Tafsir and Evil - Part One
Within a Internet group, a discussion arose about various ways of translating certain words within 42:40 - [And the recompense of evil is a punishment like it, but whoever forgives and amends, he shall have his reward from Allah. Surely, Allah does not love the unjust]. One of the foci of that discussion revolved about the portion of the ayat which contains the words, according to one English rendering: "a punishment like it" and, more specifically, what might be a good or better translation for this portion of the Quranic text.
Another foci of the discussion concerned the issue of evil. Among other things, this concern involved the problem of how to deal with evil.
The following is a response to both aspects of the discussion being alluded to in the foregoing.
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When talking about translations of the Qur'an, it may be important
to remember what a translation is. In effect, a translation is the
linguistic and hermeneutical engagement of a human being in relation
to that which is the uncreated Word of God - a 'Word' which the
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) indicates has an outer meaning
and inner meaning, and that the inner meaning has an inner meaning,
and so on to seven levels. This is why no translation, no matter how
good it may be, can really capture all of the nuances and dimensions
which are being conveyed through the language of the original text.
This is not to say, of course, that Arabic syntax and semantics are
not important considerations in trying to struggle toward rendering
ourselves, God willing, to be receptive and open to Divine
Revelation. However, one might exercise a certain amount of caution
in attending to the properties of created language unless such
attention obfuscates the barakah of the Uncreated which is pouring
through the locus of manifestation which is formed by the syntax and
semantics of a given language ... in this case Arabic.
Similarly, some people misuse the process of tafsir and seek to make
it an instrument of interpretation (which one is not supposed to do
in conjunction with the Qur'an - rather, as the Qur'an instructs
us: " If you are God-fearing, then, He will give you
discrimination." - 8:29, "Who is further astray than he who follows
his caprice without guidance from God." - 28:50, "Do you worship
what you yourself carve." - 37:95,; "Only those who possess the
kernals remember." - 39:9; "Those are they whom God has guided and
those - they are the possessors of the kernals." - 39:18; "Say [O
Muhammad]: This is my way. I call to God upon insight - I and
whoever follows me." - 12:108) In reality, all that tafsir can and
should do is to set a historical context in which a given facet of
Revelation arose so that we might let these historical happenings
wash over our beings as a form of psychological and spiritual
ablution which readies our inner beings to be open to the
possibilities of any truths or kernals which God may visit upon our
hearts.
Whether one renders the Arabic text of 42:40 as `an act of evil'
or 'instances' of evil, or 'punishment (recompense) like it', or
translates this in some other way, one of the themes being alluded
to may be a reminder that evil tends to always implode upon itself
and has nothing but evil as company. So, if we respond to evil in
some direct fashion, then, the recompense of evil may be
an 'instance' or 'act' or 'punishment' of evil like unto the
original act which set things in motion ... which may be one of the
reasons why forgiveness, forbearance and making amends are better
for all involved.
This resonates with the words attributed to Jesus (peace be upon
him) when he is reported to have said: "Ye have heard that it has
been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say
unto you, That you resist not evil." (Matthew verse 38-39)
Having said the foregoing, it may serve us well to remember that
what we call evil is nothing other than a manifestation of Divine
purpose - as the Qur'an indicates: "And we test you by evil and by
good by way of trial." (21:35) Moreover, the Names and Attributes of
Divinity come in both jamali as well as jalali forms, and while we
accept that: "Wheresoever you turn, there is the face of God"
(2:115), sometimes the way in which the reality of God is manifested
is terrible to behold and experience.
When things happen - evil things, for example - our natural tendency
is to interpret them in a certain way ... usually in a very limited
fashion. A natural tendency is for us to hate evil and be repelled
by it, and, yet, "It may happen that you hate a thing which is
better for you." (2:216)
Evil is an opportunity provided by God to grow and develop
spiritually. Evil is an opportunity to struggle. Evil is an
opportunity to put into practice the teaching of the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) that 'when someone treats you with
nafs, treat them with ruh' which reflects the Quranic teaching that
we should "repel evil with that which is better." (23:96)
When Hazrat 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) responded to his
enemy by lowering his sword rather than killing his physical
opponent when the latter spit on him in one last act of defiance, he
was both treating his opponent with ruh rather than nafs, as well as
attending to the Quranic teaching: "O ye who believe, fight against
those infidels close to you" (9:123), and, surely, the infidel who
is closest to us all is our own nafs. The conflict afforded him the
opportunity to be reminded by Divinity - who is the mover of both
his external and his internal enemy (nafs-i-ammmarah)- of how to
place things in perspective.
A man once came to a Sufi shaykh and complained about all the
troubles in his life. After listening to the man, the shaykh replied
that the very things about which the man was complaining, the shaykh
found to be keys to learning in his own life.
All the acts which we witness are the acts of Divinity. As Hazrat
Muin-ud-din Chishti (may Allah be pleased with him) was once
informed in a letter by his teacher: "do not criticize any of the
creatures of Creation" for all of these creatures give expression to
the interplay of the Divine Names and Attributes which serve God's
purpose - and everything which takes place is a 'creature' of
Divinity ... including the presence of evil.
Evil occurs because God permits it. Perhaps, we should not turn our
gaze away from this but, instead, try to place it in proper
perspective both in relation to trying to understand, to whatever
extent we can, how such evil fits into God's purpose, but, as well,
to serve as an opportunity for working on ourselves as a result of
all the ways in which evil seeks to seduce us and incite us to
respond through nafs-i-ammarah rather than ruh. To respond to evil
through ruh rather than nafs is, indeed, a bad or evil recompense in
relation to evil, for evil has been seeking another kind of response
altogether ... one which will serve as company for evil as an act or
instance or recompense like it - that is, something distasteful to
the recipient of such behavior.
We tend to lose sight of the whole when we only look at events in
limited or partial ways. God is one, but God's oneness gives rise to
a mansion of many rooms, and some of these rooms contain evil.
God has placed such evil in those rooms to test us and provide us
with opportunities for spiritual growth. One might look at evil as a
form of tough love ... for love doesn't always come in the form of a
rose ... sometimes it comes in the form of the thorns which are part
and parcel of the whole plant ... not just the part which is
appealing to us - "And surely We shall test you with some hunger and
loss of wealth and lives and crops; but give glad tidings to the
steadfast - who say when misfortune strikes them: Surely to Allah we
belong and to Allah is our returning." (2:155-156), and, as
well: "We shall show them Our signs upon the horizons and in
themselves, until it is clear to them that God is the Real." (41:53)
Lest anyone misunderstand some of the foregoing, let several
qualifications be made. As God indicates in the Qur'an, human beings
have been made weak and, therefore, only by the Grace of Allah do
human beings have the strength, courage and integrity to respond to
evil in the way which has been suggested by the Prophet and Jesus
(peace be upon them). On our own we do not have the capacity to
overcome our own weaknesses, but, we must always look to Divine
support and understand that there is no support other than Allah.
Secondly, because we are weak, the human tendency is to want to
restrict our movements to those rooms of the Divine mansion which
are jamali in character. However, God knows that which we do not,
and Divinity wants something more for us than we can imagine on our
own - and sometimes the only way to discover is through coming face
to face with evil, being conscious, through Allah's help, of what is
at stake and moving in the direction of the call of the greater
jihad - which is to do battle with the tendencies of lower self to
rebel against the truth.
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