58. Al-Mujadalah (The Pleading)

Medina Period [105]


The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:



يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا نَاجَيْتُمُ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدِّمُوا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ نَجْوَاكُمْ صَدَقَةً ...

58: 12.  O ye who believe!

When ye consult the Messenger in private, spend something in charity before your private consultation.

C5350. In the Kingdom of Allah all instruction or consultation is open and free. But human nature is weak. And people want special instruction or private consultation with the Prophet from one of several motives:

These motives are, in an ascending order, worth discouraging; and yet, considering the weakness of human nature, they cannot be reprobated to the extent of shutting out their victims from chances of improvement. It is therefore recommended that they spend something in charity for the good of their poorer brethren before they indulge in such weaknesses.

...ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ وَأَطْهَرُ...

That will be best for you, and most conducive to purity (of conduct).

C5351. The charity is a sort of expiation for their pardonable weakness. Having made some monetary sacrifice for their poorer brethren they could face them with less shame, and the charity would direct their attention to the need for purifying their motives and conduct. At the same time, this special charity is not made obligatory, lest such persons should be shut out altogether from chances of the higher teaching on account of their pardonable foibles.

...فَإِن لَّمْ تَجِدُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ ﴿١٢﴾

But if ye find not (the wherewithal), Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.



أَأَشْفَقْتُمْ أَن تُقَدِّمُوا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ نَجْوَاكُمْ صَدَقَاتٍ...   

58: 13.  Is it that ye are afraid of spending sums in charity before your private consultation (with him)?

C5352. Note the plural here, Sadaqat, instead of the singular, Sadaqah in verse 12 above.

While people with the foibles described in n. 5350 may be willing to spend "something" (small) in charity for a special consultation occasionally, they may be frightened of spending large sums when their needs for consultation may be numerous.

What is to be done then?

Are they to be shut out altogether?

No. They are asked to be punctilious in the discharge of their normal duties of at least normal regular prayers and regular charity, "if Allah forgives you", i.e., if Allah's Messenger relieves them of further special contributions such as those noted in verse 12.

...فَإِذْ لَمْ تَفْعَلُوا وَتَابَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ فَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ ...

 If, then ye do not so, and Allah forgives you, then (at least) establish regular prayer;

This condition, "if Allah forgives you", provides the safeguard against the abuse of the privilege. The messenger would know in each case what is best for the individual and for the community.

... وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ...

practice regular charity;

C5353. Zakah, was instituted about A.H. 2.

...وَأَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَاللَّهُ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ ﴿١٣﴾

and obey Allah and His Messenger: and Allah is well-acquainted will all that ye do.


Asad’s Version:

58:12 O YOU who have attained to faith! Whenever you [intend to] consult the Apostle, offer up something in charity on the occasion of your consultation: 22 this will be for your own good, and more conducive to your [inner] purity. Yet if you are unable to do so, 25 [know that,] verily, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.


58:13 Do you, perchance, fear lest [you may be sinning if] you cannot offer up anything in charity on the occasion of your consultation [with the Apostle] ? But if you fail to do it [for lack of opportunity], and God turns unto you in His mercy, remain but constant in prayer and render [no more than] the purifying dues, 24 and [thus] pay heed unto God and His Apostle: for God is fully aware of all that you do.


Yuksel’s Version:


Lobbying

58:12 O you who acknowledge, if you wish to hold a private meeting with the messenger, you shall offer a charity before you do so. This is better for you, and purer. If you cannot afford it, then God is Forgiver, Compassionate.*

58:13 Are you reluctant to offer a charity before such a meeting? If you do not do it; and God had forgiven you; then you shall hold the contact prayer, contribute towards betterment, and obey God and His messenger. God is fully Aware of everything you do.




[[Asad’s notes - 22 This call to an exercise of charity on every occasion (bayna yaday) of one's "consultation" with God's Apostle has been widely misunderstood as applying only to factual consultations with him, i.e., in his lifetime, supposedly with a view to lessening the encroachments on his time by some of his too-eager followers. This misunderstanding, together with the qualified dispensation from the above-mentioned injunction expressed in the next verse, has given rise to the unwarranted contention by some of the commentators that this injunction has been "abrogated". But apart from the fact that the theory of "abrogation" as such is entirely untenable (see 2:106 and the corresponding note 87), the above verse reveals its true meaning as soon as we realize that the term "the Apostle" (ar- rasul) is used in the Qur'an not merely to designate the unique person of the Prophet Muhammad but also the sum-total of the teachings conveyed by him to the world. This is evident from the many Qur'anic exhortations, "Pay heed unto God and the Apostle", and, more specifically (in 4:59), "if you are at variance over any matter, refer it unto God [i.e., the Qur'an) and the Apostle [i.e., his sunnah]", which latter is but meant to elucidate the former. Taken in this sense, the above reference to a "consultation with the Apostle" obviously applies not only to his person and his contemporaries, but rather to his teachings

in general and to believers of all times and environments. In other words, every believer is exhorted to "offer up something in charity" - whether it be material alms to a needy person, or the imparting of knowledge to such as may be in need of enlightenment, or even a mere word of kindness to a weak human being - whenever he intends to immerse himself in a study of the Apostle' s teachings or, as the Qur'an phrases it, to "consult" him who has conveyed the divine writ to us.


23 Lit., "if you do not find", sc, anyone on whom to bestow charity at that particular moment, or have - for whatever reason - no opportunity to exercise it.


24 I.e., the obligatory tax (zakah) which is meant to purify a believer's possessions and income from the taint of selfishness: implying that one's inability to do more by way of charity does not constitute a sin. ]]



[[Yuksel’s note - 058:012 Muhammad was appointed by God as a messenger and was accepted by muslims, with their free will, as a messenger of God. Muhammad was also elected as a leader of a constitutional city-state government by a diverse community comprising of Christians, Jews, and Pagans, beside muslims. Muhammad is no longer alive, yet the rule applies to our leaders and governments. Democracies suffer greatly from the corrupting influence of lobbies that promote special interests, usually of the most powerful segments of the population. Financial contributions and favors provided by lobbies create a quid pro quo relationship between the lawmakers and the wealthy. Big governments allied with big corporations create one of the worst governments: the governments of the wealthy, by the wealthy and for the wealthy, which we are asked to avoid (59:7). Such governments may drag an entire nation to unjustified wars of aggression to benefit big corporations, especially the weapons industry and the contractors who profit from such adventures, adventures that usually cost the lower class in terms of blood and higher cost of living. Thus, this verse recommends those who wish to lobby to pay some charity to the needy before asking for a conference with their elected leaders. This financial contribution for public good, not the valet of the elected officials, is a reminder to the parties that their conference should not betray the publicly declared interest of the people.]]

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