B i s m i l l a a h i r R a h m a a n i r R a h e e m The Terms of Commitment Edited by Adil Salahi THE Qur'an outlines the terms of the pledge women give when they adopt Islam, or when they commit themselves to follow Islamic teachings. These are given in the following verse: "Prophet! When believing women come and pledge to you that they will not associate any partner with God, nor steal, nor commit adultery, nor kill their children, nor lie about who fathered their children, nor disobey you in anything reasonable, then accept their pledge of allegiance and pray to God to forgive them. God is most forgiving, ever merciful." (60: 12) The Hadith we quoted last week, speaking of the pledge given to the Prophet (peace be upon him) by the new Muslims of Madinah, states exactly the same six terms. We note that the Qur'anic verse specifically mentions Muslim women, while those who gave the pledge outlined in the Hadith were 12 men. The pledge given a year later by a larger number of Muslims from Madinah added a commitment to fight for the cause of Islam. Scholars agree that these six terms remain complete for women, while men are required to defend Islam and the Muslim community when attacked by an enemy. The first item in this pledge is "not to associate any partner with God." This is the basic commitment of every Muslim. Indeed, a Muslim declares his belief in God's oneness in a variety of ways and situations. The call to prayer, which is made five times every day, includes this declaration twice. In every prayer offered, whether obligatory or voluntary, a Muslim makes this declaration at the beginning and at the end. Indeed, the belief in God's oneness is the central point of Islam, without which a person cannot be a Muslim. Hence, the pledge to Islam must begin with it. The pledge then mentions two major sins: Theft and adultery. Placing these two in between the association of partners with God and killing one's children shows the seriousness with which Islam views these two actions. Both are grave sins, no doubt. They represent aggression on the rights of individuals and society. When people who commit these are only lightly punished or are able to escape punishment altogether, security and peace within the community are undermined. Although human beings are naturally inclined to take care of their children and look after them, giving much of their time and effort to their education and upbringing, some people do kill their children. This may be an outright infanticide, or the result of negligence and even abuse. There may be different reasons that cause parents to kill their own children, such as trying to conceal the fact that the child is illegitimate, or because the child is of poor health or has special needs, or because of the parents' poverty. The child is almost always defenseless against an adult. Hence, this crime is mentioned in the pledge to highlight its enormity and to ensure that it does not exist in Muslim society. "Lying about the fatherhood of their children" is mentioned next. This is particularly directed at women who claim that their children belong to their husbands when they are certain that they belong to others. This situation involves more than one crime. The woman in such a case is guilty of adultery in the first place, and then she lies claiming that her pregnancy was by her husband. A third wrong results from this situation as the deceived husband brings up the child as one of his own. This is further compounded when the begotten child inherits her husband along with his other children. The last item in the pledge is not to disobey the Prophet in anything reasonable. All Muslims are required to obey the Prophet in whatever he commands them. However, the terms of the pledge state that obedience is 'in anything reasonable'. The Prophet never asked his followers to do any unreasonable thing. Islam does not impose any hardship on its followers. On the contrary, it is a basic rule of Islam that hardship necessitates easing restrictions. Thus, if the fulfillment of any Islamic duty is attended by hardship, conditions are relaxed so that the duty is fulfilled in an easy and reasonable manner. For example when fasting in Ramadan becomes more difficult because of illness or traveling, a Muslim is allowed not to fast provided he compensates for the days he misses sometime later, when he has recovered good health or returned from travel. With Kind Regards Mohammad Usman Jeddah-SAUDI ARABIA The sayings of our beloved Prophet Muhammad <http://muhammad.net/> (peace be upon him) 'Acquiring (religious) knowledge in company for an hour in the night is better than spending the whole night in prayer.' < Al-Tirmidhi;Narrated: Abdullah ibn Abbas (r) >
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