Ruku 365 ع

3102

Commentary:

This verse embodies a most effective repudiation of the charge that Christian missionaries and publicists are in the habit of levelling at Islam, viz. that it accords a lower status to women. The Quran has repeatedly said that Muslim women stand on the same level with Muslim men, and that they can attain to all those spiritual heights to which men can attain. Besides, Islam confers on women all the political and social rights which men enjoy. Only their spheres of activities being different, their duties are different. It is this difference in duties of both the sexes that has been mistakenly, or perhaps deliberately, misunderstood by hostile critics of Islam as implying a lower status for women.

The ten outstanding attributes of Muslim men and women mentioned in this verse have been appropriately described in an ascending order.

The first stage of the spiritual development of a believer is that of اسلام which in this verse has been used in the sense of intellectual acceptance of truth. The next stage is that of ایمان which implies the giving of peace and safety to others and testifying to the Divinely-revealed Teaching. At the stage of اسلام a Muslim accepts truth because reason and common sense demand of him this acceptance, while at the stage of ایمان he combines emotions and feelings with reason, and becomes intellectually and emotionally a true believer. The third stage of spiritual development is that of قنوت which signifies total obedience to God’s commandments. At this stage the spiritual wayfarer finds himself irresistibly attracted towards his Creator, and his submission to Divine commandments proceeds from his love for the Supreme Being. The next stage in the spiritual journey is reached when a believer becomes صادق which means that he identifies himself completely with truth, and faces trials and temptations with complete equanimity. His faith becomes pure and free from all dross of hypocrisy and love of worldly things. The fifth stage is that of صبر; when identification with truth becomes a permanent feature of a believer’s character. The stage of خشوع is a still higher stage in spiritual progress. It indicates an attitude of humility which the believer develops after he has gained complete victory over trials and tribulations consequent upon the growing consciousness of his own weakness and that of the perfection and completeness of the Divine Being. The next stage is that of متصدق. At this stage the believer becomes conscious that he is not to live for himself alone but should share God-given blessings with other fellow beings. At the stage of صائم which is the next high spiritual stage the believer learns to sacrifice his own legitimate needs and comforts for the benefit of others and at the ninth stage of حافظین فروجھم he scrupulously guards all the avenues through which sin can find access to his mind. At the tenth stage i.e. الذا کرین الله, which is the last stage and which forms the climax of spiritual growth and development, the believer is so completely engrossed in God as to have become lost in His remembrance.

3103

Commentary:

The verse under comment continues the general theme of the preceding verses, viz. that believers should try as far as possible, to subordinate their own desires to the desire of the Holy Prophet and when he has given his decision regarding an affair, they should accept it unhesitatingly without the least mental reservation. The immediate occasion for the revelation of this verse may have been Zainab’s hesitation to comply with the Holy Prophet’s greatly cherished wish that she should marry Zaid, his freed slave. It goes to Zainab’s credit that in deference to the Prophet’s wish she agreed to her marriage with Zaid, much against her personal inclination. Zainab’s marriage with Zaid and their subsequent separation has been dealt with in some detail in the next verse. It is, however, wrong to assume, as some commentators have mistakenly assumed, that the Holy Prophet pressed and compelled Zainab against her will to accept Zaid as her husband. It being inconsistent with Islamic teaching, the Holy Prophet could not have done this. Zainab only deferred to the wish of the Holy Prophet.

3104

Important Words:

وطرا (want) has no verb. It means, a want, a need, an object of want or need; or that which one proposes to accomplish or of which one is desirous. They say قضی منه وطرہ i.e. he accomplished or obtained his want from him (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

As the verse deals with an incident of very great historical importance, it demands and deserves a somewhat detailed explanation. Zaid bin Harith, to whom the words "on whom Allah had bestowed favours and on whom thou also had bestowed favours" refer, belonged to the tribe of Kalb. In his childhood he was kidnapped and sold as a slave in Mecca where he was bought by Khadijah’s brother and given over to her. On her marriage with the Holy Prophet Khadijah presented Zaid to him who at once emancipated him. Zaid was so much attached to the Prophet that when later his father and uncle begged of the Holy Prophet to let him go with them as the grief of his separation from home had almost killed his mother, the Prophet readily gave his permission. But Zaid himself flatly refused to part company with the Holy Prophet, exclaiming that he was dearer to him than his father and mother. The Prophet was so deeply touched by Zaid’s fidelity and love for him that he at once declared him (Zaid) to be his son and henceforward Zaid came to be known as the Prophet’s son. Zaid remained throughout his life a most beloved and faithful disciple of the Holy Prophet and sealed his fidelity to Islam and the Prophet with his blood on the battlefield of Mu’tah.

Zainab was the daughter of the Holy Prophet’s aunt, hence a full-blooded Arab, intensely proud of her ancestry and exalted social status. Islam had envisaged and given to the world a civilization and culture in which there were to be no class divisions, no hereditary nobility, no vested interests. All men were to be free and equal in the sight of God. The Holy Prophet wanted to start with his own family the carrying into actual effect of this noble ideal of Islam. He wished to marry Zainab to Zaid, who in spite of having been liberated by the Prophet and called his son, unfortunately still carried the stigma of slavery in the minds of some people. It was exactly this stigma of slavery, this invidious distinction between 'free' and 'slave' which the Holy Prophet sought to remove by Zainab’s marriage to Zaid. In deference to the Holy Prophet’s wish Zainab agreed to the proposal. The purpose of the Holy Prophet was achieved. The marriage levelled to the ground all class distinctions and divisions. It was a practical demonstration of Islam’s noble ideal. The marriage, however, ended in failure, not so much due to a difference in the social status of Zainab and Zaid as to the incompatibility of their dispositions and temperaments and also due to a feeling of inferiority from which Zaid suffered. The failure of the marriage naturally grieved the Holy Prophet. But it also served a very useful purpose. In pursuance of Divine command, as mentioned in the latter part of the verse under comment, the Prophet himself married Zainab, thus cutting at the very root of another obnoxious and deep-seated Arab custom, viz. that it was a sacrilege to marry the wife of one’s adopted son. The custom of adoption was abolished and with it went also this foolish notion. Thus Zainab’s marriage with Zaid served one very noble object and its failure another highly useful purpose.

The words "fear Allah" signify that Zaid wanted to divorce Zainab, and as divorce according to Islam is very hateful in the sight of God, the Holy Prophet exhorted him not to do so.

The clause, "And then…thou shouldst fear Him," may apply to both Zaid and the Holy Prophet. Applying to Zaid it would mean that Zaid did not like that the cause of his separation from Zainab should come to light, perhaps because as the words "fear Allah," indicate the fault lay more with him than with Zainab. As, however, applying to the Holy Prophet, the words would signify that as the marriage between Zaid and Zainab was arranged at his instance and wish, he naturally did not like its breaking. The clause also shows that the Prophet feared that the break-down of the marriage which was arranged by him and which had been entered into in deference to his special wish, but which resulted in an ostensible failure of the experiment in Islamic brotherhood, would cause some mental confusion and uneasiness among people whose faith was weak. This was the anxiety that lay heavy on the Prophet’s heart. The words, "thou didst fear men," seem to point to this fear of his. But, as mentioned above, God had His own purpose in the failure of this marriage. He wanted to show that there was nothing in this failure to be afraid of. On the contrary, it was a blessing in disguise and was intended to serve a great purpose and therefore the Prophet’s fear was unfounded.

Christian and other hostile Critics of Islam pretend to find in the Holy Prophet’s marriage to Zainab a basis for mean attacks on him. It is stated that the Prophet, having by chance seen Zainab, became enamoured of her beauty and Zaid, having come to know of his desire to marry her, sought divorce from her. The fact that the Holy Prophet’s most inveterate enemies, before whose eyes the whole affair had actually taken place, dared not attribute the base motives ascribed to him by these critics after so many centuries, completely knocks the bottom from under this base and totally unfounded charge. Zainab was the Prophet’s own cousin and being so closely related to him he must have seen her many times, for "Purdah" had not as yet been enjoined. Besides, it was in deference to his own persistently expressed wish that Zainab had reluctantly agreed to marry Zaid. It is on record that she and her brother had desired before her marriage with Zaid that she should be taken in marriage by the Holy Prophet himself. What wasit that prevented the Holy Prophet from marrying her when she was a virgin and when she herself ardently desired to get married to him? The whole story evidently seems to be a figment of the "fertile" imagination of the Holy Prophet’s hostile critics and it is an insult to human intellect to give the least credence to it. But while there are some Christian critics like Muir and Margoliouth who find fault with the Holy Prophet for having married Zainab, there are others better informed and more honest like the good and noble Rev. Bosworth Smith who found nothing in this marriage to cavil at. The Rev, gentleman says:

"It should be remembered, however, that most of Mohammed’s marriages may be explained, at least, as much by his pity for the forlorn condition of the persons concerned, as by other motives. They were almost all of them widows who were not remarkable either for their beauty or their wealth, but quite the reverse. May not this fact, and his undoubted faithfulness to Khadijah till her dying day, and till he himself was fifty years of age, give us additional ground to hope that calumny or misconception has been at work in the story of Zainab" - ("Mohammed and Mohammedanism").

3105

Commentary:

The reference in the words, "that which Allah has made incumbent upon him," and "the command of Allah is a decree ordained," is to the Holy Prophet’s marriage with Zainab. The words show that this marriage took place in obedience to express Divine command.

3105A

Commentary:

Though the Holy Prophet knew that Zainab being the divorced wife of Zaid known to be his adopted son, his marriage to her would give rise to much criticism among the Arabs, he did not at all hesitate to marry her when he found that it was God’s command to do so. In the performance of his sacred mission the Holy Prophet never cared for the feelings and susceptibilities of anybody. In fact, God’s Prophets do not fear anyone in the discharge of their duties. So, the words "thou didst fear men" in v. 38 should be taken as signifying that the Holy Prophet did not fear men but he feared for them, lest by regarding Zainab’s marriage with Zaid a miscalculation of the Prophet, they might injure their own souls.

3106

Important Words:

خاتم النبیین (Seal of the Prophets). خاتم (Khatam) is derived from ختم. They say ختم الشیء او ختم علیه i.e. he sealed, stamped, impressed or imprinted the thing or he put the seal on it. This is the primary signification of this word. Or the primary signification of ختم (khatmun) is the act of covering over the thing. It also signifies the protecting of what is in a writing by marking or stamping a piece of clay upon it, or by means of a seal of any kind. ختم الشیء also means, he reached the end of the thing. ختم القرآن means, he recited the whole of the Quran. This is the secondary meaning of the word. Thus خاتم(khatam) means, a signet-ring; a seal or stamp and a mark; the end or last part or portion and result or issue of a thing; the hollow of the back of the neck. The words ختم (khatmun) and خاتم (khatim and khatam) are almost synonymous and mean a signet. خاتم (khatam) also signifies, embellishment or ornament, the best and most perfect (Lane, Aqrab, Mufradat, Fath & Zurqani). So the expression خاتم النبیین would mean, the Seal of the Prophets; the best and most perfect of the Prophets; the embellishment and ornament of the Prophets. Secondarily, the expression may also mean, the last of the Prophets.

Commentary:

Much confusion and misunderstanding seems to prevail as to what is the real spiritual status and position of the Holy Prophet as indicated by the expression خاتم النبیین i.e. the Seal of the Prophets. A careful study of the context, however, removes the prevalent misconception. At Mecca when all the Holy Prophet’s male children died in their childhood, his enemies taunted him with being أبتر (one who has no male issue), meaning that in the absence of male heirs to succeed him his movement would sooner or later come to an end (Muhit). In answer to this taunt of disbelievers it was emphatically declared in Surah Al-Kausar (الکوثر) that not the Holy Prophet but his enemies would remain issueless. After the revelation of Surah Al-Kausar the idea naturally found favour with the early Muslims that the Holy Prophet would be blessed with sons who would live to an adult age. The verse under comment removed that misconception inasmuch as it declared that the Prophet is not, never was, nor will ever be the father of any grownup young men (رجالmeaning grown-up young men). The verse under comment while appearing to be in conflict with Surah Al-Kausar in which not the Holy Prophet but his enemies have been threatened with being issueless, in reality seeks to set at rest doubts and misgivings to which this seeming contradiction gives rise. It says that the Holy Prophet is رسول الله i.e. the spiritual father of a whole Ummat and he is also خاتم النبیین signifying that he is the spiritual father of all the past and future Prophets. So when he is the spiritual father of all the believers and all Prophets, how can he be said to be أبتر i.e. issueless. But if the expression be taken to mean that the Holy Prophet is the last of the Prophets and that no Prophet will come after him, then the verse appears to be out of tune with the context and instead of refuting the objection of disbelievers that the Holy Prophet was issueless, supports and reinforces it.

Briefly, according to the meaning of the word خاتم the expression خاتم النبیین can have four possible meanings:

(1) That the Holy Prophet was the Seal of the Prophets, i.e. no Prophet, past or future, can be regarded as true unless his prophethood bears the seal of the Holy Prophet. The prophethood of every past Prophet must be confirmed and testified to by the Holy Prophet and nobody can attain to prophethood after him except by being his أمتی (follower). All claims to prophethood must be judged and tested by reference to the revelation received by the Holy Prophet and to his teachings.

(2) That the Holy Prophet was the best, the noblest and the most perfect of all the Prophets and that he was also a source of embellishment for them (Zurqani, Sharah Mawahibul-Ladunniyya).

(3) That the Holy Prophet was the last of the Law-bearing Prophets. This interpretation has been accepted by many eminent Muslim theologians, saints and savants such as Ibn ‘Arabi, Shah Wali-Allah, Imam ‘AliQari, Mujaddid Alif Thani, etc. According to these great scholars and saints، no Prophet can come after the Holy Prophet who should abrogate his Millah or should not be in his Ummah (Futuhat, Tafhimat, Mukatabat & Yawaqit wal Jawahir). ‘A’ishah, the talented spouse of the Holy Prophet, has removed all ambiguity about the meaning of the expression خاتم النبیین. She is reported to have said: قولوا انه خاتم النبیین ولا تقولوا لا نبی بعدہ i.e. Say that he (the Holy Prophet) is خاتم النبیین but do not say that there will be no Prophet after him (Manthur). This saying of ‘A’ishah makes it quite clear that the expression خاتم النبیین and لانبی بعدہ were considered by her to be contradictory to each other in meaning and significance.

(4) That the Holy Prophet was the last of the Prophets, but only in this sense that all the qualities and attributes of prophethood found their most perfect and complete consummation and expression in him; خاتم in the sense of being the last word in excellence and perfection is of common use.

Moreover, the Quran clearly speaks of the advent of Prophets after the Holy Prophet. The following two verses leave no ambiguity on this point:

And whoso obeys Allah and this Messenger of His shall be among those on whom Allah has bestowed His blessings, namely, the Prophets, the Truthful, the Martyrs and the Righteous. And excellent companions are these (4:70).

O children of Adam! if Messengers come to you from among yourselves, rehearsing My Signs come unto you, then whoso shall fear God and do good deeds, on them shall come no fear nor shall they grieve (7:36).

The Holy Prophet himself was clear in his mind as to the continuity of prophethood after him. He is reported to have said: "If Abraham (his son) had lived long, he would have been a Prophet" (Majah, Kitabul-Janai’z), and, "Abu Bakr is best of men after me, except that a Prophet should appear" (Kanzul-‘Ummal).