KHUTAB I - C (10-15)

  

11.  BALĀ’ (TEST)

                   Allah says in the Qur’ān:

وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنْفُسِ

وَالثَّمَرَاتِ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ. الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ.

أُولَئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ.

(البقرة : ١٥٥-١٥٧).

“Be sure We shall test you with something of fear and hunger,

 some loss in goods, or lives and the fruits (of your toil), but give

 glad tidings to those who patiently  preserve,--who say, when

afflicted with calamity: ‘to Allah we belong, and to Him is our

 return.’-- They are those of whom (descend) blessings from

 their  Lord, and mercy, and they are the ones that

 receive guidance.”  (Q. 2:155-157)

     Balā’  literally means “test” either with good or with bad things.  In the Qur’ān, it has two meanings: test and blessing.  Balā’ as a test is  in the verse we have just mentioned before.  Another example is in the following verse:   

وَنَبْلُوكُمْ بِالشَّرِّ وَالْخَيْرِ فِتْنَةً وَإِلَيْنَا تُرْجَعُونَ (الأنبياء : ٣٥)

“… and We test you by evil and good by way

 of trial. To Us must ye return.” (Q. 21:35)

          Balā’ which means “blessing” is found also in the following verse:

وَإِذْ نَجَّيْنَاكُمْ مِنْ آَلِ فِرْعَوْنَ يَسُومُونَكُمْ سُوءَ الْعَذَابِ يُذَبِّحُونَ أَبْنَاءَكُمْ

وَيَسْتَحْيُونَ نِسَاءَكُمْ وَفِي ذَلِكُمْ بَلَاءٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ عَظِيمٌ (البقرة : ٤٩).

“And remember, We delivered you [i.e., the Israelites]

 From the people of Pharaoh: they sent you hard tasks and

chastisement, slaughtered your sons and let your  women-

folk  live: therein was a tremendous trial [here means

“blessing”] from your Lord.” (Q. 2:49)

          The Pharaoh of the oppression, Ramses II, had a dream that fire came from Jerusalem entering the houses of the Egyptians but not those of the Israelites.  Therefore he knew that one of the Israelites was born and would threaten his kingdom. So, he killed the babies, and gave hard labour to the Israelites. But through Prophet Moses (p.b.u.h.) Allah delivered the Israelites from Pharaoh’s hard labour and this was a tremendous blessing.

          A test is not easy, either good or evil. A man can lose hope because of a test. He might say like the atheists used to say: “If there is any god who is kind, merciful, why did He let this disaster happen? The prolific writer Must.afā Maḥmūd  gives us the following answer:

1.    Judging a play by watching only one act of it is misleading. A boy will cry when his father takes him to the hospital for an operation and will consider it an evil deed. But when the boy grows up he will understand that behind this accidental evilness there is a permanent goodness, for the sake of which forbearance is necessary. Man’s life is similar to this. His life is still going on, and his death does not unveil the curtain, because the play goes on after his death where there are still other acts. Therefore, the play of life cannot be judged by witnessing only one act of it, i.e., the presence of evil in this world.

2.    Man’s personality, character, firmness (صَلَابَة) , and determination  (عَزْم) , are firmly related to his suffering. Without wrongdoing  (إسَاءَة), hurting (أَلمَ), and injustice(ظُلْم) , there would be respectively no forgiveness, mercy and justice.

3.    A thing which seems to be a defect in a partial view is actually a blessing and goodness in the whole sight. What seems to be a dirty spot in a picture might in fact, looked at very closely, be a shadow without which the picture will not appear beautiful. Earthquakes, volcanoes’ eruptions and other natural disasters, in spite of destroying thousands of people, have a good function in keeping the balance between the disrupting and boiling inner part of the earth and its stable hard peel.  Earthquakes restore mountains to their proper places after they have slowly moved. And mountains are like props protecting the peel of the earth from exploding, because of the hard pressure of the inner part of the earth.

4.  Evil is one aspect of the nature of freedom given to man by Allah.  Freedom of will has no significance if it is exclusively for doing  good. Man will become compelled to do good things only. Therefore, doing evil is another aspect of man’s freedom of will.  Allah says:

أَلَمْ نَجْعَلْ لَهُ عَيْنَيْنِ. وَلِسَانًا وَشَفَتَيْنِ. وَهَدَيْنَاهُ النَّجْدَيْنِ (البلد : ٣)

“Have We not made for him a pair of eyes?--And a tongue, and

  a pair  of lips? And shown him two highways?” (Q. 90:3)

The two highways of life, as explained by A.Y. Ali, are: (1) the steep and difficult path of virtue, and (2) the easy path of vice. 

5.    Good and evil are two sides of one coin.  Floods  and wars, for example, are evil on one side, but they mean life on the other. Wars divided people into families, clans, tribes, nations, and finally brought them to one international table in the Security Council of the United Nations. Through scientific research during the war people made discoveries and inventions: penicillin, blood transfusion, atomic energy, rockets, jet engines, submarines, radar, etc.

6.    Evil in its pure origin does not exist. There is only absence of goodness, the absance that accompanies the limitations of man as well as of other creatures. Otherwise, man will become  free from defect, and in turn, will become god, i.e., every man is created to be a god, and this is impossible.

          In one tradition narrated by Suhayb the Prophet said:

عَجَبًا لِأَمْرِ الْمُؤْمِنِ إِنَّ أَمْرَهُ كُلَّهُ خَيْرٌ وَلَيْسَ ذَاكَ لِأَحَدٍ إِلَّا لِلْمُؤْمِنِ إِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ

سَرَّاءُ شَكَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ ضَرَّاءُ صَبَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ (أخرجه مسلم).

“How amazing the condition of a believer

Is! If good fortune befalls him, he thanks Allah and this is

good for him. And if ill-fortune befalls on him, he becomes

patient and this is [also] good for him.”

  (Reported by Muslim)

          But for  people who lack faith, let us hear what Allah says:

وَلَئِنْ أَذَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ مِنَّا رَحْمَةً ثُمَّ نَزَعْنَاهَا مِنْهُ إِنَّهُ لَيَئُوسٌ كَفُورٌ.وَلَئِنْ أَذَقْنَاهُ نَعْمَاءَ

 بَعْدَ ضَرَّاءَ مَسَّتْهُ لَيَقُولَنَّ ذَهَبَ السَّيِّئَاتُ عَنِّي إِنَّهُ لَفَرِحٌ فَخُورٌ.إِلَّا الَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا

 وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ مَغْفِرَةٌ وَأَجْرٌ كَبِيرٌ (هود :٩-١١)

“If We give man a taste of mercy from Ourselves, and then

 Withdraw it from him, behold! he is in despair and (falls into)

ingratitude.  But if We give him a taste of  (Our) favours after

adversity hath touched him, he is sure to say, ‘All evil has

 departed from me.’  Behold!  He falls into exultation and

 pride.  Not so do those who show patience and constancy,

and work righteousness; for them  is forgivenes(of sins)

 and a great reward. (Q. 11:9-11)

12.  KUFR  (INFIDELITY)

          There is a story about a hunter and his bear. One day the hunter went hunting. When he became tired he took rest under a tree and fell asleep.  His bear watched and guarded him. A fly started disturbing the hunter and stayed on his forehead. The bear wanted to kill it and took a piece of stone.  Fortunately the hunter had woken up before the bear hit the fly on his forehead. The moral lesson in this story is that good action with good intention but with ignorance could end with an undesirable consequence.

          Speaking about people who are extremely enthusiastic about Islam but with lack of knowledge and understanding of this religion, the prominent Egyptian scholar Shaykh (Sheikh) Muhammad al-Ghazālī tells us the following story: 

         It happened that the chief of a village sent a message to the imam of a mosque asking him to tell the people in the mosque that an agricultural engineer was coming, and a meeting would be held with him, so that he could give them important directions concerning agriculture. When the imam took the microphone, a pious student protested and said that the Prophet had prohibited people from asking about straying camels in the mosque, and argued that the mosque was exclusively for the purpose of praying; he prohibited the imam from using the microphone. When the dispute became intensified, the student grabbed the microphone and said, “The microphone can be taken from me only after my dead body.”

          Shaykh al-Ghazālī’s comment on this incident is that the use of analogy by comparing the agricultural directions with looking for a straying camel is not correct. Even if it were correct, it would be easier than sacrificing a person. He said further that strangely enough, this extremity occurs in covetousness and disputable matters, such as being fastidious on where and how you put your hands and legs in praying, instead of being active in social services which will give more benefit to the community. When religious extremists find any wrong-doing with people, they hasten to brand them with rebellion (fisq) or infidelity  (kufr) as if they consider a person to be sinful until he is proved to be innocent which is contrary to the Islamic law.

          The extremists say that whoever leaves the obligatory prayers becomes kāfir (infidel), citing many h.adīths  (traditions) from the Prophet, such as: “Prayer is the prop of the religion (of Islam); whoever leaves it is kāfir.”  Arguing with them, Shaykh al-Ghazālī said that the person who leaves the obligatory prayers commits a great sin, but he becomes a infidel only if he denies what is known in religion by necessity, such as the oneness of Allah, the messengership of Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.), and the obligation of fasting in the month of Ramadan. With regard to those who leave the obligatory prayers out of negligence, they are not infidels because they affirm the injunction of these obligatory prayers.

          Rejecting the extremists’ view that the neglectors of prayers should be treated as apostates, al-Ghazālī said that we should not forget the tradition reported by h.adīth collectors that the Prophet said about a person who left his prayers out of negligence, that he had no‘ahd (covenant, protection) with Allah; Allah might forgive or punish him. Al-Ghazālī contends that this is also the view of the majority of the Muslims, and the H...anafīs (followers of the H...anafī school of law) do not persecute this kind of people. We should be kind to him, give him advice and lead him to the mosque.

          The wordكَفَرَ   (kafara) literally means “to cover”. The expression كَفَرَ دِرْعَهُ بِثَوْبِهِ   means “he covered his coat of arms with his dress (robe)”. The expression كَفَرَ اللَّيْلُ الشَّيْءَ  means, “the night covered the thing”. The pre-Islamic poet Labid said in his poetry  فِيْ لَيْلَةٍ كَفَرَ النُّجُوْمَ غَمَامُهَا  which means “in a night when its cloud covered the stars.” The wordكَافِر   (kāfir), infidel, originally means “a coverer”, namely, something that covers; it could also mean: a dark night, a sea, a grand valley, a big river, a distant place, a dark cloud, a coat of arm, a plant, a person who covers his coat of arm under his garment, a farmer, and many other meanings. In the following Qur’ānic verse the word كُفَّار  (kuffār, pl. of kāfir) means “farmers, the tillers.”

كَمَثَلِ غَيْثٍ أَعْجَبَ الْكُفَّارَ نَبَاتُهُ (الحديد : ٢٠)

“(It is) as the likeness of vegetation after rain, thereof

the growth is pleasing the tillers.” (Q. 57:20)

 Abdullah Yusuf Ali’s comment on this verse is as follows:

“Kuffār is here used in the unusual sense of ‘tillers or

husbandmen’, because they sow the seed and cover it up

 with soil. But the ordinary meaning,‘Rejecters of the Truth’,

 is not absent. The allegory refers to such men”

So, here the word kuffār means “farmers”. However, in another verse, the word kuffār means “infidels”, “unbelievers”, namely “coverers of the truth.”  Allah said:

وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الْإِنْجِيلِ كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ فَآَزَرَهُفَاسْتَغْلَظَ فَاسْتَوَى

 عَلَى سُوقِهِ يُعْجِبُ الزُّرَّاعَ لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ...(الفتح : ٢٩)

“… But their description  in the Gospel is like a (sown) seed

[of Islam] which sends forth its shoots, then makes it strong,

 And becomes thick and its stands straight on its stem, delighting

the sowers[i.e., the Prophet and his companions], that He

may enrage the disbelievers with them…” (Q. 48:29)

          There are four meanings of كُفْر  (kufr) and its derivatives in the Qur’ān: الإنْكَار  (rejection),  الجُحُوْد  (denial),  كُفْرُ النِّعْمَة (ungratefulness), and البَرَاءَة  disown). The examples in the Qur’ān  are as follows:

1.    Kufr which means “rejection” is as in the following verse:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ أَأَنْذَرْتَهُمْ أَمْ لَمْ تُنْذِرْهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ (البقرة: ٦)

“As to those who reject faith it is the same to them whether thou

warn them or do not warn them; they will not believe.”(Q. 2:6)

 Kufr which means “denial” is as in the following verse:

وَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ كِتَابٌ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ مُصَدِّقٌ لِمَا مَعَهُمْ وَكَانُوا مِنْ قَبْلُيَسْتَفْتِحُونَ عَلَى

 الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ مَا عَرَفُوا كَفَرُوا بِهِ فَلَعْنَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ (البقرة: ٨٩).

“And when there comes to them a Book from Allah [i.e.,

 the Qur’ān], confirming that is with them [i.e., the

Torah]—although from the old they had prayed for

 Victory against those without faith—when there

 comes to them that which  they (should)have

 recognized, they refused to believe in it; but

the curse of Allah is on those

without faith.” (Q. 2:89)

          The occasion which led to the revelation of the above verse is as follows: The Jews of Madinah used to threaten the Arab idolaters, saying: “A prophet will come at the end of time and will assist us fighting against you.” But when Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) came they denied him, although they knew him as they knew their own sons.  Allah says:

الَّذِينَ آَتَيْنَاهُمُ الْكِتَابَ يَعْرِفُونَهُ كَمَا يَعْرِفُونَ أَبْنَاءَهُمْ وَإِنَّ فَرِيقًا

مِنْهُمْ لَيَكْتُمُونَ الْحَقَّ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ (البقرة: ١٤٦).

“The People of the Book [i.e., the Jews of Madinah] know this

[Prophet Muhammad] as they know their own sons, but some of

 them conceal the truth which they themselves know.”(  Q. 2:146)

A.Y. Ali’s commentary on this verse is as follows:

“The People of the Book know  Muhammad as they know

 their own sons: they know him to be true and upright: they

know him to be in the line of Abraham: they know him to

 correspond to the description of the prophet foretold among

themselves: but the selfishness induces some of them to act

against their own knowledge and conceal the truth.”

Mu‘ādh bin Jabal told the Jews: “O Jewish people, fear Allah and become Muslims; when we were still idolaters you used to threaten us with Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) whom you told us about his characters and traits. Now he has come.” One of the Banū al-Naz.īr Jewish tribe said: “The one we know has not come yet, and Muhammad is not the one we mentioned to you.”  So Allah revealed the above verse.

2.    Kufr, which means “ungratefulness”, is as in the following verse:

فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوا لِي وَلَا تَكْفُرُونِ   (البقرة: ١٥٢)

“Then do ye remember Me; and I will remember you.

 Be grateful to Me and  reject not faith [namely, do

 not be ungrateful.” (Q. 2:152)

 In another verse Allah says:

وَلَقَدْ آَتَيْنَا لُقْمَانَ الْحِكْمَةَ أَنِ اشْكُرْ لِلَّهِ وَمَنْ يَشْكُرْ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ

لِنَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ حَمِيدٌ (لقمان: ١٢)

“We bestowed (in the past) wisdom on Luqman: ‘Show (thy)

gratitude to Allah’.  Any who is (so grateful does so to the

profit of his own soul: but if any is  ungrateful, verily Allah

 is free of all wants, worthy of all praise.” (Q.31:12)

 Kufr which means “disown” is as in the following verse:

ثُمَّ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يَكْفُرُ بَعْضُكُمْ بِبَعْضٍ (العنكبوت : ٢٥)

“But in the day of judgment ye shall

 disown each other.” (Q. 29:25)

          These are some examples in the Qur’ān where the term كُفْر  and its derivatives should be understood and translated in its contextual meanings rather than its literal, basic, or textual meanings. Failing to do this could mislead people. Moreover, the term كُفْر which means “unbelief” and its derivatives is divided into major kufr and minor kufr. In his book مَدَارِجُ السَّالِكِيْن  (The Ways of Path Followers) Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah of the H...anbalī school divided kufr into two categories: the major kufr, namely, rejecting and denying Allah and His Messenger, and the minor kufr, namely, committing sins, disobedience without rejecting Allah and His Messenger.  The example of minor kufr is as in the following verse:

وَمَنْ لَمْ يَحْكُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ  (المائدة : ٤٤).

“If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah

 hath revealed, they are unbelievers.” (Q. 5:44)

          A group of people called جَمَاعَةُ التَّكْفِيْرِ وَالْهِجْرَة  (a party which charge people of being unbelievers and departing from Islam) whose leader is Shaykh Shukrī considers whoever commits a major sin as a kāfir, an unbeliever. In his book  ذِكْرَيَاتِي مَعَ جَمَاعَةِ الْمُسْلَمِيْنَ التَّكْفِيْر وَ الهِجْرَة  (My Reminiscence with the Muslim group al-Takfīr wa 'l-Hijrah) ‘Abd al-Rah.mān Abū al-Khayr says that according to these people the Muslim rulers are unbelievers because they do not judge according to what Allah has revealed, as mentioned in the above verse: the people (the Muslim rulers’ subjects) are also unbelievers, because they obey the rules which are not revealed by Allah. The ‘ulamā’ (Muslim scholars) are also unbelievers, because they do not condemn their rulers as unbelievers. Those who reject their views are also unbelievers, even if they accept their view but do not pay allegiance to their emir, are still unbelievers. Those who accept the view of the founders of the Islamic schools of law, ijmā'  (the consensus of opinions of Muslim scholars), qiyās (analogy), istih.sān (the method of finding the law which for any reason is contradictory to the usual qiyās), and other sources of the Sharī‘ah are all unbelievers.

          This is extremity in branding the Muslims with infidelity. Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) had warned us against practicing this kind of accusation when he said:

مَنْ قَالَ لِأَخِيهِ يَا كَافِرُ فَقَدْ بَاءَ بِهَا أَحَدُهُمَا (رواه أحمد)

“Whoever says to his brother ‘O kāfir’ it [i.e., being

kāfir or the accusation of it] will go to one of them."

(Reported by Aḥmad)

          Therefore, since the accused is not a convicted apostate then the accusation will turn back to the accuser. This is the danger of having insufficient knowledge of Islam and making fatwā (a personal legal judgement, which should be given exclusively by Muslim judges and scholars) out of it.  An unqualified physician is dangerous to his patients, and an unqualified ‘alim is dangerous to the Muslims.

13.  FITNAH

          The Qur’ānic science has many branches, among which are:  اْلقَوَاعِد  (Arabic grammar),  عِلْمُ اْلبَلَاغَة (Rhetoric),  أَسْبَابُ النُّزُوْل  (the occasion which led to the occurrence of revelation), and الوُجُوْهُ وَ النَّظَائِر (al-wujūh wa’l-naz.ā’ir), usually translated, although not very accurately, as Homonyms and Synonyms. 

          Wujūh is the plural of wajh which has many meanings, among which are: face, aspect, sense, meaning, intention, side, way, method, reason, etc.  Naz.ā’ir is the plural of naz.īr, which has also many meanings, among which are: matching, equivalent, compensation, and exchange. The expression  لَيْسَ لَهُ نَظِيْر  means “unequalled, matchless, unparalleled, or unique of his (its) kind".  Therefore al-wujūh wa ‘l-naz.ā’ir can also be translated as Meanings and Equivalents. 

          Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597/1201) in his book  الوُجُوْهُ وَ النَّظَائِر فِي الْقُرْآن  (Meanings and Equivalents in the Qur’ān)  mentions fifteen meanings of the term fitnah and its derivatives. They are: test, burning with fire, infidelity, killing, straying from the right path, madness, torture, hindrance, example, punishment, disease, decree, sin, excuse and idolatry. The details and examples are as follows:

1.  الإخْتِبَار  (test).  This is the literal meaning of fitnah.  he expression  فَتَنْتُ الذَّهَبَ فيْ النَّار  means “I tested the gold with fire.” We remember the English proverb, “Gold is tested with fire, women with gold, and men with women.” The goldsmith in Arabic is called  فتّان  (fattān, a tester), and the stone used to test the gold is called  فتّانَة  (fattānah, a tester). The example in the Qur’ān is as follows:

الم. أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَنْ يُتْرَكُوا أَنْ يَقُولُوا آَمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ. وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا الَّذِينَ مِنْ

 قَبْلِهِمْ فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ الْكَاذِبِينَ (العنكبوت : ١-٢).

“A.L.M.  Do men think that they will be left alone on

 saying ‘we believe’ and that they will not be tested? We did

test those before them, and Allah will certainly know those

 who are true from those who are false.” (Q. 29:1-3)

2.  الإحْرَاقُ بِالنَّار  (burning with fire). The expression ذَهَبٌ فَتِيْن  means “burned gold.” Speaking about أَصْحَابُ الأُخْدُوْد  (the makers of the pit of fire) who burned the believers alive, Allah says:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَتَنُوا الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَتُوبُوا فَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ الْحَرِيقِ (البروج: ‍‍‍‍١٠‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍).

“Those who persecute [here A. Yusuf Ali translates فَتَنُوا   as

 ‘persecute’while it means more specifically ‘burn alive’] the

 believers, men and women, and do not turn in repentance,

 will have the chastisement of Hell; they will have the

 chastisement of the burning fire. (Q. 5:10)

     Why did Allah mention “the chastisement of burning fire” in this verse? Because the word fitnah here means ‘burning with fire” and Allah wanted to inflict the same kind of chastisement they had done to the believers.

3.  الكُفْر   (unbelief, infidelity).  The example in the Qur’ān is as follows:

فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ ابْتِغَاءَ الْفِتْنَةِ وَابْتِغَاءَ تَأْوِيلِهِ (آل عمران: ٧).

“…. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part

 thereof that is not entirely clear, seeking discord [here A.

 Yusuf Ali translates fitnah as “discord”, whereas according

 to Ibn al-Jawzi it means “unbelief”], andsearching

 for its interpretation…” (Q. 3:7)

      Al-Dāmaghānī in his bookالوُجُوْهُ وَ النَّظائِر  mentions the following verse where the word فِتْنَة means “unbelief”:

 لَقَدِ ابْتَغَوُا الْفِتْنَةَ مِنْ قَبْلُ (التوبة: ٤٨).

“Indeed they [i.e., the hypocrites of Madinah who made

an excuse for not joining the campaign of Tabuk had

 plotted sedition [i.e., unbelief] before.” (  Q. 9:48) 

4.  القَتْل  (killing). The example in the Qur’ān is as follows:

 وَإِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَنْ تَقْصُرُوا مِنَ الصَّلَاةِ إِنْ

خِفْتُمْ أَنْ يَفْتِنَكُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا (النساء : ١٠١).

“And when ye travel through the earth, there is no

 blame on you if ye  shorten your prayers, for fear the

 unbelievers may attack [i.e., kill] you.” (Q. 4:401)

    Here A. Yusuf Ali translates fitnah as “attack”, while according to Ibn al-Jawzī and al-Dāmaghānī it means “killing.” A question arises here: If no more danger of killing or attack, are we still allowed to shorten our prayers? Imām Ah.mad b. H...anbal reported that Ya‘lá b. Umayyah asked ‘Umar b. Khat.t.āb about this issue. ‘Umar, not knowing the answer, asked the Prophet who said: “It is a gift from Allah to you, so accept His gift.”  The distance of journey, which entitles us to shorten the prayer, is about 85 km (some scholars say shorter).

5.  الضَّلَال  (straying from the right path). The example in the Qur’ān is as follows:

 وَمَنْ يُرِدِ اللَّهُ فِتْنَتَهُ فَلَنْ تَمْلِكَ لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئًا (المائدة: ٤١).

“If any one’s trial [i.e., straying from the truth] is intended

 by Allah, thou hast no authority in the least for him

 against Allah.” (Q. 5:41)

    This verse dealt with the hypocrites and the Jews who were eager to catch up any lies against the Prophet.

6.  الجُنُوْن   (madness). The example in the Qur’ān is as follows:

فَسَتُبْصِرُ وَيُبْصِرُونَ. بِأَيِّيكُمُ الْمَفْتُونُ  (القلم: ٥-٦).

“Soon wilt thou see, and they will see, which

 of you is afflicted with madness.” (Q. 68:5-6)

7.  اْلعَذَاب  (torture, persecution). The example in the Qur’ān is as follows:

 وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَقُولُ آَمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ فَإِذَا أُوذِيَ فِي اللَّهِ جَعَلَ فِتْنَةَ النَّاسِ كَعَذَابِ اللَّهِ (العنكبوت: ١٠)  

“Then there are among men such as say: ‘We believe in

Allah’, but when they suffer affliction in (the cause of) Allah,

 they treat men’s  oppression [i.e., torture] as if it were

 the wrath of Allah.” (Q. 29:10)

8.  الصَّدُّ  (hindrance).  The example in the Qur’ān is as follows:

 وَاحْذَرْهُمْ أَنْ يَفْتِنُوكَ عَنْ بَعْضِ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ (المائدة: ٤٩).

“But beware of them lest they beguile [i.e., hinder]

 thee from any of that (teaching) which Allah hath

 sent down to thee…” (Q. 5:49)

9.  اْلعِبْرَة  (example). The example in the Qur’ān is as follows:

  رَبَّنَا لَا تَجْعَلْنَا فِتْنَةً لِلْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ (يونس: ٨٥).

“O Lord! Make us not a trial [i.e., an example]

 for those who practise oppression.” (Q. 10:85)

     This was the supplication of the Israelites who followed Prophet Moses (p.b.u.h). They prayed to Allah that they would not be conquered and oppressed by the Pharaoh and his followers, so that they would not become an example for the oppressors by thinking that since they had conquered the Israelites, the victor was on the right side and the conquered was on the wrong way.

10.      اْلعُقُوْبَة  (punishment). The example in the Qur’ān is as follows:

فَلْيَحْذَرِ الَّذِينَ يُخَالِفُونَ عَنْ أَمْرِهِ أَنْ تُصِيبَهُمْ فِتْنَةٌ أَوْ يُصِيبَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ (النور: ٣٦).

“Let those  beware who withstand the Messenger’s order,

lest some trial [i.e., punishment] befall them, or a grievous

 chastisement be inflicted on them.” (Q. 24:63) 

    Here A. Yusuf Ali translates fitnah as “trial”, while according to Ibn Kathīr, it means “unbelief, hypocrisy and heresy”.

11.      المَرَض   (disease). The example in the Qur’ān is as follows:

  أَوَلَا يَرَوْنَ أَنَّهُمْ يُفْتَنُونَ فِي كُلِّ عَامٍ مَرَّةً أَوْ مَرَّتَيْنِ ثُمَّ لَا يَتُوبُونَ وَلَا هُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ (التوبة:  ١٢٦‌).  

“See they not that they [i.e., the hypocrites] are tried

 [with disease] every year once or twice?  Yet they turn

 not in repentance, and they take  no heed.” (Q. 9:126)

According to Ibn al-Jawzī the fitnah is “disease”, because the previous verse mentions “the disease of the heart”, while according to Mujāhid and Qatādah it means respectively “hunger” and “invasion”.

12.      القَضَاء  (decree). The example in the Qur’ān is as follows:

وَاخْتَارَ مُوسَى قَوْمَهُ سَبْعِينَ رَجُلًا لِمِيقَاتِنَا فَلَمَّا أَخَذَتْهُمُ الرَّجْفَةُ قَالَ رَبِّ لَوْ شِئْتَ أَهْلَكْتَهُمْ

مِنْ قَبْلُ وَإِيَّايَ أَتُهْلِكُنَا بِمَا فَعَلَ السُّفَهَاءُ مِنَّا إِنْ هِيَ إِلَّا فِتْنَتُكَ تُضِلُّ بِهَا مَنْ تَشَاءُ وَتَهْدِي مَنْ

 تَشَاءُ أَنْتَ وَلِيُّنَا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ الْغَافِرِينَ (الأعراف:  ‍‍‍١٥٥)

“And Moses chose seventy of his people for Our place of

 meeting: when they were seized with violent quaking, he

prayed: ‘O my Lord! If it had been Thy will Thou couldst

 have destroyed, long before, both them and me: wouldst

Thou destroy us for the deeds of the foolish ones among us?

 This is no more than Thy trial [i.e., decree]: by it Thou

causest whom Thou wilt  stray, and Thou leadest whom

 Thou wilt into the right path. Thou art our protector:

 so forgive us and give us Thy mercy; for Thou art

 the best  of those who forgive.’” (Q. 7:155)

          However, according to Ibn Kathīr fitnah here means “test”.

13.      الإثْم  (sin). The example in the Qur’ān is as follows:

 أَلَا فِي الْفِتْنَةِ سَقَطُوا (التوبة: ٤٩).

“Have they not fallen into trial [i.e., sin]

already?” (Qur’ān,9:49)

It means that they have fallen into sin. However, according to al-Dāmaghānī the word fitnah here means kufr (unbelief).

14.       المَعْذِرَة  (excuse). The example in the Qur’ān is as follows:

وَيَوْمَ نَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ نَقُولُ لِلَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا أَيْنَ شُرَكَاؤُكُمُ الَّذِينَ كُنْتُمْ تَزْعُمُونَ. ثُمَّ لَمْ

تَكُنْ فِتْنَتُهُمْ إِلَّا أَنْ قَالُوا وَاللَّهِ رَبِّنَا مَا كُنَّا مُشْرِكِينَ (الأنعام:‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌-‌٣‌‌‌۲).

“One day shall We gather them together:

We shall say to those  who ascribed partners (to Us):

‘Where are the partners whom ye (invented and) talked

about?’There will  then be (left) no excuse for thembut

to say: ‘By Allah our Lord, we were not those

who joined gods with Allah.’” (Q. 6:22-23)

This is also the interpretation of ‘At.ā’ and Qatādah. However, according to Ibn ‘Abbās, the expression   فِتْنَتُهُمْ  here means  حُجَّتُهُمْ  (their argument) which was adopted by A.Y. Ali  who translated it as “subterfuge” before the revision of his translation.

15.      الشِّرْك  (idolatry).  The example in the Qur’ān is as follows:

وَقَاتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ الَّذِينَ يُقَاتِلُونَكُمْ وَلَا تَعْتَدُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُعْتَدِينَ. وَاقْتُلُوهُمْ حَيْثُ

ثَقِفْتُمُوهُمْ وَأَخْرِجُوهُمْ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَخْرَجُوكُمْ وَالْفِتْنَةُ أَشَدُّ مِنَ الْقَتْلِ (البقرة: ۱٩٠‍-۱٩۱).

“Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do

not transgress limits; for Allah loveth not transgressors. And

slay them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from

where they have turned you out; for persecution [i.e.,

 idolatry] is worse than slaughter.”(Q. 2:190-191)

          Beside Ibn al-Jawzī, al-Dāmaghānī al-Tiflisī, Abū al-‘Āliyah, Mujāhid, ‘Ikrimah, al-T.abarī and Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūt.ī all say that the fitnah which is worse than killing is shirk (idolatry). So it is not “denouncing against someone” as we used to hear people say, but idolatry.  Ibn Kathīr says: “Idolatry, unbelief and turning away from Allah’s way are worse than killing.” Sayyid Qutub says: “Fitnah in religion is an attack against the most sacred thing in human life, and therefore, is worse than killing … whether it is in the form of threat and infliction, creation of bad condition which will lead people astray … such as the teaching of atheism, legalizing the prohibited things such as adultery and alcohol.”

          With regard to the fitnah which means “informing about or against somebody” which is a common meaning of fitnah in Egypt, or the fitnah which means “slandering, backbiting” a common meaning of fitnah in Indonesia, this is not the kind of fitnah which is worse than killing, but rather the shirk, idolatry, polytheism. Here lies the danger of interpreting Allah’s words without sufficient knowledge. A. Yusuf Ali did mention the various meanings of fitnah, namely, trial or temptation, punishment, tumult or oppression, discord, sedition, and civil strive.

          By learning  الوُجُوْهُ وَ النَّظَائِر in the Qur’ān we have a better understanding of the verses of the Qur’ān. Further study of this branch of the Qur’ānic science is extremely needed for those who want to learn more about the Qur’ān.

14.  SALMĀN AL-FĀRISĪ (THE PERSIAN)

          One of the famous seekers of truth in Islamic history was Salmān al-Fārisī (the Persian). He was the one who suggested to the Prophet to dig a trench around Madinah to protect the city in the Battle of theTrench. How he became a Muslim, the famous historian and mufassir (commentator of the Qur’ān), Ibn Jarīr al-T.abarī (the native of Tabaristan) told us about this s.ah.ābī (companion of the Prophet) as follows:

          Salmān was a soldier of the Sassanian empire and a close friend of the prince. One day they went for hunting and found a man in an isolated house weeping while reading a book. He told them that he was reading a Bible (Injīl) revealed to Prophet ‘Īsā (Jesus,  p.b.u.h.) [not the kind of Bible we are having now]. They were interested to learn its contents. They learned them from the man and became believers. He told them that the dhabīh.ah (slaughtered animals) of their people were prohibited for them.

          One day the king made a feast, but the prince refused to attend. When his father insisted to know the reason, he said the it was because they were infidels and their slaughtered animals were forbidden for him.

          “Who told you this?”, asked the king.

          “The monk”, said the prince. The king called the monk who confirmed what the prince had said.

          “If killing were not a big thing for us,” said the king, “I should have killed you. Leave the country!”

          The monk told Salmān and the prince that he was leaving for his church at Mosul (in Iraq)  where sixty monks were worshipping Allah, and that they should go there, too, if they had really become believers. The prince sold his belongings before leaving, but Salmān could not wait for him. He left alone and went to the church at Mosul.

          Salmān worshipped very hard in this church. His host monk wanted him to take it easy. Salmān asked him: “Which is better, the hard worship that I am doing or the easy worship you are suggesting?”  When the monk said that his hard worship was better, Salmān kept it.

          When the monk offered to move with him to another church where easy worship was offered, Salmān asked him again which church would be better for him. When the monk told him that the present one was better, Salmān kept staying in it. Before leaving, the monk entrusted Salmān to a learned monk.

          The new monk wanted to go to Jerusalem and told Salmān that it would be better for him to accompany him to Jerusalem. So he went. In Jerusalem the monk told him to go to seek knowledge from learned people. He did, and one day he came home very sad.

          “What happened?”, asked the monk.

          “All good things have been taken by prophets before us and his followers,” said Salmān.

          “O Salmān, don’t be sad,” said the monk. “There is still a new prophet left who is the best one to follow.  The time of his coming is approaching. I don’t think I shall live long enough to see him. You are still young. I hope you can see him. He will appear in the Arab land.  If you see him, believe and follow him…. There is a seal of prophethood on his back. He will refuse charity but will accept gift.”

          Salmān lost the monk on the way back to Mosul. He was betrayed by Bedouins of the Kalb tribe who took him to Madinah. This made him very sad. Then he was bought by a woman from Juhaynah tribe. With another young man he tended her sheep in turn, one day for himself, the next day for the young man.

          While Salmān was tending the sheep, the young man came and said: “Today a man who claimed to be a prophet is coming to Madinah.”  Salmān asked him to tend the sheep until he came back. He went to the city to see the Prophet. He tried to see the seal of prophethood on his back. When he saw it, he bought food with one dinar and presented it to the Prophet.

          “What is this?”, asked the Prophet.

          “Charity,” said Salmān.

          “I don’t need it, give it to the Muslims,” said the Prophet. Salmān went to buy food again and presented it to the Prophet.

          “What is this?”, asked the Prophet.

          “A gift,” said Salmān

          “Sit down,” said the Prophet and ate the food and talked.

          While talking to the Prophet, Salmān remembered his friends whom he left behind. He talked to the Prophet about them, saying: “They prayed, fasted, believed in you, and witnessed that you would be appointed a prophet.” To answer this question, Allah revealed to the Prophet the following verse:

 إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالنَّصَارَى وَالصَّابِئِينَ مَنْ آَمَنَ بِاللَّهِ  وَالْيَوْمِ الْآَخِرِ وَعَمِلَ

صَالِحًا فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ (البقرة: ٦۲).

“Those who believe (in the Qur’ān), and those who

follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and

the Sabians, any who believe in Allah and the Last

Day, and work righteousness, shall have their

reward with their Lord, on them shall be

no fear, nor shall they grieve.” (Q. 2:62)  

          This means that the Jews who followed Prophet Moses (p.b.u.h.) and kept the Torah until the advent of Prophet Jesus (p.b.u.h.) will be safe. But those who still kept the Torah and did not want to follow Prophet Jesus (p.b.u.h.) after that will be damned. The Christians who followed Prophet Jesus (p.b.u.h.) and kept the Injil until the advent of Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) will be safe. But those who did not want to follow Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) after that will be damned.

          There are many views about the Sabians. Some scholars said that they were angel worshipers. According to the Qur’ānic commentator Ibn Kathir they were people who had no religion. The Orientalist B. Carra de Faux divided the Sabians into two groups: the followers of Prophet Yah.yā  (John the Baptist) and the pagan Sabians who lived under the Muslim rule.

          According to Ibn ‘Abbās, the Prophet’s cousin and the famous Qur’ānic commentator, the next verse revealed was:

 وَمَنْ يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا فَلَنْ يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآَخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ  (آل عمران: ٨٥)

“If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission

 to Allah), never will it be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter

 he will be in the ranks of those who have lost

(all spiritual) good” (Q. 3:85)

15.    ‘ABD ALLĀH BIN UBAY

          While the Prophet was resting after the campaign of Banī al-Mus.t.aliq which took placed in 6/ca. 628 he heard somebody fighting. It was Jahjāh b. Sa‘īd al-Ghaffārī, a muhājir (an emigrant) fighting over water against Sinān b. Wabr al-Jahnī, of the ans.ār (“the helpers”, the native of Madinah).  Sinān shouted: “O ans.ār, help me!” and Jahjāh also shouted: “O muhājirīn, help me!” The Prophet said to them: “Are you still practising the jāhiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance) while I am among you? Stop this jāhiliyyah practice, because it is disgusting.”

          When the leader of the hypocrites, ‘Abd Allāh bin Ubay heard this, he said to his people around him:

“Now, they did it: they have created

aversion against us, they have outnumbered us

  in our own country.  By Allah, we are now with these

rugs of the Quraysh [meaning the ompanions of the Prophet

who protected him like a dress] who are like what the saying

said,  سَمِّنْ كَلْبَكَ يأُكَلَك   (‘Fatten your dog so that it will

eat you [in the end”]). By Allah, when we return to

Madinah the honourable element [meaning his

people] will expel the meaner [meaning the

muhājirīn, the emigrants] from it.”

He blamed his people further, saying,

“This is what you have done to yourselves.You

let them come to your land and you let them share with

  you your property. Had you prevented them from

 all these, they would have never come here.”

          A boy called Zayd b. Arqam heard these words, told his uncle who, in turn, told the Prophet who was with ‘Umar. ‘Umar said to the Prophet: “You better tell ‘Ubbad to kill him.”  [In another version, ‘Umar said: “Let me kill him.”]  The Prophet said: O ‘Umar, how if people say that Muhammad has killed his own companion? No, never, but tell people that we are leaving for home.”  So people started moving.

          When ‘Abd Allāh b. Ubay heard that the Prophet had been told what he had said, he came to him to apologize, swearing that he had never said what Zayd had told him. One of the ans.ār told the Prophet that Zayd might have not quite remembered what he had heard from ‘Abd Allāh b. Ubay. When the Prophet believed him instead of Zayd, Zayd became very sad. He had never been so sad before, and stayed at home. Then Allah revealed the beginning of the Chapter of Hypocrites (Surat al-Munafiqin) as follows:

إِذَا جَاءَكَ الْمُنَافِقُونَ قَالُوا نَشْهَدُ إِنَّكَ لَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ إِنَّكَ لَرَسُولُهُ

وَاللَّهُ يَشْهَدُ إِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لَكَاذِبُونَ. اتَّخَذُوا أَيْمَانَهُمْ جُنَّةً فَصَدُّوا عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ إِنَّهُمْ

سَاءَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ. ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ آَمَنُوا ثُمَّ كَفَرُوا فَطُبِعَ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ فَهُمْ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ.

وَإِذَا رَأَيْتَهُمْ تُعْجِبُكَ أَجْسَامُهُمْ وَإِنْ يَقُولُوا تَسْمَعْ لِقَوْلِهِمْ كَأَنَّهُمْ خُشُبٌ مُسَنَّدَةٌ يَحْسَبُونَ كُلَّ

صَيْحَةٍ عَلَيْهِمْ هُمُ الْعَدُوُّ فَاحْذَرْهُمْ قَاتَلَهُمُ اللَّهُ أَنَّى يُؤْفَكُونَ. وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ تَعَالَوْا يَسْتَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ

رَسُولُ اللَّهِ لَوَّوْا رُءُوسَهُمْ وَرَأَيْتَهُمْ يَصُدُّونَ وَهُمْ مُسْتَكْبِرُونَ. سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ أَسْتَغْفَرْتَ لَهُمْ

أَمْ لَمْ تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ لَنْ يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ. هُمُ الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ

لَا تُنْفِقُوا عَلَى مَنْ عِنْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ حَتَّى يَنْفَضُّوا وَلِلَّهِ خَزَائِنُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ

وَلَكِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ. يَقُولُونَ لَئِنْ رَجَعْنَا إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ لَيُخْرِجَنَّ الْأَعَزُّ

مِنْهَا الْأَذَلَّ وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَكِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

(المنافقون:‍۱-٨).

“When the hypocrites come to thee, they say, ’We bear witness

 that thou art indeed the Messenger of Allah’ Yea,  Allah

 knoweth that thou art indeed His  Messenger, and Allah

 beareth witness that the hypocrites  are indeed liars.

They made their oaths a screen (for their misdeeds): thus

 they obstruct (men) from the path of Allah; truly evil are

 their  deeds. That is because they believed, then they

 rejected  faith; so a seal was set: therefore they understand

 not. When thou lookest at them, their bodies please thee;

and when they speak, thou listenest to their words. They

 are as (worthless as hollow) pieces of timber propped up,

 (unable to stand on their own). They think that every cry

 is against them.  They are the enemies; so beware of them.

  The curse of Allah be on them!  How are they deluded

(away from the truth)! And when it is said to them,  ‘Come,

 the Messenger of Allah will pray for your  forgiveness,’

they turn aside their heads, and thou  wouldst see them

 turning away their faces in  arrogance.  It is equal to them

 whether thou pray for  their  forgiveness or not.  Allah

 will not forgive them. Truly Allah guides not rebellious

 transgressors.  They are the ones who say, ‘Spend nothing

 on those who are  with Allah’s Messenger, till they disperse

 (and quit  Madinah).’  But to Allah belong the treasures

 of the  heavens and the earth; but the hypocrites understand

  not. They say, ‘If we return to Madinah, surely; the more  honourable (element) will expel therefrom the  meaner.’

But the honour belongs to Allah and His Messenger, and to

 the believers; but the hypocrites know not.” (Q. 63:1-8) 

    The Prophet summoned Zayd, the boy. He told him that Allah was on his side, that he had said the truth, and cited the verses to him.

          On the way back to Madinah the Prophet met the leader of the Aws tribe, Usayd b. H...ud.ayr  who advised him to be gentle with ‘Abd Allāh b. Ubay who felt that the Prophet had taken his power from him.

          ‘Abd Allāh’s son was also called ‘Abd Allāh. He was a very pious companion of the Prophet. When he heard a rumor that the Prophet wanted to kill his father, he came to him requesting him to carry out the execution.  He said:

          “If you really wanted to, let me do it, I’ll bring his head to you. By Allah, the Khazraj tribe knows that nobody among them who is more dutiful and obedient to his father than I am.  I am afraid, if somebody else killed him I might not be able to stand seeing the killer of my father, and I might kill him, so that I would kill a believer for the sake of an unbeliever, and this act would lead me to Hell.”

          “We shall treat him well as long as he remains with us,” said the Prophet.

          At the gate of Madinah ‘Abd Allāh the junior stood with his sword unsheathed in his hand.  He let everybody pass except his father.

          “Get back,” he said.

          “What is this, what is the matter with you?,” asked his father.

          “I will not let you pass, unless the Messenger of Allah gives you permission, for  he is the honourable and you are the meaner.”  [In another version, he said: “You will never enter Madinah until you say that the Messenger of Allah is the most honourable and you are the meanest.”].  Abdullah the senior waited the Prophet and complained to him against his son.  The Prophet gave him permission to enter Madinah.

          The Prophet lived among the hypocrites in Madinah for almost ten years without knowing them one by one except through their acts and behaviour. He knew them all only through revelation shortly before his death. When he knew them he did not kick them out of the Muslim community since they, like the Muslims, did their religious duties. The only person whom the Prophet told the identity of the hypocrites was H...udhayfah al-Yamānī. 

          ‘Umar worried about himself. He came to H...udhayfah who told him: “You are not one of them, ‘Umar,” and no further explanation.  Who are we, then, to point our index finger to somebody and say that he is infidel or hypocrite through guessing and gesture, when the Prophet himself and H...udhayfah who knew the identity of the hypocrites but kept them secret and did not expel them from the Muslim community?

          When Abdullah b. Ubay passed away, his son Abdullah came to the Prophet and asked him to give him his shirt to make a shroud for his father.  When the Prophet gave him his shirt, he asked the Prophet to perform the funeral prayer(صَلَاةُ الْجَنَازَة)  for his father. When the Prophet stood to perform the prayer, ‘Umar held his dress, saying: “O Messenger of Allah, are you going to pray for him when your Lord forbids you to?” (In another version ‘Umar said: “O Messenger of Allah, are you going to pray for the enemy of Allah who said such-and-such thing on such-and-such day?” and ‘Umar kept counting the days, and the Prophet smiled and said: “Even if you say more against him. O ‘Umar, stay back!”). Then the Prophet said: “Allah has given me a choice only when He said,

 اسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ أَوْ لَا تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ إِنْ تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً فَلَنْ يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ (التوبة :٨٠)

“Whether thou ask for their forgiveness or not (their sin is

 unforgivable): if thou ask seventy times for their forgiveness,

Allah will not forgive them…” (Q. 9:80)

I have made my choice. I shall ask for his forgiveness more than seventy times.” [In another version the Prophet said: “If I knew that he would be forgiven if I prayed for his forgiveness more than seventy times, I would do.”]. So the Prophet prayed for Abdullah b. Ubay, went to and stood at his grave.  It is said that later ‘Umar wondered how dare he try to prevent the Prophet from doing something he knew better than ‘Umar.

          Then Allah revealed the following verse:

وَلَا تُصَلِّ عَلَى أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ مَاتَ أَبَدًا وَلَا تَقُمْ عَلَى قَبْرِهِ إِنَّهُمْ كَفَرُوا

 بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَمَاتُوا وَهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ (التوبة : ٨٤).

“Nor do thou ever pray for any of them [i.e., the hypocrites]

that dies, not stand at his grave; for they rejected Allah and His

Messenger, and died in a state of perverse rebellion.” (Q. 9:84)

Since then the Prophet never prayed for any hypocrite or stood at his grave. (The story is from a tradition reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim; the other version is by Ah.mad and al-Tirmidhī). If somebody asked him to pray for a hypocrite he just said,  هَذَا شَأْنُكَ  “This is your business”.

          This showed how the Prophet treated his archenemy in disguise. He prayed for him and asked Allah’s forgiveness for him at his death. He showed his mercy to him, despite what he had done in his lifetime. It should not be misinterpreted that the Prophet had acted against the will of Allah.  Prohibition from praying funeral prayer for non-believers was revealed later, allowing him to do so for the leader of the hypocrites of Madinah, but not to the rest of them.

          After the death of the Prophet, H...udhayfah also refrained from praying for the dead body of a person that he knew to be a hypocrite. ‘Umar also would not stand up to pray for a dead person unless he saw H...udhayfah standing there. Otherwise, if H...udhayfah was not there, ‘Umar would not pray for the dead person without giving any reason or comment. This is one of many examples of Islamic behaviour how to treat the hypocrites, the enemy in disguise.