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| Aal-E-Imran - The Family Of Imran, The House Of Imran |
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| NAME : |
| This Surah takes its name from v. 33. Al-i-Imran,
like the names of many other surahs, is merely a name to
distinguish it from other surahs and does not imply that
the family of Imran has been discussed in it. |
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| The Period of Revelation |
This Surah consists
of four discourses The first discourses :-
The first discourse (vv. 1-32) was probably revealed
soon after the Battle of Badr.
The second discourse (vv. 33-63) was revealed in 9 A.
H. on the occasion of the visit of the deputation from
the Christians of Najran.
The third discourse (vv. 64-120) appears to have been
revealed immediately after the first one.
The fourth discourse (vv. 121-200) was revealed after
the Battle of Uhd.
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Subject : |
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Though these discourses were revealed at different
periods and on different occasions, they are so inter-linked
and so inter-connected iii regard to their aim, object and
central theme that they make together one continuous whole.
This Surah has been especially addressed to two groups-the
people of the Book (the Jews and the Christians) and the followers
of Muhammad (Allah's peace be upon him).
The message has been extended to the Jews and the Christians
in continuation of the invitation in Al-Baqarah, in which they
have been admonished for their erroneous beliefs and evil morals
and advised to accept, as a remedy, the Truth of the Quran.
They have been told here that Muhammad (Allah's peace be, upon
him) taught the same right way of life that had been preached
by their own Prophets; that it alone was the Right Way, the
way of Allah; hence any deviation from it will be wrong even
according to their own Scriptures.
The second group, the Muslims, who had been declared to be
the best Community in Al-Baqarah and appointed torch-bearers
of the Truth and entrusted with the responsibility of reforming
the world, have been given additional instructions in continuation
of those given in the preceding Surah. The Muslims have been
warned to learn a lesson from the religious and moral degeneration
of the former communities and to refrain from treading in their
footsteps.
Instructions have also been given about the reformative work
they had to perform. Besides this, they have been taught how
to deal with the people of the Book and the hypocrites who
were putting different kinds of hindrances in the way of Allah.
Above all, they have been warned to guard against those weaknesses
which had come to the surface in the Battle Uhd.
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Background |
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The following is the background of the Surah:
The Believers had met with all sorts of trials and hardships
about which they had been forewarned in Al- Baqarah. Though
they had come out victorious in the Battle of Badr, they were
not out of danger yet. Their victory had aroused the enmity
of all those powers in Arabia which were opposed to the Islamic
Movement. Signs of threatening storms had begun to appear on
all sides and the Muslims were in a perpetual state of fear
and anxiety.
It looked as if the whole Arabian world around the tiny state
of Al- Madinah -- which was no more than a village state at
that time -- was bent upon blotting out its very existence.
This state of war was also adversely affecting its economy,
which had already been badly disturbed by the influx of the
Muslim refugees from Makkah.
Then there was the disturbing problem of the Jewish clans who
lived in the suburbs of Al-Madinah. They were discarding the
treaties of alliance they had made with the Holy Prophet after
his migration from Makkah. So much so that on the occasion
of the Battle of Badr, these people of the Book sympathized
with the evil aims of the idolaters, in spite of the fact that
their fundamental articles of the Faith -- Oneness of Allah,
Prophethood, Life-after- death -- were the same as those of
the Muslims.
After the Battle of Badr, they openly began to incite the Quraish
and other Arab clans to wreak their vengeance on the Muslims.
Thus those Jewish clans set aside their centuries-old friendly
and neighborly relations with the people of Al-Madinah. At
last when their mischievous actions and breaches of treaties
became unbearable, the Holy Prophet attacked the Bani- Qainu-qa'a,
the most mischievous of all the other Jewish clans who had
conspired with the hypocrites of Al-Madinah and the idolatrous
Arab clans to encircle the Believers on all sides.
The magnitude of the peril might be judged from the fact that
even the life of the Holy Prophet himself was always in danger.
Therefore his Companions slept in their armors during that
period and kept watch at night to guard against any sudden
attack, and whenever the Holy Prophet happened to be out of
sight even for a short while, they would at once set out in
search of him.
This incitement by the Jews added fuel to the fire which was
burning in the hearts of the Quraish and they began to make
preparations to avenge the defeat they had suffered at Bad.
A year after this an army of 3,000 strong marched out of Makkah
to invade Al-Madinah and a battle took place at the foot of
Mount Uhd. The Holy Prophet came out of Al-Madinah with one
thousand men to meet the enemy.
While they were marching to the battle-field, three hundred
hypocrites deserted the army and returned to Al- Madinah, but
there still remained a small band of hypocrites among the seven
hundred who accompanied the Holy Prophet. They played their
part and did their worst to create mischief and chaos in the
ranks of the Believers during the Battle. This was the first
clear indication of the fact that within the fold of the Muslim
Community there was quite a large number of saboteurs who were
always ready to conspire with the external enemies to harm
their own brethren.
Though the devices of the hypocrites had played a great part
in the set-back at Uhd, the weaknesses of the Muslims themselves
contributed no less to it. And it was but natural that the
Muslims should show signs of moral weakness for they were a
new community which had only recently been formed on a new
ideology and had not as yet got a thorough moral training.
Naturally in this second hard test of their physical and moral
strength, some weaknesses came to the surface.
That is why a detailed review of the Battle of Uhd was needed
to warn the Muslims of their shortcomings and to issue instructions
for their reform. It should also be noted that this review
of the Battle is quite different from the reviews that are
usually made by generals on similar occasions. |
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Subject : Guidance |
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This Surah is the sequel to, Al-Baqarah and
the invitation therein is continued to the people of the Book.
In Al- Baqarah the Jews were pointedly invited to accept the
Guidance and in this Surah the Christians have particularly
been admonished to give up their erroneous beliefs and accept
the Guidance of the Quran. At the same time, the Muslims have
been instructed to nourish the virtues that may enable them
to carry out their obligations and spread the Divine Guidance. |
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Topics and their Interconnection |
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In these introductory verses, the fundamental
truths about Allah, Revelation and Life-after-death have been
reiterated to serve as fitting preliminaries, leading to the
main topics discussed in the Surah. 1 - 32
This discourse is particularly addressed to the Christians
and invites them to accept Islam. It clears Jesus and his mother
not only from the stigma maliciously set upon them by the Jews,
but also refutes the erroneous Christian creed of the Divinity
of Jesus which had been formulated because of his miraculous
birth. For this purpose the instances of John the Baptist to
a barren woman and an extremely aged man and that of Adam without
father and mother have been cited to show that there is nothing
in the birth of Jesus without a father to entitle him to Divinity.
33 - 65
In these verses the people of the Book, the Jews, have been
invited to give up their sinister ways and accept the divine
Guidance. At the same time the Muslims have been warned to
be on their guard against their malicious intentions, erroneous
ways and absurd objections. 66 - 101
The Muslims have been instructed to learn lessons from the
history of the people of the Book and also to guard themselves
against their machinations, and to prepare and train themselves
to establish virtue and eradicate evil. 102 - 120
In this portion, a review of the Battle of Uhd has been mad
to teach and reassure the Muslims that the machinations of
their enemies could do them no harm, if they would practise
restraint and fortitude and have fear of Allah. It has been
pointed out that the set-back they had suffered was due to
the lack of some moral qualities and the existence of some
evils. Since the main cause of the defeat was the greed of
the archers, guarding the pass, the taking of interest has
been prohibited to eradicate this evil. 121 - 175
The main theme of the verses 109 - 120 has been resumed to
reassure and encourage the Muslims against the dangerous plots
of their enemies. 175 - 189
This is the conclusion of the Surah and is not directly connected
with the verses immediately preceding it but with the theme
of the Surah as a whole. 190 - 200 |
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