16. ṢADAQAH IN ISLAM
Definition
of Ṣadaqah
Ṣadaqah
(pl. ṣadaqāt) literally means: “alms, charitable gift; almsgiving,
charity”. In Islamic law it is divided into two categories: (1) legally
prescribed alms tax, also called zakāt, either for one’s wealth, called zakāt
al-mal ( wealth tax ) paid annually, or for oneself, called zakāt al-fiṭr
(self-tax), paid at the end of the month of Ramadan; for convenience both
are paid at the same time. (2) voluntary contribution of alms, freewill
offering. It also includes in this category, voluntary good deeds. Every good
deed, including giving charity, either voluntary or obligatory, Allah promises
reward for it.
Voluntary ṣadaqah includes
saying good things, such as the dhikr (remembering Allah) by
repeating the tasbīh (glorification of Allah), namely, Subḥān Allah (“Glory
to Allah”), the taḥmīd (praising Allah) namely, Alḥamdu Lillāh (“praise
be to Allah”), the takbīr, namely, Allāhu Akbar (“Allah is
Great”), the istighfār (asking
Allah’s forgiveness), namely, Astaghfirullāh (“I ask Allah’s
foregiveness), and greeting someone we meet with Assalāmu ‘Alaykum (“Peace
be upon you”). It includes the taḥlīl, namely, saying lā ilāha
illallāh (“there is no god but Allah”). It includes al-amr bil-ma’rūf (urging
people to do good deeds) and naḥy ‘an al-munkar (prohibiting from doing
bad deeds).
Voluntary ṣadaqah dealing with
doing good things includes smiling at a Muslim brother or sister we meet,
removing harmful things from the street, helping the needy, leading a lost
person to the right way, and lending money, etc. It includes controlling
oneself from doing bad things when there is chance to do so. It includes the
plants and fruit eaten by birds, and animals, even stolen by people. It includes entertaining a guest over three
days. It includes the expense, the cost
of living, maintenance given to one’s family, as well as spiritual and physical
needs between husband and wife.
Contribution
and donation also belong to ṣadaqah, such as in teaching the Qur’an, in
propagating Islam, teaching people about Islam through distributing books,
pamphlets to Muslims and non-Muslims, in
writing about Islam in magazines,
newspapers, and internet, in building schools, mosques, and Islamic centres.
Virtues
and Benefits of Ṣadaqah
1. It
extinguishes Allah’s anger. The Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. said:
إنَّ
صَدَقَةُ السِّرِّ تُطْفِئُ غَضَبَ الرَّبِّ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى (رواه الطبراني)
Verily, charity given in secrecy
extinguishes Allah’s anger.
2.
It erases the mistake, like water extinguishes fire.
The Prophet s.a.w. said:
وَالصَّدَقَةُ
تُطْفِئُ الْخَطِيئَةَ كَمَا يُطْفِئُ الْمَاءُ النَّارَ....
(رواه أحمد و البييهقي و النسا ئي و
الطبراني)
Charity
erases the mistake, like water extringuishes fire.
(Reported
by Ahmad, al-Bayhaqī, al-Nasā’ī, and al-Ṭabrānī)
3. It
is protection from Hellfire. The Prophet s.a.w. said:
اتَّقُوا النَّارَ
وَلَوْ بِشِقِّ تَمْرَةٍ، فَمَنْ لَمْ يَجِدْ فَبِكَلِمَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ (رواه البخاري و مسلم)
Fear
Hellfire, even with a piece of date (as charity),
but he who does not have, then with a nice
word
(Reported by Bukhari
and Muslim)
4.
It will become a
protecting umbrella in the Hereafter. In a long tradition, the Prophet said
that there are seven kinds of people who would be protected by Allah with shade
in the Hereafter, among whom are people who give charity secretly. He said …
وَرَجُلٌ تَصَدَّقَ بِصَدَقَةٍ
فَأَخْفَاهَا حَتَّى لَا تَعْلَمَ شِمَالُهُ مَا تُنْفِقُ يَمِينُهُ
(رواه البخاري و مسلم و غيرهما)
… and a man gives charity secretly, so that
his left hand
does
not know what his right hand is spending
(Reported
by Bukhari, Muslim and others)
5.
It is a
treatment for physical ailment:
The
Prophet said:
...وَدَاؤُوا مَرْضَاكُمْ بِالصَّدَقَةَ ...
(رواه الطبراني وأبو داؤد)
… and treat your sick people with giving charity…
(Reported
by al-Ṭabrānī, and Abü Dā’ūd)
A man complained to the great scholar Ibn
al-Mubarak that ulcer had came out from his knee since seven years ago. He had
been treated with many kinds of medicine, but failed. Ibn al-Mubarak suggested
to him to dig a well in an area where water was needed, and hoped that its
water would treat his illness. The man
did, and he was cured.
6.
Treatment for
mental ailment (the
sickness of the heart)
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَة أَنَّ
رَجُلًا شَكَا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَسْوَةَ
قَلْبِهِ فَقَالَ
لَهُ إِنْ أَرَدْتَ تَلْيِينَ قَلْبِكَ فَأَطْعِمْ الْمِسْكِينَ وَامْسَحْ رَأْسَ
الْيَتِيمِ
(رواه أحمد و
الطبراني و النسائي و البيهقي)
Abu Hurayrah narrated that a man complained to the
Messenger of Allah s.a.w. about the cruelty of his
heart. He
said to him:
“If you want to soften your heart, then
feed
the poor and rub the head of the orphans [meaning,
have mercy on them and help them].”
(Reporte by Ahmad, al-Ṭabrānī, al-Nasā’ī and al-Bayhaqī)
7. It
is a kind of ransom from disaster.Prophet Yahya a.s. (John the Baptist)
advised his followers among the Children of Israel to give charity, as it is
like a ransom for one who is on the point of being executed.
8.
It is a means to
obtain the true nature of birr (righteousness). Allah says:
) لَن تَنَالُواْ الْبِرَّ حَتَّى تُنفِقُواْ
مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ (آل عمران:92
By no means shalol you attain al-birr (piety,
righteousness—here means Allah’s reward, i.e.
Paradise), unless you spend (in Allah’s Cause)
of that which you love…(Q. 3:92)
9.
An angel will pray for people who give charity with
prosperity. The Prophet s.a.w. said:
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَة أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ
وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ إِنَّ مَلَكًا بِبَابٍ مِنْ أَبْوَابِ
السَّمَاءِ يَقُولُ مَنْ يُقْرِضْ
الْيَوْمَ يُجْزَى غَدًا وَمَلَكًا بِبَابٍ آخَرَ يَقُولُ اللَّهُمَّ أَعْطِ
مُنْفِقًا
خَلَفًا وَعَجِّلْ لِمُمْسِكٍ
تَلَفًا (روام البيهقي والحاكم و النسائي)
Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of Allah
s.a.w. said:“Verily,
an angel at one of the doors of
Heaven says: ‘Whoever gives a (good) loan (as charity)
today will be
rewarded tomorrow,’ and another angel
says: ‘O Allah, give the alms-giver substitute, and
give
loss
immediately to withholder (from giving charity).’”
(Reported by al-Bayhaqī, al-Ḥākim and al-Nasā’ī)
10.
There is blessing in giving charity. The Prophet
s.a.w. said:
11.
مَا
نَقَصَتْ صَدَقَةٌ مِنْ مَالٍ ... (رواه مسلم و أحمد)
Wealth will not be reduced by charity
(Reported
by Ahmad)
12.
What remains from charity is that which has been spent
in charity. Allah says:
وَمَا
تُنفِقُواْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَلأنفُسِكُم (البقرة:272)
….And whatever you spend of good, it is for
yourselves… (Q. 272).
وَلَمَّا
سَأَلَ النَّبِيُّ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهَا عَنِ الشَّاةِ الَّتِي
ذَبَحُوْهَا مَا بَقِىَ مِنْهَا:
قَالَتْ:
مَا بَقِىَ مِنْهَا إِلَّا كَتِفُهَا. قَالَ: بَقِيَ كُلُّهَا غَيْرَ كَتِفِهَا
(رواه مسلم)
When
the Prophet asked ‘A’ishah r.a. about the remains of
the slaughtered sheep, she said that what remained was
its shoulder, but he told her that all
remained except its
shoulder. (Reported by
Muslim)
13.
The reward of
giving charity will be multiplied. Allah says:
إِنَّ
الْمُصَّدِّقِينَ وَالْمُصَّدِّقَاتِ وَأَقْرَضُوا اللَّهَ قَرْضاً حَسَناً
يُضَاعَفُ لَهُمْ
وَلَهُمْ أَجْرٌ
كَرِيم (الحديد :18)
Verily,
those who give sadaqat (i.e. zakat and alms), men
and women, and lend Allah
a good loan, it shall be
increased
manifold (to their credit), and theirs shall be
an honourable good reward
(i.e., Paradise) (Q. 57:180)
مّنْ
ذَا الَّذِي يُقْرِضُ اللّهَ قَرْضاً حَسَناً فَيُضَاعِفَهُ لَهُ أَضْعَافاً
كَثِيرَةً وَاللّهُ
يَقْبِضُ وَيَبْسُطُ وَإِلَيْهِ
تُرْجَعُونَ (البقرة:245)
Who
is he that will lend Allah goodly loan so that He may multiply it to him many
time? And it is Allah that decreases or increases (your provisions), and to Him
you shall return (Q.
2:245)
14.
There is a special door of Paradise from which the
people who spent charity will be called. The Prophet said:
عَنْ
أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ
وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ مَنْ أَنْفَقَ زَوْجَيْنِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ نُودِيَ
فِي
الْجَنَّةِ يَا عَبْدَ اللَّهِ هَذَا خَيْرٌ فَمَنْ كَانَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الصَّلَاةِ
دُعِيَ مِنْ بَابِ الصَّلَاةِ وَمَنْ كَانَ مِنْ أَهْلِ
الْجِهَادِ دُعِيَ مِنْ بَابِ الْجِهَادِ وَمَنْ كَانَ مِنْ أَهْلِ
الصَّدَقَةِ دُعِيَ مِنْ بَابِ الصَّدَقَةِ وَمَنْ كَانَ مِنْ
أَهْلِ
الصِّيَامِ دُعِيَ مِنْ بَابِ الرَّيَّانِ فَقَالَ
أَبُو بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَا عَلَى مَنْ يُدْعَى
مِنْ
هَذِهِ الْأَبْوَابِ مِنْ ضَرُورَةٍ فَهَلْ يُدْعَى أَحَدٌ مِنْ
هَذِهِ الْأَبْوَابِ كُلِّهَا قَالَ نَعَمْ
وَأَرْجُو
أَنْ تَكُونَ مِنْهُمْ (رواه البخاري و مسلم)
Abu Hurayrah narrated that the
Messenger of Allah s.a.w. said:“Whoever
spends a pair of (of livestock) in the path of
Allah he would be called in Paradise,
‘O, Abd Allah
this is good.’ Whoever belonged to the people of prayer
, he would be called from the door of the prayer; whoever belonged to the people of jihad, he would be
called from
the door of the jihad; whoever belonged
to people of alms-
giving, he would be called from the door of the Alms-giving;
and whoever belonged to the people of fasting, he would be
called from the door of Rayyan (the well-watered).” Then
Abu Bakr, asked: “O Messenger of Allah, is it necessary
that one would be called from
these doors? Would
someone be callef from all these
doors?” He said:
“Yes, and I hope you would be one of them.”
(Reported by
Bukhari and Muslim)
15.
It purifies wealth, clear it from dirt because of
foolish talk, oath, lying, and carelessness.
عَنْ قَيْسِ بْنِ
أَبِي غَرَزَةَ قَالَ كُنَّا نَبْتَاعُ الْأَوْسَاقَ بِالْمَدِينَةِ
وَكُنَّا نُسَمِّي أَنْفُسَنَا
السَّمَاسِرَةَ فَأَتَانَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ
صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَسَمَّانَا بِاسْمٍ أَحْسَنَ مِمَّا كُنَّا
نُسَمِّي أَنْفُسَنَا بِهِ فَقَالَ يَا مَعْشَرَ التُّجَّارِ إِنَّ هَذَا
الْبَيْعَ يَحْضُرُهُ اللَّغْوُ وَالْحَلِفُ فَشُوبُوهُ
بِالصَّدَقَةِ (رواه أحمد والنسائي وابن
ماجة، و البيهقي )
In
a hadith on the authority of Qays ibn Abi ‘Arazah he said : We were doing
business in Madinah and we used to call
ourselves brokers. When the
Messenger of Allah was passing by he
gave
us
a better name, and said: “Oh you tradesmen, this business is accompanied with foolish talk and oath; so
mix it with charity.” (Reported by Ahmad, al-Nasa’ī, Ibn
Majah and al-Bayhaqi)
Conditions for the Acceptance of
Charity
It
has to be good, clean. It has to be given with sincerity and good intention,
seeking solely the pleasure of Allah. It should not be
accompanied with lie, and offence.
Best Types of Charity
1. It
is spent in secrecy unless it cannot be avoided, such as building schools,
mosques, etc. But helping the poor is preferably in secrecy, to avoid humilialing
and embarrassing them for being poor, and to avoid showing off by the giver.
Allah said:
إِن
تُبْدُواْ الصَّدَقَاتِ فَنِعِمَّا هِىَ وَإِن تُخْفُوهَا وَتؤْتُوهَا الفُقَرَاءِ
فَهُوَ خَيرٌ لَّكُمْ )البقرة:271)
If you disclose your alms-giving, it is well;
but if you conceal them and give them to the
poor, that is better for you (Q. 2:271).
2. It
is spent when one is in good health rather than spending it when one is sick or
is dying, or through will. The Prophet said:
أَبُو
هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، قَالَ: جَاءَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى
اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ:
يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، أَيُّ الصَّدَقَةِ
أَعْظَمُ أَجْرًا؟ قَالَ: «أَنْ تَصَدَّقَ وَأَنْتَ صَحِيحٌ شَحِيحٌ
تَخْشَى الفَقْرَ، وَتَأْمُلُ الغِنَى، وَلاَ
تُمْهِلُ حَتَّى إِذَا بَلَغَتِ الحُلْقُومَ، قُلْتَ لِفُلاَنٍ كَذَا،
وَلِفُلاَنٍ
كَذَا وَقَدْ كَانَ لِفُلاَنٍ (رواه البخاري و مسلم)
Abu Hurayrah r.a. narrated that a man came to the
Prophet s.a.w. and said: “O Messenger of Allah, which
charity has the greatest reward?” He said: “You give
charity while you are healthy, in scarcity, fearing
poverty, and expecting richness; so do not delay
until you are dying, then you say that
this and this is for so-and-so, …
(Reported
by Bukhari and Muslim)
What the Prophet
means is that the best charity is you give what you need yourself, not when you
do not need it any more, not when you are dying you start giving charity.
Similar to this is the classical Arabic proverb, saying أَتَاكَ رَيَّانَ بِلَبَنِه (“He
came to you with his milk while he himself is sated with drink”)
3.
It is spent
after fulfilling the spending obligation. Allah said:
وَيَسْئَلُونَكَ
مَاذَا يُنفِقُونَ قُلِ العَفْوَ
[البقرة:219]
…
And they ask you what they ought to spend. Say: “That which
is beyond your needs.”… (Q.
2:219)
4. It
is preferable to spend charity to one’s family. The Prophet s.a.w. said:
إِذَا
أَنْفَقَ المُسْلِمُ نَفَقَةً عَلَى أَهْلِهِ، وَهُوَ يَحْتَسِبُهَا، كَانَتْ لَهُ
صَدَقَةً )رواه
البخاري و مسلم(
If a man gives maintenance to his
family,
expecting Allah’s pleasure, it becomes
charity for him
(Reported
by Bukhari and Muslim)
The
Prophet also said:
أَرْبَعَةُ
دَنَانِيرَ:
دِينَارًا أَعْطَيْتَهُ مِسْكِينًا وَدِينَارًا أَعْطَيْتَهُ فِي رَقَبَةٍ
وَدِينَارًا أَنْفَقْتَهُ فِي
سَبِيلِ
اللَّهِ وَدِينَارًا أَنْفَقْتَهُ عَلَى
أَهْلِكَ أَفْضَلُهَا الَّذِي أَنْفَقْتَهُ علَىَ أَهْلِك (رواه مسلم).
There are
four dinars: one dinar you give it to a poor,
one dinar you spend it to free slaves, one
dinar you
spend in the path of Allah, and one dinar on
your
family, the
best among them is the dinar you
spent for
your family (Reported
by Muslim)
The Prophet s.a.w. also said:
الصَّدَقَةُ عَلَى الْمِسْكِينِ صَدَقَةٌ،
وَهِيَ عَلَى ذِي الرَّحِمِ ثِنْتَانِ: صَدَقَةٌ وَصِلَةٌ
(رواه
أحمد والنسائي والترمذي وابن ماجة)
Charity to
the poor is charity, but to poor relatives it is
both charity and kinship (Reported by Ahmad,
al-Nasa’i, al-Tirmidhi,
and Ibn Majah)
Among relatives priority should be goven to
(1) the orphans among them, and (2) whom secret enmity from them is suspected.
Allah said:
فَلَا
اقْتَحَمَ الْعَقَبَةَ . وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الْعَقَبَةُ . فَكُّ رَقَبَةٍ . أَوْ
إِطْعَامٌ فِي يَوْمٍ ذِي مَسْغَبَةٍ .
يَتِيمًا ذَا مَقْرَبَةٍ . أَوْ مِسْكِينًا ذَا
مَتْرَبَةٍ (البلد:11-16)
But he has
not attempted to pass on the path that
is steep (i.e., the path which will lead to
goodness and
success).
And what will make you know the path that is
steep? (It
is) freeing a neck (slave). Or giving food in
a day of
hunger (famine), to an orphan near of kin.
Or to miskīn (needy) cleaving to dust
(out of
misery). (Q. 90:11-16)
The Prophet s.a.w. said:
أَفْضَلُ
الصَّدَقَةِ عَلَى ذِي الرَّحِمِ الْكَاشِحِ (رواه أحمد وأبو داود والترمذي )
The best charity is to the relatives
who harbor
secret enmity.
(Reported by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and al-Tirmidhi)
5. Charity
to the neighbour. Allah advises Muslims to do good to people, among them are
the neighbours. He says:
وَالْجَارِ ذِي
القُرْبَى وَالْجَارِ الجُنُبِ
(النساء:36)
…the neighbor who is near of kin, the
neighbour
who is a
stranger… (Q. 4:36)
The
Prophet s.a.w. advised Abῡ Dharr, that if he makes a soup he should give
more water to his soup to be shared by his neighbours.
6. Charity
to a friend who is in the path of Allah. The Prophet said:
أَفْضَلُ
الدَّنَانِيرِ دِينَارٌ أَنْفَقَهُ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى عِيَالِهِ، وَدِينَارٌ
أَنْفَقَهُ عَلَى دَابَّتِهِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ،
وَدِينَارٌ أَنْفَقَهُ عَلَى أَصْحَابِهِ فِي
سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ (رواه أبو داؤد)
The best
dinars are: that which is spent by
the man for
his family, for his animal in the path
of
Allah, and
for his friend in the path of Allah.
(Reported by Muslim)
7.
Charity for jihād
in the path of Allah, as mentioned in many Qur’anic verses: (Q. 9:41, 88-89; 49:15; 57:10-11).
8. Perpetual
charity (ṣadaqah jāriyah), which remains after the death of its giver,
and with continuous reward. The Prophet said:
إِذَا
مَاتَ الْإِنْسَانُ انْقَطَعَ عَمَلُهُ إِلَّا مِنْ ثَلَاثٍ: صَدَقَةٍ جَارِيَةٍ،
أَوْ عِلْمٍ يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ،
أَوْ وَلَدٍ صَالِحٍ يَدْعُو لَهُ (رواه
الطبراني و ابن حبان و البيهقي)
If a man
dies his deed ceases except in three things:
perpetual
charity, knowledge for which people get benefit,
and a son
(daughter) who prays for him (Reported
by
al-Tabrani, Ibn
Hibban, and al-Bayhaqi)
Some examples of perpetual charity are: making public wells where their water is for
everybody; building mosques, houses for orphans and widows, disseminating
knowledge, etc. The Prophet s.a.w. said:
مَنْ بَنَى مَسْجِدًا يَبْتَغِي بِهِ وَجْهَ اللَّهِ بَنَى اللهُ لَهُ بَيْتًا فِي الْجَنَّةِ (رواه
البخاري ومسلم)
Whoever
built a mosque, seeking the pleasure of Allah,
Allah will
build a house for him in Paradise
(Reported by
Bukhari and Muslim)
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ
صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : إِنَّ مِمَّا يَلْحَقُ الْمُؤْمِنَ مِنْ
عَمَلِهِ وَحَسَنَاتِهِ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهِ عِلْمًا
عَلَّمَهُ وَنَشَرَهُ، وَوَلَدًا صَالِحًا تَرَكَهُ، وَمُصْحَفًا وَرَّثَهُ،
أَوْ مَسْجِدًا
بَنَاهُ، أَوْ بَيْتًا لِابْنِ السَّبِيلِ بَنَاهُ، أَوْ نَهْرًا أَجْرَاهُ، أَوْ
صَدَقَةً أَخْرَجَهَا مِنْ
مَالِهِ فِي صِحَّتِهِ وَحَيَاتِهِ، يَلْحَقُهُ مِنْ
بَعْدِ مَوْتِهِ (رواه ابن ماجة)
Abu
Hurayrah r.a. narrated that the Messenger of
Allah said:
“Verily, the good deeds that follow a
believer
after his
death are knowledge he taught and
disseminated,
or a pious
son he left behind, or a mushaf of the Qur’an he bequeathed, or a mosque he built, or a house for wayfarers
he built,
or a stream he caused to run, or charity he
gave while he was healthy and alive, they
will follow
him after his death.
(Reported by Ibn
Majah)
(CIVIC, 24.05.13)
Bibliography:
Al-Maktabah al-Shamilah
ttp://majdah.maktoob.com/vb/majdah65284/
http://www.kalemat.org/sections.php?so=va&aid=425
17.
ABDULLAH IBN ‘ABBᾹS (2)
Ibn ‘Abbās, as an
eminent scholar in various branches of Islamic knowledge is reflected in the
following story:
The
rulers of Rome once sent a letter to Mu’āwiyah containing a number of
questions. He asked Abdullah Ibn Abbās to give the answers. The questions and his answers are as follows:
Q.: Which are the five phrases most loved by
Allah?
A.:
1. La ilāha illallāh (“there is no god but Allah”), as the action is
only accepted by Allah if it is accompanied with īmān (faith in tawḥīd, the
oneness of Allah). 2. Subḥānallāh (“Glory to Allah”), as it is the
salutation of Allah’s creature to Him. 3. Al-ḥamdu lillāh (“praise be to
Allah”), as an expression of praise and appreciation. 4. Allāhu Akbar
(“Allah is Great” or “Allah is the Greatest”) cited many times during the
performance of the prayer: when the prayer is started, when bowing and
prostrating. 5. Lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh (“There is no power
and no strength save in Allah”).
Q.: Which man and woman were the most esteemed
servants of Allah?
A.: Adam a.s. was the most esteemed man,
as he was created by Allah with His own hands, and taught the names of things
by Him. The most esteemed among women was Maryam (Mary) the daughter if ‘Imrān,
because she guarded her chastity.
Q. : What four things
had souls but never in the wombs of mothers?
A.: Adam a.s., Ḥawwā’ (Eve), the
staff of Prophet Mῡsā (Moses) a.s. which turned into a serpent, and the
ram brought to be sacrificed as substitute of Isma’il (Ishmael) a.s.
Q.: Which grave that
moved around with its inmate?
A.: The fish that
swallowed Prophet Yūnus (Jonah) a.s.
Q.: Which portion of the earth was exposed to the
sun only once?
A.
The portion of the sea which split open for the Banu Isra’il to pass through.
Q. What is the status of the Milky Way?
A. The Milky Way is the
one of the doors of the sky.
Q. What is the origin
of the rainbow?
A.
It is a sign showing that after the people of Nuh (Noah) a.s, no other nation
would be destroyed by being drowned in a similar manner.
One
day Nāfi‘ bin Azraq and Najdah ibn ‘Uwaymir went with a group of leaders of
Khawarij people seeking knowledge until they reached Makkah. Suddenly they saw
Abdullah ibn ‘Abbās sitting beside the well of Zamzam, wearing a red cloak and
a white shirt. They saw people standing and asking him questions on the tafsīr
(interpretation, commentary) of the Qur’an. They asked, “O Ibn ‘Abbās, what
do you say about such-and-such, and he answered, such-and-such.”
Nāfi‘ bin Azraq said to him: “How dare you, O Ibn ‘Abbās ,
to say what you have said…! [meaning, giving interpretation of the Qur’an]”.
“May
your mother bereave you, O Nāfi‘,” answered Ibn ‘Abbās . [ثَكِلَتْكَ
أُمُّكَ , was a common expression of disappointment towards
someone among the Arabs in the past, i.e., “may you die” a prayer but not wished to happen]. “Would you
like me to tell you about a person who is darer, bolder than me?”
“Who is he, O Ibn ‘Abbās?” asked Nāfi‘
“A man who talks about something which he has no
knowledge of it, or a man who conceals a knowledge he knows,” answered Ibn ‘Abbās
.
Ibn ‘Abbās himself narrated,
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ
وَسَلَّمَ مَنْ قَالَ فِي الْقُرْآنِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ
فَلْيَتَبَوَّأْ مَقْعَدَهُ مِنْ النَّارِ (رواه أحمد)
The Messenger of Allah said: “Whoever
says (something) about the Qur’an without
(proper) knowledge, should prepare
His seat in the Hellfire.’
(Reported
by Ahmad)
Allah Himself threatens those who conceal the truth
with punishment. He says:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْتُمُونَ مَا أَنْزَلْنَا مِنَ
الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَالْهُدَى مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا بَيَّنَّاهُ لِلنَّاسِ
فِي الْكِتَابِ أُولَئِكَ يَلْعَنُهُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَلْعَنُهُمُ اللاعِنُونَ
(الْبَقَرَة: 159) .
Verily, those who conceal the clear proofs,
evidences and the guidance, which We have
sent down, afer We have made it clear for
the people in the
Book, they are the
ones
cursed by Allah and cursed
by
the cursers. (Q. 2:159)
He also says:
وَإِذْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيثَاقَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا
الْكِتَابَ لَتُبَيِّنُنَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ
وَلا تَكْتُمُونَهُ... (آل عمرَان: 187)
And
(remember) when Allah took a covenant
from those
who were given the Scripture (Jews
and
Christians) to make it )the news of (the coming
of Prophet
Muhammad and the religious knowledge)
known and
clear to mankind, and
not to hide
it…(Q. 3:187)
Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet s.a.w. said:
مَنْ سُئِلَ عَنْ عِلْمٍ يَعْلَمُهُ فَكَتَمَهُ،
أُلْجِمَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ بِلِجَامٍ مِنْ نَارٍ».
حَدِيثٌ
حَسَنٌ
Whoever is asked knowledge which he knows
then he concealed it, a bridle of fire would be
put on him in the Judgment Day.”
However, the Prophet explained that the knowledge
intended here is the important one dealing with religion and the application of
the shari’ah. For example, if someone asks us about alcohol in Islam, and we
know it is haram (prohibited) then we keep silent. Not something
unimportant, or something which we have to keep secret, which would be
dangerous to reveal to the questioner. So, when Ibn ‘Abbās meant that he did
nothing wrong in explaining the meanings of difficult verses of the Qur’an, Nāfi‘
said:
“You are
right, but I come to ask you”
“Ask me,” said Ibn ‘Abbās .
Nāfi‘
asked Ibn ‘Abbās the meanings of 287
difficult words in the Qur’an, and to refer them to the poetry. These questions and answered were collected
in a form of a book entitled Masā’il Nāfi‘ bin al-Azraq (“Nāfi‘ bin al-Azraq’s
Questions”)
Some examples of these questions are as follows:
Nāfi‘ : Tell me about the verse
مَا لَكُمْ لَا تَرْجُونَ لِلَّهِ وَقَارًا (نوح : ١٣)
What is the matter with you that you do not
fear Allah’s majesty. (Q. 71:13).
Ibn ‘Abbās , said: … “[What is the matter with you
that] you are not afraid of the majesty of your Lord”
“Did the Arabs know it?”, asked Nāfi‘.
“Yes,” said Ibn ‘Abbās , “haven’t you heard Abū
Dhu’ayb al-Hudhalī ( d. ca. 28/649), said in his poem,
إذا لَسَعَتْهُ النّحْلُ لمَ يَرْجُ لَسْعَهاَ * وَخَالفَهَا فَي بَيْتِ نُوْبٍ عَوَاسِلُ
If the bees
sting him he will not afraid
[will not
care], as it will be compensated
with honey
in the place of misfortune (i.e.,
the stings
of bees in the bee hive).”
[Masā’il, p. 38]?
The term rajā’ means “to hope, to expect”; as a
noun it mean “hope, expectation”. The Arab woman called Rajā’ is
equivalent to the Italian one called Speranza. But in verses like the
one mentioned earlier, the term rajā’ is translated not as “hope”, but
as “fear”. It will be unreasonable that if you take the honey from the beehive,
that you would not expect the bees to attack and sting you. What is reasonable
is that you do not fear, or do not care, of the attack of the bees.
Classical mufassirīn (commentators of the Qur’an),
such as al-Ṭabarī, and Ibn Kathir, both followed the interpretation of Ibn ‘Abbās
in such verses. Al-Qurṭubī and al-Ṭabarsī,
also followed Ibn ‘Abbās ’s interpretation, but they also used “not fearing
Allah’s punishment” instead of “… Allah’s Majesty.” This term has been dealt
with in very my early khutbah (2007) entitled Problems in Translating
the Qur’an in Selected Khutab Vol. 3, no.
31
Another example is that
Nāfi‘ asked Ibn ‘Abbās the meaning of yaḥūra in the
verse: إِنَّه ظَنّ أَنْ لَنْ يَحُوْرَ (الإنشقاق:14) “Verily, he thought that he would never come back
(to Us)” (Q. 84:14). Ibn ‘Abbās said
that it means “that they would never come back”, and cited the poem of Labīd
bin Rabī‘ah, as follows:
وَمَا المَرْءُ إِلاَّ كَالشِّهَابِ وَ ضَوْءِهِ *
يَحُوْرُ رَمَاداً بَعْدَ إِذْ هُوَ سَاطِعُ
Man is only
like the shooting star and its light,
it returned ashes after shining.
It is said that the term itself
is originally from the Ethiopian language adopted into Arabic language. [Masā’il,
p. 55]
The Qur’anic commentators al-Qurṭubī and Ibn Kathīr
followed Ibn ‘Abbās ’s interpretation in this verse. Al-Ṭabarī translates it
“he would never be raised” instead of “he would never return (to Us)”.
These two examples are just two out of 287 difficult
words in the Qur’an explained by Ibn ‘Abbās to Nāfi‘ citing as evidence from classical
Arabic poetry. Were Nāfi‘ bin al-Azraq asked more questions Ibn ‘Abbās would
have given him more answers. This indicates his deep knowledge of Arabic
poetry. This also indicates the importance of Arabic poetry in understanding
difficult words of the Qur’an. (CIVIC, 31.05.13)
Bibliography:
Al-Maktabah
al-Shāmilah
Dr.
Muḥammad Aḥmad al-Dālī (ed.), Masā’il Nāfi‘ bin Azraq. Cyprus: Yaffan
& al-Jafi, 1992.
http://www.thecompanions.info/2012/03/the-great-mufassir-abdullah-ibn-abbas-%d8%b1%d8%b6%d9%8a-d8%a7%d9%84%d9%84%d9%87-%d8%b9%d9%86%d9%87/
18. ABDULLAH IBN ‘ABBᾹS (3)
Ibn ‘Abbās specified
his method of tafsīr (interpretation of the Qur’an) when he said: “There
are four aspects of tafsīr: known by the Arabs from their language, known to
everyone (no excuse of being ignorant of it), known by scholars, and known by
Allah Alone.” .” (al-Ṭabarī, Jāmi‘
al-Bayān, vol.1, pp. 24-26).
He
also narrated that the Prophet s.a.w. said: “The Qur’an was revealed
in four aspects: ḥalāl (lawful) and ḥarām (prohibited) which should be known by
everybody, known by the Arabs, known by scholars, and known by Allah Alone.
(Ibid.)
The
first aspect is that the Qur’an contains religious exhortations, spiritual
counsels, obligations, and laws which should be learned, practised and taught
by Muslims in general, because it is the constitution of the Shariah.
The
second aspect is the Qur’an is understood by the Arabs themselves, because it
was revealed in their language. They were contemporary of the Prophet, they
witnessed the revelation, where, when, and the condition where the Qur’an was
revealed. Here lies the importance of
knowing and mastering Arabic rhetoric (balāghah), the use of figurative language, such as
metaphors and similes, etc. Knowing classical Arabic literature and the
tradition of the Arabs before Islam would also be helpful in understanding the
verses of the Qur’an. Here also lies the contribution of Ibn Abbās in
understanding difficult words in the Qur’an. One of his books which reached us
is his Kitāb Gharīb al-Qur’ān (“The Meanings of Difficult Words in the
Qur’an”).
The third aspect
is what is known by scholars only, verses dealing with the details of issues
such as the philosophy of being, and the secrets of life. Many non-Muslim
scholars become Muslims when they learn that many verses of the Qur’an explain
something which can only be understood fully in recent times, such as human
embryonic development, the origin of the universe, deep seas and internal
waves, and the formation of clouds. There are many books written on this
subject, such as:
Dr. Maurice Bucaille “The Bible, The Qur’an and Science, The Holy
Scriptures Examined In The Light Of Modern Knowledge.” It has been translated
from French to Arabic, English, Indonesian, Persian, Turkish and German.
I.A. Ibrahim. A Brief Illustrated
Guide to Understanding Islam. Houston: Darussalam, 1997. It is distributed
free in many mosques and Islamic centres.
The fourth aspect is what is known by
Allah Alone, called (mutashābihāt, ambiguous)) (except, according
to some scholars, if He will reveals it to His chosen people), such as the
meanings of the alphabetical letters in the beginning of some surahs (chapters)
of the Qur’an, such as A-L-M, Ḥ-M.
Ibn
‘Abbās’s Method of Interpretation is as follows:
1. Referring
to the Qur’an itself in finding the explanation of a particular verse, finding
any indication whether it is general (‘ām) , e.g. including all
human beings, or all Muslims, or specific (khāṣṣ) where its application
is restricted to certain special circumstance only; whether it is “free” (muṭlaq) from any
conditions or circumstances, or “bound” (muqayyad) to special conditions
or circumstances; whether the meaning is derived from its literal wording (manṭūq)
or from what is understood (mafhūm). For example, the following verse:
قَالُوا
رَبَّنَا أَمَتَّنَا اثْنَتَيْنِ وَأَحْيَيْتَنَا اثْنَتَيْنِ فَاعْتَرَفْنَا
بِذُنُوبِنَا فَهَلْ إِلَى خُرُوجٍ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ (غافر:11)
They will say: “Our Lord! You have made us
to die twice,
and you have given us life twice! Now we
confess our sins,
then is there any way to get out (of the
Fire)? (Q. 40:11)
Ibn
‘Abbās gives his commentary of this verse, as follows: “You had been dead
before Allah created you, and this is one death. Then He gave you life, and
this is one life. Then He makes you die, and you go back to the graves, and
this is another death. Then He resurrects you in the Judgment Day, and this is
another life. So, we have two deaths (and two lives), as Allah says:
كَيْفَ
تَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَكُنتُمْ أَمْوَاتاً فَأَحْيَاكُمْ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ
ثُمَّ يُحْيِيكُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ (البقرة:28)
How can you disbelieve
in Allah? Seeing that you were dead
and He gave you life. Then He will give you
death, then again will bring you to life and then unto Him you will return (Q.
2:28)
2. Taking
asbāb al-nuzūl (lit. “reasons of revelations”) into consideration. It is
investigating the circumstances or particular events which lead to the
revelation of particular verses of the Qur’an.
This science of the Qur’an is extremely important to understand,
“reasons” the verses were revealed. It could be in response to an event, or a
general situation, or in response to a particular question, and other reasons,
either known or unknown to us. Here are some examples:
a. Ibn
‘Abbās wished to know whom among the Prophet’s wives referred to in the
verse
إِنْ
تَتُوبَا إِلَى اللَّهِ فَقَدْ صَغَتْ قُلُوبُكُمَا وَإِنْ تَظَاهَرَا عَلَيْهِ
فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ مَوْلَاهُ وَجِبْرِيلُ وَصَالِحُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ ظَهِيرٌ (التحريم:4)
If you two turn in
repentance to Allah, (it will be
Better for you), your
hearts are indeed so inclined
(to oppose what the
Prophet likes); but if you help one
another against him,
then verily, Allah is his mawlā
(Lord, or Master, or
Protector), and Jibril (Gabriel),
And the righteous among
the believers; and further
more, the angels are his helpers. (Q.
66:4)
Ibn
‘Abbās had a chance to ask ‘Umar about it when they performed hajj (pilgrimage)
together, where ‘Umar told him that they
were ‘Ᾱ’ishah and Ḥafṣah. It is said that it took him two years to ask ‘Umar,
as he was hesitated because of his (‘Umar’s) dignity.
b. Ibn ‘Abbās learned that verses dealing with
the allegation that the Qur’an was merely the story men of old were revealed in
the case of al-Naḍr ibn
al-Ḥārith. He was the main opponent of the authenticity of the Qur’an as
revelation from Allah. Ibn ‘Abbās said that people came to al-Naḍr ibn al-Ḥārith
asking him what Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. had said. He answered: “I saw
him moving his lips, and what he said was nothing but the tales of the ancient,
like what I have related to you of stories of past centuries.” Al-Naḍr ibn
al-Ḥārith had many tales and travel stories. He had heard the tales of Persian
origin, like the story of Rostam, (the greatest Persian mythological hero, a
Persian Hercules), and Prince Esfandyar with whom Rostam engaged in a battle),
and al-Naḍr ibn al-Ḥārith in turn related them to his people.
These verses are as
follows:
إِذا تُتْلى عَلَيْهِ
آياتُنا قالَ أَساطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ ( القلم:15. المطففين:13.)
When Our
Verses (of the Qur’an) are recited to him,
he says:
“Tales of the men of old!” (Q. 68:15; 83:13)
إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ
(الأنعام:25. الأنفال:31. المؤمنون:83. النمل:86)
“These are nothing
but tales of the men of old”.
(Q. 6:25; 8:31; 23:83; 27:68)
قَالُوا أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ (النحل:24. الفرقان:5)
They say;
“Tales of the men of old!” (Q. 16:24; 25:5)
مَا هَذَا إِلَّا أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ (الأحقاف:17)
“This is
nothing but the tales of the ancient”(Q.46:17)
يَقُولُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ (
الأنعام:25))
... the
disbelievers say: “These are nothing but
tales of
the men of old.” (Q.
6:25)
c.
Sometimes, several reasons where a particular verse
was revealed, such as the following verse:
وَلَوْ أَنَّمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ مِنْ شَجَرَةٍ أَقْلَامٌ
وَالْبَحْرُ يَمُدُّهُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ سَبْعَةُ أَبْحُرٍ
مَا نَفِدَتْ كَلِمَاتُ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ
حَكِيمٌ (لقمان:27)
And if all
the trees on the earth were pens and the
sea (were ink wherewich to write), with seven
seas
behind it to add to its (supply), yet the Words of
Allah would
not be exhausted. Verily, Allah is
All-Mighty,
All-Wise. (Q.31:27)
-
The Quraysh people in rejecting the Qur’an which the
Prophet s.a.w. was reciting: “Muhammad’s talking will finish and he
will soon go away.” Others said: “Muhammad talked too much!” Then the above verse was revealed.
-
Ibn ‘Abbās related that when the Prophet s.a.w.
arrived at Madinah in his migration to that city, the Jews asked him about the
Qur’anic verse " [وَما أُوتِيتُمْ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا" [الاسراء: 85, meaning “… and of knowledge, you (Mankind) have been given
only a little” (Q. 17:85), whereas they had been given the Torah containing Allah’s sayings
and laws, and according to the Prophet, it explained everything. The Prophet
said, that the Torah was “a little among many (قَلِيْلٌ مِنْ كَثِيْر)”, meaning that there were still many things not mentioned
in the Torah. Then the above verse was revealed.
The “words of
Allah” in the above verse means Allah’s knowledge and the reality of things, as
He had known things before He created it.
3. Ibn
‘Abbās sought commentary of reliable resources, such as the commentary from the Prophet himself, as well
as his family and companions (ṣaḥābah). As mentioned earlier Ibn ‘Abbās
was an extensive seeker of knowledge. He learned many hadiths of the Prophet
through the sahabah, especially, his own cousin, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib
dealing with the commentary of the Qur’an.
He said: مَا اَخَذْتُ مِنْ
تَفْسِيْرِ اْلقُرْآنِ فَعَنْ عَلِىِّ بْنِ اَبِيْ طَالِب
“What I have learned about the tafsir (commentary of the Qur’an) is from Ali
ibn Abi Talib.” When he was asked how he obtained so much knowledge, he
said: بِلِسَانٍ سَؤُولٍ وَقَلْبٍ
عَقُول “With an inquisitive curious tongue,
and with a discerning intelligent heart.” He kept asking and kept remembering the
answers of his questions.
4. His
proficiency in high-ranking Arabic literature. The Qur’an was revealed in
eloquent Arabic language in wording as well as in meaning. Even in using some
tribal languages, the words used are the eloquent, and familiar among them.
Therefore, whenever we find any difficulty in understanding the meanings of
particular words, we should refer to the eloquence of the expressions of the
Arabs contemporary to the revelation of the Qur’an. This is what Ibn ‘Abbās did
in this case. He referred to the eloquent and marvellous expression in
pre-Islamic poetry and of people at that time. He was endowed with strong
memory, that once he heard something important, such as poetry, he memorised it
instantly. Although the
dialect of the Quraysh tribe was dominant in the Qur’an, many other dialects
are also used, even some non-Arabic words were adopted in the Qur’an. Due to
this difference of tribal languages in the Qur’an, not all of the ṣaḥābah knew
the meanings of the words of the Qur’an. Ibn Abbas explained them in this book كِتَابُ غَرِيْبِ الْقُرْآن (“The
Meanings of Difficult Words in the Qur’an”). (CIVIC, 14.06.13(
/ Sourcesالمصادر:
المكتبة
الشاملة
عبد الله بن عباس, كتاب
غريب القرآن. حققه و قدم له دكتورأحمد بلوط. لقاهرة: مكتبة الزهراء, 1993
Ahmad
von Denffer, ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān. Kuala Lumpur: A.S. Noordeen, 1991
19. ABDULLAH IBN ‘ABBAS (4)
Ibn
‘Abbas (d. 68/687) as a mufassir (commentator of the Qur’an) there are
two books attributed to him:
(a)
Tanwīr al-Miqbās
min Tafsīr Ibn Abbās (تنوير
المقباس من تفسير بن عباس),
also called “Tafsīr Ibn Abbās”.
It was collected by Muhammad ibn Ya‘qūb
al-Fīrūzābādī (d. 817/1414). However, recent evidence show that: (1) this book
had existed in 545 AH much earlier, long before al-Fīrūzābādī
died, and (2) it is a concise version of Ibn al-Kalbi's Tafsīr by al-Dinawari
where it contained the controversial Isrā’īliyyāt (Jewish legends).
(b)
Tafsīr
Ibn Abbās, published by Dārul Fikr in Beirut,
Lebanon. It is considered more authentic since its version's
chain of narration goes back to the companion Ali ibn Abī Ṭalḥah.
Another
book which we shall deal with here is كِتَابُ
غَرِيْبِ الْقُرْآن (Kitāb Gharīb al-Qur’ān, Book
on Difficult Words in the Qur’an), edited by Dr. Ahmed Būlūṭ, Cairo, 1993. It contains 435 words in 51 tribal languages
of the Arabs including some foreign words, such as: Hebrew (2 words), Syriac (5 words), Nabataean
(11 words), Chinese (1 word), Persian (3 words), Coptic (3 words), Roman (2 words), Ethiopian
(6 words), and Berber (1 word).
In his
book Ibn ‘Abbas did not refer to lines of poetry to as evidence of his
interpretation of the meanings of the difficult words, as he did with Nāfi‘ ibn
Azraq. The book was edited by Dr. Aḥmad Būlūṭ, former Head of the Department of
Arabic Language and Rhetoric, Faculty of Divine, Uludağ University, Bursa,
Turkey, first published in 1993, twenty years ago. The book was based on three
manuscripts: (a) As‘ad Effendi’s manuscript, the most complete one; (b) ‘Ᾱṭif
Effendi’s manuscript, and (c) al-Ẓāhiriyyah manuscript, the least complete of
the three.
The Qur’an was revealed in the language of the Quraysh
tribe which was the most eloquent one, called by the Qur’an itself “clear
Arabic” (بِلِسَانٍ عَرَبِيٍّ مُبِينٍ). However, there were many words it adopted from other
tribal languages, even from foreign languages. On the other hand, there were
also some words of the Quraysh language which were not understood by other
tribes. Ibn ‘Abbās explained the meanings of 124 words of the Quraysh language mentioned
in the verses of the Qur’an, namely, more than a quarter of the total number of
words he explained in his book. Words from the language of the Hudhayl tribe
was 52 in number, followed by that of Kinānah, 40 words.
Some examples of the words belonging to the Quraysh
tribe explained by Ibn ‘Abbās are as
follows:
1.
The word لَوَّاحَةٌ (lawwāḥah),
which means حَرَّاقَة ) burning) in the following verse:
.وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا سَقَرُ.لَا تُبْقِي وَلَا
تَذَرُ . لَوَّاحَةٌ لِلْبَشَرِ (المدثر:26-29)
And what
will make you know (exactly) what Hell-
fire
is?) It spare not (any sinner), nor does
it leave
(anything unburnt)! Burning and blackening
the skins! (Q. 74:26-29)
This will be the condition of those who deny the revelation.
2.
The word السَّاقُ (al-sāq), which means الشِّدَّة (hardship) in the following verse: وَالْتَفَّتِ السَّاقُ بِالسَّاقِ (القيامة:29) And
one leg will be joined with another leg (shrouded) (Q. 75:29)
What is meant
here by Ibn ‘Abbas is الشِّدَّة بالشِّدَّة , “hardship
upon hardship”, as pointed out by the Qur’anic commentator al-Ṭabarī, as
follows: “Or it may mean: hardship and distress will be joined with another
hardship and distress (i.e., distress of death, and of the thought as to what
is going to happen to him in the Hereafter.”
3.
The word زَمْهَرِيرً (zamharīr), which means قَمَر (moon) in the following verse:
مُتَّكِئِينَ فِيهَا عَلَى الْأَرَائِكِ لَا يَرَوْنَ
فِيهَا شَمْسًا وَلَا زَمْهَرِيرًا (الإنسان:13)
Reclining therein on raised thrones, they will see there neither the
excessive heat of the sun, nor the excessive bitter cold, (as in Paradise here
is no sun no moon).(Q.
76:13)
4.
The word المُعْصِرَات (al-mu‘ṣirāt),
which means ب سَحَا (clouds) in the following verse: وَأَنْزَلْنَا مِنَ الْمُعْصِرَاتِ مَاءً ثَجَّاجًا (
النبأ:14)
And We have sent down from the rainy clouds
abundant water (Q. 78:14)
5.
The word عَسْعَسَ (‘as‘asa), which means أَدْبَرَ (depart) in
the following verse: وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ (التكوير:17)
And by the night as it departs (Q. 81:17)
The word عَسْعَسَ belongs to al-aḍdād (words which have two
opposite meanings), the approaching (the beginning) of the night and its
departure (end), twilight, dawn and dusk (Rāghib al-Aṣfahānī, Mufradāt, sv.
عَسْعَسَ). The use of “depart” as its meaning here,
is because the verse is followed by (وَالصُّبْحِ إِذَا تَنَفَّسَ (18) “And by the dawn as it brightens.” (Q.
81:18). The term تَنَفَّسَ literally means “to breathe”, so that the verse literally
means, “By the dawn when it starts breathing,” as if it dies at night.
6.
The word تَرَدَّى (taraddā), which means مَات (die) in the following verse: وَمَا يُغْنِي عَنْهُ مَالُهُ إِذَا تَرَدَّى (الليل:11)
And what will his wealth avail him when he goes
down (in destruction)? (Q. 92:11)
The word تَرَدَّى literally
means "to fall, tumble; to decline, to fall off; to deteriorate”. Its root
is رَدِيَ, “to perish”. This word “perish” is also
used in English to mean “to die”.
7.
The word إِمْرًا (imran), which means عَجَب (strange, weird) as in the following verse:
فَانْطَلَقَا حَتَّى إِذَا رَكِبَا فِي السَّفِينَةِ خَرَقَهَا قَالَ
أَخَرَقْتَهَا لِتُغْرِقَ أَهْلَهَا
لَقَدْ جِئْتَ شَيْئًا إِمْرًا (
الكهف :71)
So they
both proceeded [Prophet Moses and al-Khiḍr],
till, when
they embarked the ship he (al-Khiḍr) scuttled it.
(Moses) said: “Have you scuttled it in order
to drown its
people? Verily, you have committed a thing
imra
(a
munkar-evil, bad dreadful thing)” (Q. 18:71)
The basic meaning of إِمْرًا is "dreadful, terrible thing".
Some words in the Qur’an understood in the Quraysh
language were slightly different from their basic meanings. In such case, the
two meanings are applicable, although the dominant one is in the language of
the Quraysh, as it was revealed in the Quraysh language. For example, the word حَرَج (ḥaraj) means: “narrowness,
constriction, distress, anguish, difficulty”. But this word, according to Ibn
‘Abbas, means الشَّكَ (“doubt,
uncertainty”) in the Quraysh language in the following verses:
فَمَنْ يُرِدِ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَهدِيَهُ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُ
لِلْإِسْلَامِ وَمَنْ يُرِدْ أَنْ يُضِلَّهُ يَجْعَلْ صَدْرَهُ ضَيِّقًا حَرَجًا
كَأَنَّمَا يَصَّعَّدُ فِي السَّمَاءِ كَذَلِكَ يَجْعَلُ اللَّهُ الرِّجْسَ عَلَى
الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ (الأنعام:125)
And whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam; and
whomsoever He wills to send astray, He makes his breast closed and constricted,
as if he is climbing up to the sky… (Q. 6:125)
By using
the two meanings of حَرَج (ḥaraj)
we can say that his breast is in doubt of the truth of Islam that makes it
constricted, difficult to breath, as if he is climbing a mountain. The higher
he goes the more he needs oxygen to breath, until he dies of lack of oxygen.
This is a scientific interpretation of this verse.
The other
verse runs as follows:
كِتَابٌ أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ فَلَا يَكُنْ فِي صَدْرِكَ
حَرَجٌ مِنْهُ لِتُنْذِرَ بِهِ وَذِكْرَى لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ (الأعراف:2)
(This is a) Book (the Qur’an) sent down to you (O Muhammad),
so let not your breast be narrow
[be doubtful] therefrom , that you warn thereby; and a reminder to the
believers.(Q. 7:2)
The
word حَرَج (ḥaraj)
itself contains the sense of الشَّكَ (“ doubt,
uncertainty”), such as the expression لا يَرَى حَرَجًا مِنْهُ which means “he feels no hesitation about it.” Hesitation indicates doubt.
However, in another verse of the
Qur’an, Ibn ‘Abbas was asked the meaning the word حَرَج (ḥaraj) “constriction, distress, anguish, difficulty,”
as follows:
... هُوَ اجْتَبَاكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ
عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ مِلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ
هُوَ سَمَّاكُمُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَفِي هَذَا
...(الحج:78)
He has
chosen you(to convey his Message of Islamic Monotheism
to
mankind…) and has not laid upon you in religion any hardship.It is the religion
of your father Ibrahim (Abraham). It is He Who has named you Muslims both
before and in this (Qur’an)…
(Q. 78)
Ibn ‘Abbas answered: “If you have difficulty in
understanding the words of the Qur’an, find it in poetry, because it is
Arabic.” Then he called a Bedouin, and asked him: “What is حَرَج (ḥaraj)?”
He answered: الضِّيْق
(“narrowness, anguish, distress, worry, weariness”). Ibn ‘Abbas said to him”
“You are right.” So, here ḥaraj
means “distress”, rather than “doubt”.
Before the Prophet emigrated to Madinah, formerly
called “Yathrib”, there had been two dominant tribes fighting against
each other for supremacy, the Aws and the Khazraj. When the Prophet emigrated to Madinah the
term (līnah) meaning نَخْلَة (palm tree) belonging to the language of Aws
tribe was used the verse (Q. 59:5), and
the term انْفَضُّوا meaning ذَهَبُوا (they went) and يَنْفَضُّوا meaningيَذْهَبُوا (“they go away") belonging the language of Khazraj tribe were used in the verse
(Q. 62:11) and (Q. 63: 7).
When
the Qur’an related the story of Prophet Moses a.s. and that of Pharaoh
it used the term اليَمّ coincided with the Coptic language used in
Egypt at that time, meaning البَحْر (sea, large
river), as in Q. 7:136; 20:39,97; 28: 7,
40; and 51:40)
When
the Qur’an talked about Mt. Sinai, it used the term طُوْر which was the Syriac word instead of جَبَل meaning
“mountain”, as in the verse Q.2:63 and 93; 4:154; 19:52; 20:80; 28: 29, 40.
Syriac was the mother-tongue of Prophet ‘Īsā (Jesus) a.s.
The
pre-Islamic Arabs in Arabia preferred sons to daughters. They were not happy
when they had baby girls. When the Quraysh idolaters alleged that the angels
were the daughters of Allah, whereas they had sons, the Qur’an rejected it. It
considered it unfair, using a Chinese word (and the only one used in the
Qur’an), which was not easy to pronounce, not nice to hear, and meant “strange
and unfair”; a strange word for an unfair allegation. The verse runs as
follows:
أَلَكُمُ الذَّكَرُ وَلَهُ الْأُنْثَى . تِلْكَ إِذًا
قِسْمَةٌ ضِيزَى ( النجم:22)
Is it for
you the males and for Him the females? That
indeed is a
division most unfair (Q. 53:21-22)
Unfortunately,
as there are many Chinese languages, we do not know which one among many
Chinese languages meant by Ibn ‘Abbas. This reminds us of the statement
of late Ahmad Deedat, may Allah bless him, when he said that the aborigines of
Australia believed in the Oneness of God called Atnatu which means “the
One who has no orifice, namely, the one who does not eat, does not need food to
live.” Ahmad Deedat did not tell us which of the aboriginal languages the word Atnatu
came from. In late 18th century there were between 350 and 750
aboriginal groupings and languages. At the start of the 21th century fewer than
150 indigenous languages remain, and all are highly endangered except roughly
20. (CIVIC, 21.06.13)
Bibliography:
Ibn ‘Abbas, Kitāb Gharīb
al-Qur’ān
Al-Maktabah
al-Shāmilah
Al-Raghib al-Iṣfahānī,
al-Mufradāt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Aboriginal_languages
http://www.almaaref.org/maarefdetails.php?subcatid=37&id=170
5&cid=20&supcat=5&bb=0&number=18
20. MEANS AND OBJECTIVES
One
of the prominent scholars in Islam in the 20th century was the late
Shaykh Muhammad al- Ghazālī. He was born in Egypt on 22 September 1917 and died
in Saudi Arabia on 9 May 1996 at the age of 78. Before he was born it was said
that his father had seen al-Imam al-Ghazālī in his dream, and told him the he
would have a son, and advised him to name him his name, al-Ghazālī. His father
accepted the advice and called him “Muhammad al-Ghazālī” expecting a good omen with al-Imam al-Ghazālī.
Shaykh Muhammad al-Ghazālī was a scholar, an
Islamic thinker dā ‘iyah (Islamic propagator) and a prolific writer. He was
nicknamed عَبْقَرِيُّ
الدَّعْوَة (“the genius of Islamic call”) and أَدِيْبُ
الدَّعْوَة (“the man-of-letters of Islamic call”).
His criticism towards his contemporary ruling regimes in Islamic world gave him troubles in Egypt as well
as in Saudi Arabia. He wrote more than 50 books. One of his books is entitled السُنَّة
النَّبَوِيَّة بَينَ أَهْلِ الفِقْهِ .. وَ أَهْلِ الْحَدِيْث
(“The Prophetic Sunnah between Experts of Fiqh and Experts of Ḥadīth”).
The book was very popular that it was reprinted seven times in the year it was
published in 1989. One of many interesting topics in this book is entitled وَسَائِل وَ غَايَات (“Means
and Objectives”). He deals with what is changing and what is permanent in the
field of jihād and shūrā.
Citing the ḥadīth of the
Prophet s.a.w. that said: أَنْتُمْ أَعْلَمُ بأُمُورِ دُنْيَاكُم
(“You know better your worldly affairs”) he said that the worldly affairs
belong to human efforts, Muslims as well as non-Muslims. Prophets sent by Allah
were not to teach people crafts and skills, not as engineers of physicians. The
core of their messages was to explain the beliefs, the acts of worships,
morality and purifying the souls and the community. They propagated teachings
which regulate human relations with their Lord, with their fellow human beings,
and to make them ponder their return to their Lord as pious people.
There are other fields similar to
those of worldly affairs dealing with freedom of movement, invention, and
competition. They are the means which are inevitable to achieve the decided
religious objectives, where the believers are left to find the way to achieve
it, and where no obligatory laws are mentioned. For example, the obligatory prayer which has to be performed
the way it was detailed by the law giver (Allah), and to be acted upon without
addition or reduction.
On the other hand, jihad in
fighting the enemy, although it is also obligatory, but its tools and
regulations have no specific forms (models). With the change of weapons from
swords and arrows to cannons and rockets, the old regulations also change. Ribāṭ
al-khayl (“steeds of war) would change into building airports and modern
fortresses, establishing institutes of chemical, nuclear and astronomy
sciences, etc. In the past man bought his own weapon by his own money. He took
care of it, and trained himself with it. Whenever he heard the call to the
battle-field, he went out walking or riding his horse specially trained for
fighting. If he became martyred he would leave behind widows and orphans. If he
was wounded, he himself had to bear the expense of his treatment. In such
condition, the regulation of ghanīmah (booty, spoils of war) had to be
applied, and its imposition is just. Many divine texts explain it and fix its
shares.
Today conditions have radically changed. It is the state that recruits
individuals in general. It feeds, clothes, and equips the enlisted young man
with arms to be fully prepared to fight in the battlefield. It treats him if he
is wounded, and if he died, it honours him and takes care of his family. As
long as he lives he receives salary which could increase with the increase of
his rank. This system of having regular forces has become an inevitable
necessity. Defending the country can no longer be relied on volunteers or
individual conditions. Otherwise, this would make nations be trampled down in the
crowd of the living and in the oppression of the strong.
With this new regulation the regulation dealing with spoils of war also
changes completely. The state establishes new direction in punishing war
criminals and treating the good and the bad. Based on this changing situation
the Prophet s.a.w. divided the shares of the booty in the battle of
Khaybar, one share for the infantry and two shares for the horse. The horse
rider will have one share, so that he and his horse will have three shares of
the booty. Abu Hanifah rejects this view citing another hadith stating
that the horse rider will have two shares, and the infantry will have one
share, and the horse as an animal will have nothing rather than two shares,
while the infantry will have only one. However, Shaykh al-Ghazālī said this
issue has been closed, as winning the war depends mostly on more sophisticated
and accurate arms, such as armoured cruisers and planes. The principle laid
down by the Prophet that the one who killed his enemy (in the battlefield) the
booty will belong to him is also no longer applicable.
Allah says in the Qur’an dealing with the booty, as follows:
وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا غَنِمْتُمْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ فَأَنَّ
لِلَّهِ خُمُسَهُ وَلِلرَّسُولِ وَلِذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ
وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ آَمَنْتُمْ بِاللَّهِ وَمَا أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَى
عَبْدِنَا يَوْمَ الْفُرْقَانِ
يَوْمَ الْتَقَى
الْجَمْعَانِ وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ (الأنفال:41)
And
know that whatever of war-booty that you may gain, verily, one-fifth of it is
assigned to Allah, and to the Messenger, and to the near relatives [of the
Messenger] (and also) the orphans, the needy and the wayfarer, if you have
believed in Allah and in that which We sent down to our slave (Muhamad) on the
Day of criterion (between right and wrong), the Day when the two forces me (in
the battle of Badr); and Allah is Able to do all things. (Q.
8:41)
Then we may rashly say that falsehood cannot come to the
Qur’an from before it or behind it [as mentioned in Q. 41:42], and that its
texts will remain forever, and nothing can abrogate it. We, then, wonder what this verse means. Shall
we give four-fifth of the booty to the army and the remaining one-fifth to the
rest of the recipients mentioned in the verse? Shaykh al-Ghazālī in this case
leans to the view of Imam Malik that the one-fifth share in the booty is only
one way, and the state is not incumbent to apply it, if it sees any benefit in
other than that one-fifth. It has to be viewed in wider perspective.
Imam Malik based his view on the case where the
Prophet unexpectedly divided the booty of the battle of Ḥunayn solely among freedmen which almost saddened his
companions until he explained the wisdom behind it. Imam Malik also gave as
evidence what the Caliph ‘Umar ibn
al-Khattab did with the conquered land. He refused to give the four-fifth of it
to the conquerors, but gave them a portion from the tax imposed on it. The
Muslim scholars in the mass consider this solution belonging to al-maṣāliḥ
al-mursalah (public interests). There is no doubt, according to
Shaykh al-Gazālī, that ‘Umar’s initiation was more reasonable and more
significant in Islam and the Muslims.
Unlike ablution in which there is no room for
individual opinion, the equipment of jihad and its means are not fixed
or put in calculation, and therefore, reason is its main source. There is no
objection to bring the most modern arms from the West or from the East, and
there is no objection that we are trained by experts from any colour or faith;
what remains is that to use them according to the rules of honour taught by
Islam.
Like the shūrā (mutual consultation) which is a
great principle, the means of its actualization and the application of its
equipment have not been fixed yet. Apparently, this is due to the difference of
environments and cultural levels. We notice this case even in a nation with
high civilization.
What is important is to fulfill the security and
methods which render the shūrā a protected reality, so that individual
despotism will disappear, and political paganism will die, and the right view
will prevail without obstacle, and the qualified man will come forward without
resentment.
But these cannot be achieved without faith and
morality. The Islamic East had copied
the Western democracy when it was in its
low phase in its history: baffling forgery in elections, and political
paganism took its way in the midst of a halo of false support of people. A
number of Muslim rulers killed thousand people to achieve glory and to make
their names hailed by people.
We have to clarify the difference between legal
opposition and revolution which destroys the structure of the community, or
between obligatory criticism and armed offence. Modern democracy considers
opposition as part of general rule of the state. This opposition has a leader
recognized, and with whom mutual understanding could be achieved without any
restraint. The ruler is a human being, some would support him and others would
oppose him, and none of the two deserves respect more than the other. This is
what we are having in Australia, the ruler under Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of
the Labor party, and the opposition is led by Tony Abbot of the Liberal party.
Soon, we shall have an election to decide which of the two parties wins the election.
This view of al-Ghazālī is very close to the teachings
of the rightly guided caliphs. ‘Ali ibn Abī Ṭālib, for example, did not attack
those who opposed him, but he said to them: “Keep your opinion if you wish on
condition not to create confusion and not to spill blood.” So, this great man
‘Ali wanted a creative opposition, not a destructive one, and he did not
consider the opposition against him as munkar (reprehensible). He said
to the Khawārij (those who opposed and abandoned him): “Be as you like to be,
between you and me is that no blood spill, no engagement in highway robbery,
and no injustice commitment. Otherwise, I would declare war against you.” So,
any opposition against the ruler does not constitute fighting it, unless it
poses a threat to the country. Ibn ‘Umar narrated that the Prophet said: مَنْ
حَمَلَ عَلَيْنَا السِّلَاحَ فَلَيْسَ مِنَّا (رواه أحمد) "Whoever carries arms against us is not one of us" (Reported by Ahmad)
Shaykh al-Ghazālī asked this rhetorical question: “Is
fighting Islam under the pretext of fighting extremism a kind of democracy?” He
said that there are rulers in the Arab and Muslim world who extremely hate what
Allah has revealed, and become furious
if they see a girl covering her head and her shoulders, and reject angrily any
outcry to cancel the rules brought by the imperialist world when it
occupied their countries. He asked: “Is it democracy, or an extension of
the old humiliation and Crusade attack on the Muslim world?” There were rulers among them who wanted to
kill people in the name of people, and to bury freedom in the name of freedom.
This case reminds me of the old Arabic proverb: يَبْنِي قَصْرًا وَ يَهْدِمُ مِصْرًا
(“He builds a palace, but he destroys a city”)
Shaykh Muhammad al-Ghazālī
expressed this view 24 years ago in 1989. What he wanted to say is that Islam
is not a static and rigid religion, as some would claim, but a dynamic one.
However, those who misunderstand it will become extreme, and act contrary to
the spirit of its teachings. (CIVIC, 28 June, 13)
المصادر:
محمد
الغزالي. السنة النبوية بين أهل الفقه و أهل الحديث. القاهرة: دار الشروق , 1989.
المكتبة
الشاملة
