Translation of Verses & Commentary from Surah `Ankabut (No. 29) [56 – 61]
[56] O My slaves who have believed, surely My earth is wide. Therefore, Me alone should you serve.74
Commentary
74. “Implying that since the earth offers innumerable, multiform facilities to human life, there is no excuse for forgetting God ‘owing to the pressures of adverse circumstances.’ Whenever or wherever the worship of God – in its essential, and not merely liturgical sense – becomes impossible, the believer is obliged to ‘forsake the domain of evil’..and to ‘migrate unto God,’ that is, to a place where it is possible to live in accordance with one’s faith.” (Asad)
Sa`id b. Jubayr explained the verse as meaning: When sins are committed in a land, then leave the place. For, Allah’s earth is vast. […] `Ata’ expressed a similar opinion. IbnZayd said however, that Makkan Muslims were the immediate context. They were urged to leave the township in view of persecutions. Ibn Jarir explains that the words with which the verse ended, “Then Me, and Me alone you serve” imply that if Allah’s worship is not possible in a land, one might leave it. Qurtubi has similar opinions and adds the words of Sufyan Thawri to expand the meaning: “If you are in an expensive place, shift to another where you can fill your basket with bread for a Dirham.”
On Zubayr b. al-`Awwam’s authority, it is reported in Ahmad that the Prophet said: “The lands are Allah’s lands, and people are Allah’s slaves. Therefore, wheresoever you find good, take up residence there.” (Ibn Kathir)
The report is thought to be weak by Haythamiyy. (Au)
Zamakhshari adds: “Places widely vary from one another from the point of view of being, or not being, conducive to Islam and its demands. We have tried, as others before us have also tried, and have found that among the places we lived in, and they lived in, there is no place more helpful in suppressing the inner self, destroying the base desires, more in-gathering for the heart, more bringing together the spread out worries, more urging to contentment, more chasing away the Satan, more away from trials and tribulations, than the city of Makkah.”
This comes from a man of letters, a philosopher, and a migrant to Makkah with no means of income in a city of harsh economic environment, which offered none of the charms that cities like Cairo, Dimashq, Kufa or Busra, or even Madinah offered. He ends his passage above by saying, “Praise be to Allah then, for making it easy (to live in Makkah), and for bestowing perseverance and gratefulness.” (Au.)
We could end with a note from Yusuf Ali: “There is no excuse for anyone to plead that he could not do good or was forced to evil by his circumstances and surroundings, or by the fact that he lived in evil times. We must shun evil and seek good, and Allah’s Creation is wide enough to enable us to do that, provided we have the will, the patience, and the constancy to do it. It may be that we have to change our village or city or country; or that we have to change our neighbors or associates; or to change our habits or our hours, our position in life or our human relationships, or our callings. Our integrity before Allah(swt) is more important than any of these things, and we must be prepared for exile (or Hijrat) in all these senses. For the means with which Allah (swt)provides us for His service are ample, and it is our own fault if we fail.”
Mufti Shafi` tells us about when Hijrah becomes obligatory. First, it must be noted that at the beginning of Islam, Hijrah was a requirement of faith for every Makkan Muslim, man or woman. Those who did not migrate were not considered Muslims. This rule came to end with the fall of Makkah. The Prophet then said, “There is no Hijrah after the fall.”
Now the situation is that Hijrah once again becomes obligatory if Muslims find themselves in Dar al-Kufr, that is, a place where they do not have the freedom of faith, or are not allowed to practice the essentials of Islam. But of course, this is conditional to the ability to migrate. On the other hand, although it is not obligatory, it is desirable (mustahab) to migrate from Dar al-Fisq, i.e., where Islamic commandments are openly flouted. Such a place need not necessarily be Dar al-Kufr. This was also the opinion of Ibn Hajr.
[57] Every soul shall taste death.75 Then unto Us shall you be returned.
Commentary
75. That is, if you fear that during or after emigration in the way of Allah (swt) you will face deprivation or death, then you might remember that death will overtake you in any case. None will escape it. (Razi, Qurtubi)
[58] Then those who believed and did righteous works, We shall surely lodge them in lofty chambers of Paradise76 underneath which rivers flow, abiding therein forever; an excellent reward for those who labored.
Commentary
76. Muslim has a report that the Prophet said: “The inhabitants of Paradise will see the people of the Ghuraf (lofty chambers) above them as you see the bright stars appearing in the eastern or western horizons – such will be the differences in ranks between them.” They asked, “O Messenger of Allah! Those must be places for Prophets that other than them can never obtain.” He answered, “By Him in whose hands is my life, (they will be for) men who believed in Allah and gave credence to the Prophets.”
And Tirmidhi has a report that there are chambers in Paradise whose inside can be seen from outside and the outside from inside. A Bedouin got up and asked, “Whom are they meant for O Messenger of Allah?” He replied: “For him who fed the food, uttered good words, followed Prayers and fasts (with Prayers and fasts), and stood in the night (in Prayers) while the people were asleep.” (Qurtubi)
Haythamiyy declared it Sahih.
[59] Such as those who persevered, and who place their trust on their Lord.77
Commentary
77. Allah (swt) mentioned two qualities: patience and trust. This is because time has three phases: past, present and future. Past is past; there is no point in discussing it. Present is worthy of patience and perseverance. As for the future, one should adopt the policy of trust in Allah (swt). Further, patience and trust in Allah (swt) are qualities that cannot be obtained without the knowledge on the one hand, of what is with Allah (swt) and the knowledge of what is with other than Allah (swt). He who knew ‘what is other than Allah,’ knew that it is going to pass away. This knowledge makes it easier for him to bear hardships with patience. And, one who knows Allah (swt), knows that He is Eternal. He places his trust in Him, in the hope of future bounties. From another angle, some people can put up with persecutions, others cannot, and so they emigrate. Now, those who cannot emigrate, bear the persecutions with patience, while those who can, do emigrate, placing their trust in Allah. (Razi)
[60] And how many a moving creature carries not its own provision; Allah provides for it and for you also.78 He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing.
Commentary
78. Muslims are being encouraged to emigration, […] and not to slacken from the fear of provision. (Ibn Jarir)
The point of discussion then, is not trust in Allah, but show of weakness in His path (Alusi). Accordingly, Ibn `Abbas reports that the Prophet (saws) told Makkan Muslims when they were subjected to persecutions: “Go to Madinah; do not live among a transgressing people.” They said, “We have no homes there, nor property, nor anyone to feed us.” So Allah revealed, “And how many an animal carries not its own provision..” The verse then is not saying that food storage is disallowed. In fact, the Prophet used to distribute (in his final years: Au.), provision of a whole year amongst his wives, as recorded in the Sahihayn; and so did many of the Companions, who were leaders in piety and trusted Allah to an unsurpassable degree (Qurtubi).
While reading the Bible for the first time a quarter century ago, this writer’s mind had immediately committed to memory a beautiful line which said, “Sufficient unto the day the evil thereof.” Mawdudi’s eye fell upon the same lines. He quotes the entire passage. He writes: “Precisely the same thing was taught by the Prophet Jesus (may Allah’s peace be upon him) to his disciples when he said,
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, or love the other: or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore, say I unto you, Take ye no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what shall you put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body more than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add a cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore, take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things the Gentile seek); for your heavenly Father knoweth that you have need for all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.’ (Matt. 6: 24-34).”
[61] And if you asked them ‘who created the heavens and earth and subjected the sun and the moon (to law)?’ they will certainly say, ‘Allah.’ How then are they deluded?79
Commentary
79. Asad elucidates: “The perversion consists in their thinking that they really ‘believe in God’ and nevertheless worshipping false values and allegedly ‘divine’ powers side by side with Him: all of which amounts to a virtual denial of His almightiness and uniqueness.”
