Muhammad 47:22

فَهَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ إِن تَوَلَّيْتُمْ أَن تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ وَتُقَطِّعُوا أَرْ‌حَامَكُمْ (So, [ O hypocrites,] do you not apprehend that, in case you turn away (from Jihad), you will spread disorder in the land, and will sever your ties of kinship? 47:22). The word تَوَلّیٰ 'tawalla' used in the text lexically has two senses: it could mean I'rad that is, "turning away" and it could also mean to be placed in authority over the people. Some of the commentators of the Qur'an assigned the first meaning to this word in the context of this verse, and Abu Hayyan in his Al-Bahr-ul-Muhit prefers this interpretation, (and the translation given above is based on it.) From this point of view the meaning of the verse would be: If you turned away from Jihad [ struggling in the cause of Allah ] and other injunctions of Shari` ah, you would return to the ancient system of ignorance which Islam has abolished. In the Pre-Islamic Days, according to the practices of jahiliyyah, corruption and severed ties of kinship. For example, they practised injustice; they cut each other's throat; one tribe attacked another tribe; they committed carnage and massacre; and they buried alive their daughters with their own hands. Islam abolished and wiped out all these and other heinous practices of the Days of ignorance. In these heinous crimes of those days, Islam enjoined Jihad which apparently seems to be bloodshed, but in reality it is analogous to amputation of the diseased limb of a body, so that the rest of the body may remain healthy. Jihad establishes justice and equity and maintains ties of kinship and relationship.

Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani, Qurtubi and others take the second meaning of the word tawalli in this context, that is, to be placed in authority over people. From this point of view, the meaning of the verse would be: if your ambitions of being placed in authority over people and the affairs of the world are entrusted to you whilst you are morally unhealthy, you would cause corruption in the land and cut off ties of kinship and relationship.

Strict Maintenance of Kinship Ties

The word اَرحَام 'arham' is the plural of رَحَم 'rahim' (womb). This is a receptacle or repository in the mother where the young humans are conceived, held, protected and developed before birth. Because that is the source of all relationships and kinship, it is idiomatically used in the sense of human relationship and kinship. Tafsir Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani, on this occasion, has explained in detail the relations covered by the term dhawil arham or arham. Islam has laid great stress on fulfilling the rights of relationship. Bukhari records a Hadith on the authority of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ and two other Companions ؓ to the effect that whoever maintains good relations with the kith and kin Allah will keep good relations with him, but whoever severs his bonds of kinship, Allah too will sever His relations with him. This Hadith indicates how important it is to treat relatives kindly in terms of words, deeds and wealth. In the same Hadith, Abu Hurairah ؓ refers to the verse under discussion [ 47:22] and says "Read it if you wish to". In another Tradition, the Holy Prophet is reported to have said that there is a sin for which one will be punished, not only in the Hereafter, but also in this world, that is, ... breaking kinship bonds. In Thawban ؓ Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said: "Whoever wishes to have his life prolonged and his sustenance blessed should treat his relatives kindly." We come across the following Hadith in Bukhari:

لیس الواصل بالمکافی ولٰکِنّ الواصل الذی قطعت رحمہ وصلھا

"The person who perfectly maintains the ties of kinship is not the one who does it because he gets recompensed by his relatives for being kind and good to them, but the one who truly maintains the bonds of kinship is he who treats his kinsmen fairly, even though others have severed the ties of kinship with him." (Ibn Kathir)