The very next ayah following the index ayah better explains the same point by opening it up:^[3]

“Say, If your fathers and your sons, your brethren, your spouses, and your kinsfolk, the possessions that you have acquired, the business you fear may suffer, and the dwellings you are fond of, are dearer to you than Allah and His Apostle and to waging jihād in His way, then wait until Allah issues His edict, and Allah does not guide the transgressing lot”.

This point cannot be overemphasized: every ayah or subject in the Quran must be initially scrutinized as “taweel-e-khaas”. One can call it as “specific rendering”. Who are the people addressed or referred to, what period of time, in what circumstances, and finally the reason for the ayah. On this principle, The crucial and limiting phrase in this ayah is مَن حادَّ اللَّهَ وَرَسولَهُ ie “who oppose Allah and His Messenger”. It should be remembered that there was open conflict and confrontation between the Believer and the pagans of Makkah. In other words the instructions in this ayah are restricted to the unbelievers—Jews and Christians— of that time and who were at loggerheads with Muslims. This is the background and need for this injunction. Hence it cannot and should not be applied in our times. As for our collective behavior towards the unbelievers for all times to come the guideline is different. We are positively and clearly advised and instructed to be kind and just to them in the absence of a violent conflict: ^[4]

“God forbids you not, with regard to those who fight you not for (your) Faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly1 with them: for God loveth those who are just.—God only forbids you to turn in friendship towards such as fight against you because of [your] faith, and drive you forth from your homelands, or aid [others] in driving you forth: and as for those [from among you] who turn towards them in friendship; it is they, they who are truly wrongdoers!”.  The eminent scholar Sayyid Qutb declares in his monumental tafseer “Fee Dhilalil Quran”: “The Quran instructs believers to maintain good relations with their unbeliever parents provided there is no war between God’s party and Satan’s party”.

In the ayah, the Muslims are forbidden to regard their near ones as أَولِياءَ if thy have not joined in their fold. Elsewhere the Quran generalizes this edict to all believers and non-believers:  ^[5]

“LET NOT the believers take those who deny the truth for their allies in preference to the believers1 – since he who does this cuts himself off from God in everything – unless it be to protect yourselves against them in this way. But God warns you to beware of Him: for with God is all journeys’ end” (Asad) OR.

“Let not the believers Take for friends or helpers Unbelievers rather than believers: if any do that, in nothing will there be help from God. except by way of precaution, that ye may Guard yourselves from them1. But God cautions you (To remember) Himself; for the final goal is to God”.(Yousuf Ali)

The term أَولِياءَ (from walayah) is used frequently in the Quran. It is a little confusing to Muslims like us (PPK) because it has several but similar meanings. In the two translations quoted above Dr. Asad calls it “alliance” and Yosuf Ali renders it as friends or helpers. Which one fits here better. Friendship is the norm of human relationship. One cannot deny this to our parents and kins because of the many exhortations in the Quran to be good and gracious to them.

The central and powerful message of this ayah is that loyalty and obedience to God Almighty and HIS Messenger is supreme. In the situation of a clash this will and should be the winner even though the role and importance of parents and kins have been repeatedly stressed in the Holy Book. The noble companions have set a glaring example sacrificing their, wealth, property, relatives, lives and bonds of all sorts, only for the sake of Allah and His Messenger. Hence the glorious examples “when Bilal from Ethiopea, Suhayb from Byzantium, Salman from Persia, the Quraysh from Makkah and the Ansar from Madinah became brothers to each other”. It is a glaring fact that swords were drawn between father and son on the battle fields of Badr and Uhud.

As I was working on understanding the index ayah, I realized that another ayah should also be included in the discussion to properly comprehend the message of the index ayah:^[6]

“You will not find any people who believe in God and the Last Day showing affection for anyone who places limits on God and His messenger, even though they are their own fathers, their sons, their brothers or anyone from their family connection. With those He will engrave faith on their hearts, assist them with a spirit from Himself, and will show them into gardens through which rivers flow, to live there for ever. God will approve of them while they will be pleased with Him. Those are on God’s side. God’s party are those who shall be successful!”

The principle that is being highlighted here is clear: true faith and religion cannot and will not allow love of its opponents; it is impossible that these two qualities — love of Allah and His Messenger and devotion to their enemies — can coexist in one and the same heart. The bond of faith and belief must override that of progeny and kindred. As a matter of fact, the general Quranic teaching demands that nothing of this world should be dearer than the love of God Almighty and HIS Messenger. This ayah is very forceful and comprehensive.  ^[7]

“Say, If your fathers and your sons, your brethren, your spouses, and your kinsfolk, the possessions that you have acquired, the business you fear may suffer, and the dwellings you are fond of, are dearer to you than Allah and His Apostle and to waging jihād in His way, then wait until Allah issues His edict, and Allah does not guide the transgressing lot”.

This principle was fully observed by the great Sahaabaa. They had in fact severed all connections with the combatant unbelievers. Maulana Maudoodi in his commentary on this ayah in his glorious tafseer “Tafheemul Quran” gives specific examples of such feats and performances: “This had been witnessed by entire Arabia in the battles of Badr and Uhud. The emigrants from Makkah had fought against their own tribe and closest kinsmen only for the sake of Allah and His religion. Abu Ubaidah killed his father, Abdullah bin al-jarrah. Musab bin Umair killed his brother, Ubaid bin Umair. Umar killed his maternal uncle, Aas bin Hisham bin Mughirah. Abu Bakr became ready to fight his son, Abdur Rahman. Ali, Hamzah and Ubaidah bin al-Harith killed Utbah, Shaibah and Walid bin Utbah, who were their close kinsmen. About the prisoners of war captured at Badr, Umar gave the opinion that they should all be put to the sword, and proposed that a relative should kill a relative. In the same battle of Badr when Musab bin Umair saw that an Ansari Muslim had captured his real brother, Abu Aziz bin Umair, and was tying him, he shouted out to him, saying: Tie him tight: his mother is a rich woman. She will pay you a large ransom. Abu Aziz said: You are a brother and say this. Musab replied: Not you, but this Ansari Muslim is my brother now who has captured you. In the same battle of Badr, Abul Aas the son-in-law of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was taken as a prisoner and was shown no special favor any different from the other prisoners on account of his relationship with the Prophet (peace be upon him). Thus, the world was made a witness to the fact and shown the character of the sincere Muslims and their profound relationship with Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him)”.

Nasr et al, in their modern tafseer “the Study Quran” have been able to identify a specific person for the relations mentioned in the beginning of the ayah. They state  “Interpreted in this manner, their fathers refers to Abū ʿUbaydah ibn al-Jarrāḥ, who killed his father, ʿAbd Allāh, a soldier in the opposing Makkan army, at the Battle of Uḥud; their sons refers to Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, who challenged his son to a duel at the Battle of Badr, saying “O Messenger of God, let me be among the first [to fight or to die]”; their brothers refers to Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr, who killed his brother, ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr, during the Battle of Badr; and their tribe refers to ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, who killed his uncle al-ʿĀṣ ibn Hishām at the Battle of Badr.”

The ayah declares أُولٰئِكَ كَتَبَ في قُلوبِهِمُ الإيمانَ ie “ He will engrave faith on their hearts” viz. those who have chosen to stay with their Faith rather than their kindred. The battle between the sentiments for one’s family deeply engraved in the heart v/s upholding the pride and dignity of Faith is a real ordeal. It needs a Divine special support and assistance in the form of a “spiritual grace” to come out successful in such a struggle. “It was the  miracle of spiritual grace” explains Imam Amin Asian Ilahi in his elaborate tafseer “Bayanul Quran”  “that Abu Ubaidah ibn Jarrah drew his sword on his father Abdullah al-Jarrah in the battle of Uhud. Abu Bakr challenged his son in Badr. Musa’b bin Umer beheaded his brother Obaid bin Umer in the battle of Uhad. Hazrat Umer killed his uncle Aas ibn Hisham and Ali, Hamza and Abu Ubaidah obliterated Utbah, Sheiba and Waleed ibn Utbah”.

There is another segment in this ayah announcing this type of support for those steadfast in Faith but needs  clarification  viz. وَأَيَّدَهُم بِروحٍ مِنهُ ie “assist them with a spirit from Himself”. The word روحٍ is rather perplexing because it has many and at times overlapping meanings. Consider these ayahs using the same word:   ^[8]

“He doth send down His angels with inspiration (بِالرّوحِ) of His Command, to such of His servants as He pleaseth, (saying): “Warn (Man) that there is no god but I: so do your duty unto Me.”  16/2

“And thus, too, [O Muhammad,] have We revealed unto thee a life-giving message, [coming] at Our behest……”.  (Part of the ayah).

This is one translation of the Arabic word in the ayah  روحًا. Other renderings of the same word include:

inspiration— a Spirit —inspired book— Inspiration and a Mercy

The third ayah is  undoubtedly the earliest example of the Qur’anic use of this term:

“Therein come down the angels and the Spirit1 by God’s permission, on every errand”

The term rooh روحٍ literally means  “spirit”, “soul” or “breath of life”. However, this term is often used in the Qur’an in the sense of “inspiration” specially “divine inspiration”. Al-Zamakhshari الزمخشري a medieval theologian, linguist, poet and interpreter of the Quran explains the term as  “it gives life to hearts that were [as] dead in their ignorance, and has in religion the same function as a soul has in a body”. Razi also concurs with him. Else where, on the authority of Tabari, Zamakhshari, Razi, Ibn Kathir this term “evidently denotes the contents of the divine inspiration bestowed on the Prophet Muhammad, i.e., the Qur’an which is meant to lead man to a more intensive spiritual life”. Thus all good and righteous men are strengthened by God with the Holy Spirit. However, this rendering gets a little problematical because elsewhere in the Quran, it is said that God strengthened the Prophet Jesus with the Holy Spirit.  ^[9].

“…… and We gave Jesus, the son of Mary, manifest proofs, and confirmed him with the Holy Spirit……”

I find appealing Allaamaa Yousuf Ali’s explanation of this term: “Whenever anyone offers his heart in faith and purity to God, God accepts it, engraves that Faith on the seeker’s heart, and further fortifies him with the divine spirit, which we can no more define adequately than we can define in human language the nature and attributes of God”.

Sayyid Qutb declares the rooh as “ binds them to the only  true source of strength and light.

Mufti Mohammed Shafi also offers a good definition for this word in his classical tafseer Ma’aariful Quran: “The word ruh, according to some authorities on Tafseer, stands for ‘light’, which radiates or emanates from Allah and enters the heart of a believer which urges him to perform righteous deeds, and is the source of peace and contentment of the heart. This tranquility and satisfaction is the source of great strength and power”. He concedes that some authorities quoting Qurtubi, a thirteenth century Andalusian jurist, Islamic scholar and muhaddith say that this word refers to the Holy Quraan and the arguments of the Holy Quran which are the real strength and power of a believer. As if to confirm the confusion I have quoted earlier, he ends with “Allah, the Pure and Exalted, knows best! “

As if to confirm my initial remarks, Nasr et al have offered several connotations for the word Rooh in their modern tafseer “The Study Quran”: “That He has strengthened them with a Spirit from Him is understood in various ways. Some say it indicates the manner in which God aids believers in overcoming their enemies. Others say that a Spirit from Him refers to the Quran and its proofs; to light and faith; to clear proof and guidance; to the Mercy of God; or to the Archangel Gabriel, all of which are profoundly interrelated. It can also be seen as a reference to the light of certainty. In this vein, the commentator al-Ālūsī writes, “What is intended [here] by Spirit is the light of the heart, which is the light that God casts into the hearts of whomsoever He will among His servants, and by which hearts attain peace and ascend to the heights of realization (taḥqīq).” The pronominal suffix from Him (minhu), here interpreted as a reference to God, could also be read “from it,” in which case it would refer to the faith that He has inscribed upon their hearts”.

The ayah declares that “ God will be well pleased with them, and they with Him”. In other words God Almighty is gratified with their submission to HIM and they are happy what they have received in this world and the promised recompense in the Hereafter. This ie God’s pleasure is  the highest goal for man. “This mutual good pleasure shows the heights to which man can attain”. God Almighty is pleased because they responded willingly and completely to all the demands of their Creator. They are happy because they are now assured that all the promises of their Lord given during their struggle will not only mature but prove to be better than their hopes and assumptions. To reemphasize, in the word of Sayyid Qutb “They bask in their feeling of mutual pleasure with their Lord. They maintain their links with HIM and discard all others. He then accepts them, admits them to HIS presence and makes it clear that He is pleased with them. They are pleased with this closeness to them”.

The Sahaabaa definitely deserved the title of  “Hizb-ul-Allah” as opposed to “Hizb-ul-Shaitan” announced in this ayah. As if humanity is split into two groups: God’s party and Satan’s party with their own banners: the banner of truth and the banner of falsehood. Moreover, the“Hizb-ul-Allah” have been designated by God Almighty to implement HIS retribution on the disbelievers of the Prophet as stated in Surah Tauba, a surah of decision and retribution:  (part of the ayah).^[10].

“Fight them, and God will punish them by your hands……”

This a digression from the usual Divine Practice (Sunnat-e-Ilahi). We learn in the Holy Book that the previous communities who rejected their Prophets were destroyed by some natural catastrophe like floods, earthquake etc. This time God Almighty decided to penalize those who rejected the Holy Prophet with the swords of his devotees. Fortunately it did not come to that. They all surrendered.

According to al-Rāzī, the items mentioned in this verse can be seen as four blessings from God: faith in the heart, support through a Spirit from Him, being admitted to the Garden, and mutual contentment with God; he also says, “The blessing of contentment is the greatest of blessings and the most distinguished of [spiritual] ranks.” A hadith talks of this state of contentment  “Whosoever has submitted is provided for sufficiently, and whomsoever God has caused to be content with that which He has given him has succeeded”.

……..and Allah knows best.

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

Dr. Khalid Mitha