Head off and Shun all Rumors and Scandals, Oh Muslims
Orders the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet
ABSTRACT
A “O ye who believe! If a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, lest ye harm people unwittingly, and afterwards become full of repentance for what ye have done”.
This ayah appears to me very relevant to a very common practice in our conversation these days.
Apparently it is dealing with a minor problem but is demonstrating a gigantic reality and certainty in the life of the nascent Ummah. I have explained this phenomenon in the prelude to this series:
“In the beginning of the seventh century C.E., the folks of Mecca and Medina had a fascinatingly unique window: they had direct access to the Heavens through one of their own. They were blessed with a regular stream of Divine counseling and guidelines. Question and answer sessions were part of the program. Even individual questioner was graced by an answer. In the short Introduction to this scheme they were assured that at the end of this twenty-two year project, Divine Directions and Admonitions will continue through the agency of the PEN. The whole discourse has been preserved and archived till eternity under the guarantee of our Lord and Creator. This record in known as the Quran”.
Thus the fledgling Ummah had the luxury of direct Divine guidance on a regular basis and as needed for their problems, big and small. They were in fact living directly through their Prophet under the rule and governance of Allah Ta’aala Subhanahoo.
I was reminded of this ayah when I noticed a plethora of texts, videos and images in the social media on all sorts of religious and temporal issues. Everybody is sending to everybody every thing that appeals. It seems no one, none at all bothers to pause for a moment to find who, how and why?
Why bother, when you can get the pleasure of passing it on to many of your social group with just a “click”. I humbly suggest, these people should feel warned by this ayah. I will admit, though the ayah is not relevant to small and trivial matters.
Let me explain the meaning of some major words mentioned here.
“فاسِقٌ” ie Fasikun. A fasik is rendered by various Mufassirs as: disobedient, evil-liver, evil doer, wicked person, publicly commits sins, rebellious evil, ungodly, iniquitous and sinful person. The next word is “بِنَبَإٍ” translated variously by the Mufassirs as: information, news, tidings, report and (slanderous) tale. The grammatical configuration of this word, I understand excludes small and trivial news. The Mufassirs have interpreted the word” فَتَبَيَّنوا” (Tabyyanoo) as investigate, verify, look carefully into it, ascertain its truthfulness carefully, make clear, use your discernment, carefully ascertain its truth, verify its correctness. This is a powerful and explicit message to the entire Muslim Community to ignore rumors. “Scandal or slander of all kinds is here condemned”.
The message of the ayah under discussion is a moral imperative to protect the honor and reputation of one and all in the community. This point is very openly, completely and distinctly ordained further down in the same Surah:
“O you who have attained to faith! Avoid most guesswork (about one another)- for, behold, some of (such) guesswork is (in itself) a sin; and do not spy upon one another, and neither allow yourselves to speak ill of one another behind your backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, you would loathe it! And be conscious of God. Verily, God is an acceptor of repentance, a dispenser of grace!”
There is also an authentic hadith on this subject. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said that if one transmits a message he has heard without confirming it, s/he may be termed as a liar.
October 30, 2018
Read ONLY, IF AND WHEN you have time and mood for:
“An Ayah of the Quran for 30 Days” -- October 2018
Choose the section you have time, in the next 30 days to read this ayah:-
Prelude: Recurrent Primary Message 1st. Page
Starting Dua, a note & The Ayah 2nd. Page
A Short Summary: For the Busy Bee One Page
The Main Story: Recommended Two Pages
Footnotes: For the Perfectionist One Page
PRELUDE
From the Pen and Perspective of a self-styled PPK Muslim (Proud, Practicing, Knowledgeable) with a humble submission that Islam totally rejects Blind Following BUT vigorously focusses on the Limitations of Pure Human Reasoning..............and clearly and comprehensively AlLAH knows best.
In the beginning of the seventh century C.E., the folks of Mecca and Medina had a fascinatingly unique window: they had direct access to the Heavens through one of their own. They were blessed with a regular stream of Divine counseling and guidelines. Question and answer sessions were part of the program. Even individual questioner was graced by an answer. In the short Introduction to this scheme they were assured that at the end of this twenty-two year project, Divine Directions and Admonitions will continue through the agency of the PEN. The whole discourse has been preserved and archived till eternity under the guarantee of our Lord and Creator. This record in known as the Quran.
It should sound unbelievable but factually appears to be true: Many of our prevalent, widespread and important concepts and opinions about religious matters do not have a basis in the Quran and sometimes even appear to be in obvious conflict with the teachings of the Quran. It would be very educative and helpful to discuss an Ayah once a month to see if it supports or rejects our views and actions in our daily life. I wish and hope this generates a fruitful interactive discussion.
DUAA’
بِسمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ
In the name of Allah, we praise HIM, seek HIS help and ask for HIS forgiveness. Whosoever Allah guideth none can misguide; whosoever HE allows to fall astray, none can guide him right. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah alone and we bear witness that Mohammed, SAW is HIS slave-servant and the Seal of HIS Messengers.
Further, we recall that Allah Ta’aala has declared in HIS Book1
“He granteth wisdom to whom He pleaseth; and he to whom wisdom is granted receiveth indeed a benefit overflowing; but none will grasp the Message (or remember or receive admonition) but men of understanding (or intellect)”
and we also recollect that he has warned us about the day of judgement2
“Then on that day you shall most certainly be questioned about the boons (joy, pleasure).”
We realise, that there cannot be a greater boon or blessing or benefit than wisdom and we wonder if this should be a timely reminder to very many of us sincere and practicing Muslims who use our critical thinking to enhance the mundane for ourselves and our families but in matters religion we choose to
resort to blind following -- taqleed, doctrine of classical Sunni Islamic Fiqh.
(NOTE: I have filtered out the proofs and details into the Footnotes for those who have the time and interest for them. The main text will then be of reasonable length, hopefully for the busy majority. What follows is not a sermon; I do not feel qualified to give one, anyhow. I wish, it may provide a food for thought. A caveat seems in order: If the ayah selected pertains to issues we face in our daily life with our family, friends, neighbours or peers it may affect us personally and lead to some self analysis and soul searching which in turn could be divisive and distressing. If taken in the right spirit, it can be a humble attempt towards finding the “straight path”.)
THE AYAH
Surah Al-Hujurat (no. 49), Ayah 6
يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنوا إِن جاءَكُم فاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ فَتَبَيَّنوا أَن تُصيبوا قَومًا بِجَهالَةٍ فَتُصبِحوا عَلىٰ ما فَعَلتُم نادِمينَ
“O ye who believe! If a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, lest ye harm people unwittingly, and afterwards become full of repentance for what ye have done”.
A SHORT VERSION
“I am convinced about the veracity of my opinions, but I do consider it likely that they may turn out to be incorrect. Likewise, I am convinced about the incorrectness of the views different from mine, but I do concede the possibility that they may turn out to be correct.” — Imam Shafa’i
The index ayah appears to me very relevant to a very common practice in our conversation these days. But first lets go to the shane nuzool ie to the reason for revelation of this ayah. This often time helps to formulate a correct general understanding of any verse of the Quran. We need a scholar for this first step. This is how Maulana Maudoodi informs us: ………………….(See the main story)
This ayah is dealing with a minor problem but is demonstrating a gigantic reality and certainty in the life of the nascent Ummah. I have explained this phenomenon in the prelude to this series:
“In the beginning of the seventh century C.E., the folks of Mecca and Medina had a fascinatingly unique window: they had direct access to the Heavens through one of their own. They were blessed with a regular stream of Divine counseling and guidelines. Question and answer sessions were part of the program. Even individual questioner was graced by an answer. In the short Introduction to this scheme they were assured that at the end of this twenty-two year project, Divine Directions and Admonitions will continue through the agency of the PEN. The whole discourse has been preserved and archived till eternity under the guarantee of our Lord and Creator. This record in known as the Quran”.
Thus the fledgling Ummah had the luxury of direct Divine guidance on a regular basis and as needed for their problems, big and small. They were in fact living directly through their Prophet under the rule and governance of Allah Ta’aala Subhanahoo.
I was reminded of this ayah when I noticed a plethora of texts, videos and images in the social media on all sorts of religious and temporal issues. Everybody is sending to everybody every thing that appeals. It seems no one, none at all bothers to pause for a moment to find who, how and why? A sentence starts with “Doctors say” followed by some strange and unusual statement without any mention of who the doctors are, where did they say this and what is their evidence. Why bother, when you can get the pleasure of passing it on to many of your social group with just a “click”. I humbly suggest, these people should feel warned by this ayah. I will admit, though the ayah is not relevant to small and trivial matters.
Let us start with meaning of some major words mentioned here.
“فاسِقٌ” ie Fasikun. A fasik is rendered by various Mufassirs as: disobedient, evil-liver, evil doer, wicked person, publicly commits sins, rebellious evil, ungodly, iniquitous and sinful person. Please note the individual style of the Holy Text.…………(See the main story)
The next word is “بِنَبَإٍ” translated variously by the Mufassirs as: information, news, tidings, report and (slanderous) tale. The grammatical configuration of this word, I understand excludes small and trivial news……………..(See the main story)
The Mufassirs have interpreted the word” فَتَبَيَّنوا” (Tabyyanoo) as investigate, verify, look carefully into it, ascertain its truthfulness carefully, make clear, use your discernment, carefully ascertain its truth, verify its correctness. This is a powerful and explicit message to the entire Muslim Community to ignore rumors. “Scandal or slander of all kinds is here condemned”.
to ignore rumors. “Scandal or slander of all kinds is here condemned” adds Yousuf Ali. The women are specially protected from such defamation in another ayah:3
“(But,)verily, those who [falsely, and without repentance, accuse chaste women who may have been unthinkingly careless but have remained true to their faith, shall be rejected [from God's grace] in this world as well as in the life to come: and awesome suffering awaits them”.
The message of the ayah under discussion is a moral imperative to protect the honor and reputation of one and all in the community. This point is very openly, completely and distinctly ordained further down in the same Surah:4
“O you who have attained to faith! Avoid most guesswork [about one another]1 - for, behold, some of [such] guesswork is [in itself] a sin; and do not spy upon one another, and neither allow yourselves to speak ill of one another behind your backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, you would loathe it! And be conscious of God. Verily, God is an acceptor of repentance, a dispenser of grace!”
As I have stated earlier this verse was revealed in connection with Walid Ibn ‘Uqbah who is then labelled as a fasiq. How can that be? It is almost a maxim with us that “the Companions are all truthful and reliable; none of their statements, reports or testimony can be doubted.” ………….(See the main story)
This ayah had grave political implications for the small and developing Ummah as pointed out by Imam Amin Hasan Ilahi. …………….(See the main story)
There is also an authentic hadith on this subject. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said that if one transmits a message that he has heard without confirming it, s/he may be termed as a liar.
........and Allah knows best.
May Allah Ta’aala bless us with true understanding--“fahm”--of our Deen, Aameen.
THE MAIN STORY
“I am convinced about the veracity of my opinions, but I do consider it likely that they may turn out to be incorrect. Likewise, I am convinced about the incorrectness of the views different from mine, but I do concede the possibility that they may turn out to be correct.” — Imam Shafa’i
The index ayah appears to me very relevant to a very common practice in our conversation these days. But first lets go to the shane nuzool ie to the reason for revelation of this ayah. This often time helps to formulate a correct general understanding of any verse of the Quran. We need a scholar for this first step. This is how Maulana Maudoodi informs us:
“Most of the commentators have expressed the view that this verse was sent down concerning Walid bin Uqbah bin Abi Muait. Its background is this: When the tribe of the Bani al-Mustaliq embraced Islam, the Prophet (peace be upon him) sent Walid bin Uqbah to collect the Zakat from them. When he arrived in their territory, he became fearful due to some reason and without visiting the people of the tribe returned to Al-Madinah and complained to the Prophet (peace be upon him) that they had refused to pay the Zakat and had even wanted to kill him. On hearing this, the Prophet (peace be upon him) became very angry and he made up his mind to dispatch a contingent to punish those people. According to some traditions he had dispatched the contingent, and according to others, he was about to dispatch it. In any case, all agree that in the meantime the chief of the Bani al-Mustaliq, Harith bin Dirar, father of Juwairiyah, wife of the Prophet (peace be upon him), arrived at the head of a deputation, and submitted: By God, we did not at all see Walid; therefore, there could be no question of refusing to pay the Zakat and wanting to kill him. We are steadfast to the faith and have no intention to withhold the Zakat. At this, this verse was sent down. With a little variation in wording this incident has been related by Imam Ahmad, Abi Hatim, Tabarani, and Ibn Jarir, on the authority of Abdullah bin Abbas, Harith bin Dirar, Mujahid, Qatadah, Abdur Rehman bin Abi Laila, Yazid bin Ruman, Dahhak and Muqatil bin Hayyan. In the tradition reported by Umm Salamah this whole story has been related likewise but there is no reference to the name of Walid.
This ayah is dealing with a minor problem but is demonstrating a gigantic reality and certainty in the life of the nascent Ummah. I have explained this phenomenon in the prelude to this series:
“In the beginning of the seventh century C.E., the folks of Mecca and Medina had a fascinatingly unique window: they had direct access to the Heavens through one of their own. They were blessed with a regular stream of Divine counseling and guidelines. Question and answer sessions were part of the program. Even individual questioner was graced by an answer. In the short Introduction to this scheme they were assured that at the end of this twenty-two year project, Divine Directions and Admonitions will continue through the agency of the PEN. The whole discourse has been preserved and archived till eternity under the guarantee of our Lord and Creator. This record in known as the Quran”.
Thus the fledgling Ummah had the luxury of direct Divine guidance on a regular basis and as needed for their problems, big and small. They were in fact living directly through their Prophet under the rule and governance of Allah Ta’aala Subhanahoo.
I was reminded of this ayah when I noticed a plethora of texts, videos and images in the social media on all sorts of religious and temporal issues. Everybody is sending to everybody every thing that appeals. It seems no one, none at all bothers to pause for a moment to find who, how and why? A sentence starts with “Doctors say” followed by some strange and unusual statement without any mention of who the doctors are, where did they say this and what is their evidence. Why bother, when you can get the pleasure of passing it on to many of your social group with just a “click”. I humbly suggest, these people should feel warned by this ayah. I will admit, though the ayah is not relevant to small and trivial matters.
Let us start with meaning of some major words mentioned here.
“فاسِقٌ” ie Fasikun. A fasik is rendered by various Mufassirs as: disobedient, evil-liver, evil doer, wicked person, publicly commits sins, rebellious evil, ungodly, iniquitous and sinful person. Please note the individual style of the Holy Text. It starts with the presumption that the person concerned is a Fasik. Thus the Quran is telling you to first judge the person. If you find him honest, go ahead. But if he turns out to be a Fasiq or you cannot decide about him then this ayah steps in. “…….you should not accept it immediately but should first examine the man who has brought it. If he is an evil man whose report is not authentic normally, you should inquire into it carefully to ascertain the truth instead of accepting it and acting on it immediately” comments Maulana Maudoodi. Probably guided by this ayah, the Mohaddesin have drawn out elaborate rules to screen a ravee before accepting his story. Similarly the testimony of an iniquitous person in legal matters is often rejected; some supporting witness or evidence is required. Nasr et add “There is some debate as to whether the testimony of the iniquitous can be accepted for other matters, such as marriage, and whether an iniquitous believer can be allowed to lead the prayer”.
The next word is “بِنَبَإٍ” translated variously by the Mufassirs as: information, news, tidings, report and (slanderous) tale. The grammatical configuration of this word, I understand excludes small and trivial news. For the word used in the verse is naba, which does not apply to every news but only to the news of consequence. There seems to be a consensus among scholars that this ayah does not apply to “common worldly matters”. Similarly the Islamic scholarship agrees that the reports of non-Muslims will be acceptable even though they may be regarded as unjust and unworthy because of their faith. “Only the falsehood of their creed cannot be a hindrance to accepting their evidence or reports” says Maudoodi.
The Mufassirs have interpreted the word” فَتَبَيَّنوا” (Tabyyanoo) as investigate, verify, look carefully into it, ascertain its truthfulness carefully, make clear, use your discernment, carefully ascertain its truth, verify its correctness. This is a powerful and explicit message to the entire Muslim Community to ignore rumors. “Scandal or slander of all kinds is here condemned” adds Yousuf Ali. The women are specially protected from such defamation in another ayah:3
“(But,)verily, those who [falsely, and without repentance, accuse chaste women who may have been unthinkingly careless but have remained true to their faith, shall be rejected [from God's grace] in this world as well as in the life to come: and awesome suffering awaits them”.
The message of the ayah under discussion is a moral imperative to protect the honor and reputation of one and all in the community. This point is very openly, completely and distinctly ordained further down in the same Surah:4
“O you who have attained to faith! Avoid most guesswork [about one another]1 - for, behold, some of [such] guesswork is [in itself] a sin; and do not spy upon one another, and neither allow yourselves to speak ill of one another behind your backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, you would loathe it! And be conscious of God. Verily, God is an acceptor of repentance, a dispenser of grace!”
As I have stated earlier this verse was revealed in connection with Walid Ibn ‘Uqbah who is then labelled as a fasiq. How can that be? It is almost a maxim with us that “the Companions are all truthful and reliable; none of their statements, reports or testimony can be doubted.” Mufti Mohammed Shafi solves the riddle when he quotes Allamah Alusi in Ruh-ul- Ma’sani who says “that the truth of the matter is according to the majority of the scholars, the blessed Companions are not infallible; it is possible for them to commit sins - major sins which is fisq; at the time of committing the sin they will be dealt with in the appropriate manner in terms of the punishment prescribed for that act; and if any of them is found guilty of lying, his news, information, report or testimony will be rejected”. Additionally, it is believed by
Ahl-us-suunah wal-Jama'ah that a Companion may commit a sin but never persist in it. Lastly, the Qur'an, describes the sahaabaa as:5
“Allah is well-pleased with them and they are well-pleased with Him”
After discussing this controversy, Mufti Mohammed Shafi concludes: “Nevertheless, it is not at all necessary that in the current verse, Wala Ibn 'Uqbah is categorically referred to as fasiq. Despite the fact that the verse is supposed to have been revealed in his incident, it does not mean that the word fasiq is used for him.”
This ayah had grave political implications for the small and developing Ummah as pointed out by Imam Amin Hasan Ilahi. The ministry and rule in Madinah was still impressionable and pliable despite the strong and adorable leadership of our Holy Prophet. There was a constant flux—to and fro— into the city of the bedouins from the surrounding area. They were an unsophisticated lot with strong tribal leanings and sentiments. There was a strong possibility that they will try to score marks against each other with the Prophet by misrepresentation—deliberate or other wise— with a potential of serious conflict. With this ayah the community stood forewarned.
There is also an authentic hadith on this subject. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said that if one transmits a message that he has heard without confirming it, s/he may be termed as a liar.
........and Allah knows best.
May Allah Ta’aala bless us with true understanding--“fahm”--of our Deen, Aameen.
Dr. Khalid Mitha
FOOTNOTES
(1) Surah 2/269
يُؤتِي الحِكمَةَ مَن يَشاءُ ۚ وَمَن يُؤتَ الحِكمَةَ فَقَد أوتِيَ خَيرًا كَثيرًا ۗ وَما يَذَّكَّرُ إِلّا أُولُو الأَلبابِ
(2) Surah 102/8
ثُمَّ لَتُسأَلُنَّ يَومَئِذٍ عَنِ النَّعيمِ
(3) Surah 24/23
إِنَّ الَّذينَ يَرمونَ المُحصَناتِ الغافِلاتِ المُؤمِناتِ لُعِنوا فِي الدُّنيا وَالآخِرَةِ وَلَهُم عَذابٌ عَظيمٌ
(4)Surah 49/12
يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنُوا اجتَنِبوا كَثيرًا مِنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعضَ الظَّنِّ إِثمٌ ۖ وَلا تَجَسَّسوا وَلا يَغتَب بَعضُكُم بَعضًا ۚ أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُم أَن يَأكُلَ لَحمَ أَخيهِ مَيتًا فَكَرِهتُموهُ ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَوّابٌ رَحيمٌ
(5) Surah 98/8 —part of the ayah
رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنهُم وَرَضوا عَنهُ ۚ
