سورة آل عمران
Surah Name: Aal-e-Imran Meaning: The Family of Imran
Key Points
- Revealed at Madinah
- The Second largest Surah of the Qura'an.
- Total Number of Ruku / Sections 20
- Total Number of Ayat / Parts 200
- Surah / Chapter number 3
- Ruku / Section 16 contains Ayat / Parts 7
- Siparah/ Volume 3 & 4
Surah Aal-e-Imran
Surah Aal-e-Imran Ruku 16
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يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوَاْ إِن تُطِيعُواْ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ يَرُدُّوكُمْ عَلَى أَعْقَابِكُمْ فَتَنقَلِبُواْ خَاسِرِينَ
Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoo in tuteeAAoo allatheena kafaroo yaruddookum AAala aAAqabikum fatanqaliboo khasireen(a) O you who believe! If you obey those who disbelieve, they will drive you back on your heels, and you would turn back as losers. |
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بَلِ اللّهُ مَوْلاَكُمْ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ النَّاصِرِينَ
Bali Allaahu mawlakum wahuwa khayru a(l)nnasireen(a) But Allaah-SWT is your Protector and He is the best of helpers. |
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سَنُلْقِي فِي قُلُوبِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ الرُّعْبَ بِمَا أَشْرَكُواْ بِاللّهِ مَا لَمْ يُنَزِّلْ بِهِ سُلْطَانًا وَمَأْوَاهُمُ النَّارُ وَبِئْسَ مَثْوَى الظَّالِمِينَ
Sanulqee fee quloobi allatheena kafaroo a(l)rruAAba bima ashrakoo bi(A)llahi malam yunazzil bihi sultanan wamawahumu a(l)nnaru wabisa mathwa a(l)ththalimeen(a) Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve, because they joined partners with Allaah-SWT, for which He has sent no authority. Their resort is the Fire, and an evil abode for the wrong doers. |
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وَلَقَدْ صَدَقَكُمُ اللّهُ وَعْدَهُ إِذْ تَحُسُّونَهُم بِإِذْنِهِ حَتَّى إِذَا فَشِلْتُمْ وَتَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي الأَمْرِ وَعَصَيْتُم مِّن بَعْدِ مَا أَرَاكُم مَّا تُحِبُّونَ مِنكُم مَّن يُرِيدُ الدُّنْيَا وَمِنكُم مَّن يُرِيدُ الآخِرَةَ ثُمَّ صَرَفَكُمْ عَنْهُمْ لِيَبْتَلِيَكُمْ وَلَقَدْ عَفَا عَنكُمْ وَاللّهُ ذُو فَضْلٍ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
Walaqad sadaqakumu Allaahu waAAdahu ith tahussoonahum biithnihi hatta ithafashiltum watanazaAAtum fee alamri waAAasaytum min baAAdi ma arakum matuhibboona minkum man yureedu a(l)ddunya waminkum man yureedu alakhirata thumma sarafakum AAanhum liyabtaliyakum walaqad AAafa AAankum wa(A)llahuthoo fadlin AAala almumineen(a) And Allaah-SWT did fulfil His Promise with you when, by His Will, you were destroying them, until you flagged and quarrelled about the Command and disobeyed, after He had shown you what you had longed. Some among you desire this world, and some among you desire the Akhirah. Therefore, He diverted you from them, so that He may test you. And surely He has pardoned you. And Allaah-SWT is Gracious to the believers. |
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إِذْ تُصْعِدُونَ وَلاَ تَلْوُونَ عَلَى أحَدٍ وَالرَّسُولُ يَدْعُوكُمْ فِي أُخْرَاكُمْ فَأَثَابَكُمْ غُمَّاً بِغَمٍّ لِّكَيْلاَ تَحْزَنُواْ عَلَى مَا فَاتَكُمْ وَلاَ مَا أَصَابَكُمْ وَاللّهُ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
Ith tusAAidoona wala talwoona AAala ahadin wa(al)rrasoolu yadAAookum fee okhrakum faathabakum ghamman bighammin likayla tahzanoo AAala ma fatakum wala ma asabakum wa(A)llahu khabeerun bima taAAmaloon(a) And recall when you were running off and you would not look back at any one, whilst the Messenger-SW, in your rear, was calling you. Then did He give you distress over distress, so that you might not grieve for what you have lost, or for what has befallen you. And Allaah-SWT is Aware of what you do. |
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ثُمَّ أَنزَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّن بَعْدِ الْغَمِّ أَمَنَةً نُّعَاسًا يَغْشَى طَآئِفَةً مِّنكُمْ وَطَآئِفَةٌ قَدْ أَهَمَّتْهُمْ أَنفُسُهُمْ يَظُنُّونَ بِاللّهِ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ ظَنَّ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ يَقُولُونَ هَل لَّنَا مِنَ الأَمْرِ مِن شَيْءٍ قُلْ إِنَّ الأَمْرَ كُلَّهُ لِلَّهِ يُخْفُونَ فِي أَنفُسِهِم مَّا لاَ يُبْدُونَ لَكَ يَقُولُونَ لَوْ كَانَ لَنَا مِنَ الأَمْرِ شَيْءٌ مَّا قُتِلْنَا هَاهُنَا قُل لَّوْ كُنتُمْ فِي بُيُوتِكُمْ لَبَرَزَ الَّذِينَ كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقَتْلُ إِلَى مَضَاجِعِهِمْ وَلِيَبْتَلِيَ اللّهُ مَا فِي صُدُورِكُمْ وَلِيُمَحَّصَ مَا فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ وَاللّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ
Thumma anzala AAalaykum min baAAdi alghammi amanatan nuAAasan yaghshataifatan minkum wataifatun qad ahammathum anfusuhum yathunnoona bi(A)llahi ghayra alhaqqi thanna aljahiliyyati yaqooloona hal lana mina alamri min shayin qul inna alamra kullahu lillahi yukhfoona fee anfusihim ma la yubdoona laka yaqooloona law kana lana mina alamri shayon ma qutilna hahuna qul law kuntum fee buyootikum labaraza allatheena kutiba AAalayhimu alqatlu ila madajiAAihim waliyabtaliya Allaahu ma fee sudoorikum waliyumahhisa ma fee quloobikum wa(A)llahu AAaleemun bithati a(l)ssudoor(i) Then after grief, He sent down calm slumber coming over a section of you, while another section concerned about themselves, thought of Allaah-SWT unjustly; the thought of Ignorance. They said, “Have we anything of the affair?” Say, “Indeed the affair is wholly Allaah-SWT's." They hide within themselves what they dare not reveal to you. They say (to themselves), “Had we anything in the affair, we would have not been slain here.” Say, “Even if you had remained in your houses, those for whom death had been decreed, would surely have gone forth to the place of their death.” And this (happened), so that Allaah-SWT might test what is in your breasts and purge what is in your hearts. And Allaah-SWT is Knower of what is in the breasts. |
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إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَوَلَّوْاْ مِنكُمْ يَوْمَ الْتَقَى الْجَمْعَانِ إِنَّمَا اسْتَزَلَّهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ بِبَعْضِ مَا كَسَبُواْ وَلَقَدْ عَفَا اللّهُ عَنْهُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ
Inna allatheena tawallaw minkum yawma iltaqa aljamAAani innama istazallahumu a(l)shshaytanu bibaAAdi ma kasaboo walaqad AAafa Allaahu AAanhum inna Allaaha ghafoorun haleem(un) Those of you who turned back on the day the two hosts met, it was Satan who caused them to slip of something they had earned. And Allaah-SWT has assuredly pardoned them. Surely, Allaah-SWT is Forgiving, Forbearing. |
Secrets Of Revelation
O you who believe! ... And Allaah-SWT is Gracious to the believers.
The believers must always keep abreast the sayings of the Holy Prophet-SW for if they pay heed to the non-believers, they will certainly drag them into the quagmire of disbelief, which would indeed be a great loss. This was practically demonstrated at Uhad when the non-believers openly suggested that they should revert to their ancestral religion.
Uhad was not very far from Madinah and although the hypocrites had retreated under the leadership of Ibn-e-Obayy, yet they were stealthily keeping an eye on the progress of the battle. When the retreating enemy troops wheeled around and attacked the Muslims from the pass in the rear, chaos did temporarily ensue. It was only natural as the Muslims were already outnumbered. They had fought so fiercely that the enemy was forced to flee. In the heat of the battle some of the archers appointed at the pass had left their post with the intention of pursuing the fleeing enemy. While the Companions-RAU were focusing on one direction, the enemy cavalry attacked from the rear through the pass. As the Muslims turned back to fight them the fleeing enemy recoiled and renewed their attack thereby sandwiching them from both sides. On top of this, the rumour spread by the Satan of the Holy Prophet-SW’s Shahadah made matters worse. But Allaah-SWT did not deprive these noble souls of His Support and made them victorious. They chased the enemy all the way to Hamr al-Asad and the hypocrites were thoroughly humiliated. When the Muslims were fighting surrounded by the enemy on both sides, with their ranks disarrayed and their wounded lying in the battlefield unattended, some of the defected hypocrites called out: “Come to Ibn-e Obayy. He will get you protection from Abu Sufyan; or revert back to your ancestral religion as nothing is left in this Din when its Prophet-SW has been slain”.
Allaah informed the Muslims of the malafide intentions of the enemy and warned them not to listen to these hypocrites, as they would try their best to drag them back in to the darkness of disbelief. And certainly Allaah-SWT is the helper of the believers.
And this is what Wilayah is. The Aulia enjoy His Protection. He shields them from the environment of sins. The Ayah under comment declares that Allaah-SWT is your Protector and Friend as He exposes the intention of the hypocrites and protects you; for He is the best of helpers.
It is also clarified that a wrongdoer and the one averse to Sunnah cannot be a Wali. Following such people is nothing but ignorance. Besides, Satan does not spare even the most pious of men from his attack, as the very presence of the Holy Prophet-SW in the battlefield, did not deter him from raising the slogan of his-SW Shahadah. However, Allaah-SWT's Mercy reaches out and holds those who are sincere. The pranks of Satan, affect only those who have isolated themselves from Allaah-SWT.
The hearts of the non-believers shall be overawed as they themselves have invoked this state by opting for polytheism without any proof, as polytheism is a curse which makes a human being bow before unlimited symbols of power and in turn instils the fear of each and everything into his heart. On the contrary, Unity is an invitation to hold Him in awe, and a trust in Allaah-SWT relieves the believers of all other fears.
Whereas the aforesaid is the state of the non-believer in this world, his place in the Akhirah is Hell, which indeed is extremely morbid, yet it is commensurate with his conduct. Besides, the believers need not pay any heed to them as Allaah-SWT has fulfilled all His Promises. It was with His Help that the Muslims had inflicted casualties on the enemy in the battlefield and had forced them to flee inspite of being less in number and armament. Meanwhile a difference of opinion arose amongst the fifty archers, though unintentionally. Majority of them posted at the pass wanted to chase the fleeing army assuming that the victory was almost certain, while the others insisted on holding the pass. Both the groups were true to their stances and implemented their respective opinions. The majority left their position with the view that the Holy Prophet-SW’s orders were only until the battle lasted which they thought was over. But in fact all the fifty archers should have guarded the pass until further orders. This unintentional violation became a cause of the turmoil and distress by a reversal of the battle situation. Those who abandoned the pass did so, to some extent, in the pursuit of worldly glory, while those who stood fast were the seekers of Akhirah alone.
It must be noted here that many scholars have interpreted the word Dunya as booty and impute that the pass was left in the pursuit of booty, whereas booty was never looted but always collected in one place to be formally distributed later. No matter how much one had recovered from the battlefield, he only received his predetermined share at the time of final distribution. In my humble opinion Dunya refers to the enthusiasm of the archers to join in the hot pursuit of the fleeing enemy, which had a tinge of pride not befitting to the status of the Companions-RAU.
They were instantly put to trial and the entire scenario of the battle changed. Many of them fell martyrs while many others were wounded. Then the glad tidings of a Divine Pardon followed. Not only were they forgiven but it was also revealed that Allaah-SWT is extremely kind and relenting to the believers and has blessed them with His Favour. This Ayah indeed is an inviolable proof of the perfection of the Companions-RAU faith.
And recall when you were running... Allaah-SWT is Knower of what is in the breasts.
A sketch of the battle situation has been drawn next. The believers are being reminded of the time when they were in a state of utter confusion and had lost their formation. Each one was heading in different direction until the Holy Prophet-SW had to call out to them.
Some scholars are of the opinion that some of the Muslims had deserted the battlefield. But this does not make sense that those who deserted the battlefield would be called back. Firstly, desertion is the worst of capital sins and secondly the battlefield was so close to the city that the deserters would have easily taken refuge in their own homes and could not have possibly heard the call of anyone. The actual fact was that the Companions-RAU, being already few in number, could not maintain their formation when they were attacked from both ends and were scattered on the battlefield. Because of this many of them either fell martyr or were wounded. And above all, the rumour of the Shahadah of the Holy Prophet-SW added fuel to the fire. It was then that the Holy Prophet-SW called out to the Companions-RAU to gather around him-SW. All of them rallied round him-SW and the disintegrated force reassembled. They not only forced the enemy to flee but also chased it in hot pursuit to a distance.
Allaah-SWT says here that the Companions-RAU had to suffer grief after grief. The real objective was to train them to reach the level of perfect Fana-fi-Allaah so that no matter what may happen they may never suffer a decrease in their spiritual states. And behind every event they can see the one Who is the very Creator of all actions and indeed aware of their deeds. This is why after the entire event Allaah-SWT cast a slumber over the Muslims, which was extremely soothing for the sincere. It was a state of absorption, which is experienced at the descent of Divine Lights. A Sufi also experiences this state when overwhelmed by Divine Lights whereby inspite of being awake his body feels numb. Hadhrat Abu Talha-RAU reports his experience: “It so happened at Uhad that I wanted to hold firmly onto my sword but it kept slipping out of my hands.”
As for the hypocrites, they cannot avail such Barakah. At that very moment when the believers were receiving it, the hypocrites were plunging deeper into their ignorance and superstitions and were being mistrustful of the Almighty. When Ibn-e-Obayy saw the people of Khazraj falling martyrs he observed: “Do we have any say in any matter or will our brothers continue to be killed because of the decisions taken by others?” Obviously, he referred to the decision of the Holy Prophet-SW. So it was revealed to the Holy Prophet-SW to declare that all matters lay within the control of Allaah-SWT and that his-SW decision was indeed the decision of the Almighty. The hypocrites believed in their hearts that their people would not have been slain had their opinion prevailed, but they dared not express this notion in front of the Holy Prophet-SW.
So Allaah-SWT commands the Holy Prophet-SW to let the hypocrites know that even if they had hidden inside their homes, those to be killed would have certainly reached the spot where death awaited them. This battle turned out to be a trial exposing their inner selves and at the same time further purified the hearts of the believers. The foundation of the malicious whispers of the hypocrites was rocked for Allaah-SWT is Aware of the secrets concealed in the hearts, and it is He Who instils the feelings within them. It must be remembered that all those who stumbled during the Battle of Uhad were misled by Satan as some had counselled against the wish of the Holy Prophet-SW at Madinah while others had erred by vacating the pass. Even because of these involuntary violations Divine Lights in their hearts had diminished from the level required to render the whispers of Satan ineffective. But Allaah-SWT forgave them because at both occasions the errors were not wilful. However, the worldly hardships had to be undergone. Undoubtedly, Allaah-SWT is all-Forgiving and extremely Forbearing.
All those who wilfully overlook Sunnah must take this point. Do they expect any good out of this conduct while they do not match the Companions-RAU in any way, in devotion, in intellect or in morals?
