The Criterion, The Standard — Verse 52

The universality of the Prophet's Message, how He was supported in His Mission and Allah's Blessings to Mankind Allah says: وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَبَعَثْنَا فِى كُلِّ قَرْيَةٍ نَّذِيراً (And had We willed, We would have raised a warner in every town.) `Calling them to Allah, but We have singled you out, O Muhammad, to be sent to all the people of earth, and We have commanded you to convey the Qur'an,' لاٌّنذِرَكُمْ بِهِ وَمَن بَلَغَ (that I may therewith warn you and whomsoever it may reach) (6:19). وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِهِ مِنَ الاٌّحْزَابِ فَالنَّارُ مَوْعِدُهُ (but those of the sects that reject it, the Fire will be their promised meeting place) (11:17). لِّتُنذِرَ أُمَّ الْقُرَى وَمَنْ حَوْلَهَا (that you may warn the Mother of the Towns and all around it) (42:7). قُلْ يَأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًا (Say: "O mankind! Verily, I am sent to you all as the Messenger of Allah...") (7:158). In the Two Sahihs (it is reported that the Prophet said:) «بُعِثْتُ إِلَى الْأَحْمَرِ وَالْأَسْوَد» (I have been sent to the red and the black. ) And: «وَكَانَ النَّبِيُّ يُبْعَثُ إِلَى قَوْمِهِ خَاصَّةً، وَبُعِثْتُ إِلَى النَّاسِ عَامَّة» (...A Prophet would be sent to his own people, but I have been sent to all of mankind.) Allah says: فَلاَ تُطِعِ الْكَـفِرِينَ وَجَـهِدْهُمْ بِهِ (So obey not the disbelievers, but strive hard against them with it.) meaning, with the Qur'an. This was the view of Ibn `Abbas. جِهَاداً كَبيراً (with the utmost endeavour.) This is like the Ayah, يَأَيُّهَا النَّبِىُّ جَـهِدِ الْكُفَّـرَ وَالْمُنَـفِقِينَ (O Prophet! Strive hard against the disbelievers and the hypocrites,) (9:73) وَهُوَ الَّذِى مَرَجَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ هَـذَا عَذْبٌ فُرَاتٌ وَهَـذَا مِلْحٌ أُجَاجٌ (And it is He Who has let free the two seas, this is palatable and sweet, and that is salty and bitter;) means, He has created the two kinds of water, sweet and salty. The sweet water is like that in rivers, springs and wells, which is fresh, sweet, palatable water. This was the view of Ibn Jurayj and of Ibn Jarir, and this is the meaning without a doubt, for nowhere in creation is there a sea which is fresh and sweet. Allah has told us about reality so that His servants may realize His blessings to them and give thanks to Him. The sweet water is that which flows amidst people. Allah has portioned it out among His creatures according to their needs; rivers and springs in every land, according to what they need for themselves and their lands. وَهَـذَا مِلْحٌ أُجَاجٌ (and that is salty and bitter;) meaning that it is salty, bitter and not easy to swallow. This is like the seas that are known in the east and the west, the Atlantic Ocean and the Straits that lead to it, the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the China Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea and so on, all the seas that are stable and do not flow, but they swell and surge in the winter and when the winds are strong, and they have tides that ebb and flow. At the beginning of each month the tides ebb and flood, and when the month starts to wane they retreat until they go back to where they started. When the crescent of the following month appears, the tide begins to ebb again until the fourteenth of the month, then it decreases. Allah, may He be glorified, the One Whose power is absolute, has set these laws in motion, so all of these seas are stationary, and He has made their water salty lest the air turn putrid because of them and the whole earth turn rotten as a result, and lest the earth spoil because of the animals dying on it. Because its water is salty, its air is healthy and its dead are good (to eat), hence when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked whether sea water can be used for Wudu', he said: «هُوَ الطَّهُورُ مَاؤُهُ، الْحِلُّ مَيْتَتُه» (Its water is pure and its dead are lawful.) This was recorded by Malik, Ash-Shafi`i and Ahmad, and by the scholars of Sunan with a good Jayyid chain of narration. وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَهُمَا بَرْزَخاً وَحِجْراً (and He has set a barrier and a complete partition between them. ) meaning, between the sweet water and the saltwater. بَرْزَخاً (a barrier) means a partition, which is dry land. وَحِجْراً مَّحْجُوراً (and a complete partition) means, a barrier, to prevent one of them from reaching the other. This is like the Ayat: مَرَجَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ يَلْتَقِيَانِ - بَيْنَهُمَا بَرْزَخٌ لاَّ يَبْغِيَانِ فَبِأَىِّ ءَالاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ (He has let loose the two seas meeting together. Between them is a barrier which none of them can transgress. Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both deny) (55:19-21) أَمَّن جَعَلَ الاٌّرْضَ قَرَاراً وَجَعَلَ خِلاَلَهَآ أَنْهَاراً وَجَعَلَ لَهَا رَوَاسِىَ وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ حَاجِزاً أَءِلـهٌ مَّعَ اللهِ بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ (Is not He Who has made the earth as a fixed abode, and has placed rivers in its midst, and placed firm mountains therein, and set a barrier between the two seas Is there any god with Allah Nay, but most of them know not!) (27:61) وَهُوَ الَّذِى خَلَقَ مِنَ الْمَآءِ بَشَراً (And it is He Who has created man from water,) means, He created man from a weak Nutfah, then gave him shape and formed him, and completed his form, male and female, as He willed. فَجَعَلَهُ نَسَباً وَصِهْراً (and has appointed for him kindred by blood, and kindred by marriage.) in the beginning, he is someone's child, then he gets married and becomes a son-in-law, then he himself has sons-in-law and other relatives through marriage. All of this comes from a despised liquid, Allah says: وَكَانَ رَبُّكَ قَدِيراً (And your Lord is Ever All-Powerful to do what He wills.)

So do not obey the disbelievers in their desires but struggle against them therewith that is through adherence to the Qur’ān with a great endeavour.

ولو شئنا لبعثنا في كل قرية نذيرًا، يدعوهم إلى الله عز وجل، وينذرهم عذابه، ولكنا جعلناك - أيها الرسول - مبعوثًا إلى جميع أهل الأرض، وأمرناك أن تبلغهم هذا القرآن، فلا تطع الكافرين في ترك شيء مما أرسلتَ به، بل ابذل جهدك في تبليغ الرسالة، وجاهد الكافرين بهذا القرآن جهادًا كبيرًا، لا يخالطه فتور.

ولهذا قال تعالى: "فلا تطع الكافرين وجاهدهم به" يعني بالقرآن قاله ابن عباس: "جهادا كبيرا". كما قال تعالى: "يا أيها النبي جاهد الكفار والمنافقين" الآية.

وما دام الأمر كذلك " فلا تطع الكافرين " فيما يريدونه منك من أمور باطلة فاسدة " وجاهدهم به " أى : بهذا القرآن ، عن طريق قراءته والعمل بما فيه ، وبيان ما اشتمل عليه من دلائل وبراهين على صحة دعوتك .وقوله - تعالى - : ( جِهَاداً كَبيراً ) مؤكد لما قبله . أى : جاهدهم بالقرآن جهادا كبيرا مصحوبا بالإغلاظ عليهم تارة ، وبإبطال شبهاتهم وأراجيفهم تارة أخرى .قال - تعالى - : ( ياأيها النبي جَاهِدِ الكفار والمنافقين واغلظ عَلَيْهِمْ وَمَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ وَبِئْسَ المصير ).

حدثنا القاسم, قال: ثنا الحسين, قال: ثني حجاج, عن ابن جُرَيج, قال: قال ابن عباس، قوله ( فَلا تُطِعِ الْكَافِرِينَ وَجَاهِدْهُمْ بِهِ ) قال: بالقرآن.وقال آخرون في ذلك بما حدثني يونس, قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب, قال: قال ابن زيد, في قوله: ( وَجَاهِدْهُمْ بِهِ جِهَادًا كَبِيرًا ) قال: الإسلام. وقرأ وَاغْلُظْ عَلَيْهِمْ وقرأ وَلْيَجِدُوا فِيكُمْ غِلْظَةً وقال: هذا الجهاد الكبير.

( فلا تطع الكافرين ) فيما يدعونك إليه من موافقتهم ومداهنتهم . ( وجاهدهم به ) أي : بالقرآن ، ( جهادا كبيرا ) شديدا .

فَلَا تُطِعِ الْكَافِرِينَ وَجَاهِدْهُمْ بِهِ جِهَادًا كَبِيرًا (52)وتفريع فلا تطع الكافرين } على جملة { ولو شئنا لبعثنا في كل قرية نذيراً } لأنها تتضمن أنه مرسل إلى المشركين من أهل مكة وهم يطلبون منه الكف عن دعوتهم وعن تنقُّص أصنامهم .والنهي مستعمل في التحذير والتذكير ، وفعل { تطع } في سياق النهي يفيد عموم التحذير من أدنى طاعة .والطاعة : عمل المرء بما يُطلب منه ، أي فلا تَهِن في الدعوة رعياً لرغبتهم أن تلين لهم .وبعد أن حذره من الوهن في الدعوة أمره بالحرص والمبالغة فيها . وعبر عن ذلك بالجهاد وهو الاسم الجامع لمنتهى الطاقة . وصيغة المفاعلة فيه ليفيد مقابلة مجهودهم بمجهوده فلا يهن ولا يضعف ولذلك وصف بالجهاد الكبير ، أي الجامع لكل مجاهدة .وضمير { به } عائد إلى غير مذكور : فإما أن يعود إلى القرآن لأنه مفهوم من مقام النِّذارة ، وإما أن يعود إلى المفهوم من «لا تطع» وهو الثبات على دعوَته بأن يعصيهم ، فإن النهي عن الشيء أمرٌ بضده كما دل عليه قول أبي حيّة النميري :فقُلن لها سِرّاً فدينَاككِ لا يرحْ ... صحيحاً وإنْ لم تقتلِيه فألممفقابل قوله : «لا يرح صحيحاً» بقوله : «وإن لم تقتليه فألمم» كأنه قال : فديناك فاقتليه .والمعنى : قاومهم بصبرك . وكِبر الجهاد تكريره والعزم فيه وشدّة ما يلقاه في ذلك من المشقة . وهذا كقول النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم لأصحابه عند قفوله من بعض غزواته " رجعنا من الجهاد الأصغر إلى الجهاد الأكبر " قالوا : «وما الجهاد الأكبر»؟ قال : " مُجاهدة العبد هَواه " رواه البيهقي بسند ضعيف .

{ فَلَا تُطِعِ الْكَافِرِينَ } في ترك شيء مما أرسلت به بل ابذل جهدك في تبليغ ما أرسلت به. { وَجَاهِدْهُمْ } بالقرآن { جِهَادًا كَبِيرًا } أي: لا تبق من مجهودك في نصر الحق وقمع الباطل إلا بذلته ولو رأيت منهم من التكذيب والجراءة ما رأيت فابذل جهدك واستفرغ وسعك، ولا تيأس من هدايتهم ولا تترك إبلاغهم لأهوائهم.

فلا تطع الكافرين أي فيما يدعونك إليه من اتباع آلهتهم . وجاهدهم به قال ابن عباس بالقرآن . ابن زيد : بالإسلام . وقيل : بالسيف ، وهذا فيه بعد ; لأن السورة مكية نزلت قبل الأمر بالقتال . جهادا كبيرا لا يخالطه فتور .

In the Quran, the topics of the unity of God and the Hereafter have been described again and again in a number of different ways. If a man is serious, these discourses are enough to arouse his interest. But one who is unheeding is not influenced by any argument. Undertaking the great jihad by means of the Quran means a peaceful struggle to spread the word of God. That is to say, peaceful struggle is the real jihad—nay, the greatest jihad. Even if opponents try to divert the attention of the believers from the realm of peaceful efforts, it should then be the endeavour of the believers to concentrate upon the field of preaching based on the teachings of the Quran. However, if, due to the distraction caused by opponents, the field of action appears to be changing at any time, then all possible efforts should be made to bring it back to the field of peaceful activity aimed at conveying the message of the Quran.

Jihad with Qur'an (its propagation) is great Jihad وَجَاهِدْهُم بِهِ جِهَادًا كَبِيرً‌ا (And strive against them with it (the Qur'an) a great striving - 25:52). This is a Makkan verse when the injunction for Jihad, in the sense of fighting the infidels, had not been revealed. What is ordained in this verse is that you spread the message of Qur'an among the people at large. Propagation of Qur'anic message among people and to make them understand it is great Jihad whether it is by mouth, pen or any other means,

(So obey not the disbelievers) Abu Jahl and his host regarding hat which they ask of you, (but strive against them herewith) by means of the Qur'an (with a great endeavour) by the sword.