The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences Vol. 6, No. 2, 1989 ix Guiding Light Selections From the Holy Qur’an Comments by XbdulHamid A . AbuSulaymiin Translation In the name of AuaA, Most Gmcious, Most Memim. 1. 2. 3. Now the ‘Ad behavd Arrogantly through the land, Against (all) truth and reason, And said: W h o is superior To us in strength? What! Did they not see that God, Who created them, Was superior to them In strength? But they Continued to reject Our Signs! SGmh F e & t (41:15) Against them make ready Your strength to the utmost of your power, including Steeds of war, to strike terror Into (the hearts of) the enemies, Of God and your enemies And others besides, whom Ye may not know, but whom God doth knowwhatever Ye shall spend in the Cause Of God, shall be repaid Unto you, and ye shall not Be treated unjustly. Siimh A1 Anfa1 (8x30) He said: “(The power) in which My Lord has established me Is better (than tribute): Help me therefore with strength (And labour): I will Erect a strong barrier Between you and them: xii The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences Vol. 6, No. 2, 1989 the Qur'an explains and applies the concept of power to wealth and children. We find that this use of a term followed by an explanation of its meaning and an illustration of its use in concrete terms is true in the rest of the verses quoted above. The important point that we would like to make in this commentary is that students of the social and human sciences should understand and appreciate the Qur'anic use of verbal nouns. They should look at them conceptually as areas of study, investigate them, and try to understand their scope, magnitude and application. To make our point clear we will take a general look at the following verses: 10. Let not the Unbelievers Think that they can Get the better (of the godly): They will never frustrate (them). 11. Against them make ready Your strength to the utmost Of your power, including Steeds of war, to strike terror Into (the hearts of) the enemies, Of Allah and your enemies, And others besides, whom Ye may not know, but whom Allah doth know. Whatever Ye shall spend in the Cause Of Allah, shall be repaid Unto you, and ye shall not Be treated unjustly. 12. But if the enemy Incline towards peace, Do thou (also) incline Tawards peace, and trust In Allah: for He is the One That hereth and knoweth (All things). 13. Should they intend To deceive thee-verily Allah Sufficeth thee: He it is That hath strengthened thee With His aid and With (the company of) The Believers; 14. And (moreaver) He hath put Affection between their hearts: Not if thou hadst spent AbdulHamid AbGSulaymSn The Guiding Light Vol. 6, No. 2, 1989 ... XI11 15. 16. 17. 18. All that is in the earth, Couldst thou have produced That affection, but Allah Hath done it: for He Is Exalted in might, Wise. 0 Prophet! Sufficient Unto thee is Allah- (Unto thee) and unto those who follow thee Among the Believers 0 Prophet! rouse the Believers To the fight. If there are Twenty amongst you, patient And persevering, they will Vanquish two hundred: if a hundred, They will vanquish a thousand Of the Unbelievers: for these Are a people without understanding For the present, Allah Hath lightened your (task). For He knoweth that there is A weak spot in you: But (even so), if there are A hundred of you, patient And persevering, they will Vanquish two hundred, and if A thousand, they will vanquish Two thousand, with the leave Of Allah: for Allah is with those Who patiently persevere. Sirah- A1 Anfa1 (8.39-66) 3T@/&g&\S- I- -0 s&J(pa; a, 4 1 ~ s ~ .&Ti&&- & . s>0- .I ( l l - o ' l :A) &k S j y In these verses we find the Qur'anic discussion of power is in relation to war and confrontation. Looking at these verses we see that the Qur'an deals with aspects of physical power in terms of trained and ever-ready horses and cavalry as well as fmance which were, in the time of the Prophet, very important components of military power. It also talks in terms of moral power-faith, solidarity and affection as well as patience and perseverance which are implied in the words uZ-mu'min, ullafa and al-subirin. Looking closely at the last two verses (8:65-66) and referring to the classical works of jurisprudence @qh) and commentary on the Qur'an ( t a f - sir) by great scholars of the past such as Shafi'i in his book of jurisprudence, al-Umm and Ibn Kathir in his book of commentary Tafiir Ibn Kathir, it is xiv The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences Voi. 6, No. 2, 1989 interesting to note that they did not pay much attention to the conceptual aspects of these verses related to power. The loss of power (dan was the focus of their attention which they directed to the physical and operational aspects of the particular situation. That is why the conclusion they drew from their study and analysis of these verses was that Muslim fighters should not retreat and turn their backs on the enemy as long as they were no more than double the number of the Muslims. The emphasis here was on physical power, in particular the number of fighters. In the contemporary world with our awareness of the concept of power and its numerous physical and moral components, applications, interrelations and dynamics, we can understand an additional dimension of these verses which actually emphasize the concept of power involved and the different components and dynamics that explain the change from a ratio of one to ten to a ratio of one to two. The reason for this great reduction in the ratio is the changes in the other components of power relationships between the Muslims and their enemies at a particular point in time. In a conceptual study of these verses focusing on the concept of power it becomes clear that in fact these verses minimize the importance attached to the number of fighters and draw our attention to other factors of power; both the physical aspects of power such as armor, and the moral aspects such as faith and perseverance. Through pointing out the loss of the other factors of power ( & . a n ) it shows that the number of fighters is of limited significance and the value and effectiveness of numbers could change drastically. In this case the ratio changes from one to ten to one to two. This is opposed to the conclusions of the jurists who emphasized the number of fighters, ignoring completely the other aspects of power. The wider and more important lesson involved in this commentary is the importance of the conceptual study of the Qur’an and Sunnah. Muslim social scientists should give proper attention to concepts and theorization in their study of the Qur’an and Sunnuh. They should study the application, interrelationship and dynamics of these concepts related to contemporary conditions and realities. The benefits and knowledge derived from the Qur’an and Sunnuh would then be much more useful and functional. The functional and the operational dimensions are very much needed for any successful Muslim performance in the future. The effects of the Muslim lack of attention to the theoretical and conceptual aspects of the Qur’an and Sunnah have been detrimental and because of this we have not been able to face changing situations and achieve an Islamic civilizational presence in the recent centuries. It is important for Muslim scientists and intellectuals to pay attention to and carry out investigation and analysis on information, issues, principles and concepts of the revealed knowledge contained in the Qur’an and Sunnuh. 'AbdulHamid AbuSulaymin Guiding Light xv Muslim intellectuals have to study, understand, theorize and relate to their contemporary situation in order to better understand revealed knowledge and to avoid gross mistakes and great losses in order to attain wider and better horizons of human life and civilization. A M S S EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 1989 - EBl GBNEltALsEcReopRy Dr. Sqyii M. syeed 555 GraR segt HemQo, VA 22JlFl off: (m) 47l-m3/Rcs: 742386