8. KHUTAB VI (TEXTS)

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1. REVOLTING AGAINST IMPIOUS RULERS (1)
Long, long ago, in summer (June and July) in 1988, my Egyptian friend and I were taking a journey with his car to Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories of Canada. We stopped on the way to have rest and made fire for our food and drink. After we finished our meal and drink he kept the fire burning with wood which I considered wasting. So, I told him: “Do you realize how long it took to grow a tree, just to burn it for nothing?” He said: “What about bush fire, where so many trees are burned for nothing?” Different view makes different attitude and behaviour.
Now, 25 years later, the same question comes to my mind. In order to raise a child to become a young man to defend our country, religion etc. it takes over twenty years, not to mention the nine-month suffering of his mother carrying him in her womb before he was born. We have a very long list of young Palestinian men who sacrificed their lives in defending their rights, even before reaching their thirties, and the list is going on and on. Palestinian mothers keep raising their children to become one day martyrs in defending their home-land. It is not an easy job to raise a child for over twenty-years to become a hero. A mother might have two, three, even more children to raise, and they grow up to sacrifice their lives.
When we see the situation in the Middle-East, such as Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon I remember what my friend did and said when he burned the wood wasting trees, and compared it to bush fire. Bush fire is accidental, unless a crazy arson does it, whereas the situation in the Middle-East which almost like a civil war, is not accidental, but the works of human, our own brothers and sisters in faith who are at each other’s throat. This is the consequence of revolting against their rulers. This situation could have been avoided, if everyone followed reason, rather than emotion, the teachings of Islam, rather than their own passion and the whisper of Satan who is our real enemy.
The Qur’an gives us a very valuable moral lesson in the history of Hābīl and Qābīl (Abel and Cain). Allah said:
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وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَ بَأَ ابْ نَيْ آَدَمَ بِالْحَقِّ إِذْ قَ رَّبَا قُ رْبَانًا فَ تُ قُبِّلَ مِنْ أَحَدِهِمَا وَلَمْ ي تَُ قَبَّلْ
مِنَ الَْْخَرِ قَالَ لَََقْ تُ لَنَّكَ قَالَ إِنَّمَا يَ تَ قَبَّلُ اللَّهُ مِنَ الْمُتَّقِينَ . لَئِنْ بَسَطْتَ إِلَيَّ يَدَكَ
لِتَ قْتُ لَنِي مَا أَنَا بِبَاسِطٍ يَدِيَ إِلَيْكَ لََِقْ تُ لَكَ إِنِّي أَخَافُ اللَّهَ رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ .
إِنِّي أُرِيدُ أَنْ تَ بُوءَ بِإِثْمِي وَإِثْمِكَ فَ تَكُونَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّارِ وَذَلِكَ
جَزَاءُ الظَّالِمِينَ. فَطَوَّعَتْ لَهُ نَ فْسُهُ قَ تْلَ أَخِيهِ فَ قَتَ لَهُ فَأَصْبَحَ
- ) مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ )المائدة : 03 72
And recite (O Muhammad) to them (the Jews) the
Story of the two sons of Adam (Hābīl and Qābīl –Abel
and Cain) in truth; when each offered a sacrifice (to Allah),
it was accepted from one but not from the other. The latter
said to the former “I will surely kill you.” The former said:
“Verily Allah accepts only from those who are pious. If you
do stretch your hand against me to kill me, I shall never
stretch my hand against you to kill you: for I fear Allah the
Lord of the world (mankind, jinn and all that exists). Verily,
I intend to let you draw my sin on yourself as well As yours,
then you will be one of the dwellers of the Fire; and that
is the recompense of wrong-doers.” So, the nafs (self) of
of the other (latter one) encouraged him and made fair-
seeming to him the murder of his brother; he murdered
him and became one of the losers.(Q. 5: 27-30)
Out of jealousy Hābīl killed his own brother Qābīl in cold blood.
There are two views among Muslim scholars concerning rebellion against oppressive, unjust, impious, or oppressive rulers. The first view is that it permissible, which is the view of the minority of scholars, whereas the second view is that it is prohibited to do so which is the view of the majority of Muslim scholars. Among the arguments of those who allow it are as follows:
1. Allah says in the Qur’an,
وَإِنْ طَائِفَتَانِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اقْ تَتَ لُوا فَأَصْلِحُوا بَ يْ نَ هُمَا فَإِنْ بَ غَتْ إِحْدَاهُمَا
عَلَى الَُْخْرَى فَ قَاتِلُوا الَّتِي تَ بْغِي حَتَّى تَفِيءَ إِلَى أَمْرِ اللَّهِ فَإِنْ فَاءَتْ فَأَصْلِحُوا
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) بَ يْ نَ هُمَا بِالْعَدْلِ وَأَقْسِطُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ ) الحجرات: 9
If two parties among the believers fall into a quarrel,
Make peace between them. But if one of them transgresses
beyond bounds against the other, then fight (all) against
the one that transgresses until it complies with the
command of Allah.(Q. 49:9)
They say that since tyrannical ruler and those who follow him transgress beyond bounds against the other party, then fighting them is justifiable.
2. Allah says:
وَإِذِ ابْ تَ لَى إِبْ رَاهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَاتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ قَالَ إِنِّي جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا
) قَالَ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِي قَالَ لََ يَ نَالُ عَهْدِي الظَّالِمِينَ ) البقرة: 471
And (remember) when the Lord of Ibrāhīm (Abraham) (i.e., Allah) tried him with (certain) Commands, which he fulfilled. He (Allah) said (to him), “Verily, I am going to make you an Imām (a leader) for mankind (to follow you). Ibrāhīm (Abraham) said, “And for my offspring (to make leaders).” (Allah) said, My Promise does not extend to the
wrong-doers.” (Q. 2:124)
They say that since it is not permissible for wrongdoers to obtain leadership, it becomes obligatory to rebel against him to stop him from committing wrongdoings.
3. Allah says:
) ... وَتَ عَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّ قْوَى وَلََ تَ عَاوَنُوا عَلَى الِْْثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ ... ) المائدة: 7
Help one another in righteousness and piety, but
help not one another in sin and rancor (Q. 5:2)
They say that not revolting against the tyrant is tantamount to helping him in his committing sin and rancor.
4. Islam enjoins Muslims to do what is right and prohibits them from doing what is wrong. Allah says,
وَلْتَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَ نْ هَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ
) وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ )آل عمران: 431
Let there arise of you a band of people inviting
to all thatis good, enjoining what is right, and
forbidding what is wrong they are the ones to
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attain felicity (Q. 3:104)
The Prophet s.a.w. says,
مَنْ رَأَى مِنْكُمْ مُنْكَرًا فَ لْيُ غَيِّ رْهُ بِيَدِهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِلِسَانِهِ
فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِقَلْبِهِ وَذَلِكَ أَضْعَفُ الِْْيمَانِ
)رواه مسلم والترمذي وأبو داؤد و النسائي و ابن ماجه(
Whoever of you sees an evil must then change it with
his hand. If he is unable to do so, then [he must change it]
with his tongue. And if he is unable to do so, then [he
must change it] with his heart. And that is the
slightest [effect of] faith.
(Reported by Muslim, al-Tirmidhī, Abū Dā’ūd,
al-Nasā’ī and Ibn Mājah)
5. The Prophet’s statement that there is no obedience in a matter involving disobedience to Allah. He says,
السَّمْعُ وَالطَّاعَةُ عَلَى الْمَرْءِ الْمُسْلِمِ فِيمَا أَحَبَّ أَوْ كَرِهَ إِلََّ أَنْ ي ؤُْمَرَ بِمَعْصِيَةٍ فَإِنْ أُمِرَ
بِمَعْصِيَةٍ فَلََ سَمْعَ وَلََ طَاعَةَ )رواه البخاري و مسلم والترمذي وأبو داؤد والنسائي و أحمد(
Hearing and obeying are upon a person concerning what he likes and what he dislikes, unless he is ordered to do an act of disobedience [to Allah]. If he is ordered to do an act of disobedience, there is no hearing or obeying.
(Reported by Bukhārī, Muslim, al-Tirmidhī,
Abū Dā’ūd, al-Nasā’ī and Aḥmad)
6. The Prophet s.a.w. indicates the danger of misguiding rulers when he says,
إِنِّي أَخَافُ عَلَى أُمَّتِي الََْئِمَّةَ الْمُضِلِّيْن
)رواه الترمذي وأبو داؤد و أحمد(
I fear for my Nation from the misguiding rulers.
(Reported by al-Tirmidhī, Abū Dā’ūd, and Aḥmad)
They say that it implies revolting against them.
7. Muslim scholars agree that any Muslim group that refuses to abide by Islamic law is to be fought. This could imply fighting governments that rule by man-made laws rather than the Sharī‘ah.
According to the majority of Muslim scholars the above arguments do not imply rebellion against unjust rulers. Fighting
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against the group that transgresses, and revolting against a ruler is itself a kind of transgression. Instead of fighting the unjust ruler which could lead to bloodshed, trials and affliction, people are ordered to be patient. The obligation of enjoining of what is good and prohibiting evil should not be used as evidence in justifying rebellion against unjust rulers. Disobeying unjust rulers who orders to commit sin, does not necessarily mean removing him from his position. Imām al-Nawawī, for example, says: “As for rebellion against them [rulers], this is forbidden according to the consensus of the Muslims, even if they were impious, oppressors.” An oppressive ruler is better than anarchy.
The Prophet’s statement indicating the prohibition of revolting against unjust rulers is as follows:
خِ يَارُ أَ ئِمَّ تِكُ مُ ا لَّذِ يْنَ تُحِ ب ون هُ مْ و يُحِ ب و نَكُ مْ ، و تُصَ ل ونَ عَ ل يهِ مْ و يُصَ ل ونَ عَ ل يكُ مْ ،
وشِ رَارُ أَ ئِمَّ تِكُ مُ اَّلذِ يْنَ ت بغِ ضُ ون هُ مْ وي بغِ ضُ و نَكُ مْ ، وت لْ عَ ن ون هُ مْ وي لْ عَ ن و نَكُ مْ ، ق لْ نَا :
ي اَ رَسُ ولَ اللِ أَف لََ ن نَا بِذُ هُ مْ عِ ندَ ذ لِكَ ؟ ، ف قَ الَ : لَ مَ ا أَق امُ وا ف يكُ م الصَّ لَةَ ،
إلَ مَ نْ و لِيَ عَ ل يهِ والٍ ف رَآه يَ أْ تِي شَ ي ئًا مِ نْ مَ عْ صِ يَةِ اللِ ف لْ يَكْ رَهْ مَ ا يَ أْ تِي مِ نْ
مَ عْ صِ يَةِ اللِ ، ولََ ي ن زِعَ نَّ يَدً ا مِ نْ ط اعَ ةِ .
)رواه مسلم و أحمد و الدارمي و البيهقي(
“The best of your rulers are those whom you love and
they love you. You pray over them and they pray over you.
The worst of your rulers are those whom you have and they
hate you. You curse them and they curse you.” They said,
“O Messenger of Allah, shall we fight and oppose them over that?” He replied, “No, not as long as they establish the
prayer among you. No, not as long as they establish the
prayer among you. If someone is appointed over a person
and he sees some act of isobedience to Allah from him,
he should dislike what he does of disobedience to Allah
but he should not remove his hand from obedience.”
(Reported by Muslim, Ahmad, al-Dārimī, and al-Bayhaqī)
One example is Imām Abū Ḥanīfah who did not accept al-Manṣūr as the rightful caliph was offered a position of the Qāḍī al-Quḍāt (Chief Judge) of the State in 146/763. He refused the
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offer politely, saying that he was not fit for the position. “You are lying,” said al-Manṣūr, and Abū Ḥanīfah said, “If I am lying, then how can you appoint a liar to the exalted post of a Chief Qadi (Judge)?” He also said, even if he were to accept this position, and the caliph wanted him to pass his judgment on his favour, or to be thrown into the river, surely, he would choose to be thrown into the river.
Al-Manṣūr imprisoned him and thrashed him with a stick, but he became more popular, that the caliph allowed him to teach in the prison. Out of frustration, the caliph poisoned him, and died in the prison of Baghdad in 150/767 at the age of 70. His funeral was attended by over fifty thousand people and the funeral prayer was performed six times. The qāḍī who washed his body said to him, ‘You are the greatest faqīh (jurisprudent) and most pious man of our time.”
But this view of the minority is being adopted by many people in Muslim countries. People revolted against their rulers whom they considered corrupt, and the rulers oppressed the rebels. The consequence: bloodshed, sufferings of people including elders, women and children who are not involved in the conflict. They have become unsafe in their own homes, and many of them took refuge to neighboring countries. Most refugees nowadays are Muslims from Muslim countries. It may take and sacrifice thousands and thousands of innocent people to replace a corrupt ruler. May Allah guide us all to the right path. (CIVIC, 30.08.13)
Sources:
1. Al-Maktabah al-Shāmilah
2. Al-Mutairi, Dr.Abdul Rahman (trans. Jamaal al-Din Zarabozo), Religious Extremism in the Lives of Contemporary Muslims. Denver: al-Basheer Publication & Translation, 2001
3. http://www.sunnah.org/publication/khulafa_rashideen/life_of_ imam_abu_hanifah.htm
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abū_Ḥanīfa
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2. REVOLTING AGAINST IMPIOUS RULERS (2)
Among the arguments of the majority of Muslim scholars who hold the view that rebellion against impious rulers is prohibited are as follows:
1. Allah says in the Qur’ān,
يَا أَي هَُّا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِِ األَْأمرِ مِأنكُ أ م )النساء: 95 )
O you who believe, obey Allah and obey the Messenger
and those in authority among you…(Q. 4:59)
This verse is supported with the Prophet’s statement, narrated by Abū Hurayrah, as follows:
مَ أ ن أَطَاعَنِِ فَ قَ أ د أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ وَمَ أ ن عَصَانِِ فَ قَ أ د عَصَى اللَّه وَمَ أ ن أَطَاعَ أَمِيرِي فَ قَ أ د أَطَاعَنِِ وَمَ أ ن عَصَى أَمِيرِي فَ قَ أ د عَصَانِِ
( رواه أحمد و الييهق و النساي )
Whoever obeys me, obeys Allah, and whoever disobeys me,
disobeys Allah. Whoever obeys my commander, obeys me,
and whoever disobeys my commander, disobeys me.
(Reported by Ahmad, al-Bayhaqī, and al-Nasā’ī)
In this verse Allah mentions the term “obey” before the word “Allah” and “the Messenger”, not before “those in authority among you” to indicate that obeying Allah and the Messenger is unconditional, whereas obeying those in authority among the believers is conditional that they do not command to sin. The Prophet s.a.w. said,
(إَنَََّّا الطَّاعَةُ فِِ الأمَأعرُأوف )رواه أحمد )
... obedience is only in righteousness
(Reported by Ahmad)
Disobeying them does not imply fighting them. Several hadiths stated that the Prophet s.a.w. ordered the Muslims to be patient in obeying their rulers although they did not like them, as follows:
مَ أ ن رَأَى مِ أ ن أَمِيرِهِ شَأيئًا يَ أ كرَهُهُ فَ أليَ أ ص أِ بِعَلَأيه
فَإِنَّهُ مَ أ ن فَارَقَ ا أ لَْمَاعَةَ شِأي رًا فَمَاتَ إلاَّ مَأيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّة
( رواه اليخاري و مسلم و الدارم و أحمد )
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Whoever sees something from his leader that he
does not like, let him be patient. The one who separates
a hand span from the community and then dies, dies
not except a death of the Days of Ignorance.
(Reported by Bukhārī, Muslim, al-Dārimī, and Aḥmad)
2. In several ḥadīths the Prophet s.a.w. warned us against fighting each other and civil war and tribulations as the consequence of rebellion against oppressive and impious Muslim rulers, such as follows:
سِيَابُ الأمُ أ سلِمِ فُسُو ق وَقِتَالُهُ كُأف ر
(رواه اليخاري و مسلم والترمذي و النساي و أحمد )
Abusing a Muslim is wickedness and fighting
him is kufr (infidelity)
(Reported by Bukhārī, Muslim, al-Tirmidhī,
al-Nasā’ī and Aḥmad)
أ سلِمَانِ بِسَأي فَأيهِمَا
ُ
إِذَا التَ قَى الم أقتُولُ فِِ النَّارِ ، فَ قُألتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ
َ
فَالقَاتِلُ وَالم
أقتُولِ قَالَ: إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَرِيصًا عَلَى قَ أتلِ صَاحِيِه
َ
هَذَا القَاتِلُ فَمَا بَالُ الم
(رواه اليخاري و مسلم و أحمد )
“If two Muslims engage each other with
their swords, the killer and the killed will be
in the Hell-fire. I [Abū Bakrah] said: “O Messenger
of Allah, that is for the killer but what is the case
with the killed?” He replied, “He was
anxious to kill his fellow [Muslim].
(Reported by Bukhārī, Muslim, and Aḥmad)
لَا تَ أرجِعُوا ب أَعدِي كُفَّارًا يَ أ ضرِبُ ب أَعضُكُ أ م رِقَابَ ب أَع ض
(رواه اليخاري ومسلم )
Do not return after me to be disbelievers,
striking the necks of one another.
(Reported by Bukhārī, and Muslim)
There is insinuation here that killing each other is like returning to infidelity, and not the behaviour of good Muslims.
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2. REVOLTING AGAINST IMPIOUS RULERS (2)
Among the arguments of the majority of Muslim scholars who
hold the view that rebellion against impious rulers is prohibited are as
follows:
1. Allah says in the Qur’ān,
) يَا أَي هَُّا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي األَْأمرِ مِأنكُ أ م )النساء: 95
O you who believe, obey Allah and obey the
Messenger and those in authority among you…
(Q. 4:59)
This verse is supported with the Prophet’s statement, narrated by
Abū Hurayrah, as follows:
مَ أ ن أَطَاعَنِي فَ قَ أ د أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ وَمَ أ ن عَصَانِي فَ قَ أ د عَصَى اللَّهَ
وَمَ أ ن أَطَاعَ أَمِيرِي فَ قَ أ د أَطَاعَنِي وَمَ أ ن عَصَى أَمِيرِي فَ قَ أ د عَصَانِي
)رواه أحمد و البيهقي و النسائي(
Whoever obeys me, obeys Allah, and whoever disobeys me,
disobeys Allah. Whoever obeys my commander, obeys me,
and whoever disobeys my commander, disobeys me.
(Reported by Ahmad, al-Bayhaqī, and al-Nasā’ī)
In this verse Allah mentions the term “obey” before the
word “Allah” and “the Messenger”, not before “those in
authority among you” to indicate that obeying Allah and the
Messenger is unconditional, whereas obeying those in authority
among the believers is conditional that they do not command to
sin. The Prophet s.a.w. said,
...إَنَّمَا الطَّاعَةُ فِي الأمَأعرُأوف )رواه أحمد(
... obedience is only in righteousness
(Reported by Ahmad)
Disobeying them does not imply fighting them. Several
hadiths stated that the Prophet s.a.w. ordered the Muslims to be
patient in obeying their rulers although they did not like them, as
follows:
مَ أ ن رَأَى مِ أ ن أَمِيرِهِ شَأيئًا يَ أ كرَهُهُ فَ أليَ أ صبِأرعَلَأيه
فَإِنَّهُ مَ أ ن فَارَقَ الأجَمَاعَةَ شِأب رًا فَمَاتَ إلاَّ مَأيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّةٌ
)رواه البخاري و مسلم و الدارمي و أحمد(
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Whoever sees something from his leader that he
does not like, let him be patient. The one who separates
a hand span from the community and then dies, dies
not except a death of the Days of Ignorance.
(Reported by Bukhārī, Muslim, al-Dārimī, and Aḥmad)
2. In several ḥadīths the Prophet s.a.w. warned us against fighting
each other and civil war and tribulations as the consequence of
rebellion against oppressive and impious Muslim rulers, such as
follows:
سِبَابُ الأمُ أ سلِمِ فُسُوقٌ وَقِتَالُهُ كُأفرٌ
(رواه البخاري و مسلم والترمذي و النسائي و أحمد)
Abusing a Muslim is wickedness and fighting
him is kufr (infidelity)
(Reported by Bukhārī, Muslim, al-Tirmidhī,
al-Nasā’ī and Aḥmad)
إِذَا التَ قَى المُ أ سلِمَانِ بِسَأي فَأيهِمَا فَالقَاتِلُ وَالمَأقتُولُ فِي النَّارِ ، فَ قُألتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ
هَذَا القَاتِلُ فَمَا بَالُ المَأقتُولِ قَالَ: إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَرِيصًا عَلَى قَ أتلِ صَاحِبِه
(رواه البخاري و مسلم و أحمد)
“If two Muslims engage each other with
their swords, the killer and the killed will be
in the Hell-fire. I [Abū Bakrah] said: “O Messenger
of Allah, that is for the killer but what is the case
with the killed?” He replied, “He was
anxious to kill his fellow [Muslim].
(Reported by Bukhārī, Muslim, and Aḥmad)
لَا تَ أرجِعُوا بَ أعدِي كُفَّارًا يَ أ ضرِبُ بَ أعضُكُ أ م رِقَابَ بَ أع ض
(رواه البخاري ومسلم)
Do not return after me to be disbelievers,
striking the necks of one another.
(Reported by Bukhārī, and Muslim)
There is insinuation here that killing each other is like
returning to infidelity, and not the behaviour of good Muslims.
11
The Prophet s.a.w. also advised us not to be involved in fighting among ourselves during tribulation. He said, as narrated by Abū Hurayrah, as follows: وَالأمَاشِي فِيهَا خَأي رًا مِنَ السَّاعِي مَ أ ن تَشَرَّفَ لَهَا تَ أ ستَ أ شرِفأهُ فَمَ أ ن وَجَدَ
مِأن هَا مَألجَأً أَأو مَهَاذًا فَ أليَ عُ أ ذ بِهِ )رواه البخاري ومسلم(
There will be trials and tribulations wherein the one sitting is better than the one standing. The one standing will be better than the one walking. The one walking will be better than the one running. Whoever will expose refuge from them should take shelter in it. (Reported by Bukhārī, and Muslim) 3. The Prophet s.a.w. had prophesised what some rulers would do, but at the same time he did not order people to rebel against them. ‘Amr ibn Yaḥyā ibn Sa‘īd said that while he was sitting in the mosque of Madinah with others among whom was Marwān, Abū Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet s.a.w. said, فَ قَالَ أَبُو هُرَيأ رَةَ: لَأو شِأئتُ أَ أ ن أَقُولَ: بَنِي فُلاَ ن، وَبَنِي فُلاَ ن، لَفَعَألتُ. فَكُأنتُ أَ أ خرُجُ
مَعَ جَدِّي إِلَى بَنِي مَأروَانَ حِينَ مُلِّكُوا بِالشَّأأمِ، فَإِذَا رَآهُ أ م غِألمَانًا أَ أ حدَاثًا قَالَ لَنَا :
عَسَى هَؤُلاَءِ أَ أ ن يَكُونُوا مِأن هُ أ م؟ قُ ألنَا: أَنأتَ أَ أ علَمُ )رواه البخاري ومسلم(
“The destruction of my Nation will be at the hands of young men from the Quraysh.” Marwān then said: ‘The curse of Allah be upon the young men.’ Abū Hurayrah said, ‘If I willed to say the tribe of so and so and the tribe of so and so, I could do so.’ Then I [Amr] went with my grand-father [Sa‘īd] to the Clan of Marwān after they gained control of al-Shām. When he [Marwān] saw that they were young, inexperienced men, he said
12
to us, ‘Perhaps these are from among them.’
We said, ‘You know best.’
(Reported by Bukhārī, and Muslim)
In another ḥadīth, the Prophet s.a.w. said:
إِنَّكُ أ م سَتَ رَأونَ بَ أعدِي أَثَ رَةً وَأُمُورًا تُ أنكِرُونَ هَا قَا لُوا ف مَا تَأأمُرُنَا ياَ رَسُأولَ الله
قَالَ أَدُ وا إِلَأيهِ أ م حَقَّهُ أ م وَسَلُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّكُ أ م )رواه البخاري(
‘After me, you shall see selfishness and some matters
that you will disapprove of’. They said, ‘What do you
order us to do [at that time], O Messenger of Allah?’ He
said, ‘Fulfill their rights and ask Allah for your rights.’
(Reported by Bukhārī)
4. The Prophet s.a.w. did not order the Muslims to revolt against
impious or oppressing rulers, as he knew that this would lead them
to destruction more than if they obeyed them. It is what we call
أَخَفُّ الضَّرَرَيأن , “the lesser of two evils”. Ibn Taymiyyah (1263–1328
CE),) said: “Perhaps, no group is known to have revolted against a
ruler except that it resulted with more evils than what they sought
to remove.” He also said that the Prophet’s order to be patient with
the injustice of rulers instead of fighting or rebelling against them
is the best for the affairs of the humans in this life and the
Hereafter. Going against this command, intentionally or
mistakenly, will achieve nothing but evil. In other words, rebellion
against unjust rulers will create instability and disturbance in the
society.
5. Historical evidence indicates that rebellion achieved nothing
except evil. Ibn Taymiyyah gives many examples of revolts
against rulers with power resulting with greater evil than any good.
Some examples of these revolts are:
(a) Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr’s revolt against Yazīd ibn Mu‘āwiyah
ibn Abī Sufyān in Madinah (23 July 647 – 14 November 683),
who was the Caliph as appointed by his father Muawiyah I
and ruled for three years from 680 CE until his death in 683
CE. Ibn Zubayr ibn al-Awwam was the son of Asmā bin Abū
Bakr. He and al-Ḥusayn ibn ‘Ali refused to swear allegiance
to Yazīd ibn Mu‘āwiyah. When al-Ḥusayn was assassinated in
13
Karbala, Ibn al-Zubayr revolted against Yazīd who later invaded Hejaz, took Madinah after the battle of al-Harrah. Tihamah was invaded and Makkah was sieged. After Yazīd’s sudden death civil war broke out, but Ibn al-Zubayr lost Egypt and whatever he had in Syria to Marwān I. He was finally defeated by Abdul Malik ibn Marwān who sent al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf, who was notorious for his brutality, killed Ibn al-Zubayr in the battlefield in 692, beheaded him and crucified his body. (b) In June 15, 747, Abu Muslim al-Khurasānī who revolted against the Umayyad caliph in Khorasan and other provinces eventually succeeded in overthrowing it. Marwan II, the last Umayyad caliph was defeated and killed in 750. In reward or his services, al-Saffaḥ, the first Abbasid caliph in 749, gave Abu Muslim the governorship of Khorasan. Due to his popularity as a leading politician, a powerful military leader, especially among non-Arabs, despite many services he rendered to the Abbasids, they became more suspicious of him, especially his inclination to separate his native country Khorasan from the rest of the Abbasid states. The caliph al-Manṣūr betrayed him, invited him to his court and put him to death. It was reported that realizing the betrayal, he had said condemning this dirty politics against him, لَأعنَةُ اللّأه عَلَى سَاسَ يَسُوسُ
وَمُ أ شتَ قَّاتِه , “Allah’s curse upon [the words] ‘ruling, and its derivatives’, [meaning سِيَاسَة policy, politics, diplomacy].” The companions of the Prophet who had been given the glad tidings of Paradise were not immune from taking part in rebellion, such as Ṭalḥah and al-Zubayr, who joined ‘Ᾱ’ishah against ‘Ali in the battle of Jamal where both of them murdered. Imām Abū ’l-Ḥasan al-Ash‘arī (d. 324/936) the founder of Ash‘arī school of theology) listed 25 members of the Prophet’s descendants who revolted against the corrupt rulers, but none of them succeeded. 6. The Prophet s.a.w. said, إنَّ اللَّهَ لَيُ ؤَيِّدُ هَذَا الدِّينَ بِالرَّجُلِ الأفَاجِرِ )رواه البخاري ومسلم والدارمي(
14
Verily, Allah supports this religion [even with]
a wicked man.
(Reported by Bukhārī, Muslim, and al-Dārimī)
In line with this ḥadīth Ibn Taymiyyah said, “The
oppressive king is used by Allah to repel harm greater than his
own wrongdoing. It is said, ‘Sixty years under an oppressive
ruler is better than one night without a leader.’ And if He
decrees to increase his oppression, that is something harmful to
the religion, (and) it is like an affliction that acts as expiation for
their (people’s) sins…”
What our scholars mean is that although rebellion against
oppressive rulers is not justified to avoid blood-shed, the attempt
to end their oppression or their rules by peaceful means should
never end. The order of doing good deeds and prohibiting from
doing bad deeds (amr bi ‘l-ma‘rūf wa ‘l-nahy ‘an al-munkar)
remains. It has to be done by people who have knowledge,
gentleness and patience. It is part of the jihad.
A man asked the Prophet s.a.w., “What is the best jihad?” He
answered,
كَلِمَةُ عَ أ د ل عِأندَ إِمَا م جَائِر )رواه أحمد و النسائي و الترمذي(
[The best jihad is] a statement of justice in the
presence of unjust ruler.
(Reported by al-Tirmidhī, al-Nasā’ī and Aḥmad)
In conclusion, we should not stand idle witnessing any
misbehavior, injustice, oppression, and corruption in our society. We
have to do something based on our ability, with knowledge,
gentleness, and patient, avoiding bloodshed among our Muslim
brothers and sisters. (CIVIC, 6.9.13)
Bibliography:
1. Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr
2. Al-Mutairi, Dr.Abdul Rahman (trans. Jamaal al-Din Zarabozo),
Religious Extremism in the Lives of Contemporary Muslims.
Denver: al-Basheer Publication & Translation, 2001
3. Al-Maktabah al-Shāmilah
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_ibn_Zubayr
15
3. SLANDER
Allegation is “a statement, especially one made without proof.”
If allegation damages a person’s reputation it is called “slander”,
“defamation”. If this slander is said about a person in his absence it is
called ghaybah (backbiting). Allah prohibits it, when He said,
يَا أَي هَُّا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوا كَثِيرًا مِنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ ب عَْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثٌْْ وَلََ تَََسَّسُوا وَلََ ي غَْ تَبْ ب عَْ ب عَْ اًُ
) أَيُُِبُّ أَحَدُكُ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ لََْ أَخِيهِ مَيْتًا فَ رَُِهْتُمُوه وَات قَُّوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَ وَّابٌ رَحِي )الَجرات: 21
O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion; indeed some
suspicions are sins. And spy not, neither backbite one another.
Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would
hate it (so hate backbiting!). And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is the One
Who forgives and accepts repentance, Most Merciful. (Q. 49:12)
Islam teaches us to have positive thinking, to be optimistic in
life, and to have no negative thinking with people. A person is good
as long as there is no evidence that he is bad. Wearing a pair of pink
glasses makes everything looked pink, or at least there is pinkness in
everything we see.
Allah also says
) وَيْلٌ لِ لُُِّ هَُُزَةٍ لُمَزَةٍ )الهمزة: 2
Woe to every slanderer and backbiter (Q. 104:1)
There are several interpretations of humazah and lumazah.
Some commentators (Abū ’l-Ᾱliyah, al-Ḥasan, Mujāhid, and Ᾱṭā’)
say that the former means “saying bad things about someone who is
present”, and the latter means “saying bad things about someone who
is absent”; Muqātil has the opposite interpretation.
Allah also says,
)22- وَلََ تُطِعْ كُلَّ حَلََّّفٍ مَهِينٍ. هََُّازٍ مَشَّاءٍ بِنَمِي )القل : 21
And obey not (O Muhammad) everyone who
swears much and is a liar, a slanderer, going
16
about with tales” (Q. 68:11)
Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. said, as narrated by Abū Hurayrah:
» ذِكْرُكَ أَخَاكَ بَِِا يَ رَُْه « : قَالُوا: اللهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَ ،ُْ قَالَ »؟ أَتَدْرُونَ مَا الْغِيبَةُ «
إِنْ كَانَ فِيهِ مَا تَ قُولُ، « : قِيلَ أَفَ رَأَيْتَ إِنْ كَانَ فِِ أَخِي مَا أَقُولُ؟ قَالَ
فَ قَدِ اغْتَبْتَهُ، وَإِنْ لََْ يَ نُُْ فِيهِ فَ قَدْ ب هََتَّه )رواه مسل (ْ
Do you know what backbiting is?” They answered:
“Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said, “It is
to mention of your brother that which he dislike.” Someone
asked, “What if he is as I say?” And he s.a.w. replied,
“If he is as you say, you have backbitten him, and
if not, you have slandered (falsely accuse) him.
(Reported by Muslim)
The Prophet s.a.w. also said:
عَنْ أَبِ هُرَيْ رَة أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّ قَالَ إِيَّاكُ وَالظَّنَّ فَإِنَّ الظَّنَّ أَكْذَبُ الََْدِيثِ
وَلََ تَََسَّسُوا وَلََ تَََسَّسُوا وَلََ تَ نَافَسُوا وَلََ تَََاسَدُوا وَلََ تَ بَاغَ وُُا وَلََ تَدَاب رَُوا وَكُونُوا عِبَادَ اللَّهِ إِخْوَانًا
)رواه البخاري و مسل و النساءي وأبو داؤد و الترمذي و ابن ماجه و أحمد(
Abū Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet s.a.w. said:
“Beware of suspicion, for suspicion is the worst of false tales;
and do not look for others’ faults and do not spy, and do not be
jealous of one another, and do not desert (cut your relation with)
one another, and do not hate one another; and, O Allah’s
worshippers! Be brothers! (as Allah has ordered you!)
With regard to slandering, one example in Islamic history was
the case of ‘Ᾱ’ishah, the wife of the Prophet. After the Prophet had
completed his campaign, the army rested near Madinah. ‘Ᾱ’ishah,
who accompanied the army got out of her howdah to answer the call
of nature. When she returned she noticed that her necklace had broken
and fell down. She came back and looked for it, found it, but the army
had left. She was so slender, that the people who lifted the howdah
17
did not realize that she was not in. Safwān ibn Mu‘aṭṭal al-Sulamī found her, said nothing except “Truly, to Allah we belong, and truly, to Him we shall return,” brought his camel and made it kneel so that she could ride upon it, until they caught up with The head of the hypocrites of Madinah, who was also leader of the Khazraj tribe, spread the slander that she was alone with a man who brought her with his camel. The news spread so fast that she took refuge to the house of her father, Abū Bakr. One day the Prophet, while standing on the pulpit, said, “O Muslims, who will help me against a man [i.e., Abdullah ibn Ubayy] who has hurt me by slandering my family? By Allah, I know nothing about my family but good, and the people blaming a man [i.e., Safwān ibn Mu‘aṭṭal] of whom I know nothing except good, and he has never entered upon my family except with me.” Sa‘d ibn Mu‘ādh stood up and said he would cut off his head, if he was from al-Aws tribe, and if he was from al-Khazraj, he would do what they told him to do. Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubādah stood up and said that the man was only overwhelmed with tribal chauvinism, and told Sa‘d ibn Mu‘ādh not to kill him, but his cousin stood up calling Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubādah a hypocrite arguing on behalf of the hypocrites. Luckily, the Prophet calmed them down. The two tribes, who had been at each other’s throat before becoming Muslims, were almost at each other’s throat again.
18
something to you, although I am innocent, you will believe me.” She
then told them that what she could do was to be patient, like what
Prophet Yusuf’s father said, when his sons lied to him that Yusuf had
been eaten by a wolf, and his cloches smeared with blood.
) فَصَبْ رٌ جََِيلٌ وَاللَّهُ الْمُسْتَ عَانُ عَلَى مَا تَصِفُونَ )يوسف : 21
… so, (for me) patience is the most fitting. And it is
Allah Whose help can be sought against that (lie)
which you describe. (Q. 12:18)
‘Ᾱ’ishah knew that Allah only Who could help her. She had
been patient over one month. She hoped that the Prophet might see a
dream in which Allah would prove her innocence. What she got was
more than she had expected. Allah revealed her innocence, as follows:
إنَّ الَّذِينَ جَاءُوا بِالِْْفْكِ عُصْبَة مِنْ لََ تََْسَبُوه شَرًّا لَ بَلْ هُوَ خَيْ رٌ لَ لِ لُُِّ امْرِئٍ مِنْ هُ مَا اكْتَسَبَ مِنَ الِْْثِْْ وَالَّذِي تَ وَلََّّ كِبْ رَهُ مِنْ هُ لَهُ عَذَابٌ عَظِي . لَوْلََ إِذْ سََِعْتُمُوهُ ظَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ
وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بِأَنْ فُسِهِ خَيْ رًا وَقَالُوا هَذَا إِفْكٌ مُبِينٌ . لَوْلََ جَاءُوا عَلَيْهِ بِأَرْب عََةِ شُهَدَاءَ فَإِذْ
)21- لََْ يَأْتُوا بِالشُّهَدَاءِ فَأُولَئِكَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ هُ الْ اَُذِبُونَ )النور: 22
Verily, those who brought forth the slander (against
‘A’ishah, the wife of the Prophet) are a group among you.
Consider it not a bad thing for you. Nay, it is good for you.
To every man among them will be paid that which he had
earned of the sin and as for him among them who had the
greater share therein, his will be a great torment. Why
then, did not the believers, men and women, when you
heard it (the slander), think good of their own people
and say : “This (charge) is an obvious lie?” Why
did they not produce four witnesses? Since they
(the slanderers) have not produced witnesses!
Then with Allah they are the liars. (Q. 23:11-13)
Here Allah did not mention ‘Ᾱ’ishah or any person of the
Prophet’s contemporary by name in the Qur’an, except his freed slave
19
Zayd, who preferred living with him rather than returning to his tribe, and Abū Lahab, the Prophet’s own uncle who turned to be his enemy. Here the table turned, the slave became a noble person, and the noble person became a base person. What the verse means is that it is a good thing that Allah revealed ‘Ᾱ’ishah’s innocence in the Qur’an which is, “Falsehood cannot come to it from before it or behind it…(Q. 41;42). It also indicated the honourable position of the family of Abū Bakr. When ‘Ᾱ’ishah was dying, Ibn ‘Abbās said to her, among other things, that her innocence was revealed from heaven. With regard to the slanderers, each of them will have their share in punishment, whereas the initiator of the rumors, ‘Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl, will have a great torment. He was the head of the hypocrites of Madinah. The Prophet did not punish him and his followers, because as hypocrites they behaved like Muslims, and the Prophet s.a.w. did not want people to say that he had killed his own followers, and would be recorded in history. Otherwise, you could kill a Muslim by slandering him to be a hypocrite. This slandering, according to the Qur’an was good for her and the Muslim community. (1) they became aware that there were some bad people among them with whom they had to be careful (2) this incident happened to the Prophet’s own wife, and he solved this issue with Allah’s guidance, and with patience (3) there should be no deep emotion, grief, sorrow and anger which could harm themselves (4) there should be no evening gathering where gossip takes place (5) the hearsay should not be accepted without evidence and should not be spread. In Islam every good deed will be rewarded at least tenfold. Tenfold reward could be considered not enough compared to the risk of defamation in doing good. Safwān ibn Mu‘aṭṭal had done an excellent job by picking ‘Ᾱ’ishah who had been left behind, but some people who were not happy with her took this chance to slander her
20
and him. In this case the rescuer and the rescued both become victims.
A rescuer could become a victim. There is always risk in doing good.
A priest was said to have rescued a scorpion in the flood, but the
scorpion stung him. He was blamed for doing it, but he said that it
was his duty to help, but what the scorpion could do was to sting.
(CIVIC, 13.09.13)
المراجع:
الم تُبة الشاملة
تفسير أبن كثير
زهرة التفاسير للشيخ محمد أبو زهرة
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4. IF ALLAH WILLS
The disbelievers among the Quraysh tribe told the Prophet s.a.w.
as narrated by Ibn ‘Abbās, “If you could widen the valleys of Makkah
for us, move away its mountains so that we could cultivate the land,
and revive our dead, or cut the land or talk to the dead [then we would
believe you].” They also said” “Move our mountain to extend our
land, or make Syria closer for us to go for trade, or bring back our
ancestors from their graves.” Then Allah revealed to the Prophet the
following verse:
وَلَوْ أَنَّ ق رُْآنًا سُيِّ رَتْ بِهِ الِْْبَالُ أَوْ قُطِّعَتْ بِهِ الَْْرْضُ أَوْ كُلِّمَ بِهِ الْمَوْتَى بَلْ لِلَّهِ الْْ مْرُ جََِيعًا
أَفَ لَمْ ي يَْأَسِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنْ لَوْ يَشَاءُ اللَّهُ لََدََى النَّاسَ جََِيعًا وَلََ ي زََالُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا تُصِيبُ هُمْ بَِِا صَنَ عُوا
) قَارِعَةٌ أَوْ تََُلُّ قَرِيبًا مِنْ دَارِهِمْ حَتََّّ يَأْتَِِ وَعْدُ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لََ يُُْلِفُ الْمِيعَادَ ) الرعد: 13
And if there had been a Qur’an with which mountains
could be moved (from their places), or the earth could be
cloven asunder, or the dead could be made to speak (it would
not have been other than this Qur’an). But the decision of all
things is certainly with Allah have not then those who believed
yet known that had Allah willed, He could have guided all
mankind? And disaster will not cease to strike those who
disbelieved because of their (evil) deeds or it (i.e. the
disaster) settles close to their homes, until the
Promise of Allah comes to pass. Certainly,
Allah breaks not His Promise.
(Q. 13:31)
Ibn Kathīr ‘s commentary on this verse is as follows:
“Allah says, ‘If there were a Book among the previous Divine
Books with which the mountains could be moved from their places, or
the earth could be cleaved asunder, or the dead speak in their graves,
it would have been this Qur’an and none else.’ Or, this Qur’an is more
worthy to cause all this, because of its marvellous eloquence that
22
defies the ability of mankind and the jinns, even if all of them gather their forces together to invent something like it or even a Surah like it. Yet, these idolaters disbelieve in the Qur’an and reject it.” خُفِّفَتْ عَلَى دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلََمُ الْقِرَاءَةُ، فَكَانَ يَأْمُرُ بِدَابَّتِهِ تُسْرَجُ، فَكَانَ ي قَْرَأُ الْقُرْآنَ
in that he used to order that his animal be prepared for him ------------------- He used to eat only from what his hand made. “The entire Qur’an” here meant by the Prophet is “al-Zabūr, the Psalms.” Prophet David read the entire Psalms before mounting his animal. The Qur’ān is the most eloquent and most affected to the heart and the mind of people. Allah said, لَوْ أَنْ زَلْنَا هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ عَلَى جَبَلٍ لَرَأَيْ تَهُ خَاشِعًا مُتَصَدِّعًا مِنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ
وَتِلْكَ الَْْمْثَالُ نَضْرِب هَُا لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ ي تََ فَكَّرُونَ ) ) الحشر : 13
Had We sent down this Qur’an on a mountain, you would surely have seen it humbling itself and rent asunder by the fear of Allah. Such are the parables which We put forward to mankind that they may reflect. (Q. 59:21) Allah’s response to the request of the Makkan idolaters is that He does not have to answer their requests with those impossible things, in order to make them believe. If Allah wills, He can guide, not only them, but the whole mankind without providing evidence, such as moving the mountains or reviving the dead.
23
This statement of Allah is confirmed in another verse, as follows: And it is up to Allah to show the right way. But there are ways that astray. And had He willed, He would have guided you all. (Q. 1 6:9) This is a fact we have to accept that we are different from others, and therefore we should not criticize, blame or humiliate them for being astray, but rather, show them the right way wisely, and the outcome is up to Allah. Allah also said: ) وَلَوْ شَاء رَبُّكَ لََمَنَ مَنْ فِ الَْْرْضِ كُلُّهُمْ جََِيعًا أَفَأَنْتَ تُكْرِه النَّاسَ حَتََّّ يَكُونُوا مُؤْمِنِيَ ) يونس: 99
And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed, لَوْ شَاء رَبُّكَ لََْعَلَ النَّاسَ أُمَّة وَاحِدَةً وَلََ ي زََالُونَ مُُْتَلِفِيَ . إِلََّ مَنْ رَحِمَ رَبُّكَ وَلِذَلِكَ خَلَقَهُمْ
-
And if your Lord had so willed, He could surely, have made humanity one Ummah (nation), but they will not stop disagreeing. Except those for whom your Lord has granted mercy. And it is for this that He did create them; and the Word of your Lord had been fulfilled (i.e., His saying), “Surely, I shall fill Hell with Jinn and men all together.” (Q. 11:118-119) Here it is stated clearly that Allah will not make Faith universally accepted. People will always differ in religions, creeds, beliefs, sects and opinion. He says:
24
وَلَوْ شِئْنا لََتَ يْنا كُلَّ ن فَْسٍ هُداها وَلكِنْ حَقَّ الْقَوْلُ مِنِّّ لََْمْلَََنَّ
( جَهَنَّمَ مِنَ الِْْنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجََْعِيَ ) السجده: 31
And if We had willed, surely We would have given
every person his guidance, but the Word from Me took
effect (about evil-doers), that I will fill Hell with
jinn and mankind together. (Q. 32:13)
Narrated by Abū Hurayrah that the Prophet s.a.w. said:
افْ تَ رَقَتِ الْيَ هُودُ عَلَى إِحْدَى أَوْ ثِنْتَ يِْ وَسَبْعِيَ فِرْقَةً وَتَ فَرَّقَتِ النَّصَارَى
عَلَى إِحْدَى أَوْ ثِنْتَ يِْ وَسَبْعِيَ فِرْقَةً وَتَ فْتََِقُ أُمَّتِِ عَلَى ثَلََثٍ وَسَبْعِيَ فِرْقَةً
)رواه أبو داؤد:الْلباني :حسن صحيح (
The Jews were split up into seventy-one or
seventy-two firqahs (divisions, groups, or sects);
and the Christians were split up into seventy one or
seventy-two sects; and my community will be
split up into seventy-three sects.
(Reported by Abū Dā’ūd; al-Albānī: Ḥasan Ṣaḥīḥ)
In another ḥadīth, the Prophet s.a.w. said:
أَلَ إِنَّ مَنْ قَ بْ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ افْ تَ رَقُوا عَلَى ثِنْتَ يِْ وَسَبْعِيَ مِلَّة وَإِنَّ هَذِه الْمِلَّة سَتَ فْتََِقُ عَلَى ثَلََثٍ وَسَبْعِيَ ثِنْتَانِ وَسَبْ عُونَ فِ النَّارِ وَوَاحِدَة فِ الَْْنَّةِ وَهِيَ الَْْمَاعَة (رواه أبو داؤد;الْلباني :حسن(
Beware! The people of the Book before were split up into
seventy-two divisions, (groups, or sects), and this community
will be split into seventy three: seventy-two of them will go
to Hell and one of them will go to Paradise, and
it is the majority group.
(Reported by Abū Dā’ūd; al-Albānī: Ḥasan)
In another ḥadīth, the Prophet s.a.w. said:
“And verily the Bani Israel (Children of Israel)
25
were divided into seventy two sects and my nation would divide into seventy three sects, all are to hell except one” on that the Companions of the Prophet asked : “Who is that one, O Messenger of Allah?” The Prophet replied: “Al-Jama'ah (the majority group)” In another version the Prophet replied مَا أَنَا عَلَيْهِ وَ أَصْحَابِ
It is what I am and my companions are holding
In the time of the Prophet the Christians were divided into 72 sects. But more sects appeared after the death of the Prophet. Scholars who limit the number into 72 sects say that these new sects are subdivisions of one or more of the 72 sects. Scholars, who do not limit the number to 72 sects, but to indicate its great number, will not have any problem with the emergence of new sects. The Christian will be divided into more division than that of the Jews, and the Muslims will be divided into more division than that of the Christians. The number indicates the greatness in number, and not the limit of it. History shows us that the Rāfiḍah (Rafidites, deserters, those who reject legitimate Islamic authority and leadership, especially of Abū Bakr and ‘Umar as caliphs) were divided into more than seventy sub-divisions, the Khawārij (Kharijites, lit. “those who went out” the dissident who were initially supporting the authority of Ali ibn Abi Talib, then later rejected his leadership) into more than forty-five sub-divisions, then the Sufi orders with various sub-divisions, and many other sects or division that will appear later, their number will be more than 72. So, this number is not the limit, but to indicate its greatness in number. According to Muslim scholars, such as Imam Abdullah ibn al-Mubārak, those 72 Muslim groups or sects will not be doomed to Hellfire permanently, for they are still Muslims. For
26
example, ‘Ali himself said about the Khawārij that “they are our
brothers who have abandoned us.” Groups or sects which are
excluded from Muslim ummah will also be excluded from this 72
sects.
Muslim scholars who stick literally to the number say that the
number 72 is the basic or main division, so that the Rāfiḍah is
considered one division or sect, the Khawārij is also considered one
division or sect, and so on. Al-Shahrastānī mentions those groups or
sects by names, so that there will be no room for new sects that appear
later. Therefore, as Ibn Taymiyyah put it, we cannot specify which
groups belong to the 73 groups without any proof. We can only say
that the group that will be safe is the one who follows the way of Ahl
al-Sunnah wa ‘l-jamā‘ah. This division, as al-Shāṭibī put it, occurred
in the very basic or principles of religion, not in branches or subdivisions
of the religion, such as schools of law: Ḥanafī, Mālikī,
Shāfi‘ī, Ḥanbalī, Wahhābī, etc. All of them belong to one group, the
Sunni, also called, Ahl al-Sunnah wa ‘l-jamā‘ah (lit. “Adherents to
the Sunnah and the community).” It is not meant the name of a new
Islamic organization founded in London in 2005. (CIVIC, 20.09.13)
Bibliography:
Al-Maktabah al-Shāmilah
Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr
fatwa.islamweb.net/fatwa/printfatwa.php?Id=210628&lang=
islamqa.info/ar/129109
www.alifta.net/Fatawa/FatawaChapters.aspx?View=Page&PageID=3
08&PageNo=1&BookID=5
sunnah.com/abudawud/42
http://www.allaahuakbar.net/article_read.asp?id=465
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5. CHANGING THE WORDS FROM THEIR RIGHT PLACES
The prominent scholar and propagator of Islam, Shaykh
Muḥammad al-GhazālĪ in his book entitled Fī Mawkib al-Da‘wah (“In
the Procession of Islamic Propagation”) under the topic تَحْرِيْفُ الْكَلِمِ عَنْ
مَوَاضِعِهِ (“Changing the Words from their Right Places”), says:
Among the insurmountable obstacles which
obstructed the march of Islam in this era, and covered
its new revival, is an obvious support of a kind of Islamic
propagators who are endowed with eloquence and ability to
debate. As they have opportunities to talk, they talked in
great length, and people praised them more and more,
so that they talked more and more, until they
exceeded the proper bound. (p. 241)
In spite of their eloquence Islam gets nothing from them in sociopolitical
field, but rather a great loss and evilness from their prattle.
How could this happen? Shaykh al-GhazālĪ explains as follows:
The Qur’an was not revealed all at once, but in stages, and
closely related to new incidents. It is Allah’s wisdom that in this way
the conscience of the believers grows through understanding these
verses, like the growth of the young body through pure food. This is
in particular case, as Allah said:
وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْلَ نُزِّلَ عَلَيْهِ الْقُرْآنُ جُمْلَ ة وَاحِدَ ة كَذَلِكَ
) لِنُثَبِّتَ بِهِ فُؤَادَكَ وَرَتَّلْنَاه تَرْتِي ل )الفرقان : 23
And those who disbelieve say “Why is not the Qur’an
revealed to him all at once?” Thus (it I s sent down in parts),
that We may strengthen your heart thereby. And We have
revealed it to you gradually, in stages. [It was revealed
to the Prophet in 23 years] (Q. 25:32)
In general case it was to connect laws from heaven with the
affairs of the earth, as sufficient and satisfactory answers and
solutions to arising problems. Revelation is not at one side, while
human affairs at the other, as pointed out by the following verse:
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) وَلَ يَأْتُونَكَ بِمَثَ ل إِلَّ جِئْنَاكَ بِالْحَقِّ وَأَحْسَ ن تَفْسِي را )الفرقان : 22
And no example or similitude do they bring (to oppose or the truth (against that similitude or example), and The ‘ulamā’ (Muslim scholars) who truly inherit the prophethood, and convey Allah’s message perfectly and precisely, are those who know how to treat the condition of people and the remedy of the souls with what Allah revealed, so that they do not confuse in prescribing medicine, and do not make mistakes in diagnosing a disease. يُؤْتِي الْحِكْمَةَ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَمَنْ يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ أُوتِيَ خَيْ را كَثِي را
) وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ إِلَّ أُولُو الَْْلْبَابِ )البقرة: 362 -He grants wisdom to whom He pleases, and he to good. But none remember (will receive admonition) except men of understanding. (Q. 2:269) It means, Shaykh al-GhazālĪ explains further, that calling to (the path of) Allah is a kind of knowledge and an art. The propagator (caller to Islam), despite the great abundance of divine texts with him, has to be a physician and a pharmacist at the same time. Ignorant hand could handle bottles of medicines, and could be poison, or a mixture of medicines which increases disease rather than curing it. In the same way foolish incompetent people will do with Allah’s words when they turn them away out their contexts, and when they displace words from their right places which will abuse the verses they are quoting, and people to whom these verses are directed. Citing the Qur’ānic verses should be in a proper place and situation. It is not an Islamic way, Shaykh al-Ghazālī said, that when you attend a wedding you recite the Qur’ānic verse,
29
) يُوصِيكُمُ اللَّّ فِي أَوْلَدِكُمْ لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الُْْنْثَيَيْنِ ... )النساء: 11
Allah commands you as regards your children’s (inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females; … (Q. 4:11) or when war is being announced you read the following verse to people: وَعِبَادُ الرَّحْمَنِ الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الَْْرْضِ هَوْ نا وَإِذَا
) خَاطَبَهُمُ الْجَاهِلُونَ قَالُوا سَلَ ما )الفرقان: 62
And the (faithful) slaves of the Most Gracious (Allah) are back with mild words of gentleness. (Q. 25:63). In the same way it is not proper according to Islam to recite to those who deny the Islamic injunctions and dare to disobey Allah and his legal punishments the following verse: 5 )
Say: “O My slaves who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: verily, Allah forgives all sins. Truly He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Q. 39:53). It is also not proper according to Islam to recite to people who respect thinking and are subject to evidence the following verse: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قَاتِلُوا الَّذِينَ يَلُونَكُمْ مِنَ الْكُفَّارِ وَلْيَجِدُوا فِيكُمْ غِلْظَ ة
) وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّّ مَعَ الْمُتَّقِينَ )التوبة: 132
O you who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers who are close to you, and let them find harshness in you;
that Allah is with those who are the pious.
30
straight reason will be able to quote the Qur’ānic verses in their right
places, so that he will say the truth and read the truth. But if the
souls become polluted, and the passion takes control, then the
teachings of the religion of Islam will be merely mentioned, whereas
something else will be decided.
This was actually happened to ‘Ali ibn Abu Talib when he heard
the Khawarij group who deserted him said to him, لَ حُكْمَ إِلَّ هِ لِل (“The
decision is only for Allah.”), which is derived from the Qur’ānic verse,
)65 , إِنِ الْحُكْمُ إِلَّ لِل )الْنعام: 75 , يوسف: 04
… and the decision is only for Allah
(Q. 6:57 and 12: 40 and 67)
and ‘Ali replied, كَلِمَ ة حَقِّ يُرَادُ بِهَا الْبَاطِل (“A true expression with wrong
intention”). When Mu‘āwiyah felt that the battle with ‘Ali at the
battle of Ṣiffīn in 657 was on the brink of defeat, he asked his army
to hoist the Qur’an on their lances. Mu‘āwiyah wanted to stop the
fighting, and to put the dispute through arbitration based on the
Qur’ān. In this arbitration ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ᾱṣ, the representative of
Mu‘āwiyah, convinced Abū Mūsā al-Ash‘arī, the representative of
‘Ali, to pronounce ‘Ali’s removal a caliph. To this, the Kawarij
protested, denounced both Mu‘āwiyah and ‘Ali; Mu‘āwiyah for his
rebellion against ‘Ali the rightful caliph, and ‘Ali for giving away his
authority as a legitimate caliph, which could only be decided by Allah
at the outcome of the fighting. As they deserted ‘Ali’s camp, they
were called “Kawārij”, “Deserters”. They rebelled against both sides,
and considered them infidels.
In 678 ‘Ali defeated the rebels in the Battle of Nahrawan, but
they were successful in assassinating ‘Ali in 661. They also attempted
to assassinate Mu‘āwiyah and ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ᾱṣ but failed as they kept
bodyguards.
This is one example of putting the divine texts out of context.
One of the most common Qur’ānic verse understood out of its
context is this verse:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالنَّصَارَى وَالصَّابِئِينَ مَنْ آمَنَ بِالِلَِّ وَالْيَوْمِ الْ خِرِ وَعَمِلَ
31
) صَالِ حا فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلَ خَوْ ف عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ )البقرة: 63
Verily, those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians, and Sabians, whoever [among them] believes in Allah and the Last Day and does righteous good deeds shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. (Q. 2:62) Salmān al-Fārisī asked the Prophet about the case of the monks with whom he had worshiped in church and believed in his advent as the last prophet. Then Allah revealed the above verse to explain that the Muslims who stick to their faith, and people before them who followed their respective prophets will be safe until the advent of the next prophets. The Jews who followed Prophet Moses a.s. and kept the Torah till the advent of Prophet Jesus a.s. will be safe; but if they did not want to follow Prophet Jesus a.s. they will be damned. The Christians who followed Prophet Jesus a.s. and kept the Injil (Gospel) till the advent of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. will be safe; but if they did not want to follow Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. they will be damned. This verse does not mean, although apparently so, that whether you are Jew, Christian, Sabean, or you follow any religion, as long as you believe in Allah and the Last Day and do righteous good deeds, you will be safe. The pagan Arabs and the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) are, according to the Qur’an, non-believers. ) إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ ... )البينة: 6
Verily, those who disbelieve from among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) and idolaters will abide in the Fire of Hell…(Q. 98:6) Afterwards, Allah revealed the following verse: ) الْخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ )آل عمران: 87
And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers (Q. 3:85)
32
Ibn ‘Abbās‘s comment on the above verses is that Allah does
not accept any deed or work from anyone, unless it conforms to the
Law of Muhammad s.a.w. that is, after Allah sent Muhammad s.a.w.
Before that, every person who followed the guidance of his own
Prophet was on the correct path, following the correct guidance and
was saved.
The Prophet himself said, as narrated by Abū Hurayrah,
وَالَّذِي نَفْسُ مُحَمَّ د بِيَدِهِ، لَ يَسْمَعُ بِي أَحَ د مِنْ هَذِهِ الُْْمَّةِ
وَلَ يَهُودِ ي وَلَ نَصْرَانِ ي، وَمَاتَ وَلَمْ يُؤْمِنْ بِالَّذِي أُرْسِلْتُ بِهِ،
إِلَّ كَانَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّارِ )رواه مسلم وأحمد(
By Him (Allah) in Whose Hand Muhammad’s soul is, there is
none from amongst the Jews and the Christians (of these present
nations) who hears about me and then dies without believing in
the Message with which I have been sent, but he will be from
the dwellers of the (Hell). (Reported by Muslim and Ahmad)
In conclusion, in quoting any Qur’ānic verse or saying of the
Prophet s.a.w. we have to be very careful, not to quote it out of its
context. (CIVIC, 10 January, 2014)
NB. The Qur’ānic verse 62 above has been explained extensively in
my Selected Khuṭab vol. 1 under the title “Salmān al-Fārisī”.
Bibliography:
محمد الغزالي, في موكب الدعوة. القاهرة: نهضة مصر, 3440 م
المكتبة الشاملة
بفسير إبن كثير
تفسير الطبري
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khawarij
33
6. REASONS FOR SENDING DOWN THE QUR’ᾹN IN STAGES (1)
The Qur’ān consists of 6236 verses which is today the most
accepted opinion. According to Ibn ‘Abbās there are 6616 verses,
Nāfi‘: 6217, Shaybah: 6214, scholars of Egypt: 6226, and al-
Zamakhsharī: 6666. The difference lies in counting, such as whether
the letters of the alphabet in the beginning of some surahs
(chapters) are considered one verse or part of a verse. Two or three
verses could be considered by some scholars as one verse. This is
because, among other things, one sentence which is usually
understood to have at least one subject and one predicate may
consist of many verses. Sūrat al-Takwīr (chapter 81), for example,
starts with 13 verses depicting the situation in the Hereafter: “When
the sun…, and when the stars… and when the mountains…and when
the pregnant she-camel…and when…etc…, then to complete a
sentence verse 14 follows: “(Then) every person shall know what he
has brought (of good and evil).” It is said that the Qur’an was
revealed in about 5 verses in each revelation, then, in the above
example, at least 14 verses would have to be revealed to complete
the sentence.
The Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet gradually and in stages
for a period of 23 years for many reasons, among which are as
follows:
1. To strengthen the heart of the Prophet by addressing him
continually. Allah said in the Qur’an,
وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْلَ نُزِّلَ عَلَيْهِ الْقُرْآنُ جُمْلَ ة وَاحِدَ ة
) كَذَلِكَ لِنُثَبِّتَ بِهِ فُؤَادَكَ وَرَتَّلْنَاه تَرْتِي ل )الفرقان : 32
And those who disbelieve say: ‘Why is not the Qur’an
revealed to him all at once?” Thus (it is sent down in parts),
that We may strengthen your heart thereby. And We have
revealed it to you gradually, in stages. (Q. 25:32)
Allah also revealed to the Prophet the story of prophets
before him to strengthen his heart. He said:
34
وَكُ لّ نَقُ ص عَلَيْكَ مِنْ أَنْبَاءِ ال رسُلِ مَا نُثَبِّتُ بِهِ فُؤَادَكَ وَجَاءَكَ
) فِي هَذِه الْحَ ق وَمَوْعِظَ ة وَذِكْرَى لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ )هود: 121
And all that We relate to you (O Muhammad) of
the news of the Messengers is in order that We may
make strong and firm your heart thereby. And in this
(chapter of the Qur’an) has come to you the truth,
as well as an admonition and a reminder
for the believers. (Q. 11:120)
At the outset of his mission most people disbelieved him,
and might weaken his spirit, and then Allah comforted him by
revealing to him that prophets before him were also called
liars, but they were patient. He said:
وَلَقَدْ كُذِّبَتْ رُسُ ل مِنْ قَبْلِكَ فَصَبَرُوا عَلَى مَا كُذِّبُوا وَأُوذُوا حَتَّى أَتَاهُمْ
) نَصْرُنَا وَلَ مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِ اللَِّّ وَلَقَدْ جَاءَكَ مِنْ نَبَ إِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ )الأنعام: 34
Verily, (many) Messenger were denied before you
(O Muhammad), but with patience they bore the denial,
and they were hurt till Our Help reached them, and none
can alter the Words (Decisions) of Allah. Surely there
has reached you the information (news) about
the Messengers (before you) (Q. 6:34)
The Makkan idolaters not only rejected the Prophet’s call to
Islam, but also ridiculed and made fun of him. Then Allah revealed
to him to be patient and to leave them. He said:
) وَاصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا يَقُولُونَ وَاهْجُرْهُمْ هَجْ را جَمِي ل ) 11
And be patient (O Muhammad) with what they say,
and keep away from them in a good way.(Q. 73:10)
Their worshiping idols saddened the Prophet, but Allah wanted
him to be patient and convinced him that He knew what they said
openly or secretly. He said:
وَاتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِ اللَِّّ آلِهَ ة لَعَلَّهُمْ يُنْصَرُونَ . لَ يَسْتَطِيعُونَ نَصْرَهُمْ وَهُمْ لَهُمْ
35
) جُنْ د مُحْضَرُونَ . فَلَ يَحْزُنْكَ قَوْلُهُمْ إِنَّا نَعْلَمُ مَا يُسِ رونَ وَمَا يُعْلِنُونَ )يس: 76 74
And they have taken besides Allah gods, hoping that they might be help3ed (by those co-called gods). They cannot help them, but they will be brought forward as a troop against those who worshipped them (at the time of Reckoning). So, let not their speech, then, grieve you (O Muhammad). Verily, we know what they conceal and what they reveal. (Q. 36:74-76) يَا أَ يهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ وَإِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُ
) وَاللَّّ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ إِنَّ اللَّّ لَ يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْكَافِرِينَ )المائدة: 67
O Messenger (Muhammad), proclaim (the Message) which has been sent down to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed the Message. Allah will protect you from mankind. Verily, Allah guides not the people who disbelieve. (Q.5:67) When victory seemed to be far away, Allah promised it to the Prophet, when he said: ) كَتَبَ اللَّّ لَأَغْلِبَنَّ أَنَا وَرُسُلِي إِنَّ اللَّّ قَوِ ي عَزِي ز )المجادلة: 21
Allah has decreed: “Verily, it is I and My Messengers who shall be victorious.” Verily, Allah is All- Powerful, All-Mighty (Q. 58:21) When the companions of the Prophet were not happy with the conclusion of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, as they considered it a one-sided treaty: they had to postpone their pilgrimage to the next year, and any Muslim from the Makkan tribe who took refuge to Madinah had to be brought back to Makkah, and not vise-versa. Ssome of them were even in doubt of his being a prophet. On their way back to Madinah, the Prophet said to them that it had been
36
revealed to him worth more than the world and its contents. He
recited:
إِنَّا فَتَحْنَا لَكَ فَتْ حا مُبِي نا . لِيَغْفِرَ لَكَ اللَّّ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِكَ وَمَا تَأَخَّرَ وَيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُ
)3- عَلَيْكَ وَيَهْدِيَكَ صِرَا طا مُسْتَقِي ما. وَيَنْصُرَكَ اللَّّ نَصْ را عَزِي زا )الفتح: 1
Verily, We have given you (O Muhammad) a manifest
victory. That Allah may forgive you your sins of the past
and the future, and complete His Favour on you, and
guide you on the Straight Path. (Q. 48:1-3).
The Prophet was said to have performed night prayers until his
feet became swollen. It was said to him, “Allah has forgiven you
your sins of the past and the future.” On that, he said, “Shouldn’t I
be a thankful slave of Allah?” (Reported by Bukhari)
The Prophet’s companions congratulated him for the good
news for him; they asked him whether good news would also be for
them. Then Allah revealed,
لِيُدْخِلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ جَنَّا ت تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ
) فِيهَا وَيُكَفِّرَ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ عِنْدَ اللَِّّ فَوْ زا عَظِي ما )الفتح: 5
That He may admit the believing men and the believing
women to Gardens under which rivers flow (i.e. Paradise)
to abide therein forever, and He may expiate from their
sins; and that is with Allah a supreme success. (Q. 48:5)
Verse 1-2 and verse 5 are connected, so that it means, that
Allah has given the Prophet s.a.w. victory so that He forgives his
past and future sins, and that He admits believers to Heaven.
2. Out of consideration for the Prophet since revelation was a
very difficult experience for him. For example:
a. He perspired profusely.
37
عَنْ عَائِشَةَ أُمِّ المُؤْمِنِينَ رَضِيَ اللَّّ عَنْهَا، أَنَّ الحَارِثَ بْنَ هِشَا م
رَضِيَ اللَّّ عَنْهُ سَأَلَ رَسُولَ اللَِّّ صَلَّى اللّ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ : يَا رَسُولَ
اللَِّّ، كَيْفَ يَأْتِيكَ الوَحْيُ؟ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَِّّ صَلَّى اللّ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ :
أَحْيَا نا يَأْتِينِي مِثْلَ صَلْصَلَةِ الجَرَسِ، وَهُوَ أَشَ ده عَلَيَّ، فَيُفْصَمُ عَنِّي «
وَقَدْ وَعَيْتُ عَنْهُ مَا قَالَ، وَأَحْيَا نا يَتَمَثَّلُ لِيَ المَلَكُ رَجُ ل فَيُكَلِّمُنِي فَأَعِي
ص: 7[ قَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ رَضِيَ اللَّّ عَنْهَا: وَلَقَدْ رَأَيْتُهُ [ » مَا يَقُولُ
يَنْزِلُ عَلَيْهِ الوَحْيُ فِي اليَوْمِ الشَّدِيدِ البَرْدِ، فَيَفْصِمُ عَنْهُ
وَإِنَّ جَبِينَهُ لَيَتَفَصَّدُ عَرَ قا )رواه البخاري و مسلم(
Narrated ‘Ᾱ’ishah (the mother of the faithful believers): Al-Ḥārith bin Hishām (r.a.) asked Allah’s Messenger s.a.w. O, Allah’s Messenger! How is the Divine Inspiration revealed to you?” Allah’s Messenger s.a.w. replied, “Sometimes it is (revealed) like the ringing of a bell, this form of Inspiration is the hardest of all and then this state passes off after I have grasped what is inspired. Sometimes the angel comes in the form of a man and talks to me and I grasp whatever he says.” ‘Ᾱ’ishah r.a. added: Verily, I saw the Prophet s.a.w. being inspired (divinely) and (noticed) the cold day as the Inspiration was over. (Reported by Bukhari and Muslim) وقال زيد بن ثابت :"كُنْتُ أَكْتُبُ الْوَحْيَ لِرَسُولِ اللَِّّ وَكَانَ إِذَا نَزَلَ عَلَيْهِ
أَخَذَتْهُ بُرَحَا ء شَدِيدَة وَعَرِقَ عَرَ قا شَدِي دا مِثْلَ الْجُمَانِ، ثُمَّ سُرِّيَ عَنْهُ "
Zayd ibn Thābit said: “I used to write the revelation for the Prophet, and when revelation came to him affliction overtook him and perspired profusely like small pearls, then he felt at peace again .”
38
"حَتَّى تَكَادَ رِجْلِي تَنْكَسِرُ مِنْ ثِقَلِ الْقُرْآنِ، وَحَتَّى أَقُولَ :
لَ أَمْشِي عَلَى رِجْلِي أَبَ دا" )رواه الطبراني(
“The Qur’ān was so heavy, that my legs almost
became broken, and said that I would not be able
to walk again.” (Reported by al-Ṭabrānī)
c. He heard sound like clinking, heard by the companions like
the hum of bees.
عَ نْ عُ مَ رَ بنِ الخَ ط اَّبِ قالَ :" كَانَ إِذَا نَزَلَ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللِّ صَلَّى اللّ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْوَحْيُ يُسْمَعُ عِنْدَ وَجْهِهِ دَوِ ي كَدَوِيِّ النَّحْلِ " )رواه أحمد(
‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said: “When revelation came
to the Messenger of Allah s.a.w. hum was heard at his
face like the hum of bees” (Reported by Ahmad)
d. His face changed.
عَنْ عُبَادَةَ بْنِ الصَّامِتِ، قَالَ : قال:"كَانَ نَبِ ي اللِّ إِذَا أُنْزِلَ
عَلَيْهِ كُرِبَ لِذَلِكَ، وَتَرَبَّدَ وَجْهُهُ " )روام مسلم(
‘Ubādah ibn al-Ṣāmit said: “When the Prophet of Allah
received revelation he felt distress from it, and his
face turned grey (Reported by Muslim)
e. He tilted his head and covered it with a cloth.
كَانَ النَّبِ ي إِذَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْهِ الْوَحْيُ « : عَنْ عُبَادَةَ بْنِ الصَّامِتِ، قَالَ
» نَكَسَ رَأْسَهُ وَنَكَسَ أَصْحَابُهُ رُءُوسَهُمْ، فَلَمَّا أُتْلِيَ عَنْهُ رَفَعَ رَأْسَهُ
Ubādah ibn al-Ṣāmit said: “When the Prophet of
Allah received revelation he tilted his head and covered
it with a cloth, and his companions also covered
their heads. After the revelation was read
to him his lifted his head.
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f. Snoring was heard from him like that of the young camel.
Ya‘lā ibn Umayyah said: “I wish I could see the Prophet when
revelation was being sent down to him.” ‘Umar asked him if
he really wanted to see him in that condition. When he said,
“yes”, ‘Umar lifted his clothes and snored like the snore of
the young camel.
All these indicate the severity in receiving revelation,
which has been mentioned by Allah when he says:
) إِنَّا سَنُلْقِي عَلَيْكَ قَوْ ل ثَقِي ل )المزمل: 5
Verily, We shall send down to you a weighty Word (Q. 73:5)
Commentators of the Qur’ān say that the revelation itself
is weighty, such as the above examples; others say that the
application of its injunction and prohibition is weighty.
Similarly, the following verse indicate the difficulty in
applying the injunctions and prohibition in the Qur’ān,
لَوْ أَنْزَلْنَا هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ عَلَى جَبَ ل لَرَأَيْتَهُ خَاشِ عا مُتَصَدِّ عا مِنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَِّّ
) وَتِلْكَ الْأَمْثَالُ نَضْرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ ) 21 الحشر: 21
Had We send down this Qur’ān on a mountain, you
would surely have seen it humbling itself and rent asunder
by the fear of Allah. Such are the parables which We put
forward to mankind that they may reflect.(Q. 59:21)
[TO BE CONTINUED] (CIVIC, 17.01.14)
Bibliography:
Von Denffer, Ahmad. ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān. Kuala Lumpur:
A.S. Nordeen, 1991
المكتبة الشاملة
تفسير الطبري
http://vb.tafsir.net/tafsir35685
http://askaquestionto.us/question-answer/revealedbook/howmany-
verses-ayahs-are-there-in-the-quran
40
7. REASONS FOR SENDING DOWN THE QUR’ᾹN IN STAGES (2)
Other reasons for sending down the Qur’an in stages are as
follows:
3. To gradually implement the Sharī‘ah (Islamic law). There were
many Arab traditions contrary to Islam which were difficult to
abandon, and should be abolished gradually, such as the
following:
a. Drinking alcohol. It was abolished in three stages:
More harm in drinking alcohol than benefit, in the verse:
يَسْأَلُونَكََ عََ نَ اَلْخَمْ رَ وََالْمَيْ س رَ قَُلَْ في همَا إَ ثْ مَ كََ بي رَ وََمَنَا فعَُ لَ لنَّا سَ )َ وَإ ثْمُهُمَا أََكْبَرَُ منَْ نََفْ ع همَا …َ)البقرة: 912َ
They ask you (O Muhammad) concerning alcoholic
drink and gambling. Say, “In them is a great sin, and
(some) benefits for men, but the sin of them is
greater than their benefit… (Q. 2:219)
Prohibition of approaching prayer while one is being drunk, as in
the verse,
يَا أََيُّهَا اَلَّ ذينََ آَمَنُوا لَََ تََقْرَبُوا اَلصَّلََةََ وََأَنْتُمَْ سَُكَارَى حََتَّى
) تََعْلَمُوا مَا تََقُولُونََ …َ)النساء: 34
O you who believe! Approach not the prayer while
you are in a drunken state until you know
(the meaning) of what you utter…(Q. 4:43)
Drinking alcohol became fully and explicitly prohibited, as in
the verse,
يَا أََيُّهَا اَلَّ ذينََ آَمَنُوا إَ نَّمَا اَلْخَمْرَُ وََالْمَيْ سرَُ وََالَْْنْصَابَُ وََالَْْزْلَمَُ رجْ سَ ) منَْ عََمَ لَ اَلشَّيْطَا نَ فََاجْتَ نبُوهَُ لََعَلَّكُمَْ تَُفْ لحُونََ )َالمائدة: 29
O you who believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic
drinks, and gambling, and slaughtered animals for stone
altars, and arrows for seeking luck or decision are an
abomination of Satan’s handiwork. So avoid (all of)
that (abomination) in order that you
may be successful. (Q. 5:90)
41
b. Introducing the law of inheritance. Before and the early period of Islam women could not have inheritance, they themselves were even objects of inheritance and parts of the possession of men. Then the Qur’an gave them share in the inheritance, as in verse: ل لرِّجَا لَ نََ صي بَ ممَّا تََرَكََ اَلْوَال دَا نَ وََالَْْقْرَبُونََ وََل لنِّسَا ءَ نََ صي بَ ممَّا تََرَكََ
) اَلْوَال دَا نَ وََالَْْقْرَبُونََ ممَّا قََلََّ منْهَُ أََوَْ كََثُرََ نََ صيبًا مََفْرُوضًا )َالنساء: 7
Men shall have a share in what parents and kinsfolk parents and kinsfolk leave behind. (Q. 4:7) -------------------------------------------------------
يُو صيكُمَُ اَللََُّّ في أََوْلَ دكُمَْ لَ لذَّكَ رَ مثْلَُ حََظَِّ اَلُْْنْثَيَيْ نَ .َ.. )َ )النساء: 11
Allah commands you as regards your children’s (inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females; …(Q. 4:11) This seems to be unfair for people who misunderstand Islam. The share of inheritance is based on closeness to the deceased and the responsibility of maintaining his and the younger generation. As a wife, she and her children’s maintenance is her husband’s responsibility as a provider, although she is rich. As a mother, it is the responsibility of her son; as a daughter, her father; as a sister, her brother. Women in Islam, according to Islamic law, are well-protected by her male relatives. The fact that women inherit less than men in Islam, is only part of the truth, and not the whole truth. They can inherit as much as men, if the deceased left children, the mother and the father received each one-sixth of the inheritance. Allah says: ) ... وََ لَْبَوَيْ هَ لَ كُلَِّ وََا ح دَ منْهُمَا اَلسُّدُسَُ ممَّا تََرَكََ إَ نَْ كََانََ لََهَُ وََلَ دَ )َالنساء: 11
…; for parents, a sixth share of inheritance to each if the deceased left children. (Q. 4:11)
42
The brothers and sisters of the deceased from the same mother will also inherit equal portions. Women can inherit the whole inheritance. If she dies leaving a husband, a full-sister and a brother by her father, the husband and the full-sister each will get half, and the half-brother will get nothing. c. Establishment of Islamic marriage institution. The number of wives is limited to four. Allah says in the Qur’ān, وَإ نَْ خفْتُمَْ أََلََّ تَُقْ سطُوا في اَلْيَتَامَى فََانْ كحُوا مََا طََابََ لََكُمَْ منََََ
النِّسَا ءَ مََثْنَى وََثُلََثََ وََرُبَاعََ فََإ نَْ خفْتُمَْ أََلََّ تََعْ دلُوا فََوَا حدَةًَ أََوَْ مََا مََلَكَتَََْ
)َ أَيْمَانُكُمَْ ذََل كََ أََدْنَى أََلََّ تََعُولُوا )َالنساء: 4
َ
with the orphan-girls, then marry (other) women of your choice, two or three, or four; but if you fear that you shall (the slave) that your right hands possess. This is nearer ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr asked his aunt ‘Ᾱ’shah the meaning of the above verse. She said, ”O my nephew! This is about the orphan girl who lives with her guardian and shares his property. Her wealth and beauty tempt him to marry her without giving her and adequate dowry which might have been given by another suitor. So, such guardians were forbidden to marry such orphan girls unless they treated them justly and gave them the most suitable dowry; otherwise, they were ordered to marry woman besides them.” (Recorded by Bukhari)
43
Ghīlān ibn Salamah al-Thaqafī had ten wives when he became Muslim, and the Prophet s.a.w. said to him, “Choose any four of them (and divorce the rest).” (Recorded by Ahmad) But if you fear that you will not be able to do justice between your wives by marrying more than one, then marry only one wife, or satisfy yourself with only female captives, for it is not obligatory to treat them equally, rather it is recommended. So, if one does so, that is good, and if not, there is no harm on him.َ ) )تفسير اَبن كَثير
وَلَنَْ تََسْتَ طيعُوا أََنَْ تََعْ دلُوا بََيْنََ اَلنِّسَا ءَ وََلَوَْ حََرَصْتُمَْ فََلَََ تََ ميلُوا
كَُلََّ اَلْمَيْ لَ فَََتَذَرُوهَا كََالْمُعَلَّقَ ةَ وََإ نَْ تَُصْل حُوا وََتَتَّقُوا فََإ نََّ اَللَََّّ كََانَََ
) غَفُورًا رََ حيمًا )َالنساء: 192
You will never be able to do perfect justice between wives even if it is your ardent desire, so do not incline too much (to one of them be giving her more of your time and provision) so as to leave (the other) hanging (i.e., neither divorced or married). And if you do justice, and do all that is right and fear Allah Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most It is totally wrong to say that polygamy is prohibited in Islam because Allah said that “if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one (wife)” and “you will never be able to do perfect justice between wives even if it is your ardent desire.” The verse continues with “do not incline too much to one of them and leave the other as if she is neither married nor divorced.” You cannot love your wives equally, just like you cannot love your children equally, but you can treat them equally. Early commentators of the Qur’an say that it is the matter of love and intimacy which cannot be dealt justly. Moreover, polygamy is the only legal Islamic solution for solving the problem of having too many women compared to
44
men. It would be better for her to be a second wife than to live
all her life alone without any chance of having babies.
For those who practice polygamy with injustice, the
Prophet said:َ
عَنَْ أََ بي هَُرَيْرَةَ، عََ نَ اَلنَّ بيَِّ صََلَّى اَللَُّ عََلَيْ هَ وََسَلَّمََ قََالََ: مََنَْ كََانَتَْ لََهَُ اَمْرَأَتَا نَََ
فَمَالََ إَ لَى إَ حْدَاهُمَا، جََاءََ يََوْمََ اَلْ قيَامَ ة، وََ شقُّهَُ مََا ئ لَ )رواه أَبو دَاؤد وَ اَلدارمي(
Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet s.a.w. said,
“Whoever has two wives and leans to one of them, he
will be raised in the Hereafter with half of his
body bending down.”
(Reported by Abū Dā’ūd and al-Dārimī)
The Qur’an also regulates whom a Muslim is allowed and
not allowed to marry. Allah said:
وَلََ تََنْ كحُوا مََا نََكَحََ آَبَاؤُكُمَْ منََ اَلنِّسَا ءَ إَ لََّ مََا قََدَْ سََلَفََ إَ نَّهَُ كََانََ
فَا حشَةًَ وََمَقْتًا وََسَاءََ سََ بيلًََ .َ حَُرِّمَتَْ عََلَيْكُمَْ أَُمَّهَاتُكُمَْ وََبَنَاتُكُمَْ وََأَخَوَاتُكُمَََْ
وَعَمَّاتُكُمَْ وََخَالَتُكُمَْ وََبَنَاتَُ اَلَْْ خَ وََبَنَاتَُ اَلُْْخْ تَ وََأُمَّهَاتُكُمَُ اَللََّ تي أََرْضَعْنَكُمَََْ
وَأَخَوَاتُكُمَْ منََ اَلرَّضَاعَ ةَ وََأُمَّهَاتَُ نَسَا ئكُمَْ وََرَبَا ئبُكُمَُ اَللََّ تي في حَُجُو ركُمََْ
منَْ نسَا ئكُمَُ اَللََّ تي دََخَلْتُمَْ ب هنََّ فََإ نَْ لََمَْ تََكُونُوا دََخَلْتُمَْ ب هنََّ فََلَََ جَُنَاحََ عََلَيْكُمََْ
وََحَلََ ئلَُ أََبْنَا ئكُمَُ اَلَّ ذينََ منَْ أََصْلََ بكُمَْ وََأَنَْ تََجْمَعُوا بََيْنََ اَلُْْخْتَيْ نَ إَ لََّ مََا قََدَََْ
سَلَفََ إَ نََّ اَللَََّّ كََانََ غََفُورًا رََ حيمًا. وَََالْمُحْصَنَاتَُ منََ اَلنِّسَا ءَ إَ لََّ مََا مََلَكَتَََْ
أَيْمَانُكُمَْ كتَابََ اللَّ عََلَيْكُمَْ وََأُ حلََّ لََكُمَْ مََا وََرَاءََ ذََل كُمَْ أََنَْ تََبْتَغُواََ
)24- بأَمْوَال كُمَْ مَُحْ ص نينََ غََيْرََ مَُسَا ف حينََ... )َالنساء: 99
And marry no women whom your fathers married;
except what has already passed; indeed it was shameful
and most hateful, and an evil way. Forbidden to you (for
marriage) are: your mothers, your daughters, your sisters,
your father’s sisters, your mother’s sisters, your brother’s
daughters, your sister’s daughters, your foster mothers who
gave you suck, your foster milk suckling sisters, your wives’
mothers, your step-daughters under your guardianship, born
of your wives to whom you have gone in, but there is no sin on
you if you have not gone in them (to marry their daughters),
the wives of your sons who (spring) from your own loins, and
45
two sisters in wedlock at the same time, except for what has
already passed; verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Also (forbidden are) women already married, except those
(slaves) whom your right hands possess. Thus has Allah
ordained for you. All others are lawful, provided you seek
(them in marriage) with dowry from your property,
desiring chastity, not committing illegal
sexual intercourse… (Q. 4:222-24)
When the Quraysh idolaters talked about the marriage of
the Prophet to Zaynab bin Jaḥsh, the divorced wife of his
adopted son Zayid ibn Ḥārithah, the above verse was revealed
to indicate that Zayd was not the Prophet’s son of his loins (but
just an adopted son), and it was revealed,
)َ .َ..وَمَا جََعَلََ أََدْ عيَاءَكُمَْ أََبْنَاءَكُمَْ ]َسورة اَلْحزاب: 3
…َ nor has He made your adopted
sons your real sons.. (Q. 33:4)
)َ مَََا كََانََ مَُحَمَّ دَ أََبَا أََحَ دَ منَْ رجَال كُمَْ .َ.. )ََالْحزاب: 39َ
Muhammad is not the father of any
of your men… (Q. 33:40)
Although it is mentioned only the prohibition of marrying
a woman and her sister at a time, the Prophet as a law-maker
prohibited also from marrying a woman with her aunt at a
time.
d. Regulating ḥālāl (permitted) and ḥarām (prohibited) food. The
Makkan idolaters ate carrion claiming that it was Allah’s
slaughter. Allah prohibited it, and many other things, as in the
following verse:
حُرِّمَتَْ عََلَيْكُمَُ اَلْمَيْتَةَُ وََالدَّمَُ وََلَحْمَُ اَلْ خنْ زي رَ وََمَا أَُ هلََّ لَ غَيْ رَ اللَّ ب هَ
وََالْمُنْخَ نقَةَُ وَََالْمَوْقُوذَةَُ وََالْمُتَرَدِّيَةَُ وََالنَّ طيحَةَُ وََمَا أََكَلََ اَلسَّبُعَُ إَ لََّ مََاََ
)َ ذَكَّيْتُمَْ وََمَا ذَُ بحََ عََلَى اَلنُّصُ بَ ... )َالمائدة: 4
Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead animals
[not slaughtered], blood, the flesh of swine, and that
which Allah’s Name has not been mentioned while
slaughtering (that which has been slaughtered as
46
a sacrificeَ for others than Allah or idols) and that
which has been killed by strangling or a violent
blow, or by a headlong fall, or by the goring of
horns, and that which has been (partly) eaten
byَ a wild animal, unless you are able to
slaughter it (before its death), and that
wَhich is sacrificed (slaughtered)
on stone-altars...(Q. 5:3)
There are other things prohibited through the sayings of
the Prophet, such as the flesh of predators, carnivorous (flesh
eating animals), such as: lions, haws, etc.
Things permitted to eat as food are as follows:
الْيَوْمََ أَُ حلََّ لََكُمَُ اَلطَّيِّبَاتَُ وََطَعَامَُ اَلَّ ذينََ أَُوتُوا اَلْ كتَابَََ
) ح لَ لََكُمَْ وََطَعَامُكُمَْ ح لَ لََهُمَْ .َ..)المائدة: 5
Made lawful to you this day are pleasant things [all
kinds of ḥalāl (lawful) foods which Allah has made lawful.
The food (slaughtered cattle, eatable animals) of the
people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) isَ lawful
to you and yours is lawful to them... (Q. 5:5)
These are some examples of the gradual introduction of
Islamic laws through revelation sent down in stages to the heart of
Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. (CIVIC, 24.01. 2014)
[TO BE CONTINUED]
Bibliography:
المكتبة اَلشاملة
تفسير اَلطبري
تفسير إَبن كَثير
http://www.onislam.net/english/ask-about-islam/society-andfamily/
status-of-women/167166-islamic-inheritance-lawsinherently-
unjust.html
http://www.kantakji.com/fiqh/files/mawareeth/4015.pdf
47
8. REASONS FOR SENDING DOWN THE QUR’ᾹN IN STAGES (3)
Other reasons for sending down the Qur’an in stages are as
follows:
4. To adapt to emerging events and issues. The Qur’an was revealed
to solve problems emerging from new events. Allah said:
وَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ تِبْيَانًا لِكُ ل شَيْ ء وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةً
) وَبُشْرَى لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ )النحل: 88
… And We have sent down to you the Book as
an exposition of everything, a guidance a mercy, and
glad tidings for those who submitted themselves
(to Allah as Muslims) (Q. 16:89)
a. Some un-Islamic Arab’s traditions and practices were abolished,
such as adoption and ẓihār. In Islam adoption is merely being a
foster parent, and there is no blood relationship with him. The
child remains the son or daughter of his or her biological
parents. This issue has been dealt with in my khutbah in
Selected Khutab Book 4, under the topic “The Institution of
Marriage in Jeopardy.”
With regard to ẓihār Khawlah bint Tha‘labah complained
to the Prophet that her husband Aws ibn al-Ṣāmit said to her أَنْتِ
عَلَيَّ كَظَهْرِأُ ميْ (“you are to me like my mother’s back”), a pre-
Islamic form of divorce consisting in the words of repudiation
called ẓihār. Then revelation came to explain the invalidity of
this kind of divorce and the penalty for the offender in the
following verses:
قَدْ سَمِعَ اللَّّ قَوْلَ الَّتِي تُجَادِلُكَ فِي زَوْجِهَا وَتَشْتَكِي إِلَى اللَِّّ وَاللَّّ يَسْمَعُ تَحَاوُرَكُمَا
إِنَّ اللَّّ سَمِي ع بَصِي ر . الَّذِينَ يُظَاهِرُونَ مِنْكُمْ مِنْ نِسَائِهِمْ مَا هُنَّ أُمَّهَاتِهِمْ إِنْ أُمَّهَاتُهُمْ إِلَّّ
اللََّّئِي وَلَدْنَهُمْ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَيَقُولُونَ مُنْكَرًا مِنَ الْقَوْلِ وَزُورًا وَإِنَّ اللَّّ لَعَفُ و غَفُو ر . وَالَّذِينَ
يُظَاهِرُونَ مِنْ نِسَائِهِمْ ثُمَّ يَعُودُونَ لِمَا قَالُوا فَتَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَ ة مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ يَتَمَاسَّا ذَلِكُمْ
تُوعَظُونَ بِهِ وَاللَّّ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِي ر . فَمَنْ لَمْ يَجِدْ فَصِيَامُ شَهْرَيْنِ مُتَتَابِعَيْنِ مِنْ قَبْلِ
أَنْ يَتَمَاسَّا فَمَنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَإِطْعَامُ سِ تينَ مِسْكِينًا ذَلِكَ لِتُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَِّّ وَرَسُولِهِ
)4- وَتِلْكَ حُدُودُ اللَِّّ وَلِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَا ب أَلِي م )المجادلة: 1
Indeed, Allah has heard the statement of her that
48
disputes with you (O Muhammad) concerning her husband, you both. Verily, Allah is All-Hearer, All-Seer. Those among cannot be their mother. None can be their mothers except and a lie. And verily, Allah is Oft-Pardoning, Oft-Forgiving. and wish to free themselves from what they uttered, then touch each other. That is an admonition to you so that you -------------------------------with what you do. And he who finds not (the money for freeing touch each other. And he who is unable to do so, should feed sixty miskīn (needy persons). That is in order that you may have perfect Faith in Allah and His Messenger. These are the limits set by Allah. And for the disbelievers, is a painful torment. (Q. 58 :1-4). So, the penalty of it, before they touch each other as husband and wife, is to free a slave, or if he can’t or no more slave to free, then fast two successive months if he can, and if not, feed sixty poor people. b. Emerging issues such as the distribution of the spoils of war. After the battle Badr that took place on Friday 17 Ramadan 2 AH/17 March, 624 CE, groups Muslim army disputed about the distribution of the spoils of war. Some of them pursued the enemy inflicting utter defeat and casualties; another group came collected the spoils of war; and another group surrounded the Prophet to protect him from any surprise attack against him. They did not know how to distribute them fairly. Sa‘d ibn Mālik who participated in the battlefield came to the Prophet with a sword and said: “O Allah’s Messenger, Allah has brought comfort to me today over the idolaters, so grant me this sword. He said, ‘This sword is neither yours nor mine;
49
put it down.’ So I put it down, but said to myself, ‘The Prophet might give this sword to another man who did not fight as fiercely as I did.’ Then the Prophet came to me, and said, ‘O Sa‘d, you have asked me the sword, and it was not mine. Now it has become mine, and it is for you.’ The he cited the following verse: ) ذَاتَ بَيْنِكُمْ وَأَطِيعُوا اللَّّ وَرَسُولَهُ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ )الْنفال: 1
They asked you (O Muhammad) about the spoils of war. Say: the spoils are for Allah and the Messenger.” So fear Allah and adjust all matters of difference among you, and obey Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad) if you are believers.(Q. 8:1) (Reported by Aḥmad. Abū Dā’ūd, al-Tirmidhī, Then another revelation was revealed as follows: وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا غَنِمْتُمْ مِنْ شَيْ ء فَأَنَّ للّ خُمُسَهُ وَلِلرَّسُولِ وَلِذِي الْقُرْبَى
وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ آمَنْتُمْ بِاللِّ وَمَا أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَى عَبْدِنَا يَوْمَ
) الْفُرْقَانِ يَوْمَ الْتَقَى الْجَمْعَانِ وَاللّ عَلَى كُ ل شَيْ ء قَدِي ر )الْنفال: 41
And know that whatever of war booty that you may gain, verily, one-fifth of it is assigned to Allah, and to the the Messenger, and to the near relatives (of the Messenger), the orphans, the poor, and the wayfarer, if you have believed in Allah and in that which We sent down to Our servant on the Day of Criterion, the Day when the two forces met; and Allah is able to do all things. (Q. 8.:41) As everything belongs to Allah, His share in the spoils of war is intended for the Prophet. The four-fifth of the spoils of was divided among the fighters, and the remaining one-fifth was divided among the Muslims: the Prophet’s near relatives (as they were not allowed to receive ṣadaqah. i.e., charity(, the orphans, the poor, and the wayfarer. The ṣaḥābah
50
of the Prophet) were very happy, especially ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib,
who received from the share an old camel mare, when he had
nothing, while he was engaged with Fāṭimah, the Prophet’s
youngest daughter.
That was in the early period of Islam. Nowadays, as
Muslim soldiers receive salaries, military equipment and
trainings, even pensions for them and their families from their
respective governments, this regulation is no longer applied,
dormant and probably forever.
c. People ask the Prophet many questions, and Allah gives the
answer. The Prophet s.a.w. kept warning the pagan Quraysh
tribe in Makkah about the coming of the Hour, and when they
asked when it would happen, Allah revealed to him the
following verses:
يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ السَّاعَةِ أَيَّانَ مُرْسَاهَا. فِيمَ أَنْتَ مِنْ ذِكْرَاهَا. إِلَى رَ بكَ
مُنْتَهَاهَا. إِنَّمَا أَ نتَ مُنْذِرُ مَنْ يَخْشَاهَا. كَأَنَّهُمْ يَوْمَ يَرَوْنَهَا لَمْ يَلْبَثُوا إِلَّّ
)44- عَشِيَّةً أَوْ ضُحَاهَا )النازعات: 44
They ask you (O Muhammad) about the Hour – when
will be its appointed time? You have no knowledge to say
anything about it. To your Lord belongs (the knowledge
of) the term thereof. You (Muhammad) are only a warner
for those who fear it. The Day they see it (it will be as if
they had not tarried (in this world) except an
afternoon or a morning. (Q. 79:42),
In the following verse Allah told the Prophet the answer
to their question:
يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ السَّاعَةِ أَيَّانَ مُرْسَاهَا قُلْ إِنَّمَا عِلْمُهَا عِنْدَ رَ بي لَّ يُجَل يهَا لِوَقْتِهَا
إِلَّّ هُوَثَقُلَتْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالَْْرْضِ لَّ تَأْتِيكُمْ إِلَّّ بَغْتَةً يَسْأَلُونَكَ كَأَنَّكَ حَفِ ي
) عَنْهَا قُلْ إِنَّمَا عِلْمُهَا عِنْدَ اللَِّّ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَّ يَعْلَمُونَ )الْعراف: 181
They ask you about the Hour (Day of Resurrection)” “When
will be its appointed time?” Say: “The knowledge thereof is
with my Lord (Alone). None can reveal its time but He. Heavy
is its burden through the heaven and the earth. It shall not
51
come upon you except all of a sudden.” They ask you as if
you have a good knowledge of it. Say: “The knowledge
there of is with Allah (Alone), but most of
mankind know not.” (Q. 7:187)
The famous Qur’an commentator al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/843)
said that people asked the Prophet about the crescents, being
hidden, then appeared and then change of their condition with
increase and decrease in size, unlike the sun which never
decreases or increases in size. This question does not need
scientific explanation which is beyond their understanding. The
Prophet was not an astronomer to teach astronomy, but a
Prophet to guide people to the right path. Allah said:
) يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الَْْهِلَّةِ قُلْ هِيَ مَوَاقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَالْحَ ج )البقرة: 188
They ask you (O Muhammad) about the crescents.
Say, “These are signs to mark fixed periods of time
for mankind and for the pilgrimage…” (Q. 2:189)
So, the change of the crescents is to make them mark
their acts of worship, the ‘iddah (the period of time a divorced
woman or a widow is required to wait before remarrying) of
their women, time for paying their debt and rent, for fasting
and breaking their fast, and the time of their ḥajj (pilgrimage to
Makkah).
The expression ... يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ ... قُل (“They ask you
about…say …”) is mentioned in five verses, namely, about the
crescents (Q. 2:189), about fighting the Sacred months (Q.
2:217), about alcohol (Q. 2:219), about the Day of Resurrection
(Q. 7:189), and about the spoils of war (Q. 8:1). One verse,
namely, Q. 79:42 about time of the Hour , as mentioned
earlier, is without asking the Prophet to give them the answer
with قُل (“say”), but Allah Himself told the Prophet not to
bother, because nobody except Allah knows when it will
happen. Four verses use the conjunction وَ (“and) in وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنْ
...“And they ask you about…), namely: concerning the
orphans (Q. 2:220), what they ought to spend (Q. 2:219),
52
concerning menstruation (Q. 2:222), concerning the spirit (Q.
17:85), and about Dhu ’l-Qarnayn (Q. 18:83).
One verse starts with ... وَ يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ ... فَقُلْ (“And they ask
you… then say…) which is concerning the mountains on the
Doomsday, as follows:
) وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْجِبَالِ فَقُلْ يَنْسِفُهَا رَ بي نَسْفًا )طه: 101
And they ask you about the mountains. (Then) Say:
My Lord will carry them from the roots (Q. 20:105).
When the following verse was revealed,
) وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ )غافر: 40
And your Lord says: “Call upon Me,
I will answer you …” (Q. 40:60)
people wished to know when they should call upon Him.
Others asked the Prophet how they should call upon Him. Then
the following verse was revealed:
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَ ني فَإِ ني قَرِي ب أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ
) فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ )البقرة: 184
And when My servant ask you (O Muhammad)
concerning Me, then surely I am near; I answer the
prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me. So they
should answer My call and believe in Me, that
they may walk in the right way (Q. 2:186)
In this verse when they ask the Prophet about Allah, He
Himself answered them directly, without saying قُلْ )(say) to the
Prophet, that no matter how and where they pray and call
upon Him, He is near and hear their prayers and supplication.
d. Some Qur’anic verses say about the enemy of Islam, especially
the hypocrites and their distinctive feature, such as the
following verses:
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَقُولُ آمَنَّا بِاللَِّّ وَبِالْيَوْمِ الْْخِرِ وَمَا هُمْ بِمُؤْ مِنِينَ . يُخَادِعُونَ
اللَّّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَمَا يَخْدَعُونَ إِلَّّ أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ . فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَ ض
فَزَادَهُمُ اللَّّ مَرَضًا وَلَهُمْ عَذَا ب أَلِي م بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْذِبُونَ . وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لَّ تُفْسِدُوا
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فِي الَْْرْضِ قَالُوا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُصْلِحُونَ . أَلَّ إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ الْمُفْسِدُونَ وَلَكِنْ لَّ
يَشْعُرُونَ . وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ آمِنُوا كَمَا آمَنَ النَّاسُ قَالُوا أَنُؤمِنُ كَمَا آمَنَ السُّفَهَاءُ
أَلَّ إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ السُّفَهَاءُ وَلَكِنْ لَّ يَعْلَمُونَ . وَإِذَا لَقُوا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قَالُوا آمَنَّا
وَإِذَا خَلَوْا إِلَى شَيَاطِينِهِمْ قَالُوا إِنَّا مَعَكُمْ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُسْتَهْزِئُونَ . اللَّّ يَسْتَهْزِئُ بِهِمْ وَيَمُدُّهُمْ فِي طُغْيَانِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ . أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ
اشْتَرَوُا الضَّلََّلَةَ بِالْهُدَى فَمَا رَبِحَتْ تِجَارَتُهُمْ
)14- وَمَا كَانُوا مُهْتَدِينَ )البقرة: 8
And there are some people who say: We believe
in Allah and the last day; and they are not at all
believers. They desire to deceive Allah and those who
believe, and they deceive only themselves and they do
not perceive. There is a disease in their hearts, so Allah
added to their disease and they shall have a painful
chastisement because they used to tell lies. And when
it is said to them, Do not make mischief in the land,
they say: We are but peace-makers. Now surely they
themselves are the mischief makers, but they do not
perceive. And when it is said to them: Believe as the
people believe they say: Shall we believe as the fools
believe? Now, surely they themselves are the fools,
but they do not know. And when they meet those
who believe, they say: We believe; and when they
are alone with their Satans, they say: Surely,
we are with you, we were only mocking.
Allah shall pay them back their mockery,
and He leaves them alone in their
inordinacy, blindly wandering on.
(Q. 2:8-16)
The hypocrites are the most dangerous enemy of
the Muslims, as they have to be treated like Muslims, but
Muslims have to be very careful not to be stabbed from behind,
as they are enemies in disguise. There is a chapter in the Qur’an
called Sūrat al-Munāfiqῡn dealing with the hypocrites of
Madinah and its leader, ‘Abdullah ibn Ubayy. I have also dealt
with this topic in my khutbah, on Selected Khuṭab, vol. 1 under
the topic “Abdullah Bin Ubayy”.
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‘Abdullah ibn Ubayy and his followers had slandered
‘Ᾱ’ishah. After waiting for over one month Allah revealed Q.
23:11-13 to clear ‘Ᾱ’ishah of the slander of the hypocrites, and
to prove her innocence, as dealt with in the previous khuṭbah
dated 13 September 2013.
These are some examples of questions and problems
answered and solved by the Qur’an in due course. (CIVIC 31.01.
140)
المصادر:
المكتبة الشاملة
تفسير الطبري
تفسير تفسير إبن كثير
http://akhawat.islamway.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=29634
http://ejabat.google.com/ejabat/thread?tid=04eff66438299537
55
9. REASONS FOR SENDING DOWN THE QUR’ᾹN IN STAGES (4)
Other reasons for sending down the Qur’an in stages are:
5. to facilitate memorizing, understanding and applying its contents.
The Qur’an was revealed to people where the vast majority of
them were illiterate. The pre-Islamic Arabs did not see any
importance of writing, and therefore, they preserved their
literature in their lips and hearts. Unlike our modern proverb
saying, “The weakest ink is better than the strong memory”, their
motto was ا ل ع ل م في ال ص د و ر لَ في السُّ ط و ر )“Knowledge is in the
heart (memory), not in lines (of writing)”. It was not by accident
that Allah revealed the Qur’an to people who were endowed with
strong memory. Allah says in the Qur’an,
هوَ الَّ ذي بَعَثَ في ا لْ مِّيِّينَ رَ سو ل م ن ه م يَ تل و عَلَ ي ه م آيَا ت ه وَ يزَكِّي ه م وَ يعَلِّ م ه م
) ا ل كتَابَ وَا ل ح كمَةَ وَإ ن كَا نوا م ن قَ ب ل لَ في ضَلََ ل م بي ن )الجمعة: 2
He it is Who sent among the unlettered ones a
Messenger (Muhammad) from among themselves, reciting
to them His Verses, purifying them (from the filth of disbelief
and polytheism), and teaching them the Book (the Qur’an)
and Wisdom (i.e. the Sunnah of the Prophet). And verily,
they had been before in manifest error. (Q. 62:2)
‘Umar r.a. himself advised people to memorize the Qur’an each
in five verses, as it was revealed by Gabriel averagely in five
verses. By memorizing they also learned the deep meanings of
these verses.
The “unlettered ones”, those who were illiterate refer to the
Arabs. In another verse those who are illiterate refers to the
Arabs as follows:
وَق ل ل لَّ ذينَ أ و توا ا ل كتَابَ وَا لْ مِّيِّينَ أَأَ سلَ م ت م فَإ ن أَ سلَ موا فَقَ د ا هتَدَ وا وَإ ن
) تَوَلَّ وا فَإ نَّمَا عَلَ يكَ ا لبَلََ غ وَاللَّّ بَ صي ر با ل عبَا د )آل عمران: 22
And say to those who were given the Scripture and
those who are illiterates: “Do you submit yourselves?”
If they do, they are rightly guided; but if they turn away,
your duty is only to convey the message; and Allah is
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All-Seer of (His) servants. (Q. 3:20)
The Qur’an commentator Ibn Khathīr in his commentary
said this: “Mentioning the unlettered ones in specific here does
not mean that Muhammad s.a.w. was only sent to them,
because the blessing of the Arabs is greater than that of other
nations.” He then cited some other verses, including that states
that the Prophet was sent to the whole mankind, as follows:
) ق ل يَا أَيُّهَا النَّا س إ نِّي رَ سو ل اللّ إ لَ ي ك م جَ مي عا ... )الْعراف: 851
Say (O Muhammad): “O mankind! Verily, I am sent to
you all as the Messenger of Allah…” (Q. 7:158)
6. to challenge those who reject the Qur’an as the very words of
Allah revealed to Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. and to show its
miraculous nature. There were many allegations against Prophet
Muhammad s.a.w. by the pagans of Makkah, such as being
suffered from epilepsy, being a poet, a magician, a soothsayer,
being taught by someone from the Torah and the Injil (Bible), so
that he often referred to them in the Qur’an. They said that if it
were truly from Allah, and he was a true Messenger as he
claimed, they asked him many unreasonable things, such as:
وَقَال وا لَ ن ن ؤ منَ لَكَ حَتَّى تَ ف جرَ لَنَا منَ ا لْ ر ض يَ ن بو عا. أَ و تَ كونَ لَكَ جَنَّ ة
م ن نَ خي ل وَ عنَ ب فَ تفَجِّرَ ا لَْ نهَارَ خلََلَهَا تَ ف جي را. أَ و ت س قطَ السَّمَاءَ كَمَا زَعَ متَ
عَلَ ينَا كسَ فا أَ و تَأ تيَ با للّ وَا لمَلََ ئكَ ة قَ بي لَ . أَ و يَ كونَ لَكَ بَ ي ت م ن ز خ ر ف أَ و تَ رقَى
في السَّمَا ء وَلَ ن ن ؤ منَ ل ر قيِّكَ حَتَّى تنَزِّلَ عَلَ ينَا كتَا با نَ قرَ ؤه ق ل س بحَانَ رَبِّي
هَ ل ك ن ت إ لَّ بَشَ را رَ سو ل . وَمَا مَنَعَ النَّاسَ أَ ن ي ؤ م نوا إ ذ جَاءَ ه م ا ل هدَى إ لَّ
أَ ن قَال وا أَبَعَثَ اللَّّ بَشَ را رَ سو ل . ق ل لَ و كَانَ في ا لَْ ر ض مَلََ ئكَ ة يَ م شونَ
م طمَ ئنِّينَ لَنَزَّ لنَا عَلَ ي ه م منَ السَّمَا ء مَلَ كا رَ سو ل . ق ل كَفَى با للّ شَ هي دا
)09- بَ ي ني وَبَ ينَ ك م إ نَّ ه كَانَ ب عبَا د ه خَ بي را بَ صي را )الإسراء: 02
And they say: “We shall not believe in you
(O Muhammad) until you cause a spring gush forth
from the earth for us; Or you have a garden of datepalms
and grapes, and cause rivers to gush forth in its
midst abundantly; O you cause the heaven to fall upon
us in pieces, as you have pretended, or you bring Allah
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and the angels before (us) face to face; Or you have a house the sky, and even then we will put no faith in your faith in your ascension until you bring down for us a Book that we would read.” Say (O Muhammad): “Glorified (and Exalted) is my Lord [(Allah) above all that they (polytheists) associate with Him]! And I anything but a man, sent as a Messenger?” and nothing prevented men from believing the guidance came upon them, except that they said: “Has Allah sent a man as His Messenger?” Say: “If there were on the earth, angels walking about in peace and security, We should certainly between me and you. Verily, He is Ever Well- Acquainted, All-Seer of His slaves.”(Q. 17:90-96) وَإ ذَا ت تلَى عَلَ ي ه م آيَا تنَا قَال وا قَ د سَ م عنَا لَ و نَشَا ء لَق لنَا م ثلَ هَذَا إ ن هَذَا
إ لَّ أَسَا طي ر ا لَْوَّل ين. وَإ ذ قَال وا اللَّ همَّ إ ن كَانَ هَذَا هوَ ا لحَقَّ م ن ع ن دكَ فَأَ م ط ر
عَلَ ينَا حجَارَ ة منَ السَّمَا ء أَ و ا ئ تنَا بعَذَا ب أَل ي م . وَمَا كَانَ اللَّّ ل يعَذِّبَ ه م وَأَ نتَ
)11- في ه م وَمَا كَانَ اللَّّ معَذِّبَ ه م وَ ه م يَ ستَ غ ف رونَ )الْنفال: 18
And when Our Verses (of the Qur’an) are recited to them, they say: ”We have heard (the Qur’an); if we wish we can say the like of this. This is nothing but the tales of the ancients.” And (remember) when they said: “O Allah! If this (the Qur’an) is indeed the truth (revealed) from You, then rain down stones on us from the sky or bring on us a painful torment.” And Allah would not punish them while you (Muhammad) are among them, nor will He punish them while they seek (Allah’s) Forgiveness. (Q. 8:31-33) One of the Prophet’s arch-enemy, al-Naḍr ibn al-Ḥārith, who frequented the city of Ḥīrah in Persia as a trader, passed by worshippers citing the Bible, bowed down and prostrated
58
themselves. When he came to Makkah he found the Prophet
was doing the same thing, citing the Qur’an, bowed down and
prostrated himself. He then said, “We have heard it, if we want
we can say something like it,” namely, what he had had heard
from the worshippers in Ḥīrah. He was so sure that the Prophet
was not sent by Allah, that he asked Allah to rain down stones
on them. This reminds us of the late Ahmad Deedat who was so
convinced that Jesus had never claimed himself to be God, and
never said, “I am God, worship Me,” in any Bible in any
language. He said that if they find any, he would worship him,
which means, he would be an apostate, a Christian.
Although it is true that Allah sent Prophet Muhammad
s.a.w. but He would not do what the Quraysh idolaters wished,
namely, to punish them, as the Prophet was among them, and
many of them asked Allah’s forgiveness.
The Qur’an said that Allah is "the creator of everything"
خَال ق كلِّ شَ ي ئ ( ( Q. 6:102; 39:62 and 40:62), and challenged them
that their idols could not even create a fly. Allah said,
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّا س ض ربَ مَثَ ل فَا ستَ م عوا لَ ه إ نَّ الَّ ذينَ تَ د عونَ م ن
دو ن اللّ لَ ن يَ خل ق وا ذبَا با وَلَ و ا جتَمَ عوا لَ ه وَإ ن يَ سل ب ه م الذُّبَا ب
شَ ي ئا لَ يَ ستَ ن ق ذوه م ن ه ضَ عفَ الطَّال ب وَا لمَ طل و ب . مَا قَدَ روا
)37- اللَّّ حَقَّ قَ د ر ه إ نَّ اللَّّ لَقَ و ي عَ زي ز )الحج: 31
O people! A parable is set forth, therefore listen to it: surely
those whom you call upon besides Allah cannot create a fly,
though they should all gather for it, and should the fly snatch
away anything from them, they could not take it back from
it, weak are the invoker and the invoked. They have not
estimated Allah His Rightful Estimate. Verily, Allah is
All-Strong, All-Mighty.(Q. 22:73-74)
Ibn ‘Abbas said that the idolaters overlaid their idols with
saffron, then it became dry and the fly took it away. Al-Suddī
said that they gave them food, and the fly came and ate it.
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The Qur’an commentator al-Qurṭubī (d. 609-669 /1214-1273) gives us three possible meanings here: (a) the idolaters who seek help from the idols to make them nearer to Allah, and the idols themselves which cannot answer their request are both weak; (b) the idols who are unable to protect themselves from the fly that can sting their body and snatch anything from them, and the fly itself are both weak. Even we human beings, let alone the idols, cannot take back our food eaten by flies, after being digested; (c) the idolaters themselves and the idols they are worshiping are both weak. Al-Qurṭubī says further that the fly has four distinctive characteristics: lowliness, weakness, dirtiness, and its great in number. However, the idols could not create even such abased creature, the fly. One of my teachers at the Secondary School in early 50s told us that scientists had successfully made an artificial egg, but it could not hatch. Certainly it could not, as there was no life in it. The pagan Arabs in pre-Islamic and early Islamic period worshiped idols to make them near to Allah. They said, as mentioned in the Qur’an, وَالَّ ذينَ اتَّخَ ذوا م ن دو ن ه أَ ول يَاءَ مَا نَ ع ب د ه م إ لَّ ل يقَرِّ بونَا
) إ لَى اللّ ز لفَى ... )الزمر: 1
And those who take protectors (gods) besides Him (say): “We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allah”… (Q. 39:3) The Makkan idolaters’ allegation that the Qur’an was not from Allah, but from the Prophet’s own words was challenged by the Qur’an with the following verses which were revealed in the early period of Islam where the Muslims were still weak: أَ م يَق ول ونَ ا فتَرَاه ق ل إ ن ا فتَرَ ي ت ه فَعَلَيَّ إ جرَا مي
) وَأَنَا بَ ري ء ممَّا ت ج ر مونَ )هود: 15
Or they (the pagans of Makkah) say:
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“He (Muhammad) has fabricated it (the Qur’an).”
Say: “If I have fabricated it, upon be my crimes,
but I am innocent of (all) those crimes
which you commit.”(Q. 88:15)
The Prophet was told by Allah to tell them, “If I lied it is
only me who would bear the consequence of it, not you.”
أَ م يَق ول ونَ ا فتَرَاه ق ل إ ن ا فتَرَ ي ت ه فَلََ تَ م ل كونَ ل ي منَ اللّ شَ ي ئا
هوَأَ علَ م بمَا ت في ضونَ في ه كَفَى ب ه شَ هي دا بَ ي ني وَبَ ينَ ك م وَ هوَ
) ا لغَف و ر الرَّ حي م )الْحقاف: 1
Or say they: “He (Muhammad) has fabricated it?” Say:
“If I have fabricated it, still you have no power to support
me against Allah. He knows best of what you say among
yourselves concerning it (i.e., this Qur’an)! Sufficient
is He as a witness between me and you! And He is
Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.” (Q. 46:8)
Allah told the Prophet to tell them that had he invented
the Qur’an none of them would be able to help him from
Allah’s punishment.
أَ م يَق ول ونَ ا فتَرَاه بَ ل هوَ ا لحَقُّ م ن رَبِّكَ ل ت ن ذرَ قَ و ما مَا
. ) أَتَا ه م م ن نَ ذي ر م ن قَ بل كَ لَعَلَّ ه م يَ هتَ دونَ )السجدة: 1
Or say they: “He (Muhammad) has fabricated it?” Nay,
it is the truth from your Lord, so that you may warn a people
to whom no warner has come before you (O Muhammad):
in order that they may be guided. (Q. 32:3)
Here Allah told the Prophet to convince him that the
Qur’an is the truth, and his duty was to warn people who had
not received any prophet before.
أَ م يَق ول ونَ ا فتَرَاه ق ل فَأ توا بعَ ش ر سوَ ر م ثل ه م فتَرَيَا ت وَا د عوا
) مَ ن ا ستَطَ ع ت م م ن دو ن اللّ إ ن ك ن ت م صَا د قينَ )هود: 81
Or they say: “He (Muhammad) forged it (the Qur’an).”
Say: “Bring you then ten sūrahs (chapters) like it, and call
whomsoever you can, other than Allah (to your help!
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If you speak the truth” (Q 11:13).
أَ م يَق ول ونَ ا فتَرَاه ق ل فَأ توا ب سورَ ة م ثل ه وَا د عوا مَ ن ا ستَطَ ع ت م
) م ن دو ن اللّ إ ن ك ن ت م صَا د قينَ )يونس: 11
Or do they say: “He (Muhammad) has forged it?”
Say: “Bring, then, a surah (chapter) like it, and
call upon whomsoever you can besides
Allah, if you are truthful.” (Q. 10:38)
Here the challenge of the Qur’an is reduced to one
chapter, and the shortest one is sūrat al-Kawthar (chapter 108)
consisting of of 3 verses and 10 words. The next short one is
sūrat al-‘aṣr (chapter 103) consisting of 3 verses and 14 words,
then followed by sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ (chapter 112), consisting of 5
verses and 15 words (if we do not consider wa meaning “and”
as one word). Had anyone accepted the challenge, and how far
did he succeed or fail, will be dealt with, inshā Allāh, in the next
khuṭbah. (CIVIC, 7 February, 2014)
المراجع:
المكتبة الشاملة
تفسير الطبري
تفسير القرطبي
افسير أبن كثير
http://akhawat.islamway.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=29634
http://ejabat.google.com/ejabat/thread?tid=04eff66438299537
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10. THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE QUR’AN’S CHALLENGE (1)
One of the great Muslim scholars in Egypt in the late 20th
century was Dr. Ibrāhīm Khalīl. He was a medical doctor, a physician,
but interested in Qur’an and comparative study of religions. Among
his writings are: و ت ك ل م ال ج ل د – د ر ا س ة ع ن ال ج ل د في ال ع ل م و ال ي ه و د ي ة و ال ن ص ر ا ن ي ة و
ال س ل م (“And Skin Talked – A Study on Skin in Science, Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam”), ال ز ل ز ا ل في ال ع ل م و ال ت و را ة وا ل ن ج ي ل و ال ق رآن
(“Earthquakes in science, the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur’an”),
and ال د م في ال ع ل م و ال ت و را ة وا ل ن ج ي ل و الق رآن (“Blood in Science, the Torah, the
Gospel, and the Qur’an”).
In 1 January, 1993, Dr. Ibrāhīm Khalīl, published his book
entitled ل م ا ذ ا أ س ل م ص د ي ق ي و ر أ ي ال فا ت ي ك ان ف ي ت ح د يا ت ال ق ر آن “(Why My Friend
Became Muslim and the View of Vatican on the Challenges of the
Qur’an”). It was published at Maktabat al-Turāth al-Islāmī in Cairo,
Egypt.
In this book Dr. Ibrāhīm Khalīl talked about his colleague and
friend whom he does not identify, perhaps for being a Christian,
who tried to accept the challenge of the Qur’an by producing
something similar to it. His friend, whom we call here “Dr. So-andso”,
thought that for a long period of time he would be able to
defeat the challenge of the Qur’an and kept dreaming day and night
that one day he would be able to write a book entitled و ا نت ه ت ت ح د يا ت
ال ق ر آن (“[The] Qur’an Challenge is Overruled and Obsolete”). He even
planned to write some chapters in this book, such as ال ق ض ا ء ع ل ي أ ك ب ر
الأ ك ا ذ ي ب ال د ي ن ي ة فى ال تا ر يخ (“The Extermination on the Greatest Religious
Lies in History”), and و أ خ ي ر ا ه ز م نا ال ق ر ا ن بال ض ر ب ة ال قا ض ية (“And finally we
defeated the Qur’an with fatal blow”). He dreamed that he would be
offered by publishers to publish it, and he would become very rich
after being translated into living languages. At the same time this
book would awaken the Muslims from their negligence or
foolishness in believing in the Qur’an as revelation from God.
In his dialogue with the author (Dr. Ibrāhīm Khalīl) Dr. So-andso
said that he found that the Qur’an challenges people to produce
63
one chapter similar to it. He found sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ (chapter 12) which consists of 15 words. Since the challenge has been made for 14 centuries without any response, the author told him to extend the time he needed from two to three months. But Dr. So-and-so said that 25 persons among his most faithful friends who were enthusiastic for Christianity had promised to assist him, and the author gave him four month time, instead of three months he had requested, to finish the project. He asked the author what would be his reaction if he succeeded in challenging the Qur’an, but the author reversed the question, asking him what would happen if he failed. He said that in that case it would be impossible to reach mutual understanding, and insisted that he would prevail. After two months Dr. So-and-so visited the author and told him that apparently it would be impossible to produce a chapter similar to that of the Qur’an. But he was optimistic and planned to write an objective book which would turn the world upside down, entitled
و ا نت ه ت ت ح د يا ت الق رآن -(“[The] Qur’an Challenge is Overruled and ). He said that he had visited many universities in England,
64
Belgium, Netherlands, France, and the United States where some of
its professors master Arabic language more than both of them. They
gave Ph.D. title to those who study Arabic language. He would ask
each of them to compose a chapter like that of the Qur’an. He had
the names and address of universities and educational institutions all
over the world, including the names, positions and fields of study of
their staffs from a guide book he had bought. He showed the author
the letter he would sent to two-thousand universities and institutes
of learning, as well as Catholic and Protestant Religious Centres
which concerned with Arabic language, Comparative studies of
Religion and Oriental studies. In this letter he said that he was a
physician of 41 years old, claiming to be Catholic, whereas in fact, he
was Orthodox, and gave a different name. The date of the letter was
25 November, 1989, almost 25 years ago. He expected to receive
over 2000 reply each with a chapter, so that his book would contain
at least 2000 chapters.
In his letter in English Dr. So-and-so said that he had a Muslim
friend, meaning Dr. Ibrāhīm Khalīl, the author with whom he had
discussion about religion, and expected him to become a Christian.
But he was surprised to find that the Qur’an had challenged the
human beings since 1400 years ago until now to produce a chapter
similar to that of the Qur’an, and that chapter 112 contains 15 words
only. By accepting the challenge of the Qur’an, it would be expected
to be an effective means in conducting a scientific debate with
Muslims. He admitted that in spite of his mother tongue being
Arabic, he was unable to write fifteen words similar to the chapter of
the Qur’an, simply because he had never read it and was not
interested in reading it. He requested that a chapter containing at
least fifteen words with the highest standard of eloquence similar to
that of the Qur’an to be sent to him. He would collect these chapters
in a book entitled (“[The] Qur’an Challenge is Overruled and
Obsolete” and would be evidence to the Muslims that the Qur’an
was not revealed from God. He also said that he had asked his friend
to give him 3 till 4 months to complete the book.
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When the author asked Dr. So-and-so why he said he was Catholic while he was Orthodox, and why he did not tell them in his letter that he and his friends had failed to make a chapter consisting of fifteen words, his answer was that it was because the majority of the Christians in the West were Catholic, and he did not mentioned his and his friends’ failure because he did not want to set their enthusiasm back in hating and disregarding Islam and the Qur’an. He also request them not mentioned the addresses in his guide book in order that he might get confidential addresses, to whom he would ask them to do the same, and to ensure his success in writing the book. One month, forty days… fifty days had passed, and yet, not a single response was received. Therefore, as a second attempt, he sent the same letter to the same addresses, with three additions in the letter: “(1) This circular letter had been sent all-over the world on 25 November 1989; (2) The answer I‘ve received were actually very encouraging; (3) I suppose I’ll receive your reply after some 2-4 weeks in order to accomplish my interesting book and the collection of these replies would be published in ‘an exciting book’”. The letter was written on 20 November, 1990. The author found that Dr. So-and-so did not say that he and his friends themselves in Egypt had failed in doing what he requested in the letter. He only said that he had not attempted to do so, because he could not read the Qur’an and did not like to read it. He lied about the response of his previous letters, when he said that he had received very encouraging letters, whereas in fact he had not received any response. His purpose was to encourage the addressees to respond with a chapter of their writings, while in fact, he had not received any reply. Eventually, the response came from England, as follows: UNIVERSITY OF LONDON Dr. Owen Wright
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Head of the Department Dear Dr, I hope you will understand that both the individual members of staff of SOAS, and the School itself, abstain from religious controversy and that in consequence we cannot accede to your request. Yours sincerely, [Signed] Dr. Owen Wright The second letter was from Vatican with a long letter by Reverent Leo Arnold on 10 May, 1990 on behalf of the dean of the Faculty of Oriental Ancient Studies of Pontificio Istituto Biblico (Papal Biblical Institute) where he taught Arabic; among the contents of this letter are as follows: “… As Christians, of course, we do not accept the Quran as the word of God, even though we may admire it as a masterpiece of Arabic literature. An Egyptian colleague of mine says that the best parts of the Quran remind him of parts of the Bible, but that, of course, does not mean that it is inspired by God, as the Bible is. “… A practical objection to the challenge to produce a sura like the suras of the Quran is: who is going to judge whether any such attempt, if ever made, is successful or not? You would need to have an impartial judge to decide, and would have to be an expert in pre-Islamic and early Islamic literature. He would also have to be impartial, preferably neither a Christian nor a Moslem. Such a person would be very difficult to find, if not impossible.” The third letter comes from l’Université de Liège, d’histoire et de littératures orientales (University of Liege, Dept. of History and Oriental Literature) in Belgium, on 16 May, 1990, “…. On the Christian side, the polemic – as far as I know – was not concerned by the form, but of course by the point which is dealt with. To the non-Muslim, the Quran is simply, if I may say so, a human work: Muhammad’s work….[signed] … Aubert Martin.”
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Dr. So-and-so complained to the author that he had spent
thousands of Egyptian pounds in sending 8092 letters, namely,
sending 2023 addressees four times, and he received only five letters
without any satisfactory reply. He got 88 addresses of 88 countries
from a book freely distributed world-wide, entitled “The Scripture:
the Words of God or the Words of Man.” He sent to the USA 1043
letters, to Europe 400 letters, to Australia 40 letters, to Asia 182
letters, to Africa 51 letters, and to South America 99 letters. As he
did not receive any reply, he sent again and again, until four times,
also without getting any satisfactory reply.
The author wanted to share Dr. So-and-so the expense,
because he had unintentionally served Islam by quoting in his letters
four Qur’anic verses challenging people to produce something similar
to it. The Prophet said, ) بل غ وا ع ن ي ول وآ ية )رواه أحمد (“Report from me,
even with one verse”). The author told him of the other challenge of
the Qur’an, namely, to create a fly (as mentioned in the early
khutbah), that man will never succeed in creating a fly, and until now
we cannot create even a single cell. (CIVIC, 14 February, 2014)
According to Orientalists any masterpiece, such as the painting
of Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci and that of the Creation of Adam
by Michelangelo in the 16th century, cannot be competed in its
excellence. The Qur’an, being Muhammad’s masterpiece, is included
in this category, but does not necessarily mean that it is revelation
from God. (CIVIC, 14 February, 2014)
[TO BE CONTINUED]
المراجع:
المكتبة الشاملة
د. إبراهيم خليل. ل ما ذا أ سل م ص د ي ق ي و ر أ ي ال فا ت ي كان ف ي ت ح د يا ت الق رآن. القاهرة: مكتبة
التراث العلمي, 1993
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11. THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE QUR’AN’S CHALLENGE (2)
Dr. Ibrāhīm Khalīl said further to Dr. So-and-so that besides the
challenge of the Qur’an to produce a short surah (chapter) similar to
it, and that they cannot even create a fly, there is another challenge.
It is the deep meanings of the Qur’an.
It is true that through translation Muslims will understand the
meanings of the Qur’an dealing various issues in all human affairs. All
these, Dr. Ibrāhīm Khalīl maintains, are directed to achieve one
objective, namely, belief in Allah the One Who has nothing like Him.
Moreover, the Qur’an deals with the basic issue which is
preparedness for the Day of Reckoning. Those who read the Qur’an
with pure heart wishing to follow the truth will believe definitely,
that it is the word of Allah. Although they are deprived from tasting
its miraculous rhetorical style and its eloquence because they do not
know Arabic, they still can still feel the beauty of the sound by
reading it. We know that the majority of the Muslims do not know
Arabic, but they understand the Qur’an through translation and
explanation.
It is true that the translation of the Qur’an cannot contain,
include the whole meanings of its words. Before entering into this
topic, Dr. Ibrāhīm Khalīl related to his friend, Dr. So-and-so, about
the first revelation sent to Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. Before it, he
had gone to one of the caves of the mountains in Makkah called “the
Cave Ḥirā’”, where he stayed alone one month every year for several
years contemplating and wondering how his people had become so
ignorant that they worshiped stones and idols.
Suddenly, angel Gabriel (Jibrīl) appeared to him as an Arab
holding a book. He handed him the book and said strongly and
firmly, إِقْرَأْْ (“Read!”). As he was illiterate, he said, مَا أَْنَا بِْقَارِئْ (“I
cannot read”). Gabriel embraced him severely, then he released him
and asked him to read for the second time, and the Prophet
repeated that he could not read. The angel Gabriel embraced him
again severely, and then released him. The Angel Gabriel asked him
again to read. Fearing that his ribs would be broken from the severe
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embrace of Gabriel, he said, ؟ مَاذَا أَْقْرَْأُ (“What shall I read?”). Then
Gabriel said,
اقْرَأْْ بِْاسْمِْ رَْبِّكَْ اْلَّذِي خَْلَقَْ. خَْلَقَْ اْلِْْنْسَانَْ مِْنْْ عَْلَ قْ. اْقْرَأْْ وَْرَبُّكَْ اْلَْْكْرَمُْ. )ْ5- الَّذِي عَْلَّمَْ بِْالْقَلَمِْ .ْ عَْلَّمَْ اْلِْْنْسَانَْ مَْا لَْمْْ يَْعْلَمْْ. )ْالعلق :ْ 1
Read! In the name of your Lord Who has created
(all that exists). He has created man from a lot (a piece of
coagulated blood). Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous.
Who has taught (the writing) by the pen. He has taught
man that which he knew not (Q. 96:1-5).
When Dr. So-and-so, wondered that he had never heard such a
story, Dr. Ibrāhīm Khalīl told him that such a story was also
mentioned in the Bible. He was referring to Isaiah 29:11 in Arabic
translation of the Bible, whereas in English and Indonesian Bible it is
verse 12, as follows:
Or, if you give the scroll [the book, in Indonesian Bible]
to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,”
he will answer, “I don’t know how to read.”
(Holy Bible, New International Version)
Dr. Ibrāhīm Khalīl said further that since all earlier Prophets
could read and write, and none of them was illiterate, then this
vision of Prophet Isaiah ( أَشْعِيَاء ) was applicable solely to Prophet
Muhammad s.a.w, the last Prophet and Messenger.
Dr. So-and-so was so amazed, that he said: “This is very
strange, as what I know is that all prophets can read and write.”
Dr. Ibrāhīm Khalīl told his friend Dr. So-and-so, that this was his
own interpretation, he could not find any commentary on this verse
from the commentary of Book Isaiah he had bought collected by
Archpriest تادرس (Teodores?) Ya’qub from Malta who said he had
collected this interpretation from excellent and selected
interpretation of the fathers of early Church. There was no
commentary of the verse 11, as if it was not there. Dr. So-and-so saw
himself the commentary before and after this verse, but the verse
and was left without commentary, which made him shake his head
without any comment.
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Then the author, Dr. Ibrāhīm Khalīl, proceeded to the first
revelation from heaven to the earth, revealed to Prophet
Muhammad s.a.w. containing greeting and honour to knowledge as
mentioned above. The pen was mentioned once, the command to
read was mentioned twice, whereas knowledge is mentioned three
times, namely, عَلَّمَْ (“to give knowledge”, to teach) mentioned twice,
whereas يَعْلَم (“he knows”) mentioned once. This is a kind of
announcement that this illiterate Arab man to whom the whole
Qur’an will be revealed, will become a teacher of the whole human
kind with Allah’s permission and generosity. اْقْرَأْْ وَْرَبُّكَْ اْلَْْكْرَمُْ . Read!
And your Lord is the Most Generous.
The author, Dr. Ibrāhīm Khalīl, explains further that there is one
of the miracles of the Qur’an in its first revelation, which is the word
عَْلَْقْ which contains three letters:ْ ل , ع andْ قْ . He said that one day
he was asked to write a lecture in English on Islam’s concern with
knowledge, so that many foreigners would attend the opening of one
of big foreign libraries in Cairo. It would be natural if he cited some
Qur’anic verses as well as some sayings of the Prophet exhorting
people to seek knowledge. By consulting the English translation of
the word ‘alaq he got “blood clot”, and in French un caillot de sang
which gives the same meaning. When he consulted the dictionary
Lisān al-‘Arab, vol. 110, pp. 261-270 by Ibn Manẓūr he found the
word ‘alaq with its derivatives 31 (thirty-one) meanings, explained in
ten pages.
These meanings represent the nature and characters of human
beings in the process of his life to his death, as follows:
1. The stages of the creation, and the growth of fetus, inside the
womb, like a clinging leech (11. ‘ulūq = male sperm; 23. ‘ilaqah
= red leech that lives in water and sucks blood (like fetus in the
womb)
2. Basic necessity to sustain life, such as water, milk, food, blood
(7. ‘alāq, ‘ulūq = food; 9. ‘ulūq = milk; 10. ‘alīq = liquid, such as
water).
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3. Attachment to something, like the attachment of the mountain with the earth, of a fetus with the womb. When man grows up he attaches himself to his land and property (1. ‘aliqa fī = to be attached) 4. Love of possessing, selfishness, and love of controlling things, and unwilling to lose them; it is love of this world (2. ‘aliqa = love of possessing; 4. ‘aliqa min = he loved; ‘alaq = ardent love). 5. Aggressiveness and hostility, such as fighting and waging war (19. ‘ilāqah = argument, dispute; mi‘lāq = --of a man or his tongue-- who likes to argue; 28. ‘allāqī = a man who likes to argue). 7. Love of wealth and keeping it (‘ilq = precious thing which one wants to keep) 9. Quickness, rashness, and absurdity in dealing with people (28. ‘allāqī = a man who likes to argue). 11. Intensity of controversy, the use of strong rhetoric and love of debating (19. ‘ilāqah = argument; 29. mu‘allāq = a person who possesses eloquence in speaking). 12. Love of boasting, superiority and trouble with titles (27. ‘ilāqī = titles, as well a person who likes titles, and boasts for his noble descent and wealth) 13. Business life among people, goods (25. ‘alā’iq = goods, commodities) 14. Valuable and expensive part of man which is his soul (26. ‘ilq = precious thing, object of value, wealth, expensive dress, or the very valuable part of everything, including human soul)
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15. The two phases of human life, before his birth and his death
(17. ‘alūq = pregnant woman, and 18. ‘alūq = death)
A word that has many meanings is also found in other
languages. The word “second”, for example, has many different
meanings: (1) next after the first in place, time, order,
importance, etc., such as: “the second son” who was born after
the first son, “a second class hotel” is less expensive than the
first class; “a second class citizen”, i.e., inferior; “a second pair
of shoes”, means an extra, additional; (2) “60 seconds” means
one minute; “just a second,” means a moment, a short time; (3)
“to second a proposal” means to support it. The word “plane”
could be an aeroplane, flat or level surface, or a tool used by
the carpenter to make flat or level surface.
These various meanings of the three letters ل ,ْْ عْ and ق cover
the entire human life, before his birth until his death, and their
natural behavior and character indicate miraculous nature of the
Qur’an which can be studied in many branches of knowledge, such
as, anatomy and embryo, sociology, psychology and human
behavior, as well as eloquence. Moreover, apart from the meaning
that all human being are created from (min) ‘alaq, the word min isْ
also لِلتَّبْعِيْض meaning “some”, so that the verse min ‘alaq also means
that some of the human beings are created with the nature included
in the word ‘alaq, such as, love of boasting, trouble making, love and
hatred, which every human being has his share in them.
The author, Dr. Ibrāhīm Khalīl says that earlier Qur’an scholar in
the miraculous nature of the Qur’an, al-Rummānīْ (d. 384/994), al-
Khaṭṭābī (d. 388/998), and al-Jurjānī (d. 471/1078) said in their
writings that the Qur’an, in spite of its miraculous brevity in the
number of its words, even of its letters, the meanings of every word
keep growing and increasing, so that every word gives enormous
meanings. For this reason, how far is this still from simply translating
‘alaq with “blood clot”. Hopefully, this would make us scrutinize the
way to solve the problem of the limitation of non-Arabic languages in
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the contents of the meanings of the translated words of the Qur’an.
But the author keeps repeating the warning, that not achieving all
does not mean abandoning all. مَا لْاَ يُْدْرَكُ كُْلُّهُ لْاَ يُْتْرَكُ كُْلُّه "What cannot
be wholly achieved, should not be wholly abandoned.”
What happened, then, to Dr. So-and-so after this discussion?
Dr. Ibrāhīm Khalī learned later, that his friend did not sleep that
night, occupying himself with finding and studying the meanings of
the word ‘alaq in the encyclopedic dictionary, Lisān al-‘Arab (“The
Language of the Arabs”) by Ibn Manẓūr (d. 711/1311) also known as
Ibn Mukarram. The one published in Beirut in 1955-1956 consists of
15 big volumes. It is one of many indispensable books for
understanding the meanings of the Qur’an.
Several weeks later Dr. So-and-so sent a new letter which he
considered the last one to leading personalities among the scholars
on the globe to whom he had sent letters before, stating what he
had done to them, namely, requesting them to compose a chapter
consisting 15 words, and what they had done to him, namely,
complete silence. He also stated that the letters sent by his aunt had
not received any reply. Then he asked them to debate, discuss, and
study the meanings of the word ‘alaq in Lisān al-‘Arab. Finally, he
urgently requested them, implored them either to compose one
chapter containing fifteen words as the last request, or even give him
one Arabic word which contains the meanings of the word ‘alaq, or
even half of its meanings. He also stated that he was on the point of
making the most serious decision in his life, and their reply would
help him in eliminating many doubts that filled his mind and feeling.
As for his letter to the Vatican, the University of Liège in Belgium,
and the International Christian Broadcasting, he simply asked them
to give him an Arabic word similar to the word ‘alaq which has many
meanings as that of ‘alaq, or even half of its meanings. This does not
need any honest, neutral and just jury to judge. He reiterated his
request to compose a chapter, any chapter.
What is the outcome or the ending of Dr. So-and-so’s
undertaking? Based on the title of Dr. Ibrāhīm Khalīl’s book لِمَاذَا أَْسْلَمَْ
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صَدِيْقِيْْ (“Why My Friend Became Muslim…”), he converted to Islam,
but the author did not want to say anything about it, for the
following reasons:
a. It is a personal issue, and a serious personal experience
b. The objective of this research does not go into a personal issue,
but a research which concerns the people of the world.
c. If the whole human beings became pious, their piety would not
increase Allah’s kingdom, or if they rebelled, their rebellion
would not decrease it either, for He does not need any of His
creatures.
d. He himself asked the author, Dr. Ibrāhīm Khalīl, not to reveal his
undertaking and its end until he became emotionally settled,
and in due course.
If you are interested in the amazing style and eloquence of the
Qur’an, you can visitْ لمَْسات بْيانية لْلدكتورفاضل صْالح اْلسامرائي in the
internet, YouYubeْ presented in TV program at al-Shāriqah (UA
Emirate) by Dr. Muḥammad Khālid. Dr. Fāḍil al-Sāmarrā’ī was born in
al-Sāmarrā’ in Iraq in 1933, and had been a professor of Arabic in the
subject of grammar and rhetorical inimitability (wondrous nature) of
the Qur’an at al-Shāriqah University since 1999. (CIVIC, 21 February,
2014)
المراجع:
ْ
المكتبة اْلشاملة
د. إْبراهيم خْليل. لِْمَاذَا أَْسْلَمَْ صَْدِيْقِيْْ وَْْ رَْأْيُْ اْْلفَاتِيْكَان فِْيْْ تَْحَدِّيَاتِْ اْْلقُرْآن. اْلقاهرة: مْْكتبة التراث اْلعلمي, 1ْ993ْ
Holy Bible: New International Version.ْ
Alkitab, Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia, Jakarta, 1984
http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%25D9%2581%25D8%25A7%25D8%25B
...6%25D9%2584_%25D8%25A7%25D9%2584%25D8%
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12. THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE QUR’AN’S CHALLENGE (3)
In April 1999 Wine Press and “Project Omega 2011” a group of
Evangelic in Texas released a book in Arabic called الفُرْقَان اْلحَ ق (al-
Furqān al-Ḥaqq, “The True Criterion”, The True Furqan) which took
seven years to complete as the project started in 1991. The book is
claimed to be revelation to a prophet under the pseudonym of الصَّفِ ي
(al-Ṣafī, “the Pure one”, Al Saffee).
According to Anis Shorrosh, a Palestinian Christian Missionary
who emigrated to the United States, Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. is
“the Antichrist” and he calls the book “a tool to liberate Muslims”
and to convert them to Christianity. According to him this is an
attempt to respond the challenge of the Qur’an that none can create
a work like it. This book is similar to the Quran "but contains the
gospel message." He said:
“The prophet of Arabia challenged the entire
world to compose a book equal to the Quran. We
accepted the challenge as stated in Surah 17:88.
The outcome is The True Furqan. Our second purpose
is to present the Good News of Jesus the Christ to our
fellow Arabs in the prose and poetic style of the
classical language of the Arabic Quran.”
The title of the book and the name of its author are wellchosen
to imitate the Qur’an. The Qur’an has many names, among
which is al-Furqān, meaning the criterion between truth and
falsehood; but this True Furqan is not the Furqān (Qur’an) in the
hands of Muslim which the author considers not true. The epithet of
Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. who received the revelation al-Furqān
(Qur’an) is الْمُصْطَفَى (al-Muṣṭafá, “the Chosen one), which is derived
from the word صَفِ ي (Ṣafī), Al Saffee, which is the name adopted by
the author of the True Furqān .
According to Dr. Bassām ‘Alī al-‘Amῡsh, Ass. Prof. Faculty of
Sharī‘ah, Univ. al-Zarqā, ‘Amman, Jordan, who was doing his
research on this True Furqan , the mysterious author Al Saffee, who
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claimed to be a prophet, was Anis Sorrosh himself, whereas the person who translated it into English, was his wife called Al Mahdy. Both of them belong to the Executive Committee in charge of recording, translating and publishing of the book, the True Furqan. The book is also called “The 21st Century Quran”, in Arabic and English, and was distributed to children in Kuwait in the private English school. It was also intended to be passed out by American soldiers to Iraqi civilians. It contains 77 chapters (sūrahs) in over 366 pages, including al-Fātiḥah (the Opening), al-Masīḥ (Messiah), al-Thālūth (the Triune God), al-Ṣalb (the Crucifixion), al-Injīl (the Gospel), al-Ru‘āt (the Shepherds), al-Jannah (Paradise), al-Asāṭīr (the Legends), al-Taḥrīf (Plagiarism), and al-Mākirīn (the Conspirators). Instead of Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm (“In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful”) each surah of this True Furqan begins with The introductory chapter of this book which also consists of seven verses is called al-Basmalah¸ translated as “the Blessing”. In Arabic the term ”basmalah” is originally bismillāh, which means “in the name of Allah”, but the word “Allah” is not mentioned there; rather, it is the name of the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, this introductory chapter should be called basmalab, because it starts with bismil-ab (“in the name of the Father…”), instead of bismillāh, as if it is intended to confuse Muslims. Moreover, it is only in this chapter where this basmalah is preceded with the word qul (“say”).
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In its “Special Introduction” the book is directed to “the Arab
nation specially, and the Muslim world collectively”. In other words,
the objectives of this book are to convert non-Arab Muslims in
general, and Arab Muslims in particular, to Christianity, to attack
and discredit Islam and the Muslims, and to cast doubt on the truth
of Islamic laws. It is an attempt to confuse some ignorant people by
giving the Christian Gospel message the appearance of a Qur’anic
style. However, anyone who has read the book, the original or the
English translation will soon see that this document, the True
Furqan, does not have the arrangement, the style, the confidence,
or the unique content found in the Qur’an. It is a desperate measure
to find some way to convert the Muslims. On 7 September 2005 the
government of India in its decree No: 78/NT prohibited this book,
the True Furqan, from entering the country.
This attempt to imitate the style of the Qur’an is the
reminiscent of very early attempt in the early period of Islam, and all
of them ended with failure. For example, Musaylamah bin Ḥabīb,
whose epithet (laqb) was “the Liar” (d. 11 A.H. in the battle of
Yamamah) who claimed to be a prophet beside Prophet
Muhammad s.a.w. said that it was revealed to him:
الْفِيلُ وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الْفِيلُ، لَ ه ذَنَ ب وَبِي ل، وَخُرْطُو م طَوِي ل . (الفيل)
The elephant. And what will make you know
what the elephant is? It has a unhealthy (disastrous)
tail, and a long trunk (Elephant)
This verse is the copy of the following verse:
)3- الْقَارِعَةُ . مَا الْقَارِعَةُ . وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الْقَارِعَةُ )القارعة: 1
The striking Hour (i.e. the Day of Resurrection)! What
is the striking (Hour)? And what will make you
know what the striking (Hour) is? (Q. 101:1-3)
In this verse, Allah talked about a very important topic, namely, the
Day of Resurrection, not about the elephant.
Another examples in what he called sῡrat al-Nisā’ is:
أَ لَمْ ترَ كَ يفَ فَ عَ ل رَ بكَ ب الحُ ب لَى، أَخْ رَ جَ مِ نهَ ا نسْ مَ ة تسْ عَ ى، مَ ا ب ينَ صِ فا ق وَ حَشَ ا.
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Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the
pregnant women? He brought forth from them living
creatures moving forward between the underskin
and the womb (Women)
This verse is the copy of sūrat al-Fīl, as follows:
) أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَل رَ بكَ ب أَصْحَا ب الْفِيلِ )الفيل: 1
Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the
owners of the Elephant? (Q. 105:1)
Instead of dealing with pregnant women, Allah talked about
the army with an elephant which came from Yemen under the
command of Abrahah al-Ashram intending to destroy the Ka‘bah in
Makkah and to build its substitute in Yemen, so that people would
go there for pilgrimage. It happened in the year the Prophet was
born, and it was called “the Year of the Elephant” ) عَ ام الْفِيل ). The
Ka‘bah was unprotected by the Quraysh, because they believed that
Allah Himself would protect it as it is His Own House. Then Allah
sent them flocks of birds, striking them with stones of baked clay,
and rendered them like straw eaten up.
Another invented verse is as follows:
سَ ب ح اسْ مَ رَ بكَ الَْْعْ لَى، ا ل ذ ي يسَّ رَ عَ لىَ الحُ بلىَ ، فَ أَخْ رَ جَ
مِنهَا نسْ مَ ة تسْعَ ى، مِ نْ بَينِ أَحْ شَ اء وَ مِ عىَ )النساء(
Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High, Who
facilitated pregnant women, so He brought forth from
them living creatures between wombs and
intestines (Women)
This is a copy of the following verse:
سَ ب ح اسْمَ رَ بكَ الَْْعْلَى. الَّذِي خَلَقَ فَسَوَّى. وَالَّذِي قَدَّرَ فَهَدَى.
)5- وَالَّذِي أَخْرَجَ الْمَرْعَى. فَجَعَلَهُ غُثَا ء أَحْوَى )الْعلى: 1
Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High, Who
creates, then makes complete, and Who makes (things)
according to a measure, then guides (them to their goal).
And Who brings forth herbage. Then makes it
dried up, dust-coloured. (Q. 87:1-5)
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The invented verse talks about the facilitation for pregnant
women to give birth, whereas the Qur’an talks about the creation in
general and its perfection, measure, and guidance. Then Allah
brought forth grass and plants, which eventually dried up. It is about
life and death, represented by the growth of plants then their death,
being dried up.
In the following verse the word إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا (“Truly, We have
set…”), namely, “Allah” is replaced with ( إِذْ جَعَلَ الشَّيطَانُ ... )الفرقان: 13
(“When Satan has set..”), in the True Furqān to indicate that it was
Satan, not Allah, who had done the deed, as the verse was believed
to have been inspired by Satan.
) إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا عَلَى ق ل و ب همْ أَ ك ن ة أَنْ يَفْقَ هوه وَف ي آذَان همْ وَقْ را )الكهف: 55
Truly, We [namely, Allah], have set veils over their
hearts lest they should understand (this Qur’an), and
in their ears deafness… (Q. 18:57)
Here, according to the True Furqān, it was not Allah Who did it, but
rather, it was Satan who did it.
In defending the belief in Trinity and rationally justifying it, the
True Furqān says:
“It is not proper for you to argue with our believing
servants concerning their faith, and consider them
disbeliever because of your disbelief, it is the same
whether We reveal Ourself as One, Three, or Ninety-nine,
so, do not say of what you have no knowledge, and I
know better those who go astray.” (Tawḥīd:2)
What this verse means is that do not bother with the belief in
the Trinity as one God, just like the 99 names of Allah, also the one
God. But the comparison is totally unacceptable. In the Trinity, God
the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Ghost, as one God, are
three personalities, namely, God the Father is not God the Son, who
is not the Holy Ghost who is not God the Father. This is mystery in
Christianity which a dogma the Christians have to believe. In Islam,
Allah has 99 names or attributes, but He remains one God. Allah is
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Himself al-Raḥmān (the Most Gracious) is Himself al-Raḥīm (the
Most Merciful), is Himself al-Malik (the King), and so on. Allah says:
هُوَ اللَّّ الَّذِي لَ إِلَهَ إِلَّ هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ السَّلََمُ الْمُؤْمِنُ الْمُهَيْمِنُ
) الْعَزِيزُ الْجَبَّارُ الْمُتَكَبِّرُ سُبْحَانَ اللَِّّ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ )الحشر: 23
He is Allah, besides Whom there is no god; the King,
the Holy, the Giver of peace, the Granter of security,
Guardian over all, the Mighty, the Omnipotent, the
Supreme. Glory be to Allah above all that they
associate as partners with Him (Q. 59:23)
In this verse eight of ninety-nine names and attributes of Allah
are mentioned. Other names and attributes of Allah are mentioned
in other verses scattered throughout the Qur’an. So, if we ask Allah’s
Compassion and Mercy we say Yā Raḥmān (O the Most Gracious), Yā
Raḥīm (O the Most Merciful); if we ask Allah’s generosity we say Yā
Karīm (O the Generous One), if we ask Allah forgiveness, we say, Yā
Ghaffār (O the Forgiving), Yā Ghafūr (O the Forgiver and Hider of
Faults), and so on with the remaining names and attributes of Allah.
We call Him with many names, and He remains One God, Allah.
(CIVIC, 28February, 2014)
Sources:
المكتبة الشاملة
The True Furqan. Sacramento: Omega 2001 & Wine Press, 1999.
http://azadieiran2.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/the-true-furqanalforghan-
alhagh_www-azadieiran2-wordpress-com.pdf
http://www.kaheel7.com/ar/index.php/2012-12-04-18-31-08/625--
q-qhttp://
ar.wikisource.org/wiki/%D9%82%D8%B1%D8%A2%D9%86_%
D9%85%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A9
http://islamgreatreligion.wordpress.com/the-fake-american-quran/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_True_Furqan.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Deedat
http://www.islamnewsroom.com/news-we-need/500-
fakequranfurqan3
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13. THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE QUR’AN’S CHALLENGE (4)
Allah says in the Qur’an:
مَثَ لُ اُلَّذِينَُ كَُفَ روا بِرَبِّهِ م أَُعْمَال همُْ كَُرَمَا دُ اُشْتَدَّتُْ بُِهُِ اُلرِّي حُ فُِي يَُوْ مُ عَُاصِ فُُ
) لَُ يَُقْدِ رونَُ مُِمَّا كَُسَ بوا عَُلَى شَُيْ ءُ ذَُلِكَُ هوَُ اُلضَّلََ لُ اُ لبَعِي د )ُإبراهيم: 11
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 day; 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)
According to this verse, the good deeds of disbelievers in Allah
would not benefit them in the Hereafter, and save them from the
torment of Hell. Out of 22 words of this verse, two words are
replaced by the True Furqan and put in its sūrat al-Thālūth (Triune
God), also in verse 18. The two words are, بِرَبِّهِمُْ with ,وَكَذَّ بوا بُالإنْجِيل اُلحَقُِّ
and الْبَعِي دُ with الأَكِيْد . So, the words الَّذِينَُ كَُفَ روا بُِرَبِّهِمُْ meaning “those who
disbelieved in their Lord” is replaced with الَّذِينَُ كَُفَ روا وَُكَذَّ بوا بُالإنْجِيل اُلحَقُِّ
meaning “those who disbelieve and denied the True Gospel”, but in
this True Furqan, it is translated as “of those who rebelled and
rejected the Truth as revealed in The True Gospel.” It runs as follows:
مَثَ لُ اُلَّذِينَُ كَُفَ روا وَُكَذَّ بوا بالإ نجِيل الحَقِّ أَُعْمَال همُْ كَُرَمَا دُ اُشْتَدَّتُْ بُِهُِ اُلرِّي حُ فُِي يَُوْ مُُُ
) عَاصِ فُ لَُُ يَُقْدِ رونَُ مُِمَّا كَُسَ بوا عَُلَى شَُيْ ءُ ذَُلِكَُ هوَُ اُلضَّلََ لُ اُلأَكِ يد )ُالثالوث: 11
The example of those who rebelled and rejected the
Truth as revealed in The True Gospel, their deeds are,
more or less, like the ashes which are blown away by
a stormy wind. They can never receive any reward
for their labors for their effort is only vanity of
vanities (The True Furqan, Triune God:18)
In the True Furqan, sūrat al-Gharānīq (Idols), verse 1-3 are
copied with some changes from sūrat al-Najm (Q. 53), verse 2-5 as
follows:
مَا ضَُلَُّ صَُاحِ ب كمُْ وَُُمَا غَُوَىُ “Your companion (Muhammad) has
neither gone astray nor has erred" (Q. 56; 2) ; is replaced withُ قَُدُْ ضَُلَُّ
رَائِ د كمُْ وَُُ قَُدُْ غَُوَى “Your leader (Muhammad) has gone astray and has
erred (Idols:1)
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وَمَا يَُنْطِ قُ عَُنُِ اُلْهَوَُى. إُِنُْ هوَُ إُِلَُّ وَُحْ يُ يوحَى .ُ “Nor does he speak of (his
own) desire. It is only a Revelation revealed.” (Q. 56:3-4), is replaced
with وَمَانَطَقَ عَُنُِ اُلْهَوَى. إُِنُْ هوَُ إُِلَُّ وَُحْ يُ إُِفْ كُ يوحَى “His denunciations are his
own whims which are fabrications inspired by beguiling spirit.”
(Idols:2)
عَُلَُّمَ هُ شَُدِي دُ اُلْق وَىُ “He has been taught (this Qur’an) by one mighty
in power (Gabriel).” (Q. 56:5), is replaced with عَلَّمَ هُ مَُرِيْ دُ اُلْق وَى " Who
taught him to declare these, but the strong and vile one? " (Idols:3)
So, according to the True Furqan, it was the Devil,
Satan, rather than Allah who revealed the Qur’an to Muhammad
s.a.w. through the angel Gabriel. The Qur’an’s teachings are
considered those of Satan, and therefore are rejected in the True
Furqan, such as the concept of fighting. It said:
وَزَعَمْ تمْ بُِأَنَّا قُ لْنَا قَُاتِل وا فُِي سَُبِيلُِ اُللَُِّّ وَُ حَُرِّض وا اُلْ مؤْمِنِينَُ عَُلَى اُلْقِتَالُُِ
وَُمَا كَُانَ اُلْقِتَا ل سَُبِيْلَنَا إُن ذَُلِكَُ إُلّ تَُحْرِيْ ض شَُيْطَا ن رَُجِيْ م لُِقَوْ م مجْرِمِيْنُ
)ُ )الموعظة: 2
You have concocted that We have commanded,
“Fight in the cause of God and urge on the believers to fight.”
However, fighting is neither Our method nor is fighting urged
on the believers. Such decrees originate from none other
than the cursed Devil and were given to
a lawless people (Sermon:2)
This verse is referring to the Qur’anic verses as follows:
)ُُ وَقَاتِل وا فُِي سَُبِيلُِ اُللَُِّّ اُلَّذِينَُ يقَاتِل ونَ كمُْ وَُلَُ تَُعْتَ دوا إُِنَُّ اُللََُّّ لَُُ يحِ بُ اُلْ معْتَدِينَ )ُالبقرة: 191
And fight in the Way of Allah those who fight you, but
transgress not the limits. Truly, Allah likes not the
transgressors (Q. 2:190)
This verse shows that fighting is only for self-defence, and not
as an aggression.
وَلِيَعْلَمَُ اُلَّذِينَُ نَُافَق وا وَُقِيلَُ لَُ همُْ تَُعَالَوْا قَُاتِل وا فُِي سَُبِيلُِ اُللَُِّّ أَُوُِ اُدْفَ عواُ
قَُال وا لَُوُْ نَُعْلَ مُ قُِتَالًُ لَُتَّبَعْنَا كمُْ همُْ لُِلْ كفْرُِ يَُوْمَئِ ذُ أَُقْرَ بُ مُِنْ همُْ لُِلِْْيمَانُُِ
83
يَق ول ونَُ بُِأَفْوَاهِهِمُْ مَُا لَُيْسَُ فُِي قُ ل وبِهِمُْ وَُاللَُّّ أَُعْلَ مُ بُِمَُا يَُكْ ت مونَُ
)ُ )آل عُمران: 161
And that He might test the hypocrites, it was said to them: “Come, fight in the Way of Allah or (at least) defend yourselves.” They said: “Had we known that fighting will take place, we would certainly have followed you.” They were that day, nearer to disbelief than to Faith, saying with their mouths what was not in their hearts. And Allah has full knowledge of what they ) يَا أَُ يهَا اُلنَّبِ يُ حَُرِّضُِ اُلْ مؤْمِنِينَُ عَُلَى اُلْقِتَالُِ... )ُالأنفال: 65
O Prophet (Muhammad s.a.w.)! Urge the believers The late Shaykh Abū Zahrah in explaining this verse said: It means to urge them and to spread among them the spirit of self-defence, to arrange equipment, to prepare for war, to be equipped for fighting, and to train their children [for self-defence], because the non-believers [i.e., the enemy] could not be trusted, although they incline to peace, because preparedness is the believers’ protection from being totally crushed [by the enemy]… )زهرة اُلتفاسير(
It is, then, for self-defence rather than aggression, that these verses for fighting were revealed. ُ
The allegation that the Qur’an was the inspiration of Satan who dictated to Prophet Muhammad s.a.w., what to write in the Qur’an reminds us of the findings of Professor Gary Miller, a former mathematics and logic lecturer at Toronto University, Canada. He
84
wondered how could it be so, when the Qur’an itself denies it? It
says,
)ُ211- وَمَا تَُنَزَّلَتُْ بُِهُِ اُلشَّيَاطِي نُ.وَمَا يَُنْبَغِي لَُ همُْ وَُمَا يَُسْتَطِي عونَُ )ُالشعراء: 211
And in no way have Ash-Shayatîn (The ever-Vicious
(ones), i.e., the devils) been coming down with it; And
in no way does it behoove them, And in no way are
they able to do (that).” (Q 26:209-210)
Moreover, how could Satan, if he had dictated the Qur’an to
him, and told him to seek refuge from him (Satan) first before
reading the Qur’an? The Qur’an said:
)ُُ فَإِذَا قَُرَأْتَُ اُلْق رْآنَُ فَُاسْتَعِذُْ بُِاللَُِّّ مُِنَُ اُلشَّيْطَانُِ اُلرَّجِيمُِ )ُالنحل: 91
So when you read the Quran, then seek refuge in Allah from the
outcast Shaytan (The all-vicious, i.e., the Devil).” (Q 16:98)
In addition the Prophet s.a.w. was asked to seek refuge from
the whispers of Satan. It said:
)ُ وَق لُْ رَُبُِّ أَُ عو ذُ بُِكَُ مُِنُْ هَُمَزَاتُِ اُلشَّيَاطِينُِ )ُالمؤمنون: 91
And say: “My Lord! I seek refuge with You from the
whisperings (suggestions) of the Shayāṭīn
(devils)…” (Q. 23:97)
The response and reaction of the Muslim world towards this True
Furqan have been very strong, among whom are:
1. Dr. Ṣalāḥ al-Khālidī, in his book, الْإنْتِصاَر لُِلْق رْآن ,ُ تَُهَاف ت فُ رْقَان متَنَبِّئِ
الأمْرِكَان أُمَامَ حَُقَائِق اُلْق رآنُِ (“Victory for the Qur’an: the Collapse of
the Furqan of the American self-claimed prophet in front of the
truth of the Qur’an”), published in 1426/2005. The author
questioned about the identity of this mysterious Saffee who
claimed to be a prophet and claimed to have received revelation
within seven days (Martyr:2). Nobody knows about him: his life,
his preaching, and when and where did he appear. He was killed
by his enemy, the Muslims (Martyr: 7).
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This book contradicts the Christian belief that no prophet would appear after the departure of Jesus a.s., but it states that it is revelation to a prophet called Saffee. This book is directed solely to Muslims calling them to Christianity, excluding pagans, idolaters, and atheists who are further away from believing in what the Christians believe, such as the existence of God, the angels, the prophets, holy books, and the Judgment Day. They deserve more to be called to Christianity than the Muslims who share many of what they believe with those of the Christians. On 21 January, 2111, Dr. Jamāl al-Sāmarrā’ī gave his comment on this issue, as follows: “…What is called the True Furqan, does not deserve any response, because it is neither a scientific nor a methodological book, but rather lies and ridiculous Crusade and Zionistic legends…. Its title itself looked ridiculous. Have you ever heard something called linguistically “criterion for the truth” (furqān lilḥaqq)? [What he means is that the criterion is itself the truth; falsehood cannot make distinction between right and wrong]. This is not their first efforts to counter the Qur’an, but it has become intensive with the coming of this Pope. Therefore, al-Azhar stopped the dialogue with the Vatican for his continuous enmity towards Islam…” 2. Dr. Shawqī Abū Khalīl in his book entitled, اُلْف رْقَاَ ن اُلُْحَقّ: )ُق رْآ ن( مسَيْلَمَةُ
الْأَمْرِكِيُُ (“The True Furqan: (the Qur’an of) Musaylamah the American. It was published by Dār al-Fikr, Damascus, 2007. The original Musaylamah was the one who claimed to be a prophet in Yamamah in Najd besides Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. Dr. Shawqī was a prolific writer. He wrote over fifty books, including this book which contains 64 pages. He explained in this book how Dr. Anis Sorrosh was involved in the publication of the True Furqan. He passed away in at the age of 69. Millions of dollars have been spent to publish and distribute this so-called “21st Century Qur’an”, solely to convert Muslims into
86
Christianity, but we know the outcome of it: failure. Allah has
predicted it when He said:
إِنَُّ اُلَّذِينَُ كَُفَ روا ينْفِق ونَُ أَُمْوَالَ همُْ لُِيَ ص دوا عَُنُْ سَُبِيلُِ اُللَُِّّ فَُسَ ينْفِق ونَهَا ثمَُّ تَُ كو نُُ
)ُ عَُلَيْهِمُْ حَُسْرَةًُ ثمَُّ يغْلَ بونَُ وَُالَّذِينَُ كَُفَ روا إُِلَى جَُهَنَّمَُ يحْشَ رونَُ )ُالأنفال: 36ُ
Verily, those who disbelieve spend their wealth
to hinder (men) from the Pa th of Allah, and so will they
continue to spend it; but in the end it will become
an anguish for them. Then they will be overcome.
And those who disbelieve will be
gathered to Hell. (Q. 8:36)
)ُ يرِي دونَُ لُِ يطْفِ ئوا نورَاللَُِّّ بُِأَفْوَاهِهِمُْ وَُاللَُّّ متِ مُ نورِهُِ وَُلَوُْ كَُرِهَُ اُلْكَافِ رونَُ )ُالصف: 1
They intend to put out the Light of Allah with their
mouths. But Allah will bring His Light to perfection even
though the disbelievers hate (it) (Q. 61:8)
Next khuṭbah, inshā Allāh, we shall deal with another scholar
who accepted the challenge of the Qur’an, or in other words, who
challenged the Qur’an. (CIVIC, 7 March, 2014)
Bibliography:
المكتبة اُلشاملة
الشيخ مُحمد أُبو زُهرة: زُهرة اُلتفاسيرُ
The True Furqan. Sacramento: Omega 2001 & Wine Press, 1999.
www.furat.com/?Prog=book&Page=authorinfo...
http://www.theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/the_
true_furqan_quran_hoax/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_True_Furqan.jpg
http://islamlecture.wordpress.com/2010/07/22/the-man-whochallenged-
the-quran-gary-miller-later-became-muslim/
http://www.islamnewsroom.com/news-we-need/500-
fakequranfurqan3
http://www.kaheel7.com/ar/index.php/2012-12-04-18-31-08/625--
q-qhttp://
azadieiran2.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/the-true-furqanalforghan-
alhagh_www-azadieiran2-wordpress-com.pdf
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14. THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE QUR’AN’S CHALLENGE (5)
Many non-Muslims believe that the Qur’an is an old book
written 14 centuries ago from the desert of Arabia. The writer was
Muhammad (Mohammed, Mohamed, s.a.w.) who claimed to be a
prophet. Since they believe that it is not divine, but human, there has
to be some mistakes or contradiction in it. To this, the Qur’an
challenges them to prove its genuineness, that it is revelation from
Allah.
Unlike those who accepted the challenge of the Qur’an by
attempting to produce a book or even a chapter similar to that of the
Qur’an as mentioned in previous khuṭbahs, this challenge is to prove
that the Qur’an is not from Allah. This kind of challenge is mentioned
in the Qur’an as follows:
أَفَلَاايَتَدَبَّرُونَااا القُ رآنَااوَلَ وااكَانَاامِ نااعِ ندِااغَ يرِاااللَِّّاالَوَجَدُواافِيهِااا ختِلَفًااكَثِيرًاا)النساء: 28 ( ا
Do they not then consider the Qur’an carefully? Had it
been from other than Allah, they would surely have found
therein much contradiction. (Q. 4:82)
In 1977 a Canadian active and very knowable about the Bible,
Professor Gary Miller, decided to accept the challenge to find any
scientific or historical error in the Qur’an to prove that it was not
revelation from Allah. He was professor of mathematics and logic at
the University of Toronto. He hoped that his findings would provide a
great service to Christianity and his fellow preachers in calling
Muslims to Christianity. So he studied the Qur’an extensively, and his
findings amazed even the Muslims. Some of these findings are as
follows:
1. Dr. Miller said, "No writer in the world has the courage to write a
book and say that it’s empty of mistakes, but the Qur'an, on the
contrary, tells you that it has no mistakes and asks you to try to
find one and you won’t find any." .
2. It does not mention about the hard times of the Prophet, such as
the death of his wife Khadījah r.a., the death of his sons and
daughters. Verses revealed in hard times in conveying the
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message of Islam are followed with great tiding of victory, and
verses revealed after victory are followed with advice to give
more sacrifice and to avoid boasting. This, Dr. Miller says, is the
opposite of human behavior when they are victorious they glorify
it, but when they are defeated they find many excuses. اAfter the
defeat at the battle of Uhud, Allah consoled the Muslims. He said:
وَلَااتَهِنُوااوَلَااتَ حزَنُوااوَأَ نتُمُااا لَْ علَ ونَااإِ نااكُ نتُ ماامُ ؤمِنِينَاا.اإِ ناايَ مسَ سكُ مااقَ ر حا ا
) فَقَ داامَسَّااا لقَ ومَااقَ ر حاامِ ثلُهُااوَتِ لكَااا لَْيَّامُاانُدَاوِلُهَاابَ ينَااالنَّاسِاا)آلاعمران: 141
So, do not become weak [because of what you have
suffered], nor be sad, and you will be triumphant if you
are indeed believers. If a wound has touched you, be sure
a similar wound has touched the others. And so are the
days, that We give to men by turns… ا(Q. 3:139-140)
3. He found a sūrah (chapter) named “Mary” (Maryam) which
contains much respect to her which is not found in the Christian
Bibles. There is no chapter names after his wife ‘Ᾱ’ishah or his
daughter Fāṭimah. The name Jesus is mentioned twenty-five
times in the Qur’an, whereas Muhammad s.a.w. is mentioned
four times only (Q. 3:144; 33:40; 47:2; 48:29), and Aḥmad is
mentioned once (Q. 61:6)
4. An engineer at the University of Toronto who was interested in
psychology wrote a thesis on the “Efficiency of Group
Discussions” to find out how much people accomplish when they
get together with two, three, etc… He found out that people
accomplish most when they get together in groups of two, and
became less if the number increases. This has been the advice of
the Qur’an in the following verse:
قُ لااإِنَّمَااأَعِظُكُ ماابِوَاحِدَ ةااأَ نااتَقُومُواا اَِِّ لِلامَ ثنَىاوَفُرَادَىاثُمَّااتَتَفَكَّرُواامَاابِصَاحِبِكُم
مِ نااجِنَّ ةااإِ نااهُوَااإِلَّاانَذِي راالَكُ ماابَ ينَاايَدَ يااعَذَا بااشَدِي دااا)سبإ: 44
Say (to them, O Muhammad): “I exhort you to one
(thing) only that you stand up for Allah’s sake in pairs
And singly, and reflect. There is no madness in your
companion (Muhammad s.a.w.). He is only a warner
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to you in face of severe torment.” (Q.34:46)
5. Those who reject the revelation used to say that devils brought
to Muhammad s.a.w. the Qur’an. The Qur’an denies it, and gives
the following answers:
) … اوَيَقُولُونَااإِنَّهُاالَمَ جنُو ناا.اوَمَااهُوَااإِلَّااذِ ك راالِ لعَالَمِينَاا)الحاقة :ا 58
…and they say: “Verily, he (Muhammad) is possessed
[by Jin].” But it [the Qur’an] is nothing else than
اa Reminder to the worlds. (Q. 68:51-52)
وَمَااتَنَزَّلَ تاابِهِااالشَّيَاطِينُا.اوَمَاايَ نبَغِيالَهُ مااوَمَاايَ ستَطِيعُونَا.اإِنَّهُ ماا ا
818 (اا - عَنِااالسَّ معِاالَمَ عزُولُونَاا)الشعراء: 811
No evil ones have brought it [i.e., this revelation] down.
It would neither be fitting for them, nor would they
be able. Indeed they have been removed
far from hearing (Q. 26210-212)
فَإِذَااقَرَ أتَااا لقُ رآنَاافَا ستَعِ ذاابِالِلَِّاامِنَااالشَّ يطَانِااالرَّجِيمِاا)النحل: 82 ( ا
So when you recite the Qur’an, seek refuge in
Allah from Satan, the rejected (Q. 16:98)
Dr. Miller asked: “Is this how Satan writes a book? He tells
one, ‘Before you read my book, ask God to save you from me’?
This is very, very tricky. Indeed, a man could write something like
this, but would Satan do this?”
6. During his emigration to Madinah with Abu Bakr, they took refuge
and hid in a cave. They saw people coming to kill them. Dr.
Miller said that the Prophet s.a.w. at that time if he “was a liar, a
forger and someone who was trying to fool the people into
believing that he was a prophet, one would have expected him to
say in such circumstance to his friend, ‘Hey, Abu Bakr, see if you
can find a back way out of this cave,’ or ‘Squat down in that
corner over there and keep quiet’. Yet, in fact, what he said to
Abu Bakr clearly illustrated his confidence. He told him: ‘Relax,
Allah is with us, and Allah will save us.’” This is mentioned in the
Qur’an, as follows:
إِلَّااتَ نصُرُوهاُافَقَ داانَصَرَهاُااللَّّاُاإِ ذااأَ خرَجَهُااالَّذِينَااكَفَرُوااثَانِيَااا ثنَ ينِا
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اإِ ذااهُمَاافِياا لغَارِااإِ ذاايَقُولُاالِصَاحِبِهِاالَااتَ حزَ نااإِنَّاااللَّّاَامَعَنَاافَأَ نزَلَا
االلَّّاُاسَكِينَتَهُااعَلَ يهِااوَأَيَّدَهاُابِجُنُو داالَ مااتَرَ وهَااوَجَعَلَااكَلِمَةَااالَّذِينَااكَفَرُوا
) السُّ فلَىاوَكَلِمَةُاااللَِّّااهِيَااا لعُ ليَااوَاللَّّاُاعَزِي زااحَكِي ماا)التوبة: 41
If you help him (Muhammad) not, (it does not disbelievers drove him out, the second of the two; when they (Muhammad s.a.w. and Abu Bakr r.a.) were in the cave, he said to his companion: “Be not sad (or afraid), surely Allah is with us.” Then Allah sent his calmness (peace) upon him, and strengthened him with forces (angels) which you saw not, and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowermost, while the Word of Allah that became the uppermost; It was on the morning of 13th September 622 CE corresponding to the 14th year of his prophethood, the Prophet s.a.w. with Abu Bakr went into hiding at this cave. They had promised 100 camels as a reward for a person who captured him. Abu Bakr was reported to have said to the Prophet when they were in the cave, “If any of them looks down at his feet, he will see us.” The Prophet told him, “O Abu Bakr! What do you think about two with Allah as their third?” i.e., Allah was with them. As a spider web was covering the entrance of the cave and a dove was hatching beside it, the pursuers were sure that nobody was inside it, and returned to Makkah.
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followed by the Prophet was on the left side leading to Qubā’ before reaching Madinah. The above verse was revealed about nine years after this incident. It was after the return of the Prophet from Tabuk campaign in the 9 AH where he stayed 20 days with the army of 30 000 fighters. They were expecting the attack of the Romans with about 40 000 fighters, but they did not come. To those who did not want to help the Prophet in this campaign, Allah had helped him before, namely, when he was in the cave of Mt. Thawr, and when the Battle of Badr took place, where angels participated in the battlefield. 7. Abῡ Lahab was one of the Prophet’s uncles. His name was ‘Abdul ‘Uzzā (“slave of ‘Uzzā”; ‘Uzzā was the name of one idols worshipped by the Makkan idoleters) bin ‘Abdul Muṭṭalib. He was called Abῡ Lahab (lit. “Father of Flames”, i.e., the one who has flames), because of the brightness of his face. He scorned him and hated Islam so much, that he kept following the Prophet. Whenever he finished talking to someone or a group of people, he waited until the Prophet s.a.w. left, and then he approached them and told them the opposite of what the Prophet had said. The Prophet s.a.w. one day went to the valley of Baṭḥā, then he ascended the mountain and called people to come at once. When he came, he told them: “If I tell you all that the enemy was going to attack you in the morning or in the evening, would you all believe me?” Since he had been known for his honesty and was caked al-Amīn (“the honest, faithful, reliable, faithful), they said ”yes”. Then the Prophet told them: “Verily, I am a warner sent to you all before the coming of a severe torment.” Abῡ Lahab said: “Have you gathered us for this? May you perish” in another version, he said, “Perish you for the rest of this day.” Then Allah revealed: تَبَّ تاايَدَااأَبِيالَهَ بااوَتَبَّاا.امَااأَ غنَىاعَ نهُاامَالُهُااوَمَااكَسَبَا.اسَيَ صلَىانَارًاا ا
5( ا - ذَاتَاالَهَ با.اوَا مرَأَتُهُااحَمَّالَةَااا لحَطَبِا.افِياجِيدِهَااحَ ب لاامِ ناامَسَ داا)المسد: 1
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Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab and perish he!
His wealth and his children will not benefit him! He
will enter the Fire full of flames! And his wife, too
who carries wood. In her neck is a strongly
twisted rope. (Q. 111:1-5)
Dr. Miller wondered: “How could Muhammad (s.) possibly
have known for sure that Abu Lahab would fulfil the Qur’anic
revelation if he (i.e. Muhammad) was not truly the Messenger of
Allah? How could he possibly have been so confident as to give
someone 10 years to discredit his claim of prophethood? The only
answer is that he was Allah’s messenger; for in order to put forth
such a risky challenge, one has to be entirely convinced that he
has a divine revelation.”
8. After relating the story of Noah, the Qur’an said:
تِ لكَاامِ نااأَ نبَاءِااا لغَ يبِاانُوحِيهَااإِلَ يكَاامَااكُ نتَااتَ عالَمُهَااأَ نتَااوَلَااقَ ومُكَا
) امِ نااقَ بلِااهَذَاافَا صبِ رااإِنَّااا لعَاقِبَةَاالِ لمُتَّقِينَاا)هود: 48
This is the news of the Unseen which We reveal
to you (O Muhammad); neither you nor your people
knew it before. So be patient. Surely, the (good)
end is for the pious.(Q. 11:49)
Dr. Miller was amazed that that there had never been a
religious holy book talked in this style, giving information to its
readers and then said that it had never been known before, a
new information. What if the Makkan people said, that this was
not a new information, they had known it before! And this did
not happen.
One example is that the Qur’an mentioned the city of
Iram (a city of pillars) in,
اأَلَ مااتَرَااكَ يفَاافَعَلَاارَبُّكَاابِعا دا. إِرَمَااذَاتِااا لعِمَادِا.الَّتِيالَ ما
2( ا - ايُ خلَ قاامِ ثلُهَاافِياا لبِلَدِاا)االفجر: 7
Saw you O Muhammad not how your Lord deal
With ‘Ᾱd, Iram with pillars the like of which
were not created in the land? (Q. 89:7-8)
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The classical Qur’an commentator al-Ṭabarī mentioned
some views of mufassirīn (Qur’an commentators) of the term
Iram, among which are: Alexandria, Damascus, the name of a
tribe belonging to their ancestor ‘Ᾱd, “the perished people”,
“the tall people”. The classical commentator al-Qurṭubī gives
more views: Iram was the father of ‘Ᾱd; the name of a village;
the name Sam’s son, who was the son of Noah.
Dr. Miller said that National Geographic in December
1978 edition mentioned that the city of Elba in Syria was
excavated in 1973. It was said to be 43 centuries old. They
found in the library of Elba a record of all cities the people of
Elba had done business, including the city of Iram. This
information mentioned in the Qur’an of the existence of the
city of Iram 43 centuries ago was known just recently in 1973.
This indicates that the Qur’an which gives such information is
revelation from Allah.
That year 1978 was also the year where Dr. Miller, a former
active Christian missionary, embraced Islam after reading the Qur’an
and called himself “Abdul-Ahad Omar.” (CIVIC, 14 March, 2014)
Sources:
المكتبةاالشاملة
محمداأبوازهرةا:ازهرةاالتفاسير
تفسيراالطبري
تفسيراإبناكثير
تفسيراالقرطبيَا
http://islamlecture.wordpress.com/2010/07/22/the-man-whochallenged-
the-quran-gary-miller-later-became-muslim/
Gary Miller. The Amazing Qur’an.
Abu Khalil. Dr. Shauqi (comp.). Atlas of the Qur’an. Riyadh:
Darussalam, 2003.
Dr. Muhammad Hatta, etal. The Great History of Muhammd s.a.w.
Jakarta: Maghfirah Pustaka, 2011.
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15. THE AMAZING QUR’ᾹN (1)
History keeps repeating itself. Fourteen centuries ago, Khālid
ibn al-Walīd under his leadership ensured the victory of the Makkkan
army over the Muslim army led by the Prophet in the Battle of Uḥud
in 3/625. Four years later, in 7/629 Khālid ibn al-Walīd came to
Madinah and went to the Prophet and converted to Islam. Since
then, he became the defender of Islam and the Prophet’s general in
his campaigns due to his mastership in warfare. He was called as his
epithet, “Sayf al-Islām”, “the Sword of Islam.”
In our modern time we have Dr. Garry Miller who had accepted
the challenge of the Qur’ān in 1977. One year later he became
Muslim, the defender of the Qur’ān and a propagator of Islam
worldwide. He conducted many debates, discussions, speeches, and
one of his main topics is the wondrous nature of the Qur’ān as
evidence of its divine origin.
A person among the audience at the end of his speech about
the amazing Qur’ān asked him why he used the term “amazing” for
the Qur’ān instead of the “Noble” Qur’ān ) القرآن الكريم ( as the title of
his topic. He answered that this title “amazing” was originally from
non-Muslim scholars who were amazed with the Qur’ān, although
they did not believe in it as divine revelation. He said that in the
Qur’ān itself this expression is found. What he meant is the following
Qur’ānic verse:
) قُ ل أُوحِ ي إِل ي أ نهُ ا س ت م ع ن ف ر مِ ن ا لجِ ن ف قالُوا إِ نا سمِ ع نا قُ رآنًا ع جبًا )الجن: 1
Say (O Muhammad): “It has been revealed to me that
a group jinn listened (to this Qur’an). They said: ‘Verily, we have
heard a wonderful Recitation (this Qur’an)!…’” (Q. 72:1)
This wonderful recitation is itself the amazing Qur’ān. Dr. Miller
also said that besides “Noble” the term the “Glorious” ) مجيد ( is also
attributed to the Qur’ān, as mentioned by the Qur’an itself, as
follows:
)11- ب ل هُ و قُ رآ ن مجِي د . فِي ل و ح م حفُو ظ )البروج: 11
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Nay! This is a Glorious Qur’an. (Inscribed) in
The Preserved Tablet (Q. 85:21-22)
Dr. Miller also mentioned the term “Holy” ) مُ ق د س , sacred) which
is originally from “wholely” is attributed to the Bible, not to the
Qur’ān. This term is attributed to the Valley Ṭuwá where Allah spoke
to Prophet Moses (Musa a.s.), as follows:
) إِ ني أ نا ربُّ ك فا خل ع ن عل ي ك إِ ن ك بِا ل وادِ ا لمُ ق دسِ طُوًى )طه: 11
“Verily, I am your Lord! So take off your shoes; you
are in the sacred valley, Tuwa.” (Q. 20:11-12)
)11- ه ل أ تا ك حدِيثُ مُو سى. إِ ذ نا داه ربُّهُ بِا ل وادِ ا لمُ ق دسِ طُوًى ) النازعات: 11
Has there come to you the story of Musa (Moses)?
When His Lord called him in the sacred
valley of Tuwa (Q. 79:15-16)
Before introducing the introduction of his book The Amazing
Qur’an, Dr. Miller said: “Calling the amazing Qur’an is not something
done by Muslims, who have an appreciation for the book who are
pleased with it; it has been labelled amazing by non-Muslims as well.
In fact, even people who hate Islam very much have still called it
amazing.”
In his introduction Dr. Miller states that non-Muslims who
examine the Qur’ān being from the desert of Arabia 14 century ago
expect to find it talking about the desert. To their surprise it talked
also about the sea. It describes what is like a storm in the sea. Dr.
Miller talked about a merchant marine who knew nothing about
Islam. One day he borrowed the translation of the Qur’ān from a
Muslim, and then returned it after reading it. He was impressed with
the accurate description of a storm on a sea, so asked: “This
Muhammad, was he a sailor?” When he got the answer: “As a matter
of fact, Muhammad lived in the desert,” he embraced Islam on the
spot, because he had been in a storm on the sea, and the Qur’an’s
description of it must have been from God. This verse runs as
follows:
أ و كظُلُ ما ت فِي ب ح ر لُ ج ي ي غ شاه م و ج مِ ن ف وقِهِ م و ج مِ ن ف وقِهِ
س حا ب ظُلُ ما ت ب عضُ ها ف و ق ب ع ض إِ ذا أ خ ر ج ي ده ل م ي ك د ي را ها
96
) و م ن ل م ي ج علِ اللّ ل هُ نُورًا ف ما ل هُ مِ ن نُو ر )النور: 04
Or [the state of disbeliever] is like the darkness in
a vast deep sea, overwhelmed with waves topped by
waves, topped by dark clouds, (layers of) darkness
upon darkness: if a man stretches out his hand, he
can hardly see it! And he for whom Allah has not
appointed light, for him there is no light. (Q. 24:40)
Scientific discovery found the existence of a wave below the
surface of the ocean, so that we have two kinds of wave here, one
above the other. This is the scientific interpretation of the above
verse.
This is how the Qur’ān portrays the state of disbeliever;
without guidance, they are in the dark, darkness upon darkness. This
is the opposite condition of the believer mentioned in the previous
verse, namely, verse 35 mentioning the condition of the true
believer, who receives guidance, i.e., “light upon light” ) .)نُ و ر عل ى نُ ور
These verses are in sūrat al-Nūr (Light).
Dr. Miller mentions the theory of atomism advanced by the
Greek philosopher, Democritus, assuming that matters consist of tiny
particles called atoms which are indestructible and indivisible. Last
century modern science discovered that this atom can be split into
component parts. The Qur’an has mentioned it earlier, as follows:
ل ي عزُبُ ع نهُ مِ ث قالُ ذ ر ة فِي ال س ما واتِ و ل فِي
) ا لْ رضِ و ل أ ص غرُ مِ ن ذلِ ك ... )سبأ: 3
… He [Allah] is aware of an atom’s weight in the heavens
and on the earth, and even smaller than that … (Q. 34:3)
Another amazing thing noticed by Dr. Miller is the
absence of the Prophet’s advice about health and hygiene in the
Qur’ān. For example, it is not included in the Qur’ān , ال ح بة ال س و داء
black caraway (L. nigella sativa), known in the Muslim world as
habbatussauda, one of the Prophetic Medicine ) ال طبُّ ال نبّوِيّ ( which is
still being used and sold as food supplement to strengthen immune
system and as medicine to treat various ailments. ا لحِ جامة (ḥijāmah,
cupping) is still being practiced, especially in Indonesia, called bekam,
97
is not mentioned in the Qur’ān. Allah did not want to include the
Prophet’s advice and medical treatment which could be outdated.
He includes only one medical treatment which nobody would argue
against it, namely, honey which will never be outdated. Allah says:
ي خرُجُ مِ ن بُطُونِ ها ش را ب مُ خ تلِ ف أ ل وانُهُ فِيهِ شِ فا ء لِل ناسِ
) إِ ن فِي ذلِ ك لَ يةً لِ ق و م ي ت ف كرُو ن ) النحل: 16
There comes from their [bees’] bellies, a drink of varying
colour wherein is healthy for men. Verily, this is indeed
a sign for a people who think (Q. 16:69)
Honey is said to have been used to preserve the mummies
because it absorbs the liquid needed by bacteria to survive, and
therefore it
kills them.
In Shakespeare’s time, it was believed that bees flying around
were males. He mentioned about it in his play Henry the Fourth that
bees were soldiers who answered the call of their king. The Qur’ān
says that they are females instead of males, as in the following verse:
وأ و حى ربُّ ك إِل ى ال ن حلِ أ نِ ا تخِذِي مِ ن ا لجِ بالِ بُيُوتًا
( ومِ ن ال ش جرِ ومِ ما ي عرِشُو ن )النحل: 16
And your Lord inspired the bees, saying,
“Take you inhabitants in the mountains and in the
trees and in what they erect. (Q. 16:68)
Dr. Keith More, professor of embryology in the University of
Toronto was invited to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to find out if what the
Qur’ān says about the subject. Dr. Miller interviewed him later for a
television presentation. He said that some of the things stated in the
Qur’ān, such as the growth of fetus were not known until thirty years
ago. The description of human being at one stage as “leech like clot”
mentioned in the Qur’ān (Q. 22:5; 23:14, and 40:67) was new to him
and after he found out that it was true he added it in his book with
the picture of both the fetus and the leech. When he was asked:
“How do you explain this information in the Qur’ān?” He replied: “It
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could only have been divinely revealed!” Yet, he did not embrace Islam. The Qur’ān was and is still a problem for non-believers. Many recent discoveries were found giving more evidence on the authenticity of the Qur’an. Allah says in the Qur’ān, أ ول م ي ر ال ذِي ن ك فرُوا أ ن ال س ما واتِ وا لْ ر ض كا ن تا ر تقًا ف ف ت ق ناهُ ما
) و ج ع ل نا مِ ن ا ل ماءِ كُ ل ش ي ء ح ي أ ف ل يُ ؤمِنُو ن )الْنبياء: 34
Have not those who disbelieve known that the heavens and the earth were joined together as one united piece, then We parted them? And We have made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe? (Q. 21:30) The theory of Big Bang that the origin of the universe was one piece has been stated in the Qur’ān in the above verse. The Qur’ān’s claim that every living thing is made of water, was proved to be true after the invention of the microscope. They found out that cytoplasm which is the basic substance of the cells is made 80% of water. Science has discovered spots on the sun which move every 25 days indicating that it rotates around its axis. The Qur’ān has mentioned that the sun swims in the space, not just flying uncontrollably in the space, as follows: وهُ و ال ذِي خل ق الل ي ل وال ن ها ر وال ش م س وا ل ق م ر كُ ل فِي
) فل ك ي س بحُو ن )الْنبياء: 33
And He it is who has created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon, each in an orbit floating [i.e., swimming]. (Q. 21:33) ل ال ش مسُ ي ن بغِي ل ها أ ن تُ درِ ك ا ل ق م ر و ل الل يلُ سابِقُ ال ن هارِ
) وكُ ل فِي فل ك ي س بحُو ن )يس: 04
nor does the night outstrip the day. They all float, [i.e., swimming] each in an orbit (Q. 36: 40)
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The word س ب ح has two meanings: to float and to swim. Since the
sun rotates as if it is swimming, the second meaning, namely,
swimming, should be used for these particular verses.
Dr. Miller mentions about mythomania, a mental disease
where a person lies and believes in them. Psychologists treat the
mythomaniac with continually confronting him with facts. For
example, if he says that he is the king of England, they do not tell him
that he is lying, but they ask him: “Where is then the queen, where is
the Prime Minister?” Eventually, he is healed of his delusions,
because he cannot deal with facts.
When the Prophet s.a.w. was said to have suffered from
mythomania by non-Muslims, but the problem is that what he said in
the Qur’ān is entirely based upon facts. On the contrary, the Qur’ān
states that it contains healing, including mythomania, as follows:
يا أ يُّ ها ال ناسُ ق د جا ء تكُ م م وعِ ظ ة مِ ن ر بكُ م وشِ فا ء لِ ما فِي
) الصُّدُورِ وهُدًى و ر ح م ة لِ لمُ ؤمِنِي ن )يونس: 15
O mankind, there has come to you an admonition
from your Lord [i.e., the Qur’an] and a healing
for what is in the heart- and guidance and
mercy for the believers.(Q. 10:57)
By reading the Qur’ān a person can be healed from his
delusions because it confronts him with facts. If you say that the
Qur’ān is not revelation, then study it, and find the proof that it is
not, give viable explanation. If you can’t, you are supposed to admit
the truth of what it claims that it is revelation.
But guidance is only from Allah. He said it five times in the
Qur’ān,
) 151 . النور: 01 . القصص: 11 ،113 ، ... ي هدِي م ن ي شاءُ ...)البقرة: 101
… He (Allah) guides whom He wills…
(Q. 2:142,213,272; 24:46; 28:56)
Dr. Miller said that Catholic Church is honest in its statement in
the New Catholic Encyclopedia about the origin of the Qur’ān. It
states:
100
Over the centuries, many theories have been
offered as to the origin of the Qur’an ….Today no
sensible man accepts any of these theories!!
The Prophet s.a.w. himself could not guide his uncle Abū Ṭālib.
When Abū Ṭālib did not want to say the shahādah, that “there is no
god but Allah, and Muhammad is His Messenger” before his death,
the Prophet said, “By Allah, I will ask forgiveness for you as long as I
am not prohibited to.” Then revelation came, as follows:
ما كا ن لِل نبِ ي وال ذِي ن آ منُوا أ ن ي س ت غفِرُوا لِ لمُ شرِكِي ن ول و
) كانُوا أُولِي قُ ر بى... )التوبة: 113
It is not (proper) for the Prophet and those who believe
to ask Allah’s forgiveness for the idolaters, even
though they be of kin… (Q. 9:113)
إِ ن ك ل ت هدِي م ن أ ح ب ب ت ول كِ ن اللّ ي هدِي م ن ي شاءُ وهُو
) أ عل مُ بِا لمُ ه تدِي ن )القصص: 11
Verily, you (O Muhammad) guide not whom you like,
but Allah guides whom He wills. And He knows
best those who are guided (Q. 28:56)
In fact, when we pray, do our devotion to Allah and cite the
Fātiḥah, the introductory chapter of the Qur’ān, we ask and keep
asking Allah at least seventeen times a day one thing only, guidance,
when we say ا هدِ نا ال ص را ط ا لمُ س تقِي م “Guide us to the Straight Way.” As a
matter of fact, we can say that the whole content of the Qur’an in
one word is guidance. Allah said,
) ذلِ ك ا لكِ تابُ ل ر ي ب فِيهِ هُدًى لِ لمُ تقِي ن )البقرة: 1
This is the Book (the Qur’ān), whereof there is no
doubt, a guidance to those who are pious (Q. 2:2)
May Allah keep guiding us to the Right Path. (CIVIC, 21.03.2014)
المصادر:
المكتبة الشاملة
تفسير الطبري
Gary Miller. The Amazing Qur’an
101
16. THE AMAZING QUR’ᾹN (2)
‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb r.a. was one of those who opposed the
Prophet in the early period of Islam, but suddenly he became his ally
and a defender of Islam. One day before his conversion, he set out to
kill the Prophet, but on his way he met someone who had probably
converted to Islam and told him that his sister Fatimah and her
husband had accepted Islam.
‘Umar went to his sister’s house and found her reading the
Qur’an. He beat her mercilessly, until she was bleeding. She became
bold and defiant, and said, “Umar, you can do whatever you like, but
you cannot turn our hearts away from Islam.” He was amazed with
his sister’s persistent, and when he read the verses her sister had
read before he accepted Islam. The verses run as follows:
طه. مَا أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْقُرْآنَ لِتَشْقَى. إِلَّ تَذْكِرَ ة لِمَنْ يَخْشَى. تَنْزِي ل مِمَنْ
خَلَقَ الَْْرْضَ وَالسَمَاوَاتِ الْعُلَى. الرَحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى. لَهُ مَا
)6- فِي السَمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الَْْرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا وَمَا تَحْتَ الثَرَى )طه: 1
Ṭā Ḥā. We have not sent down the Qur’an unto you to cause
you distress. But only as a Reminder to those who fear Allah.
Revelation from Him Who created the earth and the high
heavens. The Most Glorious rose over the (Mighty)
Throne. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens
and all that is on the earth, and all that is between
them, and all that is under the soil. (Q. 20:106)
The word Ṭā-Hā ) طه (, like other letters of the alphabet at the
beginning of some sῡrahs, (such as A.L.M., A.L.R.) is not translated,
and considered one of the miracles of the Qur’an, and none but Allah
Alone knows its meaning. However, some classical Qur’an
commentators said that the word Ṭā-Hā in Syriac according to Ibn
‘Abbās , Qatādah, and Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr means “O man”, whereas
according to ‘Ikrimah and al-Ḍaḥḥāk it was from Nabatean language,
also meaning “O man.” Al-Ṭabarī (d. 320/923) said that the word Ṭā-
Hā meaning “O man” had been used in Acre (a seaport in Palestine).
The poet Mutammim ibn Nuwayrah (d. 30/650), one of the ṣaḥābah
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(companions of the Prophet), used the word ṭāhā meaning “O man” in his poems, such as the following line: answer, so I feared for him that he might have collapsed. The idolaters of the Quraysh said that the Qur’an was sent to Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. only to distress him. Therefore, Allah revealed to deny this allegation and states that instead, it is a Reminder for people who fear Allah. However, ‘Umar had distress his sister for accepting Islam. Beside the deep meanings of these verses, most of their endings rhyme together sounding ā like poetry. No wonder that after reading the above verses, ‘Umar said, “This is not the words of human beings, I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.” When he met the Prophet in the house of al-Arqam the Prophet s.a. held him, saying, “Is not this the time for you (to accept Islam?)” ‘Umar answered, “I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah, and you are His Messenger.” On hearing this statement of ‘Umar, those who were present shouted “Allah Akbar” (Allah is Great).
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Nakhlah and Ṭā’if in Hawāzin territory. Poets came to this place to recite their best poetry, as the best poetry would be hung at the door of the Ka‘bah in honour of the poet. The collection of these ancient Arabic poetry is called al-Mu‘allaqāt (lit. “things hung”, i.e., poetries hung at the door of the Ka‘bah). قِفَا نَبْكِ مِنْ ذِكْرَى حَبِي ب ومَنْزِل * بِسِقْطِ اللِّوَى بَيْنَ الدَخُولِ فَحَوْمَلِ
فَتُوْضِحَ فَالمِقْراةِ لَمْ يَعْفُ رَسْمُها * لِمَا نَسَجَتْهَا مِنْ جَنُو ب وشَمْألِ
Stop, oh my friends, let us pause to weep over the remembrance of my beloved. Here was her abode on the edge of the sandy desert between Dakhūl and Hawmal. The traces of her encampment are not wholly obliterated even now; For when the South wind blows the sand الّ كل شي ء ما خل الله باطل وكل نعيم لّ محالة زائل
Indeed, everything except Allah is futile, and every comfort will most certainly come to an end. What the poet means here is the worldly comfort, not the bliss in Paradise. When the ruler of Kufah requested him to recite some of his poems, he cited sῡrat al-Baqarah, and said after reciting it, “Allah has given me this surah replacing my poems after I have become
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Muslim.” He lived a long life, 140 years old. At the age of 102 he accepted Islam, and since then he swore that he would never write pagan poetry again. One example of the eloquence of the Qur’an is the following verse, containing three orders and three prohibitions as admonition to the Muslims: إِنَ اللهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالِْْحْسَ انِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَيَنْهَى
) عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ وَالْبَغْي يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَكُمْ تَذَكَرُونَ )النحل: 09
(help) to the relatives, and He forbids immoral sins, and evil and tyranny. He admonishes you, so that perhaps you may take heed (Q. 16:90) The above verse contains Allah’s orders to do three things and to avoid three things. He orders us to do ‘adl. It means justice, fairness, impartiality, honesty. That means Allah prohibits us from doing its opposite, namely, ẓulum, injustice, unfairness, partiality and dishonesty. Allah orders us to do iḥsān, doing good deeds (for Allah’s sake alone). It means Allah prohibits us from doing bad deeds. Doing good things includes doing voluntary good deeds, such as giving charity to the needy. If you have to pay zakat $10 000 and you give $15 000, giving the extra $5 000 amount is called iḥsān. If you have to feed one poor person as fidyah (ransom) because you are too weak to fast, but you feed two poor persons, then feeding the extra one person is called iḥsān. When the angel Jibrīl asked Prophet Muhammmad s.a.w., “What is iḥsān?” He wanted the Prophet’s companions to hear and learn from his answer. He said, أَنْ تَعْبُدَ اللهَ كَأَنَكَ تَرَاهُ، فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ تَرَاه فَإِنَهُ يَرَاكَ
)رواه البخاري ومسلم وغيرهما(
Him as if you
(Reported by Bukhari and Muslim and others) This is not the definition of iḥsān, but the ultimate example of it. The companions of the Prophet knew the meaning of iḥsān, namely, doing good deeds, but they did not know the best example
105
of it, i.e., worshiping Allah as if we see Him. We are created by Allah
to worship him. Allah says, ( وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَ وَالِْْنْسَ إِلَّ لِيَعْبُدُونِ )الذاريات: 66
" And I (Allah) created not the jinn and mankind except that they
should worship Me (Alone)" So, we want to worship Allah the best
way we can, and the Prophet s.a.w. told us how to do it. This is the
purpose of our lives. But if we cannot achieve this kind of iḥsān,
although we keep trying it, we remain at the level required when we
pray, namely, to worship Allah with certainty that He sees us
worshiping him. Even this level is not easy to keep, as when we pray
our mind may keep wondering, and we have less concentration.
Allah orders us to give help to our relatives. That means He
prohibits us from forgetting, ignoring and abandoning them. We do
not choose our father, our mother, our brother and sister. We
cannot say that he or she is my former father, my former mother, my
former brother, my former sister. This family tie is and should remain
unbreakable in Islam. What if they are not good parents, brother or
sister, or even if they are not Muslims? Yet, we should keep being
good with them, as it is Allah’s command to do so.
Allah prohibits us from three things: faḥshā’ immoral things,
munkar, evil, and baghy, injustice, tyranny. The word faḥshā’ is
something to do with immorality, such as adultery which was
commonly practiced in pre-Islamic Arabia. At that time there was no
conjugal fidelity. The husbands were indifferent about infidelity of
their wives. There was no stain of illegitimacy for the children of
prostitutes. Adultery was tolerated except of a person from another
line of ancestry; this was usually punished with death. When it was
revealed,
( الَذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمُ الْكِتَابَ يَعْرِفُونَهُ كَمَا يَعْرِفُونَ أَبْنَاءَهُمْ ... )البقرة: 146
Those to whom We gave the Scripture (Jews and
Christians) recognize him (Muhammad s.a.w.)
as they recognize their sons… 2:146; 6:20)
‘Umar r.a. asked ‘Abdullah ibn Sallām (a converted Jewish scholar)
whether he recognized Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. as he recognized
his own son, he replied, “Yes, and even more … I recognize him,
106
although I do not know anything about his mother’s story.” He did
not know whether his wife was faithful to him or not.
In modern age, the condition of immorality in pre-Islamic era
called the Jāhiliyyah (ignorance) seems similar. For example, in 2011
the illegitimate births in the 27 Union of European counties were
39.5%. In 2009, it was 41%. In Latin America where the highest rate
of illegitimacy is between 55 and 74 %. In fact, the institution of
marriage is being in jeopardy, especially in the Western world.
Allah prohibits us from doing munkar, namely, reprehensible,
detestable, and objectionable action. The word literally means “that
which is not recognized as good”, so that it becomes “denied,
unacknowledged, abominable.” It is, then, anything bad according to
Islam is munkar and ḥarām which a Muslim has to avoid, such as,
lying, slandering, cheating, backbiting, and drinking alcohol.
Allah prohibits us from doing baghy, namely, tyranny and
oppression. These are the last of the three things prohibited in the
above verse; the other two are evil and immoral deeds. These three
prohibitions are preceded by three injunctions, namely, justice,
iḥsān, translated as “kindness” in the above verse, and giving help to
relatives. Then the verse concludes with “He admonishes you, so that
perhaps you may take heed.”
One day the linguist and poet al-Aṣma‘ī (d.740/121) heard a
Bedouin girl citing a poem,
أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهََ لِذَنْبِي كُلِّهِ ... قَبَلْتُ إِنْسَا نا بِغَيْرِ حِلِّهِ
مِثْلَ الْغَزَالِ نَاعِ ما فِي دَلِّهِ ... فَانْتَصَفَ اللَيْلُ وَلَمْ أُصَلِّهِ
I ask Allah’s forgiveness for all my sins,
I have kissed a man without his disposal,
like a gazelle tender in his flirtation,
then midnight came without
doing my night prayer
he said to her:! قَاتَلَكِ اللهَ مَا أفصحك “May Allah fight you! [an expression
indicating blame as well as praise], how eloquent you are!”
She said, “Is it considered eloquent compared to Allah’s saying,
107
وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَى أُمِّ مُوسَى أَنْ أَرْضِعِيهِ ... where in one verse we find two
commands, two prohibitions, and two promises of good tidings?”
The verse meant by this Bedouin girl runs as follows:
وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَى أُمِّ مُوسَى أَنْ أَرْضِعِيهِ فَإِذَا خِفْتِ عَلَيْهِ فَأَلْقِيهِ فِي الْيَمِّ وَلَّ تَخَافِي
) وَلَّ تَحْزَنِي إِنَا رَادُّوه إِلَيْكِ وَجَاعِلُوه مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ )القصص: 7
And We inspired the mother of Moses (telling): “Suckle him,
but when you fear for him, then cast him into the river and
fear not, nor grieve. Verily, We shall bring him back to you,
and shall make him one of (Our) Messengers. (Q. 28:7)
The two commands are: suckle him and cast him into the river.
The two prohibitions are: “do not fear and do not grieve”. The two
promises and good tidings are: “We shall bring him back to you, and
We shall make him one of Our Messengers”. We notice the internal
rhymes in this verse are also in pairs: awḥaynā - mūsā; arḍi‘īhi -
fa’alqīhi; khifti - ‘alayhi, walā takhāfī - walā taḥzanī, and rāddūhu -
jā‘ilūhu. We also notice that the vowel fatḥah a is used 27 times,
including 10 long vowels ā, whereas the kasrah i is used 20 times,
including 5 long vowels kasrah ī. Only 7 vowels with ḍammah u,
including 3 long vowels ῡ are used in this verse. The proportion
between the short vowel a, i, and u in this verse is 27: 20: 5; the
proportion in long vowel ā, ī, and ῡ is 10: 7: 3. The easiest vowel to
pronounce is a and ā, then i and ī, followed by u and ῡ. Babies start
learning to speak by opening their mouths, blowing out air, making
sound, then the sound will be ”a” or “ā”, later become “pāpā, bābā,
māmā,” then the vowel ”i” follows, and they will say “daddy” and
“mummy”, then the vowel “u” follows. ! سبحان الله (CIVIC, 28.03.14)
المراجع:
المكتبة الشاملة
تفسير إبن كثير
تفسير الطبري
تفسير القرطبي
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legitimacy_(law)
https://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/198002/the.fair.at.ukaz.
htm
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/'Ukaz
108
17. THE AMAZING QUR’ᾹN (3)
Allah revealed to the Prophet s.a.w. the following verse:
حم. تَنْزِي ل الْكِتَابِ مِنَ اللَِّ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ . غَافِرِ الذَنْبِ وَقَابِلِ التَوْبِ
)3- شَدِيدِ الْعِقَابِ ذِي الطَوْلِ لَ إِلَهَ إِلَ هوَ إِلَيْهِ الْمَصِي ر )غافر: 1
Hā.Mīn [These letters are one of the miracles of the Qur’an and
none but Allah (Alone) knows their meanings]. The revelation of
the Book (this Qur’an) is from Allah, the Almighty, the All Knower.
The forgiver of sin, the Acceptor of repentance, the Severe in
punishment, the Bestower (of favours). None has the right to
be worshipped but He, to Him is the final return (Q. 40:1-3)
This verse contains good news for sinners among Muslims as
Allah is Forgiver of sin. But this verse is also a threat for sinners who
do not repent, for Allah is the Severe in punishment. In addition, the
revelation of the Qur’an is to urge people to believe in the tawḥīd
(Oneness of Allah), the Judgment day, and sincerity in their action,
and to devote themselves to Him. There is here balance between
expecting Allah’s mercy and fearing His punishment which is found in
many Qur’anic verses, such as follows:
)05- نَبِّئْ عِبَادِي أَنِّي أَ نا الْغَف و ر الرَحِي م . وَأَنَ عَذَابِي هوَ الْعَذَا ب الَْْلِي م . )الحجر: 94
Declare (O Muhammad) My slaves, that truly I am the
Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful. And that My torment
is indeed the most painful torment. (Q. 15:49-50)
When ‘Umar r.a. missed a man from Syria he was told that he
was a heavy drinker. ‘Umar r.a. told to his secretary to write a letter
to him, containing the verse mentioned above. He asked the courier
not to hand him his letter until he became sober, and asked people
with him to pray for him.
When the man received the letter he wept and kept saying,
“Allah has promised me to forgive me, and has warned me against
His punishment.” He repented and stopped drinking. When ‘Umar
heard the news he said, “This is what you should do if you see
anyone one of you is committing sin, try to stop him and pray for
him, and do not become the devils’ helpers against him.”
109
While the Prophet s.a.w. was citing the above verse in his
prayer in the Mosque, al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah, one of the leaders
of the Quraysh tribe, was near him listening to his recitation. When
the Prophet noticed that he was listening to him he repeated the
verses to him. Then al-Walīd came to the court of his people Banī
Makhzῡm, saying:
I have heard from Muhammad a while ago a speech
which is neither of human beings nor of the jinn. Verily,
there is beauty and elegance in it; its upward is very
fruitful, and is downward is abundant. And verily,
it is very elevated ,and nothing excels it.
The Quraysh people said that al-Walīd had become a Sabean,
namely, he had abandoned their religion, and that they would follow
him to become Sabeans. Abῡ Jahl told them that he would deal with
him. Then he came to al-Walīd, sitting beside him sadly.
“You look sad, my nephew!,” said al-Walīd.
“What makes me sad is that the Quraysh people want to help
you for your basic necessity of your life and for your old age, and yet
they think that you have appreciated the speech of Muhammad and
have visited Abū Kabshah [al-Ḥārith ibn al-‘Uzzā, the husband of
Ḥalīmah al-Sa‘diyyah, who breastfed the Prophet breastfed in his
babyhood] and Abῡ Quḥāfah [Abu Bakr’s father], to be fed by
them,” said Abῡ Jahl.
Al-Walīd became angry and said, “Do not the Quraysh people
know that I have the most wealth and children, more than what they
have?”
Then he went to the court of his people with Abῡ Jahl. He asked
them: “You think Muhammad is mad, then have you seen him
throttle?” When they said “No,” he asked: “You think Muhammad is
a fortune-teller, then have you seen him telling fortune?” When they
said, “No,” he asked them, “You think Muhammad is a poet, then
have you seen him citing poetry?” When they said, “No,” he asked
110
them: “You think Muhammad is a liar, then have you seen him lying?” When they said, “No,” they asked him, “Then what is he?” To this, Allah informed the Prophet s.a.w. with the following verses: إِنَ ه فَكَرَ وَقَدَرَ . فَق تِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَرَ . ثمَ ق تِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَرَ . ثمَ نَظَرَ . ثمَ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ . ثمَ أَدْبَرَ
)50- وَاسْتَكْبَرَ . فَقَالَ إِنْ هَذَا إِلَ سِحْ ر يؤْ ث ر . إِنْ هَذَا إِلَ قَوْ ل الْبَشَرِ )المدثر" 11
Verily, he thought and plotted [meaning: he thought about the Prophet and the Qur’an, and plotted what he could in a bad tempered way. Then he turned back, and was proud. Then he said: “This is nothing but the word In another tradition from ‘Ikrimah, he said that al-Walīd came to the Prophet s.a.w. who cited to him some verses of the Qur’an which softened his heart. When Abῡ Jahl heard about it, he asked him to tell his people that he rejected and hated what the Prophet had cited. He did and said that nobody knew poetry, its rajaz meter, its qaṣīdah [ancient poems], not even the poems of jinn more than himself, and yet, he admired what he heard from the Prophet.
111
Like any other poetry, Arabic poetry has also meters, which are
ordinarily reckoned to be sixteen in number. Khalīl ibn Aḥmad (d.
170/786) in the 8th century codified the normally used metres, and
since then have little change. Some examples of the commonly used
metres of the classical and modern poetry with some verses of the
Qur’an are as follows:
1. In the “long meter” البَحْ ر اْلطَ وِ يل , namely, فَ عوْل نْ مَفَاعِيْل ن فَ عوْل نْ مَفَاعِل ن
[the “.” is short, and the “-” is stressed and long] (.-- .--- .-- .-..)
in the poetry of ’Imru’ al-Qays, as follows:
قِفَا نَ بكِ مِنْ ذِكْرَى حَبِيْبٍ وَ مَنْزِلٍ
Halt, you two companions, and let us weep
for the memory of a beloved and an abode…
This poetry was one of the seven Mu‘allaqāt.
The example from the Qur’an is as follows:
) وَلَ تَقْ تل وا النَفْسَ الَتِي حَرَمَ اللَّ )الْنعام: 101 ، الإسراء: 33
And do not kill the soul which has been prohibited
by Allah (Q. 6:151 and 17:33)
2. In the “complete meter, الْبَحْ ر الْكَامِل , namely, متَفَاعِل نْ متَفَاعِل نْ متَفَاعِل نْ
(..-.- ..-.- ..-.-) in the poetry of ‘Antarah ibn Shaddād as follows:
هَلْ غَادَرَ الشُّعَرَا ء مِنْ متَرَدَمٍ
Have the poets left in the garment a place
for a patch to be patched by me
This poetry was also one of the seven Mu‘allaqāt.
The example in the Qur’an is as follows:
) صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّ موا تَسْلِيمًا )الْحزاب: 05
Ask Allah’s blessing on him and greet
him with salutation (Q. 33:56)
3. In the rajaz meter الْبَحْ ر الرَجَز , namely, -.--) مسْتَفْعِل ن مسْتَفْعِل ن مسْتَفْعِل ن
--.- --.-) in poetry of the Egyptian poet Aḥmad Shawqī (d. 1932)
who was nicknamed أَمِيْ ر الشُّعَرَاء (“the Prince of the Poets”)
praising the town of Zahle ) الزَحْلَة ( in Lebanon as the neighbour of
the valley, as follows:
يَاجَرَة الْوَادِي طَرِبْ ت وَ عَادَنِي * مَا يشْبِ ه الَْحْلاَمَ مِنْ ذِكْرَاكِ
112
O neighbour of the valley, I am deliriously happy and
what has come to me is portrayed like
a dream of your memories
The example from the Qur’an is as follows:
) يَا أَيُّهَا الَذِينَ آمَ نوا اصْبِ روا ... )آل عمران: 555
O you who believe! Endure… (Q. 3:200)
4. In the “fast meter” الْبَحْ ر السَرِيْع , namely, -.-- -.--) مسْتَفْعِل ن مسْتَفْعِل ن فَاعِل ن
-.-) in the poetry of the Persian poet Omar Khayyam (d. 1131) as
follows:
سَمِعْ ت صَوْتًا هَاتِفًا فِي السَحَر
I heard a voice calling at dawn
The example in the Qur’an is as follows:
) ذَلِكَ تَقْدِي ر الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ ) 45
Such is the measuring of the All-Mighty,
the All-Knowing (Q. 6:96)
5. In the “abundant meter” الْبَحْر الْوَافِر , namely, مفَاعَلَ تنْ مفَاعَلَ تنْ فَ عوْل نْ
(.-..- .-..- .--) as in the poem of an unidentified poet as follows:
وَ ك نْ رَ ج لًا عَ لىَ الْ هْ وَ الِ جَ لدً ا ** وَ شِ يمَ تكَ السَ مَ احَ ة وَ الوَ فا ء
Be a steadfast man in facing terror, and make
tolerance and loyalty your innate quality
The example in the Qur’an is as follows:
) أَلَ بعْدًا لِعَادٍ قَوْمِ هودٍ )هود: 55
So away with ‘Ᾱd, the people of Hῡd (Q. 11:60)
This verse is about the people of ‘Ᾱd who disbelieved in
Allah and disobeyed their Prophet Hῡd a.s. They lived in
Southern Arabia, the area al-Aḥqāf in the present Ḥaḍramawt.
6. In the “song meter” الْبَحْ ر الْهَزَج , namely, (---. ---.) مَفَاعِيْل ن مَفَاعِيْل ن
as in the following poetry:
ومَنْ يَدْ عو إلى رَ ب ** كَ زهَادٍ و عبَادِ
… and who prays to a Lord,
like ascetic and a pious people
The example in the Qur’an is the following verse:
) كَأَنْ لَمْ تَغْنَ بِالَْْمْسِ )يونس: 59
… as if it had not flourished yesterday!
113
This verse is about the crops that have just flourished, but were
destroyed by Allah for the growers’ arrogance ignoring His power
over everything, including their crops. It is a moral lesson for us that
everything is belongs to Him.
7. In the “consecutive meter” الْبَحْ رالْ م تَقَارِب , namely, فَ عوْل نْ فَ عوْل نْ فَ عوْل نْ
فَ عوْل نْ (.-- .-- .-- .--), as in the poem
تظَ لُّ حَ ب يسَ الهَ وَ ى وَ المَ عَ اصِ ي ** ف أ ينَ ال نجَ اة وَ أَ ينَ ال فرَ ار
You persists to be controlled by passion and disobedience,
where is, then, salvation and escape?
The example in the Qur’an is the following verse:
) 115 . النساء: 77 . النور: 05 . المزمل: 55 ، أَقِي موا الصَلَاةَ وَآ توا الزَكَاةَ )البقرة: 13
… perform prayer and give zakat (Q. 2:83,110; 4:77; 24:56; 73:20)
8. In the “uprooted meter” الْبَحْ رالْ مجْتَثُّ , namely, -.--) مسْتَفْعِل ن فَاعِلاَ تنْ
-.--) as in the poem of the “poet of the Nile river,” Ḥafiẓ
Ibrāhīm (d. 1932) as follows:
لَ يلايَ مَ ا أ نا حَ ي *** يرْ جَ ى وَ ل أ نا مَ يْ ت
O my Layla, I am not alive with hope, nor am I dead
The poet expressed his frustration in life, but he was still alive.
He had not done his duty to his country for being helpless. This
reminds us of the Indonesian expression Hidup segan mati tak mau
(“He is reluctant to live, but he does not want to die either”)
The example in the Qur’an is the following verse:
) ...وَاللَّ خَيْ ر وَأَبْقَى )طه: 73
… and Allah is better and more lasting (Q. 20:73)
This was the statement of the magicians who believed in Allah
and Prophet Moses a.s. after their magic had been defeated by
Prophet Moses’s staff which turned into a real snake and swallowed
their ropes which looked like snakes. They said, “Allah is better [as
regards reward in comparison to your (Fir‘awn – Pharaoh) reward],
and more lasting (as regards punishment in comparison to your
punishment).”
114
9. In the ramal meter الْبَحْ ر الرَمَل , namely, ,(-.- --.- --.-) فَاعِ لآ تنْ فاَعِ لآ تنْ فَاعِل نْ
as in the poem of “the emir of poets” Aḥmad Shawqī, as
follows:
عَ لَ م وْ ه كَ يفَ يجْ ف و فجَ فا *** ظَ ا لِ م لَ ق ي ت مِ ن ه مَ ا كَ في
They taught him how to turn away, so he turned away
I have found enough mistreatment from him
The example in the Qur’an is the following verse:
) وَالَذِي أَطْمَ ع أَنْ يَغْفِرَ لِي ... )الشعراء: 15
And Who I hope will forgive me (Q. 26:82)
This was the statement of Prophet Ibrāhīm (Abraham) a.s. to
his father and his people who worshiped idols in calling them to
worship Allah, the Creator, and the Guide to the right path.
10. The last example of the 16 poetical meters in Arabic poetry is
the “simple meter” الْبَحْ ر الْبَسِيْط , namely, مسْتَفْعِل ن فَاعِل ن مسْتَفْعِل ن فَعِل ن
(--.- -.- --.- ..-), as in the Qaṣīdat al-Burdah. The burdah is the
mantle of the Prophet. This poetry was composed by al-Imām
Sharaf al-Dīn Muḥammad al-Bῡṣīrī in praising the Prophet. He was
born in Egypt in 608/1212 and died in 695/1296 at the age of 84.
He composed this qaṣīdah after suffering from a stroke caused
him partially paralysed. He prayed to Allah to cure him. He
dreamed that he cited the qaṣīdah to the Prophet. The Prophet
touched the paralysed part of his body and threw his mantle
(burdah) over him. Upon awakening he found out that he had
been cured of his paralysis.
The qaṣīdah was originally entitled الْكَوَاكِ ب الدُّرِّيَة فِيْ مَدْحِ خَيْرِ الْبَرِيَة
(“The Resplendent Stars in the Praise of the Best of Creation”),
later called Qaṣīdat al-Burdah in ten parts consisting of more than
160 verses, all ending with letter mīm ( م). They are read,
memorized, and cited in many Islamic schools all over the Muslim
world. The qaṣīdah has been translated into many languages,
such as Persian, Urdu, Punjabi, French, and German. Here are
some verses of the qaṣīdah:
39 . محَمَ د سَيِّ د الْكَوْنَيْنِ وَالثَقَلَي *** نِ وَ الْفَرِيْقَيْنِ مِنْ عرْبٍ وَ مِنْ عَجَمِ
115
34. Muhammad – Master of the Two Worlds, and the Two
Dense Kinds [human and jinn], and of the Two
Groups, Arabs and non-Arabs.
153 . يَا رَبِّ بِالْ مصْطَفَى بَلِّغْ مَقَاصِدَنَا * وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا مَا مَضَى يَا وَاسِعَ الْكَرَمِ
163. O my Lord! With the Elect One (namely, Prophet
Muhammad s.a.w.] make us attain our goals, and forgive
us for what has passed, O Most Munificent One!
The example of this “simple” meter in the Qur’an is as follows:
) فَأَصْبَ حوا لَ يرَى إِلَ مَسَاكِ ن همْ )الْحقاف: 50
…so, they became such that nothing could be
seen except their dwellings (Q. 46:25)
This verse was about Allah’s punishment on the ‘Ᾱd people who
did not want to listen to their Prophet Hῡd to worship Allah. Then
strong wind destroyed everything except their houses.
Dr. Ṭāhā Ḥusayn (d. 1973) of Egypt nicknamed “the foremost
representative of Arabic literature” ) عَمِيْ د الْدَبِ الْعَرَبِي ( was reported to
have said that Arabic literature is divided into three kinds: prose,
poetry, and the Qur’ān. As the Qur’ān is not poetry, but the very
words of Allah, we treat it with full respect, and read it with its own
rules, called عِل م التَجْوِيْد (“The art of reciting the Qur’ān”), i.e., the
Qur’ān reciting according to the established rules on pronunciation
and intonation. (CIVIC, 04.04.14)
المصادر:
المكتبة الشاملة
تفسير الطبري
تفسير القرطبي
http://ejabat.google.com/ejabat/thread?tid=4e9c1cedd15ca3e8
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/401277/al-Nabighahal-
Dhubyani
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/284295/Imru-al-Qays
http://pulpit.alwatanvoice.com/articles/2009/12/29/184413.html
http://islamport.com/w/lqh/Web/2621/1.htm
ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/ ع
www.awzan.com/bu7oor/bu7oor1.htm
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For the Collection of my Islamic Speeches
and Writings, please visit:
independent.academia.edu/MuhammadAminSamad
http://issuu.com/muhammadaminsamad.
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