The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences Vol. 7, No. 1, 1990 xi 

Guiding Light 
Selections From the Holy Qur’an 

Comments by XbdulHamid A. AbuSulaym& 

Translation 

In the name of A M ,  Most Gmcious, 
Most Merciful. 

li 

1. 0 ye who believe 
Shall I lead you 
To a bargain that will 
Save you from 
A g r i e v w  Penalty?- 

2. That ye believe in Allah 
And His Messenger, and that 
Ye suive (your utmost) 
In the Cause of Allah, 
With your property 
And your persons: 
That will be best for you. 
If ye but knew. 
Simh A1 *ff (61:IO-ll) 

3. Allah hath purchased of the Believers 
Their persons and their goods; 
For theirs (in return) 
Is the Garden (of Paradise): 
They fight in His Cause, 
And slay and are slain: 
A promise binding on Him 
In Truth, through the LAW, 
The Gospel, and the Qur’an 
And who is more faithful 
To his Covenant than Allah? 
Then rejoice in the bargain 
Which ye have concluded: 
That is the achievement supreme. 
Simh A1 Tavbah (9:U) 

4. Ye shall certainly 
Be tried and tested 



xii The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences Vol. 7, No. 1, 1990 

In your possessions 
And in your personal selves; 
And ye shall certainly 
Hear much that will grieve you, 
From those who received 
The Book before you 
And from those who 
Worship many gods, 
But if ye persevere 
Patiently, and guard 
Against evil-then 
That will be 
A determining factor 
In all affairs. 
Simh Ali ‘ImrGn (3:186) 

In the above verses we find that Allah (SWT) is asking Muslims to make 
jihad and sacrifice for the cause of Islam. In all these verses we find Allah 
(SWT) consistently commences with the word umwiil (wealth and property) 
followed by the word unfus (selves). 

5. “Why didst thou not, 
As thou wentest into 
Thy garden, say: ‘Allah’s Will 
(Be done)! There is no power 
But with Allah!’ If thou 
Dost see me less than 
Thee in wealth and sons, 
Sirah A1 Kahf (18:39) 

6. Know ye (all), that 
The life of this world 
Is but play and amusement, 
Pomp and mutual boasting 
And multiplying, (in rivalry) 
Among yourselves, riches 
And children. 
Here is a similitude; 
How rain and the growth 
Which it brings forth, delight 
(The hearts of) the tillers; 
Soon it withers; thou 
Wilt see it grow yellow; 
Then it becomes dry 
And crumbles away, 
But in the Hereafter 
Is a Penalty severe 



‘AbdulHamid AbGSulaymz?n Guiding Light xiii 

(For the devotees of wrong), 
And Forgiveness from Allah 
And (His) Good Pleasure 
(For the devotees of Allah). 
And what is the life 
Of this world, but 
Goods and chattels 
Of deception? 
Sirah A1 Hadid (57:20) 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

Then did we grant you 
The Return as against them: 
We gave you increase 
In resources and sons, 
And made you 
The more numerous 
In manpower. 
Siimh A1 IsrG’ (17.6) 

Because he possesses 
Wealth and (numerous) sons. 
Siimh A1 Qalam (68:14) 

Freely has He bestowed 
On you cattle and sons- 
Siimh A1 Shu‘arii’ (26133) 

Noah said: “0 my Lord! 
They have disobeyed me, 
But they follow (men) 
Whose wealth and children 
Give them no Increase 
But only Loss. 
s i m h  N* (71~21) 

0 ye who believe! 
Let not your riches 
Or your children divert you 
From the remembrance of Allah, 
If any act thus, 
The loss is their own. 
Siimh A1 M&$qiin (63:9) 

Lead to destruction those 
Whom thou canst among them, 
With thy (seductive) voice, 
Make assaults on them 
With thy cavalry and thy 
Infantry; mutually share 



xiv The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences Vol. 7, No. 1, 1990 

With them wealth and children; 
And make promises to them, 
But Satan promises them 
Nothing but deceit. 
Sumh A1 IsrG’ (17.-44) 

13. The desert Arabs who 
Lagged behind will 

W e  were engaged in 
(Looking after) our flocks 
And herds, and our families: 
Do thou then ask 
Forgiveness for us,” 
They say with their tongues 
What is not in their hearts, 
Say: “Who then has 
Any power at all 
(To intervene) on your behalf 
With Allah, if His will 
Is to give you some loss 
Or to give you some profit?” 
But Allah is well acquainted 
With all that ye do. 
Sumh A1 Fath (48:U) 

Say to thee: 

14. Of no profit whatever 
To them, against Allah, 
Will be their riches 
Nor their sons: 
They will be Companions 
Of the Fire, to dwell 
Therein (for aye)! 
Simh A1 M u j a i l a h  (58:17) 

15. Moses prayed: “Our Lord! 
Thou hast indeed bestowed 
On Pharaoh and his Chiefs 
Splendour and wealth in the life 
Of the Present, and so, 
Our Lord, they mislead (men) 
From Thy Path. Deface, 
Our Lord, the h & s  of their wealth, 
And send hardness to their hearts, 
So they will not believe 
Until they see 
The grievous Penalty.” 
Simh Ywucr (10:88) 

t 



'AbdulHamid AbiiSulaymh Guiding Light xv 

Looking at the verses quoted above, we find again that wherever the Qur'anic 
expression starts with the word amwiil, the word unfirs will consistently follow. 
In the verses where these words do not appear the words used like uhluna 
(our families) or banin (our children) express a similar concept as anfirs and 
in each case these words come last following the word m i i l .  In the same 
way, in some other verses the word an'iim (herds of animals) is used instead 
of amwiil and this word consistently comes before the word umwiil. It is clear 
therefore that the style or the form has no effect because even with a change 
in form, rhythm, or a different w r d ,  the ordering of these two concepts 
remains unchanged, with wealth and property mentioned first and selves 
second. The fact that the sequence remains unchanged no doubt indicates 
that the order has a deep significance and a special meaning. This is indicative 
of the human perception concerning self and material thmgs because the human 
being usually will give priority to possessions and material things, even 
unconsciously placing them before self, so that wealth and material possessions 
become the ultimate goal in life. Individuals pursue material pleasures to 
the point that they become captives of material things and sensual pleasures. 
Some others become servants of their possessions rather than the other way 
round. 

16. And He made you heirs 
Of their lands, their houses, 
And their goods, 
And of a land which 
Ye had not frequented 
(Before). And Allah has 
Power over all things. 
Siimh A1 4 z G b  (33:27) 

17. (Some part is due) 
To the indigent Muhrljirs, 
Those who were expelled 
From their homes and their property, 
While seeking Grace from Allah 
And (His) Good Pleasure, 
And aiding Allah and His Messenger: 
Such are indeed 
The sincere ones- 
Simh A1 Hashr (59:8) 

, 

In the verses mentioned abave we find that the Qur'an ranks wealth and property 
in a certain sequence where ardh (land) comes first, diyar (homeland) second 
and amwiil (property) last. This order most likely indicates how these things 
are ranked in perception and importance by the human mind. 



xvi The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences Vol. 7, No. 1, 1990 

18. Allah hath purchased of the Believers 
Their persons and their goods; 
For theirs (in return) 
Is the Garden (of Paradise): 
They fight in His Cause, 
And slay and are slain: 
A promise binding on Him 
In T ~ t h ,  through the Law, 
The Gospel, and the Qur'h: 
And who is more faithful 
To his Convenant than Allah? 
Then rejoice in the bargain 
Which ye have concluded: 
That is the achievement supreme. 
S i m h  A1 Tawbah (9:ll.l) 

The above verse is the only verse where the Qur'anic sequence has placed 
an@ first and amwul second. But we also notice that this time the verse 
does not address the human perception or condition. The verse expresses 
the order and relationship of Allah (SWT) to man and this world. To Allah 
(SWT) anfus (man: his soul, his will and his intention) is the objective and 
most important thing and comes first. All kinds of material property come 
second. 

The issue of the human soul and material wealth, its perception and 
effect on human life and interaction are very important. Social scientists, 
especially of psychology, sociology, political science, and education should 
look deeply at these issues, the relationship between them and their 
consequences. They should attempt to deal with this issue conceptually and 
relate and analyze its relationship with theories and concepts in the social 
sciences. Social scientists need to lead and conduct proper studies to understand 
these issues in the light of the right, proper and correct understanding of 
Qur'anic (revealed knowledge) direction. 

Social scientists are not just commentators who deduce only the obvious 
surface and literal meaning but are people who should take the lead and pursue 
issues. They study the issue in question and use all kinds of analytical, empirical 
and observational experiments to understand and grasp the full depth of 
meaning of concepts. In this way they offer insight and understanding of ideas 
and phenomena. This is also the way to develop the social sciences, institutions, 
policies and systems.