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208. " o' you who have faith! enter you all into submission (to allah in
being in peace), and follow not the footsteps of satan,
for he is a manifest foe for you. "
209. " but if you slip after clear arguments have
come to you, then know that allah is the mighty, the wise. "
occasion of revelation:
it is narrated from `akramah that this verse was revealed about
the jews who had converted to islam, such as: `abdullah-ibn-salam,
tha`labat-ibn-salam, ibn-i-yamin, asad and asid (the sons of ka`b),
shu`bat-ibn-amr, bahira-rahib, sa`id-ibn-amr, and ghays-ibn-zayd.
they went to the messenger of allah (p.b.u.h.) and asked him to allow
them to glorify saturday and recite the torah; and, similar to the custom
in the age of ignorance, to avoid consuming the milk and meat of
camel.1
commentary:
the worldly peace is possible only under the shadow of faith.
the qur'anic words /silm/ and /salam/ in lexicon mean `peace' and
`quietness'. so, this verse invites all the believes to peace, and in view of
the fact that it addresses the believers, the verse means that peace can
come into existence only with the existence of faith. thus, war and
anxiety cannot be removed only by relying on mere human made rules
and laws based on material affairs. then, it is only by the use of the
spiritual power of faith that human beings, in spite of all their
differences, can live peacefully and in fellowship together when they,
consequently, may form a worldly government.
" o' you who have faith! enter you all into submission
(to allah in being in peace), ..."
it is evident that material affairs such as: language, race,
wealth, geographical region, and social classes are totally the origin of
separation and dispersion. they cannot provide the real worldly peace
which needs a firm circle of connection between the hearts of human
beings in the world. this linking circle is only faith in allah which is
beyond those differences. therefore, a certain worldly peace without
faith is impossible; the same manner that the inner peace and
tranquillity in the unity of a person and in his spiritual environment,
without having a true faith, is impossible.
" ... and follow not the footsteps of satan, ..."
as it was formerly mentioned, the satanic temptations and
deviations usually come forth gradually and , according to the meanings
of the qur'an, each of them is counted as the following of a step of
satan.2 here, this fact is stated again that deviation from the right and
following the stimuli of enmity, hypocrisy, fighting and blood-shedding
usually begin from slight and simple stages. believing people should be
aware of their advent in order to stop them. there is a proverb common
among arab people which says: verily, a destructive fight begins with a
slap.
"... for he is a manifest foe for you. "
the enmity of satan against human kind is not something
hidden or unknown. satan has decided and sworn to behave inimically
towards man since the beginning of the creation of adam, and does his
best to settle this enmity among the human race. yet, as it has been
described before, this opposition and hostility can not harm the true
believers but it is a secret alongside the path of spiritual development.
* * * *
" but if you slip after clear arguments have come to you, ... "
the path is clear; the program is clear; and the destination is
also clear; so, there is no room for falling for the temptations of satan.
yet, if you deviate from the straight path and go astray while you have
all of these clear reasons in hand, it will be your own fault. thus, do
know that allah is both `mighty' , so that no one can flee from his
justice, and `wise' so that he judges nothing unjustly.
" ... then know that allah is the mighty, the wise. "
explanations:
another interpretation of the verse says: this verse indicates that
the holy prophet (p.b.u.h.) through this revelation was informed of
what will happen to those who joined the ranks of islam for some
interest of their own or other. it is clearly stated in this verse that those
who backslide after adopting the faith, may not foolishly imagine that
their going astray is going to affect in the least, the cause of god or
would cause any inconvenience to the cause of those who believe in
god. those who go astray, need not be arrogant as to imagine that they
will defeat god's power or wisdom. the loss will be of those who go
astray and not in the least of anybody else.
1
qur'an-il-hakim, persian translation, by muhammad khajawi, p. 263
2 the qura'n, 2: 168; 6: 142; 24:21
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