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Welcome
Friends: Ahlan wa sahlan!
Their commentaries can be read in ‘verse by verse’
view.
سورة الصف
‘The
Single File'
(The Ranks)
(The Ranks)
From Introduction of Yusuf Ali:
“This is the
fifth Surah of the of series of short Madinah Surahs beginning with Surah 57.
Its subject matter is the need of discipline, practical work, and
self-sacrifice in the cause of Ummah. Its
date is uncertain, but it was probably shortly after the battle of Uhud, which
was fought in Shawal, A.H. 3.”
From Introduction of
Muhammad Asad:
“THE TITLE of this surah
has been derived from the expression saffan ("in [solid] ranks")
occurring in verse 4. The central idea, first enunciated in verse 2 and
developed in the subsequent passages, is "Why do you say one thing and do
another?" Thus, it is essentially a call to unity between professed belief
and actual behaviour.”
COMMENTS:
In this Chapter we hear the 82nd-84th
call (out of 89) in the Qur’an: ‘O you Who Have Attained Faith!’ It is interesting to know that ALL such calls
occur in the Chapters revealed in Medina, which further helps us understand
that the term ‘Imaan’ is not about belief in One God, but rather it is about
complete faith and trust in Him, as well as FEELING SECURE in His care. What a difference!
(Put ‘Imaan’ in ‘Search.’)
This Chapter’s introductory verse is similar to
others in the Qur’an[i]
which begin with the statement:
‘Motivated/
Moving to God is everything in the Exalted Expanses and on Earth,
and
He is The Invincible, The Wise.’
Then, calling out to ‘Those
who Have Attained faith,’ the Chapter continues, urging them/us to replace our
words with deeds, highlighting the importance of unity, and drawing examples
from
New Readers: See definition
of ‘Tasbeeh’ below[ii].
1. This chapter begins with a statement of fact, asserting
that everything is ‘motivated’ to God/ in ‘tasbeeh.’
Regular Readers will
remember how we explained the concept of ‘tasbeeh,’ and said that it was
related to the constant ‘motion’ by which everything fulfills its innate
God-given characteristics (see how often this is mentioned in the Qur’an). Indeed,
everything ‘moves/ yusabbiHhu’[iii] to
fulfill itself so naturally, that its mere existence is its ‘tasbeeh;’ whatever
stops moving, ceases to exist. And, as cognizant
humans, more is expected of us since we are not just physical beings with
physical potential, but are also capable of growing in knowledge and awareness,
and facilitating the growth of others as we all progress together in God’s direction.
After announcing that
everything in the Exalted Expanses and on Earth is ‘motivated to God..’ Verse
2 addresses ‘Those Who have Attained Faith &
security’ asking them why they say that which they do not do, adding that
it is ‘great in abomination/ kabura maqtan[iv]’
to profess what one does not actively fulfill!
What?!!
The verse is chiding ‘Believers’ for words emanating
from their mouths, UNPROVEN by action, warning them that this discrepancy shall
hinder them on their journey of ‘tasbeeH’ towards God!!
This takes us back to a
prominent characteristic of a person of Faith:
That s/he be aware of God and BE WITH The Truthful (see HQ 9:119)!
What a strong reminder, dear Reader, for us to be
totally honest, and mingle with like persons.
This strengthens us as a community (see definition of ‘truth/ sidq’ below[v]).
How often do people say things which they don’t mean…
or hide their flaws behind false excuses…. or undeservedly paint themselves in
a favorable light? Many people do that
to advance themselves on the job or in relationships, and end up lacking
credibility, being mistrusted, as well as losing that relationship.
That is NOT acceptable behavior from a person of Faith: It is indeed ABOMINABLE.
Verse 4 follows up with a visual explanation of what ‘Truth in Action’ brings:
It weaves the community into a strong STRUCTURE. And God loves ‘Those Who fight back[vi]
in His way’ in an unbroken, single file… united together as one even,
tightly-built structure[vii]!
UNITY
of purpose, UNITY of action, on EVEN standing (no one standing out from the
other).
THIS
is where the all-important word ‘Saff/ الصف’ appears (the title to this Chapter).
2. Then,
Verse 5 takes us back historically, showing us DISUNITY and its repercussions, and
the consequence of disobeying God’s Messengers.
We hear the very words of Moses asking his own people who were bringing
him grief WHY they were hurting him, although they knew and had evidence to the
fact that he, peace upon him WAS God’s Messenger, sent to them.
The verse shows us how one thing naturally leads to
another: Once they had physically swerved (from following their Messenger), God
caused their ‘hearts/ minds’ to swerve away, for God guides not the ‘Faasiq/
Deserters/ Breachers of Faith.’
New Readers:
We spoke earlier about
‘guidance,’ in that its definition also denotes a ‘gift,’ and that ‘guidance’ always
begets guidance, and vice versa. Regular
Readers will remember how we marveled at the beautiful statement in
HQ 47:17 about
‘Those who are Guided,’ in that God shall increase their guidance and bring
them their Awareness. We said that this
is VERY important, as it shows us how guidance can only evolve into further
guidance, begetting us the most precious gift of all: ‘Awareness.’ But ‘guidance’ (which is the end result) cannot
be reached unless we take our steps in its direction! So it is our choice which dictates the
result, within God’s ‘framework’ of cause and effect.
3. Then, Verse 6 goes on, and we now
hear the very words of Jesus, peace upon him, also doing his best to convince
Bani Isra-eel that he is God’s Messenger to them! What strikes us here however, is that while
announcing himself as God’s Messenger to them, he confirms the Torah (of Moses)
and then announces that he is:
‘…bringing
glad tidings of a Messenger coming after me whose name/attribute is Ahmad (THE
MOST praised/ praiseworthy)…..’[viii]’
The verse ends by telling us that Jesus’ listeners
labeled his message to them as ‘evident sorcery.’
Important Note:
This project is about the Qur’an, so I won’t go into much
detail about what other compilations might say, however: However, dear Researcher, I suggest that you
spend some time retrieving the Biblical
evidence of Jesus giving glad tidings of a future prophet. Take a look at Asad’s
notes (remember that he was born a Jew and was well-versed
in Talmudic and Biblical studies).
Anyone who is interested can look into this subject
and find out how the word ‘Holy Ghost’ later came to replace the word ‘spirit,’
which originally meant ‘prophet… (!)’ and how translations distance readers
from original intent.
In Brief:
In verses of the Bible translated from the original
Greek, Jesus speaks of someone who will succeed him as parakletos
(see Gospel of John: 14:16; 14:26 15:26; 16:7 where the word is translated as counselor, helper,
encourager, advocate, or comforter).
This term is believed by Muslim scholars to have originally been written periklytos,
which means ‘famed, illustrious, praiseworthy’ which is a literal translation
of ‘Muhammad.’
Readers
may also refer to the writings of the former Reverend David Benjamin Keldani, better
known as Professor Abdul-Ahad Dawud, who shows how the original word must have
been periklytos, simply because the Greek word for
'comforter or consoler' is NOT 'Paraclytos' but 'Paracalon.' Oh.
Here we arrive at a question:
Q. Besides mis-translation, could there have been a deliberate attempt (on
the part of Judeo-Christian scholars) to distance Jesus’ entire Message from
that of Muhammad, peace upon them both?
A. I think that there were such attempts.
Firstly, although we Muslims see the faith brought to us by Muhammad as
an extension of what Moses and Jesus brought to their people from God
Himself, we know that most Jews and Christians, especially in the west, see us
as heretics, and make out our Arabic term for ‘God’ to be an idol or a false
deity. I will not go into false
propaganda here (God knows there are countless past AND present examples of
that), but I’ll only mention that they ignore the fact that ‘God’ is ‘Allah’ in
the Arabic Bible.
Secondly, based on my current research I PERSONALLY know for a fact
that so-called etymologists of European languages have consistently ignored and
failed to mention the Arabic origin of their words. Put ‘etymology’ in ‘Search.’
This failure is evidence of a BIAS great enough to make scholars
sacrifice not only truth, but scientific knowledge and the advancement of
international goodwill…. all of which affect the well-being of future
generations.
What misery would have been saved had scholars focused on what we have
in common, rather than on the little that we don’t.
Isn’t it sad that very few Christians know that the Qur’an speaks of
Jesus and Mary in an even higher standard than the Bible itself?
4. Then,
Verse 7 asks a rhetorical question:
‘And
who could be more wrong-doing than someone who fabricates a lie against God
(attributing it to God), even while he is being invited to Islaam/ Pure
Reverence, and God does not guide/gift people who are Wrong-doers!’
Note, dear Reader, that fabricating a lie ‘against’
God is considered the greatest of wrongs against oneself!
This is not only about deliberate fabrication, but
about being aware of saying that God is or isn’t without Qur’anic
evidence.
We should never say that ‘God says …’ without
Qur’anic evidence.
We should never say that ‘He does….’ without Qur’anic evidence.
WHATEVER we say about
Him SHOULD have evidence in the Qur’an, and whatever we quote as His words SHOULD be a direct quote
from Arabic Qur’an itself, in context.
Anything else is our own rendition, and might be considered
‘fabricating falsehood.’
That is why, although I appreciate the scholarly
efforts and scientific verification of what is considered the Prophet’s
‘Sayings/ Hadeeth,’ and might quote something reported to have been said by the
Prophet (which would of course agree with Qur’an), I would NEVER quote a Hadeeth
‘Qudsi/ Sacred.’ This is because the
Qur’an is complete and nothing that God wanted to say was left unsaid.
New Readers:
Please put ‘hadeeth’ in ‘Search.’
Following is a good Arabic/ English site for Hadith Qudsi
which explains the difference between these Hadith, regular Hadith, and the
Qur’an[ix].
‘And who could be
more wrong-doing than someone who fabricates a lie against God (attributing it
to God)……?
Verse 8 seems to give us the REASON behind fabricating
a lie against God:
“(By so doing) the Deniers are
attempting to ‘put out/ extinguish’ God’s Light with their mouths, yet God
shall indeed bring His Light to completion, despite their aversion to it!”
Regular Readers will remember that we spoke of this earlier
in the Chapter of Light (the Deniers’ attempt mentioned twice
in Qur’an), and said that God’s Light which they attempt to
extinguish by ‘lying/ saying falsehoods’ is ‘Al Haqq/ The Truth!’
Dear Reader:
What a grievous wrong it is to attempt to extinguish TRUTH! Truth is God’s Light on earth. Anyone who speaks ‘in God’s name,’
misrepresents or misinterprets the Qur’an, or disparages God’s Messengers, is
attempting to extinguish His Light… EVEN outside matters of ‘faith.’
In matters of politics, medicine, economy, sociology, in
reporting history, and in the media:
Anyone who twists facts, presents a biased version of
reality, tries to promote their own agenda DISHONESTLY…. anyone who does ANY of
that is attempting to extinguish the Light of God! Think, dear Reader, how much the dishonest
reporting of past events has pulled Humanity apart. We still do that every day through our biased
media! Readers need no examples: Just follow any hot political story for a few
days, then read about the same incidents from the opposing point of view. Someone is lying!
But Truth shall prevail, and God shall bring His Light
to completion, whether they like it or not.
When it does, each person shall come face to face with their own deeds AND
all the repercussions incurred by their dishonesty.
5. Verse 9 announces (for the third and
last time) that it is He (God) Who has sent His Messenger with the
gift of Guidance, and the True Accountability, so that it would prevail over
all accountability, even if The Associat-ers (Mushrik) were averse.
New Reader:
‘Religion’ is a wrong translation of the Arabic word
‘deen.’ ‘Religions’ are man-made titles
by which we distinguish ourselves, while ‘deen’ means ‘accountability,’ and is the STANDARD BORNE BY ALL GOD'S MESSENGERS! Put ‘Accountability Deen’ in ‘Search.’
6.
The final four verses address
themselves to Those who have Attained Faith:
First, Verse 10 asks them a
rhetorical question, whether they would like to be shown a TRANSACTION which
would save them from painful suffering?
Then, Verse 11 tells them what they
would have to offer from their side, adding that this is good for them, if they
but knew:
THE TRANSACTION
---------------------------------
---------------------------------
FROM THEIR SIDE:
An article of faith, and its confirmation.
o
To have Faith (with Trust and Security)
in God and His Messenger (put ‘imaan’ in ‘Search’).
o
To exert themselves financially and
physically in God’s way (put ‘jahadada jihaad’ in ‘Search’).
Notice, dear Reader, that in the 9
times ‘self-exertion’ is mentioned, financial ‘jihaad/ exertion’
ALWAYS comes before the physical… so, once again, this is NOT about what people
mistakenly call a ‘Holy War.’
New Readers: Please put ‘jihaad’ in
‘Search.’ It’s important that you find out about it.
Then, Verses 11- 13 tell them God’s
side of the transaction:
FROM GOD’S SIDE:
Forgiveness, guarantee for the Hereafter, preceded by glad
tidings in Life
o God shall absolve them of all the
wrongs they committed against themselves.
(Put ‘thanb’ in ‘Search.’)
o
God shall admit them into Gardens
beneath which rivers flow, with fine residences of tranquility in Perpetual
Gardens… and that is the Great Deliverance!
(Put ‘eden’ in ‘Search. Also ‘fawz.’)
o
And another which they love, Victory
from God and an imminent ‘Opening,’ given as glad tidings by the Messenger to
Those who Had Attained Faith.
What a precious, worthwhile transaction:
An article of Faith and its CONSISTENT, active confirmation
from the side of the Faithful… for all the Good imaginable in this life and the
next, from God’s side.
It’s not as easy as it sounds.
It may be easy to make decisions because you often
KNOW the best thing to do, and it might not be difficult to begin doing what
needs to be done, but it will be difficult to keep up, maintaining that
standard, day in and day out, in everything which comes your way.
PERSISTENCE in doing the right thing: That is not easy.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Soon after these verses were revealed, the TRANSACTION
between the Faithful and God was fulfilled.
After they had given Him what was required of them, He gave them what He
had promised. The glad tidings of
victory from God (NaSsr) and an imminent Opening (Fat-H) -which the Messenger
was told to give them- DID take place.
When we put the two words ‘NaSsr’ and ‘Fat-H’ in
‘Tanzil’ we
see the connection for ourselves and realize that the
chapter of ‘Al Fat-H’ is all about that.
It was The Peace Treaty of Hudaybiyyah which was the
‘Fat-H,’ leading to the peaceful takeover of Mecca by the Faithful (put ‘chapter
al Fat-H’ in ‘Search’).
7. The final verse in this Chapter also addresses Those Who had
attained Faith, commanding them to be ‘AnSaar/ Helpers’ of God, and reminding
them of Jesus’ plea to his disciples when he asked them who will be his helpers
towards God. Here we hear their response
to Jesus, saying that they are God’s ‘Helpers,’ and we are told that some of
Bani-Isra-eel believed while others denied.
Being given that information, we think back to Verse 5, which told us of
Moses’ trouble with his people who were actually hurting him! The verse ends with the statement that ‘We’
(God) aided Those Who Had Attained Faith over their foes, and they became
prevalent.
It is through mention of Moses’ and
Jesus’ experiences with their followers on one hand, and those who denied their
Messages on the other, that we see the continuity of God’s Message to Mankind
and the likely responses which Messengers confront.
It is also through mention of their
stories in the Qur’an that the Faithful were guided towards the best attitude
and conduct expected of them… and came to perform in such an exemplary way, bringing
strength and prevalence to their community, satisfaction to the Prophet, and
commendation from God (HQ 3:110):
“You
were the best community ever brought forth for mankind: you enjoin what is
mutually acceptable and forbid what is mutually objectionable,
and you have
faith in God.
Had the People of (earlier) Compilation attained faith, it would have been better for them; among them are the Faithful, while most of them are Deserters (Faasiq).”
Had the People of (earlier) Compilation attained faith, it would have been better for them; among them are the Faithful, while most of them are Deserters (Faasiq).”
We might not be able to fill their shoes, but we can
try to walk in their footsteps.
I do not mean walking backwards to their time and
emulating their exact actions, as that is CONTRARY to what they did! They looked forward, changing everything which needed to be changed,
departing from the idiosyncrasies of their forefathers, to the Straightened
Path. That path is not ‘straight’ in and
of itself, but requires ‘straightening.’
It is ‘straightened’ by the Qur’an, and NOT by the traditional practice
of predecessors!
The generation commended in the above verse understood
what was required of them, and they fulfilled the requirements to the best of
their ability, exerting themselves, exerting themselves, exerting themselves, exerting
themselves to get it right, IN THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES, IN THEIR TIME.
Their Leader, the Prophet, gave the following advice
to his ambassadors, peace upon him:
“Facilitate
and do not complicate.
Advocate
and do not intimidate.
Cooperate
and do not separate.”
We must do the same as we:
Uphold Truth at any price.
Uphold Justice even when it hurts.
Uphold Equality even when others don’t.
Uphold Unity despite disagreement.
May God grant us the KNOWLEDGE, strength, and
persistence to do that!
Peace unto all!
The word ‘sabaHa’ is related to
motion, most similar to swimming in water. Arabs have used this word to
describe the fluidity of camels upon the mirage of desert sands, the galloping
horses, the churning of ships through the waves & people going about their
different chores.
ومَقَته
مَقْتاً فهو مَقِيتٌ وممقوت. ونِكاح المَقْت كان في الجاهليّة: أن يتزوَّج
الرَّجُل امرأة أبِيه.
[v] Regular Readers
will remember that HQ: 9:119 calls upon those who have attained Faith, to be
Aware of God and to be WITH the ‘saadiq’ صادقين. Our Lexicons
gave us the definition of ‘sadaqa-صدق’ telling us that being ‘true’ is a word which denotes
something strong and solid, because
truth is more powerful than falsehood, which is why a sword or spear are
described as ‘true,’ and a gift given in all willingness ‘sadaaq’ and
‘sadaqa.’ A friend in Arabic is a
‘sadeeq,’ because if there is no sincerity there is no friendship. No wonder the ‘Faithful’ can only be ‘True,’
or else they’ve LOST FAITH!
[vi] Remember, the verb ‘qaatala’ denotes MUTUAL fighting,
where you attempt to overcome someone who is already fighting you, which is why
I have translated it as ‘fight back.’ If
you looked up all
the 17 verses mentioning ‘qaatilu fee sabeelil-Lah/ fight back in
the way of God’ you’ll notice that the very first one (HQ 2:190) explains that
you should fight anyone fighting you and NOT be the Aggressor! The other verses are also self-explanatory.
[vii] (صف)
الصاد والفاء يدلُّ على أصلٍ واحدٍ، وهو استواءٌ في الشيء
وتساوٍ بين شَيئين في المَقَرّ. من ذلك الصَّفُّ، يقال وقفَا صفَّاً، إِذا وَقَفَ
كلُّ واحدٍ إلى جنْب صاحبه. واصطفَّ القومُ وتصافُّوا. والأصل في ذلك الصَّفْصَف،
وهو المستوي من الأرض، فيقال للمَوقِف في الحرب إِذا اصطفَّ القومُ: مَصَفٌّ،
والجمع المصافّ. والصَّفوف: النّاقة التي تَصُفُّ، أي تجمع بين مِحْلَبَين في
حَلْبة. والصَّفُوفُ أيضاً: التي تصفُّ يدَيْها عند الحَلَب.
وممّا شذَّ عن الباب، وقد يمكن
أن يُتطَلَّب لـه في القياس وجهٌ، غيرَ أنَّا نكره القياسَ المتمَحَّل المستَكْرَه،
وهذا الذي ذكرناه، فهو الصفيف، قال * قومٌ: هو القَديد. وقال آخرون: هو اللَّحم
يُحْمَل في الأسفار طبيخاً أو شِواءً فلا يُنْضَجُ. قال:
فَظَلَّ
طُهَاةُ اللَّحمِ مِنْ بين مُنضجٍ *** صَفِيفَ
شِواءٍ أو قديرٍ مُعَجَّلِ([1])
1. [viii]
‘Ahmad’ is ‘Muhammad,’ but giving
the word in its superlative form.
Note:
As Regular
Readers may remember, ‘Hamada’ means to praise someone because of inherent,
praiseworthy characteristics.
A person who
is being praised may be either of these three:
·
When simply
being ‘praised’ by others/ praiseworthy for his commendable characteristics, he
is ‘Mahmoodمحمود- .’
· When being
‘OFT-praised’ by others/ praiseworthy for his MANY commendable characteristics,
he is ‘Muhammadمحمد- .’
· When being
‘MOST-praised’ by others/ praiseworthy for having the MOST commendable
characteristics, he is ‘Ahmad- أحمد-.’
This is simple word structure, each word being a
stronger form of the same (characteristic).
This piece of information should help us better understand the nature of
Muhammad, peace upon him, and the fact that any defamation of his commendable
character can be disproven, not just by evidence (readily available to those
who seek it), but ALSO by his very ‘name:’
His ‘name’ IS his attribute (اسم- سمة): Known to contemporaries as ‘Muhammad,’ he is
known to Prophet Jesus, peace upon him, who spoke his name, as ‘Ahmad.’
[ix] Hadeeth
‘Qudsi/ Sacred:’ Some scholars consider them as emanating from God Himself,
albeit in the words of Muhammad, and have given them more weight than any other
of the Prophet’s ‘Sayings/ Hadeeth,’ often disregarding the weakness of the
chain of narrators.
I know that some of these ‘Hadith Qudsi’ are heartwarming
in their description of God and His
Forgiveness, but I also know that some of them are totally unbecoming,
and even ugly
in the humility in which the narrator alleges that God describes Himself (as
transforming Himself into someone’s hand by which that person smites, or into
the foot by which that person walks)!!!
Nowhere in the Qur’an does God speak of Himself in such a lowly
manner! Furthermore, why choose ‘smite’
as the exemplary deed, rather than stroking an orphan’s head? This is absolutely disgusting.
Q. Indeed, why quote such ‘Hadeeth’ in the first place
when, for the knowledgeable, there are beautiful and potent Qur’anic verses
which can be quoted, many of which show God’s beautiful relationship with His
Worshippers?
But you see, dear Reader, that’s just it:
A. Enthusiastic quoting of Hadeeth evolved at a time
when few people could read, and the masses who were wary of misquoting Qur’an
turned to Prophetic Sayings instead. You
see, Hadeeth was traditionally quoted by meaning anyway (not reported ‘ad verbatim’),
unlike the Qur’an which must be quoted word for word.
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