Man is born to be obedient. Right from the day he opens his eyes, he is taught to be obedient and respectful to his parents and elders, and the chain continues as he grows. He is to be obedient and respectful to his teachers in the school and honour the school discipline. When he gets employed, he is to be loyal and obedient to his employer, and honour the rules of the company he is serving in. At no stage of one's life, one is to deviate from the rules of obedience, honour and commitment.
Now raising the pedestal level and see a man's obligation to his Creator, the Sole Lord of the entire universe. Man has not been born in vain. Like being obedient and respectful to one's elders and place of work, he too has to exhibit obedience and loyalty to his Creator. Rather the level of loyalty, obedience and honour has to be of a level incompatible with any worldly relation.
That is, one has to bow to the WILL of his Creator without even raising a eyebrow. The restrictions imposed by One and the Only God are to be accepted and adhered to without a question. These Divine Rules have been sent to man through messengers of Allah since the Prophet Adam (may peace be upon him). Initially these Divine Laws were restricted to smaller communities and then the area of influence kept expanding so that no one is left out to know and respect these Divine Laws and Commandments. The Divine Books contained these laws, four in number, sent to man through Prophets Dawud (David), Musa (Moses), Eesa (Jesus) and Muhammad (may peace be upon all).
All along the history, we have seen communities and people have vanished from the earth when they were punished for not obeying the One True God. Today only their remains remain as a reminder to those who do not accept the Divine Commandments and dishonour His messengers and prophets. And the bounds set by God have to be respected at all costs, otherwise grievous suffering [in the life to come] awaits all who deny the truth.
With this premise in view, we share today the fifth verse of Surah 58. Al-Mujadila (The Pleading woman) to caution those who oppose Allah and His final Messenger, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and if they do not do so, they will be meted out to a treatment unimaginable on the Day of the Judgement:
اِنَّ الَّذِيۡنَ يُحَآدُّوۡنَ اللّٰهَ وَرَسُوۡلَهٗ كُبِتُوۡا كَمَا كُبِتَ الَّذِيۡنَ مِنۡ قَبۡلِهِمۡ وَقَدۡ اَنۡزَلۡنَاۤ اٰيٰتٍۢ بَيِّنٰتٍ ؕ وَ لِلۡكٰفِرِيۡنَ عَذَابٌ مُّهِيۡنٌ ۚ
(58:5) Verily those who oppose Allah and His Messenger shall be brought low even as those before them were brought low. Surely, We have sent down Clear Signs; and a humiliating chastisement awaits the unbelievers;
"Those who oppose. . . ": Those who do not recognize the bounds set by Allah and instead set some other bounds for themselves. Ibn Jarir Tabari has given this commentary of this verse: "That is, the people who resist Allah with regard to the bounds and duties enjoined by Him, and set for themselves some other bounds instead of the bounds set by Him." Baidawi; has given this commentary of it: "That is, they show hostility towards and dispute with Allah and His Messenger, or set other bounds for themselves than the bounds set by them, or adopt the bounds set by others. " Alusi in his Ruh Al-Ma `ani has concurred with Baidawi in this commentary and cited the statement of Shaikh-ul-Islam Sa`dullah Chalpi to the effect: "In this verse a threat has been held out to those kings and evil rulers who have framed many such rules as are opposed to the bounds set by the Shari ah, and called tjem law." Here, `Allama Alusi has dwelt upon the constitutional status (i.e, constitutional from the Islamic viewpoint) of the manmade laws as against the Shari ah laws and concluded thus:
"There can be no doubt in the disbelief of the person who regards this law as commendable and superior to the Shari ah and says that it is wiser and better suited to the genius of the people. And when the Shari ah injunction in a particular matter is pointed out to him, he is angry, as we have seen some of those who are under the curse of Allah. "
(shall be brought low even as those before them were brought low) The word used in the original is kabt كُبِتَ, which means to disgrace, to destroy, to curse, to drive off, to push out, to debase. What is meant to be said is that the communities of the former Prophets who resisted Allah and His Messenger and rebelled against His Commandments have already gone to their doom. Now those from among the Muslims who adopt the same attitude in life will also meet with the same evil end. Whenever the people made their own laws contradictory to Divine Law, or adopted laws made by others, they were deprived of Allah's bounty and grace, with the result that their lives were filled with deviations, immoralities and moral and social evils, which caused them to be ultimately degraded and humiliated oven in this world. If the same error now is committed by the community of the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings), there is no reason why it should continue to be regarded with favor by Allah and He may go on protecting it from a disgraceful destruction for ever and ever. Allah had neither any ill will against the communities of His former Messengers nor has He any special connection with the community of this Messenger.
(Surely, We have sent down Clear Signs; and a humiliating chastisement awaits the unbelievers) A little consideration of the context shows that here two punishments of this attitude have been mentioned:
(1) Kabt, i.e. debasement and humiliation of this world; and
(2) adhab muhin, i.e. a disgraceful torment that they will suffer in the Hereafter.
Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: (Explaining the Punishment of the Enemies of the Religion)
Allah states that those who defy Him and His Messenger and contradict His commandments, (كُبِتُواْ كَمَا كُبِتَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ will be disgraced as those before them were disgraced) meaning, they will be humiliated, cursed and disgraced, just as what happened to their like were before them,
(وَقَدْ أَنزَلْنَآ ءَايَـتٍ بَيِّنَـتٍ And We have sent down clear Ayat.) meaning, none contradicts or opposes them, except a disbeliever, rebellious, sinner,
(وَلِلْكَـفِرِينَ عَذَابٌ مُّهِينٌ And for the disbelievers is a disgraceful torment) meaning, as just recompense for their arrogant refusal to follow, obey and submit to the religion of Allah.
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi Explanation:
This is a reference to the Hypocrites all of whose sympathies were with the enemies of Islam, in particular the Jews. They would launch a whispering campaign and a secret propaganda against any teaching of Islam they would regard as being against their desires. The purpose would be to create doubts in the minds of weak Muslims and strip them of their conviction in Islam.
Thus, their fate will be the same as the one met by the rejecters of the messengers of God after these messengers have conclusively communicated the truth to them. This is an established practice of God and He never changes this established practice. His law is the same for everyone.
Tafsir Qur'an Wiki:
The opening passage of the surah provided an aspect of the care shown to the Muslim community, while this second passage provides an aspect of antagonism to the opposite group who contend against God and His Messenger. The Arabic term, translated here as 'contend' is derived from the same root as the word used earlier, which means 'boundaries'. Thus, this group are defined as taking a stand at the other boundary, confronting God and His Messenger. This gives an image of two parties in contention and confrontation. As such, it serves to show their action in a very bad light. How miserable for a creature to be in open hostility to his Creator when it is He who provides him with sustenance.
These people who are in contention "shall be brought low as those who lived before them were brought low." The way this sentence is phrased in Arabic may be understood as a prayer against them. A prayer by God is a sentence of judgement that makes it inevitable since it is He who pronounces this sentence, and His will is always done. The phrase, those who lived before them,' refers either to earlier communities who were punished by God, or to the then unbelievers who suffered humiliating defeats at the hands of the Muslims prior to the revelation of this surah, as happened, for example, at the Battle of Badr.
"We have bestowed from on high clear revelations." This sentence separates the two fates suffered by the unbelievers in this life and in the life to come, in order to point out that both fates are clearly stated in these verses. It also tells us that these unbelievers do not face these fates as a result of ignorance or any ambiguity in the truth. Indeed, the truth has been put to them clearly and lucidly in these revelations, which they too have been given.
As the surah refers to their fate in the hereafter, it adds an inspiring comment that serves an educational purpose: "Shameful suffering awaits the unbelievers on the day when God will raise them all from the dead and tell them exactly all that they did in lift. God will have taken it all into account, even though they may have forgotten it. God is witness to all things. (Verses 5-6) They are made to suffer shame in punishment for their arrogance. This shameful suffering will take place on the day when all will be resurrected. Thus, it will be seen by all. Besides, the suffering is determined on the basis of a true account of their deeds. If they have forgotten these, God has recorded them all, as nothing escapes His knowledge: "God is witness to all things."
To sum the discussion on the aforesaid verse, let us say that God (with no assistance and associates) sent down His divine Wisdom in the shape of Commandments gradually, so that man could start to absorb them gradually. When communities enlarged, the requirements of imposition of Divine Law increased and Divine Books were revealed, each adding more to the previous. This finally culminated in the revelation of Qur'an, the last and the final Godly scripture for the guidance of mankind till the end of the earthly life. Hence, not accepting Qur'an but accepting the previous scriptures is sheer display of animosity to One True God and His final Messenger, Muhammad ﷺ.
Although, many a non-Muslims, especially adherents of the earlier Divine religions, have started to accept the Divine Wisdom contained in the Qur'an and Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and entering the fold of Islam in large number, yet a majority is till hesitant to accept the truth, and show extreme hatred toward Islam and have unleashed campaign of Islamophobia to belittle Islam. They even taunt God of Muslims as something different from their God, in one case Gods, just to close their eyes from seeing and reading the truth contained in Qur'an.
But the world is getting wiser day by day as it is heartening to see more and more non-Muslims entering the fold of Islam through extensive reading of Qur'an, Sunnah and Hadith of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and realizing that the hatred spread against Islam is only to escape from reality.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
You may refer to our reference page: Believers!! Beware of the Rules of the Divine Court on the Day of Judgement to read more directives on the subject.
For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages and Understanding Al Qur'an for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.
In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided, additional input has been interjected from the following sources:
- Tafsir Ibn Khatir
- Muhammad Asad Translation
- Yusuf Ali Translation
- Translation Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
- Qur'an Wiki
- Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle
- Towards Understanding the Quran
In addition, references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.
Disclaimer: The material for this post has been collected from the references given above. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors. If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.
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