Surah An-Nisa • Ayah 32

Do Not Wish for the Things Which Allah has Made Some Others to Excel InImam Ahmad recorded that Umm Salamah said, "O Messenger of Allah! Men go to battle, but we do not go to battle, and we earn one-half of the inheritance (that men get)." Allah sent down,وَلاَ تَتَمَنَّوْاْ مَا فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ بِهِ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ(And wish not for the things in which Allah has made some of you to excel others). At-Tirmidhi also recorded this Hadith. Allah's statement,لِّلرِّجَالِ نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا اكْتَسَبُواْ وَلِلنِّسَآءِ نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا اكْتَسَبْنَ(For men there is reward for what they have earned, (and likewise) for women there is reward for what they have earned,) indicates, according to Ibn Jarir, that each person will earn his wages for his works, a reward if his deeds are good, and punishment if his deeds are evil. It was also reported that this Ayah is talking about inheritance, indicating the fact that each person will get his due share of the inheritance, as Al-Walibi reported from Ibn `Abbas. Allah then directed the servants to what benefits them,وَاسْأَلُواْ اللَّهَ مِن فَضْلِهِ(and ask Allah of His Bounty.)Therefore, the Ayah states, "Do not wish for what other people were endowed with over you, for this is a decision that will come to pass, and wishing does not change its decree. However, ask Me of My favor and I will grant it to you, for I Am Most Generous and Most Giving." Allah then said,إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيماً(Surely, Allah is Ever All-Knower of everything.) meaning, Allah knows who deserves this life, and so He gives him riches, and whoever deserves poverty, He makes him poor. He also knows who deserves the Hereafter, and He directs him to perform the deeds that will help him to be sucessful in it, and whoever deserves failure, He prevents him from achieving righteousness and what leads to it. Hence, Allah said, mإِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيماً(Surely, Allah is Ever All-Knower of everything).

جائز رشک اور جواب باصواب ٭٭سیدہ ام سلمہ رضی اللہ عنہا نے ایک مرتبہ کہا تھا کہ یا رسول اللہ ! مرد جہاد کرتے ہیں اور ہم عورتیں اس ثواب سے محروم ہیں، اسی طرح میراث میں بھی ہمیں بہ نسبت مردوں کے آدھا ملتا ہے اس پر یہ آیت نازل ہوئی۔ [سنن ترمذي:3022،قال الشيخ الألباني:صحیح] ‏ اور روایت میں ہے کہ اس کے بعد پھر «أَنِّي لَا أُضِيعُ عَمَلَ عَامِلٍ مِنْكُمْ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَىٰ بَعْضُكُمْ مِنْ بَعْضٍ» [3-آل عمران:195] ‏ اتری۔ [تفسیر ابن جریر الطبری:9238] ‏ اور یہ بھی روایت میں ہے کہ عورتوں نے یہ آرزو کی تھی کہ کاش کہ ہم بھی مرد ہوتے تو جہاد میں جاتے اور روایت میں ہے کہ ایک عورت نے خدمت نبوی میں حاضر ہو کر کہا تھا کہ دیکھئیے مرد کو دو عورتوں کے برابر حصہ ملتا ہے دو عورتوں کی شہادت مثل ایک مرد کے سمجھی جاتی ہے پھر عمل اس طرح ہے ایک نیکی آدھی نیکی رہ جاتی ہے اس پر یہ آیت نازل ہوئی۔ [تفسیر ابن ابی حاتم:5223/3] ‏ سدی رحمہ اللہ فرماتے ہیں مردوں نے کہا تھا کہ جب دوہرے حصے کے مالک ہم ہیں تو دوہرا اجر بھی کیوں نہ ملے؟ اور عورتوں نے درخواست کی تھی کہ جب ہم پر جہاد فرض ہی نہیں ہمیں تو شہادت کا ثواب کیوں نہیں ملتا؟ اس پر اللہ تعالیٰ نے دونوں کو روکا اور حکم دیا کہ میرا فضل طلب کرتے رہو۔صفحہ نمبر1676سیدنا ابن عباس رضی اللہ عنہما سے یہ مطلب بیان کیا گیا ہے کہ انسان یہ آرزو نہ کرے کہ کاش کہ فلاں کا مال اور اولاد میرا ہوتا؟ اس پر اس حدیث سے کوئی اشکال ثابت نہیں ہو سکتا جس میں ہے کہ حسد کے قابل صرف دو ہیں ایک مالدار جو راہ اللہ اپنا مال لٹاتا ہے، [صحیح بخاری:73] ‏ اور دوسرا کہتا ہے کاش کہ میرے پاس بھی مال ہوتا تو میں بھی اسی طرح فی سبیل اللہ خرچ کرتا رہتا پس یہ دونوں اللہ تعالیٰ کے نزدیک اجر میں برابر ہیں اس لیے کہ یہ ممنوع نہیں یعنی ایسی نیکی کی حرص بری نہیں کسی نیک کام کو حاصل کرنے کی تمنا یا حرص کرنا محمود ہے اس کے برعکس کسی کی چیز اپنے قبضے میں لینے کی نیت کرنا ہر طرح مذموم ہے جس طرح دینی فضیلت حاصل کرنے کی حرض جائز رکھی ہے اور دنیوی فضیلت کی تمنا ناجائز ہے۔ پھر فرمایا ہر ایک کو اس کے عمل کا بدلہ ملے گا خیر کے بدلے خیر اور شر کے بدلے شر اور یہ بھی مراد ہو سکتی ہے کہ ہر ایک کو اس کے حق کے مطابق ورثہ دیا جاتا ہے۔صفحہ نمبر1677پھر ارشاد ہوتا ہے کہ ہم سے ہمارا فضل مانگتے رہا کرو آپس میں ایک دوسرے کی فضیلت کی تمنا بےسود امر ہے ہاں مجھ سے میرا فضل طلب کرو تو میں بخیل نہیں کریم ہوں وہاب ہوں دوں گا اور بہت کچھ دوں گا۔ رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم فرماتے ہیں: ”لوگو اللہ تعالیٰ سے اس کا فضل طلب کرو اللہ سے مانگنا اللہ کو بہت پسند ہے، یاد رکھو سب سے اعلیٰ عبادت کشادگی اور وسعت و رحمت کا انتظار کرنا اور اس کی امید رکھنا ہیں۔ [سنن ترمذي:3571،قال الشيخ الألباني:ضعیف] ‏ اور روایت میں ہے ایسی امید رکھنے والے اللہ کو بہت بھاتے ہیں۔ اللہ علیم ہے اسے خوب معلوم ہے کہ کون دئیے جانے کے قابل ہے اور کون فقیری کے لائق ہے اور کون آخرت کی نعمتوں کا مستحق ہے اور کون وہاں کی رسوائیوں کا سزاوار ہے اسے اس کے اسباب اور اسے اس کے وسائل وہ مہیا اور آسان کر دیتا ہے۔صفحہ نمبر1678

آیت 32 وَلاَ تَتَمَنَّوْا مَا فَضَّلَ اللّٰہُ بِہٖ بَعْضَکُمْ عَلٰی بَعْضٍ ط۔rَاللہ تعالیٰ نے بعض لوگوں کو ان کی خلقی صفات کے اعتبار سے دوسروں پر فضیلت دی ہے۔ آدمی کی یہ ذہنیت کہ جہاں کسی دوسرے کو اپنے مقابلہ میں کسی حیثیت سے بڑھا ہوا دیکھے بےچین ہوجائے ‘ اس کے اندر حسد ‘ رقابت اور عداوت کے جذبات پیدا کردیتی ہے۔ اس آیت میں اسی ذہنیت سے بچنے کی ہدایت فرمائی جا رہی ہے۔ فضیلت کا ایک پہلو یہ بھی ہے کہ اللہ تعالیٰ نے کسی کو مرد بنایا ‘ کسی کو عورت۔ یہ چیز بھی خلقی ہے اور کسی عورت کی مرد بننے یا کسی مرد کی عورت بننے کی تمنا نری حماقت ہے۔ البتہ دنیا میں قسمت آزمائی اور جدوجہد کے مواقع سب کے لیے موجود ہیں۔ چناچہ پہلی بات یہ بتائی جا رہی ہے : َ ّ ُ لِلرِّجَالِ نَصِیْبٌ مِّمَّا اکْتَسَبُوْا ط۔ وَلِلنِّسَآءِ نَصِیْبٌ مِّمَّا اکْتَسَبْنَ ط یعنی جہاں تک نیکیوں ‘ خیرات اور حسنات کا معاملہ ہے ‘ یا سیئات و منکرات کا معاملہ ہے ‘ مرد و زن میں بالکل مساوات ہے۔ مرد نے جو نیکی کمائی وہ اس کے لیے ہے اور عورت نے جو نیکی کمائی وہ اس کے لیے ہے۔ مسابقت کا یہ میدان دونوں کے لیے کھلا ہے۔ عورت نیکی میں مرد سے آگے نکل سکتی ہے۔ کروڑوں مرد ہوں گے جو قیامت کے دن حضرت خدیجہ ‘ حضرت عائشہ اور حضرت فاطمہ کے مقام پر رشک کریں گے اور ان کی خاک کو بھی نہیں پہنچ سکیں گے۔ چناچہ آدمی کا طرز عمل تسلیم و رضا کا ہونا چاہیے کہ جو بھی اللہ نے مجھے بنا دیا اور جو کچھ مجھے عطا فرمایا اس حوالے سے مجھے بہتر سے بہتر کرنا ہے۔ میرا شاکلہ تو اللہ کی طرف سے آگیا ہے ‘ جس سے میں تجاوز نہیں کرسکتا : قُلْ کُلٌّ یَّعْمَلُ عَلٰی شَاکِلَتِہٖ ط بنی اسراء ‘ یل : 84 اور ہم سورة البقرۃ میں پڑھ چکے ہیں کہ لَا یُکَلِّفُ اللّٰہُ نَفْسًا الاَّ وُسْعَھَا ط آیت 286 لہٰذا میری وسعتجو ہے وہ اللہ نے بنا دی ہے۔ ّ ِ ُ سورۃ النساء کی زیر مطالعہ آیت سے بعض لوگ یہ مطلب نکالنے کی کوشش کرتے ہیں کہ عورتیں بھی مال کما سکتی ہیں۔ یہ بات سمجھ لیجیے کہ قرآن مجید میں صرف ایک مقام البقرۃ : 267 پر کسبکا لفظ معاشی جدوجہد اور معاشی کمائی کے لیے آیا ہے : اَنْفِقُوْا مِنْ طَیِّبٰتِ مَا کَسَبْتُمْ ۔ باقی پورے قرآن میں کسبجہاں بھی آیا ہے اعمال کے لیے آیا ہے۔ کسب حسنات نیکیاں کمانا ہے اور کسب سیئات بدیاں کمانا۔ آپ اس آیت کے الفاظ پر دوبارہ غور کیجیے : لِلرِّجَالِ نَصِیْبٌ مِّمَّا اکْتَسَبُوْاط وَلِلنِّسَآءِ نَصِیْبٌ مِّمَّا اکْتَسَبْنَ ط مردوں کے لیے حصہ ہے اس میں سے جو انہوں نے کمایا ‘ اور عورتوں کے لیے حصہ ہے اس میں سے جو انہوں نے کمایا“۔ تو کیا ایک عورت کی تنخواہ اگر دس ہزار ہے تو اسے اس میں سے پانچ ہزار ملیں گے ؟ نہیں ‘ بلکہ اسے پوری تنخواہ ملے گی۔ لہٰذا اس آیت میں کسبکا اطلاق دنیوی کمائی پر نہیں کیا جاسکتا۔ ایک خاتون کوئی کام کرتی ہے یا کہیں ملازمت کرتی ہے تو اگر اس میں کوئی حرام پہلو نہیں ہے ‘ شریفانہ جاب ہے ‘ اور وہ ستر و حجاب کے آداب بھی ملحوظ رکھتی ہے تو اس میں کوئی حرج نہیں۔ لیکن ظاہر ہے کہ جو بھی کمائی ہوگی وہ پوری اس کی ہوگی ‘ اس میں اس کا حصہ تو نہیں ہوگا۔ البتہ یہ اسلوب جزائے اعمال کے لیے آتا ہے کہ انہیں ان کی کمائی میں سے حصہ ملے گا۔ اس لیے کہ اعمال کے مختلف مراتب ہوتے ہیں۔ اللہ تعالیٰ کے ہاں یہ دیکھا جاتا ہے کہ اس عمل میں خلوص نیت کتنا تھا اور آداب کتنے ملحوظ رکھے گئے۔ ہم سورة البقرۃ میں حج کے ذکر میں بھی پڑھ چکے ہیں کہ اُولٰٓءِکَ لَھُمْ نَصِیْبٌ مِّمَّا کَسَبُوْا ط آیت 202 یعنی جو انہوں نے کمایا ہوگا اس میں سے انہیں حصہ ملے گا۔ اسی طرح یہاں پر بھی اکتساب سے مراد اچھے یا برے اعمال کمانا ہے۔ یعنی اخلاقی سطح پر اور انسانی عزت و تکریم کے لحاظ سے عورت اور مرد برابر ہیں ‘ لیکن معاشرتی ذمہ داریوں کے حوالے سے اللہ تعالیٰ نے جو تقسیم کار رکھی ہے اس کے اعتبار سے فرق ہے۔ اب اگر عورت اس فرق کو قبول کرنے پر تیار نہ ہو ‘ مفاہمت پر رضامند نہ ہو ‘ اور وہ اس پر کڑھتی رہے اور مرد کے بالکل برابر ہونے کی کوشش کرے تو ظاہر ہے کہ معاشرے میں فساد اور بگاڑ پیدا ہوجائے گا۔ ُ وَسْءََلُوا اللّٰہَ مِنْ فَضْلِہٖ ط۔یعنی جو فضیلت اللہ نے دوسروں کو دے رکھی ہے اس کی تمنا نہ کرو ‘ البتہ اس سے فضل کی دعا کرو کہ اے اللہ ! تو نے اس معاملے میں مجھے کمتر رکھا ہے ‘ تو مجھے دوسرے معاملات کے اندر ہمت دے کہ میں ترقی کروں۔ اللہ تعالیٰ جس پہلو سے مناسب سمجھے گا اپنا فضل تمہیں عطا فرما دے گا۔ وہ بہت سے لوگوں کو کسی اور پہلو سے نمایاں کردیتا ہے۔

In the injunctions of inheritance appearing previously, it was mentioned that, given the conditions, for a male there is a share equal to that of two females. There are other proved aspects of male precedence as well. So, Sayyidah Umm Salmah رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہا once said to the Holy Prophet ﷺ Our share in the inheritance is half. Then, there are such and such elements of difference between us and men...'Her purpose was not to raise an objection. Rather, she wished to be a man and to deserve the merits restricted for men. There were other women who wished: Had we been men, we would have taken part in Jihad and the merit of Jihad would have been ours.'A woman asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ 'A man gets a double share in the inheritance and the witness of a woman is half as compared with a man - does that mean that we shall be getting a half reward for all of our acts of worship?' Thereupon, the present verse was revealed in which an answer to both these statements has been given. The answer to Sayyidah Umm Salmah ؓ was given by 'and do not covet...' and the answer to the last-mentioned woman was given by 'for men there is a share...'Coveting the UnacquirableIn this verse (32), coveting things, traits and merits given to others has been prohibited, for they are not acquirable by effort. The reason is that when a man finds himself lacking in wealth, comfort, beauty, merit, knowledge and similar other states of being, he naturally experiences a surge of envy which urges him to come, at least, at par with that person, or, if possible, be ahead. But, he does not always have the capability or power to make his wish come true because there are merits and excellences which have nothing to do with man's own efforts and acquisitions. They are simply the blessings of nature, for example, being a man or being the scion of a prophet's family or having been born in the family of a ruler or having been born beautiful. So, one who does not have access to these blessings - can never obtain them by effort even-if he were to spend a whole life-time devoted to that pursuit. A woman cannot become a man, nor can one choose to be born in the family of a prophet, or change his physique - become tall and handsome, acquire All beautiful features of his choice - because, this is not within his power. He simply cannot acquire these in the real sense, no matter how much he struggles with his medicines, treatments and devices. Consequently, when he finds himself incapable of matching the other person, his inner self starts playing with the idea that it would be wonderful if such blessings were snatched away from him (the other person) as well, so that, he too becomes either equal or lower than him. This is envy, a terribly, shameful and damaging trait of human morals, which is the cause of so many disputes, disturbances, killings and ravages in this world.This verse of the Holy Qur'an closes the doors of disorders by saying: وَلَا تَتَمَنَّوْا مَا فَضَّلَ اللَّـهُ بِهِ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ. It means that Allah Almighty, in His infinite wisdom, has blessed people with all sorts of merits and excellences. He gave someone a particular quality, then gave someone else yet another quality; less to some, more to some others. In this matter, everyone. should rest pleased with his or her destiny and stay clear from the envious desire to become the possessor of the other person's merits and excellences, for the end-result of this game of desires is nothing but a biting sense of personal loss, and of course, that awful sin of envy.It may sound a little simple, but the truth of the matter is that anyone Allah Almighty elects to be a man should be grateful for it, and anyone He elects to be a woman should be pleased with being just that, realizing that, had she been a man, may be, she could have failed to fulfill the responsibilities placed on a man, and would have thus ended up being a sinner. Then, anyone created beautiful by Allah Almighty should be all the more grateful for having been so blessed; and, anyone lesser in looks should also not grieve thinking of the good that may lie hidden behind this destiny, for being blessed with beauty does not necessarily guarantee good. It might have the recipient land into some unwelcome state of trial or corruption. Again, anyone who is a true lineal descendant of the Holy Prophet ﷺ should thank Allah Almighty for the great blessing of this lineal connection; and, anyone who does not have this connection should neither worry about it, nor should he go about longing for it, because this is something which cannot be acquired by effort, and if one still insists on coveting it, what he would get involved with will be nothing but sin and the gain he would make would be nothing but a broken heart and an aching soul. So, rather than pine for a lineage one does not have, the best policy is to think about one's own doings. Let these be good and righteous. Once a person enhances himself with such spiritual strengths, he can be ahead of those with higher or better lineage.Striving to excel others in good deeds is differentThere are verses of the Holy Qur'an and the sayings of the noble Prophet ﷺ which exhort people to excel each other in good deeds. In other words, this is an open field in which it is all right to look at the trail of merits and excellence left by others. Indeed, people have been persuaded to make all possible efforts to acquire them. Now, this relates to deeds within man's control, and which can be acquired by learning, training and working. For example, if a person is impressed with someone's intellectual merits, practical life and excel-lent morals, he can, by all means, strive to acquire these qualities. This is very desirable, and praiseworthy. As such, the present verse does not contradict it. In fact, the later part of the same verse (32), that is لِّلرِّ‌جَالِ نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا اكْتَسَبُوا ۖ وَلِلنِّسَاءِ نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا اكْتَسَبْ , is actually supporting this view. It means that men will get a share of what they acquired with their effort and conduct, and the same will be true for women who will get a share of what they acquired with their effort and conduct. One is not likely to miss the hint here - that effort and struggle in the acquisition of merits and perfections do not go waste. On the contrary, every man and woman will definitely get a return, a share of his or her effort. From here, we also know that desiring to have someone's intellectual-moral excellence as combined with his model practical conduct, and then going ahead to see the fruition of these desires through effort and struggle, is certainly desirable and praiseworthy. Removed in the process here is an error which is committed by a lot of people who tend to do things not knowing what they are doing. Some of them become so devoted to their desire to acquire merits which cannot be acquired that they ruin their otherwise peaceful life right here in this mortal world. And if, bad come to worse, they are fired with envy, that is, they start wishing - 'if I do not have this blessing, may this be taken away from the other' - then, the very chances of salvation in the life to come also stand destroyed because of the grave sin of envy committed by him.Moreover, there are another kind of people as well who lack courage, avoid action, or just have no sense of honour and shame, who do not even try to acquire merits which can be acquired. Such people, when approached with good counsel, would come back immediately, blaming their destiny and fate which is no more than an effort to camouflage their own timidity and inertia. The present verse has resolved this problem by stating a wise and just rule which is: Man's effort is ineffective in acquiring merits which he does not control, such as, being high-born or handsome. Merits like these should be resigned to fate and one must be content with the divinely determined state he is in, and be grateful to Allah Almighty. Coveting anymore than that is absurd, ineffectual, meddlesome - an act which leaves behind nothing but a handful of sorrows.As for merits which can be acquired by effort, wishing to have them is useful, only if such a wish is supported by the necessary struggle to achieve. Let us keep in mind that the verse carries the promise that the effort so made will not be wasted and everyone will get a share of what he or she worked for.Referring back to injunctions prohibiting. the unjust use of someone's property and the unjust taking of someone's life (29), Tafsir al-Bahr al-Mishit points out that this verse aims to seal the very source of these crimes, and it is for this purpose that instructions have been given to stop people from coveting others who are ahead of them in wealth, comfort or influence. A little thought will reveal that theft, robbery and other illegitimate ways of usurping someone's property, or to kill and destroy, are crimes which sprout from one particular emotional attitude. A person, when he finds the other ahead of him in wealth and other material acquisitions, first feels the pinch in his heart wishing to come at par with him, or even wishes to become superior to him. Then, it is the intensity of this desire which pushes him all the way to go ahead and commit these crimes. The Holy Qur'an, as said earlier, has blocked the source of these crime by blocking the very desire of the unacquirables and the unobtainables of life.To ask for Allah's grace is the ideal wayAfter that, the verse moves on to instruct by saying: وَاسْأَلُوا اللَّـهَ مِن فَضْلِهِ ; (And pray to Allah for His grace). It means, 'when you see someone excel in one or the other graces of life,' the ideal conduct is, 'not to wish to come at par with the other person in respect of that particular excellence, but that you should pray to Allah asking for graces and blessings. from Him.' The reason is that Allah's grace appears in different forms for everyone. For some, wealth is a blessing from God for, if they were to become paupers, they might have fallen victims to sin and disbelief. For some others, grace lies in the very pecuniary circum-stances they are in, for if they were to turn rich, they might have succumbed to thousands of sins. Similarly, for some, grace appears in the form of power and influence, while for some others, the unremembered and the unattended, the grace of Allah manifests itself in that very state. A look at the reality of things around would have told him that power and influence, if these were to be his lot, might have caused his falling into many a sin. Therefore, the verse instructs - when you ask Allah, do not ask for some fixed quality of life, instead, ask for His grace so that He, in his His infinite wisdom, opens the doors of His blessings on you.Trust His Wisdom and KnowledgeThe verse concludes by saying: إِنَّ اللَّـهَ كَانَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمًا (Surely, Allah is All-Knowing in respect of everything.) Here, the hint is that the arrangement of things made by Allah Almighty is the very quintessence of wisdom and justice. Whoever has been created and sustained in whatever condition it may be is an arrangement perfectly matched with the ideal demand of wisdom and justice. But, man is not fully aware of the consequences of what he does. This is something only Allah knows best and thus He also knows how suitable it is to keep anyone in a given condition.The law of inheritance: Reiteration of the wisdom in itWhile describing the background in which the present verse was revealed, which appears in the introductory remarks preceding the Commentary, it was stated that some women, when they found out that men have beers given a share equal to that of two women, wished they were men so that they too would be getting a doubled share. In a relevant manner, the law of inheritance was reiterated in the second verse (33) and it was tersely said that all shares determined therein are based on perfect wisdom and justice. Since human reason cannot encompass the totality of factors that contribute to the order or disorder of the created universe, it is obvious that it cannot arrive precisely at those elements of wisdom which have been taken Into consideration in determining the laws of Allah Almighty. Therefore, whosoever has been allotted whatsoever share should be pleased with it, and be grateful for it.Inheriting through pledgeThe giving of a share on the basis of a pledge mentioned at the end of verse 33 refers to a practice during the initial period of Islam. This was later abrogated by the verse وَأُولُو الْأَرْ‌حَامِ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلَىٰ بِبَعْضٍ (As for the womb - relatives, some of them are closer to some...) (33:6) Now, if other heirs exist, a pledge or mutual contract between two parties does not affect the inheritance in any manner whatsoever.