In today’s Khutba, I intend to share with you the meaning and explanation of verse 90 of Surat an-Nahl. Imam Ibn Kathir reported that Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (RA) said that the most comprehensive verse of the Qur’an appears in Surat al-Nahl, and it is this verse he referred to.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
“Allah commands justice and doing good and giving to relatives. And He forbids indecency and doing wrong and tyranny. He warns you so that hopefully you will pay heed” (al-Nahl, 16:90).
The essence of the entire range of Islamic teachings has been condensed into a few words of this blessed verse which is very often recited during the khutbas of Jumu’ah and the two Eids.
In this blessed verse, Allah (SWT) orders three things: (1) to do justice, (2) to be good, and (3) to give relatives (their due), and forbids three things: 1) Shameful acts, (2) evil deeds, and (3) transgression. In one brief verse Allah has enjoined three most important things on which alone depends the establishment of a sound and healthy society:
The first command is to do justice. The word employed for justice is ‘Adl which has many significations, some of which are: (i) to place things in their rightful places; (ii) to give people their rights and what they deserve; (iii) to be impartial in one’s judgment and decisions; (iv) to say the truth; (v) to be balanced in one’s views and judgments; (vi) to avoid bias and prejudice; (vii) and to avoid oppressing others. Justice in Islam is a universal value that should be observed at all times with all people. Verse 58 of Surat an-Nisa says,
وَإِذَا حَكَمْتُمْ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ أَنْ تَحْكُمُوا بِالْعَدْلِ
“And when you judge between people, judge with justice.” (al-Nisa, 4: 58)
What Allah enjoins is that the full rights of everyone should be honestly rendered whether those be moral, social, economic legal or political in accordance with what one justly deserves. A Muslim is required to always say the truth and bear witness with justice not only with friends, but even with enemies and tyrants.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ لِلَّهِ شُهَدَاءَ بِالْقِسْطِ وَلا يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَآَنُ قَوْمٍ عَلَى أَلاَّ تَعْدِلُوا اعْدِلُوا هُوَ أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَى
“O you who believe! Be upright for Allah, bearers of witness with justice, and let not hatred of any people incite you not to act justly; deal justly, that is nearer to piety.” (al-Ma’idah, 5: 8)
There are clear injunctions in the Qur’an that one has to bear witness with justice and say the truth even if that goes against one’s self, one’s parents, or one’s relatives.
The word ‘Adl also refers to maintaining i’tidal between ifrat and tafreet; that is to exercise moderation between the two extremes of excess and deficiency. It is also understood to mean the equality of the outward and the inward state of a person; that is, what one says or does through the organs of his body should also be compatible with what he believes in and lives by.
The second thing enjoined is Ihsan, which means to be good, generous, sympathetic, tolerant, forgiving, polite, cooperative, and selfless. In collective life this is even more important than justice; for justice is the foundation of a sound society but Ihsan is its perfection. On the one hand, justice protects society from bitterness and violation of rights: on the other, Ihsan makes it sweet and joyful and worth living. It is obvious that no society can flourish if every individual insists on exacting his right. At best such a society might be free from conflict, but there cannot be love, gratitude, generosity, sacrifice, sincerity, sympathy and such humane qualities as produce sweetness in life and develop high values. Ihsan is of two kinds: (1) that one makes deeds or morals and habits become good in one’s own person; and (2) that one makes dealing with the other persons nicely, decently and favourably. The second sense is explained in the ayah 28 of Surat al-Qasas, which says,
وَأَحْسِنْ كَمَا أَحْسَنَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ
“And be good as Allah has been good to you” (al-Qasas, 28:77)
The meaning of Ihsan given by the Prophet (SAW) himself in the famous Hadith of Jibril relates to the quality of Ihsan in acts of Ibadah or worship. The gist of his statement is: Worship Allah as if you are seeing Him. And if you cannot imagine the Divine presence at this level, then, each person must have at least this much yaqeen or conviction that Allah Almighty is, after all, seeing what he or she is doing.
A Muslim should try to be the best in character, behavior, profession, and general performance. The Prophet (SAW) said: “Allah has prescribed Ihsan in everything. Ihsan means not only doing good, but also doing it in the most beautiful and excellent manner. And also included here is to be good to the whole creation of Allah, believers or non-believers, humans or animals. Imam al-Qurtubi has said: The person in whose house his cat is not fed and taken care of and the birds in whose cage are not attended to, then, no matter how devoted to acts of worship he may be, he would still not be counted among the Muhsinin, i.e., those who are good to others.
Ihsan or being good also means that you give the other person more than his real due and, as for your own right, ignore it to the limit that you willingly accept even if it turns out to be less than due. Similarly, when someone hurts you physically or verbally, then, rather than inflict an equal retaliation against that person, you better forgive him, in fact, return the evil done by him with what is good for him. Thus, the command to do justice comes in the form of what is obligatory and necessary as duty, while the command to be good appears in the status of an act which is voluntary and is motivated by a desire to contribute more in the way of what is good.
The third thing which has been enjoined is good treatment towards one’s relatives which in fact is a specific form of Ihsan. It means that one should not only treat one’s relatives well, share their sorrows and pleasures and help them within lawful limits but should also share one’s wealth with them according to one’s means and the need of each relative. This enjoins on everyone who possesses ample means to acknowledge the share of one’s deserving relatives along with the rights of one’s own person and family. The Divine Law holds every well-to-do person in a family to be responsible for fulfilling the needs of all his needy kith and kin. The Law considers it a great evil that one person should enjoy the pleasures of life while his own kith and kin are starving. As it considers the family to be an important part of society, it lays down that the first right of needy individuals is on its well-to-do members and then on the others.
Likewise it is the first duty of the well-to-do members of the family to fulfil the needs of their own near relatives and then those of others. The Prophet (SAW) has emphasized this fact in many Traditions, according to which a person owes rights to his parents, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters, other relatives, etc in accordance with the nearness of their relationships.
Just imagine the happy condition of the society every unit of which supports its every needy individual in this way—most surely that society will become high and pure economically, socially, and morally.
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
In contrast to the above-mentioned three virtues, Allah prohibits three vices that ruin individuals and the society as a whole. These are: (1) shameful acts, (2) evil deeds and (3) transgression.
The first word fahsha translated as shameful acts, refers to such evil words or deeds, the evil of which is all too open and clear and which everyone considers bad. In a hadith narrated by Abdullah bin Mas’ud, Allah’s Messenger (SAW) said, “None has more sense of ghairah (i.e., honor) than Allah, and for this He has forbidden shameful sins whether committed openly or secretly.” The word fahsha applies to all those things that are immodest, immoral or obscene or nasty or dirty or vulgar, not fit to be seen or heard, because they offend against recognized standards of propriety or good taste, e.g., adultery, fornication, homo-sexuality, promiscuity, nudity, theft, robbery, drinking, gambling, begging, abusive language and the like. Likewise it is indecent to indulge in giving publicity to any of these evils and to spread them, e.g., false propaganda, slander, publicity of crimes, promotion of pornography, and publicity of nudity through TV, internet, and other print, electronic and digital media. More often than not vulgarity and immorality are promoted and propagated in the name of adult entertainment and freedom of expression. We seek refuge in Allah to save us from the plots of Shaytan; both from jinn and men.
The second word munkar translated as ‘evil deeds’, denotes the word or deed the unlawfulness or prohibition of which is agreed upon by the well-recognized authentic exponents of the Shariah of Islam. It includes all sins whether outward or inward, done practically or committed morally, and applies to all those evils which have always been universally regarded as evils and have been forbidden by all divine systems of law. May Allah save us from the love of sinning as well as from all acts of disobedience; may He adorn our hearts with the love of chastity, faith and devotion.
The meaning of the third word al-baghy is translated as ‘transgression’ or crossing the limits. The sense is that of injustice and excess. It applies to those vices that transgress the proper limits of decency and violate the rights of others, whether those of the Creator or His creation. At this place, though the sense of the word: munkar (evil deeds) is inclusive of both fahsha (shameful acts) and baghy (transgression), but fahsha has been picked out separately, and made to appear first, because of its extreme evil and dislike. And the word baghy has been taken up separately because its outcome is contagious and it affects others. Sometimes this transgression reaches the outer limits of mutual hostility, even armed confrontation, or it could go still further and cause international disorder.
The six commands, imperative and prohibitive, given in this verse, if pondered upon and acted upon are a divine remedy for man’s individual and collective life.
May Allah bless us all with the ability to implement them in our lives. Allahumma Ameen.
