AL-KAFIRUN SURAH
20.01.2014
Dear readers, last week we started interpreting surah Al-Kafirun and we mentioned the reasons why this chapter has descended, one of which was the preparation for the final event. The Qur’an has mainly descended within twenty-two years, not all at once / in tairid form, depending on the occurrences that took place with the Prophet (PBUH) and the as’habs at that time. Allah Almighty sent the verses of the Qur’an as a clarification to many situations unknown to the Prophet (PBUH) and his companions before.
Just as the surahs and verses have reasons for their descent, so do the hadeeths (sebebu’l-wurud). Repeating a hadeeth several times is in its context and nature, at times its context can be found in its transmission and at other times it can be found in the essence, origin of the hadeeth. They can be spotted on the books that speak about life the Prophet (PBUH) and the battles he led (siyer and maghazi). The reason of using a hadeeth plays a significant role in its meaning, shaping of its meaning, explaining and reaching concrete logical explanations of matters. The reason why the hadeeth is being said, since it represents a concrete answer in the moment of its proclaim, it can assist in a rather more realistic understanding of its meaning.
Cleansing our body with ghusl for Friday prayer, represents one of the best examples of hadeeths. Aisha and Abu Bakr transmit that the Prophet (PBUH) had ordered “if someone from you is to attend Friday prayer, then let him cleanse himself with ghusl”. In the hadeeth literature there are many transmissions which verify this saying of the Prophet (PBUH). Sahabs, who were not aware of the reason why he said this, have judged differently and have come to wrong conclusions. Whereas those who have valued the hadeeth within the context of the situation in which it occurred, have come to other conclusions. For instance, Ibn Umar has agreed that ghusl for Friday prayer is obligatory, both for men and women; it is not permitted for a Muslim not to be clean on this day. In one of his transmissions, in which it is clear that he doesn’t transmit from the Prophet (PBUH), but his saying is according to his own understanding he has claimed: “Ghusl on Friday prayer is mandatory for both adult men and women”. It has been said that Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri has agreed with this.
Sahabs that have mainly valued hadeeths in the collective sense, in their historical and social scope; have been mainly preoccupied to understand why had the Prophet (PBUH) ordered cleansing of the body before Friday prayer. Regarding this statement Aisha has said: “people of our time would finish their daily work in the fields and would come to pray in those clothes. Then they were told: “it would have been nice if you could have cleansed yourselves for this day”! Ibn Abbas has said that this order has been made in order not to bother others during the collective Friday prayer. Two people from Iraq have gone to Ibn Abbas and asked him if it was mandatory for Muslims to take ghusl during Friday prayer. The latter had replied that it is not mandatory but it is recommended and gave the context of the hadeeth proclaimed by the Prophet (PBUH): “during the time of Prophet (PBUH) people were poor, they wore clothes of wool and worked on the fields. The mosques were tight with low ceilings. In a hot day when the Prophet (PBUH) had arrived, the entire place wore a sweaty smell. After this the Prophet (PBUH) ordered: “when this day comes my people, wash your bodies and put on the best perfume you have”. But later, the Muslims were granted abundance (wealth, clothing) by Allah Almighty. Muslims then wore new clothing; they didn’t have the need to work on the fields as much and the mosques expanded in size. As a result, there was no bad smell occupying the mosques anymore.
This is not something we ought to do only for Friday prayer and respect this day alone, but it is something we need to do on all occasions, so we don’t make others feel uncomfortable. But on the other hand, to those who come for Friday prayer the Prophet (PBUH) in general has also ordered them to brush their teeth, put on perfume and wear their best clothes.
Hence in order to insert orders and comprehend the universality of the verses of the Qur’an, it is important to note the reasons of the descend of the Qur’an. That’s why we say that the reason why this surah descended has to do with the instance of the polytheists, when they said to the Prophet (PBUH) “come on now abandon this calling of yours, lets agree for you to exalt our gods and for us to exalt your God” (this is mainly the ideology of religious pluralism which we often come across in the contemporary world, and we said that nobody is able to intervene in the relation between man and Allah Almighty; this relationship is one, it cannot be partial or divided in several beliefs). That’s why we claim that Islam is the only truthful religion. From a social aspect we respect all religions, but from the aspect of individual relations with God, we only accept Islam as a true religion that can enable this relationship. The Prophet (PBUH) hence did not accept this offer, and it is in this instance that Allah Almighty descended the surah Al-Kafirun to him; through this He gave an example of how he should behave and answer to this proposal. If you remember, on the three last surahs of the Qur’an, which we mentioned on the previous lecture, we said that they begin in Qul; all three surahs, Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq and An-Nas begin in Qul, and in Arabic this word means “say”. If you open the Qur’an you can easily note this, however in addition to this meaning, in Arabic this word qul or qaul, also refers to an idea, thought. It doesn’t only mean to tell someone something as an order, but it also means to transmit the concepts and ideologies of Islam to someone else. While the Prophet (PBUH) called into Islam, he used all the characteristics of the Arabic language. In order for him to be better understood and explain the essence of Islam, the Prophet (PBUH) spoke straightforwardly, but at times he would also use literary figures such as: metaphors, symbolism, metonymy and so forth. In order for his message to be clearer at times he used descriptions and as in any other language, he explained through stories and symbolic messages. It is known that in all languages, abstract concepts have been explained through their concretization. Concretization is a phraseological transmission that serves to enforce or strengthen the matter at hand being conveyed. This contains delineation of abstract concepts, thoughts and emotions that are hard to explain through concrete conceptions. The Prophet (PBUH) used these methods to explain abstract truths that are beyond our perceptions. The manner of delimitation by the Prophet (PBUH) can be divided under two categories:
Direct communication: this has been mostly used in direct decrees and prohibitions; deductible information regarding the past, the present and the future; his lectures his correspondences and his advices. The decrees and orders have been mainly communicated through this type of elaboration: “Islam is built upon five pillars…”; “seeking knowledge is an obligation of each Muslim, both man and woman.”; “the believer is a brother to another believer”.
Complex communication: it is a manner of communication in which difficult to grasp topics and issues have been discussed through literary figures. Literary descriptions, synonyms, symbols, metaphors, metonymy, algorithms and stories are the most common examples of elaborating one complex issue.
The surah “Kul ya ayyuha’l-kafirun” its not a chapter that was only true for the time of the Prophet (PBUH). When it is said “qul” to the Prophet (PBUH), this doesn’t remain in history, but on the contrary, this is transmitted to our day too. The communication that God leads with his servants, through the Qur’an is universal and obligatory for all eras. We come across the same case in situations that keep us engaged in the very existence and presence of God in the universe. Imam Ghazali wrote a book that explains the meaning behind Allah Almighty’s names, the book by the title Al Maksadu’l-athna (The book of Knowledge), in which he highlighted that those who only read, hear or learn by heart the meaning of the beautiful names of Allah, they don’t grasp them and don’t benefit a lot from them. According to him, through the meaning of these names the believer needs to build the profoundness of his life; the person ought to gain the sacred morality that lays behind God’s names. Beyond reading and knowing the beautiful names of Allah Almighty, humans ought to seek their reflection (tejal-li). During their recital man can say: “Ya Al-Razzaq (Abundance provider) that You created and provided me the abundance of the soul and my body….” Through this verse man believes and knows that Allah Almighty is the provider of his abundance. When it is time for the abundance in man’s life to manifest, nobody can stop it. Humans should also know that He is all righteous and righteous through the verse: “And there is no creature on earth but that upon Allah is its provision, and He knows its place of dwelling and place of storage. All is in a clear register.” (Surah Hud, 06).
Even those who contradict God, their abundance still comes as a result of this particular name of His “none of you can be more patient than God towards the malice and that which is being spoken to Him. The nonbelievers claim God has children, and yet God still gives them health and abundance!”.
Apart from the committed sins, when the adherent remembers the mercy of God in full prudency by saying: “Ya Rahman, Ya Rahim…” there is hope in God’s full mercy. One never fails to seek the mercy of God; seek the mercy that arises from God: “Say, “O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah . Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” (Surah Az-Zumar, 53).
After this the adherent is ready for the next step. The one who has leveled up to this stage of maturity understands that the lesson and hope to change one’s life is found amid the principles of remembering the names and attributes of Allah. It is sought from the believer to remember and think about the names and attributes of Allah, to comprehend each one of them and to attain the sacred moral, as well as transferring this into social life. Isn’t it Allah’s aim, through showing Himself, to teach us the manner of behavior? By the reflection of truth, fully, in wisdom and beauty, His names move from the possible towards the functional; from theory to practice; from knowledge to action. Don’t you agree with this? As a result, it is expected from people to learn and know His names, but above all, to reflect upon them in life.
Hence, “Allah Almighty is the one whose treasures are always full, he is the keeper of an endless abundance that is never emptied; courageous day and night, in every moment; gifter of abundance since the first day of the creation of the Universe, without running out from His wealth” , “he doesn’t prefer to return empty handed the one who has raised his hands seeking from Him!”.
Several days ago, I attended a conference in Ulcinj, held on behalf of the birth of the Prophet (PBUH) and the topic of the conference was the three Muhammeds people created in their minds as part of their life. Among Muslims there are three conceptions about Muhammed (PBUH).
I would recommend that you look at the book “Three Muhammeds” by Mustafa Islamologlu, one Turkish Author. This book has been translated into Albanian by Prof. Musa Musai. The first Muhammed is the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), the second Muhammed is the mythological one and the third Muhammed is a philosopher. The second and third Muhammed are not real. For us the Prophet (PBUH) is a prophet of Allah Almighty who is not a historical figure from 14 centuries ago: his sunnah doesn’t belong to history, but it is a constitutive tradition that comes alive each day by each scientific, cultural, artistic and technological achievement. This is how the tradition of the Prophet (PBUH) becomes even more alive. For instance, we are in the mawlid month and oftentimes we are angry at those who are against holding a mawlid, surely, I have discontent as well, but we should also not be completely pleased with those who support mawlid as manifestation. Can you think why so? Because manifestation of Mawlid to the Prophet (PBUH) is the same as reciting love poems to the one you love. As long as mawlid is not experienced with high emotions, then it has not reached its purpose.
Karen Armstrong has written on the history of the Prophet (PBUH) and when another scholar has described this book it has been said: “Armstrong has described the Prophet (PBUH) as if, if he were to have lived with him, he would have married him”. The experience of love is not only expressed through pale words, but it is needed for it to be experienced. Nowadays, as Muslims we are being verbally attacked and it said to us that religion, politics and social life don’t go together. The case of centuriation, the division of the church from the state is one Christian matter and all Albanian, Balkan authors, sociologists, anthropologists have attained the belief of division, from the west. It has been separated in the west since the church has forbidden knowledge, culture, prosperity in the middle ages and they didn’t have another choice but to separate religion from the state. Whereas taking this form granted as an analysis conducted by Peter Berge and transfer it to the Albanian, Balkan society to whom Islam is specificum diferenta, is not right.
One characteristic that differentiates the Albanian society is Islam. The majority of the Albanians are Muslim, around 90% of them, and if we are to conduct a centuriated analyses then we ought to conduct an analyses on the Muslim Albanians, and not to borrow conceptions true in other lands. Hence, we have no right to treat the Prophet (PBUH) as a mythology and leave him to belong to history. I am not sure if some of remember but I have mentioned a quote by Imam Ghazali regarding a king who has visited a fertile place and saw that it was not maintained and when he asked the locals why they hadn’t maintained it, the people said that they didn’t know how else to maintain it. The king gathered agronoms and asked them to prepare a guideline on how that soil is maintained and used. The farmers took the guideline they put it in a safe place within a nicely decorated silver box and had a guard to look over it from time to time. After several years the king returns to check the situation with the land and to see if there is any improvement, but notices that nothing had changed. He then asked to know what had happened why wasn’t the land being utilized, the farmers said: “we showed great respect to your guideline, we keep it safe in silver box and kept it clean every day”. The king had the farmers arrested, because showing respect to king’s guideline is done by applying it not by keeping his word shiny and clean. The same goes for religion. The respect to the Prophet (PBUH) is transmitting him in our everyday life. Those of you who have attended my lectures at university know what I have said before: those who study the hadeeths are not scientists of hadeeths if they are not able to transmit that which they learn to the era and time they live. The hadeeth that is stuck in history is not religion, only the hadeeths and actions that are transmitted in our day can be considered part of religion.
Western scholars have solved this issue through the inherited essential meanings behind the teachings of the Prophet (PBUH). According to them, the hadeeths and sunnah, throughout centuries, have been the core of religious belief, mentality of thought and practice of all Muslims. Resultantly, orientalism plays a key role in the new studies on hadeeths. Some emperors have preoccupied themselves with the study of hadeeths because they considered Islam an important practical element of human relationships. They didn’t give so much importance to the classical issues the hadeeth called upon or whether or not they were authentic or not, instead they gave more importance to how one hadeeth could play a role in building Islam and Muslims and how one hadeeth influenced the universality of Islam as a religion. I shall end it here for tonight.
Thank you!