"Surely, We have sent you with the truth, a bearer of good tidings, and a warner, and you will not be asked about the people of Hell."(2:119)
The implication of Verse 118 was that those who persisted in their denial of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him did so out of sheer malice and ignorance, and could not be expected to reform themselves. Since he has been sent as "the mercy for all the worlds", the thought of their being incorrigible was likely to make him sad on their account. So, in this verse Allah ('azza wa jal) offers him a consolation. He has been sent down to men, bearing the truth and the genuine faith. His function is twofold - to give glad tidings to those who accept the truth, and warnings of dire punishment to those who deny. Allah assures him that he will not be held re�sponsible or taken to account for those who willingly pursue the way to Hell. All that he is required to do is to keep performing his own function, and not to worry as to who accepts the truth and who does not. (Ma'ariful Qur'an)
"And the Jews will never be pleased with you, nor will the Christians, unless you follow their faith. Say: "Guidance of Allah is, indeed, the guidance." And were you to follow their desires after what has come to you of the knowledge, there shall be no friend for you against Allah, nor a helper."(2:120)
Being anxious to save as many men as possible from misguidance and damnation, the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him took great pains to convince the deniers, and was specially lenient and gentle with the People of the Book. In this verse, Allah informs him that their denial is not due to lack of convincing arguments and proofs, but is motivated by pride and self-satisfaction, for each of the two groups -- namely, the Jews and the Christians -- believes its own religion to be the only genuine religion, and there is no likelihood of pleasing either of them until and unless the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him accepts their religion. The religions of the Jews and the Christians, no doubt, were once genuine and had been instituted by Allah. But each had since distorted its religion out of shape; moreover, in sending down Islam as the final Shari'ah, Allah had abrogated all the earlier ones, and hence Islam had by now become the only Shari'ah acceptable to Allah, and in this sense the only genuine and veritable "guidance" possible in this last of all the ages.
It is on account of the present distorted state of the earlier religions, and specially because of their having been abrogated by Divine Commandment that Verse 120 equates them with Ahwa' (the plural of Hawa) -- that is to say, personal desires, or individual opinions and baseless conjectures. Since the deniers are not willing to extricate themselves from their desires and fancies, it is not possible to please them without accepting their opinions -- a thing which a Messenger of Allah can never do. Should they affect a more friendly stance towards the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, Allah asks him to say to them in plain and simple words that the only guidance worth the name is that which comes from Allah -- and He has already made it clear enough that Islam is now the only form of "guidance" acceptable to Him.
Now, supposing just for the sake of supposing that he should accept their fancies in spite of having received the Truth from Allah through revelation, the verse informs him that in such a case he would find no helper to save him from divine wrath. Other verses of the Holy Qur'an, of course, definitely establish the fact that Allah is pleased and will always remain pleased with the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, and thus he can never be the object of divine wrath. Since divine wrath necessarily follows upon the acceptance of baseless fancies, it is logically impossible for him to follow the opinions of the Jews and the Christians, as divine pleasure and divine wrath cannot be combined with each other. On the other hand, they can never be pleased with him unless he follows their wishes. Consequently, one cannot expect from them any change of heart. Hence, the purport of Verse 120 is to advise the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him not to worry too much about them.
[Let us add that the warning is apparently addressed to the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, but is really intended for deniers, the purpose being to make them realize the dire consequences of their vanity. In fact, divine wrath is already visible, for the warning has been administered to them, not directly but obliquely, which shows the contempt in which Allah holds them -- Translator]
"Those to whom We have given the Book and they recite it observing the rights of its recitation, it is they who believe in it. And those who disbelieve in it, they are the losers."(2:121)
Verse 120 dealt with the hopeless condition of the opponents of Islam among the People of the Book. Now, the present verse turns, in the usual manner of the Holy Qur'an, to the other aspect, and speaks of those Jews and Christians who were honest and just, and, having recognised the truth, affirmed the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him and accepted Islam.
The verse tells us how it has been possible for these men to effect a radical change in themselves. Allah 'azza wa jal has given a Book to the Christians as well as to the Jews. But, unlike most of their co-religionists, these men have been reading the Book "observing the rights of its recitation." That is to say, they have distorted neither the words nor the meanings, nor have they tried to misinterpret or conceal the prophecies about the coming of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him.
In other words, they have used their intellect in trying to understand the meanings, and their will in accepting the truth and in following it. It is they who acknowledge the Holy Qur'an, and have faith in it. In doing so, they are actually affirming their own Books too and acting upon them insofar as their Books explicitly foretell the coming of the Last Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him and of the last Book of Allah. As for those who persist in their denial, they are bound to suffer the greatest loss, for they have refused to believe in the Last Revelation, and have, in fact, not shown much of a belief in their own Books, and not followed the guidance provided by them in this matter.
[The commentary we have here is based on a report from the blessed Companion Ibn 'Abbas, according to whom this verse was revealed on the occasion of the arrival of forty Christians from Abyssinia who had accepted Islam. But other commentators believe that "those to whom We have given the Book" are the blessed Companions, and "the Book" is the Holy Qur'an.
As for reading the Book "observing the rights of its recitation", it means enunciating each word correctly and clearly, and keeping the fear and love of Allah present in one's heart while reading, and also the resolve to follow divine guidance and to obey divine commandments. The blessed second Khalifah 'Umar Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him has said that reading the Holy Qur'an "observing the rights of its recitation" requires that when one comes to a description of Paradise, one should pray to Allah for granting one this abode, and when one finds a description of Hell, one should seek Allah's protection from it. (Ibn Abi Hatim)]
"O children of Isra'il, remember My blessing that I conferred upon you, and that I gave you excellence over the worlds. And guard yourselves against a day when no one shall stand for anyone for anything, nor shall ransom be accepted from one, nor shall intercession be of benefit to him, nor shall they be given support."(2:122-123)
A large section of this Surah, ending with the previous verse, has been dealing with different aspects of the conduct of the Israelites (that is, the Jews) in the course of their history. This account had begun with the statement which has been repeated at the end in these two verses. The statement is of a general and principal kind, and the verses which come in between the beginning and the end are, so to say, a detailed demonstration of the statement.
On the one hand, it encourages the Israelites to come back to the Straight Path by reminding them of the blessings which Allah has bestowed on them; on the other hand, it warns them of the consequences of their lapses by depicting the Day of Judgment. The purpose of repeating the statement at the end of the discussion is to make the two ideas sink deep into their minds. For, what is aimed at in a discussion is the affirmation of certain basic and general principles -- being succinct, they are easily kept alive in the mind, and, being comprehensive and readily applicable to particular situations, they make it easy for one to remember the details too.
In the art of writing and speaking, it is considered to be one of the most effective means of carrying conviction that, before starting on a long analytical discussion of a subject, one should define the basic ideas very briefly and clearly which are always helpful in comprehending the details and the particularities, and that, in concluding the argument, one should repeat these ideas by way of a summary. The repetition of the introductory statement here is of this very nature. (Ma'ariful Qur'an, Vol. 1)
"And when his Lord put Ibrahim to a test with certain Words! And he fulfilled them. He said, "I am going to make you an Imam for the people." He said, "And from among my progeny?" He replied, "My promise does not extend to the unjust." (2:124)
[So far a whole section of this Surah has been dealing directly with the conduct of the Jews in the course of their history, and their present hostility to Islam, delineating the inner motives and mainsprings of this rabid opposition. As we have seen, they were proud of being the children of Jacob and of Abraham (Sayyidna Ya'qoob and Sayyidna Ibraheem (A.S)), and believed that, being the chosen people of God, they had the exclusive privilege of being the leaders of humanity, and hence the station of prophethood could not be conferred on anyone who did not belong to their race. Now, the Holy Qur'an proceeds, in the present section of the Surah, to refute this line of thought in an indirect manner, by telling the story of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) and of his elder son Sayyidna Isma'eel (Ishmael (A.S)). This section is going to suggest some essential considerations in answer to the denial of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him on the part of the Jews:-
(1) He alone can be a guide to humanity who is not unjust and not a transgressor, and has successfully gone through the trial imposed on him by Allah -- and these qualifications the Jews do not fulfil.
(2) The Ka'bah, towards which the Muslims turn in Salah and which is not acceptable to the Jews, had actually been built by Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S), and hence the orientation (Qiblah) of the Muslims is the same as was his.
(3) The way of Islam is the Way of Ibrahim (A.S), and the Muslims alone are his real followers.
(4) It was Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) himself who had prayed for the Last Prophet to be sent down to humanity, and hence one who at all wishes to follow his way cannot but affirm the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him and accept Islam.
(5) It is wrong of the Jews to deny the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him merely on account of his not belonging to their race, for Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) had two sons, Sayyidna Isma'il and Sayyidna Ishaaq (Ishmael and Isaac (A.S)), and he had prayed for divine grace to descend on both of them (Genesis, ch. 17), so that the superiority enjoyed by the children of Isaac (A.S) in their own time had now been transferred to the children of Isma'il (A.S). What these indications aim at is to show the Jews that if they wish to have a share in the grace of Allah, they had better acknowledge the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him and accept Islam, the last and now the only valid form of the Abrahamic Way - Translator.]
The Great Trials Put To Ibraheem (alayhis-sallam) The section dealing with the story of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) begins with Verse 124. It recounts how he was tried by Allah in different ways, how he came out of these trials successfully, and how he was rewarded. It also tells us that when Allah promised to make him a great guide to men, and their chief, (by conferring prophethood on him, or by giving him a huge number of followers), he prayed for this reward to be bestowed on some from among his progeny too. Allah granted this prayer, but on one condition, which is also to serve as a general principle in this matter -- namely, that this dignity shall never be conferred on those who are disobedient and unjust, but on some of those from among his progeny who are obedient and just.
Now, Verse 124 gives rise to a number of very fundamental questions:- The purpose of a trial is to test the aptitude and worthiness of a man for a certain function, but Allah is all-knowing and knows every existent inside out. Then, what was the purpose of this trial? (2) What were the different forms of this trial? (3) What kind of success did Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) attain? (4) What is the nature of the reward he received? (5) What are the various aspects of the principle which defines the conditions necessary for receiving this reward?
As for the purpose of the trials which Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) was made to undergo, we shall point out that the Arabic word : Rabb (Lord) occurring in this verse provides the clue to the problem. In saying that it was Allah Himself who put him through the trials, the verse chooses to employ, out of all the Divine Names, the title Rabb which indicates a specific Divine Attribute -- namely, that of making a thing attain the state of its perfection gradually and stage by stage. In other words, the trial of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) was not the punishment for a crime, nor was it intended to uncover a hidden aptitude, but was a manifestation of this particular Divine Action, and a necessary part of the process of "nurturing" the prophet and making him reveal his inherent qualities to the world, so that he may be led, stage by stage, to assume his final station, already chosen for him by his Lord. We may note, in passing, that the Arabic text of the Verse places the object (Ibrahim) before the subject (Rabb), thus indicating the glorious position of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) among the prophets. We may also add that although it is Divine Knowledge and Will that chooses a man for prophethood, yet he is not allowed to assume this station until his aptitude and worthiness has openly shown itself for all men and angels to witness. This is just what had happened, as we have already seen in this Surah, in the case of the trial of Sayyidna Adam (A.S) before the angels.
As for the particular form in which Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) was tried, the Holy Qur'an only refers to certain "things" (Kalimah -- literally, "word"). According to most of the commentators, the "things" or "words" mean certain divine injunctions. But there is some difference of views among the blessed Companions and their immediate succes�sors as to what these injunctions were, and how many. According to some, they were ten, and, according to others, thirty. But basically there is no opposition among these views, for all the injunctions which have been mentioned in this context were, in one way or another, meant to serve as trials and tests. This is what the great commenta�tors like Ibn Jarir رضي الله عنه and Ibn Kathir رضي الله عنه believe to be the truth of the matter. One thing is, however, quite clear. These trials were not like academic tests, nor were intended to gauge mental capacities or the grasp of mere theories; the purpose, on the other hand, was to test the readiness in obeying Allah and the steadfastness in submitting oneself to divine commandments. This helps us to see that what really has a value in the eyes of Allah is not theoretical hair-splitting, but actual deeds, within and without.
Let us now relate the story of some of the more important trials. Since Allah ('azza wa jal) intended to raise Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) to a specially exalted station among the prophets, and to confer on him the title of Khalilullah (the Friend of Allah), he was made to go through very severe trials. Not only his people, but his own family also was sunk deep in idol-worshipping; in opposition to their creed and customs, he was given "Al-Din al-Hanif", "the Pure Religion", and was asked to go out to his people, and to bring them back to the Straight Path. Unflinchingly he obeyed the divine command, and, with the courage and determination of the prophet that he was, he set out to wage a war against idol-worship and to call them to the unalloyed worship of the One God. This obviously drew upon him the ire of his people and of their king Namrud (Nimrod), who finally decided to burn him alive in a blazing fire. Seeking, as he did, nothing but the pleasure of his Lord, he gladly let himself be thrown onto the pyre. Since he had succeeded in this test, Allah commanded: "O fire, be coolness and safety for Ibrahim." (21:69). As one can see, the command was given to fire as such, and not to any particular one. Consequently, all fire, wherever it was present in the world, grew cold, and the fire set ablaze by Namrud did so, too. Now, excessive cold is equally painful and killing - there is a region of extreme cold in Hell itself, called Zamharir. So, in commanding fire to grow cold, Allah in His grace added the word Salama (be safe).
The second trial was that Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) was asked to leave his homeland, and to migrate to Syria along with his family. Then, he was commanded to leave even this country -- which he readily did, accompanied by his wife Hajirah (Hagar (A.S)) and his infant son Sayyidna Isma'il (Ishmael (A.S)), and led by the archangel Jibra'il (Gabriel (A.S)). (ibn Kathir) Whenever they passed through a fertile land, Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) would wish to be allowed to settle there, but the archangel would inform him that Allah did not want him to do so. Finally, when they reached the barren desert which was destined to be the site of Makkah and where the Ka'bah was to be built, he was commanded to stay there. But now began a new trial, much more difficult for man to bear. He was ordered to leave his wife and son in the desert, and to go back to Syria. "The Friend of Allah" had so annihilated his own will and desire, and was so anxious to obey his Lord that he did not allow even a moment to lapse between the command and its execution, and started on his journey without informing his wife. When she noticed that he was going away, she called after him -- but received no reply. Not even when she demanded why he was forsaking them in such a vast and lonely desert. But she was, after all, the wife of "the Friend of Allah", and could now see for herself how the matters stood. So, she asked if he had received a divine command. Only now Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) replied that it was so. Having understood the situation, she calmly remarked, "Alright, go. The Lord who has commanded you to part from us shall Himself look after us, and not let us be destroyed."
And she sat back in the desert, full of trust and peace, with the infant on her lap. But as time passed, thirst, her own and specially that of her suckling son, compelled her to leave it behind and to go in search of water. She climbed up and down the hills of Safa and Marwah, but had, after seven attempts, to come back unsuccessfully. It is to commemorate this event that running seven times between the two hills has been made an obligatory part of the rites of the Hajj. As she returned to her son, the mercy of Allah descended in the form of the archangel Jibra'il (A.S) who made a spring of fresh water spout forth from the parched ground - the same spring which is now called Zamzam. In a day or two, the water began to draw animals towards itself, and the sight of animals brought men to the place. By and by, the provisions necessary for human life became regularly available, and the future city of Makkah began to take shape.
The infant -- who was to become Sayyidna Isma'il (A.S), -- began to grow up, and was soon able to take upon himself the usual functions of human life. Under divine permission, Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) came now and then to see how his wife and son were doing. It is now that Allah chose to submit him to the greatest of all possible trials. The son had grown up in such unpromising circumstances, and been deprived of constant fatherly care and affection. Now, the father received the command to slaughter his son with his own hand. Says the Holy Qur'an:
"When he had reached the age of being able to help his father in his work, the latter said, 'My son, I see in a dream that I am slaughtering you. Now, say, what do you think?' He replied, 'My father, do as you have been bidden; you shall find me, if Allah so wills, one of the patient'." (37:102)
Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) took his son to the wilderness of Mina, and fulfilled, so far as he himself was concerned, the divine command�ment. But Allah did not really mean to have the son slaughtered, but only to test the father. If we consider the words of the Holy Qur'an just cited, we shall find that in his dream, he had not seen the accom�plishment of the slaughter, but only the act of slaughtering. And this much he did perform. In this respect, revelation came to him in the form of a dream, picturing the act, perhaps for this very reason - that is to say, Allah did not want to give him a verbal command to sacrifice his son. Hence, Allah commended him for having: "confirmed the dream" (37:105). In recompense for this total submission to divine will, Allah sent down a ram from heaven to be sacrificed in place of Sayyidna Isma'il (A.S). Now, the annual sacrifice of sheep or goats etc. has been made a regular form of worship in commemoration of the way of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S).
In addition to those rigorous trials, a number of other restrictions were imposed on him in the shape of certain injunctions, which too, he fulfilled as devotionally. Ten of these commandments are known as the characteristics of the Fitrah and are concerned with the cleanliness and purification of the body. These ten have been made permanent injunctions for all the later Ummahs (or communities of believers) too, and the Last Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him has insistently commanded his followers to fulfil them.
Ibn Kathir (rahmatullahi alaih) has reported from the blessed Companion 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas (radiallahu anhuma) that thirty elements make up the whole of Islam, ten of which have been mentioned in Sirrah, ("Al-Bara'ah", or "Al-Tawbah"), the other ten in Surah 33 ("Al-Ahzab"), and the last ten in Surah 23 ("Al-Mu'minun"). These two had formed a part of the trials of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S), and he fulfilled these conditions with equal faithfulness.
Surah 9 lays down these ten qualities as being characteristic of true believers:
"Those who repent, those who worship (Allah), those who praise (Allah), those who keep a fast, those who bow down and prostrate themselves (before Allah), those who invite others to good deeds and forbid evil deeds, those who keep within the bounds fixed by Allah. And give good tidings to the true believers." (9:112)
"Those true believers shall certainly prosper who show humility in their Salah, and turn away from idle activities, and are keen to purify themselves, and guard their private parts except from their wives and what their right hands own (bondswomen) - which is not blameworthy, but whoever seeks after more than that is a transgressor - and those who preserve what has been entrusted to them and also their covenant, and who are regular in performing their Salah. Those are the inheritors who shall inherit Paradise, and they shall live there forever." (23:1-11).
And the ten qualities mentioned in Surah 33 are as follows:
"Men and women who perform what Islam enjoins upon them, men and women who are true believers, obedient men and obedient women, truthful men and truthful women, men and women who are patient, men and women who possess humility, men and women who give in charity, men who fast and women who fast, men and women who guard their private parts, men and women who remember Allah abundantly - for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward." (33:35)
A third question with regard to Verse 124 still remains to be answered - what degree of success did Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) attain in these trials? The Holy Qur'an defines his accomplishment in these words: "And Ibrahim who paid his debt in full." (53:37)
As for the reward he received, Verse 124 itself has announced it: "He (Allah) said - "I am going to make you an Imam for the people." The Arabic word Imam, which we have not translated here, lexically signifies "leader or chief or guide." Since the present verse is related to Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S), the word 'Imam' in this context means, above all, "a prophet", though it includes the general sense of "leadership", too, as also of the title "Patriarch" which the Jews and Christians have given to him. Prophethood, let us repeat, cannot be won through personal effort; all the same, a prophet has to display his perfection in the thirty qualities we have just referred to, and even people of a lower scale must, in order to be worthy of leadership in a general sense, possess these qualities in their own degree. The Holy Qur'an makes it quite plain in another place:
"And from among them We appointed some as leaders to guide men by Our command, when they were patient (in restraining themselves from disobedience), and had a sure faith in Our commandments." (32:24).
This verse gives a resume of the thirty qualities in the two words, Sabr (patience) and Yaqin (sure faith, or certitude) - the second refers to the perfection of knowledge, and the first to the perfection of actual practice.
The last question pertains to the law which lays down that the station of a guide and leader would not be granted to the unjust and the disobedient. To hold this station is, in a way, to be a viceregent of Allah, and hence this rank cannot be given to a rebel. It follows from this that Muslims, insofar as they have a choice in the matter, should not appoint as their ruler or representative a man who is a rebel against Allah or disobedient to Him.
The word zalim ("unjust") also shows us - and very explicitly, too -that each and every prophet is totally sinless before becoming a prophet as much as after becoming a prophet. Certain words in the Holy Qur'an, which seem to suggest the contrary, have been employed, not in a literal or technical sense, but only metaphorically - for example, in the case of Sayyidna Adam (A.S) . To interpret such expressions in the sense of technical "sin" constitutes a very grave doctrinal error, and an insistence on such an interpretation opens the way to further errors.
[We may add a few words for the benefit of those who are anxious to adopt unquestioningly the literary and philosophical mores of the West. Since the Second World War, the writings of the Danish man of letters and thinker, Kierkegaard (who was a dilettante in theology too), have been casting a sort of paralysing fascination over the men of sensibility in the West. Particularly his book "Fear and Trembling", which deals with the trial of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) avowedly in the manner of a psychological novel, is supposed to have triggered into action a number of Existentialist philosophies, and even to have furnished the point of departure for all modernistic Christian theology, specially of the Protestant persuasion.
Now, Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) was, even according to the admission of Jews and Christians, a prophet, and not "l'homme moyen sensuel" which is the subject matter of the novel, of psychology, and, not the least, of the theology of the Dane.
Secondly, he did not merely have to go through emotional stress and strain, or through a problem of the conscience, or through a "crisis of identity" - the fear and the trembling, as the philosopher maintains -, but was equally tried in the matter of faithfully observing divine injunctions.
Thirdly, when he knew that Allah had chosen him to be a prophet, he did not grow silent and secretive and lonely - as the fancy of our literary artist would have us believe -, but proclaimed the fact to others. Without such a proclamation, he would not at all have been able to perform the function of a prophet. In fact, it has been said that "the Friend of Allah" would not take his daily meals until he had found a guest to share it with him. In short, all we wish to point out is that the nature of prophethood is a degree of reality which we can understand only partially, and that too only with the help of Divine Books, and hence it is not a sphere in which human fantasy may be allowed to roam at its sweet will.]
"And when We made the House a (sacred) resort for men, and a place of peace! And make from the station of Ibrahim a place of prayer. And We gave direction to Ibrahim and Isma'il: 'Purify My House for those who are to circumambulate (make Tawaf) or stay in seclusion (do I'tikaf) or bow and prostrate (in prayer)."(2:125)
The History Of The Ka'bah
In the course of the story of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S), we now come to the building of the "House of Allah" - the Ka'bah. An answer is thus being given to the Jews who used to deny the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him on the ground of their assumption that prophethood could not be given to anyone outside their own clan, and who used to scoff at the Muslims for turning towards the Ka'bah in their prayers, and to believe that the Hajj was no more than a custom of the ignorant Arabs.
The earlier verse had made it clear that prophethood could not be given to the unjust and the disobedient, even if they belonged to the progeny of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) - a rule which destroys the very basis of the presumptuousness and vanity of the Jews.
The present verse reminds them that the Ka'bah was built under divine commandment by Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) himself with the help of his son Sayyidna Isma'il (A.S), and thus suggests that the performance of the Hajj and the orientation towards the Ka'bah have both been instituted by divine decree, and that the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him is a direct descendant of Sayyidna Ibrahim and Sayyidna Isma'il (A.S), and is reviving the Abrahamic Way, which the Jews too must follow.
Verse 125 briefly outlines the history of the re-construction of the Ka'bah, the characteristic qualities of the "House of Allah" and the city of Makkah, and the injunctions with regard to the respect which has to be paid to this sacred place. The Holy Qur'an returns to the subject again and again in different chapters, providing more details. We shall cite Verses 26 and 27 from the Surah "Al-Hajj" which deals particularly with the annual pilgrimage:
"And when We appointed for Ibrahim the place of the House: "You shall not associate anything with Me. And keep My House clean for those who circumambulate it, who stand there for the prayers, and who bow and prostrate themselves. And proclaim the pilgrimage among men, and they shall come to you on foot and on every lean camel too, coming from every deep ravine.." (22:26-27)
Ibraheem ('alayhis-salaam) Migrated To Makkah Ibn Kathir (rahmatullahi alaih) reports from Mujahid (rahmatullahi alaih) etc. that Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) was living in Syria when he received the revelation that Allah was going to indicate to him the site of the Ka'bah, which he was required to build and keep clean for those who should assemble there for performing the Hajj and offering the Salah. In connection with the earlier verse, wehave already told the story how he was led by the archangel Jibra'il (A.S) to the desert where the city of Makkah is now situated and where the remains of the earlier structure of the Ka'bah stood only in the shape of a mound, and how he was commanded by Allah to leave his wife and infant son behind and to return to Syria. He immediately started on the journey, but was naturally anxious about his wife and child. So, when he was out of ear-shot, he prayed to Allah for them, as has been reported in the Surah "Ibrahim":
"Our Lord, I have made some of my offspring dwell in a valley which is incultivable, close to Your Holy House that they may, Our Lord, be steadfast in the prayers. So, make the hearts of men tender towards them, and provide them with fruits, so that they may be thankful." (14:37)
In the earlier commandment which had brought him to his place, Allah ('azza wa jal) had asked him to keep His House clean. He knew that Allah intended the House to be kept clean not only from external dirt but also from internal filth - namely, association (Shirk) and infidelity (Kufr). So, while departing from this barren desert where he was leaving his family but where a town was to grow, he prayed to Allah, firstly, to make it a place of safety and peace, and, secondly, to protect him and his children from idol-worship and association. "The Friend of Allah" had attained that degree of knowledge where one sees oneself as a mere nothing, and one makes no movement without a full realization of the truth that nothing happens independently of Divine Will, and that all one's actions and even inclinations rest in the hand of Allah.
So, he turned to Allah Himself for help in being able to carry out the command to keep the House of Allah clean from association and infidelity. There is another subtle suggestion in this prayer. Allah had commanded that due respect should be paid to His "House." Now, there was a likelihood that some people might begin, out of sheer ignorance, to worship the Ka'bah itself. That is why Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) specially prayed for him and his children to be protected from association (shirk). Then, out of his love for his wife and son, he prayed to Allah to provide them, in His grace, with fruits in this barren and uncultivable land where he was leaving them under divine command.
A hadith in Al-Bukhari's collection of the Traditions (Ahaadeeth) tells us in detail how the archangel Jibra'il (A.S.) appeared and made the spring of Zamzam flow in the desert, how some people from the tribe of Jurhum came and settled there, and how Sayyidna Isma'il (A.S) was married to a lady of this tribe. We also learn from different Traditions (Ahadith) of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him that the command to settle near the Ka'bah and to keep it clean (mentioned in Verse 26-27 of the Surah "Al-Hajj") was at that time addressed only to Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S), for his son was yet an infant. And in those circumstances the intention of the command was not to start the reconstruction of the Ka'bah but only to place the wife and the son of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) in this locality so that a human settlement should begin to take shape. On the other hand, the verse we are dealing with (2:125) re�peats the same command to keep the House clean, but is addressed as much to Sayyidna Isma'il (A.S) as to his father, for the son had now grown into a young and married man, and could be included in the command to rebuild the Ka'bah.
A hadith reported by Al-Bukhari (rahmatullahi alaih) says that, on one of his periodic visits to his wife and son at Makkah, Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) found his son sitting under a tree, making arrows. He informed the son that Allah had entrusted him with a special task, and asked him if he would help his father. The son was, of course, as ready to obey and to serve as ever. Allah had already indicated the spot and also the area where the Ka'bah was to be rebuilt. When they started digging the ground, the earlier foundations became visible, and it was on them that they began to raise the walls. The next verse speaks of this event : "When Ibrahim was raising up the foundations of the House, and Isma'il (too)." The order of the names indicates that the builder of the Ka'bah is Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S), while the role of Sayyidna Isma'il (A.S) is that of a helper.
All the verses of the Holy Qur'an on the subject of the Ka'bah either say that the location had been indicated by Allah Himself, or report the divine command to keep the House clean, but never suggest that a new House was to be built in a new place. This in itself shows that the Ka'bah already existed in some form. Indeed, the Hadith, and history too, confirms this fact, and from these sources we learn that the earlier structure of the Ka'bah had either been destroyed at the time of the Deluge of Sayyidna Nuh (Noah (A.S)) or raised into the heavens, leaving the foundations buried in the ground. Hence, Sayyidna Ibrahim and Sayyidna Isma'il (A.S) were not the original founders of the Ka'bah, but had raised a new building on the earlier foundations.
As to who founded the Ka'bah for the first time and when, there is no fully authenticated Hadith which could clarify this point. Certain narrations coming from the people of the Book, however, tell us that it was founded by the angels even before Sayyidna Adam (A.S) came down to the earth. He built the Ka'bah a second time, or renovated it. This structure remained intact upto the time of the Deluge, which destroyed it, and left it a mere mound - the shape in which Sayyidna Ibrahim and Sayyidna Isma'il (A.S) found it. And they constructed a new building on the site. Since then, the Ka'bah has undergone certain alterations, but has never been demolished completely. Before the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him assumed the prophetic functions, the Quraysh of Makkah built the Ka'bah afresh, and he himself took part in this renovation.
Some Injunctions Related To The Haram
(1) The word Mathabah, used in this verse, comes from the root Thaba (signifying "to come back"), and thus denotes a place to which one returns again and again. This shows that Allah has given a position of privilege to the Ka'bah - it shall always remain a place where people will assemble from the four corners of the world, and would long to return to it again and again. Al-Qurtubi reports the great commentator Mujahid to have said that one never has enough of visiting the Ka'bah, but comes back every time with a greater longing to return, and to see it again. Certain scholars have remarked that one of the signs of one's Hajj having been accepted by Allah is that, on one's return, one should find in one's heart a greater desire to present oneself in the House of Allah again. This is borne out by the experience of those who have had the good fortune to be there - each visit, instead of slaking the thirst, rather increases it. Considering that Makkah has nothing to offer by way of a beautiful landscape or easy access or mundane comforts, yet, its power to draw millions of people to itself every year is nothing short of miracle.
(2) This verse says that Allah has made "the House" a place of peace. "The House" refers not only to the Ka'bah itself, but also to the whole area of the Mosque which surrounds it, and is called the Haram. There are other instances in the Holy Qur'an where the word "Ka'bah" or the expression Baytullah ("House of Allah") connotes the whole area of the Haram. For example, the phrase: "an offering to reach the Ka'bah" (5:95) refers to the Haram, for the verse deals with the subject of animal sacrifice, while it is not legitimate to offer such a sacrifice inside the Ka'bah. So, Verse 125 means that the whole of the Haram has been made a place of peace - that is to say, people have been forbidden from shedding blood or taking revenge within these precincts (ibn al-'Arabi).
In fact, this commandment was one of the residues of the Way of Ibrahim (A.S) which were still alive in the Age of Ignorance (Al-Jahiliyyah), and all kinds of bloodshed or battle, individual or collective, were held to be forbidden inside this sanctuary, so much so that a man would never let himself take his revenge, even if he came upon the murderer of his brother or father in the Haram. The Islamic Shari'ah has preserved this injunction. The ban was lifted only for the sake of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him on the day of the conquest of Makkah, and that too only for a few hours, and was reimposed for ever immediately after - the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him himself announced it in his address on the occasion. (Al-Bukhari)
Now, as for the man who commits, within these precincts, a crime for which the Shari'ah has laid down a specific physical punishment (Hadd) or allowed the victim to be revenged (Qisas), the Haram will not provide sanctuary to him - the consensus holds that such a criminal will be duly punished. (Al-Jassas and Al-Qurtubi)
For, the Holy Qur'an itself says: "If they fight you [inside the Haram], you may kill them." (2:191) There is, however, a difference of views among the masters of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) on one point. What is to be done with the man who commits a crime outside, and then seeks a sanctuary in the Haram? Even in this case, some masters would have the criminal punished in the manner prescribed by the Shari'ah. On the other hand, Imam Abu Hanifah, believes that if such men are allowed to save themselves from punishment in this manner, the Haram would become an easy refuge for all kinds of criminals and disorder would prevail, but in view of the sanctity of the place, the criminal would not be punished inside the Haram, but forced to come out, and then the punishment prescribed by the Shari'ah would be duly given to him.
(3) The present verse mentions "the Station of Ibrahim." It is astone on which Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S); had stood while building the Ka'bah, and which miraculously acquired the print of his foot. (Al-Bukhari) The blessed Companions Anas says that he has himself seen the mark on the stone. On the other hand, it has been reported from the blessed Companion 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas (radiallahu 'anhuma) that the Haram as a whole is the "Station of Ibrahim." Probably he meant that the two rak'ahs of the Salah which this verse enjoins upon us to offer near the "Station of Ibrahim" after completing tawaf (circumambulation) of the Ka'bah, may be offered anywhere within the precincts of the Haram, and that the prayers thus offered would be quite valid. Most of the Fuqaha' accept this view.
The Maqam Of Ibraheem
(4) As to the commandment for making "the Station of Ibrahim" a place of offering one's prayers, the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him himself has explained it through his own words and actions on the occasion of his last Hajj. After completing the tawaf, when he reached "the Station of Ibrahim," placed some yards away from the Ka'bah, he recited this very verse, and then offered two rak'ats on the other side of this stone, with his face turned towards the Ka'bah (Muslim). The Fuqaha' have inferred from this the rule that if one does not get the room to stand close to "the Station of Ibrahim," one may, while offering prayers, validly stand at any distance from it that one can, so long as the Ka'bah, as well as "the Station of Ibrahim," is in front of him.
(5) This verse shows that it is necessary (Wajib) to offer two rak'ahs after the tawaf of the Ka'bah. (Al-Jassas and Mulla 'Ali al-Qari) But offering these prayers specifically behind the "Station of Ibrahim" is a Sunnah (the Way of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him). There is, however, no bar on offering these prayers at any other spot within the Haram, for the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him himself has been reported to have offered them near the gate of the "House of Allah", as did the blessed Companion 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas (radiallahu 'anhuma), too (al-Jassas). In his "Al-Manasik", Mulla 'Ali al-Qari (rahmatullahi alaih) says that if one is not, for some reason, able to offer these necessary (Wajib) prayers behind "the Station of Ibrahim," as required by the Sunnah, he may validly offer them anywhere he possibly can within the Haram, or even outside. In fact, this is exactly what happened to Sayyidah Umm Salmah Radhi-Allahu Anha: Allah be pleased with her, one of the wives of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him. On the occasion of her Last Hajj, she could not find the opportunity to offer these Wajib prayers inside the Haram, and was able to do so when she was outside the city of Makkah itself. Most of the Fuqaha', except Imam Malik (rahmatullahi alaih), hold the view that if circumstances compel one to offer these prayers outside the Haram, one is not required to make an animal sacrifice by way of compensation.
(6) The divine command to "Keep My House clean" includes purifying it from physical and external dirt as much as from internal filth like infidelity (Kufr) and association (Shirk), and from impurities like greed, lust, envy, pride, vanity, hypocrisy, etc. Then, the use of the expression "My House" indicates that the commandment applies to mosques in general, for all the mosques are "the Houses of Allah", as the Holy Qur'an itself has said: "In houses which Allah has commanded to be raised up" (24:36).
Al-Qurtubi (rahmatullahi alaih) reports that the Second Khalifah 'Umar Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him once heard a man shout in the mosque, and rebuked him for having forgotten where he was. That is to say, one should pay due respect to a mosque, and refrain from speaking loudly, and, above all, from saying something which the Shari'ah has forbidden. In short, just as the Haram must be kept clean from all kinds of dirt and filth, external and internal, so must every mosque. Those who enter a mosque must keep their bodies and their clothes free from dirt, filth and even from bad smells, and also keep their hearts free from Shirk, hypocrisy, pride, malice and greed etc. The Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him. has asked the people not to enter a mosque, if they have just eaten raw onion or garlic, and has also forbidden very small children and mad men to enter a mosque for fear of their polluting it.
(7) The verse shows that "the House of Allah" is meant for people to make tawaf of the Ka'bah, to do I'tikaf (to seek a retreat for worship and meditation), and to offer their prayers. In the case of those who come from outside to perform the Hajj, the tawaf carries greater merit than offering prayers. Lastly, the verse makes it clear that it is absolutely permissible to offer one's prayers inside the "House of Allah", whether the prayers are fard (obligatory) or nafl (supererogatory) (Jassas) (Ma'ariful Qur'an)
"And when Ibrahim said, "My Lord, make this a city of peace, and provide its people with fruits - those of them who believe in Allah and the Last Day." He said, "And the one who disbelieves I shall make him enjoy a little, then I shall drag him to the punishment of the Fire. And an evil end it is! And when Ibrahim was raising up the foundations of the House, along with Isma'il: "Our Lord accept from us! Indeed, You - and You alone - are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing! And, our Lord, make us both submissive to You, and of our progeny a people submissive to You. And show us our ways of Pilgrimage and accept our repentance. Indeed, You - and You alone - are the Most-Relenting, the Very-Merciful."(2:126-128)
The Prayers Of Ibraheem (alayhis sallam)
Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) always carried out the commandments of Allah without losing a moment, and was ready to make all kinds of sacrifices in His way, whether they involved worldly goods, or wife and children, or his own likes and dislikes. All the same, having affection and love for one's family is not only a natural urge in man, but also a divine commandment. This is what manifests itself in the present verses, where we find him praying for the well-being of his family in this world as much as in the other.
The prayer begins with the word Rabb, which lexically signifies "One who gives nurture." Thus, it teaches us the proper mode of praying to Allah, for this form of address in itself draws the mercy and grace of Allah on the man who is praying. The first thing Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) prayed for was that Allah may turn the barren desert where he had left his family under divine commandment, into a city, so that his wife and son should not feel lonely, and that their daily needs should be easily satisfied. The same prayer occurs in Surah "Ibrahim" (14:35), but employs the construction Al-balad ("the city"), while the present verse employs Baladan ("a city"). The difference probably arises from the fact that the prayer reported here was made when the place was still a desert and Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) wished "a city" to grow in this barren land, while the prayer reported in Surah "Ibrahim" was made when "the city" had already risen and was quite well-known, for near the end of the same Surah we find him saying:
"Praise be to Allah who has given me, in my old age, Isma'eel and Ishaaq." (14:39),
which suggests that the second prayer was made after the birth of Sayyidna Ishaq (Isaac (A.S)), an event that occurred thirteen years after the birth of Sayyidna Isma'il (Ishmael (A.S)). (Ibn Kathir)
Coming back to the verse under discussion, we see that Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) also prayed for this city to be made "a place of peace" - that is to say, safe from slaughter and plunder as from calamities, and secure against the domination of the infidels. The prayer was granted. Makkah became a thriving city, which is now a place of pilgrimage for Muslims who come to it in millions every year. It also became safe and secure, for no infidel has ever been able to conquer it or dominate over it. The Holy Qur'an itself narrates the story of "Ashab al-Fil" ("the People of the Elephant") who were destroyed for having ventured to invade Makkah. The city has also been safe from slaughter and plunder. Even before the advent of Islam, the Arabs in the Age of Ignorance, for all their deviation into infidelity and association, deeply respected the Ka'bah and its environs as a matter of their creed - in spite of being vengeful, they would never take their revenge so long as the enemy remained within the precincts of the Haram. In fact, the inhabitants of Makkah themselves were respected throughout Arabia, and the trading caravans passing to and fro between Makkah and Syria or Yemen were never interrupted. Allah has given security even to birds and animals inside the Haram, and forbidden all kinds of hunting within this area.
So, even birds and animals distinctly show a feeling of security inside the Haram, and are not scared of men. The sanctity of the place was emphasised and enforced by Islam even further. As for the slaughter which took place in the Haram at the hands of Hajjaj ibn Yusuf or the Qaramitah, it was the work of those who called themselves Muslims, and not an invasion by infidels. If a man chooses to set fire to his own house, it does not falsify the general rule of the security provided to it against outsiders. Moreover, incidents like these have been very rare since the days of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S), and, then, we also know the dreadful fate of those who had dared to pollute "the House of Allah." In short, Allah has, in answer to his prayer, made the city so secure that even the Dajjal (Anti-Christ) shall not have the power to enter it.
Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) had also prayed for the people of Makkah to be provided with fruits. The surrounding land was uncultivable, but, in answer to the prayer, Allah made the neighbouring city of Taif very fertile and productive in fruits, which started coming to Makkah. According to certain traditions of the Israelites, Taif was originally situated in Syria, but was transferred to the present locality by the Archangel Jibra'il (A.S) under divine command.
The Ibrahimic Wisdom One may also notice that Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) did not pray for the land of Makkah to be made fertile, but suggested in his prayer that the fruits might come to Makkah from somewhere else as an import. He probably intended that his descendants should not get unduly absorbed in agriculture, for his purpose in founding the settlement was that his people: "should be steadfast in the prayers." In other words, he wanted the essential function of his descendants to protect "the House of Allah" and to engage themselves in acts of worship. Otherwise, he could have prayed for Makkah itself to be made fertile, and Allah would have granted the prayer as easily.
The point becomes all the more clear if we consider the word Thamarat (plural of Thamarah - "fruit"). This word appears in the same context again in another verse:
يُجْبَىٰ إِلَيْهِ ثَمَرَاتُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ
"the fruits of all kinds of things are drawn towards it (the city)." (28:57)
If it is the fruits of trees that are intended here, the word "Yujba ("drawn") is a sufficient indication that in granting the prayer Allah had not promised to produce them in Makkah itself, but to send them to the city from other places. On the other hand, the verse does not speak of "the fruits of all kinds of trees", but of "the fruits of all kinds of things." Obviously, the intention is to generalize the sense of "fruits" - a word which in common idiom implies the product obtained from a thing or an activity. The word should, then, cover not only the fruits of trees, but also the products of all kinds of crafts and industries in fact, all that is needed to sustain human life. Now, everyone can see for himself that Makkah possesses neither agriculture nor industry, and yet enjoys the benefits of these as much as any prosperous city in the world.
Verse 126 also provides an example of the rectitude of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S). The first phrase of his prayer for the well-being and prosperity of the people of Makkah seems to suggest that he wished to include the infidels as much as the faithful. But earlier when he had prayed for all his descendants without making any distinction between the faithful and the infidels (as reported in Verse 124), Allah had answered that the prayer would be granted in the case of the faithful, but not in the case of the unjust - that is, mushrikin (associators). On that occasion, he had prayed for the position of Imamah (leadership). But the fear of Allah and the solicitude for being totally obedient to Him was so deeply ingrained in the heart of "the Friend of Allah" that even in praying for the prosperity of his people the earlier proviso came to his mind, and he at once added a rejoinder to the effect that he was praying only for the faithful. Allah was pleased with his rectitude, and told him that the worldly prosperity would be given to the disbelievers too, but that in the other world the faithful would be the only ones to prosper, while the disbelievers would receive nothing more than the punishment due to them.
Verse 127 shows another essential quality of this great prophet. In obedience to Allah, he had left the fertile land of Syria and made his wife and child to settle in the barren desert, and now he was taking up the labour of building "the House of Allah." This was a moment when a man who had been bearing such hardships in the way of Allah could normally be expected to feel satisfied with himself and relax in a mood of self-congratulation. But "the Friend of Allah" recognized the Majesty of Allah, and knew that no creature can possibly worship or obey his Creator as is His due, but within his own limited powers. Consequently, he also knew that in performing the hardest or the greatest tasks one should not be proud of one's attainment, but should, in all humility, pray to Allah to accept the little effort one has been capable of making - and that, too, with the grace of Allah Himself. That is exactly what Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) did when he started, along with his young son, to build the Ka'bah. That is to say, he prayed to Allah to accept this deed, for Allah hears all prayers, and knows the intentions of His creatures.
Verse 128 reports that he further prayed to Allah "to make" him and his son obedient to His commandments and to His Will. This prayer too proceeds from the same sense of fear and awe, and from the same knowledge. He has, all his life, been performing exemplary deeds of obedience, and yet he prays to "be made" obedient. It is so, because the more one grows in one's knowledge of Divine Majesty, the more one comes to realize that one is not being faithful and obedient as is due.
It is significant that Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) included his descendants too in his prayer. This shows that the "men of Allah" who never hesitate in sacrificing themselves and their children in the way of Allah, yet love them deeply. All the same, they know what the proper requirements of parental love are, and how they should be fulfilled. This is something beyond the reach of average men, who suppose the well-being of their children to reside in physical health and comfort alone, and spend all their love and care on providing just this to their family. But those who have received the favour of Allah show a much greater solicitude for the spiritual well-being of their children than for the physical, being more anxious as to what happens to them in the other world than in this. So, the great prophet prayed to Allah to make a group from among his descendants fully obedient to Him. This prayer aims at another advantage as well. Experience tells us that if those who enjoy a respectable position in their community, and their descendants keep to the right path, they are naturally held in esteem, and their conduct inspires others to reform themselves. (Al-Bahr al-Muhit)
Allah heard this prayer too, and among the descendants of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) there has always been a group of people obedient to Allah and firm in the Straight Path. Even in the Age of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah) when the whole world, and Arabia in particular, was lost in the darkness of idol-worship and Shirk, there still remained some men from among his descendants who had faith in the One God, who believed in the other world, and were obedient to Allah - for example, Zayd ibn 'Amr bin Nufayl, and Quss ibn Sa'idah. It has also been reported that 'Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim, the grand-father of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, shunned idol-worship and Shirk. (Al-Bahr al-Muhit)
We might add an explanatory note about the word Manasik (the plural of Mansik) which occurs in Verse 128. This word signifies the different actions involved in the performance of the Hajj, and also the different places where the rites are performed - like 'Arafah, Muzdalifah or Mina. Both the meanings of the word are intended here, and the substance of the last part of the prayer is that Sayyidna Ibrahim wanted the rites of the Hajj to be explained and their locations to be indicated. The verb which has been employed in this connection is Arina - "show us." Now, seeing is done through the eyes, and also through the heart. So, the different locations of the rites were shown to him through the Archangel Jibra'il (A.S), and the injunctions regarding the Hajj were explained in detail. (Ma'ariful Qur'an)
"And, our Lord, raise in their midst a Messenger from among them, who should recite to them Your verses, and teach them the Book and the wisdom, and make them pure. Indeed You, and You alone, are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise."(2:129)
The Prayer Of Ibraheem (A.S.) For The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) Let us start by commenting on certain words which occur in this verse. The Arabic word Yatlu (translated in English as "recite", or "read out") comes from the word Tilawah, which lexically signifies "to follow, to obey", but in the terminology of the Qur'an and the Hadith denotes the recitation or reading of the Holy Qur'an or of a Divine Book, for one who reads a Divine Book is also required to obey it fully. The word also suggests that it is obligatory to read the Holy Qur'an exactly as it has been revealed by Allah, and not to add or sub�tract a word on one's own part, not even to change the pronounciation of a word which often may, in the Arabic language, change the very meaning of the word concerned. In his "Mufradat al-Qur'an", Imam al-Raghib al-Isfahani رضي الله عنه says that the word Tilawah cannot, in current idiom, be applied to the reading of any book other than the Word of Allah.
The word Kitab (Book) in this verse, of course, refers to the Holy Qur'an itself. As to the word Hikmah (usually translated in English as "wisdom"), it carries various meanings in Arabic - for example, arriving at the truth, justice, exact knowledge, etc. (al-Qamus). According to al-Raghib al-Isfahani, when the word is used in speaking of Allah, it connotes the total and perfect knowledge of all existents, and flawless creation; but when applied to someone other than Allah, it connotes a proper knowledge of the existents, and good deeds. In connection with the present verse, Maulana Mahmud al-Hasan has interpreted the word as "profound truths, or subtle realities", while Maulana Ashraf 'Ali Thanavi has taken it to mean "the art of understanding properly".
The commentators from among the blessed Companions (radiallahu anhum) and their immediate successors (rahmatullahi alaihim), whose interpretations come directly from the teachings of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him himself, have advanced different connotations of the word Hikmah - some say that it refers to the commentary and exegesis of the Holy Qur'an, others believe that it means the proper understanding of the religion (Din), or the injunctions of the Shari'ah, or such commandments of Allah which have been received through the word of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him. But the truth of the matter is that in spite of the apparent variety of expressions used, the substance of all these statements is the same - namely, the Way (Sunnah) of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him and the Hadith. This is the interpretation reported from Qatadah by Ibn Kathir رضي الله عنه and Ibn Jarir رضي الله عنه.
Commentary
Now, to proceed with the commentary, let us consider why Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S), in praying for the well-being of his descendants in this world and in the other, requested Allah to send a prophet from among them. The reason is twofold. Firstly, the appearance of a prophet from among them would in itself be an honour and a blessing. Secondly, the prophet being a member of their own group, they would be thoroughly familiar with his past and present and with his ways, and thus find it easy to have trust in him, and to profit from his guidance. According to a hadith, in accepting this prayer Allah promised that this prophet would be sent in the last of all ages. (Ibn Jarir and Ibn Kathir)
According to a hadith reported by Imam Ahmad in his "Musnad", the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him has said that Allah had chosen him as the Last Prophet at a time when Sayyidna Adam (A.S) was not yet born and only his clay was being prepared, and that he was the manifestation of the prayer of his father, Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S), of the good tidings brought by Sayyidna 'Isa (Jesus Christ (A.S)), and of the dream seen by his mother. The good-tidings refer to the announcement made by Sayyidna 'Isa (A.S), as reported in the Holy Qur'an:
"I have brought the good-tidings of a prophet who is to come after me, and his name is Ahmad." (61:6)
And the mother of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him had, during her pregnancy, seen in a dream that a light went out of her which illumined the places in far-off Syria. Then, the words of the present prayer of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) have been repeated in two different places in the Holy Qur'an - once in Surah "Aal-Imran" (Ch.3) and then in Surah "Al-Jumu'ah" (Ch. 62). Both the passages where these words have been repeated speak of the prophethood of Sayyidna Muhammad Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him , and thus show that he is the prophet whom Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) had prayed for.
All these verses - namely, the present verse from Surah "Al-Baqarah", and the other two from Surah "'Aal-Imran" and Surah "Al-Jumu'ah" respectively - say the same thing about the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him in the same words. That is to say, they define the purpose of his being sent to the world as the Messenger of Allah and his functions as a prophet. These functions are threefold. Firstly, to recite the verses; secondly, to teach the Book and also to teach "wisdom"; and thirdly, "to purify" the people. Now, let us examine the three in detail.
(1) The verse speaks separately of "reciting" the Holy Qur'an and of "teaching" it. Since "reciting" pertains to the words, and "teaching" to their meanings, the explicit distinction between the two shows that the words of the Holy Qur'an are no less important in themselves and for themselves than their meanings, and that the recitation and preservation of the words is obligatory, and constitutes an act of worship. In order to understand this aspect of the question we have only to recall that the first and immediate listeners and disciples of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him not only knew Arabic very well but were themselves very eloquent speakers of the language, some of them being even poets. For an audience like this it should have apparently been enough to recite the Holy Qur'an, without any explanation or commentary, for them to be taught - in their case, the "reciting" and the "teaching" should have, for all practical purpose, become one and the same thing. Why has the Holy Qur'an, then, mentioned them separately as two distinct prophetic functions?
If one considers the question seriously, one can easily draw two important conclusions. To begin with, one would come to see that the Holy Qur'an is not like other books where meanings are the ultimate object, while words have only a secondary place as being no more than a vehicle for the ideas, and can hence tolerate minor changes and modifications so long as the meaning does not suffer. In the case of man-made books, it would thus be totally frivolous to go on reading the words without paying any attention to the meanings. On the contrary, in the case of the Holy Qur'an the words are in themselves as necessary and inalienable a part of the intention as the meanings, and the Shari'ah has laid down particular injunctions with regard to the words of the Holy Qur'an.
That is why in the Science of the Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence (Usul al-Fiqh) the Holy Qur'an has been defined as comprehending words and meaning both. In other words, if the meanings of the Holy Qur'an are expressed in a different language, or even if certain other Arabic words are substituted for the revealed ones, such a version shall not be entitled to the name "Qur'an", in spite of the meanings being intact. Consequently, if one were to recite this modified version in Salah, one's prayers shall not be valid. Similarly, a reading of this version shall not bring one the reward promised in the Hadith for the recitation of the Holy Qur'an, nor shall any of the injunctions related to the Holy Qur'an apply to it. Hence the Fuqaha' have forbidden the printing and publication of a translation of the Holy Qur'an without the Arabic text. It is quite wrong to speak of an "Urdu Qur'an" or "English Qur'an", simply because a translation of the original into any language whatsoever cannot properly be called "the Qur'an".
In short, the word Yatlu in the present verse leaves no doubt as to the fact that the "recitation of the verses" is an end in itself, for one does not "recite" meanings, but words. Of course, it goes without saying that Allah has sent the Holy Qur'an for us to understand it and to follow its guidance. To be content with memorizing the words alone and being indifferent to the meanings would merely show one's ignorance of the nature of the Book of Allah, and one's ungratefulness. But there are so many people these days who suppose that the Holy Qur'an is like other books, and believe that it is a waste of time to read or memorize its words without knowing what they mean. In view of this wide-spread error, we cannot insist too much on the truth that the recitation of the words of the Holy Qur'an is in itself a regular act of worship and brings a great reward.
This is borne out by the practice of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him and his blessed Companions. They knew the meanings of the Holy Qur'an as no one else can, and yet they never thought that once they had understood it and acted upon it, nothing more was required of them. On the contrary, they kept reciting the Holy Qur'an again and again as long as they lived. Some of the Companions used to recite the whole Book of Allah in a single day, some in two days, and some in three. Reciting the Holy Qur'an in one week has always been quite a usual practice among the Muslims, which is indicated by the division of the Holy Qur'an into seven stages (Manazil).
In fact, by instituting the recitation of the Holy Qur'an as an act of worship, carrying a reward of its own, and by giving it a separate and regular position among the prophetic functions, Allah has been very merciful to those Muslims who are not for some reason yet able to understand the meanings, and has saved them from the misfortune of being indifferent to the words and thus being totally deprived of the blessings which flow from His Book. Even such Muslims should, no doubt, keep trying to understand the meanings too so that they may receive the blessings in full, and the ultimate purpose of the Revelation may be realized.
(2) According to the present verses, "teaching the Book" is a prophetic function distinct from "reciting the Verses". We can easily infer from it the principle that in order to understand the Holy Qur'an it is not sufficient merely to know the Arabic language, but that it also requires the "teaching" of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him. As every one knows, in order to learn a science or art - be it medicine or engineering, or something as ordinary as cookery - it is not enough to read a book or to be proficient in a language. Had it been the only qualification required, one could have easily mastered all the sciences and the arts on which one could find books written in the language one knew. To learn the meanest craft, then, one needs the regular and constant guidance of a teacher. This being so, how can one hope to understand, unaided, the Holy Qur'an which has something to say on the most difficult subjects possible, ranging from theology to philosophy and physics?
Had a competence in the Arabic language been sufficient for this task, scores of Jewish and Christian scholars and men of letters in the Arabic countries today would have been counted among the greatest commentators as would have been Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab in the days of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him. By distinguishing "the teaching of the Book" from "the reciting of the verses" as a distinct prophetic function, the Holy Qur'an has underlined the fact that in order to understand the Book of Allah properly it is not enough, even for those who know Arabic very well, merely to listen to a recitation of the verses, but that such an understanding can be acquired only through the teaching of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, and that to separate the one from the other, and to make an attempt at interpretation on one's own is no more than a self-delusion. Had it not really been necessary to explain and teach the meanings of the Holy Qur'an, why should have Allah sent us a Messenger? There were many other ways of conveying His Book to men.
But Allah knows everything, and is All-Wise. He knows that an understanding of His Book depends on the guidance of a teacher much more than that of human sciences and arts does - in fact, on the guidance, not of an ordinary teacher, but of one who in his turn receives guidance from Allah Himself directly through Revelation (Wahy), and who is designated in Islamic terminology as a Nabiyy (Prophet) and a Rasul (Messenger of Allah). According to the Holy Qur'an itself, Allah has sent the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him to men for the express purpose of explaining to them in detail the injunctions and the meanings of the Divine Book:
لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ
"So that you should explain to men what We have revealed for them." (16:44)
According to the present verse, the prophetic function of "teaching the Book" also includes the "teaching of Hikmah", As we have shown above, although this word carries various meanings in the Arabic language, yet, with reference to this verse and similar ones, the blessed Companions and their immediate successors have interpreted Hikmah as "the Sunnah" or the Way of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him. It means that along with "teaching the Book" the prophetic functions include the teaching of the principles and modes of spiritual discipline. The Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him has himself said: "I have been sent only as a teacher." From this, it necessarily follows that his followers are required to be disciples, and that every Muslim, man or woman, should as a Muslim be a life-long student, keen to learn what the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, has taught. If one cannot for some reason master the different sciences connected with the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah, one must try to acquire at least a satisfactory knowledge and understanding of the basic doctrines of Islam and of the fundamental injunctions of the Shari'ah which are absolutely indispensable for every Muslim.
(3) "Purifying the people" is also an essential prophetic function. The Arabic word Tazkiyah denotes purifying a thing or person from all kinds of filth, internal as well as external. One can see for oneself what the different kinds of external filth are - the Shari'ah has clearly defined them. The internal varieties include, on the one hand, false beliefs like infidelity (Kufr), association (Shirk), or total reliance on some one other than Allah, and, on the other hand, pride, vanity malice, jealousy, love of worldly things, etc. Although the evil nature of such beliefs and tendencies has been fully explained in the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah, yet in making "the purification of the people" a distinct and separate prophetic function the present verse indicates that just as a mere knowledge of words and technical terms does not make one the master of a science or art, in the same way a knowledge, or even a proper understanding of its principles does not by itself make one perfect in the science or art concerned.
To attain any degree of perfection one must also learn to put the principles into practice, and "realize" them in oneself and for oneself, which again requires the supervision of an authentic teacher and guide. In the Way of Sufis (Tariqah) the function of the spiritual guide (Shaykh) is to help the disciple in obeying the injunctions of the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah so thoroughly that it becomes a matter, not of effort, but of habit - so to say, his very "nature".
[At this point, we must sound a note of warning. It has grown, in our day, almost habitual to speak of Islam as "the religion of action" - if not of "activism". In such phrases, the implication is never absent that "action" is tc be considered as an anti-thesis of "thought", and "practice" as that of "theory" - as if there is a dichotomy, and the two activities can hardly be reconciled with each other. And there is always the insinuation that in order to be worthy of any respect one must make an either or kind of choice in favour of "action" and "practice" as against "thought" and "theory".
Such formulations are no older than four centuries, and are the necessary products of certain dilemmas which historically arose in the society of the Christian West. They do not and cannot, as such, belong to a religious or metaphysical approach to things. In so far as an activity can be described as specifically "human", it cannot be purely automatic, but is preceded by thought. In other words, all "practice" is governed by a "theory", and all "action" guided by "thought" or some principle, good or bad. The rule is so general that it applies even to the action of those who have been promoting the dichotomy. As far as the Islamic way of looking at things is concerned, it goes without saying that no action or practice, however good, can have the slightest merit or spiritual efficacy until and unless it carries a divine sanction.
It logically follows that the foremost duty of a Muslim is to acquaint himself with divine commandments, and then to obey them. One can, if one likes, give to the first the name of "theory", and the second the name of "practice". But there is no dichotomy involved, nor any choice called for. No "practice" can be valid without being informed by "theory", and no "theory" can be of much avail without being put into "practice". It is "theory" which makes "practice" meaningful, and it is through "practice" alone that one acquires a true knowledge of "theory". They are not two entities, but only two ways of considering the same reality. What finally matters is "realization" - or making the essential truths "real" to oneself.
In the West itself, and as late as the end of the Middle Ages, there were people who knew that theoria and praxis went together in the terminology of spiritual disciplines. In fact, the Greek word does, in its original meaning, say all that we have been trying to explain here. For, even if "theory" in modern European languages has come to mean just a 'speculation', or a 'supposition', even a 'fancy', the Greek verb theoreo signified "to see", and the noun theoros denoted the "man who sees". Thus, theoria was not merely a fancy, but a truth which could be "seen", or actively realized.]
Now that we are on the subject of purification (tazkiyah), we might add another important consideration. From the days of the First Prophet to the days of the Last (A.S), it has been the Way of Allah that in order to guide men and to show them the Straight Path, He has been sending them not only His Books but His prophets also. This indicates the general principle that for their guidance men need, on the one hand, a Divine Teaching revealed in the form of a Book, and, on the other, a human teacher in the form of a prophet who should train and discipline them into absorbing the divine guidance fully. Men need not merely one of these, but both. For, a man alone can be the teacher of another man, and not a book - which serves only as an aid. That is why Islam began with a Book and a Prophet, and the two, working together, produced a society of men who are unparalleled in history for their rectitude. For the coming generations too, the two basic principles of guidance have continued to function in the form of the Shari'ah and "the Men of Allah". The Holy Qur'an has emphasised the point again and again. Let us quote a few instances:
"It is they who are truthful, and it is they who are the God-fearing." (2:177)
As we have explained in our commentary on the first chapter, the Surah "Al-Fatihah" is the quintessence of the Holy Qur'an, and the essence of this Surah is the guidance towards the Straight Path (Al-Sirat al-Mustaqim). Now, in order to indicate the Straight Path the Holy Qur'an has, instead of calling it the Path of the Qur'an or the Path of the Prophet or the Path of the Sunnah, spoken of the Men of Allah who can show the Straight Path to the seeker. Says the Holy Qur'an:
"Those on whom Allah has bestowed His grace - the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs and the righteous." (4:69)
Similarly, the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him has, for the benefit of all the later generations of Muslims, explicitly named certain personalities who should be followed in religious matters: " I am leaving behind me two things; if you stand firm by them you will never fall into misguidance - firstly, the Book of Allah, and, secondly, my descendants and the members of my family." (Tirmidhi)
A hadith reported by Al-Bukhari says: "After me, follow Abu Bakr and 'Umar." And a third hadith says: "You must adopt my way (the Sunnah) and the way of Al-Khulafa' al-Rashideen" - that is, the first four rightly-guided Caliphs (radiallahu anhum ajma'een).
In short, whether it be religion or the different sciences and arts, the acquisition of knowledge in the proper sense of the term depends on profiting from authentic books and authentic teachers. In the case of religion, however, people are, while turning to these two modes, liable to fall into the error of putting exclusive or excessive emphasis on one of them alone, which brings them more harm than good. Thus, there are, on the one hand, people who neglect the Book of Allah, and begin to adore their scholars and spiritual masters, without taking the trouble of finding out whether they are obedient to the Shari'ah or not. In fact, this has been the characteristic malady of the Jews and the Christians. Speaking of them, the Holy Qur'an says:
"They have taken their rabbis and their monks as their lords apart from Allah." (9:31)
Obviously, this is the royal road to Shirk (association) and Kufr (infidelity), on which millions have perished, and go on perishing. On the other hand, there are people who claim that the Book of Allah is by itself sufficient for them, and that in order to understand it they do not need the guidance of a teacher or a scholar or a spiritual master. This too is a form of misguidance, for an attempt to interpret the Book of Allah on one's own, without the aid of reliable specialists, inevitably draws one into all sorts of errors, makes one a slave of one's own desires and inclinations, and may, in some cases at least, lead one straight outside the pale of Islam.
So, what one is required to do is to put each of these two means of knowledge in its proper place, and to profit from both. One should be quite clear about the basic principle in this respect - to Allah alone belongs the authority to lay down a commandment, and it is Allah alone we have been called upon to obey, while the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him is a means of helping us to know how Allah is to be obeyed, and one obeys Him on the ground that to obey the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him is to obey Allah Himself. Besides that, one should, when faced with difficulties in understanding the Holy Qur'an and the Hadith or in acting upon them, turn for help, willingly and respectfully, to the words and deeds of the masters in these subjects, and consider it to be the key to the door of salvation.
There is a second conclusion to be drawn from the fact that the present verse includes the teaching of the Book among the prophetic functions. As we know, Allah has promised to safeguard the Holy Qur'an Himself:
"It is We who have revealed the Guidance, and it is We who watch over it." (15:9)
Consequently, every single word, every consonant and every vowel of the Holy Qur'an has remained intact upto this day, and shall remain intact as long the world lasts. Now, according to the present verse, the teaching of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, is absolutely indispensable for a proper understanding of the Holy Qur'an, and without this guidance it is not possible to act upon the Holy Qur'an in a real sense. It logically follows from it that the teachings of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him should also receive divine protection in their own degree, and remain intact as a whole till the end of the world; otherwise, the preservation of the words of the Holy Qur'an would not, by itself, fully serve the purpose for which Allah has revealed it. It goes without saying that the teachings of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him are identical with what is called the Sunnah or the Hadith. Although Allah has not promised the same degree of protection to the Hadith as to the Holy Qur'an, and the words of the Sunnah have not been preserved exactly in the same manner as the words of the Holy Qur'an, yet the prophetic interpretations too must, according to the present verse, remain intact, and it has, taken as a whole, remained intact upto this day. Whenever an attempt has been made to distort a Hadith or to invent spurious ones, the specialists in the science have always exposed the fraud.
Thus, in accordance with the prediction implicit in the present verse, Allah has preserved the teachings of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him from the days of the blessed Companions to our own day through fully authentic collections of the Ahadith and through the masters of this subject. And this divine protection shall continue to the last day of the world. For, the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him himself has assured us that in his Ummah there shall always remain till the end of the world a group of authentic scholars who shall jealously and watchfully guard the Holy Qur'an and the Hadith against all attempts at distortion or misrepresentation. This hadith by itself gives the lie to some contemporary writers who have, for the ulterior motive of discrediting the injunctions of the Islamic Shari'ah, been trying to propagate the notion that the whole body of the Ahadith we possess is inauthentic and hence unreliable. But anyone who has eyes to see can easily understand the stratagem - if one cannot trust the Hadith, one can no longer trust the text of the Holy Qur'an. And this is exactly what the Westerners and their local allies want to accomplish - that is, to make the Muslims turn away from the Holy Qur'an.
In the end, let us note that the three prophetic functions which Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) referred to in his prayer, and which the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him was sent to perform, were fulfilled in his own life-time. In order to have an idea of the great transformation which the recitation of the Holy Qur'an, the teaching of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him and his purifying influence brought about in men, it is enough to see what the Holy Qur'an says in praise of his Companions (radiallahu anhum):
"Those who are with him are hard against the disbelievers, merciful to one another; you see them bowing and prostrating themselves (in prayers), seeking the bounty of Allah and His pleasure." (48:29)
"And who turns away from the faith of Ibrahim except the one who has debased himself in folly. And indeed We have chosen him in this world, and in the other world he is certainly among the righteous. When his Lord said to him, "Submit!" He said, 'I submit myself to the Lord of the worlds." And Ibrahim exhorted the same to his sons, and so did Ya'qub: "My sons, Allah has certainly chosen for you the Faith. So, let not death overtake you but as Muslims."(2:130-132)
The earlier verses have defined the basic principles of the religion of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S), called upon men to follow it, and warned them against the dangers involved in turning away from it. They have also refuted the claims of the Jews and the Christians to be the followers of this religion, while indicating Islam as the only religion which is now faithful to the Abrahamic Tradition, and which has, in its essentials, been the religion common to all the prophets. The present verses show the solicitude of the prophets (A.S) in giving religious and spiritual instruction and guidance to their descendants.
The Ibrahimic Way
Verse 130 speaks of the superiority of the religion of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S), from which arises his own spiritual station and glory in this world and in the other. This being so, anyone who turns away from this religion only displays his own stupidity.*Anyhow, the point is that only he can turn away from this religion who does not possess any understanding, or has totally lost it, for this alone is the religion of "Nature", and no one can deny it so long as his "nature", in the essential and integral sense of the word, remains intact. The superiority of this religion is shown by the simple fact that Allah conferred a special honour on Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) in this world and in the next on account of this very religion.
As for the honour and greatness he received in this world, everyone knows how Namrud (Nimrod) with all his might failed to impress him, how he accepted gladly to be thrown into the fire rather than give up the worship of the One God, and how the Lord of the worlds changed the fire into a garden for him, so that believers and non-believers alike finally came to recognize his uprightness and his unalloyed faith. The associators of Arabia were, after all, his progeny, and had, in spite of their idol-worship, always continued to hold him in great esteem, and even claimed to be his followers. Certain remnants of his religion were still present among them, though somewhat distorted by their ignorance -for example, the Hajj, the annual sacrifice of animals, hospitality etc. These are the manifestations of the special divine grace which had designated "the Friend of Allah" (Khalilullah) as the 'Imam of people. (2:124) So much for his greatness in this world. As to the next, Verse 130 has announced the exalted station Allah has granted him in the Hereafter.
[*Let us note that the relevant phrase in the Arabic text of this verse can be translated into English in three ways: (a) Such a man is stupid in himself (b) he has besotted himself, and allowed himself to become stupid (c) he is ignorant of his own self.]
Verse 131 defines the basic principle of the religion of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S). Allah asked him to submit himself, and he willingly and gladly agreed to submit himself to "the Lord of the worlds." Let us add that the word of command employed in this verse is Aslim, which comes from the same root as the word Islam. It is difficult to find an exact English equivalent, for the word signifies "to obey, to submit oneself, to surrender one's will." Anyhow, we should notice that in reply to the divine command, he did not say, as one would have expected, aslamtu lak: "I submit myself to you," but, more elaborately: "I submit myself to the Lord of the worlds." This particular form of reply expresses the attitude of respect and awe proper to the occasion, and includes the praise of Allah which the moment of receiving the honour of divine address demanded.
It also carries a recognition of the fact that in submitting himself to the Lord of the worlds he was only performing the essential duty of a servant towards the Master of All, and doing it for his own benefit. The reply makes it clear that the basic principle of the religion of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S), and its very essence is contained in one word, Islam, which signifies total obedience and willing submission of oneself to Allah. It was to show to the world his perfect adherence to this principle that he was made to pass through all the trials before attaining his exalted station. Islam, or submission to Allah, is what the world has been created for; it is the end all the prophets and all the divine books have been sent to serve.
We also learn from this verse that the religion common to all the prophets (A.S) and the point on which all of them come together is Islam. Beginning with Sayyidna Adam upto the Last Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, every messenger of Allah and every prophet has called men to Islam alone, and enjoined upon his followers to keep to this Straight Path. The Holy Qur'an is quite explicit on this subject:
إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الْإِسْلَامُ
Certainly, in the eyes of Allah the only religion is Islam." (3:19) and,
"Whoso desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted of him." (3:85)
In order to put the question in the proper perspective as also to avoid the risk of misunderstanding let us add a few remarks. All the religions which different prophets brought to the world had a divine sanction behind them, were essentially instituted by Allah Himself, and each of them was, in its own time, "accepted" in the sight of Allah. Consequently, each of these religions - whether one calls it Judaism or Christianity or something else - must in its essence be Islam, in the general sense of the word - namely, total submission to Allah 'azza wa jal.
But the religion of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) is distinguished from others by a peculiar characteristic - that is, he gave to his religion the name of Islam, and to his followers the name of Muslims. We have al�ready seen in Verse, 128 how he prayed for himself, his son and his progeny: "And, our Lord, keep us both obedient (Muslimayn) to you, and make of our progeny a people (Ummah) obedient (Muslimah) to you." And now in Verse 132 we find him advising his descendants not to die without being sure that they have been Muslims. After him this distinction of being specifi�cally called Muslims and "the Islamic Ummah" passed on, according to his own instruction, to the Ummah of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him. Addressing the Muslims, the Holy Qur'an says:
مِلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ
"Be steadfast in the religion of your father, Ibrahim. He named you Muslims before this as well as in this (the Holy Qur'an)." (22:78)
When the Holy Qur'an was revealed, the Jews and the Christians, and even the idol-worshippers of Arabia used to make the claim, each group on its own part, that they were the followers of the Abrahamic religion, but the Holy Qur'an and its followers have made it quite evident that in this last phase of human history the religion of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, and this alone, is the religion of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) - the religion of quintessential "Nature" (Al-fitrah).
In short, the essence of all the divine books, all the Shari'ahs and the teachings of all the prophets is Islam - that is, turning away from one's desires in order to obey divine commandments, and giving up individual opinion in order to submit oneself to divine guidance. But we are grieved to see that there are thousands of Muslims today, who have forgotten this basic truth, and wish to pursue their own desires in the name of Islam. What appeals to them is that kind of interpretation (rather, misinterpretation) of the Holy Qur'an and the Hadith which should flatter their desires. In fact, what they strive to do is to distort the Shari'ah to suit their fancies, and to do it so cleverly that the idols they really worship should appear in the garb of religion. Such men are, indeed, trying to be clever with Allah Himself who knows every particle of the universe and who can look into the deepest recesses of the human heart - the Almighty before whom nothing avails but complete surrender and total submission.
What Islam requires of man is that he should set aside all his desires and inclinations, and seek, in everything he does, the pleasure of his Lord. And he can find this pleasure only when he knows the commandments of his Lord, and also performs these tasks exactly in the manner He has prescribed. This is what 'Ibadah or worship is, in the real sense of the word. It is the perfection of this total obedience and submission and love which constitutes the final stage of man's spiritual development, which is known as the Station (Maqam) of 'Abdiyyah (Servanthood). This is the station where Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) received from Allah the title of Khalilullah (the Friend of Allah), and the Last of All the Prophets the title of : Abduna (Our Servant). On the subsidiary levels of the Station of Servanthood stand the Abdal, the Aqtal, the Awliya, the men of Allah - the 'saints' of the Islamic Ummah, each in his own degree. This is the essence of Tawhid (the realization of unicity), on attaining which all one's fears and hopes become bound with Allah, and with no one else.
Thus, Islam signifies total obedience to Allah, and this obedience is possible only when one follows the Sunnah, the Way of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him. The Holy Qur'an has laid down the principle in very explicit words:
"By your Lord, they will never be true Muslims till they make you the judge regarding the disagreements between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your verdict, and sur�render themselves in full submission." (4:65)
In the end let us clarify an important point. As reported in Verse 132, Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) made his descendants promise that before they died they should make sure that they had been Muslims. It means that one should steadfastly follow the teachings of Islam throughout one's life, so that one receives the grace of Allah and remains a Muslim upto the last breath. A number of ahadith too say that one would die in the state which one has maintained in one's life, and one would, on the Day of Resurrection, rise from the grave in the same state. This is the usual way of Allah with men - if His servant makes up his mind to do good deeds and also strives in this direction as best as he can, Allah helps him and makes the task easy for him. This principle does not in any way stand in opposition to what has been said in another hadith to this effect:-
A man keeps doing the kind of good deeds for which Paradise has been promised and it seems that there is only an arms's length between him and Paradise, and then all of a sudden his destiny overcomes him, and he starts doing what would lead him to Hell, and finally he reaches Hell; on the other hand, a man keeps doing what would lead him to Hell, and it seems that there is only an arm's length between him and Hell, and then his destiny overcomes him, and he starts doing what would make him worthy of Paradise, and finally he enters Paradise.
We have said that there is no contradiction involved, for some texts of this hadith mention a proviso too - "as it appeared to people." That is to say, the first of these two men appeared in the eyes of the onlookers to be performing good deeds, while in fact he was doing just the opposite; similarly, the second man had from the outset been doing what would make him worthy of Paradise, though people thought him to be a sinner, (ibn Kathir) We conclude this discussion with the remark that the man who has been steadfast in doing good deeds, should trust the divine promise, rely on the usual way of Allah with His creatures, and hope that through the grace of Allah he would depart from this world in this blessed state. (Ma'ariful Qur'an, Volume 1)
"Or were you present when death approached Yaqub, when he said to his sons: "What will you worship after me"? They said, "We will worship your God and the God of your fathers, Ibrahim, Isma'il and Ishaq, the one God, and to Him we submit ourselves." Those are a people who have passed away. For them what they earned, and for you what you earned. And you shall not be questioned as to what they have been doing." (2:133-134)
The previous verses have defined the religion of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) and the essence of Islam. Now, these two verses bring before us another aspect of the question. Call it the religion of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) or Islam, it is in any case meant for the whole world. Then why have the descendants of Sayyidna Ibrahim and Sayyidna Ya'qub (A.S) been specifically mentioned here, and why should have these two great prophets been so particular in giving this counsel to their sons? We shall say that these specifications show that love for one's progeny and solicitude for their well-being is in no way incompatible with the station of prophethood or even with that of "the Friend of Allah." For, Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S), who was, on one occasion, not only willing but happy to be sacrificing his son in obedience to the commandment of Allah, did on a different occasion pray for the well-being of his progeny in this world and the other, and wished, while departing from this world, to offer them what was the greatest blessing in his eyes - namely, Islam. Verses 132 and 133 suggest this very principle. So, even prophets love their children, the only difference being that while ordinary men consider the good things of this world alone to be worthwhile and wish to leave to their children as much of these as they can, in the eyes of the prophets and their genuine followers the only thing that counts is Iman (faith) and good deeds - in one word, Islam - and it is this eternal wealth which they wish and strive to transmit wholly to their descendants.
This practice of the prophets provides a special guidance to parents: just as they are keen to secure the worldly comfort and happiness of their children, they should pay equal, if not greater, attention to the discipline of their external and internal behaviour according to the requirements of the Shari'ah. Is it at all reasonable that one should strain every nerve to protect one's children from the heat of the sun, but leave them exposed to the fire of Hell?
From this example of the prophets we also learn that it is the duty of the parents and the right of the children that one should first of all take care of the spiritual health of one's own children, and worry about others only afterwards. This principle rests on three considerations. Firstly, one's children are, on account of the special relationship with the parents, likely to accept the counsel more easily and thoroughly than others, and may later on be of great help in the efforts which one makes in the service of Islam.
Secondly, the easiest and the most effective way of transmitting the Truth to a whole people is that the head of each family should take upon himself the responsibility of teaching and training the members of his family. Employing a current and popular term, we may say that this localized and decentralized method distributes the responsibility over a large number of individuals, and teaching the families separately amounts finally to teaching the society as a whole. The Holy Qur'an itself has laid down the principle:
"O believers, guard yourselves and your families against a Fire." (66:6)
In fact, the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him himself who is the Messenger of Allah for the whole of humanity and whose guidance shall remain valid upto the last day of the world, was commanded to convey the Truth first of all to the members of his family. Thus, the Holy Qur'an says:
وَأَنْذِرْ عَشِيرَتَكَ الْأَقْرَبِينَ
"And warn your clan, your nearest kin." (26:214) and
"And bid your family to offer Salah, and be regular in them yourself." (20:132)
And the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, always fulfilled these commandments.
Thirdly, one can observe for oneself that if the close relations or the members of his family do not support a man in what he wishes to teach, or do not seem to be acting upon it, his teachings do not succeed so well with others. When the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, took upon himself the prophetic function, the usual reply of his listeners was that he should first convince his own clan, the Quraysh, before turning to others. But when his own clan accepted Islam and the process had been completed at the time of the conquest of Makkah, the world saw, as the Holy Qur'an reports:
يَدْخُلُونَ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ أَفْوَاجًا
"People entering Allah's religion in throngs." (110:2)
The main reason for the ignorance and the indifference towards Islam which is wide-spread among the Muslims today, is that even when the parents themselves are good Muslims in every way, they leave their children to themselves and let the social environment mould them in its own fashion. Their only worry is to see their children doing well in this world, and they never think of what will happen to them in the next. Let us pray that Allah, in His mercy, grant all of us the solicitude for the other world, and help us to make a genuine effort for acquiring the only wealth that can ever be: faith and rectitude!
Injunctions and Related Considerations
Verse 133 reports that the sons of Sayyidria Ya'qub (Jacob) (A.S) promised to worship: "The God of your father, Ibraheem and Isma'eel and Ishaaq." This phrase indicates that the term "father" includes the grand-father as well. The blessed Companion 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him has deduced from this verse the rule that in matters of inheritance the grandfather shall be treated like the father.
Verse 134 tells us that the good deeds of one's forefathers shall not suffice one, if one has not been performing good deeds oneself, and that, similarly, one shall not have to suffer for the misdeeds of one's forefathers, if one's own account is clean. It follows upon this principle that children of mushrikin (associators) and Kafireen (infidels), if they die before having come of age, shall not be punished in the other world on account of the disbelief of their parents. The verse also refutes the claim of the Jews that irrespective of what they had been doing they would go to Paradise on account of the good deeds of their forefathers.
Let this be a warning to those Muslims who, being the descendants of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him or of a saint, delude themselves with the hope that their sins would go unpunished in consideration of this privileged position. In fact, the Holy Qur'an is very explicit and very insistent on this point. For example:
"Each man shall reap the fruits of his own deeds, and no one shall bear the burden of another." (6:164)
Addressing his own clan, the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him said: "Beware, O Banu Hashim, let it not be that on the Day of Judgment while others bring their good deeds with them, you on your part, having neglected good deeds, bring with you only the trust in being my relations, and so I have to tell you that on that day, I cannot save you from the wrath of Allah."
Another hadith says: "He who has been pulled back by his deeds cannot be pushed forward by his ancestry."
"And they said, "Become Jews or Christians, and you will find the right path." Say: "Instead, (we shall remain) the followers of Ibrahim, the upright, - and he was not one of the associators." Say (O, Muslims): "We believe in Allah, and in what has been revealed to us, and in what has been revealed to Ibrahim, Isma'il, Ishaq, Ya'qub and his children, and in what has been given to Musa and 'Isa (Jesus) and what has been given to the prophets from their Lord: We make no difference between any of them. And to Him we submit ourselves.""(2:135-136)
The earlier verses have defined the religion (Millat) of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) and established that its present form is Islam. Now, the Jews and the Christians, in spite of their pretension to be his followers, did not in actual fact follow his religion. Each of these two groups, instead of accepting Islam, used to ask the Muslims to accept its own religion in order to find true guidance. No doubt, each of these two religions was, in its own time and for its own time, a genuine religion, but in its present form each had become distorted, and had also been abrogated by Allah.
So, in answer to them, Allah asks the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him to declare on his own behalf and on that of his followers that they are and shall remain steadfast in the religion of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) who shunned all kinds of association (Shirk), who adored nothing but the One God and obeyed no one but Him, and whose religion, therefore, did not have even a trace of distortion. Then, in the second of these verses Allah asks the Muslims to declare the basic tenets of this religion too, which are as follows:-
(1) Muslims believe in Allah and in the guidance which He has sent them through the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him.
(2) They also believe in all the prophets Allah 'azza wa jal has sent from time to time - some of whom have been mentioned in this verse.
(3) Some of the prophets may in some ways be superior to others, but it is essential for a Muslim to believe in all the prophets without making any distinction.
(4) Muslims believe that the Shari'ahs of all the prophets mentioned here were instituted by Allah Himself, but they have now been abrogated. So, Muslims follow the Shari'ah of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, for this alone is now valid.
(5) Muslims ultimately obey Allah alone, and submit themselves totally to Him.
In the second of these verses the progeny of Sayyidna Ya'qub (Jacob (A.S)) has been described as 'Asbat or "tribes". The reason is that he had twelve sons, and the offspring of each son came to form a tribe. Allah so blessed his seed that in Egypt, Sayyidna Yusuf (Joseph (A.S)) and his brothers made up a group of twelve men, but their lineage flourished, and when the Israelites left Egypt along with Sayyidna Musa (Moses), their number ran into thousands. Another form of this blessing was that the progeny of Sayyidna Ya'qub (A.S) included a large number of prophets. (Ma'ariful Qur'an)
"So, if they believe in the like of what you believe in, they have certainly found the right path. And if they turn away, they are nothing but in antagonism. Then Allah will suffice you against them, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. The colouring of Allah! And who is better in colouring than Allah? And we are to worship none but Him."(2:137-138)
The Definition Of 'Iman
From the beginning of the Surah Al-Baqarah upto this place, different verses have been explaining the nature and essence 'Iman (faith), sometimes succinctly and sometimes in detail. Verse 137 defines 'Iman in a simple and short phrase which is at the same time so comprehensive that all possible details and explanations are inherent in it. The earlier verses having established that the only religion which is valid at present is Islam, this verse assures the Muslims that the Jews and the Christians can find the guidance only "if they believe just as you believe", or, in other words, "if they believe in what you believe in." The immediate addressees of the phrase "you believe" are the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him and his blessed Companions.
Thus, in doctrinal matters above all, their 'Iman has been placed before us as a model, and the verse is essentially a divine commandment, laying down the fundamental principle that the only 'Iman acceptable to Allah is the one which was adopted by the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him. and his blessed Companions, and that any doctrines or beliefs that deviate from it in the least are neither valid nor acceptable to Allah. That is to say, one should believe in Allah and His attributes, in the angels, in the Books of Allah, in the messengers and prophets of Allah and in their teachings exactly in the same manner as the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him and the blessed Companions did, without adding or substracting anything on one's own part and without advancing one's own interpretations or distorting the authentic meanings of the doctrines. Nor is one allowed to assign to the angels or the prophets a station higher or lower than the one assigned to them by the word or deed of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him. Moreover, one is also required to be sincere and pure in one's faith, for the contrary would amount to hypocrisy (Nifaq).
This explanation helps us to see in its true proportions the situation of the heterodox sects among the Muslims - of those who make tall claims as to the genuineness of their 'Iman, but do not possess 'Iman in the full sense of the term. As for that, even the idolators of Arabia used to proclaim the authenticity of their 'Iman as do the Jews and the Christians even today, and as do even the heretics in every age, but since their faith in Allah, in the prophets and the angels, and in the Day of Judgment etc. did not conform to the 'Iman of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, it was not acceptable to Allah and was summarily rejected.
To give a few examples, some of the associators of Arabia used to deny the very existence of angels, while others considered them to be the daughters of God. Some groups among the Jews refused to obey the prophets and were so hostile to them that they came to assassinate a number of them, while other groups among the Jews and the Christians began to revere the prophets so extravagantly as to identify them with God Himself, or to place them on the level of God or to consider them the sons of God. These two attitudes are the two extremes of deviation, and are clearly seen, in the light of this verse, to be only two forms of misguidance.
According to the Shari'ah, it is, of course, obligatory for every Muslim to respect and love the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, and if one lacks in this respect and love, one cannot be said to possess 'Iman in the true sense of the term; all the same, let it be clearly understood that it is misguidance and association (Shirk) to make him the equal of Allah with respect to an attribute like knowledge or power. For, according to the Holy Qur'an, the essence of Shirk lies in making someone other than Allah the equal of Allah with respect to a divine attribute, as is indicated by this verse:
إِذْ نُسَوِّيكُمْ بِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
"And when we used to make you equal of the Lord of the worlds." (26:98)
There are some Muslims who consider the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, to be omniscient and omnipresent like Allah Himself, and, in doing so, congratulate themselves upon showing the respect and love which is required of a Muslim, while they are only disobeying the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him and going against his teachings. They should learn from this verse that the respect and love for the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him; which Allah demands from a Muslim is only that kind of respect and love which his blessed Companions had for him - neither more nor less than this, for either would be a deviation and a sin.
The Terms Zilli and Buruzi are Not Valid
On the other hand, there are people [like the group called the Qadianis or the Ahmadis of Lahore] who have been deying the unambiguous and clear declaration of the Holy Qur'an that Sayyidna Muhammad Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him is the last of all the prophets, and trying to make room for a new prophet. In order to serve this evil purpose, they have out of their own fantasy manufactured exotic forms of prophethood, and given to them equally fanciful names like Buruz (incarnation) or Zill (manifestation). The present verse exposes this fraud as well, for the 'Iman of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him and of his blessed Companions does not show any trace of a belief in prophets of this genre, and anyone who pretends to such a belief is an avowed heretic.
Similarly, there are people whose minds and hearts are so befogged in modern materialism and the so-called "rationalism" that they find it difficult to accept the idea of the other world and the things that pertain to it, and then try to subject them to crooked interpretations, which they suppose to be an effort to make Islam more acceptable to the modern mind, and hence a great service to Islam. But, insofar as these interpretations transgress the commandment indicated in this verse - that is to say, they do not conform to the 'Iman of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him; and of his Companions (R.A) - they are totally false, and must be rejected. It is obligatory for a Muslim to believe without demur in what the Holy Qur'an and the Hadith tell us with regard to the other world and all that pertains to it. For example, it is quite inadmissible to maintain that on the Day of Judgment men will be resurrected only "spiritually" and not bodily, or that the reward and the punishment in the other world will be "spiritual" and not physical, or that the "weighing of the deeds" is only a metaphorical expression. Let us insist once again that all such interpretations are doctrinally false and unacceptable to Allah - as the present verse has established.
Having defined the 'Iman which is acceptable to Allah, Verse 137 also points out that the enemies of Islam may yet remain unconvinced out of sheer obstinacy and malice. Allah asks the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him not to worry about them, for Allah will deal with them Himself, and protect His prophet. This promise has been made more explicitly in another verse:
وَاللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ
"And Allah will protect you against these people." (5:67)
Subsequent events showed the fulfilment of this promise.
The Colour of Allah
Verse 138 delineates Islam as the "colouring of Allah", and explains this "colouring" as the unalloyed worship of Allah and total submission to Him. Verse 135 has identified Islam with "the religion of Ibrahim." If we put Verse 135 and 138 together, it becomes clear that essentially Islam - or any authentic religion, for that matter - is the religion of Allah, and that the association of a religion with the name of a prophet can only be symbolised.
Verse 138 presents religion as "colouring" (Sibghah). The expression carries within itself several levels of meaning. But the immediate allusion is to a certain ceremony of the Christians. On the seventh day of its birth, they used to bathe an infant in coloured (probably yellow) water, which was supposed to be a substitute for circumcision, and a sufficient guarantee for the external and internal purification of the infant - the fast and indelible "colouring" of Christian faith, so to say. The verse suggests that this colour is wasted away with the water, without leaving a trace outside or inside, nor does this kind of baptism serve the purpose of circumcision and cleanse a man of physical impurity.
And the verse declares that the only colouring worth the name is the colouring of a genuine and unabrogated religion - that is, Islam - the only colouring which can guarantee physical and spiritual purification, and the only one which shall remain. Then, the word Sibghah or "colouring" has a deeper meaning too. Just as a certain colour is openly and clearly visible to the beholder, the signs of genuine and pure 'Iman should shine through the face, the movements, the habits and the behaviour of a Muslim. In this sense, the verse is a commandment, asking Muslims "to dye" themselves in the "colouring of Allah", outwardly and inwardly by offering unalloyed worship to Him alone, by submitting themselves totally to His commandments, and by gladly accepting His will.
""Would you argue with us about Allah, when He is our Lord as well as your Lord? For us our deeds, and for you your deeds! And to Him we are faithful. Or, would you say that Ibrahim Isma'il, Ishaq, Ya'qub and their children were Jews or Christians?" Say: "Do you know better or does Allah?" And who can be more unjust than the one who conceals the testimony he has from Allah? And Allah is not unaware of what you do. Those are a people who have passed away. For them what they earned, and for you what you earned. And you shall not be questioned as to what they have been doing." (2:139-141)
These three verses bring to an end the section of the Surah in which certain claims of the Jews and the Christians have been refuted -- for example, their assertion that Sayyidna Ibrahim (Abraham), Sayyidna Isma'il (Ishmael), Sayyidna Ishaq (Isaac), Sayyidna Ya'qub (Jacob) and the prophets in his lineage (A.S), were either Jews or Christians, and the claim that they were the chosen people and would have the exclusive privilege of being sent straight to Paradise which would be denied to Muslims. The earlier verses have established that the religion of all these prophets was Islam, in the general sense of the term, but that the earlier Shari'ahs have now been abrogated, and the title of "Islam" been specially given to the religion of Sayyidna Muhammad Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him.
Should the Jews and the Christians still continue, in their stubbornness, to deny, Allah asks the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him and the Muslims to declare in plain and simple words that Allah, being the Lord of All, cannot show any special favour to any particular group of His creatures, and that on the Day of Judgment He will assess the Jews and the Christians as well as the Muslims according to what each has believed in and how each has been behaving - a principle which was accepted by the People of the Book too. The Muslims have also been asked to announce that they on their part recognize no other god but Allah, and have purified their religion of all traces of association (Shirk) - as against the Jews and the Christians who consider Sayyidna 'Uzayr (Ezra (A.S)) and Sayyidna 'Isa (Jesus (A.S)) respectively to be "the Son of God", and whose religions have, moreover, been abrogated.
In this respect at least, Muslims have a superiority over them. If the People of the Book should, on account of their affiliation with the earlier prophets, still keep insisting on their own rectitude, the Muslims may ask them a basic question - who knows the truth better, Allah or the People of the Book? Allah has definitely and finally announced the truth in the Last Revelation, and the People of the Book themselves know that the religion of the earlier prophets was Islam. Yet they are trying to conceal the truth, and being unjust, in the gravest sense of the term. Allah knows what they have been doing, and will judge them according to their own deeds, and not according to the deeds of their ancestors. Thus, at the end of this section, Verse 141, which is a repetition of Verse 134, warns them against the consequences of their vanity and pretentiousness, and advises them to take care of themselves rather than relying on ancestral glory.
Verse 139 brings out the essential and peculiar characteristic of the Islamic Ummah - it has purified itself of all possible admixture of Shirk (association), and devoted itself, externally and internally, to Allah. The Arabic word in the text is Mukhlisun, the plural of Mukhlis which signifies "one who has purified himself, and which is allied to the word Ikhlas, "the act of purifying oneself." According to Sa'id ibn Jubayr, Ikhlas consists in worshipping no one but Allah, associating no one with Allah, and doing good deeds only for the sake of obeying Allah, and not for the purpose of winning the admiration of the people. Certain spiritual masters have said that Ikhlas is a deed which can be identified neither by men, nor by angels nor by Satan, and that it is a "secret" between Allah and His servant.
[The word Ikhlas is usually rendered into English as "sincerity" and Mukhlis as "sincere." It is to be doubted whether the word "sincerity" did, at any time and in any Western language, carry the full gamut of the meanings of the Arabic word Ikhlas. Anyhow, the sense of the word "sincerity" has, in current usage, become not only perverted but sometimes actually inverted. The word used to imply a harmony between external action and inner inclination, along with the tacit assumption that the external action concerned was, if nothing else, at least socially acceptable to some degree. But "sincerity", as employed in our days, suggests a compliance with one's emotions or even with one's instincts.
As such, the concept of "sincerity" is being used to justify and authorize fornication, or even murder. It is easy to see that such an idea of "sincerity" is the exact antithesis of Ikhlas. For, one cannot attain even the lowest degree of Ikhlas without forming a clear intention to obey the injunctions of the Shari'ah as against letting oneself be guided by one's instinctual urges or emotional inclinations while the concept of "sincerity" in vogue requires one to ignore the Shari'ah or even mundane considerations and to do the bidding of one's impulse of the moment, thus reducing man to an automaton at the mercy of his reflexes. Nor should we forget another serious aspect of the problem. There is another allied notion of "sincerity" which has been disturbing the peace of many pious people even in the past, but which has acquired a devastating intensity in our own days. This notion of "sincerity" demands one to seek fixity and unrelieved continuity in an emotional state, which is, of course, not possible for man as he is constituted.
It so happens with some pious people that once they start seeking this kind of "sincerity" in offering their enjoined prayers, they find that they cannot keep up an unbroken concentration of mind, and are so frightened by this lapse that they sometimes give up offering their prayers, believing such worship to be "insincere" and hence invalid. Let us make it clear once for all that the only thing the Shari'ah requires from us is to have the correct intention and attitude when we begin our prayers or perform any other good deed. This alone is the pre-requisite for attaining Ikhlas, which, anyhow, is not a matter of emotions and affective states. In short, Islam requires us to perfect the quality of Ikhlas as defined by the Shari'ah, and not to seek "sincerity" in the Western sense of the term, ancient or modern. For an elaborate treatment of the subject, see Tarbiyyah al-Salik by Maulana Ashraf 'Ali Thanavi.]
"The foolish among the people will say: "What has turned them away from their Qiblah which they used to observe?" Say: "To Allah belong the East and the West. He guides whom He wills to a straight path."(2:142)
[Some of the considerations arising from this verse have already been dealt with under Verses 114 and 115. As one can see, the present verse deals with taunts of the enemies of Islam - Jews, Christians and the mushrikin (associators) - with regard to the change of the Qiblah (orientation) for Salah.]
The Orientation of Qiblah
"Qiblah" signifies the direction to which one turns one's face. It goes without saying that a true Muslim turns in every form of worship towards Allah alone, and Allah is not limited to any particular direction but transcends all dimensions. The logic of this fact requires that in worshipping Him everyone should be free to choose any orientation that he likes, and that he should have the allowance to keep changing his orientation as it suits him. But Divine Wisdom found it more in the fitness of things that all the worshippers should turn to the same direction, and have a fixed orientation. For, worship has several forms, some of which pertain to a single individual, while others have a collective aspect too. Among the first are included fasting, remem�brance of Allah (dhikr) etc. which can be performed in privacy, while the Salah and the Hajj are performed openly and in a congregation. The latter, beside being forms of worship, have a secondary function as well - that of providing a social and collective discipline to the Muslims.
Obviously, the basic principle of social organization is the unity and integration of the individuals, on the firmness and solidity of which depends the strength of the social organization, whereas an improper emphasis on individuality encougages a disintegrating and fissiparous tendency.
As to what the principle of unity and integrity should be, different people have chosen different ways at different times. For example, some have adopted race or colour as the integrating principle, others have opted for the homeland or the geographical region, still others for language. But all these considerations are purely arbitrary and accidental; instead of bringing men together, they divide them, and produce, (as the newspapers show us every day) world-wide concussions. So, the revealed religions and the Shari'ahs of the prophets (A.S) - the collective name for which is "Islam" - have not shown unnecessary regard to such arbitrary and accidental factors, but have, in determining the principle of integration and unity among men, established themselves on the only basis which can possibly be valid - that is, the unity of mind arising out of doctrinal unity.
In other words, Islam has called upon men not to become divided in the worship of a thousand false gods, but to join together in the worship of the True God, the One, the Incomparable - the only worship which can draw men from the four corners of the world, men of the past, of the present and of the future, all into a single body of the Faithful. Then, in order to give this inner unity a visible form and also to reinforce it, certain external expressions of unity have also been prescribed. But in both the cases the basic principle has been that the unity in view should not be imposed by circumstances, but arise from an act of will and choice, and produce a spiritual brotherhood.
As to the accidental factors like race or colour or birth-place, Islam has given them their proper place in the social life of man, but has not allowed any of them to usurp the central position. It is only in the field where human will can exercise its power to choose that Islam has sought to establish unity among men, internal as well as external. Moreover, the consideration inherent in the relevant injunctions and regulations has been that the things which are to serve as the point of unity should be of such a nature that every human being - man or woman, literate or illiterate, townsman or rustic - can choose and adopt them with equal ease.
It is hence that the Islamic Shari'ah has not imposed a single and rigid mode of dress or food or housing on all the peoples of the world, for, the climatic conditions and the needs and even the preferences of people living in different regions being different, such a uniformity would have made life difficult for them. Supposing that in making a certain form of dress obligatory, a certain minimum had been prescribed, such a regulation would, beside being inconvenient for some, have gone against the principle of moderation, and amounted to a rejection of Allah's bounties; on the other hand, if a more elaborate dress had been made compulsory, it would have been impossible for the poor to fulfil the conditions. So, instead of prescribing a uniform for all the Muslims, the Shari'ah has permitted the different modes of dressing current among different peoples or regions, and has only laid down certain necessary restrictions - for example, the dress should cover a certain area of the body, specified separately for men and women; in choosing a particular form of dress one should avoid being prodigal or vain, nor should a dress be chosen for the sake of imitating non-Muslims.
In short, Islam has established as points of unity for the Muslims only such things as can be the objects of a free choice, are easy to adopt and do not entail undue hardship or expense - for example, keeping the ranks straight in congregational prayers; following the movements of the 'Imam in such prayers strictly; adopting a single form of dress while performing the Hajj, etc.
Among these, one of the most important is the Qiblah or the orientation for the Salah. As we have said, Allah Himself is free of all dimensions whatsoever, but the establishment of a single and definite Qiblah provides an easy and concrete unifying principle for men. Now, had the matter of choosing a Qiblah been left to men to decide for themselves, it would in itself have become a cause of dissension and a conflict among them. So, it was necessary that a thing of such import be determined by Allah Himself. In fact, the angels had already laid the foundation of the Ka'bah, the House of Allah, even before Sayyidna Adam (A.S) was sent down to the earth. This was the first Qiblah of mankind. "Certainly, the first House which was built for men is the one at Makkah - blessed, and a guidance for the worlds." (3:96)
As we have pointed out in our commentary on Verse 125, this continued to be the Qiblah upto the time of Sayyidna Nuh (Noah (A.S)), when the Ka'bah was destroyed by the Deluge. It was rebuilt, under divine command, by Sayyidna Ibrahim and Sayyidna Isma'il (Abraham and Ishmael (A.S)), and became their Qiblah. After that, the Baytul-Maqdis at Jerusalem was established as the Qiblah for the Hebrew prophets and their people.
Even so, these prophets, according to Abu al-'Aliyah, used to offer their prayers in the Baytul-Maqdis in such a way that they should be facing not only the Rock (Sakhrah) but the Ka'bah also. (Qurtubi)
When Salah was made obligatory for the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, the Qiblah appointed for him was, according to some scholars, the Ka'bah which had already served as the Qiblah for his ancestor, Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S). Some time after the Hijrah (his migration from Makkah to Madinah), or, as some scholars maintain, a little before that event, he received a divine commandment to turn towards the Baytul-Maqdis. (This particular commandment has not been reported in the Holy Qur'an - a fact which shows the hollowness of the claim that the Holy Qur'an can be fully understood without the help of the Hadith.)
According to a hadith reported by Al-Bukhari, he offered his prayers with the Baytul-Maqdis as his Qiblah for sixteen or seventeen months. The spot where he offered his prayers in this manner is still marked off in the mosque at Madinah. (Qurtubi)
The Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him was, of course, obedience personified, and he continued to offer his prayers with the Baytul-Maqdis as his Qiblah according to the divine commandment, but at the same time he longed that the Ka'bah, which had been the Qiblah of Sayyidna Adam and Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) may be established as his also. The Way of Allah being that He, in His grace, often fulfils the wishes of those of His servants who have found His favour, the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him hoped that Allah would grant this wish. The Holy Qur'an describes the situation thus: "We have been seeing you turn your face to heaven. So, We will certainly assign to you a Qiblah that you would like. Now, turn your face in the direction of the Sacred Mosque (Al-Masjid al-Haram)." (2:144).
One should notice that the verse we have just cited does not employ the terms, "Ka'bah" or Baytullah, but the expression Al-Masjid al-Haram (the Sacred Mosque). It indicates that for those who live far away from Makkah it is not necessary, while offering Salah, to have the Ka'bah itself exactly in front of them, but turning one's face in the direction of the "House of Allah" is quite sufficient. On the other hand, for those who are present in the Sacred Mosque or can see the Ka'bah from a distance, it is necessary to have the Ka'bah or some part of it exactly in front of them, failing which the prayers will not be valid.
Now, when the Ka'bah was finally established as the Qiblah sixteen or seventeen months after the Hijrah, some Jews, associators and hypocrites began to scoff at the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him and his Companions (R.A) for being so capricious in the matter of their Qiblah. The Holy Qur'an reports this objection, adding that such an objection can come only from stupid people - just as earlier in this Surah those who turn away from the religion of Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S) have been described as people who have besotted themselves.
In replying to this objection, the second part of the verse shows that their stupidity lies in not realizing that the East and the West both belong to Allah Himself, and that He guides whomsoever He likes on the straight path. The verse, thus, explains the meaning of adopting an orientation - that is to say, neither does the Ka'bah nor the Baytul-Maqdis by itself possess any exclusive merit in this regard, and it is the divine commandmf it alone which gives to it the distinction of being the Qiblah - it could have as easily chosen some other place to serve the purpose. Moreover, the only merit in adopting a particular Qiblah lies in one's obedience to the divine commandment and in one's total submission to the will of Allah, which is the basic principle of the religion of the founder of the Ka'bah, Sayyidna Ibrahim (A.S). In fact, the Holy Qur'an itself explains this truth in clear terms: "Righteousness is not that you turn your faces to the East or the West; but righteousness is that one believes in Allah..." (2:177).
Or in an earlier Verse: "So whichever way you turn, there is the Face of Allah." (2:115) These verses clearly define the meaning and significance of adopting an orientation - that is, the place which has been chosen to serve as the Qiblah does not possess any merit in its own right, but the special merit arises from its having been chosen by Allah, and similarly turning towards it constitutes a meritorious act only insofar as it shows a readiness to obey divine commandment.
The raison d'etre of changing the Qiblah for the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him might well be to show to the people in a visible form that a Qiblah is not an idol to be worshipped but only a concrete expression of divine commandment, and may hence be changed as and when Allah wills. In fact, the very next verse (2:143) explicitly says that when the Baytul-Maqdis was earlier appointed as the Qiblah, it was intended to show who was willing to obey the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him and who was not.
Verse 142, thus, fully refutes the antagonists of Islam, and points out that Allah guides whosoever He wills on the Straight Path - the Straight Path, of course, being the readiness to obey divine commandment without demur. And this Straight Path was granted to the Muslims by the grace of Allah. There is also the suggestion that in the matter of the injunctions of the Shari'ah rectitude lies in obeying each and every divine commandment unquestioningly without being too curious about the raison d'etre of such a commandment. For, those who seek a raison d'etre usually do so because they wish to deny or denigrate or disobey the Shari'ah.
According to a hadith reported from Sayyidah 'A'isha Radhi-Allahu Anha: Allah be pleased with her in the "Musnad" of Imam Ahmad, the People of the Book are specially jealous of the Muslims for three things - (1) in answer to the divine commandment to every Ummah (or religious community) to set aside a day in the week for worship, the Jews chose Saturday and the Christians, Sunday, while the Muslims opted for Friday which happened to be the favourite of Allah; (2) the Ka'bah was appointed as the Qiblah for the Muslims, and not for others; (3) the Muslims were given the privilege of saying Amin while offering Salah behind an 'Imam. (Ma'ariful Qur'an)
"And in the same way We made you a moderate Ummah (community), so that you should be witnesses over the people, and the Messenger a witness to you. And We did not appoint the Qiblah which you used to observe except to know him who follows the Messenger as distinct from him who turns on his heels. And, it was burdensome indeed, but not on those whom Allah guided. And Allah is not to let your faith go waste. Certainly Allah is very kind, very merciful to the people."(2:143)
[The earlier verse has dealt with the subject of the Qiblah or the orientation for Salah and has indicated that the "Straight Path" is identical with a willing acceptance of the divinely ordained injunctions of the Shari'ah. Since the Islamic Ummah has accepted these injunctions without the least hesitation, the present verse says, by way of parenthesis, a few words of praise for it, bringing out the superiority of the Islamic Ummah over other Traditional communities. (Bayan al-Qur'an)]
The verse qualifies the Islamic nation (Ummah) with the objective Wasat which signifies "moderate, middle or central", and is usually applied to a thing considered to be the best of its kind. According to a hadith reported by al-Tirmidhi from the blessed Companion Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, the word Wasat is to be interpreted as "just" - in the sense of being "the best" (Qurtubi). The verse points out that just as Allah has granted to the Muslims a Qiblah which is superior to all other orientations, in the same way He has bestowed upon the Islamic Ummah the unparalleled distinction of being moderate, balanced and just - in short, the honour of occupying the central position among all the Ummahs or Traditional communities.
This distinction will manifest itself in its full resplendence on the Day of Judgment. Those among the earlier Ummahs who had been denying their prophets would, on that day, pretend that they had never received a book from Allah nor had any prophet given them any kind of guidance. The Islamic Ummah would, then, be called upon to bear witness, and it would, testify that prophets had been coming from Allah in every age, and providing guidance to each and every people. The earlier Ummahs would raise the objection that since the Islamic Ummah did not exist at that time and could not possibly know what had been happening before it came into being, its testimony against the earlier peoples could not be valid. In reply to this, the Islamic Ummah would maintain that even if- it was not an eyewitness to the events of the past, yet it had received an authentic report from the most reliable source of information that can possibly be - that is, from the Last Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him and from the Last Book of Allah. The Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him himself would be called in as a witness, and he would confirm the testimony of his Ummah. (For details, see the various Ahadlth reported in the collections of al-Bukhari, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i and Imam Ahmad).
The Most Moderate of All People
According to the present verse, the characteristic quality which confers a superiority on the Islamic Ummah over others is its being Wasat - (a word which has been variously translated into English as "midmost, moderate, just, intermediary, middle, central or justly balanced.") In order to explain the implications of the word Wasat, commentators have usually made use of another Arabic adjective Mu'tadil (signifying "moderate or temperate") and the noun I'tidal which means "being equal"; both the words come from the root 'Adl which signifies "to be equal, or to make equal."
[So, the purpose of the present discussion we shall choose the English word "moderation" in order to explain certain essential features of the Islamic Ummah.]
In this regard one would like to know why the superiority of a human group or individual should be made to depend on the quality of moderation. Let us begin this discussion with a quite tangible fact. All the medical systems, old or new, are unanimous in accepting the principle that the health of the human body depends on the temperateness of the different elements of which it is composed, and that illness or disease comes from a disturbance of this equilibrium. According to the ancient Greek medicine, which was further developed by the Muslims, these elements or "humours" are four in number - blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile -, and the humours produce four physical states in the body - heat, cold, wetness and dryness.
As long as the four states are properly balanced against one another, the human body enjoys good health; but as soon as there is an immoderate increase or decrease in any one of them, the body becomes diseased, and if the balance is not properly restored in time, it may succumb to the forces of death. Similarly, in the ethical and spiritual sphere too health depends on temperateness and inner equilibrium, and illness arises out of intemperance and disequilibrium, which, if allowed to grow, results in spiritual death. At the same time, anyone who has eyes to see would readily discover for himself that the essence of manhood which places man at the head of all created beings, does not lie in the physical states of his body - that he, in fact, shares with all the animals - but in something higher and subtler: namely, spiritual perfection. As the great Sufi poet Rumi has said: "Manhood does not reside in the flesh, or in the fat or in the skin; manhood is nothing else than seeking to please the Friend." As to those who ignore this essential attribute of man and allow it to be destroyed in themselves, Rumi says: "These people you see all around are non-human; they are not men, but only wear the masks of man."
The Universal Man
This being so, we are naturally led to the conclusion that he alone can deserve the title of Al-Insan al-Kamil ("the Universal Man") who has attained ethical and spiritual equilibrium along with physical equilibrium. This quality has specially been granted to all the prophets (A.S), and, in its most perfect form, to the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him who is thus "the Universal Man" par excellence. As for humanity in general, Allah has, on the other hand, created a stable and complex system of medicines, instruments and physicians for the physical well-being of man; similarly, He has, on the other hand, sent His prophets who bring divine guidance for man, and who are provided with a certain amount of requisite physical force too, so that they may pi'omulgate this law of equilibrium and moderation in the world. The Holy Quran defines the purpose of sending prophets and messengers of Allah to men, and of giving them Divine Books:
"Indeed, We have sent Our messengers with the clear signs, and We have sent down with them the Book and the Balance, so that men might uphold justice. And We have sent down iron in which there is great might, and many uses for men." (57:25)
Let us add by way of explanation that "the Book" is meant for producing inner equilibrium and temperateness in men, and "the Balance" for producing equilibrium in their social conduct and economic transactions - the "Balance" may also stand for the Shari'ah of every prophet which helps us to define what "equilibrium" really is in its various applications in the different spheres of human life, and which serves to establish justice in the world.
Now, let us recall that the verse under discussion characterizes the Islamic Ummah with the word Wasat ("moderate, middle, central"). Our discussion must have made it clear that this simple word comphrehends all the qualities which it is possible for an individual or a community of men to possess in this world.
Through such a characterization of the Islamic Ummah, the Holy Qur'an has thus indicated that this Ummah possesses the essential quality of manhood to a degree of perfection that no other Ummah does, and that it is superior to all others in serving the purpose for which the whole cosmic order has been created, and for which all the prophets and divine books have been sent.
The Universal Community
Certain other verses of the Holy Qur'an define this essential quality of the Islamic Ummah in more specific terms. For example: "Among those We have created there is an Ummah which guides by the truth, and by it dispenses justice." (7:181) That is to say, the Islamic Ummah displays its spiritual equilibrium in giving up the pursuit of individual desires and interests in order to follow divine guidance and try to make others too do the same, and in settling all kinds of disputes in the light of divine law without being influenced by the vested interests of a person or a group. Another verse is still more specific:
"You are the best Ummah that has been brought forth for men, bidding to good deeds and forbidding evil deeds and believing in Allah." (3:110)
It is the best Ummah, for it has been granted a unique Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him who taught us to respect all other prophets, and a Book which is the most comprehensive and the most perfect of all the Divine Books, and has in itself been endowed with the quality of temperateness, moderation and equilibrium to a degree as no other Ummah does enjoy; it has been destined to be the recipient of the most subtle modes of knowledge, to outshine others in all the forms of faith and practice, and, above all, in the fear of Allah - its field of action not limited to any one country or race but extending all over the world, and infusing all the spheres of human existence.
The phrase: "raised for mankind." (3:110) indicates that the very purpose for which it has been brought into being is to work for the good of men, and to help them find the way to salvation and to Paradise, its function and, so to say, its very insignia as an Ummah being to guide people towards good deeds and to dissuade them from evil deeds. This role of the Islamic Ummah has been formulated very succinctly in a hadith: : "Religion consists in having the good of others at heart" - particularly of other Muslims. Let us add that the good deeds towards which this Ummah is meant to guide others are those which have been defined as such by the Shari'ah, while the evil deeds from which it is to dissuade them include infidelity (Kufr), association (Shirk), innovations in religion (Bid'ah), sins of different kinds, illegitimate customs, transgression of divine commandments, immoral or indecent actions, etc.
As to dissuading people from evil deeds, this too may take various forms - it may require the use sometimes of the tongue, sometimes of the hand, sometimes of the pen and sometimes of the sword - in fact, it would include all the forms of Jihad. As far as the extensive and intensive display of this particular quality is concerned, no other Ummah can compare with the Islamic Ummah.
Moderateness: A Comparative View
Let us now consider how far the temperateness or the moderation of this Ummah is borne out by actual facts. Since it is not possible here to make a detailed comparative study of the respective beliefs and practices of all the Ummahs, we shall give only a few examples which would, we hope, satisfactorily establish the superiority of this Ummah over others.
First of all, let us take up the doctrinal aspect. In the case of the earlier Ummahs one would observe that on the one hand they took their prophets to be the sons of Allah and started worshipping them: "The Jews said, 'Ezra is the son of Allah', and the Christians said, 'Christ is the son of Allah'." (9:30) -, and that on the other hand some people from among them, in spite of having recognized and acknowledged their prophet on the basis of his oft-repeated miracles, refused to obey him when he asked them to take part in a holy war, and bluntly said: "Go forth, you and your Lord, and fight; we will be sitting here." (5:24) We sometimes see even the spectacle of prophets being tortured by their own followers.
On the contrary, we have the Islamic Ummah which has such a deep love for the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him that Muslims have, in every period of their history, taken it to be the greatest blessing to be able to sacrifice their own lives and even the lives of their wives and children at his call, and yet it has never exceeded the limit, and has placed the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him only in the station of a prophet and not in the station of Allah. In spite of knowing him to be the most perfect of all the prophets, it has been calling him Abdullah wa rasuluh : "the servant of Allah, and His messenger." The doctrinal position with regard to him, as defined in the famous Arabic poem "Qasidah al-Burdah", is that, short of attributing "the sonhood of Allah" to him (which the Christians do in the case of Christ, and which constitutes an act of infidelity), anything that one says in his praise would be correct; or, in the words of a Persian poet, addressing the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him: "In short, after God, you are the greatest."
When we turn from the doctrinal aspect to a consideration of the actual attitudes and practices in the matter of worship and rites, we again find similar excesses and aberrations on the part of earlier Ummahs. On the'one hand, we see their religious scholars misinterpreting or changing the injunctions of their Shari'ah and even distorting the Sacred Books for a few pieces of silver, and inventing all kinds of ruses to get rid of divinely ordained rites; on the other hand, we find people giving up the world altogether, imprisoning themselves in monastic cells, refusing to accept their share in the blessings of the physical world which Allah has not only granted to man but the enjoyment of which also He has permitted, and, in short, believing that imposing hardships on oneself carries the highest merit and is in itself an act of worship par excellence. The history of Islamic Ummah, on the contrary, presents a totally different picture.
On the one hand, it has never adopted monasticism as the supreme form of religious life - in fact, Islam forbids such an attitude. On the other hand, through its readiness to sacrifice property and life, even children and all for the sake of the commandments of Allah and His Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, the Ummah established its sway even politically over a considerable area of the world. It has demonstrated in its practice as no other Ummah has that religion is meant to be put into action in the market-places and the halls of power as much as in the mosques and the contemplative retreats. It is the Islamic Ummah which has shown the world how the poor in spirit can move about in the robes of kings, and the kings in spirit conceal themselves in the garb of beggars - all because the king as well as the beggar knows that the greatest dignity lies in being the servant of Allah.
In the sphere of human and social relations too, the earlier Ummahs have in their behaviour been guilty of excess in one way or another. On the one hand, we see an indifference to human rights and particularly an utter disregard of the rights of women, and, in general, a pursuit of individual interests and desires irrespective of the question of right and wrong. On the other hand, we have the display of an exaggerated sentimentality which forbids the eating of animal flesh. in spite of Allah having made it lawful, and which frowns upon the killing of an insect even accidentally. It was the Islamic Ummah and its Shari'ah which established an equilibrium and a just order in the field of human relations.
On the other hand, it set down a clear code of human rights, extended them to women as well, and prescribed that not only in times of peace but on the battle-field itself the enemies too must enjoy certain inalienable rights. On the other hand, it clearly demarcated every right and every duty, and put down every act of falling back from the prescribed mark or exceeding it as a crime. The Islamic Shari'ah also taught that one should try to fulfil all of one's obligations towards others, but if one saw one's own rights suffer, one should exercise patience and forgiveness.
In the economic sphere too, the other Ummahs have been a prey to excesses of different kinds. For example, in our own age we have, on the one hand, the Capitalist system which pays no heed to the distinction between the lawful and the unlawful, and is totally blind to the welfare of the people, but exalts the amassing of wealth as the highest virtue; on the other hand are certain economic systems which have no respect for personal property. In actual fact, the essence of these two hostile systems is the same - the pursuit of worldly things as the be-all and the end-all of human life. Contrary to this, the Islamic Shari'ah brings the conflicting elements into an equilibrium, giving to each its proper place.
On the one hand, it does not allow the amassing of wealth to be made the ultimate end of man's effort, nor does it make human dignity depend on the considerations of money or rank or office. On the other hand, it promulgates certain principles for the distribution of wealth in a balanced manner so that no member of a society should be deprived of the basic necessities of life, nor should an individual or a group appropriate all the available wealth. The things which can be shared in common by all the members of a society have been entrusted to public or joint control, while in certain specific things the right to private property has been fully respected. It made a clear-cut distinction between lawful (Halal) possessions and unlawful (Haram) possessions, insisting on the spiritual merit of lawful possessions and laying down the rules for making use of them.
Injunctions and Related Considerations
(1) According to the present verse, Allah has made the Islamic Ummah an equitable and just, and hence a trustworthy community,"so that" it may be qualified to bear witness. From this we infer the legal principle that one who is not 'Adil (trustworthy - as defined by the Shari'ah) cannot be acceptable as a witness in a court of law.
(2) According to al-Qurtubi, this verse establishes Ijma', or the consensus of the Islamic Ummah, as one of the four deciding agencies in the matter of legislation. For, the very fact that Allah Himself has accepted this Ummah as a trustworthy witness as against the other traditional communities, shows that the consensus of this Ummah is a deciding factor in legislative matters, and that it is necessary (Wajib) to act upon it. Thus, the consensus of the blessed Companions has to be accepted by their successors, and that of the latter by the next generation.
According to Al-Tafsir al-Mazhari, this verse establishes the principle that the deeds and actions of this Ummah which have been approved by a consensus are all of them commendable, for, if one were to admit the possibility of a consensus on an error, the Ummah cannot be characterized as being moderate and just.
Imam al-Jassas adds that the dependability of the consensus is not particular to the time of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, or of the blessed Companions, but that the consensus of the Muslims in any age whatsoever is equally trustworthy, for this verse is addressed to the whole Ummah which includes not only the contemporaries of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him but also the succeeding generations of Muslims upto the Day of Judgment. Thus, the Muslims living in any age whatsoever qualify as the witnesses of Allah whose agreement on a certain point becomes a deciding factor in matters of legislation, and who cannot arrive at a consensus on anything which should constitute an error or a deviation.
[Let us not, however, forget that consensus or Ijma' in this context does not at all imply a sort of referendum on the basis of adult franchise, but means the agreement of a majority of such scholars as fulfil the necessary conditions for pronouncing a judgment in the matters of the Shari'ah - that is to say, tliose who possess the authority to exercise Ijtihad. It goes without saying that once a consensus of this kind has been arrived at in any matter, the majority of the Ummah accepts it, and holds by it.]
The History of the Qiblah
There is some difference of opinion among the blessed Companions and their Successors as to whether it was the Baytullah at Makkah or the "Baytul-Maqdis" at Jerusalem which was appointed as the Qiblah, when the five daily prayers were made obligatory in Makkah al-Mukarramah before the Hijrah (the migration of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, from Makkah to Madinah). According to the blessed Companion 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, the first Qiblah was the Baytul-Maqdis, and continued to be so even after the Hijrah for some sixteen or seventeen months, and it was only then that Allah commanded that the Baytullah be taken as the Qiblah.
However, the practice of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him at Makkah was that he used to offer his prayers between al-Hajar al-Aswad ("the Black Stone") and al-Rukn al-Yamaniyy ("the corner facing Yemen") so that his face should be turned towards the Baytullah and the Baytul-Maqdis both at the same time. But this was no longer possible when he migrated to Madinah, and hence his keen desire that the Baytullah be appointed as the new Qiblah. (ibn Kathir) But other Companions (R.A) are of the view that when the five daily prayers were made obligatory at Makkah, it was the Baytullah which served as the Qiblah for the Muslims as it had for Sayyidna Ibrahim and Sayyidna Isma'il (A.S). As long as the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him stayed at Makkah, he continued to observe this Qiblah. But after the Hijrah, Allah ordained a change in the orientation, and the Baytul-Maqdis was appointed as the Qiblah, which it continued to be for sixteen or seventeen months.
Then came a new commandment, and the Baytullah was restored as the Qiblah. Al-Qurtubi, relying on the authority of Abu 'Amr, prefers the second view to the first. The raison d'etre of these changes of orientation has been explained like this. When the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, came to Madinah, he had to deal with the Jews, and in order to familiarize them with Islam he adopted their Qiblah under divine commendment. But, by and by it became evident that a stubborn peo'ple like the Jews would not easily give up their hostility to Islam.
So, Allah allowed him to go back to the original Qiblah, which, being the Qiblah of his forefathers, Sayyidna Ibrahim and Sayyidna Isma'il (A.S), was naturally dearer to him. In fact, the mosque of Sayyidna Salih (A.S) was oriented towards the Baytullah, as is shown by an incident reported by al-Qurtubi from Abu al-'Aliyah al-Riyahi. The latter once had a debate with a Jew concerning the orientation adopted by Sayyidna Musa (Moses (A.S)). The Jew insisted that the great prophet turned in his prayers towards the Sakhrah, The Dome of the Rock in the Sacred Mosque at Jerusalem, while Abu al-'Aliyah maintained that he stood near the Sakhrah, but his face was turned towards the Baytullah. Finally, the latter suggested that the dispute could be decided by having a look at the mosque of Sayyidna Salih (A.S) situated on a hill below the Baytul-Maqdis. And, on visiting the mosque, they found that it was oriented towards the Baytullah.
Now, according to those who prefer the first of the two views, the raison d'etre was that it was necessary at Makkah to differentiate the Muslims from the idol-worshippers and to emphasize the distinction between the two, and hence the Baytul-Maqdis was appointed as the Qiblah of the Muslims instead of the Baytullah which was at that time the Qiblah of the mushrikin. Then, after the Hijrah, there arose a new need at Madinah - that of highlighting the distinction between the Muslims and the Jews. So, the Qiblah of the Jews was given up, and the Baytullah was adopted as the Qiblah of the Muslims.
On account of the difference between these two views, the phrase "the Qiblah which you used to observe" has also been interpreted in two ways. On the basis of the first view, "the Qiblah" referred to in the present verse can only be the Baytul-Maqdis which was the first and earlier Qiblah; on the basis of the second, it can also be the Ka'bah which was the earliest and the first Qiblah. Anyhow, the real import of the verse remains the same in either case - the commandment with regard to the change in orientation is a test of the faith of those who claim to be the followers of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, which would openly demonstrate the distinction between those who are genuinely obedient to Allah and His Messenger Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, and those who follow their individual opinion. History records that after this verse had been revealed, those who were weak in their faith, or were just hypocrites, forsook Islam, and even accused the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, of having gone back to the ways of his own people - that is, of the mushrikeen.
Injunctions and Related Considerations
(1) The present verse shows that sometimes an injunction based on the Sunnah, or the Tradition of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him is abrogated by the Holy Qur'an. As Imam al-Jassas points out in his "Ahkam al-Qur'an", the Noble Qur'an does not specify that the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him was ever commanded, before the Hijrah or after, to turn in his prayers towards the Baytul-Maqdis: we find the relevant evidence only in the Hadith and the Sunnah. It comes to mean that a practice which had been established by the Sunnah was abrogated by this verse of the Holy Qur'an, appointing the Baytullah as the Qiblah.
(2) This verse also goes to show that the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah too, in a certain respect, cannot be delinked from the Holy Qur'an, and that the Holy Qur'an recognizes the legitimacy of those injunctions which find no mention in the Holy Qur'an but have been instituted by the Hadith alone. For, the present verse clearly states at the end that prayers which had been offered, taking the Baytul-Maqdis as the Qiblah, as commanded by the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, are altogether valid and acceptable to Allah.
(3) This verse helps us to resolve a delicate problem in Islamic jurisprudence pertaining to the "Khobar al-Wahid" (which is a Hadith reported by one or two persons only). The question which arises in this respect is whether an injunction laid down in the Holy Qur'an, or definitely authenticated otherwise, can be abrogated by such a hadith. The Hanafi school of jurisprudence holds that it cannot, while the reports concerning this verse suggest that it can do so, if strong indications are present to establish the authenticity of such a hadith. For, al-Bukhari, Muslim and nearly all the authentic collections of the Ahadith report the following circumstances from several Companions (R.A). When the divine commandment changing the Qiblah came down, the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him offered his prayers at the time of Asr (or, according to other reports cited by Ibn Kathir, at the time of zuhr) facing the Baytullah. Some Companions, departing from the mosque, happened to pass by the mosque of the Bani Salamah tribe, and found these people offering their prayers in the direction of the Baytul-Maqdis.
So, they called out to inform them that the Qiblah had now been changed, and that they had just offered their prayers along with the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him; in the direction of the Baytullah. On hearing this, those people at once changed their orientation to Baytullah even in the course of the prayers. Nuwaylah Bint Muslim relates that women who were in the back row came forward, so that when the orientation had been changed, men were again in the front row and women in the back row. (ibn Kathir) Thus the Banu Salmah tribe adopted the new Qiblah the very same day. But the news reached Quba the next day in the course of the Fajr prayers - as reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim from the blessed Companion Ibn 'Umar -, and the people of Quba too turned towards the Baytullah in the course of the prayers. (Ibn Kathir and Jassas)
After citing these reports, Imam al-Jassas concludes.
"Although this hadith is essentially a solitary report, (that is, Al-Khabar al-Wahid), yet, having been generally accepted and also being supported by strong indication with regard to its authenticity, it has acquired the status of a hadith that has been related by a number of trustworthy reporters in an uninterrupted succession -- a fact which always leads to certitude."
The Hanafi jurists agree with this conclusion. They must, however, face another question. This hadith acquired general acceptance only much later, while the news of the change in the orientation must have been conveyed to the Banu Salamah tribe and this hadith immediately without its being widely known? Al-Jassas replies that not only these people but all the Companions already knew that the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him wished the Baytullah to be appointed as the Qiblah and had even been praying for it, and had begun to consider it quite probable that the injunction to retain Baytul-Maqdis as the Qiblah may not remain operative in the future. In other words, the probability of a change had made the continuation of the Baytul-Maqdis as the Qiblah a bit uncertain, and not definite. In view of this element of uncertainty, the Khobar al-Wahid was considered to be quite sufficient for abrogating the earlier commandment. Otherwise, a Khabar al-Wahid cannot justifiably abrogate a definite and final injunction laid down by the Holy Qur'an.
(4) The present verse helps to resolve an important problem which has been the subject of a controversy: if the 'Imam uses a microphone in leading Salah, would it be legitimate for the congregation to obey his call in their movements? If they can hear no more than the sound coming out of the loud-speaker, would it not invalidate their prayers?
As we have already noted, Al-Bukhari reports a hadith from the blessed Companion 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar, relating how the people of Quba turned towards the Baytullah even in the course of their prayers as soon as they heard the commandment about the change in orientation. Commenting on this incident, the great Hanafi scholar al-'Ayni says: : "This hadith establishes the rule that a man who is not offering his prayers may teach or instruct the man who is engaged in his prayers." In another place, al-'Ayni also adds that from this hadith, al-Tahtawi has derived the rule that if a man engaged in his prayers hears the words spoken by one who is not so engaged, it does not invalidate his prayers ('Umdah al-Qarf).
Of course, the Hanafi jurists in general hold that if a man engaged in his prayers obeys the call of another man who is not participating in these prayers, it invalidates his prayers. What they, however, mean is that obeying someone other than Allah in the course of Salah invalidates it, but if one is actually obeying a divine commandment and the other man is acting only as a means of communicating this injunction to him, it does not invalidate the prayers at all. An example would make the point clear. If a man, joining the congregational prayers, finds that there is no room left in the first row, and that he would be the only one to stand in the second, he should, according to the jurists, pull someone back from the first row and make him join the second row along with himself. Now, on the face of it, the man who allows himself to be pulled back is obeying someone other than Allah in the course of the prayers, and this should invalidate his prayers. But, in fact, it is not so.
The most authoritative book of Hanafi jurisprudence, "Al-Durr al-Mukhtar", lays down the rule that the prayers of this man are perfectly valid. As to why his prayers would not be invalidated, Al-Tahtawi explains that this man has not actually been obeying the new-comer, but following a divine commandment conveyed to him by the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him. Let us add that there are two different ways in which a man engaged in his prayers may obey the call of another man who is not participating with him in these prayers, (a) He may wish to please this man and to obey him. In such a case, the prayers would become invalid, (b) He obeys a commandment of the Shari'ah, conveyed to him by the other man. In this case, he is essentially obeying a divine commandment, and hence his prayers would not become invalid. (Tahtawi)
This discussion should make it easy to resolve the problem about the use of a microphone by an 'Imam in leading the congregational prayers. Technical experts hold that the sound coming out of a loudspeaker is exactly the sound produced by the 'Imam. If it is so, there is no question of the prayers being invalid. But if we suppose that the sound transmitted by a microphone is not exactly the sound produced by the 'Imam, but only an imitation of the sound, or a report of what he has been saying, even then it would be improper to suspect that the people offering their prayers have been obeying the command of the microphone. For, it is obvious enough that they have been obeying the commandment of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him to follow the movements of the 'Imam - the microphone does no more than inform them that the 'Imam has, for example, bowed himself down or prostrated himself, and in accepting this information and following his movements, they obey the 'Imam and not the instrument. And it is, of course, a divine commandment which requires us to obey the 'Imam in the congregational prayers.
(5) There is a phrase in the present verse which requires some explanation: "And Allah is not to let your faith go waste." If we take 'Iman (faith) in its usual sense, the phrase would be interpreted like this. When the Qiblah was changed, some stupid people thought that the Muslims had forsaken Islam, and that their 'Imam had now become null and void. The verse assures the Muslims that Allah would not allow their 'Imam to go waste, and asks them not to fall prey to such senseless conjectures.
On the other, on the basis of certain Ahadith, some early commentators have interpreted the word 'Imam in the verse to mean the Salah. According to this interpretation, Allah assures the Muslims that the commandment changing the Qiblah would in no way affect the validity of the prayers they have been offering so far in the direction of the Baytul-Maqdis - Allah would not allow these prayers to go waste, for they are valid, and have already been accepted.
Al-Bukhari has reported from the Companion al-Bara' ibn Azib, and al-Tirmidhi from the Companion Ibn 'Abbas Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him that when the Baytullah was appointed as the Qiblah, people became worried about the fate of those Muslims who had been praying in the direction of the Baytul-Maqdis, but had died before having the opportunity to pray in the direction of the Baytullah. (Ma'ariful Qur'an, Volume 1)
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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