(ISLAMIC
LAW OF INHERITANCE)
Long, long ago, in Montreal, Canada, a man was busy making
his will as he was planning to spend his long vacation overseas. He was afraid,
something might happen to him without writing his will. A Muslim friend told
him that Muslims did not have to worry about writing a will, as they had their
own law of inheritance called “farā’iḍ” based on the Qur’ān, the Ḥadīth
of the Prophet s.a.w., and the ijmā’ and ijtihād of the ṣaḥābah/companions
of the Prophet.
The Qur’an explains extensively this law of inheritance
that Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. did not give much explanation of it. It is
unlike the salāh, the prayer where it is mentioned in the Qur’an without
details: how many raka’āt (units) for every prayer, how many bows and
prostrations in every unit, what to say and how to do it are explained it with
examples.
Farā’iḍ is one of the aspects of the application of
the objects of the sharī’ah (Islamic law) which are: the preservation of
the religion of Islam (حِفْظ الدِّين), the preservation of souls or selves (حِفْظ النَّفْس),
the
preservation of reason or intelligence
(حِفْظ العَقْل) , the preservation of progeny (حِفْظ
النَّسْل) , and the preserva-tion
of wealth (حِفْظ
المَال) .
Fara’id
is based on:
i.
The Qur’an:
يُوصِيكُمُ
اللَّهُ فِي أَوْلَادِكُمْ لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الْأُنْثَيَيْنِ فَإِنْ كُنَّ
نِسَاءً فَوْقَ اثْنَتَيْنِ فَلَهُنَّ ثُلُثَا مَا تَرَكَ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ
وَاحِدَةً فَلَهَا النِّصْفُ وَلِأَبَوَيْهِ لِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا السُّدُسُ
مِمَّا تَرَكَ إِنْ كَانَ لَهُ وَلَدٌ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ وَلَدٌ وَوَرِثَهُ
أَبَوَاهُ فَلِأُمِّهِ الثُّلُثُ فَإِنْ كَانَ لَهُ إِخْوَةٌ فَلِأُمِّهِ
السُّدُسُ مِنْ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ يُوصِي بِهَا أَوْ دَيْنٍ آبَاؤُكُمْ
وَأَبْنَاؤُكُمْ لَا تَدْرُونَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ لَكُمْ نَفْعًا فَرِيضَةً مِنَ
اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا ( الأنعام : 11)
"Allah enjoins you concerning your
children: the male shall have the equal of the portion of two females; if there
are more than two females, they shall have two-thirds of what he has left, and
if there is one, she shall have the half; and as for his parents, each of them
shall have the sixth of what he has left if he has a child: but if he has no
child and only his two parents inherit from him, then his mother shall have the
third; but if he has brothers, his mother shall have the sixth after the
payment of any bequest he may have bequeathed or a debt. You know not whether
your parents or your children are nearest to you in benefit. These are settled
portions ordained by Allah and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise."
(Q. 4:11)
ii.
Hadith: The
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
ألْحِقُوْا الفَرَائِضَ
بِأَهلِهَا فَمَا بَقِيَ فَهُوَ لِأَوْلَى رَجُلٍ ذَكَرٍ (متفق عليه)
"Give the appointed portions to those
entitled to them. Then whatever remains is for the nearest male."
(Narrated
by Bukhari and Muslim).
iii.
Ijmā‘
(consensus) and ijtihād (independent judgment) of the companions of the
Messenger of Allah, imams of madhhab and mujtahid (who exercises ijtihād)
of proven knowledge.
Farā’iḍ preserves and strengthens
the relationships among members of the family as well as keeping the wealth
among them after the death of one of its members. Allah has decided that if a
Muslim dies, his (her) wealth will be inherited by his/her close relatives,
his/her spouse, and his/her ascendants (father and mother) and his/her
descendants (sons and daughters). Therefore, no matter how you hate your
parents, you are a part of them, and no matter you hate your children, they are
parts of you, and they all will inherit from you. In Islamic law, you cannot
prevent them from the inheritance, except with killing, apostasy, and slavery. Al-Raḥbī
put this in his book مَتْنُ
الرَّحْبِيَّة dealing with farā’iḍ, as follows:
ويَمْنَعُ الشَّخصَ
مِنَ الْمِيراثِ ... واحِدَةٌ مِنْ عِلَلٍ ثَلاَثِ
رِقٌّ)
و(قَتلٌ) و(اختِلافُ دِيْنِ) ... فافهَمْ فَلَيْسَ الشَّكُّ كَاليَقينِ)
“A man is not entitled for inheritance
because of
(one of the) three reasons: slavery,
killing, and
the
difference of religion…”
A
slave has nothing to leave as inheritance, as he himself belongs to his master.
He also cannot inherit, because it will go to his master, as he and his wealth
belong to his master. Since officially there is no more slavery these days,
this ruling is kept dormant for ever and just kept recorded in history. Slavery
in Islam was abolished gradually. Freeing slaves is highly recommended in
Islam. There are many penalties with freeing a slave for committing certain
sins. There is also a share as ransom for freeing slaves in the zakat, so that
sooner or later, there will be no more slave left to free.
A
killer, even unintentionally (to prevent the claim of unintentional killing),
and the apostate will not get anything from the inheritance. Therefore, the
door of “unintentional killing” is closed, and one should not try to kill one’s
relative in order to get inheritance quickly from him. Instead, he will get
nothing.
Here
lies the danger of marrying a non-Muslim woman among the Jews and the
Christians. If you marry a Christian of a Jewish woman, you cannot inherit each
other according to Islam, or you break the law and become sinful. Marrying them
would also mean losing one chance for a Muslim woman to marry you, as Muslim
man. The case is different with a freed slave. The bond between the two is so
strong, that they can inherit each other, even if they belong to different
religions.
It is Allah’s law that female with the presence of male
will have half of the male’s share, because he has more responsibility towards
his wife and sisters if they are not married. The more you get, the more
responsibility you have as a bread-winner. But with the absence of male
(brother) she will get half of the inheritance, and she and her sisters will
get two-thirds of the inheritance, divided equally among them, as mentioned in
the above verse. In this case, the husband will get one-fourth if the wife
dies, and the wife will get one-eighth if the husband dies.
It is Allah’s wisdom that with the presence of a father, a
grand-father will not get in the inheritance. Why? The father himself is
responsible for his father, the deceased grand-father. If the deceased is fifty
years old when s/he dies and the father is about seventy years old, then the grand-father will be too
old, over ninety years old, and might have become disabled, invalid, and have
lost memory. It is very unwise to inherit hundred thousands of dollars to a
person who is in his dotage, who cannot take care of himself, and perhaps
cannot even remember his name. Wealth means nothing for him.
The Arab proverb says أَعَزُّ مِنَ
اْلوَلَدِ وَلَدُ اْلوَلَدِ “the
person who is dearer than the son is the son of the son”, namely, the
grand-son. Yet, with the presence of the son who is responsible for his son, i.e.,
the deceased grand-son, he has no share in the inheritance. He is too young to
inherit his grand-father unless his father had died earlier.
With this rule of inheritance the relative of the deceased
could not claim a share in the inheritance, except what has been decided
according to the farā’iḍ. It is Allah’s law, it is not based on the
deceased love and preference, and therefore, no one of the relatives should
complain or have ill-feeling towards him if he gets nothing or less than what
he expects. It is not up to him, but up to Allah.
In order to maintain the wealth for inheritance, the
deceased is not allowed to give more than one-third of it to any person who is not one of its beneficiaries, like
close friends, or for charity. However,
with the beneficiary’s consent, he can give more than one-third of the inheritance in the will.
A
person may argue that his daughter will get less than what her brother gets when
he dies. In this case, he can give her as much as he wants while he is still
alive. This is especially important for her education, so that she can survive
with her education, decreasing the burden of her brothers in taking care of her if she
remains unmarried for the rest of her life. He is free to spend and give his
wealth to whom he likes while he is still alive, and he is allowed to make waṣiyyah
(will) of not more than one-third of his wealth to whom he likes, as long
as he is not one of the beneficiary of the inheritance.
This
farā’íḍ is so important that many people, Muslims as well as
non-Muslims, consider it unfair, and gender discrimination. There is wisdom
behind this, and there is difference between equality and equity, Allah’s
wisdom and human intellect. We do not judge Him, and it is He Who judges us.
Since
we are living in Australia where the sharia is not applicable, and in
order to avoid any problem with our wealth after our death, it is necessary for
us as Muslims to write our wills stating that our wealth will be divided among
beneficiaries based on the farā’id. We can also mention what madhhab (school
of law) should be followed in case any discrepancy arises. (CIVIC, 14 Dec.
2012)
2. OUT OF CONTEXT
About
three years ago, in 2009, I was invited by Community Relations Commission for a
Multicultural NSW to review the draft of a book intended to be “a resource for
Islamic Special Religious Education in Australian Schools”. The book would be
entitled My Religion, Our Country, written by Dr. Mark Weston. Among the
objectives of this book are: to provide an authoritative guide for teaching
about Islam in an Australian context; to link general civics education in
schools with instruction from the main sources of Islamic teachings, i.e.,
the Qur’an and the Sunnah, as well as legal opinions of leading Muslim
scholars, past and present; and to assist educators in preparing young Muslim
students to live a life of faith and citizenship.
In this book the author selected ten
issues to be discussed according to Australian laws and the teachings of Islam
on these issues based on the Qur’an and the Sunnah. They are: 1. freedom
of the individual, 2. freedom of speech, 3. freedom of religion, 4.freedom of
association, 5. parliamentary democracy, 6. equality under the law, 7. equality
of men and women, 8. equality of opportunity, 9. peacefulness, and 10.
tolerance, respect and empathy for others. By comparing these Australian and
Islamic laws compatibility (or incompatibility) could be found. If the Qur’ānic
verses or hadiths are quoted out of context, then incompatibility would be
found.
Since
the writer was most probably a non-Muslim, before meeting him in Sydney, I
would like to warn him of the danger of quoting the Qur’ānic verses and hadiths
out of context. So, I sent him an e-mail containing the following imaginary
conversation with the topic “Out of Context”
-
A woman wants to remind her son to do his homework. She cited to him the
following proverb: “Never put off to tomorrow what you can do today.” Her son
asked her: “Then can I eat the whole cake now?”
-
A Muslim and a Christian boy are having this imaginary conversation.
M
.: “We cannot be friends anymore.”
C.
: “Why?”
M.
: “Because the Koran said that Muslims
are not allowed to make friends
with Jews and Christians.” (Q. 5:51).
[The word awliyā’ has many meanings, including “friends”, but in this
verse it means “protectors”]
C.
: “How could that be? But we Christians
are not allowed to defend ourselves”
M.
: “How could that be?”
C. : “Because Jesus said that if someone slaps
your cheek, give him also the other cheek”. (Luke, 6:30)
M.
: “This is the opposite of what the
Koran said.”
C.
: “What does the Koran say?”
M.
: “It orders Muslims to fight non-Muslims until they surrender.” (Q. 8:39)
[This verse was revealed to fight the idolaters back, until there is no more fitnah,
namely, no Muslim is persecuted by them so that they abandon their
religion].
C. :
“But the Bible says that Jesus came to this world not to bring peace but
a sword, to make a man rebel against his father, and a daughter against her
mother.” (Matt. 10:34-35)
M.
: “It is also said that the Koran orders
the Muslims to kill the pagans wherever they find them.” (Q. 9:5) [This verse
was revealed when the hostility between the Muslims and the idolaters of Makkah
has already occurred. It only stopped temporarily during the Sacred months: Dhul
Qi‘dah, Dhul Ḥijjah, Muharram, and Rajab. So, when these months have passed,
the war continued and fighting the idolaters wherever they found them]
C. : “The same with Joshua when he was ordered
by God to kill everybody.” (Joshua 10:40)
M.
: “The Koran said that there is no
compulsion in religion, but many believe
that Islam was spread by force.” (Q. 2:256)
C.
: “In Christianity St. Paul said in his
Epistles that he used any means to get
followers, even by means of hypocrisy and cheating.” (1 Corinthians 9:19-22; 2
Corinthians 12:16)
This
is a friendly conversation. Now, if we reverse the conversation with aggressive
attitude, the conversation would be like this:
C. : “Hey, Muslim, your Koran told you
not to make friends with us.”
M. : “Hey, Christian, Jesus said in
your Bible that if I slap your face, you should not retaliate, but give the
other cheek.”
C.
: “Your religion is so dangerous to
human beings, as your Koran orders you to eliminate us. It is a terrorist
religion.”
M.: “It is Jesus who is a trouble-maker. He did
not come to bring peace, but trouble.”
[A Muslim would never say that, as Jesus was one of the five
fully-determined messengers of Allah; the other four are: Noah, Abraham, Moses,
and Muhammad].
C.
: “Your Koran orders you to kill the
pagan wherever they found them”
M.
“Your Bible said that God ordered Joshua to kill everybody.
C.
: “Your Koran said there is not
compulsion in religion, but people said that Islam spreads through force”.
M. “Your Bible said that Paul used any means
to convert people to Christianity. That is why we cannot trust you”
Many of Qur’ānic verses and hadiths
are quoted out of context, so that they are replaced with the relevant ones.
Topics which need further explanation are put in appendices, such as appendix
4, as follows:
DEMOCRACY AND SHŪRĀ (MUTUAL
CONSULTATION) IN ISLAM
- Shūrā (mutual consultation) is
“participation with others in making a decision that concerns them.”
- After Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.,
revelation stopped, and there was no longer direct access to God’s will, and
therefore no one has the legitimacy or authority to claim a pope (priest-like)
status in the Muslim community: no theocracy in Islamic political system.
- Like the injunction of praying the
injunction of shūrā was also revealed in the Makkan (Meccan) surah
(chapter) as an individual duty upon Muslims. Therefore, every individual has
to consult each other: in his family life, community and the government. It is
to be applied not only in legislative body, but also in it executive and
judicial bodies.
- Some Muslims, including Sayyid
Abul Ala Maududi and Muhammad al-Khaṭīb
say that democracy and Islam are incompatible because of the difference in the
concept of sovereignty: to God according to Islam (and human beings are merely
executors of His Will), and to people according to secular Western democracy.
Among their arguments: (a) Democracy makes religion separated from the state,
whereas in Islam religion is everything in the lives of Muslims. (b) Shūrā
is a part of Islamic system of
government, and has nothing to do with democracy, which is a man-made system of government. (c)
The source of Islam is divine (revelation), whereas the source of democracy is
human.
-
Others say that Islam and democracy are not only compatible, but their
association is inevitable, because Islamic political system is based on shūrā.
Among the areas of compatibility between the two are:
(a)
There are only about 200 verses in the Qur’ān dealing with laws, mostly on
protecting family, women, and the community. Islam does not provide detailed
practicalities as they keep changing to fit time, place and human
circumstances. Therefore it leaves an open and wide space for exercising ijtihād
(independent judgment in a legal question, based upon the interpretation and
application of the Qur’ān and the Sunnah of the Prophet) to find out
what is best for the community.
(b)
Islam and democracy promote freedom and social justice and many other values
(c)
Elected members of the shūrā Council of the Prophet consisted of seven
people from the Muhajirin (emigrants) and seven from the Ansar (people of
Madinah) similar to the present day parliamentary democracy where members are
elected representing their respective parties. Among cotemporary scholars who
are the exponents of this view are Dr. Fathi Osman, and Shaikh Yusuf
al-Qaradawi.
- Islamic political system in general and
democracy in particular has to be bound by laws, principles and spirits of the shariah.
It has to maintain its objectives: to
establish justice and to protect religion (the last resort is engaging in
fighting), lives, properties, honour, progenies, and minds (by prohibiting
alcohol, etc) of people.
- Muslims who say that democracy is
incompatible with Islam use the term shūrā; others called it “Islamic
democracy”.
Another example is the appendix 2,
entitled “The background of hostility between the Prophet and his followers on
one side, and the Makkan idolaters and the Jews of Madinah on the other” as
follows:
- When the Prophet arrived at
Madina in 623 C.E. he made the constitution of Madinah (Charter of Madinah)
containing 52 articles, among which were the co-existence between Muslims and
followers of other religions, especially Judaism and polytheism and freedom of
practicing their religions. They would defend together the city against the
attack of the enemy from outside.
-
However, when Madinah was attacked in the battle of Uhud, the Jews did not want
to take part in defending the city, except Mukhyriq of Banī Tha‘labah who told
them: “O fellow Jews, you have to assist Muhammad.” They made an excuse and said: “It is a
Sabbath day.” He said, “Assisting
Muhammad does not disgrace the Sabbath day.” He said that if he died in the
battlefield he would leave his wealth to Muhammad’s disposal. When the Prophet
heard of his death in the battlefield, he said: “Mukhayriq is the best of the
Jews.”
- Like the Jews of Madinah who
violated the constitution of Madinah, the Makkan idolaters expelled the Muslims
from Makkah and violated the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah signed in 6 AH. between them
and the Prophet.
In conclusion, the hostility between
Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. and his followers on one side and his enemies on
the other was the result of their breaking their treaty. (CIVIC, 15.02.13)
3.
THE MEANINGS OF ḤADĪTH
The word حَدِيْث
)ḥadīth(,
literally has many meanings: with the
pluralحِدَاث
)ḥidāth(
and حُدَثَاء
(ḥudathā’), it means: new, recent late, modern. The
expressionالعَصْرُ الحَدِيْث
(al-‘aṣr al-ḥadīth) means “modern
time”; with the pluralأَحَادِيْث
(aḥādith)
and حِدْثَاَن
(ḥidthān)
it means: speech, talk, report, account, tale, narrative, discourse,
message, topic. The verbحَدَّثَ
(ḥaddatha)
means, “to report, to inform”. In Islamic tradition, ḥadīth is
called the Prophetic tradition, narrative relating deeds and utterances of the
Prophet (including his Companions), as well as his tacit approval. As a
collective noun, the Prophetic tradition, it is usually written in capital H,
namely, Ḥadīth, which is similar to the word Sunnah of the
Prophet, namely, his tradition which is later established as legal binding
precedents beside laws established in the Qur’an. When we mean a single
tradition we usually write it in a small letter, a ḥadīth.
The upholder of
the inkār sunnah, those who deny the authenticity and authority of the Sunnah,
say that the Qur’an itself rejects any ḥadīth other than that of
the Qur’an, including the ḥadīths of the Prophet. They base their view
on the verses of the Qur’an, which shall be dealt here, where Allah says that
everything is in the Qur’an, as follows:
وَمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ
فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا طَائِرٍ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيْهِ إِلَّا أُمَمٌ أَمْثَالُكُمْ
مَا
فَرَّطْنَا فِي
الْكِتَابِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ ثُمَّ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ يُحْشَرُونَ (الأنعام:38)
There is
not a moving (living) creature on earth, nor a bird that flies with its two wings, but are
communities like you. We have neglected
nothing in the Book, then to their Lord they (all) shall be gathered. (Q. 6:38).
أَفَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ أَبْتَغِي حَكَمًا وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ إِلَيْكُمُ
الْكِتَابَ مُفَصَّلًا... (الأنعام:
114)
[Say (O Muhammad)]”Shall I seek a judge
other than
Allah while it is He Who sent me
down to you the
Book (the Qur’an),
explained in
detail…(Q. 6:114)
They denounced those who seek any ḥadīth OTHER than
the Qur’ān (“after it” بَعْدَه (. However,
the verses do not say “with it”, مَعَه),
so that the explanation of the Prophet in the Sunnah should also be
accepted. Allah Himself states in the Qur’an that the Prophet’s statement,
explanation and decision have to be accepted. Allah says,
وَأَنْزَلْنَا
إِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ
يَتَفَكَّرُونَ (النحل:44)
And We have
also sent down to you (O Muhammad) the Dhikr (Reminder, i.e. the Qur’an) that
you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them, and that they may
give thought (Q. 16:44)
فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى يُحَكِّمُوكَ
فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُوا فِي
أَنْفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِمَّا
قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا (النساء: 65)
But no, by your Lord, they can have no faith, until
they make you (O Muhammad) judge in all disputes between them, and find in
themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full
submission.(Q. 4:65)
Based on these verses it is the duty of the Prophet to explain
verses which are not clear to the Muslims and to be a judge in their disputes.
Allah swears, if they do not accept his decisions with full submission, namely,
سَمِعْنَا وَ
أَطَعْناَ (“we listen
and obey”) they can have no faith. His explanations and judgments are recorded
in the books of authentic ḥadīths, and denying them tantamount to
infidelity. Without the ḥadīths or the Sunnah we will not be able
to know how to pray, how to distribute zakat, how to perform the hajj (pilgrimage).
To those who deny the Sunnah we can tell them, “when you die we do not
even know how to bury you, because the Qur’an does not explain how to bury a
dead Muslim. Even if the Prophet explained it and did it with examples, you
still reject the report as fabrication attributed to him.” It is like a person who is going overseas
telling his children everything they should know, and to obey their mother, and
if they have any problem they should ask their mother whom he has asked to
settle and explain. There is no contradiction here, and the children should not
say that they would listen and obey only their father.
According
classical mufassirīn (commentators of the Qur’an), the word ḥadīth (and
its derivatives) has five contextual meanings in the Qur’an, although
translators use the basic meanings of the word, and it has nothing to do with
the ḥadīths of the Prophet, as follows:
1.
القُرْآن (the Qur’an itself).
Allah calls the Qur’an in its
verses
as a ḥadīth, as follows:
أَوَلَمْ
ينْظُرُوا فِي مَلَكُوتِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ مِنْ
شَيْءٍ وَأَنْ عَسَى
أَنْ
يَكُونَ قَدِ اقْتَرَبَ أَجَلُهُمْ فَبِأَيِّ حَدِيثٍ بَعْدَهُ يُؤْمِنُونَ (الأعراف: 185)
Do they not look in the dominion of the
heavens
and the earth and all things that Allah has created; and that it may be that the
end of their lives is near.
In what ḥadīth, (message i.e. Qur’an)
after this
will they then believe?
(Q. 7:185)
تلْكَ
آَيَاتُ اللَّهِ نَتْلُوهَا عَلَيْكَ بِالْحَقِّ فَبِأَيِّ حَدِيثٍ بَعْدَ اللَّهِ
وَآَيَاتِهِ
يُؤْمِنُونَ
(الجاشية:
6)
These are
the ayat (verses) of Allah, which We
recite to
you (O Muhammad) with truth. Then in
which ḥadīth (speech,
i.e. Qur’an) after Allah
and His ayat
will they believe? (Q.
45:6)
وَيْلٌ
يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُكَذِّبِينَ .
فَبِأَيِّ حَدِيثٍ بَعْدَهُ يُؤْمِنُونَ (المرسلات:50(
Woe that Day to the deniers (of the Day of
Resurrection)! Then in what statement (Qur’an)
after
this (Qur’an) will they believe?
(Q.
77:49-50)
أَفَمِنْ
هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ تَعْجَبُونَ .
وَتَضْحَكُونَ وَلَا تَبْكُونَ (النجم(:60)
Do you then wonder at this ḥadīth (recitation,
i.e. the Qur’an)? And you laugh at it
and weep not…?
(Q. 53:59-60)
أَمْ يَقُولُونَ تَقَوَّلَهُ بَلْ
لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ .
فَلْيَأْتُوا بِحَدِيثٍ مِثْلِهِ إِنْ كَانُوا صَادِقِينَ (الطور:34(
Or do they say: “He (Muhammad) has
forged it
(this Qur’an)?” Nay! They believe not! Let them
produce a ḥadīth (discourse, i.e.
Qur’an) like it
(the Qur’an) if they are truthful. (Q.
52:33-34)
أيْنَمَا
تَكُونُوا يُدْرِكُكُمُ الْمَوْتُ وَلَوْ كُنْتُمْ فِي بُرُوجٍ مُشَيَّدَةٍ وَإِنْ
تُصِبْهُمْ حَسَنَةٌ
يَقُولُوا هَذِهِ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ وَإِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ
سَيِّئَةٌ يَقُولُوا هَذِهِ مِنْ عِنْدِكَ قُلْ كُلٌّ
مِنْ
عِنْدِ اللَّهِ فَمَالِ هَؤُلَاءِ الْقَوْمِ لَا يَكَادُونَ يَفْقَهُونَ حَدِيثًا
(النساء:(78
Wheresoever you may be, death will overtake you even
if you are in fortresses built up strong
and high. And if some good reaches them, they say, “This is from Allah,” but if
some evil befalls them, they say, “This is from you (O Muhammad). Say: “All
things are from Allah,” sowhat is wrong with these people that
they fail to
understand any word
(of the Qur’an)? (Q. 4:78)
2.
القِصَة (story), as in:
اللَّهُ
نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابًا مُتَشَابِهًا مَثَانِيَ تَقْشَعِرُّ مِنْهُ
جُلُودُ الَّذِينَ
يَخْشَوْنَ
رَبَّهُمْ ثُمَّ تَلِينُ جُلُودُهُمْ وَقُلُوبُهُمْ إِلَى ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ذَلِكَ
هُدَى اللَّهِ
يَهْدِي
بِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلِ اللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ هَادٍ (الزمر: 23)
Allah has sent down the Best Statement, a Book
(this Qur’an), its parts resembling each other (in goodness and truth) (and
oft-repeated. The skins of those who fear their Lord shiver from it (when they
recite it or hear it). Then their skin
and their heart soften to the remembrance of Allah. That is the guidance of
Allah. He guides there-with who He wills; and whomever Allah sends astray,
for him there is no guide. (Q.
39:23)
وَهَلْ
أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ مُوسَى إِذْ رَأَى نَارًا فَقَالَ لِأَهْلِهِ امْكُثُوا إِنِّي
آَنَسْتُ
نَارًا
لَعَلِّي آَتِيكُمْ مِنْهَا بِقَبَسٍ أَوْ
أَجِدُ عَلَى النَّارِ هُدًى (طه:9-10(
And
has there come to you the story of Moses? When he saw a fire, he said to
his family: “Wait! Verily, I have seen a fire; perhaps I can bring you some
burning brand therefrom, or find
some
guidance at the fire.” (Q. 20:9-10)
هَلْ
أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ ضَيْفِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْمُكْرَمِينَ . إِذْ دَخَلُوا عَلَيْهِ فَقَالُوا سَلَامًا
قَالَ
سَلَامٌ قَوْمٌ مُنْكَرُونَ (الذاريات : 24-25)
Has the story reached you, of the honoured
guests [Gabriel along with another two] of Abraham? When they came in to him
and said: Salam (peace be upon you)!” He answered: “Salam (peace be upon you),”
and said;
“You are a people unknown to me.”
(Q. 51:24-25)
هَلْ
أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ مُوسَى (النازعات: 15)
Has
there come to you the story of Moses
(Q.
79:15)
هَلْ
أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ الْجُنُودِ .
فِرْعَوْنَ وَثَمُودَ ( البروج:( 18
Has the story reached you of the hosts,of
Pharaoh and Thamud? (Q. 85:17-18)
هَلْ
أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ الْغَاشِيَةِ (الغاشية:1
(
Has there come to you
the narration
of the overwhelming (i.e., the Day of
Resurrection)? (Q. 88:1)
3.
العِبْرَة
(warning or deterring example), as in,
ثُمَّ
أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا تَتْرَى كُلَّ مَا جَاءَ أُمَّةً رَسُولُهَا كَذَّبُوهُ
فَأَتْبَعْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ بَعْضًا
وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ
أَحَادِيثَ فَبُعْدًا لِقَوْمٍ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ (المؤمنون:(44
Then We sent our Messengers in
succession. Every time there came to a nation their Messenger, they denied him;
so We made them follow one another (to destruction), And We made them aḥādīth
(the true stories for mankind to learn a lesson from them). So away with
a people who believe not!. (Q. 23:44)
فَقَالُوا
رَبَّنَا بَاعِدْ بَيْنَ أَسْفَارِنَا وَظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ فَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ
أَحَادِيثَ وَمَزَّقْنَاهُمْ كُلَّ
مُمَزَّقٍ
إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآَيَاتٍ لِكُلِّ صَبَّارٍ شَكُورٍ (سبـأ:19(
But they said: “Our Lord! Make the stages between Our journey
longer,” and they wronged themselves; so We made them as tales (in the
land), We dispersed them all totally. Verily,
in his are
indeed sighs for every steadfast, grateful (person) (Q. 34:19)
Since they were
destroyed, their fates were related by later generations as deterring examples.
4.
القَوْل
(saying, statement, report), as
in,
وَإِذْ
أَسَرَّ النَّبِيُّ إِلَى بَعْضِ أَزْوَاجِهِ حَدِيثًا فَلَمَّا نَبَّأَتْ بِهِ
وَأَظْهَرَهُ اللَّهُ
عَلَيْهِ عَرَّفَ بَعْضَهُ وَأَعْرَضَ عَنْ
بَعْضٍ فَلَمَّا نَبَّأَهَا بِهِ قَالَتْ مَنْ أَنْبَأَكَ
هَذَا قَالَ نَبَّأَنِيَ الْعَلِيمُ الْخَبِيرُ
(التحريم:3)
And (remember) when the Prophet disclosed a hadith (a
matter) in
confidence to one
of his wives (Hafsah), then she told it (to another, i.e. A’ishah). And Allah
made it known to him;
he informed part thereof
and left a part. Then when he told her (Hafsah) thereof, she said: “Who told
you this?” He said: “The All
-Knower, the Well-Acquainted(Allah)
has told me.” (Q. 66:3)
This is about
the Prophet’s saying to ‘A’ishah r.a.that he would not drink honey any
longer to please her because she told him that it smelled bad, and told her not
to tell anybody, but she told his other wife Hafsah, r.a. then Allah
revealed to him that she had broken her promise.
5.
الخَبَر (news, information, report), as in,
وَإِذَا
لَقُوا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا قَالُوا آَمَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَا بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى
بَعْضٍ
قَالُوا أَتُحَدِّثُونَهُمْ بِمَافَتَحَ اللَّهُ
عَلَيْكُمْ لِيُحَاجُّوكُمْ بِهِ عِنْدَ
رَبِّكُمْ أَفَلَا
تَعْقِلُونَ (البقرة:76)
And when they (Jews) meet those who believe (Muslims, they say, “We
believe”, but when they meet one another in private, they say, “Shall you
(Jews) tell them (Muslims) what Allah has revealed to you [Jews, about
the description and the qualities of Prophet Muhammad which are written in the
Torah], that they (Muslims) will argue with you (Jews) about it before your Lord?”
Have you (Jews) then
no understanding? (Q. 2:76)
This kind of knowledge in
understanding the contextual meanings of the words in the Qur’an is called al-Wujūh
wa ‘l-Naẓā’ir fī’l-Qur’ān (“Homo-nyms and Synonyms in the Qur’ān), one of the 47 sciences of the Qur’an according
to al-Zarkashī (d. 794/1342( in his book al-Burhān. Al-Suyūṭī (991/1505)
mentioned 80 sciences of the Qur’an, and placed it no. 39 in his book al-Itqān.
Some of these sciences are very important to know, such as: asbāb
al-nuzūl (occasions that led to the revelation), gharīb al-Qur’ān (difficult
expressions in the Qur’an), nāsikh (abrogating verses) and mansūkh abrogated
verses). (CIVIC, 28.12.12)
المراجع:
المكتبة
الشاملة
المفردات
للراغب الأصفهانئ
الوجوه
و النظائر لإبن الجوزي
قاموس القرآن للدامغاني
4. FEAR AND GRIEF (1)
Fear
and grief are two things felt by people approaching death or after death. But
practicing Muslims who stand firm in their belief and practice will be safe
from these two things, fear and grief.
There are two Qur’ānic verses starting with إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ
اسْتَقَامُوا (“Verily, Verily, those who say: “Our Lord is Allah (Alone), and thereafter stand firm).” Both of
them contain a promise with Paradise for them, one by the angles, and the other
directly by Allah. Allah says in the Qur’an:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا
تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ أَلَّا تَخَافُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا
وَأَبْشِرُوا بِالْجَنَّةِ الَّتِي كُنْتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ . نَحْنُ أَوْلِيَاؤُكُمْ
فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَشْتَهِي
أَنْفُسُكُمْ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَدَّعُونَ .
نُزُلًا مِنْ غَفُورٍ رَحِيمٍ (فصلت:30-32(
Verily,
those who say : “Our Lord is Allah (Alone), and they stand firm, on them the angels will descend
[at the time of their death](saying): “Fear not, nor grieve! But receive the
glad tidings of Paradise which you have been promised! We have been
your friends
in the life
of this world and are (so) in the Hereafter. Therein you shall have (all) that your inner-selves
desire, and therein you shall have (all) for which
you ask. An
entertainment form (Allah), the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Q. 41:30-32)
The term istaqāmū (lit. “stand firm”) means
those who followed the Islamic
Monotheism, worshiped Allah. Alone, abstaining from all kinds of sins
and bad deeds and performing all kinds of good deeds.
At the time of
their death, the angels will descend to them and will tell them not to fear “that which you will face in
the Hereafter,” nor grief “for what you
have left behind of worldly things, children, family, wealth and debt, for we
shall take care of it for you.” (Mujāhid, al-Suddī, and Zayd ibn Aslam’s
interpretation).
The Prophet s.a.w. elaborated this glad tiding,
namely, the promise of Paradise to the pious person in this verse when he said
in a long tradition, as follows:
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
قَالَ إِنَّ الْمَيِّتَ تَحْضُرُهُ
الْمَلَائِكَةُ فَإِذَا كَانَ الرَّجُلُ الصَّالِحُ قَالُوا اخْرُجِي
أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الطَّيِّبَةُ كَانَتْ
فِي الْجَسَدِ الطَّيِّبِ
وَاخْرُجِي حَمِيدَةً وَأَبْشِرِي بِرَوْحٍ وَرَيْحَانٍ
وَرَبٍّ غَيْرِ
غَضْبَانَ ... (رواه أحمد)
Abu
Hurayrah narrated from the Prophet s.a.w. said:
Verily, the
angels said to the soul of the dying person if
he is
pious, “Come out, O good soul from the
good body, come out praiseworthily, and rejoice at rest and
provision and a Lord Who is not angry…”
(Reported by
Ahmad)
The angels told the believers when death was
approaching them, “We have been your close companions, in this world,
protecting you and helping you by the command of Allah, and will be with you in
the Hereafter, keeping you from feeling lonely in your graves and when the
Trumpet is blown; we will reassure you on the Day of Resurrection and will take
you across the Ṣirāt and bring you to the Garden of delight. In Paradise
you will have all that you wish for and that will delight you. Whatever you ask
for, it will appear before you as you wish to be, a welcoming gift and
blessing from the One Who has forgiven
your sins and Who is Merciful and Kind towards you, Who has forgiven you,
concealed you faults and been Kind and Merciful.” (Ibn Kathīr’s Tafsīr)
In another verse, Allah said,
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ
اسْتَقَامُوا فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا
هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ . أُولَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ
خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا جَزَاءً
بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ (الأحقاف:13-14)
Verily, those who say: “Our Lord is
Allah (Alone),” and thereafter stand firm [and straight on the Islamic
Faith of Monotheism], on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. Such
shall be the dwellers of Paradise, abiding therein (forever)—
a reward for what they used to do. (Q. 46:13-14)
Here Allah Himself said
directly, not through the statement of the angels, that the believers who stand
firm will have no fear for the future nor grief of what he left behind in the
world after they have left.
عَنْ سُفْيَانَ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الثَّقَفِيِّ قَالَ قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ حَدِّثْنِي بِأَمْرٍ
أَعْتَصِمُ بِهِ قَالَ قُلْ رَبِّيَ اللَّهُ
ثُمَّ اسْتَقِمْ قَالَ قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَا أَخْوَفُ
مَا تَخَافُ عَلَيَّ قَالَ فَأَخَذَ بِلِسَانِ نَفْسِهِ ثُمَّ قَالَ هَذَا
(رواه أحمد
و البيهقي و النسائي و غيرهم(
Sufyān ibn Abdullah al-Thaqafī said, I said: “O
Messenger of Allah, tell me something that I can adhere to,” He said: “Say, my
Lord is Allah, then stand firm.” I said, O Messenger of Allah, what do you fear
most for me?” The Messenger of Allah took hold of the edge of his tongue and said,
“This is” (Reported by Aḥmad,
al-Bayhaqī, al-Nasā’ī and others)
Instead of
“say, my Lord is Allah”, in another version, “say, I believe in Allah”
indicating that it means “be a Muslim, a believer.”
Generous
people among Muslims will also be free from fear and grief. Allah said:
مَثَلُ
الَّذِينَ يُنْفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ حَبَّةٍ
أَنْبَتَتْ سَبْعَ سَنَابِلَ فِي
كُلِّ سُنْبُلَةٍ مِائَةُ حَبَّةٍ وَاللَّهُ
يُضَاعِفُ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ . الَّذِينَ يُنْفِقُونَ
أَمْوَالَهُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ
لَا يُتْبِعُونَ مَا أَنْفَقُوا مَنًّا وَلَا أَذًى لَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ
عِنْدَ
رَبِّهِمْ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
(البقرة : 261-262(
The likeness of those who spend their
wealth in the Way of Allah, is as the likeness of a grain (of corn); it grows
seven ears, and each ear wills. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures’ needs,
All has a hundred grains. Allah gives manifold increase to who He Knower. Those
who spend their wealth in the Cause
of Allah, and do not follow up their gifts with reminders of
their generosity or with injury, their reward is with their Lord. On them shall
be no
fear, nor shall they grieve. (Q.
2:261-262)
Allah also said,
الَّذِينَ
يُنْفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ سِرًّا وَعَلَانِيَةً
فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ
رَبِّهِمْ
وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ (البقرة :274(
Those who spend their wealth (in Allah’s
Cause)
by night and day, in secret and in public,
they shall
have their reward with their Lord. On them
shall
be no fear, nor shall they grieve. (Q.
2:274)
The
shuhadā’ (martyrs in the cause of Islam) are also included among those
who are free from fear and grief after leaving this world. They have high
position among Muslims after that of prophets, ṣiddīqīn (righteous
people, those who have extremely strong faith). They will enjoy life after deaths
even are considered alive. Allah said:
وَلَا
تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ قُتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أَمْوَاتًا بَلْ أَحْيَاءٌ
عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ يُرْزَقُونَ .
فَرِحِينَ
بِمَا آتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ وَيَسْتَبْشِرُونَ
بِالَّذِينَ لَمْ يَلْحَقُوا بِهِمْ مِنْ
خَلْفِهِمْ
أَلَّا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ (آل عمران:170-169)
Think
not of those who are killed in the Way of Allah
as dead. Nay, they are alive, with their Lord,
and they
have provision. They rejoiced in what
Allah has bestowed upon them of His Bounty and rejoice for the sake of those who have not yet joined them, but are
left behind (not yet martyred) that on
them no fear shall come, not shall they grieve. (Q.
3:169-170)
Jabir ibn
Abdullah reported that when the Prophet s.a.w. saw him and asked him why
he was restless. He told him it was because his father was killed in the
battlefield, and was leaving the family burden and debt. The Prophet told him
that Allah never talked to anyone except behind the veil except to his father;
He talked to him directly. He said: “O my servant, ask me and I shall give
you.” He said: “I ask You to bring me back to the world, so that I shall be
martyred again for You.” Allah said: “I have decided that those who die will
never return to the world.” He said: “O my Lord, let those whom I have left
know my condition.” Then Allah revealed the verses mentioned above.
This
means that there will be no second chance to come back to this world to do good
things once we died. There is no reincarnation, and there is no transmigration
of the souls. This is the danger of not accepting Islam.
The
awliyā’ (people who are close to Allah, pious people, saints) are also
among people who are free from fear and grief in the Hereafter. Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet s.a.w.
said:
Among the servants of Allah there will
be those whom the Prophets and the martyrs will consider fortunate. It was
said:“Who are these, O Messenger of Allah, so that we may love them?” He said:
“They are people who loved one another for the sake of Allah without any other
interest like money or kinship. Their
faces will be light, upon platforms of
light. They
shall have no fear (on that Day) when
fear shall
come upon people. Nor theygrieve when
others grieve.” Then the Prophet cited the verse
أَلَا
إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ (
يونس:62 (
Behold! The awliya’ of Allah, no fear
shall come
upon them nor shall they grieve. (Q.
10:62
The following
story was reported by Ibn Rajab al-Ḥanbalī (d. 736-795/1336-1393) how Allah
rewarded a good deed out of piety.
It
happened that a pious traveller in Makah became very hungry as he had nothing
left for his provision. He was almost faint of starving. While he was walking
on one of the corridors of Makkah he found a very expensive necklace. He took
it with him and entered the Sanctuary (Masjid al-Ḥarām). There he met a man
looking for a lost necklace, and described it to him exactly like what he had
found. So, he gave it to him. The man left without thanking him, not even
handed him any dirham or anything as reward.
Then the pious man sailed on a
boat. A strong wind blew and broke the
boat. He found a piece of wood, sailed
on it, tossed on the waves left and right, until he drifted ashore towards an
island. There he found a mosque where people were praying, and he joined them
in the prayer. Then he found a piece of sheets of the Qur’an. When he read it
people learned that he could read. So, they asked him to teach their children
to read the Qur’an. When they found out
the he could also write, they asked him to teach their children to write. So,
he taught the children of the inhabitants of the island to read and write.
As the pious man was unmarried, people
suggested him to marry an orphan whose father was a very good man. When he
agreed, and married the girl he saw her wearing the very necklace he had found
in Makkah. He asked her how she got the necklace. She said:
“One day while my father was Makkah he
lost the necklace. Then an honest man found it and gave it to him. Since then,
my father kept praying to Allah that He would give him a husband for his
daughter like that man.”
“I was that man,” said the pious man.
So, Allah rewarded him more than he had expected. So, pious people will have no
fear, no grief, no disappointment, no frustration, because they trust Allah,
have good faith with Him, as there might be blessing in disguise behind any
mischief and catastrophe. (CIVIC, 25.01.13)
المصادر:
المكتبة
الشاملة
تفسير
ابن كثير
د.
عائض القرني. لا تحزن
ص. 325-326
5. FEAR AND GRIEF (2)
Other Qur’ānic verses mentioning
people who will have no fear regarding the Hereafter and grief regarding the
life of this word are as follows:
After
forgiving Adam and Eve for their sin in eating the forbidden fruit in Heaven,
Allah told them to descend to the earth and to follow the guidance that came to
them and their descendants. He said,
قُلْنَا
اهْبِطُوا مِنْهَا جَمِيعًا فَإِمَّا يَأْتِيَنَّكُمْ مِنِّي هُدًى فَمَنْ تَبِعَ
هُدَايَ
فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
(البقرة : 38)
We said: “Get down all of you from this
place
(the Paradise), then whenever there comes
to you guidance from Me, and whoever follows
My guidance, there shall be no fear on
them
nor shall they grieve .” (Q. 2:38)
A
similar verse is as follows:
قَالَ اهْبِطَا مِنْهَا جَمِيعًا بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ
عَدُوٌّ فَإِمَّا يَأْتِيَنَّكُمْ مِنِّي هُدًى
فَمَنِ اتَّبَعَ هُدَايَ فَلَا يَضِلُّ وَلَا يَشْقَى
(هود:123)
He (Allah) said: “Get you down (from the paradise
to the earth), both of you, together, some
of you
are an enemy to some others. Then if there
comes to you guidance from Me, then whoever
follows My guidance, he shall neither go
astray
[i.e. misguided in this life, acc. Ibn
‘Abbās], nor
shall he be distressed [i.e. miserable in the
Hereafter,
acc. Ibn Abbas].” (Q. 20:123)
After talking to Adam and Eve about following the
guidance so that they would have no fear and no grief, Allah talked to their
descendants giving the same advice when He said:
يَا
بَنِي آدَمَ إِمَّا يَأْتِيَنَّكُمْ رُسُلٌ مِنْكُمْ يَقُصُّونَ عَلَيْكُمْ
آيَاتِي فَمَنِ اتَّقَى
وَأَصْلَحَ فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
(الأعراف:35)
O
children of Adam! If there come to you Messengers from amongst you, reciting to
you My Verses, then whosoever become pious and righteous, on then
shall be no fear nor shall they grief. (Q.
7:35)
This
advice was repeated that those who follow the prophets sent to them will be
safe from fear and grief.
وَمَا
نُرْسِلُ الْمُرْسَلِينَ إِلَّا مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنْذِرِينَ فَمَنْ آمَنَ
وَأَصْلَحَ
فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ (ألآنعام:48)
And We send not the
Messengers but as givers of
glad tidings and as warners. So whosoever
believes
and does righteous good deeds, upon such shall
come no fear, nor shall they grieve. (Q.
6:48)
With the advent of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. as
the last prophet, it is emphasized again by Allah that by believing in Islam
and following its teachings people will be free from fear and grief in the
Hereafter. Allah said,
إِنَّ
الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَوُا
الزَّكَاةَ لَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا
هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ (البقرة:277)
Truly those who believe, and do deeds of
righteous-ness, and perform salat (prayer), and give zakat,
they will have their reward with their Lord. On
them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.
(Q. 2:277)
We
have seen here that the promise of being free from fear and grief by following
Allah’s guidance is mentioned several times in different surahs (chapters) of
the Qur’an to indicate its importance. If you do not read surah al-Baqarah
(chapter 2), you will find it in surah Hūd (chapter 20). If you do not read
that chapter you will still find it in surah al-A‘rāf (chapter 7), or surah
al-An‘ām (chapter 6). You cannot miss it, if you read the Qur’an and concerned
with Allah’s guidance.
Every surah (chapter) in the Qur’ān is
like a spiritual dish. It contains various topics, such as: morality, stories
of the past, warnings and good tidings, future events, etc. One dish of food
usually contains various ingredients. Some have almost the same ingredients
with slightly different amount. In the pizza, for example, you will have salt,
sugar, oil, and perhaps chilly, meat, and mushroom. In the salad, you will
still have some salt, oil, sugar, but no meat or mushroom. The taste is
different, and yet, it is delicious. So is the chapter of the Qur’ān. Every
chapter contains spiritual guidance, and has its own spiritual taste. Reading
surah Yusuf, for example, has different spiritual taste from reading al-Kahf,
although both contains the story of the past.
With the advent of Islam, previous
religions will no longer be acceptable. Allah said,
وَقَالُوا
لَنْ يَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ إِلَّا مَنْ كَانَ هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَى تِلْكَ
أَمَانِيُّهُمْ قُلْ هَاتُوا
بُرْهَانَكُمْ إِنْ
كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ . بَلَى مَنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ
فَلَهُ أَجْرُهُ
عِنْدَ
رَبِّهِ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ (البقرة :111-112(
And they say, “None shall enter Paradise
unless he
be a Jew or a Christian.” These are their own
desires.
Say (O Muhammad), “Produce your proof if you
are
truthful.” Yes, but whoever submits his face ( him-self) to Allah (i.e. follow
Islam) and he is a muḥsin
[i.e. a good doer who performs good deeds for
the sake of
Allah only) then his reward is
with
his Lord (Allah), on such shall
be no fear,
nor shall they grieve. (Q.
2:111-112).
The
above verses continue stating that both Jews and Christians accuse each other
of not following the right religion, as follows:
وَقَالَتِ
الْيَهُودُ لَيْسَتِ النَّصَارَى عَلَى شَيْءٍ وَقَالَتِ النَّصَارَى لَيْسَتِ
الْيَهُودُ
عَلَى
شَيْءٍ وَهُمْ يَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ كَذَلِكَ قَالَ الَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
مِثْلَ قَوْلِهِمْ فَاللَّهُ
يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِيمَا
كَانُوا فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ (113(
The
Jews said that the Christians follow nothing
(i.e., are not on the right religion); and the Christians
said that the Jews follow nothing (i.e.,
are not on the right religion); though they both recite the Scripture. Like unto their word, said those who know
not. [such as the Arabs who said that Prophet
Muhammad was not following anything, i.e. a true religion, al-Suddī’s
commentary]. Allah will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection about
that wherein they
have been differing.(Q.
2:113)
The verses of the Qur’an could be
misunderstood if it is taken out of its context. One example is as follows:
. إِنَّ
الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالصَّابِئُونَ وَالنَّصَارَى مَنْ آمَنَ
بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا
هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
. (المائدة :69)
Surely, those who believe (i.e.,
Muslims), and those who are the Jews [followers of Prophet Moses] and the Sabians
[i.e. followers of Prophet Yahya, John the Baptist], and the Christians [followers of Prophet ‘Isa, Jesus],---whosoever believed in Allah and the Last Day, and worked
righteousness, on them shall be
no fear, nor shall they grieve.
(Q. 5:69)
This
verse does not mean that whether you are a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew or a
Magian, as long as you do good things you will all be safe in the Hereafter, as
you are guaranteed free from fear and grief, as some people may think. This
verse does not mean, although apparently so, that you do not have to accept
Islam to achieve salvation if you belong to the People of the Book, follower of
the previous revealed religion. No, it is not so.
If
we go back to the occasion that led to the revelation of this verse, it is this.
A man called Salmān al-Fārisī (the Persian). While he was hunting with the son
of the king of Persia, he found a man in an isolated house weeping while
reading a book. The man told him that it was the Injīl (Gospel) revealed
to Prophet Isa (Jesus) a.s., not the kind of Bible we are having today.
Salman followed him and became a
believer. He kept learning from the monks and worshiped with them in the church
in Mosul (Iraq), then he moved to Jerusalem.
While worshiping
Allah with monks in the church in Jerusalem, a monk told him: “There is still a
new prophet left who is the best one to follow.
The time of his coming is approaching. I don’t think I shall live long
enough to see him. You are still young. I hope you can see him. He will appear
in the Arab land. If you see him,
believe and follow him…” Salman left and eventually reached Madinah where he
was told that a prophet had come to that city.
While talking to the Prophet in Madinah, Salmān remembered his friends
the monks whom he had left behind. He talked to the Prophet about them, saying:
“They prayed, fasted, believed in you, and witnessed that you would be
appointed a prophet.” To answer this question, Allah revealed to the Prophet
the above verse.
This
verse means that the Jews who followed Prophet Moses a.s. and kept the
Torah until the advent of Prophet Jesus a.s. will be safe. But those who
still kept the Torah and did not want to follow Prophet Jesus a.s. after
that will be damned. The Christians who followed Prophet Jesus a.s. and
kept the Injil until the advent of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w will be safe.
But those who did not want to follow Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. after that
will be damned.
The
verse becomes clearer if we read the preceding and the succeeding verses. The preceding verse says,
قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَسْتُمْ عَلَى شَيْءٍ
حَتَّى تُقِيمُوا التَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنْجِيلَ
وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَلَيَزِيدَنَّ كَثِيرًا
مِنْهُمْ مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ
رَبِّكَ
طُغْيَانًا وَكُفْرًا فَلَا
تَأْسَ عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ (المائدة :68)
Say (O
Muhammad) “O People of the Scripture
(Jews and
Christians)! You have nothing (as regards
guidance)
till you act according to the Tawrāt (Torah),
the Injīl
(Gospel), and what has (now) been sent down
to you
[Muhammad] from your Lord (the Qur’an). Verily, that which
has been sent down to you (Muhammad) from your Lord increases in most
of them their obstinate rebellion and disbelief.
So be not sorrowful
over the people
Who disbelieve.
(Q. 5:68)
So, they become more obstinate, more
rebellious, and disbelieve, because they expected the prophet to be among them,
the Jews of Madinah. The succeeding verse says,
. لَقَدْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَ بَنِي
إِسْرَائِيلَ وَأَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهِمْ رُسُلًا كُلَّمَا جَاءَهُمْ رَسُولٌ
بِمَا لَا
تَهْوَى أَنْفُسُهُمْ فَرِيقًا كَذَّبُوا وَفَرِيقًا يَقْتُلُونَ ( المائدة : 70)
Verily, We took the covenant of the Children of
Israel and
sent Messengers to them. Whenever there came to them a Messenger with what they
them-selves desired not, a group of them they called liars, and others
amongthem they killed. (Q.
5:70).
They did not believe the messengers
sent to them. They successfully killed Prophet Zechariah (Zakariyyā) a.s.
and Prophet Yaḥyā (John the Baptist) a.s., claimed to have killed
Prophet ‘Isa (Jesus) a.s., and tried to kill Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.
According to Ibn ‘Abbās, the Prophet’s cousin and the
famous Qur’ānic commentator, the next verse revealed was:
وَمَنْ يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا فَلَنْ
يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي
الْآَخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ (آل عمران: ٨٥)
“If anyone desires a religion other than Islam
(submission to Allah), never will it be
accepted
of him, and in the Hereafter he will be in
the ranks of those who have lost
(all spiritual) good.” (Q. 3:85)
In conclusion, no matter how good you are, no matter
how smart you are, if you are taking the wrong path, you will never reach your
destination. So, we keep asking Allah, اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ (“Guide us the right path”) at
least 17 times a day (CIVIC, 01.02.30)
6.
FUTILE
DEEDS
A
well-known Egyptian dā‘in (dā‘iyah, Islamic preacher) at the end of the
late century, called ‘Amr Khalid, called people to stick to Islam and to
observe its teachings. In one of his lectures, he posed this question: What
would happen to those people who do good deeds in this world, but kāfirs, do not accept Islam, would they get
benefit from these good deeds in the Hereafter? He answered this question
briefly in Egyptian slang, enta mālak enta!, meaning, “it is not your business.”
What he means is that do not bother with other people whether they are Muslims
or not, but what should concern you is your own salvation.
The
word kāfir in its original, classical, pre-Islamic meaning, is derived
from the verb kafara, “to cover”, so that the word kāfir, literally
means “a person (or something) that covers something (else).” Technically, a kāfir
is “a person who covers the truth of Islam, by denying it.” The pre-Islamic
poet Labid said in his poem:
... في لَيْلَةٍ كَفَرَ النّجُومَ غَمَامُهَا
… in a
night where its cloud covered its stars
The
answer to this question is found in verses in many chapters of the Qur’an, as
follows:
وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ لَا يَرْجُونَ
لِقَاءَنَا لَوْلَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْنَا الْمَلَائِكَةُ أَوْ نَرَى رَبَّنَا
لَقَدِ اسْتَكْبَرُوا فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ
وَعَتَوْا عُتُوًّا كَبِيرًا . يَوْمَ يَرَوْنَ الْمَلَائِكَةَ
لَا بُشْرَى يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُجْرِمِينَ
وَيَقُولُونَ حِجْرًا مَحْجُورًا. وَقَدِمْنَا
إِلَى مَا عَمِلُوا مِنْ عَمَلٍ
فَجَعَلْنَاهُ هَبَاءً مَنْثُورًا (الفرقان:21-23)
And those who expect not a
meeting with Us (i.e.,
those who deny the Day of Resurrection and the
Life of the Hereafter) said: “Why are not the angels sent down to us, or
why do we not see our Lord?” Indeed they think too highly of themselves, and
are scornful with great pride. On the day they will see the angels—no glad
tidings will there be for the mujrimin (criminals, disbelievers)that day. And
they (the angels) will say: “All kinds of glad tidings are forbidden to you,”.
And We shall turn to whatever deeds they
did, and We
shall make such deeds as scattered
Floating
particles of dust (Q. 25:23)
In
this verse it is mentioned that pride makes them reject the truth. In a ḥadīth
narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. said:
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ
بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ لَا يَدْخُلُ
الْجَنَّةَ مَنْ كَانَ فِي قَلْبِهِ
مِثْقَالُ ذَرَّةٍ مِنْ كِبْرٍ قَالَ رَجُلٌ إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ يُحِبُّ
أَنْ يَكُونَ ثَوْبُهُ حَسَنًا وَنَعْلُهُ
حَسَنَةً قَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ جَمِيلٌ يُحِبُّ
الْجَمَالَ الْكِبْرُ بَطَرُ الْحَقِّ
وَغَمْطُ النَّاسِ (رواه مسلم)
“Whosoever has pride in his heart equal to
the
weight of an atom shall not
enter Paradise.”
A person (among the
audience) said: “Verily,
a person loves that his
dress should be
beautiful, and his shoes
should be beautiful.”
The Prophet remarked:
“Verily, Allah is the
Most Beautiful, and He loves
beauty. Pride
is completely disregard the
truth, and to
scorn (look down upon) the
people.
(Reported by Muslim)
The futility of deeds of
non-believers in the Hereafter is explained vividly, and compared to mirage in
a desert in the following verse:
وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَعْمَالُهُمْ
كَسَرَابٍ بِقِيعَةٍ يَحْسَبُهُ الظَّمْآَنُ
مَاءً حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَهُ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْئًا
وَوَجَدَ اللَّهَ عِنْدَهُ فَوَفَّاهُ
حِسَابَهُ وَاللَّهُ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ
(النور:39)
As for those who disbelieved,
their deeds are like
a mirage in a desert. The thirsty one thinks
it to be
water, until he comes up to it, he finds it to
be
Nothing; but he finds Allah with him, Who will
pay him his due (Hell). And Allah is swift
in taking account (Q. 24:39).
According to this verse disbelievers will not get reward
from Allah in the Hereafter for their good deeds in this world. It is like a
mirage for a thirsty person; instead of water he finds nothing.
In another verse
the good deeds of disbelievers are like ashes blown by wind on a stormy day.
The verse runs as follows:
مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ
أَعْمَالُهُمْ كَرَمَادٍ اشْتَدَّتْ بِهِ
الرِّيحُ فِي يَوْمٍ عَاصِفٍ لَا يَقْدِرُونَ مِمَّا
كَسَبُوا عَلَى شَيْءٍ
ذَلِكَ هُوَ الضَّلَالُ الْبَعِيدُ
(إبراهيم:18)
The parable of those who disbelieved
in their Lord
is that their works are as ashes,
on
which the wind blows furiously on a stormy
days; they shall not be able to get aught of
what
they have earned. That is the straying, far
away (from the Right Path). (Q.
14:18)
Here
again lies the importance of guidance and following the right path, Islam,
without which there will be no salvation. Without following the right path you
will never reach your destination. Even people close to Allah, like prophets,
could not rescue disbelievers among their close relatives: Prophet Noah’s wife,
Prophet Lot’s wife, Prophet Abraham’s father, and Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.’s
uncle, Abu Talib. (CIVIC, 8.2.13)
7. INKᾹR AL-SUNNAH (1)
)THE REJECTION OF
THE SUNNAH)
Prophet
Muhammad s.a.w. said:
أَلَا
هَلْ عَسَى رَجُلٌ يَبْلُغُهُ الْحَدِيثُ عَنِّي وَهُوَ مُتَّكِئٌ عَلَى
أَرِيكَتِهِ فَيَقُولُ بَيْنَنَا
وَبَيْنَكُمْ
كِتَابُ اللَّهِ فَمَا وَجَدْنَا فِيهِ حَلَالًا اسْتَحْلَلْنَاهُ وَمَا وَجَدْنَا
فِيهِ حَرَامًا حَرَّمْنَاهُ
وَإِنَّ
مَا حَرَّمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَمَا حَرَّمَ
اللَّهُ
.(رواه
الإمام أحمد وأبو داود وابن ماجه)
See
that a man might reach him a hadith from
me while he was leaning against a sofa,
and said:
“Between us and you is the Book of
Allah, whatever
we find in it is ḥalāl we make it ḥalāl
(permitted),
And what we find ḥarām in it, we make it ḥarām
(prohibited), and verily, what the
Messenger of
Allah s.a.w. prohibited it is as
prohibited by
Allah.” (Reported
by Imam Ahmad,
Abū
Dā’ūd, and Ibn Mājah)
In
another hadith the Prophet s.a.w. said:
لَا
أُلْفِيَنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ مُتَّكِئًا عَلَى أَرِيكَتِهِ يَأْتِيهِ أَمْرٌ مِمَّا
أَمَرْتُ بِهِ أَوْ
نَهَيْتُ عَنْهُ فَيَقُولُ لَا أَدْرِي مَا
وَجَدْنَا فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ اتَّبَعْنَاهُ".
(رواه الإمام أحمد فى مسنده
وأبو داود والترمذى
وابن ماجة والدارمى فى سننهم)
Verily, one of you would lean
comfortably
a
sofa when an order or prohibition from me
reached him he would say: “I do not know,
we (only) follow what we find in the
Book of Allah (the Qur’ān).”
(Reported
by Ahmad, al-Tirmidhī, Abū Dā’ūd,
Ibn Mājah and al-Dārimī)
In another hadith, he said:
تَرَكْتُ
فِيْكُمْ أَمْرَيْنِ لَنْ تَضِلُّوْا مَا تَمَسَّكْتُمْ بِهِمَا:
كِتَابَ اللهِ وَسُنَّةَ نَبِيِّه (رواه الحاكم)
I have left you two things, you will
never
go astray as
long as you stick to them: the
Book of Allah and the Sunnah of
His
Prophet. (Reported by al-Ḥākim.
Similar version is also reported by
al-Bayhaqī))
The Prophet also said:
أَلَا
إِنِّي أُوتِيتُ الْكِتَابَ وَمِثْلَهُ مَعَهُ أَلَا إِنِّي أُوتِيتُ الْقُرْآنَ
وَمِثْلَهُ مَعَهُ لا يُوشِكُ
رَجُلٌ
يَنْثَنِي شَبْعَانًا عَلَى أَرِيكَتِهِ يَقُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْقُرْآنِ فَمَا
وَجَدْتُمْ فِيهِ مِنْ حَلَالٍ
فَأَحِلُّوهُ وَمَا وَجَدْتُمْ فِيهِ مِنْ حَرَامٍ فَحَرِّمُوهُ (رواه الإمام أحمد)
Be informed
that verily the Book was
brought to
me and a similar thing with it
(i.e. the Sunnah
of the Prophet), and a similar
thing with it, know that a man leaning on a sofa
while he is
full is on the point of saying: “Stick
to the
Qur’an, so whatever you find in it ḥalāl,
then make
it ḥalāl, and whatever you find
in it ḥarām, then make it ḥarām.”
(Reported by
Ahmad)
This is
the prophecy and warning of our Prophet, that some people would later ignore
the Sunnah (sayings, practices, and tacit approvals of the Prophet) as
the source of Islamic law, and claim that the Qur’an is the sole source of
Islamic law. This view is called “inkār al-sunnah” (the Rejection of the
Sunnah). It appeared at the end
of the 1st Century and the beginning of the 2nd Century of Hijrah.
This view appeared out of misunderstanding the Qur’ānic texts, and the
ignorance of the significance of Sunnah in Islam. When they were
explained to people who misunderstood them, they abandoned this view and came
back to the right one. For example, a man asked Abū Nujayd, one the companions
of the Prophet, to explain to him something exclusively from the Qur’an, he
told him that many things were not explained in details in the Qur’an, but in
the Sunnah. For example, how to perform the prayers, how many units (raka‘āt)
they are, fasting, paying the zakat and performing the hajj (pilgrimage) are
all explained in details in the Sunnah. Similar questions were posed to
al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, the great ‘alim in Basrah. After giving the explanation of
the significance of the Sunnah, the questioner prayed for him: لَقَدْ أَحْيَيَتَنِي أَحْيَاكَ الله “You have enliven me, may Allah enliven you.”
A man asked the scholar ‘Imrān ibn Ḥiṣṣīn r.a. about a certain issue. He
gave his answer from the Sunnah. The man said: “I am asking you (the
answer) from the Book of Allah, and do not tell me other than it.” ‘Imran said: “Do you find in the Book of
Allah that the Zuhr prayer is four rak’ahs (units) cited with low voice,
the number of prayers, the number of zakats, and the like?” Then he said: “Do
you find this explained in the Book of Allah? Verily, Allah made it general,
and the Sunnah explains it.”
Al-Imām al-Shāfi‘ī was asked one day whether he still
followed the Sunnah. He told the questioner whether he had seen him coming
out of the church, namely, no longer a Muslim. He dealt with this issue of inkār
al-sunnah in his book al-Umm, with arguments in details, so that
people would keep following the Sunnah. Later, al-Suyuti in his book Miftāḥ
al-Jannah fi ‘l-Iḥtijāj bi’ l-Sunnah (“The Key of Paradise in Applying Sunnah
as Arguments”), and stated that whoever denied it as one of the sources of the
Shari’ah would became non-Muslim, like the Jews and the Christians.
Unlike the classical inkār al-sunnah which
emerged only out of ignorance, modern inkār al-sunnah, although started with individuals’ view of people who have full
conviction to it, later became a group of people who call themselves Ahl
al-Qur’ān (the Upholder of the Qur’an), whereas their opponents call their
view Inkār Sunnah. This view emerged post the era of colonization, in
Egypt and Indian Sub-continent (Pakistan). In Egypt, Ahmad Amin in his Fajr
al-Islām (“The Dawn of Islam”) showed his doubt about the significance of
the Sunnah, and Maḥmūd Abū Rayyah in his book Aḍwā’ ‘alā ‘l-Sunnah al-Muḥammadiyyah (“Light on the Muham-madan Sunnah”) where he rejects
the authority and authenticity of the Sunnah. In the Indian Subcontinent
(Pakistan) Ghulam Ahmad Parves (Perves) rejected many hadiths widely accepted
as authentic and declared a heretic by some Muslim scholars for the same view, denying
the authority and authenticity of the).
Hadiths
(Sunnah).
In modern time we have Dr. Ahmed Sobhi Masour, a
friend of the late Rashad Khalifah who claimed to be a prophet, and Sa‘d al-Dīn
Ibrāhīm, the Director of Ibn Khaldūn Centre who was arrested and accused of
treason in 2002. Dr. Ahmed Sobhi was graduated from the Department of Arabic
Language at al-Azhar University, but expelled from it in 1987 for spreading his
view. In 2002 he obtained a political asylum in the USA where he established
his internet website in 2004 called Ahl al-Qur’ān, to spread his view
against the Sunnah attacking ḥadīth and its scholars like Imam
Bukhari. His books and articles have been translated into English. He said that
the trend of the salaf (earlier generation, such as of the ṣaḥābah and
the tābi‘īn) is mainly based the ḥadīths written after the death
of the Prophet and then attributed to him. This is the Sunnah which he
did not agree. The Sunnah for him and for the Ahl al-Qur’ān is
what the Qur’ān states and put into practice. The only hadith they
believe is the hadith of Allah in the Qur’ān, as Allah said: (فَبِأَيِّ حَدِيثٍ بَعْدَهُ يُؤْمِنُونَ (الأعراف: 185) “In what ḥadīth (message) after this
will they then believe?”(Q. 7:185)
Their argument is the Qur’ān, as follows:
وَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ تِبْيَانًا لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ ( النحل :89)
…And We have sent down the
Book (the Qur’ān)
as an exposition of everything…(Q. 7:185)
Therefore, for
them, there is no need
for Sunnah or hadiths.
The answer to
this allegation is in the Qur’ān itself. Allah said:
وَأَنْزَلْنَا
إِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ
يَتَفَكَّرُونَ (النحل:44).
…And we have also sent down to you
(O Muhammad)the Dhikr [reminder and
the advice, i.e. the Qur’ān],that you may
explain clearly to men what is sent
down to them, and that they may
give thought. (Q. 7:44)
Based on this verse the Prophet has a duty to explain
the meanings of the revealed verses and their application into practice. The ṣaḥābah
(companions) used to ask his explanation whenever they have problem in
understanding and applying the verses. For example, a man asked him what would
happen to his fasting when he had eaten forgetting that he was fasting. The
Prophet told him to keep fasting, and that Allah had fed and given him to
drink. The Prophet’s answer was based on the Qur’ānic verses:
رَبَّنَا لا تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِنْ نَسِينَا أَوْ
أَخْطَأْنَا) البقرة: 286)
…Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget
or fall into
error (Q. 2:285).
ولَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ فِيمَا أَخْطَأْتُمْ بِهِ
وَلَكِنْ مَا تَعَمَّدَتْ
قُلُوبُكُمْ (الأحزاب:5)
…And there
is no sin on you concerning
that in which you made mistake, except in
regard to what your hearts deliberately
intend…(Q. 33:5)
Other verses
justifying the validity of the Sunnah as the second source of the
Shari‘ah are as follows:
وَمَا آَتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ
عَنْهُ فَانْتَهُوا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ
إِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ (الحشر:7) .
…and
whatsoever the Messenger gives you,
take it; and whatsoever he forbids you,
abstain
from it. And fear Allah; verily, Allah is
severe in punishment. (Q. 59:7)
قُلْ أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ
فَإِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْكَافِرِينَ (آل عمران :
32 ) Say (O Muhammad) “Obey Allah and the
Messenger (Muhammad.”But if they turn
away, then Allah does not like the
disbelievers (Q. 3:32).
وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا
قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْرًا أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ
أَمْرِهِمْ وَمَنْ يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ
ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا مُبِينًا (الأحزاب :
36 ) .
It
is not for a believer, man or woman, when
Allah and His Messenger have decreed a
matter
that they shouldhave any option in their
decision.
And whoever disobeys Allah and His
Messenger, he has indeed strayed
into a plain error.(Q.
33:36)
مَنْ يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ (النساء:
80).
He who
obeys the Messenger [Muhammad],
has indeed
obeyed Allah (Q. 4:80)
Some examples where the Prophet prohibited things not
mentioned in the Qur’ān are as follows:
- Abu Hurayrah r.a., said that the Messenger of
Allah prohibited from marrying a woman together with her paternal or maternal
aunt, whereas in the Qur’ān it is mentioned the prohibition of marrying a woman
together with her sister only (Reported by Bukhari and Muslim).
وَأَنْ تَجْمَعُوا بَيْنَ الْأُخْتَيْنِ (النساء :23) ...
…and two sisters in wedlock at
the same time,…
(Q. 4:23)
- Ali ibn Abu Talib said that the Prophet held silk in
his right hand and held gold in his left hand, then said: “These two things
are prohibited to the males of my ummah.” (Reported by Abū Dā’ūd, Ibn
Mājah, al-Nasā’ī, and Ahmad)
In
conclusion, the duty of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. is not only to convey the message of Islam in
the Qur’an, but also to explain it when it is not clear to some ṣaḥābah, giving
examples through practice, and a to be law maker. All these are found in the Sunnah
(sayings, deeds and tacit approvals of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.)
which is the second source of Islamic law. (CIVIC, 21.12.12)
Sources:
المكتبة الشاملة
Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
http://quran-m.com/container.php?fun=artview&id=1005
(Kesesatan kelompok inkar Sunnah)
8. SHAYKH YŪSUF AL-QARAḌĀWĪ’S COMMENTARY
ON MAKING
FRIENDSHIP (ALLIANCE,
LOYALTY) TO NON-MUSLIMS
Freedom of
association in the Australian law is compatible with that in Islamic law. Man
is free to join or not to join an organization or group, such as political
parties, trade unions and social groups, provided it is legal. It has to be
peaceful, and no damage or injury to people. In Islamic law it has to be
exercised for propagation of doing virtue and righteousness, not for doing evil
and mischief.
Allah in the
Qur’an orders Muslims to help each other. He says:
...وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ
وَالتَّقْوَى وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ
الْعِقَابِ (المائدة:2)
…Help you
one another in virtue, righteousness
and piety;
but do not help one another in sin and
transgression.
And fear Allah. Verily, Allah
is
severe in punishment.(Q.
5:2)
Allah
also says to the whole mankind:
يَا
أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ وَأُنْثَى وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ
شُعُوبًا
وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ
عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ
إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ (الحجرات:13)
O mankind! We created you from a single
[pair] of a
male and a female, and made you
into
nations and tribes, that you may know each
other (not
that you may despise each other).
Verily, the most honoured of
you in the sight
of Allah is (he who is) the most
righteous of
you. And Allah has
full knowledge and is well-acquainted (with all things). (Q. 49:13)
To know each other implies mutual assistance. Man is a
social being. Being different in gender, race, language and skin colour, is one
of the signs of Allah as a Creator, and the difference makes us curious to know
each other. This difference leads to mutual understanding, assistance, cooperation,
and integra-tion. This is in line with the spirit of multicultural Australia
whereby people of different in faiths, cultures, and background live
cooperatively together. There no superiority of one individual, race, or gender
in the sight of Allah except through righteousness.
If someone says
that according to the Qur’an Muslims are not allowed to take non-Muslims as
friends, it is by translating the word wali, meaning “friend” which one
of its many meanings. This meaning can be justified only if the intended verse
means non-Muslims who are hostile to Muslims. The word walī (وَلِيّ) has many meanings, as follows: near, nearby;
neighbouring, adjacent; close; (its plural: awliyā’, أَوْلِيَاء) helper, supporter, benefactor, sponsor;
friend, close associate; relative; patron, protector; legal guardian, curator,
tutor; a man close to God, holy man, saint; proprietor, possessor, owner. Some examples
are as follows:
لَا
يَتَّخِذِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الْكَافِرِينَ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ
فَلَيْسَ
مِنَ اللَّهِ فِي شَيْءٍ إِلَّا أَنْ تَتَّقُوا مِنْهُمْ تُقَاةً وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ
اللَّهُ نَفْسَهُ
وَإِلَى
اللَّهِ الْمَصِيرُ ( آل
عمران:28)
Let not the believers take the disbelievers
as auliya (supporters,
helpers) instead of the
believers,
and whoever does that will never be
helped by
Allah in any way , except if you indeed
fear a
danger from them. And Allah warns you
against
Himself (His punishment) and Allah
is Able to
do all things (Q. 3:28)
Here
Allah warns the Muslims not to take non-believers instead of believers as
supporters, unless they fear of any danger, or Allah will punish them. This threat of
punishment is repeated in another surah and verse, as follows:
يَاأَيُّهَا
الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا الْكَافِرِينَ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِ
الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
أَتُرِيدُونَ
أَنْ تَجْعَلُوا لِلَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ سُلْطَانًا مُبِينًا (النساء ٤ : ١٤٤)
O you believe! Take not for loyalty
and
sincerity
disbelievers instead of believers.
Do you wish to offer Allah a manifest
proof against yourselves? (Q.
4:144)
means, “proof against
you that warrants receiving His torment.”
In another verse Allah specifies the Jews and the
Christians, as follows:
يَا أَيُّهَا
الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَى أَوْلِيَاءَ
بَعْضُهُمْ
أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ وَمَنْ يَتَوَلَّهُمْ مِنْكُمْ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْهُمْ
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ
الظَّالِمِينَ (المائدة:51)
O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the
Christians
as auliya (friends, protectors, helpers)
,they are
but auliya of each other. And if any amongst
you takes
them as auliya, then surely he is one of them.
Verily,
Allah guides not those people who are
zalimun
(polytheists and wrong-doers
and unjust) (Q. 5:51)
It means Christians help their fellow
Christians, and the Jews help their fellow Jews. In the following verse even
our fathers and brothers are not allowed to be taken as awliyā’.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا
آَبَاءَكُمْ وَإِخْوَانَكُمْ أَوْلِيَاءَ إِنِ اسْتَحَبُّوا الْكُفْرَ عَلَى
الْإِيمَانِ وَمَنْ يَتَوَلَّهُمْ مِنْكُمْ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
(التوبة:23)
O you who
believe! Take not as auliyā’ (supporters, helpers) your fathers and your
brothers if they prefer disbelief to
belief. And whoever of you does so,
then he is one of the wrong-doers. (Q. 9:23)
Quoting some of the
above verse, the contemporary Muslim scholar Shaykh Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwī said that
these verses and some hadiths of the Prophet are superficially understood to
indicate the fanatical attitude of Islam towards the Jews, the Christians and
others. After considering carefully and investigating the history, the occasion
and surrounding conditions which led to the revelation of these verses he gave
his commentary as follows:
1.
The prohibition is taking as awliyā’
(friends, allies) are those who are different as specified groups with
their own religions, beliefs, views, and characteristics, namely,
characterizing them as Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians (Magians), not
characterized as neighbours, colleagues, or citizens. The loyalty of Muslims is
to Muslim ummah (community, nation) alone. Hence, the warning of taking
them as allies is mentioned in several verses in the Qur’an. The verse “other
than the believers” (Q. 3:28, 4: 138-139 and144) indicates that loyalty to them
was at the expense of the believers; it is what is known in the political
technical term “treason”.
2. The friendship prohibited in the above verses
is not friendship with those who have different religions, but friendship with
those who offend the Muslims and oppose Allah and His Messenger, as Allah said:
(a)
لَا
تَجِدُ قَوْمًا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآَخِرِ يُوَادُّونَ مَنْ
حَادَّ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ
وَلَوْ كَانُوا آَبَاءَهُمْ أَوْ أَبْنَاءَهُمْ أَوْ إِخْوَانَهُمْ أَوْ
عَشِيرَتَهُمْ ... (المجادلة:22)
“You
(Muhammad) will not find any people who believe in Allah and the Last Day,
making friendship with those who oppose Allah and His Messenger, even
though they were their fathers or their sons or their brothers or their kindred
(people)…” (Q. 58:22). Opposing Allah and His Messenger is not
simply denying them, but waging war on their message, standing up against it
and offending the Muslims.
(b)
يَا أَيُّهَا
الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا عَدُوِّي وَعَدُوَّكُمْ أَوْلِيَاءَ تُلْقُونَ
إِلَيْهِمْ بِالْمَوَدَّةِ وَقَدْ كَفَرُوا بِمَا جَاءَكُمْ مِنَ الْحَقِّ
يُخْرِجُونَ الرَّسُولَ وَإِيَّاكُمْ أَنْ تُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ رَبِّكُم “O you who believe! Take not My enemies and your enemies as
friends, showing affection towards them, while they have disbelieved in what
has come to you of the truth, and have driven out the Messenger and yourselves
(from your homeland) because you believe in Allah, your Lord!...”
(Q.60:1). This verse indicates the prohibition of making friendship and showing
affection to the idolater with two conditions altogether: their denial of Islam
and their expelling the Messenger and the believers from their homeland without
any valid justification.
(c)
لَا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ
الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُمْ مِنْ
دِيَارِكُمْ أَنْ تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوا إِلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ
الْمُقْسِطِينَ . إِنَّمَا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ قَاتَلُوكُمْ فِي
الدِّينِ وَأَخْرَجُوكُمْ مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ وَظَاهَرُوا عَلَى إِخْرَاجِكُمْ أَنْ
تَوَلَّوْهُمْ وَمَنْ يَتَوَلَّهُمْ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
(الممتحنة:8-9) “Allah does not forbid you to deal
justly and kindly with those fought not against you on account of religion nor
drove you out of your homes. Verily, Allah loves those who deal with equity. It
is only as regards those who fought against you on account of religion, and
have driven you out of your homes, and helped to drive you out, that Allah
forbids you to befriend them. And whosoever will befriend them, then such are
the wrongdoers.” (Q. 60:8-9). These
verses mention two groups of people: a group of people who are peaceful to the
Muslims, do not fight them for their religion, and do not expel them from their
homes: these people deserve kindness and equity. The other group of people is
those who are hostile and oppose the Muslims through fighting them or expelling
them from their homes, or help in expelling them, to them Muslims are not
allowed to befriend with them. The meaning of this divine text is that the
Muslims are allowed to befriend to another group (which is not hostile to the
Muslims).
3. The Muslims are allowed to marry the women of
the People of the Book (Jewish and Christians). Married life has to be based on
spiritual tranquillity, love, and mercy, as indicated in the Qur’ān, وَمِنْ آَيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ
أَزْوَاجًا لِتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُمْ مَوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةً
إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآَيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ (الروم:21)) “And among His Signs is that He created for
you wives from among yourselves, that you may find repose in them, and He has
put between you affection and mercy. Verily, in that are indeed signs for a
people who reflect.” (Q. 30:21). This indicates that there
is no harm in showing affection (of a Muslim) towards a non-Muslim. How could
it be possible that a man does not love his Jewish or Christian wife, and for a
boy not to love his (maternal) grand-parents, (maternal) uncles and aunts if
his mother is a Jewess or a Christian?
4. The undoubted truth is that Islam confirms the
promotion of religious bond above any bond, either blood, territorial, race, or
social class. A Muslim is a brother of another Muslim; a believer is a brother
of another believer. The Muslims are one ummah (nation); they quickly
protect their deprived ones. They are power over others. A Muslim is closer to
another Muslim than any non-Muslim, even if he is his own father, son or
brother. This, Shaykh al-Qaraḍāwī asserts, is not exclusively in Islam, but it
is the nature of every religion and every belief. He claims that this view is
also confirmed in the Bible.
In
conclusion, Islam is always a peaceful religion in teaching, propagating and
promoting peace and tranquillity in this world. It is its followers who sometimes
misunderstand or are extreme in understanding of its teachings which lead them
to act extremely. The proverb says: “Half knowledge is dangerous.” (CIVIC,
22.02.13).
المراجع:
تفسير
أبن كثير
المازني
, إبراهيم بن محمد. التعامل مع الآخر: شواهد تاريخية من الحضارة الآسلامية الرياض:
مركز الملك عبد العزيز للحوار الوطني , 1426 هـ، ص 182-187
9. CHILD AND WIFE-BEATING IN ISLAM
Before dealing with wife-biting
claimed to have been practiced among Muslims, I would like to speak about the
culture of beating. Since I was born in Indonesia where I lived over
twenty-years, lived in Egypt over ten years, and in Saudi Arabia four years, I
would like to talk about beating in these areas.
In Indonesia,
the culture of beating school children was practiced during the Dutch and
Japanese occupations, even till the early 50s. It was one of many ways of
punishing them for not doing their school assignments, and for their bad
behavior. We could understand that, as we did not have any qualified teacher.
The education and teachers of elementary schools at that time were 6 year Dutch
elementary school (Kweek School) with an extra teaching training about
two years, and sometimes as apprentices. In late 1946 or early 47, when I was
at grade 2, an inspector come to our class testing the apprentice teacher in
counting: “Four and a half plus four and a half?” The apprentice answered: “Sembilan,
tuan!” (Nine, sir!). Even I myself can answer
that easy question.”
That was in
government schools. In the madrasahs (Islamic religious schools) where
most of the subjects taught were Islamic and Arabic, physical punishment mostly
with beating the hand and the foot with a stick was also practiced and was
accepted in the community. With minor mistakes, pulling the ear was also
practiced.
Among the Arabs, especially the ancient Arabs,
beating was common and was acceptable. There are many Arabic proverbs,
mentioned it, such as
a. العَبْدُ
يُضْرَبُ بِاْلعَصَا وَ الْحُرُّ يَكْفِيْهِ الإشَارَة“The slave is beaten with stick [to
discipline him], whereas for the free-man gesture would be sufficient.”
b. اْلعَصَا
لِمَنْ عَصَى “Sticks are used for those who disobey.”
c.
ضَرْبُ
اْلحَبِيْبِ أَحْلَى مِنْ أَكْلِ الزَّبِيْب “The beating of the beloved-one is sweeter
than eating sultanas.”
d. ضَرْبُ
اْلمُعَلِّمِ تُسْلَمُ أَيْدُه “The
beating of the teacher (instructor, master) is accepted with appreciation.”
The second
caliph ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb was known for his strict rule and beating people.
Some examples are as follows:
a.
He beat people who performed the
abrogated recommended 2 rak‘ah (units) prayer after ‘asr (late
afternoon) prayer. It was also reported that ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbās did the
abrogated recommended 2 rak‘ah, probably to discourage people from
delaying their ‘asr obligatory prayer till sunset.
b.
He beat a person who came to his
office while he was busy. He realised his mistake, and demanded and insisted
retaliation from him, but the person also insisted to forgive him.
c.
He beat the slave-girl of Anas
family when he saw her covering her head. He told her: اكْشِفِي رَأْسَكِ، لَا
تَشَبَّهِينَ بِالْحَرَائِرِ “Uncover your
head, do not be like free women.”
d.
He beat Ubayy ibn Ka‘b with an
udder as a reprimand when he saw him let people walk behind him (out of
respect). He also beat his son ‘Ubaydullah for drinking alcohol.
As
a last resort the Prophet ordered parents to beat their children if they do not
start praying
at the age of ten. But if the parents pray their children would also pray
following their examples. He said:
مُرُوا أَبْنَاءَكُمْ
بِالصَّلَاةِ لِسَبْعِ سِنِينَ وَاضْرِبُوهُمْ عَلَيْهَا لِعَشْرِ سِنِينَ ...
(رواه أحمد و النسائي و الترمذي و الطبراني و البيهقي)
Order your children to pray at the age
of seven,
and
beat them at the age of ten (in order to pray)
(Reported by Ahmad,
al-Nasa’i, al-Tirmidhi,
al-Tabrani, and al-Bayhaqi)
إِذَا
بَلَغَ الْغُلَامُ سَبْعَ سِنِينَ أُمِرَ بِالصَّلَاةِ فَإِذَا بَلَغَ عَشْرًا
ضُرِبَ عَلَيْهَا
(رواه أحمد و النسائي و الترمذي و الطبراني و البيهقي(
If the boy reaches the age of seven he
shall
be ordered to
pray, and be beaten at the age
of ten (in order to
pray)(Reported by
Ahmad, al-Nasā’ī,
al-Tirmidhī,
al-Ṭabrānī, and
al-Bayhaqī)
In
mid 50s teachers in Egypt still used stick to discipline their pupils and
students. I witnessed myself a director of al-Azhar high school for foreign
students used to have a stick in his hand to chase students into their
classrooms when the time for class was starting. It happened in early 1959.
Beating
the students’ palm-hands by their teachers as punishment was common in
elementary and junior secondary school, especially in rural areas in Saudi
Arabia. As a teacher at the secondary school (1969-1973) I was told to do the
same, which I did reluctantly. When I rebuked a student for his misbehavior, he
raised his palms to be beaten as punishment before being asked. It was a
gesture to end-up my reproach. This happened in 1970.
A student
himself would give his teacher a good stick as a present to be used to
discipline his students, and he knew that one day he might be “the victim”, and
I as a teacher received one. At that time it was acceptable for a teacher to
beat his students’ palms exclusively to discipline them.
In the first
half of the 20th century corporeal punishment was accepted as an
effective means to discipline pupils of elementary schools among the Arabs and
Indonesians. However, students of senior high schools, let alone university
students, are mature enough, and have enough responsibility and good character
that beating is no longer necessary. There are many other ways of punishing
students rather than using corporeal punishment.
In
about 1994 an Indonesian friend of Arab descent in Sydney told me that his
daughter complained to him of her teacher’s corporeal punishment. He went to
her school, met the principal and the teacher, and told him, “I don’t mind if
you punish my daughter, as long as you do not break her bones.”
Some Muslims beat their wives for various
reasons, such as: to show that they are the masters of the house, being raised and
occasionally beaten by their parents, and saw their fathers beating their
mothers, being mentally ill, misunderstanding the Qur’anic verses dealing with
family lives, and thinking that wife-beating is normal, like beating school
children.
Ghawwār, a 20th
century well-known actor among the Arabs for his satirical remarks, in one of
his film he was married to his cousin. When his wife complained to him for
beating her, he said, “It is alright, you beat the children, and the children
would beat the children of our neighbour,” as if beating is normal and not to
be fussy about.
Prophet Muhammad
s.a.w. who was sent as an example for Muslims, never beat his wives, but
treated him the best treatment. He detested wife-beating and beating women in
general. He said:
لا
تَضْرِبُوا إِمَاءَ اللَّهِ (رواه أبو داؤد و ابن ماجة
و
النسائي و أحمد و ابن حبان)
“Never beat God’s handmaidens.”
(Reported by
Abū Dā’ūd, Ibn Mājah, an-Nasā’i,
Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, Ibn Ḥibbān).
He also said,
يَضْرِبُ
أَحَدُكُمُ امْرَأَتَهُ ضَرْبَ الْعَبْدِ، ثُمَّ يُعَانِقُهَا آخِرَ النَّهَار (متفق
عليه)
“Could any of you
beat his wife as he would
beat a slave, and then
lie down with her in
the evening?”
(Bukhari and Muslim).
خَيْرُكُمْ
خَيْرُكُمْ لِأَهْلِهِ, وَأَنَا خَيْرُكُمْ لِأَهْلِي (رواه ابن ماجه)
The
best among you is the one who treats his
family the best, and I am the best in treating
family. (Reported by
Ibn Mājah).
خِيَارُكُمْ
خِيَارُكُمْ لِنِسَائِهِمْ (رواه الترمذي)
The best among you is
the one who treats his
wife the best (Reported
by al-Tirmidhi)
‘Umar
who was known for his hard treatment did not beat his wife. A man came to his
house to complain to him about his wife’s mistreatment. He waited at his door
and heard Umar’s wife treated him harshly. The man left home, but Umar saw him
and called him. When he was asked the purpose of his visit he said that it was
about his wife’s mistreatment, but he saw that even the caliph Umar’s wife
mistreated him and he tolerated it. ‘Umar said that it was because his wife had
done lots of things: baking, cooking his food, washing his clothes and raising
his children. He advised the man to tolerate his wife’s mistreatment and said
that it would not last long.
The
Qur’ān which was referred to permitting wife-beating is as follows:
...وَاللَّاتِي
تَخَافُونَ نُشُوزَهُنَّ فَعِظُوهُنَّ وَاهْجُرُوهُنَّ فِي الْمَضَاجِعِ
وَاضْرِبُوهُنَّ
فَإِنْ
أَطَعْنَكُمْ فَلَا تَبْغُوا عَلَيْهِنَّ سَبِيلًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيًّا
كَبِيرًا (النساء:34(
And to those women on whose part you see
ill conduct, admonish them, and abandon them in their beds, and beat them, but
if they return to obedience, do not seek a means against them. Surely, Allah is
Ever Most High, Most Great. (Q. 4: 34)
However, this beating,
if it is absolutely necessary, is only the last resort if the wife “has become
guilty, in an obvious manner, of immoral conduct” which is the interpretation
of the term “nushūz” mentioned in the verse. When admonishing her
failed, and then abandoning her in her bed. According to the Qur’ānic
commentators al-Suddī, al-Daḥḥāq, ‘Ikrimah and Ibn Abbās, it includes “not to
speak with her or talk to her.” Ibn ‘Abbas also said that in includes “lying on
her bed with his back to her.” When this also fails, then beating her as the
last sort, but it should be done “in such a way not to cause pain (ghayr
mubarriḥ)”. The well-known commentator of the Qur’ān al-Ṭabarī mentioned
the view of earlier scholars that the beating should be only symbolic, with a
piece of siwāk (a small stick used for cleaning and polishing the teeth
after softening its tip) or anything. Another early Qur’ānic commentator
al-Rāzi said that the beating should be very light even with a folded
handkerchief. Many great early scholars such as al-Shāfi‘ī said that although
beating is permissible, it should be avoided following the Prophet’s own
personal feeling on this matter. (See commentary of Muhammad Asad on this verse
in his translation of the Qur’an entitled The Message of the Qur’an on
this verse):
Following the teaching and the example of the
Prophet beating women in general and wives in particular should be banned in
this modern time. The outdated tradition of child beating should be stopped,
and instead, understanding the motives of children’s behaviour would help us in
making them behave better.
An
article entitled “Disciplining Your Child without Beating” by UNICEF Jamaica
and Parenting Corner gives us some advices among which are as follows:
-
Physical punishment sometimes
causes serious physical and emotional damage to children. Some of them get used
to it and means nothing to them. Others may rebel and act out against it.
-
The parents should set the right
example for their children, and follow the rules they have set. If the children
do something wrong, give them a time-out - that is make them sit in a quiet
place away from others. It also will give the parents to cool off and the
children to think about their misbehavior. Then they discuss the problem with
their children.
-
Another option is to take away
their favourite toys, or preventing them from playing with their friends for a
particular period. The parents should praise, reward and show lots of love and
trust to their children when they do well.
-
The parents should spend time,
communicate with their children, and encourage them to speak freely with them.
(CIVIC, 01.03.13)
المراجع:
المكتبة
الشاملة
تفسير الطبري
تفسير
القرطبي
تفسير ابن
كثير
10.
TIME WILL COME
A prophet, in Arabic نَبِيْئ (nabī’) -- and later became نَبِّيَ (nabīy) for easy articulating -- literally
means “a person who prophesies, nabba’a (نَبَّأَ) what will happen in the future, naba’ (النَّبَأ)Its
plural is anbā’ (أَنْبَاء). The Arabic
word for what has happened in the past isخَبَر
, its plural is أَخْبَار“news” in
English. Then these two words نَبَأand خَبَر
are used as synonyms, both have the same
meaning, namely, what will happen in the future as well as what happened in the
past. As the word naba’ and its derivatives are easier to articulate
than khabar and its derivatives, it is used mostly in the Qur’ān, as it
is to be read by Arabs as well as non-Arabs.
As a
prophet who brought the Qur’ān to people, it contains many prophecies of the
future. He also prophesies many things not mentioned directly in the Qur’ān,
such as follows:
لا يَأْتِي
زَمَانٌ إِلا الَّذِي بَعْدَهُ شَرٌّ مِنْهُ حَتَّى تَلْقَوْا رَبَّكُمْ (رواه
البخاري)
Time
will come where its later will be worse
than what precedes it, until you meet
your Lord
(Reported
by Bukhari)
The
Prophet s.a.w. also said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَقْبِضُ الْعِلْمَ
انْتِزَاعًا يَنْتَزِعُهُ مِنْ الْعِبَادِ، وَلَكِنْ يَقْبِضُ الْعِلْمَ
بِقَبْضِ
الْعُلَمَاءِ، حَتَّى إِذَا لَمْ يُبْقِ عَالِمًا اتَّخَذَ النَّاسُ رُءُوسًا
جُهَّالًا فَسُئِلُوا
فَأَفْتَوْا
بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ فَضَلُّوا وَأَضَلُّوا
(رواه البخاري)
Allah does
not take away the knowledge, by
taking it away from (the hearts of) the people,
but takes it away by the death of the
religious
learned men till when none of the (religious
learned men) remains, people will take as their
leaders
ignorant persons who when consulted
will give their
verdict without knowledge. So
they will go
astray and will lead people
astray (Reported by
Bukhari)
The Prophet s.a.w. prophesised
that religious knowledge would be disappeared and religious ignorance would
appear. He said:
مِنْ
أَشْرَاطِ السَّاعَةِ أَنْ يُرْفَعَ الْعِلْمُ وَيَثْبُتَ الْجَهْلُ وَتُشْرَبَ
الْخُمُورُ وَيَظْهَرَ
الزِّنَا (رواه
البخاري)
From among the portents of the Hour are
(the
following): religious knowledge will be
taken
away (by the death of religious learned
men);
(religious) ignorance will prevail; drinking
of
alcoholic drink (will be very common);
there
will be prevalence of zina (adultery)
. (Reported by Bukhari)
Nowadays people
learning Islamic knowledge become less and less compared to those who learn
other subjects, especially IT, as it is highly required almost everywhere. If
we look around us we find that many of the children of our scholars in Islam, ‘ulamā’,
are not interested in becoming ‘ulamā’. Non-Arab among them cannot
read the Arabic books of their parents which could be rare and very valuable
books. When the parents died these books end up in the bookshops or the library
of Islamic schools (madrasahs).
Ignorance
of Islamic knowledge is starting to prevail, as many Muslims give their
personal opinions about a certain subject in Islam, sometimes based of what
they call “common sense”. There is danger in basing the truth on ”common sense”
as it is relative and keeps changing based on time and place. Reading the
translations of Islamic books without referring to their original Arabic
language, especially the Qur’ān and the Ḥadīth, does not guarantee that
a person masters Islamic knowledge. If someone said that you do not have to
know Arabic to know Islam, I would say that you do not have to know English in
order to know English literature.
Drinking alcohol
has become common in Western countries, so that road accident and alcohol are
mostly closely related. When a Muslim convert told the police man who checked
his breath for alcohol that he did not
drink such thing, the police man said to him: “If everybody is like you,
then I could lose my job.“ That means
alcohol and the like, although it is bad for causing many accidents and creating problems, at the same
time it creates jobs.
Adultery is
common, that every big city has usually a red light district where brothels
are, and people working there would not be very ashamed for their job, as they
are working serving people in “sex industry”, just like working in steel
industry, and pay taxes like any other workers. Marriage institution becomes in
jeopardy, and even some married people do not want to have babies, although the
main purpose of marriage is procreation beside sakīnah (tranquillity).
In Islam having children is an investment for the Hereafter where they are
expected to pray for their parents after their death. For those who do not
believe in this, may consider having children to be a burden, and therefore
they preferred keeping pets, cats, dogs, etc. rather than having babies.
These animals are affectionate and obedient to their owners, and unlike
children, they never talk back.
A similar ḥadīth
is as follows:
مِنْ أَشْرَاطِ
السَّاعَةِ أَنْ يَقِلَّ الْعِلْمُ وَيَظْهَرَ الْجَهْلُ وَيَظْهَرَ الزِّنَا وَتَكْثرَ النِّسَاءُ
وَيَقِلَّ
الرِّجَالُ حَتَّى يَكُونَ لِخَمْسِينَ امْرَأَةً الْقَيِّمُ الْوَاحِدُ (رواه
البخاري)
From the portents of the Hour are: (religious) knowledge will decrease, there will be prevalence
of zina (adultery), women will increase in
number
so much so
that fifty women will be looked after
by one man.
(Reported by
Bukhari)
The number of men will decrease, but the number of
women will increase drastically, so that it will reach fifty times more than
men. Those who are involved in and victims of arm conflicts are mostly men.
Although the policy of the government in China that every couple should have
one baby only, they prefer males, the number of females in the world keeps
increasing more than males. More girls are born than boys.
The number of
pious and religious men will decrease. Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. said:
«إِنَّمَا النَّاسُ كَالإِبِلِ المِائَةِ،
لاَ تَكَادُ تَجِدُ فِيهَا رَاحِلَةً» (رواه البخاري)
People
are like a hundred camels, you almost
do not find a proper one suitable for
traveling
and carrying goods. (Reported by
Bukhari)
It means that time will come when there will be so
many people, but the those who are following Allah’s prescription are very few.
A ḥadīth with a similar meaning is as follows:
«يُوشِكُ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ زَمَانٌ
يُغَرْبَلُ النَّاسُ فِيهِ غَرْبَلَةً، تَبْقَى حُثَالَةٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ،
قَدْ مَرِجَتْ عُهُودُهُمْ، وَأَمَانَاتُهُمْ،
وَاخْتَلَفُوا فَكَانُوا هَكَذَا»
وَشَبَّكَ بَيْنَ أَصَابِعِهِ،
فَقَالُوا: وَكَيْفَ بِنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ؟
قَالَ: «تَأْخُذُونَ مَا تَعْرِفُونَ، وَتَذَرُونَ
مَا تُنْكِرُونَ، وَتُقْبِلُونَ عَلَى أَمْرِ
خَاصَّتِكُمْ، وَتَذَرُونَ أَمْرَ عَامَّتِكُمْ (رواه النسائي)
Time soon will come when good people will go and
bad people
remain; they will break their promises and
faithfulness,
and disagree among themselves, and they
become like this (the Prophet intertwined his fingers);
they said: what shall we do then, O Messenger of
Allah? He
said: Do what you think is right and leave
what you think is not right, and turn to the
order
of your leading personalities, and avoid the order
of your
common people. (Reported by al-Nasā’ī)
Time
will come when the majority of people are crook and unreliable, so that we do
not know who is good and who is bad. At that time, the Prophet told us to stick
to what we think is right and avoid what we think is wrong, and turn to the
order of educated people and avoid the order of common people.
In a long ḥadīth the Prophet said that among the signs
of the coming of the Hour are:
... أَنْ تَلِدَ الْأَمَةُ
رَبَّتَهَا، وَأَنْ تَرَى الْحُفَاةَ الْعُرَاةَ الْعَالَةَ رِعَاءَ الشَّاءِ
يَتَطَاوَلُونَ
فِي الْبُنْيَانِ (رواه مسلم)
… that the slave-girl will give birth to her
mistress,
that you
will see the barefooted ones, the naked, the
destitute, the herdsmen of the sheep
(competing
with each
other) in raising lofty buildings."
(Reported by Muslim)
This
means that parents would have no longer any authority over their children, and
children would no longer respect their parents. Parents would desperately try
to please their children as if they are their masters.
The second sign
of the coming of the Hour is poor barefoot shepherds suddenly became rich and
competing with one another over building the tallest building. Among the 300
tall buildings in the world, the tallest one is the Skyscraper Burj Khalifa
in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 828 m high, built in 2010, consisting of 163
floor. Abu Dhabi, is the second leading country, that built 55 tall buildings
in this 21th century (except one, Burj al-‘Arab, built in 1999), after
China that built about 75 high buildings. The USA has 41 high buildings, and
Australia has 7 high buildings.
The second high building in the world is Makkah
Royal Clock Tower, has 120 (123?) floors, 601 m high, took more than five
years to build, completed in 2012, The third tallest building is Taipei 101
in Taipei (Taiwan), has 101 floors, 509
m high, built in 2004 the tallest building in the world at that time. The
fourth tallest building is Shanghai
World Financial Center in Shanghai,
has 101 floors, 492 m high, built in 2008. The fifth tallest building is International
Commerce Centre in Hongkong, has 118 floors, 484 m high, built in 2010. The
sixth tallest building is Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, has 88
floors, 452 m high, built in 1998.
The
Sky City in Changsha in China is planning to be built the tallest skyscraper in
the world, 10 meters taller than Burj Khalifa in Dubai, standing at 838m high, over 220 floors.
The proposed tallest building in the world that will
also take over Burj Khalifa as the tallest skyscraper will be the Kingdom
Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 1,000 meter high. It will be built by the
Saudi construction firm Ben Laden Group in over five years. The tower will
include a hotel, serviced apartments, and luxury condominiums.
High rise apartment buildings are in great demand,
especially in the Arab countries in the Middle East, where the populations are
increasing rapidly with limited space. The discovery of oil in these desert
countries that turns them into oil rich ones is the main contribution to the fulfillment
of this pressing need for high rising buildings. The Prophet s.a.w. had
prophesized it over one thousand years ago. (CIVIC, 22.03.13)
Bibliography
1.
Maktabah Shamilah
3.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-to-build-worlds-tallest-building--injust-90-days-8340870
4.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/feb/21/shard-builder-worlds-tallest-skyscraper.html
5.
http://www.emporis.com/statistics/worlds-tallest-buildings
6.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraj_Al_Bait
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