Quran Garden

Did you know that there is an Aya in the Quran honoring a Jewish Rabbi?  It's an incredible story of respect and recognition that's often overlooked.  Stay tuned till the end of today's Tafsir, and we will tell you all about it.  Let's begin.

Session 628

Chapter 4

Verse 47

O people of the Book, believe in what We have revealed, which confirms what is already with you before We obliterate faces, turning them inside out, or We curse you as We cursed the Companions of the Sabbath.  God's command is always carried out.  (Chapter 4: Verse 47)

We know that all legislation that came from the heavens contains no contradiction.  Why?  Because the legislature is One.  God will not set a foundation today, then send another messenger to upend it.  The fundamentals of all religions brought by the procession of messengers since the beginning of time are one and the same: Worship Allah and do not associate any partners with Him.  Heavenly messengers do differ in some rulings that address the specific circumstances of different eras.  Creed is one: it is immutable and non-negotiable.  Social legislation, on the other hand, is flexible even within the same heavenly message.  Rulings evolve; especially those related to customs and entrenched societal habits. 

Allah, the All-Merciful, would not come to habits that have taken hold in society, and abruptly end them with a single word.  He deals with such matters gently, in stages, until the transition is complete and the goal is reached. 

We ask: Didn't modern science and contemporary psychology arrive at the same conclusion?  When it came to breaking the societal habit of smoking in the 1970s and 1980s, many approaches were tried, yet all but one failed: the gradual, step-by-step method.  In the United States, smoking restrictions were introduced incrementally.  First, smoking was banned on airplanes, then in restaurants, then in public buildings, and so on.  A person who once smoked fifty cigarettes a day might now smoke only twenty, simply because each cigarette required stepping outside.  With higher taxes on cigarettes, smokers were further nudged down to ten a day.  The interval between cigarettes, once ten or thirty minutes, gradually stretched to an hour, weakening the habit over time.  Old habits die hard and new ones demand effort.

Why are we discussing this subject?  Because when Allah says, "O People of the Book, believe in what We have revealed, which confirms what is already with you," He is making it clear to the Jews and Christians: nothing new has been introduced, and your core belief system is not being overturned.  Rather, this message of Islam affirms what you already recognize.  It should be natural for you to follow Muhammad, the heavenly Messenger.  One might ask: if this message is already familiar and consistent with what they have, what is the need for it?  The answer is that new societal challenges had emerged, issues that were not present at the time Judaism and Christianity were revealed.  Moreover, monotheism had slowly eroded when clergymen exchanged heavenly scripture for worldly power.  Islam addressed the evolving social realities while restoring the foundational principle of faith: worship Allah alone and do not associate any partners with Him.

Since matters are crystal clear and the evolution into Islam should come naturally, God follows His invitation with a threat, "before We obliterate faces, turning them inside out, or We curse you as We cursed the Companions of the Sabbath.  God's command is always carried out." The message is simple, "Hurry!  Save yourself and believe." The word "obliterate" is translated from the Arabic (ta?m?s), which means to erase something recognizable.  When you study the Quran, you will find that the word "face" appears carrying one of two distinct meanings.  The first is the physical face we all know.  God says,

On the Day when some faces brighten and others darken, it will be said to those with darkened faces, "How could you reject your faith after believing?  Taste the torment for doing so." (3:106)

The second meaning is that of intention, purpose, and direction.  God says,

Indeed, whoever submits his face to Allah and does good work will have their reward with their Lord: no fear for them, nor will they grieve. (2:112)

And "submits his face" means his purpose, direction, and intention.

What is the connection between the two meanings?  When you intend something, you turn your face towards it and walk in that direction.  In the Aya under study, both meanings are valid.  Let me explain.

Allah honored you with distinguishing features in your form: beautiful eyes, nose, mouth, lips, eyebrows, and more.  He declares: I can obliterate these features and turn them backward, so your face would look like the back of your head, a piece of flesh without distinction. 

On the other hand, those who choose to follow error and try to lead others away from God's path by twisting His words saying things like "r?‘in?" or "hear without really listening," do they not act with a clear direction?  They clearly intend on turning themselves and others away from following Muhammad so they can maintain worldly power.  It is as if Allah is saying to them: believe now, before your purpose and worldly power are taken away as more and more accept Islam and follow the Messenger leaving you behind.  Join the truth before that happens, and, more importantly, before you are cut off from God's mercy.

Abdull?h ibn Sal?m, when he heard this Aya, rushed to the Prophet, peace be upon him, with his hands repeatedly feeling his face and said: By Allah, I fear that my face would be obliterated before I declare my shahada.  This is proof that he, a Jewish scholar, believed that God was capable of fulfilling His word.

Similarly, at the time of the Caliph Omar, may Allah be pleased with him, Ka'b al-A?b?r, a prominent Jew who had not previously heard this verse, read it.  He, too, rushed to Omar and embraced Islam, fearing that his face would be obliterated any minute. 

Some people argue: Many of the People of the Book heard this Aya, did not believe, yet here they are living normally.  We answer: read the entire verse!  Did God say "before We obliterate faces, turning them inside out" then stop?  No.  He continued, "or We curse you as We cursed the Companions of the Sabbath." It suffices that there were people, scholars of Judaism around Medina, who believed that obliteration might come at any moment.  In fact, many wanted to embrace Islam but feared the retaliation of their Jewish communities.  Listen to this story: 

When Abdull?h ibn Sal?m, a respected Jewish rabbi in Medina, heard of Muhammad's arrival, he went to see him.  As soon as he looked at his face, he sensed the nobility of a true messenger.  The more he observed and listened, the more confident he became that he was on the right path.  Abdull?h said to Muhammad, "I will ask you about three matters that only a prophet would know: What is the first sign of the Hour?  What is the first food the people of Paradise eat?  And does the child take after the father or the mother?" He, peace be upon him, replied, "As for the first sign of the Hour, it is a fire that gathers people from the east to the west.  As for the first food of the people of Paradise, it is the caudate lobe of the liver of the whale.  As for the child, if the man's water precedes, it draws him; if the woman's water precedes, it draws him toward her." At that point, Abdull?h ibn Sal?m had no doubt.  He said, "O' Messenger of God, I wish to become Muslim, but I fear that my fellow Jews will slander me and say vile things.  So before I do, would you please ask them about me?" At the next gathering, he, peace be upon him, turned to the prominent Jewish scholars and asked: "What do you say about 'Abdull?h ibn Sal?m?" They said, "Our leader, son of our leader, the best of us, our scholar, rabbi, and glory." When 'Abdull?h ibn Sal?m heard this from them, he said: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." The delegation immediately turned on him, cursed him as the son of so-and-so, and belittled his knowledge.  Ibn Sal?m turned to Muhammad and said, "O Messenger of God, did I not tell you that they are a people given to slander." A man like this deserves his own Aya in the Quran.  God revealed,

Say: "Do you ever consider that if this Qur'an is from God, and you disbelieve in it while a witness from among the Children of Israel had already testified to the like of it and believed, whereas you are too arrogant to believe?  Surely God does not guide the wrongdoing people.  (46:10)