All posts filed under: Tafseer

“Let there be an ummah among you who calls to good”: Is the ‘مِن’ partitive or explanatory?

In Surah Ali ‘Imran verse 104 Allah (ta’ala) says, وَلْتَكُن مِّنكُمْ أُمَّةٌۭ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى ٱلْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ ۚ وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ “Let there be a group (ummah) among you who call ˹others˺ to goodness, encourage what is good, and forbid what is evil—it is they who will be successful.”[1] In this translation by Dr. Mustafa Khattab, أُمَّةٌ (ummah) is translated as group, so the command is to establish a group or groups[2] who perform the three duties of calling to good (al-khair), enjoining good (al-ma’ruf) and forbidding evil (al-munkar).

What is the meaning of the verse: “Those who do not rule by what Allah has sent down, such people are disbelievers”?

There are many verses in the Holy Qur’an which oblige Muslims to judge and rule by the sharia. Three of these verses contain commands which are identical except for their endings, which is why the mufasireen (interpreters of the Qur’an) linked them together. Allah (ta’ala) says in Surah al-Ma’ida verses 44, 45 and 47,

Tafseer of Surah Quraish

The following is based on a translation of Dr Fadhel al Samarrai’s Tafseer of Surah Quraysh. Translation courtesy of Abu Yusuf. لِإِيلَافِ قُرَيْشٍ ﴿١﴾ إِيلَافِهِمْ رِحْلَةَ الشِّتَاءِ وَالصَّيْفِ ﴿٢﴾ فَلْيَعْبُدُوا رَبَّ هَٰذَا الْبَيْتِ ﴿٣﴾ الَّذِي أَطْعَمَهُم مِّن جُوعٍ وَآمَنَهُم مِّنْ خَوْفٍ (1) For the accustomed security of the Quraysh – (2) Their accustomed security [in] the caravan of winter and summer – (3) Let them worship the Lord of this House, (4) Who has fed them, [saving them] from hunger and made them safe, [saving them] from fear. Introduction The connection between this chapter and the chapter before, Sura Al-Fil, is obvious. The owners of the elephants (أَصْحَـٰبِ ٱلْفِيلِ) came to Makkah because of the house of Allah, the Ka’bah. Allah ﷻ preserved and honoured His house, and protected Quraysh by destroying the army of the elephants. He protected the house and provided security and well-being to the people of Quraysh. In Bahr Al-Muheet, Abu Hayan says: إذْ لَوْ سُلِّطَ عَلَيْهِمْ أصْحابُ الفِيلِ لَتَشَتَّتُوا في البِلادِ والأقالِيمِ، ولَمْ تَجْتَمِعْ لَهم كَلِمَةٌ البحر المحيط لأبي حيان — …

The Global Vision of the Early Muslims

BY ABU YUSUF الٓمٓ  غُلِبَتِ ٱلرُّومُ “Alif Lam Mim. The Romans have been defeated” (Ar-Rum, 30:1-2) Most commentators of the Qur’an when explaining this verse mention that the Muslims were hoping for the Romans to be victorious over the Persians, because the Romans were people of the Book whereas the Persians were mushrikeen like Quraish.