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Names of the Qur’anic Surahs
Question: I have a query about the names of Qur’anic surahs. I have come to note that the name of a surah usually has no link with its contents. This is indeed quite strange. Please clarify.
Answer: Most surahs of the Qur’an were named by the Prophet (sws) and some by his companions. Being Arabs, they naturally followed the Arab tradition in this regard. According to this tradition, the Arabs would name some of their literary compositions after some unique or conspicuous word found within the text of these compositions. Generally, this word had no relation to the overall theme.
Suyuti, while recording the opinion of Zarkashi writes:
The general Arab custom of naming things was that they would name things after some unique or unusual characteristic that may be intrinsic or extrinsic to a particular thing … they would name writings and compositions after some prominent aspect the work possessed. The surahs of the Qur’an were also named on this basis. For example Surah Baqarah is so called because of the cow incident mentioned in it. (Suyuti, Itqan Fi ‘Ulumi’l-Qur’an, 2nd ed., vol. 1, [Qum: Manshurat, 1967], p. 197)
While sometimes the word selected for the title of the surah is the very first word of the surah, mostly this word is from within the surah. Examples of the former are Taha (20), Yasin (36), Rahman (55), Nazi‘at (79), and of the latter are Baqarah (2),Ma’idah (5), An‘am (6), Nur (24), Shu‘ara (26), Zukhruf (42), H~adid(57) and Ma‘un (107).
Is Covering the Head essential for Women?
Question: I am a student of the Qur’an. After going through it many many times, I have come to the conclusion that nowhere does it mention that women should cover their heads. In the following verse, God is asking women to cover their bosoms with a Khimar (a dress, a coat, a shawl, a shirt, a scarf, etc.), not their heads or their hair.
And tell believing women to lower their eyes, and maintain their chastity. They shall not reveal any parts of their bodies, except that which is necessary. They shall cover their chests, [with their Khimar] and shall not relax this code in the presence of other than their husbands, their fathers, the fathers of their husbands, their sons, the sons of their husbands, their brothers, the sons of their brothers, the sons of their sisters, other women, the male servants or employees whose sexual drive has been nullified, or the children who have not reached puberty… (24:31)
After all the Almighty does not run out of words. If He required of the believing women to cover their heads, He would have clearly said so. Is not then covering the head a cultural tradition? Is it not that it is this tradition which scholars have erroneously identified with Islam? Please comment.
Answer: You see it is imperative while interpreting the verses of the Qur’an to determine the addressee of a particular verse otherwise one is bound to end up misinterpreting the verse. The address in the Qur’an changes among the various groups present (Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hypocrites), and if one reflects on the context of a verse and has a flare for the language of this Divine masterpiece, it is not difficult to grasp who among the groups is addressed.
As far as 24:31 is concerned, it is obvious from its very first words that the believing women of the Prophet’s times are addressed. The Arabic word used for believing women is ‘Al-Mu’minat’. People normally translate this word without taking into account the article ‘Al’ (alif-lam) appended to the word ‘Mu’minat’. The particle ‘Al’ if properly translated together with the word ‘Mu’minat’ to which it is attached would mean ‘these believing women’ and not ‘believing women’. The phrase ‘these believing women’ obviously refers to the believing women who were present at the time these verses were revealed. It is an established historical fact the believing women of those times used to wear a khimar (a covering) on their heads and then made it fall along their bodies without covering their chests. It is they who are addressed and told that they must cover their chests as well.
In other words, since the directive is given to women who already covered their heads but did not cover their chests, it was not required to mention the covering of the head. So the point which needs to be understood is that while translating these verses one must give due consideration to the word ‘Al-Mu’minat’ and see in what form believing women already dressed and what was the additional directive given to them.
Moreover, the nature of this directive is such that it cannot be confined to the believing women of the Prophet’s times: it pertains to every believing women. All directives which have moral implications are general. For example if it had been said in the Qur’an that ‘these believing women should always uphold the truth and never lie’, then though the believing women of a particular age are addressed, it obviously cannot be concluded that believing women of later times are not bound by this directive.
Therefore, in my opinion, covering the head is neither a cultural tradition nor the product of some scholar: It is the purport of the Qur’an.
Misusing theQisas Law
Question: I have heard that in Islamic law a murderer can be pardoned by the relatives of the deceased and left without punishment. Under this system wouldn’t it then be possible for the two parties on either side of the family to conspire to kill: one partner killing the relative, and the other pardoning it?
Answer: In all cases of murder whether the aggrieved party forgives the aggressor or whether it insists on equal retaliation, the matter must be brought in front of the State. No settlement can be made between the two parties without the State being legally informed of it. This is the basic principle in this regard. Keeping in view this principle, a State will always be informed of what is going on in a particular case. If in some cases it smells foul play from both sides, it has the authority to annul any settlement and do what is required for justice.
The Mission of ‘Renaissance’
Question: The title of your journal suggests that you are working for a Muslim revival. However, I would like to know more about the type of work you are doing and the chances of success it has. I would hate to join people who have little chances of success.
Answer: Yes, the team of ‘Renaissance’ is working for a Muslim revival. Our diagnosis is that this revival cannot be achieved unless the ailment of intellectual stagnation so rampant among Muslim scholars is done away with. By this stagnation we mean absence of research and original thinking on religious issues.
Today, unfortunately, the prohibition against directly deliberating and interpreting from the sources of Islam has become no less than the prohibition against liquor. We, however, think that unless competent Muslim scholars are produced who have the ability to break the shackles of this intellectual stagnation very little can be done for the revival of the Muslims. These scholars should be groomed in a manner that they can face the challenge of the modern era. It is because of a paucity of such scholars that in the last few centuries the Muslim world has undergone a sharp decline in its individual as well as its collective affairs. All over the globe, Muslims seem to have lost their identity. They appear to be dispossessed of the real spirit of Islam, and have been stripped of the position of supremacy they once held in the comity of nations. Though they have with them the last and final word of the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, yet it no longer plays a vibrant role in their lives.
At ‘Renaissance’, our basic objective is to promote and patronize the work of scholars who have taken up the daunting task of carrying out original research within the ambit of the Qur’an and Sunnah. We consider our endeavour to be a humble service to cause of truth.
As to the last part of your question, I can only say that we consider ourselves victors even if vanquished -- for to us success lies not in achieving the goal but in sincerely striving to achieve it.
The Veil
Question: Somewhere in your answers you have made a passing reference to the fact that women are not required to cover their faces? In my opinion, wearing H~ijabon the face is a duty of women, and it is not optional. Allah says: ‘O Prophet! tell your wives and daughters and the wives of the believers to draw their cloaks on their faces (33:59). Can you tell me your arguments of holding a contrary view.
Answer: I am afraid that the verse you have referred to does not direct Muslim women to cover their faces. If one deliberates on its words as well as on its context, one comes to the conclusion that it has a specific background. The verse describes a particular situation which in no way relates to H~ijabdirectives regarding the face.
But first a few words about meaning of the verse. If due consideration is given to its Arabic words, its correct translation would be:
O Prophet! tell your wives and daughters and the wives of the believers to draw a part of their cloaks over them.
‘To draw cloaks over their faces’ is an erroneous translation. The directive means that Muslim women should draw a part of their cloaks on them so that these cloaks should dangle in front. Nowhere does the verse says that the face should be covered. In fact the verse is devoid of the word ‘face’. If the face was required to be covered, words to this effect should have been present: yughatina wujuhahunna (they should cover their faces).
Consider now the context and background of the verse. The remaining part of the verse sheds ample light on it:
That is more proper so that they may be recognized and not harmed. Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. (33:59)
The picture that comes to mind if one also keeps in consideration the contents of this surah is that in Madinah there had come a period when the Prophet’s lenient and sympathetic behaviour with the hypocrites had turned them into miscreants and scandalmongers. They would try as much as they could to disparage the Prophet’s personal life and those of his wives. It was in this period when the incident of Ifk took place. A%’ishah(rta), the illustrious wife of the Prophet (sws), was dragged into a scandal by these mischief makers. This surah upbraids these people and asks them to observe certain limits. They are told that they should not become a source of trouble for the residents of the Prophet’s house by coming at the wrong time or unnecessarily prolonging their stay:
O you who believe! enter not the Prophet’s dwellings unless permission be granted to you for a meal [and] not [so early as] to wait for its preparation. But if you are invited, enter and when you have eaten disperse. Linger not for conversation. Such behavior distresses the Prophet and he shows his regard for you but of the truth Allah does not have regard for anything. (33:53)
Similarly, these hypocrites who would freely enter the house of the Prophet (sws) to eavesdrop for their scandalous activities are asked that if they want anything from within the house, they must not charge inside, but ask for what they want from outside:
If you ask his wives for anything, speak to them from behind the curtain. That is purer for their hearts and theirs. (33:53)
After sometime, the nuisance they had been causing reached such a stage that the Qur’an gave them an ultimatum in the following words:
Those who [try to] torment Allah and His messenger, Allah has cursed them in this world and in the next. And He has prepared for them a humiliating punishment. And to those who torment believing men and women without their having deserved it, they then have surely taken the burden of a calumny and a clear sin. (33:57-8)
Now, the verse under discussion (33:59) sheds light on one of their subversive activities: They would tease and torment believing women and when they would be called to account they would say that they did not know that these were believing women. While explaining the background of this verse Ibn Kathir, the celebrated commentator of the Qur’an, records the opinion of Suddi in the following words:
The mischief-mongers among the people of Madinah would come out on the streets at dusk and get after the women of the Ansar. The houses of the people of Madinah [in those days] were very small in size and at nightfall the women would go out on these streets [making their way to the fields] to relieve themselves. These evil people would be tease these women. If they saw a woman who would be wearing a cloak they would say she is a free woman [and not a slave] and would abstain [from any evil activity] and if they saw a woman who would not be wearing a cloak [in the way prescribed by the Qur’an] they would pounce on her by saying that she is a slave woman. (Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Qur’an al-Azim, vol. 3, [Beirut: Daru’l-Ahya wa al-Turath al-‘Arabi, 1969], p. 518)
He then records the opinion of Mujahid in the following words:
These women would wear cloaks [in the way prescribed by the Qur’an] so that it be known that they are free women and the mischief-mongers would not then harm or tease them. (Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Qur’an al-Azim, vol. 3, [Beirut: Daru’l-Ahya wa al-Turath al-‘Arabi, 1969], p. 519)
Evidently, in order to curb this prank of theirs, the Almighty directed believing women to make themselves distinct in appearance from other women so that these people could have no excuse to tease them. This distinction in appearance was to be made by drawing a part of their cloaks in front of them so that it protruded over their bodies.
It is evident from this discussion that the directive given in the verse has no bearing in any way to H~ijabdirectives in general let alone the face. It only prescribes a way to deal with a particular situation that had arisen in the times of the Prophet (sws).
Some Questions about Sexual Conduct
Questions: I am a Muslim convert and have some questions regarding the intimate relationship between a husband and his wife. I feel a bit shy to ask. However, since I need the guidance of my new religion on them, I am being bold enough to ask them. First, I’d like to know if there are any restrictions in sexual relations between a husband and wife. I have read somewhere that a husband and a wife must not totally reveal themselves to one another during intercourse. Is this so? The Qur’an says that a husband and wife should abstain from going near one another when the wife is having her periods. Does this mean that no form of sexual intimacy is allowed? Are a husband and wife allowed to have intercourse in any position they like? Can a husband orally stimulate the sexual organs of his wife and vice versa? I would also like to know if a husband is experiencing a lack of sexual urge, can he read or see pornographic material to be ‘turned on’ so to speak? Here of course the reason is not to get pleasure from such material but to use it for a genuine purpose.
Answers: As far as sexual intimacy between a husband and wife is concerned, the Shari‘ah prohibits two things:
1. Intercourse during menses.
2. Anal intercourse.
These restrictions are mentioned in the following verse of the Qur’an:
They ask you concerning women’s courses. Tell them: They are an impurity. So keep away from women in their courses, and do not approach them until they are clean. And when they have purified themselves, approach them in the manner the Almighty has directed you [through your instincts]* -- for Allah loves those who constantly repent and keep themselves clean. (2:222)
This means that, barring these two restrictions, everything else has been left to the taste and inclination of the couple. The freedom they have is very aptly expressed in the following verse:
Your wives are as a cultivated land to you. So come to your cultivated land in whatever manner you want to and extend forward for yourself, and keep fearing Allah, and you should know that you are to meet Him [one day], and give glad tidings to the believers. (2:223)
The portion of the verse: ‘So come to your cultivated land in whatever manner you want to’ refers to the liberty and freedom with which a person is allowed to come close to his wife. It is similar to how a farmer approaches his land. One aspect of the husband and wife relationship is that while fulfilling many other needs, it is also a means of satisfying the sexual urge. If this urge is satisfied between them, it secures their modesty and curbs sexual anarchy. However, if this urge is not quenched between the two, it might lead to grave deviations. It is because this relationship shields a husband and wife from any deviations that a husband and wife are called each other’s robes:
They [your wives] are [like] a robe for you and you [like] a robe for them. (2:187)
One can construe in the light of what has been said above that Islam has neither imposed any restriction on the position or posture for sexual intimacy nor explicitly stopped the couple from orally stimulating the sexual organs. However, a person must always bear in mind that Islam is a religion that stands for purification and cleanliness – both physical and spiritual. A person’s own nature, if it is not perverted, guides him to be selective and refined in exercising this discretion. He may have the liberty to do anything in this regard, but he should always remember that the spirit and essence of this liberty dictate that he should not become an animal. Consequently, cunnilingus and fellatio may not be prohibited by the Shari‘ah but they seem to be against the norms of a refined taste ingrained in human nature that has not been perverted.
As far as not totally revealing one’s self before one’s spouse is concerned, the following H~adithseems to be its basis:
When you approach your wives [for sexual intimacy], you [and they] should not be totally naked as donkeys. (Ibn Majah, Kitabu’l-Nikah~)
The H~adithhas been classified as weak by authorities like Abu H~at~im, Ah~mad Ibn H~anbaland Nasa‘i** , and it also seems to impose a restriction that the Qur’an seems to negate.
During menses, only sexual intercourse is forbidden as is evident from 2:222 quoted above. Other forms of sexual intimacy are allowed. Anas Ibn Malik reports in the Sahih of Imam Muslim:
Amongst the Jews, when a woman menstruated, they did not dine with her nor did they live with her in their houses. So the companions of the Prophet asked him and Allah revealed ... (See 2:222 above). The Prophet then said: You can do everything except having intercourse with her. (Kitabu’l Hayd)
In reply to your last question, I would say that in Islam the purity and rectitude of both the means and objective of an enterprise are essential. Achieving a ‘genuine’ objective through ‘non-genuine’ means should be avoided. Acquiring sexual urge through means which pollute and adulterate the mind and body can cause more harm than benefit. Viewing or reading pornographic material can also damage your relationship with your wife and lead to many other undesirable activities. So I would advise you to consult a doctor if you are experiencing a lack of sexual urge.