Tafseer (Aali 'Imraan)

8/9/2019 Tafseer (Aali 'Imraan)

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Aali ImraanName, Background and Topics

Name It is known as Soorah Aali Imraan symbolizing The soorah in which AaliImraan has been mentioned. Aali Imraan means the house, descendents orpeople of Imraan 1 the father of Moosa 2 and Haaroon 3. As explained in Al-Baqarah, the name of a soorah is neither its title nor topic, just a symbol.Hence, it will not be translated, but continued to be referred to as Soorah AaliImraan.

Background Most of the soorah was revealed to guide the Islamic movement during theperiod starting soon after Quraishs aggressive invasion was defeated at Badruntil immediately after their second major invasion was confronted at U ad.Except for the verses 33-63 that were revealed in the 9 AH 4 to invite Christiansof Najran to Islam, the rest of the Soorah was revealed in the very early period

of development of the Islamic society during 2AH and 3AH.

Although Allaah SWT helped Muslims win, to everyones surprise, against thestrong, well-equipped invading army at Badr, the defeat of the Quraishincreased the dangers to the fledgling city state of Madeenah and to theProphet himself. All anti-Islamic elements became active to do their part indestroying this tiny, new state. Quraish started planning their final and decisiveattack. Assassins were being deployed to kill the Prophet. The Jews, who hadtreaties with the Prophet to participate in the defence of the city, sympathizedwith infidels and idolaters in violation of their treaties. Thus, they broke theirtreaties with those who believed in the same One and Only God as they did,but supported the idolaters. They went even further in their animosity. Afterthe war, they started instigating and inciting Quraish and other pagan tribes toavenge their defeat. In addition, disregarding both their treaties and their long

1 Amram in the Bible2 Moses3 Aaron4 After Hijrah -- the migration to Madeenah


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time relations with the people of Madeenah, they would abuse and disrespectMuslims and their women and provide logistical support and advice to thepagans in their expeditions against Madeenah. All these threats both fromexternal enemies (the Makkans and other idolaters) as well as internal enemies(the Jews of the city) had increased the risks exponentially. The conditions hadbecome so terrifying for the small Muslim population that was surrounded by asea of hostile elements that the Muslims were sleeping with their weapons bytheir side, in case they were attacked during the night. Knowing the Prophet tobe the prime target, the sincere Muslims were extremely vigilant and worriedabout his security lest he was killed if they were even a bit negligent in lookingafter him.

This warlike, hostile environment was devastating Madeenahs already

battered economy even more, as it was still trying to cope with the settlementof so many displaced, empty handed immigrants.

Hardly a year had gone by when the Makkans invaded again with an armythree times stronger than before. Muslims faced the invading army at U ad,and after an initial victory, suffered heavy losses because of a tactical mistakethey made in disobedience of the Prophet all-Allaahu alayhi wa sallam. Thislack of victory on Muslims part convinced the enemies once again that the

Muslims could be defeated and wiped out with more effort. Hence, the enemiesintensified their hostile activities even further.

Despite these excruciatingly difficult times, implementation of Islamic reformscontinued relentlessly to make the Islamic society an ideal society of peace,

justice, fairness and excellence.

Topics This soorah guides the Muslims towards the proper attitudes and behaviourthey need to adopt in coping with the hostile environment and the difficultcircumstances while at the same time moving towards the excellence that is theobjective of the Deen.

People of the Book (both the Jews and the Christians) have been invited toaccept the true Islam being presented to them as it was presented earlier byprevious prophets and messengers. Specifically, they have been invited to jointhe Islamic society, adopt Islam as their complete system of life and become apart of the Kingdom of God. The special emphasis in this soorah is on inviting


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Teachings and Running Commentary

Like Al-Baqarah, this soorah also starts with the same string of three letters of the Arabicalphabet, indicating they are the twin soorahs, complementing each other:

1 Alif, Laam, Meem.

The English equivalents of these letters are A, L, M and comments on their use have beengiven already in the commentary on Al-Baqarah.

The soorah starts with a verse stating two of Allaahs attributes: Al- ayy, the ever living; andAl-Qayyoom, the Self-subsisting Sustainer of everything. These attributes are very profoundly

related to the statements immediately following this verse as well as to one of the major themesof this soorah identifying the misguidance of Christians and inviting them to the right path.

2 Allaah is He besides Whom there is no God, the Ever-living, the Self-subsisting Sustainer of everything. 3 He has revealed gradually, step by step toyou the Book with truth, fulfilling and confirming that which was there beforeit. He revealed the Towraat and the Injeel 4 earlier as guidance for people, andnow He sent down the Furqaan 6. Surely they who disbelieve in the revelations

of Allaah, they shall have a severe punishment; and Allaah is Almighty whoexacts the retribution.

Allaah SWT is Ever-living without any finite beginning, or end. He is Self-Subsisting withoutany need of any support from anyone or anything else to sustain His life. He does not face anydifficulties in life; rather He is so powerful and resourceful that He sustains this huge,magnificent universe with ease. Even the people of the Book believe Him to be the Living Godand the One Who sustains everything. But at the same time, the Christians believe that Jesus isalso God while they know that he needed food and nutrition for his survival, went through

many difficulties about which he complained, died and was raised. Mention of these two of Allaahs attributes starts the discourse with a point agreed upon among the Jews, Christiansand Muslims. It invites the Christians to think as to how can Jesus be a god, Gods partner orequal when the reality is that he was dependent for his survival, faced difficulties, died and hadto be resurrected?

The truth is that there is no God except Allaah SWT, the Ever-living, Self-subsisting Sustainerof everything. He sustains everything in this universe in such a way that balance, equilibriumand justice is maintained. Although He has given human beings freedom to make choices, He

has taken upon Himself to guide them so that they can also have a sustainable, balanced, justand peaceful society. For that purpose, He has been sending prophets and messengers with His

6 The criterion that distinguishes right from wrong.


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books and guidance. Whenever people drifted away from the straight path, He sent a prophetor messenger to bring them back on track. Finally, He had sent Prophet Muhammad all-Allaahu alayhi wa sallam as the last prophet and messenger with the Qur-aan as the last book of guidance.

The guidance that was revealed to Moosa AS from the time he was appointed as Messengeruntil his death is called Towraah. It comprised of the stone tablets inscribed with Ten

Commandments and the scrolls containing other commandments. 13 copies were made of thescrolls -- twelve copies for each tribe of Israelites to use, and one for preservation that was putin the Ark of Covenant along with the stone tablets. That is the Towraah about which the Qur-aan talks. Israelites neglected this treasure and lost this guidance. Any extant scrolls and theark of covenant with all its contents were completely destroyed when Nebuchadnezzarconquered Jerusalem and demolished the temple. Later on, when Israelites were allowed back into Jerusalem and the temple was rebuilt, Uzair (Azra) recompiled the history of the Jews andreligious law on the basis of whatever he knew or could find from different elders. The firstfive books of that rewritten history and law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and

Deuteronomy) are now regarded collectively as Torah, but that is not the Towraah of the Qur-aan. The quotations from Allaah (God said ..) that have been quoted here and there in thosefive books are the only remnants of the real Towraah. But even those quotations of Allaahcontained in the existing Torah are not in themselves reliable because of the doubtful sourcesas well as later changes, deletions and interpolations.

The revelations from Allaah to Eesa (Jesus) are called Injeel (good news) in the Qur-aan. It isneither the four gospels nor the other books included in the New Testament of the Bible. Thoseare all writings of unknown authors based on dubious sources of information written in a

biographical format rather than in the style of a book of guidance. In those writings, where thewriters have quoted Jesus, only those passages can be considered remnants of Injeel revealedby Allaah, realizing that even their accuracy is suspect.

The only way we can identify the real teachings of Towraah and Injeel in the existing booksthat are presumed to be Torah and Gospels is with the help of the Qur-aan. If a passage in thosebooks is line with the teachings of the Qur-aan or is confirmed by the Qur-aan, then that is apart of the original Towraah or Injeel, as the case may be. If teachings of the Qur-aan do notconfirm the words attributed to Allaah, Moses or Jesus, then they are not part of the original

revelations. In that way, the Qur-aan is Furqaan the criterion to establish the accuracy andvalidity of earlier books.

The Qur-aan confirms the contents of the earlier books in two ways: by confirming what isreported correctly in there, as mentioned in the previous paragraph; and, by proving the truth of the predictions contained in those books about the advent of the last Prophet and MessengerMuhammad all-Allaahu alayhi wa sallam and about the Qur-aan. Although there wereprophecies about the advent of Prophet Muhammad and revelation of the Qur-aan in all of theprevious books of Allaah, it was a major theme in Injeel. In fact, Injeel is named Injeel orgospel (both meaning good news) because one of its major goals was to give people the goodnews of the advent of the Prophet Muhammad and his success in establishing the Kingdom of God.


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Now that the Qur-aan has been revealed with pure and complete truth, any of the people of theBook who do not accept it have been warned of severe punishment. Refusing to live byAllaahs guidance contained in the Qur-aan is actually rejection of the peace and justice thatAllaah SWT wanted to establish through its teachings. Allaah SWT is not going to tolerate thatrejection of His prescribed teaching and system. He is going to settle the score with thedisbelievers who reject adopting and living by the Qur-aanic teachings.

People should clearly understand that Allaah knows everything in this universe. He knowswhat is true or false, what is correct or incorrect, what will establish peace and justice and whatwill not; He knows who accepts His guidance with sincere motives and who rejects because of prejudices, ignorance or ulterior motives; who had a chance to discover the truth about Islamand the Qur-aan but he did not avail it and who did not have any reasonable chance to do so;etc.

5 From Allaah, verily nothing is hidden in the earth or in the heavens. 6 He it isWho shapes you in the wombs as He likes; there is no God but He, theAlmighty, the Wise.

Everything that takes place through the working of the laws of nature can rightly be attributeddirectly to Allaah SWT, the Creator of the nature and its ways (laws) of operating. Allaah SWThas designed a very meticulous and detailed way of shaping human beings in their motherswombs by coding it precisely in DNA, which is not visible to the human eye and was notknown or understood by human beings until very recently. Until its discovery and mapping,people had no clue how it worked. Discoveries of things like this show how powerful and wise

our Creator is. We do not even know how many more mysteries exist in the nature of humanbeings that we still have not discovered or do not understand. Only Allaah our Creator knowseverything about our nature and everything that is good or bad for us. Thus, we must fashionour lives according to His guidance because only His guidance is definitely valid, true, goodand perfect. Whether it is the provision of the best guidance to people or it is to hold themaccountable, He has power and wisdom to do both perfectly.

7 It is He who has sent down to you (O Muhammad) the Book wherein thereare verses that convey precise, definite teachings 7. Such verses are thesubstance of the Book. There are other verses that convey approximatedescription of transcendent 8 realities. The people with warped mentality pursuethe transcendent issues seeking to cause mischief and seeking to determinetheir exact nature -- while only Allaah knows their exact nature. On the other

7Mu kamaat: Precise, vivid, specific injunctions and teachings that people have capacity to fully

comprehend, understand and put into action.8 Mutashaabihaat: approximate descriptions of the transcendent realities that are beyond humancomprehension, imagination, or perception; describing supernatural, abstruse and recondite facts inhuman language.


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hand, those who are well versed in knowledge say 9, We believe in them. Theyare all from our Lord. The fact is that only insightful people really heed. 8 They pray, Our Lord! Do not let our thinking be warped after you haveguided us aright, and grant us Mercy from Yourself. Indeed you are the Oft-Bestower. 9 Our Lord! You are surely going to gather people on the Day aboutwhich there is no doubt. Verily, Allaah does not back out of assignation. 10

The guidance provided to people by the Noble Qur-aan can be divided into two majorcategories:

Reminding people that they are a creation of Allaah put temporarily on the earth as atest and that they will be held accountable on the Day of Judgement and will livethereafter in comfort or pain forever; and explaining to them the manner in which theyshould live in this temporary world so that they can have a beautiful human society tolive in and can succeed in the eternal life Hereafter. Such knowledge is the essenceand substance of the Qur-aan and the main purpose and reason for its revelation. TheNoble Qur-aan imparts this knowledge succinctly, precisely and categorically. Forthat reason, the verses that convey this knowledge are called Mu kamaat.

The right-minded people spend their time and energies learning this knowledge,reflecting upon it and fulfilling its obligations in their private lives and implementingit collectively in their society.

Informing people about the things they have no way of finding out except through

revelation. These are things such as the infinite attributes of Allaah, Allaahs infiniteways to make things happen by commanding Be; the existence and nature of angels;the fire and punishment of Hell; the comforts and bounties of Paradise; the existenceand animosity of Shay aan and his efforts to mislead people; etc. Because they aredescribed in a human language that does not have precise words and concepts to

9 This translation follows the punctuation of the Mus-haf (Qur-aanic Scripture). A great majority of thescholars and commentators of the Qur-aan agree that only Allaah knows the exact specifications of Mutashaabihaat. No human being can. A few scholars have a differing view of the punctuation. They

punctuate it to render that only Allaah and the people of sound knowledge know the meaning of Mutashaabihaat. This rendition is totally inappropriate and does not fit the context. Just the phrasepreceding it said that those whose hearts are perverse or have crooked mentality pursue Mutashaabihaat.People with sound knowledge will have to find the exact nature of Mutashaabihaat either throughrevelation or through their personal pursuit. Revelation only came to the prophets and ended with ProphetMuhammad. Hence, any other person will have to pursue them personally to determine their exact nature,which, according to this Aayah itself, means they have crooked mentality. How can they be sound inknowledge and have a crooked mentality at the same time? Similarly, this rendition does not fit withphrases afterwards where the people with sound knowledge have been reported to believe inMutashaabihaat without pursuing them, saying, We believe in them. They are all from our Lord. That is

why the great majority of scholars reject this variant opinion in punctuation. The minority that holds thisopinion consists either of Shias who believe that their Imaams receive special knowledge from Allaah orthe Sufis who also believe that they can receive such special knowledge. Both of these claims have nobasis in Islam.10 Aali-Imraan 3:7-9


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describe these realities, their description approximates the reality as much as possiblegiven the limits of human language and understanding. Hence, they are calledMutashaabihaat.

Except to believe in the way these things are described in the Qur-aan, no humanbeing has either the capacity or the need to know the exact nature of these unseenrealities. They must be believed on the basis of rational reasoning, without trying to

determine their nature precisely.

No human being has capacity to understand these things because we can understand,conceive and visualize only what we have experienced. Anything that we have neverexperienced in our life is beyond our capacity of understanding. As an example, try toexplain to a person who was born blind the concept of colour or the differencebetween red and green. Or, try to explain the taste of an exotic fruit, let us say Chonsamango, to a friend who has never seen, smelled or tasted a mango. The best one cando is to describe the variations or closeness of the taste and texture of that fruit as

compared to the tastes and textures of other fruits they have experienced in the past.

The vocabulary of human languages is beset with the same limitation and for the samereason. We only have words to describe the concepts we understand. A word withoutan understood concept or definition is a meaningless word. Similarly, our languagesdo not have words to describe the realities we have not seen.

The Noble Qur-aan needs to describe those unseen realities through human language that hasno words to describe them precisely. Hence, it uses words and phrases that are as close to the

reality as possible. The intent is to inform people about them, not to define them exactly. Theexact definition will neither be feasible through human language nor understandable due tolack of human capability. Hence, wise people accept those concepts as described withouttrying to visualize them or to specify their exact nature. They value their time and avoidindulging in futile exercises.

A distinction should be made between the things we do not understand because of a lack of knowledge and the things that are absolutely beyond human capabilities. There may be someconcepts that may be beyond the understanding of an ordinary person but fully understood by a

specialist of a particular branch of knowledge. For example, a research scientist specializing inparticle physics may exactly describe a physical phenomenon in mathematical terms but aperson who has only a rudimentary knowledge of mathematics will not be able to make senseout of it. Similarly, a Qur-aanic concept or phenomenon may be very clear and specific for avery learned man but a not-so-precise matter of faith for a less knowledgeable person. We arenot talking about those things here. The issue here concerns those matters that are beyondhuman experience.

Distinction should also be made between the messengers of Allaah and other human beings.The messengers of Allaah are taken by Allaah through some special experiences 11 that arebeyond the capabilities of other human beings. The Prophets personal experiences with Jibreelare one simple example.

11 Examples of such experiences were given in Soorah Al-Baqarah, verses 259-260.


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The exact determination of the nature of Mutashaabihaat (unseen, transcendent realities) isunnecessary for two reasons: Firstly, exact determination does not add any value to ourunderstanding. Regardless of the preciseness of description, the concept will always remainobscure without the benefit of personal experience. Even if the description of their exact naturewas possible in human language and was completely provided in the Qur-aan, people wouldnot be able to understand them because of their lack of background or experience. For

example, even the most eloquent description of the taste of Chonsa mango will not give a clear,precise concept of its taste to a person unless he himself tastes one. It may create a strongdesire in a persons mind, but it will not give him the precise taste.

Secondly, exact understanding is not needed for believing in these realities. We believe inMutashaabihaat: because they are logically sensible; because the prophets have given witnesson their existence; and, because our faith has already been firmly grounded on the basis of thetruth we witness in Mu kamaat. Again, even for the purposes of belief, their exact descriptiondoes not add any value because, as explained earlier, regardless of the exactness of description,

we will not be able to understand them. Hence, our belief will still have to be based on logic,Mu kamaat, and witness of the prophets.

On these matters, the Qur-aan provides as much information as is possible for us to understandand as is necessary to form an accurate and useful belief in them. The information providedfulfils the objective of guidance. The wise people who are well grounded in the soundknowledge of Mu kamaat, in the logical foundations of Islam and in the wonderful witnessprovided by the prophets, accept them as they are presented without defining their natureprecisely, generalizing any specifics or making any general things specific. They avoid

describing these realities except in the words of the Qur-aan.

On the other hand, some people who do not understand their own limitations or the reality of the matter indulge in efforts to pin down their exact nature. The examples are: trying to definehow Shay aan looks like, whether he is male or female, and how he incites us or whispersthoughts to misguide us; how the angels or their wings look like, how they travel, take humanshape or perform their duties; how Allaah blew spirit in Adam or in Maryams womb for Jesus;or what are Allaahs physical attributes, how does Allaah manage to be everywhere at the sametime or how does He use His Throne?

Only people with a crooked mentality delve into these kinds of questions. They do so with oneor both of the following motives:

Some people raise such questions just to create arguments, conflicts and mischief; tostart meaningless discussions to sow doubts in peoples minds or create confusion;and to divert the attention of believers from real Islamic objectives to these uselesspursuits. The prime example of these people before us was that of Jews. Instead of performing their duties assigned to them by Allaah, they spent their energies playinggames with the words used for Mutashaabihaat.

Others pursue Mutashaabihaat because they want to specify, determine and describethem exactly or they insist on taking the words that describe the phenomena of unseenquite literally in human terms. They usually end up becoming a victim of Shay aan


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and destroying their own faith either by getting absolutely confused or by derivingwrong conclusions. The prime example of people who were in that category before usare Christians. They took Prophet Eesas being kalimah 12 of Allaah literally andtried to determine the exact nature of Allaahs word and how it transformed tobecome Jesus instead of understanding it to be the command of Allaah to create Jesus.They took this approach to most of the Mutashaabihaat matters. With that attitude,they ended up creating a religion about Jesus where he has been deified in diametric

opposition to what Jesus actually stood for. Their beliefs have become totally un-Islamic and none of their religious dogmas makes any sense anymore. Christianityrequires blind faith because its dogmas are absolutely illogical.

There is, however, no shortage of so called Muslims who bear Muslim names but play gameswith the words used for Mutashaabihaat. They raise questions about them to create Fitnah. Youcan see many of such elements busy spreading their Fitnah on different Internet forums. Thenthere are others who, like Christians, tend to be very religious but their interest in religioncentres around Mutashaabihaat. For example, Muslims who indulge in Sufism also tend to get

into this dangerous territory and many Sufi sects have come up with illogical and un-Islamicdogmas like Christians. On the other extreme are Salafis who take literal meaning of Mutashaabihaat instead of just believing in the message being given through those approximatedescriptions. Not only do they take the words literally according to human understanding of those words, but they also make it a matter of Aqeedah. They are behaving like people in thepast who created an issue that Qur-aan being word of Allaah is a creation and insisted inmaking it a matter of Aqeedah.

To understand the futility of this exercise and the dangers it is fraught with, imagine a person

born blind trying to precisely define a colour and to explain it in his words to another blindman. Also, imagine my colleague who never knew what a mango is except what I told himabout it. Now imagine him going home and describing mango to his wife. He will be safe aslong as he sticks to the description I gave him. If he started describing the taste of the mango inhis own words from the mental picture he made in his mind when it was being described tohim, can you imagine how different that description will get from the taste of a real Chonsamango? Hence, when describing Mutashaabihaat, we must stick with the words of the Qur-aanwithout trying to explain them according to our own perceptions.

Allaah wants us to avoid both of these approaches. Instead, He wants us to be wise like thosewho accept as much as they are told and do not add or reduce anything to that. They pray,

Our Lord! Do not let our thinking be warped after you have guided us aright, andgrant us Mercy from Yourself. Indeed you are the Oft-Bestower. Our Lord! You aresurely going to gather people on the Day about which there is no doubt. Verily,Allaah does not back out of assignation.

The day of Judgement is when the exact nature of these realities will be right in front of us. Wewill experience them first hand. That day is going to come on its own time. It cannot comeearly nor can it be delayed. Until that happens we have to wait patiently and accept ourlimitations as they are.

12 Literally, kalimah means a word or phrase, whether it is a statement or a command.


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In addition to Mu kamaat and Mutashaabihaat, The Qur-aan also has regulations about alaaland araam and historical anecdotes. A adeeth concisely describes how a Muslim shouldrelate with all these types of verses of the Qur-aan.

The Prophet said, The Qur-aan has been revealed featuring five types of information:alaal, araam, specific teachings (Mu kamaat), transcendent concepts

(Mutashabihaat), and anecdotes. So enjoy alaal, avoid araam, act upon clearteachings, believe in transcendent concepts, and learn from the anecdotes. 13

The next verse comments on another problem. Mostly, people reject the teachings of the Qur-aan, ignore them or refuse to practice them because of their focus on their family and financialinterests. Either they do not have time to pay honest attention to the message of the Qur-aan, orthey do not want to make any changes or sacrifices for the truth that the Qur-aan presentsdespite knowing that its message sounds sensible and true. To justify their behaviour then, theyfabricate invalid excuses, naively challenge its relevance to the contemporary society, raise

ignorant questions about its teachings or repeat the same old hackneyed, overused, irrationaland baseless attacks. That was mostly the reason that the Jews and Christians were notbecoming Muslims. They have been warned:

10 Those who disbelieve, neither their wealth nor their children shall ever savethem from Allaah; they are the ones who will be the fuel of the Fire. 11 LikePharaoh's people and their predecessors, they disbelieved Our revelations, soAllaah seized them for their sins. And Allaah is strict in punishment.

They have been told that their reaction is exactly what was shown by Pharaoh and his peopleand the disbelievers in the previous messengers. Thus, they will suffer the same consequencesas were suffered by the disbelievers of the past. The relationship between the actions and theirconsequences is very direct. The punishment is not compromised in any way regardless of whothe perpetrator of the crime is. Just like them, they will be overcome in this world and face theworst abode in the Fire in the hereafter.

12 Say to those who disbelieve: You shall be vanquished, and driven together toHell an awful place indeed.

That the disbelievers will be overpowered by the help of Allaah was indicated by the battle of Badr. If they pondered over the situation, it would have become clear to them that it wasbecause of Allaahs plan to overpower the disbelievers that an ill-equipped, poorly fed, orrather starving, group of people who came from different places to form a new society inMadeenah only about a year ago were able to defeat an army that was more than three timestheir size and that was well-equipped, well-fed and well-trained comprising of fighters fromthe most powerful tribe of Arabia.

13 Reported from Aboo Hurayrah in Mishkaah


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13 Indeed there was a sign for you in the two armies that confronted each other;the (believers) army fighting in the cause of Allaah and the other --disbelieving army (fighting in the cause of aaghoot 14). They saw them bythe eyesight twice as many as themselves. Allaah strengthens with His aidwhom He pleases. Most surely there is a lesson in this for those who havevision.

The confrontation at Badr between the two armies was a clear sign for all in the followingmanner:

It highlighted the differences in the paradigms, lifestyles and goals of the twoopponents. On the one hand, the Makkan army was being pampered byindulgence in drinking, music, female dance performances, pomp, boasting,rowdiness, etc.; on the other hand, the Muslim army was busy in theremembrance of Allaah, supplications to Him, extra worship and alaah,fasting, humility, selflessness, discipline and order. This clearly indicted whowas fighting in Allaahs cause to establish peace, justice, moderation andbalance and who was fighting in the way of aaghoot to maintain the statusquo of injustices, exploitation, overindulgences and wastage of resources forthe benefit of the privileged class.

All groups were able to see the signs of Allaahs help on the side of theMuslims, without which there was absolutely no way they could have won.The people of the Book saw the parallels with the events of their history,

especially Israelites battle against Philistine in which Dawood15

killedJaaloot 16 with a stone thrown from his sling. The idolaters of Makkahthemselves had prayed on the battle night, Tomorrow, O Allaah, crush thegroup who is causing the severance of blood relations the most. TheMuslims saw that the Makkan leaders were killed exactly at the spotsforetold by the Prophet.

When angels came to help the believers in the battle, it appeared to the paganMakkans as if the Muslim army was twice the size of their own army. This

was psychological warfare launched to help Muslims by dampening the spiritof the pagans 17.

14 Any power, authority or leader that causes or encourages people to live a lifestyle other than Islamiclifestyle of exclusive submission to Allaah.15 David16 Goliath17 There are different opinions as to which army saw the other twice as many as themselves. Syed

Maudoodi interprets it to mean that although Makkans were more than three times as many as Muslims,they distinctly appeared double the number of Muslims even at a cursory glance. Although this statementis quite sensible and logical, it cannot be regarded as a sign. Other scholars think that Makkans weremade to appear to Muslims at the beginning of the battle as if they were only twice as many, not thrice asmany. They interpret in the light of the scenario given in the Soorah Al-Anfaal. According to thatscenario, Allaah SWT made the Makkans appear fewer to the Muslims and the Muslims appear fewer to


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The next few verses describe the basic difference between the Islamic paradigm of life and theun-Islamic (Jahiliyyah 18) paradigm of life, as it is always evident from the priorities andpreferences of both groups and as it was displayed by the two armies. The reality is that mostpeople oppose Islam because they do not want to curtail their indulgence in pleasures of thisworld for the sake of the success in the hereafter. Usually they belong to the privileged class.They oppose Islam because they want to protect their unjust and unfair privileges, but to fool

the masses they fabricate other objections against Islam and misguide them by playing thegames with Mutashaabihaat, as discussed earlier.

14 People are obsessed with the love of the things they covet, such as: women,children, hoarded treasures of gold and silver, branded (well-bred) horses,cattle and crop (produce). These are the provisions of this worlds life; butAllaah has the most excellent place for eternal stay. 15 Say: Shall I tell youwhat is better than these? For those who adopt Taqwa, their Lord has Gardens

through which rivers flow to live in forever, and pure spouses and Allaah'spleasure; and Allaah is Observant of His slaves 16 those who say, Our Lord!we have indeed believed: forgive us, then, our sins, and save us from thepunishment of the Fire; 17 and who are steadfast (patient, firm and self-restrained), truthful (in words and deeds), devoutly obedient, who spend(benevolently for Allaahs cause) and who seek forgiveness in the early hoursof morning.

The objective of life for those who subscribe, intentionally or by default, to an un-Islamic orJahiliyyah paradigm of life is to maximize the pleasure and provisions of this world. In the olddays, this maximization attitude manifested itself in the form of desire for the things listed. Asthe society changes, the manifestations change, but the psychology and attitude remainsconstant. The importance given to the gratification of the sexual desire in exotic ways, love andlonging for beautiful persons, love for family and children, the attempt to maximize monetaryassets and bank balances (gold and silver), desire to have the best equipment and statussymbols (branded horses, the most expensive luxury cars, most advanced tanks and planes,etc.), greed for more and more assets, yearning for the most exquisite food, so on and so forth.All of peoples efforts and struggles revolve around maximizing worldly provisions, pleasures,indulgences and achievements. When people become preoccupied with the love of thesethings, they are ready and willing to sacrifice all their principles, ethics, and laws that may

the Makkans so that both remained determined to fight, thinking the other side is weak and the battle willbe an easy one. However, this verse is talking about a phenomenon that only one army experienced notthe other. Also, seeing Makkans as double the number instead of triple is not fewer enough to beencouraged to fight. Some other scholars, in particular Maulaana Ameen Ahsan Islaahi, suggest that thephenomenon mentioned in this verse happened during the battle when the angels came to help the

Muslims, the Muslim army appeared to the Makkans twice as many as themselves while the phenomenonmentioned in Al-Anfaal occurred before the battle started. This seems to be the most plausibleexplanation considering that this has been mentioned as one of the signs of Allaahs help.18 Jahiliyyah means system of life based on ignorance. All un-Islamic lifestyles or paradigms are thelifestyles or paradigms of Jahiliyyah.


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come in the way of achieving these objectives, if they can do so without being caught. Thisattitude is the root of all evil and injustice in the world. What this paradigm of lifestyle ignoresis that all these accomplishments are so temporary and transient. Even the most accomplishedperson in the world soon leaves everything behind. Then in the hereafter, the people living thatkind of lifestyle will end up being the utter losers and will be severely punished. At that time,none of their wealth or family will be of any avail, as they were reminded earlier in verse 10.

On the other hand, the wise people devote all their attention and top priority to the life in thehereafter. Their sole pre-occupation is maximizing the pleasure of Allaah SWT. Everythingelse becomes subsidiary to that objective. Those who are able to live a life pleasing to AllaahSWT, they would have much much better things for enjoyment, pleasure and fun. Not only arethey going to be better and more plentiful, but also eternal, never to disappear, diminish or fadeaway. As they live a life of restraint (Taqwa) in this world while striving for Allaahs pleasure,they will enjoy abundance in the hereafter and will be privileged with His pleasure. Thisparadigm of life develops personal excellence in the believers. They excel in everythingincluding establishing peace and justice in the world. They are firm in their resolve to attain

excellence and are self-restrained. They are truthful in words and deeds, devoutly obedient toAllaah and generous in sharing their resources with others in their society. Despite all thesequalities, they continually and humbly seek Allaahs forgiveness in the matters in which theyare not able to perform to the Islamic standard of excellence. They are the people who establishthe most beautiful, benevolent, caring, sharing, moderate, balanced, just and fair society in theworld. That is what Islam is all about.

After describing the two paradigms of life and comparing the results of each, Allaah SWTreminds every one, especially the people of the Book, that He created people to live by the

Islamic paradigm and establish justice and peace in this world because He Himself is Just andthe maintainer of Justice, equity and balance in the whole universe.

The people who have knowledge of the functioning of this universe and who sincerely reflecton the facts about Allaahs creations observe that there is balance, equilibrium, equity andfairness in everything that has been pre-programmed by Allaah SWT. The universe continuesto function and operate because of this natural balance and equity, both of which were pre-programmed through the laws of nature. From a sub-atomic particle to the greatest galaxy,everything is consistently programmed to function in that balanced manner. Every living thing

has been pre-programmed to maintain that balance through laws of nature and instincts. It wasonly human beings and Jinns who were given freedom to make decisions in some parts of theirlife, in addition to them being pre-programmed through laws of nature and instincts. Thisfreedom allows people either to excel, maintain justice or do wrong. To help them, AllaahSWT taught them Islam as their Deen so that they can avoid doings wrongs and the consequentproblems those wrongs may cause in the society and so that they can maintain justice andpeace in the society, and rather, do even better than being fair by excelling in their behaviour.Islam is the only way of life that is from Allaah and acceptable to Him and that is the onlylifestyle that can maintain peace and justice in the world. Every deviation in lifestyle from theIslamic lifestyle creates injustice, strife and chaos in the world. To maintain peace and justicein the world, Islam was taught to Adam and reminded to people through prophets andmessengers so that people remain obedient to Allaah by living Islam. Hence, anyone who livesa lifestyle other than Islamic lifestyle, is rebelling against Allaah, the Creator who will holdthem accountable for this rebellion.


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18 Allaah Himself, angels and those who possess knowledge give witness thatthere is no god except He, the Maintainer of justice; there is no god except He,the Mighty, the Wise. 19 Indeed, to Allaah, Deen means Islam. Those who hadbeen given the Book adopted different ways, although the knowledge hadalready come to them, only to violate each other among themselves; andwhoever rejects the signs of Allaah, then surely Allaah is swift at reckoning.

When Allaah SWT sent His final Prophet and Messenger Mu ammad all Allaahu 'alayhi wasallam, the people of the Book should have all accepted him and practised Islam willinglyunder his guidance and leadership. Unfortunately, many of them did not. But it was notbecause they lacked knowledge. It was because of their own insincere, ulterior motives. Theirworldly interests were tied to the status quo. They did not want the Islamic justice and fairnessdeprive them of their undue pride and unfair practices. As their rejection of Islam was for theconsideration of the life of this world, they are being reminded that they will be heldaccountable for this rejection of Allaahs deen.

Despite the real reasons of their animosity, they used to concoct attacks on Islam to give theimpression as if there was something wrong with the religion. The Prophet and the Muslimshave been told to respond to their arguments simply by indicating that we have submittedwholly and solely to Allaah SWT because that is the only sensible thing to do and that is thepurpose of our creation. They have also been told to invite them to do the same thing submitto Allaah SWT, the Creator and the Master.

20 But if they argue with you, say: I have submitted myself entirely to Allaahas a Muslim and so has every one who follows me; and say to those who havebeen given the Book and to the unlearned (Gentiles): Do you submityourselves as Muslims? So if they do, then indeed they found the guidance;but if they turn back, then your duty is only to convey the message. And Allaahdoes watch the slaves.

This gives a clear message that salvation is possible only if a person follows Islam exactly aspreached, practised and implemented by the Messenger all Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam. Anydeviation from the Islamic lifestyle as modelled by the Prophet is misguidance and results inimbalance and unfairness in some form or the other; hence, unacceptable to Allaah SWT.

Although Allaah SWT wants all human beings to live the Islamic lifestyle, He wants people toadopt it voluntarily, on their free choice, only because it makes sense to them. It must not be adecision made under pressure or coercion. Thus, Muslims are required only to convey themessage in the best possible and the most tactful manner. If non-Muslims refuse to accept it,

they will be held accountable by Allaah who is watching every one of His slaves.

It is interesting to note how human nature does not change. The attitude of non-Muslims andhypocrites towards Islam remains the same, regardless of the era or the level of knowledge andadvancement. So do their reasons, their questions, their objections and their attacks. Thus our


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invitation to them and our response to their objections and attacks should also be the same asadvised here. Many Muslims become apologetic facing vicious attacks. Many try to rationalizeIslamic teachings and commands to appease non-Muslims. We should never step into thatgame. Our invitation must be towards Islamic beliefs through a rational approach. If we do soproperly, people will realize their need to accept Islam because it is the only faith that makessense. In response to any objections raised to Islamic commands, we should indicate that we doso in submission to Allaah SWT and then, we should bring the discussion back to why it

makes sense to believe in Allaah and to submit to Him.

Some people go so far in opposition of the Islamic system of peace and justice that theypersecute and kill those who stand up for Islam. The Jews had a history of doing so.Unfortunately, the same behaviour continues during our times. The people who stand up forIslam and work hard to establish Islamic peace and justice in the world are persecuted,imprisoned and killed both by the so-called Muslim rulers and by non-Muslims powers alike.

21 Verily, those who reject the signs of Allaah and kill the prophets unjustlyand kill those among people who enjoin justice, give them the news of apainful punishment. 22 They are those whose actions shall become null both inthis world and the hereafter, and they shall have no helpers.

Often people look at some of the qualities, good deeds and good projects undertaken by thosewho are anti-Islam and wonder why would they be thrown in Hell. This verse clarifies thatresisting the establishment of Islamic system of peace and justice is such a serious crime in thesight of Allaah that it nullifies all other good actions performed by a person.

Although Allaah SWT has clearly told through all prophets and messengers that salvation inthe hereafter and the establishment of a peaceful and fair society on the earth are possible onlythrough the practice of Islamic system of life, people keep inventing myths and theories in thematter of Deen. One of the common ones is that the descendents of the true followers of aprophet or messenger start thinking that they are chosen people and that, regardless of theirdeeds and lifestyle, they will be entered into paradise. Even if they have to suffer apunishment, it will be a brief one after which they will be in paradise anyway. Despite clearpronouncement to the contrary, they keep deluding themselves. In effect, they only pick up

from the religious teachings a few segments that support their myths and forget about the rest.They are being warned:

23 Just look at those who are given a portion of the Book. They are beinginvited to the Book of Allaah to settle their differences, then a group of themturns away; and they are those who disregard. 24 This is because they say, thefire shall not touch us but for a few days; thus their self-invented ideasdeceive them in the matters of their Deen. 25 But how will they fare when We

shall gather them together on a day about which there is no doubt, andeveryone shall be paid exactly what it has earned, and they will not bewronged?


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Allaah SWT had the whole plan of guidance for human being in His eternal Book that isreferred to as The Book in the Qur-aan. As mentioned earlier, that guidance was designed tohelp people live in a balanced way to maintain justice and peace in their societies. As thehuman society was evolving, they were provided appropriate guidance according to theirevolving needs through the messengers of their time. This process continued until the humanityfully matured and the final and complete guidance was sent in the form of the Qur-aan thoughthe final Prophet and Messenger of Allaah. Thus, in verse 23, the portion of the Book refers to

the revelations to the messengers from Moosa to Eesa alayhimussalaam which people of theBook should have been following. The Book of Allaah refers to the Noble Qur-aan the finaland complete guidance from Allaah for all human beings until the Day of Judgment.

Even from the guidance given to them, the Jews and Christians had abandoned and even lostmost of the revelations sent to the messengers from Moosa to Eesa alayhimussalaam. Theyhave been following only a small part of the guidance sent for them to live by. Ideally, theyshould have welcomed the revelation of the Qur-aan and eagerly and enthusiastically adoptedit because it was completing the guidance that the previous messengers brought to them. But

despite abandoning the guidance revealed for them earlier and despite rejecting the completeBook revealed to the Prophet all Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, they continued to dreamattainment of salvation and being punished only briefly.

In the past, it was the Jews who had that kind of attitude and suffered from such delusions. Butnow the majority of Muslims have joined their ranks. Recitation of these verses should be awake up call for all Muslims that we need to practice Islam fully as a complete packagecontained in the Qur-aan and implement the Islamic system of life completely if we want toattain salvation in the hereafter and peace, justice, respect and our rightful place in this world.

The main source of the Israelites misunderstanding of Deen was their notion that they werethe chosen people as a race; while, in fact, it had nothing to do with their genealogy.Originally, Ibraheem AS was chosen for the leadership of the nations because of hisoutstanding submission to Allaah and his total dedication to the Islamic mission. It wasclarified right at that time that this leadership was linked to the quality of performance inobedience to Allaah and to the level of efforts undertaken for the supremacy of Islam. It istotally irrelevant as to which family or tribe people belong to or what religious claims acommunity makes. Previously, Israelites were charged with the responsibility of establishing

the Islamic system of life in the world and of leading people of the world in that respect. Theywere chosen for this honour, but they performed terribly. So now this responsibility was beinggiven to the Muslims. In Al-Baqarah, after indicting the Israelites in detail and firing themfrom this important role, Muslims were appointed for this task. But here, instead of a directstatement to that effect, it has been expressed indirectly through an acknowledgement of Allaahs absolute authority over such matters of the world and a duaa (supplication) by theProphet and the Muslims, as taught by Allaah Himself:

26 Say: O Allaah, Owner of the Kingdom! You give the kingdom to whom

You want and take it away from whom You want, and You bestow honour towhom You want and bring dishonour to whom You want. In Your hand is thegood; surely, You have power to do all things. 27 You make the night enter intothe day and the day into the night, and You bring living out of the dead and the


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dead out of the living, and give provisions to whom You want withoutcounting.

This acknowledgement of Allaahs total authority and power over affairs of the world and thesubtle form of duaa for the goodness and provisions from Allaah is teaching many importantpoints:

1. Any leadership, honour, status or provisions is not the right of any people, and itshould never be taken as such. It is something that Allaah bestows upon whoever Hewants and he takes away from whomever He wants. Allaah SWT has full authorityover these matters.

2. The circumstances are not permanent for anyone or any nation or any people. They goaround like the cycle of day and night.

Given the above two important points, one should also remember that Allaah SWT does notbestow with or deprive of these things haphazardly. He does so according to His ultimate planand the goals He has set for human society.

3. Individually, good or bad circumstances are neither rewards nor punishments of Allaah but only tests for which people have been sent to this world. The ultimatepersonal success of everyone depends on how a person behaves in a set of givencircumstances. No circumstances are better or worse from that perspective. Both goodand bad conditions are equally hard from the test of obedience to Allaah SWT. Peoplecan change their individual circumstances through their own efforts to some extent.The chances of the success of their efforts can be improved through duaa and, thus,with the help of Allaah SWT. But other than responding to the sincere duaa that isproperly backed with the best human effort, Allaah SWT does not interfere in thesematters so that the individual freedom of people through which they are being testedis not affected. This is Taqdeer of individuals.

4. Collectively, Allaah SWT deals with communities and nations according to what iscalled sunnah of Allaah in the Qur-aan. The most important aspect of the sunnah of Allaah is that the Muslims will have the power, authority and leadership in the worldif they remain truly submissive to Allaah and are committed to establishing thecomplete Islamic system of life in their society and around the globe. If they arenegligent in these Islamic objectives, they are overpowered, subjugated anddishonoured by their enemies. If they continue to lack in their commitment to theirfaith and in working for the Islamic objectives despite reminders from differentMessengers, they are totally discarded by Allaah and replaced by a new community of Muslims. This is what happened to the Israelites. The bad situation in which thecontemporary Muslims find themselves is also the consequence of their lack of commitment to establishing Islam as a total system of life. Their situation is not goingto improve until they rededicate themselves as an ummah to that Islamic objective.

5. The transfer of leadership from non-Islamic forces to the Muslim Ummah is neithereasy nor instant. The transition happens through a gradual and extremely painful


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process. It is like bringing life out of dead matter and converting living things intodead. The community taking up this mantle of leadership of the world to invite peopleto Islam and to establish Islamic system of peace and justice in the world has to gothrough many difficulties, make many sacrifices and bear many hardships. Only thendo they succeed in it. And if they relent or relax, they lose it.

As disbelievers already have power, wealth, authority and influence over the affairs of the

world, during the transition, Muslims should be very careful in their dealings with them if theywant their movement and mission to succeed.

28 Let not the believers take the unbelievers as allies other than believers.Whoever does this, he shall have nothing to do with Allaah, unless you saveyourselves from them very carefully. Allaah warns you of Himself; and toAllaah is your eventual coming.

A movement or mission succeeds only when the members of the community make the missionthe most important thing in life so that their love and loyalties are dedicated to it. They keepthe interest of the mission above all other things in their lives. If something comes in the wayof the mission, they sacrifice it for the mission. However, some sympathisers of a movement orthose not so dedicated to its objectives may continue their cozy relationships with anti-movement elements. Such relationships may make them behave in favour of their relationshipthat may compromise, knowingly or unknowingly, the interest of the movement. At the time of this revelation, there were some Muslims, who had such relationships with the Jews or otheranti-Islamic elements. They are being warned that this behaviour is not acceptable to Allaah

SWT.

The kind of relationship that is being talked about here is called walaa a relationship of loyalty and faithfulness that is in expectation of some kind of support, protections, help orbenefit from a non-Muslim wali 19. This is the kind of relationship that puts a person in asituation where he is prone to compromise on his principles or the interest of the movement forthe pleasure and approval of the wali or for ones loyalty to that wali. This kind of relationshipwith any non-Muslim nullifies ones relationship with Allaah SWT. It should not be confusedwith having normal, cordial and courteous relationship with non-Muslim neighbours,

colleagues or relatives. A Muslim must be kind, nice, courteous, cooperative, helping andgiving to the non-Muslims. But the relationship should not be based on expecting favours orshould never be such that our principles or the interest of Islam or Muslims are compromisedfor the sake of that relationship.

Usually those who establish these relationships with anti-Islamic elements do so secretly andfor ulterior motives that they do not want to reveal. Hence, people are being reminded thatnothing is hidden from Allaah and the record of everything will be presented on the Day of Judgment.

19 A guardian, ally, protector or close friend.


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29 Warn them: Whether you hide what is on your minds or disclose it, Allaahknows it; and He knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in theearth, and Allaah has power to do all things. 30 On the Day when everyoneshall find present what it has done of good and what it has done of evil, it shallwish there were a long duration of time between it and that day. But Allaahwarns you of Himself. And Allaah is compassionate to His slaves.

Muslims are explicitly being warned that if they make compromises for the sake of the benefitsthey expect from non-Muslims in the temporary life of this world, they should note thewarnings from Allaah SWT. They will have to bear the consequences of breaking theirrelationship with Allaah for eternity while the consequence of the worldly relationship ismerely a matter of a short period of time. It is the kindness of Allaah that He keeps warningpeople so that they do not forget the consequences. He is also kind to His slaves because He isforgiving for any mistakes made inadvertently or for any slippage due to normal humanweakness.

31 Inform them: If you love Allaah, then follow me, Allaah will love you andforgive you your sins, and Allaah is Forgiving, Merciful. 32 Advise them: ObeyAllaah and the Messenger; but if they turn back, then surely Allaah does notlike the disbelievers.

Muslims are now being reminded that the essence of faith is love of Allaah SWT that must besubstantially stronger than the love one may have for anything or anyone else. Thus, if someone is a true believer, and therefore, loves Allaah SWT, then the only option that personhas is to follow the footsteps of the Prophet, making the Prophets priorities ones ownpriorities and living the life that he lived. If that is the attitude and paradigm of life, then Allaahwill love you and forgive your shortcomings. On the other hand, if other considerations aretaking priority over what Allaah and His Messenger want us to do, then that is disbelief, notIslam.

This concludes the introductory discourse of Soorah Aali-Imraan that sets the stage for thepoints discussed in the rest of the Soorah.


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The next discourse was revealed in the 9 th year after Hijrah when a Christian delegation fromNajraan 20 came to visit the Prophet in Madeenah on a fact-finding mission. It was revealed toinvite them to Islam. Before this revelation, Soorah Maryam had already given a detailedaccount of the birth of Yahyaa and Eesaa alayhimussalaam. Similarly Soorah Nisaa had alsotalked about Eesa not being crucified or killed on the cross. As discussed earlier in theintroductory comments of Al-Faati ah, Al-Baqarah and this Soorah, this discourse wasincluded here by the command of Allaah SWT for introducing the misguidance of Christians

after giving details in Al-Baqarah of the reasons for Allaahs anger on the Jews.

For anyone reading the Noble Qur-aan from the beginning, this is the first occasion where thebirths and missions of the Prophet Yahyaa and Eesa have been mentioned. It presents a goodopportunity to very briefly review the historical perspective of their missions.

Allaah SWT taught Adam the Islamic way of life. However, with Shay aans incitement andtheir own follies, his progeny started worshipping idols and abandoned Islam. Nooh AS wassent to bring them back to Islam and to re-implement Islamic system of life in the society.

When Nooh failed to win back the majority of the people of his time to Islam, the rejecterswere destroyed so that his followers, the Muslims, could set up a new human society on thebasis of Islamic principles of justice. Over time, when human society drifted again to theidolatry and an un-Islamic system of life, Ibraheem was assigned to bring them back to Islamand re-establish Islamic system of peace and justice in the land. After Ibraheem, this job of ensuring that the Islamic system of life continued to be practised properly was permanentlyassigned to the progeny of Ibraheem. From among the descendents of Ibraheem, finally itbecame the responsibility of progeny of Imraan, Moosas father. Although the leadership of the mission was the mandate of Imraans descendents, Israel as a nation was given the

responsibility of living according to Islam themselves, ensuring that the complete Islamicsystem of life remained the order of their society and they lead other nations to Islam, bringingthem under the Islamic system of peace and justice. Unfortunately, they abandoned theirresponsibility. Instead of living by Islam, they created their own religion called Judaism andadopted many un-Islamic practises. Many prophets and messengers were sent to them but theywould not listen. They even killed some of the prophets, and rejected or persecuted others.

The situation, obviously, was not acceptable to Allaah at all. He decided to remove the Jewsfrom the privilege of heading the Islamic movement, as has been mentioned previously. But

before firing them, out of His Mercy, He wanted to give them a last chance in an extraordinarymanner. If they would not reform on this final opportunity afforded to them, they would incurthe wrath of Allaah forever. That is why they were given this opportunity in a stupendous waythrough Yahyaa alayhissalaam (John the Baptist) and Eesa alayhissalaam (Jesus). Both of them were conceived in extraordinary circumstances which are described in the ensuing verses.

The discourse first alludes to the fact that both of them, although special in the way they wereborn, were none-the-less descendents of human beings. Like their forefathers, they were sentfor the same Islamic mission for which the final Messenger of Allaah, Mu ammad all Allaahu

'alayhi wa sallam has been sent. After this important declaration for the reflection of thepeople, the story starts with the mother of Maryam.

20 A territory between Hijaz and Yemen consisting of 73 townships inhabited by Christians. TafheemulQur-aan Vol. I, note 29 to Aali Imraan.


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33 Verily, Allaah chose Adam and Noo 21 and the family of Ibraheem and thefamily of Imraan over everyone in the universe. 34 They were descendants oneof another; and Allaah is Hearing, Knowing. 35 He was listening when thewoman of Imraan said: My Lord! I do dedicate to You what is in my womb,freed from everything for your service, so accept this of me; surely You are theHearing, the Knowing. 36 So when she delivered her, she said: My Lord! Ihave delivered a female -- and Allaah knew quite well what she had delivered and the male is not like the female, and I have named her Maryam 22, and Igive her and her offspring into Your protection from the Shay aan, theoutcast.

The mother of Maryam was a righteous woman of a pious family from the descendants of Haaroon alaihissalaam (Aaron, peace be upon him). She prayed to Allaah for a son. When shebecame pregnant, hoping to have a son, she decided to dedicate her child to the temple for theservice of the Lord, freed from all worldly obligations. Upon delivery, she was a littledisappointed to have a girl, not a boy as she was hoping. A girl was not normally devoted tothe service of Lord in the Temple because of some vulnerabilities females had which maleswere free from. However, her vow was to devote the baby in her belly, which she still neededto fulfill.

Allaah could have easily given her a son, but He had a special plan for her daughter, a plan thata son could not have fulfilled. Not knowing Allaahs plans, she reluctantly and shyly presentedher daughter to Allaah. Allaah appreciates the devotion and piety equally from males andfemales. Therefore, Allaah accepted Maryam for His service and made arrangements for herbest upbringing. When Maryam was old enough to be dedicated to the service of the Lord, shewas brought to the temple authorities. It created some difference of opinion. The big issues tobe resolved were whether she should be accepted for devotion, under whose care she should bekept if accepted, and what special arrangements were needed to be made for heraccommodation. The issues were resolved and, by lottery, it was decided to put her under thecare of Zakariyyaa (Zachariah) who was one of the very pious and respected servants of theLord and also happened to be a relative of Maryam.

Maryam dedicated herself to the worship of Allaah secluding herself in one of the easterlyquarters dedicated for the people in the service of Lord. She had put a curtain on her quarter forprivacy and for avoiding distractions from her devotion.

37 So her Lord accepted her with full acceptance and made her grow up with agood upbringing, and assigned her to the care of Zakariyyaa 23. WheneverZakariyyaa entered the sanctuary to see her, he found her with sustenance. One

21 Noah22 Mary23 Zachariah


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day he asked: O Maryam, from where do you get this? She answered: It isfrom Allaah. Indeed, Allaah provides to whom He wants without counting. 38 Right there Zakariyyaa prayed to his Lord, saying: My Lord! Grant me fromYou good offspring; You indeed are the Hearer of prayer.

Due to her utmost devotion to Allaah, Maryam had become spiritually very strong and very

close to Allaah. Zakariyyaa, her guardian, would experience extraordinary manifestations of her spirituality. Whenever he would go to take care of her needs, he would be overwhelmed byobservations. He would usually see provisions of life with her which Maryam could not havehad access to. On inquiry, he would be told that it was all from Allaah. He was so impressedwith her devotion and spirituality that he wanted to have a pious child like her.

Zakariyyaa did not have any children. His wife was barren and he himself had grown old - pastthe age when a man can have children. Even then he could not resist his longing for a piousson. Right there he prayed to Allaah quietly, Lord, my bones have become frail and my head

is all grey with old age and I have never been unblessed in my supplication to you. I amconcerned if my kinsmen will be able to continue on with the Islamic heritage. Though (I amold) and my wife is barren, please grant me a pious heir (son) who will carry on the heritage of the posterity of Yaqoob (Jacob) and will keep you happy. 24

39 Soon after, the angels called him while he stood praying in the sanctuary:Allaah gives you the good news of Ya yaa 25, who will confirm a word of command from Allaah, will be masterful yet restrained, and a prophet from

among the righteous.40

Zakariyyaa wondered: My Lord! How can I have ason when old age has already come upon me, and my wife is barren? The angelresponded, So it will be, Allaah does what He wants. 41 Zakariyyaa said:My Lord! Assign for me a sign. He said, Your sign is that you will not beable to speak to people for three days except through gestures. So use that timeto remember your Lord plentifully and to glorify Him day and night.

Subsequently, when Zakariyyaa was worshipping Allaah in Salaah in the sanctuary, an angelic

voice gave him the good news that he will be granted a son who shall be named Yahyaa (John)and who will announce and confirm a person who will be born by the command of Allaahinstead of the natural process of human birth. He was also told that Yahyaa would be arespectable and masterful leader of the Islamic mission, very restrained in his response toopposition and his consumption of worldly resources and one of the pious prophets.Zakariyyaa was not sure if it was just the repercussion of his intense desire or a real answer tohis prayer. Knowing his and his wifes physical condition, he could not believe his ears. Tovalidate the news, he addressed his astonishment to Allaah instead of talking back to the angel.Some more detail of the angels reply to Zakariyyaas question to Allaah SWT is described inSoorah Maryam as, So will it be. Your Lord says that it is easy for Him. He created you (the

24 Maryam 19:4-625 John


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human being) before when you did not exist. 26 Zakariyyaa asked for a sign to be perfectlysure that the message was from Allaah. The sign given to him was that for three days he wouldnot be able to communicate with people except through some gestures. He was also told that heshould spend all that time in Allaahs praise and His worship. So when he came out of thesanctuary, he could not talk to people and gestured them to glorify and praise Allaah day andnight. 27

Yahyaa was born as promised. From his childhood, he demonstrated wisdom, understandingand sound judgment. He grew up to be very compassionate, sensitive, pure in his intentionsand pious in his actions and behaviour. He was also extremely obedient and dutiful to hisparents. 28

He dedicated his adult life for the Islamic movement appealing passionately to people to comeback to Islam. He persuaded people to repent. As a symbol of repentance, they were requiredto take a bath so that the spiritual purity was complemented by the physical cleanliness.

Yahyaa emphasized the importance of caring, sharing, correcting the worldly affairs accordingto the religious principles and reforming the overall lifestyle in general by adopting the Islamicway of life. He taught the penitents to practise frequent fasting and prayers. 29 His mission of repentance and reformation was succeeding quite well in some parts of Judah. When hecriticized the rulers and the establishment on their non-Islamic activities, it was not takenkindly. He was imprisoned. Subsequently on the demand of a dancer, he was beheaded. Thatway another noble prophet was killed by the Jews after witnessing the miracles, personal pietyand nobility of the person and his dedication to Allaah.

The people who had pledged their repentance through Yahyaa formed a powerful,revolutionary group dedicated to bring the change in the top echelons of power. He himself didnot lead any revolutionary movement because he was just paving the way for EesaAlayhissalaam to lead that movement. The members of the group were called Essenes,Zaddikim (Zadokites, Testifiers of truth), Sons of Zadok (Truth), and Sons of Light. Becauseof their wearing of only white garments and their commitment to spiritual and physical purity,they were called Hawaariyyoon, the white garment people by the Noble Qur-an.

Maryam continued in her devotion to Allaah in seclusion until she also had some visitations

from angels.42 At one occasion, angels called: O Maryam! Allaah has indeed chosen youand purified you. He has chosen you over the women of the world. 43 OMaryam! Obey Allaah devoutly, prostrate yourself, and bow down with thosewho bow. 44 These are from the news of the unseen that We reveal to you.You were not with them when they cast their pens to decide which of them

26 Maryam 19:927 Maryam 19:1128 Maryam 19:12-1529 Matthew 9:14 and Luke 11:1


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should take care of Maryam, nor were you with them when they disputed. 45 Nor, when an angel said: O Maryam! Verily, Allaah gives you good news of aword of command whose name will be Messiah Eesa son of Maryam. He willbe distinguished in this world and the hereafter and one of the close ones toAllaah. 46 He will speak to people while an infant in the cradle and when of oldage, and will be one of the righteous. 47 She wondered: My Lord! How shallI have a son when no man has touched me? The angel responded: So it willbe, Allaah creates what He wants. When He decides to do something, He onlysays to it, Be! and it happens.

One day the angel Gabriel (the Holy Spirit) appeared to Maryam (Mary) in a perfect humanform. Seeing a stranger in her private quarters of worship, she was apprehensive. Gabrielintroduced itself to her and told her the purpose of its visit was to give her the news that shewas going to have who would be created in her womb by Allaahs command. He also told her

that: Although he would be born without a father, Allaah would not let him face the ignominyof being fatherless; he would have honour in this world and he would be one of those whowould be close to Allaah in the Hereafter; he would speak to people in the cradle as well as inhis old age and thus because of the miracle of his birth and his talking as an infant, he would bea clear sign of Allaah to Israelites. He will grow up to be a messenger of Allaah to Israelites,fully equipped with knowledge of the Book and wisdom. In response to her bewilderment onthe news, she was told, So it will be! Your Lord says, it is easy for Me and We will makehim a sign for people and a mercy from Us. It is easy for Allaah because He just decides amatter and it automatically happens. Gabriel also told her that she did not have a choice as the

birth of the son and his mission were already decided upon and decreed by her Lord.30

Maryam became pregnant. She took her guardian and family in confidence and decided tospend her remaining term until delivery at some remote place (Bethlehem). She could not havecontinued to live in Jerusalem after the pregnancy became apparent. Despite her nobleheritage, her personal dedication to Allaah and her superior spirituality, who was going tobelieve her that she had not broken the sanctity of her vow by having a sexual relation and thatthe pregnancy was because of the Command from Allaah? No human would have everbelieved her. To avoid accusations, rumours and gossip, she simply moved out of town.

In her self-imposed exile, she was quite distraught at the time of delivery. The pangs of childbirth drove her to seek the support of a date palm. Worried as she was, an angel called herto render support and solace to her. He indicated to her, Grieve not, O Maryam, Your Lordhas provided a stream right close to you. Shake the date palm whenever you are hungry, it willdrop upon you ripe, fresh dates. So eat, drink and be contented. If you come across any person,

just tell him that you are keeping a fast of quietness for Allaah and for that reason cannot talk to anyone. 31

30 Maryam 19:2131 ibid 19:23-26


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After recuperating from the effects of delivery, she came back to her folks carrying the infant,Eesa (Jesus). People were flabbergasted to see Maryam with a child. Naturally, she wasquestioned about it. People gathered around her wondering how she got a baby and exclaimingabout how an unwed woman who is dedicated to Allaahs service and who is the daughter of avery righteous and noble mother could have a child. They assumed the worst.

Regardless of what she would have said, no one would have believed her.. So Allaah helped

her with another miracle. As per the instructions from Allaah through the angel, she pointedout to the child that he would explain the matter. People were annoyed by her gesture,wondering how they could talk to an infant. But the infant did speak. Jesus miraculously talkedto the people saying, I am a servant of Allaah. He is going to give me a book and appoint mea prophet. He has made me blessed wheresoever I be and has enjoined me to establish Salaahand pay Zakaah as long as I live. He has made me kind and dutiful to my mother, and notoppressive or hardhearted. Peace upon me the day I was born, the day I will die (the naturalhuman death) and the day I shall be raised back to life (on the day of Judgment). 32

This was, in fact, not only a manifest vindication of Maryam from any sort of wrong doing, butalso a clear indication to the Jews that the child was a special person from Allaah who must belistened to and obeyed when he would grow up and bring the message. His credibility as aprophet was established right there so that he would be readily accepted as a messenger of Allaah when he grew up.

This was a tremendous sign that was given to the Jews so that they can see the Truth and comereadily back to Allaah in obedience. Indeed they were given the last chance in a splendid wayso that any one who had any goodness in ones heart would automatically get attracted to

Allaah and His Messenger. If they did not listen to the messenger after such a tremendous sign,it would clearly indicate that they were never going to listen. He was a mercy of Allaah tothem because he was sent to save them from losing their special status as the chosen people.They were cursed only after they rejected even such a clear sign and mercy of Allaah.

At this point it is important to note the common points and differences between the two birthsmentioned in preceding paragraphs. It is evident that neither the birth of Yahyaa nor of Eesawas possible under the normal operation of the laws of nature. Both were conceivedmiraculously only by Allaahs intervention. For both of the miracles, the angels quoted

Allaah SWT saying, It is easy for Me.33

The only difference between the two was thatYahyaas birth was more intuitive for people than Eesas. The conception of Yahyaa was amiracle because of the physical incapability of his parents. Through it, Allaah SWTdemonstrated His authority, To DO whatever He wants. The conception of Eesa was amiracle because it occurred without a father. Through it, Allaah demonstrated His power, ToCREATE whatever He wants. This difference was necessary because Allaah SWT wanted tomake Eesa a sign for people.

Although the words and style used to describe the incident of his birth in such a detail clearlyindicate its miraculous nature, some people who are bent on denying miracles try to twist the

32 ibid 19:27-3333 ibid 19:9, 21


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words to make it appear as if it was an ordinary birth. However, regardless of how hard theytry to manipulate the meanings, they cannot explain why Allaah took the unusual step todescribe the episode of his birth. If it was to dispel the notion of his fatherless birth, why was itnot simply stated as such? Why was it described in a manner that actually perpetuated thatnotion? They also cannot escape the reality that Allaah SWT singled Eesa out of all prophetsand messengers to mention him with a kunniyyah 34 to his mother. Firstly, only the Qur-aanmentions him as such, no other religious book names him like that. Secondly, no other prophet

has ever been mentioned with kunniyyah. Had there been no extraordinary reason, he wouldhave been described only by his first name like all other messengers. Thirdly, had there been afather, the Qur-aan would have attributed him clearly to his father to dispel the notions of Immaculate Conception and his being Son of God. Instead, the Qur-aan specifically attributeshim to his mother indicating that he had no father. That is why he is so uniquely mentioned inthe Qur-aan as son of Maryam.

48 The angel continued, And Allaah will teach him the Book and the wisdomand the Towraah and the Injeel. 49 And will assign him as His Messenger toIsraelites. Then as a messenger, Eesa addressed Israelites saying, I havecome to you with a sign from your Lord, in that I make for you a bird-likefigure out of clay, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird with Allaah'scommand; that I heal the blind and the leprous, and bring the dead to life withAllaah's command; that I inform you of what you eat and what you store inyour houses. Most certainly, there is a sign in this for you, if you happen to bebelievers. 50 I am here to prove the truth of what is before me from the

Towraah and to allow you a part of what has been forbidden to you. Thus, Ihave come to you with a sign from your Lord; therefore adopt Taqwa of Allaah and obey me. 51 It indeed is Allaah Who is my Lord and your Lord, sosubmit to Him like slaves That is the straight path.

Eesa alayhissalaam (Jesus) grew up to be the kind of person he had indicated in his infancyspeech that he would be. In addition to his miraculous birth that had already clearly indicatedto the Israelites that he was a special person from Allaah, he was given astounding miracles to

leave no doubt in peoples minds that he was a messenger of Allaah. Two of the miraclesmentioned by the Qur-aan are not reported in any Christian literature anywhere: The miracle of making live birds out of clay models and the miracle of informing people what they havestored in their houses. The Qur-aan has done a favour to humanity by preserving theknowledge lost by the Jews and Christians.

It was also announced clearly by Eesa AS that he is a messenger only to Israelites, not to therest of the world.

As the messenger of Allaah, his mission went far beyond the mission of prophet Yahyaa. Themandate given to Eesa alayhissalaam was to bring the actual change in the political and

34 Kunniyyah is naming a person by attribution to a parent or child such as son of abc or father of xyz.


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social structure of the society so as to practically establish the Islamic state 35 with him and hisfollowers heading the state wresting the control of the society form the ruling class and theestablishment. His job was to complete the revolution for which groundwork at the grassrootslevel had already been done to a fair extent by Yahyaa alayhissalaam.

The role of Yahyaa as compared to Eesa illustrates one of the basic differences between aprophet of Allaah and His messenger. A prophet generally concentrates his work on inviting

everyone back to the existing book and shareeah, encouraging them to repent and calling themto re-establish Islam as a complete system of life. A messenger is responsible for bringing theupdated book and shareeah, revolutionizing the society completely, uprooting the non-Islamicsystems of life, challenging the status quo and establishing Islam as a complete way of life inevery aspect of life including the political and social order of the society. With additionalresponsibility, the messengers life is always protected from the enemies by Allaah. Themission continues until either the society accepts the changes and follows the Messenger; orthe messenger migrates taking his mission to another area while the society left behind ispunished by Allaah. Allaahs policy regarding the messengers is that their enemies are never

allowed to overtake or overpower the messengers. This policy is clearly evident from the livesand missions of Nooh (Noah), Ibraheem (Abraham), and Moosa (Moses). And Allaah isalways consistent in his policies.

To play his role, Allaah SWT taught him the Book, Towraah, which described the Deen of Islam as a complete system of life. The Israelites had lost most of its teachings, ignored them,and added to it whatever customs and heresies their religious leaders wanted to add. Eesa ASconfirmed what was true from Towraah and invited Israelites to practice it properly anddifferentiated it from whatever they had invented themselves. Because his advent was foretold

in the Towraah, his advent and mission confirmed the truth of those predictions. Thus heconfirmed the Towraah in both of these ways.

Not only had Israelites forgotten much of the Towraah or ignored it, but also had they lost thetrue spirit of its teachings and the true sense of what is important in Deen and what is notimportant. Thus, in addition to the knowledge of Towraah, he was taught wisdom, Injeel, howto best put the teachings of the Towraah in practice so that instead of fulfilling the letter of law,the spirit of the rules were fulfilled and the objectives of Deen were attained, including whatshould come first, what should be given more significance, what should be de-emphasized, etc.

Judaism had become a very cumbersome, difficult to follow religion; both as a punishmentfrom Allaah for their obduracy and because of their own over-emphasis on Fiqh and nit-picking rules, heresy, and un-Islamic traditions. Eesa ASs job as a messenger was also toremove many of those burdens by bringing Israelites back to objective orientation of Deen of Islam from a rule-laden Jewish religion 36.

35According to Gospels, he called it kingdom of God a society where God rules every aspect of life.

For example, it was expressed in the prayer taught by Jesus. Matt. 6:1036 See Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I willgive you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; andyou will find rest. For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light.


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He exhorted them to come back on the track of the straight path by adopting Taqwa of Allaah,(being conscious of His Presence and dedicated to seeking His pleasure) and by obeying him,Allaahs messenger.

He repeatedly invited them to adopt complete slavery and servitude of Allaah, submittingunconditionally to Him in obedience in every facet of life. Although Jews believed in Allaah,He or His service was not one of their priorities in life. Their life, including that of their priests

and religious people, was dominated with every desire, aspiration and concern but Allaah.Hence, when asked about the most important commandment, 37 Eesa alayhissalaamemphatically told them, You must love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, all your souland all your mind. 38 He went further and also told them the second most importantcommandment, i.e., Love your neighbour (fellow human beings) as yourself. 39 With thesetwo sentences, he gave the gist of Islamic teachings; i.e. to give priority to fulfilling the dutiesto Allaah (the Master) and to the fellow human beings. This emphasis was importantconsidering the self centred attitude of the society that had forgotten these two responsibilitiesand was focused on minding each persons own personal priorities and on only I and Me.

The religious practices of the Jews were devoid of that spirit and mainly contained the uselesscustoms and traditions the society had developed over time, rather than the realcommandments of Allaah concerning the day-to-day affairs of life. Most good works wereusually done to impress the common people. Hence, Jesus told the Jews to give due importanceto the commandments of God instead of the traditions of the society and to clean their hearts of the evil desires and motives instead of nit-picking in the ritual practices. 40 He emphasizedcharity, selflessness, sacrifice, prayers and fasting. He inculcated in the minds of his followersthat the intention must be only for the pleasure of Allaah and absolutely free of showing off

ones piety to the general public.41

He taught them to prefer the hereafter over this world andadvised them for pure and complete servitude of Allaah, saying No one can serve twomastersYou cannot serve both God and Money. 42

Because of his criticism of empty rituals, people could have misunderstood

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