Welcome Friends: Ahlan wa sahlan!
We ended our last Reading just as Prophet Saleh’s people were destroyed by a quake, and he left them there as he lamented the fact that they did not like al-NaaSiHeen/ the Restorers (of relationships/values etc..).
This is something for us to reflect on:
How do we receive the good advice of people whose only intention is to help us mend?
When we think back to our childhood and teens we realize that our parents were our first ‘naaSiHeen’ before our teachers. Later, some of our friends and our colleagues may have offered us good advice, although -at the time- we may never have liked anyone trying to help us mend our ways.
Only now do we realize the value of ‘naSeeHah/نصيحة ’.
IMPORTANT:
Our regular and discerning readers will notice that each one of the Prophets mentioned, were dealing with a group of people who were –all together- committing one of the Inviolables المحرّمات upon the ‘Straightened Path’ (see Blog Post Day 76 for Straightened Path, and Blog Post Day 77 for deviance from it).
The Straightened Path was detailed in HQ 6:151-153, where we noted that its Inviolables relate to providing all members of society with a wholesome life, bringing together aspects of worship with benevolent attitudes and compassionate behavior, forging relationships untainted by sexual wrongs or fraudulent business.
Yusuf Ali’s Translation of this Chapter.
Muhammad Asad’s Translation of this Chapter.
COMMENTS:
In today’s Reading we will encounter the brief narratives of two Prophets and their people:
Prophet Lot and Prophet Shu’ayb.
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1. Verses 80-81 (from page 159) introduce us to the narrative of Prophet Lot, peace upon him. The ‘people of Lot- قوم لوط’ were violating one of the Inviolables of the Straightened path (commandment number 4 – see Blog Post Day 76), and seem to have been the first community ever to regularly and openly practice homosexual acts ‘in open assemblies’ (HQ 29:29). Prophet Lot calls the men who (continuous tense) were approaching men in lust/desire rather than women: ‘Musrifoon مسرفون.’ or excessive.
It is VERY interesting that the Qur’an calls them ‘Excessive.’ This indicates that they had intentionally ‘exceeded’ in sexual practices what is beyond the wholesome. Look at other verses which mention ‘sarafa’- or being excessive, usually related to insatiable appetites (for food, drink, and now: sex). We’ve already dealt with a few such verses in HQ 6:141; 7:31.
2. Verses 82-84 continue the brief introductory narrative of Lot’s story, his people’s ironic response to him, as well as a summary of what happened to them. Later, other chapters will tell us more.
There is some similarity to the Biblical narrative as well as departure from it; see Ali’s and Asad’s commentaries.
Here we note that God ‘rained upon them rain,’ or ‘maTar/مطر’…and we note that whenever this word appears in the Qur’an it indicates a destructive rain.[1]
ASIDE:
There is a beautiful verse in the Qur’an (HQ2:265) which mentions TWO types of rain, but reading its English explanation (as we did on Day 23) doesn’t show the distinction.
That verse was about spending one’s wealth seeking God’s good-pleasure, giving an example of a fertile garden on high ground upon which there is ‘waabil/وابِل’ a downpour of heavy rain. It will yield its crop twofold- and will even be productive with ‘Tall/طَلّ’ a sprinkling of rain or dew. (What beautiful encouragement to spend!)
So now we know three words meaning ‘rain’ in Arabic, each specific to a certain type of rain, although the common word used by Arabs is ‘maTar/مَطَر’ which has become ‘generic,’ meaning that we use this word for all types of rain.
3. Verse 85 takes us to Prophet Shu’ayb, peace upon him and his tribe of Madyan. Similar to what Prophets Noah, Hud, and Saleh had said, he too tells his people that he was sent to tell them:
“…My People, Worship God; you have no god other than Him ….!”
Here we note that he was called ‘the brother of,’ just as many other Prophets were called, indicating that he was part of that community, bringing his larger family what would benefit them in this life and the next; being a true brother to them.
True brotherhood means wholehearted care for one’s brethren, wanting selflessly what’s best for them, and then advising them humbly as one of them. We see this again and again in the stories of God’s Prophets, peace and blessings upon them all. Knowing that, we might realize the extent of the pain they must have felt as their stories were unfolding to the end.
Within this verse we hear the warning that they should not corrupt the earth after it had been put right (iSlaah/إصلاح).
We might wonder what that means.
To each generation it means what God had commanded at the time.
Their time was different, and they were demanded to do what -to us- is quite basic.
We are interested in what it means TO US, remembering that WE were the ones commanded (and warned) in Verse 56.
What does ‘corrupting the earth after it had been put right’ mean to us today?
We reflect upon this and note that, since the earth seems to have required ‘putting right’ for us, and since The Path we should follow seems to have been ‘straightened’ then perhaps:
The expression ‘corrupting the earth’ means committing any of the Inviolables.
The expression ‘after the earth had been put right’ means after God had rectified and balanced everything upon it for our wholesome existence AND straightened The Path for us through the Messages and Messengers He had been sending, until it was finally straightened for Moses and Aaron and delineated clearly for us in the Qur’an.[2]
So, not corrupting the earth after it had been put right’ seems to tell us (recipients of the Qur’an) not to commit any Inviolable act, now that God had regulated everything on earth for us and given us The Straightened Path to follow.
Furthermore, these words seem to warn us that any Inviolable act we commit will not only affect us personally by taking us off the Straightened Path, but any Inviolable act we commit would be corrupting the earth (but God knows best -والله أعلم).[3]
4. The tribe of Madyan were violating one of the Inviolables of the Straightened path (commandment number 7– Blog Post Day 76), cheating in weight and measure, defrauding, and robbing people of their just dues (see Ali’s note).
They were ‘laying ambush’ in every path (Siraat- صراط) threatening and preventing Those Who had Faith in God from pursuing God’s way (Sabeel-Allah سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ), wanting it to be crooked.
We learn of their actions from Prophet Shu’ayb’s most eloquent address to them in these three verses (85-87) where he commands them to be just in their dealings, ending by telling them all -Those Who had Faith and Trust in his message as well as those who didn’t- to await God’s judgment of their differences.
His words should be inscribed upon our walls (or stuck on our smart-screens). It is no wonder that he is traditionally considered the ‘Orator among Prophets’ or ‘Khateeb el Anbiyaa’ خطيب الأنبياء- peace upon him.
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5. Countering the eloquent address of Prophet Shu’ayb are the threats of the arrogant Chieftains (see Ali’s explanation of verse 88 and his note; all so sadly relevant to us today).
Verse 89 is the response of Those Who Attained Faith to the threats of the Arrogant, together with a supplication to their Lord-Sustainer (in Ali’s explanation):
“We should indeed invent a lie against God, if we returned to your ways after God hath rescued us therefrom; nor could we by any manner of means return thereto unless it be as in the will and plan of God, Our Lord. Our Lord can reach out to the utmost recesses of things by His knowledge. In the God is our trust. our Lord! decide Thou between us and our people in truth, for Thou art the best to decide.”
Arabic Readers might note the word ‘millah/مِلَّة’ in this verse, which we have already encountered as we went through the Qur’an and explained briefly as ‘creed.’ Both Ali and Asad translate it here as ‘ways.’
ASIDE:
Readers using their books and different websites with Yusuf Ali’s explanation might wonder why there seems to be some inconsistency among the different links/books in Yusuf Ali’s explanations,
where he at times says ‘God’ and at other times says ‘Allah.’
The answer is:
Yusuf Ali’s choice was clear; his explanation did NOT include the word ‘Allah.’ He even spoke about why he had consistently used the word ‘God’ in explaining –to English speakers– that the One Whom he had intended was God, The Creator, worshipped by most faiths on earth.
What we now find in all reprints after his death are the publishers’ choices, which I think helped create the division which Yusuf Ali (and Muhammad Asad and all who speak of Islam in languages other than Arabic) have tried to overcome. We have to keep convincing people who don’t speak Arabic that by ‘Allah’ we mean God.[4]
6. In Verse 90 we find that the reaction to Prophet Shu’ayb’s message coming (as is always the case) from the people who happen to be most prominent at the time, trying hard NOT to change the status quo. They try to convince others saying, ‘You would then be Losers,’ while it is they who are dreading the prospect of losing their prominence. The irony is that, had they followed their Messenger, they would have retained prominence both in this life and the next! The next verses tell us who the real losers are.
Verses 91-92 narrate what happened after that (they were taken by the quake) and having belied Prophet Shu’ayb it is they who were THE Losers!
In Verse 93 Prophet Shu’ayb reflects about his good counsel that went unheeded (explained by Asad):
“And he turned away from them, and said: “O my people! Indeed, I delivered unto you my Sustainer’s message and gave you good advice: how, then, could I mourn for people who have denied the truth?”
7. Verses 94-95 hold statements related to the previous Prophets and their people, in Asad’s interpretation:
“AND NEVER YET have We sent a prophet unto any community without trying its people with misfortune and hardship, so that they might humble themselves (94)
Then We transformed the affliction into ease of life, so that they throve and said [to themselves], “Misfortune and hardship befell our forefathers as well” – whereupon We took them to task, all of a sudden, without their being aware [of what was coming].
The word which Asad explains in Verse 94 as ‘humbling themselves’ and Ali explains as ‘learn humility’ is يَضَّرَّعُوۡنَ to which we add the concept of vulnerable dependency, compliance AND conviction. Remember, we spoke earlier on Day 66 about this concept in HQ 6:42 which is quite similar to Verse 94 today, relating to ضرع and how a baby feels towards its mother while being suckled.
Then Verse 95 speaks of relief coming upon that community after which, in time, the next generation dismissively lets go (the memory/ lesson) of the suffering and adversity that had afflicted its parents until God unexpectedly takes them (to account).
What a lesson this should have been for Qureish, and what a lesson this alternation is for us!
The (root) verb ‘afawa/عفو’ here is explained by Asad as ‘to thrive’ and by Ali as ‘to grow and multiply.’ Our lexicographer Ibn Faris said that although linguistics have indeed offered that understanding, the word would still mean to ‘let go of something/ leave something’ -after which it might grow.[5]
So we stand by our understanding of ‘3afu/عفو’ as ‘letting go/absolving/overlooking,’ for God is Al-Afuww/العفوّ.. …. and it is to Him that we ‘nataDharra3/نتضَرَّع’ beseechingly, that He might overlook all our misdeeds and absolve us.
Enough said!
Our next Reading is from HQ 7:96-116
Peace unto all!
[1] There are many words for ‘rain,’ each indicating what kind of rain it is. The beneficial rain mentioned in the Qur’an, the kind that brings relief, is called ‘gheith/غيث’ (soft th- as in ‘think’).
[2] We spoke of THE Straightened Path with the definite article- al SiraaT al Mustaqeem- which appears only in our FaatiHa and in HQ37:118 related to Moses and Aaron, peace upon them.
[3] God knows best… but what seems to reinforce this line of tadabbur is the link between one’s ‘fasaad/corruption’ and the ‘Siraat/path’ one chooses to take, shown in Verse 86 which is the only verse in the Qur’an mentioning both words together, which led me to see the connection between corruption and any path other than The Straightened Path.
[4] See Day 1and the comment: ‘Allah’ is not an uncommon word for ‘God.’
[5]ابن فارس:
عَفَو: أَصْلَانِ يَدُلُّ أَحَدُهُمَا عَلَى تَرْكِ الشَّيْءِ، وَالْآخَرُ عَلَى طَلَبِهِ. ثُمَّ يَرْجِعُ إِلَيْهِ فُرُوعٌ كَثِيرَةٌ لَا تَتَفَاوَتُ فِي الْمَعْنَى.
“وَقَالَ أَهْلُ اللُّغَةِ كُلُّهُمْ: يُقَالُ مِنَ الشَّعْرِ عَفَوْتُهُ وَعَفَيْتُهُ، مِثْلُ قَلَوْتُهُ وَقَلَيْتُهُ، وَعَفَا فَهُوَ عَافٍ، وَذَلِكَ إِذَا تَرَكْتَهُ حَتَّى يَكْثُرَ وَيَطُولَ. قَالَ اللَّهُ – تَعَالَى -: {حَتَّى عَفَوْا} [الأعراف: 95] أَيْ نَمَوْا وَكَثُرُوا. وَهَذَا يَدُلُّ عَلَى مَا قُلْنَاهُ، أَنَّ أَصْلَ الْبَابِ فِي هَذَا الْوَجْهِ التَّرْكُ.”