This passage covers a series of instructions relating to the social organization of the Muslim community during its formative period in Madinah. It also introduces certain aspects of Muslim religious worship. The two parts go hand in hand, and are linked with the notion of maintaining a sense of God-fearing, or taqwā, which is emphasized towards the end of each part. It is worth recalling that the same feature of taqwā was highlighted at the end of the previous verse (177), which outlined the fundamental elements of righteousness, incorporating aspects of faith and practical behaviour.

The passage discusses the legal aspects of just retribution (qişāş) in cases of killing.

It outlines rulings on will and inheritance, and outlines provisions relating to fasting, prayer, retirement to a mosque for a certain period of time (i`tikāf), and rules governing financial claims.

The outline of each of these and other subjects in the passage is concluded with a direct or an indirect reference to taqwā.

This consistent and deliberate approach highlights the essential nature of the religion of Islam. It is an integral system, an indivisible whole. Its social systems, legislative codes, and religious rituals emanate from faith and the comprehensive world order it generates. These are all held together by a common goal of submission to, and veneration of God, the Creator and the Provider, who has instituted man as His vicegerent and custodian in this world. This trusteeship is conditional on man’s worship of God alone and on receiving all his concepts, systems and laws from Him only.

The passage is a notable example of the cohesion of the various aspects of Islam.

Believers, just retribution is prescribed for you in cases of killing: a free man for a free man, a slave for a slave, and a female for a female. If something [of his guilt] is remitted to a person by his brother, this shall be pursued with fairness, and restitution to his fellow-man shall be made in a goodly manner. This is an alleviation from your Lord, and an act of His grace. He who transgresses thereafter shall face grievous suffering. There is life for you, men of understanding, in this law of just retribution, so that you may remain God-fearing. (Verses 178-179)

The passage begins with an address to the believers, highlighting their main quality of having accepted the faith, which means that they receive their laws from God. They are hereby informed that retribution in cases of killing is permitted to them, in accordance with the provisions laid down in these two verses. They are also called upon to reflect on the purpose and wisdom of this legislation, outlined in the second verse. They are reminded of the need to enhance their sense of God-fearing, which acts as a safety valve against any excess or injustice in punishing those accused of killing.

The statement clearly indicates how retribution ought to be exacted: a free man for a free man, a slave for a slave, a woman for a woman. But “If something [of his guilt] is remitted to a person by his brother, this shall be pursued with fairness, and restitution to his fellow-man shall be made in a goodly manner.” (Verse 178) This situation would arise when the victim’s relatives decide to accept financial compensation instead of insisting on the execution of the killer in retaliation. Once this is agreed, the victim’s relatives are also under an obligation to seek a fair and amicable settlement, while the killer’s guardian or representative must, on his part, settle readily and honourably.

This serves to clear the air and to remove any ill-feelings or grudges that would have inevitably arisen between the two parties. It would also be conducive to a more friendly and pleasant relationship between the living members of both parties.

This provision has been laid down out of God’s grace, as a special favour and an act of mercy towards believers: “This is an alleviation from your Lord, and an act of His grace.” (Verse 178) The concession permitting the settlement of cases of killing by financial compensation paid to the victim’s family was not given to the Jews in the Torah. For Islam, it has been set up as an alternative aiming to spare lives when agreement and amicable settlement can be reached.

“He who transgresses thereafter shall face grievous suffering.” (Verse 178) It is not merely the punishment in the hereafter that is certain to come; such aggression means that capital punishment becomes due and financial compensation no longer accepted. Reneging on the agreement constitutes a violation of the agreed settlement and could only fuel hatred, animosity and a desire for vengeance from both sides.

Therefore, when the victim’s closest relatives have accepted blood money, they can no longer seek retaliation by killing the killer.

This is achieved by providing strong deterrence, preventing further crimes from being committed. When a person knows for certain that the price he will pay for committing murder is his own life, he is more likely to stop and think before deciding to go ahead. Life is also preserved by giving satisfaction to the victim’s relatives in exacting justice on the offender, with the effect that they will neither seek, nor have the right to seek, further revenge on the offender’s family. In pre-Islamic Arabia the desire for vengeance knew no limits, leading to protracted wars and conflicts that continued for years on end — the notorious al-Basūs 1 wars lasted, on and off, for forty years. There were other family, tribal and clan feuds in which vendettas and bloodshed continued for generations.

The law of just retribution promotes life in a wider and more comprehensive sense. Murder is an aggression on life and a criminal act against humanity as a whole. In preventing a single murder from being committed, the law upholds the inviolability of life as an absolute value. This is a far higher goal than saving the life of an individual or a group of people. It is a goal that enshrines life.

More importantly, the verse urges believers to reflect deeply on this matter and discover the wisdom behind the code, in order “that you may remain God-fearing”.

This is the real deterrent that can prevent murder being committed in the first instance, and stop vendettas being pursued endlessly. Without this measure of deterrence, no law can be successfully upheld and crime can never he effectively rooted out. Laws and regulations that lack such sensitivity, or do not evoke in people the fear and respect of an authority higher and more powerful than the human one, are inadequate and ineffective.

This explains the remarkably small number of cases in which capital punishment was carried out during the Prophet Muĥammad’s era and that of his early successors. In most of those cases, conviction was based on confessions voluntarily made by the offenders themselves. Fear and consciousness of God, taqwā, were evident in the public conscience which, together with enlightened and wise legislation, served as a most effective deterrent. Legal codes and regulations were supplemented by religious discipline, education and exhortation to produce a balanced and virtuous society, with clear concepts of responsibility and justice.

The renowned contemporary scholar, Abū al-Ĥasan `Alī Nadwī puts it thus:

If anyone ever succumbed to beastly urges and fell into error, even though unobserved, he would make a confession there of straightaway before the Prophet and undergo the severest punishment willingly to save himself from Divine Displeasure.2

The next piece of legislation introduced in the sūrah relates to personal wills: “It is prescribed for you, when death approaches any of you and he is leaving behind some property, to make bequests in favour of his parents and other near of kin in fairness. This is a duty incumbent on the God-fearing. If anyone alters a will after having come to know it, the sin of acting thus shall fall only on those who have altered it. God hears all and knows all. If however, one fears that the testator has committed a mistake or a wrong, and brings about a settlement between the parties concerned, he will incur no sin thereby. God is indeed much forgiving, merciful.” (Verses 180-182)

For the Muslim community, or ummah, duty-bound to undertake a campaign of struggle, i.e. jihad, as a means of establishing God’s universal order, to assume the leadership of mankind, and to stand witness against the rest of mankind, it is only natural that fasting should he made obligatory. Fasting is a means of testing man’s determination and will-power, and an important aspect of man’s relationship with God. It is a discipline that teaches man how to rise above his physical needs and overcome the pressure of temptation in order to earn God’s blessings and reward.

These are essential ingredients for the discipline and training of the believers so that they may carry God’s message forward despite the temptations, the obstacles and hardships they are bound to encounter.

Although I am not in favour of justifying religious obligations and practices, especially in matters of worship, on the grounds of their immediate material benefits, which become apparent with experience or through scientific discovery, I would not deny that fasting has several obvious health benefits. But in my view, the whole purpose underlying religious obligations is far greater and more comprehensive than any physical advantages gained from them. The overall aim is to adequately equip man for the fulfilment of his role in this world and for the perfection he is intended to achieve in the life to come.

It is obvious that all religious practices and obligations are ordained by God with full consideration of man’s physical needs and capabilities, but we should not justify them solely on the basis of what our knowledge, limited as it is, may discover. The scope of human knowledge remains limited and incapable of comprehending the divine wisdom behind the order and the system God has chosen for the discipline of man and the administration of the universe as a whole.

Believers, fasting is decreed for you as it was decreed for those before you, so that you may be God-fearing. [Fast] on a certain number of days. But whoever of you is ill, or on a journey, shall fast instead the same number of days later on. Those who find fasting a strain too hard to bear may compensate for it by feeding a needy person. He who does good of his own account does himself good thereby. For to fast is to do good to yourselves, if you only knew it. It was in the month of Ramađān that the Qur’ān was revealed: a guidance for mankind and a self-evident proof of that guidance and a standard to distinguish right from wrong. Therefore, whoever of you is present in that month shall fast throughout the month; but he who is ill or on a journey shall fast instead the same number of days later on. God desires that you have ease. He does not desire that you be afflicted with hardship. You are, however, required to complete the necessary number of days and to extol and glorify God for having guided you aright and to tender your thanks. (Verses 183-185)

This important announcement begins by addressing believers directly to remind them of who they are and of their status with God. God is aware that for believers to fulfil any religious obligation, regardless of its immediate benefits, they need encouragement and motivation. Hence they are addressed by their essential quality of having faith.

A number of reported incidents illustrate the Prophet’s attitude towards the exemption from fasting in Ramadan while travelling. These give us a glimpse of how the early Muslims received and implemented such rules, long before scholars introduced legal technicalities. These reports reflect a realistic and dynamic approach to Islam which gives it, and life under it, a vigorous and agreeable meaning.

1. Jābir reports that it was in the month of Ramadan that the Prophet left Madinah for Makkah, the year it fell to Islam. He observed the fast until he reached Kurā` al-Ghamīm, and so did those who marched with him. Then he called for a glass of water, raised it for everyone to see, and drank from it.

Later he was told that some people continued to fast. He said, “They are disobedient! They are disobedient!” [Related by Muslim and al-Tirmidhī] 2. Anas reports: “A group of us were once travelling with the Prophet in Ramadan. Some of us were fasting and some were not. On a hot day, we stopped to rest, with little or no shade available. The one who had maximum shade was a person who had a shirt to cover himself. Some used their hands as a cover from the sun. Those who were fasting collapsed of exhaustion while those who were not pitched the tents and gave water to the animals.

Commenting, the Prophet said: “Those who are not fasting have run away with the whole reward today.” [Related by al-Bukhārī, Muslim and al-Nasā’ī] 3. Jābir reports: “Once on a journey, the Prophet saw a group of people gathered to shade a fellow traveller. When he enquired what was wrong with him, he was told that the man was fasting. The Prophet said, “It is not righteous to fast while on a journey.” [Related by Mālik, al-Bukhārī, Muslim, Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasā’ī] 4. `Amr ibn Umayyah al-Đamarī reports: “On arriving from a journey, I reported to the Prophet who invited me to stay for lunch. I apologised because I was fasting. The Prophet said, ‘Then let me tell you about the traveller: God has exempted him from fasting and half his prayers.’“ [Related by al-Nasā’ī] 5. A man from the clan of `Abdullāh ibn Ka`b ibn Mālik, called Anas ibn Mālik, quotes the Prophet as saying, “God has reduced the prayer for the traveller by half and exempted him from fasting. He has also exempted from fasting the nursing mother and the pregnant woman if they fear for their babies” [Related by Abū Dāwūd, al- Tirmidhī, al-Nasā’ī and Ibn Mājah] 6. `Ā’ishah reports that Ĥamzah ibn `Amr al-Aslamī, who was frequently fasting, once asked the Prophet about fasting while travelling, to which the Prophet replied: “You may fast if you wish, or you may not.” [Related by Mālik, al-Bukhārī, Muslim, Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī and al-Nasā’ī] Another version of this ĥadīth describes the man as ‘one who had no difficulty with fasting’.

7. Anas reports: “A group of us were travelling with the Prophet: some were fasting and others were not. No fasting person criticized anyone for not fasting, nor did any criticize others for fasting.” [Related by Mālik, al-Bukhārī, Muslim and Abū Dāwūd] 8. Abū al-Dardā’ reports: “We travelled with the Prophet one very hot day in Ramadan. We would even cover our heads with our hands because of the intense heat. None of us was fasting except the Prophet and Ibn Rawāĥah.” [Related by al-Bukhārī, Muslim and Abū Dāwūd] 9. Muĥammad ibn Ka`b reports: “I went in Ramadan to see Anas ibn Mālik as he was about to leave on a journey. When Anas was dressed and had his horse saddled and ready, he requested some food and ate. I asked whether this was the practice of the Prophet. Anas said, ‘Yes.’“ [Related by al-Tirmidhī] 10. ‘Ubayd ibn Jubayr reports: “I was travelling from Fusţāţ by boat during Ramađān with Abū Başrah al-Ghifārī, a Companion of the Prophet (peace be upon him). As he set off on his journey, Abū Başrah asked for lunch to be brought to him. He said to me, ‘Come and join me.’ I said, ‘We can still see the buildings on the shore,’ (meaning they had not gone past the city, the Nile).

Fasting was made obligatory for Muslims in the second year after the Hijrah, i.e.

the Prophet’s migration from Makkah to Madinah (which was to become the start of the Islamic lunar calendar). Thus, the obligation of fasting was decreed shortly before the ordinance of jihād, or striving for God’s cause. As a new duty, fasting was at first hard for the Muslims to observe. Those who found it too strenuous were, therefore, given a concession, requiring them instead to feed one needy person for every day of fasting they miss. A general recommendation to feed the needy is then made, either as a voluntary act in itself or by feeding more than the minimum number of needy people in lieu of fasting. “He who does good of his own account does himself good thereby.” (Verse 184) This is followed by the recommendation that, apart from cases of illness or travel, fasting would be more beneficial and preferable despite the hardship or discomfort it might cause: “For to fast is to do good to yourselves, if you only knew it.” (Verse 184) There is here an obvious element of education and training of will-power to enable Muslims to make the effort to fast. This also highlights the health benefits of fasting, in spite of the strain, all of which are important factors in the Islamic self- education process.

These recommendations were a step towards the withdrawal of the exemption for non-travelling healthy people and making fasting in the month of Ramadan obligatory, as given in verse 185. The concession remained valid for elderly people who find fasting in Ramadan too strenuous and are not expected to be able to fast at a later date.

Imām Mālik reports that Anas ibn Mālik, a Companion of the Prophet Muĥammad, lived to a very advanced age and was not able to keep the fast. He used to compensate by feeding poor people instead. `Abdullāh ibn `Abbās, a cousin and learned Companion of the Prophet, was of the opinion that the exemption has not been completely abrogated by the ruling of verse 185; it remains applicable to the elderly who are not able to keep the fast.

Ibn Abī Laylā, a prominent scholar, says that he visited `Aţā’ one day in Ramadan and found him eating.” (`Aţā’ told me that, according to Ibn `Abbās, the ruling of verse 185 superseded that of the one before it with respect to healthy non-travelling people, but the elderly were free not to fast if they fed instead one needy person for every day.” Fasting was made more appealing due to the fact that it is observed in Ramadan, the month in which the Qur’ān was revealed. This could be a reference to the fact that it was first revealed during Ramadan, or that most of it was revealed in it. It is a significant distinction since the Qur’ān is the definitive and timeless Book of the Muslim community, its guiding light, the source of its strength and security, from which it has drawn all the enduring qualities and elements that have made it great.

Without the gifts that the Qur’ān has given the Muslim community, it would have become forgotten history long ago. As a token of gratitude to God Almighty, Muslims observe the fast in the month of Ramadan during which the Qur’ān was revealed.

Interposed among the verses dealing with fasting comes a verse reflecting a profound insight into human nature. It reaches to the deepest recesses of the human psyche, offering solace and ample rewards for keeping the fast in response to God’s commands: “If My servants ask you about Me, well, I am near; I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he calls to Me. Let them then respond to Me, and believe in Me, so that they may follow the right way.” (Verse 186)

How kind and compassionate God truly is! Any hardship encountered in keeping the fast fades in comparison with this friendly and gentle reassurance. The choice of words creates an atmosphere of intimacy and accessibility, with God Himself stating a direct contact between Him and His servants. He does not give instructions to His Messenger, the Prophet Muĥammad on how to answer believers’ questions about Him. He gives the answer Himself: “I am near.” His closeness is not only to listen but also for immediate response: “I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he calls to Me.” (Verse 186)

This verse fills a believer’s heart with love, confidence and utter reassurance. In this atmosphere of friendliness and compassion, God, who has no need for anyone, directs believers to respond to Him and believe in Him, in the hope that this will guide them to wisdom and righteousness. “Let them then respond to Me, and believe in Me, so that they may follow the right way.” (Verse 186) By earning God’s generosity and guidance, believers end up winners on all counts.

Belief in God and response to His commands lead to true guidance. The way of life God has ordained for man is the only one truly worthy of adoption and adherence; all other ideologies lead only to ruin and frustration. When one responds to God’s call, one must be confident that God will answer one’s prayers (du`ā’).

However, one should not hasten God’s response, for He alone decides the most appropriate time to respond.

Salmān, the Persian, a Companion of the Prophet, quotes the Prophet as saying:

“God would not like to see His servant holding out his arms pleading for help and turn him away empty handed.” [Related by Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī and Ibn Mājah] `Ubādah ibn al-Şāmit quotes the Prophet as saying: “God shall answer the prayer (du`ā’) of any Muslim anywhere on earth, or He will protect him against contrasting harm, as long as he does not ask for something evil or for the break-up of kinship relations.” [Related by al-Tirmidhī on ibn Thawbān’s authority and by `Abdullāh ibn Imām Aĥmad] The Prophet is also reported to have said: “Your prayers shall be answered as long as you remain patient. Do not say, ‘I have prayed but my prayer has never been answered!’“ [Related by al-Bukhārī and Muslim] He is also reported as saying: “Prayers [du`ā’] shall be answered unless one asks for something evil or the break-up of kinship relations, and as long as one does not become impatient.” When the Prophet was asked to explain how one becomes impatient, he said: “One says, ‘I have prayed many times but I have had no response,’ then gives up hope and abandons praying [du`ā’] altogether.” [Related by Muslim] A fasting person has the best chance of his prayers being answered. Abū Dāwūd al-Ţayālisī relates on the authority of `Abdullāh ibn `Umar that the Prophet said:

The sūrah then resumes its elaboration on the rules of fasting. It points out that, in addition to food and drink, married Muslims are permitted sexual intimacy with their spouses between sunset and dawn. It gives the exact time for the fasting which extends from dawn till sunset. It points out that during any period when people retire to a mosque for worship in Ramadan, i.e. i`tikāf, sexual intimacy is not permitted for married people.

It is lawful for you to be intimate with your wives during the night preceding the fast.

They are as a garment for you, as you are for them. God is aware that you have been deceiving yourselves in this respect, and He has turned to you in His mercy and pardoned you. So, you may now lie with them and seek what God has ordained for you. Eat and drink until you can see the white streak of dawn against the blackness of the night. Then resume the fast till nightfall. Do not lie with your wives when you are in retreat in the mosques. These are the bounds set by God, so do not come near them.

Thus God makes clear His revelations to people, that they may remain God- fearing.

(Verse 187)

When fasting was first instituted, once one got to sleep at night, one would not eat, drink or have sexual intercourse with his wife, even if one woke up before dawn. It so happened that some Muslims did not have anything to eat at the time of the evening meal. One person was overtaken by sleep before he could eat anything and had to fast the following day as well, which made the fast arduous. Likewise, some were inclined to have sexual intercourse and did so. The Prophet became acutely aware of the hardship the Muslims were experiencing. Soon afterwards, God eased the situation by revealing this verse as a token of His mercy and benevolence.

“It is lawful for you to be intimate with your wives during the night preceding the fast.” (Verse 187) The Arabic expression translated here as ‘to be intimate with one’s wife’ denotes the preliminaries of sex, or denotes sexual intercourse. In fact, both are intended here and made lawful. However, in setting out this rule, God does not overlook to describe the marital relationship in transparent and compassionate terms: “They are as a garment for you, as you are for them.” The word used to describe the marital relationship in the Arabic original is libās, literally meaning garment.

Marriage does indeed cover and protect both spouses. Islam fully takes into account man’s natural drives, instincts and desires. It elevates man, treating him as one integral entity. Accordingly, Islam responds to the needs of the flesh, incorporating them into a decent and virtuous context.

The verse reveals the fact that some Muslims were finding it difficult to suppress their natural sexual desires, and some were even breaking the rules: “God is aware that you have been deceiving yourselves in this respect, and He has turned to you in His mercy and pardoned you.” (Verse 187) The self deception mentioned here refers to suppressed desires, or to the breach of the rules, as happened in some cases.

Within this context of fasting and abstention from food and drink, the sūrah sounds another warning, this time against usurping other people’s possessions. The verse refers specifically to presenting false and fraudulent evidence before a judge or an arbiter in order to obtain a favourable judgement giving one the right to appropriate someone else’s property. To reinforce the sense of deterrence, the warning follows immediately after reference to the bounds set by God and the call for more consciousness and fear of Him.

Do not devour one another’s property wrongfully, nor bribe with it the judges in order that you may sinfully, and knowingly, deprive others of any part of what is rightfully theirs. (Verse 188)

Commenting on this verse, Ibn Kathīr cites a report by `Alī ibn Abī Ţalĥah who quotes Ibn `Abbās, a cousin and Companion of the Prophet, as saying that the verse refers to someone owing money to another. Knowing that the creditor has no document to prove the debt, the debtor denies liability altogether. He would then put the matter before a judge, knowing very well that he is in the wrong, taking what is unlawful to him, and has no case whatsoever. He adds that Mujāhid, Sa`īd ibn Jubayr, `Ikrimah, al-Ĥasan, Qatādah, al-Suddī, Muqātil ibn Ĥayyān, and `Abd al- Raĥmān ibn Zayd ibn Aslam have all warned against contesting a dispute when one knows oneself to be in the wrong. Ibn Kathīr also refers to accounts in al-Bukhārī and Muslim in which Umm Salamah quotes the Prophet as saying: “I am only human.

When you come to me for judgement, some of you may have a clearer piece of evidence, and I might be inclined to rule in their favour. If I give someone anything which is not rightly his, it would be as if I have given him a brand of fire; it is up to him to take it or leave it.” Judges decide on prima facie evidence, and the onus of honesty is on the litigants.

They are left to their own conscience.

Thus we can see how this matter is also closely linked to taqwā, or the sense of God-fearing, as was just retribution and fasting before it. These rulings represent parts of a harmonious and divinely-ordained way of life, firmly bound together in a common framework of maintaining the fear of God, or taqwā. This makes Islam a potent and well integrated system which cannot be fragmented or disconnected, taking some parts of it and discarding others. That would be a gross transgression and a most vile offence against God Almighty.