يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ فَتَبَيَّنُوا۟ وَلَا تَقُولُوا۟ لِمَنْ أَلْقَىٰٓ إِلَيْكُمُ ٱلسَّلَٰمَ لَسْتَ مُؤْمِنًا تَبْتَغُونَ عَرَضَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا فَعِندَ ٱللَّهِ مَغَانِمُ كَثِيرَةٌ كَذَٰلِكَ كُنتُم مِّن قَبْلُ فَمَنَّ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ فَتَبَيَّنُوٓا۟ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًا
<p>CommentarySequence of Verses</p><p>Stern warning has been given against the killing of a Muslim in previous verses. Now it is being said that the apparent profession of Islam is all that is needed for a Muslim to be regarded as a Muslim obligated to observe the laws of the Shari’ ah. So, it is necessary to abstain from the killing of a person who professes Islam. Furthermore, it is also not permissible to dig deep into his inward state of belief just because of some suspicion and to keep waiting for a definite proof of his certitude in faith in order that Islamic laws can be applied in his case. This is what happened during some battles with disbelievers when some Companions were unable to observe the fine line of distinction in this rule. On those occasions, there were some people who presented themselves as Muslims but some Companions took their profession of Islam as a lie and killed them, taking their belongings as war spoils. Allah Almighty condemned this indiscretionary practice. However, an admonition was considered sufficient and no severe warning was revealed for them against this act because the Companions did not know the rule clearly till that time. (Bayan a1-Qur'an)</p><p>Signs of Islam are sufficient to identify a Muslim:</p><p>In the first of the three verses cited above, the guidance given is that in the case of one who professes to be a Muslim, no Muslim is allowed to interpret his declaration of Islam as hypocrisy, without certain knowledge and proof. This verse (94) was revealed in the back-ground of certain episodes relating to some Companions where they had not taken the correct line of action.</p><p>So, it has been reported from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas in Tirmidhi and the Musnad of Ahmad that a man from the tribe of Banu Sulaym met a group of the noble Companions who were going on a Jihad mission. This man was grazing his goats. He offered salam greetings to the group which was a practical demonstration of his being a Muslim. The Companions thought that this man was just pretending in view of the situation before him. Thus, taking his profession of Islam as a ruse to save his life and property whereby he could get away from them by tricking them with greeting in the Muslim style, they killed him and appropriated the herd of his goats as war spoils which they took to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . Thereupon, this verse was revealed. It laid down the rule: Do not take anyone who greets you by offering salam in the Islamic manner as a pretender and never assume, without valid proof, that his profession of Islam was a trick and never take possession of his property as spoils. (Ibn Kathir)</p><p>There is another narration from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ which has been reported by al-Bukhari briefly and by al-Bazzar, in details. According to this narration, the Holy Prophet ﷺ sent out a group of mujahidin which included Sayyidna Miqdad ibn al-Aswad. When they reached the designated spot, everyone present there ran away. The only man left there had a lot of valuable things with him.</p><p>Facing the Companions, the man recited the kalimah: اَشھَدُ اَن لَّا اِلہَ اِلَّا اللہُ (I testify that there is no god but Allah). But, Sayyidna Miqdad ؓ assuming that the man's heart was not behind his verbal declaration of faith and that he was doing it simply to save his life and property, killed him. One Companion from among the group present admonished him for what he had done: He had killed a person who had testified that there is no god but Allah. He declared that he will make it a point to relate this incident before the Holy Prophet ﷺ when and if he would have the honour of returning to him. Finally, the group returned to Madinah and reported the incident to the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، who called for Sayyidna Miqdad and gave him a stern warning. He said: 'what would you say on the Day of Doom when the kalimah لا إلہ إلا اللہ will stand as a plaintiff against you?' The verse لَا تَقُولُوا لِمَنْ أَلْقَىٰ إِلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامَ لَسْتَ مُؤْمِنًا (do not say to the one who offers you salam , "You are not a believer" ) was revealed on this occasion.</p><p>Other incidents, apart from the two mentioned here, have been reported with reference to this verse, but respected scholars of Tafsr do not admit of any contradiction in these narrations, for these events as a whole could have been the cause of the revelation.</p><p>The words of the verse are: اَلقَیٰ اِلَیکُمُ السَّلَمَ (offer you salam). If the word, salam in the text is taken to mean 'salam' in the technical sense (Muslim greeting or salutation), it applies to the first event more suitably. However, if 'salam' is taken to mean submission or surrender to the will of Allah in the literal sense, then, this meaning applies to both events equally. Therefore, salam in the present textual setting has also been translated in the sense of submission and obedience to Allah.</p><p>It is impermissible to take a decision without investigating into related facts of an event</p><p>The first sentence of the verse (94) carries a general rule which must be followed by all Muslims: Let no Muslim do anything summarily as based on guess alone. The words of the verse are: إِذَا ضَرَ‌بْتُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّـهِ فَتَبَيَّنُوا (when you go out in the way of Allah, be careful). Acting on conjecture is likely to land one in trouble. The restriction of travel in the verse is there because these events came to pass during the state of travel. Or, it may be because doubts crop up during travel to previously unvisited places as compared with the city of residence where things and people are generally familiar. Otherwise, the basic rule, in travel or while resident, is general, that is reacting to any situation without proper investigation is not permissible. In a hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said: "To act sensibly is from Allah and to rush through is from Shaytan" (al-Bahr al-Muhit)</p><p>The second sentence: تَبْتَغُونَ عَرَ‌ضَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا (seeking goods of the worldly life) in verse 94 is a prescription for weakness which caused this false step. The weakness was their desire to acquire worldly wealth through collecting spoils. But, immediately after, it was pointed out that Almighty Allah has set aside many more spoils destined for them. Why, then, should they bother about material gains? By way of further admonition, they were asked to recollect that there were so many among them who would not have dared to come out openly with their faith in Islam. It was only when Allah favoured them that they were delivered from the encirclement of disbelievers and were able to profess Islam openly. Keeping this situation in mind, would it not be possible that the person who is saying لا إلہ إلا اللہ at the sight of the Muslim army, might really be an adherent of Islam from the early days but was unable to profess it freely' fearing reprisals from the disbelievers. When he saw the Muslim army, he lost no time in doing so. If they looked into their own situation, they would realize that there was the time when they had recited the Kalimah and had called them Muslims, the Shari'ah of Islam had never asked them to first prove their being Muslims. There was no such condition. They were never asked to let their hearts be examined. They were not ordered to produce a proof of their Islam before they could be declared as confirmed Muslims. Quite contrary to all this, the simple recital of the Kalimah of Islam: لا إلہ إلا اللہ محمد رسول اللہ was considered good enough to recognize them as Muslims. Keeping this in mind, it was their duty that they should now take anyone who recites the Kalimah before them as a Muslim.</p><p>The meaning of not taking a Muslim to be a Kafir</p><p>From this verse comes the important ruling that anyone who professes Islam and declares that he is a Muslim - by reciting the Kalimah or by associating himself with some marked feature of Islam such as the Adhan and the Salah - should be treated as a Muslim. All Muslims must deal with him as they would do with any other Muslim. They are not supposed to wait and worry about finding out whether such a person has embraced Islam with all his heart or it has been done out of expediency.</p><p>In addition to that, this is a case in which even his doings will not serve as the criterion. Suppose, someone skips Sarah, does not fast and is involved with all sorts of sins - still, no one has the right to say that he has gone outside the pale of Islam or to treat him as one would treat a disbeliever. Therefore, the great Imam Abu Hanifah said: لَا نکفر اھل القبلہ بذنب (We do not call 'the people of the Qiblah' Kafirs because of some sin). Similar statements appear in hadith narrations also, such as, 'Do not say that 'the people of Qiblah' are Kafirs, no matter how sinful and evil-doing they may be.'</p><p>At this point, there is something everyone should understand and remember, clearly and particularly. This relates to the authority of the Qur'an and Sunnah from which it is proved that calling or taking someone who calls himself a Muslim to be a Kafir is not permissible. It clearly means that until such time he says or does something which provides the positive proof of Kufr (disbelief), his profession of faith in Islam shall be deemed as sound and he will continue to be taken as a Muslim and, for all practical purposes, he will be dealt with as one would deal with Muslims. No one will have the right to debate what goes on in his heart or how sincere or hypocritical he may or may not be.</p><p>But, there may be a person who professes Islam, attests to faith, yet disgraces himself by uttering words of disbelief or prostrates before an idol or denies an injunction of Islam which is absolute and obvious, or takes to a religious way or mark of disbelievers - such a person will certainly be declared a Kafir because of his deeds which prove his infidelity. It will be noticed that, the word فَتَبَيَّنُوا (be careful or investigate) in the present verse provides a hint to this effect, otherwise, the Jews and the Christians all claimed to be believers. Then, there was Musaylimah, the Liar. He was declared to be a Kafir with the consensus of Companions, and killed. As for him, he was not only a professor of the Islamic creed but a practicing adherent of Adhan and Salah as well. In his Adhan, he had the Muezzin say: - اَشَھَدُ اَن لا إلہ إلا اللہ (I testify that there is no god but Allah) which was duly followed by اَشَھَدُ اَن محمد رسول اللہ (I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah). But, while he did this, he also claimed to be a prophet and a messenger who received revelations. This was an open denial of the binding injunctions of the Qur'an and Sunnah. It was on this basis that he was declared to be an apostate and a Jihad force was sent against him with the consensus of the Companions.</p><p>In short, the correct course of action when faced with this problem is: Take everyone who recites the Kalimah and adheres to Islam (ahl al-Qiblah: the people of Qiblah) to be a Muslim. Peeking into his heart is not our business. Let Allah be the judge. But, when you see one professing faith yet doing things to the contrary, take him to have become an apostate subject to the condition that such deeds be, absolutely and certainly, contrary to the dictates of Faith and that it admits of no other probability or interpretation.</p><p>Finally, we can now see that 'the reciter of the Kalimah' (Kalimahgo کلمہ گو) or Ahl al-Qiblah (the people of Qiblah, meaning Muslims who universally turn to the direction of Holy Ka'bah when praying) are technical terms applied solely to one who, after his professing Islam, does nothing by his word and deed which can be classed as infidelity.</p>
CommentarySequence of VersesStern warning has been given against the killing of a Muslim in previous verses. Now it is being said that the apparent profession of Islam is all that is needed for a Muslim to be regarded as a Muslim obligated to observe the laws of the Shari’ ah. So, it is necessary to abstain from the killing of a person who professes Islam. Furthermore, it is also not permissible to dig deep into his inward state of belief just because of some suspicion and to keep waiting for a definite proof of his certitude in faith in order that Islamic laws can be applied in his case. This is what happened during some battles with disbelievers when some Companions were unable to observe the fine line of distinction in this rule. On those occasions, there were some people who presented themselves as Muslims but some Companions took their profession of Islam as a lie and killed them, taking their belongings as war spoils. Allah Almighty condemned this indiscretionary practice. However, an admonition was considered sufficient and no severe warning was revealed for them against this act because the Companions did not know the rule clearly till that time. (Bayan a1-Qur'an)Signs of Islam are sufficient to identify a Muslim:In the first of the three verses cited above, the guidance given is that in the case of one who professes to be a Muslim, no Muslim is allowed to interpret his declaration of Islam as hypocrisy, without certain knowledge and proof. This verse (94) was revealed in the back-ground of certain episodes relating to some Companions where they had not taken the correct line of action.So, it has been reported from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas in Tirmidhi and the Musnad of Ahmad that a man from the tribe of Banu Sulaym met a group of the noble Companions who were going on a Jihad mission. This man was grazing his goats. He offered salam greetings to the group which was a practical demonstration of his being a Muslim. The Companions thought that this man was just pretending in view of the situation before him. Thus, taking his profession of Islam as a ruse to save his life and property whereby he could get away from them by tricking them with greeting in the Muslim style, they killed him and appropriated the herd of his goats as war spoils which they took to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . Thereupon, this verse was revealed. It laid down the rule: Do not take anyone who greets you by offering salam in the Islamic manner as a pretender and never assume, without valid proof, that his profession of Islam was a trick and never take possession of his property as spoils. (Ibn Kathir)There is another narration from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ which has been reported by al-Bukhari briefly and by al-Bazzar, in details. According to this narration, the Holy Prophet ﷺ sent out a group of mujahidin which included Sayyidna Miqdad ibn al-Aswad. When they reached the designated spot, everyone present there ran away. The only man left there had a lot of valuable things with him.Facing the Companions, the man recited the kalimah: اَشھَدُ اَن لَّا اِلہَ اِلَّا اللہُ (I testify that there is no god but Allah). But, Sayyidna Miqdad ؓ assuming that the man's heart was not behind his verbal declaration of faith and that he was doing it simply to save his life and property, killed him. One Companion from among the group present admonished him for what he had done: He had killed a person who had testified that there is no god but Allah. He declared that he will make it a point to relate this incident before the Holy Prophet ﷺ when and if he would have the honour of returning to him. Finally, the group returned to Madinah and reported the incident to the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، who called for Sayyidna Miqdad and gave him a stern warning. He said: 'what would you say on the Day of Doom when the kalimah لا إلہ إلا اللہ will stand as a plaintiff against you?' The verse لَا تَقُولُوا لِمَنْ أَلْقَىٰ إِلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامَ لَسْتَ مُؤْمِنًا (do not say to the one who offers you salam , "You are not a believer" ) was revealed on this occasion.Other incidents, apart from the two mentioned here, have been reported with reference to this verse, but respected scholars of Tafsr do not admit of any contradiction in these narrations, for these events as a whole could have been the cause of the revelation.The words of the verse are: اَلقَیٰ اِلَیکُمُ السَّلَمَ (offer you salam). If the word, salam in the text is taken to mean 'salam' in the technical sense (Muslim greeting or salutation), it applies to the first event more suitably. However, if 'salam' is taken to mean submission or surrender to the will of Allah in the literal sense, then, this meaning applies to both events equally. Therefore, salam in the present textual setting has also been translated in the sense of submission and obedience to Allah.It is impermissible to take a decision without investigating into related facts of an eventThe first sentence of the verse (94) carries a general rule which must be followed by all Muslims: Let no Muslim do anything summarily as based on guess alone. The words of the verse are: إِذَا ضَرَ‌بْتُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّـهِ فَتَبَيَّنُوا (when you go out in the way of Allah, be careful). Acting on conjecture is likely to land one in trouble. The restriction of travel in the verse is there because these events came to pass during the state of travel. Or, it may be because doubts crop up during travel to previously unvisited places as compared with the city of residence where things and people are generally familiar. Otherwise, the basic rule, in travel or while resident, is general, that is reacting to any situation without proper investigation is not permissible. In a hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said: "To act sensibly is from Allah and to rush through is from Shaytan" (al-Bahr al-Muhit)The second sentence: تَبْتَغُونَ عَرَ‌ضَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا (seeking goods of the worldly life) in verse 94 is a prescription for weakness which caused this false step. The weakness was their desire to acquire worldly wealth through collecting spoils. But, immediately after, it was pointed out that Almighty Allah has set aside many more spoils destined for them. Why, then, should they bother about material gains? By way of further admonition, they were asked to recollect that there were so many among them who would not have dared to come out openly with their faith in Islam. It was only when Allah favoured them that they were delivered from the encirclement of disbelievers and were able to profess Islam openly. Keeping this situation in mind, would it not be possible that the person who is saying لا إلہ إلا اللہ at the sight of the Muslim army, might really be an adherent of Islam from the early days but was unable to profess it freely' fearing reprisals from the disbelievers. When he saw the Muslim army, he lost no time in doing so. If they looked into their own situation, they would realize that there was the time when they had recited the Kalimah and had called them Muslims, the Shari'ah of Islam had never asked them to first prove their being Muslims. There was no such condition. They were never asked to let their hearts be examined. They were not ordered to produce a proof of their Islam before they could be declared as confirmed Muslims. Quite contrary to all this, the simple recital of the Kalimah of Islam: لا إلہ إلا اللہ محمد رسول اللہ was considered good enough to recognize them as Muslims. Keeping this in mind, it was their duty that they should now take anyone who recites the Kalimah before them as a Muslim.The meaning of not taking a Muslim to be a KafirFrom this verse comes the important ruling that anyone who professes Islam and declares that he is a Muslim - by reciting the Kalimah or by associating himself with some marked feature of Islam such as the Adhan and the Salah - should be treated as a Muslim. All Muslims must deal with him as they would do with any other Muslim. They are not supposed to wait and worry about finding out whether such a person has embraced Islam with all his heart or it has been done out of expediency.In addition to that, this is a case in which even his doings will not serve as the criterion. Suppose, someone skips Sarah, does not fast and is involved with all sorts of sins - still, no one has the right to say that he has gone outside the pale of Islam or to treat him as one would treat a disbeliever. Therefore, the great Imam Abu Hanifah said: لَا نکفر اھل القبلہ بذنب (We do not call 'the people of the Qiblah' Kafirs because of some sin). Similar statements appear in hadith narrations also, such as, 'Do not say that 'the people of Qiblah' are Kafirs, no matter how sinful and evil-doing they may be.'At this point, there is something everyone should understand and remember, clearly and particularly. This relates to the authority of the Qur'an and Sunnah from which it is proved that calling or taking someone who calls himself a Muslim to be a Kafir is not permissible. It clearly means that until such time he says or does something which provides the positive proof of Kufr (disbelief), his profession of faith in Islam shall be deemed as sound and he will continue to be taken as a Muslim and, for all practical purposes, he will be dealt with as one would deal with Muslims. No one will have the right to debate what goes on in his heart or how sincere or hypocritical he may or may not be.But, there may be a person who professes Islam, attests to faith, yet disgraces himself by uttering words of disbelief or prostrates before an idol or denies an injunction of Islam which is absolute and obvious, or takes to a religious way or mark of disbelievers - such a person will certainly be declared a Kafir because of his deeds which prove his infidelity. It will be noticed that, the word فَتَبَيَّنُوا (be careful or investigate) in the present verse provides a hint to this effect, otherwise, the Jews and the Christians all claimed to be believers. Then, there was Musaylimah, the Liar. He was declared to be a Kafir with the consensus of Companions, and killed. As for him, he was not only a professor of the Islamic creed but a practicing adherent of Adhan and Salah as well. In his Adhan, he had the Muezzin say: - اَشَھَدُ اَن لا إلہ إلا اللہ (I testify that there is no god but Allah) which was duly followed by اَشَھَدُ اَن محمد رسول اللہ (I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah). But, while he did this, he also claimed to be a prophet and a messenger who received revelations. This was an open denial of the binding injunctions of the Qur'an and Sunnah. It was on this basis that he was declared to be an apostate and a Jihad force was sent against him with the consensus of the Companions.In short, the correct course of action when faced with this problem is: Take everyone who recites the Kalimah and adheres to Islam (ahl al-Qiblah: the people of Qiblah) to be a Muslim. Peeking into his heart is not our business. Let Allah be the judge. But, when you see one professing faith yet doing things to the contrary, take him to have become an apostate subject to the condition that such deeds be, absolutely and certainly, contrary to the dictates of Faith and that it admits of no other probability or interpretation.Finally, we can now see that 'the reciter of the Kalimah' (Kalimahgo کلمہ گو) or Ahl al-Qiblah (the people of Qiblah, meaning Muslims who universally turn to the direction of Holy Ka'bah when praying) are technical terms applied solely to one who, after his professing Islam, does nothing by his word and deed which can be classed as infidelity.