Friday Nasiha

Surah \r\n al-Nisaa'

The \r\n Women (4) - Ayah 77

In \r\n the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Commentary:

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  This verse can \r\n be interpreted in 3 ways, and each meaning \r\n is considered to be equally valid by the \r\n scholars of Tafseer.

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First Interpretation 

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  That \r\n those who now hesitated to fight in the \r\n cause of God were themselves initially willing \r\n to fight. They often approached the Prophet \r\n (peace be upon him), saying that they were \r\n being wronged, beaten, persecuted and abused, \r\n that their patience was exhausted, and that \r\n they wanted the permission to fight.

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  They \r\n had been told to be patient and continue \r\n to purify their souls by observing Prayers \r\n and dispensing Zakah. But at that time they \r\n had felt discontented by this advice of \r\n patience. Later on, some of those very same \r\n people began to tremble at the first sight \r\n of the enemy and the dangers of warfare.

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Second \r\n Interpretation

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  That they remained highly 'religious' as long as they were \r\n asked simply to pray and pay Zakah, which \r\n involved no risk to their lives. But as \r\n soon as that phase was over and they were \r\n asked to expose themselves to struggle and \r\n danger, they began to shiver with fear. \r\n Isn't this exactly the case with most of \r\n us Muslims today?
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Third Interpretation 

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  That in the former times, \r\n the same people had taken out their swords \r\n for trivial causes. They had fought for \r\n loot and plunder, and engaged in feuds motivated \r\n by animal impulses, so much so that fighting \r\n had almost become their national pastime.

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  At the same time they \r\n had been told to abstain from bloodshed \r\n and to reform themselves by observing Prayers \r\n and dispensing Zakah. When, later on, the \r\n same people were told that the time had \r\n come for them to fight in the cause of God \r\n in order to establish Justice and Peace, \r\n those who had shown themselves to be lions \r\n while fighting for their own selfish and \r\n nationalistic causes, turned out to be as \r\n week as lambs.

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  Each \r\n of these three meanings are applicable to \r\n a different kind of person, but the actual \r\n words of the verse seem to apply to all \r\n who abandon fighting in the cause of God \r\n and confine themselves to 'private Islam'. \r\n This verse indicates that if Muslims begin \r\n to fear, love, and obey Allah, instead of \r\n fearing the men and other creatures of this \r\n world, they would not possess such a hypocritical \r\n attitude.

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[compiled \r\n from \"Towards Understanding the Qur'an\", by \r\n Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi, Vol. II, p. 60-61]

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We often hear about \r\n the \"Islamic movement\". But most of us are either \r\n unaware of what it is, what it refers to, and \r\n what it consists of or have a distorted idea \r\n of its form and function. It often stems from \r\n a limited understanding of the all-encompassing \r\n and comprehensive teachings of our Deen covering \r\n every aspect of our life - about home and \r\n work, business and leisure, individual \r\n and family, spirituality and activism, \r\n local community and global Ummah - and \r\n realizing that there are no contradictions \r\n between any of them. Islam penetrates and guides \r\n every sphere of our \"wordly\" life as it does \r\n our afterlife. Hence ...

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  The \r\n Islamic movement is organized and collective work that is undertaken by the people, to restore Islam to the leadership of society and to the helm of life.. 

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  Before \r\n being anything else, the Islamic Movement \r\n is work - persistent, industrious work, \r\n not just words to be said, speeches and \r\n lectures to be delivered, or books and articles \r\n to be written. All of these are indeed required \r\n but they are merely parts of a movement, \r\n and not the movement itself. Allah the Almighty \r\n says: \"Work! Allah will see your deeds, and so will His Messenger \r\n and the believers\" [9:105].

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  The \r\n Islamic movement is a work performed by \r\n the masses based mainly on self motivation \r\n and personal conviction. It is work performed out of faith and for nothing other \r\n than the sake of Allah, with the hope of being rewarded by Him and not by people.

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  The \r\n core of this self motivation is the unrest \r\n and tension that a Muslim feels inside himself \r\n when he becomes conscious of the Islamic \r\n awakening. He feels a turmoil deep inside \r\n him resulting from the contradiction \r\n between his faith on the one hand and the \r\n reality of the state of the Ummah on the other. 

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  Upon \r\n this realization he \r\n launches himself into action, driven by \r\n his love for his Deen, \r\n his faith in Allah and His Messenger, his \r\n faith in the Qur'an and the Muslim Ummah, \r\n his realization of his own weakness as well \r\n as those around him, and his \r\n keenness in fulfilling his duties and \r\n contributing to the revival of the neglected \r\n fara'idh which include obligations \r\n such as implementing \r\n the Shari'ah of Allah, \r\n unifying the \r\n Muslim Ummah, \r\n supporting the friends of Allah and fighting \r\n the enemies of Allah, \r\n liberating Muslim \r\n lands from all aggression and non-Muslim \r\n control, re-establishing \r\n the khilafah, \r\n renewing the \r\n obligation of da'wah, \r\n enjoining the \r\n ma'ruf (good) and forbidding the \r\n munkar (evil), \r\n and fulfilling \r\n the obligation of jihad, \r\n whether by action, word or the heart \r\n (the latter being the weakest level of iman). \r\n He strives for \r\n all this so that the Word of Allah is the \r\n Supreme Authority in all spheres of life.

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[compiled from \r\n \"Priorities of the Islamic Movement\" by Shaykh \r\n Yusuf al-Qaradawi, p.25]