Surah Al Taubah , 9 : 'Still on the issue of al-Munafikuns'

Recitation by Shaykh Abdul Rahman al- Sudais:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAqRhlvFPWU&feature=related

commentary from prof quraish shihab , ayat 90 to ayat 100,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDNH3Aop41M

ayat 111 to ayat 122,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVgjSaw1mvg




khiai muhammasd bhakiet oa asma al husna, ' al muhaimin :, the controller, the bestower of faith.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqmc7GTImu8

Excerpt from Shaykh Muhammad al-Ghazali's " A Thermatic Commentary On The Qur'an "

Shaykh Muhammad Al-Ghazali

[ 1917 - 1996 ]

These hypocrites had their own supporters and special groups who used to meet privately.

 As a phenomenon, they grew gradually from a series if different situations and developments, and for varying reasons. Although the Qur'an has referred to them on many occasions, the present surah has gone all the way in exposing them and condemning their aims and activities. This was dictated,, as already mentioned, by the decisive critical phase reached by Islam when the surah was revealed, The Muslims had just established their religious and political hegemony over the Arabian peninsula and were preparing to face the strongest superpower of the time., the Byzantine empire. If Prophet Muhammad were to waver at that moment, the very existence and the whole future of  Islam would have been put in jeopardy. Indeed, the hypocrites and the  non-Muslim Arab were looking forward  with hope to the Muslim being routed by the Byzantine,and that would have been the end of Islam. However, the Qur'an was assuring Muhammad and the Muslim: 

"He it is Who hath sent His messenger with the guidance and the Religion of Truth, that He may cause it to prevail over all religion, however much the idolaters may be averse. "(33)

Events were moving very fast, contrary to the expectations of the hypocrites whose activities reached a climax as the Muslims were preparing for battle.

And when a surah is revealed (which saith): Believe in Allah and strive along with His messenger, the men of wealth among them still ask leave of thee and say: Suffer us to be with those who sit (at home). (86) They are content that they should be with those who remain behind and their hearts are sealed, so that they apprehend not. (87) But the messenger and those who believe with him strive with their wealth and their lives. Such are they for whom are the good things. Such are they who are the successful. (88) 

The phenomenon of the hypocrites first appeared after the Muslims emigrated to Madinah in 622 AC. It had by then become clear Islam was more than a system of beliefs, it was a political entity also, severely reducing the chance of any tribal or religious personalities in Arabia who were aspiring to political or religious leadership and power. Some had found it too much to abandon their paganistic and promiscuous way of life to which they had been accustomed. In the initial stage, Islam's approach in dealing with this problem was soft and tolerant. As he threat from the hypocrites, which is well documented in those suarahs revealed in Madinah, started to grow, it became apparent in this surah that the Qur'an was adopting a more unequivocal approach towards them, which culminated in a showdown portrayed in this suarh. Indeed, the Qur'an's remark about the hypocrites, in the aftermath of the Muslim's  defeat at Uhud, were quite mild:

That which befell you, on the day when the two armies met, was by permission of Allah; that He might know the true believers; (166) And that He might know the hypocrites, unto whom it was said: Come, fight in the way of Allah, or defend yourselves. They answered: If we knew aught of fighting we would follow you. On that day they were nearer disbelief than faith. They utter with their mouths a thing which is not in their hearts. Allah is best Aware of what they hide. (al- Imran : 167)

But, the tone of the Qur'an was distinctly different regarding those who refused to join the fighting at Tabuk. God says admonishingly:

They swear by Allah that they said nothing (wrong), yet they did say the word of disbelief, and did disbelieve after their Surrender (to Allah). And they purposed that which they could not attain, and they sought revenge only that Allah by His messenger should enrich them of His bounty. If they repent it will be better for them; and if they turn away, Allah will afflict them with a painful doom in the world and the Hereafter, and they have no protecting friend nor helper in the earth. (74)

Some of the hypocrites pledged that when they became rich they would be kind to others and contribute to the war effort, but they went back on their promises. The surah again exposes them:

And of them is he who made a covenant with Allah (saying): If He give us of His bounty we will give alms and become of the righteous. (75) Yet when He gave them of His bounty, they hoarded it and turned away, averse; (76) So He hath made the consequence (to be) hypocrisy in their hearts until the day when they shall meet Him, because they broke their word to Allah that they promised Him, and because they lied. (77)

And so it became inevitable that the Muslim society should be protected against hypocrites. They were becoming too cynical and unfairly critical of those good and sincere Muslims who were trying to do their best for Islam and the Muslims. This was threatening to undermine the unity and welfare if the whole community:

Those who point at such of the believers as give the alms willingly and such as can find naught to give but their endeavours, and deride them - Allah (Himself) derideth them. Theirs will be a painful doom. (79)

The hypocrites had been growing in power and in numbers.They had embarked on building a mosque of their own as an alternative to the mosque of the Prophet, where they could recruit supporters, hold meetings, and plan their campaigns. The surah again exposes these plans mercilessly:

And as for those who chose a place of worship out of opposition and disbelief, and in order to cause dissent among the believers, and as an outpost for those who warred against Allah and His messenger aforetime, they will surely swear: We purposed naught save good. Allah beareth witness that they verily are liars. (107) 

This provided the Prophet with tangible proof of their evil intentions and their determination to sow division and discord in the heart of the Muslim community. However,  the Muslims, led by the prophet himself, decided to demolish that alternative mosque in obedience to the Qur'an:

Never stand (to pray) there. A place of worship which was founded on piety from the first day is more worthy that thou shouldst stand (to pray) therein, wherein are men who love to purify themselves. Allah loveth the purifiers. (108) 

The surah continues relentlessly with its confrontation of the hypocrites to ensure that the Muslim community is free from their influence as from that of the idolaters. Eventually, the Muslims were ready to undertake the bigger and more important task of taking Islam out of Arabia and into the rest of the world, as "We sent thee not save as a mercy for the peoples. "( al-Anbiya: 107)  as the Qur'an put it.

The surah then makes it clear to the Muslims that in order to carry out the great task, they will be required to make vital and substantial sacrifices. It says:

"Lo! Allah hath bought from the believers their lives and their wealth because the Garden will be theirs..."(111).  

What does this solemn transaction entails? Why does the trade-off include such valuable possessions? The reward is obviously commensurate with the sacrifice being made. The enormity of the task ahead and the vehemence of the opposition with which Islam would be  resisted and fought justified the high price.

 If God's cause was to be upheld and defended,  vital preparations needed to be made. God says: 

"O ye who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers who are near to you, and let them find harshness in you, and know that Allah is with those who keep their duty (unto Him). "(123) 

Who were those neighboring infidels against whom the Muslims were commanded to wage war? The overall drift of the surah indicates that they were the Byzantines. They had come from omperial Constantinople, sweeping across Anatolia and Syria, settling right on the edge of the Arabian peninsula. They were the masters of their time; their aims were to usurp, colonize, exploit, and dominate. They had no respect for the beliefs or lives of other nations, while their own beliefs were false and distorted.

The  deal that emerge concerns the followers of Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, whose part is to work for together the advancement and enforcement of God's messages and cause. The surah says:

Lo! Allah hath bought from the believers their lives and their wealth because the Garden will be theirs: they shall fight in the way of Allah and shall slay and be slain. It is a promise which is binding on Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur'an. Who fulfilleth His covenant better than Allah? Rejoice then in your bargain that ye have made, for that is the supreme triumph, (111).





Reflection and commentary by Imam Zia :-

Session 16 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOR80bkTmeY&feature=relmfu
Session 17 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSzEyZXdEMM&feature=relmfu
Session 18 :        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUQjfs03o10&feature=relmfu

Surah Al Taubah , 9 : on the 'al-Munafikuns'...

Recitation by Shaykh Abdul Rahman al-Sudais,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAqRhlvFPWU&feature=related



commentary prof quraish shihab :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO_0VlLUUHU

ayat 49 to ayat 60

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAMdbb9NWlU

ayat 61 to  ayat 73
[ ......the paradigm of having parents who are kuffar.......to doa or not to doa.]

prof quraish shuhaib, commentary on ayat,73 to 89....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpdf4HDqbUQ



khiai muhammad bhakiet , on asma al husna, " al mu'min ",
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTkdowHee5Y








A global perspective from Muhammad al-Ghazali's " A Thermatic Commentary In The Qur'an "

People who strive for a just cause can triumph only when their loyalty to God is stronger than their enemy's loyalty to their aims and their leaders. God says: "Yet of mankind are some who take unto themselves (objects of worship which they set as) rivals to Allah, loving them with a love like (that which is the due) of Allah (only) - Those who believe are stauncher in their love for Allah - Oh, that those who do evil had but known, (on the day) when they behold the doom, that power belongeth wholly to Allah, and that Allah is severe in punishment! "(al- Baqarah: 165).  This becomes clearer at the critical times of conflict between true believers and the infidels. Hence we read in this surah the following:

Say: If your fathers, and your sons, and your brethren, and your wives, and your tribe, and the wealth ye have acquired, and merchandise for which ye fear that there will be no sale, and dwellings ye desire are dearer to you than Allah and His messenger and striving in His way: then wait till Allah bringeth His command to pass. Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk. (24)

When the time to issue the orders to confront the Byzantines, the main factors prevalent at the time can be summarized as follows:

1. The Byzantines were the undisputed superpower in the region, especially after their decisive victory over the Persians.
2. The Muslims comprised a small section of the Arabs who had embraced the new religion, while the majority of the Arabs continued to be clients or subjects of either the Byzantine or the Persian empires.
3. The Muslim fighting force was relatively limited and lacking, as shown at the Mu'tah and Tha'tu al- Salasil battles.
4. The young Muslim community was  plaque from inside by the intrigues of the handful of the hypocrites and a handful of disgruntled groups who had not fully integrated into the new society and were prey to rumors, conspiracies. and outside influences.

The surah came at the right moment to overhaul the Muslim community and expose its weaknesses before it was too late. It lashes out at those who refuse to join the fighting for the cause of Islam, saying:

O ye who believe! What aileth you that when it is said unto you: Go forth in the way of Allah, ye are bowed down to the ground with heaviness. Take ye pleasure in the life of the world rather than in the Hereafter? The comfort of the life of the world is but little in the Hereafter. (38)

It  rejects the absurd and false excuses given by the cowardly and the lazy:

Those who believe in Allah and the Last Day ask no leave of thee lest they should strive with their wealth and their lives. Allah is Aware of those who keep their duty (unto Him). (44) They alone ask leave of thee who believe not in Allah and the Last Day, and whose hearts feel doubt, so in their doubt they waver. (45)

Further on in the surah we read:

And those among the wandering Arabs who had an excuse came in order that permission might be granted them. And those who lied to Allah and His messenger sat at home. A painful doom will fall on those of them who disbelieve. (90) 

Indeed, most of those who had chosen to stay behind and refused to join the fighting were the faint-hearted and the skeptics who had no confidence in Islam. One such person had the temerity to beg the Prophet to allow him to remain at home because he feared the temptation, as he put it, of beautiful Byzantine women. He would only go and fight, he said, if the Prophet were to guarantee him that he would not fall for them:

Of them is he who saith: Grant me leave (to stay at home) and tempt me not. Surely it is into temptation that they (thus) have fallen. Lo! hell verily is all around the disbelievers. (49) 

It is only natural that those who go and fight meet with many challenges, tests,, and temptations, including the possibility of defeat, which is a severe test in itself. nevertheless, the surah reassures the Prophet and the Muslims:

If good befalleth thee (O Muhammad) it afflicteth them, and if calamity befalleth thee, they say: We took precaution, and they turn away well pleased. (50)Say: Naught befalleth us save that which Allah hath decreed for us. He is our Protecting Friend. In Allah let believers put their trust! (51) 

The battle of Tabuk in 630 AC brought down God's wrath upon the hypocrites within the Muslim within the Muslim community. It uncovered their intrigues within and completely exposed them to the rest of the community. This, as stated earlier, was necessary to purge the Muslim ranks and clear the way for a new phase in history and the spread of Islam. Hypocrites and traitors could destroy any society, no matter how politically and economically powerful. God says in the surah: "So let not their riches nor their children astonish thee (O Muhammad). Allah thereby intendeth but to punish them in the life of the world and that their souls shall pass away while they are disbelievers. "(55). The  hypocrites came in many disguises. They were the greedy self-centred ones who were happy only if they received financial gifts from the Prophet, or else they would curse and complain. These the surah describes as follows: "And of them is he who defameth thee in the matter of the alms. If they are given thereof they are content, and if they are not given thereof, behold! they are enraged. "(58) 
Some of them spread rumors and invented malicious lies about the Prophet personally, but then would go and swear to him that they never said such things. They would take advantage of the Prophet's magnanimity and benevolence. The surah exposes that aspect of their conduct too:

And of them are those who vex the Prophet and say: He is only a hearer. Say: A hearer of good for you, who believeth in Allah and is true to the believers, and a mercy for such of you as believe. Those who vex the messenger of Allah, for them there is a painful doom. (61) 






Reflection and commentary by Imam Zia.....'on the al-Munafikuns' :-
Session 9.2 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSAUUT-B8xM&feature=relmfu
Session 9.3 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3nQE5ndqnU&feature=relmfu
Session 10.1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf_iGkiXrQo&feature=relmfu

Surah Al Taubah , 9

Recitation of  Surah Al Taubah by Shaykh Abdul Rahman al-Sudais
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAqRhlvFPWU&feature=related



Commentary, Prof Quraish Shihab, ayat 36 to ayat 48:


1. [  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwDY3nN4Rgw  ]

2. [  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVa4yrdu4bo&list=LLHkoX4alI3oyjKBscbJfOYA&index=2682  ]

3. [  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnZMOZFE7Og   ]

4.  [   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7_3Dl8P-Ro   ]




asma al husna, as salam....kiai muhammad  bhakiet,

[  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkddQySFmnU  ]



Excerpt from " A Thermatic Commentary On The Qur'an "
Shaykh Muhammad Al- Ghazali
[ 1917 - 1996 ]

Abu Bakr, a senior Companion of Muhammad, led the Muslims during the pilgrimage to Makkah in the ninth year AH, 631 AC, in which non-Arab Muslims were also allowed to participate. the pilgrimage organized a year later was led by the Prophet himself and was restricted to Muslims only, since God had declared in the Qur'an that "...The idolaters only are unclean. So let them not come near the Inviolable Place of Worship after this their year. If ye fear poverty (from the loss of their merchandise) Allah shall preserve you of His bounty if He will. Lo! Allah is Knower, Wise." (28) Non- Muslim resistance to Islam in Arabia all but collapsed. All treatise and agreements hitherto in force came to an end, and the Prophet assumed total religious, political, and administrative soverignty over the whole region. Idol worship was wiped out. And as a  result of a series of confrontation with the Muslims, the last one which took place during the sixth year after Hijrah, 628 AC, at which took place in north central Arabia, Jewish power and influence had also been shaken. Certainly Jews continued to live and thrive as farmers and tradesmen in Madinah and various parts of Arabia, although they no longer had any organized presence. Their religious  and personal freedom was nonetheless fully guaranteed and protected. When the Prophet died, a shield of his was found in trust with a Jewish citizen of Madinah.  Christian delegations were arriving at Madinah in droves, as they had done at Makkah previously , from various parts of Arabia and the surrounding regions to learn of the new religion, debate with the Prophet, and compare what they heard with their own beliefs and scriptures. Some of them of course converted to Islam. The Muslims saw no threat in any one of that. The one major threat that was seen of the Byzantine empire who were in control of Syria and Palestine in the north. The Byzantines were growing weary of Islam and began to take measures to curb its spread into their territories.

Here we must highlight the two following important facts:
1. Islam showed a great deal of amicability and warmth towards the Christians. When the Muslims of Makkah first thought of escaping the persecution of the Arabs, Prophet Muhammad instructed them, in 615 AC, to take refuge with the Negus, the Christian king of Abbyssinia, whom he described as a "just and benevolent king."
The Qur'an, in surah entitled ar-Rum, or The Romans, expressed strong sympathy with the Christians in their war against the Persians in 615 AC in Syria and predicted that they would triumph in the following round of fighting.
2. In spite of this amity and sympathy, Islam was very clear in its rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus or the Holy Spirit. The Qur'an, first at Makkah, and later on at Madinah continued to emphasised these views and called upon Christians to review their doctrines and correct their beliefs. The last statement to to be revealed in this connection appears in this surah condemning misguided Jews and Christians for taking:

They have taken as lords beside Allah their rabbis and their monks and the Messiah son of Mary, when they were bidden to worship only One God. There is no god save Him. Be He glorified from all that they ascribe as partner (unto Him)! (31)

In Islam God is one, without ancestry and offspring, supreme in His control over all creations. For religious leaders and clerics to set out laws and enforce religious practices and edicts of their own is nothing but heresy according to the Qur'an. Churches in America and Europe have blessed colonial wars and, more recently, sanctioned depraved practices such as homosexuality, without proper reference to authentic revelation.

The Byzantines had entrenched  their power in regions north of the Arabian peninsula, and were known to resort to the use of force to prevent Islam making inroads into their territory. Byzantine armies began to move southward to enforce Byzantine authorities over the region, clashing with the Muslims twice, at Mu'tah in 629, and at Tabuk in 630 AC.
There is no doubt however that The Muslims wanted  access to the populations of Byzantine territories to introduce them to Islam, a task they perceived to be their right. However, those early Muslims were also mindful of the fact they could not use force or coercion to impose their their religion on others. The Byzantines resisted that effort and appeared determined to advance their version of Christianity and impose it on their subjects. Their emperors had long rejected the Arius doctrine that Jesus was human and not divine. They had barred the eastern churches who differed with them radically over the nature of Christ, detained the Patriarch of Egypt, and killed his brother. However, the Muslims were fighting for religious freedom. They entered Egypt and Syria, offering security and immunity from persecution and guaranteeing freedom of worship.

In anticipation of Byzantine resistance, the Prophet devoted much attention to removing the barriers in the way of Islam in north Arabia. He embarked on the mobilization of Muslim forces to deal with Byzantine intimidation. When the moment of confrontation arrived the Byzantine were the most powerful nation on earth. They had defeated the Persians and become the dominant superpower in the area. No wonder, then, that some faint-hearted Muslims were shaken when war with the Byzantine became imminent. Yet another sinister danger was also in evident-the hypocrites or fifth-columnists working from within the Muslim community. 

Thus the second half of the surah is devoted to exposing these hypocrites and waverers, while at the same time mobilizing loyal , sincere, Muslims and spurring them to action. These are addressed in no uncertain terms:

O ye who believe! What aileth you that when it is said unto you: Go forth in the way of Allah, ye are bowed down to the ground with heaviness. Take ye pleasure in the life of the world rather than in the Hereafter? The comfort of the life of the world is but little in the Hereafter. (38) If ye go not forth He will afflict you with a painful doom, and will choose instead of you a folk other than you. Ye cannot harm Him at all. Allah is Able to do all things. (39) 

The time had come to free the Muslims community and Muslim lands from hypocrites, just as they had been emancipated from idolaters and traitors. The realm of Islam had to be defended and consolidated.

The surah comes as a series of intensive drills, a rich and powerful mixture of instructions and confidence boosters to prepare the Muslims to face the world without the divinely inspired leadership of Prophet Muhammad. The first drill was to be the confrontation with the Byzantines. It was to expose the strength as well as many of the weaknesses of the Muslims on both the individual and collective levels.



Reflection and commentary on Surah Al Taubah by Imam Zia:-
Session 6.1 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1-EmfU2v18&feature=relmfu
Session 6.2 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-8JAKY6Nww&feature=relmfu
Session 6.3 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz4ZMl_XM_k&feature=relmfu
Session 7.2 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3m70lo_xfA&NR=1&feature=endscreen
Session 8.1 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jh9c0foWxA&feature=relmfu
Session 8.2 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy-1w4UCbps&feature=relmfu
Session 9.1:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA7NZ1fZMLw&feature=relmfu

Surah Al Taubah , 9

Recitation of Surah Al Taubah by Shaykh Abdul Rahman al-Sudais
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAqRhlvFPWU&feature=related

Reflection by Prof Quriash Shihab, ayat 23 to ayat 35

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9mNRSjg67Y&t=847s




Kiyai Muhammad Bhakiet, on asma al husna,.... al malik

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbYjGb3Q0_U

It is not for the idolaters to tend Allah's sanctuaries, bearing witness against themselves of disbelief. As for such, their works are vain and in the Fire they will abide. (17) He only shall tend Allah's sanctuaries who believeth in Allah and the Last Day and observeth proper worship and payeth the poor-due and feareth none save Allah. For such (only) is it possible that they can be of the rightly guided. (18)

God was of course aware that Muhammad's life was drawing to an end. He went on to live only fifteen months after this surah was revealed. It was time to prepare the Muslims for that tumultuous event and the grave consequences that were to follow it. So, although Arabs had been secured for Islam, the Byzantines were still poaing a threat in the north. Some non- Muslims Arabs had fled there,, still harbouring grudges and aggressive designs against the Muslims. The potential for trouble was very real indeed. 

As soon as the news of Muhammad's death in 632 AC spread, rebellion broke out in various places around the fringes of the Arabian peninsula. It was left to the Prophet's first successor and Caliph, Abu' Bakr, to put down the rebellion before Muslim were able to feel completely secure and confident to take on the Byzantines, whose domination of Syria and Palestine represent a real obstacle to the northward spread of Islam.

Muslims are therefore basically opposed to war and are never the ones to start it. By the imperative of their own religion, they are taught not to impose their belief on others by force. Their mission is to impart and communicate Gos'a message, leaving people free to decide whether to believe or reject it. Those who refuse to believe are free to pursue lives in peace as long as they do not pose any obstacle or threat to Islam and the Muslims, who perceive their faith as the strongest and most vital binding relationship between God and humankind and that it is their responsibility to make others aware of it and provide them with the opportunity to understand and appreciate it.

This is the basis of the relationship between Muslims and non- Muslims in an Islamic society. God says elsewhere in the Qur'an:

Except those who seek refuge with a people between whom and you there is a covenant, or (those who) come unto you because their hearts forbid them to make war on you or make war on their own folk. Had Allah willed He could have given them power over you so that assuredly they would have fought you. So, if they hold aloof from you and wage not war against you and offer you peace, Allah alloweth you no way against them. (An Nisa: 90)

Those who take up arms against a Muslims state or parts of it must be met with with force, and if they are overcome, they should be disarmed. Once that is achieved, they are free to lead their own lives and practise their beliefs in peace and security under the protection of the Muslim authorities, in return for which have to pay a levy.

This is the background against which the prescription of the 'jizyah', or exemption tax, came into being. It is not due from those who are neutral and have never taken arms against the Muslim state. The surah gives ample explanation for the reasons behind the establishment of this tax, for it stipulates who should pay for it. They are those,

Fight against such of those who have been given the Scripture as believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, and forbid not that which Allah hath forbidden by His messenger, and follow not the Religion of Truth, until they pay the tribute readily, being brought low. (29)

Those  liable to pay such tax are described further as those who "Fain would they put out the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah disdaineth (aught) save that He shall perfect His light, however much the disbelievers are averse." (32). Some  of their religious leaders are described as greedy and fraudulent people. On a closer look at how this exemption tax or 'jizyah' was implemented, it becomes clear that as a result of the early waves of converts to Islam in countries such as Egypt, Persia, and Asia Minor, funds collected from this type of tax had greatly diminished- doubtless to the delight of Muslims! The aim of Muhammad's mission had never been to amass wealth but to spread God's guidance and mercy.

Excerpt from " A Thermatic Commentary On The Qur'an "
Muhammad al-Ghazali
[ 1917 - 1996 ]



Reflection by Prof Quriash Shihab, ayat 23 to ayat 35
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9mNRSjg67Y&t=847s


Reflection by Imam Zia,
Session 5.1 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ulgd7lyx9A&feature=relmfu
Session 5.2 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7NvVpM8m4w&feature=relmfu

Surah Al Taubah , 9 : Prologue

friends, dato and tanseri,

put yourselves in nabi's shoes.
in  the 9th year post hijrah, you asked saidina abu bakr to head the haj mission, while you stayed back in madinah.

in the next year you yourself head the haj mission.
you entered makkah with your head bowed, almost touching the hump of your camel.
your entourage was over a 14,000.
there was hushed silence amongst the makkan quraish, dignitaries such as abusuffian et al, no where to be seen.

truth finally prevail over falsehood without bloodshed in makkah.


dr nik howk

..................................



prof quraish shihab' s commentary on ayat 11 to 22,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdI43YxgSVA&t=944s

No aggression was committed by the Muslims, nor were they planning any aggression or breach of agreement. One detects, in fact, a certain degree fo fear and apprehension on the part of the Muslims, who felt that those acts of intimidation indicated confidence and strength in the enemy camps. God sought to allay that fear by urging the Muslims to keep up the struggle and face the enemy head-on:

"And if they break their pledges after their treaty (hath been made with you) and assail your religion, then fight the heads of disbelief - Lo! they have no binding oaths - in order that they may desist," (12) . 

Trust and honesty spring from faith and commitment to principle; the unscrupulous and devious cannot be trusted. The urging and prompting continue:

Will ye not fight a folk who broke their solemn pledges, and purposed to drive out the messenger and did attack you first? What! Fear ye them? Now Allah hath more right that ye should fear Him, if ye are believers (13)

AS we read on, it becomes clear that the group singled out for attack were neither men of peace, nor people who could be trusted. Rather, they were people with deep- seated grudges who had been agitating and instigating aggression and ferment against Islam and Muslims for a considerable time. As these are further exposed, the surah's tone becomes even more forceful:

Fight them! Allah will chastise them at your hands, and He will lay them low and give you victory over them, and He will heal the breasts of folk who are believers. (14) And He will remove the anger of their hearts. Allah relenteth toward whom He will. Allah is Knower, Wise. (15)

Not a trace of warmongering or aggression against innocent or peaceable people is to be found in this passage. The fact is that to describe this surah as the turning point in Islam's attitude towards war is a gross misunderstanding. Muslims have always been and will continue to be peace-loving people, using open debate and persuasive peaceful means to introduce their religious beliefs and the principles of their way of life, and refusing to be intimidated or coerced.

Before the revelation of this surah, Arab paganism had been tolerated for twenty-two years. Even so, the non-Muslim Arabs continued to treat Islam as an outlawed religion in Makkah. They refused to recognize the new Muslim state emerging in Madinah and insisted on waging war against it, which resulted in some thirty battles and skirmishes. Arab casulaties in all those long years of confrontation did not exceed two hundred; a figure that cannot be compared with the number of Protestants slaughtered by the French Catholics in the famous 1572 St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in Paris. Indeed, over those twenty-two years, the Muslims were guided by the Qur'anic instructions that said:

Unto this, then, summon (O Muhammad). And be thou upright as thou art commanded, and follow not their lusts, but say: I believe in whatever scripture Allah hath sent down, and I am commanded to be just among you. Allah is our Lord and your Lord. Unto us our works and unto you your works; no argument between us and you. Allah will bring us together, and unto Him is the journeying. (al-shura: 15)

Unfortunately, it all proved to be in vain. The motto of " you keep your religion and I shall keep mine," which the Muslims raised, had been rejected. The Arabs insisted on armed confrontation, and that was when the Muslims gave them four months to decide either to change their opinion and refrain from formenting trouble or leave the  region which had by then become a Muslim domain. The only other law set out by Islam at that time was that unbelievers should no longer be allowed to perform the pilgrimage to Makkah and no one should worship naked at the Ka'aba, as was the custom of pagan Arabs. All the idols around the Ka'aba were destroyed and Makkah purged of all form of idol worship once and for all. This was affirmed in the surah thus:

He only shall tend Allah's sanctuaries who believeth in Allah and the Last Day and observeth proper worship and payeth the poor-due and feareth none save Allah. For such (only) is it possible that they can be of the rightly guided. (18) 

............................................................................................................................
tuanku,

what an interesting week that was.

tdm and dsai are already yesterday's men......surat khabar lama.

this is how patik look at the big picture of our politics over the last 3 decades.....

dsai , for the past three decades, has been disruptive to malaysian politics.

those abim boys that cannot fit into amenu, infiltrated into pas and when they cannot fit in with haji hadi, they formed pan.

and those  that cannot stomach pas, joined amenu along with dsai way back in 1990's.

then they that got pissed off with amenu in the post 1998 debacle, formed pkr.

now pkr and pan are  in the doldrum...they are for now, surat khabar lama.

for tsmy,  it is pivotal that he let the court cases go on as per usual.

that should be his game, otherwise he perish.

if zahid and ntr go to sungai buluh, the general public will be appeased, and tsmy will be free to be the next amenu president; if he last that long.

whether amenu will percolate back to the 'old ways' , only time will tell.

the gen y's are not looking at this kindly.

in fact patik think even the royals will have to behave!

antics coming from the young punk of johore will not endear very much to the new generation....please beware.

nik howk

ps:  we move on in our tafseer class to the 1st 10 ayats of surah al taubah.

very daunting task ahead, for the new government, much compounded by the novel coronavirus which is really ' a proton saga with just a sport rim'. i mean tuanku, corona virus is just one of the specie of a common cold virus, with some small 'molecular' changes on it's surface.
belum masuk turbo, angkat engin atau tambah c.c pun lagi!

the world is already grinding to a halt..and this is just the beginning, from patik's vantage point!

allah, ini semua 'kerja tuhan'.
belum lagi DIA menterbalikkan gunong dan langit!
mashaallah!

we have all to brace ourselves. this is just the beginning!
a small beginning!
dah tunggang langgag dah kita.....
HE is ya Qahhar, ya Mutakabbir, ya Zaljala liwalikram...HE is also ya Rahim, ya Rahman and ya Latif.....

Reflection and commentary by prof quraish shihab,
ayat 1 to ayat 10....

[  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpM5abCODS4  ]

..............................................

Shaykh Muhammad al- Ghazali [ 1917 -1996 ], thinker, and  former doyen of the International Institute of Islamic Thought  based in Cairo, authored  more than 60 books. His  magnum opus was  " A Thermatic Commentary on The Qur'an ". He has this to say on surah al-Taubah:

THIS SURAH, also known as al-Bara'ah, was revealed firteen months before Prophet Muhammad's death in 632 AC, or twenty-two years after he began to receive the forst revelations of the Qur'an. All through those twenty-two years, the Prophet's policy towards Islam's antagonists was dictated by the Qur'anic statement:

And if they deny thee, say: Unto me my work, and unto you your work. Ye are innocent of what I do, and I am innocent of what ye do. (Yunus: 41)

It is a policy that any fair-minded person can see as non-belligerent. However, some of Islam's detractors were determined that it should not take root or find its way into the rest of Arabia. They instigated a series of military expeditions and incursions aginst the Muslims, most of which resulted in their forces being routed and finally totally overwhelmed by Islam. Nevertheless, they did not learn the lesson, and as soon as one skirmish or battle was over, they would prepare for the next one. Eventually, they ended by becoming marauding hordes and raiders threatening the stability and security of the young state in Madinah, which made it necessary for the Muslims to fight them and take decisive action against them.

This is the aim and the justification for the 'disclaimer,' given at the beginning of this surah, which was made on behalf of the Prophet through the Qur'anic revelation. Unfortunately, this has been  generally misinterpreted and maliciously misconstrued by some scholars to show that the surah was in effect a 'declaration of war' on all non- Muslims without exception. Phrases such as "...and fight the unbelievers altogether" have been culled from the text and taken to mean all non -Muslims, without exception , omitting the rest of the sentence which say, "as they  too fight you altogether."  

Some also understood the word "people"  in verse 3, which says:

And a proclamation from Allah and His messenger to all men on the day of the Greater Pilgrimage that Allah is free from obligation to the idolaters, and (so is) His messenger. So, if ye repent, it will be better for you; but if ye are averse, then know that ye cannot escape Allah. Give tidings (O Muhammad) of a painful doom to those who disbelieve," (3),............to refer to all humankind, overlooking the exceptions and the comments that follow in the same verse. 

The exceptions are: "....those of the idolaters with whom ye (Muslims) have a treaty, and who have since abated nothing of your right nor have supported anyone against you. (As for these), fulfil their treaty to them till their term. Lo! Allah loveth those who keep their duty (unto Him), "(4). 

The meaning could not be clearer or more unequivocal. The war, for which no apology should be made,  was to be prosecuted specifically against these groups who had aided the enemies of Islam or violated the rights of Muslims.

The comments that follows are even more significant. In every conflict there are innocent people who have no inclination to support either of the fighting sides. The Prophet was instructed to guarantee  such people safety and security and secure for them right of passage until they reached their safe lands. God says:

And if anyone of the idolaters seeketh thy protection (O Muhammad), then protect him so that he may hear the Word of Allah, and afterward convey him to his place of safety. That is because they are a folk who know not. (6) 

How can this be an advocacy of aggression and war-mongering? This misunderstanding seems to have arisen when some commentators and historians stretched the surah's  statements to cover Muslim conquests which took place in later years in Egypt, Syria, and Iraq, and which were to allow the Muslims to sweep the whole of the Persian and a large part of the Byzantine empires. However, this is a totally unjustified interpretation, since Muslim armies did not target the capitals of those empires but moved over lands usurped by them to address those communities they have dominated by force. 

The armed conflicts that took part between these two powers or their proxies came about as a result of Muslim response to aggression and intimidation along with the desire to free those communities and release them from the grip of Byzantine and Persian political, cultural, and religious control. Only then were those communities able to learn about Islam and adopt its culture and way of life. The surah is therefore free of any charges of inciting Muslims to war, or of laying down religious or legal justifications for hostility or aggression against innocent or peaceful people. Let us look at its main themes and arguments.

The surah begins by directing the Prophet to give his enemies in Arabia, who were at war with the Muslims, a four-month grace period, a cessation of hostilities, during which they could review their attitude and plans towards Islam and the Muslims. God says to those enemies: 

" Travel freely in the land four months, and know that ye cannot escape Allah and that Allah will confound the disbelievers (in His guidance)" [2]. 

That concession was not in any way made out of weakness, and they should not, therefore, have been deceived by any strength they may have had or by any temptation to exploit the situation. The announcement was made during the pilgrimage to Makkah, in which, at that time, both Muslims and non-Muslims from all over the Arabian peninsula were able to participate. I twas therefore made publicly and to the widest possible audience in Arabia at that time.

The surah continues to elaborate on that decision, putting an end to all possible charges and accusations of aggression leveled against the Muslims, saying:

How can there be a treaty with Allah and with His messenger for the idolaters save those with whom ye made a treaty at the Inviolable Place of Worship? So long as they are true to you, be true to them. Lo! Allah loveth those who keep their duty. (7) 

The distinction is very clear. Commitments and obligations must be respected and honoured by all sides. However, the surah continues to warn:

How (can there be any treaty for the others) when, if they have the upper hand of you, they regard not pact nor honour in respect of you? They satisfy you with their mouths the while their hearts refuse. And most of them are wrongdoers. (8) They have purchased with the revelations of Allah a little gain, so they debar (men) from His way. Lo! evil is that which they are wont to do. (9) And they observe toward a believer neither pact nor honour. These are they who are transgressors. (10)





















............................................................................................................

No aggression was committed by the Muslims, nor were they planning any aggression or breach of agreement. One detects, in fact, a certain degree fo fear and apprehension on the part of the Muslims, who felt that those acts of intimidation indicated confidence and strength in the enemy camps. God sought to allay that fear by urging the Muslims to keep up the struggle and face the enemy head-on:

"And if they break their pledges after their treaty (hath been made with you) and assail your religion, then fight the heads of disbelief - Lo! they have no binding oaths - in order that they may desist," (12) . 

Trust and honesty spring from faith and commitment to principle; the unscrupulous and devious cannot be trusted. The urging and prompting continue:

Will ye not fight a folk who broke their solemn pledges, and purposed to drive out the messenger and did attack you first? What! Fear ye them? Now Allah hath more right that ye should fear Him, if ye are believers (13)

AS we read on, it becomes clear that the group singled out for attack were neither men of peace, nor people who could be trusted. Rather, they were people with deep- seated grudges who had been agitating and instigating aggression and ferment against Islam and Muslims for a considerable time. As these are further exposed, the surah's tone becomes even more forceful:

Fight them! Allah will chastise them at your hands, and He will lay them low and give you victory over them, and He will heal the breasts of folk who are believers. (14) And He will remove the anger of their hearts. Allah relenteth toward whom He will. Allah is Knower, Wise. (15)

Not a trace of warmongering or aggression against innocent or peaceable people is to be found in this passage. The fact is that to describe this surah as the turning point in Islam's attitude towards war is a gross misunderstanding. Muslims have always been and will continue to be peace-loving people, using open debate and persuasive peaceful means to introduce their religious beliefs and the principles of their way of life, and refusing to be intimidated or coerced.

Before the revelation of this surah, Arab paganism had been tolerated for twenty-two years. Even so, the non-Muslim Arabs continued to treat Islam as an outlawed religion in Makkah. They refused to recognize the new Muslim state emerging in Madinah and insisted on waging war against it, which resulted in some thirty battles and skirmishes. Arab casulaties in all those long years of confrontation did not exceed two hundred; a figure that cannot be compared with the number of Protestants slaughtered by the French Catholics in the famous 1572 St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in Paris. Indeed, over those twenty-two years, the Muslims were guided by the Qur'anic instructions that said:

Unto this, then, summon (O Muhammad). And be thou upright as thou art commanded, and follow not their lusts, but say: I believe in whatever scripture Allah hath sent down, and I am commanded to be just among you. Allah is our Lord and your Lord. Unto us our works and unto you your works; no argument between us and you. Allah will bring us together, and unto Him is the journeying. (al-shura: 15)

Unfortunately, it all proved to be in vain. The motto of " you keep your religion and I shall keep mine," which the Muslims raised, had been rejected. The Arabs insisted on armed confrontation, and that was when the Muslims gave them four months to decide either to change their opinion and refrain from formenting trouble or leave the  region which had by then become a Muslim domain. The only other law set out by Islam at that time was that unbelievers should no longer be allowed to perform the pilgrimage to Makkah and no one should worship naked at the Ka'aba, as was the custom of pagan Arabs. All the idols around the Ka'aba were destroyed and Makkah purged of all form of idol worship once and for all. This was affirmed in the surah thus:

He only shall tend Allah's sanctuaries who believeth in Allah and the Last Day and observeth proper worship and payeth the poor-due and feareth none save Allah. For such (only) is it possible that they can be of the rightly guided. (18) 

Reflection and commentary by prof quraish shihab,
ayat 1 to ayat 10....

[  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpM5abCODS4  ]