Al-Baqarah (2)

Footnotes

1 These stand-alone letters are prefixed to some of the chapters of the Qur’an and were a known literary element in pre-Islamic Arabia. Their meaning in the Qur’an is disputed, with some theorizing that they are code letters for hidden messages from Allah. Others think that there is some numerically-based message in them (as in numerology), given that they appear before twenty-nine chapters, and there are twenty-nine letters in the Arabic language (if you count the hamza as a letter). The most convincing explanation to this writer, however, which is supported by eminent and diverse scholars of the likes of Ibn Kathir, Zamakhshari and Ibn Taymiyyah, is that the letters are a way of communicating to the Arabs that their own language (as represented by the stand-alone letters of the alphabet) is being used to convey a message to them. The Arabs were so proud of their language, and this Qur’an was being revealed in it. However, the idol worshippers had no explanation for how fantastically poetic and rhythmic the Qur’an was compared with their ordinary poetry. The Qur’an then challenged the Arabs to make a chapter, even a verse like a Qur’anic one (see 17:88, 52:34, 11:13, etc...). The subtext is meant to challenge them thusly: look, here are the letters of your own alphabet—a, b, c—now make something like this book, if you can. If you can’t, then accept its message. (See 2:23-24) This view is confirmed by the fact that in almost every instance where these stand-alone letters appear, the very next verse makes some sort of statement about the unique nature of the Qur’an. (See the opening lines of chapters 10-15, for example.) Another addendum to this, which is wholly complimentary, is that the use of disjointed written letters was a common and integral part of the business trade. Individual letters were used to mark the various bundles of trade goods carried by camels, so beginning a Qur’anic chapter with disconnected letters would surely get the attention of the merchant-minded Arabs, who would instantly think of goods and merchandise. (This use of letters as a numerical stock-keeping system was known as the abjad system.)

2 This verse begins by saying, “That is the book” instead of, “Here is a book.” The reason for this is that verse 2:2 is saying that the answer to our collective prayer for guidance, which is contained in verse 1:6, is the Qur’an itself—right there it is! (Ma’ariful Qur’an) The five names used in this scripture to refer to itself are: the Qur’an, the Standard, the Reminder, the Book, and the Revelation.

3 “That which is beyond human perception” (al ghayb) is otherwise known as the “Unseen” or “Intangible.” It refers to those things we cannot observe in our physical existence such as angels, Paradise, Judgment Day, etc. The object of the Qur’an is to present the proof, both philosophical and logical, of God’s existence so that we can come to believe in things that we haven’t seen, felt, perceived, or touched yet.  This is part of the proof of faith by which we become worthy of Allah’s forgiveness and salvation.

4 The Prophet said, “Islam is founded upon five things: witnessing that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger, establishing regular prayers, paying the required charity, performing the pilgrimage and keeping the fast of Ramadan.”  (Bukhari, Muslim)  Also see 59:9 where we see that giving helps to keep the soul from succumbing to greed.

5 Abu Zayd al-Balkhi (d. 849) wrote: “Religion is the greatest philosophy of all, so a person cannot become a philosopher until he first becomes a worshipper.  Knowledge is the best medicine.”  (Masalah al Abdan wa al-Anfus)

6 How does the Qur’an describe those who do not believe in God?  There are three basic categories in this regard.  The first is the state of ignorance, or jahiliyyah, in which a person is ignorant of God.  Such a person will inevitably become aware of an emptiness in his soul, and then the onus will be upon him to seek the cure for that emptiness, i.e., God.  (This topic was the subject of the medieval fictional work Hayy ibn Yaqzan by Ibn Tufayl, in which an orphaned infant, raised by animals, comes to understand the existence of God through his interaction with his environment, which leads him to listen to his inner voice of yearning.)  The

second state is that of a person who in fact has developed just such an inkling of the existence of God but chose to ignore it, or who believes in God but then taints that belief with idolatry, false doctrines, or corrupt practices.  Such a person is a kafir.  The root word from which this term derives, kafara, literally means to hide, to conceal, to suppress or hold back something, to be thankless or to cover a thing up.  A farmer is called a kafir, for example, because he covers or hides a seed within the ground.  (See 57:20.)  This unique term is often mistranslated as “disbelief” or “unbelief.”  Likewise, the plural of the term (kuffar) is also mistranslated similarly as “disbelievers” or “unbelievers.”  That mode of translation, while seemingly overtly valid (as far as basic concepts go) masks the beauty of the word that the Qur’an uses.  It’s not that they “disbelieve” but rather that they actively reject, suppress, cover up or are ungrateful to what they (should) know to be true in their innermost being.  So they’re really suppressing or concealing their own capacity to understand the ultimate purpose of their life—they consciously cover their capacity for faith in the One True God.  Thus, a religious person from another faith is a kafir, not because he disbelieves in God, but because his awareness of the authentic truth of God, as expressed by logic, intuition and common sense is masked over—either willingly or by accident.  (In this work we have translated kufr and all its derivatives as alternately: “ungrateful, covered, rejected, concealed, or suppressed” according to the implication of the passage.)  When specific people are addressed by this term, such as the idolaters of Mecca, we have most often rendered the term as “the faithless” for simplicity’s sake.  The final category is that of a hypocrite, or a munafiq.  A hypocrite is a person who fakes belief in God for some worldly advantage.  The Qur’an and the sayings of the Prophet label these people the worst of all.  (See 2:8-16.)

7 In the Arabic language, the proper name of the One Supreme God is Allah. This word usually is taken to mean the “One and Only God,” but there is a deeper history to this word. It is derived, according to the Arabist Fleisher Franz Delitzsch, from the ancient Arabic root ilah or elah, which means “to be possessed of God.” A derivative from that root term, aliha, means “to be filled with dread,” “perplexed,” and “anxious to seek refuge.” Thus the Qur’an’s call is for people to seek refuge with the enigmatic Divine from all that they fear. (Zamakhshari) (See 7:200 and 16:98 for example.) The Old Testament Book of Genesis (verses 21:42 & 53) uses the same term where God is called the “fear” or “dread” of Isaac—not in a negative sense, mind you, but in the sense of utter and complete awe. The Hebrew word for God, Eloah (or El), which occurs 3,350 times in the Old Testament, mostly in its plural “royal” form of Elohim, is linguistically related to the Arabic root ilah. Adding the definite article al (the) to ilah makes it al-ilah which is the progenitor of the name Allah, or The God. If it is remembered that Ishmael, the son of Abraham who dwelled in Arabia, spoke the same ancient tongue as Isaac, whose descendants became the Hebrews, then it is clear why Arabic and Hebrew both have the same linguistic name for God.

8 Their hearts (or understanding) are sealed as a sort of punishment for rejecting Allah first.  (For the reason, see 7:146.)  In addition, Allah will let the powers of darkness have their way with such a person, a hypocrite, and he will fall further into error because he rejected the one, true reality in the universe.  As Allah said, “Satan has won them over and made them forget the remembrance of Allah.”  [58:19]  Also see 4:79, 10:33, 44 and 10:108.  Some commentators think this verse refers to Abu Jahl the pagan.  Others say it refers to the Jews who did not accept Muhammad.  (Asbab ul-Nuzul)

9 Jesus spoke of the same phenomenon, of a seemingly godly man being corrupt, in Matthew 23:27-28. Also see 49:14.

10 The disease or sickness in the hearts of the hypocrites, according to the early commentators, is perpetual doubt. (Tabari)

11 Those who would advance the notion that Muslims must be in a constant state of revolution would do well to listen to these words of the Prophet: “If you’re involved in fitnah (upheaval or turmoil), then your children will grow up (with it) even as your elders reach old age, and by then fitnah will be taken as tradition, and if someone stands up to oppose the fitnah, then people will accuse him of doing something wrong.” A person in the crowd asked the Prophet when this might occur, and he replied, “When there are fewer honest people and when the number of people seeking power will be rampant. Authentic and sincere students of the religion (deen) will decrease, even as the overall number of people learning it will increase. The religion will be studied for worldly gain, and people will do good deeds, but only for their own profit.” (At-Targheeb wa at-Tarheeb)

12 Here is the first mention of the term shaytan, which can be used as a proper name, as in Satan or the Devil, or as an adjective, i.e., satanic or devilish.  The word, itself, means “to be utterly angry or to separate something away from something else.” The implication is that the Devil is the Great Separator of man from Allah. The Qur’an uses the plural of this word, shayateen, here and elsewhere, to refer to both devils and evil men.

13 ‘Abu Zayd al-Balkhi (d. 849) wrote: “If someone praises you for something that’s not in you, then you can’t trust that he won’t also blame you for what is not in you.” (Masalah al Abdan wa al-Anfus) People who claim to be on your side and praise you, but who are insincere, can just as easily attack you. People sometimes wonder why hypocrisy is condemned so much in the Qur’an, but is it not worse than honestly disbelieving? At least those who reject or have not really heard or considered the message are more honest.

14 This refers to their lack of guidance in moral affairs. If people give in to their weaknesses and reject Allah, then they have shown themselves to be depraved, and Allah allows them to fall further into error so that there is the chance for them to be shocked back into realizing that they need Allah to live a happy and successful life.

15 According to al-Qurtubi and many others, this verse references the Prophet’s struggles to reach the hypocrites with the truth. The parable had particular resonance with the traveling people of Arabia, for it presented a real fear (that of getting lost in the wilderness at night) with a lesson on how Allah exceeds our capacities and is our true source of guiding light. Verses 19-20 compound that fear of getting lost, adding the imagery of a fierce storm assailing the hapless travelers. The storm is the fear and hardship they face in life without faith in Allah, while the lightning is Allah’s flash of guidance, reminding them through sudden events (miracles) and unexpected jolts (opportunities to learn a lesson) that the chance to return to the path is always there. Just look around in the brief afterglow of the lightning bolt! If they still chose to go it alone, however, they just get more and more lost.

16 A person may think he’s smart enough to find his way without Allah. He uses his mind to begin to understand the path of life, but he ignores Allah, the One who gave both him and his companions the gift of intelligence to begin with. The haughty people stray off the path of Allah, and at a certain point they’ve exhausted their natural abilities. When they’re so far off the path, the light goes out, and they’re utterly lost.

17 Even people living without guidance have the capacity to think, feel and consider the meaning of things, but because they are often depraved, they only see flashes of the truth: that there is really good and evil in the world, that mercy is better than rage, etc. They may go for a while, blending these truths in their lives, but when their attention is turned aside by some worldly temptation, they forget the guidance and stumble about blindly again, leading an aimless life of consumption and pleasure.

18 ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (d. 653) once asked the Prophet what the worst sin was in Allah’s sight. The Prophet replied, “To set up a partner with God, even though He created you by Himself.” ‘Abdullah then asked what the next worst sin was, and the Prophet said, “To kill your children because you’re afraid you’ll have to share your food with them.” Then he asked for the next, and the Prophet answered, “To have unlawful sex with your neighbor’s wife.” (Bukhari)

19 This is a recurring charge leveled against the Prophet and the Qur’an that the Prophet somehow copied from the Bible or was instructed by a reclusive religious figure, possibly Christian or Jewish.  No such individuals have been convincingly identified, and the motives of such individuals would be hard to fathom.  The Prophet was a retired, part-time trader living in a forgotten corner of the world, far removed from civilization.  He had no high-ranking status.  He could not read or write.  He had no appreciable tribal influence.  He never attended school of any kind.  He was an orphan from his childhood, and he had no outward qualifications for such a grand undertaking.  That he would suddenly be “appropriated” at the age of forty by some shadowy figure to found a world religion borders on pure nonsense.  The idol worshippers of Mecca leveled this charge against the Prophet and even offered suggestions as to who was his secret teacher.  However, in the end even they gave up on this angle of attack when the Qur’an kept coming in snippets to the Prophet through the night and through the day, in public, instantaneously and often in response to events as they occurred.  Soon, the Meccans began to attack the Prophet from another angle, saying he was possessed by evil spirits or under the influence of sorcery!  (See 44:14.) Given that human civilization has never accepted that great literature is the result of demonic influence or magic, we can safely rule out sorcery as an explanation for the Qur’an.  Combine this with the fact that for a full 23 years the Prophet received lengthy Qur’anic revelations and was a very public figure with next to no privacy, and the absurdity of the simplistic claim that he was being taught or that he copied the message from somewhere is made clear.

20 The challenge to craft a chapter similar to one found in the Qur’an is meant to make the reader aware of the fact that on many levels, the Qur’anic style of presentation is a marvel. The Qur’an is considered to be the seminal text of erudite and elegant Arabic. Qur’anic grammar is the basis and final authority for the modern standard Arabic that educated people speak throughout the Arabic world. Think of the way in which the King James Bible influenced the development of the English language and multiply its effects manifold. A typical passage from the Qur’an combines the following elements: a rhyme scheme that uses skillful turns of rhythm and meter; a style of grammar that is at once majestic and allegorical; a vocabulary that consists of words that can have multiple, yet complimentary meanings; a thematic structure that links it to other passages, as well as content that, expressed in Arabic prose, reads like the finest Shakespeare to educated speakers of English. So the challenge exists and presents us with many levels of requirements to duplicate. Assuming one would even try, the next level of difficulty would lie in the fact that Qur’anic passages seem to have corollaries and paired passages or chapters found interwoven throughout the work. The task appears both daunting and awe-inspiring.

21 If God loves His creatures, then why does He punish them?  This question is often asked by well-meaning people, and the philosophy of the Qur’an is quite simply to ask these counter-questions first: “Why do you consider every setback a punishment? Why do people bring harm upon themselves by their own actions and choices?”  Beyond the normal ups and downs of life, God does not like or enjoy punishing anyone with disasters and such.  Among His personal attributes are the terms Merciful and Forbearing.  God created a well-ordered universe, and any corruption of it is against the highest order of right and logic.  Even as a body’s cells will attack an abnormal growth that threatens the purity and functioning of the whole, so is sinful or disorderly behavior abhorrent to God as a threat to the purity of what He created.  Be that as it may, God is very patient and will let His creatures get away with a lot before He takes action against them.  Even further, He holds out the offer of forgiveness if a sinner would but repent.  On the other hand, He gave us a free will either to choose Him (and goodness) or to deny Him (and thus become wicked and immoral), preferring the pleasures of the flesh (and the greed, violence, and gluttony that results) over such noble qualities as patience, righteousness, generosity, and morality.  When we prefer worldly pleasures to noble living and justice, then we inevitably hurt others and do injustice.  Only then will God punish us so we can get a reminder of our shortcomings.

22 In Paradise there are houris, or distinctive companions, who are in the shape of perfect humans, yet without souls or an independent will. They exist only to please our carnal desires, which will be without restriction in heaven. Although males are specifically mentioned as receiving them, it is a matter of debate if females will have them too. Some say that females were not directly mentioned in the Qur’an or hadith literature in connection to them out of modesty and respect for their shyness and reputation, and that they will have them too based on the principle of equity in reward. (See 33:35 and background info, 41:31-32, and 50:35.) In any case, these companions in no way will violate the sanctity of the marriages that were consecrated on the earth (though people who were married on earth are not required to remain married in heaven, if they choose not to be), because houris are not creatures with souls and the people of paradise do not enter into marriage with them. These houris are often referred to as the “Virgins of Paradise,” and Jesus, himself, is quoted as likening Paradise to virgins in Matthew 25:1-12. Buddha once showed beautiful “celestial nymphs” (who live in the heaven of the 33 gods) to his half-brother to talk him out of taking an earthly wife. In heaven, things that were unlawful on earth will be lawful there. For example, wine and other intoxicants are forbidden on earth as the tools of Satan, but in Paradise there will be rivers of wine that will give the most delightful highs but without the discomfort or painful hangovers. See 55:60 where the implication of the verse is to ask, “What did you think you would be doing in Heaven? It’s a place of unimaginable reward and pleasure!” (Also see 32:17.) Interestingly, Meccan revelations emphasize the beauty of the distinctive companions of Paradise, perhaps as a way to get the attention of the pagans, while the much later Medinan revelations emphasize their goodness and purity, perhaps signaling to true believers that achieving Paradise is more about righteousness than carnal motivations.

23 Human beings must be taught lessons using examples from their own environment. This is how we comprehend reality, and the Qur’an explains up front that this is the tack that the Qur’an will take.

24 Many haughty and arrogant people choose to overlook lessons if they don’t consider them sophisticated enough. This arrogance can cause an otherwise intelligent person to overlook what is so simple to understand. As one Muslim writer, Jalaluddin Rumi (d. 1273), put it, “Children tell many stories, but in their tales are many mysteries and lessons. Though they may say many seemingly ridiculous things, keep looking in those ruined places for treasures.” (Mathnawi) The commentator, ar-Rabi’ ibn Anas, said that Allah used the word for gnat here as a metaphor for the worldly life. In his words, “A mosquito is born, sucks blood, gets fat and then dies and crumbles to dust.” (Ibn Kathir) The reference to separating what Allah has joined is the sin of breaking family ties without good reason. The Quraysh of Mecca cast out the Prophet and the Muslims even though they were blood-relatives.

25 The Qur’an puts forward the concept that before we were even created, our collective, unformed mass of “soul material” agreed to be obedient to Allah and in return was granted the ultimate trust from Allah that no other part of His creation would have. (Sort of like having our genes pre-programmed to believe in the supernatural.) Further still, to aid us in the discharge of this responsibility when we are alive individually in the physical world, we are all imbued with an inner nature, or fitrah, that prompts us to move closer to Allah. In that sense, we have a bond with Allah that should guide us on our journey back to Him. When a person covers up his sense of reality, begins to think this life is all there is and acts immorally (as a logical outcome), then in that sense he is breaking his bond with Allah. Some scholars say this verse also refers to people who sever family ties, and the Prophet said of this that, “He will not enter Paradise, the one who severed relationships (with his relatives).” (Mishkat)

26 Scientists have identified seven discernible layers that make up the earth’s atmosphere: the Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Exosphere, Ionosphere, and the Magnetosphere.

27 Here we have the first use of the term mala’ikah, which is often translated as angels. It comes from the word malak, which can mean a bearer of messages. A related term, malik, means a powerful one, i.e., a ruler, a free agent or king. In Islamic theology, angels are beings made by Allah to fulfill His orders in the cosmos, though He does not need them to carry out His will. They are without gender and are crafted from light energy. They can take on any form, such as a hologram might, and can travel at the speed of light. In fact, in the Prophet’s famous Night Journey, in which Angel Gabriel took him on a journey from Mecca to Jerusalem (see chapter 17), the Prophet described how he was brought as far as the eye could see in one step of the creature on which he was riding. Angels cannot be corrupted, and they do not fall into sin.

28 This is the first use of the word khalifah, which literally means a caretaker, custodian, manager, or steward. Humans, being the earth’s caretakers, must care for the earth and live on it responsibly. Humanity’s modern drive for overly enhanced economic development, which causes major ecological devastation as a by-product, is contrary to the God-given mission of our species. Such practices as clear-cutting, river diversion, over-fishing, uncontrolled pollution, and strip mining are thus unlawful according to Islamic principles of ecological management.

29 Unlike the Bible, the Qur’an never asserts that humans were made in “the image” of God (see Genesis 1:27). So what gift did Allah give to Adam, if not some divine resemblance? Allah would give Adam the power to understand the environment around him. This is one of the deeper meanings of the term, ism, which means “high point” or “name.” In other words, Allah gave Adam the ability to know the true (higher) nature of something. Interestingly enough, the root meaning of the word insan, which the Qur’an often uses to label human beings, literally means “to be able to adapt to.” We are one of the only species that can adapt to nearly any physical environment on earth, (as evidenced by our varied sizes, skin colors and metabolisms,) and we possess awareness and understanding through our consciousness about what the significance of nature is.

30 Imam Amr ibn Shurahbil Ash-Sha’bi (d. 721) was once asked a question, and he replied that he didn’t know the answer. Someone said to him, “Aren’t you ashamed to say you don’t know when you’re a learned scholar?” Ash-Sha’bi answered him, saying, “Why should I feel ashamed (to admit my ignorance) when the angels themselves said to Allah, ‘We know nothing about any of this’?”

31 In verse 30, the angels questioned the wisdom of Allah when He announced that He was about to create a being of flesh with a measure of freewill. The angels assumed they were superior, as they obeyed Allah, the ultimate truth, without question, while the humans would be saddled with the burden of choice. Allah proved to the angels that humans had an edge over them in comprehension and cognitive ability, and His order that they bow was to impress upon them that He, in fact, knew better and that the human being was equipped with superior faculties. In effect, the angels were humbled for making unfounded assumptions against the wisdom of the One Whom they claimed to serve so obediently. Also see 95:4-8.

32 Iblîs is a jinn and not an angel, and he often kept company with the angels because he was devoted to goodness. He became prejudiced against Adam when he was asked to bow along with the angels to a creature made of mud. (Ibn Kathir, also see 18:50) Jinns (genies) are elemental spirits who often seek to create mischief for physical beings. The term “jinn,” itself, which comes from the root junna, literally means “to be hidden” or “concealed.” Thus, the term can be applied to unseen creatures, unknown strangers or to anything that we don’t see. The Arabs also referred to babies in the womb as hidden, or jenin, given that they were not seen. The name Iblîs means frustrated. For more details concerning Iblîs’s challenge to Allah, see 7:12-15 and 7:16-18. Iblîs’s name was later changed to Shaytan (Satan), an Arabic word that means “to separate from” among other things. This is a reference to the fact that he distanced himself from his Creator in rebellion and also that he seeks to separate people from Allah’s fellowship.

33 Adam’s mate was Eve, or Hawwa. The name hawwa in Arabic means two things: “the source of life” (also the same meaning in Hebrew) and also it means “to have a dark, ruddy brown complexion.” If we assume that the earliest humans existed in an earthly Eden located somewhere in Eastern Africa, the description fits—her skin tone was then most likely ruddy brown. Coincidentally, the name Adam means these three things: man (he was the first), ground (he was created “from dust”), and also a shade of ruddiness or deep brown redness (referring to his complexion).

34 The Prophet said, “Among the words humans obtained from the first divine dispensation were: ‘If you feel no shame, then do as you wish.’” (Bukhari) Thus, religion for early man was simple, direct and without more formalized trappings or rules.

35 The traditional view has been that Adam and Eve lived in a garden located in heaven above and that they were banished down to earth after eating from the forbidden tree. A careful look at the text offers possible alternative understandings, the first of which is as follows: since the preceding verses state that Allah was making a caretaker for the earth (al ‘ard), and furthermore, since He taught the first man the “names” (and qualities) of what was on the earth, (animals, plants, etc...), then this caretaker could have been in a lush garden located somewhere on this planet. The Arabic word used in the passage to refer to the fabled garden is jennah, which can mean heaven above or any earthly garden. (See 18:32-35 where a man’s garden on earth is referred to as a jennah repeatedly.) It is also accepted in Islamic theology that humans who are physically alive do not live in heaven (save for Prophet Jesus who is awaiting his return to earth in the End Times). When Adam and Eve were commanded to “go down” (ahbitu) and

inhabit the expanse of the world, it could mean that they were driven down from a highland area into the lower elevations surrounding that primeval place. (Verse 7:24 even implies that the regular terrain of earth outside of the garden was to be their new home.) Archaeologists and anthropologists have concluded that hundreds of thousands of years ago the highlands of East Africa were lush jungles and that our remote ancestors lived in that region. Things changed as it underwent climate change, and this caused our ancestors to scatter down from those highlands and eventually spread all over the globe. Another (less accepted) interpretation is that humanoids evolved on earth through various forms, and then Allah bestowed the human spirit on a unique pair of hominids, resulting in a sudden break with all other mammals (as humans are so vastly different in their powers of speech, understanding and conceptualization). Whichever interpretation one chooses to prefer, modern DNA evidence has proven that all human beings alive today are descended from a single human female who lived from 200,000 to 300,000 years ago. Though the traditional view has endured, the Qur’anic text, itself, has been understood in incremental and differing ways through the many centuries of exegesis that it has undergone, and Allah knows better.

36 In contrast to traditional Western Christian theology, the Qur’an asserts that Allah didn’t need to sacrifice part of His Own Being on a cross or be murdered by His creatures before He could forgive them. The first two people merely needed to repent, and then Allah forgave them. Thus, there is also no concept of Original Sin in Islam.

37 The use of the term “Children of Israel” is also commonly employed in the Jewish Old Testament (see Numbers 19:2 or II Chronicles 8:2, for example). Israel was a nickname of Jacob, who was a grandson of Abraham. The first ethnic name that the descendants of Jacob may have had was the simple term Hebrew, which meant “from the other side,” seemingly a reference to Abraham being from the other side of the Euphrates River (i.e., in Mesopotamia). (Indeed, it has been suggested by some linguists that the Mesopotamian term hebiru predates Abraham by many centuries.) After the Hebrews were freed from bondage in Egypt, the term Children of Israel came into vogue. Then, after they established a kingdom in Palestine, they become known as Israelites. Finally, after they lost their kingdoms, their scattered descendants became known simply as Jews or the descendants of the tribe of Judah (which was the most prominent surviving tribe for some time).

38 See Leviticus 26:1-46 where the Jews are addressed similarly about their covenant.

39 The term taqwa comes from the root word, waqa, and it means “to protect oneself from harm,” “to be aware of, mindful of, or conscious of God and His prohibitions,” and it has been rendered accordingly throughout this translation, depending upon the context. To pass beyond the limits of what God allows is to invite retribution, but beyond this, falling into sin and personal weakness can make a person feel ashamed of himself. Thus, we can associate righteousness or piety with this term. To have taqwa (in Islamic parlance) means to behave in a conscientious and upright manner out of the fear of disobeying our Creator. Once a man named ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (d. 644), who was one of the Prophet’s major companions, asked Ubayy ibn Ka’b what taqwa meant

in practical terms, and he answered by asking, “Have you ever walked on a thorny path?” ‘Umar said that he had; then his friend asked, “Then what did you do?” ‘Umar explained that he held up the bottom of his clothes and went through it as quickly and carefully as he could. “That is taqwa,” the scholar said. In other words, living life conscious of the pitfalls all around us, that would plunge us into sin and ruin.

40 Jesus was passionate in his call for the Jewish religious establishment to reform itself. See Matthew 12:24 and 34-35 and also chapter 23 of the same book. Interestingly, this phenomenon of hypocrisy is not something solely applicable to Jews, Christians or anyone else. Muslims will also be judged by Allah for their conduct in this regard. The Prophet once remarked that while he was on his Night Journey (see chapter 17) he saw some people being punished in Hellfire by having their tongues stretched out and cut off with blades of fire. He asked Angel Gabriel who they were, and he answered, “They were from among your followers who in the physical world used to preach to people to do good deeds, while they forgot it for themselves, even though they used to read the scripture. Didn’t they have any sense?” Also see Jeremiah 7:9.

41 The Children of Israel were chosen to be missionaries for Allah to the nations around them in the Middle East. It is the crossroads of civilization. Therefore, the mission to give God’s teachings was extremely important. It was Prophet Abraham who prayed to God to bless his descendants. God said He would bless them, all except the wrongdoers among them. (The Jewish Torah, in Deuteronomy 11:1-7, 19, 27-28 echoes this divine directive to live for God alone or face the wrath of God.) The Qur’an asserts that the Children of Israel failed in their mission due to worldly temptations. Thus, the other descendants of Prophet Abraham, the Arabs, were then chosen to be the message-bearers of God’s truth. See Qur’an 2:124, 128 and 130.

42 The Qur’an often gives passing references to events in Jewish tribal history, often relying upon the fact that any Jews who would be hearing the message would know what events were being called into account. This economy of details allows the Qur’an to continue forward in its essential message without having to recount every small detail from past historical periods.

43 This episode is mentioned in the book of Exodus, chapter 32. That chapter also asserts that Aaron cooperated in the making of the idol (verses 23-24, 35). The Qur’an rejects this account and clears Aaron of any involvement. See 6:84 and 20:90.

44 The “standard” is the collected traditions of Moses that are separate from divine revelation.

45 The Old Testament states that the true followers of Moses actually killed 3,000 disobedient Hebrews after he returned down from the mountain, as told in Exodus 32:26-28. Muslim commentators have been divided about the meaning of this verse, with some accepting the Biblical account and other suggesting that because the pronoun “yourselves” is present, and since suicide was unthinkable, that the verse is suggesting that they were to purge the evil within their own hearts as much as it could mean that Moses had the wrongdoers slain. While both interpretations can be found among the commentators, this verse has followed the latter view, given that the same incident, as told in 7:148-156 clearly states that God forgave the disobedient Hebrews when they felt sorry for their sins (while those who remained unmoved were punished with mere shame in this life). Thus, from the Qur’anic perspective, it appears there was no slaughter ordered by Moses of his people, and the Qur’an is best for interpreting itself.

46 The Qur’an is unequivocal in holding that people are not allowed to see God face to face due to His exalted Majesty being far above that (besides the fact that He created the sun and the stars, and we would probably go blind seeing Him!) For the ancient Jews, however, there has been some confusion on this issue, and the call of the Hebrews to Moses to show them God before they would believe is telling. Exodus 24:10-11 states that the nobles and the regular people of Israel “saw God,” whereas Exodus 33:20 says that no man can see God and live. Then it says in verse 23 that only His “back parts” can be seen. (Also see Deuteronomy 5:4.) The Qur’an does not accept such anthropomorphisms and merely states that the punishment the Jews received for such insolence was to be thunderstruck with terror.

47 See Exodus 16:12-31 for the particulars of how they rebelled in this regard.

48 Lit. “from the sky.” Plagues have been a common feature of human civilization for countless centuries, and the Old Testament is full of references to God punishing people with them. The Prophet said of them, “Plagues were a way to chastise the people of the past, so if one of you hears of its spread in the land, then don’t approach it, but if the plague should appear in the land in which you are present, then don’t leave that land trying to run away from it.” (Bukhari) This is sound advice to prevent individuals from carrying the plague along with them in their vain attempts to save themselves.

49 Why does God refer to Himself in the plural sometimes, using pronouns such as “We” and “Us”? Like most other languages, Arabic can use the term “We” to refer to a single being. By using the pronoun, “We,” the majesty and power of an individual is magnified. For example, a king may say, “We decree...” instead of saying, “I decree...,” (as in 27:16 where Solomon calls himself a “we” while addressing his people). Throughout the Qur’an, God (Allah) will alternately use “I,” “Us,” “Me,” or “We” to refer to Himself. This technique of language is called the “Royal We” and is also employed in Hebrew, English, French and many other languages. (See Genesis 3:22, for example, where God even calls Himself an ‘Us’”)

50 Better food came with slavery so it was of less value.

51 Some from among the Israelites murdered their prophets on a number of occasions as recorded in the Bible in II Chronicles 24:21 and Mark 6:17-29. In Matthew 23:29-31, 37, Jesus, himself, accuses his people of murdering the prophets of old. (Also see I Thessalonians 2:15 where Paul makes the same charge.)

52 The Sabians were a semi-monotheistic group of ancient Jewish extraction located primarily in central and southern Iraq in the seventh century, but also in some parts of northeastern Arabia. They were neither Jews nor Christians in the prevailing sense, but had a semi-monotheistic faith that was a blend of primitive Judaism, ancient Sumerian paganism and the messianic teachings of John the Baptist. (They followed many Jewish laws, bathed ritually in the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, did not allow conversion to the faith, and held that Allah lived in the stars. They prayed to the north instead of towards Jerusalem). The name Sabian itself is thought to derive from their word masbuta, which meant “to immerse” or “baptize.” Other names they are known by are Mandaeans, Christians of St. John and Nasoraeans. They are also considered legitimate “followers of earlier revelation” in Islamic legal parlance and are thus accorded all the rights and privileges of a monotheistic community. Also see 5:69.

53 So can a person enter heaven if they do not accept Islam? It’s generally accepted that any non-Muslim who knows little or nothing about Islam will be judged ‘by what they know.” In other words, a Christian, a Jew or even a tribesman in the jungle with a primitive a religion will be judged by the best of his moral codes. But what of those who learn about Islam to a sufficient degree that they can fairly compare it with what they have currently? Opinion is divided. One commentator named al-Sulami (d. 1106) was of the view that verse 3:85 superseded (abrogated) this verse by declaring that only Islam will be accepted in the Hereafter. On the other hand, al-Qurtubi (d. 1273) said that 3:85 does not abrogate this verse because it directly refers to those people (of different religions) who did in fact leave this life as Christians and did not oppose or reject the Prophet Muhammad. Al-Baydawi (d. 1268) takes this a step further and explains that as long as the Christian, Jew or Sabian does not deny the prophethood of Muhammad, they can still hope for salvation. He offers as proof the Christian visitors from the Abyssinian court who heard the Prophet reciting from the Qur’an (Surah 36) and they recognized it as revelation from God with some converting and others not. So to answer the original question, non-Muslims who wish to retain their religion, and who at the same time recognize the Prophet Muhammad as also from God, can perhaps have the hope of salvation in the hereafter as well, and Allah knows best the truth of this.

54 Without any proof whatsoever, some modern commentators have assumed that Mount Tūr is the same as Mount Sinai in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. Commentators in the classical period were generally divided on the issue, but many postulated that Mount Tūr was somewhere in northern Arabia. Recent archaeological explorations in Saudi Arabia have identified a likely mountain at a site known as Jabal al-Lawz. See the book entitled, In Search of the Mountain of Allah: The Discovery of the Real Mt. Sinai, by Robert Cornuke and David Halbrook.

55 The Jewish Torah relates the details of the Covenant in Exodus, chapters 19-31. An extremely large number of laws are given—some of them quite difficult—and Moses is commanded to relate them all to the newly freed people. The Hebrews were camped at the mountain for nearly a year.

56 The practice of doing no work on Saturday, known as the Day of the Sabbath, is so important to Jewish tradition that flouting its rules is punishable by death. (See Exodus 31:12-17.) Although many people assume that the Sabbath is meant to commemorate the day that God “rested” after the labor of creating the universe, in fact, the Sabbath was instituted only after Moses and the Jews escaped from Egyptian slavery as a way to commemorate Allah’s favor. (See Deuteronomy 5:15.) For the Sabbath regulations see Deuteronomy 5:12-14.

57 The mention of the term “apes” is in recognition that primates often imitate whatever they see. Therefore, Allah, in equating the Sabbath-breakers with apes, is pointing out that they hopelessly copy whatever ignorant ways the cultures and nations around them practice. They will prefer to copy unbelievers and wrongdoers, which is, in fact, what repeatedly happened, if the records in the Bible are to be believed. The same story is mentioned in 7:163-166 where the people are further identified as fishermen who lived in a village by the sea. Some commentators have held that the wrongdoers were physically turned into apes, (and there is evidence that the Jews of Medina had a legend about it,) though it must be remembered that the Qur’an occasionally uses metaphorical, figurative, or allegorical language. Ibn ‘Abbas (d. 687) was of the opinion that they were transformed thusly, but that it lasted for only three days. The Jewish Old Testament orders that Sabbath-breakers are to be put to death and that this rule is to be binding upon all Jews for all time (see Exodus 31:14-16, also Deuteronomy 5:12-14). Interestingly enough, there is a tradition from the Prophet, recorded in the Bukhari collection, that describes future followers of his who will make lawful things like adultery and liquor and who will be stingy. The Prophet concluded by saying that Allah will turn them into monkeys and pigs and that they’ll remain like that until Judgment Day. The commentators, both ancient and modern, understand that report figuratively and not literally, so this principle can legitimately be applied to interpreting this verse, as well.

58 Later on, the Qur’an admonishes Muslims not to question the Prophet endlessly in the same way that Moses was being questioned and stalled. See 2:104-112. The story of the sacrificed cow, albeit without the drama, can be found in the book of Numbers 19:1-4.

59 The early historian at-Tabari (d. 923) quotes the famous companion and cousin of the Prophet, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (d. 687), who said, “If they would have sacrificed any cow of their own choice, they would have discharged their duty, but because they made it complicated by themselves, Allah made it complicated for them.” A possible lesson from this episode, elucidated by the twentieth-century thinker, Rashid Rida (d. 1935), is that there is no reason to make anything, especially a law, more complicated than it has to be, simply for the sake of making laws more rigid and inflexible.

60 God only wanted pure and perfect cows for sacrifice, as mentioned in Deuteronomy 15:21.

61 Many commentators believe that the priests of the Israelites took a part of the sacrificed animal (from verses 2:67-71) and laid it upon the dead man who then suddenly came to life and told everyone who really killed him. There is no prophetic statement that this happened, nor is there any proof that the man came alive, but this has been the favorite position of classical commentators, even though they have no corroboration in any Islamic or Jewish source documents. Muhammad Asad suggested in his commentary that this verse is really referring to the application of group investigation (“apply some of it”) to the situation (him or it) to resolve the murder. He also proves that when the grammar is deconstructed the old understanding is not tenable. In this light, it is possible that verses 2:72-73 refer to the practice found in Deuteronomy 21:1-9, for by making a sacrifice and declaring that the culprit cannot be found (applying the principle of sacrifice-as-absolution to it, i.e., the situation), it makes blood feuds, false accusations, and misguided revenge less likely, and thus saves lives from being unjustly taken, and Allah knows better. (Also see Leviticus 6: 1-13.) Whatever happened, it became the custom among the Israelites to make a sacrifice in cases of unresolved murder.

62 What a beautiful way of saying that no matter how hard a person’s heart may get, there is still always a chance that faith may pour out of it! On a more technical side, the three types of stone mentioned here match perfectly with the three types of stone identified in geological terms, which are sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous. Sedimentary rock, of which sandstone or limestone are prime examples, is the most efficient type of material for deposits of water to collect in and move through like rivers. Metamorphic rocks, such as slate, were formed under intense pressure from the weight of the earth and thus took on the characteristic of being easily cracked under pressure. Thus, they are the main type of rock from which springs emerge from underground pressures. Igneous rock, such as granite or marble, which makes up the largest part of the rocks beneath the surface of the earth, is heaviest in nature. It can form underground in cooling pockets of magma, or it can erupt in a shower of lava before it falls or cascades down back to earth—eventually sinking back under the lighter materials around it due to its weight (i.e., like it was afraid of Allah and wanted to hide!)

63 Also see the Old Testament Book of Jeremiah 5:20-31.

64 For a time the Jewish leaders of Medina made a pact among themselves not to reveal their prophecies and predictions about their long-awaited messenger from God, fearing that the Muslims would see signs in them that confirmed Muhammad’s prophethood. (See Song of Solomon 5:10-16 and Deuteronomy 18:15-22 among others, for example.) When asked for quotes, they would misread from their Torah and other books. On one occasion they hid from the Prophet a verse in their Torah about stoning adulterers. This passage refers to that situation. (Asbab ul-Nuzul)

65 Apostle Paul is even harsher in the Bible by calling Jewish writings nothing more than fables that mislead! See Titus 1:14.

66 Aside from the Ten Commandments which emphasize the worship of one God and honoring one’s parents, there are numerous other instances in the Torah which remind and even warn the Hebrews to maintain upright behavior. “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20 :12) “Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17) “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.” (Exodus 22:22-24)

67 Jesus, in particular, was very pointed in exposing the hypocrisy of the religious establishment of his people. See Matthew 23:1-7, 13-39, for example. Also Leviticus 19:1-37 lays out a whole host of laws that the Jews promised to follow that are of a high moral character. (Also see I Kings 2:3, 11:33.)

68 The argument made here is that, as followers of God’s revelation, they shouldn’t have been fighting each other to begin with—and then to use scripture to justify the freeing of Jewish captives is utter hypocrisy.

69 See Deuteronomy 24:7.

70 Does the Qur’an teach that all Jews are disobedient and cursed by God? Is it against Jews as a people? Most certainly not! The Qur’an mentions Jews in many different contexts and always to illustrate some specific point. The basic idea is that God gave their ancestors the chance to be His primary ambassadors of faith in the Middle East, but after repeated chances they failed to live up to the mission that was given to them. (See 5:66) The Qur’an then asks Jews to consider accepting Islam as a way to be faithful to the continuing message of the prophets of old. Yes, there are many examples where the disobedience of the Jewish community (as a generalized group) is highlighted in the Qur’an, even in strong language (just as the Old Testament does likewise, see Jeremiah 5:1-2, and 2:32 for example). However, the Qur’an makes full allowance for individual Jews to be righteous and faithful to God. It merely asserts that as a group they failed in the mission, and so Allah’s favor moved on. In verses 7:170-171 and in many other places, the Qur’an plainly states that among Jews there are those who “hold fast by the Book and do...prayers” and that “never will We suffer the reward of the righteous to perish.” Also see verse 5:69 and verses 3:113-115.

71 Muslims understand the Holy Spirit to be the angel Gabriel, God’s main liaison between Himself and His prophets. See 2:97.

72 Some commentators say that this verse also refers to the habit of the Jews of Medina of telling their Arab neighbors that when their (the Jews) foretold prophet would come, they would be able to get the upper hand over their larger and more belligerent fellows. It has been said that many people in Yathrib (Medina) were primed to accept Muhammad as a prophet, even before ever hearing of him, based on the fact that the Jews of the city spoke so often of a coming messenger from Allah.

73 Some Jews of Medina were skeptical of the Prophet’s claims in part because he was not Jewish. In their eyes, all prophets must be of their ethnic group. This was in keeping with their belief that they were the chosen people of God. The Qur’an’s contention is that whatever blessings God gave them, they squandered, so God ‘s favor went somewhere else!

74 For example, Deuteronomy 18:15-22 prophesizes that one day a prophet like Moses will be raised up from the brethren of the Jews. (The Arabs are often referred to as being distantly related “brothers” to the Jews, as they both trace their ancient roots to the two sons of Abraham.) Christians have long held that this man was actually either Jesus or the Holy Spirit, who for them are two of the three people who make up the Godhead. However, a careful reading of the entire passage reveals that a god, or part of a god, is not being referred to here at all. Jewish theologians, for their part, also hold that an ordinary man is being referenced here, not a divine being. The mystery man is to be a prophet (in other words a human) who obeys God and is like Moses. Muhammad is the only figure that fits the requirements accurately; yet the majority of the Jews of Medina chose not to apply this prophecy to Muhammad and explained that they would only follow ethnically Jewish prophets.

75 When Moses found his people worshipping a calf made of gold, he ordered it melted and pulverized, and he forced the people to drink water mixed with its powder. See Exodus 32:19-20.

76 The Arabic term for faith or belief is emaan. Emaan comes from the root word amuna, which means three main things: “to have faith, to confirm or trust in that faith,” and finally, “to feel safe.” Thus, a believer is one who places his or her faith and trust in Allah with the result that he or she is no longer afraid for his or her life or death. This is similar to the Biblical idea contained in Hebrews 11:1 which states that, “Faith is the substance of all things hoped for.” The related term to emaan, which is amaanah, is usually translated as secure trust. Someone once asked the Prophet, “What is faith?” He replied, “When doing good makes you feel pleased and when doing wrong makes you feel uneasy, then you’re a believer.” Then he asked the Prophet, “What’s a sin?” He replied, “When something bothers your conscience, give it up.” (Ahmad)

77 The Qur’anic concept of good and bad deeds is that you “send them ahead of you.” This future place of record holding refers to the Day of Judgment where your record will finally be read. The New Testament echoes a similar concept in I Timothy 5:24.

78 See Daniel 12:1 where Michael is presented as a savior and Daniel 8:16-17, 27 where Gabriel is presented as indeed more fearsome.

79 The Jewish Rabbi, ‘Abdullah ibn Suwriya, said to the Prophet, “You’re not bringing anything to us that we don’t already know about, and there have been no clear signs revealed about you that should cause us to follow you.” Verse 99 here is an answer to that statement. (Asbab ul-Nuzul)

80 The Prophet had no access to Jewish scriptures. Yet, he continually made reference to what was in them, much to the consternation of the Jews of Medina who had decided to oppose him. When confronted publicly about something in their tribal writings, the Jewish leaders would sometimes claim ignorance of what their books contained, or they would explain something contrary to what the actual text said. See 3:69-71 and 3:78. Interestingly enough, even the name “Muhammad” itself appears in the Hebrew Old Testament in the Song of Solomon 5:16—a lengthy poem about a beloved one of Allah. (Verses 10-15 describe the Prophet’s physical appearance almost perfectly.) In English the Hebrew word Muhammadim in verse 16 is usually translated as “altogether lovely’” or “the praised one,” the latter rendering being the direct meaning of Muhammad in Arabic. The suffix –im is a sign of magnified respect and is also used in Arabic.

81 The Old Testament Book of Isaiah 2:6 also echoes the charge that the Jews became fortunetellers and were involved in the occult. The verses there invite them back to the Godly path. (The Book of Leviticus in verse 19:31 had forbidden them from soothsaying and magic.)

82 Lit. “upon or against Solomon’s kingdom or authority.” See I Kings 9:6-9 where Allah lays out His warning to Solomon that if the Jews leave the path of truth, then Allah will forget them.

83 The commentators generally agree that the term devils here is referring to evil men who practice the occult. (Razi, at-Tabari, etc...) This verse also defends Solomon against the Biblical charge that he practiced occultism and idolatry, as purported in I Kings 11:1-10.

84 The Jews were exiled from Palestine in 587 BCE by the Babylonians and forcibly settled in the opulent city of Babylon under a policy designed to weaken their religion and culture through assimilation. (See the biblical book of Jeremiah, chapter 52.) The Jews were, in fact, influenced into following many of the cultural and religious practices of the Babylonians. This was perhaps easy due to the fact that superstition had been creeping into their culture even as far back as the rule of Solomon. Astrology (a Babylonian

invention), fortune-telling, black magic, idolatry and the occult were the order of the day, and it was only intensified in the melting pot of Babylon. For a fascinating look into the relationship between astrology and Judaism through the ages, see the book entitled, To Rule Both Day and Night: Astrology in the Bible, Midrash and Talmud, by Rabbi Joel C. Dobin. Inner Traditions International, New York, 1977.

85 Who were Harut and Marut? There are several divergent opinions, and I will summarize each. Some medieval commentators, citing Jewish stories from the Talmud, say they were (possibly fallen?) angels sent to live among mankind. (In the Jewish Talmud, the two fallen angels are named Shamhazai and Azael.) The problem with this position, however, is that from the standpoint of Islamic theology, it would seem strange that (fallen?) angels would be teaching black magic, whose effects were to cause marital discord, and further still, according to the Qur’an, angels never disobey God (see 16:49-50). Thus, the interpretation of “fallen angels” seems unlikely.  Other scholars have suggested that Harut and Marut were dutiful angels sent by God to guide (or perhaps test) the Babylonians against falling into magic. In that regard, the verse is referring to those who failed to discern their teachings.  Another group of commentators holds that the Arabic word used here to describe those two mysterious figures (malakayn), which is the plural of malak should not be translated or understood as ‘angels’ at all. Rather, these commentators propose that Harut and Marut were men—possibly important local magicians—who duly warned the Jews who were learning from them that their knowledge would corrupt them away from their cultural values and faith. This is a defensible position given that the root word from which malakayn is derived literally means no more than to be in control of something. (The Arabic word for ruler is also derived from this word. Also, the three magi of Persia who purportedly visited the infant Jesus were magicians, not kings, as magicians had king-like status in the East. See Matthew 2:1-3.) You may also see Qur’anic verse 34:42, for example, where the related term yamlika or ‘they have control’ is used merely in the sense of having control over another person’s welfare. A third possible interpretation is that Harut and Marut are the names of Babylonian gods (possibly named after real men of antiquity) for whom priests worked magic in their name. Following this line of thought, the Jews were then adopting the religious traditions of Babylon, as represented by these two deities, and learning the spells and incantations commonly associated with devotees of those deities. As evidence we can note that the chief Babylonian god, as mentioned in ancient clay tablets, was Marduk, also known as Marutukku and Marutu. Another prominent deity was Aruru, the goddess of fertility and creator of man, who was also known as Hurarnu. These obviously closely related names could be the Harut and Marut of the Qur’an, and if it could be proved then it would go to support the third possible interpretation of this verse. A fourth possible (though less likely) interpretation that has been offered by non-Muslims is that the Harut and Marut of the Qur’an are Armenian idols of the same name or legendary sorcerers of antiquity known as Iannes and Iambres, in which case those pairs of names would merely replace the names given in the third possible interpretation. Given the distance between Mecca and Armenia, it is unlikely any Arabs or Arabian Jews would be able to make such a connection. What is obvious is that the Jews of Medina knew of these names (Harut and Marut), as evidenced by their being mentioned in this verse directed towards them for their consideration. What is also true is that the Qur’an does not call them “fallen” nor does it give legitimacy to their actions. As for the spells employed by the ancient Jews, the oldest surviving samples from antiquity are recorded on Egyptian papyri and also from later texts written by Jews in the Greek language. These range from benign spells to more devious ones.

86 The Prophet once described how the servants of Satan come to him daily with reports of what mischief they’ve caused among humanity and that Satan is never satisfied unless one of his devils reports that he has caused discord between a husband and a wife. (Bukhari, Muslim)

87 See Deuteronomy 18:9-12, where we learn that Judaism forbids the doing of any magic or witchcraft.

88 Muhammad al-Ghazali (d. 1111), was once asked if money could corrupt the heart of a learned scholar. He replied, “People whose hearts are changed by money are not learned.”

89 The Qur’an uses a specific term to refer to anyone who follows religious scripture revealed by previous prophets. In Arabic it is Ahl al-Kitab, which translates as “People of the Book,” i.e., followers of previous scripture. This term gives special recognition to Jews and Christians as being superior in their beliefs to mere idol worshippers. Although the Qur’an does not accept that they have the original, unedited, and uncorrupted revelations of Moses and Jesus, it does accept that some fragments of the ancient prophets’ words have survived—and point to the coming of Prophet Muhammad!

90 The Qur’an acknowledges the rare occurrence of “revelation cancellation” mentioned here, which is called abrogation in technical terms, but this verse states that it is part of the process of growth in the evolution of religion. (Even the Bible accepts that Allah can cancel out what He had decreed before. See Jonah 3:9-10 and others.) Early Muslims understood the purpose and mechanism of this process, after all, the Prophet was given the task to change an entire culture in a limited number of years. Some flexibility on the methodology would be a valuable tool in this process. (Also see 16:101.) What does abrogation mean in the practical sense? For one thing, it doesn’t mean that Allah has changed His mind. Instead, it recognizes evolution in needs and circumstances. The laws change as people can handle more detailed rules, even though the spirit of the original intent remains. For example, the first chronological mention of alcoholic drinks in the Qur’an appears in 16:67 where it is said that alcoholic drinks come from plants. This was in the late Meccan period. Early in the Medinan period we read in verses 2:219-220 that alcohol can be a blessing and a curse. It was not prohibited it and such a rule would have been hard to implement with so many new and untested converts. Some years later verses 5:90-92 were revealed that did prohibit liquor. Thus, the last group of verses superseded or abrogated all the previous ones. Allah didn’t change His mind, but slowly changed peoples’ attitudes over time. (Another example is in how inheritance rules were amended before and after the migration to Medina. Before that, Muslims would bequeath to believing friends in favor of pagan relatives. After, Muslims were told to give preference to believing relatives over unrelated friends.) Various scholars have attempted to enumerate the number of verses they feel were abrogated and have come up with figures as low as 4 and as high as a hundred or more! Given that the label of abrogation is applied to both canceled verses and verses that were merely explained in more detail elsewhere, I tend to accept a much lower figure.

91 Ibn ‘Abbas (d. 687) once remarked, “Ubayy is our best Qur’an reciter, while ‘Ali is our best judge. In spite of this, we sometimes ignore some of the statements of Ubayy because he says, “I never leave off anything I heard from the Messenger of Allah,’ even though Allah said, (then Ibn ‘Abbas recited this verse).” (Bukhari) Thus, Ubayy kept reciting verses that the Prophet had earlier announced were canceled by Allah.

92 Also see the Old Testament (Exodus 32:22) where Aaron is quoted as telling Moses that his people were “set on” becoming mischievous against him.

93 Honest inquiry is not forbidden in Islam. The Prophet always encouraged questions, and he never shied away from answering them. Questioning can be misused, however, when a person asks questions not to gain knowledge, but to be argumentative or sly in an effort to annoy or trick someone. The Prophet once remarked that a person who questions a scholar merely desiring to trick him and slip him up will go to Hellfire. The only honest question that the Prophet said we should not touch is the question of who made God, for Satan will use that question to sow doubt and dissension. Scholars are exhorted, likewise, not to be afraid of making a mistake in rendering their opinions, for whether correct or incorrect, Allah will reward them, according to the Prophet, for the sake of their honest effort.

94 The Prophet often fasted on Mondays and Thursdays. He once explained that these were the two days when the angels presented the deeds of humanity to Allah. The pre-Islamic Arabs of Mecca also used to open the Ka’bah for the public on these two days, as well. There is corroboration for these two days being important in previous religious communities. Unbeknownst to the Arabs in the Prophet’s time, Jews in ancient Talmudic times used to read from the Torah in public on those two days. They also held their rabbinic courts on those days. According to Rabbi Joel C. Dobin, “...Many (Jews) also believed that the Divine Court held its sessions (on those two days) to judge the deeds of man.” (From the book entitled, To Rule Both Day and Night: Astrology in the Bible, Midrash and Talmud. Inner Traditions International, New York, 1977. Page. 215)

95 Islam teaches that human beings achieve salvation, by the grace of Allah, through their faith in Him. Thereafter, a person has to live his or her life as a reflection of that faith by trying to follow Allah’s moral way of life to the best of his or her ability. We are not saved by deeds, as some Christians have falsely charged in the past, but by faith. (Christianity also requires deeds after faith. See Hebrews 10:24 and James 2:14-16.) If we sin or fall into error, we repent and ask for forgiveness from Allah. (See 40:7, among over a dozen similar verses.) He has promised to forgive the sincere seekers of His mercy. Prophet Muhammad once said, “When you die, all of you should have good expectations of Allah.” (Muslim)

96 Note how the point made in this verse further proves the futility of the claim of exclusive salvation made in verse 111. Even in our own time, Jews and Christians will often fake solidarity with each other publicly and further claim that both groups are equally favored of God and united in common cause. In less public forums, however, Orthodox Jews will deride Jesus as an imposter, or bringer of disaster on Jews (like Maimonides in his Mishneh Torah and in his Epistle to Yemen where he excoriates Jesus,) while fundamentalist Christians assert that Jews need to convert to Christianity or burn in Hell. Thus, despite what they say in public, they reach different conclusions about each other from the same holy book!

97 As the commentators explain, this does not mean He has a face like us, but it is an idiom to say that He sees all things open and in secret.

98 Islam categorically denies that Jesus is a god or the literal begotten son of a god (see chapter 112 or 39:67), and the Qur’an asks that Christians look into their own scriptures for proof. Verses such as those contained in John 5:30, 4:34, 5:19, 8:28 and many others clearly show that Jesus did not think of himself as a god equal with the God in heaven. The Qur’an affirms his prophethood and righteousness and exalts his mother as a righteous believer in God. However, it draws the line at ascribing divinity to either of them. (Some segments of Catholic Christianity, even to this day, hold Mary as part of the godhead. See footnote to 5:116.) If Jesus did use figurative language, calling God his father or calling himself God’s son, it must be understood in context. The Jewish Old

Testament is full of metaphorical verses in which people are called God’s sons (i.e., Psalms 2:7) and in which God is called the father of people (i.e., Jeremiah 31:9), but the Jews never took it in a literal sense. (Psalms 82:6 even calls Jews gods themselves!) Matthew 19:16-17 states the following: “And behold, one came and said unto him (Jesus), ‘Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?’ And he said unto him, ‘Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.’” (Matthew 23:9-10 also makes a distinction between God being the father of all and Jesus merely being the master, i.e., a revered teacher.) The preponderance of evidence, even in the Christian New Testament, is that Jesus never claimed to be a supernatural god in the flesh who demanded to be worshipped, but rather he taught that all people, even himself, are subject to God and that he (Jesus) is the supreme guide or master of the age—who was especially anointed (messiah) by God. It must be remembered, as well, that the Christian New Testament is not necessarily the Gospel of Jesus, but rather a collection of writings about Jesus, some of which quote episodes from his life.

99 The Qur’an asserts that the entire universe itself is a proof of Allah. The symmetry, the grandeur, the existence of life, the fact that the universe had a beginning and seemed to become more organized with time—all of these things point to some sort of master plan, direction or purpose. Even the way in which living organisms have seemed to become increasingly complex over time, developing self-awareness, culture, knowledge, reason, and a sense of justice, provides convincing proof to many that some kind of a Supreme Being or Force exists.

100 The Prophet was sleeping under a tree in the countryside while a few of his companions were resting a short distance away. The Prophet was suddenly awakened by a menacing pagan named Dasur, who was brandishing a sword at him. “Who will save you now!” Dasur growled in elation. The Prophet calmly, yet forcefully, said, “Allah.” The pagan was not expecting such an answer, and he faltered in his grip, causing his sword to drop to the ground. The Prophet quickly snatched the sword up and pointed it at his adversary. Then he said, “And so who will save you now?” The despondent pagan answered sullenly, “Nobody.” Then the Prophet replied, “No, my God will save you, as well. Now take your sword and go.” The astonished pagan took the sword and started to leave, but he returned a few moments later and accepted Islam at the Prophet’s hands.”

101 Ibn Kathir records the view of several early commentators that the “certain obligations” referred to such things as circumcision and adopting certain elements of good personal hygiene, which would set Abraham apart from the customs of those around him. (See Genesis 17:10 and similar verses.)

102 The promise made to Abraham is contained in Genesis 17:4-9.

103 Not all of Abraham’s descendants were righteous, according to 57:26. Some of them were beguiled by the life of this world. Allah’s promise is only valid to those who obey Him. This is also a possible argument against hereditary monarchy, in that merely being someone’s child is no qualification for special favor.

104 The Ka’bah, or House, is a cube-shaped shrine in Mecca, hence its name means “cube.”

105 The Prophet said, “I’m the (answer) to the supplication of my father Abraham, the glad tidings (announced by) Jesus, the son of Mary, and my mother saw (in a vision) a light that radiated from her which illuminated the castles of Syria.” (Ahmad) The last part refers to a dream the Prophet’s mother had before he was born in which she reported to her maid Barakah that she saw bright lights radiating from the direction of Syria. Within a few years of the Prophet’s passing, the seat of the Islamic Empire was moved to Damascus, Syria, and Syria has remained ever since a destination of choice for those seeking higher learning in the Islamic sciences.

106 According to tradition, Abraham is buried in a cave in Palestine around which the town of Hebron is situated.

107 It is Genesis 48:15-16 that most closely echoes this Qur’anic verse, though the Qur’an infers that it is filling in an unrecorded addendum to the story of Jacob’s last words. Jacob could not have followed Mosaic Judaism for it had not been invented yet!

108 The Qur’an recognizes and affirms the authenticity of the revelations and inspired messages given to the prophets of old. The Qur’an does not hold “the Bible” as fully representative of those authentic messages. The Old Testament is a record of the Jewish tribes written long after the ancient prophets passed away. The New Testament is a collection of divergent writings cobbled together from various authors years after the disappearance of Jesus and consists of sketchy biographies, philosophical works, letters to different people and general sermons. It is not considered by Muslims to be the revelation of Jesus. Further still, the writings of Paul and others are never considered by Muslims as revelation from God. According to Islam, they would belong in the category of “...books written with their own hands that are falsely attributed to God.” See 2:79. Christian scholars, themselves, from antiquity until today prove that much of the Bible’s contents have been edited and altered all throughout the ages in more than a marginal way. The second-century, pagan, Roman author Celsus wrote this concerning what he observed among the new Christian factions arising across the Empire: “Some believers, as though from a drinking bout, go so far as to oppose themselves and alter the original text of the gospel three or four or several times over, and they change its character to enable them to deny difficulties in the face of criticism.” In the same vein, an early Church Father, Origen (d. 251), wrote: “The differences among the manuscripts have become great, either through the negligence of some copyists or through the perverse audacity of others...they make

additions or deletions as they please.” As quoted from the book, Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why, by Bart D. Ehrman, p. 52. The Book of Revelations in 22:18-19 even calls down curses upon those who tamper with God’s revelations!

109 Abu Hurairah reports that he told the Prophet that the Jews of Medina used to recite the Torah in Hebrew and then used to explain it to the Arabs of the city in Arabic. The Prophet then said, “Neither believe nor disbelieve in what the People of the Book tell you, but rather say to them, ‘We believe in God and in what was sent down to us.’” (Bukhari)

110 The terms “Jew” and “Christian” were not invented until centuries after the prophets in question, and those ancient prophets and their people certainly didn’t have any theology or doctrines like Judaism and Christianity teach today. God is indirectly saying, “Use your common sense!” Jesus never heard the terms “trinity” or “Christian,” nor did Abraham or Moses ever hear the terms “Judaism” or “Jew.” See 3:65-68 also.

111 After summarizing the message and meaning of Jewish history, the Qur’an uses the dramatic episode of a change in Islamic prayer-directions to transition the reader to a new chapter in divine guidance. Verse 141 is the cue that the validity of the old order was passing away and a new chapter in world religion was now in force. Islam would become the most up-to-date installment of God’s message for the world.

112 The Prophet said that he was always anxious to turn away from the prayer-direction of the Jews, but that he was waiting on his Lord’s command. Angel Gabriel suggested to him to beseech Allah, and this verse was revealed in response. The actual inspiration came to the Prophet while he was leading a congregational prayer in the house of a man named Bishr, and he turned slowly as he recited it, without breaking the prayer, from a northerly direction to a southerly direction. (Baydawi, Asbab ul-Nuzul)

113 Since at least the time of Prophet Daniel it was always the custom of the Jews to pray facing towards Jerusalem. See Daniel 6:10 and I Kings 8:44. Many Jews today still offer their prayers in the direction of Jerusalem. Christians have had various viewpoints about this through the ages but have come to no unified conclusion. Muslims revere Jerusalem not only because it was the home of righteous prophets, but also because, according to the Prophet, God granted a prayer of Solomon that whoever would pray on the Temple Mount with the intention of only worshipping God, then God would purify him and wipe the slate of his sins clean. (Nisa’i) The Dome of the Rock is a special mosque built there to accommodate the people who go there for such blessings.

114 The Jews and Christians of central Arabia also generally subscribed to the view that the Ka’bah had been originally built by Abraham, and Jewish scripture makes mention of Abraham wandering in the deserts of the region for a time. They didn’t want to accept, however, that there was a kind of logic in focusing on the original patriarch’s alter to God, rather than Jerusalem, which wasn’t dedicated to God’s service until the construction of Solomon’s Temple many centuries later. (Jerusalem, as a town, had existed as a pagan settlement for many centuries before the descendants of Moses captured it centuries later.) In addition, the Bible supports the idea of praying in the direction of any extant temple that is dedicated to Allah alone.  Since the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed many centuries before, only the Ka’bah in Mecca (Becca) remained. See Psalm 138:2 and Psalms 84:1-10.

115 The term for prayer used in the Qur’an is salah. In the fullest sense, this word means “to make a connection with Allah,” and it also means “heat” or “burning.” When we pray, or make salah, we’re metaphorically making a hot connection with our Lord. It is linguistically related to and has the same import as the Aramaic word zelota and the Hebrew word tefillah, both of which mean “to stand before God in earnest.” As the Prophet Muhammad once said, “A servant of Allah is closest to his Lord when he’s bowing down to Him.” (Muslim) Prayer five times a day is due upon every Muslim who reaches the age of ten, though the Prophet advised we teach children to pray from the age of seven. Such frequent prayer keeps a person focused on Allah and his duty to Him all throughout the day. The Bible also teaches prayer at regular intervals throughout the day, and those who follow Judaism also perform regular, daily prayer. See I Samuel 20:41, Psalms 55:16-17 and Daniel 6:10.

116 The Prophet once said that there were three activities that could still bring blessings and rewards upon a person even after he or she was dead. They are to fund a charity that keeps on functioning long after the person is gone, to discover some knowledge that keeps benefiting people, and the prayers of a righteous child for his or her deceased parents. (Muslim)

117 A man named Abu Salamah returned home to his wife, Umm Salamah, and said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah say a statement that made me feel wonderful. He said, ‘No Muslim is stricken with an affliction and having said, ‘To Allah we belong, and to Him we return,’ when the affliction strikes, and then says, ‘O Allah! Reward me for my loss and give me something better than it,’ but that Allah will do just that.” Umm Salamah memorized the words of the supplication in verse 156, and not long afterwards, after her husband passed away from wounds sustained in the Battle of Uhud, Umm Salamah made the same supplication, but she also reported that she wondered aloud if there could be anyone better than her departed husband. After her waiting period had finished, the Prophet paid a visit to her house one day, and she gave him a pillow to sit on. After some pleasantries, the Prophet asked for her hand in marriage. Umm Salamah answered, “Messenger of Allah, it’s not that I don’t want you; it’s just that I’m a very jealous person. I’m afraid that you might suffer some ill manners from me, and then Allah might punish me. I’m also old, and I have children.” The Prophet replied, “As for the jealousy you mentioned, may Allah, the Most Exalted, remove it from you. As for your being old, as you mentioned, I also suffer from the same condition, and as for you already having children, they will be as my children, too.” She then readily agreed to marry him, and in later years she said, “Allah compensated me with someone who was better than Abu Salamah, and it was none other than Allah’s Own Messenger.” (Ahmad) The quoted phrase in verse 156 is also the standard condolence that one gives to a Muslim who is in mourning over a loved one who has passed on.

118 A’ishah said, “Some young men from the tribe of Quraysh came to visit me as I was in Mina (a place just outside of Mecca). They were laughing about something, so I asked, ‘Why are you laughing?’ They said, ‘Such and such person stumbled against the rope of the tent and almost broke his neck or lost his eyes.’ I said, ‘Don’t laugh, for I heard Allah’s Messenger saying, ‘If a Muslim steps on a thorn or (has an accident) more severe than that, there is assured for him (a higher) rank, and his sins are erased.’’” (Muslim)

119 Hiding useful knowledge is a crime in Islam, because it holds back the common good of humanity. When the famous companion, Mu’adh ibn Jabal, was on his deathbed, he told of the time when he was riding with the Prophet. The Prophet told him that it’s Allah’s right that no one should make partners with Him and that it’s the right of Allah’s servants that He won’t punish any of them (in Hellfire) if they refrained from making partners with Him. Mu’adh became excited and asked the Prophet if he should tell everyone the good news, and the Prophet told him not to tell people because they would only rely on that (i.e., they would abandon the practices of Islam in the hopes of getting Allah’s mercy merely by not worshipping others besides Him). (Bukhari, Muslim) Mu’adh explained that he was telling others about this incident on his deathbed, after having kept it a secret for so long, because this verse condemned hiding knowledge. The Prophet is also reported to have said, “Whoever was asked about something he knows, but then hides it, will have a bridle made of fire tied around his mouth on the Day of Judgment.” (Ahmad)

120 The Prophet said, “Turn to Allah, you people, offer repentance and seek His forgiveness.  I, myself, offer my repentance a hundred times a day.”   (Muslim)

121 Muslims believe that the Qur’an is the last in a long line of scriptures from Allah that include the Torah, Psalms and Gospel. Each message confirms the other, and the Qur’an is the final testament from Allah to humanity. Read this verse, and then compare it with these two verses from the Bible that quote Moses and Jesus saying the same thing: Deuteronomy 6:4 and Mark 12:29.

122 The famous Muslim mystic, Rabi’a al Adawiyya was once asked if she loved Allah, and she replied in the affirmative.  Then she asked if she hated the Devil and she replied, “My love for Allah leaves me no time to hate the Devil.”  The Prophet Muhammad was exemplar in all things for his followers, and he once said, “Whoever loves to meet Allah, Allah loves to meet them.”  (Ibn Majah)  Love is the basis of the relationship between humans and the Divine.  Love is the spark that makes a person worthy of redemption and salvation in this life and the next.  It is easy to fall into a life of anger and hate, and many are the believers who fall prey to this trick of Shaytan.  Sometimes the desire for justice or revenge becomes the lens through which one sees the world and their purpose in it.  How many people with Muslim-sounding names have been fooled by Shaytan into committing evil acts and harming innocents?  When Shaytan said he would mislead humans, few are the Muslims who ever think that they could also be targets of his campaigns of deception, redirection, and perversion of the ideals of the faith.  Justice is a noble cause, no doubt, and people must seek it and sometimes fight for it, but when injustice to others is the method for redress, then the justice that is sought becomes tainted, and Shaytan celebrates another victory in his war against the Truth of Allah’s Word, that all shall receive their recompense as they deserve.

123 The Prophet said, “Allah, the Almighty, is good, and He accepts only that which is good. Allah has commanded the faithful to do the same things that he commanded the messengers to do. The Almighty said, ‘O Messengers! Eat only of wholesome things, and do what is morally right.’ (23:51) Allah, the Almighty, also said, ‘O you who believe! Eat of the wholesome things that We’ve provided for you.’” (2:172) Then the Prophet mentioned the case of a man who undertook a long and arduous journey. He was disheveled and dusty, and he spread out his hands to the sky saying, “O Lord! O Lord!” Then the Prophet said, “He was calling on Allah while his food was unlawful, his drink was unlawful, his clothing was unlawful, and he nourished himself unlawfully. So how can he expect to be answered?” (Muslim)

124 Christians and Jews are also forbidden to eat pork in Leviticus 11:7-8 among other verses of the Old Testament, though Paul (not Jesus—see Matthew 5:17-20) made it permissible for Christians to eat (I Corinthians 8:8, 10:23, Colossians 2:18, I Timothy 4:3-4, etc.) in his quest to make it easier for non-Jews to adopt the new religion he was formulating. See Romans 1:16, 4:15.

125 The Prophet gave the definition of a Muslim thus: “Whoever prays in our manner, facing our prayer-direction, and eats what is slaughtered in our way, that person is a Muslim.” (Bukhari, Muslim) Would that our modern sectarian-minded fellows adopted such a broad and inclusive definition of who is a real Muslim!

126 We may find ourselves in a desperate survival situation where there is literally nothing else to eat.  If this is the case, we can eat the forbidden meats only until we get out of the desperate situation.  Even then, we can only eat what is tantamount to a “survival portion.”  One must not make it a banquet; this is merely an emergency allowance.  The Prophet also allowed a starving person to eat from fruit trees or cultivated fields, even though they don’t own them, as long as they don’t carry away any of it with them.  (Ibn Kathir)

127 The Arabic term for a traveler is ibn as-sabeel, which literally means “a son of the road.” Helping travelers who are far from home, giving them shelter and helping them on their way is a virtue in Islam, and this is reflected in the many caravansaries, or traveler’s inns, that Muslim rulers have established, at state expense over the centuries, as the earliest forms of the “rest area” concept.

128 The Prophet said, “Allah will free from Hellfire anyone who frees a believing slave.” (Bukhari) On another occasion the Prophet said, “Whoever builds a mosque, then Allah will build for him a house in Paradise. Whoever frees a slave, then Allah will make that freed slave a ransom for him and save him from Hellfire. Whoever grows old in Islam will have a radiant light on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever shoots an arrow in the cause of Allah, whether it hits its target or not, will receive a reward equal to freeing a slave from one of Ishmael’s descendants.” (Ahmad)

129 The Prophet said that Allah, Himself, has declared, “I am for My servant as he thinks of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me.  So if he remembers Me in his mind, I also remember him in My mind.  If he remembers Me in a gathering, I also remember him in a gathering much better than his.”  (Bukhari, Muslim)

130 The Prophet said, “Whoever aids in the killing of a Muslim, even if by only something he said, then he will have to face Allah with a sign written between his eyes that will say, ‘To be left out of the mercy of Allah.’” (Ibn Majah) When one considers the sheer amount of killing that happens among people—even among Muslims—especially the killing of the innocent, one can do nothing but weep for the misguided souls who make a joke of their own religion and follow their own whims and base motivations.

131 The principle of fair retribution, or qisas, that is laid out here means that the penalty for murder is capital punishment, unless the family of the victim forgives the attacker and accepts what is called “blood-money.”  Some commentators think these verses refer to the deal made between two of Medina’s three Jewish tribes.  Before the coming of Islam, the two Jewish tribes of Banu Nadir and Banu Qurayzah had a war with each other, and the Banu Nadir came out the clear winner.  They forced the Banu Qurayzah to accept a very unequal concept of justice in which the murder of a person from the Banu Nadir by a person of the Banu Qurayzah would result in the killer’s execution, but if a person of the Banu Nadir murdered someone of the Banu Qurayzah, then the Banu Nadir would only have to pay a fine of several pounds of dates in compensation.  This was against the Torah, which called for capital punishment equally.  (See Genesis 9:6 where capital punishment for murder is required.  Also see the Biblical book of Numbers, verse 35:31.)

132 The Prophet said, “There are three acts, and whoever does them will be allowed to enter Paradise from whichever gate he likes, and whichever pleasure-mate (houri) he likes will be joined with him. They are to forgive the one who murdered you (on Judgment Day), repaying a hidden debt, and to recite chapter 112 ten times.” Abu Bakr asked, “What if someone only performs one of these acts?” The Prophet answered, “Even one has the same status in reward.” (Abu Ya’la)

133 The Old Testament of the Bible prescribes violent retaliation for a variety of crimes in chapter 21 of Exodus, but only the Qur’an (see 5:45 and 41:34) provides a realistic way for the aggrieved family of a murder victim to modify or cancel the prescribed punishments if it so chooses.  (Perhaps the relatives want to spare the killer for some reason.)   The ‘turn the other cheek when wronged’ advice of Jesus contained in Matthew 5:38-41, while noble in spirit, is more difficult to implement, and there are few examples in Christian history to point to that would make us confident of its practicality. Interestingly, a murderer is not entitled to inherit from the person he murdered.  The Prophet said, “A murderer shall not inherit.”  (Mishkat)  This is a great disincentive to many types of murder based on greed and jealousy of one’s parents or other relatives.

134 Fasting is a practice with roots in all religions. (See Joel 2:12, Acts 9:9 etc.) The Prophet said, “Fasting is the charity of the body.” (Ibn Majah)

135 The jurists of Islam have not been unanimous in deciding what the minimum traveling distance is before a person can be considered a traveler and thus be released from fasting, (though the days must be made up later). Figures have ranged from less than 10 miles to as many as 48 miles. This is due to the fact that there are no unanimous distances given in the prophetic traditions. This is also a challenging question today when a person may drive for a few hours to reach a destination by car—a distance that might have taken two or three days by horse or camel in the old days. The eminent twentieth-century scholar, Abul A’la Maududi, offered a compromise solution: you know when you’re traveling, rather than merely taking a small day trip. Therefore, when you feel you are traveling on a real journey (to another state or country or a far distance in which you are inconvenienced), then you can rightly consider yourself a traveler. Interestingly, the Arabic term used here for traveling is safar, from which we get the English term “safari.”

136 If a person is too old or physically unhealthy, or if a woman is nursing her baby or is pregnant, and cannot safely fast, and such a person cannot ever hope to make up the fasts later due to their extreme ill-health or the large number of missed fasts (such as for pregnancy issues), then they can feed one poor person a day for every day of Ramadan that they missed. Women on their monthly courses do not fast on those days, but they must make the missed days up after Ramadan is over, a day for a day. (Ibn Kathir) This is called paying fidyah or “compensation.”

137 The Prophet delivered this sermon on the day before one particular Ramadan began: “O you people! A great and blessed month has arrived for you, a month with a night that is better than a thousand months. Fasting during this month is a duty, and extra prayers during its nights are voluntary. Anyone who comes closer to Allah through a good deed during this month, it is as if he performed an obligation during times other than Ramadan. He who fulfills an obligation in it will be like one who fulfills seventy obligations in another month. It is the month of patience, and the reward of patience is Paradise. It is the month to visit the poor, the sick and the needy to share their sorrows. It is the month where the food, sustenance, and the earnings of believing Muslims increase and they are blessed. Anyone who invites others to break their fast at dusk will have his sins forgiven and be saved from Hell. He will receive a reward equal to the fasting person without reducing his own reward at all. Allah will reward you even if you help the fasting Muslim to break his fast with a date, a sip of water or milk...it’s a month whose beginning is mercy, its middle is forgiveness and its last part is freedom from Hell. Anyone who helps free a slave, Allah will forgive him and free him from Hell. Increase in yourselves four things: two with which you can please your Lord, and two others without which you can’t live. The first two things that will please Allah are to declare that there is no god but Allah and then to ask Allah’s forgiveness... The other two, which you can’t live without, are to ask Allah for Paradise and to ask His protection from Hell. Anyone who gives water to a Muslim at fast-breaking time, Allah will give him water during the Day of Judgment from the fountain of Prophet Muhammad, which will quench his thirst until he enters Paradise.” (Bukhari)

138 The name Ramadan literally means the time of great heat and thirst.

139 A man broke his fast (intentionally) during Ramadan. The Prophet ordered him to either free a slave, fast for two months, or feed sixty poor people (to compensate for his indiscretion). The man said, “I can’t manage any of those things.” The Prophet then said, “Sit down, and wait.” Then a huge basket of dates was brought to the Prophet. He said to the man, “Take these, and give them as charity.” The man answered, “Messenger of Allah, there is no one poorer than I.” The Prophet then laughed so loudly that his teeth were showing. Then he said, “So eat them yourself.” (Abu Dawûd)

140 The Prophet said, “Your supplications will be answered, but wait patiently for your Lord to respond. Don’t lose hope and begin to complain, saying, ‘I called upon my Lord, but He never answered.’” (Bukhari) Umar bin al Khattab said, “Go easy on yourself, for the outcome of all affairs is determined by Allah’s decree. If something is meant to go elsewhere, it will never come your way, but if it is yours by destiny, from you it cannot flee.”

141 Adi ibn Hatim said, “When the verse: ‘Until the white thread of dawn appears distinct from its black thread’ was revealed, I took a white rope and a black rope and placed them beneath my pillow. Then I looked at them (in the early dawn), but they were not clear to my eyes, so later I mentioned it to the Messenger of Allah. He laughed and said, ‘Your pillow is so gigantic, and long! (That verse is really referring to) the blackness of night and the whiteness of day, (not literally to threads).’” (Abu Dawûd) The Prophet explained what dawn was by saying: “Eat and drink and do not be rushed by the ascending (white) light. Eat and drink until the redness (of the dawn) appears.” (Ahmad) Just before the time for the daily fast begins, the Prophet urged his followers to take a small meal called suhoor to help them make it through the day.

142 People who live in the extreme north or south of the globe, where there are prolonged periods of dark and light, must observe the fast according to a regular timetable that reflects the rhythms of normal life elsewhere on the globe. Once a man asked the Prophet what people would do if they lived in a place where there was shortened day or night, and he responded, “Then go by normal days.” I.e., fix a schedule regardless of the movement of the sun. This principle can be applied to prayer during space travel, as well.

143 The practice of worshipful seclusion, or retreat, in the mosque near the close of Ramadan is called i'tikaf. It is a custom the Prophet always engaged in as Ramadan came to a close. Oftentimes his wives would also do i’tikaf. It is a period from one to ten days spent in the mosque, where a person engages in prayer, supplication, studying religion and seeking Allah’s forgiveness. One may leave the mosque for legitimate needs, as long as they return when the need is fulfilled.

144 In modern times, the shape of the crescent moon has become a de facto symbol of the Muslim people. The Prophet did not use this symbol on flags, however, and all the information we have is that he would alternate between using black or white banners. (He had a white cloth enwrapped on a spear (liwa) and a black cloth he would leave unfurled on a separate spear (rayah). Some reports note that he had the kalimah, or phrase of Islam, printed on them. He used these two types of standards on different occasions, as reported in Ibn Majah, Abu Dawûd and Tirmidhi.) The crescent moon as a symbol was in use in the Byzantine empire from about the year 610. In the year 1299, a Turkish chieftain named Sultan Osman saw a crescent moon covering the world in his dream. He had just finished conquering most of Anatolia, and perhaps this portent suggested to him that his successors would one day rule a mighty empire. He took that crescent as a symbol of his reign. By the fifteenth century this symbol became common in the lands of Islam. Sultan Mehmet II adopted it as the official standard of the Ottoman empire in 1453 after Constantinople fell to his forces. The star was added in 1793 by Sultan Selim III.

145 With regards to the “doors” mentioned here, the pagan Arabs had a strange superstition that held if a person wanted to conduct a religious pilgrimage and consecrated himself for that purpose, then he could not enter his house through the front door. Instead he would jump over a fence, climb in a window, or enter through a back door. This verse addresses this practice and nullifies it. It has even become something of a proverb in the Arab world to the effect that open action is better than secretive schemes. (Ibn Kathir)

146 Here is the first important usage of the Arabic word qital, which means “to battle, to kill,” or “to fight.” There is a myth among critics of Islam that this verse is ordering Muslims to kill all non-believers. Such a proposition is preposterous and unsubstantiated. Any person with even limited comprehension skills can see that this verse is giving permission to fight back against those who attacked you first. After this, verse 192 clearly defines when the fighting must end—when the enemy isn’t threatening or attacking you anymore. There is another myth also, and that is that the related word jihad is the Arabic term for “holy war.” Besides the fact that there is no such religious term in Arabic for a holy war, the word jihad literally means to “struggle” or “strive” in a cause, whether physical, spiritual, or even mental. (See 6:109 where the root form of the word jihad is used to amplify the strength of a strong oath, or 25:52 where it is specifically used to promote an intellectual defense of Islam.) One must clearly question the motives of the critics of Islam who chose to quote (or misquote) parts of verses or passages without including the surrounding verses that explain the text as a whole. Have they considered passages from the Bible, such as Exodus 22:20, in which it is stated unequivocally that pagans must be killed?

147 Islam accepts the concept of “the just war.” The commentators are unanimous in saying that this verse allows fighting against an enemy that attacks Muslims unprovoked, but it also stipulates that the Muslim side must exhibit self-control and not go beyond the limits of humane conduct in wartime. The Prophet said, “Fight for the sake of Allah, and fight those who reject Allah, but don’t loot, commit treachery, mutilate (the dead or wounded), or kill a child or those who reside in houses of worship.” (Muslim) On another occasion he explicitly forbade the killing of women and children. (Bukhari, Muslim) He also is quoted as forbidding the killing of civilians and animals, and he even forbade the unnecessary destruction of buildings and crops. (Ibn Kathir) The utterly grotesque interpretations of some modern extremist groups—equating suicide bombing, wanton destruction and the killing of civilians with authentic religiously-recognized martyrdom—is unknown and abhorred in the legal annals of traditional Islam. Modern extremist groups have merely adopted the concept of suicide bombings from non-Muslim, secular movements and have been blinded by their efficiency in expressing anger and revenge. (See the rulings against suicide attacks and wanton mayhem contained in the recent scholarly book entitled, Defending the Transgressed by Censuring the Reckless Against the Killing of Civilians, by Shaykh Muhammad Afif al-Akiti.) In several sayings, the Prophet also required a man to get the permission of his parents before he could participate in a physical jihad. (Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawûd, as quoted in, The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam, by Yusuf al-Qaradawi.)

148 In other words, if an enemy attacks you, then fight with all your might.  However, if the enemy wants to make peace, then you must be forbearing and even magnanimous, even as Allah is more than willing to forgive us our sins.  (Abraham Lincoln echoed this principle of reconciling with former enemies by declaring after the American Civil War that there should be, “Malice towards none and charity for all.”)  Forgiving a former enemy or making peace is an indication of a nobler disposition.  No Muslim, however, is allowed to do battle in the precincts of Mecca.  The Prophet once explained that Mecca has been made a sacred place by Allah since the beginning of the world and that not even trees or thorns can be cut there.  Then, referring to the conquest of Mecca, he said that Allah removed the sanctity of Mecca for him for just one day, so he could enter the city and take control.  Even still, the city surrendered peacefully, and there were no open battles. (Though a small band of about a dozen or two men led by Abu Jahl’s son tried to start a skirmish in a back alley, they wound up fleeing instead).  In another report, the Prophet said, “If anyone gives permission (to make war) ever again (here in Mecca) using my example as a justification, tell him that Allah permitted this to His Messenger and did not permit it to you.”  (Bukhari, Muslim)

149 A Muslim is required to stand up for justice, especially if an evil or tyrannical government is oppressing its people. The only type of government that Islam can accommodate or coexist with is one in which people have broad religious and personal freedom and which is not oppressing its citizens unfairly. Islam provides a mechanism to motivate people to fight for their own freedom. That is not to say that every such resistance group follows Islamic dictates in its techniques, for there are many extremists of all faiths in the world who betray the principles of their religion for expediency or other invalid reasons. The catalyst for any revolutionary movement is a desire to right the wrongs that have been done to its constituency. After identifying the validity of their grievances, then we can judge how closely those movements adhere to their stated ideals. It must be noted here that this verse does not tell Muslims to forcibly “take over the world and convert all non-believers,” as some alarmist (and dishonest) critics have contended, nor have Muslims traditionally ever understood this verse to mean any such thing. (Does Leviticus 26:7-8 or Deuteronomy 2:32-35 and 3:3-7 encourage Jews to be violent against all others or to commit war crimes? Probably not, but taken out of context it might seem so!) This verse is an exhortation to Muslims to fight those who oppress them, a basic right even an ardent critic of Islam cannot deny, for does not the Bible itself state that, “(there is) a time for war and a time for peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:8)

150 Self-control was not a hallmark of the pre-Islamic Arabs. Common pagan practices among the pre-Islamic Arabs were quite dramatic. Animals were sacrificed violently, and their blood was washed on the idols posted around the actual Ka’bah structure. Idols inside were prayed to fervently and “fed” with food offerings; divination occurred in the streets, and wild mystics from the desert were constantly making an appearance. People would also flagellate themselves, and the masses would walk around the Ka’bah, calling upon the names of their idols loudly. It was a common practice for many, especially women, to make this circuit naked. (Only people wearing clothes owned by a native Qurayshi could perform this ritual fully dressed.) This is how bizarre the culture was, and it is no wonder that the time before Islam is labeled as the time of Jahiliyyah or Ignorance.

151 There are two types of pilgrimage: the major pilgrimage, or Hajj; and the minor pilgrimage, or ‘Umrah. The Hajj is the once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims must undertake at least once in his or her life if they are of sound mind, past puberty, fit enough for the journey and financially able. It is performed in the month of Dhul-Hijjah only. The non-binding ‘Umrah can be performed at any time during the year and is counted as a pious act. Most pilgrims combine both types together by arriving in Mecca before the start of the Hajj, performing their ‘Umrah and then staying on to complete the Hajj. While in Mecca the pilgrims participate in a number of rituals, both within the city and out in the countryside, that enable them to rededicate their lives to Allah through meaningful acts of penance and worship. The Prophet once said of it, “Hurry to go on your pilgrimage if it is due upon you, for none among you knows what will happen to him tomorrow.” (Ahmad)

152 As part of the pilgrimage ritual, men must shave all or part of their heads to signify rebirth. Women can merely cut off a lock of hair and are not required to shave their heads bald.

153 In general, the seven fasting days are to be done after the three-day end-of-Hajj holiday festival known as the ‘Eid-ul-Adha, or Festival of the Sacrifice. Those three days are known as the days of tashreeq, or “celebration,” and the Prophet said of them: “The days of tashreeq are for eating and drinking and remembering Allah.” (Muslim) If the person forgot to fast for three days during the Hajj, he can fast during the tashreeq days. (Ibn Kathir) Also see 2:203 where the days of tashreeq are also mentioned.

154 The traditional Arabian months of Dhul-Qa’dah, Dhul-Hijjah and Muharram were set aside for pilgrimage, though the actual Hajj rites are fixed in the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah.

155 Arab pilgrims who went on religious journeys (before Islam) used to take to the road with no supplies. They would beg along the way to their destinations and they considered it a sacred duty. This verse is telling Muslims to bring some supplies on their journeys, as there is no holiness in being a beggar.

156 Trade, business transactions and shopping are permitted while on the Hajj journey, but not while one is engaged in the midst of the holy rituals that are scheduled daily. The pre-Islamic Arabs restricted themselves from engaging in trade during their religious pilgrimages, but when the issue came up after Mecca had become Muslim, the Prophet received this revelation allowing it as long as it didn’t interfere with the required rituals. There are many arduous and exhausting rituals in a typical pilgrimage, and taking a break for shopping is a welcome diversion during times of rest or when the day’s assigned rituals have ended.

157 The name for this plain, ‘Arafah, is derived from the word “to know.” The idea is that there, on that barren plain, one can finally know the full weight of what Judgment Day will mean and how dependent our lives are upon Allah.

158 The Sacred Monument is a place located about halfway between ‘Arafah and Mina where the Prophet stopped on his pilgrimage to pray. It is known as Muzdalifah.

159 Some Meccan clans in pre-Islamic times used to stop at Muzdalifah and not continue on towards ‘Arafah. This verse tells them that as Muslims now, they must move along swiftly with the rest of the people to ‘Arafah, for the rituals there were declared an integral part of the pilgrimage.

160 The “appointed days” are the 11^th through the 13^th day of the month of Hajj. (Ibn Kathir)

161 There is evidence that all human beings (the descendants of Adam and Eve) were at one time living in close proximity to each other in Africa, and then they scattered away over the four corners of the earth due to environmental pressure. Linguists have also shown that all languages in the world today have certain similarities and that this points to a common tongue that our ancestors shared in the distant past. Languages as diverse as ancient Sanskrit (from India), Greek (from Europe), and Native American Indian languages have been shown to be drawn from a common primordial root. Researchers have estimated that this more unified “proto-language” existed some 15,000 or more years ago, and it has been dubbed Nostratic. (Lost Civilisations of the Stone Age, by R. Rudgley, 1998) These earliest people had one way of life based on the natural religion of Allah. Tribal messengers were chosen by Allah, and they taught their people the proper way to live (for that time).

162 These would be the prophets from prehistoric times to the dawn of human civilization in the Middle East and elsewhere—men whose names and stories we generally do not and probably can never know, although such names may have survived in the mythology and legends of many cultures. (Were Zeus, Odin, Gilgamesh, Pangku and so many other notable subjects of myth originally true prophets or heroes whose stories were transformed through the ages into grotesque legends?) There is a widely circulated saying of Prophet Muhammad in which he is purported to have said that there were 124,000 prophets raised up in human history and 313 messengers. The messengers were sent with organized bodies of teachings such as could be codified in a book (if writing was available), while the regular prophets were spiritual guides and bringers of prophecy. A few individuals like Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad embodied both offices in one person. Although scholars are of the opinion that the prophets were all male, two women are mentioned in the Qur’an as having received communications from Allah: Mary, the mother of Jesus (see 3:42-43), and Jochebed the mother of Moses (see 20:38, 28:7).

163 What form did early scriptures take? If it is remembered that the term kitab can mean a “written book” or an “oral body of organized precepts,” then we can assume that early scriptures may have been oral collections as well.

164 On the general issue of charitable giving, the Prophet once said, “No possession is too lowly to be given as charity; Allah gives greater honor to one who forgives, and He elevates the one who humbles himself.” (Muslim)

165 The Prophet was once asked, “Which of three persons carries on a struggle for the cause of Allah: the one who fights to show his bravery, the one who fights for honor or the one who does it to impress others?” The Prophet replied, “The one who struggles to uphold the message of Allah is the person who struggles in the cause of Allah.” (Bukhari, Muslim)

166 Paul wrote in I Timothy 5:23 that Christians should prefer drinking wine instead of water because wine can be good for the health. Modern medicine has indeed found that there are certain chemical components called antioxidants in red wine that are healthful; yet similar antioxidant qualities can be found in regular red grapes and its juice, and the humble açaí berry has more antioxidants than red wine! When one adds up the extreme negatives of alcoholic beverages, which include drunkenness, accidental killings, liver disease, birth defects, child and spousal abuse and the like—all aided and abetted by liquor—then it’s true that its harm is greater than its benefit! The evils of liquor have led some Christians to forbid it altogether, in defiance of Paul.  (The Christian Temperance Movement even succeeded in getting intoxicants banned in the United States for a number of years in the era of Prohibition from 1920 to 1933.)

167 Verse 6:152 goes further in admonition, telling guardians not to seize or misuse the property of an orphan.

168 Islam directs people to have special love and concern for orphans. The Prophet said, “I and the person who looks after an orphan and provides for him will be in Paradise like this,” and he put his middle and index fingers together. (Bukhari)

169 The Bible also forbids marriage to idolaters and non-believers in general in Deuteronomy 7:3, Leviticus 18:21, II Corinthians 6:14-18 and Ezra 9:3.

170 The Prophet was reported to kiss, hug and caress his wives during their periods. The Prophet said that men could “…do everything you wish, except for intercourse,” with their menstruating wives.  (Ahmad)  In later years, a man named Masruq went to visit A’ishah to ask a question, as she was one of the most important scholars among the surviving companions of the Prophet, and he said, “I want to ask you about something, but I feel too shy.”  She said, “I am (like) your mother, and you are (like) my son.”  So he said, “What can a man enjoy of his wife when she is having her menses?”  A’ishah answered, “Everything except her private part.”  (At-Tabari)   A’ishah also reported that while on her menses, she used to wash the Prophet’s hair, cradle his head in her lap while he recited the Qur’an, share food with him from the same plate, drink from the same cup and even pass through the mosque if on an errand.  (Bukhari)  On her menses, a woman does not offer the ritual prayers and does not need to make them up when her menses is finished. The Prophet also encouraged menstruating women to attend Islamic festivals and make supplications, even though they can’t join in the ritual prayers.  They can do all rituals of the Hajj except for the march around of the Ka’bah. (Bukhari)   A woman also does not do any fasting during this time, but she must make up any missed Ramadan fasts later.  When the menses days are ended, the woman must take a full bath to attain a state of ritual cleanliness again.  Opinion is divided about whether a woman on her menses can touch a Qur’an or recite it aloud, with the common position being “no” for the first question and “yes” for the second.

171 The Prophet once said to a gathering, “The one who repents of his sin is like one who never (did that) sin.” Then he recited, “Indeed, Allah loves the repentant, and He loves the pure.” [2:222] Then someone asked what the sign of sincere repentance was, and the Prophet replied, “(Having a genuine feeling of) remorse.” The last part of this verse is the basis of a supplication to be made after ritual washing for prayer. The supplication is, “O Allah, make me among the repentant, and make me among the pure.”

172 With regards to the doing of “something beautiful” before full intimacy, the Prophet advised men to caress and kiss their wives passionately for some time before going any further. This was to satisfy their wives’ legitimate needs, rather than the men merely satisfying only themselves. He referred to such tenderness as sending ambassadors ahead. He also said that if anyone said the following words before beginning intimacy that their offspring will never be harmed by Satan: “In the Name of Allah. O Allah, protect us from Satan, and also protect from Satan whatever You bestow upon us.” (Bukhari)

173 Vows made in anger or swearing by Allah’s name for small things that should not have even had Allah’s name invoked, such as saying, “I swear to Allah that it’s my pencil,” are reprehensible. Two brothers received an inheritance to share during the rule of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (d. 644). One brother wanted to divide the property and take his share, while the other brother wanted to keep it intact. The second brother, who was the older and more powerful one, threatened his younger brother, saying, “If you ask me about dividing the inheritance again, then I swear that I’ll spend all of it on the Ka’bah’s door!” When ‘Umar was informed, he told the older brother, “The Ka’bah doesn’t need your money, so break your vow, pay the penalty and come to terms with your brother.” (Abu Dawûd)

174 In pre-Islamic times, if a man wanted to leave his wife but didn’t want her to marry another, he would swear to abstain from sleeping with her but then not divorce her no matter how much time passed. This cruel treatment would leave the woman in limbo, neither being released nor taken back. Sometimes the man would abstain from his wife for years. A maximum time limit of four months is imposed here, mostly for the purpose of giving the man a defined deadline within which he must either reconcile or lose his wife forever. Thus, this rule forces the recalcitrant or obstinate man to set his wife free so she can get on with her life. (Of note, the woman is not required to accept offers of reconciliation from the man and may seek a divorce on her own.) Compare with Deuteronomy 24: 1-4.

175 The Prophet once remarked that the most hateful thing in Allah’s sight that He has allowed is divorce. (Abu Dawûd) The Qur’an, therefore, while providing provisions to regulate it legally, constantly counsels reconciliation and even imposes a three-month waiting period, or ‘iddah, before the divorce can be finalized. This is so the couple can know if the wife is pregnant or not, a mitigating factor that may cause them to reconcile, since the welfare of the new child will be at stake. See 65:1-7 for more details on the waiting period and related matters.

176 There are four types of marital dissolution recognized in Islamic law: male initiated divorce (talaq), in which the female keeps her full dowry; female initiated divorce (khul’), in which case the woman may have to give up all or part of her dowry to be released from the marriage tie; annulment (faskh), for perhaps an illegal, forced marriage; and finally, cancellation by a judge (tafriq), which is usually initiated by a woman who wants to divorce an abusive husband and still get her full dowry from him by court order.

177 The “edge” that this verse refers to is the fact that men are obligated to care for women and thus have more responsibility. This translates into a few seemingly inequitable things such as a man receiving twice the inheritance of a woman. However this seeming advantage actually rebounds back upon them for men are responsible to spend of their money on the family, while women are not obligated to do so. Further, men must pay a dowry to their brides and also support their elderly parents and other disadvantaged relatives. See the first clause contained in 4:34 where men are given this responsibility. The edge also may refer to the fact that men are thought to have the first choice at initiating reconciliation talks.

178 A man once asked the Prophet what the rights of his wife were, and he said, “To feed her when you eat, to buy her clothes when you buy for yourself, not to smack her on her face, not to curse at her, and not to ignore her (in public places, if you’re angry with her), but rather only in the house.” (Abu Dawûd) Ibn ‘Abbas (d. 687) said, “On account of what Allah said (in this verse), I like to take care of my appearance for my wife, just as I like her to take care of her appearance for me.” (At-Tabari) It is important to note that the Prophet extolled the virtues of good personal grooming. He bathed daily, brushed his teeth many times a day, kept his hair and beard well-combed and advised people to wear scented oils.

179 There is a myth that a Muslim man need only say, “I divorce you,” to his wife three times, and suddenly she is a penniless divorcee thrown out on the street with no property or rights.  Beyond the abuse and fancies of the ignorant masses, there is a prophetically sanctioned procedure that draws a divorce out over three months, thus allowing people time to cool their anger, reassess their decisions, or finalize their separation plans, if necessary.  The man who intends to divorce his wife should pronounce his intention while she is off her menses and provided they had no relations since her last menses.  Thereafter, the couple should sleep in separate rooms, and the husband is not allowed to force the wife to leave the home.  If a month passes and there was no intimacy or reconciliation, the husband pronounces divorce again and the process continues.  If the pronouncement is made again in the third month, then the divorce is finalized, and he is not eligible to remarry her unless she were married and divorced by another.  See verse 230 below.  It is considered bad conduct for a man to pronounce, “I divorce you,” three times all at once, and ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (d. 644), one of the Prophet’s closest companions, used to order men to be flogged for doing it, for it requires that a man divorce his wife without any chance at reconciliation and prevent them from ever getting back together until she marries and divorces another.  Interestingly, during the three-month waiting period, the man is not allowed to harass his wife, nor may he put her out of the house (unless it is after a third pronouncement and at least one of them must leave the house, depending on who actually owns it).  In the male-initiated divorce settlement, the wife keeps all of her own property and wealth—there is no palimony in Islam, and she may put a legal claim on some of the man’s property or income as maintenance, as well, and also receive child support.  (Chapter 65 also contains supplementary regulations on this topic.)

180 In Islam, a woman can seek a divorce from her husband, though she may be required to return either all, or at least a portion, of the dowry, or marriage-gift, that he gave to her to compensate him for his loss as she was breaking the marriage contract with him through no fault of his own.  (Also see 4:128 and footnote.)  Today, this is usually determined in a divorce court proceeding, and the practice of female-initiated divorce is called khul’ in Islamic law.  If a man divorces his wife, however, he is not entitled to take any of her dowry, and he may have to pay spousal and child support, as well.  The Prophet set the waiting period for a woman who initiates divorce at only one month, during which time she moves out of the house (if the husband owns it, or he moves out if she owns it).  (Tirmidhi)

181 This provision is for the fickle-minded who can’t decide if they want to remain married or not. Perhaps they were not compatible with each other after all, and only by marrying someone else will that be made apparent. The marriage the woman has to another man must be consummated before she can decide to divorce him and get back together with her first husband. (Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad) This makes people think twice about the consequences of their divorce pronouncements.

182 So if the third monthly course is completed, and the man never pronounced “divorce” a third time, then the couple can either decide to renew their marriage or go their separate ways in dignity and honor If the man did pronounce “divorce” three times by this point, there is no chance for reconciliation, and the divorce is mandatory and irrevocable (unless they both remarry and divorce another).

183 It is a sin for a man to reconcile with his wife only out of a twisted desire to harass or abuse his wife’s peace of mind and perhaps try to gain some advantage over her, financial or otherwise. This deviant, vengeful desire pollutes a person down to his core!

184 When the Prophet heard of a man who pronounced “divorce” three times in a row, he got angry and said, “Are you turning the Book of Allah into a joke, even while I’m still here among you!” (Nisa’i)

185 A former maidservant named Barirah (who had been freed by A’ishah) divorced her husband Mughith, who was still a bonded servant. Mughith was distraught and would publicly trail behind Barirah in tears. The Prophet said to one of his companions, “’Abbas! Aren’t you amazed at how much love Mughith has for Barirah and how much hatred Barirah has for Mughith?” The Prophet then asked Barirah, “Why don’t you take him back?” Thereupon Barirah asked, “Messenger of Allah, are you ordering me to take him back or only suggesting it?” The Prophet replied, “No, I’m only interceding for him.” Barirah remarked, “Then I do not accept the suggestion, for I have no need of him.” (Bukhari) No man can cling to a former wife and seek to reassert his control over her, and no well-wisher can force a couple back together.

186 The suggested amount of time that a baby should be breast fed is two years. The maximum, according to the scholars, is two and a half years. If a woman is unable or averse to doing this, then a wet nurse can be hired to complete the term. In ancient Mecca, upper class women, for example, held a low opinion of breastfeeding, and that’s what fueled the custom of sending their newborns to bedouin foster mothers for nursing. The Prophet, himself, was sent to a bedouin lady named Halimah al-Sa’diyya to be nursed and weaned. Even divorced couples must make a definitive decision with regards to this important issue in their baby’s development.

187 Interestingly enough, in this verse, the Qur’an uses the word for mother, but not the corresponding word for father, using instead the neutral and distant sounding term, “...the one to whom a child was born.” Some have suggested it is to emphasize to the father his duty to pay the expenses of his child, even though he may be divorced, because the child will carry on his lineage and last name. On the flip side, perhaps this is also a way of saying the mother is closer to the child than the father. The Prophet emphasized this once in a saying when he advised that the mother is three times more worthy of respect than the father.

188 If a divorce occurs, the husband will be held financially liable to fully support his divorced wife and their baby through the waiting period months (‘iddah). After this, during the nursing process of two years, the ex-wife can demand financial support from him for her nursing services. Beyond this rule, the husband can possibly be compelled by a family court to pay full or partial child support for any and all young children he produced, as long as the woman does not remarry, though the man cannot be reduced to poverty by its strictures. If for some reason the mother cannot complete two years of suckling, a wet nurse can be hired to complete the time. Generally, in traditional Islamic law, women get automatic custody of children who are below the age of discretion, which is set at about eight years of age. If a woman is known to be immoral or mentally unfit, then a judge may order custody to be given to the father. The non-custodial parent will, of course, have the right to be consulted on major decisions regarding his or her children’s upbringing, and he or she is by no means prevented from seeing them, unless he or she is a known danger to the child’s health and a judge forbids contact. If the mother has full custody and she remarries, then support and custody issues are handled in family court. (Also see the book entitled, Shari’ah: The Islamic Law, by ‘Abdur Rahman I. Doi, p. 214, which contains similar stipulations.) After children reach the age of discretion, they can decide with which parent they want to live, keeping in the mind that the other parent will still be a part of their life. (The idea that a child should have two separate homes that he or she shuttles between weekly is unknown in traditional Islamic family law.) If there are other issues involved that may be beyond the reasoning abilities of the child who is being consulted, such as the fitness of one parent or the other to look after the child properly, again a family court judge (Qadi) is to intervene and decide. The practical idea in Islam is that while both parents should have a hand in raising their children, the most tender years are reserved for the mother, while the father must do his duty and support his children. (Also see 65:6-7.)

189 The commentators say that this means that the husband is not allowed to seize his child who is living with his ex-wife in order to cause her sorrow, neither is he allowed to force his wife to personally suckle their child if she cannot or is unwilling. At the same time, the mother isn’t allowed to harm the child or refuse to see that he is nursed or cared for properly just to spite the father. The heir of the man who has a child to support must also be compelled to fund the financial obligations of the child’s departed father. (Ibn Kathir)

190 This verse clearly shows that divorced parents must make mutual decisions with regard to the health and well-being of their child. Thus, the rights of both parties are respected when a child is concerned. (Ibn Kathir)

191 The waiting period for a widow is longer than that of a divorcee to ensure with greater clarity that the widow is, in fact, definitely not pregnant by her departed husband. (It helps dispel any doubts as to paternity.) Islam encourages widows to remarry, unlike some other traditions such as Hinduism, which forbids a widow to remarry, offering her the choice of exile from the family or the travails of the ancient practice of widows leaping onto their husband’s funeral pyres. The Prophet led the example in encouraging remarriage for widows in that most of his wives were widows. If a man dies before consummating his marriage to his new bride, his widow gets her full dowry from his estate based upon a ruling from the Prophet who ordered such on behalf of a non-consummated widow named Barwa’ bint Washiq. (Ahmad, Nisa’i, Abu Dawûd) If a woman becomes a widow while she is pregnant, her waiting period ends at the birth of the child based upon the following incident: A woman named Subay’ah al-Aslamiya was pregnant when her husband Sa’d passed away. She gave birth less than a week later. When her post-natal bleeding ended, she beautified herself whenever she went out in public to attract those who might want to ask for her hand in marriage. A man named

Abu Sanabil saw her and said, “Why do I see you beautifying yourself? Are you looking to get married? By Allah, you shouldn’t marry until the four months and ten days have passed.” Subay’ah recounts what happened next in her own words: “When he said that to me, I got dressed at nightfall and went to the Messenger of Allah and asked him about this matter. He told me that my waiting period ended when I gave birth, and he allowed me to get married whenever I wished.” (Bukhari, Muslim)

192 This verse is looking out for the interests of widows. Women who are at their most vulnerable must not be pressured by overly eager men seeking commitments from them. That is why a final decision on remarriage must not be made while the woman is trying to put her life and peace of mind back in order, nor is a marriage contract made during a waiting period valid in an Islamic court of law. (Ibn Kathir)

193 This type of gift, which is not the same as the regular dowry, is given to a woman who is divorced before the consummation of marriage and before the settling of the regular dowry amount. It is called a mu’tah gift.

194 The Prophet once said that if a person did not miss their morning (fajr) or late-afternoon (‘asr) prayers, then they would go to Paradise. On another occasion the Prophet said that the angels come and go all day and that they change shifts at the time of the morning and the late afternoon prayers. Thus, when Allah asks them what His servants were doing, though He already knows, the angels would say they left them while they were at prayer and came upon them while they were at prayer. (Bukhari)

195 When Muslims begin one of their five daily, ritual prayers, they are not allowed to hold any conversation with anyone near them or say anything other than what must be said in the prayer. Rather, they must stand in a compliant and obedient way Once the Prophet saw a man named Mu’awiyah bin Hakim say something during his prayer that wasn’t part of the procedure, and the Prophet told him afterwards, “The regular talk that people do is not appropriate during the prayer. The prayer involves only praise, extolling (Allah’s) greatness and remembering Allah.” (Muslim)

196 To emphasize the need to care for widows, the Prophet said, “The one who looks after a widow or a poor person is like a struggler (mujahid) who struggles in Allah’s cause, or like one who offers prayers all night and fasts all day.” (Bukhari)

197 The Prophet said, “It is unlawful for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for more than three days for anyone who has died, except for her husband, for whom she can mourn for four months and ten days.” (Bukhari, Muslim) In pre-Islamic times, women would mourn the dead in very bizarre ways. According to Zaynab bint Umm Salamah, the stepdaughter of the Prophet, pagan women would remember their husbands by “going into seclusion, wearing the worst clothes and never wearing perfume or any jewelry for a year. She would then come out of seclusion and throw animal dung. Then an animal like a donkey or sheep would be brought. Then she would drain its blood for a time, and this usually caused it to die.” (Ibn Kathir) Loud weeping and wailing, (even hiring professional “weepers”) were also common, and the Prophet forbade all of these things. He did allow and encourage people to visit the graves of their departed ones, though in the early days of his mission he discouraged it because in Arabia it was a cultural practice for people to wail loudly there. A woman went to the Prophet and said her widowed daughter had cried so much for her dead husband that her eyes had become irritated, and she asked if she should put kohl on her eyes. The Prophet exclaimed, “No, (the mourning period) is only four months and ten days. During the days of ignorance, one of you would have mourned for an entire year!” (Muslim)

198 This verse has a colorful history, and its ruling no longer applies in the traditional view of many of the commentators. This verse was revealed before widows were guaranteed by Islam a share of the inheritance of their deceased husbands’ estates. (In pre-Islamic custom, a widow was at the mercy of her extended family as to whether or not she would inherit anything—or even be taken in by relatives and cared for!) Thus, a widow was guaranteed a solid year of support through her husband’s estate, which was also the length of her traditional mourning period. (This Qur’anic injunction was an improvement in widow’s lives, as there was no prescribed safety net for widows before Islam.) Then later on verse 4:12 was revealed, which gave widows from 1/8 to 1/4 of their husband’s estates, which was a much better deal for them. Finally, to solidify the reforms for widow welfare, verse 2:234 was revealed, shortening the traditional waiting period (before remarriage) of a widow from one year down to four months and ten days, so she could seek remarriage earlier, if she chose. (She also is fully supported from her husband’s estate in his home for the length of the shortened waiting period, and this does not detract from her allotted portion of inheritance.) (Ibn Kathir)

199 There is no confirmation from Prophet Muhammad as to the identity of the people mentioned in this verse, and it is unproven that this reference refers to ancient Israelis who died of a plague. (As this origin appears to be a clear example of the stories carelessly adopted by some early Muslim writers to explain obscure Qur’anic references. Such stories are known as Israeliyat). This verse implies nothing about plagues but is rather calling people not to be overly afraid of dying in battle, since Allah decides the time of our deaths. Therefore, it could be a general reference to an unnamed and anonymous people who fled an enemy in fear and who “died” in the sense of being defeated anyway, until Allah restored their spirits and courage and allowed them to prevail, though Allah knows better.

200 This story is recounted in greater detail in the Old Testament in I Samuel 7:15, 8:4-22, 10:17 and 12:6-23.

201 See I Samuel 12:12-13 for this reference.

202 See I Samuel 10:17 where Samuel is shown to choose Saul by Allah’s command. The Israelites objected because Saul wasn’t a man of wealth, nor was he a member of a well-connected family.

203 The fabled Ark of the Covenant was a decorated wooden box. It was supposedly the repository of sacred items (such as carved religious stones and a magical snake staff, as mentioned in Numbers 21:8-9 and II Kings 18:4). These items were leftovers from the days of Prophets Moses and Aaron. (See Numbers 10:35-36 for the Ark’s alleged destructive power.) Interestingly enough, the Qur’an does not ascribe any magical power to the box, but instead holds it a symbol that can improve the morale of the Jewish people. Of late, it had been captured by the Philistines, who were enemies of the Israelites. It was later returned after the Phi-

listines concluded that its possession was causing plagues and pestilence upon their people. It is said that the Philistines put it on a wagon yoked to two oxen and left it alone, and that the angels guided the oxen to bring it back into Israelite territory. (See I Samuel 5:1-12, 6:1-21 and II Chronicles 5:10.) The Ark has been lost since 587 BCE. Muslim popular tradition holds that in the End Times, a leader will arise who will defend Islam from its enemies. This man, who will be called the Mahdi, will find the lost Ark near Lake Tiberius, and this symbol will prove his place as an authentic servant of God. (Al Hawi l’il Fatawa of Jalaluddin as-Suyuti)

204 Why should the men of Saul’s army be given such a test? Those who disobeyed his command would have been a liability on the battlefield, for they would be less likely to obey their commanders in the heat and tumult of war. A smaller but more disciplined force can overcome a greater host, as has been shown in human history from the time of the Greeks until today.

205 From a certain point of view, this entire passage could be considered something of a prelude to the Battle of Badr in which a small group of a Muslims bested a foe three times their size.

206 According to I Samuel 17:1-2, the battle took place between Shochoh and Azekah, a place about 14 miles west of Bethlehem. There is a seasonal stream or wadi that runs through the valley of Elah (and passes through this area) to the Mediterranean Sea. This is probably the water source being referenced here. Also see Judges 7:4-8.

207 David was a shepherd boy who happened to come to the battlefield on an errand. The famed Philistine warrior Goliath was striking fear into the hearts of Saul’s men. David took up the challenge of meeting him in hand-to-hand combat and slew him with his own sword after knocking him out with a sling thrown stone. (See I Samuel chapters 17 and 18. II Samuel 21:19 claims that an Israelite warrior named Elhanan actually slew Goliath. Note, the words “the brother of” do not appear in the Hebrew text.) It is said that Saul promised his daughter’s hand in marriage to the one who killed Goliath, and this is how David eventually became the king of Israel.

208 When the Muslims captured the island of Cyprus, one of the companions of the Prophet, Abu Darda, was seen weeping. When he was asked about his tears, he said, “Allah doesn’t help those who don’t obey Him. These (conquered people) were strong and independent, but they didn’t obey Allah’s commands, so look at what happened to them.” (Ibn Kathir)

209 God spoke directly to Moses at the burning bush on Mount Tūr, for example.

210 The Holy Spirit is understood by Muslims to be the angel Gabriel.

211 This is one of the more famous verses of the Qur’an, called ayat ul-kursi, meaning “the verse of the throne.” It is often found written, stitched, or painted on artwork in Muslim homes. The throne or chair mentioned here is, as explained by Zamakhshari, a metaphor for Allah’s power and control, and this is the common view according to the overwhelming majority of scholars. Therefore, this verse does not mean that Allah needs to sit on a chair. (See 7:54.) The Prophet said that whoever recites this verse after every required prayer will have a heart like those who are truly thankful to Allah, will have his deeds counted like the righteous, will have a tongue like those who remember Allah and will have the reward of the prophets.

212 In a tradition, the Prophet said, “Allah’s most magnificent name is sealed within the Verse of the Throne, and whoever calls by it will surely have his prayers answered.” (Abu Dawûd) In another narration, the Prophet said, “Allah’s greatest name, the one by which, if He was called upon, would cause Him to answer the supplication, is located in three chapters... (then he indicated chapters 2, 3, and 20).” (At-Tabarani) One very early scholar named Hisham ibn ‘Ammar (d. circa 887) said that the specific verses within which the greatest name of Allah resides are 2:255, 3:1-2 and 20:111. It is said the exact name or title is Al-Hayy al-Qayyum which means “the Living, the Everlasting.”

213 The Prophet said, “I will stand under the throne and fall down prostrate. Allah will allow me to remain like that for as long as He wills. Then I’ll be told, ‘Lift up your head, speak and you will be heard. Intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.’” Then the Prophet said, “He will let me choose a number (of people) whom I can let into Paradise.” (Muslim)

214 The term kursi, which usually means throne, also means location of power or authority. Muslim scholars usually explain that Allah does not sit on a throne like a person would, but this metaphor is meant to denote His locus of authority in terms we humans can understand. Kursi is also considered to be the name of the place above the seven layers of the heavens in the supernatural world, thus the “throne” of the Universe. (Tirmidhi) A related word used in the Qur’an is ‘arsh, which also means throne or seat of power, but in a slightly different shade of meaning.

215 A new Muslim from the tribe of Banu Salim had two sons who had converted to Christianity in the days before Islam came to Medina.  They arrived in the city to visit their father who lived there, and when he saw them, he told them, “By Allah!  I won’t let you go until you’ve both converted (to Islam).  The two men refused, and so the father took them before the Prophet with his complaint.  The Muslim man said, “Messenger of Allah, shall a part of me go to Hellfire, while I’m watching?”  The Prophet, however, recited this passage [2:256-257] and the man’s sons were allowed to go and retain their own religion.  (Zamakhshari)  There is a fascinating book entitled, Peace be Upon You by Zachary Karabell, that explores this issue in Islamic history and disproves the prevailing slander against Islam that it was ‘spread by the sword.’ Yes, Muslim armies conquered areas, as Roman, Chinese, Malian, Incan or any other expanding empire’s army did, but forced conversions were extremely rare and never the norm, as that book painstakingly shows with evidence.  In the first hundred years of the Umayyad dynasty, for example, it has been estimated that non-Muslims made up over 80% of the population!  In Islamic Spain, as another example, conversion to Islam by the general population took many centuries and was generally self-directed by individuals and families seeking to either join a new faith or raise their stature in society.  A study in the Journal of World of History by Jessica A. Coope entitled, “Religious and Cultural Conversion to Islam in Ninth-Century Umayyad Cordoba,” (Vol 4, No. 1 Spring, 1993) uses a large volume of evidence to show that, in general, Muslim rulers understood that forced conversions were not an accepted policy for a government claiming to promote Islam.  There are some egregious aberrations in history, and in a few incidents overzealous extremists did practice localized forced conversions, but these rare instances showcase the norm that forced conversion is not allowed by either the Prophet or the Qur’an.  In his 2008 book, Jihad in Islamic History, Michael Bonner writes, “To begin with, there was no forced conversion, no choice between ‘Islam and the Sword’…although there have been instances…these were exceptional…”  (pp. 89-90)  The historian David Waines in his 2003 book, An Introduction to Islam, also proclaims forced conversion to be “rare.” (p. 53)   Even though Jesus of Nazareth also would have abhorred forced conversions, Christianity has a long history of engaging in this practice, such as with Emperor Charlemagne who publicly declared in 785 that those who would not convert to Christianity would be executed, or in the time of the Spanish Inquisition when hundreds of thousands of Muslims and Jews in Spain and millions more in the Spanish colonies were forced into the Catholic faith. Secular political movements such as Communism and Socialism have forced hundreds of millions of people to embrace the faith of atheism under pain of death or torture since the rise of the socialist Soviet Union, which promoted a kind of state-worship.  In his 2014 book, By the Sword of God, Jonathon Blake wrote: “Soviet authorities relied heavily on coercion to spread their idea of scientific atheism. This included confiscating church goods and property, forcibly closing religious institutions and executing religious leaders and believers or sending them to the gulag.”  Between 1917 and 1926 the radical secularist president of Mexico, Plutarco Calles, outlawed religious organizations and the free practice of religion in his country and engaged in many massacres and other human rights abuses to promote his secular beliefs.  Secular, atheistic, and socialist believers, however, generally do not call for such extremist attitudes and actions towards those of other faiths or philosophies.  Therefore, no religion or philosophy should be judged on the misinterpretations or excesses of some of its people in isolated incidents across time and location.

216 Contrary to the myths harbored by ideologically driven modern critics of Islam, and also in spite of the rhetoric of current Muslim extremists, Islam does not envision a society in which general freedom of thought is stifled or curtailed. Blatant immorality, libel, and debauchery, yes, are to be restricted, as traditional Christianity and Judaism once restricted them, but in the realm of ideology, religion and ideas there is a remarkable degree of freedom of expression and choice allowed in traditional Islam. In the Prophet’s time, you find the companions speaking out freely, offering contrary opinions and disagreeing with each other without fear. People of different religions went to the Prophet, dialogued with him, debated with him, and freely left his presence without the fear of forced conversion. (See 10:99-100 for a complimentary addendum to this verse here.) In classical Islamic civilization, Muslims were generally tolerant of many divergent opinions among themselves—even those that bordered on what might be called heresy—and even a brief survey of the literature produced between the ninth and fourteenth centuries shows a tremendous range of thoughts and ideas from the Greek rationalists to the sufi mystics to the die-hard fundamentalists, all more or less coexisting in the larger society. (There were indeed a few periods of religious strife and intolerance, but they were not the norm.) Jews and Christians in Islamic lands also worshipped freely and continued to debate with their Muslim neighbors in defense of their religious doctrines. As far back as the year 815, Arab Christian writers such as Abu Ra’ita were writing defenses of the trinity and Christian doctrines—in the Arabic language—without fear of censorship. (See Insights into Classical Arabic Literature and Islam, ed. by Sebastian Gunther, Ch. 3. For related issues, also see Qur’an 24:33, 4:109, 16:111, 22:8 and 2:30-31 where even the angels felt free to question Allah.)

217 Taghut or “falsehood” is considered to be anything that is satanic, superstitious, false, misleading, foolish or ignorant.

218 Of all world’s belief systems, only Islam clearly and expressly guarantees people the freedom to follow their own religion. (Do not confuse current secular religious freedom with actual religious teachings. Textual sources in Judaism, Christianity and Hinduism make little to no allowance for the validity of people freely practicing other religions in the midst of the host religious community. For those religions, all other religions are false and must be utterly vanquished.) The Prophet never forced anyone to convert, nor did he ever advocate such a policy of forced conversion. Despite the myths promoted by critics of Islam, historic facts from the Prophet’s time, the Qur’an, the prophetic traditions, and even Islamic law all agree on this point. The following letter was sent in the year 628 from the Prophet to a group of Christians living in the Sinai Peninsula. Its content and tone are typical of the letters that the Prophet sent to all other religious groups in the vicinity of Arabia. It read as follows: “This is a message from Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah, as a covenant to those who are Christians, both near and far. We are with them. Indeed, the servants, the helpers, my followers—I defend them all, because Christians are my citizens. I swear to Allah that I hold nothing dear that displeases them. No compulsion will be placed on them, neither are their judges to be removed from their posts, nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is allowed to destroy a house of their religion, damage it, or take anything from it to bring into a Muslim house. If any (Muslim) does any of these, then he would besmirch the covenant of Allah and disobey His Prophet. Indeed, they (the Christians) are my allies and have my secure guarantee against everything they hate. No one is to force them to travel or oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a Christian woman is married to a Muslim man, it cannot take place without her approval. She is then not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray. Their churches are to be respected. The (Christians) cannot be prevented from repairing them, nor can they be prevented from honoring their covenants. No one of the community (of Muslims) is to disobey this covenant, which will last until the Last Day.” (This letter of the Prophet Muhammad is on display at the Museum of St. Catherine in Egypt.) Muslims throughout history are responsible for either obeying or disobeying the dictates of Islam, but Islamic teachings, themselves, are among the most advanced and tolerant values one can find. Napoleon Bonaparte once remarked, “The day is not far off when all the thinkers of the world would jointly adopt a system of governance based on the Qur’an. The principles and teachings of the Qur’an are based on truth and are capable of bestowing happiness and prosperity. I am proud of Allah’s Prophet Muhammad and the Book revealed unto him and pay my reverential tribute to him.”

219 Some commentators, following Jewish tradition and an obscure (and weak) prophetic narration that mentions Nimrod’s fire being cooled for Abraham, have suggested that the king in question might have been, in fact, Nimrod, a legendary king of Mesopotamia, but the Qur’an is silent on the identity of the king, and it could have been any ruler. Exact identification of a king, given the uncertain time frame of Abraham’s birth, is well-nigh impossible today. Interestingly enough, surviving records indicate that no less than five kings who ruled between the years 2225 and 1776 BCE (the window of time within which Abraham lived) had declared themselves to be “Lords of all the world.” One of these delusional Mesopotamian kings, who declared himself a god, was Shulgi, (Culgi), who reigned over Ur and the surrounding lands between the years 2047 and 1999 BCE. He completed the great Ziggurat of Ur, whose ruins can still be seen to this day. In typical kingly fashion for his time, he used to boast of his divine abilities and used such legends to influence other cities to ally themselves with him. He wrote of himself, “I am...the god of all the lands.”

220 Some commentators have said that the town in this verse is none other than Jerusalem, which had been sacked by the Babylonians and ruined in 586 BCE, and that this verse is really about how Allah restored the Children of Israel to prosperity, even though it looked like they would never regain their power again. (Salman Al-Farsi was of the opinion that the man mentioned here was Prophet Ezekiel. See Nehemiah 2:13-20.)

221 What is interesting here is the fact that people are allowed to honestly question Allah, and He doesn’t get angry about it. He is the quintessential patient teacher. Also see 2:30 where the angels question Allah’s intentions, which they didn’t understand. Other commentators take this story as it is and hold that the dead donkey was brought to life before the anonymous traveler’s eyes to show him Allah’s power.

222 The symbol of food being linked to the passage of time can be traced to the story of Gilgamesh, a hero on a quest to gain eternal life. He went to Utnapishtim, who is commonly thought of as the same person as Noah, and asked to know the secret of living forever. Utnapishtim told him he had to stay awake seven days to prove he was worthy of the knowledge. Every day, Utnapishtim’s wife would bake a loaf of bread and put it by Gilgamesh to signal he had slept that day. After seven days, there were seven loaves, so Gilgamesh failed.

223 It is clear from this verse that Ezekiel (d. about 397 BC) is the probable subject of this verse.  Verses from Ezekiel 37:1-13 tell of a vision in which God brought Ezekiel to a valley of dry bones, and then told him to speak to bring life back to the scattered bones as a metaphor for the eventual return of the Israelites to their land after being decimated and captured by the Babylonians.  Another alternative is that the man is Nehemiah who visited a ruined Jerusalem and wondered how it could be restored.  In the end, the identity is not important, for the lesson is that time means nothing to Allah, and that he can change the seemingly impossible at will.

224 The commentators are of two opinions about the reason for Abraham’s question.  Some say that during his debate with the king, Abraham felt that the king had scored a point by saying he could control life and death.  The king ordered a man executed on the spot and set a captive free to demonstrate his point.  Later, Abraham asked for a demonstration from Allah to help him understand the difference between Allah’s power and an earthly ruler’s power.  Other commentators believe Abraham saw a dead animal of some type and marveled over how any dead creature could be restored to life.  Given the context of verses 258-260, the first view seems more likely.  The Prophet Muhammad commented on our natural affinity for questioning and skepticism when he said, “We’re more prone to doubting than Abraham.”  Then the Prophet quoted this verse.  (Bukhari) 

225 Even a prophet can desire satisfaction of his doubts, and people are ever assailed by doubtful thoughts about Allah’s truth. This spiritual confusion is usually the mind seeking answers to unresolved issues. Other times, it can be the work of Satan, who continually whispers misgivings into our hearts, saying, “Is Allah truly real?” Skepticism can be healthy, however, for it leads one to investigation, questioning and renewing one’s commitment to faith from a solid foundation. The Islamic theological science of kalam, for example, is devoted to the philosophical underpinnings of faith and its proofs. When doubt assails the mind, the Muslim is asked to meet those doubts head on, question them, think about them, and look for answers in the Qur’an and traditions of the Prophet, not to hide from them.

226 In other words, Allah can bring the dead to life by merely commanding it to happen in the same way that Abraham called the birds and they came immediately. (Also see 3:47.) Many commentators are of the view that this verse is saying that Abraham was commanded to kill the birds and dismember them and then put random pieces of the birds on the separate hills. Then when he called them, they would miraculously reassemble, come to life, and then fly to him. I am not inclined to accept that interpretation for the very reason that Abraham’s efforts at ‘taming’ the birds would have been useless and superfluous. If the demonstration was meant to bring dead birds to life, then there would have been no need to train them to come when called. Therefore, I am of the view, which other commentators espouse, that the purpose of the test was to show the power of command, i.e., Allah can raise the dead with a word of command only. (He only needs to say, “Be,” and it is!)

227 The Prophet said, “When someone gives charity out of lawful earnings, even if it’s as little as a date, Almighty Allah will receive it from him with His right hand and will cultivate it for him, just like when one of you plants a field of crops. It will grow until it becomes as high as Mount Uhud.” (Bukhari, Tirmidhi)

228 The Prophet said, “There are three kinds of people who won’t enter Paradise. The first is someone who (embarrasses his brother) by always reminding him of the favors he did for him. The second is someone who lets his cloak drag on the ground behind him in public (to show he is so rich that he can ruin clothes at will), and the third is a person who sells goods with false claims and then swears to Allah that he’s telling the truth.” (Muslim) Also see Matthew 6:1-18 where Christians are similarly admonished to be sincere in both public and secret, as well.

229 The Prophet said, “Allah doesn’t look at your physical appearance or your money; rather, He looks to your mindfulness (of Him) (taqwa) and your actions.” (Muslim) So a person’s physical appearance and financial state matter nothing to Allah, Who only cares about the heart and deeds.

230 Ibn ‘Abbas (d. 687) once explained in a gathering presided over by the second caliph, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (d. 644), that this verse is also a metaphor for a rich man who does good deeds but then nullifies those good deeds later on by engaging in sinfulness. Thus, he comes to Allah with nothing. (Fath al Bari) The Prophet was heard supplicating once, “O Allah! Bestow Your greatest bounty upon me when I’m old and near the end of my life.” (Al-Hakim)

231 The Prophet said, “Both Satan and the angels have an effect upon the son of Adam. Satan’s effects consist of his threats about unfortunate consequences (that may result from living the path of faith) and by his call to reject the truth, while the angels’ effects consist of promising good results (for faith) and in calling all to believe in the truth. Whoever finds the second thing should know that it’s coming from Allah, so he should thank Allah for it. Whoever finds the first thing should seek Allah’s protection from Satan.” Then the Prophet recited this verse. (Ibn Abi Hatim)

232 The “wisdom” mentioned here is understood either to be deep knowledge of the Qur’an or increased mindfulness of Allah (taqwa). The Prophet said, “You’re not allowed to be jealous of others except in two cases: a person whom Allah has endowed with wealth, and he spends it righteously; and a person to whom Allah has given wisdom, and he judges by it and teaches it to others.” (Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad)

233 Once a poverty-stricken Muslim from Medina went to the Prophet, begging for charity.  The Prophet asked him what possessions he owned at home.  The man replied, “Just a simple sheet to cover myself and a drinking cup.”   The Prophet then requested him to go and get the cup and return with it.  When he had done so, the Prophet held it up and asked the people near him to bid on it.  One person offered one coin, while another offered two.  The Prophet took the two coins and told the beggar to spend one on his family and the other on an axe blade and then to bring the axe blade to him.  The man did so, and the Prophet took the blade and fitted a handle on it.  Then the Prophet told the man to go out and chop and gather wood in the wilderness and not to return to him for fifteen days.  The man promptly began to chop wood and sell it in town, and after two weeks he returned to the Prophet to give an accounting of his progress.  After a full review it was found that after meeting his household needs, he had an extra ten coins left over.  The Prophet was pleased and said, “This is better than coming to the Day of Resurrection with the mark of a beggar upon you.”  (Abu Dawûd) Secret and humble charity is sincere.  Also see the New Testament book of Matthew 6:1-4.

234 If the question arises about whether or not a Muslim will be held accountable for the bad deeds a non-Muslim may do with the charity he received from a Muslim, this verse answers that question by saying whatever good you do is for your own self, and thus you are absolved of what happens after that. Also see 3:195.

235 Abu Sa’id was sent by his mother to ask the Prophet for some charitable donations. He went to the Prophet and sat down before him, but the Prophet began speaking first and said, “Whoever feels satisfied, Allah will enrich him. Whoever is modest, Allah will give him a decent (standard of living). Whoever is content (with whatever he has), then Allah will be enough for him. Whoever asks people (for more), while he has at least a small amount (of resources), will be counted as a beggar of people.” Abu Sa’id recalled that he at least owned a camel, so he went away without asking for anything. (Abu Dawûd, Nisa’i, Ahmad) Simple living is one of the hallmarks of Islam’s advice for this life, and there is a large amount of literature and examples of this philosophical frame of mind throughout Muslim classical civilization. The famous poet, Sa’di Shirazi (d. 1291), once wrote: “Astride a horse I am not, nor camel-like a load. Subjects I have none, nor follow any sultan’s code. I worry not for what exists nor fret for what is lost. I breathe with careless ease, and then I live at little cost.”

236 The Prophet cursed those who accepted interest-money, paid it, recorded its contracts, or witnessed to it saying they were all alike. (Muslim) On another occasion he said, “A penny of interest knowingly taken by a person is a sin worse than committing unlawful sex thirty-six times.” (Ahmad) On another occasion he said, “There will come a time when people will live on the income derived from interest.” Someone asked him, “Everyone?” He answered, “Those who won’t be living on it, will be victimized and clouded by its dust.” (Abu Dawûd) While the wisdom behind the prohibition of interest in Islam is a lengthy one, suffice it to say that the injustice of interest is that it penalizes those who are most in need, while putting creditors in the position of parasites, feeding off the hardship and misery of the less fortunate. While some critics contend that Islam is unique in banning interest, it was long before forbidden by Judaism (which does allow it to be charged to non-Jews) and Christianity (which banned it only until the eighteenth century and then essentially gave up its opposition in the face of the demands of secular governments.) For Biblical evidence see Exodus 22:25, Deuteronomy 23:19-20, Psalms 15:5, Proverbs 28:8, and Ezekiel 18:13, which calls for death upon those who loan on interest! Even Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, Cicero, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Martin Luther spoke out against the practice.

237 The Prophet said, “May Allah show mercy to a person who is considerate when he sells, when he buys and when he makes a claim.” (Bukhari)

238 The Prophet said, “Almighty Allah is going to bring a person for judgment and ask him, ‘What good did you do in the physical world?’ The man will answer, ‘Not even one speck of good have I ever done for Your sake, my Lord.’ Allah will ask the man the same question two more times, and after the third time the man will say, ‘My Lord, You gave me excessive wealth, and I was a businessman. In my deals I used to be generous with my well-off peers; I used to give extra time for the unfortunate ones until they could pay off what they owed me, and I made it easy on them.’ Almighty Allah will say, ‘I am the One Who is most fit to ease people’s suffering, so enter Paradise.’” (Bukhari, Muslim) In another tradition, the Prophet said, “Whoever relieves his brother of a burden or forgives his debt will stand in the shade of Allah’s throne on the Day of Resurrection.” (Muslim) In a third saying, he said, “Whoever gives time to a debtor facing hard times will earn charity multiplied two times for each day he gives.” (Ahmad) Once Imam Abu Hanifa (d. 767) came to know that a certain man would turn back and take a different road if he ever heard that the Imam was coming his way. Abu Hanifa sought the man out and asked him why he always did that. The man replied that he owed him (Abu Hanifa) a large sum of money, and he was ashamed to face him on account of his inability to repay it. Abu Hanifa took pity on the man and forgave him the entire debt. Some eminent authorities, including Ibn ‘Abbas, Abu Hurairah and Ibn Jurayj, are of the opinion that this was the very last verse of the Qur’an revealed to the Prophet—just nine days before he passed away on August 8, 632.

239 Futures trading in commodities is allowed under certain conditions. The most important of which is that the specifics of the deal must be laid in writing with the future goods to be delivered exactly as specified. The people of Arabia used to pay money up to two years in advance for future deliveries of fruit. The Prophet commented on this, saying, “Whoever pays money in advance (for commodities to be delivered later) should pay it for a specified quantity and weight for a specified date.” (Bukhari, Muslim)

240 The Prophet said, “It is a form of charity to help a laborer or to help a handicapped person.” (Bukhari)

241 Does the Qur’an teach that a man’s word is worth the word of two women as a matter of principle? No, it does not. The Qur’an does not teach that it takes two women to equal one man’s testimony, for as evidenced by the Qur’an itself in 24:6-10, a woman’s testimony is equal to that of a man’s and should be accepted over the man’s if she has been accused of adultery and proclaims her innocence. The reason for two women witnesses for a business contract is given right here in this verse. One woman can remind the other about the details if she happens to forget, not to mention that many women often prefer not to bargain or barter with men over contractual obligations alone and without allies. At that time, and indeed even in our own times, unscrupulous men often attempted to take advantage of women in business affairs. Islam seeks the protection of women from such aggressive males who may try to confuse, bully or cheat women who may be less experienced in business or who may succumb to relentless pressure. The Qur’an recognizes facts of life without implying that women are not as smart as men or any such absurd idea. This is one of those areas that in no way implies superiority of one gender over another. In a court of law or for any other purpose, a woman’s testimony is equal to a man’s, and the Prophet, himself, demonstrated this numerous times by acting on the testimony of a single woman with no requirement for a second voice to corroborate her story.

242 The Prophet said, “Whoever recites the last two verses of the Chapter of the Cow at night, that will be enough for him (as a benefit and blessing).” (Bukhari) These two verses are also often pronounced in Friday sermons all over the world and are considered excellent statements of Islamic belief.

243 A report in the Muslim collection of prophetic traditions asserts that this verse was revealed to the Prophet while he was on his ascension to heaven.

244 The two verbs used in this verse are kasab and iktasab. The first means “to earn” or “to gain,” but the second usage emphasizes that someone had to put effort into gaining something. In other words, the good rewards that we receive from Allah are connected to His mercy, while the evil we do, and the consequences we suffer, are because we actively put in effort to do those bad deeds and commit those injustices. This is a subtle way of emphasizing that Allah helps us when we are doing the right thing, but if we insist on doing the wrong thing, we had to put ourselves forward and make an effort to do evil. Islam teaches that humans are basically born good, with a natural inclination to seek out Allah (the higher power and our purpose in life, and to do good.) This is called the fitrah, or “natural inclination.” To be evil is to go against our own nature, and this is the effort that so richly deserves to be called out and punished. Though Allah’s mercy is vast and He is always ready to forgive when we realize our error and seek to regain the path of righteousness.