All
praise is due to Allah, the Magnificent, the magnanimous. peace and blessings on our noble Prophet Muhammed, his family and his righteous
companions.
A little while back someone received an email from a sister discussing her views on the Ayah number 24 from Surah At-Tawbah, which says;
"If your fathers and your sons and your brethren and your mates and your kinsfolk and property which you have acquired, and the slackness of trade which you fear and dwellings which you like, are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger and striving in His way, then wait till Allah brings about His command: and Allah does not guide the transgressing people."
In her words, “This verse clearly indicates that one's love for God has to be superior to one's love for everything else that one may come to love in one's life.”
And then she went on to describe how love for Allah Azawjal should be absolute. The sister's intentions maybe sound, however, her details on that Ayah were incomplete. She addressed only a portion of the ayat, while leaving out the other.
A little while back someone received an email from a sister discussing her views on the Ayah number 24 from Surah At-Tawbah, which says;
"If your fathers and your sons and your brethren and your mates and your kinsfolk and property which you have acquired, and the slackness of trade which you fear and dwellings which you like, are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger and striving in His way, then wait till Allah brings about His command: and Allah does not guide the transgressing people."
In her words, “This verse clearly indicates that one's love for God has to be superior to one's love for everything else that one may come to love in one's life.”
And then she went on to describe how love for Allah Azawjal should be absolute. The sister's intentions maybe sound, however, her details on that Ayah were incomplete. She addressed only a portion of the ayat, while leaving out the other.
Please allow us to explain, insha'Allah.
The interpretation for this ayah is
incomplete/ partial since it does not deliver the absolute message of
the Ayah. In addition to that, by relying on the English interpretation
alone and ignoring the Arabic shari' details, the interpretation is
misleading.
Imam Ibn Kathir's tafseer of this Ayah is under the title “The Prohibition of taking the Idolators as Supporters, even with Relatives.” The noble Imam then states how in this ayah,
“Allah commands shunning the disbelievers, even if they are one's parents or children, prohibits taking them as supporters it they choose disbelief instead of faith.”
So specifically, as Imam Ibn Khathir has
highlighted that the first part of the Ayah deals with disliking the
disbelievers even if they are one's parents.
The second part of
the Ayah is a reminder for the Muslims that Jihad is an essential part
of Islam and it should be loved for the sake of Allah. And here to
avoid any confusion we refer to the meaning of jihad that Islam assigned
it, or in other words the definition that the shariah gave jihad, which
is fighting in the path of Allah. Yes, the sister was
correct
when she used the word "striving" to interpret the meaning of "Jihad"
in the ayah. However, that is the linguistic meaning and hence
inaccurate as far as Islam and Muslims are concerned.
In fact, this Ayah is often used as a daleel by the ulema with the correct aqeedah to emphasize the critical role of jihad for the ummah. In the same tafseer, Imam Ibn Khatir supports this by mentioning the authentic hadith of Prophet (saws),
“If you transact in Iynah, follow the tails of your cows, become content with the life of agriculture, and abandon jihad, then Allah will send on you disgrace that He will not remove until, you return to your religion.” (Ahmad 2:42 and Abu Dawud:3643).
Here, Prophet (saws) equated jihad or fighting in the path of Allah to returning to one's religion.
In
conclusion, the Ayah prescribes to Muslims what in our creed is referred
to as “Al-walaa-wal-baraa”, i.e. loving something for the sake of Allah
and hating something for the sake of Allah. So essentially, the Muslims
ought to love Allah, his Prophet (saws), and jihad (fighting) in his
cause. And in contrast Muslims should hate the disbelievers for the sake
of Allah., even if those disbelievers are their parents.
We hope insha'Allah we have conveyed clearly what was intended. We urge Muslims to insha’Allah research the ahadith and the tafsir we have quoted herein. We should never take for granted any view points on the Quraan and the Sunnah without throughly researching the classical sources.
We pray that may Allah enable us to correctly follow the true source and guidance, the Quraan and the sunnah of Prophet (saws).
All praise is due to Allah and all mistakes are ours alone. And Allah knows best.
We hope insha'Allah we have conveyed clearly what was intended. We urge Muslims to insha’Allah research the ahadith and the tafsir we have quoted herein. We should never take for granted any view points on the Quraan and the Sunnah without throughly researching the classical sources.
We pray that may Allah enable us to correctly follow the true source and guidance, the Quraan and the sunnah of Prophet (saws).
All praise is due to Allah and all mistakes are ours alone. And Allah knows best.
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