Skip to main content

Do verses beginning with "O you who believe" apply only to Muslims?

By
It should not be said that Allah سبحانه وتعالى has made some legal rulings specifically for the believers like the prayer such that they alone are addressed by it, so any address which begins with,
يا أيها الذين ءامنوا
"O you who believe,"
is specific for the Muslims, and what came general, like the trade and ribā, is for the Muslims and the disbelievers. This is incorrect because the objective of that which begins with 'O you who believe' is reminding [tadhkīr] the believers of their Imān. It is not a specification for the believers alone.
The evidence for this is Allah سبحانه وتعالى's saying:
يا أيها الذين ءامنوا كُتب عليكم القصاص
"O you who believe, qisās (equal retribution) has been prescribed on you..."
(al-Baqarah: 178)
and it is established that the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم made the retribution for the killing upon the kuffār just as it is upon the Muslims without any difference, and also because the sayings of Allah سبحانه وتعالى:
لمن كان يرجوا الله واليوم الآخر
"...for him who hopes for Allah and the Last Day",
فردّوه إلى الله والرسول إن كنتم تؤمنون بالله واليوم الآخر
"Refer it back to Allah and the Messenger, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day..."
and
من كان يؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر
"He who believes in Allah and the last day..."
whose context indicate that they are a reminder to the believers about the (natural) requirement of Imān in Allah and the Last Day.
The first verse is,
لقد كان لكم في رسول الله أسوة حسنة لمن كان يرجوا الله واليوم الآخر
"Indeed in the Messenger of Allah, you have a good example for him who hopes for Allah and the Last Day."
(al-Ahzab: 21)
The second verse is,
فإن تنازعتم في شيء فردّوه إلى الله والرسول إن كنتم تؤمنون بالله واليوم الآخر
"And if differ in a thing, refer it back to Allah and His Messenger if you believe in Allah and the Last Day."
(al-Nisā': 59)
The third verse is,
ذلكم يوعظ به من كان يؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر
"That will be an admonition given to him who believes in Allah and the Last Day."
(al-Talāq: 2)
All these verses are a reminder (and not a specification).
Likewise is the hadīth of the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم,
"Whosoever believes in Allah and the Last, then let him speak good or keep silent", narrated by al-Bukhāri, Muslim and others.
All of this is a reminder of the Imān, and not a condition for legal responsibility with respect to the legal rulings.
Therefore, the conjunction of the address with 'O you who believe' does not specify it for the Muslims, but it is a reminder to them of their belief. Accordingly, the address of legal responsibility remains general, including both the disbelievers and the Muslims. Hence the kuffār are addressed with the entirety of the Shari'ah, foundations (creed) as well as branches (jurisprudence), and the Khalifah is commanded to implement all the legal rulings upon them. Excluded from the implementation, but not the address, are those legal rulings whose non-implementation on the kuffār or whose specificity to the Muslims is established by a text of the Qur'an or Hadīth.
All other legal rulings are implemented upon the kuffar as they are implemented on the Muslims.
Source: The Islamic Personality Volume 3 by Sheikh Taqiuddin an-Nabhani.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An advice to Muslims working in the financial sector

By
Assalam wa alaikum wa rahmatullah wabarakatahu, Dear Brothers & Sisters, We are saddened to see Muslims today even those who practise many of the rules of Islam are working in jobs which involve haram in the financial sector. They are working in positions which involve usurious (Riba) transactions, insurance, the stock market and the like. Even though many of the clear evidences regarding the severity of the sin of Riba are known, some have justified their job to themselves thinking that they are safe as long as they are not engaged in the actual action of taking or giving Riba. Brothers & Sisters, You should know that the majority of jobs in the financial sector, even the IT jobs in this area are haram (prohibited) as they involve the processing of prohibited contracts. If you work in this sector, do not justify your job to yourself because of the fear of losing your position or having to change your career, fear Allah as he should be feared and consider ...
106 comments
Read more

The Shariah rules relating to mixing between the sexes

By
In Islam, the basic principle of the interaction between men and women is segregation. This means that in all areas of life and in all places whether private or public, contact between men and women is generally prohibited. Many evidences establish the principle of not mixing between the sexes, and there are many ahadith which clarify that this is the case in both public and private areas: Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah said: "The best rows for the men are the first rows and the worst rows for them are the last rows. The best rows for the women are the last rows and the worst for them are the front rows." The last rows are the best for the women because they are farther away from the men as against the first rows that are nearest to men's rows. [This is related by the group except al-Bukhari]  In Abu Dawud, p.284, Hadith No. 4931, it is narrated upon the authority of Aisha (ra) that she said: "I used to play with my friends and whenever the P...
77 comments
Read more

Authenticity of ahadith on tall buildings in Makkah?

By
Question Are these   ḥadith  sound? Are the references provided correct and accurate? When you see the belly of Makkah will be cleft open and through it will be dug out river-like passages (i.e. tunnels) (or water in the road to Makkah), and you see the buildings surpass its mountains, then take care (or beware, or a variant has: then know that the matter is at hand, or then understand that the time of trial (Judgment day) is near at hand). [Narrated by Al-Azraqi in the Book of reports about Makkah – Kitab Akhbaar Makkah, Hadiyth-1725; A specific Hadiyth (in fact several related-Hadiyths) which prophesizes about this Tower. Itha ra’aitun mecca bu’ijat katha’ima, wa ya-tasawa bunyanuha ru’usa jibaliha, faqad athalati as-Sa’atu. When you see Mecca, its mountain with holes (pierced through them), and its buildings reach its mountain tops, then as-Sa’ah (the Hour) has already cast its shadow. [Suyuti] So when you see in Makkah that channels have already been dug (or tunnels b...
Post a Comment
Read more