17:36 Al-Israa (The Night Journey)

أي: ولا تتبع ما ليس لك به علم، بل تثبت في كل ما تقوله وتفعله، فلا تظن ذلك يذهب لا لك ولا عليك، { إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولَئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْئُولًا } فحقيق بالعبد الذي يعرف أنه مسئول عما قاله وفعله وعما استعمل به جوارحه التي خلقها الله لعبادته أن يعد للسؤال جوابا، وذلك لا يكون إلا باستعمالها بعبودية الله وإخلاص الدين له وكفها عما يكرهه الله تعالى.

قال علي بن أبي طلحة عن ابن عباس يقول لا تقل وقال العوفي عنه لا ترم أحدا بما ليس لك به علم وقال محمد بن الحنفية يعني شهادة الزور وقال قتادة لا تقل رأيت ولم تر وسمعت ولم تسمع وعلمت ولم تعلم فإن الله تعالى سائلك عن ذلك كله ومضمون ما ذكروه أن الله تعالى نهى عن القول بلا علم بل بالظن الذي هو التوهم والخيال كما قال تعالى: "اجتنبوا كثيرا من الظن إن بعض الظن إثم" وفي الحديث "إياكم والظن فإن الظن أكذب الحديث" وفي سنن أبي داود "بئس مطية الرجل زعموا" وفي الحديث الآخر "إن أفرى الفرى أن يرى الرجل عينيه ما لم تريا" وفي الصحيح "من تحلم حلما كلف يوم القيامة أن يعقد بين شعيرتين وليس بفاعل" وقوله "كل أولئك" أي هذه الصفات من السمع والبصر والفؤاد "كان عنه مسئولا" أي سيسأل العبد عنها يوم القيامة وتسأل عنه وعما عمل فيها ويصح استعمال أولئك مكان تلك كما قال الشاعر: ذم المنازل بعد منزلة اللوى والعيش بعد أولئك الأيام..

Do not speak without Knowledge

`Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said: "This means) do not say (anything of which you have no knowledge)." Al-`Awfi said: "Do not accuse anyone of that of which you have no knowledge." Muhammad bin Al-Hanafiyyah said: "It means bearing false witness." Qatadah said: "Do not say, `I have seen', when you did not see anything, or `I have heard', when you did not hear anything, or `I know', when you do not know, for Allah will ask you about all of that." In conclusion, what they said means that Allah forbids speaking without knowledge and only on the basis of suspicion, which is mere imagination and illusions. As Allah says:

اجْتَنِبُواْ كَثِيراً مِّنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ

(Avoid much suspicion; indeed some suspicions are sins.) 49:12 According to a Hadith:

«إِيَّاكُمْ وَالظَّنَّنَفَإِنَّ الظَّنَّ أَكْذَبُ الْحَدِيث»

(Beware of suspicion, for suspicion is the falsest of speech.) The following Hadith is found in Sunan Abu Dawud:

«بِئْسَ مَطِيَّةُ الرَّجُلِ: زَعَمُوا»

(What an evil habit it is for a man to say, `They claimed...') According to another Hadith:

«إِنَّ أَفْرَى الْفِرَى أَنْ يُرِيَ الرَّجُلُ عَيْنَيْهِ مَا لَمْ تَرَيَا»

(The worst of lies is for a man to claim to have seen something that he has not seen.) In the Sahih it says:

«مَنْ تَحَلَّمَ حُلْمًا كُلِّفَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَنْ يَعْقِدَ بَيْنَ شَعِيرَتَيْنِ وَلَيْسَ بِفَاعِل»

(Whoever claims to have seen a dream (when he has not seen) will be told on the Day of Resurrection to make a knot between two barley grains, and he will not be able to do it.)

كُلُّ أُولـئِكَ

(each of those ones) means these faculties, hearing, sight and the heart,

كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْؤُولاً

(will be questioned.) means, the person will be asked about them on the Day of Resurrection, and they will be asked about him and what he did with them.

And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed the hearing and the sight and the heart — of each of these it will be asked of that person what he did with them.

Commentary

Two injunctions in these verses, the twelfth and the thirteenth, relate to mores of common social living. The twelfth injunction forbids doing something without having become certain about it.

At this stage, we should not lose sight of the fact that certainty has different degrees. There is a degree of certainty that reaches the level of perfect certitude, a state that leaves no room of even the slightest doubt contrary to it. Then, it could descend to the degree of strong likelihood - even though, there does exist the probability of a contrary aspect. Simi-larly, divine injunctions are also of two kinds: (1) Absolutes and Certain-ties, such as, Articles and Principles of Religion. These require certainty of the first degree. Acting without it is not permissible. (2) Strong Likelihood or Overwhelming Probability, the example of which are injunctions relating to subsidiary deeds. After having given these details, we can state the objective of the cited verse by saying that the element of certainty in injunctions that are Certain and Absolute should also be of the first degree. In other words, it should have attained the degree of perfect certitude and absolute category. And until this happens, this pseudo certainty is not trustworthy in the matter of the basic Articles and Principles of Islam. Acting on its dictates is not permissible. As for the subsidiary injunctions, a certainty of the second degree, that is, of Overwhelming Probability is sufficient. (Bayan al-Qur'an)

Questions will be asked on the day of Qiyamah about the ear, the eye and the heart

This is what we have been told in verse 36: إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ‌ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولَـٰئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْئُولًا It means that the ear will be asked as to what did it keep hearing throughout its life. The eye will be asked as to what did it keep seeing throughout its life. The heart will be asked as to what did it keep cooking in its chambers and what was it that it believed in throughout its life. If things were heard through the ears, the hearing of which was not permissible in Shari` ah, such as hearing ill of someone behind his back (ghibah) or hearing unlawful vocal and instrumental music etc., then, punishment will follow the question. If things were seen through the eyes, the seeing of which was not permissible, such as casting an evil eye on a non-Mahram woman or a beardless, handsome youth etc. then, punishment will follow the question. Or, planted a belief in the heart contrary to the Qur'an, and Sunnah, or nursed a baseless blame in the heart regarding someone, then, punishment will follow the question. The fact is that, on that fateful day of Qiyamah, questions will be asked about virtually all blessings given by Allah Ta’ ala. It was said in Surah at-Takathur: لَتُسْأَلُنَّ يَوْمَئِذٍ عَنِ النَّعِيمِ : "And you shall certainly be asked on that day [ of Qiyamah ] about all blessings [ of Allah Ta’ ala ] - 102:8." Since, the ear, the eye and the heart are more important and significant out of these blessings, these were mentioned here particularly.

Tafsir al-Qurtubi and Mazhari give yet another sense of the verse in terms of the close proximity of the statement in the first sentence and the next. In the first sentence, it was said: وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ (And do not pursue that which you have no knowledge of - 36). Adjacent to it follows the statement that the ear, the eye and the heart - each one of them shall be interrogated about. The sense that emerges from this proximity is that a person who blamed someone without first ascertaining and becoming certain about it, or did something impulsively without doing that first, then, should this thing be related to what is heard through ears, the ears shall be questioned. And if this is 'seen', the eyes shall be questioned. And if comprehended through the heart, the heart shall be questioned to determine whether this person is true or false in his blame or in the belief he has allowed to become rooted in his heart. Thereupon, these very body parts shall speak up as witnesses on the day of Resurrection. It will be a cause of disgrace for those who accuse others without being certain and those who do things the truth of which has not been ascertained first. This is as it appears in Surah Sin: الْيَوْمَ نَخْتِمُ عَلَىٰ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَتُكَلِّمُنَا أَيْدِيهِمْ وَتَشْهَدُ أَرْ‌جُلُهُم بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ ﴿65﴾:"Today [ on the day of Qiyamah ] We shall set a seal on their mouths and their hands shall speak and their feet shall bear witness as to what they have been earning [ by making these limbs of their body do whatever of good or bad they chose ] - 36:65".

Perhaps, the ears, the eyes and the heart have been particularized here on the basis that Allah Ta’ ala has blessed man with sense and consciousness through them. The purpose is to let him first ascertain, examine, and test a thought or belief that crosses his heart. If he finds it true, and sound, let him, then, put it in practice. And should it turn out to be false, let him, then, stay away from it. Anyone who does not use these faculties and goes about following things he has no knowledge of, things the truth of which he has not ascertained first, then, this person is guilty of being ungrateful to these blessings of Allah Ta` ala.

Now, the senses through which man becomes aware of different things are five: the ears, the eyes, the nose, the faculty of speech and the sensation in the whole body that tells one about something being hot or cold. But, habitually man finds out more through the ears and eyes. Awareness about things acquired through the senses of smell, taste and touch is fairly lower in frequency as compared to things heard or seen. That it has been considered sufficient to mention only two of the five senses at this place may, perhaps, be because of this very reason. Then, even from among these two, it is the ear that has been made to precede the eye - and on other occasions of the Holy Qur'an as well, wherever these two has been mentioned, it is the ear that has been mentioned first. In all likelihood, the reason for it is that the major part of man's in-formation is comprised of things heard through the ears. Things seen through the eyes happen to be comparatively much less.