393. Justice for the orphans and polygamy.

Verse 4:3 of the Quran talks of justice for the orphans connected with polygamy.

When an affluent person passes away leaving behind a young daughter, the responsibility of taking care of her falls on the relatives.

The person who thus undertakes the responsibilities those days, marries the girl without paying her the mandatory dower and at the same usurping her property.

This verse was revealed as a warning to those who were indulging in such activities. With a mandate to marry three or four women, at the same time shouldered with the responsibility as a guardian for an orphaned girl, this verse of the Quran was revealed as an advice to people manipulating orphans.

Generally, man tends to remain a traitor to those who are under his care as their caretaker without realizing it himself, he does so because of the thought he is the person who maintains the orphan.

This is the weakness the Almighty points out in this verse. ‘Get the orphans married to appropriate persons, and you marry elsewhere’ is the message built here can be seen in verse 4:127 of the Quran.

Moreover, there are chances not only for the properties of orphaned girls being misappropriated, but also their marriage rights being violated by the guardians unjustly marrying the orphan girls themselves.

The phrases in this verse of the Quran includes this kind of injustice meted out to orphans with the words ‘If you apprehend that you will not be able to deliver justice in the case of orphans’ as a reminder. 

Please refer to explanation point 106 to know in detail about permission for polygamy.

392. Did the Almighty decimate those that did not commit sin.

Verse (7:155) of the Quran when superficially viewed would seem to convey, those who were not involved in the worship of the oxen idol were also brought to book and punished by God.

One cannot shoulder the crime burden of another is the rule of law depicted all through the Quran. (Please refer point No;265)

And this is the norm world over, because no one can be held responsible for another’s crime. 

Hence we need to understand this verse on the lines of God’s rendering of Justice.

 This verse of the Quran starts with the message of Prophet Musa picking the best seventy members from his community to serve them. Picking the best among people always points out the importance of their genuineness in serving. Prophet Musa chooses the best people in the community, and this was the moment it is said, a terrifying noise struck them. The reason for the terrifying noise striking them is not explained here.

But on analyzing other verses of the Quran it is found the noise struck them because of their demand to directly witness the Almighty.

Generally, the norm of Almighty punishing those who demand to see Him in person is to strike them with a loud bang, Prophet Musa was also struck and became speechless with a loud bang when he demanded to see God directly, in verse 7:43 of the Quran.

Hence they were struck for demanding a direct vision of God, and not for worshiping idols. 

 Moreover verse 4:153 of the Quran says they worshipped the oxen idol only after the loud sound struck them. ‘A loud bang struck them and later they worshipped the oxen’.

Many scholars came to this conclusion based on Prophet Musa’s question to God whether He is destroying all of them including the good for the wrong committed by a few imbeciles.

They did not bother about the verse in the Quran saying one cannot be held responsible for the wrong acts of another.

Only a few of them demanded vociferously for a direct vision of God while others did not do the same though they longed for the same. Hence the Almighty struck them with a loud bang. If we could understand Prophet Musa was aware that only a few among his people demanded God’s appearance outwardly, he questioned God the way he did, and would find all the verses of the Quran are in consonance with each other.

390. Will the blind be resurrected as blind in the hereafter.

In verse (17:72) of the Quran it is said, the blind of this world will be resurrected as blind also in the hereafter world. 

A person in this world exists blind, because he was created to be. Judgments in the hereafter are not delivered on the basis of one’s physical disabilities, but depending on their acts and deeds they do in this world. 

Hence the word blind in this verse does not refer to the physical disability of the person, but his blindness towards understanding God’s words while in this world, meaning the people who did not accept truth as their way of life.

Verses 17:97, 20:124,125 of the Quran clearly state the same.

Hence the message conveyed in verse 17:72 of the Quran is, those who were blind to the words of God would be resurrected as such in the hereafter.

389. The nomad community of Prophet Musa.

In verse (2:61) of the Quran we find the phrase ‘Go into a settlement’ (make a settlement as a place to live for you to live). Here the phrase asking people to choose a place to live may look strange because usually people lived in settlements those days, but there are reasons for it.

The community of Prophet Musa never settled permanently and kept on moving from place to place, and this was a reason the Almighty sent down food from heaven.

But when they demanded food grown on earth, the Almighty commanded them to be settled in a place and start practicing agriculture. This is the message (Go into a settlement) conveyed in verse 2:61 of the Quran 

388. What is meant by Khauser.

Some of the scholars give an explanation for the word Khauser in verse 108:1 of the Quran as additional goodness or benefits. (108:1) Such an explanation cannot be found in dictionaries or for that matter in any of the hadiths.

The hadiths 6578, 4966 recorded in the book Bukhari say Ibn Abbas termed additional goodness as the meaning for the word ‘Khauser’.

On the ‘Day of Judgement,’ when people suffer from thirst, the Almighty creates a reservoir to be handed, over to Prophet Muhammad at his discretion, to allow people whomever he wishes to drink from it. This water reservoir is mentioned as Khauser, by Prophet Muhammad. (Book Bukhari: 4964, 4965, 6581, 7517)

The claim by Ibn Abbas against the version offered by Prophet Muhammad should not be entertained. 

387. Which are those ten nights.

It is sworn in the name of ten nights in verse 89:2 of the Quran. But we do not find any explanations regarding these ten nights either in the Quran or any hadiths. (Bukhari 969, Tirmidhi 688).

But Prophet Muhammad has declared the best of the beneficence are the ones that are carried out in the ten days of the month of Dhul Haj.

There are no other ten days mentioned in any of the hadiths other than the ones mentioned during the month of Dhul Hajj.

386. The need for two witnesses while divorce is pronounced.

In this verse (65:2) of the Quran, Allah talks about an important condition for divorce to be legalised, and stipulates the presence of two honest witnesses while it is being pronounced. We come across instances where some Islamic scholars approve divorces pronounced through mail and phones.

Some people are of the idea that writing a letter of divorce in the presence of two witnesses or pronouncing it over the phone in the presence satisfies the condition stipulated in the Quran. But only the person who practically sees the divorced and the divorcer can be a witness.

Hence those who have not practically seen the wife that is being divorced, or not even aware of who the wife is, or, whether the husband is speaking to the wife, cannot stand witness as per the stipulation in the Quran. There is doubt whether a divorce pronounced via a video conferencing is valid since, the witnesses the divorcer and the divorcee can be seen. Some scholars argue since the act of pronouncing divorce can be seen on the screen, divorce via video conference is valid. This is a misconception. They have not considered this in the right perspective.

Though the pronouncer and the two witnesses can be seen in the video screen, we do not come to know the circumstance or the background details whether they are coerced or forced to do the same, or any technological manipulation is done in the video, whether it is a live video or a recorded one. Since there are a number of doubts to be cleared           regarding such a video it does not pass scrutiny rendering the divorce pronounced invalid.

Divorce between a couple should be pronounced without fear or favor in the presence of two witnesses to become effective, if not it becomes null. 

Making a temporary separation of their bed, advising the couple, and mediation by both the families to create an amicable atmosphere, needs to be carried out before divorce is declared. Only a person who has knowledge whether all such efforts had been carried out could be a witness to divorce.

Only a person who is close to both the families and who had initiated talks regarding the matter can know about whether such efforts have been made already. 

And the mandatory duty of paying compensation to the divorced woman rests with the person who divorced her. This has been explained in point No;74. And this commitment needs to be monitored by an Islamic government or the local jamaat, hence the witnesses are required to testify in the presence of the jamaat. 

Talaq or divorce, by post, SMS, e-Mail, video conferencing, etc., makes a mockery of Allah’s law on divorce.

A person’s testimony as a witness to one’s divorce is not justified unless he is satisfied himself about whether the divorcee has undergone all the disciplinary routines. Hence a person who has no knowledge of the issues involved between the couple should not stand as witness to their divorce.

Prophet Muhammad did not stand witness to an act committee by a person who bequeathed his entire property in favor of one son and laving the other high and dry. (Book: Bukhari 2650.)

Remaining witness to a man not maintaining the religious norms in case of divorce is similar. 

Hence, many divorces pronounced in haste could be avoided, if certain procedures are followed as prescribed in Islam.

To know more about divorce in Islam please refer to points 66, 69, 70, 74, 402, 424. 

385. Priority for relatives

In this verse (8:72) of the Quran, it is pointed out the Muhajirs who performed hijarath and the Ansars who helped them on their arrival in Madina are more indebted to each other on a priority basis. Prophet Muhmmad and his comrades migrated to Madina from Makkah, and arrived in Madina as refugees. Prophet Muhammad created a brotherly bond between each of the refugees and the residents of Madina. Bukhari (2292, 4580, 6747) 

The residents of Madina implemented their brotherly bond with their counterparts in word and spirit by sharing their belongings with them. They shared their houses, businesses, lands, clothes and all other belongings.

This was only a temporary arrangement. Each head of a family has his own family members as legal heirs to his belongings. This temporary arrangement which was allowed at a precarious situation was later prohibited, through verses (33:6, 8:75) of the Quran. To establish the rights of relatives over that of the believers and those who emigrated for the cause of Islam, the Almighty made changes in the inheritance laws.