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Welcome Friends: Ahlan wa sahlan!
Yusuf Ali’s Translation of this Chapter
Muhammad Asad’s Translation of this Chapter
Their commentaries can only be read in verse by verse view.
COMMENTS:
1. Our Reading today begins with Verse 33, which discusses the idolatrous tribe of Qureish; God would not visit suffering upon them whilst Prophet Muhammad was still in their midst, nor would God visit suffering upon anyone whilst they were asking His forgiveness. According to Yusuf Ali:
“But God was not going to send them a penalty whilst thou wast amongst them; nor was He going to send it whilst they could ask for pardon.”
Verse 34 then gives ample reason for Qureish, in fact, DESERVING the penalty of suffering: Firstly, for preventing worshippers from the Inviolable House of Worship, and secondly, for not fulfilling the condition of Guardianship: Awareness!
See Asad’s explanation.
2. Verse 35 describes the ‘prayers’ or rituals which idolatrous Qureish would perform at the Ka’ba, which had digressed from what Prophet Abraham, peace upon him, had instituted, and had become no more than whistling and clapping. Also, remember that Abraham and Ishmael had built this House for the worship of God Alone, and here we find Qureish worshipping more than 360 idols planted around it! Yet they thought they were suitable guardians of it?
3. The difference between the Believers spending of their wealth and the Deniers spending of theirs, is in what the purchase turns out to be; no matter what the Deniers seek to obtain, they will ultimately discover that they were in fact purchasing Regret!
4. Verse 38 is an ultimatum to the Deniers to be delivered by Prophet Muhammad, peace upon him. He is to tell them to desist and all past is forgiven, or return to their ways to taste what has befallen others before them!
Read it in Asad’s explanation.
5. Verses 39-40 urge the Faithful to fight against the Deniers who, following the ultimatum, had chosen NOT to desist. Fighting them would result in putting a stop to tumult and oppression, and would revert all accountability ‘deen- دين’ to God. After that, the Deniers could again, desist or turn their backs; in any case, God will be the Protector and Supporter of the Faithful.
Our Regular Readers would know that ‘deen’ does not mean ‘religion!’ It is the ‘Standard of Accountability.’ Search for it in ‘Search this Site’ or read about ‘Pure Reverence to God.’ It makes so much more sense, doesn’t it, when we know what the word actually means from our 1,000 year old Lexicon?
Yusuf Ali translates ‘deen’ here as ‘justice and faith in God,’ while Muhammad Asad translates ‘deen’ here as ‘worship.’ Both see this command to fight as related to self-defense.
6. Verse 41 details the distribution of war-booty. See Yusuf Ali’s explanation where he also tells us that the ‘Day of Furqan’ is the day of the Battle of Badr.
7. Verse 42 begins to give us details about the Battle of Badr, making us actually BE with the Faithful on that defining day!
Verse 43 tells us of the Prophet’s vision, peace upon him, and shows us how self-assuredness kept them from arguing amongst themselves (as to the wisdom of fighting such large numbers of the enemy). This in itself, catapulted them towards winning the battle, whereas weakening to intimidation could have caused them to lose it.
Verse 44 tells us, on the other hand, that the arrogance of the Deniers is what caused them to lose the battle!
Enough said!
Our next Reading is from HQ 8: 45-61.
Peace unto all!
2 comments:
Salam alaikum,
So happy to finally be following this great challenge regularly. Jazaki Allah kul khair for connecting us in this vibrant, doable, and contemporary way to our precious Qoran!
Bear with me if this has been addressed before as I have yet to catch up going backward with the blog. Just point me to it if it has been explained.
What do you mean by human innocence? How is it with the blessings of Allah the default of human existence?
Shukran
Thank you dear Reader for the important question!
As Humans, we are all born innocent, with the tendency to seek, recognize, and worship God Alone, according to His ‘Fitra- the inherent disposition He has manifested in us.’ –فطرة الله التي فطر الناس عليها-- HQ 30:30. That is our DEFAULT, by creation. As for our Life, God’s Blessings are the DEFAULT, as this verse and many similar ones show.
As we go through life, we are free to navigate away from our innocence and His Blessings, and many of us do… in pursuit of two things: Eternal Life and Personal Possession الخلد وملك لا يبلى- . This creates the imbalance which effects us all, even the innocent. Just think of the story of Adam and Eve as an example of all that humans have done after that!
Their story is a lesson for us, NOT a condemnation of us, nor an enforcement of their 'guilt' upon us, as some People of Earlier Compilation might believe.
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