Women (Al-Nisa’)
Verses 94-96 GROUP_136 4.94-96
94
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ فَتَبَيَّنُواْ وَلاَ تَقُولُواْ لِمَنْ أَلْقَى إِلَيْكُمُ السَّلاَمَ لَسْتَ مُؤْمِنًا تَبْتَغُونَ عَرَضَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا فَعِندَ اللّهِ مَغَانِمُ كَثِيرَةٌ كَذَلِكَ كُنتُم مِّن قَبْلُ فَمَنَّ اللّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ فَتَبَيَّنُواْ إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًا
Believers, when you go forth in the cause of God, make due investigation and do not say to those who offer you the greeting of peace, ‘You are no believer!’ because you seek the good things of this life. With God there are good things in plenty. You yourself were in the same position before, but God conferred His special favour on you. Therefore, take care to investigate. Surely God is well-aware of what you do.
95
لاَّ يَسْتَوِي الْقَاعِدُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ غَيْرُ أُوْلِي الضَّرَرِ وَالْمُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنفُسِهِمْ فَضَّلَ اللّهُ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنفُسِهِمْ عَلَى الْقَاعِدِينَ دَرَجَةً وَكُـلاًّ وَعَدَ اللّهُ الْحُسْنَى وَفَضَّلَ اللّهُ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ عَلَى الْقَاعِدِينَ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا
Those believers who stay behind—apart from those forced by necessity—are not equal to those who strive hard in God’s cause with their possessions and their persons. God has given those who strive with their goods and their persons a higher rank than those who stayed behind. God has promised all a good reward; but far greater is the recompense of those who strive for Him—
96
دَرَجَاتٍ مِّنْهُ وَمَغْفِرَةً وَرَحْمَةً وَكَانَ اللّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا
high ranks conferred by Him as well as forgiveness and mercy. God is forgiving and merciful.
No class discussions published for this verse group yet.
Commentary
(a) In essence, these verses primarily lay down the law on premeditated and unpremeditated modes of crime, but they also suggest ways, under the divine law, of dealing with and checking other serious crimes in the public realm. Just as it is our duty not to deprive our fellow men of their lives, we are also commanded that we should not disgrace others, or rob or deprive them of their livelihood or victimize them in any manner such as would seriously disturb their peace of mind. If one commits any such damaging acts against others by mistake, one should be quick to accept the blame. Proof of the realisation of guilt would be sincere repentance before God and providing compensation for the loss of the affected person. But if one indulges in acts such as are deliberately intended to harm and harass others, this would be regarded as the equivalent of an act of deliberate homicide, the only difference being in its degree of gravity (a) Muslims broadly fall into two categories as far the level of their actions is concerned. One category is comprised of those who adopt the Islamic way of life, remaining within the confines of obligatory injunctions. They worship God and live discreetly, heeding what is lawful and what is unlawful. The second category includes those who live at the level of sacrifice. They follow Islam and exert themselves to convey its message to other people, willingly enduring the difficulties of their endeavour. They place their lives and prossessions in jeopardy for the cause of Islam. They do not confine themselves to obeying obligatory injunctions, but move far beyond—offering their very existence for the sake of Islam. Muslims in both the categories are sincere and will be recipients of their respective shares of God’s grace; however, the status of the second category of Muslims is different from the first. Their offerings in the path of God were not in measurable terms, so neither will God’s requital of their efforts be measurable. These Muslims joined the mission of God without any consideration for expediency; accordingly, God’s grace and mercy will, in return, be immeasurable.