“I am convinced about the veracity of my opinions, but I do consider it likely that they may turn out to be incorrect. Likewise, I am convinced about the incorrectness of the views different from mine, but I do concede the possibility that they may turn out to be correct.” — Imam Shafa’i

This is one of the most sweeping and extensive ayahs of the Quran condensing into few words an entire range of Islamic teachings. This great verse summarizes all the commands and prohibitions of the Qur’an. In other words it defines the basic foundations of morality and righteousness as found throughout the Quran.

Here, in this ayah only the basics of commands and prohibitions are mentioned very briefly. It is not clear from this, what kind of rulings come under justice and kindness and what kind of prohibitions are involved in obscenity, denial or rebellion. The details of this brief description are mentioned in in verses 5 and 6 of Surah Bani Isra’il which follows immediately after. As Surah Bani Isra’il is considered a duplicate of Surah An-Nahl, it is a very suitable place to explain the details. There is a great deal of similarity between the details of this description and the commandments of the Torah which suggests the fact that these principles of good and evil have been practiced in the previous religions as well.

Throughout the entire period of Islam, starting from the days of the blessed Caliphs till today, therefore this ayah is invariably recited at the end of the khutba (address) of of Jum’ah and the two Eids, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Many sahaabaa, among them Sayyidna Abdullah ibn Mas’ud are on record to label this ayah as “the most comprehensive verse of the Holy Qur’an”. In this brief sentence Allah has enjoined three most important things on which alone depends the establishment of a sound and healthy society.

This short ayah includes six technical terms with distinctive and overlapping meanings. Hence the initial difficulty in digesting it comfortably. I have therefore initiated this discussion with defining all the different translations by major Mufasserins for these words. This highlights the different shades of meaning attributed to these technical terms.
بِالعَدلِ وَالإِحسانِ وَإيتاءِ ذِي القُربىٰ وَيَنهىٰ عَنِ الفَحشاءِ وَالمُنكَرِ وَالبَغيِ ۚ
بِالعَدلِ ۚ. justice
وَالإِحسانِ kindness; doing of good; good conduct
وَإيتاءِ ذِي القُربىٰ. generosity towards relatives; liberality to kith and kin; proper relations with their relatives;
الفَحشاءِ. indecency; shameful; immorality; lewdness;
وَالمُنكَرِ. wrong; that runs counter to reason; injustice; evil; bad conduct; abomination; sin; dishonour;
وَالبَغيِ. aggression; envy; transgression; oppressive; wickedness; rebellion; insolence;

بِالعَدل is the only term in this list of six, rendered by one single word “justice” by almost all the mufasserin. Yet, this is a comprehensive term, rather difficult to define sharply. Religion seems to give this term a broader implication like doing of good deeds where perhaps they are not strictly demanded by justice, returning good for evil or obliging those who have no claim of you. Justice demands arrangements that enables every individual to get his rights as a routine. “What Allah enjoins is that the full rights of everyone should be honestly rendered whether those be moral, social, economic legal or political in accordance with what one justly deserves” explains Maulana Maudoodi in his famous tafseer Tafheem-ul-Quran. He is quick to point out that in some instances equality in rights would be injustice. Relationship between parents and their children or between those who render service of superior and inferior types are good examples, he adds.

According to some authorities, the word Al-Adl (justice) also refers to moderation (al-i’tidal) between the two extremes of excess (al-ifrat) and deficiency (at-tafrit). This is the sense Abu Abdullah al-Razi prefers when he says “that the word Al-Adl (justice) is inclusive of moderation in belief, moderation in deed, moderation in morals, everything”. Yet another view is that the word al-adl here refers to as the equality of the outward and the inward state of a person ie words and deeds should be consistent with what he believes in and lives by. The word Al-Adl has been used in this ayah in its general sense which is inclusive of all these forms and shades reported from different Tafsir authorities.

Justice is that which is due to us, we should pay it without any hesitation, whether the subject is weak or strong and whether he is envious or beloved to us. It can be described as taking the middle or moderate course in all things. This is in accordance of the basic Quranic approach which prohibits any transgression and calls the Muslim believers as a “middle community”

The eminent scholar Sayyid Qutb puts it very beautifully in his outstanding tafseer Fee Dhilalil Quran:“It requires that justice should be established and maintained, because justice ensures a solid and constant basis for all transactions and deals between individuals and communities; a basis subject to no prejudice, preference or favouritism; a basis influenced by no family relationship, wealth or strength; a basis that ensures equal treatment for all and subjects all to the same standards and laws”.
It is difficult to find an equivalent to the word الإِحسانِ in the English language. The real literal meaning of Al-Ehsan is to make something good. “Justice is the foundation of a sound society but Ehsan is its perfection”. It demands one to be more than “just”; to be good, generous and selfless. While justice protects society from bickering and disputes Ehsan makes life sweet and pleasant. Ehsan ensures that humane qualities and higher values like sincerity and sympathy are prevalent in a society.

Ehsan operates at two levels: First, in its own person by makings one’s deeds, habits and morals good and perfect. Second, in the dealings with the other person which should be fair, decent and favorable.
Imam Al-Qurtubi has said that this word has been used in its general sense and is inclusive of both kinds of Ehsan. It therefore directs to come out with acts of worship in their best possible form, to make efforts to improve upon personal deeds and morals and to seek betterment in dealings with others.
He has put this on a very high pedestal when he writes: “The person in whose house his cat is not fed and taken care of and the birds in whose cage are not attended to as due, then, no matter how devoted to acts of worship he may be, he would still not be counted among the Muhsinin, those who are good to others”.
To sum up, Justice can be labelled as what is Fard and Wajib (obligatory and necessary as duty) while Ehsan can be categorized as a voluntary act (Nafl) and is motivated by a well-meaning desire to contribute more in the way of what is good. Kindness relaxes the strictness of absolute justice.
It is remarkable and noteworthy that the Quran has singled out and made a special mention of ذِي القُربىٰ ie relatives in its list of commandments. Why? Family is the basic unit in an Islamic society. A healthy basic unit guarantees the health of the whole society. This puts a great responsibility on a Muslim to be aware of the problems and needs of his close relative and to answer them to his full capacity. Maulana Maudoodi would like him to “also share his wealth with them according to his means and the need of each relative; this enjoins on everyone who possesses ample means to acknowledge the share of his deserving relatives along with the rights of his own person and family.” It is reported that Sayyidna Umar made it obligatory on the first cousins of an orphan to support him; if he had no first cousins he would have made it obligatory on distant cousins to support him. It is not difficult to imagine the happy condition of the society where every unit of which supports its every needy individual in this way.
Dr. Mohammed Asad has given a wider meaning to the word ذِي القُربىٰ (dhu ‘l-qurba). The term usually denotes “relatives”, either by blood or by marriage. “but since it occurs here in the context of a comprehensive ethical exhortation, it obviously alludes to man’s “kinsfolk” in the widest sense of the term, namely, to his “fellow-men” says the doctor.

This ayah exhorts to give to relatives but does not specify what to give. Elsewhere in the Quran it is referred to “as their due”. Scholars have included in this “due”: “serving them financially, as well as serving them physically, and visiting them when sick, and taking care of them when in need, and the giving of verbal comfort and the expression of concern and sympathy too”.
As we have noted at the outset, the word الفَحشاءِ has a broad connotation. It is translated as “shameful acts” and refers to such evil word or deed, the evil of which is all too open and clear and which everyone considers bad. If you have any doubts about this, read what Maulana Maudoodi has to say in this regard “ The Arabic word fahsha applies to all those things that are immodest, immoral or obscene or nasty or dirty or vulgar, not fit to be seen or heard, because they offend against recognized standards of propriety or good taste, e.g. adultery, fornication, homosexuality, nakedness, nudity, theft, robbery, drinking, gambling, begging, abusive language and the like. Likewise it is indecent to indulge in giving publicity to any of these evils and to spread them, e.g. false propaganda, calumny, publicity of crimes, indecent stories, dramas, films, naked pictures, public appearance of womenfolk with indecent makeup, free mixing of sexes, dancing and the like”!! This is a good example to see how our eminent scholars add and mingle the implications of a an order with the order itself.

المُنكَرِ simply means something that is wrong and not acceptable to any right thinking person and have been forbidden by all divine systems of law. Its original meaning is “that which the mind [or the moral sense] rejects” or “ought to reject”. Zamakshari, a theologian, linguist, poet and interpreter of the Quran is more specific and explains this term as “that which [men’s] intellects disown” or “declare to be untrue”. This could mean all that goes against reason and good sense. This explanation rejects any intellectually unacceptable propositions or grossly unreasonable and reprehensible actions or attitudes. This approach is consistent with with the rational approach of the Qur’an to questions of ethics and its insistence all along on reasonableness and moderation in man’s behaviour.

Baghy means crossing the proper limits of decency and violate the rights of others—Creator or HIS creation. The sense is that of injustice and excess. It means rebellion and aggression. It leads and directs man to take undue advantage of his power, strength and influence, transgress the limits and try to encroach on the rights of others.

As I have stated earlier there seems to be a lot of over lapping in the use of these six technical terms. Mufti Mohammed Shafi alludes to this state of affair in these words: “ though the sense of the word: Al-Munkar (evil deeds) is inclusive of both Al-Fahsha (shameful acts) and Al-Baghy (transgression), but Al-Fahsha has been picked out as a separate entry, and made to appear first as well, because of its extreme evil and abomination. And the word Al-Baghy has been taken up separately because its fallout is contagious. It affects others. Sometimes this transgression reaches the outer limits of mutual hostility, even armed confrontation, or it could go still further and cause inter-national disorder”.

The final section in the ayah reads يَعِظُكُم لَعَلَّكُم تَذَكَّرونَ “ (God) admonishes you so that you may take heed.” This admonition serves to awaken human conscience and support an undistorted human nature.

It therefore can be justifiably concluded that “The six commands, imperative and prohibitive, given in this verse are – if pondered upon – an elixir for the perfect prosperity of man’s individual and collective life”. May Allah bless us all with the ability of following them.

Before we depart, there is a quiz for you. A believer is consistent in his daily prayers and observes the month of ramadan regularly. In his mundane dealings, he is keen on justice and kindness, is loving to his relatives and avoids indecency, bad conduct and wickedness. Does he/she need to do any more in this life for the best spot in Jannah?

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

Dr. Khalid Mitha
April 29, 2022