Indexed OCR Text

85
Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 8 - 10
Therefore, the words which follow this sentence in Surah Al-Nisa'
are : ◌َوَلَهُ عَلَّى انْفُسِكُمْ أَوِ الْوَالِدَيْنِ وَ الأَقْرَبِيْن that is, 'even though against yourselves or
the parents, and the kinsfolk ... ' After the sentence of Surah al-
Ma'idah cited above, the words which follow in this verse are:1,
that is, ' And malice against a people should not bid شَانُ قَوْمٍ عَلَى الَّ تَعْدِلُوا
you to not doing justice ... ' So, the essential message of this verse of
Surah al-Nisa' is: When it comes to doing justice, let nothing affect you,
neither your own self, nor your parents, nor your relatives. If the de-
mand of justice happens to be against them, stay with nothing but jus-
tice. The essence of this verse from Surah al-Ma'idah is that hostility
against an enemy should not affect your sense of justice to the limit
that you start working against the demands of justice to harm your en-
emy.
This is the reason why, by placing 'al-qist' (justice) first in the verse
of the Surah al-Nisa', it was said:ِكُونُوا قَوْمِيْنَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاءَ لِلَّه ( ... be upholders
of justice, witnesses for Allah ... ) and, by placing 'lillah' (for Allah) first
in the verse of Surah al-Ma'idah, it was said: bei Ted 325 6 ( ... be
steadfast for Allah as witnesses for justice ... ) - though, both these
modes serve the same purpose end-wise. It is obvious that a person
who stands for justice will stand for none but Allah, and one who
stands for none but Allah will do nothing but justice. But, when it
comes to protecting personal interest or favouring friends and rela-
tives, one may be tempted to justify the thought that the act of caring
for relationships here is also for Allah. Therefore, by bringing in the
word, 'al-qist' (justice) first at that point, the message given was that
the concession which is contrary to justice cannot be for Allah. And in
Surah al-Ma'idah, where the purpose was to enjoin justice with ene-
mies, the word 'lillah' (for Allah) was brought in first, which took away
the chances of sentimental attachments overpowering human nature.
The point is, when you stand for Allah, the inevitable outcome should
be an equal justice with enemies as well.
In short, both these verses of Surah Al-Nisa' and Surah al-Ma'idah
carry two elements of guidance. The first commands full adherence to
justice whether dealing with friends or foes. No weakness should be
shown on account of any relationship, friendly or hostile. The second
instruction given in these two verses is that no one should avoid
recording true evidence and stating what is the truth in honesty with

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Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 8 - 10
Allah, so that the decision makers face no difficulty in arriving at the
true, sound and just decision.
The Holy Qur'an has stressed upon this subject in several verses
with various angles telling people not to drag their feet and be tardy in
appearing as true witnesses. Verse 2:283 from Surah Al-Baqarah car-
ries a very clear command: وَلا تَكُيُّهُوا الشَّهَادَةَ وَمَنُ بَّكْتُمُهَا فَإِنَّهَ اثِرُ قَلْبُه (And do not
conceal the testimony. And whoever conceals it, his heart is, surely, a
sinner) which proves that to give a true evidence is an obligation and
its concealment, a grave sin.
But, the Holy Qur'an has also kept in sight the impediments to the
fulfillment of such duty. The central obstacle is that a witness is made
to appear in the courts repeatedly where he is subjected to absurd
cross-examinations aimed at breaking the witness and invalidating his
testimony. The result is that anyone marked to be a witness is actual-
ly marked out for trouble. Kept away from what he does for living, he
becomes a target of all sorts of inconveniences just for nothing. There-
fore, when the Holy Qur'an says that the giving of true evidence is nec-
essary (Wajib), it also says: 223 4;2-64; ( And neither scribe nor
witness should be made to suffer - 2:282 ).
A carefully investigated view of the courts and cases today will re-
veal that spot witnesses and true witnesses are almost extinct. Any
sensible person who happens to see something unusual taking place
somewhere would instinctively run away from there lest he gets
grabbed as a witness. The police fills out its case report with made-up
witnesses the result of which could hardly be any different than what
is being observed day in and day out. Not even five, or ten per cent
cases can be decided on the basis of truth and justice. Courts too can-
not do anything about it. The kind of witnesses they receive are the
only basis on which they have to arrive at their conclusions and decide
cases.
But, no one seems to notice the initial error being made in this
matter. If witnesses are treated nicely and they are not harrassed
time and again, good people would not hesitate to come forward to reg-
ister their testimony as required under the teachings of the Qur'an.
But, what is happening here is that the first investigation of a case is
handled by the police and it is, by itself, enough to drive a witness cra-

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Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 8 - 10
zy by his repeated appearances at the station. Once a witness, he
would never be a witness again, not even on his dead body. Then the
case goes to the court, if it does. And if it does, there comes the prob-
lem of dates, one after the other, they keep coming, next and next.
But, the witness becomes the victim who has to undergo the punish-
ment of a crime he never committed when he comes to record his pres-
ence on every such new date. This long-hauled rule of procedure, a
sick vestige of the British colonist, has corrupted our courts and judi-
cial departments. One naturally tends to compare it with the form of
simple and speedy justice provided in modern-day Hijaz and elsewhere
in which the number of pending cases cannot become so large, nor
would they prolong so continuously, nor does it cause any harrassment
to witnesses while fulfilling their religious duty.
To sum up, the blessings of an Islamic legal system can be seen
even today by simply restructuring the law of evidence, and its attend-
ing rule of procedure, in accordance with the teachings of the Qur'an
which require the knowers of truth to testify and which also command
that they should not be put to any inconvenience and that they should
be free to go within the shortest possible time after recording their tes-
timony.
Some forms of testimony
Finally, at this point, it is important to know that the sense of wit-
ness and testimony in current usage has become limited to testifying
before a judge or Committee hearing suits and disputes. But, in the
terminology of the Qur'an and Sunnah, the word 'Shahadah'
(testimony) has a much broader sense. For instance, the medical cer-
tificate given to a sick person which states that he is unable to report
on duty, or that he should be retired on medical grounds, is also a tes-
timony. If the statement made in it was contrary to the actual condi-
tion of the sick person, it will turn into a false evidence and become a
grave sin.
Similarly, checking student papers and marking them out during
tests and examinations is also an act of testifying. If any increase or
decrease in the marks alloted in them was done knowingly or careless-
ly, that too shall be a false evidence, which is unlawful, and a grave
sin.
::. .. .

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Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 8 - 10
Certificates and testimonials awarded to successfully graduating
students bear a witness that the awardee has the capability of doing
what his or her documents say. But, should it be that the person con-
cerned is, in fact, not so capable, then, everyone who has signed on
that certificate or testimonial stands charged with the crime of false
attestation.
Correspondingly, casting a vote in favour of a candidate seeking
election to assemblies, councils and public bodies is also a testimony in
which the voter bears witness that, in his or her knowledge and esti-
mation, the particular candidate is worthy of becoming a representa-
tive or spokesperson of the country and its people, both in terms of his
ability and merits and in terms of his honesty and trustworthiness as
well.
Now, figure out how many of our representatives are there about
whom this 'evidence' would prove to be true and correct? But, there is
little that can be said about our electorate which seems to take this ex-
ercise of voting as some game where one either wins or loses. That, to
them, is all there is to it. Yet, the right of vote is sold for money, or
cast under pressure, or thrown away for fickle friends and shady
promises. Leave others alone, even educated and observing Muslims
fail to realize while voting for undeserving people that they were invit-
ing the curse and punishment of Allah by putting their false evidence
on record.
There is yet another way of looking at the casting of votes to elect
representatives in accordance with the Holy Qur'an. This is called
'Shafa'ah' (recommendation or Sifarish). It means that the voter ap-
proves of the candidate of his choice and recommends that he should
be elected as a representative. The injunction of the Holy Qur'an rele-
vant to this situation has appeared earlier in the words given below:
وَمَنْ يَشْفَعُ شَفَاعَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ يَكُنُ لَّهُ نَصِيْبٌ مِنُهَا وَمَنْ يَشْفَعُ شَفَاعَةٌ سَتِئَةٌ يَّكُنُ
لَّد ◌ِكِفُلٌ مِنْهَا
Whoever makes a good recommendation, there shall be for
him a share from it (in the Hereafter). And whoever makes a
bad recommendation, there shall be for him a share from it -
(4:85).

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Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 8 - 10
It means that anyone who makes a good, true and justified recom-
mendation, then, he too will get a share from the good deed of the per-
son he has recommended. And a person who makes a bad recommen-
dation, that is, favours someone undeserving and bad to succeed
through his recommendation, then, he too shall get a share from the
bad deeds of the person he has recommended. Thus, when a candidate
like this will, during his tenure of office, go on doing what is wrong
and impermissible, it is obvious that the curse of his evil doings will
fall on the voter as well.
The vote has a third status in the sight of the Shari'ah of Islam -
that of advocacy (Wakalah). This is, as if, the voter makes the candi-
date his representative and agent on his or her behalf. But, had this
agency been connected with one of his personal rights and the gain or
loss from it would have affected his person alone, then, he would have
been responsible for it personally. However, that situation does not
prevail here, because this agency concerns rights which the entire na-
tion shares with him. Therefore, should a person contribute to the
success of an undeserving candidate by voting for him as his represen-
tative, then, the sin of bulldozing the rights of the entire nation rests
on his shoulders.
To recapitulate, our vote has a three-pronged status: Shahadah
(evidence), Shafa'ah (Recommendation) and Wakalah (Advocacy or rep-
resentation in common rights). Under all three conditions, voting for a
good and deserving person brings great reward the fruits of which are
bound to reach the voter. Similarly, voting for someone undeserving
and uncouth is false evidence, unjustified recommendation and imper-
missible advocacy all in one, so, the evil fruits of his thoughtless voting
shall stand recorded in the voter's log of deeds.
Therefore, it is the duty of every Muslim, man and woman, that he
or she must fully investigate into the background of the candidate be-
ing voted for well before the vote is cast. Let them make sure that the
candidate is deserving, capable and honest - and not otherwise. Negli-
gence, apathy and heedlessness are poor reasons to go about commit-
ting such grave crimes. If done for no reason, it is absurdity at its
worst.
-

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Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 11 - 12
Verses 11 - 12
◌َيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ امَنُوا اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ اللّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْهَمَّ قَوْمٌ آَنْ
تَّبْسُطُؤْا إِلَيْكُمُ اَيْدِّبَهُمْ فَكَفَّ آَيْدِيَهُمْ عَنْكُمْ ، وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ
وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْؤُمِنُونَ ﴿١١﴾ وَلَقَدْ آَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيْثَاقَ
بَنِىٌ إِسْرَاءِبُلَ وَبَعَثْنَا مِنْهُمُ اثْنَىُ عَشَرَ نَقِيْبًا، وَقَالَ اللَّهُ إِنِّئُ
مَعَكُمُ لَئِنُ أَقَمْتُمُ الصَّلَوةَ وَاتَيْتُمُ الزَّكُوةَ وَامَنْهُمْ بِرُسُلِىٌ
وَعَّرْ تُهُمُ وَاقْرَضُهُمُ اللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا لَّأُكَفِّرَنَّ ◌َنُكُمُ
سَّاتِكُمْ وَلَاُ دْخِلَنَّكُمْ جَنَّتٍ تَجْرِىٌ مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْآَنْهُ فَمَنْ كَفَرَ
بَعْدَ ذُلِكَ مِنْكُمْ فَقَدٌ ضَلَّ سَوَاءَ السَّبِيْلِ ﴿١٢)
O those who believe, remember Allah's favour upon
you, when some people planned to lay their hands on
you, and he kept their hands away from you. And fear
Allah. And in Allah the believers should place their
trust. [11] And Allah has made the Children of Israel
take a pledge. And We appointed twelve chiefs from
among them. And Allah said, "I am surely with you. If
you establish Salah, and pay Zakah, and believe in My
Messengers, and hold them in reverence, and advance
to Allah a goodly loan, I shall certainly write off your
evil deeds and I shall certainly admit you into Gardens
beneath which rivers flow. So, whoever from you dis-
believes after that has lost the straight path." [12]
Commentary
In the seventh verse of Surah al-Ma'idah which appeared earlier
Allah Almighty has asked Muslims to remember the pledge taken
from them to which they professed belief and obedience:
وَاذْكُرُوا نِعُمَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَمِيْنَاقَهُ الَّذِىُ وَاثَقَكُمُ بِهَ إِذْ قُلُهُمْ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعُنَا
وَاتَّقُوا اللهَ
And remember Allah's favour upon you and His Covenant
that He has taken from you when you said, "We have listened
and obeyed." And fear Allah ... (5:7)

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Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 11 - 12
This pledge is the pledge of obedience to Allah and His Messenger
and the pledge of practical adherence to the Shari'ah of Islam. This is
technically known as the Kalimah or the statement of creed and which
is:
لا اله الا الله محمد رسول الله
(La ilaha il-lal-lahu Muhammadur-Rasu-lul-lah):
"There is no god worthy of worship but Allah Muhammad is
the Messenger of Allah."
Every Muslim who says this Kalimah is bound by this pledge. In the
verse which follows (5:8), some important articles of the pledge, that is,
particular religious injunctions have been described. These enjoin eq-
uity and justice for friend and foe alike and teach justice and tolerance
- not revenge - for enemies once overpowered. This pledge is, in itself,
a great blessing of Allah, therefore, it has been made to begin with:
.( ... And remember Allah's favour upon you) اذكروا نعمت الله عليكم
By beginning the present verse (5:11) with the same sentence : 1, $31
Sule Al cuni (And remember Allah's favour upon you), the objective is to
tell Muslims that as long as they remained faithful to their pledge, Al-
mighty Allah blessed them with power and excellence in the present
world and with high ranks for the Hereafter, shielding them all along
against their enemies, in war and in peace.
This verse particularly mentions how enemies conspired to destroy
Muslims and kill their Prophet on so many occasions, but Almighty Al-
lah foiled all their plans and put them to disgrace - 'some people
planned to lay their hands on you, and He kept their hands away from
you.
Speaking generally, there are innumerable events on the annals of
the history of Islam when the plans made by disbelievers were seen
rolling in dust by Divine grace. But, there are some special events as
well which our learned commentators have pinpointed as the substan-
tiation of this verse - for example, in the Musnad of 'Abd al-Razzaq, a
report from Sayyidna Jabir رضى الله عنه says:
رضى الله عنهم أجمعين In a Jihad, the Holy Prophet @ and his Companions
stopped to rest at one stage. The noble Companions scattered out to
rest at various spots. The Holy Prophet @ stopped by a tree, all by

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Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 11 - 12
himself. He hung his weapons on a branch of the tree. A villager from
among the enemies pounced on this occasion, dashed in and took pos-
session of the sword of the Holy Prophet . Then, taking it out from
the sheath, he threatened him by saying: ¿ te & (That is, 'now tell
me who can save you from my hand?').
Undaunted, the Holy Prophet صلى اللّه عليه وسلم said: 'Allah عزوجل (the
Mighty, the Exalted)'. The villager repeated what he had said earlier,
that is, 'now tell me who can save you from my hand?' Once again, the
عزوجل said with the same composure: 'Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم Holy Prophet
After two or three exchanges in this manner, it was the awe of some
unseen power which forced the challenger to put the sword back in its
sheath. At that point, the Holy Prophet & called the Companions in
and narrated what had transpired. The villager was still sitting by his
side. He said nothing to him. (Ibn Kathir).
As part of an explanation of this verse, reports from some Compan-
ions say that there was an occasion when Ka'b ibn Ashraf, a Jew, had
invited the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم to his house with the intention
of killing him. Allah Almighty told him about this evil intention which
foiled his conspiracy (Ibn Kathir). Also reported from Mujahid, 'Ikrimah
and others is that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم once went to Yahud
ibn Nudayr to talk about a matter of concern. He asked him to sit un-
der a wall, engaged him in a conversation while secretly he appointed
'Amr ibn Jahsh to scale the wall from behind and throw down a rock
from the top of the wall over him. Allah Almighty let His Messenger,
may he remain blessed and protected for ever, know about their hos-
tile intention and he immediately rose and moved away from there (Ibn
Kathir).
There is no contradiction about these events. All of them can be
taken to be substantiating the present verse where, after mentioning
the unseen protection provided to the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and to
Muslims in general, it was said :َوَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُون (And fear Al-
lah. And in Allah the believers should place their trust).
First of all, what is being said here is that this blessing from Allah
is not restricted to the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم) rather, the real
cause of this Divine support and protection is the quality of Taqwa
(the fear of Allah) and Tawakkul (Trust in Him). Any nation, or indi-

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Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 11 - 12
vidual who lives by these two virtues, in any time and in any place,
will have the support and protection from Almighty Allah in the same
manner. How well this was put in two lines by poet Iqbal:
فضائى بَدر پيدا كرفرشتى تيرى نُصرت كو
أتر سكت بيس كردون س قطار اندر قطار اب بهى
Create the atmosphere of Badr, for your help the angels could
Descend from the heavens, file after file, even now!
It is also possible to refer this sentence back to the set of previous
verses where Muslims have been commanded to treat their worst ene-
mies with courtesy and justice. If so, the sentence would indicate that
the teaching of courtesy and tolerance in the case of such avowed ene-
mies may amount to making a political error which may put them
back on their feet. Therefore, in this sentence, Muslims were warned
that this tolerance and courtesy will bring absolutely no harm to them
only if they continue being the kind of people who fear Allah and trust
in Him. In fact, instead of giving the enemies the courage and oppor-
tunity to renew their hostility against them, this behaviour of theirs
will become the cause of bringing them closer to Islam into the Muslim
area of influence. Besides, Taqwa or the fear of Allah is the only factor
which can compel a person to abide by a pledge both physically and
spiritually. Wherever this quality of Taqwa remains missing, pledges
get readily broken as commonly witnessed these days. So, the earlier
verse (5:8) which mentions a pledge, also directed to JI 1,51, (Fear Allah)
towards the end. The same assertion was repeated here. Finally, this
whole verse gives a clear hint that a Muslim victory with Divine sup-
port does not simply depend upon outward logistics and hardware, in-
stead of that, the secret of their real power lies in Taqwa (the fear of
Allah) and Tawakkul (trust in Him).
After the present verse has mentioned the pledge taken from Mus-
lims and rewards it would bring when fulfilled, the second verse
brings into focus another side of the issue. It clarifies that this taking
of pledges is not something special to Muslims. Similar pledges were
also taken earlier, from other communities as well. But, they failed to
fulfill them. Therefore, various punishments were sent upon them. It
is said in the verse that Almighty Allah had taken a pledge from the

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Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 11 - 12
Bani Isra'il (The Children of Israel). The pledge was taken in a partic-
ular form. The people from Bani Isra'il were divided over twelve tribes.
One chief from each such tribe was chosen to represent them. Every
chief from each of the twelve tribes declared on his behalf and on be-
half of his whole tribe that they would adhere to this Divine Covenant.
Thus, these twelve chiefs took that responsibility on behalf of the en-
tire people of Bani Isra'il which entailed that they would themselves
adhere to this pledge as well as make their tribe do so.
Worth noting at this point is the cardinal principle of Islam in mat-
ters of honour, merit, office and recognition which, in the words of the
Persian poet, Jami, is:
بنده عشق شدى ترك نسب كن جامى
کہ دریں راه فلان بن فلان چین نيست
You have become a servant in love, forget about your lineage, O Jami!
For, on this highway, so and so the son of so and so means nothing.
The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had declared this in full clarity
when delivering his historic Address on the occasion of his Last Hajj
by saying that Islam does not recognize any dividing line between Ar-
abs and non-Arabs, black or white, high caste or low caste. Whoever
enters Islam becomes a brother to all Muslims. The distinctions of
status, lineage, colour, country and language were the idols and icons
of the Days of Ignorance - Islam has broken them all. But, it does not
mean that one should not consider family background when harnessed
to establish order and effeciency in administrative matters.
It is but natural that people of a tribe or family are more likely to
trust a known member of their group as compared to others. Such a
person is expected to understand and accomodate the feelings of his
group much better because he knows their psychological reflexes in de-
tail. When a pledge was taken from the twelve tribes of Bani Isra'il, it
was based on this very strategy whereby one chief from each of the
tribes was made responsible for its compliance.
The same consideration of administrative expediency and a peace-
ful resolution of possible conflict was made when the Bani Isra'il were
highly agitated about a shortage of water. Sayyidna Musa WILL
...

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Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 11 - 12
prayed to Allah and as commanded by Him he struck his staff against
a rock. Then, Almighty Allah made twelve streams flow from this rock
for each of the twelve tribes. Allah Almighty has mentioned this great
favour in the Holy Qur'an (Surah al-A'raf, 7:160) in the following words:
-And We divided them into twelve tribes, as separ) وَقَطَّعُنُهُمُ اثْنَتَى عَشْرَةَ اسُبَاطًا أَمً
ate communities) and: فَانْبَجَسَتُ مِنْهُ اثْنَنَا عَشُرَةٌ عَيْنًا (So, twelve springs gushed
forth from it [one for each tribe]). As for this figure of twelve, it is
rather unusual and lends to popular interpretations.
When the Ansar of Madinah came to invite the Holy Prophet & to
their city, he took a pledge from them in the form of Bay'at. In this
pledge also, the twelve chiefs of the tribes of Ansar, acting on behalf of
their tribes, gave their hands in the blessed hands of the Holy Prophet
giving a solemn pledge of adherence popularly known as Bay'at (or
Bay'ah in its pausal form).
Three of these chiefs were from the tribe of 'Aws and nine from the
tribe of Khazraj (Ibn Kathir).
According to another narration from Sayyidna Jabir ibn Samurah
appearing in al-Bukhari and Muslim, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is
reported to have said that people and their needs shall stay covered
until such time that twelve Khulafa' (ruling authorities) will be lead-
ing them. After having reported this narration, Ibn Kathir has com-
mented that no word from this hadith proves that these twelve Imams
or Khulafa' would rule one after the other, continuously. On the con-
trary, they could also appear spaced out from each other with breaks
in between. Thus, there were four Khulafa' - Sayyidna Abu Bakr, Sayy-
idna 'Umar al-Faruq, Sayyidna 'Uthman al-Ghani and Sayyidna 'Ali al
-Murtada . dll , - succeeding in that order. After the passage of
some time in between, Sayyidna 'Umar ibn 'Abdul-'Aziz was accepted
by the consensus of the Ummah as the fifth righteous Khalifah' of
Islam.
Now, returning back to the pledge taken from the Bani Isra'il, it
will be recalled that Allah had made the twelve chiefs from their
twelve tribes responsible for them and to them He said: 2 (I am
with you). It means if they fulfilled the pledge themselves and re-
solved to make others do the same, Divine support shall be with them.
After that, the verse enumerates some articles of this pledge, then re-

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Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 11 - 12
fers to the breach of trust committed by the Bani Isra'il and the subse-
quent punishment that descended upon them.
Thus, the sentence: "¿ (I am with you) which appears before
mentioning the articles of the pledge is there to tell two things. First-
ly, if they stood by the pledge, Divine support will be with them which
they would witness on every step they take. Secondly, they must real-
ize that Allah is with them everywhere, all the time. He is watching
over this pledge. Nothing that they intend, think, plan and do will re-
main outside the reach of His knowledge. He sees and hears what
they conceal and He is also aware of their intentions and plans. They
cannot escape His grip by breaking the pledge. Then come the articles
of the pledge, the first being 'the establishment of Salah' followed by
'the paying of Zakah properly.' This tells us that the people of Sayyid-
na Musa WJI ue were also obligated with the duties of Salah and Zakah
much before Islam. Other Qur'anic hints and authentic reports prove
that these duties were not peculiar to Bani Isra'il alone. In fact, they
have been enjoined by every prophet and every Shari'ah.
The third article of the pledge is that they should believe in all
prophets and messengers sent by Allah and help them achieve their
objective of spreading true guidance. Since many messengers were to
come to the Bani Isra'il, they were the ones particularly charged to do
this. Though, the status of basic 'Im an or faith comes ahead of actual
acts such as Salah and Zakah, yet, in this pledge, what was to be actu-
ally done was what was placed first. Prophets and messengers who
were to come, would be coming later. Since the matter of believing in
them and helping them in their mission was to happen later, that part
was placed later in the text.
The fourth article of the pledge is: Ca 55 201 2031 ( ... and advance
to Allah a goodly loan ... ). "Qardan Hasana" (a goodly loan) means
that it should be with absolute sincerity without any worldly expedien-
cy behind it. When spending in the way of Allah, one should spend
what one holds dear - never trying to get away by giving out of the
spare, the extra and the worthless. Spending in the way of Allah has
been expressed as 'the giving of loan' because the return of a loan is
taken as due legally, customarily and morally. So, one should spend
in the way of Allah believing that it will be returned definitely.

97
Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 11 - 12
Since the obligatory Zakah has already been mentioned at its place,
the introduction of Qard Hasan here indicates that it is referring to
Sadaqat and Khayrat (charities) other than Zakah. It also tells us that
Muslims are not done with all financial responsibilities by simply pay-
ing off the Zakah due on them. There are other financial rights to be
fulfilled, such as, making a Masjid where needed. When governments
do not initiate or support religious education for children and adults,
the responsibility of establishing and running institutions devoted to
imparting religious education rests on none but Muslims themselves.
The difference between the two is that Zakah is Fard 'Ayn (absolute ob-
ligation on every individual) while the kind of charities mentioned
above are Fard Kifayah (an obligation of sufficiency as explained be-
low).
Fard Kifayah means: should some individuals or a group from the
Muslim community take care of such needs, other Muslims are re-
leased from the burden of responsibility; and, should no one come for-
ward to do so, everyone becomes a sinner. How terrible are the cir-
cumstances in which schools for religious education are operating in
our time is known and braved by only those who have made it a mis-
sion of their lives to keep serving their Faith through these institu-
tions of religious learning. As for paying Zakah, Muslims know that it
is an obligation on them. It is strange that, despite this knowledge,
there are very few who pay their Zakah - and there are still fewer who
take the trouble of paying the full Zakah due on them after a full ac-
counting. And even those who rarely pay out the full amount of Zakah
due on them, think that they have done all they were supposed to do
and that there is nothing more due on them. Go to them about some
urgent need of a Masjid and they will come up with Zakah money. The
same thing happens with religious institutions - they too hardly get
any financial support other than Zakah. Although, these are duties,
other than Zakah, which Muslims have to fulfill - this has been made
clear in this verse of the Qur'an and in many other verses similar to it.
Towards the end of the verse, after enumerating the articles of the
pledge, it was also clarified that the fulfillment of the pledge on their
part will be amply rewarded, even their past sins will be forgiven and
they will have the eternal comfort and security of Paradise. But, final-

98
Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 13 - 14
ly they were given to understand that should any of them elect to ig-
nore such clear statements and go on to the limits of rejection and re-
bellion, they should know that they have left the straight path only to
their self-appointed ruin.
Verses 13 - 14
فَبِمَا نَقْضِهِمْ قِيْنَاقَهُمْ لَعَنَّهُمْ وَجَعَلْنَا قُلُؤُبَهُمْ قْسِيَةً ،
يُحَرِفُوْنَ الْكَلِمَ عَنْ مَوَاضِعِهِ" وَنَسُُوا حَظًّا ◌ِمَّا ذُكِّرُوْا بِهٍ ص
وَلَا تَزَالُ تَطَّلِعُ عَلى خَّتِنَةٍ ◌ِنْهُمْ إِلَّ قَلِيْلًا ◌ِنْهُمْ فَاعْفُ عَنْهُمُ
وَاصُفَعُ، إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِيْنَ ﴿١٣﴾ وَمِنَ الَّذِيْنَ قَالُوَّا إِنَّا
نَصْرَى آَخَذُنَا مِيْنَاقَهُمْ فَنَسُوا حَظّارِمَا ذُكِّرُوا بِهْ فَأَ غُرَيْنَا
بَيْنَهُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغُضَآءَ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيْمَةِ، وَسَوْفَ يُنَِّّئُهُمُ
اللهُ بِمَا كَانُوا يَصْنَعُونَ ﴿١٤)
So, because they broke their pledge, We cursed them
and made their hearts hardened. They move words
away from their places, and they have overlooked a
good deal of the Advice they were given. And every
now and then you come accross a certain treachery
from them all but a few. So, forgive them and forego.
Indeed, Allah loves the good-in-deed. [13] And from
those who say, "We are Christians," We took a pledge.
So, they have overlooked a good deal of the Advice they
were given. So, We had them stuck with enmity and
malice among them right through the Day of Doom.
And Allah shall tell them what they were doing. [14]
Commentary
The first verse is telling us that Bani Isra'il were heedless to clear
instructions given to them. Then, they broke the pledge for which they
were punished. There were two kinds of punishment which visited
Bani Isra'il because of their misdeeds and contumacy:
1. Manifest and perceptible, like the hail of stones and rocks or the
overturning of land mass, which find mention in several verses of the
Qur'an.

99
Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 13 - 14
2. Intellectual and spiritual, as if their very minds and hearts
were transformed in punishment for their contumacy which made
them incapable of thinking and feeling and they went on sinking deep-
er in the curse of their sins.
The verse opens with the words : ◌ًفَبِمَا نَقْضِهِمْ قِيْفَاقَهُمْ لَعَنَّهُمْ وَجَعَلْنَا قُلُوبَهُمْ فُسِيَة . It
means that it was because of their contravention of the solemn pledge
that Allah made them far-removed from His mercy ( that is, from its
effects, which is the reality of 'La'nah' or curse - Hadrat Thanavi) and
made their hearts hardened against any penetration of truth. This re-
moval from mercy and the hardening of hearts has been likened to "
Ra'n " (stain or rust) by the Holy Qur'an in Surah al-Mutaffifin: 36 jest
-It means that the reason why they reject open vers. عَلَى قُلُوُبِهِمْ مَّاكَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ
es of the Qur'an and all too manifest signs is that the stain of sins has
settled down on their hearts. In a hadith, the Holy Prophet said:
When someone commits a sin for the first time, a black dot gets
stamped on the heart. He feels the pinch of this evil presence all the
time. It is like a black stain on a white cloth which is a constant sore
of the eye. Now, if he gets chastened, repents and resolves not to do it
again, that dot is erased; and should he become care-free and start a
spree of other sins, a black dot for each subsequent sin will keep add-
ing up, so much so, that the clean slate of his heart will turn jet black
with these dots of stain. At that stage, the state of his heart will be-
come very much like a pot placed upside down in which nothing goes
in but to come out instantly. Therefore, nothing good settles down in
his heart for he has fallen into a state of moral inertia - to him nothing
good is good and no evil is evil. Rather, the opposite becomes his more
likely approach - he starts taking defect as merit, vice as virtue and
sin as reward. Thus armed with his crooked thinking, he goes on rid-
ing high in his rebellion and contumacy. This is a cash and spot pun-
ishment of his sin which he gets right here in this mortal world.
ان من جزاء الحسنة الحسنة بعدها وان من جزاء السيئة :Some respected elders have said
Www tall, that is, the cash reward of a good deed is that one gets the
Taufiq (the ability given by Allah) of doing another good deed. Simi-
larly, the cash reward of a sin is that one's heart starts being attracted
by other sins soon after the first. Thus, obedience and disobedience
both have a pull of their own - one good invites another good and one
evil attracts other evils and sins.

100
Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 13 - 14
Referring back to the breach of trust committed by the Bani Isra'il,
it can be said that the cash punishment due against it was that they
were removed from Divine mercy - which is the greatest medium of
salvation. And their hearts became so hardened that they stooped to
the level of 'moving words away from their places' which means that
they alter the Word of God - in words or meanings or recitation - all of
which have been described in the Holy Qur'an and the books of Aha-
dith, some of which have been acknowledged by European Christians
as well (Tafsir Usmanī).
The result of the intellectual and spiritual punishment mentioned
above was that they forgot to take advantage of the good counsel given
to them: 1353 QUE- 1225. Then, this punishment stuck glued to them:
that is, the Prophet of Islam would keep knowing وَلا تَزَالُ تَطَّلِعُ عَلى خَائِنَةٍ مِنْهُمْ
about one or the other breaches, deceptions and treacheries committed
by them. The exception is indicated in: 22 Sat fl (but a few) which re-
fers to people like Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn Salam and others who were
followers of the faith of the People of the Book before they became true
Muslims.
Upto this point, the description of the misconduct of the Bani Isra'il
صلى الله عليه وسلم was obviously demanding enough that the Holy Prophet
should hold them in contempt and never allow them to come to him.
Therefore, in the last sentence of this verse, the instruction given to
the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was : ◌َفَاعُفُ عَنْهُمْ وَاصُفَحُطُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِين (So for-
give them and forego. Indeed, Allah loves the good-in-deed). It means
that, despite their peculiar condition being what it is, it is better that
the Prophet of Islam abstains from doing what is otherwise quite natu-
ral. In other words, he should not treat them with contempt or hatred
because after knowing what they are - hardhearted and cold - the
chances that any good counsel would affect them are very remote.
Granted. But, toleration and civility of morals are wonder virtues
which could probe out some sense and sensibility from out of such in-
sensate people. Even if this effort to drive some sense into them fails,
something worth doing still remains - keeping one's own matters and
morals correct is, after all, quite necessary. Allah Almighty likes what
is done with good grace - and it will definitely bring Muslims closer to
Him.

101
Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 15 - 18
From the first verse, 5:13, which dealt with the breach of trust by
Jews and their punishment for it, we now move to the next verse, 5:14,
which refers to Christians : وَمِنَ الَّذِيْنَ قَالُوا إِنَّا نَصْرَى .In this verse, the punish-
ment described for Christians is mutual dissension. Being for their
breach of trust, this will continue right upto the Last Day.
Looking at the contemporary scene, one may have doubts about
Christians who seem to be united. The answer is that the present
statement covers genuine Christians, observing and abiding. As for
those who have moved away from their own religion turning into non-
conformist, secular or atheistic individuals or groups, they are, for all
practical purposes, out of the list of Christians - even though, they
may count them as Christians among the nationalities of a country. If,
among such people, that religious dissension and mutual hostility does
not exist, it would not be contrary to this verse - because the conflict
was based on religion, once the religion is not there, conflict too would
not be there. As said earlier, this verse describes people who profess
and practice the religion of Christianity - and their division is well-
known.
Given below is a brief reference from Taysir in the marginal notes
of commentator, al-Baydawi which reports that there were three sects
among Christians originally:
1. Fisturyah (Nestorians) who took Sayyidna 'Isa (Jesus) as the son
of God.
2. Ya'qubiyah (Jacobites) who believed in Sayyidna Isa (Jesus)
himself as one with God.
3. Malka'iyah (Malkites) who believed in Sayyidna 'Isa (Jesus) as
one of the Trinity.
And it goes without saying that in the presence of such major divi-
sions in matters of belief, mutual malice is inevitable.
Verses 15 - 18
يَاهُلَ الْكِتْبِ قَدْجَاءَكُمْ رَسُولُنَا يُبَيِّنُ لَكُمْ كَثِيْرًا مِمَا كُنْتُمُ
تُخْفُونَ مِنَ الْكِتْبِ وَبَعْفُوْا عَنْ كَنِيٍ ، قَدْ جَآءَكُمُ مِنَ اللَّهِ

102
Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 15 - 18
نُورٌ وَكِتْبُ تُّبِيْنٌ ﴿٢١٥ يَهْدِى بِهِ اللَّهُ مَنِ اتَّبَعَ رِضْوَانَهُ مُسُلَ
السَّلِمِ وَيُخْرِجُهُمْ مِنَ الظَّلُمُتِ إِلَى النُّورِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَتَهْدِيْهِمْ إِلى
صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ (١٦) لَقَدُ كَفَرَ الَّذِيْنَ قَالُاْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ
الْتِِحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ، قُلٌ فَمَنُ تَمْلِكُ مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئًا إِنْ آَرَاءَاَنُ
◌ُّهْلِكَ الُسَيْحَ ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ وَأُقَّهُ وَمَنُ فِى الْأَرْضِ جَمِيُعَاء وَلِلْهِ
مُلُّكُ الَّمُوتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا ، يَخُلُقُ مَا يَشَاءُ، وَاللّهُ
عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيْرٌ ﴿١٧﴾ وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُوُدُ وَالنَّصْرِى نَحْنُ
ابْنُوا اللَّهِ وَاحِبَّاؤُهُ - قُلُ فَلِمَ يُعَذِّبُكُمْ بِذُنُوبِكُمْ+ بَلْ آَنْهُمُ
بَنَِّمَنُ خَلَقَ﴿ يَغْفِرُ لِمَنْ تَشَاءُ وَيُعَذِّبُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ، وَلِلّهِ مُلُكُ
السّمُوْتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا وَإِلَيْهِ الْصِيْرُ ﴿١٨﴾
O people of the Book, there has come to you Our Mes-
senger disclosing to you much of what you have been
concealing of the Book, while he passes over much. [15]
There has come to you from Allah a Light and clear
Book; with it Allah guides those who follow His pleas-
ure in the pathways of peace, and brings them out, by
His will, from the depths of darkness into the light, and
guides them to a straight path. [16]
Certainly, gone infidel are those who say, "God is the
Masih son of Maryam (Jesus son of Mary)." Say, "Who
then has the power to do anything against Allah if He
wills to eliminate the Masih son of Maryam and his
mother and all those on earth?" And to Allah belongs
the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and what lies
between them. He creates what He wills. And Allah is
powerful over everything. [17]
And the Jews and the Christians say, "We are the sons
of Allah and His favourites." Say, "Why then would He
punish you for your sins? In fact, you are just human,
among those He created. He forgives whom He wills
and punishes whom He wills." And to Allah belongs the

103
Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 15 - 18
kingdom of the heavens and the earth and what lies be-
tween them, and to Him is the return. [18]
Commentary
Refuted here in this verse is only one saying of the Christians -
which is the belief of a sect among them - that Sayyidna Masih Wide
is God. But, the argument employed in the refutation virtually covers
the false beliefs of all sects against the inalienable principle of Tauhid,
that is the Oneness of Allah. This may be a belief in a son of God or a
belief in one of the three Gods - the argument refutes all of them.
That Sayyidna Masih and his blessed mother have been mentioned
here jointly could be because of two wise considerations. Firstly, it is
the humility of Sayyidna Masih before Allah Ta'ala that he could never
think of saving himself against the will of Allah, or his mother whose
care and service a good son considers dearer than his own life. Second-
ly, by doing so, the view of the sect which takes Sayyidah Maryam as
one of the three Gods also stands refuted.
Also noteworthy at this point is the mention of the death of Sayyid-
na 'Isa and Sayyidah Maryam, peace be upon both of them, as a suppo-
sition - although, the death of Sayyidah Maryam was no supposition at
the time of the revelation of the Qur'an; it had already occured, in fact.
The reason for this may either be the superimposition (Taghlib) of the
desired subject, that is, since the real intent here was to describe the
death of Sayyidna 'Isa as a supposition, the mention of his blessed
mother was also made as a corollary of the same subject, even though,
her death had already occured - or, it can also be said that the expres-
sion means: The way We have made death take away Sayyidah Mar-
yam, it lies within Our power to make it overtake Sayyidna Masih and
the rest of the creation as well. And the statement: Ur (He
creates what He wills - 5:17), is there to refute this particular base
which Christians use to deify Sayyidna Masih because they reason out
that his birth came to pass, against all rules of nature operative in this
world, without a father and from the mother alone - had he too been a
human being, he would have been born through a mother and father
both, very much in accordance with the natural law.
This one sentence answers the reasoning by saying that Allah has
the most perfect and the most comprehensive power to create what He

104
Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5: 19
wills and how He wills. The same doubt has been removed in the
verse: ◌َإِنَّ مَثَلَ عِيْسِى عِنْدَ اللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ دَم (Surely, the case of 'Isa, in the sight of Al-
lah, is like the case of Adam - 3:59) where it has been established that
the creation of Sayyidna Masih WILLe as separate from the habitual
law of nature cannot become an argument in favour of his being taken
as God.
The reason lies in pondering that Allah Ta'ala did create Sayyidna
Adam MI ude without a father and mother both. He has the power, all
power, over everything. He is the Creator and the Master and the
most worthy of worship. No one else can be associated with His Divini-
ty as a partner or sharer.
Verse 19
◌َاهُلَ الْكِتْبِ قَدْ جَآءَكُمْ رَسُولُنَا يُبَيِّنُ لَكُمْ عَلَى فَتْرَةٍ مِنَ
الرُّسُلِ أَنْ تَقُوْلُوا مَا جَآ ءَنَا مِنْ بَشِيْرٍ وَلَا نَذِيْرٍ، فَقَدْ جَاءَ كُمْ
بَشِيْرٌوَ نَذِيْرٍ، وَاللهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَوْءُ قَدِيْرٌ ﴿١٩)
O people of the Book, Our Messenger has come to you
making things clear to you after a gap between Messen-
gers, lest you were to say, "There has not come to us a
bearer of good news, and a warner." So, now there has
come to you a bearer of good news, and a warner. And
Allah is powerful over everything. [19]
Commentary
The word, "fatrah" in : ◌ِعَلَى فَتْرَةٍ مِّنَ الرُّسُل (after a gap between Messen-
gers) literally means to slacken, to become dormant or to suspend or to
terminate an activity. Leading authorities in Tafsir have given this
very meaning of fatrah in this verse. It signifies the suspension of the
coming of prophets for a certain interval of time which is the period of
time in between Sayyidna 'Isa WJILe and the Last of the Prophets,
. صلى الله عليه وسلم Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa
Verification of the Gap
According to Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas ar Al »), there is a pe-
riod of one thousand and seven hundred years between Sayyidna Musa
and Sayyidna 'Isa >JIL.+Le . During this whole period, prophets kept