النص المفهرس

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If it be (anything) even equal to the weight of a grain of mus-
tard-seed, and though it be in a rock, or (anywhere) in the
heavens or in the earth, Allah will bring it forth: for Allah is
subtle and aware - 31:16.
It appears in the Ayatul-Kursi of Surah al-Baqarah:
يَعْلَمُ مَابَيْنَ آَيْدِيُهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلَا يُحِيُطُوُنَ بِشَىْءٌ مِّنُ عِلُمِةٍ إِلاَّ بِمَاشَاءَ ؟
He knows what is before them and what is behind them. And
they encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He
wills - 2:255
In Surah Yunus, it was said:
وَمَا يَعُزُبُ عَنْ تَّبِّكَ مِنْ مِثْقَالٍ ذَرَّةٍ فِى الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِى السَّمَاءِ
And not hidden from your Lord is (anything even) the weight
of an atom in the earth or in the heaven - 10:61
And it appears in Surah At-Talaq:
وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدُ أَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءُ عِلْمًا،
And that Allah encompasses all things in (His) Knowledge -
65:12
This subject has been dealt with in the Holy Qur'an at many more
places where it has been made very clear that the 'Ilm of Al-Ghayb (as
determined in the Qur'an and explained earlier) or the all-
encompassing knowledge of everything in the universe is the exclusive
attribute of Allah Jalla Sha'nuhu. Taking the knowledge of an angel
or messenger to be as all-compassing amounts to giving a messenger of
Allah the status of Allah Himself and declaring him to be equal to Him
- which is Shirk according to the Holy Qur'an. This aspect of Shirk has
been pointed out in Surah Al-Shu'ara':
تَاللهِ إِنْ كُنَّا لَفِىْ ضَلِلٍ مُّبِيْنِ إِذُ نُسَوِّبْكُمْ بِرَبِّ الْعُلَمِيْنَ
That is (the Mushriks will say in Qiyamah), By Allah, we were
in an error manifest when we held you (objects of worship) as
equals with the Lord of the Worlds - 26:97,98
No doubt, Allah Ta'ala had blessed His Messengers Wl +Le, spe-
cially the Last among them صلى الله عليه وسلم, with the knowledge of many
things from the Unseen, more than the knowledge of all angels and

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prophets, but it is obvious that the knowledge of anyone cannot be
equal to that of Allah, nor it can ever be. Otherwise, this will become
the kind of excess the Christians committed in their reverence for the
prophet when they started equating the prophet with God. This is
Shirk. May Allah keep all of us protected from it.
Covered this far was the subject of the first verse as explained
above. The second verse (60) describes Allah's attribute of power which
is also exclusive to Him. It is said:
وَهُوَ الَّذِىُ يَتَوَّقُكُمْ بِلَّيْلِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَاجَرَحْتُمْ بِالتَّهَارِ ثُمَّ يَبْعَنُكُمُ فِيُهِ لِيُغُضِى
أَجَلٌ مُسَتَّى ]
And He is the One who takes you away by night and knows
what you do by day, then He makes you rise therein, so that a
fixed term may be fulfilled.
Hence, at work here is nothing but the most perfect power of Allah
Ta'ala which has opened a window to what happens to human beings
in life, in death and in rising again. Everyone sees it everyday. Ac-
cording to Hadith, sleep is similar to death in that it does suspend the
human body as it would be in death.
By giving an example of sleeping then waking up in this verse, Al-
lah Ta'ala has alerted human beings that the way everyone, every
night and every morning, witnesses the spectacle of personally rising
up from simulated death (sleep), so it should not be difficult to visual-
ise the certainty of collective death, and then, collective rising after it,
which is called Qiyamah or the Last Day. The argument is: The Su-
preme Being who can make this happen, could make that happen too.
With His most perfect Power, this is as it shall be. Therefore, towards
the end of the verse it was said : ◌َثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ مَرُجِعُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُكُمُ بِمَا كُنْهُمُ تَعْمَلُون (Thereafter,
to Him you are to return; then He will tell you what you have been do-
ing) meaning thereby that there will be the reckoning of deeds, then,
will come their rewards and punishments.
In the third verse, this subject has been further enlarged by saying
that Allah Ta'ala has absolute subduing power over all His servants.
As long as He wills to have them living, He assigns angels to protect
them as a result of which no one dares harm them. And when one has
reached the appointed limit of one's age, these very guardian angels

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become the agents of one's death without ever falling short in provid-
ing the relevant causes leading to one's death. Then, death is not all,
for the matter is still not closed. Instead of that, there is the next
phase, that of: J fl G5, (Then they are returned to Allah - 62). It means
that they will be made to rise again and be presented before Allah
Ta'ala. If, at this point, one were to think of having to appear before
the greatest Judge of judges and stand before Him to account for a
whole life-time of deeds, one cannot even dare to imagine to come out
unscathed and hope to escape punishment. Therefore, along with it, it
was said :ّإِلَى اللّهِ مُؤْلُهُمُ الْحَق (to Allah, their real Master - 62). It means that
Allah Ta'ala is not only the Sovereign and the Judge of judges, He is
also the Master and Guardian of His servants who reaches out to help
them at all times of their need.
After that, it was said: ''IJff (Beware, to Him alone belongs the
judgement). This certainly leaves no doubt that He is the best in His
decision and decree. However, one may be inclined to think how it will
be possible for Allah who is One alone to take care of the reckoning of
age-long deeds of billions and billions of human beings? Therefore, af-
ter that, it was said: 3, 3162133; (and He is the swiftest reckoner). It
means that taking what is done by Allah on the analogy of what is
done by human beings is ignorance. He shall do that in no time. (When
His servants at the Mainframe factories of Cray and IBM can churn billions and bil-
lions of data in seconds, why anyone in his senses would ever doubt the power of the
Maker of all makers ! - Tr.)
Verses 63 - 64
قُلُ مَنْ يُنَجِّيُكُمْ قِنْ ظُلُمُتِ الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ تَدْعُنَهُ تَضَرُّعًا ◌َّ
خُفْيَةٌ لَئِنُ اَنْجُنَا مِنْ هَذِهٍ لَنَكُوْنَنَّ مِنَ الشّكِرِيْنَ ﴿٦٣﴾ قُلِ
اللَّهُ يُنَِّبُّكُمْ قِنْهَا وَمِنُ كُلِّ كَوْبٍ ثُمَّ اَنُمُ تُشُّرِكُونَ ﴿٦٤)
Say, "Who delivers you from the darknesses of the land
and the sea when you call Him in humility and low
tones (promising that) If He delivers us from this, We
shall truly become grateful? [63] Say, "Allah delivers
you from it and from every pain, still, you associate
partners with Him." [64]

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Commentary
Some Manifestations of Divine Knowledge and Absolute Power
In previous verses, there was a description of the perfection of Di-
vine Knowledge and Power, and of their unique expanse. Mentioned
in the present verse, there are some manifestations of this very Knowl-
edge and Power.
The word: out (Zulumat) in the first verse (63) is the plural of
(Zulmah) which means darkness [and which does not have a plural
form in English leaving the translator with no choice but to improvise
in order to convey the Qur'anic plural which is necessary as ex-
plained]. Thus, the expression : ◌ِ◌ُلَمَتِ الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحُر in this verse means the
many a darkness found on land and sea. Since darkness is of many
kinds, such as, the darkness of night, the darkness of rain clouds, the
darkness of dust storms and the darkness under the waves of the sea,
it is to include all these kinds of darkness that the word, Zulumat, has
been used here.
So, the verse means that it was to warn the disbelievers of Makkah
against their wrong doings that Allah Ta'ala ordered the Holy Prophet
to ask these people as to what they do when they find themselves in
deep trouble during their land trips and sea voyages. Is it not that
they would forget all about their idols and start calling on none but Al-
lah? At times, they would confess to their modesty and helplessness
openly, while at others, they would be admitting it in the heart of their
hearts that no one other than Allah could really save them from such
catastrophe. And along with this thought, they would promise to Al-
lah that, should Allah save them from this catastropy, they would defi-
nitely take to the ways of following truth and being grateful. In other
words, once delivered, they would be grateful to Allah, would take Him
as their real rescuer and helper, never ascribing any partner to His Di-
vinity because no one they have been worshiping came up to help them
in their hour of need. With this experience of theirs in view, the Holy
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is being asked to find out from them as to who
delivers them from their distress and possible destruction? Since their
answer was already known as they could have not denied the open fact
that no one came to help them in their distress, idol or whatever else
they worshipped, except Allah. Therefore, in the second verse (64), Al-

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lah Almighty has Himself taken the initiative and commanded the
Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم to tell these people that it is Allah alone
who would deliver them from their distress, rather deliver them from
every other distress or anxiety they may face in their lives. But, the
problem was that they, despite having seen open signs and having
found comfort after distress, would go back to Shirk and start indulg-
ing in the worship of false gods. Strange betrayal and fatal ignorance
indeed!
Not only that these two verses tell us about the perfect power of Al-
lah Ta'ala which delivers human beings from their hour of distress, it
also emphasizes that the removal of all sorts of hardships, troubles
and anxieties is also in the hands of Allah Ta'ala alone as evident from
the behaviour of diehard disbelievers too who are ultimately compelled
to turn to Allah when there is nothing left to turn to.
The Moral
May be, this behaviour of the disbelievers, despite its being a major
crime in view of their betrayal, has a certain lesson to teach. That
they do turn to Allah in the hour of their distress, as their confession
of reality under duress, has for us Muslims a lesson to learn with the
rasp of a lash - here we are still not prompt enough to remember Allah
in our hour of trials despite having faith in the absolute power of Allah
Ta'ala. What happens is that all our attention is rivetted only to mate-
rial support which we hope would get us out of trouble. No doubt, we
do not take idols, icons and images as our saviours, but the tragic fact
is that the many material support systems, logistics, mechanized res-
cuing squads on land, sea and in the air, and the backup of spot and
distant instrumentations, have become no less than idols for us. So
impressed with them and so engrossed in them we are that we some-
how do not seem to think of Allah and His most perfect power.
Accidents and Hardships : The Real Remedy
Take sickness as an example. When we get sick, we think of noth-
ing but our doctors and physicians. Take the example of a storm or
flood. Once in it, we look forward to being rescued with material help
and material means. We think on them depends our destiny, and in
doing so, we just do not seem to remember the very Master of the uni-
verse in Whose control lies our destiny. We tend to do this, despite

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that the Holy Qur'an has, time and again, stated it very clearly that
hardships and accidents of the world are generally the outcome of the
evil deeds of human beings themselves, and a mild sampling of the
punishment of the Hereafter. If looked at from this angle, these hard-
ships are, in a way, mercy for Muslims - for, through them, heedless
people are, so to say, given a shot in the arm, so that they may use this
occasion to survey their evil deeds and start thinking about how not to
indulge in them anymore whereby they could remain safe from the
greater and harsher punishment of the Hereafter. The same subject
has been taken up elsewhere in the Holy Qur'an in the following
words:
وَلَنُذِيُقَتَّهُمْ مِّنَ الْعَذَابِ الْآَدُنِى دُوْنَ الْعَذَابِ الْأَكْثُرِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُوْنَ
We shall make them taste a lesser punishment, prior to the
greater punishment, so that they may return - 32:21.
Says another verse of the Qur'an:
وَمَّا أَصَابَكُمْ مِنُ مُصِيْبَةٍ فَبِمَا كَسَبَتُ اَيُدِيُكُمُ وَ يَعُفُرُ عَنُ كَثِيْرٍ،
The hardship that reaches you is an outcome of your evil
deeds while many of them Allah forgives - 42:30.
Talking about the verse of Surah Ash-Shura quoted above, the Holy
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
By Him in whose hands lies my life, the common scratch from
a piece of wood suffered by a human being, or a faltering of
step or an itching in vein are all after-effects of some sin while
the sins which Allah Ta'ala forgives are many.
As said by 'Allama Al-Baydawi, it means that the diseases and ca-
lamities faced by criminals and sinners are all vestiges of sins while
the diseases and calamities of those who are infallible to or protected
from sins are there to test their patience and fortitude, and to bless
them with the higher ranks of Paradise.
So, the essential outcome is that the diseases, accidents, hardships,
pain and anxiety faced even by human beings at large - who are not
free of sins - are all the consequences and vestiges of sins.
This also tells us that the real cure and the primary way out of all
such distressing happenings is that people should turn to Allah Jalla

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Sha'nuhu, seek forgiveness from Him for all their past sins, and firmly
resolve that they would abstain from them in the future, and pray to
Him alone that He, in His mercy, removes their hardships.
However, it never means that the use of material means through
medicine and treatment while sick, or to employ material methods of
confronting accidents and calamities when struck by them, are useless
efforts. Instead of that, the purpose is to emphasize that we should be-
lieve in Allah Ta'ala as the prime mover and maker of things and hap-
penings and, as for the use of material means, we should use them too
taking them to be nothing but His blessing, because all means and in-
truments are invariably His creation and His blessings which serve
human beings under His command and will. The fire, the air, the wa-
ter, the dust, and all forces on the face of the earth are but subservient
to the command of Allah Ta'ala. Unless He so wills, neither can the
fire burn, nor can water extinguish, nor a medicine bring benefit, nor
some food hurt. Experience bears the truth that human beings once
they become heedless to Allah Ta'ala and start relying on their self-
invented defence mechanisms what happens is that with every addi-
tion to their material logistics, there comes a relative increase in con-
cerns and calamities.
That a medicine or clinical procedure may turn out to be personally
beneficial at a given time, or a material way out to some problem may
succeed, is quite possible even when one is involved with heedlessness
and sin. But, when looked at collectively, in the perspective of the
whole creation of Allah, all manifestations of the reliance on the mate-
rial appear to be unsuccessful. Today, the number and variety of arti-
cles and instruments invented to remove pain and drudgery and to
provide comfort and luxury with a gusto that knows no stopping, are
things man had not even dreamt of only half a century ago. Who does
not know that people at that time were totally deprived of ever-new
life-saving drugs, medicine delivery systems, procedures, surgeries, ex-
perts, technicians, labs and hospitals and nursing homes? But, seen in
a wider perspective, man deprived of all these facilities fifty years ago,
was not as sick and harassed as the man of late nineties. Similarly,
we have vaccines to fight against epidemics, mechanized units to con-
trol fire, medical and para-medical squads to cover accidents, and an

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overseeing communications system which would hasten emergency in-
formation, relevant support of professionals and equipment. But,
somehow the more we increase our material defences against acci-
dents and calamities, the more we seem to be affected by them. To
what reason could we ascribe this except that during the period now
behind us the measure of heedlessness to and disobedience of the
Creator of the universe of our existence was not as pronounced as it is
in our day. Those people used their articles of comfort as blessings
from Allah Ta'ala for which they were grateful too. But, the modern
man wants to use these conveniences with a sense of hightened self-
achievement which is rebellion in disguise. Naturally enough, despite
all instrumentations and gadgeteries, men and materials, they cannot
make people immune from being hit by such hardships.
Summing up the main elements of our explanations, we can say
that Muslims should specially take a lesson from this reference to dis-
believers that they too remembered Allah when in distress. It is the
duty of a true Muslim that he should, in order to remove his pain and
anxiety in distress, first rely on and turn to Allah Ta'ala, much more
than simply relying on and turning to the material solutions of his try-
ing situation. If he fails to do that, he will meet the same end being
witnessed today. Plans will generally fall flat. A thousand efforts are
made to stop floods and to minimize losses caused by them, but they
keep coming. Ever-new methods of treating diseases are found and
used, but diseases keep increasing. Devices and theories are employed
to check rising prices of things - which seem to be effective too, though
on the surface - but the result on the whole is that prices keep rising
on almost a daily basis. Think of crimes like theft, robbery, kidnaping,
bribery and smuggling. Governments all over the world, including the
most advanced, are employing all sorts of material means to stop
them. But, common people do not have to look into a crime graph to
find out what is happening - they see that crimes are increasing. We
can only wish that human beings of the modern era would do well by
rising a little bit higher than the levels of person, identity, profit and
loss, and surveying conditions prevailing, then, they would come to re-
alize that, when seen collectively, all our material efforts have failed,
in fact, they are compounding our problems. Then, if they were to look
at the remedy proposed by the Qur'an which tells us that there is only

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one way of staying safe from all kinds of hardship, and that is to turn
to the Creator of the universe. Whatever material solutions there are,
they are fine, they too should be used as blessings from Him. Other
than this, there is no way to ideal security.
Verses 65 - 67
قُلُ هُوَ الْقَادِرُ عَلَى أَنْ يَّبْعَثَ عَلَيْكُمُ عَذَابًا مِنٌ فَوُقِكُمْ أَوْ
مِنْ تَحْتِ آَرْجُلِكُمْ أَوْ بَلْبِسَكُمُ شِبَعًا وَيُذِيْقَ بَعْضَكُمُ بَأْسَ
بَعْضٍ ◌ُ أُنْظُرُ كَيْفَ نُصَرِّفُ الْأُنْتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَفْقَهُونَ ﴿٦٥﴾
وَكَذَّبَ بِهٍ قَوْمُكَ وَهُوَ الْحَقُُّ قُلْ تَّسْتُ عَلَيُكُمُ بِوَكِيْلٍ ﴿٦٦﴾
◌ِكُلِّ نَبٍَّ مُسْتَقَرُّرُوَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُوْنَ ﴿٦٧)
Say, "He is fully capable that He should send a punish-
ment from above you or from beneath your feet, or to
put you in confusion through divisions and make some
of you taste troubles through some others." See how
We bring forth a variety of Verses, so that they may un-
derstand. [65] And your people have belied it despite its
being the truth.
Say, "I have not been entrusted with your task. [66] For
every event there is a point (of time and place) to oc-
cur, and (that) you will know." [67]
Commentary
Mentioned in the previous verses was one manifestation of the
knowledge and power of Allah Almighty that He alone can remove hu-
man distress and whoever calls on Him while in difficulty shall find
His help before his eyes. The reason is that He is perfectly powerful
over the whole universe and He is also perfectly merciful to His entire
creation. No one else has that perfect power and universal mercy.
Mentioned in the present verses is another side of His perfect pow-
er - that He can punish any individual or group for its contumacy if He
wills to do so. And doing so is easy for Him. To punish a criminal, He
needs no police or army or helper like the rulers of the mortal world.
هُوَ الْقَادِرْ عَلَى أَنْ يَّبُعَثَ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابًا مِنٌ فَوْقِكُمْ أَوْ مِنُ تَحْتِ :This aspect was stated by saying

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izíkují (He is fully capable that He should send a punishment
from above you or from beneath your feet, or to put you in confusion
through divisions).
Three Kinds of Divine Punishment
Identified here are three kinds of Divine Punishment: (1) That
which comes from above, (2) that which comes from beneath, and (3)
that which spreads out from within. Then, by bringing the word, ' Que '
with nunnation (tanwin) on an indefinite noun (nakirah), a warning -
as admitted by the rules of Arabic grammar - has been served that
there could be different sub-divisions and forms within these three
kind.
According to commentators of the Qur'an, there have been many
examples of punishment coming from above among past communities
as the flood which came upon the people of Sayyidna Nuh Sulle, the
wind storm which overtook the people of 'Ad, the raining of stones on
the people of Sayyidna Lut > Jude, the raining of blood and frogs upon
the Bani Isra'il and the pelting of pebbles by flights of birds on the Peo-
ple of the Elephant (ashab al-fil) when they invaded Makkah which left
all of them reduced to chaff chewed out.
Similarly, various forms of the coming of punishment from beneath
have also appeared among past communities. For the people of Sayy-
idna Nuh WJIule there already was the punishment from above in the
form of rain-storm, then they were also caught up in the punishment
from beneath when the water under the ground started forcing out
whereby they came into the grip of two punishments at the same time,
that is, the punishment from above and the punishment from beneath.
The people of the Pharaoh were drowned in the punishment from be-
neath their feet. Qarun (Korah) fell a victim to this very punishment
when he, along with his legendary treasures, sank down into the earth
as if swallowed by it.
Early Tafsir authorities, Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas Le Ale,
and Mujahid have said that the punishment from above means that
cruel rulers and merciless officials come to rule over a people while the
punishment from beneath means that one's own subordinates and ser-
vants turn into traitors, idlers and thieves.

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Some sayings of the Holy Prophet & also confirm the Tafsir of
Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas given above. The saying of the Holy
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم which follows has been reported in Mishkat with
reference to Shutabul-Iman of Al-Baihaqi: ◌ْكَمَا تَكُوُنُونَ كَذلِكَ مُؤَمَّرُ عَلَيْكُم ,that is,
'as are your deeds, good or bad, so shall be your rulers and officials set
upon you.' It means : If you are good, and obedient to Allah Ta'ala,
your rulers and officials will also be merciful and just. And if your
deeds are evil, you will find that merciless and unjust rulers and offi-
cials have been set upon you.' The well-known saying: wi (Your
deeds : your rulers) means just the same.
According to a narration from Abi Nu'aym in his Hilyah appearing
in Mishkat, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has been reported to have
said:
Allah Ta'ala says: I am Allah. There is no god worthy of wor-
ship but Me. I am the Master of kings. And I am the Sove-
reign. The hearts of kings are in My hands. When My ser-
vants obey Me, I pour mercy in the hearts of their kings and
officials. And when My servants disobey Me, I harden the
hearts of their rulers against them. They make them taste all
kinds of evil punishments. Therefore, do not waste your ener-
gy in speaking ill of the rulers and officials. Turn to Allah and
correct your deeds so that I may put your affairs right.
Similarly, there is a narration from Sayyidah 'A'ishah 4 Uly», in
Abu Dawud and Nasa'i in which the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is re-
ported to have said:
When Allah Ta'ala wishes well for a ruler, He gives them a
good minister and deputy so that he may remind the ruler if
he forgets something, and who helps the ruler when he acts
right. And when some evil is destined for a ruler, evil people
are made his ministers and deputies.
In the light of these Hadith narrations and the explanation of relat-
ed verses, the outcome is that hardships faced by people at the hands
of their rulers are a punishment which comes from above - and that
which is inflicted through servants and subordinates is a punishment
which comes from beneath. They are no stray accidents. In fact, they
are a punishment of one's deeds under a Divine law. Imam Sufyan

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Ath-Thawri said: When a sin gets to be committed by me, I see its ef-
fect on my servant, even on my horse I ride and the donkey I use to
carry my things. I can feel the change in their temper because all of
them start disobeying me. Maulana Rumi, in his famous Mathnawi,
says that Allah Ta'ala, by putting you under the apparent punishment
which causes pain to you through ill-treatment at the hands of your
cruel rulers or faithless subordinates in this mortal world, actually
wishes to turn your attention towards Himself, so that you get alerted
and start trying to make your deeds good, and as a result of which, you
may save yourself from the much greater punishment of the Here-
after.
To sum up, we can say that, according to the Tafsir of Sayyidna
'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, the oppression of rulers is the punishment which
comes from above, and the dishonesty, idling and treachery of subordi-
nates is the punishment which comes from beneath, and the remedy
for both is the same - that everyone should look back and examine
what each one has done, leave paths of error, avoid being disobedient
to Allah, then, nature will be commanded to take its desired course
creating conditions which would remove the hardship. Otherwise, try-
ing to remove them and correct the situation through material ways
and means alone will be nothing but self-deception, an experience we
have been having all the time.
The different explanations of the punishment from above and from
beneath which you have heard just now are really no different from
each other - because the word, Que ('adh aban) meaning 'punishment,'
which appears in this verse , in fact, embraces all these explanations.
Punishments coming from the skies like the rocks, pebbles, blood, fire,
flood, and the oppression of rulers, are all included under the punish-
ment from above. As for the parting of the earth and the sinking of a
people in it, or being drowned in water forcing out from the earth, or
becoming a victim of problems at the hands of subordinates, all these
are punishments from beneath.
There is a third kind of punishment mentioned in this verse, and
that is: e4y & migf (or put you in confusion through divisions ... ). It
means that you may be split into parties confronting each other and it
becomes a punishment from within. The word, 'i Gyalbisakum

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translated as 'put you in confusion') used here comes from the root: J.J
(labasa) which basically means to hide or cover up. It is in that sense
it is used to refer to clothes which cover the human body. And for this
reason, its derivation: yuJI (iltibas) is used in the sense of doubt, where
the meaning of what is said remains hidden, that is, it is not open and
clear.
As for the word: (shiya'), it is the plural form of: 124 (shi'ah)
which means to be a follower, adherent or partisan of someone. It ap-
pears in the Holy Qur'an : ◌َوَإِنَّ مِنْ شِيْعَتِهٍ لَاِ بُرْهِيُم that is, 'following in the foot-
steps of Nuh عليه السلام is Ibrahim 37:83 - عليه السلام.' Therefore, in common
usage, the word: 224 (shi'ah) is used to denote a group which gets to-
gether for a particular purpose, and its members help each other in
achieving that purpose. In the current idiom, it would mean a faction
or party.
So, the verse could be translated in the sense that one kind of
'Adh ab' (punishment) is that a nation or community breaks up into
factions and parties and starts confronting each other. Therefore,
when this verse was revealed, the Holy Prophet & addressed Muslims
and told them:
لَاتَرُجِعُوا بَعْدِىُ كُفَّارًا يَضْرِبُ بَعْضُكُمُ رِقَابَ بَعْضٍ
Do not renege after me becoming like disbelievers striking at
the necks of each other. (Deduced by Ibn Abi Hatim from Zayd ibn
Aslam as in Mazharī)
Sayyidna Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqaş ar Al _», says: Once we were going
with the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم. When we reached Masjid
Bani Mu awiyah, the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم went into the
Masjid and offered two raka'ah of Salah. We too offered two raka'ah.
After that, he became busy with Du'a, and kept praying for a fairly
long time. After that, he said: 'I asked my Rabb for three things: (1)
My Ummah may not be destroyed by drowning: Allah Ta'ala answered
this prayer; (2) My Ummah may not be destroyed by famine and hun-
ger: This too was answered; (3) My Ummah may not be destroyed by
infighting: I was stopped from making this prayer.' (Mazhari with refer-
ence to Baghawi)
Another Hadith on the same subject has been reported from Sayy-

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idna 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar ate Lle, where one of the three prayers is
that 'may Allah not set an enemy upon my Ummah who destroys all of
them.' This prayer was answered. As for infighting and mutual con-
frontation, he was forbidden from making the prayer.
These narrations prove that, though the kind of punishments
which visited earlier communities from above them and from beneath
them and which destroyed all of them, will not visit the Ummah of the
Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم - but, there is one 'Adhab' (punishment)
which will keep visiting this Ummah too during their life in the
present world. That 'Adhab' is their infighting and the mutual con-
frontation between their factions and parties. It was for this reason
that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has emphatically forbidden his Um-
mah from becoming divided in sects, factions and parties and from
challenging and fighting each other among themselves. Actually, he
has, on every possible occasion, tried to put the fear of Allah in every
heart by warning that the Divine punishment, if it has to come upon
Muslims within their life in this mortal world, it will come because of
nothing else but their mutual confrontation and infighting.
This subject has been further clarified in a verse of Surah Hud
where it is said:
وَلَا يَزَالُوُّنَ مُخْتَلِفِيْنَ إِلَّ مَنْ رَّحِمَ رُّكَ (هود)
But they will continue in their differences, except those whom
Allah has blessed with mercy - 11:118
In this light, it becomes all the more clear that those who differ
with each other (without a valid Islamic legal justification) are either
deprived of Divine mercy, or far-removed from it. Before we move on
to analyse the subject, quoted below are two verses from Surah 'Al-
'Imran which would make the problem easier to understand:
وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللهِ جَمِيْعًا وَّلَا تَفَرَّقُوا
And hold on to the cord of Allah, all of you, and be not divided - 3:103
وَلَا تَكُوُنُوا كَالَّذِيْنَ تَفَرَّقُوْا وَاخْتَلَفُؤْا
And do not be like those who became divided and fell into dis-
putes ... - 3:105

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The Anatomy and Rationale of Differences
The essence of all Ayat and Riwayat (Verses and Hadith Narrations;
presented here is that difference is ill-fated and blameworthy. If we
were to ponder over the causes of the decline and dismemberment of
Muslims materially and spiritually, we will see that the root of most
troubles lies in this very mutual difference and discord we are talking
about. Unfortunately, as a result of our own misdeeds, this 'Adhab' has
come to sit on our heads like an octopus. Otherwise, we were a people
whose pivot of unity was one single Kalimah of , 32; ser's
(There is no god worthy of worship but Allah, Muhammad is the Mes-
senger of Allah). All men and women having faith in this Kalimah,
anywhere on this earth, speaking any language, of any colour, of any
race, any lineage, were brothers and sisters to each other. Mountains
and rivers were no handicap in their unity. The difference of race,
family, colour and language were no hurdles in their way. Their unity
was tied with this Kalimah irrespective of their nationality. That they
were Arabs or Egyptians or Syrians or Turks or Indian or Chinese did
not matter. These divisions were simply for the sake of identity and
introduction, and that was it, no more. The poet of neo-Islamic Ren-
naissance, Muhammad Iqbal summarized it by saying:
درویش خدامست نه شرقی هے نه غربی
گھر اس کا نه دلی نه صفابان نه سمر قند
The dervish of Allah cares not
For he is neither of the East, nor of the West
For him there is no home
Neither Delhi, nor Isfahan, nor Samarqand ...
In our day, intrigues backed by constantly concerted efforts have
succeeded in dividing them once again into racial, linguistic and re-
gional nationalities. Worse came to happen when these very entities,
hit by internal disruption and chaos, ended up splitting themselves
into many more additonal factions. The people whose hallmark was to
forgive, forego and sacrifice even in the case of others when they would
readily surrender their most just rights for the sake of avoiding con-
frontation now have many individuals within their fold who would not
hesitate to sacrifice even the most precious relationship for the sake of
the cheapest and the meanest of gains. This is the difference born out

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of self-interest, wanton desires and fancies which is a bad omen for
any community or nation, and certainly a cash punishment for them
right here in the present world.
However, it is necessary to understand at this point the difference
which has been declared in the Qur'an as Divine punishment, and dep-
rivation from Divine mercy, is that particular difference which either
appears in Principles and Beliefs or is because of self-interest, wanton
desires and fancies. Not included here is the particular difference of
opinion which was based on the Principles of Ijtihad carried out in the
light of the Qur'an and Sunnah, and it was under these Principles that
the difference of opinion in subsidiary matters and masa'il has contin-
ued being there among the jurists (Fuqaha') of the Muslim Ummah
from the early period of Sahabah (Companions) and Tabi'in.
(Successors to Companions). It should be borne in mind that in these
subsidiary matters, the frame of reference under which such difference
of opinion may show up is restricted to Qur'an, Sunnah and Ijma
(consensus). Here, the intention of everyone is to obey and act in ac-
cordance with the injunctions of Qur'an and Sunnah. But, the differ-
ence which emerges here is that of Ijtihad and opinion in the duduc-
tion of solutions to subsidiary problems as interpreted from words left
condensed or ambiguous in the Qur'an and Sunnah. Such difference
has been called Rahmah or mercy in Hadith.
The following narration has been reported in Al-Jami' Al-Saghir
[with reference to Nasr Maqdisi, Baihaqi & Imam al-Haramayn]: ◌ٌإِخْتِلَافُ أُمَّتِىٌ رَحْمَة (The
difference of my Ummah is mercy). It has been made particular to the
community of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم because any difference
which arises among the 'Ulama', who uphold nothing but the truth,
and Muslim jurists who are unalienably God-fearing, shall always be
governed by the principles of the Qur'an and Sunnah. Then, this would
be with an intention which is absolutely true and with an approach
which is inevitably for the good pleasure of Allah. This difference will
never be motivated by any self-interest or desire for recognition, office
or money. Therefore, that difference will never become the cause of
confrontations. Instead of that, as determined by 'Allama 'Abdur-Rauf
al-Munawi, the commentator of Al-Jami' Al-Saghir, the different ap-
proaches (Maslak) of the jurists of Muslim community will have the

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same status which was given to different religious law systems of the
blessed prophets in past periods of time - in that they all were, despite
being different, nothing but the very injunctions of Allah. Thus, the
different approaches (Maslak) credited to the great Mujtahid Imams of
the Muslim Ummah shall be called, because of their being under the
principles of the Qur'an and Sunnah, nothing but the commandments
and injunctions of Allah and Rasul.
An example of such difference based on Ijtihad can be readily seen
on the main streets of our cities where the streets are demarcated into
various sections or lanes for the convenience of those who move on
them. A section would be used by buses while another by cars and
vans. Similarly, a section of the street may be reserved for cyclists and
pedestrians. Though this division of one main street into several lanes
is outwardly a form of difference but, since everyone is headed in one
single direction and everyone moving through each lane will ultimate-
ly reach one desired destination. Therefore, this difference of routes or
approaches, rather than being harmful, is functionally useful for all
movers - a lot of space and mercy indeed.
This is the reason why leading Mujtahid Imams and the Jurists of
the Muslim Community agree that the Maslak or approach taken by
any of them is not false, and it is not permissible for anyone to call
those who follow it as being sinners. The essence of the difference in
Madhab or approaches or schools of thought represented by Mujtahid
Imams and Jurists has a limited frame of reference. The approach
taken by one Mujtahid happens to be weightier in his sight, but he
himself would not call the approach of another Mujtahid as false. In
fact, they pay due regard and respect to each other. A look into the
mutual relationships of the jurists (Fuqaha') among the Şahabah and
Tabi'in. and the four leading Mujtahid Imams and the events and hap-
penings surrounding them are open testimony to the fact that, despite
their differences in technical, intellectual and juristic approaches, they
had excellent mutual working relationships, giving each other full re-
spect and recognition. That they would be arrayed against each other
in rancour, hostility and infighting was absolutely out of question in
their case. The same spirit and modus operandi continued with those
who later on came as followers of the main juristic schools - as far as

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they remained adhering to sound knowledge and honest attitude, their
mutual relationships remained based on cordiality and respect like
their predecessors.
This is the difference we are talking about. This difference is mer-
cy indeed, for people a source of myriad openings and conveniences
and leaves, and certainly a reservoir of beneficial results. As far as
subsidiary questions are concerned, the truth is that the difference of
proponents in them is not harmful, if it remains within its proper
bounds. In fact, it serves as an aid in enlarging and identifying differ-
ent aspects of a question which makes it possible to arrive at a sound
resolution of the problem. It goes without saying that in a meeting of
honest minds, the absence of some difference of opinion about a ques-
tion is just not conceivable. Something like this can happen among a
set of people who cannot or do not understand the problem at all, or
among pragmatic secular people who would not hesitate to agree to an
opinion, even though against their conscience, just to accomodate some
party, pressure group or interest lobby.
So, difference of opinion which is within its bounds, that is, not in
the categorical imperatives of the Qur'an and Sunnah concerning arti-
cles of faith and decisive injunctions, and which is only in subsidiary
questions requiring Ijtihad , and that too where the definitive texts of
Qur'an and Sunnah are either silent or ambiguous, and again if the ef-
fort so made does not go to the outer limit of name calling, blame
throwing and infighting, then, that difference of opinion will, instead
of being harmful, be beneficial - a blessing and mercy. Think of this
universe of our experience. Things differ in shape, form, colour, smell,
property and functional benefits. There are countless living organisms.
They differ, so do human beings, different temperaments, occupations,
skills, ways of living - these differences are the charm of living which
provides open avenues of countless benefits.
Many people who are not aware of this reality, would look down
even upon the normal differences in the legal solution of problems
(fatawa) credited to great Jurists and true 'Ulama.' They are heard
complaining: When 'Ulama' differ, where do we go? Frankly, this is a
simple matter. Take the example of a sick person about whose condi-
tion physicians differ. Naturally everyone tries to find out a physician

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who has the desired experience and technical expertise and he is the
one entrusted with the charge of treating the patient. No one goes out
speaking ill of other doctors in town. The same thing happens in legal
cases. Lawyers may differ in their opinions. Naturally people entrust
their case to a lawyer who is effecient and experienced in their estima-
tion, and act on his advice. They do not run around maligning others
in that profession. This principle should be operative here too. When
the Fatawa given by 'Ulama' about a problem turn out to be different
(reasons to be investigated in the parameters of the original inquiry),
then, one should make his best efforts to locate an 'Alim who, in their
judgement, is better than others in 'Ilm (expertise in religious knowl-
edge) and Taqwa (fear of Allah, fear of being responsible before Him)
and follow the advice given by him. There is no need for them to waste
their time in finding fault with other 'Ulama.'
In I'lam Al-Muwwaggi'in, 'Allamah Hafiz ibn al-Qaiyyim has re-
ported that the choice of an expert Mufti - and in case of a difference of
opinion, the giving of preference to the Fatwa of an 'Alim who, in the
opinion of the seeker, is the best of all in 'Ilm and Taqwa - is the duty
of every Muslim himself who has such a problem on hand. That he
starts giving preference to one of the different Fatawa of 'Ulama is cer-
tainly not his job. But, it is no one's job but his own that he should act
according to the Fatwa of anyone from among the Muftis and 'Alims
whom he considers the best in knowledge and honesty. After that, he
should not go about denouncing other Muftis and 'Alims. Once a per-
son has done what is required of him, he is totally free of blame in the
sight of Allah. In case, the giver of Fatwa did make a mistake in the
real sense, then, he himself will be responsible for it.
In short, not every difference is absolutely blameworthy, nor every
agreement absolutely praiseworthy and desirable. If thieves, robbers
and rebels were to join hands and form a union of their own, who
would not take this union of theirs blameworthy and fatal for the soci-
ety. Contrary to this, police action or public protest against such
groups is considered praiseworthy and beneficial by all reasonable peo-
ple.
This tells us that the problem does not lie in difference of opinion,
nor does it lie in acting according to a particular opinion, instead, all

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problems show up when others are suspected and slandered - which is
an outcome of lack of knowledge and honesty and plenty of self-serving
desires and fancies. When a nation or country stoops to that level, this
merciful difference is changed into punishing difference. Of all the
people, Muslims themselves split into parties, fight among themselves,
even do the impossible by killing each other. Hurling insults on others
is taken to be a defence of religious position, although, religion has
nothing to do with such excess and aggression. In fact, this is the con-
frontation and fighting which has been sternly prohibited by the Holy
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. In authentic Ahadith, it has been cited as the
cause of peoples and nations going astray. (Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah)
In the second verse (66), after mentioning the anti-truth stand tak-
en by the Quraysh of Makkah, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, also
from the same tribe, has been instructed that he should tell those peo-
ple asking about the precise time when the promised punishment will
come that he has not been appointed to do that for them. The truth is
that for everything there is a point of time as determined in Divine
knowledge. It will come at its own time, and they will see for them-
selves what happens when it does.
Verses 68 - 73
وَإِذَا رَآَيْتَ الَّذِيْنَ يَخُوُضُوْنَ فِىَ أَيْتِنَا فَأَعْرِضُ عَنْهُمْ حَتَّى
يَخُوُضُوا فِىُ حَدِيثٍ غَيْرِهٍ * وَإِمَّا يُنْسِبَتَكَ الشَّيْطِنُ فَلاَ تَفْعُدُ
بَعْدَ الذِّكْرَى مَعَ الْقَوْمِ الظُّلِمِينَ ﴿٦٨﴾ وَمَا عَلَى الَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ
مِنْ حِسَابِهِمْ مِنْ شَرُ وَّلَكِنُ ذِكْرِى لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّفُونَ ﴿١٩)
وَذَرِ الَّذِيْنَ اتَّخَذُوا دِيْنَهُمْ لَعِبًا وَلَهُوَا وَغَرَّتُهُمُ الْحَيُوَةُ الدُّنْيَا
وَذَكِّرُ بِمَّ أَنْ تُبْسَلَ نَفْسُّ ◌ِبِمَا كَسَبَتُ لَيْسَ لَهَا مِنْ دُوْنِ اللهِ وَلِّ
◌َلَا شَفِيٌُ وَإِنْ تَعْدِلُ كُلَّ عَدْلٍ لَا يُؤْخَذُ مِنْهَا* أُولَتِكَ الَّذِينَ
أُسِلُوا بِمَا كَسَبُوْا لَهُمْ شَرَابٌّ ◌ِنُ حَمِيْمٍ وَ عَذَّابٌ اَلِّمُّ بِمَا كَانُوا
يَكْفُرُونَ ﴿ ٧﴾ قُلُ أَنَدُُوا مِنْ دُوْنِ اللَّهِ مَالَا يَنْفَعُنَا وَلَا يَضُّنَا