KHUTAB II - 9. Commentary of Sūrat al-Isrā’ (Q. 17:15-17)

9. Commentary of Sūrat al-Isrā’ (Q. 17:15-17)

  (25 July 03)   

Brothers and sisters in Islam,

Allah says in the Qur’ān,

مَنِ اهْتَدَى فَإِنَّمَا يَهْتَدِي لِنَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ ضَلَّ فَإِنَّمَا يَضِلُّ عَلَيْهَا وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ

وِزْرَ أُخْرَى وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّى نَبْعَثَ رَسُولًا. وَإِذَا أَرَدْنَا أَنْ نُهْلِكَ قَرْيَةً أَمَرْنَا مُتْرَفِيهَا

فَفَسَقُوا فِيهَا فَحَقَّ عَلَيْهَا الْقَوْلُ فَدَمَّرْنَاهَا تَدْمِيرًا. وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مِنْ بَعْدِ

نُوحٍ وَكَفَى بِرَبِّكَ بِذُنُوبِ عِبَادِهِ خَبِيرًا بَصِيرًا . (الإسراء  : ١٥- ١٧)

Whoever goes right, then he goes right only for the

benefit of his own self.  And whoever goes astray, then

 he goes astray to his own loss.  No one laden with

 burdens can bear another’s burden.  And We never

 punish until We have sent a Messenger (to give

 warning). And when We decide to destroy a town

 (population), We (first) send a definite order (to

 obey Allah and be righteous) to those among them [or

We (first) increase in number those of its population]

 who are given the good things of this life (A.Y. Ali),

[or live in luxury (Dr. M.T. al-Hilali etal.)] [or have

lost them-selves entirely in the pursuit of pleasure 

(Asad)].  Then, they transgress therein, and thus the

 word (of torment) is justified against it (them). Then

 We destroy it with complete destruction.  And how

 Many generations have We destroyed after Nuh

 (Noah)! And sufficient is your Lord as Well-

Acquainted and All-Beholder of the

 sins of His slaves. (Q. 17:16-17).

Allah says that every person is accounted for what he has done, and is not responsible of the other’s deed. A person will not bear the burden of another. The Prophet’s cousin Ibn ‘Abbās related that when al-Walīd ibn Mughīrah told the Makkan pagans to follow him instead of Muhammad (peace be upon him), and promised to bear their burdens (sins), the above verse was revealed to state that al-Walīd would never be able to bear their sins. The verb wazara, yaziru, (meaning “to commit sin”), and wazran and wizratan (meaning “sin”), whereas wizr means “burden”. The expression wazīr al-sult.ān  (vizier or minister of the Sultan) means “the person who bears the burden of his state”).

Abdullah Yusuf Ali gives his comment as follows: “The doctrine of vicarious atonement is condemned.  Salvation for the wicked cannot be attained by the punishment of the innocent.  One man cannot bear the burden of another: that would be unjust.  Every man must bear his own personal responsibility. There is a threat of punishment here, as the verse continues with the statement that Allah would not punish people until He sent them a messenger and disobey him, and a messenger has been sent to this Makkan pagans. As this messenger, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was sent not only to the Makkan pagans, but also to the whole mankind. This warning is also applicable to us, and to those who reject him. Apart from worldly punishment, there will be another and severe punishment in the Hereafter. Allah said:

... كُلَّمَا أُلْقِيَ فِيهَا فَوْجٌ سَأَلَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَذِيرٌ. قَالُوا

بَلَى قَدْ جَاءَنَا نَذِيرٌ فَكَذَّبْنَا وَقُلْنَا مَا نَزَّلَ اللَّهُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ إِنْ أَنْتُمْ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ

كَبِيرٍ. وَقَالُوا لَوْ كُنَّا نَسْمَعُ أَوْ نَعْقِلُ مَا كُنَّا فِي أَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ. فَاعْتَرَفُوا

بِذَنْبِهِمْ فَسُحْقًا لِأَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ . (الملك  :   ٨-١١).

 “… Every time a group is cast therein, its keeper will ask: ‘Did no warner come to you?’  They will say: ‘Yes, indeed a warner did come to us, but we belied him’ and said: ‘Allah never sent down anything (of revelation); you are only in great error.’ And they will say: ‘Had we but listened or used our intelligence, we would not have been among the dwellers of the blazing Fire!’ Then they will confess their sin. So, away with the dwellers of the blazing Fire!” (Q. 67:8-11).

 مُتْرَفِيهَا  (mutrafīhā).  The verb tarifa means “he enjoys a life of ease and plenty”, and the term mutraf means “one who enjoys a life of ease and plenty,” “one who indulges in the pleasures of life (to the exclusion of moral consideration)”. Asad’s commentary on the term مُتْرَفِيهَا (mutrafīhā) is as follows: “The people referred to here are those who, by virtue of their wealth and social position, embody the real leadership of their community and are, therefore, morally responsible for the behaviour of their followers.”

 أَمَرْنَا (“amarnā). The various interpretations revolve around the various readings of the term أَمَرْنَا  (“amarnā), as follows:

(1)      The first and common reading,أَمَرْنَا  (amarnā), as above, meaning, “We ordered  (those who live in luxury to obey Him); this is the reading of the majority of scholars;

(2)        أَمَّرْنَا(ammarnā) meaning “We make rulers,” (the evil people among them, so that they disobey Him, and then We destroy them); this is the reading of al-Rabī‘, Mujāhid, al-H.asan, Abū’l-‘Āliyah, Abū Rajā’, Abū ‘Uthmān al-Nahdī, as well as ‘Alī (may Allah be pleased with him); 

(3)       آمَرْنَا (āmarnā), meaning “We increase the number of its tyrants and  rulers living in luxury”; this is the reading of Qatādah, Ibn ‘Abbās, and in another report, ‘Ali and al-H.asan;

(4)      أَمِرْنَا  (āmirnā), also means “We increase in number”; this is the reading of Yah.yā ibn Ya‘mar, and in another report, also al-H.asan and Ibn ‘Abbās. However, according to Abū ‘Ubayd the first reading أَمَرْنَا (amarnā) includes the meanings of the other three readings in Arabic expression.

Then Allah continues the verse indicating that He does not make an empty threat for the Makkan pagans and those who reject the messenger sent to them. He makes Noah’s Flood as a new starting point of history.  Since then, hundreds of generations, empires and towns have perished for their evilness. For example, the ‘Ād who was the fourth generation from Noah, his descendants lived in Southern Arabia. They disobeyed Prophet Hūd and oppressed their people. Despite of three years of famine as punishment from Allah, they did not take the warning. Finally, Allah destroyed them and their land with a terrible blast of violent wind for seven nights and eight days in succession (Qur’an 69:6-7). The other example is the Thamūd who oppressed the poor and disobeyed Prophet Sālih. Allah punished them with terrible storm of thunder and lightning (Qur’an 69:5).

When Allah mentionedقَرْيَه  (qaryah, a village, a hamlet, a small town), He meant the community living in it. However, destroying this community could also include destroying the qaryah itself, like the ‘Ād and the Thamūd mentioned above. The world’s population keeps increasing despite the loss of human lives here and there through human hands and natural disasters. A village develops into a town, a town into a city, a city into a city-state, and finally into a state. Could it be that “a town” meant by Allah in the above verse is what we call  “a state” in a large scale?

Conclusion:

1.  Everyone is accountable of one’s own deeds.

2.  If Allah wanted to destroy a town, community or a state, He let evil people rule over it, and would commit injustice, corruption and oppression.

10.  BID‘AH (INNOVATION)

  (1^st August 2003)  

Brothers and sisters in Islam

Allah says in the Qur’ān,

  قُلْ مَا كُنْتُ بِدْعًا مِنَ الرُّسُلِ وَمَا أَدْرِي مَا يُفْعَلُ بِي وَلَا بِكُمْ إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ

إِلَّا مَا يُوحَى إِلَيَّ وَمَا أَنَا إِلَّا نَذِيرٌ مُبِينٌ (الأحقاف  : ٩)

Say (O Muhammad), ‘I am not a new thing among

 the Messengers (of Allah, i.e. I am not the first Messenger)

 nor do I know what will be done with me or with you.

 I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I  

am but a plain warner.’ (Q. 46:9)

The term bid‘ or bid‘ah means “something which has never been before” “something that has never made before”, “something invented which has never any previous example”. The term bida‘ min al-rusul means “a messenger where no messengers have been sent before”. Allah Who created the heavens and the earth is called badī^c al-samāwāt wa ’l-ard.. “The Originator of the heavens and the earth” (Qur’ān, al-Baqarah 2:117 and al-An^cām 6:101). Allah is the Inventor of this universe, as no one had ever created a universe before. 

This verse was revealed in Makkan where Allah told the Prophet to say to his people that he was not the first messenger. Allah had sent many messengers before.  He says,

 وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ وَجَعَلْنَا فِي ذُرِّيَّتِهِمَا النُّبُوَّةَ وَالْكِتَابَ

  (25 July 03)   

Brothers and sisters in Islam,

Allah says in the Qur’ān,

مَنِ اهْتَدَى فَإِنَّمَا يَهْتَدِي لِنَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ ضَلَّ فَإِنَّمَا يَضِلُّ عَلَيْهَا وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ

وِزْرَ أُخْرَى وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّى نَبْعَثَ رَسُولًا. وَإِذَا أَرَدْنَا أَنْ نُهْلِكَ قَرْيَةً أَمَرْنَا مُتْرَفِيهَا

فَفَسَقُوا فِيهَا فَحَقَّ عَلَيْهَا الْقَوْلُ فَدَمَّرْنَاهَا تَدْمِيرًا. وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مِنْ بَعْدِ

نُوحٍ وَكَفَى بِرَبِّكَ بِذُنُوبِ عِبَادِهِ خَبِيرًا بَصِيرًا . (الإسراء  : ١٥- ١٧)

Whoever goes right, then he goes right only for the

benefit of his own self.  And whoever goes astray, then

 he goes astray to his own loss.  No one laden with

 burdens can bear another’s burden.  And We never

 punish until We have sent a Messenger (to give

 warning). And when We decide to destroy a town

 (population), We (first) send a definite order (to

 obey Allah and be righteous) to those among them [or

We (first) increase in number those of its population]

 who are given the good things of this life (A.Y. Ali),

[or live in luxury (Dr. M.T. al-Hilali etal.)] [or have

lost them-selves entirely in the pursuit of pleasure 

(Asad)].  Then, they transgress therein, and thus the

 word (of torment) is justified against it (them). Then

 We destroy it with complete destruction.  And how

 Many generations have We destroyed after Nuh

 (Noah)! And sufficient is your Lord as Well-

Acquainted and All-Beholder of the

 sins of His slaves. (Q. 17:16-17).

Allah says that every person is accounted for what he has done, and is not responsible of the other’s deed. A person will not bear the burden of another. The Prophet’s cousin Ibn ‘Abbās related that when al-Walīd ibn Mughīrah told the Makkan pagans to follow him instead of Muhammad (peace be upon him), and promised to bear their burdens (sins), the above verse was revealed to state that al-Walīd would never be able to bear their sins. The verb wazara, yaziru, (meaning “to commit sin”), and wazran and wizratan (meaning “sin”), whereas wizr means “burden”. The expression wazīr al-sult.ān  (vizier or minister of the Sultan) means “the person who bears the burden of his state”).

Abdullah Yusuf Ali gives his comment as follows: “The doctrine of vicarious atonement is condemned.  Salvation for the wicked cannot be attained by the punishment of the innocent.  One man cannot bear the burden of another: that would be unjust.  Every man must bear his own personal responsibility. There is a threat of punishment here, as the verse continues with the statement that Allah would not punish people until He sent them a messenger and disobey him, and a messenger has been sent to this Makkan pagans. As this messenger, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was sent not only to the Makkan pagans, but also to the whole mankind. This warning is also applicable to us, and to those who reject him. Apart from worldly punishment, there will be another and severe punishment in the Hereafter. Allah said:

... كُلَّمَا أُلْقِيَ فِيهَا فَوْجٌ سَأَلَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَذِيرٌ. قَالُوا

بَلَى قَدْ جَاءَنَا نَذِيرٌ فَكَذَّبْنَا وَقُلْنَا مَا نَزَّلَ اللَّهُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ إِنْ أَنْتُمْ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ

كَبِيرٍ. وَقَالُوا لَوْ كُنَّا نَسْمَعُ أَوْ نَعْقِلُ مَا كُنَّا فِي أَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ. فَاعْتَرَفُوا

بِذَنْبِهِمْ فَسُحْقًا لِأَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ . (الملك  :   ٨-١١).

 “… Every time a group is cast therein, its keeper will ask: ‘Did no warner come to you?’  They will say: ‘Yes, indeed a warner did come to us, but we belied him’ and said: ‘Allah never sent down anything (of revelation); you are only in great error.’ And they will say: ‘Had we but listened or used our intelligence, we would not have been among the dwellers of the blazing Fire!’ Then they will confess their sin. So, away with the dwellers of the blazing Fire!” (Q. 67:8-11).

 مُتْرَفِيهَا  (mutrafīhā).  The verb tarifa means “he enjoys a life of ease and plenty”, and the term mutraf means “one who enjoys a life of ease and plenty,” “one who indulges in the pleasures of life (to the exclusion of moral consideration)”. Asad’s commentary on the term مُتْرَفِيهَا (mutrafīhā) is as follows: “The people referred to here are those who, by virtue of their wealth and social position, embody the real leadership of their community and are, therefore, morally responsible for the behaviour of their followers.”

 أَمَرْنَا (“amarnā). The various interpretations revolve around the various readings of the term أَمَرْنَا  (“amarnā), as follows:

(1)      The first and common reading,أَمَرْنَا  (amarnā), as above, meaning, “We ordered  (those who live in luxury to obey Him); this is the reading of the majority of scholars;

(2)        أَمَّرْنَا(ammarnā) meaning “We make rulers,” (the evil people among them, so that they disobey Him, and then We destroy them); this is the reading of al-Rabī‘, Mujāhid, al-H.asan, Abū’l-‘Āliyah, Abū Rajā’, Abū ‘Uthmān al-Nahdī, as well as ‘Alī (may Allah be pleased with him); 

(3)       آمَرْنَا (āmarnā), meaning “We increase the number of its tyrants and  rulers living in luxury”; this is the reading of Qatādah, Ibn ‘Abbās, and in another report, ‘Ali and al-H.asan;

(4)      أَمِرْنَا  (āmirnā), also means “We increase in number”; this is the reading of Yah.yā ibn Ya‘mar, and in another report, also al-H.asan and Ibn ‘Abbās. However, according to Abū ‘Ubayd the first reading أَمَرْنَا (amarnā) includes the meanings of the other three readings in Arabic expression.

Then Allah continues the verse indicating that He does not make an empty threat for the Makkan pagans and those who reject the messenger sent to them. He makes Noah’s Flood as a new starting point of history.  Since then, hundreds of generations, empires and towns have perished for their evilness. For example, the ‘Ād who was the fourth generation from Noah, his descendants lived in Southern Arabia. They disobeyed Prophet Hūd and oppressed their people. Despite of three years of famine as punishment from Allah, they did not take the warning. Finally, Allah destroyed them and their land with a terrible blast of violent wind for seven nights and eight days in succession (Qur’an 69:6-7). The other example is the Thamūd who oppressed the poor and disobeyed Prophet Sālih. Allah punished them with terrible storm of thunder and lightning (Qur’an 69:5).

When Allah mentionedقَرْيَه  (qaryah, a village, a hamlet, a small town), He meant the community living in it. However, destroying this community could also include destroying the qaryah itself, like the ‘Ād and the Thamūd mentioned above. The world’s population keeps increasing despite the loss of human lives here and there through human hands and natural disasters. A village develops into a town, a town into a city, a city into a city-state, and finally into a state. Could it be that “a town” meant by Allah in the above verse is what we call  “a state” in a large scale?

Conclusion:

1.  Everyone is accountable of one’s own deeds.

2.  If Allah wanted to destroy a town, community or a state, He let evil people rule over it, and would commit injustice, corruption and oppression.