We are continuing with our study of Section Al-Furqan (the Clear Criterion) of the Qur’an. To remind ourselves, we last investigated the verse mentioning that some worship created beings rather than God and an unbeliever always gives support against his Lord. We understood to take these verses for ourselves as a reminder where I have to awaken my consciousness to recognize that all interactions that I go through in my daily life can only be organized by my Lord. For example, the water I drink is not the one satisfying me, but it is a gift of my Creator who has employed and arranged water for my benefit. I must be grateful to my Lord for the water, thus not waste my human qualities in that interaction.
We will now continue with the next verse:
وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَـٰكَ إِلَّا مُبَشِّرًۭا وَنَذِيرًۭا
25:56 We have sent you only to proclaim good news and to give warning.
The language over here is clear to give good news and to give warnings. Who is addressed here by using the word “you”? Primarily, we can take it as the messenger of God and by extension to us as well. If this is also meant for me, what am I supposed to do? I need to apply the message of the Qur’an to myself first, digest it and then share it with others who are willing to listen.
Just like the Messengers were sent for their mission, aren’t we also “sent” in this world for a mission? Since we are also “sent” to this world, how are we going to fulfill our duty “to proclaim good news and give warning”? I am created in this world, and I have received the message of the prophets which gives me good news as well as warning me in my living. If I have benefited from this message as much as I could, I should continue to try my best to increase my capacity to benefit from the message. In addition, I can also share the good news and warnings with those who are willing to listen to me. Just like the messengers tried their best to convey the message, I must also try my best to share the message with others. This is a duty that I must also take on my shoulders based on what I learned from the messengers. The messengers are employed by God not only to transfer the message, but to live with the message and practice in their lives. I must look at the lives of the Prophets from their narrations and learn as much as I can to incorporate that in my life as well by following their pattern of living.
The pattern of living of the prophets is referred to as “sunnah” which is not just that I have to do this because the prophet (pbuh) advised us to do this. The way the prophet (pbuh) behaved, acted is also “sunnah”. The difference is that they received the message directly from God via the angel Gabriel and then conveyed it to people. I have received the message of the prophets and if I am convinced about it then the prophetic mission of conveying the good news and warning should become a part of the prophetic tradition for me as much as I can.
Practically speaking, how did the prophets perform their mission? They performed their mission according to their life conditions; I must pick that mission up according to my current living conditions. How should I do this? The Prophetic life in terms of what he said, what he did has been recorded in volumes of books that are available to us as a priceless heritage. As much as we are aware of the message, our priority must be “to proclaim good news and to give warning” to others. If I want to practice this verse, how am I going to “give the good news or warning” to others?
After receiving the message of the prophets, I must see how I feel now with the good news and the warnings, and how it has impacted my life. Also, how I am warned and what I have done. As much as I have digested the message for myself, as much as I have benefitted from it in my practical life, only that much I can share with others.
How are we going to share the message with others? Some traditions do it by going to people’s houses and knocking on doors. There are no narrations of the prophet Muhammad doing such a thing. However, there are narrations of him speaking to people in public spaces such as Ka’ba in Mecca which was open to the public and a gathering place for many. There was also an Arab tradition as confirmed by the Qur’an to have meetings when the war had ended to declare truce among people. People used to gather there to do commerce, exchange goods as well as ideas. There was some religious aspect of circumambulation of the Ka’ba according to their tradition as an inherited culture of prophet Abraham, whom they regarded as the patriarch of their Arab race rather than the prophet of God. The pagan Arabs respected the Ka’ba and had some notion that it represented the “house of God”, without knowing the details.
The prophet Muhammad (pbuh) used to go to Ka’ba, and recite the verses of the Qur’an as much as revealed to Him, sharing the idea of “Tawhid”, the Absoluteness of God, Infiniteness of God, God being not like any other creature. This idea was shared with people where each tribe had a symbolic representation of their tribe as an idol. The prophet (pbuh) rejected their notion of having idols openly, which he declared had no power, but it is something that they fabricated with their own hands. He declared that there is only One, Absolute God which is good news and that every being has been created for a purpose. This is good news for you if only you worship Him alone, as your God, your Creator, your Provider; only then He can give you eternal pleasure after you die. The warning is the alternative to this where if one doesn’t acknowledge Him, worship the Creator and keep worshiping things made by their hands, and keeping their tribal pride rather than acknowledging their Creator and being proud of His creatures, then that deserves punishment in the Hereafter, missing out on eternal pleasure.
In our time now, we cannot talk about the idols as the representatives of the tribes but can see nationalism, national states, and other institutions, ideas that we may give importance to. Conflicts to keep sovereign states are prevalent as part of nationalism, where every country needs their stock of weapons under the pretext of self-defense. People now worship values, pride, status, etc. We must remind people as much as we can to think about their existence, their life, and why they are here in this world. We are not only bodies but have a spirit as well, which makes us human beings. The body is just the animal side. What do we think of our spirit which has an infinite number of feelings, expectations of satisfaction? We must at least have a conversation in a kind way with those who would listen by inviting them to our houses, having a meal together and giving presents, which expresses human kindness.
I can share the message as much as I am satisfied and happy with it. I am also careful about how I live my life with the message. The message includes both sides of good news and warnings. I am always in between hoping that I am on the right path and being cautious about being neglectful with my responsibilities of acknowledging my Creator in my living. Even though I may not deny my Creator, I may not be appreciative of Him as much as He deserves to be. The verse suggests that I must only proclaim and cannot force or push people to heed to the message or impose any superiority over them. This attitude is rebuked in the Qur’an in the example of the Children of Israel. The Qur’an, in fact, addresses me by giving the examples of other people who have done wrong actions in the past, reminding me that I should not make the same mistake.
قُلْ مَآ أَسْـَٔلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ إِلَّا مَن شَآءَ أَن يَتَّخِذَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِۦ سَبِيلًۭا
25:57 Say, I do not ask you for any reward for this message, but anyone who wills, should pursue a way to their Lord.
What do we think the “reward for this message” could be? The word “أَجْر” can mean payment, compensation, status, position, popularity, power, etc. We should understand that prophets are not allowed to receive charity for themselves. For example, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) served as the administrator of the community in Medina. He never asked for that leadership position, but people requested him to lead them. They appreciated the prophet as they had heard that he received Revelation from God. When the prophet (pbuh) was proclaiming the message to people during the Hajj period, the Medinan people listened to him and related to it saying that they had heard this message from Jewish tribes who talk about prophets appointed by God and Revelation of God being given to them. They have their own religious traditions and ceremonies appointed by God and this person of prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is saying the same kind of things. For example, when they heard about the Absoluteness of God, they agreed to it as that is what they had heard from their neighboring Jewish tribes.
In terms of position and leadership, the prophet Muhammad never sought any position, but was appointed as the Administrator of Medina by the people. They paid their zakat share to the prophet (pbuh) as the administrator of the city of Medina for the expenditures of their city life. One may say that he was acting as the Minister of Finance along with being the Minister of Justice, Administration, Internal and External Affairs, Social Welfare, etc. The city of Medina then became a well-structured model of administration. Everyone was free to be a Jew, Christian or Muslim. Anyone who would like to come could come to live there freely, not requiring any visa or permission. The economy was not state controlled but left free. There was no army but when the city needed to be defended, they invited people to join voluntarily. In the last two years before the life of the prophet (pbuh), on one occasion he invited people who are able to join the army by announcing a common draft. He didn’t force people but announced a draft because the Romans were ready to attack the Medina administration which had become a powerful administration along with the Roman and Persian Empires.
The news spread that the Roman Empire was going to attack the city of Medina which led the Prophet (pbuh) to issue the army draft to stop them before they entered the city to kill innocent people. Some reports say 12,000 people and some others 30,000 people assembled in what was known as the battle of “Tabuk”. The prophet (pbuh) never forced anyone or blamed anyone who did not join the army. He was simply calling people on duty. Historically, we understand that he (pbuh) was not severe to those not joining the call of duty. There was no physical punishment for not joining the army but only psychological one suffered by the person by others in terms of humiliation. For example, by hearing “what kind of a person are you? Are you not a man?”
Later, the Medina administration had toppled down the Persian Empire and had started expanding across the Arabian Peninsula into the Asian subcontinent.
Going back to the verse, we should not be accepting any reward for conveying the message of God. We should never take on an attitude of superiority because of our religious position thinking that I know much better on this subject and others don’t. The example of the prophet (pbuh) was him being modest and only answered when people asked him questions. Other times he initiated by asking people whether they would like him to speak on something, and he let the people decide. He only spoke when people agreed for him to speak. He delivered general announcements on the fundamental teachings of the Qur’an during the Jumu’ah sermon as part of the prayer. Whenever needed, he would stand up in the masjid—where people often gathered and public affairs were managed, much like a town hall—to explain the core principles of the Qur’an and their practical applications.
In Mecca, the prophet was secretly teaching people gathered at the house of a companion, “Dar ul Arqam”. On a well-known occasion in Mecca, he went up a mountain and spoke to people. He said, “if I told you that there is an enemy behind this hill ready to attack you, would you believe in me?” The people knew him as a trustworthy person, never to tell a lie so they agreed with him. He then went on conveying the news of worshiping an Absolute Creator, the Lord of the universe only. He conveyed the message mentioning that idols had no meaning, get ready for the Hereafter and work for that.
In Medina, since he was appointed as the administrator, he was freely and openly teaching the message to people accordingly. He taught the Qur’an to people by practicing it in his personal life. On occasions, he also taught people based on the circumstances they went through. In both Mecca and Medina, the prophet (pbuh) never asked for reward, nor received any charity at all.
In my life, I must be careful to never claim a superior position based on knowledge of Islam and my personal piety, seek appreciation, and must never expect any reward in return for conveying the message. Nowadays, the circumstances have changed where some public speakers have put on an honorarium for their traveling, accommodation, and family expenses. For many, it has become their sole profession for their livelihoods. There are institutions that employ them as teachers on a payroll. In this current situation, we cannot say that they should not be getting paid as they need some sort of income to support their family life. However, as a principle based on the prophetic example, we are not to take any payments for only teaching the religious subjects.
We know from the recorded life of prophet Muhammad (pbuh) where in Mecca, he was not receiving any charity at all. He was working as an employee for his wife’s business. In Medina, he did not receive any charity and was getting some share from the common budget, “Baitul maal”, as the administrator of the city. He was getting a share equal to any other common person’s share, nothing extra. It is not permissible according to the teachings of the Qur’an for the prophet to get any charity. For us, this means that we should try some other means of income from some profession and not seek any reward for religious teachings, or for conveying the message to others.
Human beings are free to follow the prophetic message or not. The Quranic phrase from 2:256 is “There is no coercion in religion: true guidance has become distinct from error, so whoever rejects false gods and believes in God has grasped the firmest hand-hold, one that will never break. God is all hearing and all knowing.”. Practically speaking, some zealot people under the name of “Sharia” ruling may impose a kind of coercion on people in certain countries. Besides the administratively imposed coercions, there may also be coercions within family structures such as between husband and wife, parents and grown-up children. All of these kinds of compulsion are rejected by the Qur’anic teachings. Although some of the implications of the rulings are interpreted in a way that may seem to be a kind of compulsion, they are disputed among the scholars. However, we must know that in Islam, “there is no coercion in religion” is the general principle.
In the verse phrase “ مَن شَآءَ أَن يَتَّخِذَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِۦ سَبِيلًا”, translated as “whoever wills should pursue as a way to their Lord”. The word “سَبِيلًا” is the path that is specific to one’s understanding in connecting to God. It is not the general road but specific to the individual, according to one’s character. For example, some people’s character is to learn by reading, some by watching, some by taking classes, and some in a convention setting, etc.
The phrase “رَبِّهِ” translated as “his/her Lord”, means as to what they understand who their Lord is. As I perceive my Lord to be. For example, some people like the strong character of Calif Umar, some like the softness of Abu Bakar, and some like the family style of compassionateness like Usman and others like the character of Ali seeking deep knowledge in teachings of the Qur’an and the Prophetic practices. Everyone has their own way of communicating with their Lord according to their character. My Lord “رَبِّهِ” is the same Absolute Being, my perception of Him plays a role and is according to my character. Potentially, every spirit is perfect, my potential is unique to me. I must find my own way of communicating with my Lord according to my perception of Him. The Qur’an respects people’s specific characters as long as they are seeking to reach the same Lord who is the Absolute Creator of the universe.