Jump to content

Draft:Verse 188 of Sura al-Baqara

Add links
From wikishia
Verse 188 of Sura al-Baqara
Verse's Information
Suraal-Baqara (Qur'an 2)
Verse188
Juz'2
Content Information
Cause of
Revelation		Dispute between two Companions of the Prophet (s) regarding land ownership
Place of
Revelation		Mecca
AboutProhibition of acquiring illegitimate income
Related VersesQur'an 4:29, Qur'an 4:161, Qur'an 9:34


Qur'an 2:188 prohibits the acquisition of illegitimate income, specifically highlighting bribery. Based on this verse, jurists regard any transaction resulting in the acquisition of haram property (māl ḥarām) as void. The concept of "consuming wealth unjustly" (akl māl bi-l-bāṭil) encompasses the unjust disposal of another's property. Exegetes categorize property obtained through bribery, usurpation (ghaṣb), gambling, or false oath as instances of this prohibition.

The theme of "consuming wealth unjustly" and the Qur'an's treatment of this subject also appear in Qur'an 4:29, Qur'an 4:161, and Qur'an 9:34 (the Verse of Kanz).

General Points

Qur'an 2:188 forbids individuals from consuming one another's property and acquiring illegitimate income, with particular emphasis on bribery.[1] Muhammad Jawad Mughniyya, a Shi'a exegete, interprets this verse as an affirmation of Islam's recognition of private ownership.[2] According to him, jurists rely on this verse to declare void any transaction that leads to the acquisition of haram property.[3] Furthermore, Tafsir-i nimuna states that jurists consider contracts lacking a valid purpose or rational basis to fall under the purview of this verse.[4]

Qur'an 2:188 is classified among the Madani verses.[5] Some exegetes posit a connection between this verse and the preceding verses (182-187), which concern fasting. While the previous verses prohibit eating and drinking for the purpose of divine worship, this verse forbids the unjust consumption of people's property, framing abstinence from such acts as a form of fasting, God-wariness (taqwā), and self-discipline.[6] The subject of "consuming wealth unjustly" is similarly addressed in Qur'an 4:29, Qur'an 4:161, and Qur'an 9:34.[7]

According to al-Wahidi in Asbab nuzul al-Qur'an, this verse was revealed in response to a land dispute between two Companions of the Prophet (s), which was resolved through the judgment of the Prophet Muhammad (s).[8]

Prohibition of Unjust Disposal of Others' Property

"Consuming wealth unjustly" (akl māl bi-l-bāṭil) signifies the taking of possession and unjust disposal of another's property.[9] Numerous interpretations have been offered for this concept;[10] among them, it is said to refer to utilizing property acquired through bribery, usurpation (ghaṣb), betrayal of trust, gambling, or false oath.[11] A group of exegetes regard the concept of "consuming wealth unjustly" as a general principle, counting each of these specific acts as instances thereof.[12]

The word "tudlū" (تُدْلوا) is derived from the root "idlāʾ" (إدلاء), meaning to lower a bucket into a well to draw water.[13] Exegetes interpret "tudlū" metaphorically to describe the act of offering a bribe to sway a judge's opinion, likening it to drawing water from a well.[14] Abd Allah Jawadi Amuli draws an analogy, stating that a person receiving property through bribery resembles one standing at the edge of a cesspool, lowering a bucket to extract sludge. The bribe-giver, by paying the bribe (likened to the bucket), extracts a void and tainted verdict from the polluted soul of the judge and pours it into his own soul.[15] Another interpretation of the phrase "tudlū bihā ilā l-ḥukkām" suggests: do not refer financial matters to a judge for the purpose of misuse, such as holding a trust and, in the absence of a witness, appropriating it unjustly through a judicial ruling.[16]

In this verse, "ḥukkām" (rulers) is interpreted as referring to judges.[17] Research indicates that most jurists consider the specific designation of "bribery" (rishwa) to be applicable primarily within the context of the judiciary.[18] Nevertheless, they regard unjust payments outside the judicial context as haram (forbidden), basing this ruling on general arguments such as the prohibition of "consuming wealth unjustly."[19]

The phrase "antum taʿlamūn" (while you know) implies that when one is aware an act is ugly and haram, one must refrain from it.[20] Thus, committing a sin with full knowledge of its moral repugnance is considered a greater transgression.[21]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ibn Juzayy, Al-Tashīl li-ʿulūm al-tanzīl, 1416 AH, vol. 1, p. 112.
  2. ↑ Mughniyya, Tafsīr al-kāshif, 1424 AH, vol. 1, p. 291.
  3. ↑ Mughniyya, Tafsīr al-kāshif, 1424 AH, vol. 1, p. 291.
  4. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 2, p. 4.
  5. ↑ Al-Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1372 Sh, vol. 1, p. 111.
  6. ↑ Quṭb, Fī ẓilāl al-Qurʾān, 1412 AH, vol. 1, p. 176.
  7. ↑ ʿAliyān-Nizhādī, Bāzāryābī-yi shabakaʾī yā kulāhbardārī-yi marmūz, 1389 Sh, p. 43.
  8. ↑ Wāḥidī, Asbāb nuzūl al-Qurʾān, 1411 AH, p. 55.
  9. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 2, p. 51; Faḍlallāh, Min waḥy al-Qurʾān, 1419 AH, vol. 4, p. 53.
  10. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 2, p. 3; Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-bayān, 1378 Sh, vol. 2, p. 344.
  11. ↑ Al-Ṭūsī, Al-Tibyān, vol. 2, p. 138.
  12. ↑ Al-Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1372 Sh, vol. 2, p. 506; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 2, p. 53; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 2, p. 3.
  13. ↑ Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, Al-Mufradāt, 1412 AH, p. 317; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 2, p. 52.
  14. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 2, p. 52; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 2, p. 5.
  15. ↑ Jawādī Āmulī, Tafsīr-i Tasnīm, vol. 9, p. 507.
  16. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 2, p. 5.
  17. ↑ Al-ʿAyyāshī, Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, 1380 Sh, vol. 1, p. 85.
  18. ↑ Raḥīmī & Sulaymānī, "Barrasī-yi ḥukm wa mabānī-yi fiqhī-yi rishwah dar ghayr-i qaḍāwat", p. 845.
  19. ↑ Raḥīmī & Sulaymānī, "Barrasī-yi ḥukm wa mabānī-yi fiqhī-yi rishwah dar ghayr-i qaḍāwat", p. 845.
  20. ↑ Mughniyya, Tafsīr al-kāshif, 1424 AH, vol. 1, p. 292; Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-bayān, 1378 Sh, vol. 2, p. 346.
  21. ↑ Al-Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1372 Sh, vol. 2, p. 507; Mughniyya, Tafsīr al-kāshif, 1424 AH, vol. 1, p. 292.

References

  • ʿAliyān-Nizhādī, Abū l-Qāsim. Bāzāryābī-yi shabakaʾī yā kulāhbardārī-yi marmūz. Qom: Intishārāt-i Madrasa-yi Imām ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, 3rd ed., 1384 Sh.
  • Al-ʿAyyāshī, Muḥammad b. Masʿūd. Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī. Edited by Hāshim Rasūlī Maḥallātī. Tehran: Al-Maṭbaʿa al-ʿIlmiyya, 1st ed., 1380 Sh.
  • Faḍlallāh, Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Min waḥy al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār al-Malāk, 1st ed., 1419 AH.
  • Ibn Juzayy, Muḥammad b. Aḥmad. Al-Tashīl li-ʿulūm al-tanzīl. Edited by ʿAbd Allāh Khālidī. Beirut: Sharīkat Dār al-Arqam b. Abī l-Arqam, 1st ed., 1416 AH.
  • Jawādī Āmulī, ʿAbd Allāh. Tafsīr-i Tasnīm. Edited by Ḥasan Wāʿiẓī Muḥammadī & Ḥusayn Ashrafī. Qom: Nashr-i Isrāʾ, 3rd ed., 1388 Sh.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1st ed., 1374 Sh.
  • Mughniyya, Muḥammad Jawād. Tafsīr al-kāshif. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1st ed., 1424 AH.
  • Quṭb, Sayyid. Fī ẓilāl al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār al-Shurūq, 17th ed., 1412 AH.
  • Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad. Al-Mufradāt fī gharīb al-Qurʾān. Edited by Ṣafwān ʿAdnān Dāwūdī. Damascus/Beirut: Dār al-Qalam/Al-Dār al-Shāmiyya, 1st ed., 1412 AH.
  • Raḥīmī, Murtaḍā & Sumayya Sulaymānī. "Barrasī-yi ḥukm wa mabānī-yi fiqhī-yi rishwah dar ghayr-i qaḍāwat". in Pazhūhish-hā-yi Fiqhī. Vol. 11, No. 4, Winter 1394 Sh.
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Qom: Daftar-i Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 5th ed., 1417 AH.
  • Al-Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Introduction by Muḥammad Jawād Balāghī. Tehran: Nāṣir Khusraw, 3rd ed., 1372 Sh.
  • Ṭayyib, Sayyid ʿAbd al-Ḥusayn. Aṭyab al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Tehran: Intishārāt-i Islām, 2nd ed., 1378 Sh.
  • Al-Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan. Al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Introduction by Shaykh Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī. Edited by Aḥmad Qaṣīr ʿĀmilī. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, n.d.
  • Wāḥidī, ʿAlī b. Aḥmad al-. Asbāb nuzūl al-Qurʾān. Edited by Kamāl Basyūnī Zaghlūl. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1st ed., 1411 AH.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikishia.net/w/index.php?title=Draft:Verse_188_of_Sura_al-Baqara&oldid=203468"