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Superficial, True Immortality, Quran and Prophet

Issue 408 » January 5, 2007 - Dhul-Hijja 15, 1427

General

Living the Quran

Al-Maun (Small Kindness)
Chapter 107: Verses 1-7

Superficial
 "Have you seen him who denies Our religion? It is he who harshly repels the orphan and does not urge others to feed the needy. Woe to those who pray but are heedless of their prayers; who put on a show of piety but refuse to give even the smallest help to others."

This surah of seven short verses tackles an important and vital issue which could very well change the common meanings normally assigned to the terms "faith" or "Iman" and "disbelief" or "kufr" Moreover, it brings forth the fundamental truth intrinsic in the nature of the Islamic faith, the enormous benefit it offers to all humanity and the abundant blessings with which Allah favoured mankind when He sent them His last Message.

Islam is not a way of life built on ostentation and superficiality. The apparent aspects of the different acts of worship are, according to Islam, meaningless unless they are motivated by sincerity and devotion to Allah. Worship sincerely motivated produces effects within the individual's heart which then cause him to act righteously and which are reflected in a social behaviour which elevates man's life on this earth.

The essence of faith once firmly rooted in the hearts and minds, will begin immediately to operate and manifest itself in men's behaviour. The surah stresses unequivocally that, if this is not the case, there is no faith.

"Have you seen him who denies Our religion? It is he who harshly repels the orphan and does not urge others to feed the needy." Indeed the one who denies the faith is he who wickedly repels the orphan, humiliating him and hurting his feelings! and who does not care for the needy or their welfare. For if the truth of Islam has in any degree touched his heart. He would commit no such acts. True belief in Islam is not a spoken word but an overall change of the individual's heart, motivating him to benevolence and goodwill for all his fellow beings that are in need of his care and protection. Allah does not want mere words from His servants but demands deeds to support the spoken words which, otherwise, are as weightless and valueless as blown ash. Nothing can be more forceful than these three verses in affirming this fact which represents most aptly the nature of Faith.

Next, Allah offers a practical illustration of what is meant above: "Woe to those who pray, but are heedless of their prayers." These verses contain Allah's invocation against, or a threat of destruction to those who offer prayers but are careless about them. Who exactly are such? They are those "who put on a show of piety but refuse to give even the smallest help to others," those who perform prayers but do not aptly meet their requirements. They execute the mechanical aspects and pronounce the verbal formulae of prayers but their hearts are never alive to them, nor are they nourished by praying.

From all these, we gather the purpose behind what Allah demands of His servants when He instructs them to believe in, and worship Him. He seeks no benefit thereof for Himself, as He is All-Affluent, but all He cares for is their own welfare and prosperity, purification of their hearts and happiness in their lives. Allah wishes human life to be elevated, happy, based on pure motives and characterised by mutual compassion, brotherhood and purity of hearts and behaviour.

Compiled From:
"Tafsir Ishraq Al-Ma'ani" - Sayyid Iqbal Zaheer, Vol 4, pp. 37-38
Understanding the Prophet's Life

True Immortality

The Prophet (peace be on him) said, Do not glorify me in the same manner as the Christians glorify Jesus, son of Mary, but say, 'He is a slave of Allah and His Messenger.' (Reported by al-Bukhari and others.)

When his Companions wanted to stand up to greet him out of respect, he forbade them, saying, "Do not stand up as the Persians do, some people honouring the others." (Reported by Abu Daoud and Ibn Majah.)

And he warned his followers against praising him excessively after his death, saying, "Do not make of my grave a site for festivals," (Reported by Abu Daoud.) and he prayed to his Lord, "O my Lord, do not let my grave be made into an idol to be worshipped." (Reported by Malik in Al-Muwatta.)

Once some people came to the Prophet (peace be on him) and addressed him in the following words: "O Messenger of Allah, the best of us and the son of the best of us, our leader and the son of our leader." He said, "O people, say what you said previously or a part of it, and do not let Satan mislead you. I am Muhammad, a slave of Allah and His Messenger. I do not like your raising my status above the status which Allah, the Mighty and Glorious, has given me." (Reported by al-Nisai on good authority.)

When Islam came, it declared that the best of Allah's creation and the last of His Messengers (peace be on him) was but a mortal man. It emphasized that the worth of human beings lies in their deeds and not in their physical form; it made the Messenger (peace be on him) an example for all mankind to follow; and it forbade such sanctification and exaggerated respect for men which resembles adoration and which, by implication, signifies the belittlement of the rest of mankind.

The believers aspire only to that true immortality which can be bestowed by Allah alone, Who knows the secret and the hidden, Who neither misleads nor forgets. In His register of immortality there is the name of many a person whose greatness has remained unrecognized by the people. Indeed, the Most High loves those Godfearing and religious souls who remember Him in the secrecy of their hearts, who do great service without fanfare, whose presence is not felt in a gathering of people and whose absence is not missed.

Islam immortalizes the memories of people because of their good and beneficent deeds; the remembrance of them remains in the hearts of Muslims. Thus, the literate and illiterate, the young and the old, know about the justice of Umar, the firmness and wisdom of Abu Bakr, and the piety and courage of Ali. No statue made of stone was needed to commemorate any of them because their deeds and qualities are inscribed in peoples' hearts.

Compiled From:
"The Lawful and Prohibited in Islam" - Yusuf Al-Qaradawi
Blindspot

The Quran and The Prophet

Those who embark upon a study of the Quran often proceed with the assumption that this Book is, as it is commonly believed to be, a detailed code of guidance. However, when they actually read it, they fail to find detailed regulations regarding social, political and economic matters. In fact, they notice that the Quran has not laid down detailed regulations even in respect of such oft-repeated subjects as Prayers and Zakah. The reader wonders in what sense the Quran can be considered a code of guidance.

The uneasiness some people feel about this arises because they forget that God did not merely reveal a Book, but that he also designated a Prophet. Suppose some laymen were to be provided with the bare outlines of a construction plan on the understanding that they would carry out the construction as they wished. In such a case, it would be reasonable to expect that they should have very elaborate directives as to how the construction should be carried out. Suppose, however, that along with the broad outline of the plan of construction, they were also provided with a competent engineer to supervise the task. In that case, it would be quite unjustifiable to disregard the work of the engineer, on the expectation that detailed directives would form an integral part of the construction plan, and then to complain of imperfection in the plan itself.

The Quran, to put it succinctly, is a Book of broad general principles rather than of legal minutiae. The Book's main aim is to expound, clearly, the intellectual and moral foundations of the Islamic program for life. It seeks to consolidate these by appealing both the person's mind and to his/her heart. Its method of guidance for practical Islamic life does not consist of laying down minutely detailed laws and regulations. It prefers to outline the basic framework for each aspect of human activity. The mission of the Prophet was to give practical shape to the Islamic vision of the good life, by offering the world a model of an individual character and of a human state and society, as living embodiments of the principles of the Quran.

Compiled From:
"Introduction to the Study of the Quran" - Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi