مَرۡضَات

3:31; 9:117; 57:10.

Important Words:

رؤوف (Compassionate) is derived from رأف. They say رأف به meaning, he pitied him, he was compassionate to him. رأفة(compassion) is like رحمة (mercy) but signifies greater tenderness, though the latter is certainly more extensive in meaning. رؤوف means, compassionate or pitiful, and is one of the attributes of God, though like رحیم it may also be applied to human beings as in 9:128 (Lane).

Commentary:

Having completed the description of an extreme type of man belonging to the first-mentioned class of people, i.e. those who seek only the things of this world, the Quran now describes a type of man belonging to the second-mentioned class, i.e. those who seek the good things of this world as well as of the next. And of these, it singles out here the noblest type whose aim is to seek the pleasure of God alone. To such men the good things of this world mean only such spiritual blessings as are vouchsafed to righteous men in this very world or such things as lead to the attainment thereof (2:202). Their sole concern is to seek the pleasure of their Lord, as if they had given away their souls for that very purpose. They use the things of this world, not because these things please them, but because God’s law has made them the support of a life which they find pleasure in devoting to the service of God. Thus they approach the things of this world not directly but through God. To such servants of His, God is indeed most Compassionate and His compassion for them has a good leaven of tenderness in it.

See 2:262.

Important Words:

تثبیتا (strengthen) is derived from ثبت which means, he or it subsisted or lasted; he or it became fixed or stationary at a place; he was firm, stable, steadfast and unwavering. ثبت الامر means, the matter became proved and determined. اثبته means, he made a person or thing fixed and stationary, rendering him or it unable to move; he imprisoned him or inflicted on him a crippling injury. اثبت الحق means, he strengthened or reinforced the truth with clear arguments. ثبته (thabbatahu) means, he made a person or thing firm, steadfast, unwavering and fixed; he strengthened him or it so as to make him or it fit to endure all trials and shakings (Aqrab & Lane).

ربوة (elevated ground) is derived from ربا. They say ربا المال i.e. the money increased and became augmented. رباالولد means, the child grew up. رباالرابیة means, he climbed the height. ربوة or رابیة means, a hill or elevated ground (Aqrab). ربا (interest) is also from the same root and is so called because it is looked upon as a sure and unfailing means of increasing and multiplying wealth.

Commentary:

Spending money in the cause of Allah leads to the strengthening of the soul. The man who strives in the cause of God by spending his wealth, imposes a burden on himself which makes him still more firm and steadfast in his faith. Besides, as he helps others with his money, God helps him and protects him from harm.

The hearts of the believers who spend freely in the cause of God are like elevated ground to which heavy rain, which sometimes proves harmful for low-lying grounds, can do no harm. On the other hand, it is benefited by rain, whether it is heavy or light.

In the verse under comment, rain represents charity. Those who spend large amounts are referred to in the words "heavy rain", while those who can afford to spend only small amounts in the cause of Allah are referred to in the words "light rain" (see also 9:79).

Both classes of men are benefited, inasmuch as they are granted more and more power to do good deeds and receive an ample reward from God, Who does not look to the amount of the money spent in His cause but to the proportion it bears to the money retained by the spender for his worldly needs. The word طل (light rain), besides including the lightest of rains, also means "dew" (Lane) and has been used to point out that even the smallest amounts spent in the cause of Allah has its reward.

2:225.

Important Words:

نجوی (conference) is derived from نجا which means, he became safe; he escaped. نجا الجلد عن الذبیحة means, he removed the skin of the slaughtered animal, laying bare the interior. نجا الرجل means, he discoursed secrets with the man, or simply he discoursed with him. ناجا الرجل means, he talked with him in private, or he discoursed secretly with him. نجوی therefore means, a secret between two or more persons; a person or persons discoursing or talking secretly, or holding secret talks, or telling secrets to one another, or talking confidentially, or holding confidential conference; the act of talking or discussing secrets with one another or holding confidential conferences (Aqrab & Taj). According to some authorities, the word نجوی is not restricted to secret conferences, but signifies all conferences whether secret or otherwise in which some people meet at a place and discuss matters or talk together (Lisan). Zajjaj also endorses the same view, saying that secrecy is not essential to نجوی which is applied to all conferences, whether open or secret (Muhit). The word thus extends to those conferences which, though not secret, are attended only by regular members or specially invited persons.

Commentary:

The verse is important inasmuch as it differentiates between good and bad conferences. The verse teaches that only three kinds of conferences or societies or meetings can be productive of good: Firstly, من امر بصدقة i.e. those that are founded or held with the object of promoting the welfare of the poor, the needy, etc. Secondly, من امر بمعروف i.e. those whose object is to promote the spread and propagation of, or investigation and research into, sciences, law, education, learning, the arts, etc. Thirdly, من امر باصلاح بین الناس i.e.those established for the purpose of settling disputes and removing causes of friction in domestic, social, national, or international matters. This would include associations for the purpose of conducting the political affairs of a nation or a country, for their object also is to promote peace among mankind. This teaching, if faithfully acted upon, should go a long way to establish peace and harmony in the world.

3:119; 4:145; 5:58.

17:77.

Commentary:

The prohibitory injunction contained in the verse is of a very strict character. Muslims are not to have friendly relations with the avowed enemies of God—those who drove out the Prophet and the Muslims from their hearths and homes and sought to destroy Islam. The prohibition is all-comprehensive in this respect that no consideration of bonds or ties of even the nearest blood relationships is allowed to interfere with it. The enemy of Islam is God’s enemy, whosoever he may be.

The immediate occasion of the revelation of the verse under comment was that when the Quraish did not honour the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah, and the Holy Prophet had to take stern punitive action against them, Hatib bin Abi Balta‘h had written a secret letter to the Meccans informing them of the Holy Prophet’s intended march on Mecca. The Prophet, informed by revelation about it sent ‘Ali, Zubair and Miqdad, in search of the bearer of the letter. They overtook the messenger—she was a woman—on the way to Mecca and the letter was brought back to Medina. Hatib’s offence was extremely grave. He had sought to divulge an important State secret. He deserved exemplary punishment. Incidentally, the episode of the letter fixes the date of revelation of the Surah.

Commentary:

It is related that one day one of the wives of the Holy Prophet gave him a drink made from honey, which he seemed to like. Some of his other wives, out of pique, pointed out to him that his breath smelt of Maghafir, a shrub the taste of which resembled that of honey but having a bad smell. The Holy Prophet, because of his delicate nature, promised not to take honey any more (Buldan). It is to this incident that the verse under comment is generally taken to refer. But it seems improbable that the Holy Prophet, merely to satisfy the pique of his wife or wives, should have taken such a drastic step as to have forbidden himself the use of some-thing which was lawful, particularly that in which, according to the Quran, "there is cure for men" (16:70). It appears the narrator or narrators of this incident in the traditions suffered from some misunderstanding or confusion, particularly when, accor-ding to one tradition, the Holy Prophet took honey from the house of Zainab, and it were ‘A’ishah and Hafsah who contrived to draw him into making the aforesaid promise, while, according to another tradition, it was at the house of Hafsah that he was served with honey and that the wives who objected were ‘A’ishah, Zainab and Safiyya. It appears, moreover, that according to the hadith, two, or at the most three, of the Holy Prophet’s wives were concerned in the incident, but, according to vv. 2 & 6 of the present Surah, all were connected with it, two of them taking a leading part (v.5). These considerations indicate that the Surah refers to some incident of much greater significance than the mere taking of honey by the Holy Prophet at the house of one of his wives and of having been drawn into making a promise not to take it anymore. In the commentary on this Surah, Bukhari (Kitabul-Mazalim wal Ghasb) quotes Ibn ‘Abbas as relating that he was always on the lookout to enquire of ‘Umar as to who were the two wives to whom reference had been made in the verse: "Now, if you two turn unto Allah, it will be better for you, and your hearts are already so inclined." One day, finding ‘Umar alone, he sought to satisfy his curiosity. He had hardly finished his question, says Ibn ‘Abbas, when ‘Umar said that they were ‘A’ishah and Hafsah and then proceeded to relate the story: "Once, when my wife offered me her advice concerning some domestic affair, I curtly told her that it was no business of hers to advise me, for in those days we did not hold our womenfolk in much respect. My wife sternly replied: 'Your daughter Hafsah takes so much liberty with the Holy Prophet that she retorts back, when he says something not to her liking till he feels offended, and you do not allow me to speak to you even about our domestic affairs.' Upon this I went to Hafsah and sternly told her that she should not be misled by ‘A’ishah in this matter as she was nearer to the Prophet’s heart. Then I went to Ummi Salma and had hardly broached the matter with her when she also curtly told me not to interfere in affairs concerning the Prophet and his wives. A short time after this, the Prophet separated himself from his wives and decided not to go to the house of any of them. The news went round that the Prophet had divorced his wives. I went to him and asked him if it was true that he had divorced his wives to which he replied in the negative." This incident shows that ‘Umar, and Ibn ‘Abbas were of the view that the relevant verses of the Surah referred to this temporary separation of the Holy Prophet from his wives. The fact that the preceding Surah mentions the subject of Talaq which is separation of a permanent character, lends weight to the inference that these verses relate to the Prophet’s separation from his wives, which, however, was of a temporary nature. Besides, as reported by ‘A’ishah in the above mentioned hadith, immediately after the period of separation was over, v. 33:29 was revealed, and the Prophet’s wives were given the choice between the Prophet’s companionship and a life of poverty and austere simplicity on the one hand, and separation from him with a life of ease and comfort and all sorts of material benefit on the other. The choice was given to all the wives and the verse under comment speaks of all the wives, as also does v. 4. This shows that the incident referred to in these verses concerns all the wives in which two of them took a more prominent part. And this was when the Prophet’s wives, led by ‘A’ishah and Hafsah, demanded of him that like other Muslim women they should also have amenities of life and comfortable living (Fathul-Qadir). In this context the words تبتغی مرضاة أزواجک would seem to mean something like this: "Since thou always desirest to please thy wives and meet their wishes, they have been encouraged by this loving attitude of thine naturally to lose sight of thy high position as a Prophet of God and to make excessive demands on thee."

The alleged incident of Mariah, the Copt, being too foolish and fantastic a concoction of Christian writers and lacking all reliable historical evidence, does not merit serious notice. Mary was the Holy Prophet’s wedded consort and the respected mother of the Faithful. The Prophet never kept a slave girl.