In the Shade of the Qur'an

THE CITY
                                  AL-BALAD

            In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

    I swear by this city, this city in which you yourself are a dweller,
    by sire and offspring: indeed, We have created man in affliction.
    Does he think that none has power over him? "I have wasted vast
    riches," he says. Does he think that none observes him? Have We not
    given him two eyes, a tongue, and two lips, and shown him the two
    paths. Yet he has not attempted the Ascent. Would that you knew what
    the Ascent is. It is the freeing of a slave, or the feeding, in a day
    of hunger, of an orphaned near of kin, or a needy man in misery.
    Moreover, it is to be of those who believe and counsel one another
    to be steadfast, and enjoin mercy or one another. Those who do this
    shall be on the right hand. And those who deny Our revelations
    shall be on the left hand, with Hell-fire close above them.

                        In the Shade of the Qur'an

This short surah touches on a large number of facts which are of cen-
tral importance in human life, in a style characterised by its powerful
allusions and revealing touches. Such a number of facts is not easy to
combine in any form of concise writing except that of the Qur'an,
with its unique method of hitting the right chords of the human heart
with such swift and penetrating strokes.

The surah opens with a forceful vow asserting an inherent fact of
human life: "I swear by this city, this city in which you yourself are a
dweller, by sire and of spring: indeed, We have created man in afflict-
ion". The city is Makka, the sacred House of Allah which was the first
temple ever to be erected on this earth as a place of peace where
people put down their weapons and forget their quarrels. They meet
inside in peace; each is sacred to all. Even the plants, the birds and all
creatures that happen to be in this House enjoy full and complete
security. It is the House built by Abraham, the father of Ishmail, who
is the grandfather of all the Arabs and the Muslims. Allah then hon-
ours His Prophet, Muhammad, by mentioning him and his residence
in Makka a fact which adds to the sanctity of the city, its honour and
glory. This is a point of great significance in this context; for the
believers were violating the sanctity of the House by harassing the
Prophet and the Muslims in it. But the House is sacred and the
Prophet's dwelling in its neighbourhood makes it even more so. Allah's
oath by this city and by the Prophet's residence in it adds even more
to its sacredness and glory, which consequently makes the attitude of
the disbelievers grossly impertinent and objectionable on all counts.
For they claim to be the custodians of the House, the descendants of
Ishmail and the followers of Abraham.

This last reference supports the inclination to take the phrase, "by
sire and offspring" to refer to Abraham and Ishmail in particular.
This reading includes in the oath the Prophet, the city where he lives,
the founder of the House and his offspring. However, it does not pre-
clude that the statement can be a general one, referring to the
phenomenon of reproduction which preserves the human race. This
reference may be taken as an introduction to the discussion of the
nature of man, which is indeed the subject matter of the surah.

In his commentary on this surah in his "Juz'u 'Amma', the late
Sheikh Muhammad Abduh, makes a fine remark which is useful to
quote here:

Allah then swears by parent and children to draw our attention to
the great importance of the stage of reproduction in life, and to the
infinite wisdom and perfection which this stage involves. It also
emphasises the great suffering encountered by parent and
offspring during the process from its inception up to its conclusion,
when the newcomer achieves a certain degree of development.

Think of plants and the tough opposition met by a seed of a
plant in the process of growth, until it adapts to the various factors
of climate. Think of its attempts to absorb the food necessary for
its survival from its surroundings, till it develops branches and
leaves. It then prepares for the production of a similar seed or
seeds that will repeat its function and add to the beauty of the
world around it. Think of all this then consider the more advanced
forms of animal and human life and you will see something much
greater and far more wonderful concerning reproduction. You
will have a feeling of the hardship and suffering met by all sires and
offspring for the sake of preserving the species and the beauty of
this world ...

The oath reaffirms an intrinsic fact in human life: "Indeed, We
have created man in affliction". Indeed, man's life is a process of con-
tinued hardship that never ends, as stated in surah 84, ("The Rending")
"O man, you are striving to your Lord laboriously, and you will duly
meet Him". No sooner does the first living cell settle in the mother's
womb than it starts to encounter affliction and to work hard in order
to prepare for itself the right conditions for its survival, with the
permission of its Lord. It continues to do so until it is ready for the
process of birth, which is a great ordeal for both the mother and the
baby. Before the baby finally sees the light it undergoes a great deal
of pushing and squeezing to the point of near suffocation in its
passage out of the womb.

A stage of harder endurance and greater suffering follows. The
newborn baby begins to breathe the air, which is a new experience. It
opens its mouth and inflates its lungs for the first time with a cry
which tells of the hard start. The digestive system and the blood cir-
culation then start to function in a manner which is totally un-
familiar. Then it starts to empty its bowels, encountering great difficulty
in adapting its system to this new function. Indeed, every new step or
movement is attended by suffering. If one watches this baby when it
begins to crawl and walk, one sees the kind of effort required to ex-
ecute such minor and elementary movements.

Thus, affliction continues with teething, developing the abilities of
standing up, walking firmly, learning and thinking and with every
single new experience in the same way as in the case of crawling and
walking.

Then the roads diverge and the struggle takes different forms. One
person struggles with his muscles, another with his mind and a third
with his soul. One toils for a mouthful of food or a rag to dress him-
self with, another to double or treble his wealth. One person strives to
achieve a position of power or influence and another for the sake of
Allah. One struggles for the sake of satisfying lusts and desires, and
the other for the sake of his faith or ideology. One strives but achieves
no more than Hell and another strives for Paradise. Everyone is
carrying his own burden and climbing his own hills to arrive finally at
the meeting place appointed by Allah, where the wretched shall
endure their worst suffering while the blessed enjoy their endless
happiness.

Affliction, life's foremost characteristic, takes various forms and
shapes but it is always judged by its eventual results. The loser is the
one who ends up suffering more affliction in the hereafter, and the
prosperous is the one whose striving qualifies him to be released from
his affliction and ensures him the ultimate repose under his Lord's
shelter. Yet there is some reward for the different kinds of struggle
which people endure. The one who labours for a great cause differs
from the one who labours for a trivial one, in the amount and the
quality of gratification each of them gains from his labour and
sacrifice.

Having established this fact concerning human nature and human
life, the surah goes on to discuss some of the claims that man makes
and some of the concepts underlying his behaviour. "Does he think
that none has power over him? 'I have wasted vast riches ' he says. Does
he think that none observes him? " This creature, man, whose suffering
and struggling never come to an end, forgets his real nature and
becomes so conceited with what Allah has given him of power, abl-
lity, skill and prosperity that he behaves as if he is not accountable for
what he does. He indulges in oppression, tyranny, victimisation and
exploitation, trying to acquire enormous wealth. He corrupts himself
and others in total disregard of anything of value. Such is the charac-
ter of a man whose heart is stripped of faith. When he is called upon
to spend for good causes, he says, "I have wasted vast riches" and
given more than enough. "Does he think that none observes him?" Has
he forgotten that Allah is watching over him? He sees what he has
spent and for what purposes. But man still ignores this, thinking that
Allah is unaware of what he has done.

In view of man's arrogance, which makes him believe that he is
invincible, and in view of his meanness and claim of having spent abun-
dantly, the Qur'an puts before him the bounties Allah has bestowed
upon him which are manifested in his make-up abilities, although he
has depreciated them. "Have We not given him two eyes a tongue and
two lips and shown him the two paths. "

Man is conceited because he feels himself powerful, but he is
granted his power by Allah. He is mean with his wealth while Allah is
the One Who provided him with it. He neither follows the right guid-
ance nor shows his gratitude, although Allah has given him the
means to do so. He has given him eyes which are marvellous, precise
and powerful. He has also granted him the faculty of speech and the
means of expression, "a tongue and two lips". He has equipped him
with the ability to distinguish good from evil, and right from wrong
"and shown him the two paths" so that he may choose between them
for in his make-up there exists the ability to take either way It is
Allah's will that man should be given such ability and such freedom
of choice, to perfect His scheme of creation which assigns to every
creature its role in life and equips it with the means necessary for its
fulfilment.

This verse explains the essence of human nature. In fact, the basis
of the "Islamic Psychological Theory" is contained in this verse as
well as the following verse of surah 91 "The Sun": "By the soul and
Him who moulded it and inspired it with knowledge of wickedness and
piety. Successful is the one who keeps it pure and ruined is the one who
corrupts it."

These are the favours bestowed on man in his actual make-up to
help him to follow the right guidance: his eyes with which he recog-
nises the evidence of Allah's might and the signs indicated all over
thls umverse whlch should prompt him to adopt the faith, and his
tongue and lips which are his means of speech and expression. One
word sometimes does the job of a sword or a shotgun and can be even
more effective than either. It may, on the other hand, plunge a man in
the fire of Hell. Muaath ibn Jabal said, "I was with the Prophet on a
Journey. One day I was walking beside him when I said, 'Messenger
of Allah! point out to me something I may do to take me to Paradise
and keep me away from Hell!' He said, 'You have indeed askod
about something great, yet it is quite attainable by those for whom
Allah has made it easy. Worship Allah assigning to Him no partner,
offer your prayers regularly, pay out what is due to the poor of your
money, fast in the month of Ramadhan and offer pilgrimage.' The
Prophet then said, 'Shall I point out to you the gates of good?' I said,
'Yes, Messenger of Allah, please do.' He said, 'Fasting is a safeguard
and a means of protecting yourself; charity erases your errors just as
water extinguishes a burning fire; and your praying in the late hours
of the night is the sign of piety.' He then recited the verse, '(those) who
forsake their beds as they call on their Lord in fear and in hope; and who
give in charity or what We have bestowed on them. No soul knows what
bliss and comfort is in store for these as reward for their labours." (1)
The
Prophet then went on: 'Shall I tell you what the heart of the matter is,
its backbone and its highest grade?' I said, 'Yes, Messenger of Allah,
please do.' He said, 'The heart is Islam i.e. submission to Allah, the
backbone is prayers, and the highest grade is Jihad i.e. struggle for
the cause of Islam.' He then said, 'Shall I tell you what commands all
these?' I said, 'Yes, Messenger of Allah, please do.' He said, 'Control
this ' and he pointed to his tongue. I said, 'Are we, Prophet of Allah,
really accountable for what we say?' He said 'Watch what you are
saying. (2) For what else are people dragged on their faces in Hell apart
from what their tongues yield?' (Related by Ahmad, At-Tirmithi,
An-Nissaie and Ibn Majah)."

All these bounties have not motivated man to attempt the Ascent that
stands between him and Paradise. Allah explains the nature of the
Ascent in the following verses, " Yet he (man) has not attempted the
Ascent. Would that you knew what the Ascent is. It is the freeing of a
slave, or the feeding in a day of hunger an orphaned near of kin. or a
needy man in misery. Moreover it is to be of those who believe and
counsel one another to be steadfast and enjoin mercy on one another.
Those who do this shall be on the right hand."

This is the Ascent which man, except those who aid themselves
with faith, refrains from attempting, and which separates him from
Paradise. If he crosses it he will arrive! Putting it that way serves as a
powerful incentive and a stimulus to the human heart to take up the
challenge since the Ascent has been clearly indicated and marked as
the obstacle depriving him of such an enormous fortune. The import-
ance of attempting the Ascent in the sight of Allah is then emphasised
to encourage man to scale it no matter what effort of struggle he may
have to put into this. For struggle he must, in any case. But if he
attempts it, his struggle will not be wasted but will bring him
favourable results.

Then follows an explanation of this Ascent and its nature by
means of, first, enumeration of examples of actions which were
totally lacking in these particular surroundings that the call of Isiam
was facing at the time: the freeing of slaves and the feeding of the
poor who were subjected to the cruelty of that ungracious and greedy
society. It then adds what is applicable to all ages and societies and
needed by all who attempt the Ascent: "Moreover it is to be of those
who believe and counsel one another to be steadfast and enjoin
mercy on one another."

This surah was revealed in Makka when Islam was surrounded by
powerful enemies and the state that would implement its laws was
non-existent. Slavery was widespread in Arabia and the world at
large. The treatment meted out to slaves was brutally severe. When
some of the slaves or former slaves, like Ammar ibn Yasser and his
family, Bilal Ibn Rabah, Suhaib and others, accepted Islam their
plight became worse, and their cruel masters subjected them to un-
bearable torture. It then became clear that the only way to save them
was to buy them from their masters. Abu Bakr, the Prophet's com-
panion, was, as usual, the first to rise to the occasion, with all the
boldness and gallantry it required.

"Ibn Ishaaq related: 'Bilal, Abu Bakr's servant, was owned by
some individual of the clan of Jumah as he was born a slave. He
was, however, a genuine Muslim and clean-hearted. Umayyah ibn
Khalaf, the Jumah master, used to take Bilal out when it became
unbearably hot and order him to be laid down on his back on the
hot sand of Makka and cause a massive rock to be placed on his
chest. Then, he would say to Bilal that he would stay like that until
he died or renounced Muhammad and accepted as deities the idols
called Al-Lat and Al-'Uzza, the goddesses of the pagan Arabs.
Under all that pressure, Bilal would simply say, 'One, One,' mean-
ing that there is only one God.'

"One day, Abu Bakr passed by and saw Bilal in that condition.
He said to Umayyah 'Do you not fear Allah as you torture thls
helpless soul? How long can you go on doing thls?' Umayyah
replied, 'You spoiled him, so you save him.' Abu Bakr said, 'I will. I
have a black boy who follows your religion but he is stronger and
more vigorous than Bilal. What do you say to an exchange deal?'
Umayyah said, 'I accept.' Abu Bakr said, 'Then he is yours'. When
Abu Bakr took Bilal he set him free.

"While in Makka, before emigration to Medina, Abu Bakr freed
a total of seven people: Amir ibn Faheerah, who fought in the
battle of Badr and was killed in the battle of Bir Ma'oonah, was the
only other man freed by Abu Bakr. The other five were all women.
The first two were Umm Obais and Zaneerah, who lost her eye-
sight when she was freed. Some people of Quraysh claimed that the
two idols Al-Lat and Al-'Uzza caused her loss of her eyesight. Zan-
eerah said, 'What rubbish! Al-Lat and Al-'Uzza are absolutely
powerless'. Allah then willed that she recover her eyeslght. Abu
Bakr also freed a woman called An-Nahdiyyah and her daughter,
who belonged to a woman of the clan of Abduddar. One day he
passed by the two women as their mistress was sending them on an
errand to prepare some flour. As she gave them her instructions,
she declared: 'By God, I will never set you free'. Abu Bakr said to
her 'Release yourself of your oath'. She rejoined: 'It was you who
spoilt them. Why don't you set them free?' He said, 'How much do
you want for them?' She named her price. He said, 'It is a deal, and
they are free.' He turned to the two women and told them to give
the woman her flour back. They suggested that they should finish
preparing it for her first and he agreed. The fifth woman was a
Muslim slave of the clan of Muammal. She was being tortured by
Umar ibn Al-Khattab, who was then still a disbeliever. He beat her
until he was tired and said to her, 'I apologize to you. I have only
stopped beating you because I am bored', to which she replied,
'And so Allah shall thwart you.' Abu Bakr bought her and set her
free."

Ibn Ishaaq related: "Abu Quhafa, Abu Bakr's father, said to him
'I see you, son, freeing some weak slaves. Why don't you free some
strong men who can defend and protect you?' Abu Bakr replied, 'I
am only doing this for the sake of Allah, father."' Thus Abu Bakr
scaled the Ascent by freeing those helpless souls, for the sake of
Allah. The attendant circumstances in that particular society make
such an action one of the most important steps towards scaling the
Ascent.

"Or the feeding in a day of hunger of an orphaned near of kin or a
needy man in misery." The time of famine and hunger when food
becomes so scarce, is a time when the reality of faith is tested. For the
orphans in that greedy, miserly and ungracious society were
oppressed and mistreated even by their relatives. The Qur'an is full of
verses which urge people to treat orphans well. This in itself is a
measure of the cruelty of the orphans' surroundings. Good treat-
ment for the orphans is also urged in the Medinan surahs as they out-
hne the rules of inheritance, custody and marriage, especially in
surahs 2 "The Cow" and 4 "Women". The same can be said of feeding
the needy on a day of famine, which is portrayed here as another step
for scaling the Ascent. For this is again a test which reveals the char-
acteristics of the believer, such as mercy, sympathy, co-operation
and lack of selfis,hness. It also reveals the extent of one's fear of
Allah.

These two steps, freeing slaves and feeding the needy, are men-
tioned in the surah as necessary in the existing situation at the time of
revelation; yet their implications are general, which accounts for
their being mentioned first. They are followed by the widest and most
important step of all, "Moreover. it is to be of those who believe and
counsel one another to be steadfast and enjoin mercy on one another."
The conjunction in the Arabic text is "then" but it does not signify
here any time ordering; it is used simply as introduction to the state-
ment of the most important and most valuable step of all towards
scaling the Ascent. For what would be the value of freeing slaves or
feeding the hungry without faith? It is faith which gives such actions
their value and their weight in the sight of Allah, because it relates
them to a profound and consistent system. Thus good deeds are no
longer the result of a momentary impulse. Their aim is not any social
reputation or self-interest.

Steadfastness is an important element in the general context of
faith as well as in the particular context of attempting the Ascent.
That people should counsel each other to be steadfast is a higher level
than that of being steadfast. It is a practical demonstration of the
solidarity of the believers as they co-operate closely to carry out their
duties as believers in Allah. The society formed by the believers is an
integrated structure whose elements share the same feelings and the
same awareness of the need of exerting hard efforts in order to estab-
lish the Divine system on earth and to carry out its duties fully.
Hence, they counsel each other to persevere as they shoulder their
common responsibilities. They rally to support one another in order
to achieve their common objective. This is something more than the
perseverance by the individual although it builds on it, which indi-
cates the individual's role in the believers' society, namely, that he
must be an element of strength and a source of hope and comfort to
the whole society.

The same applies to enjoining each other to be merciful, which is a
grade higher than simply being merciful. Thus the spirit of mercy
spreads among the believers as they consider such mutual counsel-
ling an individual and communal duty in the fulfilment of which all
co-operate. Hence, the idea of "community" is e dent in this injunc-
tion, as it is emphasized elsewhere in the Qur'an and in the traditions
of the Prophet. This idea is central to the concept of the religion of
Islam which is a religion and a way of life of a community. Neverthe-
less, the responsibility and accountability of the individual are
clearly defined and strongly emphasised. Those who scale the
Ascent, as defined here in the Qur'an, shall have their dwelling place
on the right hand, which indicates that they will enjoy a happy
recompense for what they do in this life.

"And those who deny Our revelations shall be on the left hand with
Hell-fire close above them." There is no need here to identify this
group with more than "those who deny Our revelations" as this is
enough to settle the issue. Nothing can be good if coupled with dis-
belief, and all evil is contained and encompassed by the denial of Allah.
There is no point in saying that this group do not free slaves or give
food to the needy, and, moreover, they deny Our revelations. For
such a denial renders worthless any action they may do. They dwell
on the left hand, which indicates their degradation and disgrace.
These people cannot scale the Ascent.

" With Hell-fire close above them " that is, they are encircled by it
either in the sense that they are locked within it, or in the sense that it
is their eternal abode. Its being close above them gives them no
chance of breaking away from it. The two meanings are quite inter-
esting.

These are then the fundamental facts concerning human life laid
down from the point of view of faith, in a limited space but with great
power and clarity. This remains the distinctive char'acteristic of the
Qur'anic style which is unique.

1. 32:16

2. The Arabic expression here would be translated literally: "May
   your mother lose you". The expression, however, has lost its
   literal meaning and serves as simple exclamation which may be
   rendered in several forms as suits the context - Translator's note.