Menstruation

Qur'aanic Verse 2:222:

Transliteration:

222. Wayas-aloonaka AAani almaheedi qul huwa athan faiAAtaziloo alnnisaa fee almaheedi wala taqraboohunna hatta yathurna fa-itha tatahharna fa/toohunna min haythu amarakumu Allahu inna Allaha yuhibbu alttawwabeena wayuhibbu almutatahhireena

Translation:

222. And they ask you about menstruation. Tell them, "It is harmful.^{412, 413} So keep away from women in menstruation, and approach them not till they're cleansed.⁴¹⁴ And when they are cleansed, go to them in the manner decreed for you by Allah.⁴¹⁵ Indeed, Allah loves those who repent and seek forgiveness, and He loves those who keep themselves clean."⁴¹⁶

^{Study Notes:}

412. Every month the uterus of an adult woman, who is not already pregnant and who has not reached the age of menopause, prepares itself for pregnancy. It prepares itself to welcome, nourish and help develop an impregnated egg for over nine months to transform it into a human form ready to come out into the open world. The preparation results in a thickened lining of the inner wall of the uterus.

413. But if the pregnancy does not happen, the thickened lining of the uterus wall gets damaged and is shed out through the vagina in the form of tissues and blood. This draining of the damaged uterus lining is known as menstruation, menses or 'the monthly period' in women. A menstruating woman could be in a vulnerable state, both mentally and physically.

414. Recent studies have revealed that there is a greater risk of transmitting AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases through sexual intercourse during menstruation. The onslaught of AIDS in recent times could be a direct consequence of the ignorance of or blatant disregard for this divine guidance/command. Man's welfare lies in the obedience of Allah's directives.

415. Aberrations in sexual behaviour like indulging in anal sex, being unnatural and therefore not as per the divine design, are obviously not as decreed by Allah.

416. The All-knowing Allah has made the sex urge strong, obviously for the purpose of the procreation of mankind till the Last Day. It is so strong that even the pious may be tempted to taste the forbidden fruit, sometimes. That is why Allah promises forgiveness for those who may commit a sin in this regard, unintentionally, and then repent and sincerely resolve not to commit the sin again. Please also take note of the importance given to maintenance of cleanliness in general.

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An extract from soon-to-be-published, inshaAllah, Qur'aanic Studies.

Mohammad Shafi

The Anarchist

Qur'aanic Verses 2:204 & 2:205:

Transliterations:

204. Wamina alnnasi man yuAAjibuka qawluhu fee alhayati alddunya wayushhidu Allaha AAala ma fee qalbihi wahuwa aladdu alkhisami

205. Wa-itha tawalla saAAa fee al-ardi liyufsida feeha wayuhlika alhartha waalnnasla waAllahu la yuhibbu alfasada

Translations:

204. And among mankind is one, who impresses you with his utterances in this worldly life. And he cites Allah as witness to what's there in his heart. And he's very skilful in argument!

205. And when he turns away, he endeavours on the earth, to spread anarchy therein and destroy the field³⁵⁷ and the race. And Allah doesn't like anarchy! ^{358 to 361}

^{Study Notes:}

357. In the Arabic text, the word used is huarth. Normally, it means a plot of land set apart for agricultural production. But in Verse 2:223, the same word has been beautifully and appropriately used as a simile for a man's woman. Women are obviously fields for production of human beings for the continuity of human races. In the modern scenario, huarth could also stand for a factory producing industrial goods. A field/factory producing agricultural/industrial goods symbolises property, and together with race (nasl), it would symbolise 'life & property'.

358. In these Verses, being studied here, the character depicted is that of a person who says one thing and does quite the opposite. We do come across such persons very often. And if we were to make an honest peep into our own souls, we may find that we ourselves have been guilty of such behaviour! When we declare ourselves as Muslims, we declare that we are those who abide by the Qur'aan. But do we totally abide by it? Anything we do with our own free will, in contradiction to Qur'aanic teachings, does add to anarchy in this world. We do conveniently forget this.

359. Anarchy is the catalyst that helps destroy not only life and property but also humanity. In the relatively recent past, we have had the example of Hitler who mesmerised the German people, with his speeches, into the belief that theirs is the best race that can easily conquer other peoples and rule over them. The destruction of life and property, which he wrought through his wars and his infamous concentration camps, is part of history. But Hitler also destroyed the humanity of the industrious and intelligent German people. He destroyed the character of a good human race.

360. Let us now consider the significance of taking huarth to mean a man's consort. Allah has made her the basic entity which can substantially influence the character of a person – her son or daughter, growing up in her lap. Some characteristics, good or bad, of the mother are liable to be subconsciously transmitted to the child in her lap. And these characteristics could form the basis of the child's character.

361. The person described in these Verses endeavours to spoil the mothers' character. In the guise of a champion of the feminists, he draws them out of their homes, and from their babes, to be equal to men in any field of worldly activity – be it politics or, even wrestling! In the name of their liberty, he entices young ladies to be socialites, wearing increasingly revealing dresses. Their semi-nakedness suits the carnal desires of the males; and apparently everybody is happy. But this social behaviour leads, imperceptibly but surely, to moral degradation that permeates the developing minds of boys and girls. They tend to copy what they see their elders doing. It is thus that the person described in Verses 2:204 & 2:205 tries to destroy the whole race by first destroying the "huarth". History teaches us that moral degradation of a people leads ultimately to their annihilation as any force to reckon with, in this very world.

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An extract from soon-to-be-published, inshaAllah, Qur'aanic Studies.

Mohammad Shafi

The Signs

Qur'aanic Verse 2:164:

Transliteration:

164. Inna fee khalqi alssamawati waal-ardi waikhtilafi allayli waalnnahari waalfulki allatee tajree fee albahri bima yanfaAAu alnnasa wama anzala Allahu mina alssama-i min ma-in faahya bihi al-arda baAAda mawtiha wabaththa feeha min kulli dabbatin watasreefi alrriyahi waalssahabi almusakhkhari bayna alssama-i waal-ardi laayatin liqawmin yaAAqiloona

Translation:

164. Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, in the contrast between the day and the night, in the ship that sails on the sea with things beneficial to mankind, in what Allah sends down of water from the sky bringing the earth back to life after it was dead, in every kind of animals dispersed therein, in the winds changing their directions, and in the clouds under divine control between the sky and the earth, are compelling signs for people who make use of their intelligence.^{264 to 268}

^{Study Notes:}

264. A study of the Qur'aan reveals that the Messengers, who came before Muhammad (peace be upon him and upon them all), were given some extraordinary signs to convince people of the existence of an absolute solitary Power controlling the entire Universe and also to convince them of the Messengers being the really authorised ones from that Power. The earlier Messengers came when the level of general knowledge among the people was low. Their (people's) knowledge therefore needed to be supplemented by divinely given 'miracles'. But the last Messenger, Muhammad, came at the threshold of an era in which human knowledge would proliferate. The proliferation of human knowledge, combined with the divinely endowed human intelligence, became sufficient for people to recognise the Absolute Solitary Power. The supplement of 'miracles' was no more needed. The people are now in a position to recognize the Power from the signs that abound in Nature.

265. This divine exhortation made in this Verse for study of Natural phenomena, moreover, imbibed the scientific spirit, of reason and research, in the minds of the believers. Consequently, a number of thinkers in various fields like medicine, mathematics, physics, astronomy, literature etc. arose in the Muslim world, who were instrumental in laying the foundation of the scientific renaissance that the world is witnessing today. It was from the works of those great Muslim scientists and thinkers of the middle Ages that the Western world got the basics to develop from. And it makes one sad to think that while the Westerners built the scientific edifice of the modern world on the foundation laid by the Muslims, the Muslim world itself lost the scientific spirit with the weakening of their Faith in the Qur'aan!

266. 'The creation of the heavens and the earth' is the first Aayat (Sign) referred to in this divine Verse. And we have already seen in Chapter Notes 20 and 21 how the seven layers of the earth's atmosphere have been meticulously and correctly designed to act as a protective shield and a provider of sustenance for all living creatures on the earth. Only an unreasonable fool would dismiss this wonderfully exquisite arrangement as a mere accident of nature. And then we have this mind-boggling spectacle of innumerable heavenly bodies floating in their respective orbits with such mathematical precision that they never bump into one another accidentally. We cannot but marvel at the Power Who no doubt made all this possible – consciously and purposefully. It would be irrational and unscientific for anyone to think of it as a mere accident in nature.

267. As regards the other Signs mentioned in the Verse, the night, following the day in every 24-hour cycle in time, is an obvious provision made for rest, without which human life is impossible to be sustained. Further, had it not been for the facility of navigation by sea, transport of tonnes and tonnes of merchandise from one part of the world to another wouldn't have been easy. Had it not been for the periodic rains, there wouldn't be the recurring stock of vegetable products necessary for sustenance of any kind of life on earth. One who ponders deeply can easily detect that some Extraordinarily Intelligent Power is guiding the directions of the cloud-bearing winds to bring rains to regions, as desired by that Unseen Power. The sprouting of vegetation on dry earth after a rainfall, moreover, provides an indication that human life could likewise be resurrected even after death.

268. With my limited knowledge, I have barely touched on the immense significance of the Signs mentioned in this Verse. Persons with adequate knowledge and resources could write volumes and volumes on the significance – and on the sciences – of these Signs. All these Signs, however, unmistakably point to the Hidden Hand of the Supremely Super Power.

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An extract from soon-to-be-published, inshaAllah, Qur'aanic Studies

Mohammad Shafi