0
you who believe! do not Say, "Have regard for us", and say, "Wait for us";
and listen; and for the unbelievers there is a painful chastisement (104).
Those who disbelieve from among the People of the Book do not, like, nor
do the polytheists, that any good should be sent down to you from
your Lord; and Allah chooses especially whom He pleases for His mercy, and
Allah is the Lord of mighty grace (105).
********
COMMENTARY
QUR'AN: 0 you who
believe!: it is the first place in the Qur'an where the believers have
been addressed in this way, "O You who believe!" This mode of address has
been used. in some eighty-five places in the Qur'an.*
Addressing
the believers as "0 you who believe! ", or describing them as "those who
believe", is a special distinction accorded to this ummah.
Otherwise, the previous nations are variously described as "the
people" (e.g., "the People of Nuh ", and, "the People of Hud",
"He said. '0 my people! have you considered if I have a clear proof from
my Lord. . . ' " ( 11:88)); and "the dwellers " (e. g., "the
dwellers of Madyan ", "the dwellers of the Rass"); and "the
children" (e.g., "the Children of Israel". "O Children of
Israel!"). The epithet, "those who believe", is, therefore, a mark of
honor awarded to the believers of this ummah.
It appears
from deep meditation of the Qur'an that the import of the words, "those
who believe", is somewhat different from that of the words, "the
believers". (For an example of the latter, see the verse: and turn to
Allah all of you, 0 believers! (24:31))
Allah says
in the Qur'an Those who bear the throne and those around it celebrate
the praise of their Lord and believe in Him and ask forgiveness for those
who believe: "Our Lord! Thou embracest all things in mercy and knowledge,
therefore grant forgiveness to those who turn (to Thee) and follow
Thy way, and save them from the punishment of the hell. Our Lord! and make
them enter the gardens of perpetuity which Thou hast promised to them and
those who do good of their fathers and their wives and their offspring,
surely Thou are the Mighty, the Wise" (40:7-8).
It shows
that the angels and the bearers of the throne ask forgiveness for "those
who believe"; then the same group has been referred to as "those who turn
(to Thee) and follow Thy way". ("turn" actually means, return.) The prayer
continues to "make them (i.e., those who believe) enter the garden" and
then joins to them the doers of good from among "their fathers and their
wives and their offspring." If the epithet, "those who believe", were to
include all those who believed in the Apostle of Allah (s.a.w.a.)
irrespective of the quality of their belief, then it would have covered
their fathers, wives and children as well (who do good); and there would
have been no need to mention them separately; all would have equally
benefited from the prayer for those who believe.
Also, have
a look at the verse: And (as for) those who believe and their
offspring follow them in faith, We will unite with them their offspring
and We will not diminish to them aught of their work; every man is
responsible for what he has wrought (52:21): If the offspring
who followed them in faith, were included in the epithet, "those who
believe", there would be no sense in saying that the offspring would be
united with them. Even if we were to say that the verse refers to the
generation after generation of the believers, that every succeeding
generation will be united to the preceding one (provided both believed in
the Apostle of Allah s.a.w.a.) the meaning would not seem very proper in
the context. If that were the import of the verse, then why this
"uniting"? Also, what purpose would be served by the sentence, "and We
will not diminish to them aught of their work"? Such an interpretation may
prove correct for one generation only, that is, the last one before the
Day of Resurrection - that they would be united with the preceding
generation. But nobody has suggested this meaning as it goes clearly
against the context. What such an interpretation would boil down to is as
follows:
All the
believers are united, one of them being from another; all of them are of
one rank; none has any excellence over the others; nor has an earlier
believer any superiority over the later ones; their main qualification is
the true belief, and all of them, are equal in it. Such a meaning would
not fit the wording of the verse which clearly shows that the preceding
believers have a sort of superiority over their offspring, who would be
raised to the rank of their progenitor as a token of honor to the
latter.
The phrase,
"and their offspring follow them in faith", proves that the preceding
word, "those who believe" refers to a particular group of the believers -
the foremost and the first of the Emigrants and the Helpers who followed
the Apostle in the hour of straitness. The epithet, those who believe, is
a title of honor bestowed on that distinguished group.
Other two
verses too point to this fact:
(It is)
for the poor who fled . . . and those who made their abode in the city
and in the faith before them . . . and those who came after them
say: "Our Lord! forgive us and those of our brethren who had precedence of
us in faith, and do not create any spite in our hearts towards
those who believe; our Lord! surely Thou art Kind, Merciful"
(59:8-10). This verse uses two phrases, "who had precedence of us in
faith", and "those who believe". If the import of both were the same, a
pronoun would have looked better in place of the second phrase. By not
using a pronoun, Allah has made it clear that each phrase has its own
significance.
Muhammad
is the Apostle of Allah; and those with him are severe against the
unbelievers, compassionate among themselves, you will see them bowing
down, prostrating themselves, seeking grace from Allah and pleasure; . . .
Allah has promised those among them who believe and do good, forgiveness
and a great reward (48:29).
All this
shows that the phrase, "those who believe", is a title of honor reserved
for the first and foremost of the believers. Most probably, the opposite
phrase, "those who disbelieve", has the contrasting significance, and
refers to the polytheists of Mecca and others who were the first and
foremost of those who disbelieved in the Apostle of Allah (s.a.w.a.). For
example, Surely those who disbelieve alike is to them whether you warn
them or do not warn them, they will not believe. (2:6)
Objection: This
interpretation means that when the Qur'an says, "0 you who believe! ", it addresses a special group that was
present in the Prophet's time, to the exclusion of all other believers.
But all the Muslims agree that such verses are general in their import and
that what is said therein applies to all the believers, whether they were
present in the Prophet's days or not; and that this mode of address
includes all the believers in reality, not metaphorically.
Reply:
Yes! It is a title of honor reserved for a selected few. But it does
not mean that what is said in those verses is in any way restricted to
those few. Whatever order or prohibition is given in such verses is
general and applies to all the believers. The matter of legislation -
whether a given order is general or exclusive - is quite different from
that of a speech - whether it is addressed to all the believers or to a
few of them. Also, it makes no difference whether a verse ordaining a law
is addressed to the believers (0 you who believe! ) or
to the Prophet in person (0 Prophet!; 0 Apostle!), or is
revealed without any address at all. The ordained law in all these cases
is applicable to all the Muslims, and covers all the believers; although
the verse may be addressed to the Prophet or to those who believe as a
mark of respect to him or them.
Nevertheless, - one should not
indiscriminately interpret the phrase, "0 you who believe!" and "those who
believe", as referring to the first and foremost believers of the
Prophet's time; rather one should look at the context, before deciding the
true connotation of these phrases in a given verse. For example, look at
the verse: Surely (as for) those who believe then disbelieve,
again believe and disbelieve, then increase in disbelief, Allah will not
forgive them nor guide them in the (right) path (4:137);
and the verse which quotes Nuh (a.s.) as saying: and I am not going
to drive away those who believe; surely they shall meet their Lord
(11:129). Obviously, the phrase, those who believe, used in the above
verses cannot refer to the above-mentioned group.
QUR'AN: do not say,
"Have regard for us", and say, "Wait for us"; and listen: That is, use
the phrase, Wait for us, instead of saying, Have regard for us. And if you
failed to comply with this command, it would be tantamount to disbelief,
and for the disbelievers there is a painful chastisement. It is a very
strong admonition against saying, "ra'ina" Have regard for us).
This phrase has also been mentioned in another verse, which gives an
indication of its connotation: Of those who are Jews (there are
those who) alter words from their places and say: "We have heard and we
disobey"; and: "Hear, may you not be made to hear!" and "ra'ina" ",
distorting (the word) with their tongues and taunting about
religion (4:46). Obviously, the Jews used the phrase,
"ra'ina " for something similar to the phrase, "Hear, may you not
be made to hear!" And that is why such a mode of addressing the Prophet
was prohibited. This explanation agrees with what the tradition says: When
the Prophet talked with the Muslims, they used to tell him: "Ra'ina
(have regard for us) 0 Apostle of Allah " -that is, wait for
us, so that we may properly understand what you are saying.** But this
word carried a connotation of abuse in the Jews' language. The Jews seized
upon this opportunity, addressing the Prophet with this phrase, pretending
to show respect to him while their intention was nothing short of abuse.
And in their usage it meant, "Hear, may you not be made to hear".
Thereupon, Allah revealed: Of those who are Jews (there are those
who) alter words from their places and say: "We have heard and we
disobey"; and: "Hear, may you not be made to hear! " and: "ra'ina ",
distorting (the word) with their tongues and taunting about
religion; and if they had said (instead): "We have heard and we
obey", and "hearken " ' and "unzurna " (wait for us), it would have
been better for them and more upright (4:46). The believers too were
told not to use this phrase and say instead, "unzurna the Qur'an
guided them: "do not say, 'Have regard for us and say, 'Wait for us'
".
QUR'AN: and for the
unbelievers there is a painful chastisement: that is, for those who
disobey this rule. It is one of the occasions when disobedience of a law
of religion has been termed as disbelief.
QUR'AN:
Those who disbelieve from among the People of -the Book . . . :
Obviously, the phrase, "the People of the Book", refers here
exclusively to the Jews, because the preceding verses too dealt with them.
If so, then the phrase would serve as a pointer to the cause why they did
not like that any good should be sent down to the believers from their
Lord. The Jews were given a Book before and they were not happy when the
Qur'an was sent down to the Muslims, as it deprived them of their
distinction as being the People of the Book. They showed avarice about a
thing they did not own; they wanted to stand against Allah when He
bestowed His mercy and grace on His servants and Allah chooses especially
whom He pleases for His mercy; and Allah is the Lord of mighty grace".
On the
other hand the phrase, as used in this verse, may include all the People
of the Book - the Jews and the Christians both. If so, then the verse
would serve to widen the scope of the admonition; it would be a
generalization after exclusiveness. Both groups shared many
characteristics - and especially their enmity to Islam. Some verses coming
afterwards strengthen this interpretation. For example: And they say:
"None shall enter the garden except he who is a Jew or a Christian "
(2:111) And the Jews say, "The Christians do not follow anything
(good)", and the Christians say, "The Jews do not follow anything
(good)". (2:113)
TRADITIONS
Abu Nu'aym
has narrated in Hilyatu 'l-awliya' from Ibn 'Abbas that he said:
"The Apostle of Allah (s.a.w.a.) said: Allah has not revealed any verse
(beginning) with, "0 you who believe!" but that 'Ali is its head and
leader.' " (ad-Durru 'l-manthur)
The
author says: This tradition supports what we shall be quoting in
various places that a certain verse was revealed about 'Alf (a.s.) or
Ahlu l-bayt for example: You are the best of the nations raised
for (the benefit of) men (3:110); . . . that you may be
witnesses over the people . . . (2:143); . . . and be with the true
ones (9:119).
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* Eighty-eight, to be exact. Vide al-Mu'jam
al-Mufahras, (by Muhammad Fu'ad 'Abdul 'l-Baqi)
(tr.)
** It is more or less equivalent to the English
idiom "I beg your pardon". But with a slight change of accent it may come
to mean, stupid or cattle tenderer. (tr.)
********