Indexed OCR Text

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Surah 'Al-'Imran 3 : 104-105
فبقلبه، وذلك أضعف الايمان
Whoever from among you sees that an evil is being committed
then, he should change it with his hands. And if he is unable
to do that, then, with his spoken word. And if he is unable to
do even that, then, with his heart (i.e., abhor it taking it to be
evil) and this is the weakest degree of faith.
All these citations leave no doubt about the fact that the duty of
bidding the Fair and forbidding the Unfair falls on every individual of
the community. The liability will, however, be proportionate to
everyone's ability, which is true in the case of all other Islamic injunc-
tions. You may have noticed in the hadith just quoted above that the
obligation varies with ability.
Now, each function requires a different ability. First of all, the
ability to bid the Fair depends on a correct knowledge of the Fair and
the Unfair as such. One who cannot distinguish between the two or
does not have a full knowledge of his undertaking would not be the
right person to go out to others to bid the Fair and forbid the Unfair.
Obviously, this would create disorder instead of discipline. It is quite
possible that such a person may, because of his lack of knowledge,
forbid something Fair or bid something Unfair. So, one who does not
know the Fair and the Unfair is obligated to find it out, get to learn
the Ma'ruf and Munkar as determined by the Shariah of Islam and
then he can go ahead and make these known to others as part of his
community service. Let this be clear that until such time that one has
acquired the pre-requisites of this mission, it is not permissible for him
to stand up for this service. These days there are places where many
ignorant enthusiasts would stand and deliver a sermon without
knowing the Qur'an or the Hadith, or worse still, sections of common
people would use hearsay to pick up arguments with others as to how
something should or should not be done. This method is not proper to
correct the Muslim society. Indeed it will result in more disputes and
bring destruction to it.
Similarly, it is also included in 'to bid the Fair' that there be no
formidable danger or unbearable harm likely to affect the person
involved. Therefore, it was said in the hadith quoted above that one
should stop sin with his hands, that is, by this strength. If he is unable

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to do so, let him do it with his tongue. If he is unable to do so with his
tongue, he should at the least consider it bad in his heart. It is obvious
that 'not being able to stop it with his tongue' does not just mean that
this person's tongue cannot move. It simply means that he strongly
apprehends that, should he open his mouth and speak the truth, his
life will be taken or he will be subjected to some other serious injury or
loss. In such a case, this person will not be taken as 'able' and he will
not be called a sinner for the abandonment of bidding the Fair and
forbidding the Unfair. It would be an entirely different matter, if he
elects to stake his life and property in the way of Allah, bear all losses
and still goes ahead and bids the Fair and forbids the Unfair, which is
something many blessed Companions and their Successors have been
reported to have done. This is determination at its highest, and a feat
of great merit which raised their status in this world and in the Here-
after. But, what they did was not obligatory on them.
The nature of this obligation requires that one bid the Fair and
forbid the Unfair in what is necessary; this would be obligatory. If
done in what is commendable; the act too would remain commendable.
For instance, the five salats are obligatory, therefore, giving good
counsel to the non-performer of salah will become necessary on
everyone. The nawafil (optional prayers) are classed as commendable
or desirable, therefore, giving good counsel on these will be commend-
able. Here, etiquette would require that while advising someone to do
a commendable act, soft language and attitude must be adopted in all
cases. Similarly, while inviting to an obligatory act, one should start
with softness. However, he may resort to firmness in attitude if one
rejects the soft call outright. It is common sight these days that people
tend to object in case of what is commendable or indifferent rather
strongly, but remain silent when people abandon what is obligatory.
In addition to this, this obligation will become operative for every-
body when one actually sees something forbidden being done before
his eyes. For instance, there is a person who is seeing that a Muslim is
drinking wine, or stealing or raping, he will then be obligated with the
duty to stop it to the best of his ability. If all this is not happening
before his eyes, he is not liable to discharge this duty. Rather, this is
the duty of the Islamic government to inquire into the crime, investi-

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gate and punish the criminal.
The words of the Holy Prophet من رأى منكم منكرا, صلى الله عليه وسلم (Whoever
from among you sees th t an evil is being committed) point out to this
principle.
Then comes another level of this function - that there be a dedi-
cated group among Muslims devoted exclusively to the mission of
calling people to the Faith and giving them right guidance towards it.
Its single mandate and activity should be that it keeps calling people
to the Qur'an and the Sunnah through word and deed. When it sees
people less inclined towards what is good, or sees them indulging in
evils, it should not fall short of pointing out what is good and
preventing people from taking to the evil, of course, according to its
ability. It should be realized that this great mission can be carried out
fully and effectively only when the performers have a complete knowl-
edge of questions involved, as well as, when they are conversant with
methods that go to make the call effective in the light of Sunnah. It is
for this reason that a particular group of Muslims has been charged
with this responsibility as they are likely to take care of all ramifica-
tions of this effort.
So, in the present verse:
وَلْتَكُنُ مِنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُوْنَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُكُنَ بِالْعُوُفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الُكِرِ
it has been said: And there has to be a group of people from among you
who call towards the good and bid the Fair and forbid the Unfair.
The first part of the verse,"Like &s, translated as (And there has
to be a group of people from among you) gives a hint that the presence
of this group is necessary. In case, a government does not shoulder
this responsibility, it will become obligatory on Muslims that they
should establish and operate such a group, because the vital role of the
Ummah depends on the existence of such a group. What are the major
features of this group? The Qur'anic answer is: 11322 (who call
towards the good). It means that this call of theirs shall be their
primary objective. What does 'khayr' or 'good' mean? The Holy Prophet
"that is, "khayr الخير هواتباع القرآن وسنتى : has himself explained it by saying علية
means following the Qur'an and my Sunnah. (Ibn Kathir)

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Seen in a restricted sense, 'to bid the Fair and to forbid the Unfair'
could have been taken to mean that doing so shall be needed only on
special occasions when the evil or 'the Unfair' (munkarat) are seen
being committed. But, the expression 11322? (who call towards the
good) in the beginning makes it clear that the function of this group
will be to call towards the good, even when evil practices are not seen,
or time may not have come to perform something obligatory.
For example, it is known that in the period between sunrise and
Zawal (noon) no salah is prescribed by the Shari'ah. But this group
shall continue even in this period, to exhort people to perform salah
when it is due. Or, take fasting which may not be due at a particular
time, the month of Ramadan being far away, but that group will not
shelve its duty and become complacent. Instead, it will keep reminding
people about the month of Ramadan in advance, stressing on them
that fasting will be obligatory at that time. In short, calling people to
good will be the intrinsic duty of this group for all times to come.
Then, this 'call towards good' has two sub-levels:
1. Calling non-Muslims towards 'khayr', that is, Islam. This
involves all Muslims. It means that every Muslim, in general, and this
group, in particular, is responsible for giving the call of Islam, both by
words and acts, to all peoples of the world. Therefore in a verse which
enjoins jihad on Muslims, the true Muslims have been defined and
praised in the following words:
الَّذِينَ إِنٌ مَّكَّنَّهُمْ فِى الْأَرْضِ أَقَامُوا الصَّلَوةَ وَأَتَوُا الزَّكْوَةَ وَأَمَرُوْا بِالْعُرُوُفِ
وَنَّهَوْا ◌َنِ الْمُكِرِّ
that is, 'true Muslims are those who when We endow them with
authority in a land the first thing they do is to establish a system of
obedience to Allah on His earth, of which salah is an outward expres-
sion, and raise their financial system on principles governed by zakah,
and they make the bidding of the Fair and the forbidding of the Unfair
their very purpose of life.' (22:41)
Only if, the Muslim community of today were to take to extending
their call towards good to other peoples as their objective, all ills that
have crept into our social frame through the blind following of non-

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Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 104-105
Muslim nations shall cease to exist. When a community resolves to
unite for this great objective and becomes sure that it has to forge
ahead among the nations of the world and that the responsibility of
teaching and training them falls on its shoulders, will find that all its
disunities have disappeared and there remains nothing but that
wonderful goal in sight. The secret of the successes achieved by the
Holy Prophet H and his noble Companions, رضى الله عنهم أجمعين, lies
hidden behind this effort. It appears in a hadith that the Holy Prophet
صلىالله
recited this verse , (And there has to be a group of people
from among you) and then said: This special group is the group of the
noble Companions (Ibn Jarir). This is because each individual from
among these blessed souls considered himself personally charged with
the responsibility of calling people to good ..
2. The second sub-level of this noble function is to call Muslims
themselves towards the good. This means that tabligh or the act of
conveying the message of Allah should be done by all Muslims gener-
ally, and by the special group particularly, among Muslims, fulfilling
the duty of da wah imposed by the Qur'an.
Again this call takes two forms as given below:
a). The first form will be that of a general and open call to good
through which all Muslims will be educated into necessary injunctions
and morals which have to be followed in Islam.
b). The second call would be particular and selective through
which the objective will be to produce experts in the Muslim commu-
nity, experts in the sciences of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Another
verse of the Holy Qur'an leads in this direction:
فَلَوْلَا نَفَرَ مِنْ كُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ مِنْهُمْ طَائِفَةٌ لِيَتَفَقَّهُوْا فِى الدِّيْنِ وَلِيُنْذِرُوا قَوْمَهُمْ إِذَا
رَجَعُوْا إِلَيْهِمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَحْذَرُوُنَّ
So, why should it not be that a group from every section of
them goes forth, so that they may acquire perfect under-
standing of the Faith, and so that they may warn their people.
when they return to them, that they may be cautious. (9:122)
Further on, this responsibility-bearing group has been identified as
carrying the additional distinction of ◌ِيَأُمُرُوْنَ بِالْعَرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ المُكَر ,that is,
'they bid the Fair and forbid the Unfair'.

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The word, 'ma'ruf literally means 'recognized' but as a Qur'anic
term it includes all good enjoined by Islam, and promoted by all
prophets during their respective ages. Since what is good is known and
recognized, it has been referred to as 'ma'ruf.
Similarly, the word, 'munkar' literally means 'non-recognized" or
'alien", but as a Qur'anic term it includes all evils and disorders about
which it is well-known and recognized that the Holy Prophet g
declared them to be impermissible.
Keeping this in view, another point is worth-consideration. The
Holy Qur'an could have used the word 'wajib' (what is obligating)
instead of 'ma'ruf, and the word 'ma'asi (sins) instead of 'munkar', but
it did not do so. The selection of the words 'ma'ruf and 'munkar' may be
indicative of the principle that the subject of bidding the Fair and
forbidding the Unfair must be an act which is recognized by the entire
Muslim Ummah as 'fair' or 'unfair' without any difference of interpre-
tation. As for the rules deduced through ijtihad, which have always
been open for the different interpretations offered by the capable
Muslim jurists, they should not be made an issue during the process of
bidding the fair and forbidding the unfair' It is a': الامر بالمعروف والنهى عن المنكر
pity that such a wise Qur'anic principle is being generally neglected in
the Muslim community, and the Muslims are made to fight each other
on the secondary issues which can admit different interpretations.
People tend to consider such efforts as some feat of piety while the
evils which are held by the entire ummah unanimously as sins and are
being committed in the community receive much less attention and
often go unchecked.
Towards the conclusion of the verse, the commendable end of the
group described therein has been enshrined in the following words:
وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْفُلِحُونَ
And it is these who are successful.
It simply means that, in reality, success is achieved by such people
alone.
1. It means that if a recognized school of Islamic jurisprudence, such as
Hanafi school adopting a particular interpretation of Islamic law, has held
an act as 'fair', the holders of an opposite view like Sh'afi'ites should not
blame or reproach the former for their action, and vice versa. (editor)

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Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 104-105
Primarily, this description applies to the great group of the
Companions of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم . They were the ones
who rose with the great objective of calling towards the good and of
curbing what is bad and in a very brief period of time conquered the
entire world of their time. There were power centres of Byzantine and
Persia which could not stop them and they went ahead teaching
lessons in morality and purity and ushering around the light of right-
eousness and Godliness wherever they went.
Having established that Muslims have a distinct mission to convey
and preach the God-oriented message of good, the text moves on to
warn Muslims with the words:
وَلَا تَكُرُّنُوا كَالَّذِيْنَ تَفَرَّقُوا وَاخْتَلَفُؤْا مِنْ بَعْدِ مَاجَاءَ هُمُ الْبَيِّنْتُ
And do not be like those who became divided and fell into
disputes after clear signs had come to them. (105)
It means that Muslims should not be like Jews and Christians
who, even after clear injunctions of Allah Almighty had reached them,
became divided in the implementation of the basic code of faith simply
because they preferred to follow the dictates of their desires. Thus,
thrown in violent mutual disputations, vocal and physical, they
brought Divine punishment upon themselves. This verse is, in fact, a
complement of وَاعْتَصِدُهُا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا (verse 103) where Muslims were asked
to seek unity and strength by attaching themselves to Allah's
commands, individually and collectively, which helps make an entire
community act like one body, one person, one entity. Then comes the
perpetual mission of da wah, the act of calling people to good, the
process of bidding the Fair and forbidding the Unfair. These nurture
and strengthen that unity. After that, by saying pas, (and be not
divided) in verse 103 and pear Que på& 4; (And do not be like those who
became divided) in the present verse, Muslims have been asked to
learn a lesson from past communities which were destroyed by mutual
dissensions with the good counsel that they should do their best to
stay safe against this disease.
The type of divisiveness censured in this verse is a division that
shows up because of arrogant and egotistic self-assertiveness, be it in
the fundamentals of religion or in its subsidiaries. The statement

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after clear signs had come to them' is an obvious indicator towards
this explanation. The truth is that all fundamentals of religion are
clear. Even some subsidiaries are so clear that they allow no margin of
disagreement, unless of course, there be a selfish motive behind it.
However, there are subsidiary issues not so definite and clear.
They may have no clear support from the texts of the Holy Qur'an and
Sunnah, (rather they are deduced by the scholars on the basis of
analogy) or the text on which they are based is open to different inter-
pretations. The resulting difference of opinion in the understanding of
these subsidiaries is not included in the sense of this verse. The well-
known authentic hadith narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim from the
blessed Companion, 'Amr ibn al'As, is more than enough to permit it.
In this hadith the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has said that one who
does Ijtihad (conducting a competent inquiry within the framework
provided by the Shari'ah to resolve a religious issue) and comes up
with a ruling which is correct, he gets a twofold reward; and if he
makes a mistake in his Ijtihad, he gets one reward.
This tells us that an Ijtihad made by a competent scholar even if it
turns out to be erroneous, is still worthy enough for a reward provided
utmost effort has been made. How can this be regarded as blame-
worthy? So, the difference of opinion resulting from Ijtihad undertaken
by the blessed Companions and the great Imams has absolutely no
connection with the present verse. According to Sayyidna Qasim ibn
Muhammad and 'Umar ibn 'Abdul-'Aziz . Uli, , the difference of
opinion among the noble Companions is a source of mercy and ease for
people (as in Ruh al-Ma'ani from al-Baihaqi and al-Mudkhal).
Ruling on difference of opinion
Let us have a clear understanding of a serious matter of principle
which arises out of this discussion. When we talk about differences in
Ijtihad, we mean an Ijtihad which is permissible under the Shariah of
Islam. (There is no such thing as an Ijtihad outside the ramifications
of the Shariah). In a Shariah-based Ijtihad, one or the other Imam
may elect a view to stand by according to his line of thought, but the
fact shall remain that, in the sight of Allah, only one of these views is
true while other views are not so true. But again, the decision as to
which is true and which is not rests with Allah Almighty, who will

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bestow, on the Day of Resurrection, a twofold reward on the Imam and
'Alim who arrives at the correct ruling through his Ijtihad. Also
rewarded on this Day, will be the one whose Ijtihad was not correct. In
short, nobody except Allah has the right to sit on judgement in the
difference of interpretation and say that this is true and that is false.
However, to the best of one's understanding and insight whichever
side one thinks is closest to the Qur'an and the Sunnah he may say
that, as far as he thinks, his choice is correct, although the possibility
of its being incorrect cannot be ruled out and that which is the opinion
on the other side, different from his chosen option is regarded as incor-
rect, with the possibility of that it may be correct in the sight of Allah.
This is something all leading Imams of Figh, the masters of Muslim
jurisprudence, agree upon.
So, the rule becomes clear that no side taken in a difference of
interpretations is 'munkar' or 'unfair' and open to objection. Thus it
will not be subjected to reproach under the authority of 323 543it
ellos (Bid the Fair and forbid the Unfair). More so, when it is not
unfair, raising an objection against what does not fall under the
'Unfair' would itself be regarded as unfair. This must be avoided. This
is a rule most educated people do not fully comprehend these days or
simply neglect it. They do not desist from abusing and verbally
attacking others who think otherwise with all sorts of derogatory
remarks and fretting. Inevitably, this leads to internecine confronta-
tion and rampant disunity among Muslims, a phenomenon visible all
over the Muslim world.
It has been already said that a difference of interpretation, if it
corresponds to the principles of Ijtihad, does not go against the injunc-
tion (f ý, (and be not divided) and, therefore, it is not blameworthy.
But, the way this difference is being handled these days, when quar-
relsome debates around the tertiary subjects are being nursed as if
they were the very basis of Muslim faith. Unfortunately this is what
results in mutual confrontation and abuse. It can be said without any
shade of doubt that this behaviour is certainly an open violation of the
same Qur'anic injunction (ff\; (and be not divided). It is, most
certainly, objectionable and totally contrary to the way of our learned
elders, the blessed Companions and their Successors. There is no

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Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 104-105
precedent for this type of behaviour among the early scholars (the
Companions and their disciples) who were the best of our community.
That anyone was ever blamed on the basis of difference of opinion in
matters of interpretation in this manner is something unheard of. For
instance, Imam Shafi'i and other Imams, may Allah have mercy on
them all, rule that in a salah offered in a congregation behind an
imam, all those offering their prayer behind him must recite the Surah
al-Fatihah as an obligation. Given this ruling anyone who does not
fulfil this obligation will not have offered his salah at all. Parallel to
this is the view of Imam Abu Hanifah, may Allah have His mercy on
him, according to whom it is not permissible for one who prays behind
an imam to recite his own Surah al-Fatihah, therefore, the Hanafiyah
do not recite it while offering prayers in a congregation behind an
imam. But, nowhere during the entire history of Muslim community
there is any report saying that the followers of the Shafi'i school
considered Hanafiyah as the deserters of the obligation of salah or that
their prayers are not complete. They have never been blamed or criti-
'cised in the manner one would criticise and attack the evil acts
forbidden by the Shari'ah.
Imam ibn 'Abd al-Barr has, mentioned the attitude of the early
scholars and the revered elders in the following words:
عن يحى بن سعيد قال ما برح أهل الفتوى يفتون فيحل هذا ويحرم هذا .
فلا يرى المحرم ان المحل هلك لتحليله ولا يرى المحل ان المحرم هلك
لتحريمه (جامع بيان العلم، ص ٨٠)
Those who are entitled to give fatwa, have always been issuing
fatwas. One of them would rule (concerning injunctions not
covered under the texts) that something is lawful while the
other will rule it to be unlawful. But, the latter takes the
former doomed to perdition, nor does the former think that
the later is doomed to perdition. (Jami' Bayan al-'Ilm, p. 80)
An important note of caution
All this discussion about Ijtihad relates to the one carried out
under the standard rules governing it. The very first condition is that
Ijtihad can be resorted to in questions and issues about which there is
no categorical decision available in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Or, it

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Surah 'Al-'Imran 3 : 106-109
may be that such decision is not clear and susceptible to more than
one interpretation. Or, it is possible that a combination of some verses
of the Qur'an and some narrations of the hadith may be apparently
contradictory. In situations such as this, only those who possess the
necessary pre-requisites to carry out Ijtihad will be entitled to do so.
Ijtihad is no easy matter. It requires the most perfect expertise (in the
real and full sense of the term) of all disciplines related to the Qur'an
and the Hadith, a comprehensive and perfect knowledge of the Arabic
language, and a comprehensive knowledge of the sayings of the
blessed Companions and their Successors. Therefore, anyone who
dabbles in questions which have been settled by authoritative texts
and comes up with opinions contrary to those of leading authorities,
then this difference of opinion will not fall under the category of
Ijtihad as envisaged by the Shari'ah ..
This will also be true about the person who does not fulfil the
conditions of Ijtihad. What he says does not affect the question at all.
This tendency has unfortunately become fairly visible in Muslim socie-
ties. Those who consider themselves educated (in modern sciences).
have started to express their personal opinions relating to matters
that have been settled in the Qur'an and Sunnah. This is ignorance at
its ugliest. These are issues where even Imams and mujtahids would
not dare speak. How can the exercise of so called Ijtihad be acceptable
from a person who does not even possess the knowledge of Islamic
sciences let alone the highest level of learning required for Ijtihad.
Verses 106 - 109
يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُ وُجُرْهُ وَتَسْوَدُ وُحُّ فَآَمَا الَّذِيْنَ اسْوَدَّتُّ
وُجُهُهُم ◌ْ آَكَفَرْتُمُ بَعْدَ إِبْمَانِكُمْ فَذُوْفُوا الْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ
تَكْفُرُونَ ﴿١٠٦﴾ وَآَمَّا الَّذِيْنَ ابْيَضَّتُ وُجُهُهُمْ فَفِىٌ رَحْمَةِ اللُّهِءُ
هُمْ فِيُهَا خُلِدُونَ ﴿١٠٧) تِلُكَ أيْتُ اللَّهِ نَتُلُوُهَا مَلَيْكَ بِالْحَقِّ
وَمَا اللهُ يُرِيِّدُ ظُلُمًا لِّلْعُلَمِيْنَ ﴿١٨) وَلِلَّهِ مَا فِى السَّمُوتِ
وَمَا فِى الْأَرْضِ، وَإِلَى اللّهِ تُرْجَعُ الْأُمُوُرُ ﴿١٠٩﴾
On a day when faces shall turn bright and faces shall

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Surah 'Al-'Imran 3 : 106-109
turn dark, as for those whose faces turn dark, (they
shall be questioned): "Did you disbelieve after you had
accepted the Faith? Now taste the punishment because
you have been disbelieving." [106]
And as for those whose faces turn bright, they rest in
Allah's mercy. They are there for ever. [107]
These are the verses of Allah We recite to you with all
veracity. And Allah wants no injustice for (anyone in)
the worlds. [108]
And to Allah belongs what is in the heavens and what
is in the earth. And to Allah all matters are returned.
[109]
Commentary
The meaning of 'bright' and 'dark' faces:
This expression appears in the Holy Qur'an at several places, for
instance:
وَيَوْمَ الْقِيْمَةِ تَرَى الَّذِيْنَ كَذَّبُوا عَلَى اللهِ وُ جُرُّهُهُمْ تُشْرَةًً
On the day of Doom, you shall see those who lied against
Allah (with) their faces blackened. (39:60)
وُجُ يَوْ مَئِذٍ تُّسُفِرَةٌ ضَاحِكَةٌ تُشْسَتَبْشِرَةٌ وَوُجٌُ يَوْمَئِذٍ عَلَيْهَا غَبَرَةٌ تَرْهَقُّهَا
"
Some faces on that day shall shine, laughing, joyous. Some
faces on that day shall be dusty, overspread with darkness.
(80:38)
وُجُ يَوْ مَئِذٍ تَّاضِرَةٌ إِلَى رَبِّهَا نَاِرَةٌ
Faces on that day shall be radiant, looking towards their
Lord. (75:22)
In these verses, several words such as, 'bayad', 'sawad',
'ghabarah', 'qatarah', and 'nadirah', have been used to carry the same
sense. In the English translation, where applicable, they appear in
italics. According to the majority of commentators, 'brightness' signi-
fies the brightness of the light of Faith, that is, the faces of believers
shall be resplendent with the light of Faith, fresh and smiling due to
happiness (as a result of rewards bestowed upon them by Allah).
'Darkness' signifies the darkness of disbelief, that is, the faces of the

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Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 106-109
disbelievers will be covered with the gloomy anguish of disbelief and
the added soot of sin and transgression would turn them still darker.
Who are these people?
Commentators have explained the identity of the people with
'bright and 'dark' faces variously. Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas _ JUl _», says
that the faces of the followers of Sunnah shall be 'bright' and those of
the followers. of Bid'ah (innovation in the revealed Faith, not intended
by Allah and His Messenger, nor by his learned dark Companions).
Hadrat 'Ata' e Affi, says that the faces of the Muhajirin and Ansar
shall be 'bright' and the faces of the Bani Qurayzah and Bani Nadir
shall be 'dark' (Qurtubi).
Imam Tirmidhi narrates a hadith from Sayyidna Abu Umamah ,
as Al which identifies these as relating to the Khawarij, the oldest sect
of rebels), that is, the 'dark' faces shall belong to the Khawarij, and the
'bright' faces to those whom they shall kill. The hadith is given below:
قال ابو امامة كلاب النار شرقتلي تحت أديم السماء، وخير قتلى من قتلوه
ثم قرأ: "يَوْمَّ تَبْيَضُ وُجُلٌ وَ تَسْوَهُ وُجُّ!
When Sayyidna Abu Umamah was asked if he had heard the
hadith from the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, he replied, while
counting on his fingers, that he would not have narrated this
صلى الله عليه وسلم had ith had he not heard it from the Holy Prophet
seven times (Tirmidhi).
Sayyidna 'Ikrimah le Mi , says that 'dark' faces shall belong to
those from among the people of the Book who did confirm the coming
of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم before he was ordained. But when he
had been given prophethood they did not accept and support him. On
the contrary, they started falsifying him (Qurtubi).
There are other explanations as well, other than those cited above,
but they all lead to the same conclusion, and are not contradictory.
Imam al-Qurtubi has said in his Tafsir that the expression ?! 3
s ' jin the verse means that the faces of sincere Muslims shall be
'bright' but the faces of all those who may have altered their religion,
or may have become apostates and disbelievers, or may be concealing
their hypocrisy in their hearts, shall be 'dark'.

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Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 106-109
Some special notes:
In the verse Allah Almighty has mentioned the bayad first, and the
sawad or darkness after it. But, in the verse which follows: Sie Qui cu
,'(As for those whose faces turn dark), saw ad or darkness has been
made to appear before bayad or brightness, although the sequence of
the original statement required that the mention of brightness appear
first at this place as well. This reversal of the order seems to indicate
that Allah Almighty has pointed out to His main purpose of creation.
That purpose is to bless His creation with His mercy; punishment is
not the objective. So, those with bright faces come first as they deserve
the mercy and merit from their Lord. People with dark, anguished
faces were mentioned later as the ones who deserve punishment.
Towards the close of the verse, the statement Jis tu (They rest in
Allah's mercy) is meant to stress upon the great mercy of the Creator.
One cannot miss observing that those deserving of mercy were identi-
fied immediately at the beginning of the verse and again, at the end of
the verse, and very affectionately indeed. The mention of those whose
faces shall turn dark remains in between. All this points out to His
limitless, endless mercy, clearly suggesting that human beings were
certainly not created to serve as an exhibit or manifestation of Divine
punishment; instead, they were created to flourish under the sunshine
of Allah's mercy.
2. About the statement, 'they shall rest in Allah's mercy', the
blessed Companion Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas & M , says that 'rahmah' or
mercy' in the verse means 'Jannah' or 'paradise'. Here too, the wisdom
behind giving the name 'mercy' to 'paradise' is, quite obviously, that
man, no matter how worshipful and pious he may be, shall not enter
Paradise unless it be through the sole mercy of Allah Almighty. The
reason is that being devoted in acts of worship is no feat of human
excellence as such. On the contrary, the very ability to do so is, in
itself, a gift of Allah. So, 'ibadah' or worship does not, in itself, create
an inherent right to enter Paradise. It is Allah's mercy alone through
which one can enjoy the bliss of Paradise. (al-Tafsir al-Kabir)
3. The sentence Jess zu (they rest in Allah's mercy) is immedi-
ately qualified by 3'' '' (they are there for ever). This means that
the mercy in which the believers shall rest will not be temporary; it

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Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 110
would be forever and eternal. This blessing will never be taken away
or reduced in their case. In contrast to this are those whose faces shall
turn dark; for them, it has not be expressly mentioned if they shall be
in that state for ever.
Sinning man earns his own punishment:
The verse ◌َ106) فَذُقُوا الْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْفُرُون) (now taste the punishment
because you have been sinning) indicates that the punishment on that
Day is not from Allah but that it is as consequence of what man has
earned while living his mortal life, for the truth is that the blessings of
paradise and the hardships of hell are simply a changed form of our
very deeds. So, later on in verse 108, it was said: ◌َوَمَا اللَّهُ مُبِرِيُ ظلمًا لِلْعَلَمِين (and
Allah wants no injustice for {anyone in the worlds} which means that
Allah has no intention of being unjust to His creation. Whatever
reward or punishment there is, is nothing but justice and very much
the perfect expression of the divine wisdom and mercy.
Verse 110
كُنُْمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْعَرُفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ
الُْكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ، وَلَوْ ا مَنَ اهُلُ الْكِتْبِ لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَّهُمْءُ
مِنْهُمُ الْؤُمِنُونَ وَأَكْثَرُهُمُ الْفُسِقُونَ ﴿١١٠)
You are the best Ummah raised for mankind. You bid
the Fair and forbid the Unfair and believe in Allah.
And if the people of the Book had believed, it would
have been better for them. Of them, there are the
believers, while most of them are the sinners. [110]
Sequence
In previous verses, Muslims were asked to take special care in
order to remain steadfast in their faith, bid the Fair and forbid the
Unfair. In the present verse, it has been further emphasised that these
are the very reasons why Allah Almighty has conferred upon the
Ummah of Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him, the status of 'Khayr al-Umam', the best of communities, dignified
and elevated, when it does what it has been charged to do.
Why the best of communities?
The Holy Qur'an has, in different verses, given several reason for

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(Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 110
declaring the Ummah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad , le Ul .L. as
the best Ummah, the most important of which has appeared in Surah
al-Baqarah, that is:
وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنُكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا
And in the same way We made you a moderate Ummah
(community). (2:143)
A detailed explanation of this verse can be seen in Volume I of this
commentary. This portion deals with the major reason why the
Ummah of Muhammad صلى اللّه عليه وسلم has been called the best of human
communities. There it has been pointed out that moderation is its
great characteristic and that it is visible in all department of its collec-
tive life.
In this particular verse, another reason has been given. The reason
is that this community has been raised for the sole purpose of
dispensing good to all beings created by Allah. It has been actually
charged with the function of remaining concerned with their spiritual
and moral reformation. Seen in the perspective of past communities, it
was this community which contributed most in the mission of 'bidding
the Fair and forbidding the Unfair', even though this was already
enjoined upon past communities as mentioned in authentic ahadith.
However, to begin with, several past communities did not have Jihad
as a religious obligation, in which case, the mission of 'bidding the
Fair' could only be carried out by heart and tongue only. Available
with the followers of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم is a third option of
'bidding the Fair', that of the power of the hand, which also includes
all sorts of Jihad. Then, the enforcement of Islamic laws through the
agency of the government is also a part of it. In the case of other
communities, distinguishing features of religion were gradually oblit-
erated by general inertia. The obligation of amr bi l'ma'ruf, the
ordained mission of bidding the Fair, also stood totally forsaken. As
far as this Ummah of his is concerned, the Messenger of Allah @ made
this prophecy:
In this Ummah, there shall be right through the day of Doom,
a group of people which will remain firm and stick to (the task
of) bidding the Fair and forbidding the Unfair.

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Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3: 111
The second distinguishing feature of this community is that they
'believe in Allah': Just 3. At this point one may ask why should this
be a distinguishing feature of the Muslim community as belief in Allah
has been the common factor between all past prophets and their
communities. The answer is clear. No doubt, belief as such is common
to all, but the degrees of perfection in belief differ. The degree of pref-
erence given to the community of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم has a class
of its own as compared to past communities.
Towards the end of the verse, it has been said about the people of
the Book that there are some Muslims among them. This refers to
those who had confirmed the prophethood of our Holy Prophet & such
as, Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn Salam and others.
Verse 111
لَنْ يَضُوُكُمْ إِلَّ أَذَى ءٌ وَإِنْ يُقَاتِلُؤُكُمْ مُوَلُّؤُكُمُ الْآَدْبَارَ تُّلَكَ
مُنْصَرُونَ ﴿١١١﴾
They shall never (be able to) cause you any harm
except a little hurt. And if they fight you, they will turn
their backs on you, then they shall not be helped. [111]
Commentary
In previous verses (98-101), it was shown how hostile to Muslims the
people of the Book were and how they planned to bring religious harm
to them. Mentioned in the present verse are their plans to harm
Muslims materially. The last sentence carries the prophecy that they
shall not succeed.
This prophecy of the Holy Qur'an was proved true when, during
the entire period of prophethood, the people of the Book were unable to
overcome the noble Companions who are the primary addressees here.
This applies particularly to the Jewish tribes who had tried to sow
seeds of discord among the Companions. The outcome was that these
people were disgraced; some paid jizya, some were killed while others
were exiled.
The next verse (112) makes the description complete.
..

161
Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 112
Verse 112
ضُرِيَتُ عَلَيْهِمُ الذِّلَّةُ أَيْنَ مَا تُقِفُوْاْ إِلَّيِحَبْلٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَحُبُلٍ مِنَ
النَّاسِ وَبَاءُوُ بِغَضَبٍ مِنَ اللهِ وَضُرِبَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الْكِّنَةُ،
ذُلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يَكْفُرُونَ بِأَيْتِ اللّهِ وَيَقْتُلُوْنَ اُلْآَنْلِيَاءَ بِغَيْرٍ
حَقِّ ◌ُ ذَلِكَ بِمَا عَصَُوا وَكَانُوا يَعْتَدُونَ ﴿١١٢)
Disgrace has been stamped over them wherever they
are found, unless (saved) through a source from Allah
and through a source from men, and they have
returned with wrath from Allah, and misery has been
stamped over them. All this because they used to deny
the signs of Allah and to slay the prophets unjustly. All
this because they disobeyed and used to cross the
limits. [112]
Commentary
The meaning of disgrace and wrath cast on the Jews:
A detailed discussion on this subject has already appeared under
comments on verse 61 of Surah al-Baqarah where the text has not
mentioned any exception. This can be seen in Volume I of this
commentary. It also covers the exception given in the present verse -
. ◌ِّبِحَبْلٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَحْلٍ مِّنَ النَّاسِ
Briefly, the verse means that the Jews shall remain stamped with
disgrace and misery except under two situations:
1. Though a Covenant of Allah. For example, a minor child or
woman shall not be killed. (This exception is meant by the words
'through a source from Allah').
2. Through a treaty obligation, that is, weiss (through a source
from men). Such patronage may cause their disgrace and misery not to
become manifest. The specific words used in the Holy Qur'an i.e., a
source from men, cover all men, believers and disbelievers. The possi-
bility that they live with freedom after making a peace treaty with
Muslims is included here. Also possible is the situation that they may
come under the protection of other non-Muslim powers through a
peace treaty (or informal collaboration strategy), a situation that
prevails in the form of the present-day state of Israel. To discerning

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Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 113-117
people all over the world, it is no secret that the state of Israel is really
a joint encampment of the West. Behind all the facade of power they
appear to have is the power of others. If the U.S., U.K., Europe, and
USSR too, were daring enough to withdraw their patronage of Israel,
it would not survive for a day. Allah knows best.
Verses 113 - 117
لَيْسُوا سَوَاءَ، قِنْ آَهْلِ الْكِتُبِ أُقَةٌ قَائِمَةٌ تَخُلُوُنَ الِتِ اللهِ
أَنََّءَ الَّثْلِ وَهُمْ يَسْجُدُونَ ﴿١١٣﴾ ◌ُ مِنُوَّنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِوَ
يَأْمُونَ بِالْعُرُوُفِ وَيَنُهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِّ وَ يُسَارِعُونَ فِى
الْخَيَّاتِ ، وَأُولَتِكَ مِنَ الصُّلِحِيْنَ ﴿١١٤) وَمَا يَفْعَلُوا مِنْ خَيٍْ
فَلَنُ ◌ُّكُفَرُّوُجُهُ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيُهْ ◌ِالمُتَّقِيْنَ ﴿١١٥) إِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوا لَنُّ
تُغُنِىَ مَنْهُمْ آَمْوَالُهُمْ وَلََّ أَوْلاَدُهُمُ قِنَ اللّهِ شَيْئًا، وَأُولَئِكَ
أَصْحُبُ الثَّارِةِ هُمْ فِيْهَا خُلِدُونَ ﴿١١٦) مَثَلُ مَا يُنْفِقُونَ فِىُ
لهُذِهِ الْحَيُوةِ الدُّنْيَا كَمَثَلِ رِبْحٍ فِيْهَا صِرُّ أَصَابَتْ حَرُثَ قَوُعِ
ظَلَمُوْا أَنْفُسَهُمْ فَاهُلَكَتْهُ، وَمَّا ظَمَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَلكِنْ أَنْفُسَهُمُ
يُظْلِمُونَ ﴿١١٧﴾
Not all of them are alike: Among the people of the Book
there are those who are steadfast; they recite the
verses of Allah in the night hours and they prostrate;
[113] they believe in Allah and the Hereafter, and bid
the Fair and forbid the Unfair, and race towards the
good deeds. They are among the righteous. [114] And
whatever good they do, they shall never be deprived of
it. And Allah is All-Aware of the God-fearing. [115]
Surely, those who disbelieve, neither their wealth nor
their children shall help them against Allah; and they
are the people of the Fire. They shall be there for ever.
[116]
The example of what they spend in this worldly life is
just like a wind which, having chill within, hit the
tillage of those who wronged themselves, and

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Sarah 'Al-'Imran 3 : 118-120
destroyed it. And Allah has not wronged them, instead,
they wrong themselves. [117]
In verse 110, it was said that among the people of the Book there
are those who believe, yet most of them are disbelievers. Details
appear in the present verse which gives a complementary profile of
those who believed from among the people of the Book, and by
becoming Muslims, they adopted the distinguishing hallmarks of the
Faith that go to make believers the best of communities.
Soon after praising those who had embraced Islam from among the
people of the Book, the text censures those of them who did not
embrace Islam and insisted on retaining their stance of disbelief, not
realizing that their wealth and their children will be unable to save
them from the punishment of Allah and Hell shall be their eternal
abode.
Verse 117 declares through a similitude that disbelievers simply
waste what they spend in this worldly life, for belief in Islam is a pre-
condition in order that such spendings be acceptable with Allah, of
whatever sort they may be. The similitude stresses the fact that disbe-
lievers inflict this injustice upon themselves when their spendings go
to waste in this world and remain rewardless in the Hereafter. If they
were not to wrong themselves, if they were to embrace Islam, they
would have been like other Muslims who, on suffering a worldly loss,
are compensated by Allah through reward and forgiveness of sins, as
reported in ahadith.
Verse 118 - 120
كَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ امَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا بِطَانَةً مِنٌ دُوْنِكُمْ لَا يَأْلُؤْنَكُمْ
خَبَالًا، وَدُوا مَاعَنِتُمُنْ قَدْ بَدَتِ الْبَغُضَاءُ مِنْ آَفْوَاهِهِمٌ وَمَا
تُخْفِىُ صُدُوْرُهُمْ أَكْبَرُهُ قَدْ بَّنَا لَكُمُ الْأَيْتِ إِنْ كُنْهُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ
﴿١١٨ ) طَنّهُمْ أُولَاء تُحِبُّونَهُمْ وَلَا يُحِبُّوْنَكُمْ وَنُؤْ مِنُوْنَ بِالْكِتُبِ
كُلٍِّ وَإِذَا لَقُرُكُمْ قَالُؤْاَ امَنَاء وَإِذَا خَلَُوا عَضُّرًا عَلَيْكُمُ
اْأَنَامِلَ مِنَ الْغَيْظِ، ◌ُلُ مُوْنُوا بِغَيْظِكُمْءُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِمْ بِذَاتِ