Al-Mujadila
Quran |
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Al-Mujādilah (
Summary
- 1-5 An ancient Arab custom of divorce abrogated
- 6-7 Those who oppose Muhammad threatened
- 8-11 Clandestine discourse against Muhammad censured and forbidden
- 12-14 The prophet of God to be approached with due reverence and honour
- 15-21 Muslims reproached for keeping company with Jews and infidels
- 22 Nearest relatives, if unbelievers, to be avoided as enemies of Islam [2]
The first six verses addresses the legal status of
The next section, verses 7 to 13, discusses political debates, which are framed as between "the confederates of God" and "the confederates of Satan". They also contain teachings for Muslims about how to conduct public assemblies (al-majalis). While in principle all individuals are free to participate in such assemblies, the verses maintain the importance of contributions from experts ("those who are possessed of knowledge"). This section also warns against conspiratorial secret meetings that are done for "iniquity, hostility and disobedience to the messenger of God".[6]
The last section, from 14 to 21, is the longest section (ruku') of the chapter. The section defines "the confederates of God" (hizb Allah) as those "who believe in God and the Last Day" and "the confederates of Satan" (hizb al-shaitan) as those who "forgets the remembrance of God", including those who openly oppose God and Muhammad as well as hypocrites.[7] It closes by discussing the rewards that God will give—according to the Quran—to his confederates.[5]
Revelation history
According to the Islamic tradition, the chapter was revealed during the
Both traditional and modern scholars of the Quran date the revelation of the chapter to between 4 AH to 7 AH (roughly 625–628 CE), likely after the Battle of the Trench. The Muslim community was in Medina under the leadership of Muhammad, under threat from the Quraysh tribe in Mecca and from the intrigues of "the hypocrites" (munafiqun, those who were outwardly Muslim but secretly opposed the Muslims) and the Jewish tribes in Medina. The Constitution of Medina acts as a constitution for this community, and the Quran—regarded as divine revelations by the Muslims—provided the law, and Muhammad acts as the final authority in interpreting the law and adjudicating disputes among the members of the community.[8]
The chapter is the first of ten Medinan suras which addresses legal issues in the nascent state led by Muhammad in Medina.
"She who disputes"
The first section (verses 1 to 6) was revealed in response to a juridical petition by a Muslim woman named Khaula bint Tha'laba, whom the chapter name refers to. Her husband, a Muslim man named Aws ibn al-Samit, divorced her using the pre-Islamic Arabian custom of zihar. According to the custom, when a husband invoked the declaration "You are to me as my mother's back", the husband would be free to remarry and released from his obligation towards his wife, while the wife could not remarry. This practice was not isolated and many new converts to Islam used it in Medina.[5][10]
Khaula considered this practice unfair to woman and petitioned Muhammad, as ruler and judge in Medina, to revoke the divorce, using moral and legal arguments. Muhammad initially declined to rule in her favor, citing the existing social custom and the lack of Quranic revelation to the contrary. According to the Islamic tradition, Khaula prayed to God about her predicament, and then God revealed the first six verses of Al-Mujadila to Muhammad, stating that her prayer was heard, overruling Muhammad and effectively outlawing the practice of zihar.[11]
Name
The chapter is named Al-Mujadila, "she who disputes", in reference to
References
Citations
- George Sale translation
- Sale's Text, Preliminary Discourse, and Notes. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, and Co. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ El-Sheikh 2003, pp. 29–30.
- ^ The Study Quran, p. 1342, vv. 3–4 commentary.
- ^ a b c d e f The Study Quran, p. 1341.
- ^ El-Sheikh 2003, pp. 26–27.
- ^ El-Sheikh 2003, pp. 25–26.
- ^ El-Sheikh 2003, pp. 24–25.
- ^ Ernst 2011, p. 39.
- ^ El-Sheikh 2003, pp. 28–29.
- ^ El-Sheikh 2003, p. 29.
- ^ El-Sheikh 2003, p. 24.
Bibliography
- Ernst, Carl W. (5 December 2011). How to Read the Qur'an: A New Guide, with Select Translations. Univ of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-6907-9.
- Seyyed Hossein Nasr; Caner K. Dagli; Maria Massi Dakake; Joseph E.B. Lumbard; Mohammed Rustom, eds. (2015). The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary. ISBN 978-0-06-112586-7.
- El-Sheikh, Salah (2003). "Al-Mujādalah and Al-Mujādilah Then and Now: Kalām, Dialectical Argument, and Practical Reason in the Qur'ān". The Muslim World. 93 (1). Wiley: 1–50. .
External links
- Works related to The Holy Qur'an (Maulana Muhammad Ali)/58. The Pleading Woman at Wikisource