22:78 Al-Hajj (The Pilgrimage)

{ وَجَاهِدُوا فِي اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ } والجهاد بذل الوسع في حصول الغرض المطلوب، فالجهاد في الله حق جهاده، هو القيام التام بأمر الله، ودعوة الخلق إلى سبيله بكل طريق موصل إلى ذلك، من نصيحة وتعليم وقتال وأدب وزجر ووعظ، وغير ذلك. { هُوَ اجْتَبَاكُمْ } أي: اختاركم -يا معشر المسلمين- من بين الناس، واختار لكم الدين، ورضيه لكم، واختار لكم أفضل الكتب وأفضل الرسل، فقابلوا هذه المنحة العظيمة، بالقيام بالجهاد فيه حق القيام، ولما كان قوله: { وَجَاهِدُوا فِي اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ } ربما توهم متوهم أن هذا من باب تكليف ما لا يطاق، أو تكليف ما يشق، احترز منه بقوله: { وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ } أي: مشقة وعسر، بل يسره غاية التيسير، وسهله بغاية السهولة، فأولا ما أمر وألزم إلا بما هو سهل على النفوس، لا يثقلها ولا يؤودها، ثم إذا عرض بعض الأسباب الموجبة للتخفيف، خفف ما أمر به، إما بإسقاطه، أو إسقاط بعضه. ويؤخذ من هذه الآية، قاعدة شرعية وهي أن \" المشقة تجلب التيسير \" و \" الضرورات تبيح المحظورات \" فيدخل في ذلك من الأحكام الفرعية، شيء كثير معروف في كتب الأحكام. { مِلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ } أي: هذه الملة المذكورة، والأوامر المزبورة، ملة أبيكم إبراهيم، التي ما زال عليها، فالزموها واستمسكوا بها. { هُوَ سَمَّاكُمُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ قَبْلُ } أي: في الكتب السابقة، مذكورون ومشهورون، { وَفِي هَذَا } أي: هذا الكتاب، وهذا الشرع. أي: ما زال هذا الاسم لكم قديما وحديثا، { لِيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْكُمْ } بأعمالكم خيرها وشرها { وَتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ } لكونكم خير أمة أخرجت للناس، أمة وسطا عدلا خيارا، تشهدون للرسل أنهم بلغوا أممهم، وتشهدون على الأمم أن رسلهم بلغتهم بما أخبركم الله به في كتابه، { فَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ } بأركانها وشروطها وحدودها، وجميع لوازمها، { وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ } المفروضة لمستحقيها شكرا لله على ما أولاكم، { وَاعْتَصَمُوا بِاللَّهِ } أي: امتنعوا به وتوكلوا عليه في ذلك، ولا تتكلوا على حولكم وقوتكم، { هُوَ مَوْلَاكُمْ } الذي يتولى أموركم، فيدبركم بحسن تدبيره، ويصرفكم على أحسن تقديره، { فَنِعْمَ الْمَوْلَى وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ } أي: نعم المولى لمن تولاه، فحصل له مطلوبه { وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ } لمن استنصره فدفع عنه المكروه. تم تفسير سورة الحج، والحمد لله رب العالمين.

وقوله "وجاهدوا في الله حق جهاده" أي بأموالكم وألسنتكم وأنفسكم كما قال تعالى "اتقوا الله حق تقاته " وقوله " هو اجتباكم " أي يا هذه الأمة الله اصطفاكم واختاركم على سائر الأمم وفضلكم وشرفكم وخصكم بأكرم رسول وأكمل شرع "وما جعل عليكم في الدين من حرج" أي ما كلفكم ما لا تطيقون وما ألزمكم بشيء يشق عليكم إلا جعل الله لكم فرجا ومخرجا فالصلاة التي أكبر أركان الإسلام بعد الشهادتين تجب في الحضر أربع وفي السفر تقصر إلى اثنتين وفي الخوف يصليها بعض الأئمة ركعة كما ورد به الحديث وتصلى رجالا وركبانا مستبلي القبلة وغير مستقبليها وكذا في الناقلة في السفر إلى القبلة وغيرها والقيام فيها يسقط لعذر المرض فيصليها المريض جالسا فإن لم يستطع فعلى جنبه إلى غير ذلك من الرخص والتخفيفات في سائر الفرائض والواجبات ولهذا قال عليه السلام " بعثت بالحنيفية السمحة " وقال لمعاذ وأبي موسى حين بعثهما أميرين إلى اليمن " بشرا ولا تنفرا ويسرا ولا تعسرا " والأحاديث في هذا كثيرة ولهذا قال ابن عباس في قوله "وما جعل عليكم في الدين من حرج" يعني من ضيق وقوله "ملة أبيكم إبراهيم" قال ابن جرير نصب على تقدير "ما جعل عليكم في الدين من حرج" أي من ضيق بل وسعه عليكم كملة أبيكم إبراهيم قال ويحتمل أنه منصوب على تقدير الزموا ملة أبيكم إبراهيم "قلت" وهذا المعنى في هذه الآية كقوله "قل إنني هداني ربي إلى صراط مستقيم دينا قيما ملة إبراهيم حنيفا" الآية وقوله " هو سماكم المسلمين من قبل وفي هذا " قال الإمام عبدالله ابن المبارك عن ابن جريج عن عطاء عن ابن عباس في قوله " هو سماكم المسلمين من قبل ":قال الله عز وجل وكذا قال مجاهد وعطاء والضحاك والسدي ومقاتل ابن حيان وقتادة وقال عبد الرحمن بن زيد بن أسلم " هو سماكم المسلمين من قبل " يعني إبراهيم وذلك لقوله " ربنا واجعلنا مسلمين لك ومن ذريتنا أمة مسلمة لك " قال ابن جرير وهذا لا وجه له لأنه من المعلوم أن إبراهيم لم يسم هذه الأمة في القرآن مسلمين وقد قال الله تعالى هو سماكم المسلمين من قبل وفي هذا " قال مجاهد: الله سماكم المسلمين من قبل في الكتب المتقدمة وفي الذكر " وفي هذا " يعني القرآن وكذا قال غيره " قلت "وهذا هو الصواب لأنه تعالى قال " هو اجتباكم وما جعل عليكم في الدين من حرج " ثم حثهم وأغراهم إلى ما جاء به الرسول صلوات الله وسلامه عليه بأنه ملة أبيهم الخليل ثم ذكر منته تعالى على هذه الأمة بما نوه به من ذكرها والثناء عليها في سالف الدهر وقديم الزمان في كتب الأنبياء يتلى على الأحبار والرهبان فقال هو سماكم المسلمين من قبل " أي من قبل هذا القرآن " وفي هذا " روى النسائي عند تفسيره هذه الآية أنبأنا هشام بن عمار حدثنا محمد بن شعيب أنبأنا معارية بن سلام أن أخاه زيد بن سلام أخبره عن أبي سلام أنه أخبره قال أخبرني الحارث الأشعري عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال " من دعا بدعوى الجاهلية فإنه من جثي جهنم " قال رجل يا رسول الله وإن صام وصلى قال " نعم وإن صام وصلى " فادعوا بدعوة الله التي سماكم بهـا المسلمين المؤمنين عباد الله وقد قدمنا هذ الحديث بطوله عند تقسيم قوله " يا أيها الناس اعبدوا ربكم الذي خلقكم والذين من قبلكم لعلكم تتقون " من سورة البقرة ولهذا قال " ليكون الرسول شهيدا عليكم وتكونوا شهداء على الناس " أي إنما جعلناكم هكذا أمة وسطا عدولا خيارا مشهودا بعدالتكم عند جميع الأمم لتكونوا يوم القيامة شهداء على الناس " لأن جميع الأمم معترفة يومئذ بسيادتها وفضلها على كل أمة سواها فلهذا تقبل شهادتهم عليهم يوم القيامة في أن الرسل بلغتهم رسالة ربهم والرسول يشهد على هذه الأمة أنه بلغها ذلك وقد تقدم الكلام على هذا عند قوله وكذلك جعلناكم أمة وسطا لتكونوا شهداء على الناس ويكون الرسول عليكم شهيدا" وذكرنا حديث نوح وأمته بما أغنى عن إعادته وقوله " فأقيموا الصلاة وآتوا الزكاة " أي قابلوا هذه النعمة العظيمة بالقيام بشكرها فأدوا حق الله عليكم في أداء ما افترض وطاعة ما أوجب وترك ما حرم ومن أهم ذلك إقام الصلاة وإيتاء الزكاة وهو الإحسان إلى خلق الله بما أوجب للفقير على الغني من إخراج جزء نزر من ماله في السنة للضعفاء والمحاويج كما تقدم بيانه وتفصيله في آية الزكاة من سورة التوبة وقوله واعتصموا بالله" أي اعتضدوا بالله واستعينوا به وتوكلوا عليه وتأيدوا به" هو مولاكم " أي حافظكم وناصركم ومظفركم على أعدائكم" فنعم المولى ونعم النصير " يعني نعم الولي ونعم الناصر من الأعداء قال وهيب بن الورد " يقول الله تعالى: ابن آدم اذكرني إذا غضبت أذكرك إذا غضبت فلا أمحقك فيمن أمحق وإذا ظلمت فاصبر وارض بنصرتي فإن نصرتي لك خير من نصرتك لنفسك" رواه ابن أبي حاتم والله أعلم آخر تفسير سورة الحج ولله الحمد والمنة.

The Command to worship Allah and engage in Jihad

It was reported from `Uqbah bin `Amir that the Prophet said:

«فُضِّلَتْ سُورَةُ الْحَجِّ بِسَجْدَتَيْنِ، فَمَنْ لَمْ يَسْجُدْهُمَا فَلَا يَقْرَأْهُمَا»

(Surat Al-Hajj has been blessed with two Sajdahs, so whoever does not prostrate them should not read them.)

وَجَـهِدُوا فِى اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَـدِهِ

(And strive hard in Allah's cause as you ought to strive.) means, with your wealth and your tongues and your bodies. This is like the Ayah:

اتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ

(Have Taqwa of Allah as is His due.) 3:102

هُوَ اجْتَبَـكُمْ

(He has chosen you,) means, `O Ummah of Islam, Allah has selected you and chosen you over all other nations, and has favored you and blessed you and honored you with the noblest of Messengers and the noblest of Laws.'

وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكمْ فِى الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ

(and has not laid upon you in religion any hardship) He has not given you more than you can bear and He has not obliged you to do anything that will cause you difficulty except that He has created for you a way out. So the Salah, which is the most important pillar of Islam after the two testimonies of faith, is obligatory, four Rak`ahs when one is settled, which are shortened to two Rak`ah when one is traveling. According to some Imams, only one Rak`ahs is obligatory at times of fear, as was recorded in the Hadith. A person may pray while walking or riding, facing the Qiblah or otherwise. When praying optional prayers while traveling, one may face the Qiblah or not. A person is not obliged to stand during the prayer if he is sick; the sick person may pray sitting down, and if he is not able to do that then he may pray lying on his side. And there are other exemptions and dispensations which may apply to the obligatory prayers and other duties. So the Prophet said:

«بُعِثْتُ بِالْحَنِيفِيَّةِ السَّمْحَة»

(I have been sent with the easy Hanifi way.) And he said to Mu`adh and Abu Musa, when he sent them as governors to Yemen:

«بَشِّرَا وَلَا تُنَفِّرا وَيَسِّرَا وَلَا تُعَسِّرَا»

(Give good news and do not repel them. Make things easy for the people and do not make the things difficult for them.) And there are many similar Hadiths. Ibn `Abbas said concerning the Ayah,

وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكمْ فِى الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ

(and has not laid upon you in religion any hardship), "This means difficulty."

مِّلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَهِيمَ

(It is the religion of your father Ibrahim. ) Ibn Jarir said, "This refers back to the Ayah,

وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكمْ فِى الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ

(and has not laid upon you in religion any hardship) meaning, any difficulty." On the contrary, He has made it easy for you, like the religion of your father Ibrahim. He said, "It may be that it means: adhere to the religion of your father Ibrahim." I say: This interpretation of the Ayah is like the Ayah:

قُلْ إِنَّنِى هَدَانِى رَبِّى إِلَى صِرَطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ دِينًا قِيَمًا مِّلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا

(Say: "Truly, my Lord has guided me to a straight path, a right religion, the religion of Ibrahim, a Hanif) 6:161

هُوَ سَمَّـكُمُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِن قَبْلُ وَفِى هَـذَا

(He has named you Muslims both before and in this (Qur'an),) Imam `Abdullah bin Al-Mubarak said, narrating from Ibn Jurayj, from `Ata', from Ibn `Abbas: concerning Allah's saying,

هُوَ سَمَّـكُمُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِن قَبْلُ

(He has named you Muslims before) "This refers to Allah, may He be glorified." This was also the view of Mujahid, `Ata', Ad-Dahhak, As-Suddi, Muqatil bin Hayyan and Qatadah. Mujahid said, "Allah named you Muslims before, in the previous Books and in Adh-Dhikr,

وَفِى هَـذَا

(and in this) means, the Qur'an." This was also the view of others, because Allah says:

هُوَ اجْتَبَـكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكمْ فِى الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ

(He has chosen you, and has not laid upon you in religion any hardship) Then He urged them to follow the Message which His Messenger brought, by reminding them that this was the religion of their father Ibrahim. Then He mentioned His blessings to this Ummah, whereby He mentioned them and praised them long ago in the Books of the Prophets which were recited to the rabbis and monks. Allah says:

هُوَ سَمَّـكُمُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِن قَبْلُ

(He has named you Muslims both before) meaning, before the Qur'an,

وَفِى هَـذَا

(and in this.) Under the explanation of this Ayah, An-Nasa'i recorded from Al-Harith Al-Ash`ari from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who said:

«مَنْ دَعَا بِدَعْوَى الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْ جِثِيِّ جَهَنَّم»

(Whoever adopts the call of Jahiliyyah, will be one of those who will crawl on their knees in Hell.) A man said, "O Messenger of Allah, even if he fasts and performs Salah" He said,

«نَعَمْ وَإِنْ صَامَ وَصَلَّى ، فَادْعُوا بِدَعْوَةِ اللهِ الَّتِي سَمَّاكُمْ بِهَا الْمُسْلِمِينَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عِبَادَ الله»

(Yes, even if he fasts and performs Salah. So adopt the call of Allah whereby He called you Muslims and believers and servants of Allah.)

لِيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ شَهِيداً عَلَيْكُمْ وَتَكُونُواْ شُهَدَآءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ

(that the Messenger may be a witness over you and you be witnesses over mankind!) means, `thus We have made you a just and fair nation, the best of nations, and all other nations will testify to your justice. On the Day of Resurrection you will be,

شُهَدَآءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ

(witnesses over mankind),' because on that Day all the nations will acknowledge its leadership and its precedence over all others. Therefore, on the Day of Resurrection the testimony of the members of this community will be accepted as proof that the Messengers ﷺ conveyed the Message of their Lord to them, and the Messenger will testify that he conveyed the Message to them.

فَأَقِيمُواْ الصَّلوةَ وَءَاتُواْ الزَّكَوةَ

(So perform the Salah, give Zakah) means, respond to this great blessing with gratitude by fulfilling your duties towards Allah, doing that which He has enjoined upon you and avoiding that which He had forbidden. Among the most important duties are establishing regular prayer and giving Zakah. Zakah is a form of beneficence towards Allah's creatures, whereby He has enjoined upon the rich to give a little of their wealth to the poor each year, to help the weak and needy. We have already mentioned its explanation in the Ayah of Zakah in Surat At-Tawbah (9:5).

وَاعْتَصِمُواْ بِاللَّهِ

(and hold fast to Allah.) means, seek the help and support of Allah and put your trust in Him, and get strength from Him.

هُوَ مَوْلَـكُمْ

(He is your Mawla,) meaning, He is your Protector and your Helper, He is the One Who will cause you to prevail against your enemies.

فَنِعْمَ الْمَوْلَى وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ

(what an Excellent Mawla and what an Excellent Helper!) He is the best Mawla and the best Helper against your enemies. This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat Al-Hajj. May Allah bless our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his family and Companions, and grant them peace; may Allah honor and be pleased with the Companions and those who follow them in truth until the Day of Resurrection.

And struggle in the way of God in order to establish His religion a struggle worthy of Him by expending all effort therein haqqa is in the accusative because it is a verbal noun. He has elected you He has chosen you for His religion and has not laid upon you in your religion any hardship that is any constraint for He has facilitated adherence to it during times of difficulty such as His permitting you to shorten prayers to seek ritual purification from earth to eat of carrion and to break the fast during illness or travel — the creed of your father millata is in the accusative because the genitive preposition kāf sc. ka-millati ‘like the creed of’ has been omitted Abraham Ibrāhīma an explicative supplement. He that is God named you Muslims before that is before the revelation of this Book and in this that is in the Qur’ān so that the Messenger might be a witness against you on the Day of Resurrection that he delivered the Message to you and that you might be witnesses against mankind that their messengers delivered the Message to them. So maintain prayer observe it regularly and pay the alms and hold fast to God trust in Him. He is your Patron your Helper and the Guardian of your affairs. An excellent Patron is He and an excellent Helper for you.

وَجَاهِدُوا فِي اللَّـهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ (And struggle for (seeking the pleasure of) Allah, a struggle that is due to him - 22:78) The words جِھَاد - (jihad) and مُجَاھِدہ (mujahadah) mean to exert one's utmost effort to achieve an objective and to take pains for it. (That is why the word is translated above as 'struggle' ). While waging war against the infidels the Muslims make supreme efforts, and for this reason it is called jihad, and حَقّ جِھَادہٖ struggle that is due to Him) means that all these efforts and sacrifices should aim solely at winning the favours and goodwill of Allah Ta’ ala, and be free from all considerations of worldly reward, such as fame or spoils of war.

Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ has explained the phrase 'that is due to Him' by saying that it is to strive to the utmost, If one's capacity in the course of jihad, unmindful of all criticism. Some other commentators have explained the word jihad in this verse to mean that one exerts his utmost effort in carrying out the acts of worship and full obedience to rules of Shari` ah in all sincerity. Dahhak and Muqatil have said that a struggle that is due to Him means to act in Allah's obedience and His worship as due to Him. Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn Mubarak ؓ thinks that Jihad means to strive against the temptations (nafs) and its baser desires. Imam Baghawi supports this view on the basis of a hadith which he has from Jabir Ibn ` Abdullah ؓ to the effect that when a group of companions returned from Jihad, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said قدمتم خیر مقدم من الجھاد الاصغرالی الجھاد الاکبر قال : مجاددۃ العبد لھواہ (رواہ البیھقی وقال ھذا اسناد فیہ ضعف) (You have returned from a smaller Jihad to a greater Jihad) meaning thereby that the fight against the temptations of self and baser desires never ceases. Baihaqi has also related this hadith but he is of the opinion that it has some weak narrators, Tafsir Mazhari has adopted this latter interpretation and proceeded to say that the Muslims were in fact fighting against the coarse desires of Self even when they were engaged in jihad against the infidels, but the hadith places it after their return from the jihad, The suggestion here is that though the fight against temptations continued even on the battlefield, it could by tradition and usage be brought to fruition only under the watchful eye of a perfect spiritual guide, that is the Holy Prophet ﷺ .

The Ummah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is the chosen Ummah of Allah Ta’ ala

هُوَ اجْتَبَاكُمْ (He has chosen you - 22:78) Sayyidna Wathilah Ibn Asqa' ؓ has reported that the Holy Prophet ﷺ once said, ` Allah chose the Kinanah from the children of Sayyidna Ismail (علیہ السلام) ، then He chose the Quraish from the Kinanah, then the Bani Hashim from the Quraish and from amongst the Bani Hashim He chose me'. (Muslim - Mazhari).

وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَ‌جٍ (And did not impose any hardship on you in the religion - 22:78) It means that Allah Ta’ ala has not imposed any hardship upon you in matters of religion. From this some scholars have concluded that in Islam there is no sin which cannot be forgiven and save a person from the punishment of the Day of Resurrection if he repents for it truly. On the other hand, among the earlier nations there were certain sins which could not be forgiven even by offering repentance.

According to Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ' ؓ hardship' refers to those rigid and harsh laws which applied to the Bani Isra'il and for which the Qur'an uses the words اِصر (burden) and اِغلَال (shackles). Others have interpreted the word haraj (hardship) to mean a hardship which is beyond human endurance. In Islam there are no such laws and rules which are unbearable in themselves, though there are some rules which entail strenuous effort. But such efforts have always been regarded as pre-requisites to success in all human activities. Education, commerce, industry etc. are fields where success depends on unremitting labour but that would not make these tasks impossible to achieve. Sometimes difficulties are experienced due to unfavorable environments or lack of familiarity with the task in hand, but these too cannot be described as hardships and can be overcome by sustained hard work.

Another interpretation given by Qadi Thanaullah in Tafsir Mazhari is that Allah Ta’ ala having chosen the Muslims for His favours from amongst all other nations, they too willingly opt for the severest hardship in the service of Allah and His religion. In such a situation even hardships and difficulties do not deter their resilience and they endure them willingly and happily. There is a hadith related by Sayyidna Anas ؓ in which the Holy Prophet ﷺ said جعلت قرۃ عینی فی الصّلٰوۃ (the coolness of my eyes lies in prayers). (Abmad and Nasai).

مِّلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَ‌اهِيمَ (The faith of your father Ibrahim - 22:78). It means that this is the nation of your father Ibrahim. These words are addressed to the Quraish who are descended from Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) and all other people following them become entitled to the favours which Allah Ta’ ala has granted to the Quraish. There is a hadith which says:

الناس تبع لقریش فی ھٰذا الشان، مسلمھم تبع لمسلمھم، وکافرھم تبع لکافرھم (رواہ البخاری و مسلم)

All people follow Quraish in this faith; the believers follow the believers among the Quraish, and the infidels follow the infidels among them. (Mazhari).

Others say that the words أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَ‌اهِيمَ (your father Ibrahim) are addressed to all Muslims in the sense that the Holy Prophet ﷺ was the spiritual father of All Muslims and had himself descended from Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) .

هُوَ سَمَّاكُمُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِن قَبْلُ وَفِي هَـٰذَا (He (Allah) named you as Muslims both before and in this Qur'an - 22:78) Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) had named the followers of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and all other believers as Muslims even before the Qur'an, and later in the Qur'an itself, as is evident from his prayer which is recorded in the Qur'an: رَ‌بَّنَا وَاجْعَلْنَا مُسْلِمَيْنِ لَكَ وَمِن ذُرِّ‌يَّتِنَا أُمَّةً مُّسْلِمَةً لَّک (0 our Lord, make us both submissive to you, and of our progeny a people submissive to you - 2:128)

And the name "Muslim" given by the Qur'an to the believers, was, though, not given directly by Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) ، yet since he had suggested this name even before the revelation of the Qur'an, the Holy Qur'an has adopted this name. That is why it is attributed to Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) .

لِيَكُونَ الرَّ‌سُولُ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْكُمْ وَتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ (So that the Messenger becomes a witness to you and you become witnesses to (other) people - 22:78) On the Day of Resurrection the Holy Prophet ﷺ will depose that he had conveyed the commands of Allah Ta’ ala to his Ummah and the Ummah will acknowledge this fact. But when other prophets will make similar depositions, their Ummahs will deny their claims and at that time the Ummah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ will come forward and bear witness to the fact that all the prophets had indeed conveyed the commands of Allah Ta’ ala to their respective Ummahs. This evidence will be challenged on the ground that since the Muslim Ummah did not even exist in those earlier times it carried no weight, to which the Muslims will reply that they learned about these matters from their own Prophet ﷺ ، whose truthfulness and integrity was admitted by all. This is the gist of a hadith which Bukhari and others have related on the authority of Sayyidna Abu Said al-Khudri ؓ .

فَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ (So establish salah and pay zakah - 22:78) It means that since Allah Ta’ ala has showered on you unlimited benefits, it is your duty also to show your gratitude to Him by striving hard to obey His commands. The two commands relating to prayers and zakah have been specifically mentioned because prayer is the most important among the obligations performed by human body, while zakah is the most important among the commands about wealth, otherwise the idea is that all commands enjoined by Allah Ta’ ala be obeyed and followed.

وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِاللَّـهِ (And hold fast to Allah - 22:78). It means that pious Muslims should place their trust in Allah alone in all their affairs and seek help from none but Him. According to Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ the sense of these words is that pious Muslims should seek Allah's protection from all things which are loathsome in this world and in the Hereafter. Others have interpreted these words to mean that good Muslims should hold fast to the Qur'an and Sunnah, and have quoted the following hadith:

ترکت فیکم امرین لن تضلّوا ما تمسّکتم بھما، کتاب اللہ و سُنّۃ رسولہ (رواہ مالک فی المؤطاء مرسلاأ مظھری)

"I have left behind two things with you and if you hold fast to them you will never go astray: one is the Book of Allah and the second is the Sunnah of His Rasul." (Mazhari)

Al-Hamdulillah

The Commentary on

Surah AI-Hajj

Ends here.

And struggle in God as is the rightful due of His struggle. He chose you, and He placed no hardship upon you in the religion-the creed of your father Abraham. He named you submit- ters from before.... He is your Patron, so what an excellent Patron and what an excellent Helper! Struggle is of three sorts: One with the soul, one with the heart, and one with possessions. Struggle with the soul is that you not rest from service and discipline, you do not look for concessions and interpretations, and you go forward in the commands and prohibitions with reverence. Struggle with the heart is that you do not give odious thoughts access to your self, you do not have deter- mined resoluteness in opposition, and you do not rest from meditation on blessings and bounties. Struggle with possessions is by giving away, generosity, munificence, and largesse. Generos-ity is that you give away some and you keep some for yourself. Munificence is that you give away most and keep a little for yourself. Largesse is that you give away all and live in poverty and want. This was the state of Abū Bakr, the greatest of the sincerely truthful, to whom MuṣṬafā said, “What remains for your family?” He said, “God and His Messenger.” It has been said that the rightful due of His struggle is that you do not slacken from struggle against the soul for a moment. Their speaker said, O Lord, my struggle is never over, so Your earth is all my front line and fortress. He chose you... He named you... He is your Patron. He chose you. When He chose you, He saw the faults, and He was pleased despite the faults. He named you. There was no heaven and no earth, no Throne and no Footstool, no Adam and no Eve, and you were Muslim in His knowledge. He placed the name of Muslim upon you and wrote for you the inscription of election: those to whom the most beautiful has preceded from Us [21:101]. He chose you through guidance, He named you with the name of friendship, and He is your Patron by manifesting solicitude. He chose you, not because of the excellence of your deeds, He named you with the name of the Substitutes, and He is your Patron in all states.