Selected Verses [26-31] of Holy Quran Surah Al-A'raf 7
Towards Understanding the Quran
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Sunday 11 Shawwal 1442 AH and 23 May 2021 CE
Reminder after Ramadaan No 9
Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah. As-Salaam Alaikum WA-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu.
Praise be to Allaah; we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allaah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad (ﷺ) is His slave and Messenger.
Help us Answer the Ummah! Every second, everywhere someone needs an answer. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “A person who leads others to doing what is good will earn the same reward as those who do it.” (Muslim, 1893).
وَلَا تَهِنُواْ وَلَا تَحۡزَنُواْ وَأَنتُمُ ٱلۡأَعۡلَوۡنَ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤۡمِنِينَ (١٣٩)
“Do not lose hope, nor be sad. You will surely be victorious if you are true in Faith.” And do not mix the truth with falsehood or conceal the truth while you know [it].” [Holy Quran Chapter Al Imran Ayah 139]
إِن يَنصُرۡكُمُ ٱللَّهُ فَلَا غَالِبَ لَكُمۡۖ وَإِن يَخۡذُلۡكُمۡ فَمَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَنصُرُكُم مِّنۢ بَعۡدِهِۦۗ وَعَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَلۡيَتَوَكَّلِ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ (١٦٠)
“If Allah should aid you, no one can overcome you; but if He should forsake you, who is there that can aid you after Him? And upon Allah let the believers rely.”
[Holy Quran Chapter Imran Ayah 160]
Preamble
This Surah Al Aaraf (The Heights) chapter seven [7] of the Holy Quran takes its name from Verses 46-47 in which mention of A'araf occurs.
We extracted from works of Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur’an [The Meaning of the Qur'an], body of commentary and explication, aimed at explaining the meanings of the Qur'an, the central religious text of Islam. Tafsir can broadly be categorized by its affiliated Islamic schools and branches and the era it was published, classic or modern for clear understanding and conviction of God's will. Principally, a Tafsir deals with the issues of linguistics, jurisprudence, and theology.
In this article we will provide Holy Quran Surah Al-A'raf 7: Verses [26-31] commentary of Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.
However,
The more I try to know, to research, to learn and develop, the more I discover
my pathetic level of ignorance...
And Allah’s Aid sought against all forms of ignorance! There's no better remedy
to the development of Man than his readiness to embrace knowledge. We ask
Allaah to ease our affairs. Aameen.
يَـٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ قَدۡ أَنزَلۡنَا عَلَيۡكُمۡ لِبَاسً۬ا يُوَٲرِى سَوۡءَٲتِكُمۡ وَرِيشً۬اۖ وَلِبَاسُ ٱلتَّقۡوَىٰ ذَٲلِكَ خَيۡرٌ۬ۚ ذَٲلِكَ مِنۡ ءَايَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَذَّكَّرُونَ (٢٦)
(7:26) O Children of Adam!15 Indeed We have sent down to you a garment which covers your shame and provides protection and adornment. But the finest of all is the garment of piety. That is one of the signs of Allah so that they may take heed.
15. By referring to an important
aspect of Adam and Eve's story, the attention of the people of Arabia of those
days was drawn to the evil influence of Satan upon their lives. Under Satan's
influence they had begun to see dress merely as a shield of protection against
the inclemencies of the weather and as a means of adornment. The basic purpose
of dress to cover the private parts of the body - had receded into the
background. People had no inhibition about the immodest exposure of the private
parts of their body in public. To publicly take a bath absolutely naked, to
attend to the call of nature on thoroughfares, were the order of the day. To
crown it all, in the course of Pilgrimage they used to circumambulate around
the Ka'bah in stark nakedness. Women even surpassed men in immodesty. In their
view, the performance of religious rites in complete nudity was an act of
religious merit.
Immodesty, however, was not an exclusive characteristic of the people of
Arabia. Many nations indulged in it in the past, and many nations continue to
indulge in it even now. Hence the message embodied in these verses is not
directed just to the people of Arabia. It is rather directed to all men.
Mankind, which is the progeny of Adam, is warned against this particular aspect
of Satanic influence on their lives. When men show indifference to God's Guidance
and turn away from the Message of the Prophets, they virtually place themselves
at the mercy of Satan. For it is Satan who makes them abandon way's that are
consistent with true human nature and who leads them to immodesty in the same
way he did with Adam and Eve. Were man to reflect on this, it would become
quite evident that when he is deprived of the guidance of the Prophets, he
cannot even appreciate, let alone fulfil, the primary requirements of his true
nature.
يَـٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ لَا يَفۡتِنَنَّڪُمُ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنُ كَمَآ أَخۡرَجَ أَبَوَيۡكُم مِّنَ ٱلۡجَنَّةِ يَنزِعُ عَنۡہُمَا لِبَاسَہُمَا لِيُرِيَهُمَا سَوۡءَٲتِہِمَآۗ إِنَّهُ ۥ يَرَٮٰكُمۡ هُوَ وَقَبِيلُهُ ۥ مِنۡ حَيۡثُ لَا تَرَوۡنَہُمۡۗ إِنَّا جَعَلۡنَا ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينَ أَوۡلِيَآءَ لِلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤۡمِنُونَ (٢٧)
(7:27) Children of Adam! Let not Satan deceive you in the manner he deceived your parents out of Paradise, pulling off from them their clothing to reveal to them their shame. He and his host surely see you from whence you do not see them. We have made satans the guardians of those who do not believe. 16
16. These verses bring into focus
several important points.
First, that the need to cover oneself is not an artificial urge in man; rather
it is an important dictate of human nature. Unlike animals, God did not provide
man with the protective covering that He provided to animals. God rather
endowed man with the natural instincts of modesty and bashfulness. Moreover,
the private parts of the body are not only, related to sex, but also constitute
'sawat' that is, something the exposure of which is felt to be shameful. Also,
God did not provide man with a natural covering in response to man's modesty
and bashfulness, but has inspired in him see (verse 26) the urge to cover himself. This is in
order that man might use his reason to understand the requirements of his
nature, use the resources made available by God, and provide himself a dress.
Second, man instinctively knows that the moral purpose behind the use of dress
takes precedence over the physical purpose. Hence the idea that man should
resort to dress in order to cover his private parts precedes the mention of
dress as a means of providing protection and adornment to the human body. In
this connection man is altogether different from animals, With regard to the
latter, the natural covering that has been granted serves to protect them from
the inclemencies of weather and also to beautify their bodies. However, that
natural covering is altogether unrelated to the purpose of concealing their
sexual organs. The exposure of those organs is not a matter of shame for them
and hence their nature is altogether devoid of the urge to cover them. However,
as men fell prey to Satanic influences, they developed a false and unhealthy
notion about the function of dress. They were led to believe that the function
of dress for human beings is no different from that for animals, viz., to
protect them from the inclemencies of weather and to make them look attractive.
As for concealing the private parts of the body, the importance of that
function has been belittled. For men have been misled into believing that their
private parts are, in fact, like other organs of their body. As in the case of
animals, there is little need for human beings to conceal their sex organs.
Third, the Qur'an emphasizes that it is not enough for the dress to cover the
private parts and to provide protection and adornment to the human body. Man's
dress ought to be the dress of piety. This means that a man's dress ought to
conceal his private parts. It should also render a man reasonably presentable -
the dress being neither too shabby and cheap nor overly expensive and extravagant
relative to his financial standing. Nor should dress smack of pride or hauteur,
or reflect that pathological mental state in which men prefer
characteristically feminine dresses and vice versa: or that the people
belonging to one nation mimic people of other nations so as to resemble them,
thereby becoming a living emblem of collective humiliation and abasement. The
Qur'anic ideal can only be achieved by those who truly believe in the Prophets
and sincerely try to follow God's Guidance. For as soon as man decides to
reject God's Guidance, Satan assumes his patronage and by one means or another
manages to lead him into error after error.
Fourth, the question of dress constitutes one of the numerous signs of God
which is visible virtually throughout the world. When the facts mentioned above
are carefully considered it will be quite clear as to why dress is an important
sign of God.
وَإِذَا فَعَلُواْ فَـٰحِشَةً۬ قَالُواْ وَجَدۡنَا عَلَيۡہَآ ءَابَآءَنَا وَٱللَّهُ أَمَرَنَا بِہَاۗ قُلۡ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَأۡمُرُ بِٱلۡفَحۡشَآءِۖ أَتَقُولُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ (٢٨)
(7:28) And when such people commit an indecent act they say: 'We found our fathers doing that, and Allah has enjoined it on us.17 Say: 'Surely Allah never enjoins any indecency.18 Do you say things regarding Allah that you do not know?'
17. This refers to the pre-Islamic Arabian practice of circumambulating around the Ka'bah in stark nakedness. The people of those day's thought that nakedness during circumambulation had been enjoined by God.
18. The simple and succinct Qur'anic
statement that 'Allah never enjoins any, indecency' (verse 29) stands as the overwhelming argument
against many false beliefs that were entertained by the people of Arabia. For a
fuller appreciation of this argument the following points should be kept in
mind:
First, that the people of Arabia totally stripped themselves while performing
certain religious rites under the mistaken notion that it had been so enjoined.
But on the other hand they were agreed that nudity was a shameful thing so that
no Arab of any standing could ever approve of appearing naked in any
respectable assembly or market-place.
Second, notwithstanding their reservation about nudity, they strippeel
themselves totally while performing certain religious rites on the ground that
religion was from God. Hence there was nothing objectionable about performing a
religious act in a state of nakedness for God had so enjoined them regarding
the performance of that rite. Here the Qur'an confronts them with a clear
question: How can they believe that God could order them to do something which
involves nakedness and which they know to be inherently shameful? What is
implied is that God could not command them to commit indecency, and if their
religion contained elements of indecency then this is positive proof of its not
being from God.
قُلۡ أَمَرَ رَبِّى بِٱلۡقِسۡطِۖ وَأَقِيمُواْ وُجُوهَكُمۡ عِندَ ڪُلِّ مَسۡجِدٍ۬ وَٱدۡعُوهُ مُخۡلِصِينَ لَهُ ٱلدِّينَۚ كَمَا بَدَأَكُمۡ تَعُودُونَ (٢٩)
(7:29) Say to them (O Muhammad): 'My Lord enjoins justice; and that you set your faces aright at the time of every Prayer; and that you call upon Him, exclusively dedicating your faith to Him. You shall return to Him as you were created.'19
19. The verse seeks to suggest that
God has nothing to do with their foolish rituals. So far as the religion truly
prescribed by Him is concerned, its fundamental principles are the following:
( 1 ) That man should base his life on justice and righteousness.
(2) That man's worship should have the right orientation, i.e. that it should
he directed to God alone and should be free of every trace of devotion to
others than God, that man should reserve his absolute enthrallment and bondage
for the One True God alone. All these should have only one direction - the One
that is truly worthy of worship.
(3) Man should invoke God alone to keep him rightly directed, to grant him help
and succour, to favour him with protection and security. This should be done
provided one's life is oriented to serving God. Invoking help from God would be
ludicrous if man's life is based on unbelief, polytheism, disobedience to God,
or serving a variety of gods other than the One True God. Such a prayer would
amount to asking God's help in strengthening one in one's rebellion against
Him.
(4) That man should have full conviction that in the same way as God caused him
to he born in the world, He will also restore him to life after death and will
make him stand before Himself so as to render an account of his life.
فَرِيقًا هَدَىٰ وَفَرِيقًا حَقَّ عَلَيۡہِمُ ٱلضَّلَـٰلَةُۗ إِنَّهُمُ ٱتَّخَذُواْ ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينَ أَوۡلِيَآءَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ وَيَحۡسَبُونَ أَنَّہُم مُّهۡتَدُونَ (٣٠)
(7:30) A party He has guided to the Right Way, and for another party straying is justly its due for they have taken satans, rather than Allah, as their guardians, even though they think that they are rightly-guided.
يَـٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ خُذُواْ زِينَتَكُمۡ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسۡجِدٍ۬ وَڪُلُواْ وَٱشۡرَبُواْ وَلَا تُسۡرِفُوٓاْۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلۡمُسۡرِفِينَ (٣١)
(7:31) Children of Adam! Take your adornment at every time of Prayer;20 and eat and drink without going to excesses. For Allah does not like those who go to excess.21
20. The word zina which occurs in
this verse refers to full and proper dress. While performing Prayer people are
required not only to cover the private parts of their body, but also to wear a
dress that serves the two-fold purpose of covering and giving one a decent
appearance.
The directive to pray in a proper and decent dress is aimed at refuting the
misconception entertained by ignorant people down the ages that man should
worship God either in a nude or semi-naked state, or at least have a shabby and
unkempt appearance while worshipping. In this verse people are being told the
opposite of this. At the time of worship they should not only be free from all
kinds of nudity and indecency, but should also be in a decent dress.
21. God does not want to subject man to want and misery or starvation or to deprive him as such of the good things of this worldly life. On the contrary, it pleases Him that man should appear in good decent dress and enjoy the clean food provided for him by God. There is nothing sinful in that. As for sin, it consists in transgressing the bounds set by God. This transgression could be committed in both ways: by making the unlawful lawful, or by making the lawful unlawful.
End of Quran Surah Al-A'raf 7: 26-31 commentaries on:
Children of Adam are warned not to fall into the trap of Shaitan like Adam and Allah never commands what is shameful
This surah has 39 major sections [condensed to 24] out of which verses 26-31 are selected here for us to understand Quranic teachings and explanations.
To be continued Reminder 10 In Shaa Allah on Verses [32-34] Command of Allah to wear decent proper dress and eat good food
https://www.islamicstudies.info/tafheem.php?sura=7&verse=32
Sources
Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an [The Meaning of the Qur'an] - https://www.searchtruth.com/tafsir/tafsir.php
https://www.islamicstudies.info/tafheem.php?sura=7&verse=26
Tafsir ibn Kathir (The Ibn Kathir Interpretation) by Ibn Kathir Ash-Shafi'i (1301—1373 CE/ 774 AH). A summary of the earlier interpretation by al-Tabari.
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