Qur'anic Studies 1: 1THE MEANINGS OF ṬUGHYĀN (طُغْيَان) AND ṬĀGHŪT (طَاغُوت) IN THE QUR’ĀN
1.
THE MEANINGS OF ṬUGHYĀN (طُغْيَان) AND ṬĀGHŪT
(طَاغُوت) IN THE QUR’ĀN
The terms ṭughyān and ṭāghūt are derived from three-letters of the Arabic ط-غ-ى
,
and the word طَغى (ṭaghá and ṭaghiya)
means: to cross the limits, overstep boundaries; to rebel to exceed proper
bounds, overstep the bounds, be excessive; to be rough, tumultuous, rage (sea);
to overflow, leave its banks (river); to flood, overflow, inundate, deluge; to
overcome, seize, grip, befall (s.o.); to be tyrannical or cruel (against s.o.),
tyrannize, oppress. Its verbal nouns (nomen verbi, gerunds) are: ṭughwān
(طُغْوَان)especially
for water, namely, flood, inundation, deluge, and ṭughyān (طُغْيَان) in general sense, namely, flood, inundation, deluge; tyranny,
oppression, suppression, repression, terrorization. Its active participle (nomen
agentis) is ṭāghin طَاغ), pl. ṭughāt (طُغَاة namely,
tyrant, oppressor, despot .[1] It is
said that the person who oppresses too hard or too much is called ṭāghūt;
plural: ṭawāghīt .(الطّاغُوتُ : الطاغي المعتدي،
أو كثير الطغيان) According to the eleventh century Muslim
scholar of Qur’ānic exegesis al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī
(d. 502/1109) the term ṭāghūt can also be used for plural as well as
singular.
The terms ṭaghá (ṭughyān) and ṭāghūt are mentioned several times in the Qur’ān with various meanings given by classical mufassirīn (commentators of the Qur’ān), as follows:
A. The term ṭaghá (ṭughyān)
1. al-ḍalāl (الضلال), “straying from the right path or from truth,”
such as:
اللَّهُ يَسْتَهْزِئُ
بِهِمْ وَيَمُدُّهُمْ فِي طُغْيَانِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ[2]
(البقرة:١٥)
Allah mocks at them and gives them increase in their
wrongdoing to wander blindly (Q. 2:15)
“Allah mocks at them”
means “Allah will requite them for their mockery.” In their “wrongdoing” means
in their “straying from the right path or from truth.”
وَمَا كَانَ لَنَا عَلَيْكُمْ
مِنْ سُلْطَانٍ بَلْ كُنْتُمْ قَوْمًا طَاغِينَ (الصافات:٣٠)
“And we have no authority over you. Nay, but you are
people who strayed from the right path” (Q.
37:30)
People
in the Hereafter will blame each other. The one who is on the right path will
tell the one who is on the wrong path that he cannot force him to the right
path.
قَالَ قَرِينُهُ رَبَّنَا مَا
أَطْغَيْتُهُ وَلَكِنْ كَانَ فِي ضَلَالٍ بَعِيدٍ (ق:٢٧)
His
companion (Satan/devil) will say: “Our Lord!
I did not push him to transgression (in disbelief,
oppression, and evil deeds), but he was
himself in error far astray” (Q.
50:27)
مَا أَطْغَيْتُهُ means مَا أَضْلَلْتُهُ “I did not
make him stray from the right path.”
2.
al-‘iṣyān (العصيان) , “disobedience, insubordination, rebellion, sedition,” as in
the following verses:
اذْهَبْ إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّهُ طَغَى(طه:٢٤)
“Go to Fir’aun (Pharaoh)! Verily, he has transgressed (all
bounds of disbelief and disobedience, and has
behaved
as an arrogant and as a tyrant).” (Q.
20:24).
إِنَّهُ طَغَى means إِنَّهُ عصَى “Verily,
he has disobeyed, he has rebelled.” His greatest sin was his claim to
divine status.
كُلُوا مِنْ طَيِّبَاتِ
مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ وَلَا تَطْغَوْا فِيهِ فَيَحِلَّ
عَلَيْكُمْ غَضَبِي (طه:٨١)
(Saying) [to
the Children of Israel] eat of the Tayyibat (good lawful things) wherewith We
have provided you, and commit no transgression or oppression therein, lest My
Anger
descends, … (Q. 20:81)
This verse, as well as Q. 2:57 and 7:160, is referring to the manna
and quails bestowed by Allah upon Israelites during their wandering in the
Sinai desert after their exodus from Egypt. Al-Fīrūzābādī (d. 817 AH) in his Qāmūs explains the meanings of manna
and salwa (quails) according to Arab philologists, as follows: Manna
(mann) denotes not only the sweet and resinous substance from certain
plants in the desert, but also everything provided by Allah as a favour without
any effort. Salwá denotes not merely “a quail” or “quails”, but also
anything that makes man content and happy after privation.[3]
وَلَا تَطْغَوْا فِيهِ means “and do not commit transgression regarding the good lawful
things, namely the manna and the quills.” It means not to wrong each other, not to deny Allah’s blessings, and it is also
said, not to replace them with something else, and not to keep them more than
one day. Muhammad Asad gives an alternative meaning of
this verse, namely, “do not behave in an overweening manner” – i.e., “do
not attribute these favours to your own supposed excellence on account of your
descent from Abraham”. [4]
3.
al-irtifā‘ wa ‘l-kathrah (الارتفاع والكثرة), “elevation and increase” as in the following verse:
إِنَّا لَمَّا طَغَى
الْمَاءُ حَمَلْنَاكُمْ فِي الْجَارِيَةِ (الحاقة:١١)
Verily, when the water rose beyond its limits [Nuh’s
(Noah) Flood], We carried you (i.e.,
your ancestors)
in the floating [ship that was constructed by
Nuh (Noah)]. (Q. 69:11)
4. ẓulm (ظُلْم) “wrong, inequity; injustice, inequity, unfairness; oppression,
repression, suppression, tyranny,” as in the following verse:
أَلَّا تَطْغَوْا فِي الْمِيزَانِ (الرحمن:٨)
In order that you may
not transgress (due)
balance (Q. 55:8)
لَا تَطْغَوْا means لا تظلموا ولا تكذبوا “do not be
unfair and do not lie, i.e., do not cheat.”
Instead of ẓulm (ظُلْم) Abū Hilāl al-‘Askarī put الخطأ (al-kha
النجم:١۷)) مَا زَاغَ الْبَصَرُ وَمَا طَغَى
The sight (of Prophet Muhammad) turned not aside (right or left), nor it
transgressed beyond the limit (ordained for it) (Q. 53:17)
B.
The term ṭāghūt (طَاغُوت)
The term ṭāghūt has many meanings.[5] It means anything worshipped other than Allah, namely, false deities, Satan, the devils, idols, stones, the sun, stars, angels, human beings (such as rulers and leaders) who were falsely worshipped and accepted to be worshipped, but those who rejected to be worshipped were not called ṭāghūt . It also may mean “a false judge.” In a broader sense, it stands for everything that may direct a Muslim into evil things. It is mentioned eight times in the Qur’ān and translated in its general sense, namely, false deities, transgressors, etc. According to classical commentators its meanings are as follows:
1. al-awthān (الأوثان), “idols”, as in the following verses:
وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَسُولًا أَنِ
اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ (النحل:٣٦)
And verily, We have sent among every Ummah
(community,
nation) a Messenger (proclaiming):
“Worship Allah
(alone), and avoid (or keep away
from) Taghut
(all false deities, i.e. do not worship
anything
besides Allah).” … (Q.
16:36).
وَالَّذِينَ اجْتَنَبُوا
الطَّاغُوتَ أَنْ يَعْبُدُوهَا وَأَنَابُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ لَهُمُ الْبُشْرَى
فَبَشِّرْ عِبَادِ (الزمر:١٧)
Those who avoid At-Taghut
(false deities) by not
worshipping them and turn to Allah (in
repentance),
for them are glad tidings; so announce the
good
news to My slaves--- (Q. 39:17)
2.
al-shayṭān
(الشيطان)
Satan, as in the following verses:
لَا إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ قَدْ تَبَيَّنَ الرُّشْدُ مِنَ الْغَيِّ فَمَنْ
يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِنْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ
الْوُثْقَى لَا انْفِصَامَ لَهَا وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ (البقرة:٢٥٦)
There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the
Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in Taghut[6] and believes in Allah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy
handhold that will never break. And Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower (Q. 2:256)
الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ
وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يُقَاتِلُونَ
فِي سَبِيلِ الطَّاغُوتِ ... (النساء:٧٦)
Those
who believe, fight in the Cause of Allah,
and
those who disbelieve, fight in the cause
of Tāghūt (Satan)… (Q. 4:76)
قُلْ هَلْ أُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِشَرٍّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ مَثُوبَةً عِنْدَ اللَّهِ
مَنْ لَعَنَهُ اللَّهُ
وَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ وَجَعَلَ
مِنْهُمُ الْقِرَدَةَ وَالْخَنَازِيرَ وَعَبَدَ
الطَّاغُوتَ أُولَئِكَ شَرٌّ مَكَانًا
وَأَضَلُّ عَنْ
سَوَاءِ السَّبِيلِ (المائدة:٦٠)
Say (O Muhammad to the people
of the Scripture):
“Shall I inform you of something worse than
that, regarding the recompense from Allah: those (Jews)
who incurred the Curse of Allah and His Wrath,
and
those whom some) He transformed into monkeys
and swine, and those who worshipped Tāghūt
(false deities, satans); such are worse in rank (on the Day
of Resurrection in the Hell-fire), and far more
astray from
the Right Path (in the life of
this world).” (Q. 5:60)
Shaykh Muḥammad Abū Zahrah gives us his commentary on this verse. He says that although the commentators of the Qur’ān took the literal meaning of the word [i.e., transforming them into monkeys and swine] without ta’wīl (explanation, interpretation), it has been reported from Mujāhid who received the commentary from Ibn ‘Abbas who explains that it is metaphor. It is transforming their hearts, so that they become unpredictable, unable to control their passion and violate all moral values like monkeys. They also become like swine in the dirtiness of their hearts and their dirty trick to gain profit, like swine which live on dirty things and grow up with them.[7]
Similarly, al-Ṭabarī explains the meaning of the following verse:
وَلَقَدْ عَلِمْتُمُ الَّذِينَ اعْتَدَوْا مِنْكُمْ فِي السَّبْتِ
فَقُلْنَا لَهُمْ كُونُوا
قِرَدَةً خَاسِئِينَ (البقرة:٦٥)
And indeed you knew those
amongst you who
transgressed in the matter of the
Sabbath (i.e.
Saturday). We said to them: Be you monkeys,
despised and rejected. (Q. 2:65)
He says: “Be you monkeys, despised and rejected” means “be away
from goodness, despised and insignificant.” (معنى قوله: "كونوا قردة خاسئين" أي، مبعدين من
الخير أذلاء صغراء)
Instead of “false deities” according to classical scholars,
such as al-Dāmaghānī (d. 478/1085-6) and Ibn
al-Jawzī (d. 597/1201) the term Tāghūt in the
above verse means “Satan.”
3.
Ka‘b ibn al-Ashraf (كعب بن الأشرف). Ka‘b ibn al-Ashraf (d. 624)
was a Jewish leader in Madinah and a poet. He was killed after violating his
oath to the Constitution of Medina and sided with the Quraysh in attacking the
city in the battle of Confederates. There are many Qur’ānic
verses revealed about him as al- Tāghūt
as follows:
اللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُخْرِجُهُمْ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا
أَوْلِيَاؤُهُمُ الطَّاغُوتُ يُخْرِجُونَهُمْ
مِنَ النُّورِ إِلَى الظُّلُمَاتِ
أُولَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا
خَالِدُونَ (البقرة:٢٥٧)
Allah
is the Walī (Protector or Guardian) of those who believe. He brings them out
from darkness into light. But as for those who disbelieve, their Auliyā (supporters
and helpers) are Tāghūt (false deities and false
leaders), they bring them out from light into darkness… (Q. 2:257).
As truth is only one while disbelief comes as several types, and all of which are false, the truth in this verse as light is in singular, namely, nūr (not anwār in plural), whereas disbelief as darkness manifests itself in many ways, it is put in plural, namely, ẓulumāt (not ẓulmah in singular). [8]
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ
أُوتُوا نَصِيبًا مِنَ الْكِتَابِ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْجِبْتِ وَالطَّاغُوتِ وَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا هَؤُلَاءِ
أَهْدَى مِنَ الَّذِين آمَنُوا سَبِيلًا (النساء:٥١)
Have
you not seen those who were given a portion of the Scripture? They believe in Al-Jibt and At- Tāghūt and say
to the believers that they are better guided
as regards
the way than the believers (Muslims) (Q. 4:51)
There are various interpretation of the
terms al-Jibt and al-Tāghūt among the
Qur’ān commentators, among which are as follows:
a. Both are two idols worshipped by the
Arab idolaters.
b. Al-Jibt are the idols, and al-Tāghūt
are the interpreters (i.e. the conveyers of the message) of the idols
c. Al-Jibt is the fortuneteller, and al-Tāghūt
is the leader of the Jews, Ka‘b ibn al-Ashfraf
d. Al-Jibt is Ḥuyay
ibn Akhṭab (حيي بن اخطب), and al- Tāghūt
is Ka‘b ibn al-Ashraf (reported from Ibn ‘Abbās,
and al-Ḍaḥḥāk)
e. Al-Jibt
is the magician, and al-Tāghūt is Satan (Ibn Zayd’s father’s view)
f. Al-Jibt is the
magician in Ethiopian language, and al-Tāghūt is the soothsayer (Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr’s view)
g. Al-Jibt is Satan, and al-Tāghūt is the soothsayer
h.
The right view according to al-Ṭabarī
is that both al-Jibt and al-Tāghūt are the
names of anything venerated and worshipped other than Allah, either stone, a
human being or Satan. They are the idols worshipped in the time of the Jāhiliyyah (pre-Islamic) Arabia rather
than Allah. They are also the satans worshipped and obeyed in disobeying Allah.
They are also the magicians and soothsayers as well as Ḥuyay ibn Akhṭab[9] and Ka‘b ibn al-Ashraf. All of them were
worshipped, venerated, and obeyed rather than Allah.
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ يَزْعُمُونَ أَنَّهُمْ آمَنُوا بِمَا أُنْزِلَ
إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ
مِنْ قَبْلِكَ يُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يَتَحَاكَمُوا إِلَى الطَّاغُوتِ وَقَدْ
أُمِرُوا أَنْ يَكْفُرُوا
بِهِ وَيُرِيدُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَنْ
يُضِلَّهُمْ ضَلَالًا بَعِيدًا (النساء:٦٠)
Have you seen those (hypocrites) who claim that they
believe in that
which has been sent down to you, and that
which was sent down before you, and they wish to go
for
judgement (in
their disputes) to the Tāghūt (false judges)
while they have been ordered to reject them, But
Satan wishes to
lead them far astray. (Q. 4:60)
(According to al-Damaghanī and Ibn
al-Jawzī the Ṭāghūt in the above verse is Ka‘b ibn al-Ashraf)
There are three stages of
disbelief in the Islamic context: disobeying Allah without denying one’s
disobedience, rejecting the idea that one should obey Allah and – the last
stage – which is: not only rebelling against Allah but also imposing their rebellion
against the will of Allah upon others. People who reach this stage are
considered Ṭāghūt.
According
to Ibn al-Qayyim there are many Ṭāghūt, and there
are five leaders of them, as mentioned in the Qur’ān: (1) Iblis who misleads people to
disbelieve in Allah and deny Him which lead them to Hellfire; (2) those who are
worshipped other than Allah and are pleased with the false worship and do not
reject it; otherwise, if they reject it, then they are not Ṭāghūt; (3) those
who claim to know the ghayb (transcendental, supernatural, divine
secret), as Allah Alone Who knows it.[10] (4) those who ask people to worship them
for having a kind of divinity and ability to harm them or to give them benefit;
(5) those who do not rule by that which Allah has revealed.
In
general, anything either human (such as Satan, despot rulers), or inanimate
being that causes people go astray (such as idols) can be called Ṭāghūt.
(TURNER, 16 August 2020)
المراجع:
المكتبة الشاملة
تفسير الطبري (ت. ٣١٠/٩٢٢ (
تفسير القرطبى (٦١١ - ٦٧١ هـ / ١٢١٤ - ١٢٧٣ م(
تفسير ابن كثير (ت. ٧٧٤/ ١٣٧٣)
محمد أبو زهرة. (١۳١٦ - ١۳۹٤ هـ / ١۸۹۸ - ١٠۹۷٤ م) زهرة التفاسير.
تفسير المراغي (ت. ١۳۷١/١۹٥٢)
الراغب الأصفهاني. (ت. ٥٠٢/١١٠۹) مُفْرَدَاتُ أَلْفَاظِ الْقُرْآن
محمد الدامغاني (ت. ٤٧٨ هـ). قاموس القرآن أو إصلاح الوجوه والنظائر
مقاتل بن سليمان (ت. ١٥٠هـ). الوجوه والنظائر في القرآن العظيم
أبو هلال العسكري المعتزلي (ت. ۳۹٥ هـ). كتاب الوجوه والنظائر
عبد الرحمن ابن الجوزي (ت. ٥٩٧ هـ). نزهة الأعين النواظر
Muhammad Asad. The Message
of the Qur’ān
http://dictionary.sensagent.com/Taghut/en-en/
https://www.abukhadeejah.com/the-meaning-of-taghut-according-
to-the-early-scholars/
https://ar.islamway.net/fatwa/6031/ما-معنى-الطاغوت-وهل-كل-طاغوت-كافر
https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-ar/طاغوت/
https://alwafd.news/2959914-ما-هو-الطاغوت-الذى-تكرر-ذكره-في-آيات-القرآن-الكريم/2959914/دنيا-ودين
الطاغوت - ويكيبيدياar.wikipedia.org › wiki › الطاغوت
https://sotor.com/معنى-الطاغوت-لغةً-واصطلاحًا/
[1] According to the philologist
and lexicographer al-Khalī ibn Aḥmad (d. 173
/789) the
terms طُغْيَان and طُغْوَان are the same, so that we
can say طغيت
and طغوت.
[2] The expression فِي طُغْيَانِهِمْ
يَعْمَهُونَ (“in
their straying from the right path they wander blindly” is mentioned six times
in the Qur’ān, namely, Q. 2:15 mentioned above, Q. 6:11; 7:187; 10:11; and 23:75.
[3] Asad, The Message of the Qur’ān, p. 478,
n. 64.
[4] Ibid., n. 65.
[5] The term ṭāghūt (used in singular as well as
plural, although its plural is ṭaghāyīt) can refer to the unbelievers
and to the heads of misguidance among the Muslims. Here are some examples of
the definition of this term, as follows: (1) It is the soothsayer, Satan and every
leader of misguidance. (al-Jawharī) (2) It is whatever is worshipped besides
Allah, and every leader of misguidance (Ibn Manẓūr); (3) It is Satan, the
soothsayer, the magician and every head of misguidance (Al-Shaʿbī, ʿAtā’ and
Mujāhid ); (4) It is a term taken from tughyān, and it is to go beyond
the set limits (Ibn al-Jawzi); (5) It
is anything that misguides from the truth (Ibn Hishām ); (6) It is anything
that is worshipped besides Allah, such as Satan, the soothsayers, the idols,
and everyone that calls to misguidance
(al-Qurṭubī); (7) It is a generic
title into which enters: the Satan, the idols, the soothsayers, the dirham, the
dīnār (forms of currency) and other than that.” (Ibn Taymiyyah). It is that
which is exceeded by the servant beyond its limit whether it be with respect to
following, or worship or obedience (Ibn al-Qayyim). Besides being used in
singular and plural, the term ṭāghūt is also used as masculine as well
as feminine. The term is used at least eight times in the Qur’ān, namely, Q. 2:256, 257; 4:60; 4:51, 60, 76; 5:60,
16:36 and 39:17. It is in plural in أَوْلِيَاؤُهُمُ الطَّاغُوتُ يُخْرِجُونَهُمْ مِنَ النُّورِ إِلَى
الظُّلُمَاتِ (البقرة:٢٥۷) , in masculine singular in(النساء:٦٠) يُرِيدُونَ
أَنْ يَتَحَاكَمُوا إِلَى الطَّاغُوتِ وَقَدْ أُمِرُوا أَنْ يَكْفُرُوا بِهِ ,
and singular feminine in (الزمر:١٧) وَالَّذِينَ اجْتَنَبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ أَنْ يَعْبُدُوهَا .
[6] Muhammad Asad translates Ṭāghūt in this verse
as “the powers of evil” because the term “denotes, primarily,
anything that is worshipped instead of God and, thus, all that may turn man
away from God and lead him to evil,” The Message of the Qur’ān, p. 58, n. 250.
[7] Muḥammad Abū
Zahrah, Zahratu ’l-Tafāsīr, commentary of Q.
5:60. He also quotes the opinion of the tābi‘ī Mujāhid that it is a
metaphorical description, that Allah transformed their hearts, not their bodies
into monkeys. He also quotes the ḥadīth where Ibn Mas‘ūd asked the
Prophet whether the present monkeys and pigs were their descendants, he said:
“Allah never destroyed a people by transforming them and making offspring or
descendants for them. The monkeys and swine had existed before that. When Allah
was angry with the Jews He transformed them, make them like them (the monkey
and the swine). Ibid. Shaykh al-Marāghī also quotes Mujahid’s view from
al-Ṭabarī that it is a metaphor. Tafsir al-Maraghī’s commentary on Q.
5:60. In other words “it is a metaphorical description (mathal) of the
moral degradation which such sinners undergo: they become wildly unpredictable
like apes and as abandoned to the pursuit of lusts as swine.” Asad, The
Message of the Qur’ān, p. 156, n. 77.
[8] There are many other verses in the Qur’ān where the
truth is used in the singular and falsehood in plural, among which are as
follows:
(a) الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ
الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَجَعَلَ الظُّلُمَاتِ وَالنُّورَ ثُمَّ
الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ يَعْدِلُونَ (الانعام:١) All
praise and thanks are Allah’s, Who (Alone) created the heavens and the dearth,
and originated the darkness [in
plural] and the light [in singular]: yet those who disbelieve hold
others as equal with their Lord (Q. 6:1)
(b) وَأَنَّ هَذَا صِرَاطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ
وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ ذَلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُمْ
بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ (الانعام:١٥٣) And
verily, this is my straight path
[“sabīl” in singular], so follow it, and follow not (other) paths [“subul”
in plural], for they will separate you away from is path [“sabīl” in
singular]. This He has ordained for you that you may have Taqwa (Q.
6:153).
© أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا إِلَى مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ مِنْ
شَيْءٍ يَتَفَيَّأُ ظِلَالُهُ عَنِ الْيَمِينِ وَالشَّمَائِلِ سُجَّدًا لِلَّهِ وهُمْ
دَاخِرُونَ (النحل: ٤٨) Have they not observed
things that Allah has created: (how) their shadows incline to the right [“yamīn” in
singular, not “ayman” in plural] and to the left [“shamā’il”
in plural, not “shimāl” in singular], making prostration to Allah,
and they are lowly? (Q. 16:47). Here
Allah mentions one right and many lefts, as the right is the only right one and
the lefts should be left, because they are wrong,
[9] Ḥuyay ibn Akhṭab was the leader of the Banū ’l-Naḍīr Jewish tribe who breached the treaty with the
Prophet and successfully persuaded Ka‘b ibn Asad, the leader of Banū Qurayẓah
Jewish tribe, to change his allegiance with the Prophet and sided the Quraysh
idolaters in the battle of the Trench.
[10]Allah says in the Qur’ān قُلْ لَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ
وَالْأَرْضِ الْغَيْبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ أَيَّانَ يُبْعَثُونَ (النمل:٦٥) “Say:
‘None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghayb (unseen) except Allah, nor
can they perceive when they shall be resurrected.’” (Q. 27:65).
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