Quranic Social Understanding

The Qur ani c Soci al Under st andi ng?
w w w . h i k m a t e q u r a n . o r g
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I n t he Name of Al l ah, t he Most Benef i cent , t he Most Mer ci f ul
My Lor d! I ncr ease me i n k now l edge

What i s
The Qur ani c
Soci al Under st andi ng?

The st ages of his cult ural and social life, t he man has passed
t hrough from his creat ion t o dat e, his four capacit ies have been wit h all of
human beings grant ed. The Quran has clearly demarcat ed mans t hese
four capacit ies, by which he can build a virt uous and prosperous societ y.
According t o t he Quran t he balance of syst emat ic order of t hese four
capacit ies, i. e. t he I ndividual, family, nat ion and t he int ernat ionalism
appears like t his:

Man: I ndividual, Family, Nat ion, I nt ernat ionalism
I ndividual: Personalit y, self/ ego
Family: Children, Parent s and relat ives
Nat ion: Tribes, societ y
I nt ernat ionalism: Nat ions, Millat
MAN
INDIVIDUAL FAMILY NATION
INTERNATIONALISM
NATIONS MILLAT TRIBES SOCIETY CHILDREN PARENTS &
RELATIVES
PERSONALITY EGO /
SELF

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Fi r st Uni t of Soci al Li f e The I ndi v i dual
The t erm Nafs ( ego/ self) has been used in t he Quran for human
personalit y, human underst anding and human self.

Human per sonal i t y
The man is one of count less creat ures creat ed by Allah, whom Allah
has preferred above all creat ures.

, ,, , ., _

, _. ,

) , - 70 (
And indeed We have honoured t he Children of Adam,
and We have carried t hem on land and sea, and have
provided t hem wit h lawful good t hings, and have
preferred t hem above many of t hose whom We have
creat ed wit h a marked preference. [ Al- I sra 17: 70]
Allah, t he Exalt ed has best owed His creat ure wit h a number of
qualit ies. The human personalit y, in act ual fact , is t he name of t he
collect iveness ( whole) of t hose qualit ies. I t is a st at e of mans
underst anding, which implies t hinking, facult y t o reflect and deliberat ion,
by which a man becomes a rat ional creat ure. I n t he honour of man, t he
ment ion of plying on t he oceans and riding in desert s alludes t o t he
dignit y of man by dint of mans creat ive facult ies. This is why Hazrat
Shah Rafiuddin defines man, t hus:
Who t hinks by reason and makes t hings by t ools, is t he
man inhabit ing t he eart h. [ Takmilul Azahan p. 25]
The Quran t ells us t hat human personalit y is a permanent unit and he
himself is responsible of his own deeds.
.

,.

) 38 (
Every person is pledge for what he has earned, [ Al- Muddat ht hir 74: 38]


3
. .

, ,

. ) . - 19 (
( I t will be) t he Day when no person shall have power
( t o do) anyt hing for anot her, and t he Decision, t hat Day,
will be ( wholly) wit h Allah. [ Al- I nfit ar 82: 19]

Human Soul
According t o t he Quran, t he second part of human personalit y is
human soul. This second part on t he part of man for accomplishment of
his worldly vicegerence is a t rust achieved by his own accord, on which
t he man has complet e cont rol. This t rust , t he man is ent rust ed wit h at
t he t ime of his birt h was in a complet e and balanced condit ion. Whoever
succeeds in carrying t his t o t he Presence of Allah and did not let it s
balance t o det eriorat e is a successful one. And whoever allowed it s
balance t o det eriorat e would be unsuccessful. The soundness of t he
balance depends basically on t he lawful earning and benefit ing ot her
humans. By t hese t wo deeds t he balance of human soul remains int act
and consolidat ed. While by t he oppression, no mat t er which form, it s
balance is damaged. The oppression i. e. somet hing against j ust ice, how
insignificant it is, produces negat ive effect s on human self t o some ext ent
or t he ot her. The more t his balance det eriorat es, t he lesser possibilit ies of
success in t he hereaft er are t here. This is why, t he fait hful has been
commanded in t he Quran t o guard against t he Soul. I f a man cont inues
doing good deeds and persist s on earning lawful livelihood, t hen t here is
a st age when t he man becomes pleased wit h his God and God becomes
pleased wit h His servant . This st age is, in t he Quranic t erminology, called
Secure Soul, which is t he goal and ult imat e aim in human life.

Second Uni t of Soci al Li f e The f ami l y
The Quran, in family life, st resses on t he delicacies of t he
relat ionship wit h children, parent s and relat ives. I n it , t he inclinat ion of

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j ust ice and balance has been given for t he relat ionship wit h children and
close relat ives, but wit h parent s t he I hsan is commanded.
Chi l dr en
This relat ion is connect ed wit h t he dept hs of human nat ure; despit e
t hat t he man prefers his own choices blindly, t o t he ext ent t hat at t he
t ime of fear he get s ready t o kill his children and in t he st at e of t heir love
he becomes alien and st ranger t owards his Creat or and Lord. This is why
t he Quran has repeat edly drawn mans at t ent ion t o t he balance of fear
and love. I t says:
.

) , 31 (
And kill not your children for fear of povert y. We
provide for t hem and for you. . . . [ Al- I sra 17: 31]
Whosoever owing t o t he fear of povert y t ry t o st op childrens birt h
or wit h int ent ion t o save resources for sons prevent daught ers from being
born or kill t hem, t hose are ext reme criminals of humanit y. Some people
for t he fear of povert y set t heir children t o work and dont arrange for
t heir educat ion and t raining; it is also t ant amount t o killing. The Quran
says on t he ot her:
. , ,

. ,

. .,
) - 9 (
O ye who believe! Let not your propert ies or your
children divert you from t he remembrance of Allah.
And whosoever does t hat , t hen t hey are t he losers.
[ Al- Munafiqun 63: 9]
The man get s so ent angled in t he mire of worldly t hings in order t o
mult iply his wealt h and for unending fut ure of his children t hat he fails t o
observe his relat ionship wit h his Creat or and Sust ainer Allah get t ing
weaker and t hus by ent angling in t he mire he sust ains a loss. Therefore,
t he concern for children should be t o t he ext ent t hat t he man should not
be near t o break his relat ionship wit h God.

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Par ent s
I n t he family t he first and foremost dut y on t he man is t o respect
and serve his parent s and t o favour t hem is commanded:
. . ,
. . . . . .

. ,

. .. . ,,

. .

_
_ . _ _ . _.

_ .

) - 15 (
And We have enj oined on man to be dutiful and kind to his parents.
His mother bears him with hardship and she brings him forth with
hardship, and the bearing of him, and the weaning of him is thirty
(30) months, till when he attains full strength and reaches forty years,
he says: My Lord! Grant me the power and ability that I may be
grateful for Your Favour which you have bestowed upon me and upon
my parents, and that I may do righteous good deeds, such as please
You, and make my off-spring good. Truly, I have turned to You in
repentance, and truly, I am one of the Muslims (submitting to Your
Will). [ Al-Ahqaf 46: 15]
Every kind of service t o t hem is st ressed here. At one place it is
ment ioned t hat :
. . .

, . ., .

.

, ., ,

., . ,

. _

, . ,

) , - 23 - 25 (
And your Lord has decreed t hat you worship none but Him.
And t hat you be dut iful t o your parent s. I f one of t hem or
bot h of t hem at t ain old age in your life, say not t o t hem a
word of disrespect , nor shout at t hem but address t hem in
t erms of honour. And lower unt o t hem t he wing of
submission and humilit y t hrough mercy, and say: My Lord!
Best ow on t hem Your Mercy as t hey did bring me up when I
was small. Your Lord knows best what is in your inner-

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selves. I f you are right eous, t hen, verily, He is Ever Most
Forgiving t o t hose who t urn unt o Him again and again in
obedience, and in repent ance. [ Al- I sra 17: 23- 25]
Cl ose Rel at i v es
The Quran, for wort hwhile and effect ive life of t he man alongside
j ust ice and behaviour for favour, has clearly commanded t he relat ionship
wit h close relat ives at t aching great import ance t o t hat :

) - 90 (
Verily, Allah enj oins j ust ice and worshipping none but
Allah Alone, and t o be pat ient in performing your dut ies t o
Allah, t ot ally for Allahs sake and in accordance wit h t he
legal ways of t he Prophet ( S. A. W. ) in a perfect manner, and
giving help t o kit h and kin. . .. [ An- Nahl 16: 90]
As t he man feels uneasy seeing t he needs of his family and t ries t o
meet t hem, in t he same way he should be sensit ive wit h regard t o ot her
close relat ives needs. Every affluent person should not reckon only his or
his familys right on his riches but he should include fulfilling t he dut ies
wit h regard t o his relat ives. The Quran count s giving ( in t he way of Allah)
t he essent ial part of fait h and wherever t he ment ion of spending is made,
it is commanded t o include t he close relat ives aft er parent s in giving ( in
t he way of Allah) . Thereaft er, it is commanded t o spend on orphans, t he
poor and t ravellers; and t hose who did so, will earn t he pleasure and
blessings of Allah, t he Exalt ed.
. .,
,

.
, _, ,

., . ,
) - 215 (
They ask you ( O Muhammad S. A.W. ) what t hey should
spend. Say: What ever you spend of good must be for
parent and kindred and orphans and t he poor and t he
wayfarers, . . . [ Al- Baqarah 2: 215]


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, . _

. ., .

. .,

) - 38 (
So give t o t he kindred his due, and t o t he poor and t o t he
wayfarer. That is t he best for t hose who seek Allahs
count enance, and it is t hey who will be successful. [ Ar-
Rum 30: 38]
Allah has t old us peace and prosperit y as a safe and secure fort , it s
road essent ially passes across t he highway of spending. He says t hat t he
abundance of providence is achieved on t he basis t hat parent s, orphans,
t he poor and wayfarers have right on it . Whoever fulfills it would have His
pleasure and benefit from His mercy and blessing.
Thi r d Uni t of Soci al Li f e - Nat i on
Nat ion is t he t hird communit y inst it ut ion of human societ y. For t he
int roduct ion of human beings Allah, t he Exalt ed has dubbed t he exist ence
of nat ions His Will.

) - 12 (
...And you were made nations and tribes so that you may be
recognized... [ Al-Hujurat 49: 13] (Translation I mam Raghib I sfahani)
Through t hese t wo inst it ut ions of human cult ure, nat ion and t ribe,
t he cont inuit y of t he recognit ion of man is essent ial. But bot h of t hese
recognit ions are not t he basis of mans honour and dignit y. This is why,
t he Quran says: Verily, t he most honourable of you wit h Allah is t hat
who is pious. The Quran has t old us languages as t he basis of building
nat ions, t he t hird inst it ut ion of human beings in cult ural life. I t says:

, ,, .
) . - 4 (
And We sent not a Messenger except wit h t he
language of his people . . . . [ I brahim 14: 4]


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And Allah, t he Exalt ed has included t he diversit y of languages in His
signs by His wondrous power in t he same way as t he eart h and heavens
have been creat ed by his wondrous power.
.

,

, . _

) - 22 (
And among His Signs is t he creat ion of t he heavens and
t he eart h, and difference of your languages and colours. . .
[ Ar- Rum 30: 22]
The freedom of human beings is dear t o Allah, so t hat t hey could
exercise t heir will in choosing one of good or bad and t rut h or false. I n
t he same way, t he freedom of nat ions is dear t o Allah, so t hat nat ions
could follow t he nat ural ways of t heir individual and collect ive life wit hout
any force or enslavement . Therefore, whenever in t he hist ory t he
enslavement s were imposed on individuals or nat ions, Allah provided t he
opport unit ies for get t ing out of t hose enslavement s t hrough prophet s and
reformers. The det ails of all prophet s such st ruggles are ment ioned
everywhere in t he Quran. To bring an end t o t he slavery imposed on Bane
I srael by t he Pharaohs of Egypt , t he st ruggle by Moses is repeat edly
ment ioned in t he Quran. Moses cat egorically proclaimed freedom of Bane
I srael in t he court of Pharaoh:
_-

) 105 (
So let t he Children of I srael depart along wit h me . [ Al- Araf 7: 105]
These freedoms of individuals and nat ions are favorit es of Allah for
building bet t er personalit y and societ y. Thereaft er, individuals have t he
responsibilit y t o achieve t he goal of bet t er family, and t he nat ions as a
bet t er millat .
Soci et y
The set t lement of human being t hat is built by t ribes and nat ions,
for t hat t he t erm Al- Qaryat u or Al- Qura has been used in t he Quran.
I mam Raghib I sfahani writ es in his book Mufarradat : Al- qaryat u is a

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place where people get t oget her and set t le, t hus, as a whole, t he t wo
places are called Qaryah . ( page 846) . The gat hering of human beings
and t heir place is also called Qaryah .
To guide human set t lement s t o t he right pat h prophet s and
reformers kept on raising from Allah, t he Exalt ed. Allah, t he Exalt ed has
complet ely guided all of t he people of human societ y, relat ionships and t o
run inst it ut ions t hrough t he revealed t eachings in every age. The
societ ies, t hat complied wit h t hat t eaching, enj oyed peace, securit y and
sat isfact ion. But t he societ ies t hat rej ect ed t hat t eaching and adopt ed t he
way of t yranny and inj ust ice t o prot ect t heir viciousness and int erest s,
t he nat ure t ook t hem int o it s grasp.

.

.
) . - 102 (
Such is t he Seizure of your Lord when He seizes t he
( populat ion of) t owns while t hey are doing wrong. Verily,
His Seizure is painful, and severe. [ Hud 11: 102]
I n all set t lement s and societ ies guide and warners were sent . Those
set t lement s were given t ime t o improve. Despit e t hat when t hey crossed
all limit s of t yranny and inj ust ice, dest ruct ion became t heir dest iny.
_ . ., .
. ,

_.,

,.

) - 59 (
And never will your Lord destroy the towns (populations) until
He sends to their mother town a Messenger reciting to them Our
Verses. And never would We destroy the towns unless the
people thereof are wrong-doers. [ Al-Qasas 28: 59]
The Quran invit es t o change such a t yrant societ y:
, _ . .

,. .

.,.
) - 75 (
And what is wrong with you that you fight not in the Cause of
Allah, and for those weak, ill-treated and oppressed among men,

10
women, and children, whose cry is: Our Lord! Rescue us from this
town whose people are oppressors; ... [ An-Nisa 4: 75]
I n explanat ion of t he t wo classes - weak and conceit ed, t he Quran
has clearly explained t hat t he class of conceit ed is a class of rebels and
vicious against Allah, t hat t aking His servant s in slavery exploit s t heir
resources and t hus becomes a t yrant one.
I n such sit uat ion, t here are clear commands of t he Quran t o change
t he societ y and est ablish it on t he basis of j ust ice by gat hering t he
st rengt h of t he weak, so t hat t he servant s of Allah, may be able t o hand
t hemselves t o Him fully for His pleasure freely, sat isfact orily and
peacefully. Such a societ y which places people and nat ions in slavery and
under highhandedness by dint of power or put women and children in
slavery, in t hese t wo sit uat ions t here are t he Quranic commands for it s
believers t o adopt every way of resist ance necessarily. Or if it is not
possible in any way except ing war, t hen t he Quran has not only
demanded t his last act ion ment ioned in t he above verse but has declared
t his war against t yranny as a war for t he cause of Allah.
Allah allows t ime t o t he whole of t he societ y unt il t he effort s are
under way t o change such a t yrant syst em, t hat possibly t hese people
may change t hemselves t heir condit ion. Then Allah prot ect s t he blessed
ones who are engaged in t his good deed. But when t he maj orit y is not
ready, in any way, for change, t hen t hey aft er declared guilt y under
Divine law are punished accordingly.

_

,
) . 117 - 116 (
I f only t here had been among t he generat ions before you,
persons having wisdom, prohibit ing ( ot hers) from crimes in t he
eart h, except a few of t hose whom We saved from among t hem.
Those who did wrong pursued t he enj oyment of good t hings of
( t his worldly) life, and were criminals. And your Lord would never

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dest roy t he t owns wrongfully, while t heir people were right - doers.
[ Hud 11: 116-117]
Four t h Uni t of Soci al Li f e I nt er nat i onal i sm
I t is posit ive and according t o Allahs will t hat we find nat ions in
I slam for int roduct ion of human beings. But I slam want s t he nat ions t o be
act ive in I nt ernat ionalism alongside permanent st at us, so t hat t hrough it
in t he form of t he People, vast human congregat ion could be est ablished.
Nat i ons
As Allah does not like His servant s t o be in individual slavery,
exploit at ion and being t heir servant s apart from Him, in t he same way He
never likes t he slavery and exploit at ion of t he organized cult ural
congregat ion of humans i. e. Nat ion . Therefore, whenever t he human
beings have been subj ugat ed under force and power, t hen Allah, t he
Exalt ed, make arrangement s t hrough someone for t he freedom and
deliverance of nat ions. The Quran says:
, .,, .
,,

, ,

, .,

) - 40 (
. . . For had it not been t hat Allah checks one set of people by
means of anot her, monast eries, churches, synagogues, and
mosques, wherein t he Name of Allah is ment ioned much
would surely have been pulled down. Verily, Allah will help
t hose who help His ( Cause) . Truly, Allah is All- St rong, All-
Might y. [ Al- Haj j 22: 40]
The Quran enj oins following t he j ust ice in cult ural life wit h t he
int roduct ion of, so t hat t heir wishes, int erest , needs should not reach t o
t he ext ent t hat t hey dont care t o dispense j ust ice wit h ot her nat ions.
Therefore Allah says:
. . _.

.,

) - 8 (
...and let not the enmity and hatred of others make you avoid

12
j ustice. Be j ust: that is nearer to piety, and fear Allah. Verily, Allah
is Well-acquainted with what you do. [ Al-Maidah 5: 8]
Rel i gi ous Communi t y
The origin of Divine Fait h is mankinds unit y and frat ernit y. All of
t he prophet s of Allah, who appeared in t his world, t aught t he same t hing
t hat you all act ually are one communit y and t he Sust ainer of you all is
only One Sust ainer. Therefore, you all need t o worship t hat only One
Sust ainer.
The Quran says in t he very beginning t he human being lived a
nat ural life and t hey experienced no disagreement and no enmit y among
t hemselves. Then it so happened t hat because of human maj orit y and
economical needs, so many differences t ook place and t hose differences
t ook shape of sect s and t yranny. Every group began t o look down upon
t he ot her and every powerful began t o t rample t he right s of powerless.
When such kind of sit uat ion arose, it became necessary t hat t he revealed
light should appear for t he guidance of mankind and j ust ice and
right eousness; hence, t he light appeared and a chain of prophet s of Allah
was set up for preaching and invit ing people t o Allah.

,
,

.

. ,

) , - 213 (
Mankind were one communit y and Allah sent Prophet s wit h
glad t idings and warnings, and wit h t hem He sent t he
Script ure in t rut h t o j udge bet ween people in mat t ers wherein
t hey differed. . . [ Al- Baqarah 2: 213]
The Quran present s evidence from t he personalit y of I brahim, t hat
as he was an example of pious life and worship wit h a belief in t he
Oneness of Allah, for all people who are on t he pat h of True Fait h. Make
him reasoning for you.
) - 135 (
And t hey say, Be Jews or Christ ians, t hen you will be
guided. Say ( t o t hem) , Nay, ( We follow) only t he religion of

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I brahim, ( i. e. ) t o worship none but Allah Alone, and he was
not of t hose who worshiped ot her along wit h Allah. [ Al-
Baqarah 2: 135]
The Quran, in order t o build a single People, gave responsibilit y t o
t he followers of Muhammad ( S. A.W. ) t hat t hey should benefit t he
humanit y wit h safet y values and save from t he happenings of dest ruct ion.

,

.

) 110 (
You are t he best of peoples ever raised up for
mankind; you enj oin all t hat I slam has ordained and
forbid all t hat I slam has forbidden, and you believe
in Allah. . . . [ Al- I mran 3: 110]
Man has been made vicegerent on t he face of eart h and has been
best owed wit h t he Divine vicegerency. The Divine vicegerency is more
concerned wit h collect ive life of man t han individual life. Therefore, t he
Quran in order t o est ablish t he collect ivit y of humanit y has enj oined t o
keep, in every way, t he unit y of humanit y and fait h.

,

.
) .
- 1 (
O mankind! Be dut iful t o your Lord, Who creat ed you from a
single person ( Adam) , and from him ( Adam) he creat ed his
wife [ Eve] , and from t hem bot h He creat ed many men and
women and fear Allah t hrough whom you demand your
mut ual ( right s) , and ( do not cut t he relat ions of) kinship.
Surely Allah is Ever an All- Wat cher over you. [ An- Nisa 4: 1]
The Quran, t o keep t his unit y of humanit y, has explained t he det ails
of Almaruf and Almunkar for t he cent ral point s of Fait h and pract ice.
The word Maruf is derived from Urf , meaning t o know. So, t he Maruf
is somet hing which is known for securit y and prosperit y. Munkir means
t o avoid. That is t o say somet hing, which has been avoided from, as a
st imulant of somet hing deadly for humanit y. The Quran has adopt ed
t hese t wo words for good and bad for t he reason t hat it says t hat no

14
mat t er how much t here is t he difference bet ween beliefs and t hought s in
t he world, but t here are some t hings which are agreed upon as good
t hings, and t here are some t hings which are agreed upon as bad ones.
For example, every one agrees t hat speaking t rut h is a good t hing and
t elling lies is a bad t hing. Every one agrees t hat honest y is a good t hing
and dishonest y is a bad t hing. No one disagrees t hat serving parent s,
good t reat ment wit h t he neighbour, care for t he poor, j ust ice wit h t he
oppressed ones are good deeds on t he part of a man, and cruelt y and ill-
t reat ment are bad deeds. These t hings, so t o say, are t he t hings of which
goodness is generally known; and going against t hem is generally
deniable and quest ionable. All of t he worlds religions, morals, wisdoms,
peoples may have disagreement in anyt hing but as far as t hese t hings
are concerned, t hey are all in agreement and of t he same opinion.
The Quran says t his very way of act ion for mankind is t he nat ural
Fait h ordained by Allah. I t is t he only right Fait h which cont ains no
crookedness and defect . I t is t he Din Hanif preached by I brahim. I t s
name in t he Quranic t erminology is I slam - - i. e. compliance t o God-
made laws.
The Quran has adopt ed word I slam for t he Fait h for t he reason
t hat I slam means t o accept and obey somet hing. I t says t hat t he nat ure
of t he Fait h is t hat t he law made by Allah for t he bliss of man, should be
obeyed complet ely. I t says it is not only for man but t he ent ire universe is
st anding on t his very origin. For exist ence and permanence of all, Allah
has ordained some or t he ot her law and all are obeying it . I f t hey budge
from it for a moment , t hen t he universe would become disarranged.

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