In the Shade of the Qur'an by Sayyid Qutb

“Truly, successful shall be the believers.” (Verse 1) It is a true promise; nay, it is a firm decision ensuring success for the believers. If we take it as a promise, we know God never fails to honour His promises; and if we say that it is His decision, then no one can ever foil a decision by God. What is promised is success in the life of this world and in the life to come; success for the individual believer and for the community of believers. A believer will feel this success in his heart and will see it coming true in his day to day life. The success God promises includes all that human beings associate with success and what God keeps in store for His faithful servants.

So, who are those faithful servants, the believers who receive this document written by God, containing this promise and a clear declaration of success? Who are the believers promised all goodness, victory, happiness, success and goodly provisions in this life on earth; and further promised to be successful in the hereafter, when they receive God’s reward and enjoy His pleasure? They will also have much more that is known only to God, and this will be given in their two lives. Who are these believers who will inherit paradise where they will abide?

Verses 2-9 give us a detailed list of their characteristics. They are the ones “who humble themselves in their prayer, who turn away from all that is frivolous, who are active in deeds of charity, who refrain from sex except with those joined to them in marriage, or those whom they rightfully possess – for then, they are free of all blame, whereas those who seek to go beyond that [limit] are indeed transgressors, who are faithful to their trusts and to their pledges, and who are diligent in their prayers.” (Verses 2-9) So, what do we make of these characteristics?

Together they draw for us the character of a Muslim at its highest level. That is the level of Muhammad (peace be upon him), God’s Messenger and the most perfect human being ever to walk on the face of the earth. He was educated and given a refined character by God, and God certified to his noble character and way of life:

“Truly, yours is a sublime nature.” (68: 4) `Ā’ishah, the Prophet’s wife, was asked about his character. Her answer was: “His character was the Qur’ān in practice.” She then recited verses 1-9 of the present sūrah, and commented, “Such was God’s Messenger.” [Related by al-Nasā’ī] But we ask again: what value do these characteristics give to the life of the individual, the community and to human life in general?

“Who humble themselves in their prayer.” (Verse 2) They feel the reverence associated with prayer, as they stand up to address God, and their hearts are thus filled with awe, which is, in turn, reflected in their features and movements. Their spirits feel God’s majesty as they realize that they stand in His presence. Thus, all their preoccupations and distractions disappear. Their thoughts and feelings are all concentrated on their discourse with Him. In His sublime presence, they are heedless of all their surroundings. They see and feel nothing but His majesty. Their minds and hearts are purged of even the slightest alien thought or feeling. In such a situation, a stray atom is reunited with its source, a wandering spirit finds its way, and a heart that has been long in isolation finds its company. Thus, all values, concerns and considerations diminish, except for the ones that are related to God in some way.

“Who turn away from all that is frivolous.” (Verse 3) This includes all frivolity, in words, actions, or concerns. A believer’s heart has its own preoccupations which steer it away from frivolity. It is full with the remembrance of God and with reflection on His majesty and His signs that we see everywhere in the universe and within ourselves. Indeed, every scene in the universe fills our minds with wonder and gives a clear message to our hearts. Moreover, the duties required by faith keep a believer preoccupied with maintaining the purity of his or her heart, soul and conscience. Believers’ duties include those of behaviour which aim at maintaining the very high standards required by faith. Moreover, the task of enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong aims at preventing any deviation in the life of the Muslim community. Jihād is also a duty that aims to repel aggression, protect the Muslim community and maintain its position and sovereignty. These duties are always there, and believers do not shirk their responsibilities. These are either individual or collective duties, sufficient to preoccupy people throughout their lives.

Man’s energy is limited, and it may either be spent in what serves and improves human life, or in frivolity and idle pursuit. By his faith, a believer is required to spend all his energy in what promotes life and sets it on the course of success and prosperity.

This does not preclude relaxation and seeking comfort when it is needed. But this is totally different from indulging in frivolous and idle pursuits.

“Who are active in deeds of charity.” (Verse 4) Having come forward to declare their submission to God and demonstrate this in their prayer, and having turned away from all that is frivolous, true believers complement this by being active in charity.

The term used in Arabic for charity is zakāt, but this word is often used in a wider sense that goes far beyond the obligatory financial worship with which it is normally associated. Such charity purifies man’s heart and money. It purges hearts of selfishness and greed, and overcomes Satan’s whispers of discouragement as he raises before us the spectre of poverty, and demonstrates our trust in God. It also makes our money, or what is left of it, pure and good, free of all obligations and doubts concerning its being lawful. Furthermore, charity protects the Muslim community against the imbalance that results from the extremes of poverty on the one side and affluence on the other. It provides social security for all individuals in the Muslim community, particularly the weaker elements, and it protects the community against disintegration.

“Who refrain from sex...” (Verse 5) This is a pointer to the purity of the human soul, the home and the community, and to the way of protecting oneself, family and society. It is all the result of refraining from indulgence in sin and turning people’s hearts only to what is permissible. Thus, the Muslim community is protected from the unrestrained promiscuity that undermines the family and allows dubious parenthood to increase and become acceptable.

A community with no restraint on desire is wont to find its very social fabric corrupted, because it deprives itself of the sanctity for the family. The family home is the basic unit in the structure of the community. It is the cradle where children grow up. To serve as a healthy cradle, it needs purity and security, both of which give reassurance to the husband and wife so that each has full trust in the other. Thus, they cooperate to safeguard their home and ensure the healthy upbringing of their young ones.

A community where unrestrained desire becomes commonplace is a filthy community that occupies a very lowly position in humanity’s esteem. Self control, willpower and the appropriate regulation of natural instincts to ensure their healthy and productive fulfilment are the best way to gauge human advancement. Thus, children feel no shame about the way they start their existence in this world, for they know who their fathers are. This is far removed from what animals are like.

The Qur’ān defines here the clean and healthy way which allows a man to place the seeds of life in the right place: “Who refrain from sex except with those joined to them in marriage, or those whom they rightfully possess – for then, they are free of all blame.” (Verses 5-6) As for married couples, no argument is raised here, because marriage is respected in all human communities. The other form, referring to ‘rightfully possessed’ women, needs some explanation.

We have spoken about the question of slavery and the Islamic approach to it elsewhere in this book.14 As we have stated, when Islam was revealed, slavery was a universal system. Captives of war were made slaves, and this was an international institution. It was not possible for Islam at the time, when it was engaged in military battles against its enemies who were trying hard to stop its spread with military force, to abolish slavery unilaterally. This would have meant that Muslim captives would remain enslaved by the enemies of Islam, while Islam would set enemy captives free. Hence, while putting an end to all other sources of slavery, Islam made a provisional exception in the case of captives of war. Abolition of this remaining source was delayed until a new international system to regulate the question of war captives could be put in place.

With this source of slavery remaining, captive women continued to come into Islamic society. To give them equal treatment, on the basis of the system then operating throughout the world, meant that they should be slaves. Their enslavement did not allow them to become wives through normal marriage. Hence, Islam allowed intercourse with them by their masters only, unless they were freed through the many ways Islam provided for the same.

We see also in this permission a way to satisfy the natural needs of the women slaves themselves, so that they did not resort to immorality. We see this happening today, despite the international treaties prohibiting slavery, when women are taken captive in war. Islam, however, does not condone such promiscuity. But Islam did open up several ways for women slaves to gain their freedom: one of which automatically came into operation when the slave woman gave birth to her master’s child. In this case, she became free on her master’s death. Alternatively, her master may give her freedom, either voluntarily or in atonement for some offence he might have committed. Or, she may choose to buy her own freedom. A different situation applied if her master hit her across the face. He was, then, required to free her by way of compensation. There were further ways to freedom as well.

Anyway, allowing slavery through war was a temporary necessity in order to maintain equal treatment in a world where all war captives became slaves. It was, however, not a part of the Islamic social system per se.

“Whereas those who seek to go beyond that [limit] are indeed transgressors.” (Verse 7)

The limit is that of wives and women rightly possessed. There can be no other legitimate way. Whoever tries to go beyond this limit actually breaks the boundaries of permissibility and falls in sin. He becomes an assailant of human honour. There can be no lawful relationship except through marriage or the results of war undertaken for the sake of Islam. When transgression beyond these well defined limits takes place, the individual concerned becomes corrupt, like a sheep grazing out of bounds, and the family is undermined because of the lack of security felt by its members. Indeed the whole community feels endangered because its wolves have been set loose. Islam is keen to avoid all that.

“Who are faithful to their trusts and to their pledges.” (Verse 8) They, individuals and community alike, honour their pledges and discharge their trust. Both the individual and the community have many types of trust to maintain, the first of which is the trust encapsulated in their own nature, i.e. they are created by God in an upright fashion so as to be in harmony with the rest of the universe to which they belong.

This testifies to God’s oneness by the natural feeling of unity that governs the universe. Believers are faithful to this great trust, and they protect their nature from deviation so that it continues to testify to God’s oneness. Other trusts are derived from this basic element.

The first pledge is that God has taken from, and made ingrained in human nature, committing it to believe in His existence and His oneness. All other pledges, covenants and treaties derive from this first one. When a believer commits himself to something, he makes God his witness. Honouring his commitments is, to a believer, part of being God-fearing, of taqwā.

The Muslim community is also responsible for honouring its public trust, and for the fulfilment of its pledges to God and the duties that result from these pledges. The sūrah gives its statement in very general terms so as to include every type of trust and pledge. Believers are faithful to all these, at all times. Being faithful is part of their character. No community can hope to have a straightforward life unless pledges and trusts are fulfilled, so that every individual and group are certain of this basic rule of community life. It is the rule that gives everyone a sense of trust and security.

“And who are diligent in their prayers.” (Verse 9) They do not neglect their prayers or miss them through laziness. Nor do they fail to attend to them as prayer should be attended to. They offer them on time, attending to obligatory and recommended parts, making them complete, omitting nothing essential. Their prayer is alive, filling their hearts and interacting with their consciences. Prayer maintains a bond between God and human hearts. Therefore, a person who does not attend regularly to his prayer is unlikely to attend diligently and conscientiously to his bonds with other people. The qualities of believers outlined in this sūrah start with prayer and finish with prayer, so as to stress its unrivalled importance in the structure of faith. After all, prayer is the most perfect form of worship addressed to God.

These characteristics delineate the character of believers who are certain to be successful. While they are characteristics of individuals, they are decisive in giving the Muslim community its collective character and shaping the type of life it lives. It is an honourable life that befits man, the creature God has honoured and allowed to move up on the way to perfection. It is clear that God does not want man to live like animals, merely eating and indulging in pleasure.

Since life on earth does not achieve the perfection God wants for mankind, He has willed that believers who follow His way should attain their goal in paradise, where they live forever, in complete security, and where they have no fear: “These shall be the heirs who will inherit paradise; therein shall they abide.” (Verses 10-11) This is the ultimate success God has determined for believers. There is no goal beyond this.

Having given a detailed account of the qualities and characteristics of believers, the sūrah moves on to point out the indications available within man himself that lead to faith. It speaks of the various stages of development of a human being, starting with the very beginning of human origin, and ending with resurrection on the Day of Judgement, to establish a firm link between this life and the life to come:

Indeed, We create man out of the essence of clay, then We place him, a gamete, in a safe place of rest. Then We create out of the gamete a clinging cell mass, and out of the clinging cell mass We create an embryo. Then We create within the embryo bones, then We clothe the bones with flesh. We then bring this into being as another creation.

Exalted be God, the best of creators. And then, after all this, you are destined to die; and then, you shall be restored to life on the Day of Resurrection. (Verses 12-16)

The gradual formation of man, following the same sequence, confirms first the truth of the Originator, and also the deliberate planning in the course such formation follows. This cannot be the result of blind coincidence. Nor can it be a random beginning leading to a consistent line that never fails or deviates. The truth is that human beings come into existence in the way they do, rather than any other possible way, because our Creator wants it this way, and He does things according to His own plan and design.

Moreover, by giving this full picture with the different stages shown to follow each other without fail also indicates that belief in the Creator who plans everything and following the course of action believers follow, as indicated in the first eleven verses of the sūrah, is the only way to achieve the perfect standard human beings can achieve both in this life and in the hereafter. Thus, the two opening passages of the sūrah are interlinked.

“Indeed, We create man out of the essence of clay.” (Verse 12) This statement implies that there are stages in the creation of human beings, without specifying them. The implication is much clearer in the Arabic’ original where the term sulālah, given in English as ‘essence’, also connotes a chain of development. Hence, it means that man goes through different stages, one leading to the other, from the very first beginning of clay to the eventual creation, man. This is a truth we get to know from the Qur’ān.

We do not need any confirmation of it from scientific theories concerned with the origins of man or other living things.

The Qur’ān establishes this truth of God’s work and design. Thus, we can contemplate the great divide between the clay and man who came from that clay through a succession of stages. The details of this succession are not mentioned because it is unimportant to the wider aims of the Qur’ān. Scientific theories try to find a definite ladder for our origins and evolution. In their attempts, these theories may come up with some true conclusions and they may make mistakes. We cannot, however, confuse the truth established in the Qur’ān, which mentions the succession of stages, with the attempts made by scientists to establish these different stages of succession. These attempts are always open to error, proving today what they may disprove tomorrow in the light of advanced techniques and technologies.

This truth is sometimes expressed very briefly in the Qur’ān, when it says that man’s creation began with clay, giving no reference to the stages which the process of creation then went through. The ultimate reference then is the most detailed Qur’ānic text, which refers to a ‘succession of stages’. We should remember that the Qur’ān uses a more general or shorter text, only because it is more suited to the context in which it occurs.

The Qur’ān does not explain how man evolved from the essence of clay, because such explanation is not part of its objectives. The stages of this succession may be exactly as scientific theories suggest, or they may be different. It may happen that man will be able to formulate an accurate idea of such succession. However, the parting point between the Qur’ānic view of man and the way scientific theories look at him is that the Qur’ān honours man, stating that a measure of God’s spirit was breathed into him to make of him a man with the qualities and characteristics that distinguish man from animals. In this, the Islamic view is fundamentally different from that of all materialist theories. God certainly tells the truth.

This applies to the origin of the human race: it starts from an essence of clay. As for individual human beings, they go through well known stages: “Then We place him, a gamete, in a safe place of rest.” (Verse 13) The creation formula that brings about new individuals of the human race, and their method of reproduction, follows a line set by God. A drop of fluid is discharged from the man to settle in the woman’s uterus.

It is not the whole drop; rather, a single cell out of hundreds of thousands forming this drop. It settles in this safe enclosure in the uterus which is supported by the hip bones, protecting it from the shocks and knocks that occur to the body as one moves about.

The Qur’ānic text makes the gamete a stage in the succession of man’s creation, coming immediately after man’s existence. This is true, but it also deserves contemplation. A human being in his full stature, and with all his features, elements and characteristics, is enclosed within this gamete. It then develops into an embryo when it begins its new existence through a new series of stages.

The gamete stage leads to that of a cell mass after the male sperm fertilizes the female egg, and then the cell mass clings to the wall of the uterus. The cell mass grows and becomes an embryo. This little creation continues in this line that never changes or deviates from its course. It moves along its marked line, using its latent energy according to God’s law which combines perfect design with elaborate planning.

The next stage is that of the emergence of bones: “Then We create within the embryo bones,” which is followed by another stage in which the bones are clothed with flesh.

We are overwhelmed with amazement here at this fact in the development of the embryo which is stated in the Qur’ān long before it was confirmed by embryology.

This is the fact that bones are made of cells that are totally different from those of flesh. It has been confirmed beyond any shadow of doubt that bones are formed first in the embryo. In fact, not a single cell of flesh could be seen before the whole skeleton of the embryo is finally in place. This is what the Qur’ān states: “Then We create within the embryo bones, then We clothe the bones with flesh.” (Verse 14) Limitless is God in His glory. He is indeed All-Knowing, All-Aware.

“We then bring this into being as another creation.” (Verse 14) This is now man with his distinctive features. It is true that the human embryo is similar to animal embryos, but only in its physical stages. For then the human embryo is given a different sort of creation to make up this distinguished creature that we know, with his potential to achieve excellence. The animal embryo, on the other hand, remains within the animal grade, possessing nothing of the distinctive features and qualities of man.

The human embryo is given special qualities that in time lead it along its human way. It is given ‘another creation’ as it completes its embryonic stages, while the animal embryo stops at that stage because it does not have the same qualities. Hence, no animal can go beyond its animal status, so as to automatically evolve into the same high status as man. The two are totally different, and the difference is caused by the breathing of divine spirit that brings the essence of clay into a human being, which is a different creation. This means that man and animals are similar in their biological make-up, but animals do not go beyond their status, while man is brought into being as a different creation, able to achieve a totally different level of perfection through the distinctive qualities God has willed to give him in order to complete His design of creation.15

“Exalted be God, the best of creators.” (Verse 14) God is certainly the only One who creates. The superlative form is not used here in a comparative sense; rather, it indicates perfection in God’s creation.

“Exalted be God, the best of creators.” (Verse 14) It is He who has given human nature the ability to move from one stage to the next, in accordance with the law He has set, which will never change or be modified. It will not fail to continue until man achieves the degree of perfection assigned to him, on the basis of a perfect order.

People look with amazement at what they term as ‘scientific miracles’ when man invents a machine that works automatically, without human interference. But how does this compare with the development of an embryo in all its phases and stages, each of which is hugely different from the preceding one, ushering in total transformations. But people tend to overlook such miraculous events, closing their eyes and minds to them, because long familiarity tends to disguise their miraculous nature. The mere thought that man, very complex as he is, is summed up within a single cell that cannot be seen with the naked eye, yet carries all his qualities, distinctive features and special characteristics fills us with wonder. In fact, all these distinctive qualities, features and characteristics grow and take full shape during the different stages of the development of the embryo, and then appear in full when the embryo is brought back as a different and new creation. Then they are visibly seen in the child, or they make their presence in the newborn child felt. Indeed, every child carries its own genetic features in addition to general human features and qualities.

Both types are latent in the original cell but emerge later. When we reflect on this fact, which occurs all the time, our hearts and minds are hound to acknowledge this remarkable design by our Creator.

The sūrah continues to depict the different stages of life to complete the journey.

Human life that began on earth does not however end there, because an element from outside the earth forms an essential part of it, influencing the path it travels.

The breathing of God’s spirit in it has given human life a goal different from that of the body, and a destination unlike that of the destination of flesh and blood. Hence it achieves its completeness somewhere other than this earth, in a totally different world: “And then, after all this, you are destined to die; and then, you shall be restored to life on the Day of Resurrection.” (Verses 15-16)

Thus, death is the end of human life on earth, forming a bridge between the life we know and the life to come. As such, it is a stage in human life, not its end.

Then comes resurrection which heralds the last stage, when the perfect life begins, free of all the failings of earthly life, physical needs, fear and worry, and leading to no other stage because it represents the level of perfection human beings can attain.

This, however, applies only to those who follow the way leading to such perfection, outlined in the opening verses of this sūrah. It is the way followed by believers. By contrast, those who in this life sink to the level of animals go further down in the life to come so that they are right at the bottom. They are no longer human beings, because they become part of the fuel of hell, fed by stones and men.

The sūrah moves on to point out well known, yet often forgotten, aspects in the universe which should lead people to faith:

We have created above you seven [celestial] orbits; and never are We unmindful of [Our] creation. We send down water from the skies in accordance with a set measure, and We cause it to lodge in the earth; and We are most certainly able to take it all away. And by means of this water We bring forth for you gardens of date palms and vines, yielding abundant fruit, and from which you eat, as well as a tree that grows on Mount Sinai yielding oil and relish for all to eat. In the cattle too there is a lesson for you: We give you to drink of that which is in their bellies, and you gain many other benefits from them, and you eat of their flesh. By them, as by the ships you are carried.

(Verses 17-22)

All these indicators are cited here as aspects of God’s power and perfect planning.

In their constitutions, functions and roles they move in perfect harmony and in the same direction. They are subject to the same law. They function in unison and serve man, the creature God has honoured. Therefore, these aspects of the universe are shown to be interlinked with the stages of human life as outlined in the sūrah.

“We have created above you seven [celestial] orbits; and never are We unmindful of [Our] creation.” (Verse 17) The Arabic word used here, ţarā’iq, carries different meanings. It may mean seven layers, one above the other, or next to one another. It may also mean seven orbits, (as we chose in our translation), but it could also mean seven celestial systems like our solar system, or seven nebulae, or clusters of stars. Be that as it may, the term signifies seven celestial creatures above us, which means that they are higher than the level of the earth in the universe. God created them all according to His planning and to suit His purpose. He protects and preserves them according to a definite law He has set in operation: “Never are We unmindful of Our creation.”

“We send down water from the skies in accordance with a set measure, and We cause it to lodge in the earth; and We are most certainly able to take it all away.” (Verse 18) Here we have a direct link between those seven orbits or bodies and the earth. Water falls from the sky, and has a direct link with those bodies. In fact, it is the perfect order controlling the universe that allows water to so fall from the sky and settle into the earth.

It is only recently that geologists developed their theory that underground water comes from surface water and rain, which seeps through the earth. Before this theory was advanced, the general perception was that underground water was independent of surface water. Yet the Qur’ān stated this fact more than 1,400 years ago.

“We send down water from the skies in accordance with a set measure.” It is all according to an elaborate plan. It is neither too much so as to cause flooding and devastation, nor too little so as to cause drought and famine. Nor does it come at the wrong time when it would be of little use.

“And We cause it to lodge in the earth.” The picture here is akin to that of the fertilized egg that is implanted in the uterus, which is described in the Qur’ān as ‘a safe place of rest.’ Both the egg and the water have their settled and safe places of settlement in order to give rise to life. Here we see yet another example of the Qur’ānic method of artistic arrangement of scenes and images.

“We are most certainly able to take it all away.” It can sink into the depths of the earth, through a schism in the rocky layer under it, or by some other means. The One who kept it stored in its place is also able to allow it to go beyond man’s reach. Keeping it in its place is part of God’s grace.

It is from water that life derives: “And by means of this water We bring forth for you gardens of date palms and vines, yielding abundant fruit, and from which you eat.” (Verse 19) Date trees and vines are only two types of plant life for the emergence of which water is essential. By the same token, the sperm, or fluid man discharges, is essential for the emergence of human life. Both examples are easily understood by those addressed by the Qur’ān. They also point to the numerous other examples that depend on water for life.

Of these other types the olive tree is chosen for particular mention: “as well as a tree that grows on Mount Sinai yielding oil and relish for all to eat.” (Verse 20) It is one of the most useful trees for man, with its oil, fruit and wood. The closest area to Arabia where it was planted was Mount Sinai, close to the blessed valley mentioned in the Qur’ān. Hence, this particular area is mentioned here. In that area, it is fed by groundwater.

Then the sūrah leaves aside all plants to refer to the animal kingdom:

In the cattle too there is a lesson for you: We give you to drink of that which is in their bellies, and you gain many other benefits from them, and you eat of their flesh. By them, as by the ships you are carried. (Verses 21-22)

These creatures have been made subservient to man by God’s power and design, as also by His distribution of qualities and functions in the entire universe. Anyone who looks at them with open eyes and mind will not fail to recognize the wisdom behind this planning. He will realize that we drink the milk that comes from their bellies, which means that it comes from what these cattle feed on and digest. Their special glands turn it into this tasty and highly beneficial fluid.

“You gain many other benefits from them.” These benefits are given first in this general statement, and then two are chosen for particular emphasis: “You eat of their flesh. By them, as by the ships you are carried.” Permission is given to man to eat of these animals, which include camels, oxen, sheep and goats, but man is forbidden to inflict pain on these animals or to torture them. Eating them provides real benefit, while torture and pain are only indicative of a sadistic nature. Causing pain and inflicting torture bring no benefit to man.

The sūrah compares man’s riding of animals and his being carried on board boats and ships. Both are made possible through the system God has perfected for this universe which organizes the functions of all creatures and establishes coherence and coordination between them all. It is the way God has made water, ships and the atmosphere around them both that allows ships to float on water. If the composition of any of the three alters or changes, it would not be possible for ships to travel the seas. People realized this very early in human life, and they continue to benefit by it.

All these are signs that lead to faith when they are properly understood. They are relevant to both the preceding and the following parts of the sūrah, and fit with them in perfect harmony.