النص المفهرس

24
Surah 'Al-'Imran 3 : 1-6
This is the first section of Surah 'Al-'Imran, the third Surah of the
Holy Qur'an. It will be recalled that at the end of the Surah Al-Fatihah
a prayer for guidance to the straight path was made. After that, by be-
ginning the Surah Al-Baqarah with ◌ِالمِّ، ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَارَبِبَ فِيه (This Book which
has no doubt in it), it was pointed out that the prayer made in Surah
Al-Fatihah for guidance to the straight path has been accepted and Al-
lah Almighty has sent down this Qur'an which provides guidance to
the straight path. Then came many injunctions of the Islamic law tak-
en up briefly or in details. As a corollary to this, frequent mention was
made of the hostility of the disbelievers and the need to confront them.
وَانْصُرُنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ Towards the end, this sequence was concluded with
(Help us, then, against disbelieving people) - in the mode of prayer.
Since the prayer was made in order that Muslims could confront and
prevail over the disbelievers, it was in consonance with that prayer
that, in the following Surah 'Al-'Imran, the text deals with the modal-
ities of dealing with disbelievers, as well as, with the need to carry out
Jihad against them, verbally and physically. This is, so to speak, an
elaboration and extension of ◌َوَانْصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِين (Help us, then, against
disbelieving people).
A Summary of Meanings
These first five verses of Surah 'Al-'Imran explain the doctrine of
Tauhid, the Oneness of Allah, which is the basic point of difference
between Islam and other religions and between a disbeliever and a
true Muslim. Those who believe in the Oneness of Allah (and in all His
prophets - > JI Je) are Muslims and those who do not so believe are
known as disbelievers or non-Muslims. The first verse of this section
presents a rational proof of the Oneness of Allah; the second verse, the
reported proof 1, followed by an answer to some doubts nursed by dis-
believers towards the later part.
The first word, Alif Lam Mim (JI) at the head of the first verse be-
longs to the special set of words used by the Qur'an which are words of
hidden meaning and are known as Mutashabihat, the real meaning of
1. In the terminology of Islamic theology, a proof based on rational
argument is called rational proof while a proof based on a verse of divine
book or on a declaration made by an authority or a report narrated by a
trustworthy person is called a reported proof.

25
Surah 'Al-'Imran 3 : 1-6
which is a secret between Allah and His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم ,and
the details of which appear a little later in the section. In the words JI
fog (Allah: there is no god but He) which follow immediately, the
doctrine of the Oneness of Allah has been put forth as a categorical
declaration. It means that there is absolutely nothing worthy of wor-
ship other than Allah.
Then come the words
words ... ◌ُالْحَىُّ الْغَيُّهُم (the Alive, the All-Sustaining)
which lay out a rational proof of the Oneness of Allah. The essence of
the argument is that worship means to present oneself before some-
body in utter submission and humility. It, therefore, requires that the
one who is being worshipped must occupy the highest point of honour
and power and who has to be most perfect from all angles. From this it
is obvious that anything which cannot sustain its own being, rather is
dependent upon somebody else for its very existence, could hardly
claim to have any honour or power in its own right. Therefore, it is
crystal clear that all things in this world which have no power to come
into being by themselves, nor can they sustain it - be they idols carved
in stone, or water, or trees, or angels and apostles - none of them is
worthy of worship. The only Being worthy of worship is the One who
has always been Alive and Present and shall always live and sustain.
Such a Being is none but Allah; there is none worthy of worship but
Him.
Verse 3 which follows carries the reported proof of the Oneness of
Allah. Briefly stated, it means that the principle of Tauhid as de-
scribed in the Holy Qur'an is not something peculiar to the Qur'an or
the Prophet of Islam. On the contrary, Allah Almighty has sent Scrip-
tures such as the Torah and the Injil, and His prophets, in earlier
times. And this was they all professed and this was they all brought as
the message. When the Qur'an came, it simply confirmed their truth.
It did not present any new claim which could pose problems for people
in its understanding or acceptance ..
The last two verses further fortify the doctrine of Tauhid on the
ground that the attributes of encompassing knowledge and unlimited
power are strong proofs of His being the One who possesses the eter-
nal and all-encompassing knowledge and whose power controls every-
thing, and that He is the only One who rightly deserves to be wor-

26
Surah 'Al-'Imran 3 : 1-6
shipped. Any one having imperfect knowledge and limited power can-
not be entrusted with this exalted station.
Tauhid a consistent belief preached by all prophets
Verse 2 gives a reported proof in some detail. The agreement of a
large number of people on a certain principle from the very beginning
of humanity may be taken as a natural proof of it's reality, if they be-
long to different times and places, having no means of communicating
with each other.
Keeping this in view, we see that Sayyidna Adam ,WI ue was the
first prophet who presented the message of Tauhid before human be-
ings. That the message would remain effective after him through his
progeny is not difficult to conceive. But, after a passage of time when
the ways of the progeny of Sayyidna Adam WI Le shifted away from
the original message, there comes Sayyidna Nuh WJI ale (Noah) who
calls people towards the same principle. After a long passage of time,
Sayyidna Ibrahim, Isma'il, Ishaq and Yaqub >JI +Le born in Iraq and
Syria rise with the same call. Then follow Sayyidna Musa, Harun and
other prophets in that order who all subscribe to the same principle of
Tauhid and invite people to the same. Then, after another long pas-
sage of time, Sayyidna 'Isa rises with the same call. In the end, it is
Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa صلى الله عليه وسلم who graces the world
with the common call of all prophets.
This is the golden chain of prophets from Sayyidna Adam to the
Last of the Prophets صلى الله عليه وسلم upto whose time some one hundred
and twenty four thousand blessed prophets were born in different peri-
ods, speaking different languages, living in different countries. All of
them told and taught the same truth. Most of them did not even have
the chance to meet each other. They were in an age when, communica-
tion through writing was not in vogue, which could make it possible
for one prophet to have access to the books and writings of another
and might help him to pick up the call of the earlier prophets as his
own. Instead, what happened is that everyone from among them ap-
peared centuries apart from each other, and had no source of informa-
tion about other prophets, except the revelation received by him from
Allah Almighty. The consensus of such a large group of persons con-
sisting of not less than one hundred and twenty four thousand men of

27
Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 7
different times and places may be enough for establishing the princi-
ple, even regardless of their intrinsic trustworthiness. But when one
looks at the personal qualities of the noble prophets, and at the high-
est possible standards of truth and justice set by them, one has to be-
lieve that their message is true and their call authentic.
It is narrated in some ahadith that some Christians came to the
Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and engaged him in a conversation about
religion. The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم , by the will of Allah, present-
ed these two verses as arguments confirming the Oneness of Allah.
The Christians had no answer to refute them.
Lastly, while referring to the absolute power and wisdom of Allah
Almighty, verse 6 invites one's attention to the fact that Allah shapes
all men and women in the wombs of their mothers according to His su-
preme wisdom which has created billions of men and women with
clear distinguishable features establishing the identity of each individ-
ual distinct from all others. He is, therefore, the only One who should
be worshipped.
Verse 7
هُوَ الَّذِىَ آَنْزَلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَبَ مِنْهُ ايتٌ تُحُكَمْتُ هُنَّ أُمُّ
الْكِتْبِ وَأُخَرُ مُتَشُبِهُتُ قَآَمَا الَّذِيْنَ فِىْ قُلُوُبِهِمْ زَبْغُ
فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَةَ مِنْهُ ابْتِغَاءَ الْفِتْنَةِ وَابْتِغَاءُ تَأْوِتْلٍِّ وَمَا
يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيْلَةٌ إِلَّ اللَّهُ وَالَّاسِخُنَ فِى الْعِلْمِ يَقُوُلُوْنَ امَثَّا بِهٌ
كُلُّ مِنُ عِنْدِ رَبِّنَاءُ وَمَا يَذَكَّرُ إِلَّ أُولُوا الْأَلْبَابِ.
He is the One who has revealed to you the Book. A
number of its verses are Muhkamat (of established
meaning) - and those are the principal verses of the
Book - and others, Mutashabihat (whose definite mean-
ings are unknown). Now those who have crookedness
in their hearts go after such part of it as is mutashabih
seeking (to create) discord and searching for its inter-
pretation while no one knows its interpretation except
Allah. And those well-grounded in knowledge say: "We
believe therein; all is from our Lord." And only the men
of understanding do observe the advice. [7]

28
Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 7
Moving from the affirmation of the principle of Allah's Oneness,
the text now answers some doubts raised against it. As stated briefly a
little earlier, this verse was revealed in a specific background. Once a
group of Christians came to the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and started
talking about religion. The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم refuted their
doctrine of Trinity in details and proved the Oneness of Allah with ref-
erence to the eternal existence, the perfect power, the all-
encompassing knowledge and the most unique creativity of Allah
Almighty who had to be One and indivisible. The Christians had to ac-
cept these premises and once Tauhid was proved, the converse, that is,
the belief in Trinity was also proved untenable. The Christians then
expressed their doubts about some words of the Holy Qur'an in which
Sayyidna Isa WJI ale i.e. Jesus Christ has been called 'Ruhullah' (the
Spirit of Allah) or 'Kalimatullah' (the Word of Allah), which according
to them led to prove that Sayyidna 'Isa had a share in the divinity of
Allah.
Through this verse, Allah Almighty has put an end to these doubts
by saying that such expressions are in the category of Mutash abih at
where the outward meaning is not intended; they are, rather, a secret
between Allah and His Messenger, the reality of which cannot become
manifest to others for whom it is not even appropriate to go about de-
termining the possible meanings of these words. One has to have faith
in them by believing that whatever Allah Almighty has elected to
mean through them is the truth. It is not permissible to dig deeper and
mount further researches in this direction.
Meaning of : Muhkam and Que ; Mutashabih
Allah Almighty has, by mentioning Su : Muhkamat and ol :
Mutashabih at right there in the beginning, pointed out towards a gen-
eral principle which, if understood, could eradicate many doubts and
disputes. The principle is that the Holy Qur'an has two kinds of verses;
one is known as the Muhkamat (of established meaning) and the other
as the Mutashabih at (whose definite meanings are unknown).
Muhkamat is the name of verses the meaning of which is open and
clear to one who knows the rules of Arabic grammar fairly well. But
when the meanings and explanations of particular verses are not clear
to such a person, then, such verses are called the Mutashabihat.
(Mazhari, v.2)

29
Surah 'Al-'Imran 3 : 7
Allah Almighty has called the first kind of verses, that is, the Muh-
kamat - WSJ' : 'Umm al-Kitab' (which has been translated literally as
'mother verses') meaning thereby that such verses are the very root
and essence of all teachings, and the meanings and explanations of
which are free of doubt or ambiguity.
Since the exact intention of the second kind of verses, that is, the
Mutashabihat, remains ambiguous and uncertain, therefore, the cor-
rect method of their interpretation would be to harmonize them with
the first kind, that is, the Muhkamat. Then, the rule is that any inter-
pretation of the Mutashabihat which goes against the first kind should
be rejected absolutely and only that interpretation should be given cre-
dence which is not against the verses of established meaning
(Muhkamat). For example, the Holy Qur'an has clarified the position of
Sayyidna "Isa عليه السلام (Jesus Christ) by saying ◌ِإِنُ هُوَ إِلّ عَبْدُ أَنْعَمُنًا عَلَيْه (he is
nothing but a servant upon whom We have bestowed Our blessing-
◌َ مَثَلَ عِيُسُى ◌ِنْدَ اللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ دَمَ خَلَقَهُ مِنْ تُرَاب or as elsewhere in the Qur'an, by ,(43:59
(the example of 'Isa before Allah is like that of Adam whom He created
from clay - 3:59).
These and several other verses like them show it clearly that Sayy-
idna 'Isa Masih, WIue , is a chosen servant of Allah created by Him.
Therefore, the claim of Christians investing him with godhood and
sonship is not correct.
Now, if someone closes his eyes towards all these verses which
have an established meaning and unnecessarily coils with the expres-
sions, Jis (the Word of Allah) and ), (a spirit from Him) and their
likes from the category of Mutashabih at (verses whose definite mean-
ings cannot be ascertained) and starts deducing from them meanings
which are against the Muhkamat of Qur'an and other consistent state-
ments, then, that would be a simple case of going astray and being ob-
stinate.
The real meanings of Mutashabihat are known to Allah alone. It is
He who, in His mercy and favour, informs anyone He chooses of what-
ever part of the unknown He wills. Therefore, it is not correct to try
and impose a certain meaning based on one's personal opinion.
The purpose of the statement,
tatement,"25 , 2, si ću'now those

30
Surah 'Al-Imran 3 : 7
. crookedness in their hearts ... ' is that people who are gentle in nature
do not go about investigating much about Mutashabihat. Instead, they
accept these verses and simply believe in them taking these as the
true Word of Allah. They realise that He, due to some wise considera-
tion of His, did not reveal to us their meaning. This approach is,
indeed, the safest and the most cautious. But, quite contrary to this,
there still are people with crookedness in their hearts. They, with eyes
closed, go on investigating and deliberating on Mutashabih at to justify
meanings that suit their fancies so that they can lead people astray.
For such people, stern warnings have appeared in the Qur'an and
Hadith.
Sayyidah 'A'ishah Que ul>, says that the Messenger of Allah
said: When you see people busy investigating into the Mutashabihat,
stay away from them because these are the same people Allah has
talked about (in the Qur'an). (Bukhari, v.2)
In another hadith, he said: I have three apprehensions about my
people (ummah): (1) That they become wealthy and start to envy each
other resulting in rifts and bloodshed; (2) that the Book of Allah is tri-
fled with (that is, even the uninitiated and ignorant claim its perfect
understanding through translations) and that which is not supposed to
be understood (Mutashabihat) becomes the very object of deliberations
and investigations although Allah alone is the One who knows their
meaning; (3) that they allow their knowledge, once it has increased, go
to waste by forsaking efforts to increase it further. (Ibn Kathir with refer-
ence to Tabarani)
Who are the ones 'well grounded' in knowledge as identified to-
wards the end of the verse:ِوَالَرَّاسِحُونَ فِى الْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ امَنَّابِه ?Muslims scholars
have offered different explanations in this connection. The weightier
position is that the reference here is to ahl al-sunnah wa al-jama'ah,
the main body of Muslims who give credence only to that interpreta-
tion and explanation of the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah which has been
authentically reported from the blessed Companions, the righteous
generations following them and upon which there is the consensus of
the Muslim community, and who believe that the Muhkamat (verses of
established meaning) of Qur'an are its axis and centre, and who, hum-
bly confessing their limitations of knowledge and insight, leave to Al-

31
Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 8-9
lah the real meanings of Mutashabihat which are beyond their compre-
hension and conceptualization. They are never proud of their knowl-
edge, howsoever perfect it may be, nor of the strength of their faith. In-
stead of that , they constantly pray to Allah seeking steadfastness
from Him, and His grace and mercy. They do not have mischief-prone
temperaments which would instigate them to follow Mutashabihat
alone as the object of their intellectual pursuit. They take both, the
Muhkamat and the Mutashabihat, to be the truth because they firmly
believe that both kinds of verses have emanated from one single
source. But, the need to find out the meanings of the Muhkamat was,
of course, useful and essential for us. This Allah Almighty has not kept
secret. The meanings of such verses have been made very open and
clear. Since Allah Almighty has elected not to disclose the meanings of
Mutashabih at to us due to some wise consideration of His, it is simply
not necessary for us to find it out. That we believe in them as they are
is quite sufficient. (Abridged from Mazhari)
Verses 8 - 9
وَّنَا لَ تُزُ قُلُوَّبَنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَيْتَنَا وَهَبْ لَنَا مِنْ لَّدُنُكَ رَحْمَةَ
إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْوَقَّابُ ﴿٨﴾ رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ جَامِعُ النَّاسِ لِيَوْمٍ لَرَبُبَ
فِيْهِ* إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يُخُلِفُ الْمُعَادَ
"Our Lord, do not let our hearts go crooked after You
have given us guidance, and bestow upon us mercy
from Your own. Surely, You, and You alone, are the Be-
stower. [8] Our Lord, You are going to assemble all the
people on a day in which there is no doubt. Verily,
Allah does not go back on His promise." [9]
Sequence
The previous verse mentioned 'those well-grounded in knowledge'
who, in spite of their excellent knowledge, were not proud of their ex-
cellence. Instead of that, they elected to have faith in what comes from
their Lord. The present verse mentions yet another excellence of theirs
- that they pray for steadfastness on the right path, not for any world-
ly gains, but for salvation in the life-to-come.
Commentary
The first verse (8) shows us that guidance and straying are from

32
Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 10-12
Allah alone. When Allah intends to guide someone, He makes his
heart tilt towards what is good and right; and when He decides to let
someone go astray, He turns his heart away from the straight path.
This is just as it was said in a hadith of the Holy Prophet :
There is no heart which is not there in between the two of Allah's fin-
gers - He makes it firm on the truth as long as He wills, and turns it
away from the truth when He wills.
He is Allah, absolute in power. He does what He wills. Therefore,
those who are concerned about how to remain firm in their faith, they
go to the source - requesting and praying Allah for steadfastness. The
Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم always used to pray for it as it appears in a
had ith : ◌َيَا ◌ُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ ثَبِّتُ قُلُوبَنَا عَلَى دِينِك (O reverser of hearts, make our hearts
firm on the faith chosen by You). (Mazhari)
Verses 10 - 12
إِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوا لَنْ تُغْنِىَ عَنْهُمْ آَمُوَالُهُمْ وَ لَا أَوْلَادُهُمُ قِنَ
اللّهِ شَيْئًا، وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ وَقُدُ النّارِ ﴿١) كَدَابِ الِ فِرْعَوْنَ
وَالَّذِيْنَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ﴿ كَذَّبُوْا بِلِنَاء ◌َخَذَهُمُ اللَّهُ بِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَاللّهُ
شَدِيُّدُ الْعِقَابِ ﴿١١) قُلُ لِلَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوا سَتُغُلَبُونَ وَتُشَرُونَ
إِلى جَهَنَّمَ، وَبِتُسَ امِهَادُ ﴿١٢﴾
"Surely, those who disbelieve, their wealth and their
children shall not at all suffice them a bit against Allah.
And those are the fuel of the Fire [10] - a case similar to
that of the House of Pharaoh and those before them.
They denied our signs. So, Allah caught them for their
sins. And Allah is severe at punishment. [11] Say to
those who disbelieve: "You shall soon be overcome and
gathered into Hell. And it is an evil bed to rest." [12]
Sequence
The text now shifts from the verbal confrontation with disbeliev-
ers on the warnings about the coming physical encounter as pointed
out in verse 12 - 'You shall soon be overcome (by Muslims)' - while the
verses earlier (10 and 11) serve as the introduction.

33
Surah 'Al-'Imran 3 : 13
Commentary
Some readers of verse 12:َقُلُ لَلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا سَتُقْلَبُون ,just cited, above may
have some doubt about disbelievers being overcome because this is
not the case with all disbelievers of the world. But, this doubt is un-
founded as the disbelievers referred to here are the disbelievers and
Jews of that particular time - from among whom, the pagans were
overcome when killed or taken prisoners, and the Jews were overcome
through killing or imprisonment as well as through Jizya and extradi-
tion. Therefore, this 'overcoming' of disbelievers mentioned in the
verse simply does not refer to disbelievers universally.
Verses 13
قَدُ كَانَ لَكُمْ آيَةٌ فِىٌ فِتَتَيْنِ الْتَقَتَاءُ فِنَةٌ تُقَاتِلُ فِىْ سَبِيْلِ اللهِ
وَأُخْرَى كَافِرَةٌ تَرَوِّنَهُمْ مِثْلَيْهِمْ رَأْتِىَ الْعَيْنِ* وَاللَّهُ يُؤَيِّدُ بِنَصْيِهِ.
مَنْ يَشَاءُ ، إِنَّ فِيُ ذُلِكَ لَعِبْرَةً لِأُولِى الْآَبْصَارِ ﴿١٣﴾
"There was a sign for you in the two groups who faced
each other: One group fighting in the way of Allah, and
the other disbelieving, seeing themselves as twice of
them, with open eyes. And Allah gives strength with
His help to whomsoever He wills. Indeed, there is a les-
son therein for those who have eyes." [13]
Sequence
In the previous verses, the disbelievers were informed that they
will be overcome. Now, cited in this verse is an example of how the
prophecy has been fulfilled.
Commentary
This verse refers to the Battle of Badr in which the disbelievers
had about 1000 men, 700 camels and 100 horses, while the Muslim
mujahidin were just over 300, having a total of 70 camels, 2 horses, 6
armours and 8 swords. The encounter was certainly strange as each
combating group saw the opponent being twice its own numbers. The
sighting of so many Muslims inspired awe in the hearts of the disbe-
lievers, while Muslims who saw the disbelievers as twice of them
turned to Allah more fervently. They had hopes of Allah's help, and ul-
timate victory, because they had placed their total trust in Allah, were

34
Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 14-17
steadfast and sincerely believed in the promise of Allah revealed to
them in the following words:
إِنْ يَكُنُ قِنْكُمْ مِائَةٌ صَابِرَةٌ تَّغْلِبُوا مِاتَتَيْنٍ
If there be among you a hundred patient ones, they shall over-
come two hundred. (8:66)
If the actual number of disbelievers which was three times more
than their own were to be realized by Muslims, they may have been
overawed. This state of sighting the numbers of the other group as
twice its own was at a particular time. At another time each of the two
combating groups felt the other one as low in numbers, as it would ap-
pear later in Surah al-Anfal.
To sum up, it can be safely said that making a small group of peo-
ple with very little to fight against a much stronger group and score a
victory, as prophecied in Makkah, is an unusual event full of lessons
for the observant and the discerning.
Verses 14 - 17
زُيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ حُبُّ الشَّهَوْتِ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ وَالْبَنِيْنَ وَالْقَنَاطِيْرِ
الْقَنْطَرَةِ مِنَ الذَّهَبِ وَالْفِضَّةِ وَالْخَيْلِ الْمُتَوَّمَةِ وَالْآَنْعَامِ
وَالْحَثِ ذُلِكَ مَتَاعُ الْحُوةِ الدُّنْيَاء وَاللَّهُ عِنْدَةَ مُسْرُ الْمَانٍ
مِنْ ذُلِكُمُ﴿ لِلَّذِيْنَ اتَّقَوْا عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ
قُلُ آؤُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِخَيْرِ
بِجَتْهُ تَجْرِىُ مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الَّأَنْهُ خُلِدِيْنَ فِيْهَا وَ أَزْوَاجٌ مُطَهَّرَهُ
وَرِضْوَانٌ قِنَ اللَّهِ، وَاللَّهُ بَصْ بِالْعِبَادِ(٢٥) الَّذِينَ يَقُوْلُونَ
رَّغَاْ إِنَّنَا أَمَنَّا فَاغْفِرْلَنَا ذُنُؤُبَنَا وَقِنَا عَذَابَ الَّارِ﴿١٦﴾
الصُّبِرِيْنَ وَالصُّدِقِيْنَ وَالْقُنِتِيْنَ وَالْمُنْفِقِيْنَ وَالْتَغْفِرِيْنَ
بِالْأَسْحَارِ ﴿١٧)
It has been made attractive for people to love the de-
sires; that is, the women, the children, the hoarded
heaps of gold and silver, the branded horses, the cattle
and the tillage. That is an enjoyment of the worldly life.
And with Allah lies the beauty of the final resort. [14]

35
Surah 'Al-'Imran 3 : 14-17
Say: "Shall I tell you what is far better than that? For
those who fear (Allah), there are with their Lord gar-
dens beneath which rivers flow where they shall live
for ever, and wives purified, and approval from Allah.
And Allah is watchful over His servants" [15] - those who
say: "Our Lord, surely we have believed, so forgive us
our sins and save us from the punishment of the Fire"
[16] (and those who are) the patient, the truthful and
the devout, who spend (in Allah's way) and who seek
forgiveness in pre-dawn hours." [17]
Sequence
That the hostility of disbelievers should be countered with Jihad
against them was the theme in several previous verses. Now, in these
verses the text explains the reason why the disbelievers indulge in
hostility against Islam and Muslims. The reason for this and for all
evil deeds is, in fact, the love of the worldly life. There are all sorts of
people who line up against the truth - some driven by greed for wealth
or power, some goaded by lust and some in defence of false ancestral
customs. All this is just to grab a share in the temporal enjoyments of
the present life which has been described in these verses.
Commentary
The limits of one's love for worldly enjoyments
The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has said: ◌ٍالدُّنُبَا رَأَسٌ كُلِّ خَطِيْئَة ◌ُ . It means
that the love of dunya (worldly life or worldly enjoyments) is the main
source of all errors. The first verse here names some of the most de-
sired things and says that they have been made to look attractive and
therefore, people go after them enticed by their glamour brushing
aside any concerns for the life to come, if there be any.
It will be noted that things named here are the center of attraction
for human beings, out of which, women come first and then the chil-
dren. For whatever man goes about procuring is because of the needs
of his family - wife and children - to share it with him. Then come oth-
er forms of wealth and possessions - gold, silver, cattle and tillage -
which attract people secondarily.
Why has man been made in a way that he is temperamentally at-
tracted to these things? The answer is that Allah has done so in His
ultimate wisdom. Let us consider:

36
Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 14-17
1. If man was not naturally inclined to and even enamoured with
these things, all wordly business would have gone topsy-turvy. Why
would someone sweat on farms and fields? Why would a wage-earner
or an entrepreneur burn themselves out in an industry, or a business-
man would put his capital and labour in buying and selling things?
The secret was that the people of the world were made to grow and
survive through this instinctive love for such things whereby they
would go about collecting and preserving these. The worker goes out to
earn some money. The well-to-do goes out to hire a worker for his job.
The trader brings forth his best merchandise for display waiting for a
customer to earn something from. A customer goes to the shopping
mall to buy things he needs to live or be happy with. If we think about
it, we shall realize that it was the love for what is desirable in this
mortal world which brought them out of their homes, and in this silent
process, gave the world a strong and ongoing social system.
There is yet another element of wisdom behind it. If man had no
liking for the blessings he finds in the mortal world, he would obvious-
ly have no taste or desire for blessings promised in the world to come.
That being the case, why would he ever take the trouble of doing what
is good and thus become deserving of Paradise, and not doing what is
evil and thus become safe from Hell?
There is still another element of wisdom which is more significant
for consideration here. Is it not that man, with love for these things in
his heart, has been put to a test as to who becomes engrossed in the
enjoyments of the present life and forgets the life to come, and who
comes to realize the real and temporal nature of these things, shows
concern for them only in proportion to his needs, and then channels all
his efforts into deeds that would make his next life good and safe? The
wisdom behind the adornment of such things has been pointed out
elsewhere in the Holy Qur'an itself:
إِنَّا جَعَلْنَآَ مَا عَلَى الْأَرْضِ زِيْنَةً لَّهَا لِنَبُوَهُمْ آَتُّهُمْ أَحُسَنُ عَمَلاه
We made whatever there is on the earth its adornment so that
We can test as to who among them acts best. (18:7)
The verse cited above clearly shows that the glamourizing of such
desirable things is an act of God based on many wise considerations

37
Surah 'Al- Imran 3 : 14-17
However, as for verses where such glamourization of things has been
attributed to Satan - for example, زين لهم الشيطان أعمالهم (the Satan has made
their deeds look attractive to them - 8:48; 16:63; 27:24; 29:38.) - there the
reference is to things that are evil, religiously and rationally; or, the
reference is to a false sense of adornment which is evil because it
transgresses the limits set by Allah. Otherwise, it is not absolutely bad
to adorn the lawful things. In fact, there may be a few benefits in do-
ing so. Therefore, this act of placing attraction in things in some verses
has been attributed to Allah, as stated above.
Let us summarize our discussion so far and see how it works for us
in our practical life. We now know that Allah created, in His grace and
wisdom, all good things of life in this world, made them look attractive
and - worthy of man's effort to acquire them so that man can be tested.
This is one of Allah's many acts of wisdom to see whether the man gets
swayed by the glamour of the fleeting enjoyment of things, or remem-
bers the Creator of these things, or the man forgets the very Creator of
his own being as well. Aided by this realization, does man make these
things a medium through which to know and love Allah; or, is it that
he would elect to get totally lost in the love for these known transitory
things, and forget all about the real Master and Creator before Whom
he must appear on the Last Day and account for whatever he did.
On the one hand is a person who has the best of both worlds. He
enjoys the blessings of the present life and uses its means for success
in the life to come. For him, the enjoyments of the mortal world did not
become a road-block; rather, they proved to be the milestones which
led him safely into a prosperous Hereafter. But, for the other person
these very things became the causes that led him to squander his
chance of having a good life in the Hereafter, and also became the very
cause of perennial punishment. Frankly, if we were to look a little
deeper, we would realize that these things become a sort of punish-
ment for him right here in this world as well. For such people, the
Holy Qur'an says:
فَلَا تُعْجِبْكَ أَهُوَالُهُمْ وَلََّ آَوْلَادُ هُمْ إِنَّا ◌ُرِيِّدُ اللهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ بِهَا فِى الْحُوَةِ الدُّنْيَا
So, their wealth and children should not attract you. Allah
wants to punish them with these in this lowly life - 9:55.

38
Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 14-17
Thus, the lesson is that we can seek good things of life with moder-
ation and even store them in accordance with our genuine needs. In
this lies the ultimate good of this life and the life to come. Using them
in prohibited ways, or indulging in them so excessively that one for-
gets the post-death reality of Akhirah is nothing but self-destruction.
The poet-sage, Maulana Rumi has illustrated this very eloquently
when he said;
آب اندر زير كشتى بشتى است
آب دركشتى هلاك كشتى است
He says that things of this world with which we surround ourselves
are like water, and the heart of man is like a boat in it. As long as the
water remains beneath and around the boat, it is good and helpful,
and certainly guarantees the very purpose of its being there. But, if
water gets into the boat, it makes the boat capsize and destroys all
that was in it. Similarly, man's wealth and possessions are means of
convenience for his role in this world and in the life to come - provided
that they do not enter into his heart, sit there, and kill it in the pro-
cess. Therefore, the verse under discussion, immediately after men-
tioning some specially desirable things of the world, presents the es-
sential guideline for human beings by saying:
ذَلِكَ مَتَاعُ الْحَيَّوَةِ الدُّنْيَا وَاللهُ عِنْدَهُ مُسْنُ اْلَبٍ
That is an enjoyment of the worldly life. And with Allah lies
the beauty of the final resort. (3:14)
In other words, it means that all these things are there simply to
serve a purpose in man's mortal life in the present world and certainly
not to have him fall in love with things for their own sake, for the real
beauty of the experience lies in one's ultimate resort with Allah in
blissful eternity enjoying what would never perish, diminish or weak-
en.
In the second verse that follows (15), the same subject has been fur-
ther cleared by saying:
قُلُ أَوْ نَبِّئُكُمْ بِخَيْرٍ مِنْ ذُلِكُمْ لِلَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا عِنْدٌ رَبِّهِمْ جَتْتُ تَجْرِىُ مِنْ تَحْنِهَا
الْآَنْهَارُ خَالِدِيْنَ فِيُهَا وَأَزْوَاجُ مُطَهَّرَةٌ قَرِضُوَانٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَاللّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِالْعِبَادِ
Say: "Shall I not tell you what is far better than that? For

39
Surah 'Al-'Imran 3 : 14-17
those who fear Allah, there are with their Lord gardens be-
neath which rivers flow, where they shall live for ever, and
wives purified, and approval from Allah. And Allah is watch-
ful over His servants."
Here, the address is to the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم who is being
asked to tell those who become obsessed with imperfect and perishable
blessings they find in the present life that he is in a position to lead
them on to far better blessings. These shall be the lot of those who fear
Allah and are obedient to Him. These blessings are, 'gardens beneath
which rivers flow, wives purified and favours from Allah' - the last be-
ing the ultimate man can and should aspire for.
It will be recalled that in the preceding verse (14), the total count of
blessings that infatuate man was given as six - women, children,
heaps of gold and silver, fine horses, cattle and tillage. As compared to
that, only three blessings of the Hereafter, that is, the gardens of Par-
adise, wives purified and the approval from Allah have been identified.
Out of the rest, children were not mentioned because man loves chil-
dren during his life in the world as children help and strengthen him
in what he does and through them his name lives on. But, in the Here-
after he would not need such help, nor would he 'die' in which case he
may have to look for an heir. Apart from this, whoever has children
would have them all in the Paradise. Whoever has no children in the
mortal world would, to begin with, just not have the desire to have
them in the Paradise. Should someone desire that he may have chil-
dren, Allah Almighty would bless him with children. According to a ha-
dith in Jami' al-Tirmidhi, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: 'If a
dweller of Paradise wishes to have children, the process of pregnancy,
birth and growth of the child will be completed in no time and he
would have what he wished for.'
Similarly, gold and silver were not mentioned in relation to the
Paradise because gold and silver are needed in the mortal world as
material things are bought against them or anything else one needs
can be procured through them. In the Hereafter, there will be just no
need to buy anything or sell anything or pay for anything. Instead of
that, whatever the dweller of Paradise needs will be instantly provid-
ed. Incidentally, the Paradise itself is not without gold and silver.

40
Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 14-17
Some sayings of the Prophet @ mention that some places of Paradise
will have bricks of gold and silver masoned one after the other. Howev-
er, in view of the uniqueness of that life, gold and silver were not con-
sidered worth mentioning.
Now the horses. In the world of our experience, horses help cover
distances. In the other world, there is no travel and no riding but,
sound hadith reports do prove that fine horses will be presented before
the dwellers of Paradise on Fridays which they will ride to go and
meet friends and relatives. As is evident, horses were not worth men-
tioning in this context, which is also true about cattles and farms and
their produce. The services they provide have already been provided in
the Paradise by Allah Almighty without their medium.
However, should there be someone there who for some unnecessary
reason wishes to try farming, he will have his wish granted. As it ap-
pears in some reports in al-Tabarani, everything needed for farming
will be assembled instantly for such a person. Thereafter the whole
process of ploughing, seeding, ripening and cutting will be accom-
plished in no time and he will have what he wished for before him. So,
among the blessings of the Akhirah, the mention of 'wives purified' was
considered sufficient because the Holy Qur'an has another promise for
the people of Paradise: 34 th, (And for them there is what they
wish for). After such a comprehensive declaration, there remains no
need to individually mention any particular blessing. Those that have
been mentioned are blessings already there without any need to ask
for these.
The last and most important blessing mentioned is the approval of
Allah Almighty - something one cannot easily conceptualize - after
which there is no danger of displeasure from Allah. According to a ha-
dith, when the people of Paradise would have settled down there, hap-
py and content without having any desire remaining unfulfilled, Allah
Almighty will speak to them asking if they are happy and if they need
anything. They will say: Our Lord, You have given us everything,
what else could we ever need. Allah Almighty would say: Now I give
you the greatest of all blessings - you all have My approval that I will
never be displeased with you, and nearness for ever.
Since the danger of Allah's displeasure does not exist in Paradise,

41
Surah 'Al-'Imran 3 : 18-19
there is also no danger that the blessings of Paradise will ever be
taken back or reduced.
It is the very subject of these verses that the Holy Prophet has
summarized in the following hadith:
"الدنيا ملعونة وملعون ما فيها الاّ ما ابتغى به وجه الله" وفى رواية "الاّ
ذكر اللّه وما والاه او عالمًا او متعلماً "
'Wordly life is cursed and cursed is what is in there, except
what is used to seek the pleasure of Allah'. According to an-
other narration: ' ... except the Dhikr (Remembrance) of Allah
and what Allah likes and except 'Alim (religious scholar) and
Talib 'ilm (student in religion).'
This hadith has been reported by Ibn Majah and al-Tabarani on the
. رضى الله عنه authority of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah
Verses 18 - 19
شَهِدَ اللَّهُ أَنَّهُ لَّا إِلهَ إِلَّهُوَا وَالْلِكَةُ وَأُولُوا الْعِلْمِ قَائِمًا"
بِالْقِسْطِ ، لَّ إِلهَ إِلَّهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ (١٨) إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِنْدَ
اللَّهِ الْإِ سُلَمُهَ وَمَا اخْتَلَفَ الَّذِيْنَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَبَ إِلَّمِنَّ بَعْدِ
مَاجَآءَهُمُ الْعِلُمُ بَغْيَاء بَيْنَهُمْ، وَمَنْ تَكُفُرُ بِالْتِ اللهِ فَإِنَّ اللهَ
سَرِيُعُ الْحِسَابِ ﴿١٩﴾
Allah bears witness that there is no god but He - and
(so do) the angels and the men of knowledge - being the
One who maintains equity. There is no god but He, the
Mighty, the Wise. [18]
Truly, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam. And
those who have been given the Book did not differ
(among themselves) except after the knowledge had
come to them, (and all this) due to envy against each
other. And whoever denies the verses of Allah, then,
Allah is swift at reckoning. [19]
The subject of Tauhid (Oneness of Allah) which began with the
opening of Surah 'Al-'Imran reappears in the first verse in a very spe-
cial manner. Out of the three witnesses mentioned here, the evidence

42
Surah 'Al-Imran 3 : 18-19
of Allah Almighty is in a figurative sense. It means that the being and
the attributes of Allah and the manifestations of His power and crea-
tivity all over are open signs of His Oneness. Then there are the Mes-
sengers and Books sent by Allah, all confirming that truth. The second
testimony mentioned is that of angels who are close to Allah. They car-
ry out His instructions and bear testimony (knowing and seeing) that
Allah alone is worthy of worship.
The third witness is that of the men of knowledge. This expression,
ulul-'ilm, means the blessed prophets and men who have the knowl-
edge of Islam. Imam al-Ghazali and Ibn Kathir find this a matter of
great honour for 'Ulama for Allah has mentioned their witness along
with His, and that of angels. It is also possible that the term, ulul-'ilm
(the men of knowledge) may, in an absolute sense, be referring to
those who, by conducting an inquiry based on sound intellectual prin-
ciples, or by deliberating into this universe, could acquire the knowl-
edge of the unity of Allah Almighty - even if they are not 'alim or 'men
of knowledge' in the traditional sense, whose knowledge is acquired
under a formal discipline from Islam's own original sources. The next
verse (19) clearly settles that the only faith (din) acceptable to Allah is
Islam. Thus, totally excluding any other faith or religion as acceptable
to Allah, the verse completes the subject of Allah's Oneness, any oppo-
sition to which is doomed.
Related considerations
Merits of the verse meaning "Allah bears witness"
The verse beginning with 's: 'shahidal-lahu' has a special ele-
gance. Imam al-Baghawi, the renowned mufassir reports that two lead-
ing Jewish scholars came to Madinah from Syria. With the township of
Madinah before them, they started talking to each other about the
looks of the place which matched the prophecy in Torah that the last of
the prophets would be living here. Later, they came to know that
someone very pious lives here and whom people refer to as the proph-
et. They went to see the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم .Their very first
sight of him reminded them of all attributes which Torah had predict-
ed he would have. They presented themselves before him and said:
"You are Muhammad?" He said: "Yes." Again, they said: "You are Aḥ-
mad?" He said: "Yes, I am Muhammad, and Ahmad." Then they said:

43
Surah 'Al-'Imran 3 : 18-19
"We are going to ask you a question. If you answer it correctly, we
shall embrace Islam." He said: "Go ahead and ask." They asked:
"Which is the greatest witness in the Book of Allah?" This verse of
'shahadah' (witness) was revealed as an answer to this question. He
recited it for them. Both of them embraced Islam immediately.
According to a hadith in the Musnad of Ahmad, when the Holy
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم recited this verse in 'Arafat, he said right after
that:
وَأَنَا عَلَى ذْلِكَ مِنَ الشَّهِدِيْنَ يَا رَبٍّ
And to that, O my Lord, I too am a witness. (Ibn Kathir)
And a narration from Imam al-A'mash says: Whoever recites this
verse and then says: ◌ِوَأَنَا عَلَى ذُلِكَ مِنَ الشَّهِدِينَ يَارَت (And to that, O my Lord, I
too am a witness), Allah Almighty will say to the angels on the Last
Day: 'My servant has made a promise while I am the Foremost to keep
a promise when I make it, so let my servant be admitted into Para-
dise.' (Ibn Kathir)
Another hadith from Sayyidna Abu Ayyub al-Ansari Le Ul , nar-
rates that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: 'Whoever recites Ayah
قُلِ اللُّهُمَّ مَالِكَ Shahidal-lahu (3:18) and: شهداللّه al-Kursi (2:255) and the Ayah
dni: Qulil-lahumma malik al-mulki upto us Ps : bighairi hisab
(3:26,27), Allah Almighty will forgive all his sins, admit him to Paradise
and take care of seventy (i.e. plenty) of his needs, the simplest of these
being his forgiveness.' (Ruh al-Ma'ani with reference to Dailami)
Din and Islam: An Explanation of the Two words:
The word, Din (s) has more than one meaning in the Arabic lan-
guage, one of them being 'the way'. In the terminology of the Qur'an,
the word, Din is used to stand for principles and injunctions which are
common to all prophets from Sayyidna Adam >JILL to the last of the
.prophets, Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa صلى الله عليه وسلم .The words,
'shari'ah (it) or 'al-minhaj' (¿hall) or the word, 'madhhab' (i) from
among the later-day terms, are used to cover subsidiary injunctions,
which have been different during different ages and different commu-
nities. The Holy Qur'an says:
شَرَعَ لَكُمُ مِّنَ الدِّيْنِ مَا وَشْی بِهِ نُوْحًا.
Allah made you follow the same religion with which He bound