171 The parable of those who reject faith is as if one
were to shout like a goat-herd to things that listen to nothing but calls and cries; deaf
dumb and blind they are void of wisdom. 170 171
172 O ye who believe! eat of the good things that We have provided for you and be grateful
to Allah if it is Him ye worship. 172
173 He hath only forbidden you dead meat and blood and the flesh of swine and that on
which any other name hath been invoked besides that of Allah but if one is forced by
necessity without wilful disobedience nor transgressing due limits then is he guiltless.
For Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful. 173 174
174 Those who conceal Allah's revelations in the Book and purchase for them a miserable
profit they swallow into themselves naught but fire; Allah will not address them on the
Day of Resurrection nor purify them; grievous will be their penalty . 175
175 They are the ones who buy error in place of guidance and torment in place of
forgiveness. Ah! what boldness (they show) for the Fire!
176 (Their doom is) because Allah sent down the Book in truth but those who seek causes of
dispute in the Book are in a schism far (from the purpose). 176
177 It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces toward
East or West; but it is righteousness to believe in Allah and the Last Day and the Angels
and the Book and the Messengers; to spend of your substance out of love for Him for your
kin for orphans for the needy for the wayfarer for those who ask and for the ransom of
slaves; to be steadfast in prayer and practice regular charity; to fulfil the contracts
which ye have made; and to be firm and patient in pain (or suffering) and adversity and
throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth the Allah-fearing. 177 178 179 180 181
178 O ye who believe! the law of equality is prescribed to you in cases of murder; the
free for the free the slave for the slave the woman for the woman. But if any remission is
made by the brother of the slain then grant any reasonable demand and compensate him with
handsome gratitude; this is a concession and a Mercy from your Lord. After this whoever
exceeds the limits shall be in grave penalty. 182 183
184 185
179 In the law of equality there is (saving of) life to you O ye men of understanding!
that ye may restrain yourselves.
180 It is prescribed when death approaches any of you if he leave any goods that he make a
bequest to parents and next of kin according to reasonable usage; this is due from the
Allah-fearing. 186
Commentry:
170 If you reject all faith, the highest wisdom and the most
salutary regulations are lost on you. You are like "dumb driven cattle" who can
merely hear calls, but cannot distinguish intelligently between shades of meaning or
subtle differences of values. (2.171)
171 Cf ii. 18, where we are told that the rejectors of faith are
"deaf, dumb and blind: they will not return to the path." Here the consequence
of their not using their senses is that they have no wisdom. In each context there is just
the appropriate deduction. (2.171)
172 Gratitude for God's gifts is one form of worship. (2.172)
173 Dead meat: maitat: carrion; animal that dies of itself; the original
Arabic has a slightly wider meaning given to it in Fiqh (Religious Law); anything that
dies of itself and is not expressly killed for food with the Takbir duly pronounced on it.
But there are exceptions, e.g., fish and locusts are lawful, though they have not been
made specially halal with the Takbir. But even fish or locusts as carrion would be
obviously ruled out. (2.173)
174 For prohibited foods, cf. also Q. v. 4-5; vi. 121, 138-146; etc. The
teachers of Fiqh (Religious Law) work out the details with great elaboration. My purpose
is to present general principles, not technical details. Carrion or dead meat and blood as
articles of food would obviously cause disgust to any refined person. So would swine's
flesh where the swine live on offal. Where swine are fed artifically on clean food, the
objections remain: (1) that they are filthy animals in other respects, and the flesh of
filthy animals taken as food affects the eater; (2) that swine's flesh has more fat than
muscle-building material; and (3) that it is more liable to disease than other kinds of
meat; e.g., trichinosis, characterised by hair-like worms in the muscular tissue. As to
food dedicated to idols or false gods, it is obviously unseemly for the Children of Unity
to partake of it. (2.173)
175 "They eat nothing but fire into their bellies" is a
literal translation that produces an effect of rude inelegance which is not in the Arabic
words. Even in the matter of food and drinks, the mission of Islam is to avoid the
extremes of lawlessness on the one hand and extreme formalism on the other. It has laid
down a few simple and very reasonable rules. Their infraction causes loss of health or
physical powers in any case. But if there is further a spirit of subjective rebellion or
fraud - passing off in the name of religion something which is far from the purpose - the
consequences become also moral and spiritual. Then it becomes a sin against Faith and
Spirit. Continuing the physical simile, we actually swallow fire into ourselves. Imagine
the torments which we should have if we swallowed fire into our physical body! They would
be infinitely worse in our spiritual state, and they would go on to the Day of
Resurrection, when we shall be deprived even of the words which the Judge speaks to a
reasonable culprit, and we shall certainly not win His Grace and Mercy. (2.174)
176 From the mere physical regulation we are at once lifted up into the
sphere of morals and faith. For the one acts and reacts on the other. If we are constantly
carping at wholesome regulations, we shall do nothing but cause division and schisms among
the people, and ordered society would tend to break up. (2.176)
177 As if to emphasise again a warning against deadening
formalism, we are given a beautiful description of the righteous and God-fearing man. He
should obey salutary regulation, but he should fix his gaze on the love of God and the
love of his fellow-men. We are given four heads: (1) our faith should be true and sincere;
(2) we must be prepared to show it in deeds of charity to our fellowmen; (3) we must be
good citizens, supporting social organisation; and (4) our own individual soul must be
firm and unshaken in all circumstances. They are interconnected, and yet can be viewed
separately. (2.177)
178 Faith is not merely a matter of words. We must realise the presence
and goodness of God. When we do so, the scales fall from our eyes: all the falsities and
fleeting nature of the Present cease to enslave us, for we see the Last Day as if it were
today. We also see God's working in His world and in us; His Powers (angels), His
Messengers and His Message are no longer remote from us, but come within our experience.
(2.177)
179 Practical deeds of charity are of value when they proceed from love,
and from no other motive. In this respect, also, our duties take various forms, which are
shown in reasonable gradation: our kith and kin; orphans (including any persons who are
without support or help); people who are in real need but who never ask (it is our duty to
find them out, and they come before those who ask); the stranger, who is entitled to laws
of hospitality; the people who ask and are entitled to ask, i.e., not merely lazy beggars,
but those who seek our assistance in some form or another (it is our duty to respond to
them); and the slaves (we must do all we can to give or buy their freedom). Slavery has
many insidious forms, and all are included. (2.177)
180 Charity and piety in individual cases do not complete our duties. In
prayer and charity, we must also look to our organised efforts: where there is a Muslim
State, these are made through the State, in facilities for public prayer, and public
assistance, and for the maintenance of contracts and fair dealing in all matters. (2.177)
181 Then come the Muslim virtues of firmness and patience. They are to
"preserve the dignity of man, with soul erect" (Burns). Three sets of
circumstances are specially mentioned for the exercise of this virtue: (1) bodily pain or
suffering, (2) adversities or injuries of all kinds, deserved and underserved and (3)
periods of public panic, such as war, violence, pestilence, etc. (2.177)
182 Note first that this verse and the next make it clear that Islam has
much mitigated the horrors of the pre-Islamic custom of retaliation. In order to meet the
strict claims of justice, equality is prescribed, with a strong recommendation for mercy
and forgiveness. To translate qisas, therefore, by retaliation, is I think incorrect. The
Latin legal term Lex Talionsis may come near it, but even that is modified here. In any
case it is best to avoid technical terms for things that are very different.
"Retaliation" in English has a wider meaning, equivalent almost to returning
evil for evil, and would more fitly apply to the blood-feuds of the Days of Ignorance.
Islam says: if you must take a life for a life, at least there should be some measure of
equality in it; the killing of the slave of a tribe should not involve a blood feud where
many free men would be killed; but the law of mercy, where it can be obtained by consent,
with reasonable compensation, would be better. (2.178)
183 The jurists have carefully laid down that the law of qisas refers to
murder only. Qisas is not applicable to manslaughter, due to a mistake or an accident.
There, there would be no capital punishment. (2.178)
184 The brother: the term is perfectly general; all men are brothers in
Islam. In this, and in all questions of inheritance, females have similar rights to males,
and therefore the masculine gender imports both sexes. Here we are considering the rights
of the heirs in the light of the larger brotherhood. In ii. 178-79 we have the rights of
the heirs to life (as it were): in ii. 180-82 we proceed to the heirs to property. (2.178)
185 The demand should be such as can be met by the party concerned,
i.e., within his means, and reasonable according to justice and good conscience. For
example, a demand could not be made affecting the honour of a woman or a man. The whole
penalty can be remitted if the aggrieved party agrees, out of brotherly love. In meeting
that demand the culprit or his friends should equally be generous and recognise the
good-will of the other side. There should be no subterfuges, no bribes, no unseemly
by-play: otherwise the whole intention of mercy and peace is lost. (2.178)
186 There are rules of course for the disposal of intestate property.
But it is a good thing that a dying man or woman should, of his own free-will, think of
his parents and his next of kin, not in a spirit of injustice to other, but in a spirit of
love and reverence for those who have cherished him. He must, however, do it
"according to reasonable usage": the limitations will be seen further on.
(2.180)