Verse:71 Commentary Commentary

In the previous verses, by referring to major manifestations of His knowledge and power and blessings which descend on human beings, Allah Ta` ala has the natural proof of His Oneness (Tauhid). By looking at it, even a person of ordinary commonsense would not accept that any created being can hold a share with Allah Ta' ala in His attributes of knowledge and power, or in any of the others. In the present verse, this very subject of Tauhid has been brought into focus by citing the example of a case in mutual dealing.

It is being said here that Allah Ta' ala has not, in His infinite wisdom, and in view of His consideration for human good, made all human beings equals in terms of rizq or provision. Instead, He has given some of them preference over some others establishing different degrees therein. Someone was made so rich that he owns a lot of things, keeps a staff of all sorts of servers, spends as he wishes, and his servers too benefit through him. Then, someone was made to work for others who, far from spending on others, was cut out to receive his own expenditure from others. Then, someone was made to be somewhere in the middle, neither so rich as to spend on others, nor so poor and needy as to be dependent upon others even in the necessities of life.

Everyone is aware of the outcome of this natural distribution that he who was given preference in provision and made rich and need-free would never accept to distribute his wealth among his slaves and servants in a way that they too become his equals in wealth.

Understand the drive of this argument by applying this example on polytheists. They too accept that the idols and other created things they worship are, after all, created and owned by Allah Ta' ala. If so, how can they suggest that the created and the owned become equals to their Creator and Master? Do such people see all these signs and hear all these words, yet go on to ascribe partners and equals to Allah, the necessary result of which is that they reject the blessings given by Allah? Because, if they had admitted that all these blessings have been given by Allah Ta` ala without the intervention of any self-carved idol, icon, human being and Jinn, then, how could they have equated these things with Allah Ta` ala?

The same subject has been taken up in the following verse of Surah Ar-Rum: كَيْ لَا يَكُونَ دُولَةً بَيْنَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ مِنكُمْ We have given for you an example from your own people. Have those who are your subjects become sharers with you in the provision given to you by Us whereby you are equal in it? (30:28)

The outcome of this too is: When you do not like to let your servants and your slaves whom you own become equal to yourself, how can you like for Allah that He, and things created and owned by Him, become equal to Him?

The Difference in Degrees of Economic Status is Mercy for Mankind

This verse makes it clear that the presence of different degrees economic status among human beings - that someone is poor, another rich and yet another somewhere in the middle - is not accidental. It is as dictated by the wisdom of Allah Ta' ala, as required by considerations for human good, and is mercy for mankind. If this state (of human society) were not to prevail and if all human beings were to become equal in wealth and possessions, it would have caused a breach of function in world order. Therefore, since the time the world became populated, all human beings have never been equal in terms of wealth and property, in any period, or age, nor can they be. Should such an equality were to be created compulsorily, it will take only a few days when disruption and disorder become openly visible through the entire spectrum of human dealings. Allah Ta' ala has created human beings with varying degrees of temperaments as conditioned by intelligence, strength and functional ability. They have been further classified as low, high and average, a fact which cannot be rejected by any reasonable person. Similarly, it is also inevitable that there be different degrees in wealth and property as well so that every single person is rewarded in terms of individual capability. If the capable and the incapable were made equal, it wi11 discourage the capable. When the capable person has to stay at par with the in-capable in economic pursuits, what other motivation would compel him to go on striving and achieving excellence? The necessary outcome of such an approach will be no other but the demise of excellence acquired through functional capability.

Qur'anic Injunctions Against Concentration of Wealth

Whereas the Creator of the universe gave preference to some over others in physical and rational faculties, and established variance in pro-vision, wealth and property, subject to it, He has also established a strong system of economic equilibrium which aims that no particular group or party or a few individuals take over the treasures of wealth and centers of economic activity. This system also guards against the consequences of such a takeover which dries up the very field where capable people could thrive by utilizing their physical, intellectual and technical capabilities and advance economically. For this purpose, it was said in the Holy Qur' an: كَيْ لَا يَكُونَ دُولَةً بَيْنَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ مِنكُمْ. It means: (We made the law of distribution of wealth,) so that wealth does not come to be revolving among the rich from among you - Al-Hashar, 59:7.

The widespread turbulence being experienced in the economic systems of the modern world is directly the result of bypassing this wise law given to us by Divine wisdom. On the one hand, there is the capitalist system in which some individuals or groups virtually take over the nerve centers of wealth through the medium of interest and gambling and go on to enslave the entire creation of Allah economically. They are rendered so helpless that they have no escape route left but to serve like slaves and work like dogs in order to get what they can to eke out a living, no matter how miserable. In a situation so sordid, it is a far cry that they would ever be able to step into the field of industry or trade despite having the best of capabilities for this purpose.

As a reaction to this tyranny of capitalists, there rises a counter system in the name of socialism or communism. Their slogan is the removal of disparity between the rich and poor and the creation of equality between all. Masses of people already harassed by the injustices of the capitalist system go after the slogan. But, very soon, they discover that the slogan was nothing but deception. The dream of economic equality never came true. The poor person, despite poverty and hunger, had a certain human dignity, a certain right to do what he wished, but even that human dignity was snatched away by the system. In the communist system, the worth of a human person is no more than a part of its machines. Private ownership of property is simply out of question there. The factory worker owns nothing, not even the spouse and children. Everyone is a part of the state machine. When the machine starts, they have no choice but to start working on their jobs. Other than the so-called objectives of the state, the worker has no conscience or voice. The slightest grievance against the tyranny of the state and that unbearable labour on the job is counted as rebellion against the state the punishment for which is death. In short, hostility towards God and religion and adherence to bland materialism is the basic principle of communism.

These are facts no communist can deny. The writings and doings of their commissars are proofs of this assertion for compiling relevant references to these amounts to making a regular book out of them.

The Holy Qur'an has provided a system in between the two extremes of tyrannical capitalism and Quixotic communism keeping it free from excess and deficiency so that no individual or group could, despite there being a naturally placed dissimilarity in provision and wealth, go on to make the creation of Allah at large their slaves only to condemn them to ever rising prices of commodities and virtual famines. By declaring interest and gambling to be unlawful, it has demolished the foundations of illegitimate capitalism. Then, by making a categorical statement that the poor and needy have a right in the wealth of every Muslim, they were admitted as sharers, which is not supposed to be some favour done to them. In fact, it is the fulfillment of a duty. The verse: فِي أَمْوَالِهِمْ حَقٌّ مَّعْلُومٌ. (in their wealth, there is a known right for the asking and the deprived - Al-Ma' arij, 70:24) proves it. After that, by distributing the en-tire property of a deceased person over individual inheritors of the family, it has eliminated the concentration of wealth. Natural streams, high seas and the self-growing produce of mountain forests were declared to be the common capital of the entire creation of Allah. No individual or group can take possession over them as something owned by them. This is not permissible. Contrary to this, in a capitalist system, these bless-ings are handled as something owned by capitalists only (under one or the other pretext).

Since diversity and difference in intellectual and practical capabilities is a natural phenomena, and the pursuit of economic gains through them also depends on these very capabilities, therefore, diversity or dissimilarity in the ownership of wealth and property is also a dictate of wisdom. Whoever has the least sense of how things work in this world would find it hard to deny this truth. Even the champions of the slogan of equality could not go far enough with it. They had to abandon their claim of flat equality and were left with no choice but to introduce dissimilarity and incentive-oriented policy in national economy. On May 5, 1960, speaking before the Supreme Soviet, Nikita Khurshev said:

'We are against the movement to eliminate difference in wages. We are openly against the efforts to establish equality in emoluments and to bring them at par. This is the teaching of Lenin. He taught that material motivations will be given full consideration in a socialist society.' (Soviet World, p.346)

That the dream of economic equality had translated itself into its absence since the very early stages, but it did not take much time to witness that this absence of equality and the disparity between the rich and the poor in the communist state of Russia had gone much beyond the general run of capitalist countries. Lyon Sidov writes:

'Perhaps, there is no developed capitalist country where the disparity in the wages of workers is as high as in Soviet Russia.'

These few examples from the contemporary scene show how deniers were themselves compelled to confirm the truth of the verse: كَيْ لَا يَكُونَ دُولَةً بَيْنَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ مِنكُمْ (And Allah has given some of you preference over others in provision - 71) and that (Allah does what He wills). As for comments under this verse, the purpose was limited to pointing out that the dissimilarity in provision and wealth is very natural and very much in accordance with considerations for human good. That which remains is the discussion of the Islamic Principles of Distribution of Wealth and how they distinctly differ from capitalism and communism both. Insha' Allah, this will appear under comments on: نَحنُ قَسَمْنَا بَيْنَهُم مَّعِيشَتَهُمْ (We have distributed among them their livelihood - Al-Zukhruf, 43:32) appearing in Ma` ariful-Qur' an, Volume VII. An independent treatise on this subject entitled: 'Islam Ka Nizam-e-Taqsim-e-Daulat' written by this humble writer should also be sufficient for this purpose. [ This is also available in its Engish translation made by Professor Hasan Askari under the title: DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH IN ISLAM from the publishers, Maktaba-e-Darul-Uloom, Korangi, Karachi, Pakistan ] Verse:72 Commentary Commentary

In verse 72: جَعَلَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا (Allah has created spouses from among you), a special blessing has been mentioned in that Allah Ta' ala has created spouses from the same genus so that they remain mutually familiar and their distinction and nobility inherent in the human species also remains stable through generations.

Given here, there may be another hint towards the fact that spouses belong to each other's genus and, as such, their needs and feelings are common to both, therefore, mutual consideration is but necessary for them.

The next sentence of the verse: وَجَعَلَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَزْوَاجِكُم بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً has been translated as: 'and created for you from your spouse' s sons and grandsons.

'Though children are born to father and mother both, yet in this verse, their birth has been identified with mothers only. The indication given here is suggestive of the fact that the role of the mother in the birth and the creational formation of the child is more pronounced that that of the father. The father contributes only a lifeless drop. The locale where this drop goes through different kinds of stages from the transformation into human form and shape to becoming alive, and where all these inimitable achievements of nature take place, is a place no other than the womb of the mother. Therefore, in the Hadith, the right of the mother has been made to precede the right of the father.

There is yet another hint visible in this sentence which mentions grandsons along with sons, that is, the real purpose behind creating spouses is the procreation and survival of human race so that they have children, then, their children have their children. What else would this be, if not the survival of human species?

After that, by saying: وَرَ‌زَقَكُم مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ (and gave you provision from good things), mention was made of things which guarantee personal survival. In other words, once a human child is born, food is needed for its personal survival. That too was provided by Allah Ta' ala. The real meaning of the word: حَفَدَةً - (hafadah) in this verse is that of one who helps and serves. That this word has been used for children suggests that children should always be at the service of their father and mother. (Qurtubi) Verse:73 Commentary - - - Verse:74 Commentary The statement: فَلَا تَضْرِ‌بُوا لِلَّـهِ الْأَمْثَالَ (So, do not coin similarities for Allah -74) clarifies an important aspect of the reality of things as they relate to Allah. If ignored, it becomes the breeding ground of all sorts of rejectionist doubts and scruples. The problem is that people would generally take Allah Ta' ala the analogy of their own humankind and go on to declare the highest placed among them, a king and ruler, as similar to Allah Ta' ala. Then, relying on this wrong assumption, they start seeing the Di-vine system on the analogy of the system of human monarchs. This leads them to take a cue from the fact that since no king can, all by himself, run the administration of the whole kingdom, the system is run by dele-gating powers to subordinate ministers and officials who do that on his behalf. Similarly, they believe and propose that there have to be some other objects of worship under the authority of Allah Ta' ala who would help Him out in carrying out His tasks. This is the general theory of all idol-worshipers and polytheists. This sentence of the Qur' an has cut off the very root of these doubts by stating that suggesting examples of what has been created and applying them on Allah Ta' ala, the Creator, is something unreasonable by itself. He is far above similarities and analogies and conjectures and guesses. Verse:75 Commentary In the first of the two examples given in the last two verses, the description is that of a master and a slave, that is, the owner and the owned. By giving this example, it is being said: When these two, despite being from the same genus and the same kind, cannot be equal to each other, how then could you equate someone or something created by Allah with Him? Verse:76 Commentary In the second example, there is a man who bids justice and teaches what is good. This is a model of his intellectual perfection. Then he him-self takes the path of moderation and right guidance. This is the model of his practical perfection. Set against the power of this intellectually and practically perfect man, there is the other man who cannot do anything for himself nor can he do anything right for others. These two men of two different kinds, despite being from one genus, one species and one brotherhood, cannot be equal to each other. So, how can some created being or thing become equal to the Creator and Master of the universe who is Absolute in Wisdom, Absolute in Power, and All-Knowing and All-Aware?