In one of his writings,
Mr Katz has stated that the various statements in the Qur’ān regarding the
origin of the Calamity are mutually contradictory. Mr Katz’s opinion is based on
the following verses of the Qur’ān: 4:78; 4:79; 38:41.
Wherever you are death will find you
out even if you are in towers built up strong and high! If some good befalls
them they say: ‘This is from Allah’; but if evil, they say: ‘This is from you’
[O Prophet]. Say: ‘All things are from Allah’. But what has come to these people
that they fail to understand a single fact? (4:78)
Whatever good, [O man!] happens to
you, is from Allah; But whatever evil happens to you, is from your [own] soul.
And We have sent you as a Messenger to [instruct] mankind. And enough is Allah
for a witness. (4:79)
Commemorate our Servant Job. Behold
he cried to his Lord: ‘The Evil One has afflicted me with distress and
suffering!’ (38:41)
From the first verse, Mr Katz has
understood that according to the Qur’ān the source of both good as well as evil
happenings in human life is Allah. From the second verse, Mr. Katz has perceived
that, contrary to the first verse, it says that all good happenings in human
life are from Allah but all evil happenings are from man himself. From the third
verse Mr. Katz has construed that according to the Qur’ān the source of evil
happenings in man’s life is the devil or Satan. Comparing the first two verses,
Mr Katz writes:
Evil things are without doubt a
subset of ‘all things’, and if ‘all things are from Allah’, then the evil things
are from Allah as well, and the author of the Qur’ān can’t pass the guilt on and
blame others as done in verse 79.
It is interesting that Muhammad would
contradict himself within two consecutive verses and then write three verses
later that discrepancy is a sign that it is not from God.
But this topic isn’t over with just
yet.
And then, comparing all three verses,
Mr. Katz writes:
Now we have a third party joining the
contest for responsibility. Is evil from ourselves? Is it from Satan? Or is it
from Allah?
Any two of them contradict each
other, but in particular do the first two (4:79, 38:41) contradict the third
(4:78) as Allah claimed all things are from Himself.
In my opinion, if the verses are seen in
the correct perspective, particularly with reference to their context, their
style, their words and their source the apparent contradiction pointed out by Mr
Katz shall automatically stand resolved.
In this article, I shall present my view
regarding the meaning of the referred verses.
Let us first take a look at 4: 78 and
4:79 in their complete context.
These verses are actually an answer to
one of the objections raised by the hypocrites. 4:77 clearly shows that the
group being referred to here is that of the hypocrites. It says that till the
time that Allah had not allowed the Muslims to fight the non-believers, the
hypocrites would brag about their bravery and would pretend about their
sincerity with the Prophet (sws). They would keep pressing the Prophet (sws) to
declare war against the non-believers. But as soon as Allah allowed the Muslims
to fight the non-believers, they lost heart and because of their cowardice
wanted to flee from fighting. The reason for this behaviour was that these
people did not believe in the Hereafter, and therefore wanted to flee from
death. While the truth is that the everlasting pleasures of the Hereafter are
much better than the temporary pleasures of this life. Moreover, their fleeing
from fighting in Allah’s way because of the fear of death will not save them
from their death. When their appointed time comes, death shall most certainly
overtake them, even if they hide themselves in strong and lofty towers. These
people would criticise the Prophet (sws). Whenever the Muslims were victorious,
these people would say that this victory was from Allah and whenever the Muslims
suffered a loss, they would say that it was because of the poor planning of the
Prophet (sws). They should have remembered that be it a victory or a defeat,
everything is from Allah. Nothing can happen without the permission of Allah.
Their victories were purely through Allah’s blessings and Allah inflicted on
them defeats because of their own weaknesses and mistakes.
As should be quite clear from the above
explanation, the two verses cited by Mr Katz refer to two different things. The
first one (4:78) refers to the source of all happenings with reference to the
battles that the Muslims fought against the non-believers, while the second
verse (4:79) tells us the law according to which Allah apportions victories and
defeats among the believers and the non-believers. This verse tells us that the
successes and victories of the Muslims are only through Allah’s blessings. If He
had not allowed such a happening, they would never have been able to get them on
their own. On the other hand, when the Muslims suffered a loss or were defeated,
Allah allowed such (apparently evil) happening to befall the Muslims because of
their own mistakes and weaknesses. Thus the real message in these verses is
Allah’s law regarding the distribution of victories and defeats among the two
groups. If the believers were victorious, it was primarily due to the blessing
and help of God. Whereas, if they were defeated, it was primarily because of
their own moral weaknesses and mistakes (and, as has been stated in 3:179, to
remove from among them the insincere individuals that were present in them).
Now let us have a look at the third
verse (38:41). Before giving my opinion regarding this verse, I would like my
readers to understand that that according to the Qur’ān, the life of this world
is a time of test and trial for all individuals. Sometimes an individual is
tested with good and comfortable times to see whether he remains thankful to his
Lord or not. At other times, an individual is tested with bad and difficult
times to see whether he remains steadfast in serving his Lord or not. Thus
whatever good or bad times come our way, they are a test from Allah. In other
words, the ultimate source of all good or desirable happenings as well as all
(apparently) bad and undesirable happenings is the Almighty.
Besides this, another fact which should
also be kept in mind is that the Almighty during the course of this period of
trial and test has given the satanic forces a chance to lure man into evil
deeds. Sometimes because of Satan’s attacks, man may be driven into doing evil.
After such evil deeds, the Almighty, to cleanse his servant, may put him in some
hard times. In such situations, although the ultimate source of such difficult
times is the Almighty, it would not be wrong to say that man is himself
responsible for such times (because he himself -- with his free will -- opted to
give in to the luring of Satan). Moreover, because man is lured into the wrong
action by Satan, due to which he has to face the consequences, therefore it
would not be wrong to ascribe such bad times to Satan.
With these clarifications in mind, let
us now have a look at the cited verse. This verse, as should be clear from its
contents, is with particular reference to Job (sws) (Qur’ān: Ayyūb). It refers
to God’s trial of Job (sws). There is only a passing reference to this incident
in the Qur’ān; details of the event are not given in the Qur’ān. Some of the
important details given in the Bible are reproduced below. The referred book
introduces Job in the following words:
In the land of Uz there lived a man
whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and
shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand
sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred
donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all
the people of the East. His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their
homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them
purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of
them, thinking: ‘Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their
hearts.’ This was Job’s regular custom.
One day the angels came to present
themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. The LORD said to
Satan: ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan answered the LORD: ‘From roaming
through the earth and going back and forth in it.’ Then the LORD said to Satan:
‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is
blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.’ ‘Does Job fear God
for nothing?’ Satan replied. ‘Have you not put a hedge around him and his
household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that
his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand
and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.’ The
LORD said to Satan: ‘Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on
the man himself do not lay a finger.’ Then Satan went out from the presence of
the LORD. (Job 1:1-13)
After this, according to the Bible,
Satan attacked Job (sws) by destroying his belongings. His children were killed,
his oxen, donkeys and camels were stolen, his sheep destroyed, many of his
servants were slaughtered. Even at this catastrophe Job (sws), according to the
Bible, fell to the ground in worship and called out to his Lord:
Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name
of the LORD be praised. (Job 1:21)
The Bible further states:
In all this, Job did not sin by
charging God with wrongdoing. (Job 1:22)
At this point, the Bible says:
On another day, the angels came to
present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present
himself before him. And the LORD said to Satan: ‘Where have you come from?’
Satan answered the LORD: ‘From roaming through the earth and going back and
forth in it.’ Then the LORD said to Satan: ‘Have you considered my servant Job?
There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears
God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me
against him to ruin him without any reason.’ ‘Skin for skin!’ Satan replied. ‘A
man will give all he has for his own life. But stretch out your hand and strike
his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.’ The LORD said
to Satan: ‘Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.’
So Satan went out from the presence
of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to
the top of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself
with it as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him: ‘Are you still holding
on to your integrity? Curse God and die!’ He replied: ‘You are talking like a
foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?’
In all this, Job did not sin in what he
said. (Job 2:1-10)
The Qur’ān, as has been stated
earlier, does not give the details of the sufferings of Job (sws), but as is
pretty obvious from the details given from the excerpts of the Bible, these
sufferings were inflicted on Job (sws) by Satan. Although Satan inflicted these
sufferings on Job (sws) with the permission of God, which means that it would
not have been wrong if Job (sws) had ascribed these sufferings as a test from
God Himself.
If seen in the perspective of this
explanation, I am sure that any reader with a neutral mind shall see that there
exists no contradiction between the three referred verses of the Qur’ān. All
comments that may point out any logical or linguistic inconsistencies in my
interpretation of the referred Qur’ānic verses are most welcome and shall be
highly appreciated.
Courtesy:
Understanding Islam (http://www.understanding-islam.com/articles/quran/iefsooa.htm)
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