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Draft:Verse of Khulq ʿAẓīm

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Verse of Khulq ʿAẓīm
Verse's Information
SuraSura al-Qalam
Verse4
Juz'29
Content Information
Place of
Revelation		Mecca
TopicEthics
AboutProphet Muhammad (s)
Related VersesVerse 159 of Sura Al 'Imran, Verse of Ta'assi


Verse of Khuluq ʿAẓīm (Arabic: آية خُلُق عَظيم) is Qur'an 68: 4, which describes the character of Prophet Muhammad (s) as "great". Muslim exegetes consider the highest human ethical traits, namely patience, forbearance, Generosity, and tolerance, as instances of "Khuluq 'Azim" (Great Character). Imam Ali (a) interpreted the Prophet's Great Character as faith, and Imam al-Baqir (a) interpreted it as the great religion of Islam.

It has been said that Khuluq 'Azim refers to the greatness of the Prophet's soul. Allama Tabataba'i and Morteza Motahhari consider this verse to refer to the Prophet's social ethics.

Position

Qur'an 68: 4, in describing Prophet Muhammad (s), states: "And indeed, you are of a great moral character."[1] Al-Shaykh al-Tusi, commenting on this verse, says that for one whom God praises with "Great Character," there can be no higher praise.[2] According to Mughniyya, a Lebanese Shi'a exegete, God has not described any of His Prophets with this attribute except Muhammad (s),[3] nor has He praised any of His creation in such a manner.[4] Muslim exegetes raise a detailed discussion on the importance and position of Ethics (Akhlaq) in religion under this verse.[5]

Occasion of Revelation

Regarding the occasion of revelation of this verse, it is said that the Prophet (s) was wearing a Najrani cloak while walking. A person grabbed the corner of the cloak from behind and pulled it hard, such that the garment choked the Prophet's neck. The person said to the Prophet (s), "O Muhammad! Give me my share from the Bayt al-Mal (Treasury)." The Prophet (s) turned, looked at the Bedouin, and while a smile was on his lips, immediately ordered that his share be paid from the Bayt al-Mal. Then this verse was revealed.[6]

According to a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a),[7] God disciplined (trained) His Prophet, and after training him with Divine manners (Adab), He described him with the attribute of "Great Character." It was due to this Great Character that He entrusted the affair of the religion and the Umma to him so that he would guide and train God's servants.[8]

What is Khuluq 'Azim?

"Khuluq" comes from the root "Khilqat" (creation), referring to attributes that are inseparable from a human being.[9] In a hadith from Imam Ali (a), Khuluq 'Azim is identified as Faith, which stands upon four pillars: Patience, Certainty, Justice, and Generosity (Jūd).[10]

Al-Tabrisi narrated from Aisha, the Prophet's wife, regarding this that the ethics of the Prophet (s) comprised the first ten verses of Qur'an 23; and for one whom God has praised as possessing a great character, there is no praise beyond this.[11] Another interpretation is that Khuluq 'Azim is a special attribute, an extraordinary and indescribable power in the Prophet (s) that made him capable of receiving Divine messages.[12]

Prophet's Social Ethics

Al-Fadl b. al-Hasan al-Tabrisi, the author of the exegesis Majma' al-bayan, stated that the Prophet's Great Character consists of patience upon the truth, vast forgiveness, managing affairs according to the requirements of reason, striving to help believers, and abandoning Envy and Greed and other blameworthy traits.[13]

According to Allama Tabataba'i, this verse magnifies the character of the Prophet (s), but considering the context of the verse, it refers to the social ethics of the Prophet (s); ethics related to interaction, such as steadfastness upon the truth, patience against people's harassment, Forgiveness and overlooking their faults, Generosity, tolerance (Mudara), and Humility.[14] Morteza Motahhari also considers this verse to be mostly referring to the social ethics of the Prophet and believes that ethics stemming from the greatness of the soul are called "Great Ethics"; such as endurance, bearing hardships, patience, forbearance, and forgiveness. God referred to the Prophet with "Great Character" due to the reactions the Prophet (s) showed against the disbelievers and polytheists.[15] Mulla Fath Allah Kashani, a Shi'a exegete, also mentioned this meaning, stating that the Prophet (s) tolerated his people in a way that no one else had the power to endure.[16]

Notes

  1. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 24, p. 371.
  2. ↑ Ṭūsī, Al-Tibyān, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, vol. 10, p. 75.
  3. ↑ Mughniyya, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, 1424 AH, vol. 7, p. 387.
  4. ↑ Daylamī, Irshād al-qulūb, 1377 Sh, vol. 1, p. 133.
  5. ↑ Ayāzī, Tafsīr-pazhūhī-yi Abū l-Futūḥ Rāzī, 1384 Sh, p. 148.
  6. ↑ Daylamī, Irshād al-qulūb, 1377 Sh, vol. 1, p. 133.
  7. ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, Chāp-i Islāmiyya, vol. 1, p. 266.
  8. ↑ Muntaẓarī, Islām dīn-i fiṭrat, 1385 Sh, p. 204.
  9. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Lughāt dar tafsīr-i nimūna, 1387 Sh, p. 213.
  10. ↑ Shuʿayrī, Jāmiʿ al-akhbār, Najaf, vol. 1, p. 36.
  11. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1372 Sh, vol. 10, p. 500.
  12. ↑ Karīm-pūr Qaramalikī, "Justārī dar maʿnā-shināsī wa gustara-yi Khuluq-i ʿaẓīm dar Qurʾān-i karīm", p. 272.
  13. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1372 Sh, vol. 10, p. 500.
  14. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1390 AH, vol. 19, p. 369.
  15. ↑ Muṭahharī, Majmūʿa-yi āthār, 1390 Sh, vol. 27, p. 583.
  16. ↑ Kāshānī, Manhaj al-ṣādiqīn, Tehran, vol. 9, p. 369.

References

  • Ayāzī, Muḥammad ʿAlī. Tafsīr-pazhūhī-yi Abū l-Futūḥ Rāzī. Qom: Sāzmān-i Chāp wa Nashr-i Dār al-Ḥadīth, 1384 Sh.
  • Daylamī, Ḥasan b. Muḥammad. Irshād al-qulūb. Tehran: Islāmiyya, 1377 Sh.
  • Karīm-pūr Qaramalikī, ʿAlī, and Muḥammad Jawād Iskandarlū. “Justārī dar maʿnā-shināsī wa gustara-yi Khuluq-i ʿaẓīm dar Qurʾān-i karīm”. Dū-faṣlnāma-yi Tafsīr-pazhūhī, no. 12, year 7, 1398 Sh.
  • Kāshānī, Mullā Fatḥ Allāh. Manhaj al-ṣādiqīn fī ilzām al-mukhālifīn. Tehran: Kitābfurūshī-yi Islāmiyya, n.d.
  • Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1407 AH.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Lughāt dar tafsīr-i nimūna. Qom: Imām ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, 1387 Sh.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1371 Sh.
  • Mughniyya, Muḥammad Jawād. Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif. Qom: Dār al-Kitāb al-Islāmī, 1424 AH.
  • Muntaẓarī, Ḥusayn ʿAlī. Islām dīn-i fiṭrat. Tehran: Nashr-i Sāya, 1385 Sh.
  • Muṭahharī, Murtaḍā. Majmūʿa-yi āthār. Tehran: Ṣadrā, 1390 Sh.
  • Shuʿayrī, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad. Jāmiʿ al-akhbār. Najaf: Al-Maṭbaʿat al-Ḥaydariyya, n.d.
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī lil-Maṭbūʿāt, 1390 AH.
  • Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Tehran: Nāṣir Khusraw, 1372 Sh.
  • Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-. Al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, n.d.
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