Ethical Lessons from the Quran, part 4

Ethical Lessons from the Quran, part 4

There are many verses that are misunderstood and may be seen as controversial verses pertaining to the religion of Islam. Our hope in these series of studies is to demystify such controversies.  The aim is to really help us learn what Islamic teachings are, what Islam teaches to human beings about their reality and learn the Islamic teachings in the best way that conforms to the way we are created.  All the verses in the Quran are related to our lives, and this specific verse that is chosen to be studied today resolves lots of misunderstandings.  Please do not feel intimidated if it seems as if the questions that will be posed to understand the verses is checking your knowledge, rather it is to draw your attention to the  points that help open up your understanding.

وَإِنْ أَحَدٌ مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ ٱسْتَجَارَكَ فَأَجِرْهُ حَتَّىٰ يَسْمَعَ كَلَـٰمَ ٱللَّهِ ثُمَّ أَبْلِغْهُ مَأْمَنَهُۥ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لَّا يَعْلَمُونَ

Taubah, 9:6 “If any of those idolaters asks for your protection, protect him, so that he will be able to hear the words of God, then escort him to a place where he is safe, because they are people who do not know.”

In the verse above, the word “idolatry” (mushrik in Arabic) is referred to as assigning deity qualities to anything that needs to be created. The verse presents that when an idolator comes to seek your protection, I must protect him/her. Nowadays, what does it mean if one of the “idolaters” asks for your protection?  The logical thing would be to kill the idea of idol worship, ideas of disbelief in an Absolute Creator within these people who seek protection from us.  But why is God asking us to protect a pagan (mushrik)?  Shouldn’t God ask us to get rid of the “mushirk” based on how Islam is represented or misrepresented sometimes as a religion of war?  Let us investigate the verse further to understand the case better.

Why should I protect an idolator?  Should I keep the idolator in my house and feed him/her, so they get entertained in my house?  Isn’t that something unimaginable to what we are accustomed to?!

At first glance by reading this verse, doesn’t Islam seem to be an illogical religion, where you are asked to protect your enemy, take care of his/her needs and if s/he does not agree with you to the point of embracing Islam, then, you help him/her go to where s/he feels secure, rather than closing your door on him/her, or the worst killing him/her? It is impossible to imagine a civilization like this where an enemy of yours comes to you and asks for your protection, where you provide them protection, entertain them with your presence, and escort them to a place where they want to feel safe.  Wouldn’t that be a good service from your part if you happen to do that!?  Something for us to think about!  Also, What do you mostly do if someone does not obey you?  For example, the United States is an open country that respects the rights of human beings.  If someone needs to be deported, the US Government does it at least in a humane manner as compared to most other countries.  However, no country would ask the people that need to be deported where they would like to go, and then accompany them safely to their destination.  Amazingly, the Islamic civilization as depicted in the verse is the only exception in such matters.  Such verses really help clear our mind about the human side of Islam as a religion.  

In the Quran, Section Taubah is known to be the severest section, and it is the only section that does not start with bismillah-i-rahmanirraheem, because there seems to be no mercy illustrated in its verses.  We must know the fundamental teachings of what the Islamic civilization is composed of, so that we do not confuse the rules and etiquettes of harsh battlefield conditions with the basic Quranic principles.  

Why does the Islamic civilization show such kindness to its enemies that no other civilization has reached such demeanor and etiquette in this 21st century?  This verse is depicting the 7th century Bedouin life.  It is the 21st century and human beings without the Divine Guidance could not reach this level of civilization. Again, why should we protect our enemies in belief matters?  One answer would be: To educate people because there are people who do not know about the message of the Quran.  Later in these series, we will study the verses related to physical battles, but not today.

It is interesting to note that these kinds of verses depicting Islamic hospitality and kindness are not well known, whereas the verses on physical battles and killing are mostly heard by everyone!  The reason seems to be an emergence of an inferiority complex i.e. a defeated attitude amongst the Muslims.  It is as if with this type of complexity, they want to show heroism, power and war winning for the Islamic civilization.  For example, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is depicted to be the best commander-in-chief in most ‘’Seerah” Prophetic biography books.  Rather, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is sent as a Mercy to mankind.

Why aren’t these verses talked about in Friday sermons?  What is going on in the Muslim world that we do not mention such verses?  It seems as if the inferiority complex has gotten into the minds of the Muslims, and they do not want to admit their defeats.  Just as when a cat sees itself in the mirror, it loves to see itself as a lioness.  The same defeated attitude is perceived by the Muslims, that is why they want to show the Islamic civilization to be as powerful, i.e. more than what they are.  Also, the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) are not shown as the students of the Quran, rather they are illustrated as warriors and blood thirsty fighters.  Unfortunately, that is what some Muslims present to the public.  

We must understand that there are other verses about physical fighting but none of them is to be perceived from an offensive standpoint, they are all defensive wars.  Again, it is not quite clear why the Muslim leaders in the community do not present such verses and only emphasize heroic acts in war conditions?  Is there any physical war going on in our towns?  How does it relate to my existential reality? Another aspect is that some Muslims even think that memorizing the Quran is sufficient for understanding their existential reality.  Is that so?  We must seriously think about these matters.  Let us take a big city like New York City.  How can I connect to my existential reality in the city I live in, where I take the train and share the seat next to others that are non-Muslims.  How shall we treat our neighbors?  The biggest question then becomes, what is expected of me in these conditions?  We are not undermining the fact that if someone attacks you physically, then you should not self-defend, rather, you must self-defend yourselves, for that is an obvious human thing to do.  

Again, we should think about these matters seriously.  For example, what does it mean when the Quran mentions not to be excessive in killing, do not extend it beyond the one who kills and not exercise your sense of revenge?  It is also advised in the Qur’an to not kill even the murderer him/herself but ask for a “compensation” in a just way.  In this 21st century, who is abiding by this standard that I should try to harm my enemy as little as possible?  For example, we hear nations weaponizing themselves, working on  nuclear bombs. What are these nations doing?  With the press of a button, a whole civilization can be destroyed.  So, what is God telling us by saying, “don’t exceed in killing” (17:33)?  It means that we must only try to defend ourselves when we experience some harm to our being.  Human beings are made with the sense to defend themselves.  However, we are confusing the message in such verses with our normal quotidian lives and standards of living influenced by the general culture.

Similarly, the “Seerah”, biography books do not illustrate how the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) practiced that which he preached, but only give accounts of war conditions by sending groups of people to neighboring tribes.  Let us take the example of the war of “ghazwa”. The word “ghazwa” comes from the Arabic word which means “to hit lightly”, not war.  It is known in the books that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) used to send a group of people to neighboring tribes. However, it was not to fight but to deliver the message of the Quran.  Mostly, the tribes back then consisted of a thousand people.  Now, can you imagine 5 people would go fight with 500 people in a town?  Is that really a war or a suicide mission?  What can we make of this, a commander-in-chief sending a few people to commit suicide, which is so absurd!?  Again, we must really think about these matters seriously and question them to get to convincing answers according to the teachings of the Quran.  

There is a well-known Hadith where the Prophet sent 40 companions that were all trained in delivering the message of the Quran to a tribe.  The tribe leader was mischievous, and he killed 37 of those companions.  From the remaining 3 who were trying to return back to Medina, this tribe leader caught and killed 2 of those remaining companions. Only one of the companions managed to return back to Medina to tell the Prophet that all the other companions were killed by that tribe leader.  The “seerah” books do not depict this as “ghazwa” as it was meant to be.  It is when these companions are successful in gaining the hearts and minds of the tribes, then it is “ghazwa”.  The reality is that a group of innocent people were going on a mission to teach the message of God to others, referred to as “missionaries” or “dawah” in Arabic.  We must be honest and refer to these historical accounts as skirmishes that might have occurred during conveying the message to the people of that time, rather than “wars”. 

1. Do these kinds of verses relate to our time now as well?  Let’s see how with an example.

We must first bear in mind that the message of the Quran speaks to me right now in my time, and I must listen to it as my Creator is speaking to me.  When we do come across people who do not necessarily have the same worldview as us, we can try to engage in meaningful dialogues, and get them to think about their existence, the reality of this universe, and death.  If they seem interested, and open to hearing and listening, then we can invite them to our spaces/homes to further engage in conversations relating to the purpose of one’s existence.  However, it is challenging to extend the invitations to our homes nowadays, as we mostly do not like to open our homes to someone we do not know or just met because of the conditions of the present civilizations that are based on a secular worldview.

Let us be attentive towards the latter part of the verse, “they are people who do not know the reality of the universe”.  How many are really aware of what Islam is?  Who knows what the Quran is teaching, including the Muslims?  People need to know, and without letting them know what Islam is, we cannot say anything to anyone to the point of passing judgments about them.  We must be watchful if we refer to someone as an unbeliever. Surely, they do not know, and we must be kindly introducing Islam to them if they are ready to listen to us.  I think mostly people are not aware about their religious beliefs and various ideologies they follow; even the Muslims are not aware of the core teachings of the Quran.  Therefore, we must study, learn and educate ourselves with the Quranic teachings.  If someone does not know, then you must let them know.  

Unfortunately, it seems that nowadays, people like to argue not for the need to learn, rather to impose themselves and their views on others.  For example, in Christianity, some young people get trained to become missionaries, and are sent to small impoverished Muslim villages overseas, to build hospitals, schools and convert the innocent people to Christianity.  They are argumentative and come with a set of agenda.  Hence, these are not people who would qualify as “they need to know,” because they are not open to learning, and have been trained in that way.  However, if you do come across innocent people who want to learn about Islam and express their interest, then we must open our hearts, home and heed this opportunity to share our Quranic worldview with them.

2. What does “hearing the words of God mean”?

It is so obvious that we cannot reduce the message of God to only hearing a literal melodious recitation, but more so, the message that accompanies those words.  Our behavior and kindness shall speak as well, which is gained from the message of the Quran.  They will hear and experience how a Muslim can be in these living conditions.  The word of God does not mean your personal understanding, but exactly as God teaches us from the Quran and what we learn from the Prophetic examples. After digesting this teaching, we make it part of our behavior and then present it to others openly as a Muslim. We are mostly inclined to hide our Muslim identity.  We must speak with our Muslim identity as well as through our behavior and our speech, without being ashamed of being identified as a Muslim.  We must be a Muslim and behave Islamically.

The Medina setting is the best example to understand this verse.  If you go back to the Prophetic time, Masjid-e-Nabawi consisted of only a space with four walls, covered by palm leaves at the top.  There is a hadith that mentions a rich tribe with the richest tribal leader doing lots of activities against the Medina administration, i.e. towards Muslims.  He was trying everything in his power to harm the Muslims physically.  Finally, the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) caught him and brought him to the Masjid Nabawi in Medina, which at that time was the place for many activities such as performing prayers, the administration to discuss social affairs, strategic affairs happened there, and people were hosted there as visitors coming in to learn about Islam.  We should take into consideration the living conditions of that time, bearing in mind the food supply/restaurant for the visitors where tons of bread were baked daily for example by the Prophet’s daughter, Fatima, who complained to her father that her hands are getting weary making bread every day for so many people.  The hosting of the visitors was managed by the Prophet’s family members, and the food was also prepared and shared with the people who were students of the Prophets and devoted their lives to learning the Quran and narrating to each other what the Prophet was saying (these students are referred to as “Ashab us-suffah” in Arabic).  The space for their learning as a school was also situated in the Masjid Nabawi, which was the center for everything taking place.  Nothing was happening in the silo, everything was so transparent with no secrets.  Now, this enemy of Islam was brought to Medina, and the Prophet hosted him in Masjid Nabawi, where all the administrative matters are taking place.  Can you imagine an enemy provided with the best food and hosted well?!  These people had no secrets, nothing to hide, and Islam was a transparent society.  Every day, the Prophet would ask the enemy, how are you, what do you think of us?  The tribe leader replied, you will treat me as I deserve to be treated i.e. you will kill me at the end.  After 5-7 days, the Prophet said to the administration, to let him go.  As they let him go, he kept turning back as he was expecting that they would shoot him with an arrow.  But nothing happened to him, and he could not believe that no one killed him, so he went back and asked the Prophet, are you not going to kill me?  No, said the Prophet, we just want you to witness what kind of people we are so that you will know whom you take as your enemy, the choice is yours.  He then converted to Islam.  What a hospitable and wise practice by the Prophet (pbuh) to treat the enemy, since they were not in the physical battlefield!?

How do we deal with argumentative people?

As Islam became historically widespread in Ethiopia, Yemen and Egypt, there was a group of learned Christian scholars that came to Medina and argued with the Prophet Muhamad (pbuh).  The Prophet explained to them what Islam understands about Christianity and the nature of Prophet Jesus as described beautifully in Section Maryam of the Quran.  They argued back without any physical fight. The Prophet asked them what they think about how the message of the Quran presents the case of Mary and Jesus?  In Christianity, everything is dependent on the status of Jesus, not exactly interpreted as a messenger of God.  They challenged the Prophet by saying that “what you  say is not true, and we are right.”  Before leaving the Masjid-e-Nabawi, they asked to practice their worship and the Prophet (pbuh) let them practice it.  How much does this happen now in the Muslim communities?  Not that much.  Why is that?!  Have we suddenly become more religious than the Prophet, God forbid?!   Before they left, the Prophet (pbuh) proposed to bring the families together and collectively pray to God to curse whoever lies since we are all monotheists.  “Please God! Curse the ones who are telling the lie”.  The Prophet introduced his family which consisted of his daughter Fatima, his son-in-law Imam Ali, and grandkids Hussain and Hassan to them.  They said, ok, we will come tomorrow with our families and pray together.  Did they show up at the appointed place?  No.  The lesson here is that we should keep showing exemplary friendly behavior towards others, and if they want to listen, then present them the message of the Quran, God’s Speech to them.  Nowadays, we live with the mentality of: “If I like you, then I will respect you”, which is the opposite to what the Prophetic examples demonstrate.

After going over these hadiths and looking into the verse, doesn’t it seem that we mostly confuse how to relate our context to apply the Quranic verses in our lives? For example, this verse seems to be applicable to war conditions only.  Can we apply it to our conditions now in New York city for example?  Yes, but are we at war with our neighbors?  No.  We can only take the teachings from it and make it applicable to our living conditions as much as we can.

There is another interesting verse to investigate related to our discussion here.  “No one is responsible for the burden of another” (35:18).  If there is animosity amongst some nation somewhere around the world, do I have any right to impose bad behavior towards my neighbor who has ties to that nation?  No.  We must bear in mind that the Quran must be fully applied according to the conditions that the verses are talking about.  Most of us living here are in peace and not in war conditions so it must apply to our living in peace as well.

3. Who do you think this verse is referring to when it says, “people who do not know?”  Who are they?  What do they not know?

We went over this earlier.  These people do not know the teachings of God.  How are we going to teach them the words of God if we do not know ourselves?  First, we should learn, and educate ourselves, only then can we present Islam to others.  We cannot be experts from the get-go, we must share as much as we understand and have knowledge of.  Therefore, we must spend some time and learn what we are doing here, and why we are here in this world?  The Quran cannot be reduced to be read only for recitation during prescribed religious prayers, getting blessings, and special nights.  If I read the Quran for blessing purposes only, which is fine, then I would not learn the words of God.  How am I going to present Islam to others?  If we do not know ourselves, then how are we expecting others to become Muslims who do not know what we really believe and the meaning of what we are doing. We ourselves do not know why we do religious activities for example.  Knowing something does not mean that you know it because you heard it in the media.  How can you believe in something that you have not studied?!  You must study and be comfortable with what Islam is, have confidence in what you believe in and then  share it by presenting it to others.  If I imitatively accept Islam, how can I present it to others?  Most of the time, cultural Islam is presented to the public, which is very unfortunate.  We should open our spaces and welcome anyone who is willing to listen.

4. How about other verses in the Qur’an that encourage to fight or kill the idolaters?

If someone is attacked unjustly, even if s/he is a disbeliever, would you not want to help?  Yes. You would defend any human, including a disbeliever from being attacked.  It means that the one who is being attacked needs to be protected and defended, that is a very Islamic way. If the attack happened to us unjustly then we have to defend ourselves as well. As we have been mentioning, we are to fight the wrongful ideas that are prevalent. First we need to convince ourselves then we can share with others to dispel the ideas of unbelief. 

Finally, let us get guidance from the Quran, get the ethical values of the Quranic teachings to demystify any misunderstandings about the religion of Islam.