Delivered by Mowlana Syed Aftab Haider on 18 June 2016 at Ahlul Bait (a.s) Islamic Centre, Ottery, Cape Town

Verse 51 and 52 say:

وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَبَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ قَرْيَةٍ نَذِيرًا

فَلاَ تُطِعِ الْكَافِرِينَ وَجَاهِدْهُم بِهِ جِهَادًا كَبِيرًا

“And if We had pleased certainly We would have raised up a warner in every town.”
“So do not follow the infidels, and strive against them with it (the Qur’an) a strenuous strife.”

This verse refers to the greatness of the Prophet (sawa) and the Universality of his Message.

Furthermore we also derive the Knowledge of the Finality of Prophethood from this verse.

In various other verses in the Quran it mentions that Allah sent a Prophet or Warner to every nation. But since the Prophethood of Muhammad (sawa) is such a great one, there is no other Prophet required after him as his message is universal.

He is thus the final warner to mankind and no other warner comes after him.

Because he is the final carrier of the message, there is no room for compromise against the non believers.

And furthermore, even though there is no room for compromise, he should in any case struggle against them in a sublime manner.

THE GREAT JIHAD

What type of Jihad is this verse referring to?

As previously indicated, Surah Furqaan is a Meccan Surah. However, Jihad only became compulsory after the migration to Madina occurred which was in the second half of the Prophetic Mission.

Thus this Jihad which is referred to as a great Jihad is not the one by the sword!! Rather it is the intellectual Jihad of reasoning, logic, culture, social upliftment, etc.

Allamah Tabarsi says that in this verse, Allah regards the non-violent Jihad as the greater Jihad and thus Jihad is not confined to the battlefield (even though it is part of it).

What is the weapon of your Jihad? “And strive against them with it” i.e. the Furqaan (the Quraan) i.e. with the reasoning of the Quran that cuts falsehood in half like a sharp blade.

FASCINATING EXAMPLE OF HOW THE QURAN IS A GREAT WEAPON IN JIHAD

The Quran is a great weapon in Jihad! There were enemies who never accepted Islam, but could not overcome the influence of the power of the Quran.

There is the famous story of Abu Sufyaan and Abu Jahal who were 2 arch enemies of Prophet Muhammad (sawa). While they were his enemies on the one hand, they were intrigued to know what the Quran contained.

So on one occasion, late at night they secretly individually went to hide at a place near to the Prophet (sawa)’s house to listen to him recite the Quran.

When he was finished reciting and they left their secret hiding place, they bumped into each other and were shocked to find each other listening to Quran. They then swore to secrecy that they would not tell anyone about what they did, nor come to listen to the recitation of the Quran again.

However, this occurred the next night and the night thereafter.

Then they asked each other, what attracted them to listen to the Quran? And they admitted that some things in it they do understand while other things they don’t understand, but the Quran has an amazing attractive power.

They then took a final oath to not come there again.

But as Surah Furqaan says, their desires prevented them from accepting the truth and they continued to resist against the Quran.

Thus the Quran is a great tool for Jihad!

THE BARRIER BETWEEN THE SEAS

Verse 53 says:

وَهُوَ الَّذِي مَرَجَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ هَذَا عَذْبٌ فُرَاتٌ وَهَذَا مِلْحٌ أُجَاجٌ وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَهُمَا بَرْزَخًا وَحِجْرًا مَّحْجُورًا

“And He it is Who had made the two seas join and flow together, one palatable and sweet, and the other salt and bitter; and between the two He has made a barrier and inviolable obstruction.”

This is another of the unique phenomenon in nature that one is called upon to ponder on in that these 2 sees, one being sweat and the other salty are kept separate and they do not mix while they are both water. The barrier is due to their differing densities.

There are various places in the world where this phenomenon exists and it often occurs when rivers meet the ocean that you see this barrier.

INSTITUTIONS THROUGH WHICH RELATIONSHIPS ARE CREATED

Verse 54 says:

وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ مِنَ الْمَاء بَشَرًا فَجَعَلَهُ نَسَبًا وَصِهْرًا وَكَانَ رَبُّكَ قَدِيرًا

“And He it is Who has created man from water, then He made him related in blood and in wedlock; and your Lord is ever Powerful.”

If you recall, previous verses referred to how the falling rain gives life to dead land. Now this verse refers to the sperm of man that is used to create a human being which is a higher form of life than plants.

While the first man, which is Prophet Adam (a.s) was also created from water as clay primarily consists of water, so all human beings are created from water as the main material in the human body is water.

This human creation now exists in this world and subsists through social relationships, the first being the one that exists through blood relations and the second being the one that exists through marriage.

Both Sunni and Shia books have narrated that this verse refers to Prophet (sawa) and Imam Ali (a.s) because they have these 2 relations as first cousin (blood relationship) and son-in-law/father-in-law (through marriage).

Verse 55 says:

وَيَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لاَ يَنفَعُهُمْ وَلاَ يَضُرُّهُمْ وَكَانَ الْكَافِرُ عَلَى رَبِّهِ ظَهِيرًا

“And they worship besides Allah (things) which neither profit them nor harm them; and the infidel is a helper (of aberration) against his Lord.”

With this wide variety of examples of nature which are meant to take you to worship Allah, people still end up worshiping something that is of no benefit to them which are all creation of Allah.

To be continued……..

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