• To Treat The Jews And The Christians As Enemies

• Only God And His Apostle And Those Who Believe, Establish Prayer And Give The Poor-Rate Are The Guardians Of The Muslims.

Al-Ma’idah Verses 51 – 56

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَىٰ أَوْلِيَاءَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ وَمَنْ يَتَوَلَّهُمْ مِنْكُمْ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ

“O’ ye who believe! take ye not the Jews and the Christians for friends, they are friends one of the other; and whoever taketh them for friends of you, verily, he is one of them; Verily, God guideth not an unjust people.” (5:51)

فَتَرَى الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ يُسَارِعُونَ فِيهِمْ يَقُولُونَ نَخْشَىٰ أَنْ تُصِيبَنَا دَائِرَةٌ فَعَسَى اللَّهُ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ بِالْفَتْحِ أَوْ أَمْرٍ مِنْ عِنْدِهِ فَيُصْبِحُوا عَلَىٰ مَا أَسَرُّوا فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ نَادِمِينَ

“So Seest thou1those in whose hearts is disease hastening towards them, saying “We fear lest a reverse (of fortune) befall us;” But belike God bringeth about a victory (for thee) or (some) thing2from Himself, then will they be regretting for what they hid in their selves3.” (5:52)

وَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَهَٰؤُلَاءِ الَّذِينَ أَقْسَمُوا بِاللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَانِهِمْ إِنَّهُمْ لَمَعَكُمْ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ فَأَصْبَحُوا خَاسِرِينَ

“And then will say those who believe “Are these they who swore by God with the most forcible of their oaths that they were most surely with you?” In vain shall go all their (good) deeds, and they shall be losers.” (5:53)

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَنْ يَرْتَدَّ مِنْكُمْ عَنْ دِينِهِ فَسَوْفَ يَأْتِي اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَهُ أَذِلَّةٍ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَعِزَّةٍ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ يُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَلَا يَخَافُونَ لَوْمَةَ لَائِمٍ ذَٰلِكَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ

“O’ Ye who believe! whoever of you turneth away from his religion, soon will God bring (forward) a people, them He loveth and they love Him, lowly before the believers, mighty against the infidels, striving hard in God’s way, and they fear not the censure of any censurer; This is the grace of God, He giveth it to whomsoever He desireth, Verily, God is Ample-Giving, All-Knowing4.” (5:54)

إِنَّمَا وَلِيُّكُمُ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَهُمْ رَاكِعُونَ

“Verily, Verily, your guardian is (none else but) God and His Apostle (Muhammad) and those who believe, those5who establish prayer and pay the poor-rate, while they be (even) bowing down (in prayer)6.” (5:55)

وَمَنْ يَتَوَلَّ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فَإِنَّ حِزْبَ اللَّهِ هُمُ الْغَالِبُونَ

“Whoever taketh is his guardian, God and His Apostle (Muhammad) and those who believe7, verily, (he hath joined) God’s battalion; They are those that shall (always) be triumphant8.” (5:56)

Commentary

Verse 51

‘Aulia’ is the plural of ‘Wali’ which may mean much more than a friend. The word is used to mean a guardian also, even a Lord or a Master, the idea of a supporter or a protector being the chief element in the meaning of the word. If used for the meaning of a friend, it means a sincerely interested one whose support and protection can always be depended upon, and from whom there can never be expected the least harm or hurt or the apprehension of deceiving or misleading at any time in any matter whatsoever. Such a quality can never be expected of any one of the camps hostiles to Islam.

When two nations or people are hostile to each other for any cause common to them, any one from one camp being a friend to anyone in the other camp is nothing but treason.

Friendship, when it gets intense, wields very great influence upon the individuals. Each one bound by the bonds of sincere love is liable to do anything for the other. This injunction of Islam prohibiting friendship with an unbeliever or a disbeliever, is to save the believer from the influence of infidelity or ‘Kafr’ and keep him always attached to the truth, far from the evil influence of falsehood.

By loving a godly man, one is sure to copy godliness and thus himself becomes godly and similarly if an individual is bound by friendship to a wicked being, the individual would copy wickedness by the continuous attachment to the evils, and one day himself would be a wicked one.

It is based upon the natural phenomenon that Islam-Original (called Shi’ism) has it prescribed in the articles of the practice of the faith, ‘Twalla’, i.e., love (of the virtuous ones) and ‘Tabarra’ aversion to wicked ones.

(a) Only in hostility and hatred against the Muslims otherwise they were not friends of each other. Friendship here includes appreciation and the imitation of their way of life. In support of this is the celebrated sayings of the Holy Prophet narrated by all his schools of the traditionists - Shias and Sunnis as Hadith Qudsi.

‘La Ta’kolu Ma’akolu Aadayi, wala talbisu malbasa Aadayi wala tajlisu majalisa aadayi fatakono aadayi kama hum aadayi’ Adopt not the ways of my enemies’ eating, dressing and sitting lest ye be counted among my enemies as they are.

‘Man tashabbaha beqaumin fahowa minhum’. i.e., He who assumes the likeness of a people, shall be counted as one of them. (A.P.)

Verse 52

‘Fear against calamities’- refer to the hypocrites.

‘Fatah’, i.e., victory - ‘Amr’, i.e., punishment9. Prophecy of victory for the Muslims and punishment for the enemies.

Verse 53

This Verse contains the prophecy that the plots of the hypocrites against the Holy Prophet and the Muslims will be of no avail to the enemies.

Verse 54

‘God will raise a people who love God and whom God loves’ - This statement can only refer to the people that will be raised after the revelation of this Verse for the Verse speaks of the nature of the people or their personal qualities which none else but those purified by God Himself, i.e., the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt exclusively possess.

Imam Ahmad Ibn Hmabal, one of the greatest leaders of the Sunni School in his famous work says that this Verse was revealed about Abul-Hasan Amir al-Mu’minin Ali, son of Abu Talib (M.S.)

The qualities of the people referred to, are such that none else except Ali possessed those attributes. About the people loving God and God loving them, the Holy Prophet had pointed out as to who the individual was on the day of Khaybar when he said that:

“Tomorrow I shall give the banner to one who loves God and whom God loves”

And gave the banner to Ali.

Besides the quality of being yielding to the believers and being ever triumphant clearly refer to Ali’s submission to God, his sacrificing attitude towards the faithful and his being ever triumphant over the enemies of Islam. Whereas some of the Companions even deserted the Holy Prophet in the very heat of the battles and ran away from the field to save themselves from the trying’ calamities, whereas Ali on all such occasions even when left alone, fought to the end.

As regards striving or fighting in the Way of God, none can ever deny that Ali had been the foremost in this field and none can ever be compared to his services in this regard. Whereas as already said, Ali fought and won when everybody else had run away.

And that was after the defeat sustained by Abu Bakr and ‘Umar one after another and their returning back from the enemy defeated and disheartened and the qualities mentioned here and in 48:29 according to the irrefutable evidence of traditions and history, do not apply in toto to any one of the companions of the Holy Prophet save Ali, the fact which the worst of Ali’s enemies had confessed. Abu Bakr and ‘Umar as they are presented by the traditionists and the historians, on many occasions had used their own discretion against the order of the Holy Prophet even during his lifetime and even in the state of peace.

The Holy Prophet had ordered Abu Bakr and ‘Umar one after another while he was in prayers, Zis-Sadya to be killed, who later on became the leader of the Khawarij, but Abu Bakr and ‘Umar used their discretion and did not carry out the order and when Ali was sent for the purpose, the man had gone. And the Holy Prophet prophesied about his apostacy and the consequence was that he was the person, spared by Abu Bakr and ‘Umar who led the host of the Khawarij in Nahrawan (Sahih Bokhari and others) and at last he was killed by Ali. This is only one of the many instances of the defiance of the Holy Prophet’s orders, and their running away from the enemy in the battles or leaving the Holy Prophet standing in the Friday congregations and rushing away after business and amusements10.

There is no occasion to show any firm stand of the companions against a powerful enemy. ‘Umar always used to be ready to kill the captive, of the course taken against Maalik Ibn Nowairah, Khalid Ibn Valeed deputed by Abur Bakr and the firm stand both took against Fatimah and Ali and the other members of the house of Hashim and the faithful companions who stood by them.

If the other commentators has not insisted on their attempt to misappropriate the application of this Verse, there would not have been any necessity to deal with it with the details of the facts of the Muslim history. The apostacies referred to here, cannot be those of the time of Abu Bakr which had their start during the very lifetime of the Holy Prophet and those who took part in the fight against the apostates were the people who had lived with the Holy Prophet. Here the passage relates to the apostacy which would take place later and refers to the people whom God will raise later on (as the term ‘Saufa indicates).

So the Apostacy referred to here in the term of second person, must be relating to what had happened after the last Covenant taken by the Holy Prophet at Ghadir Khumm in response to Verse 5:67 and the people whom God will raise later on with the given qualification cannot refer to those who were then present but those who later on gathered wholeheartedly under the banner of the person who undoubtedly possessed all the qualifications mentioned here and in the next Verse, plus what has been declared at Ghadir Khumm. This applies also to the devotees of the other Imams of the House of the Holy Prophet and a complete application of this awaits the reappearance of the Last Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi. This interpretation is in conformity to many commentators of both schools11 .

The points to be noted are: -

1. In the fight with the apostates during Abu Bakr’s time none from the Muslims was against the fight. The Muslims were unanimous except in the case of Maalik Ibn Nowairah. The Government was criticised by the people and Government accepted that the action taken was wrong and the same happened with the Government’s severest stand against the House of the Holy Prophet in which the ruler himself repented on his death-bed not to have done it. But the opposition from the Muslims was, when Ali fought Ma’aviah in Siffin and the Khawarij in Nahravan - when many among the Muslims not only refrained to take part but even criticised Ali’s stand but on no occasion did Ali show any apprehension or reluctance against the rebels, in Jamal, Siffin, and Nahravan.

   On the contrary he and his followers were so firm on the righteousness of their stand in spite of the criticism that Ammar Ibn Yasir was asked how he was justified to fight a people who professed Islam. He pointed out to the banner under which stood Maaviah and the banner of Ali under which he himself stood and said: ‘We fought under this banner of Ali against that banner (of Maaviah) on the revelation of the Qur’an and now this banner of ours is fought against that banner on the interpretation of the Qur’an.

   I swear by God that they had believed but concealed their infidelity and merely expressed Islam there, and now they have the opportunity to disclose what is there in their hearts. I swear by God that if they defeat us and make us to retreat to Madina I am sure we are right, and they are wrong and this was the firm conviction and attitude of the followers of Ali and all the other Imams in their stand against the enemies of the faith instead of the public criticisms’.

2. There is no evidence of history or tradition to show the Holy Prophet ever prophesying about Abu- Bakr’s fight against the apostates or ‘Umar and Othman’s fight against infidels but there are authentic historical and traditional evidences of the Holy Prophet’s prophesying about Ali’s fight against the three classes of the apostates: (1) Nakeseen. (2) Qasiteen. (3) The Mariqeen and Ammar will be killed by an insurgent group. (A.P.)

Verse 55

Almost all commentators including those of the Sunni School report that this Verse was revealed about Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali while in prayer giving away a ring to a beggar. While Ali was in prayer in the Holy Prophet’s Mosque in Madina, a man came to the Mosque and appealed for some charity. None attended to him and the poor man was about to go away dejected and disappointed. Ali pointed his finger to him while he was in ‘Ruku’ (bowing), in the prayer. The man took away the ring from Ali’s finger. While this was done by Ali in the Mosque, this Verse was revealed to the Holy Prophet in his room12.

This Verse clearly lays down that the guardians of the believers are only God, the Holy Prophet and Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali, son of Abu Talib and the accentuation by the word ‘Innama’ renders the meaning - the decision of God as final and fixed, i.e., the decision of God is nothing else but that the Guardian of the believers should be God, His Apostle (Muhammad) and the believers who give away charity while praying. The construction of the sentence and the word ‘Wali’ being kept in singular for all the three persons means that the ‘Wilayat’ or the guardianship of all the three is essentially one in nature as well as in effect and there is not the least difference between them. Hence the obedience to the Holy Prophet must be, as it should be to God and the obedience to Amir al-Mu’minin Ali or any of his successors in the ‘Imamat’ must be as it should be to the Holy Prophet.

The commentators record this event, of a poor man asking Ali while he was in prayer, took place simultaneous with the approach of Abdullah Ibn Salaam and his party to the Holy Prophet complaining that the Jews had boycotted them. This gave an opportunity to the early pro-Omayyid commentators to distort the fact and say that it was revealed for Abdullah Ibn Salaam and his party.

The word ‘Wali’ or ‘Maula’ used here, and by the Holy Prophet at Ghadir Khumm, and on the other occasions about Ali, has become a matter of controversy among the Muslim scholars after their unanimous agreement that Ali was singled out by the Holy Prophet, in the application of these two terms and on all occasions, here and elsewhere, the Holy Prophet used it for himself and for Ali.

There is no doubt these two terms are also used to mean a guard or authority and a helper and a friend but here there is no room for the latter sense because of the exclusive term ‘Innama’ associating the specific believer in God and the Holy Prophet in application of one and the same term as otherwise all the Muslims are the friends and the helpers of each other.

Some commentators have tried to discuss the grammatical structure of ‘Wa hom raakeoon’, i.e., bowing - which undoubtedly is an adverbial clause qualifying the state or the manner in which the alms were given. Taking it as a conjunctive clause in which case this state which is included in the previous class ‘Yaqimu as-Salat’ becomes an unnecessary repetition. The main point to be noted in this passage is that the Verse really is an attempt to point out the condition required for a person to hold the authority and the guardianship over the believers next only to the Holy Prophet and God, is the highest state of the spiritual attainment which makes the person able to, at one and the same time, be fully absorbed in witnessing the glory of the Absolute and meanwhile, be alive to the needs of His creatures and respond to it. This is the state of which qualified one to be the medium between the Absolute and the Unites, near to both at one and the same time.

This is the highest state possible for a man to reach, Qur’an asserts the possibility of this, not for all the followers because all have been addressed in second person (Kom) and the specific ones are classed separately which means that this term cannot be without a significance. In other words, it is necessary that even the Holy Prophet should be from a class of people of this attainment, and nobody has claimed this state for any one save Ali. And the use of plural term ‘Those who believe’ shows that the application does not stop with Ali but continues to those who have been certified by Qur’an, the Holy Prophet and Ali to possess the said qualities in the Twelve Imams of the Ahl Al-Bayt and none else, and so in the same way that a plural usage of the person in Verse 3:61 (Mubahala), is applicable here also.

Thus, the story of Ali’s giving away the ring while in prayer explains the Verse in its best sense, be it liked by any commentators or not.

Some may say that if Ali’s ‘Wilayat’ is asserted in the Qur’an, what was the necessity of declaring it again at Ghadir Khumm. The answer is that here is given the plural justifying the application of the term to Ali and the declaration of Ghadir Khumm was the occasion to take the people’s allegiance and covenant from the people as was referred to in Verse 5:7.

For details about Wilayat refer to Introduction.

Verse 56

Triumph spoken here refers to the Triumph of Islam, as a religion, its culture and civilization.

In fulfilment of the prophecy Islamic ideals are gaining triumphant influence in the place of the doctrine of the creeds of the world. A few instances are given below just to illustrate the triumph Islam is day by day gaining the acceptance of the people of the other creeds:

1. The faith in the Trinity by the Christian Church is being rapidly conquered by the belief in the Unity of God propagated with extreme enthusiasm by the ‘Witnesses of Jehovah,’ a new school started among the Christians themselves. The social structure of this new school constitutes the Watch Tower Society. The idea of Jesus being the son of God and Jesus being one of the three gods or a part of God is vehemently contested, and Jesus is held as one created by God and sent by Him on a mission.

2. (a) Idolatry in Hinduism is being given up under the influence of the Arya Samaj movement in India and in Hinduism the belief in many gods is giving place to the Unity of God.

   (b) Hinduism has now allowed the widow marriage in its folds.

   (c) Intoxicants are getting stopped under the scheme of Prohibition.

   (d) Rights of women have now been recognized.

   (e) Places of worship have been thrown open to all.

There are many other Islamic teachings which have successfully invaded the regions of the other creeds.

• 1. The Holy Prophet Muhammad.
• 2. Expose their guilt.
• 3. Refer to Verses 10:24; 11:40; 16:1.
• 4. Refer to Verse 48:29.
• 5. Ali Ibn Abi Talib.
• 6. Refer to Verse 5:67.
• 7. The Holy Ahl Al-Bayt.
• 8. This Verse it in conformity with the prayers of the Holy Prophet, at Ghadir Khumm after the declaration of the ‘Wilayat’ or the guardianship of Ali Ibn Abi Talib in the place of the Holy Prophet under Verse 5:67.
• 9. Refer to Verses 10:24; 11:40; 16:1.
• 10. Refer to Verse 62:11.
• 11. Majma’al-Bayan.
• 12. Ad-Durr al-Manthur, Baidhavi, and Tafsir al-Husainy.