Quran Garden

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, "Neighbors are three: one with a single right, another with two, and one with three rights." Do you know these rights?  Join us for today's Tafseer session as we explore Allah's advice on helping the poor, your neighbours, travellers, and servants.  Let's begin.  

Session 606

Chapter 4

Verse 36

a continuation

Worship Allah and do not ascribe any partners to Him, and be good to your parents, to relatives, orphans, the needy, neighbours near and far,  the companion by your side, travellers in need, and to those whom your right hands possess.  Surely, God does not like arrogant, boastful people.

(Chapter 4: Verse 36)

We started at the summit of faith with loyalty to our Creator: "Worship Allah and do not ascribe any partners to Him," then honoured our parents: "and be good to your parents," and helped our extended family and the orphans.  Now, Allah expands your circle of love to include the needy. 

As you read the Quran, you note that God refers to the poor and the needy, using the Arabic words (فقير) and (مسكين) respectively.  Scholars have differed on the exact meaning of these words.  Some said that a poor person may own property and earn some money, but far less than his or her basic needs, while the needy have nothing.  Some scholars claimed the opposite.  Either way, both the poor and the needy require help. 

The word (فقير) or poor is derived from "فقار الظهر" (vertebrae of the back), painting a picture of a person afflicted with something that breaks their back.  The needy "مسكين" on the other hand, comes from "مسكنة" (humility) and "سكن" (stillness), referring to a person subdued and humbled by circumstance.  All are very expressive of the person's condition.

Then, God alerts us to the rights of our neighbours and neighbourhoods.  A neighbor may have multiple rights.  Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, "Neighbors are three: one with a single right, another with two, and one with three rights.  The neighbor with one right is the non-Muslim neighbor, who is entitled to good neighborliness.  The neighbor with two rights is the Muslim neighbor, having the rights of both neighborliness and Islam.  Lastly, the neighbor with three rights is the Muslim with kinship, enjoying the rights of Islam, neighborliness, and family ties." In another Hadeeth, He, peace be upon him, said, "Gabriel continued to remind me about the neighbor until I thought he would make him an heir."  

Let's take a few moments to understand the phrase, "neighbours near and far." What are the neighborly limits?  They start from the closest door to your home and spread out to forty cubits, or forty houses, in either direction.  The "neighbours near" also mean neighbours who are related to you, giving them the added right of kinship.   

Our beloved Muhammad said to Abu Dharr, "O Abu Dharr, when you cook a broth, add some water to it and share it with your neighbors." The key is to maintain connections with your neighbours and relatives, because many neighbours share affection, know the ins and outs of your family, and are ready to help at a moment's notice. 

Next on our list is "The companion by your side," which refers to many people.  Your spouse is a companion, your co-worker, a travel buddy, a student or apprentice learning from you, a servant, and many more are all companions.  Including them in your good company and prayers is vital for the betterment of society. 

The phrase "travellers in need" is translated from the Arabic (ابن السبيل), which literally means, "son of the road." We say "so-and-so is the son of so-and-so," referring to their father and family.  When you meet a stranger from another city, you say "so-and-so from such-and-such place," referring to their place of origin.  However, when you say (ابن السبيل), it means a stranger cut off from all ties, even those that identify them; leaving no place to attribute them to except the road—no father, mother, place, or tribe.

The next people on our kindness list are "those your right hands possess." We previously discussed how Islam did not come to establish or even maintain slavery, but ended it.  Islam did not abolish slavery overnight, but dealt with it in stages.  We gave the example of a bathtub.  Before Islam, the tub had many faucets pouring in and only one small drain, so it naturally overflowed.  God began by gradually closing the sources of slavery, like shutting off faucets one by one.  For instance, enslavement as punishment for a crime or unpaid debt was prohibited.  At the same time, more and more drains were opened.  Allah set freeing a slave as the expiation for many sins.  If you took an oath and wanted to break it, you must free a slave; freeing a slave is one of the allowed expenditures of the Zakat almsgiving, and so on. 

Eventually, tens of drains were opened, and all the faucets were shut down except one.  The only remaining source of slavery in Islam, to this day, is prisoners of war.  Why not close this source, you may ask?  Because the alternative is death.  Why not just free them, then?  We answer that in a lawful war, enemies may take my fighters, and I take theirs.  I do not free theirs if they hold mine, so it becomes a matter of reciprocity, as the modern world does with prisoner exchanges.  Islam came to eradicate slavery and raise the status of every man and woman.  Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, taught us not to say "my slave" or "my slave girl," but rather "my young man" and "my young woman."

Moreover, if no reason for liberation exists and the master insists on retaining the young man or woman, Islam says: Since you chose not to free them, treat them well.  Feed them from what you eat, clothe them from what you wear, and do not burden them beyond their capacity.  If you do, assist them.  Can you find someone who wears their master's clothes, eats their food, and when tasked beyond their capacity, the master works along their side?  This is the meaning behind, "those your right hands possess."

Allah concludes the Aya by keeping us humble, especially as we help others.  Beware of letting the blessing or generosity you offer others give you a sense of superiority, for such pride is baseless.  Why?  Because any sense of pride should come from something permanently yours, and your blessings are not.  Can wealth disappear?  Absolutely. Could your strength fade?  Of course, with age, sickness, or accidents.  Genuine pride belongs only to Allah.  The human condition is ever changing: the strong become weak, the rich become poor, and the knowledgeable become as if they knew nothing.  God says,

People, if you doubt the Resurrection, consider that We created you from dust, then a drop of ?uid, then a clinging form, then a lump of ?esh, both shaped and unshaped: We mean to make Our power clear to you.  Whatever We choose, We cause to remain in the womb for an appointed time, then We bring you forth as infants, and then you grow and reach maturity.  Some die young, and some are left to live on to such an age that they forget all they once knew.  You sometimes see the earth lifeless, yet when We send down water, it stirs and swells and produces every kind of joyous growth. (22:5)

Do not let ego ruin your acts of kindness toward family, orphans, or those in need.  Consider this: an arrogant millionaire is immediately humbled when a billionaire walks into the room.  Why?  Because a person can only feel pride when they see others as lesser.  In fact, when a person is arrogant, it is because Allah is absent from their mind.  Had they remembered the grandness of our Lord, they would have been immediately humbled.   God says, "Surely, God does not like arrogant, boastful people."

Arrogance is visible in movement, while boastfulness is heard in words.  God forbids you from both.  He says,

Turning away arrogantly to lead others away from God's path.  Disgrace in this world awaits such a person, and on the Day of Resurrection, We shall make him taste the suffering of the Fire. (22:9)

We ask: If you see yourself as superior to the ones you charitably help, why not use the same logic to understand the superiority of the One who gave you everything?  God gave you life, substances, and even the air you breathe.  So stop any sense of self-delusion, pride, and boastfulness in what you give others.

If you learned something new today, please share it with others and leave QuranGarden a positive review.  God bless.