Indexed OCR Text

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 37 - 39
they had : ◌َرَّنَ ظَلَمْنَا أَنْفُسَنَا وَإِنٌّلَّمُ تَغْفِرُلَنَا وَتَرُحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الُخُسِرِين" :"Our Lord, we have
wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon
us, we will surely be among the losers." (7:23) The prayer of Musa
(Moses) عليه السلام was of the same nature: ◌ٌرَبِّ إِنّيْ ظَلَمْتُ نَفُسِى فَاغْفِرٌلِى :"My
Lord, I have wronged myself. Forgive me." (28:16) And when Yu-
لَا إِلَّهَ إِلَّ أَنْتَ سُبْحَتَكَ إِنّى :made a mistake, he too prayed عليه السلام (nus (Jonah
Gun " "There is no God but You. Pure are you. I have certainly
become one of the unjust." (21:87) (See Qurtubi)
(2) As we have seen in the previous verses, the Holy Qur'an
attributes the error of judgment to Adam and Hawwa WJI Lede both
by using the verb azallahuma which indicates the dual number and
thus means that Satan 'caused both of them to slip.' In recounting
how Allah commanded them 'to go down' to the earth, the Holy
Qur'an again uses the verb for the plural number, thus including
Hawwa >JI LI in the command. On the contrary, in speaking of the
taubah (repentance) of Adam LI ule and the acceptance of his taubah
by Allah, verse 37 mentions him alone, and, employing the verb for the
singular, leaves out Hawwa WJILL . Even in other places, the Holy
وَعَصى ادَمُ ,alone - for example عليه السلام Qur'an attributes the error to Adam
' : 'Adam disobeyed his Lord.' (20:121)
A possible explanation for the omission of Hawwa WJI 4.1. in such a
context is that Allah wants woman to be kept hidden from prying eyes,
and, in order to provide a cover for her, has not referred to her
explicitly while speaking of sin and divine wrath. But when it comes to
the question of taubah, the prayer which Allah taught to Adam de
>JI employs a verb in the plural number - "Our Lord, we have
wronged ourselves", and thus the Holy Qur'an leaves no room for the
supposition that the error of Hawwa WJI 4,de was not pardoned, or
that she did not offer repentance. Moreover, woman being inclusive to
man in most situations, it was not necessary to mention her
specifically every time the story was told. (Qurtubi)
(3) The Arabic word Taubah signifies much more than the English
word 'repentance'; similarly, the words Ta'ib and Tawwab mean
much more than simply 'one who repents.' Imam Al-Qurtubi says that
the word Tawwab is used with reference to Allah as well as to man.

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 37 - 39
For example, the Holy Qur'an applies the word to man in the phrase: 31
Surely Allah loves those who repent" (2:222) - and in": اللهُ يُحِبُّ التَّرَّبِينَ
al-tawwabin, 'those who return to Allah'; on the other hand, it speaks
of Allah too as al-Tawwab : 25ices :"He is the Most-Relenting, the
Very-Merciful." (2:37) So, with reference to man, the word signifies
'one who turns away from disobedience and sin, and returns to
obedience', while with reference to Allah it signifies 'one who accepts
repentance, and turns to man with mercy and grace'. There is another
word, Ta'ib which also means 'one who returns', but it is not permissi-
ble to use this word with reference to Allah. For, in the case of Allah,
only those nouns, adjectives and epithets are permissible which have
been used in the Holy Qur'an and the Hadith - all other words are
disallowed, no matter what their lexical meanings are.
(4) Verse 37 shows that Allah alone has the authority to accept a
man's repentance and to forgive his sins. By disregarding this
principle, Jews and Christians fell into a great error, for they came to
believe that if a priest or a saint forgave their sins, Allah too did the
same. Even some ignorant Muslims behave as if they too entertain
such a belief. But all such notions are doctrinally false. No religious
scholar or saint, 'alim or murshid, has the authority to forgive sins; all
he can do is to pray for the sinner, and seek Allah's pardon.
The obedient are freed of worries
(5) Verse 38 promises two great rewards to those who follow divine
guidance - they will have no fear, and they will not grieve. Fear is
the anxiety one feels in apprehending some trouble or pain in the
future. Grief is the sorrow arising from the loss of something valuable
or from one's failure in attaining a desired object. One can see that
these two rewards comprehend all the possible forms of comfort and
peace. Then, the text of the Holy Qur'an makes a subtle distinction
between the two. In saying that those who follow divine guidance will
have no fear, it speaks in general terms and uses a noun - the Arabic
phrase: '13, ý is to be translated literally as 'no fear upon them'.
But in the next phrase 3'34;, the Holy Qur'an employs a verb,
placing before it a pronoun as the subject. The literal translation of the

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 37 - 39
phrase is: 'they shall not grieve'. The implication here is that being
totally free from all sense of loss is possible only to Men of Allah or the
saints 18 who follow divine guidance in all its details; as for the others,
no man whether an emperor or a billionaire, can help being grieved
at the loss of a valued object or the frustration of a desire, all of which
is but a necessary part of the scheme of things. The 'friends of Allah'
do not have to grieve, because they annihilated their own desires and
their very will in submitting themselves totally to the will of Allah.
The Holy Qur'an also tells us that those who go to Paradise will thank
Allah for having removed from them all regret and sorrow: Zuid 2df
mu & cali : "All praise belongs to Allah who has put away all sorrow
from us" (35:34). It means that some degree of sorrow is inevitable for
every human being except those who have perfected and made fast
their relationship with Allah.
Let us make it clear that the verse does negate all grief and sorrow
in the case of the 'friends of Allah', but the negation applies only to
the loss of worldly things and the frustration of worldly desires. As for
the anxiety about the other world and the fear of Allah and the deep
sense of awe before His Glory, the 'friends of Allah' are far ahead of
other men in these. It has been reported that the Holy Prophet
often appeared to be worried and in deep thought - this was not for
fear of any trouble or loss in the worldly sense, but on account of his
anxiety for his Ummah, and of his awe before Divine Glory.
Nor does this verse imply that prophets and saints should not feel
the instinctive and all too human fear when confronted by things
which are generally known to inspire dread. The Holy Qur'an itself
relates how the prophet Musa (Moses) WILL was struck with fear
when his stick turned into a dragon :أَوْجَسَ فِيُ نفُسِهِ خِيفَةً مُوسى :"Musa felt a
fear in himself." (20:67)
18. The word "Saints" is very weak and only an approximate translation of
the Arabic phrase "Awliya-Allah", 'the friends of Allah' - a concept which
has only a faint resemblance with the Christian idea of a 'saint'.
Consequently, the term 'men of Allah' has been used most frequently
throughout this commentary.

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 40 - 42
But it was only an instinctive and physical fear, and the incident
anyhow belongs to the early days of his prophethood, for when Allah
said: Asy : 'Do not be afraid', the fear disappeared altogether. We may
explain the incident in another way also. His fear did not arise as it
does in the case of ordinary men, from the apprehension of some harm
or hurt from the dragon, but from the likelihood that the
extraordinary event might lead the Israelites into misguidance. So,
this fear was not worldly, but other-worldly.
Verses 40-42
يُبَنِىَّ إِسْرَائِيْلَ اذْكُوا نِعْمَتِىَ الَّتِىُ اَنْعَمُتُ عَلَيْكُمُ وَأَوْفُوًا
بِعَهْدِىٌّ أُوْفٍ بِعَهُدِكُمُ، وَإِتَّاىَ فَارْهَبُوُنِ ) وَأُمِنُوا بِمَا آَنْزَلُكُ
مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا مَعَكُمْ وَلَا تَكُوُنُوْآَ أَوَّلَ كَافٍِ، بِهِ وَلَا تَشْتَرُوا
بِأَيْتِى ثَمَنًا قَلِيْلَا وَإِيَّاتَ فَتَّقُوْنِ ) وَلَا تَلْبِسُوا الْحَقَّ بِالْبَاطِلِ
وَتَكْتُمُوا الْحُقَّ وَأَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ )
O Children of Isra'il (the Israelites), remember My
blessing that I conferred upon you, and fulfil the
covenant with Me, so I fulfil your covenant, and have
awe of Me alone. And have faith in what I have
revealed, confirming what is already with you, and do
not be the first to deny it, nor take a paltry price for My
signs. And fear Me alone. And do not confound truth
with falsehood, and do not hide the truth when you
know. (Verses 40 - 42)
The Surah Al-Baqarah begins by speaking of the Holy Qur'an
itself, and tells us that although it provides guidance to all men, yet
only true Muslims will derive a full benefit from it. The Surah
proceeds to warn the disbelievers against the grievous punishment
which awaits them in the other world, and also to delineate the
misdeeds of the two kinds of disbelievers - those who deny openly, and
the hypocrites. Then, addressing all the three groups, it urges upon
them to worship Allah alone, and, presenting the Holy Qur'an as a
miracle which cannot be imitated by man, invites them to have faith
in it. Next, the Surah recounts how Adam WILLe was created to be

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the viceregent of Allah, and thus shows the omnipotence and wisdom
of Allah so that men may realize why they must obey and worship
Him and never be disobedient to Him.
Now, in the days of the Holy Prophet & there were two kinds of
people among the disbelievers and the hypocrites. On the one hand
were mushrikin, idolaters and associators who did not possess any
religious knowledge, were even otherwise mostly illiterate, and
followed the customs of their forefathers - for example, the inhabitants
of Makkah in general whom the Holy Qur'an calls the Ummiyyun
(the illiterate). On the other hand were those who believed in the
earlier prophets, had a knowledge of the earlier Divine Books like the
Torah and the Evangile, and were known as being well-educated.
Some of them were the followers of Sayyidna Musa WI Le (Moses),
but did not accept Sayyidna 'Isa WILL (Jesus) as a prophet - these
were the Yahud or the Jews. Others were the followers of Sayyidna
(Isa عليه السلام ,but did not believe that Sayyidna Musa عليه السلام was,
being a prophet, divinely protected against all sin - these were the
Nasara or the Christians. On account of their belief either in the
Torah or the Evangile or in both, the Holy Qur'an calls these two
groups Ahl al-Kitab (the people of the Book). Being well-educated, they
were respected and trusted by the people around them, and their
opinion had a great deal of weight. If they came to the straight path,
others too could be expected to follow their example.
The Jews predominated in Madinah and its environs. The Surah
Al-Baqarah is also Madinite. So, after dealing with the idolaters and
associators, it addresses the people of the Book in a special manner,
from verse 40 to verse 123. Adopting a persuasive and friendly tone,
the Surah refers to the noble family to which they belong and the
honour which they receive from the people on account of such an
affiliation; then, recounting the blessings which Allah has been
showering on them, it asks them to be aware of their many misdeeds
and their sins, and invites them to come to the Straight Path. All this
has been said, to begin with, in a very brief manner - four verses
inviting them to Islam, and three to good deeds. Then comes a long
and detailed address to them, at the beginning of which, as also just
before the end, occur the words, ya Bani Isra'il (O children of Israel) -

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 40 - 42
the repetition is, of course, the usual rhetorical device for making the
speech persuasive.
Isra'il is a Hebrew word, signifying 'the servant of Allah'; it is also
the second name of Sayyidna Ya'qub (Jacob) SIue . Certain scholars
have remarked that among the prophets it is the Holy Prophet
alone who has several names, except for Sayyidna Ya'qub Mull de who
has two names, Ya'qub and Isra'il. The Holy Qur'an addresses the
Jews here, not as the "Children of Ya'qub", but as the "Children of
Isra'il", so that the title may remind them that they are the children of
the 'the servant of Allah', and hence they should follow the example of
their father in worshipping Allah alone and in obeying Him.
In verse 40, Allah asks the Israelites to fulfil His covenant - that is
to say, the one they had made with Allah. According to Qatadah and
Mujahid, the following verse of the Holy Qur'an refers to this covenant
which had been mentioned in Torah as well (For the Covenant, see Exodus, ch.
XXXIV) (165):
وَلَقَدْ آَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيْفَاقَ بَنِىَ إِسْرَآئِيْلَ وَبَعَثْنَا مِنْهُمْ اثْنَىُ عَشَرَ نَقِيْبًا، وَقَالَ اللَّهُ
إِنّيْ مَعَكُمُ، لَئِنُ أَقَمْتُمُ الصَّلْوَةَ وَاتَبْتُمُ الزَّكْوَةَ وَأُمِّنْتُمْ بِرُسُلِىٌ وَعَّرُ تُهُمْ
وَأَقْرُضْتُمُ اللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنَّا لَا كَفِّرَنَّ عَنْكُمْ سَيِّاتِكُمْ وَلَأُدُخِلَتْكُمُ جَنْتٍ تَجْرِىٌ مِنْ
تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهُرْجِ
ـهر.ح
Allah made a covenant with the children of Isra'il, and We
raised up from among them twelve chieftains. And Allah said,
'I am with you. Surely, if you perform the prayer, and pay the
alms, and believe in My messengers and help them, and lend
to Allah a good loan, I will forgive your evil deeds, and I will
admit you to gardens underneath which rivers flow' (5:12).
The covenant mentions acts like prayers and alms, but the most
important clause is having faith in all the messengers of Allah
including the Holy Prophet . Hence, according to the blessed
Companion Ibn 'Abbas, the covenant here signifies having faith in and
obeying the Holy Prophet (See Ibn Jarir).
As for Allah fulfilling their covenant, the verse we have just quoted
(5:12) makes the meaning clear - Allah will forgive the sins of those
who fulfil the terms of the covenant, and will admit them to Paradise.
Verse 41 makes it quite explicit that according to the covenant it is

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obligatory for the Israelites to have faith in the Holy Qur'an, for, after
all, it has been sent down to confirm the essential teachings of the
Torah. Now, the Israelite scholars were afraid that if they told the
truth in this matter, they would be going against the public sentiment,
and thus lose their adherents and income both. So, these three verses
exhort them to speak the truth without fear, for Allah alone is worthy
of being feared.19
Injunctions and related considerations
(1) Al-Qurțubi remarks in his Commentary that Allah, in asking
the Israelites to worship and obey Him, reminds them of the bounties
and blessings He has showered on them, but in the case of the
followers of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم He asks them to do so
without mentioning His bounties: ''123350 : "Remember Me, I will
remember you." (2:152)
This is a subtle suggestion which brings out the superiority of this
Ummah over the others - the Islamic Ummah has a direct relationship
with Allah, for it begins by recognizing the Benefactor, and through
this knowledge recognizes His bounties; other peoples, on the contrary,
begin by recognizing the bounties, and proceed through this medium
to a knowledge of the Benefactor.
(2) Verse 40 shows that it is obligatory to fulfil the agreement one
has entered into, and it is forbidden to break one's promise. The
injunction has been stated explicitly in another verse: ,,Bu (3) : "Fulfil
your agreements." (5:1)
According to a hadith reported by Muslim, those who break their
promises would, before being finally punished in the other world, be
humiliated before the whole human race when it assembles together
on the Day of Judgment, for a flag would be placed as a stigma beside
everyone who has committed this sin, and the bigger the crime, the
higher would the flag be.
19. Let us add that what the Holy Qur'an confirms with regard to the Torah
and the Evangile is the fact that they are the Books of Allah. As for the
distortions which have from time to time been introduced into them, they
are no part of the original texts, and hence the question of confirming
such interpolated passages does not arise.

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 40 - 42
(3) Verse 41 asks the Israelites not to be the first to deny the Holy
Qur'an, although being a disbeliever is in itself the ultimate sin,
whether one be the first or the last. The verse, in fact, suggests that
the man who is the first to deny and disbelieve will not only incur the
sin of his own denial but also bear the additional burden of the sin of
misleading all those who follow his example; and will thus have to
undergo a multiple punishment.
It follows from here that the man who is in any way responsible for
others falling into any kind of sin will have to bear the burden of this
sin along with the sinners; similarly, the man who in some way helps
others to do a good deed will receive a reward for it along with
them. Several verses of the Holy Qur'an and the ahadith of the Holy
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم repeatedly stress this point.
(4) Verse 41 warns the Israelites against taking a paltry price for
His signs or verses (the Arabic word, Ayat has both the meanings). The
context makes it clear that it is forbidden to take money from people
by misinterpreting or concealing the verses of the Book of Allah in
order to please them or to serve their worldly interests. There is an
absolute consensus of the Ummah on this point.
(5) As for the question of taking a wage for teaching the verses
of the Holy Qur'an or for reporting them correctly, verse 41 is not
concerned with the matter. But it is an important question in itself
whether it is permissible to accept wages for teaching the Holy Qur'an.
There is a divergence of views among the Fuqaha' (jurists) in this
matter. Imam Malik, Imam al-Shafi'i and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal,
consider such wages to be permissible, while the great Imam Abu
Hanifah and some other jurists hold them to be impermissible, for
the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has forbidden the use of the Holy
Qur'an as a means of livelihood. But there has been a radical change
in the circumstances since then. Formerly, those who taught the Holy
Qur'an used to receive a subsistence allowance from the Baytul-Mal,
or the public exchequer of the Islamic state. But since Islamic society
fell into a disorder, 20 they lost their financial support. The teaching of
the Holy Qur'an to children being a full-time job, the teachers could
20. Through the onslaught of Western imperialism and other factors.

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 40 - 42
not turn to difficult professions without interrupting this essential
chain of transmitting the Word of Allah from generation to generation.
In view of this situation, the jurists of the Hanafi school declared it
permissible to accept wages for teaching the Holy Qur'an. According
to Hidayah, the famous book of Hanafi code, this should be the rule
(fatwa) these days. Later jurists have extended the permission to
similar duties like leading Salah (Imamah), calling for prayers
(Adhan), teaching the Hadith and the Figh, etc., for they are related to
the teaching of the Holy Qur'an, and the survival of Islam equally
depends on them. (See al-Durr al-Mukhtar, al-Shami)
(6) The famous Hanafi scholar Shami has, in his commentary on
"al-Durr al- Mukhtar" and in his own book "Shifal-'Alil", explained in
great detail and with convincing arguments that the later jurists have
allowed the acceptance of wages for the teaching of the Holy Qur'an
etc. only in view of an essential religious need which must be fulfilled,
or the whole Islamic order would be disturbed; hence the permission
should be limited only to such essential needs. It logically follows from
this principle that paying or receiving wages for the recitation of the
Holy Qur'an for transmitting the reward to the dead or in the interest
of some worldly purpose is forbidden, for it fulfils no essential religious
need. Thus, the man who recites the Holy Qur'an for wages in this
manner and the man who pays him for it both commit a sin. When
there is no merit earned in such a recitation, how can it be transferred
to the dead? Al-Shami refers to many authoritative works like "Taj
al-Shari'ah", 'Ayni's commentary on Hidayah, the marginal notes by
Khayr al-Din Al-Ramali on "al-Bahr al-Ra'iq", etc., and specially cites
Al-Ramali to the effect that practices like paying for the recitation of
the Holy Qur'an beside the grave of a dead man or elsewhere in order
to transmit the reward to him, have never been reported from the
blessed Companions or their immediate successors or from other great
scholars of the early centuries of Islam, and are hence an innovation
(Bid'ah) in religion.
(7) Verse 42 explicitly shows that it is not permissible to mix truth
and falsehood together in such a way that the addressee falls into a
confusion as to what the truth is, and that it is forbidden to conceal
the truth because of fear or greed.

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 40 - 42
Imam al-Qurtubi has, in his commentary, related a very illuminat-
ing story in this context - a story which has come down to us through a
chain of reliable reporters, and has been taken from the "Musnad" of
Darimi.
During one of his visits to the Holy town of Madinah, the
Ummayyid Caliph Sulayman ibn 'Abd al-Malik wanted to meet
someone who had lived with a Companion of the Holy Prophet , if
such a man was still alive. On being informed that Abu Hazim was the
only man of this kind left in the town, he sent for him .
The Caliph said to him, "Abu Hazim, why have you shown such
discourtesy and disloyalty?"
"How have I been discourteous or disloyal to you?"
"Everybody who is anybody in Madinah has come to see me, but
you haven't", complained the Caliph.
"O chief of the Muslims, may Allah protect you against saying
something which is not true to the fact", replied Abu Hazim "You have
not been familiar with my name before today, nor have I ever seen
you. Things being what they are, how could I come to meet you? Is it
disloyalty or discourtesy?"
The Caliph looked around questioningly. Imam Zuhri
spoke up:
"Abu Hazim is right, and you are wrong."
Changing the subject, the Caliph asked: "Abu Hazim, how is it
that I don't like to die?"
"The reason is simple," Abu Hazim said "You have made your
world flourish, and turned your habitation in the other world into a
desert. Naturally, you don't like to leave a flourishing city for a
desert."
The Caliph admitted that it was true, and came out with another
question: "What would it be like when we have to appear before Allah
tomorrow?"
Said Abu Hazim, "The man who has been doing good deeds will
present himself before Allah like the man who returns from a travel to
his loved ones, while the man who has been doing evil deeds will

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appear like the slave who had run away and has now been brought
back to his master."
The Caliph burst into tears, and said with a sigh, "I wish we could
know how Allah would deal with us."
Abu Hazim replied, "Assess your deeds in the light of the Book of
Allah, and you will know."
"Which verse of the Holy Qur'an can help us to do so?"
"Here is the verse : إِنَّ الْأَبْرَّارَ لَفِىْ نَعِيْمِ وَإِنَّ الْفُبَّارَ لَفِىٌ جَحِيْم :"Surely the righteous
shall be in bliss, and the transgressors shall be in a fiery furnace."
(82:13-14)
The Caliph remarked: "Allah's mercy is great; it can cover even the
wrong-doers."
Abu Hazim recited another verse : ◌َإِنَّ رَحُمَتَ اللهِ قَرِيُبَ مِنَ المُحْسِنِين :"Surely the
Mercy of Allah is close to those who do good deeds." (7:56)
The Caliph advanced another question: "Tell me, Abu Hazim, who
is the most honorable among the servants of Allah?"
"Those who are mindful of their fellow-human beings, and possess
the right kind of understanding to know the truth."
"Which is best among good deeds?"
"Fulfilling the obligations laid down by Allah, and keeping away
from what He has forbidden."
"Which is the prayer that is likely to be accepted by Allah?"
"The prayer of a man for him who has done him some good."
"Which is the best form of charity?"
"Giving as much as one can, in spite of one's own need, to a man in
misery without trying to make him feel grateful and without causing
him pain by trying to put him off."
"Which is the best form of speech?"
"Speaking the truth plainly and unreservedly before the man who
can harm you in some way or from whom you expect a favour."
"What kind of man is the wisest among the Muslims?"

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 40 - 42
"He whose actions are governed by obedience to Allah, and who
invites others as well to it."
"What kind of man is the most stupid?"
"He who helps another man in committing some injustice, which
comes to mean that he has been selling off his faith for serving the
worldly interests of that man."
The Caliph agreed with all this, and then asked him pointedly,
"What do you think of me?" Abu Hazim wanted to be excused from
replying to such a question, but the Caliph insisted that he should say
a word of advice. Abu Hazim said:
"O chief of the Muslims, your forefathers established their rule
over the people with the help of the sword and against their will, after
killing hundreds of men. Having done all this, they departed from the
world. I wish you could know what they themselves are saying after
their death and what people are saying about them."
Fearing that the Caliph would be displeased by such plain talk,
one of his courtiers rebuked Abu Hazim for having spoken so rudely.
He replied: "No, you are wrong. I have not said anything rude but only
what Allah has commanded us to say. For Allah has enjoined upon the
'ulama' to speak the truth before the people and not to conceal it."
And he recited this verse of the Holy Qur'an: p,undes : "You
shall make it clear to the people and not conceal it." (3:187)
The Caliph asked, "Alright how can we reform ourselves now?"
Abu Hazim said, "Give up your pride, acquire a spirit of fellow-
feeling for the people, and give them justly what is due to them."
"Abu Hazim, is it possible that you come to live with us?"
"May Allah protect me from it!"
"Why?"
"Because I am afraid that if I live with you, I might begin to like
your wealth and your grandeur, and have to suffer a grievous
punishment for it in the other world."
"Well, is there anything you need? What can we do for you?"

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"Yes, I have a need. Please help me to save myself from Hell and to
enter Paradise."
"This is not in my power."
"Then, there is nothing you can do for me."
The Caliph asked him to pray for him. Abu Hazim made this
prayer: "O Allah, if you approve of Sulayman, make the well-being of
this world and the next easily accessible to him; but if he is your
enemy, drag him by the hair towards the deeds you approve of."
The Caliph then asked him for some special advice. Abu Hazim
said: "I shall make it short. You should have the fear of your Lord and
reverence for Him to the degree that He never finds you present at the
place He has forbidden, and never finds you absent from the place
where He has commanded you to be."
Later on, the Caliph sent one hundred gold dinars to him as a
present. Abu Hazim sent the money back with a letter, saying: "If
these dinars are the wages for my words, then blood and pork are, in
my eyes, cleaner than this money. If you believe that this money is my
due from the public exchequer, then there are hundreds of 'Ulama' and
servants of Islam. If you have sent the same amount to each one of
them, I can accept the money, otherwise I do not need it."
Abu Hazim's refusal to accept the wages for giving advice clearly
shows that taking wages for an act of worship or obedience to Allah is
not permissible.
Verses 43-46
وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلُوَةَ وَأَبُوا الَّكْوَةَ وَارْكَعُوْا مَعَ الَّاكِعِيْنَ 0
أَتَأْمُرُوْنَ النَّاسَ بِالْبَرِّ وَتَنْسَوْنَ اَنْفُسَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْكِتْبَُ
آفَلَا تَعْقِلُوُنَ ا وَاسْتَعِنُواْ بِالصَّْرِ وَالصَّلْوَةِ * وَإِنَّهَا لَكَبِيرَةً
إِلَّ عَلَى الْخُشِعِيْنَ ) أَّذِيْنَ يَظُوْنَ آَنَّهُمْ تُلُقُوا رَّيِّهِمْ وَأَنَّهُمُ
إِلَيْهِ رَجِعُونَ 0
And be steadfast in Salah, and pay Zakah, and bow
down with those who bow. Do you bid others to
righteousness while you ignore your ownselves,

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although you keep reciting the Book? Have you then
no sense? And seek help through patience and prayer.
And it is indeed exacting, but not for the humble in
heart who bear in mind that they are to meet their
Lord, and that to Him they are to return. (Verses 43 -
46)
In the last three verses and these four, Allah reminds the
Israelites of the blessings He has bestowed upon them, and invites
them to Islam and to good deeds. The earlier three verses were
concerned with the true faith and doctrines; the present verses speak
of good deeds, mentioning only the most important of them. It was
usually the love of money and power that made it difficult for the
Jews, specially for their scholars, to accept Islam. The verses prescribe
the remedy for the twin diseases - they should fortify themselves with
Sabr (patience) and Salah (prayer).
"Patience" is a very weak translation of the Arabic word Sabr,
which has three connotations: (a) bearing pain and misfortune
patiently (b) restraining oneself from sin (c) being steadfast in obeying
Allah.
Now, patience, in this wide sense, is the perfect remedy for the love
of money. For, money cannot be an end in itself, but is sought only as a
means of satisfying one's appetites; when a man has made a firm
resolve not to follow his appetites like a slave, he will no longer need
much money, nor will the love of money blind him to the distinction
between his gain and loss. Similarly, Salah is the remedy for ambition
and the love of power. For, outwardly and inwardly both, Salah
involves the exercise of humility; naturally, the more one tries to
perform it in the proper manner, the more it purifies him of the love of
money and power, and of ambition and pride. These being the real
substance of all spiritual disorder in man, once they are brought
under control, it becomes easy for one to accept Islam and to be
steadfast in one's faith.
Let us add that while patience (Sabr) requires only the restraining
or giving up of excessive appetites and unnecessary desires, Salah, in
addition to all this, further requires the performance of certain
actions, and also a temporary renunciation of perfectly lawful desires

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and of many human needs which the Shari'ah allows one to fulfil, e.g.,
eating, drinking, speaking, walking etc. - and, at that, making such a
renunciation five times during the day and the night regularly at fixed
hours. Thus, Salah means performing certain prescribed actions and
restraining oneself from all lawful or unlawful activities at fixed
hours.
Once a man has decided to give up unnecessary desires, the
instinctive urge itself loses its intensity in a few days. So, the exercise
of patience is not, after all, so difficult. But offering Salah entails
submitting oneself to the conditions laid down by the Shari'ah,
observing the fixed hours, and giving up the basic human activities
and desires, all of which is quite exacting for the instinctive
disposition of man. So, one may very well raise an objection here: for
the purpose of making it easy for a man to accept Islam and to be
steadfast in his faith, the Holy Qur'an prescribes Sabr and Salah, but
to use this remedy is in itself a difficult thing, specially the Salah and
its restriction - now, how can this difficulty be overcome? The Holy
Qur'an admits that performing Salah regularly and steadfastly is, no
doubt, exacting, and proceeds to show the way out of this impasse -
Salah is not a burden to the humble in heart.
To know the effectiveness of the remedy, we must know the
disease, and find out why Salah should be so burdensome. The human
heart loves to roam about freely in the vast spaces of thought and
fancy; all the organs of the human body being subservient to the heart,
it requires them to be equally free. On the other hand, Salah demands
the renunciation of such freedom, - and prohibits eating, drinking,
walking, talking etc. - a restriction which annoys the heart and is also
painful for the human organs governed by it.
In short, Salah is burdensome because the heart enjoys to keep the
faculties of thought and imagination in a continuous motion. Motion
being the disease, it can only be remedied by its opposite - restfulness.
Hence, the Holy Qur'an prescribes Khushu' ( +) a word which we
have rendered into English by the phrase "humbleness in heart", but
which actually signifies "the restfulness of the heart."
Now, the question arises as to how one can acquire this

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"restfulness of the heart." Everyone knows through his own experi-
ence that, if one deliberately tries to empty one's heart of all kinds of
thoughts and fancies, the effort rarely succeeds. The only way to
achieve it is that since the human mind cannot move in two directions
simultaneously, one should make it absorb itself in one thought alone
so that all other thoughts may disappear by themselves without any
effort on one's part. So, having prescribed "the restfulness of the
heart", the Holy Qur'an also prescribes a particular thought which
will, if one absorbs oneself in it, drive away all other thoughts: once
the movement of thought and fancy has been reduced to the restful-
ness of the heart, the performance of Salah becomes easy; regularity in
offering the ordained prayers gradually cures the disease of pride and
ambition, and thus the way to the perfecting of one's faith grows
smooth. Such is the well-ordered and beautifully integrated art of spir-
itual medicine that the Holy Qur'an has given us! 21
Now, the thought in which one should immerse oneself in order to
acquire "the restfulness of the heart" has been explained by the Holy
Qur'an in describing "the humble in heart" - they are the people who
bear in mind that they are to meet their Lord, when they shall receive
the reward for their obedience, and also bear in mind that they are to
return to Him, when they shall be required to present an account of
their deeds. These twin thoughts produce hope and fear in the heart,
and hope and fear are the best agents for inducing a man to devote
himself to good deeds.
The prayer which the Holy Qur'an prescribes is not a mere
contemplation or meditation. Al-Salah: Lall , in the terminology of
Shari'ah, is a definite form of 'Ibadah or worship, the mode of which is
divinely ordained. As often as the Holy Qur'an insists on the
performance of the Salah, it employs the word Iqamah, except in one
or two instances. Lexically, the word means "making a thing straight,
21. As against this stand the fanciful systems of thought - concentration,
wearing a pseudo-mystical look and some-times an Eastern make-up but
all spawned in the Angst-ridden West - things like Yoga and
Transcendental Meditation, which serve only to derange an already
disordered psyche.

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or keeping it firmly in its place." A tree or a wall or anything which is
vertical and straight, usually lasts long in its place; so, the word also
signifies "establishing a thing or making it perpetual." Thus, the
conjunction of the two words, Salah and Iqamah, in the Holy Qur'an
and the Hadith signifies, not merely offering the prayer, but
performing the five ordained prayers steadfastly in the prescribed
form at the prescribed hours and fulfilling all the necessary
conditions. The Holy Qur'an and the Hadith speak of the great
rewards and blessings one can hope to receive for offering Salah, and
of other benefits which flow from it, but all of them are tied up with
Iqamah in the sense which we have just explained. For example, the
Holy Qur'an says:ِإِنَّ الصَّلُوةَ تَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحُشَآءِ وَالمُنكَر :"The Salah restrains one
from indecency and evil." (29:45) The prescribed prayer will bear these
fruits only when one has been performing it in the full sense of
Iqamah. It follows from it that if one finds people who are quite
regular in offering their prayers indulging in immodest or even evil
activities, one should not have misgivings about the veracity of this
verse, for these people have, no doubt, been praying, but not been
observing the conditions of Iqamah.
Verse 43 also speaks of paying Zakah, the prescribed alms. Now,
lexically speaking, the Arabic word is; : Zakah has two significations:
(a) to purify (b) grow. Zakah is not a tax levied by the State or society,
but, in the terminology of the Shari'ah, means that portion of one's
belongings which is set apart and spent in total accord with the
injunctions of the Shari'ah.
This verse is addressed to the Israelites, and does not by itself
show that offering prayers and paying alms was obligatory for them
before the days of Islam. But the following verse:
وَلَقَدُ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيْنَاقَ بَنِىٌّ إِسْرَائِيلَ وَبَعَثْنَا مِنْهُمْ اُنَىُ عَشَرَ نَقِيُّبًا* وَقَالَ اللهُ
إِنِّيُ مَعَكُمْ لَئِنُ أَقَمُمُ الصَّلوَةَ وَاتَيْتُمُ الَّكُوَةَ
Allah made a covenant with the Israelites and raised among
them twelve chieftains. And Allah said, 'I am with you. Sure-
ly, if you perform Salah and pay Zakah'. (5:12)
does show that the two things were obligatory for them, even if the
external modes might have been different.

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The verse proceeds to say: "Bow down with those who bow (in
worship)." Lexically, the Arabic word Ruku' means "to bow down", and
may hence be applied even to prostrating oneself (Sajdah), which is
the ultimate form of bowing down. But in the terminology of the
Shari'ah it pertains to the particular form of bowing down which has
been prescribed for Salah.
One may well ask why this particular gesture has been chosen for
a special mention from among the different gestures involved in the
Salah. We would reply that it is a metonymy for Salah, and a part has
been made to stand for the whole - just as in verse 17:78 : 33Ty : "the
recitation of the Qur'an in the morning" refers to the morning
prayers, and on several occasions in some Hadith narrations the use
of the word Sajdah covers one set of movements (Rak'ah) in Salah or
even to the whole of it. Thus, the verse actually means: "Offer Salah
along with those who offer Salah."
Salah with Jama'ah : (congregation)
Then, there is a more comprehensive explanation for the specific
reference to "bowing down" (Ruku'). The form of the ritual prayers
ordained for the Israelites and others included prostrating oneself
(Sajdah), but not bowing down. This particular way of bowing down
called Ruku' is peculiar to the Islamic Salah alone. Hence, Raki'in or
those who bow down (in worship) are, obviously enough, the members
of the Islamic Ummah, and the verse, in effect, asks the Israelites to
accept Islam, and to offer their prayers along with the Muslims.
The command, ◌َآقِيمُوا الصَّلوة :"Be steadfast in Salah", shows that Salah
is obligatory. The other command, ◌َوَأُرْكَعُوا مَعَ الرَّاكِعِين :"Bow down with
those who bow (in worship)", establishes that Salah is to be offered in
the company of other Muslims (Jama'ah).
A very important question arises here - what is the degree of the
obligation intended in this injunction? There is a difference of views
among the Fuqaha' (jurists) on this point. According to a large body of
blessed Companions, their successors and of the jurists of the ummah,
it is necessary (wajib) to offer Salah in a congregation, and it is a sin
to give up the Jama'ah. Some of the blessed Companions have gone to
the length of holding that it is not permissible to offer Salah all by

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oneself without a proper excuse allowed by the Shari'ah. Verse 43, in
its literal connotation, provides an argument in favour of this view.
Moreover, certain hadith narrations too seem to suggest that the
Jama'ah is necessary(Wajib). For example, a hadith reported by Abu
Dawud says that for a man living near a mosque Salah is permissible
only in the mosque.
According to another hadith reported from the blessed Companion
Abu Hurayrah &s Jl , by Imam Muslim, a Companion who was blind
asked the Holy Prophet & for the permission to offer Salah in his
house, for there was no one to take him to the mosque and to bring
him back. The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم allowed him to do so, but, as
he was leaving, asked him if he could hear the call for the prayers in
صلى الله عليه وسلم his house. He said that he could. The Holy Prophet
remarked: "In that case, you must come to the mosque." Another
narration of the same hadith as reported by Abu Dawud adds that the
Holy Prophet said: "Then, I see no room for making a concession
in your case." Similarly, al-Qurtubi cites a hadith from the blessed
Companion Ibn 'Abbas a Jff _>, who reports that the Holy Prophet
once said: من سمع النداء فلم يجب فلا صلوة له إلا من عذر :"The man who hears the call
for the prayers but does not go to the mosque for the Jama'ah, has
not offered his prayers at all, except that he should have some
valid excuse." On the basis of such ahadith, Companions like
'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud and Abu Musa al-Ash'ari ps Aly, have ruled
that if a man lives close enough to a mosque to hear the call for
prayers and yet does not attend the Jama'ah without a valid excuse,
his offering of the Salah at home is not acceptable. (Let us explain that
hearing the call refers to the call made by a man possessing an
average voice, and not to that made by a man with an extraordinarily
loud voice or broadcast by a loudspeaker). Presented this far were
arguments advanced by our revered elders who consider that Salah
with Jama'ah is wajib or necessary.
On the other hand, the majority of the blessed Companions, their
successors and later jurists hold that the Jama'ah is a Sunnah which
has been particularly emphasized (Mu'akkadah), and that among the
Sunnah of this kind it is, like the Sunnah offered in Fajr Salah, the
most emphasized so as to come very close to being necessary. On the

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basis of certain other verses and Hadith narrations, they interpret the
imperative in "bow down with those who bow" as intended for
emphasis only. As for the ahadith which appear to be saying that it is
just not permissible for those who live near a mosque to offer their
Salah at home, they say that these only mean that this is not the
perfect way to offer the prayers.
The most comprehensive explanation of the matter has been
provided by the blessed Companion 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, as reported
by Imam Muslim: "The man who wishes to meet Allah tomorrow (i.e.
the Day of Judgment) as a true Muslim, should offer these (five)
prayers regularly and steadfastly in a place where the call for the
prayers is habitually made (i.e. a mosque), for Allah has laid down for
your Prophet certain ways of good guidance (Sunnan al-Huda), and
offering the five prescribed prayers with the Jama'ah is one of them. If
you offer these prayers at home," he added pointing towards a man,
"as he does, keeping away from the Jama'ah, you will have forsaken
the Sunnah of your Prophet, and if you forsake the Sunnah of your
Prophet, you will go astray. The man who (performs the wudu' or
ablution and cleanses himself in the proper manner, and then) goes to
a mosque, for every step that he takes, Allah forgives one of his sins,
adds one good deed to his account and promotes him one rank higher.
Our company was such that there was not a single man, except for
people known for their hypocrisy who would offer their prayers at
1
home away from the Jama'ah, so much so that even when a man was
ill or unable to walk, he was brought to the mosque with his hands
resting on the shoulders of two men, and made to stand in the row of
those who were praying."
This statement fully brings out the great importance of the
Jama'ah, but at the same time defines its exact position by including it
among the "ways of good guidance" (Sunan al-Huda) which are, in the
terminology of the Fuqaha' (jurists), called Al-Sunan al-Mu'akkadah
(the Sunnah on which the greatest emphasis has been placed). Thus, if
a man does not go to the mosque for Jama'ah and offers Salah at home
without having proper excuse like illness, his prayers will be valid, but
he will have earned the displeasure of Allah for having given up a
Sunnah which comes under the category of Mu'akkadah. If neglecting