All posts filed under: Tafseer

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, وَمَنْ لَمْ يَحْكُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ “Those who do not judge/rule by what Allah has sent down, such people are disbelievers (kafirun).”[1] وَمَنْ لَمْ يَحْكُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ “Those who do not judge/rule by what Allah has sent down, such people are oppressors (dhalimun).”[2] وَمَنْ لَمْ يَحْكُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ “Those who do not judge/rule by what Allah has sent down, such people are deviators (fasiqun).”[3] These verses are political in nature, because they address the governments and judiciaries in the Muslim world, and so can be controversial to those academics and ulema who want to maintain the existing status quo, or aim to ‘reform’ Islam by secularising it and removing it …

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.