30:7 Ar-Room (The Romans)

وهؤلاء الذين لا يعلمون أي: لا يعلمون بواطن الأشياء وعواقبها. وإنما { يَعْلَمُونَ ظَاهِرًا مِنَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا } فينظرون إلى الأسباب ويجزمون بوقوع الأمر الذي في رأيهم انعقدت أسباب وجوده ويتيقنون عدم الأمر الذي لم يشاهدوا له من الأسباب المقتضية لوجوده شيئا، فهم واقفون مع الأسباب غير ناظرين إلى مسببها المتصرف فيها.{ وَهُمْ عَنِ الْآخِرَةِ هُمْ غَافِلُونَ } قد توجهت قلوبهم وأهواؤهم وإراداتهم إلى الدنيا وشهواتها وحطامها فعملت لها وسعت وأقبلت بها وأدبرت وغفلت عن الآخرة، فلا الجنة تشتاق إليها ولا النار تخافها وتخشاها ولا المقام بين يدي اللّه ولقائه يروعها ويزعجها وهذا علامة الشقاء وعنوان الغفلة عن الآخرة.ومن العجب أن هذا القسم من الناس قد بلغت بكثير منهم الفطنة والذكاء في ظاهر الدنيا إلى أمر يحير العقول ويدهش الألباب.وأظهروا من العجائب الذرية والكهربائية والمراكب البرية والبحرية والهوائية ما فاقوا به وبرزوا وأعجبوا بعقولهم ورأوا غيرهم عاجزا عما أقدرهم اللّه عليه، فنظروا إليهم بعين الاحتقار والازدراء وهم مع ذلك أبلد الناس في أمر دينهم وأشدهم غفلة عن آخرتهم وأقلهم معرفة بالعواقب، قد رآهم أهل البصائر النافذة في جهلهم يتخبطون وفي ضلالهم يعمهون وفي باطلهم يترددون نسوا اللّه فأنساهم أنفسهم أولئك هم الفاسقون.ثم نظروا إلى ما أعطاهم اللّه وأقدرهم عليه من الأفكار الدقيقة في الدنيا وظاهرها و[ما] حرموا من العقل العالي فعرفوا أن الأمر للّه والحكم له في عباده وإن هو إلا توفيقه وخذلانه فخافوا ربهم وسألوه أن يتم لهم ما وهبهم من نور العقول والإيمان حتى يصلوا إليه، ويحلوا بساحته [وهذه الأمور لو قارنها الإيمان وبنيت عليه لأثمرت الرُّقِيَّ العالي والحياة الطيبة، ولكنها لما بني كثير منها على الإلحاد لم تثمر إلا هبوط الأخلاق وأسباب الفناء والتدمير]

قوله تعالى: "يعلمون ظاهرا من الحياة الدنيا وهم عن الآخرة هم غافلون" أي أكثر الناس ليس لهم علم إلا بالدنيا وأكسابها وشؤونها وما فيها فهم حذاق أذكياء في تحصيلها ووجوه مكاسبها وهم غافلون في أمور الدين وما ينفعهم في الدار الآخرة كأن أحدهم مغفل لا ذهن له ولا فكرة قال الحسن البصري والله ليبلغ من أحدهم بدنياه أنه يقلب الدرهم على ظفره فيخبرك بوزنه وما يحسن أن يصلي. وقال ابن عباس في قوله تعالى: "يعلمون ظاهرا من الحياة الدنيا وهم عن الآخرة هم غافلون" يعني الكفار يعرفون عمران الدنيا وهم في أمر الدين جهال.

Which was revealed in Makkah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Foretelling the Victory of the Romans

These Ayat were revealed about the victory of Sabur, the king of Persia, over Ash-Sham (Greater Syria), the adjoining partisan states of the Arabian Peninsula, and the outlying regions of the land of the Romans. Heraclius, the emperor of the Romans, was forced to flee to Constantinople where he was besieged for a lengthy period. Then Heraclius regained the upper hand. Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, commented on this Ayah:

الم - غُلِبَتِ الرُّومُ - فِي أَدْنَى الْأَرْضِ وَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَيَغْلِبُونَ

(Alif Lam Mim. The Romans have been defeated. In the nearest land,) He said, "They were defeated and then they were victorious." He said, "The idolators wanted the Persians to prevail over the Romans, because they were idol worshippers, and the Muslims wanted the Romans to prevail over the Persians, because they were People of the Book. This was mentioned to Abu Bakr, who mentioned it to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«أَمَا إِنَّهُمْ سَيَغْلِبُون»

(They will certainly prevail.) Abu Bakr mentioned this to the idolators, and they said, "Set a time limit for that, and if we prevail, we will get such and such; and if you prevail, you will get such and such." So he set a limit of five years, and they (the Romans) did not prevail. Abu Bakr mentioned that to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he said:

«أَلَا جَعَلْتَهَا إِلَى دُونَ أُرَاهُ قَالَ: الْعَشْرِ »

(Why do you not make it less than) I (the narrator) think he meant less than ten. Sa`id bin Jubayr said: "Bid` means less than ten." Then the Romans were victorious, and he said, "That is what Allah said:

الم - غُلِبَتِ الرُّومُ - فِي أَدْنَى الْأَرْضِ وَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَيَغْلِبُونَ- فِي بِضْعِ سِنِينَ لِلَّهِ الْأَمْرُ مِن قَبْلُ وَمِن بَعْدُ وَيَوْمَئِذٍ يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ - بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ يَنصُرُ مَن يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِي

(Alif Lam Mim. The Romans have been defeated. In the nearest land, and they, after their defeat, will be victorious. In Bid`i years. The decision of the matter, before and after is only with Allah. And on that day, the believers will rejoice -- with the help of Allah. He helps whom He wills, and He is the All-Mighty, the Most Merciful.) This was also recorded by At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i. At-Tirmidhi said: "Hasan Gharib."

Another Hadith

Abu `Isa At-Tirmidhi recorded that Niyar bin Mukram Al-Aslami said: "When the following Ayat were revealed:

الم - غُلِبَتِ الرُّومُ - فِي أَدْنَى الْأَرْضِ وَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَيَغْلِبُونَ - فِي بِضْعِ سِنِينَ لِلَّهِ الْأَمْرُ مِن قَبْلُ وَمِن بَعْدُ

(Alif Lam Mim. The Romans have been defeated. In the nearest land, and they, after their defeat, will be victorious. In Bid` years.) on the day they were revealed, the Persians were prevailing over the Romans. The Muslims wanted the Romans to prevail over them (the Persians), because they were both people who followed a Book. Concerning this Allah said:

وَيَوْمَئِذٍ يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ - بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ يَنصُرُ مَن يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ

(And on that day, the believers will rejoice -- with the help of Allah. He helps whom He wills, and He is the All-Mighty, the Most Merciful.) The Quraysh, on the other hand, wanted the Persians to prevail, because neither of them were people who followed a Book and neither of them believed in the Resurrection. When Allah revealed these Ayat, Abu Bakr went out proclaiming throughout Makkah:

الم - غُلِبَتِ الرُّومُ - فِي أَدْنَى الْأَرْضِ وَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَيَغْلِبُونَ - فِي بِضْعِ سِنِينَ لِلَّهِ الْأَمْرُ مِن قَبْلُ وَمِن بَعْدُ

(Alif Lam Mim. The Romans have been defeated. In the nearest land, and they, after their defeat, will be victorious. In Bid` years.) Some of the Quraysh said to Abu Bakr: `This is (a bet) between us and you. Your companion claims that the Romans will defeat the Persians within three to nine years, so why not have a bet on that between us and you' Abu Bakr said, `Yes.' This was before betting had been forbidden. So, Abu Bakr and the idolators made a bet, and they said to Abu Bakr: `What do you think, Bid` means something between three and nine years, so let us agree on the middle.' So they agreed on six years. Then six years passed without the Romans being victorious, so the idolators took what they had bet with Abu Bakr. When the seventh year came and the Romans were finally victorious over the Persians, the Muslims rebuked Abu Bakr for agreeing on six years. He said: `Because Allah said: "In Bid` years."' At that time, many people became Muslim." This is how it was narrated by At-Tirmidhi, then he said, "This is a Hasan Hadith."

Who were the Romans

الم - غُلِبَتِ الرُّومُ - فِي أَدْنَى الْأَرْضِ وَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَيَغْلِبُونَ

(Alif Lam Mim. The Romans have been defeated.) We have already discussed the separate letters which appear at the beginning of some Surahs in the beginning of our Tafsir of Surat Al-Baqarah. With regard to the Romans (Ar-Rum), they are the descendents of Al-`Iys bin Ishaq bin Ibrahim. They are the cousins of the Children of Isra'il, and are also known as Bani Al-Asfar. They used to followed the religion of the Greeks, who were descendents of Yafith bin Nuh, the cousins of the Turks. They used to worship the seven planets, and they prayed facing the direction of the North Pole. It is they who founded Damascus and built its temple in which there is a prayer niche facing north. The Romans followed this religion until approximately three hundred years after the time of the Messiah. The king who ruled Greater Syria along with the Fertile Crescent (semicircle of fertile land from Syrian Desert to Persian Gulf) was called Caesar. The first of them to enter the Christian religion was Constantine the son of Costas, whose mother was Maryam Al-Hilaniyyah Ash-Shadqaniyyah, from the land of Harran. She had become Christian before him, and she invited him to her religion. Before that he had been a philosopher, then he followed her. It was said that this was merely an outward show of belief. Then the Christians met with him. During his time they debated with `Abdullah bin Ariyus (Arius) and great differences arose which could not be reconciled. Then a gathering of three hundred and eighteen bishops reached an agreement, and presented their creed to Constantine. This is what they call the Great Trust, but in fact it is the Worst Betrayal. They presented to him their laws, i.e., books of rulings on what was lawful and prohibited, and other things that they needed. They changed the religion of the Messiah (peace be upon him), adding some things and taking some things away. They began praying towards the East, and changed the Sabbath (Saturday) rites to Sunday. They worshipped the cross, permitted eating of pigs, adopted innovated observances such as the festival of the cross, Mass, baptism, etc., Palm Sunday and other occasions. They appointed a pope, as their leader, and patriarchs, metropolitans, bishops, priests and deacons, and they invented monasticism. The king built churches and places of worship for them, and he founded the city which is named after him, Constantinople. It was said that during his time twelve thousand churches were built, three places of prayer in Bethlehem, and that his mother built the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. These are the ones who followed the religion of the kings. Then after them came the Jacobites, followers of Ya`qub Al-Askaf, then the Nestorians, the followers of Nestorius. There are many groups and sects among them, as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«إِنَّهُمْ افْتَرَقُوا عَلَى اثْنَتَيْنِ وَسَبْعِينَ فِرْقَة»

(They split into seventy two sects.) The point here is that they continued to follow Christianity. Every time one Caesar died, another succeeded him, until the last of them, Heraclius, came to power. He was a wise man, one of the most astute and intelligent of kings, who had deep insight and well-formed opinions. His was a great and glorious reign. He was opposed by Chosroes, the king of Persia and of regions such as Iraq, Khurasan, Ar-Riy and all the lands of the Persians. His name was Sabur Dhul-Aktaf, and his kingdom was greater than the kingdom of Caesar. He was the leader of the Persians and was as stubborn as the Persians who were Zoroastrian fire worshippers.

How Caesar defeated Chosroes (Kisra)

It was previously reported that `Ikrimah said: "Chosroes sent his deputy and his army against Caesar, and they fought." It is well-known that Chosroes himself fought in the army that invaded his land, and he defeated Caesar and overwhelmed him until he had nothing left except the city of Constantinople, where Chosroes besieged him for a long time, until things became very difficult for him. He was highly venerated among the Christians, and Chosroes was not able to conquer the city because it was well fortified, and half of it faced the land while the other half faced the sea, from where supplies were able to reach them. After this had gone on for a long time, Caesar thought of a clever trick. He asked Chosroes to let him leave his city in return for money given as a peace-offering, on whatever terms he (Chosroes) wanted. Chosroes agreed to that and asked for a huge amount of wealth -- gold, jewels, fabric, servant-women, servants, and much more -- such that no king on earth could ever pay. Caesar went along with that and gave him the impression that he had all that he had asked for, although he thought he was crazy for asking for such a thing, because even if the two of them were to combine all of their wealth, it would not amount to even one-tenth of that. He asked Chosroes to let him go out of the city to Ash-Sham and the other regions of his kingdom, so that he could gather that from his storehouses and places where his wealth was buried. Chosroes let him go, and when Caesar was about to leave Constantinople, he gathered his people together and told them: "I am going out on a mission I have decided to do so with some soldiers I have selected from my army; if I come back to you before one year passes, I will still be your king but if I do not come back after that, you will have the choice. Then, if you wish, you may remain loyal to me, or if you wish you may appoint someone instead of me. Signs of Tawhid Allah tells us that pondering His creation will show that He exists and that He is Unique in creating it, and that there is no god nor lord besides Him. So He says:

They know merely an outward aspect of the life of this world that is to say its various means of securing livelihood such as commerce agriculture construction and cultivation and so on; but they of the Hereafter they are oblivious this repetition of hum ‘they’ is for emphasis.

يَعْلَمُونَ ظَاهِرً‌ا مِّنَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَهُمْ عَنِ الْآخِرَ‌ةِ هُمْ غَافِلُونَ (They know something superficial of the worldly life, but of the Hereafter they are negligent.-7). These disbelievers were quite conversant with the mundane needs, that is how to perform trading, which commodity should they trade in, where should they make purchases, where should they sell etc. Similarly, they knew well how to till, when to put seeds, and when to harvest. They were also equally knowledgeable about the construction of buildings and to furnish them with luxury goods. But they were totally ignorant and negligent about the other aspect of the worldly life which in fact is more important, and brings forth the real purpose of its creation; that is to appreciate that he is not a permanent resident of this world, rather his stay in the world is a temporary stay, like that of a visitor on a tourist visa. Man's permanent abode is in the Hereafter, and he has to collect here the goods for his comfort in the next life. The goods of comfort for the next life are the true faith and righteous deeds. This simple and straight-forward reality is not understood by these so-called intellectuals.

Another point worth consideration in this verse is about the wording used by the Holy Qur'an in this verse. The word "zahiran" with tanwin, according to the Arabic grammar, indicates that even superficial things of the worldly life are not fully known to them;1 what they know is only one aspect of it, while they are ignorant of its other aspects, and are totally negligent of the Hereafter.

1. This aspect of the language used by the Holy Qur’ an has been tried to be reflected in the translation above by the words, "something superficial " instead of "what is superficial".

Earning of mundane needs by neglecting the Hereafter is no sagacity

The Holy Qur'an is full of admonitory stories of the world. Those who had earned a name for collecting all sorts of luxuries and comforts for themselves, and then their disastrous end was witnessed in this very world, will also be subjected to everlasting torment of the Hereafter. So no sane person will call them intellectual or sagacious. Unfortunately, in the present day world the height of sagacity and wisdom is attributed to the one who could accumulate the largest quantity of wealth, and arrange for himself the best of comforts and luxuries. He is called the most successful and wise, no matter how low he might be in his morals. To call such a person wise is indeed an insult to wisdom - both by religious and moral standards. By Qur'anic standard, only those are wise who are conscious of Allah and the Hereafter, and strive for the comforts of the next life, keeping their needs of this wordly life at a level at which such needs are necessary; and do not make their achievement the sole purpose of their lives. The following verse depicts the same meaning:إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْ‌ضِ وَاخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ‌ لَآيَاتٍ لِّأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُ‌ونَ اللَّـهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُ‌ونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْ‌ضِ رَ‌بَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَـٰذَا بَاطِلًا سُبْحَانَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ‌ (Surely, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are signs for the people of wisdom, who remember Allah standing and sitting, and (lying) on their sides, and ponder on the creation of the heavens and the earth (saying:) "Our Lord, You have not created all this in vain. We proclaim Your purity. So, save us from the punishment of Fire." (3:190-191).