Search Results for "وَقَتَلَ"

4:76; 8:40; 9:13; 22:40; 60:9, 10.

Important Words:

سبیل الله (the cause of Allah) literally means, "the way of Allah". Anything done to remove the obstacles hindering people from approaching God or accepting His religion is termed فی سبیل الله i.e. in the cause of Allah; also anything done to further the cause of Allah or any act performed in compliance with God’s commandment. Thus holy wars, missionary campaigns, Pilgrimage, search of knowledge, etc. in fact anything done to further the cause of goodness and virtue as commanded by God is فی سبیل الله.

Commentary:

The subject relating to the attainment of virtue and piety and the incidental mention of Pilgrimage naturally diverts one’s attention to the obstacles that were being placed in the way of Muslims by disbelievers who were making them victims of all sorts of wrongs and even prevented them from approaching their Qiblah in Mecca. The Quran, therefore, fittingly turns here to the subject of religious wars.

The verse contains the gist of the conditions which should regulate a religious war and which were made binding on Muslims. The conditions mentioned in this verse are four in number:

(1) Such a war should truly be فی سبیل الله i.e. undertaken with the object of removing obstacles placed in the way of God and His religion. Any war that is not فی سبیل الله is not a lawful, religious war.

(2) Such war is allowed only against those who first take up arms against Muslims as the words. الذین یقاتلونکم (those who fight against you), indicate.

(3) Great care should be taken that women, children and old men of the belligerent nation who do not take actual part in the war against Islam are spared, for religious war is allowed only against those who fight against you. If, however, an old man or a woman takes actual part in the fighting, the responsibility lies on him or her and in such a case he or she loses the concession. Says the Holy Prophet: "Do not kill an old man or a child or a woman, and always try to improve things and reform matters and act kindly towards others, for Allah loves those who act kindly" (Dawud).

(4) Muslims should bring the war to an end as soon as the enemy desists from fighting, for in this case further fighting is not permissible, as the words لاتعتدوا i.e. do not transgress; surely Allah loves not the transgressors, clearly prove. What a just and noble teaching and how tersely and beautifully expressed!

8:40; See 2:191.

Important Words:

الدین (religion) has a number of meanings including (1) religion; (2) rule and government (Aqrab). See also 1:4.

عدوان (hostility) is derived from عدا. They say عداه meaning, he passed beyond it. The expression عدا علیه means, he acted wrongfully towards him or he exceeded the proper limit against him. The words عاداه mean, he treated him with enmity and hostility. Thus عدوان means: (1) hostility; (2) wrongful conduct; (3) punishment for wrongful conduct and; (4) approach or way to a person by way of justification or excuse against him (Munjid, Mufradat & Lane).

Commentary:

This verse is often quoted by the opponents of Islam in support of their allegation that the Quran inculcates the carrying-on of war against unbelievers until all traces of false religions are wiped out and the whole world embraces Islam. But such a view is clearly wrong. The word which throws light on the true significance of this verse is فتنة (persecution) which, as has been explained in the preceding verse, means religious persecution. This verse therefore enjoins Muslims to fight only till persecution for religion is over. It is on record that during the war between Hadrat ‘Ali and Mu‘awiyah, ‘Abdullah, son of ‘Umar, was once asked why he did not take part in the war when the Quran enjoined the Muslims to fight to put an end to فتنة. He replied: "We did indeed act upon this injunction of the Quran when in the time of the Holy Prophet the number of Muslims was small and a man was subjected to فتنة i.e. persecution for his religious beliefs, being either put to death outright or tortured, until at last Islam spread and the "فتنه was over" (Bukhari, ch. on Tafsir). These words of ‘Abdullah, son of ‘Umar, leave no doubt that the word فتنة in this verse means persecution for religious beliefs and nothing else. Muslims are enjoined to fight until there is no فتنة i.e. no persecution for religious beliefs.

The words that follow, i.e. and religion is professed for Allah, would, therefore, mean that Muslims should fight till profession of a faith is not influenced by the fear of men, but that whatever religion a man follows, he should follow it only for the sake of God, and not out of the fear of men. The above interpretation is also borne out by the fact that the Holy Prophet entered into a number of treaties of peace with disbelievers, which could have no justification if the divine commandment had been to continue fighting until all embraced Islam. The object of the jihad or holy war which the Holy Prophet was bidden to undertake is clearly stated in 22:40-42, which were the first verses that gave Muslims the permission to take up arms against disbelievers and the idea has been further clarified in 2:191, 193 above. Among the numerous other verses which throw light on this subject the reader is referred to 2:195, 218, 257; 3:135; 4:91, 92; 5:3, 9, 33; 8:39, 62, 63; 9:6, 8, 10, 13; 22:39,41; 41:35; 42:49; 50:46; 60:9, 10.

The concluding clause i.e. but if they desist, then remember that no hostility is allowed except against the aggressors, further confirms the interpretation of the verse as given above. If the Quran enjoined the waging of war till Islam obtained universal acceptance, then there would be no sense whatever in the injunction that if disbelievers desisted from fighting and no longer remained aggressors, Muslims should also stop hostilities; for, as the verse puts it, fighting is not permissible "except against the aggressors".

2:191; 4:85.

Commentary:

The clause, and fight in the cause of Allah, is addressed to Muslims, who are warned of the fate which overtook the Israelites when they refused to fight the enemy when called upon to do so by Moses. God tells Muslims that a people who fear death do not deserve to live. This is the first secret of national progress which the Quran inculcates, viz. that a people can live and prosper only if they shed the fear of death, and that those who are afraid of death die ignobly.

It is hardly necessary to point out here how well Muslims took this lesson to heart. When the well-equipped force of the Quraish came forth from Mecca to destroy the small and ill-equipped Muslim community of Medina, and the Holy Prophet consulted his followers as to whether they were prepared to face and fight the enemy, they told him that they would not behave like the companions of Moses who said to him, Go thou and thy Lord and fight, and here we sit (5:25) but that they would willingly fight on his right and on his left and in his front and at his back, and the enemy would not reach him except over their corpses, and that they would unhesitatingly plunge their horses even into the raging sea, if he only wished them to do so. The tradition says that when the Holy Prophet heard these words from his Companions, his face beamed with joy and he said to them, "Then go forth and trust in Allah Who will be with you" (Tabari & Hisham).

The words "All-Hearing" and "All-Knowing" point out that though Muslims were weak and without equipment, yet the help of their Lord was with them, Who heard their prayers and knew their condition.

22:41.

Commentary:

Talut or Gideon was able to defeat Jalut or the Midianites and curb their rising spirits, but their crushing defeat to which the verse refers as the killing of Jalut came in the time of David about two hundred years afterwards. This is why, whereas the defeat of Jalut by Talut has been spoken of by the Quran as ھزم i.e. routing, the complete crushing of their power has been referred to by the world قتل i.e. killing. The Bible speaks of the man defeated by David as Goliath (1 Sam. 17:4), which is similar to Jalut. Probably the attributive name given by the Quran to the people was also borne by their leader in the time of David.

The last clause of the verse, i.e. and had it not been for Allah’s repelling men, some of them by the others, the earth would have become filled with disorder, gives, in a nutshell, the whole philosophy of all wars of truth and justice. War should be resorted to only as a means of checking disorder and restoring peace, and not for creating disorder and breaking peace. The clause also serves as a criterion between Muslims and their adversaries and beautifully points to the party destined for final victory in the struggle.

5:65.

4:156.

Commentary:

The words, Allah has heard the utterance of those, have been used by way of rebuke and warning, meaning that God is not unaware of these impudent utterances and that the utterers will certainly have to answer for them.

The words, Allah is poor and we are rich, were uttered by the Jews on behalf of the hypocrites and as an expression of their thoughts when the latter were called upon to spend their wealth in the cause of Allah (3:181). These words also express the thoughts of those niggardly persons and the weak of faith who join a new religion but find it hard to comply with its ever-growing monetary demands and sometimes cry out in impatience: "Has Allah become poor that we are asked to spend our hard-earned money in His cause?" In fact, one of the principal causes of the opposition to a new religious movement is reluctance on the part of the people to undergo the sacrifices of money and comfort that it demands.

The words, We shall record what they have said, signify that God will not let such mischievous utterances go unpunished, implying that what is forgiven is, as it were, not recorded.

4:125; 16:98; 20:113; 16:42.

22:59, 60.

See 2:26.

Commentary:

As this Surah mainly deals with Christian doctrines and ideals and their way of life, and as Christianity, in spite of its claims to the contrary, gives woman a status definitely inferior to that of man, the insistence on the equality of the status of woman with man in the spiritual sphere forms a fitting sequel to it. At several places in the Quran, believing men and believing women are addressed in the same language and are made equally subject to the same commandments and entitled to the same rights and privileges. Briefly, Islam recognizes the equality of the social and religious rights of man and woman. The words, you are from one another, are intended to emphasize the equality of status mentioned in the preceding part of the verse.

The verse also constitutes an effective refutation of the charges of the Shias against the Holy Prophet’s Companions whose failings and shortcomings, if any, were all forgiven by God in view of the good works they performed.

5:14.

3:182.

2:89.

2:89; 16:109; 83:15.

Important Words:

طبع (sealed) is similar to ختم for which see 2:8. طبع means, he sealed, stamped, imprinted or impressed (Lane).

غلف (wrapped in covers). See 2:89.

Commentary:

See 2:8; 2:62; 2:89.

2:194.

Commentary:

The verse shows that fighting was to be continued only so long as there was persecution and men were not free to profess the religion they liked. If the opponents of Islam desisted from

fighting, Muslims were also to desist. Islam fought only to defend itself and to establish freedom of conscience. See also 2:194.

The words, Allah is Watchful, imply that Muslims should not feel afraid that the disbelievers may desist only ostensibly and temporarily, and that they may attack the Muslims again when a favourable opportunity offered itself. God was Watchful of all that they do, and He would surely help Muslims, if the disbelievers acted faithlessly towards them.

Important Words:

کتاب (ordinance) is derived from کتب i.e. (1) he wrote; (2) he prescribed or ordained. کتاب means, a book or a writing; Divine prescript or ordinance or decree (Lane). See also 2:54 & 2:130.

Commentary:

The words فی کتاب اللّٰه (by Allah’s ordinance) mean that God so ordained on the day when He created the heavens and the earth that the number of months should be twelve, i.e. the law of nature determines that number, which holds true both in the solar and the lunar system.

The four sacred months are Dhul-Qa‘dah, Dhul-Hijjah, Muharram, and Rajab. These months have been held sacred by the Arabs, who are mostly descended from Abraham, from time immemorial and Islam confirmed their sacredness. It is considered unlawful to wage war or, for that matter, to continue a state of war in these four months unless, as the Quran points out, the enemy is the first to violate their sanctity. See also note on 2:218.

28:12-13.

28:14.

26:15; 28:16, 34.

Important Words:

قدر (standard) is inf. noun from قدر (qadara). قدرت الشیء means, I measured the thing; computed or determined its quantity, measure, size, value, worth, bulk, proportion, extent, amount, limit or number. قدر (qadrun) or قدر (qadarun) is the quantity, quantum measure, magnitude, size, bulk, proportion and extent, of a thing. They say جاء علی قدر i.e. it came according to measure or as it may be said, he came up to the standard (Aqrab, Mufradat & Lane). See also 15:61.

Commentary:

In what a wonderful way did God fulfil the promise He made to Moses’ mother (when He commanded her to cast him into the river) that he would be restored to her (28:8)! God so managed the whole affair that the baby was soon again in the loving arms of his mother. It is in this way that God demonstrates not only His existence, but also His knowledge and shows His supreme control over all things and it is events like these that inspire a living faith in the hearts of God’s loving and sincere votaries. And it was that living faith which made Moses’ mother cast her baby into the river which was amply rewarded by Moses being restored to her very soon.

The words فتناک فتوناً (We tried thee with various trials) mean that Moses was made to pass through the crucible of trials and tribulations so that his mettle might be tested, and after passing out of these ordeals with flying colours he might be declared fit to be endowed with God’s great gifts and favours.

Midian or Madyan is the name of a town on the east side of the Gulf of ‘Akabah. The name is connected with that of the tribe of Midianites. In the 6th century Ya‘qubi speaks of its position in a district rich in springs, gardens and date-groves. Istakhri describes from his own observation the spring in the town from which Moses watered the flocks of Shu‘aib. It was then covered by a house which had been built over it. The town had then shown signs of gradual decay and decline. In the 12th century Idrisi says, "It is an unimportant little trading centre with scanty resources." In the 14th century Abul-Fida saw that it was in ruins. In recent times it has been visited by Ruppell, Burton and Musil. The extensive ruins which the Arabs call Maghair Shu‘aib after the cave-tombs lie about 16 miles east of the port of Makna, in the southern part of the valley of Al-Bad’ which is rich in streams and palms and other trees. According to Burton the whole district between 29° 28΄ and 27° 40΄ is called Ard Madyan (Enc. of Islam under "Madyan").

The town lay on the trade route from Medina to Syria and caravans going to Syria or Egypt passed through it.

The sojourn of Moses among the people of Midian fulfilled yet another divine plan. As he was destined to live with the Israelites in the deserts and forests of the valley of Sinai, he was made to become used to a hard life by living for several years in Midian.

Commentary:

It is an established fact of history that ignominy and humiliation have dogged the footsteps of the ill-fated Jewish people throughout the ages. Their return to Palestine and the establishment of the Republic of Israel seems to be only a temporary phase.

4:96; 9:20.

Commentary:

Man will have to leave behind in this world all his material possessions which in truth belong to God.

الفتح (the Victory) may refer to the Fall of Mecca, soon after which the whole of Arabia submitted to the Holy Prophet, or it may refer to the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah which laid the foundation of the subsequent rapid spread of Islam and of the vast and very quick expansion of the political power of Muslims.