Indexed OCR Text

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Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 62 - 63
the fear of ultimate accountability before Almighty Allah. Once these
start remaining in sight actively, such evil behaviour patterns die out
automatically.
In short, this Qur'anic indicator tells us that man has some in-
grained traits which become his second nature. If these ingrained
traits tilt towards good, good deeds issue forth on their own. Similarly,
if the ingrained traits are evil, man starts running towards evil deeds
automatically. To achieve a total correction of behaviour, the correc-
tion of these ingrained traits is necessary.
Are religious leaders responsible for the
deeds of common people?
In the second verse (63), the Shaykhs and 'Alims among the Jews
have been sternly warned as to why would they not stop such people
from evil deeds. At this place in the Qur'an, two words have been
used. The first word is: why, 'Rabbaniyyun', which means Men of Allah,
that is, those who are intensely devoted to acts of worship and abstain
from worldly temptations - commonly known as Derwish, Pir or
Shaykh. The second word used is 'Ahbar.' Religious scholars among
Jews are called 'Ahbar.' This tells us that the real responsibility of the
Qur'anic injunction of Al-Amr bil-Ma'ruf (bidding the Fair) and Nahy
'Anil-Munkar (forbidding the Unfair) falls on these two groups, that is,
on the Shaykhs and 'Alims. However, some commentators have said
that 'Rabbaniyyun' refers to 'Ulama who have been appointed by Gov-
ernment and are fully authorized, while 'Ahbar' means the 'Ulama in
general. Taken in that sense, the responsibility of stopping people
from committing crimes comes to fall on government officials and
'Ulama both. Incidentally, this has been further clarified in some other
verses as well.
For 'Ulama and Mashayikh - a Note of Warning
Towards the end of the verse (63), it was said: ◌َلَبِنُسَ مَا كَانُوا يَصُنَعُون :"Evil
is what they have been doing" - which means that it is bad habit on
the part of such religious leaders known as Mashayikh and 'Ulama
that they have abandoned their cardinal duty of bidding the Fair and
forbidding the Unfair. They see people ruining themselves and they
do not stand up and stop them.
Commentators with knowledge and insight have pointed out that

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at the end of the first verse (62) which mentioned the errors made by
common people, what was said is: ◌َلَبِنْسَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُون (Evil is what they
have been doing). But, in the second verse (63), where the Mashayikh
and 'Ulama have been admonished for their failing, the concluding
sentence used is: ◌َلَبِتُسَ مَا كَانُوا يَصُنَعُون "Evil is what they have been doing [by
design]." The reason is that, according to the Arabic usage, the word,
Ja :fil (that which is done) includes everything done, whether with in-
tention, or without. But, the word, Jus :'Amal (that which is acted upon)
is applied to what is done particularly with intention and volition. As
for the words, .: Sana'a and caso : San' at (that which is done by de-
sign) are concerned, they are applied when something is done with in-
tention, and volition or choice, and that it is done repeatedly as a mat-
ter of habit and considered purpose both. Therefore, as a result of the
evil done by common people, the word chosen was 'Amal, that is: 25
BAK LU (Evil is what they have been doing). But, as a result of the
wrong done by Mashayikh and 'Ulama particularly, the word selected
was: صنع :Sana'a, as in :َلَبِنْسَ مَا كَانُوا يَصُنَعُون :"Evil is what they have been
doing [by design]." In this arrangement here, there may be a hint that
the attitude of such religious leaders was false because they knew that
if they were to stop their people, they would listen to them and, it was
likely, that they would abstain from evil deeds. Yet, such is their
greed for whatever offerings they may get from them, or such is their
fear of losing the faith of their clients, that their hearts are not moved
enough to stand up to defend and uphold the truth. This failing of
theirs is far too grave than the evil doings of those evil doers.
The outcome is : If the people of a country get involved in sins and
crimes, and their religious leaders know that they will listen and ab-
stain if asked to stop, then, under such a condition, if they do not try to
stop the flood of sins and crimes because of temptation, fear or apathy,
their crime is more grave than the crime of real criminals and sinners.
Therefore, Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas as Any, had said that a
stronger warning for Mashayikh and 'Ulama does not appear any-
where in the entire Qur'an other than the one in this verse. The recog-
nized authority in Tafsir, Dahhak has said: In my view, this is the most
frightening Ayah for Mashayikh and 'Ulama. (Ibn Jarir & Ibn Kathir)
The reason is that in the light of this verse, the failing of religious

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leaders gets to be rated as far more serious than the actual crime com-
mitted by thiefs and robbers and sinners (Refuge with Allah). Howev-
er, it should be borne in mind that this stern warning stands operative
in the situation when the Mashayikh and 'Ulama are reasonably cer-
tain that their appeal will be heard and accepted. But, under other
conditions when prevailing trends or corresponding experience create
a stronger likelihood that nobody is going to listen to them, rather,
they may even have to face harm or hurt in doing so, the command is
that their responsibility, no doubt, stands dropped, but, the conduct
which still remains better and higher is that they should - whether
heard or negated - go on doing their duty without bothering about any
blame thrown or pain caused. This approach was identified earlier as
well in verse 54 which highlighted one of the qualities of the Mujahidin
in the way of Allah by saying:
that is, they are not afraid وَلاَ يَخَافُونَ لَوْمَةً لَاثَ
of any blame thrown at them by those who would blame anyone who
speaks the truth.
It is useful to sum up the main elements of our discussion before
we part with it by saying that Mashayikh and 'Ulama, rather, all Mus-
lims, once they know something to be sinful or against law, are duty-
bound to check, stop or prohibit sin and crime, to the best of their abil-
ity - with their own hands or word of mouth or, at the least, with dis-
taste of the heart or dislike of the attitude - of course, subject to the
condition that the occasion lends to the possibility and stronger prob-
ability that they will be heard and their call will be entertained. But,
should there be an occasion where stronger probability exists that they
will not be heard or they will be subjected to hostility against them,
then, that will be a different condition in which it will no more be
obligatory on them that they must prohibit and stop people - but, it
shall still remain the better and the higher form of conduct. All these
details about the well known Qur'anic maxim of Bidding the Fair and
Forbidding the Unfair have been deduced from Sahih Ahadith. We can
say that, by placing the responsibility - of personally doing what is
right and good, avoiding what is not, and inviting others too to do good
and shun evil, - on Muslims at large, and on Mashayikh and 'Ulama in
particular, Islam has given to the world a priceless principle of peace
which, if practiced, could help nations after nations become easily
cleansed of all sorts of evils which afflict them.

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The Method of Community Correction
As long as Muslims adhered to this principle right through the ear-
ly and later centuries of Islam, they held a position of universal dis-
tinction in terms of knowledge, deed, morals and character. Once Mus-
lims ignored this duty, started taking the prevention of crime as the
sole responsibility of the government and its law-enforcing agencies
and withdrew from their role in it, the result that came out was no se-
cret. It is there for everyone to see. Here you have a father, a mother,
the whole family, all religiously observing and fully adhering to the
Shari'ah. But, their children and their family circle are different, al-
most their reverse. They think and feel otherwise. They do things dif-
ferently. It is for this reason that the mission of Bidding the Fair and
Forbidding the Unfair has been particularly stressed upon in the
Qur'an and Hadith as the surest method of any collective reform in the
Muslim Ummah. The Holy Qur'an has identified this mission as a
unique distinction of the Ummah of the Prophet of Islam . And it
has also declared that any contravention of this rule shall be a grave
sin and a certain cause of punishment. In Hadith, the Holy Prophet
has said: When sins are committed among a people and there lives
someone who does not stop them, then, not far is the likelihood that
Allah sends a punishment to fall on all of them. (Al-Bahr al-Muhit)
Warning against Not hating Sins
Malik ibn Dinar says: Allah asked his angels to destroy a certain
town. The angels said that there lived in that town a devoted servant
of His busy praying to Him. Came the command: Let him too taste the
punishment because he never showed his anger against people dis-
obeying Us and committing sins openly, not even with a sign of it on
his face.
To Sayyidna Yusha' ibn Nun JI ale, (Joshua) the Israelite prophet,
Allah Almighty revealed that one hundred thousand of his people will
be destroyed by a punishment. Of them, forty thousand were righteous
and sixty thousand, evil. Sayyidna Yusha' said: O Lord, the ruin of the
evil is obvious but why the good ones? It was said: The good ones had
friendly relations with the bad ones. Together, they ate and drank and
enjoyed life and never frowned on people sinning and disobeying their
Creator. (Details of all these narrations can be seen in Al-Bahr al-Muhit)

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Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 64 - 67
Verses 64 - 67
وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُوْدُ يَدُ اللَّهِ مَغُلُوْلَةٌ، غُلَّتْ آَيْدِيُهِمْ وَلُعِنُوْا بِمَا
قَالُوا بَلُ يَدْهُ مَبْسُوْطَتْنِ يُنْفِقُ كَيْفَ يَشَاءُ- وَلَيَزِيْدَنَّ كَثِيْرًا
◌ِّنُهُمْ تَقَّا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَّبِّكَ ◌ُغْيَانًا وَ كُفُرَّاءُ وَ اَلْقَيْنَا بَيْنَهُمُ
الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغْضَآءَ إِلى يَوْمِ الْقِيمَةِ ، كُلَّمَا أَوْقَدُوا نَارًا
لِلْحَرُبِ أَطْفَأْهَا اللهُ وَيَسْعَوُنَ فِى الْأَرْضِ فَسَادًا* وَاللهُ
لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُفُسِدِينَ ﴿٦٤﴾ وَلَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ الْكِتْبِ امَنُوا وَاتَّقَوا
لَكَفَّرْنَا عَنْهُمُ سَيِّاتِهِمْ وَلَاَدُخَلْنُهُمْ جَنْتِ النَّعِيُمِ ﴿٦٥﴾ وَلَْ
أَنَّهُمْ أَقَامُوا التَّوْرُنَةَ وَالْإِنْجِئْلَ وَمَآ أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ مِنْ ◌َّيِّهِمْ
69
لَاَكَلُوا مِنْ فَوْقِهِمْ وَمِنْ تَحْتِ آَرُجُلِهِمْ * مِنْهُمْ آَمَّةٌ مُقْتَصِدَةٌ
وَكَثِيْرٌ ◌ِنْهُمْ سَآءَمَا يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿٦٦) يَآَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَّا
أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ تَبِّكَ﴿ وَإِنْ لَّمْ تَفْعَلُ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسْلَتَهُ وَاللهُ
يَعُصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ* إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى الْقَوْمَ الْكُفِرِيْنَ ﴿٦٧﴾
And the Jews said, "Allah's hand is fettered." Fettered
are their own hands, and cursed are they for what they
said. In fact, His hands are well-extended. He gives as
He wills. And what has been sent down to you from
your Lord shall certainly increase many of them in re-
bellion and disbelief. And We have put enmity and ha-
tred amongst them lasting to the Day of Doom. When-
ever they lit the flame of war, Allah puts it out. And
they run about on the earth spreading mischief. And
Allah does not like the mischief-makers. [64]
And if the People of the Book had believed and feared,
We would have written off their evil deeds and would
have surely admitted them to the Gardens of Bliss. [65]
And if they had upheld the Torah and the Injil and
what had been sent down to them from their Lord, they
would have surely had plenty to eat from above them
and from beneath them. Among them are moderate

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people. As for most of them, evil is what they do. [66]
O Messenger, convey all that has been sent down to you
from your Lord. And if you do not, then, you have not
conveyed His message (at all). And Allah shall protect
you from the people. Surely, Allah does not take the
disbelieving people to the right path. [67]
Sequence
Some conditions of the Jews were mentioned in the previous vers-
es. More particular ones appear in the verses cited above, specially
the ones identified with Nabbash son of Qays and Fenhas, the chief of
the Jewish tribe of Qaiynuga' who uttered words of affront with refer-
ence to Almighty Allah, the description of which follows. Thereupon,
the opening verse was revealed. (As in Al-Lubab, from Sayyidna ibn 'Abbas nar-
rated by Al-Tabarani and Abu Al-Shaykh)
Commentary
The first verse begins with the words: 32 cju; (And the Jews said).
It mentions what was a grave offence and an utterly undignified re-
mark for any human being to make. They were wretched enough to
(God forbid) say that Allah's hand is tied up.
The background in which this was said was that Allah Almighty
had given to the Jews of Madinah extended means and money. But,
when the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم came to Madinah, they heard the
call of Islam, yet they remained unmoved because they were more in-
terested in holding on to their communal hegemony and the money
they received through offerings based on their self-perpetuating cus-
toms. So, they turned against what was the call of truth and took a
hostile stand against the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم himself. Then, as
a punishment of this behaviour of theirs, Almighty Allah turned their
affluent material circumstances into what was materially straightened
for them - and they faced poverty. Thereupon, all frustrated and off-
guard, they started uttering words to the effect that (God forbid) the
Divine treasure seems to be running short or, perhaps, Allah has cho-
sen to become miserly. It was in answer to them that it was said in
this verse that the hands to be tied up will be their own hands who are
saying what they are saying and cursed they shall be when punish-
ment visits them in the Hereafter, and in the present world as well,

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when it comes to them in the form of disgrace. As for the hands of Al-
lah, they are always open and well-extended, and His generosity has
been there since ever and shall remain for ever. But, He Himself is In-
dependent, free of need, yet the master of all means. Then, along with
this, He is Wise too. He gives and gives in His Wisdom. Means are ex-
tended for whom He wills in His Wisdom and means are straightened
for whom He wills in His Wisdom.
After that, it was said that the people the Prophet of Islam is deal-
ing with are contumacious people as they refuse to benefit from the
open and clear words of the Qur'an revealed to him, instead of which,
their disbelief in and denial of the truth keeps getting more hardened.
So, it is to keep Muslims safe from their evil designs that Allah has
caused differences to crop up within their own sects because of which
they would neither dare fight an open war nor would any conspiracy
by them succeed. The failure to wage an open war has been men-
tioned in :ُكُلَّمَا أَوْقَدُوًا نَارًا لِّلْحَرُبِ اَطْفَاَهَا اللَّه (Whenever they lit the flames of war,
Allah puts it out) while the failure to hatch sinster conspiracies has
been pointed out in : يَسْعُونَ فِى الأَرْضِ فَسَادًا (And they run about on the earth
spreading mischief).
Full obedience to the Divine Commands brings
Blessings in This World Too
In verse 65, the Jews have been admonished that the people of the
Torah and Injil have not derived any benefit from the guidance given
therein nor from the teachings of the blessed prophets. Once involved
in worldly greed, they ignored what was not to be ignored. As a result,
they ran into straightened circumstances right here in this world as
well. But, if they were to take to the ways of faith and godliness even
now, Allah could forgive them their past sins and admit them to Gar-
dens full of bliss.
How are Divine Commands carried out in Full?
وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ أَقَامُوا التَّوْزِيَ :Mentioned in verse 66 which begins with the words
(And if they had upheld the Torah ... ), are some details of the same
faith and godliness for which worldly blessings have been promised in
the previous verse (65). The detail is that they should, uphold the To-
rah, the Injil and the Holy Qur'an revealed after them. The word used
here does not refer to 'acting in accordance with these books'. Instead

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of that, the word placed here is 'Iqamah' which means to establish, and
to make something stand upright and straight. It signifies that their
teachings can be carried out fully and correctly only when there is no
increase or decrease or shortcoming in them. What is meant to stand
straight must stand perfectly straight - established, not tilting.
The essence of the verse is that if the Jews were to believe in the
guidance of the Torah, the Injil and the Qur'an, even today, and carry
out their instructions fully, without failing to act properly, nor opting
for excess and transgression by equating self-innovated things with es-
tablished religion, then, they shall deserve the promised blessings of
the Hereafter, and the doors of sustenance will be thrown open for
them in the present world as well. It will come from above and it will
come from beneath. 'Above' and 'beneath,' as obvious, mean suste-
nance which will be available easily and constantly. (Tafsir Kabir)
It will be noticed that the earlier verse (65) promised blessings only
in the Hereafter. The present verse (66) extends the promise to cover
worldly comforts as well. The reason for this may perhaps be that the
Jews had taken to malpractices, particularly the practice of altering
and distorting Scriptures because of their taste for the temporal and
their insatiable greed for money. This became their main hurdle
which had stopped them from obeying the Qur'an and the Prophet of
Islam despite that they had seen very clear signs of their veracity.
They were scared at the idea that by becoming Muslims, their leader-
ship role in the community will be all over. Also gone will be the offer-
ings and gifts which they received as religious high-priests. It was to
remove this kind of doubt or apprehension that Almighty Allah prom-
ised to them that if they take to believing truly and acting righteously,
nothing will be decreased from their worldly wealth and comfort which
would, rather, be increased.
Answer to a Doubt
Details given above also show that this particular promise was
made to Jews who were present during the time of the Holy Prophet
and were his direct addressees. If they had obeyed the صلى الله عليه وسلم
command given to them, they would have had all sorts of blessings in
the mortal world as well. So, those who took to the message of faith
and good deed, they had these blessings in full - like Najashi (Negus)

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the King of Ethiopea and Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn Salam As Je.
However, it is not necessary that for one who abides by faith and good
deed, sustenance will be extended as a rule and, vice versa, for one
who does not, sustenance will be straightened as a rule. The reason is
that, at this place, the purpose is not to describe a general rule. This
is a promise made to a particular group under particular conditions.
However, as far as the standard or general rule regarding faith
and good deeds is concerned, the promise of the blessing of good and
pure life is universal - but, that could either take the form of extended
means of sustenance, or means which are outwardly constricted, as it
has been with the blessed prophets and men of Allah not all of whom
had extended sustenance all the time, but they all did have the purest
of the pure life.
Justice was served when in the last verse (67), it was also added
that the evil doings of Jews mentioned in the text do not apply to all
Jews. Among them there were moderate people, people who were on
the right path. But, the majority was evil doing. 'People on the right
path' denotes people who were first Jews and Christians, then believed
in the Qur'an and the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and entered the fold
of Islam.
صلى الله عليه وسلم Emphasis on Tabligh and Comfort for the Prophet
In the present verses as well as throughout the previous two sec-
tions, there has been a continued description of the crookedness, way-
wardness, obstinacy and anti-Islam mechanizations of Jews and
Christians. One natural effect it could have on the Holy Prophet JUL
dus que was that he, being human, could feel disappointed or compelled
by circumstances and, as a result of which, the process of Tabligh or
the very mission of prophethood might slow down or left lacking some-
where. The second effect could be that in the event he elected to de-
vote single-mindedly to his call and mission as a prophet without car-
ing for any hostility, enmity, harm or hurt, there was every likelihood
that it could result in the worst of hardships at the hands of his adver-
صلى الله عليه وسلم saries. Therefore, in the last verse (67), the Holy Prophet
was, on the one hand, emphatically commanded to convey everything
revealed to him by Allah, all of it, without any hesitation, to the peo-
ple. That someone likes or dislikes it, takes or rejects it, should not

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worry him in his mission. Then, on the other hand, by giving the Holy
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم the good news that all those disbelievers will be
unable to bring any harm to him in his mission as a prophet for Allah
will Himself protect him.
The sentence: ◌ُوَإِنْ لَّمْ تَفْعَلُ فَمَا بَلَّغُتَ رِسِلَتَه :'And if you do not, then, you have
not conveyed His message [at all]' in this verse is worth pondering.
This address to the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم here means that if he
failed to convey even one Divine command to the Muslim Ummah, he
would not find himself absolved of the responsibility of prophethood.
This was the reason why the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم strived with
his full courage and strength all his life to fulfill this heavy obligation
placed on his shoulders. Muslims are familiar with the renowned
Khutbah of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم during his Last Hajj, the
great address which was not only the Constitution of Islam but also
the last will and testament of an elementally lenient and merciful
prophet who was far more affectionate and caring than a father and
mother could ever be.
صلى الله عليه وسلم The parting will of the Holy Prophet
on the occasion of the Last Hajj
In this Khutbah before a huge gathering of his noble Şahabah, after
he had given important instructions to them, he asked the audience: ýí
¿At jK (Listen: Have I conveyed your religion to you?). The Şahabah
confirmed that he certainly had. Thereupon, he said: You be a witness
on this. And along with it, he also said: ◌َفَلُبَلَغَ الشَّاهِدُ الْغَائِب (that is, those
present in this gathering should convey my message to those who are
not here). Included among the absent are those who were present in
the world at that time but were not present in the gathering itself -
and also included are those who were yet to be born. The method of
conveying the message to them was the spreading of the knowledge of
the Din of Allah, a duty which was fulfilled by great efforts made by
the Sahabah and the Tabi'in.
It was under the direct influence of this parting advice that the no-
ble Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all, took the words
and deeds of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم as a weighty trust of Allah
and did their best to ensure that not a single sentence uttered by his
blessed tongue should remain unconveyed to his Ummah. This holds

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true under all normal conditions. However, if someone did not narrate
a particular Hadith before people for a special reason or compulsion,
he made it a point to do that before his death by reciting it to at least
some people around so that they could be relieved of the burden of
trust they have been carrying on their shoulders. A similar event
about a Hadith from Sayyidna Mu'adh e Algo, has been reported in
the Sahih of al-Bukhari, that is, اخبر به معاذ عند موته تائما that is, Sayyidna
Mu'adh recited this Hadith at the time of his death so that he would
not become a sinner because of his failure to convey this trust with
him to others.
The Protection of Allah
In the second sentence of the last verse: ◌ِوَاللهُ يَعْصِيُكَ مِنَ النَّاس (And Allah
shall protect you from the people), good news has been given to him
that his enemies would remain unable to do anything harmful against
him despite their myriad demonstrations of animosity.
It appears in Hadith that, before the revelation of this verse, some
Companions generally used to stay around him in order to protect him.
They guarded him wherever he was, in the city or in travel. After the
revelation of this verse, he relieved them all as no security arrange-
ments were needed anymore. Allah had Himself taken that responsi-
bility.
In a Hadith narrated by Sayyidna Hasan, the Holy Prophet Li
du te has been reported to have said: When I was charged with the
duty of conveying the message of Allah as His prophet, the charge ap-
peared to be very frightening because people around me were bound to
falsify and oppose me. Then, as this verse was revealed, I was at
peace. (Tafsir Kabir)
Thus, after the revelation of this verse, no one dared to harm the
Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم during his efforts to spread the message of
Islam as a prophet of Allah. Any casual injury received in Jihad bat-
tles is not contrary to this.
Verses 68 - 69
قُلُ يَآَهُلَ الْكِتْبِ نَسْتُمُ عَلَى شَوْءٍ حَتَّى تُقِيُّهُوا التَّوْرُنَةَ وَ
الْإِنْجِيُلَ وَمَآ أُنْزِلَ إِلَبُكُمُ عِنْ رَّيِّكُمُ، وَلَيَزِيْدَنَّ كَثِيرًّا ◌ِنْهُمْ ◌َّ

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Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 68 - 69
أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ تَّبِّكَ طُغُيَانًا وَ كُفُرَّاء فَلَاتَأْسَ عَلَى الْقَوْمِ
الْكُفِرِيْنَ ﴿٦٨﴾ إِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ امَنُوا وَالَّذِيْنَ هَادُوْا وَالضُّبِئُونَ
وَالنَّصْرِى مَنْ أمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْأُخِرِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلاَ
خَوْفُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَهُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ ﴿٦٩)
Say, "O people of the Book, you have nothing to stand
unless you uphold the Torah and the Injil and what has
been sent down to you from your Lord." And what has
been sent down to you from your Lord will certainly in-
crease many of them in rebellion and disbelief. So, do
not grieve over the disbelieving people. [68]
Surely, those who believe, and those who are Jews, and
the Sabians, and the Christians - whoever believes in
Allah and the Last Day, and acts righteously, shall have
no fear, nor shall they grieve. [69]
Sequence
Earlier, the people of the Book were persuaded to embrace Islam.
Mentioned now is the futility of their current approach which they
claimed to be the God's truth while it was unworkable in the sight of
Allah, insufficient for salvation and dependant on Islam as the only
source of salvation. Then, as an antidote to their insistence on remain-
ing disbelievers after being warned, there are words of comfort for the
Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. The mention of Tabligh of Din had appeared
in between as based on particular need and congruity.
Commentary
Follow the Divine Shari'ah : Instruction
for the people of the Book
In the first verse (68), the people of the Book, that is, the Jews and
Christians were instructed to follow the Divine Shari'ah by making it
clear that they would be reduced to nothing if they chose not to abide
by the injunctions of the Shari'ah. In other words, if they do not ad-
here to the Shari'ah of Islam, all their achievements shall stand wast-
ed. To them Allah had given the privelege of being the progeny of
prophets. Then, they had the intellectual excellence of the Torah and
the Injil as well. Added to this was the presence of many men of Allah
-------

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Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 68 - 69
among them who went through strenuous spiritual exertions in their
search for truth. But, for all this to be valid and weighty the one bind-
ing condition was that they should follow the Divine Shari'ah. Without
it, no geneological superiority will work, nor would their intellectual
excellence or their spiritual strivings become the means of their salva-
tion.
This statement provides for Muslims too the crucial guidance that
there is no way of Dervishes or path of spiritual realization (Suluk &
Tariqat) or repeated strivings to achieve spiritual goals (Mujahadah
and Riyadat) or extra-sensory spiritual illumination (Kashf) or having
visitations of inspiration (Ilham) which can become the source of spiri-
tual achievement or salvation in the sight of Allah unless there is full
adherence to the Shari'ah.
To prove one's obedience to the Divine Shari'ah, the instruction giv-
en in this verse is to follow three things. These are the Torah and Injil
which had been revealed earlier for the Jews and Christians while the
third one is:ْوَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكُمُ مِّنْ تَّبِّكُم ,that is, what has been revealed to you
from your Lord.
According to the consensus of the majority of commentators, the
Şahabah and the Tabi'in, it means the Holy Qur'an which was sent for
the universal community of inviters to faith - including the Jews and
Christians - through the (midmost) medium of the Holy Prophet All L
tle. Therefore, the verse comes to mean 'unless you act in accor-
dance with the injunctions brought by the Torah, the Injil and the
Qur'an - correctly, fully and totally - no lineal or intellectual excellence
of yours shall be valid or acceptable with Allah.'
At this point one may wonder why, in this verse, rather than men-
tioning Qur'an by its brief name, as was done with the Torah and the
Injil, a long sentence :ُوَمَا أُنْزِلُ إِلَيْكُمْ مِنْ رَّبِّكُم (and what has been revealed to
you from your Lord) has been used. What is the wisdom behind it? It
is possible that it may be carrying a hint to what was said by the Holy
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in which he disclosed that the way he was given
the Qur'an which is a treasure of knowledge and wisdom, also given to
him were other sources of knowledge and insight, which could be
called, in a certain aspect, the explication of the Holy Qur'an as well.
The words of the Hadith are:

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Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 68 - 69
الا انّ اوتيت القران ومثله معه الا يوشك رجل شبعان على اريكته يقول
عليكم بهذا القرآن فما وجدتم فيه من حلال فأحلوه وما وجدتم فيه من
حرام فحرموه وان ماحرم رسول الله (صلى اللّه عليه وسلم) كما حرم الله .
(ابوداؤد ، ابن ماجه، دارمى وغيربا)
Remember! I have been given the Qur'an and, with it, (many
fields of knowledge) like it - lest, in times to come, some sated
man reclining on his couch were to say: For you this Qur'an is
sufficient - what you find Halal in it, take that as Halal; and
what you find Haram in it, take that as Haram - although,
what the Messenger of Allah @ has declared to be Haram is
like what Allah has declared to be Haram. (Abu Dawud, Ibn Ma-
jah, Darimi & others)
Three Kinds of Ahkam
وَمَا يَنْطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى :The Qur'an itself is a testimony of this subject. It says
does not صلى الله عليه وسلم which means that the Holy Prophet إِنْ هُوَ إِلاَّ وَحُىَّ مُؤْخى
say anything on his own - whatever he says is all revealed to him from
Almighty Allah; and under conditions when he says something based
on his Ijtihad (fully deliberated judgement) and Qiyas (analogical de-
duction) - following which he receives no guidance contrary to it - then,
consequently, that Qiyas and Ijtihad too hold the same legal force as
that of an injunction revealed through Wahy.
In a nutshell, we can say that, out of the injunctions (Ahkam) given
to the Ummah by the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, first come those
which have been mentioned clearly in the Holy Qur'an. Then, there
are those which have not been mentioned in the Qur'an clearly, in-
صلى الله عليه وسلم stead of which, they were revealed to the Holy Prophet
through a separate Way (Wahy Ghayr Matlu: Revelation not recited).
Thirdly, the command which he gave as based on his Ijtihad and Qiyas
- following which no command was revealed by Almighty Allah - then,
that too takes the legal force of a revealed injunction. It is obligatory
to follow all these three kinds of injunctions. They are included within
the purview of : 35ku J. C., (What has been revealed to you from
your Lord).
It is also possible that the use of the longer sentence: 35el Juice,
es(and what has been revealed to you from your Lord) in place of the
likely brief name of Qur'an in this verse may have been preferred so as

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to indicate that the following of all injunctions given in the Qur'an or.
given by the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is equally mandatory.
Another point worth noting in this verse is that the Jews and
Christians have been asked to follow the injunctions of all three Books,
that is, the Torah, the Injil and the Qur'an - although, some of them
abrogate others. The Injil abrogates some injunctions of the Torah and
the Qur'an abrogates many injunctions of the Torah and the Injil. How
then, could the sum of three be followed in action?
The answer is clear. Since every incoming Book changed some in-
junctions of the outgoing Book, it becomes obvious that following the
replaced modality, in itself, amounts to acting in accordance with both
Books. Following and acting in accordance with abrogated injunctions
is against the requirement of both Books.
Allah consoles His Prophet
To console the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, it was said at the end
that there will be many among the people of the Book who would fail
to benefit by the Divine magnanimity shown to them. They may even
react adversely by increasing the tempo of their disbelief and hostility.
Let this be no cause of grief to him, nor should he have any sympa-
thetic concern for them.
Salvation promised for Four Communities
having faith and good deeds
In the second verse (69), Allah Almighty addresses four traditional
religious communities, pursuades them to have faith and act right-
eously whereupon He promises salvation for them. The first of those
الَّذِيْرَ هَادُوا: those who believe) that is, the Muslims. Secondly) الَّذِيْنَ آمَنُوا : are
(and those who are Jews); thirdly : 3225 (the Sabians); and fourthly :
' (the Christians). Three of these Communities - Muslims, Jews
and Christians - are well-known and found in most parts of the world.
Any community having the name Sabian does not exist today. There-
fore, scholarly opinion varies as to their exact identity. Quoting Qata-
dah, the Tafsir authority, Ibn Kathir has reported that Sabians were
people who worshipped angels, offered prayers contra-oriented to the
Qiblah and recited the Scripture, Zabur (revealed to Sayyidna Dawud)
.عليه السلام

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Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 68 - 69
The context of the Qur'an seems to support it as the four Scriptures
mentioned in the Qur'an are Torah, Zabur, Injil and Qur'an. Thus,
named here are the believers in these four Books.
Another verse on the same subject, almost in the same words, has
appeared in the seventh Section of Surah al-Baqarah:
إِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ امَنُوْا وَالَّذِيْنَ هَاءُوْا وَالنَّصْرِى وَالضِّئِيْنَ مَنْ أَمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ
وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلَهُمْ أَجُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَهُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ،
Surely, those who believed, and those who are Jews, and
Christians, and the Sabians - whoever believes in Allah and in
the Last Day, and does good deeds - they have their reward
with their Lord. And there is no fear for them nor shall they
grieve. (2: 62)
Other than the place-oriented transposition of some words, there is no
difference between them.
With Allah, Distinction Depends on Righteous Deeds
The gist of both these verses is that distinctions of lineage, home-
land, and nationality do not matter in the sight of Allah. Anyone who
takes to total obedience, faith and good deeds as a way of life - no mat-
ter what he has been before - shall find himself acceptable with Allah
and his devotion will bring the best of appreciation from his Creator.
And it is obvious that total obedience after the revelation of the Qur'an
depends on being a Muslim - because, there are instructions to this ef-
fect in the past Scriptures of the Torah and the Injil as well, while the
Qur'an itself was revealed for this particular purpose. Therefore, after
the revelation of the Qur'an and the appearance of the Last among
Prophets صلى الله عليه وسلم, it cannot be correct - without believing in the
Qur'an and having faith in the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم - to follow ei-
ther the Torah or the Injil or the Zabur. Thus, these verses would
mean that whoever from among these communities becomes Muslim
shall become deserving of salvation and reward in the Akhirah
(Hereafter). Provided right here is the answer to the doubt as to what
would happen to all their dark doings of sin and disobedience and dis-
belief and anti-Islam and anti-Muslim mechanizations once they have
become Muslims? The disarming answer is: All past sins and short-
comings will stand forgiven and in the life-to-come, they shall have no

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fear or grief.
A surface view of the subject may suggest to someone that this
should not be the place to mention Muslims because they are - in their
faith and through their obedience - at the stage desired in the verse.
In other words, the occasion here calls for the mention of only those
who are supposed to be pursuaded to enter the fold of Islam. But,
what we have here is a special mode of eloquence employed by the
Qur'an. It is like the law promulgated by the highest imaginable au-
thority saying that it is for everyone, in favour or in opposition, bring-
ing reward for the law-abiding and punishment for the law-breaking.
It is obvious that those in favour are already obedient. The purpose is
to make those in the opposing camp hear it. The particular element of
wisdom behind mentioning those already in favour is that they are be-
ing told here that they are being appreciated not because of any per-
sonal or group excellence of theirs but simply because of their quality
of obedience to their Creator. If the dissenter in the opposing camp
were to take to the path of obedience to his Creator, he too will deserve
the same grace and reward.
There is No Salvation (Najat) without Belief
in Prophethood ('Iman bir-Risalat)
The set of instructions given in the address to these four Tradition-
al Religious Communities is divided in three parts: (a) 'Iman bil-lah :
Belief in Allah (b) 'Im an bil-yowmil-akhir : Belief in the Last Day (c)
and Al-'Amalus-Salih : Good deeds.
It is obvious that the intention in this verse is not to give the entire
details of Islam's articles of faith, nor is there any occasion for it. By
mentioning some basic beliefs of Islam here, the aim is to point out to
all Islamic beliefs, and to invite people to them - nor is it something so
necessary that whenever 'Iman or faith is mentioned in a verse, all de-
tails about it should also be mentioned right there. Therefore, the ab-
sence of a clearly emphasized mention of the faith in the Messenger or
Prophet at this place should have not given anyone having the least
commonsense and justice the room to entertain any doubt - specially,
when the whole Qur'an and hundreds of its verses are brimming with
clear statements about belief in the Risalah. Present there are loud
and clear assertions that there is no Najat (salvation) without believ-

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ing in the Rasul (Messenger of Allah) and the sayings of the Rasul fully
and completely, and that no belief and action is acceptable or valid
without it. But, a group of deviators, which insists on thrusting its re-
pugnant ideas in the Qur'an somehow, has come up with a new theory
based on the absence of an explicit mention of prophethood in this
verse - which is absolutely contrary to so many open assertions of the
Qur'an and Sunnah. They theorize that every person, despite his re-
ligion, a Jew or Christian, even an idol-worshipping Hindu could de-
serve salvation in the Hereafter - if he believes only in Allah and the
Last Day and does good deeds. For final salvation (as they would pre-
fer) entry in Islam is not necessary. (Na'udhu-bil-lah : Refuge with Al-
lah!)
People whom Allah has blessed with the Taufiq of reciting the
Qur'an and having true faith in it would not need some major knowl-
edge or insight to help them remove this doubt which even they could
do through these very clear statements. Even readers of the Qur'an
with the help of authentic translations could understand the falsity of
this kind of theorizing. Some verses are being given here as an exam-
ple.
The place where the Holy Qur'an has described the articles of faith
('Iman) in details appears at the end of Surah al-Baqarah as follows:
كُلِّ امَنَ بِاللهِ وَمَلَئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلٍِ لَأْتُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ آَحَدٍ مِنْ رُسُلِمِ
... All have believed in Allah, and His angels, and His Books,
and His Messengers. (in a way that) "We make no difference
between any of His Messengers," and they have said ... (2:285).
Within the details of 'Iman (faith) described clearly in this verse, it has
also been clarified that believing in any one or some Messengers is ab-
solutely insufficient for salvation. Instead of that, believing in all Mes-
sengers is a binding condition. If anyone does not believe even in one
single Messenger, his or her 'Iman shall not be valid and acceptable in
the sight of Allah.
At another place, it is said:
إِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ يَكْفُرُونَ بِاللهِ وَ رُسُلِهِ وَيُرِيْدُونَ أَنْ تُفَرُِّوا بَيْنَ اللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَيَقُوُلُونَ
تُؤُمِنُ بِبَعْضٍ وَّنْكُفُرُ بِبَعْضٍ قَيُرِيُدُوْنَ أَنْ يَتَّخِذُوا بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ سَبِيْلًا أُولَئِكَ هُمُ

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Surah Al-Ma'idah : 5 : 68 - 69
الْكُفِرُونَ حَقًّا ،
Surely those who disbelieve in Allah and His Messengers, and
wish to make division between Allah and His Messengers, and
say, "We believe in some, and disbelieve in some" and wish to
take a way in between that. Those are the disbelievers in re-
ality ... (4:151).
The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has said:
لَوْكَانَ مُؤْسِى حَيَّا لَماً وَسِعَهُ إِلَّ اتِّبَاعِىُّ
Had Musa WJI ale been alive, he would have had no choice but
to follow me.
Now, if someone were to say: 'Let the followers of every religion
keep acting according to their respective religions. Thus, they can find
Paradise and achieve salvation in the Hereafter without having to be-
lieve in the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and without having to become
Muslims! - this would, then, be a flagrant disregard of the verses cited
above.
In addition to that, if every religion or community is something act-
ing according to which in every age is sufficient for ultimate success
and salvation, then, the coming of the Last among Prophets and the
revelation of the Qur'an itself becomes meaningless. The sending of
one Shari'ah after the other also becomes redundant. The first Mes-
senger would have brought one Shari'ah and one Book. That would
have been sufficient. What need was there to send other Messengers,
Shari'ahs and Books? At the most, sufficient would have been the pres-
ence of people who would have preserved the Shari'ah and the Book,
practiced it themselves and pursuaded others to do the same - as has
been the duty of the 'Ulama of every community. This, then, would be
a situation in which the words of the Qur'an : لِكُلِّ جَعَلُنَا مِنْكُمْ شِرْعَةً وَمِنُهَاجًا (For
each of you We have made a way and a method - 5:48) will lose their
meaning.
Is it not that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم carried out the mission
of Jihad against Jews and Christians, and others, those who did not
believe in him and in the Book of Allah revealed to him, even fought
against them on battlefields? What justification would remain for
that? And if, for a human being to be a true believer acceptable with

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Allah, having faith only in Allah and the Last Day should be taken as
sufficient, why then, would Iblis (Satan) be cursed? Did he not believe
in Allah? Or, was he a denier of the Last Day? Was he not the one
who, even in his fit of anger, by saying: 3,422 24 JI (Till the Day, the
[dead] are raised - 34:79), confirmed his faith in the Last Day?
The truth of the matter is that this error is the product of the no-
tion that religion can be given as a gift on a silver plate as done in
marriages. Seen in modern and international context, religion can be
used to develop bonds of relationship with other nations - although,
the Holy Qur'an has said very openly and clearly that we should have
our relations with non-Muslims based on tolerance, sympathy, favour,
charity, mercy and things like that, but this should be done by ensur-
ing that the limits of religion are not crossed and that its frontiers re-
main fully guarded.
If, in the verse under reference, let us suppose, there was no men-
tion of the faith in prophethood, then, other verses quoted above which
command it emphatically, would have been sufficient. But, a closer
look at this verse itself will show a distinct hint towards belief in pro-
phethood because, in the terminology of the Qur'an, only that 'Iman bil-
lah (belief in Allah) is valid, in which there is belief in everything told
by Allah. The Qur'an has made its terminology very clear in the fol-
lowing words:
فَإِنْ أَمَنُوا بِثْلِ مَا أَمَنْهُمُ بِهٍ فَقَدِ اهْتَدَوْا
So, if they (the Companions) believe in the like of what you (the
Prophet &r) believe in, they have certainly found the right path - 2:137.
It means that the kind of 'Iman the noble Sahabah had is the only
'Im an which deserves to be called 'Iman bil-lah. And it is obvious that
'Im an bir-rasul was a great pillar of the edifice of their 'Iman. There-
fore, the words: Ju gel & (whoever believes in Allah) are inclusive of the
belief in the Messenger of Allah.
Verses 70 - 71
لَقَدُ أَخَذُنَا مِيْنَاقَ بَنِىٌ إِسْرَاءِيْلَ وَآَرُسَلْنَا إِلَيْهِمْ رُسُلَاء كُلَّمَا
جَاءَهُمْ رَسُولُ ◌ِمَا لَاَتَهُوَى أَنْفُسُهُمْ" فَرِيْقًا كَذَّبُوْا وَفَرِيُقًا