2. ALLAH IS TALKING
TO US THROUGH THE QUR’ᾹN (2)
The hypocrites who stayed behind and
did not join the Prophet s.a.w. and the Muslims in the campaign of Tabuk
were not forgiven by Allah, Who revealed to the Prophet s.a.w.,
اسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ أَوْ
لَا تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ إِنْ تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً فَلَنْ يَغْفِرَ
اللَّهُ لَهُمْ
ذلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَفَرُوا
بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ (التوبة :80(
Whether you ask forgiveness for them
(hypocrites), or do not ask
for forgiveness for them. Even though you ask
for their forgiveness
seventy times, Allah will not forgive them. (Q. 9:80)
Moreover, they
would no longer be allowed to join the Muslim army in any campaign. Allah
revealed the Prophet the following verse:
فَإِنْ رَجَعَكَ اللَّهُ
إِلَى طَائِفَةٍ مِنْهُمْ فَاسْتَأْذَنُوكَ لِلْخُرُوجِ فَقُلْ لَنْ تَخْرُجُوا مَعِيَ
أَبَدًا وَلَنْ
تُقَاتِلُوا مَعِيَ عَدُوًّا
إِنَّكُمْ رَضِيتُمْ بِالْقُعُودِ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ فَاقْعُدُوا مَعَ الْخَالِفِينَ
(التوبة:83(
If Allah brings you back [from this battle] to
a party of them [in reference to twelve party of hypocrites men, according to
Qatadah] and they ask your permission to go out [with you in another battle]
say: “Never shall you go out with me nor fight an enemy with me [because] you
were pleased to sit (inactive) on the first occasion, then you sit now with those who lag behind.” (Q. 9:83)
This prohibition of the Bedouins who lagged behind the Prophet s.a.w.
in the ‘umrah of Hudaybiyyah (6 AH) from joining the Muslim army in the
campaign of Khaybar (7 AH) was also revealed as follows:
سَيَقُولُ الْمُخَلَّفُونَ
إِذَا انْطَلَقْتُمْ إِلَى مَغَانِمَ لِتَأْخُذُوهَا ذَرُونَا نَتَّبِعْكُمْ يُرِيدُونَ
أَنْ
يُبَدِّلُوا كَلَامَ اللَّهِ
قُلْ لَنْ تَتَّبِعُونَا كَذَلِكُمْ قَالَ اللَّهُ مِنْ قَبْلُ... (الفتح:15)
Those who lagged behind will say, when you set forth to
take the spoils, “Allow us to follow you.” They
want to change
Allah’s Words. Say: “You shall not follow us;
thus Allah
has said beforehand.”… (Q. 48:15)
Allah had already
known that the intention of these Bedouins in joining the campaign of Khaybar
was merely to collect spoils of war.
When the chief of the hypocrites of
Madinah ‘Abddullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salῡl
died his son who was also called ‘Abdullah came to the Prophet s.a.w.,
asked him to give him his shirt to shroud his father in, and to offer his
father’s funeral prayer the Prophet which he did. When he stood up to offer the
funeral prayer, ‘Umar r.a. took hold his robe and told him that he was a
hypocrite. But the Prophet did it. Only after that, Allah prohibited him from
praying funeral prayer to any hypocrite, without criticizing him. Allah revealed to him,
وَلَا تُصَلِّ عَلَى أَحَدٍ
مِنْهُمْ مَاتَ أَبَدًا وَلَا تَقُمْ عَلَى قَبْرِهِ إِنَّهُمْ كَفَرُوا
بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ
وَمَاتُوا وَهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ ( التوبة:84(
And never (O Muhammad) pray (funeral prayer)
for any of
them (hypocrites) who dies, nor stand at his
grave. Certainly,
they disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger,
and died
while they were disobedient (rebellious) (Q. 9:84)
This is another example where
revelation was apparently came down late to the Prophet s.a.w., as it
was done intentionally for giving us a moral lesson. The Prophet did not kill
the hypocrites, so that people would not accuse him of killing his own
followers, as they practiced Islam liked the Muslims did. In the same way, the
Prophet s.a.w. prayed funeral prayer for the leader of the hypocrites in
Madinah, so that the enemy of Islam would not accuse him of refusing to pray
for his own followers.
Although the Prophet’s prayer would
not benefit the dead hypocrite, as it was only اسْتِغْفَارٌ لِسَانِيٌّ (verbal
asking Allah’s forgiveness) it benefited some of the living relatives of the
dead, namely, pleasing their hearts. The shirt of the Prophet used as the
hypocrite’s shroud would not also benefit the dead, but the Prophet expected
that this deed would convert one thousand people of his (the Prophet’s) people,
in one report, while in another report of the dead’s people, namely, the
Khazraj tribe, the tribe of the dead. It was reported that it did really happen
later, that one thousand of Khazraj people repented and converted toIslam.
Since the revelation of the above
verse, no funeral prayer was allowed for Muslims on hypocrites. Their identity was
informed by the angel Gabriel (Jibrīl) to the Prophet, and the Prophet before
his death, told Ḥudhayfah al-Yamānī only. The prohibition of standing in the
graves of hypocrites includes, not only praying for them, but also being
involved in their burial. In other words, it is not the Muslims’ business, but
it is that of their relatives.
Although ‘Abddullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salῡl
was the leader of the hypocrites of Madinah, he did not allow his companions
speak evil of him after his death. He said that this act would not hurt the
dead, but the living, especially his son ‘Abdullah who was an honourable
companion of the Prophet. When ‘Ikrimah son of Abu Jahl (who was the enemy of
the Prophet) came to him to convert to Islam, the Prophet told his companions not
to curse his father, as the curse would only harm the living, not the dead.[1]
When Allah wanted to abolish child
adoption practiced before Islam, and the prohibition of the Muslims from
marrying the ex-wives of their adopted son, He started with the Prophet’s freed
slave and adopted son, Zayd ibn Ḥārithah. The Prophet loved him so much that
his son Usāmah was known as the beloved son of the beloved. ‘Ᾱishah r.a.
was reported (by Imam Ahmad) to have said that if Zayd had lived after the
Prophet, he would have appointed him as his successor. The Prophet had given
him in marriage to his cousin, Zaynab bin Jaḥsh, the daughter of his paternal
aunt, Umayyah bint ‘Abdul Muṭṭalib. After about one year of marriage, problems
arose between them, and he complained about her to the Prophet. The Prophet,
instead of telling him to divorce his wife, because Allah had decreed him to
marry her, his cousin and the ex-wife of his “adopted son”, he told him to keep
her and fear Allah. Then revelation came down to rebuke him, as follows:
وَإِذْ تَقُولُ لِلَّذِي
أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِ أَمْسِكْ عَلَيْكَ زَوْجَكَ وَاتَّقِ
اللَّهَ وَتُخْفِي
فِي نَفْسِكَ مَا اللَّهُ
مُبْدِيهِ وَتَخْشَى النَّاسَ وَاللَّهُ أَحَقُّ أَنْ تَخْشَاهُ فَلَمَّا قَضَى زَيْدٌ
مِنْهَا
وَطَرًا زَوَّجْنَاكَهَا
لِكَيْ لَا يَكُونَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ حَرَجٌ فِي أَزْوَاجِ أَدْعِيَائِهِمْ
إذَا قَضَوْا مِنْهُنَّ
وَطَرًا وَكَانَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ مَفْعُولًا (الأحزاب:37)
And (remember) when you said to him [i.e., Zayd ibn Ḥārithah]
on whom Allah has bestowed grace [i.e. becoming
Muslim and following the Prophet] and you have done a favour [freeing him from slavery]: Keep your wife to yourself and
have taqwa to Allah. But you did hide in yourself that which Allah will make
manifest, you did fear the people whereas Allah had a
better right that you should fear Him. So, when Zayd had completed his aim with
her, We gave her to you in marriage, so that there
may be no
difficulty to the believers in respect of the
wives of their adopted sons
when the latter have no desire to keep them.(Q. 33:37)
Al-Sha‘bī reported that ‘Ᾱ’shah r.a. said that if
the Prophet s.a.w. were to have concealed anything that was revealed to
him he would have concealed this verse. It was an honour for Zaynab r.a.
as the marriage was conducted by Allah as his walī (guardian), without
contractual agreement, dowry, or human witnesses. She was reported to have said
boastingly to ‘Ᾱ’ishah r.a. that her marriage was arranged by Allah from
above the seven heaven, but she conceded when ‘Ᾱ’ishah replied that her innocence
was revealed from heaven.[2]
While the Prophet s.a.w.
was addressing one of the leaders of the Quraysh idolaters hoping that he
might be guided to Islam, a blind man called Ibn Umm Maktῡm began asking him to
guide him. He kept repeating, “O Muhammad, teach me what Allah has taught you!”
As he was blind he did not see that the Prophet was being busy with another
man. He felt uneasy that people would think that those who would follow him
were weak people only like this blind man. The Prophet frowned and turned away
from him and faced the other man, saying, “Do you think that there is a problem
with what I am saying?” and the man said, “No.”
Because of his frowning at a weak man, Allah reprimanded him, revealing
the following verses:
عَبَسَ وَتَوَلَّى.أَنْ
جَاءَهُ الْأَعْمَى. وَمَا يُدْرِيكَ لَعَلَّهُ يَزَّكَّى. أَوْ يَذَّكَّرُ فَتَنْفَعَهُ
الذِّكْرَى.
أَمَّا مَنِ اسْتَغْنَى. فَأَنْتَ لَهُ تَصَدَّى.
وَمَا عَلَيْكَ أَلَّا يَزَّكَّى. وَأَمَّا مَنْ جَاءَكَ يَسْعَى.
وَهُوَ يَخْشَى.فَأَنْتَ
عَنْهُ تَلَهَّى (عبس:1-10)
He frowned and
turned away. Because there came to him
the blind man. And
how can you know that he might become
pure [i.e., attain purification and cleanness
in his soul]? Or
he might receive
admonition, and the admonition might profit
him [i.e., he may receive admonition and
abstain from the
forbidden]? As for him who thinks
himself self-sufficient. To
him you attend [i.e., you face the rich person
so that perhaps
he may be guided]. What does it matter to you
if he will not
become pure? [i.e., you are not responsible
for him if he does
not attain
purification But as for him who came to you running,
and is afraid. Of
him you are neglectful and divert your
attention to another [i.e. he is seeking you
and he comes
to you so that he may be guided by what you
say to him,
you are too busy]. Nay; indeed it is an
admonition. So,
whoever wills let
him pay attention to Him (it). In
Records held in honour. Exalted, purified. In
the
hands of ambassadors (safarah). Honourable
and obedient. (Q.
80:1-10)
Since then whenever the Prophet met ibn Umm Maktῡm, he extended his cloak,
saying, مَرْحَبًا بِمَنْ عَاتَبَنِي
فِيهِ رَبِّي ، هَلْ مِنْ حَاجَةٍ؟ “Welcome to whom my Lord
has reprimanded me, do you need anything?”
The Prophet expected that
talking to one of the the leaders of the Quraysh pagans might be guided, and in
turn would guide his people to Islam. Ibn Umm Maktῡm had already become Muslim
and who asked for guidance, and he can wait a moment until the Prophet finished
his conversation. He did what he thought the priority, but for Allah the
priority was to deal with those who had already asked for guidance,
disregarding their social status. Ibn Zayd said that had the Prophet intended
to hide something in the revelation he would have hided this verse.
In reprimanding the
Prophet for his frowning at the weak man Allah did not tell him directly,
saying, “You frowned and turned away, because there came to you
the blind man.” This would be hard for the Prophet. Instead, Allah said, “He
frowned… to him …” as if Allah talked to him indirectly which would
be more lenient for him. The use of “he” is as glorification to the Prophet s.a.w.,
as if Allah was reprimanding some body else. Then Allah continued with, “And
how can you know that he might become pure?” Here Allah talked to
him directly. This is what we call iltifāt (sudden transition), from
“he” to “you”. We find many
examples of the iltifāt in the Qur’an which we shall deal with in due
course.
There is a moral lesson
here: If you want to reprimand someone, especially your subordinate, do it in
the most polite way, rather than frightening him, or confronting him with anger
and threat. (CIVIC, 2 May, 2014)
المراجع:
المكتبة الشاملة
تفسير الطبري (ت. 310 هـ (
تفسير القرطبى ت. 671
هـ)
تفسير ابن كثير (ت.
774 هـ)
بحر العلوم للسمركندي
(ت. 373هـ)
زهرة التفاسير للشيخ محمد
أبوزهرة (ت. 1394هـ
المحرر في أسباب نزول القرآن
من خلال الكتب التسعة دراسة الأسباب رواية ودراية
للمؤلف خالد بن سليمان المزيني
No comments:
Post a Comment