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In the Shade of the Qur'an - Surah # 80
In the Shade of the Qur'an - Surah # 80
Syed Qutb
Surah # 80
The Frowning
Abas
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent,
the Merciful.
He frowned and turned his back
when the blind man came to him.
How could you tell? He might have sought
to purify himself.
He might have been forewarned and the reminder
might have
profited him.
But to the one who considered himself
self-sufficient
you were all attention.
Yet the fault would not be yours if he remained
uncleansed.
As to him who comes to you with zeal
and with a feeling of fear in his heart
him you ignore and busy yourself with tribes.
No indeed ! This is an admonition;
let him who will, bear it in mind.
It is written on honoured pages,
exalted, purified,
by
the hands of noble and devout scribes.
Perish man! How ungrateful he is!
Of what did Allah create him?
Of a little germ. He created
him and proportioned him.
He makes his path smooth for him.
He then causes him
to die and puts him in his grave.
He will surely bring him
back to life when He pleases.
But
by no means has man fulfilled His bidding.
Let man reflect on the food he eats:
how We pour down the rain in torrents,
and cleave the earth in fissures;
how We bring forth the corn,
the grapes, and the fresh vegetation,
the olive and the palm,
the dense tree'd gardens.
the fruit-trees and the green pastures,
for you and your cattle to delight in.
But when the stunning blast is sounded,
on that day each man will forsake his brother,
his mother and his father,
his wife and his children:
for each one of them will on that day have enough preoccupation's
of his own.
Some faces on that
day shall be beaming,
smiling and joyful.
Some other faces on that day shall be covered
with dust,
veiled with darkness.
These shall be the faces of the disbelievers, the hardened in sin.
In the Shade of the Quran
This surah discusses certain principles of grave importance. It is unique
in its images and the impressions it leaves, combining its marked spiritual
effect with superb musical rhythm.
Its first part treats a certain incident which took place in the early days
of Islam. The Prophet (peace be on
him) was busy with a few dignatories of
the tribe of Quraish, explaining to them the message of Islam, when Ibn
Umm
Maktoom, a poor blind man, interrupted him. Unaware that the Prophet was
busy with those people,
the blind man asked him repeatedly to teach him
some verses of the Qur'an.
The Prophet (peace
be on him) was not very pleased at this interruption. He
frowned and turned away from Ibn Umm Maktoom.
This surah opens by criticizing the Prophet's behaviour in this incident.
It lays down clearly the values
and principles upon which Islamic society
is founded and states the true nature of the message of Islam.
He frowned and turned his back when the blind man came to him. How
could you
tell? He might have sought to purify himself: He might
have been forewarned and the reminder might
have profited him.
But to the one who considered himself self-sufficient you were all
attention. Yet the fault would not be yours if he remained uncleansed.
As to him who comes to you with
zeal and with a feeling of fear in
his heart, him you ignore and busy yourself with trifles. No indeed!
This is an admonition, let him who will, bear it in mind. It is written
on honoured
pages, exalted, purified, by the hands of noble and devout
scribes.
Man's ungrateful
attitude to Allah and his denial of Him come up for
discussion in the second part. Here man is reminded of his
origin of how
his life is made easy; of how Allah determines his death and resurrection;
and of how,
after all, he fails to carry out His orders:
Perish man! how ungrateful he is! Of what did
Allah create him? Of a
little germ. He created him and proportioned him. He makes his path
smooth for him. He then causes him to die and puts him in his grave.
He will surely bring him to life
when He pleases. But by no means has
man fulfilled His bidding.
The third part directs
man to reflect upon things of immediate concern to
him, namely, his food. Absolute perfection of creation is obvious
in the
provision of food for man as it is obvious in the creation, proportioning
and development of
man himself.
Let man reflect on the food he eats: how We pour down the rain in
torrents, and cleave the earth in fissures; how We bring forth the
corn, the grapes, and the fresh
vegetation, the olive and the palm,
the dense-tree'd gardens, the fruit-trees and the green pastures,
for
you and your cattle to delight in.
The final part touches upon "the stunning blast"
and its fearful effects.
The very sound of the words gives an impression of horror. It makes people
unaware of anything around them. Their faces, however, give a lucid account
of what is happening to them.
But when the stunning blast is sounded, on that day each will for sake
his brother, his mother and his father, his wife and his children: for
each one of them will on that
day have enough preoccupation's of his
own. Some faces on that day shall be beaming, smiling and joyful.
Some
other faces on that day shall be covered with dust, veiled with
darkness.
These shall be the faces of the disbelievers, the wicked.
This quick preview of the surah
leaves a profound effect on the reader.
Its message and its implications are so powerful that no human heart can
avoid being deeply touched, even by a quick perusal of it.
In the following pages we will
attempt to illustrate some of the very far
reaching effects of certain parts of the surah which may not be immediately
apparent.
He frowned and turned his back when the blind man came to him. How could
you tell? He might have sought to purify himself: He might have been
forewarned and the reminder might
have profited him. But to the one who
considered himself self-sufficient you were all attention. Yet
the fault
would not be yours if he remained uncleansed. As to him who comes to you
with zeal and with a feeling of fear in his heart, him you ignore and
busy yourself with trifles. No
indeed! This is an admonition; let him
who will, bear it in mind. It is written on honoured pages exalted,
purified, by the hands of noble and devout scribes.
The Divine instructions which followed
this incident are much more far
reaching than appears at first sight. They are indeed a miracle. These
instructions, the principles they seek to establish and the change they
aim to accomplish in human society are,
perhaps, the first and greatest
miracle of Islam . But the instructions are made here as a direct comment
on a single incident. It is part of the Qur'anic method to make use of
isolated incidents in order to lay down
fundamental and permanent
principles. The principles established here and their practical effects,
as
seen in the early Islamic society, are indeed Islam itself. They
constitute the truth which Islam and the
earlier Divine religions seek
to plant in human life.
The point at issue here is not merely
how an individual or a class of
people should be treated. This is indeed the significance of the Qur'anic
comment on the incident itself, taken in isolation. The heart of the
matter is, however, something far more important.
It is: how should people
evaluate everything in their lives? From where should they derive their
values
and their standards for such an evaluation.
What the Divine instructions contained in the opening part of the
surah
seek to establish is that men must base their values and standards on
Divine considerations, laid
down by Allah.
No social circumstances, traditions or practices, nor any concept of life
derived from them should be allowed either to encumber or determine these
values and standards. There is no denying
the difficulties involved in
conducting human life on the basis of values and standards laid down by
the Divine Being, free from the pressure of all worldly considerations.
If we consider the heavy pressure
of society on the individual's feelings
and attitudes - traditional values, family and social ties, and
environmental values, for example - we can appreciate the difficulty of
carrying out these Divine instructions.
We can appreciate such difficulty
even better when we remember that in order to convey it to people,
Muhammad himself (peace be on him) needed this special directive, or
rather this censure. Reference to this is
sufficient to convey the
gravity of the matter. For Muhammad (peace be on him) has reached greater
heights
of sublimity and greatness than any man can aspire to. Yet the
fact that special instructions were required for
him to convey a certain
principle makes that principle greater than greatness, unique in sublimity.
This is indeed, a true description of the principle established here,
namely that mankind should derive their values
and standards from the
Divine Being, after they have freed themselves from the pressure of their
social
set-up with all its values and standards.
The basic standard Allah has, through His prophets, commanded
mankind to
adopt is: "The noblest of you in Allah's sight is he who fears Him
most.(49:13)" This is
the standard by which all values, traditions and
practices should be evaluated. It establishes a purely Divine
criterion
which has nothing to do with any worldly considerations. But people live
on earth and
establish a multitude of ties, each having its own weight and
gravity. They have considerations of family relations,
power and wealth.
The distribution or concentration of these creates certain practical and
economic
results which determine the position of every man or every class
of people in relation to others.
Thus some acquire a position superior to that of others, in worldly
standards.
When Islam
declares: "The noblest of you in Allah 's sight is he who
fears Him most", it simply indicates that all these values
and
considerations are void, however important they seem to men. It
substitutes for them a single value
derived directly from Allah, the
only value accepted by Him. The incident itself serves to establish
this value in an actual situation. Thus the essential principle is
established: the scales recognised are those
of Allah; the supreme
value which should govern man's life is the Divine one. Hence, all
human values,
standards, traditions and concepts must be abandoned by
the Islamic nation.
Let us now consider
the incident itself. Ibn Umm Maktoom, a poor blind
man, comes to the Prophet (peace be on him) at a time when he
is busy
with a group of the most powerful and influential personalities in Makka,
including Utbah and
Shaibah, the two sons of Rabi'ah, Abu Jahl Amr ibn
Hisham, Umayyah ibn Khalaf, Al-Waleed Ibn Al-Mogheerah. Also
present is
Al-Abbas ibn Abdel-Muttalib, the Prophet's uncle. It is a crucial meeting.
The Prophet explains
the message of Islam to them and hopes for a
favourable response. He feels that the cause of Islam will gain a
lot by
such a response. The time is very hard for Islam in Makka. Those very
people have been using
all their wealth, power and influence to check
its advancement, and to stop people from accepting it. They have
managed
to freeze Islam in Makka and hinder its progress elsewhere.
Outside Makka, the other
tribes have adopted an attitude of wait and see.
For they feel that that is their best stand in a tribal society
such as
theirs which gives to the tribe's attitude paramount importance.
They are aware that
against Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, stand his own
kinsmen, who, theoretically speaking, should be his most
ardent supporters.
It must be emphasised that when we say that the Prophet is busy with those
people, he has no personal interest with them. He is simply working for the
interest of Islam. Acceptance of Islam
by these influential and powerful
people means the removal of all impediments from the path of Islam in
Makka. It also ensures for Islam the freedom to progress outside Makka.
While this crucial meeting is
in progress, a poor man comes and interrupts
the Prophet (peace be on him) saying:
Messenger of Allah! teach me some verses of what Allah has taught you.
Despite his awareness that the Prophet
(peace be on him) is busy, he
repeats his request several times. The Prophet dislikes this interruption.
His face, which remains unseen by the blind man, expresses his aversion.
He frowns and looks away from the poor
man, who has interrupted the crucial
meeting of which the Prophet has great hopes for his message. Indeed, the
Prophet's motive has been his great enthusiasm to win badly-needed support
for Islam.
Here, heaven intervenes to say the final word in this matter and to put
the landmarks along the whole length of
the road. Thus we are given the
scales by which to weigh our values regardless of all considerations,
including the consideration of what serves the interests of Islam, as
seen by men, and even by the greatest man,
Muhammad (peace be on him).
This is why the Prophet who has been described elsewhere in the Qur'an as
having "great and sublime nature", (68:4) is strongly censured by Allah,
the Most High. It is the only point in
the Qur'an that the Prophet, who
is very dear to Allah, is told "kalla" (inadequately translated as "no
indeed"). Kalla is a term of censure and an order to desist. That is
because the contravened principle is central
to this religion.
The reproof is made in unique style, which defies translation into ordinary
language. Written language has to apply certain rules and observe some well
defined norms. These would dampen the
effects of the very vivid style of
the Qur'an, which is characterised in this instance by its rapid touches
and short phrases which are more like feeling reactions and instant
pictures.
He frowned and turned his back when the blind man came to him.
The use of the third person
form here is significant. It suggests that the
subject-matter is so distasteful to Allah that He does not like
to confront
His beloved messenger with it. This in itself is a gesture of mercy and
kindness to the
Prophet. Thus, the action which necessitated the reproof
has been disguised with great subtlety. The reproof then
takes the form of
direct address, starting somewhat mildly:
How could you tell?
He might have sought to purify himself He might
have been forewarned and the reminder might have profited
him.
How could you tell but that a great gain might have been made? That is to
say that the poor,
blind man who came to you seeking light might have
profited by Allah's reminder and set about purifying himself.
His heart
might have brightened by Allah's light and he might become like a light
house, guiding people
to safety. This is exactly what happens every time
a human being genuinely accepts the faith.
It is, indeed, what carries real weight in Allah's scales.
The reproof then takes a stronger tone. It
wonders at the action in
question:
But to the one who considered himself self-sufficient
you were all
attention. Yet the fault would not be yours if he remained uncleansed.
As to him who comes to you with zeal and with a feeling of fear in
his heart - him you ignore
and busy yourself with trifles!
The one who pretends that he can do without you and your
religion, light
goodness and purity is the one who receives your attention! You go to him
yourself when
he turns away, and you are at pains to try to persuade him
to accept the faith.
Yet the fault would not be yours if he remained uncleansed.
What is it to you if he
chooses to remain in filth? You are not answerable
for his sinful actions. He will not secure your victory. As
to him who
comes to you with zeal", out of his own free will, "and with a feeling of
fear in his heart,
" groping his way with outstretched hands, fearful of
pitfalls, "him you ignore and busy yourself with trifles!"
What a strong
description of the act of not paying due attention to the man who came to
seek the right
guidance.
The tone gets even stronger and the reproof becomes outright censure:
"kalla" or
"No indeed", this must never be the case.
There follows a statement affirming that Islam is an honourable
and noble
call. It has no need for anybody's support. It cares only for the one who
accepts it on its
merits, regardless of his position in human society!
This is an admonition; let him who
will, bear it in mind. It is written
on honoured pages, exalted, purified, by the hands of noble and
devout
scribes.
It is a noble and honoured message in every respect.
Its pages are purified
and exalted, entrusted to "noble and devout" angel ambassadors who convey
it
to those human beings selected for the task of conveying it to their
people. It is also dignified. No one who pretends
that he is self
sufficient need be approached about accepting this message of Islam. It
is only for
those who know its value and seek to be purified by it.
So this is the Divine standard by which all values and
considerations
should be evaluated, and all men should be judged. This is also Allah's
word, which is
the final judgement in all situations.
But where and when was this laid down? The answer is in Makka when the
Muslims were few in number, and Islam was the weaker side in an unequal
battle. The attempt to win a
group of powerful and influential men was not
motivated by any personal interest. Ignoring the poor blind man was
not
occasioned by any personal consideration. All was for the sake of the new
message. But the message
itself calls for the adoption and application of
this very standard and these very values. For Islam can never
acquire any
real power or achieve any true victory except through the establishment of
these values
and standards.
As stated earlier, the essential principle involved is far greater and
wider
in scope than this single incident. It is that man should derive his
values and standards from Allah, not from
any worldly source
The noblest of you in Allah's sight is he who fears
Him most.
Indeed; the one whom Allah considers noble is the one who deserves to he
attended to and
looked after, even if he is completely lacking in family
relations, power and wealth, the assets highly valued
according to worldly
standards. These and all other worldly values become worthless when they
part ways
with faith and the fear of Allah. This is the great issue which
the Divine instructions in this surah seek to settle.
The Prophet was deeply and powerfully touched by these Divine instructions
and by Allah's reproof. Throughout his
life, he worked tirelessly for the
establishment of this great principle in Islamic society.
The
first action taken by him was to announce these instructions and the
reproof in public. This in itself is something
very great Taken from any
point of view, no person other than a Messenger of Allah could have
announced
in public that he had been censured so strongly, in such a
singular manner, for a slip he had made. It would have
been enough for
any other great man to recognise his mistake and to avoid a repetition in
future. With
the Messenger of Allah however, things acquire different
proportions. No person other than Allah's messenger could
have had the
courage, in such circumstances as Islam was facing, to make this
declaration, challenging
with it the masters of Qur'aish, who were very
proud of their lineage, power and wealth.
These were
at the time the only considerations of any importance in Makkan
society, where people wondered:
Why was this Quran not revealed to some great man from the two
towns? (43:31)
They were, of course, aware of Muhammad's lineage, and that he was the
descendant of the noblest family
in Arabia. His ancestors were masters
of Makka. Nevertheless they asked such a question simply because Muhammad
himself did not occupy a position of power in Makka before prophethood.
In such a society, at that
particular time, such a great principle could
have never been the product of any earthly factor, or host of factors.
It
could have had only one source: Allah. No power could have pushed it
through other than the Divine
will. The Islamic society received it
directly from the Prophet. It was soon well established and it acquired
depth and momentum, which helped it to continue its operation in the
Islamic nation over the centuries.
The establishment of this principle was, indeed, a rebirth of humanity. It
was greater in importance than the first
birth of man.
Man was able to free himself from all worldly bonds and standards, and
substitute for
them a set of heavenly values which are independent of all
earthly considerations. The new values were soon understood
and accepted
by everybody. Soon the grave matter which necessitated that Muhammad him
self be issued
with a special directive in order to convey it became the
operative principle of the Islamic conscience and the
basic code of the
Islamic society. It remained so for a very long period.
Perhaps we cannot appreciate
fully the true nature of the rebirth of
humanity. The reason for our inability is that we cannot conceive the
practical significance of our release from the pressures of society, its
values, standards, traditions and practices.
In order to appreciate the
magnitude of these pressures we have only to remember that the advocates
of the materialistic view of history consider that the economic condition
of a certain society determines the beliefs,
arts, literature, laws,
customs of that society, as well as its view of life and its destiny. What
a
narrow and mistaken view of the true nature of man! With this basic
principle, Islam accomplished the miracle of
the rebirth of man.
Since then the values attached to this great principle have become supreme.
Their
ascendancy, however, was by no means easy, neither in the Arabian
society, nor in the minds of the Muslims themselves.
Through his actions and directives, coloured by the profound effect the
Divine instructions
in this surah left on him, the Prophet was able to
implant this basic principle of Islam in the consciences of
his companions
and in the life of the Islamic society he had established. He looked after
his new plant
with unfailing care until it had established deep roots and
spread its branches wide. This was why this principle
remained for
centuries the guiding principle of the Muslim community, in spite of a
multitude of opposing
factors.
After this incident the Prophet always gave Ibn Umm Maktoom a warm welcome.
Whenever he
met him, he said: "Welcome to the man for whose sake my Lord
reproved me." He appointed him twice as his deputy
governor of Medina when
he had to be away.
The Prophet married his own cousin Zainab bint
Jahsh of the Assad clan to
his former slave Zaid ibn Harithah. Marriage has always been a very
delicate
issue, and it was particularly so in the Arabian Peninsula at
that time. The Prophet's motive was to deal a deadly
blow to all the
social values and standards based on worldly considerations .
Soon after the Makkan
Muslims settled in Medina the Prophet established a
bond of brotherhood between every two Muslims. He made his
own uncle,
Hamza, a brother to his former slave, Zaid; and Khalid ibn Rowaiha of
the Khath'am tribe
and Bilal, the former slave, were made brothers.
He appointed Zaid as Commander-in-Chief of the Muslim army
which fought
the battle of Mu'tah. Zaid's first deputy was the Prophet's own cousin
Ja'afar ibn Abu
Talib. The second deputy was Abdullah ibn Rawaha of Al
Ansar. A number of well-known personalities from Makka and
Medina were
in that army of three thousand men, including the most famous Muslim
commander of all time,
Khalid ibn Al-Waleed. The Prophet himself went
out to bid them farewell. It is also worth mentioning that Zaid
and his
two deputies were killed in that battle.
The last action of the Prophet was to appoint Usamah
ibn Zaid, a young man
in his teens, as commander of an army he raised to fight the Romans. In the
army
was a large number of the early Muslims, of both Al-Muhajireen (the
Makkans) and Al-Ansar (the Medinans), including
his two most distinguished
companions and immediate successors, Abu Bakr and Umar, as well as his own
relative Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas, one of the very earliest people to embrace
Islam. Some people grumbled about the
fact that Usamah was made commander,
because he was so young. Abdullah ibn Umar takes up the story: "When some
people complained about giving the army command to Usamah, the Prophet
said: 'You are deprecating his
appointment as commander in the same way
as you previously deprecated his father's appointment. By Allah, his
father was a worthy commander, and one of the dearest people to me.
Usamah is also one of the dearest people to
me."
Some people spoke in derogatory terms about the Prophet's companion,
Salman, the Persian.
They took a narrow nationalistic view and spoke of
the inferiority of Persians in relation to Arabs. The Prophet
took a
decisive step to put down all such narrow tendencies. He declared:
"Salman belongs to the Prophet's
family." The Prophet's statement
transcends all lineage, tribal and national considerations, which were
of immense weight in Arabia.
Some disagreement occurred between two of the highly esteemed companions
of the Prophet, Abu Tharr and Bilal. Out of temper, Abu Tharr called Bilal
"you, son of a black woman". The Prophet
was extremely upset by what Abu
Tharr said. He rebuked him saying: "That is too much, Abu Tharr. He who
has a white mother has no advantage which makes him better than the son
of a black mother." Thus the Prophet put
the dispute in its proper
perspective.
What distinguishes people is their faith, not their
colour. This is the
Islamic criterion, which is so unlike the worldly criteria of Ignorant'
societies.
The Prophet's rebuke had a profound effect on Abu Tharr, who
was a very sensitive person. He wanted to atone for
his mistake, so he
put his head on the ground swearing that he would not raise it until Bilal
had put
his foot over it.
Bilal achieved a position of great distinction in the Islamic society. What
made
his achievement possible was the application of Heaven's values. Abu
Huraira related that the Prophet once said
to Bilal: "Tell me what action
of yours you hope to be most rewarding to you, for last night I heard your
footsteps as you drew near to me in heaven." Bilal answered: "I don't
think that since becoming a Muslim I have
ever done anything which I hope
to be more rewarding than that every time I have ablution at any time of
day or night I pray whatever I can."
Once Ammar ibn Yassir asked permission to see the Prophet. The Prophet
said: "Let him come in, welcome to the cleansed good man." He also said
of Ammar: "Ammar is full of
faith to the top of his head." Huthaifa
related that the Prophet said: "I do not know how long I shall be with
you, so accept the leadership of the two who will follow me (and he
pointed to Abu Bakr and Umar), and
follow the guidance of Ammar. Believe
whatever Ibn Massoud tells you."
Ibn Massoud was so close
to the Prophet that any stranger in Medina would
have thought him a member of the Prophet's household. Abu Mussa
said: "I
came to Medina from the Yemen with my brother. We were for quite sometime
under the impression
that Ibn Massoud and his mother belonged to the
Prophet's household, an impression we had formed because of the
frequency
of their coming in and out of the Prophet's homes, and their long
companionship with him."
The Prophet himself sought the hand of an Ansari woman in marriage for
Julaibeeb, a former slave. Her parents were
reluctant to sanction such a
marriage. She, however, said to them: "Do you mean to reject the Prophet's
suit? If the Prophet thinks that this man is suitable for us, then Id this
marriage go through." So they gave their
consent. Soon after his marriage,
Julaibeen took part in an armed expedition. After the battle, which
resulted in a victory for the Muslims, the Prophet asked his companions:
"Is anybody missing?" They named a few
people. He repeated the question
and they named a few others. He asked the same question for the third
time and they answered in the negative. He said: "I think Julaibeeb is
missing." They looked for him and found
his body next to seven enemy
soldiers whom he had killed. The Prophet came over, stood near him, and
said: "He killed seven people before he was killed. This man belongs to
me and I belong to him." He lifted him
on his arms until a grave was dug
for him. He then put him in his grave. The tradition does not say whether
Julaibeeb was given a death wash.
With this Divine instruction and the guidance of the Prophet, the rebirth
of humanity was accomplished in a unique manner. Thus a new society came
into existence, which imported
its values and standards from heaven, and
lives on earth, unhampered by earthly restrictions. This is the greatest
miracle of Islam, a miracle which could not have happened except by the
will of Allah, and through the
actions of the Prophet. This miracle is in
itself a proof that Islam is a religion revealed by Allah, and that
the
man who conveyed it to us is His messenger.
It was the Divine will that the leadership of the
Islamic society, after
the death of the Prophet, should be assigned successively to Abu Bakr and
Umar,
the two persons who were most keenly aware of the true nature of
Islam and most vividly impressed by the guidance
of the Prophet. Indeed,
Abu Bakr and Umar surpassed everybody else with their love of the Prophet
and
determination to follow very closely in his footsteps.
Abu Bakr was well aware of the Prophet's object in assigning
the army
command to Usamah. His first action after he became Caliph was to send
the army raised by the
Prophet and commanded by Usamah on its original
mission. Abu Bakr, the Caliph, went along with the army to the
outskirts
of Medina to bid it farewell. It was a strange scene: Abu Bakr the old
Caliph walking, and
Usamah the young commander on his horse. Usamah felt
ashamed and begged Abu Bakr to ride or else he would walk
alongside him.
Abu Bakr refused saying: "You shall not walk and I shall not ride. It
will do me no harm
to walk for an hour if my walking is for the cause
of Allah."
Abu Bakr felt that he needed
Umar to help him shoulder the responsibilities
of government. Umar, however, was a soldier in Usamah's army, so
he had to
ask Usamah's permission to discharge him. Hence, the Caliph, the Head of
the State, said to
his army commander: "If you think you could spare me
Umar to help me, then please do so"! What a request! It is
the height of
magnanimity, attainable only with Allah's will, by individuals well taught
by Allah's
Messenger.
A few years go by and we see Umar assuming the leadership of the Islamic
society,
as its second Caliph. One of his actions was to appoint Ammar ibn
Yassir, who formerly belonged to the lower classes
of Makka, as governor
of the Kufa region in Iraq.
One day a number of dignatories from Qur'aish,
including Suhail ibn Amr
and Abu Sufian, sought to see Umar. He let them wait and admitted first
Suhaib
and Bilal, two former slaves, on grounds of their early acceptance
of Islam and their taking part in the battle
of Badr. Abu Sufian felt very
angry and said: "I have never seen a day like this. These slaves are
admitted
and we are kept waiting!" Suhail, who was more keenly aware of
the true nature of Islam, said: "Gentlemen! I see
in your faces an
expression of what you feel, but I say to you that if you are angry you
should be angry
with yourselves. Both they and you were called upon to
accept Islam at the same time. They were quick to respond
but you were
slow. What will you do if on the Day of Judgement you find that they are
included among
the chosen people and you are left behind?"
Umar allotted Usamah ibn Zaid a larger share of the spoils of war
than he
allotted his own son Abdullah. When Abdullah queried his father's decision
Umar said: "Son,
the Prophet used to love Zaid more than he loved your
father, and he loved Usamah more than he loved you. What
I did was simply
to attach to the Prophet's love higher value than I attached to my own
love." As he
said this Umar was, of course, fully aware that the Prophet
measured his love by the Divine standards.
Umar sent Ammar to question Khalid ibn Al-Waleed, the victorious commander
of the Muslim army and the descendant
of a noble family, about certain
charges. Ammar tied Khalid's robes round his neck Some reports add that
he tied Khalid's hands throughout the interrogation with the cloth of his
own turban. When the investigation proved
Khalid's innocence Ammar untied
him and put Khalids turban back on his head with his own hand. Khalid did
not object to this treatment. He knew that Ammar was one of the early
companions of the Prophet. Khalid also knew
what the Prophet used to say
about Ammar.
It was Umar himself who used to say about Abu Bakr and
Bilal: "Abu Bakr is
our master and he freed our master." This refers to the days when Bilal was
a slave
of Umayyah ibn Khalaf, who used to torture him mercilessly, in
order to turn him away from Islam. Abu Bakr bought
Bilal from Umayyah and
set him free. This former slave, Bilal, is described by Umar, the Caliph,
as
"our master".
Umar was the one who said, "Had Saalim, the former slave of Abu Huthaifa,
been alive
I would have nominated him to succeed me."
This statement must be taken against the background that
Umar did not
nominate anyone to succeed him, not even Othman, Ali, Talha or Zubair. He
only appointed
a consultative committee of six, so that the next Caliph
should be chosen from among them.
Ali ibn
Abu Talib sent Ammar and Al-Hassan, his own son, to Kufa to seek
their support against Aisha (may Allah be pleased
with her). His message
said, "I know that she is your Prophet's wife in this life and in the here
after.
You are, however, faced with a test which will prove whether you
follow your Prophet or his wife."' The people
of Kufa accepted his case
against Aisha, mother of the believers and Abu Bakr's daughter, (may Allah
be pleased with them all).
Bilal was asked by his brother in Islam, Abu Ruwaiha of Khath'am, to speak
for him to the family of a Yemeni woman he wished to marry. Bilal went to
them and said: "I am Bilal ibn Rabah
and this is my brother. Abu Ruwaiha.
He lacks good manners and firm belief. You may please yourselves whether
you give him your daughter in marriage or not." He did not deceive them by
hiding the truth, nor did he behave
as a mediator, unmindful of his answer
ability to Allah.
The family concerned were pleased
with such honesty. They married their
daughter to Abu Kuwaiha, the noble Arab whose advocate was Bilal, the
former slave from Abyssinia.
This fundamental principle remained for centuries firmly established in
the Islamic society, despite the various factors working for the bringing
about of a setback to that
society. "Abdullah ibn Abbas was always
remembered with his slave Ikrimah, while Abdullah ibn Umar was remembered
with his slave Nafi'. Anas ibn Malik was always associated with his slave
Ibn Sirin, as was Abu Huraira
with his slave Abdurrahman ibn Hormuz. The
most distinguished men of learning were Al-Hassan in Basra, Mujahid
ibn
Jabr, Attaa ibn Rabah and Tawoos ibn Kaissan'. In Egypt, Yazeed ibn Abi
Habeeb a black slave from
Dengla, was the grand Mufti (holder of the
highest position of religious authority) during the reign of Umar ibn
Abdulaziz."
This Divine standard continued to win high respect for the pious and god
fearing, even
when they were deprived of all things to which worldly
considerations attached great value. It was only recently
that this
Divine standard ceased to operate after the whole world had been over
whelmed by the tide of
Ignorance. In the United States, the leading
country of the West, a man is valued according to the size of his
bank
balance. In the Soviet Union, the leading country of the East, where
materialism reigns supreme,
a man is worth less than a machine. The land
of Islam, on the other hand, has sunk back into Ignorance, from which
Islam had saved it a long time ago. Ignorant creeds which Islam had
rooted out have been revived. The
Divine standard has been abandoned
in favour of Ignorant values which are completely alien to Islam.
The only hope that remains is that the new Islamic movement will be able
to rescue mankind once again from the
clutches of Ignorance and bring about
a second rebirth of humanity, similar to the one announced by the decisive
verses at the opening of this surah.
The second part of the surah wonders at man's conceited
attitude as he
turns his back to the true faith, despite his being called upon to adopt
it. It wonders
how man forgets his humble origin and is totally oblivious
of the care Allah has taken of him and of His complete
power over every
stage of his existence, both in this life and in the hereafter. In his
attitude of
utter ungratefulness man fulfils nothing of his duties towards
his Lord, Who has created and sustained him and
Who will hold him to
account for his actions:
Perish man! How ungrateful he is!
Of what did Allah create him? Of a
little germ. He created him and proportioned him. He makes his path
smooth for him. He then causes him to die and puts him in his grave.
He will
surely bring him back to life when He pleases. But by no means
has man fulfilled His bidding!
"Perish man!" He deserves to be killed for his abominable attitude. The
mode of expression adds to the sense of
horror excited by this attitude.
"How ungrateful he is!" He strongly denies the claims of his creation. Had
he been mindful of these claims he would have shown humble gratitude to
His Lord who created him; he would have
shown no conceit and would have
remembered the end he will have to meet. Indeed, how can man be so arrogant
and conceited? What are his origins: "Of what did Allah create him?" It is
a very humble origin, worthless indeed
except for the grace of Allah. "Of
a little germ. He created him and proportioned him." A little germ of no
significance; that is man's beginning. Allah, the Creator, has then
proportioned him. The Arabic verb used here
denotes precise and meticulous
proportioning. It also denotes bestowing weight and value This is how man
has been created, honoured and raised from his humble origin to a high
position in which the whole world has been
put at his disposal.
"He makes his path smooth for him": The path of life has been smoothed for
him.
He has also been given the ability to recognise and follow the right
path.
When the journey
of life is over, when every living being meets the
inevitable end, "He then causes him to die and puts him in his
grave" So
in the end the case is just the same as in the beginning: man submits to
his Lord Who brings
him to life when He wills and ends his life when He
wills. He honours him by making the earth his last abode, rather
than
leaving him as food to wild animals. He has made it part of human nature
to bury the dead. When
the time He has appointed arrives, He brings him
back to life for the reckoning: "He will surely bring him back
to life
when He pleases." So man will not be left without reward or retribution.
But has man prepared
himself for this reckoning? "But by no means has man
fulfilled His bidding." Mankind as a whole, and all human
generations, from
the very first man created up to the last breath of the last human being,
will not
have fulfilled Allah's bidding. This is the inference of the
Arabic expression used here. Man will always remain
negligent of his
duties. He will never remember his origin and creation as he should, nor
will he thank
and praise his Creator Who has guided him and looked after
him as He should be thanked and praised. He does not
prepare himself in
this life for the day of reward and retribution. This applies to humanity
as a whole.
In addition, the great majority of men turn their backs
arrogantly on the Divine guidance.
Next the
surah invites man to reflect upon his food and the food of his
cattle, which is one of the great many things Allah
has provided for him:
Let man reflect on the food he eats: how We pour down the rain in
torrents, and cleave the earth in fissures; how We bring forth the
corn, the
grapes, and the fresh vegetation, the olive and the palm,
the dense-tree'd gardens, the fruit-trees
and the green pastures, for
you and your cattle to delight in.
This
is the full story of man's food, related here stage by stage. Let man
reflect: does he play any significant role
in it? Can he determine or
change its course? Indeed, the same hand which has brought him to life has
brought forth the food to sustain him. "Let man reflect on the food he
eats." Food, the first necessity of human
life, deserves a few thoughts.
It is made readily available day after day. But it has a simple and wonder
ful story. Yet its simplicity makes man forget its wonder. Nevertheless,
it is as miraculous as man's own creation.
Every step is determined by the
Supreme Will which has created man.
"How we pour down the rain in
torrents." Pouring down the rain is a fact
known to every human being, wherever he lives, regardless of his level
of
experience or knowledge. It is, therefore, taken up in this address to all
human beings. As man's
knowledge has increased, he is now able to
appreciate the meaning of this verse more fully. He knows that something
happened a long time before the daily phenomenon of rain came to be
established. Perhaps the theory
closest to the truth concerning the
formation of the oceans, whose water evaporates and then falls down as
rain, claims that they were formed somewhere above the earth and then
were poured down in torrents. A contemporary
scientist says on this
subject:
If it is true that the temperature of the earth
at the time of its
separation from the sun was about 12,000 degrees, or that of the
surface of the sun, then all the elements were free and, therefore,
no chemical combination of importance
could exist. Gradually, as
the earth, or the earth-forming fragments, cooled, combinations
would take place and a nucleus of the world as we know it is formed.
Oxygen and hydrogen could not
combine until the temperature was reduced
to 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit. At this point these elements
would rush
together and form water. What we know as the atmosphere must have been
enormous at that time. All the oceans were in the sky and all those
elements not combined were in the
air as gases. Water, having formed
in the outer atmosphere, fell towards the earth but could not reach
it,
as the temperature near the earth was higher than it was thousands of
miles
out. Of course, the time came when the deluge would reach the
earth only to fly up again as steam.
With whole oceans in the air,
floods that would result as cooling progressed are beyond
calculation ... A Cressy Morrison, Man Does not Stand Alone,
London, 1962, pp 35-6
Although
we do not claim any definite link between this theory and this
particular Qur'anic statement, we acknowledge that
the theory gives us a
better understanding of what it means and the period of history it refers
to,
i.e., the period of pouring water down in torrents. The theory may
be proved right. On the other hand, other theories
may be put forward to
explain the origins of water. The Qur'anic statement, however, remains
valid for
all ages and societies.
This is how the production of food starts: "We pour down the rain in
torrents". No one can claim either to have produced water, at any stage
of its formation, or to have poured it
down, so that the process of food
production may be set in motion.
"And cleave the earth
in fissures". All human societies may be asked to
reflect on this second stage, which follows the pouring down
of rain. The
primitive man sees the rain falling and realizes that he has no power over
it. He sees
the water splitting the earth and penetrating the soil. He
also sees the plant cleaving the earth with the Creator's
will and growing
over its surface. He notices that the plant is thin and the earth heavy
yet the Creator's
hand enables the plant to split the earth and move
through it. Anyone who contemplates how plants grow can recognise
the
miracle involved here. He can feel the operation of the latent power
inside the gentle, little plant.
As human knowledge expands, a new understanding of this statement may be
developed. The cleaving
of the earth so that it becomes suitable for the
growth of vegetation may have taken place long time ago. The Qur'anic
statement may refer to the multiple break up of the rocks of the surface
of the earth caused by the
great floods and by the various climatic factors
which, according to modern scientists contributed to the formation
of a
soil layer where vegetation can grow. This interpretation fits more
closely with the sequence of
events as it is reported here.
In either case, the third stage is that of the growth of all kinds of
vegetation. The kind mentioned here is the best known to the people
immediately addressed by the Qur'an, and the
kind most common in the food
of man and animal. "How we bring forth the corn", "The corn" refers to all
cereals and grains used for human or animal food. "The grapes, and the
fresh vegetation". The reference here is
to the well-known vine fruits
and to all vegetables which can be eaten raw and can be picked time after
time. "The olive and the palm, the dense-tree'd gardens, the fruit trees
and the green pastures." The olive and
the palm fruits are well-known to
all Arabs. "The gardens" refer to the fenced fields of fruit trees. They
are described here as being dense with trees. The Arabic term "abb"
translated here as "green pastures" refers
in all probability to the
herbage used for cattle. As mentioned in the commentary on the preceeding
surah, Umar asked what the "abb" meant and then blamed himself for asking.
So we follow Umar's suit and add nothing
to what has been already
mentioned.
This is the story of food, the provision of which is carefully
planned by
the hand which created man. Man plays no role in any of its stages. Even
the seeds and grains
he may throw in the earth are not of his making. The
miraculous aspect here lies in the original production of
these seeds and
grains, which is beyond man's comprehension. Various seeds may be planted
in the same
piece of land, irrigated by one kind of water; yet each one
produces its own fruit. It is the hand of the Creator
which makes this
infinite collection of plants and their fruits, and preserves in the
little seed the
characteristics of its mother plant so that they may
reappear in the plant which issues from it. Man remains ignorant
of
the secrets of this process. He has no power over it. It is Allah's own
production: "For you and
your cattle to delight in". This delight is,
however, for a limited period. There follows something totally different
which needs to be carefully considered by man before it actually arrives.
But
when the stunning blast is sounded, on that day each man will
forsake his brother, his mother and his
father, his wife and his
children: for each one of them will on that day have enough pre
occupations of his own. Some faces on that day shall be beaming,
smiling and joyful. Some other faces
on that day shall be covered
with dust, veiled with darkness. These shall be the faces of the
disbelievers, the wicked.
This is the end of all delight and enjoyment. It fits perfectly with the
long planning and comprehensive designing which include every stage in the
development of man. The end portrayed
in this scene comes into perfect
harmony with the scene portrayed at the beginning of the surah which shows
someone coming forward with zeal and with a feeling of fear in his heart,
and another considering himself self-sufficient
and turning away from the
Divine guidance. Here we have an exposition of their standing in Allah's
view.
"The stunning blast" is the nearest translation of an Arabic term which
carries a very sharp tone;
it almost pierces through the ears. This effect
simply prepares us for the following scene in which we see "each
man will
for sake his brother, his mother and his father, his wife and his
children." These ties between
the man and his nearest relations cannot be
severed in the normal course of events. Yet the stunning blast destroys
these very links and ties and throws them into the air.
The fearfulness depicted in this scene is
purely psychological. It strikes
the soul, isolates it and holds it in its grip. The result is that each one
will think only of himself. He shall have no time or power to think of
others: "for each one of them will on that
day have enough preoccupation's
of his own ". The description is vivid; yet there could not be a shorter
and more comprehensive statement to describe the general condition of
worried minds and souls: "for each one of
them will on that day have
enough preoccupation's of his own. This condition is universal when the
stunning
blast takes place. Then follows a description of the condition of
the believers and that of the disbelievers after
the two groups have been
assigned their values by the Divine standards: "some faces on that day
shall
be beaming, smiling and joyful." These faces are beaming with
happiness overflowing with delight, lit up with a
broad smile. They are
hopeful and reassured because they feel that the Lord is pleased with
them.
The people of this class are spared the terror of the stunning blast, so
they can afford to smile and
show their happiness. Or probably the smiles
and manifestations of happiness are seen after these people have realized
the good end awaiting them.
Some other faces on that day shall be covered with
dust, veiled with
darkness. These shall be the faces of the disbelievers, the hardened
in sin.
These faces are covered with the dust of sadness and misery, darkened with
humiliation and depression. They know what they have done in this life and
they await their inevitable punishment.
These shall be the faces of the disbelievers, the hardened in sin.
The people of this class are devoid of faith. They do not believe in Allah
or in the Divine message.
Moreover, they are hardened in their erring and
sinful ways. They persistently violate the Divine commandments.
The destiny of each group is portrayed in their faces. It is a vivid
portrait drawn with words and expressions
- a fact which testifies to the
immense power characteristic of the Qur'anic style.
The opening
and the close of the surah are in perfect harmony. The opening
lays down a fundamental principle and a general
standard, and the close
shows us the results of applying this standard. The surah is a short one;
yet
it states a number of major facts and principles, portraying a large
number of scenes, utilising different rhythms.
The style brings out all
the images in full relief.
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