Dates Health Benefits - Promoting Heart, Brain, and Digestive Health

A product of the date palm and cultivated since approximately 6000 B.C, the date fruit is one of the sweetest fruits around and also happens to come in many different varieties. Although dates can be eaten fresh, the fruit is very often dried, resembling raisins or plums. But whether fresh or dry, the health benefits of dates are still just as plentiful.

  by Mike Barrett

Nutritional Content of Dates

If you’re looking for fiber, potassium, or copper, look no further than dates. While dates are rich in many vital nutrients and therefore offer many health benefits, the fruit is so small that you’ll need to consume a larger quantity to intake the necessary amount.
The following nutritional data outlines some of the key nutrients found in dates, and is based on a 100g serving of the fruit.

• Fiber – 6.7 grams. 27% RDA.

• Potassium – 696 milligrams. 20% RDA.

• Copper – 0.4 milligrams. 18% RDA.

• Manganese – 0.3 milligrams. 15% RDA.

• Magnesium – 54 milligrams. 14% RDA.

• Vitamin B6 – 0.2 milligrams. 12% RDA.

Note: Dates are high in sugar content – coming in at a whopping 66.5 grams per 100 gram serving of the fruit. It is recommended to lessen sugar consumption as much as possible, even when the sugar is being consumed from fruit.
Check out the USDA Nutrient Database for a full nutritional profile of dates.

The Known Health Benefits of Dates – What the Date Fruit Has to Offer

Dates aren’t exactly a nutritional powerhouse when compared to some other foods like kiwi or sesame seeds, but the fruit does still offer numerous health benefits along with great taste. Here are some health benefits of dates.

• 1. Promoting Digestive Health, Relieving Constipation – Fiber is essential for promoting colon health and making for regular bowel movements. The insoluble and soluble fiber found in dates help to clean out the gastrointestinal system, allowing the colon to work at greater levels of efficiency. Some other benefits relating to fiber and colon health are reduced risks of colitis, colon cancer, and hemorrhoids. (Dates could even be coupled with other home remedies for hemorrhoids.)
  

• 2. Boosting Heart Health – In addition to promoting colon health, fiber is also known to boost heart health.

• 3. Anti-Inflammatory – Dates are rich in magnesium – a mineral known for its anti-inflammatory benefits. One study found that “inflammatory indicators in the body such as CRP (C-reactive protein), TNF (tumor necrosis factor alpha), and IL6 (interleukin 6) were all reduced when magnesium intake was increased.” Further, inflammation in the arterial walls was also reduced with magnesium intake. Based on magnesium’s anti-inflammatory properties and the findings of this study, magnesium can effectively reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, and other inflammation-related health ailments.

• 4. Reduced Blood Pressure – Magnesium has been shown to help lower blood pressure – and again, dates are full of the mineral. Additionally, potassium is another mineral in dates that has several functions within the body, aiding with the proper workings of the heart and helping to reduce blood pressure.

• 5. Reduced Stroke Risk – After evaluating 7 studies published over a 14 year time period, researchers found stroke risk was reduced by 9% for every every 100 milligrams of magnesium a person consumes per day. The research can be found in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

• 6. A Healthy Pregnancy and Delivery – Further adding to the health benefits of dates, one study performed by researchers at the University of Science and Technology set out to discover how the date fruit impacted labor parameters and delivery outcomes. After studying 69 women for a year and 1 month, the researchers found that “the consumption of date fruit in the last 4 weeks before labour significantly reduced the need for induction and augmentation of labour, and produced a more favourable, but non-significant, delivery outcome. The results warrant a randomised controlled trial.”

• 7. Boosting Brain Health – Some studies, such as one found in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that sufficient vitamin B6 levels are associated with improved brain performance and better test scores.

A Summary of Dates Health Benefits: Dates are Great for:

• Weight loss
• Relieving constipation, supporting regular bowel movements
• Promoting heart health, reducing heart disease risk
• Diarrhea
• Iron-deficiency anemia
• Reducing blood pressure
• Impotence
• Promoting respiratory and digestive health
• Pregnancy deliveries
• Hemorrhoid prevention
• Chronic conditions such as arthritis
• Reducing colitis risk
• Preventing colon cancer

Remember to share all of the health benefits of dates with your friends and family!
Additional Sources:
NutritionData.Self
Wikipedia

Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/

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Surah al-Baqarah. (31-54)

Surah al-Baqarah. (31-54)

31. And He taught Adam the names of all (things), then he showed then to the Angels and said: "tell Me the names of these if you are truthful." 32) They said: "Glory be to You, we have no knowledge except what you have taught us. Verily, it is You Who is All-Knowing, All-Wise." 33) He said: "O Adam! Inform them of their names," and when he had informed them of their names, He said: "did I not tell you that I Know the Unseen in the heavens and the earth, and I know what you reveal and what you have been concealing?" 34) And (remember) when We said to the Angels: "prostrate yourselves before Adam." And they prostrated except Iblees, he refused and was arrogant and one of the disbelievers.

The saying of the Exalted, "then He showed them to the Angels": meaning the objects that were named, not the actual names as the literal meaning of the verse may suggest. And He indicated that they were the objects and not the names in His saying, "tell Me the names of these" as is obvious.
The saying of the Exalted, "and what you have been concealing": There is no explanation here as to what they used to conceal. Some of the scholars said: it refers to what Iblees was hiding of arrogance, and this opinion is clarified by His saying, "except Iblees he refused and was arrogant."
The saying of the Exalted, "And (remember) when We said to the Angels: ‘prostrate yourselves to Adam’": There is no explanation here as to whether He said this to them before He Created Adam or after. But He made it clear in Surah Hijr and Saad that He said this to them before the creation of Adam. So He said in Surah al-Hijr,
"And (remember) when your Lord said to the Angels: ‘I am going to create a man (Adam) from sounding clay of altered black smooth mud. So, when I have fashioned him completely and breathed into him My Spirit, then fall (you) down prostrating yourselves unto him.’" (15:28-29)
And He said in Surah Saad,
"(Remember) when your Lord said to the Angels: ‘Indeed, I am going to create man from clay. So when I have fashioned him and breathed into him My Spirit, then fall you down prostrate to him." (38:71-72)
[Ibn al-Arabee al-Maalikee says in his "the nation is agreed that this prostration to Adam was not a prostration of worship, rather it is understood in one of two ways: that salaam was to be given to the foreigner (i.e. Adam) by …, bowing to him and exalting him, or that he was made the Qiblah (of that time) as is the case with (our) prostrating towards the Ka’bah and the Bait al-Maqdis. This case is more clear due to His saying in another verse, "then fall you down prostrate to Him," so this (command) was not by way of exaltation, rather this arose by way of enjoining worship (by obeying Allaah) and taking Adam as the Qiblah. And Allaah has abrogated all of this for this nation." {1}
Ibn Katheer says, "so this (prostration) was done in obedience to Allaah but the prostration was to Adam. This so that Allaah honoured Adam by having the Angels prostrate to him. Some of the people said: this prostration was as a greeting, salaam, and in honour of Adam as Allaah said, "and He raised his parents to the throne and they fell before him prostrate. He said, ‘O my father! This is the explanation of my dream of old! My Lord has made it come true." [12:100] This sort of prostration was legislated for the religions that came before us but it has been abrogated in our Religion. Mu’aadh said, "I went to Shaam and I saw them prostrating to their leaders and scholars, but you O Messenger of Allaah are more deserving of being prostrated to." So he said, "if I were to command a person to prostrate to another, then I would have commanded the woman to prostrate to her husband due to the great right he has over her." {2} And this was what ar-Raazee came to declare the strongest opinion."
Al-Baghawee says, "this prostration was not one whereby the face was placed on the earth, rather it was merely bowing, and when Islaam came then this (action of bowing to other than Allaah) was invalidated." {3}]
The saying of the Exalted, "except Iblees, he refused and was arrogant": there is no explanation here as to what thoughts of Iblees led to this arrogance. But this is explained in other places, such as His sayings,
"He (Iblees) said: ‘I am better than he, You created me from fire, and him from clay." (38:76)
"(Iblees) said: ‘I am not the one to prostrate myself to a human being, whom you created from sounding clay of altered black smooth mud." (15:33)
Addendum: the likes of the analogy of Iblees to his racial origin, which is fire, and his analogy of Adam to his racial origin, which is clay, and his deriving from this that he is better than Adam and that it was not desired for him to prostrate to one who was lesser than he, despite the existence of a clear and unequivocal text, which is His saying, "prostrate to Adam", is called ‘corrupt consideration’ (Faasid al-I’tibaar) according to the convention of the scholars of Usul. And it was to this that the author of ‘Maraaqee as-Sa’ud’ indicated in his saying,
Opposing the text, or a consensus that is claimed
Is corrupt consideration from everyone who is aware
So anyone who rejects a clear and unequivocal text of revelation due to analogy then his precedent for this lies with Iblees.
This analogy of Iblees, may Allaah curse him, is invalid due to three reasons:
That is it ‘corrupt consideration’ due to it’s opposing the clear text as has just preceded
That we do not accept that fire is better than clay, rather clay is better than fire. This because the substance of fire is inconsistency, thoughtlessness, corruption and dis-unification. Whereas the substance of clay is composure and correction, seeds are sown in it …..

Terjemahan menurut Susunan Surah

Terjemahan menurut Susunan Surah

	Nama Surah	Bilangan Ayat
1	Al- Faatihah	7
2	Al- Baqarah	286
3	A-li 'Imraan	200
4	An-Nisaa'	176
5	Al-Maaidah	120
6	Al-An'aam	165
7	Al-A'raaf	206
8	Al-Anfaal	75
9	At-Taubah	129
10	Yunus	109
11	Hud	123
12	Yusuf	111
13	Ar-Ra'd	43
14	Ibrahim	52
15	Al-Hijr	99
16	Al-Nahl	128
17	Al-Israa'	111
18	Al-Kahfi	110
19	Maryam	98
20	Taha	135
21	Al-Anbiyaa'	112
22	Al-Hajj	78
23	Al-Mu'minuun	118
24	An-Nuur	64
25	Al-Furqaan	77
26	Asy-Syu'araa'	227
27	An-Naml	93
28	Al-Qasas	88
29	Al-'Ankabuut	69
30	Ar-Ruum	60
31	Luqman	34
32	As-Sajdah	30
33	Al-Ahzaab	73
34	Saba'	54
35	Faatir	45
36	Yaa Siin	83
37	As-Saaffaat	182
38	Saad	88
39	Az-Zumar	75
40	Ghaafir	85
41	Fussilat	54
42	Asy-Syuura	53
43	Az-Zukhruf	89
44	Ad-Dukhaan	59
45	Al-Jaathiyah	37
46	Al-Ahqaaf	35
47	Muhammad	38
48	Al-Fat-h	29
49	Al-Hujuraat	18
50	Qaaf	45
51	Adz-Dzaariyaat	60
52	At-Tuur	49
53	An-Najm	62
54	Al-Qamar	55
55	Ar-Rahmaan	78
56	Al-Waaqi'ah	96
57	Al-Hadiid	29
58	Al-Mujaadalah	22
59	Al-Hasy-r	24
60	Al-Mumtahanah	13
61	As-Saff	14
62	Al-Jumu'ah	11
63	Al-Munaafiquun	11
64	At-Taghaabun	18
65	At-Talaaq	12
66	At-Tahriim	12
67	Al-Mulk	30
68	Al-Qalam	52
69	Al-Haaqqah	52
70	Al-Ma'aarij	44
71	Nuh	28
72	Al-Jinn	28
73	Al-Muzzammil	20
74	Al-Muddaththir	56
75	Al-Qiaamah	40
76	Al-Insaan	31
77	Al-Mursalaat	50
78	An-Naba'	40
79	An-Naazi'aat	46
80	'Abasa	42
81	At-Takwiir	29
82	Al-Infitaar	19
83	Al-Mutaffifiin	36
84	Al-Insyiqaaq	25
85	Al-Buruuj	22
86	At-Taariq	17
87	Al-A'laa	19
88	Al-Ghaasyiyah	26
89	Al-Fajr	30
90	Al-Balad	20
91	Asy-Syams	15
92	Al-Lail	21
93	Adh-Dhuha	11
94	Ash-Syar-h	8
95	At-Tiin	8
96	Al-'Alaq	19
97	Al-Qadr	5
98	Al-Bayyinah	8
99	Az-Zalzalah	8
100	Al-'Aadiyaat	11
101	Al-Qaari'ah	11
102	At-Takaathur	8
103	Al-'Asr	3
104	Al-Humazah	9
105	Al-Fiil	5
106	Quraisy	4
107	Al-Maa'uun	7
108	Al-Kauthar	3
109	Al-Kaafiruun	6
110	An-Nasr	3
111	Al-Masad	5
112	Al-Ikhlaas	4
113	Al-Falaq	5
114	An-Naas	6
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Tafseer Surah al-Baqarah. (55-91)

Surah al-Baqarah. (55-91)

55. And (remember) when you said: "O Moses! We shall never believe in you till we see Allaah plainly." But you were seized with a thunderbolt while you were looking on. 56) Then We raised you up after your death, so that you might be grateful. 57) And We caused the clouds to overshadow you and sent down to you al-Manna and quails, (saying): "Eat of the good, lawful things We have provided for you." (But they rebelled) and they did not wrong Us but they wronged themselves. 58) And (remember) when We said: "Enter this town and eat bountifully therein with pleasure and delight wherever you wish, and enter the gate in prostration (or bowing with humility) and say: "Forgive us," and We shall forgive you your sins and shall increase ( the reward) for the good-doers. 59) But those who did wrong changed the word from that which had been told them for another, so We sent upon the wrongdoers a punishment from the heaven because of their rebelling. 60) And (remember) when Moses asked for water for his people, We said: "strike the stone with your stick." Then gushed forth therefrom twelve springs. Each (group of) people knew it’s own place for water. "Eat and drink of that which Allaah has provided and do not act corruptly, making mischief on the earth." 61) And (remember) when you said: "O Moses! We cannot endure one kind of food. So invoke your Lord for us to bring forth for us of what the earth grows: its herbs, its cucumbers, its wheat, its lentils, and its onions." He said: "Would you exchange that which is better for that which is worse? Go you down to any town and you shall find what you want!" And they were covered with humiliation and misery, and they drew on themselves the Wrath of Allaah. That was because they used to disbelieve in the signs of Allaah and killed the Prophets wrongfully. That was because they disobeyed and used to transgress the bounds.

(ins) The saying of the Exalted, "and sent down to you Manna and quails": This noble verse shows that Allaah blessed the Children of Israel with two types of food – Manna and quails. But there is another verse which indicates that they only had one type of food, and this is the saying of Allaah,
"And (remember) when you said: O Moses! We cannot endure one type of food." (2:61)
The reconciliation between these verses can be attained via a number of ways:
That al-Manna, according to the opinion of the majority, a type of drink. Therefore the one type of food would then be the al-Salwa which, according to the majority opinion, is quails.
All that is placed on one table is called ‘one food’ in the language of the Arabs even if the table-spread consists of many different types of food. For example the saying: "I ate the food of the host" even if the food be of different types. It is clear that this explanation is more correct then the first because specifying al-Manna to a type of drink is rejected by the hadeeth reported by both Bukhaaree and Muslim, "mushrooms are a type of Manna."{29} That they called it ‘one type of food’ because it was always the same and never changed from day to day. This is clear.

62) Verily! Those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians, and the Sabians, whosoever believes in Allaah and the Last Day and does righteous deeds shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve. 63) And (remember) when We took your covenant and We raised above you the Mount (saying): "Hold fast to that which We have given you, and remember that which there is therein so that you may become pious."

[The saying of the Exalted, "verily! Those who believe and the Jews and the Christians, and the Sabians, whosoever believes in Allaah and the Last Day and does righteous deeds shall have their reward with their Lord": as-Suddi said, ‘the verse was revealed with regards to companions of Salmaan al-Faarisee about whom he informed the Prophet (SAW) that ‘they prayed, fasted, believed in you and bore witness that you had been sent as a Prophet.’ So when Salmaan had finished extolling them the Prophet (SAW) said, "O Salmaan they are from the People of the Fire." This weighed down heavily on Salmaan and then Allaah revealed this verse. So the Imaan of the Jews referred to those Jews who held fast to the Tawrah and the sunnah of Moses until Jesus was sent. When Jesus (AS) came then whosoever held fast to the Tawrah and the sunnah of Moses (and did not follow Jesus) was destroyed. The Imaan of the Christians referred to those who held fast to the Injeel and the laws of Jesus – these people were the believers who accepted him. This held true until Muhammad (SAW) came, so whosoever did not follow Muhammad (SAW) and did not leave what he had been following was destroyed.’
This does not negate what Alee bin Abee Talha reports from ibn Abbaas that after this verse was revealed Allaah revealed the verse, "whosoever desires a religion other than Islaam then it shall not be accepted from him and in the Hereafter he shall be of the losers." (3: 85) Here ibn Abbaas is informing that the only thing accepted from someone will that which is in conformity to the Sharee`ah of Muhammad (SAW) after he had been sent. As for those who came before him, then whosoever followed the Messenger of his time then he was upon guidance and the victorious way. So the Jews referred to are the followers of Moses who used to judge by the Tawrah in their time.] {30}
The saying of the Exalted, "and We raised above you the Mount": This is further clarified with His saying,
"And (remember) when We raised the mountain over them as if it had been a canopy, and they thought that it was going to fall on them." (7:171)
The saying of the Exalted, "hold fast to that which We have given you": There is no clarification here as to what has been given them, but it is explained in another place that this is the Book that distinguishes between truth and falsehood. This in His saying,
"And (remember) when we gave to Moses the Scripture and Criterion so that you may be guided." (2:53)

64) Then after that you turned away. Had it not been for the Grace and Mercy of Allaah upon you, indeed you would have been amongst the losers. 65) And indeed you knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath. We said to them: "Be you monkeys, despised and rejected." 66) So we made this punishment an example to their own and to succeeding generations, and a lesson to those who are pious. 67) And (remember) when Moses said to his people: "Indeed, Allaah orders you to slaughter a cow." They said: "Do you make fun of us?" He said: "I seek refuge with Allaah from being amongst the ignorant." 68) They said: "Call upon your Lord for us that He may make plain for us what it is!" He said: " He says, ‘Verily, it is a cow neither too old nor too young, but it be in-between these two conditions,’ so do what you are commanded." 69) They said: "Call upon your Lord for us to make it plain to us it’s colour." He said, "He says, ‘it is a yellow cow, bright in its colour, pleasing to the beholders.’" 70) They said: "Call upon your Lord for us to make plain to us what it is. Indeed all cows are alike (to us). And indeed if Allaah Will, we will be guided." 71) He (Moses) said: "He says, ‘it is a cow neither trained to till the soil nor water the fields, sound, having no colour save bright yellow.’" They said: "Now you have brought the truth." So they slaughtered it though they were near to not doing it. 72) And (remember) when you killed a person and fell into dispute among yourselves as to the crime. But Allaah brought forth that which you were hiding. 73) So We said: "Strike him (the dead man) with a piece of the cow." Thus Allaah brings the dead to life and shows you His signs so that you may understand.

The saying of the Exalted, "and indeed you knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath": Their story is summarised here but mentioned in detail in Surah al-A`raaf commencing with the verse, "and ask them about the town that was by the sea, when they transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath." (7:163)
[The saying of the Exalted, "indeed Allaah orders you to slaughter a cow": "from Ubaydah as-Salmaanee who said: a person from the Children of Israel was sterile and he had a great deal of wealth. The son of his brother was the inheritor of this wealth, so he killed the sterile man, then he carried him by night and placed him on the door of someone else. In the morning he claimed that this other person had killed the sterile man. A war broke out between them, and some of the people who were endowed with reason said, ‘why fight each other when the Messenger of Allaah is amongst you?’ They then went to Moses and mentioned the incident to him and He said, ‘Indeed Allaah orders you to slaughter a cow…’"]{31}
The saying of the Exalted, "call upon your Lord for us that He may make plain for us what it is!": there is no explanation as to what their purpose was behind their asking, ‘that He may make plain for us what it is’ except that the answer to their question in the first instance indicates that they were enquiring about it’s age. The evidence for this lies in His saying, "he said, ‘He says: Verily it is a cow neither too old nor too young.’"
And that that the purpose in their asking the question in the second instance was to ascertain whether it was used for work, or if it had any deficiencies, or if it had any blemishes that differed from it’s normal colour. The evidence for this lies in His saying, "he said, ‘He says: Indeed it a cow neither trained to till the soil nor water the fields, sound, having no colour save bright yellow.’"
The saying of the Exalted, "and (remember) when you killed a person and fell into dispute among yourselves as to the crime": There is no clarification here as to the sex of this person, but his being male is indicated in His saying, "Strike him with a piece of the cow."
The saying of the Exalted, "thus Allaah brings the dead to life and shows you His signs": indicating in this verse that in the resurrection of the one killed by the Children of Israel lies an evidence for the resurrection of mankind after their death. This because the One Who is able to resurrect one soul after it’s death is able to resurrect all of the souls after their death. This is clarified in His saying,
"The creation of you all and the resurrection of you all are only as (the creation and resurrection) of a single person." (31:28)

74) Then, after that, your hearts were hardened and became as stones or even worse in hardness. And indeed, there are stones out of which rivers gush forth, and indeed, there are of them that split asunder so that water flows from them, and indeed, there are of them that fall down for fear of Allaah. And Allaah is not unaware of what you do. 75) Do you covet that they (the Jews) will believe in your religion despite the fact that a party of them used to hear the Word of Allaah, then they used to distort it knowingly after they understood it? 76) And when they meet those who believe, they say, "we believe," but when they meet one another in private, they say, ‘shall you tell them what Allaah has revealed to you so that they may argue with you about it before your Lord?"{32} Have you no understanding? 77) Know they not that Allaah Knows what they conceal and what they reveal? 78) And there are among them unlettered people, who know not the Book but they trust their false desires and do but guess.

The saying of the Exalted, "then, after that, your hearts were hardened and became as stones": There is no explanation here as to reason behind their hearts becoming hardened, but the reason is indicated in other places such as His sayings,
"So because of their breach of their covenant, We cursed them, and made their hearts grow hard." (5:13)
"Has not the time come for those who believe to be affected by Allaah’s Reminder, and that which has been revealed of the Truth, lest they become like those who received the Scripture before and the term was prolonged for them and so their hearts became hardened." (57:16)
[There hearts were not likened to iron, even though it is harder than rock because iron can be softened by fire as it was softened for Daawood (AS) while stones can never be softened. Then Allaah went on to declare the rocks to be superior to these hardened hearts by saying, ‘and indeed there are stones out of which rivers gush forth and indeed there are some of them that split asunder so that water flows from them.’]{33}
[The saying of the Exalted, "and indeed, there are some of them, that fall down for fear of Allaah": while your hearts, O you Jews, do not become soft and do not fear Allaah! So if it is said, ‘but the stones are inanimate objects that do not possess the faculty of understanding so how can they fear?’ It is said in reply, ‘Allaah makes them to understand and inspires them to fear Him.’
The madhhab of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaa`ah is that Allaah has created a type of knowledge in the inanimate objects, in fact in all of the creatures, which is not the same as our intelligence and cannot be comprehended by others. So they pray, glorify Allaah and fear Him as He, Magnificent is He, said,
"The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein glorify Him, and there is not a thing but glorifies His praise." (17:44)
"And the birds with wings outspread (in flight), each one knows its prayer and glorification." (24:41)
"See you not that to Allaah prostrates whosoever is in the heavens and the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, the animals, and many of mankind?" (22:18)
So it is obligatory upon the believer to have faith in this, and relegate the knowledge (of the nature of this) to Allaah, the Exalted.]{34}
The saying of the Exalted, "and there are among them unlettered people, who know not the Book but trust their false desires (Amaaniyya)": The scholars differed about the meaning of Amaaniy falling into two opinions:
That the meaning of amniyyah is reading. Meaning that they did not know anything of the Book except for the mere recitation of its words but without any understanding of its meanings. But this opinion bears no relation to His saying, "and there are among them unlettered people" because the unlettered one cannot read.
That the exception has been left incomplete, and the meaning is that they do not know the Book, but they put their hopes in false desires. This is opinion is proven by His sayings,
"And they say: ‘none shall enter Paradise unless he be a Jew or a Christian.’ These are their own vain desires (Amaaniyyuhum)" (2:111)
"It will not be in accordance with your (Muslims) desires (Amaaniyyukum) and neither the desires (Amaaniy) of the People of the Book. Whosoever works evil, will have the recompense thereof, and he will not find any protector or helper besides Allaah." (4:123)

79) So woe to those who write the Book with their own hands and then say, "this is from Allaah," to purchase with it a little price! Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn thereby. 80) And they (the Jews) say: "the Fire shall not touch us save for a few numbered days." Say: "have you taken a covenant from Allaah, so that Allaah will not break His Covenant? Or is it that you say of Allaah what you know not?" 81) Yes! Whosoever earns evil and his sin has surrounded him are the dwellers of the Fire, and they will abide therein forever. 82) And those who believe and do righteous deeds, they are dwellers of Paradise to abide therein forever. 83) And (remember) when We took a covenant from the Children of Israel, (saying): "Worship none but Allaah and be dutiful and good to parents, and to kindred, and to orphans and the poor who beg, and speak good to the people, and establish the prayers, and give the Zakat." Then you turned away, except a few of you, and you paid no heed. 84) And (remember) when We took your covenant (saying): "shed not the blood of your people, nor turn out your own people from their dwellings." Then (this) you ratified and (to this) you bear witness. 85) But inspite of this, it is you who kill one another and drive out a party of you from their homes, and assist (their enemies) against them in sin and transgression. And if they come to you as captives, you ransom them, although their expulsion was forbidden to you. Then do you believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in the rest? Then what is the recompense of those who do so amongst you except disgrace in the life of this world, and on the Day of Judgement they shall be consigned to the most grievous torment. And Allaah is not unaware of what you do. 86) Such are the ones who have bought the life of this world at the price of the Hereafter. Their torment shall not be lightened nor shall they be helped.

The saying of the Exalted, "but inspite of this, it is you who kill one another (lit: yourselves)": meaning you kill your brothers (in faith), and what clarifies that this is the intended meaning is the frequent occurrence of this phrase in the Qur`aan, such as His saying, "do not defame yourselves" (49:11) meaning: one of you is not to defame his brother. And like His saying, "why then, did not the believers, men and women, when you heard it (the slander) think good of themselves and say: ‘this is an obvious lie,’" (24:12) meaning: think good of their brothers. And like His saying, "and kill yourselves," (2:54) meaning: that the one free of worshipping the calf should kill the one guilty of this. And other such verses.
This meaning is further clarified with his (SAW) saying, "indeed the similitude of the believers with respect to their mutual mercy and love is as a single body. If one organ of it is afflicted then the whole body is afflicted with sleeplessness and fever."
The saying of the Exalted, "then do you believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in the rest?": it is clear from what has preceded this verse that the part that they believed in was their ransoming the captives, and the part they disbelieved in was their expelling their brothers in faith from their homes, killing them and helping their enemies against them even though they may disbelieve in other parts of the Book and believe in yet other parts.
87) And indeed We gave Moses the Book and followed him up with a succession of Messengers. And We gave Jesus, the son of Mary, clear signs and supported him with the Holy Spirit. Is it that whenever there came to you a Messenger with what you yourselves desired not, you grew arrogant? Some you disbelieved in and some you killed. 88) And they say: "our hearts are wrappings." Nay, Allaah cursed them for their disbelief, so little is it that they believe. 89) And when there came to them (the Jews) a Book from Allaah confirming what is with them, although aforetime they had invoked Allaah in order to gain victory over those who disbelieved, then when there came to them that which the recognised, they disbelieved in it. So let the curse of Allaah be on the disbelievers. 90) Evil is that for which they have sold themselves, that they should disbelieve in that which Allaah has revealed, grudging that Allaah should reveal of His Grace unto whom He Wills of His slaves. So they have drawn on themselves wrath upon wrath. And for the disbelievers, there is a humiliating torment. 91) And when it is said to them: "believe in what Allaah has sent down," they say, "we believe in what was sent down to us." And they disbelieve in that which came after it, while it is the truth confirming what is with them. Say: "why then have you killed the Prophets of Allaah aforetime, if indeed you have been believers?"

The saying of the Exalted, "and We gave Jesus, the son of Mary, clear signs": there is no explanation here as to what these signs were but this is explained in other places, such as in His saying,
"And will make him a Messenger to the Children of Israel (saying): ‘I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, that I design for you out of clay, as it were a figure of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by the leave of Allaah, and I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I bring the dead to life by the leave of Allaah. And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses. Surely, therein is a sign for you, if you believe.’" (3:49)
And other verses.
The saying of the Exalted, "and supported him with the Holy Spirit": meaning Gabriel according to the correct opinion, this is proven by His sayings,
"And truly this is a revelation from the Lord of the universe. Which the Trustworthy Spirit (i.e. Gabriel) has brought down." (26: 192-193)
"She (Mary) placed a screen (to screen herself) from them, then We sent Our Spirit (Gabriel) to her, and he appeared before her in the form of a man in all respects." (19:17)
(ins) The saying of the Exalted, "is it that whenever there came to you a Messenger with what you yourselves desired not, you grew arrogant? Some you disbelieved in and some you killed.": This verse shows that they killed some of the Prophets and likewise His saying,
"Say: Indeed there came before me Messengers, with clear signs and even with what you speak of, why then did you kill them if you are truthful?" (3:183)
But there are other verses that prove that the Messengers shall be victorious and aided by Allaah, such as His sayings,
"Allaah has decreed: Verily! It is I and My Messengers who shall be the victorious." (58:21)
"And indeed Our Word has gone forth of old for Our slaves – the Messengers that they verily would be made triumphant, and that Our hosts, they verily would be the victors." (37: 171-173)
"And those who disbelieved said to their Messengers: ‘Surely, we shall drive you out of our land, or you shall return to our religion.’ So their Lord inspired them: ‘Truly We shall destroy the wrong-doers. And indeed We shall make you dwell in the land after them.’" (14:13-14)
At the end of this verse Allaah has explained that this help shall also be realised in this world (and not just the hereafter) and He has clarified this further in another place,
"Verily, We shall certainly make Our Messengers victorious, and those who believe, in the life of this world and on the Day when the witnesses will stand forth." (40:51)
The clear answer to this (apparent inconsistency) is that the Messengers are of two types: the type that has been commanded to fight in the Path of Allaah and the type that has been commanded to be patient and persevere the harms of the people. So Allaah has promised those who have been commanded to fight with help and victory. As for those that have been commanded to persevere then they are the ones who were killed so that Allaah may raise their already exalted station due to their being oppressed. This understanding is clearly derived from these verses, because the promise of help and victory contains a clear indication towards the duty of Jihaad and war.
Also taking to the opinion that the help and victory for the Messengers lay in their being given clear evidences and proofs leaves no difficulty in understanding these verses. Allaah knows best.

FOOTNOTES

{29} From Sa’eed bin Zayd that the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) said, "the Kam’a (a type of edible fungus) is from the Manna and its water is a cure for eye trouble." [Saheeh Bukhaaree Eng. Trans 6/7 no.5]
{30} ‘Tafseer ibn Katheer’ (1/182)
{31} ‘Tafseer ibn Katheer’ (1/194)
{32} Meaning that when the Jews were alone they used to acknowledge the truth of what Muhammad (SAW) came with but forbade each other from making this known lest the Arabs gain an upper hand over them.
{33}‘Mu’aalim at-Tanzeel’ (1/110) of Imaam al-Baghawee
{34} Ibid. (1/111)

Surah al-Baqarah. (31-54)

Surah al-Baqarah. (31-54)

31. And He taught Adam the names of all (things), then he showed then to the Angels and said: "tell Me the names of these if you are truthful." 32) They said: "Glory be to You, we have no knowledge except what you have taught us. Verily, it is You Who is All-Knowing, All-Wise." 33) He said: "O Adam! Inform them of their names," and when he had informed them of their names, He said: "did I not tell you that I Know the Unseen in the heavens and the earth, and I know what you reveal and what you have been concealing?" 34) And (remember) when We said to the Angels: "prostrate yourselves before Adam." And they prostrated except Iblees, he refused and was arrogant and one of the disbelievers.

The saying of the Exalted, "then He showed them to the Angels": meaning the objects that were named, not the actual names as the literal meaning of the verse may suggest. And He indicated that they were the objects and not the names in His saying, "tell Me the names of these" as is obvious.
The saying of the Exalted, "and what you have been concealing": There is no explanation here as to what they used to conceal. Some of the scholars said: it refers to what Iblees was hiding of arrogance, and this opinion is clarified by His saying, "except Iblees he refused and was arrogant."
The saying of the Exalted, "And (remember) when We said to the Angels: ‘prostrate yourselves to Adam’": There is no explanation here as to whether He said this to them before He Created Adam or after. But He made it clear in Surah Hijr and Saad that He said this to them before the creation of Adam. So He said in Surah al-Hijr,
"And (remember) when your Lord said to the Angels: ‘I am going to create a man (Adam) from sounding clay of altered black smooth mud. So, when I have fashioned him completely and breathed into him My Spirit, then fall (you) down prostrating yourselves unto him.’" (15:28-29)
And He said in Surah Saad,
"(Remember) when your Lord said to the Angels: ‘Indeed, I am going to create man from clay. So when I have fashioned him and breathed into him My Spirit, then fall you down prostrate to him." (38:71-72)
[Ibn al-Arabee al-Maalikee says in his "the nation is agreed that this prostration to Adam was not a prostration of worship, rather it is understood in one of two ways: that salaam was to be given to the foreigner (i.e. Adam) by …, bowing to him and exalting him, or that he was made the Qiblah (of that time) as is the case with (our) prostrating towards the Ka’bah and the Bait al-Maqdis. This case is more clear due to His saying in another verse, "then fall you down prostrate to Him," so this (command) was not by way of exaltation, rather this arose by way of enjoining worship (by obeying Allaah) and taking Adam as the Qiblah. And Allaah has abrogated all of this for this nation." {1}
Ibn Katheer says, "so this (prostration) was done in obedience to Allaah but the prostration was to Adam. This so that Allaah honoured Adam by having the Angels prostrate to him. Some of the people said: this prostration was as a greeting, salaam, and in honour of Adam as Allaah said, "and He raised his parents to the throne and they fell before him prostrate. He said, ‘O my father! This is the explanation of my dream of old! My Lord has made it come true." [12:100] This sort of prostration was legislated for the religions that came before us but it has been abrogated in our Religion. Mu’aadh said, "I went to Shaam and I saw them prostrating to their leaders and scholars, but you O Messenger of Allaah are more deserving of being prostrated to." So he said, "if I were to command a person to prostrate to another, then I would have commanded the woman to prostrate to her husband due to the great right he has over her." {2} And this was what ar-Raazee came to declare the strongest opinion."
Al-Baghawee says, "this prostration was not one whereby the face was placed on the earth, rather it was merely bowing, and when Islaam came then this (action of bowing to other than Allaah) was invalidated." {3}]
The saying of the Exalted, "except Iblees, he refused and was arrogant": there is no explanation here as to what thoughts of Iblees led to this arrogance. But this is explained in other places, such as His sayings,
"He (Iblees) said: ‘I am better than he, You created me from fire, and him from clay." (38:76)
"(Iblees) said: ‘I am not the one to prostrate myself to a human being, whom you created from sounding clay of altered black smooth mud." (15:33)
Addendum: the likes of the analogy of Iblees to his racial origin, which is fire, and his analogy of Adam to his racial origin, which is clay, and his deriving from this that he is better than Adam and that it was not desired for him to prostrate to one who was lesser than he, despite the existence of a clear and unequivocal text, which is His saying, "prostrate to Adam", is called ‘corrupt consideration’ (Faasid al-I’tibaar) according to the convention of the scholars of Usul. And it was to this that the author of ‘Maraaqee as-Sa’ud’ indicated in his saying,
Opposing the text, or a consensus that is claimed
Is corrupt consideration from everyone who is aware
So anyone who rejects a clear and unequivocal text of revelation due to analogy then his precedent for this lies with Iblees.
This analogy of Iblees, may Allaah curse him, is invalid due to three reasons:
That is it ‘corrupt consideration’ due to it’s opposing the clear text as has just preceded
That we do not accept that fire is better than clay, rather clay is better than fire. This because the substance of fire is inconsistency, thoughtlessness, corruption and dis-unification. Whereas the substance of clay is composure and correction, seeds are sown in it …..
So if you want to understand the ability of clay then look to the resplendent garden, and what it contains of delicious fruits, and beautiful flowers, and goodly smells, you will then come to know that clay is indeed better than fire.
That even if we were to accept, for the sake of argument, that fire is better than clay. Then this does not necessitate that Iblees is better than Adam, for the nobility of the foundation does not necessitate the nobility of the off-shoot, rather it is possible that the foundation be elevated and the off-shoot be disgraced, as the poet said,
If you were to boast about fathers who possess nobility
We would say: you have spoken truthfully, but how evil are their offspring!
35) And We said: "O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in Paradise and eat both of you freely with pleasure and delight of things therein as wherever you will, but come not near this tree or you both will be of the wrongdoers. 36) Then the Satan made them slip therefrom, and got them out from that which they were in. We said: "Get you down, all of you, with enmity between yourselves. On the earth will be a dwelling place for you and an enjoyment for a time. 37) Then Adam received Words from His Lord. And His Lord pardoned him. Verily, He is the One Who forgives, the Most Merciful. 38) We said: "Get down all of you from this place, then whenever there comes to you Guidance from Me, and whosoever follows My Guidance, there shall be no fear on them, nor shall they grieve. 39) But as for those who disbelieve and belie Our Signs, then such are the dwellers of the Fire, they shall abide therein forever.

The saying of the Exalted, "then Adam received Words from his Lord": There is no explanation here as to what these words, but this is explained in Surah al-A’raaf with His saying, "They said: Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers." (7:23)

40) O Children of Israel! Remember My Favour which I bestowed upon you, and fulfil (your obligations) to My Covenant so that I fulfil (My Obligations) to your covenant, and fear none but Me. 41) And believe in what I have sent down (the Qur’aan), confirming that which is with you, and be not the first to disbelieve therein, and do not sell My verses for a small gain and fear Me and Me Alone. 42) And do not mix truth with falsehood, nor conceal the truth while you know (it). 43) And establish the prayers and give the Zakat and bow down with those who bow. 44) Do you enjoin righteousness upon the people and yet you forget to practice it yourselves, while you recite the Scripture! Have you no sense? 45) And seek help in patience and prayer, truly this is hard except for those that fear Allaah. 46) Those who are certain that they are going to meet their Lord, and that unto Him they are going to return.

The saying of the Exalted, "O Children of Isreal! Remember My Favour which I bestowed upon you": There is no explanation here as to what favours He bestowed upon them, but this is explained in other verses, like His sayings,
"And We caused the clouds to over-shadow you and sent down to you al-Manna{4} and quails." (2:57)
"And (remember) when We delivered you from Pharaoh’s people, who were afflicting you with a horrible torment." (2:50)
"Indeed Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and made it’s people into sects, weakening a group (the Children of Israel) of them: killing their sons and letting their women-folk live. Indeed he was of the oppressors. And We Wished to favour those who were weak in the land, and make them the rulers and inheritors. And to establish them in the land, and We let Pharaoh, Haman and their hosts receive from them that which they feared." (28:4-6)
And other verses.
The saying of the Exalted, "and fulfil (your obligations) to My Covenant so that I fulfil (My Obligations) to your covenant": There is no explanation here as to what His Covenant is and what their covenant is, but this is explained in a number of other places such as in His saying,
"Indeed Allaah took the covenant from the Children of Israel, and We appointed twelve leaders amongst them. And Allaah said: ‘I am with you if you establish the prayers and give the Zakat and believe in My Messengers; honour and assist them, and lend to Allaah a goodly loan. Verily I will remit your sins and admit you to Gardens under which rivers flow. But if any of you after this, disbelieved, he has indeed strayed from the Straight Path." (5:12)
So their covenant is mentioned in the words, "if you establish the prayers and give the Zakat and believe in My Messengers; honour and assist them, and lend to Allaah a goodly loan." And His Covenant is mentioned in the words, "I will remit your sins and admit you to Gardens."
And He indicated their covenant also in His saying, "and (remember) when Allaah took a covenant from those who were given the Scripture to make it (the glad tidings of Muhammad (SAW) and knowledge) known and clear to mankind." (3:187) And other such verses.
The saying of the Exalted, "and do not mix the truth with falsehood": The truth, which they covered with falsehood, was their faith in some of what the Torah contained. The falsehood by which they covered truth was their disbelief and rejection of some of what the Torah contained – such as the descriptions of the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) and other things. This is explained in His saying, "so do you believe in some of the book and disbelieve in the rest?" (2:85) And consideration is given to the generality of the wording, not to the specific occurrence that resulted in the revelation of the verse as has preceded. {5}
The saying of the Exalted, "seek help with patience and prayer": As for having patience upon the matters of this world and the Hereafter then there is no obscurity in this, but as for the result of having patience in prayer then this is pointed out by Allaah in a number of verses of His Book. So He mentioned that from amongst the results of this is that the one who prays is prevented from actions that are not befitting, this in His saying, "indeed prayer prevents from immoral and evil deeds" (29:45). And that from the results of this is that it brings about increase in provisions, this in His saying, "and enjoin prayer on your family, and be patient in offering them. We ask not of you any provision, rather We give it to you. And the goodly end is for those that fear Allaah." (20:132) This is why when a matter concerned the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) he would resort to prayer. {6}
This is further clarified when we understand that when the servant stands before his Lord, discoursing with Him, reciting His Book, then all of the matters of this world become insignificant to him in the face of his desire for what is with Allaah, and his dislike of not attaining it. So, as a result, he distances himself from all that Allaah is not Pleased with, and hence Allaah provides for him and guides him.
The saying of the Exalted, "those who are certain (yadhunnoon) that they are going to meet their Lord": The meaning of dhann{7} here is certainty as is proven by His words,
"And they have certainty in the Hereafter" (2:4)
"And those that give (in charity) what they give, with their hearts full of fear, because they are certain that they shall return to their Lord." (23:60)

47) O Children of Israel! Remember My Favour which I bestowed upon you, and that I preferred you to the whole of the universe. 48) And fear a Day when a person shall not avail another, nor will intercession be accepted from him, nor will compensation be taken from him, nor will they be helped. 49) And (remember) when We delivered you from Pharaoh’s people, who were afflicting you with a horrible punishment: killing your sons and sparing your women-folk, and therein was a mighty trial from your Lord. 50) And (remember) when We separated the sea for you and saved you, and drowned Pharaoh’s people while you were looking on. 51) And (remember) when We appointed for Moses forty nights, and (in his absence) you took the calf (for worship), and you were wrongdoers. 52) Then after that We forgave you so that you might be grateful. 53) And (remember) when We gave Moses the Scripture and the Criterion so that you may be guided aright. 54) And (remember) when Moses said to his people: ‘O my people! Indeed you have wronged yourselves by taking the calf (for worship). So turn in repentance to your Creator and kill yourselves (those that worshipped the calf), that will be better for you in the Sight of your Creator.’ Then (after this) He accepted your repentance. Truly, He is the One Who accepts repentance, the Most Merciful.

(ins) The saying of the Exalted, "and I preferred you to the whole of the universe.": This does not contradict His saying, concerning the precedence and superiority of this Muslim nation, "you are the best nation raised up for mankind." (3:110) Because the ‘universe’ in the verse refers to the nations at their time specifically. This is proven by a number of verses and clear ahaadeeth. For example the hadeeth reported in the Musnads and the Sunans from the hadeeth of Mu’aawiyah bin Hayda al-Qushayree who said that the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) said,
"You are the fulfilment of seventy nations, and you are the best and most noble of them in the Sight of Allaah."
Do you not see that Allaah made the highest rank of their nation as the Muqtasid (those that perform what is required of them) as in His Saying,
"There are from them people who are Muqtasid, but many of them do evil deeds." (5:66)
But He made, for this nation, a rank higher than the Muqtasid, and that is as-Saabiq bil Khayraat (those that excel in performing good deeds) as in His saying,
"And of them (Muslims) are some who are Muqtasid, and some who are Saabiq bil Khayraat." (35:32)
The saying of the Exalted, "nor will intercession be accepted from him": {8} The literal meaning of this verse indicates that there is no intercession on the Day of Judgement at all, but in other places it is explained that the intercession that is denied, is intercession for the disbelievers and intercession for other than the disbelievers without the Permission of Allaah.
As for the intercession of the believers with the Permission of Allaah, then the Book, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Muslims establish this.
So He textually stated that the disbelievers will not be interceded for in His saying, "they cannot intercede except for him with whom He is Pleased with." (21:28) And Allaah has said, "He is not Pleased with disbelief for His servants." (39:7)
Allaah said about them, further endorsing this fact,
"…‘and we used to belie the Day of Recompense until there came to us (the death) which is certain.’ So no intercession of the intercessors will be of any use to them." (74:46-48)
And other such verses.
And He said concerning the intercession without His Permission,
"Who is there that can intercede with Him except with His Permission." (2:255)
"And how many are the Angels in the heavens, whose intercession will avail nothing except after Allaah has given Permission for whosoever He Wills and Pleases." (53:26)
"On that Day no intercession will avail, except the one for whom the Most Beneficent has given Permission and whose word is acceptable to Him." (20:109)
And other such verses.
Therefore the claim that there are intercessors with Allaah for the disbelievers, or those that Allaah has not given Permission for, is from the various forms of disbelief in Him, Jalla wa Alaa. As He Himself has clarified in His saying,
"They say: ‘these are our intercessors with Allaah.’ Say: ‘do you inform Allaah of that which He Knows not in the heavens and on earth?’ Glorified and Exalted be He above all that which they associate as partners with Him!" (10:18)
Addendum: what we have established thusfar that intercession for the disbelievers is impossible according to the Sharee’ah unrestrictedly, has an exception in the intercession of the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) for his uncle Abu Taalib so that he will be moved from one place in the fire to another. This is established from him (SAW) in the Saheeh. {9}
The saying of the Exalted, "who were afflicting you with a great punishment": This punishment is explained in the words following this, "killing your sons and sparing your women-folk."
(ins) The literal sense of this verse shows that the sparing of the women-folk was part of the punishment afflicted upon them by Pharaoh, but there are other verses that show that female offspring are a gift from amongst the gifts of Allaah that He bestows on whomsoever He Wills, such as His saying,
"He bestows female offspring on whom He Wills, and bestows male offspring on whom He Wills." (42:49)
So the sparing of some of the offspring is surely better than the killing of all of them? The answer to this is that even though the woman be one of the gifts of Allaah which He gives to whomsoever He Wills, their remaining alive as slaves to the enemy such that they could do whatever indecent act they wished with them - the women being forced into this situation was a portion of the punishment and their being killed would have been a relief from this punishment.
The saying of the Exalted, "and (remember) when We separated the sea for you and saved you": There is no explanation here as to how the sea was separated, but this is explained in other places such as His sayings,
"Then We inspired Moses (saying): ‘Strike the sea with your stick.’ And it parted and each separate part became like the huge, firm mass of a mountain." (26:63)
"And indeed We inspired Moses (saying): ‘Travel by night with My servants and strike a path for them in the sea, fearing neither to be overtaken (by Pharaoh) nor being afraid (of drowning)’" (20:77)
The saying of the Exalted, "and We drowned the people of Pharaoh": There is no explanation here as to how they were drowned, but this is explained in other places such as His sayings,
"So they (the people of Pharaoh) pursed them at sunrise. And when the two hosts saw each other, the people of Moses said: ‘We are sure to be overtaken.’ (Moses) said: ‘Nay, indeed! With me is my Lord, He will guide me.’ Then We inspired Moses (saying): ‘Strike the sea with your stick.’ And it parted, and each part became like the huge, firm mass of a mountain. Then We brought the others near to that place. And We saved Moses and all those with him. Then we drowned the others. Verily! In this is indeed a great sign, yet most of them are not believers." (26:60-67)
"The Pharaoh pursued them with his hosts, but the sea-water completely overwhelmed them and covered them up." (20:78)
"And leave the sea as it is (rahwan - quiet and divided). Indeed, they are a host to be drowned" (44:24)
His saying, "rahwan" means still and silent in the state of it’s being separated, until the hosts of Pharaoh enter it. And other such verses.
The saying of the Exalted, "and (remember) when We appointed for Moses forty nights": there is no explanation here as to whether they were appointed to him all in one go or separately. But it is explained in Surah al-A’raaf that they were appointed separately and that he was initially appointed thirty nights and then he completed the forty by adding ten more. This in His saying,
"And We appointed for Moses thirty nights and added (to the period) ten (more), and he completed the term appointed by His Lord of forty nights." (7:142)
The saying of the Exalted, "and (remember) when We gave Moses the Scripture and the Criterion so that you may be guided aright.": the literal meaning of this verse is that the Criterion is the Scripture that was given Moses, and that it is linked to itself (in order to clarify further what the Scripture is)…. This is because the Scripture, which is the Torah, is described in two ways:
That it is written, Written by Allaah for His Prophet, Moses, upon him and our Prophet be peace and blessings.
That it is a Criterion by which the truth is made clear from falsehood.
So ‘the Criterion’ was added, following ‘the Scripture’, despite the fact that it refers to the same thing, as a result of looking to these two attributes. In the language the Arabs add something to itself which differs in wording only (and not in meaning), and they suffice with the difference of wording.
And the evidence from the Qur’aan that the Criterion is (the Scripture) that was given to Moses lies in His sayings, "And We gave Moses and Aaron the Criterion." (21:48)
The saying of the Exalted, "indeed you have wronged yourselves by taking the calf (for worship)": there is no explanation here as to what this calf that was worshipped was made of, but this is explained in other places such as His sayings,
"The people of Moses made in his absence, out of their ornaments, the image of a calf (for worship). It had a sound (as if it was mooing)." (7:148)
"They said: ‘we broke not the promise to you of our own will, but we were made to carry the ornaments of the people, then we cast them (into the fire), this was what as-Saamiree suggested.’ Then he took out (of the fire) for them a statue of a calf that seemed lowly. They said: this is your god and the god of Moses but he has forgotten." (20:87-88)
There is no mention in the whole of the Qur’aan of the second object (to the sentence ‘indeed you have wronged yourselves by taking the calf’), but it is understood to be ‘as a god,’ as has been indicated in Surah Taa Haa with His saying,
"Then he (as-Saamiree) took (out of the fire) for them a statue of a calf which seemed lowly. They said: ‘this is your god and the god of Moses but he has forgotten.’" (20:88)
FOOTNOTES:
{1}‘Ahkaam al-Qur’aan’ (1/16)
{2} Shaykh Muqbil bin Haadee said about the above quoted hadeeth: "Reported by Ahmad (1/508) and it is weak….but the basis of the hadeeth is reported by at-Tirmidhee from the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah and al-Haakim from Buraydah, and Ahmad, ibn Maajah and ibn Hibbaan from Abdullaah bin Ubayy. So the hadeeth, when considering all of its routes of narration ends up as being established." [Tafseer ibn Katheer 1/143 with the notes of Shaykh Muqbil]
{3}‘Mu’aalim at-Tanzeel’ (1/81)
{4} Ibn Katheer says, "the interpreters differed about the definition of al-Manna. Some said that it is dew that resembled thickened juice of fruit or pulp. Others said that it fell on them like snow, whiter than milk and sweeter than honey." [Tafseer ibn Katheer Eng. Trans. pg. 111]
{5}
{6} As is reported in Abu Dawood and Ahmad with a weak chain of narration as declared so by al-Albaanee in his notes to ‘al-Mishkaat’ (1/1326 no.1325) and Muqbil bin Haadee in his notes to ibn Katheer (1/160 fn. 1).
{7} Dhann is normally taken to mean doubt, but it is possible that it also mean certainty in certain contexts.
{8} As for the statement, "and nor will compensation be accepted from him" then ibn Katheer says in his commentary to this verse, "meaning ‘ransom’ as the Exalted said, ‘indeed those who disbelieve and die in disbelief, no ransom even if it was the earth full of gold would be accepted from them.’" (3:91)
{9} Saheeh Bukhaaree [Eng. Trans. 5/140 no. 222]. The wording is, "al-Abbaas bin Abdul Muttalib (RA) said to the Prophet (SAW), ‘you have not been of any avail to your uncle (Abu Taalib). By Allaah, he used to protect you and used to become angry on your behalf.’ The Prophet (SAW) said, ‘He is in a shallow fire, and had it not been for me, he would have been in the bottom of the Fire.’"

Surah al-Baqarah. (30)

Surah al-Baqarah. (30)

30. And remember when your Lord said to the angels: ‘verily, I am going to place a successor on the earth.’ They said: ‘will you place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood, - while we glorify You with praises and thanks and sanctify You?’ He said: ‘I know that which you do not know’"

His saying, ‘successor (Khaleefah)’: The scholars have explained this in two ways,
That the khaleefah refers to our father Adam, upon him and our Prophet be peace and blessings, because he was the khaleefah of Allaah on His earth appointed to implement His laws. And it is said: that Adam was the khaleefah because he succeeded the Jinn that used to live on the earth before him, so upon this understanding (the grammatical construction of khaleefah built upon the form of) fa’eela is taken with the meaning of faa’il (the subject). It is also said: that Adam was the khaleefah because when he died, he would be succeeded by those that came after him, so upon this understanding (the grammatical construction built upon the form of) fa’eela is taken with the meaning of maf’ool (the object). And Adam being referred to as the khaleefah is the clear understanding derived from the context of this verse.
That His saying, ‘khaleefah’ is singular but intending the plural i.e. successors{1} - this being the preferred opinion of ibn Katheer. The singular, if it is a generic noun, is commonly employed in the language of the Arabs to refer to the plural such as in His saying, "indeed the pious are in Gardens and river (nahr)" (54:54) meaning rivers (Anhaar) with the evidence of His saying, "in it are rivers of water, the taste and smell of which are not changed" (47:15), and in His saying, "and make us leaders (imaamah) for the pious" (25:74), and in His saying, "but if they, of their own good pleasure, remit (tibna) any part of it." (4:4)
So, if this noble verse is open to these two interpretations that have just been mentioned, then know that other verses lend weight to the second explanation, i.e. that the meaning of successor (khaleefah) is the successors to Adam and his sons, not just Adam himself. For example His saying,
"Will you place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood?" (2:30)
And it is known that Adam, upon him and our Prophet be peace and blessings, is not from those that made mischief therein and shed blood. And His sayings,
"It is He Who has made you successors, generation after generation, in the earth" (35:39)
"And He made you generations coming after generations, succeeding each other in the earth" (6:165)
And other similar verses.
It is possible to reply to the evidences of this opinion by saying that the khaleefah refers to Adam, and that Allaah taught the Angels that there would be from his progeny those that would make mischief and shed blood, and therefore the Angels said what they said. And that the meaning of the khilaafah of Adam was the khilaafah as understood in the Sharee’ah (i.e. the Leader of the Islamic State), but the khilaafah of his progeny was something more general than this i.e. that generations would succeed other generations{2}.
Addendum: al-Qurtobee said in his commentary to this noble verse,
‘This verse comprises the foundational proof for appointing an Imaam and Khaleefah who is to be heard and obeyed, so that through him the voices become united and the laws are implemented. There is no difference amongst the Muslim nation with respect to the obligation of this, and neither amongst the Imaams, except for what is reported from al-Asam due his being ignorant of the Sharee’ah,’
Going on to say,
‘And our evidence for this lies in the saying of Allaah, "verily, I am going to place a khaleefah on the earth" and His saying, "O Daawood, indeed We have made you a khaleefah in the earth" and He said, "Allaah has promised those who believe from amongst you and do righteous deeds, that He shall certainly grant them succession in the earth" meaning he will make some of them to be khaleefahs, and other such verses.
And the Companions agreed to giving precedence to (Abu Bakr) as-Siddeeq after the difference that occurred between the Muhaajiroon and the Ansaar in the shelter of Banee Saa’ida over who should be appointed as the Khaleefah - to the point that the Ansaar said, ‘appoint a leader from us and a leader from you’ but this was opposed and restrained by Abu Bakr, Umar and the Muhaajiroon who said, ‘the Arabs will only follow this tribe of the Qur’aysh’ and they reported the narration concerning this so the Ansaar retracted what they said and gave their obedience to the Qur’aysh. So if the designation of a leader was not obligatory, neither from amongst the Qur’aysh or from other than them, then why did this debate and dialogue take place? And if one were to say: "appointing a leader, from the Qur’aysh or other than them, is not obligatory" then there would be no reason for this debate, and neither would there be any benefit in such a debate over an issue that was not obligatory.
Then when death came to as-Siddeeq, he appointed Umar to be the leader and not one person said to him, "this is not obligatory upon you or us". So this indicates that it is obligatory, and a pillar from amongst the pillars of the Religion by which the Muslims are kept safeguarded.’ End of the words of al-Qurtobee.
He (ash-Shanqeetee) said, may Allaah forgive him: from the matters that are clearly known in the religion by necessity is that it is obligatory upon the Muslims to appoint an Imaam through whom the words would be united and the laws of Allaah be implemented in His earth, no one has differed over this except for those who are not depended upon like Abu Bakr al-Asam the Mu’tazili whose mention has preceded in the words of al-Qurtobee, and like ad-Diraar and Hishaam al-Qutee and their likes.
The majority of the scholars are of the opinion that the obligation of the Great Imaam has come to be known via the route of the Sharee’ah, as is indicated by the verses that have preceded and the consensus of the Companions, may Allaah be pleased with them, and because Allaah has curbed by means of the Imaam what he has not curbed by means of the Qur’aan as the Exalted said,
"Indeed We have sent Our Messengers with clear proofs, and revealed with them the Scripture and the Balance that mankind uphold justice. And We have brought forth iron wherein is mighty power (in matters of war), as well as many benefits for mankind." (57:25)
Because His saying, "and We have brought forth iron wherein is mighty power" contains an indication towards employing the sword at the time of dissidence after the proof has been established upon the dissidents.
The Imaamiyyah said: the appointing of an Imaam is known to be obligatory through the intellect not the Sharee’ah. And it is reported from al-Hasan al-Basree and al-Haafidh al-Balkhee that: the appointing of an Imaam is known to be obligatory by way of both the Sharee’ah and the intellect.
Know that what the Imaamiyyah ignorantly speak of with respect to their lies against Abu Bakr and Umar and their likes from the Sahaabah, and what they ignorantly speak of with respect to the ‘12 Imaams’ and the ‘The Awaited Sinless Imaam’, and other such cases of their lies and distortions, are all false having no basis.
And if you wish to find out the truth of this then I enjoin you to the book, ‘Minhaaj al-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah fee Naqd Kalaam ash-Shee’ah wa al-Qadariyyah’ by the Unique Scholar Shaykh Taqee ad-Deen Abu al-Abbaas ibn Taymiyyah, may Allaah cover him with His Mercy, for he has brought forward in it that which requires no increase from the decisive evidences, and radiant proofs falsifying all of these concocted distortions.
So when you come to realise the obligations of appointing the Great Imaam over the Muslims then know that the Imaam is to be designated by one of a number of ways:
1) Anyone who the Messenger (SAW) has textually stated to be an Imaam, so he is given the duty due to this.
Some of the scholars said: the appointment of Abu Bakr as Imaam is from this category because in the Prophet (SAW) giving him precedence over being the imaam of the congregational prayer, and this is the most important of matters, lies an indication in his having precedence in being the Great Imaam - and this is obvious.
The agreement of the people holding influence and authority in granting him the pledge of allegiance.
Some of the scholars said: the appointment of Abu Bakr as Imaam falls under this category due to the agreement of the people of influence and authority from amongst the Muhaajiroon and the Ansaar in giving him the pledge of allegiance after differing over this. And no consideration is given to the lack of acceptance on the part of some of them as happened with Sa’d bin Ubaadah, may Allaah be pleased with him, in his not giving his pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr.
That he be appointed by the Khaleefah who came before him, as occurred in the case of Abu Bakr and Umar, may Allaah be pleased with them.
From this category is Umar’s establishing a consultative committee to decide between six Companions of the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) with whom he was pleased with when he died.
That he conquer the people by his sword and forcefully attain the Khilaafah to the extent that the affairs become stabilised under his rule. So the people should then follow him due to the harm that lies in revolting against him such as the breaking up of the Muslim community and the shedding of the Muslim’s blood.
Some of the scholars said: in this category falls the stance of Abdul Malik bin Marwaan against Abdullaah ibn Zubair and his fighting him at the hands of Hajjaaj bin Yusuf in Makkah, and so the affairs became stabilised under him. This was stated by ibn Qudaamah in his ‘Mughnee.’
Some of the scholars said that he can be appointed as an Imaam by the pledge of allegiance of only one person, and they made the pledge of allegiance of Umar to Abu Bakr in the enclosure of Banee Saqeefah of this category. Al-Qurtobee leaned towards this opinion and Imaam al-Haramayn (al-Juwaynee) relates a consensus over this.
It is also said: he has to be appointed as an Imaam by the pledge of allegiance of four people, and opinions other than this have also been stated.
This is a summary of the words of the scholars concerning those who can be given the authority of being the Imaam, and the words of Shaykh Taqee ad-Deen Abu al-Abbaas ibn Taymiyyah, may Allaah have Mercy on him, in ‘al-Minhaaj,’ dictate that an Imaam is to be designated by the pledge of allegiance of those that would strengthen his valor and power and would enable him to implement the laws of Islaam, because the one who is not able to do this, such as any ordinary Muslim, then he is not to be the Imaam.
Know that the Great Imaam has to fulfill a number of conditions:
That he be from the tribe of Quraysh. The Quraysh are the offspring of Fahr bin Maalik, and it is said: the offspring of Nadr bin Kanaanah but the Fahree is from the tribe of Quraysh without any contention and their is a difference of opinion concerning those that are from the offspring of Maalik bin an-Nadr or (his father) Nadr bin al-Kanaanah - are they to be considered from the Quraysh or not? As for those who are the offspring of Kanaanah through other than Nadr then they are not considered to be from the Quraysh without any contention.
Al-Qurtobee said, during the course of his commentary to this verse, while mentioning the conditions of the Imaam,
‘First: that he be from the Quraysh proper due to his (SAW) saying, "the Imaams are from the Quraysh" and there is a difference of opinion over this.’
He (ash-Shanqeetee) said, may Allaah forgive him: the difference of opinion that al-Qurtobee mentioned over the condition of the Imaam being from the Quraysh is weak for the authentic ahaadeeth prove that the Quraysh are given precedence in being the Imaams over other than them, and the majority of the Muslims are agreed to this.
More than one (scholar) has related a consensus on this but the claim of consensus is need of an explanation to what Imaam Ahmad reports from Umar via a chain of narration consisting of trustworthy and precise narrators, "if my time comes and Abu Ubaidah is alive, I would pass the Khilaafah to him" and he mentioned the hadeeth and in it occurs, "and if my time comes and Abu Ubaidah has died, then I would pass the Khilaafah to Mu’aadh bin Jabal." And it is known that Mu’aadh is not from the Quraysh.
It’s explanation lies in the claim that the consensus over this occurred after the passing away of Umar, or that his opinion later changed to agree with the majority. So the condition that he should be from the Quraysh is the truth - but the texts of the Sharee’ah prove that this precedence given them in being appointed as Imaams is conditional upon their establishing the Religion and their obeying Allaah and His Messenger. So if they oppose the Order of Allaah, then those other than them who do obey Allaah and implement His Laws have greater precedence in being appointed as Imaams.
From amongst the proofs for this lies in what al-Bukhaaree reports in his ‘Saheeh’ from Mu’aawiyah, may Allaah be pleased with him, when he said,
‘Chapter: The Leaders are from the Quraysh
Abu al-Yamaan reported to us that Shu’ayb related to him from az-Zuhree who said, ‘Muhammad bin Jubair al-Mut’am used to tell us that it reached Mu’aawiya, while he was staying with him amongst a delegation of the Quraysh, that Abdullaah bin Amr had said that there would be leader from Qahtaan. So Mu’aawiyah became angry and stood up, praised Allaah as He deserved and said, "to proceed, I have come to know that there are people amongst you narrating things that are not in the Book of Allaah and neither are reported from the Messenger of Allaah (SAW). Such people are the your ignorant ones, beware of vain desires that would misguide those that possess them. I have heard the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) saying, ‘the affair shall remain with the Quraysh, and none will rebel against them except that Allaah will throw them down on their faces, as long as they establish the religion.’"’ End of what is in Saheeh al-Bukhaaree. {3}
And the place of evidence lies in his saying, "as long as they establish the religion" meaning that if they do not establish the religion then they are not to be from the Imaams. This is what is correct, having no doubt in it concerning the meaning of this hadeeth. Ibn Hajr said in ‘Fath al-Baaree’ during the course of his discussion over this hadeeth of Mu’aawiyah,
"the hadeeth of Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq contains something similar to what occurs in the hadeeth of Mu’aawiyah, this was mentioned by Muhammad bin Ishaaq in ‘al-Kitaab al-Kabeer’ and he mentioned the story pertaining to the enclosure of Banee Saqeefah and the pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr in it and that Abu Bakr said, "indeed this matter is to remain amongst the Quraysh as long as they obey Allaah and remain firm upon His Command.
The ahaadeeth that occur pertaining to this are of three types:
1) Those threatening them with a curse if they do not preserve and upkeep what they have been commanded, as occurs in the ahaadeeth that have been mentioned in the previous chapter where he (SAW) said, "the leaders are from the Quraysh as longs as they do three things: when they rule they are just...," and in it occurs, "and whosoever does not do this then the Curse of Allaah is upon him." But this does not contain anything that would necessitate revolting against them.
2) Those threatening that Allaah will be severe against those that go to extremes in harming (the Muslims), so in Ahmad and Abu Ya’laa is the hadeeth reported by ibn Mas’ud from the Prophet (SAW) that he said, "indeed you are the rightful claimants to this matter (of leadership) as long as you do innovate, but when you change Allaah will send against you those who will sever you just as this tree stump has been severed."
It’s narrators are trustworthy and precise except that it is from the narration of Ubaidullaah bin Abdullaah bin Utbah bin Mas’ud from the uncle of his father Abdullaah bin Mas’ud but he did not meet him. This is the narration of Saalih bin Qaisaan from Ubaidullaah, but he was contradicted by Habeeb ibn Abee Thaabit who reported it from al-Qaasim bin Muhammad bin Abdurrahmaan from Ubaidullaah bin Abdullaah ibn Utbah from Abu Mas’ud al-Ansaaree and it’s wording is, "this matter (of leadership) will always remain amongst you, and you are it’s rightful claimants."
There is a question over the hearing of Ubaidullaah from Abu Mas’ud built upon the difference concerning what year he died in but there is a support for this hadeeth in the mursal of Ataa bin Yasaar reported by ash-Shaafi’ee and al-Bayhaqee with an authentic chain up to Ataa with the wording that he (SAW) said to the Quraysh, "you have precedence in this matter as long as you remain upon the truth and do not divert from it and thereby get stripped (of authority) as this branch has been stripped of leaves."
There is no categorical statement in this hadeeth to revolt against the rulers even though it may contain an indication towards this.
3) Those containing permission to take a stance against them, kill them and revolt against them as is reported by at-Tayaalisee and at-Tabaraanee from the hadeeth of Thawbaan from the Messenger (SAW), "stand firm for the Quraysh as long as they stand firm for you, and if they do not stand firm then place your swords upon your backs and destroy their green pastures. If you cannot do this then be unhappy farmers." [da'eef as in ad-Da'eefah no. 1643]
It’s narrators are trustworthy and precise but the hadeeth contains a missing link because it’s reporter Saalim bin Abee al-Ja’d did not hear from Thawbaan but the hadeeth has a support in the hadeeth reported by at-Tabaraanee from the hadeeth of Nu’maan bin Basheer with the same meaning.
Imaam Ahmad reports from the hadeeth of Dhee Mikhbar, the son of the brother of an-