In The Name of Allah,
the Beneficent and the Most Merciful
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Volume 4: Surah Baqarah, Verses
244-252
And fight in the way of
Allah, and know that Allah is Hearing, Knowing (244). Who is it that will
lend to Allah a goodly loan, so He will multiply it for him manifold, and
Allah holds and extends and to Him you shall be returned (245). Did you
not see the chiefs of the children of Israel after Musa, when they said to
a prophet of theirs: "Raise up for us a king (that) we may fight in
the way of Allah.' He said: "May it not be that if fighting is ordained
for you, you would not fight? " They said: "And what reason have we that
we should not fight in the way of Allah, and we have indeed been turned
out of our homes and our children. " But when fighting was ordained for
them, they turned back, except a few of them, and Allah knows the unjust
(246). And their prophet said to them: "Surely Allah has raised Talut to
be a king over you. " They said: "How can he hold kingship over us while
we have a greater right to kingship than he, and he has not been granted
an abundance of wealth? " He said: "Surely Allah has chosen him over you,
and He has increased him abundantly in knowledge and physique, and Allah
grants His Kingdom to whom He pleases, and Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing
(247). And their prophet said to them: "Surely the sign of his kingship
is, that there shall come to You the Ark in which there is tranquility
from your Lord and residue of the relics of what
the
family of Musa and the family of Harun have left, the angels bearing it:
most surely there is a sign in this for those who believe " (248). So when
Talut departed with the forces, he said: "Surely Allah will try you with a
stream; whoever then drinks from it, he is not of me, and whoever does not
taste of it, he is surely of me, except he who takes with his hand as much
(of it)
as fills
his hand," but with the exception of a few of them they drank from it. So
when he had crossed it. he and those who believed with him, they said -
"We have today no power against Goliath and his forces. " Those who
thought that they would meet their Lord said: "How often has a small party
vanquished a numerous host by Allah's permission, and Allah is with the
patient ones " (249). And when they went out against Goliath and his
forces they said: "Our Lord, pour down upon us patience, and make out feet
firm and help us against the unbelieving people " (250). So they routed
them by Allah's permission and Dawud slew Goliath, and Allah gave him
kingship and wisdom, and taught him of what He pleased. And were it not
for Allah's repelling some men with others, the earth would certainly be
in a state of disorder: but Allah is Gracious to the creatures (251).
These are the signs of' Allah: We recite them to you with truth: and most
surely you are (one) of' the apostles
(252).
GENERAL
COMMENT
All these verses were obviously
revealed together. The connection between the obligation of fighting, the
exhortation of a goodly loan to Allah and the moral of the story of Talut,
Dawud and Goliath needs no explanation. The import of
the
verses is to show how fighting in the way of Allah strengthens the collective
life, what the spirit is by which a nation goes forward in its worldly and
religious life, and what gives it its real happiness and felicity. Allah
declares that jihad
is obligatory
for the Muslims, calls them to spend in His way, by contributing in
preparation for war so that their military power increases and they are
ready for their enemies. This spending has been called " lending to
Allah" because it is done in His way. Also, it very forcefully exhorts the
hearers to spend in His way to gain nearness to Him. Then comes the story
of Talut, Dawud and Goliath, so that the believers who are told to fight
should take lessons from it. The moral is that the kingdom and victory
belong to faith and piety, even if its adherents be small in number: and
defeat and destruction is the fare of hypocrisy and sin, even if its
followers be numerous. See how the Israelites lived in disgrace and
servitude as long as they remained inert and idle, and were too lazy to do
anything to improve their condition. But when they stood up to fight
in the way of Allah and sought help from the word of truth, Allah helped
them to vanquish their enemy, even though only a few of them were really
truthful. Look at the majority of them turning back when fighting was
prescribed for them, and objecting to the appointment of Talut, and
drinking from the stream, and saying that they had no strength to fight
against Goliath and his armies. In spite of all these shortcomings Allah
made them victorious; they vanquished their enemy by the permission of
Allah; Dawud slew Goliath and kingdom was established in them. They were
given a new life and their power and sovereignty came back to them. It was
not but because of a word which faith and piety made them utter when they
stood before Goliath and his forces: "Our Lord, pour down upon us patience
and make our feet firm and help us against the unbelieving people." Thus
should the believers follow in the footsteps of the good people of
previous nations, because they shall have the upper hand if they are
believers.
COMMENTARY
QUR'AN: And fight in
the way of Allah:
It makes fighting obligatory and
compulsory. Here and everywhere in the Qur'an, the order of fighting has
the stipulation, "in the way of Allah". It is to forestall any possible
misunderstanding that this important religious duty was ordained to
establish the worldly domination of the Muslims over other nations and to
spread the kingdom of the Muslim's as many modern Muslim scholars think.
The proviso, "in the way of Allah", shows that this order was given to
spread the domination of religion, by which the people could prosper in
both worlds.
QUR'AN: And know that
Allah is Hearing, Knowing:
It is a warning to the believers
- they should not utter a single word against any order given by Allah and
His apostle, nor should they dislike in their hearts any such order as the
hypocrites do. They should not be like the Israelites when they first
objected about Talut, saying, "How can he hold kingship over us . . .",
and then said, "We have today no power against Goliath and his forces",
and retreated and turned away when fighting was prescribed for them, and
drank from the stream after Talut had forbidden them to do
so.
QUR'AN: Who is it
that will lend to Allah a goodly loan, so that He will multiply it for him
manifold:
The meaning of loan is
well-known. Allah has named what
is spent in His way as a loan to Himself, to exhort people to spend,
and because it is done in His way, and also because it will surely be
returned to them manifold.
The style has been changed from
the imperative mood of previous verse (And fight in the way of Allah) to the interrogative here
(Who is it that will
lend?) to refresh and enliven the mind of the audience - an order is
always received with a feeling of helplessness, but not so an invitation
and exhortation.
QUR'AN: And Allah holds
and extends and to Him you shall be returned:
"al-Qabd" is to hold a thing towards
oneself. al-bast is
its
opposite. "al-Bast"
is a rendering
of al-bast - `Sin'
of which
has been changed to 'Suad'
because it is
joined to `T' ( b
) which is pronounced with a full voice, and Suad also has a
full voice.
This sentence mentions three
attributes of Allah: He holds, He extends and to Him all are to return. It
is to remind the Muslims that whatever they spend, lending it to Him shall
not be in vain, nor should they be surprised at how it will be increased
manifold. Because Allah holds and extends - He decreases whatever He
pleases and increases whatever He pleases; and they are to return to Him,
and then He will repay them the said loan a goodly
repayment.
QUR'AN:
Did you not see the chiefs of the children of
Israel...in the way of Allah:
al-Mala' is said to mean a group of
people having the same opinion. It is derived from al-mal' (= to fill), because it fills the
eyes by its greatness and prestige. The request, "Raise up for us a king
(that) we may fight in the way of Allah", implies that the king, Goliath
by name, had subjugated them and treated them so badly that they had lost
all traces of a free life, like their homes and children. It happened
after Allah had saved them from the people of Pharaoh by raising among
them Musa and making him their head, and after the rule of the successors
of Musa had come to an end. Then the hardship increased to such an extent
that their slumbering self-respect was awakened by the shock of it, and
their elders went to a prophet of theirs asking him to raise for them a
king to remove their internal differences and unite their power which had
became ineffective because of disunity, so that they could fight under his
command, in the way of Allah.
QUR'AN:
He said: "May it not be that if fighting is
ordained for you, you would not fight?":
The Israelites had asked their
prophet to raise for them a king, so that they could fight under him in
the way of Allah. But it was not in the power of the prophet; it was the
prerogative of Allah. That is why the prophet attributed the appointment
and the order of fighting to Allah. But he did not mention the divine name
clearly. In their reply he questioned them about their possible
disobedience, and he knew by divine revelation that they would surely
disobey. Therefore, he did not mention the name of Allah clearly, but
only indicated that the authority is from Him and of Him only. How did he
indicate it? By using the word "written" (lit. translation: "if fighting
is written on you") and writing, in the meaning of ordaining, is done only
by Allah.
Although, the prophet knew that
they would not obey the command of Allah, he put this matter in the form
of a question, so that the proof
might be completed against them by their protests of sincerity, as their
reply showed.
QUR'AN:
They said: 'And what reason have we that we should
not fight in the way of Allah, and we have indeed been turned out of our
homes and our children':
Their dispersal from their homes meant that they could
not manage their affairs as they had been sent away from their ancestral
abode. Thus "turned out of our homes" alludes to their inability to look
after their homes and to benefit from them. It is this meaning that
justifies the use of this verb, "turned out of " in connection with
children.
QUR'AN: But when
fighting was ordained for them, they turned hack, except a few of them,
and Allah knows the unjust: It is an offshoot of
their prophet's question (May it not be that. . .
you would not fight?) and their reply
(And what reason have we that we should not fight
?). The words, "And Allah knows the unjust ", show that the question
of the prophet was based on divine revelation that they would surely turn
away from fighting.
QUR'AN:
And their prophet said to them: "Surely Allah has
raised Talut . . . he has not been granted an abundance of
wealth?":
The announcement, "Allah has raised" was a reminder to
them that they were mistaken in asking the prophet to raise a king for
them so that they would fight. The prophet attributed this raising to
Allah to teach them that it was a prerogative of Allah.
The declaration about Talut prompted them to protest.
In their eyes, Talut had two defects, which made him unfit for kingship.
The first "disqualification" was alluded to in their words narrated by
Allah: "How can he hold kingship over us while we have a greater right to
kingship than he". They did not think it necessary to elaborate why they
were more deserving; it means that it was an obvious thing. The fact is
that the house of prophethood and the house of kingship were well-known
among the Israelites - the two houses were highly respected because of
these two graces of Allah. And Talut was from neither. That is why they
objected that they - the people of the house of kingship or both kingship
and prophethood - had a greater right to kingship than Talut; Allah had
put kingship in their family, how could they accept its transfer to
someone else?
This objection was a result of their belief that Allah
cannot abrogate or change any of His orders; they said: the hand of Allah
is tied up. (Their hands be shackled!) Their prophet replied to this
objection when he said: "Surely Allah has chosen him over you.
"
The second "disqualification" is described in their
words, "and he has not been granted an abundance of wealth". Talut was a
poor man. Their prophet replied to it by saying: "and He has increased him
abundantly in knowledge and physique".
QUR'AN: He said: "Surely Allah has
chosen him over you, and He has increased him abundantly in knowledge and
physique ":
al-Istifa'
and al-istisfa'
means to choose. Its root is
as-safw
(clearness, choice) ; al-bastah
is expansion and power. These
sentences are the replies to their objections: -
Objection 1: They had
a greater right of kingship than Talut because they were from the chosen
family.
Reply : It was a distinction given to their
family by Allah. Now that Allah has chosen someone else, he has a greater
right than they; and now his family will have precedence over theirs and
he has become nobler and higher in rank than they. The superiority follows
the choice of Allah.
Objection 2:
"and he has not been granted an abundance of wealth".
Reply: Kingship is establishment of supreme
authority over a group of people. Its only purpose is to unite the people
under one will and join them together by creating a relationship with all
of them. Everyone shall progress on the road of perfection without
colliding with one another. No one shall be given preference without
justice; no one shall be kept behind without justice. In short, kingship
was created so that the ruler should manage the society in such a way that
every member might reach his deserved perfection. To achieve that object,
the king must have two qualities: (1) Knowledge of all that is good for
his people and all that is bad; (2) Physical strength to implement and
enforce what he thinks is good for the people.
Allah points this out in the words, "and He has increased
him abundantly in
knowledge and physique". So far as wealth is concerned, to count it among
the necessities of kingship is foolishness.
Then He concisely put all these
arguments in one sentence: "and Allah grants His Kingdom to whom He
pleases". The kingdom belongs to Allah alone; nobody has any right in it,
except what Allah bestows from it on any one. Even then it really belong
to Allah only - see how the word "kingdom" is qualified here by possessive
pronoun "His". When you keep this reality in view, you will know that
Allah has full authority to do in His kingdom as He pleases and as He
wills. Nobody has any right to say `why' or `how'. One cannot ask why
Allah did this or that, because He is the Real cause; nor can one enquire
how and by which means He did it, because Allah is the Perfect cause and
He does not need any supplementary causes. Therefore, the Israelites
should not have asked why He transferred the kingdom from one family to
another, or why He gave it to someone who had neither a big family nor
abundant wealth.
It is true that Allah bestows
His bounty and grace as He wishes and upon whom He pleases. Still, it is
not done at random or without reason. When we say, "Allah does what He
wishes and gives His kingdom to whom He pleases" we do not mean that Allah
does not have any object in view in His actions. Nor do we say that He
acts haphazardly; that if there occurs any benefit from it, well and good,
and if not, then what does it matter; after all, the kingdom is His, He
may do whatever He pleases. What we actually mean is this : Allah is the
final and real cause of every creation, with matter and without matter.
Benefit and usefulness also, like all other things, are His creation. In
view of this, Allah, in His actions, cannot be governed by any aim and
object, as we are; when He does a work (and whatever He does is good) or
creates a thing (and whatever He creates is beautiful), His action is
beneficial to His creatures. But He is not subservient to any
benefit.
The above explanation serves to
resolve the apparent contradiction in this verse: The authoritative
declaration, "Allah grants His kingdom to whom He pleases", seemingly
cannot be reconciled with the reasons given earlier, "He has increased him
abundantly in knowledge and physique". Had there been any discordance
between His absolute power to do as He pleases, and His actions being full
of benefit and reason, the two arguments could not be advanced side by
side, let alone be complementary to each other.
The last sentence of the verse,
"and Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing", makes it even more clear.
"Ample-giving" shows that He cannot be restricted by anyone or anything in
bestowing His bounties or in any other action. "Knowing" shows that all
His actions are done by His true knowledge which is never wrong. In other
words, He does whatever He pleases, and He never does but what is
beneficial.
"Wasi' " (translated here as
"Ample-giving") is the active participle of al-wus'ah and as-sa'ah which is the capacity of a body to accommodate another body,
like the capacity of a water pot to hold water, that of a box for things
packed in it, and that of a house to accommodate its residents. Then it
was borrowed for riches: but not for every wealth and not in all
conditions; it is used for riches when the possibility of spending and
giving is taken into consideration. It is as though the wealth has the
capacity to be spent and given. It is this meaning in which Allah is
called al-wasi, that is, the Possessor of wealth who has power to give whatever He
pleases.
QUR'AN: And their
prophet said to them: "Surely the sign of his kingship is that there shall
come to you the Ark in which there s tranquillity":
"at-Tabut"( translated
here as "Ark") means chest. It is on the paradigm of fa'lut from at-tawb (to return). A chest is given
this name because man returns to it every now and then.
MEANING OF "AS-SAKINAH"
as-Sakinah (tranquillity)
is derived from as-sukun which is opposite of movement.
as-sakinah is used for tranquillity of the heart. When a man is of
stable mind and is not perturbed in taking a firm decision, he is said to
have as-sakinah. It is a virtue of a wise man who
has a strong will. Allah has made it a characteristic of
al-iman
(faith)
in its higher degree, and has counted it as one of His most valuable
gifts.
Man, according to his nature,
bases his action on reasoning. He arranges logical premises, analyses the
benefits of a particular action, and sees how it will effect the bliss of
his life and bring the good of the society as a whole. Then he decides
what to do and what not to do.
When man goes forward on the
path of nature in the process of his reasoning, and his only aim is to
gain real benefit and happiness in life, then his thinking is accompanied
by peace of mind and tranquility of heart without any nervousness and
perturbation. On the other hand, if he clings in his life to the world and
follows his low desires, he becomes confused, and his thought and
will-power are distorted by his unhealthy vision. As a result, he goes
astray from the path of truth: or remains undecided, confused and
irresolute in his decisions and cannot perform any difficult and dangerous
task which requires strong will-power and firm feet.
A believing man, because of his
belief in Allah. relies on a firm support and an unshaken pillar of
strength. He bases his life on true knowledge where doubt and confusion
cannot intrude: sets forth in his actions in the light of divine
commandments which he is sure are the most perfect guide. He knows that
his affairs are not in his own hands: he is, therefore, not afraid of any
possible loss: and if any harm comes to him, he is not sorry about it. He
is not puzzled when he has to distinguish good from
evil.
But a disbeliever has no
guardian to look after his affairs. His good and evil are in his own
hands. He wanders in the darkness of confusion, undecidedness and
uncertainty, because his thoughts are permeated by low desires, specters
of unreality, and unhealthy feelings.
Allah says:
. . .and
Allah is the Guardian of the believers (3:68).
That is because Allah is the Guardian of those who
believe, and because the unbelievers have no guardian for them
(47:11).
Allah is the Guardian of those who believe;
He brings them out of darkness into the light; and (as to) those who disbelieve, their guardians are the
Satans who take them out of the light into the darkness
(2:257).
Surely We have made the Satans to be the guardians
of those who do not believe (7:27).
It is only the Satan that frightens his friends . .
. (3:175).
The Satan threatens you with poverty and enjoins
you to be niggardly, and Allah promises you forgiveness from Himself and
abundance . . . (2:268).
...and
whoever takes the Satan for a guardian rather than Allah, he indeed shall
suffer a manifest lost. He gives them promises and excites vain desires in
them; and the Satan does not promise them aught but (in) deception . . . (it is) a promise of Allah, true
(indeed) ; and who is truer of word than Allah? (4:119-122).
Now surely the friends of Allah - they shall have
no fear nor shall they grieve (10:62).
These verses, as you see, put all fear, grief,
perturbation and deception on the side of disbelief; and the opposite
virtues on the side of faith.
Even more clear is the verse:
Is he who was dead then We raised him to life and
made for him a light by which he walks among the people, like him whose
likeness is that of one in utter darkness whence he cannot come forth?
(6:122).
It shows that the disbeliever gropes about awkwardly
in his journey of life because he has fallen in utter darkness and cannot
see any thing. But the believer has a divine light by which he sees his
path and knows what is good for him and what is bad. It is because Allah
has bestowed upon him a fresh and new life in addition to this material
life which he shares with the disbelievers. That new life accompanies this
light which illuminates its path. Allah says: 0 you who believe! Fear
Allah and believe in His Apostle: He will give you two portions of His
mercy, and make for you a light with which you will walk, and forgive you
. . . (57:28).
Again He says: You shall not find a people who believe in Allah and the
latter day befriending those who act in opposition to Allah and His
Apostle, even though they were their (own) fathers, or their sons, or their
brothers, or their kinsfolk; these are they into whose hearts He has
written (impressed) faith, and whom He has
strengthened with a spirit from Him (58:22).
It shows that this new life is from a spirit from
Allah, and is accompanied by a firm faith deeply impressed into their
hearts. These believers are strengthened by a spirit from Allah, which
confirms the faith into their hearts, gives a new life to their bodies and
creates a brilliant light to lead them forward.
It is easy to see that the import of this verse is
similar to that of verse 4 of chap. 48: He it is who sent down
tranquility into the hearts of the believers that they might have more of
faith added to their faith - and Allah's are the hosts of the heavens and
the earth, and Allah is Knowing, Wise.
"Tranquility" in this verse corresponds with the
"spirit" in the previous one; and "having more of faith added to their
faith" of this one corresponds with "impressing the faith into their
hearts" of the previous one. This conformity becomes more obvious when we
look at the sentence, "and Allah's are the hosts of the heavens and the
earth", because the Qur'an often uses the term "hosts" for the angels and
the spirit.
Similar in the meaning are the verses: . . . then
Allah sent down His tranquility on His Apostle and on the believers, and
made them keep the word of guarding (against evil), and they were
entitled to it and worthy of it (48:26) ; and So Allah sent down His tranquility upon him and
strengthened him with hosts which you did not see . . . (9:40).
From the above discussion, it may be inferred
that as-sakinah is a divine
spirit, or accompanies a divine spirit, by divine command; it creates
tranquility in heart, firmness of purpose and peace of mind. This does not
involve us in far-fetched interpretations which would remove the word from
its real meaning. And the traditions on this subject should be interpreted
in this light.
QUR'AN: And residue of
the relics of what the family of Musa and the family of Harun have left, the angels bearing
it...:
"al-Al" of a man means those of his family who are most
closely related to him; and, when used without any condition, it includes
also the man himself. Therefore, the phrase here means Musa, Harun and their most closely related family-members.
"The angels bearing it" shows the state of the Ark. The words of Allah,
"most surely there is a sign in this for those who believe", like the
words at the beginning of the verse, prove that they had asked their
prophet for a proof of the truth of what he had told them, "Surely Allah
has raised Talut to be a king over you. "
QUR'AN: So when
Talut departed with the forces . . . they drank from it:
"al-Fasl" here means
to depart from a place; the same is the meaning of the word in 12:94, "And
when the caravan had departed." Sometimes it means "to cut", that is, to
separate two things, as Allah says: And He is the
best of separators (between truth and falsehood)
(6:57). Thus, the verb is used sometimes transitively and at other times
intransitively.
The word "al-jund"
signifies a dense concentration of something. The
army is called al-jund, because people are densely concentrated in it. In this verse, the
word is used in plural, and it shows that their number was very great -
and this was after the people had "turned back except a few of them"
(2:246).
The whole talk is a comment on the condition of the
Israelites and how they "fulfilled" the covenant made with Allah. All
together they pleaded that a king be raised for them, and made a very
strong covenant to fight under him, and they were so numerous that when
they all turned back except a few of them, those few were "forces"; and
those forces also were of no avail because they drank from the stream;
thus, what was left, was a residue of the residue, and among them were
also those who had taken a handful of water, and as a result were overcome
by cowardice and hypocrisy. And then Allah declares how a handful of
believers, who were forbearing in the way of Allah, were given victory
over the huge armies of Goliath.
"al-Ibtila' is to
test; "al-nahar " is the
place in which a stream flows; "al-ightiraf "
and al-gharf is to raise a thing in the hand
and get it, for example, raising water in the hand to drink
it.
The position of the exceptional clause in this
verse requires special attention: Allah will try
you with a stream; whoever then drinks from it, he is not of me, and
whoever does not taste of it, he is surely of me, except he who takes with
his hand as much (of it) as
fills the hand. It would appear at the first
glance that the words, "except he who takes with his hand . . ." should
have come after the sentence, "whoever then drinks from it, he is not of
me". But the fact is that this is not related at all with those who would
drink from the stream. The Qur'an mentions that those who would drink were
not from Talut, and that is that. Then it changes the word "drink" to
"taste" and says, "and whoever does not taste of it, he is surely of
me". Only then comes the exceptional clause. Had this clause been put
after the first sentence, "whoever then drinks from it, he is not of me",
it would have signified that he who took only a handful of water was of
Talut. This in its turn would have meant that the whole army from the
beginning was of Talut, and then those who drank from the stream were cut
off from him. But the present sequence, in which two categories have been
mentioned - one of those who would drink and the other of those who would
not drink - shows that the real position of the soldiers of the army was
at that time undecided and unknown. It was only after the test of the
stream that the reality was to be known. Those who would drink from it
would be known to be not of Talut; and those who would not even taste of
it would be known to be of Talut. After these two separate sentences comes
the exceptional clause, which removes those who would take a handful of
water from the first group - but it does not put them in the second one.
If there were only the first sentence, the exceptional clause would have
given the meaning that by taking a handful of water one would not be cut
off from Talut, that is, would remain of him. But now that two separate
categories have expressly been mentioned, removal from one group does not
automatically mean inclusion in the other.
In short, the position of the exceptional clause shows
the existence of three groups: those who were not of Talut, those who
were of him, and the takers of handful of water. After crossing the
stream, two later groups remained with Talut. That is why there appeared
so much difference in their states; one group was forbearing, the other
was restless ; one had full confidence in Allah, the other was perturbed
and troubled.
QUR'AN: So when he had crossed it . . . Allah is with
the patient ones:
"al-Fi'ah" means a
group of people. A glance at the verses is sufficient to show that those
who said, "We have today no power against Goliath and his forces", were
those who had taken a handful of water; and those who replied them were
those who had not tasted of it. "Those who thought that they would meet
their Lord" : The "thought" here means "certainty ", that is, "those who
were sure . . .". Also, it may be an allegorical style to show that in
their humility they did not believe themselves worthy of meeting their
Lord. They did not say, "It is possible for a small party to vanquish a
numerous host." Instead they said, "How often has a small party vanquished
. . .". Thus they put forward a fact as their argument (instead of a
theoretical possibility) to make the reply more convincing.
QUR'AN:
And when they went out .
. . against the unbelieving people:
"al-Buruz" is to appear. From it is
derived "al-baraz" which means to appear or set forth for battle. "al-Ifragh" means to pour a liquid material in a mould. In this
invocation, they beg Allah to pour down upon them patience according to
their capacity. It is a very fine allegory. "Make our feet firm" is
another allegorical expression which signifies determination, steadiness
and firmness in front of the enemy, so that they do not flee from him.
QUR'AN: So they
put them to flight . . . taught him of what He pleased:
"al-Hazm" means to
repel, to drive back.
QUR'AN: And were
it not for Allah's repelling some men with others, the earth would
certainly be in a state of disorder; but Allah is Gracious to the
creatures:
It is obvious that the disorder of the earth means the
disorder among those who are on the earth, that is, the disorder in human
society. If society's disorder brings in its wake disorder on the earth's
surface, it would also have to be included in the meaning of this verse,
not because of itself but because of its being a result of society's
disorder.
This verse hints at a philosophical reality, which is
as follows:
The felicity and good of the human species is
incomplete if there is no society and no mutual assistance. This factor
depends on unity, to a certain degree, in society, so that various
individuals may join together to form a single group. The group together
becomes a single unit; metaphorically speaking, it becomes as though it
has a single body and a single soul. It acts and reacts like a single
individual. Social unity, and the place in which it occurs, that is, the
assembly of human individuals, is just like unity in creation, and the
place in which it occurs, that is, the universe. We know that unity in
this system of creation results from the action and reaction occurring in
the components of the universe. The various creative causes struggle with
each other, repel, or are repelled by opposing forces, and it is as a
result of this constant action and reaction that various parts of this
system remain connected with each other. Otherwise, the universe would
have ceased to exist.
Likewise, the system of human society is based on
action and reaction, on repulsion and overpowering; otherwise the various
members of society could not remain bound with each other, and society
would have ceased to exist; in short the felicity of the species would
have vanished. If we suppose that there is no repelling each other, in
this meaning, (i.e., overpowering others and making them obey the victor's
will), every individual member will do what he thinks fit, even if it goes
against the interest of the other members (whether those interests are
lawful is not our concern at this juncture); and those other members will
have no means to prevent him from that course of action. Thus the unity of
the members will cease to exist and society will be finished. We have
described this subject fully under verse 2:213; where it was explained
that the basic factor upon which society is founded is the human instinct
of subjugating others for one's own benefit; and mutual assistance and
civilization is a
side product of this instinct, it is a secondary cause.
This repulsion and overpowering
is an overwhelming factor in human society. Man tries to make others do
what he wants, and to repel them from what he does not like. It is seen in
war as well as in peace, in comfort as well as in discomfort, in ease as
well as in hardship. Man does it instinctively; he becomes conscious of it
only when someone opposes his will, and then he begins the process of the
said repulsion as he thinks necessary. That repulsion has degrees of
strength and weakness. War is one of those degrees.
This natural instinct is seen in
action when a believer repulses his oppressor in defense of his lawful
rights; and it is also seen when someone uses it to protect his unlawful
gains. Nature bestows its bounties on the believers and the unbelievers
alike. It is not that a believer has a nature separate from that of the
unbeliever. If this trait of repelling and overpowering were not present
in human nature, no body would have defended anything, whether it be a
lawful right or an unlawful gain.
It is this natural trait from
which man gains so many benefits - first, society is founded on it, then
he makes others follow his own will, and through it he keeps what he has
gained, lawfully or otherwise, and it is through it that he tries to get
back what has been taken from him unjustly: and lastly it is through this
trait that he makes the truth live after it has died, and tries to keep
society on the path of eternal bliss. In short, it is a natural factor
from which man derives many more benefits than harm.
"Perhaps" it is these things
which are referred to in this sentence: And were it not for Allah's
repelling some men with others, the earth would certainly be in a state of
disorder. The next sentence supports this interpretation:
And Allah
is Gracious to the creatures.
There are some interpretations
which are not so appropriate: Some commentators have said: The repulsion
mentioned here means the repelling of the unbelievers by the believers, as
the context shows. Also, another verse may be quoted in its support:
And had
there not been Allah's repelling some people by others, certainly there
would have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques in which Allah's name is
much remembered (22:40).
Comment : The meaning
in itself is correct as far as it goes; but it is not the whole meaning.
What the verse means by the good of the earth, is a comprehensive and
continuous good which keeps society alive; not any particular good which
appears for a short time and then disappears, like in the story of Talut
and in some other events.
Others have said: This verse refers to the fact that
Allah saves the sinner from perdition and destruction, because of the
righteous one. Many traditions from both Sunni and Shiite chains of
narrators mention this fact : A tradition of Jabir is recorded in
Majma'u 'l-bayan and ad-Durru 'l-manthur, that he said "The
Apostle of Allah (s.a.w.a.) said: `Verily Allah, because of the good of a
Muslim man, makes good his child and the child of his child, and the
people of his house, and of the houses around it; and they remain in the
protection of Allah so long as he remains in them."'
Another tradition, in al-Kafi and at-Tafsir of al-'Ayyashi, quotes as-Sadiq
(a.s.) as saying: "Verily Allah, repels (the misfortune) from that of
our Shi `ahs who does not pray, because of the one who prays, and if they
all unite on neglecting the prayer, all of them would perish. And verily,
Allah repels from that of our Shi'ahs who does not pay zakat,
because of the one who pays it, and if they all unite on its
non-payment, all would perish. And verily, Allah repels from that of our
Shi'ahs who does not perform hajj, because of the one who performs
it, and if they all unite on neglecting the hajj, all would
perish."
Comment : The two
verses mentioned earlier obviously do not fit the meaning of these two
traditions; although it may be said that these traditions give examples as
to how Allah repels some people by some others.
Someone has said: The verse means that Allah repels
the oppressors with other oppressors.
Comment : Its
absurdity is to obvious.
QUR'AN:
These are the signs . . . you are (one) of the apostles:
This verse is a sort of epilogue to conclude the
story. Also the last sentence, "and most surely you are (one) of the
apostles", creates a clear connection with the next verse.
TRADITIONS
'Abdu'r-Razzaq
and Ibn Jarir have narrated from Zayd ibn Aslam that he said: "When the
verse was revealed: Who is it that will lend to
Allah a goodly loan, so He will multiply it..., Abu 'a-Dardah came to the Prophet and said: 'O Prophet of Allah! Do
I not see our Lord asking a loan from us from the same which He has given
us for ourselves?! And verily I have two plots of lands, one in the higher
region, and the other in the lower one; and verily I dedicate the better
one as sadaqah (alms).' And the Prophet used to say: 'How many
pampered clusters of dates Abu 'a-Dardah has got in the Garden!"'
(ad-Durru 'l-manthur)
The author says: This
tradition has been narrated through numerous chains.
as-Sadiq (a.s.) said: "When the verse was revealed:
Whoever brings good deed, he shall have better than it (27:89),
the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) said: 'O Allah! Increase for me.'
So, Allah sent down the verse: Whoever brings a good dead, he shall
have ten like it (6:160). The Messenger of Allah (again) said:
'O Allah! Increase for me.' Then Allah revealed, Who is it that will
lend to Allah a goodly loan, so He will multiply it for him manifold.
Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah knew that "many" from Allah cannot
be counted and has no limit. (al-Ma'ani)
The author says: at-Tabarsi in Majma'u 'l-bayan and al-'Ayyashi in his
at-Tafsir have narrated a similar tradition. And a tradition nearly
like it has been narrated from Sunni chains also.
The words of the Imam, "Thereupon, the Messenger
of Allah knew": The end of the verse hints at it, "and Allah holds and
extends", because no limit can be put on the bounty of Allah; He has said:
And the bounty of your Lord is not confined
(17:20).
A tradition of Abu 'l-Hasan (a.s.) recorded in
at-Tafsir of al-'Ayyashi says that this verse is about the gift for
the Imam.
The author says: A
similar tradition is narrated from as-Sadiq (a.s.) in al-Kafi,
it gives an example of a general rule.
Majma'u 'l-bayan says
about the words of Allah, "when they said to a prophet of theirs" that the
prophet was Ushmu'il who is Isma'il in Arabic.
The author says: Sunni traditions also confirm it. And Ushmu'il is Samuel of the
Bible.
al-Qummi narrated from his father from an-Nadr
ibn Suwayd from Yahya al-Halabi from Harun ibn Kharijah from Abu Ja'far
(as.) saying: "Verily, the Israelites, after the death of Musa, indulged
in sins, and changed the religion of God, and acted arrogantly against the
commandments of God; and there was a prophet among them, who ordered them
(to do good) and forbade them (evil), but they did not obey him. (And it
is narrated that he was the prophet, Armiah1 - may the peace of
Allah be upon our prophet and him!) Thereupon, Allah gave Goliath mastery
over them; and he was a Coptic.2 He humiliated them, and killed
their men, and turned them out of their homes and their properties, and
kept their women as slave girls. Therefore, they resorted to their prophet
and said: 'Ask Allah to raise up for us a king, so
that we may fight in the way of Allah. And there was the prophethood in one house of the
children of Israel and kingship and rulership in another house. And Allah
had not kept the prophethood and kingship in one house; that is why they
asked their prophet to 'raise for us a king, so that we may fight in the
way of Allah.' Thereupon their prophet said to them:
'May it not be that if fighting is ordained
for you, you would not fight?' They said:
'And what reasons have we that we should not
fight in the way of Allah, and we have indeed been turned out of our homes
and our children.' And it happened as Allah said:
But when fighting was ordained for them, they
turned back, except a few of them; and Allah knows the unjust.
And their prophet said to them: `Surely Allah has raised Talut to be a king over you.'
Then they were enraged by this (appointment), and
said: `How can he hold kingship over us, while we
have a greater right to kingship then he and he has not been granted an
abundance of wealth?' And the prophethood was in
the house of Lawi3, and the kingship in the house of Yusuf; and
Talut was from the house of Benyamin4 , the full brother of
Yusuf, and was, thus, from neither the house of prophethood nor from that
of kingship. Then their prophet said to them: `Surely, Allah has chosen
him over you, and He has increased him abundantly in knowledge and
physique, and Allah grants His Kingdom to whom He pleases, and Allah is
Ample-giving, Knowing. ' And Talut was the greatest of them in
physique, the most powerful and knowledgeable of them all, but he was a
poor man. So, they vilified him because of his poverty, and said that he
had not been given an abundance of wealth. Thereupon, their prophet said
to them: `Surely the sign of his kingship is that there shall come to
you the Ark in which there is tranquility from your Lord and residue of
the relics of what the family of Musa and the family of Harun have left,
the angels bearing it.' And it was the chest which was sent by Allah
and Musa's mother put him in it and threw it in the river; and it was
among the Israelites and they sought blessings through it. When Musa was
about to die, he put inside it in the tablets, and his coat of mail and
whatever signs of prophethood he had, and gave it in trust to his
successor, Yusha'5 And the Ark remained in them until they made
slight of it, and the children played with it in the streets. Thus, the
Israelites remained with honor and dignity as long as the Ark was with
them, but when they committed sins and profaned the Ark, Allah took it
away from them. When they asked their prophet, Allah raised Talut as king
over them, and he let them in the fight then Allah returned the Ark to
them, as he said: 'Surely the sign of his
kingship is that there
shall come to you the Ark in which their is tranquility from your Lord and
residue of the relics of what the family of Musa and the family of Harun have left, the angels bearing
it.' And he (Abu Ja'far) said: "The
residue is the children of the prophets." (at-Tafsir,
al-Qummi)
The author says: The sentence, "And it is narrated that he was the
prophet, Armiah" is another tradition, parenthetically inserted in this
trandition.6
"And it happened as Allah said": It means that a
majority of them turned back and only a small minority of them obeyed the
order to fight. And some traditions say that this minority was sixty
thousand souls. It has been narrated by al-Qummi in his at-Tafsir al-Qummi narrated from his father
from al-Husayn ibn Khalid from ar-Rida, a.s.) and by al-`Ayyashi in his
at-Tafsir from al-Baqir
(a.s.).
"And the prophethood was in the house of Lawi
and the kingship in the house of Yusuf." Some people say that the kingship
was in the house of Yahudha.7 But there is an objection on it :
There was no king among the Israelites before Talut, Dawud and Sulayman.
So how can it be said that "before Talut" kingship was in the house of
Judah? This objection is strengthened by the traditions of the Imams of
Ahlu 'l-bayt that the
kingship was in the house of Yusuf, because the kingship of Yusuf is
accepted by all.
"The residue is the children of the Prophets":
This sentence is a conjecture of the narrator. The Imam explained the
words, "the family of Musa and the family of Harun" with the words. "the
children of the prophets" : and the narrator fancied that it was the
explanation of the word, "residue". And this view is supported by the
tradition recorded in the at-Tafsir
of al-`Ayyashi that as-Sadiq (a.s.) was asked
about the words of Allah, "and residue of the relics of what the family of
Musa and the family of Harun have
left, the angels bearing it", and he replied: "The children of the
prophets."
Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated from Muhammad ibn Ahmad
from Muhammad ibn Khalid and al-Husayn ibn Said from anNasr ibn
Suwayd from Yahya al-Halabi from Harun ibn Kharijah from Abu Basir from
Abu Ja'far (a.s.) saying in a tradition, inter alia: "And Allah reports
the words of Talut : 'Surely Allah
will try you with a stream; whoever then drinks from it, lie is not
of
me, and whoever does not taste of
it, he is surely of me.' But
all of them drank from it, except three hundred and thirteen men, among
them were those who took a handful of water as well as those who did not
drink at all. When they went out against Goliath, those who had taken
handful of water said, 'We have today no power
against Goliath and his forces'; and those who had
not taken it said, 'low often has a small party vanquished a numerous
host by Allah's permission, and Allah is with the patient ones.' "
(al-Kafi)
The author says: That
there remained with Talut only three hundred and thirteen men (equal in
number to the Muslim "army" in the battle of Badr) is mentioned in
numerous traditions from Shi'ah and Sunni chains. The details that those
who said: "We have today no power . . ." were those who had taken a
handful of water, and those who said, "Flow often a small party...were
those who had not tasted it at all, may be inferred from the position of
the exceptional clause in the verse, as we have already
explained.
al-Kulayni narrated through his chains from
Ahmad ibn Muhammad from al-Husayn ibn Sa'id from Fadalah ibn Ayyub from
Yahya al-Halabi from 'Abdullah ibn Sulayman from Abu Ja'far (a.s.) who
said about the words of Allah, surely the sign of
his kingdom . . . the angels bearing it: "They
bore it in the shape of a cow." (al-Kafi)
It will have been noted that we have quoted the
complete chain of narrators of this tradition, although generally we do
not do so in this book. We omit the chains where the traditions are in
conformity with the Qur'an, because then there is no need to mention the
chains of narrators. But where the tradition mentions a thing which is not
in the Qur'an, and which cannot be inferred from it, then it is necessary
to quote the complete chain. Still, we write in this book only those
traditions which are correct according to the chains of the narrators, or
are supported by the context or other associations.
al-'Ayyashi writes in his at-Tafsir a tradition from Muhammad
al-Halabi that as-Sadiq (a.s.) said: "Dawud had four brothers; and their
father was an old-aged man; and Dawud had remained behind to look after
the sheep of his father. Talut departed with his forces. Dawud's father
called him (and he was the youngest) and said: 'O my son! Take to your
brothers this (food) which we have prepared for them, so that they may get
strength to overcome their enemy.' And he (Dawud) was short of stature,
dark, with very little hair, but pure of heart. So, he went away, and (by
that time) the two forces had reached near to each
other."
At this juncture, another tradition of Abu Basir says
that he heard the Imam saying: "Then Dawud passed by a stone, and it said:
'O Dawud! Take me and kill Goliath with me, because, verily, I have been
created to kill him.' So he took it and put it in his bag in which he kept
the stones for his sling which he used in the herding of his sheep. On
entering the army camp, he heard them greatly magnifying the affair of
Goliath. So he said to them: 'Why are you so overwhelmed by his affair? By
Allah! If I see him I will kill him.' Thereupon, they started talking with
each other about it till he was brought before Talut. Talut asked him `O
young man! How much strength do you have? And what experience have you of
yourself?' Dawud said: `It happens that if a lion attacks a goat of my
herd and catches it; then I overtake him, catch his head, open his jaws
and rescue the goat from his mouth.' (Hearing this) Talut said: `Bring me
a full-size coat of mail.' It was brought unto him and he put it in
Dawud's neck, and lo! His body filled it completely. Thereupon, Talut and
those Israelites who were present there were awe-struck by him; and Talut
said: 'By Allah! Most probably Allah will kill him (Goliath) by
him.'
"When the morning came and people gathered around
Talut, and the people (of the two forces) stood against each other, Dawud
said: `Show me Goliath.' When he saw him, he took the stone, and putting
it in his sling, threw it towards him, and it hit him between his eyes,
reaching to his brain; and (Goliath) fell down from his stead; and people
cried: 'Dawud has killed Goliath.' Then the people made him their king
until nobody was heard talking about Talut. And the Israelites gathered
around Dawud; and Allah sent down Zabur to him, and taught him the
handicraft of iron, making it soft for him; and ordered the mountains and
the birds to join him in glorifying God." The Imam said: "And nobody was
given a voice like him. Thereupon Dawud lived among the Israelites, hidden
from them; and he was given strength to worship (God ). "
The author says: The Shi'ah and Sunni traditions unanimously say that
Dawud killed Goliath by a sling.
'Ali (a.s.) said: "The tranquility which was in the
Ark, was a pleasant breeze from the Garden; it had a face like that of a
human being." (Majma'u 'l-bayan)
The author says: This meaning has been narrated in adDurru 'l-manthur - from Sufyan ibn
'Uyaynah and Ibn Jarir, through the chain of Salman ibn Kuhayl from `All
(a.s.); - and from `Abdu 'r-Razzaq and Abu 'Ubayd and `Abd ibn Hamid and
Ibn Jarir and Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn Abi Hatim and al-Hakim (and he has
said that the tradition is "correct"), and Ibn `Asakir and al-Bayhaqi (in
his ad-Dala'il ), through
the chain of Abu al-Ahwas from `Ali (a.s.).
al-Qummi narrated from his father from 'Ali ibn
al-Husayn ibn Khalid from ar-Rida (a.s.) saying: "The tranquility is a
breeze from the Garden, it has a face like that of a human being."
(at-Tafsir)
The author says: The
same meaning has been narrated by as-Sadiq (as.) in Ma'ani 'l-akhbar and by al-'Ayyashi in his
at-Tafsir from ar-Rida
(a.s.).
These traditions explaining the meaning of
as-sakinah (tranquility)
are not mutawatir; yet, if
they are accepted as correct, they may be interpreted in the following
way, so as to fit the meaning of the verse of the
Qur'an:
"The tranquility has a face like that of a human
being." It means that it is one of the stages of spiritual perfection. At
that stage, the soul remains tranquil and at peace with the commands
and decrees of Allah. Such expressions, explaining a reality in an
allegorical way, are found in many traditions of the Imams'. According to
this interpretation, tranquility would mean the spirit of faith, and that
is the meaning we have given to it earlier. And it is in this light that
the following tradition of Abu 'l-Hasan (a.s.), mentioned in Ma'ani
'l-akhbar, should be seen and interpreted: "(Tranquility) is the
spirit of God, which speaks; when they differed among themselves on any
matter, it spoke up and informed them (of truth). . ." Obviously, it means
that it is the spirit of faith and it guides the believer to the truth
about which the people differ.
FOOTNOTES:
1. Jeremiah, in the
Bible.
2. Goliath was a
Philistine. The area had political connection with Egypt. Perhaps it is in
this sense that he has been called a Coptic.
3. Levi, in the
Bible.
4. Benjamin, in the
Bible. 3. Joshua, in the Bible.
5. Joshua in the
Bible
6. As mentioned in a
previous tradition, the prophet was Samuel, and not Jeremiah
7. Judah in the
Bible
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