The index ayah declares the duties and responsibilities of Muslims when they are at the helm of affairs. Elsewhere in the Quran, additional responsibilities are recounted:………………..[9/71]…………

وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاء بَعْضٍ يَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلاَةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَيُطِيعُونَ اللّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ أُوْلَـئِكَ سَيَرْحَمُهُمُ اللّهُ إِنَّ اللّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ

“The believers, both men and women, are allies of one another. They enjoin good, forbid evil, establish Prayer, pay Zakah, and obey Allah and His Messenger. Surely Allah will show mercy to them. Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.”

 The index ayah starts with the instructions for establishment of the daily prayers and distribution of zakat confirming the all out supremacy of  these two practices in the lives of observing Muslims. However  in the other ayah I have quoted, enjoining good and forbidding evil take precedence highlighting as well the significance of these practices in Muslim lives.

According to the tradition of the Holy Prophet, a ruler is obliged to take certain measures to facilitate performance of daily prayers and collection of zakat. First, the rulers themselves should say prayers and bind their subordinates to follow suit. Second, the leading-imaamat- of Friday and Eid prayers and generally everywhere will be conducted by these rulers or their appointed officials or a representative similarly assigned. Regarding Zakat, it is established in the tradition that this is the only tax that can be imposed on Muslims. Therefore, every Muslim citizen of the state who is liable to pay Zakat will separate the prescribed share from his wealth, livestock, and produce, and will necessarily submit it to the government. The government, in turn, will make every effort to fulfill the needs of the deserving citizens, even before they approach it by reaching out to them at their doors based on their need for help.

In a concise yet comprehensive manner, the index ayah defines the aim of an Islamic state and the conduct of those responsible to run it. It asserts that the believers, both men and women, are allies of one another. They enjoin good, forbid evil, establish Prayer, pay Zakah, and obey Allah and His Messenger. It assures believers of  Allah’s mercy. God has promised, and HIS promise never fails that HE supports  those who support HIM. The qualities mentioned here are of those “ who support HIM”  and thus deserve His support which assures certain victory. Once triumphant and established in a position of authority they, as outlined in this verse will “attend regularly to their prayers, worship God alone, give in charity” and thus help their community to provide help to the poor and needy. Thus they beautifully fit into  the Prophet’s description of the Muslim community: “In their mutual love, sympathy and compassion, the believers are like one body; when any organ is in complaint, the rest of the body shares its complaint with symptoms of sleeplessness and fever.” Finally they always do the right thing if they can and do not tolerate any wrong and change it if they can. The foremost meaning of bidding the good and forbidding evil is that they invite to Allah’s oneness and forbid idol worship. The Quran repeatedly stresses this practice of trial of the believers. See footnotes….[3]

In the end the ayah narrates  ؕ وَلِلّٰهِ عَاقِبَةُ الۡاُمُوۡرِ ie “The end of all matters rests with Allah” who decides the course the events should take. He may change defeat into victory or vice versa. This is a stern reminder to all, that in the final analysis God decides who gets power and when is he deprived of it. This is a sharp warning to the proud and arrogant who might deceive themselves that they are in control of the destiny of land and its dwellers. “Allah dethrones the most haughty ruler in supernatural ways and gives power to the most humble in order to show that He is All-Powerful, All-Mighty”.

The index ayah is referring to “those who, were We to bestow authority on them in the land”.  The  natural reference here is to the Companions of the Holy Prophet because during their reign primary functions of a government were accomplished in the highest sense.

When and how is this authority acquired? This is explained in the two ayahs preceding the index ayah:

“Permission (to fight) is given to those upon whom war is made because they are oppressed, and most surely Allah is well able to assist them”

Though the Muslim population kept growing in Makkah and so did the oppression to which they were being constantly subjected, they were not allowed to fight back. The Muslims were agitating for this right to fight back. Perhaps the the Holy Prophet was waiting for Divine approval for armed resistance to the infidels. After a wait of almost ten years, the issue was resolved. The Holy Prophet decided to migrate to Medina due to very disappointing and discouraging situation in Makkah. At the start of his journey accompanied by Abu Bakr, he reportedly said “they have expelled their Prophet and the time has come when they will perish”. The verse 39 mentioned above was revealed on arrival at Medinah permitting Muslim to fight back and take up arms against the infidels. Tirmidhi, Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, Ibn Hibbin, Hakim and others have reported on the authority of Sayyidna Ibn Abbas  that this is the first verse which permitted the Muslims to offer armed resistance to the infidels, whereas in more than seventy earlier verses armed resistance was forbidden.

“And the beauty of this first verse allowing the Muslims to fight back, when fought against, is that the

word “fight” has not been used. This shows Islam’s distaste for matters settled with the help of wars, but its readiness to retaliate if attacked” comments Syed Iqbal Zaheer an Indian scholar and author of his impressive Tafseer  “Quran Translation and Commentary Ishraq Al Ma’aani”.

The other of the two ayahs mentioned earlier:

“…..to those who were unjustly expelled from their homes only because they said, “God is our Lord. Had it not been for God’s repelling some people through the might of the others, the monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which God is very often worshipped would have been utterly destroyed. God shall certainly help those who help Him. He is All-powerful and Majestic.”

In this verse صَوَامِعُ is the plural term referring to monasteries which are a places of worship meant for Christian monks and hermits, وَبِيَعٌ a pleural term for both Christian churches and Jewish synagogues, صَلٰوتٌ is the pleural word for  Jewish synagogues and finally مَسٰجِدُ are places of worship of the Muslims.

Please note the ayah says “in which Allah’s name is much pronounced”.  It obviously refers to the structures mentioned earlier viz. monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques. Not for Syed Iqbal Zaheer an Indian scholar. He starts, in his tafseer with a question: “in which Allah’s name is much pronounced” is applicable to all places of worship or to Masaajid alone?” He, is quick to answer “In our times however, it should not be difficult to attribute the statement to Masaajid in particular, since, it is within them alone that Allah’s name is mentioned much. Most other houses of worship have either been abandoned, or have been converted to dance and music halls for the faithful”. With due respect to the scholar, I think this depicts the general and widespread  approach to Islamic teachings and values.

It is logical to query “Why did Allah mention together the various houses of worship”? Does it indicate an approval of the practices therein. To Muslims, are they of the same status as mosques; a quick answer “No”. The correct response needs giving up our myopic vision when discussing humanity and human values. This is what this ayah is teaching us. Humanity has different type of peoples, different religions, different places of worship and different practices of worship. We as Muslims have masaajid and our own form of prayers. We will practice them and try to proclaim and propagate them. But as the ayah states we are supposed to acknowledge and recognise all other places pf worship. This is one of the golden principles of Islam

Having said this, it puts me at variance with Imam Razi—Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (1150-1209). It does sound very  audacious. By and large our traditional religious opinions on many issues do tend to be irrational and inconsistent. To the question (Why did Allah mention together the various houses of worship; Is it to approve what goes on within them?)  Imam Razi answers “that such is not the case. But rather, they had Allah’s approval at the time of their Prophets but not later when a new Prophet came and they disbelieved in him. He canceled the old. In other words, what the verse is saying, had not Allah defended the Synagogues during the Mosaic and later Jewish times, they would have been destroyed; had not Allah defended the Christian Churches during the times when the Final Messenger had not yet appeared, they would have been destroyed”. Additionally, Qurtibi points out that “neither the pagan nor the Magian temples have been mentioned. This is because One God is not mentioned at all in those places of worship.”

The ayah mentioned above (verse 40) explains the philosophy behind the permission for qitaal. The infidel were out there to destroy the “the monasteries, the churches, the synagogues and the mosques” where the name of Allah is recited abundantly. To protect them Allah “repelled some people by means of some others”. This command is not specific to Muslims. Even the earlier prophets and their followers had received similar orders from Allah Ta’aala. “The philosophy behind this command was that without armed resistance no religion would have felt safe and their places of worship would have been destroyed by the infidels”. As noted earlier, Allah Ta’aala Subhaanahoo has included in this ayah “the monasteries, the churches, the synagogues and mosques”  in the list of  “where the name of Allah is recited abundantly.”

However, another aspect of the meaning of this ayah is touched upon by Qurtubi. He explains “Allah’s words, ‘were it not for Allah to check one set of people by means of another..’ as meaning, Had not Allah legalized wars unto the Prophets and believers, the unbelievers would have suppressed the believers and caused the desertion of their places of devotion to one God. But rather, He defended them, legislated fighting, so that, ultimately, they could be free to worship their Lord”.

A rivaayat attributed to Ibn Abbas is relevant and interesting:  “Allah decreed Jihaad at the right time. At Makkah the pagans were in large numbers. If He had asked them (Muslims) to fight back when they were less than ten percent of the population, surely, it would have been tough on them. Thus, although when eighty or so of the Yethribites pledged their hands of support to the Prophet at Aqabah, and they asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, should we not fall upon these pagans here at Mina’? He replied, ‘But rather, I have not been ordered to do that”?  But when they were driven out of Makkah, some going to Abyssinia, others to Madinah, and Allah provided them a shelter at Madinah, where they were able to establish their rule over a piece of land, Allah decreed Jihaad by this verse, “Permitted are those (to retaliate) who are fought against..” (Ibn Kathir).

As we are talking of Muslim power, a reference to Khilaafat seems quite relevant. We Muslims are very emotional and some what romantic about the institution of Khilaafat. We think that our deen has defined and recommended this system of governance for Muslims. Not only that, we believe we have actually practiced this system in the gorgeous days of our history. I am afraid this is one of the very popular delusions which persists in the Ummah after our decline from leadership and glory. We witness governance par excellence in the reign of the first two caliphs and to a great extent in the first half of  the third caliph Hazrat Usman. This was mainly due to the personality, wisdom and honesty of the rulers. The system if governance was the prevalent tribal order. This was changed later when Muslims conquered civilised counties of those days and were quick to learn and adapt their knowledge and practices. However, after a short period of uncertainty and turmoil, Muawiyah appointed his son as his successor ushering monarchy as the system of governance in all of Muslim lands for all times.

The various houses of worship have always been at risk of destruction despite their sanctity and dedication for worship. Evil forces do not acknowledge that these are places to glorify the name of God Almighty. Sanctity alone will not save and shield these places. “They are protected only through people’s efforts, with the advocates of faith standing up to repel falsehood’s aggression. Indeed, falsehood and evil will not stop their aggression unless they realize that the truth has enough power to counter their own. Truth may he valued by people, but such value is not enough to provide it with protection against aggression in man’s world. It requires the appropriate means of self defense” asserts Sayyid Qutb in his fabulous tafseer “Fi Dhilalil Quran”.

Many commentators and jurists maintain that this verse refers to houses of worship in the past before the advent of Islam which according to them has superseded all other religions. Also, Nasr et al state in their modern tafseer “The Study Quran” “Muslims, however, are prohibited from damaging or destroying the houses of worship belonging to peoples with whom there is a treaty (ahl al-dhimmah) both within and outside of Islamic lands.”

In this verse (ayah 40) the word “those” refers to those people who were expelled from their homes without any just reason. If they are in position of authority in this world, the verse states “they will use it to promote good deeds, will set up prayers, pay the obligatory charity, enjoin people to do good and abstain from evil deeds.” Bare in mind this verse was revealed in early Madinan period meaning that the Muslims had no land under their rule. Hence this can be regarded as a prediction that the Muslims  will  one day gain power and form a government and then they would serve the Faith in the manner described in this verse. Sayyidna Usman is reported to have said that this verse praises those people way before they have performed the praise worthy deeds. History testifies that the Muslims did perform all the deeds mentioned in this ayah. Many scholars maintain that this verse indicates that the ascension to power of the four caliphs was a direct result of the Divine prophecy as was the system of caliphate (?) which was set up by them.

As a general rule in Islamic history, any particular scenario also has a broader application in similar circumstances. Hence Dahhak, as quoted  by Abu Al Qurtubi, an Andalusian Muslim polymath concludes “this verse contains an injunction for all those whom Allah Ta’aala grants power and authority to do all those things which the Four Caliphs did when they controlled the rule.

The terms Ma’ruf and Munkar reflect righteousness and evil. This is not referring to dictates of Shariah but to values that humanity at large recognizes as good or evil eg telling truth or condemning deceit etc. The pulpit of Friday prayers is specially designated to persuade and educate the public on these issues. Largely this will prove to be adequate. However in some occasions force of law will be needed. To fulfill this responsibility, the government establishes the Police Department.

The rendering of `Aziz as “Mighty” is inadequate. It stands for, as Yusuf Ali puts it in his popular tafseer, “Exalted in power, rank, dignity; Incomparable; Full of might and majesty; Able to enforce His will.”

……..and Allah knows best.

May Allah Ta’aala bless us with true understanding–“fahm”–of our Deen, Aameen.

Dr. Khalid Mitha

November 30, 2023