Al-Hajj 22:73–78

Commentary

Illustrating the futility of polytheism and idol-worship by citing a parable

Generally the words ضُرِبَ مَثَلُ are used for quoting an incident as an example. However, it is not used here in that sense but the foolishness of idol worship has been illustrated by citing a parable. The infidels are told that the idols from which they seek the gratification of their desires are so utterly helpless that all of them together cannot create a humble thing like a fly. Indeed they cannot even protect the offerings of eatables, which their worshippers bring them daily, against the inroads of flies. Then how can they protect you from any calamity? The stupidity and foolishness of the idol-worshippers has been described at the end of the verse by the words ضَعُفَ الطَّالِبُ وَالْمَطْلُوبُ (Feeble are the invoker and the invoked - 22:73) meaning thereby that if the object of worship is so utterly weak and powerless, those worshipping it must be more so.

مَا قَدَرُ‌وا اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِ‌هِ (They did not recognize Allah in His true esteem - 22:74). It means that these people are so foolish and ungrateful that they did not recognize the power of Allah Ta’ ala and place their helpless idols at the same level with Him.

Commentary

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ارْ‌كَعُوا وَاسْجُدُوا وَاعْبُدُوا رَ‌بَّكُمْ (0 those who believe, bow down in Ruku' and bow down in Sajdah and worship your Lord - 22:77) Verse 18 of this Surah is a verse of sajdah by consensus of the jurists, which means that whoever recites verse 18 or listens to someone reciting it must offer a sajdah. However, there is a difference of opinion about the present verse. Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Malik and Sufyan Thauri رحمۃ اللہ علیہم are among those who think that the present verse is not a verse of sajdah in the sense that reciting this verse or listening to it does not entail the obligation to offer a sajdah, because the command to 'bow down' in sajdah in the present verse is combined with bowing down in ruku' and this circumstance is a clear indication that in the present context sajdah means the normal sajdah which is performed during the course of prayers. For example all the scholars are unanimously of the opinion that in the verse (And prostrate and bow down (in Ruku' ) with those who bow - 3:43) the sajdah is وَاسْجُدِي وَارْ‌كَعِي مَعَ الرَّ‌اكِعِينَ the normal sajdah of the prayers. However, in the context of the present verse Imam Shafi` i and Imam Ahmad) رحمۃ اللہ علیہم hold contrary views and quote a hadith according to which Surah Hajj enjoys a position of greater merit as compared to other Surahs because of two verses of sajdah occurring in it. Imam Abu Hanifah (رح) questions the authenticity of this lhadith.

وَجَاهِدُوا فِي اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ (And struggle for (seeking the pleasure of) Allah, a struggle that is due to him - 22:78) The words جِھَاد - (jihad) and مُجَاھِدہ (mujahadah) mean to exert one's utmost effort to achieve an objective and to take pains for it. (That is why the word is translated above as 'struggle' ). While waging war against the infidels the Muslims make supreme efforts, and for this reason it is called jihad, and حَقّ جِھَادہٖ struggle that is due to Him) means that all these efforts and sacrifices should aim solely at winning the favours and goodwill of Allah Ta’ ala, and be free from all considerations of worldly reward, such as fame or spoils of war.

Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ has explained the phrase 'that is due to Him' by saying that it is to strive to the utmost, If one's capacity in the course of jihad, unmindful of all criticism. Some other commentators have explained the word jihad in this verse to mean that one exerts his utmost effort in carrying out the acts of worship and full obedience to rules of Shari` ah in all sincerity. Dahhak and Muqatil have said that a struggle that is due to Him means to act in Allah's obedience and His worship as due to Him. Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn Mubarak ؓ thinks that Jihad means to strive against the temptations (nafs) and its baser desires. Imam Baghawi supports this view on the basis of a hadith which he has from Jabir Ibn ` Abdullah ؓ to the effect that when a group of companions returned from Jihad, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said قدمتم خیر مقدم من الجھاد الاصغرالی الجھاد الاکبر قال : مجاددۃ العبد لھواہ (رواہ البیھقی وقال ھذا اسناد فیہ ضعف) (You have returned from a smaller Jihad to a greater Jihad) meaning thereby that the fight against the temptations of self and baser desires never ceases. Baihaqi has also related this hadith but he is of the opinion that it has some weak narrators, Tafsir Mazhari has adopted this latter interpretation and proceeded to say that the Muslims were in fact fighting against the coarse desires of Self even when they were engaged in jihad against the infidels, but the hadith places it after their return from the jihad, The suggestion here is that though the fight against temptations continued even on the battlefield, it could by tradition and usage be brought to fruition only under the watchful eye of a perfect spiritual guide, that is the Holy Prophet ﷺ .

The Ummah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is the chosen Ummah of Allah Ta’ ala

هُوَ اجْتَبَاكُمْ (He has chosen you - 22:78) Sayyidna Wathilah Ibn Asqa' ؓ has reported that the Holy Prophet ﷺ once said, ` Allah chose the Kinanah from the children of Sayyidna Ismail (علیہ السلام) ، then He chose the Quraish from the Kinanah, then the Bani Hashim from the Quraish and from amongst the Bani Hashim He chose me'. (Muslim - Mazhari).

وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَ‌جٍ (And did not impose any hardship on you in the religion - 22:78) It means that Allah Ta’ ala has not imposed any hardship upon you in matters of religion. From this some scholars have concluded that in Islam there is no sin which cannot be forgiven and save a person from the punishment of the Day of Resurrection if he repents for it truly. On the other hand, among the earlier nations there were certain sins which could not be forgiven even by offering repentance.

According to Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ' ؓ hardship' refers to those rigid and harsh laws which applied to the Bani Isra'il and for which the Qur'an uses the words اِصر (burden) and اِغلَال (shackles). Others have interpreted the word haraj (hardship) to mean a hardship which is beyond human endurance. In Islam there are no such laws and rules which are unbearable in themselves, though there are some rules which entail strenuous effort. But such efforts have always been regarded as pre-requisites to success in all human activities. Education, commerce, industry etc. are fields where success depends on unremitting labour but that would not make these tasks impossible to achieve. Sometimes difficulties are experienced due to unfavorable environments or lack of familiarity with the task in hand, but these too cannot be described as hardships and can be overcome by sustained hard work.

Another interpretation given by Qadi Thanaullah in Tafsir Mazhari is that Allah Ta’ ala having chosen the Muslims for His favours from amongst all other nations, they too willingly opt for the severest hardship in the service of Allah and His religion. In such a situation even hardships and difficulties do not deter their resilience and they endure them willingly and happily. There is a hadith related by Sayyidna Anas ؓ in which the Holy Prophet ﷺ said جعلت قرۃ عینی فی الصّلٰوۃ (the coolness of my eyes lies in prayers). (Abmad and Nasai).

مِّلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَ‌اهِيمَ (The faith of your father Ibrahim - 22:78). It means that this is the nation of your father Ibrahim. These words are addressed to the Quraish who are descended from Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) and all other people following them become entitled to the favours which Allah Ta’ ala has granted to the Quraish. There is a hadith which says:

الناس تبع لقریش فی ھٰذا الشان، مسلمھم تبع لمسلمھم، وکافرھم تبع لکافرھم (رواہ البخاری و مسلم)

All people follow Quraish in this faith; the believers follow the believers among the Quraish, and the infidels follow the infidels among them. (Mazhari).

Others say that the words أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَ‌اهِيمَ (your father Ibrahim) are addressed to all Muslims in the sense that the Holy Prophet ﷺ was the spiritual father of All Muslims and had himself descended from Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) .

هُوَ سَمَّاكُمُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِن قَبْلُ وَفِي هَٰذَا (He (Allah) named you as Muslims both before and in this Qur'an - 22:78) Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) had named the followers of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and all other believers as Muslims even before the Qur'an, and later in the Qur'an itself, as is evident from his prayer which is recorded in the Qur'an: رَ‌بَّنَا وَاجْعَلْنَا مُسْلِمَيْنِ لَكَ وَمِن ذُرِّ‌يَّتِنَا أُمَّةً مُّسْلِمَةً لَّک (0 our Lord, make us both submissive to you, and of our progeny a people submissive to you - 2:128)

And the name "Muslim" given by the Qur'an to the believers, was, though, not given directly by Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) ، yet since he had suggested this name even before the revelation of the Qur'an, the Holy Qur'an has adopted this name. That is why it is attributed to Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) .

لِيَكُونَ الرَّ‌سُولُ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْكُمْ وَتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ (So that the Messenger becomes a witness to you and you become witnesses to (other) people - 22:78) On the Day of Resurrection the Holy Prophet ﷺ will depose that he had conveyed the commands of Allah Ta’ ala to his Ummah and the Ummah will acknowledge this fact. But when other prophets will make similar depositions, their Ummahs will deny their claims and at that time the Ummah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ will come forward and bear witness to the fact that all the prophets had indeed conveyed the commands of Allah Ta’ ala to their respective Ummahs. This evidence will be challenged on the ground that since the Muslim Ummah did not even exist in those earlier times it carried no weight, to which the Muslims will reply that they learned about these matters from their own Prophet ﷺ ، whose truthfulness and integrity was admitted by all. This is the gist of a hadith which Bukhari and others have related on the authority of Sayyidna Abu Said al-Khudri ؓ .

فَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ (So establish salah and pay zakah - 22:78) It means that since Allah Ta’ ala has showered on you unlimited benefits, it is your duty also to show your gratitude to Him by striving hard to obey His commands. The two commands relating to prayers and zakah have been specifically mentioned because prayer is the most important among the obligations performed by human body, while zakah is the most important among the commands about wealth, otherwise the idea is that all commands enjoined by Allah Ta’ ala be obeyed and followed.

وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِاللَّهِ (And hold fast to Allah - 22:78). It means that pious Muslims should place their trust in Allah alone in all their affairs and seek help from none but Him. According to Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ the sense of these words is that pious Muslims should seek Allah's protection from all things which are loathsome in this world and in the Hereafter. Others have interpreted these words to mean that good Muslims should hold fast to the Qur'an and Sunnah, and have quoted the following hadith:

ترکت فیکم امرین لن تضلّوا ما تمسّکتم بھما، کتاب اللہ و سُنّۃ رسولہ (رواہ مالک فی المؤطاء مرسلاأ مظھری)

"I have left behind two things with you and if you hold fast to them you will never go astray: one is the Book of Allah and the second is the Sunnah of His Rasul." (Mazhari)

Al-Hamdulillah

The Commentary on

Surah AI-Hajj

Ends here.