Surah 22. Al-Haj

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Verses [Section]: 1-10[1], 11-22 [2], 23-25 [3], 26-33 [4], 34-38 [5], 39-48 [6], 49-57 [7], 58-64 [8], 65-72 [9], 73-78 [10]

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Quran Text of Verse 58-64وَ الَّذِیْنَAnd those whoهَاجَرُوْاemigratedفِیْinسَبِیْلِ(the) wayاللّٰهِ(of) Allahثُمَّthenقُتِلُوْۤاwere killedاَوْorمَاتُوْاdiedلَیَرْزُقَنَّهُمُsurely will provide themاللّٰهُAllahرِزْقًاa provisionحَسَنًا ؕgoodوَ اِنَّAnd indeedاللّٰهَAllahلَهُوَsurely, Heخَیْرُ(is the) Bestالرّٰزِقِیْنَ (of) the Providers لَیُدْخِلَنَّهُمْSurely He will admit themمُّدْخَلًا(to) an entranceیَّرْضَوْنَهٗ ؕthey will be pleased (with) itوَ اِنَّAnd indeedاللّٰهَAllahلَعَلِیْمٌsurely (is) All-Knowingحَلِیْمٌ Most Forbearing ذٰلِكَ ۚThatوَ مَنْand whoeverعَاقَبَhas retaliatedبِمِثْلِwith the likeمَا(of) thatعُوْقِبَhe was made to sufferبِهٖby itثُمَّthenبُغِیَhe was oppressedعَلَیْهِ[on him]لَیَنْصُرَنَّهُAllah will surely help himاللّٰهُ ؕAllah will surely help himاِنَّIndeedاللّٰهَAllahلَعَفُوٌّ(is) surely Oft-Pardoningغَفُوْرٌ Oft-Forgiving ذٰلِكَThatبِاَنَّ(is) becauseاللّٰهَAllahیُوْلِجُcauses to enterالَّیْلَthe nightفِیin (to)النَّهَارِthe dayوَ یُوْلِجُand causes to enterالنَّهَارَthe dayفِیin (to)الَّیْلِthe nightوَ اَنَّAnd indeedاللّٰهَAllahسَمِیْعٌۢ(is) All-Hearerبَصِیْرٌ All-Seer ذٰلِكَThat (is)بِاَنَّbecauseاللّٰهَAllahهُوَHeالْحَقُّ(is) the Truthوَ اَنَّand thatمَاwhatیَدْعُوْنَthey invokeمِنْbesides Himدُوْنِهٖbesides Himهُوَitالْبَاطِلُ(is) the falsehoodوَ اَنَّAnd thatاللّٰهَAllahهُوَHeالْعَلِیُّ(is) the Most Highالْكَبِیْرُ the Most Great اَلَمْDo notتَرَyou seeاَنَّthatاللّٰهَAllahاَنْزَلَsends downمِنَfromالسَّمَآءِthe skyمَآءً ؗwaterفَتُصْبِحُthen becomesالْاَرْضُthe earthمُخْضَرَّةً ؕgreenاِنَّIndeedاللّٰهَAllahلَطِیْفٌ(is) surely SubtleخَبِیْرٌۚAll-Aware لَهٗFor Himمَا(is) whateverفِی(is) inالسَّمٰوٰتِthe heavensوَ مَاand whateverفِی(is) inالْاَرْضِ ؕthe earthوَ اِنَّAnd indeedاللّٰهَAllahلَهُوَsurely Heالْغَنِیُّ(is) Free of needالْحَمِیْدُ۠the Praiseworthy

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Translation of Verse 58-64

(22:58) As for those who migrated in the way of Allah, whereafter they were slain, or died, Allah will certainly grant them a goodly provision. Indeed, Allah is the Best of all those who provide.

(22:59) He will surely admit them to a resort which will please them. Most certainly Allah is All-Knowing, Most Forbearing.¹⁰³

(22:60) That indeed is so, as for him who retaliates in proportion to the excess committed against him, and is thereafter again subjected to transgression, Allah will surely aid him.¹⁰⁴ Verily Allah is All-Pardoning, All-Forgiving.¹⁰⁵

(22:61) So shall it be¹⁰⁶ because it is Allah Who causes the night to emerge out of the day and causes the day¹⁰⁷ to emerge out of the night and Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing.¹⁰⁸

(22:62) So shall it be because Allah, He is the Truth, and all whom they invoke instead of Him are false.¹⁰⁹ Allah is Most High, All-Great.

(22:63) Do you not see that Allah sends down water from the sky whereby the earth turns green?¹¹⁰ Verily Allah is Subtle, All-Aware.¹¹¹

(22:64) To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. Surely Allah - He alone is Self- Sufficient, Praiseworthy.¹¹²

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Commentary

103. God is All-Knowing, that is, He knows full well who sincerely migrated in His cause, and He also knows the reward that each of them deserves for his good deeds.

The statement that Allah is Most Forbearing suggests that because of this attribute, He will not bring to aught a person’s major acts of goodness and services if minor lapses and weaknesses are found in his life-record. He will rather overlook these and forgive such people their sins.

104. Previously, reference was made to those who were subjected to wrongs: and injustices but who failed to act in response to these (see verse 58 above ~Ed.).

The present verse, however, identifies those who had recourse to force in response to the persecution perpetrated by. wrong-doers.

Shafi‘i infers from this verse that retribution is to be inflicted exactly in the - form in which the wrong itself was inflicted. For instance, if someone kills a person by drowning him, he will also be drowned. Likewise, if someone burns another person to death, he will be punished in like manner. However, the Hanafis are of the opinion that irrespective of the mode in which a person is killed, the murderer will be subjected to retribution in one and the same established manner, i.e. regardless of how he had committed his treachery.

105. This verse may be interpreted in two ways, and presumably both are-valid.

First, that even though killing and bloodshed are not good per se, killing and shedding the blood of wrong-doers will nevertheless be pardoned by God. Second, that since man is a creature of God, Who is Oft-Pardoning, man should also be inclined to pardon others. Men of faith should be characteristically forbearing, magnanimous and tolerant. They are perfectly entitled to retaliate, but it does not befit them to take revenge and act vindictively.

106. The present paragraph relates to the previous one in its entirety. The upshot of this verse is that those who follow the course of unbelief and injustice will be punished and those who believe and act righteously will be rewarded; that the standard-bearers of truth who have been wronged, will see their own wrongs redressed; and those who seek to forcefully confront injustice will be aided by God. So, what is the reason underlying all these assurances? The verse suggests that this will happen because of certain of God’s attributes, i.e. those mentioned here.

107. God rules over the whole universe, and it is because of His Will that day and night follow in succession. In addition to this apparent meaning, the verse also subtly points to the fact that God, Who brings about the brightness of the day after the darkness of night, and Who subsequently overwhelms the brightness of the day with the darkness of night, is equally capable of bringing about the decline and fall of those who are presently at the zenith of their power and glory. In like manner, the darkness of ignorance and unbelief which is presently struggling to prevent the break of the morn of the truth will soon give way, by God’s command, to the brightness of truth and knowledge that will illuminate the whole world.

108. God is All-Hearing and All-Seeing; He is neither blind nor deaf to what happens in the world.

109. God wields all power and is Lord in every sense of the term. Those who serve Him, therefore, cannot suffer and lose. Conversely, all other deities are no more than illusions; the attributes and authority ascribed to them have no basis in fact. Hence, all those who turn away from the One True God and depend instead on false deities can never achieve success and felicity.

110. Here again a subtle message underlies the apparent mearing of the verse. For, taken literally, the verse affirms God’s Power. What is, however, hinted at is that in the same way as the sprinkling of even a light shower makes barren land blossom into verdure, so the blessed downpour of revelation in the time of the Prophet (peace be on him) will soon show its blessed results. The barren desert of Arabia will be quickened to life and turn into a flourishing center of knowledge, of good morals and of a righteous and benevolent civilization never before witnessed.

111. To say that Allah is ‘subtle’ means that He accomplishes what He Wills by ways that are not quite tangible. When He Wills to bring about a change, He designs that it comes about in a manner which cannot even be imagined. One sees, for instance, the system of procreation in the world with the result that hundreds of thousands of babies are born every day. But who knows whether one of these will be an Abraham providing spiritual leadership to the greater part of the world, or a Chenghis Khan bringing about large-scale devastation ‘and destruction in his wake. When the microscope was first invented who could have imagined that it would ultimately contribute to the manufacture of atomic and hydrogen bombs? In short, God’s plans are fulfilled in such fine and imperceptible ways that people are hardly aware of them before their actual fulfilment.

God has also been characterized as ‘All-Aware’. This underlines that God fully knows the circumstances and needs of all. God also knows full well the true interests of each of us. He is also well aware as to how He should manage the affairs of His realm.

112. God alone is self-sufficient. He and He alone is in need of no one, while everyone else is in perpetual need of Him. Likewise, He alone is truly praiseworthy. All praise is essentially due to Him and He alone deserves to be gratefully extolled for everything that is good. Moreover, He is intrinsically praiseworthy, independent of whether people actually utter words of praise for Him or not.