Verse:135 Commentary The real purpose of sending prophets and scriptures

In this verse of Surah Al-Nisa', all Muslims have been instructed to uphold justice and be true when appearing as witnesses. Besides, things which can become impediments to the establishment of justice or the availability of true evidence have been removed in a highly eloquent manner. A verse of Surah al-Ma` idah (Volume 3) which will follow immediately after the completion of Surah al-Nis-a' carries the same subject. In fact, their words are nearly common. Then, there is a verse in Surah al-Hadid which tells us that the important purpose of sending Sayyidna Adam (علیہ السلام) as the vice-regent of Allah in this world followed by other blessed prophets one after the other with the same status alongwith Scriptures and Missions was to see that justice prevails in the world with peace coming in its wake. The objective was to have every human being as a distinct individual adopt justice as his or her hallmark within his or her circle of influence of control. As for the chronically contumacious who would not take to the path of justice and fairness through good counsel, education and communication and continue being dogged in their contumacy, then, they will be the ones who have to be compelled to observe justice through legal process and due penalization and punishment.

The words of this verse from Surah Al-Hadid (57:25) are as follows:

لَقَدْ أَرْ‌سَلْنَا رُ‌سُلَنَا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَنزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْمِيزَانَ لِيَقُومَ النَّاسُ بِالْقِسْطِ وَأَنزَلْنَا الْحَدِيدَ فِيهِ بَأْسٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ

We have sent Our messengers with clear signs and We have sent with them the Book and the Balance so that people stand firm with justice and we sent the iron in which there is great awe, and benefits for people.

Thus we know that the system under which Prophets and Books were sent was basically aimed at establishing justice. The reference to sending down iron at the end of the verse hints towards the eventuality when the good counsel alone would not be enough to make people abide by justice. Instead, there would still be some compulsive miscreants who must be disciplined with the deterrent of iron, chains and bars and other weapons, in the best interest of establishing justice.

Abiding by justice is not for the government alone.

Now, we have before us the present verse Surah al-Nis-a' (4:135), and verse 8 of Surah al-Ma` idah (5) -

كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ لِلَّـهِ شُهَدَاءَ بِالْقِسْطِ وَلَا يَجْرِ‌مَنَّكُمْ شَنَآنُ قَوْمٍ عَلَىٰ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا اعْدِلُوا هُوَ أَقْرَ‌بُ لِلتَّقْوَىٰ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ خَبِيرٌ‌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ

Be steadfast for Allah as witnesses for justice. And malice against a people should not bid you to not doing justice. Do justice. That is nearer to Taqwa. And fear Allah. Surely, Allah is all-aware of what you do. (5:8)

as well as the verse from Surah al-Hadid (57:25) cited immediately above. In these verses, it has been clearly stated that establishing, and maintaining justice and being steadfast on it is not simply the duty of governments and courts. The instruction has been given to every human being obligating him or her to fulfill the demands of justice by being personally firm about it and, at the same time, by making efforts that others too stay equally firm about seeing justice done. However, a certain level of justice does fall in the jurisdiction of government and its officials when the wicked, the rebellious and the contumacious challenge and confront the processes of justice by flouting it personally as well as by stopping others to carry out its dictates. On such occasions, penalization and punishment do become necessary. This enforcement of justice, obviously, can be done only by government which holds the reins of power in its hands.

In the world today, leave alone the illiterate millions, even fairly educated people think that the dispensing of justice is the sole duty of governments and courts and the masses of people are not responsible for it. This attitude is one of the major reasons which has made the government and the people act as two confronting parties in every country and every state. As a result, a gulf of conflict divides the rulers and the ruled. Masses of people from every country demand and expect justice and fairness from their government but, strangely enough, are not themselves ready and eager to uphold justice. The outcome is all too visible everywhere in the world. Law stands on hold. Crime wave rides high. No doubt, we have law-making bodies in every country costing millions. When elections come, the furore created to elect representatives really shakes God's earth. Then, these elected few, being supposedly the cream of the whole country, go on to make laws with great concern and caution keeping in view the needs and sentiments of their electorate. Then, the law is put forth for public opinion. When favourable, the law is considered enforceable. Then, the whole machinery of the government with its countless departments and experienced personal goes about enforcing the law so made. Now, this is a window to the custom-ridden world we live in. We have to look afresh and aim higher. In order to do something like this, we have to shake off from the torpor of blind following, the following of self-promoting custodians of civilization, and we shall, then, realize that things are not as bright as we are being made to see.

Compare the state of affairs for a hundred years from now, say 1857-1957. The data will confirm that with every increase in law-making, there increased the exhibition of popular will in law and a corresponding increase in the machinery of law enforcement. One kind of police sprouted out in many more kinds resulting in a more than matching increase in ever-escalating crimes causing people to remain far more deprived of justice. With this graph of conditions rising up, more disorder in the world started showing up.

Belief in the Hereafter and the fear of God: The only guarantee of universal peace

The world is waiting for someone sensitive and discerning who would cross over the barriers of customised routines and seriously consider the message brought by the Arabian messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم and deliberate in the reality of things as they are. Peace in the world has never been achieved through penal codes, nor will it ever be. The guarantee of universal peace can be delivered by nothing but the belief in the Hereafter and the fear of God. This twosome is the channel through which all obligations of the ruler and the ruled, masses and the government merge together on a common platform. Everyone starts pulsating with the crucial sense of individual responsibility. When it comes to respecting and defending law, the masses of people cannot get away by saying that this was the job of the officials. It will be noticed that the verses of the Holy Qur'an dealing with the establish-ment of justice as cited above end with an exhortation to this very revolutionary article of faith.

The present verse of Surah al-Nis-a' ends with the reminder: إِنَّ اللَّـهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرً‌ا (Allah is all-aware of what you do). At the end of the verse from Surah al-Ma` idah, first came the instruction to observe Tagwa, the fear of Allah, after which it was said: إِنَّ اللَّـهَ خَبِيرٌ‌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ (Allah is aware of what you do). Then, at the end of Surah al-Hadid, it was said: إِنَّ اللَّـهَ قَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ (Allah is powerful, mighty).

Seen together; these three verses do not rest at giving instructions to both officials and masses that they should not only uphold and establish justice personally but should also see that others too do that. These verses go further ahead through their concluding statements whereby they focus all attention to a decisive reality which has the potential to generate a great revolution in human life and its aspirations. This, in a few words, is the realization of the power and domain of Almighty Allah, the thought of having to be present before Him, and of reckoning, and of retribution. This was, gain in a nutshell, the secret behind the peace which prevailed in the less educated world a hundred years ago as compared with what we have in our day; and, in fact, it is the abandoning of such a valuable teaching that has deprived the modern progress-claiming, high-flying and satellite-borne world from the blessings of genuine peace on earth.

It is in the best interest of the liberal people of the world to realize that science and its progress can take them to all sorts of frontiers - they can climb the skies, camp on stars and visit the depths of seas - but, the real end-product of all these high-tech equipments and efforts is something which they would fail to find on far away stars or in ever new inventions. This is still there for seekers to find. It is there, clear and true as ever, in the message brought by the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم who appeared in Arabia, may our lives be ransomed for him and may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, within the message and teaching of his, that of believing in Allah and believing in the life-to come and its reckoning:

أَلَا بِذِكْرِ‌ اللَّـهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ

"Listen! Hearts rest at peace through the Dhikr (remembrance) of Allah." (13:28)

Day by day, the astonishing discoveries of science do no more than confirm the most perfect power of Almighty Allah and go on to clearly demonstrate the state-of-the-art mastery of His creation which has no match. Before the skill and range of such creativity, every human claim to progress stands humbled - as the famous Persian line:

چہ سود چوں دل دانا و چشم بینا نیست seems to ask: If you have no wisdom and no vision, what is the use of doing what you do?

Recapitulating, we can say that the Holy Qur'an has, on the one hand, declared the establishment of justice and fairness as the very purpose of a universal order in the world while, on the other hand, it has proposed a unique system which - if adopted and put into practice - would metamorphose this very blood-thirsty and iniquitous world into a society of virtuous people which, in turn, would become Paradise now, instant and cash, much earlier than the promised Paradise of the Hereafter. In fact, one of the explanations given regarding the verse of the Qur'an: لِمَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَ‌بِّهِ جَنَّتَانِ : And for one who fears the high station of his or her رَبّ Rabb (Lord), there will be two Paradises' is exactly what has been stated above. That is, the God-fearing will have two Paradises, one in the Hereafter and the other right here in this world. There is nothing Utopian about the idea. That it is feasible has been already demonstrated by the great harbinger of this message, the Holy Prophet of Islam, upon him the blessings of Allah, and peace. He has bequeathed this message to posterity, not as some unproven theory, but as a practical and functioning system. Then, after him, came al-Khulafa' al-Rashidun, the rightly-guided Caliphs and many more from among the rulers who followed the Sunnah of the noble Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم of Islam strictly. As and when they acted in accordance with the principles set for them, the lion and the lamb were seen drinking at the same water trough, an imaginary saying for the ideal climate of justice for all, the strong and the weak, the poor and the rich, the labourer and the capitalist. Totally eliminated was whatever difference there could be between human beings. Law was respected by every individual in bolted homes and in the darkness of nights. This is no fairy tale. These are facts of authentic history widely corroborated and confessed, even by open-minded non-Muslims.

After understanding the essence of the Qur'anic system, detailed explanation of the verse is given below.

Explanation

The verse under reference opens with the words: كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ be upholders of justice). The word, قِسْطِ Qist, when it begins with Kasrah on Qaf, (the vowel point for i), it means justice and fairness. The true sense of justice and fairness is that every holder of a right should be given his or her due in full. Taken generally, it includes the rights of Allah (Huququllah) and all kinds of human rights as well. Inclusive in the thrust of the meaning of 'upholding justice' (qiyam bi l'qist) is that nobody shall inflict injustice on anybody; also that the perpetrator of injustice (zalim) shall be stopped from inflicting injustice (zulm) and the victim of injustice (mazlum) shall be supported; and also that appearing as witness shall not be avoided, if witness is needed to help the victim of injustice to have his or her usurped right back; and also that the witness shall be true and factual as it really is, whether for or against anyone; and also that those who hold the reins of authority and dispensation of justice in their hands shall treat both parties to the case before them, equally and equitably. There shall be no tilt of any sort toward any one of the two. Statements given by witnesses shall be heard carefully. Every effort possible shall be made to investigate the case. Then, finally, perfect justice shall be observed in the verdict.

Impediments to Justice

Though the two verses from Surah al-Nis-a' and Surah al-M-a'idah quoted earlier come from two different chapters, yet their subject is almost the common denominator between them. The only difference is that justice is normally impeded, obstructed or compromised by two things. Firstly, by love, kinship or friendship or link with someone which pushes the witness to testify in his favour so that he remains shielded against loss or that he profits by it. As for the judge or Qadi who is to give the verdict is affected by any such linkage, he would naturally have the urge to decide the case in favour of the party of his linkage. Secondly, justice is impeded by hostility towards someone which may take the witness to testify against him, while it could also become the cause of an unfavourable judgement given by the judge or Qadi. So, love and hate are passions which can cause one to move away from the path of justice and become involved with all sorts of injustice and oppression. These very two impediments have been removed in both the verses of Surah al-Nisa' and Surah al-Ma` idah. The instruction given in the verse of Surah al-Nisa' is about removing the impediment of kinship or nearness. It has been said there: أَوِ الْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالْأَقْرَ‌بِين (4:135 ( which means: even if your testimony goes against your parents or near relatives, say what is true and ignore the factor of such relationship when testifying the truth. And removed through the verse of Surah al-Ma` idah is the impediment of grudge, malice or enmity. So, there it was said: وَلَا يَجْرِ‌مَنَّكُمْ شَنَآنُ قَوْمٍ عَلَىٰ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا ۚ اعْدِلُوا هُوَ أَقْرَ‌بُ لِلتَّقْوَىٰ (And malice against a people should not bid you to not doing justice. Do justice. That is nearer to Taqwa - 5:2). As clear from the translation, it means that malice should not make one desert the path of justice and go about testifying or ruling against them.

In addition to that, there is a slight difference between the form of address and the mode of expression appearing in these two verses. In Surah al-Nisa', it was said: قَوَّامِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاءَ لِلَّـهِ (...upholders of , justice, witnesses for Allah - 4:135) while the words from Surah al-Ma` idah are: قَوَّامِينَ لِلَّـهِ شُهَدَاءَ بِالْقِسْطِ (... be steadfast for Allah as witnesses for justice - 5:8). To explain, we can say that the first verse contains two instructions: Uphold justice and witness for Allah. As for the second verse, the same two things have been commanded but with a changed form of address, that is, 'be steadfast for Allah and witnesses for justice.'

Most commentators say that this change in address shows .that both these things are two interpretations of the same reality. At one place, it was referred to as being steadfast with justice and witnesses for Allah, while at another, the word arrangement was: Steadfast for Allah and witnesses for justice. Moreover, worth noticing is the mode of expression adopted in both these verses where multiple-worded sentences such as كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ لِلَّـهِ شُهَدَاءَ بِالْقِسْطِ or قَوَّامِينَ لِلَّـهِ have been preferred, although the command to do justice could have been given through the use of one single. word: اَقسِطوا : Aqsi tu: Do justice (as in Surah Al-Hujurat, 49:9). Actually, the choice of the longer sentence is there to indicate that being just and fair in a particular case accidentally does not liquidate one's responsibility wholly. The reason is that being able to do justice in one or the other case is a natural possibility which can apply even to the most evil and tyrannical ruler who may find himself having done justice in some case. So, by the use of the word, qawwamin (those who uphold and are steadfast), it has been established that upholding justice and fairness is a constant duty which must be observed at all times, under all conditions, for every friend or foe.

Qur'anic Principles of Universal Justice

Now, concluding our discussion about the meanings of verse 135 in conjunction with verse 8 of Surah a1-Ma` idah, it can be safely Said that the principles of universal justice by one and all enunciated through these two verses form part of the many distinctions of the glorious Qur'an. These can be better appreciated when seen through two major' aspects as given below:

1. To begin with, officials and masses of people have all been alerted to the supreme subduing power of Almighty Allah and to the ultimate reckoning of the fateful Day of Retribution so that they could think, stop and deter or be prepared to face the consequences. In view of this, the masses themselves have to respect law, and the officials who are responsible for the enforcement of law, they too, have to keep the thought of Allah and Akhirah (God and the Hereafter) before them while enforcing law and thus be the servants and not the thoughtless masters of God's multitudes of people. They should make law a source of service to people and a source of betterment of the whole world, never causing their worries to increase, never engineering ways to condemn victims of injustice to. their grinding mills of red tape, never making them suffer from injustice multiplied with more injustices, and finally, never ever selling law for mean desires or paltry gains. By saying: Be steadfast for Allah - witnesses for Allah, both officials and masses have been exhorted to act for Allah and act with sincerity at its best.

2. The second element of importance here is that the responsibility of establishing justice and fairness as a way of life has been placed on the shoulders of all human beings. As for the verses from Surah al-Nis-a' and Surah al-Ma` idah wherein, by saying: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا (0 those who believe), the entire Muslim community has been addressed. But, in Surah al-Hadid, by saying: لِيَقُومَ النَّاسُ بِالْقِسْطِ (so that mankind stands firm with justice - 57:25), this duty has been considered binding on all human beings. Similarly, by saying: وَلَوْ عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِكُمْ (even though against yourselves...), instruction has been given that justice is not something to be demanded from others only, instead, it should also be exacted from one's own self. It means that one should say nothing against what is true and just, even when one has to declare something against one's own self, even if such an action is likely to bring loss upon one's person, because this loss is insignificant, tiny and transitory. On the contrary, should someone elect to placate his self by flat lies, then he has bought for himself the severe punishment of the Day of Retribution. Verse:136 Commentary Sequence

Discussed upto this point were subsidiary injunctions mostly, alongwith issues relating to faith ('Iman) and disbelief (kufr) appearing as a corollary to dealings with antagonists. Onwards from here, these issues appear in some detail continuing almost close to the end of the Surah. In the sequence of statements, first comes a description of 'Iman (faith) as credible in the sight of the Shari' ah. After that, various groups of disbelievers have been censured for their beliefs and for some of their deeds also which issue forth from their faulty beliefs. Verse:137 Commentary Important Notes

1. The first part of the verse 137 which begins with the words: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ثُمَّ كَفَرُ‌وا (Surely, those who believed and then disbelieved, believed again and then disbelieved, then went on increasing in their disbelief) refers to the hypocrites. But, some commentators say that this verse is about the Jews for they were the ones who first believed, then, after having taken to the golden calf, became disbelievers. After that, they repented and believed. Then again, they rejected the prophethood of Sayyidna 'Isa علیہ و الصلوٰۃ السلام and fell back into disbelief. Finally, by refusing to believe in the prophethood of Sayyidna Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم ، they further increased in their disbelief (Ruh al-Ma' ani).

2. The second part of the verse 137 لَّمْ يَكُنِ اللَّـهُ لِيَغْفِرَ‌ لَهُمْ وَلَا لِيَهْدِيَهُمْ سَبِيلًا Allah is not to forgive them nor lead them on the path), when read as a whole with the first part, would mean that their repeated return to disbelief will cause their very ability to receive true guidance to be taken away from them and, in that event, they will have neither the future option to repent nor the opportunity to believe. Otherwise, the general rule laid out by the definitive texts of the Qur'an and ' Sunnah is that a disbeliever (kafir) or an apostate (مُاتَد murtadd), no matter how hardened, has his past sins forgiven -- if the taubah (repentance) made by him is sincere and true. So, if such, people too change and repent, the law of amnesty and forgiveness is open. Verse:138 Commentary Commentary

In the first verse (138), the hypocrites have been given the news of a painful punishment. By articulating a distressing news with the word, 'basharah' (good news), the hint given is that everyone looks forward to some good news to brighten his or her future but, for the hypocrites, there is just no other news except this. Verse:139 Commentary Seek Honour from Allah alone

Close friendly relations with disbelievers and polytheists have been forbidden in the second verse (139). Warning has been served on those who do so. Right along, after giving the reason why people get involved with this disease, the practice has been declared ineffectual and absurd. The words of the text are: أَيَبْتَغُونَ عِندَهُمُ الْعِزَّةَ فَإِنَّ الْعِزَّةَ لِلَّـهِ جَمِيعًا (139) (Are they seeking honour in their company? But, indeed, all honour belongs to Allah). To explain, we can say that the urge to meet and be friendly with disbelievers and polytheists is generally prompted by the assumption that their outwardly visible influence, power and collective strength may give honour and power to those who have close relations with them. Almighty Allah has exposed the reality behind this absurd notion by saying: You want to acquire honour from those who them-selves have no honour. ` Izzah (عِزَّۃَ ) which means might and mastery, belongs to none but Allah and whenever some sort of might and mastery is given to any person, it is given by Allah. With the scheme of things being such, it would certainly be a gross lack of reason to go about acquiring honour by displeasing the owner and giver of real honour and stooping down to the level of scroungers for temporal honour through His enemies?

The same subject has appeared in the Qur'anic Surah al-Munafiqun with one addition as follows:

وَلِلَّـهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَ‌سُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَـٰكِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

For Allah is all honour, and for His Messenger, and for believers - but, the hypocrites do not know. 63:8.

By adding the messenger and the believers with Almighty Allah in this verse, it has been emphasized that Allah is the only owner-possessor of real honour and it is He Who bestows on whosoever He wills a certain part of that honour. Since the Messenger of Allah and those who believe in them are dear in the sight of Allah, therefore, honour and mastery are given to them. As for the disbelievers and the polytheists, they themselves do not have this kind of honour, then, what sort of honour can one get by acting in league with them? There-fore, Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ said:

مَن اعتَزَّ بِالعبِیدِ اَذَلَّہُ اللہ

Whoever seeks honour through human beings (His servants) is disgraced by Allah. (Jassas)

As in Mustadrak al-Hakim, Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ said to Sayyidna Abu ` Ubaydah ؓ ، the Governor of Syria:

کُنتم اَقَلَّ النَّاسِ وَ اَذَلَّ النَّاسِ فَکَثَّرَکُم بالاِسلام، وَ کُنتم اَذَلَّ النَّاسِ فَاَعَزَّکُمُ اللہُ بالاسلام مھما تطلُبُو العِزَّۃَ بغیرِ اللہِ یُذَلُّکُمُ اللہُ

You were the lowest (in numbers) and the weakest (in strength) among the people (of the world), then Allah made you exceed in numbers and strength with (the grace of) Islam; and you were the meanest (in status) among the people (of the world), then Allah raised you in honour with (the grace of) Islam. So, understand this very clearly: If you seek honour from any source other than Allah, Allah will disgrace you.

Explaining the meaning of this verse, the famous commentator, Abu Bakr al-Jassas has said in Ahkam al-Qur'an that the verse forbids the seeking of honour through friendship with disbelievers and sinners. However, the seeking of honour and power through Muslims is not forbidden because this verse of Su-rah al-Munafiqun has made it clear that Almighty Allah has blessed His messenger and the believers with honour. (Jassas, p. 352, v.2)

If the ` Izzah or honour mentioned here means the everlasting honour of the life-to-come, the 'Akhirah, then, its applicability to Allah's messenger and the believers in the life of the present world is quite obvious, for the honour of the 'Akhirah can never become the lot of any disbeliever or polytheist. Conversely, if it is taken to mean honour in the present life of the world, then, barring transitional periods and accidental happenings, this honour and mastery is, ultimately, the right of Islam and Muslims alone. Until such time that Muslims remained Muslims in the true sense, the whole world witnessed the spectacle. Then, there shall be the later period when Muslims will reassemble around true Islam under the leadership of Sayyidna 'Isa (علیہ السلام) ascendancy will again be theirs. That Muslims appear to be weak during the interim period, because of their weakness of faith and involvement with sins does not go against it. Verse:140 Commentary In the third verse (140): وَقَدْ نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الْكِتَابِ (... and He has revealed to you in the Book), by referring to another verse of the Holy Qur'an which had already been revealed' as a verse of the Surah al-An'-am before the event of Hijrah in Makkah al-Mukkarrmah, it has been re-emphasized that Allah had sent, much earlier, the command that they should not even sit in the company of disbelievers and sinners. Now, surprising as it is, these heedless people have gone much beyond that by establishing friendly relations with them assuming that they were the bearers of honour and the wielders of power in their own right.

The verse of Surah al-Nisa' under discussion (140) and the verse of Surah al-An'-am (68) which has been referred to in the Surah al-Nis-a' both carry the same sense. That is, should some people sitting in a group be engaged in denying and deriding the verses revealed by Allah, then, as long as they stay occupied with this vain exercise, sitting in their company to participate or observe is also forbidden (haram). However, the words of Surah a1-An` am have some generalization, and a little more detail for it says:

وَإِذَا رَ‌أَيْتَ الَّذِينَ يَخُوضُونَ فِي آيَاتِنَا فَأَعْرِ‌ضْ عَنْهُمْ حَتَّىٰ يَخُوضُوا فِي حَدِيثٍ غَيْرِ‌هِ ۚ وَإِمَّا يُنسِيَنَّكَ الشَّيْطَانُ فَلَا تَقْعُدْ بَعْدَ الذِّكْرَ‌ىٰ مَعَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ ﴿68﴾

And when you see those who indulge in Our verses adversely, turn away from them, until such time that they may get busy with some subject other than that. And if Satan makes you forget, do not sit with the unjust people after the recollection. (6:68)

Here, in the verse cited above, the reference is to disputation in Divine verses which includes disbelief and mockery as well. Also included here is the act of distorting the meaning of a verse, that is, deducing such meanings from the verses of the Holy Qur'an which are contrary to the tafsir or explanation given by the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and his blessed Companions, or are against the consensus of the Muslim Community. Therefore, Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ as reported by Dahhak, has said that included within the sense of this verse are those who explain the Qur'an (tafsir) erroneously or distort its meaning تَحرِیف (tahrif) or invent what is not there (bid'ah). The actual words of this report are being given below:

دَخَلَ فِی ھٰذ، ہِ الاٰیَۃ، کُلُّ مُحدِّثِ فِی الِّدینِ ، وَ کُلُّ مُتدِ (علیہ السلام) عِ اِلٰی یَوم القِیٰمَۃِ (Mazhari, p.263, v.2)

The impermissibility of listening to opinion-based explanations of the Holy Qur'an:

From here we find out that a person who, while talking, explaining or teaching the Holy Qur'an, is not observant of the exegetical authenticity credited to the most righteous elders of the early period (i.e. the Companions of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم or their pupils) instead, indulges in giving meanings of the Qur'an contrary to those stated by them, then, participation in the درس Dars (teaching sessions) or Tafsir (Exegesis) of such a person shall be impermissible under the authority of the Qur'an, being a sin rather than a source of reward. In Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit, Aba Hayyan has said: These verses tell us that what is sinful to say verbally remains equally sinful when heard through the ears voluntarily. He has even put it in a poetic exhortation:

وَ سَمعَکَ صُن عَن سِمَاعَ القَبیِح کَصَونِ اللِّسَانِ عَنِ النُّطقِ بِہِ

Protect your ears from hearing the evil

As you protect your tongue from saying it.

After looking at the element of some generalization in the verse of Surah al-An' am, we can now turn to the other element of additional remarks about the possibility of someone having joined the company of such people unknowingly. In that case, once it is realised, the person should immediately leave that gathering. The point is that one should not sit with unjust people when alerted to the situation.

Now, in both verses of Surah al-Nis-a' and Surah al-An' am it has been declared that as long as they remain occupied with their cross-comments, sitting in their company is forbidden. Here, we face another aspect of the problem which is: When they stop talking in that particular strain and digress to some other topic, would sitting with them and taking part in mutual discourse at that time become permissible, or not? The Qur'an has elected not to be explicit on this situation, therefore, on this subject, there is a difference of views among scholars. Some have said that the reason for this prohibition was the disparagement and distortion of Divine verses - when that stopped, the prohibition stopped too. Therefore, once they start talking about something else, sitting in their company is no sin. Some others have said that (sitting in) the company of such disbelieving, sinning and unjust people is not correct even after that. This is the position taken by Hasan al-Basri, may the mercy of Allah be upon him, the argument in support of his position comes from the following sentence of Surah al-An'am: فَلَا تَقْعُدْ بَعْدَ الذِّكْرَ‌ىٰ مَعَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ. It means: Once you remember, do not sit with the unjust people. It is obvious that an unjust person remains what he is even after having terminated the questionable conversation. Therefore, abstaining from sitting in his company is necessary. (Jasas)

Qadi Thanaullah Panipati has, in his al-Tafsir al-Mazhari, found consistency in both views by saying that should comments laced with disbelief, mockery and distortion of the Qur'an cease and be replaced by some other topic of conversation, then, even at that time, sitting unnecessarily in the company of such people shall, after all, remain forbidden. But, should such participation be prompted by some religious contingency or physical need, it would be permissible.

Seclusion is better than bad company

Imam Abu Bakr al-Jassas (رح) has said in Ahkam al-Qur'an: Should a Muslim, who is charged with the duty of forbidding the evil, witness sin being committed in a gathering, then, he should stop it by force, if he has the strength to do that. And should he be lacking in this capability, then, he should, in the least, show his displeasure, the lowest degree of which is that he should rise and leave such company. This is the reason why Sayyidna ` Umar ibn ` Abdul-` Aziz had some people arrested on the charge that they were drinking wine. On investigation, it was found that one of them was fasting. He did not drink the wine, but he was sitting in the company of those drunkards. Sayyidna ` Umar ibn ` Abdul-` Aziz punished him too for his unexplained sitting in that sort of company. (al-Bahr al-Muhit p.375, v.3)

It is useful to know that Ibn Kathir has reported at this point in his Tafsir the following hadith from the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم where he has said:

مَن کَانَ یُؤمِنُ بِاللہِ وَالیَومِ الاٰخِرِ فلَا یجلِس عَلٰی مَآیِٔدَۃِ یُدَارُ عَلَیھا الخَمَرُ

One who believes in Allah and the Last Day should not sit to dine where liquor is being served. (Ibn Kathir, p.567, v.1)

What has been said about leaving a gathering as part of a debated issue summarized above is hemmed by a condition. The condition is that leaving such a gathering shall not entail some sin according to Shari' ah. For example, joining the Jama ah (congregation) in a Masjid is necessary. Should something contrary to the Shari` ah start happening there, one should not abandon praying with the Jama'ah because of that; instead, simple emotional displeasure against what is undesirable shall be considered sufficient. Similarly, there could be some other gathering the necessity of which stands proved in the Shari` ah. If some people there start doing things which are contrary to the Shari` ah, then, leaving that gathering just because of the sin being committed by others would amount to committing a sin of your own. This is neither reasonable, nor correct. Therefore, Hasan al-Basri (رح) said: If we were to keep giving up what we must do just because of the sins of other people, we shall be paving the way for all sorts of sinners to come and destroy the Sunnah and Shari` ah.

To Sum Up

The nature of socialization with disbelieving or falsely-believing people takes some of the following forms:

1. By condescending to their infidelistic assaults. This is infidelity (kufr).

2. By showing repugnance when confronted with open expressions of disbelief. This, if done without a valid excuse admitted by the Shari' ah, is 'fisq' or sinfulness, contrary to the required behaviour of unalloyed righteousness.

3. For some worldly need. This is allowed.

4. To disseminate injunctions of Islam. This is an act of worship, ` Ibadah.

5. Under compulsion, exigency or emergency or helplessness (idtirar). This is excusable.

Accommodating disbelief is disbelief

Towards the later part of the verse (140), it was said: إِنَّكُمْ إِذًا مِّثْلُهُمْ (You, in that case, would be like them). It means: 'If you kept sitting in such a gathering where the Word of Allah is being rejected or ridiculed or distorted, quite unruffled, almost willingly, then, you too, by becoming an accomplice in their sin, have become like them.' The sense of 'having become like them can be explained either as: °God forbid, if your own thoughts and feelings are such that you show your liking for and are satisfied with their expressions of disbelief, then, in reality, you too are a disbeliever (k afir), because liking kufr is nothing but kufr.' Otherwise, if that is not the case, 'being like them' would mean: °By your participation in the activity of those who are busy hurting Islam and Muslims through their falsification of the Faith, you too, by your abetment of their conspiracy, have become, God forbid, like them.'

The censure on hypocrites appearing earlier continues through the present verses. Their blameworthy approach to matters of Faith has been clearly identified here and is self-explanatory through the translation given. Verse:141 Commentary - - -