ROOT ح ن ف

2:112.

3:68; 6:80; 16:124; 22:32.

Important Words:

حنیفا (ever inclined to God) is derived from حنف which means, he became inclined. حنیف means: (1) one who turns away from error to guidance (Mufradat); (2) one who steadily follows the right faith and never swerves from it; (3) one inclining in a perfect manner to Islam and continuing firm therein (Lane); (4) one who follows the religion of Abraham (Aqrab).

Commentary:

There is a notion prevalent among the followers of different religions that salvation is confined to their respective folds only. This view is, however, quite erroneous. Salvation depends upon the grace and mercy of God, and submission to His will is the only way to win His grace and mercy. So long as the following of a religion involves submission to God’s will, there is salvation in it. But when this condition ceases to exist in a religion, that religion can no more offer salvation. The verse points out that the Jews and the Christians are wrong in asserting that the bare entry of a person into their respective religions assures salvation. Not so, says Allah, but salvation lies in what Abraham taught––absolute submission to God’s will. And Abraham was a rightly guided person who taught and practised the spirit of Islam.

The words, he was not of those who set up gods with God, are not used here to remove any misconception about Abraham but to point out to the People of the Book that, while their progenitor Abraham was not an idol-worshipper, they had for themselves practically set up so many equals to God. They outwardly professed belief in God’s Oneness but in their hearts lay hidden, scores of idols which they loved and revered as one should love and revere God alone.

2:141.

3:96; 4:126; 6:162; 16:121, 124.

Important Words:

حنیفا (ever inclined to God). See 2:136.

Commentary:

If Abraham can be said to belong to any of the present faiths, it is Islam; for, (1) Islam is a name with a meaning bearing on the inner spirit of the faith-submission or obedience to the will of God; (2) Abraham himself used the word مسلم for himself and also for his son Ishmael, from whom the Holy Prophet of Islam is descended (2:129); and (3) he prayed that from among his progeny a مسلم (Muslim) people may come forth (2:129). But he was obviously not a Muslim in the sense that he followed in detail the religion brought by the Holy Prophet.

The clause, he was not of those who associate gods with God is a sort of rebuke to Jews and Christians who, in spite of calling themselves monotheists, virtually practised polytheism and still did not hesitate to claim Abraham as one of themselves.

See 3:68.

Commentary:

By saying that Abraham was ever obedient to God, the verse hints that he did not prohibit the eating of any particular meat of his own accord, as the Israelites have done. So by differing from the Israelites in this matter, Islam does not go against the way and the practice of the Prophets of God, particularly that of Abraham.

By saying that Abraham did not associate gods with Allah, the Jews are reminded that it is they themselves who set up gods with God and go against the religion of Abraham, to whom the will of his Master was all in all.

2:132.

Important Words:

خلیل (special friend) is derived from خل. They say خل الشیء i.e. he bored a hole into the thing. خل فی دعائه means, he was particular in his prayer. خلیل means, a special and particular friend whose love penetrates your inner parts (Aqrab & Lane). See also 2:255.

Commentary:

This verse gives the essence of Islam which signifies submission to the Will of God and the devotion of one’s faculties and powers to His service (see also note on 2:113). Abraham has been held out to the People of the Book who revere him as a patriarch and to the Arabs who were proud of being descended from him, as an example who embodied in his person the essence of Islam by his full submission to the Will of God; and both these people are herein told that it is only the true observance of the teachings of Islam that can make one like Abraham—beloved of God and His special friend.

There is a hadith in which the Holy Prophet is reported to have said: "If I had taken anyone from among men as my خلیل (special friend whose love penetrates one’s heart), I would have certainly taken Abu Bakr as such. But such friendship is permissible with God alone Who is my خلیل" (Bukhari, ch. on Fada’il of the Holy Companions).

3:21.

Commentary:

Verses 77 to 80 contain an argument which Abraham employed to bring home to his idolatrous people the absurdity of their belief in the godhead of the sun, the moon and the stars, which they worshipped (Jew. Enc.). It is an error to infer from these verses that Abraham was himself groping in the dark and did not know who his God was, that he took the evening star, the moon and the sun for God one after another and, when each of them set in its turn, he gave up his belief in their divinity and turned to the One God, the Creator of heavens and earth. The passage contains no less than eleven clear evidences to show that Abraham was not really taking these heavenly bodies for gods, but that his object was to demonstrate to his people the vanity of their beliefs, step by step. Some of these evidences may be summed up as below:

Firstly, the opening part of this passage, i.e. the first part of 6:77 is connected with the previous verses with the double particle فلما (and when) which denotes close sequence, i.e. that which has been said in this passage is connected with, and occurred immediately after, what is related in the preceding verses. Now the preceding verses, i.e. vv. 75 and 76, clearly show Abraham as having attained certainty and conviction of faith and as being a firm believer in one God and being advanced in spirituality. Thus placed and protected, he cannot be considered as groping in the dark like a blind man and wandering from one deity to another.

Secondly, there is no sense in supposing Abraham to have seen the star or the moon for the first time that night. He belonged to a community which used to worship stars and he must have seen the stars many times before. If he was really a star-worshipper, he ought to have first imbibed the idea from what he had heard from his father and others, and not by seeing a star himself and reflecting over it. Star-worship was not at all a new idea discovered by him by looking at a star. Thus, there is no doubt that Abraham’s words, This is my Lord, were not meant as an expression of faith, but simply as an argument against star-worship. He assumed the star he saw to be his Lord merely to expose its lordship afterwards on the basis of its setting and thereby to tell his people that they were wrong in taking the star for their Lord.

Thirdly, when the star disappeared, Abraham is reported to have said, I like not those that set. Now Abraham certainly knew already that the star must set; he must have already seen it disappear times without number. So the argument, I like not those that set, must have already been familiar to his mind and he could not take to worshipping the star in view of this argument. In fact, what he wanted was to use the argument against star-worshippers in a way that might prove effective. So he first assumed or supposed the star to be his Lord and, when it disappeared, he hastened to declare, I like not those that set. Similar was the case with the setting of the moon and the sun. Of the sun he spoke the word "greater" or "greatest" ironically in order, to taunt his people for their folly. It should be incidentally noted here that Abraham did not use the word اکبر (greater or greatest) for the moon which was also greater than the evening star. The omission is significant, as it clearly shows, that he was already intending to refer to the sun after disposing of the case of the moon.

Fourthly, if Abraham was really searching for God and had sincerely taken the star, the moon and the sun, in turn, for his Lord, then the conclusion at which he ought to have naturally arrived, after gradually rejecting the godhead of these three heavenly bodies, should have been that there was no God at all, but instead of declaring that there was no God, Abraham forthwith turned to his people saying: O my people, surely I am clear of that which you associate with God, I have turned my face toward Him Who created the heavens and the earth, being over inclined to God. This shows that Abraham already knew the true God and believed in Him and was simply trying gradually to draw his people towards Him. Let the reader only read the whole reply of Abraham (vv. 81-83) and it will become crystal clear to him that Abraham was not only familiar with the name of Allah and believed in Him, but also possessed a deep knowledge of His attributes.

3:96; 16:124.

Important Words:

قیم (right) is derived from قام which means, he stood still or he stood up. قیم الامر means, he undertook the affair; he managed or conducted it. قیم means, right, correct or true. قیم الامر means, manager, conductor or superintendent of the affair (Lane). See also 4:6, 35, 163.

Commentary:

The previous verse proved the need of a revealed religion. In the present verse we are told that now the revealed religion was the one which the Holy Prophet of Islam was following and which in principle was also the religion of Abraham, the upright. The word حنیف means (1) upright and (2) one who is ever inclined to God; and such a one can only be he who believes in all the Prophets of God.

30:31, 44.

28:88.

Commentary:

The expression, be not thou of those who ascribe partners to Him, does not mean, "do not worship false deities," for such an injunction is unnecessary after one has become حنیف (ever inclined to God). The truth is that the word مشرك has been used here in opposition to the word حنیف therefore the clause does not mean that the Holy Prophet should not worship idols (which he never did), but that he should not give the least thought or attention to things or beings other than God, for that too will constitute an act of shirk for a person of his spiritual eminence. Thus the Holy Prophet is bidden here to avoid even the slightest and the most hidden form of شرك (idol-worship).

2:136; 3:68; 6:80.

Important Words:

امة (a paragon of virtue) is derived from ام which means, he betook himself to it, aimed at, sought after or pursued it. امةmeans, a way, course, mode or manner of acting; religion; a nation, a people, a race, a tribe; family; the followers of a Prophet; a generation of men or people of one time; a righteous man who is an object of imitation; one who is known for goodness; a man combining all kinds of good qualities; a learned man; one who has no equal; the learned man of his age or time who is singular in his learning, etc. See also 11:9 & 6:39.

Commentary:

In this verse the Quran exhorts Muslims not to follow the example of idolaters and Jews but to take Abraham as their model. The word امة (a paragon of virtue) is here used in two senses: (a) a righteous man who is an object of imitation; (b) a man combining in him all good qualities. The word, as shown under Important Words, also means "a people", and Abraham has been called "a people" because through him a great people came into being. He is called "a people" in the sense in which a small off-shoot is called the tree that is to spring from it.

The words, He was not of those who set up equals to God, signify that although Abraham combined in himself all the good qualities and excellences, yet the combination of these good qualities did not engender in him conceit or egotism. He did not consider the good qualities he possessed to be the result of his own effort or merit, but of God’s special favour. Thus he was a monotheist in the real sense of the word. He allowed no idol of conceit or pride, etc., to stand between him and his Creator.

2:136; 4:126; 22:79.

Commentary:

The reason why Abraham has been held up as an exemplar is that he was held in high esteem not only by Jews and Christians but also by the idolaters of Arabia, being the common ancestor of all. The verse does not mean, as insinuated by some Christian writers, that according to it the Holy Prophet was merely a follower of the religion of Abraham and nothing more. The words, "following the way of Abraham" only mean, following and imitating him in things mentioned in the preceding verse—he was a paragon of virtue and yet was humble and grateful to God. The Holy Prophet was by far a nobler character than Abraham and Islam a much better religious system than any previous one.

Commentary:

Man is the noblest creation of God. The whole universe—the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, the oceans, the mountains, etc., have been made to serve him. He can rise morally and spiritually so high as to reflect in his person the Divine attributes. So if man whom God has given the highest place in His whole creation degrades himself so low as to worship lifeless objects, he falls, as it were, from the heights of spiritual eminence to the depths of moral and intellectual degradation. This, in brief, is the purport of this verse.

A brief note on idolatry is here called for. Broadly speaking idolatry consists in the paying of Divine honours to idols, images or any created object; the ascription of Divine powers to natural agencies and the excessive admiration, veneration or love for any person or thing. Besides this, idolatry has several other subtler forms. Some of these are as follows:

1. To believe that there are more beings than one who possess equal and similar powers and attributes and who have equal share in the creation and control of the universe with God.

2. To show allegiance or veneration to beings or objects other than God in the form of acts and movements of the body which are expressive of the highest veneration for those beings or objects and which are prescribed by different religions to be offered only to the Supreme Being and which have been regarded as part of worship, such as prostration, etc.

3. To rely fully and completely upon material means for the fulfilment of one’s needs to the entire exclusion of trust in God.

4. To ascribe to human beings attributes which are God’s own exclusive prerogatives, such as His being Eternal and Everlasting and His attribute of creation or quickening the dead.

5. To think of a person that he has attained to such stage of nearness to God that God is bound to and does accept all his prayers. This amounts to ascribing Divine powers to him.

6. To entertain feelings of love, veneration for, or fear of, any human being greater or even equal to those which he has for God. All these different forms of idolatry have been expressed by the four words used by the Quran, viz. ند (like or equal); شریک (co-partner or sharer); اله(worthy of worship) and رب (sustainer).