Allah mentioned the Tawrah that He sent down to His Prophet Musa, the one whom He
spoke directly to, praising it, commanding that it should be implemented, before
it was abrogated. Allah then mentioned the Injil, praised it and commanded its people
to adhere to it and follow it, as we stated. He next mentioned the Glorious Qur'an
that He sent down to His honorable servant and Messenger. Allah said,
﴿وَأَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَـبَ
بِالْحَقِّ﴾
(And We have sent down to you the Book in truth...) meaning, with the truth that,
no doubt, is coming from Allah,
﴿مُصَدِّقاً لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ
مِنَ الْكِتَـبِ﴾
(confirming the Scripture that came before it) meaning, the Divinely Revealed Books
that praised the Qur'an and mentioned that it would be sent down from Allah to His
servant and Messenger Muhammad . The Qur'an was revealed as was foretold in the
previous Scriptures. This fact increased faith in the previous Scriptures for the
sincere who have knowledge of these Scriptures, those who adhered to Allah's commands
and Laws and believed in His Messengers. Allah said,
﴿قُلْ ءَامِنُواْ بِهِ أَوْ لاَ تُؤْمِنُواْ
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْعِلْمَ مِن قَبْلِهِ إِذَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ يَخِرُّونَ
لِلاٌّذْقَانِ سُجَّدًا - وَيَقُولُونَ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَآ إِن كَانَ وَعْدُ رَبِّنَا
لَمَفْعُولاً ﴾
(Say: "Believe in it or do not believe (in it). Verily, those who were given knowledge
before it, when it is recited to them, fall down on their faces in humble prostration.''
And they say: "Glory be to our Lord! Truly, the promise of our Lord must be fulfilled.'')
meaning that they say, the promise of our Lord, concerning the coming of Muhammad
by the words of His previous Messengers, will certainly be fulfilled. Allah's statement,
﴿وَمُهَيْمِناً عَلَيْهِ﴾
(and Muhayminan over it) means entrusted over it, according to Sufyan Ath-Thawri
who narrated it from Abu Ishaq from At-Tamimi from Ibn `Abbas. `Ali bin Abi Talhah
reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "Muhaymin is, `the Trustworthy'. Allah says that
the Qur'an is trustworthy over every Divine Book that preceded it.'' This was reported
from `Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Mujahid, Muhammad bin Ka`b, `Atiyyah, Al-Hasan,
Qatadah, `Ata' Al-Khurasani, As-Suddi and Ibn Zayd. Ibn Jarir said, "The Qur'an
is trustworthy over the Books that preceded it. Therefore, whatever in these previous
Books conforms to the Qur'an is true, and whatever disagrees with the Qur'an is
false.'' Al-Walibi said that Ibn `Abbas said that Muhayminan means, `Witness'. Mujahid,
Qatadah and As-Suddi said the same. Al-`Awfi said that Ibn `Abbas said that Muhayminan
means, `dominant over the previous Scriptures'. These meanings are similar, as the
word Muhaymin includes them all. Consequently, the Qur'an is trustworthy, a witness,
and dominant over every Scripture that preceded it. This Glorious Book, which Allah
revealed as the Last and Final Book, is the most encompassing, glorious and perfect
Book of all times. The Qur'an includes all the good aspects of previous Scriptures
and even more, which no previous Scripture ever contained. This is why Allah made
it trustworthy, a witness and dominant over all Scriptures. Allah promised that
He will protect the Qur'an and swore by His Most Honorable Self,
﴿إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ
وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَـفِظُونَ ﴾
(Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr and surely, We will guard it
(from corruption).) Allah said,
﴿فَاحْكُم بَيْنَهُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ
اللَّهُ﴾
(So judge between them by what Allah has revealed.) The Ayah commands: O Muhammad!
Rule between the people, Arabs and non-Arabs, lettered and unlettered, by what Allah
has revealed to you in this Glorious Book and what it approves of for you from the
Law of the previous Prophets, as Ibn Jarir said. Ibn Abi Hatim reported that Ibn
`Abbas said, "The Prophet had the choice to judge between them or to turn away from
them and refer them to their own Law. Then this Ayah was revealed,
﴿وَأَنِ احْكُم بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَآ أَنزَلَ
اللَّهُ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَآءَهُمْ﴾
(So judge between them by what Allah has revealed, and follow not their vain desires.
..) and he was commanded to judge between them by our Book.''. Allah's statement
﴿وَلاَ تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَآءَهُمْ﴾
(and follow not their vain desires...) This means the ideas they promote, because
of which they turned away from what Allah revealed to His Messengers. This is why
Allah said,
﴿وَلاَ تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَآءَهُمْ عَمَّا
جَآءَكَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ﴾
(And follow not their vain desires, diverging away from the truth that has come
to you.) The Ayah commands: Do not diverge from the truth that Allah has ordained
for you, to the vain desires of these miserable, ignorant people. Allah's statement,
﴿لِكُلٍّ جَعَلْنَا مِنكُمْ شِرْعَةً
وَمِنْهَـجاً﴾
(To each among you, We have prescribed a law and a clear way.)
﴿لِكُلٍّ جَعَلْنَا مِنكُمْ شِرْعَةً﴾
(To each among you, We have prescribed a law) Shir`at meaning, a clear path, as
Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from Ibn `Abbas.
﴿وَلَوْ شَآءَ اللَّهُ لَجَعَلَكُمْ
أُمَّةً وَحِدَةً﴾
(If Allah willed, He would have made you one nation.) This is a general proclamation
to all nations informing them of Allah's mighty ability. If Allah wills, He would
make all mankind follow one religion and one Law, that would never be abrogated.
Allah decided that every Prophet would have his own distinct law that is later abrogated
partially or totally with the law of a latter Prophet. Later on, all previous laws
were abrogated by the Law that Allah sent with Muhammad , His servant and Messenger,
whom Allah sent to the people of earth as the Final Prophet. Allah said,
﴿وَلَوْ شَآءَ اللَّهُ لَجَعَلَكُمْ
أُمَّةً وَحِدَةً وَلَـكِن لِّيَبْلُوَكُمْ فِى مَآ ءَاتَـكُم﴾
(If Allah willed, He would have made you one nation, but that (He) may test you
in what He has given you.) This Ayah means, Allah has instituted different laws
to test His servants' obedience to what He legislates for them, thus, He rewards
or punishes them according to their actions and what they intend. `Abdullah bin
Kathir said that the Ayah,
﴿فِى مَآ ءَاتَـكُم﴾
(In what He has given you.) means, of the Book. Next, Allah encouraged rushing to
perform good deeds,
﴿فَاسْتَبِقُواْ الْخَيْرَتِ﴾
(so strive as in a race in good deeds.) which are obedience to Allah, following
His Law that abrogated the laws that came before it, and believing in His Book,
the Qur'an, which is the Final Book that He revealed. Allah said next,
﴿إِلَى الله مَرْجِعُكُمْ﴾
(The return of you (all) is to Allah;) Therefore, O people, your return and final
destination is to Allah on the Day of Resurrection,
﴿فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ فِيهِ
تَخْتَلِفُونَ﴾
(then He will inform you about that in which you used to differ.) Allah will inform
you about the truth in which you used to differ and will reward the sincere, as
compensation for their sincerity, and will punish the disbelieving, rebellious people
who rejected the truth and deviated from it to other paths, without proof or evidence
to justify their actions. Rather, they have rejected the clear evidences, unequivocal
proofs and established signs. Ad-Dahhak said that,
﴿فَاسْتَبِقُواْ الْخَيْرَتِ﴾
(So strive as in a race in good deeds.)is directed at the Ummah of Muhammad , but
the first view is more apparent. Allah's statement,
﴿وَأَنِ احْكُم بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَآ أَنزَلَ
اللَّهُ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَآءَهُمْ﴾
(And so judge between them by what Allah has revealed and follow not their vain
desires,) emphasizes this command and forbids ignoring it. Allah said next,
﴿وَاحْذَرْهُمْ أَن يَفْتِنُوكَ عَن
بَعْضِ مَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ﴾
(but beware of them lest they turn you far away from some of that which Allah has
sent down to you. ) meaning; beware of the Jews, your enemies, lest they distort
the truth for you in what they convey to you. Therefore, do not be deceived by them,
for they are liars, treacherous and disbelievers.
﴿فَإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ﴾
(And if they turn away,) from the judgement that you pass in their disputes, and
they defy Allah's Law,
﴿فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ
أَن يُصِيبَهُم بِبَعْضِ ذُنُوبِهِمْ﴾
(then know that Allah's will is to punish them for some sins of theirs.) meaning,
know that this will occur according to the decree of Allah, and because out of His
wisdom they have deviated from the truth, and because of their previous sins.
﴿وَإِنَّ كَثِيراً مِّنَ النَّاسِ
لَفَـسِقُونَ﴾
(And truly, most men are rebellious.) Therefore, the majority of humans are disobedient
to their Lord, defiant of the truth and deviate away from it. Allah said in other
Ayat,
﴿وَمَآ أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتَ
بِمُؤْمِنِينَ ﴾
(And most people will not believe even if you desire it eagerly,) and,
﴿وَإِن تُطِعْ أَكْثَرَ مَن فِى الاٌّرْضِ
يُضِلُّوكَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ﴾
(And if you obey most of those on the earth they will mislead you far away from
Allah's path.) Muhammad bin Ishaq reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "Ka`b bin Asad,
Ibn Saluba, `Abdullah bin Surya and Shas bin Qays said to each other, `Let us go
to Muhammad to try and misguide him from his religion.' So they went to the Prophet
and said, `O Muhammad! You know that we are the scholars, noblemen and chiefs of
the Jews. If we follow you, the Jews will follow suit and will not contradict us.
But, there is enmity between us and some of our people, so we will refer to you
for judgement in this matter, and you should rule in our favor against them and
we will believe in you.' The Messenger of Allah refused the offer and Allah sent
down these Ayat about them,
﴿وَأَنِ احْكُم بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَآ أَنزَلَ
اللَّهُ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَآءَهُمْ وَاحْذَرْهُمْ أَن يَفْتِنُوكَ عَن بَعْضِ مَآ
أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ﴾
(And so judge between them by what Allah has revealed and follow not their vain
desires, but beware of them lest they turn you far away from some of that which
Allah has sent down to you.) until,
﴿لِقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ﴾
(for a people who have firm faith.)'' Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim recorded this
Hadith. Allah continues,
﴿أَفَحُكْمَ الْجَـهِلِيَّةِ يَبْغُونَ
وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ مِنَ اللَّهِ حُكْماً لِّقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ ﴾
(Do they then seek the judgement of (the days of) ignorance And who is better in
judgement than Allah for a people who have firm faith) Allah criticizes those who
ignore Allah's commandments, which include every type of righteous good thing and
prohibit every type of evil, but they refer instead to opinions, desires and customs
that people themselves invented, all of which have no basis in Allah's religion.
During the time of Jahiliyyah, the people used to abide by the misguidance and ignorance
that they invented by sheer opinion and lusts. The Tatar (Mongols) abided by the
law that they inherited from their king Genghis Khan who wrote Al-Yasiq, for them.
This book contains some rulings that were derived from various religions, such as
Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Many of these rulings were derived from his own
opinion and desires. Later on, these rulings became the followed law among his children,
preferring them to the Law of the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger
. Therefore, whoever does this, he is a disbeliever who deserves to be fought against,
until he reverts to Allah's and His Messenger's decisions, so that no law, minor
or major, is referred to except by His Law. Allah said,
﴿أَفَحُكْمَ الْجَـهِلِيَّةِ يَبْغُونَ﴾
(Do they then seek the judgement of (the days of) ignorance) meaning, they desire
and want this and ignore Allah's judgement,
﴿وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ مِنَ اللَّهِ حُكْماً
لِّقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ﴾
(And who is better in judgement than Allah for a people who have firm faith) Who
is more just in decision than Allah for those who comprehend Allah's Law, believe
in Him, who are certain that Allah is the best among those who give decisions and
that He is more merciful with His creation than the mother with her own child Allah
has perfect knowledge of everything, is able to do all things, and He is just in
all matters. Al-Hafiz Abu Al-Qasim At-Tabarani recorded that Ibn `Abbas said that
the Messenger of Allah said,
«أَبْغَضُ النَّاسِ إِلَى اللهِ عَزَّ
وَجَلَّ، مَنْ يَبْتَغِي فِي الْإِسْلَامِ سُنَّةَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ، وَطَالِبُ دَمِ
امْرِىءٍ بِغَيْرِ حَقَ لِيُرِيقَ دَمَه»
(The most hated person to Allah is the Muslim who seeks the ways of the days of
ignorance and he who seeks to shed the blood of a person without justification.)
Al-Bukhari recorded Abu Al-Yaman narrating a similar Hadith, with some addition.
﴿يَـأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ
ءَامَنُواْ لاَ تَتَّخِذُواْ الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَـرَى أَوْلِيَآءَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَآءُ
بَعْضٍ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُمْ مِّنكُمْ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَهْدِى
الْقَوْمَ الظَّـلِمِينَ - فَتَرَى الَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ يُسَـرِعُونَ
فِيهِمْ يَقُولُونَ نَخْشَى أَن تُصِيبَنَا دَآئِرَةٌ فَعَسَى اللَّهُ أَن يَأْتِىَ
بِالْفَتْحِ أَوْ أَمْرٍ مِّنْ عِندِهِ فَيُصْبِحُواْ عَلَى مَآ أَسَرُّواْ فِى أَنفُسِهِمْ
نَـدِمِينَ - وَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ أَهُـؤُلاءِ الَّذِينَ أَقْسَمُواْ بِاللَّهِ
جَهْدَ أَيْمَـنِهِمْ إِنَّهُمْ لَمَعَكُمْ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَـلُهُمْ فَأَصْبَحُواْ خَـسِرِينَ
﴾
(51. O you who believe! Do not take friends from the Jews and the Christians, as
they are but friends of each other. And if any among you befriends them, then surely,
he is one of them. Verily, Allah guides not those people who are the wrongdoers.)
(52. And you see those in whose hearts there is a disease, they hurry to their friendship,
saying: "We fear lest some misfortune of a disaster may befall us. '' Perhaps Allah
may bring a victory or a decision according to His will. Then they will become regretful
for what they have been keeping as a secret in themselves.) (53. And those who believe
will say: "Are these the men who swore their strongest oaths by Allah that they
were with you'' All that they did has been in vain, and they have become the losers.)
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