4. ALLAH IS TALKING TO US THROUGH THE QUR’ᾹN (4)
As Allah is talking to the
whole mankind, we can divide it as follows:
a. to Prophet Muhammad s.a.w., and we have a chapter in the
Qur’an bearing his name, called sūrat Muhammad (chapter 47); b. to
people in general, and we have a chapter called sūrat al-Nās (People,
chap. 14); it includes the jinn, and we have a chapter called sūrat
al-Jinn (chapter 72); and to mankind we have
a chapter called sūrat al-Insān (Mankind, chapter 76); c. to the
Children of Israel, and we have a chapter called sūrat Banī Isrā’īl (also
called sūrat al-Isrā’, Night
Journey, chapter 17); d. to the believers, and we have chapter called sūrat
al-Mu’minūn (Believers, chapter 23); e. to previous prophets, and we have
a chapter called sūrat al-Anbiyā’
(Prophets, chapter 21). There are twenty-five prophets mentioned in the Qur’an,
and five of them bear the names of chapters of the Qur’an beside Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.,
namely, sūrat Yūnus (Jonah,
chap. 10), sῡrat Hūd (chap. 11), sūrat Yūsuf (Joseph, chap. 12), sūrat
Ibrāhīm (Abraham, chap. 14), and sūrat Nῡh (Noah, chap. 71); f. to
disbelievers, although indirectly, we have also a chapter called sūrat
al-Kāfirūn (Disbelievers, chap. 109). This does not mean that every chapter
limits itself with the topic that bears its name, but it generally covers
various topics. For example, Sūrat al-Baqarah which means “cow” mentions
about it in 7 verses only (verse 67 – 73) out of 286 verses.[1]
With regard to
disbelievers, Allah does not talk to them directly in this world, but in the
Hereafter only, where they could not make any excuse for disbelieving, as the
following verse:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَا تَعْتَذِرُوا
الْيَوْمَ إِنَّمَا تُجْزَوْنَ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ (التحريم:7)
(It will be said in the Hereafter) “O you who
disbelieve!
Make no excuse this Day!
You are being requited only
for what you used to do.” (Q. 66:7)
Otherwise, they would say, “O Allah, why do you call me disbelievers,
when You can make me right now believers and guide me?”
Allah talked to disbelievers indirectly through the Prophet s.a.w.
who talked to them directly, as follows:
قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ
كَفَرُوا سَتُغْلَبُونَ وَتُحْشَرُونَ إِلَى جَهَنَّمَ وَبِئْسَ الْمِهَادُ (آل
عمران:12)
Say (O Muhammad), “You will be defeated and
gathered together to Hell, and worst indeed is
that place of rest.”(Q. 3:12)
Upon his return from the
Battle of Badr victoriously, the Prophet s.a.w. gathered the Jews at the
market of Banī Qaynuqā‘ Jewish community and said: “O Jewish people! I am warning you of Allah’s punishment like
the one inflicted to the Quraysh. Embrace Islam, as you know well that I am a
prophet sent by Allah whom you find in your Book and promised by Allah to you.”
They replied: “O Muhammad! You think we are like your people! Do not
be arrogant at all. You have been victorious against people who do not know how
to fight! By Allah, if we fight you verily you would know that we are the men.”
So, Allah revealed the above verse addressing them not as “People of the
Scripture”, but as “disbeliever”, for they had rejected the Prophet’s
invitation to Islam. They also hated the Prophet more for his victory in the Battle
of Badr.
The defeat of the Jews of Qaynuqā‘ took place at the same year (2 AH). What
happened was that a Muslim woman came to their market to sell some jewelry and
sat beside a Jewish jeweler of the Bani Qaynuqa’ tribe. He went behind her and
tied the edge of her garment to her back, so that when she stood up later her
private area became exposed. People laughed, but she screamed. A Muslim who was
nearby jumped and attacked the jeweler, and a group of Jews killed him. Then
the Prophet and his companions surrounded their fortress, waiting them to come
out. They besieged them for 15 nights until the surrendered. Instead of being
punished, they were expelled from Madinah. This Jewish tribe was the first who
broke the pact that they had made with the Prophet.
In another
verse Allah talked to them indirectly through the Prophet who also talked to
them indirectly, as follows:
قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا
إِنْ يَنْتَهُوا يُغْفَرْ لَهُمْ مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ وَإِنْ
يَعُودُوا فَقَدْ مَضَتْ
سُنَّتُ الْأَوَّلِينَ (الأنفال:38)
Say to those who have disbelieved, if they cease
(from
disbelief), their past will be forgiven. But
if they return
(thereto), then the example of those
(punished) before
them have already preceded (as a warning) (Q. 8:38)
When a group of
pagan Quraysh, namely, al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah, al-‘Ᾱṣ ibn Wā’il, al-Aswad ibn
al-Muṭṭalib, and, came to the Prophet offering him to worship their idols for a
year, and they would in turn worship his God for a year. Allah revealed the sūrat
al-Kāfirūn (chap. 109), to disavow himself from their religion completely, as
follows:
قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا
الْكَافِرُونَ. لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ. وَلَا أَنْتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ.
وَلَا أَنَا عَابِدٌ
مَا عَبَدْتُمْ.
وَلَا أَنْتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ. لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِينِ (الكافرون:1-6)
Say: “O disbelievers [of the Quraysh]! I worship not that
which
you worship [i.e., statues, rival gods]. Nor will you
worship
whom I worship. And I shall not worship that which
you are
worshiping [i.e. I do not worship according to the way
you
worship].Nor will you worship whom I worship [i.e., the
manner in which Allah loves and pleased with].
To you
your
religion, and to me my religion.”(Q. 109:1-6)
These verses are
Allah’s verdict to them that they all would die as disbelievers. Al-Walīd ibn
al-Mughīrah and Umayyah ibn al-Khalaf, were killed in the battle of Badr in
2/624; al-‘Ᾱṣ ibn Wā’il who had planned to kill the Prophet died from the wound
from a stone that hit his bottom while he was relieving himself; al-Aswad ibn
al-Muṭṭalib was blinded by the angel Gabriel with a thorny leaf hitting his
eyes while he was resting under a tree. He lost two sons in the battle of Badr.
He died from his illness at old age while the Quraysh pagans were preparing for
the battle of Uḥud in 3/6225.
Allah never talked to hypocrites, yet we have a chapter in the Qur’an
bearing this name, sūrat al-Munāfiqūn (chapter 63), to indicate its
importance, as they are the enemy in disguise, and more dangerous than open
enemy.
C. There are two ways Allah talked to the Jews and the
Christians in the Qur’an, either directly or indirectly.
1.
As بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ “Children
of Israel”. They are mostly found in sūrat al-Baqarah, the second
chapter of the Qur’an. Allah talked directly to them, saying يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ “O Children of Israel!” (as in Q.
2:40, 47, 122; 20:80). Allah reminded them of His favour and blessings to them,
as in the following verse:
يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ
الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَوْفُوا
بِعَهْدِي أُوفِ بِعَهْدِكُمْ وَإِيَّايَ
فَارْهَبُونِ (البقرة:40)
O Children of Israel! Remember My Favour which I
bestowed upon you, and fulfil (your obligations to)
My Covenant (with you, so that I fulfil (My
Obligations to) your covenant (with Me) and
fear none but Me. (Q. 2:40)
Among Allah’s
blessings upon them are: Allah sent down to them manna and quails when they were in the desert of Sinai, made water gush from
stones, He release from Pharaoh’s bondage, He sent messengers from among them, and
revealing books to them. These messengers are used to be called “biblical
prophets”. Their covenant with Allah is to obey Him, and Allah’s covenant to
them is that Allah would reward them and admit them the Paradise. It includes
following Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. mentioned in their Torah and the
Gospel. Allah invited them to believe in the Qur’an revealed to him, as
follows:
وَآمِنُوا بِمَا أَنْزَلْتُ
مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا مَعَكُمْ وَلَا تَكُونُوا أَوَّلَ كَافِرٍ بِهِ
وَلَا تَشْتَرُوا بِآيَاتِي ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا وَإِيَّايَ فَاتَّقُونِ (البقرة41)
And believe in what I have
sent down (this Qur’an),
confirming that which is with
you, [i.e., the Torah and the
Gospel], and be not the first to disbelieve
therein, and buy
[get] not with My Verses [i.e., the Torah and
the Gospel]
a small price (i.e., getting a small gain by
selling My
Verses), and fear Me and Me Alone. (Q. 2:41)
Ibn Kathīr’s commentary of this verse is as follows:
Allah commanded the
Children of Israel to embrace
Islam and to follow Muhammad s.a.w. He also
reminded
them with the example of their father Israel,
Allah’s
Prophet Ya‘qūb, as if saying, “O children of
the pious,
righteous servant of Allah who obeyed Allah!
Be
like your father, following
the truth.”
Besides inviting the Children
of Israel into Islam, to believe in the Qur’an, He also warned them not to be
the first one among the Children of Israel who denies it and the Prophet, who
brought it, and not to manipulate their Torah and their Gospel for worldly
gain, and to fear Him Alone. Allah reminded them again in the Qur’an of His blessings
and that they were preferred above other nations are mentioned in two verses,
as follows:
يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ
اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَنِّي
فَضَّلْتُكُمْ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ (البقرة:74، 122)
O Children of Israel! Remember
My Favour which I
bestowed upon you and that I
preferred you to
the mankind (and jinn) (Q.
2:47, 122)
This preference of Allah was
given to them in their time, to their fore-fathers. Each of these two verses is
followed with two almost identical verses, as follows:
وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا لَا
تَجْزِي نَفْسٌ عَنْ نَفْسٍ شَيْئًا وَلَا يُقْبَلُ مِنْهَا شَفَاعَةٌ
وَلَا يُؤْخَذُ مِنْهَا
عَدْلٌ وَلَا هُمْ يُنْصَرُونَ (البقرة: 48)
And fear a Day (of Judgment) when a person
shall
not
avail another, no will intercession be
accepted from
him, nor will compensation be taken from him,
nor will they be helped.(Q. 2:48)
وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا لَا
تَجْزِي نَفْسٌ عَنْ نَفْسٍ شَيْئًا وَلَا يُقْبَلُ مِنْهَا
عَدْلٌ وَلَا تَنْفَعُهَا
شَفَاعَةٌ وَلَا هُمْ يُنْصَرُونَ (البقرة:123)
And
fear a Day (of Judgment) when a person
shall not avail another, nor
shall compensation be
accepted
from him, nor shall intercession be of use
to him, nor shall they be helped (Q. 2:123)
On the Day of
Resurrection no person shall be of any help to another. This is supported with
other Qur’anic verses, namely:
وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ
وِزْرَ أُخْرَى (فاطر:18)
And no bearer of burdens shall
bear
another’s burden.” (Q. 35:18).
تَنْفَعُهُمْ شَفَاعَةُ
الشَّافِعِينَ (المدثر:48) فَمَا
So no intercession
of intercessors will
be of
any use to them.” (Q. 74:48).
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا
وَمَاتُوا وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ فَلَنْ يُقْبَلَ مِنْ أَحَدِهِمْ مِلْءُ الْأَرْضِ ذَهَبًا
وَلَوِ
افْتَدَى بِهِ أُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
وَمَا لَهُمْ مِنْ نَاصِرِينَ (آل عمران:91)
Verily, those who disbelieved, and died while
they
were disbelievers, the (whole) earth full of
gold will
not be accepted from anyone of them even if
they
offered it as a ransom. (Q. 3:91)
Starting from verse 40 chapter 2 (Q.
2:40) above Allah talked to the Children of Israel; sometimes the verses start
with وَإِذْ “And
(remember) when…”, as in verse 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55, 58, 60, 61, 63, 67,
72, 83, 84, and in 124, 125, 126, 127,
131 about Prophet Ibahim a.s. There are about a quarter of the whole chapter
2 of the Qur’an where Allah talked to the People of the Scripture, about themselves,
and about their prophets, especially Prophet Abraham (Ibrāhīm) a.s.
سَلْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ
كَمْ آتَيْنَاهُمْ مِنْ آيَةٍ بَيِّنَةٍ وَمَنْ يُبَدِّلْ نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ
مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا
جَاءَتْهُ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ (البقرة:211(
Ask the Chjildren of Israel how many clear
ayats (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) We gave
them. And whoever changes allah’s Favour after it had come to him, then surely,
Allah is Severe in punishment. (Q. 2:211)
وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى
تِسْعَ آيَاتٍ بَيِّنَاتٍ فَاسْأَلْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ إِذْ جَاءَهُمْ
فَقَالَ لَهُ فِرْعَوْنُ
إِنِّي لَأَظُنُّكَ يَا مُوسَى مَسْحُورًا (الإسراء:101)
then the Children of Israel, when he came to
them, then
Fir’awn (Pharaoh) said to him: O Musa! I think
you are indeed bewitched.” (Q. 17:101)
2. As
الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا
الْكِتَابَ “those who have given the Scripture”, Allah talked to
the Jews and the Christians directly and indirectly. He talked to them
directly, as follows:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ
أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ آمِنُوا بِمَا نَزَّلْنَا مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا مَعَكُمْ
مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ نَطْمِسَ
وُجُوهًا فَنَرُدَّهَا عَلَى أَدْبَارِهَا أَوْ نَلْعَنَهُمْ كَمَا
لَعَنَّا أَصْحَابَ السَّبْتِ وَكَانَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ مَفْعُولًا
(النساء: 47(
We have
revealed (to Muhammad s.a.w.) confirming what
is
(already) with you, before We efface faces (by making
them
like the back of necks; without nose, mouth, eyes) and
turn
them hindwards, or curse them as We cursed
the Sabbath-breakers. And the commandment
of Allah
is always executed. (Q. 4:47)
Allah
talked to them indirectly when He said:
... وَقُلْ لِلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ وَالْأُمِّيِّينَ
أَأَسْلَمْتُمْ فَإِنْ أَسْلَمُوا فَقَدِ اهْتَدَوْا
وَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَإِنَّمَا
عَلَيْكَ الْبَلَاغُ وَاللَّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِالْعِبَادِ (أل عمران:20(
…And say (Muhammad) to those who were given the
Scripture (Jews and Christians) and those who
are illiterates
(Arab
pagans): “Do you (also) submit yourselves (to Allah in
Islam)?”
If they do, they are rightly guided; but if they turn
away,
your duty is only to convey the Message; and
Allah is all-Seer of (His) slaves. (Q. 3:20)
3. As أَهْلَ الْكِتَاب “the People of the Scripture”, mostly found in the third chapter of the
Qur’an, sūrat al-Nisā’, where Allah talked to the Jews and the
Christians directly and indirectly. Ahl
al-Kitāb meant in the Qur’ān are the followers of Prophet Mūsá (Moses) a.s.
whose scripture is called al-Tawrāt (the Torah), in the Qur’ānic term al-Yahūd (the Jews),
and the followers of Prophet ‘Īsá (Jesus) a.s. whose scripture is
called al-Injīl (the Gospel), in the Qur’ānic term al-Naṣārá (the Christians).
The Torah and the Gospel meant here are
revelations sent down to Prophet Jesus a.s. and Prophet Moses a.s. respectively,
not those we are having today, because they were not purely revelations from
Allah. Allah talks to them directly by saying, يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَاب “O
people of the Scripture!” (as in Q. 3: 65, 70, 71; 4, 171; 5:15, 19, 19).
He talks to them indirectly when He says: قُلْ يَا
أَهْلَ الْكِتَاب “Say (O Muhammad), ‘O
people of the Scripture!’” (as in Q. 3: 64, 98, 99; 5:59, 68, 77)
قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ
هَادُوا إِنْ زَعَمْتُمْ أَنَّكُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ لِلَّهِ مِنْ دُونِ
النَّاسِ فَتَمَنَّوُا الْمَوْتَ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ.
وَلَا يَتَمَنَّوْنَهُ أَبَدًا
بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِالظَّالِمِينَ
(الجمعة:6-7)
Say (O Muhammad) “O
you Jews! If you pretend that you
are friends of Allah, to the exclusion of
(all) other mankind,
then long for death if you are truthful.” But
they will
never
long for it, because of what their hands
have sent before
the! And Allah knows
well the wrongdoers.(Q. 62:6-7)
Ibn Kathir’s commentary to
these verses is as follows:
If you claim that
you are on the correct guidance and that
Muhammad and his Companions are being
led astray, then
invoke Allah to
bring death to the misguided group among the
two, if you are truthful in your claim. Allah
said that they will
never long for it because of the disbelief,
injustice and
sins that they commit.
When
a delegation from the Christians of Najrān came to Madinah to argue and claimed
that ‘Īsá a.s. was divine and the
son of Allah, Allah revealed to the Prophet to make mubahalah with them,
saying: “… Come, let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women,
ourselves and yourselves - then we pray and invoke the curse of Allah upon
those who lie.” (Q. 3:61)
Ibn
‘Abbas said that Abū Jahl said, “If I see Muhammad praying at the Ka‘bah, I
will step on his neck.” On hearing this, the Prophet said:
Had he done so, the angels
would have snatched
him away in public.
Had the Jews wished for death, they
would all have
perished and saw hey seats in Hellfire.
Had those accepted for invoking the curse of
Allah
with Allah’s Messenger, they would not have
found
families or property when they returned him.
(Reported by Bukhari,
Tirmidhi, and Nasa’i)
between
the Sunnī and the Shī‘ī scholars, such as between the Sunni Muhammad al-Kūs and
the Shi’ī Yāsir al-Ḥabib, and between
the Sunnī Dr. Muhammad al-Barrāk and the Shi’ī
‘Alī Ᾱl Muḥsin. This is the consequence of the failure of both sides in
settling their differences, or at least tolerates each other.
(ANUMA, 23 May, 2014)
:المراجع:
المكتبة الشاملة
تفسير الطبري (ت. 310 هـ (
تفسير القرطبى (ت. 671 هـ(
تفسير ابن كثير (ت. 774 هـ(
Abu Khalil, Dr. Shauqi . Atlas of the Qur’an.
Riyadh, Darussalam, 2003
Hatta, Ahmad, dkk. The Great Story of
Muhammad s.a.w. Jakarta: Maghfirah Pustaka, 2013.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mubahala
http://library.islamweb.net/hadith/display_hbook.php?bk_no=196&pid=124519
[1]Some names of sūrah are also taken from pious
people, such as sūrat Ᾱl ‘Imrān (Family of ‘Imrān, ch. 3), sūrat Maryam
(Mary, ch. 19), and sūrat Luqmān (ch. 31). Allah purified and chose Mary
above the women of the mankind and jinn (Q. 3:42). Others taken from the names
of insects, such as sūrat al-Naḥl (the Bee, ch. 16), sūrah
al-Naml (the Ant, ch. 27), sūrat al-‘Ankabūt (the Spider, ch. 29); of celestial
bodies, such as, sūrat al-Shams (the Sun, ch. 91), sūrat al-Qamar
(the Moon, ch. 54), sūrat al-Najm (the Star, ch. 53), sūrat al-Ṭāriq
(the Morning Star, ch. 86); of the natural phenomena, such as, sūrat
al-Ra‘d (the Thunder, ch. 13), sūrat al-Zalzalah (the Earthquake, ch.
99); etc.
