45:19 Al-Jaathiya (Crouching)

{ إِنَّهُمْ لَنْ يُغْنُوا عَنْكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئًا } أي: لا ينفعونك عند الله فيحصلوا لك الخير ويدفعوا عنك الشر إن اتبعتهم على أهوائهم، ولا تصلح أن توافقهم وتواليهم فإنك وإياهم متباينون، وبعضهم ولي لبعض { واللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الْمُتَّقِينَ } يخرجهم من الظلمات إلى النور بسبب تقواهم وعملهم بطاعته.

وقال جل جلاله ههنا إنهم لن يغنوا عنك من الله شيئا وإن الظالمين بعضهم أولياء بعض أي وماذا تغني عنهم ولايتهم لبعضهم بعضا فإنهم لا يزيدونهم إلا خسارا ودمارا وهلاكا والله ولي المتقين وهو تعالى يخرجهم من الظلمات إلى النور والذين كفروا أولياؤهم الطاغوت يخرجونهم من النور إلى الظلمات.

Preference of Allah to the Children of Israel and their dispute thereafter

Allah the Exalted mentions the favors He granted the Children of Israel, such as revealing the Divine Books to them, sending the Messengers to them and granting them kingship. Allah said,

وَلَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَا بَنِى إِسْرَءِيلَ الْكِتَـبَ وَالْحُكْمَ وَالنُّبُوَّةَ وَرَزَقْنَـهُمْ مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَـتِ

(And indeed We gave the Children of Israel the Scripture, and the understanding of the Scripture and its laws, and the prophethood; and provided them with good things,) such as foods and drinks,

وَفَضَّلْنَـهُمْ عَلَى الْعَـلَمينَ

(and preferred them above the nations.) of their time,

وَءاتَيْنَـهُم بَيِّنَـتٍ مِّنَ الاٌّمْرِ

(And gave them clear proofs in matters.) `We gave them evidences, proofs and unequivocal signs.' Therefore, the proof has been established against them, yet they differed among themselves after the proof came to them, out of transgression against each other,

إِنَّ رَبَّكَ

(Verily, your Lord) `O Muhammad',

يَقْضِى بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَـمَةِ فِيمَا كَانُواْ فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ

(will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection about that wherein they used to differ. ) He will judge between them by His just judgement.

Warning to this Ummah against following the Ways of the Children of Israel

This Ayah contains a warning to the Muslim Ummah as well. It warns them not to take the path the Jews took nor adopt their ways. This is why Allah said,

ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَـكَ عَلَى شَرِيعَةٍ مِّنَ الاٌّمْرِ فَاتَّبِعْهَا

(Then We have put you on a (legal) way of commandment. So follow you that.) `follow what was revealed to you from your Lord, O Muhammad, there is no true deity except Him, and turn away from the idolators.' Allah said,

وَلاَ تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَآءَ الَّذِينَ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَإِنَّهُمْ لَن يُغْنُواْ عَنكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئاً وَإِنَّ الظَّـلِمِينَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَآءُ بَعْضٍ

(and follow not the desires of those who know not. Verily, they can avail you nothing against Allah. Verily, the wrongdoers are protecting friends of one another,) Allah says, `what will the loyalty that the idolators give each other avail them' Indeed, all they will earn from their protecting friends is more loss, destruction and demise,

وَاللَّهُ وَلِىُّ الْمُتَّقِينَ

(but Allah is the Protector of those who have Taqwa.) and He will deliver them from the darkness to the light. In contrast, all the false deities are the protecting friends of those who disbelieve, taking them out of the light to the darkness. Allah said,

هَـذَا بَصَـئِرُ لِلنَّاسِ

(This is a clear insight and evidence for man- kind,) in reference to the Qur'an,

وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةً لِّقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ

(and a guidance and a mercy for people who have faith with certainty.)

Assuredly they will not avail they will not protect you in any way against God against His chastisement. And assuredly the wrongdoers the disbelievers are allies of one another; but God is the ally only of the God-fearing.

The Status of Previous Shari'ahs for Muslims

ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاكَ عَلَىٰ شَرِ‌يعَةٍ مِّنَ الْأَمْرِ‌ "Then We have put you on a certain way of the Matter (i.e. the religion)... 45:18". Here it may be borne in mind that the religion of Islam has certain fundamental articles of faith, such as the Oneness of Allah, the Hereafter and so on; and there are ordinances, laws and injunctions related to practical life. As far as the fundamental articles of faith are concerned, they are immutable and were imparted to every Prophet (علیہ السلام) and his Ummah since the inception of man. However, laws relating to practical life were different for different Prophets (علیہم السلام) and their people. The sacred laws of previous Shari'ahs kept changing according to the needs of time and exigencies of circumstances. In the verse under comment, the second type of practical laws has been described as "...a certain way of the Matter (i.e. the religion)...". The jurists, on the basis of this verse, have ruled that the Ummah of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ must, of necessity, follow the sacred laws of the Shari'ah of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ . As far as the sacred laws of the previous Shari` ah are concerned, this Ummah is not legally bound to them unless the Qur'an and Sunnah support or confirm them. Support or confirmation may take one of two forms, as follows: (1) the Qur'an and Sunnah may explicitly say that a certain law of a certain Prophet (علیہ السلام) must be followed by this Ummah; or (2) the Qur'an and Sunnah may speak highly and favourably about a certain law of a previous Ummah without hinting that it is abrogated for this Ummah. This indicates that the law is applicable in the Shari` ah of this Ummah also. In that case, the previous law becomes part of this Shari'ah, and as such this Ummah is legally bound to follow it. This much is sufficient for us to understand the status of the previous Shari` ahs. Details are available in the books of the Islamic jurisprudence.

Surely they will not make thee unneedy of God in anything. “If God desires a blessing for you, no one will prevent it, and if He desires a trial for you, no one will turn it away. So do not attach your reflection to any created thing and do not turn the attentive- ness of your mind to anything. Depend on your Lord and trust in Him.” “O paragon of the world, O master of Adam's children, O sun of felicity's sphere, O moon of mastery's heaven, O lodging of the world of knowledge, O pearl of the oyster of eminence, O embroidery on the garment of existence! We separated you out from the world's folk, we orphaned you from father and mother, and We brought out your family and relatives against you so that your heart would be free of all and be totally detached for obeying and serving Me. From the wide roads We made for you the road of the religion, and you call the world's folk to that road: Say: 'This is my path; I invite to God' [12:108]. “O paragon! On the night of the miʿrāj, We sat you down in the dome of proximity and scattered a hundred thousand gentle gifts on the head of your good fortune. We made the two worlds the dust beneath your feet and brought the celestial figures and the terrestrial center under the banner of your rulership. What We intended was to give you expansiveness on the carpet of intercession. As long as there is the story of the pain of the disobedient, you should lift it up to Us and apologize for it on their behalf: Take us not to task if we forget or make mistakes [2:286]. O MuḤammad! If tomorrow you ask Us for the two worlds and the world's folk, you will have asked only for the dust beneath your feet. And if We, through eternal gentleness, use the dust of those feet in the work of one of your servants, that is not far-fetched for Our perfection.” The collyrium of insight had been daubed on the eyes of the prophethood of that greatest of the prophets. He knew that dust should be a carrier of burdens, not headstrong, because dust is for carrying burdens, not for being headstrong. Do you not see how the Exalted Lord threatens and warns those who were headstrong and refractory: