SURAH AL-BAQARAH: 284 - 7th and last part

The placement of this verse at the end of Surah al-Baqarah has great wisdom behind it because Surah al-Baqarah is such an important and consequential Surah of the Holy Quran that a fairly large part of Divine injunctions appears in it. It gives important fundamental and subsidiary instructions regarding life in this world and the life to come. It holds details about matters such as Salah, Zakah, Sawm (fasting), Qisas (even retaliation), Hajj, Jihad, Taharah (prescribed state of purity), Talaq (divorce), Iddah (waiting period), Khul (divorcement sought by wife), Rada'ah (suckling), unlawfulness of alcohol, and interest and methods which are permissible or impermissible in matters of loans and deals. It is for this reason that in Hadith this Surah has been called Sinam al-Quran (the highest peak of the Quran).

The core of all the above mentioned deeds is Ikhlas (pristine sincerity), meaning that doing something or abstaining from something should solely be for the purpose of pleasing Allah Ta'alah. It should not be tainted with worldly desires such as earning fame or some other selfish motives. It is obvious that Ikhlas is a deed of the mind and the heart, and that acceptance of all other deeds by Allah Ta'alah depends on the presence of Ikhlas. That is why human beings have been warned by bringing this verse at the end of this Surah that it is quite possible to deceive people about whether a person is carrying out virtuous deeds or abstaining from sins, but Allah Ta'alah is Aleem and Khabeer (All-Knowing and All-Aware). He sees everything that a person does in isolation when no one else is watching him, and He knows what is inside a person's heart and mind. A person must be mindful all the time that Allah Ta'alah is watching me and knows what I am doing, and that I will have to account for it all on the Day of Resurrection. This is the spirit that Quran Karim tries to create in the minds of its followers, and once it is developed this is what starts stopping a person from disobeying Allah Ta'alah even in places where no other human being is watching him.

From Ma'ariful Quran, by Mufti Muhammad Shafi Rehmatullah Elaih

SURAH AL-BAQARAH: 284 - Part 6

According to al-Tafsir al-Mazhari there are two types of deeds which have been made Fard (obligatory) or Hara'am (unlawful). Some of these are performed physically for example Salah, giving Zakah, fasting and Hajj are all carried out physically. Similarly, some of the the deeds that have been declared unlawful are also actions of the body, for example, telling lies, causing harm to someone, drinking alcohol, etc. The second type of Fard (obligatory) acts are those that are carried out internally and relate to a person's inner self, his heart, his batin. For example, Iman and faith, doing Tawazu (تواضع), doing Sabr (صبر) when it is indicated, are all carried out internally. Similarly, kufr and shirk (disbelief and believing that someone else shares Allah's unique characteristics and powers,) Takabbur (arrogance), greed, envy, are all sins of the heart.

In this verse human beings have been warned that on the day of Qiyamah (Day of Doom) just like they will be held accountable for the their physical actions, they will also be held accountable for their internal deeds, the deeds they carried out in their hearts and minds.

From Ma'ariful Quran, by Mufti Muhammad Shafi Rehmatullah Elaih

SURAH AL-BAQARAH: 284 - Part 5

As the words of this verse are inclusive of both types of thoughts, voluntary and involuntary, the noble Companions (Sahaba) got extremely worried when this verse was revealed that if a person was to account for their involuntary thoughts as well, who would escape censure. When they expressed this worry in front of the Holy Prophet ﷺ, he instructed them that they must firmly resolve to obey all commands that Allah Ta'a revealed, and say "سمعنا و اطعنا" meaning "we heard, and we obeyed". The Sahaba, may Allah Ta'alah be pleased with them all, did as they were told, and upon this the following verse of the Quran was revealed "لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللّٰهُ نَفۡسًا اِلَّا وُسۡعَهَا" "Allah does not burden anyone beyond his or her capacity". 

This verse reassured the Sahaba that they will not be held accountable for involuntary thoughts and this brought them great peace of mind.

From Ma'ariful Quran, by Mufti Muhammad Shafi Rehmatullah Elaih

SURAH AL-BAQARAH: 284 Part 4

Continued from before...

Other Ulama (religious scholars) have answered this doubt by saying that the Hadith, in which forgiveness for what is in the heart but is not acted upon has been mentioned, refers to the involuntary thoughts and doubts which come into a person's mind without his volition, in fact, they keep coming even if one tries to stop them. Allah Ta'alah has forgiven such involuntary thoughts for this Ummah. The accountability that has been mentioned in this verse relates to those sins that a person fully intended to carry out, but couldn't because of something else happening. He will still have to account for those intentions on the Day of Doom (Qiyamah). It will then be up to Allah Ta'alah will as to whom He punishes, and whom He forgives, as mentioned in the Hadith above.

From Ma'ariful Quran, by Mufti Muhammad Shafi Rehmatullah Elaih

SURAH AL-BAQARAH: 284 - Part 3

Continued from before...

Here a doubt may arise in view of the Hadith in which the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been reported to have said: "Allah Almighty has forgiven my Ummah all that they thought of in their hearts unless they said or did it."

According to this Hadith it seems there is no accountability for what one thought but did not act upon.  Imam al-Qurtubi has said that this Hadith relates to the worldly effects of an effect, for example, divorce, sales agreements, and gifts are not authentically concluded just by thinking about them, unless a person conducts these verbally or practically. Since this verse refers to the effects of an act appearing in the Hereafter there is no contradiction between the two.

To be continued...

From Ma'ariful Quran, by Mufti Muhammad Shafi Rehmatullah Elaih

SURAH AL-BAQARAH: 284 - Part 2

It appears in another Hadith that on the day of Doom (Qiyamah) Allah Ta'alah will say, "This is the Day when hidden things will be revealed and secrets concealed in hearts will be laid out in the open. And (forget not that) My angels charged with writing down your deeds wrote down only those visible on the outside, and I know what angels do not know, nor did they write those in your Book of Deeds. Now I tell you all about it and ask you to stand and answer. I shall forgive anyone I will and I shall punish anyone I will." True believers will then be forgiven and disbelievers (kuffar) will be punished. (Qurtubi)

From Ma'ariful Quran, by Mufti Muhammad Shafi Rehmatullah Elaih

SURAH AL-BAQARAH: 284 - Part 1

لِلّٰهِ مَا فِى السَّمٰوٰتِ وَمَا فِى الۡاَرۡضِ‌ؕ وَاِنۡ تُبۡدُوۡا مَا فِىۡۤ اَنۡفُسِكُمۡ اَوۡ تُخۡفُوۡهُ يُحَاسِبۡكُمۡ بِهِ اللّٰهُ‌ؕ فَيَـغۡفِرُ لِمَنۡ يَّشَآءُ وَيُعَذِّبُ مَنۡ يَّشَآءُ‌ ؕ وَاللّٰهُ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ قَدِيۡرٌ۔

"And to Allah belongs what is in the heavens and what is in the earth. And if you disclose what is in your hearts or conceal it Allah shall make you account for it, then He shall forgive whom He wills and punish whom He wills. And Allah is powerful over everything."

This verse means that on the Day of Judgment Allah Ta'alah will make all His creations account for all of their deeds, the ones they carried out, as well as the ones they had firmly decided to carry out and kept it hidden from others, but never got the chance to carry it out. In has been narrated in a Hadith appearing in Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim that that it was reported by Sayyidna Ibn Umar RAA that: "I have heard from the Holy Prophet ﷺ that the believer (Momin) will be drawn near his most exalted Lord when Allah Almighty will make him recall his sins one by one and will ask him if he knew that he had committed those sins. The believer will confess. Allah Almighty will say, 'I concealed your sins in the life of the world and never allowed this to be known to others. Today, I forgive that.' He will be given the book of Good Deeds, while the sins committed by disbelievers and hypocrites will be announced before everybody."

To be continued...

From Ma'ariful Quran, by Mufti Muhammad Shafi Rehmatullah Elaih

SURAH AL-BAQARAH: 282 - Part 2

اِذَا تَدَايَنۡتُمۡ بِدَيۡنٍ اِلٰٓى اَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى فَاكۡتُبُوۡهُ۔

Two principles have been pointed out in this sentence. These are:

1. When a person carries out a business transaction on the basis of a deferred payment or loan, then a written document should be prepared when concluding that transaction, so that it can be referred to in case one person forgets the details or if there is a dispute.

2. While doing a transaction on deferred payment basis, it is necessary that the due date of its payment should be determined in advance. It is not permissible to defer the payment for an indefinite period of time because this can open the doors of dispute. That is why Muslim jurists have specified that the time limit should specify the exact date and month. It should not be left ambiguous, for example, that the payment will be made after the crop is harvested, as that can change with season.

From Ma'ariful Quran, by Mufti Muhammad Shafi Rehmatullah Elaih

SURAH AL-BAQARAH: 282 - Part 1

يٰۤـاَيُّهَا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡۤا اِذَا تَدَايَنۡتُمۡ بِدَيۡنٍ اِلٰٓى اَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى فَاكۡتُبُوۡهُ ‌ؕ وَلۡيَكۡتُب بَّيۡنَكُمۡ كَاتِبٌۢ بِالۡعَدۡلِ‌ وَلَا يَاۡبَ كَاتِبٌ اَنۡ يَّكۡتُبَ كَمَا عَلَّمَهُ اللّٰهُ‌ فَلۡيَكۡتُبۡ ‌ۚوَلۡيُمۡلِلِ الَّذِىۡ عَلَيۡهِ الۡحَـقُّ وَلۡيَتَّقِ اللّٰهَ رَبَّهٗ وَلَا يَبۡخَسۡ مِنۡهُ شَيۡـــًٔا ‌ؕ فَاِنۡ كَانَ الَّذِىۡ عَلَيۡهِ الۡحَـقُّ سَفِيۡهًا اَوۡ ضَعِيۡفًا اَوۡ لَا يَسۡتَطِيۡعُ اَنۡ يُّمِلَّ هُوَ فَلۡيُمۡلِلۡ وَلِيُّهٗ بِالۡعَدۡلِ‌ؕ وَاسۡتَشۡهِدُوۡا شَهِيۡدَيۡنِ مِنۡ رِّجَالِكُمۡ‌ۚ فَاِنۡ لَّمۡ يَكُوۡنَا رَجُلَيۡنِ فَرَجُلٌ وَّامۡرَاَتٰنِ مِمَّنۡ تَرۡضَوۡنَ مِنَ الشُّهَدَآءِ اَنۡ تَضِلَّ اِحۡدٰٮهُمَا فَتُذَكِّرَ اِحۡدٰٮهُمَا الۡاُخۡرٰى‌ؕ وَ لَا يَاۡبَ الشُّهَدَآءُ اِذَا مَا دُعُوۡا ‌ؕ وَلَا تَسۡـــَٔمُوۡۤا اَنۡ تَكۡتُبُوۡهُ صَغِيۡرًا اَوۡ كَبِيۡرًا اِلٰٓى اَجَلِهٖ‌ؕ ذٰ لِكُمۡ اَقۡسَطُ عِنۡدَ اللّٰهِ وَاَقۡوَمُ لِلشَّهَادَةِ وَاَدۡنٰۤى اَلَّا تَرۡتَابُوۡٓا اِلَّاۤ اَنۡ تَكُوۡنَ تِجَارَةً حَاضِرَةً تُدِيۡرُوۡنَهَا بَيۡنَكُمۡ فَلَيۡسَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ جُنَاحٌ اَلَّا تَكۡتُبُوۡهَا ‌ؕ وَاَشۡهِدُوۡۤا اِذَا تَبَايَعۡتُمۡ وَلَا يُضَآرَّ كَاتِبٌ وَّلَا شَهِيۡدٌ  ؕ وَاِنۡ تَفۡعَلُوۡا فَاِنَّهٗ فُسُوۡقٌ ۢ بِكُمۡ ؕ وَ اتَّقُوا اللّٰهَ‌ ؕ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللّٰهُ‌ ؕ وَاللّٰهُ بِكُلِّ شَىۡءٍ عَلِيۡمٌ۔

"O those who believe, when you transact a debt payable at a specified time, put it in writing. And let a scribe write it between you with fairness. And no scribe should refuse to write as 

Allah has educated him. He, therefore, should write. And the one who owes should give the dictation, but he must fear Allah, his Lord, and should not curtail anything from it. And if the one who owes is feeble-minded or weak or cannot himself give the dictation, his guardian should dictate with fairness. And have two witnesses from among your men. And if two men are not there, then one man and two women from those witnesses you are pleased with, so that if one of the two women errs the other woman may remind her. And the witnesses should not refuse when summoned. And, be not loath to write it down, as payable at its time, no matter how short or long. That is more equitable with Allah and more establishing for the evidence and nearer to that you fall not in doubt, unless it be a cash deal you carry out among yourselves. In that case there is no sin on you if you do not write it. And have witnesses when you transact a sale. And neither scribe nor witnesses should be harmed. And if you do, it is certainly a sin on your part. And fear Allah. And Allah teaches you. And Allah is All-Knowing in respect of everything."

SAYINGS OF THE HOLY PROPHET ﷺ ABOUT RIBA (INTEREST) - Part 3

- Rasool Allah ﷺ said, "the society in which Riba becomes rampant is punished with famine, and the society where Riba is rampant is punished with horror (of others).

- Rasool Allah ﷺ on the night (of Ascension: Miraj) when we reached the seventh sky, I looked upwards and saw thunder, lightnings and thunder-claps. Then I came across some people whose stomachs seemed to be houses full of snakes - one could see them from the outside of their stomachs. I asked Jibra'il: "Who are they?" He replied, "They are those who used to take Riba (interest or usury)."

- Rasool Allah ﷺ said, "Abstain from sins which are not forgiven: Embezzling of the spoils (of Jihad), for whoever embezzles anything will come with it on the Day of Judgment, and the other sin is Riba."

From Ma'ariful Quran, by Mufti Muhammad Shafi Rehmatullah Elaih