Quran Speaks to You

Believers, be true to your contracts. Lawful to you are the quadrupeds of the class of cattle, except that which is announced to you herein. But you are not allowed to hunt while you are in the state of consecration. Allah decrees what He will.


Believers, do not offend against the rites of Allah, or the sacred month, or the offerings or the garlands, or against those who repair to the Sacred House, seeking Allah’s grace and pleasure. Only when you have released yourselves from consecration you may hunt.


Do not let ill-will toward people who would debar you from the Sacred Mosque lead you into transgression; but rather help one another in furthering piety and righteousness, and do not help one another in furthering evil and transgression.

Have fear of Allah, for Allah is severe in retribution. (The Repast, “AI-Ma’idah”: 5: 1-2)


The permissions and prohibitions with regard to food and other matters are part of the contract believers should fulfill, and that they are based on the overall contract of faith. The further instructions not to offend against the rites of Allah, the sacred month, the offerings or the garlands or against people who go to the Sacred House, seeking Allah’s grace and pleasure.


After these restrictions are given, a further detail is added which allows hunting once the period of consecration is over, provided that hunting is done outside the Haram area: “Only when you have released yourselves from consecration you may hunt.” This is an area of security which Allah establishes in His Sacred Mosque, as He has indeed established a time of security in the sacred months. People, animals, birds and trees in this area are immune against human aggression. That makes it an area of absolute peace, in response to the prayer of Abraham, the noble father of this nation. The period of peace is extended to the whole planet for four complete months every year, under the guardianship of Islam People who enjoy the sweetness of this real sense of security will be keen to ording to its provisions and to fulfill their covenants with Allah. They will try to extend it so mat it encompasses human life throughout the year and the whole world over.


With the emphasis placed here on sanctity and security, Allah calls on those who believe in Him to fulfill their contracts with Him and to rise to the level which enables them to play the role assigned to them, namely, the leadership of mankind without allowing themselves to be influenced by personal feelings and emotion or temporary circumstances. He calls on them not to transgress even against those who debarred them from entering the Sacred Mosque when they wanted to visit it in the year known as “the year of Al-Hudaibiyah” and earlier. These have left deep scars in the hearts of Muslims which was bound to arouse emotions of hatred. But all this not with standing, the duty of the Muslim community is much different. It fits its great role: “Do not let ill-will toward people who debar you from the Sacred Mosque lead you into transgr-ession; but rather help one another in furthering piety and righteo-usness, and do not help one another in furthering evil and transgression.”


This is the ultimate standard of self-control and compassion. But it is this very ultimate that must be attained by the community which is entrusted by its Lord with the task of being the guide and guardian of humanity, beckoning it to attain a sublime horizon. This is part of the responsibility of leadership. It means that believers must overlook what happens to them personally and what they may have to endure of harm caused by others, in order to give to mankind a great mode of righteous behavior which can be accomplished only by Islam. In this way, they give a positive testimony for Islam which is certain to make it appealing to mankind. The task outlined here is a great one, but as it is put in the surah, it does not represent a great burden which may weigh heavily on man. There is a recognition that man may be angry and may harbor a feeling of hatred. But man is not entitled, as a result of his fury or hatred, to transgress and to be unjust to others. Moreover, cooperation within the ranks of the community of believers must further righteousness and piety, not evil or transgression. The believers are commanded to have fear of Allah and reminded that His punishment may be very severe. Such a reminder, together with the commandment to fear Allah, ‘helps the Muslim community to control its hatred and to rise above the desire to revenge, because it is a community which seeks Allah’s pleasure. The way Islam works on human beings has shown spectacular results in molding the Arabs so that this noble behavior becomes characteristic of them and so that they abide by its requirements. Far removed were they from such standards prior to Islam. Their unchallenged motto was.: “Support your brother, whether he is the victim or the perpetrator of injustice.” Tribal loyalty was to them of paramount importance. To cooperate in furthering evil and aggression was more natural to them than cooperation in furthering piety and righteousness. They forged alliances, but their purpose was more to support evil than to support right. Rare were the pacts made in pre-Islamic days to support what is right. That was only natural in an environment where traditions, customs and morals were not derived from Allah’s constitution. Perhaps the best expression of this principle was the motto we have just quoted. A pre-Islamic poet has put it in a nutshell when he said: “I am only a man of the tribe of Ghuzaiyah: I go with my tribe, whether it follows the right way or the wrong one.”


Then the Islamic constitution was revealed to establish new values and to remold people’s way of thinking. Islam tells the believers: “Do not let ill-will toward people who debar you from the Sacred Mosque lead you into transgression; but rather help one another in furthering piety and righteousness, and do not help one another in furthering evil and transgression. Have fear of Allah, for Allah is severe in retribution.” Thus a new bond linking hearts to Allah was established. Values and morals were given a new divine standard. The Arabs, and mankind as a whole, were led out of blind fanaticism and the control of personal and tribal feelings in determining who is a friend and who is a foe. Man was reborn in the Arabian Peninsula. The new man derives his moral standards from Allah. That was an announcement of the rebirth of man throughout the world. Prior to this, there was nothing in Arabia but blind loyalties which say: “Support your brother whether he is the victim or perpetrator of injustice.” The same blind loyalities were known throughout the world.


It is a great divide which separates a community governed by such blind loyalty and fanaticism and one governed by a constitution which states: “Do not let ill-will toward people who would debar you from the Sacred Mosque lead you into transgression; but rather help one another in furthering piety and righteousness, and do not help one another in furthering evil and transgression. Have fear of Allah, for Allah is severe in retribution.” That great divide was removed. It could only be removed by Islam.

Muhammad (pbuh) was of a height a little above the average. He was of sturdy build with long muscular limbs and tapering fingers. The hair of his head was long and thick with some waves in them. His forehead was large and prominent, his eyelashes were long and thick, his nose was sloping, his mouth was somewhat large and his teeth were well set. His cheeks were spare and he had a pleasant smile. His eyes were large and black with a touch of brown. His beard was thick and at the time of his death, he had seventeen gray hairs in it. He had a thin line of fine hair over his neck and chest. He was fair of complexion and altogether was so handsome that Abu Bakr composed this couplet on him:


“as there is no darkness in the moonlit night so is Mustafa, the well-wisher, bright.”


His gait was firm and he walked so fast that others found it difficult to keep pace with him. His face was genial but at times, when he was deep in thought, there were long periods of silence, yet he always kept himself busy with something. He did not speak unnecessarily and what he said was always to the point and without any padding. At times he would make his meaning clear by slowly repeating what he had said. His laugh was mostly a smile. He kept his feelings under firm control - when annoyed, he would turn aside or keep silent, when pleased he would lower his eyes (Shamail Tirmizi).

Part of the covenant with which Allah has bound the Muslim nation requires it to deal with other people on the basis of absolute justice which is never affected by feelings of love or hatred, or by a relationship, interest or feelings of any type. It is justice which is based on the duty of remaining steadfast in devotion of Allah alone.