| Surah Aal Imran, 160-171
"If Allah helps you, there is none to overcome you. And if He abandons you, then, who is there who could help you after that? And in Allah the believers should place their trust. [160] And it is not (conceivable) for a prophet to misappropriate the spoils. And whoever misappropriates, shall bring forth, on Doomsday, what he misappropriated. Then, everybody shall be paid, in full, what he has earned. And they shall not be wronged. [161] How then, could one who submits to the pleasure of Allah be equal to him who returns with displeasure from Allah? And his ultimate place is the Fire. And what an evil end it is. [162] They are of various ranks with Allah. And Allah is watchful of what they do. [163] And Allah has surely conferred favour on the believers when He raised in their midst a messenger from among themselves who recites to them His verses and makes them pure and teaches them the Book and the Wisdom, while earlier, they were in open error. [164] And how is it that, when you suffered a hardship the twice of which you had inflicted upon them, you say, "Where did this come from?" Say, "This is from your ownselves. Allah is surely Powerful over everything."[165] And whatever you suffered on the day when the two troops faced each other was with the will of Allah and in order to know the believers [166] and in order to know those who are hypocrites. And it was said to them, 'Come on, fight in the way of Allah, or defend." They said, "Had we known it to be a fight we would have certainly followed you." That day, they were nearer to disbelief than they were to Belief. They utter from their mouths what is not in their hearts. And Allah is the most-knowing of what they conceal. [167] Those who said about their brethren, while themselves sitting, "Had they obeyed us, they would have not been killed." Say, 'Then repel death from yourselves if you are true." [168] And never take those killed in the way of Allah as dead. Rather, they are alive, with their Lord, well-provided, [169] happy with what Allah has given them of His grace; and they feel pleased with the good news, about those who, after them, could not join them, that there shall be no fear for them nor shall they grieve. [170] They feel pleased with blessing from Allah, and grace, and with the fact that Allah would not let the reward of the believers be lost."[171] (3:160-171)
In the first verse (160) here, the recurring sense of grief that gripped the noble Companions after what happened at the battle of Uhud is being removed through elegant counsel.
Verses 161-164 declare that the station of Allah's messenger is free of failings, that he exhibits the highest standard of trustworthiness, and that the very presence of his on the face of the earth is a great blessing and a favour shown to the people of the world.
Verses 165-167 explain the reason why Muslims faced hardships at Uhud, while refuting the view of the hypocrites alongwith it in verse 168.
Towards the end, in verses 169-171, it has been said that those who lay down their lives in the way of Allah achieve the ultimate success, real, permanent and full. Details follow.
Commentary
The verse translated as, 'And it is not (conceivable) for a prophet to misappropriate the spoils - 161', has a particular background of its revelation. As a corollary, the problem of 'Ghulul', that is, misappropriation in the spoils, comes into focus.
Misappropriation In The Spoils: A Sin Which Cannot Be Ascribed To Any Prophet By Any Stretch Of Imagination
The background, as narrated by al-Tirmidhi, is that a sheet was found missing from the spoils collected in the battle of Badr. Some people said that the sheet may have been, perhaps, taken by the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him. If those who said that were hypocrites, the source speaks for itself. May be, this came from a less-initiated Muslim thinking that the Holy ProphetSallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him had the right to do that. Thereupon, this verse was revealed which said that ghulul is a great sin to be punished severely on Doomsday and that the, very thought of linking this sin to a prophet is an ugly audacity, for prophets are free of all sins (ma'soom).
The word, ghulul is also used in the absolute sense for khiyanah, a breach of trust, (misappropriation, pilferage and stealing). This is also applied particularly to misappropriation in the spoils as the crime of stealing from the spoils is far more serious as compared to common thefts and filchings since spoils belong to the whole Muslim army as a matter of right. So, whoever steals from it steals from hundreds and thousands of people. Even if there comes the thought of making amends at some later stage, it would be very difficult to give back to everyone what was due to be given, or seek their forgiveness for the injustice done. This is contrary to other types of thefts where the owner of the stolen property is known.
In this case, there is the chance that one may repent, if Allah gives the ability to do so, and that which was stolen could be returned back to the owner, or one could, at the least, exonerate himself from the blame by seeking forgiveness from him. This is illustrated by what happened at one of the battles fought by Muslims. Someone who had secretly withheld a portion of wool from the spoils thought about it after the distribution of the spoils was over. He brought it before the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him hoping to return it. But he, inspite of being 'mercy for the worlds' and far more generous to his community than fathers and mothers could ever dream to be for their children, he returned it back to him saying: How can I distribute it over the whole army now? Now it is you who would present yourself with it on the Day of Doom.
Therefore, the punishment for ghulul or misappropriation is more severe as compared to common thefts. What else could be more severe for the misappropriator when he, before the eyes of the whole creation on the plains of resurrection and retribution, will find himself disgraced with what he had stolen all stacked on his neck? A narration from Sayyidna Abu Hurairah appearing in Al-Bukhari and Muslim reports that the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him said: 'Watch out, lest I see one of you with a camel loaded round his neck (and the announcement being made that this person had stolen a camel from the spoils). If this person asks me to intercede on his behalf, I shall tell him frankly that I had conveyed what Allah had commanded, now I cannot do anything about it.'
May Allah protect us from this disgrace of the Day we rise again which, according to some narrations, will be so hard on those who face it that they would wish to be sent to the fires of Jahannam in lieu of this terrible disgrace.
Misappropriation in Waqf properties and government Treasuries comes under Ghulul
The same rule applies to mosques, religious schools and institutions, khanqahs and properties of awqaf (endowments) since they represent the contribution of millions of Muslims. If an unfortunate misappropriator was to go about seeking to be forgiven for his evil act, how could he possibly go to each one of those millions. The same rule holds good for public or government treasury (Bayt al-Mal) because all citizens of a country have a right in it. One who steals from it steals from everyone. But, the problem is that these very holdings are such that a single owner does not sit over them. The caretakers become negligent. Avenues of pilferage abound. It is in such moneys and properties that a lot of thefts and misappropriations have become rampant all over the world with most people heedless to the evil end that awaits them. They do not realize that this is a terrible burden to haul onto the plains of Resurrection, not to speak of the punishment of Hell that is bound to come as a result of this crime. Then, last but not the least, comes the sad deprivation from the promised intercession of the Messenger of Allah. Let us all seek refuge from such a fate!
The Prophet of Islam (peace and blessings be upon him): a great blessing for the Humanity
Verse 164 speaks of the great favour Allah has shown to the Muslims by sending the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him towards them. The basic functions assigned to him are also mentioned in the same verse. These are the same functions which were attributed to him in the prayer of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) as referred to by the Holy Qur'an in Surah al-Baqarah. The details of these functions have already been discussed in the first volume of this book under the said verse (2:129).
What is new in the present verse is the statement: And Allah has surely conferred favour on the believers'. Two points about this statement are worth mentioning here:
(1) The words 'on the believers' in this verse apparently mean that the advent of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him was a favour conferred on the Muslims only while at another place the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him has been held as: 'the Mercy for all the worlds' which includes both Muslims and non-Muslims. In order to resolve this apparent contradiction one must understand that the particularization of this Quality with 'believers' in the present verse is very much like saying that the Holy Qur'an is 'guidance for the God-fearing' while the fact that the Holy Qur'an is a guidance for the whole humanity is clearly proved by other verses of the Qur'an. However, there are places where this universal status of the Qur'an has been particularized to the God-fearing. There is a common reason operating at both places, that is, the beneficial coming of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him is a great blessing and a great favour for the Muslim and the non-Muslim alike, just as the Qur'an is a Book of Guidance for the entire humanity. but the true Muslims and the God-fearing are the only ones who derived the fullest benefit out of these. At some places, therefore, the blessing and the guidance, were particularized with them.
(2) In order to explain the primary statement in the verse which declares that the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him is the greatest possible blessing and favour for the believers or for the whole humanity, it can be said that the statement hardly needed any explanation, only if modern man was not all that blind to the spiritual side of life and, at the same time, was sacrificing every good thing for the sake of naked material gains. Had this not been so, every reasonable person would have found out the reality of this great blessing all by himself without anybody having to tell him about it. But, the problem is that modern man has turned out to be no more than the smartest animal among the animals of the world. Tell him about 'favour' and 'blessing' and he would immediately start seeing what fills his stomach and whets his desires. He has practically stopped thinking about the basic reality of his being which is ruh, his spirit. That something good should happen to it and that something can go wrong with it are concerns he pays no heed to, not in the least. Therefore, there is the need to explain that man is not simply a being of bones and flesh. That is certainly not his reality. The reality of man is his ruh, the spirit which is contained within him. So far as this ruh is there in his body, man is what man is. His claims to humanity stand proved. He may be weak or he may be dying, nobody can dare usurp his property or take his rights away from him. But, once this ruh leaves his body, he ceases to be man, no matter how strong and well-built he may be with all parts of his body in their ideal form and shape. His ceasing to be what he was means that he now has no personal right in his own property and possessions.
Prophets come into the world to nurture the human spirit correctly, to make human beings out of men so that actions which issue forth from their bodies turn out to be beneficial to humanity and that they do not go about the world hurting other human beings like beasts and snakes. Instead of that, they should also think about their end and start working for the everlasting life of the Hereafter. Our blessed Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him who leads the way among the great company of prophets Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him has a unique majesty when it comes to the mission of making men real human beings. This was exactly what he did during his Makkan life. The men he turned out formed a society of human beings which stands way ahead of even the angels. Never had the earth, nor the heavens, seen such men, each one of them, a living miracle of the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings of Allah be upon him. What happens after them? The answer is that he left behind his own footprints, and theirs, as well as teachings and the methods to institute and promote, which can be followed and acted upon. Those who do so sincerely and honestly can still reach the stations that were reached by the noble Companions. These teachings are there for the entire humanity to benefit from. Therefore, his having graced this world and his being born generous is a great favour shown to the universal kingdom of human beings, though true Muslims are the ones who have reaped the fullest benefit from these blessings.
The Wisdom behind the hardships of the Muslims at Uhud
The subject of verse 165, translated as, 'And how is it that, when you suffered a hardship the twice of which you had inflicted upon them...' has appeared in several previous verses. Here, it comes for the sake of emphasis and further clarification because Muslims were very much disturbed as a result of this incident, so much so that some of them could not resist wondering why should they be suffering in that manner while they were in the company of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him doing Jihad.
In this verse, Muslims are being reminded that the hardship they were facing that day was only half of what they had already inflicted earlier at the battle of Badr, for seventy Muslims were martyred at Uhud while seventy disbelievers were killed at Badr and seventy others from them were taken prisoners by Muslims. The purpose behind this reminder is that Muslims should think positively in their present state of depression in view of the fact that they had already won a battle, inflicting a loss on the enemy twice as much as they had themselves suffered at their hands. Now, a winner like this need not surrender to sorrow and grief in the event defeat comes once, or less.
Secondly, and primarily too, the purpose of saying, 'This is from your ownselves' at the end of this verse, is to tell Muslims that the hardship they have faced is not because the enemy is stronger or his forces overwhelming, but all that has been caused by some of their own shortcomings, that is, they fell short in obeying the command of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him.
Immediately later, in verse 166, the words fa bi idhnillahi: indicate that whatever happened there was with the leave and will of Allah Almighty operating behind which are many wise divine arrangements, some of them having been explained earlier. One such wise arrangement is that Allah will 'see' His true believers, and the hypocrites too, that is, the sincerity of Muslims and the hypocrisy of the hypocrites will become so clear that everybody could see it for himself. Here, the reference to Allah's knowing or seeing means seeing in the perspective of our own sense-experience in the mortal world.
Otherwise, as far as Allah is concerned, He knows and sees everything, all the time. So, the wise arrangement became all the more clear when, at the time of the trial, the hypocrites bowed out of the harm's way while true Muslims stood undaunted in the middle of the battle front. Incidentally, there is another cause of comfort here in the martyrdom of Muslims in the battle, for Allah has conferred such rewards on them so that others should envy them. So, very appropriately, in: , the special merits of martyrs have been taken up in the verse that follows (169).
The special merits and ranks of those who sacrifice their lives in the way of Allah
In addition to this statement of the Holy Qur'an, the merits of the martyrs have been taken up in great detail in sound ahadith. According to Imam Al-Qurtubi, the shuhada' (martyrs) have different ranks and states of being which should be taken into consideration while looking at descriptions in Hadith narrations.
The very first distinction of martyrs mentioned here is that they have not died; rather, they have begun to live eternally. At this point, it is worth noticing that their death and burial in a grave is something physically witnessed and realized by many, yet the Qur'an has, in several verses, clearly instructed that they should not be addressed or taken as dead. What does this mean? If this was supposed to be an interim state of life, after death and before resurrection, referred to as the state of Barzakh in Islamic terminology, that would not take us very far, for that is something commonly experienced by believers and disbelievers both, when the spirit continues to live after physical death and goes through a question-answer situation following which the true and the righteous among Muslims are welcomed to comfort and the disbelievers and the sinners are consigned to the punishment of the grave. This is proved by the Qur'an and Sunnah. Now, that the interim life of Barzakh is established as common to all, what is so special about shuhada' (martyrs)?
The answer is given by this very verse where it is said that the shuhada', i.e., those killed in the way of Allah, are blessed with provisions of Paradise from Him, and it is obvious that 'rizq' (provision or sustenance) is needed by and given to the living. From here we know that sustenance starts reaching the shahid (martyr) immediately after the shahid leaves the frame of his life in the mortal world. In this manner, the shahid enters into a special type of life right away from that point of time, something which has a status distinct from that of 'the dead' of our common experience (Qurtubi).
There are no easy answers to questions such as - what is that distinct status and what is the nature of that life? The only answer is that its reality remains unknown to all except to the Creator of the universe; nobody has the power to know what is it - nor is there, for that matter, any need to know. Nevertheless, there are times when the effect of their special life does show up on their bodies buried in this world, that is, the earth they rest in does not eat them up but leaves them good and intact (Qurtubi). There have been many incidents where this phenomena has been physically witnessed.
So, in summation, their first merit as pointed out in this verse is their distinct perennial life; the second is their being well-provided from Allah and the third is that they shall always be happy with Allah's blessings and grace. The fourth merit is the good news given to them about their relatives and circle of friends they left behind in the mortal world that they too shall deserve the same blessings and ranks with their Lord if they remain good in deeds and are active in Jihad (170-171).
Al-Suddi says that a shahid is informed beforehand when one of his close friend or relative is about to die. The news that a certain person was coming to them makes them as happy as one would usually be when an old friend, long separated by time and distance, comes to meet him.
The background of the revelation of this verse as narrated by Abu Dawud on sound authorities from Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas is as follows. The Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him said to the noble Companions: 'When your brothers-in-faith fell martyrs at the battle of Uhud, Allah Almighty placed their spirits in the bodies of green birds and set them free. They get their sustenance from the streams and fruit-trees of the Paradise following which they return to special candelabrums held suspending for them underneath the 'throne' ('arsh) of the All-Merciful. When they noticed the luxury of their life there, they said, 'Can anyone tell them (their grieving friends and relatives in the world) about how we live here so that they stop grieving about us and go about striving in Jihad as we did.' Allah Almighty said, 'We shall let them know about this state of yours.' Thereupon, this verse was revealed (Qurtubi).
See also:
The Shortest Path To Jannah - http://muftisays.com/forums/virtues/5397/the-shortest-path-to-jannah-.html
Definition and Ruling on Jihad - http://www.muftisays.com/blog/Seifeddine-M/1154_08-02-2011/definition-and-ruling-of-jihad.html
Jaish e Muhammad (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) - http://www.muftisays.com/forums/virtues/5415/jaish-e-muhammad-%28saw%29.html
Progression Of Jihad - http://www.muftisays.com/blog/Seifeddine-M/1047_25-01-2011/progression-of-jihad-.html
Signs of ar-Rahman in Jihad of Afghan - http://www.muftisays.com/forums/books/6509/signs-of-arrahman-in-jihad-of-afghan.html?p=34395
» Posted by Seifeddine-M on 22nd January 2012
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