يَا
أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُواْ رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي
خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ
مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالاً
كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاء وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ الَّذِي
تَسَاءلُونَ بِهِ وَالأَرْحَامَ إِنَّ اللّهَ 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.
وَآتُواْ
الْيَتَامَى أَمْوَالَهُمْ وَلاَ تَتَبَدَّلُواْ
الْخَبِيثَ بِالطَّيِّبِ وَلاَ تَأْكُلُواْ
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 أَلاَّ تُقْسِطُواْ فِي الْيَتَامَى
فَانكِحُواْ مَا طَابَ لَكُم مِّنَ النِّسَاء
مَثْنَى وَثُلاَثَ وَرُبَاعَ فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ
أَلاَّ تَعْدِلُواْ فَوَاحِدَةً أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ
أَيْمَانُكُمْ ذَلِكَ أَدْنَى أَلاَّ تَعُولُواْ﴿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.)
وَآتُواْ النَّسَاء صَدُقَاتِهِنَّ نِحْلَةً فَإِن
طِبْنَ لَكُمْ عَن شَيْءٍ مِّنْهُ نَفْسًا
فَكُلُوهُ هَنِيئًا مَّرِيئًا﴿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.
وَلاَ
تُؤْتُواْ السُّفَهَاء أَمْوَالَكُمُ الَّتِي
جَعَلَ اللّهُ لَكُمْ قِيَاماً وَارْزُقُوهُمْ
فِيهَا وَاكْسُوهُمْ وَقُولُواْ لَهُمْ قَوْلاً
مَّعْرُوفًا﴿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.
وَابْتَلُواْ الْيَتَامَى حَتَّىَ إِذَا بَلَغُواْ
النِّكَاحَ فَإِنْ آنَسْتُم مِّنْهُمْ رُشْدًا
فَادْفَعُواْ إِلَيْهِمْ أَمْوَالَهُمْ وَلاَ
تَأْكُلُوهَا إِسْرَافًا وَبِدَارًا أَن
يَكْبَرُواْ وَمَن كَانَ غَنِيًّا
فَلْيَسْتَعْفِفْ وَمَن كَانَ فَقِيرًا فَلْيَأ
ْكُلْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ فَإِذَا دَفَعْتُمْ
إِلَيْهِمْ أَمْوَالَهُمْ فَأَشْهِدُواْ
عَلَيْهِمْ وَكَفَى بِاللّهِ 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.
لِّلرِّجَالِ نَصيِبٌ مِّمَّا تَرَكَ
الْوَالِدَانِ وَالأَقْرَبُونَ وَلِلنِّسَاء
نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا تَرَكَ الْوَالِدَانِ
وَالأَقْرَبُونَ مِمَّا قَلَّ مِنْهُ أَوْ كَثُرَ
نَصِيبًا مَّفْرُوضًا﴿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 أُوْلُواْ الْقُرْبَى
وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينُ فَارْزُقُوهُم
مِّنْهُ وَقُولُواْ لَهُمْ قَوْلاً مَّعْرُوفًا﴿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 تَرَكُواْ مِنْ
خَلْفِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّةً ضِعَافًا خَافُواْ
عَلَيْهِمْ فَلْيَتَّقُوا اللّهَ وَلْيَقُولُواْ
قَوْلاً 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 اللّهُ فِي أَوْلاَدِكُمْ لِلذَّكَرِ
مِثْلُ حَظِّ الأُنثَيَيْنِ فَإِن كُنَّ نِسَاء
فَوْقَ اثْنَتَيْنِ فَلَهُنَّ ثُلُثَا مَا تَرَكَ
وَإِن كَانَتْ وَاحِدَةً فَلَهَا النِّصْفُ
وَلأَبَوَيْهِ لِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِّنْهُمَا
السُّدُسُ مِمَّا تَرَكَ إِن كَا نَ لَهُ وَلَدٌ
فَإِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّهُ وَلَدٌ وَوَرِثَهُ
أَبَوَاهُ فَلأُمِّهِ الثُّلُثُ فَإِن كَانَ لَهُ
إِخْوَةٌ فَلأُمِّهِ السُّدُسُ مِن بَعْدِ
وَصِيَّةٍ يُوصِي بِهَا أَوْ دَيْنٍ آبَآؤُكُمْ
وَأَبناؤُكُمْ لاَ تَدْرُونَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ
لَكُمْ نَفْعاً ف َرِيضَةً مِّنَ اللّهِ إِنَّ
اللّهَ كَانَ عَلِيما 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 إِن
لَّمْ يَكُن لَّهُنَّ وَلَدٌ فَإِن كَانَ لَهُنَّ
وَلَدٌ فَلَكُمُ الرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْنَ مِن
بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ يُوصِينَ بِهَا أَوْ دَيْنٍ
وَلَهُنَّ الرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُمْ إِن لَّمْ
يَكُن لَّكُمْ وَلَدٌ فَإ ِن كَانَ لَكُمْ وَلَدٌ
فَلَهُنَّ الثُّمُنُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُم مِّن بَعْدِ
وَصِيَّةٍ تُوصُونَ بِهَا أَوْ دَيْنٍ وَإِن كَانَ
رَجُلٌ يُورَثُ كَلاَلَةً أَو امْرَأَةٌ وَلَهُ
أَخٌ أَوْ أُخْتٌ فَلِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِّنْهُمَا
السُّدُسُ فَإِن كَانُوَاْ أَكْثَرَ مِن ذَل ِكَ
فَهُمْ شُرَكَاء فِي الثُّلُثِ مِن بَعْدِ
وَصِيَّةٍ يُوصَى بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍ غَيْرَ
مُضَآرٍّ وَصِيَّةً مِّنَ اللّهِ وَاللّهُ 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 اللّهِ وَمَن يُطِعِ اللّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ
يُدْخِلْهُ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا
الأَنْهَارُ 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.
وَمَن
يَعْصِ اللّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَيَتَعَدَّ حُدُودَهُ
يُدْخِلْهُ نَارًا خَالِدًا فِيهَا وَلَهُ عَذَابٌ
مُّهِينٌ﴿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.
وَاللاَّتِي يَأْتِينَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مِن
نِّسَآئِكُمْ فَاسْتَشْهِدُواْ عَلَيْهِنَّ
أَرْبَعةً مِّنكُمْ فَإِن شَهِدُواْ
فَأَمْسِكُوهُنَّ فِي الْبُيُوتِ حَتَّىَ
يَتَوَفَّاهُنَّ الْمَوْتُ أَوْ يَجْعَلَ اللّهُ
لَهُنَّ سَبِيلاً﴿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.
وَاللَّذَانَ يَأْتِيَانِهَا مِنكُمْ فَآذُوهُمَا
فَإِن تَابَا وَأَصْلَحَا فَأَعْرِضُواْ عَنْهُمَا
إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ تَوَّابًا رَّحِيمًا﴿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 اللّهِ لِلَّذِينَ
يَعْمَلُونَ السُّوَءَ بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ
يَتُوبُونَ مِن قَرِيبٍ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ يَتُوبُ
اللّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَكَانَ اللّهُ عَلِيماً
حَكِيماً﴿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 الآنَ وَلاَ
الَّذِينَ يَمُوتُونَ وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ أُوْلَـئِكَ
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 آمَنُواْ لاَ يَحِلُّ لَكُمْ
أَن تَرِثُواْ النِّسَاء كَرْهًا وَلاَ
تَعْضُلُوهُنَّ لِتَذْهَبُواْ بِبَعْضِ مَا
آتَيْتُمُوهُنَّ إِلاَّ أَن يَأْتِينَ بِفَاحِشَةٍ
مُّبَيِّنَةٍ وَعَاشِرُوهُنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ
فَإِن كَرِهْتُمُوهُنَّ فَعَسَى أَن تَكْرَهُواْ
شَيْئًا وَيَجْعَلَ اللّهُ 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
أَرَدتُّمُ اسْتِبْدَالَ زَوْجٍ مَّكَانَ زَوْجٍ
وَآتَيْتُمْ إِحْدَاهُنَّ قِنطَارًا فَلاَ
تَأْخُذُواْ مِنْهُ شَيْئًا أَتَأْخُذُونَهُ
بُهْتَاناً وَإِثْماً مُّبِيناً﴿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 مِنكُم مِّيثَاقًا
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.)
وَلاَ
تَنكِحُواْ مَا نَكَحَ آبَاؤُكُم مِّنَ النِّسَاء
إِلاَّ مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَاحِشَةً
وَمَقْتًا وَسَاء سَبِيلاً﴿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
وَخَالاَتُكُمْ وَبَنَاتُ الأَخِ وَبَنَاتُ
الأُخْتِ وَأُمَّهَاتُكُمُ اللاَّتِي
أَرْضَعْنَكُمْ وَأَخَوَاتُكُم مِّنَ الرَّضَاعَةِ
وَأُمَّهَاتُ نِسَآئِكُمْ وَرَبَائِبُكُمُ اللاَّ
تِي فِي حُجُورِكُم مِّن نِّسَآئِكُمُ اللاَّتِي
دَخَلْتُم بِهِنَّ فَإِن لَّمْ تَكُونُواْ
دَخَلْتُم بِهِنَّ فَلاَ جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ
وَحَلاَئِلُ أَبْنَائِكُمُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ
أَصْلاَبِكُمْ وَأَن تَجْمَعُواْ بَيْنَ
الأُخْتَيْنِ إَلاَّ مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ إِنَّ ال
لّهَ كَانَ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا﴿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 النِّسَاء إِلاَّ مَا
مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ كِتَابَ اللّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ
وَأُحِلَّ لَكُم مَّا وَرَاء ذَلِكُمْ أَن
تَبْتَغُواْ بِأَمْوَالِكُم مُّحْصِنِينَ غَيْرَ
مُسَافِحِينَ فَمَا اسْتَمْتَعْتُم بِهِ مِنْهُنَّ
فَآتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ ف َرِيضَةً وَلاَ
جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِيمَا تَرَاضَيْتُم بِهِ مِن
بَعْدِ الْفَرِيضَةِ إِنَّ اللّهَ 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.
وَمَن
لَّمْ يَسْتَطِعْ مِنكُمْ طَوْلاً أَن يَنكِحَ
الْمُحْصَنَاتِ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ فَمِن مِّا
مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُم مِّن فَتَيَاتِكُمُ
الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَاللّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِإِيمَانِكُمْ
بَعْضُكُم مِّن بَعْضٍ فَانكِحُوهُنَّ بِإِذْنِ
أَهْلِهِنَّ وَآتُوهُنَّ أُجُ ورَهُنَّ
بِالْمَعْرُوفِ مُحْصَنَاتٍ غَيْرَ مُسَافِحَاتٍ
وَلاَ مُتَّخِذَاتِ أَخْدَانٍ فَإِذَا أُحْصِنَّ
فَإِنْ أَتَيْنَ بِفَاحِشَةٍ فَعَلَيْهِنَّ نِصْفُ
مَا عَلَى الْمُحْصَنَاتِ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ ذَلِكَ
لِمَنْ خَشِيَ الْعَنَتَ مِنْكُمْ وَأَن
تَصْبِرُواْ خَيْ رٌ لَّكُمْ وَاللّهُ غَفُورٌ
رَّحِيمٌ﴿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
اللّهُ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ وَيَهْدِيَكُمْ سُنَنَ
الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ وَيَتُوبَ عَلَيْكُمْ
وَاللّهُ 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.
وَاللّهُ يُرِيدُ أَن يَتُوبَ عَلَيْكُمْ
وَيُرِيدُ الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الشَّهَوَاتِ
أَن تَمِيلُواْ مَيْلاً 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
اللّهُ أَن يُخَفِّفَ عَنكُمْ وَخُلِقَ الإِنسَانُ
ضَعِيفًا﴿4:28﴾
(4:28) Allah wants to lighten your burdens, for
man was created weak.
يَا
أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ لاَ تَأْكُلُواْ
أَمْوَالَكُمْ بَيْنَكُمْ بِالْبَاطِلِ إِلاَّ أَن
تَكُونَ تِجَارَةً عَن تَرَاضٍ مِّنكُمْ وَلاَ
تَقْتُلُواْ أَنفُسَكُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ 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.
وَمَن
يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ عُدْوَانًا وَظُلْمًا فَسَوْفَ
نُصْلِيهِ نَارًا وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللّهِ
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.
إِن
تَجْتَنِبُواْ كَبَآئِرَ مَا تُنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ
نُكَفِّرْ عَنكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ وَنُدْخِلْكُم
مُّدْخَلاً 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.)
وَلاَ
تَتَمَنَّوْاْ مَا فَضَّلَ اللّهُ بِهِ بَعْضَكُمْ
عَلَى بَعْضٍ لِّلرِّجَالِ نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا
اكْتَسَبُواْ وَلِلنِّسَاء نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا
اكْتَسَبْنَ وَاسْأَلُواْ اللّهَ مِن فَضْلِهِ
إِنَّ اللّهَ 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 وَالأَقْرَبُونَ وَالَّذِينَ
عَقَدَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ فَآتُوهُمْ نَصِيبَهُمْ
إِنَّ اللّهَ 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 النِّسَاء بِمَا
فَضَّلَ اللّهُ بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ وَبِمَا
أَنفَقُواْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ فَالصَّالِحَاتُ
قَانِتَاتٌ حَافِظَاتٌ لِّلْغَيْبِ بِمَا حَفِظَ
اللّهُ وَاللاَّتِي تَخَافُونَ نُشُوزَهُنَّ
فَعِظُوهُنَّ وَاهْجُرُوهُنّ َ فِي الْمَضَاجِعِ
وَاضْرِبُوهُنَّ فَإِنْ أَطَعْنَكُمْ فَلاَ
تَبْغُواْ عَلَيْهِنَّ سَبِيلاً إِنَّ اللّهَ
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 فَابْعَثُواْ
حَكَمًا مِّنْ أَهْلِهِ وَحَكَمًا مِّنْ أَهْلِهَا
إِن يُرِيدَا إِصْلاَحًا يُوَفِّقِ اللّهُ
بَيْنَهُمَا إِنَّ اللّهَ 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.
وَاعْبُدُواْ اللّهَ وَلاَ تُشْرِكُواْ بِهِ
شَيْئًا وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا وَبِذِي
الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ
وَالْجَارِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْجَارِ الْجُنُبِ
وَالصَّاحِبِ بِالجَنبِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ وَمَا
مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ إِنَّ ا للّهَ لاَ يُحِبُّ
مَن كَانَ مُخْتَالاً 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 آتَاهُمُ اللّهُ
مِن فَضْلِهِ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَافِرِينَ
عَذَابًا مُّهِينًا﴿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 يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ رِئَـاء
النَّاسِ وَلاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللّهِ وَلاَ
بِالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَمَن يَكُنِ الشَّيْطَانُ
لَهُ قَرِينًا فَسَاء قِرِينًا﴿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 آمَنُواْ بِاللّهِ
وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَأَنفَقُواْ مِمَّا
رَزَقَهُمُ اللّهُ وَكَانَ اللّهُ بِهِم 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
اللّهَ لاَ يَظْلِمُ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ وَإِن تَكُ
حَسَنَةً يُضَاعِفْهَا وَيُؤْتِ مِن لَّدُنْهُ
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 مِن كُلِّ أمَّةٍ
بِشَهِيدٍ وَجِئْنَا بِكَ عَلَى هَـؤُلاء 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 كَفَرُواْ
وَعَصَوُاْ الرَّسُولَ لَوْ تُسَوَّى بِهِمُ
الأَرْضُ وَلاَ يَكْتُمُونَ اللّهَ 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 آمَنُواْ لاَ تَقْرَبُواْ
الصَّلاَةَ وَأَنتُمْ سُكَارَى حَتَّىَ
تَعْلَمُواْ مَا تَقُولُونَ وَلاَ جُنُبًا إِلاَّ
عَابِرِي سَبِيلٍ حَتَّىَ تَغْتَسِلُواْ وَإِن
كُنتُم مَّرْضَى أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَاء
أَحَدٌ مِّنكُم مِّن الْغَآئِطِ أ َوْ لاَمَسْتُمُ
النِّسَاء فَلَمْ تَجِدُواْ مَاء فَتَيَمَّمُواْ
صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَامْسَحُواْ بِوُجُوهِكُمْ
وَأَيْدِيكُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ 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 أُوتُواْ نَصِيبًا مِّنَ
الْكِتَابِ يَشْتَرُونَ الضَّلاَلَةَ وَيُرِيدُونَ
أَن تَضِلُّواْ 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.
وَاللّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِأَعْدَائِكُمْ وَكَفَى
بِاللّهِ وَلِيًّا وَكَفَى بِاللّهِ نَصِيرًا﴿4:45﴾
(4:45) Allah knows your enemies better and Allah
suffices as a protector and Allah suffices as a
helper.
مِّنَ
الَّذِينَ هَادُواْ يُحَرِّفُونَ الْكَلِمَ عَن
مَّوَاضِعِهِ وَيَقُولُونَ سَمِعْنَا وَعَصَيْنَا
وَاسْمَعْ غَيْرَ مُسْمَعٍ وَرَاعِنَا لَيًّا
بِأَلْسِنَتِهِمْ وَطَعْنًا فِي الدِّينِ وَلَوْ
أَنَّهُمْ قَالُواْ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا
وَاسْمَعْ وَانظُرْنَا ل َكَانَ خَيْرًا لَّهُمْ
وَأَقْوَمَ وَلَكِن لَّعَنَهُمُ اللّهُ
بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَلاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً﴿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 أُوتُواْ الْكِتَابَ آمِنُواْ
بِمَا نَزَّلْنَا مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا مَعَكُم مِّن
قَبْلِ أَن نَّطْمِسَ وُجُوهًا فَنَرُدَّهَا عَلَى
أَدْبَارِهَا أَوْ نَلْعَنَهُمْ كَمَا لَعَنَّا
أَصْحَابَ السَّبْتِ وَكَانَ أَمْرُ اللّهِ
مَفْعُولاً﴿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
اللّهَ لاَ يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ
مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاء وَمَن يُشْرِكْ
بِاللّهِ 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 أَنفُسَهُمْ بَلِ
اللّهُ يُزَكِّي مَن يَشَاء وَلاَ يُظْلَمُونَ
فَتِيلاً﴿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).
انظُرْ
كَيفَ يَفْتَرُونَ عَلَى اللّهِ الكَذِبَ وَكَفَى
بِهِ إِثْمًا مُّبِينًا﴿4:50﴾
(4:50) See how they forge lies about Allah! This
in itself is a manifest sin.
أَلَمْ
تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ نَصِيبًا مِّنَ
الْكِتَابِ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْجِبْتِ وَالطَّاغُوتِ
وَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ هَؤُلاء
أَهْدَى مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ سَبِيلاً﴿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.
أُوْلَـئِكَ الَّذِينَ لَعَنَهُمُ اللّهُ وَمَن
يَلْعَنِ اللّهُ فَلَن 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 مِّنَ الْمُلْكِ فَإِذًا لاَّ
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 آتَاهُمُ اللّهُ
مِن فَضْلِهِ فَقَدْ آتَيْنَآ آلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ
الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَآتَيْنَاهُم مُّلْكًا
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.
فَمِنْهُم مَّنْ آمَنَ بِهِ وَمِنْهُم مَّن 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 كَفَرُواْ بِآيَاتِنَا سَوْفَ
نُصْلِيهِمْ نَارًا كُلَّمَا نَضِجَتْ جُلُودُهُمْ
بَدَّلْنَاهُمْ جُلُودًا غَيْرَهَا لِيَذُوقُواْ
الْعَذَابَ إِنَّ اللّهَ 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 آمَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّالِحَاتِ
سَنُدْخِلُهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا
الأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا لَّهُمْ
فِيهَا أَزْوَاجٌ مُّطَهَّرَةٌ وَنُدْخِلُهُمْ
ظِـلاًّ ظَلِيلاً﴿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.