2. Al-Baqara

In the last verse (281), there appear again the subjects of the fear of the Last Day, its accounting, its rewards and punishment, at which end these verses containing the injunctions of ربا riba. It was said in this last verse:

وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا تُرْ‌جَعُونَ فِيهِ إِلَى اللَّـهِ ۖ ثُمَّ تُوَفَّىٰ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ ﴿281﴾

That is, fear a day on which all of you will be assembled be-fore Allah when everyone will be fully and equitably recompensed for his deeds and they will not be wronged.

Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ says that this verse is the last in the order of its revelation. No other verse was revealed after that. Thirty-one days later, the Holy Prophet ﷺ left this mortal world. There are other reports which say that this happened after only nine days.

Upto this point, the explanations have been restricted to the verses of Surah al-Baqarah which concern the injunctions of ربا riba. Dealing with the unlawfulness and prohibition of ربا riba, there are in the noble Qur'an seven verses of Surah a1-Baqarah cited above, one verse in Surah Al-` Imran and two verses in Surah al-Nisa'. There is yet another verse in Surah al-Rum the explanations of which differ. Some have taken it too in the sense of usury or interest, while others hold that it has some other connotation. Thus there are ten verses of the Holy Qur'an which carry the injunctions of ربا riba or interest.

Before we get to know the whole truth about ربا riba, it seems appropriate that the translation and explanation of the rest of the verses which appear in the Surahs Al-` Imran, al-Nisa' and al-Rum, should be given here so that it becomes easy for us to understand the true nature of ربا riba in the combined perspective of all these verses. Verse 130, of Surah Al-` Imran (3) reads as follows:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَأْكُلُوا الرِّ‌بَا أَضْعَافًا مُّضَاعَفَةً ۖ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ﴿130﴾

O those who believe, do not eat ربا Riba (usury or interest) multi-plied many times. And fear Allah, so that you may be successful.

There is a special event behind the revelation of this verse. In pre-Islam Arabia, the general pattern of ربا riba transactions was that loans were given on ربا riba for a set period of time; when that period expired and the borrower was unable to pay it back, he was given an extension of time on the condition that the amount of riba was to be increased. Similarly, if payment was not made even on the expiry of the second deadline, the amount of ربا riba was further increased. This fact is mentioned in general books of Tafsir, specially in Luba al-Nuqul, on the authority of Mujahid.

The verse was revealed to eradicate this inhuman custom of pre-Islam Arabia. Therefore, by saying (ad` afam'Muda'afata أَضْعَافًا مُّضَاعَفَةً multiplied many times) in the verse, their prevailing practice was condemned and they were warned on their selfishness and anti-community conduct, and naturally so, it was declared prohibited. This does not mean that ربا riba will not be prohibited if it happens not to be multiplied many times, because the absolute prohibition of ربا riba has been very clearly stated in …

The Qur'anic injunctions on Loan

An important principle of the Law of Dealings, or the Law of Contracts in modern legal terminology, has been taken up in the verses appearing above. Following this, appears a specific principle of the general rules of evidence.

These are times when writing is the rage. The written word has taken the place of human speech but think of the days of fourteen hundred years ago when almost the entire business of the world was conducted verbally. The principle of writing and retaining documents did not just exist. It was the Qur'an which first pointed out to its importance and said:

إِذَا تَدَايَنتُم بِدَيْنٍ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى فَاكْتُبُوهُ

When you transact a debt payable at a specified time, put it in writing. Two principles have been stated here. These are:

1. A written document should be prepared while concluding a transaction on deferred payment basis, so that it may be availed of in cases of error or refusal.

2. While making a transaction on deferred payment basis, it is necessary that the due date of its payment should be determined. It is not permissible to defer the payment for an indefinite period of time because this can open the doors of dispute. This is why the Muslim Jurists have stressed that the time limit so set should not have any ambiguity at all. It should specify the exact date and month. There should be nothing vague about it, for instance, the time of the harvesting of crops cannot be fixed, because the time of harvesting may vary subject to weather conditions. Since writing was not common in those days (and even after writing has become so common, the majority of world population is the same as does not know how to write), it was possible for the scribe of the agreement to write down what was not intended, thereby causing undue loss or gain to one or the other party. Therefore, it was said:

وَلْيَكْتُب بَّيْنَكُمْ كَاتِبٌ بِالْعَدْلِ

And let a scribe write it between you with fairness.

Firstly, the instruction given here requires that the scribe should not be prejudiced in favour of one of the parties. On the contrary, he should be impartial so that there remains no scope for doubt or concern for anyone. Secondly, the scribe was instructed to write justly. Let him incur no permanent loss on himself by working for the vanishing gain of others. After that, the attention of the scribe has been drawn to the fact that Allah Almighty has given him the ability to write, for which he can show his gratefulness by not refusing to write.

As to who should initiate the writing of the document, it was said:

وَلْيُمْلِلِ الَّذِي عَلَيْهِ الْحَقُّ

And the one who owes should give the dictation,

For instance, if a person has made a purchase on credit, then he is the one who should dictate the entries of the document because this will be a written agreement on his behalf. In order to offset the possibility of any addition or deletion in the written document, it was said:

وَلْيَتَّقِ اللَّـهَ رَ‌بَّهُ وَلَا يَبْخَسْ مِنْهُ شَيْئًا

But he must fear Allah, his Lord, and should not curtail any-thing from it.

Sometimes, it happens that the person incurring debt is fickle-minded, or …

The Qur'anic injunctions on Loan

An important principle of the Law of Dealings, or the Law of Contracts in modern legal terminology, has been taken up in the verses appearing above. Following this, appears a specific principle of the general rules of evidence.

These are times when writing is the rage. The written word has taken the place of human speech but think of the days of fourteen hundred years ago when almost the entire business of the world was conducted verbally. The principle of writing and retaining documents did not just exist. It was the Qur'an which first pointed out to its importance and said:

إِذَا تَدَايَنتُم بِدَيْنٍ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى فَاكْتُبُوهُ

When you transact a debt payable at a specified time, put it in writing. Two principles have been stated here. These are:

1. A written document should be prepared while concluding a transaction on deferred payment basis, so that it may be availed of in cases of error or refusal.

2. While making a transaction on deferred payment basis, it is necessary that the due date of its payment should be determined. It is not permissible to defer the payment for an indefinite period of time because this can open the doors of dispute. This is why the Muslim Jurists have stressed that the time limit so set should not have any ambiguity at all. It should specify the exact date and month. There should be nothing vague about it, for instance, the time of the harvesting of crops cannot be fixed, because the time of harvesting may vary subject to weather conditions. Since writing was not common in those days (and even after writing has become so common, the majority of world population is the same as does not know how to write), it was possible for the scribe of the agreement to write down what was not intended, thereby causing undue loss or gain to one or the other party. Therefore, it was said:

وَلْيَكْتُب بَّيْنَكُمْ كَاتِبٌ بِالْعَدْلِ

And let a scribe write it between you with fairness.

Firstly, the instruction given here requires that the scribe should not be prejudiced in favour of one of the parties. On the contrary, he should be impartial so that there remains no scope for doubt or concern for anyone. Secondly, the scribe was instructed to write justly. Let him incur no permanent loss on himself by working for the vanishing gain of others. After that, the attention of the scribe has been drawn to the fact that Allah Almighty has given him the ability to write, for which he can show his gratefulness by not refusing to write.

As to who should initiate the writing of the document, it was said:

وَلْيُمْلِلِ الَّذِي عَلَيْهِ الْحَقُّ

And the one who owes should give the dictation,

For instance, if a person has made a purchase on credit, then he is the one who should dictate the entries of the document because this will be a written agreement on his behalf. In order to offset the possibility of any addition or deletion in the written document, it was said:

وَلْيَتَّقِ اللَّـهَ رَ‌بَّهُ وَلَا يَبْخَسْ مِنْهُ شَيْئًا

But he must fear Allah, his Lord, and should not curtail any-thing from it.

Sometimes, it happens that the person incurring debt is fickle-minded, or …

Commentary

The earlier verse mentioned the injunction to reveal evidence and forbade its concealment. This verse is also a complement of the same subject. Here, warning has been given that it is haram (unlawful) to conceal evidence. 'If you concealed the truth of a matter knowingly, your Lord who is all-Knowing and all-Aware, will make you account for it' - this interpretation of the verse has been reported from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas, ` Ikrimah, Sha'bi and Mujahid ؓ (Qurtubi).

Taken in the general sense of the words, this verse is universal, and covers all articles of faith, modes of worship and mutual dealings (I` tiqadat اعتقادات ، ` Ibadat عبادہ and Mu` amalat معاملات ). This is exactly what Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ has said in his well-known commentary on this verse.

The verse means that Allah Almighty will make all His created beings give an account of all their deeds. It will include deeds they have actually done, and those they were determined to do but kept them secret in their hearts and were never able to do. This conforms to the report of Sayyidna Ibn ` Umar ؓ appearing in Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim: 'I have heard from the Holy Prophet ﷺ that the believer will be drawn near his most exalted Lord when Allah Almighty will make him recall his sins one by one and will ask him if he knew that he had committed those sins. The believer will confess. Allah Almighty will say: 'I concealed your sins in the life of the world and never allowed this to be known to others. Today, I forgive that.' He will be given the Book of Good Deeds, while the sins committed by disbelievers and hypocrites will be announced before everybody.

It appears in another hadith that Allah Almighty will say on the day of Doom (Qiyamah): 'This is the Day when hidden things will be surveyed and secrets concealed in hearts will be laid out in the open. And (forget not that) My angels charged with writing down your deeds wrote down only those visible on the outside, and I know what angels do not know, nor did they write those in your Book of Deeds. Now I tell you all about it and ask you to stand' and answer. I shall forgive anyone I will and I shall punish anyone I will.' True believers will then be forgiven and the disbelievers (kuffar کُفَّار) will be punished. (Qurtub)

Here a doubt may arise in view of the hadith in which the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been reported to have said:

اِن اللہ تجاوز عن امتی عما حدثت انفسھا مالم یتکلموا او یعملوا بہ

Allah Almighty has forgiven my ummah all that they thought of in their hearts unless they said or did it.

It shows that there is no punishment or wrath on the volition of the heart. Imam al-Qurtubi (رح) has said that this hadith relates to the worldly effects of an act. Divorce, freeing of slaves, sales, and gifts are not authentically concluded by a simple volition of the heart unless they are done verbally or practically. Since the verse refers to the effects of an act appearing in the Hereafter, there is no contradiction here. However, other ` ulama' have answered this doubt by saying that the hadith, in which forgiveness of things hidden in the heart has been mentioned, refers to the involuntary thoughts that enter …

After that comes the second verse where the doubt, which could have risen during the comprehension of some sentences in the previous verse, has been removed in a style that is very special. It will be recalled that the question was as to how one would escape punishment if thoughts concealed in hearts were also made subject to accounting. It was said: لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّـهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا :'Allah burdens not anyone beyond his or her capacity.' Therefore, thoughts that enter the heart without one's intention and control and are not translated into action, stand all excused in the sight of Allah Almighty. Deeds, that are undertaken with choice and volition will be the only ones apprehended and called to account.

A little detail will show that there is an outward aspect of human deeds which concerns what is done with the hand, head, eye, tongue and other parts of the body. This is further divided into two kinds. The first reflects what is done with choice and volition. This is voluntary, such as, to speak by choice or to beat somebody by choice. The second kind is involuntary, that which just issues forth without choice or volition, for instance, saying something other than what one actually intended to say, or a palsied hand moving unintentionally caused pain to somebody. Here everyone knows that accounting and retribution, reward and punishment are particularly related to voluntary deeds. As far as non-voluntary deeds are concerned man is neither obligated nor constrained therein, and certainly, there is no ثواب thawab (reward) or عذاب ` adhab (punishment) on them.

Similarly, the deeds relating to one's heart are also of two kinds. The first one is voluntary, for instance, the belief in کفر kufr and shirk شرک ، which one has. Implanted firmly in one's heart with intention and choice, or the arrogance one assumes as a result of conscious and wilful self-pride, or the making of firm resolution to start drinking. The second kind is the non-voluntary, for instance, the entry of some evil thought in one's heart without volition and intention. Here too, the accounting, the reckoning and the reprehensibility covers voluntary deeds only, and does not cover non-voluntary deeds.

By this explanation given by the Qur'an itself, peace was restored in the hearts of the noble Companions. They were satisfied that there was no accounting, reckoning, punishment or reward on non-voluntary thoughts. The same subject has been further clarified towards the end by saying: لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا اكْتَسَبَتْ that is, man is rewarded for what he intends to do and is punished for what he elects to do.

But it should be borne in mind that the drive of the meaning of this verse is that, one will initially face direct reward or punishment for what is done with intention and volition. However, the indirect coming of reward or punishment after any such deed which was not intended is not contrary to this. This provides an answer to the doubt that there are times when man faces reward or punishment even without intention and volition. In this context, several other verses of the Qur'an and many reports from ahadith prove that one who does something …