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Section 19Guiding Regulations of LifeDuties to Allah. self and others - Allied laws in the scriptures given to Moses (a.s.) (151) قُلْ تَعالَوْا أَتْلُ ما حَرَّمَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَيْكُمْ أَلاَّ تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئاً وَ بِالْوالِدَيْنِ إِحْساناً وَ لا تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلادَكُمْ مِنْ إِمْلاقٍ نَحْنُ نَرْزُقُكُمْ وَ إِيَّاهُمْ وَ لا تَقْرَبُوا الْفَواحِشَ ما ظَهَرَ مِنْها وَ ما بَطَنَ وَ لا تَقْتُلُوا النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلاَّ بِالْحَقِّ ذلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُمْ بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ 151. " Say: ' Come, I will recite what your Lord has forbidden you from : that you do not associate anything with Him, and show kindness to your parents, and do not kill your children for poverty - We provide for you and for them - and do not approach indecencies, the outward among them and the inward ones, and do not kill the soul that Allah has forbidden save for justice. This He has enjoined you with so that you might understand." Commentary : Ten Commandments :After nullifying the artificial ordinances of pagans, which were mentioned in the former verses, this current verse, and two verses next to it, have pointed to the principals of prohibitions in Islam. Thereby, the Qur'an refers to the first class capital sins in an expressive short and interesting statement. These sins, which are prohibited in Islam, are detailed through ten parts. At first, it says: " Say: ' Come, I will recite what your Lord has forbidden you from: ..." 1. "... that you do not associate anything with Him, ..." 2. "... and show kindness to your parents, ..." 3. "... and do not kill your children for poverty. ...", because your sustenance and theirs are totally with Allah (s.w.t.), and He gives the sustenance of all. "... We provide for you and for them. ..." 4. "... do not approach indecencies, the outward among them and the inward ..." That is, not only you must avoid doing them, but also you must not approach them. 5. "... and do not kill the soul that Allah has forbidden save for justice. ..." This part of the verse means that you should not pollute your hands by shedding the blood of the innocent persons. And you should not slay the souls whom Allah has held in esteem and shedding their blood is not permissible, unless the allowance of slaying them has been issued according to the laws of Allah, for example, when the one is a murderer. Then, following these five items, in order to emphasize on it more, the verse says:"... This He has enjoined you with so that you might understand." * * * (152) وَ لا تَقْرَبُوا مالَ الْيَتِيمِ إِلاَّ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ حَتَّى يَبْلُغَ أَشُدَّهُ وَ أَوْفُوا الْكَيْلَ وَ الْمِيزانَ بِالْقِسْطِ لا نُكَلِّفُ نَفْساً إِلاَّ وُسْعَها وَ إِذا قُلْتُمْ فَاعْدِلُوا وَ لَوْ كانَ ذا قُرْبى وَ بِعَهْدِ اللَّهِ أَوْفُوا ذلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُمْ بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ 152. " And do not approach the orphan's property except in the best manner until he reaches his maturity. And give full measure and weight with justice. We do not impose upon anyone a duty but to the extent of his ability. And when you speak, be just, though it be (against) a relative; and fulfil Allah's covenant. This He has enjoined you with so that you might remember." Commentary : This verse continues stating the ten commandments. It says :6. " And do not approach the orphan's Property except in the best manner until he reaches his maturity. 7. "... And give full measure and weight with justice. We do not impose upon anyone a duty but to the extent of his ability. ..." 8. "... And when you speak, be just, though it be (against) a relative; ..." 9. "...and fulfil Allah's covenant. ...", and do not breach it. The objective meaning of "Allah's covenant" is all of Allah's covenants, irrespective of genetic covenants and canonical covenants, together with the Divine duties, and any kind of promise, such as: vow and oath. Again, for an emphasis, at the end of these four parts of commandments, the verse says:"... This He has enjoined you with so that you might remember." * * * (153) وَ أَنَّ هذا صِراطِي مُسْتَقِيماً فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَ لا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ ذلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُمْ بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُون 153. " And this (the mentioned commandments) indeed is My path, straight, so follow it, and do not follow (other) ways, for they will scatter you away from His path. This He has enjoined you with, so that you may guard yourselves (against evil)." Commentary : Then, as the tenth commandment, the Qur'animplies that Allah cammands that this is His Straight Path, which is the Path of Unity, the Path of Truth and justice, the Path of piety and virtue. You should follow it and never tread in the perverted and diverse ways which make you astray and aloof from the path of Allah. It scatters the seed of hyporisy and discord among you. It says : " And this (the mentioned commandments) indeed is My path, straight, so follow it, and do not follow (other) ways, for they will scatter you away from His path. ..." And, for the third time, at the end of the holy verse, the Qur'an emphasizes that :"... This He has enjoined you with, so that you may guard yourselves (against evil)." * * * Explanations : The Importance of Showing Kindness to Parents :Mentioning 'kindness to parents' immediately after the subject of struggling against polytheism and before some magnificent commandments, such as : the prohibition of killing a person, and the execution of the principals of justice, are some evidences among the Islamic instructions upon the extraordinary importance of the right of parents. This matter will be made more clear when we note that instead of prohibition of hurting parents, which parallel other prohibitions mentioned in this verse, the subject of 'showing kindness to parents' has been referred to. This denotes that not only creating annoyance to them is unlawful, but, besides that, showing kindess and benevolence unto them is also necessary. More interesting than this is that the Arabic word /'ihsan/ (kindness) has been changed into a transitive form by a preposition, and it has said : "... and show kidness to your parents, ...". Thus, the verse emphasizes that the question of 'showing kindness to parents' should be taken so great and important by a person that the one performs it directly by himself and without having an intermediary. 2. Slaying Children for Hunger : It is understood from these verses that during the Age of Ignorance, Arabs not only used to bury their daughters alive because of their wrong bigotries, but also killed their sons, who were considered as a great capital in the society of their time, as a result of fear of poverty. Unfortunately, this treatment of the Age of Ignorance is being repeated in another form in our own age, too. Under the excuse of probable deficiency of food stuff on the earth, the innocent babies are intentionally killed through abortion when they are in the state of embryo. It is true that some other reasons are also mentioned for such abortions today, but the problem of poverty and deficiency of foodstuff is one of its main reasons. All of these facts, as well as some other affairs similar to them, show that the evil manner of the Age of Ignorance is repeated in another form in our time, so that we can say 'the Ignorance of today' is fulfilled in an even wider and more terrible case than the ignorance of before Islam. * * * (154) ثُمَّ آتَيْنا مُوسَى الْكِتابَ تَماماً عَلَى الَّذِي أَحْسَنَ وَ تَفْصِيلاً لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَ هُدىً وَ رَحْمَةً لَعَلَّهُمْ بِلِقاءِ رَبِّهِمْ يُؤْمِنُونَ 154. " Then We gave Moses the Book, to complete (Our blessing) on him who would do good, and to explain all things, and as a guidance and a mercy, so that they may believe in the meeting of their Lord." Commentary : The discussion through a few former verses was upon the ten basical and fundamental commandments of Allah. They have been enjoined not only in Islam but also in all divine religions. Next to mentioning those commandments, the Qur'n says : " Then We gave Moses the Book, to complete (Our blessing) on him who would do good, ..." The verse implies that Allah (s.w.t.) has completed His blessing on those who are good doers, and they obey the command of Allah, and follow the right. Then the verse continues the statement that, in that Book, Allah explained whatever was needed and what was effective alongside the way of development of man. "... and to explain all things, ..." Also, that Book, which was sent down to Moses, was the source of divine guidance and mercy. "... and as a guidance and a mercy, ..." All of these things were for the sake that they might believe in the Resurrection Day and the meeting of the Lord, so that, by the belief in Resurrection, their thoughts, statements, and manner become sincerely pure and godly. It says : "... so that they may believe in the meeting of their Lord." * * * Section 20Prayer, Sacrifice, Life and Death to be only for Allah.The Qur'an was sent down for the guidance of mankind - The law of requital - The object of life of mankind must be only to please Allah - The believers in Allah will be the rullers of the earth. (155) وَ هذا
كِتابٌ أَنْزَلْناهُ مُبارَكٌ فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَ اتَّقُوا لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ 155. " And this (Qur'an) is a Book which we have sent down, blessed, so follow it, and keep from evil so that mercy may be shown to you." 156. " Lest you should say : The Book was sent down only to two parties (the Jews and the Christians) before us, and we were truely unaware of their studies." Commentary : In order to complete the previous discussion upon the heavenly Book, this holy verse points to the revelation of the Qur'an and its teaching. It says : " And this (Qur'an) is a Book which we have sent down, blessed, so follow it, and keep from evil so that mercy may be shown to you." * * * In the second verse, mentioned in the above couple of verses, the Qur'an has closed all the ways of flight and seeking excuses to the pagans. It announces that Allah has sent this heavenly book down, with those advantages, in order that the pagans do not say that the Book was sent down only to the couple of former parties, the Jews and the Christians, and that they were neglectful of studying, reviewing and discussing them. And, they should not say that they disobeyed the command of Allah because His commandment was under the control of others and it was not available for them. The verse says : " Lest you should say : The Book was sent down only to two parties (the Jews and the Christians) before us, and we were truely unaware of their studies." * * * (157) أَوْ تَقُولُوا لَوْ أَنَّا أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْنَا الْكِتابُ لَكُنَّا أَهْدى مِنْهُمْ فَقَدْ جاءَكُمْ بَيِّنَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَ هُدىً وَ رَحْمَةٌ فَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ كَذَّبَ بِآياتِ اللَّهِ وَ صَدَفَ عَنْها سَنَجْزِي الَّذِينَ يَصْدِفُونَ عَنْ آياتِنا سُوءَ الْعَذابِ بِما كانُوا يَصْدِفُونَ 157. " Or (lest) you should say : ' If the Book had been sent down to us, we would certainly have been better guided than them.' So indeed there has come to you clear proof from your Lord, and guidance and mercy. Who then is more unjust than him who denies the Signs of Allah, and turns away from them ? Soon We will recompense those who turn away from Our Signs with a terrible punishment for what they used to turn away." Commentary : The same excuse that was referred to in the previous verse is pointed out more vastly and with some more claims and prides of theirs in this verse. The holy verse implies that if the Qur'an were not sent down upon them, they might claim that they were so prepared and eager to fulfil the commands of Allah that no other nation could match them in that regard. The verse says : " Or (lest) you should say : ' If the Book had been sent down to us, we would certainly have been better guided than them.' ..." Standing before these claims, the Qur'an implies that Allah has shut the gates of all ways of seeking excuses to them, because clear proofs and meaningful verses, accompanied with guidance and mercy of Allah, have come to them from the side of their Lord. It says : So indeed there has come to you clear proof from your Lord, and guidance and mercy. ..." Yet, is there anyone more unjust than those who belie the Signs of Allah and turn away from them ? This circumstance shows that they not only turned away from the Sings of Allah, but also kept themselves terribly far from them. The verse says : "... Who then is more unjust than him who denies the Signs of Allah, and turns away from them ? ..." The painful punishment of such thoughtless and obstinate persons who, without studying them, intensively deny the facts and run away from them is stated in a short and expressive sentence. These people even ban the way of others, and this chastisement is the fruit of their own proofless denial. The verse says :"... Soon We will recompense those who turn away from Our Signs with a terrible punishment for what they used to turn away." * * * (158) هَلْ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلاَّ أَنْ تَأْتِيَهُمُ الْمَلائِكَةُ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ رَبُّكَ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ بَعْضُ آياتِ رَبِّكَ يَوْمَ يَأْتِي بَعْضُ آياتِ رَبِّكَ لا يَنْفَعُ نَفْساً إِيمانُها لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِنْ قَبْلُ أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمانِها خَيْراً قُلِ انْتَظِرُوا إِنَّا مُنْتَظِرُونَ 158. " Do they await anything but that the angels should come to them, or your Lord should come, or some of your Lord's Signs should come ? On the day when some of the Signs of your Lord come, the faith (and repentance) will not benefit anyone who had not believed beforehand and had not earned goodness through his faith. Say: ' Wait ! we too are waiting '." Commentary : This fact was pointed out in the former verses that Allah completed the argument to the pagans and He sent the heavenly Book, i.e. the Qur'an, for the guidance of all. Now, this verse indicates that these obstinate persons are so arrogant in their affairs that these clear evidences do not affect them. It seems that they are waiting for their own annihilation, or losing their last opportunity, or they are expecting some impossible affairs to come forth. At first, it says : " Do they await anything but that the angels should come to them, or your Lord should come, ..." That is, do they expect that Allah comes to them and when they see Him they believe in Him ? In fact, they are waiting for an impossible thing to happen. Then, it adds that they may expect to see the occurance of some of the signs of Allah which will occur at the threshold of Resurrection, the end of the world, whereupon the doors of repentance will be closed. The verse says: "... or some of your Lord's signs should come ? ..." Then, following this meaning, it adds :"... On the day when some of the Signs of your Lord come, the faith (and repentance) will not benefit anyone who had not believed beforehand and had not earned goodness through his faith. ..." Since, on that Day repentance and belief will gain a form which will be obligatory, this kind of repentance and belief is not worthy, of course. They are worthy and acceptable when they are arbitrary. At the end of the verse, the Qur'an addresses these obstinate persons and, with a threatening tone, says that now that they are waiting for such a thing, they may remain in their waiting and We wait, too, for their painful retribution. It says : "... Say: ' Wait ! We too are waiting'." One of the interesting things that can be understood from this verse is that the Qur'an introduces the way of felicity in Faith. This Faith is the one under whose ray a goodness may be obtained and some good deeds be fulfilled. * * * (159) إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا دِينَهُمْ وَ كانُوا شِيَعاً لَسْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ إِنَّما أَمْرُهُمْ إِلَى اللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُهُمْ بِما كانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ 159. " Verily those who divided their religion and became parties, you have no concern with them. Their affair is only with Allah, then He will inform them of what they used to do." Commentary : Following the explanation of ' Ten Commandments' which were discussed through previous verses, this verse, indeed, can be counted as an emphasis and a commentary upon the subject mentioned in the tenth commandment. Its content commands us to follow 'the Straight Path' and to struggle against any hypocrisy and discord. At first, it says : " Verily those who divided their religion and became parties, you have no concern with them. ..." It means that, in no respect you have concern with them, and they have no concern with your school of thought, because your school of thought is the school of theism and Straight Path, and there is only one 'Straight Path' for all, not more than that. Then, as a threat and reprimand against these dispersive persons, the Qur'an says :"... Their affair is only with Allah, then He will inform them of what they used to do." It is noteworthy that the content of this verse is a general and common commandment about all those who cause discord among people. By creating kinds of innovations, they scatter the seeds of hypocrisy and discord amongst the servants of Allah, irrespective of those who were from the former nations, or those who are in this nation. With a full emphasis, this verse intensifies once more the fact that Islam is a religion of Unity and Oneness. It hates any kind of hypocrisy, discord and dispersion. (160) مَنْ جاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ عَشْرُ أَمْثالِها وَ مَنْ جاءَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَلا يُجْزى إِلاَّ مِثْلَها وَ هُمْ لا يُظْلَمُونَ 160. " Whoever brings a good (deed), he shall have ten times its like, and whoever brings vice, he shall not be recompensed but with its like, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly." Commentary : In this holy verse the multifold reward given for good deeds is referred to. Through previous verse, the wrong doers were threatened and reprimanded upon their evil deeds, while here, in this verse, the Qur'an clearly says : " Whoever brings a good (deed), he shall have ten times its like, ..." But as for those who commit a sin, Allah will punish them equally as much as their sin. As a result of the greatness of His grace and generosity,Allah bestows the reward of a good action more than its due, and forgives the faults of the sinners. And, if he punishes one, He punishes as much as the one deserves, not more than that. The verse continues saying : "...and whoever brings vice, he shall not be recompensed but with its like, ..." Some of the commentators believe that the purpose of the Qur'anic word /hasanah/ (a good deed) is ' Unity ', and the purpose of the word /sayyi'ah/ (a vice) is 'infidelity'. According to this meaning, the essence of good deeds is Unity and the essence of vices is infidelity. "... and they shall not be dealt with unjustly." There will not be done any unjust against anybody, because none will be punished more than what one deserves. Therefore, Allah treats with His grace when He gives reward, but He treats with His justice when He punishes. The tenfold rewards that He gives for a good action, only one part is the wage of it and the rest nine parts are 'Allah's grace'. Sura An-Nisa, No. 4, Verse 173 says : "... He will pay them their rewards fully and will bestow them more out of His Grace." It is worthy to note that the tenfold reward is for all believers in general, but some deeds which are done in some circumstances by some qualified persons will be bestowed upto seven hundred times rewards, and even without measure rewards either. * * * (161) قُلْ إِنَّنِي هَدانِي رَبِّي إِلى صِراطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ دِيناً قِيَماً مِلَّةَ إِبْراهِيمَ حَنِيفاً وَ ما كانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ 161. " Say: ' Verily my Lord has guided me to a Straight Path, the established religion, the creed of Abraham, the upright one, and he was not of the polytheists." Commentary : This verse, together with the next verses by which Sura Al-An'am ends, is, in fact, a summary of the subjects discusses about the struggle against paganism and idolatry stated in this Sura. At first, in order to stand against the illogical notions and claims of pagans and idol worshippers, Allah orders His Messenger to tell them that his Lord has guided him to the Straight Path, which is the nearest path among all paths. This 'Straight Path' is the same path of Unity and monotheism, and the path of eradication of the creed of paganism and polytheism. It says : " Say: ' Verily my Lord has guided me to a straight path, ..." Thus, the Qur'an explains 'the Straight Path' in this verse and the next two verses. First of all, it implies that it is a direct religion with the utmost correctness and veracity, eternal, and subsisting to the affairs of both religion and life, body and soul. "... the established religion, ..." And, since Arabs showed a special affection to Abraham, so that they even introduced their creed as Abraham's creed, the Qur'an adds that the true creed of Abraham is the very one toward which you have been invited, not that which you have forged under his name. "... the creed of Abraham, ..." That very Abraham (a.s.) is the one who turned away from the superstitious creed of his time and environment, and attached the Truth, i.e. the monotheism. "... The upright one, ..." This meaning seems to be an answer to the expressions of polytheists who blamed the opposition of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) with the creed of idolatry, which was the creed of the ancestors of Arabs. In answer to them, the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) says that this manner of breaking wrong customs and turning away from the superstitious notions of the environment is not only his job, but Abraham (a.s.), whom they wholly respect, also did like that. Then, as an emphasis, it says :"... and he was not of the polytheists." Abraham (a.s.) was a hero of breaking idols. He was an active and steadfast challenger against idolatry. * * * (162) قُلْ
إِنَّ صَلاتِي وَ نُسُكِي وَ مَحْيايَ وَ مَماتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعالَمِينَ 162. " Say: ' Verily my prayer and my worship, my life and my death are for Allah, the Lord of the Worlds." 163. " No associate (there is) for Him, and this (submission) I have been commanded to, and I am the first of the Muslims." Commentary : In the first verse, mentioned here, it points to the matter that the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) should tell the pagans that not only from the point of belief he is a unitarian and a monotheist, hut also, from the point of action, whatever good deed he does, including his prayer, all his worships, and even his death and life, in all, are for the sake of the Lord of the Worlds. The verse says : " Say: ' Verily my prayer and my worship, my life and death are for Allah, the Lord of the Worlds." That is, I am alive for Him, and I die for His sake. I devote whatever I have in His way. All my desires, the whole love of mine, and the entire existence that I have is Allah's. * * * In order to nullify all kinds of paganism and idolatry, in this verse, it emphasizes that Alla h (s.w.t.) is the One that there is no associate and no compeer for Him. It says : " No associate (there is) for Him, ..." (12)
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