4. An-Nisaa

Righteous Deeds: Kaffarah کَفَارَہ of Minor Sins

Kaffarah is what makes amends, expiation. So the meaning is that righteous deeds will be taken as Kaffarah for minor sins which will thus be written off, resulting in reward instead of punishment and Paradise instead of Hell. This is in accordance with authentic ahadith where it has been stated that when a person makes wudu for salah, the act of washing each part of his body becomes the Kaffarah for sins; the washing of the face becomes the Kaffarah for sins committed by the eye, the ear, the nose; gargling becomes the Kaffarah for the sins of the tongue; washing feet a washes way the sins of the feet - and when he walks towards the masjid, every step he takes brings with it the Kaffarah of sins.

Major Sins are forgiven by Taubah تَوبَہ alone

From the verse, we find that the expiation of sins through righteous deeds such as wudu, salah and the rest, which appear in ahadith, concerns minor sins. As for major sins, they are not forgiven without Taubah (Repentance); and for minor sins, the condition is that one should have made the effort to stay away and remain safe from major sins. This leaves us with a note of warning - if someone, while staying involved in major sins, goes on performing his wudu' and salah, then this wudu' and salah and other righteous deeds will not at all expiate for even his minor sins, let alone the major ones. It is a warning that when a person appears on the fateful Day of Resurrection, carrying the heavy burden of his major and minor sins, he will find no helping hand to make his burden any lighter.

It will be recalled that some major sins were mentioned in the previous verses alongwith the warning of severe punishment for those who commit them. It is a peculiar style of the Holy Qur'an that when it warns of punishment against a sin, it is generally followed by some aspect of persuasion towards obedience.

In the present verse too, a particular Divine reward has been mentioned and people have been persuaded to acquire it by staying away from major sins, in which case, Allah Almighty will forgive their minor sins on His own. Thus, cleansed of all sins, major and minor, one could look forward to entering the home of honour and peace, the garden of Paradise.

The two kinds of sins

This verse tells us that there are two kinds of sins. Some of them are kabirah, that is, major sins; others are saghirah صغیرہ ، (termed as Saiyyat, in this verse) that is, minor sins. He, who musters enough courage and succeeds in staying away from major sins, has been given a promise by Allah Almighty that He will forgive his minor sins on His own.

Now, the act of staying away from major sins also includes the act of fulfilling all obligations (fard and wajib) because neglecting or abandoning obligations is a major sin in itself. Thus, we come to the conclusion that if one dutifully fulfills all obligations and succeeds in saving himself from all major sins, Allah Almighty will overlook his minor sins.

Defining Major and Minor Sins

The word, "Kaba'ir" used in the verse is the plural of 'kabirah' meaning 'major sins.' Before we proceed further, we should understand the nature and …

In the injunctions of inheritance appearing previously, it was mentioned that, given the conditions, for a male there is a share equal to that of two females. There are other proved aspects of male precedence as well. So, Sayyidah Umm Salmah رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہا once said to the Holy Prophet ﷺ Our share in the inheritance is half. Then, there are such and such elements of difference between us and men...'

Her purpose was not to raise an objection. Rather, she wished to be a man and to deserve the merits restricted for men. There were other women who wished: Had we been men, we would have taken part in Jihad and the merit of Jihad would have been ours.'

A woman asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ 'A man gets a double share in the inheritance and the witness of a woman is half as compared with a man - does that mean that we shall be getting a half reward for all of our acts of worship?' Thereupon, the present verse was revealed in which an answer to both these statements has been given. The answer to Sayyidah Umm Salmah ؓ was given by 'and do not covet...' and the answer to the last-mentioned woman was given by 'for men there is a share...'

Coveting the Unacquirable

In this verse (32), coveting things, traits and merits given to others has been prohibited, for they are not acquirable by effort. The reason is that when a man finds himself lacking in wealth, comfort, beauty, merit, knowledge and similar other states of being, he naturally experiences a surge of envy which urges him to come, at least, at par with that person, or, if possible, be ahead. But, he does not always have the capability or power to make his wish come true because there are merits and excellences which have nothing to do with man's own efforts and acquisitions. They are simply the blessings of nature, for example, being a man or being the scion of a prophet's family or having been born in the family of a ruler or having been born beautiful. So, one who does not have access to these blessings - can never obtain them by effort even-if he were to spend a whole life-time devoted to that pursuit. A woman cannot become a man, nor can one choose to be born in the family of a prophet, or change his physique - become tall and handsome, acquire All beautiful features of his choice - because, this is not within his power. He simply cannot acquire these in the real sense, no matter how much he struggles with his medicines, treatments and devices. Consequently, when he finds himself incapable of matching the other person, his inner self starts playing with the idea that it would be wonderful if such blessings were snatched away from him (the other person) as well, so that, he too becomes either equal or lower than him. This is envy, a terribly, shameful and damaging trait of human morals, which is the cause of so many disputes, disturbances, killings and ravages in this world.

This verse of the Holy Qur'an closes the doors of disorders by saying: وَلَا تَتَمَنَّوْا مَا فَضَّلَ اللَّـهُ بِهِ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ. It means that Allah Almighty, in His infinite wisdom, has blessed people with all sorts of merits and excellences. He gave someone a particular quality, then gave someone else …

In the injunctions of inheritance appearing previously, it was mentioned that, given the conditions, for a male there is a share equal to that of two females. There are other proved aspects of male precedence as well. So, Sayyidah Umm Salmah رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہا once said to the Holy Prophet ﷺ Our share in the inheritance is half. Then, there are such and such elements of difference between us and men...'

Her purpose was not to raise an objection. Rather, she wished to be a man and to deserve the merits restricted for men. There were other women who wished: Had we been men, we would have taken part in Jihad and the merit of Jihad would have been ours.'

A woman asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ 'A man gets a double share in the inheritance and the witness of a woman is half as compared with a man - does that mean that we shall be getting a half reward for all of our acts of worship?' Thereupon, the present verse was revealed in which an answer to both these statements has been given. The answer to Sayyidah Umm Salmah ؓ was given by 'and do not covet...' and the answer to the last-mentioned woman was given by 'for men there is a share...'

Coveting the Unacquirable

In this verse (32), coveting things, traits and merits given to others has been prohibited, for they are not acquirable by effort. The reason is that when a man finds himself lacking in wealth, comfort, beauty, merit, knowledge and similar other states of being, he naturally experiences a surge of envy which urges him to come, at least, at par with that person, or, if possible, be ahead. But, he does not always have the capability or power to make his wish come true because there are merits and excellences which have nothing to do with man's own efforts and acquisitions. They are simply the blessings of nature, for example, being a man or being the scion of a prophet's family or having been born in the family of a ruler or having been born beautiful. So, one who does not have access to these blessings - can never obtain them by effort even-if he were to spend a whole life-time devoted to that pursuit. A woman cannot become a man, nor can one choose to be born in the family of a prophet, or change his physique - become tall and handsome, acquire All beautiful features of his choice - because, this is not within his power. He simply cannot acquire these in the real sense, no matter how much he struggles with his medicines, treatments and devices. Consequently, when he finds himself incapable of matching the other person, his inner self starts playing with the idea that it would be wonderful if such blessings were snatched away from him (the other person) as well, so that, he too becomes either equal or lower than him. This is envy, a terribly, shameful and damaging trait of human morals, which is the cause of so many disputes, disturbances, killings and ravages in this world.

This verse of the Holy Qur'an closes the doors of disorders by saying: وَلَا تَتَمَنَّوْا مَا فَضَّلَ اللَّـهُ بِهِ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ. It means that Allah Almighty, in His infinite wisdom, has blessed people with all sorts of merits and excellences. He gave someone a particular quality, then gave someone else …

Under injunctions concerning women, appearing earlier, discrimination against them by withholding or wasting their rights was prohibited. Now, the present verses describe the rights of men.

Commentary

Verse 34 opens with an important statement: الرِّ‌جَالُ قَوَّامُونَ عَلَى النِّسَاءِ which has been translated as 'men stand caretakers of women.' qawwam, qayyam or qayyim in Arabic denotes a person who holds the responsibility or has the duty and charge to manage a job or run a system or take care of what has to be done about something, controlling all related factors therein. The standard role of a man, with regard to women, has been mentioned in this verse through the word, 'qawwam' which has been translated in various ways, the most common being in the sense of 'hakim' or one who rules, governs, or decides. Other alternates used are guardians, custodians, overseers and protectors. When taken in the sense of a carer, a functional head, and not in the political sense of a ruler or dictator, the 'qawwam' or hakim of the Qur'an offers a base of understanding from common experience. It is obvious that, for any group-living, big or small, or for any organized system, it is rationally and customarily necessary that the group or system have some head or chief or authority so that he can arbitrate in the event of a difference and take decisions to run affairs smoothly. That such authority is needed in the running of countries, governments and states is universally accepted and practiced. This need, as felt in modern times, was also felt in the older tribal social organizations where the chief of a tribe was taken as the authority for that tribe. Why would a family organization, a micro-sample of the larger organizations, would not need someone to head, maintain and run the system? Of course, the need is there and Allah Almighty, in His infinite wisdom, elected men for this responsibility because their natural capabilities are more pronounced than those of women and children.

This is such an open and obvious fact of human life that no sane human being, man or woman, can say no to it; and its denial does not change reality.

The gist of the matter is that, as seen from وَلِلرِّ‌جَالِ عَلَيْهِنَّ دَرَ‌جَةٌ (and for men, there is a step above them) and from الرِّ‌جَالُ قَوَّامُونَ عَلَى النِّسَاءِ (men stand caretakers of women), the message is that the rights of women are as incumbent upon men as the rights of men are upon women, and the rights of both are similar to each other, with only one exception that men have a certain precedence in functional authority, although this too is hemmed with other balancing factors. As explained in other verses of the Holy Qur'an, this mantle of authority placed on the shoulders of men is not that of a dictator and a tyrant. While exercizing this authority, man is bound by the supreme law of Islam, the Shari’ ah. He must act on the principle of consultation and follow good counsel. He just cannot act at. the spur of his whim or his wild instincts. The command given to him is: وَعَاشِرُ‌وهُنَّ بِالْمَعْرُ‌وفِ It mean: Treat women well, as recognized.

This aspect of having mutual consultation appears in another …

It is to block the road to this terrible discord that, in the second verse, the Holy Qur'an addresses government authorities of the time, the guardians of the parties concerned and their supporters, and the general body of Muslims, and suggests a decent method which would cool down tempers, shut out avenues of accusations and make a compromise between the affected parties possible, so that the dispute which, no doubt, could not remain restricted to the couple's home, would at least be settled within their families and not go to a court of law to become public knowledge.

This particular method requires that concerned officials of the government or the guardians of the parties or a body of Muslims which has the necessary integrity, influence and authority should take charge and appoint two arbitrators to hep bring about a compromise between the parties concerned - taking one arbitrator from the man's family and the other from that of the woman. At both these places, the Holy Qur'an has used the word, "hakam" for these appointees whereby it pin-points the necessary qualifications of these two persons, that is, they should have the capability to decide the dispute between the two. parties; and this capability, as obvious, will be found in a person who is both knowledgeable and trustworthy.

In short, the rule that emerges from here is that a "hakam" or arbitrator from the man's family and another from that of the woman should be appointed and sent to the husband and wife. Now, as for what they are going to do when they meet them and as to what rights they have in this matter - this the Holy Qur'an does not determine. However, it does add a remark at the end: إِن يُرِ‌يدَا إِصْلَاحًا يُوَفِّقِ اللَّـهُ بَيْنَهُمَا which means: If these two arbitrators desire to set things right, Allah Almighty will help them bring about harmony between the husband and the wife. So, two things emerge from this sentence:

1. If both arbitrators have good intentions and genuinely wish to bring about peace between the dissenting couple, there will be unseen help from Allah Almighty and they shall succeed in their mission, and it will be through their efforts that Allah Almighty will create love and harmony in the hearts of the couple. This leads to the conclusion that, in cases where mutual rapport is not restored, it may be because one of the arbitrators lacks perfect sincerity while pursuing the goal of peace-making.

2. The purpose of appointing these two arbitrators, as also under-stood from this sentence, is to bring about peace and amity between the husband and the wife and does not include anything beyond that. However, it would be something else if the parties affected by the mutual dispute agree to appoint these two arbitrators as their repre-sentatives and their attorneys in all respects in which case they would be admitting that any decision given by the two arbitrators jointly will be acceptable to and binding on both of them. Under this situation, the two arbitrators shall have absolute authority to decide their case. If both agree on divorce as the solution, they can effect a divorce. If they both decide that the women should be released under khul , a …

Sequence

It will be noticed that human rights have remained the main focus of attention since the beginning of the present Surah upto this point. These related to orphans, the women and inheritance. Taken up now are rights of parents, relatives, neighbours and those of human beings in general. Since a perfect fulfillment of these rights is possible only at the hands of a person whose orientation to Allah, His Messenger and to the answerability of the Last Day is correct and strong, and who avoids miserliness, arrogance and affectation, being impediments to all positive efforts, the text presents the need to believe in the Oneness of Allah, to avoid any association with His pristine divinity, and to stay away. from the rejection of the meeting on the Last Day. Also taken to task are ways of the disbelievers who disobey the Messenger of Allah and revel in their miserliness.

Commentary

The reason why Tauhid precedes rights

There are many wise considerations in opening the roster of rights with the exhortation to worship Allah alone and not to associate with Him anything in that worship. One of these, and a basic one indeed, is having the fear of Allah and the conscious concern to fulfill His rights. A person who is' neglectful on that score can hardly be expected to remain particular about fulfilling the rights of anybody else. He will find one or the other excuse to satisfy his immediate circle of relatives and friends, to keep his prestige in the society or to escape the law of the government. What really forces him to honour human rights, watched or unwatched, is nothing but the fear of Allah and the sense of responsibility before Him. This fear and this Taqwa is achieved through nothing but tauhid, the firm belief in the Oneness of A lah to the total exclusion of everything else in that unicity. This is why it was appropriate to remind man about the Oneness of Allah and the need to worship Him before describing the rights of relatives and others.

The rights of parents come first after the message of Tauhid

By taking up the rights of parents immediately after the command to worship Allah as is His due, it is being suggested that, no doubt all blessings and favours are really from Allah Almighty, yet seen in terms of worldly means, the frequency of favours received by man, closest next to those of Allah Almighty, are those he receives from his parents. This is because they are, given the chain of causation, the very fountain-head of their being. And in all those stages of trial from the birth of a child to his young age, the parents are the ones who take care of the being, sustenance and growth of man to the best of their ability and God-given means. This is why the command to worship and obey Allah has also been supplemented with the mention of the rights of parents at other places in the Holy Qur'an. At one place it is said: أَنِ اشْكُرْ‌ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيْكَ (Be grateful to Me, and to your parents.) (31:14). At another place, it is said: وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَ بَنِي إِسْرَ‌ائِيلَ لَا تَعْبُدُونَ إِلَّا اللَّـهَ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا (And when We made the children of Isra'il take a pledge: You shall not worship anyone but …

Inverse 38, beginning with the words, وَالَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ another trait in the character of the arrogant has been described. Ordinarily they themselves hold back any spending in the way of Allah and persuade others to do the same. Nevertheless, when they wish to show off before people, they do spend. Since these people do not believe in Allah and the Last Day, the question of spending their wealth for the good pleasure of Allah and with the intention of earning rewards in the life to-come just does not arise. Such people are the accomplices of Satan, therefore, the end of it all will be no different than the end of their comrade Satan.

This verse tells us that the way it is disgraceful to be niggardly and tardy in fulfilling due rights, very similarly, it is also extremely bad to spend to show off or to spend on heads which are purposeless. A good deed aimed at drawing applause from people - and which is not for Allah exclusively - is a deed not acceptable in the sight of Allah. In hadith, it has been declared as shirk (associating others in the divinity of Allah).

Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ narrates that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said:

قال اللہ تعالیٰ انا اغنی الشرکاء عن الشرک من عمل عملاً اشرک فیہ معی غیری ترکتہ و شرکہ

"Allah Almighty says: I am absolutely free of any need to have partners. Whoever does a (good) deed and associates in it someone else with Me, I leave him (un أ helped) with this deed (of associating partners with Me) ".

Sayyidna Shaddad ibn Aws ؓ narrates that he heard the Holy Prophet ﷺ say:

عن شداد بن اوس قال سمعت رسول اللہ ﷺ مَن صَلَّی یرایٔ فقد اشرک، و مَن صَامَ یرایٔ فقد اشرک، ومَن تصدَّق یرایٔ فقد اشرک (احمد بحوالہ مشکوۃ)

"Whoever performed salah to show off, committed shirk; and whoever fasted to show off, committed shirk; and whoever gave in charity to show off, committed shirk." (Ahmad, as cited by Mishkat).

Sayyidna Mahmud ibn Labid ؓ عنہ narrates that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said:

عن محمود بن لبید اَنَّ النبی ﷺ قال اَن اخاف علیک الشرک الاصغر، قالوا : یا رسول اللہ وَ مَااشرک الاصغر ؟ قال : الرِّیاء (احمد بحوالہ مشکوۃ)

"What fills me with grave apprehensions about you is the minor shirk." The Companions asked: "0 Messenger of Allah, what is the minor shirk?" He said: "riya' (i.e. to do a good deed just to show off' ). (Ahmad, as cited by Mishkat)

Here, a narration from al-Baihaqi adds that, on the Day of Doom, when the reward for good deeds will be given out, Allah Almighty will say to the persons committing riya' i.e. the persons who did good deed just to earn the applause of the people:

"Go to those you wanted to see you doing good deeds in the mortal world and then find out for yourself if they have the reward for your deeds."

Previous verses carried the condemnation of those who refused to believe in Allah and in the Akhirah and were miserly. The present verses persuade people to believe in Allah and the Akhirah and engage in the gainful activity of spending in the way of Allah. Then, towards the end (41-42), a description of the trying situations prevailing on the plains of Resurrection appears to warn people, who refuse to believe and refuse to do what is good, of their evil end.

Commentary

In the first verse (39): وَمَاذَا عَلَيْهِمْ لَوْ آمَنُوا بِاللَّـهِ it is said: What conceivable harm could have affected them if they had believed in Allah and the Last Day and spent out of what Allah had given them? at is so tough, difficult or frightening about it? All these are as easy as they come. Going by them, taking to them and believing in them does not hurt or harm or cause any inconvenience. Why then, would someone elect to be disobedient, the certain outcome of which is nothing but disaster in the Akhirah?

The text, then, says: إِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَا يَظْلِمُ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّ‌ةٍ , (40), that is, Allah Almighty does not allow the reward of good deeds from anyone be reduced in any manner or quantity whatsoever. In fact, He adds extra rewards, in multiples, in special Divine favours, and the life of Akhirah will witness this supreme mercy of the Lord.

With Allah, the least human measure of thawab or reward is that one good deed gets recorded as ten. Then, this does not stop at that; through sheer mercy and grace, Allah bestows manifold increase into this treasure of good deeds. Some hadith narrations tell us that there are deeds the reward for which rises as high as two million times. The truth of the matter is that Allah is al-Karim, the most-noble, the most-generous - He Himself, in His limitless mercy and grace, so increases the quantum of his blessing on His servants that it simply cannot be counted or measured in our human terms. The extents of His generosity and the dimensions of His very Being are beyond human conceptualization - who can dare calculate the incalculable?

Incidentally, the word, ذَرَّ‌ةٍ : dharrah" appearing in this verse has been translated here as 'particle' following the generally recognized meaning it carries. However, some commentators have pointed out that 'dharrah' is the name of the smallest kind of red ant which the people of Arabia used to cite as an example of something very light and insignificantly small.