A Tragic Paradox

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

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

72. Laqad kafara allatheena qaloo inna Allaha huwa almaseehu ibnu maryama waqala almaseehu ya banee isra-eela oAAbudoo Allaha rabbee warabbakum innahu man yushrik biAllahi faqad harrama Allahu AAalayhi aljannata wama/wahu alnnaru wama lilththalimeena min ansarin

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5:72. They did certainly suppress the Truth, who said, “The Messiah, son of Mary, is indeed Allah.” And the Messiah said, “O Children of Israel! Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Whoever indeed associates others with Allah in his worship, then Allah has forbidden to him the Garden³¹, and his abode is the Fire. And there shall be none to help the unjust.”

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31. It's a tragic paradox that the very Prophet who thus strongly advocated against association of anyone with Allah, himself got associated with Allah by his own so-called followers, the Christians! They are blissfully unaware that the Garden is forbidden to them in terms of what their own Prophet said. And they think that their Jesus has already given them their passports to Paradise!

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 5^th of October 2018.

Promoting Shirk

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Promoting Shirk

Excerpt from Chapter 3 of QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir:

78. Wa-inna minhum lafareeqan yalwoona alsinatahum bialkitabi litahsaboohu mina alkitabi wama huwa mina alkitabi wayaqooloona huwa min AAindi Allahi wama huwa min AAindi Allahi wayaqooloona AAala Allahi alkathiba wahum yaAAlamoona

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78. And, indeed, there is among them a section who so twist their tongues with the Book that you may think it is from the Book, and it is not from the Book. And they say it is from Allah and it is not from Allah. And they knowingly utter a lie about Allah.⁹³

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93. This Verse might well have been revealed in the perspective of the Jews and the Christians trying then to change the contents of the revealed Books with them. But, in our present-day perspective, we need not get concerned with what those people did then. The Qur'aan is valid for all times. Let us therefore look at this Verse in our own perspective. And let us first look to what we ourselves do with our own Qur'aan, before looking to what the Jews and the Christians are doing with their Books. We are fortunate, by Allah's Grace, that the Arabic text of the Qur'aan is divinely protected. But Arabic is not known to all the Muslims. In fact, a majority from among them do not know Arabic; nor are any sincere efforts made to make Arabic a compulsory subject for all Muslims to learn, all over the world. In this scenario, Satan has manoeuvred the majority Muslim mind into thinking that it is enough for them to learn just to read the Qur'aan. It is indeed a satanic handiwork to delude the intelligence of the Muslim mind against the imperative need to understand what one reads from the Qur'aan. The Moulvis and the Mullahs have, in the circumstances, become the Arbaab (Lords), besides the One Lord, of the common Muslims. For, they (the common Muslims) literally gulp down what their religious leaders tell them, right or wrong. And the Moulvis and Mullahs, many of them semi-literates themselves, often give the commoners a wrong picture of Islam. Besides, in the translations & commentaries of the Qur'aan in other languages, not only do human mistakes creep in inadvertently, but deviations are advertently made to cater to views promoting shirk.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 22^nd December 2017.

Guidance

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Guidance

Extract from Chapter 2 of QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir:

272. Laysa AAalayka hudahum walakinna Allaha yahdee man yashao wama tunfiqoo min khayrin fali-anfusikum wama tunfiqoona illa ibtighaa wajhi Allahi wama tunfiqoo min khayrin yuwaffa ilaykum waantum la tuthlamoona

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272. Guiding them is not your (Prophet Muhammad’s) responsibility, but Allah guides whom He pleases.^{509, 510} And whatever wealth you spend, it is for your own benefit. And you spend not, but to seek Allah's pleasure. And the wealth, you spend, shall be recompensed to you, and you will not be wronged.

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509. Some Muslims think that even now, over 14 centuries after his death, the Prophet (peace be upon him) still somehow guides every individual of his Ummah. This Verse ought to correct their grievous misconception. I call it grievous because, indulging in such a conception is nothing but shirk. In this, we are following the footsteps of the Christians, who have taken to Jesus (peace be upon him) so much that they have forgotten their God. This Verse categorically tells us that guiding any person to the right path is the exclusive preserve of Allah Almighty. It was so even during the time when the Prophet was living in this world.

510. The Prophet taught the divine Qur'aan to his Ummah, under Allah's guidance. It was like a good teacher teaching indiscriminately to all pupils in his class. But some pupils learn, and some do not. Likewise, the Prophet taught the divine message for the entire mankind; some got guided by the Message, while many did not. Had it been in the power of the Prophet to guide people, he would have guided all without any distinction. It is Allah Who guides whosoever He pleases, to the Straight Path. And Allah has declared that only the pious would receive the guidance from Him.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 13^th of October 2017.

In Forefathers' Footsteps

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from Chapter 2 of QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir:

170. Wa-itha qeela lahumu ittabiAAoo ma anzala Allahu qaloo bal nattabiAAu ma alfayna AAalayhi abaana awa law kana abaohum la yaAAqiloona shay-an wala yahtadoona

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170. And when they are asked to follow what Allah has sent down, they say, "But we follow what we found our forefathers doing." Even if their forefathers had understood nothing, nor had they been guided!?²⁷⁸

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278. This loaded question, divinely posed over 1400 years ago, is still valid for people today, including most Muslims! Even though the Muslims have with them the divinely protected Qur'aan, they hardly refer to this invaluable Book of guidance, and choose instead to follow what they have found their forefathers doing. So, they call dead saints to their aid in worldly matters and visit their graves, even though the Qur'aan categorically tells them that such acts of shirk would be unpardonable sins [Q: 4:116].

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 11^th of August 2017.

Wali

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Wali

Extract from Chapter 2 of QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir, discussing the meaning of the Qur’aanic term wali:

107. Alam taAAlam anna Allaha lahu mulku alssamawati waal-ardi wama lakum min dooni Allahi min waliyyin wala naseerin

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107. Are you not aware that, certainly, it is Allah who has absolute sovereignty over the heavens and the earth? And none is there for you, other than Allah, as a wali¹⁵⁴ nor anyone who can help! ¹⁵⁵

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154. I find it difficult to find an appropriate English word for this Qur'aanic word, wali (plural: awliya). Some translators have rendered it as 'guardian' or 'protector'. But in Verse 10:62, the Qur'aan has called some good human beings as awliya of Allah. Surely it would be preposterous to call human beings as 'guardians' or 'protectors' of Allah! Let us therefore go to the literal meaning of the three-letter Arabic root word wali, which is to be close or near. It is used in the Qur'aan in that very sense. So, when the Qur'aan says that good, Allah-fearing persons are awliya of Allah, it means that Allah is so pleased with such persons that He has kept them spiritually close to Himself. In Verse 2:257, we are told that Allah is the wali of the believers. In other words, Allah is so very close to the believers that He protects and guides them at every step they take in their worldly lives. In Verse 60:9, Allah forbids the believers from being close to (tawallaw) only those who fight with them on religion, etc. It is in this sense that in Verse 5:51, Allah asks believers not to take Jews and Christians as awliya. Otherwise, Allah makes it clear in Verse 60:8, that He does not forbid the believers to have normal good relations with them if they do not fight with them (the believers) in religious matters, etc.

155. In the Qur'aanic light delineated in the preceding Note, the obvious meaning of the latter part of this Verse is that if anyone were not to accept Allah as his/her wali, there could be no one else who could be that person's wali or helper. If one accepts, without any reservations whatsoever, Allah as one's wali, then there could be one's other awliya among living believers, by way of being one's confidants, advisors and helpers in worldly and spiritual matters. But there could be no question of any person, dead or martyred – or of any unseen being (jinn) – becoming a wali or helper of a living person. If one takes such a being as one's wali or helper, besides Allah, one is committing the sin of shirk (polytheism). Alas! A majority among the Muslims today are openly indulging in this unpardonable sin. Allah asks, "Do then those who suppress the Truth think that, other than Me, they can take My worshippers as awliya? ..." [Q: 18:102]

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Keep us away from the sin of shirk, Allah!

Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 7^th of April, 2017.