Al Islam

d. 2:17; 3:178; 4:45. (close)

201. The words mean that the disbelievers are, as it were, possessed of great endurance to bear the torment of the fire of Hell. These words have been used ironically. (close)

e. 17:106. (close)

a. 2:190. (close)

b. 76:9. (close)

202. ‘Ala Hubbi-hi means, for love of God; notwithstanding love of money. (close)

c. 9:4; 13:21. (close)

d. 2:215; 6:43; 7:95. (close)

202A. Al-Ba’sa’ and al-Ba’s are both derived from Ba’usa and Ba’isa. i.e.; he was or became strong and valiant in war or fight; he was or became in a state of great want or poverty or distress. Al-Ba’sa’ means, might or strength in war or fight; war or fight; fear; harm, etc., ad-Darra’ is especially that evil or affliction which relates to one’s person as disease, etc., and al-Ba’sa’ is that which relates to property, as poverty, etc. (Lane). (close)

e. 49:16. (close)

203. The verse gives a gist of Islamic teaching. It begins with the basic Islamic beliefs and doctrines which are the source and basis of all actions and on the rightness of which depends the rightness of human actions—belief in God, in the Last Day, in angels, Revealed Books and Divine Prophets. After this some of the more important ordinances relating to man’s actions are mentioned. (close)

a. 2:195; 5:46. (close)

204. The verse comprises a very important principle of civil law, i.e. equality of man and necessity of awarding proportionate punishment to all offenders without distinction, unless an offender is forgiven by the relatives of his victim under circumstances that are calculated to lead to improvement and betterment of conditions.

The words "is prescribed for you" show that retaliation for the slain is obligatory. Failure to inflict the punishment prescribed by Law on the offender is tantamount to violation of the Divine commandment. The duty, however, of punishing the culprit devolves not on the heirs of the murdered person but, as the plural ‘Alaikum (for you) shows, on the authorities responsible for the maintenance of law and order. The former, however, have been given the option to forgive. So whereas on the one hand the concerned authorities are bound to punish the offender according to the requirements of law, having no right to pardon him of their own accord, on the other the heirs of the murdered person are not entitled to take the law into their own hands and inflict the punishment on the guilty person themselves. In awarding the punishment the verse makes no distinction between offenders. The words used are of a general nature and apply to all offenders who might be guilty of murder, no matter of what rank or station in life or of what religion. Any person, irrespective of his caste or creed and of his station, must be put to death for the murder of any other person, unless pardoned by the relatives of the victim and unless also the pardon has the sanction of the competent authorities. The sayings of the Holy Prophet are explicit on this point (Majah, ch. on Diyat). The Companions of the Holy Prophet are all agreed that a Muslim may be put to death for murdering a non-belligerent disbeliever (Tabari, v. 44). The Holy Prophet himself ordered a Muslim murderer to be put to death for the murder of a non-belligerent non-Muslim (Qutni). The words, the freeman for the freeman and the slave for the slave and the female for the female, do not mean that a freeman should not be punished with death for the murder of a slave or that a woman should not be put to death for killing a member of the opposite sex, etc. The social position of a person or the sex of a party also cannot be considered a bar to the application of this law. The peculiar construction, i.e. "the freeman for the freeman,……" has been adopted to refer to, and abolish, a certain custom of the Arabs whereby they used to take into consideration the sex and the social status of the murderer and the murdered person when determining punishment. The commandment contained in this verse seeks to abolish that obnoxious custom. In fact, the law of retaliation, as stated in this verse, is confined to the clause, equitable retaliation in the matter of the slain is prescribed for you, which forms a complete sentence in itself, giving a full and complete meaning. The ensuing expression, the freeman for the freeman and the slave for the slave and the female for the female, is something extra, not forming part of the law. It only contains a repudiation of the Arab custom referred to above and illustrates, by giving three instances, how the law is to be administered. Such an expression is known as Jumlah Isti’nafiah in Arabic Grammar, and is technically introduced with a view to answering a question which is suggested by the preceding clause to which it is added without any intervening conjunction. The question answered in such an expression is often understood and not expressed (Mukhtasar). The Holy Prophet is reported to have said: "Whoever kills his slave shall be put to death" (Majah). At another place he says: "The blood of all Muslims is alike in respect of the law of retaliation" (Nasa’i). (close)

204A. The Islamic law of retaliation provides a very effective means to put a stop to murder and safeguard human life. A man, who shows a callous disregard for human life loses all title to live as a member of human society. Pardon or remission is permissible only where the circumstances are such that it is likely to improve matters and bring about good results for all parties concerned (42:41). Thus, while, on the one hand, Islam has made due provision for the suppression of crime, it has, on the other, kept open the door for the display of the noble qualities of benevolence and mercy. The fact that, despite efforts to the contrary, the death penalty is still found on the Statute books of most countries in one form or another constitutes a sufficient proof of the wisdom of the Islamic ordinance. Even the most enthusiastic protagonists of the abolition of Capital Punishment have not yet been able to suggest a suitable alternative to it. They have had to admit that a long term of imprisonment as an alternative is "horrible" and is "not an ideal substitute" (Capital Punishment in the Twentieth Century by E. Roy Calvert, G. P. Putnam, London, 1930). (close)

a. 4:12, 13, 177; 5:107. (close)

205. Verses 4:12, 13 fix the shares of all those persons who should succeed to a deceased person’s property. These verses have been mistakenly understood by some Commentators to abrogate the verse under comment, which, in fact, lays down an additional and very necessary provision, and refers only to bequests made in favour of individuals not legally entitled to a share in the testator’s property, or for charitable purposes, or for war conditions. It does not refer to bequests made in favour of legal heirs which subject has been dealt with in 4:12, 13. There is no question, therefore, of the abrogation of this verse by those verses which lay down the rules of inheritance and also recognise the validity of any bequests that may have been made. Each operates in its own sphere and draws strength from the other. The bequests thus made, however, should not exceed one third of the property left as is mentioned in a saying of the Holy Prophet related by Sa‘d bin Abi Waqqas (Bukhari, Kitabul-Jana’iz); this being the utmost limit to which the testator can exercise his discretion, and that only in case he leaves abundant wealth as the word Khair (much wealth) shows. Verse 5:107, according to which a dying Muslim could make a bequest and which was, by common consent, revealed after vv. 4:‌12, 13, further supports the view that the verse under comment is not abrogated by vv. 4:‌12, 13. In fact, the whole theory of abrogation has no foundation. (close)

205A. This indicates that the previous verse contemplates some directions which are obligatory and a contravention of which would be sinful. Obviously, what is meant is a direction that the estate shall be administered in accordance with the law of inheritance. If the testator gives such a direction, then the sin of any contravention would lie on those who are guilty of the contravention. (close)

205B. A will may comply with legal requirements and may yet be unfair in some of its provisions. For instance, if a person leaves a large number of heirs, it may entail a hardship on them if he wills away as much as the full one-third for charitable or other lawful purposes. Or, out of the permissible 1/3 the testator may have made unfair dispositions, neglecting or overlooking just claims. It would in such a case be permissible, indeed meritorious, to bring about a fair adjustment between the heirs and the legatees affected. (close)

206. Fasting, as a religious institution, in whatever form or detail, is to be found in all Faiths. "By the greater number of religions, in the lower, middle and higher cultures alike, fasting is largely prescribed; and when it is not required it is nevertheless practised to some extent by individuals in response to the promptings of nature" (Enc. Brit.). It is the common experience of saints and seers that a certain degree of severance from physical relations or worldly connections is essential for spiritual advancement and has a powerful purifying effect on the mind. Islam, however, has introduced a new orientation and a new spiritual significance in this institution. According to it fasting constitutes a symbol of complete sacrifice. One who fasts not only abstains from food and drink which are the chief means of sustenance and without which one cannot live, but also from going in unto one’s wife which is the means of assuring one’s progeny. Thus he who fasts really evinces his readiness, if need be, to sacrifice his all for the sake of his Lord and Creator. (close)

a. 2:204. (close)

207. This meaning of the Arabic expression in the text is supported by another reading of Yutiquna-hu which is Yutayyiquna-hu meaning, they can do so only with great difficulty (Jarir). The verse mentions three classes of believers to whom concession is allowed: the sick; those on a journey and those too weak to fast except with danger to their health. The expression may also mean: "Those who are unable to fast" (Lisan and Mufradat). The whole sentence has also been taken to signify: "Those, who can afford, should, besides fasting, feed a poor man as an act of piety;" the pronoun hu in Yutiquna-hu standing for "the feeding of a poor man." (close)