Verse of Muharaba

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This article is about verse of Muharabah. For the notion, see Muharaba.
Verse of Muharaba
Verse's Information
NameMuharaba Verse
SuraSura al-Ma'ida
Verse33
Juz'6
Page113
Content Information
Cause of
Revelation		‘Urayniyan people or Bandits.
Place of
Revelation		Medina
Topicjurisprudence
AboutThose who create insecurity in society.
OthersHow to punish a Muharib


The verse of Muḥāraba (Qur'an 5:33) (Arabic: آية المحاربة) is about the punishment of those who fight with God and the Prophet (s). Most commentators believe that this verse was revealed about a group of new Muslims who killed some Muslims and stole their camels, and the Prophet (s) punished them according to this verse.

This verse has been used as a basis for deducing the rulings of muharaba in jurisprudence. Jurists consider the person who openly steals people’s property or takes them captive with a weapon to be a muharib; and by referring to this verse, they propose that the punishment for a muharib is execution, crucifixion (tying to something similar to a cross), cutting off one hand and one foot from opposite sides (cross-amputation), and exile. Of course, a group of jurists believe that the judge can apply any of these punishments to a muharib, but another group say that depending on the type of crime a muharib has committed, one or more of the four punishments should be administered.

Text and Translation of the Verse

Occasion of Revelation

Most commentators believe that the verse of muharaba was revealed about the 'Urayniyan people;[1]the polytheists who went to Medina and converted to Islam,[2] but because the climate of Medina was not suitable for them, they fell ill and by the order of the Prophet (s), they used camel’s milk and recovered, but after recovering, they apostatized, killed some Muslims, stole their camels and fled from Medina.[3] According to 'Allama Tabataba'i, Imam Ali (a) arrested them by the order of the Prophet (s) and took them to the Prophet (s)[4] and the verse of Muharaba was revealed and the Prophet (s) punished them according to this verse.[5] Some people believe that the 'Urayniyans had only stolen, and for this reason the Prophet (s) only cut off their hands and feet according to the verse.[6] The story of 'Urayniyans is also quoted by Imam al-Sadiq (a) in al-Kafi.[7]

For the verse of Muharaba, other occasions of revelation have also been stated.[8] According to Fakhr Razi, this verse was revealed about the people of Bani Isra'il, because they went too far in killing corrupt people.[9] Other commentators have also assumed other occasions of revelation: bandits, thieves of hajj and pilgrimage caravans, polytheists and covenant breakers.[10] According to 'Allama Tabataba'i, the narrations about the occasions of revelation of this verse are also mentioned in six authentic Sunni books with slight differences.[11]

Interpretation

The thirty third verse of Sura al-Ma'ida is known as the verse of Muharaba,[12] and according to commentators, whoever creates insecurity and commits looting in the Islamic society is considered a muharib;[13] because a muharib has actually declared war on God and the Prophet (s).[14] A muharib is punished in one of the four ways stated in the verse:[15]

  • Execution is the punishment of a muharib who has killed a person.[16] Fadil Miqdad, a Shiite jurist and a commentator in the 9th/15th century, believes that if the ones holding the right to claim retaliation for the murdered forgive the murderer, the sentence will not be nullified, and the muharib will definitely be executed.[17]
  • Hanging, (tying the criminal’s hands and feet to something similar to a cross) is the sentence of someone who has committed theft in addition to killing a person.[18] Fadl b. Hasan Tabrisi, a Shiite jurist and a commentator of the 6th/12th century, believes that a muharib should be hanged three times after being killed.[19] According to Kashf al-asrar, a muharib should be hanged three days before or after being killed, and it is up to Imam (a) to determine it.[20]
  • Amputation of the hand and the foot is the punishment for a muharib who has only committed theft in addition to muharaba.[21] Imam al-Sadiq (a) has explained that the amputation is about the right hand and the left foot.[22] In addition, some others have considered the amputation to mean cutting off four fingers from a hand or a foot.[23] Amputation of fingers from the hand or the foot is administered if the stolen property reaches the limit of theft [as defined in Islamic law.[24]
  • Exile or imprisonment is for someone who creates fear and insecurity among people.[25] A group of commentators have considered the meaning of “aw yanfaw min al-ard” (“or be exiled from the land”) to exile the muharib to another city and some of them considered to mean to imprison him.[26] It has also been said that a muharib should be prevented from going to the cities where polytheists live.[27] In the book Kanz al-'irfan, written by Fadil Miqdad, quoting from Shafi'i, the founder of one of the four Sunni sects, it is stated that no kind of relationship should be made with a muharib who has been exiled, including buying and selling, helping and socializing.[28]

According to Muslim commentators, the mentioned punishments are determined according to the severity of the muharib’s crime;[29] as it has been narrated from Imam al-Baqir (a) and Imam al-Sadiq (a).[30] Some have considered the manner of punishing a muharib to be determined by the religious authority[31] or Imam (a)[32]. According to the verse of Muharaba, these punishments are only for this world and do not prevent the punishment of the muharib in the hereafter.[33]

Repentance

According to commentators, if a muharib repents before being arrested, his repentance will be accepted and he will not be punished.[34] According to al-Suyuti’s report, a hadith scholar of the 10th/16th century, Harith b. Badr drew a sword on the people in Egypt, but repented and some Muslims took him to Imam Ali (a). After being assured of Harith’s regret, Imam Ali (a) accepted his repentance and gave him immunity.[35] Of course, if the muharib repents, only his crime of disrupting public security is ignored, and if he has committed theft or murder, he must be punished accordingly.[36] Also, if he repents after being arrested, his punishment will not be lifted.[37]

Application in Jurisprudence

Main article: Muharaba

In the books of jurisprudence, the ruling of a muharib is stated according to the verse of Muharaba. According to the fatwas of jurists, anyone who openly and forcefully takes another’s property or takes people captive is a muharib.[38] Various conditions have been stated for considering the perpetrator as muharib, such as drawing a weapon, creating fear in people, and being corrupt.[39]

A group of jurists have given examples for a muharib, including the people of Dhimma, apostates, bandits, and anyone who frightens Muslims.[40] Also, some jurists have considered the meaning of muharaba to be waging war with Muslims.[41]

Option or Order [in punishment]

According to the verse of Muharaba, there are four punishments for a muharib;[42] but, the jurists disagree on how to punish a muharib.[43] Al-Shaykh al-Saduq,[44] al-Shaykh al-Mufid,[45] al-'Allama al-Hilli,[46] and Imam Khomeini[47] considered the administration of punishments optional and believed that the judge can choose one of the four punishments.

On the other hand, al-Shaykh al-Tusi, Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi, Sayyid 'Ali Tabataba'i (the author of Riyad), and Sayyid Abu l-Qasim al-Khoei believed that the punishment of a muharib should be administered by order and in proportion to the crime he committed.[48]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 291; Fakhr al-Rāzī, Mafātīḥ al-ghayb, vol. 11, p.345.
  2. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 291; Maybudī, Kashf al-asrār, vol. 3, p. 103.
  3. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 291; Maybudī, Kashf al-asrār, vol. 3, p. 103.
  4. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 5, p. 331.
  5. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 291; Maybudī, Kashf al-asrār, vol. 3, p. 103; Fakhr al-Rāzī, Mafātīḥ al-ghayb, vol. 11, p. 345; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 4, p. 395.
  6. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 291; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 5, p. 326.
  7. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 7, p. 245.
  8. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 291; Maybudī, Kashf al-asrār, vol. 3, p. 103; Fakhr al-Rāzī, Mafātīḥ al-ghayb, vol. 11, p. 345.
  9. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, Mafātīḥ al-ghayb, vol. 11, p. 345.
  10. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 291; Maybudī, Kashf al-asrār, vol. 3, p. 103; Fakhr al-Rāzī, Mafātīḥ al-ghayb, vol. 11, p. 345.
  11. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 5, p. 333.
  12. ↑ Ṣāliḥī Najafābādī, "Tafsīr-i āya-yi muḥāraba wa aḥkām-i fiqhī-yi ān", p. 65.
  13. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 5, p. 326; Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 292.
  14. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 5, p. 326.
  15. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 292; Maybudī, Kashf al-asrār, vol. 3, p. 103.
  16. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 292; Maybudī, Kashf al-asrār, vol. 3, p. 103.
  17. ↑ Fāḍil Miqdād, Kanz al-ʿirfān, vol. 2, p. 352.
  18. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 292.
  19. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 292.
  20. ↑ Maybudī, Kashf al-asrār, vol. 3, p. 102.
  21. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 292.
  22. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 292.
  23. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 4, p. 360.
  24. ↑ Shahīd al-Thānī, al-Rawḍa al-bahiyya, vol. 9, p. 256.
  25. ↑ Abū l-Futūḥ al-Rāzī, Rawḍ al-Jinān, vol. 6, p. 357.
  26. ↑ Sayyid Quṭb, Fī ẓilāl al-Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 880.
  27. ↑ Abū l-Futūḥ al-Rāzī, Rawḍ al-Jinān, vol. 6, p. 357; Fakhr al-Rāzī, Mafātīḥ al-ghayb, vol. 11, p. 347.
  28. ↑ Fāḍil Miqdād, Kanz al-ʿirfān, vol. 2, p. 352.
  29. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 292; Maybudī, Kashf al-asrār, vol. 3, p. 103.
  30. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 292.
  31. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, Mafātīḥ al-ghayb, vol. 11, p. 346.
  32. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 5, p. 331.
  33. ↑ Qurʾān 2:33.
  34. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 292; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 5, p. 328.
  35. ↑ Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 2, p. 279.
  36. ↑ Ḥillī, Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām, vol. 4, p.168; Ṣāliḥī Najafābādī, "Tafsīr-i āya-yi muḥāraba wa aḥkām-i fiqhī-yi ān", p. 79.
  37. ↑ Ḥillī, Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām, vol. 4, p.168.
  38. ↑ Mishkinī, Muṣṭalaḥāt al-fiqh, p. 475.
  39. ↑ Mūsawī Ardabīlī, fiqh al-ḥudūd wa l-taʿzīrāt, vol. 3, p. 511-524.
  40. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Mabsūṭ, vol. 8, p. 47.
  41. ↑ Ṣāliḥī Najafābādī, "Tafsīr-i āya-yi muḥāraba wa aḥkām-i fiqhī-yi ān.", p. 61.
  42. ↑ Qurʾān 5:33.
  43. ↑ Mūsawī Ardabīlī, fiqh al-ḥudūd wa l-taʿzīrāt, vol. 3, p. 558.
  44. ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Muqniʿ, p. 450.
  45. ↑ Mufīd, al-Muqniʿa, p. 804.
  46. ↑ Ḥillī, Mukhtalaf al-Shīʿa, vol. 9, p. 258.
  47. ↑ Khomeini, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, vol. 2, p. 493.
  48. ↑ Mūsawī Ardabīlī, fiqh al-ḥudūd wa l-taʿzīrāt, vol. 3, p. 562.

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