Women (Al-Nisa’)
Verses 80-83 GROUP_132 4.80-83
80
مَّنْ يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللّهَ وَمَن تَوَلَّى فَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظًا
He who obeys the Messenger obeys God. As for those who turn away, know that We have not sent you to be their keeper.
81
وَيَقُولُونَ طَاعَةٌ فَإِذَا بَرَزُواْ مِنْ عِندِكَ بَيَّتَ طَآئِفَةٌ مِّنْهُمْ غَيْرَ الَّذِي تَقُولُ وَاللّهُ يَكْتُبُ مَا يُبَيِّتُونَ فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللّهِ وَكَفَى بِاللّهِ وَكِيلاً
They say: ‘We obey you,’ but as soon as they leave you, a group of them plan together by night against what you say. God records whatever they scheme. So ignore them, and put your trust in God. God is sufficient as a trustee.
82
أَفَلاَ يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ غَيْرِ اللّهِ لَوَجَدُواْ فِيهِ اخْتِلاَفًا كَثِيرًا
Do they not ponder on the Quran? If it had been from anyone other than God, they would have found much inconsistency in it.
83
وَإِذَا جَاءهُمْ أَمْرٌ مِّنَ الأَمْنِ أَوِ الْخَوْفِ أَذَاعُواْ بِهِ وَلَوْ رَدُّوهُ إِلَى الرَّسُولِ وَإِلَى أُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنْهُمْ لَعَلِمَهُ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَنبِطُونَهُ مِنْهُمْ وَلَوْلاَ فَضْلُ اللّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ لاَتَّبَعْتُمُ الشَّيْطَانَ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً
When they hear any news, whether of peace or of something fearful, they spread it about; whereas if they referred it to the Messenger and to the men in charge, those of them who would have investigated it and could have arrived at the truth of the matter. But for God’s grace and mercy, all but a few of you would have followed Satan.
No class discussions published for this verse group yet.
Commentary
(a) The acknowledgment of the dayee is to accept ‘a human being like oneself’. This is why people may accept God, but do not extend their acceptance to God’s dayee. The real test, however, is to acknowledge and accept the dayee and stand by his side. Unless one takes him to be truly a messenger of God, one cannot be serious towards him. Then is no point in agreeing to lend support to the dayee to his face, and then continue to go one’s own way afterwards, or going to the extent of spreading irresponsible rumours about him. Those who behave so carelessly towards him cannot expect to be exonerated in the Hereafter by pleading ignorance. The veracity of the dayee, if one ponders upon it, is self-evident in his utterances, which are God-inspired. (a) A clear proof of the Quran being the Divine Book is that none of its statements contradict any established truth. It does not contain anything which is against human nature. It does not conflict with any fact known through the earlier divine books. There is no sign of any part of its content contradicting any fact verified by the body of knowledge established by observation and experimentation. The Quran’s total conformity with factual realities is the definite proof that it is the message revealed by God. The Quran being free from contradictions will appear as such to one who ponders over the matter. For truth, to appear as truth, depends on the sincerity with which one tries to understand it, but one who does not ponder over it will ceaselessly raise baseless objections against this Book—and he may do so till the period of human trial is brought to an end by the onset of Doomsday. (b) The truly Islamic society is one whose members have done sufficient self-analysis to acknowledge their shortcomings. They are ready to place their affairs in the charge of members who are more competent than themselves and accept their leadership. The quality of self-assessment is the factor that deters the members of a society from following the path of Satan. A person devoid of this virtue jumps into the fray without having the capacity to handle complicated issues. He brings destruction upon himself as well as upon his own people. In matters of collective application and significance, it is more important to be silent than to be vocal. Spreading rumours on the basis of hearsay amounts to extending help to Satan.