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Teachings of the Qur`aan
An-Nisaa
Soorah 4
Aayat 101 - 112
by Ayub A. Hamid
The next section deals with rules of praying salaah when Muslims venture out fighting in the way of Allaah. It should be remembered that when the Qur-aan talks about salaah, it is implied that it is the obligatory Salaatul-Jamaa’ah (congregational prayer).
The first verse gives permission to shorten salaah while travelling. According to this permission, as determined by the Sunnah of the Prophet Sall Allahu `alayi wa sallam, the obligatory raka’aat for Zuhr, ‘Asr and ‘Ishaa are reduced to two, without reducing the obligatory raka’aat for Maghrib and Fajr.
101 And when you travel, it is not sin for you to shorten the salaah if you fear that the disbelievers will cause you distress; surely the disbelievers are your open enemy.
Although the context was travelling for fighting in Allaah’s way, Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala used the occasion to grant this permission for all kinds of travelling. That is indicated by the wording “when you travel” instead of “when you travel in the way of Allaah” as used in the verse 94. The Prophet Sall Allahu `alayi wa sallam himself shortened the salaah in non-military travels. Also, though the consideration mentioned for granting the permission is the danger from disbelievers, the permission remains applicable to other inconveniences or logistical issues encountered in travelling[1].
The wording of the verse clearly indicates that it is a concession granted in consideration of insecurities and inconveniences of a journey. When justified, this concession should be utilized without any reservations. When circumstances require, it is not in keeping with the Islamic spirit to forego a concession granted by Allaah SWT as a token of His mercy and kindness to people[2]. On the other hand, it also must not be treated as an obligation, because it is not. Many people treat it as an obligation and insist, promote and demand shortening of salaah even when the situation or circumstances do not warrant it. This is an extremism that is not supported by this verse at all.
Neither the Qur-aan nor the Prophet defined what “travel” is. Many people use a certain number of kilometres or miles to define “travel”. These distances have been calculated on the basis of some journeys of the Prophet Sall Allahu `alayi wa sallam where he shortened the salaah, without taking into consideration multiple other factors that would have affected the decisions of the Prophet, such as the duration of the journey, the hardships, the logistical issues, the weather conditions, the security concerns, the general situation of the law and order, etc. Many people are misguided by this rigid, calculated definition of travel arrived at by such a one-sided and extremely narrow perspective. Consequently, they shorten the salaah while commuting within distances that they travel back and forth multiple times a day, which cannot be contemporarily regarded as travel by any stretch of the word and where shortening is not justifiable from any reasonable consideration.
Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala and His Messenger Sall Allahu `alayi wa sallam leave this kind of things to be determined by “Ma’roof” or “as recognized in the society”. Thus, no explicit definition from Allaah or His Messenger implies that the believers should determine if they are in travelling mode or not, according to the generally accepted concepts of the contemporary society, modes of transportation and circumstances and conditions of the traveller. Of course, they will do so under the guidance of Sunnah considering all the factors, conditions and circumstances that surrounded the travels of the Prophet. From this perspective, travel for a person who has only a donkey to ride on, will be totally different from the person who can hop on a helicopter or personal jet to go from place to place.
People can easily make their own judgments. For example, if a person can pray a salaah in his hometown on a timely basis and pray the next salaah on a timely basis after arriving at his destination, he has no need to shorten the salaah. But if he has to stop on the side of a road, rest area, transit lounge, in a train, in the air, etc. to offer the next salaah before time runs out, that is clearly a case for shortening the salaah. Similarly, if a person is a stranger at the place of his destination, he will be considered a traveller. But if he arrives at a friendly, familiar, Islamic environment in the company of the people who are offering all salaah with him on a timely basis, why would that person behave differently than his friends and hosts; unless by praying with them, he will miss his flight or train, etc. The imam and the community of one’s destination should be respected and people should pray behind the imam and with the host community normally without creating disturbance of arranging separate jamaa’ah for “travellers” as we frequently see people doing in Muslim gatherings.
Thus the important points to remember are that permission to shorten is only a concession from Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala, not an obligation; it is good to avail the concession when warranted; it should not be considered a must when circumstances do not warrant it; and whether a person is in travelling mode or not is determined by many factors, conditions and circumstances of the traveller.
The next verse gives rules of praying a shortened salaah in the battlefield when armies are not actively engaged:
102 And when you are among them and have stood up to lead them in salaah, let one party of them stand up for salaah with you, while holding on to their arms. Once they have performed prostration, let them go to your rear, and let the other party who have not prayed come up to pray with you while taking their precautions and holding on to their arms. Those who disbelieve desire you to be careless of your arms and your belongings so that they may assault you all at once with a sudden attack. However, if you are troubled by rain or if you are sick, there is no blame on you for putting away your arms, but continue to remain on your guard; surely Allaah has prepared a disgraceful punishment for the disbelievers. 103 Once you have finished salaah, remember Allaah standing, sitting and lying on your sides. Then, when you are secure from danger, establish salaah completely; surely salaah is a timed obligation for the believers.
Verse 103 reminds the believers of two important facts: Firstly, that the essence of salaah is the remembrance of Allaah SWT and that remembrance must continue fervently and continuously at all times after the salaah has been completed. Secondly, although the situation in the battlefield may warrant exceptions, in the regular daily life the salaah must be offered at its prescribed times.
In relation to the prescribed times of the salaah, this verse makes another important point: The matters obligated by the Prophet are indeed the obligations from Allaah. The Prophet Sall Allahu `alayi wa sallam had taught Muslims to offer prayers at prescribed times while those times were not explicitly commanded in the Qur-aan. They are alluded to at various places in the Qur-aan, but the Muslims learnt them from the practical examples and teachings of the Prophet. This verse acknowledges that those matters taught by the Prophet were in fact obligations from Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala.
The next verse is the concluding remark on the topic of fighting to protect the Islamic mission, Islamic reforms and Islamic systems from the attacks of its enemies.
104 And do not relent in pursuit of the enemy. If you are suffering hardships, they too are suffering similar hardships as you are suffering; but you hope from Allaah what they do not hope; and Allaah is Knowing, Wise.
These are very encouraging remarks for the believers. While the sufferings caused by the war imposed by the disbelievers are common to both sides, Muslims have a tremendous benefit in the sense that they are earning the pleasure and rewards from Allaah SWT, which are not available to the enemies. Hence, the Muslim should not relent or show any weakness. Rather they should stand up for the truth more bravely and more enthusiastically because no matter what happens to them in this life, they are victorious.
The next section deals with an improper reaction by some Muslims to another type of hypocritical behaviour. The occasion for these instructions was created by an incident where a so-called Muslim (whose behaviour was that of a hypocrite) stole another Muslim’s shield and pawned it with a Jew. When the owner complained to the Prophet, and the thief was confronted, he blamed the Jew for the theft. The Jew denied the allegation. The thief’s clique and clan spoke very strongly and vocally in his favour and against the Jew and tried their best to pressure the Prophet Sall Allahu `alayi wa sallam to believe the thief’s plea and reject the Jew’s. When, under the guidance from Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala, the Prophet decided against the real culprit and honourably discharged the Jew, the “Muslim” hypocrite ran away and openly joined the enemies of Islam against the Islamic mission.
This incident is one example of the many hypocritical games that were played. The hypocrites used to indulge in many subversive activities secretly, but they used to pose in public as champions of good causes. When they were caught, many Muslims fooled by their propaganda would speak vocally in their favour. That continues to happen even in contemporary society. In fact, every society has people who on the surface are religious, law-abiding men of good words and worthy claims of noble works; but behind the scene, they commit crimes and practice vices. They usually are cliquish and maintain a group of strong supporters recruited under various pretexts who sympathize with them vocally. They plan their subversive and evil activities within their inner circle where they also develop public relation programs to promote their goodness in public view, to defend their activities, to fool authorities, and to avoid legal consequences. If or when they are caught, they append the blame to some innocent person who, for some reason, may not be well liked in the society. Their clique and their fooled supporters stand up in their defence, campaign for their “innocence” and pressure authorities to honourably discharge them while demanding punishment and strong action against the person who was wrongly blamed. This obviously is very much against the Islamic concept of justice for the establishment of which the Qur-aan has been revealed. Often, it may be politically correct, and usually politicians fall for it, to let the real culprit go and punish the wrongly accused to make an example of him. But Islam is for doing the right things, not the politically correct things. Hence, Muslims have been warned against defending anyone’s criminal activity of which they are personally aware.
105 Indeed We have revealed the Book to you with the truth so that you may judge among people according to what Allaah has taught you; and do not be a defender for those who betray their trust. 106 And seek forgiveness from Allaah; surely Allaah is Forgiving, Merciful. 107 And do not plead for those who betray themselves; surely Allaah does not like anyone who has been habitually treacherous, sinful. 108 They hide their crimes from people but they can never hide from Allaah. In fact, He is with them when they secretly talk about things that He does not approve of; and Allaah surrounds whatever they do. 109 Look! There you are, those who plead for them in the life of the world, but who will plead for them with Allaah on the Day of Judgment, or who shall be their advocate? 110 And whoever does evil or acts unjustly to himself, then seeks forgiveness of Allaah, he shall find Allaah Forgiving, Merciful. 111 And whoever commits a vice, he only commits it against himself; and Allaah is Knowing, Wise. 112 And whoever commits a blunder or a vice, then casts its blames on an innocent person, he indeed burdens himself with slander and flagrant vice.
Naturally, when the Prophet Sall Allahu `alayi wa sallam disregarded the pleadings and the vocal support from the Muslims, and took action against the hypocrites, many of those novice Muslims would feel ignored. To address that sentiment, the Qur-aan eloquently addresses the Prophet first, indirectly telling those Muslims that the Prophet is not free to listen to them. He has a job to do from Allaah. He has been given the Book to establish justice on the earth, not to favour criminals or to listen to those who stand up for those criminals. It also exposes the behind-the scene subversive activities of those hypocrites so that the Muslims understand they should not insist on their opinions without having all the facts or deliberately disregarding those facts. Then in verse 109 the message has been given to them point blank.
It should also be noted, as these verses remind, that those who cheat are actually cheating themselves and those who practice vices or crimes are in fact doing wrong to themselves. Although the society suffers from their actions, they are the first victims of their own evils because of the wrong effects of the crime on their own psyche and personality and because of the severe punishment that will be waiting for them in the hereafter. It should also be noted that Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala never gives up on people. While the Qur-aan condemns the vices and crimes of people, it always does it in such a way that anyone who has any good left in him will learn from it, seek Allaah’s forgiveness and reform his behaviour
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[1] Ibn ‘Abbaas reported that the Prophet left Madeenah for Makkah and while he had no fear except that of Allaah SWT, he prayed only two raka’aat.
[2] When ‘Umar raised this matter with the Prophet, he said, “This is a charity that Allaah SWT has bestowed upon you, so accept His charity.”
Next: Verses 113 - 126
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Bismillaahi walhamdulillaahi wassalaatu wassalaamu ‘alaa rasoolillaahi
Assalaamu `Alaykum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuhu
Teachings of the Qur`aan
An-Nisaa
Soorah 4
Aayat 5-14
by Ayub A. Hamid
After taking care of providing a stable family environment for orphans, a principle was laid down applicable generally to all situations, but specifically to the matters dealing with the affairs of orphans. The command to pay orphans their assets could have been misconstrued to mean that the payment should be made even if the payee is not capable of handling it. The next verse clarifies this aspect, but as a general rule that is applicable to all assets belonging to Muslims. The style of the verse conveys the message that the protection of a Muslim’s resources is a shared responsibility of all Muslims. So, people were told:
5And do not give to the weak of understanding the charge of your assets which Allaah has made for you a means of support, but feed and clothe them therewith, and speak to them words of kindness and honest advice.
Hence, whether the assets and resources belong to a person or a community, Muslims have the responsibility to ensure that they are given in control of only those who can ensure their proper, efficient and responsible usage. After this general direction that applies to orphans as much as it applies to the custody of assets in general, the next verse lays down the guidelines for:
Assessing if the orphans are ready to take over the charge of their assets; responsible and reasonable level of spending on their needs from their assets; and, remuneration for the guardian for the services rendered:
6And test the orphans until they attain puberty; then if you find in them maturity of intellect, hand over their property to them, and do not consume it extravagantly and hastily, in anticipation of their growing up; and whoever is rich, let him abstain altogether, and whoever is poor, let him take a reasonable remuneration; then when you hand over to them their assets, do it in front of witnesses; and Allaah is enough as a Reckoner.
The next section deals with matters relating to inheritance. It starts with taking a revolutionary step by granting women a legitimate share in inheritance, unheard of in any religious literature and 1,400 hundred years ahead of any secular law. It obligates that regardless of how little the quantity or value of the assets left by the deceased is, it must be distributed among all male and female heirs according to the prescribed portions. However, heirs should be kind and charitable to the poor, orphans and relatives who may be present at the time of distribution, but are not eligible for inheritance. Then, after making emotional appeals and giving serious warnings to executors to be extremely careful in protecting the interests of the orphans, the detailed rules for the distribution of inheritance have been given.
7 Men shall have a portion of what the parents and the near relatives leave, and women shall have a portion of what the parents and the near relatives leave, whether it is from little or much - a prescribed portion. 8And if at the time of division, other relatives or orphans or poor are present, give them something out of it and speak to them politely. 9And let the executors have the same fear in their minds as they would have for their own children if they had left a helpless family behind; so they should be careful of their duty to Allaah and speak right words. 10As for those who swallow the property of the orphans unjustly, surely they only swallow fire into their bellies and they shall enter Blazing Fire.
While reading the succeeding verses about inheritance, some facts about the Islamic social and family set-up must be kept in mind. In the Islamic system, the man has been charged with the full responsibility for fulfilling the financial needs of the family and maintenance of the children. Even if a wife is wealthy and has a regular income, the husband remains obligated to provide for her and their children’s basic needs. She is not required to contribute even a penny, unless she spends it on her own good pleasure. Similarly, looking after the parents’ needs or the needs of unmarried (single, widowed or divorced) sisters or daughters is the responsibility of a man. This burden of responsibility has been kept in mind while prescribing portions of inheritance.
11Allaah directs you concerning your children: To a son the equal of the portion of two daughters; then if there are only two or more daughters, they shall have two-thirds of what the deceased has left, and if there is one, she shall have the half. As for his parents, each of them shall have the sixth of what he has left if he has a child, but if he has no child and only his two parents inherit him, then his mother shall have the third; but if he has siblings, then his mother shall have the sixth -- the distribution in all cases to be after the payment of any bequest he may have made or a debt. You do not know who of your parents and your children is the nearer to you in usefulness; these are prescribed portions ordained by Allaah, Surely Allaah is Knowing, Wise. 12And to you belongs half of what your wives leave if they have no child, but if they have a child, then your share shall be a fourth of what they leave after payment of any bequest they may have made or a debt; and they shall have the fourth of what you leave if you have no child, but if you have a child, then they shall get the eighth of what you leave after payment of any bequest you may have made or a debt. And if a man or a woman leaves property to be inherited but has neither ascendants nor descendants, but has a half brother[1] or a half sister, then each of the two gets the sixth, but if they are more than two, they shall be sharers in the third after payment of any bequest that may have been made or a debt – without jeopardizing anyone’s interest. This is a commandment from Allaah, and Allaah is Knowing, Forbearing. 13These are limits set by Allaah, and whoever obeys Allaah and His Messenger, He will admit him to gardens beneath which rivers flow, to abide in them forever; and this is the great success. 14And whoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger and transgresses His limits, He will throw him into Fire to dwell in it forever, and he shall have a humiliating punishment.
This concludes the reforms concerning the division of inheritance, except for one provision that is given at the end of this Soorah.
As is clear from the wording, these are not mere suggestions, but very specific commands to be followed without any exceptions. No believer has any right to change the portions for anyone mentioned in these verses. These are based on the ultimate knowledge and wisdom of Allaah Subhaanahu Wa Ta'aala. Any variation to these portions or any bequest to give more or less to anyone named in these verses is tantamount to improving upon Allaah’s decision. In an Islamic society, such a legacy would be invalid and considered a serious disobedience of Allaah’s commands that would invoke a severe humiliating punishment from Allaah forever in the Hereafter.
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[1] A brother or sister that has only a mother in common with the deceased.
Next: Verses 15 - 22
Copyright ©2003, Ayub A. Hamid
Permission is granted to circulate among private individuals and groups,
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Contact author for all other rights, which are reserved
If you did not receive Soorah An-Nisaa 4:1-4
of 'Teachings of the Qur'aan' series
by Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid,
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An-Nisaa 117-126
The next few verses give examples of Shirk found among pagans to give an idea of what sort of things get the support of a person who turns away from the Islamic mission.
117 They invoke in His stead only goddesses; and they pray to none else than shaytaan, the rebel. 118 Allaah cursed him; and he said, “Most certainly I will:
take a definite portion of your slaves;
119 lead them astray;
excite in them vain desires,
order them so that they shall slit the ears of the cattle;
order them so that they shall alter Allaah's creation;
and whoever takes shaytaan for a patron instead of Allaah, he indeed shall suffer an evident loss.” 120 Shaytaan makes them promises, and creates in them vain desires; but shaytaan's promises are nothing but deception. 121 Those who are duped by shaytaan will have hell as their dwelling and will not find any escape from it. 122 As for those who believe and do good, We shall soon admit them into gardens beneath which rivers flow, to abide therein forever; it is a true promise of Allaah, and who is truer of word than Allaah?
The first part of the verse alludes to the role of goddesses in Shirk. Like Greeks, Romans and other idolater societies, Arabs used to invoke different goddesses for different needs. However, the most pervasive and the mother source of all Shirk has always been the obedience and servitude to shaytaan. Although hardly anyone ever kneels to worship shaytaan, Allaah has described those who follow his ways as his worshippers. Shaytaan himself describes it as stealing away a certain portion of Allaah’s slaves to be his slaves.
One of the ways shaytaan makes people follow him is by raising vain desires and false hopes in them. Depending upon what motivates them, he uses different images of “rose gardens” for different people. To start with, he makes the worldly pleasures so attractive and so significant that people develop a perception and attitude as if the bounties of this world are going to last forever and as if that is all there is to strive for to achieve a real success. Then, in the matters of this world, he engages them in superstitions and makes them believe in the effectiveness of sorcery, amulets, talismans, incantations, etc. Those who want to do something good for the hereafter, he convinces them to keep delaying or procrastinating after this or after that until they die. He makes them think, “I will be able to do it better or more effectively after I have attained such and such or done such and such.” Their attention is diverted from the right things through more false ideas such as: “We will be successful if we dedicate to the national glory”; “if we follow this or that philosophy, it will make the earth a better place for us”; “we on our own can come up with the best way of life”; “the world will be at peace if we accept everyone the way he or she is”; “we can attain guidance direct from Allaah, no book or messenger is needed to tell us what is good”; so on and so forth. Those who believe in the hereafter are kept away from doing their duties and good works by excuses like: “The entities other than Allaah that we call upon or pray to are our intercessors that help us gain bounties in this world and they will also help get the best facilities in the hereafter”; “We are Allaah’s chosen people because we are progeny of so and so, thus we will enter Jannah for sure”; “The fire of hell will not touch us, if it does, it will be just a matter of days before we will admitted to Jannah”; “Jesus died for our sins; by accepting him, we are saved.” etc. All of the above are examples of false promises and vain desires that shaytaan implants in people’s minds.
Slitting the ears of cattle was an indication that the animal was consecrated for gods or goddesses. This is an example of shaytaan getting people indulged in nonsensical things like superstitions and consecrating things, animals or people for idols, gods and goddesses instead of serving Allaah in obedience.
Altering Allaah’s creation means using Allaah’s creation for purposes other than their natural role for which Allaah had created them or trying to defeat the purpose for which they were created. For example, Allaah has created people to live in complete slave-like obedience to Him; when people refuse to submit to Allaah or submit to others than Allaah or are enslaved by people, or are subjugated in disobedience to Allaah, these are all forms of changing Allaah’s creation. Similarly, Allaah has created people so that they can get married, enjoy sex and have children. If people avoid getting married, castrate themselves, remove the capability of having children, engage in a sexual activity other than between human males and females, practice celibacy, adopt homosexuality, etc., they are changing Allaah’s creation. Allaah has equipped males and females for different roles -- giving them roles or adopting roles other than what they have naturally been equipped for will also be in the same category. Feeding meat by-products to cattle or implanting animal genes into plants are other examples of changing Allaah’s creation.
Shaytaan implants the above kinds of ideas in human beings, to move them away from the Islamic lifestyle and Islamic systems. People start practicing those misguidances from shaytaan and start promoting and imposing them on human societies. In that sense, shaytaan orders them and they obey him which is also tantamount to worshipping him besides Allaah. It also indicates that instead of relying on the guidance of Allaah, they have started relying on the misguidance of shaytaan, which is tantamount to taking him as their guide and patron instead of Allaah.
The next three verses are concluding remarks stressing the fact that Allaah SWT deals with people strictly on the basis of their practical performance, not on the basis of their lineage, their families, the titles they may have assigned to themselves or the notions, hopes and myths they may have invented on the incitement of shaytaan. In the matter of right paradigm and good performance, Ibraaheem has been cited as a role model to follow from the people of the past.
123 The end result in the hereafter shall not be determined by your vain desires nor by the vain desires of the People of the Book but by actual performance: whoever does evil, he shall be recompensed accordingly, and besides Allaah, he will find for himself neither a guardian nor a helper. 124 And whoever does good deeds -- whether male or female -- and has faith, they shall enter the garden, and they shall not be wronged even a bit. 125 Who can be better in religion than one who submits himself entirely to Allaah, excels in performance and earnestly follows the paradigm of Ibraaheem, the upright? And Allaah took Ibraaheem as a friend. 126 And whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is Allaah's; and Allaah surrounds all things.
Next: Verses 127-134
Wassalaam,
Ayub Hamid
Please Note: This series is providing the teachings of the Qur-aan, not a literal translation. Instead of literal translation, it gives interpretive meanings of the verses, along with their contextual details.
Please also remember that any translation of the Holy Qur'aan is in fact only an expression of the translator's understanding of the Word of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala, and hence cannot be equated with the Qur'aan itself. Only the original Arabic text can be called the Holy Qur'aan.
Copyright ©2004, Ayub A. Hamid
Permission is granted to circulate among private individuals and groups, to post on Internet sites and to publish in full in not-for-profit publications. Contact author for all other rights, which are reserved.
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