Topic: Abolition Of
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وَلْيَسْتَعْفِفِ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَجِدُونَ نِكَاحًا حَتَّىٰ يُغْنِيَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِۦ ۗ وَٱلَّذِينَ يَبْتَغُونَ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ مِمَّا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُكُمْ فَكَاتِبُوهُمْ إِنْ عَلِمْتُمْ فِيهِمْ خَيْرًا ۖ وَءَاتُوهُم مِّن مَّالِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلَّذِىٓ ءَاتَىٰكُمْ ۚ وَلَا تُكْرِهُوا۟ فَتَيَٰتِكُمْ عَلَى ٱلْبِغَآءِ إِنْ أَرَدْنَ تَحَصُّنًا لِّتَبْتَغُوا۟ عَرَضَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۚ وَمَن يُكْرِههُّنَّ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مِنۢ بَعْدِ إِكْرَٰهِهِنَّ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
مُكَاتَبَة (Mukatabah, 解放奴隶的契约) 是一张契约书。根据这一契约, 男女奴隶可以得到释放, 不受他们主人意愿的约束和影响。契约内规定一个数量的钱财或劳动作为奴隶获得自由的代价。
یعنی وہ مال لٹانے والے نہ ہوں یا آوارہ نہ ہوں لیکن اگر مالک راضی نہ ہو تو مکاتبت چاہنے والا غلام قاضی کے ذریعہ سے آزادی حاصل کر سکتا ہے کیونکہ یہ اس کا حق ہے۔
یعنی لونڈیوں کی خواہش نکاح کی ہو تو اس سے انہیں روکو نہیں کیونکہ اس کا نتیجہ فسق و فجور ہوگا۔
یعنی عورتوں کو غلام رکھ کر اپنے گھر کی نوکروں کی مشکل حل نہ کرو۔
یعنی قرآن کریم کا حکم ہے کہ نکاح کرو۔ لیکن اگر مالک اس میں روک بنے تو گناہ اس پر ہوگا نہ کہ عورت پر۔
Mukatabah (deed of manumission) is a written contract by means of which a slave could earn his or her emancipation, independently and irrespective of the fact whether his or her master likes it or not. According to this contract a definite amount of money or labour is fixed as the price of the freedom of the slave.
Important Words:
کاتبوھم (write it for them). کاتب (kataba) is derived from کتب (kataba) which means, he wrote; he made a thing obligatory; or he prescribed a law. کتب اللّٰه لاغلبن انا ورسلی i.e. Allah has decreed or has made it obligatory upon Himself that He and His Messengers will prevail (58:22). کاتب العبد means, he made a written contract with the slave that the latter shall pay a certain sum as the price of his emancipation and then he shall earn his freedom (Lane & Aqrab). This civil written contract by means of which a slave can earn his manumission is called مکاتبة (mukatabat).
تحصنا (keeping chaste) is derived from حصن, meaning, he or it was or became inaccessible, fortified or protected against attack. حصنت المرأة means, the woman was chaste i.e. protected herself against moral or sexual sinfulness. أحصنت المرأة means, the woman got married or she was chaste. تحصن (tahassana) means, he fortified himself or he entered the حصن i.e. fortress; or he protected himself by it; he guarded or protected himself in any way. تحصنت المرأة means, she was chaste (Lane & Aqrab). See also 4:25.
The expression ان علمتم فیھم خیراً (if you know any good in them) may mean (1) if you know that they are fit to work and earn their living; (2) if you know that after their manumission they will become useful members of the society.
Commentary:
We maintain that of all Divine Messengers and Prophets of God, of all Founders of different creeds, Faiths and religious systems, of all social reformers and philanthropists and of all those teachers and leaders of men, who, at any time, in any land and in any form, contributed to the social uplift and moral and spiritual regeneration of humanity, the share of Muhammad, the Holy Prophet of Islam, was by far the largest. And one of the greatest services to mankind of this greatest and noblest of men was his unequivocal and emphatic condemnation of, and the effective measures he took to abolish those social injustices that were practised by one section of humanity against another. His mind rebelled and revolted against the then prevalent idea that man could be bought, sold and treated by man like chattels. His ideal of human brotherhood and the inborn and inherent equality of all men could scarcely be reconciled with the practice of slavery which was so widespread as to have become inextricably interwoven and deeply rooted in the social conditions and ideas of his time. His heart burnt to see the iniquities and enormities practised by man upon man. He grieved and pined for this unfortunate section of humanity. He would, if he could, abolish altogether by a stroke of the pen a system so repugnant and revolting, so destructive of all noble human instincts, of all that distinguishes man from beast and brute. But this institution had become an integral part of the whole fabric of human society in his time. To abolish it all of a sudden was neither wise, nor practicable or even possible. It should have meant a death-blow to the entire existing social order. The sudden emancipation in hundreds of thousands of those persons who having been held in bondage for generations had lost all initiative to lead an independent life, would have seriously told upon the whole moral tone of society. Jobless and workless they would have stooped to all sorts of immoral acts. This was exactly what the Holy Prophet sought to avoid and he did succeed in avoiding it. On the other hand, he laid down precepts and injunctions which were calculated to do away with slavery gradually but surely and effectively.
These injunctions were of two categories:
(i) Temporary provisions bearing upon the general improvement and betterment of the moral and social conditions of the existing slaves and their speedy enfranchisement. Slaves were to be treated as members of the family as long as they were in bondage, and at the same time it was declared as a most heinous crime tantamount to murder to deprive a free man of his freedom and reduce him to slavery (Muslim Kitabul-Iman). But those persons were excepted from this commandment who should themselves incur the loss of their freedom by participating in a war undertaken to destroy Islam and to impose their own beliefs and doctrines upon the Muslims at the point of the sword. Even this denial of freedom to war prisoners was to last only till those prisoners had discharged their share of the guilt, either by paying off their part of the cost of war by getting themselves ransomed or by the Muslims themselves setting them free as an act of favour which the Quran has so repeatedly and emphatically enjoined on them (47:5). See also 23:7.
(ii) Provisions of a permanent nature aiming at the complete and total extinction of slavery in every shape or form. One of such provisions by means of which a slave could earn his emancipation, independently and irrespective of the fact whether his master liked it or not, was that he could enter into a civil written contract with the latter. It is this written contract which is known as mukatabat (deed of manumission) and to which the verse under comment refers. According to this contract a definite amount of money or labour is fixed as the price of the freedom of a slave. After the contract is duly written and attested the slave is considered as manumitted and is free to earn the required amount of money by any legitimate means he likes. After he has paid the whole stipulated sum he is quite free. As to whether the slave is fit to enter into a contract of the above nature with his master is to be decided by the State and not by the master of the slave and also the amount of the money he has to pay and the manner and the time-limit of the payment. No choice is left to the owner if the slave applies for such a contract and the State considers him eligible to it with the conditions and stipulations proposed by it but to accept it. By this excellent arrangement Islam sought to secure to all slaves, who could not otherwise obtain freedom, their full emancipation and liberty, at the same time steering clear of the terrible social and moral evils to which the whole Muslim society would have fallen a helpless victim if slavery had been abolished with a stroke of the pen.
The verse has further urged the wealthy and the rich Muslims to help, with their money, those slaves who enter into mukatabat with their masters, to earn their emancipation.
The words ومن یکرھھن (but if anyone forces them to remain unmarried) signify that the responsibility of keeping them from marriage will be that of their masters. They will not be accountable for this default.
909
مُكَاتَبَة (Mukatabah, 解放奴隶的契约) 是一张契约书。根据这一契约, 男女奴隶可以得到释放, 不受他们主人意愿的约束和影响。契约内规定一个数量的钱财或劳动作为奴隶获得自由的代价。
1
یعنی وہ مال لٹانے والے نہ ہوں یا آوارہ نہ ہوں لیکن اگر مالک راضی نہ ہو تو مکاتبت چاہنے والا غلام قاضی کے ذریعہ سے آزادی حاصل کر سکتا ہے کیونکہ یہ اس کا حق ہے۔
2
یعنی لونڈیوں کی خواہش نکاح کی ہو تو اس سے انہیں روکو نہیں کیونکہ اس کا نتیجہ فسق و فجور ہوگا۔
3
یعنی عورتوں کو غلام رکھ کر اپنے گھر کی نوکروں کی مشکل حل نہ کرو۔
4
یعنی قرآن کریم کا حکم ہے کہ نکاح کرو۔ لیکن اگر مالک اس میں روک بنے تو گناہ اس پر ہوگا نہ کہ عورت پر۔
2616
Important Words:
کاتبوھم (write it for them). کاتب (kataba) is derived from کتب (kataba) which means, he wrote; he made a thing obligatory; or he prescribed a law. کتب اللّٰه لاغلبن انا ورسلی i.e. Allah has decreed or has made it obligatory upon Himself that He and His Messengers will prevail (58:22). کاتب العبد means, he made a written contract with the slave that the latter shall pay a certain sum as the price of his emancipation and then he shall earn his freedom (Lane & Aqrab). This civil written contract by means of which a slave can earn his manumission is called مکاتبة (mukatabat).
تحصنا (keeping chaste) is derived from حصن, meaning, he or it was or became inaccessible, fortified or protected against attack. حصنت المرأة means, the woman was chaste i.e. protected herself against moral or sexual sinfulness. أحصنت المرأة means, the woman got married or she was chaste. تحصن (tahassana) means, he fortified himself or he entered the حصن i.e. fortress; or he protected himself by it; he guarded or protected himself in any way. تحصنت المرأة means, she was chaste (Lane & Aqrab). See also 4:25.
The expression ان علمتم فیھم خیراً (if you know any good in them) may mean (1) if you know that they are fit to work and earn their living; (2) if you know that after their manumission they will become useful members of the society.
Commentary:
We maintain that of all Divine Messengers and Prophets of God, of all Founders of different creeds, Faiths and religious systems, of all social reformers and philanthropists and of all those teachers and leaders of men, who, at any time, in any land and in any form, contributed to the social uplift and moral and spiritual regeneration of humanity, the share of Muhammad, the Holy Prophet of Islam, was by far the largest. And one of the greatest services to mankind of this greatest and noblest of men was his unequivocal and emphatic condemnation of, and the effective measures he took to abolish those social injustices that were practised by one section of humanity against another. His mind rebelled and revolted against the then prevalent idea that man could be bought, sold and treated by man like chattels. His ideal of human brotherhood and the inborn and inherent equality of all men could scarcely be reconciled with the practice of slavery which was so widespread as to have become inextricably interwoven and deeply rooted in the social conditions and ideas of his time. His heart burnt to see the iniquities and enormities practised by man upon man. He grieved and pined for this unfortunate section of humanity. He would, if he could, abolish altogether by a stroke of the pen a system so repugnant and revolting, so destructive of all noble human instincts, of all that distinguishes man from beast and brute. But this institution had become an integral part of the whole fabric of human society in his time. To abolish it all of a sudden was neither wise, nor practicable or even possible. It should have meant a death-blow to the entire existing social order. The sudden emancipation in hundreds of thousands of those persons who having been held in bondage for generations had lost all initiative to lead an independent life, would have seriously told upon the whole moral tone of society. Jobless and workless they would have stooped to all sorts of immoral acts. This was exactly what the Holy Prophet sought to avoid and he did succeed in avoiding it. On the other hand, he laid down precepts and injunctions which were calculated to do away with slavery gradually but surely and effectively.
These injunctions were of two categories:
(i) Temporary provisions bearing upon the general improvement and betterment of the moral and social conditions of the existing slaves and their speedy enfranchisement. Slaves were to be treated as members of the family as long as they were in bondage, and at the same time it was declared as a most heinous crime tantamount to murder to deprive a free man of his freedom and reduce him to slavery (Muslim Kitabul-Iman). But those persons were excepted from this commandment who should themselves incur the loss of their freedom by participating in a war undertaken to destroy Islam and to impose their own beliefs and doctrines upon the Muslims at the point of the sword. Even this denial of freedom to war prisoners was to last only till those prisoners had discharged their share of the guilt, either by paying off their part of the cost of war by getting themselves ransomed or by the Muslims themselves setting them free as an act of favour which the Quran has so repeatedly and emphatically enjoined on them (47:5). See also 23:7.
(ii) Provisions of a permanent nature aiming at the complete and total extinction of slavery in every shape or form. One of such provisions by means of which a slave could earn his emancipation, independently and irrespective of the fact whether his master liked it or not, was that he could enter into a civil written contract with the latter. It is this written contract which is known as mukatabat (deed of manumission) and to which the verse under comment refers. According to this contract a definite amount of money or labour is fixed as the price of the freedom of a slave. After the contract is duly written and attested the slave is considered as manumitted and is free to earn the required amount of money by any legitimate means he likes. After he has paid the whole stipulated sum he is quite free. As to whether the slave is fit to enter into a contract of the above nature with his master is to be decided by the State and not by the master of the slave and also the amount of the money he has to pay and the manner and the time-limit of the payment. No choice is left to the owner if the slave applies for such a contract and the State considers him eligible to it with the conditions and stipulations proposed by it but to accept it. By this excellent arrangement Islam sought to secure to all slaves, who could not otherwise obtain freedom, their full emancipation and liberty, at the same time steering clear of the terrible social and moral evils to which the whole Muslim society would have fallen a helpless victim if slavery had been abolished with a stroke of the pen.
The verse has further urged the wealthy and the rich Muslims to help, with their money, those slaves who enter into mukatabat with their masters, to earn their emancipation.
The words ومن یکرھھن (but if anyone forces them to remain unmarried) signify that the responsibility of keeping them from marriage will be that of their masters. They will not be accountable for this default.
2046
Mukatabah (deed of manumission) is a written contract by means of which a slave could earn his or her emancipation, independently and irrespective of the fact whether his or her master likes it or not. According to this contract a definite amount of money or labour is fixed as the price of the freedom of the slave.
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِىُّ إِنَّآ أَحْلَلْنَا لَكَ أَزْوَٰجَكَ ٱلَّٰتِىٓ ءَاتَيْتَ أُجُورَهُنَّ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ يَمِينُكَ مِمَّآ أَفَآءَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْكَ وَبَنَاتِ عَمِّكَ وَبَنَاتِ عَمَّٰتِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَالِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَٰلَٰتِكَ ٱلَّٰتِى هَاجَرْنَ مَعَكَ وَٱمْرَأَةً مُّؤْمِنَةً إِن وَهَبَتْ نَفْسَهَا لِلنَّبِىِّ إِنْ أَرَادَ ٱلنَّبِىُّ أَن يَسْتَنكِحَهَا خَالِصَةً لَّكَ مِن دُونِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۗ قَدْ عَلِمْنَا مَا فَرَضْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِىٓ أَزْوَٰجِهِمْ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُهُمْ لِكَيْلَا يَكُونَ عَلَيْكَ حَرَجٌ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا
بیویاں تو سب کی حلال ہوتی ہیں۔ پھر رسول کریم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کی بیویوں کا ذکر اس جگہ کیوں کیا؟ اس کا جواب یہ ہے کہ اسی سورت کی آیت۲۹ میں فرمایا تھا کہ اے بیویو! اگر تمہارے دل میں دنیا کی خواہش ہے تو میں دنیا دے کر تم کو آزاد کر دیتا ہوں۔ اس طرح ان کا معاملہ معلق ہو گیا تھا۔ لیکن اس آیت کے اعلان کے بعد کسی ایک بیوی نے بھی نہیں کہا کہ مجھے دنیا دے کر چھوڑ دیں۔ جس سے معلوم ہوتا ہے کہ سب بیویوں کے دل میں دین کی خواہش تھی۔ دنیا کی خواہش نہیں تھی۔ اس آیت میں یہی بتایا گیا ہے کہ انہوں نے اپنے دل میں دنیا چھوڑنے اور رسول کریم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کے ساتھ رہنے کا فیصلہ کر لیا ہے۔
یہ صرف اجازت ہے عملًا رسول کریم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم نے اس اجازت سے فائدہ نہیں اٹھایا۔ اگر حضرت ماریہ قبطیہؓ کی مثال پیش کی جائے تو اس کا جواب یہ ہے کہ حضرت ماریہؓ اور گروہ میں سے ہیں۔ اس آیت میں جنگ میں پکڑی جانے والی عورتوں کا ذکر ہے اور حضرت ماریہؓ کو مقوقس مصر نے اپنے ملک کے رواج کے مطابق لونڈی کے طور پر تحفۃً رسول کریم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کو بھیجا تھا۔ پس وہ اس آیت کے حکم سے باہر ہیں اور ان سے بھی رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کا نکاح ثابت ہے۔
اس آیت سے ظاہر ہے کہ وہ مخالف جو کہتے ہیں کہ رسول کریم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم نے یہ حکم خاص طور پر اپنے لئے نازل کر لیا ہے درست نہیں کیونکہ اس آیت میں صاف لکھا ہے کہ یہ حکم تمام انبیاء کے لئے ہے۔ صرف محمد رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کے لئے نہیں۔ کیونکہ جہاں یہ فرمایا ہے کہ یہ حکم خاص تیرے لئے ہے وہاں آگے یہ بڑھا دیا ہے کہ مومنوں کے سوا۔ جس کے یہ معنے ہیں کہ مومنوں کے لئے یہ حکم نہیں۔ لیکن مومنوں کے سوا جو انبیاء ہیں ان کے لئے یہ حکم ہے خواہ وہ گذشتہ تھے یا آئندہ ہوں گے۔
ایسی کسی عورت سے رسول کریم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم نے شادی نہیں کی۔ یہ سب احکام بطور اجازت ہیں۔ دشمن اعترض کرتا ہے کہ اپنے لئے خاص حکم آپ نے اتار لئے۔ لیکن رسول کریم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم نے جب ان اجازتوں پر عمل ہی نہیں کیا تو دشمن کا منہ کالا ہو گیا اور اس کا یہ اعتراض باطل ہو گیا کہ اپنی خواہشات کے پورا کرنے کے لئے خاص مراعات قرآن کریم نے بیان کر دی ہیں۔ آیت نمبر۳ سے بھی ظاہر ہے کہ یہ حکم صرف بعض بیویوں کے متعلق رسول کریم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کی نیک رائے ظاہر کرنے کے لئے ہے آپ کے لئے کوئی خاص راستہ کھولنے کے لئے نہیں۔
’’خوب جانتے ہیں‘‘ سے مراد یہ ہے کہ اس کو تجھ پر ظاہر بھی کر دیا ہے۔ چنانچہ فرمایا ’’تاکہ تجھ پر تنگی نہ ہو‘‘ یعنی مسئلہ بتاتے وقت یہ خیال نہ ہو کہ خداتعالیٰ کی مرضی معلوم نہیں۔
This verse should be read along with vv. 29 and 30 above, in which the wives of the Holy Prophet were offered a choice between his companionship and the material benefits and comforts of life, and they preferred the Prophet’s company. The present verse, by implication, refers to that reply of the Prophet’s consorts which is recorded in the books of history but expressly nowhere in the Qur’an. Till they gave their reply, the physical relations between them and the Holy Prophet remained, as it were, in a state of suspension. While the wives of the Holy Prophet preferred his company to material goods and amenities of life, he too had great consideration for their feelings, and though he was given the choice to retain such of them as he liked (v. 52), he did not exercise the choice and retained all of them.
The Holy Prophet’s marriages were motivated by highly noble considerations and not by those imputed to him by his ignorant and ignoble critics. With the solitary exception of his marriage with
Commentary:
This verse should be read along with vv. 29 and 30 above. In those verses the wives of the Holy Prophet were offered a choice between the companionship of the Holy Prophet and the material benefits and comforts of life, but they preferred the Prophet’s company. The present verse by implication refers to that reply of the Prophet’s consorts which is recorded in the books of history but expressly nowhere in the Quran. Till they gave their reply, the marital relations between them and the Holy Prophet remained, as it were, in a state of suspension. The verse shows that while the wives of the Holy Prophet preferred his company to material goods and amenities of life, he too had great consideration for their feelings, and though he was given the choice to retain such of them as he liked (v. 52) he did not exercise the choice and in deference to his wishes God permitted him in the present verse to retain all his wives.
The verse refers to three kinds of women whom the Holy Prophet could marry in addition to his already wedded wives: (1) Women who were taken prisoner in wars against Islam; (2) women who had migrated to Medina with the Holy Prophet, and (3) a woman who should offer herself for marriage to him. This shows that the Holy Prophet’s marriages were motivated by considerations other than sensuous gratification as his ignorant and mischievous critics try to depict. Those who had left their hearths and homes for the sake of Islam and those whose husbands had been killed in wars fighting in defence of Islam had special claim on the Holy Prophet’s consideration. It is in view of these considerations that he married most of his wives. He married Hafsah whose husband was killed in the Battle of Badr; Zainab bint Khuzaimah whose husband was killed in the Battle of Uhud; Ummi Salmah whose husband died in 4 A.H., and Ummi Habibah, daughter of Abu Sufyan, who became a widow in 5 or 6 A.H. (in exile in Abyssinia). He married Juwairiyyah and Safiyyah, both widows, in 5 A.H. and 7 A.H. respectively, seeking a union with and pacification of their tribes. It is worthy of note that a hundred families of the Banu Mustaliq were liberated by Muslims when the Holy Prophet married Juwairiyyah. Maimunah, another widow, it is said, offered herself to be taken in marriage by the Holy Prophet which offer he condescended to accept in the interest of the education and training of Muslim women. He married Zainab, the divorced wife of Zaid in 5 A.H. in order to put a stop to a foolish custom prevailing among the Arabs and in order also to assuage her wounded feelings as the respected lady had felt deeply humiliated at being divorced by Zaid. He married Mariah in 7 A.H., and thus by raising a freed slave girl to the highly eminent spiritual status of the "Mother of the Faithful", he gave a death blow to slavery. Such were the pious and righteous motives of our noble Master in marrying widows and divorced women, by no means noted for their youth or beauty, and yet his cruel and mean traducers vainly try to depict him as a person who was given to gratifying his carnal desires. They deliberately ignore the patent fact that up to the age of 25 he lived the spotless life of a celibate. Then in the prime of his youth he married a lady fifteen years his senior and lived with her a most happy life till he was an old man of fifty and she about sixty-five. After her death he married Saudah, another lady of a very advanced age. He married all his other wives, to which exception has been taken by evil-minded carpers, between 2 A.H. and 7 A.H., a period when he was constantly engaged in active fighting and his life was perpetually in danger and the fate of Islam itself hung in the balance. Could any sane person in such situation of danger and uncertainty conceive of contracting marriage after marriage from motives attributed to the Holy Prophet? After this he lived for about three years as virtual ruler of the whole of Arabia when all the comforts and amenities of life were at his disposal and yet he entered into no further marriage. Does not this fact alone establish the honesty and sincerity of the Holy Prophet’s motives in marrying his wives?
The words "if she entrusts herself to the Prophet" have been taken as specially referring to Maimunah who is reported to have offered herself to be taken into marriage by the Holy Prophet. The clause, "This provision is only for thee as against other believers," means that it was a special privilege of the Holy Prophet and was due to the special nature of his duties as a Divine Prophet. In fact, marriages of the Holy Prophet were dictated by much higher and nobler considerations than merely personal ones. The clause may also refer to the special permission granted to the Holy Prophet, to retain all his wives, after the commandment contained in 4:4 was revealed, limiting to four the number of wives allowed to Muslims at one time.
The words, "We have already made known what We have enjoined on them concerning their wives," refer to the commandment contained in 4:4.
1
بیویاں تو سب کی حلال ہوتی ہیں۔ پھر رسول کریم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کی بیویوں کا ذکر اس جگہ کیوں کیا؟ اس کا جواب یہ ہے کہ اسی سورت کی آیت۲۹ میں فرمایا تھا کہ اے بیویو! اگر تمہارے دل میں دنیا کی خواہش ہے تو میں دنیا دے کر تم کو آزاد کر دیتا ہوں۔ اس طرح ان کا معاملہ معلق ہو گیا تھا۔ لیکن اس آیت کے اعلان کے بعد کسی ایک بیوی نے بھی نہیں کہا کہ مجھے دنیا دے کر چھوڑ دیں۔ جس سے معلوم ہوتا ہے کہ سب بیویوں کے دل میں دین کی خواہش تھی۔ دنیا کی خواہش نہیں تھی۔ اس آیت میں یہی بتایا گیا ہے کہ انہوں نے اپنے دل میں دنیا چھوڑنے اور رسول کریم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کے ساتھ رہنے کا فیصلہ کر لیا ہے۔
2
یہ صرف اجازت ہے عملًا رسول کریم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم نے اس اجازت سے فائدہ نہیں اٹھایا۔ اگر حضرت ماریہ قبطیہؓ کی مثال پیش کی جائے تو اس کا جواب یہ ہے کہ حضرت ماریہؓ اور گروہ میں سے ہیں۔ اس آیت میں جنگ میں پکڑی جانے والی عورتوں کا ذکر ہے اور حضرت ماریہؓ کو مقوقس مصر نے اپنے ملک کے رواج کے مطابق لونڈی کے طور پر تحفۃً رسول کریم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کو بھیجا تھا۔ پس وہ اس آیت کے حکم سے باہر ہیں اور ان سے بھی رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کا نکاح ثابت ہے۔
3
اس آیت سے ظاہر ہے کہ وہ مخالف جو کہتے ہیں کہ رسول کریم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم نے یہ حکم خاص طور پر اپنے لئے نازل کر لیا ہے درست نہیں کیونکہ اس آیت میں صاف لکھا ہے کہ یہ حکم تمام انبیاء کے لئے ہے۔ صرف محمد رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کے لئے نہیں۔ کیونکہ جہاں یہ فرمایا ہے کہ یہ حکم خاص تیرے لئے ہے وہاں آگے یہ بڑھا دیا ہے کہ مومنوں کے سوا۔ جس کے یہ معنے ہیں کہ مومنوں کے لئے یہ حکم نہیں۔ لیکن مومنوں کے سوا جو انبیاء ہیں ان کے لئے یہ حکم ہے خواہ وہ گذشتہ تھے یا آئندہ ہوں گے۔
4
ایسی کسی عورت سے رسول کریم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم نے شادی نہیں کی۔ یہ سب احکام بطور اجازت ہیں۔ دشمن اعترض کرتا ہے کہ اپنے لئے خاص حکم آپ نے اتار لئے۔ لیکن رسول کریم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم نے جب ان اجازتوں پر عمل ہی نہیں کیا تو دشمن کا منہ کالا ہو گیا اور اس کا یہ اعتراض باطل ہو گیا کہ اپنی خواہشات کے پورا کرنے کے لئے خاص مراعات قرآن کریم نے بیان کر دی ہیں۔ آیت نمبر۳ سے بھی ظاہر ہے کہ یہ حکم صرف بعض بیویوں کے متعلق رسول کریم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کی نیک رائے ظاہر کرنے کے لئے ہے آپ کے لئے کوئی خاص راستہ کھولنے کے لئے نہیں۔
5
’’خوب جانتے ہیں‘‘ سے مراد یہ ہے کہ اس کو تجھ پر ظاہر بھی کر دیا ہے۔ چنانچہ فرمایا ’’تاکہ تجھ پر تنگی نہ ہو‘‘ یعنی مسئلہ بتاتے وقت یہ خیال نہ ہو کہ خداتعالیٰ کی مرضی معلوم نہیں۔
3111
Commentary:
This verse should be read along with vv. 29 and 30 above. In those verses the wives of the Holy Prophet were offered a choice between the companionship of the Holy Prophet and the material benefits and comforts of life, but they preferred the Prophet’s company. The present verse by implication refers to that reply of the Prophet’s consorts which is recorded in the books of history but expressly nowhere in the Quran. Till they gave their reply, the marital relations between them and the Holy Prophet remained, as it were, in a state of suspension. The verse shows that while the wives of the Holy Prophet preferred his company to material goods and amenities of life, he too had great consideration for their feelings, and though he was given the choice to retain such of them as he liked (v. 52) he did not exercise the choice and in deference to his wishes God permitted him in the present verse to retain all his wives.
The verse refers to three kinds of women whom the Holy Prophet could marry in addition to his already wedded wives: (1) Women who were taken prisoner in wars against Islam; (2) women who had migrated to Medina with the Holy Prophet, and (3) a woman who should offer herself for marriage to him. This shows that the Holy Prophet’s marriages were motivated by considerations other than sensuous gratification as his ignorant and mischievous critics try to depict. Those who had left their hearths and homes for the sake of Islam and those whose husbands had been killed in wars fighting in defence of Islam had special claim on the Holy Prophet’s consideration. It is in view of these considerations that he married most of his wives. He married Hafsah whose husband was killed in the Battle of Badr; Zainab bint Khuzaimah whose husband was killed in the Battle of Uhud; Ummi Salmah whose husband died in 4 A.H., and Ummi Habibah, daughter of Abu Sufyan, who became a widow in 5 or 6 A.H. (in exile in Abyssinia). He married Juwairiyyah and Safiyyah, both widows, in 5 A.H. and 7 A.H. respectively, seeking a union with and pacification of their tribes. It is worthy of note that a hundred families of the Banu Mustaliq were liberated by Muslims when the Holy Prophet married Juwairiyyah. Maimunah, another widow, it is said, offered herself to be taken in marriage by the Holy Prophet which offer he condescended to accept in the interest of the education and training of Muslim women. He married Zainab, the divorced wife of Zaid in 5 A.H. in order to put a stop to a foolish custom prevailing among the Arabs and in order also to assuage her wounded feelings as the respected lady had felt deeply humiliated at being divorced by Zaid. He married Mariah in 7 A.H., and thus by raising a freed slave girl to the highly eminent spiritual status of the "Mother of the Faithful", he gave a death blow to slavery. Such were the pious and righteous motives of our noble Master in marrying widows and divorced women, by no means noted for their youth or beauty, and yet his cruel and mean traducers vainly try to depict him as a person who was given to gratifying his carnal desires. They deliberately ignore the patent fact that up to the age of 25 he lived the spotless life of a celibate. Then in the prime of his youth he married a lady fifteen years his senior and lived with her a most happy life till he was an old man of fifty and she about sixty-five. After her death he married Saudah, another lady of a very advanced age. He married all his other wives, to which exception has been taken by evil-minded carpers, between 2 A.H. and 7 A.H., a period when he was constantly engaged in active fighting and his life was perpetually in danger and the fate of Islam itself hung in the balance. Could any sane person in such situation of danger and uncertainty conceive of contracting marriage after marriage from motives attributed to the Holy Prophet? After this he lived for about three years as virtual ruler of the whole of Arabia when all the comforts and amenities of life were at his disposal and yet he entered into no further marriage. Does not this fact alone establish the honesty and sincerity of the Holy Prophet’s motives in marrying his wives?
The words "if she entrusts herself to the Prophet" have been taken as specially referring to Maimunah who is reported to have offered herself to be taken into marriage by the Holy Prophet. The clause, "This provision is only for thee as against other believers," means that it was a special privilege of the Holy Prophet and was due to the special nature of his duties as a Divine Prophet. In fact, marriages of the Holy Prophet were dictated by much higher and nobler considerations than merely personal ones. The clause may also refer to the special permission granted to the Holy Prophet, to retain all his wives, after the commandment contained in 4:4 was revealed, limiting to four the number of wives allowed to Muslims at one time.
The words, "We have already made known what We have enjoined on them concerning their wives," refer to the commandment contained in 4:4.
2362
This verse should be read along with vv. 29 and 30 above, in which the wives of the Holy Prophet were offered a choice between his companionship and the material benefits and comforts of life, and they preferred the Prophet’s company. The present verse, by implication, refers to that reply of the Prophet’s consorts which is recorded in the books of history but expressly nowhere in the Qur’an. Till they gave their reply, the physical relations between them and the Holy Prophet remained, as it were, in a state of suspension. While the wives of the Holy Prophet preferred his company to material goods and amenities of life, he too had great consideration for their feelings, and though he was given the choice to retain such of them as he liked (v. 52), he did not exercise the choice and retained all of them.
The Holy Prophet’s marriages were motivated by highly noble considerations and not by those imputed to him by his ignorant and ignoble critics. With the solitary exception of his marriage with
فَإِذَا لَقِيتُمُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ فَضَرْبَ ٱلرِّقَابِ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَآ أَثْخَنتُمُوهُمْ فَشُدُّوا۟ ٱلْوَثَاقَ فَإِمَّا مَنًّۢا بَعْدُ وَإِمَّا فِدَآءً حَتَّىٰ تَضَعَ ٱلْحَرْبُ أَوْزَارَهَا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ وَلَوْ يَشَآءُ ٱللَّهُ لَٱنتَصَرَ مِنْهُمْ وَلَٰكِن لِّيَبْلُوَا۟ بَعْضَكُم بِبَعْضٍ ۗ وَٱلَّذِينَ قُتِلُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ فَلَن يُضِلَّ أَعْمَٰلَهُمْ
8:46, 68.
这节经文概括地制定了几条有关战争的道德和战争行为的重要准则, 且顺便地大力攻击奴隶制度。简单说来, 这些准则就是: (1) 当穆斯林进行正规战争保卫自己的信仰、荣誉、生命和财产的时候, 他们有责任英勇而无情地战斗 (8:13-17)。(2) 一旦战争开始, 就应该将战争一直进行到建立和平并确保良心的自由为止 (8:40)。(3) 俘虏敌人只有在正规战和阵地战中敌人绝对战败之后。因此, 打正规战才有理由抓俘虏;此外没有理由剥夺自由人的自由。(4) 战争结束后可以作为开恩而释放俘虏, 或索取战俘的赎金或磋商交换战俘。不能永久关押战俘或当奴隶使用。在巴努•穆斯塔利克 (بَنُوْمُصْطَلِق, Banu Mustaliq) 和哈瓦津 (هَوَازِن, Hawazin) 两宗族吃败仗之后, 穆圣释放了一百户巴努•穆斯塔利克和几千名哈瓦津战俘。白德尔战役之后同意了战俘交纳赎金, 而那些无力交纳赎金却有文化的战俘必须教穆斯林读书写字。因此这节经文十分有效地打击了奴隶制的根子, 并永远、完全地废除了奴隶制。
安拉让信者和不信者进行战争, 这样, 一方面, 信者的优良品质有机会发挥, 另一方面可以暴露不信者的不良品质。穆圣的伙伴们的道德优越性也许在人生的哪一方面都没有像他们对待战败的敌人时所表示的那么清楚。
بعض لوگ ان آیات پر اعتراض کرتے ہیں۔ حالانکہ آج بھی دنیا میں جنگیں ہو رہی ہیں اور ہر جنگ میں بالمقابل سپاہی دشمن کی گردن ہی کاٹتا ہے۔ اگر کہو کہ پھر ذکر کیوں کیا۔ تو اس کا جواب یہ ہے کہ اسلام نے نرمی کی اس قدر تعلیم دی ہے کہ خوف تھا کہ اگر یہ آیت نازل نہ ہوتی‘ تو مسلمان جنگ میں دشمن کو قتل کرنا ناجائز سمجھتے۔
8:46, 68.
Athkhana fil Ardi means, he caused much slaughter in the land.
The verse, in a nutshell, lays down some important rules about the ethics of war and its conduct and incidentally deals a deathblow to slavery. Briefly, these are: (a) When they are engaged in regular battle in defence of their faith, honour, lives or property, Muslims are enjoined to fight bravely and relentlessly (8:13-17). (b) When war is once started, it should continue till peace is established and freedom of conscience secured (8:40). (c) Prisoners are to be taken from the enemy only after regular and pitched battle has been fought, and the enemy is decidedly and positively beaten. Thus regular war is declared to be the only reason for taking prisoners; for no other reason free men can be deprived of their liberty. (d) When war is over, prisoners should be released, either as an act of favour, or on taking ransom from them or by negotiating mutual exchange. They should not be held permanently in captivity or treated as slaves. The Holy Prophet set at liberty about a hundred families of Bani Mustaliq
Allah got the believers engaged in fighting with disbelievers so that on the one hand their own good qualities of character should have an opportunity to come into play, and on the other, the bad qualities of disbelievers should become exposed. Perhaps in no other aspect of life was the moral superiority of the Companions of the Holy Prophet so clearly demonstrated as in their treatment of their fallen foes.
The sacrifice of Muslims slain in the field of battle will not be wasted. In fact, it was their sacrifice that firmly laid the foundation of Islam in Arabia.
8:46, 68.
Important Words:
أثخنتموھم (you have overcome them). أثخن is transitive from ثخن (thakhuna or thakhana) which means, it was or became thick or coarse. أثخنه means, he rendered him heavy or languid or enervated; or he overcame him after inflicting many wounds on him. أثخن فی العدو means, he made a great slaughter among the enemy or inflicted heavy wounds upon him. أثخن فی الارض means, he caused much slaughter in the land; or he fought vehemently in the land (Lane & Aqrab).
انتصر منھم (He would have punished them) is derived from نصر. They say نصرہ اللّٰه علی عدوہ i.e. God helped, aided or assisted him against his enemy or made him victorious. انتصر means, he defended himself against his injurer. انتصر منه means, he exacted his right or due completely from him; he avenged himself upon him; he punished him (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
The verse, in a nutshell, lays down some important rules about the ethics of war and its conduct and incidentally deals a death blow to slavery. Briefly these are: (a) When they are engaged in regular battle in the defence of their faith, honour, lives or property, the Muslims are enjoined to fight bravely and relentlessly, giving no quarter, and expecting none from the enemy; and not to flee from the field of battle under lame or weak excuses. They must either win or die. "He who turns his back to the enemy", says the Quran, "draws upon himself the wrath of Allah" (8:13-17). (b) When war is once started, it should continue till peace is established and freedom of conscience secured (8:40). (c) Prisoners are to be taken from the enemy, only after regular and pitched battle has been fought, and the enemy is decidedly and positively beaten. Thus regular war is declared to be the only reason for taking prisoners for no other cause free men are to be deprived of their liberty. (d) When war is over, prisoners should be released, either as an act of favour, or on taking ransom or by negotiating mutual exchange. They should not be held permanently in captivity or treated as slaves. The Holy Prophet carried this Divine commandment into actual practice by setting at liberty about a hundred families of Banu Mustaliq and several thousand prisoners of Hawazin after both these tribes had been decisively beaten in battle. It was after the Battle of Badr that ransom was accepted for the prisoners who were set free. This was perhaps, because Islam was then in a very weak state. But, on this occasion too, those of them who could not pay their ransom in money but were literate, were required to teach reading and writing to some of the Muslims. The verse thus has struck very effectively at the roots of slavery, abolishing it completely and forever. (Muir, Zurqani & Hisham).
The words "And if Allah had so pleased, he could have punished them Himself, but He has willed that He may try some of you by others," signify that God possessed the power to punish the enemies of Truth without the instrumentality of Muslims but He got the latter engaged in fighting with disbelievers so that on the one hand their own good qualities of character should have an opportunity to come into play and on the other the bad qualities of disbelievers should become exposed. Perhaps in no other aspect of life was the moral superiority of the Companions of the Holy Prophet so clearly demonstrated as in their treatment of their fallen foes.
The words "And those who are killed in the way of Allah—He will never render their works vain," mean that the sacrifice of Muslims slain in the field of battle would not be wasted. It was their sacrifice that firmly laid the foundation of a bright future for Islam.
c
8:46, 68.
1258
这节经文概括地制定了几条有关战争的道德和战争行为的重要准则, 且顺便地大力攻击奴隶制度。简单说来, 这些准则就是: (1) 当穆斯林进行正规战争保卫自己的信仰、荣誉、生命和财产的时候, 他们有责任英勇而无情地战斗 (8:13-17)。(2) 一旦战争开始, 就应该将战争一直进行到建立和平并确保良心的自由为止 (8:40)。(3) 俘虏敌人只有在正规战和阵地战中敌人绝对战败之后。因此, 打正规战才有理由抓俘虏;此外没有理由剥夺自由人的自由。(4) 战争结束后可以作为开恩而释放俘虏, 或索取战俘的赎金或磋商交换战俘。不能永久关押战俘或当奴隶使用。在巴努•穆斯塔利克 (بَنُوْمُصْطَلِق, Banu Mustaliq) 和哈瓦津 (هَوَازِن, Hawazin) 两宗族吃败仗之后, 穆圣释放了一百户巴努•穆斯塔利克和几千名哈瓦津战俘。白德尔战役之后同意了战俘交纳赎金, 而那些无力交纳赎金却有文化的战俘必须教穆斯林读书写字。因此这节经文十分有效地打击了奴隶制的根子, 并永远、完全地废除了奴隶制。
1259
安拉让信者和不信者进行战争, 这样, 一方面, 信者的优良品质有机会发挥, 另一方面可以暴露不信者的不良品质。穆圣的伙伴们的道德优越性也许在人生的哪一方面都没有像他们对待战败的敌人时所表示的那么清楚。
1
بعض لوگ ان آیات پر اعتراض کرتے ہیں۔ حالانکہ آج بھی دنیا میں جنگیں ہو رہی ہیں اور ہر جنگ میں بالمقابل سپاہی دشمن کی گردن ہی کاٹتا ہے۔ اگر کہو کہ پھر ذکر کیوں کیا۔ تو اس کا جواب یہ ہے کہ اسلام نے نرمی کی اس قدر تعلیم دی ہے کہ خوف تھا کہ اگر یہ آیت نازل نہ ہوتی‘ تو مسلمان جنگ میں دشمن کو قتل کرنا ناجائز سمجھتے۔
a
8:46, 68.
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Important Words:
أثخنتموھم (you have overcome them). أثخن is transitive from ثخن (thakhuna or thakhana) which means, it was or became thick or coarse. أثخنه means, he rendered him heavy or languid or enervated; or he overcame him after inflicting many wounds on him. أثخن فی العدو means, he made a great slaughter among the enemy or inflicted heavy wounds upon him. أثخن فی الارض means, he caused much slaughter in the land; or he fought vehemently in the land (Lane & Aqrab).
انتصر منھم (He would have punished them) is derived from نصر. They say نصرہ اللّٰه علی عدوہ i.e. God helped, aided or assisted him against his enemy or made him victorious. انتصر means, he defended himself against his injurer. انتصر منه means, he exacted his right or due completely from him; he avenged himself upon him; he punished him (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
The verse, in a nutshell, lays down some important rules about the ethics of war and its conduct and incidentally deals a death blow to slavery. Briefly these are: (a) When they are engaged in regular battle in the defence of their faith, honour, lives or property, the Muslims are enjoined to fight bravely and relentlessly, giving no quarter, and expecting none from the enemy; and not to flee from the field of battle under lame or weak excuses. They must either win or die. "He who turns his back to the enemy", says the Quran, "draws upon himself the wrath of Allah" (8:13-17). (b) When war is once started, it should continue till peace is established and freedom of conscience secured (8:40). (c) Prisoners are to be taken from the enemy, only after regular and pitched battle has been fought, and the enemy is decidedly and positively beaten. Thus regular war is declared to be the only reason for taking prisoners for no other cause free men are to be deprived of their liberty. (d) When war is over, prisoners should be released, either as an act of favour, or on taking ransom or by negotiating mutual exchange. They should not be held permanently in captivity or treated as slaves. The Holy Prophet carried this Divine commandment into actual practice by setting at liberty about a hundred families of Banu Mustaliq and several thousand prisoners of Hawazin after both these tribes had been decisively beaten in battle. It was after the Battle of Badr that ransom was accepted for the prisoners who were set free. This was perhaps, because Islam was then in a very weak state. But, on this occasion too, those of them who could not pay their ransom in money but were literate, were required to teach reading and writing to some of the Muslims. The verse thus has struck very effectively at the roots of slavery, abolishing it completely and forever. (Muir, Zurqani & Hisham).
The words "And if Allah had so pleased, he could have punished them Himself, but He has willed that He may try some of you by others," signify that God possessed the power to punish the enemies of Truth without the instrumentality of Muslims but He got the latter engaged in fighting with disbelievers so that on the one hand their own good qualities of character should have an opportunity to come into play and on the other the bad qualities of disbelievers should become exposed. Perhaps in no other aspect of life was the moral superiority of the Companions of the Holy Prophet so clearly demonstrated as in their treatment of their fallen foes.
The words "And those who are killed in the way of Allah—He will never render their works vain," mean that the sacrifice of Muslims slain in the field of battle would not be wasted. It was their sacrifice that firmly laid the foundation of a bright future for Islam.
c
8:46, 68.
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Athkhana fil Ardi means, he caused much slaughter in the land.
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The verse, in a nutshell, lays down some important rules about the ethics of war and its conduct and incidentally deals a deathblow to slavery. Briefly, these are: (a) When they are engaged in regular battle in defence of their faith, honour, lives or property, Muslims are enjoined to fight bravely and relentlessly (8:13-17). (b) When war is once started, it should continue till peace is established and freedom of conscience secured (8:40). (c) Prisoners are to be taken from the enemy only after regular and pitched battle has been fought, and the enemy is decidedly and positively beaten. Thus regular war is declared to be the only reason for taking prisoners; for no other reason free men can be deprived of their liberty. (d) When war is over, prisoners should be released, either as an act of favour, or on taking ransom from them or by negotiating mutual exchange. They should not be held permanently in captivity or treated as slaves. The Holy Prophet set at liberty about a hundred families of Bani Mustaliq
2740
Allah got the believers engaged in fighting with disbelievers so that on the one hand their own good qualities of character should have an opportunity to come into play, and on the other, the bad qualities of disbelievers should become exposed. Perhaps in no other aspect of life was the moral superiority of the Companions of the Holy Prophet so clearly demonstrated as in their treatment of their fallen foes.
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The sacrifice of Muslims slain in the field of battle will not be wasted. In fact, it was their sacrifice that firmly laid the foundation of Islam in Arabia.
فَكُّ رَقَبَةٍ