3. Aal-i-Imraan

Commentary

The removal of a doubt:

On a superficial view of the verse كَيْفَ يَهْدِي اللَّـهُ : 'How shall Allah give guidance...' (86), there emerges a doubt that whoever turns an apostate receives no guidance afterwards, although, the fact is contrary to this. There are many who, after having become apostates, re-embrace the faith and become recipients of guidance.

The answer is that the withholding of guidance mentioned here is in accordance with common usage. For instance, some criminal when punished by a certain ruler may say, 'I have been given a special treatment by the ruler with his own hands.' And in answer to him, it is said: 'Why are we going to give a special treatment to such a criminal?' That is, there is just no special treatment called for in this case, while it does not mean that such a person cannot, in any way, become deserving of special treatment even if he behaved well. (Bayern a1-Qur'an)

Sequence of Verses

In the previous verse (91), it was said that charity from disbelievers and deniers was not acceptable with Allah. In this verse, believers have been told about acceptable charity and the etiquette governing it.

Commentary

Let us first understand what بِرّ. : birr means and what it really signifies so that the whole sense of the verse becomes clear in our minds.

The literal and real meaning of the word birr is the perfect fulfillment of someone's rights. It is also used in the sense of charity, performance of good deeds and nice conduct. The word: barr and barr بار is used for a person who fulfills, fully and totally, all rights due on him. The expression وَبَرًّ‌ا بِوَالِدَتِي (good to my mother - 19:32) and وَبَرًّ‌ا بِوَالِدَيْهِ (good to his father and mother - 19:14) has been used in the Qur'an in this very sense. It has been used there as a personal attribute of prophets who fulfilled the rights of their parents fully and perfectly.

Theplural form of this very word برّ : barr is ابرار : abrar which has been used frequently in the Qur'an. It has been said:

إِنَّ الْأَبْرَ‌ارَ‌ يَشْرَ‌بُونَ مِن كَأْسٍ كَانَ مِزَاجُهَا كَافُورً‌ا ﴿5﴾

Surely the righteous shall drink of a cup the mixture of which is camphor - 76:5.

Again at another place it is said:

إِنَّ الْأَبْرَ‌ارَ‌ لَفِي نَعِيمٍ ﴿22﴾ عَلَى الْأَرَ‌ائِكِ يَنظُرُ‌ونَ ﴿23﴾

Surely the righteous shall be in bliss, upon furnished thrones

gazing 83:22, 23.

Yet again there is:

وَإِنَّ الْفُجَّارَ‌ لَفِي جَحِيمٍ ﴿14﴾

And surely, the sinners shall be in hell ablaze - 82:14.

The last verse above also tells us that the antonym of بِرّ :birr is فجور :fujur (disobedience, sinfulness).

In al-Adab al-Mufrad of Imam al- Bukhari (رح) and in Ibn Majah and Musnad of Ahmad, it has been reported from Sayydna Abu Bakr ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: 'Stick to speaking the truth because truth is a companion of بِرّ : birr (righteousness) and both these are in Paradise; and abstain from lying because that is a companion of fujur (sin) and both these are in Hell.'

The verse 177 of Surah al-Baqarah (2) says:

لَّيْسَ الْبِرَّ‌ أَن تُوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ الْمَشْرِ‌قِ وَالْمَغْرِ‌بِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ الْبِرَّ‌ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّـهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ‌ Righteousness is not that you turn your faces to the East and the West; but righteousness is that one believes in Allah and the last Day... 2:177.

After giving a list of good deeds in this verse, all of them have been classed as بِرّ birr (righteousness). The subject verse also tells us that, of the wide range of righteous deeds, the most preferred form of righteousness is to spend the most cherished things in the way of Allah. The verse further tells us 'you can never claim to have righteousness unless you spend out of what you hold dear.' Thus the meaning is that the perfect fulfillment of the rights of Allah Almighty and a total - self-unburdening from it cannot come to pass unless we spend in the way of Allah what we hold dear to our hearts. This very perfect fulfillment of due rights has also been translated as 'perfect good' or 'excellence in doing good' or 'the great merit'. To sum up, the sense here is that entering the …

Commentary

In the verses appearing above, there is a continuity of arguments against positions taken by the people of the Book. At some places, it concerns Jews and at others, the Christians. One such argument, which has been reported in Ruh al-Ma'ani on the authority of Wahidi and al-Kalbi, recounts the incident when the Holy Prophet ﷺ stated his adherence to the community of Abraham ﷺ with reference to all fundamentals of the religious code, and most of the subsidiaries, the Jews objected by saying: 'You eat camel meat and partake of its milk although these were unlawful for Abraham (علیہ السلام) .' The Holy Prophet ﷺ said: 'No, this was lawful for him.' The Jews said: 'All that we consider unlawful has continued to be unlawful since the days of Naoh and Abraham (علیہما السلام) to the point that this unlawfulness reached us.' Thereupon, Allah Almighty revealed the verse: كُلُّ الطَّعَامِ كَانَ حِلًّا لِّبَنِي إِسْرَ‌ائِيلَ ٍ 'Every (kind of) food was lawful for the children of Isra'il - 93' to refute the Jewish claim in which it is said that before the revelation of Torah, all things were lawful for the children of Isra'il except the camel meat which Isra'il (علیہ السلام) (Jacob) himself had denied to eat for a particular reason, and then it remained unlawful for his progeny also.

The fact, as narrated by Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ in an authentic re-port, is that Jacob suffered from Sciatica. He had taken a vow that he would abandon what he liked most in what he ate if Allah Almighty cured him of the disease. He was cured and camel meat was what he liked most, so he abandoned it. (See Al-Hakim and al-Tirmidhi as quoted by Ruh a1-Ma` ni). Then, it, so happened that this prohibition which started because of a vow continued among the Bani Isra'il as a divine injunction. It seems their code recognized a vow as a cause of unlawfulness of something lawful, like in our own Shari'ah, a vow may make the permissible acts as obligatory. However, a vow or pledge which renders things unlawful is, in reality, an oath which is not permissible in our Shari` ah. In fact, in such a case, it is obligatory to break the oath and make amends by making کفارہ Ka ffarah. This. Is in accordance with what Allah Almighty has said in the verse لِمَ تُحَرِّ‌مُ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّـهُ لَكَ why do you forbid what Allah has made lawful for you? - 66:1) (See al-Tafsir al Jabir)

Commentary

In the verses appearing above, there is a continuity of arguments against positions taken by the people of the Book. At some places, it concerns Jews and at others, the Christians. One such argument, which has been reported in Ruh al-Ma'ani on the authority of Wahidi and al-Kalbi, recounts the incident when the Holy Prophet ﷺ stated his adherence to the community of Abraham ﷺ with reference to all fundamentals of the religious code, and most of the subsidiaries, the Jews objected by saying: 'You eat camel meat and partake of its milk although these were unlawful for Abraham (علیہ السلام) .' The Holy Prophet ﷺ said: 'No, this was lawful for him.' The Jews said: 'All that we consider unlawful has continued to be unlawful since the days of Naoh and Abraham (علیہما السلام) to the point that this unlawfulness reached us.' Thereupon, Allah Almighty revealed the verse: كُلُّ الطَّعَامِ كَانَ حِلًّا لِّبَنِي إِسْرَ‌ائِيلَ ٍ 'Every (kind of) food was lawful for the children of Isra'il - 93' to refute the Jewish claim in which it is said that before the revelation of Torah, all things were lawful for the children of Isra'il except the camel meat which Isra'il (علیہ السلام) (Jacob) himself had denied to eat for a particular reason, and then it remained unlawful for his progeny also.

The fact, as narrated by Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ in an authentic re-port, is that Jacob suffered from Sciatica. He had taken a vow that he would abandon what he liked most in what he ate if Allah Almighty cured him of the disease. He was cured and camel meat was what he liked most, so he abandoned it. (See Al-Hakim and al-Tirmidhi as quoted by Ruh a1-Ma` ni). Then, it, so happened that this prohibition which started because of a vow continued among the Bani Isra'il as a divine injunction. It seems their code recognized a vow as a cause of unlawfulness of something lawful, like in our own Shari'ah, a vow may make the permissible acts as obligatory. However, a vow or pledge which renders things unlawful is, in reality, an oath which is not permissible in our Shari` ah. In fact, in such a case, it is obligatory to break the oath and make amends by making کفارہ Ka ffarah. This. Is in accordance with what Allah Almighty has said in the verse لِمَ تُحَرِّ‌مُ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّـهُ لَكَ why do you forbid what Allah has made lawful for you? - 66:1) (See al-Tafsir al Jabir)

Commentary

In the verses appearing above, there is a continuity of arguments against positions taken by the people of the Book. At some places, it concerns Jews and at others, the Christians. One such argument, which has been reported in Ruh al-Ma'ani on the authority of Wahidi and al-Kalbi, recounts the incident when the Holy Prophet ﷺ stated his adherence to the community of Abraham ﷺ with reference to all fundamentals of the religious code, and most of the subsidiaries, the Jews objected by saying: 'You eat camel meat and partake of its milk although these were unlawful for Abraham (علیہ السلام) .' The Holy Prophet ﷺ said: 'No, this was lawful for him.' The Jews said: 'All that we consider unlawful has continued to be unlawful since the days of Naoh and Abraham (علیہما السلام) to the point that this unlawfulness reached us.' Thereupon, Allah Almighty revealed the verse: كُلُّ الطَّعَامِ كَانَ حِلًّا لِّبَنِي إِسْرَ‌ائِيلَ ٍ 'Every (kind of) food was lawful for the children of Isra'il - 93' to refute the Jewish claim in which it is said that before the revelation of Torah, all things were lawful for the children of Isra'il except the camel meat which Isra'il (علیہ السلام) (Jacob) himself had denied to eat for a particular reason, and then it remained unlawful for his progeny also.

The fact, as narrated by Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ in an authentic re-port, is that Jacob suffered from Sciatica. He had taken a vow that he would abandon what he liked most in what he ate if Allah Almighty cured him of the disease. He was cured and camel meat was what he liked most, so he abandoned it. (See Al-Hakim and al-Tirmidhi as quoted by Ruh a1-Ma` ni). Then, it, so happened that this prohibition which started because of a vow continued among the Bani Isra'il as a divine injunction. It seems their code recognized a vow as a cause of unlawfulness of something lawful, like in our own Shari'ah, a vow may make the permissible acts as obligatory. However, a vow or pledge which renders things unlawful is, in reality, an oath which is not permissible in our Shari` ah. In fact, in such a case, it is obligatory to break the oath and make amends by making کفارہ Ka ffarah. This. Is in accordance with what Allah Almighty has said in the verse لِمَ تُحَرِّ‌مُ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّـهُ لَكَ why do you forbid what Allah has made lawful for you? - 66:1) (See al-Tafsir al Jabir)

Commentary:

The above verse points out to the distinction and superiority of the House of Allah, the Ka'bah, as compared to the houses, and even mosques, of the whole world. There are several reasons for this status, which have been mentioned in this verse, namely:

1. Among the true houses of worship in this world, the Ka'bah enjoys the distinction of being the first.

2. It is full of blessings.

3. It is a source of guidance for the entire world.

The gist of the words used in the verse is that the first House designated for people by Allah is none other than the one which is in Makkah al-Mukarramah. It means that the Ka'bah of Makkah al-Mukarramah is the first House of Worship in this world. One possible interpretation of this phrase may be that the first house of all the houses of the world was made for Divine worship exclusively, in which case, there would have been no place of worship or place of residence prior to it. Adam (علیہ السلام) was a prophet of Allah. Given his stature and the eminent position as Allah's vicegerent, it is likely that he, soon after his appearance on the earth, elected to first build the House of Allah even before building his own residence. It is for this reason that Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Umar, Mujahid, Qatadah and others ؓ from among the Companions and their successors are of the opinion that the Ka` bah is the first house of the world. Then, it is also possible that houses where people lived may have already been made earlier but this may have been the first ever House made exclusively for worship. This very view has been reported from Sayyidna ` Ali ؓ

Al-Baihaqi, in his book, Dala'il al-Nubuwwah دلایٔل النبوہ ، has reported on the authority of Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Amr ibn al'As that the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، said: 'After the arrival of Sayyidna Adam and Sayyidah Hawwa' (علیہا السلام) into the mortal world, Allah Almighty commanded them through angel Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) that they should build the House of Allah (the Ka'bah). After they had fulfilled the command, they were asked to go round it (in tawaf). They were told that they were the first among people and this house was the first House (of worship) appointed for people (Ibn Kathir).

As it appears in some reports, this structure of the Ka'bah built by Sayyidna Adam (علیہ السلام) was there upto the time of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) . It collapsed during the Flood and its traces were obliterated. Following that, it was re-built by Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) on the same foundations. When the structure collapsed again due to some accident, a group from the tribe of Jurhum raised it once again. When yet another collapse came, the Amalkites rebuilt it. When it collapsed close to the early period of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، the Quraysh built it all over again in which the Holy Prophet ﷺ himself participated and helped place the Black Stone with his blessed hands. But, the structure raised by the Quraysh was a little different from the original foundation laid down by Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) in as much as they had left out a section of the House of Allah which is known as حطیم Hatim. There were two doors in the original Abrahamic structure of …

Commentary

Three distinctions of بیت اللہ Baytullah

Related in this verse are distinctions and merits of the House of Allah, that is, the Ka` bah. Firstly, it has many signs of Allah's power, one of them being the station of Ibrahim مقام ابراھیم (Maqamu Ibrahim). Secondly, one who enters there becomes a recipient of peace and remains protected; he cannot be killed by anybody. Thirdly, it is obligatory on all Muslims around the world that they make the Hajj of the House of Allah, subject to the condition that one has the means and the ability to reach as far as there.

The signs of Allah's Power:

Since the time the foundations of بیت اللہ Baytullah were laid out, Allah Almighty has, because of its enormous blessings provided protection to the people of Makkah against enemy attacks. When Abrahah invaded Makkah with his army of elephants, Allah Almighty, in His most perfect power, destroyed them through birds. Those who enter the sacred precincts of Makkah, men and women, even animals, stand protected.

When there is rainfall on a certain side of بیت اللہ Baytullah, it has been observed that countries situated on that side are favoured with substantial rainfalls. Another unusual sign relates to the Jamarat, the granite pillars on which every pilgrim throws seven pebbles each, everyday for three days. A couple of million or more pilgrims go there every year. Had these pebbles remained there, the Jamarat would have been buried under a mountain of pebbles. The fact is that any huge deposits of pebbles are not visible there after the passage of three days of Hajj, except some scattered pebbles the cause of which is, as stated by the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، that angels pick up these pebbles and the pebbles left there belong to people whose Hajj is not accepted for some reason. This is why it is forbidden to pick up pebbles lying near the Jamarat and throw them on the pillars, as part of Hajj rites, since they are from the unaccepted ones.

In his comments on this phenomenon, Shaykh Jalal al-Din alSuyuti has said in الخصایٔص الکبرا al-Khasaa'is al-Kubra that there are some miracles of the Holy Prophet ﷺ which still live and stand, and shall continue right through to the Day of judgment and everyone shall see them. One of these, of course, is the unmatched presence of the Holy Qur'an itself which cannot be matched even if the whole world joined its forces. This inability persists all the same as it was during the blessed days of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and shall continue to persist like that right through to the Day of Judgment. Every Muslim, no matter of what period of time, shall be able to challenge the whole world: فَأْتُوا بِسُورَ‌ةٍ مِّثْلِهِ (Then, produce a Surah like it -10:38).

So is the miracle of Jamarat as stated above. Similarly there is the statement of the Prophet ﷺ in respect of Jamarat. He has stated that pebbles thrown on these pillars are picked up by the angels in a manner invisible to mankind. The few pebbles left belong to those unfortunate people whose pilgrimage is not accepted by Allah. The Prophet's statement has stood the test of time for centuries in a row and it will continue upto the Great Day. This is one of the continuing …

Commentary

Several verses earlier, the text was dealing with the people of the Book, their false beliefs and their doubts. Then, appeared the mention of بیت اللہ Baytullah and Hajj. Now once again, the people of the Book are the addressees. These verses relate to a particular event. There was a Jew, Shammas ibn Qays, who harboured a chronic malice against Muslims. Once, when he saw two Ansar tribes, Aws and Khazraj, gathered together amiably at one place, his malevolence got the better of him and he went about looking for ways to sow seeds of discord between them. Finally, he set up a man suggesting to him that these two tribes have fought much long-drawn war in pre-Islam days and both parties had recited poetical compositions highlighting their tribal pride. So why not recite these self-congratulating poetical compositions while both sit together. The moment these poems were recited there, emotions rose high, there were charges and counter-charges to the limit that the place and time of a fresh war was all set. When the Holy Prophet ﷺ heard about this, he came to them and said: 'What is all this? Here I am present amidst you and you are doing this after having become Muslims and after having become united and friendly with each other. This is sheer ignorance. Do you want, in this state of yours, to revert to kufr?'

They took the warning to their hearts. They knew this was a slip caused by شیطان Satan. They embraced each other, wept and repented. These verses were revealed in the background of this event.

This event appears in Ruh al-Ma'ani as narrated by Ibn Ishaq while there are others who narrate it from Zaid ibn Aslam. This subject continues through several verses after this. Here, the verses begin with an admonition to the people of the Book who had engineered this in triage, and this admonition has been done with great eloquence when, before admonishing them for what they did, they were taken to task for their disbelief as well, which meant that it would have made better sense if they themselves had taken to the right path, and become Muslims, rather than devoting themselves to distract others to the wrong track. Following this, Muslims have been addressed, and served with a word of caution, especially when they have by their side, the Book and the Messenger of Allah, two powerful, never-failing sources, which would help them stay firm in their belief.

The expression وَمَن يَعْتَصِم بِاللَّـهِ ,'translated as 'And whoever holds on to Allah' means one who stays firm in, and totally committed to, his ایمان 'iman or faith, for اعتصام 'i` tisam', the act of holding on to Allah firmly, denotes that one should affirm His Being and His Attributes, be staunchly faithful to what He has ordained, and in the process, be sure not to be lured into supporting the position of any adversary whoever that may be. One who acts in this manner 'is surely guided to the straight path'. It means that such a person is on the 'straight path', and being on the 'straight path' is the key to all that is good and beneficial which the Word of Allah promises to him.

Commentary

Several verses earlier, the text was dealing with the people of the Book, their false beliefs and their doubts. Then, appeared the mention of بیت اللہ Baytullah and Hajj. Now once again, the people of the Book are the addressees. These verses relate to a particular event. There was a Jew, Shammas ibn Qays, who harboured a chronic malice against Muslims. Once, when he saw two Ansar tribes, Aws and Khazraj, gathered together amiably at one place, his malevolence got the better of him and he went about looking for ways to sow seeds of discord between them. Finally, he set up a man suggesting to him that these two tribes have fought much long-drawn war in pre-Islam days and both parties had recited poetical compositions highlighting their tribal pride. So why not recite these self-congratulating poetical compositions while both sit together. The moment these poems were recited there, emotions rose high, there were charges and counter-charges to the limit that the place and time of a fresh war was all set. When the Holy Prophet ﷺ heard about this, he came to them and said: 'What is all this? Here I am present amidst you and you are doing this after having become Muslims and after having become united and friendly with each other. This is sheer ignorance. Do you want, in this state of yours, to revert to kufr?'

They took the warning to their hearts. They knew this was a slip caused by شیطان Satan. They embraced each other, wept and repented. These verses were revealed in the background of this event.

This event appears in Ruh al-Ma'ani as narrated by Ibn Ishaq while there are others who narrate it from Zaid ibn Aslam. This subject continues through several verses after this. Here, the verses begin with an admonition to the people of the Book who had engineered this in triage, and this admonition has been done with great eloquence when, before admonishing them for what they did, they were taken to task for their disbelief as well, which meant that it would have made better sense if they themselves had taken to the right path, and become Muslims, rather than devoting themselves to distract others to the wrong track. Following this, Muslims have been addressed, and served with a word of caution, especially when they have by their side, the Book and the Messenger of Allah, two powerful, never-failing sources, which would help them stay firm in their belief.

The expression وَمَن يَعْتَصِم بِاللَّـهِ ,'translated as 'And whoever holds on to Allah' means one who stays firm in, and totally committed to, his ایمان 'iman or faith, for اعتصام 'i` tisam', the act of holding on to Allah firmly, denotes that one should affirm His Being and His Attributes, be staunchly faithful to what He has ordained, and in the process, be sure not to be lured into supporting the position of any adversary whoever that may be. One who acts in this manner 'is surely guided to the straight path'. It means that such a person is on the 'straight path', and being on the 'straight path' is the key to all that is good and beneficial which the Word of Allah promises to him.