Indexed OCR Text

184
Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 130-131
Ruh al-Ma'ani.
From the verse ◌ُلَيْسَ لَكَ مِنَ الْأَمُرِ شَيْئ (You have no authority in the
matter) (128), the text returns to the main event of Uhud after a brief
mention of the event of Badr in between. This verse was revealed in
the background of the battle of Uhud where the Holy Prophet @ lost
one of his teeth, the lower right premolar, to be exact. His face injured,
he is reported to have uttered: 'How shall such people prosper, people
who do this to their prophet, although that prophet is calling them
towards God?'. Thereupon, this verse was revealed.
.....
According to yet another story from the Sahih al-Bukhari, the Holy
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has been reported to have invoked evil fate for
some disbelievers, whereupon came the revelation of this verse in
which the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has been counselled to remain
patient and forbearing. 1
Verses 130 - 131
يَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ امَنُّوْا لَا تَأْكُلُوا الْرَِّو ◌َضْعَافَا تُمُضْعَفَةَّ وَاتَّقُوا
اللّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ﴿١٢﴾ وَاتَّقُوا التَّارَ الَّتِى أُعِدَّتُ
لِلْكُفِرِبُنَ ﴿١٣١﴾
O those who believe, do not eat Riba (interest) doubled
and multiplied. And fear Allah so that you may be
successful. [130] And fear the Fire that has been
prepared for the disbelievers. [131]
The meaning of doubled and multiplied
The detailed rules regarding 'riba' and the philosophy underlying
its prohibition have been discussed thoroughly in Surah al-Baqarah
verses 275-278 (Volume 1 of this commentary). However, it may be
pointed out here that words id bugi (doubled and multiplied) used in
this verse do not mean that the prohibition of 'riba' is restricted only to
a transaction where the interest is doubled or multiplied. In fact, these
words are not used in a restrictive sense, because it is evident from
Surah al-Baqarah that 'riba' or interest is prohibited in any case, even
though its rate is not so high as to make it doubled or multiplied.
1. Bayan al-Qur'an.

185
Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 132-133
These words are used only to explain the factual position prevalent at
that time, and to indicate its unjust and evil nature. Moreover, these
words also suggest that even the interest charged is simple and not
compound, yet once a person is engaged in the business of interest he
does not stop at charging interest in one transaction only. Rather, he
reinvests the income of interest in another loan transaction, and keeps
investing the interest proceeds in similar transactions again and
again, and thus the ultimate result is that the original interest
charged through the first transaction is doubled and multiplied.
Verses 132 - 133
وَأَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَالَرَّسُلَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُوْنَ ﴿١٣٢) وَسَارِ عُوا إِلَى
مَغْفِرَةٍ مِنُ تَّبِّكُمُ وَجَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمُوْتُ وَالْأَرْضُ أُعِدَتْ
لِلْمُتَّقِيْنَ ﴿١٣٣﴾
And obey Allah and the Messenger so that you may be
blessed. [132] And race one another towards Forgiveness
from your Lord and towards a paradise the width of
which spans the heavens and the earth. It has been
prepared for the God-fearing. [133]
Commentary
In the previous verse, Muslims were commanded to abstain from
interest-based dealings, a sin which deprives them of the quality of
taqwa, (the fear of Allah, the sense of responsibility before Him).
The present verses stress the positive aspects of taqwa and comple-
ment the earlier subject alongwith the promise of reward for those
who observe it. Worth remembering throughout one's life is the second
point which will serve him well if taken as the guiding light and the
constant orientation. Allah Almighty has made it clear in these verses
that the obedience to Allah and His Messenger does not become
genuine and effective through lip-service alone. Instead, the obedient
ones are known by what they are and what they do, by their traits of
character and their deeds.
The obedience of Allah and His Messenger
The first verse, in a brief statement, presents a cardinal command
of Faith in the following words : ◌َوَأَطِيعُوا اللهَ وَالرَّسُولَ لَعَلَّكُمْ مُرُحَمُون (And obey Allah

186
Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 132-133
and the Messenger so that you may be blessed). Here, in order that
one becomes deserving of Divine mercy, the obedience to Allah
Almighty has been declared necessary and binding, and along with it,
the obedience of the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم has been made equally
necessary and binding. This is something not limited to this verse
alone. It has been repeatedly stressed throughout the Holy Qur'an.
The pattern of combining the command to obey Allah Almighty, imme-
diately followed by the command to obey the Messenger, appears in
the Qur'an again and again. These continued and constant statements
of the Holy Qur'an are there to remind human beings that these are
the basic principles of Islam and 'Im an. The first part of the Faith is to
affirm and declare the existence of God, His Oneness, and that man is
there to worship and obey Him. The second part is the confirmation of
His Messenger, and of obedience to him.
Also worth noting are the statements of the Holy Qur'an which
prove that, whatever the noble Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم says is by
Divine permission and not on his own. The Holy Qur'an says:
وَمَا يَنْطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى إِنُ هُوَ إِلَّ وَحٌُ يُؤْحَى
And he (the messenger) does not speak out of his own desire.
It is not but a revelation revealed (to him) (53:3)
From this, we arrive at the conclusion that the obedience to the
Messenger is the very same as the obedience to Allah. It is nothing
separate from it. In Surah Al-Nisa' (4:80), the Holy Qur'an has made it
more clear in the following words:
مَنْ تُطِعِ الَّسُلَ فَقَدُ أَطَاعَ اللهَ
And whoever obeys the Messenger, he surely obeys Allah.
(4:80)
With this in view, the question is: Why have the two 'obediences'
been stated separately? What purpose does it serve? Specially so,
when this appears as a consistent feature in the Holy Qur'an where we
see both 'obediences' being commanded side by side.
To unfold the secret, we can say that Allah Almighty sent a Book
to guide man in this world, and a Messenger. The Messenger was
charged with the following duties:

187
Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 132-133.
(1) That he convey to people the verses of the Holy Qur'an precisely
ano exactly in the form they were spoken when revealed.
(2) That he should cleanse people of outward and inward impurities.
(3) That he should teach the community, not only the contents of the
Book, but also its purpose.
(4) That he should teach people wisdom along with the Book.
This subject appears at several places in the Holy Qur'an almost
identically in the form of:
◌َثُلُوا عَلَيْهِمْ ايُتِهِ وَمُزَكِّيْهِمْ وَ يُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَبَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ
... who recites to them His verses and makes them pure and
teaches them the Book and the wisdom ...
This tells us that the obligatory functions of the Messenger are not
simply limited to conveying the Qur'an to the people. There is more to
it in that the Messenger is also responsible for teaching the Book, and
clarifying its message. Also obvious is the fact that the addressees of
the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم were the eloquent people of Arabia who
had command over the finer points of the Arabic language. Teaching of
the Holy Qur'an to them could never mean that they were to be taught
the literal meaning of the Qur'anic words, for they themselves under-
stood all that perfectly well. Instead, the purpose of this teaching and
clarification was, and could be nothing else, that an injunction of the
Qur'an stated briefly or in a summary form should be clarified and
elaborated upon by the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and communicated
to people with the help of a revelation which did not form a part of the
Qur'an (wahy ghayr al-matluww': the unrecited revelation). On the
other hand, this was inspired into his blessed heart. The verse of the
Holy Qur'an g '3l (It is not but a revelation revealed) cited a
little earlier, points in this direction.
Let us understand this through some instances. There are a good
many occasions in the Holy Qur'an where the text does not go beyond
saying : ◌َاقِيُّهُوا الصَّلوَةَ وَأُوا الزَّكَاة (Establish the salah and pay the zak ah). Even
if units of prayer come to be mentioned, such as qiyam, ruku' and
sajdah, they remain totally undefined. The modality, outward and
inward, is just not there. It was angel Jibra'il who came as

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Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 132-133
commanded by Allah and taught all the details through demonstration
before the Holy Prophet . This was how the Holy Prophet
conveyed the word and the deed to the people of his Ummah.
There are details about the payment of zakah: What are thresh-
olds? How much has to be paid on each threshold? What part of a
person's possessions is zakatable? What part is non-zakatable? How
much from threshold resources goes zak at-free ?: All such details were
given by the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم . He even had these
committed to writing as executive orders and passed on to several
Companions.
Take yet another example. They Holy Qur'an says:
Juju (And do not eat up each other's property by false means - 2:188).
Now there are deals and transactions of all sorts, such as buying
and selling, rentals, tenancy, wages and many more. What forms are
unjust, inequitable or harmful to public interest, and therefore, batil or
false? All these details were given to the community by the Holy
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم by the leave of Allah. Similarly, this is true about
all legal rulings of Islamic Law.
Since all such details were conveyed to the community by the Holy
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in fulfillment of his prophetic mission and under
the guidance of Divine revelation, and since these details do not
appear in the Holy Qur'an, there was the likelihood that the unini-
tiated may be deceived into believing that these detailed rulings were
not given by Allah Almighty and, therefore, they do not have to be
carried out necessarily as part of one's obedience to Allah. It is for this
reason that Allah Almighty has made the obedience of the messenger
binding alongwith the obedience to Him, at various places in the
Qur'an, repeatedly. As such, the obedience of the Messenger is really
nothing but the obedience of Allah Almighty, but, given its external
appearance and detailed description, it is somewhat different from
that. In view of this, it has been emphasised time and again that
orders given by the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم should be obeyed as if
they were the very orders of Allah the obedience of which was manda-
tory. These may be there in the Qur'an, open and clear, or may just not
be there. They were still equall; binding on the community.

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Surah 'Al-Imran 3 : 132-133
This was a matter of crucial importance, not limited to someone
falling in doubt. In fact, there were chances that the enemies of Islam
would find an excuse to inject chaos in a basic Islamic principle, and
thereby make an effort to lead Muslims away from the right path.
Therefore, the Holy Qur'an has dealt with this subject in a variety of
ways, in addition to its literal stress on the obedience to the
Messenger. It has informed the blessed community of Muhammad
that his duties include not only the teaching of the Book but also the
added teaching of wisdom, pointing out to the fact that there are
elements other than the words of the Book, which are also included in
his teachings. That part too, identified as wisdom, has to be followed
by Muslims as a matter of obligation.
As said earlier, the Holy Qur'an used a variety of ways to focus on
the same subject. For instance, it was said:ُلِبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَاأُنزِلَ إِلَيهِم which
means that the purpose behind sending the Messenger is that he
should explain for people the meanings and objectives of the verses
revealed to him. (16:44) Then, there is the oft-quoted verse:
مَّا اشْكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوُهُ وَمَا نَهُكُمُ عَنْهُ فَانْتَهُوْا
Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatever he
forbids you, refrain from it (59:7).
All these ramifications have been placed there lest there comes a
person saying: 'We have been obligated to follow only that which
appears in the Qur'an; what we do not find in the Qur'an, to that we
are not obligated.' Perhaps, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had fore-
seen the problems which were to arise later when some people, in
order to get rid of the teachings and explanations of the Messenger of
Allah, would say 'For us, the Book of Allah is sufficient.' The Holy
Prophet , has described this possibility in a hadith, very clearly. The
hadith has been reported by al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, al-
Baihaqi and Imam Ahmad in the following words:
لا الفين احدكم متكئا على اريكته ياتيه الامر من امرى مما امرت به
اونهيت عنه فيقول لا ادرى ماوجدنا فى كتاب الله اتبعناه
... Lest I find one of you, reclining on his coach making
comments on an order from my orders in which I bid some-
thing or forbid something, saying, "This we do not know. We

190
Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 132-133
only follow what we find in the Book of Allah'.
Conclusion:
In short, the repeated stress on the obedience of the Messenger
alongwith the obedience of Allah Almighty, as well as, specific instruc-
tions to follow the dictates of the Messenger at various places are
there to counter the dangerous ignorance of a person who may venture
to separate the details of Qur'anic injunctions described by the Holy
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم ,and available in the treasure-house of his
ahadith, making it look like something foreign to the obedience of
Allah, and consequently may hasten to reject them. The reality is that
they cannot be separated:
كفته او كفته اللّه بود
كرچه از حلقوم عبد الله بود
What he said was said by Allah
Voiced, though, it was by a slave of Allah
Race towards forgiveness, towards Paradise :
The first command was: 'Obey the Messenger'. (132) The second
command is: 'Race one another towards Forgiveness from your Lord
and towards Paradise.' (133) Here, Forgiveness stands for the means of
obtaining forgiveness, that is, good deeds which bring forth forgive-
ness. There are several exegetic views reported from the blessed
Companions and their immediate successors. Though expressed differ-
ently, they convey the same theme. Out of the noble Companions and
their successors, may Allah be pleased with them all, Sayyidna 'Ali
explained it as 'the fulfillment of obligations', Ibn 'Abbas as 'Islam',
Abu al-'Aliyah as 'Hijrah', Anas ibn Malik as 'al-Takbir al-Uula (the
first call of Allahu Akbar in salah)', Said ibn Jubayr as 'perfection of
obedience', Dahhak as 'Jihad' and 'Ikrimah as 'Taubah (repentance)'.
The outcome of all these sayings is that Forgiveness covers all good
deeds which become the means of obtaining Divine forgiveness.
At this point two things need our attention. First comes the resolu-
tion of an apparent contradiction which may be felt when one notices
that the present verse carries a command to race one another towards
Forgiveness and Paradise, while through another verse: ' jau pass
And do not covet something by which Allah has made) بِهِ بَعْضَكُمُ عَلى بَعُضٍ

191
Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 132-133
some of you excel some others - 4:32), the very seeking of other merits
and ranks has been prohibited.
The answer is that fada'il (merits, ranks, virtues) are of two kinds.
The first kind relates to that which cannot be achieved by man, being
beyond one's power and control. We can call these 'non-electable.' For
example, colour or beauty or birth in a morally high family cannot be
chosen and acquired. The other kind is something man can achieve by
effort. These can be called voluntary or 'electable'. So, the reason why
the effort to acquire non-electable merits, even its very desire, has
been prohibited for the simple reason that they have been given to His
created beings by Allah Almighty Himself in His infinite wisdom. It is
something beyond human effort. Why run after them? All such efforts
will lead to nothing but envy and malice. Let him who has been given
a particular colour of his skin keep desiring to have some other colour.
What is he going to get out of his desire? Nothing. However, there is a
vast range of meritworthy deeds. One could, and would, make his
mark there. That is why we have been asked to accelerate our efforts
in that direction. This is not something restricted to one verse. The
exhortation appears in several verses. Somewhere it is said: 90 dieu
(Try to get ahead of one anther in good deeds - 2:148, 5:48). Elsewhere, it
is said : ◌َوَفِيُ ذْلِكَ فَلْيَتَنَافَسِ الْمُتَنَافِسُون (And in this, then, aspire the aspirers.)
(83:26)
Let us consider the advice of the sage who said: 'If one has a
natural or physical handicap which is beyond his power to correct, he
should remain contended (with his handicap) and unaffected by the
achievements of others. He should go on doing what he does. For, if he
were to pine over his handicap and envy the achievements of others,
he would be unable to perform to his capability, and ultimately, he
would end up doing nothing or very little.
The second point worth considering is that Allah Almighty has
mentioned 'Forgiveness' first and the 'Paradise' after it. May be, this is
to suggest that entry into Paradise is impossible without Divine
Forgiveness. The reason is obvious. Man may spend a life-time doing
good and abstaining from the evils. Still the aggregate of his good
deeds cannot pay the price of Paradise. What will take him to Paradise
is only Forgiveness of His Lord, and His grace. The Holy Prophet

192
Surah 'Al-'Imran 3 : 132-133
has said:
سَدِّدُوًا وَقَارِيُوًا وَاَبْشِرُوًا، فَإِنَّهْ لَنُ ◌ُّدُخِلَ آَحَدًّا الْجَنَّةَ تَمَلُهُ، قَالُوا: وَلَا أَنْتَ يَا
رَسُلَ اللَّهِ؟ قَالَ: وَلَا أَنَا إِلَّ أَنْ يَتَغَتَّدَنِىَ اللهُ بِرَحْمَتِمْ
Strive to be straight and true, take the middle course and
seek glad tidings (of Allah's grace), for one's deeds shall not
take anyone into the Paradise'. People said: 'Not even yours,
O Messenger of Allah?' He said: 'Not even mine, unless it is
that Allah covers me up with His mercy.' (al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib,
with reference to al-Bukhari and Muslim).
In short, our deeds are not the price of Paradise. But, as is the
customary practice of Allah, He does bestow His grace upon a servant
who does what is good. In fact, one who is given the very ability to do
good deeds is really given the signal that Allah is pleased with him.
So, let none of us be tardy in the performance of what is good. Since
Divine forgiveness is the primary factor in one's entry into the Para-
dise, the text takes this importance into consideration and does not
present forgiveness in the absolute sense. It has, rather, elected to say:
Fax (Forgiveness from your Lord.). By doing so, the text high-
lights Allah's attribute as the Lord, showing thereby His added grace
and mercy for His servants.
The second object towards which man is being asked to hasten is
Paradise. It has been said here that the Paradise is as wide as whole
of the heavens and the earth. Since human mind cannot conceive any
greater vastness than that of the heavens and the earth within the
confines of his experience, the Paradise has been likened to them. This
is a manner of saying that Paradise is very vast, so vast that it can
accommodate the entire heavens and the earth in its vastness.
When the width of the Paradise is so great who can imagine its
length which should be even greater?
All the above discussion is based on the assumption that the
Arabic word ('ard) means 'width'. However, there is another
possible interpretation adopted by some commentators. According to
them the word "ard is also used in the meaning of 'price'. If the word is
taken here in this sense, the verse would mean that Paradise is not an
ordinary commodity; the entire heavens and the earth are its price.

193
Surah 'Al-'Imran 3 : 134-138
With such an object of unimaginable worth and magnitude, what else
should one do but hasten towards it.
Al-Razi in his 'al-Tafsir al-Kabir explains this point as follows:
قال ابو مسلم: ان العرض هنا ما يعرض من الثمن فى مقابلة المبيع اى
ثمنها لوبيعت كثمن السموت والارض والمراد بذلك عظم مقدارها وجلالة
خطرها وانه لا يساويها شئ وان عظم .
Abu Muslim says that 'al-'ard' in this verse means that which
is offered against the object of sale as its price. In other words,
if a price were to be put on Paradise, the heavens and the
earth together with whatever is in them will be its price. The
purpose is to demonstrate the most exalted status of the Para-
dise which remains unmatched by anything in its greatness.
Another statement about the Paradise is given in the end by: &fel
, (It has been prepared for the God-fearing.) This tells us that
Paradise has already been created. Clear indicators in the Qur'an and
Hadith seem to suggest the existence of Paradise on the seventh
heaven which is its surface.
Verses 134 - 138
الَّذِيْنَ يُنْفِقُونَ فِى السََّاءِ وَالضََّّاءِ وَالْكُظِمِيْنَ الْغَبْظَ
وَالْعَافِيْنَ عَنِ النَّاسِ * وَاللهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُسِنِيْنَ ﴿١٣٤﴾ وَالَّذِيْنَ
إِذَا فَعَلُوْا فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَهْوٌا أَنْفُسَهُمْ ذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُؤُا
◌ِدُنُوبِهِمْ وَمَنْ يَّغْفِرْ الدُّنُوبَ إِلَّ اللهُ وَلَمْ يُصِتُّوا عَلَى
مَا فَعَلُوًّا وَ هُمْ يَعْلَهُونَ ﴿١٣٥) أُولَئِكَ جَزَاؤُهُمْ تَغْفِرَةٌ مِّنُ
تَّبِّهِمْ وَجَثْتُ تَجْرِئٌ مِنْ تَحْنِهَا الْآَنْهُ خُلِدِيْنَ فِيُهَاء وَنِعُمَ
اَجُمُالْعُمِلِيْنَ ﴿١٣٦﴾ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ سُنَنٌ فَسِبُوا فِى
الْأَرْضِ فَانْظُرُوا كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الْمُكَذِّبِيْنَ ﴿١٣٧) هَذَا بَيَانٌ
لِلنَّاسِ وَهُدَّى وَمَوْ عِظَةٌ لِلْمُتَّقِيْنَ ﴿١٣٨)

194
Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 134-138
... Those who spend in prosperity and adversity and
those who control anger and forgive people. And Allah
loves those who do good [134] - and those who, when
they happen to commit a shameful act or wrong them-
selves, remember Allah, then, seek forgiveness for their
sins - and who is there to forgive sins except Allah? -
and do not persist in what they have done, knowingly.
[135] Their reward is forgiveness from their Lord and
gardens beneath which rivers flow where they shall
live forever. And excellent is the reward of those who
work. [136] A number of behaviour patterns have passed
before you. So, traverse the land, and see what was the
fate of those who belied (the prophets). [137] This is a
declaration for mankind, and a guidance, and a lesson
for the God-fearing. [138]
Commentary
God-fearing Muslims can be identified by the traits of their char-
acter and the marks of their manner. So many benefits lie hidden
behind their example and practice. This is the subject of the present
verses.
Allah Almighty has made God-fearing Muslims to live as models
for others. For instance, the Holy Qur'an has, at so many places,
emphasised the need to seek guidance and benefit from the company
of the men of Allah. The verse: ◌ُصِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمُتَ عَلَيْهِم (the path of those
whom You have blessed - 1:6) from Surah al-Fatihah clearly indicates
that the straight and correct path of Faith has to be learnt from these
very favoured servants of Allah. Then, there is the exhortation: 3
Ball .. (be with the truthful - 9:119) which shows how useful the
company of such people really is. But there are all sorts of people in
the world, including the clever ones who would pose as good and try to
impersonate the genuine ones. For this reason, it was necessary to
draw a fine line of distinction between the true and the false and to
show how the favoured men of Allah can be identified by their special
traits of character. Once this is known, people would abstain from
wrong leaders and guides and would use the God-given guidance to
first become sure of the true ones and then follow them.
By having identified the traits and marks of God-fearing Muslims,
and having stated that they are the ones deserving of ultimate success

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and of elevated stations in Paradise, the righteous have been given a
good news (of receiving the same reward, if they follow them) and. the
evil-doers are exhorted and persuaded to mend themselves and follow
the God-fearing.
هَذَا بَيَانٌ لِلنَّاسِ وَهُدَى وَّمَوْعِظَةٌ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ This is exactly what has been hinted at in
(This is a declaration for mankind, and a guidance, and a lesson for
the God-fearing - 3:138), appearing towards the end of these verses.
While describing the traits and marks of the God-fearing, the qualities
relating to human rights and social behaviour have been mentioned
first, and the qualities relating to the rights of Allah after them. This
is to indicate that the rights of Allah, despite their supreme status
above all rights, are not meant to benefit Allah in any way. Allah does
not need any of them, nor does he stand to suffer in any way what-
soever, if they are not fulfilled.
His Being is absolutely free of all these concerns. The one who
worships Him is the one who gains. Moreover He is Very-Merciful,
therefore, whenever a person falls short in the fulfillment of His
rights, he may regret any time for what he did, turn to Him and
repent genuinely and sincerely, whereby all his sins can be instantly
forgiven from that eternal fountain of Mercy and Nobility. Contrary to
this, there is the case of the rights of the servants of Allah - man has
to fulfil these. In addition to that, if A has rights against B and B does
not fulfil those rights, naturally A runs into loss. It is not that easy to
forgive and forget loss suffered by one human being at the hands of the
other. Therefore, Huququl-'Ibad or the rights of the servants of Allah
have particular importance of their own.
Moreover, the correct balance in our universal order and the
reformed pattern of our human society hinges on the fulfillment of
mutual rights. A slight short-fall in this direction can trigger disor-
ders, fights and wars. Conversely, should high morals be inculcated
and practiced, even enemies would turn into friends. Feuds raging
through centuries can subside into peace and bliss. This is one more
reason why traits and marks relating to human rights have been
taken up first.
Verse 134 announces the first of these traits as follows:

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Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 134-138
The habit of spending in the way of Allah in prosperity and
adversity:
The verse reads:ِالَّذِينَ يُنُفِقُونَ فِى السََّاء وَالضَّرَّاء (Those who spend in the way
of Allah in prosperity and adversity). It mean», that they are so used to
spending for the good pleasure of Allah that they do spend whatever
they can under all conditions, be it prosperity or adversity - more from
more and less from less. Three points of guidance emerge from this
statement:
1. That those poor should not consider themselves to be totally free
from the obligation of spending in the way of Allah. By doing so, they
may be depriving themselves of the open opportunity to spend in His
way, for the status of spending one dollar out of a thousand dollars is
the same with Allah Almighty as is the status of spending one penny
out of a thousand pennies. For all practical purposes, the way the
owner of a thousand dollars does not find it all that difficult to spend
one dollar in the way of Allah, very similarly, the owner of a thousand
pennies should not really be hurt by spending one penny.
2. On the other hand, the point made here is that those who keep
on spending within the limitations of their capacity to spend, specially
when their circumstances are straightened, would discover to their
delight that, by doing so, the blessed style of giving and the wonderful
habit of sharing with others less fortunate has come to stay and that
it will not go extinct. May be, the very benedictory quality of such
conduct draws mercy from Allah Almighty and He, in His infinite
grace, bestows on such a person new openings and new increases in
his means of sustenance.
3. Yet another beneficial aspect of this guidance is worthy of
serious notice. Think of one who is in the habit of spending what he
has on other human beings, making it possible for them to benefit
through his efforts, helping the poor, the needy and the deprived. It is
obvious that such a person would never even think of usurping the
rights of others against their wishes.
So, the core of this quality of character is that true Muslims, the
God-fearing and the favoured servants of Allah, are always on the look
out for opportunities to pass on benefits to other human beings irre-
spective of their being rich or poor. There was an occasion when Sayy-

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Surah 'Al-'Imran 3 : 134-138
idah 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, gave away one, just one
piece of grape in charity because she had absolutely nothing with her
at that time. According to another early report, there was a time when
she gave one onion in charity. The Holy Prophet & has said:
اتقوا النار ولو بشق تمرة وردوا السائل ولو بظلف شاة
Guard yourself against the Fire even if it be by giving a piece
of date in charity and do not turn back one who begs empty-
handed even if it be by giving a cloven hoof from a goat.
In a hadith reported by Imam al-Razi in his al-Tafsir al-Kabir it is
said that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم ,on a certain day, exhorted
people to spend in charity. In response, those who had gold and silver
with them lost no time in giving these out in charity. Somebody
brought date-flakes because he had nothing else to give away. The
date-flakes were accepted and given in charity. Then came another
person who said: 'O Messenger of Allah, I have nothing to spend in
charity, however, I am known as a man of honour among my people, so
I give my sense of honour in charity, after which I shall never be angry
with a person in future, no matter how much he insults me.'
The teachings of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and the way they
were understood and practiced by the noble Companions, may Allah be
pleased with them all, make it obvious that spending in the way of
Allah is not limited to the well-to-do and the wealthy. This quality of
character can also be possessed by the poor and the less fortunate.
They too can have that great attribute by spending in the way of Allah
a little of whatever they can in proportion to their respective capaci-
ties.
Not By Wealth Alone: Other Options of Spending in the Way of
Allah:
It is important to note at this point that the Holy Qur'an uses the
word senf which means that they spend in the way of Allah under all
conditions, of prosperity and of adversity. However, it does not deter-
mine the 'what' of spending. The generality of the statement here
seems to suggest that it includes, not only money, but everything else
that can be 'spent'. For example, one who 'spends' his time and labour
in the way of Allah, he too shall be credited with the quality of infaq fi

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sabilillah or spending in the way of Allah. The hadith quoted above
supports this view.
The Wisdom behind the mention of prosperity and adversity:
May be, these are the two conditions of life in which man habitu-
ally tends to forget Allah. He will do that when very rich and upto the
neck in luxury. He could also do that, fairly often, when worrying
about his adversity. So, the verse clearly settles that the favoured
servants of Allah are unique in their character who never forget Allah,
neither in luxury nor in distress.
How aptly the last Moghul Emperor of Dehli, Bahadur Shah Zafar
made this Qur'anic idea the subject of his poetry when he said:
ظفر آدمی اس کو نہ جانیے کا خواہ کتنا ہی صاحب فهم و ذکا
جس عيش مين ياد خدا نه ربى جسم طيش ميس خوف خدا نه ربا
'O Zafar, not much of a man is he,
no matter how wise he be,
He who does not remember Allah when wealthy,
he who does not fear Allah when angry.
From Rage and Revenge to Forgiveness and Favour:
This leads us to the next hallmark of a true Muslim. It has been
said that they, if hurt by someone, do not flare up in anger and do not
lose their self-control. Going a step further, they do not submit to the
dictates of their anger and do not go for a revenge. Not only that, they
simply surrender their option of taking revenge and actually forgive
the wrong-doer from the depths of their heart. Not stopping at this
high enough moral achievement, they rise still higher by doing good to
the person who had caused pain to them. This one quality of character
seems to be a combination of almost three qualities - to subdue anger,
to forgive the offender, and then, being good to him. All these three
things have been so eloquently identified in the present verse (134):
وَالْكُظِيْنَ الْغَيْطَ وَالْعَافِيْنَ عَنِ النَّاسِ وَاللهُ يُحِبُّ المُحْسِنِينَ
... and those who subdue anger and forgive people. And Allah
loves those who do good ...
While explaining this verse, Imam al-Baihaqi has narrated an
amazing episode from the life of Hadrat 'Ali (Zainul'abidin) ibn Sayy-
idna Husain رضى الله تعالى عنهما . The report says that his maid was

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Surah 'Al-Imran 3 : 134-138
helping him in his wudu (ablution) when, all of a sudden, the water-
pitcher slipped out of her hands spilling water all over Hadrat 'Ali
(Zainul'abidin) ibn Sayyidna Husain رضى الله تعالى عنهما. His clothes got
wet. In was natural that he would be angry .. The maid sensed the
impending danger and lost no time in reciting the following verse of
the Qur'an :ِوَالْكُظِيْنَ الْغَيُطَ وَالْعَافِيْنَ عَنِ النَّاس ( ... and those who suppress anger
and forgive people). Hearing this, the venerated scion of the Prophet's
household lost whatever rash of anger he may have felt. He became
totally silent. The maid then recited the second sentence of the verse:
Bych ¿ 2%, (And Allah loves those who do good). Since this sentence
implicitly instructs people to be good to others and thus be loved by
Allah, so Hadrat 'Ali (Zainul'abidin) ibn Sayyidna Husain once he
heard it, said: 'All right, go. I give you your freedom.' (Ruh al-Ma'ani with
reference to Baihaqi)
Forgiving people their mistakes and short-comings is a quality that
ranks very high in human morals. Besides, its merit in the life-to-come
is much higher. In hadith, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has been
reported to have said:
"On the Day of Resurrection, a proclamation will go forth from
Allah Almighty asking if anyone had any rights due to Him. If
so, let him stand. Those who shall rise on that occasion will be
the ones who would have forgiven the injustices done to them
by people in their life on earth."
In yet another hadith, it has been said:
من سره أن يشرف له البنيان وترفع له الدرجت فليعف عن من ظلمه ويعط
من حرمه ويصل من قطعه
"Anyone who likes to have lofty palaces in Paradise and
wishes to have his ranks elevated, should forgive the one who
has done injustice to him and present gifts to the one who has
never given him anything and join up with the one who has
severed relations with him."
At another place in the Holy Qur'an, the text is far more clear
when it teaches the great moral of doing good to those who do evil and
establishes how enemies turn into friends through this noble method.
There it was said:

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Surah 'Al-‘Imran 3 : 134-138
◌ِدْفَعُ بِاللَّتِيُ هِيَ أَحْسَنُ فَإِذَا الَّذِىُ بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَانَّهَ وَلِىٌّ حَمِيْمٌ
Repel evil with what is best, then the one, between whom and
you there is enmity, shall become as if he was a fast friend.
(41:34)
This was the supreme measure of the moral training given to His
noble Messenger by Allah Almighty. The guideline given to him was:
صِلُ مَنْ قَطَعَكَ وَاعْفُ عَمَّنُ ظَلَمَكَ وَأَحْسِنُ إِلى مَنْ آَسَاءَ إِلَيْكَ
Join with him who severs relations with you and forgive him
who does injustice to you and do good to him who is bad to
you.
The moral grandeur of the Holy Prophet, may the peace and bless-
ings of Allah be upon him, is unique and eminent. We can only think
of the blessing of his teachings which so successfully ingrained even in
his servants morals and traits of character similar to his own. Being
the distinctive feature of a true Islamic society, there are hundreds
and thousands of models visible in the lives of the Companions, their
successors and among the venerated elders of the Muslim community.
There is an apt incident in the life of the great Imam Abu Hanifah.
Someone accosted him in a busy market place and heaped all sorts of
insults and invectives on him. The great Imam controlled his anger
and said nothing to him. He went home, took out a considerable quan-
tity of gold and silver coins, put them in a gift-wrapped tray and went
out to the home of his confronter. He knocked at his door. When this
person came out, he presented this tray full of coins before him saying:
'Today, you did something very good to me. You gave me (something)
of your good deeds (that you had done). It is in gratitude of this great
favour of yours that I am presenting this gift to you.' The Imam's
unusual conduct naturally affected the man. He repented and got rid
of his bad habit for ever. After asking for Imam's forgiveness, he
entered into his circle as a disciple and finally became a great scholar.
Upto this point, the text describes qualities of character that relate
to the fulfillment of human rights. Following this, come qualities that
relate to the rights of Allah where it has been said that true Muslims
do not disobey Allah. Should they ever fall in sin under the compul-
sions of human weakness, they immediately turn to Allah, repent,

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Surah 'Al-'Imran 3 : 139-143
seek His forgiveness and resolve to abstain from that sin in future.
This character of true Muslims appears in the text in the following
words:
وَالَّذِيْنَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةَ آَوْ ظَلَهُوُاَ آَنُفُسَهُمُ ذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا لِذُنُوبِهِمْ
وَمَنْ يَغْفِرُ الذَّنُوبَ إِلَّ اللَّهُ وَلَمْ يُصِّرُوا عَلَى مَافَعَلُّوْا وَهُمُ يَعْلَمُوُنَ
... and those who, when they happen to commit a shameful act
or wrong themselves, remember Allah, then, seek forgiveness
for their sins - and who is there to forgive sins except Allah? --
and they do not persist in what they have done, knowingly.
(135)
The verse tells us that involvement in sin is caused by one's negli-
gence in remembering Allah. So, the instruction is: If a sin has been
committed, one should immediately turn to Allah, renew the zeal to
obey Him and start remembering Him as He should be remembered.
Another point of guidance here tells us that forgiveness of sins
depends on two things:
1. To regret past sins, seek pardon for these and to pray for forgive-
ness.
2. To resolve fully not to go near them in future.
May Allah Almighty bestow upon us the good fortune to become
possessed with these supreme morals identified by the Holy Qur'an.
Amin.
Verses 139 - 143
وَلَا تَهِنُوْا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَنْهُمُ الْآَعْلَوْنَ إِنْ كُمْ تُ مِنِيْنَ ﴿١٣٩﴾
إِنْ تَمْسَسُكُمْ قَرٌُ فَقَدْ مَسَ الْقَوْمَ قَرْعٌ مِقُلُهُ، وَتِلُكَ الْآَيَّامُ
تُدَاوِلُهَا بَيْنَ النَّاسِ، وَلِمَعْلَمَ اللَّهُ الَّذِيْنَ امَنُوا وَبَتَّخِذَ مِنْكُمُ
شُهَدَاءَ وَاللَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْطَلِمِيْنَ ﴿ ١٤) وَلِيُمَحِّصَ اللّهُ الَّذِيْنَ
امَنُوا وَيَمْحَقَ الْكُفِرِيُنَ ﴿١٤١) أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَنْ تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ
وَلََّ بَعْلَمِ اللهُ الَّذِيْنَ جَاهَدُوا مِنْكُمُ وَيَعْلَمَ الُّبِرِيُنَ ﴿١٤٢)

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Surah 'Al-'Imran 3 : 139-143
وَلَقَدُ كُنْتُمْ تَنَّوْنَ الْمُؤْتَ مِنُ قَبْلِ أَنْ تَلْقَوْهُ فَقَدْ رَآَيْتُمُوْهُ
وَأَنْتُمُ تَنْظُرُونَ ﴿١٤٣﴾
And do not lose heart and do not grieve, and you are
the upper-most if you are believers. [139] If you receive
a wound, they have received a similar wound. And such
days We rotate among the people, so that Allah may
know those who believe and let some of you be martyrs
-- and Allah does not like the unjust [140] -- and so that
Allah may purify those who believe and eradicate the
disbelievers. [141]
Do you think that you shall enter Paradise despite that
Allah has not yet known those of you who carry out
Jihad nor has He known those who are steadfast. [142]
And you had been longing for death before you faced it.
Now, you have seen it with your open eyes. [143]
Once again, Muslims are being consoled through these verses
about what happened to them at the Battle of Uhud. They are being
told that, under the customary practice of Allah, the disbelievers are
the ultimate losers; it does not matter if Muslims have not scored a
victory at this time because of their strategic mistake, but should they
-
stick to the demands of their Faith, that is, perseverance and fear of
Allah, it will be the disbelievers who shall be the ultimate losers.
Commentary:
The Battle of Uhud has been fully described earlier in this Surah
through which we already know that the initial success of the Muslim
army turned into a defeat in this Jihad because of some of their own
shortcomings, although they had already scored an earlier victory (at
Badr). Seventy noble Companions sacrificed their lives on this occa-
sion. The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was hurt. But, inspite of all this,
Allah Almighty let the balance of the Battle tilt in favour of Muslims
and the enemy retreated.
This temporary defeat and setback came because:
1. The Muslim archers could not abide by the standing orders
given to them by the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم due to a difference of
opinion. Some favoured holding on to the position they already held;

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Surah 'Al-'Imran 3 : 139-143
others saw no need to stay there and opted for the collection of spoils
with everybody else.
2. The news that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has been martyred
on the battlefield weakened their resolve to fight.
3. The difference came up in something very serious, that is, the
explicit command of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم , the obedience to
which was mandatory.
So, these three mistakes by Muslims resulted in a temporary
setback. No doubt, this temporary setback was later on turned into
final victory for them, yet Muslim mujahidin were virtually torn apart
with wounds. Dead bodies of their most valiant fighters were strewn
before their eyes. Even the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was wounded by
the merciless enemy. Disappointed, dismayed, they were also terribly
shocked over their own mistakes. In short, Muslims were on the horns
of a dilemma. They were pining over the past and there was acute
danger that they may become weak in the future and the duty of
leading the people of the world entrusted to them may be hampered.
In order to cover these two gaps, the Holy Qur'an came up with the
declaration:
وَلَتَهِنُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَنْتُمُ الْآَعْلَوُنَ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُؤُ مِنِيْنَ
And do not lose heart and do not grieve, and you are the
upper-most if you are believers. (139)
So, the message given to Muslims in the opening verse under
comment is: Do not let weakness or inertia come near you in the future
and do not pine over what has gone by. Finally, it is you who shall
prevail, if you hold on to the path of faith and belief, having total confi-
dence in the promises made by Allah Almighty, never ever turning
your backs on obedience to the Prophet and Jihad in the way of Allah.
In other words, the object was to impress upon Muslims that they
should not waste their time and energy by feeling sorry for whatever
mistakes they have made in the past. Instead, they should devote to
ways and means which make things right for them in the future. For
success after failure, strong faith and an unflinching obedience to the
Messenger of Allah are certain guarantees of a bright future. If