Verse 190
The Cow • madinah
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۞ يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلْأَهِلَّةِ ۖ قُلْ هِىَ مَوَٰقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَٱلْحَجِّ ۗ وَلَيْسَ ٱلْبِرُّ بِأَن تَأْتُوا۟ ٱلْبُيُوتَ مِن ظُهُورِهَا وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱلْبِرَّ مَنِ ٱتَّقَىٰ ۗ وَأْتُوا۟ ٱلْبُيُوتَ مِنْ أَبْوَٰبِهَا ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
عرب حاجی جب حج کو جاتے تو ضرورت پڑنے پر اگر واپس گھروں کو آتے تو دیوار پھاند کر گھر میں گھستے۔ اس آیت میں اس کا ردّ کیا کہ گھر میں دیواریں پھاند کر جانا نیکی نہیں۔ نیکی تو ایک روحانی امر ہے۔ پس ہر چیز کے حصول کے لئے صحیح طریق اختیار کیا کرو۔
2:198; 9:36.
2:178.
Islam has made use of both the lunar and solar systems for measuring time. Where worship is to be performed in different parts of the day the solar system of reckoning time is used, as in the five daily Prayers or for the beginning and the breaking of the daily fast; and where worship is to be completed within a particular month or part thereof, the lunar system is used, as in selecting the month of fasting or the appointment of the time of Pilgrimage, etc. Thus Islam has made use of both the systems; so the solar system is as much Islamic as the lunar system.
The clause points to a very important principle that the real purpose in prescribing different acts of worship is the intrinsic usefulness thereof and not that every change of time should have attached to it an act of worship. Therefore the question, arising from the over-eagerness of the Faithful, that, like fasting, there may be prescribed other acts of worship in other months also, was like approaching a house not through its door but by "the back thereof." The primary thing is worship and time is only secondary, but those who put the question wanted to make time a primary, and worship merely a secondary thing. This was like putting the cart before the horse. The reference also seems to be to a practice of the pagan Arabs that when they had once started on Pilgrimage to Mecca, if for any reason they had to come back, they would enter their houses from their backs by scaling over the walls. The verse condemns such practices, pointing out that they do not constitute virtue which is a spiritual concept, an
2:198; 9:36.
2:178.
Important Words:
الاھلة (new moons) is the plural of الھلال i.e. the new moon. The word is generally used about the moon of the first two or three nights. About the moon of other nights the word used is قمر (Aqrab).
مواقیت (means for measuring time) is the plural of میقات which is derived from وقت i.e. time. میقات means: (1) time; (2) time fixed or appointed for a certain thing; (3) a promise for which a time is fixed; (4) a place in which a meeting is appointed to take place at a particular time (Aqrab & Lane).
Commentary:
When the Companions of the Holy Prophet heard of the great blessings of the month of Ramadan, they naturally desired to know the blessings attending other months. This question on their part shows how solicitous they were to win God’s blessings and attain His nearness.
The clause, they are means for measuring time, should not give rise to the misunderstanding that Islam looks upon the moon only as a means of measuring time; for elsewhere the Quran speaks of the sun also as such (6:97 and 17:13). In fact, Islam has made use of both the lunar and solar systems for measuring time. Where worship is to be performed in different parts of the day, the solar system of reckoning time is used, as in the five daily Prayers or for the opening and the closing of a daily fast; and where worship is to be connected with a particular month or part thereof, the lunar system is used, as in selecting the month of fasting or the appointment of the time of Pilgrimage, etc. As a matter of fact, as religious commandments are meant for the general public, the system used is always such as may be easily understandable by the common people. All commandments relating to a fixed time are therefore based on the visible part of the solar or the lunar system of reckoning time, as the case may be. Changes in the position of the sun during the day are visible but the beginning of a solar month is not visible. On the other hand, the appearance of a new moon in the beginning of a lunar month is visible. Therefore Islam has made use of both; and the solar system is as much Islamic as the lunar system.
The clause, and it is not righteousness that you come into houses by the backs thereof, points to a very important principle that the real purpose in appointing different acts of worship is the intrinsic usefulness thereof and not that to each change of time there should be attached an act of worship. Therefore the question, resulting from the over-eagerness of the Faithful, that, like fasting, there may be prescribed other acts of worship relating to other months also, was like approaching a house not through its door but by "the back thereof". The primary thing was worship and time was only secondary, but those who put the question wanted to make time primary and worship merely secondary. This was like putting the cart before the horse.
The clause also means that one should adopt the right course to attain an object. Every end can be attained by having recourse to certain means. Similarly, certain ways have been prescribed by God for winning His pleasure and attaining His nearness. People should faithfully stick to these and not devise ways of their own. By doing so, they will only suffer trouble, and gain nothing.
It is also on record that it was the practice among the idolaters of Arabia that when they left their homes and started on Pilgrimage to Mecca, then if for some purpose or object they had to come back to their houses, they did not enter them by their doors, but climbed into them by their back walls (Bukhari, ch. on Tafsir). Islam does not approve of such meaningless practices.
b
2:198; 9:36.
c
2:178.
126
伊斯兰教利用太阴系和太阳系两者计时。礼拜在白天的不同时候举行, 则使用太阳系计时, 如每日五次礼拜, 或每日的斋戒开始和中止; 凡崇拜仪式要在某一特定的月份或该月的某一时间完成者, 则使用太阴系, 如选择斋戒月份或规定朝觐的时间等。这样, 伊斯兰教利用两种体系; 因此就计时来说, 太阳系和太阴系都是伊斯兰教的。
1
عرب حاجی جب حج کو جاتے تو ضرورت پڑنے پر اگر واپس گھروں کو آتے تو دیوار پھاند کر گھر میں گھستے۔ اس آیت میں اس کا ردّ کیا کہ گھر میں دیواریں پھاند کر جانا نیکی نہیں۔ نیکی تو ایک روحانی امر ہے۔ پس ہر چیز کے حصول کے لئے صحیح طریق اختیار کیا کرو۔
a
2:198; 9:36.
b
2:178.
196
Important Words:
الاھلة (new moons) is the plural of الھلال i.e. the new moon. The word is generally used about the moon of the first two or three nights. About the moon of other nights the word used is قمر (Aqrab).
مواقیت (means for measuring time) is the plural of میقات which is derived from وقت i.e. time. میقات means: (1) time; (2) time fixed or appointed for a certain thing; (3) a promise for which a time is fixed; (4) a place in which a meeting is appointed to take place at a particular time (Aqrab & Lane).
Commentary:
When the Companions of the Holy Prophet heard of the great blessings of the month of Ramadan, they naturally desired to know the blessings attending other months. This question on their part shows how solicitous they were to win God’s blessings and attain His nearness.
The clause, they are means for measuring time, should not give rise to the misunderstanding that Islam looks upon the moon only as a means of measuring time; for elsewhere the Quran speaks of the sun also as such (6:97 and 17:13). In fact, Islam has made use of both the lunar and solar systems for measuring time. Where worship is to be performed in different parts of the day, the solar system of reckoning time is used, as in the five daily Prayers or for the opening and the closing of a daily fast; and where worship is to be connected with a particular month or part thereof, the lunar system is used, as in selecting the month of fasting or the appointment of the time of Pilgrimage, etc. As a matter of fact, as religious commandments are meant for the general public, the system used is always such as may be easily understandable by the common people. All commandments relating to a fixed time are therefore based on the visible part of the solar or the lunar system of reckoning time, as the case may be. Changes in the position of the sun during the day are visible but the beginning of a solar month is not visible. On the other hand, the appearance of a new moon in the beginning of a lunar month is visible. Therefore Islam has made use of both; and the solar system is as much Islamic as the lunar system.
The clause, and it is not righteousness that you come into houses by the backs thereof, points to a very important principle that the real purpose in appointing different acts of worship is the intrinsic usefulness thereof and not that to each change of time there should be attached an act of worship. Therefore the question, resulting from the over-eagerness of the Faithful, that, like fasting, there may be prescribed other acts of worship relating to other months also, was like approaching a house not through its door but by "the back thereof". The primary thing was worship and time was only secondary, but those who put the question wanted to make time primary and worship merely secondary. This was like putting the cart before the horse.
The clause also means that one should adopt the right course to attain an object. Every end can be attained by having recourse to certain means. Similarly, certain ways have been prescribed by God for winning His pleasure and attaining His nearness. People should faithfully stick to these and not devise ways of their own. By doing so, they will only suffer trouble, and gain nothing.
It is also on record that it was the practice among the idolaters of Arabia that when they left their homes and started on Pilgrimage to Mecca, then if for some purpose or object they had to come back to their houses, they did not enter them by their doors, but climbed into them by their back walls (Bukhari, ch. on Tafsir). Islam does not approve of such meaningless practices.
a
2:198; 9:36.
b
2:178.
217
Islam has made use of both the lunar and solar systems for measuring time. Where worship is to be performed in different parts of the day the solar system of reckoning time is used, as in the five daily Prayers or for the beginning and the breaking of the daily fast; and where worship is to be completed within a particular month or part thereof, the lunar system is used, as in selecting the month of fasting or the appointment of the time of Pilgrimage, etc. Thus Islam has made use of both the systems; so the solar system is as much Islamic as the lunar system.
218
The clause points to a very important principle that the real purpose in prescribing different acts of worship is the intrinsic usefulness thereof and not that every change of time should have attached to it an act of worship. Therefore the question, arising from the over-eagerness of the Faithful, that, like fasting, there may be prescribed other acts of worship in other months also, was like approaching a house not through its door but by "the back thereof." The primary thing is worship and time is only secondary, but those who put the question wanted to make time a primary, and worship merely a secondary thing. This was like putting the cart before the horse. The reference also seems to be to a practice of the pagan Arabs that when they had once started on Pilgrimage to Mecca, if for any reason they had to come back, they would enter their houses from their backs by scaling over the walls. The verse condemns such practices, pointing out that they do not constitute virtue which is a spiritual concept, an