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Qur'an 68:4

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Qur'an 68:4
Verse's Information
SuraSura al-Qalam (Qur'an 68)
Verse4
Juz'29
Content Information
Place of
Revelation		Mecca
TopicEthics
AboutProphet Muhammad (s)
Related VersesQur'an 3:159 ● Qur'an 33:21


Qur'an 68:4, known as the Verse of Khuluq ʿAẓīm (Arabic: آية الخُلُق العظيم), describes the character of Prophet Muhammad (s) as great. Muslim exegetes consider the highest human ethical traits, namely patience, forbearance, generosity, and tolerance, as manifestations of this "Great Character" (khuluq 'azim). Imam Ali (a) interpreted the Prophet's Great Character as faith, while Imam al-Baqir (a) interpreted it as referring to the great religion of Islam.

According to some scholars, khuluq 'azim refers to the greatness of the Prophet's soul. Allama Tabataba'i and Morteza Motahhari interpret the verse as referring primarily to the Prophet's social ethics.

Position

Qur'an 68:4, in describing Prophet Muhammad (s), states:

Al-Shaykh al-Tusi states that no higher praise can be imagined for one whom God describes as possessing a "Great Character".[1] According to Mughniyya, a Lebanese Shi'a exegete, God has not described any of His Prophets with this attribute except Muhammad (s),[2] nor has He praised any of His creation in such a manner.[3] Muslim exegetes discuss extensively the significance of ethics in religion in their commentaries on this verse.[4]

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 Bedouin seized the edge of the cloak from behind and pulled it so violently that it tightened around the Prophet's neck. He said to the Prophet (s), "O Muhammad! Give me my share from the Bayt al-Mal (treasury)." The Prophet (s) turned toward the Bedouin, smiled, and immediately ordered that his share be paid from the Bayt al-Mal. Then this verse was revealed.[5]

According to a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a),[6] God disciplined His Prophet, and after nurturing him with divine etiquette and morals, described him as possessing a "Great Character." It was due to this Great Character that He entrusted the affair of the religion and the Muslim community to him so that he might lead and educate His servants.[7]

What is Khuluq 'Azim (Great Character)?

The term "khuluq" comes from the root "Khilqa" (creation) and refers to qualities that become deeply rooted in a person's nature.[8] In a hadith from Imam Ali (a), Khuluq 'Azim is identified as faith, which stands upon four pillars: patience, certainty, justice, and generosity.[9]

Al-Tabrisi narrated from Aisha that the Prophet's character was reflected in the teachings contained in 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.[10] Another interpretation is that Khuluq 'Azim is a unique spiritual capacity that enabled the Prophet (s) to receive divine revelation.[11]

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 steadfastness in adhering to the truth, great forbearance and forgiveness, managing affairs according to the requirements of reason, striving to help believers, and abandoning envy and greed and other blameworthy traits.[12]

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); ethical qualities manifested in social relations, such as steadfastness upon the truth, patience against people's harassment, forgiveness and overlooking their faults, generosity, tolerance, and humility.[13] Morteza Motahhari also considers this verse to be mostly referring to the social ethics of the Prophet (s). He argues that virtues arising from the greatness of the soul constitute what is meant by "Great Character"; such as endurance, bearing hardships, patience, forbearance, and forgiveness. God described the Prophet (s) as possessing a "Great Character" because of the way he responded to disbelievers and polytheists.[14] 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.[15]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 10, p. 75.
  2. ↑ Mughniyya, al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, vol. 7, p. 387.
  3. ↑ Daylamī, Irshād al-qulūb, vol. 1, p. 133.
  4. ↑ Ayāzī, Tafsīr-pazhūhī-yi Abū l-Futūḥ Rāzī, p. 148.
  5. ↑ Daylamī, Irshād al-qulūb, vol. 1, p. 133.
  6. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 266.
  7. ↑ Muntaẓirī, Islām dīn-i fiṭrat, p. 204.
  8. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Lughāt dar tafsīr-i nimūna, p. 213.
  9. ↑ Shuʿayrī, Jāmiʿ al-akhbār, vol. 1, p. 36.
  10. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 10, p. 500.
  11. ↑ Karīm-pūr Qaramalikī, Justārī dar maʿnā-shināsī wa gustara-yi Khuluq-i ʿaẓīm dar Qurʾān-i karīm, p. 272.
  12. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 10, p. 500.
  13. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 19, p. 369.
  14. ↑ Muṭahharī, Majmūʿa-yi āthār, vol. 27, p. 583.
  15. ↑ Kāshānī, Manhaj al-ṣādiqīn, 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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