FINE TUNING THE HUMAN CONCEPTION OF DIN The ayaat from 158-177 of Surah al-Baqarah constitute an independent lesson. One of the purposes of this lesson is to fine-tune the human conception of divine din. This lesson does not lose sight of the Yahudi fifth column in Madinah. It continues to floodlight them, but this time it addresses Yahudi interference with the human understanding of Allah’s din. Reaffirming their nature, the Yahud continued to pretend unfamiliarity with haqq while still acting as a mental virus that sought to weaken the intellectual integrity of the Muslims, thereby hoping to induce instability & insecurity within the Islamic state of Madinah. All this is presented in a general way. The object lesson is a red flag that directs the Muslim mind to pitfalls dug by Yahud & others whenever this din becomes a fact of life (HENCE,) BEHOLD, AL-SAFA & AL-MARWAH ARE AMONG THE SYMBOLS SET UP BY ALLAH; & THUS, NO WRONG DOES HE WHO, HAVING COME TO THE HOUSE ON PILGRIMAGE OR ON A RELIGIOUS QUEST, STRIDES TO & FRO BETWEEN THESE TWO; FOR, IF ONE DOES MORE GOOD THAN HE IS BOUND TO DO – BEHOLD, ALLAH IS RESPONSIVE TO GRATITUDE, ALL-KNOWING. BEHOLD, AS FOR THOSE WHO SUPPRESS EVIDENCE OF THE TRUTH & OF THE GUIDANCE WHICH WE HAVE BESTOWED FROM ON HIGH, ADTER WE HAVE MADE IT CLEAR UNTO MANKING THROUGH THE DIVINE WRIT – THESE IT IS WHOM ALLAH WILL REJECT & WHOM ALL WHO CAN JUDGE WILL REJECT. EXCEPTED, HOWEVER, SHALL BE THEY THAT REPENT, & PUT THEMSELVES TO RIGHTS, & MAKE KNOWN THE TRUTH; & IT IS THEY WHOSE REPENTANCE I SHALL ACCEPT, FOR I ALONE AM THE ACCEPTOR OF REPENTANCE, THE DISPENCER OF GRACE BEHOLD, AS FOR THOSE WHO ARE BENT ON DENYING THE TRUTH (OF ALLAH & HIS POWER) & DIE IN THAT STATE OF DENIAL THEIR DUE IS REJECTION BY GOD, & BY THE ANGELS, & BY ALL (RIGHTEOUS) MEN. IN THIS STATE SHALL THEY ABIDE; (&) NEITHER WILL THEIR SUFFERING BE LIGHTENED, NOR WILL THEY BE GRANTED RESPITE. & YOUR GOD IS THE ONE GOD: THERE IS NO DEITY/AUTHORITY SAVE HIM, THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE DISPENSER OF GRACE. VERILY, IN THE CREATION OF THE HEAVENS & OF THE EARTH; & THE SUCCESSION OF NIGHT & DAY; & IN THE SHIPS THAT SPEED THROUGH THE SEA WITH WHAT IS USEFUL TO MAN; & IN THE WATERS WHICH ALLAH SENDS DOWN FROM THE SKY, GIVING LIFE THEREBY TO THE EARTH AFTER IT HAD BEEN LIFELESS, & CAUSING ALL MANNER OF LIVING CREATURES TO MULTIPLY THEREON; & IN THE CHANGE OF THE WINDS, & THE CLOUDS THAT RUN THEIR APPOINTED COURSES BETWEEN SKY & EARTH; (IN ALL THIS) THERE ARE AYAAT INDEED FOR PEOPLE WHO USE THEIR REASON. & YET THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO CHOOSE TO BELIEVE IN BEINGS THAT ALLEGEDLY RIVAL ALLAH, LOVING THEM AS (ONLY) ALLAH SHOULD BE LOVED; WHEREAS THOSE WHO HAVE ATTAINED TO FAITH LOVE ALLAH MORE THAN ALL ELSE. IF THEY WHO ARE BENT ON OFFENSE COULD BUT SEE – AS SEE THEY WILL WHEN THEY ARE MADE TO SUFFER (ON RESURRECTION DAY) – THAT ALL POWER BELONGS TO ALLAH ALONE, & THAT ALLAH IS SEVERE IN (METING OUT) PUNISHMENT! (ON THAT DAY) IT WILL COME TO PASS THAT THOSE WHO HAD BEEN FALSELY ADORED SHALL DISOWN THEIR FOLLOWERS, & THE LATTER SHALL SEE THE SUFFEREING (THAT AWAITS THEM), WITH ALL THEIR HOPES CUT TO PIECES! & THEN THOSE FOLLOWERS SHALL SAY, “WOULD THAT WE HAD A SECOND CHANCE (IN LIFE), SO THAT WE COULD DISOWN THEM AS THEY HAVE DISOWNED US!” THUS WILL ALLAH SHOW THEM THEIR WORKS (IN A MANNER THAT WILL CAUSE THEM) BITTER REGRETS; BUT THEY WILL NOT COME OUT OF THE FIRE. MANKIND! PARTAKE OF WHAT IS LAWFUL & GOOD ON EARTH, & FOLLOW NOT SATAN’S FOOTSTEPS: FOR, VERILY, HE IS YOUR OPEN FOE, & BIDS YOU ONLY TO DO EVIL, & TO COMMIT DEEDS OF ABOMINATION, & TO ATTRIBUTE TO ALLAH SOMETHING OF WHICH YOU HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE. BUT WHEN THEY ARE TOLD, “FOLLOW WHAT ALLAH HAS BESTOWED FROM ON HIGH,” SOME ANSWER, “NO, WE SHALL FOLLOW (ONLY ) THAT WHICH WE FOUND OUR FOREFATHERS BELIEVING IN & DOING.” WHY, EVEN IF THEIR FOREFATHERS DID NOT USE THEIR REASON AT ALL, & WERE DEVOID OF ANY GUIDANCE? & SO, THE PARABLE OF THOSE WHO ARE BENT ON DENYING THE TRUTH IS THAT OF THE BEAST WHICH HEARS THE SHEPHERD’S CRY, & HEARS IN IT NOTHING BUT THE SOUND OF A VOICE & A CALL. DEAF ARE THEY, & DUMB, & BLIND – FOR THEY DO NOT USE THEIR REASON. O YOU WHO ARE COMMITTED TO ALLAH! PARTAKE OF THE GOOD THINGS WE HAVE PROVIDED FOR YOU AS SUSTENANCE, & RENDER THANKS TO ALLAH, IF IT IS (TRULY) HIM YOU CONFORM TO. HE HAS FORBIDDEN TO YOU ONLY CARRION, & BLOOD, & THE FLESH OF SWINE, & THAT OVER WHICH ANY NAME OTHER THAN ALLAH’S HAS BEEN INVOKED; BUT IF ONE IS DRIVEN BY NECESSITY – NEITHER COVETING IT NOR EXCEEDING HIS IMMEDIATE NEED – NO SIN SHALL BE UPON HIM; FOR, BEHOLD, ALLAH IS MUCH-FORGIVING, A DISPENSER OF GRACE. VERILY, AS FOR THOSE WHO SUPPRESS ANY PART OF THE REVELATION WHICH ALLAH HAS BESTOWED FROM ON HIGH, & BARTER IT AWAY FOR A TRIFLING GAIN – THEY BUT FILL THEIR BELLIES WITH FIRE. & ALLAH WILL NOT SPEAK TO THEM ON THE DAY OF RESURRECTION, NOR WILL HE CLEANSE THEM (OF THEIR SINS); & GRIEVOUS SUFFERING AWAITS THEM. IT IS THEY WHO TAKE ERROR IN EXCHANGE FOR GUIDANCE, & SUFFERING IN EXCHANGE FOR FORGIVENESS; YET HOW LITTLE DO THEY SEEM TO FEAR THE FIRE! THUS IT IS: SINCE IT IS ALLAH WHO BESTOWS THE DIVINE WRIT FROM ON HIGH, SETTING FORTH THE TRUTH, ALL THOSE WHO SET THEIR OWN VIEWS AGAINST THE DIVINE WRIT ARE, VERILY, MOST DEEPLY IN THE WRONG. VIRTUE DOES NOT CONSIST IN TURNING YOUR FACES TOWARD THE EAST OR THE WEST – BUT TRULY VIRTUOUS IS HE WHO IS COMMITTED TO ALLAH; & THE LAST DAY; & THE ANGELS; & SCRIPTURE; & THE PROPHETS; & DISTRIBUTES MONEY, HOWEVER MUCH HE HIMSELF MAY CHERISH IT, UPON HIS NEAR OF KIN, & THE ORPHANS, & THE NEEDY, & THE WAYFARER, & THE BEGGARS, & FOR THE FREEING OF HUMAN BEINGS FROM BONDAGE; & UPHOLDS (THE STANDARDS OF) DIVINE COMMUNION, & RENDERS THE PURIFYING DUES (ZAKAH); & (TRULY VIRTUOUS ARE) THEY WHO KEEP THEIR PROMISES WHENEVER THEY PROMISE, & ARE PATIENT IN MISFORTUNE & HARDSHIP & IN TIME OF PERIL: IT IS THEY WHO HAVE PROVED THEMSELVES TRUE, & IT IS THEY, THEY WHO ARE CONSCIOUSLY DEFENSIVE (VIS-À-VIS ALLAH’S POWER) (al-Baqarah: 158-177). This lesson begins by explaining the issue of walking or running between al-Safa & al-Marwah (the 2 hill tops in Makkah); the build-up of traditions & customs concerning this issue made clarification necessary. This is also relevant to al-Masjid al-Haram becoming the Muslims’ qiblah, in the true meaning of the word. Hajj rituals are endorsed with al-Masjid al-Haram as its focus. Next the Quran discusses people of scripture who withhold & conceal what Allah has revealed in His Holy Books. The Quran is scathing against those who hold back what they know should be widely proclaimed. Although the Quran makes room for those who wish to repent & atone for their indecorous acts, those who insist on kufr are damned by the words of Allah. The discourse also includes an emphasis on Allah’s singularity with evidence, in the universal ayaat, attesting to this fact. It denounces those who revere other authorities & deities besides Allah. That is followed by a preview of 2 groups of people on the Day of Resurrection – those who were leaders in the world & those who were followers - & how both of them on that spectacular day will try to deny their role in this world as they foresee their impending torment. Then the guiding words of the Quran turn to the issue of food. These words disclose the truth of this matter which the Yahud had hidden & prevented from being discovered. The words of the Quran invite all people to partake of wholesome & lawful food but to be vigilant of Satan, who bids people to indulge, binge, & be arrogant. This is followed by a remarkable call to the committed Muslims to enjoy the halaal (permissible) & desist from the haraam (forbidden). This dichotomy off lawful vs. unlawful food, which was used as a point of contention by Yahud, who privately knew the truth of the matter, is explained here & put to rest. Then the steering words of the Quran become lightning & thunder against those who know the scriptural truth but conceal it. & to add insult to injury, we are told they get little compensation for doing so. The Quran’s ultimatum to them is horrifying because of the contempt, the wrath, & the slight awaiting them on that coming Day. At the end of this lesson there is a passage on Birr (virtue, righteousness) that speaks to the basis of divine dedication & earthly effort. In this ayah, we are taught what Imaan really is. Imaan consists not onlyof formality or outward gestures & rituals; it is not lining up toward the east or west. It is a sense & a task that comes from being connected to Allah by hand & heart. This Quranic explanation is a follow-up comment on the “controversy” generated by the Yahud about the Muslims’ qiblah. The tone of the Quran still raises a sense of confrontation & battle. On the one hand, it highlights a confrontation inside the human self that demands internal effort to correct misconceptions & distorted values. & on the other hand, it speaks of the battlefield outside in society, where there are currents of conspiracy, calumny, & conceptual concoctions that are maliciously arrayed against Allah’s Din. Clarifying the Significance of al-Safa & al-Marwah (HENCE), BEHOLD,AL-SAFA & AL-MARWAH ARE AMONG THE SYMBOLS SET UP BY ALLAH; & THUS,NO WRONG DOES HE WHO, HAVING COME TO THE HOUSE ON PILGRIMAGE OR ON A RELIGIOUS QUEST, STRIDES TO & FRO BETWEEN THESE TWO; FOR, IF ONE DOES MORE GOOD THAN HE IS BOUND TO DO - BEHOLD,ALLAH IS RESPONSIVE TO GRATITUDE,ALL KNOWING (2:158). In the first instance we have to reconstruct the available facts concerning the advent of this ayah. When this ayah was revealed to Muslims in Madinah, Makkah was under mushrik occupation. Muslims are instructed by Allah to place their seat of power & authority in Makkah when Makkah was out of their reach & out of their control. This explains why the Muslims in Madinah concentrated all their efforts & strategy on Makkah. There were other important cities & towns,but none as important as Makkah because Allah in this ayah & in previous ayat focused muslim attention on Makkah. But this ayah goes even further as it draws the Muslims into internal Makkah: Al-Safa & Al-Marwah. The Quranic citation of Makkan details was a way of binding the Muslims even more to their seat of intergration & power, even though Makkahs decision makers at that time were the front-line enemies of Islam & the committed Muslims. There are several narrations about why this ayah was revealed. But one stands out as a particularly credible explanation given the dynamics & facts of that time, particularly the development of emotional & social ties between the Muhajirun & Ansar as well as the effacing of every worldly -ism that could distract or dilute the popular absorption of Islam. This explanation indicates that some Muslims had their reservations about jogging between Al-Safa & Al-Marwah during the time of Haj & Umrah. Their disinclination had to do with the fact that they used to do this type of jogging in the days of jahiliyah; besides,above these 2 places were 2 idols, Asaaf & Nailah. Therefore,Muslims felt unwilling to repeat what they had been doing during the time of Jahiliyah. 1 hadith related by Asim ibn Sulayman says, I ASKED ANAS ABOUT AL SAFA & AL MARWAH.HE REPLIED,WE USED TO ASSOCIATE THEM WITH THE JAHILIYAH.WHEN ISLAM CAME WE REFRAINED FROM GOING THERE.SO ALLAH SENT THE AYAH,HENCE,BEHOLD,AL SAFA & AL MARWAH ARE AMONG THE RITES SET UP BY ALLAH....(2:158) AL SHABI added the folowing continuation of the above hadith, ASAAF AN IDOL WAS ON AL-SAFA,& NAILAH WAS ON AL-MARWAH.THE JAHILI CUSTOM WAS TO APPROACH THESE IDOLS BUT AFTER ISLAM THIS PRACTICE WAS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO MUSLIMS.SO IT WAS IN THIS CONTEXT & TO THIS FRAME OF MIND THAT THE AYAH WAS REVEALED. The early Muslims were sensitive about continuing to do the things they used to do in Jahiliyah. Islam had given them a fresh beginning, & they did not want to taint it by going back to habits & customs that had been part of their jahili life. This attitude was also evident on other occasions during the transitional period from Jahiliyah to Islam. Thus was the effect of becoming Muslim: they did not want to associate with their unclean past, they did not want to identify with the errant customs of old. They no longer felt any affinity to that past, having developed a revulsion for it. It no longer belonged to them & they no longer belonged to it. To them Jahiliyah was neither to be remembered, nor returned to. The Quran & the Prophet (pbuh) had transformed them so radically that they wanted to distance themselves as much as possible from all things Jahili. The fully fledged & veteran Muslim hates to be affiliated with any vestige of jahiliyah. It was as if the Prophet (pbuh) held them & shook off every shadow & every hint of that Jahiliyah; the elements of their souls & minds were reformulated & realigned to hate Jahiliyah & everything that represents it. Iman stunned them out of their past & charged them with the spirit of Islam. This sensitivity about reverting or rehressing to Jahili norms, feelings, ideas, & behavior is a barometer of a Muslim’s assimilation into Islam. The first contemporaries of Islam could not tolerate anything identified with Jahiliyah, so Allah taught them what belongs to Jahiliyah & what belongs to Islam. These were rites & rituals that had their roots & origins in the practices of Ibrahim (a.s). These need not be surrendered to the Jahili society. They have to be relocated in their proper Islamic context. Muslims need to know if they partake of this Ibrahimi tradition or practice, they do so with the new standards, values & concepts of this Divine Writ (Quran), & not because it was the Jahili custom & convention. This becomes the Islamic reform of authentic scriptural practices, which have no relationship to the Jahili establishment. It is at this level & within this climate that the following ayah was brought to bear on those pioneering Muslims, (HENCE) CERTAINLY, AL-SAFA & AL-MARWAH ARE AMONG THE RITES SET UP BY ALLAH...(2:158). Do not let the Jahili system stand between you & Allah; reclaim what is rightfully Allahs. If you do so you will be serving Allah; your sai between Al-Safa & Al-Marwah has a new spirit, the spirit of Islam,& therefore the jahiliyah has no relationship to it. When your hearts & minds are motivated & moved by Allah, the idols of jahiliyah (in this case Asaaf & Nailah) are irrelevant. In going to these parts of Makkah, even though Makkah is under Jahili occupation & even though this occupation has its idols & icons in these sacred areas, it is your motivation that counts. If you go there to reclaim or recover these symbols of Allah, you will be rewarded & compensated by Allah. & THUS NO WRONG DOES HE WHO,HAVING COME TO THE HOUSE ON PILGRIMAGE OR ON A RELIGIOUS QUEST,STRIDES TO & FRO BETWEEN THESE 2 PLACES:AL SAFA & AL MARWAH.(2:158). In fact, the injunctions of the Quran & the practice of the Prophet (pbuh) approved of almost all the sites of pilgrimage that had been enshrouded in tribal traditions & Arabian folklore in the jahili period, but not the particular actions or rituals conducted there. The entire process was cleansed of all idolatrous associations & jahili imagery. All practices were henceforth adjusted & aligned to their scriptural standards & principles. Everything possible was done to reestablish the original practices & pattern of rites as taught to Ibrahim (a.s) by Allah. The ayah with a clause that encourages voluntary acts, “…FOR, IF ONE DOES MORE GOOD THAN IS REQUIRED OF HIM – BEHOLD, ALLAH IS RESPONSIVE TO GRATITUDE, ALL-KNOWING” (2:158). This is significant, as it implies that going to these Abrahamic symbols of Allah in Makkah is left as a voluntary act, despite the inviting & compelling words of the ayah. There is no order from Allah to go there; but for whomever can make it to Makkah, Allah mentions his generous & abundant reward for those who would extend their greetings to Ibrahim (a.s). The historical significance of al Safa & Al Marwah go all the way back to Ibrahim,Ismail (a.s) & Hajar. Ibrahim (a.s) took Hajar & Ismail (a.s) to the Arabian peninsula (hijaz). He left them in an arid area, with neither people nor water & only a container of dates & a container of water. As he left, Hajar asked him, to whom do you leave us? He answered, to Allah. She replied, i am pleased with Allah. This is when Ibrahim (a,s) turned toward Allah & said, O OUR SUSTAINER! BEHOLD,I HAVE SETTLED SOME OF MY OFFSPRING IN A VALLEY IN WHICH THERE IS NO ARABLE LAND,CLOSE TO YOUR SANCTIFIED TEMPLE,SO THAT,O OUR SUSTAINER,THEY MIGHT DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO A STANDARD OF BINDING TO YOU (SALAH); CAUSE YOU,THEREFORE,PEOPLES HEARTS TO INCLINE TOWARD THEM,& GRANT THEM FRUITFUL SUSTENANCE,SO THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE CAUSE TO BE GRATEFUL (14:37). Soon after Ibrahim (a.s) left on his way back to Palestine, the mother & child ran out of water. The mother was hungry & thirsty, & had no more breast milk for her infant. When the child’s condition became critical the tender mother could not bear to watch; she would run to the hilltop of Al-Safa to see if anyone was in sight, & then to the hilltop of Al-Marwah. Then she would return to her child. She did this 7 times. After the 7th time she heard a voice from where her son was. She immediately called out, Help, if you can. Then she realized it was the Angel Gabriel (a.s) at the well of Zamzam. The child was striking the sand & water was flowing out from under his feet. She began to drink & fed her son. Birds came to the water, & the birds caught the attention of roaming nomads. It was the tribe of Jurham that settled there, & became the keepers of Ibrahims (a.s) family. Ibn Abbas repoted that the Prophet (pbuh) said, that is how, why people stride between them (safa & marwah). Muslims must realize that, while they are running back & forth between these 2 hills,they are following in the footsteps of Hajar. She was tested by means of hunger, fear & a total lack of resources. She was reduced to utter poverty & deprivation. She was brought into the care of Allah by the adverse physical conditions around her. But she did not give up. She was patient & courageous. These qualities solicited Allahs intervention. Now we have kings & presidents going to Haj & briskly walking between these 2 hills, with little apparent realization of the humility & courage associated with the very example they claim to be following. If Hajar were alive today, they probably would not even want to look at her. Yet these very same people are responsible for policies that are breeding millions of Ismails who are dying of malnutrition, hunger, thirst, starvation & famine. The invocation of these meanings in the movement between Al-Safa & Al-Marwah is so profound that Allah permits Muslims to briskly trot as Hajar did to save her infant, for the sake of trying to bring back life to a beloved one who is in the desperate & final moments of life. The initial motivation of a mothers care for her expiring infant is more important than who controls Makkah & the Kabah. The irony nowadays is that there are nominal Muslims who are ruling Makkah & there are habitual Muslims who are visiting it. Yet, both are oblivious of this feminine expression of care, which was so overwhelming, that Allah wanted Muslims to go there & regain these meanings even when there were idols at both Safa & Marwah. Now with the Saudis in charge, there are no material idols there, but instead there are Muslims whose bodies move between Safa & Marwah but whose minds & souls are stationary. This ayah is an education for those who tend to see the surface of things but cannot reach their deeper meanings. The question is whether the presence of idols should deter from an act of devotion (the Sai) that enriches the worshipper, or whether these original meanings should be strong enough to nullify the presence of a few meaningless rocks.
Posted on: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 18:51:00 +0000
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