Quran Garden

Session 249

Chapter 2

Verse 229

a continuation

Divorce is twice; then, the wife may be retained honourably with courtesy or released with good will.  It is not lawful for you to keep anything you have given them unless a couple fears that they will not remain within God’s limits.  If you fear that they will not remain within God’s limits, there is no blame in the wife ransoming herself with some of what she received. These are God’s limits, so do not overstep them.  Those who overstep God’s limits are wrongdoers. (Chapter 2: Verse 229)

God’s limits are the barrier between what is permissible and what is prohibited.  Thus, God’s limits come as prohibitions or as commands.  It is interesting to note that when Allah talks about His limits after issuing a command, He says: “These are God’s limits, so do not overstep them.” But when Allah talks about His limits after issuing a prohibition, He says: “These are God’s limits, so do not come near them.” Why the difference, you may ask? We answer that Allah –the All-Merciful- wants to not only to protect you from sin, but also from the allure of sin.  He knows that you have desires that may intensify if you approach what is prohibited, so He advises you not to even go near sin. 

Prophet Muhammad –peace be upon him- explained this to us.  He said: “That which is lawful is clear, and that which is unlawful is also clear.  Between the two are doubtful matters.  Whoever stirs away from these matters has guarded himself and his faith.  And whoever wanders around them is bound to fall into prohibitions.  Just like a shepherd who pastures around a king’s sanctuary, grazing right on the king’s borders.  Verily, every king has a sanctuary, and Allah’s sanctuary are His prohibitions.”

So, God’s limits include His prohibitions and commandments and these come in the form of “do” and “do not do.”  As a believer, you have the responsibility of keeping all your actions within these limits.  Once you start doing what you are not supposed to do, or ignoring what you are supposed to do, your life goes out of balance.  When more and more people ignore God’s teachings, the balance of the entire society is disturbed.  Injustice becomes common because people lose respect for the rights of others.     

When it comes to social issues –such as divorce-, God’s teachings are designed to prevent the society from falling into social diseases.  Even if we assume that legislators have the best of intentions when they make family laws, we understand the limitations of their knowledge and experience.  We -humans- can only look at our current circumstances and learn from our previous experiences; but what if something unpredictable occurs –which often does-? What will happen to the laws on the books? These deficient laws would need to be changed.  In such cases, if the legislators are truly sincere, they would rise above their pride and say: "we will amend the law to address what we have missed in the past.” Meanwhile, many people may suffer until the deficiency is recognized and corrected.  If the legislators are stubborn and self-righteous, then the whole society would suffer.

We must understand the difference between our desire to do what is right, and our ability to do what is right.  We legislate based on our limited knowledge and skills, and the society often suffers under conflicting theories and emerging social experiments. 

When it comes to material sciences, all are in agreement.  These sciences are proven in the lab with reproducible empirical evidence.  Scientists toil and invest time and money testing different theories in the laboratory until they come up with scientifically reliable results.  The entire society benefits from the hard work of a few.  On the other hand, social and legal theories are often based on impulsive arguments.  The prevailing unproven theory of the time is often implemented on an unsuspecting society through laws.  It is the people and the society who suffer from the mistakes of a few lawmakers.  This may go on for decades until a just legislator comes and makes adjustments to rectify the mishaps of the previous legislators.

God’s law protects us from suffering because it frees us from the cycle of social theories and legal experimentation.  The laboratories of material sciences are free from the influence of personal whims and desires.  This is not true in social and legal opinions where there is a struggle for power, wealth, and influence.  Thus, God took over the legislation of social matters to ensure that societies do not suffer from the mistakes and whims of a few.  Our modern world is rife with problems stemming from greed.  Dealing with such issues where people are exploited and marginalized often leads to violence and wars.  Allah is our creator, He is free of need, and He does not benefit from the legislation.   He has ultimate power and does not need anything from us.  Thus, Allah’s legislation is fair; it is for our benefit, and it does not require experimentation. 

When I visited the United States, a person came and asked me: why didn’t Islam prevail over all other religions as you claim in the Quran?  He was implying that billions of people are not Muslim and referring to the following verses:  God says: 

He is the One Who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the Religion of truth that He may make it prevail over all religions, however detested this may be to those who associate partners with God. (9:33)

He it is Who has sent His Messenger with the Divine guidance and the Religion of truth that He may make it prevail over all religions. God suffices for a witness (48:28)

I replied: “You have to pay attention to the entire verse, not just part of it.  Islam is not meant to be the sole religion of the world.  The phrase: “however detested this may be to those who associate partners with God” suggests that Islam will always be at a time when non-believers and polytheists exist.  Had there not been any disbelievers, the verse would be wrong.  The real power of God’s teachings is often observed when non-Muslim legislators resort to Islamic rulings when their system fails.  They emulate God’s teachings not as a religion but as a guide to set the laws right.  Their application of Islamic disciplines further confirms the validity of Islam.  Of course, if these rulings were adopted as religious teachings, the legislators would be accused of fanaticism.  But despite their hatred for the religion of Islam, they are often forced by life’s circumstances to mimic its teachings because they happen to be the best solutions.

I’ll give you an example here.  The Catholic Church did not allow divorce and considered it against a woman’s right.  But the circumstances of life and marital problems forced them to rethink the rulings related to divorce.  Did they become lenient towards divorce because Islam had permitted it? Of course not, they became lenient because they found it to be the best solution.  Hence, the verse “He is the One Who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the Religion of truth that He may make it prevail over all religions, however detested this may be to those who associate partners with God” means that non-Muslims will have to resort to the Islamic system to resolve their issues, even if they do not accept Islam as a religion.” 

It is a testament to Islam’s teachings that even non-believers who may hate and fight against it still take from its principles to reform corruption in their communities.  These 14-century-old teachings are used to solve modern problems in modern societies.  This is what is meant by God’s words:

He is the One Who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the Religion of truth that He may make it prevail over all religions, however detested this may be to those who associate partners with God. (9:33)