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
Teachings of the Qur`aan Al-Muddaththir Teachings and Commentary Soorah 74:1-7 Ayub A. Hamid Teachings and Commentary In the Name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. As mentioned in the introductory section, the Soorah starts with instructions to the Prophet sall Allaahu`alayhi wa sallam on the tasks he needed to start working on right away. Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala addresses him in a loving, affectionate style acknowledging the mental condition the Prophet was going through and commands him six tasks: 1 O you wrapped up in a blanket! 2 Stand up and warn the people; 3 proclaim the Greatness of your Lord; 4 purify your garments and character; 5 keep away from uncleanness; 6 and do not discontinue your efforts when you feel that you have done enough, 7 rather, persevere for your Lord. The six tasks are: 1. Stand up and warn the people: Launch the mission and start calling people to the worship of One Lord, disregarding all the hazards, dangers, difficulties and problems that are inherent in making this call in the biggest centre of idol worship in Arabia and that you are concerned about; wake people up and warn them of the consequences of their current beliefs and lifestyles; inform them of the punishment of Allaah and the fire of Hell that awaits them if they do not adopt the Islamic lifestyle and the servitude of the One God. 2. Proclaim the Greatness of your Lord: In a society where people are proud of and boast of the greatness of their tribes, clans, forefathers as well as contemporary chiefs, proclaim that the greatness belongs ONLY to One God. No individual, family, clan, tribe, king, ruler, institution, country, superpower, etc., is great; only Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala is Great. No person as a human being is superior to another person. All superiority, special status and greatness belongs only to the Creator of the human beings. Proclaiming the greatness of Allaah is the first and foremost task of a prophet and a Muslim." The essence of being a Muslim is to reject any and all concepts of human greatness and accept Allaah as the greatest. Accepting Allaah's greatness while rejecting all notions that assign greatness to any human being or human institution frees a Muslim from many fears and makes him invincible. It frees him from the feelings of inferiority or inclination towards subservience or submission to any human being except according to commands of Allaah. It gives a Muslim strength and courage to withstand any and all sorts of pressures, coercions, intimidations and influences from human beings against obeying the commands of Allaah. It is due to such reasons that the slogan "Allaahu Akbar" – "Allaah is the Greatest" is an extremely important slogan for Muslims. Thus, this declaration of Allaah's greatness was not only to demolish the barriers to human equality and establishing the sovereignty of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala, but also to indicate indirectly to the Prophet sall Allaahu`alayhi wa sallam that the Greatest of all had appointed him to work on a mission, so he need not worry about anyone who came in the way of his work. Thus, he should start the work without worrying about the reaction of people. 3. Maintain the purity of your garments: This command has multiple implications. Proverbially, garments refer to mentality, character and personality. From that perspective, it means: keep your mind and thoughts completely pure of any semblance of idolatry, regardless of how much pressure the opponents put on you. Keep your personality clean from any trait that can be presumed to be a blot on your character, and keep everything clearly aboveboard so that no ulterior motive can honestly be ascribed to your missionary work. When garments are taken literally, it refers to rules of cleanliness that Islam so emphatically teaches. Also, some people tend to think that clean clothes are a carnal matter and that dirty clothes are a sign of being religious and spiritual. The Islamic mission is the mission of clean spirituality that demands that body and clothes both be kept clean and pure. 4. Keep away from uncleanness: Stay clear of and avoid any compromise on the matter of idolatry that is the filth, abomination and impurity of soul; and keep a long distance away from any other abomination in ideas, thoughts, beliefs or behaviours prevalent in the society. This is a reiteration of the previous command in the converse style to emphasize that he must be extremely vigilant in keeping clean of every kind of filth or uncleanness. The emphasis on these commands did not mean that he was not keeping away from those unclean things at that time. It was an established fact that he had the cleanest and purest character of all from all abominations mentioned here. The purpose of the emphasis is to caution him to stay on his guard and to be extremely vigilant so that under the pressure of circumstances, he does not slip or at all give any impression of any weakness or compromise that may be inconsistent with his mission. 5. Do not discontinue your efforts when you feel that you have done enough: Because the words "laa tamnun" can mean "do not perform favour" as well as "do not discontinue" while "tastakthiru" can mean "you seek abundance" or "you consider abundant", this command has been translated by exegetes in two ways. People usually have rendered it as: "Do not perform this favour, expecting or seeking abundance." According to this rendition, it implies: do not do favours to people expecting or seeking any reward, benefit or appreciation in return from them. Your favours to people should be selfless. Although this is good advice, it is out of context with the tasks being assigned to him. Considering the context of the missionary tasks, this rendition implies: While doing the favour of calling people to guidance, do not expect or seek any reward or appreciation from the people. The tremendous amount of efforts you will put in should be totally selfless and only for the sake of your Lord. From a worldly point of view it is going to be a thankless job. This meaning assumes that inviting people to the guidance of Islam was going to be welcomed and appreciated by people and the Prophet sall Allaahu`alayhi wa sallam was hoping to benefit from it; while the reality is that Islamic work is always rejected and ferociously opposed, not welcomed or appreciated. Especially in Makkah it was evident that there would be a ferocious negative reaction to the call to Islam and the Prophet sall Allaahu`alayhi wa sallam knew that. That is why he was reluctant to undertake the mission and was extremely worried about the rejection and opposition which he would face and which he summed up in his comment, "I fear for my life." Also, this meaning does not fit with the next command for perseverance. If it was expected to result in abundance, why would patience and perseverance be needed? The translation that we have adopted implies: As you know and as you are concerned about the way idolatry and other un-Islamic practices are deep rooted in the society, people are not going to listen easily or change quickly to the Islamic lifestyle. It is going to be an uphill battle. Despite your best efforts, they are not going to listen. But you will have to keep at it tirelessly. No matter how hard you have worked and how many times you have talked to people, never give up thinking that you have done whatever could have been done. You must continue even when you feel that you have exhausted all avenues and ways. Never discontinue the mission even if you feel that nothing more would make any difference; that whoever could have become Muslim has already done so; that the others are not going to listen; etc. It will not be enough until Allaah himself tells you to move on or gives you different instructions. Thus, this command was to warn him about the normal human tendency to conclude after the best and multiple attempts that no more people were going to listen, and thus terminate further attempts to invite them to Islam. This meaning is very much in line with the context and directly linked to the next verse that commands him to persevere until further instructions from the Lord. 6. Persevere for your Lord: Your mission is revolutionary. It will touch extremely sensitive nerves of the society. The reaction to your call is going to be extreme. You are stepping into the lion's den. In the face of all the troubles that will come your way, be patient, remain steadfast and persevere in your mission for the sake of your Lord, until He gives you further directions. When the "Sabr" verb is followed by "li" it conveys "to persevere and wait patiently," just as it is clarified by At-Toor 52:48 "Persevere until the decision of your Lord" or "Wait patiently for the decision of your Lord." Thus, commands five and six taken together give the full meaning: "do not discontinue your work at any time thinking that you have exhausted all avenues and done all that could have been done, and patiently wait for further instructions from your Lord". In fact, he was reminded about this when his opponents started calling him "the crazy one". He was told, "Persevere until the decision of your Lord and do not be like the companion of the fish." (Al-Qalam 68:48) As was explained when discussing the teachings of Al-Qalam, Prophet Younus (Jonah)`alayhissalaam left his people before Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala instructed him to leave, thinking that he had done enough and had already exhausted all avenues of calling his people to Islam. In the subsequent events, he was swallowed by a large fish type of creature, until he sought Allaah's forgiveness, was forgiven and thrown up by the creature on the shore. In compliance with these instructions, the Prophet sall Allaahu`alayhi wa sallam launched his mission. Some people became Muslim, but the majority denied. The chiefs of Quraish were especially upset and wanted to stop his mission in its tracks. Their reaction was based purely on their selfish worldly expediencies, as they did not believe in the Hereafter. However, when they were warned about it, they would claim that if there would be any Hereafter, they would have the same kind of good life and status as they currently enjoyed in this world. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2009 Ayub A. Hamid All rights reserved This document may be used, only with this copyright notice included. Permission is granted to circulate among private individuals and groups, to post on internet forums, and include in not-for-profit publications subject to the following conditions: (1) Material used must be produced faithfully in full, without alteration or omission; (2) The author's subject title must remain unchanged, in whole or in part; (3) Material must be attributed to the author Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid. Contact the author for all other rights, which are reserved. Note: This series is providing the teachings of the Qur`aan, not a literal translation. Instead of literal translation, it gives interpretive meanings of the verses, along with their contextual details. Please remember that any translation of the Holy Qur`aan is in fact only an expression of the translator's understanding of the Word of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala, and hence cannot be equated with the Qur`aan itself. Only the original Arabic text can be called the Holy Qur`aan. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid is a visionary and strategic Islamic thinker residing in Canada for the last 34 years. His recently published books are: 1. Islam - Does It Make Sense? 2. Unveiling the Commands - The Truth about Hijaab, Khimaar and Jilbaab. 3. Finding A Soulmate - A Guide for Parents and Youth. 4. A Book Unlike Any Other. 5. Islam - Adopting Its Paradigms. 6. Exploring the Islamic Beliefs. http://soundvisioncanada.com/shop/pbrowse.asp?Pg=3&Cat=10004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following soowar 'Teachings of the Qur`aan' series by Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid, are available on request:- Al Faatihah Al Baqarah Aali`Imraan A Nisaa' Al Maaidah Al An`aam Al A`raaf Al Anfaal At Teen Al`Alaq Al Qadr Al Bayyinah Al Zilzaal Al Aadiyatt Al Qaari`ah At Takaathur Al`Asr Al Humazah Al Feel Al Quraish Al Maa`oon Al-Kowthar Al Kaafiroon Al Nasr Al Lahab Al Ikhlaas Al Falaq An Naas Al Mulk Al Qalam Al Haaqqah Al Ma`aarij Nooh Al Jinn Al Muzammil Al Muddaththir - Name, Background and Placement K a r i m a -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
