Part 61

In the two collections of sound traditions, we read in an account passed down from the Prophet (pbuh) that he said: “To insult or revile a Muslim is fusiiq, sin, and to

take up arms against him is kufr, unbelief. Hence, if one rails against a Muslim and mocks him, he deserves to be called a fasiq, sinner. Allah says: “. .. And do not accept their testimony forever, they indeed are the sinners” (24:4). In other words, if those who have professed belief commit acts on account of which they deserve to be called sinners, then they have merited the title after having believed; otherwise, in their mutual name-calling they would not be saying, fasiq, sinner, and kafir, unbeliever, and the like. For when the Prophet (pbuh) arrived in Madinah, some people were calling each other names such as these.

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Hence, this seerah prohibits committing sins and disobeying Allah and His Messenger. Indeed, the desert Arabs mentioned in this verse are like hypocrites. However, the people who curse and commit sin, and those who shout out [to the Prophet] from outside the Inner Chambers are not hypocrites. Concerning them interpreters remark: “They are the people who were called to arms in the year of Hudaybiyyah. Although they were major sinners [covertly], they were neither hypocrites nor unbelievers.”

According to Ibn Ishaq, when the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) wanted to make the minor pilgrimage, the pilgrimage he made to Hudaybiyyah, he issued a summons to the Bedouin Arabs around Madinah to come out and fight with him for fear that his own tribe would come out against him or seek to prevent him from entering Hudaybiyyah. However, many of them were slow to respond to his summons; hence, they are the ones to whom Allah was referring when He says: “Those of the Bedouins who lagged behind will say to you: ‘Our possessions and our families occupied us, so ask forgiveness for us . . .”” (48:11). In other words, they were saying: “Pray for Allah to forgive us for failing you.” As Allah says in another part of this verse: “. . . They say with their tongues what is not in their hearts . . .” (48:11). That is, it matters not to them whether you ask Allah to forgive them or not. This is the condition in which one finds the sinner who is indifferent to the wrongs he has committed. As for the hypocrites, Allah says of them: “And when it is said to them: ‘Come, so that the Messenger of Allah may ask forgiveness from Allah for you,’ they turn aside their heads, and you would see them turning their faces in pride. It is equal to them whether you [Muhammad] ask forgiveness or ask not forgiveness for them. Allah will not forgive them . . .” (63:56). However, Allah does not say such a thing concerning the desert Arabs mentioned above. Rather, this verse is evidence that they did not speak the truth when they asked the Prophet to pray that Allah would forgive them. Allah says: “. . . You shall be summoned [to fight] against a people given to vehement war; then shall you fight, or they shall submit. Then, if you show obedience, Allah will grant you a goodly reward, but if you turn back as you did before, He will punish you with a grievous penalty’” (48:16). Hence, Allah grants them a fair reward if they obey the one who calls them to fight for the sake of Allah, and He threatens them with a grievous penalty if they disobey.

This call is like that directed to those people resembling them who commit major sins. However, they differ from unbelievers, who do not deserve reward if they

obey unless they first believe in their hearts. And unbelievers are not merely warned against disobedience, since unbelief is worse than disobedience.

This indicates that those [desert Arabs] who lagged behind are considered among the sinners of the community due to abandoning an obligation or committing a sin. Since they abandoned the fighting that Allah commands of them it resulted in their skepticism, which showed that they were not true and sincere believers, although in their hearts they truly embraced the religion of Islam.

Quranic exegetists have said that they were not believers, since Allah denies their having belief, just as He does in the case of the adulterer, the thief, the person who drinks alcoholic beverages, the person whose neighbor does not feel safe from harm on his account, the person who does not desire for his fellow human being the good that he desires for himself, the person who does not defer to the authoritative judgments of Allah and His Messenger, and the like. Evidence in favor of this view may be found in Allah’s saying: “. .. How bad is it, to insult one another after having belief . . .”(49:11). This is consistent with the hadith: “To insult a Muslim is a sin, and to fight against him is unbelief.” Hence, Allah condemns those who come to merit the name “sinner” after having professed belief; moreover, whoever is called a sinner is not a believer, which in turn indicates that the desert Arabs mentioned above belong to the category of those who have committed major sins, but not to that of hypocrites.

As for the claim that they became Muslims out of fear of being killed or being taken captive, this applies to those who did not emigrate from Makkah to Madinah and who were not among the Prophet’s supporters in Madinah, yet who became Muslims out of fear, and hope of gain. The situation of these people was similar to that of the members of the Quraysh tribe, who remained unbelievers until the surrender of Makkah when they were defeated by the Prophet (pbuh), as well as those whose attitudes represented a combination of that of the Qurayshites and the Islam of the inhabitants of Najd and those whose hearts were to be reconciled. However, not every one who becomes a Muslim out of some desire or fear is destined for the lowest reaches of Hell. Rather, such individuals may become genuine, obedient Muslims in whose hearts there is no disbelief of the Messenger of Allah or enmity toward him. However, neither have their hearts been fully illumined with the light or spiritual perception of belief. A member of this group may progress in Islam until he becomes a true believer, as did most of the

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Qurayshites, who became Muslims only after the Prophet’s conquest of Makkah; on the other hand, he may remain no more than a habitual sinner, or he might be revealed to be a skeptic and a hypocrite when he is questioned after death by the angels Munkar and Nakir.'' When asked: “What do you say about the man who was sent among you?” He may reply: “Well, I do not know! I just heard people saying something about him, so I said it also.”

We made mention above of those who said that they had become Muslims without putting up any armed resistance and who for this reason claimed to have an Islam superior to other people. However, Allah censures them for claiming to have done someone a favor by becoming Muslims, and reveals about them the verse that reads: “... And render not vain your deeds” (47:33), as major sinners have done.

And also Allah says: “. .. But say, We have submitted our wills to Allah, for faith has not yet entered your hearts . . .” (49:14). The word lammi, translated as not yet, is a negation of that which is expected and the occurrence of that is anti ted. The same concept is found in the following verses, as Allah says: “Do you think that you will enter Paradise before Allah tests those of you who fought [in His Cause] and [also] tests those who remain patient?” (3:142); and “Or do you think that you will enter Paradise without such [trials] as came to those who passed away before you? . . .” (2:214). Moreover, Allah says: “. . . Faith has not yet entered your hearts . . .” (49:14). This implies that the entrance of faith into their hearts is expected and anticipated. The one who enters Islam for the first time, Iman did not yet enter his heart but it is expected that this will take place later as in the following hadith: “A man embraces Islam for worldly desires at the beginning of the day, and no sooner than the end of the day approaches Islam becomes more beloved to him than anything that the sun shines on.” Therefore, most of those who became Muslims out of some fear or earthly desire had belief enter their hearts later on. Allah says: “. . . But, Say: “We have submitted to Islam . . .” (49:14). He commands them to say this, whereas the hypocrite is not commanded to say anything. Allah also says: “. .. But if you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not decrease anything in reward for your deeds . . .” (49:14). As for the hypocrite, obeying Allah and His Messenger will do him no good unless he first becomes a believer.