Divine Warning

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from QUR’AANIC STUDIES -A Modern Tafsir PART I:

266. Ayawaddu ahadukum an takoona lahu jannatun min nakheelin waaAAnabin tajree min tahtiha al-anharu lahu feeha min kulli alththamarati waasabahu alkibaru walahu thurriyyatun duAAafao faasabaha iAAsarun feehi narun faihtaraqat kathalika yubayyinu Allahu lakumu al-ayati laAAallakum tatafakkaroona

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2:266. Would any of you wish to be like one in a situation as follows? He has a garden of palm trees and grape vines, underneath which run streams of water, and he gets all kinds of fruits there from. He has reached old age and his children are weak. And in these circumstances a fiery hurricane hits his garden and burns it down. Thus, Allah does make signs/Verses/messages clear to you so that you may ponder over them.⁵⁰¹

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501. This is a clear divine warning to those who are endowed with riches in this world. They do have to spend their wealth in Allah's Path; otherwise He could easily turn their wealth to naught any time.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 27^th of September 2019.

Bragging Negates Charity

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir PART I:

262. Allatheena yunfiqoona amwalahum fee sabeeli Allahi thumma la yutbiAAoona ma anfaqoo mannan wala athan lahum ajruhum AAinda rabbihim wala khawfun AAalayhim wala hum yahzanoona

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2:262. Those who spend their worldly possessions in Allah's path and follow not what they spend with boastfulness and insult – for them is their reward with their Lord; they shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve.^{494, 495}

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494. It is often the case with human beings that if they give something to a needy person, their behaviour with that person would be such as to make that person feel burdened with their favours. They will go on, on some pretext or the other, reminding him of their charity. They may even insult and speak harshly to him. Allah condemns such behaviour and makes their charity ineligible for any reward from Him.

495. The Qur'aanic statement falaa khaufun ualayhim walaa hum yahuzanoon (they shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve) has been repeated in several Verses while speaking of

·         those who spend their property by night and by day, secretly and openly (2:274),

·         those who believe and do good deeds and keep up prayer and give charity (2:277),

·         those who believe in Allah and the last day and do good (5:69),

·         the friends of Allah (10:62),

·         those who say, Our Lord is Allah, then they continue the right way (46:13).

Any group of persons described by any one of the above attributes, do inherently also have all the other attributes mentioned. These are the people whose minds are at peace, whatever be their momentary situations, good or bad, in this worldly life.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 20^th of September 2019.

Corruption

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir PART I:

251. Fahazamoohum bi-ithni Allahi waqatala dawoodu jaloota waatahu Allahu almulka waalhikmata waAAallamahu mimma yashao walawla dafAAu Allahi alnnasa baAAdahum bibaAAdin lafasadati al-ardu walakinna Allaha thoo fadlin AAala alAAalameena

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2:251. They then defeated them (Jaaloot and his army) by Allah's Will. And David slew Jaaloot and Allah gave him the dominion and the acumen to rule and taught him what He wished to teach him. And had Allah not subjugated some people through others, the earth would certainly have been corrupted.⁴⁷² But Allah is beneficent to the worlds.⁴⁷³

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472. This is the moral of the story. And this moral truth has continued to come out throughout the history of mankind. In our recent past, the evil pride of Hitler, Mussolini, and the then Japanese government of subjugating the entire world with their autocratic rules, came to dust with their ultimate utter defeat at the hands of the allied forces in World War II. For a time, the evil forces may appear to be on the ascendancy, but when their evil work reaches a limit, their annihilation is certain. From this historical fact, good people should take heart. The evil forces that appear to be having an upper hand at various places in the world of today shall perish one day, inshaAllah. Allah promises to favour the good people ultimately, if they but exercise patience.

473. For the comprehensive divine meaning of the Arabic term uaalameen (worlds), please refer to Chapter 1, Note 5 of these Studies.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 13^th September 2019.

Divine Guidance on Governance

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

After the death of Prophet Moses (peace on him), Allah Almighty continued to send other Prophets to the Children of Israel for their guidance. The extract below from QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir PART I is related to one such Prophet. The Children of Israel (Jews) had asked him to get a divinely appointed King for them.

247. Waqala lahum nabiyyuhum inna Allaha qad baAAatha lakum taloota malikan qaloo anna yakoonu lahu almulku AAalayna wanahnu ahaqqu bialmulki minhu walam yu/ta saAAatan mina almali qala inna Allaha istafahu AAalaykum wazadahu bastatan fee alAAilmi waaljismi waAllahu yu/tee mulkahu man yashao waAllahu wasiAAun AAaleemun

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2:247. And their Prophet informed them, "Allah has decreed Tuaaloot to be king for you!" They said, "How could he get precedence over us in getting the kingdom, when we were the ones more deserving? And neither is he endowed with abundance in wealth!" The Prophet said, "Allah has chosen him over you; and has given him much more knowledge and physical strength.^{467, 468} And Allah grants dominion over His land to anyone He wishes. And Allah is All-encompassing, Wise!"⁴⁶⁹

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467. Tualoot was a divinely chosen king. He was divinely appointed on the request of the people (Verse 246 above). Once such appointment was made, there was no question of the people questioning that appointment. But the Chiefs of the Children of Israel did question the propriety of the divine appointment because of their own satanic pride.

468. In today's world, however, there can't be such direct, obviously divine appointments. Allah had made the above such appointment through one of His prophets. But Allah has ended prophethood with Prophet Muhammad, peace and Allah's blessings be upon him. What then is Allah's guidance for us now, in the matter of governance of a country? In Verse 42:38, Allah appreciates those who conduct their affairs by mutual consultations. And therein lies the divine guidance. We must conduct our public affairs by mutual consultations. In the case dealt with in these Qur'aanic Verses, the choice of Tuaaloot gives us the further guidance that there ought to be an executive head of state. The head of state must be chosen based on his abilities, and not because he belongs to a ruling dynasty or class. It is thus clear that Islam does not favour a dynastic rule. And, in view of Verse 42:38 quoted above, the chosen head of state cannot work autocratically, but by mutual consultations with an advisory council. In an Islamic state, the Qur'aan must be the Constitution; and the subsidiary rules for implementing the Constitution must be framed by a legislative body consisting of persons chosen by the people. The USA pattern appears to be in line with Islamic requirement, except of course for the Constitution.

469. Even though, in today's world, the rulers are generally chosen by the people, it is a fundamental Islamic faith that no one can become a ruler – nor, for that matter, anything happen in this world – against Allah's Will.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 6^th of September 2019.