Sifaat-e-Muttaqin, Surah An-Nisaa Ayah 9 & 10 Sunday, February 17 2013 5:00 AM We are discussing the command of taqwa in Surah An Nisa and we have discussed Ayah 1 1 where Allah SWT mentioned and and indicated the things which can make us have taqwa and we need to know that Allah SWT is watchful over us and we will be accountable for all our deeds. The name of the Surah shows that the discussion of the surah includes the rights of the women and in addition it includes the discussion of the inheritance and rights of the orphans, about the weaker sector of the society which need extra care. The next Ayah where taqwa is mentioned is Ayah 9 so now we will start the discussion of this Ayah. Ayah 9 And let those [executors and guardians] fear [injustice] as if they [themselves] had left weak offspring behind and feared for them. So let them fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. This ayah is talking about the orphans who have been left behind and if we look at the ayahs before this ayah then we see that they are talking about the rights of the orphans and commanding to avoid violating their rights and protecting the rights of the women both of the groups are the weaker segment of the society. 1 O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer. Ayah 1 Surah An Nisa Page 1
Until now the discussion in the surah was about the inheritance and here it is specifically mentioned in relation to the orphans. And let fear; the here is called which is used for command; actually the verb is. Here Allah SWT commanded them that let them have fear and magnifying of Allah SWT ( ). It is an indirect way of giving command and is gentler than the direct command. can be used with any pronoun but the direct command (fa ale amar) can be used only with the second person. This command is for third person, plural ( ) and it is an address from Allah SWT for them to have fear ( ). We need to see which group of the society is being addressed here indirectly. 1. offspring behind as if they [themselves] had left weak is from behind means the offspring: children and then their children ( ) - also means atoms. is from and means weak. The offspring which have been left behind are helpless and weak. It did not say young offspring but said weak offspring which include 2 categories: (1) the children before the puberty, the minor ( ) and (2) the insane ( ) or the foolish ( ), they are also called weak offspring because they cannot take care of themselves. 2. feared on them from meaning fearful on their account, so much responsibility of the weak and helpless offspring. is on them ( ). So they should be fearful on their accounts and should be aware of their Page 2
accountability regarding the weak and helpless offspring left behind. We know that this discussion involves the muttaqin and before coming to them in the Ayah, Allah SWT is telling us about the weaker group of the soceity which are helpless. No group has been specifically mentioned but when we look at the tafsir-e-sa adii then we see that this group has been interpreted and can be divided into two: a) can refers to a man who is near death and makes a zulm in his wasiya and dictates a will and testament that can harm some of the rightful inheritors who are weak, helpless or not sane, foolish. b) the other group which could be referred here are the guardian of those helpless offspring left behind because the minor and the insane need some guardian to take care of them until their maturity. It is said that in this Ayah Allah SWT is indirectly addressing the guardian of such offspring the one who is taking charge of those. We see that in such situations lots of taqwa is needed because the person who is writing the will needs to have taqwa not to deprive those and of their rights because they will not they need really to be fearful not to be unjust for those weaker groups. ask for it themselves, so Also about the guardian, they need lots of taqwa because the money of those helpless needs to be taken care of and the need to be fed, so their guardian needs a lot of taqwa not to be unjust to them in any matter. After we know that Allah SWT is addressing to the two groups in this Ayah and telling them to be fearful of the rights of the weaker and helpless group, we see that next Allah SWT again is commanding them indirectly to have two things. These commands are given very gently in an indirect manner unlike the commands which are direct like pray and fast. The two commands are: Page 3
( ): the first command is let them have taqwa and guard themselves from doing something wrong like writing some unjust will by the ones who are dying ( ) or not taking proper care of the offspring left behind and is applicable for the guardian ( ) and what can make them to do good and avoid the sins is the fear, love and hope of Allah SWT. Within the 1st command the first group of people on which this command is applicable is the dying persons ( ) who need to write or dictate a will which does not violate the rights of anyone and does justice and equality to everyone concerned ( avoid unfairness in the wasiya ( ) this is the DO and he is commanded to ) which is the DON T of the commandment. 2 To be continued on Tuesday, February 19 Insha Allah February 19, 2013 The 2 nd group of people who are commanded to have taqwa is the guardians of the helpless ( ) who have taken the responsibility of these helpless that they should deal with the helpless with taqwa ( ), especially extra care about the taqwa should be taken in a manner that: 2 The Two Sahihs record that when the Messen nger of Allah visited Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas during an illness he suffered from, Sa`d said to the Messenger, "O Messenger of Allah! I am wealthy and have no inheritors except a daughter. Should I give two-thirds of my property in charity'' He said, "No.'' Sa`d asked, "Half'' He said, "No.'' Sa`d said, "One-third'' The Prophet said; «الث ل ث و ال ثل ث ك ث ير» (Onethird, and even one-third is too much.) The Messenger of Allah then said, «إ ن ك أ ن ت ذ ر و ر ث ت ك أ غ ن ي اء خ ي ر م ن أ ن ت ذ ر ھ م ع ال ة ي ت ك ف ف ون الن اس» (You'd better leave your inheritors wealthy rather than leaving them poor, begging from others.) (as given in Tafseer Ibn Kathir) Page 4
the guardians should not humiliate them and preserve the rights of the helpless ( ); To take care of them ( ): the inheritance of these helpless is in the control of the guardian so they need to guard their money ( ), they are not supposed to waste their money and should give appropriate amount to the helpless and not to lavishly spend without need the way one would protect their own money; Bring them up in a good manner with responsible training ( To remove any harms caused to them ( ). ); Summarizing the points the guardians are commanded to take care of these helpless ( ) in a manner they would take care of their own children and they need to have fear of Allah SWT while dealing with them. The matters of the helpless which the guardians need to take care is related to both the duniya and the akhira not to put them in fitnah and take care of their proper education of both the duniya and the religion. All their affairs are the affairs of the guardians in Islam the emphasis is always on the society as a whole. As Prophet Muhammad SAW said thatt how we love that people deal with us, the same dealing we should have with others (paraphrased). How you would like people to deal with your children, similarly you should deal with the ones who have become your responsibility and you are their guardian, deal with them in the best manner as you would like your children to be treated by others. Always put yourself in a similar situation and deal with them fearing Allah SWT and only for the sake of Allah SWT and not to show off. The above discussion was about the first command which is, now we move to the second command: Page 5
: the second command is and speak words of appropriate justice the second place where the guardians are commanded to have taqwa is related to the words and the utterances which come out of their tongues because the muttaqi are always careful about what is coming out of their mouths and they control their tongues. is a command for the words ( ). means something when hits the target it is quite easy in such situations where the person is dying or for the guardian to lose control of their words and say something which is inappropriate and displeasing to Allah SWT. So Allah SWT is commanding them to say the words of the truth, fairness and goodness and not say anything out of desires or evil words. Be fair and just ( ) with the helpless for example in front of their own children, if there is a dispute between them. Always use good words ( ) so that they don t feel humiliated or down. Ayah 10 Indeed, those who devour the property of orphans unjustly are only consuming into their bellies fire. And they will be burned in a Blaze. Here the command is related to the unjust use of the wealth of the orphans out of the desires. Indeed, those who devour the property of orphans unjustly Allah SWT is referring to the act of misusing the wealth of the orphans as eating ( ) as where ever Allah SWT mentions usury/interest, the word eating is used. So this act is displeasing to Allah SWT as eating the wealth of the orphans unjustly because of the desires ( ). The guardian needs to separate his money with that of the orphans and should not mix them as to lose the track of the money of the orphans. Page 6
What happens to such people who eat the money of the orphans unjustly? Verily they are only consuming into their bellies fire As the guardians are eating the money of the orphans unjustly, it is as eating haram money and is like filling their bellies not with their money but with the fire. So as a punishment of eating the money of the orphans unjustly they will be burned in the hellfire. And they will be burned in a Blaze. is the blazing fire of the hell ( ) and the people who eat the money of the orphans will face this punishment in the near future as the word used is. It is one of the greatest and the biggest sins and this happens when a person lives for himself and his desires are the most important thing for them in the life. Allah SWT is warning the people who do this grave sin and informing them of the severe punishment they will face. May Allah SWT save us from these sins and may He grant us taqwa because it is specially needed when we are given this type of responsibility. O Allah SWT give myself the taqwa; and purify my heart because you are the One who can purify my heart and You are our Guardian, who is the One taking charge of us We ask Allah for His forgiveness and Mercy. Anything that is good from these notes is from Allah. Any mistakes & misrepresentations are my own. I ask Allah for His acceptance of all our good deeds and forgiveness of our sins Ameen. Page 7