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﴿38﴾ وَالَّذِينَ اسْتَجَابُوا لِرَبِّهِمْ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلاةَ وَأَمْرُهُمْ
شُورَی بَيْنَهُمْ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ
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Hereafter to worldly possessions. Consult with the wise who are knowledgeable and experienced. Do not consult with the avaricious, the timid, and the greedy. Consult with those who are truthful and have no attachments. Reveal your secrets unto them so that they may present their comprehensive and complete opinions. Consultation with the benevolent wise leads to growth and Divine Blessing. Regarding your affairs, consult with one who possesses five excellences: sensibility, knowledge, experience, benevolence, and fear of God Almighty. [1] It is worthy of note that one is supposed to seek consultation regarding the affairs of people, but one is not supposed to do likewise concerning Divine matters, e.g. Resurrection, Imamate, and worship of God. Establishment of prayers is a Divine Covenant and believers are supposed to keep their promise without seeking consultation. Imamate and leading the Muslim community are also Divine Covenants, since Abraham (AS) invoked God Almighty and asked Him to appoint his offspring to lead the community and God Almighty answered to him: “Leadership and Imamate are My Covenants and appointment of individuals to the same is dependent upon My Will rather than your invocation, since wrong-doers do not deserve leadership.” Thus, we should surrender to Him in terms of the leadership of the Muslim community, as it is reflected in the Holy Qur'an, “Indeed, I appoint you as the leader of people.” Imamate depends upon Divine Will, but consultation regards people’s social affairs rather than Injunctions and Divine Laws. It is noteworthy that that Islam is a comprehensive and complete religion in terms of ideological, [1] Tafsīr Nūr, p. 412. |
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ethical, social, economic, religious, and political issues. The present tense indicating progression is employed to express such characteristics. Other characteristics of those who believe in God and in Whom they put their trust is that they act upon Divine Injunctions and establish prayers. In establishing their prayers, they seriously observe the outward aspects, e.g. the order of their parts and conditions, and the inward aspects, e.g. sincerity and presence of mind and all the affairs that lead to the acceptance of their acts by God Almighty. Believers also consult with each other and act upon each other’s discretion. They do not act opinionatedly. Consultation is fruitful in consulting with the wise and scholars since it leads to favorable consequences. Besides, it breeds friendship amongst believers, since they trust each other in their secrets, keep company with them, and seek their own good from them. Furthermore, believers provide others with the material possession, knowledge, recognition, and rank which are all granted to them by God Almighty. They expend their material possessions in the Cause of Allah through bearing aid to the poor and the miserable. They make use of their power and rank to assist the oppressed and the needy. Verse 39 is saying that it is a characteristic of believers who take vengeance upon disbelieving wrong-doers when they are wronged by them. They never surrender to their opponents rather they struggle against them valiantly such that they defeat them, since the humility of Muslims is on a par with that of the Islamic faith. It is worthy of note that it is incumbent upon Muslims to defend themselves with [1] Bihār al-Anwār, vol. 72, p. 105, apud Tafsīr Nimūna. |
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seeking aid from believers. Silence against being wronged is forbidden. It is incumbent upon Muslims to forgive believers but believers are supposed to defend themselves against wrong-doers and seek aid from other believers (“forgive,” “seek succor”). |
