15. THE MEANINGS OF KHAYR (GOOD) IN THE QUR’ĀN (2)

15. THE MEANINGS OF KHAYR (GOOD) IN THE QUR’ĀN (2)

The remaining examples for the various meanings of khayr in the Qur’an given by al-Dāmaghānī and Ibn al-Jawzī are as follows:

4.  الْعَافِيَة (good heath, well-being), as in the following verses:

وَإِنْ يَمْسَسْكَ اللَّهُ بِضُرٍّ فَلَا كَاشِفَ لَهُ إِلَّا هُوَ وَإِنْ يَمْسَسْكَ

بِخَيْرٍ فَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ (الأنعام:17(

And if Allah touches you with harm, none

can remove it but He, and if He touches you

with good (i.e., good health), then He is

Able to do all things (Q. 6:17)

          According to al-Țabarī and al-Qurṭubī the term khayr in the above verse means: good health, prosperity and blessing. The similar verse is Q. 10:107)

5. الأَجْر (recompense), as in the following verse:

وَالْبُدْنَ جَعَلْنَاهَا لَكُمْ مِنْ شَعَائِرِ اللَّهِ لَكُمْ فِيهَا خَيْرٌ... (الحج:36(

And the Budn (cows, oxen, or camels driven to be

offered as sacrifices by the pilgrims at the sanctuary

of Makkah), We have made them for you as among

the Symbols of Allah, wherein you have much

good (i.e., recompense)… (Q. 22:36)

The Qur’ān commentators Mujāhid, al-Ḥasan as well as al-Țabarī say that the term khayr in this verse is the reward in the Hereafter for the sacrifice, while in this world the benefits taken from these animals.

6. الأَفْضل (the best), as in the following verses:

وَقُلْ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ وَارْحَمْ وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ (المُؤْمِنُوْن: 118)

And say (O Muhammad): “My Lord! Forgive

and have mercy, for You are the Best of those

who show mercy!” (Q. 23:118)

                    Forgiveness means erasing the sin of a person and concealing it from people, whereas mercy means guiding and making him succeed in his sayings and his deeds.

وَإِنْ كَانَ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْكُمْ آمَنُوا بِالَّذِي أُرْسِلْتُ بِهِ وَطَائِفَةٌ لَمْ يُؤْمِنُوا

فَاصْبِرُوا حَتَّى يَحْكُمَ اللَّهُ بَيْنَنَا وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الْحَاكِمِينَ (الأعْرَاف:87(

“And if there is a party of you who believe in that

with which I have been sent and a party who do not

believe, so be patient until Allah judges between

us, and He is the Best of judges.”(Q. 7:87)

This is about Prophet Shu‘ayb who was told by Allah to be patient for the disbelief of a party of his people.

7.  الطَّعَام (food, meal), as in the following verse:

فَقَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّي لِمَا أَنْزَلْتَ إِلَيَّ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَقِيرٌ (القصص:24)

… and said: “My Lord! Truly, I am in need of

whatever good  (i.e., food) that You bestow

on me!”(Q. 28:24)

Ibn ‘Abbās said that when Prophet Moses a.s. ran away from the Pharaoh he became very hungry. After helping the two young women watering their sheep he took refuge under the shade and prayed, citing the above verse. If we are thirsty the best thing we’ll need is water, when we hungry, food, and when we are sleepy, slept.

8.  الظَّفَر (victory), as in the following verse:

وَرَدَّ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِغَيْظِهِمْ لَمْ يَنَالُوا خَيْرًا وَكَفَى اللَّهُ

الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الْقِتَالَ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ قَوِيًّا عَزِيزًا (الأحزاب:(25(

And Allah drove back those who disbelieved in

their rage, they gained no advantage (i.e. victory).

Allah sufficed for the believers in the fighting (by

sending against the disbelievers a severe wind

and troops of angels). And Allah is Ever

All-Strong, All-Mighty.(Q. 33:25)

    Al-Țabarī gives the meaning of khayr in this verse as

wealth (booty) and captives”. Allah said that in the Battle of Confederates in 5 AH despite their blockading Madinah for 24 days they got nothing, neither spoil of war, nor captive. Those who joined this battle were: Quraysh and Ghaṭfān, Banū Murrah, Banū Asad, Ashja‘, Fazārah, Banū Kinānah, and Banū Sulaym tribes. This was the biggest military campaign taken by the tribes of Arabia to crush Islam and the Muslims once and for all, but failed. From now on the table has turned, and the Quraysh pagans were on defensive instead of offensive position.

The remaining examples for the various meanings of khayr in the Qur’an given by Ibn al-Jawzī are as follows:

9.  الخَيْل (horses), as in the following verse:

فَقَالَ إِنِّي أَحْبَبْتُ حُبَّ الْخَيْرِ عَنْ ذِكْرِ رَبِّي حَتَّى

تَوَارَتْ بِالْحِجَابِ (ص: (32

He said: “I did love the good (these horses)

instead of remembering my Lord (in my ‘Asr

prayer), till the time was over, and (the sun)

had hidden in the veil (of night) (Q. 38:32)

This is the meaning given by al-Qurṭubī and al-Suddī, but in another report al-Suddī also said that it means “wealth.” Al-Qurṭubī said that letter “l” (ل)  and letter “r” (ر)   sometimes interchange in Arabic, such as انْهَمَلَتِ الْعَيْنُ وَانْهَمَرَتْ،   meaning “the eye shed tears” where the verb هَمَرَ and   هَمَلَ are the same, namely, “to shed tears.”  The other example is the verb خَتَرَ and خَتَلَ  both mean “to cheat.” Therefore, according to al-Farrā’ the word الْخْيْر  and الخَيْل  among the Arabs have the same meaning, namely, the horses. This verse is about Prophet Sulaymān (Solomon) who was busy looking at his horses that he   missed the time of ‘aṣr prayer out of forgetfulness until sunset.

10. الْقُرْآن (Qur’ān), as I the following verse:

مَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ وَلَا الْمُشْرِكِينَ أَنْ

يُنَزَّلَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَاللَّهُ يَخْتَصُّ بِرَحْمَتِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ

وَاللَّهُ ذُو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظِيمِ (البقرة:105(

Neither those who disbelieve among the people of

the Scripture (Jews and Christians) and idolaters

like that there should be sent down to you any

good (i.e. the Qur’an) from your Lord. But Allah

chooses for His Mercy whom He wills. And Allah

is the Owner of Great Bounty (Q. 2:105)

Muhammad Asad said that the term khayr in the above verse is “revelation” which he called “the highest good.” He said further: “The allusion here is to the unwillingness of the Jews and the Christians to admit that revelation could have been bestowed on any community but their own.”   ‘Alī ibn Abī Țālib’s commentary on “Allah chooses for His Mercy whom He wills” as “Allah chooses His prophethood to Muhammad s.a.w. The Mercy in this verse according to some is the Qur’ān, and according to others, it is in general all kinds of mercy given by Allah to His servants in ancient as well as modern times”

11.  أَنْفَعُ (more beneficial), as in the following verse:         

مَا نَنْسَخْ مِنْ آيَةٍ أَوْ نُنْسِهَا نَأْتِ بِخَيْرٍ مِنْهَا أَوْ مِثْلِهَا أَلَمْ

تَعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ (البقرة:106(

Whatever a Verse (revelation) do We abrogate or

cause to be forgotten, We bring a better (more

beneficial) one or similar to it. Know you not that

Allah is Able to do all things? (Q. 2:106)

The term ayah abrogated in this verse is either the verse or the revelation or even both. The abrogation of the verse means the legal judgment in it is abrogated and replaced with another verse containing a new legal judgment. For example, the Qur’ān 16:67 mentions that strong drink and good nourishment are made from date-palm and grapes, which means that strong drink is ḥalāl (permitted). The Qur’ān 2:219 says that there is benefit in drinking alcohol, but the sin in it is greater. This means that drinking alcohol is not recommended, but still permitted. The Qur’ān 4:43 says that it is prohibited to pray while one is drunk. This means alcohol is bad, but is tolerated. The Qur’ān prohibited alcohol as the handwork of Satan. This last verse “abrogates” the legal judgment of alcohol in previous verses. Modern scholars who deny the existence of abrogation which they call “the doctrine of abrogation” in the verses of the Qur’ān call this procedure تَخْصِيْصُ الْعَام (specification of general term), or تَقَيِيدُ المُطْلَق (restricting the unrestricted), and إظْهَارُ حُكْمٍ بِطَّرِيْقَةِ التَّدَرُّج (presenting a legal judgment in stages). Alcohol is always and remains ḥarām (prohibited, unlawful), but the early Muslims who had been heavy drinkers were told to stop drinking only when they became strong enough in their faith to avoid it. The verses dealing with alcohol are still there in the Qur’ān to remind us of Allah’s blessing in prohibiting alcohol in stages, as He had promised us not to burden us beyond our ability (Q. 2;286). Therefore, “abrogation” does not imply either the cancellation of the specific ordinance or the total elimination of the verses from the context of the Qur’ān.  

The abrogation of revelation means the replacement of earlier revelations with the newer and better one. It is the abrogation of the Torah (Tawrāt) and the Gospel (Injīl) replaced with the Qur’ān. Muhammad Asad who translates ayah as “message” says that “… if we read this verse in conjunction with the preceding one, which states that the Jews and the Christians refuse to accept any revelation which might supersede that of the Bible: for, if read in this way, the abrogation is the one related to the earlier divine messages and not to any part of the Qur’ān itself.”

12. رَخْصُ الأَسْعَار (cheapness of price), as in the following verse:

وَإِلَى مَدْيَنَ أَخَاهُمْ شُعَيْبًا قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مَا لَكُمْ مِنْ

إِلَهٍ غَيْرُهُ وَلَا تَنْقُصُوا الْمِكْيَالَ وَالْمِيزَانَ إِنِّي أَرَاكُمْ بِخَيْرٍ

وَإِنِّي أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ مُحِيطٍ (هود:84(

And to Madyan (Midian) people (We sent) their

brother Shu‘ayb. He said: “O my people! Worship

Allah, you have no other god but Him, and give

no short measure or weight. I see you in prosperity

(i.e. the low price of goods) and

verily, I fear for you the torment of

a Day encompassing (Q. 11:84)

The interpretation of khayr as “the low price of goods” is that of Ibn ‘Abbās and al-Ḥasan. Ibn ‘Abbās said further that “the torment of a Day encompassing” means “the day when the price of goods increase.” Qatādah and Ibn Zayd both say that the term means prosperity in this world. Al-Țabarī also holds the same view and said that the term means prosperity in this world including the low price of goods. Ibn Kathīr’s interpretation of the verse “I see you in prosperity” is that it means “in your livelihood and your provisions. And verily, I fear that you will be deprived of this bounty that you are enjoying by violating Allah’s prohibitions.”  (to be continued)

                                                (CIVIC, 23 October, 2015)

المصادر:

المكتبة الشاملة

الحسين الدَّامغَانِي (ت. 478\1085). قَامُوْسُ الْقُرْآن (الْوُجُوْهُ وَالنَّظَائِر). بيروت, 1983.

ابن الجوزي (ت. 597\ 201). نُزْهَة  الأَعْيُنِ النَّوَاظِرِ فِيْ عِلْمِ الْوُجُوْهِ وَ النَّظَائِر. بيروت: مؤسسة الرسالة, 1405\1985.

الراغب الأصفهاني  (ت. 425\1132). مُفْرَدَات أَلْفَاظِ الْقُرْآن. دمشق: دَار الْقَلَم, 1412\1992.

محمد بن القاسم الأنباري. كتاب الأضاد. بيروت: المكتبة العصرية, 1407\1987. 

تفسير الطبري (ت. 310 هـ(

تفسير القرطبى (ت. 671 هـ(

تفسير ابن كثير (ت. 774 هـ(

Asad, Muhammad. The Message of the Qur’ān. Gibraltar: Dar al-Andalus, 1964.

http://literarydevices.net/paronomasia/