Saturday, February 25, 2017

24. COMMENTARY OF Q. 41:30-35 (1)


 

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 . وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلًا مِمَّنْ دَعَا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا وَقَالَ إِنَّنِي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ. وَلَا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَلَا السَّيِّئَةُ ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ فَإِذَا الَّذِي بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ . وَمَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلَّا الَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا وَمَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلَّا ذُو حَظٍّ عَظِيمٍ (فصلت:30-35)  
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ
أَلَّا تَخَافُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَبْشِرُوا بِالْجَنَّةِ الَّتِي كُنْتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ
Verily, those who say: “Our Lord is Allah (Alone),” and then
 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!”
M.M. Pickthall: “Lo! Those who say: Our Lord is Allah, and afterwards are upright, the angles descent upon them, saying: Fear not nor grieve, but hear good tidings of the paradise which ye are promised.”
A.Y. Ali: “In the case of those who say, ‘Our Lord is God’, and, further, stand straight and steadfast, the angels descend on them (from time to time): ‘Fear you not!” (they suggest), nor grieve But receive the Glad Tidings of the Garden (of Bliss), that which you were promised.”
M. Asad: “[But,] behold, as for those who say, ‘Our Sustainer is God,’ and then steadfastly pursue the right way-upon them do angels often descend, [saying:] ‘Fear not and grieve not, but receive the glad tidings of that paradise which has been promised to you!’”
Commentary:
‘Aā’ reported from Ibn ‘Abbās that the verse was revealed in the case of Abū Bakr r.a. The idolaters said, “Our Lord was Allah and the angels are His daughters which are our intercessors to Allah,” but they were not firm. Then Abū Bakr r.a. told them: “Our Lord is Allah Alone, no partner with Him, and Muhammad, may Allah bless him, is His servant and His Messenger,” then he stood firm.
The meanings of istiqāmah (being steadfast, standing firm) are as follows:
1.    Abū Bakr and Mujāhid: It is not taking partner with Allah
2.    ‘Umar: It is standing firm in what is enjoined and what is prohibited without turning away like the trick of the fox.
3.    ‘Uthmān: It is standing firm in working for Allah’s sake.
4.    ‘Ali, al-Ḥasan, Qatādah, Ibn Zayd and ibn ‘Abbās: It is performing the duty, obeying Allah in His injunction and His prohibition.
5.    Ibn ‘Abbās, Mujāhid, and ‘Ikrimah: It is sticking to the shahādah,   that there is no god but Allah until death
6.    Abū ‘l-‘Āliyah and al-Suddī: It is sincerity in religion and in practicing it till death.
7.    Anas reporting from the Prophet: It is sincerity and stick to it until death.
8.    It is standing firm in words and action.
9.    It is standing firm secretly and openly
10.         Ibn Sīrīn: It is not deviating.
11.         Sufyān al-Thawrī: It is standing firm in practicing what    they say.
12.         Muqātil ibn Sulaymān: It is standing firm in believing in Allah as their Lord.
13.         Al-Rabī‘: It is turning away from other than Allah.
14.         Al-Qutabī: It is standing firm in obeying Allah.
15.         Muqātil ibn Ḥayyān: It is standing firm in what they know as the truth (المَعْرِفَة), and do not retrieve from it.
16.         Fuḍayl ibn ‘Iyāḍ: They forsake the transient, namely, worldly things, and desire the eternal, namely, the Hereafter.
 The meanings of “the angels descend on themetc.”
1.    Ibn ‘Abbās, Zayd ibn Aslam, and Mujāhid: The angels will descend on them after their death. This is also the view of the vast majority of Muslim scholars. They say that the angels will descend on dying people, while they are leaving the world and facing the Hereafter. They become extremely fearful of what they will be facing, and extremely sad of what they are leaving. The angels will comfort them not to fear of the future, because they have been upright and stood straight. They told them not to grieve over the past, as nobody who leaves the world but feels sorry for not doing more good deeds.
2.    Muqātil and Qatādah: This will happen were they are raised from their graves.   
3.    Wakī‘ ibn al-Jarrāḥ, and Zayd ibn Aslam: The angels will descend on them and give good tidings in three places: when they die, when they are in their graves, and when there are raised on the Judgment day.
4.    Al-Kalbī: “When they die, the angels descend on them and give them good news, saying “do not be afraid of punishment in front of you, and do not be sad of what you have left behind in the world.”
5.      Muqātil ibn Sulaymān: The angels who record man’s actions will come to them (after their death), introducing themselves that they are the keeper of men’s deeds, and gave them the good-tiding that they will enter Paradise.
6.      ‘Aā’ ibn Abī Rabāḥ: The angels will tell them not to fear that their good deeds will not be rewarded, and not to grief for their sins, as Allah will forgive them.
7.     Mujāhid: The angels will tell them not to fear death, and what they have done for the Hereafter, and not to grieve their families and children they have left behind, for they will have substitute them all for you (فإنا نخلفكم في ذلك كله) .
8.      ‘Ikrimah: The angels with tell them not to fear what they are facing and not to grieve for those whom they left behind, such as their families and their children.
 نَحْنُ أَوْلِيَاؤُكُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ  وَلَكُمْ  فِيهَا مَا تَشْتَهِي
أَنْفُسُكُمْ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَدَّعُونَ. نُزُلًا مِنْ غَفُورٍ رَحِيمٍ
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 herein you
 shall have (all) for which you ask. An entertainment
(from Allah), the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
M.M. Pickthall: We are your protecting friends in the life on the world and in the Hereafter. There ye will have (all) that your souls desire, and there ye will have (all) for which ye pray. A gift of welcome from the Forgiving, the Merciful.
A.Y. Ali: We are your protectors in this life and in the Hereafter: therein shall you have all that your souls shall desire; therein shall you have all that you ask for--! A hospitable gift from One Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful!
M. Asad: We are close unto you in the life of this world and [will be so] in the life to come; and in that [life to come] you shall have all that your souls may desire, and in it you shall have all that you ever prayed for, as a ready welcome from Him who is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!
Commentary:
Mujāhid: It means, the angels say, “We are your associates who have been with you in the world,” and in the Hereafter they will say, “We shall not leave you until we take you to Paradise.”
Al-Suddī: It means, the angels say, “We are the keepers of your deeds in the world, and your sponsors in the Hereafter.”
(Unidentified): It means, the angels say, “We are the keepers of your deeds in the world, and we shall not leave you in the Hereafter until you enter Paradise.
(Unidentified): It means, the angels say, “We are your sponsors in the world with guidance, and in the Hereafter with   honor (generosity).
Ibn Zayd: “There ye will have (all) that your souls desire” means the eternity, as they wished it when they were in the world.
Abū Umāmah: “There ye will have (all) that your souls desire” means the blessings (of Allah).
Ibn Kathir:  The angels will say to believers when they are dying, “We have been your companions in the lives of the world, we have shown you the right way, we have made you successful, and we have protected you with Allah’s decree. Likewise, we shall be with you in the Hereafter, we shall entertain you in your loneliness in the graves, when the trumpet is blown, warrant you on the Day of Resurrection, and pass over the straight path with you, and will take you to  Paradise. In Paradise you can get whatever you like, as hospitality, gift, and a favor from the Most Forgiving Who has forgiven your sins, and the Most Merciful Who has mercy on you.   
وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلاً مِمَّنْ دَعا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَعَمِلَ صالِحاً وَقالَ إِنَّنِي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ
And who is better in speech than he who invited
(men) to Allah, and does righteous deeds, and says:
I am one of the Muslims”
  M.M. Pickthall:  And who is better in speech than him who prayeth unto his Lord and doeth right, and saith: Lo! I am of those who surrender (unto him).
A.Y. Ali: Who is better in speech than one who calls (men) to God, works righteousness, and says “I am of those who bow in Islam”?
M. Asad: And who could be better of speech than he who calls [his fellow-men] unto God, and does what is just and right, and says: “Verily, I am of those who have surrendered themselves to God”?
          Commentary:
The best discourse is the Qur’ān, and the person intended in the above verse is Prophet Muhammad s.a.w., according to Ibn Sīrīn, al-Suddī, Ibn Zayd, and al-Ḥasan. When al-Ḥasan read this verse he said, “This is the Messenger of Allah, this is Allah’s beloved, this is Allah’s friend, this is Allah’s best friend, this is Allah’s best choice, by Allah, he is the person among the people of the earth whom Allah loves most; Allah answered his call, and he called people to what Allah answered.
According to ‘Āishah r.a., ‘Ikrimah, Qays ibn Abī Ḥāzim, and Mujāhid, the above verse was reveal upon mu’adhdhinīn (callers for prayers). Abū Bakr ibn al-‘Arabī says that the above verse was a Makkan (revealed in Makkah), whereas the adhān (calling for prayer) was a Madinian, namely, instituted in Madinah. However, they are included in the meaning of the verse, although they are not included when the verse was just revealed. Any good speech containing tawḥīd (the Oneness of Allah), and faith is included in the above verse, such as the statement of Abū Bakr to a person strangling the Prophet, “Are you going to kill a person just because he said that Allah is His Lord?”
(CIVIC, 24  February, 2017)
المراجع:
 المكتبة الشاملة
تفسير الطبري (ت. 310  (992/
تفسير القرطبى (611 - 671 هـ / 1214 - 1273 م(                        
تفسير ابن كثير (ت. 774(1373/
تفسير ابن عباس (3 ق هـ - 68 هـ / 619 - 687 م(
تفسير الخازن (678-741 هـ / 1280-1341م(
تفسير الماوردي (364 - 450 هـ / 974 - 1058 م(
المسالك في شرح مؤطأ مالك
The Noble Qur’ān: Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Muhammad Asad. The Message of Islam.
Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall. The Glorious Qur’ān.
Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The Meaning of the Holy Qur’ān.    
 

Friday, February 17, 2017

23. COMMENTARY OF SŪRAT AL-MĀ‘ŪN (Q. 107)





23. COMMENTARY OF SŪRAT AL-MĀ‘ŪN (Q. 107)
          This sūrat al-Mā‘ūn (Qur’ān, chapter 107) was a Makkan one, revealed in in Makkah, before the Prophet’s migration to Madinah. It consists of seven verses. The commentary of this chapter is as follows:
أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يُكَذِّبُ بِالدِّينِ . فَذَلِكَ الَّذِي يَدُعُّ الْيَتِيمَ . وَلَا يَحُضُّ
عَلَى طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ.   فَوَيْلٌ لِلْمُصَلِّينَ. الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنْ صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ.
الَّذِينَ هُمْ يُرَاءُونَ. وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ (الْمَاعُونَ:1-7)
Have you seen him who denies the Recompense? That is
he who repulses the orphan (harshly), And urges not on the feeding of the needy, So, woe to those performers of Ṣalāt (prayers) (hypocrites), Those who delay their Ṣalāt, Those
who do good deeds only to be seen (of men), And
 withhold al-Mā‘ūn (small kindness like
salt, sugar, water) (Q. 107:1-7)
(The Noble Qur’ān: Ministry of Islamic Affairs,
 Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
          The name of the surah, namely al-Mā‘ūn, is translated by Pickthall, Ali, and Asad as “small kindness,” “the neighbourly needs,” and “assistance” respectively.
          The commentary:
أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يُكَذِّبُ بِالدِّينِ
Have you seen him who denies the Recompense?
M.M. Pickthall: “Hast thou observed him who belieth religion?”
A.Y. Ali: “See you one who denies the Judgment (to come)?”
M. Asad: “Hast thou ever considered [the kind of man] who gives the lie to all moral law?”
          As the term dīn means “religion, recompense and judgment” each of the above translators used one of them, except Asad, who translates it “all moral law” and explains his reason, namely, “that there is any objective validity in religion as such and, thus in the concept of moral law (which is one of the primary connotation of the term dīn…. Some commentators are of the opinion that in the above context dīn signifies ‘judgement’, i.e.  the Day of Judgment, and interpret this phrase as meaning ‘who calls the Day of Judgment a lie.’” (M. Asad, The Message of the Qur’ān,  p. 979, n.1)
          Who were they who denied the Recompense or Judgement intended in this surah? (1)  al-‘Āṣ ibn Wā’il al-Sahmī, according to Ibn ‘Abbās, al-Kalbī, and Muqātil; (2) al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah, according to al-Suddī; (3) ‘Amr ibn ‘Ā’id, according to al-Ḍaḥḥāk; (4) an unidentified hypocrite, also according to  al-Ḍaḥḥāk, and Ibn ‘Abbās (5) Abū Sufyān, according to Ibn Jurayj; he slaughtered a camel every week (?), and one day an orphan begged him for meat, but Abū Sufyān hit him with his stick, so, the above surah (chapter) was revealed; (6) Abū Jahl, according to unidentified mufassir (Qur’an commentator).
فَذَلِكَ الَّذِي يَدُعُّ الْيَتِيمَ
That is he who repulses the orphan (harshly)
M.M. Pickthall: “That is he who repelleth the orphan
A.Y. Ali: “Then such is the (man) who repulses the orphan (with harshness)
M. Asad: Behold, it is this [kind of man] that thrusts the orphan away,”
Al-Ḍaḥḥāk reported from Ibn ‘Abbās: he is the one who neglects the orphan and deprives him from his right.
Qatādah: he is the one who subjugates and wrongs him.
          They said that the Arabs in pre-Islamic Arabia did not give share of inheritance. They said inheritance was only for   persons “who stab with spearheads and strike with swords”, namely, for males only, not for females and children. The Prophet mentions the merit of taking care of the orphans. He said:
مَنْ ضَمَّ يَتِيمًا بَيْنَ مُسْلِمَيْنِ إِلَى طَعَامِهِ وَشَرَابِهِ حَتَّى
يَسْتَغْنِيَ عَنْهُ، وَجَبَتْ لَهُ الْجَنَّةُ الْبَتَّةَ (رواه الطبراني)
Whoever takes care of an orphan of Muslim parents
 with his foods and drinks until he satisfies with it
 Allah would definitely make Paradise
 indispensable for him.  (Reported by al-Ṭabrānī)
         A similar ḥadīth was also reported by Imām Aḥmad.
وَلَا يَحُضُّ عَلَى طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ
  And urges not on the feeding of the needy
M.M. Pickthall: “And urgeth not the feeding of the needy
A.Y. Ali: “And encourages not the feeding of the indigent”
M. Asad: “and feels no urge to feed the needy
          This verse means that the person does not urge people on feeding the poor because he himself is miser and does not believe in recompense, that good and evil deeds will be rewarded and punished respectively. People will enter Hell because, among other things, as mentioned in the Qur’ān,
وَلا يَحُضُّ عَلى طَعامِ الْمِسْكِينِ (الحاقة:34)
… and he urged not on the feeding of the needy (Q. 69:34)
          Those stingy people who ignored the poor, when they were asked the motive of ignoring them, their answer would be
أَنُطْعِمُ مَنْ لَوْ يَشاءُ اللَّهُ أَطْعَمَهُ (يس:47)
 … Shall we feed those whom, if Allah willed, He
(Himself) would have fed... (Q. 36:47)    
فَوَيْلٌ لِلْمُصَلِّينَ. الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنْ صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ.
So, woe to those performers of Ṣalāt (prayers)
 (hypocrites), Those who delay their Ṣalāt
M.M. Pickthall: “Ah, woe unto worshippers, Who are heedless of their prayer”
A.Y. Ali: “So woe to the worshippers, Who are neglectful of their prayer
M. Asad: “Woe, then, unto those praying ones, whose hearts from their prayer are remote”
 Ibn ‘Abbās reported by al-Ḍaḥḥāk -: They are people who pray without expecting reward from their prayer, and do not fear of any punishment by neglecting it. They are people who delay the time of prayer. They are hypocrites who pray just to be seen. Ibn ‘Abbās says further that the term wayl (woe) here means “a severe punishment in Hell.”   
Al-Ḍaḥḥāk also as well as Ibrāhīm reported by al-Mughīrah: they delay the times of prayers, they neglect them.
Ibrāhīm also: those who prostrate in prayer but they raise their heads and turned them.
Abū ‘l-Āliyah: they do not pray on time, and they do not perform bowing and prostration completely in their prayer.
Qurub: They neither read the Qur’ān, nor remember Allah.
الَّذِينَ هُمْ يُرَاءُونَ
Those who do good deeds only to be seen (of men)
M.M. Pickthall: “Who would be seen (at worship)
A.Y. Ali: “Those who (want but) to be seen (of men)”
M. Asad: “those who want only to be seen and praised”
The showing off is either orally or by action. Orally by showing resentment against people whose concern is on worldly matters (أهل الدنيا), and showing admonition and regret of missing good deeds and obedience. Showing off by action is in performing the prayer and in giving charity, or praying better to be seen by people. A man was said to have performed a long grateful prostration in the mosque, and it was said to him that performing this long prostration at home would have been better to avoid showing off.
وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ
And withhold al-Mā‘ūn (small kindness
like salt, sugar, water)
M.M. Pickthall: “Yet refuse small kindness!
A.Y. Ali: “But refuse (to supply (even) neighbourly needs.”
M. Asad: “and, withal, deny all assistance [to their fellowmen].
          Asad explains the meaning of the term al-mā‘ūn as follows: “The term al-mā‘ūn comprises the many small items needed for one’s daily use, as well as the occasional acts of kindness consisting in helping out one’s fellow-men with such items. In its wider sense, it denotes “aid“ or “assistance” to people who need help.
          Al-Qurubī mentions twelve views on this last verse, as follows:
1.    Al-mā‘ūn is the zakat of wealth, according to ‘Ali, and Ibn ‘Abbās according to al-Ḍaḥḥāk. They are the hypocrites. The hypocrites pray in hypocrisy. Mālik said that if they miss the prayer they would not regret for it. They refuse to pay the zakat (the obligatory charity). Zayd ibn Aslam said that if the prayer could be performed secretly like paying zakat, those hypocrites would not have done it. Al-Ṭabarī included those who said that al-mā‘ūn was the zakat Ibn ‘Umar, Qatādah, al-Ḥasan, and Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr.
2.    Al-mā‘ūn is the wealth in the Quraysh language, according to Ibn Shihāb and Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyab.
3.    Al-mā‘ūn is household utensils, such as  axes, the  cooking pots, fire, etc., according Ibn Mas‘ūd and Ibn ‘Abbās
4.     Al-mā‘ūn in pre-Islamic Arabia is any useful thing, such as an axe, a cooking pot, a leather bucket, a flint, anything big or small.
5.    Al-mā‘ūn is something borrowed, according to Mujāhid,  and reported from Ibn ‘Abbās.
6.    Al-mā‘ūn is anything people are occupied with among themselves (الْمَعْرُوفُ كُلُّهُ الَّذِي يَتَعَاطَاهُ النَّاسُ فِيمَا بَيْنَهُم), according to Muḥammad ibn Ka‘b and al-Kalbī.
7.    Al-mā‘ūn is water and pasture (الْمَاءُ وَالْكَلَأُ) 
8.    Al-mā‘ūn is water only.
9.    Al-mā‘ūn   is the truth, the right thing (  الْحَقِّ)
10. Al-mā‘ūn is using the benefit of wealth (الْمُسْتَغَلُّ مِنْ مَنَافِعِ الْأَمْوَالِ)    
11. Al-mā‘ūn is obedience
12. Al-mā‘ūn is probably something light and easy but made heavy and difficult by Allah, according to al-Māwardī.
Another view is that al-mā‘ūn are three things which have to be shared with people, namely: water, salt, fire, including (water of) the well. Ibn ‘Abbās mentioned the different views of people about the meaning of al-mā‘ūn: zakat, obedience, and borrowed objects.
          ‘Ikrimah the mawlā (freed slave) of Ibn ‘Abbās said that the maximum of al-mā‘ūn is the zakat, and its minimum are borrowed objects. He was asked whether the woe was to any person who withholds (refuses) al-mā‘ūn. He replied that he was, if he combined the three things mentioned in this sūrah, namely, he neglected the prayer, he was a hypocrite, and was stingy with his wealth. The following Qur’ānic verses mentioned these qualities of the hypocrites:
وَإِذا قامُوا إِلَى الصَّلاةِ قامُوا كُسالى يُراؤُنَ النَّاسَ
وَلا يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا   (النساء:142)
And when they stand up for the prayer, they stand
with laziness and to be seen of men, and they do not
 remember Allah but little (Q. 4:142)
وَلا يُنْفِقُونَ إِلَّا وَهُمْ كارِهُونَ  )التوبة: 54(
… and that they offer not contributions
 but unwillingly (Q. 9:54)
We have seen how mufassirīn (Qur’ān commentators)   give deeper and boarder meanings of the above verses. 
(CIVIC, 17 February, 2017)          
  المراجع:
 المكتبة الشاملة
تفسير الطبري (ت. 310 هـ)
تفسير القرطبى (ت. 671 هـ )                                                      
تفسير ابن كثير (ت. 774 هـ)
تفسير ابن عباس (3 ق هـ - 68 هـ / 619 - 687 م)
تفسير الخازن (678-741 هـ / 1280-1341م)
The Noble Qur’ān: Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Muhammad Asad. The Message of Islam.
Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall. The Glorious Qur’ān.
Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The Meaning of the Holy Qur’ān.