Qur'aanic Verses 2:204 & 2:205:
Transliterations:
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.
An extract from soon-to-be-published, inshaAllah, Qur'aanic Studies.
