Welcome Friends: Ahlan wa sahlan!!
COMMENTS:
1. Today’s Reading starts with Verse 9 which holds a Promise “wa’ad” -وعد- made to Those Who Attained Faith and performed good deeds, that they shall indeed obtain Forgiveness and a great reward. As we always see in the Qur’an, attaining faith and performing good deeds must go hand-in-hand, the latter being proof of the former. Then, after persuasion comes dissuasion in Verse 10 to those who Deny and belie God’s Signs, that they shall indeed be the companions of the Inferno!
2. Verse 11 holds 3 commands:
It first calls upon those Who Attained Faith, telling them to bring to mind God’s Favor/Bounty upon them when they were weak, at which point hostile people attempted to extend their reach to them (extend their abilities/powers/their aydee/ control over them أيديهم.)[1] God had gripped and halted ‘–كفَّ- /kaffa’ the aydee/powers of those who were about to reach out to hurt them, a development worth recalling to reflect on God’s grace. Then they are told to be aware of God, to have Taqwa. Finally they are told that it is upon God that the Faithful should rely.[2]
Here we might ask ourselves, that although we do rely on God completely in matters beyond our capacity, shouldn’t we rely on Him equally in matters within our capacity, as these are the responsibilities we are entrusted with and accountable for?
Indeed. When we have resolved to do something, we should rely on God and exert ourselves, putting to work all the means He has provided, knowing that it is only with His support that we could accomplish anything, let alone affect the best outcome.[3]
Remember HQ3:159, the verse addressed to Prophet Muhammad,ﷺ which instructed him to consult with his followers, but once he has taken a decision, he should (thereafter) rely on God, for indeed God loves those who rely on Him.
Follow this link “الله يحب” in the Tanzil website to know whom ‘God loves.’ It is not surprising to find that persons who are Aware and those who are Fair are most-mentioned.
Furthermore (see HQ16:99), isn’t ‘tawakkul/reliance’ on God a veritable barrier from the influence of the Deviant/SheyTaan?[4]
Speaking of negative influence, in yesterday’s Reading we learnt that we should not let superstition or divination define our actions or influence our future. The reason why this is so dangerous is because when we believe that ‘any-thing’ has control over events, making them inevitable, we are dabbling in shirk by awarding ultimate power to the powerless, and then also being in-the-moment denial/kufraan (extreme covering, in the now) of the God-given abilities we possess!
Our collective human actions (whether general a’maal or specific af’aal -see Day 34) contribute to bring about a happening within the realm of possibilities that God had compiled/kataba/كَتَبَ.[5] It is not the compilation ‘kitaab’ that has power, but God Himself. In HQ 13:39 we note that it is He Who affirms or deletes what He wishes to from any ‘kitaab.’
God Alone is Omnipotent.
3. Verse 12 discusses the ‘covenant/ solemn pledge’ (Ali/Asad) God took from Bani Isra-eel, that God will be with them, will overlook their trespasses and reward them with Gardens beneath which rivers flow IF they did the following:
· Upheld regular Communion/Prayer.
· Delivered regular Zakaat/purification of their dues & grew in purity.
· Had Faith and trust in God’s Messengers.
· Assisted God’s Messengers.
· Offered to God a beautiful loan (of good deeds to be returned to them manifold on Judgment Day).
4. As Readers will note in Verse 13, they ‘breached their covenant/ broke their solemn pledge’ (Ali/Asad) with God, deserving His rejection and incurring a hardening of their hearts/minds. Read the full verse. It is interesting to note that God asks Muhammad, peace upon him, to overlook and forgive them, for indeed God loves the ‘Muhsins,’ those who do deeds of goodness disregarding mitigating factors (in themselves or others. Did you notice in the Tanzil exercise above that the Qur’an twice mentions ‘…God loves the Muhsins?’)
There is an Arabic saying: “Restraint is better than legal retribution, and Forgiveness is best.”
“الصبر أحسن من القصاص والعفو أحسن”
5. Verse 14 is about those who announced that they are the ‘Nasaaraa.’ The Followers of Jesus, peace upon him, are not called ‘Christians’ in the Qur’an but rather, they are called the ‘Nasaaraa,’ thought to be related to the verb ‘naSara,’ similar to ‘Helpers/Supporters;’ probably in reference to Jesus’ inquiry as to who would be his helpers towards God, and the disciples’ response that it is they who would be God’s ‘Ansaar’ (HQ3:52; 61:14).
This verse addresses them, making it clear that although they may have upheld their pledge in part, yet they forgot a good part of what they were told to bear in mind, which is the main reason for their estrangement from each other (Ali) and “the enmity and hatred which has so often set the Christian nations against one another and led to unceasing wars and mutual persecution” (M. Asad’s note 27).
6. Verses 15-16 addresses the People of (earlier) Compilation directly,[6] telling them that God’s Messenger (Muhammad) has indeed come to them, exposing much of what they had kept hidden and overlooking much. From God has come to them Illumination and an explicit Compilation, by which God guides whomever seeks His ‘good Pleasure/Acceptance’ to Paths of Peace, taking them, by His ‘will/grace’ out of the Darkness-es (pl) into the Light, guiding them to a Straightened Path.
7. Verse 17 speaks of those who say that ‘God IS the Messiah, Son of Mary,’ accusing them of ‘denying,’ or committing an act of covering of truth. The verse then tells Muhammad, peace upon him, to ask them: “Who possesses anything (of impact) with regard to God, should He will the Messiah Son of Mary to perish together with his mother and everyone else on the earth? For to God belong the Dominions of Heaven and Earth and all in between, He creates what He wills, and He is Capable over all things (making them what they are as well as projecting them to their ultimate end). This seems to highlight Jesus’ being created by God.
Enough said!
Our next Reading is from HQ5: 18-31
Peace unto all!
[1] Many commentators miss the fact that the Arabic ‘yad’ is a word which originally denoted power, ability, aid – see Blog Post Day 21.
[2] Note that note, it’s ‘the Faithful’ here
[3]Resolve/ ‘azm’ is what launches us into action, and action should be accompanied by reliance/tawakkul:
فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللَّـهِ لِنتَ لَهُمْ وَلَوْ كُنتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ لَانفَضُّوا مِنْ حَوْلِكَ فَاعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّـهِ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ ﴿آل عمران: ١٥٩﴾
[4]فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّـهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ ﴿٩٨﴾ إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ لَهُ سُلْطَانٌ عَلَى الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ ﴿النحل: ٩٩﴾
[5] There will be more on this soon.
[6]Of the twelve calls upon the People of (earlier) Compilation “يا أهل الكتاب”… six are direct addresses, and six have the word ‘Say’ before the address, indicating that the Messenger is to deliver the following to them.