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From Issue: 412 [Read full issue]

Living the Quran

Al-Araf (The Heights)
Chapter 7: Verses 109-110 (Partial)

The Declaration
"The great ones among Pharaoh's people said: 'This man is indeed a sorcerer of great skill, who wants to drive you out of your Land!'"

It is not in the nature of falsehood to surrender easily or to admit that it has no legitimacy. Pharaoh and the great ones among his people were certainly aware of the import of the great truth declared by Moses. They indeed declared it plainly, but they also tried to divert attention from it by accusing Moses of sorcery. The net result of this clear declaration is thus stated openly: it is to be driven out of the land, to relinquish power, or, to use modern terminology, to overthrow the government.

Pharaoh and his aides were aware of the danger represented by Moses's message. Indeed, tyrants always recognize that danger. As a simple bedouin Arab, totally unsophisticated, remarked after hearing the Prophet Muhammad calling on people to accept that there is no deity other than God and that Muhammad is His Messenger: "This is something that kings dislike." Another similarly unsophisticated bedouin said to the Prophet: "You will be opposed by Arabs and non-Arabs alike." Both of them were keenly aware of what those words signified. They understood that the declaration of God's oneness means a rebellion against every ruler who does not implement God's law. The Arabs felt the seriousness of this declaration. Their understanding of the declaration of God's oneness was totally different from that of those who today claim to be Muslims.

Compiled From:
"In The Shade of The Quran" - Sayyid Qutb, Vol 6, p. 181
Understanding the Prophet's Life

Object of Disorder

Seeking the protection of a person of distinction, socially and politically useful, Muhammad, peace be upon him, had neglected a poor man, apparently of no significance to his cause, who was asking for spiritual solace; this mistake, this moral slip, is recorded in the Quran [80:1-12], which through this story teaches Muslims never to neglect a human being, never to turn away from the poor and needy, but rather to serve and love them. The Prophet was never to forget this teaching, and he repeatedly invoked God, saying: "O God, we implore You to grant us piety, dignity, [spiritual] wealth, and love of the poor."

Thus the Prophet is a model for Muslims not only through the excellence of his behaviour but also through the weaknesses of his humanity, revealed and mentioned by the Quran so that Muslim consciences may never forget this message through the ages. No one must ever let power or social, economic, or political interests turn him or her away from other human beings, from the attention they deserve and the respect they are entitled to. Nothing must ever lead a person to compromise this principle of faith in favour of a political strategy aimed at saving or protecting a community from some peril. The freely offered, sincere heart of a poor, powerless individual is worth a thousand times more in the sight of God than the assiduously courted, self-interested heart of a rich one.

The Prophet constantly strove to be the example of and witness to this message, but in the course of their history, Muslims have often forgotten and neglected this injunction to treat the needy with respect and dignity. Even while the Prophet was still alive, his Companion Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, spoke out in a forceful and determined manner against the failings of some Muslims increasingly attracted by power, comfort, and riches. In this respect, another of the Prophet's warnings echoes in our minds, addressing his spiritual community for the centuries to come: "For every [spiritual] community, there is an object of discord, tension, and disorder [fitna], and for my community, this object is money." [Muslim]

Compiled From:
"In The Footsteps of the Prophet", Tariq Ramadan, pp. 48,49
Blindspot

Satan's the Enemy

Whoever studies the Quran and Sunnah will find that those texts are more concerned with mentioning Satan and battling against him than they are with mentioning the soul. The blameworthy soul is mentioned in Sura Yusuf, Verse 53 and Sura al-Naziyat, Verse 40. The reproaching soul is mentioned only in Sura al-Qiyamah, Verse 2. On the other hand, Satan is mentioned in a number of places. A whole Sura is dedicated to warning about him!

The Lord's warnings to His slaves concerning him are much greater than His warnings concerning the soul. This is how it must be for the evil and harm of the soul springs from Satan's whispering. This is his medium, the place of his evil and the place of his obedience. Allah has ordered the taking of refuge from Satan upon reading the Quran and at other times. This is due to the great need of seeking refuge from Satan. On the other hand, Allah did not order the seeking of refuge from the soul in any place. Seeking of refuge from the soul is only mentioned in the opening of a speech wherein one says, "We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls."

Al-Ghazali wrote that it is obligatory to protect oneself from the secret whispering of Satan. This can only be done by knowing his means and modes of operation. Satan tries to fulfill his plans through steps, in the same way that a person lowers the bucket turn by turn into a well. His means include encouraging people to go to extremes, making people fail to perform their responsibilities through false hopes and dreams, making people procrastinate and become lazy and so forth. However, perhaps Satan's greatest scheme is that of making what is evil look good and beneficial.

Compiled From:
"Ighathah" - Ibn al-Qayyim, p. 100
"Purification of the Soul" - Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo, pp. 430-432

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