Surah Al-Hadid (57) — Ayah 27

(Ayah 27) ➊ Derived from { ثُمَّ قَفَّيْنَا عَلٰۤى اٰثَارِهِمْ بِرُسُلِنَا: ’’ قَفَّيْنَا ‘‘ ’’ قَفًا‘‘}, which means the nape (the back part of the neck). {’’ اٰثَارِ‘‘ ’’أَثَرٌ‘‘} is the plural, meaning footprints. The meaning is that after the previous messengers, other messengers were sent in such a way that one would come behind the other, following in his footsteps. The teachings of all were the same and all were travelers on the same path.

➋ { وَ قَفَّيْنَا بِعِيْسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ وَ اٰتَيْنٰهُ الْاِنْجِيْلَ:} The mention of ‘Isa (Jesus) عليه السلام is made separately and specifically because, before the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), he was the last to be sent. Allah granted him the Injil (Gospel), which emphasized adherence to the Torah and announced leniency in some of its strict rulings, as He said: « وَ لِاُحِلَّ لَكُمْ بَعْضَ الَّذِيْ حُرِّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ » [ آل عمران : ۵۰ ] “And so that I may make lawful for you some of that which was forbidden to you.” However, he too was a follower of the same path as the previous messengers, which included the teaching of jihad.

➌ { وَ جَعَلْنَا فِيْ قُلُوْبِ الَّذِيْنَ اتَّبَعُوْهُ رَاْفَةً وَّ رَحْمَةً: ’’ رَاْفَةً ‘‘} is the mercy that relates to removing harm or difficulty from someone, as He said: « وَ لَا تَاْخُذْكُمْ بِهِمَا رَاْفَةٌ فِيْ دِيْنِ اللّٰهِ اِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُؤْمِنُوْنَ بِاللّٰهِ وَ الْيَوْمِ الْاٰخِرِ » [ النور : ۲ ] “And do not let pity for them seize you concerning Allah’s religion, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day.” Whereas the word {’’ رَحْمَةً ‘‘} is general, encompassing every kind of mercy, especially that which involves bringing benefit. See the commentary of Surah Hajj, Ayah (65): « اِنَّ اللّٰهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَءُوْفٌ رَّحِيْمٌ». The meaning of placing compassion and mercy in the hearts of those who followed ‘Isa (Jesus) عليه السلام is that the book Injil, which Allah granted him, was fundamentally a book of admonition and reminder, not of rulings, in which they were especially urged to adopt gentleness and merciful character. Thus, they acted upon this, and following the example of ‘Isa (Jesus) عليه السلام further strengthened this trait in them. Since all this happened by Allah’s grace and favor, it is said that We placed compassion and mercy in the hearts of those who followed him.

The emphasis on compassion and mercy in the Injil was because ‘Isa (Jesus) عليه السلام was sent to reform the souls of Bani Isra’il and to remove the hardness that had developed in their hearts over long periods, as He said: « ثُمَّ قَسَتْ قُلُوْبُكُمْ مِّنْۢ بَعْدِ ذٰلِكَ فَهِيَ كَالْحِجَارَةِ اَوْ اَشَدُّ قَسْوَةً » [ البقرۃ : ۷۴ ] “Then after that your hearts became hardened, so they are like stones, or even harder.” The companions of ‘Isa (Jesus) عليه السلام, unlike the Jews, were extremely gentle and kind among themselves. This quality was also very prominent among the companions of our Prophet (peace be upon him), as He said: «وَ الَّذِيْنَ مَعَهٗۤ اَشِدَّآءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَآءُ بَيْنَهُمْ » [ الفتح : ۲۹ ] “And those who are with him are severe against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves.”

➍ { وَ رَهْبَانِيَّةً ابْتَدَعُوْهَا:’’رَهَبَ يَرْهَبُ رَهْبًا ‘‘} (f) To fear. {’’رَاهِبٌ‘‘} One who fears. {’’ رَهْبَانٌ ‘‘} (on the pattern of {فَعْلاَنٌ}) One who fears greatly. {’’ رَهْبَانِيَّةَ ‘‘} is related to {’’رَهْبَانٌ‘‘}, meaning to adopt the way of the monks, who, out of intense fear, do not marry so that wife and children do not become an obstacle in their worship, and they isolate themselves from people so that they are not distracted from worship. They avoid delicious foods and drinks to protect themselves from worldly greed and desires of the self, so they build huts in the wilderness, away from settlements, and engage in worship. This is not the way of the prophets, nor did they teach it, nor did Allah command it. Their way was to call to Allah’s oneness and His religion, and to eliminate those who obstructed His path with the use of iron (force). So those who chose the path of renunciation of the world and abandoned the work of da’wah and jihad, this was their own invention; Allah did not command them to do so. Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: [ لَمَّا كَانَ مِنْ أَمْرِ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ مَظْعُوْنٍ الَّذِيْ كَانَ مِنْ تَرْكِ النِّسَاءِ بَعَثَ إِلَيْهِ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ يَا عُثْمَانُ! إِنِّيْ لَمْ أُوْمَرْ بِالرَّهْبَانِيَّةِ أَرَغِبْتَ عَنْ سُنَّتِيْ ؟ قَالَ لاَ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ! قَالَ إِنَّ مِنْ سُنَّتِيْ أَنْ أُصَلِّيَ وَأَنَامَ، وَأَصُوْمَ وَأَطْعَمَ، وَ أَنْكِحَ وَ أُطَلِّقَ، فَمَنْ رَغِبَ عَنْ سُنَّتِيْ فَلَيْسَ مِنِّيْ ] [ سنن دارمي : 179/2، ح : ۲۱۶۹، قال المحقق حسین سلیم أسد الداراني إسنادہ صحیح و الحدیث متفق علیہ ] “When the matter of ‘Uthman bin Maz’un (may Allah be pleased with him) abandoning women occurred, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sent for him and said: ‘O ‘Uthman! I have not been commanded to practice monasticism. Have you turned away from my way?’ He said: ‘No, O Messenger of Allah!’ The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘Part of my way is that I pray and I sleep, I fast and I eat, and I marry women and I divorce, so whoever turns away from my way is not of me.’”

Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said that three men came to the houses of the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him) asking about his worship. When they were informed, it was as if they considered it little and said: “Where are we compared to the Prophet (peace be upon him)? Allah has forgiven his past and future sins.” One of them said: “I will pray all night and never sleep.” The second said: “I will fast every day and never break my fast.” The third said: “I will keep away from women and never marry.” The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) came and said: [ أَنْتُمُ الَّذِيْنَ قُلْتُمْ كَذَا وَ كَذَا ؟ أَمَا وَاللّٰهِ ! إِنِّيْ لَأَخْشَاكُمْ لِلّٰهِ وَأَتْقَاكُمْ لَهُ، لٰكِنِّيْ أَصُوْمُ وَ أُفْطِرُ، وَ أُصَلِّيْ وَ أَرْقُدُ وَأَتَزَوَّجُ النِّسَاءَ، فَمَنْ رَغِبَ عَنْ سُنَّتِيْ فَلَيْسَ مِنِّيْ ] [ بخاري، النکاح، باب الترغیب في النکاح … : ۵۰۶۳ ] “Are you the ones who said such and such? Listen! By Allah, I am the most fearing of Allah among you and the most pious, but I fast and I do not fast, I pray and I sleep, and I marry women. So whoever turns away from my way is not of me.”

➎ { مَا كَتَبْنٰهَا عَلَيْهِمْ:} That is, We did not command them to practice monasticism, but they invented it themselves.

➏ { اِلَّا ابْتِغَآءَ رِضْوَانِ اللّٰهِ:} This is a disconnected exception and is in the meaning of {’’ اِلَّا ‘‘ ’’لٰكِنْ‘‘}: {’’أَيْ مَا كَتَبْنَا هَا عَلَيْهِمْ لٰكِنْ فَعَلُوْهَا ابْتِغَاءَ رِضْوَانِ اللّٰهِ‘‘} “That is, We did not command them to do this, but they did (this renunciation of the world) to seek Allah’s pleasure.” It can also mean: {’’ لٰكِنْ كَتَبْنَا عَلَيْهِمُ ابْتِغَاءَ رِضْوَانِ اللّٰهِ‘‘} That is, We did not command them to practice monasticism, but We did command them to seek Allah’s pleasure.

➐ { فَمَا رَعَوْهَا حَقَّ رِعَايَتِهَا:} Those who adopted monasticism are condemned in two ways: first, that they invented something in the religion which Allah had not commanded; second, that after inventing monasticism and imposing upon themselves the restrictions of renunciation of the world, they could not fulfill them as they should have. Our Shaykh Muhammad Abduh writes: “That is, they committed two crimes: one, they made monasticism (asceticism) an inseparable part of the religion, and then they did not even observe the rights and etiquettes of this asceticism. In the beginning, they tried to combine monotheism and asceticism, but after the third century of the Messiah (Jesus) عليه السلام, they were misled by their kings and got entangled in the doctrine of the Trinity, abandoning monotheism. Then, not only did they abandon asceticism, but they even lost the essence of faith. They made asceticism a means of seeking power and leadership and began to consume people’s wealth through false means. In short, abandoning the duty of jihad and adopting the rituals of Sufism is monasticism, which the Qur’an has condemned, and then making asceticism or religious leadership a means of seeking power and worldly gain instead of Allah’s pleasure is an unforgivable sin, which became a widespread epidemic among the Jews and Christians.” (Ashraf al-Hawashi) Shah Abdul Qadir says: “This poverty and renunciation of the world was a custom invented by the Christians; they would sit in the wilderness, not marry, not have children, not earn or save, only worship, and not mix with people. Allah did not impose this command on His servants, but when they named themselves as renouncers of the world, then to seek the world under this guise is a great calamity.” (Muwaddih) Nowadays, daily newspapers are full of reports of fornication and the acts of the people of Lot among Jewish scholars and Christian monks in Christian churches, which is a practical commentary on this {’’ فَمَا رَعَوْهَا حَقَّ رِعَايَتِهَا ‘‘}.

➑ According to the statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) {’’ لَتَتَّبِعُنَّ سُنَنَ مَنْ قَبْلَكُمْ ‘‘}, monasticism also became prevalent in the Muslim Ummah in the form of Sufism. [ دیکھیے بخاري : ۳۴۵۶ ] Instead of striving to make Islam dominant in the world and jihad, renunciation of the world became the ideal, and instead of monotheism, saint-worship and grave-worship spread. The stage of ihsan was that a person should worship Allah as if he sees Him, and if he does not see Him, then surely He sees him. In Sufism, instead of this, the ideal became to keep the image of the Shaykh in such a way that not for a moment is he absent from the heart, mind, or eyes. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did not leave any way to attain closeness to Allah that he did not teach, but here, abandoning those ways, the methods of Christian monks and Hindu yogis became the means of attaining closeness to Allah. For example, instead of fasting, the 'Jamali' and 'Jalali' forms of abstaining from animal products, was practiced, meaning not eating any animal or anything derived from it, such as meat, milk, or ghee. Instead of reciting the Qur’an and prescribed remembrances, holding the breath and self-invented litanies, accompanied by the shirk of imagining the Shaykh, were considered the authentic way to attain sainthood. Instead of working and earning, living off people’s offerings or scraps from begging became the stage of poverty. Instead of striving to make Islam dominant in the world with the sword of jihad along with the call of the Qur’an, chanting “Hu Haqq” in jungles, wildernesses, tombs, and monasteries became the purpose of life.

Mosques became deserted and graves became populated, and so many false stories of the piety and spiritual authority of those who did these things became famous that the legends of Christian monks and Hindu yogis’ sainthood paled in comparison. With the false ways of the Jewish scholars and Christian monks, there remained no method of consuming people’s wealth and preventing them from Allah’s path that was not adopted here. Those who could not do these things due to worldly occupations also considered serving these “God-reached” personalities sufficient for salvation instead of following the Book and Sunnah, and, considering them their intercessors on the Day of Judgment, became free from action. The result is evident to all in the form of the dominance of the disbelievers and the humiliation and enslavement of the Muslims. The remedy is still the same as mentioned in this blessed Surah: that instead of monasticism, the whole life should be spent according to the commands of Allah and His Messenger, that instead of man-made ways, only the acts proven from the Book and Sunnah should be adhered to, and that Allah’s religion should be made dominant through jihad in His path, sparing no sacrifice of life and wealth. Because just as the teachings of the Torah and Injil were fighting in the way of Allah instead of monasticism, so too is the teaching of the Qur’an. The proof is this verse: «إِنَّ اللّٰهَ اشْتَرٰى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ اَنْفُسَهُمْ وَ اَمْوَالَهُمْ بِاَنَّ لَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ يُقَاتِلُوْنَ فِيْ سَبِيْلِ اللّٰهِ فَيَقْتُلُوْنَ وَ يُقْتَلُوْنَ وَعْدًا عَلَيْهِ حَقًّا فِي التَّوْرٰىةِ وَ الْاِنْجِيْلِ وَ الْقُرْاٰنِ » [ التوبۃ : ۱۱۱ ] “Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the way of Allah, so they kill and are killed. [It is] a true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur’an.”

➒ { فَاٰتَيْنَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا مِنْهُمْ اَجْرَهُمْ:} This includes two types of people: first, those who, instead of monasticism and its self-invented beliefs and practices such as the Trinity, grave-worship, and renunciation of the world, remained firm on correct faith and action as established by the Torah and Injil, so Allah granted them their reward; and second, those who lived in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and believed in him, so Allah granted them their reward as well.

➓ {وَ كَثِيْرٌ مِّنْهُمْ فٰسِقُوْنَ :} That is, many among them were not willing to accept the command of Allah and His Messenger against their own desires.