| Maghdzuub
Alayhim: In the general sense of the terminology,
its lexicography and wider connotation, unique type of `wrath',
in every case, befell those who were angered upon, as the
process of `excision’ in history! Each episode is exhibited
quite conspicuously on the highway of history, presenting
a unique example of admonishment and excision.
The Quran is the Book for ever. Its statements
hold good for the future as much as they have proved true
in the past and stand test of the day. In the Tradition, the
specific reference of this statement to the Jews in the past,
also brings out curious aspects of the history of these people,
as they were unique in many respects of having been chosen.
They were specially favoured. They represented a conspicuous
class in their character and conduct. The consequential response
to their behaviour and treatment meted out to them by different
forces in history, are not only unique but exemplary. History
has recorded many such accounts,
e.g:
“The first scourge that visited them in
their own kingdoms set up by them, one each in northern and
southern Palestine, was between 722 B.C., when the Assyrians
ransacked their northern state expelling them from there and
sending them in forced exile in Babylon, and 587 B.C.,.when
Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the southern state in Palestine,
pillaging Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple, in which idols
were kept and worshiped by the Jews..This is corroborated
by the contemporary Jewish Prophet Isiah (Peace be upon him),
whose prayer to God, on the eve of the Assyrian invasion is
recorded (Book of Isaiah, 2-6 to 8), in these words:
“O God! You have forsaken your people,
the descendents of Jacob.
The land is full of magic practices,
from the east and from Philistia.
The people follow foreign customs..
Their land is full of idols and
they worship objects
that they have made with their own hands.”
(Book of
Isaiah, 2-6 to 8)
“..They
got respite when Cyrus, the great and just Persian ruler,
who conquered Babylon and Palestine in 539 B.C., about 60
years after Nebuchadnezar’s onslaught, allowed the Israelites
to resettle in their lost kingdom and rebuild Solomon’s
Temple..They kept on living in peaceful condition for quite
some time, compromising with Alexander’s generals and,
later, with the Romans, who displaced the Greeks. But their
moral depravity, during this peaceful period when they enjoyed
internal autonomy under their ruler `Herod, the great’
and his successors, had become proverbial.
“Mere reference to Salome, the dancing seductress,
at whose bidding the ruling king from Herod’s clan got
Prophet John (Peace be upon him), the Baptist’s head
severed, would make the readers imagine the kind of degenerate
Israelite society that existed before the second scourge of
God visited their homes in 70 A.D...When the Roman generals
thought enough was enough, they occupied Jerusalem, massacring
thousands and thousands of them, destroying their Temple and
ridding Palestine of Jewish presence till they reappeared,
after about two thousand years, when the Turkish caliphate
was dismembered at the close of World War I (1914-18).
“Perhaps the final judgement of God about
the Israelites is contained in Quran’s Surah 3-11-12:
“Ignominy shall be their lot, wherever they
are found,except where they grasp a rope from God, and a rope
from men”.3-12
“The
Quran closed the chapter of Israelite history in these words:
“God has dispersed them in the world
as separate nations,
some of them are righteous and some far from that”
7-168
(Jafar Wafa,
Quranic account of Israelites, The Dawn, 12.1.2001)
“The
experience of exile is central to Jewish self-consciousness.
The pattern of exile began when the Babylonian empire carried
off the inhabitants of the Judaean kingdom in the 6th century
BCE… After the destruction of the second temple (70
CE) and the crushing of the Bar Cochba revolt against Roman
rule (135 CE), Jewish life in Palestine deteriorated. From
the 4th century the Christian Church imposed various discriminatory
restrictions on Jews, and these have shaped the history of
the Jews in Christian Europe upto the modern period. The
Jews were expelled from England in 1290 CE, from France in
1394 CE, from different parts of Germany in the 14th and 15th
centuries, from Spain in 1492 CE, and from Portugal in 1499
CE. The Nazi massacres destroyed the old European
communities (holocaust), and the center of Jewish Cultural
life has shifted to Israel and the USA since 1945.
“Antagonism to Jews on religion, economic,
or racial grounds (is known as Anti-Semitism). Prejudice against
Jews was wide spread in the pre-Christian era, but active
persecution of Jews is inextricably bound up with Christian
attitudes towards them. They were accused of being deicides,
collectively responsible for the death of Jesus (Peace be
upon him). They were thought to desecrate the consecrated
wafer used in the Eucharist, and to perform the ritual murder
of Christian children whose blood went into the unleavened
bread eaten at Passover. This latter accusation, known as
`blood libel’, was often the excuse
for Christian `programs’ (organized attacks against
Jews), ending in pillage, rape and massacre. During
the Middle Ages Jews were expelled from almost every country
of Christian Europe. They were forbidden to own land
or engage in the crafts, but were restricted to lending money
at interest or to peddling.. The influence of Christianity
on anti-Semitism may be seen by comparing the situation of
Jews in Christian lands with that of the Jews in Islamic countries.
In the latter they were second-class citizens, having to pay
special taxes, but they were rarely forced to convert to another
faith, or to live at the mercy of mob rule.” (John R.
Hinnels, Dictionary of Religions, pp. 44-45, 119-120,).
Exodus, destruction
of the Temple (71 C.E)., persecution of Jews by Romans and
Christians and also Jewish revolts provide some of the horrifying
accounts of persecution of Jews. The latest examples of World
War-II, and the detailed accounts of the holocaust, still
vivid in memories and precisely preserved in the concentration
camps are unforgettable! Persecution of Christians at the
hands of Jews is yet another darker chapter of human history.
Wa-lladzualliin: Those who wandered
and went stray present a lesson for learning in the history.
Just look at the debate and `conclusion' in favour of trinity
at the Niceae Council in 325 A.C.!
Unique terminology and phraseology make this Surah
unique in all respects, specially in eloquence and emphasis
on the Unity of `Uluuhiyat' and `Rubuubiyat'.
Beside each of above aspects being unique, the whole Surah
is unique in all respects of simplicity and `scientificity’.
Names
and Titles:According to Ali Muhammad, ‘Anwaarul
Bayaan,’ (p.2), `Al-Fathu’ means to remove bends
and complications. It has two connotations: it may either
be visible to eye or something in perception and vision. Al-Faatihah
is called Umm-ul Quran (Mother of the Quran) and Umm-ul Kitaab
(Mother of the Book) because of its content and subject matter
covering whole of the Quran. It is termed as the Essence of
the Quran and its verse No.5 is termed as the essence of this
Surah. Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah (Peace
be upon him) said:
“Al-Hamdu Lillaahi Rabbil-Aalamiin is the
Mother of the Quran, the Mother of the Book, and the seven
repeated Aayaat of the Glorious Quran”.
Umm-Ul Quran also means the Core
of The Quran. Abul Kalam Azad has elaborated this term in
Tarjumaanul Quran: “In Arabic, the term `Umm’
applies to concepts and objects which, in one form or another,
bear inclusive connotation, or by virtue of which, assume
the role of genitives…So to style this chapter as Umm-ul
Quran is to acknowledge that in its tense comprehensiveness,
it concentrates within its ambit the thought-content of the
entire Quran, and that, on that account, it rightly deserves
the place of honour among its chapters”.
“And indeed,
We have bestowed upon you,
the seven of Mathaani
(seven repeatedly recited verses), and
the Grand Quran” 15-87.
According
to Hadiith and Athar the reference in above verse is to Surah
Al-Faatihah; for, it not only consists of seven verses, but
is repeatedly recited in five- time daily prayer. It is also
called Sab’a al-Mathaani i.e., the Oft repeated Seven
or the Seven Recitals. There are different names given to
this Surah. Each name of Al-Faatihah emphasizes a particular
aspect of its importance. Some of them are:
Al-Kaafia (the Sufficient): In
prayer it can be recited instead of other Surah but it can
not be replaced by any other Surah, in its obligatory recitation
at the start of the Raka’a.
Al-Kanz: (the Treasure House).
Asaasul Quran (the Basis of the
Quran).
Waafia’, because it is recited as a whole Surah in the
prayer and not partly as other Surah can be i.e. just like
some verses of any Surah.
Al-Hamd, as it starts with Praise
of Allah. The first half of Al-Faatihah mentions The Most
Beautiful Best Attributes and Thankful Praises of Allah. The
next half is a supplication, a submission in prayer, general
as well as specific in nature, to Allah.
Ash-Shifa (the Cure)
Ar-Ruqya ( the Remedy): According to the narration of Abu
Saiid, it was reported to the Prophet (Peace be upon him)
that one of the companions (may Allah be pleased with him)
used it as a remedy (Ruqya) for the tribal chief who was poisoned.
As-Salaah: It is compulsory to be recited in each Raka'a of
the prayer. Its recitation is a condition for the validity
of the prayer.
A’azam-as-Surah
Quran-Ul Azeem (Great Quran,
Exalted Reading).
Ibn Abbas called it the Foundation of
the Quran.
According to Tafsir Usmani, “God revealed
this Surah in the direct narration of His servants, meaning
thereby that whenever they come in His Presence for worship
they should beseech God in this way.. This is why one of its
names is also Ta’leem-ul Mas-alaa.”
According to Abu Masood Hassan Alvi, in Tadrees
Lughatul Quran, Allama Suyuuti has given 25 names of Al-Fatihaah.
Basic
Principles: Al-Faatihah
basically brings to light that all sincere and thankful praise,
all the time and everywhere in the heavens and the earth,
is only for the Creator-Sustainer-Lord (Allah) of all worlds-creation.
This highlights the most
in obediently praiseful submission,
in word and deed, to the Creator important aspect of intelligent
existence of life, what science now describes as awareness
or consciousness. All the time being-Cherisher, means
being God conscious, all the time. His Awe and Reverence create
masterly fear of His Lordship which saves from all other stress,
strain and psychopathic or psychic fear of any kind from any
object or idea.
(“Reverence
of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom..”Psalms 111-10)
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