for female
captives of war to be People of the Book
in order that sexual relations with them
be permitted. The man to whom such a
woman is entrusted has the right to have
sexual relations with her regardless of
her religious affiliations.
(4) Only that person to whom a female
captive has been entrusted has the right
to have sexual relations with her. Any
child born to her will be regarded as
the legitimate child of her master, and
will be entitled to all the rights laid
down by the Law for one's issue.
Moreover, once such a woman has given
birth to a child she may not be sold to
anyone, and on the death of her master
she automatically becomes a free person.
(5) If the master allows the woman to
marry someone else he ceases to have the
right to sexual relations with her but
retains the right to have her serve him
in other ways.
(6) Although the Law has fixed the
maximum number of wives at four, it has
set no limit with regard to slave-girls.
The Law does not lay down a limit in
order to encourage people to accumulate
huge armies of slave-girls, and thereby
turn their homes into dens of sexual
enjoyment. Rather the Law does not
define the limit because the effects of
war and the total number of female
captives that would have to be disposed
of after a certain war are
unpredictable.
(7) In the same way as other rights of
property are transferable, so are the
proprietary rights regarding the
captives of war that have been legally
entrusted to a man by the state.
(8) Since the regular conferment of
property rights is as legal an act as
that of marriage, there is no basis for
a person who feels no revulsion towards
the idea of marriage to feel revulsion
towards the idea of having sexual
relations with a slave-girl duly
entrusted to him.
(9) If a government confers proprietary
rights to a man over a female captive of
war it forfeits the right to withdraw
those rights in the same way as the
guardian (wali) of a woman ceases to
have the right to withdraw his agreement
to the marriage proposal after the
marriage has been contracted.
(10) If a military commander permitted
his soldiers to temporarily use the
female captives as objects of sexual
desire and distributed them among the
soldiers for that purpose, such an act
would be considered unlawful by Islamic
Law. Such an act is not essentially
different from fornication or adultery.
For details see my book Tafhimat, vol.
2, pp. 366-84, and Rasai'il wa Masa'il,
6th edition, Lahore, 1976, vol. 3, pp.
102-4.
وَمَنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ مِنْكُمْ طَوْلًا
أَنْ يَنْكِحَ الْمُحْصَنَاتِ
الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ فَمِنْ مَا مَلَكَتْ
أَيْمَانُكُمْ مِنْ فَتَيَاتِكُمُ
الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ
بِإِيمَانِكُمْ بَعْضُكُمْ مِنْ بَعْضٍ
فَانْكِحُوهُنَّ بِإِذْنِ أَهْلِهِنَّ
وَآَتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ
مُحْصَنَاتٍ غَيْرَ مُسَافِحَاتٍ وَلَا
مُتَّخِذَاتِ أَخْدَانٍ فَإِذَا أُحْصِنَّ
فَإِنْ أَتَيْنَ بِفَاحِشَةٍ
فَعَلَيْهِنَّ نِصْفُ مَا عَلَى
الْمُحْصَنَاتِ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ ذَلِكَ
لِمَنْ خَشِيَ الْعَنَتَ مِنْكُمْ وَأَنْ
تَصْبِرُوا خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ
غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ
﴿4:25﴾
(4:25) And those of you who cannot
afford to marry free, believing women
(muhsanat), then marry such believing
women whom your right hands possess.
Allah knows all about your faith. All of
you belong to one another. *45
Marry them, then, with the leave of
their guardians, and give them their
bridal-due in a fair manner that they
may live in the protection of wedlock
rather than be either mere objects of
unfettered lust or given to secret love
affairs. Then if they become guilty of
immoral conduct after they have entered
into wedlock, they shall be liable to
half the penalty to which free women
(muhsanat) are liable. *46
This relaxation is for those of you who
fear to fall into sin by remaining
unmarried. *47
But if you persevere, it is better for
you. Allah is All-Forgiving,
All-Compassionate.
*45. The difference between the status
of people is relative. All Muslims are
alike. If there is any true distinction
its basis is a person's faith and faith
is not an exclusive privilege of the
rich or so-called upper classes of the
society. So it is possible for a
slave-girl to be superior, in respect of
her faith and morals, to a woman
belonging to the elite of a society.
*46.A superficial reading of this verse
can lead to the mistaken conclusion, as
Khawarij and others have done, that
stoning is not the prescribed punishment
for adultery. Such people ask: If
stoning is the prescribed punishment for
extra-marital sexual intercourse, then
how is it possible to halve that
punishment with regard to slave-girls?
Such people have not noted carefully the
wording of this verse. In this section
(see verses 24-5) the term muhsanat
(protected women) is used in two
different meanings. First, it is used in
the sense of 'married women', that is,
those who enjoy the protection of their
husbands. Second, it is used in the
sense of 'women belonging to families',
i.e. those who enjoy the protection of
families even though they may not be
married. In the verse under discussion,
the word muhsanat is used in the latter
sense, i.e. in the sense of women who
enjoy the protection of families as
opposed to slave-girls. At the same
time, the word is also used in the first
meaning, when slave-girls have acquired
the protection accorded by the contract
of marriage (fa idha uhsinna), they will
be liable to the punishment laid down in
this verse if they have unlawful Sexual
intercourse.
It is therefore apparent that a free
woman enjoys two kinds of protection.
One is the protection of her family
through which she remains protected even
when she is not married. The second is
the protection of her husband, which
reinforces the protection of the family
that she already enjoys. As long as the
slave-girl remains a slave, she does not
enjoy the protection of the family.
However, when she is married she has the
protection of her husband - and of her
husband alone. This protection is
partial. Even after marriage she is
neither liberated from the bond of her
master nor does she attain the status
enjoyed by free women. The punishment
prescribed for a married slave-girl is
accordingly half the punishment of an
unmarried free woman rather than half
that of a married free woman.
This also explains that the punishment
for unlawful sexual intercourse (zina)
laid down in Surah al-Nur 24: 2 refers
to the offence committed by unmarried
free women alone, and it is in
comparison with their punishment that
the punishment of married slave women
has been laid down as half. As for free
married women, they deserve more severe
punishment than the unmarried free women
(muhsanat) for they violate the double
protection. Even though the Qur'an does
not specifically mention punishment by
stoning it does allude to it in a subtle
manner.
*47. That is, if a man cannot afford to
marry a free woman then he should marry
a slave-girl with the permission of her
master.
يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ
وَيَهْدِيَكُمْ سُنَنَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ
قَبْلِكُمْ وَيَتُوبَ عَلَيْكُمْ
وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ
﴿4:26﴾
(4:26) Allah wants to make all this
clear to you, and to guide you to the
ways which the righteous have followed
in the past. He will turn graciously
towards you. Allah is All-Knowing,
All-Wise. *48
*48. Here a general reference is made to
the directives embodied in this surah,
as well as those revealed earlier in
Surah al-Baqarah and which deal with
social and collective matters. It is
stressed that these directives reveal
those lasting principles observed by the
Prophets and their followers from the
earliest times. It is merely out of His
grace and benevolence that God liberated
them from their state of Ignorance
(Jahiliyah) and opened to them the way
of life of the righteous.
وَاللَّهُ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَتُوبَ
عَلَيْكُمْ وَيُرِيدُ الَّذِينَ
يَتَّبِعُونَ الشَّهَوَاتِ أَنْ تَمِيلُوا
مَيْلًا عَظِيمًا
﴿4:27﴾
(4:27) And Allah indeed wants to turn
graciously towards you; but those who
follow their lusts would want you to
drift far away from the right way. *49
*49. This refers to the hypocrites, the
ultra-conservatives and the Jews who
lived on the outskirts of Madina. Both
the hypocrites and the conservatives
were incensed at the reforms introduced
by Islam, as these were diametrically
opposed to the age-old customs and
traditions of their society and culture.
The reforms were numerous: a share of
the inheritance was assigned to
daughters; widows were liberated from
bondage to the will of their husbands'
families and were granted the freedom to
marry whomever they wished after the
expiry of the waiting-period ('iddah);
marriage with one's step-mother and with
two sisters together was prohibited;
adopted sons were disinherited; and a
foster-father's marriage with either the
divorced or widowed wife of his adopted
son was declared lawful. These and other
such reforms were so totally opposed to
the customary laws of the Arabs that it
was impossible for the elders and the
blind devotees of the ways of their
forefathers not to protest against them
vehemently. They long continued to
grumble against these injunctions.
Mischievous people pointed to these
innovations and exploited them by
provoking people against the Prophet's
movement of reform. For instance, they
would meet those born as a result of the
marriage which had been prohibited by
Islam and try to infuriate them by
saying that according to the new-fangled
teachings of Muhammad (peace be on him)
the relationship between their parents
was unlawful.
The Jews, on the other hand, had woven a
complex network of laws and regulations
for themselves. The result was that they
had forbidden a great number of things
which were, in fact, lawful.
Additionally, they had introduced a
number of superstitions into God's Law.
It was argued that the simple and
straightforward law of the Qur'an was
out of tune with the tastes and
temperaments of both the religious
leaders and the ordinary people. The
Qur'anic injunctions simply infuriated
them and as soon as they came to know of
any Qur'anic law, they vehemently
denounced it. They expected the Qur'an
to endorse and validate all the legal
deductions and all the superstitions and
myths of their forefathers, and to treat
them as an integral part of the law of
God. If the Qur'an would not do so then
they would refrain from recognizing it
as the Book of God.
Let us take the following as an example.
According to Jewish usage, a woman was
considered completely unclean during her
menstrual period. Hence, they neither
ate the food she cooked, drank from the
cup of water she offered nor even sat
with her. It was even considered
unwholesome to be touched by her. Thus
for a few days every month a woman
virtually became an untouchable in her
own house. Owing to the influence of the
Jews the same custom had found its way
into the Arab families of Madina. When
the Prophet (peace be on him) arrived in
Madina, he was asked about this matter.
In response to this query verse 222 of
Surah al-Baqarah was revealed. In the
light of the principle embodied in the
verse the Prophet (peace be on him) made
it clear that it was unlawful to have
sexual intercourse with a woman during
her menstrual period; but it was only
that relationship, and no other, that
was unlawful. (See Bukhari, 'Hayd', 2,
3; Nasa'i, 'Hayd', 9, 13, 16, 19, and
'Ahkam', 13 - Ed.) This caused uproar
among the Jews. They claimed that
Muhammad (peace be on him) was bent upon
reversing all their legal injunctions to
the extent that he wanted to legalize
whatever they held as prohibited and
prohibit whatever they held as lawful.
يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ أَنْ يُخَفِّفَ عَنْكُمْ
وَخُلِقَ الْإِنْسَانُ ضَعِيفًا
﴿4:28﴾
(4:28) Allah wants to lighten your
burdens, for man was created weak.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لَا
تَأْكُلُوا أَمْوَالَكُمْ بَيْنَكُمْ
بِالْبَاطِلِ إِلَّا أَنْ تَكُونَ
تِجَارَةً عَنْ تَرَاضٍ مِنْكُمْ وَلَا
تَقْتُلُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ
كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًا
﴿4:29﴾
(4:29) Believers! Do not devour one
another's possessions wrongfully; rather
than that, let there be trading by
mutual consent. *50
You shall not kill yourselves. *51
Surely Allah is ever Compassionate to
you. *52
*50. The expression 'wrongfully'
embraces all transactions which are
opposed to righteousness and which are
either legally or morally reprehensible.
By contrast, 'trade' signifies the
mutual transfer of benefits between the
parties concerned, such as that
underlying those transactions in which
one person provides whatever satisfies
the needs of another person and is paid
in return. 'Mutual consent' means that
the exchange should be free of undue
pressure, fraud and deception. Although
bribery and interest apparently
represent transactions based on mutual
consent, closer examination reveals that
such consent takes place by constraint
and under pressure. In games of chance,
too, the participants seem to consent
freely to the outcome. This kind of
consent, however, is due to the
expectation entertained by the
participants that they will win. No one
takes part anticipating loss. Fraudulent
transactions also seem to be based on
the mutual consent of the parties
concerned. That kind of consent,
however, is based on the false
assumption that no fraud is involved in
the transaction. Nobody who knew that he
would be subjected to fraud would
consent to be a party to that
transaction.
*51. This can be considered either as
complementary to the preceding sentence
or as an independent statement. If it is
complementary, it means that to consume
the property of others by wrongful means
is tantamount to courting one's own
destruction; for such practices corrupt
society on such a scale that even the
most cunning are not spared their
destructive consequences. This is in
addition to the severe punishment that
is bound to be meted out to such people
in the Next Life. Taken as an
independent statement, it can mean
either that one should not kill others
or that one should not kill oneself.
Both the words used and the sequence in
which they have been placed by God in
this verse make each of these three
meanings feasible.
*52. God wishes His creatures well;
their well-being and salvation please
Him, and it is out of benevolence that
He has forbidden things harmful to human
beings.
وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ عُدْوَانًا
وَظُلْمًا فَسَوْفَ نُصْلِيهِ نَارًا
وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرًا
﴿4:30﴾
(4:30) And whoever does this by way of
transgression and injustice him shall We
surely cast into the Fire; that indeed
is quite easy for Allah.
إِنْ تَجْتَنِبُوا كَبَائِرَ مَا
تُنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ نُكَفِّرْ عَنْكُمْ
سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ وَنُدْخِلْكُمْ مُدْخَلًا
كَرِيمًا
﴿4:31﴾
(4:31) But if you avoid the major sins
which you have been forbidden, We shall
remit your (trivial) offences, *53
and cause you to enter an honourable
abode.
*53. God is not overly exacting and
severe in His judgements. He is not on
the look out for trivial omissions and
lapses on the part of His creatures in
order to punish them. God is prepared to
condone minor omissions, and may even
spare a man from being presented with a
charge-sheet provided his record is free
of major sins. But if a man's record is
full of major transgressions, he will be
required to explain all the sins he has
committed - both major and minor.
We need at this stage to grasp the
essential differences between major and
minor sins. After reflecting on this
question, in the light of the Qur'an and
Sunnah, it seems to me - and God alone
knows what is absolutely correct - that
three elements turn an act into a major
sin:
(1) Violation of rights - be it either
the rights of God, of parents, of other
human beings or even of one's own self.
The greater a person's rights, the
greater is the sin in violating them.
Hence sin is characterized in the Qur'an
as wrong-doing (zulm). It is for the
same reason that associating others with
God in His divinity is called the 'great
wrong' in the Qur'an. (See, for example,
Surah Luqman 31: 13 - Ed.)
(2) Insufficient fear of God, and
arrogance and indifference towards Him,
as a result of which man does not heed
God's commandments, even wilfully
violates them, and deliberately desists
from carrying them out. The greater the
brazenness, temerity and fearlessness
with which one disobeys God, the more
heinous is the sin in His eyes. It is
for this reason that sin is also termed
ma'siyah (disobedience) and fisq. (See,
for instance, Surah al-Baqarah 2: 26,
61; Surah al-Hujurat 49: 11; Surah
al-Munafiqun 63: 6; Surah Hud 11: 59;
Surah AI 'Imran 3: 112; Surah al-Nisa'
4: 42; Surah al-Ma'idah 5: 78; and
passim for verbal forms derived from the
word ma'siyah and fisq - Ed.)
(3) Sin is aggravated by breaking those
bonds and relationships on which the
peace and tranquillity of social order
rest. These bonds include the
relationship between a man and his Lord,
as well as that between a man and his
fellow-beings. The more important a bond
is, the greater is the harm done to the
peace of human society when that bond is
broken. Likewise, the stronger the
expectation that the sanctity of a
certain bond will be honoured, the
greater is the sin incurred through its
desecration. Let us take the case of
unlawful sexual intercourse in its
various degrees. This act is inimical to
the existence of a sound social order
and is therefore a major sin. But in
certain cases the sin becomes even
graver. For instance, it is more serious
if committed by a married person than by
one who is unmarried. Similarly,
unlawful sexual intercourse with a
married woman is graver than with an
unmarried woman. Again, to commit this
act with one's neighbours is more
heinous than with others, and to commit
this act with women within the
prohibited degrees, such as one's
sister, daughter or mother, is far more
abominable than with others. Further
still, it is a much graver sin to commit
such an act in places of worship than
elsewhere. The difference in the degree
of such sinfulness is based on the
considerations we have mentioned above.
Wherever the sanctity "of a relationship
is normally respected, wherever there is
a bond which deserves to be held sacred,
and wherever the disruption of a
particular relationship is likely to
result in greater harm and corruption,
the gravity of the sin increases. This
is why in certain places the Qur'an uses
the term fujur to denote sin. (See, for
instance, Surah al-Qiyamah 75: 5; Surah
al-Infitar 82: 14; Surah al-Shams 9l: 8
- Ed.)
وَلَا تَتَمَنَّوْا مَا فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ
بِهِ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ لِلرِّجَالِ
نَصِيبٌ مِمَّا اكْتَسَبُوا وَلِلنِّسَاءِ
نَصِيبٌ مِمَّا اكْتَسَبْنَ وَاسْأَلُوا
اللَّهَ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ
كَانَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمًا
﴿4:32﴾
(4:32) Do not covet what Allah has
conferred more abundantly on some of you
than others. Men shall have a share
according to what they have earned, and
women shall have a share according to
what they have earned. Do ask of Allah
His bounty. Allah has full knowledge of
everything. *54
*54. This verse embodies a very
important directive. By heeding it, man
would be able to achieve a great measure
of peace and tranquillity. God has not
created all men alike. Some are handsome
while others are ugly. The voices of
some are sweet and those of others
repulsive. Some are physically strong
others are weak. Some have sound limbs
others have inherent deformities. Some
possess outstanding physical and mental
abilities while others lack them. Some
are born in favourable circumstances and
others not. Some have been endowed with
more resources than others. It is this
diversity which gives variety to human
civilization, and hence serves a useful
purpose. Whenever man superimposes
distinctions of his own over and above
this natural inequality he disrupts the
natural order of things, and paves the
way for corruption. Likewise, when
anyone attempts to obliterate all
differences between human beings he in
fact engages in a war against nature and
inflicts wrongs of another kind. Man is
naturally inclined to feel uneasy
whenever he sees someone else ahead of
him. This is the root of jealousy and
envy, of cut-throat competition and
animosity, of mutual strife and
conflict. These feelings often obsess a
person to such a degree that whenever
fair means do not prove effective, he
resorts to unfair means to achieve his
ambitions. In the present verse, God
directs us not to allow this kind of
mentality to take hold of us. The import
of the directive is that one should not
yearn for the good that God has bestowed
on others. One should rather pray to God
to bestow upon one the good which is in
one's best interests according to God's
wisdom and knowledge.
The statement that 'men shall have a
share according to what they have earned
and women shall have a share according
to what they have earned' seems to mean,
to the best of my understanding, that
men and women shall have their shares of
good and evil, depending on the good and
evil they have earned in using the
resources bestowed upon them by God.
وَلِكُلٍّ جَعَلْنَا مَوَالِيَ مِمَّا
تَرَكَ الْوَالِدَانِ وَالْأَقْرَبُونَ
وَالَّذِينَ عَقَدَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ
فَآَتُوهُمْ نَصِيبَهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ
كَانَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدًا
﴿4:33﴾
(4:33) And to everyone We have appointed
rightful heirs to what the parents and
near of kin might leave behind. As to
those with whom you have made a solemn
covenant, give them their share. Allah
watches over all things. *55
*55. According to Arab customary law,
those who concluded compacts of alliance
and friendship also became mutual heirs.
Likewise, an adopted son inherited from
his foster-father. While abrogating this
customary law, this verse reveals that
inheritance goes to one's kin according
to the rules for the distribution of
inheritance laid down by God Himself.
However, if a man has made commitments
to people, he has the right to give away
to them whatever he wishes during his
lifetime.
الرِّجَالُ قَوَّامُونَ عَلَى النِّسَاءِ
بِمَا فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى
بَعْضٍ وَبِمَا أَنْفَقُوا مِنْ
أَمْوَالِهِمْ فَالصَّالِحَاتُ قَانِتَاتٌ
حَافِظَاتٌ لِلْغَيْبِ بِمَا حَفِظَ
اللَّهُ وَاللَّاتِي تَخَافُونَ
نُشُوزَهُنَّ فَعِظُوهُنَّ
وَاهْجُرُوهُنَّ فِي الْمَضَاجِعِ
وَاضْرِبُوهُنَّ فَإِنْ أَطَعْنَكُمْ
فَلَا تَبْغُوا عَلَيْهِنَّ سَبِيلًا
إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيًّا كَبِيرًا
﴿4:34﴾
(4:34) Men are the protec-tors and
maintainers of women *56
because Allah has made one of them excel
over the other, *57
and because they spend out of their
possessions (to support them). Thus
righteous women are obedient and guard
the rights of men in their absence under
Allah's protection. *58
As for women of whom you fear rebellion,
admonish them, and remain apart from
them in beds, and beat them. *59
Then if they obey you, do not seek ways
to harm them. Allah is Exalted, Great.
*56. A qawwam or qayyim is a person
responsible for administering and
supervising the affairs of either an
individual or an organization, for
protecting and safeguarding them and
taking care of their needs.
*57. The verb used here - a derivative
of the root fdl - is not used to mean
that some people have been invested with
superior honour and dignity. Rather it
means that God has endowed one of the
sexes (i.e. the male sex) with certain
qualities which He has not endowed the
other sex with, at least not to an equal
extent. Thus it is the male who is
qualified to function as head of the
family. The female has been so
constituted that she should live under
his care and protection.
*58. It is reported in a tradition from
the Prophet (peace be on him) that he
said: 'The best wife is she who, if you
look at her, will please you; who, if
you bid her to do something, will obey;
and who will safeguard herself and your
property in your absence.' (Cited by Ibn
Kathir, and reported by Tabari and Ibn
Abi Hatim. See Mukhtasar Tafsir Ibn
Kathir, 3 vols., ed. Muhammad 'All
al-Sabuni, 7th edition, Beirut, 1402
A.H./1981 C.E.; vol. 1, p. 385 and n. 1
- Ed.) This tradition contains the best
explanation of the above verse. It
should be borne in mind, however, that
obedience to God has priority over a
woman's duty to obey her husband. If a
woman's husband either asks her to
disobey God or prevents her from
performing a duty imposed upon her by
God, she should refuse to carry out his
command. Obedience to her husband in
this case would be a sin. However, were
the husband to prevent is wife from
performing either supererogatory Prayer
or Fasting - as distinct from the
obligatory ones - she should obey him,
for such acts would not be accepted by
God if performed by a woman in defiance
of her husband's wish. (See Abu Da'ud,
'Sawm', 73; Ibn Majah, 'Siyam', 53 -
Ed.)
*59. This does not mean that a man
should resort to these three measures
all at once, but that they may be
employed if a wife adopts an attitude of
obstinate defiance. So far as the actual
application of these measures is
concerned, there should, naturally, be
some correspondence between the fault
and the punishment that is administered.
Moreover, it is obvious that wherever a
light touch can prove effective.one
should not resort to sterner measures.
Whenever the Prophet (peace be on him)
permitted a man to administer corporal
punishment to his wife, he did so with
reluctance, and continued to express his
distaste for it. And even in cases where
it is necessary, the Prophet (peace be
on him) directed men not to hit across
the face, nor to beat severely nor to
use anything that might leave marks on
the body. (See Ibn Majah, 'Nikah', 3 -
Ed.)
وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ شِقَاقَ بَيْنِهِمَا
فَابْعَثُوا حَكَمًا مِنْ أَهْلِهِ
وَحَكَمًا مِنْ أَهْلِهَا إِنْ يُرِيدَا
إِصْلَاحًا يُوَفِّقِ اللَّهُ بَيْنَهُمَا
إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا خَبِيرًا
﴿4:35﴾
(4:35) If you fear a breach between the
two, appoint an arbitrator from his
people and an arbitrator from her
people. If they both want to set things
right, *60
Allah will bring about reconciliation
between them. Allah knows all, is well
aware of everything. *61
*60. The statement: 'if they both want
to set things right', may be interpreted
as referring either to the mediators or
to the spouses concerned. Every dispute
can be resolved providing the parties
concerned desire reconciliation, and the
mediators too are keen to remove the
misunderstandings between them and to
bring them together.
*61. Whenever the relationship between a
husband and a wife starts to break down,
an attempt should first be made to
resolve the dispute at the family level,
before it is aggravated and leads to the
disruption of the matrimonial tie. The
procedure to be followed is that two
persons, one on behalf of each family,
should be nominated to look into the
matter together and devise means whereby
the misunderstanding between the spouses
may be brought to an end. Who should
nominate these mediators? God has not
specified this so as to allow people
full freedom to choose the most
convenient arrangement. The parties
would be free, for instance, to decide
that the mediators be nominated either
by the spouses themselves or by the
elders of their respective families. If
the dispute is brought before the court,
the latter also has the right to
nominate mediators, representing the
families of both parties, before
referring the matter for judicial
verdict.
There is disagreement among Muslim
jurists about the extent of the
mediators' authority. The Hanafi and
Shafi'i schools are of the opinion that
they normally have no authority to issue
a binding verdict. All they may do is to
recommend the solution they advocate,
whereafter the spouses have the right
either to accept or to reject it. The
exception is if the spouses have
nominated the mediators to act on their
behalf in regard to either talaq or
khul': they will then be bound by their
verdict. This is the opinion of the
Hanafi and Shafi'i schools. Another
group of jurists argues that the
authority of the mediators is confined
to deciding how the spouses should
reconcile their differences, and does
not extend to the annulment of marriage.
This is the opinion of Hasan al-Basri
and Qatadah, among others. Yet another
group holds the opinion that the
mediators have full authority both in
respect of reconciliation and annulment
of marriage. This is the opinion of Ibn
'Abbas, Sa'id b. Jubayr, Ibrahim
al-Nakha'i, al-Sha'bi, Muhammad b. Sinn
and several other authorities. The
precedents which have come down from
early Islam, however, are the judgements
of 'Uthman and 'Ali. These indicate that
they conferred upon the mediators the
authority to issue judgements binding on
both parties. When the dispute between
'Aqil b. Abi Talib and his wife Fatimah
b. 'Utbah b. Rabi'ah came up for the
judgement of 'Uthman, he nominated Ibn
'Abbas and Mu'awiyah b. Abi Sufyan from
the families of the husband and the wife
respectively. He also told them that if
they thought that separation was
preferable, they should declare the
marriage annulled. In a similar dispute
'Ali nominated mediators and authorized
them either to bring about
reconciliation or annul the marriage,
whichever they considered appropriate.
This shows that the mediators do not
have judicial authority as such. (See
the commentaries of Ibn Kathir and
Jassas on this verse -Ed.) Such
authority, however, may be conferred
upon them by the courts, in which case
their decision will have the force of a
judicial verdict.
وَاعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا
بِهِ شَيْئًا وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ
إِحْسَانًا وَبِذِي الْقُرْبَى
وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْجَارِ
ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْجَارِ الْجُنُبِ
وَالصَّاحِبِ بِالْجَنْبِ وَابْنِ
السَّبِيلِ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ مَنْ كَانَ
مُخْتَالًا فَخُورًا
﴿4:36﴾
(4:36) Serve Allah and ascribe no
partner to Him. Do good to your parents,
to near of kin, to orphans, and to the
needy, and to the neighbour who is of
kin and to the neighbour who is a
stranger, and to the companion by your
side, *62
and to the wayfarer, and to those whom
your right hands possess. Allah does not
love the arrogant and the boastful,
*62. The expression al-sahib bi al-janb
(the companion by your side) embraces
those with whom one has friendly
relations of an abiding nature as well
as those with whom one's relationship is
transient: for instance, either the
person who walks beside one on the way
to the market or who sits beside one
while buying things from the same shop
or one's fellow traveller. Even this
temporary relationship imposes certain
claims on every refined and decent
person - that he should treat him, as
far as possible, in a kind and gracious
manner and avoid causing him any
inconvenience.
الَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ وَيَأْمُرُونَ
النَّاسَ بِالْبُخْلِ وَيَكْتُمُونَ مَا
آَتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ
وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابًا
مُهِينًا
﴿4:37﴾
(4:37) who are niggardly and bid others
to be niggardly and conceal the bounty
which Allah has bestowed upon them. *63
We have kept in readiness a humiliating
chastisement for such deniers (of
Allah's bounty).
*63. Concealing God's bounty is to live,
as if God had not bestowed that bounty.
If anyone has considerable wealth and
yet lives at a standard strikingly lower
than that warranted by his income, if he
shuns spending on himself and his
family, and also on helping other
creatures of God, and avoids providing
financial support to any philanthropic
cause, then he creates the false
impression of being in a state of
financial stringency. This is sheer
ingratitude to God. The Prophet (peace
be on him) is reported, according to a
tradition, as saying: 'If God confers a
bounty on somebody, He would like to see
that benefaction displayed.' (Ibn
Kathir, vol. 4, p. 486 - Ed.) This means
that a person's day-to-day life, his
eating and drinking, his dress and his
abode and his spending on others, all
these should reflect God's bounty.
وَالَّذِينَ يُنْفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ
رِئَاءَ النَّاسِ وَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
بِاللَّهِ وَلَا بِالْيَوْمِ الْآَخِرِ
وَمَنْ يَكُنِ الشَّيْطَانُ لَهُ قَرِينًا
فَسَاءَ قَرِينًا
﴿4:38﴾
(4:38) Allah does not love those who
spend out of their wealth to make a show
of it to people when they believe
neither in Allah nor in the Last Day.
And he who has taken Satan for a
companion has indeed taken for himself a
very bad companion.
وَمَاذَا عَلَيْهِمْ لَوْ آَمَنُوا
بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآَخِرِ
وَأَنْفَقُوا مِمَّا رَزَقَهُمُ اللَّهُ
وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِهِمْ عَلِيمًا
﴿4:39﴾
(4:39) What harm would have befallen
them if they had believed in Allah and
the Last Day, and spent on charity what
Allah had bestowed upon them as
sustenance? For Allah indeed has full
knowledge of them.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَظْلِمُ مِثْقَالَ
ذَرَّةٍ وَإِنْ تَكُ حَسَنَةً
يُضَاعِفْهَا وَيُؤْتِ مِنْ لَدُنْهُ
أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا
﴿4:40﴾
(4:40) Indeed Allah wrongs none, not
even as much as an atom's weight.
Whenever a man does good, He multiplies
it two-fold, and bestows out of His
grace a mighty reward.
فَكَيْفَ إِذَا جِئْنَا مِنْ كُلِّ
أُمَّةٍ بِشَهِيدٍ وَجِئْنَا بِكَ عَلَى
هَؤُلَاءِ شَهِيدًا
﴿4:41﴾
(4:41) Consider, then, when We shall
bring forward witnesses from every
community, and will bring you (O
Muhammad!) as a witness against them
all. *64
*64. The Prophet of each age will stand
as a witness before God against his
people; he will testify that he conveyed
to them the true way of life, and showed
them the right outlook and the
fundamentals of moral conduct revealed
to him by God. The testimony of the
Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) will
be to the same effect, and the Qur'an
indicates that he will stand as a
witness to the period beginning with his
advent as a Prophet right through to the
Day of Judgement. (See Towards
Understanding the Qur'an, vol. I, Surah
3, n. 69.)
يَوْمَئِذٍ يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا
وَعَصَوُا الرَّسُولَ لَوْ تُسَوَّى
بِهِمُ الْأَرْضُ وَلَا يَكْتُمُونَ
اللَّهَ حَدِيثًا
﴿4:42﴾
(4:42) Those who disbelieved and
disobeyed the Messenger will wish on
that Day that the earth were levelled
with them. They will not be able to
conceal anything from Allah.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لَا
تَقْرَبُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَأَنْتُمْ
سُكَارَى حَتَّى تَعْلَمُوا مَا
تَقُولُونَ وَلَا جُنُبًا إِلَّا عَابِرِي
سَبِيلٍ حَتَّى تَغْتَسِلُوا وَإِنْ
كُنْتُمْ مَرْضَى أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ أَوْ
جَاءَ أَحَدٌ مِنْكُمْ مِنَ الْغَائِطِ
أَوْ لَامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ فَلَمْ
تَجِدُوا مَاءً فَتَيَمَّمُوا صَعِيدًا
طَيِّبًا فَامْسَحُوا بِوُجُوهِكُمْ
وَأَيْدِيكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ
عَفُوًّا غَفُورًا
﴿4:43﴾
(4:43) Believers! Do not draw near to
the Prayer while you are intoxicated *65
until you know what you are saying *66
nor while you are defiled *67
- save when you are travelling - until
you have washed yourselves. *68
If you are either ill or travelling or
have satisfied a want of nature or have
had contact with women *69
and can find no water, then betake
yourselves to pure earth, passing with
it lightly over your face and your
hands. *70Surely
Allah is All-Relenting, All-Forgiving.
*65. This is the second in the
chronological sequence of injunctions
concerning intoxicants. We came across
the first injunction in Surah al-Baqarah
2: 219. In that verse God merely
indicated that drinking wine was a great
sin, making it clear that it was
reprehensible in His sight. This was
quite enough to make some Muslims give
up liquor altogether, though many others
still took intoxicating drinks: they
sometimes stood up to pray while still
under the influence of alcohol, so that
they even made mistakes in their
recitations. This second injunction was
probably revealed at the beginning of 4
A.H., making it forbidden, thenceforth,
to pray in a state of intoxication. This
led people to alter their drinking
times. They drank only at those hours
when there was no fear of their
remaining under the influence of
intoxicants when the time for Prayer
came. The injunction embodying
unconditional prohibition of intoxicants
was revealed not long afterwards. (See
Surah al-Ma'idah 5: 90-1.)
It should also be borne in mind that the
word used in the verse is derived from
sukr, which embraces not merely
intoxicating liquors but everything
which causes intoxication. The
injunction contained in the verse is
valid even now, for though the use of
intoxicants as such has been completely
prohibited, praying in a state of
intoxication is a graver sin.
*66. It is on this basis that the
Prophet (peace be on him) directed
anyone who is under the influence of
sleep, and dozes off again and again
during the Prayer, to stop praying and
go to bed. (Ibn Kathir, vol. 4, p.
494-Ed.) Some people argue, on the basis
of this verse, that the Prayer of one
who does not understand the Arabic text
of the Qur'an will not be accepted.
Apart from taking things too far such a
conclusion is not supported by the words
in the text. The expression used by the
Qur'an is neither ( ) nor even ( ). On
the contrary, the expression is ( )
(i.e. until you know what you are
saying, rather than 'until you
understand' what you are saying). What
is required is that while praying one
should at least be conscious enough to
know what one is uttering in the Prayer.
*67. The term janabah denotes the state
of major ritual impurity, and is derived
from the root meaning: 'to ward off'.
The word ajnabi, meaning foreigner or
stranger, is also derived from the same
root. In Islamic terminology, janabah
denotes the state of ritual impurity (in
both male and female) which results from
the act of intercourse or from seminal
emission (either from sexual stimulation
or from a wet dream).
*68. One group of jurists and Qur'anic
commentators interpret this verse to
mean that one should not enter a mosque
in the state of major ritual impurity
(janabah), unless out of necessity. This
is the opinion of 'Abd Allah b. Mas'ud,
Anas b. Malik, Hasan al-Basri, Ibrahim
al-Nakha'i and others. Another group
thinks that the reference here is to
travel. In the opinion of this group, if
a traveller is in the state of major
ritual impurity he may resort to
tayammum (i.e. symbolic ablution
attained through wiping the hands and
face with clean earth). (See Surah
al-Ma'idah 5: 6 and also n. 70 below -
Ed.) This group considers it permissible
to stay in the mosque in this state
provided one has performed ablution.
This is the view of 'Ali, Ibn 'Abbas,
Sa'id b. Jubayr and some other
authorities. The opinion that a
traveller in the state of major impurity
may perform ablution if he is unable to
take a bath is supported by consensus,
but while some authorities infer it from
traditions others base it on the
Qur'anic verse mentioned above. (See
Jassas, vol. 2, pp. 201-6; and Ibn
Kathir's commentary on this verse - Ed.)
*69. There is disagreement as to what is
meant here by the verb lamastum, which
literally means 'you touched'. 'Ali, Ibn
'Abbas, Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, Ubayy b.
Ka'b, Sa'id b. Jubayr, Hasan al-Basri
and several other leading jurists are of
the opinion that it signifies sexual
intercourse.* Abu Hanifah and his
school, and Sufyan al-Thawri follow this
view. But 'Abd Allah b. Mas'ud and 'Abd
Allah b. 'Umar hold that it signifies
the act of touching, the mere placing of
one's hand on a woman's body. This is
the opinion adopted by Shafi'i. Other
jurists take an intermediate position.
Malik, for instance, is of the opinion
that if a man and a woman touch each
other with sexual desire, their ablution
is nullified, and if they want to
perform the Prayer they are obliged to
renew their ablution. He sees nothing
objectionable, however, in the mere fact
of a man touching a woman's body, or
vice versa, provided the act is not
motivated by sexual desire. (See Ibn
Kathir's commentary on this verse -
Ed.-)
*70. The detailed rules of tayammum are
as follows: A man who either needs to
perform ablution or take a bath to
attain the state of purity for ritual
Prayer may resort to tayammum provided
water is not available to him. Only then
may he perform the Prayer. Permission to
resort to tayammum, rather than make
ablution with water or take a bath, is
also extended to invalids whose health
is likely to be harmed by the use of
water. *We have tried to convey both
shades of meaning in the translation of
the verse by using the expression 'have
had contact with' instead of 'touched' -
Ed.
Tayammum literally means 'to turn to, to
aim at, to head for, to intend'. The
relevance of the term in the Islamic
religious context is that when water is
either not available or when its use is
likely to cause harm one should 'turn
to' clean earth.
There is some disagreement among jurists
about the manner of performing tayammum.
According to some, one should strike
one's palms on the clean earth, then
gently wipe one's face, then strike
one's hands again and gently wipe one's
hands and arms up to the elbows. This is
the view of Abu Hanifah, Shafi'i, Malik
and the majority of jurists. Among the
Companions and Successors, 'Ali, 'Abd
Allah b. 'Umar, Hasan al-Basri, Sha'bi,
Salim b. 'Abd Allah and many others are
of the same opinion. Other jurists are
of the view that it is sufficient to
strike one's palms once on the clean
earth, then wipe one's face and one's
hands up to the wrist; it is not
necessary to wipe the arms between the
wrist and the elbow. This is the opinion
of 'Ata', Makhul, Awza'i, and Ahmad b.
Hanbal, and is generally followed by the
Ahl al-Hadith. (Cf. Qurtubi, Ahkam
al-Qur'an, vol. 5, pp. 239-41.)
Tayammum is not necessarily performed by
striking one's palms on earth proper. It
is sufficient to strike the palms on
anything which either has dust over it
or anything consisting of the dry
elements of the earth. It may be asked
how one attains purity by striking one's
palms on the earth and then wiping one's
hands and face with them. In fact
tayammum is a useful psychological
device to keep the sense of ritual
purity and the sanctity of Prayer alive
in man's mind even when water - the
principal agent of purification - is not
available. The value of tayammum is that
even if a man is unable to use water -
and no one knows how long this situation
may persist - his sensitivity to
cleanliness and purity will endure. He
will continue to observe the regulation
laid down by the Law in respect of
cleanliness and purity, and the
distinction between the states in which
one may and may not perform the Prayer
will not be erased.
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا
نَصِيبًا مِنَ الْكِتَابِ يَشْتَرُونَ
الضَّلَالَةَ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَنْ تَضِلُّوا
السَّبِيلَ
﴿4:44﴾
(4:44) Have you not seen those to whom a
portion of the Book was given? *71
They purchased error for themselves, and
wish that you too lose the right way?
*71. The Qur'an often characterizes the
scholars of the People of the Book as
those who 'were given a portion of the
Book'. The reason for the use of this
expression, in the first place, is that
they caused a part of the divine
revelation to be lost. Moreover, they
had detached themselves from the spirit
and purpose of the divine revelation
which was available to them. Their
concern with the Scripture was confined
to verbal discussions, arguments about
legal minutiae, and speculation about
subtle and involved philosophical and
theological questions. This had so
alienated even their religious leaders
and scholars from the true concept of
religion that they lost true religious
devotion and piety.
وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِأَعْدَائِكُمْ
وَكَفَى بِاللَّهِ وَلِيًّا وَكَفَى
بِاللَّهِ نَصِيرًا
﴿4:45﴾
(4:45) Allah knows your enemies better
and Allah suffices as a protector and
Allah suffices as a helper.
مِنَ الَّذِينَ هَادُوا يُحَرِّفُونَ
الْكَلِمَ عَنْ مَوَاضِعِهِ وَيَقُولُونَ
سَمِعْنَا وَعَصَيْنَا وَاسْمَعْ غَيْرَ
مُسْمَعٍ وَرَاعِنَا لَيًّا
بِأَلْسِنَتِهِمْ وَطَعْنًا فِي الدِّينِ
وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا سَمِعْنَا
وَأَطَعْنَا وَاسْمَعْ وَانْظُرْنَا
لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُمْ وَأَقْوَمَ
وَلَكِنْ لَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ بِكُفْرِهِمْ
فَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا
﴿4:46﴾
(4:46) Among those who have become Jews *72
there are some who alter the words from
their context, *73
and make a malicious play with their
tongues and seek to revile the true
faith. They say: 'We have heard and we
disobey' (sami'na wa 'asayna), *74
'Do hear us, may you turn dumb' (isma'
ghayr musma') *75
and 'Hearken to us' (ra'ina). It would
indeed have been better for them and
more upright if they had said: 'We have
heard and we obey' (sami'na wa ata'na) *76
and: 'Do listen to us, and look at us
(with kindness)' (wa isma' wa unzurna).
But Allah has cursed them because of
their disbelief. Scarcely do they
believe.
*72. It is to be noted that this
expression means 'they became Jews',
rather than 'they were Jews'. For,
originally, they were nothing but
Muslims, just as the followers of every
Prophet are Muslims. Only later on did
they become merely 'Jews'.
*73. This signifies three things. First,
that they tampered with the text of the
Scripture. Second, that they
misinterpreted the Scripture and thereby
distorted the meanings of the verses of
the Book. Third, that they came and
stayed in the company of the Prophet
(peace be on him) and his Companions and
listened to the conversations which took
place there, then went among other
people and misreported what they had
heard. They did this with the malicious
intent of bringing the Muslims into
disrepute and thereby preventing people
from embracing Islam.
*74. When the ordinances of God are
announced to them, they loudly proclaim:
'Yes, we have heard', (sami'na), but
then they whisper: 'And we disobeyed'
('asayna). Or else they pronounce ata'na
('we obey') with such a twist of the
tongue that it becomes indistinguishable
from 'asayna.
*75. Whenever they wanted to say
something to the Prophet (peace be on
him) they would say, 'isma" (listen),
but added to this the expression, 'ghayr
musma" which had several meanings. It
could either be a polite expression,
meaning that he was worthy of such deep
respect that one should say nothing to
his dislike or it could have a malicious
implication, meaning that he did not
deserve to be addressed by anybody. It
also meant the imprecation: 'May God
turn you deaf.'
*76. For an explanation of this see
Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol.
I, Surah 2, n. 108.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا
الْكِتَابَ آَمِنُوا بِمَا نَزَّلْنَا
مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا مَعَكُمْ مِنْ قَبْلِ
أَنْ نَطْمِسَ وُجُوهًا فَنَرُدَّهَا
عَلَى أَدْبَارِهَا أَوْ نَلْعَنَهُمْ
كَمَا لَعَنَّا أَصْحَابَ السَّبْتِ
وَكَانَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ مَفْعُولًا
﴿4:47﴾
(4:47) O you who have been granted the
Book! Do believe in what We have (now)
revealed, which confirms the revelation
which you already possess. *77
Do this before We alter countenances,
turning them backwards, or lay a curse
upon them as We cursed the Sabbath-men. *78
Bear in mind that Allah's command is
done.
*77. See ibid., Surah 3, n. 2.
*78. See ibid., Surah 2, nn. 82 and 83.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ
بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ
يَشَاءُ وَمَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ
افْتَرَى إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا
﴿4:48﴾
(4:48) Surely Allah does not forgive
that a partner be ascribed to Him, *79
although He forgives any other sins for
whomever He wills. *80
He who associates anyone with Allah in
His divinity has indeed forged a mighty
lie and committed an awesome sin.
*79. Although the People of the Book
claimed to follow the Prophets and the
Divine Books they had, in fact, fallen a
prey to polytheism.
*80. The purpose of this verse is not to
tell man that he may commit any sin as
long as he does not associate others
with God in His divinity. The object is
rather to impress upon those who had
begun to regard polytheism as a trivial
matter that it constitutes the most
serious offence in God's sight, an
offence so serious that while other sins
may be pardoned this will not. Jewish
religious scholars were meticulous about
questions of subsidiary importance, and
devoted all their time to pondering over
legal subtleties which their jurists had
painstakingly elaborated by far-fetched
deductions. Yet they treated polytheism
so lightly that they neither abstained
from it themselves nor tried to prevent
their people from falling a prey to
polytheistic ideas and practices nor
found anything objectionable in
establishing cordial relations with the
polytheists nor in supporting them.
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ يُزَكُّونَ
أَنْفُسَهُمْ بَلِ اللَّهُ يُزَكِّي مَنْ
يَشَاءُ وَلَا يُظْلَمُونَ فَتِيلًا
﴿4:49﴾
(4:49) Have you not seen those who boast
of their righteousness, even though it
is Allah Who grants righteousness to
whomsoever He wills? They are not
wronged even as much as the husk of a
date-stone (if they do not receive
righteousness).
انْظُرْ كَيْفَ يَفْتَرُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ
الْكَذِبَ وَكَفَى بِهِ إِثْمًا مُبِينًا
﴿4:50﴾
(4:50) See how they forge lies about
Allah! This in itself is a manifest sin.
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا
نَصِيبًا مِنَ الْكِتَابِ يُؤْمِنُونَ
بِالْجِبْتِ وَالطَّاغُوتِ وَيَقُولُونَ
لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا هَؤُلَاءِ أَهْدَى
مِنَ الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا سَبِيلًا
﴿4:51﴾
(4:51) Have you not seen those to whom a
portion of the Book was given? They
believe in baseless superstitions *81
and taghut (false deities), *82
and say about the unbelievers that they
are better guided than those who
believe. *83
*81. Jibt signifies 'a thing devoid of
any true basis and bereft of all
usefulness'. In Islamic terminology the
various forms of sorcery, divination and
soothsaying, in short all superstitions,
are termed jibt. It is reported in a
tradition that, 'to divine things from
the cries of animals, or the traces of
animals' paws, or the flight of birds,
constitutes jibt. Thus, jibt may be
roughly translated as 'superstition'.
(See Abu Da'ud, Tibb', 23; Ahmad b.
Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 3, p. 477 and vol.
5, p. 60 - Ed.)
*82. For explanation see Towards
Understanding the Qur'an, vol. I, Surah
2, nn. 286 and 288.
*83. The obstinacy of the Jewish
religious scholars had, reached such a
point that they brazenly declared the
followers of Muhammad (peace be on him)
to be in greater error than even the
polytheists of Arabia. This was despite
the fact that they knew that the Muslims
stood for absolute monotheism while
their opponents believed in that
undisguised polytheism which has been so
vehemently denounced throughout the
Bible.
أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ لَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ
وَمَنْ يَلْعَنِ اللَّهُ فَلَنْ تَجِدَ
لَهُ نَصِيرًا
﴿4:52﴾
(4:52) Such are the ones whom Allah has
cursed; and he whom Allah curses has
none to come to his help.
أَمْ لَهُمْ نَصِيبٌ مِنَ الْمُلْكِ
فَإِذًا لَا يُؤْتُونَ النَّاسَ نَقِيرًا
﴿4:53﴾
(4:53) Have they any share in the
dominion (of Allah)? Had that been so,
they would never have granted people
even as much as the speck on a
date-stone. *84
*84. The Jews, who had judged the
Muslims to be in error, are asked if
they have some share in God's authority
which entitles them to judge who is
rightly guided and who is not. If the
Jews really had any share in that
authority, no one would receive so much
as a penny from them, for their hearts
are too small to even acknowledge the
truth, let alone credit others with
righteousness and goodness. This verse
can also be understood somewhat
differently so as to pose the following
question to the Jews: 'Is it a matter of
your possessing some dominion which you
are reluctant to share with others?'
Obviously, the question was merely one
of acknowledging the Truth, and they
were too grudging to credit others with
it.
أَمْ يَحْسُدُونَ النَّاسَ عَلَى مَا
آَتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ فَقَدْ
آَتَيْنَا آَلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْكِتَابَ
وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَآَتَيْنَاهُمْ مُلْكًا
عَظِيمًا
﴿4:54﴾
(4:54) Do they envy others for the
bounty that Allah has bestowed upon
them? *85
(Let them bear in mind that) We bestowed
upon the house of Abraham the Book and
Wis-dom, and We bestowed upon them a
mighty dominion, *86
*85. By implication, this query
accurately portrays the state of mind of
the Jews. They saw the Muslims being
endowed with the grace and reward of God
which they, notwithstanding their own
unworthiness had expected to fall to
their share. By virtue of the advent of
a great Prophet among the ummis of
Arabia, a spiritual, moral and
intellectual revolution had taken place
which totally changed their practical
life and ultimately led them to
greatness and glory. It is this which
aroused their spite and envy, and which
was reflected in their unjustifiable
remarks about the Muslims.
*86. This 'mighty dominion' refers to
the position of world leadership and
authority which a people attain by
virtue of receiving the knowledge in the
Book of God and acting according to its
dictates.
فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ آَمَنَ بِهِ وَمِنْهُمْ
مَنْ صَدَّ عَنْهُ وَكَفَى بِجَهَنَّمَ
سَعِيرًا
﴿4:55﴾
(4:55) whereupon some of them believed,
and others turned away. *87
(Those who turn away), Hell suffices for
a blaze.
*87. This is in response to the
malicious remarks of the Israelites.
What is being said is that they had no
reason to feel jealous since both the
Israelites and Ishmaelites were
offspring of the same Abraham. Now, the
leadership of the world had been
promised only to those children of
Abraham who followed the Book and Wisdom
revealed by God. The Book and Wisdom had
been sent down earlier to the
Israelites, and to their discredit they
had turned away from them. The same Book
and Wisdom had now been made available
to the Ishmaelites and they had decided
to greet it with faith and gratitude.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآَيَاتِنَا
سَوْفَ نُصْلِيهِمْ نَارًا كُلَّمَا
نَضِجَتْ جُلُودُهُمْ بَدَّلْنَاهُمْ
جُلُودًا غَيْرَهَا لِيَذُوقُوا
الْعَذَابَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَزِيزًا
حَكِيمًا
﴿4:56﴾
(4:56) Surely We shall cast those who
reject Our signs into the Fire; and as
often as their skins are burnt out, We
shall give them other skins in exchange
that they may fully taste the
chastisement. Surely Allah is
All-Mighty, All-Wise.
وَالَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا
الصَّالِحَاتِ سَنُدْخِلُهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ
تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ
خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا لَهُمْ فِيهَا
أَزْوَاجٌ مُطَهَّرَةٌ وَنُدْخِلُهُمْ
ظِلًّا ظَلِيلًا
﴿4:57﴾
(4:57) And those who believe and do good
deeds, We shall cause them to enter the
Gardens beneath which rivers flow. There
they shall abide for ever. There they
shall have spouses purified and there We
shall cause them to enter a shelter with
plenteous shade.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ أَنْ
تُؤَدُّوا الْأَمَانَاتِ إِلَى أَهْلِهَا
وَإِذَا حَكَمْتُمْ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ أَنْ
تَحْكُمُوا بِالْعَدْلِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ
نِعِمَّا يَعِظُكُمْ بِهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ
كَانَ سَمِيعًا بَصِيرًا
﴿4:58﴾
(4:58) Allah commands you to deliver
trusts to those worthy of them; and when
you judge between people, to judge with
justice. *88
Excellent is the admonition Allah gives
you. Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing.
*88. Here the Muslims are forewarned
against the evils which had afflicted
the Israelites. One of the fundamental
mistakes committed by the Israelites was
that in the time of their degeneration
they had handed over positions of trust
(i.e. religious and political
leadership) to incompetent, mean,
immoral, dishonest and corrupt people.
The result was that corruption spread
throughout the nation. The Muslims are
directed to take heed of this, and to
entrust positions of responsibility only
to those who are capable of shouldering
the burdens of such positions. The other
major weakness of the Israelites was
that they completely lost their sense of
justice. In their pursuit of either
personal or national interests, honesty
and good faith were often sacrificed.
The Muslims, in the time of the Prophet
(peace be on him), were themselves
subjected to gross injustice at their
hands. On the one side were the Prophet
(peace be on him) and his followers, to
whose purity of life and conduct the
Jews were themselves witnesses. On the
other side were those who worshipped
idols, buried their daughters alive,
married their step-mothers and
circumambulated the Ka'bah naked.
Despite this, these so-called People of
the Book felt no shame in declaring that
the latter were closer to righteousness
than the Muslims. After informing the
Muslims of the iniquity of the Jews, God
now warns them against committing
similar injustices. They should rather
declare what is right in the face of
friend and foe alike, and judge between
people with equity and justice.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا
أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ
وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْكُمْ فَإِنْ
تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ
إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ
تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ
الْآَخِرِ ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَحْسَنُ
تَأْوِيلًا
﴿4:59﴾
(4:59) Believers! Obey Allah and obey
the Messenger, and those from among you
who are invested with authority; and
then if you were to dispute among
yourselves about anything refer it to
Allah and the Messenger *89
if you indeed believe in Allah and the
Last Day; that is better and more
commendable in the end. *90
*89. This verse is the cornerstone of
the entire religious, social and
political structure of Islam, and the
very first clause of the constitution of
an Islamic state. It lays down the
following principles as permanent
guidelines:
(1) In the Islamic order of life, God
alone is the focus of loyalty and
obedience. A Muslim is the servant of
God before anything else, and obedience
and loyalty to God constitute the centre
and axis of both the individual and
collective life of a Muslim. Other
claims to loyalty and obedience are
acceptable only insofar as they remain
secondary and subservient, and do not
compete with those owed to God. All
loyalties which may tend to challenge
the primacy of man's loyalty to God must
be rejected. This has been expressed by
the Prophet (peace be on him) in the
following words: 'There may be no
obedience to any creature in
disobedience to the Creator.' (Muslim,
'Iman', 37; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad,
vol. 3, p. 472 - Ed.)
(2) Another basic principle of the
Islamic order of life is obedience to
the Prophet (peace be on him). No
Prophet, of course, is entitled to
obedience in his own right. Obedience to
Prophets, however, is the only practical
way of obeying God, since they are the
only authentic means by which He
communicates His injunctions and
ordinances to men. Hence, we can obey
God only if we obey a Prophet.
Independent obedience to God is not
acceptable, and to turn one's back on
the Prophets amounts to rebellion
against God. The following tradition
from the Prophet (peace be on him)
explains this: 'Whoever obeyed me,
indeed obeyed God; and whoever disobeyed
me, indeed disobeyed God.' (Bukhari,
'Jihad', 109; 'I'tisam', 2; Muslim,
'Amarah', 32, 33; Nasa'i, 'Bay'ah', 27;
etc. - Ed.) We shall see this explained
in more detail a little further on in
the Qur'an.
(3) In the Islamic order of life Muslims
are further required to obey fellow
Muslims in authority. This obedience
follows, and is subordinate to,
obedience to God and the Prophet (peace
be on him). Those invested with
authority (ulu al-amr) include all those
entrusted with directing Muslims in
matters of common concern. Hence,
persons 'invested with authority'
include the intellectual and political
leaders of the community, as well as
administrative officials, judges of the
courts, tribal chiefs and regional
representatives. In all these
capacities, those 'invested with
authority' are entitled to obedience,
and it is improper for Muslims to cause
dislocation in their collective life by
engaging in strife and conflict with
them. This obedience is contingent,
however, on two conditions: first, that
these men should be believers; and
second, that they should themselves be
obedient to God and the Prophet (peace
be on him). These two conditions are not
only clearly mentioned in this verse
they have also been elucidated at length
by the Prophet (peace be on him) and can
be found in the Hadith. Let us consider,
for example, the following traditions: A
Muslim is obliged to heed and to obey an
order whether he likes it or not, as
long as he is not ordered to carry out
an act of disobedience to God
(ma'siyah). When ordered to carry out an
act of disobedience-to God he need
neither heed nor obey.
There is no obedience in sin; obedience
is only in what is good (ma'ruf). (For
these traditions see Bukhari, 'Ahkam',
4; 'Jihad', 108; Muslim, 'Amarah', 39;
Tirmidhi, 'Jihad', 29; Ibn Majah,
'Jihad', 40; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad,
vol. 2, pp. 17 and 142 - Ed.)
There will be rulers over you, some of
whose actions you will consider good and
others abominable. Who even disapproves
of their abominable acts will be
acquitted of all blame, and whoever
resents them he too will remain secure
(from all blame); not so one who
approves and follows them in their
abominable acts. They (i.e. the
Companions) asked: 'Should we not fight
against them?' The Prophet (peace be on
him) said: 'No, not as long as they
continue to pray.' (See Bukhari,
'Jihad', 108 - Ed.)
This means that their abandonment of
Prayer will be a clear sign of their
having forsaken obedience to God and the
Prophet (peace be on him). Thereafter it
becomes proper to fight against them. In
another tradition the Prophet (peace be
on him) says:
Your worst leaders are those whom you
hate and who hate you; whom you curse
and who curse you. We asked: 'O
Messenger of God! Should we not rise
against them?' The Prophet (peace be on
him) said: 'No, not as long as they
establish Prayer among you: not as long
as they establish Prayer among you.'
(See Muslim, 'Amarah', 65, 66; Tirmidhi,
'Fitan', 77; Darimi, 'Riqaq, 78; Ahmad
b. Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 6, pp. 24, 28 -
Ed.)
In this tradition the position is
further clarified. The earlier tradition
could have created the impression that
it was not permissible to revolt against
rulers as long as they observed their
Prayers privately. But the latter
tradition makes it clear that what is
really meant by 'praying' is the
establishment of the system of
congregational Prayers in the collective
life of Muslims. This means that it is
by no means sufficient that the rulers
merely continue observing their Prayers:
it is also necessary that the system run
by them should at least be concerned
with the establishment of Prayer. This
concern with Prayer is a definite
indication that a government is
essentially an Islamic one. But if no
concern for establishing Prayer is
noticed, it shows that the government
has drifted far away from Islam making
it permissible to overthrow it. The same
principle is also enunciated by the
Prophet (peace be on him) in another
tradition, in which the narrator says:
'The Prophet (peace be on him) also made
us pledge not to rise against our rulers
unless we see them involved in open
disbelief, so that we have definite
evidence against them to lay before God'
(Bukhari and Muslim).
(4) In an Islamic order the injunctions
of God and the way of the Prophet (peace
be on him) constitute the basic law and
paramount authority in all matters.
Whenever there is any dispute among
Muslims or between the rulers and the
ruled the matter should be referred to
the Qur'an and the Sunnah, and all
concerned should accept with sincerity
whatever judgement results. In fact,
willingness to take the Book of God and
the Sunnah of His Messenger as the
common point of reference, and to treat
the judgement of the Qur'an and the
Sunnah as the last word on all matters,
is a central characteristic which
distinguishes an Islamic system from
un-Islamic ones. Some people question
the principle that we should refer
everything to the Book of God and the
Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be on him).
They wonder how we can possibly do so
when there are numerous practical
questions involved, for example, rules
and regulations relating to municipal
administration, the management of
railways and postal services and so on
which are not treated at all in these
sources. This doubt arises, however,
from a misapprehension about Islam. The
basic difference between a Muslim and a
non-Muslim is that whereas the latter
feels free to do as he wishes, the basic
characteristic of a Muslim is that he
always looks to God and to His Prophet
for guidance, and where such guidance is
available, a Muslim is bound by it. On
the other hand, it is also quite
important to remember that when no
specific guidance is available, a Muslim
feels free to exercise his discretion
because the silence of the Law indicates
that God Himself has deliberately
granted man the freedom to make his
decision.
*90. Since the Qur'an is not merely a
legal code, but also seeks to instruct,
educate, admonish and exhort, the
earlier sentence which enunciates a
legal principle is followed by another
which explains its underlying purpose
and wisdom. Two things are laid down.
First, that faithful adherence to the
above four principles is a necessary
requirement of faith. Anyone who claims
to be a Muslim and yet disregards the
principles of Islam involves himself in
gross self-contradiction. Second, the
well-being of Muslims lies in basing
their lives on those principles. This
alone can keep them on the straight path
in this life, and will lead to their
salvation in the Next. It is significant
that this admonition follows immediately
after the section which embodies
comments about the moral and religious
condition of the Jews. Thus the Muslims
were subtly directed to draw a lesson
from the depths to which the Jews had
sunk, as a result of their deviation
from the fundamental principles of true
faith just mentioned. Any community that
turns its back upon the Book of God and
the guidance of His Prophets, that
willingly follows rulers and leaders who
are heedless of God and His Prophets,
and that obeys its religious and
political authorities blindly without
seeking authority for their actions
either in the Book of God or in the
practice of the Prophets, will
inevitably fall into the same evil and
corruption as the Israelites.
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ يَزْعُمُونَ
أَنَّهُمْ آَمَنُوا بِمَا أُنْزِلَ
إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ
يُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يَتَحَاكَمُوا إِلَى
الطَّاغُوتِ وَقَدْ أُمِرُوا أَنْ
يَكْفُرُوا بِهِ وَيُرِيدُ الشَّيْطَانُ
أَنْ يُضِلَّهُمْ ضَلَالًا بَعِيدًا
﴿4:60﴾
(4:60) (O Messenger!) Have you not seen
those who claim to believe in the Book
which has been revealed to you and in
the Books revealed before you, and yet
desire to submit their disputes to the
judgement of taghut (the Satanic
authorities who decide independently of
the Law of Allah), whereas they had been
asked to reject it. *91
And Satan seeks to make them drift far
away from the right way.
*91. Taghut clearly signifies here a
sovereign who judges things according to
criteria other than the law of God. It
also stands for a legal and judicial
system which acknowledges neither the
sovereignty of God nor the paramount
authority of the Book of God. This verse
categorically proclaims that to refer
disputes to the judgement of a court of
law which is essentially taghut
contravenes the dictates of a believer's
faith. In fact, true faith in God and
His Book necessarily requires that a man
should refuse to recognize the
legitimacy of such courts. According to
the Qur'an, belief in God necessitates
repudiation of the authority of taghut.
To try to submit both to God and to
taghut at the same time is hypocrisy.
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ تَعَالَوْا إِلَى
مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ وَإِلَى الرَّسُولِ
رَأَيْتَ الْمُنَافِقِينَ يَصُدُّونَ
عَنْكَ صُدُودًا
﴿4:61﴾
(4:61) When they are told: 'Come to that
which Allah has revealed, and come to
the Messenger', you will notice the
hypocrites turning away from you in
aversion. *92
*92. This shows that the hypocrites were
inclined to refer to the Prophet (peace
be on him) those cases in which they
expected a favourable decision. When
they feared an adverse judgement they
refused to refer to the Prophet (peace
be on him). This continues to be the
practice of many hypocrites even now.
Whenever they feel that Islamic Law
would further their interests they turn
to it but when they feel it would
militate against them they refer their
disputes to whichever legal systems and
courts of law, customs and usages they
anticipate most likely to give them a
favourable decision.
فَكَيْفَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ
بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ ثُمَّ
جَاءُوكَ يَحْلِفُونَ بِاللَّهِ إِنْ
أَرَدْنَا إِلَّا إِحْسَانًا وَتَوْفِيقًا
﴿4:62﴾
(4:62) But what happens when some
misfortune visits them because of their
own misdeeds? Then, they come to you
swearing by Allah, *93
saying: 'We wanted nothing but to do
good and to bring about conciliation
(between the two parties)'.
*93. This may mean that when Muslims
become aware of their hypocritical
activities and they feel afraid of being
caught, censured, and eventually
punished, the hypocrites resort to every
stratagem, including oaths, in order to
assure people that they are true
believers.
أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُ اللَّهُ مَا
فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ
وَعِظْهُمْ وَقُلْ لَهُمْ فِي
أَنْفُسِهِمْ قَوْلًا بَلِيغًا
﴿4:63﴾
(4:63) As for them, Allah knows what is
in their hearts. Leave them alone,
admonish them, and say to them
penetrating words about themselves.
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلَّا
لِيُطَاعَ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ وَلَوْ
أَنَّهُمْ إِذْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ
جَاءُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا اللَّهَ
وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ
لَوَجَدُوا اللَّهَ تَوَّابًا رَحِيمًا
﴿4:64﴾
(4:64) (And tell them that) We never
sent a Messenger but that he should be
obeyed by the leave of Allah. *94
If whenever they wronged themselves they
had come to you praying to Allah for
forgiveness, and had the Messenger
prayed for their forgiveness, they would
indeed have found Allah All-Forgiving,
All-Compassionate.
*94.This is to impress upon us that
Prophets are not sent so that people may
pay lip-service to their Prophethood,
and then obey whoever they wish. The
purpose of sending Prophets is that
people should follow the laws of God as
brought and expounded by them rather
than laws devised by man, and that they
should obey the commands of God as
revealed to the Prophets to the
exclusion of the commands of others.
فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى
يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ
ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُوا فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ
حَرَجًا مِمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا
تَسْلِيمًا
﴿4:65﴾
(4:65) But no, by your Lord, they cannot
become true be-lievers until they seek
your arbitration in all matters on which
they disagree among themselves, and then
find not the least vexation in their
hearts over what you have decided, and
accept it in willing submission. *95
*95.The application of the injunction
embodied in this verse is not confined
to the life-time of the Prophet (peace
be on him). It will remain in force
until the Day of Judgement. The guidance
the Prophet (peace be on him) proclaimed
on God's behalf, and the manner in which
he followed God's direction and
inspiration, will for ever remain the
universal touchstone for Muslims. In
fact, recognition of that guidance as
the final authority is the criterion of
true belief. This principle was
pronounced by the Prophet (peace be on
him) in the following words: 'None of
you can become a believer until his
desires become subservient to what I
have brought (i.e. my teachings).'
(Cited by al-Nawawi in al-Arba'in, see
the tradition no. 41, transmitted on
their authority of Abu al-Qasim Isma'il
b. Muhammad al-Isfahani, Kitab al-Hujjah
with the opinion that it is a 'good' and
'sound' tradition, with a sound chain of
transmission - Ed.)
وَلَوْ أَنَّا كَتَبْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ أَنِ
اقْتُلُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ أَوِ اخْرُجُوا
مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ مَا فَعَلُوهُ إِلَّا
قَلِيلٌ مِنْهُمْ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ
فَعَلُوا مَا يُوعَظُونَ بِهِ لَكَانَ
خَيْرًا لَهُمْ وَأَشَدَّ تَثْبِيتًا
﴿4:66﴾
(4:66) Had We enjoined upon them: 'Slay
yourselves', or 'Leave your
habitations', very few of them would
have done it; *96
yet if they had done as they were
admonished, it would have been better
for them and would have strengthened
them; *97
*96. As these people are not prepared to
endure even minor losses and
inconveniences in order to follow the
law of God, they can never be expected
to make big sacrifices. If asked either
to lay down their lives or to give up
their homes and families for the sake of
the Truth they would fly straight back
to unbelief and disobedience.
*97. Had these people been able to free
themselves of uncertainty, hesitation
and ambivalence, and to resolve firmly
to follow and obey the Prophet (peace be
on him), their lives would have been
spared the instability from which they
suffer. Their way of thinking, their
morals and their practical dealings
would all have found permanent and
stable foundations, and they would have
enjoyed the blessings granted only to
those who follow the one straight path
with firmness and resolution. For one
who is subject to indecision and
hesitation, who keeps changing from one
direction to another in a state of
uncertainty, life is a continuous
exercise in futility.
وَإِذًا لَآَتَيْنَاهُمْ مِنْ لَدُنَّا
أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا
﴿4:67﴾
(4:67) whereupon We would indeed grant
them from Us a mighty reward,
وَلَهَدَيْنَاهُمْ صِرَاطًا مُسْتَقِيمًا
﴿4:68﴾
(4:68) and guide them to a straight way. *98
*98. By giving up uncertainty, and
deciding with complete faith and
conviction to follow the Prophet (peace
be on him), the straight path of their
endeavours would have opened up before
them. They would have been able to
perceive clearly the channels into which
their energies should be directed, so
that each step they took would be a step
towards the true goal.
وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ
فَأُولَئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ
اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ
وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ
وَالصَّالِحِينَ وَحَسُنَ أُولَئِكَ
رَفِيقًا
﴿4:69﴾
(4:69) And he who obeys Allah and the
Messenger -they shall be with those whom
Allah has favoured -the Prophets, those
steadfast in truthfulness *99,
the martyrs, and the righteous." How
excellent will they be for companions! *100
*99. Siddiq denotes someone who is
utterly honest, someone whose devotion
to truth has reached a very high point.
Such a person is always upright and
straightforward in his dealings. He
supports nothing but right and justice
and does so with sincerity. He opposes
whatever is contrary to truth, and does
not waver in his opposition to
falsehood. His life is so unblemished
and selfless that even enemies, let
alone friends, expect of him
unadulterated probity and justice.
The term shahid (pi. shuhada') means
'witness'. It signifies one who attests
to the truth of his faith with his whole
life. He who lays down his life fighting
for God is called a shahid because by
this sacrifice he confirms that his
confession of faith was backed by a
deep, genuine conviction of its truth,
and that he valued it above his own
life. The term shahid is also applied to
those outstandingly honest people who
are so trustworthy that their testimony,
on any matter, is accepted without
hesitation. Salih denotes one whose
belief and thinking, motives and
intentions, words and deeds, are based
on righteousness. In short, he is a
person whose life as a whole is oriented
to righteousness.
*100.He who enjoys, in this world, the
company of the kind of people mentioned
in this verse, and whom God judges
worthy of the same company in the
Hereafter is fortunate. The fact is that
unless a man's natural sensitivity has
atrophied, the companionship of corrupt
and wicked people is a painful
punishment even in this transient world,
let alone that one should be subjected
to the perpetual companionship of such
people in the abiding life of the
Hereafter. Good people have always
longed for the company of like people,
both in this world and the Next.
ذَلِكَ الْفَضْلُ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَكَفَى
بِاللَّهِ عَلِيمًا
﴿4:70﴾
(4:70) That is a bounty from Allah, and
Allah suffices to know the truth.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا خُذُوا
حِذْرَكُمْ فَانْفِرُوا ثُبَاتٍ أَوِ
انْفِرُوا جَمِيعًا
﴿4:71﴾
(4:71) Believers! Always be on your
guard against encounters. *101
Then (as circumstance demands) either
advance in detachments or advance in a
body.
*101. This discourse was revealed after
the Battle of Uhud, when the tribes
living around Madina had been greatly
encouraged by the defeat of the Muslims.
Thus dangers seemed to surround the
Muslims on all sides. Day in and day out
news poured in about the hostile
intentions of one tribe after another.
Reports came in of attacks mounted now
in one area, and then in another. The
Muslims were again and again the victims
of treachery. Their preachers were
invited to preach and then put to the
sword. Beyond Madina, neither their
lives nor their property was secure.
Consequently the Muslims had to prepare
themselves for a fierce struggle, for a
tremendous, all-out effort to ensure
that the Islamic movement would not be
crushed.
وَإِنَّ مِنْكُمْ لَمَنْ لَيُبَطِّئَنَّ
فَإِنْ أَصَابَتْكُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ قَالَ
قَدْ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيَّ إِذْ لَمْ
أَكُنْ مَعَهُمْ شَهِيدًا
﴿4:72﴾
(4:72) Among you there is such who lags
behind, *102
then if some affliction strikes you, he
says: 'Indeed Allah bestowed His favour
upon me that I was not present with
them.'
*102. Another meaning could be that such
persons not only shirk the risks of
fighting themselves but also go about
spreading demoralization to discourage
others from fighting in the name of God.
وَلَئِنْ أَصَابَكُمْ فَضْلٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ
لَيَقُولَنَّ كَأَنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ
بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَهُ مَوَدَّةٌ يَا
لَيْتَنِي كُنْتُ مَعَهُمْ فَأَفُوزَ
فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا
﴿4:73﴾
(4:73) And if a bounty from Allah is
given you, he says - and says as if
there never was any affection between
you and him - 'Oh, would that I had been
with them, I would have come by a great
gain.
فَلْيُقَاتِلْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ
الَّذِينَ يَشْرُونَ الْحَيَاةَ
الدُّنْيَا بِالْآَخِرَةِ وَمَنْ
يُقَاتِلْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَيُقْتَلْ
أَوْ يَغْلِبْ فَسَوْفَ نُؤْتِيهِ أَجْرًا
عَظِيمًا
﴿4:74﴾
(4:74) Let those who seek the life of
the Next World in exchange for the life
of this world fight in the way of Allah. *103
We shall grant a mighty reward to
whoever fights in the way of Allah,
whether he is slain or comes out
victorious.
*103. The point stressed here is that
fighting in the cause of God cannot be
conducted by people engrossed in the
pursuit of worldly benefits. This is the
task of those who seek to please God,
who have complete faith in Him and in
the Hereafter, who are prepared to
sacrifice all opportunities of worldly
success and prosperity, and of all
worldly interests, hoping thereby to win
God's good pleasure. Irrespective of
what happens in the present world such
sacrifices will not be wasted in the
Hereafter. Jihad (struggle in the cause
of God) is not for those who mainly care
for worldly benefits.
وَمَا لَكُمْ لَا تُقَاتِلُونَ فِي
سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَالْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ
مِنَ الرِّجَالِ وَالنِّسَاءِ
وَالْوِلْدَانِ الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ
رَبَّنَا أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْ هَذِهِ
الْقَرْيَةِ الظَّالِمِ أَهْلُهَا
وَاجْعَل لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ وَلِيًّا
وَاجْعَل لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ نَصِيرًا
﴿4:75﴾
(4:75) How is it that you do not fight
in the way of Allah and in support of
the helpless - men, women and children
-who pray: 'Our Lord, bring us out of
this land whose people are oppressors
and appoint for us from Yourself, a
protector, and appoint for us from
Yourself a helper'? *104
.
*104. This refers to those wronged,
persecuted men, women and children of
Makka and of the other tribes in Arabia
who had embraced Islam, but were able
neither to emigrate nor to protect
themselves from the wrongs to which they
were subjected. These helpless people
suffered many forms of persecution, and
prayed for deliverance from oppression.
الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي
سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا
يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ الطَّاغُوتِ
فَقَاتِلُوا أَوْلِيَاءَ الشَّيْطَانِ
إِنَّ كَيْدَ الشَّيْطَانِ كَانَ ضَعِيفًا
﴿4:76﴾
(4:76) Those who have faith fight in the
way of Allah, while those who disbelieve
fight in the way of taghut (Satan). *105
Fight, then, against the fellows of
Satan. Surely Satan's strategy is weak. *106
*105. This lays down a clear verdict of
God. To fight in the cause of God in
order that His religion be established
on earth is the task of men of faith,
and whoever truly believes can never
shirk this duty. To fight in the cause
of taghut (authority in defiance of God)
in order that the world may be governed
by rebels against God is the task of
unbelievers in which no believer can
engage himself.
*106. Satan and his comrades-in-arms
ostensibly undertake tremendous
preparations and contrive all kinds of
ingenious machinations. True men of
faith, however, should not be
intimidated either by such preparations
or by machinations. For, no matter what
they do, they are doomed to fail.
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ قِيلَ لَهُمْ
كُفُّوا أَيْدِيَكُمْ وَأَقِيمُوا
الصَّلَاةَ وَآَتُوا الزَّكَاةَ فَلَمَّا
كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقِتَالُ إِذَا
فَرِيقٌ مِنْهُمْ يَخْشَوْنَ النَّاسَ
كَخَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ أَوْ أَشَدَّ خَشْيَةً
وَقَالُوا رَبَّنَا لِمَ كَتَبْتَ
عَلَيْنَا الْقِتَالَ لَوْلَا
أَخَّرْتَنَا إِلَى أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ قُلْ
مَتَاعُ الدُّنْيَا قَلِيلٌ وَالْآَخِرَةُ
خَيْرٌ لِمَنِ اتَّقَى وَلَا تُظْلَمُونَ
فَتِيلًا
﴿4:77﴾
(4:77) Have you not seen those who were
told: 'Restrain you hands, and establish
the Prayer, and pay the Zakah'? But when
fighting was enjoined upon them some of
them feared men as one should fear
Allah, or even more, *107
and said: 'Our Lord, why have You
ordained fighting for us? Why did You
not grant us a little more respite?' Say
to them: 'There is little enjoyment in
this world. The World to Come is much
better for the God-fearing. And you
shall not be wronged even to the extent
of the husk of a date-stone. *108
*107. This verse .can be interpreted in
three ways, and each meaning is equally
valid: First, that those who now shirked
to fight in the cause of God were
themselves initially eager to fight.
They often approached the Prophet (peace
be on him), saying that they were being
wronged, beaten, persecuted and abused,
that' their patience was exhausted, and
that they wanted permission to fight.
They had then been told to be patient
and continue to purify their souls by
observing Prayers and dispensing Zakah.
At that time they had felt disconcerted
by this counsel of patience. Later on,
some of those very same people were to
tremble at the first sight of the enemy
and the dangers of warfare.
Second, that they remained highly
'religious' as long as they were asked
merely to pray and pay Zakah, which
entailed no risk to their lives. But as
soon as that phase was over and they
were asked to expose themselves to
danger, they began to shiver with fear.
Third, that in the former times the same
people had unsheathed their swords for
trivial causes. They had fought for loot
and plunder, and engaged in feuds
motivated by animal impulses, so much so
that feuding had almost become their
national pastime. At that time they had
been told to abstain from bloodshed and
to reform themselves by observing
Prayers and dispensing Zakah. When,
later on, the same people were told that
the time had come for them to fight in
the cause of God, those who had shown
themselves to be lions while fighting
for their own selfish causes turned out
to be as meek as lambs. The strong hands
which had wielded the sword so firmly,
and had used it so fiercely for the sake
of either personal or tribal honour, or
for Satan's sake, became almost
paralysed.
Each of these three meanings applies to
a different kind of person, but the
actual words of the verse seem to apply
equally to all who shirked fighting in
the cause of God.
*108. Were they to serve the religion of
God and spend their energy in that
cause, they would surely be rewarded by
Him.
أَيْنَمَا تَكُونُوا يُدْرِكُكُمُ
الْمَوْتُ وَلَوْ كُنْتُمْ فِي بُرُوجٍ
مُشَيَّدَةٍ وَإِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ حَسَنَةٌ
يَقُولُوا هَذِهِ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ
وَإِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ يَقُولُوا
هَذِهِ مِنْ عِنْدِكَ قُلْ كُلٌّ مِنْ
عِنْدِ اللَّهِ فَمَالِ هَؤُلَاءِ
الْقَوْمِ لَا يَكَادُونَ يَفْقَهُونَ
حَدِيثًا
﴿4:78﴾
(4:78) Wherever you might be, death will
overtake you even though you be in
massive towers. And when some good
happens to them, they say: 'This is from
Allah'; whereas when some misfortune
befalls them, they say: 'This is because
of you'. *109
Say: 'All is from Allah.' What has
happened to this people that they seem
to understand nothing?
*109. When such people encounter success
and victory, they attribute it to the
grace of God. They allow themselves to
forget that this grace came to them
through no one but the Prophet (peace be
on him). When they are either beaten or
face setbacks because of their own
faults and weaknesses they gratuitously
exonerate themselves and place the blame
squarely on the Prophet (peace be on
him).
مَا أَصَابَكَ مِنْ حَسَنَةٍ فَمِنَ
اللَّهِ وَمَا أَصَابَكَ مِنْ سَيِّئَةٍ
فَمِنْ نَفْسِكَ وَأَرْسَلْنَاكَ
لِلنَّاسِ رَسُولًا وَكَفَى بِاللَّهِ
شَهِيدًا
﴿4:79﴾
(4:79) Whatever good happens to you is
from Allah; and whatever misfortune
smites you is because of your own
action. We have sent you to mankind (O
Muhammad!) as a Messenger, and Allah is
sufficient as a witness.
مَنْ يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ
اللَّهَ وَمَنْ تَوَلَّى فَمَا
أَرْسَلْنَاكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظًا
﴿4:80﴾
(4:80) He who obeys the Messenger
thereby obeys Allah; as for he who turns
away, We have not sent you as a keeper
over them! *110
*110. Such people are responsible for
their own conduct. It is they rather
than the Prophet (peace be on him) who
will be censured. The task entrusted to
the Prophet (peace be on him) was merely
to communicate to them the ordinances
and directives of God and he acquitted
himself of it very well. It was not his
duty to compel them to follow the right
way, so that if they failed to follow
the teachings communicated to them by
the Prophet (peace be on him) the
responsibility was entirely theirs. The
Prophet (peace be on him) would not be
questioned as to why they disobeyed.
وَيَقُولُونَ طَاعَةٌ فَإِذَا بَرَزُوا
مِنْ عِنْدِكَ بَيَّتَ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْهُمْ
غَيْرَ الَّذِي تَقُولُ وَاللَّهُ
يَكْتُبُ مَا يُبَيِّتُونَ فَأَعْرِضْ
عَنْهُمْ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ
وَكَفَى بِاللَّهِ وَكِيلًا
﴿4:81﴾
(4:81) They say (in your presence): 'We
obey', but when they leave your presence
a party of them meets by night to plan
against what you have said. Allah takes
note of all their plots. So, let them
alone, and put your trust in Allah.
Allah is sufficient as a guardian.
أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآَنَ
وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِنْدِ غَيْرِ اللَّهِ
لَوَجَدُوا فِيهِ اخْتِلَافًا كَثِيرًا
﴿4:82﴾
(4:82) Do they not ponder about the
Qur'an? Had it been from any other than
Allah, they would surely have found in
it much inconsistency. *111
*111. The main reason for the attitude
of the hypocrites and lukewarm believers
was their lack of conviction that the
Qur'an came from God. They did not
believe that the Prophet (peace be on
him) had received the messages and
directives that he preached from God
Himself. Hence, when they are censured
for their hypocritical conduct, they are
told that they do not reflect upon the
Qur'an. For the Qur'an itself is a
strong, persuasive testimony to its
divine origin. It is inconceivable that
any human being should compose
discourses on different subjects under
different circumstances and on different
occasions, and that the collection of
those discourses should then grow into a
coherent, homogeneous and integrated
work, no component of which is
discordant with the others. It is also
inconceivable that such a work would be
permeated through and through with a
uniform outlook and attitude, a work
reflecting a remarkable consistency in
the mood and spirit of its Author, and a
work too mature ever to need revision.
وَإِذَا جَاءَهُمْ أَمْرٌ مِنَ الْأَمْنِ
أَوِ الْخَوْفِ أَذَاعُوا بِهِ وَلَوْ
رَدُّوهُ إِلَى الرَّسُولِ وَإِلَى أُولِي
الْأَمْرِ مِنْهُمْ لَعَلِمَهُ الَّذِينَ
يَسْتَنْبِطُونَهُ مِنْهُمْ وَلَوْلَا
فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ
لَاتَّبَعْتُمُ الشَّيْطَانَ إِلَّا
قَلِيلًا
﴿4:83﴾
(4:83) Whenever they come upon any news
bearing upon either security or causing
consternation they go about spreading
it, whereas if they were to convey it to
either the Messenger or to those from
among them who are entrusted with
authority, it would come to the
knowledge of those who are competent to
investigate it. *112
But for Allah's bounty and mercy upon
you, (weak as you were) all but a few of
you would surely have followed Satan.
*112. This was a period of turbulence
and upheaval and rumour was rife.
Occasionally, baseless and exaggerated
reports circulated and seized the whole
of Madina and its outlying areas with
alarm and consternation. At other times
some cunning enemy tried to conceal the
dangers threatening the Muslims by
spreading soothing reports. A specially
keen interest in rumours was taken by
those who simply relished anything out
of the ordinary, and who did not
consider this life-and-death struggle
between Islam and Ignorance to be a
matter of crucial importance, and who
were not aware of the far-reaching
consequences of rumour-mongering. As
soon as they heard something, they ran
about spreading it everywhere. This
rebuke is addressed to such people. They
are warned against spreading rumours and
are directed to convey every report they
receive to responsible quarters.
فَقَاتِلْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ لَا
تُكَلَّفُ إِلَّا نَفْسَكَ وَحَرِّضِ
الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَسَى اللَّهُ أَنْ
يَكُفَّ بَأْسَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا
وَاللَّهُ أَشَدُّ بَأْسًا وَأَشَدُّ
تَنْكِيلًا
﴿4:84﴾
(4:84) (So, O Messenger!) Fight in the
way of Allah -since you are responsible
for none except yourself - and rouse the
believers to fight, for Allah may well
curb the might of the unbelievers.
Indeed Allah is strongest in power and
most terrible in chastisement.
مَنْ يَشْفَعْ شَفَاعَةً حَسَنَةً يَكُنْ
لَهُ نَصِيبٌ مِنْهَا وَمَنْ يَشْفَعْ
شَفَاعَةً سَيِّئَةً يَكُنْ لَهُ كِفْلٌ
مِنْهَا وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ
شَيْءٍ مُقِيتًا
﴿4:85﴾
(4:85) He who intercedes in a good cause
shall share in its good result, and he
who intercedes in an evil cause shall
share in its burden. *113
Allah watches over everything.
*113. It is all a matter of choice and
luck. One has the opportunity to
struggle for the cause of God, and to
urge others to strive for it in order to
raise the banner of the Truth and be
rewarded by God for so doing. Likewise,
one also has the opportunity to expend
one's energy trying to create
misunderstanding among God's creatures
and to demoralize people in their
struggle for His cause thus incurring
His chastisement.
وَإِذَا حُيِّيتُمْ بِتَحِيَّةٍ فَحَيُّوا
بِأَحْسَنَ مِنْهَا أَوْ رُدُّوهَا إِنَّ
اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ
حَسِيبًا
﴿4:86﴾
(4:86) When you are greeted with a
salutation then return it with a better
one, or at least the same. *114
Surely Allah takes good count of
everything.
*114. At that time the relations between
the Muslims and non-Muslims were
strained to the limit. It was feared,
therefore, that the Muslims might feel
inclined to treat the latter
discourteously. They are accordingly
asked to pay at least as much respect
and consideration to others as is paid
to them - and preferably more. Good
manners and courtesy are to be matched
by the Muslims. In fact, the mission
entrusted to the Muslims requires them
to excel others in this respect.
Harshness, irritability and bitterness
are not becoming in a people whose main
function is to preach a message and
invite people to it; a people committed
to guiding mankind towards
righteousness. While harshness and
bitterness may at best satisfy one's
injured vanity, they are positively
harmful to the cause that one seeks to
promote.'
اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ
لَيَجْمَعَنَّكُمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ
الْقِيَامَةِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ وَمَنْ
أَصْدَقُ مِنَ اللَّهِ حَدِيثًا
﴿4:87﴾
(4:87) There is no god but Allah. He
will certainly gather you all together
on the Day of Resurrection - the Day
regarding which there can be no doubt.
Whose word can be truer than Allah's? *115
*115.Whatever the unbelievers,
polytheists and atheists may do does not
impair God's godhead. That God is the
One and Absolute Lord of all is a fact
which none can alter. And a Day will
come when He will gather together all
human beings and will make them see the
consequences of their deeds, and no one
will be in a position to escape His
retribution. God therefore does not
require His good creatures to maltreat,
on His behalf, those who are lost in
error. This is the link between the
present verse and the one preceding it.
The same verse also concludes the theme
running through the last twenty verses
or so (see verses 71 ff). The present
verse outlines that a man can follow
whichever course he deems fit, and
expend his energy in any direction he
likes, but ultimately all men will have
to stand before the One True God for His
judgement and will see the consequences
of their deeds.
فَمَا لَكُمْ فِي الْمُنَافِقِينَ
فِئَتَيْنِ وَاللَّهُ أَرْكَسَهُمْ بِمَا
كَسَبُوا أَتُرِيدُونَ أَنْ تَهْدُوا مَنْ
أَضَلَّ اللَّهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلِ اللَّهُ
فَلَنْ تَجِدَ لَهُ سَبِيلًا
﴿4:88﴾
(4:88) What has happened to you that you
have two minds about the hypocrites *116
even though Allah has reverted them,
owing to the sins that they earned? *117
Do you want to lead those to the right
way whom Allah let go astray? And he
whom Allah lets go astray, for him you
can never find a way.
*116.The problem of the hypocrites is
discussed here. They had outwardly
embraced Islam in Makka and in other
parts of Arabia, but instead of
migrating to the Domain of Islam they
continued co live among their own people
who were unbelievers, taking part in all
their hostile machinations against Islam
and the Muslims. It was not easy for the
Muslims to decide how to deal with such
people. Some were of the opinion that
since they professed Islam, performed
Prayers, fasted and recited the Qur'an
they could not be treated as
unbelievers. Here God pronounces His
judgement on this issue.
Unless the following is made clear at
this point, the reader is likely to miss
the real object of not only this verse
but of all those verses in which
believers who have failed to migrate are
characterized as hypocrites. The fact is
that after the Prophet (peace be on him)
migrated to Madina the Muslims came to
possess a piece of territory where they
could fulfil the dictates of their
faith. At that time all Muslims who
suffered from the pressures and
constraints imposed on them by the
unbelievers, and who did not enjoy the
freedom to practise their religion, were
directed to migrate to Madina, the
Domain of Islam. It was in these
circumstances that all those believers
who were in a position to migrate to
Madina, but who failed to do so because
their hearth and home, kith and kin, and
their material interests were dearer to
them than Islam, were declared
hypocrites. Those who were not really in
a position to migrate were reckoned as
'feeble' (see verse 98 below).
It is obvious that Muslims living in
non-Islamic territories can be called
hypocrites only when the Domain of Islam
either extends a general invitation to
all of them or at least leaves its doors
open to them. In such circumstances, all
Muslims who are neither engaged in
trying to transform the non-Islamic
territory into a Domain of Islam nor
inclined to migrate to the latter
despite their ability to do so, will be
deemed hypocrites. But if the Domain of
Islam neither invites them nor even
keeps its doors open for them, then they
obviously cannot be declared hypocrites
merely because of their failure to
migrate. Such persons would be
considered hypocrites only if they did
something too outrageous to be
consistent with true faith.
*117. God has returned them whence they
came because of their duplicity, their
excessive hankering after their material
interests, and their preference for the
good of this world over that of the
Next. Those people had indeed tried to
extricate themselves from the grip of
unbelief and to advance towards Islam.
To be a true Muslim calls for
single-mindedness. It requires a
willingness to sacrifice all interests
and advantages that are in conflict with
the interests of Islam. It requires a
faith in the Hereafter strong enough to
enable a man to cheerfully sacrifice all
worldly advantages for the sake of his
eternal happiness. Since those people
lacked these qualities they retraced
their steps. Could there be any doubt
about the stuff they were made of?
وَدُّوا لَوْ تَكْفُرُونَ كَمَا كَفَرُوا
فَتَكُونُونَ سَوَاءً فَلَا تَتَّخِذُوا
مِنْهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءَ حَتَّى يُهَاجِرُوا
فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا
فَخُذُوهُمْ وَاقْتُلُوهُمْ حَيْثُ
وَجَدْتُمُوهُمْ وَلَا تَتَّخِذُوا
مِنْهُمْ وَلِيًّا وَلَا نَصِيرًا
﴿4:89﴾
(4:89) They wish that you should
disbelieve just as they disbelieved so
that you may all be alike. Do not,
therefore, take from them allies until
they emigrate in the way of Allah, but
if they turn their backs (on
emigration), seize them and slay them *118
wherever you come upon them. Take none
of them for your ally or helper,
*118. This is the verdict on those
hypocritical confessors of faith who
belong to a belligerent, non-Muslim
nation and actually participate in acts
of hostility against the Islamic state.
إِلَّا الَّذِينَ يَصِلُونَ إِلَى قَوْمٍ
بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَهُمْ مِيثَاقٌ أَوْ
جَاءُوكُمْ حَصِرَتْ صُدُورُهُمْ أَنْ
يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ أَوْ يُقَاتِلُوا
قَوْمَهُمْ وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ
لَسَلَّطَهُمْ عَلَيْكُمْ
فَلَقَاتَلُوكُمْ فَإِنِ اعْتَزَلُوكُمْ
فَلَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ وَأَلْقَوْاْ
إِلَيْكُمُ السَّلَمَ فَمَا جَعَلَ
اللَّهُ لَكُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ سَبِيلًا
﴿4:90﴾
(4:90) unless it be such of them who
seek refuge with a people who are joined
with you by a covenant, *119
or those who come to you because their
hearts shrink from fighting either
against you or against their own people.
Had Allah so willed, He would certainly
have given them power over you and they
would have fought against you. If they
leave you alone and do not fight against
you and offer you peace,, then Allah
does not permit you to harm them.
*119. The exception here does not relate
to the injunction that they should not
be taken as friends and supporters, but
to the injunction that the believers
should seize and slay them. What is
meant is that if a hypocrite takes
shelter among an unbelieving people with
whom the Muslims have an agreement he
should not be pursued into that
territory. It is not permissible for
Muslims of the Islamic state to kill a
hypocrite in some neutral territory even
if he merits execution. This is because
of the sanctity of the agreement
concluded by the Muslims rather than the
sanctity of the hypocrite's blood.
سَتَجِدُونَ آَخَرِينَ يُرِيدُونَ أَنْ
يَأْمَنُوكُمْ وَيَأْمَنُوا قَوْمَهُمْ
كُلَّ مَا رُدُّوا إِلَى الْفِتْنَةِ
أُرْكِسُوا فِيهَا فَإِنْ لَمْ
يَعْتَزِلُوكُمْ وَيُلْقُوا إِلَيْكُمُ
السَّلَمَ وَيَكُفُّوا أَيْدِيَهُمْ
فَخُذُوهُمْ وَاقْتُلُوهُمْ حَيْثُ
ثَقِفْتُمُوهُمْ وَأُولَئِكُمْ جَعَلْنَا
لَكُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ سُلْطَانًا مُبِينًا
﴿4:91﴾
(4:91) You will also find others who
wish to be secure from you, and secure
from their people, but who, whenever
they have any opportunity to cause
mischief, plunge into it headlong. If
such people neither leave you alone nor
offer you peace nor restrain their hands
from hurting you, then seize them and
slay them wherever you come upon them.
It is against these that We have granted
you a clear sanction.
وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ أَنْ يَقْتُلَ
مُؤْمِنًا إِلَّا خَطَأً وَمَنْ قَتَلَ
مُؤْمِنًا خَطَأً فَتَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍ
مُؤْمِنَةٍ وَدِيَةٌ مُسَلَّمَةٌ إِلَى
أَهْلِهِ إِلَّا أَنْ يَصَّدَّقُوا فَإِنْ
كَانَ مِنْ قَوْمٍ عَدُوٍّ لَكُمْ وَهُوَ
مُؤْمِنٌ فَتَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍ مُؤْمِنَةٍ
وَإِنْ كَانَ مِنْ قَوْمٍ بَيْنَكُمْ
وَبَيْنَهُمْ مِيثَاقٌ فَدِيَةٌ
مُسَلَّمَةٌ إِلَى أَهْلِهِ وَتَحْرِيرُ
رَقَبَةٍ مُؤْمِنَةٍ فَمَنْ لَمْ يَجِدْ
فَصِيَامُ شَهْرَيْنِ مُتَتَابِعَيْنِ
تَوْبَةً مِنَ اللَّهِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ
عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا
﴿4:92﴾
(4:92) It is not for a believer to slay
another believer unless by mistake. *120
And he who has slain a believer by
mistake, his atonement is to set free
from bondage a believing person *121
and to pay blood-money to his heirs, *122
unless they forgo it by way of charity.
And if the slain belonged to a hostile
people, but was a believer, then the
atonement is to set free from bondage a
believing person.
And if the slain belonged to a
(non-Muslim) people with whom you have a
covenant, then the atonement is to pay
the blood-money to his heirs, and to set
free from bondage a believing person. *123
But he who cannot (free a slave) should
fast for two consecutive months. *124
This is the penance ordained by Allah. *125
Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
*120. The hypocritical confessors of
Islam mentioned here are distinct from
those whom the Muslims may kill. The
reference here is to Muslims who are
either residents of the Domain of Islam
(Dar al-Islam) or to those who live in
the Domain of War or of Unbelief (Dar
al-Harb or Dar al-Kufr) but against whom
there is no proof of actual
participation in the hostile activities
with the enemies of Islam. In the time
of the Prophet (peace be on him) there
were many people who had embraced Islam
and yet, because of genuine
difficulties, were living among tribes
hostile to Islam. It occasionally
happened that, in attacking a hostile
tribe, the Muslims inadvertently killed
fellow Muslims living in its midst.
*121. Since the person killed was a
believer, expiation of the sin required
the emancipation of a Muslim slave.
*122. The Prophet (peace be on him) had
fixed the blood-money at either 100
camels, 200 oxen or 2,000 head of
cattle. If someone wished to pay this in
another form the amount would be
determined with reference to the market
value of the articles mentioned above.
For instance, for those who wished to
pay blood-money in cash, the fixed
amount in the time of the Prophet (peace
be on him) was 800 dinars (8000
dirhams). In the time of Caliph 'Umar
the amount of blood-money was fixed at
1000 golden dinars (12000 silver
dirhams). It should be noted, however,
that this amount relates to an
unintentional rather than a deliberate
homicide. (Regarding blood-money for
unintentional homicide and injury see
Abu Da'ud, 'Diyat', 14-17; Tirmidhi,
'Diyat', 1; Nasa'i, 'Qasamah', 34; Ibn
Majah, 'Diyat', 6; Malik b. Anas,
Muwatta', "Uqul', 4; Ahmad b. Hanbal,
Musnad, vol. 1, pp. 384 and 450; vol. 2,
pp. 178, 183, 186, 217, 224; vol. 4, p.
275. See also Ibn Rushd, Bidayat
al-Mujtahid, vol. 2, pp. 401 ff. - Ed.)
*123. The legal injunctions embodied in
this verse are as follows:
(1) If the victim was a resident of the
Domain of Islam (Dar al-Islam) the
killer is not only required to pay
blood-money but also to emancipate a
slave by way of expiation.
(2) If the victim was a resident of the
Domain of War (Dar al-Harb) the killer
is only required to emancipate a slave.
(3) If the victim was a resident of a
non-Muslim country which had treaty
relations with an Islamic state the
killer is required to emancipate a slave
and also to pay blood-money. The amount
of the blood-money, however, depends on
the terms stipulated in the treaty
between the Muslims and the territory of
the victim. (See Jassas, vol. 2, pp. 238
f f. and 240 ff. - Ed.)
*124. This means that he should observe
fasting uninterrupted for the entire
period. If a man breaks his fast for
just one day without a legally valid
reason he will be required to resume
fasting anew.
*125. This shows that what has been
prescribed is an act of repentance and
expiation rather than a penalty
inflicted on a criminal. Penalization is
essentially devoid of the spirit of
repentance and of the urge to
self-reform. A penalty is suffered under
duress, usually with resentment, and
leaves behind repugnance and bitterness.
On the contrary, what God wants is that
the believer who has committed a sin
should wash the stain of it from his
soul by supererogatory worship, by acts
of charity, and by a meticulous
fulfilment of all the duties incumbent
upon him. Such a person is required to
turn to God in remorse and repentance so
that his sin may be pardoned and his
soul secured against the recurrence of
similar errors.
The word kaffarah signifies that which
either covers or hides something. To
declare that certain acts of charity
constitute kaffarah means that those
acts overlay the sin and cover it up,
just as stains on a wall are covered up
when it is painted.
وَمَنْ يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُتَعَمِّدًا
فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِدًا فِيهَا
وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُ
وَأَعَدَّ لَهُ عَذَابًا عَظِيمًا
﴿4:93﴾
(4:93) And he who slays a believer
wilfully his reward is Hell, where he
will abide. Allah's wrath is against him
and He has cast His curse upon him, and
has prepared for him a great
chastisement.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا إِذَا
ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ
فَتَبَيَّنُوا وَلَا تَقُولُوا لِمَنْ
أَلْقَى إِلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامَ لَسْتَ
مُؤْمِنًا تَبْتَغُونَ عَرَضَ الْحَيَاةِ
الدُّنْيَا فَعِنْدَ اللَّهِ مَغَانِمُ
كَثِيرَةٌ كَذَلِكَ كُنْتُمْ مِنْ قَبْلُ
فَمَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ فَتَبَيَّنُوا
إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
خَبِيرًا
﴿4:94﴾
(4:94) Believers! When you go forth in
the way of Allah, discern (between
friend and foe), and do not say to him
who offers you the greeting of peace:
'You are not a believer.' *126
If you seek the good of this worldly
life, there lies with Allah abundant
gain. After all, you too were such
before, and then Allah was gracious to
you. *127
Discern, then, for Allah is well aware
of what you do.
*126.In the early days of Islam the
greeting as-salam 'alaykum ('peace be on
you') was a distinguishing symbol of the
Muslims. When a Muslim greeted another
Muslim with this expression it signified
that he was a member of the same
community, that he was a friend and
well-wisher, one who wished peace and
security, from whom he need entertain no
fear of hostility and towards whom, in
return, he should not behave with
hostility. The Islamic greeting occupied
virtually the same position among
Muslims as the passwords used by
sentries to distinguish friend from foe.
This was particularly important in those
days because there were no distinctions
in dress, language and so on by which
Muslims could be conclusively marked off
from their non-Muslim Arab compatriots.
The Muslims also encountered a strange
problem on the battlefield. Whenever a
Muslim was in danger of being harmed
inadvertently by other Muslims during
the fighting, he resorted to either the
Islamic greeting (as-salam 'alaykum) or
the Islamic creed There is no god save
Allah' (ili-Jl^y) in order to indicate
that he was their brother-in-faith. The
Muslims, however, often suspected this
to be merely a ruse of the enemy and
therefore sometimes disregarded the
utterance of the Islamic greeting or of
the Islamic creed, and killed such
people and seized their belongings as
booty. Although whenever the Prophet
(peace be on him) came to know of such
incidents, he severely reproached the
people concerned, it, nevertheless,
continued to take place. In the end God
solved the problem by revelation. The
purport of the verse is that no one has
the right summarily to judge those who
profess to be Muslims, and assume them
to be lying for fear of their lives. At
least two possibilities exist: the claim
may either be true or it may be false.
The truth can only be ascertained by
proper investigation. While it is
impossible to investigate a person's
case properly during fighting and this
may enable him to save his life by
lying, it is equally possible that an
innocent, true believer might be put to
death by mistake. The error of letting
an unbeliever go unpunished is
preferable to that of killing a true
believer.
*127.The Muslims are now told that there
was a time when they were scattered
among different tribes of unbelievers.
They were, therefore, forced to conceal
the fact of being Muslims since they
feared that they would be subjected to
persecution and hardship. In those days
they had nothing else besides their
verbal profession to testify to their
faith. Later on, some time before these
verses were revealed, God benevolently
enabled the Muslims to develop a
collective entity of their own and thus
to raise the banner of Islam in the face
of strong opposition from the
unbelievers. That the Muslims should
fail to appreciate the hardships which
other Muslims were enduring, and which
they themselves had endured until not
long before, and not to treat them with
consideration and forbearance, did not
seem an adequate way of thanking God for
His benevolence.
لَا يَسْتَوِي الْقَاعِدُونَ مِنَ
الْمُؤْمِنِينَ غَيْرُ أُولِي الضَّرَرِ
وَالْمُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ
بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنْفُسِهِمْ فَضَّلَ
اللَّهُ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ
وَأَنْفُسِهِمْ عَلَى الْقَاعِدِينَ
دَرَجَةً وَكُلًّا وَعَدَ اللَّهُ
الْحُسْنَى وَفَضَّلَ اللَّهُ
الْمُجَاهِدِينَ عَلَى الْقَاعِدِينَ
أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا
﴿4:95﴾
(4:95) Those believers who sit at home,
unless they do so out of a disabling
injury, are not the equals of those who
strive in the way of Allah with their
possessions and their lives. Allah has
exalted in rank those who strive with
their possessions and their lives over
those who sit at home; and though to
each Allah has promised some good
reward, He has preferred those who
strive (in the way of Allah) over those
who sit at home for a mighty reward. *128
*128. "Those who sit at home' (i.e.
remain passive) does not refer either to
those who had been ordered to fight but
tried to look for excuses not to fight
or to those who were individually
obliged to take part in fighting because
of the general summons of Jihad (fight
in the cause of God) and yet shirked
this duty. The reference here is to
those who remained engrossed in personal
concerns at a time when Jihad had become
a collective obligation (fard bi
al-kifayah).* In the first case the
person who fails to fight can only be a
hypocrite, and God holds out no good
promise for such a person unless there
is good reason, for example, genuine
disability. In the second case, however,
what is required is the mobilization of
a part rather than the entire military
strength of the Islamic community. In
such cases, if the recognized head
(imam) of the Islamic community summons
the people to come forward and undertake
the expedition concerned, those who
respond to that call are reckoned to be
of superior merit to those who remain
occupied with other pursuits however
meritorious.
*Fard bi al-kifayah signifies a
collective duty of the Muslim community
so that if some people carry it out no
Muslim is considered blameworthy; but if
no one carries it out all incur a
collective guilt - Ed.
دَرَجَاتٍ مِنْهُ وَمَغْفِرَةً وَرَحْمَةً
وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا
﴿4:96﴾
(4:96) For them are ranks, forgiveness,
and favours from Him. Allah is
All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَوَفَّاهُمُ
الْمَلَائِكَةُ ظَالِمِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ
قَالُوا فِيمَ كُنْتُمْ قَالُوا كُنَّا
مُسْتَضْعَفِينَ فِي الْأَرْضِ قَالُوا
أَلَمْ تَكُنْ أَرْضُ اللَّهِ وَاسِعَةً
فَتُهَاجِرُوا فِيهَا فَأُولَئِكَ
مَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ وَسَاءَتْ مَصِيرًا
﴿4:97﴾
(4:97) While taking the souls of those
who were engaged in wronging themselves, *129
the angels asked: 'In what circumstances
were you?' They replied: 'We were too
weak and helpless in the land.' The
angels said: 'Was not the earth of Allah
wide enough for you to emigrate in it?' *130
For such men their refuge is Hell - an
evil destination indeed;
*129. The reference here is to those who
stay behind along with the unbelievers,
despite no genuine disability. They are
satisfied with a life made up of a blend
of Islamic and un-Islamic elements, even
though they have had the chance to
migrate to the Dar al-Islam and thus
enjoy a full Islamic life. This is the
wrong that they committed against
themselves. What kept them satisfied
with the mixture of Islamic and
un-Islamic elements in their life was
not any genuine disability but their
love of ease and comfort, their
excessive attachment to their kith and
kin and to their properties and worldly
interests. These concerns had exceeded
reasonable limits and had even taken
precedence over their concern for their
religion (see also n. 116 above).
*130. Those people who had willingly
acquiesced to living under an un-Islamic
order would be called to account by God
and would be asked: If a certain
territory was under the dominance of
rebels against God, so that it had
become impossible to follow His Law, why
did you continue to live there? Why did
you not migrate to a land where it was
possible to follow the law of God?
إِلَّا الْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مِنَ
الرِّجَالِ وَالنِّسَاءِ وَالْوِلْدَانِ
لَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ حِيلَةً وَلَا
يَهْتَدُونَ سَبِيلًا
﴿4:98﴾
(4:98) except the men, women, and
children who were indeed too feeble to
be able to seek the means of escape and
did not know where to go .-
فَأُولَئِكَ عَسَى اللَّهُ أَنْ يَعْفُوَ
عَنْهُمْ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَفُوًّا
غَفُورًا
﴿4:99﴾
(4:99) maybe Allah shall pardon these,
for Allah is All-Pardoning,
All-Forgiving.
وَمَنْ يُهَاجِرْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ
يَجِدْ فِي الْأَرْضِ مُرَاغَمًا كَثِيرًا
وَسَعَةً وَمَنْ يَخْرُجْ مِنْ بَيْتِهِ
مُهَاجِرًا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ
ثُمَّ يُدْرِكْهُ الْمَوْتُ فَقَدْ وَقَعَ
أَجْرُهُ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ
غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا
﴿4:100﴾
(4:100) He who emigrates in the way of
Allah will find in the earth enough room
for refuge and plentiful resources. And
he who goes forth from his house as a
migrant in the way of Allah and His
Messenger, and whom death overtakes, his
reward becomes incumbent on Allah.
Surely Allah is All-Forgiving,
All-Compassionate. *131
*131. It should be understood clearly
that it is only permissible for a person
who believes in the true religion
enjoined by God to live under the
dominance of an un-Islamic system on one
of the following conditions. First, that
the believer struggles to put an end to
the hegemony of the un-Islamic system
and to have it replaced by the Islamic
system of life, as the Prophets and
their early followers had done. Second,
that he lacks the means to get out of
his homeland and thus stays there, but
does so with utmost disinclination and
unhappiness.
If neither of these conditions exist, a
believer who continues to live in a land
where an un-Islamic order prevails,
commits an act of continuous sin. To say
that one has no Islamic state to go to
does not hold water. For if no Islamic
state exists, are there no mountains or
forests from where one could eke out a
living by eating leaves and drinking the
milk of goats and sheep, and thus avoid
living in a state of submission to
unbelief.
Some people have misunderstood the
tradition which says: 'There is no
hijrah after the conquest of Makka'
(Bukhari, 'Sayd', 10; 'Jihad', 1, 27,
194; Tirmidhi, 'Siyar', 33; Nasa'i,
'Bay'ah', 15, etc. - Ed.) This tradition
is specifically related to the people of
Arabia of that time and does not embody
a permanent injunction. At the time when
the greater part of Arabia constituted
the Domain of Unbelief (Dar al-Kufr) or
the Domain of War (Dar al-Harb), and
Islamic laws were being enforced only in
Madina and its outskirts, the Muslims
were emphatically directed to join and
keep together. But when unbelief lost
its strength and elan after the conquest
of Makka, and almost the entire
peninsula came under the dominance of
Islam, the Prophet (peace be on him)
declared that migration was no longer
needed. This does not mean, however,
that the duty to migrate was abolished
for Muslims all over the world for all
time to come regardless of the
circumstances in which they lived.
وَإِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ
فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَنْ
تَقْصُرُوا مِنَ الصَّلَاةِ إِنْ خِفْتُمْ
أَنْ يَفْتِنَكُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا
إِنَّ الْكَافِرِينَ كَانُوا لَكُمْ
عَدُوًّا مُبِينًا
﴿4:101﴾
(4:101)When you go forth journeying in
the land, there is no blame on you if
you shorten the Prayer, *132
(especially) if you fear that the
unbelievers might cause you harm. *133
Surely the unbelievers are your open
enemies.
*132. Shortening Prayers (qasr) while
travelling in peace-time consists of
praying two rak'ahs at those appointed
times when one is normally required to
pray four rak'ahs. The form of qasr
during a state of war has not been
specified. Prayers should, therefore, be
performed as circumstances permit.
People should pray in congregation if
possible, otherwise individually. If it
is not possible to turn towards the
qiblah, one may keep the direction in
which one happens to be facing. One may
even pray while seated either on the
back of an animal or on a vehicle. If
actual bowing and prostrating are not
possible, they may be performed with
hand signals. If absolutely necessary,
one may even pray while walking. One may
also pray even though one's clothes are
soiled with blood. If, in spite of these
relaxations, a man still fails to manage
to perform a Prayer within the
prescribed time, he may defer it,
following the precedent set by the
Prophet (peace be on him) during the
Battle of the Ditch.
There is disagreement as to whether one
should also perform the sunnah
(recommended) Prayers, or confine
oneself to the obligatory ones. It is
established that the practice of the
Prophet (peace be on him) was to keep up
the sunnah connected with the fajr
(morning) Prayers, and with the witr in
the 'isha' (evening) Prayers. At the
other prescribed times, he performed
only the obligatory Prayers. He did,
however, perform the nafl
(supererogatory) Prayers whenever he had
the chance to do so, sometimes even
while he was mounted. For this reason
'Abd Allah b. 'Umar expressed the
opinion that one ought not to perform
the sunnah Prayers while travelling,
except for the sunnah in the fajr
Prayers. But a majority of scholars
consider both the performance and the
omission of these Prayers as equally
permissible, leaving the matter entirely
to the discretion of the individual. The
opinion held by the Hanafi school,
however, is that it is preferable for a
traveller actually on the move to omit
the sunnah Prayers, but when he makes an
overnight stop and is at his ease (even
though in the legal sense he may still
be a traveller), their performance is
preferable.
According to some eminent jurists,
journeys on which one may resort to qasr
are those characterized as being fi
sabil Allah (in the cause of God), such
as military expeditions, Pilgrimage, the
quest for knowledge, and so on. This is
the judgement of 'Abd Allah b. 'Umar,
'Abd Allah b. Mas'ud and 'Ata'. On the
other hand, Shafi'i and Ahmad b. Hanbal
are of the view that such permission
extends to all journeys undertaken for
lawful purposes, though not to those
undertaken for unlawful purposes:
indeed, if one travels for illegitimate
purposes, one has no right whatever to
benefit from the relaxation of qasr.
Hanafi jurists, however, do not connect
qasr with the purpose of the journey;
they consider it lawful on all journeys,
regardless of the purposes for which
they are undertaken. They hold that a
traveller may be either rewarded or
punished by God, depending on his
purpose in travelling. That, however,
has nothing to do with the
permissibility of qasr. (See the
commentaries on the verse by Qurtubi,
Ibn Kathir and Jassas. See also Ibn
Rushd, Biddy at al-Mujtahid, vol. 1, p.
163 - Ed.)
Other eminent jurists have inferred from
the words: 'And there is no blame on you
. . . ' that qasr is not obligatory for
a traveller: it is merely permitted. A
person may avail himself of it if he
chooses, and he may also perform his
Prayers normally if he so wishes. This
is the view of Shafi'i, even though he
considers qasr recommended and holds its
omission to be tantamount to failure to
adopt the preferable alternative.
According to Ahmad b. Hanbal, however,
while qasr is not obligatory, its
omission falls under the category of
disapproved acts. In Abu Hanifah's
opinion, qasr is obligatory, and
according to one report, Malik is of the
same opinion. (See the commentaries on
the verse by Qurtubi, Jassas and Ibn
al-'Arabi. See also al-Fiqh 'aid
al-Madhdhib al-Arba'ah, vol. 1, p. 471,
and n. 1, pp. 471-3 and Ibn Rushd, vol.
1, p. 161 - Ed.) It is established by
the Hadith that the Prophet (peace be on
him) always shortened his Prayers during
his journeys. There is no reliable
tradition to the effect that the Prophet
(peace be on him) ever prayed four full
rak'ahs in these circumstances. Ibn
'Umar states that he accompanied the
Prophet (peace be on him) as well as Abu
Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthman on their
journeys, and never saw any of them fail
to shorten their Prayers. A number of
authentic traditions which have come
down from Ibn 'Abbas and several other
Companions corroborate this. When
'Uthman prayed four rak'ahs in Mina on
the occasion of Hajj, some Companions
objected to his not shortening the
Prayer. 'Uthman convinced them that he
had not made any mistake in so doing by
arguing that he had got married in Makka
and he had heard from the Prophet (peace
be on him) that the place a person
married in was in a sense his home. In
that respect he was, therefore, not a
traveller. (See the commentaries on the
verse by Qurtubi, Jassas and Ibn Kathir,
and the chapters on 'Salat al-Qasr' in
the major collections of Hadith - Ed.)
In opposition to these numerous
traditions are two from 'A'ishah which
indicate that it is equally valid both
to shorten the Prayers and to do them in
full. These traditions, however, have
weak links in their transmission and are
also opposed to the authenticated
practice of 'A'ishah herself. It is also
true that there are intermediary states
between travel and non-travel. During a
temporary stop, it is quite proper for a
man to shorten his Prayers on some
occasions and on others to complete
them. It depends upon the circumstances.
It is probably in this context that
'A'ishah states that the Prophet (peace
be on him) sometimes shortened his
Prayers and sometimes performed them in
full.
The Qur'anic expression in the verse
'there shall be no blame' also occurs in
the Qur'anic verse on the ritual of
running between Safa and Marwah (see
Surah al-Baqarah 2: 158). The actual
words used in both verses apparently
mean that these acts were not
blameworthy even though the running, as
we know, is part of the prescribed rites
of Pilgrimage and is obligatory: We can
appreciate the significance of both
these Qur'anic verses if we remember
that the purpose in each case is to
dispel the misunderstanding that the
acts concerned might either entail some
sin or jeopardize a man's reward.
Another question in. regard to qasr is:
What is the minimum travelling distance
in which Prayers may be shortened? The
Zahiri school recognizes no limit at
all: any travelling validates the
shortening of Prayers. According to
Malik, however, one may not shorten
Prayers if the distance involved is
either less than forty-eight miles
(seventy-seven kilometers) or involves
travelling for less than a day and a
night. This is also the opinion of Ahmad
b. Hanbal and Ibn 'Abbas and a statement
in support of it has also come down from
Shafi'i. The Companion Anas considers it
permissible to shorten Prayers if the
travelling distance is fifteen miles.
Awza'i, Zuhri and 'Umar consider one
day's travelling to be sufficient; Hasan
al-Basri says that the journey should be
two days long, and Abu Yusuf says that
it should be more than two days.
According to Abu Hanifah, one may
shorten the Prayers on any journey in
which one has to travel for three days
either on foot or by camel, i.e. a
distance of eighteen farsakh. Ibn 'Umar,
Ibn Mas'ud and 'Uthman agree with this
view. (See the commentary on the verse
by Qurtubi and Jassas. See also al-Fiqh
'aid al-Madhahib al-Arba'ah, vol. 1, pp.
472 ff. and Ibn Rushd, vol. 1, pp. 163
ff. - Ed.)
If one stops over en route to one's
destination, how long may one stay in
one place and still be allowed to
shorten one's Prayers? On this question,
too, a variety of opinions have been
expressed. Ahmad b. Hanbal is of the
opinion that if a man decides to stay
for four days, he should perform his
Prayers in full. Malik and Shafi'i are
of the opinion that a man may not
shorten his Prayers if he decides to
stay at a place for more than four days.
Awza'i and Abu Hanifah are respectively
of the opinion that if a person intends
to stay at a place for more than
thirteen or fifteen days, he should pray
in full. No categorical injunction has
come down from the Prophet (peace be on
him) on this matter. All jurists agree,
however, that if a man has been held up
somewhere and cannot proceed because of
some constraint, he may shorten his
Prayers indefinitely provided he is in a
constant state of readiness to undertake
the journey back to his home as soon as
the constraint is removed. Instances are
reported of Companions who continued to
shorten their Prayers for two years in
this kind of circumstance. Treating the
situation of a prisoner as analogous to
this, Ahmad b. Hanbal holds that he may
shorten his Prayers throughout the
period of his imprisonment. (For legal
discussions on the questions discussed
here see the commentaries on the verse
by Ibn Kathir, Jassas, Qurtubi and Ibn
al-'Arabi. See also Ibn Rushd, vol. 1,
pp. 160-5 - Ed.)
*133. The Zahiris and Khawarij have
interpreted this to signify that the
injunction of shortening Prayers is
confined to war-time alone and that it
is against the Qur'an to shorten Prayers
while travelling in peace-time. But it
is established by an authentic tradition
that when 'Umar mentioned this misgiving
to the Prophet (peace be on him), he
said: "This is a charitable gift to you
from God, so accept His charitable
gift.' (Muslim, 'Salat al-Musafirin',
12; Abu Da'ud, 'Salat al-Safar', 1;
Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 3, pp. 129
and 190 - Ed.) It is more or less
established by an overwhelmingly large
number of traditions that the Prophet
(peace be on him) shortened his Prayers
in times of both war and peace. Ibn
'Abbas states categorically that the
Prophet (peace be on him) left Madina
with the intention of performing
Pilgrimage to the Ka'bah, and during
this journey he prayed two rak'ahs
(instead of four) even though he could
have nothing to fear except God. (See
Nasa'i, 'Taqsir al-Salah', 1 - Ed.) It
is for this reason that I have added the
word 'especially' in brackets to the
text of the translation:
وَإِذَا كُنْتَ فِيهِمْ فَأَقَمْتَ لَهُمُ
الصَّلَاةَ فَلْتَقُمْ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْهُمْ
مَعَكَ وَلْيَأْخُذُوا أَسْلِحَتَهُمْ
فَإِذَا سَجَدُوا فَلْيَكُونُوا مِنْ
وَرَائِكُمْ وَلْتَأْتِ طَائِفَةٌ أُخْرَى
لَمْ يُصَلُّوا فَلْيُصَلُّوا مَعَكَ
وَلْيَأْخُذُوا حِذْرَهُمْ
وَأَسْلِحَتَهُمْ وَدَّ الَّذِينَ
كَفَرُوا لَوْ تَغْفُلُونَ عَنْ
أَسْلِحَتِكُمْ وَأَمْتِعَتِكُمْ
فَيَمِيلُونَ عَلَيْكُمْ مَيْلَةً
وَاحِدَةً وَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِنْ
كَانَ بِكُمْ أَذًى مِنْ مَطَرٍ أَوْ
كُنْتُمْ مَرْضَى أَنْ تَضَعُوا
أَسْلِحَتَكُمْ وَخُذُوا حِذْرَكُمْ إِنَّ
اللَّهَ أَعَدَّ لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابًا
مُهِينًا
﴿4:102﴾
(4:102) (O Messenger!) If you are among
the believers and rise (in the state of
war) to lead the Prayer for them, *134
let a party of them stand with you to
worship, keeping their arms. *135
When they have performed their
prostration, let them go behind you, and
let another party who have not prayed,
pray with you, remaining on guard and
keeping their arms, *136
for the unbelievers love to see you
heedless of your arms and your baggage
so that they might swoop upon you in a
surprise attack. But there shall be no
blame upon you if you were to lay aside
your arms if you are either troubled by
rain or are sick; but remain on guard.
Surely Allah has prepared a humiliating
chastisement for the unbelievers. *137
*134. These words have led Abu Yusuf and
Hasan b. Ziyad to the view that Prayer
in a state of insecurity was confined to
the time of the Prophet (peace be on
him) alone. There are numerous examples,
however, where a Qur'anic injunction was
addressed specifically to the Prophet
(peace be on him), yet holds good for
the succeeding periods. Moreover, it is
established that many outstanding
Companions also resorted to this form of
Prayer, even after the death of the
Prophet (peace be on him), and there are
no reports of disagreement on this
question among the Companions. (For
discussion see Jassas, vol. 2, pp. 261-3
and Ibn Rushd, vol. 1, p. 169-Ed.)
*135. This injunction regarding Prayer
in a state of either fear or insecurity
(salat al-khawf) refers to the time when
an enemy attack is anticipated, but the
fighting has not yet begun. When
fighting is taking place the ruling of
the Hanafi school is that Prayer may be
deferred. Malik and Thawri are of the
opinion that if it is not possible to
bow and prostrate in Prayer, it is
enough to perform these actions by means
of signs. Shafi'i argues that should the
need arise, one might even fight while
still in the state of Prayer. It is an
established fact that on four occasions
during the Battle of the Ditch the
Prophet (peace be on him) missed Prayers
during the appointed times, but
performed them subsequently in their
correct sequence, even though the
above-mentioned injunction regarding
Prayer in the state of insecurity had
already been revealed. (See Jassas, vol.
2, pp. 263 ff. - Ed.)
*136. The actual form of congregational
Prayer in the state of insecurity
depends, to a large extent, on the
actual state of the hostilities. The
Prophet (peace be on him) prayed
variously under different conditions. A
Muslim commander may use his discretion
and adopt whichever of the following
forms of Prayer seems to him most in
keeping with the actual circumstances of
the conflict:
(1) That a group of soldiers may pray
behind the Prayer-leader, while the rest
take their positions against the enemy.
When one rak'ah is completed, the first
group may disperse to be replaced in the
Prayer by those who were at
battle-stations, and who now complete
the second rak'ah behind the leader. In
this way the soldiers will have prayed
one rak'ah each, and the leader two
rak'ahs.
(2) That a group of soldiers may pray
first and then another group may pray
one rak'ah each behind the leader.
Subsequently, each of the two groups
comes, in turn, to complete the Prayer
by performing one rak'ah individually.
In this way, each of the two groups will
have prayed one rak'ah congregationally
and one rak'ah individually.
(3) That a group may pray two rak'ahs
behind the leader, recite tashahhud and
finish the Prayer by reciting the
salutation. Then the second group may
join the Prayer behind the leader and
complete it with him. Thus the
Prayer-leader will have prayed four
rak'ahs and each of the two groups will
have prayed two.
(4) That a group may pray one rak'ah
behind the leader. When the leader rises
to pray the second rak'ah, those who
have been following him may complete the
second rak'ah by themselves, including
the recitation of the tashahhud and
salutation. Then the second group joins
the Prayer while the leader is in the
second rak'ah. After the leader has
finished his second rak'ah and his
followers have prayed their first, the
latter may rise and complete their
Prayer by performing the second rak'ah
by themselves. In this case, the leader
should prolong his standing in the
second rak'ah of the Prayer. The first
form has been reported by Ibn 'Abbas,
Jabir b. 'Abd Allah and Mujahid. The
second form has been reported by 'Abd
Allah b. Mas'ud and is the basis of the
Hanafi ruling on this matter. The third
form of the Prayer has been adopted by
Shafi'i and Malik with slight
modification. The basis of this ruling
is a tradition from Sahl b. Abi
Hathmah.* There are certain other forms
of Prayer in the state of insecurity,
details of which can be found in larger
works of Islamic Law.
*137. This is to emphasize that the
precautions recommended here are among
the measures which ought to be adopted
with a view to minimizing * This
tradition reports that the Prophet
(peace be on him) led the Prayer of his
Companions as prescribed for the state
of insecurity. The Companions stood in
two rows behind the Prophet (peace be on
him). The Companions in the first row
completed the first rak'ah with the
Prophet (peace be on him), then rose and
remained standing until those in the
second row had prayed one rak'ah. The
latter then rose and stepped forward and
the ones standing ahead of them
retreated behind them. Then the Prophet
(peace be on him) prayed with this group
one rak'ah, then sat down until the back
raw had prayed one rak'ah. Then the
Prophet (peace be on him) recited the
salutation (marking the end of the
Prayer). See Muslim. 'Salat
al-Musafirin' - Ed. losses and ensuring
good results. Victory and defeat
ultimately depend, however, on the will
of God; so even while taking these
precautionary measures one should feel
sure that God will humiliate those who
are trying to extinguish His light.
فَإِذَا قَضَيْتُمُ الصَّلَاةَ
فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا
وَعَلَى جُنُوبِكُمْ فَإِذَا
اطْمَأْنَنْتُمْ فَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ
إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى
الْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَابًا مَوْقُوتًا
﴿4:103﴾
(4:103) When you have finished the
Prayer, remember Allah -standing, and
sitting, and reclining. And when you
become secure, perform the regular
Prayer. The Prayer is enjoined upon the
believers at stated times.
وَلَا تَهِنُوا فِي ابْتِغَاءِ الْقَوْمِ
إِنْ تَكُونُوا تَأْلَمُونَ فَإِنَّهُمْ
يَأْلَمُونَ كَمَا تَأْلَمُونَ
وَتَرْجُونَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَا
يَرْجُونَ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلِيمًا
حَكِيمًا
﴿4:104﴾
(4:104) Do not be faint of heart in
pursuing these people: *138
if you happen to suffer harm they too
are suffering just as you are, while you
may hope from Allah what they cannot
hope for. *139
Allah is All-Knowing, All- Wise.
*138. This refers to those unbelievers
who adamantly opposed the cause of Islam
and the establishment of the Islamic
order.
*139. It is astonishing that men of
faith should not be prepared to endure
the same degree of hardship for the sake
of the Truth as unbelievers do for the
sake of falsehood. This is strange
insofar as the latter merely seek the
transient benefits of worldly life
whereas the faithful seek to please, and
secure the proximity of the Lord of the
Universe and look forward to everlasting
rewards.
إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ
بِالْحَقِّ لِتَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ
بِمَا أَرَاكَ اللَّهُ وَلَا تَكُنْ
لِلْخَائِنِينَ خَصِيمًا
﴿4:105﴾
(4:105) (O Messenger!) We have revealed
to you this Book with the Truth so that
you may judge between people in
accordance with what Allah has shown
you. So do not dispute on behalf of the
dishonest, *140
*140. These and certain other verses
which occur a little later on (see
verses 113 ff.) deal with an important
matter, related to an incident that took
place around the time they were
revealed. The incident involved a person
called Tu'mah or Bashir ibn Ubayriq of
the Banu Zafar tribe of the Ansar. This
man stole an Ansari's coat of mail.
While the investigation was in progress,
he put the coat of mail in the house of
a Jew. Its owner approached the Prophet
(peace be on him) and expressed his
suspicion about Tu'mah. But Tu'mah, his
kinsmen and many of the Banu Zafar
colluded to ascribe the guilt to the
Jew. When the Jew concerned was asked
about the matter he pleaded that he was
not guilty. Tu'mah's supporters, on the
other hand, waged a vigorous propaganda
campaign to save Tu'mah's skin. They
argued that the wicked Jew, who had
denied the Truth and disbelieved in God
and the Prophet (peace be on him), was
absolutely untrustworthy, and his
statement ought to be rejected outright.
The Prophet (peace be on him) was about
to decide the case against the Jew on
formal grounds and to censure the
plaintiff for slandering Banu Ubayriq,
but before he could do so, the whole
matter was laid bare by a revelation
from God. (For the traditions cited
here, see the commentary of Ibn Kathir
on this verse - Ed.)
It is obvious that the Prophet (peace be
on him) would have committed no sin if
he had given judgement on the evidence
before him. Judges are quite often faced
with such situations. False evidence is
given in order to obtain wrong verdicts.
The time when this case came up for
decision was a time of severe conflict
between Islam and unbelief. Had the
Prophet (peace be on him) issued a wrong
judgement on the basis of the evidence
before him, it would have provided the
opponents of Islam with an effective
weapon against the Prophet (peace be on
him) as well as against the entire
Islamic community, and even Islam
itself. They could have spread the word
that the Prophet (peace be on him) and
his followers were not concerned about
right and justice: it would have been
claimed that they were guilty of the
same prejudice and chauvinism against
which they had themselves been
preaching. It was specifically to
prevent this situation that God
intervened in this particular case.
In this and the following verses (105
ff.) the Muslims were strongly censured
for supporting criminals for no other
reason than either family or tribal
solidarity and were told that they
should not allow prejudice to interfere
with the principle of equal justice for
all. Man's instinctive honesty revolts
against the idea of supporting one's own
kin even when they are wrong, and
denying others their legitimate rights.
وَاسْتَغْفِرِ اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ
كَانَ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا
﴿4:106﴾
(4:106) and seek forgiveness from Allah.
Surely Allah is All-Forgiving,
All-Compassionate.
وَلَا تُجَادِلْ عَنِ الَّذِينَ
يَخْتَانُونَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ
لَا يُحِبُّ مَنْ كَانَ خَوَّانًا
أَثِيمًا
﴿4:107﴾
(4:107) Do not plead for those who are
dishonest to themselves; *141
Allah does not love him who betrays
trust and persists in sin.
*141. Whoever commits a breach of trust
with others in fact commits a breach of
trust with his own self first. For the
powers of his head and heart have been
placed at his disposal as a trust, and
by misusing them he is forcing those
powers to support him in acts which
involve a breach of trust. In doing so
the person concerned suppresses his
conscience, which God has placed as a
sentinel over his moral conduct, with
the result that it is rendered incapable
of preventing him from acts of wrong and
iniquity. It is only after a man has
already carried out this cruel
suppression of conscience within himself
that he is able to commit acts of sin
and iniquity outwardly.
يَسْتَخْفُونَ مِنَ النَّاسِ وَلَا
يَسْتَخْفُونَ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَهُوَ
مَعَهُمْ إِذْ يُبَيِّتُونَ مَا لَا
يَرْضَى مِنَ الْقَوْلِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ
بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ مُحِيطًا
﴿4:108﴾
(4:108) They can hide (their deeds) from
men but they cannot hide (them) from
Allah for He is with them even when they
hold nightly counsels that are
unpleasing to Allah. Allah encompasses
all their doings.
هَا أَنْتُمْ هَؤُلَاءِ جَادَلْتُمْ
عَنْهُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا
فَمَنْ يُجَادِلُ اللَّهَ عَنْهُمْ يَوْمَ
الْقِيَامَةِ أَمْ مَنْ يَكُونُ
عَلَيْهِمْ وَكِيلًا
﴿4:109﴾
(4:109) You pleaded on their behalf in
this worldly life but who will plead
with Allah on their behalf on the Day of
Resurrection, or who will be their
defender there?
وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ سُوءًا أَوْ يَظْلِمْ
نَفْسَهُ ثُمَّ يَسْتَغْفِرِ اللَّهَ
يَجِدِ اللَّهَ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا
﴿4:110﴾
(4:110) He who does either evil or
wrongs himself, and then asks for the
forgiveness of Allah, will find Allah
All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate.
وَمَنْ يَكْسِبْ إِثْمًا فَإِنَّمَا
يَكْسِبُهُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ وَكَانَ
اللَّهُ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا
﴿4:111﴾
(4:111) He who commits a sin, commits it
only to his detriment. Surely Allah is
All-Knowing, All-Wise.
وَمَنْ يَكْسِبْ خَطِيئَةً أَوْ إِثْمًا
ثُمَّ يَرْمِ بِهِ بَرِيئًا فَقَدِ
احْتَمَلَ بُهْتَانًا وَإِثْمًا مُبِينًا
﴿4:112﴾
(4:112) But he who commits either a
fault or a sin, and then casts it upon
an innocent person, lays upon himself
the burden of a false charge and a
flagrant sin.
وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكَ
وَرَحْمَتُهُ لَهَمَّتْ طَائِفَةٌ
مِنْهُمْ أَنْ يُضِلُّوكَ وَمَا
يُضِلُّونَ إِلَّا أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَمَا
يَضُرُّونَكَ مِنْ شَيْءٍ وَأَنْزَلَ
اللَّهُ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ
وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَعَلَّمَكَ مَا لَمْ
تَكُنْ تَعْلَمُ وَكَانَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ
عَلَيْكَ عَظِيمًا
﴿4:113﴾
(4:113) (O Messenger!) But for Allah's
favour and mercy upon you, a party of
them had resolved to mislead you,yet
they only misled them selves, and could
not have harmed you in any way. *142
Allah revealed to you the Book and
Wisdom, and He taught you what you knew
not. Great indeed has been Allah's
favour upon you.
*142. Even if some people succeeded in
their design to obtain from the Prophet
(peace be on him) a wrong judgement in
their favour by presenting a false
account of events, the real loss would
have been theirs rather than the
Prophet's (peace be on him). For the
real criminals in the sight of God are
the perpetrators of that fraud and not
the Prophet (peace be on him) who might
in good faith have delivered a verdict
that actually did not conform to the
facts. Whoever obtains a judgement in
his favour by tricking the courts
deludes himself into believing that by
such tricks he can bring right to his
side; right remains with its true
claimant regardless of judgements
obtained by fraud and deception. (See
also Towards Understanding the Qur'an,
vol. I, Surah 2, n. 197.)
لَا خَيْرَ فِي كَثِيرٍ مِنْ نَجْوَاهُمْ
إِلَّا مَنْ أَمَرَ بِصَدَقَةٍ أَوْ
مَعْرُوفٍ أَوْ إِصْلَاحٍ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ
وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ ابْتِغَاءَ
مَرْضَاتِ اللَّهِ فَسَوْفَ نُؤْتِيهِ
أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا
﴿4:114﴾
(4:114) Most of their secret conferrings
are devoid of good, unless one secretly
enjoins in charity, good deeds, and
setting the affairs of men right. We
shall grant who ever does that seeking
to please Allah a great reward.
وَمَنْ يُشَاقِقِ الرَّسُولَ مِنْ بَعْدِ
مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ الْهُدَى وَيَتَّبِعْ
غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ نُوَلِّهِ
مَا تَوَلَّى وَنُصْلِهِ جَهَنَّمَ
وَسَاءَتْ مَصِيرًا
﴿4:115﴾
(4:115) As for him who sets himself
against the Messenger and follows a path
other than that of the believers even
after true guidance had become clear to
him, We will let him go to the way he
has turned to, *143
and We will cast him into Hell - an evil
destination.
*143. When, after revelation from God,
the Prophet (peace be on him) delivered
his verdict in favour of the innocent
Jew rather than the dishonest Muslim,
the latter was so seized by un-Islamic,
egotistic and chauvinistic
considerations that he left Madina, went
straight to Makka to join the ranks of
the enemies of Islam and of the Prophet
(peace be on him), and undertook open
opposition. The verse alludes to that
incident.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ
بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ
يَشَاءُ وَمَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ
ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا بَعِيدًا
﴿4:116﴾
(4:116) Truly it is only associating
others with Allah in His divinity that
Allah does not forgive, *144
and forgives anything besides that to
whomsoever He wills. Whoever associates
others with Allah in His divinity has
indeed strayed far away.
*144. In this and the following verses
we are asked to consider coolly, the end
result of obsession with rage and anger,
and what kind of people one chooses to
identify with in place of the righteous
people from whom one foolishly
dissociates oneself.
إِنْ يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ إِلَّا
إِنَاثًا وَإِنْ يَدْعُونَ إِلَّا
شَيْطَانًا مَرِيدًا
﴿4:117﴾
(4:117) Rather than call upon Him, they
call upon goddesses, and call upon a
rebellious Satan *145
*145. No one sets up Satan as his 'god'
in the sense that he makes him the
object of his ritual worship and
declares him to be God in so many words.
The way to make Satan one's god is to
entrust one's reins to him and let
oneself be drawn helplessly in whichever
direction he wants; the relationship
between the two is, then, that of
worshipper and worshipped. This shows
that either absolute, unreserved
obedience to or blind following of
anybody is tantamount to 'worshipping'
him, so that whoever indulges in this
kind of absolute obedience is guilty of
worshipping a 'god' other than the One
True God.
لَعَنَهُ اللَّهُ وَقَالَ لَأَتَّخِذَنَّ
مِنْ عِبَادِكَ نَصِيبًا مَفْرُوضًا
﴿4:118﴾
(4:118) upon whom Allah has laid His
curse. He said (to Allah): 'I will take
to myself an appointed portion of Your
servants *146
*146. This shows that Satan is
determined to lay his claim to a portion
of men's time, to their effort and
labour, to their energies and
capacities, to their material
belongings, and to their offspring, and
would somehow trick them into devoting a
sizeable portion of all these in his
cause.
وَلَأُضِلَّنَّهُمْ وَلَأُمَنِّيَنَّهُمْ
وَلَآَمُرَنَّهُمْ فَلَيُبَتِّكُنَّ
آَذَانَ الْأَنْعَامِ وَلَآَمُرَنَّهُمْ
فَلَيُغَيِّرُنَّ خَلْقَ اللَّهِ وَمَنْ
يَتَّخِذِ الشَّيْطَانَ وَلِيًّا مِنْ
دُونِ اللَّهِ فَقَدْ خَسِرَ خُسْرَانًا
مُبِينًا
﴿4:119﴾
(4:119) and shall lead them astray, and
shall engross them in vain desires, and
I shall command them and they will cut
off the ears of the cattle, *147
and I shall command them and they will
disfigure Allah's creation.' *148
He who took Satan rather than Allah for
his guardian has indeed suffered a
man-ifest loss.
*147. The reference here is to a
superstitious Arabian custom. It was
customary among the Arabs that after a
camel had given birth to five or ten
young to slit her ears and let her go in
the name of their deity; they considered
it forbidden to put her to any work.
Likewise, the male camel that had caused
the birth of ten camels was consecrated
to some deity. The slitting of ears
symbolized this consecration.
*148. To alter God's creation in some
respect does not mean changing its
original form. If that was meant, human
civilization would have to be considered
Satanic in its entirety. For
civilization consists essentially of
man's putting to use the resources
endowed by God. Hence the alteration of
God's creation, which is characterized
as Satanic, consists in using a thing
not for the purpose for which it was
created by God. In other words, all acts
performed in violation either of one's
true nature or of the intrinsic nature
of other things are the result of the
misleading promptings of Satan. These
include, for instance, sodomy, birth
control, monasticism, celibacy,
sterilization of either men or women,
turning males into eunuchs, diverting
females from the functions entrusted to
them by nature and driving them to
perform the functions for which men were
created. These and numerous similar
measures are enacted by Satan's
disciples in this world, which amounts
on their part, to saying that the laws
of the Creator were faulty and that they
would like to 'reform' them.
يَعِدُهُمْ وَيُمَنِّيهِمْ وَمَا
يَعِدُهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ إِلَّا غُرُورًا
﴿4:120﴾
(4:120) Satan makes promises to them and
fills them with vain hopes, *149
but whatever he promises them is merely
delusion.
*149. Satanic operations are based on
making attractive promises and raising
high hopes. Whenever Satan wants to
mislead men, whether individually or
collectively, he tries to inspire them
with Utopian expectations. In some he
inspires expectations of ecstatic
pleasure and outstanding success in
their individual lives. He inspires
others with prospects for achieving
national glory. To still others he
promises the well-being of mankind. He
makes people feel confident that they
can arrive at the ultimate truth without
the aid of revealed knowledge. He
deludes others into believing that God
neither exists nor that there is any
Life-after-Death. He comforts others
with the belief that even if there is an
After-life, they will be able to escape
punishment through the intercession of
certain persons. In short, Satan extends
to different groups of people different
promises and expectations with a view to
seducing them.
أُولَئِكَ مَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ وَلَا
يَجِدُونَ عَنْهَا مَحِيصًا
﴿4:121﴾
(4:121) For these people, their abode
shall be Hell and from there they shall
find no way of escape.
وَالَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا
الصَّالِحَاتِ سَنُدْخِلُهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ
تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ
خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا وَعْدَ اللَّهِ
حَقًّا وَمَنْ أَصْدَقُ مِنَ اللَّهِ
قِيلًا
﴿4:122﴾
(4:122) But those who believe and do
good, We shall cause them to enter the
Gardens beneath which rivers flow. Here
they will abide for ever. This is
Allah's promise in truth and whose word
is truer than Allah's?
لَيْسَ بِأَمَانِيِّكُمْ وَلَا أَمَانِيِّ
أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ مَنْ يَعْمَلْ سُوءًا
يُجْزَ بِهِ وَلَا يَجِدْ لَهُ مِنْ دُونِ
اللَّهِ وَلِيًّا وَلَا نَصِيرًا
﴿4:123﴾
(4:123) It is neither your fancies nor
the fancies of the People of the Book
which matter. Whoever does evil shall
reap its consequence and will find none
to be his protector and helper against
Allah.
وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِنَ الصَّالِحَاتِ مِنْ
ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَى وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ
فَأُولَئِكَ يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ وَلَا
يُظْلَمُونَ نَقِيرًا
﴿4:124﴾
(4:124) Whoever does good and believes
-whether he is male or female - such
shall enter the Garden, and they shall
not be wronged in the slightest.
وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ دِينًا مِمَّنْ أَسْلَمَ
وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ
وَاتَّبَعَ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا
وَاتَّخَذَ اللَّهُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ خَلِيلًا
﴿4:125﴾
(4:125) And whose way of life could be
better than that of he who submits his
whole being to Allah, does good, and
follows exclusively the way of Abraham
whom Allah took for a friend?
وَلِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَوَاتِ وَمَا فِي
الْأَرْضِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ
مُحِيطًا
﴿4:126﴾
(4:126) Whatever is in the heavens and
in the earth belongs to Allah; *150
Allah en-compasses everything. *151
*150. To submit to God is the best
course for man, for it conforms fully to
ultimate reality. Since God is the Lord
of the heavens and the earth and all
that lies therein, the only right
attitude for man is to give up his
unlimited freedom and willingly commit
himself to serve and obey God.
*151. If man will neither submit to God
nor stop acting in defiance of Him, he
should bear in mind that he can never
escape from God's grip,for His power
encompasses him completely.
وَيَسْتَفْتُونَكَ فِي النِّسَاءِ قُلِ
اللَّهُ يُفْتِيكُمْ فِيهِنَّ وَمَا
يُتْلَى عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الْكِتَابِ فِي
يَتَامَى النِّسَاءِ اللَّاتِي لَا
تُؤْتُونَهُنَّ مَا كُتِبَ لَهُنَّ
وَتَرْغَبُونَ أَنْ تَنْكِحُوهُنَّ
وَالْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مِنَ الْوِلْدَانِ
وَأَنْ تَقُومُوا لِلْيَتَامَى
بِالْقِسْطِ وَمَا تَفْعَلُوا مِنْ خَيْرٍ
فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِهِ عَلِيمًا
﴿4:127﴾
(4:127) They ask you to pronounce laws
concerning women, *152
say: 'Allah pronounces to you concerning
them, *153
and reminds you of the injunctions which
were recited to you in the Book about
female orphans whom you do not give what
has been ordained for them *154
and whom you wish to marry (out of
greed)', *155
and the commandments relating to the
children who are weak and helpless. *156
Allah directs you to treat the orphans
with justice. Allah is well aware of
whatever good you do.
*152. The actual query about women is
not spelled out directly. The judgement
pronounced a little later on in response
to that query, however, makes it
abundantly clear what the query was.
*153. This is not a response to the
query itself. Before attending to this,
God once again emphasizes that people
should implement His directives
regarding orphans in general, and orphan
girls in particular, as mentioned at the
beginning of this surah (see verses 2
ff. above). This shows the importance of
the rights of orphans in the sight of
God. The protection of their rights, as
we have pointed out, had already been
stressed forcefully (see beginning of
the surah, verses 1-14). But that was
not deemed sufficient. Hence, when
problems of family life came up for
discussion, the question of the
well-being of orphans automatically
arose even before answering the
questions people raised.
*154. This alludes to verse 3 of this
surah: 'And if you fear that you might
not treat the orphans justly, then marry
the women that seem good to you. '
*155. The words of the text ( ) may be
interpreted as: 'Whom you wish to marry
(out of greed)' and also as 'Whom you do
not wish to marry.' In explanation of
this verse 'A'ishah states that, in
those days, guardians of orphan girls
who had any significant inheritance from
their parents used to perpetrate many
wrongs on their wards. If the girl was
both rich and good looking, the guardian
desired to marry her and exploit both
her attractiveness and wealth without
either having to make the bridal-due
(mahr) or even having to undertake her
maintenance. If the girl was ugly, the
guardian would neither marry her nor
allow her to get married, for she might
thus get a husband who would support her
claim to her legitimate rights. (See the
commentary of Ibn Kathir on this verse.
The tradition is quoted by Ibn Kathir
from Bukhari. See also n. 4 above -Ed.)
*156. The reference here is to the
injunctions regarding the protection of
the rights of orphans at the beginning
of the surah (see verses 1 ff . and 11
ff. above).
وَإِنِ امْرَأَةٌ خَافَتْ مِنْ بَعْلِهَا
نُشُوزًا أَوْ إِعْرَاضًا فَلَا جُنَاحَ
عَلَيْهِمَا أَنْ يُصْلِحَا بَيْنَهُمَا
صُلْحًا وَالصُّلْحُ خَيْرٌ وَأُحْضِرَتِ
الْأَنْفُسُ الشُّحَّ وَإِنْ تُحْسِنُوا
وَتَتَّقُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِمَا
تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًا
﴿4:128﴾
(4:128) If *157
a woman fears either ill-treatment or
aversion from her husband it is not
wrong for the husband and wife to bring
about reconciliation among themselves
(by compromising on their rights), for
settlement is better. *158
Man's soul is always prone to
selfishness, *159
but if you do good and are God-fearing,
then surely Allah is aware of the things
you do. *160
*157.The actual response to the query
begins here. In order to appreciate the
response fully one would do well to
consider the query itself. In the days
of Ignorance a man was free to marry an
unlimited number of women, who had
virtually no rights. When the
preliminary verses of the present surah
were revealed (see especially verse 3)
this freedom was circumscribed
in two ways. First, the maximum number
of wives was fixed at four. Second,
justice (that is, equal treatment of
wives) was laid down as a necessary
condition for marrying more than one.
This gives rise to the question whether
a person is obligated by Islam to feel
equally towards each of his wives, to
love each to an equal degree, and treat
them equally even in respect of sexual
relationship. Such questions are
especially relevant with regard to a
husband one of whose wives might be,
say, afflicted with either sterility,
permanent sickness or who is incapable
of sexual intercourse. Does justice
demand that if he fails to live up to
the standards of equality mentioned
above that he should renounce his first
wife in order to marry the second?
Moreover, where the first wife is
disinclined to agree to annulment of the
marriage, is it appropriate for the
spouses to make a voluntary accord
between themselves, according to which
the wife, towards whom the husband feels
relatively less attracted, voluntarily
surrenders some of her rights,
prevailing upon her husband not to
repudiate the marriage? Would such an
act be against the dictates of justice?
It is to questions such as these that
these verses are addressed.
*158. It is better for the spouses to
come to a mutual understanding so that
the wife may remain with the same man
with whom she has already spent part of
her life.
*159. The 'selfishness' on the part of
the wife is that even though she is
conscious of the causes which have
contributed to her husband's aversion
towards her, she nevertheless expects
from him the treatment that a husband
accords to the wife that he loves. The
'selfishness' of the husband, on the
other hand, lies in suppressing her
unduly and curtailing her rights to an
intolerable extent, merely because she
is keen to continue to live with him
even though she has lost her attraction
for him.
*160. Here, too, God urges the male, as
He usually does in such matters, to be
magnanimous. God urges a man to treat
his wife, who has probably spent a
considerable number of years with him as
his companion, with kindliness and grace
in spite of the aversion that he has
come to feel for her. He also urges man
to love God, for if He were to deprive
him of His loving care and blessing in
order to punish him for his
shortcomings, what place would he have
under the sun?
وَلَنْ تَسْتَطِيعُوا أَنْ تَعْدِلُوا
بَيْنَ النِّسَاءِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتُمْ
فَلَا تَمِيلُوا كُلَّ الْمَيْلِ
فَتَذَرُوهَا كَالْمُعَلَّقَةِ وَإِنْ
تُصْلِحُوا وَتَتَّقُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ
كَانَ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا
﴿4:129﴾
(4:129) You will not be able to treat
your wives with absolute justice not
even when you keenly desire to do so.
(It suffices in order to follow the Law
of Allah that) you incline not wholly to
one, leaving the other in suspense. *161
If you act rightly and remain
God-fearing, surely Allah is
All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate. *162
*161. This means that it is not possible
for a man to accord complete equality of
treatment to two or more wives under all
circumstances and in all respects. It is
possible that one is ugly, the other
beautiful; one is old, the other young;
one is permanently sick, the other
healthy; one is irritable, the other
good-tempered. These and other
differences are likely to make a person
less attracted to one and more to the
other. In such circumstances, the Law
does not demand that one should
necessarily maintain absolute equality
between the wives in respect of love,
emotional attachment and sexual
relationship. What it does demand is
that if a husband does not repudiate the
marriage despite aversion for his wife,
either because of his own desire or out
of consideration for the desire of his
wife, he should at least maintain a good
relationship short of which his wife
begins to feel as if she is without a
husband. In such circumstances, while it
is natural that a person should prefer
one wife to the other, this should not
go to the extent that the woman remains,
as it were, in a state of suspension, as
if she were without a husband at all.
Some people point out that in this verse
the Qur'an in one breath stipulates
justice as the necessary condition for
plurality of wives and in the other
breath declares it to be impossible. On
this ground they conclude that the
Qur'an has itself revoked the permission
to marry more than one wife. There is,
however, absolutely no justification for
such an inference. Such an inference
would have been justified had the Qur'an
merely said that 'You will not be able
to treat your wives with (absolute)
justice.' But this statement has been
followed by the directive: ' ... do not
allow yourselves to incline wholly to
one, leaving the other in suspense.'
This leaves no grounds at all for the
blind followers of Christian Europe to
force an interpretation of their liking
on the verse.
*162. If a man does not deliberately
inflict any wrong and tries earnestly to
be just in his dealings God will pardon
whatever minor shortcomings take place.
وَإِنْ يَتَفَرَّقَا يُغْنِ اللَّهُ
كُلًّا مِنْ سَعَتِهِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ
وَاسِعًا حَكِيمًا
﴿4:130﴾
(4:130) But if the two separate, out of
His plenty Allah will make each dispense
with the other. Indeed Allah is
All-Bounteous, All-Wise.
وَلِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَوَاتِ وَمَا فِي
الْأَرْضِ وَلَقَدْ وَصَّيْنَا الَّذِينَ
أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ
وَإِيَّاكُمْ أَنِ اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ
وَإِنْ تَكْفُرُوا فَإِنَّ لِلَّهِ مَا
فِي السَّمَوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ
وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَنِيًّا حَمِيدًا
﴿4:131﴾
(4:131) All that is in the heavens and
all that is in the earth belongs to
Allah. We enjoined upon those who were
given the Book before you, and also
yourselves, to have fear of Allah. But
if you disbelieve, then bear in mind
that all that is in the heavens and all
that is in the earth belongs to Allah.
Allah is Self-Sufficient, Most
Praiseworthy.
وَلِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَوَاتِ وَمَا فِي
الْأَرْضِ وَكَفَى بِاللَّهِ وَكِيلًا
﴿4:132﴾
(4:132) And to Allah belongs all that is
in the heavens and all that is in the
earth; and Allah suffices for help and
protection.
إِنْ يَشَأْ يُذْهِبْكُمْ أَيُّهَا
النَّاسُ وَيَأْتِ بِآَخَرِينَ وَكَانَ
اللَّهُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ قَدِيرًا
﴿4:133﴾
(4:133) If He wills, He has the full
power to remove you, O mankind, and
bring in others in your place.
مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ ثَوَابَ الدُّنْيَا
فَعِنْدَ اللَّهِ ثَوَابُ الدُّنْيَا
وَالْآَخِرَةِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ سَمِيعًا
بَصِيرًا
﴿4:134﴾
(4:134) He who desires the reward of
this world, let him know that with Allah
is the reward of this world and also of
the World to Come. Allah is All-Hearing,
All-Seeing. *163
*163. In the Qur'an God often rounds off
His enunciation of laws by urging people
to reform those aspects of family life
and social order in which they are
generally liable to commit injustice
with admonitions designed to create in
people the urge to follow those legal
injunctions. Since in the preceding
verse the believers were asked to treat
women and orphans with justice and
kindness it was deemed necessary to
bring home to them the following points:
First, that people should not entertain
the illusion that they have the power to
make or mar the destinies of others,
that if they were to withdraw their
support, people would be left helpless.
The fact is that the destinies of all
lie in the Hand of God alone and He need
not remain dependent upon any single
person as the sole instrument for
helping any particular creature. The
resources of the Lord of the heavens and
the earth are limitless and He also
knows how to use those resources.
Second, that the followers of the
Prophet (peace be on him) ought to heed
the admonition that was made to them,
just as it was made to the followers of
the former Prophets: to fear God in all
their actions. They are being told in
effect that by following God's guidance
they will secure their own well-being
rather than be the source of any benefit
to God, that they can do God no harm by
disobeying Him, just as it did not lie
in the power of the followers of the
former Prophets to cause God any harm.
The Lord of the Universe does not need
people's obedience. If they disobey He
may simply replace them with some other
nation, and their dismissal will not
diminish the majesty and splendour of
His realm in the least.
Third, that God alone has the power to
dispense the good of this world as well
as that of the Hereafter, to lavish
transient benefits as well as abiding
felicity. It all depends on a man's
nature and the extent of his ambition
what kind of benefit he seeks from God.
If a man is infatuated with the fleeting
benefits of this world, and is prepared
to sacrifice the benefits of the
everlasting life, then God will grant
him only the good of this world and he
will have no share in the good of the
Hereafter. God's benevolence is like a
river which never dries up, a river
which is both capable of, and geared to,
providing abundant water to all who need
their tillage watered. It is
short-sighted and unambitious to want
one's fields to be irrigated only once,
and to be prepared thereafter to face
the prospect of eternal drought. Anyone
with breadth of vision would commit
himself to submit to God and obey Him,
thereby earning the well-being of both
worlds.
The section ends with the assertion that
God is All-Seeing and All-Hearing. This
means that God is fully aware of the
actions of His creatures, and is unlike
those negligent sovereigns who are blind
in lavishing their favours. God governs
the universe with full knowledge and
awareness. He has an eye on the
capacities and ambitions of all human
beings and knows their qualities
exactly. He is fully aware of the
purposes to which people devote their
efforts and energies. Anyone who
'wilfully decides to be disobedient to
God should therefore not cherish hopes
of receiving the favours reserved for
those who obey Him.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا كُونُوا
قَوَّامِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاءَ
لِلَّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَى أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَوِ
الْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالْأَقْرَبِينَ إِنْ
يَكُنْ غَنِيًّا أَوْ فَقِيرًا فَاللَّهُ
أَوْلَى بِهِمَا فَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا
الْهَوَى أَنْ تَعْدِلُوا وَإِنْ تَلْوُوا
أَوْ تُعْرِضُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ
بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًا
﴿4:135﴾
(4:135) Believers! Be upholders of
justice, *164
and bearers of witness to truth for the
sake of Allah, *165
even though it may either be against
yourselves or against your parents and
kinsmen, or the rich or the poor: for
Allah is more concerned with their
well-being than you are. Do not, then,
follow your own desires lest you keep
away from justice. If you twist or turn
away from (the truth), know that Allah
is well aware of all that you do.
*164. It is not enough for believers to
uphold justice themselves: they are
expected to be its standard-bearers.
They are supposed not merely to practise
justice in their own dealings but to
strive for its triumph. They have to do
all within their power to ensure that
injustice is eradicated and replaced by
equity and justice. A true believer is
required to be the pillar supporting the
establishment of right and justice.
*165. The testimony of the believers
should be solely for the sake of God.
Their testimony should not be biased in
favour of any of the parties concerned,
they should not use any opportunity for
personal aggrandizement, and they should
not seek to please anyone but God.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا آَمِنُوا
بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ
الَّذِي نَزَّلَ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ
وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ مِنْ
قَبْلُ وَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِاللَّهِ
وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ
وَالْيَوْمِ الْآَخِرِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ
ضَلَالًا بَعِيدًا
﴿4:136﴾
(4:136) Believers! Believe *166
in Allah and His Messenger and in the
Book He has revealed to His Messenger,
and in the Book He revealed before. And
whoever disbelieves *167
in Allah, in His angels, in His Books,
in His Messengers and in the Last Day,
has indeed strayed far away.
*166. To ask believers to believe might
at first seem strange. The fact is,
however, that belief as used here has
two meanings. First, belief denotes that
a man has preferred to acknowledge the
soundness of true guidance, to distance
himself from the fold of those who
disbelieve, and to join the camp of the
believers. Second, belief denotes faith,
a man's believing in the truth with all
his heart, with full earnestness and
sincerity. It denotes man's sincere
determination to mould his way of
thinking, his taste and temperament, his
likes and dislikes, his conduct and
character, his friendship and enmity,
and the direction of his efforts and
striving, in conformity with the creed
which he has resolved to embrace. This
verse is addressed to all those who are
'believers' in the first sense of the
term, and they are asked to change
themselves into true believers, i.e.
believers in the second sense.
*167. Kufr has two meanings. One
signifies categorical rejection. The
other signifies that pretence of belief
even when either one's heart is not
convinced or one's conduct is flagrantly
opposed to the demands of one's belief.
Here the term Kufr conveys both
meanings, and the verse aims at
impressing upon people that whichever
kind of Kufr they adopt in respect of
the fundamental beliefs of Islam, it
will only alienate them from the Truth,
and lead them instead to falsehood, and
ultimately to their tragic failure and
destruction.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا ثُمَّ كَفَرُوا
ثُمَّ آَمَنُوا ثُمَّ كَفَرُوا ثُمَّ
ازْدَادُوا كُفْرًا لَمْ يَكُنِ اللَّهُ
لِيَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ وَلَا لِيَهْدِيَهُمْ
سَبِيلًا
﴿4:137﴾
(4:137) Allah will neither forgive nor
show the right way to those who
believed, and then disbelieved, then
believed, and again disbelieved, and
thenceforth became ever more intense in
their disbelief. *168
*168. This refers to those for whom
religion is no more than an object of
casual entertainment, a toy with which
they like to play as long as it suits
their desires and fancies. One wave
carries them to the fold of Islam and
the next away to that of disbelief.
Whenever Islam appears to suit their
interests they become Muslims; and when
the glamorous visage of the god of
utility leaps up before their eyes they
rush off to worship it. To such people
God holds out neither the assurance of
forgiveness nor of direction to true
guidance. The statement that such people
'became even more intense in their
disbelief refers to those who are not
content with not believing themselves,
but also try to undermine the faith of
others and to persuade them to
disbelief, who engage in secret
conspiracies as well as overt activities
against Islam, and who devote their
energies to the struggle aimed at
exalting disbelief and degrading the
true religion of God. This is a higher
degree of disbelief, involving the
progressive heaping of crime upon crime.
It is obvious that the punishment for
this must be greater than for simple
disbelief.
بَشِّرِ الْمُنَافِقِينَ بِأَنَّ لَهُمْ
عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا
﴿4:138﴾
(4:138) Give tidings of painful
chastisement to the hypocrites.
الَّذِينَ يَتَّخِذُونَ الْكَافِرِينَ
أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
أَيَبْتَغُونَ عِنْدَهُمُ الْعِزَّةَ
فَإِنَّ الْعِزَّةَ لِلَّهِ جَمِيعًا
﴿4:139﴾
(4:139) who take the unbelievers for
their allies in preference to the
believers. Do they seek honour from them *169
whereas honour altogether belongs to
Allah alone?
*169. The term 'jzzah denotes a position
which is at once exalted and secure. In
other words, the term signifies
'inviolable honour and glory'.
وَقَدْ نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الْكِتَابِ
أَنْ إِذَا سَمِعْتُمْ آَيَاتِ اللَّهِ
يُكْفَرُ بِهَا وَيُسْتَهْزَأُ بِهَا
فَلَا تَقْعُدُوا مَعَهُمْ حَتَّى
يَخُوضُوا فِي حَدِيثٍ غَيْرِهِ إِنَّكُمْ
إِذًا مِثْلُهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ جَامِعُ
الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ فِي
جَهَنَّمَ جَمِيعًا
﴿4:140﴾
(4:140) Allah has enjoined upon you in
the-Book that when you hear the signs of
Allah being rejected and scoffed at, you
will not sit with them until they engage
in some other talk, or else you will
become like them. *170
Know well, Allah will gather the
hypocrites and the unbe-lievers in Hell
- all together.
*170. A person who professes Islam and
yet enjoys the company of those who
indulge in blasphemy against God, and
who bears with equanimity their scoffing
at God and His Messenger, is no
different' from the unbelievers
mentioned here. (For the injunction in
this verse, see also Surah al-An'am 6:
68 below.)
الَّذِينَ يَتَرَبَّصُونَ بِكُمْ فَإِنْ
كَانَ لَكُمْ فَتْحٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ قَالُوا
أَلَمْ نَكُنْ مَعَكُمْ وَإِنْ كَانَ
لِلْكَافِرِينَ نَصِيبٌ قَالُوا أَلَمْ
نَسْتَحْوِذْ عَلَيْكُمْ وَنَمْنَعْكُمْ
مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَاللَّهُ يَحْكُمُ
بَيْنَكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَلَنْ
يَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَلَى
الْمُؤْمِنِينَ سَبِيلًا
﴿4:141﴾
(4:141) These hypocrites watch you
closely: if victory is granted to you by
Allah, they will say: 'Were we not with
you?' And were the unbelievers to gain
the upper hand, they will say: 'Did we
not have mastery over you, and yet we
protected you from the believers?' *171
It is Allah Who will judge between you
on the Day of Resurrection, and He will
not allow the unbelievers, in any way,
to gain advantage over the believers.
*171. This is typical of the hy
