4. The Reports from the Tabi'een (Followers - rahmatullahi alaihim)
After Companions (Sahabah) come the Successors (Tabi'in). The later are those who have learnt the tafsir of Qur'an from the Companions. Therefore, their statements too have great importance in the science of tafsir, although there exists a difference among scholars whether or not the statements of the tabi'in are decisive evidences in tafsir (al-Itqan, 2/179) but their importance is something which cannot be denied.
Since the noble Qur'an was revealed in the Arabic language, therefore, in order to explain the Qur'an, it is necessary to have a complete mastery over the language.
There are several verses of the noble Qur'an in the background of which there happen to be just no attending circumstances of revelations, or any juristic or scholastic question, therefore, in their tafsir or explanation, the sayings of the Holy Prophet (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam) or the statements of the Sahabah and tabai'in are not reported.
For that reason, the only means through which these can be explained is that of the Arabic language, and it is on the basis of language alone that they are elucidated.
Besides that, should there be some difference in the tafsir of a certain verse, then, in that case too, the science of linguistics is used to run a test of veracity between varying opinions.
The last source of tafsir consists of deliberation and deduction. The subtleties and mysteries of the noble Qur'an are an ocean with no shore, no end. Therefore, the more a person, who has been blessed with insight into the Islamic sciences by Allah Almighty, deliberates in it, the more he discovers ever-new mysteries and subtleties.
As a result of this, commentators do present the outcomes of their respective deliberations as well, but mysteries and subtleties so described are found acceptable only when they do not go against the five sources mentioned above.
So, should a person, while explaining the Qur'an, come out with a subtle point or independent judgment which is contrary to the Qur'an and Sunnah, Consensus (ljma'), Language, or the statements of Companions and Followers, or stands in conflict with another principle of Shari'ah, that will then have no credence. Some mystics (RA) had started describing such mysteries and subtleties in tafsir, but investigative scholars of the ummah did not these trustworthy because the personal opinion of any person against the basic principles of the Qur'an, Sunnah and Shari'ah has obviously no weight. (al-Itqan, 2/184)
The rules relating to Israelite reports Judaica or Israiliyat are narratives which have reached us through Jews and Christians. It may be noted that early commentators used to write down all sorts of narrations which reached them from an identified source. Many of these narrations were straight Judaica. Therefore, it is equally necessary to know what they really are.
The reality is that some noble Companions and their Successors first belonged to the religion of the people of the book, later on when they became Muslims and learnt the Qur'an, they came across several events relating to past communities in the Qur'an and which they had also read in the books of their previous religion. Therefore, while
referring to the events mentioned in the Qur'an they would describe other details before Muslims which they had seen in the books of their old religion. These very details have entered into the books of tafsir under the name of Israiliyat. Hafiz ibn Kathir, who is one of the authentic research scholars, has written that there are three kinds of Israiliyat:
1. Narrations the truth of which is proved from other evidences of the Qur'an and Sunnah, for instance, the
drowning of Pharoah and the ascent of Sayyidna Musa (AS) onto Mount Tur (Sinai).
2. Narrations the falsity of which is proved from other evidences of the Qur'an and Sunnah, for instance, it appears in Judaic narrations that Sayyidna Sulayman (RA) had become (God forbid) an apostate in his later years. Its refutation is proved from the Qur'an. It is said "It was not Sulayman who became an infidel, but the devils did become infidels (2:102)". To cite yet another example, it finds mention in Judaic narrations that (God forbid) Sayyidna Dawud (RA) (David) committed adultery with the wife of his general (Uriah), or, having him killed through all sorts of contrivances, ended up marrying his wife. This too is a balatant lie, and taking such narrations to be false is imperative.
3. Narrations regarding which the Qur'an, the Sunnah and the SharI'ah are silent, such as the injunctions of Torah etc., are subjects a80ut which silence is to be observed as taught by the Holy Prophet (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam):'Neither confirm, nor falsify'. There is, however, a difference of opinion among scholars whether or not reporting such narrations is permissible. Hafiz ibn Kathir has given the decisive word by saying that reporting these is permissible all right but doing so is useless because they cannot be taken as authentic. (Muqaddamah Tafsir ibn Kathir)
Hopefully, details given above have made it clear that the tafsir (exegesis or interpretation) of the noble Qur'an is an extremely delicate and difficult undertaking for which getting to know the Arabic language alone is not enough. In fact, it is necessary to have expertise in all related branches of knowledge.
Therefore, scholars say that a mufassir or commentator of the Qur'an must have vast and deep knowledge of the syntax, etymology, rhetoric, and literature of the Arabic language, as well as, that of prophetic Traditions, principles governing jurisprudence and exegesis, doctrinal articles of belief and scholastics. The reason is that one cannot arrive at correct conclusions while explaining the Qur'an unless there be that adequacy in these fields of knowledge.
It is regret able that a dangerous epidemic has overtaken Muslims lately whereby many people have started taking the sole reading ability of Arabic sufficient for the tafsir (interpretation) of the Qur'an. As a result, anyone who gets to read ordinary Arabic starts passing out opinions in the domain of Qur'anic exegesis. Rather, it has been noticed on occasions that people having just passable familiarity with the Arabic language, and who have yet to master their Arabic to perfection, take it upon themselves to engage in explaining the Qur'an following their whims, even going to the limit of finding faults with classical commentators. Bad come to worse, there are
some subtle tyrants who would, by simply reading the translation, imagine that they have become scholars of the Qur'an, not even feeling shy of criticising commentators of great stature.
It should be understood very clearly that this is a highly dangerous pattern of behaviour which, in matters of religion, leads to fatal straying. As regards secular arts and sciences, everyone can claim to understand that should a person simply learn the English language and go on to study books of medical science, he would not be acknowledged as a physician by any reasonable person anywhere in the world, and certainly not trustworthy enough to take care of somebody's life unless he has been educated and trained in a medical college. Therefore, having learnt English is not all one needs to become a doctor.
Similarly, should anyone knowing English hope to become an engineer just by reading through engineering books, it is clear that no sane person in this world would accept him as an engineer. The reason is that this technical expertise cannot be acquired simply by learning the English language. It would, rather, need a formal training in the discipline under the supervision and guidance of expert teachers. When these stringent requirements are inevitable in order to become a doctor or engineer, how can the learning of Arabic language alone become sufficient in matters relating to the Qur'an and lfadith? In every department of life, everyone knows and acts upon the principle that every art or science has its own particular method of learning and its own peculiar conditions.
Unless these are fulfilled, the learner's opinion in given arts and sciences will not be considered trustworthy. If that is so, how can the Qur'an and the Sunnah become so unclaimed a field of inquiry that there be no need to acquire any art or science in order to explain them, and anyone who so wishes starts passing out opinions in this matter? Some people say that the Qur'an has itself stated that: "And surely We have made the Qur'an easy for the sake of good counsel." And since the noble Qur'an is a simple book, its explanation hardly needs much of a support from any art or science. But this argument is terribly fallacious, which is, in itself, based on lack of intellect and plenty of superficiality. The fact is that the verses of the Qur'an are of two kinds.
Firstly, there are the verses that offer general good counsel, relate lesson-oriented events and introduce subjects dealing with taking of warning and acting on sound advice. Examples of this are the mortality of the world, the accounts of Paradise and Hell, the discourses likely to create the fear of God and the concern for the Hereafter, and other very simple realities of life. Verses of this kind are undoubtedly easy and anyone who knows the Arabic language can benefit from their good counsel by understanding them. It is in relation to teachings of this kind that, in the verse cited a80ve, it was said that 'We have made them easy'. Hence, the word للذکر (for the sake of good counsel) in the verse itself is pointing out towards this meaning.
Contrary to this, the other kind consists of verses which include injunctions, laws, articles of faith and intellectual subjects. Understanding verses of this kind as they should be rightfully understood and deducing and formulating injunctions and rulings from them cannot be done by just any person unless one has the insight and permeating reach into the Islamic areas of knowledge. This is why the noble Companions, whose mother-tongue was Arabic
and they did not have to go anywhere to get trained into understanding Arabic, used to spend long periods of time in learning the Qur'an from the Holy Prophet (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam). 'Allamah al-Suyuti has reported from Imam Abi 'Abd al-Rahman Sulami that the Companion who formally learned the Qur'an from the Holy Prophet (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam) such as Sayyidna 'Uthman ibn 'Affan and 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud and others, have told us that, after having learnt ten verses of the Qur'an from the Holy Prophet (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam), they would not proceed on to the next verses until such time that they had covered all that was intellectually and practically involved in the light of these It is in relation to teachings of this kind that, in the verse cited above, it was said that 'We have made them easy'. Hence, the word )".llJ (for the sake of good counsel) in the verse itself is pointing out towards this meaning.
We have learnt the Qur'an, knowledge and action all in one. (al-Itqan 2/176)
Consequently, as reported in Mu'watta' of Imam Malik, Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar (RA) spent full eight years memorizing Surah al-Baqarah alone and, as in the Musnad of Ahmad, Sayyidna Anas (RA) says that 'one of us who would learn Surah al-Baqarah and Surah 'al-Imran had his status enormously raised among us.' (Ibid)
Worth noticing is the fact that these noble Companions whose mother-tongue was Arabic, who had the highest degree of expertise in poetry and letters and who would have no difficulty in having very long qasidahs (poems) perfectly committed to their memories with the least of effort, why would they need, just to memorize the
Qur'an and understand its meanings, as long a time as eight years, and that too, for mastering one Surah? The only reason for this was that proficiency in the Arabic language was not enough to have a learning of the noble Qur'an and areas of knowledge bearing on it. In order to do that, it was also necessary to seek the benefit of the teaching and the company of the Holy Prophet (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam) .
Now this is so obvious that the noble Companions inspite of having an expertise in the Arabic language and notwithstanding their being direct witnesses to the revelation, still needed the process of going through formal education at the feet of the blessed master in order to become the 'alims of the Qur'an, how then, after all these hundreds of years following the revelation of the Qur'an, just by cultivating an elementary familiarity with Arabic, or by simply looking at translations, can anyone claim to having become a commentator of the Qur'an? What a monsterous audacity and what a tragic joke with knowledge and religion! People who opt for such audacity should remember well that the Holy Prophet (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam) has said:
Whoever says anything about the Qur'an without knowledge, then he should make his abode in Hell. (Abu Daw'ud, as in al-Itqan, 2/179)
And he (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam) has also said:
Whoever talks about the Qur'an on the basis of his opinion, and even if says something true in it, still he made a mistake. (Abu Daw'ud, Nasa'i)
Some Famour Commentaries Of The Qur'an Countless commentaries of the Glorious Qur'an have been written since the blessed period of the Prophethood. In fact, no other book of the world has been served as much as the noble Qur'an.
1) Tafsir ibn Jarir
The real name of this Tafsir is Jami' al-Bayan and it was compiled by 'Allamah Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al- Tabari (died 310 Hijrah). Allamah Tabari is a highly rated commentator, muhaddith (Hadith expert) and historian. It is said that he kept writing for forty years continuously and used to write forty pages every day (al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, v . 11, p. 145). There are charges of being Shi'ah against him, but researchers have refuted this charge and the truth of the matter is that he is a highly regarded scholar of the followers of the Sunnah, rather then one of the Shi'ite scholars.
Being in thirty volumes, his Tafsir enjoys the status of a basic source for later commentaries. In his explanation of the verses, he quotes different scholars and then goes on to prove the position which, according to him, is weightier, of course, with arguments and proofs. It must, however, be admitted that narrations of all sorts, sound and weak, have found a place in his commentary. Because of this, not every narration presented by him can be relied upon. In reality, he was aiming through his commentary to collect and compile all narrations that could become available to him, so that this collected material could be put to use later on. Conceded is the fact that he has given the chain of reporters along with each narration so that whoever wishes to investigate into the chain of narrators could do so and decide for himself if the narrations are true or false.
2) Tafsir ibn Kathir
Hafiz 'Imad al-din Abu al-Fida' Isma'il ibn Kathir al-Dimashqi al-Shafi'i (died 774 Hijrah), a distinguished research scholar of the eighth century, is the author of this commentary. It has been published in four volumes. Here emphasis has been laid on explanatory narrations. A special feature is his criticism as Hadith expert on different narrations, and from this point of view, this book holds a distinct place among all books of Tafsir.
3) Tafsir Al-Qurtubi
Its full name is Al-Jami' li-Ahkam al-Qur'an. It was written by the famous learned writer and research scholar of
Andalusia (Spain), Abu 'Abdullah Muhamrnad ibn Ahmad Abi Bakr ibn Farah al-Qurtubi (died 671 Hijrah), He was a follower of the Maliki school of fiqh and was known all over for his 'ibadah and piety. The fact is that the basic objective of this book was to deduce juristic injunctions and rulings from the Qur'an yet, while doing so, he has also provided the explanation of verses, research into difficult words, discussion of diacritical marks and elegance of style and composition, and related Traditions and Reports in his Tafsir, and quite ably so. This book is in twelve volumes and has been published repeatedly.
4) Al-Tafsir al-Kabir
This is the work of Imam Fakhr al-din al-Razi (died 606 Hijrah). Its real name is Mafatih al-Ghayb, but is popularly known as 'Tafsir Kabir'. Imam Razi is an imam of the theology of Islam, therefore, great emphasis has been laid in his Tafsir on rational and scholastic debates and on the refutation of false sects. But, the truth is that this Tafsir is, in its own way, a unique key to the Qur'an as well. Furthermore, the pleasing way in which the meanings of the Qur'an have been clarified and the mutual link of the Qur'anic verses established, is all too praise-worthy. Most likely, Imam Razi himself wrote down his Tafsir as far as Surah al-Fath. Onwards from there, he could not complete.
So, the remaining part of the Tafsir , from Surah al-Fath to the end, was completed by Qadi Shihab al- Din ibn Khalil al-Khawli al-Dimashqi (died 639 Hijrah) or Shaykh Najm al-Din Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Qamuli (died 777 Hijrah). (Kashaf' al-Zunun v. 2, p. 477) Imam Razi has particularly emphasised scholastic debates and the refutation of false sects in accordance with the dictates of his time, and while doing so, his discussions have become too lengthy at several places, therefore, some people have made the following comment on his Tafsir: 'There is everything in this (book) except the Tafsir'. But this comment is a terrible injustice to Tafsir Kabir. That which is the truth has already been stated above, namely, that this Tafsir enjoys a high rating as far as the resolution of the meanings of the Qur'an is concerned. But, there are places where he has explained verses of the Qur'an while moving away from the consensus of the ummah, however, such places are very thinly spread out in this book that goes on to eight volumes.
5) Tafsir al-Bajr al-Muhit
This was written by 'Allamah Abi Hayyan al-Gharnati al-Andalusi (died 754 Hijrah) who was a master of syntax and rhetoric in addition to other Islamic fields of learning. As a result of this, his own Tafsir is soaked in syntax and rhetoric. He places special stress on investigating into the words of every verse, the difference in structures and on points of eloquence.
6) Ahkam Al-Qur'an by al-Jassas
This was written by Imam Abu Bakr al-Jassas al-Razi (died 370 Hijrah) who occupies a distinguished place among Hanafi jurists. The deduction of juristic injunctions and rulings from the noble Qur'an is the subject of this book. Instead of explaining verses in serial continuity, he has taken up the juristic details as called for by verses which consist of juristic injunctions. Several other books have also been written on this subject, but this book enjoys a prominent place among those.
7) Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthur
This was written by Allamah Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (died 910 Hijrah), Its full name is 'al-Durr al-Manthur fi al-Tafsir bi l' Ma'thur.' Here Allamah al-Suyuti has tried to collect all narrations about the tafsir of Qur'an he was able to find. Several Hadith scholars such as Hafiz ibn Jarir, Imam Baghawi, Ibn Mardirwayh, Ibn Hibban and Ibn Majah and others had already worked in this area on their own. Allamah al-Suyuti has assembled narrations presented by all of them in this book. But, rather than refer to complete chain of authorities along with narrations, he has found it sufficient to simply name the particular author who has presented that narration under his authority so that, if needed, one could go back to the work and investigate into the ultimate authority. Since his purpose was to put together a mass of narrations, as a result of which, all sorts of narrations, sound and weak, have found their way into his book. Hence, every narration allowed entry by him cannot be considered reliable without investigation into its authority. There are occasions when Allamah al-Suyuti does indicate with each narration the degree of its authority as well. But, as he is known to be fairly easy-going in respect of hadith critique, it is still difficult to fully rely on that too.
8) Al-Tafsir al-Mazhari
This was written by Qadi Thanaullah Panipati (died 1225 Hijrah). He has named this Tafsir as 'Al-Tafsir al-Mazhari' after the name of his spritual master, Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Janan Dehlavi. This Tafsir of his is very simple and clear, and extremely useful to locate brief explanations of Qur'anic verses. Along with the elucidation of Qur'anic words, he has also taken up related narrations in ample details, and in doing so, he has made an effort to accept narrations after much more scrutiny as compared with other commentaries.
9) Ruh al-Ma'ani
The full name of this Tafsir is 'Ruh al-Ma'ani fi Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'Azim wa al-Sab' al-Mathani' and it was written
by Allamah Mahmud al-Alusl (died 1270 Hijrah), the famous scholar of the last period of Baghdad, and comprises of thirty volumes. He has made his best possible effort to make this Tafsir comprehensive. There are exhaustive discussions on language, syntax, letters, style, and on jurisprudence, articles of faith, scholastics, philosophy, astronomy, mysticism and related narratives of Traditions. He has made an attempt to leave no intellectual aspect pertaining to a verse unexplained. In the case of hadith narratives as well, the author of this work has been more cautious as compared to other commentators. From this angle, this is a very comprehensive commentary, and no future venture in connection with the Tafsir of the Qur'an can now afford to ignore its help.
"Surely for those who have disbelieved, it is all the same whether you warn them or you warn them not: they would not believe. Allah has set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing, and on their eyes there is a covering; and for them there lies a mighty punishment."[2:6-7]
In translating the first of these two verses, we have used the English verb 'to warn' for the Arabic word 'Indhaar. This word actually signifies bringing news which should cause alarm or concern, while Ibshaar signifies bringing good news which should make people rejoice. Moreover, Indhar is not the ordinary kind of warning meant to frighten people, but one which is motivated by compassion and love, just as one warns one's children against fire or snakes or beasts.
Hence a thief or a bandit or an aggressor who warns or threatens others cannot be called Nadhir (warner). The latter is a title specially reserved for the Prophets (عليهم السلام), for they warn people against the pains and punishments of the other world out of their compassion and love for their fellow men. In choosing this title for the Prophets (عليهم السلام), the Holy Qur'an has made the subtle suggestion that for those who go out to reform others it is not enough merely to convey a message, but that they must speak to their listeners with sympathy, understanding and a genuine regard for their good.
In order to comfort the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) the first of these verses tells him that some of the disbelievers are so vain, arrogant and opinionated that they, in spite of recognizing the truth, stubbornly persist in their refusal and are not prepared to hear the truth or to see obvious proofs, so that all the efforts he makes for reforming and converting them will bear no fruit, and for them it is all one whether he tries or not.
The next verse explains the reason, that is, Allah has set a seal on their hearts and ears, there is a covering on their eyes, all the avenues of knowing and understanding are thus closed, and now it would be futile to expect any change in them. A thing is sealed so that nothing may enter it from outside; the setting of a seal on their hearts and ears also means that they have altogether lost the capacity for accepting the truth.
The Holy Qur'an describes the condition of these disbelievers in terms of their hearts and ears having been sealed, but in the case of the eyes it refers to a covering. The subtle distinction arises from the fact that an idea can enter the heart from all possible directions and not from one particular direction alone, and so can a sound enter the ears; an idea or a sound can be blocked only by sealing the heart and the ears. On the contrary, the eyes work only in one direction, and can see only the things which lie in front of them; if there is a covering on them, they cease to function. (See Tafsir al-Mazhari)
"Surely for those who have disbelieved, it is all the same whether you warn them or you warn them not: they would not believe. Allah has set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing, and on their eyes there is a covering; and for them there lies a mighty punishment."[2:6-7]
These two verses tell us that the other world is the place where one would receive the real punishment for one's disbelief or for some of one's sins. One may, however, receive some punishment for certain sins even in this world.
Such a punishment sometimes takes a very grievous form - that is, the divine favour which helps one to reform oneself is withdrawn, so that, ignoring how one's deeds are to be assessed on the Day of Judgment, one keeps growing in disobedience and sin, and finally comes to lose even the awareness of evil. In delineating such a situation certain elders have remarked that one punishment for an evil deed is another evil deed which comes after, and one reward for a good deed is another good deed which comes after.
According to a Hadith, when a man commits a sin, a black dot appears on his heart; this first dot disturbs him just as a smudge on a white cloth is always displeasing to us; but if, instead of asking Allah's (سبحانه وتعالى) pardon for the first sin, he proceeds to commit a second, another dot shows up, thus, with every new sin the black dots go on multiplying till the whole heart turns dark, and now he can no longer see good as good nor evil as evil, and grows quite incapable of making such distinctions. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) added that The Holy Qur'an uses the term Ra'n or Rain (rust) for this darkness: as in Mishkat from the Musnad of Ahmad and Tirmidhi.
"No. But what they did has rusted their hearts."[83:14]
According to another authentic Hadith reported by Tirmidhi from the blessed Companion Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنه), the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) has said, "When a man commits a sin, his heart grows dark, but if he seeks Allah's pardon, it becomes clear again." (See Qurtubi)
It should be carefully noted that in announcing that it is all one whether the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) warns the disbelievers or not, the Holy Qur'an adds the condition 'Alaihim (for them), which clearly indicates that it is all one for the disbelieve'rs alone, and not for the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم), for he would in any case get a reward for bringing the message of Allah to his fellow-men and for his efforts to teach and reform them. That is why there is not a single verse in the Holy Qur'an which should dissuade the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) from calling even such people to Islam. From this we may infer that the man who strives to spread the Word of Allah and to reform his fellow-men does always get a reward for his good deed, even if he has not been effective.
A Doubt Is Removed
We may also answer a question which sometimes arises in connection with the second of these two verses that speaks of the hearts and the ears of the disbelievers having been sealed and of their eyes being covered. We find a similar statement in another verse of the Holy Qur'an (as quoted above):
"No. But what they did has rusted their hearts."[83:14]
which makes it plain that it is their arrogance and their evil deeds themselves that have settled in their hearts as a rust. In the verse under discussion, it is this very rust which has been described as 'a seal,' or 'a covering.' So, there is no occasion here to raise the objection that if Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) Himself has sealed their hearts and blocked their senses, they are helpless and cannot be held responsible for being disbelievers, and hence they should not be punished for what they have not themselves chosen to do.
If we consider the two verses (2:7 and 83:14) together, we can easily see why they should be punished - in adopting the way of arrogance and pride they have, wilfully and out of their own choice, destroyed their capacity for accepting the truth, and thus they themselves are the authors of their own ruin. But Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), being Creator of all the actions of His creatures, has in verse 2:7 attributed to Himself the setting of a seal on the hearts and the ears of the disbelievers, and has thus pointed out that when these people insisted, as a matter of their own choice, on destroying their aptitude for receiving the truth, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) produced, as is His way in such cases, the state of insensitivity in their hearts and senses.
[Ma'ariful Qur'an]
"And among men there are some who say, 'We believe in Allah and in the Last Day", Yet they are no believers. They try to deceive Allah and those who believe, when they are deceiving none but their ownselves, and they are not aware. In their hearts there is a malady, so Allah has made them grow in their malady; and for them there lies a grievous punishment, for they have been lying. And when it is said to them, 'Do not spread disorder on the earth", they say, 'We are nothing but reformers!' Beware, it is, in fact, they who spread disorder, but they are not aware. And when it is said to them, 'Believe as people have believed," they say, "Shall we believe as fools believe?"
Beware, it is, in fact, they who are the fools, but they do not know. And when they meet those who believe, they say, 'We have entered Faith;" but when they are alone with their Satans, they say, 'Indeed, we are with you; we were only mocking!' It is Allah who mocks them, and lets them go on wandering blindly in their rebellion.
These are the people who have bought error at the price of guidance; so their trade has brought no gain, nor have they found guidance. Their case is as if a man kindles a fire, and when it illuminates everything around him, Allah takes away their, lights and leaves them in layers of darkness -- they see nothing. Deaf, dumb and blind, they shall not return.
Or (it is) like a rainstorm from the sky carrying darkness, thunder and lightning; they thrust their fingers in their ears against thunderclaps for the fear of death, and Allah encompasses the disbelievers -- and lightning (all but) snatches away their eyes; every time a flash gives them light, they walk by it; and when darkness grows upon them, they stand still. And if Allah willed, He would certainly take away their hearing and their eye: surely Allah is powerful over everything."(2: 8-20)
As we have seen, the Surah Al-Baqarah opens with the declaration that the Holy Qur'an is beyond all doubt. The first twenty verses of the Surah delineate the features of those who believe in the Holy Qur'an and of those who do not -- the first five dealing with the former, under the title of Al-Muttaqoon (the God-fearing); the next two with those disbelievers who were quite open and violent in their hostility -- that is, Al-Kafiroon (the disbelievers or the infidels), and the following thirteen with those crafty disbelievers who claimed to be Muslims but, in reality, were not so. This second variety of the disbelievers has received from the Holy Qur'an the name of Al-Munafiqoon (the hypocrities).
Of these thirteen verses, the first two define the characteristic behaviour of the hypocrites thus:
"And among men there are some who say, 'We believe in Allah and in the Last Day',[2:8]
yet they are no believers. They try to deceive Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and those who believe, when they are deceiving none but their ownselves, and they are not aware. These verses expose their claim to be Muslims as false and deceitful, and show that they are only trying to be clever. Obviously, no one can deceive Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) - probably they themselves could not have had such a delusion. But the Holy Qur'an equates, in a way, their attempt to deceive the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and the Muslims with the desire to deceive Allah Himself (See Qurtubi).
Such a desire, the Holy Qur'an points out, can have only one consequence - they end up by deceiving no one but themselves, for Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) Himself cannot possibly be deceived, and Divine Revelation protects the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) from all trickery and deceit, so that the hypocrites themselves will have to bear, in the other world as well as in this, the punishment for their presumptuousness.
The third verse indicates why the hypocrites behave so foolishly and why they fail to see the folly of their course:
"In their hearts there is a malady, so Allah has made them
grow in their malady."[2:10]
Now, illness or disease, in the general medical sense, is a state in which a man has lost the balanced proportion of the elements within him necessary to keep him healthy, so that his body can no longer function properly, which may finally lead to his total destruction. In the terminology of the Holy Qur'an and the ahadeeth, the word 'disease' is also applied to certain mental or psychic states (we are using the two terms in the original and more comprehensive sense) which hinder man from attaining any degree of spiritual perfection, for they gradually deprive him of the ability to perform good deeds, and even of ordinary human decency, till he meets with his spiritual death.
The great spiritual master, Junaid of Baghdad, has said that just as the diseases of the body arise from an imbalance among the four humours, the diseases of the heart arise from a surrender to one's physical
desires.
According to the present verse, the disease hidden in their hearts is unbelief and rejection of the truth, which is as much a physical sickness as a spiritual one. It is all too obvious that being ungrateful to one's creator and nourisher and going against His commandments is to be spiritually sick. Moreover, to keep this disbelief concealed for the sake of petty worldly gains and not to have the courage to speak out one's mind is no less a disease of the soul.
Hypocrisy is a physical disease too in so far as the hypocrite is always shudderinghfor fear of being exposed. Jealousy being a necessary ingredient of hypocrisy, he cannot bear to see the Muslims growing stronger in the world, and yet the poor hypocrite cannot even have the satisfaction of unburdening his heart of the venom. No wonder that all this tension should express itself in physical ailment.
As for Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) making them grow in their malady, it means that they are jealous of the growing strength of the Muslims, but it is Allah's (سبحانه وتعالى) will to make the position of the Muslims even stronger, as they can see for themselves, which feeds their bile and keeps the disease of their hearts growing.
The fourth and the fifth verses expose the sophistry of the hypocrites - their activities threatened to produce a general chaos and disorder, and yet, in their mealy-mouthed way, they pretended to be men of good will and to be serving the cause of peace and order. The Holy Qur'an makes it clear that oral claims alone do not decide the question whether one is working for order or disorder, for what thief would call himself a thief? It depends on what one does, not on what one says. If a man's activities do result in mischief, he will be called a mischief-maker, even if he had no such intention. These two verses, thus, describe the state of their insensitivity and ignorance - they regard their defects as merits.
The sixth verse shows the other aspect of this depravity - the merit of others (that is, the unalloyed faith of the Muslims) changes into a defect, and even becomes contemptible in their eyes.
[Note: As for the hypocrites declaring openly that they were not prepared to
believe as others did believe, and as for their dubbing the Muslims as fools, it is obvious that they could have been so outspoken only before the
poor among the Muslims, otherwise they used to be very careful about keeping their disbelief concealed]
This verse also places before the hypocrites a criterion of true faith ('Imaan): 'Believe as people have believed." According to the consensus of commentators, the Arabic word "Naas" (people) in this verse refers to the blessed Companions (رضي الله معهم) of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) because it is just these 'people' who had embraced the Faith and had accepted the Holy Qur'an as the word of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) while it was being revealed.
So, the verse indicates that the only kind of 'Iman (faith) acceptable to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is the one which should be similar to that of the blessed Companions (رضي الله معهم), and that the 'Iman of others would be worthy of the name only when they believe in the same things in the same way as the' Companions (رضي الله معهم) did. In other words, the 'Iman of the Companions (رضي الله معهم) is a touchstone for testing the 'Iman of all the other Muslims; any belief or deed which departs from their faith and
practice, however pleasing in its looks or good in its intention, is not valid according to the shari'ah. There is a consensus of commentators on this position.
One should also notice that the hypocrites used to call the blessed Companions (رضي الله معهم) 'fools' (Sufahaa'). This has always been the way of those who go astray - anyone who tries to show them the right path is, in their eyes, ignorant and stupid. But who could, the Holy Qur'an points out, be more stupid than the man who refuses to see clear signs?
In the seventh verse, we see the double-facedness and trickery of the hypocrites. In the company of the Muslims, they would vociferously declare their faith in Islam; but, going back to their own people, would reassure them that they had never left the way of their ancestors, and had been meeting the Muslims only to make fun of them.
The eighth verse is a comment on this attitude of complacency and self-congratulation on the part of the hypocrites. They are mightily pleased with themselves in the belief that they can so easily make a fool of the Muslims and get away with it, while they are, in fact, only making a fool of themselves. For Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has, in His forbearance and mercy, given them a long rope, but this is a provision for their being thrown into ridicule.
It took place like this. Since the hypocrites saw no apparent signs of divine punishment descending on themselves, they were encouraged in their complacency and rebellion, so that the cup of their iniquity was full, and one day they were caught. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) acted like this in response to their mockery; so, the Holy Qur'an describes this divine action too as a mockery on the part of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).
The ninth verse shows the basic denseness of the hypocrites - how they failed to make use of the ordinary sense of discrimination. They had grown up in a pagan society, and knew very well what the way of the infidels was. Now they had become familiar enough with Islam too, and could easily see the difference. But, in their greed, and for the sake of petty worldly profit, they still chose disbelief as against Islam, and bartered away something as invaluable as 'iman (faith) for something as worthless, and even harmful as kufr (infidelity). In giving the name of 'trade' or 'commerce' to this action, the Holy Qur'an suggests that these worldly-wise men had no understanding even of the art of trading.
The last four verses bring out the miserable plight of the hypocrites with the help of two extended similes. The choice of two examples is meant to divide the hypocrites into two kinds of men.
On the one hand were those in whom disbelief had taken deep roots, so that they had little inclination towards Islam, but pretended to be Muslims for worldly motives - the Holy Qur'an compares them to the man who, having found light, again loses it, and is left in darkness.
On the other hand were those who did recognize the truth of Islam, and sometimes wished to be genuine Muslims, but worldly interests would not allow them to do so, and they remained in a perpetual state of hesitation and doubt - they have been likened to the men caught in a thunderstorm who move forward a step or two when there is a flash of lightning, but, when it is over, again get stuck.
In the course of these parables, the hypocrites have also been warned that they are not beyond the power of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) , and that He can, as and when He likes, take away their sight and hearing, and even destroy them. [Ma'ariful Qur'an]
(1) It has sometimes been debated as to whether the distinction between Kufr (infidelity or disbelief) and Nifaaq (hypocrisy) still holds good even after the days of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). The correct position with regard to this question is this. At that time, there were two ways of identifying a hypocrite and declaring him to be one - either Allah Himself informed the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) through revelation that such and such a man was not a Muslim at heart but a hypocrite, or a man through some word or deed overtly repugnant to the Islamic creed or practice showed himself up as a hypocrite, thus providing a clear evidence against himself.
Divine revelation having ceased with the departure of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) from this world, the first way of identifying a hypocrite is no longer available, but the second way is still valid. That is to say, if a man is found, on certain evidence, to be guilty, in word or deed, of rejecting or opposing or distorting or holding in scorn the basic doctrines of Islam undeniably established by the Holy Qur'an, the ahadeeth and ijma' (consensus), he would be regarded as a Munaafiq (hypocrite) in spite of his claim to be a true Muslim.
The Holy Qur'an proves such a hypocrite the name of a 'mulhid' or hereticq: "Those who distort Our verses" (41:40), and the hadith calles him a zindeek. One must also add that since the kufr (infidelity) of such a man has been proved by clear and definite evidence, the Shari'ah will not put him in a separate category, but deal with him as it would deal with any other kafir (infidel). That is why the authentic scholars are unanimous in concluding that after the departure of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) the question of hypocrites ceased to be a relevant one - now anyone who is not a genuine Muslim will be regarded as kiifir.
The famous author, Al-'Ainee (رحمه الله), in his commentary on al-Bukhari, reports from Imam Maalik (رحمه الله) that after the days of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) this is the only available means of identifying 'hypocrisy', and that a man who carries this mark could be called a hypocrite.
(2) A little reflection on these verses would reveal the true nature of Islam and 'Imaan (faith) and also that of kufr (disbelief), for the Holy Qur'an reports the claim of the hypocrites to be Muslims: "We believe in Allah", (2:8), forthwith refutes this claim: "Yet they are no believers." [2:8] In order to understand fully the implications of these verses, one should bear in one's mind the fact that the hypocrites in question were actually Jews.
Now, belief in Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and in Hereafter is, no doubt, an essential part of their creed as well; what was not included in their creed, as defined by their religious scholars, was the belief in the prophethood of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم). In declaring their faith in Islam, the Jews very cleverly used to leave out the belief in the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and mention only two elements: belief in Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and belief in the Hereafter. So far as such a declaration goes, they cannot be called liars, and yet the Holy Qur'an refutes their claim to be Muslims, and regards them as liars. Why?
The fact is that, for one to be a Muslim, it is not sufficient merely to declare one's faith in Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and the Hereafter in any form or manner which suits one's individual or collective fancy. As for that, associators of all kinds do, in one way or another, believe in Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and consider Him to be omnipotent, but the Holy Qur'an does not allow any of these things to pass for 'Imaan (faith). 'Imaan, or faith in Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), must, in order to be valid and worthy of the name, conform to what the Holy Qur'an specifically lays down with regards to the divine names and attributes; similarly, belief in the Hereafter can be valid only when it is true to the specifications of the Holy Qur'an and the hadith.
In the light of this explanation one can see that the Jews who pretended to be Muslims believed neither in Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) nor in the Hereafter according to these definite requirements. For, on the one hand, they regarded the Prophet 'Uzair or Ezra (عليه السلام) as the son of God, and, on the other, cherished the fond belief that the progeny of the prophets (عليهم السلام), no matter how it acted, would always remain 'the chosen of God', and would not be called to account on the Day of Judgment, or at the worst receive only a token punishment. These being their beliefs, the Holy Qur'an rightly rejects their claims to faith in Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and the Hereafter.
(3) As we have already said, verse 13 defines what 'Imaan (faith) really is: "Believe as other men have believed." [2:13] In other words, the criterion for judging one's claim to 'Iman is the 'Iman of the blessed Companions (رضي الله معهم) of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), and any claim to 'Iman which does not conform to it is not acceptable to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم).
If a man has the presumption to interpret an Islamic doctrine or verse of the Holy Qur'an in a way which departs from the explicit and clear explanation provided by the Holy Qur'an itself or by the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), his individual opinion and belief, no matter how much it titillates the palate of his contemporaries or feeds their fancy, will have no value or validity in the eyes of the Shari'ah.
For example, the Qadianis claim that like Muslims they too believe in the doctrine of the Finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم), but in this respect they deviate from what the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) has himself stated, and what the Companions (رضي الله معهم) believed in, and distort the doctrine so as to make room for the prophethood of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian; so, according to the indication of the Holy Qur'an, they come under this indictment: "They are no believers."
In short, if a man interprets an Islamic doctrine in a way which is repugnant to the 'Imaan (faith) of the blessed Companions (رضي الله معهم), and yet claims to be a Muslim on the basis of his adherence to this doctrine and also performs his religious duties exactly like Muslims, he will not be considered a Mu'min (true Muslim) until and unless he agrees to conform to the criterion of 'lmaan laid down by the Holy Qur'an.
Removal of a doubt
We may also dispel a misunderstanding which often arises - and is more often made to arise with an ulterior motive - with regard to the famous dictum in the Hadith and Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) that the 'people of the Ka'bah' (Ahl al-Qiblah), that is, those who turn towards the Ka'bah in offering prescribed Salah cannot be branded as infidels. The verse under discussion clearly defines the meaning of the phrase, Ahl al-Qiblah. The term pertains only to those who do not deny any of the basic essential doctrines and commandments of Islam which are called the Daruriat (essentials). For that matter even the hypocrites mentioned in the Holy Qur'an used to offer their prayers exactly as the Muslims did; but turning towards Ka'bah while praying was not taken to be sufficient to make them acceptable as true Muslims, simply because they did not have faith in all the essentials of Islam as the blessed Companions (رضي الله معهم) did.
Lying is contemptible
(4) The verse: "We believe in Allah and in the Last Day" shows us how disgusting it is to tell a lie - even the hypocrites, with all their hostility to Islam, tried to refrain from it as far as possible. In claiming to be Muslims, they used to mention only their faith in Allah and in the Day of Judgment, but left out the faith in the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) for fear of telling a lie.
Misbehaving With Prophets (عليهم السلام) is to misbehave with Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)
(5) These verses denounce the hypocrites for trying to be clever with Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) Himself and to deceive Him, although no one among them could probably have had such an intention or even thought of such a possibility. What they were actually doing was to try to deceive the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and the Muslims. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has equated this effort with an attempt to deceive Him, and has thus indicated that a man who is in any way impertinent to a prophet or a man of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is ultimately guilty of being impertinent to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) Himself - this should be true above all in the case of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) who stands in his station at the head of all created beings.
The curse of telling lies
(6) There is another subtle and very significant point here. According to these verses, the hypocrites would meet with a grievous punishment for having told lies. Now, their greatest crime was disbelief and hypocrisy in matters of faith, and they had been committing other crimes as well, like nursing envy and malice against Muslims in their hearts and actually conspiring against them. And yet here the grievous punishment has been connected with their habit of telling lies. This is an indication that basically this nefarious habit was their real crime, which gradually led them to hypocrisy and disbelief. In other words, although hypocrisy and disbelief are much greater crimes, yet they arise from the habit of telling lies.
That is why the Holy Qur'an combines the sin of lying with the sin of idol worship in the same phrase:
"Guard yourselves against the filth of idols and against telling
lies."(22:30)
Who are reformers and mischief-makers
(7) As these verses report, when the hypocrites were asked not to spread disorder in the land through their prevarication and double dealing, they used to reply emphatically: ''We are nothing but reformers." [2:11] The word Innuma (nothing but), used in the Arabic text, indicates not merely emphasis but exclusivity. So, their reply would mean that they were nothing but reformers, the servants of order, and that their activities could have nothing to do with disorder.
Commenting on their reply, the Holy Qur'an says: "Beware, it is, in fact, they who spread disorder, but they are not aware."[2:12]
Now, we learn two things from this comment. Firstly, the activities of the hypocrites did actually produce disorder in the land. Secondly, they did not indulge in these activities with the express intention or design of creating 'disorder - they were not even aware of the possibility that their actions could be the cause of disorder. For, among the things which spread disorder in the world, there are some which are commonly recognized to be mischievous and disorderly activities, and hence every sensible and conscientious man refrains from them e.g., theft, robbery, murder, rape etc.; on the other hand, there are some which in their external aspect do not appear to be mischief or disorder, but, working unseen, they have the necessary consequence of destroying the morals of men which, in its turn, opens the door to all kinds of disorder.
This is exactly what the hypocrites were doing. No doubt, they refrained from theft, robbery etc.; it was on this count that they denied their being mischievous, and emphatically asserted that they were serving the cause of order. But all this while they had been freely giving vent to their malice and envy by conspiring with the enemies of the Muslims. These are things which finally bring man down to the level of beasts. Once he has lost his awareness of ethical values and human decency, even an average man becomes an agent of social disorder - of a disorder much greater than thatreleased by thieves or robbers, or even beasts are capable of producing. For, the mischief of robbers and beasts can be controlled by the physical power of law and government. But laws are made and enforced by men. What happens to laws, when man has ceased to be man, can easily be witnessed all around us in the world of today. Everyone takes it for granted that humanity is on the march and the modern man is so far the ultimate in civilization; the network of educational institutions covers every hamlet on the face of the earth; legislative bodies keep buzzing night and day; organizations for the promulgation of laws spend billions, and circumlocution offices proliferate. And yet crime and disorder keep in step with the march of civilization. The reason is simple.
Law is not an automatic machine; it requires men to make it work. If man ceases to be man, neither laws nor bureaucratic agencies can provide a remedy for the all-pervading disorder. It is for this that the greatest benefactor of mankind, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) , concentrated all his attention on making men real men - in all the plenitude of the term. Once this has been achieved, crime or disorder comes to an end of itself without the help of enormous police forces and extensive system of law-courts. As long as people acted upon his teathings in certain parts of the world, man saw a kind of peace and order prevail the like of which had never been witnessed before nor is likely to be witnessed when these teachings are abandoned or disregarded.
In so far as actual practice is concerned, the essence of the teachings of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), is fear of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and solicitude for the assessment of one's deeds on the Day of Judgment. If these are absent, no constitution or legal code, nor administrative body or university can force or induce man to keep away from crime. Those who run the world in our day invent ever-new administrative measures to prevent crime, but they not only neglect the very soul of administration, the fear of Allah, but even deploy the means of destroying it - all of which has the necessary consequence that the remedy only helps to feed the malady.
To another aspect of the question, it is easy enough to find a cure for thieves and robbers and for all those who create disorder openly. But the miscreants who have been described in these verses always appear in the garb of reformers, brandishing colourful schemes of social amelioration which are only a mask for personal interests, and for raising the slogan: "We are nothing but reformers." [2:11]
Hence it is that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), whik asking men not to spread disorder on the earth, has also said in another place:
وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ الْمُفْسِدَ مِنَ الْمُصْلِحِ
"And Allah knows the one who makes mischief distinct from him who promotes good."(2:220)
This is an indication that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) alone knows the states of men's hearts and their intentions, and He alone knows the nature and consequences of each human deed as to whether it would help the cause of order or of disorder. So, to serve the cause of order, it is not sufficient merely to possess such an intention; much more essential than that is to orient oneself in thought and deed in harmony with the Shari'ah, for an action may, in spite of the best intentions, sometimes result in mischief and disorder, if it is not guided by the Shari'ah. [Ma'ariful Qur'an]
"O men, worship your Lord - who created you and those before you, so that you may become God-fearing - who made the earth a bed for you and the sky a roof, and sent down water from the sky, then through it brought forth, out of fruits, provision for you. So, do not set up parallels to Allah when you know."(2: 21-22)
The second verse of the Surah 'Al-Baqarah' provides the answer to the prayer made in the Surah Al-Fatihah "Guide us in the straight path," - that is to say, the guidance man has prayed for is present in this book, for the Holy Qur'an is, from the beginning to the end, a detailed account of the straight path. Then, the Surah proceeds to divide men into three groups according to whether they accept the guidance of the Holy Qur'an or not.
Three verses speak of the true and God-fearing Muslims, who not only accept but also act upon the guidance, and the next two verses of those disbelievers who oppose it openly.
Then come thirteen verses dealing with the hypocrites who are hostile to this guidance, but, for the sake of petty worldly interests or in seeking to harm the Muslims, try to keep their disbelief concealed and to present themselves as Muslims. Thus, the first twenty verses of the Surah, in dividing men into three groups on the basis of their acceptance or rejection of the guidance, indicate that the proper criterion for dividing men into groups is neither race or colour, nor language nor geography, but religion. Hence those, who believe in Allah and follow the guidance He has provided in the Holy Qur'an, form one nation, and those who disbelieve form a different nation - the Holy Qur'an calls the former the 'party of Allah' and the latter - 'the party of Satan' (58:19-22)
Then, the present verses (21 and 22), addressing the three groups together, present the message for which the Holy Qur'an has been revealed. In asking men to give up the worship of created beings and to worship Allah alone, they adopt a mode of expression which not only makes an affirmation but also supports it with arguments so clear that even an average man, only if he uses his common sense, cannot help being convinced of the Oneness of God.
Commentary
In starting the address, verse 21 uses the Arabic word 'An-nas', which signifies man in general, or man as such - so, the word covers all the three groups we have just mentioned. And the message delivered: "Worship your Lord." The Arabic word 'Ibaadah (worship) connotes expending all energies one has in total obedience to somebody, and shunning all disobedience out of one's awe and reverence. (Ruh al-Bayan)
We have earlier explained the meaning of the word Rabb (one who gives nurture). Let us add that the choice of this particular name from among the Beautiful names of Allah is very meaningful in the present context, for the affirmation has thus been combined with the argument in a very short sentence. The word Rabb indicates that only He is, or can be, worthy of being worshipped, He is the final and absolute Cause of nurturing man - Who changes man through gradual stages of development from a drop of water into healthy, sentient and rational being, and Who provides the means for his sustenance and growth. This truth is so obvious that even an ignorant or intellectually dull man would, on a little reflection, not fail to see and admit that such a power of nurturing can belong only to Allah, and not to a created being. What can a creature do for man, when it owes its very existence to the Creator? Can a needy one come to the help of another?
And if it appears to be doing so, the act of nurturing must in reality and ultimately belong to the One Being on whom both have to depend in order to exist at all. So, who else but the Rabb can be worthy of adoration and worship?
The sentence is addressed to all the three groups of men, and for each it has a different meaning. "Worship your Lord": the phrase calls upon the disbelievers to give up worshipping created beings and to turn to the Creator; it asks the hypocrites to be sincere and true in their faith; it commands the sinning Muslims to change their ways and try to be perfect in their obedience to Allah; and it encourages the God-fearing Muslims to be steadfast in their worship and obedience, and to make a greater effort in the way of Allah (Ruh al-Bayan)
The two verses proceed to enlarge upon the theme by specifying certain special qualities of the Rabb: "Who created you and those before you." This is a quality which one cannot even imagine to belong to a created being, for it can pertain only to the Creator - that is, the quality of giving existence to what did not exist before, and of producing from the darkness and filth of the mother's womb a creature as lovely and noble as man.
In adding to the phrase: "who created you" the words, "and those before you," the verse shows that Allah alone is the Creator of all mankind. It is also significant that the verse mentions only "those before you" and not "those who will come after you", and through this omission suggests that there will not be any Ummah (a traditional community formed by all the followers of a prophet) to succeed the Ummah of the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam), for no prophet will be sent down after the Last Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam), and hence no new 'Ummah' will arise.
The final phrase of verse 21 has been translated here as "so that you may become God-fearing." It may also be translated to mean "So that you may save yourselves from hell", or "So that you may guard yourselves against evil." But the point is that one can hope to attain salvation and paradise only when one worships Allah alone, and does not associate anyone else with Him.
Before we proceed, we must clarify a very important doctrinal point. The phrase (لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ) which has been translated here as "so that you may become God-fearing" employs the Arabic particle La'alla which indicates an expectation or hope, and is used on an occasion when it is not definite that a certain action or event would necessarily be actualized. Now, if one does really possess 'Imaan (faith) and does really believe in Tawheed, one would, in consequence, definitely attain salvation and go to Heaven, as Allah Himself has promised. But here the certainty has been expressed in terms of an expectation or hope in order to make man realize that no human action by itself and in itself can bring salvation as a necessary reward. One can attain salvation and go to Heaven only by the grace of Allah alone. The ablility to perform good deeds, and 'Imaan itself is only a sign of divine grace, not the cause.
The next verse recounts some other qualities of Allah with regard to the act of nurturing, with the difference that while verse 21 spoke of the bounties of Allah pertaining to the human self, verse 22 speaks of those pertaining to man's physical environment. Since man's being basically has two dimensions, one internal (Anfus) and the other external (Afaq), the two verses, in a summary way, encompass all the kinds of blessings that descend on man from Allah.
Among the cosmic bounties, the first to be mentioned is the earth which has been made a bed for man. It is neither soft and fluid like water on which one cannot settle, nor hard like stone or steel that should make it difficult to be harnessed for man's purposes, but has been given a middle state between the soft and the hard for man to utilize it conveniently in his daily life. The Arabic word, Firash (bed), which literally means 'somethings spread out', does not necessarily imply that the earth is not round, for the great globe of the earth, in spite of being round, appears to be flat to the onlooker, and the usual way of the Holy Qur'an is to describe things in an aspect which should be familiar to an average man, literate or illiterate, city dweller or rustic.
The other bounty is that the sky has been made like an ornamented and beautiful ceiling. The third is that Allah sent down water from the sky. This, again, does not necessarily mean that water comes down directly from the sky without the medium of clouds - even in everyday idiom, a thing coming down from above is said to be coming from the sky. The Holy Qur'an itself, on several occasions, refers to Allah sending down water from the clouds:
"Did you send it down from the clouds, or did We send it?"(56:69)
وَأَنْزَلْنَا مِنَ الْمُعْصِرَاتِ مَاءً ثَجَّاجًا
"And- have sent down from the rain-clouds abundant water."(78:14)
The fourth bounty is to bring forth fruits with this water, and to provide nourishment to man from them. The first three of these bounties are of an order in which man's effort or action, his very being even, does not enter at all. There was no sign of man when the earth and the sky already existed, and clouds and rain too were performing their functions. As for these things, not even an ignorant fool could ever fancy that all this could be the work of a man or an idol, or of a created being. In the case of producing fruits and making them serve as nourishment for man, however, a simpleton may, on a superficial view, attribute this to human effort and ingenuity, for one can see man digging the earth, sowing the seed and protecting the plants.
But the Holy Qur'an has, in certain verses, made it quite clear that human effort has nothing to do with the act of growing trees and bringing out fruits, for human activity accomplishes nothing more than removing the hindrances to the birth and growth of a plant, or protecting it from being destroyed. Even the water which feeds the plant is not the creation of the farmer - all he does is to make the water reach the plant at the proper time in a proper quantity. The actual birth and growth of the tree, and the putting forth of leaves, branches and fruits is the work of Divine Power, and of no one else. Says the Holy Qur'an:
"Have you considered the soil you till? Is it you that give them growth or We?"(56: 63-64)
The only answer which man can find to this question posed by the Holy Qur'an is that undoubtedly it is Allah alone who makes the plants grow.
In short, this verse mentions four qualities of Allah which cannot possibly be found in a created being. Having learnt from these two verses that it is Allah, and no one else, who brings man into existence out of nothingness, and provides the means of his sustenance through the earth, the sky, the rains and the fruits, one cannot, if one possesses a little common sense, help acknowledging that Allah, and no one else, is worthy of all worship and obedience, and that the ultimate iniquity is to turn away from Him who made man exist and gave him the means of survival and growth, and to prostrate oneself before others who are as helpless as man. Allah has put man at the head of all His creatures so that the universe should serve him, while he should totally devote himself to the worship and remembrance of
Allah and obedience to Him without distraction. But there are men so given to their indolence and ignorance that they forget the One God, and in consequence, have to serve a billion gods.
In order to rescue men from this slavery to others, the Holy Qur'an says at the end of this verse: "So, do not set up parallels to Allah when you know."
That is to say, once one has understood that, in reality, Allah alone is the Creator and the Provider, one will have also understood that no one else can be worthy of worship and of being associated with Allah as an equal or rival god.
To sum up, these two verses call men to what is the essential purpose of sending down all the Divine Books and all the prophets (alayhimusallam) - Tawheed, or the affirmation and the worship of the one God. Tawheed is a doctrine which has an all-pervading and radically transforming impact on every sphere of human life, internal as well as external, individual as well as collective. For, once a man comes to believe that there is only One Being who alone is the Creator, the Lord and Master of the universe, who alone is all-powerful and ordains the slightest movement of the smallest atom, and without whose will no one can harm or do good to another - such a man, rich or poor, in joy or sorrow, would always look only towards that One Being, and gain the insight to discover behind the veil of apparent causes the workings of the same Omnipotence.
If our modern worshippers of 'energy' only had some understanding of the doctrine of Tawheed, they would easily see that power resides neither in steam nor in electricity, but that the source of all powers is the One Being who has created steam and electricity. To know this, however, one must have insight. The greatest philosopher in the world, if he fails to see this truth, is no better than the rustic fool who saw a railway-train move at the waving of a green flag and stop at the waving of a red flag, and concluding that it was the power of the green and red flags that controlled the movement of the huge train, made an obeisance to them. People would laugh at the rustic, for he did not know that the two flags are merely signs, while the train is actually run by the driver, or, better still, by the engine. A more perceptive observer would ascribe the function to the steam inside the engine. But he who believes in the One God would laugh at all these wise men, for he can see through the steam, the fire and the water even, and discover behind the appearances the might of the One and Only Being who has created fire and water, and whose will makes them perform their allotted functions.
The Doctrine Of Tawheed: A source of peace in human life
Tawheed, the most fundamental doctrine of Islam, is not a mere theory, but the only effective way of making man a man in the real sense of the term - it is his first and last refuge and the panacea for all his ills. For the essence of this doctrine is that every possible change in the physical universe, its very birth and death is subject to the will of the One and Only Being, and a manifestation of His wisdom. When this doctrine takes hold of a man's mind and heart, and becomes his permanent state, all dissension ceases to exist and the world itself changes into a paradise for him, as he knows that the enmity of the foe and the love of the friend equally proceed from Allah who rules over the hearts of both. Such a man lives his life in perfect peace, fearing none and expecting nothing from anyone: shower him with gold, or put him in irons, he would remain unmoved, for he knows where it comes from.
This is the significance of the basic declaration of the Islamic creed, or لا إله إلا الله (there is no God but Allah). But, obviously, it is not enough to affirm the Oneness of God orally; one must have a complete certitude, and must also have the truth always present close to one's heart, for Tawheed is to see God as one, and not merely to say that He is one.
Today, the number of those who can respect this basic formula of the Islamic creed runs to millions all over the world - far more than it ever did, but mostly it is just an expense of breath: their lives do not show the colour of Tawheed; or otherwise, they should have been like their forefathers who were daunted neither by wealth nor by power, awed neither by numbers nor by pomp and show to turn their back upon the Truth - when a prophet could all by himself stand up against the world, and say: "Then plot against me, and give me no respite!" (7:195). If the blessed Companions (radiallahu anhum) and their successors (rahmatullahi alaihim) came to dominate the world in a few years, the secret lay in this Tawheed, correctly understood and practised. May Allah bless all the Muslims with this great gift! [Ma'ariful Qur'an]
"And if you are in doubt as to that which we have revealed to Our servant, then bring a Surah the like of this, and do call your supporters other than Allah, if ou are true. But if you do not - and you never shall - then guard yourselves against the fire, the fuel of which are men and stones. It has been prepared for disbelievers."(2: 23-24)
The Guidance which the Holy Qur'an provides to man rests on two basic principles - Tawheed (the Oneness of God) and Risalah (Prophethood).
The two preceding verses (21 and 22) affirm the Oneness of God in presenting certain acts peculiar to Allah alone as a proof; these two verses (23 and 24) affirm the prophethood of Muhammad (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) in presenting the word of Allah as a proof. In both the places the mode of argument is the same. The preceding verses mention certain things which no one could or can do except Allah - for example, creating the sky and the earth, sending down water from the sky, bringing forth fruits with water; and the point of the argument is that since no one except Allah can do these things, no one else can be worthy of being worshipped.
These two verses refer to a kind of speech which cannot possibly come from anyone except Allah, and the like of which no human being can ever produce just as the helplessness of man and other creatures in the matter of creating the sky and the earth etc. is a demonstration of the fact that these are the acts of Allah alone, in the same way the helplessness of all created beings in the matter of producing something equal to or resembling the Word of Allah is a demonstration of the fact that this is the Word of Allah alone. Here the Holy Qur'an challenges all men the world over, those of the present and those of the future, to produce even a small passage like this, if they suppose it to be the work of a man, for other men may also be capable of accomplishing what one man has achieved. In case individuals should fail in such an effort, the Holy Qur'an allows them the facility of calling to their aid all possible helpers - they could even hold an international 'workshop' for the purpose.
The next verse forewarns them that such a venture would never succeed, and threatens with the fires of hell, for having once acknowledged his inability to produce something to equal the Holy Qur'an, which is a clear evidence of its being the word, not of man but of a Being who stands above all created things, if a man still persists in his disbelief, he is only seeking a place in hell. The Holy Qur'an asks men to beware of such a fate.
Thus, the verses, in emphasizing the miraculous character of the Holy Qur'an, present it as the evidence of the prophethood of Mubarnmad (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) and of his truth.
No doubt, the miracles of the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) are innumerable, each more marvellous than the other, but in mentioning only one of these here - one that pertains to the sphere of knowledge, namely, the Holy Qur'an - Allah has pointed out that this is the greatest. Even among the miracles of all the prophets (alayhimusallam) this particular miracle has a special distinction. It has been the way of Allah to show His omnipotence by manifesting some miracles through each prophet or messenger. But each miracle appears with a certain prophet, and ends with him. The Holy Qur'an, on the contrary, is a miracle which is to survive till the end of time.
As for the phrase: "And if you are in doubt," we may remark that the verse employs the Arabic word "raib" for 'doubt'. According to Imam Raghib al-Isfahani, 'raib' signifies a kind of hesitation or indecision or suspicion which has no basis, and can therefore be easily overcome with the help of a little reflection. That is why the Holy Qur'an says that having this kind of doubt (raib) is not consistent with being a man of knowledge, even if he were not a Muslim: "So that the people of the Book and Muslims should have no doubt." (74:31)
Similarly, at the very beginning of the Surah Al-Baqarah the Holy Qur'an refers to itself as the Book "In which there is no doubt (raib)." In the present verse again it uses the word raib to say: "if you are in doubt", the implication being that the truths enunciated by the Holy Qur'an are so clear and evident that there is no room for any hesitation or indecision or suspicion to arise except for those who do not possess knowledge.
As for the people who hesitate in accepting the Holy Qur'an as the Word of Allah, and suspect that it is the work of the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) or of some other man, the verse proposes an easy test - they should produce a passage (a Surah) resembling or equalling the Holy Qur'an in order to substantiate their claim; but if they fail, they should finally acknowledge the Holy Qur'an to be undoubtedly the Word of Allah.
The Arabic word "Surah" means a "limited or definite piece"; as a technical term, a Surah is a passage of the Holy Qur'an which has been set apart from other passages by Divine Commandment (Wahy), there being 114 Surahs in the Holy Qur'an, some long and others very short. The present verse uses the word Surah without the definite article "Al" and hence includes the shortest of the Surahs in the challenge thrown out to the doubters.
At this point, the objection can arise that the failure of one man or one group of men does not necessarily argue the inability of another man or group in the matter. The Holy Qur'an meets this objecbion by declaring: "And do call your supporters other than Allah, if you are true."
The Arabic word used here is Shuhada', the plural or Shahid which signifies 'one who is present' - a witness is called a Shahid, for he has to be present in the court of law. In this verse, the word Shuhada' refers either to men in general - implying that the doubters could call to their aid any men whatsoever from anywhere in the world -, or specifically to the idols of the disbelievers of Makkah who thought that these blocks of stone would appear on the Day of Judgment as witnesses in their favour.
The next verse foretells that the doubters shall never succeed, even if they tried with all their individual or collective might, in producing a passage which could resemble the Holy Qur'an. If they should still persist in their denial, the verse threatens them with the fire of Hell, which has already been prepared for such stubborn disbelievers. The infidels of Makkah, history tells us, were ready to give up their very lives for the purpose of obliterating Islam. In throwing out to them this challenge, the Holy Qur'an gave them an easy chance of accomplishing their purpose, and even hurt their tribal sense of honour by predicting that they would never be able to take up the challenge.
And yet not a single contender came up for the trial, which was a clear admission of their helplesseness and an acknowledgment of the Holy Qur'an being the Word of Allah. This fact establishes the Holy Qur'an as the evident miracle of the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam). Since the challenge still stands, the miracle too lives on, and shall live to the end of the world.
The Holy Qur'an: A living miracle
As for the Holy Qur'an being a miracle, the subject has been thoroughly discussed in scores of books by the greatest scholars in all the ages and in different languages. We may mention a few outstanding ones: Nazm al-Qur'an by al-Jahiz, written in the 3rd century A.H.; I'jaz al-Qur'an by Abu 'AbdullahwWasiti, written early in the 4th century; a small book, 'I'jaz al-Qur'an by Ibn 'Isa Rabbani, written later in the 4th century; a long and comprehensive book, 'I'jaz al-Qur'an by Qadi Abu Bakr Baqillani, written early in the 5th century; the subject has also been discussed at length in well-known books like 'Al-Itqan' by Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, al-Khasa'is al-Kubra by the same author, At-Tafsir al-Kabir by Imam Razi; and 'Ash-Shifa' by Qadi Iyadd; more recently still, I'jaz al-Qur'an by Mustafa Sadiq al-Rafi'i, and 'Al-Wahy al-Muhammadi' by Sayyid Rashid Rida; and finally I'jaz al-Qur'an by Shabbir Ahmad Uthmani.
We may, in passing, draw attention to another peculiar quality of the Holy Qur'an that, beside comprehensive and voluminous commentaries, scores of books have been written on different aspects of the Book of Allah and on the innumerable considerations which arise from it. We cannot provide even a brief resume of all that has been written on the subject, the literature being so vast. We shall, however, give a few brief indications as to why the Holy Qur'an is held to be a miracle of the Prophet of Islam (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam):
Qualities that make the Qur'an a miracle
(1) The Holy Qur'an is incomparable for its comprehensiveness even among the Sacred Books of the world; on the one hand, it brings to man the ultimate knowledge of a metaphysical order, and, on the other, provides guidance for all the spheres of human life, spiritual or physical, individual or collective. Those who suspect the Book to have been the product of a human agency should remind themselves of the simple fact that it appeared at a time and in a place which offered no facilities for acquiring the kind of education which is necessary for composing such a book - in fact, the Arabs were in those days known as the Ummiyyun, 'the illiterates', and that the Book came through the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) who could not even read or write, and who had not tried to learn even the arts of poetry and rhetoric on which the Arabs prided themselves. This fact, in itself, is nothing short of a miracle.
(2) The Holy Qur'an is, no doubt, a guidance for all men without any distinction of time or place, but the first to be addressed were the Arabs of the Age of Ignorance. In affirming that no human being could produce even a few verses comparable to its own, the Holy Qur'an did not confine the challenge merely to the richness of meaning and the quality of wisdom, but included the mode of expression as well. Now, the 'illiterates' of Arabia had no pretensions to wisdom or knowledge, but they certainly fancied themselves for their eloquence - to them, the aliens were just 'The Dumb' (Al-'Ajam).
And some of them were so mad in their hostility to the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) that, if they could see a chance of hurting him in doing so, they would readily have slit their own throats out of sheer spite. And yet no one came forward to accept the challenge. This helplessness in a contest which should have been easy for a people so gifted with a spontaneous eloquence - does it not argue that the Holy Qur'an is not the word of man, but the Word of Allah? As a matter of fact, the most discriminating among the contemporary Arabs did admit, though in private, that the Holy Qur'an was inimitable; some of them had the honesty to say so in public and some accepted Islam, while others in spite of this admission, could not give up the ways of their forefathers, or sufficiently overcome tribal rivalries, particularly their hostility to Banu 'Abd Munaf, the tribe of the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) to embrace Islam.
Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti has, in his 'Al-Khasa'is al-Kubra', reported a number of incidents which illustrate the point. When the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) and the Holy Qur'an began to attract the attention of people even outside Makkah, the enemies of Islam became worried about the huge crowds that would assemble there for the annual pilgrimage and would be likely to fall under his spell. Their tribal chiefs wanted to find an effective strategem to prevent such a situation from arising, and they referred the problem to Walid ibn Muhgira, the eldest and the wisest among them. To begin with, they suggested that they could tell the pilgrims that the Holy Qur'an was (May Allah forgive us for reporting a blasphemy) only the ravings of a lunatic. But Walid could foresee that when the pilgrims heard the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) speaking with such lucidity and eloquence, they would immediately know that the allegation was not true.
Next they thought of dismissing him as a mere poet. But Walid warned them that, an understanding of the arts of poetry being innate in most Arabs, the pilgrims would easily see that he was no poet. Then, they considered the possibility of putting him down as one of the soothsayers. But wafid feared that they would again discover how false the imputation was, and would only turn against the accusers. In summing up his own impression of the Holy Qur'an, he said: "By God, there is not a single man among you who knows more about Arabic poetry than me. And, by God, I find in this speech a kind of sweetness and grace which I have never found in the speech of any poet or of any eloquent man." After a good deal of thought, he finally advised them to accuse the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) of being a sorcerer who employed his black art in separating sons from fathers, and wives from husbands.
Exactly the same was the impression made by the Holy Qur'an on many other people, who expressed similar views - for example, Nadr ibn Harith, a tribal chief; Unais, the brother of the blessed Companion, Abu Dharr (radiallahu anh); As'ad ibn Zurarah, another tribal chief, and Qais ibn Nasibah of the Banu Sulaim tribe. Even the vilest enemies of the Holy prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) like Akhnas ibn shariq, Abu Sufyan and, of all persons, Abu Jahl himself are reported to have stealthily crept in the darkness of night to the house of the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) to hear him reciting the Holy Qur'an, and to have been so entranced by the Word of Allah that they could not tear themselves away from the place till it was dawn. Yet they continued to be stubborn in their denial, for, as Abu Jahl confessed in so many words, they had been successfully vying with the tribe of Banu 'Abd Munaf in all possible virtues, but now that their rivals had produced a prophet, they could not come up with something to match the claim.
In short, the Arabs failed to take up the challenge of the Holy Qur'an, and admitted their helplessness; nor has any one else succeeded in the attempt since then - all of which goes to show that the Holy Qur'an can only be the Word of Allah, not of man.
(3) The Holy Qur'an made many predictions about future events, and things turned out to be exactly as it had declared. For example, the infidels of Makkah were not prepared to believe the prophecy that the people of Rum, or the Byzantians, would finally rout the Persians after having suffered an initial defeat. The infidels made it a point of honour, and put a wager on it, but were humiliated to see the prophecy come true before the stipulated period of ten years was over.
(4) The Holy Qur'an gives a clear account of some of the earlier prophets, of their Shari'ah and of their peoples, and of many historical events since the beginning of the world. Even the best scholars among the Jews and the Christians did not possess such exact information. The Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam), who had never attended a school nor been in the company of a learned man, could not have provided all these details for himself without having received the knowledge from Allah.
(5) Several verses of the Holy Qur'an disclosed what certain people had tried to keep concealed in their hearts, and they had to confess that this was just what they had been thinking. We shall cite only two instances.
"When two of your battalions thought of falling away. . ." (3:122) and, "They say in their hearts, Why does Allah not punish us for what we say?."
(6) The Holy Qur'an predicted that such and such men would not be able to do such and such things, and then it turned out that, in spite of having the power, they could not do these things. The Jews claimed to be the 'Chosen of God' and His friends. Since one is always eager to meet one's friends, the Holy Qur'an asked them to substantiate their claim by wishing for death and for going back to Allah, but at the same time declared: "And they shall never wish for it" (62:7). Now, expressing a wish for death should not be difficult for anyone, if he wishes to establish his bonafides; for the Jews in particular, it would have been an easy way of refuting the Holy Qur'an. But, in spite of all their hatred for the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam), they knew in their hearts that the Holy Qur'an was the Book of Allah, and feared that if they told a lie in this matter, they would actually die. And they kept quiet.
(7) When the Holy Qur'an is recited (in Arabic, of course), it affects in a strange and indefinable way the heart of even a casual listener, Muslim or non-Muslim. History reports many instances of people accepting Islam merely because they happened to be passing by when the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) was reciting the Holy Qur'ran - such was the case, for example, of the blessed Companion Jubair ibn Mut'im (radiallahu anh).
(8) The best book in the world, if read four or five times, begins to lose its charm even for the most fervent admirer. But the peculiar quality of the Holy Qur'an, and of it alone, is that the more one reads or recites it, the more eager one becomes to do so again and again. Even among the sacred books of the world, the Holy Qur'an is unique in this respect.
(9) The sacred books of many religions have been lost or no longer exist in an integral and authentic form. But Allah has promised in the Holy Qur'an that He Himself will protect this Book, and preserve it against the slightest change upto the end of time. During the fourteen centuries of the history of Islam, millions of copies, written by hand or printed, have been spread all over the globe as no other sacred book has been. But in this respect the greatest miracle of the Holy Qur'an is that in all the ages and in all the places where Muslims have lived, there have been millions of people who have known the Book by heart without the alteration of a single consonant or vowel. So, Allah has preserved His Last Book not merely in the shape of written words, but, above all in the hearts of men. Allah is Ever-Living. so will His Word live for ever beyond the interference of created beings.
(10) There is no other book which should comprehend all the forms of knowledge and wisdom in so short a space as does the Holy Qur'an, fulfilling all possible spiritual needs of man, and providing him with guidance for all the spheres of his internal or external, individual or social activity.
(11) It is not merely a theoretical guidance that the Holy Qur'an has offered. Which other book, sacred or otherwise, has had such a vast and deep impact on the history of mankind in such a short time? Which other book has brought about such a radical change in the individual and collective life of millions of men within the space of a few years ? For when the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) departed from this world, Islam had, in spite of all opposition and without the modern media of communication, already established a new order of life all over the Arabian peninsula, and within the next few decades the message of the Holy Qur'an had reached India on one side, and Spain on the other. Can such pervasiveness be anything but a miracle?
Answers to some doubts
Before we leave the subject, we may also deal with certain doubts which have been expressed with regard to the miraculous nature of the Holy Qur'an. It has, for example, been suggested that some people, at one time or another, must have taken up the challenge of the Holy Qur'an, and produced something comparable to it, but their compositions have not been preserved and have not come down to us.
But the objection is fanciful. The number of people hostile to Islam has, in any age, been much larger than that of Muslims, and they have possessed far greater and much more efficacious means of publicity than Muslims ever have. If any seemingly successful attempt had been made to produce an imitation of the Holy Qur'Fan, it would not only have been preserved but also been widely publicised. After all, the infidels of Makkah used to bring all kinds of wild and fanatic charges against the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam). For instance, they accused him of having learnt all that he taught from the monk, Buhira whom he had met only once in Syria; or, they imputed the Holy Qur'an to the authorship of a Roman slave who, being an alien, could not have been a master of the Arabic language and of the characteristically Arab form of eloquence - the Holy Qur'an itself has reported this calumny.
But even they, for all their venom, never pretended to have produced something resembling the Holy Qur'an. Anyhow, whatever funny or flimsy attempts have been made to match the Holy Qur'an are on record in the books of history. For example, Musaylama of Yemen, known as the Great Liar, came out with a string of obscenities as a reply to the Word of Allah, but his own people dismissed them for what they were worth. At a later date, the famous man of letters, 'Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa' thought of trying his wits against the Holy Qur'an, but soon gave up in despair. 1*
The point, however, is that if someone had really produced even three or four verses comparable to those of the Holy Qur'an, the matter could not have gone without being passed down to us at least by the enemies of Islam. Of late a different kind of objection has sometimes been raised.
They say that the impossibility of successfully imitating a book does not by itself argue that it is the Word of Allah or a miracle, for poets like Shakespeare or Hafiz too have never been imitated successfully. But a miracle is, by definition, something which occurs without the like means having been employed. Every poet or writer in the world;even the greatest, is known to have undergone a process of education and training in his art, and to have made use of certain means and methods which are humanly possible. But the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam), as we have said before, did not even know reading or writing, and was never interested in learning the arts of eloquence. Moreover, it is not merely a question of literary style.
In considering the Holy Qur'an as a miracle, we must, above all, take into account the spiritual efficacy and the transforming power it has, and which it has been showing these last fourteen hundred years. 2*
[1* A latter-day adventurist has been the Irish novelist James Joyce who
congratulated himself on having faced up to the Challenge of the Holy Qur'an in his "Finnegans Wake". Soon recognized to be at least very funny, this book can already be seen to be going up in a smoke of jokes.]
[2* We may conclude this discussion by quoting a passage from the well-known scholar of comparative religion and traditional civilizations, Frithjof Schuon: The superhuman value of a revealed Book cannot be apparent in an absolute fashion from its earthly form, nor from its conceptual content alone; in reality, the Divine and therefore miraculous quality of such a Book is of an order quite other than that of the most perfect dialectic or the most brilliant poetry. This quality shows itself first of all in a richness of meanings - a feature that is incapable of being imitated - and also in what might be called the underlying divine 'magic' which shines through the formal expression and proves itself by its results in souls, and in the world, in space and in time. Only this Divine substance can explain the spiritual and theurgic efficacy of the Quranic verses, with its consequences in miraculously rapaid expansion of primitive Islam in the conditions in which it took place, as well as in the stability of Moslem institutions and the extraordinary fruitfulness of Islamic doctrine." ("Dimensions of Islam", London, 1970 page 55).]
"And give good tidings to those who believe and do what is virtuous, that for them there are gardens beneath which rivers flow. Every time they are given a fruit from there to eat, they will say, 'this is what we have been given before'; and they are given one resembling the other. And for them there shall be wives purified; and there they are eternal."[2:25]
Verse 24 spoke of the fire of hell which has been prepared to punish those who do not believe in the Holy Qur'an; the present verse announces the reward for those who believe.
As for the fruits with which believers will be regaled in Paradise, some commentators say that this concerns only the fruits of Paradise which would be alike in shape, but each time different in taste. Others say that these fruits would resemble the fruits of the earth in shape alone, but their taste would be totally different. Anyhow, the point is that the believers would have a kind of joy in Paradise they had never known before, and that this joy would keep renewing itself at every moment.
Thus, the fruits of Paradise may share a common name with the fruits of the earth, but they will be of a different nature. The wives which the believers will have in Paradise, will be clean externally and pure internally - that is to say, free from everything that is physically disgusting like excrement and menstruation, and from everything that is morally disgusting like bad temper or unfaithfulness.
The joys of Paradise will also be unlike the joys of the earth in that they will not be short-lived, nor will one have to be trembling with the fear of losing them, for the believers shall live in perpetual bliss for ever.
In giving these good tidings to those who believe, the Holy Qur'an adds another condition - that of good deeds -, for without good deeds, one cannot deserve such good tidings on the merit of "Imaan (faith) alone.
'Imaan itself can, no doubt, save a man from being consigned to the fires of hell for ever, and every Muslim, even if he is a great sinner, will finally be taken out of hell, once he has undergone a period of punishment. But no one can altogether escape the fires of hell unless he has been doing good deeds defined by the Shari'ah.
"Indeed, it does not embarrass Allah to use as a parable, a gnat or what exceeds it. Now, as for those who believe, they know it is the truth from their Lord; while those who disbelieve say, 'What could have Allah meant by this parable?'By this He lets many go astray, and by this He makes many find guidance. But He does not let anyone go astray thereby except those who are sinful - those who break the Covenant of Allah after it has been made binding, and cut off what Allah has commanded to be joined, and spread disorder on the earth - it is these who are the losers."[2: 26-27]
In the foregoing verses, it was affirmed that the Holy Qur'an does not admit of any kind of doubt, and that if someone should have a suspicion as to its being the Word of God, he should try to produce even a small Surah comparable to it. These two verses refer to an objection raised by the disbelievers with regard to the Holy Qur'an, and provide an answer to them.
They had been saying that had the Qur'an been the Word of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), it would not have employed contemptible creatures like an ant or a gnat in its parables, for such a thing goes against the sublimity and majesty of Allah, when it would embarrass even a man with some sense of dignity. The Holy Qur'an points out that when one intends to speak of a detestable thing or person or situation, in a parable, the use of a gnat or something even more contemptible neither transgresses the principles of eloquence or logic, nor does it go against the sense of dignity or modesty, and hence Allah does not feel shy in using such imagery. The Holy Qur'an also shows that doubts of this kind arise only in the minds of those whom their disbelief has drained of all power to see things in a proper perspective, while such empty misgivings never touch the minds and hearts of true believers.
Qur'anic Parables: Test and guidance The Holy Qur'an proceeds to suggest even a raison d'etre for the use of such parables: they serve as a test for men. In the case of those who are ready to think and to understand, they become a source of guidance; but for those who refuse to understand, out of indifference or out of a stubborn hostility and denial, they are a cause of greater confusion and misguidance. In elaborating this point, the Holy Qur'an specifies that these parables throw into confusion only those disobedient and rebellious people who disavow the covenant they have made with Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), break all those relationships which Allah has commanded them to keep intact, and consequently produce an ever-widening disorder and anarchy in the world.
Who are the Faasiqeen?
The Arabic word used by the Holy Qur'an in speaking of the disobedient is al-Faasiqeen, its root being Fasaqa which means 'to go outside or to stray beyond a limit'. In the terminology of the Shari'ah, Fisq signifies 'going beyond the circle of obedience to Allah, or transgressing the commandments of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)'. Now, transgression does not stop at being merely disobedient in one's actions, but can sometimes lead to outright denial and disbelief. So, the word Faasiq is applied to a disbeliever (Kaafir) as well - such a use of the word is frequent in the Holy Qur'an. A Muslim who is a habitual sinner is also called a faasiq - this is how the jurists (Fuqahaa') ordinarily use the word, making the faasiq a counterpart of the kaafir on the opposite side. That is to say, a man who commits a major sin and does not repent, or who insists on committing minor sins and makes it a habit, would be called a faasiq in the terminology of the Fuqahaa'; on the other hand, a man who commits such sins publicly and openly without being ashamed of it is called a Faajir. (See Mazhari)
Living by the Covenant with Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)
The Covenant which the transgressors disavow refers to the one that all men made with Allah before any of them came down to the earth. The Holy Qur'an says that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) brought together the spirits of all men, and asked them:"Am I not your Lord?"And they replied with one voice:"Yes"(7:172). This acceptance and affirmation of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) as their only Lord and Master requires that men should in no way be disobedient to Him. Allah's books and His prophets (عليهم السلام) come down to the world to remind them of this Covenant, to renew it, and to teach them in detail how to act upon it. Now, those who break this Covenant, how can they ever be expected to learn from the prophets (عليهم السلام) and the books of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)?
Islamic concern about relationship to others
The cutting asunder of what Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has commanded should be joined includes all kinds of relationships -- the one between Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and His servant, the one between a man and his parents and relatives, between him and his neighbours and friends, between one Muslim and another, between one man and another. Actually, Islam means fulfilling one's obligations with regard to all these relationships, and this is also the way to follow the Shari'ah. Deficiency in fulfilling these obligations produces all kinds of disorder among men, and thus the transgressors end up by being destructive for others and for themselves. It is these, the Holy Qur'an says, who are the losers -- in this world as in the other.
Injunctions and related considerations:
(1) Verse 26 shows if one intends to explain something useful or essential for the spiritual guidance of one's readers or listeners, it is neither sinful nor reprehensible to refer to something which is generally supposed to be contemptible or dirty, nor does it go against the dignity of the writer or the speaker. Examples of the use of such images or parables occur in the Holy Qur'kn, the Hadeeth, and in the writings of the Sufis and other great Muslim scholars, all of whom have disregarded the habitual idea of modesty or seriousness in the interest of the real object to be attained.
(2) The reference to the disavowing of one's covenant with Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) indicates that the infringement of a contract or agreement made with one's fellow men is a grave sin, which may have the consequence of depriving a man of the ability to do good deeds.
(3) Verse 27 shows that it is essential for us to maintain the relationships which the Shari'ah has commanded us to keep intact, and that it is forbidden to break them. Indeed, religion itself signifies the divinely ordained laws which bind us to fulfil our obligations with regard to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) (Huququllah) and with regard to His servants (Huquq al-'Ibad). According to this verse, the fundamental cause of disorder in human society is the sundering of these relationships.
(4) The Holy Qur'an says that real losers are those who go against divine commandments. There is a suggestion here that real loss pertains to the other world, the loss of this world being too small a thing to be worthy of serious consideration. [Ma'ariful Qur'an]
"How is it that you deny Allah despite that you were lifeless and He gave you life, then He will make you die, then make you live again, and then to Him you will be returned? It is He who created for you all that the earth contains; then He turned to the heavens and made them seven skies -- and He is the knower of all things!"(2: 28-29)
The earlier verses affirmed the existence and the Oneness of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), and prophethood, giving self-evident proofs and refuting the whimsical and false notions of the doubters and the disbelievers. These two verses speak of the blessings which Allah has showered on man, pointing out that all the same there are men who do not recognize the bounty of Allah and persist in their denial -- the suggestion being that if they do not want to take the trouble of considering the arguments which have been advanced by the Holy Qur'an in the earlier verses, they should, as every man with an undistorted nature must, at least be grateful to their benefactor, for even this would be a way of realizing why they should be obedient to Allah.
The first of these two verses refers to the blessings which are particular to the very being of man -- that is to say, he had no life before Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) gave him existence. The second verse refers to the general blessings which are common to man and other creatures -- firstly, the earth and all that it contains and on which man's life immediately depends, and secondly, the skies with which life on earth is directly related.
Verse 28 begins by expressing surprise at those who insist on being ungrateful to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and on denying Him. On the face of it, the disbelievers had never denied Allah but only the Holy Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم), all the same, the Holy Qur'an equates such a denial with the denial of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) Himself.
Then, the verse reminds man that once he was "dead" (amwat), or that he had no life. He existed, if at all, in the shape of billions of lifeless particles aimlessly floating; Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) brought them together, made them into a man, and gave them life.
The verse proceeds to warn him that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) will take away his life, and then give it back to him a second time. This second life refers to the Day of Judgment when Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) will collect the lifeless and scattered particles of each and every man again, and give him a new life. Thus, the first 'death' or 'state of lifelessness' was at the beginning before man received life from Allah; the second death comes when a man completes the life-span allotted to him; and the second life will be given on the Day of Judgment.
The verse ends by telling man that he will ultimately go back to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). This, of course, refers to the Resurrection when all men will rise from their graves, will be assembled for giving an account of their deeds, and be finally punished or rewarded according to what they had been doing in the world.
According to this verse, the chief blessing of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) for man is life, for without life he cannot profit from any other blessing. This is obvious enough. But the verse counts death too as a blessing. It is so, because physical death is the door to the perpetual life of the other world after which there is no death.
In recounting the blessings which man has received from Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), verse 29 refers to Allah having created for man "all that the earth contains."
This small phrase comprehends all kinds of benefits which accrue to him from the earth and its produce. Then, the verse speaks of the creation of the sky and its division into seven skies or heavens, as they are usually called in English. In this context, the Holy Qur'an uses the Arabic word, Istawa which initially means 'to stand upright, to climb', and thence signifies 'to turn or pay attention to something', and, in a wider sense, 'to take a straight and firm decision which nothing can hinder'. The implication here is that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) being Omniscient and Omnipotent, it was not at all difficult for Him to create the universe, once He had decided to do so.
The life in 'al-Barzakh' (The period between death and resurrection)
(1) Verse 28 shows that a man who does not apparently deny Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), but refuses to accept the Holy Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) as the Messenger of Allah, and the Holy Qur'an as the Book of Allah, would still be counted among those who do not believe in Allah سبحانه وتعالى
(2 Verse 28 mentions only one kind of life which is to follow one's physical death - that is, the life which will begin on the Day of Resurrection - but says nothing about the life in the grave, although the Holy Qur'an and hadith explicitly speak of how people will be questioned about their faith in their graves, and will also receive some reward or punishment. Now, this life in the grave is something intermediary (Barzakh) between the life which man has in this world and one he will have in the other. In other words, it is a state in between the two, resembling the life one has while dreaming; it can be called a supplement to the life of this world as also a prelude to the life hereafter. In short, this intermediary life is not in itself a distinct entity, and hence need not be mentioned separately.
(3) According to verse 29, everything in the universe has been created for man. It means that there is nothing in the universe from which man does not derive some benefit in one way or the other, directly or indirectly. There are things which man uses physically as food or medicine; other things are useful for him without his knowing it; even poisonous or dangerous things do him some good; even things which are forbidden for him in one of their aspects, may in some other aspect be quite beneficial; finally, almost everything can serve to teach him a lesson or illuminate him in the interest of his life in the Hereafter. The great Sufi Ibn 'Ataa' (رحمه الله) remarks in connection with this verse: 'Allah has created the universe for you so that it should serve you and you should serve Allah. A wise man should thus know that he will certainly get what has been created for him, and should not, in worrying about it, forget the Being for whom he himself has been created.' (Al-Bahr al-Muhit)
(4) On the basis of verse 29, some scholars have cqme to the conclusion that since everything in the world has been created for man, it is essentially legitimate (Halal) and permissible (Mubah) for man to make use of everything, except the things which have been forbidden by the Shari'ah. So, the use of a thing is to be regarded as lawful so long as the Holy Qur'an or the Hadith does not forbid it. On the contrary, some other scholars say that the mere fact of a thing having been created for the benefit of man does not argue that it automatically becomes lawful to make use of it. So, the use of everything is essentially unlawful unless an explicit statement in the Holy Qur'an or the hadith, or an argument based on them establishes the use of a thing as legitimate.
There are still other authentic scholars who have not taken sides in this controversy. Ibn Hayyan (رحمه الله), in his commentary 'Al-Bahr al-Muhit', points out that this verse does not provide a valid basis for either of the two views, for the letter "laam" in the phrase "khalaqa lakum" indicates causation, signifying that the universe has been "created for your sake." So, one cannot draw any conclusion from the phrase as to the use of everything being essentially legitimate or illegitimate. The injunction with regard to the legitimacy or the illegitimacy of the use of particular things have been provided elsewhere in the Holy Qur'an and the Hadith, and it is obligatory to follow these injunctions.
(5) Verse 29 shows that the earth was created before the skies, as indicated by the word "Thumma" ('then'). Another verse of the Holy Qur'an seems to be saying the opposite: "He spread out the earth after this." (79:30) But it does not necessarily mean that the earth was created after the skies. What it actually implies is that although the earth had already been created when the skies came into being, yet a final shape was given to it after the creation of the skies. (Al-Bahr al-Muhit, etc)
(6) According to verse 29, the skies are seven in number. This shows that the opinion of the ancient Greek astronomers and some Muslim philosophers, who used to speak of nine heavens, was no more than a conjecture. [Ma'ariful Qur'an]
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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