Qur’an verses on being generous

Ala-Maududi

(2:245) Who of you will lend Allah a goodly loan^[267] which He will return aftermultiplying it for him manifold? For Allah has the power both to decrease and increase, and toHim will you be returned.

267. ‘Goodly loan’ signifies whatever one gives to another person selflessly, and from absolutelypure motives. God describes whatever man spends in this manner as a loan made to none other thanHim, and He undertakes to repay that loan and to repay it several-fold. The stipulation,however. is that the loan should be a ‘goodly’ one; that is, it should not he tainted withselfish designs and should be given for the sake of God, to be spent for purposes pleasing toHim

They said: ‘And why would we not fight in the way of Allah when we have been torn from our homesand our children?’ But when fighting was ordained for them they turned back, except a few ofthem. Allah is well aware of the wrong-doers.

Ala-Maududi

(2:254) O you who believe! Spend out of what We have provided you^[276] before therecomes a Day when there will be no buying and selling, nor will friendship and intercession be ofany avail. Indeed those who disbelieve are the wrong-doers.^[277]

276. This means spending in the way of God. The instruction given here is that those who haveadopted the cause of the true faith should undertake financial sacrifices for its sake.

277. Here the expression ‘they who disbelieve’ signifies either those who refused to obey God andheld their property to be clearer than God’s good pleasure, or those who did not believe in theDay of which they had been warned, or those who cherished the false i11usion that in theHereafter they would somehow be able to secure their salvation and that their association withmen devoted to God would stand them in good stead for they would intercede with God on theirbehalf.

Ala-Maududi

(2:261) The example of those^[298] who spend their wealth in the Way ofAllah^[299] is like that of a grain of corn that sprouts seven ears, and in every earthere are a hundred grains. Thus Allah multiplies the action of whomsoever He wills. Allah isMunificent, All-Knowing.^[300]

298. Here the discourse turns to the subject touched upon in verses 244 ff. above. Believers wereurged to sacrifice life and property for the sake of the great cause in which they believed. Itis difficult, however, to persuade those whose standard of judgement in respect of economicmatters has not completely changed, to rise above either personal or narrow group interests anddispense their wealth wholeheartedly for the sake of a righteous cause. People who have amaterialistic outlook and whose life constitutes an uninterrupted pursuit of money, who adoreevery single penny they have, and who can never stop thinking about their balance sheets cannever have the capacity to do anything really effective for the sake of higher ideals. When suchpeople apparently do spend money for the sake of higher moral ideals, it is merely an outwardact which is performed after carefully calculating the material benefits which are likely toaccrue either to them, to their group or to their nation. With this outlook a person cannot goone step forward along the path of that religion which requires man to become indifferent toconsiderations of worldly profit and loss, and constantly to spend time, energy and money tomake the Word of God reign supreme.

To follow such a course requires a moral outlook of an altogether different kind; it requiresbreadth of vision and magnanimity and, above all, an exclusive devotion to God. At the same timeit requires that man’s collective life should be so re-moulded as to become conducive to thegrowth of the moral qualities mentioned above rather than to the growth of a materialisticoutlook and behaviour. Hence the three succeeding sections i.e. Surah Al-Baqarah, ayat 261-281 –are devoted to enunciating instructions designed to foster such an outlook.

299. A great many expenditures fall under the category of spending ‘in the way of Allah’, as longas this is done according to the laws of God and with the intention of seeking His goodpleasure. This includes spending one’s wealth to fulfil one’s legitimate needs, to provide forone’s family, to look after the needs of relatives, to help the needy and to contribute to thegeneral welfare and to spread the true religion and so on.

300. The greater the sincerity and the more intense the feeling with which one spends for thesake of God, the greater will be God’s reward. It is not difficult at all for God, Who blesses agrain so that out of it seven hundred grains grow, to allow one’s charity to grow in like mannerso that the unit of money one spends will return seven hundred fold. This statement is followedby a mention of two of God’s attributes. First is His munificence. His Hand is not clenched soas to restrain Him from recompensing man for his deeds to the fullest extent that he deserves.Second, God is All-Knowing. He is not unaware of what one spends and the spirit in which onespends. So there is no reason to fear that one will not receive one’s due reward.

Ala-Maududi

(2:262) Those who spend their wealth in the Way of Allah and do not follow up their spending bystressing their benevolence and causing hurt, will find their reward secure with their Lord.They have no cause for fear and grief.^[301]

301. They need not fear that they will not be amply rewarded or that they will have any reason tofeel remorse for spending in the way of God.

Ala-Maududi

(2:263) To speak a kind word and to forgive people’s faults is better than charity followed byhurt. Allah is All-Sufficient, All-Forbearing.^[302]

302 This implies two things. First, Allah does not stand in need of anybody’s charity, for He isSelf-Sufficient. Secondly, He likes those people who are generous and large-hearted, but doesnot like frivolous and narrow-minded people, for He Himself is Generous, Clement and Forbearing.How, then Allah, Who bestows on the people the necessities of life without stint, and forgivesand pardons them over and over again in spite of their errors, would like those who mar theself-respect of a person by sending repeated reminders of their charity and making pointedreferences to it even though they might have given only a farthing. A Tradition of the HolyProphet says that on the Day of Resurrection, Allah will neither speak a word nor even so muchas look at a person who makes pointed references to the gift he gave to some one.

Ala-Maududi

(2:264) Believers! Do not nullify your acts of charity by stressing your benevolence and causinghurt as does he who spends his wealth only to be seen by people and does not believe in Allahand the Last Day.^[303] The example of his spending is that of a rock with a thincoating of earth upon it: when a heavy rain smites it, the earth is washed away, leaving therock bare;^[304] such people derive no gain from their acts of charity. Allah does notset the deniers of the Truth on the Right Way.^[305]

303. The desire to display one’s good deeds itself proves that the person concerned does nottruly believe in God and the Hereafter. One who does good merely in order to impress people withhis righteousness clearly regards those persons as his god. Such a person neither expects rewardfrom God nor is he concerned that his good deeds will some day be reckoned to his credit.

304. In this parable, ‘heavy rain’ signifies charity, and ‘rock’ the wicked intent and motivewhich lie behind external acts of charity. The expression, with a thin coating of earth upon it’signifies the external aspect of charity which conceals the wicked intent and motive of a man.These explanations make the significance and purport of the parable clear. The natural effect ofrainfall should be the growth of plants and harvest. But if the earth, which is the repositoryof fertility, is insignificant in quantity, for example only a coating of it on some rock, theresult will be that instead of yielding any beneficial result the rainfall may even proveharmful. Similarly, charity has the capacity to generate goodness and benevolence in humanbeings. Man’s potential for goodness, however, is conditional on sincerity. Devoid of thatcharity leads to sheer loss and waste.

305. Here the term kafir is used in the sense of the ungrateful person who refuses to acknowledgebenevolence. People who either make use of the bounties of God in order to seek the gratitude ofGod’s creatures rather than God’s good pleasure, or who spend on others and then hurt them bystressing their acts of benevolence and kindness, are ungrateful to God for His bounties andfavours. Since such people do not seek to please God, God does not care to direct them to theway that leads to His good pleasure.

Ala-Maududi

(2:265) The example of those who spend their wealth single-mindedly to please Allah is that of agarden on a high ground. If a heavy rain smites it, it brings forth its fruits twofold, and ifthere is no heavy rain, even a light shower suffices it.^[306] Allah sees all that youdo.

306. ‘Heavy rain’ signifies here charity motivated by a high degree of benevolence and sincerity.‘Light shower’ refers to charity deficient in sincerity and goodness, though not altogetherdevoid of them.

Ala-Maududi

(2:267) Believers! Spend (in the Way of Allah) out of the good things you have earned and out ofwhat We have produced for you from the earth, and choose not for your spending the bad thingssuch as you yourselves would not accept or accept only by overlooking its defects. Know wellthat Allah is All-Munificent, Most Praiseworthy.^[308]

308. It is obvious that He Who is invested with the best attributes cannot be appreciative ofthose possessed of low and evil qualities. God is, for instance, Generous and Beneficent, andconstantly showers His favours and bounties on His creatures. How is it possible for Him, then,to love those who are mean, niggardly and vicious?

Ala-Maududi

(2:270) Allah knows whatever you spend or whatever you vow (to spend). The wrong-doers have noneto succour them.^[310]

310. Whether or not a man spends in the way of God, and whether or not he vows to spend in theway of God, God is fully aware both of his intentions and deeds. All those who either spend forthe sake of God or vow to spend for the sake of God will be adequately rewarded. As for thosewho have either spent or have vowed to spend for others than God, no one will save them fromGod’s chastisement.

Vow’ means either a man’s pledge to spend something or to perform some act of goodness which isnot obligatory on him providing a particular wish of his is fulfilled. Provided that this vow isrelated to some wish which is in itself permissible and good and that the person concerned makesit to none but God and for the sake of God, then such a vow will be reckoned as an act ofobedience to God and its fulfilment will be worthy of reward. Otherwise such a vow will be seenas an act of disobedience and sin and its fulfilment will invite punishment from God.

Ala-Maududi

(2:271) If you dispense your charity publicly, it is well; but if you conceal it and pay it tothe needy in secret, it will be even better for you.^[311] This will atone for severalof your misdeeds.^[312] Allah is well aware of all that you do.

311. If charity is of an obligatory nature it is preferable to dispense it openly. Non-obligatorycharity should preferably be dispensed secretly. This principle applies to all acts. As a rule,it is more meritorious to perform obligatory acts openly and non-obligatory acts of goodness,secretly .

312. The performance of good deeds in secret leads to the continual improvement of one’s life andcharacter. One’s good qualities develop fully and one’s bad qualities gradually wither away.This makes a man so acceptable to God that He pardons the sins that he might have committed.

Ala-Maududi

(2:272) You are not responsible for setting these people on the Right Way; Allah sets on theRight Way whomsoever He wills. Whatever wealth you spend in charity is to your own benefit foryou spend merely to please Allah. So, whatever you spend in charity will be repaid to you infull and you shall not be wronged.^[313]

313. In the beginning Muslims tended to hesitate in helping either their non-Muslim relatives orother non-Muslims who were in need. They thought that helping Muslims only constituted ‘spendingin the way of Allah’. This verse rejects this attitude. The purpose of this verse is to pointout that Muslims are not responsible for forcing true guidance down the throats of people;conveying the message of Truth to people absolves them of the obligation incumbent upon them. Itis, then, for God either to favour the recipients of the message with true perception or not. Inaddition Muslims should not shrink from helping their relatives in the affairs of the world onthe ground that they are not following the true guidance; they will he rewarded by God forwhatever help they render to needy persons for the sake of God.

Ala-Maududi

(2:273) Those needy ones who are wholly wrapped up in the cause of Allah, and who are hinderedfrom moving about the earth in search of their livelihood, especially deserve help. He who isunaware of their circumstances supposes them to be wealthy because of their dignified bearing,but you will know them by their countenance, although they do not go about begging of peoplewith importunity. Whatever wealth you spend on helping them, Allah will know ofit.^[314]

314. The people referred to here are those who, because they had dedicated themselves wholly toserving the religion of God, were unable to earn their livelihood. In the time of the Prophetthere was a group of such volunteer workers, known as Ashab al-Suffah, consisting of about threeor four hundred people who had forsaken their homes and gone to Madina. They remained at alltimes in the company, of the Prophet, always at his beck and call to perform whatever service herequired of them. They were dispatched by the Prophet on whatever expeditions he wished.Whenever there was nothing to do elsewhere, they stayed in Madina and devoted themseleves toacquiring religious knowledge and imparting it to others. Since they were full-time workers andhad no private resources to meet their needs, God pointed out to the Muslims that helping suchpeople was the best way of ‘spending in the way of Allah’.

Ala-Maududi

(2:274) Those who spend their wealth by night and by day, secretly and publicly, will find thattheir reward is secure with their Lord and that there is no reason for them to entertain anyfear or grief.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(2:276) Allah deprives interest of all blessing, whereas He blesses charity withgrowth.^[320] Allah loves none who is ungrateful and persists in sin.^[321]

320. The fact stated in this verse is a truism from a moral and spiritual as well as from aneconomic and social viewpoint. For, although wealth apparently multiplies through interest andshrinks as a result of charity, in actual fact the opposite is the case. By God’s decree, thelaw of nature is such that interest not only serves as a strain on moral and spiritualwell-being, and social and economic growth, it also causes actual regression and decline.Charity, however, (including such acts as lending money to people with the stipulation that theyshould return it if they can. and at their convenience) leads to the growth and expansion ofman’s moral and spiritual qualities and to the growth of human society and economy.

Looked at from moral and spiritual standpoints, it is evident that interest is not only theoutcome of selfishness, miserliness and callousness but also encourages their growth. Charity,on the other hand, is the outcome of generosity, compassion, large -heartedness and magnanimity,with the result that the more one practises charity the more these qualities develop. It isobvious that if there is a society whose individuals are selfish in their dealings with oneanother, in which none is prepared to assist the other without self-interest, in which everyperson considers the other’s need an opportunity to capitalize and exploit, in which theinterests of the rich are directly opposed to the interests of the common people, that societydoes not rest on stable foundations. In such a society, instead of love and compassion there isbound to grow mutual spite and bitterness, apathy, indifference and callousness. The elementswhich compose such a society are bound to remain inclined towards disintegration and chaos;acute internal conflict and strife are sure to occur.

Contrast this with the society which is based on mutual sympathy and co-operation, whoseindividuals deal with one another magnanimously, in which, when a person is in need, peoplewillingly come forward to accord generous help, in which the ‘haves’ assist the ‘have-nots’ withcompassion and at least engage in just and equitable co-operation. In such a society mutualcordiality. goodwill and fellow-feeling are bound to flourish. The various components of such asociety will be closely knit together and prove a source of mutual support. In such a societyinternal conflict and strife will make few inroads. Also, owing to mutual co-operation andgoodwill the pace of development should be faster than in the other kind of society.

Let us now look at the matter from an economic viewpoint, from which interest- bearing loans areseen to be of two kinds. The first category, consists of loans incurred by people in genuineneed, who are compelled to borrow for their personal consumption requirements. The secondconsists of the loans incurred by businessmen for investment in trade and industry oragriculture.

The first category is generally acknowledged to lead to ruin. Nevertheless, there is not onecountry in the world where financiers and financial institutions are not sucking the blood ofpoor labourers, peasants and ordinary low-income people through interest on consumption loans.The burden of interest makes it extremely difficult, often impossible, for borrowers to pay offthe original loan. They may even have to resort to fresh borrowing from elsewhere to pay if off.Because of the way interest works, the sum outstanding against them often remains even afterthey, have paid twice or three times its amount in interest. The bulk of the income of labourersis snatched away from them by lenders, leaving them without enough for the bare necessities oflife for themselves and their families. This situation steadily erodes their interest in theirjobs. For if someone else is to reap the benefit of a man’s hard work, why should he work hardat all? Moreover, oppressed by the worries of debt, the health and strength of labourers isgradually destroyed by undernourishment and lack of medical treatment.

In short, a minority of people continually fatten themselves by sucking the blood of millions ofordinary people, but the total production level of the people remains much lower than itsoptimum potential. Ultimately, of course, these exploiters are seldom spared the evilconsequences of their actions. Their callous selfishness causes such widespread misery among themasses that anger and resentment against the rich smoulder in their hearts ready to erupt intimes of revolutionary unrest. The exploiters then have to pay very dearly: their ill-earnedriches are not only wrested from them, they are either killed mercilessly or subjected toignominy and humiliation.

The second category of loans, those invested in productive enterprises, also cause harm becauseof the infliction of a predetermined rate of interest on such borrowings. The most significantare the following:

(1) Projects which do not promise a higher rate of profit than the current rate of interest failto attract sufficient funds, no matter how useful and necessary they may, be from the viewpointof larger national interests. Loanable funds flow towards those business enterprises which arelikely to yield at least the same, if not a higher rate of profit on investments than thecurrent rate of interest, even though they may be of very little or no benefit to the nation atlarge.

(2) There can be no guarantee that a business investment, whether it is in trade, industry oragriculture, will always yield a rate of profit which is higher than the rate of interest. Notonly can there be no such assurance, there can never be an assurance about any business that itwill always remain profitable. What really happens, therefore, is that the financier is assuredinterest at a predetermined rate whereas the business in which the loan is invested is exposedto risk and possible losses.

(3) Since the lender does not share the profit and loss of the business but lends out funds onthe assurance of a fixed rate of interest, he is in no way concerned with the fortunes of thebusiness itself. He is solely concerned, and in a totally selfish spirit, with his own pecuniarybenefit. Hence, whenever the lender senses the faintest sign of depression, he begins towithdraw money from the market. The result is that sometimes imaginary fears and anxieties sparkoff an actual depression in the economy. And if the economy is depressed owing to other factors,the excessive selfishness of the financiers tends to escalate the situation into a full-scaleeconomic crisis. These three evils of interest are obvious to every student of economics. Cananyone then deny the truth of the Natural law, enunciated by Allah that interest decreases thenational economic wealth?

Let us now look at the economic effects of charity. Suppose the general attitude of theprosperous members of a society, is that within the limits of their means they spend generouslyon the fulfilment of their own requirements and on the requirements of their family, and thendevote the surplus to helping the poor. After that they, either use their funds to provideinterest-free loans to businessmen, invest them in business with the stipulation that they shallbe co-sharers in both the profit and loss of the business, or deposit them with the governmentso that it may use them on projects of public welfare. A little reflection will make it obviousthat trade, industry, and agriculture in such a society, will attain maximum prosperity; thestandard of living of its people will continually rise and production in it will be much higherthan in societies where economic activity is fettered by interest.

321. It is clear that only those who have a surplus of earnings over their basic requirements canlend out money at interest. This surplus, according to the Qur’an, constitutes God’s bounty. Andtrue thankfulness for this bounty requires that a person should be bountiful towards othercreatures of God even as the Creator has been to him. If, instead of doing this, the persontries to become richer at the expense of those whose present earnings are insufficient to meettheir needs, he is at once guilty of ungratefulness to God, and blatantly unjust, cruel andwicked.

Ala-Maududi

(2:277) Truly the reward of those who believe and do righteous deeds and establish Prayer and payZakah is with their Lord; they have no reason to entertain any fear or grief.^[322]

322. In this section God brings into sharp relief two contrasting characters. One is selfish,Mammon-worshipping, a kind of Shylock. He is totally preoccupied with making and accumulatingmoney in total disregard of his obligations to God and his fellow-beings. He counts the money hehas saved and is so consumed by the desire to see it multiply that he spends much timeestimating how much it will grow in the weeks, months and years to come. The other character isa God-worshipping, generous and compassionate person, ever conscious of the claims of both Godand man, ready to spend whatever he earns by the sweat of his brow on himself as well as onother human beings, and devotes a good part of it to philanthropic purposes.

The first character is strongly denounced by God. No healthy society can exist on the basis ofsuch men, and in the Hereafter, too, they are destined to meet grief and affliction, torment andmisery. The latter, by contrast, is a character highly extolled by God, a character which willserve as the basis of a sound and healthy society in this world and will lead man to salvationin the Next.

Ala-Maududi

(2:279) But if you fail to do so, then be warned of war from Allah and HisMessenger.^[323] If you repent even now, you have the right of the return of yourcapital; neither will you do wrong nor will you be wronged.

323. This verse was revealed after the conquest of Makka and has been placed here because of itscontextual relevance. Although interest was considered objectionable earlier, it had not beenlegally prohibited. After the revelation of this verse interest-bearing transactions became apunishable offence within the realm of Islam. The Prophet (peace he on him) warned the Arabtribes through his officials that war would be declared against them if they did not give upinterest-bearing transactions. It was specified, for instance, in the agreement under which theChristians of Najran were granted internal autonomy under the suzerainty of the Islamic state,that if they continued to use interest, the agreement with them would be considered void andtheir action an act of belligerency. On the basis of the last words of the verse, Ibn ‘Abbas,Hasan al-Baari, Ibn Sirin and Rabi’ ibn Anas are of the view that anyone who takes interestwithin the boundaries of the Islamic State (Dar al-Islam) should be pressed to repudiate thetransaction and recant and, if he persists, should be put to death. Others consider itsufficient to imprison such people and keep them in prison until they pledge to give up takinginterest. (See Jassas’s commentary, on verse 2: 278; see especially vol. 1, pp. 471 f. – Ed.)

Ala-Maududi

(2:280) But if the debtor is in straitened circumstance, let him have respite until the time ofease; and whatever you remit by way of charity is better for you, if only youknow.^[324]

324. This verse is the basis of the Islamic regulation that if a person has become incapable ofpaying off his debt, the court will force the creditors to grant him respite for payment. Infact, under certain circumstances, the court is entitled to remit a part of his debt and, attimes, the whole of it. It is mentioned in the Hadith that once a person suffered loss in histrade and became greatly burdened with debt and the case was brought to the notice of theProphet. The Prophet urged the people to help their brother in his distress. They came to hisassistance but the amount of help was not enough to wipe out his debts. Then the Prophetapproached the lenders and asked them to accept whatever amount was available and to grantremission to the borrower because of his inability to make further payments. Muslim jurists havemade it clear that a debtor’s residential house, eating utensils, clothes and the tools which heuses for earning his livelihood may not be confiscated in any, circumstances whatsoever fornon-payrment of loans. (For relevant discussion and textual evidence see the commentaries onthis verse in Ibn Kathir, Jassas, and Qurtubi – Ed.)

Ala-Maududi

(2:285) The Messenger believes, and so do the believers, in the guidance sent down upon him fromhis Lord: each of them believes in Allah, and in His angels, and in His Books, and in HisMessengers. They say: “We make no distinction between any of His Messengers. We hear and obey.Our Lord! Grant us Your forgiveness; to You we are destined to return.”^[337]

337. This verse outlines what one is required to believe in and what should be the distinguishingcharacteristics of one’s conduct. They consist of the following: belief in God, in His angels,in His Books, in all His Messengers (instead of some rather than others), and in the fact thatultimately one will have to stand before God’s judgement. These are the five fundamentalarticles of faith in Islam. Having accepted them, the only proper attitude for a Muslim is tocheerfully accept and follow whatever directives he receives from God. Instead of exulting inhis moral excellence he should be humble and should constantly seek God’s forgiveness and mercy.

Ala-Maududi

(2:286) Allah does not lay a responsibility on anyone beyond his capacity.^[338] In hisfavour shall be whatever good each one does, and against him whatever evil hedoes.^[339] (Believers! Pray thus to your Lord): “Our Lord! Take us not to task if weforget or commit mistakes.

Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden such as You laid on those gone before us.^[340] OurLord! Lay not on us burdens which we do not have the power to bear.^[341] And overlookour faults, and forgive us, and have mercy upon us. You are our Guardian; so grant us victoryagainst the unbelieving folk.”^[342]

338. Man’s answerability to God is limited by the extent of his ability. If a man does not havethe ability to do a certain thing, God will not take him to task for not having performed it. Inthe same way, if it is really beyond a man’s ability to abstain from something, God will notblame him for having failed to abstain from it. It should be noted here that man will not be thefinal judge as to whether he had the ability to do something or not. Such judgement will be madeby God alone.

339. This is the second fundamental principle of God’s law of retribution. Every man will berewarded for the services he has rendered, none will be rewarded for services rendered byothers. The same applies to punishment. It is the one who is guilty who will be punished. It ispossible, however, that if a man has initiated either good or bad practices, they will continueto affect people’s lives. The resulting good and bad deeds of people will be reckoned either totheir credit or against them, since they are clearly related to their efforts and actions. It isimpossible, however, that a map should be either rewarded for an act of goodness or punished foran act of evil in which he has had no share – neither by intent nor practical action. Therequital of acts is not transferable.

340. The prayer made here is that God should not subject them to the severe tests and theterrible persecutions and hardships undergone by their predecessors. It is God’s law that thosewho commit themselves to follow Truth and righteousness are subjected to severe tests andtribulations, and it is a believer’s duty to meet them with patience and fortitude. At the sametime, the believer should always pray that God may make it easy for him to follow the path ofTruth and righteousness.

341. Believers pray to God not to place upon them a burden beyond their capacity of endurance,and to subject them only to those tests from which they may emerge triumphant. May it not happenthat the hardships are too much for them to bear, and that their feet falter and are turned awayfrom the path of righteousness,

342. In order to appreciate fully the spirit of this prayer, one should remember that theseverses were revealed on the occasion of the ascension of the Prophet, a year before hismigration to Madina. At that time the struggle between Islam and unbelief had reached itsclimax. Not only in Makka, but throughout the Arabian peninsula, there was no place where thelives of those who wished to follow the religion of God had not been made extremely difficult.In these circumstances the Muslims were told in what manner they ought to pray to their Lord. Itis obvious that if the bestower himself tells one how to present one’s request, the granting ofthe request becomes virtually assured. Hence, this prayer greatly strengthened the hearts of theMuslims. Moreover, this prayer implicitly taught the Muslims not to allow their feelings to flowalong undesirable channels. They should instead mould them into a prayer to their Lord.

Think of the heart-rending cruelties to which the Muslims were subjected merely because of theirdevotion to Truth, and then turn to the contents of this prayer, where there is no trace ofbitterness against the enemies. Consider the physical afflictions and material losses which theMuslims suffered, then note how this prayer does not contain the slightest hint of worldlyambition. Compare the wretchedness and misery of these devotees of Truth with the pure, exaltedfeelings with which this prayer is overflowing. This comparison will enable us to appreciate thenature of the spiritual and moral training provided to men of faith.

Ala-Maududi

(3:134) who spend in the way of Allah both in plenty and hardship, who restrain their anger, andforgive others. Allah loves such good-doers.” ^[99]

99. The existence of interest in a society generates two kinds of moral disease. It breeds greedand avarice, meanness and selfishness among those who receive interest. At the same time, thosewho have to pay interest develop strong feelings of hatred, resentment, spite and jealousy. Godintimates to the believers that the attributes bred by the spread of interest are the exactopposite of those which develop as a result of spending in the way of God, and that it isthrough the latter rather than the former that man can achieve God’s forgiveness and Paradise.For further explanation see (Surah Al-Baqarah, ayat 276) note 320.

Ala-Maududi

(4:8) If other near of kin orphans and needy are pre sent at the time of division of inheritancegive them some thing of it and speak to them kindly.^[13]

13. This directive is addressed to the heirs of the deceased. They are told not to be niggardlytowards their relatives whether they be close or distant. Nor should they be niggardly towardseither poor and needy members of the family or towards orphans who are present when theinheritance is distributed. Although they are not legally entitled to any share it is seemly forpeople to act magnanimously and give them something out of their inheritance, and especially todesist from making hurtful remarks.

Ala-Maududi

(4:31) But if you avoid the major sins which you have been forbidden, We shall remit your(trivial) offences,^[53] and cause you to enter an honourable abode.

53. God is not overly exacting and severe in His judgements. He is not on the look out fortrivial omissions and lapses on the part of His creatures in order to punish them. God isprepared to condone minor omissions, and may even spare a man from being presented with acharge-sheet provided his record is free of major sins. But if a man’s record is full of majortransgressions, he will be required to explain all the sins he has committed – both major andminor.

We need at this stage to grasp the essential differences between major and minor sins. Afterreflecting on this question, in the light of the Qur’an and Sunnah, it seems to me – and Godalone knows what is absolutely correct – that three elements turn an act into a major sin:

(1) Violation of rights – be it either the rights of God, of parents, of other human beings oreven of one’s own self. The greater a person’s rights, the greater is the sin in violating them.Hence sin is characterized in the Qur’an as wrong-doing (zulm). It is for the same reason thatassociating others with God in His divinity is called the ‘great wrong’ in the Qur’an. See, forexample, (Surah Luqman, ayat 13)

(2) Insufficient fear of God, and arrogance and indifference towards Him, as a result of whichman does not heed God’s commandments, even wilfully violates them, and deliberately desists fromcarrying them out. The greater the brazenness, temerity and fearlessness with which one disobeysGod, the more heinous is the sin in His eyes. It is for this reason that sin is also termedma’siyah (disobedience) and fisq. See, for instance, (Surah Al-Baqarah, ayat 26), (Surah Al-Baqarah, ayat 61); (Surah Al-Hujurat, ayat 11); (Surah Al-Munafiqun, ayat 6); (Surah Hud, ayat 59); (Surah Al-Imran, ayat 112); (Surah An-Nisa, ayat 42); (Surah Al-Maidah, ayat 78); and passimfor verbal forms derived from the word ma’siyah and fisq – Ed.

(3) Sin is aggravated by breaking those bonds and relationships on which the peace andtranquillity of social order rest. These bonds include the relationship between a man and hisLord, as well as that between a man and his fellow-beings. The more important a bond is, thegreater is the harm done to the peace of human society when that bond is broken. Likewise, thestronger the expectation that the sanctity of a certain bond will be honoured, the greater isthe sin incurred through its desecration. Let us take the case of unlawful sexual intercourse inits various degrees. This act is inimical to the existence of a sound social order and istherefore a major sin. But in certain cases the sin becomes even graver. For instance, it ismore serious if committed by a married person than by one who is unmarried. Similarly, unlawfulsexual intercourse with a married woman is graver than with an unmarried woman. Again, to committhis act with one’s neighbours is more heinous than with others, and to commit this act withwomen within the prohibited degrees, such as one’s sister, daughter or mother, is far moreabominable than with others. Further still, it is a much graver sin to commit such an act inplaces of worship than elsewhere. The difference in the degree of such sinfulness is based onthe considerations we have mentioned above. Wherever the sanctity “of a relationship is normallyrespected, wherever there is a bond which deserves to be held sacred, and wherever thedisruption of a particular relationship is likely to result in greater harm and corruption, thegravity of the sin increases. This is why in certain places the Qur’an uses the term fujur todenote sin. See, for instance, (Surah Al-Qiyamah, ayat 5); (Surah Al-Infitar, ayat 14); (Surah Ash-Shams, ayat 8) – Ed.

Ala-Maududi

(4:36) Serve Allah and ascribe no partner to Him. Do good to your parents, to near of kin, toorphans, and to the needy, and to the neighbour who is of kin and to the neighbour who is astranger, and to the companion by your side,^[62] and to the wayfarer, and to thosewhom your right hands possess. Allah does not love the arrogant and the boastful,

62. The expression al-sahib bi al-janb (the companion by your side) embraces those with whom onehas friendly relations of an abiding nature as well as those with whom one’s relationship istransient: for instance, either the person who walks beside one on the way to the market or whosits beside one while buying things from the same shop or one’s fellow traveller. Even thistemporary relationship imposes certain claims on every refined and decent person – that heshould treat him, as far as possible, in a kind and gracious manner and avoid causing him anyinconvenience.

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(4:37) who are niggardly and bid others to be niggardly and conceal the bounty which Allah hasbestowed upon them.^[63] We have kept in readiness a humiliating chastisement for suchdeniers (of Allah’s bounty).

63. Concealing God’s bounty is to live, as if God had not bestowed that bounty. If anyone hasconsiderable wealth and yet lives at a standard strikingly lower than that warranted by hisincome, if he shuns spending on himself and his family, and also on helping other creatures ofGod, and avoids providing financial support to any philanthropic cause, then he creates thefalse impression of being in a state of financial stringency. This is sheer ingratitude to God.The Prophet (peace be on him) is reported, according to a tradition, as saying: ‘If God confersa bounty on somebody, He would like to see that benefaction displayed.’ (Ibn Kathir, vol. 4, p.486 – Ed.) This means that a person’s day-to-day life, his eating and drinking, his dress andhis abode and his spending on others, all these should reflect God’s bounty.

Ala-Maududi

(4:38) Allah does not love those who spend out of their wealth to make a show of it to peoplewhen they believe neither in Allah nor in the Last Day. And he who has taken Satan for acompanion has indeed taken for himself a very bad companion.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

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(4:77) Have you not seen those who were told: ‘Restrain you hands, and establish the Prayer, andpay the Zakah’? But when fighting was enjoined upon them some of them feared men as one shouldfear Allah, or even more,^[107] and said: ‘Our Lord, why have You ordained fightingfor us? Why did You not grant us a little more respite?’ Say to them: ‘There is little enjoymentin this world. The World to Come is much better for the God-fearing. And you shall not bewronged even to the extent of the husk of a date-stone.^[108]

107. This verse .can be interpreted in three ways, and each meaning is equally valid: First, thatthose who now shirked to fight in the cause of God were themselves initially eager to fight.They often approached the Prophet (peace be on him), saying that they were being wronged,beaten, persecuted and abused, that’ their patience was exhausted, and that they wantedpermission to fight. They had then been told to be patient and continue to purify their souls byobserving Prayers and dispensing Zakah. At that time they had felt disconcerted by this counselof patience. Later on, some of those very same people were to tremble at the first sight of theenemy and the dangers of warfare.

Second, that they remained highly ‘religious’ as long as they were asked merely to pray and payZakah, which entailed no risk to their lives. But as soon as that phase was over and they wereasked to expose themselves to danger, they began to shiver with fear.

Third, that in the former times the same people had unsheathed their swords for trivial causes.They had fought for loot and plunder, and engaged in feuds motivated by animal impulses, so muchso that feuding had almost become their national pastime. At that time they had been told toabstain from bloodshed and to reform themselves by observing Prayers and dispensing Zakah. When,later on, the same people were told that the time had come for them to fight in the cause ofGod, those who had shown themselves to be lions while fighting for their own selfish causesturned out to be as meek as lambs. The strong hands which had wielded the sword so firmly, andhad used it so fiercely for the sake of either personal or tribal honour, or for Satan’s sake,became almost paralysed.

Each of these three meanings applies to a different kind of person, but the actual words of theverse seem to apply equally to all who shirked fighting in the cause of God.

108. Were they to serve the religion of God and spend their energy in that cause, they wouldsurely be rewarded by Him.

Ala-Maududi

(4:128) If^[157] a woman fears either ill-treatment or aversion from her husband it isnot wrong for the husband and wife to bring about reconciliation among themselves (bycompromising on their rights), for settlement is better.^[158] Man’s soul is alwaysprone to selfishness,^[159] but if you do good and are God-fearing, then surely Allahis aware of the things you do.^[160]

157. The actual response to the query begins here. In order to appreciate the response fully onewould do well to consider the query itself. In the days of Ignorance a man was free to marry anunlimited number of women, who had virtually no rights. When the preliminary verses of thepresent surah were revealed = see especially (Surah An-Nisa, ayat 3)this freedom wascircumscribed

in two ways. First, the maximum number of wives was fixed at four. Second, justice (that is,equal treatment of wives) was laid down as a necessary condition for marrying more than one.This gives rise to the question whether a person is obligated by Islam to feel equally towardseach of his wives, to love each to an equal degree, and treat them equally even in respect ofsexual relationship. Such questions are especially relevant with regard to a husband one ofwhose wives might be, say, afflicted with either sterility, permanent sickness or who isincapable of sexual intercourse. Does justice demand that if he fails to live up to thestandards of equality mentioned above that he should renounce his first wife in order to marrythe second? Moreover, where the first wife is disinclined to agree to annulment of the marriage,is it appropriate for the spouses to make a voluntary accord between themselves, according towhich the wife, towards whom the husband feels relatively less attracted, voluntarily surrenderssome of her rights, prevailing upon her husband not to repudiate the marriage? Would such an actbe against the dictates of justice? It is to questions such as these that these verses areaddressed.

158. It is better for the spouses to come to a mutual understanding so that the wife may remainwith the same man with whom she has already spent part of her life.

159. The ‘selfishness’ on the part of the wife is that even though she is conscious of the causeswhich have contributed to her husband’s aversion towards her, she nevertheless expects from himthe treatment that a husband accords to the wife that he loves. The ‘selfishness’ of thehusband, on the other hand, lies in suppressing her unduly and curtailing her rights to anintolerable extent, merely because she is keen to continue to live with him even though she haslost her attraction for him.

160. Here, too, God urges the male, as He usually does in such matters, to be magnanimous. Godurges a man to treat his wife, who has probably spent a considerable number of years with him ashis companion, with kindliness and grace in spite of the aversion that he has come to feel forher. He also urges man to love God, for if He were to deprive him of His loving care andblessing in order to punish him for his shortcomings, what place would he have under the sun?

Ala-Maududi

(5:13) Then, for their breach of the covenant We cast them away from Our mercy and caused theirhearts to harden. (And now they are in such a state that) they pervert the words from theircontext and thus distort their meaning, and have forgotten a good portion of the teaching theywere imparted, and regarding all except a few of them you continue to learn that they committedacts of treachery. Pardon them, then, and overlook their deeds. Surely Allah loves those who dogood deeds.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

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(5:15) People of the Book! Now Our Messenger has come to you: he makes clear to you a good manythings of the Book which you were wont to conceal, and also passes over manythings.^[37] There has now come to you a light from Allah, and a clear Book.

37. God discloses some of the dishonest and treacherous dealings of theirs where He deems itnecessary in order to strengthen the cause of the true religion, and ignores the disclosure ofthose which are not truly indispensable.

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(5:89) Allah does not take you to task for the oaths you utter vainly, but He will certainly takeyou to task for the oaths you have sworn in earnest. The expiation (for breaking such oaths) iseither to feed ten needy persons with more or less the same food as you are wont to give to yourfamilies, or to clothe them, or to set free from bondage the neck of one man; and he who doesnot find the means shall fast for three days. This shall be the expiation for your oathswhenever you have sworn (and broken them.)^[106] But do keep youroaths.^[107] Thus does Allah make clear to you His commandments; maybe you will begrateful.

106. Since some people had taken an oath prohibiting for themselves the things which He hadpermitted, God laid down this injunction regarding oaths made inadvertently. The injunctionmakes it unnecessary to feel bound by the terms of inadvertent oaths, and for which one will notbe reproached by God. And if a person had deliberately made an oath which entails sin he shouldnot abide by his oath and should expiate it – see (Surah Al-Baqarah, ayat 224-225) note243-444; for expiation see (Surah An-Nisa, ayat 92) note 125.

107. To be mindful of one’s oaths has several meanings. First, one should make proper use ofoaths and should not employ them either frivolously or sinfully. Second, when a person takes anoath, he should take care not to forget it lest he be led to break it. Third, when a mandeliberately takes an oath regarding something sound in itself he should pay the penalty if hehappens to violate it.

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(7:156) And ordain for us what is good in this world and in the World to Come for to You have weturned.’He replied: ‘I afflict whomsoever I wish with My chastisement. As for My mercy, itencompasses everything.^[111] will show mercy to those who abstain from evil, payZakat and have faith in Our signs.’

111. It is false to assume that the general rule underlying God’s governance of His realm is thatof wrath which is occasionally tempered with mercy and benevolence. On the contrary, the generalrule is that of mercy and benevolence and wrath is the exception which is aroused when man’stransgression and rebellion exceed all reasonable limits.

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(8:4) Such people are indeed true believers. They have high ranks with their Lord, andforgiveness for their sins^[3] and an honourable sustenance.

3. Even the best and the most devoted believers are liable to commit lapses. As long as man isman, it is impossible for his record to be filled exclusively with righteousness of the highestorder and to be free from all lapses, shortcomings and weaknesses. Out of His infinite mercy,however, God overlooks man’s shortcomings as long as he fulfils the basic duties incumbent uponhim as God’s servant, and favours him with a reward far greater than that warranted by his goodworks. Had it been a rule that man would be judged strictly on the basis of his deeds, that hewould be punished for every evil deed and rewarded for every good deed, no man, howsoeverrighteous, would have escaped punishment.

Ala-Maududi

(8:74) Those who believe and have migrated and strove in the way of Allah, and those who gavethem refuge and help – it is they who are the true believers. Theirs shall be forgiveness andhonourable sustenance.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(9:60) The alms are meant only for the poor^[61] and the needy^[62] and thosewho are in charge thereof,^[63] those whose hearts are to bereconciled,^[64] and to free those in bondage,^[65] and to help thoseburdened with debt,^[66] and for expenditure in the Way of Allah^[67] andfor the wayfarer.^[68] This is an obligation from Allah. Allah is All-Knowing,All-Wise.

61. According to the Arabic usage, fuqara are all those people who depend on others for thenecessities of life. The Arabic word fuqara is a general word for all those who are needybecause of some physical defects, or old age, or temporarily out of living means, and can becomeselfsupporting if they are helped like orphans, widows, the unemployed, etc.

62. According to the Arabic usage, masakin are those indigent people who are in greater distressthan the needy people usually are. The Prophet (peace be upon him) especially enjoined theMuslims to help such people as are unable to find the necessary means to satisfy their wants andare in very straitened circumstances, but are so selfrespecting that they would not beg foranything, nor would others judge from their outward appearance that they were deserving people.According to a tradition miskin is one who cannot make ends meet, though his appearance does notshow that he needs help nor does he beg for help. In short, he is a self-respecting person whohas become needy.

63. “Those employed to administer thereof” are those who collect Zakat dues, supervise thecollections and keep accounts, and help in their distribution, irrespective of the fact whetheror not they are needy or indigent; their remunerations shall be paid out of the Zakat funds. Inthis connection it should be noted well that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had declared theZakat funds to be unlawful for himself and for the members of his own family (Bani Hashim).Accordingly, he never received any remuneration for collecting or distributing Zakat funds. Asregards the other members of Bani Hashim, they were allowed to do this service without receivingany remuneration, but otherwise it is unlawful for them. On the contrary, the payment of theZakat dues was obligatory on Bani Hashim if their possessions warranted this under theprescribed limits, but under no circumstances whatsoever were they allowed to accept anythingout of Zakat collected from others.

There is, however, a difference of opinion as to whether they should accept anything out of thecollections made from their own family or not. Imam Abu Yusuf opines that they are allowed toaccept these when they are needy or poor or wayfarers, but the majority of the jurists regardthis also unlawful.

64. A portion of Zakat funds may also be given to win over to Islam those who might be engaged inanti-lslamic activities or to those in the camp of the unbelievers who might be brought to helpthe Muslims or to those newly converted Muslims, who might be inclined to revert to kufr if nomonetary help was extended to them. It is permissible to award pensions to them or give themlump sums of money to make them helpers of Islam or submissive to it or at least to render theminto harmless enemies. A portion of the spoils or other incomes may be spent on them and, ifneed be, also a portion of Zakat funds. In such cases, the condition of being needy or indigentor on a journey etc. is also waived; nay, they might be even rich people or chiefs who areotherwise not eligible for anything from Zakat funds.

All are agreed that during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) pensions and gifts weregiven under the category of winning over people, but there is a difference of opinion whetherthis category of expenditure was abolished or not after his death. Imam Abu Hanifah and hisfollowers are of the opinion that it was abolished during the caliphate of Umar (may Allah bepleased with him), and now it is not lawful to spend anything under this category. Imam Shafiiis of the opinion that something may be given to sinful Muslims under this category from Zakatfunds but not to unbelievers, while other jurists are of the opinion that expenses under thiscategory are lawful even now, if a need arises for them.

The Hanafis base their opinion on an incident that happened after the death of the Prophet (peacebe upon him). Uyainah bin Hisan and Aqraa bin Habis came to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased withhim) and asked him to allot to them a certain piece of land. So he gave them a written order forthis. They took it to some other highly placed companions for further confirmation and some ofthem endorsed this order. But when they took it to Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), he torethe paper into pieces before their very eyes, saying, it is true that the Prophet (peace be uponhim) used to give something to win over your hearts because Islam was weak at that time, but nowAllah has made Islam so strong that it does not stand in need of people like you. At this theywent to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and complained to him about it and taunted him,saying” Are you the caliph or Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)? But he took no notice ofthis, nor did any of the companions differ with Umar’s (may Allah be pleased with him) opinion.The Hanafis conclude from this incident that when the number and power of Muslims increased bythe grace of Allah and they no longer stood in need of any support from such people; the reasonfor which expenses under this category were permitted in the first instance remained no longerthere. Therefore the companions unanimously abolished expenditure under this head.

Imam Shafii says that there is nothing to prove that the Prophet (peace be upon him) ever spentanything out of Zakat funds under this category. All the incidents mentioned in the traditionsshow that whatever he spent for the purpose of winning over hearts to Islam, was spent out ofthe spoils of war and not out of Zakat funds.

In my opinion there is nothing to show that the expenses for winning over hearts have been madeunlawful forever up to the Last Day. There is no doubt that the action taken by Umar (may Allahbe pleased with him) was absolutely right, for if and when the Islamic state does not considerit necessary to spend anything under this head, Islam does not make it obligatory to spendsomething for winning hearts. On the other hand, if need for this arises at any time, it isauthorized to incur expenses under this category for Allah has kept a provision for this. Umar(may Allah be pleased with him) and the other companions agreed only on this that there was noneed to give anything for this purpose at that time because the circumstances did not warrantit. But there is no reason to conclude from this that the companions disallowed forever theexpenses that were permitted by the Quran under certain circumstances for the good of Islam.

As regards the opinion of Imam Shafii, it appears to be correct in so far as it is not lawful tospend anything under this category out of Zakat funds, if these expenses can be met out of otherfunds. But if it is necessitated that something should be spent under this category out of Zakatfunds, there is no reason why a differentiation should be made in this regard between sinfulMuslims and unbelievers. For the Quran has not allocated the share because of the faith of theprospective recipients but because Islam required to win their hearts for its own good andbecause this could not be achieved except by giving them a portion of wealth. Therefore theQuran allows the Amir of the believers to spend a part of the Zakat funds to achieve this end,if, when and where the required conditions exist. The fact that the Prophet (peace be upon him)did not spend anything from the Zakat funds on unbelievers for this purpose does not mean thatit is unlawful to do so, for he did not spend from this fund because there was enough money inother funds for this purpose. Had it been unlawful to spend anything from Zakat funds onunbelievers, he would have explicitly forbidden it.

65. A portion of Zakat funds may be spent for the ransoming of slaves in two ways. First, helpmay be given to a slave for the payment of the ransom money, if he enters into an agreement withhis master that he will set him free, if the slave pays him a certain amount of money. Thesecond way is that the Islamic government may itself pay the price of his freedom and set him atliberty. There is a consensus of opinion about the first way, but there is difference of opinionabout the second way. Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), Said bin Jubair, Laith Thauri,Ibrahim Nakhi, Shaabi, and Muhammad bin Sirin, (Hanafis and Shafiis) consider this as unlawfulwhile Ibn, Abbas, Hasan Basri, Malik, Ahmad and Abu Thaur consider this as lawful expenditurefrom this fund.

66. Help may be given out of Zakat funds to such debtors as would be reduced to a state ofpoverty, if they paid off all their debts out of their own possessions, irrespective of the factwhether they are earning any money or not, whether they are indigent in the general sense orwell off. According to some jurists, the only exceptions to this are those debtors who arespendthrifts or involve themselves in debts by spending money on wicked deeds. Help may be givento them only if and when they repent.

67. “For Allah’s cause” is a general term which implies all those good works which please Allah.That is why some jurists are of the opinion that Zakat funds may be spent on every kind of goodwork. But the fact is, and the majority of the earliest Muslim scholars have opined, that herethe ‘Allah’s cause’ stands for Jihad in the path of Allah, that is, the struggle to eradicatethe systems based on kufr and to establish the Islamic system in their stead. Therefore theZakat funds may be utilized to meet the expenses of the journeys the people make, or forprocuring means of conveyance, equipment, weapons and other articles needed for Jihad,irrespective of the fact whether they are so well off or not as to need any help for personalrequirements. Likewise help of a temporary or permanent nature may also be given to those peoplewho devote all of their time and energies, temporarily or permanently, for this work

It should also be noted that there has arisen a misunderstanding regarding the “cause of Allah”for the early scholars usually use for Jihad the Arabic word as (ghazyah) which is synonymouswith “fight”. They, therefore, are of the opinion that Zakat fund may only be used for thepurpose of fighting. But Jihad in the Way of Allah is a much more comprehensive term than merefighting in the Way of Allah. Jihad applies to all those efforts that are made to degrade theword of kufr and to exalt the word of Allah and to establish the Islamic system of life, whetherby propagating the message of Allah in the initial stage or by fighting in the final stage ofthe struggle.

68. Help from Zakat funds may be given to a wayfarer on a journey even though he might be quitewell off at home.

Some of the jurists are of the opinion that according to this verse only that wayfarer who doesnot undertake a journey for a sinful purpose may be helped out of Zakat funds. But no suchcondition has been laid down in the Quran or the Hadith to this effect. Besides this, we learnfrom the fundamental principles of Islam that the sins of a needy person would in no way preventus from helping him. As a matter of fact, such a help may prove very useful in reforming sinfuland depraved persons. For if they get a support in the time of need, it may reasonably beexpected that they would turn towards purifying their souls.

Ala-Maududi

(12:21) The man^[16] from Egypt who bought him said to his wife^[17]: “Takegood care of him, possibly he might be of benefit to us or we might adopt him as ason.^[18] Thus We found a way for Joseph to become established” in that land and inorder that We might teach him to comprehend the deeper meaning of things.^[19] Allahhas full power to implement His design although most people do not know that.

16. According to the Bible his name was Potiphar. But the Quran mentions him merely by the title(Al-Aziz). As the Quran uses the same title for Prophet Joseph, when he rose to a high rank, itappears that the person held a high office or rank in Egypt, for the word Aziz stands for apowerful person who cannot be opposed and disobeyed. The Bible and the Talmud say that he was anofficer of Pharaoh’s body guards and captain of the guard. And according to a tradition from IbnAbbas, related by Ibn Jarir, he was the officer of the royal treasury.

17. According to the Talmud the name of his wife was Zuleikha and she is known by the same namein the Muslim traditions. As regards to the other tradition among the Muslims that ProphetJoseph married her afterwards, it is neither based on the Quran nor on the history of theIsraelites. And the fact is that it is below the dignity of a Prophet to have married such awoman about whom he had personal knowledge that she was of a bad character. And this opinion isconfirmed by this general statement of the Quran: Women of bad character are for men of badcharacter and men of bad character are for women of bad character. And the women of purecharacter are for men of pure character, and the men of pure character for the women of purecharacter. (Surah An-Noor, Ayat 26).

18. The fact that Potiphar had a very high opinion of Prophet Joseph from the very beginning isalso confirmed by the Talmud and the Bible. The Talmud says that at this time Joseph was abouteighteen years of age (and) Potiphar was very favorably impressed with his bearing andappearance. So he came to the conclusion that he belonged to some noble family and had been madea slave by the force of adverse circumstances. When the Midianites carried him before Potiphar,he said: He does not look like a slave and I fear he has been stolen from his country and hishome. That is why Potiphar did not treat him like a slave, but put him in charge of his houseand all his possessions. Likewise the Bible says: And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand;and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. (Gen. 39: 6).

19. This verse alludes to the special training Prophet Joseph needed at that time for theperformance of the duties of the high rank to which he was destined to rise. Up to that time, hehad been brought up in the desert, under the environment of a semi nomadic life of a shepherd.There was neither any settled state in Canaan and Northern Arabia nor had there been anyappreciable progress in culture and civilization, for it was inhabited by different independentclans with no settled government. Thus it is obvious that the training that Prophet Joseph hadreceived in Canaan, had equipped him with the good characteristics of nomadic life coupled withthe qualities of God worship and high morality of the family of Prophet Abraham. But this wasnot enough to enable him to direct the affairs of Egypt, which was at that time one of the mostcultured and civilized countries of the known world and required a different experience andtraining for the conduct of its affairs. The All Powerful Allah made arrangements for thistraining and sent him to the house of an officer of a very high rank in Egypt, who entrusted himwith full powers over his house and estate. This enabled him to develop all those latentabilities that were needed to fulfill his destiny, and he gained the experience that wasrequired for the efficient conduct of the affairs of the kingdom of Egypt in the years to come.

Ala-Maududi

(12:31) Hearing of their sly talk the chief’s wife sent for those ladies, and arranged for them abanquet, and got ready couches,^[26] and gave each guest a knife. Then, while theywere cutting and eating the fruit, she signalled Joseph: “Come out to them.” When the ladies sawhim they were so struck with admiration that they cut their hands, exclaiming: “Allah preserveus. This is no mortal human. This is nothing but a noble angel!”

26. The ancient Egyptians used to place pillows and cushions in such feasts for the guests torecline. And this is confirmed by the archaeological remains in Egypt.

There is no mention at all of this banquet in the Bible but it has been described in the Talmudin a way quite different from that of the Quran. Needless to say that while this narrative inthe Quran is natural, life like and teaches moral lessons, the one in the Talmud lacks all thesethings.

Ala-Maududi

(17:23) Your Lord has decreed:^[25] (i) Do not worship any but Him;^[26] (ii)Be good to your parents; and should both or any one of them attain old age with you, do not sayto them even “fie” neither chide them, but speak to them with respect,

25. In the succeeding verses, those main basic principles have been put forward on which Islamdesires to build the entire structure of human life. These form the manifesto of the invitationof the Prophet (peace be upon him) declared by him at the end of the Makki stage of his mission,and the eve of the new stage at Al-Madinah so that it should be known to all that the newIslamic society and state were going to be built on such and such ideological, moral, culturaleconomic and legal principles. Please also refer to (Surah Al-Anaam, ayat 151-153) andE.Ns thereof.

26. This commandment is very comprehensive. It prohibits not only the worship of anyone exceptAllah but also implies that one should obey and serve and submit to Allah alone withoutquestion. One should accept His commandments and law alone to be worthy of obedience and Hisauthority to be supreme above all. This was not merely an instruction confined to a religiouscreed and individual practice but it served as the foundation of the moral, cultural, andpolitical system which was practically established in Al-Madinah by the Prophet (peace be uponhim). Its first and foremost principle was that Allah alone is the Master, Sovereign andLaw-giver.

Ala-Maududi

(17:62) He then continued: “Look! This is he whom You have exalted above me! If you will grant merespite till the Day of Resurrection I shall uproot the whole of his progeny^[75]except only a few.”

75. That is, I will uproot them from the high position of divine vicegerency which demandssteadfastness in obedience. Their removal from that high position is just like the tearing of atree from its roots.

Ala-Maududi

(17:70) Indeed, We honoured the progeny of Adam, and bore them across land and sea and providedthem with good things for their sustenance, and exalted them above many of Ourcreatures.^[85]

85. That is, it is an obvious fact that the superiority man enjoys over all other beings on theearth and all that is in it, has not been bestowed upon him by a jinn or an angel or a prophet.Most surely that is Allah’s blessing and favor. Is it not then the height of folly and ignorancethat after having achieved such a high rank, man should bow down before any creature of Allahinstead of Him?

Ala-Maududi

(21:26) They say: “The Most Compassionate Lord has taken to Himself a son.”^[26] Glorybe to Him! Those whom they so designate are only His honoured servants.

26. Here it refers to the angels as is clear from Ayat

Ala-Maududi

(22:18) Have you not seen that all those who are in the heavens and all those who are in theearth prostrate themselves before Allah;³⁰³¹ and so do the sun and the moon, and thestars and the mountains, and the trees, and the beasts, and so do many humanbeings,^[32] and even many of those who are condemned to chastisement?^[33]And he whom Allah humiliates, none can give him honour.^[34] Allah does whatever Hewills.^[35]

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(22:50) So those who believe and act righteously shall be granted forgiveness and an honourablesustenance,^[95]

95. The believers shall have forgiveness’ means that Allah will overlook their faults,weaknesses, and acts of omission and commission. They will have honorable provisions means thatthey will have excellent supplies which will be given to them in an honorable way.

Ala-Maududi

(23:116) So, exalted be Allah,^[103] the True King! There is no god but He, the Lord ofthe Great Throne.

103. Allah is above this that He should create you without any purpose and that you may associatepartners with Him with impunity.

Ala-Maududi

(24:22) Let those among you who are bounteous and resourceful not swear to withhold giving to thekindred, to the needy, and to those who have forsaken their homes in the cause of Allah; rather,let them forgive and forbear. Do you not wish that Allah should forgive you? Allah is EverForgiving, Most Merciful.^[20]

20. Aishah has stated that after the revelation of (Surah Nur, ayat 11-21) absolving her fromthe accusation, Abu Bakr swore that he would no longer support Mistah bin Uthatha. This wasbecause the man had shown absolutely no regard for the relationship, nor for the favors that AbuBakr had all along been showing him and his family. At this (Surah Nur, ayat 22) was revealed and AbuBakr, on hearing it, immediately said: By God, we do want that Allah should forgive us.Consequently he again started to help Mistah and in a more liberal manner than before. Accordingto Abdullah bin Abbas, some other companions, besides Abu Bakr, also had sworn that they woulddiscontinue helping those who had taken an active part in the slander. After the revelation ofthis verse, all of them revoked their oaths and the ill-will that had been created by themischief was gone.

Here a question may arise as to whether a person, who swears for something and later on revokesthe oath on finding that there was no good in it and adopts a better and more virtuous course,should offer expiation for breaking the oath or not. One group of the jurists is of the opinionthat adoption of the virtuous course itself is the expiation and nothing more needs to be done.They base their argument on this verse where Allah commanded Abu Bakr to revoke his oath but didnot require him to atone for it. They also cite a tradition of the Prophet (peace be upon him)in support of their argument, saying: lf anybody takes an oath for something and later on findsthat another course is better and adopts it, his adoption of a better course by itself is theatonement for breaking the oath.

The other group is of the view that there is a clear commandment in the Quran concerning thebreaking of oath (Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayat 225), and (Surah Al-Maidah, Ayat 89), which has neither been abrogated by this verse nor clearly amended. Therefore theearlier commandment stands. No doubt, Allah commanded Abu Bakr to revoke his oath but He did nottell him that expiation was not necessary. As regards to the tradition of the Prophet (peace beupon him), it only means this that the sin of taking an oath for a wrong thing is wiped out whenthe right course is adopted; it does not absolve one from making expiation for the oath itself.Another tradition of the Prophet (peace be upon him) clarifies this view. He said: Whoso swearsfor something and then finds that another course is better than the one he had sworn for, heshould adopt the better course and atone for his oath. This shows that expiation for breakingone’s oath and expiation of the sin for not doing good are different things. The expiation forthe first is to adopt the right course, and for the second the same as has been laid down in theQuran. For further explanation, see (Surah Suad, ayat 44) note 46.

Ala-Maududi

(24:26) Corrupt women are for corrupt men, and corrupt men for corrupt women. Good women are forgood men, and good men for good women. They are innocent of the calumnies peopleutter.^[22] There shall be forgiveness for them and a generous provision.

22. This verse enunciates a fundamental principle. Impure men are a fit match for impure womenand pious men are a fit match for pious women. It never happens that a man is good in all otheraspects but is addicted to a solitary vice. As a matter of fact, his very habits, manners anddemeanor, all contain a number of evil traits, which sustain and nourish that single vice. It isimpossible that a man develops a vice all of a sudden without having any trace of its existencein his demeanor and way of life. This is a psychological truth which everybody experiences inthe daily lives of the people. How is it then possible that a man who has all along lived a pureand morally clean life, will put up and continue to live for years in love with a wife who isadulterous? Can a woman be imagined who is an adulteress, but she does not manifest her evilcharacter through her talk, gait, manners and deportment? Is it possible for a virtuous man ofhigh character to live happily with a woman of this type? What is being suggested here is thatpeople in future should not credulously put their belief in any rumor that reaches them. Theyshould carefully see as to who is being accused and on what account and whether the accusationfairly sticks on the person or not. And when there exists no trace of evidence to support theaccusation, people cannot believe it just because a foolish or wicked person has uttered it.

Some commentators have interpreted this verse to mean that evil things are for the evil peopleand good things for the good people. The good people are free from the evil things which thewicked people utter about them. Some others have interpreted it to mean that evil deeds only gowith evil people and good deeds with good people. The pious people are free from the evil deedswhich the wicked people ascribe to them. Still others interpret it to mean that evil and filthytalk is indulged in only by the evil and filthy people and good and pious talk only by the goodand pious people. The pious people are free from the sort of talk that these mischievous peopleare indulging in. The words of the verse are comprehensive and can be interpreted in any of thethree ways, but the first meaning that strikes the reader is the one that we have adopted aboveand the same fits in more meaningfully with the context than others.

Ala-Maududi

(25:72) (The true servants of the Merciful One) are those who do not bear witness to anyfalsehood^[89] and who, when they pass by frivolity, pass by it withdignity;^[90]

89. This also has two meanings: (1) They do not give evidence (in the court of law etc.) inregard to a false thing in order to prove it right, when in fact it is a falsehood, or at best adoubtful thing. (2) They have no intention to witness anything which is false, evil or wicked asspectators. In this sense, every sin and every indecency, every sham and counterfeit act is afalsehood. A true servant of Allah recognizes it as false and shuns it even if it is presentedin the seemingly beautiful forms of art.

90. The Arabic word laghv implies all that is vain, useless and meaningless and it also coversfalsehood. The true servants pass by in a dignified manner if they ever come across what isvain, as if it were a heap of filth. They do not stay there to enjoy the filth of moralimpurity, obscenity or foul language, nor do they intentionally go anywhere to hear or see ortake part in any sort of filth. For further details, see (Surah Al-Mominoon, ayat 3) note 4.

Ala-Maududi

(26:7) Do they not look at the earth, how We caused a variety of fine vegetation to grow from it(in abundance)?

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(27:29) The Queen said:” Know my nobles that a gracious letter has been delivered to me.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(27:40) And he who had some knowledge of the Book said: “I will bring it before the twinkling ofyour eye.”^[47] When Solomon saw the throne placed firmly beside him, he cried out:“This is by the grace of my Lord so that He may test me whether I give thanks for (His Bounty)or act with ingratitude.^[48] Whoever is grateful is so to his own good; and whoeveris ungrateful, let him know that my Lord is Immensely Resourceful, MostBountiful.”^[49]

47. Nothing is known with certainty as to who this person was, what special knowledge he had andwhat book is referred to here, the knowledge of which he had. No explanation of these things hasbeen given either in the Quran or in any authentic Hadith. Some of the commentators say that itwas an angel, others say that it was a man. Then they differ as to the identity of the man.Someone mentions the name of Asaf bin Barchiah, who, according to the rabbinical traditions, wasthe Prince of Men. Someone says that he was Khidr, someone mentions some other name, and ImamRazi insists that it was the Prophet Solomon himself. But none of these has any reliable sourcefor this information, and Imam Razi’s opinion does not even fit in with the Quranic context.Likewise, about the book also the commentators differ. Someone says that it refers toLauh-i-Mahfuz (the Preserved Tablet) and some other takes it for the Book of Law. But all thisis mere guess work. Similar guesses have been made about the knowledge the man had from thebook. We only know and believe what has been said in the Quran, or what becomes evident from itswords. In any case the person was not from among the jinns, and possibly he was a man. Hepossessed some extraordinary knowledge, which had been derived from some Divine Book (al-Kitab).The jinn had claimed to fetch the throne within a few hours by means of his physical strength;this man fetched it in a moment by the power of his knowledge.

48. The words of the Quran are very clear in this regard. This person’s claim did not remain aclaim like the jinn’s, but, in fact, as soon as he made the claim the throne was seen placedbefore the Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) the next moment. Just consider these words:

“I will bring it to you before that your gaze returns to you. Then when he saw it placed beforehim.”

Anyone who reads these words, regardless of the extraordinary nature of the event, will surelyunderstand that no sooner did the person utter these words than the event as claimed by him tookplace forthwith. There is, therefore, no need to make far-fetched interpretations of this plainmatter. Then, on seeing the throne, the Prophet Solomon’s exclaiming, “This is from the favor ofmy Lord, that He may test me whether I give thanks or I am ungrateful” can be relevant only ifthe event be extraordinary; otherwise if only a skillful craftsman of the king had hurriedlymade or arranged a throne for the queen, it could not be so novel an event at which the ProphetSolomon (peace be upon him) should have spontaneously exclaimed: “This is from the favor of myLord” and feared that the prompt arrangement of a throne for the honorable guest might cause himto become ungrateful to Allah instead of being grateful. After all, there could be no questionof a believing ruler’s becoming involved in vanity and self-conceit on this small achievement,especially when he was not merely an ordinary believer but a Prophet of Allah.

As for the question as to how a royal throne was fetched over a distance of 1,500 miles in thetwinkling of an eye, it can be briefly answered thus: “The concepts of time and space, andmatter and movement, that we have formed on the basis of our experiments and observations, areonly applicable to us. These concepts are not correct in respect to God, nor is He bound bythese. Not to speak of an ordinary throne, His power can make the sun; and even much largerstars, travel millions of millions of miles in the matter of moments. The God who by His onecommand brought this huge universe into being, has the power to have moved the throne of thequeen of Sheba at a speed greater than the speed of light. In this very Quran it has been statedthat Allah, by His powers, took his servant Muhammad (peace be upon him) from Makkah toJerusalem and also brought him back in the same night.

49. That is, He does not stand in need of somebody’s gratefulness. His Godhead is neitherenhanced by an iota by somebody’s gratefulness, nor diminished by that amount by somebody’singratitude or thanklessness. He is Sovereign in His own right. His Sovereignty is not dependenton His creation’s acknowledgment or rejection. The same thing has been expressed in the Quranthrough the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him): “If you prove thankless, you and all the dwellersof the earth, (you should know that) Allah is All-Sufficient and worthy of all praise byHimself.” (Surah Ibrahim, Ayat 8). Thesame theme is contained in a Hadith Qudsi related in Sahih-Muslim saying:

“Allah says: O My servants, if you all men and jinns, from the beginning to the end, togetherbecome like the heart of the most righteous person among you, it will not cause any increase inMy Kingdom; and O My servants, if you all men and jinns, from the beginning to the end, togetherbecome like the heart of the most sinful person among you, it will not cause any decrease in MyKingdom. O My servants, it is your own deeds which I credit to your account, and then fullyrecompense you for them. So, whoever receives something good, let him be grateful to Allah, andwhoever receives something else, let him curse his own self only”.

Ala-Maududi

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(31:10) He^[12] created the heavens without any pillars visible to you^[13]and He placed mountains in the earth as pegs lest it should turn topsy turvy withyou,^[14] and He dispersed all kinds of animals over the earth, and sent down waterfrom the sky causing all kinds of excellent plants to grow on it.

12. After the above introductory sentence, the discourse now turns to the real theme, i.e. therefutation of shirk and the invitation to Tauhid.

13. The actual words bi-ghair i amad-in tarauna-ha in the text may have two meanings:

(1) “You can see for yourself that they stand without pillar”; and

(2) “They stand on the pillars which you cannot see”

Ibn Abbas and Mujahid have favored the second meaning, and many other commentators take the firstmeaning. If the meaning is expressed in terms of the natural sciences of the present day, it canbe said that the countless stars and planets in the heaven have been established in theirpositions and orbits without any visible support and prop: there are no strings and wires whichmight have tied them together; there are no iron bars which might be withholding them fromfalling on one another. It is the law of gravitation which is supporting the system. Thisinterpretation is according to the present-day knowledge. It may be that tomorrow some newaddition to our knowledge enables us to interpret the reality better.

14. For explanation, see (Surah An-Nahl, ayat 15) note 12.

Ala-Maududi

(33:31) But whoever of you is obedient to Allah and His Messenger and does good deeds, Allah willdouble her reward.^[45] We have prepared for her a generous provision.

45. The reason for giving a double punishment for a sin and a double reward for a good work isthat those whom Allah honors with a high rank in society generally become the leaders of men andthe majority of the people follow them for good or for evil. Thus, their evil does not remaintheir own evil but becomes the cause of a people’s degeneration, and their goodness does notremain their own goodness but becomes the cause of the true success of many other people also.Therefore, when they commit evil they are punished for their own as well as for othersdegeneration, and when they do good they are not only rewarded for their own good works but alsofor this that they also guided others to do good.

This verse also gives the principle that the greater the degree of prohibition and trust inrespect of somebody and something the greater and more serious will be the crime of violatingthat prohibition and trust and the greater will be the punishment for it. For example, drinkingin the mosque is a much more serious crime than drinking privately in the house, and therefore,it will entail a severer punishment. Likewise, committing adultery with the prohibited relationsis a far more serious crime than committing it with another woman, and therefore, will call fora severer punishment.

Ala-Maududi

(33:44) On the Day they meet Him they will be greeted with: “Peace.”^[80] He hasprepared for them a generous reward.

80. This can have three meanings:

(1) That Allah will Himself receive them with: Peace be upon you, as has been stated in (Surah Ya Sin, Ayat 58): “they havebeen greeted with “peace” from the Merciful Lord.”

(2) That the angels will greet them, as stated in (Surah An-Nahl, Ayat 32): “This is thereward for those pious people whose souls are received in a pure state by the angels, whowelcome them, saying: ‘Peace be upon you, enter into Paradise as the reward of your good deeds.”

(3) That they will greet one another among themselves, as stated in (Surah Yunus, Ayat 10), thus: “Thereintheir prayer will be Glory to Thee, O Lord, and their greeting: Peace be to you, and the burdenof their hymn: Praise is for Allah alone, Lord of the universe.”

Ala-Maududi

(34:4) (The Hour shall come) that He may reward those who believe and do righteous deeds. Theirsshall be forgiveness and a generous provision.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(36:11) You can warn only him who follows the Admonition and fears the Merciful Lord withoutseeing Him. Give such a one good tidings of forgiveness and a generous reward.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(36:27) for what reason Allah has forgiven me and placed me among the honouredones.”^[23]

23. This is a specimen of the high morality of the believer, He had no ill will or feeling ofvengeance in his heart against the people who had just killed him so that he should invoke Allahagainst them. Instead, he was still wishing them well. After death the only wish that hecherished was: Would that my people could know the good end that I have met, and could learn alesson from my death, if not from my life, and adopt the righteous way. The noble person did notwish Hell for his murderers but wished that they should believe and become worthy of Paradise.The same thing has been commended in the Hadith: He wished his people well when living as wellas when dead.

Allah has narrated this event in order to warn the disbelievers of Makkah to the effect: Muhammad(peace be upon him) and his believing companions are also your wellwishers just as the believerwas of his people. They do not cherish any ill-will or feeling of vengeance against you in spiteof your persecutions of them. They are not your enemies but enemies of your deviation and error.The only object of their struggle against you is that you should adopt the right way.

This verse also is one of those verses which clearly prove the existence of barzakh. This showsthat the period of time between death and Resurrection is not a period of nonexistencealtogether, as some ignorant people think. But in this period the spirit lives without the body,speaks and hears speech, has feelings and desires, feels happy and unhappy, and also continuesto be concerned about the people of the world. Had it not been so, the believer would not havebeen given the good news of Paradise after death, and he could not have wished that his peoplebecame aware of his good end.

Ala-Maududi

(37:42) a variety of delicious fruits; and they shall be honoured^[23]

23. In this there is also a subtle allusion to the fact that, in Paradise, the food will beprovided not to serve as food but for pleasure and delight. That is, the food there will not bemeant to replenish the bodily deficiencies through diet, for no deficiency whatever will occurin the body in that eternal life, nor will man have appetite, for appetite is caused by theprocess of assimilation in the body, nor will the body demand food for its survival. That is whythe word fawakih has been used for the different kinds of food in Paradise, which contains thesense of taste and pleasure more than that of nutrition.

Ala-Maududi

(44:17) Indeed before that We subjected the Pharaonites to the same test. A nobleMessenger^[14] came to them

14. The words rasul-un karim in the original imply a man who is characterized with most nobletraits of character and highly praiseworthy qualities.

Ala-Maududi

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(49:13) Human beings, We created you all from a male and a female, and made you into nations andtribes so that you may know one another. Verily the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is themost God-fearing of you.^[28] Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.^[29]

28. In the preceding verses the Muslims were addressed and given necessary instructions tosafeguard the Muslim community against social evils. In this verse the whole of mankind has beenaddressed to reform it of the great evil that has always been causing universal disruption inthe world, that is, the prejudices due to race, color, language, country, and nationality. Onaccount of these prejudices man in every age has generally been discarding humanity and drawingaround himself some small circles and regarding those born within those circles as his ownpeople and those outside them as others. These circles have been drawn on the basis ofaccidental birth and not on rational and moral grounds. In some cases their basis is theaccident of being born in a particular family, tribe, or race, and in some particulargeographical region, or in a nation having a particular color or speaking a particular language.Then the discrimination between one’s own people and others is not only confined to this thatthose who are looked upon as one’s own people are shown greater love and cooperation thanothers, but this discrimination has assumed the worst forms of hatred, enmity, contempt andtyranny. New philosophies have been propounded for it, new religions invented, new codes of lawmade and new moral principles framed; so much so that nations and empires have made thisdistinction a permanent way of life with them and practiced it for centuries. The Jews on thisvery basis regarded the children of Israel as the chosen people of God and even in the practiceof their religious rites looked upon the non-Jews as inferior to the Jews in rights and rank.This very discrimination gave birth to class distinctions (varnashrama) among the Hindusaccording to which superiority of the Brahmins was established, all other human beings came tobe regarded as inferior and unclean and the shudras cast into the depths of disgrace anddegradation. Every person can see for himself even in this 20th century what atrocities havebeen committed against the colored people in Africa and America on account of the distinctionbetween the white and the black. The treatment that the Europeans meted out to the Red Indianrace in America and to the weak nations of Asia and Africa had the same concept underlying it.They thought that the rights and property and honor of all those who had been born outside thefrontiers of their own land and nation were lawful for them and they had the right to plunderand take them as their slaves and exterminate them if need be. The worst examples of how thenationalism of the western nations has turned one nation against the others and made it theirbloodthirsty enemy have been seen in the wars of the recent past and are being seen even in thepresent time. In particular, if what was manifested by the racism of the Nazi Germany and theconcept of the superiority of the Nordic race in the last World War is kept in view. One caneasily judge how stupendous and devastating is the error for whose reform this verse of theQuran was revealed.

In this brief verse, Allah has drawn the attention of all mankind to three cardinal truths:

(1) The origin of all of you is one and the same. Your whole species has sprung up from one manand one woman. All your races that are found in the world today are, in fact, the branches ofone initial race that started with one mother and one father. In this process of creation thereis no basis whatsoever for the divisions and distinctions in which you have involved yourselvesbecause of your false notions. One God alone is your Creator. Different men have not beencreated by different gods. You have been made from one and the same substance. It is not so thatsome men have been made from some pure and superior substance and some other men from someimpure and inferior substance. You have been created in one and the same way; it is not also sothat different men have been created in different ways. And you are the offspring of the sameparents; it is not so that in the beginning there were many human couples which gave birth todifferent populations in the different regions of the world.

(2) In spite of being one in origin, it was natural that you should be divided into nations andtribes. Obviously, all the men on the earth could not belong to one and the same family. Withthe spread of the race it was inevitable that countless families should arise, and then tribesand nations should emerge from the families. Similarly, it was inevitable that after settling indifferent regions of the earth, there should be differences of colors, features, languages andways of living among the people, and it was also natural that those living in the same regionshould be closer in affinity and those living in remote regions not so close. But this naturaldifference never demanded that distinctions of inequality, of high and low, of noble and mean,should be established on its basis, that one race should claim superiority over the other, thepeople of one color should look down upon the people of other colors, and that one nation shouldtake preference over the other without any reason. The Creator had divided the human communitiesinto nations and tribes for that was a natural way of cooperation and distinction between them.In this way alone could a fraternity, a brotherhood, a tribe and a nation combine to give birthto a common way of life and to cooperate with each other in the affairs of the world. But it wasall due to satanic ignorance that the differences among mankind created by Allah to be a meansof recognition, were turned into a means of mutual boasting and hatred, which led mankind toevery kind of injustice and tyranny.

(3) The only basis of superiority and excellence that there is, or can be, between man and man isthat of moral excellence. As regards birth, all men are equal, for their Creator is One, theirsubstance of creation is one, and their way of creation is one, and they are descended from thesame parents. Moreover, a person’s being born in a particular country, nation, or clan is justaccidental. Therefore, there is no rational ground on account of which one person may beregarded as superior to the other. The real thing that makes one person superior to others isthat one should be more God-conscious, a greater avoider of evils, and a follower of the way ofpiety and righteousness. Such a man, whether he belongs to any race, any nation and any country,is valuable and worthy on account of his personal merit. And the one who is reverse of him incharacter is in any case an inferior person whether he is black or white, born in the east orthe west.

These same truths that have been stated in this brief verse of the Quran have been explained ingreater detail by the Prophet (peace be upon him) in his addresses and traditions. In the speechthat he made on the conquest of Makkah, after going round the Kabah, he said:

Thank God Who has removed from you the blemish of ignorance and its arrogance. O people, men aredivided into classes: the pious and righteous, who are honorable in the sight of Allah, and thesinful and vicious, who are contemptible in the sight of Allah, whereas all men are the childrenof Adam and Adam had been created by Allah from clay. (Baihaqi, Tirmidhi).

On the occasion of the Farewell Pilgrimage, in the midst of the Tashriq days, he addressed thepeople, and said:

O people, be aware: your God is One. No Arab has any superiority over a non-Arab, and no non-Arabany superiority over an Arab, and no white one has any superiority over a black one, and noblack one any superiority over a white one, except on the basis of taqwa (piety). The mosthonorable among you in the sight of Allah is he who is the most pious and righteous of you. Sayif I have conveyed the Message to you? And the great congregation of the people responded,saying: Yes, you have, O Messenger of Allah. Thereupon the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:Then let the one who is present convey it to those who are absent. (Baihaqi).

In a Hadith he has said

Ala-Maududi

(51:24) (O Prophet), did^[21] the story of Abraham’s honoured guests reachyou?^[22]

21. Now, from here to the end of verse 46, brief allusions have been made, one after the other,about Allah’s Prophets and some of the nations of the past, which are meant to impress twothings:

First, that in human history God’s law of retribution has been working constantly, in whichprecedents are found of the rewards for the righteous and of punishments for the wicked peoplecontinuously. This is a clear evidence of the fact that even in the life of this world theCreator’s relationship with man is not merely based on the physical law but the moral law alsois working side by aide with it. And when the temper of the kingdom of the universe is such thatthe creation which has been given an opportunity to act morally while living in a physical body,should not only be dealt with on the basis of physical laws, like animals and plants, but themoral law also should be applied to its moral acts. This by itself points to the truth that atime must come in this kingdom when on the completion of man’s role in the physical world, fullresults of his moral acts should also appear strictly in accordance with the moral law becausein the physical world they do not appear fully.

The second thing that has been impressed by these historical allusions is that the nations whichdid not believe in the Prophets of Allah and based the conduct and attitude in life on thedenial of the Oneness of Allah, the Prophethood and the Hereafter, were ultimately doomed todestruction. This continuous experience of history testifies that God’s law of morality that wasconveyed through the Prophets, and on the basis of which man will be subjected to accountabilityin the Hereafter, is entirely based on the truth. For whichever nation determined its conductand attitude in the world independent of this law, considering itself irresponsible andunaccountable, has gone straight to its doom.

22. This story has been narrated at three places in the Quran, in (Surah Hud, Ayat 69-73); (Surah Al-Hijr, Ayat 51-56) and (Surah Al-Ankabut, Ayat 31).

Ala-Maududi

(55:27) only the Person of your Lord, full of majesty and splendour, will endure.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(55:78) Blessed be the name of your Lord, the Lord of Majesty and Glory.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(56:44) which will neither be cool nor soothing.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(56:77) that this indeed is a noble Qur’an,^[37]

37. The places of the stars: the positions and phases and orbits of the stars and planets. Theoath implies that just as the system of the celestial bodies is firm and stable, so also is thisdivine Word firm and stable. The same God Who has created that system has also sent down thisWord. Just as there exists perfect consistency and harmony among the countless stars and planetsfound in the countless galaxies of the universe, whereas apparently they seem to be scattered,so also this Book presents a perfectly consistent, and systematic code of life in which detailedguidance has been given, on the basis of belief, about morals, modes of worship, civilizationand culture, economic and social life, law and justice, peace and war, in short, about everyaspect of human life, and there is nothing out of harmony with the other, whereas this system ofthought has been expressed in scattered verses and discourses given on different occasions.Then, just as the system of the heavens set and planned by God is stable and unalterable, anddoes not ever admit of the slightest variation, so also are the truths and instructions given ,in this Book stable and unalterable: no part of these can be changed or displaced in any way.

Ala-Maududi

(57:7) Believe in Allah and in His Messenger^[7] and expend^[8] of what Hehas entrusted to you.^[9] A great reward awaits those of you who believe and spendtheir wealth.^[10]

7. The addressees here are not the non-Muslims, but, as is borne out by the whole subsequentdiscourse, the Muslims who had affirmed the faith and joined the ranks of the believers, butwere not fulfilling the demands of the faith and conducting themselves as true believers should.It is obvious that non-Muslims cannot be invited to affirm the faith and then immediately askedto subscribe generously to the cause of jihad for the sake of Allah, nor can they be told thatwhoever would fight and spend his wealth in the cause of Allah before the victory, would attainto a higher rank than him who would perform these services later, For, when a non-Muslim isinvited to the faith, the preliminary demands of it only are presented before him and not theultimate once, Therefore, in view of the context, the meaning of saying: “Believe in Allah andHis messenger,” here would be: O people, who profess to have affirmed the faith and have joinedthe ranks of the Muslims, believe in Allah and Messenger (peace be upon him) sincerely andconduct yourselves as the true and sincere believers should.

8. Here, by spending is not implied spending on public welfare, but, as is clearly borne out bythe words of verse 10, it implies subscribing to the cause of the war effort that was beingwaged at that time under the leadership of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to uphold Islamagainst paganism. Two things, in particular, were such for which the Islamic Government at thattime stood in great need of financial help. First, the war equipment; second, supporting andsustaining the oppressed Muslims, who, due to persecution by the disbelievers had emigrated, andwere still emigrating, to Al-Madinah from every corner of Arabia, The sincere Muslims weretrying their best to render as much help as they could but meeting the entire expenses in thisregard was much beyond their means and resources, and their this same spirit of sacrifice hasbeen commended in verses 10, 12, 18 and 19 below. But among the Muslims there were quite anumber of well-to-do people, who were watching this struggle between Islam and paganism as merespectators and had no feelings whatsoever that the faith they claimed to believe in also imposedcertain rights on their life and wealth. This second kind of people are the addressees of thisverse, They have been exhorted to believe sincerely, and to spend their wealth in the cause ofAllah.

9. This has two meanings and both are implied here. The first meaning is: The wealth that youpossess is not, in fact, your personal property but has been given to you by Allah. You are notits exclusive master and owner. Allah has given you proprietary right over it as His vicegerent.Therefore, you should have no hesitation in spending it in the service of the real Master. It isnot for the vicegerent to withhold the Master’s wealth from being spent for the Master’s ownsake. The second meaning is: Neither has this wealth been with you since ever, nor will itremain in your possession for ever, Yesterday it was in some other people’s possession; thenAllah made you their successor and entrusted it to you, A time will come when it will not remainwith you but some other people will succeed you as its owners, Therefore, in this short-livedownership, when you are its trustees, spend it in the cause of Allah so that in the Hereafteryou may be rewarded for it permanently and eternally. This same thing has been stated by theProphet (peace be upon him) in a Hadith. Tirmidhi relates that once a goat was slaughtered inthe Prophet’s (peace be upon him) house and its flesh was given away to the poor. When he cameto the house and asked: What remains of the goat? Aishah replied: Nothing but a shoulder.Thereupon the Prophet (peace be upon him) remarked: Nay, the whole goat but the shoulder. Thatis, whatever has been given away for the sake of Allah, has, in fact, been saved. According toanother Hadith, a person asked: O Messenger (peace be upon him) of Allah, what kind of charitybrings the highest reward? He replied: That you should give away a thing in charity when you arehale and hearty: When you feel it could be saved and may like to invest it in the hope ofearning more. Do not wait till death when you may say: Give this to so and so and that to so andso, for at that time the wealth has in any case to pass on to so and so. (Bukhari, Muslim).According to another Hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Man says: My wealth! Mywealth! whereas his own share in his wealth is no more than what he has eaten up, or worn away,or passed on in charity? Whatever remains will leave him and will be passed on to others(Muslim).

10. Here again, spending wealth in the cause of jihad has been regarded as an essential demand ofthe faith and a proof of one’s sincerity in it, as if to say: The true and sincere believer ishe who does not shirk spending wealth on such an occasion.

Ala-Maududi

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(57:18) Verily those who give alms^[31] be they men or women, and give Allah abeautiful loan shall be repaid after increasing it many times; and theirs shall be a generousreward.

31. Sadaqah, as an Islamic term, is the charity given sincerely and with a pure intention onlywith a view to seek Allah’s good pleasure without making any show of it, and without theintention of doing any favor to the recipient. The donor should give it only because he has atrue feeling of the service of his Lord. The word is derived from sidq, therefore, sadaqat(sincerity) is of its essence. No charity and no spending of the wealth can be a sadaqah unlessit springs from a sincere and pure motive of spending only for the sake of Allah.

Ala-Maududi

(59:7) Whatever (from the possessions of the towns people) Allah has bestowed on His Messengerbelongs to Allah, and to the Messenger, and to his kinsfolk, and to the orphans, and to theneedy, and to the wayfarer^[13] so that it may not merely circulate between the richamong you.^[14] So accept whatever the Messenger gives you, and refrain from whateverhe forbids you. And fear Allah: verily Allah is Most Stern in retribution.^[15]

13. In the preceding verse what was pointed out was why these properties should not bedistributed among the fighting army like the spoils, and why the legal injunction concerningthem is different from that concerning the spoils. Now in this verse it is being stated as towho are entitled to have a share in these properties.

The first share in these is of Allah and His Messenger. The detail of how the Prophet (peace beupon him) acted on this injunction has been related by Malik bin Aus bin al- Hadathan on theauthority of Umar, thus: The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to take from it necessary expensesfor himself and his family and the rest he used to spend on arranging arms and conveyances forJihad. (Bukhari, Muslim, Musnad Ahmad, Daud, Tirmadhi, Nasai and others). After the passing awayof the Prophet (peace be upon him) this share was transferred to the Public Treasury of theMuslims so that it is spent in the service of the mission which Allah had entrusted to HisMessenger (peace be upon him). Imam Shafai is reported to have expressed the opinion that theshare which was specifically meant for the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) person, is for hiscaliph after him, for the Prophet (peace be upon him) was entitled to it on the basis of hisoffice of leadership and not on the basis of the office of Apostleship. But the view of themajority of the Shafei jurists in this matter is the same as of the other jurists, viz. thatthis share now is reserved for the religious and collective welfare of the Muslims, and not forany particular person.

The second share is of the kinsfolk, and this implies the kinsfolk of the Prophet (peace be uponhim), i.e. the Bani Hashim and the Bani al-Muttalib. This share was set aside so that, besidesmeeting his own and his family’s requirements, the Prophet (peace be upon him) could alsofulfill his obligations towards those of his relatives who stood in need of his help, or whom hefelt like helping. After the death of the Prophet (peace be upon him), this ceased to be aseparate and independent source, because like the right of the orphans and the wayfarers and theindigent among the Muslims, looking after the rights of the needy among the Bani Hashim and theBani al-Muttalib also became the responsibility of the Public Treasury. However, they weretreated as superior to others in so far as they had no share in the zakat. Abdullah bin Abbashas related that in the time of Abu Bakr and Umar and Uthman, the first two shares were droppedand only the remaining three shares (i.e. those for the orphans and the indigent and thewayfarers) were kept as of those entitled to fai. Then Ali also acted on the same in his time,Muhammad bin Ishaq has related on the authority of Imam Muhammad Baqir that although Ali’spersonal opinion was the same as of the people of his house (that this share should be given tothe relatives of the Prophet, peace be upon him), he did not think that he should act againstthe practice of Abu Bakr and Umar. Hasan bin Muhammad bin Hanafiyah says that after the Prophet(peace be upon him), a difference of opinion arose about these two shares (i.e. the share of theProphet, peace be upon him, and the share of his relatives). Some people said that the firstshare should go to the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) caliph, some said that the second shareshould go to the relatives of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and still others said that thesecond share should be given to the relatives of the caliph. At last, a consensus was reachedthat both the shares be spent on the requirements of Jihad. Ata bin Saib says that Umar binAbdul Aziz in his time had started sending the share of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and theshare of the relatives to the Bani Hashim. The opinion of Imam Abu Hanifah and of most of theHanafi jurists is that in this matter the same practice is correct as was being followed in thetime of the righteous Caliphs. (Abu Yusuf, Kitab al-Kharaj pp. 19-21). Imam Sharei’s opinion isthat both the rich and the needy from among the people whose being descended from the BaniHashim and the Bani al-Muttalib is confirmed, or is well known, can be given shares from fai.(Mughni alMuhtaj). The Hanafis say that only their needy people can be helped from this;however, their right to this is greater than that of others. (Ruh al-Maani). According to ImamMalik, there is no restriction on the government in this matter. It can spend on any head thatit deems fit and proper, but the better course is that it should give preference to the peopleof the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) house. (Hashiyah ad-Dusuqi ala-sh-Sharh-al-Kabir).

About the remaining three shares there is no dispute among the jurists. However, the differencebetween Imam Shafei and the other Imams is that according to Imam Shafei the total properties offai are to be divided into five equal parts one part of which is to be spent on theabovementioned heads in such a way that one-fifth of it is spent on the common benefits of theMuslims, one-fifth on the Bani Hashim and the Bani al-Muttalib, one-fifth on the orphans,one-fifth on the indigent and one-fifth on the wayfarers. However, Imam Malik, Imam Abu Hanifahand Imam Ahmad do not concur with this division. Their opinion is that the whole of fai is forthe welfare and common benefit of the Muslims. (Mughni al-Muhtaj).

14. This is one of the most important verses of the Quran, which lays down the basic principle ofthe economic policy of the Islamic community and government. Wealth should circulate among thewhole community and not only among the rich lest the rich should go on becoming richer day byday and the poor becoming poorer. This policy has not merely been enunciated in the Quran, butfor the same objective the Quran has forbidden interest, made the zakat obligatory, enjoinedthat khums (one-fifth) be deducted from the booty, exhorted the Muslims to practice voluntarycharity, has proposed such forms of different kinds of atonements that the flow of wealth isturned towards the poor classes of society, and has made such a law of inheritance that thewealth left by every deceased person spreads among the largest circle of the people. Apart fromthis, stinginess has been condemned and generosity commended as a noble moral quality, thewell-to-do people have been told that in their wealth there is a definite share of the beggarand the indigent, which they must discharge not as charity but as the right of the concernedpeople, and the law enjoined in respect of a major source of revenue of the Islamic government(i.e. fai) is that its one portion must necessarily be spent on supporting the poor class ofsociety. In this connection, it should also be borne in mind that there are two main sources ofthe revenue of the Islamic government: zakat and fai. The zakat is charged from the Muslims ontheir total extra capital, cattle, wealth, trade goods and agricultural produce, which is overand above the minimum exemption limit (nisab), and most of it is reserved for the poor. And faicomprises all the revenues including jizyah and taxes which are received from the non- Muslims;a major part of this is also set aside for the poor. This gives a clear hint to the effect thatan Islamic government should manage its revenues and expenditure and the financial and economicaffairs of the country on the whole in such a manner that the wealthy and influential people arenot allowed to have their monopoly over the means and resources of wealth, and the flow ofwealth is neither turned from the poor to the rich nor it should remain circulating only amongthe rich.

15. In view of the context the verse means: Accept without question whatever decision the Prophet(peace be upon him) gives about the management of the properties of the Bani an-Nadir, andlikewise about the distribution of fai properties and goods afterwards. One should take whateverthe Prophet (peace be upon him) gives him, and the one whom he does not give anything, shouldneither protest nor demand it. But since the words of the command are general, its applicationis not restricted to the distribution of the fai properties and goods only, but its intention isthat in all matters the Muslims should obey the Prophet (peace be upon him). This intention ofthe command becomes all the more clear when we consider that as against “whatever the Messengergives you” the words used are “whatever he forbids you” and not “whatever he does not give you.”If the object of the command were restricted to call obedience to the distribution of allproperties and goods only, then as against “whatever he gives you” the words should have been“whatever he does not give you.” The use of the forbidding or restraining words in this contextby itself shows that the object of the command is to enjoin obedience to the Prophet (peace beupon him) in whatever he commands and forbids. The same thing has been stated by the Prophet(peace be upon him) himself. According to Abu Hurairah he said: When I command you to do athing, do it as far as you can; and when I forbid you to do a thing, restrain from it. (Bukhari,Muslim). About Abdullah bin Masud it has been related that once during a speech he said: Allahhas cursed the woman who practices such and such a fashion. Thereupon a woman approached him andasked: Wherefrom have you derived this thing? For I have not seen such a thing anywhere in theBook of Allah. Abdullah replied: Had you studied the Book of Allah, you would certainly havefound it therein. Have you not read the verse: Ma ata-kum ar-rasulu fa-khudu hu wa ma nahakumanhu fantahu: Take whatever the Messenger gives you, and refrain from whatever he forbids you.When she said that she had read this verse, Abdullah said: So the Prophet (peace be upon him)has forbidden this act, and has given the news that Allah has cursed the women who practice it.The woman agreed that she had understood the command. (Bukhari, Muslim, Musnad Ahmad, Musnad Ibnabi Hatim).

Ala-Maududi

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(59:10) (And it also belongs to) those who came after them,^[20] and who pray: “Lord,forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in faith, and do not put in our hearts anyrancour towards those who believe. Lord, You are the Most Tender, the MostCompassionate.”^[21]

20. In the injunctions laid down up to here, it has been ruled that in the fai properties thereare the rights of Allah and His Messenger and the Messenger’s relatives and the orphans and theindigent and the wayfarers and the emigrants and the Ansar and of the Muslim generations whichwill be born till the Day of Resurrection. It is this important legal ruling of the Quran in thelight of which Umar introduced the new system in respect of the lands and properties of theconquered territories of Iraq, Syria and Egypt and of the possessions of the previousgovernments and rulers of those countries. When these countries were conquered; some of thedistinguished companions among whom were included prominent men like Zubair, Bilal, Abdur Rahmanbin Auf and Salman Farsi, insisted that these should be distributed among the armies who hadfought and conquered them. They thought that those properties did not come under those uponwhich you have not rushed your horses and camels, but the Muslims had conquered them by rushingtheir horses and camels on them. Therefore, except for those cities and territories whichsurrendered without the war, all the rest of the conquered lands came under ghanimah for whichthe legal command is that one fifth of the lands and the people be given to the public treasuryand the remaining four parts be distributed among the soldiers. But this opinion was not correcton the ground that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had not distributed the lands and the peopleof any territory conquered by fighting in his time after the deduction of one-fifth, like thebooty. Two of the most conspicuous precedents of his time were the conquest of Makkah and theconquest of Khaiber. Of these he handed over Makkah intact to its inhabitants. As for Khaiber,according to Bushair bin Yasar, he divided it into 36 parts, of which he set aside 18 parts forcollective benefits and requirements of the Muslims and distributed the remaining 18 among thearmy. (Abu Daud, Baihaqi, Abi Ubaid: Kitab al-Amwal; Yahya bin Adam: Kitab al-Kharj Baladhuri:Futuh al-Buldan; Ibn Human: Fath al-Qadir). This action of the Prophet (peace be upon him) madeit clear that the command in respect of the conquered lands, even if they might have been takenby fighting, is not the same as of the ghanimah otherwise he would never have given the whole ofMakkah intact to the people of Makkah, and would have set aside exactly one-half of theproperties of Khaiber for the common benefits of the Muslims instead of deducting its one-fifthfor the public treasury. Thus, what was established on the basis of the Sunnah was: In respectof the territories conquered by fighting, the ruler of the Muslims has the authority that he maytake any decision that he deems fit keeping in view the conditions of the time. He candistribute them if he so likes but if a territory has an unusual nature and importance, asMakkah had, he can also treat its inhabitants with favor, as the Prophet (peace be upon him)treated the people of Makkah.

But as the conquests had not yet become common in the Prophet’s time and separate injunctions inrespect of the different kinds of conquered territories had not yet become clearly known to thepeople, so when big countries were annexed to Islam in the time of Umar, the companions werefaced with the problem whether the territories conquered by force were in the nature of ghanimahor fai. After the conquest of Egypt, Zubair demanded: Distribute this, whole land just as theProphet (peace be upon him) had distributed Khaiber. (Abu Ubaid). About the conqueredterritories of Syria and Iraq, Bilal insisted: Distribute all the lands among the fightingforces just as the spoils are distributed. (Abu Yusuf, Kitab al-Kharaj). On the other hand, Aligave this opinion: Leave these lands in possession of the peasants so that they continue toremain a source of income for the Muslims. (Abu Yusuf, Abu Ubaid,). Likewise, the opinion ofMuadh bin Jabal was: If you distributed these lands, evil consequences would occur. Because ofthis distribution large properties will pass into the hands of those few people, who haveconquered them. Then, when these people pass away and their properties pass on to their heirsand there is left only one woman or only one man from among them, nothing might remain for thefuture generations to meet their needs and even to meet the expenses of safeguarding thefrontiers of the Islamic State. Therefore, you should so settle things that the interests ofboth the present and of the future generations are equally safeguarded. (Abu Ubaid, p. 59; Fathal-Bari, vol. vi, p. 138). Umar calculated and found that if the territories of Iraq weredistributed, each individual would receive two or three peasants on the average as his share,(Abu Yusuf. Abu Ubaid). Thereupon he arrived at the judicious conclusion that those territoriesshould not be distributed. Thus, the replies that he gave to those who demanded theirdistribution, were as follows:

Do you want that for the people who come afterwards there should not remain anything. (AbuUbaid).

What will happen of the Muslims who came afterwards when they find that the land along with itspeasants has been distributed and the people have inherited their forefathers? This is not atall just. (Abu Yusuf).

What will be left for the Muslims who came after you? I am afraid if I distribute it, you wouldfight among yourselves over water. (Abu Yusuf). Had I no thought for those who would comeafterwards, I would distribute every territory that I conquered just as the Messenger of Allahhad distributed Khaiber. (Bukhari, Muwatta, Abu Ubaid).

Nay: this is the real estate. I will withhold it so that the needs and requirements of theconquering forces and of the common Muslims continue to be met by it. (Abu Ubaid). But thepeople were not satisfied with these replies, and they started saying that he was being unjust.At last, Umar convened a meeting of the consultative body of the companions and put the matterbefore it. Here are some of the sentences of the speech that he made on this occasion: I havegiven you this trouble so that you may join me in shouldering the trust that has been put in mefor governing your affairs. I am one of you, and you are the people who affirm the truth today.Every one of you has the option to agree to or differ from what I say. I do not wish that youshould follow my desire. You have the Book of Allah, which states the whole truth. By God, if Ihave said something which I want to enforce, I have no object in view except the truth. You haveheard those who think that I am being unjust to them and want to deprive them of their rights,whereas I seek Allah’s refuge that I should commit an injustice. It would be vicious on my partif I withheld from them something which actually belonged to them and gave it to another. But Ican see that no other land after the land of the Khosroe is going to fall. Allah has given theproperties of the Persians and their lands and their peasants in our possession. I havedistributed the booty taken by our armies among them after the deduction of the khums (onefifth), and am thinking of distributing the rest which yet remains. But as for the lands myopinion is that I should not distribute them and their peasants, but should levy revenue on thelands and jizyah on the peasants, which they should always pay, and this should be the fai forthe common Muslims and their children and the armies of today and for the generations yet tocome. Don’t you see that we need the troops who should be appointed to protect these ourfrontiers? Don’t you see that in territories like Syria, AI-Jazirah, Kufah, Basra, Egypt weshould station our troops, and they should be regularly for their services? So, if I distributethese lands along with their peasants, how shall we meet these expenses.

The debate went on for two or three days. Uthman, Ali, Talhah, Abdullah bin Umar and othersconcurred with Umar, but nothing could be decided. At last, Umar rose and said: I have found anargument in the Book of Allah, which is decisive in this matter. Then, he recited these veryverses of Surah Al-Hashr from Ma afaa Allahu to Rabbana innaka Raufur-Rahim, and argued: Thepeople of this day only are not entitled to receive a share in these properties bestowed byAllah, but Allah has also joined with them those people who will come after them. Then, how canit be that we should distribute the fai properties which are meant for all, only among theconquerors and leave nothing for the later generations? Moreover, Allah says: So that thiswealth does not remain circulating among your rich people only. But if distribute it among theconquerors, it will remain circulating only among your rich and nothing would be left forothers. This argument satisfied everybody and consensus was reached that all the conqueredterritories should be declared fai for the common benefits of the Muslims, which should be leftwith those who work on those lands and they should be put under revenue and jizyah. (Abu YusufKitab al-Kharaj, pp. 23-27, 35; Al- Jassas, Ahkam al-Quran).

Accordingly, the real position of the conquered lands that came to be established was that theMuslims in their collective capacity are their owners; the people who were already working onthem would be recognized as cultivators on behalf of the Muslims; they would continue to pay theprescribed revenue to the Islamic government on those lands, their rights as cultivators wouldpass from generation to generation as heritage, and they would even be allowed to sell thoserights, but they will not be the real owners of the land, but its real owners will be the Muslimcommunity. Imam Abu Ubaid in his Kitab al-Amwal has stated this legal position, thus:

Umar left the lands of the territory of Iraq in the hands of its people; he levied tax on theirlands and jizyah per head on the people. (p. 57).

When the head of the Islamic government leaves the lands in the hands of the people of theconquered territories, they would be allowed to pass the lands on as heritage and would also beallowed to sell them. (p. 84).

In the time of Umar bin Abdul Aziz, Shabi was asked: Is there a treaty with the people of theterritory of Iraq. He replied: There is no treaty, but when the revenue was accepted from them,it amounted to a treaty with them. (Abu Ubaid, p. 49; Abu Yusuf, p. 28).

In the time of Umar, Utbah bin Furqad purchased a piece of land by the Euphrates. Umar asked himfrom whom he had purchased the land. He replied that he had purchased it from its owners. Umarsaid: Its owners are these people, i.e. the emigrants and the Ansar. Thus, Umar held the opinionthat the real owners of those lands were the Muslims. (Abu Ubaid, p. 74).

Accordingly, the properties of the conquered countries which were declared as the collectiveproperty of the Muslims were the following:

(1) Those lands and territories which come under the control of the Islamic government inconsequence of a peace treaty.

(2) The ransom or revenue or jizyah which the people of a territory may have agreed to pay,without fighting, in order to seek refuge from the Muslims.

(3) Those lands and properties which the owners might have abandoned and fled.

(4) The properties the owners of which were slain and no survivor was left to own them.

(5) The lands which were not under any ownership previously.

(6) The lands which were already in the ownership of the people, but were left with theirprevious owners and they were put under jizyah and revenue.

(7) Estates of the previous ruling dynasties.

(8) Properties of the previous governments.

For details, see Bada-i as-Sanai, vol. vii, pp. 116-118; Yahya bin Adam Kitab aI-Kharaj. pp. 22,64; Mughni al- Muhtaj, vol. iii, p. 93; Hashiyah ad-Dusuqi ala-sh-Sharah al-Kabir, vol. ii, p.190; Ghayat al-Muntaha, vol. i, pp. 467- 471).

Since these properties were declared as fai with the consensus of the companions, the jurists ofIslam also have agreed in principle on their being regarded as fai. However, they have differedin certain matters, the details of which arc briefly as follows:

The Hanafis say that as regards to the lands of the conquered territories the Islamic government(Imam in juristic terminology has the option that it may distribute them among the forces ofconquest after deduction of the khums (one fifth), or may leave them with the former owners andput the owners under jizyah and the lands under revenue. In this case the land will be regardedas a legacy for the Muslims. (Badai as-Sanai, Al-Jassas, Ahkam al-Quran; Sharah al-Anayah alal-Hedayah; Fath al- Qadir). The same view has Abdullah bin Mubarak cited for Imam SufyanThauri. (Yahya bin Adam; Abu Ubaid, Kitab al-Amwal).

The Malikis say that as soon as the lands have been conquered they automatically become a legacyfor the Muslims. It does not need the Imam’s ruling or the willingness of the Muslim soldiers todeclare them a legacy. Besides, the well known view among the Malikis is that not only the landsbut the houses and buildings of the conquered territories are also, as a matter of fact, alegacy for the Muslims. However, the Islamic government will not charge the rent for them.(Hashiyah ad-Dusuqi).

The Hanbalis agree with the Hanafis that the Imam has the option to distribute the lands amongthe soldiers or to declare them as a legacy for the Muslims, and with the Malikis that althoughthe houses of the conquered territories are included in the legacy, no rent will be levied onthem. (Ghayatal Muntaha which is a collection of the legal rulings of the Hanbali School ofjuristic thought and a source book for legal rulings since the 10th century).

The Shafei’s viewpoint is that all the transferable properties of the conquered territory areghanimah, and all the non-transferable properties (lands, houses, etc.) are fai. (Mughnial-Muhtaj).

Some jurists have expressed the opinion that if the Imam wants to declare the lands of theterritory taken by fighting as a legacy for the Muslims, he must first obtain the willingness ofthe conquering forces. For this they cite this argument: Umar, before the conquest of Iraq, hadpromised Jarir bin Abdullah al-Banali, the people of whose tribe constituted one-fourth of thearmy, which fought the Battle of Qadisiyah, that they would be given one-fourth of the conqueredterritory. Thus, they retained this territory for two or three years. Then Umar said to them:Had I not been responsible and answerable in the matter of division, I would have left with youwhatever has been given to you. But now I see that the people have grown in numbers; therefore,my opinion is that you return it to the common people. Jarir acceded to this, and Umar gave him50 dinars as a prize. (Abu Yusuf, Kitab al-Kharaj; Abu Ubaid, Kitab al-Amwal). From this theyargue that Umar had decided to declare the conquered territories as a legacy for the Muslimsonly after obtaining the willingness of the conquerors. But the majority of the jurists do notadmit this argument. For in respect of all the conquered territories no such willingness of theconquerors ever was taken. Only in the case of Jarir bin Abdullah this was done because Umar hadmade a promise with him prior to any collective decision about the conquered lands. Therefore,he had to obtain his willingness only in order to be free from the obligation of the promise.This cannot be cited as a general law.

Another section of the jurists says that even after declaring the lands as a legacy, thegovernment retains the option that it may redistribute the lands among the conquerors. For thisthey argue from this tradition: Once Ali said to the people in an address: Had not there beenthe apprehension that you would fight among yourselves, I would have distributed the suburbanlands among you. (Abu Yusuf, Kitab al-Kharaj; Abu Ubaid, Kitab al-Amwal). But the majority ofjurists do not admit this argument either. They are unanimous that when the people of theconquered territory have once been allowed to retain their lands and put under jizyah andrevenue, the decision can never be changed later. As for the tradition attributed to Ali, AbuBakr al-Jassas has discussed it at length in his Ahkam al- Quran and proved it to be notauthentic.

21. In this verse although the real object is only to point out that in fai not only the peopleof the present generation but the Muslims of the later periods and their future generations alsohave a share, yet, besides, the Muslims have also been taught an important moral lesson thatthey should never have any malice against other Muslims in their hearts, and they shouldcontinue to pray for the forgiveness of the Muslims who have gone before them instead of cursingand abusing them. The bond that binds the Muslims together is that of a common faith. If aperson values his faith as the most important thing in his heart, inevitably he would be awell-wisher of all those people who are his brethren-in faith. He can have ill-will and maliceand hatred towards them in his heart only when the value of the faith decreases in his sight andhe starts valuing other things more. Therefore, it is the requirement of faith that a believer’sheart should be free from every trace of malice and hatred against the other believers. In thismatter the best lesson is given by a Hadith which Nasai has related from Anas. According to him,once it so happened that for three days continuously the Prophet (peace be upon him) declared inhis assembly that a person was going to appear before them who belonged to the dwellers ofParadise, and every time it would be a certain person from among the Ansar. At this Abdullah binAmr bin Aas became curious as to what deeds the person concerned performed on the basis of whichthe Prophet (peace be upon him) had repeatedly given the good news of his admission to Paradise.Thus, he made an excuse and spent three consecutive nights in his house to see how he performedhis worship, but during the night he did not see anything unusual. At last, he asked himdirectly as to what special acts and devotions he performed on the basis of which the Prophet(peace be upon him) had given the great good news about him. He replied: You have seen how Iperform my worship, but there is one thing which might have carved me this reward: I do notharbor any malice or evil design against any Muslim, nor feel jealous of him on account of anygood that Allah might have bestowed on him.

This does not mean that if a Muslim finds an error in another Muslim’s word or deed, he shouldavoid calling it an error. Faith does not demand this. But to describe an error as a mistake onthe basis of an argument and to state it to be so in a polite and decent manner is one thing andharbor malice and hatred and resort to invective and abuse is quite another thing. It is wrongif one resorts to this in respect of his contemporaries, but worse if one resorted to this inrespect of the dead people of the past. For the person indulging in such a thing would be a mostfilthy person for he is not even inclined to forgive the dead. And the worst would be that aperson should resort to invective and abuse in respect of those illustrious people who had donefull justice to the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) companionship in a period full of extremetribulations and hardships and had struggled with their lives to spread the light of Islam inthe world and enabled us today to be blessed with the faith. One can hold any opinion if hethinks that such and such party of them was in the right and such and such in the wrong in itsviewpoint in the differences that arose between them, and can even express his opinion in areasonable and decent way, but to resort to exaggeration in support of one party so that theheart is filled with spite and hatred against the other is an evil which no God-fearing personwould commit. Those who indulge in such a thing against the clear teaching of the Quran,generally present the excuse that the Quran forbids to bear malice towards the believers and theones towards whom they bear the malice were not believers but hypocrites. But this allegation iseven worse than the sin in defense of which the excuse is presented. For these very verses ofthe Quran in the context of which Allah has taught the Muslims of the later generations not tobear malice towards the Muslims who have gone before them and to pray for their forgiveness, aresufficient to refute this allegation. In these verses three groups have been mentioned, oneafter the other, who are entitled to receive a share in fai. the Emigrants, the Ansar and theMuslims coming after them; and the Muslims of the later periods have been enjoined that theyshould pray for the forgiveness of the Muslims who had embraced the faith before them.Obviously, in this context those who had embraced the faith before them could not be any otherthan the Emigrants and the Ansar. Then Allah in (Surah Al-Hashr, ayat 11-17) itself hastold us who were the hypocrites. This makes it absolutely clear that the hypocrites were thepeople who had encouraged the Jews on the occasion of the battle of the Bani an-Nadir; asagainst them, the believers were those who were on the side of the Prophet (peace be upon him)in this battle. After this, can a Muslim who has any fear of God in his heart, have the boldnessto deny the faith of the people to whose faith Allah Himself has borne the testimony.

Imam Malik and Imam Ahmed arguing from this verse, have expressed the opinion that there is noshare in fai for the people who malign the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him). (Ibnal-Arabi, Ahkam al-Quran; Ghayat al-Muntaha). But the Hanafis and the Shafeis have not concurredwith this, the reason being that Allah while declaring the three groups to be entitled to fai,has praised a conspicuous quality of each group but none of these qualities is a condition whichmay determine whether a group should or should not be given a share in fai. About the Emigrantsit has been said: They seek Allah’s bounty and His goodwill, and are ever ready to succor Allahand His Messenger. This does not mean that an Emigrant who lacks this quality, is not entitledto have a share in fai. About the Ansar, it has been said: They love those who have migrated tothem and entertain no desire in their hearts for what is given to them and prefer others aboutthemselves even though they be needy themselves. This also does not mean that a member of theAnsar who has no love for the Emigrants and who is desirous of getting for himself what is beinggiven to them, has no share in fai. Therefore, the quality of the third group that they pray forthe forgiveness of those who embraced the faith before them and they pray that they should nothave any malice in their hearts towards any other believer is also no condition to make oneentitled to fai, but this is in praise of a good quality and an instruction as to what should bethe attitude of the believers towards the other believers and especially in respect of thosebelievers who have gone before them.

Ala-Maududi

(59:11) Did^[22] you not see the hypocrites say to their brethren, the unbelieversamong the People of the Book: “If you are banished we too will go with you and will not listento anyone concerning you; and if war is waged against you, we will come to your aid.” But Allahbears witness that they are liars.

22. From the style of this whole section (Surah Al-Hashr, Ayat 11-17), it appearsthat it was revealed at the time when the Prophet (peace be upon him) had served a notice on theBani anNadir to leave Al-Madinah within ten days, but had not yet laid siege to their quarters.As has been mentioned about, when the Prophet (peace be upon him) served the notice to the Banian-Nadir, Abdullah bin Ubayy and other leaders of the hypocrites of Al-Madinah sent them amessage to the effect that they would come to their aid with two thousand men, and that the BaniQuraizah and the Bani Ghatafan would also rise in their support; therefore, they should standfirm and should never surrender to the Muslims. For if the Muslims waged a war against hem, theywould fight them from their side; and if they expelled hem, they also would go out with them.Thereupon Allah sent down these verses. Thus, chronologically this section is an earlierrevelation and the first section a later revelation, when the Bani an-Nadir had actually beendriven out of Al-Madinah. But in the Quran the order of the two passages has been reversed forthe reason that the subject matter of the first section is of greater importance

Ala-Maududi

(59:12) To be sure, if they are banished, they will not go with them and if war is waged againstthem, they will not aid them; and even if they provide any aid to them, they will still turntheir backs, and thereafter no aid will be forthcoming to them.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(63:9) Believers,^[17] let your possessions and your offspring not make you negligentof Allah’s remembrance.^[18] For whoso does that, they will be the losers.

17. Now a word of admonition is being addressed to all those people who have entered Islam,whether they are true and sincere believers, or those who profess the faith merely verbally. Aswe have explained at several places above. the words alla-dhina amanu in the Quran are sometimesused to address the true believers and sometimes to address the hypocrites, for they profess thefaith only with the tongue, and sometimes to address the Muslims of all kinds in general. Thecontext itself shows which group is the audience at a particular place.

18. The mention of the possessions and the children, in particular, has been made for man mostlyturns away from the demands of the faith for the sake of their well being and interests andbecomes involved in hypocrisy, weakness of faith, or wickedness and disobedience; otherwise itimplies everything of the world that allures and absorbs man so completely that he becomesheedless of the remembrance of God. This heedlessness in respect of the remembrance of God isindeed the root cause of all evil. If man only remembers that he is not free but the servant ofOne God, and that God is fully aware of all his actions and deeds, and he will be heldaccountable one day before Him for all his actions and deeds, he would never be involved in anydeviation and wickedness, and if ever he commits an error due to a human weakness, he willimmediately rectify it as soon as he comes to realize his wrongdoing and repent.

Ala-Maududi

(64:16) So hold Allah in awe as much as you can,^[31] and listen and obey, and becharitable. This is for your own good. And whoever remains safe from his own greediness, it issuch that will prosper.^[32]

31. At another place in the Quran it has been said: Fear Allah as rightfully He should be feared.(Surah Aal-Imran, Ayat 102). At stillanother place: Allah does not burden any one with a responsibility heavier than he can bear. (Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayat 286) Andhere: Fear Allah as much as you can. When these three verses are read together it appears thatthe first verse sets an ideal which every believer should try to attain. The second verse laysdown the principle that no one has been required to exert himself beyond his power and ability,for in Allah’s religion one has been made responsible only for what is within his power andability. This verse enjoins every believer to try to attain piety and consciousness of God asfar as he can. He should carry out His commands and avoid His disobedience as best as hepossibly can. For if he shows laxity in this regard, he will not be able to escape punishment.However, one will not be held accountable for what was beyond his power and Allah alone candecide best what was really beyond a person’s power and ability.

32. For explanation, see (Surah Al-Hashr, ayat 9) note 19.

Ala-Maududi

(69:40) that this is the speech of an honourable Messenger,^[22]

22. Here, “a noble Messenger” implies the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and in (Surah At-Takweer, Ayat 19). the angelGabriel, the argument being that after describing the Quran as the word of an honorableMessenger, it has been said: It is not the word of a poet nor of a soothsayer, and obviously thedisbelievers of Makkah branded the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and not Gabriel as apoet and soothsayer. On the contrary, in Surah At-Takweer, after describing the Quran as theword of “a noble messenger” it has been said: That Messenger has great power, and has high rankswith the Owner of the Throne: there he is obeyed and held as trustworthy. And Muhammad (peace beupon him) has seen him on the bright horizon. (Surah At-Takweer, ayat 20-23). Almostthe same thing has been stated in (Surah An-Najm, Ayat 5-10) about Gabriel.

Here, the question arises; In what sense has the Quran been described as the word of Muhammad(peace be upon him) and of Gabriel. The answer is: the people were hearing it being recited bythe tongue of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Prophet (peace be upon him) by the tongueof Gabriel. Thereupon, in one way it was the word of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and inanother way of Gabriel, but a little below it has been explicitly stated: It is indeed aRevelation from the Lord of the worlds, which is being presented before Muhammad (peace be uponhim) by the tongue of Gabriel and before the people by the tongue of Muhammad (peace be uponhim). The word Messenger itself points to the truth that the word belongs to neither of them butthey have presented it as Messengers of the One Who has sent it down.

Ala-Maududi

(70:35) all these shall live honourably in the Gardens.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(80:13) It is contained in scrolls highly honoured,

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(80:16) noble^[6] and purified.^[7]

6. This refers to the angels who were writing the scrolls of the Quran under the direct guidanceof Allah, were guarding them and conveying them intact to the Prophet (peace be upon him). Twowords have been used to qualify them: karim, i.e. noble, and barara, i.e. virtuous. The firstword is meant to say that they are so honored and noble that it is not possible that suchexalted beings would commit even the slightest dishonesty in the trust reposed in them. Thesecond word has been used to tell that they carry out the responsibility entrusted to them ofwriting down the scrolls, guarding them and conveying them to the Messenger with perfect honestyand integrity.

7. If the context in which these verses occur, is considered deeply, it becomes obvious that herethe Quran has not been praised for the sake of its greatness and glory but to tell the arrogantpeople, who were repudiating its message with contempt, plainly: The glorious Quran is too holyand exalted a Book to be presented before you humbly with the request that you may kindly acceptit if you so please. For it does not stand in need of you as you stand in need of it. If youreally seek your well-being, you should clear your head of the evil thoughts and submit to itsmessage humbly; otherwise you are not so self-sufficient of this Book as this Book isself-sufficient of you. Your treating it with scorn and contempt will not affect its glory andgreatness at all, rather your own pride and arrogance will be ruined on account of it.

Ala-Maududi

(81:19) Verily this is the word of a noble message-bearer;^[14]

14. A noble messenger: the Angel who brought down revelation, as becomes explicit from thefollowing verses. The word of a noble messenger does not mean that the Quran is the word of theAngel himself, but, as the context shows, of Him Who appointed him a messenger. In (Surah Al-Haaqqah, Ayat 40),likewise, the Quran has been called the word of Muhammad (peace be upon him), and there too itdoes not mean that it is the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) own composition, but describing it asthe word of an honorable messenger, it has been made clear that the Prophet (peace be upon him)is presenting it in his capacity as the Messenger of God and not as Muhammad bin Abdullah (peacebe upon him). At both places, the word has been attributed to the Angel and to Muhammad (peacebe upon him) on the ground that the message of Allah was being delivered to Muhammad (peace beupon him) by the Angel and to the people by Muhammad (peace be upon him). For furtherexplanation, see (Surah Al-Haaqqah, ayat 39).

Ala-Maududi

(82:6) O man! What has deceived you about your generous Lord

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(82:11) noble scribes,

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(89:15) As for man,^[8] when his Lord tests him by exalting him and bestowing Hisbounties upon him, he says: “My Lord has exalted me.”

8. Now, criticizing the general moral state of the people, it is being said: After all, whyshouldn’t the men who have adopted such an attitude in the life of the world, be ever called toaccount, and how can it be regarded as a demand of reason and justice that when man has left theworld, after doing all he could, he should never receive any reward or suffer any punishment forhis deeds.

Ala-Maududi

(89:17) But no;^[10] you do not treat the orphan honourably,^[11]

10. That is, this is not all the criterion of honor and disgrace, for the real criterion is themoral good and evil.

11. That is, as long as his father is alive, your treatment of him is attentive and when hisrather dies, even the paternal and maternal uncles and the elder brothers, to say nothing of theneighbors and distant relatives, neglect him.

Ala-Maududi

(96:3) Recite: and your Lord is Most Generous,

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.