Quran Garden

Session 236

Chapter 2

Verse 220

a continuation

In this world and the next. They ask you about orphans: say, ‘It is good to set things right for them. If you combine their affairs with yours, remember they are your brothers and sisters: God knows those who spoil things and those who improve them. Had He so willed, He could been hard on you: He is Almighty and Wise.’ (Chapter 2: Verse 220)

A wise man once said, “No good deed goes unpunished.”  In other words, there will always be enemies against the right path.  Why, you may ask? Because many people make a living, earn a profit, and increase their power by exploiting others and robbing them of their rights.  It is a direct result of people following their own desires while ignoring the teachings of their Lord.  Corruption enriches the elites, and they will always fight with their money, power and media to keep the status quo.  Thus, the believers have the responsibility to always remain vigilant of such people and their actions.  You cannot be complacent, and more importantly, you should be prepared to sacrifice time, money and effort to free people from oppression and guarantee equality and justice for all.  God says:

Surely those who believe, those who emigrate and strive in God’s cause – they are the ones who may hope for the mercy of God. God is All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate. (2:218)

For these reasons, God has legislated fighting as a tool to prevent corruption if necessary as illustrated in the following verse:

Prescribed for you is fighting, though it is disliked by you. It may well be that you dislike something but it is good for you, and it may well be that you like something but it is bad for you. God knows, and you do not know.  (2:216)

The ultimate goal is for all people to enter into peace and follow the teachings of their Lord wholeheartedly. 

Then Allah draws our attention towards the value of the most essential organ of our body: the brain.  The brain is the key to sound judgment and careful planning.  You must protect your mind from any substance that may –even temporarily- disable it from functioning properly.  Alcohol, drugs, and even actions such as gambling cloud the mind’s judgment.  Such matters are prohibited even in the smallest of quantities.  People who claim that they drink or use drugs to forget about their problems should know that the one thing problems absolutely require to get solved or at least to move past is a sound and healthy mind.  Gambling is also prohibited to ensure that everyone makes an honest effort to earn money without deceiving others.  All the previous teachings and verses share the core of the phrase:  “In this world and the next” because God’s path guarantees our safety and happiness in both worlds. 

This brings us back to the verse.  God says: ‘They ask you about orphans: say, ‘It is good to set things right for them. If you combine their affairs with yours, remember they are your brothers and sisters: God knows those who spoil things and those who improve them. Had He so willed, He could been hard on you: He is Almighty and Wise.’ Security and happiness should also extend to all members of the society.  Allah explains that the issue of the orphan is not only material or financial one –an orphan, after all, may have inherited a sizable amount of wealth-; rather the entire community needs to compensate the orphan for the loss of his or her father.  Such care will extinguish the feelings of bitterness against other children whose parents are still alive.  This is only possible when the orphan receives enough attention and love. 

In the olden times, the guardian of the orphan would often mix his or her wealth with that of the child to make daily matters easy.  If the guardian had to keep everything separate, every decision would have to be tailored to the orphan.  In other words, buying plates and spoons and buying bread would have to be split between the family’s money and the orphan’s money.  Life is difficult as is, and it does not need that level of complexity.  Thus, God had permitted the guardian to combine his or her wealth with the orphan’s wealth.  However, when the following verses were revealed, people started shying away from the responsibility of caring for an orphan.  God says:

Stay well away from the property of orphans, except with the best intentions, until they come of age; give full measure and weight, according to justice’- We do not burden any soul with more than it can bear- ‘ when you speak, be just, even if it concerns a relative; keep any promises you make in God’s name. This is what He commands you to do, so that you may take heed’-  (06:152)

And in another verse:

People who consume the property of orphans unjustly consume nothing in their bellies except fire. They will roast in a Searing Blaze. (04:10)

People avoided bearing the heavy responsibility of the orphans fearing that they may not do it justice, but God wanted to make things easier for the orphans and guardians. Thus He revealed: “They ask you about orphans: say, ‘It is good to set things right for them. If you combine their affairs with yours, remember they are your brothers and sisters.” Allah wanted the feelings of love and brotherhood to be the primary factors in caring for an orphan.  Combining the wealth of the orphan to that of the guardian is OK as long as it is done with caution and with the intention to avoid harm.  Then God issued a warning: He says: ‘God knows those who spoil things and those who improve them.’  So you must understand that Allah knows who the corruptor is and who the reformer of the orphan’s affairs is.  It is not enough for the guardian to say that I have opened my house to the orphan and I am taking good care of him or her while money is being stolen behind the scenes.  God is the All-Knowledgeable, the All-Seeing and Hearing. 

The verse continues: “Had He so willed, He could been hard on you.” In other words, if God had not allowed combining of the orphan’s wealth with the guardian’s then the matter would have become very difficult for the believers.  Earlier we gave the simple example of having to separate the orphan’s food and utensils from that of the family.  The orphan’s spoon and plate would have to be washed with his or her dish detergent, not that of the family, and so on.  Even in today’s advanced banking and accounting software, this would be very difficult to do.  God, however, wants ease for us, not hardship. Thus He allowed mixing, so there is no difference in the way the orphan and the guardian live.

Here we should pause and study the beautiful accuracy of the Quranic expression.  More specifically, the word God used for combining the affairs of the orphans to that of the guardian.  The word ‘combine’ is translated from the Arabic origin ‘خالط’ ‘Khalata’.  ‘Khalata’ is used for mixing solids or items that can still be identified and separated later.  For example, when you mix beans with lentils, or rice with hazelnuts, you can separate them later.  It is different from mixing liquids –known in Arabic as ‘Mazaja’ ‘مزج’ where things cannot be separated once mixed.   God Almighty guides us to combine our affairs with those of the orphans, but not to mix them because one day the orphan will reach the age of maturity, and the guardian will have to separate the orphan’s wealth from his or her own. 

Again here we should remember that ‘God knows those who spoil things and those who improve them’ because the guardian may claim in public that he takes care of the orphan’s rights, and respects his or her interests, but the reality and intention is what counts.  Accountability of actions is not based on what people see; it is based on what God knows.