Holy Qor-aan 002:274
لِلۡفُقَرَآءِ الَّذِيۡنَ اُحۡصِرُوۡا فِىۡ سَبِيۡلِ اللّٰهِ لَا يَسۡتَطِيۡعُوۡنَ ضَرۡبًا فِى الۡاَرۡضِ يَحۡسَبُهُمُ الۡجَاهِل اَغۡنِيَآءَ مِنَ التَّعَفُّفِۚ تَعۡرِفُهُمۡ بِسِيۡمٰهُمۡۚ لَا يَسۡـــَٔلُوۡنَ النَّاسَ اِلۡحَــافًا وَمَا تُنۡفِقُوۡا مِنۡ خَيۡرٍ فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ بِه عَلِيۡمٌ
Lay il-fo-qa-raa-ay il-la-ze-na oh-say-roo fee sa-bee-lay il-laa-hay Laa yaus-ta-te-oo-na dzaur-baun fee il-ur-dzay Yauh-sa-bo ho-mo ol-jaa-hay-lo augh-nay-yaa-aa may-na ut-ta-uf-fo-fay Tau-ray-fo hoom bay-see-maa hoom Laa yaus-aa-loo-na un-naa-sa il-haa-faun Wa maa toon-fay-qoo min khai-rin Fa in-na ul-laa-ha bay hee aa-lee-m
(And alms are) For the poor who are detained in the cause of Allah They have no ability to freely move around on earth. The ignorant thinks them rich due to their restraint. You recognize them by their appearances. They do not demand charity from the people importunately. And whatever of good things you spend Allah knows it for sure.
- لِ — Lay … (il) — For (= For the benefit, object, purpose or reason; intended for)
- لۡفُقَرَآءِ — Fo-qa-raa-ay … (il) — The poor (= n., pl., Destitute; impoverished; homeless; needy. Some translations have added the word ‘deserving’ for the poor as a pre-qualification to entitlement for charity)
- ٱلَّذِينَ — La-zee-na — Those who (= Reference is to ‘all those men, masculine gender’)
- اُحۡصِرُوۡا — Oh-say-roo — Detained (= v., past., pass., pl., 3rd person. Captivated. Confined. Controlled. Detained. Imprisoned. Incarcerated. Restrained. Restricted. Straitened. See Note 002:0274)
- فِىۡ — Fee — In (= In; concerning; regarding; in reference; relative to. Also, amidst, during or inside a time, place or event)
- سَبِيۡلِ — Sa-bee-lay … (il) — Cause (= n., s., Action; alternative; cause, course; escape; line; means; measure; method; path; pretext; remedy; road; way. See Note 004:089 & Phrase fee-sa-be-lil-laa-hay)
- اللّٰهِ — Laa-hay — Allah (= The Almighty God; The only One worthy of worship)
- لَا — Laa — No (= Absolute denial; never; not at all; total negation)
- يَسۡتَطِيۡعُوۡنَ — Yaus-ta-tee-oo-na — Have ability (= v., pres., pl., 3rd person. Have, control, own or possess the proper ability, capability, means, measure. strength or other wherewithal to do the needful. Also, have, control, own or possess the appropriate approval, authority, permission, power, sanction or warrant to do the needful. With the word لَا (laa) before it, the word means forbidden, restricted, restrained or unable to do what is necessary)
- ضَرۡبًا — Dzaur-baun — Move around (= adv., Travel. Go anywhere they please. Move freely. Striking out. This word is often used relative to earning livelihood, trading and working. A/t/a, ‘in quest of trading ventures’ and ‘providing their sustenance’)
- فِىۡ — Fee … (l) — On (= Inside, amidst or contained in a duration, time, place, period, thing or situation. Also, Concerning; relative to; regarding. See Note at 002:028)
- الۡاَرۡضِ — Aur-dzay — Earth (=1. Area; country; earth; ground; land; soil; territory. 2. Life on earth. 3. Nation; people or society in general See 021:106 for more meanings)
- يَحۡسَبُ — Yauh-sa-bo — He thinks (= v., pres., s., 3rd person. Accounts; considers; construes; counts; deems; conjectures; estimates; guesstimates; imagines; sees as; supposes; takes; thinks)
- هُمُ — Ho-mo … (ol) — Them (= pro., pl., m., 3rd person. Refers to the aforesaid needy individuals as well as a class or group of persons)
- الۡجَاهِل — Jaa-hay-lo — The ignorant (= n., Anyone who does not know. Illiterate. Not knowing. Non-knowledgeable. Unschooled. Unthinking. One who lacks knowledge of the totality of circumstances, all conditions and the entire situation
- اَغۡنِيَآءَ — Augh-nay-yaa-aa — Rich (= n., pl., Men of means or wealth; moneyed people; wealthy; well-off; ‘free from want’)
- مِنَ — May-na … (ut) — Due to (= From class, category or count of. For the reason of; on account of; out of; since)
- التَّعَفُّفِ — Ta-auf-fo-fay — Restraint (= n., Abstaining, avoiding, restraining, staying away or withholding from [or simply NOT] asking for favors, or begging, or soliciting for charity, or expressing in public personal needs and wants, or pleading poverty. Modest behavior. Modesty. Not losing dignity and self-respect)
- تَعۡرِفُ — Tau-ray-fo — You recognize (= v., Discern; find; identify; locate; look; notice; observe; see; witness. You can know their conditions)
- ھُمۡ — Hoom — Them (= pro., pl., m., 3rd person. Refers to the aforesaid needy individuals as well as a class or group of persons)
- بِ — Bay — By (= Literal translation and best sense conveyed is ‘with’)
- سِيۡمٰ — See-maa — Appearances (= n., pl., Appearances; behaviors; conditions; demeanors; lifestyle; looks; manifestations; markings; signs; unfailing signs on their faces; visible ways they talk, walk and Live. Also, sign stamped on as if by a tattoo or hot iron)
- ھُمۡ — Hoom — Their (= pro., pl., m., 3rd person. Refers to the aforesaid needy individuals as well as a class or group of persons)
- لَا — Laa — Do not at all (= Absolute denial; never; total negation)
- يَسۡـَٔلُونَ — Yaus-aa-loo-na — They demand (= v., pres., pl., 3rd person. Ask, beg, demand or seek for alms. Importune. Also, dig in; inquire; interrogate; request)
- النَّاسَ — Naa-sa — The people (= All and sundry; everyone; folks; mankind; nation; others. Also, Congregations where people gather for prayers or assemble for other community affairs)
- اِلۡحَــافًا — Il-haa-faun — Importunately (= adv., Annoyingly, demanding coercively; insistently, menacingly, persistently, repeatedly; stubbornly; threateningly; unrelentingly. Demanding with the Mafia-style arm-twisting and pressure. This word has been translated as they ‘beg not importunately from all and sundry’ and ‘never importune men for alms’ )
- وَ — Wa — And (= Conj., links words, phrases or clauses; additionally; but also; more over; though; when; while; yet; whereupon)
- مَاۤ — Maa — Whatever (= All that; whatsoever. See مَاۤ above)
- تُنۡفِقُوۡا — Toon-fay-qoo — You spend (= v., pres., pl., 2nd person. Contribute; donate; give in charity. Expend, lay, put or use for noble purposes. Help the needy. Invest in good causes. Practice giving alms. Spend assets, belongings and substance in the causes of Allah)
- خَيۡرٍ — Khai-rin — Good things (= n., All God-given gifts and things of value such as one’s time, talent, energy, abilities, potentials and physical things like money, property, possessions and wealth. Assets of any kind)
- فَ — Fa — Then (= Consequently; resultantly; so; thereafter; therefore; yet)
- اِنۡ — In-na … (ul) — For sure (= Certainly; definitely; doubtlessly; indeed; positively; surely; verily. Also, be assured)
- ٱللَّهَ — Laa-ha — Allah (= The Almighty God; The only One worthy of worship)
- بِ — Bay — With (= Literal translation and best sense conveyed is ‘with’)
- هٖ — He — It (= pro., s., m., 3rd person. Refers to aforesaid spending on the type of the people enumerated in this verse)
- عَلِيۡمٌ — Aa-lee-m — All-Knowing (= superlative form indicates the greatest, the highest, the most, and highlights that none more than Him Knows. See Note 002:033. Also: Informed to the maximum. The One with total knowledge and nothing out of sight. Knows all. Most Knowledgeable. Well-Acquainted with and Well-Aware of. See Note 001:001)** Note 002:274. Accurately conveying the meanings of the word اُحۡصِرُوۡا includes the following as stated by various authors.
- Any legislated or imposed step by an overlord or authority compelling the detenu to abandon or even temporarily withdraw from something contemplated or engaged in.
- Any move practiced by masses forcing someone to forsake or even temporarily suspend a worship that his community has practiced, preached or professed, even for many years.
- Any argumentatively attempting, evangelically preaching or physically fighting done for the purposes of spreading Islam.
- Any restriction on travel or post-travel effort to settle in the new environment.
Superiority of one Religion
RELIGIONS
Superiority of one Religion over all others
Claim of superiority of a religion is claimed by almost all followers of all religions over all others. The one exception — and that too academically and based upon the scriptures which its adherents hold holy — is Islaam as given to the mankind in the form of the Holy Qor-aan and revealed upon the Holy Prophet Mohammed, peace and blessings of Allah upon him. The three verses which merit consideration in this regard are 002:063, 005:070 and 022:018 (Verse-numbers being those as given in the texts that include the verse Bismillahirrahmaanirraheem as the verse #1). The text and word-by-word meanings of these verses can be seen online, and at www.thetrueteachingsofislam.com.
Yes, there is a Superiority !
My father’s passion was to preach the virtues of Islaam to anyone who came within inches of him. Of the innumerable stories about his such encounters was the one that he himself told. He was presenting virtues of Islaam to a Gugra, an extremely poor class of people in India who followed no big religions. The Gugra simplistically said: ‘God threw a big ripe water-melon from the sky for its creatures. The melon crashed on earth and split into pieces. Hindus took one side of the shell (hard green rind) and Moslems took the other side of the shell, and both left behind the inside delicious eatable (sweet, watery reddish flesh). Hindus prohibit eating beef, Moslems prohibit eating pork and both left the beef and pork for us to enjoying eating. Who wants to enter those religions and suffer prohibition of the best foods on earth? No, sir, we Gugras are the best. We eat all good food God created for us.’ To that Gugra, his way of life was superior than all other religions – a phenomenon to which hardly any of today’s 1.3 billion Hindus and 1.5 billion Moslems in the world will agree.
No, there is no Superiority !
The view that no religion has any superiority over other religions is based upon the aforesaid three verses of the Holy Qor-aan which are in Arabic language. Simple straightforward meanings of the three verses, as done by Marmaduke Pickthall in his publication “The Meaning of the Glorious Qur’an” clearly convey that message. What count is (a) the belief in the One Almighty God, (b) the Last Day of Reckoning and (c) the virtuous deeds done appropriately which all will be rewarded by Him appropriately at the time He holds the final accounting. The labels of being Moslems, Jews, Christians, Sabians, Magian, idolaters may not help much when He will decide among them. And a knowledgeable person negated such superiority by quoting the gist of 041:031-to-033 (rewards for ‘belief’ in Allah) and that too as per ‘one’s capacity to comprehend’ (the opening words of 002:087.)
Imam Abdullah Yusuf Ali in his publication “The Holy Qur’an” Note #779 wrote, “As God’s message is one, Islam recognizes true faith in other forms, provided that it be sincere, supported by reason, and backed by righteous conduct.” Repeating the same essence again in his Note #2788, he wrote: “The argument is that all forms of faith that are sincere (and not merely contumacious) are matters in which we as men cannot interfere. Our duty is to be tolerant within all limits of tolerance …. (without) oppression, injustice and persecution.”
Maulana Muhammad Ali wrote in his publication “Holy Quran” Note #104 wrote: “This … strikes at the root of the idea of a favoured nation whose members alone may be entitled to salvation … Salvation cannot be attained by mere lip-profession by any people, not even by the Muslims, unless they adhere to a true belief and do good deeds.”
Yes, there is superiority !
However, the opposite view claiming an absolute superiority of Islaam on all other religions has been professed in some translations, interpretations and extrapolations of the aforesaid verses.
Malik Ghulam Farid in his publication The Holy Qur’an Note #104 wrote: “Verse (002:063), as mistakenly understood, does not signify that belief in God and in the Last Day alone is sufficient for salvation. The Qur’an emphatically declares that belief in the Holy Prophet is most essential {004:151/152 and 006:093} and forms an integral part of belief in God, and also that the belief in the Hereafter includes belief in Divine revelations as well … Elsewhere, Islam alone has been unequivocally declared to be acceptable to God as a religion {003:020 & 086}. The Qur’an here (in 002:063) confines itself to a mention of belief in God and the Last Day, not because belief in revelation and in the Holy Prophet is not essential, but because the former two beliefs include the latter two, the four being essentially inseparable. In fact, the verse is intended to demolish the mistaken Jewish belief that they were ‘the favoured nation of God’ and, therefore, were alone entitled to salvation.” He repeated that concept in his Note # 1939 (to 022:018): “This verse and vv {002:063 and 005:070} do not signify that Christians, Jews, and Sabians are equally eligible to salvation along with true believers. The Qur’an does not support any such belief. According to it the only religion acceptable to God is Islam (003:020 & 086.”
Maulana Muhammad Ali in his publication “The Holy Quran” Note #104 and referring to verses 022:018 stated: “The existence of good men in other religions is not denied by the Holy Qur’ran, but perfect peace, or the state of absolute contentment which is indicated by freedom from fear and grief, is obtainable only in Islam, because Islam alone is the religion of absolute submission to the Divine Being.”
Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan in his publication “Interpretation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur’an”, Note 2 to verse 002:063 and Note 1 to 005:070, wrote: “… Should not be misinterpreted by the reader as mentioned by Ibn-e-Abbas (r.a.) (in Tafsir At-Tabari) that this verse was abrogated by the V:3.85 “And whosoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the hereafter, he will be one of the losers.” {i.e., after the coming of Prophet Mohammed (s.a.w) on the earth no other religion except Islam will be accepted from anyone}.
Dr. Ahmad Zindan in his publication “Translation of the Glorious Qur’an” in translating 002:063 added the words “who (before Islam) were” before the ‘Jews’, ‘Sabians’ and Christians, thus clearly conveying that the concession, equality or even-handedness of this verse applied to only those who were Jews, Christians and Sabians prior to Islam, and not to those (or for that matter the followers of other religions) after the advent of Islam. In translating 005:070, he repeated his notion by adding “who were” before Jews, Sabians and followers of Jesus.
Note: The quotes from the original have some words spelled differently. The italicized portions highlight author’s view
See Holy Qor-aan verse 002:063