Ayah 22:3464. This verse implies two things.
(1) Sacrifice has been an essential part of the worship of One Allah in all the revealed religions. In order to inculcate Tauhid, Allah prohibited sacrifice for anyone other than Himself. This was in keeping with the other prohibitions which were made for others than Allah. For instance, prostration before anyone other than Allah, making vows for others than Allah, visiting holy places others than those prescribed by Allah, fasting in the name of others than of Allah, etc., were all prohibited.
(2) The other thing which has been common in all the revealed religions was the object of the sacrifice in the name of Allah though its details have been different in different religions, times and countries.
65. The Arabic word mukhbitin has no equivalent in English. It includes those who;
(1) Give up pride, arrogance and adopt humility before Allah.
(2) Surrender themselves to His service and slavery.
(3) Accept His decrees sincerely.
Ayah 22:3566. It means that righteous people spend their lawful provisions in the way of Allah to meet their own and their dependents’lawful needs, to help their relatives, neighbors and other needy people, on public works and propagation of the word of Allah. It does not include expenditure in unlawful ways for unlawful purposes. The Quranic term lnfaq implies neither over spending nor being miserly and stingy, but spending one’s wealth on himself and others according to his means and status in society.
Ayah 22:3667. Seven persons can become partners in the sacrifice of one camel and likewise in the sacrifice of one cow and the like, as enjoined by the Prophet (peace be upon him) in a tradition reported by Jabir bin Abdullah in the collection of Hadith by Muslim.
68. That is, you should sacrifice animals because you get many benefits from them to show your gratitude to Allah, the Giver, and also to acknowledge His Supremacy and Sovereignty.
69.“Mention the name of Allah over them”implies that animals should be slaughtered by pronouncing the name of Allah over them, because without that their flesh would be unlawful to eat. This shows that in the Islamic Law there is no conception of slaughtering an animal without pronouncing the name of Allah over it. According to traditions, there are different wordings for pronouncing the name of Allah over the animals at the time of their slaughter. Some of these are:
(I) Bismillahi Allahu Akbar; Allahumma minka wa laka: In the name of Allah, Allah is most Great! O Allah, this is Thine and is presented to Thee.
(2) Allahu Akbar- La ilaha ill-Allahu; Allahumma minka wa laka: Allah is most Great: There is no god but Allah: O Allah, this is Thine and is presented to Thee.
(3) Inni wajjahtu wajhiya lillazi fatar-as-sama wati wal-arda, hanif-an-wa ma ana min-al-mushrikin. Inns Salati wa nusuki wa mahyaya wa mamati lillahi Rabb-il-alamin. La sharika lahu wa bi-zalika umirtu wa ana min-al-Muslimin. A llahumma minks wa laka. I have turned my face sincerely towards the Being Who created the heavens and the earth, and I am not from among the idolatrous people. My Salat and my rites of worship and my life and my death are all for Allah, the Lord of the universe, Who has no partner with Him. This is what I have been enjoined and I am the first to surrender to Him. O Allah! This is Thine, and is presented to Thee.
70. It should be noted that a camel is sacrificed while it is standing. This was enjoined by the Prophet (peace be upon him) and is supported by Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Dahhak, etc. Muslim and Bukhari have reported a tradition from Ibn Umar, who saw a man slaughtering his camel in the sitting position. He said to him: Tie one foot of your camel and make it stand, because that is the way of Abu Qasim (peace be upon him). According to a tradition reported by Jabir bin Abdullah, in Abu Dawud, the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions would tie a left foot of the camel and would make it stand on three feet, then they would slaughter it.
71.“Then, when they are down on their sides (after slaughter)”means till they die completely, for the Prophet (peace be upon him) prohibited to cut off a piece of flesh if there is still any sign of life in the slaughtered animal. If this is done, the piece of flesh would be unlawful.
72. This is another reason why animals should be sacrificed:“Thus have We made them (animals) subject to you, that you may give thanks”.
Ayah 22:3773. This prescribes a very important condition for the sacrifice made in the worship of Allah. A sacrifice is acceptable to Allah only if it is accompanied by piety and sincerity. Though sacrifice is a symbol of Allah, yet it has been made plain that it is accepted only if it is accompanied by piety, saying:“Neither their meat that reaches Allah nor their blood, but what reaches Him is the piety from you”. This was also meant to condemn the ritual of the days of ignorance, when the Arabs took the flesh to the Kabah and smeared its walls with the blood of the sacrificed animal.
74.“That you may glorify Allah”at the time of sacrifice verbally also in order to acknowledge that the animals really belong to Allah and to no one else. One of the sentences uttered at the time of sacrifice is Allahumma minka wa laka (O Allah, this animal is Thine and is presented to Thee).
It should be noted that the command of sacrifice as contained in (verses 36 and 37) is not for the pilgrims alone and that the performance of sacrifice is not confined to Makkah on the occasion of Hajj. It is a general command for all those Muslims who are well off. They have been enjoined to be grateful to Allah because He has subjected these animals for the good of all human beings. Therefore they are required to sacrifice the animals during these days so that they may spiritually join those who go to Makkah to perform Hajj.
There are many authentic traditions to the effect that the Prophet (peace be upon him) made sacrifice on this occasion, while he was personally at Al-Madinah.
(1) The one who does not perform sacrifice even though he can, should not join us in the Eid Prayer. (Musnad Ahmad, Ibn Majah).
(2) According to a tradition reported by Ibn Umar, the Prophet (peace be upon him) dwelt at Al-Madinah for ten years and performed sacrifice every year. (Tirmizi).
(3) According to Anas, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
The one who sacrificed an animal before the Eid Prayer, should offer another sacrifice; but the one who sacrificed his animal after the Eid Prayer, did the right thing and followed the way of the Muslims. (Bukhari).
It this connection, it is note-worthy that no Eid Prayer is held on the tenth of Zil-Hajj in Makkah: therefore the injunction was meant for all Muslims and not only for those performing Hajj at Makkah.
Thus, it is clear that the sacrifice on the occasion of Eid which is observed in the entire Muslim world is a Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and has been enjoined by him. The only dispute is whether it is obligatory in nature or only a Sunnah. Ibrahim Nakhai, Imams Abu Hanifah, Malik, Muhammad and, according to a tradition, Imam Abu Yusuf too, are of the opinion that it is obligatory in nature. On the other hand, Imams Shafai and Ahmad bin Hanbal regard it only as a Sunnah of the Muslims, and Sufyan Thauri has also agreed with them, saying that there will be no harm if a person does not offer a sacrifice. It is, however, an irony that some of the learned Muslims of our time, who follow neither the Quran nor the Sunnah, and are only guided by personal whims, have declared that if there is a consensus of opinion of the Muslims, they can give up the practice of sacrifice on the occasion of Eid.
Ayah 22:3875. From here the address for the first time prepares the Muslims for Jihad. In order to understand this, we should keep in view the preceding portion (verses 19-24) in which the ideological conflict between the two parties (believers and disbelievers) and the result thereof have been described. This naturally serves as a prelude to the armed conflict between the two parties. That is why in (verses 26- 37) the immediate causes which necessitated war have been stated to serve as an introduction and justification for war with the disbelievers of Makkah.
After the migration to Al-Madinah, when the first Hajj season approached, it naturally brought along with it anguish and anger both for the Muhajirs and the Ansar, who had been debarred froth visiting Makkah and performing Hajj, That is why, in this passage (verse 26-37), the rituals and the objects of Hajj have been described to bring home to the disbelievers that they had no right to debar anyone from Hajj. On the other hand, the Muslims are being prepared to fight not with the intention of wreaking vengeance but for the sake of reform. At the same time sacrifice on the occasion of Hajj has been prescribed as a permanent rite to enable them (and the Muslims of the whole world) to commemorate Hajj and the rites connected with it, so that they might refrain from wreaking vengeance on the people of Makkah for the persecution to which they had been subjected. They have, therefore, been enjoined to fight to bring about better conditions and not to take revenge on their persecutors.
76. The Arabic word mudafiat implies two things.
(1) To fight with the enemy to ward off his aggressive attack.
(2) To fight with the enemy not just once but whenever the need arises. Allah has assured the believers that He will defend them against the enemy every time there is a conflict between Islam and kufr. This is to encourage the believers that they will not be left alone in their defense, but Allah Himself will be a party with them and will help them to frustrate the cunning designs of the enemy and to ward off their attacks. Indeed this verse is a great encouragement for the believers, for it imbues their hearts with spirit and strength which nothing else can.
77. Allah becomes a party with the believers because they are justified in waging war against the disbelievers who are treacherous and ungrateful to Allah in spite of His many blessings and favors to them.
Ayah 22:3978. This (verse 39) is the first verse of the Quran in which permission to tight was given in the month of Zil-Hajj in the first year after Hijrah according to our research. Then the command to fight was given in (verse 190, 191, 193, 216 and 244 of Surah Al-Baqarah) in Rajab or Shaban of A.H. 2.
79.“Allah surely has Power over giving them victory”: this assurance was urgently needed by the persecuted Muslims whose fighting strength at that time was very meager, not even a thousand including all the migrants and the Muslims of Al-Madinah. On the other hand, the fighting strength of the Quraish by themselves was much greater. Besides, they had all the other mushrik clans of Arabia at their back and were joined later by the Jews as well. Therefore, this assurance was most opportune and the challenge to the disbelievers was very significant, for it meant to say that they were not fighting against a small number of the Muslims but against Allah. Therefore,“You are welcome to fight if you dare”.
Ayah 22:4080. The mention of their expulsion from their homes in (verse 40) is a clear proof that this portion of Surah Al-Hajj was revealed at Al-Madinah.
81. In order to have an idea of the severe persecution of the Muslims, a few instances of this are cited.
(1) Suhaib Rumi was deprived of everything, when he was about to migrate to Al-Madinah. When he reached there, he had nothing with him except the clothes he was wearing. Though he had earned all that through his own labors, he was deprived of everything by the disbelievers of Makkah.
(2) When Abu Salmah was about to leave Makkah with his wife and a suckling child, his in laws forcibly separated his wife from him, and then the people of his own family took away the child from them. Thus the poor woman had to pass one whole year in sorrow and grief. After a year, she secured the child somehow and journeyed from Makkah to Al-Madinah with it all alone on a dangerous route.
(3) Ayyash bin Rabiah was a half brother of Abu Jahl. When he migrated to Al-Madinah, he was followed by Abu Jahl and another brother of his, and they told him the lie: Your mother has taken the oath that she will not move from the sun to the shade nor comb her hair until she should see you (Ayyash). You should therefore go back with us to Makkah, show her your face and then come back. He was taken in by this trick. When they were journeying back the two brothers made him a prisoner, took him to Makkah with his hands and feet tied, and proclaimed: O people of Makkah, this is how these lads should be treated and set right. He remained in that state for a long time and was at last rescued by a brave Muslim.
82. Saumah (pl. Swami), Biya and Salawat in the original text are the places of worship of the monks who have left the world, the Christians and the Jews respectively. Salawat was Salauta in Aramaic, which might be the origin of the English words salute and salutation.
83. In this sentence, a divine principle has been stated:
Allah does not let a group of people or a community have authority forever. Every now and then He repels one group by means of another.
If this had not been the case, the permanent dominator would have created chaos not only in the political and economic spheres, but would have encroached upon the places of worship as well. This principle has also been stated in Ayat 251 of Surah Al-Baqarah.
Ayah 22:4184. Those who help Allah are the people who invite mankind to Tauhid and exert their utmost to establish the true faith and righteousness. For further explanation see (E.N. 50 of Surah Aal-Imran).
85“If We give them authority”: In this one sentence, the real aim of the Islamic State and the characteristics of those who conduct its affairs have been stated concisely but comprehensively. Those who help Allah and deserve His succor behave righteously, establish Salat, make arrangements for the collection of Zakat and use their power and authority to propagate good and eradicate evil.
86. That is, it is Allah Who decides whom to give power in the land and when. This is meant to remove the misunderstanding of the proud and arrogant people who think that the destiny of the land and its dwellers is in their hands, and there is none to depose them from power. But Allah dethrones the most haughty ruler in supernatural ways and gives power to the most humble in order to show that He is All-Powerful, All-Mighty.
Ayahs 22:42–4387. The disbelievers of Makkah.
Ayah 22:4488 The instances of some peoples who rejected their Prophets have been cited to impress that they were given respite to reform themselves before they were punished. Therefore: O people of Makkah, you should not be deluded by the delay in your punishment. When the term of respite comes to an end, you shall also be punished like the former people, if you do not mend your ways in the meantime.
89. The Arabic word nakeer is very comprehensive and implies two meanings:
(1) Displeasure at the evil conduct of the other.
(2) A terrible punishment which disfigures the culprit so badly that he cannot even be recognized. The sentence therefore will mean: Just see when I seized them for this evil conduct, how terrible was My chastisement.
Ayah 22:4590. In Arabic a well is synonymous with a habitation. Thus“many a wells”means“many a habitation has been destroyed”.
Ayah 22:4691. The words“blinded are the hearts”have been used in the metaphorical and not in the literal sense. Since the heart is regarded as the center of emotions, feelings and of mental and moral qualities, these words have been used to imply that their obduracy has inhibited them from feeling and acting rationally.
Ayahs 22:47–4892. This refers to the oft-repeated challenge by the disbelievers: Well, if you are a true prophet, why does not that chastisement come with which you have been threatening us, for we have been rejecting your claim of being a true Prophet of Allah.
93. That is, the decisions of Allah do not follow your time and calendar, nor do the consequences of your wrong attitudes appear immediately after the deeds. Therefore it will be very foolish for the part of a people to argue that the threat of punishment was empty just because a decade or a century had passed since they had adopted a wicked attitude and conduct with impurity.
Ayah 22:4994. That is, I am merely a warner and not the maker of your destinies. It is Allah Who passes judgment and decides about the punishment.
Ayahs 22:50–5195. 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 that they will have excellent supplies which will be given to them in an honorable way.
Ayahs 22:52–5396. For the distinction between Nabi and Rasul, refer to (E. N. 30 of Surah Maryam).
97. The Arabic word tamanna has two meanings:“desire”and“to recite”something.
98. If the first meaning is taken, it will imply: Satan tried to prevent the fulfillment of his desire. If the second meaning is taken, it will imply: When the Prophet recited the Revelations, Satan created different sorts of doubts about its truth and meanings in the minds of the people.
99. If the first meaning is adopted, it will imply: Allah fulfills the Prophet’s desire and makes his mission successful in spite of the obstacles of Satan and confirms the truth of His revelations by fulfilling His promises to the Prophet. In case of the second meaning, it will imply: Allah eradicates all the doubts and objections inspired by Satan in the hearts of the people and clarifies the confusion created about any verse of the Quran in subsequent revelations.
100.“Allah is All-Knower”and has full knowledge of the mischief worked by Satan and of its effects, and being All- Wise, He counteracts every mischief of Satan.
Ayah 22:54101. That is, Allah lets Satan work such mischief to put to the test both the righteous and the wicked people. The people with a perverted mentality deduce wrong conclusions from these and deviate from the right way, while those, who think on the right lines, realize that all these things are the mischief of Satan and that the message of the Prophet is based on the truth. They conclude that the very fact that Satan has been so much agitated and become active against it is a clear proof of its being the truth. It is very important to understand the real significance of this passage (verses 52-54) for this has given rise to a grave misunderstanding.
If we consider it in the context in which it occurs, it becomes obvious that it was sent down to refute the wrong appraisal of the casual observers that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had failed to achieve his desired object. This was because he had striven for thirteen long years to persuade his people to accept his message but the apparent result was that he had not only failed in this, but he and the small band of his followers had been forced to leave their homes. As this exile contradicted his claim that he was a Prophet of Allah and had His approval and succor with him, some people became skeptical about it. Moreover, they became doubtful about the truth of the Quran, because they were not being visited by the scourge, which was inflicted on those who treated the Prophet as false. His antagonists scoffed at him, saying: Where is that succor of Allah and the scourge with which we were threatened? The answer to these doubts of the disbelievers was given in the preceding passage, and in this passage the addressees were those who were influenced by this propaganda. Briefly the whole answer was to this effect.
It is not a new thing that the people of a Messenger have treated him as an impostor for it has always been happening like this. You can see from the remnants of those peoples who treated their Messengers as impostors how they were punished for their mischief. You can learn a lesson from them, if you will. As regards to the delay in the coming of scourge, the Quran never threatened the disbelievers with immediate punishment, nor is it the job of the Messenger to inflict punishments. The scourge is sent by Allah, but He is not hasty in sending His torment. He gives respite to the people to mend their ways as He is giving you now. Therefore, you should not be under any delusion that the threats of scourge are empty threats.
It is also not a new thing that the desires and wishes of a Prophet meet with obstacles or that false propaganda is made against his message for the same has already happened with regard to the messages of the former Prophets. But ultimately Allah eradicated the mischief worked by Satan and made the message successful. Therefore you should take a warning from the past history of Satan’s mischief and its ultimate failure. You should note it well that the obstacles and the mischief of Satan are a trial and means that help attract the righteous people towards Islam and winnow the dishonest people away from it.
It is a pity that in spite of the above clear and simple meaning of the passage which fits in well with the context, a grave misunderstanding has arisen because of a tradition which has not only changed its meaning entirely and rendered it irrelevant in the context but has helped make doubtful the very basic articles of the faith. Therefore we are making a critical appraisal of the tradition in order to show how to make the right use of traditions for the correct interpretation of the Quran.
According to this tradition, the Prophet (peace be upon him) had a strong longing and desire to this effect: I wish some revelations were sent down to tone down the abhorrence of the mushrik Quraish against Islam so as to bring them nearer to it, or at least the criticism against their creed may not be so severe as to arouse their enmity.
While he was cherishing this desire, it so happened that one day when he was sitting in a big gathering of the Quraish, Surah An-Najm was revealed and he began to recite it. When he came to (verses 19, 20): Have you ever considered about this Lat and this Uzza, and a third (goddess) Manat, all of a sudden he recited,“These are exalted goddesses; indeed their intercession may be expected”. After this he continued to recite Surah An-Najm up to the last verse and then fell down in prostration and all the Muslims and the mushriks of the Quraish also did the same, for the latter said: Now we have no difference with Muhammad. We also profess that Allah is the Creator and the Provider and that these deities of ours are merely our intercessors with Him. After this, when in the evening Angel Gabriel came, he said: What have you done? I did not bring these two sentences. At this the Prophet (peace be upon him) became very sad and Allah sent down (verse 73-75 of Surah Bani Israil): O Muhammad, these people have left no stone unturned to tempt you away from that which We have revealed to you so that you might fabricate something in Our name. Had you done that, they would have made you their friend. It was just possible that you might have inclined a little towards them, if We had not given you strength. But if you had done so, We would have made you taste double chastisement in this world as well as in the Hereafter, then you would have found no helper against Us.
But in spite of this, he continued to be grieved till Allah sent down (verse 52 of this Surah Al-Hajj) in which Allah consoled him, saying that the same had been happening to the former Prophets.
Another thing that happened in the meantime was that the story reached the migrants to Habash that there had been a reconciliation between the Prophet and the disbelievers of Makkah. Accordingly, many of them returned to Makkah only to learn that the news of reconciliation was wrong and the conflict between Islam and kufr was raging as furiously as before.
Now let us make a critical study of this story which has been cited by Ibn Jarir and many other commentators and is even contained in many collections of traditions.
(1) None of its reporters, except Ibn Abbas, is a companion.
(2) There are many major discrepancies and variations in its details.
(3) The wording ascribed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) in praise of the idols in each tradition is different from that of others.
Moreover, these words have been attributed to different sources according to different traditions: (a) These words were put in by Satan during the revelation and the Prophet (peace be upon him) imagined that they were revealed by Gabriel. (b) He himself uttered these words inadvertently, being urged by his own desire. (c) He was dozing when he uttered these words. (d) He intentionally uttered these words but in a manner as to question their veracity. (e) Satan interpolated these words into the revelation, giving an impression that the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself had recited them. (f) It was one of the mushriks who had recited these words.
Yet scholars of tradition like Hafiz Ibn Hajar and jurists like Abu Bakr alJassas and rationalists like Zamakhshari and commentators like Ibn Jarir accept this story as true and consider it as a commentary on (verse 52) of this Surah. Ibn Hajar argues like this:
"Even though the links by which this tradition has been related are either weak or broken, except in one case, the very fact that it has been related through so many links is a proof that there is some truth about it. The one which has strong links is by Said bin Jubair who has related it from Ibn Abbas and the reporters of two more traditions (which have been cited by Tabari) have been declared authentic by Bukhari and Muslim.
On the other side, there are other eminent scholars who declare this story to be utterly baseless. Ibn Kathir says: All the links of this tradition are unauthentic and I have found no correct version of this with continuous links. Baihaqi says: This story has not been proved to be correct by the rules of reporting. When Ibn Khuzaimah was asked about it, he said: This story has been invented by heretics. Qazi Ayad says: The very fact that this tradition is neither contained in any of the six authentic collections of Hadith nor has it been related in an authentic way by authentic reporters shows its weakness. Besides them, Imam Razi, Qazi Abu Bakr Ibn al-Arabi, Alusi etc. have rejected it altogether.
It is a pity that even those who reject this story have not done full justice to their cases. There are some who reject it because its links are weak. In other words, they would have accepted it, if its links were strong. Then there are others who reject it because its acceptance makes the whole faith doubtful. This kind of reasoning may satisfy the believers but it cannot satisfy those who are already skeptical or intend to make a research into it with a view to making a correct appraisal of Islam. They will rather say: When a story is related by an eminent companion and is contained in the collections of traditions, there is no reason why we should reject it just because it makes your faith doubtful.
Now let us consider the story critically and rationally to prove that it is unacceptable.
(1) Its internal evidence proves it to be wrong: (a) According to the story the incident happened after the first migration to Habash, for according to it some of the migrants returned to Makkah after hearing the story. Now the fact is that the migration took place in the month of Rajab of the fifth year of Prophethood and some of the migrants returned to Makkah three months later, i.e. in Shawwal of the same year. (b) (Verses 73-75 of Surah Al- Isra) in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) was reproved for this incident were revealed in the eleventh or twelfth year of Prophethood. In other words, he was reproved by Allah five or six years after the incident. (c) This (verse 52) in which the interpolation by Satan was abrogated was sent down in the first year of Hijrah, i.e. about two years after the reproof. Can a person in his senses believe that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was reproved for the interpolation after six years, and it was abrogated after nine years?
(2) According to the story, this interpolation was made in Surah An-Najm. When the Prophet was reciting the words,“And a third (goddess) Manat”; he also recited the interpolated sentence, and then continued the recital up to the end of the Surah. It is said that the disbelievers of Makkah were so pleased with the interpolation that they declared: The differences between us and Muhammad (peace be upon him) have now come to an end.
Let us now read (verses 19-23 of An-Najm) along with the alleged interpolation (in italics): Have you ever considered about the reality of this Lat and Uzza and a third (goddess) Manat? These are exalted goddesses; indeed their intercession may be expected. What, do you have sons for yourselves and daughters for Him (Allah)? This is indeed an unfair division. They are nothing but mere names which you and your forefathers have invented. Allah has sent down no authority in regard to them. They follow only conjectures and the whims of their own minds, although right guidance has come from their Lord.
Even a casual reader will detect an obvious contradiction in the passage. Immediately after praising the goddesses there is a hard hit on their worshipers, as if to say: O foolish people! How is it that you have ascribed daughters to Allah and sons to yourselves? All this is your own invention which has no authority from Allah. On the face of it, the interpolation makes the passage absurd which cannot be assigned even to a rational person not to speak of Allah. Then the story presumes that all the Quraish who were listening to it must have lost their senses; otherwise they could not have declared that their differences with Muhammad (peace be upon him) had been made up from thence.
From this internal evidence it has become clear that this story is absurd and meaningless.
(3) Now let us consider whether the occasions, ascribed by the commentators to the revelation of the verses under discussion, fit in with the chronological order of the Quran. According to the story, the interpolation in Surah An-Najm was made in the fifth year of Prophethood. The reproof was made in (verses 73-75 of Bani Israil) and then the interpolation was annulled and the incident explained in (verses 52-54 of Surah Al-Hajj). Now there could be only two possibilities about the time of their revelation. Either the verses containing the reproof and the abrogation were sent down in the period in which the interpolation took place, or the verse containing the reproof was sent down along with Surah Al-Hajj. In the first case, the question arises: Why were these verses (Surah Bani-Israil, 73-75) not inserted in Surah An-Najm? Why were they held in abeyance for six long years and then inserted in Surah Bani Israil, when it was revealed, and (verses 52-54) (containing the abrogation) inserted in Surah Al-Hajj after a further delay of more than two years? Does it mean that the verses were sent down on one occasion and inserted years later haphazardly in one Surah or the other? In the second case, the question would arise: Does it stand to reason that the verses containing the reproof (Surah Bani-Israil, 73-75)were sent down six years after the interpolation, and the verse of abrogation (Surah Al-Hajj, Ayat 52) nine years after the incident? Still another question arises: What was the occasion of the revelation of the verses of reproof and abrogation in Surahs Surah Bani-Israil and Al-Hajj in the context in which they occur?
(4) Now let us turn to the third principle of correct appraisal of the Quran.
For a correct appreciation of the Quran it is essential to consider whether a particular commentary fits in with the relevant context of the Quran or not. If we make even a cursory study of (Surah Bani Israil, verses 71-73), it will become obvious that there was no occasion for the alleged reproof in (verse 73) and that there is no tinge of reproof in it, for the words of the verse refute the allegation that the Prophet was taken in by the mischief of the disbelievers. Then in Surah Al-Hajj, if we make a critical study of the verses that precede (verses 52-54)and follow them, it will become obvious that there was no occasion to console the Prophet for the interpolation and to annul it after nine years.
(5) We reiterate that no tradition, however strong links it might have, can be accepted when the text itself is a clear evidence against it, and when it does not fit in with the wording, the context, the order etc. of the Quran. When the incident is considered in this background, even a skeptical research scholar would be convinced that the tradition is absolutely wrong. As regards to a believer, he can never accept it, when he knows that it contradicts not only one verse but a large number of other verses of the Quran. He would rather believe that the reporters of the tradition might have been deluded by Satan and not the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). He would never believe that the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) could interpolate even a single word in the Quran under the influence of a desire of his own: or that there could ever occur such a desire in his mind that he should make a compromise with the disbelievers by associating shirk with Tauhid: or that he could ever wish that Allah might not say anything to displease the disbelievers: or that the revelation was made in such an unsafe and doubtful manner as to enable Satan to mix with it even a word in a manner as if it was also brought by Gabriel. Each of these things is contradictory to the clear revelation of the Quran and the basic articles of the faith which we have learned from the Quran and the Prophet (peace be upon him). God forbid that we should accept any such tradition that might lead to the above mentioned presumptions just because the tradition seems to be authentic in every way.
It will be worth-while to consider the question: How is it that so many reporters of traditions have related this story? Does it not show that there must have been some reality about it? Otherwise, so many reporters, who included many authentic and eminent scholars, could not have made such an heinous slander against the Quran and the Prophet (peace be upon him). Its answer is contained in the authentic collections of traditions by Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Nasai and Musnad Ahmad. The reality of the incident is this.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) recited Surah An-Najm and performed prostration at the end of it. At this, all the hearers, both the Muslims and the mushriks, fell down in prostration. This was what really happened and there is nothing strange about it. Let us depict the occasion: The Prophet (peace be upon him) was reciting a forceful piece of the eloquent Quran in a very impressive manner. Naturally the occasion produced an emotional effect and all the listeners instinctively fell down in prostration along with him. It was because of such ecstasies produced by the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) recital of the Quran as this that the disbelievers dubbed him a sorcerer. As regards the story that the Prophet (peace be upon him) praised the deities of the disbelievers, it appears that the Quraish concocted the story to hide their defeat. Probably someone or other of them explained away their defeat, saying: We ourselves heard Muhammad praising our deities. Therefore we also fell down in prostration along with him. As regards to the migrants to Habash, they returned to Makkah when they heard the concocted story that there had been a compromise between the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Quraish. It appears that some of those people who had seen the Muslims and the mushriks falling down together in prostration, presumed that peace had been made between them, so the story traveled to the migrants in Habash who had no means to verify it and thus thirty three of them returned to Makkah.
Naturally these three things, prostration by the Quraish, their explanation of it, and the return of the migrants from Habash, combined to evolve that story. So much so that some authentic people were also deluded by it, for to err is human, and the pious and intelligent people are no exception to it. However, the error of the latter proves to be more harmful, because their credulous followers accept with closed eyes their misconceptions along with their right conclusions. On the other hand, mischief mongers collect all such errors of the righteous people and exploit them to prove that all the collections of traditions are false and should be rejected forthwith.
Ayahs 22:55–58102. The epithet“barren”has been applied to the day in its metaphorical and not literal sense. :A day is barren if all the plans, hopes and devices remain unproductive in it, or it does not bring forth its night. For instance, the days on which the people of Prophet Noah, the tribes of Aad and Thamud, the people of Lot and of Midian met with their destruction by scourge from Allah, were barren days in this sense, because those days did not bring forth any tomorrow for them, and no device of theirs could avert their doom.
Ayah 22:59103. As Allah is All-Knowing, He knows well those who left their homes for His sake and what reward they deserve. He is Clement, and forgives minor errors and weaknesses of the people; therefore these things will not hinder Him from rewarding the believers for their services and sacrifices.
Ayah 22:60104. The preceding verses referred to those persecuted people who could not retaliate and here the reference is to those victims of persecution who could fight back.
From this verse, Imam Shafai has concluded that retaliation will be effected in the way as life was taken in the original act. If a person is killed by immersion in water, the killer also should be put to death by immersion in water; or if a person is burnt to death, the killer also will be burnt to death. The Hanafites dispute this. According to them, retaliation against a murderer will be incurred in one and the same established way no matter how life was taken by the culprit in the original act.
105. This verse (60) may imply two things:
(1) Allah forgives that killing which is done in self-defense, though killing of people is not a good thing in itself. (2) As Allah, Whose slaves the believers are, is Forgiving and Forbearing, they should also forgive and forbear as much as possible. Though they have the right of retaliation, they should not resort to carnage and massacre.
Ayah 22:61106.“That is”(as stated in the preceding paragraph) because Allah is the Ruler of the universe and has the power to give punishments and rewards to those who deserve them.
107. The fact that“Allah causes.........night”is a proof that He is the Master, Sovereign and Ruler of the universe. But the deeper meaning of the verse is that Allah, Who is able to bring forth the light of the day out of the darkness of the night, has the power to bring out the light of the truth out of the darkness of disbelief and ignorance, and the light of justice out of the darkness of tyranny.
108. He hears everything and sees everything and is not unaware of anything.
Ayah 22:62109. As Allah is in fact the Sovereign of the universe, His worshipers will surely attain true success and the worshipers of false gods will meet with utter failure.