[52] Surah At-Tur [The Mount]: Ayat 039-041

৩৯. না তার কন্যা-সন্তান আছে আর তোমাদের আছে পুত্রসন্তান?  

৪০. না আপনি তাদের কাছে পারিশ্রমিক চান যে, তাদের উপর জরিমানার বোঝা চেপে বসে? 

৪১. না তাদের কাছে অদৃশ্য বিষয়ের জ্ঞান আছে যে, তারাই তা লিপিবদ্ধ করে?   

Ayat 39. Or has He (Allah) only daughters and you have sons?

Ayat 40. Or is it that you (O Muhammad  [SAWW](PBUH) ask a wage from them (for your preaching of Islamic Monotheism) so that they are burdened with a load of debt?

Ayat 41. Or that the Ghaib (unseen) is with them, and they write it down?

Tafseer of Surah At-Tur (The Mount) Ayat 39 to 41. Or has He only daughters and ye have sons? Cf. 16:57-59. To the gospel of Unity it is repugnant to assign begotten sons or daughters to Allah. But the Arab superstition about angels being the daughters of Allah was particularly blasphemous as the Pagan Arabs hated to have daughters themselves and considered it a mark of humiliation! (see also 53:21). 40. Or is it that thou dost ask for a reward, so that they are burdened with a load of debt? The Prophets of Allah ask for no reward to preach the Message of Allah and direct men to the right Path. Why then do men shun them and persecute those who seek to bring blessings to them? 41. Or that the Unseen in it their hands, and they write it down? The Unseen in the spiritual world is a subject of Revelation, though it works through the common everyday life of man. The men who reject Revelation simply because it is outside their own experience ought on the contrary to try to learn about it and seek to understand it. 

Hazrat Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: When the Messenger of Allah [SAWW](PBUH) passed away, Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) was appointed as his successor (caliph). Amongst the Arabs some men apostatized. Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) resolved to fight them. `Umar bin Al-Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) said to Abu Bakr: "How can you fight them when the Messenger of Allah [SAWW](PBUH) has declared: `I have been commanded to fight people till they testify La ilaha illallah (there is no true god except Allah); and if they do it, their blood (life) and property are secured except when justified by law, and it is for Allah to call them to account." Upon this Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) said: "By Allah, I would definitely fight him who makes distinction between Salat and the Zakat, because it is an obligation upon the rich to pay Zakat. By Allah I will fight them even to secure the piece of rope which they used to give to the Messenger of Allah [SAWW](PBUH).'' `Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) said: "I realized that Allah opened the heart of Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) for fighting those who refused to pay Zakat, and I fully recognized that Abu Bakr ¨(May Allah be pleased with him) was right.''  [Al-Bukhari Book 02, Chapter 23, Hadith # 483]

Lesson: This Hadith brings into prominence the excellence of Hazrat Abu Bakr As-Siddiq’s determination, religious firmness and deep understanding of the Islamic law. It also tells us that one who does not accept that Zakat is obligatory in Islam, is a Kafir like the one who renounces Salat. The stand taken by Hazrat Abu Bakr was ultimately accepted by all the Companions of the Prophet [SAWW](PBUH), and this is how they unanimously agreed to wage Jihad against those who refused to pay Zakat. This unanimous consent on the issue of Zakat was based on the order of Shari’ah.