In the Shade of the Qur'an by Sayyid Qutb

This long passage speaks of legislation and the authority to promulgate laws and regulations. What is surprising about this passage, together with the two preceding it and the comments interspersed within them, is that they are included in a sūrah revealed in Makkah, when the subject matter of all Qur’ānic revelation was faith.

Indeed, portions of the Qur’ān revealed in Makkah do not tackle any Islamic laws, except to establish the ideological basis of such legislation. This was due to the fact that there was no Islamic government to implement Islamic law. Hence, God did not wish that His law become a matter of theoretical discourse or academic study before the establishment of a society that submitted to God alone and which worshipped Him by obeying His law, or before the existence of a sovereign state to implement that law in everyday life. Thus, outlining the legal details was linked to people’s practical ability to implement them. This is just one aspect of the serious and yet practical nature of the Islamic faith.

The fact that this long passage of detailed legislation occurs in a Makkan sūrah is indicative of the nature of this question. It is indeed a question of faith, one which acquires added seriousness in the general outlook of this religion of Islam. It is indeed its principal issue. However, before we comment on this passage and its provisions in detail, we would like to provide a general overview of its contents and a foretaste of its import.

The passage begins with a brief reference to a host of concepts that prevailed in jāhiliyyah days, and the pagan practices of the Arabs concerning their agricultural produce, livestock and children. In other words, these practices related to their economic and social set-up. The following are given by way of example:

1. They divided the provisions of sustenance God gave them, their crops and cattle into two portions, assigning one to God and claiming that they did this in accordance with God’s law. They assigned the other portion to the deities they invented and who they considered as partners with God, having power over their lives, wealth and children: “Out of the produce and the cattle He has created, they assign a portion to God, saying: ‘This is for God’— or so they pretend— and this is for the partners we associate [with Hind.’” (Verse 136)

2. Having done so, they deal unfairly with the portion they assigned to God.

They add a part of it to the portion assigned to their other deities or partners and never do the same with the other portion: “Whatever they assign to their partners never reaches God, but that which is assigned to God does reach their partners.” (Verse 136)

3. They willingly kill their children, having been induced to do so by their partners. The partners in this case are their priests and lawmakers who initiate traditions which acquire a force of their own, relying on social pressure and ancient legends with their religious overtones. Such killing of children claimed the lives of their daughters in the first place for fear of poverty and shame.

Occasionally, it claimed the life of a son, particularly when the slaughter of a son was made in the form of a religious offering. An example of this was the pledge made by `Abd al-Muţţalib, the Prophet’s grandfather, that should God give him ten sons to protect him, he would slay one of them as an offering to the gods: “Thus have the partners they associate [with God] made the killing of their own children seem goodly to many idolaters, seeking to bring them to ruin and to confuse them in their faith.” (Verse 137)

4. They consecrated certain portions of their livestock and certain types of produce, falsely claiming that they could not be eaten without special permission from God. They also made certain animals unlawful to ride, and prohibited that God’s name be mentioned over them at the time of slaughter or riding. They also prohibited such animals from being ridden at pilgrimage time, because pilgrimage involved glorifying God. They further claimed that all these restrictions had been ordered by God Himself: “They say: ‘Such cattle and crops are forbidden. None may eat of them save those whom we permit’— so they falsely claim. Other cattle they declare to be forbidden to burden their backs; and there are cattle over which they do not pronounce Gods name, inventing [in all this] a lie against Him.” (Verse 138)

5. They also consecrated what was in the bellies of their cattle to their men, prohibiting them to their women. However, if it happened to be stillborn, they would allow both males and females to partake of it. They attributed such absurdities to God: “They also say: “That which is in the wombs of these cattle is reserved to our males and forbidden to our women.” But if it be stillborn, they all partake of it. He will requite them for all their false assertions. He is wise, all- knowing.” (Verse 139)

Such were the concepts and traditions which characterized Arabian society in ignorant, pre-Islamic days. This long passage, occurring in a Makkan sūrah, seeks to put an end to them and to purge people’s hearts and souls of their effects. The Qur’ān follows a deliberate, slow and detailed approach in order to achieve its purpose.

It begins first by declaring that those who in their ignorance kill their children and forbid themselves what God has provided for them are indeed losers. These concepts they attribute to God are declared to be both absurd and erroneous.

The Qur’ān then draws their attention to the fact that it is God who has given them their wealth which they misuse. It is He who has given them gardens, both of the cultivated and wild types. It is He who has created their cattle for them. The one who provides sustenance in this way is the one who exercises control and promulgates laws concerning the use of what He has provided. The Qur’ān uses here a host of images, such as scenes of produce, fruits as well as cultivated and wild gardens. It also reminds them of the cattle God has created, making some for riding and carrying goods and others for eating, with their hide, wool and hair usable in various ways. The Qur’ān refers to the life-long enmity between human beings and Satan. How is it, then, that they follow the footsteps of Satan and fulfil his bidding when he is their declared enemy?

The sūrah then speaks in full detail of the absurdity of their concepts concerning their cattle. These concepts are made to appear hollow, stupid and inconsistent. It concludes by asking them what basis they have for such absurd laws: “Is it, perchance, that you were witnesses when God gave you these commandments?” (Verse 144) Was it, then, a secret that you have been let into, or a commandment given specially to you?

It follows this by describing the ghastly nature of the crime of inventing falsehood against God and trying to lead people astray. This condemnation is one of the most effective aspects of the Qur’ānic method.

The Qur’ān then states clearly who has the authority to legislate, outlining what this authority has actually made forbidden to Muslims.

It also mentions what God forbade the Jews in particular, while making it lawful to Muslims. It then discusses how the Arab idolaters used to attribute to God’s will the fact that they lived in ignorance, evidenced by their association of partners with God and the forbidding of what God had made lawful. Both actions carry the same legal status in God’s view. It quotes their statements: “Had God so willed, neither we nor our fathers would have associated any partners with Him; nor would we have declared anything as forbidden.” (Verse 148) The sūrah makes it clear that such a statement can only be made by an unbeliever who denies the truth. Earlier generations of unbelievers maintained the same assertions until they were struck with God’s might:

“In like manner did those who have lived before them deny the truth, until they came to taste Our punishment.” (Verse 148) To associate partners with God is the same as the unauthorized declaration of anything as forbidden. Both are done by those who deny God’s revelations. A rhetorical question is put to them concerning the basis of their assertions: “Say: Have you any certain knowledge which you can put before us? You follow nothing but conjecture, and you do nothing but guess.” (Verse 148)

The discussion is brought to a conclusion by inviting them to make an unequivocal declaration and clear testimony of their stand. This is the same invitation as the one made at the beginning of the sūrah concerning the very basis of faith. In both cases, the same expression, indeed the same terminology is used in order to indicate that the two aspects are the same: associating partners with God and legislating without His permission: “Say: ‘Bring forward your witnesses who will testify that God has forbidden this.’ If they so testify, do not you testify with them; and do not follow the wishes of those who deny Our revelations, and those who do not believe in the life to come and who consider others as equal to their Lord.” (Verse 150) This verse makes it clear that those who promulgate these legislations are indeed the ones who follow their own desires, deny God’s revelations and disbelieve in the life to come. Had they believed in what God has revealed and in the Day of Judgement, and had they followed God’s guidance, they would not have legislated for themselves or for mankind anything that God has not permitted. Nor would they have described things as lawful or unlawful without God’s permission.

The sūrah goes on to outline what God has actually forbidden. Here we have a collection of the basic principles of social life, beginning with the belief in God’s oneness. Some of these principles include certain orders, but the prohibitions form the larger part. Therefore, they provide the overall title. God has forbidden that divinity be ascribed to anyone other than Him. He has commanded all people to be kind to their parents and He has forbidden the killing of children out of poverty, reassuring people that He provides for them. He has also forbidden all types of indecency and shameful sin, whether committed in the open or in secret, as well as the killing of other human beings except in a just cause. He has also forbidden any tampering with the property of an orphan, except to improve it, until he has come of age. He has ordered that people should deal in fair weights and measures and ordered that justice be maintained in all types of statements and testimony. He has further ordered that people should fulfil their covenants with God. All this has been enjoined by God on people. Hence, they are reminded that it is their duty to fulfil it.

The passage as a whole gives prominence to the basic concept of faith and to the principles of Islamic legislation. The two aspects are closely intertwined in a perfectly consistent exposition, the significance of which is made clear to everyone who understands the Qur’ānic approach and what it drives at. At the end of this passage, with all that it has to say about faith and legislation, God’s statement is absolutely clear: “Know that this is the way leading to Me, a straight path. Follow it, then, and do not follow other ways, for they cause you to deviate from His way. All this He has enjoined upon you so that you may remain God- fearing.” (Verse 153) The import of this whole passage is thus highlighted in a single statement which combines clarity with decisiveness.

Islamic law is just the same as Islamic faith with regard to describing a person or a situation as pagan or Islamic. Indeed, the law is part of the faith in this respect, or indeed it is the faith, since it is concerned with its practical implementation. This is a basic fact that is made clear in several Qur’ānic statements.

The concept of faith in the minds of those who believe in this religion of Islam has consistently moved away from this basic fact over a period of centuries. A great variety of evil means and methods have been used for this purpose. The result is that a great number of those who enthusiastically believe in this religion, let alone its opponents and those who are careless about religion altogether, have come to consider the question of legislation as separate from that of faith. Hence, their hearts do not warm to the question of legislation as they do to faith. Nor do they consider its cancellation or abrogation a departure from faith in the same way as the cancellation of a certain belief or a certain act of worship. This religion of Islam does not recognize any separation between faith, worship and law. What we see today is the result of a progressive departure induced by well- trained forces over a number of centuries. Their aim has always been to reduce the importance of the question of law and make it fade away in the minds of even those who are enthusiastic supporters of Islam. This is the central question in this Makkan sūrah, which is not meant to discuss the Islamic system or Islamic law, but rather devote itself to the discussion of the Islamic faith. The sūrah employs all manner of literary and linguistic stylistics and makes all sorts of statements when discussing a matter of detail concerned with social traditions. The reason is that this small matter is related to the much wider question of sovereignty which, in turn, has a direct bearing on the very basis of this religion and its very existence.

Those who describe idolaters as pagan and do not give the same description to those who receive their legislation from any oppressive authority, or claim that this description applies to the first but not to the second, neither read the Qur’ān properly nor understand the nature of Islam. They need to read the Qur’ān as it has been revealed and to take seriously what God states clearly: “Should you pay heed to them, you will end up associating partners with God.” (Verse 121)

Some of those of who try to defend Islam with zeal and vigour make much ado about whether a particular law, regulation or even statement is in harmony with the divine law or in conflict with it. They are aggrieved when they see some offences being committed here and there. Their attitude suggests that Islam is actually being implemented, but its application needs some improvement by preventing such offences. Enthusiastic and committed to Islam as these people are, they unwittingly do Islam a disservice, damaging its cause by concentrating on such petty preoccupations. What they actually do is to divert the power of faith that remains in society, concentrating it on such side issues. By so doing, they implicitly endorse the prevailing jāhiliyyah systems suggesting that they have an Islamic character and that they only need to make certain modifications or take some corrective measures in order to be fully Islamic. The fact is that in such societies, the Islamic faith is non- existent since it does not express itself in a set-up that gives sovereignty to God alone.

For Islam to come into existence requires that sovereignty belongs to God alone. If this basic rule does not exist in practice, then the entire religion of Islam is non- existent. The problem which Islam faces today is the fact that certain tyrannical powers usurp God’s authority and give themselves the right to promulgate laws, making certain allowances and restrictions concerning people’s lives, fortunes, wealth and children. It is indeed the same problem the Qur’ān addresses with such clear and decisive statements, establishing a direct link between it and the concept of Godhead and people’s submission to God. It is the issue that separates Islam from jāhiliyyah.

The main battle which Islam fought in order to establish itself was not against atheism, nor did it aim at the mere adoption of certain Islamic practices.

Furthermore, the fight was not against social or moral corruption. These battles came later, after the battle seeking to establish the very existence of faith had been won.

The main battle Islam fought in order to establish itself was over sovereignty and to whom it belonged. This was indeed the battle fought in Makkah, when Islam was striving to establish the faith, making no reference to its law or social system. The aim of that effort was to establish in people’s minds that sovereignty cannot be claimed by a Muslim, nor can a Muslim accept that it belongs to anyone other than God. When this basic concept of faith was truly established in the minds of the small Muslim community in Makkah, God facilitated for them its implementation when they migrated to Madinah. Let those enthusiastic advocates of Islam today take another look at what they do and what they should do, after they properly understand the true meaning of Islam.

Let us now consider the verses of this passage in detail.

Out of the produce and the cattle He has created, they assign a portion to God, saying:

“This is for God”— or so they pretend — “and this is for the partners we associate [with Him]”. Whatever they assign to their partners never reaches God, but that which is assigned to God does reach their partners. How ill they judge!” (Verse 136)

In discussing the concepts and traditions of ignorant Arabian society in relation to agricultural produce and cattle, the sūrah states clearly that it is God who creates crops and cattle. No one other than God provides sustenance for people, whether originating in the earth or emanating from the sky. The sūrah then follows this with a reference to their practices in respect of what God has provided for them. They divided it into parts, assigning a portion to God and another portion for the idols and deities they associated with Him. Needless to say, that portion ended up in the homes of the guards or the custodians attending those deities. Yet they deal unfairly with the portion they assign to God, as the Qur’ānic verse explains.

Ibn `Abbās, the Prophet’s cousin and Companion, reports: “When those people have taken stock of the food they have, they make it in lots, assigning a portion of it to God and another portion to their deities. If the wind blows from the side of the portion they have assigned to their deities so as to carry some of it and place it on top of what they have assigned to God, they take it back and put it where it was.

However, if the wind blows in the other direction, they take no action, leaving what has been carried by the wind from God’s portion to the portion of their deities where it landed. That is why God says about their action: `How ill they judge!” (Verse 136)

Mujāhid reports: “They used to set aside a portion of their crops for God, and another portion for the partners they associated with Him. If the wind took something from the first portion to land it on the portion of their partners, they left it there. On the other hand, if something of the portion of their partners was transferred by wind to God’s portion, they took it back. They justified their action by saying that God was in no need of this.” Qatādah reports: Some ignorant people in the days of jāhiliyyah used to assign a portion of their crops and cattle to God, and a portion to the partners they associated with Him. If a part of what they kept to God was transferred accidentally to the portion they gave to their partners, they left it there. It the reverse happened, they would take back what came by accident to God’s portion. If they suffered a drought or shortage of crops, they would not touch what they assigned to their partners, but they would use up what they assigned to God. Hence God says: `How ill they judge!” (Verse 136)

Al-Suddī reports: They used to give a portion of their property to God and assign to Him a certain area of their agricultural land and a similar one to their deities.

Whatever crops were yielded in the portion of their deities was spent on those deities, and what was yielded in the portion left to God was given to charity. Should the portion given to their deities be used up or give a small yield, while the one going to God gave abundant yield, they would say: our deities need to be properly served and that requires funds. Therefore, they would take what they had assigned to God and spend it on their deities. On the other hand, if the land assigned to God delivered a poor yield, while the one given to their deities gave in abundance, they would say: had God so willed, He would have made His land yield more. They would not transfer to Him anything of what had been yielded to their deities. God says that had they been honest in their division, they would not have judged ill. How is it that they take from Me but they do not give to Me? That is the meaning of the concluding comment in this verse: “How ill they judge!” (Verse 136) 43

Ibn Jarīr says: “The comment at the end of this verse, `How ill they judge’, is a description by God of what those unbelievers did. God the Almighty says that they have judged ill, since they take from His portion to give to their partners, and do not give Him any part of their partners” share. Thus God denounces them for their ignorance and lack of fairness. They not only set up partners which they claimed to be equal to the One who created them, but they also provided them with sustenance and bestowed His grace on them. Those deities which they claimed to be equal to Him can cause them no harm or benefit. Nevertheless, they give preference to them in what they assign”44

It is such absurdities that evil human beings and jinn referred to so that they could argue with the believers concerning their cattle and crops. It is evident that these practices served only their evil interests. For example, pagan priests and custodians of those deities and other chiefs, have vested interests in maintaining their influence on their followers, so as to make them adhere to false concepts and beliefs. They also have their own personal interests to serve. As a result of what they implant in their followers’ minds, they are able to take to themselves what the unthinking masses assign to their deities. On the other hand, the evil jinn have a vested interest in leading human beings astray so that they bring them to ruin and confuse them in their faith. In this way, they lead human beings to ruin in this life and to hell in the life to come.

Such practices prevailed in the ignorant Arabian society, but similar practices prevailed in other jāhiliyyah societies in Greece, Persia and Byzantium. Similar ones continue to be practised in Africa, India and a number of Asian countries. All these are simply methods of using one’s property in a way that God does not sanction.

Since such practices continue to be followed in today’s jāhiliyyah societies, these latter ones are the same in their polytheism as the old ones. Ignorance is the basis of any situation which allows people’s affairs to be conducted in conflict with what God has legislated. What form the conducting of such affairs takes is immaterial. The essence is the same although forms and appearances may differ.

Thus have the partners they associate [with God] made the killing of their own children seem goodly to many idolaters, seeking to bring them to ruin and to confuse them in their faith. Had God willed otherwise, they would not have done so. Leave them, then, to their false inventions. (Verse 137)

The sūrah says that in the same way as the evil ones made it acceptable for people to assign part of their crops and cattle in a particular fashion, they also made the killing of their own children seem goodly to them. This is a reference to what people in Arabia used to do, when they buried their daughters alive for fear of poverty or shame. They even went beyond this and killed some of their sons in fulfilment of pledges they made to their deities. It is well known that `Abd al-Muţţalib, the Prophet’s grandfather, pledged to slaughter one of his sons, if God would favour him with ten sons.

It is clear that all these practices were accepted as normal in the ignorant society of Arabia. These were traditions established by human beings and followed by human beings. The partners mentioned in this verse are the evil ones among human beings and jinn, including the priests, the guards of temples and tribal chiefs as well as the evil ones among the jinn who whisper to their partners. The sūrah makes the purpose of all this deception very clear: “Seeking to bring them to ruin and to confuse them in their faith.” (Verse 137) Thus, they not only bring them to ruin but they also place them in utter confusion with regard to their faith, so that they lack a clear concept.

The ruin is evident. They kill their own children and they corrupt their own social life. As a result, people become like animals led by corrupt shepherds in whichever way those shepherds find their interest. The evil ones are thus able to exercise complete authority over the lives, the children and the property of the masses, killing and ruling them, while the masses are forced to submit with humility. This is the result of the mutual effects produced by confused concepts of faith and their influence on human beings and the prevalent social traditions. Together those concepts and traditions exercise enormous pressure to which people have to submit, unless they seek protection in a clearly outlined faith and unless they place all their affairs within a consistent standard.

Such blurred, confused concepts and the social traditions they establish to weigh heavily on the masses are not limited to the types known in bygone ignorant or jāhiliyyah societies. We find clearer versions of them in modern societies, in the form of customs and traditions which people feel to be inescapable, even though they are very hard to observe. Take, for example, the case of fashion and other observances which impose themselves on people, costing them at times what they cannot afford, taking a high position on their list of concerns and ultimately corrupting their moral values and whole lives. Nevertheless, people feel that they must comply with all these dictates: a particular fashion for morning, another for afternoon, and a different one for evening. One fashion imposes short dress, another dictates tight clothes, and a third makes people wear that which is ridiculous. In addition, there is an endless variety of cosmetics, and hair styles, etc. Who imposes all this humiliating subjugation and who lends it support and backing? When we look for the facts we find that it is backed by the major fashion houses, manufacturers and dressmakers, as well as the usurious banks and finance companies who lend money to the industry in order that they themselves win a large share of the profits. It is also supported by the Zionists who work hard to weaken all mankind so that they become the masters of the world. They do not give their support in the shape of heavy armour and military prowess. They support it by the concepts and values they initiate and then formulate in the shape of theories and cultural beliefs. Then they help to translate these into a code of social behaviour. They realize that theories are of little effect unless they are seen in practice in the shape of systems of government, a social structure and an unambiguous social code that people accept without question because its roots and branches are irretrievably interlinked.

It is all perpetrated by evil human beings and the jinn. The result is different forms and shapes of jāhiliyyah, but they all have the same roots and origins.

We certainly do not give the Qur’ān its due position if we read and understand it as a reference only to ancient forms of jāhiliyyah. It, indeed, refers to its countless forms in all periods of human life. It confronts every deviant situation, trying to put it back on the straight path defined by God.

Wicked as their schemes against the divine message are, and heavy as the pressures on it are, the Qur’ān makes little of the might of jāhiliyyah. It exposes its reality, something which could easily be overlooked because of its apparent strength.

The fact remains that these evil ones and their patrons and supporters are within God’s grasp and subject to His authority. They have no power of their own to enable them to do what they want. They can only do it because God has enabled them to play their game for a while in order to accomplish His purpose in putting His servants to a test. Had God willed otherwise, they would not have been able to do or achieve anything. Hence, the Prophet and the believers should pay little attention to those evil ones and should pursue their own objectives. As for the evil ones, the believers should leave them to God to punish them for their invented falsehood:

“Had God willed otherwise, they would not have done so. Leave them, then, to their false inventions.” (Verse 137)

We need to mention here that they dare not admit that they originated these concepts and practices. Instead, they lie to God, alleging that He originated them, asserting that these concepts and practices were derived from the religion preached by the Prophets Abraham and Ishmael.

The evil ones in modern jāhiliyyah do the same. The vast majority of them feel unable to deny God publicly and denounce His faith as atheist Communists do. They resort instead to the same old tactics of the evil ones in ignorant Arabia, asserting that they respect religion, and alleging that their own legislation is based on that religion. This approach is all the more wicked because it blurs religious feelings in people’s hearts. It must be re-emphasized that these feelings do not represent Islam, because Islam is a clear, practical code of living which must be implemented in real life. It is not an ambiguous emotion. By their wicked approach, evil people these days channel other’s intrinsic religious zeal into non-Islamic structures.

With all this we find that people who are most enthusiastically religious concentrate all their power and efforts on the denunciation of some practical details which are largely marginal. They find these details highly objectionable, not realizing that the whole set-up is a non-Islamic one, totally usurping God’s authority and denying His Godhead. By their naïve enthusiasm they actually promote these non- Islamic set-ups, imparting to them an Islamic colour. They, thus, implicitly endorse them as having a religious basis, although they deviate from religion in such matters of detail. Those enthusiastic people, then, play their part in strengthening those systems, serving in the same capacity as official religious institutions which claim to speak for Islam.

It is well known that the religion of Islam has no clerical order and has no official spokesmen who wear the guise of priests, monks, or indeed any other guise.

They say: ‘Such cattle and crops are forbidden. None may eat of them save those whom we permit” — so they falsely claim. Other cattle they declare to be forbidden to burden their backs; and there are cattle over which they do not pronounce God’s name, inventing [in all this] a lie against Him. He will surely requite them for their inventions. (Verse 138)

Al-Ţabarī, a leading commentator on the Qur’ān, says: “Here God Himself, limitless is He in His Glory, is telling us that those idolaters used to forbid certain things and make others lawful, at their own behest, without referring to any authority or permission from God.”45

As has already been mentioned, those usurpers of God’s authority who claimed to derive their legislation from God’s law, assigned certain portions of their agricultural produce and cattle, dedicating them to the partners they associated with God. Then they said that such assigned cattle and produce were forbidden to them to eat.

Indeed, they asserted that none would be permitted to eat from them except those which God permitted. Needless to say that the decision in such matters was usually left to priests, clerics and chiefs. They also assigned certain types of cattle and determined that they were forbidden to ride. It is said that those were mentioned in the previous sūrah and given the Arabic titles Bahīrah, Sā’ibah, Waşīlah and Hāmī.

They also assigned other cattle and prohibited God’s name from being mentioned over them when they were ridden, milked or slaughtered. This is because they consecrated these to partners they associated with God and whose names they did mention. All these claims were lies they had fabricated against God.

Al-Ţabarī says: “God describes their action saying that by their practices, they invent a lie against God. This means that when they outlined their prohibitions and made their claims, they were simply lying to God and asserting falsehoods against Him. This is because they attributed their prohibitions, as described in God’s Book, to His own authority, claiming that it is He Who had forbidden them. God denies this, making their lies appear as they are, and telling His Messenger and the believers of their false claims.”46

Once again we find here a repeated example of the people of ignorance and their thoughts, some arrogantly boasting that life is matter, with others, unable to deny God altogether, claiming that faith is merely a matter of beliefs and has nothing to do with social, economic or political systems.

We should always be aware, however, that ignorant societies like these which establish a system giving sovereignty and the authority to legislate to human beings, rather than to God, claim at the same time that they respect religion and derive their system from it. Theirs is a very sly and wicked approach. International Zionist and Christian forces hostile to Islam have adopted this method in areas that used to be the home of the Islamic faith where God’s law was implemented. These forces have now realized that their experience in Turkey, carried out by the false hero they created, has ended in failure. Nonetheless, their efforts played an important part in destroying the Islamic Caliphate, the last symbol of Islamic unity. But the experience, adopting an open secular stand as it did, failed to provide a model system to be emulated by other countries in the region. By wrenching itself totally from religion, it gave itself an alien colour which was too hard for people still entertaining some religious sentiments to accept. Hence, in their subsequent attempts to achieve the same goal, international Zionist and Christian forces hostile to Islam tried not to repeat the mistake they made with Kemal Ataturk. They began to dress their new experiments around a religious mask. They allowed their new heroes to establish institutions with a superficially religious character. They stressed that in two ways:

by direct, straightforward propaganda or by allowing these institutions to denounce some unimportant details so as to give the impression that the system’s major aspects were religiously sound.

These Christian and Zionist institutions which we see mobilizing their forces, harnessing their alliance and benefiting from their past experience, continue to try to repair the damage which followed the Turkish experience. They claim that Ataturk’s initiative was essentially an Islamic revivalist movement, that it was not secular in nature and, therefore, could not be said to have nothing to do with religion.

Orientalists, who provide intellectual support to Christian and Zionist imperialism, continue to exert strenuous efforts in order to show that Kemal Ataturk’s experience was not an atheist one. But once we expose the Kemalist experience as essentially atheistic we curtail its role, confining it to its destruction of the last vestige of Islamic unity. This is certainly important, but Ataturk’s efforts failed to produce anything further unlike other experiments in the region which aimed at channelling religious concepts and enthusiasm into endorsing un-Islamic systems and situations. These later experiments sought to change the very essence of Islam while at the same time claiming to be Islamic. They wanted to corrupt sound, well-established values in the name of Islam. Indeed, they wanted to impart an Islamic colour to jāhiliyyah itself, so that it could fulfil its task wherever ill-defined religious sentiments provided the necessary driving force. In this way, they offer a false leadership which seeks to drive the Muslim world astray and eventually deliver it to Zionist and Christian forces. Thus they hope to achieve the same goal which past Crusading and Zionist efforts, launched over a period of 1300 years, failed to achieve.

“They also say: ‘That which is in the wombs of these cattle is reserved to our males and forbidden to our women’. But if it be stillborn, they all partake of it. He will requite them for all their false assertions. He is wise, all-knowing.” (Verse 139) They had gone too far in adopting false concepts and misguided practices based on polytheism and idolatry.

They had gone even further in giving human beings the authority to make certain types of cattle lawful and others forbidden, claiming that what they did was sanctioned by God. Thus they claimed that what was in the wombs of those cattle should be given to their men and forbidden for their women. However, if any of these were stillborn, it was shared out by all. Try as you may to find a reason or justification for this, you are bound to find nothing. It is merely the whims of those who invent a confused sort of religion.

The Qur’ānic comment here gives an implicit warning to those who have enacted these laws and falsely claimed that they form a part of divine faith: “He will requite them for all their false assertions. He is wise, all-knowing.” (Verse 139) He knows the facts as they are, and deals with them in accordance with His infallible wisdom.

When we look at these practices and the losses and sacrifices made willingly by those who adopted them, we wonder at the costs people are prepared to incur when they deviate from the straight path established by God. We wonder at the heavy burden imposed by superstition and the delusions of those who have gone astray.

How can people accept to fetter themselves with false beliefs? How is it that they can accept that these beliefs claim the lives of their own children and create endless complications in their own lives? How is it that they accept such deviant beliefs when they have in front of their eyes the surety of faith and God’s Oneness; a faith to release human minds from the chains of delusion, superstition and blind imitation. It releases human society from ignorance and its imposed burden. It liberates men from servitude to other creatures in the form of man-made laws and man-made values and standards. In place of all this, it establishes a well-defined, clearly understood, logical and disciplined faith and a practical code of living. It provides a clear vision of the truth of existence and human life. It not only liberates man from subservience to other creatures but it elevates him to the position of God’s servant. That is the summit only prophets can achieve.

When humanity deviates from the straight path provided by God and sinks into ignorance, accepting subservience to false gods, it suffers a great loss here in this life, before the one it incurs in the life to come: “Losers indeed are those who, in their ignorance, foolishly kill their children and declare as forbidden what God has provided for them as sustenance, falsely attributing such prohibitions to God. They have gone astray and they have no guidance.” (Verse 140)

They are absolute losers, because they have lost both this life and the life to come.

They have lost their children, their own souls and minds and the position of dignity which God gave them when He released them from subservience to beings other than Himself. Instead, they willingly submit themselves to other deities which are themselves subject to God’s power. Above all, they lost God’s guidance when they lost His faith. Their loss is doubly confirmed and now they can hope for no guidance whatsoever: “They have gone astray and they have no guidance.” (Verse 140)

The sūrah then puts them face to face with the eternal truth that they strayed away from. It has already referred to it when speaking of how the Arabs assigned a portion of their agricultural produce and cattle to God and another portion to the false deities which they associated with Him. Now the sūrah states clearly to them that although they dispense of such produce and cattle in ways suggested by evil beings, human and jinn, these have had no say whatsoever in their creation. It is God who created them all so that people could benefit from them and praise God for what He has created and worship Him alone. It must be stated here that God does not need their praise or worship, for He has no need of anything or anyone. He is compassionate and He knows that through praising and worshipping Him alone, people achieve what sets their world on the right course as they adopt the right faith. How is it then that they allow those who have created nothing to rule over the produce and cattle God has created? How is it that they give a portion of these to God and another portion to other beings, and even cheat with the portion they assign to God?

The Creator who gives sustenance is the Lord who owns all. Hence, it is not permissible for anyone to have any authority over the use of what He has created except by His permission stipulated in the law He has laid down. This law is fully explained in the message conveyed by His Messenger, not in what is claimed by those deities trying to usurp God’s authority: “It is He who has brought into being gardens — both of the cultivated type and those growing wild — and the date palm, and fields bearing different produce, and the olive tree, and the pomegranates, all resembling one another and yet so different. Eat of their fruit when they come to fruition, and give (to the poor) what is due to them on harvest day. But do not waste, for He does not love the wasteful.

And of the cattle some are reared for work and others for food. Eat of that which God has provided for you as sustenance and do not follow Satan’s footsteps; he is your open foe.” (Verses 141-2)

All praise is due to God who has created all those gardens, bringing life out of what is dead. Some of these gardens are of the cultivated type which human beings tend and support with trellis, posts and weed killing, and some are of the wild type that requires little or no attention or help from man. God has also made the palm tree and other types of cultivation, giving them different colours, tastes and shapes. It is God who has created the olives and the pomegranates with a wide range of varieties and yet all so similar. Furthermore, God has created the cattle and made some of them stand on high legs so that they can carry large loads and made others of shorter height and supplied them with wool or hair which can be used for making clothes.

It is God who has originated life on earth and given it such wide variety so as to satisfy the needs of human beings in their life on earth. In spite of these clear facts of creation, people still refer to beings other than God for rulings over the distribution of crops, cattle and wealth. We often find references in the Qur’ān to the fact that it is God alone who provides the means of sustenance for people. This fact is often given as an argument in support of the principle that people should refer to God alone to determine how they conduct their affairs. The Creator who alone provides sustenance is, without question, the One who alone combines the overall Lordship of human life with total sovereignty, including the full authority to rule and legislate.

At this point, we are given a variety of scenes showing growing plants, the yielding of fruits, cattle and what God has provided for us in them all. These are given in order to add strength to the Islamic point of view concerning the authority to legislate just as they are also used to support the fact that Godhead belongs to God alone. In this way, both questions are made to appear a complete unit, as indeed they are in the Islamic faith. When plants and fruits are mentioned, God says: “Eat of their fruit when they come to fruition, and give (to the poor) what is due to them on harvest day.

But do not waste, for He does not love the wasteful.” (Verse 141) The order to give to the poor what is due to them on harvest day is perhaps the reason why some reports suggest that this verse was revealed in Madinah. We have said in the Prologue to this sūrah, however, that this verse was also revealed in Makkah, because it is not possible that the Makkan parts of the sūrah could have been revealed without this verse. Had it been delayed until revelation was given in Madinah, there would be a gap in the passage. The order to give to the poor what is their due on harvest day does not necessarily refer to zakāt. Some reports suggest that this simply refers to charity which is not specified. Zakāt, however, and its specified measures were outlined in the second year after the Prophet’s settlement in Madinah.

The Qur’ānic statement: “Do not waste, for He does not love the wasteful”, can be construed as referring to charitable donations or to eating and personal use. It has been suggested that the early Muslims competed in giving to charity to a degree which made their action wasteful. Hence God orders them not to be prodigal.

Referring to cattle, God says to them: “Eat of that which God has provided for you as sustenance and do not follow Satan’s footsteps; he is your open foe.” (Verse 142) Thus God reminds them that all the sustenance they have been given is provided by Him, the Creator of all. Satan has created nothing. How is it, then, that people follow Satan’s dictates on how they should use what God has provided for them? He follows this with a reminder that Satan is their manifest enemy. How, then, can they follow Satan’ s footsteps?

The sūrah then sheds ample light on the points around which ignorant misconceptions concentrate. These are examined in detail in order to expose their unjustifiable and indefensible absurdity. They realize that with regard to such misconceptions they have no leg to stand on: “Of cattle you have eight in [four] pairs: a pair of the sheep and a pair of the goats. Say: Is it the two males that He has forbidden, or the two females, or that which the wombs of the two females may contain? Tell me plainly if you are men of truth. And, likewise, a pair of camels and a pair of oxen. Say: Is it the two males that He has forbidden, or the two females, or that which the wombs of the two females may contain? Is it, perchance, that you were witnesses when God gave you these commandments?

Who could be more wicked than one who, without any real knowledge, invents lies about God in order to lead people astray? God does not guide the wrongdoers.” (Verses 143-4)

The cattle over which all this controversy is about, and which is certainly created for them by God, as stated in the previous verse, are eight types, made in four pairs.

Thus we have a pair of sheep and a pair of goats. Which of them has God forbidden?

Or has He made what is in their wombs forbidden? “Tell me plainly if you are men of truth.” (Verse 143) There is no room in such matters for guesswork. No legislation may be put into effect concerning them without clear authority.

As for the other types, we have a male and a female camel, as well as a male and a female cow. Again the question is asked: which of the two has God forbidden? Or is it that He has forbidden what is in their wombs? Besides, what authority is there to support such a prohibition? “Is it, perchance, that you were witnesses when God gave you these commandments?” (Verse 144) Were you present to witness God’s commandments? The fact is that there is no prohibition without a clear order by God.

He alone has the authority to forbid anything. Clear evidence must be given in support of any prohibition.

Thus all legislation must come from the same source. Since they falsely claimed that their laws enjoyed the backing of God’s authority, they are immediately given a very stern warning: “Who could be more wicked than one who, without any real knowledge, invents lies about God in order to lead people astray? God does not guide the wrongdoers.” (Verse 144) There can be no one more unjust or wicked than a person who invents a law which is not sanctioned by God and then claims that it is God’s law in order to lead people astray. Such a person has no real knowledge. He only relies on his own conjecture or desire. Such people can never receive God’s guidance, because they have severed themselves from all means of guidance. They have attributed partners to God without His approval. God does not grant guidance to those who are wrongdoers.

The Arabs’ absurdity exposed, they are now made to realize that the false concepts they held before Islam have no foundation whatsoever. They are given an example to reflect upon in that God has brought into existence all their crops and cattle, yet they felt they had the right to determine how these were allocated, either by following their own whims or acting on the inspiration of evil ones. They did so knowing that those who were evil did not create the crops and cattle, but that these were of God’s creation. Hence, it is He who determines what use is to be made of His creation given to His servants as sustenance or property.

In these verses God spells out clearly to them what He has actually forbidden, making His prohibition clear through revelations, not through guesswork and imagination. It goes without saying that God has the authority to legislate, and that what He forbids is totally forbidden and what He makes lawful is absolutely lawful.

No human being can have any say in this, and He has no partners to make a similar decision or to add to or amend His prohibition. Within the same context, we have here an explanation of what God has forbidden the Jews in particular, although He has made it lawful to the Muslims. This prohibition was by way of punishment to the Jews for their wrongdoing and their deviation from God’s law.

Say: ‘In all that has been revealed to me, I do not find anything forbidden to eat, if one wishes to eat thereof unless it be carrion, or blood poured forth, or the flesh of swine — for all that is unclean — or a sinful offering over which any name other than God’s has been invoked. But if one is driven by necessity, neither intending disobedience nor exceeding his bare need, then know that your Lord is much forgiving, merciful. To those who followed the Jewish faith did We forbid all animals that have claws; and We forbade them the fat of both oxen and sheep, except that which is in their backs and entrails and what is mixed with their bones. Thus did We requite them for their wrongdoing. We are certainly true to Our word. If they accuse you of lying, then say:

“Limitless is your Lord in His grace; but His punishment shall not be warded off from evildoing folk.” (Verses 145-7)

Al-Ţabarī, a leading early commentator on the Qur’ān, says:

God, limitless is He in His glory, gives here clear instructions to His Prophet Muĥammad (peace be upon him). He is to say to those who had assigned a portion of God’s creation of crops and cattle to Him and another portion to the partners they associated with Him, who had made certain types of cattle and crops forbidden so that none may eat of them save those whom they permitted, who made some cattle forbidden to ride, or made what was in the wombs of their cattle forbidden to their women, lawful to their men, who made unlawful what God provided for them as sustenance, falsely attributing such prohibitions to God; he should ask them all: “Has a messenger sent by God come to you with such prohibitions? If so, then tell us about that. Or is it that you yourselves have been present, witnessing the issuing of God’s commandments of prohibition? Or could it be that you heard Him as He made the prohibition and you acted on that? If so, then you are liars inventing falsehood against God. Should you make any such claim, people will know that you are liars.

The Prophet is further instructed to make it clear to them that he does not find in what has been revealed to him of God’s Book anything forbidden to eat, including all that they claimed to be unlawful, except for four types:

“carrion”, which refers to an animal dying by itself without being properly slaughtered, or “blood poured forth, or the flesh of swine”. All three types are pronounced to be “unclean” which means that they are impure. The fourth forbidden type is “a sinful offering” which refers to an animal slaughtered by an idolater and consecrated to one of the idols they associated with God. Such an offering is forbidden to make and to eat by anyone who believes in God.

Thus God, limitless is He in His glory, tells those unbelievers who argued with the Prophet and his Companions concerning the prohibition of carrion that God has made forbidden the very thing they were arguing about. As such, it is unlawful. On the other hand, that which the idolaters claimed to be forbidden remains lawful, since God has made it so. They were lying when they claimed that their prohibition relied on God’s authority. 47

Al-Ţabarī then explains the proviso made in the concluding part of the same verse, “But if one is driven by necessity, neither intending disobedience nor exceeding his bare need, then know that your Lord is much forgiving, merciful.” (Verse 145)

This means that if a person finds himself in a position which drives him to eat something of what God has forbidden: either carrion, or blood, or pork, or a sinful offering, he may eat that. The condition is that he must not intend any enjoyment by his eating or merely to satisfy an ordinary case of hunger, and he must not intend any transgression by eating what God has forbidden or eating more than what is absolutely necessary to save himself from starving to death.

God tells us that He is much-forgiving, merciful. He forgives him what he has done, although He could punish him if He so willed. His mercy is manifested by the fact that He has allowed that person to eat something forbidden when he is driven to it by sheer necessity. Again, God could have made that forbidden even in these extreme cases.48

There are considerable differences among scholars with regard to the degree of necessity which allows a Muslim to eat forbidden food and the limits of what he may eat of that food. Some scholars say that what is permitted is simply an amount which ensures that one does not perish, and only when the fear of death is real. Other scholars say that a person in such a situation may eat a full meal, while others allow him to carry with him a further quantity to eat again, if he fears that he may still be without food for a long time. We do not wish to discuss these views in detail. This brief reference to them is sufficient for our purposes.

Other things were forbidden to the Jews such as animals that have undivided hoofs. These included camels, ostrich, geese and ducks. The fat of oxen and sheep was also forbidden, except for that in certain parts of their bodies. The entirety of this prohibition was a punishment for their transgression beyond the limits set by God:

“To those who followed the Jewish faith did We forbid all animals that have claws; and We forbade them the fat of both oxen and sheep, except that which is in their backs and entrails and what is mixed with their bones. Thus did We requite them for their wrongdoing. We are certainly true to Our word.” (Verse 146)

Here the reason for this prohibition is made absolutely clear. It is a special case for the Jews only. It is emphasized here that this is the truth, not what is claimed by the Jews that their grandfather Jacob, who was also called Israel, had forbidden himself all this and that they followed in his footsteps. All this was perfectly permissible to Jacob. It was forbidden to them after they transgressed. They were simply forbidden to have such types of food which were wholesome.

“If they accuse you of lying, then say: ‘Limitless is your Lord in His grace; but His punishment shall not be warded off from evildoing folk.’” (Verse 147) Your Lord is most gracious, and His grace is bestowed on us and on every believer, as well as on other people. Indeed His grace is extended to those who are God-fearing and to evildoers.

He does not inflict His punishment straightaway on those who deserve it, but leaves them for a while as a gesture of His grace. Some of them may repent and mend their ways. However, when He decides to inflict His punishment on those who deliberately do evil, they cannot ward it off in any way. If He delays it, He only does so until He inflicts it at the time He chooses. This should be enough to ensure people pray for God’s grace because God’s power is limitless. His punishment is so severe. If they fear the prospect of His punishment, then they should seek to avoid it through His grace. God, who has created people and who knows how we think, touches on both our hopes and fears so that we may consider, reflect and respond.

At this point in the passage, their last argument with which they tried to justify their erroneous beliefs and misguided practices comes under close scrutiny. They claim that they did not adopt those ill- founded beliefs by choice; rather, they were compelled to do so. Had God wished that they did not believe in these other gods and deities, He would have prevented them from doing so, since He is certainly able to accomplish whatever purpose He has in mind: “Those who associate partners with God will say: ‘Had God so willed, neither we nor our fathers would have associated any partners with Him; nor would we have declared anything as forbidden.’ In like manner did those who have lived before them deny the truth, until they came to taste Our punishment.

Say: Have you any certain knowledge which you can put before us? You follow nothing but conjecture, and you do nothing but guess. Say: With God alone rests the final evidence. Had He so willed, He would have guided you all aright.” (Verses 148-9)

The question of free-will, free choice or compulsion has been the subject of lengthy and intense argument in the history of Islamic thought. Different schools of thought and intellectual groups and sects were always ready to defend their points of view.

Greek philosophy and logic and Christian schools of divinity provided further ammunition in this fierce argument, complicating it still more and making it totally alien to the Islamic standpoint. Had those people on all sides of the argument adopted the simple, uncomplicated, serious and direct method of the Qur’ān, their arguments would not have taken this complicated course. Instead, they would have been spared much of their futile effort.

For our part, we examine the unbelievers’ argument and the Qur’ānic reply only to find that the whole question is clear, simple and precise: “Those who associate partners with God will say: ‘Had God so willed, neither we nor our fathers would have associated any partners with Him; nor would we have declared anything as forbidden’.” (Verse 148) In other words, they argue that their idolatrous beliefs, their unsanctioned prohibitions as well as their false assertions are all part of divine law, and they blame it all on God’s will and what He has determined for them. Had He willed otherwise, they would not have associated any partners with Him and would not have made anything unlawful.

What is the Qur’ānic reply to this claim? The Qur’ān declares that they lie the same way as those who had gone before them lied and denied the truth. Those earlier people who persisted with their denial of the truth were made to suffer God’s punishment and experience His might. The same fate awaits the new liars who follow in their footsteps: “In like manner did those who have lived before them deny the truth, until they came to taste Our punishment.” (Verse 148) This statement should shake and awaken people so that they reflect on the lessons that can be learned from the experience of earlier peoples.

The second point in the Qur’ānic reply aims at correcting the human method of reflection and deliberation. God has given people certain orders to fulfil and forbidden them certain things. They can have absolutely certain knowledge of all this. As for God’s will, it belongs to the realm that lies beyond the reach of human thought or human perception. They have no way of knowing it for certain. If this is the case and they cannot know the dictates of God’s will for certain, how is it, then, that they use this argument? “Say: ‘Have you any certain knowledge which you can put before us? You follow nothing but conjecture, and you do nothing but guess.’” (Verse 148)

God’s orders and prohibitions are known to all with certainty. Why, then, do these people ignore such truth, in order to indulge in guesswork and follow paths that can lead them nowhere?

This is all that can be said on this question. God does not require people to know what He has chosen to keep to Himself of His will and how it operates. He only wants them to know what commandments He has issued to them and what things He has forbidden them so that they conduct their lives in accordance with these orders and prohibitions. When they try to acquire this knowledge, God states that He will guide them to it and open their hearts to receive it so that they may declare their submission to God. This is all that human beings need, it is all so clear and simple, and free from all the ambiguity imparted by endless controversy.

God is able, should He so will, to create human beings with a nature that can only follow His guidance. He is certainly able to force them to follow His guidance or to put His guidance in their minds so that they follow it without compulsion. However, He has willed otherwise. It is His will that He tests us by giving us the ability to follow His guidance or to remain in error. He wants to extend His help to those who wish to follow His guidance and make it easy for them, and, on the other hand, He wants to let those who follow error continue in their misguided ways. His will is done and it is manifested in the situation that shapes human life.

“Say: With God alone rests the final evidence. Had He so willed, He would have guided you all aright.” (Verse 149) The whole issue is very clear and expressed in a plain and simple statement to ensure that it is perfectly understood by all human beings. The endless debates and arguments about it are alien to the Islamic approach. Not a single school of philosophy or divinity has been able to arrive at a comfortable conclusion as a result of its treatment of this question. This is due to the fact that the methods adopted by these schools have always been unsuitable to the nature of the question.

It is the nature of any fact that determines the method of its treatment and how it should be expressed. When we deal with a material truism, we cannot adopt the laboratory approach. Similarly, a mathematical truth cannot be the subject of intellectual hypotheses. Hence, a truth that relates to the realm beyond human perception must be treated in a totally different way, relying, as we have already explained, on the practical manifestation and appreciation of this truth in its own field. It is most important that this question of choice and compulsion should be expressed in a way that is different from the type of intellectual approach that has given rise to all kinds of controversy in most communities and generations.

This religion of Islam has been revealed in order to establish a practical situation governed by clear commandments and prohibitions. To try to involve divine will, which cannot be perceived by our senses, is to try to traverse uncharted regions without guidance. It is a total waste of effort, which can be used more constructively elsewhere.

Finally, God instructs His Messenger (peace be upon him) to confront the idolaters asking them to bring witnesses who can support them over the question of legislation, in the same way as He challenged them at the beginning of the sūrah to produce witnesses over the question of Godhead. Early in the sūrah, God says to His Messenger: “Say: ‘What is weightiest in testimony?’ Say: ‘God is witness between me and you. This Qur’ān has been revealed to me that I may thereby warn you and all whom it may reach. Will you in truth bear witness that there are other deities beside God?’ Say: ‘I bear no such witness’. Say: ‘He is but one God. I disown all that you associate with Him.’” (Verse 19) At this particular point, God gives him this instruction: “Say: Bring forward your witnesses who will testify that God has forbidden this. If they so testify, do not you testify with them; and do not follow the wishes of those who deny Our revelations, and those who do not believe in the life to come and who consider others as equal to their Lord.” (Verse 150)

This is a tremendous and decisive challenge, giving a clear idea of the nature of this religion of Islam which treats all forms of associating partners with God on the same level. Thus, the open and manifest form of claiming that certain beings are deities is equal to the implicit one represented by usurping the authority to legislate and enacting laws that are not sanctioned by God. Their claim that their legislation is God’s law is totally discounted. The Qur’ān also denounces as liars those who make such an attempt to usurp God’s sovereignty and His authority to legislate, who deny God’s revelations, who do not believe in the life to come, and who consider others as equal to Him. The expression used here is the same as that used in the opening verse of this sūrah to describe the unbelievers: “All praise is due to God, who has created the heavens and the earth, and brought into being darkness and light; yet those who disbelieve regard other beings as equal to their Lord.” (Verse 1)

This, then, is God’s verdict concerning those who usurp His sovereignty and exercise His authority to legislate. The verdict is made without any consideration of those people’s claims that their laws are part of God’s law. When God has given His verdict, no one can voice any different opinion.

If we want to understand why God makes such a verdict, and why He considers them as liars denying His revelations, and as unbelievers denying the life to come, the door is open to us to deliberate on this. Indeed, such deliberation is required of Muslims.

Perhaps it should be explained first that the Arabic term used in this verse to mean God’s `revelations’ is often used to refer to `the signs’ God has placed in the universe pointing to Him, or to refer to His `revelations’ vouchsafed to His Messenger. If we take the first meaning, and consider that God describes them as liars denying His signs in the universe, then the description is true, because all these signs give the same message and the same testimony that God alone is the Creator who has no partners and who gives sustenance to all His creation. Hence, He is the owner of the universe, which means that He alone has the power to conduct all the affairs of the universe as He wishes. Therefore, anyone who does not acknowledge that sovereignty belongs solely to God is an unbeliever in all these signs in the universe.

On the other hand, if we take the verse to mean that they do not believe in the Qur’ānic revelations, the description is again true. All these revelations are clear and decisive. They require people to believe that all sovereignty and authority to legislate for human life belongs to God alone. It is His law that should be implemented, and we should submit to His authority and rule.

They are also denounced as unbelievers in the life to come. A person who believes in such a life and is certain that he will come face to face with his Lord on the Day of Judgement will never make an act of aggression against God and His most essential quality of Godhead. He will never claim for himself something that belongs to God alone, namely, the right to legislate.

They are finally denounced as people who consider other beings as equal to their Lord. In other words they are idolaters in the same way as those Arabs who worshipped idols were unbelievers. Had they believed in God’s oneness, they would not have attributed sovereignty and the authority to legislate to anyone else. Nor would they have accepted any claim by anyone that he has such an authority.

This is what appears to me to be the reason for God’s judgement of those people who usurp His authority to legislate and who enact laws not sanctioned by Him. As has already been explained, the verdict describes them in three ways: as liars, denying God’s signs or revelations, as liars who do not believe in the life to come and as idolaters. No Muslim can argue with this verdict. It is the final word which needs no further comment. Let every Muslim take heed and speak in a becoming manner about the verdict of the Almighty, the Wise.

Having challenged the unbelievers to produce their witnesses and rejected their claims concerning what they considered as forbidden, the sūrah gives a detailed outline of what God has truly forbidden. Side by side with the list of prohibitions, we find some positive commandments that must be observed. Failure to act on these is also forbidden. The list begins with the most important prohibition of all, namely, associating partners with God. Indeed, the first article of faith which establishes the principle of God’s oneness provides the foundation for all prohibitions.

Say: Come, let me tell you what your Lord has forbidden to you: Do not associate partners with Him; [do not offend against but, rather,] be kind to your parents; do not kill your children because of your poverty — We provide for you and for them; do not commit any shameful deed, whether open or secret; do not take any human being’s life — which God has made sacred, except in the course of justice. This He has enjoined upon you so that you may use your reason. Do not touch the property of an orphan before he comes of age, except to improve it. Give just weight and full measure. We do not charge a soul with more than it can bear. When you speak, be just, even though it be against one of your close relatives. Be true to your covenant with God. This He has enjoined upon you so that you may bear it in mind. Know that this is the way leading to Me, a straight path. Follow it, then, and do not follow other ways, for they cause you to deviate from His way. All this He has enjoined upon you so that you may remain God-fearing. (Verses 151-3)

When we reflect on these commandments, we find that they provide an outline of our religion as a whole. They form the most essential element in the life of the human conscience as they establish the principle of God’s oneness. They are also most essential for the life of the human family and human community since they ensure mutual security within society and make cleanliness an important quality of all social transactions. They are indeed pivotal for human life, since they guarantee the rights of every individual, linking them to the need to fulfil the covenant that exists between God and His servants. This keeps these commandments on the right course outlined by the starting principle of believing in God’s oneness.

When we look at the comment made at the end of these commandments, we find that God, limitless is He in His glory, states that they constitute the right path leading to Him. All other routes and tracks are deviant, leading away from Him.

It is an especially important issue that these three verses tackle. They follow immediately after the discussion on what may appear to be only a side issue regarding the practices of jaīhiliyyah society. But this issue relates, in fact, to the most fundamental question of faith. Hence why it is linked to this most important list of commandments.

“Say: ‘Come, let me tell you what your Lord has forbidden to you.’” (Verse 151) The Prophet is here instructed to speak to people and tell them what their Lord has forbidden to them, not what they allege to have been forbidden. It is their Lord who has made the following items forbidden, because His alone is the position of Lordship which includes the aspects of fostering and directing, as well as issuing legislation. Hence, He is only exercising His authority, because He is the Lord. God alone is the one who enjoys all rights of Lordship.

“Do not associate partners with Him.” (Verse 151) This is the foundation upon which the structure of faith is built. It is to this rule that all duties and obligations should refer and from which all rights and privileges are derived. It must be properly established before any discussion of commandments, prohibitions, obligations, systems and laws can take place. The first and most important requirement is that people should acknowledge that God is their Lord who governs their lives in the same way as they believe in His oneness. No partner can be associated with Him either as a deity or as a Lord. People must acknowledge that God alone controls the universe and conducts its affairs, as He indeed holds them accountable on the Day of Judgement for what they have done in this life and rewards them accordingly. They must also acknowledge at the same time and in the same measure that He alone has the authority to provide the law which human beings must administer and enforce.

This guiding principle, then, purges human conscience of all traces of associating partners with God, purges the human mind from all traces of superstition, human society from the traditions of ignorance and purifies human life from people’s submission to one another.

All forms of associating partners with God are included under the first and most important thing to be forbidden, because they lead to every objectionable thing. It is the practice which should be most forcefully denied so that people can acknowledge that God is their only God, Lord, King and Sovereign. Hence, they address all their acts of worship to Him alone. Believing in God’s oneness is, thus, the most important rule which cannot be replaced by any type of worship, moral value, human quality or action. Hence, the list of commandments begins with it: “Do not associate partners with Him.” (Verse 151)

It is important that we should consider what this Qur’ānic passage tells us before it details these commandments. In other words, we should know exactly what is meant by associating partners with God, which is the first of all forbidden things.

The whole drift of this sūrah focuses on a single issue, which is God’s sovereignty and authority to legislate. The verse preceding these three verses challenges the unbelievers to produce their witnesses. It begins with this instruction to the Prophet:

“Say: ‘Bring forward your witnesses who will testify that God has forbidden this’. If they so testify, do not you testify with them; and do not follow the wishes of those who deny Our revelations, and those who do not believe in the life to come and who consider others as equal to their Lord.” (Verse 150)

We need to remember this verse and what we said earlier in order to understand what is meant by associating partners with God. It is indeed the association of partners with respect to Godhead and to God’s sovereignty.

We need this constant reminder because Satan and his disciples’ strenuous efforts to split this faith from its most essential concept have unfortunately resulted in the separation of two intertwined questions, namely sovereignty and faith. This is the reason that makes some well-meaning people who are keen to serve Islam focus their efforts on establishing the proper form of a particular act of worship or denouncing a certain moral aspect or legal violation. They seldom speak about the concept of legislation and to whom it belongs or its central position in the Islamic faith. They give importance to malpractices of secondary importance, but little do they care about the most important violation of God’s law which seeks to establish human life on a principle different from the one that assigns to God alone the whole authority to legislate.

Before giving man any order, God states His commandment that partners must not be associated with Him. He states this at a point in the sūrah which demonstrates precisely what is meant by such an association. This is the rule which provides enlightenment between human beings and God, and provides the life of the community with a standard to which it must refer in all situations. It imparts to human life its basic values, so that it is no longer subject to human whims or to traditions based on such whims.

“Be kind to your parents; do not kill your children because of your poverty —We provide for you and for them.” (Verse 151) This highlights the family tie between human generations. God knows that He is more kind and compassionate to human beings than their parents or children. Hence, He enjoins upon children to be kind to their parents and on parents to be kind to their children. He links this commandment to the recognition of His absolute Godhead and the acknowledgement of His unique Lordship. He tells them that He alone provides for their sustenance. Hence, they must not impose any severe conditions on parents in their old age or on children in their tender years. They must not fear poverty, because God provides sustenance for parents and children alike.

“Do not commit any shameful deed, whether open or secret.” (Verse 151) Since God has urged His servants to take good care of their families, He has also impressed upon them the need to maintain the family foundation, which is also the basis of society.

This equates with purity, decency and chastity. Hence, they are forbidden to commit all types of indecency, whether openly or secretly. This prohibition is then closely related to the commandment immediately preceding it and to the first commandment. No family can survive and no community can prosper if they sink into shameful indecency, whether open or secret. Purity, cleanliness and chastity are the basic essentials for the healthy living of both the family and the community.

Those who like to see indecency spread throughout the community are the ones who try to weaken the structure of the family and to bring about society’s collapse.

The Arabic term translated here as ‘shameful indecency’ refers, from the linguistic point of view, to everything that goes beyond its proper limits. The term is also frequently used to denote a particular type of indecency, namely adultery and fornication. It is most probably in this sense that the term is used here. The present context is one of enumerating certain forbidden beliefs and practices. Adultery is the one particularly meant here. If we were to take the general meaning of the word, we should remember that, murder and the squandering of an orphan’s property are both indecencies, but associating partners with God is the greatest indecency of all. Hence, giving the term ‘indecency’ the narrower sense of adultery in this context is perhaps more fitting to the general drift of the sūrah. It also explains why the plural form is used here. The crime of adultery is normally preceded by actions and circumstances that are also indecent. Clothing which is too revealing, wanton behaviour, uninhibited flirtation with the opposite sex, shameless behaviour, speech and laughter, deliberate temptation and inviting adornments are all indecencies, leading to the ultimate one of adultery. All these may be brought into the open or kept secret.

Some may be entertained within oneself, while others are expressed in words and actions. They all work together to destroy the structure of the family and to weaken the community from within. In addition, they leave their stains on people’s consciences and limit their concerns to what is petty and abject. Hence, this prohibition follows immediately upon the commandments concerned with the relationship between parents and children.

Because all these indecencies have their own attraction and temptation, the sūrah tells us not to go near them. Staying away from them is the best way to avoid the preliminaries and attractions which could weaken one’s resolve. Hence, to cast a second, penetrative look at a woman, after the first casual one, is forbidden, while mixing between men and women is kept within the limits of what is necessary.

Wearing too many adornments, even using perfumes when going out are forbidden for women. Tempting movements and loud laughter are also disallowed in a pure Islamic social life. Islam does not like people to expose themselves to attraction as it only makes resistance harder. Islam believes in taking protective measures before there is any need to inflict punishments. It protects consciences, feelings and senses.

God knows His creation best and He helps protect them, for He is compassionate and all-knowing.

Those who provide all types of temptation and attraction, trying to unleash wild desires, utilizing verbal expression, pictures, films, stories, mixed camps as well as other methods of communication have a certain objective in mind. We know the purpose of their schemes, and we know what they would love to do with this religion and what they try to do to the life of the family and the community.

“Do not take any human being’s life — which God has made sacred, except in the course of justice.” (Verse 151) These three offences, associating partners with God, adultery and murder are frequently mentioned in the Qur’ān in quick succession as things to avoid. This is because they are, in a sense, crimes of murder. The first, associating partners with God, murders sound human nature, while the second, adultery, is a murder of the community, and the third is a murder of individuals. When human nature is not nurtured by belief in God’s oneness, it becomes dead.49 The community which allows adultery to spread is a dead community, heading straight for destruction. We need only to remember the examples of the Greek, Roman and Persian civilizations, which all provide historical evidence supporting this fact. We can also see the beginnings of collapse and the eventual demise of the modern Western civilization after it has allowed this plague to corrupt its very structure and social fabric. Again, a society in which killing and vengeance killing are tolerated is one which is threatened with destruction. Hence, Islam prescribes very severe punishments for all these crimes, because it wants to protect its community from destruction.

Killing children by reason of poverty has already been forbidden. This is now followed by a prohibition of killing any human being. The way this prohibition is phrased suggests that every individual crime of murder seeks to kill the human soul in general. This is supported by the verse in the preceding sūrah which states: “If anyone slays a human being, for anything other than in punishment of murder or for spreading corruption on earth, it shall be as though he had slain all mankind; and if anyone saves a human life, it shall be as though he had saved all mankind.” (5: 32) The aggression used in killing is against the right to life and against humanity in general. It is on the basis of this rule that God has guaranteed that human life shall always be considered sacred. In addition, the Muslim community feels safe and secure in the land of Islam.

Every individual in that community feels secure as he works and contributes to the life of that community. He is exposed to no risk except by the dictates of justice. Such justice which allows a human being to be killed is clearly explained in God’s law.

This is not left to anyone’s decision or interpretation. Furthermore, its detailed explanation only became law after the Muslim state was established and had acquired enough power to be able to implement its laws.

This last point tells us something about the nature of this religion and how it operates in practical life. These rules which are essential to society were only explained in the Qur’ān at the appropriate time.

Before continuing with the list of prohibitions and commandments, the sūrah separates what has already been mentioned from what is to come by highlighting God’s directives and commandments: “This He has enjoined upon you so that you may use your reason.” (Verse 151)

This comment is given in accordance with the Qur’ānic method which makes it clear that every instruction and every prohibition is given by God. This serves to enhance the impression that the authority which bids and forbids in human life belongs to God alone. This adds much weight to the effectiveness of these instructions and prohibitions. There is also a reference here to using our reason.

Indeed, it is only logical that this authority is the only one to whom people submit.

We have already mentioned that this authority belongs to God, the Creator, who provides sustenance and who controls every aspect in human life and in the life of the universe.

One last word remains which is to point out that the first group of commandments are perfectly harmonious within themselves, while the second group also contains its own harmony. Hence, each group is outlined in a separate verse, but the two verses maintain a perfect rhythm.

“Do not touch the property of an orphan before he comes of age, except to improve it.” (Verse 152) Every orphan feels weak within the community because he has lost his father who is supposed to bring him up well and protect him. His weakness, then, imposes a duty on the Muslim community, on the basis of the principle of mutual social solidarity which is central to the Islamic social system. An orphan used to find himself in total loss in pre-Islamic Arabian society. The frequent and varied Qur’ānic directives concerning the care that should be taken of orphans, and the stern warning occasionally added to these directives give us an impression of how orphans used to be badly treated in society. This continued to be the case until God selected an honoured orphan from that community to entrust him with the most noble task of all. He made that orphan, Muĥammad (peace be upon him), the bearer of His final message to mankind. He also made taking proper care of orphans one of the practices encouraged by Islam which gives its followers this kind of directive: “Do not touch the property of an orphan before he comes of age, except to improve it.” (Verse 152)

Therefore, anyone who is looking after an orphan must not touch that orphan’s property except in a way which is certain to bring a good return to the orphan. He must protect that property and try to improve it until the orphan comes of age and becomes physically and mentally able to receive his property and make good use of it. Thus, the community adds to its ranks a useful member who obtains his full rights.

Scholars have different views concerning the stage when a person comes of age.

According to `Abd al-Raĥmān ibn Zayd and Imām Mālik, it signifies the attaining of puberty. According to Imām Abū Ĥanīfah, a person comes of age when he is twenty- five, while al-Suddī raises that higher to the age of thirty. Scholars of Madinah set two criteria for that stage: attaining puberty and showing maturity. No particular age is specified.

“Give just weight and full measure. We do not charge a soul with more than it can bear.” (Verse 152) This clearly applies to commercial transactions and requires people to do their best to ensure that everyone gets what is due to them. The sūrah provides a direct link between these transactions and faith, because this is the Islamic attitude. It is God who gives this directive and who urges people to give just weight and full measure.

Commercial transactions thus have a very real link with the question of Godhead and servitude. They are mentioned here in a context which clarifies that faith has a direct relationship with all aspects of life. Jāhiliyyah societies, past and present, separate faith and worship on the one side and laws and human dealings and transactions on the other. An example of this separation is related in the Qur’ān as it tells us about the Prophet Shu`ayb’s people who said to him: “shu`ayb, does your praying require you to demand of us that we give up all that our forefathers used to worship, or that we refrain from doing whatever we please with our property?” (11: 87) Hence, the Qur’ān makes this link between the rules governing financial and commercial transactions on the one hand and faith on the other, in order to make it clear that Islam makes both faith and human dealings integral parts of it, firmly established within its constitution.

“When you speak, be just, even though it be against one of your close relatives.” (Verse 152) Here the Qur’ān elevates the human conscience, already refined through a sense of watching God, to the even higher level of being guided by belief in God and the need to fulfil His commandments. Within the context of blood relations there lies a human weakness. People tend to think that family relations dictate mutual support in all situations. A human being knows that he himself is weak and lives only a limited period of time. With his relatives he finds strength. The wider his relations extend, the more firmly established is his existence. It is through his relations that his presence in this world is extended to future generations. For all this, a man is weak when it comes to testifying for or against his relatives or to making a judgement between them and other people. Hence, the Qur’ān provides the necessary support so that a Muslim’s conscience prompts him to say words of truth and justice, thinking only of his relationship with God and watching Him alone. This gives him the strength which outweighs by far any support he may have from his relatives, as he places his obligation towards God above his duties to his relatives.

Again this particular instruction seeks to remind people of their covenant with God: “Be true to your covenant with God.” (Verse 152) It is part of that covenant that people should speak the truth, even when it affects their relatives. This covenant also requires people to give just weight and full measure and that they do not come near the property of an orphan except to improve it, and to treat human life as sacred, killing no one except in the course of justice. But before all this, the covenant which exists between human beings and God dictates that they must associate no partners with Him. This is a pledge made by them and is strongly impressed on their nature by its very constitution. It is God who has made human nature firmly related to its Creator, feeling His presence through the laws that cover its own existence and the existence of the universe.

The Qur’ānic comment on all these directives is a most appropriate one: “This He has enjoined upon you so that you may bear it in mind.” (Verse 152) They must always remember this covenant with God in all its details and its binding duties.

These basic rules are made crystal clear. They also provide a summary of the Islamic faith and its social legislation. They start with God’s oneness and they conclude with the mention of man’s covenant with God. They were preceded by a long discourse on sovereignty and the fact that it belongs to God alone. These rules, then, outline the straight path leading to God. Any path that deviates from this one can only lead to complete loss: “Know that this is the way leading to Me, a straight path.

Follow it, then, and do not follow other ways, for they cause you to deviate from His way. All this He has enjoined upon you so that you may remain God-fearing.” (Verse 153)

With this verse, a long part of the sūrah is concluded. It starts with the verse saying: “Is he who was dead and whom We have raised to life, and for whom We set up a light to see his way among men, to be compared to one who is in deep darkness out of which he cannot emerge? Thus do their deeds seem goodly to the unbelievers.” (Verse 122) The conclusion, as we can observe, is highly inspiring and leaves us with a general but profound effect. Between the outset and the conclusion the question of sovereignty and the authority to legislate is presented in full clarity. As its discussion concentrates on certain points of detail, such as those concerned with agricultural produce, cattle, slaughtered animals and offerings, it is closely linked to the central question of faith in order to make it clear that it is part of it. This is why the Qur’ān deals with this question of sovereignty at such length and relates it to all other aspects of the sūrah which discusses the whole question of faith and explains basic issues of Godhead and servitude to God in a most unequivocal way.

God’s path is a single one leading to Him. This is the path of maintaining that Lordship belongs only to God and that people must submit to Him alone. People must realize fully that sovereignty belongs only to Him and they must translate this into practice by accepting only His legislation in their practical life. Any path that differs with this can only lead them astray.

“All this He has enjoined upon you so that you may remain God- fearing.” (Verse 153) It is being conscious of God and fearing Him that ensures purity of faith and action. It is through remaining conscious of God and fearing Him that people can strengthen their resolve to always turn to God alone.