Commentary
In a uniquely eloquent manner, the two verses (243, 244) appearing above and verse 245 which follows, present guidance that prompts the sacrifice of one's life and possessions in the way of Allah Almighty. Consequently, before stating related injunctions, an important event of history has been taken up which makes it clear that death and life are subservient to the destiny determined by Allah. Going into a battle in jihad is not the cause of death, and running away from it, out of cowardice, is not the means to avoid death.
On the authority of revered Companions (Sahabah) and their successors (Tabi'in), Tafsir ibn Kathir explains this event as follows:
There was a group of Israelites in a city which was struck by plague or some other epidemic. The whole group, some ten thousand in number, panicked. Leaving the city out of fear of death, all of them went out to camp in an open plain located between two mountains. Allah Almighty, in order to impress upon other peoples of the world that no living being can escape death by running away from it, sent two angels who stood on the two ends of the plain and sent forth some sort of shrill cry which caused all of them to drop dead instantly. Not one of them was left alive. When the people living in the adjoining area heard about this event, they hurried to the site. Making arrangements to shroud and bury ten thousand human beings was no easy task. They, therefore, enclosed the whole area with a fence of boughs making a hovel-like shed for the corpses which, in due course, were decomposed leaving bare bones lying around. After a long time, one of the prophets of Bani Israel, whose name has been identified as Hizqil or Ezekiel, passed through this location. He was amazed to see human bone structures strewn all over inside an enclosed shed. The whole story of these people was related to him through revelation. Prophet Ezekiel, prayed Allah to bring these people back to life. Allah Almighty answered his prayer and he was asked to address those crumbled bones in the following manner: ایتھا العظام البالیہ ان اللہ یامرک ان تجتمعی ' O bones, old and worn, Allah commands you to gather together (joint by joint, as you were).'
These bones received the command of Allah Almighty through the words of the Prophet and obeyed it. Isn't it that these very bones are considered by the whole world, devoid of reason and consciousness but they too, like every single particle of the world, are oriented to Divine commands and, possess senses and perceptive ability in proportion to their state of being, and are obedient to Allah Almighty. This is what
the Holy Qur'an points to in the verse: أَعْطَىٰ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلْقَهُ ثُمَّ هَدَىٰ (20:50). It means that Allah Almighty created everything and then gave it (built-in) guidance in proportion to its state of being. The great poet, Maulana Ri mi has said about such phenomena:
خاک و باد و آب و آتش بندہ اند
بامن و تو مردہ باحق زندہ اند
Dust, air, water and fire have been bonded together
To me and you they are dead; to God they are alive.
So, when every human bone found its proper place at the behest of a single call, the Prophet ﷺ was commanded to give yet another call to them as follows:
ایتھا العظام ان اللہ یامرک ان تکتسی لحما
0 bones, Allah Almighty commands you to wear your muscles, flesh, nerves and skin.
Immediately following the call, every skeleton of bones turned into a complete corpse under their very eyes. Then came the command that their souls be addressed as follows:
ایتھا الارواح ان اللہ یامرک ان ترجع کل روح الی الجسد الذی کانت تعمرہ
0 souls, Allah Almighty commands you to return to your respective bodies you once inhabited.
As the call was given, all corpses stood up alive before their very eyes and started looking around in wonder. They were saying: سبحانک لا الہ الا انت 'Sacred are You (0 Lord); there is no god but You.'
This formidable event was not only a thought-provoker for the wise of the world, its philosophers and thinkers, and certainly, a decisive argument against the deniers of the Last Day, but was also a guidance for mankind pointing out that running because of the fear of death, be it from jihad or from plague or some other epidemic, is just not possible for one who believes in Allah Almighty and in the fate He has determined -- the one who is certain in his belief ('iman ایمان ) that there is a time for death; it cannot come a second earlier, and it cannot be postponed to a second later. Therefore, this effort to run from death is not only redundant and wasteful, but also goes on to become the cause of Allah Almighty's displeasure.
Now let us look at this incident through the words of the Holy Qur'an. To relate the event, it says: أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ خَرَجُوا مِن دِيَارِهِمْ that is, 'Have you not seen those who left their homes to escape death?'
It must be noted here that this incident belongs to a time thousands of years before the Holy Prophet ﷺ . He just cannot be asked to see it. What then, is the purpose of saying أَلَمْ تَرَ Have you not seen?' Commentators have said that, in all situations where the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been addressed with the words: أَلَمْ تَرَ (Have you not seen?) -- although the incident belongs to a time earlier than him, and it cannot be 'seen' by any stretch of imagination -- the act of seeing (ra yah رُویہ ) stands for seeing through the heart (ruyah al-qalb رویۃ القلب ), which means seeing through knowledge and insight. In still other words, 'Have you not seen?' appears on such occasions in the sense of الم تعلم :'Did you not know?' But there is wisdom in allowing this situation to be expressed through the Qur'anic form : أَلَمْ تَرَ. It points out that this incident is patently known and seen and that this incident is as certain as if it is being seen today, and is worth seeing too. The addition of the word اِلی (ila: toward) after أَلَمْ تَرَ: 'Have you not seen?' helps pointing out in this direction as based on the nuances of the language.
Immediately following this, they have been identified as being fairly large in numbers وَهُمْ أُلُوفٌ (being in thousands). As to what the exact number was, there are various reports, but in accordance with the rules of Arabic language, this word ulufun أُلُوفٌ is jam' al-kathrah الکثرہ کی جمع (plural of multitude), which is not used for something less than ten. This tells us that their number was not less than ten thousand.
After that, it is said: فَقَالَ لَهُمُ اللَّـهُ مُوتُوا that is, Allah Almighty said to them: 'Be dead'. This command of Allah Almighty could both be direct, or indirect -- through an angel, as it is in another verse (36:82): شَيْئًا أَن يَقُولَ لَهُ كُن فَيَكُونُ which means: When He wishes to do something, He bids it to be, so it comes to be.
After that, it is said: إِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَذُو فَضْلٍ عَلَى النَّاسِ that is, surely Allah Almighty is immensely graceful to human beings. This includes the grace He showed to that particular group of people from the Bani Israel by bringing them back to life, as well as the grace He has shown to the community of Muhammad ﷺ by telling them about this incident and by making it a model lesson for them.
In the end, to awaken the negligence-prone man, it was said: وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَشْكُرُونَ 'But most of the people are ungrateful.' It means that human beings do behold thousands of demonstrations of Divine grace and mercy, yet most of them show no gratitude.
Related Injunctions and Rulings
This verse helps us identify some facts and injunctions. These are as follows:
Divine decree overcomes human planning:
No effort can be effective against that which has been determined by Allah (Taqdir تقدیر ) and running away from jihad or plague or its likes cannot help one save his life (Tadbir تدبیر ), nor being in it can become a cause of death. The fact is that death comes at an appointed time; it can neither be earlier nor later.
Rules pertaining to the place of epidemic:
It is not permissible to escape out from an area affected by plague and its likes for safety elsewhere. In addition to this, as said by the noble Prophet ﷺ ، it is not correct for other people to go there. It appears in Hadith:
اِن ھذا السقم عذب بہ الامم قبلکم فاِذا سمعتم بہ فی الارض فلا تدخلوھا، و اِذا وقع باَرض وانتم بھا فلا تخرجوا فرارا
Allah Almighty has, through this disease (plague), punished peoples who were before you. So, when you hear about its spreading in a certain area, do not go there; and if it spreads in an area where you already are, do not go out escaping from it. (Bukhari and Muslim and Ibn Kathir)
It appears in Tafsir al-Qurtubi that Sayyidna 'Umar ؓ once embarked on a journey heading for Syria. When he reached Saragh, a place near Tabuk bordering Syria, he came to know that the whole of Syria was affected by a severe plague. This was regarded as a great calamity in the history of Syria. This plague is known as Amawas', because it started from a town called 'Amawas' (located near Baytul-Maqdis) and spread throughout the country. Thousands died and became shahid in this plague including many Sahabah and Tabi'in (Companions and their Successors).
When Sayyidna 'Umar ؓ heard about the severity of the plague, he decided to stay where he was and sought the advice of the noble Companions, ؓ عنہم whether they should go into Syria at such a time, or they should return back. There was not one blessed person present during the consultations who was aware of any guidance from the Holy Prophet g about this matter. Later, Sayyidna ` Abd al-Rahman ibn ` Awf ؓ narrated the following hadith
:
اِن رسول اللہ ﷺ ذکر الوجع فقال : رجز و عذاب عذب بہ الامم ثم بقی منہ بقیۃ فیذھب المرۃ و یاتی الاخری فمن سمع بہ باَرضٍ فلا یقدمنً علیہ ومن کان باَرض وقع بھا یخرج فراراً منھا
The Holy Prophet referring to the disease (plague) said: This is a punishment that was inflicted on some peoples; later on some of it remained. This remainder goes away for some-time, then returns. So, one who hears that a certain area is affected by it, he should not go there; and one who is already there, he should not go out running from it (the plague).
(al Bukhari and others)
When Sayyidna 'Umar ؓ heard this hadith, he ordered his men to return. Sayyidna Abu'Ubaydah ؓ عنہ the governor of Syria was present on the occasion. Taking notice of the orders given by Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ he commented: ؓ (Do you want to run from Divine destiny?) In reply, Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ said: '0 Abu ` Ubaydah, I wish this was said by someone else' meaning thereby 'a comment like this, and that too from you, is certainly surprising.'
Then he said: نعم نفر من قدر اللہ إلی قدر اللہ : 'Yes, we do run from Divine decree to (nothing but) Divine decree' meaning thereby -- 'whatever we are doing we are doing in obedience to none else but Allah and His command which the Messenger of Allah g has explained to us.'
3. There is great wisdom in the prophetic sayings about plague: In accordance with the hadith stated above, we have been told that it is prohibited for outsiders to enter an area affected by plague or its likes; while it is equally prohibited for those who live there to run for their lives from that area.
In addition to this, the basic Islamic belief is that neither going anywhere is the cause of death, nor running from anywhere is the source of deliverance from it. Keeping this cardinal belief of Islam in view, the given instruction is based on very far-sighted stances of wisdom.
(1) Let's look at the first element of wisdom in stopping outsiders from going into a plague-affected area. Isn't it quite possible that someone may be at the far end of his years and should he die because of this disease, it might have occurred to the deceased at some stage before his death that he might have lived had he not come into that area. Not only him, others might also think that his death occurred because he came there; although, whatever happened was pre-ordained. His age was no more than that. No matter where he lived, his death had to come at that particular time. It may be noted that the belief of Muslims has been saved from indecision through this instruction lest they should fall a victim to misunderstanding.
(2). The second aspect of wisdom here relates to the guidance Allah Almighty has given to man that he should not go where there is a danger of being harmed, or an apprehension of being killed; in fact, he should do his best to keep away from everything that could cause harm or death. Not only that, it has been made binding on every man to save his life. This rule demands that one should, keeping his total trust and belief in Divine decree, take all necessary precautionary measures without any negligence. One of these measures is that he should not go to a place where his life may be in danger.
Similarly, the instruction, that residents of an area infected with plague should not escape out of their fearing death, has its own merits:
a) The first wise counsel has a social and collective nature. For instance, should this escaping in panic become contagious, the rich and the powerful in the area would certainly run away. But, what would happen to those who are incapable of going anywhere. To begin with, left all alone, they will be terrified to their death. Then there will be sick among them -- who will take care of them? Should they die, who will manage their burial?
b) The second point of wisdom here tells that there will be some among the people present in that area who would be carrying germs of this disease. If they travel in that condition, they are likely to suffer more from all sorts of hardships. If they get sick while travelling, who knows what would come upon them. Ibn al-Madini has quoted the saying of scholars: مافر احد من الوباء فسلم 'One who runs from an epidemic never stays safe.' (Qurtubi)
c) c) There is still a third element of wisdom here. Isn't it that people infected by germs of the disease would be potential carriers of the epidemic wherever they go? If they elected to stay where they are, with patience and in trust, they might possibly get rid of the disease. And if, death was pre-ordained in this very disease, they will have the proud rank of shahadah شھادہ (martyrdom) because of their patience and perseverance, as has been pointed out in Hadith.
Imam al-Bukhari (رح) has reported from Yahya ibn Ya'mur that Sayyidah ` A'ishah al-Siddiqah ؓ told him that she had asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ about plague when he informed her that this disease was a punishment sent to a people who were to be punished by Allah's will. Then, Allah made it mercy for true believers. So, a slave of Allah who stays on with patience and peace in his locality believing that no harm can touch him except that which Allah has decreed for him -- for such a person the merit in return shall be equal to that of a shahid.
And this also explains the hadith in which it is said: The plague is shahadah (martyrdom) and one who dies in the plague is a shahid (martyr). (Qurtubi, vol.3, p. 235).
Some Exceptions
The words used in the hadith are:.;- I, If+ ly,, (You should not go out running from it) which tell us that a person who goes somewhere else, not because of the fear of death, but because of some other pressing need, will not be affected by this prohibition. Similarly, if someone has a firm belief that he cannot escape his destiny wherever he goes, but he wants to go simply for change of climate, he is also exempted from this prohibition.
Similarly, if a person enters an area affected by plague because of some pressing need while he firmly believes that death will not come to him just because he is coming here -- since death is subservient to the will of Allah, it will be permissible for him to go there.
(3) The third principle inferred from this verse is: that it is also not permissible to desert Jihad from fear of death. This question has been taken up elsewhere in the noble Qur'an in greater details, where some special situations have been exempted.
The subject dealt with in this verse reappears in yet another verse which deals with those who run away from Jihad or do not take part in it. It is said:
الَّذِينَ قَالُوا لِإِخْوَانِهِمْ وَقَعَدُوا لَوْ أَطَاعُونَا مَا قُتِلُوا قُلْ فَادْرَءُوا عَنْ أَنفُسِكُمُ الْمَوْتَ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ ﴿آل عمران : 168﴾
Some people (who did not themselves take part in jihd) say (about those who do take part in jihad, and die as shahids) 'These people did not listen to us, therefore, they were killed. If they had listened to us, they would have not been killed.' (The blessed Prophet was commanded to) tell them: If you have the power to escape death, why worry about others, worry about your own selves and rescue yourselves from death, (that is, whether or not you go in jihad does not matter; death will come to you even when sitting home).
It is a marvel of nature that the greatest commander of the Muslim army in the early days of Islam, Sayyidna Khalid ibn Walid ؓ who was known as the 'sword of Allah' and who spent his entire Islamic life in jihad, did not meet his death as a shahid on the battlefield! He died on his sick-bed, at his home. Close to his hour of death, lamenting over his dying on bed, he said to his family: 'I participated in so many great battles in jihad. I do not have a single part on my body, which has no wound-mark inflicted by swords and spears; but here I am, dying like a donkey on my bed. May Allah Almighty give no rest to cowards. Let them hear my advice.'
The incident relating to the Bani Israel was brought in this verse as an introduction. In the next verse appears the injunction relating to jihad and qital (fighting in the way of Allah) which was the real purpose in introducing this story, that is: Do not take going on jihad as going into the jaws of death and do not assume that running away from jihad will deliver you from your appointed time of death. Better still, obey the injunctions of Allah Almighty and achieve the best of both the worlds. Allah Almighty is the Hearer and Knower of all you say and do.
The third verse (245), which follows, deals with the merits of spending in the way of Allah.
