Towards Understanding the Qur'an. Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi
used as an antonym of Islam. Islam is the way of [ilm (true knowledge), since it is God Himself Who has shown this way and His knowledge embraces everything. In contrast is the way that diverges from Islam – the way of Ignorance (jahiliyah). The pre-Islamic period in Arabia is designated as jahiliyah because this was the era when human beings derived their norms from either superstitious beliefs, conjectures and imagination or from their desires. Whenever such an attitude is adopted, it is bound to be designated as Ignorance.
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Al-Ma’idah 5: 53–4
(53) while those who believe will exclaim: “Are these the self-same people who solemnly swore by Allah that they were with you?” All their acts have gone to waste and now they are the losers.
(54) Believers! If any of you should ever turn away from your faith, remember that Allah will raise up a people whom He loves and who love Him; a people humble towards the believers, and firm towards the unbelievers;39 who will strive hard in the way of Allah and will not fear the reproach of the reproacher. This is the favour of Allah which He grants to whom He wills. Allah is All- Resourceful, All-Knowing.
39 To be “humble towards the believers” signifies that a person should never use his strength against the believers. His native intelligence, shrewdness, ability, influence, wealth, physical prowess, should not be used either for suppressing, persecuting or causing harm to the Muslims. Among themselves, the Muslims should always find him gentle, merciful, sympathetic and mild-tempered. On the contrary, to be “firm towards the unbelievers,” means that a believer, by virtue of the intensity of his faith, the sincerity of his conviction, strict adherence to his principles, his strength of character and his insight and perspicacity born of faith, should be firm as a rock in his dealing with the opponents of Islam, so that they find it impossible to dislodge him. There should be no doubt in their minds that the believer would rather lay down his life than compromise his position as regards his principles by yielding to external pressures.
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Al-Ma’idah 5: 55–9
(55) Only Allah, His Messen- ger, and those who believe and who establish Prayer, pay Zakah, and bow down (before Allah) are your allies. (56) All those who accept Allah and His Messenger and the believers as their allies should remember that the party of Allah will be triumphant.
(57) Believers! Do not take for your allies those who make a mockery and sport of your faith, be they those given the Book before you or other unbelievers. Fear Allah if you indeed believe. (58) And when you are called to pray, they take it for a mockery and sport.40 That because they are a people who do not understand. (59) Say to them: “People of the Book! Do you hate us for anything else except that we believe in Allah, and in the teaching which has been revealed to us and in the teaching which was revealed before? Indeed most of you are transgressors.” ▶
40 When they hear the call to Prayer the unbelievers make fun of it by mimicry; they pervert its words to ridicule it, and utter disparaging and taunting remarks about it.
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Al-Ma’idah 5: 60–4
(60) Then say to them: “Shall I tell you about those whose retribution with Allah will be even worse? They are the ones whom Allah has cursed, and have incurred His wrath and some of whom were changed into apes and swine, and who served the false deities.” Such have an even worse rank and have strayed farther away from the Right Path.
(61) Whenever they come to you they say: “We believe,” whereas in fact they come disbelieving, and go away disbelieving, and Allah knows all that they hide. (62) You will see many of them hastening towards sin and transgression and devouring unlawful earnings. Evil indeed is what they do. (63) Why is it that their scholars and jurists do not forbid them from sinful utterances and devouring unlawful earnings? Indeed they have been contriving evil.
(64) The Jews say: “The Hand of Allah is fettered.”41 ▶
41 To say that someone’s hands are tied, in Arabic usage, means that he is niggardly, that something prevents him from being generous and bountiful.
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Al-Ma’idah 5: 65–6
It is their own hands which are fettered,42 and they stand cursed for the evil they have uttered. No, His hands are outspread; He spends as He wills.
Surely the Message that has been revealed to you from your Lord has increased many of them in their insurgence and unbelief, and so We have cast enmity and spite among them until the Day of Resurrection. And as often as they kindle the fire of war, Allah extinguishes it; and they go about trying to spread mischief on earth, whereas Allah does not love those who spread mischief.
(65) Had the People of the Book only believed and been God-fearing, We should surely have effaced from them their evil deeds and caused them to enter the Gardens of Bliss. (66) Had the People of the Book observed the Torah and the Gospel and all that had been revealed to them from their Lord, ▶
42 They accused God of miserliness from which they themselves suffered and for which they had become notorious.
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Al-Ma’idah 5: 67–9
sustenance would have been showered over them from above and would have risen from beneath their feet. Some among them certainly keep to the Right Path, but many of them do things that are evil.
(67) O Messenger! Deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord, for if you fail to do that, you have not fulfilled the task of His messengership. Allah will certainly protect you from the evil of men. Surely Allah will not guide the unbelievers (to succeed against you). (68) Say to them: “People of the Book! You have no solid ground to stand on unless you establish the Torah and the Gospel and all that had been revealed to you from your Lord.” Indeed the Message revealed to you from your Lord will lead to the aggravation of insurgence and unbelief in many of them. So do not grieve for those who disbelieve. (69) (Know well, none has an exclusive claim to the Truth.) For all those who believe in Allah and in the Last Day and do good deeds – whether they are Muslims or Jews or Sabaeans or Christians – neither fear shall fall upon them, ▶
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Al-Ma’idah 5: 70–2
nor shall they have any reason to grieve.43
(70) We took a covenant from the Children of Israel and sent to them many Messengers. But whenever any Messenger brought to them something that did not suit their desires, they gave the lie to some of them and killed the others, (71) thinking that no harm would come from it. Thus they became blind and deaf (to the Truth). Thereafter Allah turned towards them in gracious forgiveness; but many of them became even more deaf and blind (to the Truth). Allah sees all that they do.
(72) And surely they dis- believed when they