Verse:172 Commentary The covenant of Alust: عہد الست

These two verses describe the event of the great heavenly covenant which the Creator, Allah, made with all His created being even before they took the form of their existence. This covenant is known as the covenant of Alust (أَلَسْتُ ).

Allah is the creator of all the worlds, the heavens, the earth and whatever exists between them. His infinite wisdom and all-encompassing knowledge has designed and manufactured this universe with as much perfection as leaves no room for any doubt or question. He has created everything with a wise set of rules and regulations. Following these laws ensures people of eternal success and everlasting peace and comfort while deviation from these principles makes one liable to punishments prescribed by Allah.

We may also note that His all-encompassing knowledge and infinite wisdom was enough to decide the fate of all the created beings without assigning His angels to watch over and keep the record of the deeds of His servants, and without weighing their deeds in the Balance on the Day of Judgment. It is because He is All-Aware of the deeds, even of the hidden thoughts and intentions of His servants without the remotest possibility of making wrong judgment.

His Grace and perfect Justice, however, chose that none should be punished without providing him with documentary evidences of his sinful acts, in a way, that sinner himself finds no choice but to readily acknowledge his sinful deeds.

He appointed some of His angels to record each and every act done by an individual. The Holy Qur'an said:

مَّا يَلْفِظُ مِن قَوْلٍ إِلَّا لَدَيْهِ رَ‌قِيبٌ عَتِيدٌ ﴿18﴾

"He utters not a word but there is by him a vigilant watcher1." (50:18)

1. According to Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas , LI everything good or bad about a mortal is recorded by his guardian angels" (A study of al-Qur'an al-Karim vol. 4 p. 969, by La'l Muhammad Chawla) )Translator)

In another verse the Holy Qur'an said: وَكُلُّ صَغِيرٍ‌ وَكَبِيرٍ‌ مُّسْتَطَرٌ‌ ﴿53﴾ And everything small and great is written down." (54:53) Then, on the Day of Judgment the Balance shall be set to weigh the good and bad deeds of all people. Those whose good deeds weigh heavy shall be rewarded with salvation while those whose bad deeds weigh heavier shall be punished.

Moreover, when Allah, the Best of All Judges shall hold His court on the Day of Judgment, He shall call for witnesses on the deeds of every individual. Certain wrongful people shall falsify certain witnesses. Allah shall ask his physical organs to bear witness to his deeds. They shall be given power to speak and bear witness against him. The places where the deeds were done shall also come to witness against him until he shall find no way to belie the witnesses and finally will make confession of his evil deeds. The Holy Qur'an referred to it in these words:

فَاعْتَرَ‌فُوا بِذَنبِهِمْ فَسُحْقًا لِّأَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ‌ ﴿11﴾

"So, they will confess their sins, but far removed (from Allah's Mercy) are the companions of the blazing fire." (67:11)

We also note that Allah, who is the most kind and loving did not leave His servants at the mercy of law and regulations only. He, out of His kindness, provided His servants with complete guidance through His prophets and the Books, in order to save them from eternal punishment.

Like the kind parents who make it essential for their children to go to school every morning also make sure that their children get all their requirements ready before time to facilitate their following the law of school-going with all possible ease. Allah, who is free from all similarities is more loving and kind to His servants than are the parents to their children. He did not only formulate the laws but made them a source of real guidance. Along with the commandments He also taught how people can carry out His commandments with ease and readiness.

Apart from sending His messengers and divine books to His servants He appointed a large number of His angels to help and guide people to the right path. Besides, He created .clear signs of His Power and wisdom all around so that people may use their own observation and understanding to distinguish right from wrong, and to remember their Creator. He repeatedly invited people to make use of their observation and understanding when seeing His signs scattered all around them. He said, in the Holy Qur'an :

وَفِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ آيَاتٌ لِّلْمُوقِنِينَ ﴿20﴾ وَفِي أَنفُسِكُمْ ۚ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُ‌ونَ ﴿21﴾

"And on the earth are signs for those who have firm faith, and also in your own selves. Do you not see then?" 1 (51:20-21)

1. This verse has referred to two kinds of signs; external and internal. The external signs are profusely available all around us; the heavens the earth, the oceans, mountains, plants and trees, fruits of different colour and taste; they provide us with unmistakable guidance to our Lord. The internal signs include the process of our reproduction, our physique, our thoughts, intentions emotions and sentiments of happiness and sorrow. A little reflection on these signs positively leads us to the Creator and makes us to express our gratefulness to Him. (Translator)

Another arrangement made by Allah to make people act righteously was to make them enter into covenants with Him through His Prophets (علیہم السلام) . The Holy Qur'an has references to a number of such covenants made with various people in varied circumstances. The Prophets (علیہم السلام) were made to promise that they shall essentially convey Allah's message to their people without any regard to difficulties and reproach from them. This pious group of prophets (علیہم السلام) did convey Allah's message as faithfully as was possible and sacrificed all that they had in this way.

Similarly the people of every prophet were made to promise to obey their prophet, and in some special cases, to spend all their energy in carrying out particular commands. Some people fulfilled their promise while some others did not.

Among such covenants the most significant one is the covenant which all the prophets were made to enter regarding the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم that all the prophets shall follow the last of all prophets and assist him when they find some opportunity to do so. The Holy Qur'an has mentioned this covenant in the following verse:

وَإِذْ أَخَذَ اللَّـهُ مِيثَاقَ النَّبِيِّينَ لَمَا آتَيْتُكُم مِّن كِتَابٍ وَحِكْمَةٍ ثُمَّ جَاءَكُمْ رَ‌سُولٌ مُّصَدِّقٌ لِّمَا مَعَكُمْ لَتُؤْمِنُنَّ بِهِ وَلَتَنصُرُ‌نَّهُ

"And when Allah made the prophets take pledge: (saying) If I give you a book and wisdom, then comes to you a messenger verifying what is with you, you shall have to believe in him and you shall have to support him1." (3:81)

1. By implication this pledge taken by all the prophets makes it binding on the followers of all the prophets to believe in the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and to follow him and support him in achieving his objectives. It makes binding upon them to follow the law given by the last of all Prophets. (Translator)

The Significance of Bay'ah بَیعَت Swearing Allegiance)

The traditional way of taking pledge (bay'ah: discipleship) from the devoted followers, is in fact, in pursuance of this practice of Allah. The Prophets (علیہم السلام) ، their companions and spiritual leaders have been taking the pledge of allegiance from their followers. The incident of اَلرِضوَان بَیعَت 'Bay'ah al-Rizwan' has been mentioned in the Holy Qur'an. It said:

لَّقَدْ رَ‌ضِيَ اللَّـهُ عَنِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ يُبَايِعُونَكَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَ‌ةِ

"Allah was certainly well pleased with the believers when they swore fidelity to you (0 Prophet) under the tree." (48:18)

The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم took such pledge of allegiance from his companions on many occasions. 'Bay'ah al-'Aqabah' is a famous pre-migration covenant made with the Ansars of Madinah. The customary way of Sufis to take pledge from their followers, is a covenant taken for practising the commandments of Allah regularly and strengthening their belief in Allah by frequent remembrance of their Lord. The way of swearing fealty to someone has many advantages and draws 'Barakah' from Allah.

After swearing fealty to some Sheikh (Spiritual Master), a follower feels himself more willing and inclined to practise the religious obligations, and is more conscious in seeking the pleasure of Allah.

The above description of Bay'ah also clears away a misconception common among the men of little knowledge that by putting one's hand in the hands of some Sheikh or spiritual leader is enough for one's salvation in the Hereafter. This is absolutely an erroneous notion as swearing allegiance is a pledge taken for following practical guidance according to the instructions given by the Sheikh. Therefore, only placing one's hands into the hands of a Sheikh is simply of no use. Rather, it is a deviation from the pledge and may incur the wrath of Allah.

The verse (172) speaking of the covenant of Eternity عہداَلَست in the preceding pages has used the word ذُرِّیِّۃ for the children of Adam. According to Imam Raghib al-Isfahani the word ذُرِّیِّۃ has been derived from the Arabic root ذرء which signifies to create. The Holy Qur'an has used this word to signify the same meanings in a number of verses. The word 'Dhurriyyah' (. ذُرِّیِّۃ) therefore signifies all those created. This implies that the covenant of Eternity included all the human beings as they are the progeny of Adam (علیہ السلام) .

We find some more information about this covenant in the literature of Hadith. Imam Malik, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi and Imam Ahmad have reported on the authority of Muslim bin Yasar that some people asked the Caliph 'Sayyidna ` Umar al-Faruq ؓ of the connotation of this verse. He said that the same question was put to the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and the answer of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم as he heard it was as follows:

"Allah Almighty first created Adam then He placed His hand upon his back, and drew forth all the righteous descendants of Adam who were to come into being and said, "I have created them for the Paradise, and they shall act righteously as to deserve Paradise. Then He placed His hand on the back of Adam and all the wicked descendants that were to come into being appeared. He said, "I have created them for the Hell, and they shall act wickedly as to lead them to Hell."

Someone from among the companions of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم asked him, "When Allah has already decided the fate of the mankind why the people are asked to do good deeds, while they are of no effect. The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "Whoever is created for Paradise, he starts doing good deeds making him worthy of paradise and he dies in this state, while the one created for the Hell involves himself in wicked acts making him liable of the fires of Hell until he dies doing such deeds as leads him to the Hell."

That is to say, when one is not aware of the category he belongs to, he must invest all his effort and energy in doing such deeds as are the characteristics of the people of Paradise and should be hopeful of his being one among them.

The Tradition reported by Imam Ahmad on the authority of the Companion Abu al-Darda' ؓ has added that the people who appeared the first time were of fair colour while those appearing the second time were black.

The same description reported by Tirmidhi on the authority of the Companion Abu Hurairah ؓ has additionally reported that all the children of Adam (علیہ السلام) who were to come in the world upto the end of time had a kind of brilliance on their foreheads.

Here we are faced with two descriptions apparently differing from one another. The descriptions given by the above traditions have described the children of Adam coming out of the back of the Prophet Adam (علیہ السلام) while the Qur'anic verse under discussion has related them as coming forth from the backs of the progeny of Adam (علیہ السلام) . In fact, there is no conflict between the two descriptions as the direct descendants of Adam are described as coming forth from the back of Adam (علیہ السلام) while the people coming after them have been described as coming forth from the backs of his descendants.

The aim of this pledge taken from the whole mankind was to make them acknowledge that Allah Almighty is the Nourisher, The Sustainer or the Lord of all the created beings. This implies that the children of Adam (علیہ السلام) coming forth from the back of the Prophet Adam (علیہ السلام) were not in the form of spirit alone but also had a certain kind of physique made of some fine elements. It is because the function of nourishing is directly related to body which is made to progress from one state to another. The spirits do not require this kind of nourishment as they remain in one state from the moment of their creation. This is also supported from the above traditions speaking of the fair and black colour or the brilliance on their forehead because both, the colour and brilliance, require some material form to show their existence. The spirits obviously have no colour.

One may wonder how all the human beings to be created up to the Last Day could have gathered in one place. This also has been explained by the Tradition narrated by the Companion Abu al-Darda' ؓ which said that they did not appear with their usual size rather they appeared in the size of a small ant. In this age of scientific knowledge it should be of no surprise how a man of human size can be reduced to the size of an ant. The science has established the fact that a perfect system similar to our solar system is functioning in and around the nucleus of an atom. The books of hundreds of pages can be reduced to a dot of small size through a process of micro filming. It should not, therefore, be a matter of surprise that Allah, the All-Powerful, might have reduced them to the size of an ant at this occasion.

The above discussion with regard to the covenant of eternity gives rise to a couple of questions:

1. Which was the time and place of the covenant?

2. This pledge was taken prior to the creation of all human beings, excluding Adam (علیہ السلام) . How did the children of Adam have knowledge and reason to acknowledge Allah almighty as being the Nourisher or their Lord which requires the experience of their being nourished which was not possible prior to coming as human being on the earth.

The first question has been answered by the Companion ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ as reported through authentic sources by Imam Ahmad and Nasa'i that the covenant was taken at the time when Adam (علیہ السلام) was sent down from heavens to the earth. The place was the valley of Nauman known as the plain of ` Arafat (Near Makkah).

As to the second question with regard to inability of their acknowledging Allah as their Lord prior to their creation, the answer is quite simple. Allah Almighty who has all the powers to do anything He wills, and who was able to make all the human beings appear in a size of an ant could more easily imbue knowledge and reason enough to make them capable of recognizing their Lord, the Nourisher. Allah made them appear with body and soul in a small size with all the physical functions needed by a perfect human being. Reason and understanding being the most significant functions must have been included.

Another question which remains unsettled is as to what value can be attached to a covenant occurring prior to the actual creation of human beings, and which is not remembered by them after they take their actual existence on the earth? Before proceeding to answer this question we may add that, in some cases, there have been individuals who remembered the occasion of this covenant. For example, the great spiritual leader Dhul Nun al-Misri has said, "I remember the occurrence of this covenant as clearly as I am hearing it this very moment." Some of the elders have reported to have remembered even the people who were present near them. True, that such cases are rare and do not make an answer to the above question.

The answer to this question, therefore, is that there are many things or acts which are effective in their very nature without any regard to their being remembered or understood by others. They imprint the effect on others quite naturally.

For example, the common practice, among Muslims, of saying Adhan1 in the right ear of a new born and reciting iqamah in his left ear is an obvious example of such acts. The baby neither understands the meaning of this call nor does he remember it after becoming an adult. The wisdom behind this religious practice is nothing but to revive the pledge he has taken with Allah, and sow the seed of Faith in his heart by repeating the message of the covenant in his ears. The influence of this act is so obvious that can be seen in every Muslim individual even if he is not practically a good Muslim. He takes pride in calling himself a Muslim and utterly dislikes being deprived of this categorical entity.

1. Adhan is a call for salah the ritual prayer which in fact is a bold declaration that Allah is one, has no partners, and is the greatest of all etc. while iqamah is the same declaration with added enunciation that the salah has been set ready to be joined by people. (Translator)

Similarly the commandment of reciting the Qur'an even to those who do not know Arabic is perhaps for the same reason that their hearts are enlightened with the impact of the Qur'anic words, and their Faith in Allah is renovated therewith.

The wisdom behind this covenant is similarly to sow the seed of Faith in the heart of every human being. This seed is taking its nourishment in the soil of human heart , no matter whether people are conscious of it or not. The fruit of this seed manifests itself in the form of love and respect for god (Allah) which is a part of human nature. The expression of this love and respect, may take unjust forms like worshipping false gods - idols or created beings. The worships, just or unjust, is in itself, an expression of love and respect for the creator. The billions of people have this respect and love for Allah which is expressed by them through their worship according to their ideas of worship guided by their knowledge or ignorance. There is no need to speak of those few who, under the influence of mundane pursuits have deteriorated their natural understanding and forgot the pledge they made with Allah.

The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has said: کُلُّ مَولُودِ یُولَدُ عَلَی الفِطرَۃِ every baby is born on Fitrah (nature, that is, Islam) then he is converted by his parents to their religion. The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has said in a Tradition that Allah Almighty has said, 'I have created my servants as Hanif, that is, having faith in Allah, the One, then they were led astray by Satanic influences."

The next sentence of the verse has said:

أَن تَقُولُوا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَـٰذَا غَافِلِينَ

"Lest you should say on the Day of Doom, "We were ignorant of this."

That is to say, the pledge taken by Allah has lit the candle of Faith in their hearts. Now with little reflection they can easily recognize Him as their Lord. Therefore, their excuse of ignorance shall not be of any avail to them on the Day of Judgment. Verse:173 Commentary Another possible excuse from them was to say:

أَوْ تَقُولُوا إِنَّمَا أَشْرَ‌كَ آبَاؤُنَا مِن قَبْلُ وَكُنَّا ذُرِّ‌يَّةً مِّن بَعْدِهِمْ ۖ أَفَتُهْلِكُنَا بِمَا فَعَلَ الْمُبْطِلُونَ ﴿173﴾

"Or you should say, "It was our forefathers who associated partners with Allah and we were (only) a progeny after them. So, would you destroy us on account of what the false ones did?"

The verse precludes them from seeking refuge in saying that they were unaware of the Truth. Being a progeny of their forefathers they only followed their path. Therefore they should not be punished for the error of their forefathers. The verse has said that they shall not be punished for the acts of their forefather. It was their own fault and their apathetic attitude that led them to this disaster. It is because the covenant had sown the seed of Truth in their heart and it was not difficult for them to decide that the stones, shaped by themselves into idols, or the fire, the trees and other created beings could, in no way, be considered as being their creator or possessing powers of helping them in their need. Verse:174 Commentary The next verse 174 said:

وَكَذَٰلِكَ نُفَصِّلُ الْآيَاتِ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْ‌جِعُونَ ﴿174﴾

"And this is how we elaborate the verses, so that they may return."

That is, Allah has made His signs clear through His elaborate verses to facilitate people to turn back to their pledge and acknowledge Him as their Lord. Any one applying his reason can find the Truth and save himself from everlasting punishment. Verse:175 Commentary The above verses have described the story of a religious leader of the Israelites who had a great following for his piety and knowledge but suddenly went astray and became among the rejected. This event contains a number of lessons and points of exhortation, and has a link with the preceding verses. The foregoing verses spoke of the covenant made by Allah with the children of Adam in general, and with certain people in varied circumstances. The above verses also made a mention of those people who did not fulfill their pledge with Allah. For example, the Israelites who were awaiting the arrival of a prophet and used to describe his attributes to others, but after the Holy Prophet made his appearance, they rejected him just for worldly considerations.

The story of Bal'am bin Ba'ura

The present verses have related the story of a saintly person among the Israelites. The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has been asked to relate this story to his people to show how a devoted scholar and great spiritual leader was deprived of all the knowledge, wisdom, popularity and fame only by following the mundane desires.

We do not find any personal identification or name of this person mentioned in the Holy Qur'an. There are, however, many Traditions reported by the exegetes of the Holy Qur'an and the Companions and their disciples, giving a variety of information about him. The most authentic and trusted by the majority of scholars is the Tradition reported by Ibn Marduwaih on the authority of the Companion ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ which is as follows:

The name of this man was Bal'am bin Ba'ura. He belonged to Syria living in Canaan near Jerusalem. According to a report he was an Israelite by birth. He had knowledge of certain books revealed by Allah. The Qur'anic phrase اَلَذِی آتَینٰہُ آیٰتنا . "The one whom We gave Our verses" refers to the same knowledge.

This event belongs to the period after the death of pharaoh and his people and the victory of the Israelites over Egypt. Allah commanded The Prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) and his people to fight war against a people called جَبَّارِین Jabbarin. The Jabbarin who had seen the fate of Pharaoh and his people were greatly frightened when they saw the army of the Prophet Musa علیہ السلام approaching them. They came to Bal'am and said that the Prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) was a strong man and that he had come with great army in order to expel them from their land. He should therefore pray Allah that He may turn them back without fighting war against them. Bal'am bin Ba` ura was known to be having the knowledge of " اِسمِ اَعظَم ' (the most gracious name of Allah). He used to pray with the help of this name and his prayers were generally granted.

Bal'am said to them that Musa, being the prophet of Allah, had the support of Allah's angels and he could not pray against him. He said that he knew the rank that Musa (علیہ السلام) held with Allah, and that by praying against him he will ruin himself both in this world and in the world to come. Being insisted by the people Bal'am promised that he will first seek the consent of Allah for such a prayer, and in case Allah permitted him to pray against Musa he shall do so accordingly.

He performed some act to seek Allah's consent and in a dream was prohibited by Allah from making such prayer. He came to the people and informed them of this prohibition. The Jabbarin presented him a gift of considerable value which he accepted. Subsequent to this gift their insistence increased. Some reports said that his wife advised him to accept the gift, and pray for them. Being blinded by the love of wealth and wife, he started praying against the Prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) and his people. An unusual thing happened at this occasion. By the will of Allah the words he wanted to utter against the Prophet Musa علیہ السلام in his invocation, were uttered against the people of Jabbarin themselves. They cried out and admonished him that he was invoking against themselves. Bal'am said that he was unable to utter a word against Musa (علیہ السلام) and that he had no control over his utterances.

Consequently the Jabbarin met the fate of disaster from the heavenly punishment, and the punishment of Bal'am was that his tongue protruded from under his mouth so much so that it dangled on his chest. Bal'am having ruined his life both in this world and in the world to come and being deprived of all spiritual powers he had, made a suggestion to the people of Jabbarin saying, "There is only one way you can overcome the Israelites. Decorate your beautiful girls and send them to the Israelites giving them instructions that they should not put on any resistance against whatever is done by the Israelites. Being away from their homes they are likely to involve themselves in adultery. Being the most detestable act to Allah, adultery has to incur the wrath of Allah. An adulterous people can never win over their enemy." This satanic suggestion was accepted by the people and they acted accordingly. A prominent person of the Israelites fell prey to this trap. The Prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) made all his effort to stop him from this act but he involved himself in this wicked act.

Consequently plague overtook them as a punishment, with a death toll of seventy thousand people in one day. The person who had committed the sin was murdered along with the girl and was hung by the Israelites at a public place. Then they turned to Allah in repentance and asked His forgiveness, which relieved them of this disgraceful punishment.

The Holy Qur'an used the expression of 'wriggling out' for Bal'am's disregard to the knowledge and wisdom Allah had given to him through His verses. The Arabic expression فَانسَلَخَ مِنْهَا "He wriggled out from the verses of Allah" signifies coming out of an animal from its skin like a snake which leaves its old skin behind having no concern with it. This indicates that Bal'am had totally disregarded the knowledge and wisdom he was granted by Allah. The text phrase: فَأَتْبَعَهُ الشَّيْطَانُ "So, Satan overtook him" implies that as long as he possessed the knowledge of the verses of Allah, Satan was unable to possess him. As soon as Bal'am was deprived of this great gift of Allah, he overtook him and led him astray. Consequently he became one of the misguided people فَكَانَ مِنَ الْغَاوِينَ "And he became one of the misled. Verse:176 Commentary The next verse (176) has said:

وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَرَ‌فَعْنَاهُ بِهَا وَلَـٰكِنَّهُ أَخْلَدَ إِلَى الْأَرْ‌ضِ وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ

"And if We so willed, we would have elevated him thereby, but he clung to the earth, and followed his desire."

The word' أَخْلَدَ (Akhlada) is a derivative of اِخلَاد which means to incline or to cling to something. The word أَرْ‌ض (ard) meaning the earth includes the globe itself and all the things present. Furniture, machines; clothes and food are in fact, the gift of this earth. By implication all the worldly possessions have been taken to include in a single word - the earth. The quintessence of this verse is that the knowledge of the verses of Allah are the real source of gaining prominence and advancement. For those who show disregard to them and give preference to worldly desires and possessions, this very knowledge becomes a source of disgrace and disaster for them.

The verse under discussion has expressed this fact by way of a similitude. It said.

فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَثَلِ الْكَلْبِ إِن تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْهِ يَلْهَثْ

"So his example is like the example of a dog; if you attack him, he pants, and if you leave him alone he pants."

The word لْهَثْ (Lahath) signifies to breath hard by ejecting one's tongue out.

The process of inhaling fresh air and exhaling unclean air is vital for every living being. Allah has made this process as automatic and easy as requires no effort on the part of living creatures - dog is excepted. It is only dog that has to labour hard for the process of breathing, while other animals have to make such effort only when they are attacked or undergo some strenuous task. Bal'am b. Baura has been mentioned in this verse as being similar to dog. He had his tongue protruded and panted like a dog who pants when attacked and pants when let alone.

The next sentence of the verse said: ذَّٰلِكَ مَثَلُ الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا "That is the example of those who belied our signs." According to the Companion ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ "this has a reference to the Israelites of Makkah who were always longing for someone sent to them as their leader inviting them to Allah and teaching them the ways of following the right path. When this long-awaited prophet came to them with as transparent signs of Truth as left no room -for the resistance in his way, they too, 'wriggled out' from the commandments of Torah exactly as Bal'am Ba'ura had done.

The last sentence of this series said: فَاقْصُصِ الْقَصَصَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُ‌ونَ "So relate the chronicles (to them) so that they may ponder." The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has been asked to relate the story of Bal'am Ba'ura to them in order that they may take lesson from it and use their understanding. Verse:177 Commentary The last verse in this series 176 said, "So evil is example of those who belied our signs and they have been doing harm to themselves."

The General Message of the Verses

The above verses contain a number of useful points for the benefit of those who are heedful and make use of their understanding. Firstly, no one should be boastful of his knowledge and be proud for his piety. Things can change without notice just as happened with Bal'am Ba'ura. One has to be grateful to his Lord for all the knowledge and wisdom he has, and should keep praying Allah for being firm in his faith.

Secondly, one should avoid situations which seem to threat his faith and knowledge. Specially so, when money, wife and children are involved because the love, of these things is the most powerful agent of misguidance.

Thirdly, one should avoid the company of the misguided people and be careful in accepting gift or invitation from them. Bal'am met the evil fate through accepting the gift of the Jabbarin.

Fourthly, the acts of immodesty like adultery and fornication are the source of ruin and disaster for all the people living in a society. Those who want to save themselves from distress must prevent their people from committing such crimes, otherwise it will invite Allah's wrath and punishment upon them.

Fifthly, deviation from the commandments of Allah is, in itself a punishment and it opens the door to satanic influences, which work upon them quite unknowingly and lead them astray. Therefore, any one with knowledge must be conscious of this valuable treasure and seek Allah's help in protecting it from evil influences. He must care-fully keep correcting himself against error. Verse:178 Commentary The main theme of the verse 178 is that guidance and misguidance both are from Allah. He is the creator of good and evil, guidance and misguidance. The guided are those whom Allah has given guidance and losers are those whom Allah lets go astray. This theme has been mentioned repeatedly by the Qur'an in many other verses to make the mankind know that Allah has created good and evil and has provided with clear instructions to distinguish one from the other, and with a kind of free will to choose one of the two paths. Those who willfully choose the right path and do good deeds get their reward from Allah while those who willfully take to the other path and do evil deeds are punished and sent to Hell.

Here we note that the above verse has mentioned the people of guidance in singular person while the people who are wrong and misguided have been mentioned in plural. This indicates that the path of guidance is the one true faith which was followed by all the prophets right from Adam (علیہ السلام) to the last of all Prophets صلى الله عليه وسلم . The basic message of all the prophets has been one and the same. That is to say, the fundamentals preached by all the prophets were all same in every age. Therefore, people of any age and denomination who believed in their prophets and followed the teachings preached by them are considered by Allah belonging to one and the same category - that is, the guided. On the contrary, the ways of misguidance have been thousands in number, hence mentioned in plural in this verse.

Another point to be noted in this verse is that the people following the path of misguidance have been mentioned along with their punishment of Hell, while no mention has been made of any reward of the people following the right path. The verse mentioned them saying that they are 'the guided'. This implies that guidance, in itself, is the greatest blessing of all, which encompasses all the rewards and bounties existing in this world or in the Hereafter. The reward of guidance requires no specific mention of other rewards which are embodied therein.

For example, some great king assures some individual that he is a close friend of the king and he shall be heard and trusted by him. Certainly he enjoys the highest position among the royal officials. He does not require the achievement of a formal rank or position. Similarly, when Allah has given the title of being 'the guided' to any one, he has got all the rewards of the world. The elders have therefore said that the remembrance and worship of Allah are themselves the reward of the worship, because they are the great favour of Allah.

Any one engaged in the worship of Allah is receiving the greatest reward of Allah at the same time. Other blessings which wait for him in this world and in Paradise are second to it, as they are the fruit of this guidance.

This also explains the meaning of another Qur'anic verse in which the believers are promised to receive from their Lord their reward. It said جَزَاءً مِّن رَّ‌بِّكَ عَطَاءً "A recompense from your Lord, a gift." Here the reward of the believers has been expressed by two different words جَزَاءً a recompense and Ata which is gift. The word جَزَاءً signifies something offered in return of some service while the word: عَطَاءً 'Ata is a gift offered without any service or performance. This leads us to the fact that things which we take to be rewards of our performance or attainments are, in fact, the gift from our Lord. For the performance which has drawn this reward was in itself a gift from Allah Almighty who let us perform that particular service. Verse:179 Commentary The next verse is an extension of the same theme. It said:

وَلَقَدْ ذَرَ‌أْنَا لِجَهَنَّمَ كَثِيرً‌ا مِّنَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنسِ ۖ لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لَّا يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ لَّا يُبْصِرُ‌ونَ بِهَا

"And surely, we have created for Hell a lot of people from among Jinn and mankind. They possess heart wherewith they understand not, have eyes wherewith they see not and they have ears wherewith they hear not."

That is, many Jinns and human beings have been created for Hell, because in spite of having all the means of guidance, the heart, the eyes and the ears, they do not use them to seek guidance. They could find the right path, had they used these faculties in proper way. They do not use their hearts to understand, their eyes to see things to be seen and their ears to hear things to be heard.

As a substance of the verse we are given to understand that ultimate end or destiny is a divine secret, not known to anyone, but there are definite signs which help us to make a surmise. The people of Hell can be identified by their characteristic sign of not making proper use of their faculties of seeing, hearing and understanding. Allah has blessed us with these faculties for acquiring knowledge and recognition of our Lord. The people of Hell invest these abilities in worthless objectives and are evidently heedless of the real aim of man's life, that is, to earn with his capabilities eternal comfort and peace in the Hereafter through seeking guidance.

A Question and its answer

A question may be asked about the above Qur'anic verses. Here the Holy Qur'an has negated their qualities of hearing, seeing and understanding. On the other hand, we see that in real life they are not blind, deaf and insane. Like other human beings they do see, hear and understand things around them. How can this negation be reconciled with the actual fact?

The answer requires to refresh our usual knowledge with regard to things and living beings around us. Everything created has an amount of sensibility equal to the need of its purpose of existence. The things we call inanimate are not totally devoid of sensibility or life. The stones and the earth which are not assigned with the duty of growth or movement have so little an amount of sensitivity that can hardly be detected1.

1. Human reason essentially requires the presence of some kind of perception or life in things called inanimate. It is because there must be some way of communication between the Creator and the created. The one who cannot communicate with created beings for the absence of sensibility on their part, is not worthy of being called god. Allah does communicate with all His created beings, animate or inanimate, which proves some kind of sensibility in all inanimate things. (Translator)

The vegetable Kingdom comes next in this series. The purpose of their existence requires growth and nourishment. The amount of perception or life given to them is greater in degree and is equal to their requirements. Next we come to animal kingdom where we find more elaborate and complex form of life. In addition to growth and nourishment, the animals have to move on the earth from one place to another. They have to seek their food to maintain their existence. They require protecting themselves from dangers and above all, they are required to reproduce their children. The amount of life given to them is greater and more obvious than the others so far discussed. They are, however, equipped with as much powers only as were needed to assist them in feeding and protecting themselves from dangers and enemies.

The last, but not the least, is human being who, in addition to, and more prominent of all the functions discussed above, has the duty of recognizing his Creator and the Lord of the universe, and seek His pleasure by following His commandments and avoid doing things disliked by Him. He is required to contemplate and give due thought to the creations and use his faculty of reason to distinguish right from wrong, abstain from evil and do good to please his Lord. Another distinction of a human being from other creatures is that he has been provided with vast opportunity to make progress in making his life more purposeful and more elevated in position. When he comes to make progress, he can attain more elevated rank than the angels. He is accountable for his acts and is promised of eternal peace and comfort for his good acts and everlasting punishment and distress for his evil deeds. He has been, therefore, trusted with the highest and the most perfect degree of life, in order that he is engaged in doing things that are proper for the aim of his life. He is not expected to waste his special faculties of understanding, hearing and seeing in the achieve-ment of material things only like animals.

Keeping the above points in view, the human faculties of understanding, hearing and seeing should essentially be distinct from those of the animals. If he did not make special use of these faculties like distinguishing right from wrong, doing good and keeping away from evil, he would be rightly considered among those who have eyes but do not see, have ears but do not listen, have mind and heart but do not understand. The Hoy Qur'an has therefore termed them as صُمٌّ بُكْمٌ "deaf, dumb and blind".

The verse therefore has not negated their physical ability of seeing, hearing and understanding. Rather, the Holy Qur'an has affirmed their knowledge about worldly things in the following words,

يَعْلَمُونَ ظَاهِرً‌ا مِّنَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَهُمْ عَنِ الْآخِرَ‌ةِ هُمْ غَافِلُونَ ﴿7﴾

"They know the outward aspect of this worldly life, but of the Hereafter they are heedless." (30:7)

In another verse the Holy Qur'an, speaking the destruction of the people of ` Ad and Thamud, said: وَكَانُوا مُسْتَبْصِرِ‌ينَ "While they could see clearly." (29:38)

The people of ` Ad and Thamud being allured by satanic influences involved themselves in evil deeds which led them to their destruction. That is to say they kept the use of their capabilities limited to abject worldly gains like serving their physical needs and remained heedless to their spiritual demands. No matter what great advances they make in science and technology, they may conquer space, explore moon and other planets, make the world full of their sophisticated satellites, and tame the natural forces to serve their varied needs, but all such efforts are no more than a means of serving their physical and material life. It does not go beyond, to seek spiritual peace and comfort. This achievement science and technology of man is certainly confined to serving his physical life only, which does not make him distinct from the animal in technicality. It is why the Holy Qur'an calls them deaf, dumb and blind because they heard, saw and understood things that belonged to this world only. They did not make proper use of these functions which could lead them to eternal success and peace. The last phrase of this verse said that they are like cattle investing all their effort in serving their bodily desires. Next the verse added بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ "Rather they are much more misled." that is, they are far more unwise than are the cattle, because the animals are not bound to follow the laws of the Shari'ah. They have no reward or punishment for their acts. They are required only to serve their physical needs which they are efficiently doing, contrary to human beings who are accountable for everything they do in this world, and they are going to be punished or rewarded according to their performance. If they confine their effort only to seek material gains of this world and do not make proper use of their faculties, they are certainly more imprudent and unwise as compared to animals. Verse:180 Commentary This verse has a relationship with the preceding verses in the sense that the people of Hell discussed above did not use their abilities in seeking the everlasting comforts of the Hereafter, and made themselves liable to eternal punishment. The present verse has provided with remedy of their disease. That is, seeking help from Allah by calling Him with His good names and often remembering Him through them.

The good names of Allah

The good names are the ones that denote the attributes having the highest degree of perfection. It goes without saying that the perfection of the highest degree is not possessed by anyone but Allah. In case of a 'perfect' human being there is always a possibility of someone being higher than him in some qualities. This is what the Qur'anic phrase has said: وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ "And above every man of knowledge there is someone more knowledgeable." (12:76)

The style of the verse has suggested that these 'beautiful names' are peculiarly meant for Allah. فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا "So, call Him by them", because there is none other than Allah who owns these attributes, therefore the only one worthy of being called in need is none but He. Calling is a rendering of the word which has two characteristics: Praising, purifying and remembering Allah, and calling Him for help in times of need or difficulty. It implies, that Allah alone is worthy of praise and glorification and He alone has to be called for help and relief. The verse has also suggested that the best method of calling Him is to call Him by His Beautiful Names.

Preconditions of Du` a (calling Allah)

The verse has provided us with two valuable information. Firstly, there is none other than Allah worthy of praise and worthy of being called for help. Secondly, Allah has provided us with specific words for calling him, proper to His glorious being, as we are not capable of choosing appropriate words for this purpose. That is, we are required to call Him by His attributes of perfections.

Bukhari and Muslim have reported on the authority of the Companion Abu Hurairah ؓ that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

"There are ninety nine names of Allah. Whoever learns them by heart shall enter paradise."

Tirmidhi and Hakim have enumerated these names in detail. Invocations made by reciting these names are generally granted. Allah has promised in the Holy Qur'an ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ "Call me and I will answer you" (40:60). The most definite and certain method of seeking help in one's need and getting relief from one's distress is calling Allah and praying Him for His help. This is the only way that is certain to meet success. The immediate benefit of praying to Allah is that it is, in itself, a worship. The reward of this worship is included in the sheet of one's deeds.

The Holy Prophet وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ said in a Tradition: اَلدُّعَاُء مُخُ العِبَدَہِ "Invoking Allah is the quintessence of worship." The invocation is granted by Allah in many ways. Sometimes, the very thing for which the invocation has been made is granted by Allah, while some other times, when one asks for something untimely or unsuitable for him in the knowledge of Allah is exchanged with something more proper or beneficial for him.

Remembering Allah by glorifying and praising Him is the food for one's Faith in Allah ('Iman) which helps in magnifying the love, respect and awareness of Allah making the hardship of this world worthless in one's eyes.

Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi and Nasa'i have reported through authentic sources that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said that anyone who finds himself in some difficulty or is distressed with some grief should recite the following words:

لَا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا اللہُ الْعَظِيمِ اَلحَلِیمُ ، لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا اللہُ رَ‌بُّ الْعَرْ‌شِ الْعَظِيمِ ، لَا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا اللہُ رَّ‌بُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالاَرضِ وَرَ‌بُّ الْعَرْ‌شِ الْکريم

"There is no god but Allah, the Greatest, the Most forbearing, There is no god but Allah, the Lord of the great Throne. There is no god but Allah, the Lord of the Heavens, and the earth and the Lord of the Glorious Throne."

Hakim in his Mustadrak has reported on the authority of the Companion Anas ؓ that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said to his daughter Sayyidah Fatimah al-Zahra ؓ

"What is there to prevent you from hearing my advice of reciting the following invocation at morning and evening every day?"

یِا حَیُّ یَا قَیُّومُ بِرَحمَتِکَ اَستَغِیثُ اَصلِح لِی شَأنِی کُلَّہُ وَلَا تَکِلنِی اِلٰی نَفسِی طَرفَۃَ عَین

"0 The Alive, The All-Sustaining, I call for help by Your Mercy. Set right every situation that I am in, and do not leave me at the mercy of my inner-self for even a wink of an eye."

The above invocation is also an effective remedy of hardships and distress. In short, we have been given two instructions in this verse namely making invocation to Allah alone for seeking help or for pleasing the Creator, secondly, calling Allah by His attributes of perfection without changing them.

The next sentence said:

وَذَرُ‌وا الَّذِينَ يُلْحِدُونَ فِي أَسْمَائِهِ ۚ سَيُجْزَوْنَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

"And leave those who deviate in (the matter of) His names. They shall be recompensed for what they had been doing."

The Arabic word اِلحَاد 'Ilhad' signifies to decline from the centre. In Qur'anic terminology the word 'Ilhad' is used for deviating from the correct interpretation of the Qur'anic words or distorting the meanings of the Qur'anic message.

The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has been asked to keep away from the people who distort or decline from the prescribed names of Allah.

The Deviation from the good names

There are many forms of deviating from the prescribed names of Allah. Firstly, calling Allah by such names as are not specified in the Holy Qur'an or in the Sunnah. The ` Ulama' (Scholars) of the ummah are unanimous on the point that it is not permissible to call Allah by any names or attributes of one's own choice or to praise Him by the names which have not been specified by the Qur'an and the Sunnah. For example, Allah may be called by the word: نُور Nur (light) but not by the word 'white'. Similarly Allah may be called 'Karim' (generous) but not by the word 'Sakhi': سَخِی having the same meaning. He can be called Shafi شَافِی (The one who provides cure from disease) but not طَبِیب 'Tabib' (The doctor). Though the matching words carry the same meanings they are not allowed simply because they have not been reported by the Qur'an and the Sunnah.

The second way of deviating from these names of Allah is to abandon certain name or names only because one thinks them to be inappropriate in certain situations. It, obviously, amounts to lack of respect to the glorious names of Allah.

Calling the people with the names of Allah

The third way of deviation from these names is to use any of the good names of Allah for other people. This however, has some exceptions as explained in the following lines:

There are certain names in the list of the glorious names of Allah which have been used by the Qur'an and the Sunnah for human beings. Such names can be used for beings other than Allah. For example, Rahim, Rashid, ` Ali, Karim and ` Aziz etc., while there are other names which denote to exclusive attributes of Allah. Their use for anyone other than Allah is an act of deviation from these names. For example, Rahman, Razzaq, Subhan, Khaliq, Quddus and Ghaffar etc. Using such names for anyone other than Allah is prohibited in the Islamic Shari` ah.

Now, if someone calls anyone other than Allah by these names because of his false belief, that he has the attributes denoted by these names it would be an act of infidelity. However, if someone used any of these names for anyone other than Allah just heedlessly and for the lack of knowledge, it would not be an act of infidelity, but having similarities with it would be called a major sin.

It is a pity that Muslims in general are having a number of wrong practices with regard to naming their children and, calling them by improper names.

There is a group of people who have abandoned the practice of naming their children with Islamic names. Their modern names having, non Islamic character, mark it difficult to identify them as Muslims by their names. Specially so, when their general appearance and manners are already devoid of Islamic character. The Islamic female names like Khadijah, ` A'ishah, and Fatimah have been replaced with Najma, Pervin, Nasim, Shamim and Shahnaz etc.

More doleful practice among Muslims is to heedlessly curtail the Islamic names like ` Abd al-Khaliq, ` Abd al-Rahman ` Abd al-Razzaq or ` Abd al-Quddus etc. to Khaliq, Rahman, Razzaq and Quddus when calling people of these names. The attributes Khaliq خَالِق (The Creator) Rahman رَحمَٰن (The Merciful) Razzaq رَزَّاق (The Sustainer) and Quddus قُدُّوس (The Pure) are all exclusive attributes of Allah and using these attributes for anyone other than Allah is a major sin (گُنَاہِ کَبِیرَہ). The number of times one calls any one by these attributes only commits a major sin every time and becomes liable of great punishment.

This sinful practice has become quite common among Muslims for no gain. They have been committing this sinful act simply for being thoughtless to the gravity of this error. The present verse has warned against it by saying سَيُجْزَوْنَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ "They shall soon be recompensed for what they have been doing".

Many evils are committed for certain worldly gains or benefits. Any one committing such evil deed may pretend to offer an excuse that being constrained by some necessity he had committed the sin, while a great number of evil deeds are simply of no avail, and produce no worldly benefit at all. It is a sad situation that people are seen committing such evil deeds just for being careless of the commandments of Allah and being indifferent to what is prohibited or permitted by Allah. May Allah save us from such ignorance. Verse:181 Commentary The previous verses offered a remedy of calling Allah by His good names to those who were neglectfully not making proper use of their faculties. Now the verse 181 speaks of those who followed the right path. The verse said, " And among those we have created, there are people who guide with truth and do justice thereby". That is, they are a people who guide others to the straight path and decide all their matters according to the dictates of truth (the divine law).

Ibn Jarir has reported from his own sources that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم recited this verse and said, The people referred to in this verse are my people who shall decide their controversies according to justice and truth and observe justice in all their dealings."

`

Abd ibn Humaid has reported that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said addressing his companions, "This verse has been revealed in your favour and prior to you there has been a group of people bearing the same attributes." Then he recited this verse:

وَمِن قَوْمِ مُوسَىٰ أُمَّةٌ يَهْدُونَ بِالْحَقِّ وَبِهِ يَعْدِلُونَ ﴿159﴾

"And among the community of Musa there are people who guide with truth and do justice thereby." (7:159)

That is to say, there was a group of people among the Israelites who had the attributes referred to in this verse, of guiding other people to the truth and deciding their matters according to the law of the Torah. Similarly, the Muslim Ummah has the same attributes as their distinct feature.

The essence of the message is firstly, to guide people to the right path in accordance with the dictates of the Shari` ah, and secondly, to decide all their controversies according to the law of Islam. The above two features offer, in fact, the guaranteed way of success, both in this world and in the Hereafter. Any group or individuals who follow the truth and justice in all their modes of life, and do not exhibit their personal prejudices while making judgments even for their enemies, are the people of truth refered to in this verse. The same has been the main characteristic of the Muslim Ummah who strictly observed the demands of truth and justice in all their dealings and overlooked their personal priorities when making judgments between people. The history has recorded unique examples of such truthful practices from the lives of the blessed Companions and their disciples.

From the day the Muslims started to show disregard to these two distinctive features of their character, an evident regression started to show itself in every sphere of their life. Remorsefully though, we have to acknowledge that majority of the Muslim Ummah have fallen prey to their personal desires. All their activities, their political, social and educational set ups are motivated by downtrodden worldly gains. Their guidance to other people is mainly aimed at getting some worldly benefits. Most of their family ceremonies are not only devoid of Islamic character, but demonstrate a behaviour opposed to Shari'ah. There are some family traditions designed in the name of religious ceremonies. Any one going against or showing dislike to these innovations has to face active opposition on their part. People are no more interested in organizing themselves purely for the propagation of truth and justice.

There is none to make them realize that this course of thought and action has to bring disaster to the Muslims at large. The only way to restore the dignity of the Muslim Ummah and to bring them back to the path. of progress and prosperity is to follow the way of truth and justice suggested by this verse. Conscious efforts should be made to create an awareness of these values among the Muslims.