Welcome Friends: Ahlan wa sahlan!
With our next reading we begin Section 3 of the Qur’an, which is divided into 30 sections.
We are progressing slowly and surely, with God’s grace.
COMMENTS:
- Having initially called upon Those who Attained Faith in Verse 228, we now find Verse 238 continuing its address to them, telling them to uphold[1] and maintain[2] communion/prayers/relationships in general, then specifically mentioning THE central/balanced/wusTaa[3] communion. This verse has been explained in several ways, see Yusuf Ali and Muhammad Asad. Some have taken this to mean the Asr/afternoon prayer (which is the third among five), while others have said that it is about performing all prayers in the best, most balanced way. Here we recall Verse 2:143, which had honored the first recipients of the Qur’an by telling them that God had rendered them a central and balanced community, ‘Ummatan Wasatan,’ so as to bear witness over all mankind, and to stand steadfast before God in sincere devotion.
These regular prayers which Those Who Attained Faith (Allatheena-Aamanu) perform daily are the physical and mental ‘time-out’ we take from worldly matters to enter a state where we become conscious of our Creator alone and of our relationship with Him. Ideally, these acts of worship build our self-confidence and will-power, enhance our spirituality, strengthen family and community ties, and enable us to be more generous towards others.
- Prayer, or ‘standing steadfast before God,’ is so important that devotees can pray in any manner suited to their physical ability, for it is the soul which seeks its Creator during prayer. That is why we often observe elderly people praying while seated, and invalids praying while lying in bed. There also is a version suited to times of battle. When surrounded by danger, devotees can perform a condensed form of prayer, where they take turns prostrating, traditionally called ‘Salatul Khawf,’ (Prayer in times of Fear: HQ4:101-102). There actually are many other prayers, whether it be to offer gratitude or penance, during Ramadan or Eid, to seek guidance for oneself or blessings upon a departed soul.
- Verses 240-243 are about maintaining the widow and the divorcee. An interesting concept touched upon here is the concept of ‘ma’roof’ and ‘munkar’ (المعروف و المنكر). Yusuf Ali translates the word ‘ma’roof’ as ‘reasonable’ in both verses, while Asad translates it first as ‘lawful manner’ (240), and in the next verse as ‘goodly manner’ (241).
‘Ma’roof’ from the verb ‘arafa’ literally means to feel reassured by something; the opposite of which is ‘Munkar,’ or intimidating.[4] Depending on usage, I think we might safely translate this concept as the ‘Mutually Acceptable, and Mutually Objectionable. This concept is just as important as it is broad, but has nevertheless set a guideline for the community, whose duty it is to ‘enjoin the ‘Ma’roof’ and to forbid the ‘Munkar.’ These two words are mentioned together معروف منكر no less than 9 times in the Qur’an.
- An important question comes to mind: What does it mean when God says that a widow might eventually do with herself what she wills in an ‘acceptable’ manner, or that a divorcee should be given maintenance according to what is ‘acceptable’ at any given time? It means that such a society is a vibrant one, setting standards that serve the needs of all its citizens, and are therefore mutually accepted by them. It is Consultation or ‘Shura’ شورى’ (HQ 42:38) which should be setting these standards according to civic requirements, with heavy women’s presence in family (which unfortunately often isn’t the case). Nevertheless, ‘Ma’roof,’ is a Right, and the onus for fulfilling it is upon the shoulders of the Aware “حقاً على المتقين”.
- Verse 242, immediately after that, speaks of God making clear His Signs ‘so that you might secure knowledge لعلكم تعقلون.’
- Verses 243-248 give us historical narratives by which we can learn lessons.
Verses 243-244 are well-explained by Muhammad Asad who notes, regarding the words “and ‘qaatilu/fight’ in God’s way” that the topic is ‘a just war in self-defense against oppression or unprovoked aggression.’ Ali calls this ‘jihaad,’ and tells us ‘to be under no illusion about it.’
This certainly is an important topic, and we will speak of it again. For now, let’s just note the meaning of the imperative verb ‘qaatilu/fight,’ which appears in the Qur’an eleven times in plural, once in singular.[5]
From the root verb ‘qatala,’ it is about humiliating/humbling someone and also about causing them to die. That gives us a good idea as to the purpose of engaging in ‘qitaal’ a fight or battle with enemies; to humble the foes, not necessarily to ‘kill’ them. This meaning is so obvious in the rest of the definition, when one of the oldest lexicons gives example of a maiden who ‘taqattalat/humbled herself’ to a man so that he became enamored with her.
Today, in our colloquial Arabic, we say: I ‘qataltu’ myself .. or he ‘qatala’ himself to get something done, meaning tried very hard. And we often say that two people ‘taqaatalu’ over something, meaning they both vied for it with great gusto, usually with no weapons on hand, nor any intention to kill each other. Nevertheless, we should not be disempowering this powerful word. We must try to understand each word as per its original meaning, within the context it appears, so as to grasp what it was intended to convey.
Here we may think of revisiting Verse 2:191, now that we understand the root-verb ‘qatala’ better. The meaning of that verse doesn’t change, but this definition helps us understand that one can do whatever necessary to evict anyone who had usurped your homes/land.
- RESEARCH EXERCISE: try this: copy & paste these words معروف منكر in the Tanzil page where it says Qur’an Search on right, and press GO. See what you get! Click any verse you wish, it opens a full Arabic page. Click tab which says ‘Translation’ and read it in English.
Enough said!
Our next reading is from verse 249-256.
Have a great weekend and keep up the good work!
Peace unto all!
[1] قوم: أصلانِ صحيحان، يدلُّ أحدهما على جماعةِ ناسٍ، وربِّما استعير في غيرهمْ. والآخَر على انتصابٍ أو عَزْم.
فالأوّل: القوم، يقولون: جمع امرئٍ، ولا يكون ذلك إلاّ للرِّجال. قال الله تعالى: {لا يَسْخَرْ قَوْمٌ مِنْ قَوْمٍ} [الحجرات 11]، ثمَّ قال: {وَلاَ نِسَاءٌ مِنْ نِسَاءٍ} [الحجرات 11].
وأمّا الآخر فقولُهم: قامَ قياماً، والقَوْمة المَرَّةُ الواحدة، إذا انتصب. ويكون قامَ بمعنى العَزيمة، كما يقال: قامَ بهذا الأمر، إذا اعتنَقَه. وهم يقولون في الأوَّل: قيامٌ حتم، وفي الآخر: قيامٌ عَزْم.
[2] حفظ: يدلُّ على مراعاةِ الشيء. يقال حَفِظْتُ الشيءَ حِفْظاً. والغَضَبُ: الحفيظة؛ وذلك أنّ تلك الحالَ تدعو إلى مراعاة الشيء. يقال أحفَظَنِي أي أغضَبَني. والتحفظ: قلّة الغَفلة. والحِفاظ: المحافَظة على الأمور.
[3] وَسَطَ: يَدُلُّ عَلَى الْعَدْلِ وَالنِّصْفِ. وَأَعْدَلُ الشَّيْءِ: أَوْسَطُهُ وَوَسَطُهُ. قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: {أُمَّةً وَسَطًا} [البقرة: 143] … وَوَسْطَ الْقَوْمِ بِسُكُونِهَا وَهُوَ أَوْسَطُهُمْ حَسَبًا، إِذَا كَانَ فِي وَاسِطَةِ قَوْمِهِ وَأَرْفَعِهِمْ مَحَلًّا.
[4] عرف: السكون والطُّمَأنينة.
المعَرِفة والعِرفان. تقول: عَرَف فلانٌ فلاناً عِرفاناً ومَعرِفة. وهذا أمر معروف. وهذا يدلُّ على ما قلناه من سُكونه إليه، لأنَّ مَن أنكر شيئاً توحَّشَ منه ونَبَا عنْه.
والعُرْف: المعروف، وسمِّي بذلك لأنَّ النفوس تسكُن إليه.
نكر: خلاف المعرفة التي يَسكُن إليها القَلب. ونَكِرَ الشَّيءَ وأنكَره: لم يَقْبَلْه قلبُه ولم يعترِفْ به لسانُه.
والنَّكْراء: الأمر الصعب الشَّديد. ونَكُرَ الأمرُ نَكَارةً. والإنكار: خِلاف الاعتراف. والتنكُّر: التَّنقُّل من حالٍ تَسُرُّ إلى أخرى تُكْرَه.
[5] قَتَلَ: يَدُلُّ عَلَى إِذْلَالٍ وَإِمَاتَةٍ. يُقَالُ: قَتَلَهُ قَتْلًا. وَالْقِتْلَةُ: الْحَالُ يُقْتَلُ عَلَيْهَا. يُقَالُ قَتَلَهُ قِتْلَةَ سُوءٍ. وَالْقَتْلَةُ: الْمَرَّةُ الْوَاحِدَةُ. وَمَقَاتِلُ الْإِنْسَانِ: الْمَوَاضِعُ الَّتِي إِذَا أُصِيبَتْ قَتَلَهُ ذَلِكَ. وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ: قَتَلْتُ الشَّيْءَ خُبْرًا وَعِلْمًا….وَيُقَالُ: تَقَتَّلَتِ الْجَارِيَةُ لِلرَّجُلِ حَتَّى عَشِقَهَا، كَأَنَّهَا خَضَعَتْ لَهُ.