Issue 170 » May 17, 2002 -
General
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Living the Quran
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Translation:Surah al-Nisaa (The Women)
Chapter 4: Verse 105
"[O Messenger!] We have revealed to you this Book with the Truth so that you may judge between people in accordance with what Allah has shown you. So do not dispute on behalf of the dishonest and untrustworthy (kha'ineen)."
Background
This verse and eight verses following it, have a profound story behind its revelation. They were revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in order to acquit a Jewish citizen of Madinah of a false charge and to condemn a dishonest Muslim instead.
Story of the "Righteous" Believer vs. the "Wicked" Jew
The incident involved a Muslim of Madinah called Tu'mah or Bashir ibn Ubayriq of an Ansar tribe. This man stole another Ansari's coat of armour. While the investigation was in progress, Tu'mah threw the coat into the house of a Jew. Its owner approached the Prophet Muhammad and expressed his suspicion about Tu'mah. But Tu'mah, his kinsmen and many of his tribesmen conspired to accuse the Jew of this robery.
When the Jew concerned was asked about the matter, he pleaded that he was not guilty. In the meantime, Tu'mah's supporters waged a vigorous propaganda campaign to save Tu'mah. To prove Tu'mah's "innocence", his supporters said, "Do you slander a people whose Islam and uprightness is beyond suspicion?!" They even argued that the 'wicked Jew', who had denied the Truth and disbelieved in God and the Prophet, was absolutely untrustworthy, and his statement ought to be rejected outright.
At this point that Allah intervened with this revelation, exposing the dishonesty of a Muslim: "Do not dispute on behalf of the dishonest and untrustworthy"! In this verse and the following ones, the Muslims were strongly censured for supporting criminals and corruption, for no other reason than either family or tribal ties, or simply because "they seemed righteous Muslims".
The Universal and Infinite Justice of Islam
According to the Islamic teachings, a Muslim, at the very moment he or she decides to live in and by the Faith, has to be a strict defender of justice, with the oppressed and wronged - whether Muslim or not - and against the oppressor - whether Muslim or not!
To defend justice cannot be to defend Muslims only: the best witness of the excellence (Ihsaan) or the Islamic way of life lies in respecting the ideal of justice over and above the failings and weaknesses of Muslim Believers. Given the state of Muslims today, one wonders where is the spirit of universal equality, justice, and peace in their lands and communities? Muslims had a living history of people who ruled with justice and equality, with dozens of other minorities enjoying peace and harmony.
[compiled from "To Be a European Muslim" by Tariq Ramadan (The Islamic Foundation, Leicester, UK, 1999), pp. 22-23 and "Towards Understanding the Quran", Vol II, by Sayyid Abul Ala Mawdudi]
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Personal Development
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Remembering Death and the Afterlife ::
... On Long Hopes ...
Said 'Umar ibn 'Abdul 'Aziz (radhi Allahu 'anh), the pious caliph, in one of his sermons:
"For every voyage there must be provisions, therefore adopt the fear of God (taqwa) as provisions for your voyage from this World (dunya) into the Afterlife (akhira). Be as though you had seen the reward and punishment which God has prepared: harbour longing and fear!
Do not suffer your time to grow long for you lest your hearts become hard and you grow submissive before your enemy (the devil), for by God, the person who does not know whether he will awaken at the end of the night, or live through the morning to the evening, can have no high hopes, for it may be that between these times lie the hooks of fate.
How many men have I seen, and have you all seen, who were beguiled by this world; yet contentment is the lot only of she who is certain of deliverance from the punishment of God (exalted is He!). Only the man who is safe from the terrors of the Day of Arising can be content. As for the person who dresses his or her wound only to be afflicted by another coming from a different direction, how can he be cheerful?
I ask God's protection from enjoining upon you something which I forbid myself, for then my transaction (with God) would be in loss, and my fault would stand revealed, and my indigence would be plain on that Day when wealth and poverty shall stand forth, and when the Scales are erected.
You have been burdened with something which would cause the very stars to fall were they to be charged likewise, and the mountains to melt down and the earth to be riven asunder. Know you not that there exists no degree between Heaven and Hell, and that you are voyaging either to one or the other?"
[selections from "Kitab Dhikr al-Mawt wa ma Ba'dahu" by Imam al-Ghazzali (rahimahullah),
translated by T.J.Winter, Islamic Texts Society, Cambridge, 1995]POP QUIZ
What great 'burden' do we humans posses that, as referred to by Caliph Umar II, would cause 'the stars to fall down', 'the mountains to melt', and 'the earth to be riven asunder'?
(a) the ability to submit to God | (b) the Quran | (c) free will | (d) eternal life
[check answer in next week's Friday Nasiha]
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Sneak Peak
at YM Publications
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W@@tch out for the Arrow!
Oh, what a beautiful day: Twenty-two degrees Celsius; a clear sky; the sun passionately declaring its warmth to the land below. I put on my cap and decide to go out for a walk. Moments later, I come across two scantily dressed girls, “enjoying” the wonderful weather. Nervously, I look down towards the cement sidewalk and walk past them. I look up, only to encounter a couple, rollerblading towards me in the most fashionable, spandex exercise gear.
I fidget with my cap using it to shield myself from obscenity and continue walking. With my head down and cap covering my view, it was bound to happen some time: I walk into a lamppost and hit my head! As I lay on the sidewalk recovering from the accident, I hear a male voice asking me, “Are you alright?” As I open my eyes to figure out what is going on, I see a bare-chested man, jogging in position, offering his hand to help me get up. Subhan-Allah, what a day! I get up, run home, go to my room, and close my door. How am I expected to survive in such a filthy environment? Am I supposed to isolate myself from the society to escape such temptations? ...
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