al-An'am Read from verse 151 to 153
Say to them (O Muhammad!):'Come, let me recite what your Lord has laid down to you: *127
(i) that you associate nothing with Him; *128
(ii) and do good to your parents; *129
(iii) and do not slay your children out of fear of poverty. We provide you and will likewise provide them with sustenance;
(iv) and do not even draw to things shameful *130 - be they open or secret;
(v) and do not slay the soul santified by Allah except in just cause; *131 this He has enjoined upon you so that you may understand; (vi) and do not even draw near to the property of the orphan in his minority except in the best manner; *132
(vii) and give full measures and weight with justice; We do not burden anyone beyond his capacity; *133
(viii) When you speak, be just, even though it concern a near of kin;
(ix) and fulfil the covenant of Allah. *134 That is what He has enjoined upon you so that you may take heed.
(x) This is My way -that which is straight: follow it, then, and do not follow other paths lest they scatter you from His path. *135 This is what He has enjoined upon you, so that you may beware.'
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*127. The restrictions which had shackled their lives were not those imposed by God.
The really worthwhile restrictions are those prescribed by God in order to regulate human life.
These have always served as the essential basis of all God-given codes (cf. Exodus. chapter 20).
*128. The first principle is that they should associate none with God in His divinity:
neither in His essence,
nor in His attributes,
nor in His powers and authority,
nor in the rights He has against His creatures.
To associate someone with God in His divinity is to declare that the former shares the essence of God's divinity.
Instances of associating others in God's essence are the Christian doctrine of the Trinity,
the belief of the pagan Arabs that angels are daughters of God, and the belief of other polytheists in the divine character of their self-styled gods and goddesses and, in some cases, of their royalty.
Likewise, a person associates others in the attributes of God when he considers someone other than God to be invested with those attributes which belong exclusively to God. One becomes guilty of this kind of polytheism if one believes somebody either to know all the mysteries of the Unseen or to be all-seeing and all-hearing or to be free of all defects and weaknesses and thus infallible. Again, a person associates others in the authority of God when he recognizes someone to be possessed of authority which belongs to God alone by virtue of His godhead; for example, the power to either benefit or harm people in a supernatural manner, to fulfil the needs of people and rescue them from distress. to protect and shield them, to hear their prayers, to make or mar their fate.
A person is guilty of the same when he recognizes someone as possessing the rightful authority to determine what is lawful and what is unlawful, and to make laws for the regulation of human life.
Such authority belongs to God alone, and recognizing anyone other than God as possessing it is tantamount to associating others with God in His authority.
Moreover, to associate others with God in His divine rights means that one recognizes someone beside God as legitimately deserving that which may he asked of man by God alone, viz. bowing and prostrating, standing in awe and reverence with folded hands, devotional greeting and kissing the earth, slaughtering animals and making any other offerings in thanksgiving for his grace and benevolence and in acknowledgement of his overlordship, vowing offerings in his name, calling him to rescue one from one's affliction and misfortune, and all the other forms of worship, adoration and reverence which are exclusively for God.
In the same way, no one has the-right to be loved to the exclusion of all other attachments, or to be held in such awe that one always fears his wrath and dreads the violation of his command, both openly and in secret.
Likewise, it is God - and God alone - Who has the right to be obeyed unconditionally, and Whose guidance should be considered the only criterion of right and wrong.
In the same way, man should not commit himself to obey any authority which is either independent of obedience to God or whose command lacks the sanction of God.
If someone accords any of these rights to anyone other than God, he is guilty of associating others with God in His divinity.
His guilt is the same whether or not he calls such beings divine.
*129. Accordingly, good treatment of one's parents includes showing them respect and reverence, obeying them, trying to keep them pleased, and serving them.
The Qur'an always mentions this right of the parents immediately after mentioning the duty one owes to God alone. This makes it quite clear that the rights of parents have precedence over those of other human beings.
*130. The word
fawahish applies to all those acts whose abominable character is self-evident.
In the Qur'an all extra-marital sexual relationships,
sodomy,
nudity,
false accusations of unchastity, and taking as one's wife a woman who had been married to one's father, are specifically reckoned as 'shameful deeds' (fawahish).
In Hadith, theft, taking intoxicating drinks and begging have been characterized as fawahish, as have many other brazenly indecent acts. Man is required to abstain from them both openly and in secret.
*131. This means that human life, which has been declared inviolable by God, can only be destroyed for just cause.
As for what is meant by 'just cause',
we ought to remember that three cases are embodied in the Qur'an whereas two additional cases have been stated by the Prophet (peace be on him).
The cases mentioned by the Qur'an are the following:
(1) That a man is convicted of deliberate homicide and thus the claim of retaliation is established against him.
(2) That someone resists the establishment of the true faith so that fighting against him might become necessary.
(3) That someone is guilty of spreading disorder in the Domain of Islam and strives to overthrow the Islamic order of government.
The two cases mentioned in the Hadith are:
(1) That a person commits illegitimate sexual intercourse even after marriage. >
(2) That a Muslim is guilty of apostasy and rebellion against the Muslim body-politic
.
Except for these five reasons, slaying a human being is not permissible, regardless of whether he is a believer, a protected non-Muslim (dhimmi) or an ordinary unbeliever.
*132. That is, one's handling of the property of orphans should be based on maximum selflessness, sincerity and well-wishing for the orphans; it should be of a kind which lends itself to no reproach, either from God or man.
*133. Even though this is a full-fledged postulate of the law of God, it is mentioned here in order to stress that one who tries to remain fair and just to the utmost of his ability, in giving weight and measure and in his dealings with people,
will be acquitted of responsibility for error. If any mistakes in weight or measure occur out of oversight, and thus involuntarily, he will not be punished.
*134. 'Covenant of Allah' signifies, in the first place, the commitment to God, as well as to human beings, to which man binds himself in His name.
It also signifies that covenant between man and God, as well as between one human being and another which automatically takes place the moment a person is born onto God's earth and into human society. The first two covenants mentioned are voluntary and deliberate whereas the last one is natural.
The last one is no less binding than the first two, even though man does not make it of his own volition. For when man enjoys his own existence, makes use of his physical and mental energy, benefits from the means of sustenance and natural resources - in other words, when he benefits from the world created by God and avails himself of the opportunities provided for him by the operation of natural laws - he incurs certain obligations towards God. In the same way, when one derives nourishment and sustenance from the blood of one's mother while in her womb, when one opens one's eyes in a family which is supported by the toil of one's father, when one benefits from the various institutions of human society, one is placed in varying degrees of obligation towards those individuals and institutions.
This covenant between man and God and between man and society is inscribed, not on a piece of paper, but on every fibre of man's being. Man has not entered into this covenant consciously and deliberately, yet the whole of his being owes itself to it.
Surah al-Baqarah 2:27 alludes to this covenant when it says that it is the transgressors 'who break the covenant of Allah after its firm binding, and cut asunder what Allah has commanded to be joined, and spread mischief on earth'.
It is also mentioned in Surah al-A'raf 7:172 in the following words: 'And recall when your Lord took the children of Adam from their loins and made them testify as to themselves saying, "Am I not your Lord?" (to which) they answered, "Yes, we do bear witness thereto. "
*135. It is an essential corollary of the natural covenant mentioned above that man should follow the way prescribed by his Lord; any deflection from the orders of God, or serving anyone other than Him, constitutes a primary breach of that covenant.
Once this breach has been committed every single article of the covenant is likely to be violated one after the other. Moreover, it should also be remembered that man cannot acquit himself of the highly delicate, extensive and complex set of responsibilities entailed by this covenant unless he accepts the guidance of God and tries to follow the way prescribed by Him.
Non-acceptance of God's guidance necessarily produces two grave and damaging consequences.
First, by following any other way, one is inevitably led away from the true path and is thus deprived of the opportunity to approach God and please Him.
Second, as soon as man deviates from the Straight Way prescribed by God, he encounters a whole labyrinth of highways and byways, causing the entire human species to fall a prey to total bewilderment and perplexity, and which shatters all dreams of a steady advance towards maturity and betterment.
The words
'follow not other paths for they will scatter you away from His path' hint at this damage. (See Surah al-Ma'idah 5, n. 35 above.)
