33. Surah Al-Ahzaab

106 "Allah's sending His blessings on His Prophet" means this: Allah is very kind to His Prophet: He praises him, blesses his work, exalts his name, and showers His mercies on him. " `Blessings of the angels" means: "They love the Prophet most dearly and pray to Allah to bless him with the highest ranks, cause his religion and Shari'ah to flourish and exalt him to the laudable position. " One can clearly see from the context. why this thing has been said here. This was the rime when the enemies of Islam were making alI sorts of false allegations against the Holy Prophet in order to satisfy their jealousy on the success of Faith, By sullying him they thought they would destroy his moralinfluence through which Islam and the Muslims were gaining more and more ground every day. Such were the conditions when Allah sent down this verse, as if warn the people: "However Bard the disbelievers and the hypocrites and the polytheists might try to vilify and slander My Prophet with a view to frustrating his mission, they are bound to suffer disgrace and humiliation in the end, for I am kind to him, and the angels, who are administering the entire universe, are his supporters and admirers. His enemies Cannot gain anything by their condemnation of him because I am exalting his name and My angels are adoring him constantly. They cannot harm him by their mean machinations when My mercies and blessings are with him, and My angels pray for hlm day and night to the effect: "O Lord of the worlds, raise Muhammad to even higher ranks and make his Religion flourish and prosper." 107 In other words, it means this: "O people, who have found the right path through Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, you should recognize his the worth and be grateful to him for his great favours to you. You were lost in the darkness of ignorance: He afforded you the light of knowledge: you had become morally bankrupt: he raised you high on the moral level so that the people now feel envious of you; you had sunk to barbarism and savagery: he adorned you with the most refined haman civilization. The disbelievers everywhere have turned his enemies only because he has done you these favours; otherwise personally he has not done any harm to anyone. Therefore, the inevitable demand of your gratitude to him is that you should regard him with an equal, or even greater love than the malice and grudge these people display against him; that you should show a greater attachment to him than the hatred these people show towards him; that you should praise and adore him even more fervently than they condemn him; that you should wish him well even more heartily than they wish him iII, and pray for him just as the angels do day and night, saying: "O Lord of the worlds: Just as Your Prophet has done us countless and endless favours, so do You also show him endless and limitless mercy: raise him to the highest ranks in the world and bless him with the greatest nearness to Yourself in the hereafter.' In this verse, Muslims have been commanded two things: (1) Sallu alaihi; and (2) sallimu taslima. The word Salat when used with the associating panicle 'ala gives three meanings: (1) To be inclined to some body, to attend to him with love, and to bend over him; (2) to praise somebody; and (3) to pray for somebody. Obviously, when the word is used in regard to Allah, it cannot be in the third meaning, for it is absolutely inconceivable that Allah should pray to someone else; it can only be used in the first two meanings. But when this word is used for the servants, whether angels or men, it will be in alI the three meanings. It will contain the sense of love as well as praise and prayer for mercy. Therefore, the meaning of giving the Command of sallu'alaihi to the believers for the Holy Prophet is: 'Be attached to him, praise and adore him and pray for him." The word salam also ' as two meanings: (1) To be secure from every kind of affliction and fault and d efect; and (2) to be at peace and refrain from opposing the other person. Therefore, one meaning of sallimu taslima in regard to the Holy Prophet is: "You should pray for his well-being and security," and another meaning is: "Cooperate with him with aII your heart and mind; refrain from opposing him and obey him most faithfully and sincerely." When this Command was sent down, several of the Companions said to the Holy Prophet, "O Messenger of Allah, you have taught us the method of pronouncing salam (i.e.. of saying as-salamu 'alaika ayyuhannabiyyu wa rahmatullahi wa barakat-u-hu in the Prayer, and as-salamu alaika ya Rasul-Allah as a greeting, but what is the method of sending Salat on you ?" In response to this, the methods of pronouncing Salat and darud that the Holy Prophet taught to many people on different occasions are as follows: Ka'b bin'Ujrah: Allahumma salli ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-i Muhammad-in kama sallaita ala Ibrahima wa ala al-i Ibrahima irmaka Hamidum-Majid, wa barik 'ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-i Muhammad-in kama barakta 'ala Ibrahima wa 'ala al-i Ibrahima innaka Hamid-um-Majid. This darud with a little difference in wording has been reported by Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Da'ud, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, Imam Ahmad, Ibn Abi Shaibah, 'Abdur Razzaq, Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Jarir on the authority of Hadrat Ka'b bin 'Ujrah. Ibn 'Abbas: From him also the same darud as given above has been reported with a slight difference. (Ibn Jarir). Abu Humaid Sa'idi:Allahumma salli ala Muhammad-in wa azwaji-hi wa dhurriyati-hi kama sallaita ala Ibrahima wa 'ala al-i Ibrhima wa barik ala Muhammad-in wa azwaji-hi wa dhurriyat-hi kama barakta 'ala al-i Ibrahima irmaka Hamid-um-Majid. (Malik, Ahmad, Bukhari, Muslim, Nasa'i, Abu Da'ud, Ibn Majah). Abu Mas'ud Badri: Allahumma salli ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-i Muhammad-in kama sallaita 'ala Ibrahima wa 'ala al-i Ibrahima wa barik ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-i Muhammad-in kama barakta 'ala Ibrahima fil- alamin innaka Hamid-um-Majid (Malik, Muslim, Abu Da'ud, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i Ahmad, Ibn Jarir, Ibn Habban, Hakim). Abu Sa' id Khudri: Allahumma salli ala Muhammad-in abdika wa rasuli-ka kama sallaita 'ala Ibrahima wa barik 'ala Mahammad-in wa 'ala al-i Muhammad-in kama ba rakta ala Ibrahim. (Ahmad, Bukhari, Nasa'i Ibn Majah). Buraidah al-Khuza'i: Allahumm-aj'al Salataka wa rahmataka wa barakati-ka ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-i Muhammad-in kama Ja 'altaha ala Ibrahima innaka Hamid-um-Majid. (Ahmad, 'Abd bin Humaid, Ibn Marduyah). Abu Hurairah: Allahumma salli ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-i Muhammad-in wa barik ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-i Muhammad-in kama sallaita wa barakta 'ala Ibrahima wa 'ala al-i Ibrahim fil- `alamin innaka Hammid-um-Majid. (Nasai). Talhah: Allahumma salli ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-i Muhammad-in kama sallaita `ala Ibrahima innaka Hamid-um-Majid wa barik ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-i Muhammad-in kama barakta ala Ibrahima innaka Hamid-um-Majid. (Ibn Jarir). All these daruds agree in meaning despite the difference in wording. A few points concerning them should be understood clearly: First, in aII these the Holy Prophet tells the Muslims that the best way of sending darud and Salat on him is that they should pray to Allah, saying, "O God: send darud on Muhanunad. " Ignorant people who do not possess full understanding of the meaning inunediately raise the objection: 'How strange that AIlah commands us to send darud on His Prophet, but we, in return, implore AIlah that He should send it." The fact, however, is that the Holy Prophet has instructed the people, as if to say, 'You cannot do full justice to sending of darud and Salat on me even if you want to. Therefore, pray only to Allah to bless me with Salat. " Evidently, the Muslims cannot raise the ranks of the Holy Prophet, AIlah only can raise them; the Muslims cannot repay the Holy Prophet for his favours and kindness, Allah only can adequately reward him for this; the Muslims cannot attain any success in exalting the Holy Prophet's name and promoting the cause of religion unless Allah favours them with His help and succour. So much so that the Holy Prophet's love can be impressed in our hearts only by Allah's help; otherwise Satan can turn us away from him by every kind of evil suggestion sand suspicions. May AIlah protect us from this! Therefore, there is no other way of doing full justice to sending of darud and salat on the Holy Prophet than that we should supplicate Allah to send salat on him. The person who says: Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad-in, in fact, admits his helplessness before Allah, and says: "O God: it is not in my power to send salat on Your Prophet as it should be sent. I. therefore, implore You to send it on my behalf and take from me whatever service You will in this regard." Secondly, the Holy Prophet did not want to have this prayer reserved for onlv himself bat included his followers and his wives and offsprings also. The meaning of the wives and offspring is obvious. As for the word al it dces not merely denote the people of the Holy Prophet's household, but it applies to aII those people who follow him and adopt his way. Lexically, there is a difference between the words al and ahl. By the al of a person arc understood aII those people who are his companions, helpers and followers, whether they are related to him or not, and his ahl are those who are related to him, whether or not they are his companions and followers. The Qur'an has used the word al Fir aun at fourteen places but nowhere has it been used to mean the people of Pharaoh's household only; everywhere it implies alI those who sided with him in the conflict against the Prophet Moses. (For example, see Al-Baqarah: 49-50, AI-i-'Imran: 11, AI-A'raf; 130, Al-Mu'min: 46). Thus, from al-Muhammad is excluded every such person who is not on the way of Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings), whether he be a member of his household, and in it is included every such person, who is following in his footsteps, whether he is not even distantly related to him by blood. However, those members of the Prophet's household who arc related to him by blood and are also his followers are most worthy to be regarded as al-Muhammad. Thirdly, the same thing found in aII the daruds taught by the Holy Prophet is that he may be blessed with the same kindness with which Abraham and the followers of Abraham have been blessed. The people have found it difficult to understand this. The scholars have given different interpretations of it but none of them is appealing. In my opinion the correct interpretation is this (though the real knowledge is with Allah): Allah blessed the Prophet Abraham in particular with something with which He has blessed no one else in the world, and it is this: AlI those human beings who regard the Prophethood and the Revelation and the Book as the source of guidance are agreed on the leadership of the Prophet Abraham, whether they are Muslims or Christians or Jews. Therefore, what the Holy Prophet means to say is this: "O Allah, just as You have made the Prophet Abraham the refuge of the followers of aII the Prophets, so You make me also the refuge, so that no one who is a believer in Prophethood, may remain deprived of the grace of believing in my Prophethood." That it is an Islamic practice to send darud on the Holy Prophet, that it is commendable to pronounce it when the Holy Prophet's name is mentioned, that it is a Sunnah of the Prophet to recite it in the Prayer in particular, is agreed upon by aII the scholars. There is also a consensus that it is obligatory to pronounce the darud on the Holy Prophet at least once in a lifetime, because Allah has clearly commanded it, but apart from this there are differences among the scholars regarding it. Imam Shafe' i holds the view that it is obligatory to recite salat on the Prophet during tashahhud in the final sitting of the Prayer, for without it the Prayer would be void. Hadrat Ibn Mas'ud, Abu-Mas'ud Ansari, Ibn 'Umar and Jabir bin 'Abdullah from among the Companions, Sha'bi, Imam Muhammad bin Baqir, Muhammad bin Ka'b al-Qurzi and Muqatil bin Hayyan from among the immediate followers of the Companions, and Ishaq bin Rahwayah from among the jurists also held the same opinion, and Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal also had adopted the same in the end. Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Malik and the majority of the scholars hold that the pronouncing of the Salat is obligatory only once in a life time. It is just like the Kalimah: whoever affirmed the divinity of Allah and the Prophethood of the Messenger of Allah once in a lifetime carried out his duty. Likewise, the one who pronounced the darud and salat once in his lifetime would be deemed to have done his duty of pronouncing the darud on the Holy Prophet. After it, it is neither obligatory (fend) to recite the Kalimah nor the darud. Another group holds that it is absolutely wajib to recite it in the Prayer but not necessarily in the tashahhud. Still another group holds the view that it is wajib to pronounce the darrid in every supplication. Some others say that it is wajib to pronounce it whenever the Holy Prophet's name is mentioned, and according to another group recitation of the darrid is wajib only once in an assembly or sitting no matter how often the name of the Holy Prophet is mentioned during it. , These differences only pertain to the darud's being obligatory in status or otherwise. As for its merit and excellence, its being conducive to high spiritual rewards and its being a great righteous act, there is complete unanimity among the Ummah. No one who is a believer in any degree can have any different opinion about it. The darud is the natural supplication of the heart of every Muslim, who realizes that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (upon Whom be Allah's peace) is the Ummah's greatest benefactor after Allah. The greater one's appreciation of Islam and the Faith, the greater will one be appreciative of the favours of the Holy Prophet himself; and the greater one's appreciation of the favours of the Holy Prophet, the more often will he pronounce the darud and salat on him. Thus, in fact, the frequency with which a person pronounces the darud is the measure which shows the depth of his relationship with the Holy Prophet's Religion and the extent of his appreciation of the blessing of the Faith. On this very basis the Holy Prophet has said: "The angels send darud on him who sends darud on me, as long as he does so." (Ahmad, Ibn Majah). "He who sends darud on me once, Allah sends darud on him ten times over." (Muslim) "The one who sends darud on me most often will deserve to remain close to me on the Day of Resurrection" (Tirmidhi). °Niggardly is the person who dces not send darud on me when I am mentioned before him." (Tirmidhi) As to whether it is permissible to use the words Allahumma salli ala soand so, or sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, or similar other words for others than the Holy Prophet, it is disputed. One group of the scholars of whom Qadi `Iyad is most prominent holds it as absolutely permissible. Their argument is this: Allah Himself has used the word salat in respect of those who were not prophets at several places in the Qur'an, e.g. in AI-Baqarah; 157, At-Taubah: 103, Al-Ahzab:43. Similarly, the Holy Prophet also prayed for those who were not' prophets using the word sale) on several occasions. For example, he prayed for a Companion, thus: Allahumma salli 'ala al Abi Aufa; on the request of Hadrat Jabir bin 'Abdullah's wife, he said: Sallallahu alaihi wa 'ala zaujiki. Then concerning those who came with the Zakat money, he would say: Allahumma salli 'alaihim. Praying for Hadrat Sa'd bin 'Ubadah he said: Allahumma aj'al salataka wa rahmataka ala al-i Sa'd bin 'Ubadah. And about the soul of the believer the Holy Prophet gave the news that the angels prayed for him, thus: Sallallahu 'alaika wa ala jasadika. However, the majority of the Muslim scholars opine that it was correct for Allah and His Messenger but not so for the Ummah. They say that it has become a convention with the Muslims to use salat-o-salam exclusively for the Prophets. Therefore, it should not be used for those who are not prophets. On this very basis Hadrat 'Umar bin 'Abdul 'Aziz once wrote to one of his governors, saying: "I hear that some preachers have started using the word salat in respect of their patrons and supporters in the manner of salat 'alas-Nabi. As soon as you receive this letter, stop them from this practice and command them to use Salat exclusively for the Prophets and remain content with the prayer for the other Muslims." (Ruh al-Ma'eni). Most scholars also hold that using the words sallallahu alaihi wa sallam for any other Prophet than the Holy Prophet is not correct.

108 "To trouble Allah" implies two things: That Allah should be disobeyed, that an attitude of disbelief and shirk and atheism be adopted with regard to Him, and that things made unlawful by Him be made lawful; and (2) that His Messenger be troubled, for just as obedience to the Messenger is obedience to Allah, so is opposition and disobedience of the Messenger opposition and disobedience of Allah.

109 This verse determines the definition of slander. It is to ascribe a fault to a person which he does not have, or an error which he has not committed. The Holy Prophet also has explained it. According to Abu Da'ud and Tirmidhi, when he was asked as to what is ghibat (backbiting), he replied: 'It is to make mention of your brother in a manner derogatory to him. " The questioner said, "And if the fault is there in my brother?" . The Holy Prophet replied: `If the fault that you mentioned is there in him, you backbite him; if it is not there, you slandered him." Such an act is not only a moral sin, which will entail punishment in the Hereafter, but this verse also requires that in the law of an Islamic State also false allegation should be held as a culpable offence.

110 Jilbab is a large sheet and idna' is to draw close and wrap up, but when this word is used with the associating particle ala, it gives the meaning of letting something down from above. Some modern translators, under the influence of the West, have translated this word "to wrap up" so as to avoid somehow the Command about covering of the face. But if Allah had meant what these gentlemen want to consture, He would have said: yudnina ilai-hinna and not yudnina alai-hinna. Anyone who knows Arabic knows that yudnina 'alai-hinna cannot merely mean "wrapping up. " Moreover, the words min jalabib-i hinna also do not permit of this meaning. It is obvious that the preposition min here signifies a part of the sheet, and also that wrapping up is done by means of a whole sheet and not merely by a part of it. The verse, therefore, clearly means : The women should wrap themselves up well in their sheets, and should draw and let down a part of the sheet in front of the face. This same meaning was understood by the major commentators who lived close to the time of the Holy Prophet. Ibn Jarir and Ibn al-Mundhir have related that Muhammad bin Sirin asked Hadrat `Ubaidah as-Salmani the meaning of this verse. (This Hadrat `Ubaidah had become a Muslim in the time of the Holy Prophet but had not been able to visit him. He came to Madinah in the time of Hadrat 'Umar and settled down there. He was recognized as equal in rank with Qadi Shuraih in jurisprudence and judicial matters). Instead of giving a verbal reply Hadrat 'Ubaidah put on his sheet and gave a practical demonstration by covering his head and forehead and face and an eye, leaving only the other eye uncovered. Ibn 'Abbas also has made almost the same commentary. In his statements which have been reported by Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Marduyah, he says: "Allah has commanded the women that when they move .out of their houses for an outdoor duty, they should conceal their faces by drawing and letting down aver themselves a part of their sheets, keeping only the eyes uncovered. " The same explanation of this verse has been given by Qatadah and Suddi. All the great commentators who have passed after the period of the Companions and their immediate followers have given the same meaning of this verse. Imam Ibn Jarir Tabari, in his commentary of this verse, says: "The respectable women should not look like the slave-girls from their dress when they move out of their houses, with uncovered faces and loose hair; they should rather draw and Iet down over them a part of their sheets or outer-garments so that no evil person may dare molest them." (Jami'al Bayan, vol. XXII, p. 33). 'Allama Abu Bakr al-Jassas says: "This verse points out that the young woman has been commanded to conceal her face from the other men; when moving out of the house she should cover herself up well to express chastity and purity of character so that people of doubtful character do not cherish any false hope when they see her. " (Ahkam al-Qur'an, vol. III, p. 458). 'Allama Zamakhshari says: "It means that they should Iet down a part of their sheet over themselves, and should cover their faces and wrap up their sides well." (AI-Kashshaf, vol. II, p. 221). 'Allama Nizamuddin Nishapuri says: "That is, they should Iet down a part of the sheet over them: in this verse, the women have been commanded to cover the head and face. " (Ghara'ib al-Qur an, vol. XXII, p. 32). Imam Razi says: "What is mean is that the people may know that they are not promiscuous women. For the woman who covers her face, though the face is not included in the satar, cannot be expected to uncover her satar, which is obligatory to cover before the other man. Thus, everyone will know that they are modest and virtuous women who cannot be expected to do anything indecent." (Tafsir Kabir. vol. VI, p 591) Incidentally, another thing that is proved by this verse is that the Holy Prophet had several daughters, for Allah Himself says: "O Prophet, enjoin your wives and daughters." These words absolutely refute the assertion of those people who without any fear of God make the claim that the Holy Prophet had only one daughter, Hadrat Fatimah, and the other daughters were not froth his own loins but by the former husbands. These people are so blinded by prejudice that they do not even bother to consider what crime they arc committing by denying the parentage of the children of the Holy Prophet, and what severe punishment will await them in the Hereafter. AII authentic traditions concur that from Hadrat Khadijah the Holy Prophet had not one daughter, Hadrat Fatimah, but three other daughters as well. The Holy Prophet's earliest biographer, Muhammad bin Ishaq, after mentioning his marriage with Hadrat Khadijah, says; "She was the mother of aII the Holy Prophet's children except Ibrahim, namely Qasim and Tahir and Tayyib and Zainab and Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum and Fatimah." (Ibn Hisham, vol. I, p. 202). The famous genealogist, Hashim bin Muhammad bin as-Sa'ib al-Kalbi, states: 'The first born child to the, Messenger. of Allah before his call to Prophethood was Qasim; then Zainab was born to him, then Ruqayyah, then Umm Kulthum." (Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd, vol. I, p. 133). Ibn Hazam writes in Jawami' asSirah that from Hadrat Khadijah the Holy Prophet had four daughters, the eldest being Zainab, then Ruqayyah, then Fatimah and then Umm Kulthum (pp. 38-39). Tabari, Ibn Sa'd, Abu Ja'far Muhammad bin Habib (author of Kitab al-Muhabbar) and Ibn 'Abd al-Bart (author of Kitab al-lsti'ab) state on the strength of authentic sources that before her marriage with the Holy Prophet Hadrat Khadijah had two husbands, Abu Halah Tamimi by whom she had a son named Hind bin Abu Halah, and 'Atiq bin 'A'idh Makhzumi, by whom she had a daughter named Hind. Then she was married to the Holy Prophet and aII the genealogists agree that from his loins she had the four daughters as stated above. (See Tabari, vol. ll, p. 411: tabaqat Ibn Sa'd, vol. VIII, pp. 14-16; Kitab al-Muhabbar, pp. 78, 79, 452; .9l-Isti'ab, vol. II, p. 718). AII these statements are authenticated by the Qur'anic declaration that the Holy Prophet had not one but several daughters. 111 "... will thus be recognized": will be recognized to be noble and chaste women from their simple and modest dress, and not w omen of iII repute from whom some wicked person could cherish evil hopes. ''.. are not molested": will not be teased but Iet alone. Let us pause here for a while and try to understand what spirit of the social law of Islam is being expressed by this Qur'anic Command and what is its object which Allah Himself has stated. Before this in Surah An-Nur: 31, the women have been forbidden to display their adornments before others except such and such men and women, and "also that they should not stamp their feet on the ground lest their hidden decoration (ornaments) should be known." If that Command is read with this verse of AI-Ahzab it becomes obvious that the intention of the Command for the woman to cover herself well with the sheet here is to conceal her adornments from others. And, evidently, this purpose can be fulfilled only if the sheet or the outer-garment itself is simple; otherwise wrapping up oneself with a decorated and attractive sheet will defeat the purpose itself. Besides, Allah does not onlv command the woman to conceal her adornment by covering herself with the sheet, but also enjoins that she should Iet down a pan of the sheet over herself. No sensible person can take any other meaning of this Command than that it requires to conceal the face along with the concealment of the adonunents of the body and dress. Then, Allah Himself states the reason for enjoining the Command, saying: "This is an appropriate way by adopting which the Muslim women will be recognized and will remain safe from trouble." Evidently, this instruction is being given to those women who regard flirtation and stares and evil advances by men as annoying and troublesome and not as enjoyable, who do not want to be counted among ill-reputed, immodest societygirls, but wish to be known as chaste and modest domestic women. To such noble and pious women Allah says: 'If you really wish to be known as good women, and the men's lustful attention is not pleasurable but embarrassing for you, then you should not come out of your houses in full make-up like the newly-wed brides so as to display your beauty and physical charms before the greedy eyes of the people, but the best way for this would be that you should come out in a simple sheet fully concealing your adormments and covering your face and walking in a manner that even the jingle of your ornaments does not attract attention. The woman who applies herself to make-up and does not step out of the house until she has fully embellished and decorated herself with every adornment cannot have any other intention that to become the center of attention of aII the men, whom she herself allures. After this if she complains that the greedy looks of the people cause embarrassment to her, and she dces not wish to be known as a "society woman" and a "popular lady", but wants to live as a chaste house-wife, it will be nothing but a fraud. It is not the word of the mouth of a person that determines his intention, but his real intention is manifested in his act and mode of behavior. Therefore, the act of the woman who appears before the other then attractively itself shows what motivates her behaviour. That is why the mischievous people cherish the same hopes from her as can be cherished from such a woman. The Qur'an tells the women: "You cannot be chaste women and society women at one and the same time. If you want to live as modest, chaste women, you will have to give up the ways that are conducive to becoming society women only, and adopt the way of life that can be helpful in becoming chaste women. " Whether a man's personal opinion is according to the Qur'an or opposed to it, and whether he wants to accept the Qur'anic guidance as a practical guide for himself or not, in any case if he does not wish to be intellectually dishonest in interpreting the Qur'an, he cannot fail to understand its real intention. If he is not a hypocrite he will frankly admit that the Qur'an's intention is what has been stated above. After this if he violates any Command, he will do so with the realization that he is violating the Qur'anic Command, or regards the Qur'anic guidance as wrong. 112 That is, "Allah will forgive the errors and mistakes that were committed in the pre-Islamic days of ignorance, provided that you reform yourselves now when you have received clear guidance, and do not violate it intentionally. "

113 "Having diseased hearts" points to two kinds of evils: (1) That a person should be an iII-wisher of Islam and the Muslims although he gets himself counted among the Muslims; and (2) that he should be cherishing evil intentions and having criminal mentality and his evil tendencies be manifesting themselves in everything he thinks and does. 114 This unplies the people who, in order to cause panic among the Muslims and to lower their morale, used to spread rumours in Madinah to the effect that the Muslims had suffered such and such serious setback, that a huge army was gathering together against them at such and such a place, that Madinah was under threat of a sudden attack, etc. Besides this, they had another pastime. they would concoct and spread imaginary stories about the domestic life of the Holy Prophet's household and of other Muslims so as to produce suspicions among the common people and destroy the moral influence of the Muslims.

115 That is, "This is a permanent law of Allah's Shari'ah that in an Islamic society and state such mischief-mongers are never given an opportunity to flourish and prosper. Whenever the system of society and state is established on Divine Law, such people will be warned to mend their ways and if they still persisted in their evil ways they would be severely dealt with and exterminated."

116 The Holy Prophet was generally asked this question by the disbelievers and the hypocrites. By this they did not mean to obtain any knowledge but they did so out of fun and jest. As a matter of fact, they did not believe in the coming of the Hereafter at aII; they regarded its concept as an empty threat only. They did not ask about the time of its coming so that they could set their affairs right, but what they really meant was : "O Muhammad, we have been doing everything to frustrate your mission, and you have not been able to do any harm to us so far; now Iet us know as to when will Resurrection take place when we will be taken to task by Allah."

117 This thing has been stated at several places in the Qur'an. For instance, sec AI-A'raf: 187; An-Naziyat: 42-46: Saba: 3-5; AI-Mulk: 24-27; AIMutaffifin: 10-17; AI-Hijr: 2-3; Al-Furqan: 27-29; Ha Mim As-Sajdah: 26-29.

118 One should note that the Holy Qur'an has at some places addressed the true Muslims with: 'O you who have believed," and at others the Muslim community as a whole, which includes the believers as well as the hypocrites and the Muslims of the weak faith, and at still others only the hypocrites. When the hypocrites and the Muslims of the weak faith are addressed with: "O you who have believed," it is meant to put them to shame, as if to say, "You claim to have affirmed faith, but your acts and deeds do not support your claim." A little study of the context can easily show which class of the people has been addressed at a particular place. Here, obviously, the common Muslims are being addressed. 119 In other words, it means: "O Muslims, do not behave like the Jews. You should not behave towards your Prophet as the children of Israel behaved towards the Prophet Moses. " The Israelites themselves admit that the Prophet Moses was their greatest benefactor. Whatever they achieved as a nation was only due to him: otherwise in Egypt they would have been doomed to a worse fate than that of the Shudras in India. But how the Israelites treated the greatest benefactor of theirs can be judged by a cursory glance at the following places of the Bible: Exodus, 5: 20-21, 14: 12, 16: 2-3, 17: 3-4. Numbers, 11:1-15,14:1-10, 16 (the whole chapter), 20: 1-5. The Qur'an by referring to this ingratitude of the children of Israel, warns the Muslims, so as to say: "Refrain from adopting this same attitude towards Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace); otherwise you should be ready to face the same fate as the Jews. " This same thing was said by Holy Prophet himself on several occasions. Once he was dividing some goods among the Muslims. When the people dispersed, a man said; "Muhammad in this division has shown no regard for Allah and the Hereafter. " Hadrat 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud heard this remark and told the Holy Prophet what had been said concerning him that day. He replied, "May Allah show mercy to Moses: he was maligned even more severely, but he showed patience." (Musnad Ahmad, TIrmidhi, Abu Da'ud).

120 In the end, Allah wants man to realize his real position in the world; if in that position he regarded the life of the world as mere fun and sport and adopted a wrong attitude carelessly, he would only be working for his own doom. Here, the word 'amanat" (trust) implies khilafat (caliphate) which, according to the Qur'an, tnan has been granted in the earth. The inevitable result of the freedom given to man to choose between obedience and disobedience, and the powers and authority granted him over countless creations for using that freedom, is that he himself be held responsible for his voluntary acts and should deserve rewards for his righteous conduct and suffer punishment for his evil conduct. Since man has not attained these powers by his own efforts but has been granted these by Allah, and he is answerable before Allah for their right or wrong use, these have been described by the word khilafat at other places in the Qur'an, and by amanat here. In order to give an idea of how important and heavy this "trust" (amanat) is, Allah says that the heavens and the earth, in spite of their glory and greatness, and the mountains, in spite of their size and firmness, could not have the power and courage to bear it. But man, the weak and frail man, has borne this heavy burden on his tiny self. The presentation of the trust before the eanh and the heavens and their refusal to bear it and their being afraid of it may be taste literally, or it may have been said so metaphorically. We can neither know nor can comprehend Allah's relationship with His creations. The eanh and the sun and the moon and the mountains are dumb, deaf and lifeless for us but they may not be so also for Allah. Allah can speak to each of His creations and it can respond to Him, though its nature is incomprehensible for us. Therefore, it is just possible that Allah, in fact, might have presented this heavy trust before them, and they might have shuddered to see it, and they might have made this submission before their Master and Creator. "Lord, we find our good and our convenience only in remaining as Your powerless servants: we do not find courage to ask for the freedom to disobey and do justice to it, and then suffer Your punishment in case we cannot do justice to it." Likewise, it is also quite possible that before this present life Allah might have given another kind of existence to mankind and summoned it before Himself, and it migln have willingly undertaken to accept the delegated powers and authority. We have no rational argument to regard this as impossible. Only such a person, who might have made a wrong estimate of his mental and intellectual powers and capabilities, can think of regarding it as impossible. However, this also is equally possible that Allah may have said so allegorically. In order to give an idea of the extraordinary importance of the matter, He may have depicted the scene as if the earth and the heavens and the mountains like the Himalayas were present before Him on one side and a 5 to Gfoot man, on the other. Then Allah might have asked: "I want to invest someone of My creation with the power that being a subject of My Kingdom, it may acknowledge My Supremacy and obey My Commands of its own free will; otherwise it will also have the power to deny Me, even rebel against Me. After giving him this freedom I shall so conceal Myself from him as if I did not exist at aII. And to exercise this freedom I shall invest him with vast powers, great capabilities, and shall give him dominion over countless of My creations so that he may raise any storm that he may in the universe. Then I shall call him to account at an appointed time. The one who will have misused the freedom granted by Me, will be made to suffer a most terrible punishment; and the one who will have adopted My obedience in spite of aII chances and opportunities for disobedience, will be raised to such high ranks as no creation of Mine has ever been able to attain. Now tell, which of you is ready to undergo this test?" Hearing this discourse a hush might have prevailed for a while all through the universe. Then one huge creation after the other might have bowed down and submitted that it should be excused from the severe test. Then, at last, this frail creation might have risen and submitted: "O my Lord, I am ready to undergo this test. I shall brave aII the dangers inherent in the freedom and independence only in the hope that I shall be blessed with the highest office in Your Kingdom if I pass the test. " By imagining this scene through his mind's eye only can man judge exactly what delicate position he holds in the universe. Allah in this verse has called the person °unjust and ignorant", who lives a carefree life in the place of test, and has no feeling at all of how great a responsibility he is shouldering, and what consequences he will encounter of the right or wrong decisions that he makes in choosing and adopting an attitude for himself in the life of the world. He is ignorant because the fool holds himself as responsible to no one; he is unjust because he is himself preparing for his doom and is also preparing the doom of many others along with him.