Ahsan Hanif – Quran Tafseer – Page 115 – Significance Of Justice In Judgement
AI: Summary ©
The Bible uses lies and rumors to describe people as the worst of people, and the importance of avoiding false assumptions and not letting people know what is true. The use of sharia and the Torah provides guidance and advice on following laws, following laws in various countries, and not acknowledging people's actions. The importance of following laws and not letting people know what is true is emphasized. The history of Islam is also discussed, including historical precedent of the Prophet sallavi alaihi wa sallam, the importance of Islam in protecting laws, and the importance of learning and following laws for one's life and wealth.AI: Transcript ©
Muhammad.
Welcome to another episode of our tafsir. Insha'Allah.
Today we are on page 115
which is in Surat Al Maidah the 6
Jews of the Quran.
In the previous episode, we mentioned a number
of verses concerning some of the rulings of
Allah azza wa jal, from them theft and
what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has placed as
a punishment
and that is the cutting off of the
right hand. And then we mentioned the verse
that Misha Allah spoke to the prophet
addressing him and how he shouldn't be grieved
by those people who turn away from him.
Whether they are going towards disbelief
or the hypocrites in the sense that they
say 1 thing and then they believe something
else or those people who don't want him
to judge in their affairs and they distort
the meanings and the words of Allah
and they speak lies. The prophet
should be concerned by them because Allah
has seen that those people are not sincere
in wanting guidance and so they have been
misguided.
And if Allah azza wa Jal misguides someone,
then their hearts cannot be purified and their
souls cannot be cleansed nor can they find
guidance to the path of Allah azza wa
Jal. And so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala spoke
to the prophet or speaks to the prophet
salallahu alaihi wa sallam concerning these groups of
people. And he says that they are from
them or from their traits is that they
listen to lies. And from their traits is
that they distort the words of Allah
and the commands of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
As we've given a number of examples now
from the beginning of tafsir and Surah Al
Baqarah and other Surah's, Allah mentions
this concerning the people of the scripture on
a number of occasions.
And it is on the same theme of
these people and how they distort the words
of Allah
how they spread lies and how they devour
wealth and justly that Allah continues in the
next verse from where we begin today, verse
number 42.
And that is the statement of Allah
They listen eagerly to lies and consume what
is unlawful. If they come to you, meaning
the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam for judgment,
you can either judge between them or decline.
If you decline they will not harm you
in any way but if you judge between
them then judge justly for Allah
loves those who are just.
Again Allah continues with the description of these
people and he describes them as saying that
they are some
they listen eagerly to lies.
And that is a trait that is not
wild or not good or becoming
for the believer, for the 1 who wants
guidance from Allah
because as the prophet told us
that lying leads to fujur, it leads to
sin and sin leads to the fire. Lying
is not from the attributes of a Muslim
or the 1 who wants guidance from Allah
because lies are falsehoods,
lies are things that are untruths,
lies go against what Allah azaawajal has sent
and what his prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam brought
because what they brought all of it is
truth and honesty and integrity. And that is
why the prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said that
seed leads to burial, it leads to goodness
and righteousness and righteousness leads to Jannah.
And so therefore the Muslim isn't someone who
listens to those lies, but those people who
love to be surrounded by rumors and they
like to peddle them, they love to
make lies up and then spread them so
that they become something which other people then
may even consider to be a truth and
they're not. Those are people that Allah
says are from the worst of people. Not
only were these people spreading lies and making
up lies about the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam,
about Islam, about the companions,
they are people who devour wealth and justice,
they take bribes or
money and it's not something for which they
should take any payment for. And unfortunately, even
amongst the Muslims, you will see people doing
that today.
People who when others come to them because
they're in a position of authority or they're
considered to be Islamic figures, People come to
them and they pay them a great deal
of money and then they want from them
help and advice or they ask them to
cure someone and those people are taking their
money and then they're writing stuff for them
or putting stuff into some paper amulets and
it's not from the Quran, not from the
speech of Allah Azza wa Jal, other things
that they're doing and then they're saying that
this is something which will help you. And
it's all lies upon lies. None of it
is truth. None of it is based in
the book of Allah or the sunnah of
his messenger sallallahu alaihi wasallam. And then they
take the wealth of those people, take their
money and sometimes the money that they charge
is a great amount and those people are
poor. Those people don't have a great deal
of money but they're saving up and they're
scrimping and they're saving and they're scrounging in
order to be able to get this small
amount together
so that they can go and give it
to these people in order for some benefit
that they want or some harm to be
removed.
Allah is saying that this is from the
worst of people. And so the prophet SAWA
even though this verse is primarily about the
people of the scripture, but the point being
is that those attributes are things that you
will find even amongst the muslims and their
attributes to be avoided.
To
devour the wealth of others unjustly
is from the major sins. And to spread
lies and rumors is also from the major
sins.
They
they and the meaning of that they listen
eagerly to lies, some of the scholars of
Tafsheel said, is that they believe them, they
respond to them Also not only did they
listen, but they are responding and believing and
spreading them to others as well. Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala says
these types of people when they come to
you meaning the Prophet
to judge between them, then choose,
either to judge or to decline.
And so sometimes you would find groups from
amongst the Jews or others would come and
ask the prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam to
settle their dispute. And that is because they
knew that the prophet salallahu alaihi wasallam was
a man of justice, a man of fairness,
a man of truthfulness and honesty and integrity.
So sometimes they would come. And so the
prophet samaalahu alaihi wa sallam is saying you
have a choice because they're not going to
accept your sharia. They're going to accept your
laws. So you have a choice between them.
But if you're going to judge
and if you wish to judge between them,
then do so. Just justly for indeed Allah
loves those who are just. In the hadith,
the prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was was 1
bought was 1 spot by,
well, someone was bought to him from the
Jewish community who had committed Zina. And the
prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam asked to judge in
his affair. The prophet
asked the simple Jews, what do you find
in your Torah concerning the punishment of Azina?
They said that we found the old message
of Allah that you that you you know
you just flogged them or you or you
imprison them or you do something like this
to them. So then Abdullah Musallam radiAllahu anhu
used to be from the Jewish scholars and
then accepted his stamp. He said, oh, messenger
of Allah, they're lying. Ask them to bring
the Torah. It says indeed that they should
be stoned to death. And so the prophet
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasall asked them to bring the
Torah.
And as they were reading, the man who
was reading from the Torah, he was covering
up a part of it. Abdullah said to
him lift up your hand. So he lifted
it up and he found there the verse
of stoning. So the prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
judged accordingly because that is also our Sharia.
And so the prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is
saying, he's been told, you have a choice,
either judge or don't judge, but if you
judge then judge just the meaning with the
laws of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Allah
says in verse number 43
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says and how can
they possibly
come to you for judgement
when they have the Torah with Allah's judgement
and even then still turn away. These are
not the believers. Allah is saying what reason
do they have to come to your Muhammad
asking for your judgement,
asking you for your laws, asking you for
your consideration in this issue when Allah gave
to them the Torah in which they will
find Allah's laws.
Allah already gave them guidance at the hands
of Musa
that if they were sincere meaning that they
were sincere and honest then what they would
do is they would apply the laws of
Allah that they find in their own scriptures.
And that is why the prophet sallallahu alaihi
wasallam
in the case of that woman from Quraish
who stole,
and then they wanted someone to go and
speak to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam on
her behalf and to cede because she was
from a noble family and they didn't want
her to have the punishment of theft upon
her. So they chose Usama ibn Zaid radiAllahu
anhu because of his closeness
to the Prophet to go and intercede.
And the Prophet
became extremely angry and he said,
are you seeking to intercede in 1 of
Allah
laws of punishment?
By Allah, those people who used to come
before you were destroy it because when the
noble amongst them would steal, they would let
them off. And when the weak amongst them
would steal, they would place the punishment upon
them. And so they would choose what works
and what doesn't work. These people, we want
to curry their favor. They're wealthy. They're rich.
They're people of status. They're people of mobility.
So with them, we're going to be easy
going. And with everyone else, the poor, the
weak, the man who may, even have stolen
because of his circumstances, because of his desperation,
No, we're going to be strict with them
and apply all of the laws to the
letter with them. That is not justice and
it's not fairness. And so the prophet salallahu
alaihi wasallam, despite what the companions were trying
to do in this case and it was
a learning point for all of them. That's
why the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said in
the same hadith that even if Fatima my
daughter was to steal, I would take off
her hand. There is no way in which
you can dilute the laws of Allah Azza
wa Jal will change them depending upon the
person in front of you. But that is
what they used to do. And so Allah
Azza wa Jal says that Allah gave to
them the Torah. In which there is all
of Allah's laws. So what reason do they
have to come and seek judgement for you?
But these are the people who are not
believers in Allah Azza wa Jal, they don't
have Iman in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. 1
of the important lessons for us in this
Ummah as Muslims
from these verses
is the importance of judging by Allah's laws.
Now when you are in a country in
which the laws are not the laws of
the Sharia
then you are duty bound to follow the
laws of that land in those issues that
come upon you. So for example, the law
says that you have to pay certain taxes,
you pay certain taxes. And especially if those
laws, they may not necessarily be Sharia laws
but they don't go against the Sharia and
there's a lot of detail in this issue.
But for example, some of the laws don't
go against the Sharia. So for example, driving
laws, the fact that you stop at a
traffic light, that you wear a seat belt.
These are laws that make sense and they're
good and everyone, even in the Muslim countries,
will abide by them and have them because
there are laws that are for the betterment
of the whole community.
Such laws are things that should be accepted.
And then there are laws
that may go against the shariaq but it
is the law of the land and you
have no choice because by living in those
countries or in these countries,
you make this agreement that you will abide
by the laws of the land. And this
sense of vigilante justice that unfortunately you do
find on the odd occasion
in some communities or some people that they
go and do this, that's not from our
religion and it's not something which should be
sanctioned or allowed in any way, shape or
form.
And you're patient with the decree of Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala in that
scenario where the laws of Allah are not
going to be placed upon people or yourself
and you have to deal with the laws
of others.
And then there are laws that you can
use the sharia in and it's permissible for
you to do so. It's lawful in those
countries for you to do so and then
there's no harm for you in doing so.
So for example, in marriage, for example, in
divorce, for example, in inheritance. There's no reason
why as Muslims, we can't use the laws
of Islam
and sometimes we can use those laws within
the general framework of the of the wider
laws of that society.
So there's no reason why for example a
Muslim cannot have AAA Muslim and Islamic nikah.
There's no law that says that that is
haram or that that is unlawful, sorry. There's
no law against it in these countries. Likewise
in divorce, likewise in inheritance.
And so therefore where a person is able
to use the rules of Allah azza wa
jal to the best of their ability, they
should do so. And so it's a common
mistake, for example, that we don't have the
laws of inheritance. Or for example, when it
comes to divorce, we'll go out of the
laws of Islam because they're not working for
us. It's not in our benefits, so we're
going to go and find some other types
of laws even though we don't have to.
It's a choice that you make. There's a
difference between what you have to do because
you are duty bound
by law to do and what is a
choice for you. Where you have a choice,
then no doubt the default for the Muslim
should be the laws of Allah
and the laws of a Sharia, and that
is from the iman of a person. And
you do that even though it may be
difficult for you to accept or sometimes that
may be not in your favor, the judgment
of Allah
but that is the iman that you have
in Allah
and know that whenever that is the case
that you submit to the laws of Allah
even though they may be difficult for you
to bear or it may not necessarily be
in your favor that particular judgement and by
going and taking another recourse,
you could possibly get a judgement in your
favor, know that by being patient with Allah
azza wa jal's laws and his decree, Allah
azza wa jal will give you a great
reward. You have a great reward
because some
people will have to abide by those laws
in muslim countries because they have no choice.
You have a choice. And shaitan and the
dunya is tempting you, but you are still
restraining yourself. And you sacrificed and leave something
for the sake of Allah You could have
got that wealth or whatever it was, but
it wouldn't have been halal for you. You
know, that that's not what the law of
Allah says. So you sacrifice it for Allah.
You give it up for the reward of
Allah. And as the prophet told us, salallahu
alayhi wasalam
Whoever leaves for the sake of Allah, Allah
will give to them something better in its
place.
And so we should be people as Muslims
who are happy with Allah and his laws
as Allah says elsewhere in the Quran, in
Surah Al Hazab, it is not befitting for
the believing man or the believing woman.
That when the judgement of Allah comes, they
should have any choice in the matter. That's
not the attribute of the Muslim, that they
don't like the judgements of Allah or they
find it difficult to accept.
Rather, the the attribute of the Muslims is
that when they hear that this is the
law of Allah or the law of the
Prophet they
see we
hear and we obey.
In the following verse, verse number 44, Ma'azza
Wajidun says,
We reveal the truth with guidance and light
and the prophets who had submitted to Allah
judged according to it for the Jews.
So did the rabbis and the scholars in
accordance with that part of Allah's scripture
which they were entrusted to with which they
were entrusted to preserve and to which they
were witnesses.
So do not fear people, fear me. Do
not butter away my messages for a small
price. Those who do not reject according to
those who do not judge according to what
Allah has sent down
are rejecting
or disbelieving.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says after mentioning in
the previous verse that why only judge by
the Torah in which we sent down to
them the laws of Allah and the guidance
of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Allah
says in this verse number 44.
We reveal to you the Torah with guidance
and light. And every 1 of the scriptures
and revelations of Allah in their original form
contained guidance
and light
and it was the way and a path
towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That is the
belief of the Muslims. It is part of
the articles of faith that we have, the
rule of the books of Allah Azza wa
Jal, the divine revelation that Allah gave to
whichever Prophet he gave them to. Whether we
know those books by name, such as the
Tawra,
and the Injeel and the Zaboo and the
Quran or whether it's generally that Allah revealed
books to certain prophets and we don't know
their details, we don't know their names.
We believe that every single 1 of them
in their pristine form was the speech of
Allah and
it contained guidance and light from Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala and told people what they needed
for the betterment of their dunya and akhirah,
for this life and the next. That is
the Iman of the Muslim. And so Allah
says that here in its original form though,
because those texts have been tampered with, they've
been distorted,
meanings have been added and changed,
rulings have been taken and amended as we
know. And so therefore, those books are no
longer the Torah in their original form. What
is preserved or what is from amongst them
still in their original form is still Hudha
Anur. It is still light and guidance but
we don't always know what is or isn't
in its original form. Allah says concerning the
Tawra when it was revealed
that the judgement the prophets that Allah sent
who ruled and judged by the Tawra used
to submit to the word of Allah
and judge according to that for those who
were the Jews
for their communities, for the people who were
the followers of the Torah they used to
judge in accordance to the Torah. The Prophet
sent to many Israel would judge in accordance
to it as if it is as if
Allah is saying that if it was good
enough for the prophets of Allah
to take and use
as a source for judgement and rulings and
guidance, then why isn't it good enough for
the people who claim to follow them? Those
people who claim to believe in the Tawrah,
why would they not fulfill every single law
of Allah Azza wa Jal? And likewise, the
same could be said for Christians. Christians believe
that the Bible is the word of God
and it contains the old testament and the
new testament and it contains many of these
rulings and these laws that are still there
in some form or another,
but they will change them and they will
say that it's no longer valid or that
the circumstances change or whatever it may be
and they have amended those laws of their
own accord. Not because a prophet came and
said no change is now or amend this
now. It's because their leaders and their figures
of authority decided that it was no longer
something which could be, which is applicable and
so therefore they changed those laws. Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala is saying that if it was
good enough for the prophets who were the
chosen servants of Allah, who Allah is whom
Allah
anointed and chose
to be his representatives upon earth, then why
isn't it good enough for everyone else? And
not only
them,
and their true scholars and rabbis, meaning who
are sincere in their knowledge and in their
faith.
They also ruled in accordance with a part
of Allah's scripture which they were entrusted to
preserve and to which they were witnesses.
Those scholars who studied and learned and were
sincere in their faith from those scholars of
Bani Israel They also said that these are
the laws of Allah and the remnants of
them remained all the way until the time
of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. We
know of the likes of of Zayd ibn
Umar
and and likewise some of the Christian rabbis
and monks and priests,
Jews, Jewish rabbis and Christian monks and priests
that the some of the companions came into
contact with before they came to Islam such
as Salman al Farisi radiAllahu an and others.
And so therefore those people were still there,
remnants of them were there. Allah praises them
as well because they at that time still
try to ensure the laws of Allah will
follow. And that is why Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala then gives us instruction. And by the
way, Allah is speaking about this about the
previous scriptures, it can be applied to us
in our way. Isn't the Quran all of
it light and guidance?
If the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam judged by
it and ruled according to it and he
is the best of Allah's creation, then isn't
it good enough for me and you, for
my family, for your family, for my community,
for your community?
And likewise the scholars who throughout ages from
the times of their companions
and their students and those who follow them
in righteousness
have preserved for us the rulings of the
sharia, travelled across the world to preserve the
narrations of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam,
wrote and authored multiple books on these topics
and subjects so that we would know the
origin of Allah and know the laws of
Allah and know the commands of Allah
Those people have done their duty.
Allah says
so don't fear the people fear me. Those
rulers,
those people in positions of authority, the scholars
shouldn't fear anyone except Allah Azza wa Jal.
And likewise the believers
of those prophets of Allah shouldn't fear anyone
except Allah.
And so sometimes it is difficult to, especially
when the person who's involved in the case
is your family member, someone close to you,
your friend, someone beloved to you and they're
the ones now that you have to deal
with, that's when personal
emotions come in and the temptations of the
dunya.
Allah
says do not barter away
my verses for a small price.
That is when people take money so that
they don't have to exact or or or
have the laws of Allah azza wa Jal
enacted in 1 way or another. Allah azza
wa Jal warns against these people. Don't be
from amongst those people because it is not
from the traits of
the believers.
So therefore the scholar should be someone who
doesn't fear anyone except Allah
and he should be someone who is not
doing something for the sake of the dunya,
in order to get people's wealth or their
approval or their money, but he is sincere
and he has sincere advice for Allah and
for the sake of Allah
and for his religion.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala concludes this verse by
saying
and those who do not judge according to
what Allah has said, then they are the
people of Kufr. They have disbelieved
and that can either be the major disbelief
and that is that when a person rejects
Allah's laws and says that they're not appropriate
or they're not applicable or they're not good
enough, that is major disbelief. Or it may
be a minor form of disbelief that doesn't
take a person outside of the fold of
Islam. And that is that when someone knows
that these are the laws of Allah and
they are better and they should be followed,
but because of their weakness or 1 reason
or another or the circumstances they have chosen
to do something else. Those people are still
Muslims, but they have committed a major sin.
In the next verse Allah
says in verse 45.
In the Torah we prescribed them for them
a life for a life, an eye for
an eye, a nose for a nose, an
ear for an ear, a tooth for a
tooth, an equal wound for a wound. If
anyone forgoes this out of charity, it will
serve as atonement for his bad deeds. Those
who do not judge according to what Allah
has revealed, they are the oppressors.
In this verse again we have 1 of
the rulings of the Tawra
that Allah
also placed within our religion and that is
that if a person does harm to someone,
they should be punished in a similar way.
Someone takes off someone's ear, they can be
punished in a similar way. Someone takes out
someone's tooth, they can be punished in a
similar way. Someone takes off someone's hand, they
can be punished in a similar way. And
so Allah gives equal retribution.
Those people can't go overboard.
Someone harms them by taking out a tooth,
they go and kill them. No. Because now
they have become the oppressor. They have done
harm. So Allah gives equal retribution
as was also found in the laws of
the Tawah. And Allah
says and whoever wishes to
give away or to forego or to forgive,
then that is something which is good. Someone
who does this out of charity forgives for
the sake of Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will forgive them in return
for their sins also. But this is also
from the laws that they found within the
Tawra and it is something that you find
as we mentioned before in the sunnah of
the prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam that there is
blood money
that is due for a person that does
certain things like this. So for example, taking
off someone's limb or taking off a part
of their body that they need that is
crucial to them like an ear or the
nose or something like this, the sheliya has
the deer. It has the different types of
blood money that is due as a result
of this or that they can seek to
have a similar type of revenge and Allah
knows best. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then says
and those who
rule and judge according to Allah's laws, then
those are the people who have oppressed themselves.
And again as we said that there is
a difference between those people who refuse to
rule by Allah's laws and judge according to
them because they reject them and they disbelieve
in them. That is major disbelief and they
leave the fold of Islam. And then there's
a difference between those people who accept that
they are Allah's
laws, but they don't rule according to them
for 1 reason or another, for whatever it
may be, dunya,
whims, desires, whatever it may be. Those people
are still Muslims according to the scholars of
Ahlus Sunnah, but they have committed a major
sin and it is something that they should
make toba for to Allah and
with that we come to the conclusion of
today's episode.
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