Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “Not equal are those among you who spend and fight…”
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Exegesis of His saying, the Exalted: “Not equal are those among you who spend and fight”
Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Hadid: 10] Not equal are those who spend in the cause of Allah and fight, and those who do not spend and do not fight. It is not possible for these two to be equal; for the religion of Islam is a religion of justice in action and recompense, not as the modern innovators claim that it is a religion of equality. This is a great error. However, the people of corrupt opinions and ideas use this to reach vile objectives, until they say that the woman and the man are equal, and the believer and the open sinner are equal, and the Arab and the non-Arab are equal, with no difference. Glory be to Allah! You will not find the word “equality” between people in the Qur’an. There must be a difference. In fact, the most common thing in the Qur’an is the negation of equality: “Not equal are” [An-Nisa: 95] [Az-Zumar: 9] and many other verses.
So beware of following them, lest you become like the one who brays, hearing nothing but a call and a cry,Instead of saying: The Islamic religion is a religion of equality. Say: It is a religion of justice, by which Allah commanded that every right-holder be given his right. Have you seen the woman and the man in inheritance: are they equal or do they differ? They differ. In blood money? The blood money of the woman is half the blood money of the man. And so it is in the sacrifice for a newborn,Breaking the tie: the male is two and the female is one. And in religion, the woman is deficient. If she menstruates, she does not pray and does not fast,In the mind, the woman is deficient: the testimony of one man is equal to the testimony of two women, and so on. Those who utter the word “equality,” if we establish this and that it is one of the principles of the Islamic Shari’ah, they will compel us to equality in these matters, or else we will be contradictory.So we say: The religion of Islam is a religion of justice, so it gives every person what he deserves.Until it came in the hadith: “Forgive the slips of those of high standing, except for the fixed punishments” This means that if a noble, honorable person errs in matters other than the fixed punishments, preserve his honor and forgive him. This is the one you forgive if he is from the nobles. Your forgiving him is a greater form of upbringing than flogging him a thousand lashes.Because as it is said: If you honor the noble one, you gain his loyalty. But if a corrupt, licentious person comes, then be strict with him in punishment and apply discretionary punishment to him. For this reason, when drinking intoxicants became widespread in the time of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, what did he do? He doubled the punishment, changing it from forty to eighty.
Also the authentic hadith narrated by the people of the Sunan: “Whoever drinks, flog him; then if he drinks, flog him; then if he drinks, flog him; then if he drinks, meaning the fourth time, kill him” This means there is no benefit in this. We punish him three times but there is no benefit. So it is better for him and for others that he be killed. If we kill him, he is relieved of the sin.As Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: [Aal ‘Imran: 178] .
Summary: The expression that the religion of Islam is a religion of equality is an error, and the correct view is that it is a religion of justice, without doubt.
It is amazing that those who say this say: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: “There is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab except by taqwa (mindfulness of Allah)” They are contradictory,The hadith did not negate absolutely; it said: except by taqwa. So do they differ by taqwa or not? They differ. And this hadith, I think, is not authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).Because he said: “Indeed, Allah chose Kinanah from the descendants of Isma’il, and chose Quraysh from Kinanah, and chose the Banu Hashim from Quraysh, and chose me from the Banu Hashim” So there is preference. And there is no doubt in our view that the Arabs—I mean the Arab race—are superior to the non-Arab race. The evidence for this is that Allah made the most perfect prophethood and message among the Arabs, which is the prophethood and message of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).And Allah the Exalted said: [Al-An’am: 124] So the races differ.And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The best of you in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance are the best of you in Islam when they have understood it” Beware of following the expressions that come from the modern innovators until you reflect on them and the implications they contain that indicate harms, even in the long term.
I ask Allah to guide us and you to the straight path and to take care of us in this world and the Hereafter. Indeed, He is capable of all things.
Allah the Exalted said:
Not equal among you are those who spent before the conquest [of Makkah] and fought
لا يَسْتَوِي مِنْكُمْ مَنْ أَنْفَقَ مِنْ قَبْلِ الْفَتْحِ وَقَاتَلَSay, "Are those who know equal to those who do not know?"
قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لا يَعْلَمُونَSo beware of following them, lest you become like the one who brays, hearing nothing but a call and a cry,Instead of saying: The Islamic religion is a religion of equality. Say: It is a religion of justice, by which Allah commanded that every right-holder be given his right. Have you seen the woman and the man in inheritance: are they equal or do they differ? They differ. In blood money? The blood money of the woman is half the blood money of the man. And so it is in the sacrifice for a newborn,Breaking the tie: the male is two and the female is one. And in religion, the woman is deficient. If she menstruates, she does not pray and does not fast,In the mind, the woman is deficient: the testimony of one man is equal to the testimony of two women, and so on. Those who utter the word “equality,” if we establish this and that it is one of the principles of the Islamic Shari’ah, they will compel us to equality in these matters, or else we will be contradictory.So we say: The religion of Islam is a religion of justice, so it gives every person what he deserves.Until it came in the hadith: “Forgive the slips of those of high standing, except for the fixed punishments” This means that if a noble, honorable person errs in matters other than the fixed punishments, preserve his honor and forgive him. This is the one you forgive if he is from the nobles. Your forgiving him is a greater form of upbringing than flogging him a thousand lashes.Because as it is said: If you honor the noble one, you gain his loyalty. But if a corrupt, licentious person comes, then be strict with him in punishment and apply discretionary punishment to him. For this reason, when drinking intoxicants became widespread in the time of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, what did he do? He doubled the punishment, changing it from forty to eighty.
Also the authentic hadith narrated by the people of the Sunan: “Whoever drinks, flog him; then if he drinks, flog him; then if he drinks, flog him; then if he drinks, meaning the fourth time, kill him” This means there is no benefit in this. We punish him three times but there is no benefit. So it is better for him and for others that he be killed. If we kill him, he is relieved of the sin.As Allah the Mighty and Majestic said:
And let not those who disbelieve ever think that [because] We extend their time [of enjoyment] it is better for them. We only extend it for them so that they may increase in sin, and for them is a humiliating punishment.
وَلا يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنَّمَا نُمْلِي لَهُمْ خَيْرٌ لِأَنْفُسِهِمْ إِنَّمَا نُمْلِي لَهُمْ لِيَزْدَادُوا إِثْماً وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُهِينٌSummary: The expression that the religion of Islam is a religion of equality is an error, and the correct view is that it is a religion of justice, without doubt.
It is amazing that those who say this say: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: “There is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab except by taqwa (mindfulness of Allah)” They are contradictory,The hadith did not negate absolutely; it said: except by taqwa. So do they differ by taqwa or not? They differ. And this hadith, I think, is not authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).Because he said: “Indeed, Allah chose Kinanah from the descendants of Isma’il, and chose Quraysh from Kinanah, and chose the Banu Hashim from Quraysh, and chose me from the Banu Hashim” So there is preference. And there is no doubt in our view that the Arabs—I mean the Arab race—are superior to the non-Arab race. The evidence for this is that Allah made the most perfect prophethood and message among the Arabs, which is the prophethood and message of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).And Allah the Exalted said:
Allah is most knowing of where He places His message
اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ حَيْثُ يَجْعَلُ رِسَالَتَهُI ask Allah to guide us and you to the straight path and to take care of us in this world and the Hereafter. Indeed, He is capable of all things.