Part 72

righteousness and each and eve ry act o f obedi ence to All ah) on

the people and yo u forgel (to pra cti ce it) yourse lves, whil e you

recite the Sc ript ure (Ih e Tawrah [Tora h])? '·Iave you th en no

sense? ) (Saarah AI-Baqarah 2:44). In the ''!/.i'eer o f this Verse,

it was authenti call y reported from the Messenger of A ll ah 3i

that he said, "A man will be brought on the Day of Resurrec ti on

and thrown in th e Fire, so th at hi s intestines will come ou t and

he will go around lik e a donkey goes around a mi ll stone. The

people of the Fire wi ll gather around hi m and say, ' 0 , so-and-

so! What is wrong with you? Did you not use 10 order us to do

good deeds and fo rbid us to do bad deeds?' I-I e wi ll rep ly, 'Yes,

I used to order you to do good deeds, but I did not do them

322 Amollg llt c Grem E !'eJllS

myself, and I used to forbid yo u 10 do bad deeds, yet I used \0

do them myself. '" (9) Thi s is the descriptio n of those adulterers

and sinners and those who oppose the Prop hets. W hi le as for

th e superior and in telli gent leaders from a mong the scholars

who fear the ir Lord un seen, their situation is as described by

the Prop het of Alla h, Shu' aib: ( I wish not , in contradi ction to

YOll . to do that whi ch I fo rbid yo u. I onl y des ire re form so far

as I am abl e, to Ih e bes l of my power.") (SOO,.ol1 I-Iood II :88)

That is, in all o f my commands, I des ire naught but 10 exert

my utmost efforts and abili ti es toward reformi ng your deed s

and you r words. ( And my guidance ca nnot come ) . That is, in

all of my affairs. ( Except fro m A llah . in Him I tru sl and unto

Him I repent ) (Saarah !-Iaod 11 :88). T ha i is, I place my trust

in Him in a!lmatters, 10 I-lim I will ret urn and my dest iny is in

H is Hands. T his is a stance of (Iwgheeb) (1 0) to do good_

Then he embarked on a fo rm of tarheeb, (II) say in g, ( "A nd

my people ! Let not my shiqoq cause you to suiTer the fate

simi la r to th at of tile peop le of Noah or o fl-Iood or of Salih, and

the peop le of Loot are nOI far ofT from you !" ) (SoOl-ol1 Hood

II :89) That is, do nOI leI your opposi ti on to mc and your hatr ed

of that whi ch I havc broug ht to you cause YOll to co nlinue in

your error and ignoran ce, fo r if you do, A llah w ill infli ct upon

yo u a simil ar pu nis hm ent 10 that whic h He infl icted on those

who were li ke you among the peop les ofNooh i-Ml, Hood ~

and Saleh ~ , who belied and opposed their Proph ets_

As for Shu'a ib 's say ing: ( "and Ih e peopl e of Loot arc not

far ofT from you." ) (SoOl-al1 !-Iood II :89), il is sa id thai its

meanin g is that they were not far offfrom them in time; Qatadah

(9) Narratcd by AI-Bukhari (3267) and Muslim (2989).

(10) Tmgheeb: Incitelllcnt and encouragemcnt.

(! !) Tarheeb: To frightcn, alann or threaten.

Among the Greal El 'CIIH 323

said , "This means th at they wcre on ly destroyed before you

yesterday," It ha s also bcen said that it rcfers to place. But in

actua l fact, the Verse carri cs bot h meani ngs, It wa s also said

that it mcans that th ey were simil ar to them in characteri stics

and repugnant deeds, such as highway robbery and taking

money fro m the peop le both openly and in secret, th rough

all kinds o f tricks and sophisms, It is poss ible to reconcile to

all of these opin ions, bccausc they were not far from them in

ti me, di stance or characteristi cs. Then he mix ed wrheeb with

farg heeb, saying, ( "And ask fo rgiveness of your Lord and tum

un to Him in repenta nce, Veril y, my Lord is Most Merciful. Most

Loving." ) (SoO/'all I-Iood II :90) That is, abandon the sins you

are engaged in and tu rn in repenta nce 10 you r Lord, th e Most

Merc iful, Most Lovi ng, because if anyone turns in repentance

10 Him, He is Merciful toward Hi s slavesmore merciful th an

a mother toward her chi ld. ( "Most Loving" ) means, even ifit

is after He has accepted the repentance of his slave and cvcn if

the slave had repented of major s ins, ( They said. "0, Shu 'aib!

We do not understand much of what you SHy. and we co nsider

you a wcak person (it is said that he WHS a bli nd man) among

lIS,'- ) (SoO/-ail I-Iood 11 :9 1)

As for their saying: ( "Wcre it not for your fami ly, we should

ccrtainly have stoncd you ; and you arc not powc rful against

us" ) (Soorah Hood 11 :91 ), this was due to their profou nd

disbe lief and the ir di sgraceful obstinacy, as they said, ( They

said, "0, Shu'aib! We do not understand much of what you

say," ) (SoO/'ail H ood II :9 1) That is, we do not undcrstand

it, nor do wc co mprehend it, because wc do no t li kc it and

we do not wa nt it, so we have no eagerness for it and wc will

not fo ll ow it. And thi s is li ke thc saying of the disbelievers of

Quraish to the Messenger of Allah : ( And they say, "O ur hearts

arc under co verings (sc reencd) from Ihat to whi ch you in vite

324 Amllng file Greal EI'ellls

us, and in ali I' cars is dea rn css, and bctwcc n us and yo u is a

sc reen, so work yo u (on your way): veril y, we arc work in g (on

o ur way)." ) (Soorah F'ussilar 41 :5) As for the ir say ing: ( "a nd

we consider you a weak person (it is sa id that hc was a blind

ma n) among us ." ) (SOOtY'" /-Iood 11 :9 1), it mea ns despi sed and

aba ndoned. ( "Werc it no t for your fiun il y .,. " ) . means, your

tribe and your kin sfolk a lllong us. ( "We should certa inly have

sto ned you; and you arc not powc rfu l against us '" He sa id. "0,

my peopl e! Is then my linnily of mo re weight with you than

Allah'!" ) (Soorall Hood II :9 1,92), Tha I is, do you fear my tri be

and my kinsfolk and hes itate to harm me because o f Ihem, ye t

you do no t fear All ah 's Anger or hes it ate to harm me because

I am a Messenge r of All ah? That mea ns th at YOli consider my

tribe more powerful tha n A ll ah! ( And yo u ha ve cast Him away

behind your backs ) (SoO/'oli i-iood II :92), ThaI is, yo u have

pla ced fea r of All ah behind your back s. ( " Verily, my Lord is

surrou nding all that YO ll do : ' ) (Sooralt /-Io od II :92). That is,

He is fu ll y Aware of what you do and He encompasses all of

that and He w ill recompense you for it all the Day when yo u are

return ed to Him. ( And 0, my people! Act according to your

abi lity and way. and I am ac tin g (on my way) . You will comc

to know who it is all whom descend s thc punis hment th at will

covc r him wi th ignomi ny, and w ho is a liar! And watch you!

Vcri ly, I too am wa tc hing with yo u." ) (Soora" Hood 11:93)

Th is is a stcrn th rcal and a pos iti ve warn ing, lha t if they shoul d

continue on th eir path and in thei r (w icked) ways, they would

co me to know o n whol11 All ah's Pu nishment wo uld be infli cted

and upon whom would destruct ion and anni hilation be vis ited.

In an ea rli er Ve rse in th is SoO/·ct/" he said, ( "and all whom w ill

fa ll a lasti ng puni shment." ) (Saara" I-Iood 11 :39) ( " and who

is a liar!" ) (Soora" Hood II :93) That is, wh ich of us is the lia r

in the information , the glad ti dings and the wtImings he gave,

Among Ille Crelll EI'('tIf" J -'-)

you or I. ( "And watch you! Veri ly, I too am watching with

yo u."' ) (SoO/·aII Hood II :93). Th is is like the Words or A ll ah: (

" And if there is a party of yo u who be lieves in that wi th whi ch

I have bee n sent and II part y who do not bd ievc, so be patient

until All ah judges between us, and l ie is the Bes t o f j ud ges."

Th e ch iefs of those who wcre nrrognnt among hi s people sn id.

"Wc shall ccrtn inly dri\' c you out, 0 , Shu ' aib. !'lnt! those who

have believed wit h you from our town. or else you (all) shall

relUrn to our rel igion." li e sa id. "Even tho ugh we hate it! We

should have in ve nted a li e again st Alla h if we returned 10 your

religion. ancr A llah has resclied us from it. And it is not for

us 10 relurn 10 it unl ess A llah. our Lord, should w ill . Q UI' Lord

comprehends all things in 1-1 is Knowledge , In A llah (Alone) we