Surah Aal-i-Imraan (3) — Ayah 110

(Ayah110) ➊ {كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ اُمَّةٍ … :} That is, this ummah is better than every other ummah in these two qualities: enjoining good, that is, jihad, and faith, that is, strict adherence to monotheism. No other religion has such strict adherence to these. (Muwaddih) Before these two qualities, another quality is also mentioned, and that is {’’اُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ ‘‘}—that this ummah has been created for the welfare and reform of people. Remember! By enjoining good and forbidding evil is meant jihad, whether by hand, tongue, or heart. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) explained this verse by saying: [ خَيْرَ النَّاسِ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْتُوْنَ بِهِمْ فِي السَّلاَسِلِ فِيْ أَعْنَاقِهِمْ حَتّٰي يَدْخُلُوْا فِي الإِسْلاَمِ ] [ بخاری، التفسیر، باب : «کنتم خیر أمۃ أخرجت للناس» : ۴۵۵۷ ] "You are the best of all people for the people, as you bring them with chains around their necks until they enter Islam." Muawiyah bin Haydah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You are completing seventy (70) nations, of which you are the best and most honorable in the sight of Allah." [ أحمد : 447/4، ح : ۲۰۰۳۷۔ ترمذی، التفسیر، باب ومن سورۃ آل عمران : ۳۰۰۱ و حسنہ الألبانی ]

➋ Some people command good and say that by this, people will automatically leave evil; if that were so, there would be no command to forbid evil, and the greatest evil—shirk and disbelief—would not be obligatory to stop by the tongue and to fight (qital).

➌ {وَ تُؤْمِنُوْنَ بِاللّٰهِ :} That is, in enjoining good and forbidding evil, you do not care about the worldly losses that may occur in your business.

➍ {خَيْرَ اُمَّةٍ:} One meaning has already passed, that this ummah is better than all other ummahs, and the second meaning is that this address is to the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), that you are the best among the entire ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), because enjoining good and forbidding evil (jihad) and faith in Allah (pure monotheism) are found in you to the highest degree. This shows the virtue of the Companions, and dust be upon the mouths of those who declare them disbelievers. In summary, both meanings are correct in terms of the words, and in reality, it is so.

➎ The quality of being the best ummah is conditional upon a few conditions: the welfare and reform of people, enjoining good and forbidding evil (jihad), and faith in Allah (pure monotheism). When these things no longer remain in this ummah, it will be deprived of the quality of being the best ummah, just as it is mentioned about the Jews: «كَانُوْا لَا يَتَنَاهَوْنَ عَنْ مُّنْكَرٍ فَعَلُوْهُ » [ المائدۃ : ۷۹ ] "They did not forbid one another from the evil they used to do." Just as is now the case with this ummah.

➏ {وَ لَوْ اٰمَنَ اَهْلُ الْكِتٰبِ … :} In this verse, the People of the Book are encouraged to accept Islam, and it is expressed that some among them are believers, but most are defiantly disobedient, and this is Allah's will, whose wisdom He alone knows, as He said: «وَ مَاۤ اَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ وَ لَوْ حَرَصْتَ بِمُؤْمِنِيْنَ » [ یوسف : ۱۰۳ ] "And most people, even if you strive [for it], will not be believers." This also refutes democracy, of whatever kind it may be.

110. 1. In this verse, the Muslim Ummah has been declared the 'best nation,' and its reason has also been stated, which is enjoining good, forbidding evil, and faith in Allah. That is, if this Ummah continues to possess these distinguishing characteristics, it is the best nation; otherwise, it can be deprived of this distinction. After this, the condemnation of the People of the Book also seems intended to clarify the same point: whoever does not enjoin good and forbid evil will also be considered similar to the People of the Book. Their characteristic has been described: they do not stop each other from evil, and here in this very verse, the majority of them have been called transgressors. Is enjoining good and forbidding evil an individual obligation or a collective obligation? According to most scholars, it is a collective obligation. That is, it is the responsibility of the scholars to fulfill this obligation because only they have the correct knowledge of what is legally good and evil. By their fulfillment of the duty of preaching and inviting, this obligation is lifted from other individuals. Just as jihad, in normal circumstances, is also a collective obligation, meaning that its fulfillment by one group suffices for the obligation.

110. 2. Like Abdullah bin Salam (RA) and others who became Muslim. However, their number was very small. Therefore, in مِنْهمْ, مِنْ is for denoting a part.

110. (O Muslims! At this time) you are the best community raised for the benefit of mankind: you enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah [99]. If the People of the Book had believed [100], it would have been better for them. Some of them are believers, but most of them are defiantly disobedient.

[99]
The Importance of Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil:

Reflect that having faith in Allah is prior to all other deeds and actions. However, the mention of enjoining good and forbidding evil has been made first solely to clarify the importance of enjoining good and forbidding evil. Along with this, it has also been clarified that O Muslims! You are the best nation only because you forbid evil deeds and enjoin good deeds. In other words, this means that as long as Muslims continue to enjoin good and forbid evil, they will remain the best nation, and when they become negligent in this duty, they will no longer be the best nation. Evil deeds include disbelief, polytheism, innovations, vile customs, immorality and wickedness of all kinds, indecency, and irrational matters, and the duty to prevent them is incumbent upon every Muslim individually as well as collectively upon the Muslim Ummah. Everyone must fulfill this duty according to their own status and ability. Thus, it is mentioned in an authentic hadith that when any one of you sees an evil, he should remove it with his hand, and if he cannot do so, then with his tongue, and if he cannot do even that, then at least he should consider it evil in his heart, and this is the weakest level of faith. [مسلم۔ كتاب الايمان۔ باب كون النهي عن المنكر من الايمان] And good deeds refer to pure monotheism, fulfillment of the pillars of Islam, participation in jihad with wealth and self, avoidance of innovations, fulfillment of the rights of relatives, and showing kindness, brotherhood, sympathy, and goodwill to all Muslims, etc.

[100]
The Excellence of the Muslim Ummah:

There was a time when Allah Almighty granted the Children of Israel excellence over all the worlds. But not only did they abandon the duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil, they themselves became involved in numerous major crimes, so Allah Almighty took away from them the responsibility of leadership and guidance of the whole world and entrusted it to the Muslim Ummah. Now the excellence that they had was given to the Muslim Ummah, and the clear sign of this change in leadership was the change of Qiblah. Therefore, the Jews were never as agitated over anything as they were over the change of Qiblah. And this excellence is Allah’s gift; He gives it to whomever He deems appropriate. Thus, Abdullah bin Umar ؓ says that the Noble Prophet ﷺ said: Your position in comparison to the previous peoples (Jews and Christians) is like the time from Asr until sunset. The people of the Torah were given the Torah. They worked from morning until noon, then became tired, so they were each given one qirat. The people of the Gospel were given the Gospel, they worked until the Asr prayer, then became tired, and they too were each given one qirat. Then we Muslims were given the Quran. We worked from Asr until sunset (and completed the work), so we were given two qirats each. Now the People of the Book said: “O Lord! You gave them two qirats each and us one each, even though we did more work than them.” Allah the Exalted replied to them: “Did I reduce any of the wages I had agreed with you?” They said: “No.” Allah Almighty said: “Then this is My grace; I give whatever I wish to whomever I wish.” [بخاري، كتاب مواقيت الصلٰوة باب من ادرك ركعة من العصر قبل المغرب] In this verse, the People of the Book are being told that if they had believed, they could have been saved from the disgrace and humiliation that has become their destiny. If they had joined the best of nations, their honor would have increased in this world and they would have received double reward in the Hereafter. But after the truth became clear, the majority of them persisted in disobedience and only harmed themselves.