El Sha'rawy Reflections
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7 7 In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Dispenser of Mercy. 7 7 Published by : Tel +97126265151 [email protected] Printing & Binding: Printing Group [email protected] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ISBN: 978-9948-36-806-9 First edition 1441 H. - 2020 ©All rights reserved to Al Hosn Research & Studies Centre No part of this book maybe reproduced or transmitted including printing, publishing, photocopying, or storing by any electronic or mechanical means without written permission from the publisher. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Chapter of al-An’am The Chapter of al-An’am 5 The Chapter of al-An’am In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Dispenser of Mercy he chapter of al-An`am which was revealed in Mecca comes right after a chapter revealed in Medina in the arrangement of the Quran T per the instructions given on the final review of the Quran which took place during the last Ramadan in the life of Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him and in the presence of Jibril. We know that the Quran has two arrangements; one which follows the chronological order of revelation, and another which follows the already existing written arrangement. The chronological order tells us whether a given chapter was revealed in Mecca or Medina. Someone might say, ‘The True Lord Glorified is He revealed these noble words on Mount ‘Arafat: ‘…Today I have perfected your religion for you, and completed My blessing upon you…’ (al-Ma‘ida: 3), so how could it be said that it is a revelation from Medina’? This question means that we need to properly understand the terms ‘Meccan’ and ‘Medinan’. There are certain verses of the Quran which were revealed in Medina and others which were revealed in Mecca, and there are others which were revealed between both locations, in addition to others which were revealed between the Heavens and Earth. The term ‘Meccan’ refers to the verses which were revealed before the emigration, and the term ‘Medinan’ refers to the verses which were revealed after the emigration, even if they were revealed in Mecca. The True Lord Glorified is He wanted the Quran to have a chronological order that follows the revelation and another for the written form. He wanted the Quran to restore the balance of human life after it went chaotic. The balance of human life went chaotic because of people who did not believe in Allah, or people who believed in Allah but associated partners with Him and worshipped idols with the pretext that they worshiped these idols so they would bring them nearer to the true God. Allah says, ‘…And those who take 7 EL SHA'RAWY REFLECTIONS / vol- 7 protectors besides Him [say], “We only worship them so that they may bring us nearer to Allah in position.”’ (az-Zumar: 3) Others worshipped fire, or followed a revealed religion after they altered it a bit or a lot. The ones who were nearest to believing in Allah were those who believed in the messages which were revealed before Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him. Their messengers came to them bearing miracles and scriptures of guidance; and logically such people would be closer to believing than others. Therefore, we first had to deal with the idolaters, and we only engage the people of the Scripture at a later stage, since the latter were familiar with revealed religions sent from a deity by means of messengers. The parts of the Quran which were revealed first in Mecca came with the essential postulates of doctrine so prominent, namely establishing the existence of One Deity who resides over all existence. In Medina, however, Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him spoke with the people of the Scripture about all the affairs of religion, after the principle of monotheism had been firmly engrained. This arrangement was therefore logical for there were two waves in the world at the time: a wave of atheism and a wave of distortion seeking to distort the way of Allah. Therefore, the believers as well as Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him were, in essence, with the people of the Scripture because at least they believed in a Deity, and they believed that a Deity would send messengers bearing guidance and miracles to prove the truth of their messages. Even those of them who went astray continued to refer to the scriptures, which were revealed to them, even though they had altered them. We know that prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him was on the side of the Byzantines when they fought the Persians; and when the Byzantines were defeated, the believers grieved, whereas the disbelievers rejoiced. Being Christians, the Byzantines were People of the Scripture, and their defeat meant that the followers of the Divine revelation had been defeated by the followers of atheism. Allah Glorified is He wanted to portray this for us, and He wanted to incline our hearts towards those who believed in Him, even if their image of Him and His message was flawed, or their understanding of what the messengers had brought was flawed as well. So, 8 The Chapter of al-An’am Allah revealed, ‘Alif Lam Mim. The Byzantines have been defeated. In a near land, and they, after being vanquished, shall overcome within a few years. Allah’s is the command before and after; and on that day, the believers shall rejoice, with the help of Allah…’ (ar-Rum: 1-5). The believers rejoiced to see the Byzantines defeat the Persians because the Byzantines had a connection to Divinity, to messengers, to religious guidance and revelation. Allah clarified it as thus to show our position, and to make it a miracle for His Book and Messenger, bearing in mind that Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him was present at the headquarters of the call of Islam, Arabia, and he did not have embassies, spies or a ‘war office’ to give him news or tell him of the Byzantine preparations for the counter-attack. When Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him predicted the results of a battle which would take place (seven or nine years later) between the Byzantines and Persians, and in which the Byzantines would triumph, Abu Bakr Allah be pleased with him made a wager with the idolaters about this. He stated that the Byzantines would defeat Persia within five years, and he told Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him about this, so the Prophet said to him, ‘A bid` (few) means something between three to nine, so increase the stakes and lengthen the time.’ The wager was thus settled for one hundred camels with a nine-year deadline. Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him was speaking so confidently, for he was conveying Allah’s message, and Allah had placed this news in the Quran which would be read and recited in prayer and preserved until the end of time; and the One Who spoke these words could not lie, for He has domination over the entire universe. No man of military expertise in our time can predict the exact result of any future battle, despite all the intelligence that can be gathered about the strength and preparations of its parties. But Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him was conveying what Allah Himself said on the matter, and so he was fully confident. Whilst Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him was facing the atheist rivals, his heart was with the people of the Scripture; and we may also observe that the people of the Scripture used to predict the advent of a messenger. Did some of the people of the Scripture in Medina, namely the 9 EL SHA'RAWY REFLECTIONS / vol- 7 Jews, not say to the tribes of Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj, ‘Time is nigh for the advent of a prophet whom we shall follow, and slay you (fighting by his side) as ‘Ad and Iram were slain’? But they disbelieved in him, once he came because he threatened their authority and historical power. So, the revelation of the Quran began in Mecca and later moved to Medina. But in the written order of the Quran, as we know, the Medinan chapters came first, and then the Meccan. This is what Allah willed when Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him reviewed the Quran with Jibril peace be upon him in the last Ramadan in Prophet Muhammad’s life. The concept of faith is always the same: believing in Allah, the revelation, the messengers and religion. The benefit of all of this is that it leads to the establishment of order in life, an order which is essential to life’s proper functioning, whether the people believe or disbelieve. This order which governs life was revealed first in the Medinan chapters, yet Allah did not completely leave it out of the Meccan chapters. The True Lord Glorified is He wanted His Messenger to capture the hearts of the believers first to face the forces of atheism; but some of them differed and rejected the route of the messengers. So, this is all we have to say about the chapter of al-Ma`ida; and although it was revealed in Medina and the chapter of al-An`am in Mecca, yet the ending of al-Ma`ida is perfectly aligned with the beginning of al-An`am. Allah Glorified is He closes the chapter of al-Ma`ida saying, ‘Control of the heavens and earth and everything in them belongs to Allah; He has power over all things.’ (al-Ma‘ida: 120) And He opens the chapter of al-An`am saying, ‘Praise belongs to Allah who created the heavens and the earth and made darkness and light…’ (al-An‘am: 1).