SURAH (24) AN-NOUR (AYA 31 to 40)

وَقُلْ لِلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا ۖ وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَىٰ جُيُوبِهِنَّ ۖ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَائِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَاءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَائِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَاءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ إِخْوَانِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِي إِخْوَانِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِي أَخَوَاتِهِنَّ أَوْ نِسَائِهِنَّ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُنَّ أَوِ التَّابِعِينَ غَيْرِ أُولِي الْإِرْبَةِ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ أَوِ الطِّفْلِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يَظْهَرُوا عَلَىٰ عَوْرَاتِ النِّسَاءِ ۖ وَلَا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْفِينَ مِنْ زِينَتِهِنَّ ۚ وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ {24:31}

[Q24:31] Wa qul lilmu'minaati yaghdudna min absaarihinna wa yahfazna furoojahunna wa laa yubdeena zeenatahunna illaa maa zahara minhaa walyadribna bikhumurihinna 'alaa juyoobihinna wa laa yubdeena zeenatahunna illaa libu'oolatihinna aw aabaaa'i hinna aw aabaaa'i bu'oolati hinna aw abnaaa'ihinaa aw abnaaa'i bu'oolatihinnna aw ikhwaanihinnna aw baneee ikhwaanihinna aw banee akhawaatihinna aw nisaaa'i hinna aw maa malakat aimaanuhunna awit taabi'eena ghairi ilil irbati minar rijaali awit tiflillazeena lam yazharoo 'alaa 'awraatin nisaaa'i wala yadribnna bi arjulihinna min zeenatihinn; wa toobooo ilallaahi jammee'an aiyuhal mu'minoona la'allakum tuflihoon. 
[Q24:31] And say to the believing women that they cast down their looks and guard their private parts and do not display their ornaments except what appears thereof, and let them wear their head-coverings over their bosoms, and not display their ornaments except to their husbands or their fathers, or the fathers of their husbands, or their sons, or the sons of their husbands, or their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or those whom their right hands possess, or the male servants not having need (of women), or the children who have not attained knowledge of what is hidden of women; and let them not strike their feet so that what they hide of their ornaments may be known; and turn to ALLAH (SWT) all of you, O believers! So that you may be successful.

[Q24:31] Dan katakanlah kepada perempuan-perempuan yang beriman supaya menyekat pandangan mereka (daripada memandang yang haram) dan memelihara kehormatan mereka dan janganlah mereka memperlihatkan perhiasan tubuh mereka kecuali yang zahir daripadanya; dan hendaklah mereka menutup belahan leher bajunya dengan tudung kepala mereka; dan janganlah mereka memperlihatkan perhiasan tubuh mereka melainkan kepada suami mereka atau bapa mereka atau bapa mertua mereka atau anak-anak mereka, atau anak-anak tiri mereka atau saudara-saudara mereka atau anak bagi saudara-saudara mereka yang lelaki atau anak bagi saudara-saudara mereka yang perempuan, atau perempuan-perempuan Islam atau hamba-hamba mereka atau orang gaji dari orang-orang lelaki yang telah tua dan tidak berkeinginan kepada perempuan atau kanak-kanak yang belum mengerti lagi tentang aurat perempuan dan janganlah mereka menghentakkan kaki untuk diketahui orang akan apa yang tersembunyi dari perhiasan mereka dan bertaubatlah kamu sekalian kepada ALLAH (SwT), wahai orang-orang yang beriman, supaya kamu berjaya. 

THE VERSES FROM 30 AND 31 ARE CLEAR IN WHAT THEY MEAN AND THE LEGISLATION THEY LAY DOWN REGARDING MEN AND WOMEN’S DUTIES REGARDING THE USE OF VEIL AND GUARDING THEIR CHASTITY. BOTH are ordered to [1] cast down their gaze and [2] refrain from looking at what is not allowed for them to see and [3] to guard their private parts.

UNTO THIS POINT ISLAM does not prohibit woman to come out from the four walls of her home BUT PROHIBITS her exposing her ornaments or adoring the parts of her body, to other than those who are mentioned in the exceptional clause. THERE IS NO QUESTION OF THE NECESSITY OF HER COVERING THE WHOLE BODY EXCEPT FACE AND THE HANDS AND FEET FROM THE WRIST, THE FEET, AND ANKLES RESPECTIVELY. THAT PORTION OF IT IS TO BE COVERED, if it appearance stimulates sexual passion. In emergency and necessity the face and the hands and the feet are permitted to remain uncovered BUT should not be ornamented or adorned.

Ì  This verse along with verse 59:33 leaves no doubt about the necessity of woman’s being covered from top to bottom except the face which is a matter of dispute. In any case there is no doubt that the present fashion and mode adopted by women, is not only against the tenets of Qur’an but against any sense of morality and human modesty.

The relations before whom, a woman is permitted to appear with her beauty and adornments are enumerated. [1] husband, [2] her father and grandfather, [3] the father and grandfathers of her husband, [4] her sons, [5] her husband’s sons born of other women, [6] her brothers, [7] their brother’s sons, [8] their sisters’ sons, [9] old and infirm men who have lost the sexual vitality, [10] infants and young children before their getting sex awakening in them. (For details Refer to ‘Fiqh’)

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(24:31) O Prophet, enjoin the believing women to restrain their gaze *31 and guard their private *32 parts. *33 and not to display their adornment *34 except that which is displayed of itself, *35 and to draw their veils over their bosoms *36 and not to display their adornment except before their husbands, *37 their fathers, the fathers of their husbands, *38 their sons and the sons of their husbands *39 (from other wives), their brothers, *40 their brothers' sons, *41 their sisters' sons, *42 their female associates *43 and those in their possession *44 and male attendants incapable of sex desire *45 and those boys who have not yet attained knowledge of sex matters concerning women; *46 also forbid them to stamp their feet on the ground lest their hidden ornaments should be displayed. *47 O Believers, turn all together towards Allah: *48 it is expected that you will attain true success. *49

*31 The Commandments of restraining the gaze for women are the same as for men. They should not glance intentionally at the other men, and if they happen to cast a chance look, they should turn their eyes away; and they should abstain from looking at the satar of others. However, the Commandments relating to the men's looking at women are a little different from those relating to the women's looking at men. On the one hand, there is an incident related in a Tradition saying that Hadrat Umm Salamah and Hadrat Umm Maimunah, wives of the Holy Prophet, were sitting with him when lbn Umm Maktum, a blind Companion, made his appearance. The Holy Prophet said to his wives: "Conceal your faces from him." The wives said, "O Messenger of Allah: Is he not a blind man '? Neither will he see us nor recognize us." Thereupon the Holy Prophet remarked: "Are you two also blind? Do you not see him?" Hadrat Umm Salamah has clarified that this incident occurred at a time when the Commandments about the observance of purdah had already been sent down. (Ahmad, Abu Da'ud, Tirmizi. This is also supported by a Tradition in Mu'atta saying that a blind man came to see Hadrat 'A'ishah and she observed purdah from him. When asked as to why she observed purdah when the man could not see her, she replied: "But I do see him." On the other hand, there is a different Tradition from Hadrat `A'ishah. In 7 A.H. a deputation of the negroes came to AI-Madinah and they gave a performance of physical skill in the compound of the Prophet's Mosque. The Holy Prophet himself showed their performance to Hadrat 'A'ishah. (Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad). In another case, we find that when Fatimah bint Qais was irrevocably divorced by her husband, the question arose as to where she should pass her 'Iddah (the prescribed waiting term after divorce or death of husband). The Holy Prophet first told her to stay with Umm Sharik Ansari, but then instructed her to stay in the house of Ibn Umm Maktum, where she could stay with greater freedom as he was a blind man. He did not approve of her staying in the house of Umm Shank because she was a rich lady and her house was frequented by the Companions whom she entertained generously. (Muslim, Abu Da'ud). Read together these Traditions show that the restrictions about the women's looking at melt are not so hard as about the men's looking at women. While it is forbidden for women to sit face to face with men, it is not unlawful if they cast a look at men while passing on the way or see a harmless performance by them from a distance. There is also no hams for women to see the other men in case of real need if they are living in the same house. Imam Ghazzali; and lbn Hajar `Asqalani have also reached almost the same conclusion. Shaukani in his Nail al-Autar has quoted Ibn Hajar as saying: "Such a permission in respect of women is also supported by the fact that they have always enjoyed this type of freedom in outdoor duties While they came out veiled when visiting the mosques, or moving in the streets, or during the journey, so that men may not gaze at them, the men were never commanded to use the veil so that women may not gaze at them. This shows that the Commandments in respect of the two sexes are different." (Vol. Vl, p. 101). However, it is not at all permissible that women should gaze leisurely at men and draw pleasure of the eye in doing so.
*32 That is, they should abstain from illicit gratification of their sex desire as well as from exposing their satar before others. Though the commandments for men in this respect are the same as for women, the boundaries of satar for women are different from those prescribed for men. Moreover, the female satar with respect to men is different from that with respect to women
The female satar with respect to men is the entire body, excluding only the hand and the face, which should not be exposed before any other man, not even the brother and father, except the husband. The woman is not allowed to wear a thin or a tight fitting dress which might reveal the skin or the outlines of the body. According to a Tradition from Hadrat 'A'ishah, orate her sister Asma' came before the Holy Prophet in a thin dress. The Holy Prophet immediately turned his face away and said: "O Asma', when a woman has attained her maturity, it is not permissible that any part of her body should be exposed except the face and the hand." (Abu Da'ud). Ibn Jarir has related a similar incident from Hadrat 'A'ishah saying that once the daughter of `Abdullah bin Tufail, who was her mother's son from her former husband, came to her house on a visit. When the Holy Prophet (Allah's peace be upon him) entered the house, he saw her but turned his face to the other side. Hadrat `A'ishah said: "O Messenger of Allah, she is my niece." Thereupon the Holy Prophet remarked: "When a woman reaches the age of puberty, it is not lawful for her to display her body except the hand and the face. (Then he indicated what he meant by the hand by gripping his own hand from the wrist so that there was hardly a breadth left between his grip and the palm of the hand)." The only relaxation permitted in this connection is that a woman can uncover only that much of her body before her close relatives (for example, her brother, father, etc.) as is absolutely necessary for attending to the household duties. For instance, she can roll up her sleeves while kneading the flour, or tuck up her trousers while washing the floor.
The boundaries of female satar with respect to women are the same as the boundaries of the male satar with respect to men, which is the part of the body from the navel to the knee. This does not, however, mean that a woman should appear half naked before other women. It only means that while it is obligatory to keep the part of body from the navel to the knee duly covered, it is not so in case of other parts.
*33 It should be carefully noted that the demands that Divine Law makes from women are not only those it has made from men, that is restraining of looks and guarding of the private parts, but it makes some other demands from them also, which it has not made from men. This shows that men and women are not identical in this respect.
*34 "Adornment" includes attractive clothes, ornaments and other decorations of the head, face, hand, feet, etc. which the women usually employ, and is expressed by the modern word 'make-up'. The injunction that this `makeup' should not be displayed before others is discussed in detail in the following Notes.
*35 Different interpretations given by different commentators of this verse have greatly confused its real meaning. AII that is obviously meant is that "women should not display their make-up and adornment" except that "which is displayed of itself" and is beyond their control. This clearly means that women should not purposely and intentionally display their make-up, but there is no accountability if the make-up becomes displayed without any purpose or intention on their part; for instance, the head-wrapper's being blown aside by the wind thus exposing the adornment, ,or the outer-garment itself which cannot be concealed but which nevertheless has attraction being a part of the female dress. This very interpretation of this verse has been given by Hadrat `Abdullah bin Mas'ud, Hasan Basri, Ibn Sirin and Ibrahim Nakha`i. On the contrary, some other commentators have interpreted the verse to mean "all those parts of the body which usually remain exposed or uncovered" and in this they include the hands and the face with all their adornments. This is the view of Hadrat Ibn `Abbas and his followers, and a large number of the Hanafi jurists have accepted it. (Ahkam-ul-Qur'an, AlJassas, Vol. III, pp. 388-389). Thus, according to them, it is permissible for a woman to move out freely with the uncovered face in full make-up and adornment of the hands
We are, however, unable to subscribe to this view. There is a world of difference between "displaying something" and "its becoming displayed of itself." The tirst implies `intention' and the second 'compulsion' and a state of helplessness. Moreover, such an interpretation also goes against the traditions which state that the women never moved out with open and uncovered faces in the time of the Holy Prophet after the Commandments of purdah had been sent down. These Commandments implied veiling of the face as well, and the veil had become a part of the female dress except during Hajj when one has to be in the prescribed state of ihram and keep the face uncovered. Another argument that is advanced in support of this view is that the hands and the face are not included in the satar of the woman, whereas satar and purdah are two entirely different things. Sanctity of satar is such that it cannot be violated even before the mahram males like the father brother, etc. As for purdah it is over and above satar which is meant to segregate women from non mahram males; the discussion here relates to the Commandments of purdah and not to satar.
*36 In the pre-lslamic days of ignorance, women used to wear a sort of head-band, which was tied in a knot at the rear of the head. The slit of the shirt in the front partly remained open exposing the front of the neck and the upper part of the bosom. There was nothing except the shirt to cover the breasts, and the hair was worn in a couple or two of plaits hanging behind like tails. (AI-Kashshaf, Vol. II, p. 90, and Ibn Kathir, Vol. III, pp. 283-284). At the revelation of this verse, the head-wrapper (dopatta) was introduced among the Muslim women, which was meant to cover the head, the breasts, and the back, completely. The way the Muslim women responded to this Command has been described by Hadrat 'A'ishah in a vivid manner. She states that when Surah An-Nur was revealed and the people learnt of its contents from the Holy Prophet, they immediately went back to their houses and recited the verses before their wives, daughters and sisters. There was an instantaneous response. The Ansar women, one and all, inunediately got up and made wrappers from whatever piece of cloth that was handy. The next morning all the women who came to the Prophet's Mosque for prayers were dressed in wrappers. In another tradition Hadrat `A'ishah says that thin cloth was discarded and the women selected only coarse cloth for the purpose. (lbn Kathir, Vol.III, p. 284, Abu Da'ud).
The very nature and object of the Command demanded that the wrapper should not be made out of fine and thin cloth. The Ansar women immediately understood the real object and knew what type of cloth was intended to be used. The Law-Giver himself clarified this and did not leave it to be interpreted by the people. Dihya Kalbi states: "Once a length of fine Egyptian muslin was presented to the Holy Prophet. He gave a piece of it to me and said, `Use one part of it for your shirt, and give the rest of it to your wife for a wrapper, but tell her that she should stitch another piece of cloth on the inner side so that the body may not be displayed through it." (Abu Da'ud).
*37 This verse describes the circle in which a woman can move freely with all her make-up and adornment. Outside this circle she is not allowed to appear with make-up before the other people, whether they are relatives or strangers. The Commandment implies that she should not display her embellishments outside this limited circle, intentionally or through carelessness. However, what becomes displayed incidentally, in spite of care and concern, or what cannot be concealed, it is excused by Allah.
*38 `Fathers' include grandfathers and great grandfathers as well, both paternal and maternal. Accordingly a woman can appear before her own and her husband's grandfathers just as she can appear before her own father and father-inlaw.
*39 `Sons' include grandsons and great grandsons from the male or female offspring. No distinction is to be made between the real sons and the step-sons.
*40 Brothers' include real and stepbrothers.
*41 'Sons of brothers and sisters' include sons, grandsons and great grandsons of all the three kinds of brothers and sisters.
*42 After the relatives the other people are now being mentioned. But before we proceed further, it would be useful to understand three things in order to avoid confusion.
First, some jurists hold that the freedom of movement and display of adornment by a woman is restricted to the circle of relatives mentioned in this verse. AII others, even the real paternal and maternal uncles, are excluded from this list and a woman should observe purdah from them because they have not heen mentioned in the Qur'an. This is, however, not a correct view. Let alone the real uncles, the Holy Prophet disallowed Hadrat `A'ishah to observe purdah even from her foster uncles. A tradition quoted in Sihah Sitta' and Musnad Ahmad on the authority of Hadrat `A'ishah says that once Aflah, brother of Abul Qu'ais, came to see her and sought permission to enter the house. But since the Commandment of purdah had been received, Hadrat `A'ishah refused him permission. On this Aflah sent back the word saying, "You are my niece: you were suckled by my brother Abul Qu'ais's wife." But Hadrat `A'ishah still was hesitant whether it was permissible to appear unveiled before such a relative or not. In the meantime the Holy Prophet arrived and he ruled that he could see her. This shows that the Holy Prophet himself did not interpret the verse in the way these jurists do that it was lawful to appear unveiled only before those relatives who have been mentioned in the verse and not before others. He interpreted it to mean that purdah need not be observed from those relatives with whom marriage is prohibited, for instance, paternal and maternal uncles, son-in-law and foster relatives. Hadrat Hasan Basri from among the followers has expressed the same opinion and the same has been supported by `Allama Abu Bakr al-Jassas in his Ahkam-ul-Qur an. (Vol. III, p. 390).
Secondly, there is the question of those relatives with whom marriage is not permanently prohibited; they neither fall in the category of mahram relatives (that women may freely appear before them with adornment) nor in the category of complete strangers that they should observe full purdah from them as from others. What should be the right course between the two extremes has not been determined by the Shari `ah for such a course cannot possibly be determined. The observance of purdah or otherwise in such cases will inevitably depend on the mutual relationship, age of the woman and of men, family relations and contacts and other circumstances (e.g. residence in the same house or in different houses). The personal example of the Holy Prophet himself in this matter gives us the same guidance. A large number of traditions confirm that Hadrat Asma', daughter of Abu Bakr, who was a sister-in-law of the Holy Prophet, appeared unveiled before him and no purdah, at least of the face and hands, was observed by her. This same position continued till the Farewell Pilgrimage which took place just a few months before the death of the Holy Prophet. (Abu Da'ud). Similarly Hadrat Umm Hani, daughter of Abu Talib and a first cousin of the Holy Prophet, appeared before him till the end without ever observing purdah of the face and hands. She herself has narrated an incident pertaining to the conquesh of Makkah, which confirms the same. (Abu Da'ud).On the contrary, we see that Hadrat `Abbas sends his son Fadal, and Rabi'ah bin Harith bin `Abdul Muttalib (a first cousin of the Holy Prophet) his son 'Abdul Muttalib before the Holy Prophet with the request for a job, as they could not be married till they became earning members of the family. They both see the Holy Prophet in the house of his wife Zainab, who is a first cousin of Fadal and is similarly related to the father of 'Abdul Muttalib bin Rabi'ah. But she dces not appear before them and talks to them from behind a curtain in the presence of the Holy Prophet. (Abu Da'ud). Taking the two kinds of precedents together we come to the same conclusion as we have stated above.
Thirdly, in cases where the relationship itself becomes doubtful, purdah should be observed even from the mahram relatives. Bukhari, Muslim and Abu Da'ud have related a case where Saudah, a wife of the Holy Prophet, had a brother born of a slave woman. `Utbah, the father of Saudah and the boy, left a will enjoining his brother, Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas, to look after the boy as a nephew for he was from his own seed. When the case came before the Holy Prophet, he rejected the claim of Hadrat Sa 'd, saying: "The boy belongs to him on whose bed he was born; as for the adulterer, let stones and pebbles be his lot." But at the same time he told Hadrat Saudah to observe purdah from the boy because it was doubtful whether he was really her brother.
*43 The Arabic word nisa-i -hinna means "their female associates". Before we consider what women are exactly meant, it is worth noting that the word used here is not an-nisa, which merely means "women", but nisa i-hinna which means "their female associates". In the former case, it would be quite permissible for a Muslim woman to appear unveiled before all sorts of women and display her adornment. The use of nisa-i-hinna, however, has circumscribed her freedom within a specific circle. As to what specific circle of women is implied, the commentators and jurists have expressed different opinions.
According to one group, the "female associates" mean only the Muslim women; as for the non-Muslim women, whether zimmis or otherwise, they are excluded and purdah should be observed from them as from men. Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and Ibn Juraij hold this opinion and cite the following incident in support thereof: Caliph `Umar wrote to Hadrat Abu `Ubaidah: "I hear that some Muslim women have started going to public baths along with the non-Muslim women. It is not permissible for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day that she should expose her body before the women other than of her own community." On receipt of this letter Hadrat Abu `Ubaidah was much upset, and he cried out: "May the face of the woman who goes to the public baths to whiten her complexion be blackened on the Last Day!" (Ibn Jarir, Baihaqi, Ibn Kathir).
Another group, which includes Imam Razi, is of the view that "female associates" are all women without exception. But it is not possible to accept this view as in that case an-nisa should have sufficed and there was no need to use nisa-i-hinna.
The third opinion, and this appears to be reasonable and nearer the Qur'anic Text, is that "their female associates" mean those familiar and known women with whom a woman usually comes into contact in her daily life and who share in her household chores, etc. whether they are Muslim or non-Muslim. The object here is to exclude those women from the circle who are either strangers whose cultural and moral background is not known or whose antecedents are apparently doubtful, which make them unreliable. This view is also supported by the authentic Traditions which state that zimmi women used to visit the wives of the Holy Prophet. The real thing to be considered in this connection would be the moral character and not the religious belief. Muslim women can meet and have intimate social contacts with noble, modest and virtuous women, who come from well-known and reliable families even if they are non-Muslim. But they must observe purdah from immodest, immoral and vulgar women even if they happen to be "Muslims". Their company from the moral viewpoint is as dangerous as of other men. As for contacts with un-known, unfamiliar women, they may at the most be treated like non-mahram relatives. A woman may uncover her face and hands before them but she must keep the rest of her body and adornments concealed.
*44 There is a good deal of difference of opinion among the jurists about the correct meaning of this injunction. One group holds that this refers only to the slave girls owned by a lady. Accordingly they interpret the Divine Command to mean that the Muslim woman can display her adornment before a slave girl, whether she is an idolatress or a Jew or a Christian, but she cannot appear before a slave man even if he is legally owned by her; for purposes of purdah, he is to be treated just like a free male stranger. This is the view of `Abdullah bin Mas`ud, Mujahid, Hasan Basri, Ibn Sirin, Said bin Musayyab, Ta`us and Imam Abu Hanifah, and a saying of Imam Shafi`i also supports this. They argue that the slave is not a mahram to the lady; if he is freed, e can marry his former owner. Therefore the there fact of his being a slave cannot by itself entitle him to be treated like the male mahrams and allow the lady to appear freely before him. The question why should the words" those in their possession" which are general and applicable to both slaves and slave girls, be restricted to mean only slave girls, is answered by these jurists like this: Though the words are general, the context and background in which they occur snake them specifically applicable to slave girls only. The , words "those in their possession" occur just after "their female associates" in the verse; therefore one could understand that the reference was to a woman's relatives and other associates; this could lead to the misunderstanding that the slave girls perhaps were excluded; the words "those in their possession" therefore were used to clarify that a woman could display her adornments before the slave girls as before her free female associates.
The other group holds that the words "those in their possession" include both the slaves and the slave girls. This is the view of Hadrat `A'ishah, Umm Salamah and some learned scholars of the house of the Holy Prophet and also of Imam Shafi`i. They do not argue merely on the basis of the general meaning of the words, but they also cite precedents from the Sunnah in support of their view. For instance, the incident that the Holy Prophet went to the house of his daughter, Hadrat Fatimah, along with his slave 'Abdullah bin Musa'dah al-Fazari. She was at that time wearing a sheet which would leave the feet exposed if she tried to cover the head, and the head exposed if she tried to cover the feet. The Holy Prophet felt her embarrassment and said: "No harm: there are only your father and your slave!" (Abu Da'ud, Ahmad, Baihaqi on the authority of Anas bin Malik). Ibn 'Asakir has stated that the Holy Prophet had given that slave to Hadrat Fatimah, who brought him up and then freed him. (But the man turned out to be an ungrateful wretch; in the battle of Siffin, he was the bitterest opponent of Hadrat 'Ali and a zealous supporter of Amir Mu`awiyah). They also quote the following words of the Holy Prophet in support of their stand: "When any of you agrees to a deed of emancipation with her slave, and the slave has the necessary means to buy his freedom, she (the owner) should observe purdah from him." (Abu Da'ud, Tirmizi, Ibn Majah on the authority of Umm Salamah).
*45 The literal translation of the Text would be: "those from among the men who are your subordinates and have no desire." The obvious meaning is that apart from the mahram males, a Muslim woman can display her adornment only before the man who satisfies two conditions: firstly, he should be in a subordinate capacity, and secondly, he should be free from sexual urges either due to advanced age, impotence, mental weakness, poverty or low social position, so that he cannot cherish the desire or have the boldness to think evilly of his master's wife, daughter, sister or mother. Anybody who studies this injunction in the right spirit with a view to obeying it, and not for the sake of finding ways and means of escaping from or violating it, will readily appreciate that the bearers, cooks, chauffeurs and other grown up servants employed these days in the houses do not fall in this category. The following clarifications given by the commentators and the jurists of this point would show the type of men envisaged in the verse: Ibn 'Abbas: This implies a man who is a mere simpleton and has no interest in women. Qatadah: A poor man who is attached to you merely for his sustenance. Mujahid: A fool who only needs food and has no desire for women. Sha'bi: The one who is a subordinate; entirely dependent on his master, and cannot have the boldness to cast an evil look at the womenfolk of the house. lbn Zaid: The one who remains attached to a family for such a long time that he is regarded as a member brought up in that house, and who has no desire for the women of the house. He is there merely because he gets his sustenance from the family. Ta'us & Zuhri: An idiot who dces not cherish the desire for the women nor has the courage to do so. (Ibn Jarir, Vol. XVIII, pp. 95-96, Ibn Kathir, Vol. III, p. 285).
The best explanation in this regard is the incident that happened in the time of the Holy Prophet, which has been quoted by Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Da'ud, Nasa'i and Ahmad on the authority of Hadrat `A'ishah and Umm Salamah. There was a certain eunuch in Madinah who was allowed free access to the wives of the Holy Prophet and the other women of the city, on the assumption that he being incapable of sex was free from the sexual urge. One day when the Holy Prophet went to the house of his wife, Umm Salamah, he heard him talking to her brother, 'Abdullah bin Abi Umayyah. He was telling `Abdullah that if Ta`if was taken the following day, he should try to have Badia, daughter of Ghailan Thaqafi. And then he started praising Badia's beauty and her physical charms and even went to the extent of describingher private parts. On hearing this the Holy Prophet said: "O enemy of Allah! You seem to have seen her through." Then he ordered that the women should observe purdah from him and he should not be allowed to enter the houses in future. After this he turned him out of Madinah and forbade the other eunuchs also to enter the houses, because the women did not mind their presence, while they would describe the women of one house before the other men of other houses in the society.This shows that the word "incapable of sex desire" do not merely imply physical impotence. Anyone who is physically unfit but cherishes sex desire in the heart and takesinterest in women, can become the cause of many mischiefs.
*46 That is, the children who do not yet have their sex feelings aroused. This may apply to boys of 11 to12 at the most. Older boys start having sex feelings though they may still be immature otherwise.
*47 The Holy Prophet did not restrict this injunction to the jingle of the ornaments, but has derived from it the principle that besides the look, anything which tends to excite any of the senses, is opposed to the objective for which Allah has forbidden the women to display their adornment. Therefore he ordered the women not to move out with perfumes. According to Hadrat Abu Hurairah, the Holy Prophet said: "Do not stop the bondmaids of Allah from coming to the mosques, but. they should not come with perfumes." (Abu Da'ud, Ahmad). According to another tradition, Hadrat Abu Hurairah passed by a woman who was coming out of the mosque and felt that she had perfumed herself. He stopped her and said: "O bondmaid of AIIah, are you coming from the mosque?" When she replied in the affirmative, he said: "I have heard my beloved Abul Qasim (Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) say that the prayer of the woman who comes to the mosque with perfumes, is not accepted till she purifies herself with a complete hath as is done after a sexual intercourse." (Abu Da'ud, Ibn Majah, Ahmad, Nasa'i). Abu Musa Ash'ari has quoted the Holy Prophet as saying: "A woman who passes on the way with perfumes so that people may enjoy her perfumes, is such and such: he used very harsh words for her." (Tirmizi, Abu Da'ud, Nasa'i). His instruction was that women should use scents with bright colours but light odours. (Abu Da`ud). Similarly the Holy Prophet disapproved that feminine voices should enter the ears of men unnecessarily. In case of genuine need the Qur'an itself has allowed women to speak to men, and the Holy Prophet's wives themselves used to instruct people in religious matters. But where there is no necessity, nor any moral or religious objective, the women have been discouraged to let their voices be heard by men. Thus if the lmam happens to commit a mistake during a congregational prayer, and he is to be warned of the lapse, the men have been taught to say Subhan-Allah (Glory be to Allah), while the women have been instructed to tap their hands only. (Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, Tirmizi, Abu Da'ud, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah).
*48 "Turn towards Allah": Repent of the lapses and errors that you have been committing in this regard so far, and reform your conduct in accordance with the Commands given by Allah and His Prophet.
*49 IT WOULD BE USEFUL TO GIVE HERE A RESUME OF THE OTHER REFORMS WHICH THE HOLY PROPHET INTRODUCED IN THE ISLAMIC SOCIETY AFTER THE REVELATION OF THESE COMMANDMENTS.
(1) He prohibited the other men (even if they are relatives) to see a woman in privacy or sit with her in the absence of her mahram relatives. Hadrat Jabir bin 'Abdullah has reported that the Holy Prophet said: "Do not visit the women whose husbands are away from home, because Satan circulates in one of you like blood." (Tirmizi). According to another Tradition from Hadrat Jabir, the Holy Prophet said: "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should never visit a woman when alone unless she has a mahram relative also present, because the third one would be Satan. " (Ahmad). Imam Ahmad has quoted another Tradition from `Amir bin Rabi'ah to the same effect. The Holy Prophet himself was extremely cautious in this regard Once when he was accompanying his wife Hadrat Safiyyah to her Douse at night, two men of Ansar passed by them on the way. The Holy Prophet stopped them and said: "The woman with me is my wife Safiyyah." They said: "Glory be to Allah! O Messenger of AIlah, could there be any suspicion about you?" The Holy Prophet said: "Satan circulates like blood in the human body; I was afraid lest he should put an evil thought in your minds." (Abu Da'ud).
(2) The Holy Prophet did not approve that a man's hand should even touch the body of a non-mahram woman. That is why while administering the oath of allegiance, he would take the hand of the men into his own hand, but he never adopted this procedure in the case of women. Hadrat 'A'ishah has stated that the Holy Prophet never touched the body of any other woman. He would administer the oath verbally to them; when this was done, he would say: "You may go, Your allegiance is complete." (Abu Da'ud).
(3) He strictly prohibited the woman from proceeding on a journey alone without a mahram or in company with a non-mahram. A Tradition from Ibn 'Abbas has been quoted in Bukhari and Muslim saying that the Holy Prophet gave a sermon and said: "No man should visit the other woman when she is alone unless she has a mahram also present, and no woman should travel alone unless accompanied by a mahram. " A man stood up and said:"My wife is going for Hajj, while I am under orders to join a certain expedition." The Holy Prophet said: "You may go for Hajj with your wife." Severalother Traditions on the subject, emanating from Ibn 'Umar, Abu Said Khudri and Abu Hurairah, are found in authentic books of Traditions, which concur that it is not permissible for a Muslim woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day that she should go on a journey without a mahram. There is, however, a variation with regard to the duration and the length of the journey. Some Traditions lay down the minimum limit as 12 miles and some lay down the duration as one day, a day and night, two days or even three days. This variation, however, neither renders the Traditions unauthentic nor makes it necessary that we should accept one version as legally binding in preference to others. For a plausible explanation for the different versions could be that the Holy Prophet gave different instructions at different occasions depending on the circumstances and merit of each case. For instance, a woman going on a three-day journey might have been prohibited from proceeding without a mahram, while another going on a day's journey might also have been similarly prohibited. Here the real thing is not the different instructions to the different people in different situations, but the principle that a woman should not go on a journey without a mahram as laid down in the Tradition quoted above from lbn 'Abbas.
(4) He not only took practical measures to stop free mixing of the sexes together but prohibited it verbally as well. Everyone knows the great importance of the congregational and the Friday prayers in Islam. The Friday Prayer has been made obligatory by AIIah Himself; the importance of the congregational prayer can be judged from a Tradition of the Holy Prophet, which says: "If a person does not attend the mosque without a genuine reason and offers his prayer at home, it will not be acceptable to AIIah." (Abu Da'ud, Ibn Majah, Daraqutni, Hakim on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas).But in spite of this, the Holy Prophet exempted the women from compulsory attendance at the Friday Prayer. (Abu Da'ud, Daraqutni, Baihaqi). As for the other congregational prayers, he made the women's attendance optional, saying: "Do not stop them if they want to come to the mosque." Then at the same time, he made the clarification that it was better forthem to pray in their houses than in the mosques. According to Ibn 'Umar and Abu Hurairah, the Holy Prophet said: "Do not prohibit the bondmaids of Allah from coming to the mosques of AIIah." (Abu Da'ud). Other Traditions from Ibn 'Umar are to the effect: "Permit the women to come to themosques at night." (Bukhari, Muslim, Trimizi, Nasa'i, Abu Da'ud). And: "Do not stop your women-folk from coming to the mosques though their houses are better for them than the mosques." (Ahmad, Abu Da'ud). Umm Humaid Sa'idiyyah states that once she said to the Holy Prophet, "O Messenger of Allah, I have a great desire to offer my prayer under your leadership." He replied: "Your offering the prayer in your room is better than your offering it in the verandah, and your offering the prayer in your house is better Bran your offering it in the neighbouring mosque, and your offering the prayer in the neighbouring mosque is better than offering it in the principal mosque (of the town)." (Ahmad, Tabarani). A Tradition to the same effect has been reported from 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud in Abu Da'ud. According to Hadrat Umm Salamah, the Holy Prophet said: "The best mosques for women are the innermost portions of their houses." (Ahmad, Tabarani). But when Hadrat 'A'ishah saw the conditions that prevailed in the time of the Umayyads, she said: "If the Holy Prophet had witnessed such conduct of the women, he would certainly have stopped their entry into the mosques as was done in the case of the Israelite women," (Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Da'ud). The Holy Prophet had appointed a separate door in his Mosque for the entry of women, and Hadrat 'Umar in his time had given strict orders prohibiting men to use that door. (Abu Da'ud). In the congregational prayers the women were instructed to stand separately behind the men; at the conclusion of the prayer, the Holy Prophet and his followers used to remain sitting for a while so that the women could leave the mosque before the men. (Ahmad, Bukhari). The Holy Prophet would say: "The best row for the men is the front row and the worst the last one (nearest to the women's row); and the best row for the women is the rearmost row And the worst the front one (just behind the men's). (Muslim, Abu Da'ud, Tirmizi Nasa'i, A hmad). The women joined the 'Id congregational prayers but they had a separate enclosure from men. After the sermon the Holy Prophet used to address them separately (Abu Da'ud, Bukhari, Muslim). Once outside the Mosque the Holy Prophet saw the men and women moving side by side in the crowd. He stopped the women and said: It is not proper for you to walk in the middle of the road; walk on the sides." On hearing this the women immediately started walking along the walls. (Abu Da'ud). AII these Commandments clearly show that mixed gatherings of the men and women are wholly alien to the temper of Islam. It cannot therefore be imagined that Divine Law which disallows the men and women to stand side by side for prayers in the sacred houses of AIIah, would allow them to mix together freely in colleges, offices, clubs and other gatherings.
(5) HE PERMITTED THE WOMEN TO MAKE MODEST USE of the make-ups, even instructedthem to do so, but strictly forbade its overdoing. Of the various types of make-up and decoration that were prevalent among the Arab women in those days, he declared the following as accursed and destructive of communities:
(a) To add extra hair to one's own artificially with a view to make them appear longer and thicker.
(b) To tattoo various parts of the body and produce artificial moles.
(c) To pluck hair from the eyebrows to give them a special shape, or to pluck hair from the face to give it a cleaner look.
(d) To rub the teeth to make them sharp or to produce artificial holes in them.
(e) To rub the face with saffron or other cosmetic to produce an artificial complexion.
These instructions have been reported in Sihah Sitta and in Musnad Ahmad on the authority of Hadrat `A'ishah, Asma' bint Abu Bakr, Hadrat 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud, 'Abdullah bin `Umar, 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas and Amir Mu'awiyah through reliable narrators.
After having the knowledge of these clear Commandments froth Allah and His Prophet, a Muslim has only two courses open before him. Either he should follow these Commandments practically and purify himself, his family life and the society at large of the moral evils for the eradication of which Allah and His Prophet have given such detailed Commandments, or if due to some weakness he violates one or more of these Commandments, he should at least realize that he is committing a sin, and regard it as such, and should abstain from labelling it as a virtue by misinterpretation. Apart from these alternatives, the people who adopt the Western, ways of life against the clear injunctions of the Qur'an and Sunnah, and then try their utmost to prove them Islam itself, and openly claim that there is no such thing as purdah in Islam, not only commit the sin of disobedience but also display ignorance and hypocritical obstinacy. Such an attitude can neither be commended by any right-thinking person in this world, nor can it merit favour with Allah in the Hereafter. But among the Muslims there exists a section of modern hypocrites who are so advanced in their hypocrisy that they repudiate the Divine injunctions as false and believe those ways of life to be right and based on truth, which they have borrowed from the non-Muslim communities. Such people are not Muslims at aII, for if they still be Muslims, the words 'lslam' and 'unIslam' lose aII their meaning and significance. Had they changed their lslamic names and publicly declared their desertion of lslam, we would at least have been convinced of their moral courage. But in spite of their wrong attitudes, these people continue to pose themselves as Muslim. There is perhaps no meaner class of people in the world. People with such character and morality cannot be unexpected to indulge in any forgery, fraud, deception or dishonesty. 

وَأَنْكِحُوا الْأَيَامَىٰ مِنْكُمْ وَالصَّالِحِينَ مِنْ عِبَادِكُمْ وَإِمَائِكُمْ ۚ إِنْ يَكُونُوا فُقَرَاءَ يُغْنِهِمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ {24:32}

[Q24:32] Wa ankihul ayaamaa minkum was saaliheena min 'ibaadikum wa imaa'kum; iny-yakoonoo fuqaraaa'a yughni himul laahu min fadlih; wal laahu Waasi'un 'Aleem. 
[Q24:32] And marry those among you who are single and those who are fit among your male slaves and your female slaves; if they are needy, ALLAH (SWT) will make them free from want out of His grace; and ALLAH (SWT) is Ample-giving, Knowing.

[Q24:32] Dan kahwinkanlah orang-orang bujang (lelaki dan perempuan) dari kalangan kamu, dan orang-orang yang soleh dari hamba-hamba kamu, lelaki dan perempuan. Jika mereka miskin, ALLAH (SwT) akan memberikan kekayaan kepada mereka dari limpah kurniaNya kerana ALLAH (SwT) Maha Luas (rahmatNya dan limpah kurniaNya), lagi Maha Mengetahui. 

Ayama, plural of aiyim (single), here means anyone not in the bond of wedlock, whether unmarried or lawfully divorced, or widowed. THE CHOICE OF THE SPOUSE SHOULD NOT BE INFLUENCED BY BEAUTY OR WEALTH. THERE IS NO BETTER QUALITY THAN RIGHTEOUSNESS TO BE SOUGHT IN THE LIFE-PARTNER.

There is no other alternative for normal human beings except fulfilment of sexual desires through lawful means. So the act of wedding is in itself a virtue. IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE CONTINUATION OF LIFE ON THE EARTH IN ORDER TO SERVE THE MEANINGFUL PLAN OF THE AUTHOR OF THE UNIVERSE. Any deviation from the law laid down by ALLAH (SWT) to discipline this procreative activity not only leads to unmanageable disorder but also condemns the human soul to spiritual depravity and devastation.

The normal way to the life of perfection is marriage, not celibacy, suppression of the natural urge which is given to man for continuation of life. CELIBACY IS UNNATURAL. IT IS A DENIAL OF THE DIVINE PLAN. SO IT NEVER WORKED AS A GENUINE ACTIVITY. In the subterranean dwellings of almost all the monasteries thousands of skeletons of murdered children have been found.

±  According to the Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) a true Muslim has to marry, *not for the satisfaction of lust or *for acquisition of wealth, BUT to bring righteous servants of ALLAH (SWT) in this world for the service and worship of the Lord. He declared that nikah (wedlock) was his way of life. ALLAH (SWT) has promised to give necessary means of sustenance to every created being that lives in this world, so not to marry for the fear of poverty amounts to want of trust in ALLAH (SWT).

The modern tendency to satisfy sex desires through "permissive means" and "living together" by avoiding the discipline of matrimony and its consequences on the false excuse of insufficient means to bear the burden of "more mouths to feed" is unislamic.

Ø  The Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) said:

"A two rakat salat prayed by a married person is better than the whole night of prayers and a day of fasting spent by an unmarried person."

Every healthy person with sufficient means is liable to seek fulfilment of the sexual desire, SO it is obligatory to marry, OTHERWISE the outlet would be adultery.

The HOLY PROPHET (ALLAHUMA SALLI ALAA MUHAMMAD WA ALI MUHAMMAD) says:

§  “Get yourselves into wedlock and meet, and multiply your number, and verily on the Day of Judgment, I shall pride upon the superiority of the strength of the believers over the followers of the other people, counting even the incomplete aborted children.”

§  ‘Nikah’ (Wedlock) is my course and whosoever turn away from my course, he is not of me.”

§  ‘Whosoever abstains from a wedlock for fear of his limited means, has suspected the bona-fide of ALLAH (SWT)’s promise of His grace to make him free of need, for ALLAH (SWT) has definitely promised in the Holy Qur’an to do it.’

If due to excess of passion for sex enjoyment, there be any risk of anyone getting involved in fornication, then it becomes ‘Wajib’, i.e., compulsory for a man to marry.

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(24:32) Arrange marriages between the single men and women among your *50 and between your slave men and slave women, who are righteous, *51, *52 if they be indigent, Allah will provide means for them out of His bounty: *53 Allah has boundless resources and He is AllKnowing.

*50. The word ayama is the plural of ayyim which means a single person, and is applicable to every tnan who is without a wife and to every woman who is without a husband. 
*51. That is, those who show the right attitude in their dealings with you and in whom you find the capability of discharging the responsibilities of married life. The owner whose slave dces not show the right attitude nor seems to possess the necessary capability and temper to lead a reasonably happy married life, has not been required to arrange his or her marriage. For in that case he would become the cause of ruining another person's life. This condition, however, has not been imposed on free persons because in their case the people who promote marriages are no more than mere advisers, associates and introducers. The actual marriage depends on the mutual willingness of the bride and the bridegroom. In the case of a slave, however, the entire responsibility lies on the owner, and if he makes the mistake of marrying a poor person with an ill-natured, ill-mannered spouse, the responsibility for the consequences will be entirely his.
*52.The imperative mood of the verb in "Arrange marriages .... the right attitude", has led some scholars to assume that it is obligatory to arrange such marriages; whereas the nature of the problem indicates that it cannot be so. Obviously it cannot. be obligatory for somebody to arrange the marriage of the other person. Marriage is not a one-sided affair; it needs another party also. If it were obligatory, what would be the position of the person who is going to be married? Should he willingly accept to be married wherever others arrange it? If so, it would mean that he or she had absolutely no choice in the matter. And if the one has a right to refuse, how are the others going to discharge their responsibility? Taking aII these aspects into account the majority of the jurists have held that the Commandment is not obligatory but recommendatory. The intention is that the Muslims should ensure that none in the society should retrain unmarried. The people of the house, friends and neighbours, alI should take necessary interest in the matter, and where no such help is available, the state should make necessary arrangements.
*53. This does not mean that AIIah will certainly bestow wealth on anybody who marries. The intention is to discourage a calculative approach. This instruction is both for the parents of the girl and of the boy. The former should not reject a pious and virtuous suitor merely because he happens to be poor. Similarly the boy's parents should not go on postponing his marriage because he is not yet a full earning member or is not yet earning sufficiently. Young melt have been advised not to go on postponing their marriage unnecessarily waiting for better times Even if the income is not yet sufficient, one should marry with full faith in AIIah Very often the marriage itself becomes the cause of improving straitened circumstances. The wife helps to control the family budget, or the husband starts to exert himself more to meet the new challenges and responsibilities. The wife cap: also earn to supplement the family budget. Then, who knows what the future holds in store for him. Good times can change into bad times and bad into good. One should therefore refrain from being too calculative in this regard. 

وَلْيَسْتَعْفِفِ الَّذِينَ لَا يَجِدُونَ نِكَاحًا حَتَّىٰ يُغْنِيَهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ ۗ وَالَّذِينَ يَبْتَغُونَ الْكِتَابَ مِمَّا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ فَكَاتِبُوهُمْ إِنْ عَلِمْتُمْ فِيهِمْ خَيْرًا ۖ وَآتُوهُمْ مِنْ مَالِ اللَّهِ الَّذِي آتَاكُمْ ۚ وَلَا تُكْرِهُوا فَتَيَاتِكُمْ عَلَى الْبِغَاءِ إِنْ أَرَدْنَ تَحَصُّنًا لِتَبْتَغُوا عَرَضَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ۚ وَمَنْ يُكْرِهْهُنَّ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ مِنْ بَعْدِ إِكْرَاهِهِنَّ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ {24:33}

[Q24:33] Wal yasta'fifil lazeena laa yajidoona nikaahan hata yughniyahumul laahu mi fadlih; wallazeena yabtaghoonal kitaaba mimmaa malakat aimaanukum fakaatiboohum in 'alimtum feehim khairanw wa aatoohum mimmaalil laahil lazeee aataakum; wa laa tukrihoo fatayaatikum 'alal bighaaa'i in aradna tahassunal litabtaghoo 'aradal hayaatid dunyaa; wa mai yukrihhunna fa innal laaha mim ba'di ikraahihinna Ghafoor Raheem. 
[Q24:33] And let those who do not find the means to marry keep chaste until ALLAH (SWT) makes them free from want out of His grace. And (as for) those who ask for a writing from among those whom your right hands possess, give them the writing if you know any good in them, and give them of the wealth of ALLAH (SWT) which He has given you; and do not compel your slave girls to prostitution, when they desire to keep chaste, in order to seek the frail good of this world's life; and whoever compels them, then surely after their compulsion ALLAH (SWT) is Forgiving, Merciful.

[Q24:33] Dan orang-orang yang tidak mempunyai kemampuan berkahwin, hendaklah mereka menjaga kehormatannya sehingga ALLAH (SwT) memberi kekayaan kepada mereka dari limpah kurniaNya; dan hamba-hamba kamu (lelaki dan perempuan) yang hendak membuat surat perjanjian untuk memerdekakan dirinya (dengan jumlah bayaran yang tertentu), hendaklah kamu melaksanakan perjanjian itu dengan mereka jika kamu mengetahui ada sifat-sifat yang baik pada diri mereka (yang melayakkannya berbuat demikian) dan berilah kepada mereka dari harta ALLAH (SwT) yang telah dikurniakan kepada kamu dan janganlah kamu paksakan hamba-hamba perempuan kamu melacurkan diri manakala mereka mahu menjaga kehormatannya, kerana kamu berkehendakkan kesenangan hidup di dunia. Dan sesiapa yang memaksa mereka, maka sesungguhnya ALLAH (SwT) sesudah paksaan yang dilakukan kepada mereka Maha Pengampun, lagi Maha Mengasihani.

A MUSLIM CANNOT SATISFY HIS NATURAL CRAVINGS OUTSIDE MARRIAGE. If he cannot afford to maintain a family he must wait for ALLAH (SWT)'s grace and keep himself chaste until ALLAH (SWT) gives him sufficient means. In religion fasting has been recommended for such a person.

µ  Kitab refers to a written instrument which allows a slave to redeem himself on paying a certain amount. This document obliges the master to set his slave at liberty on receiving the agreed amount which the slave collects either by his labour or by receiving donations from others. See fiqh.

SLAVERY IS NOW OBSOLETE. Islam made it possible to put an end to slavery by enacting laws which, step by step, gave freedom to slaves. SEE THE COMMENTARY OF AL BAQARAH 2:177. TO SET A SLAVE FREE WAS CONSIDERED TO BE ONE OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHING QUALITIES OF A BELIEVER. The Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) came with the divine message of Islam in a world wholly governed by the institution of slavery. A worst form of slavery was the basis of all human activity, social, economic and political. In such a predominantly slave-based system of social order Islam began to liberate slaves.

v  According to Imam Jafar bin Muhammad as Sadiq it is the duty of a true believer to forgo the agreed amount if the slave desires freedom. Although the Imams among the Ahlul Bayt gave freedom to their slaves BUT it is a historic fact that most of them refused to leave the service of the Imams. Even today the free followers of these Imams feel proud to say that they are the slaves (followers) of the Imams of the Ahlul Bayt.

What is now called the "white slave traffic" was carried on by wicked people like Abdullah ibn Obay who hired six women slaves for prostitution. According to this verse no more despicable trade can be imagined, so it is emphatically condemned and prohibited.

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(24:33) And those, who cannot find a match, should observe continence till Allah provides them with means out of His bounty *54 And if those who are in your possession, ask for a deed of emancipation, execute the deed of emancipation *55 with them, *56 provided that you find some good in them; *57 and give them something out of the means Allah has given you. *58 And do not force your slave-girls into prostitution for your own worldly gains when they themselves want to keep chaste; *59 and if anyone forces them into it, after such a compulsion Allah will be forgiving and merciful for them.

*54 The best commentary on these verses are the Traditions which have been reported from the Holy Prophet in this connection. Hadrat 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud has related that the Holy Prophet once said: "O young men, whoso among you can afford to marry, he should marry, because this will be a means of restraining the eyes from casting the evil look and of keeping one pure and chaste, and the one who cannot afford, should fast, because fasting helps cool down the passions." (Bukhari, Muslim). According to Hadrat Abu Hurairah, the Holy Prophet said: "Allah has taken upon Himself to succour three men: (a) the one who marries with a view to guarding his chastity, (b) the slave who works to earn his freedom, and (c) the one who goes out to fight in the way of AIlah." (Tirmizi, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, Ahmad) For further explanation, see Surah An-Nisa: 25. 
*55 Mukatabat as a term means a deed of emancipation between the owner and the slave entitling the latter to earn his or her freedom after payment of an agreed sum of money in a certain period. This is one of the methods laid down i» Islam for the slaves to attain their freedom. It is not essential that the slave must always pay in cash; he can also earn his freedom by rendering some special service to the owner, provided that both the parties agree. Once the agreement is signed, the owner is not entitled to put any obstacles in the way of the slave's freedom. He will have to provide opportunities to enable him to earn for his emancipation and shall have to free him when the agreed amount has been paid in time. In the time of Hadrat 'Umar, a slave entered into such an agreement with his lady owner, but managed to collect the amount in advance of the time limit. When the amount was offered to the lady, she refused to accept it on the ground that she would like to have it in monthly and yearly instalments. The slave complained to Hadrat 'Umar who ordered that the amount be deposited in the state treasury and the slave be sec free. The lady was informed that her money lay in the treasury and she had the option to take it in a lump sum or in yearly or monthly instalments. (Daraqutni).
*56 A group of jurists have interpreted the words "execute the deed of emancipation with them" to mean that it is obligatory for the owner to accept the offer of a slave to earn his emancipation This is the view of 'Ata', 'Amr bin Dinar Ibn Sirin, Masruq, Dahhak, `Ikrimah, the Zahiriyyah and Ibn Jarir Tabari, and Imam Shafi'i 'also favoured it in the beginning. The other group holds that it .is not obligatory but only recommendatory and commendable. This group includes jurists like Sha'bi, Muqatil bin Hayyan, Hasan Basri, 'Abdul Rahman bin Zaid, Sufyan Thauri, Abu Hanifah and Malik bin Anas and Imam Shafi`i later on also had adopted this view. The first view is supported by two things: 
(a) The imperative mood of the verb in "execute the deed...,' suggests that it is a Command front Allah. 
(b) Authentic Traditions contain the incident that when Sirin, father of Hadrat Muhammad bin Sirin, the great jurist and traditionalist, made a request to his master, Hadrat Anas, for a deed of emancipation, the latter refused to accept it. Sirin took he matter before Hadrat `Umar, who whip in hand turned on Anas, saying: "Allah's Command is that you execute the deed." (Bukhari). From this it has been argued that it was not a discretionary and personal decision of Hadrat 'Umar but it was taken in the presence of the Companions and none expressed any difference of opinion. This therefore should be taken as an authentic interpretation of the verse.
The other group argues that Allah does not merely say: "Execute the deed of emancipation with them", but adds: ". . . provided that you trod some good in them." This condition of finding some good in them" lies entirely on the owner, and there is no fixed standard or means by which the question of "finding good in them" be got adjudicated through a court. Legal injunctions are never couched in such language. As such this injunction can only be regarded as recommendatory and not as legally mandatory. As regards the precedent of the case of Sirin, the jurists say that there was not one slave who asked for a deed of emancipation but thousands of them in the time of the Holy Prophet and the rightly-guided Caliphs, and a large number of them earned their freedom in that way. But apart from Sirin's there is no case where an owner was forced by a judicial verdict to execute a deed of emancipation. Accordingly this decision of Hadrat 'Umar cannot be taken as a judicial decision. All that can be said is that Hadrat `Umar, apart from his position of a judge, was like a father to the Muslims and might have used his paternal authority in a matter where he could not intervene as a judge. 
*57 "Good" implies three things:
(a) The slave must be capable of earning his emancipation money through hard work and labour. The Holy Prophet has said: "Execute the deed when you are sure that the slave can earn the required amount of money; do not let him go about begging the people for it." (Ibn Kathir). 
(b) He should be honest, truthful and reliable for the purposes of the agreement. He should nuke the best of the opportunities and should not waste his earnings. 
(c) The owner should make sure that the slave has no immoral trends and does not harbour feelings of enmity against Islam or the Muslims, nor should there be any apprehension that his freedom might prove harmful to the interests of the Muslim society. In other words, he should prove to be a loyal and faithful member of the Muslim society and not a fifth columnist. It should be noted that such precautions were absolutely necessary in the case of the prisoners of war taken as slaves. 
*58 This Command is general and is addressed to the owners, the common Muslims and the Islamic government. 
(a) The owner is instructed that he should remit a part of the emancipation money. There are traditions to confirm that the Companions used to remit a sizeable amount of the emancipation money to their slaves. Hadrat 'Ali used to remit a quarter of the amount and exhorted others also to do the same. (lbn Jarir). 
(b) The common Muslim is instructed that he should extend liberal help to all such slaves who asked for help in this regard. One of the heads of Zakat expenditure as laid down in the Qur'an is "the ransoming of slaves". (IX: 60) In the sight of Allah "freeing of slaves" is a great act of virtue. (XC:13). According to a Tradition, a Bedouin came to the Holy Prophet and requested him to instruct him what he should do to earn Paradise. The Holy Prophet replied "You have asked about the most important thing in a most concise way. You should free the slaves and help them to earn their freedom,  If you present a head of cattle to somebody, present such a one as gives plenty of milk. Treat your relatives kindly even if they treat you unjustly. If you cannot do all this, you should feed the poor, give water to the thirsty, exhort the people to do good and forbid them to do evil. If you cannot do even this, you should restrain your tongue: if you have to speak, speak something good, otherwise keep quiet"'. (Baihaqi).
(c) The Islamic government is advised to spend a part of the Zakat collections on the emancipation of slaves. 
Here it should be noted that slaves in the ancient tunes were of three kinds: (i) Prisoners of war, (ii) Free men who were captured and traded as slaves, (iii) Hereditary slaves who did not know when their ancestors became slaves and to which of the above categories they originally belonged. Before the advent of Islam, Arabia as well as the outside world abounded in all kinds of slaves. The entire social and economic structure of society depended more on slave labour than on servants and wage-earners. The first question before Islam was to tackle the problem of the hereditary slaves, and secondly, to find a solution to the entire problem of slavery for all times to come. In tackling the first problem, Islam did not abruptly abrogate the ownership rights in respect of the hereditary slaves as it would have completely paralysed the entire social and economic system, and involved Arabia in a far more destructive civil war than the one fought in America, leaving the problem where it was as it is in America, where the Negroes are still facing humiliation and disgrace. Islam did not follow any such foolhardy policy of reform. Instead it generated a great moral movement for the emancipation of slaves and employed inducements, persuasions, religious injunctions and legal enactments to educate and motivate the people to free the slaves voluntarily for earning their salvation in the Hereafter, or as expiation of their sins as enjoined by Islam, or by accepting monetary compensation. To set the pace the Holy Prophet himself freed 63 slaves. One of his wives, Hadrat 'A'ishah, alone treed 67 slaves. The Holy Prophet's uncle, Hadrat `Abbas, freed 70 slaves. Among others, Hakim bin Hizam freed 100 slaves, 'Abdullah bin 'Umar 1,000, Zulkal'a Himyari 8,000, and 'Abdur Rehman bin 'Auf 30,000. The other Companions among whom Hadrat Abu Bakr and Hadrat 'Uthman were prominent also set a large number of slaves free. The people, in order to win Allah's favour, not only emancipated their own slaves, but also bought them from others and then set them free. The result was that in so far as hereditary slaves were concerned, almost aII of them had been freed even before the righteous Caliphate came to an end.
As for the future, Islam completely prohibited free men from being kidnapped and traded as slaves. As for the prisoners of war, it was permitted (not commanded) that they might be kept as slaves so long as they were not exchanged for Muslim prisoners of war, or freed on payment of ransom. Then, on the one hand, the slaves were aIso allowed to earn their freedom through written agreements with their masters, and on the other, the masters were exhorted to set them free just like the hereditary slaves, as an act of virtue, to win Allah's approval, or as expiation of sins, or by willing that a slave would automatically gain his freedom on the master's death, or that a slave girl would be free on the master's death if she had borne him children, whether he had left a will or not. This is how Islam solved the problem of slavery. Ignorant people raise objections without trying to understand this solution, and the apologists offer aII sorts of apologies and have even to deny the fact that Islam had prohibited slavery absolutely.
*59 This does not mean that if the slave girls do not want to lead a chaste and virtuous life they can be forced into prostitution. It only means this that if a slave girl commits an immoral act of her own free will, she herself is responsible for it and the law will be applied against her alone. But if the owner forces her into it, it will be entirely his responsibility, and the law will proceed against him. Obviously the question of force arises only when someone is compelled to act against his own will. As for the words "for your own worldly gains", these have not been used in a conditional or restrictive sense that if the owner is not sharing the immoral earnings of the slave girl, he is not an offender if he forces her into prostitution. The intention is to declare all such money unlawful as has been earned through illegal and immoral ways.
It is, however, not possible to comprehend the full import of this injunction merely from the words of the text. For this it is necessary to understand the entire background and circumstances prevalent at the time of its revelation. Prostitution in Arabia existed in two forms: Domestic prostitution and open prostitution in the brothel. 
(a) 'Domestic' prostitution was carried out by freed slave girls who had no guardians, or by free women who had no family or tribal support. They would take residence in a house and enter into an agreement with a number of men simultaneously for financial help in return for sexual gratification. Whenever a child was born, the mother would name whomsoever she liked as its father and the man was accepted in society as the father of the child. This was an established custom in the pre-Islamic days, which was considered almost analogous to "marriage". When Islam came, it recognised only that contract as legal marriage where a woman had only one husband. Thus all other forms of sexual gratification came to be regarded as adultery and punishable offences as such. (Abu Da'ud).
(b) Open prostitution which was carried out entirely through slave girls was of two kinds. First, the slave girls were obliged to pay a fixed heavy amount every month to the owner, which they could only earn through prostitution. The owner knew fully well how the money was earned, and in fact there was no other object of imposing a heavy demand on the poor slave girl, especially when it was much higher than the usual wages for work or labour. Secondly, beautiful and young slave girls were made to stay in the brothel and a flag was put at the door to indicate that a "needy person" could satisfy his lust there. Such women were called "qaliqiyat" and their houses were well known as, "mawakhir"'. AlI prominent men of the 'day owned and maintained such houses of prostitution. `Abdullah bin Ubayy (the chief of the hypocrites of Madinah, who had been nominated as king of Madinah before the Holy Prophet's arrival there and who was in the forefront of the campaign to slander Hadrat `A'ishah) himself owned a regular house of prostitution in Madinah, which had six beautiful slave girls. Not only did he earn money through them but also used them to entertain his respectable and important guests who came to see him from different parts of Arabia. He employed the illegitimate children thus born to enhance the splendour and strength of his army of slaves. When one of these prostitutes, named Mu'azah, accepted Islam and wanted to offer repentance for her past sins, Ibn Ubayy subjected her to torture. She complained of it to Hadrat Abu Bakr, who brought it to the notice of the Holy Prophet. The Holy Prophet ordered that the woman be taken away from the cruel man. (Ibn Jarir, Vol. XVIII, pp. 55 -58, and 103-104; AlIsti`ab Vol 11, p. 762; p. 762; Ibn Kathir, Vol. III, pp. 288-289). Such were the conditions when this verse was revealed. If these conditions are kept in view, it will become obvious that the real object was not merely to stop the slave girls from being forced into prostitution but to ban prostitution itself as illegal within the boundaries of the Islamic state. Simultaneously there was a declaration of general pardon for those who had been forced into this business in the past.
After the revelation of this Divine Command the Holy Prophet declared: "There is no place for prostitution in Islam." (Abu Da'ud). The second Command that he gave was that the earnings made through adultery were unlawful, impure and absolutely forbidden. According to a tradition reported by Rafi` bin Khadij, the Holy Prophet described such earnings as impure, product of the worst profession and most filthy income. (Abu Da'ud, Tirmizi, Nasa'i). According to Abu Huzaifah, he termed the money earned through prostitution as unlawful. (Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad). Abu Mas`ud `Uqbah bin `Amr says that the Holy Prophet forbade the people to take prostitution earnings. (Sihah Sitta and Ahmad). The third Command was that the slave girl could be employed for lawful manual labour, but the owner had no right to impose or receive any money from her about which he was not sure how it had been earned. According to Rafi` bin Khadij, he prohibited accepting any earnings from the slave girl unless it was known how she had earned it. (Abu Da'ud). Rafi` bin Rifa`ah Ansari has reported the same Command in clearer words. He says: "The Prophet of Allah prohibited us from accepting anything from the earnings of a slave girl except that which she earned through manual labour, such as (and he indicated this with his hand) baking bread, spinning cotton or carding wool or cotton." (Musnad Ahmad, Abu Da'ud). Another tradition quoted from Hadrat Abu Hurairah in Abu Da'ud and Musnad Ahmad says that taking of money earned by a slave girl through unlawful means is prohibited. Thus the Holy Prophet in accordance with the intention of this verse, banned by religious injunction and law all kinds of prostitution prevalent in Arabia in those days. Over and above this, the decision he gave in the case of Mu'azah, the slave girl of `Abdullah bin Ubayy, shows that an owner who forces his slave girl into prostitution loses his rights of ownership over her. This is a tradition from Imam Zuhri, which Ibn Kathir has quoted on the authority of Musnad `Abdur Razzaq. 

وَلَقَدْ أَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ آيَاتٍ مُبَيِّنَاتٍ وَمَثَلًا مِنَ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ وَمَوْعِظَةً لِلْمُتَّقِينَ {24:34}

[Q24:34] Wa laqad anzalnaaa ilaikum Aayaatim mubaiyinaatinw wa masalam minnal lazeena khalaw min qablikum wa maw'izatal lilmuttaqeen. 
[Q24:34] And certainly We have sent to you clear communications and a description of those who have passed away before you, and an admonition to those who guard (against evil).

[Q24:34] Dan sesungguhnya, Kami telah menurunkan kepada kamu, ayat-ayat keterangan yang menjelaskan (hukum-hukum suruh dan tegah) dan contoh tauladan (mengenai kisah-kisah dan berita) orang-orang yang telah lalu sebelum kamu, serta nasihat pengajaran bagi orang-orang yang (mahu) bertakwa.

THE GUIDANCE FROM ALLAH (SWT) HAS BEEN MADE AVAILABLE TO ALL MANKIND, BUT ONLY THOSE WHO ***SAFEGUARD THEMSELVES AGAINST EVIL WITH ***FULL AWARENESS OF THE LAWS MADE BY ALLAH (SWT) FOLLOW IT as has also been said in al Baqarah 2:2 and Ali Imran 3:138.

ä  This verse indicates that the history of the people who passed away is a lesson for the living and future generations.

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(24:34) We have sent down to you Revelations giving clear guidance and cited examples of the peoples who went before you to serve as warning and We have imparted admonitions for the God-fearing. *60

*60 This verse is not only connected with the verse inunediately preceding it but with the entire discourse right from the beginning. "Revelations giving clear guidance" are those verses which: (1) state the law concerning Zina, Qazf and Li an. (2) forbid the believers to marry impure men or women, (3) prohibit the slandering of chaste people and propagating indecencies in society, (4) lay stress on men and women to restrain their gaze and guard their private parts, (5) prescribe the limits of purdah` for women, (6) disapprove of the marriageable people's remaining unmarried, (7) lay down the rule for slaves to earn their freedom through written agreements, and (8) ban prostitution to purify society. After all these commands and instructions, a warning is being given that now if the people violated these instructions it would only mean that they wanted to meet with the same doom as had been the lot of the wretched communities before them, whose stories have been related in the Qur'an itself. There could probably be no severer warning at the end of an edict. But it is a pity that a people who profess to he believers, and recite the holy edict and hold it sacred, yet continue to defy and violate its provisions in spite of the severe warning.

SECTION 5

God is Light

God, He is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth – Similitude of the Radiance of the Divine Light—God guideth unto His Light whomsoever He pleaseth – In which Holy House the Divine Light Burns – The Divine qualities the holy members of the Sacred House possess – God provides sustenance to whomsoever He pleases without a measure – The similitude of the Disbelivers gone astray.

اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۚ مَثَلُ نُورِهِ كَمِشْكَاةٍ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ ۖ الْمِصْبَاحُ فِي زُجَاجَةٍ ۖ الزُّجَاجَةُ كَأَنَّهَا كَوْكَبٌ دُرِّيٌّ يُوقَدُ مِنْ شَجَرَةٍ مُبَارَكَةٍ زَيْتُونَةٍ لَا شَرْقِيَّةٍ وَلَا غَرْبِيَّةٍ يَكَادُ زَيْتُهَا يُضِيءُ وَلَوْ لَمْ تَمْسَسْهُ نَارٌ ۚ نُورٌ عَلَىٰ نُورٍ ۗ يَهْدِي اللَّهُ لِنُورِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ ۚ وَيَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ الْأَمْثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ {24:35}

[Q24:35] Allaahu noorus samaawaati wal ard; masalu noorihee kamishkaatin feehaa misbaah; almisbaahu fee zujaajatin azzujaajatu ka annahaa kawkabun durriyyuny yooqadu min shajaratim mubaarakatin zaitoonatil laa shariqiyyatinw wa laa gharbiyyatiny yakaadu zaituhaa yudeee'u wa law alm tamsashu naar; noorun 'alaa noor; yahdil laahu linoorihee mai yashaaa'; wa yadribul laahul amsaala linnaas; wallaahu bikulli shai'in Aleem. 
[Q24:35] ALLAH (SWT) is the light of the heavens and the earth; a likeness of His light is as a niche in which is a lamp, the lamp is in a glass, (and) the glass is as it were a brightly shining star, lit from a blessed olive-tree, neither eastern nor western, the oil whereof almost gives light though fire touch it not-- light upon light-- ALLAH (SWT) guides to His light whom He pleases, and ALLAH (SWT) sets forth parables for men, and ALLAH (SWT) is Cognizant of all things.

[Q24:35] ALLAH (SwT) yang menerangi langit dan bumi. Bandingan nur hidayat petunjuk ALLAH (SwT) (Kitab Suci Al-Quran) adalah sebagai sebuah "misykaat" yang berisi sebuah lampu; lampu itu dalam geluk kaca (qandil), geluk kaca itu pula (jernih terang) laksana bintang yang bersinar cemerlang; lampu itu dinyalakan dengan minyak dari pokok yang banyak manfaatnya, (iaitu) pokok zaitun yang bukan sahaja disinari matahari semasa naiknya dan bukan sahaja semasa turunnya (tetapi ia sentiasa terdedah kepada matahari); hampir-hampir minyaknya itu dengan sendirinya memancarkan cahaya bersinar (kerana jernihnya) walaupun ia tidak disentuh api; (sinaran nur hidayat yang demikian bandingannya adalah sinaran yang berganda-ganda): cahaya berlapis cahaya. ALLAH (SwT) memimpin sesiapa yang dikehendakiNya (menurut undang-undang dan peraturanNya) kepada nur hidayatNya itu dan ALLAH (SwT) mengemukakan berbagai-bagai misal perbandingan untuk umat manusia dan ALLAH (SwT) Maha Mengetahui akan tiap-tiap sesuatu.

THE GREAT MYSTERY OF EXISTENCE, its eternal origin and infinite permanence is described in the most comprehensive and eloquent parable of light, which contains layer upon layer of allegorical comparisons to make apparent to man the purpose of the great author of the universe.

Ì  **THE PHYSICAL LIGHT IS BUT A REFLECTION OF THE TRUE LIGHT IN THE REALM OF REALITY, AND THAT TRUE LIGHT IS ALLAH (SWT). **THE PERFORMANCE OF LIGHT IS TO MANIFEST. IT IS ALLAH (SWT) WHO MANIFESTS THE UNIVERSE.

The human beings can only think of the factors of the spiritual world in terms of the phenomenal experience obtainable through physical senses; AND in the phenomenal world light is the purest thing known to man. DUE TO THE LIMITATIONS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE MAN CANNOT SEE THE REAL LIGHT BUT PERCEIVE ONLY THE LIGHTED OBJECTS. So the physical experience is an illusion, because physical light has drawbacks incidental to its physical nature. It is dependent upon some source external to itself; it is a passing phenomenon; if it is taken to be a form of motion or energy it is unstable, like all physical phenomena; and it is dependent on space and time.

Ì  THE PERFECT LIGHT OF ALLAH (SWT) IS FREE FROM ANY SUCH DEFECTS. IT PREVAILS EVERYWHERE. IT ENVELOPS EVERYTHING. IT IS INDEPENDENT OF TIME AND SPACE.

The niche (mishkat) is the recess in the wall, high from the ground in the house. The divine light, according to the parable, is placed high above everything, all that which has been created, the whole universe. The lamp is the core of the real illumination. It is placed inside a glass which protects it from any outside interference or disturbance (refer to Saff 61:8). The illumination shines bright like a star. In this world, governed by the laws of cause and effect, it becomes natural to know what makes the lamp burn, as no lamp burns without oil. So to give man the idea of causative factor of the generation of light, it is said that the oil of the blessed tree of olive keeps the lamp alive. It is said that after the great flood, the olive tree was the first to grow on the earth. This mystic olive is not localised. It is neither of the east nor of the west. IT IS UNIVERSAL LIKE THE LIGHT OF ALLAH (SWT).

Ì  THE LIGHT OF WISDOM (THE QURAN) IN THE HEART OF THE HOLY PROPHET (ALLAHUMA SALI ALA MUHAMMAD WA ALA ALI MUHAMMAD) IS AS PROTECTED AS THE LAMP IN THE GLASS. VERSES 56:77 TO 79 OF AL WAQI-AH CLEARLY STATE THAT THE QURAN IS A PROTECTED BOOK; AND NO ONE CAN TOUCH IT SAVE THE THOROUGHLY PURIFIED, THE AHLUL BAYT, ACCORDING TO THE VERSE 33:33 OF AHZAB. THEREFORE THE TRUE INTERPRETATION OF "LIGHT UPON LIGHT" IS THE HOLY PROPHET (ALLAHUMA SALI ALA MUHAMMAD WA ALA ALI MUHAMMAD) AND HIS AHLUL BAYT. It is further made clear in the next verse.

For "ALLAH (SWT) guides whom He wills to His light" see the commentary of al Baqarah 2:256 and 257 -he who believes in ALLAH (SWT), indeed, has taken hold of the firmest handhold (or rope) which will not break off. **ALLAH (SWT) BRING’S THEM OUT OF THE DARKNESS INTO LIGHT -It is obvious that those who are guided unto His light are the thoroughly purified ones. They alone are the manifestations of the real light. Those who follow these reflection of the divine light receive guidance from the grace of ALLAH (SWT) to the extend or degree of their sincere attachment to them. Salman was the only companion of the Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) who achieved the distinction of becoming one of the Ahlul Bayt.The Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) said: "My Ahlul Bayt are like the ark of Nuh. Whosoever sails on it is safe, and whosoever holds back shall perish."

Ø  Nubuwwah and imamah, jointly or separately, are the most perfect guidance unto the light of ALLAH (SWT). ALLAH (SWT) Himself chooses and appoints the guide, but His choice is not arbitrary. There are conditions which have to be fulfilled. Refer to the commentary of al Baqarah 2:124.

When ALLAH (SWT) appointed Ibrahim as an Imam after testing his faith and awareness, for the whole mankind, he requested ALLAH (SWT) to continue this august office in his progeny. ALLAH (SWT) agreed to do so, BUT "it is a covenant which shall not reach the unjust (zalim)" was added. According to verse 31:13 of Luqman polytheism is the greatest injustice (zulm), therefore as explained in detail in the commentary of al Baqarah 2:124 the Ahlul Bayt of the Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) was the only group which never worshipped any ghayrallah. 

¥  Those who had worshipped idols at any time in their lives could not be chosen as Imams at all, BUT after becoming Muslims **if they had accepted the Imams of the Ahlul Bayt as their guides, and followed them, **then, according to the degree of their sincerity and awareness, **they are entitled to occupy suitable position in the journey towards the enlightenment available from the light of ALLAH (SWT).

MERE VERBAL PROFESSION OF FAITH IN ALLAH (SWT) WITHOUT ATTACHMENT TO THE AHLUL BAYT IS AS BAD AS HYPOCRISY.

THE EXISTENCE OF THE SUPREME-BEING HAS BEEN COMPARED TO LIGHT IN ORDER TO MAKE HUMAN INTELLECT UNDERSTAND A GREAT ATTRIBUTE OF ALLAH (SWT), OTHERWISE HE IS THE INCONCEIVABLE ABSOLUTE WHO HAS CREATED THE LIGHT. LIGHT IS HIS MANIFESTATION. IT IS NOT HIS BEING.

To know the proper application of ayah al Nur the following points should be kept in view:

a.        It is a parable.

b.        A parable implies several applications corresponding to various aspects.

c.        The light should be understood in its widest sense, as a self-evident being which is evident by itself, and through which other beings become evident.

d.        The light emanating from a source may pass through transparent or opaque mediums. Generally it is not serviceable when it passes through an opaque medium but is profitable when it goes through a transparent medium.

e.        Transparent mediums have different degrees of transparency. Better conductivity depends on the degree of refinement and purification of the medium.

f.         There may be a source or cause which produces the light. It may also be self-illuminating.

g.        Usually light proceeding from a source illuminates a particular area, leaving other areas unlighted.

h.        The source of the light, in this verse, is not localised. It is neither of the east nor the west-not any particular area or direction. See my note in Maryam 19:16 to 40.

i.         The parable is applicable to the process of creation as well as to guidance and also to legislation in order to regulate human behaviour both as an individual and as a member of society.

j.         Light as a symbol of guidance is one of the attributes of ALLAH (SWT). It is manifested in both the realms of creation and legislation.

ALLAH (SWT) is the light through which every created being comes into evidence, AND every being is guided toward the destination where it should reach. To reach to the destination of salvation, bliss and satisfaction it has to do that which guidance points out. In every realm and sphere there is a point in which the light of creation or guidance manifests itself originally, and then illuminates the surroundings. Niche [mishtat) refers to this "point" as the exalted holy place chosen for the manifestation of ALLAH (SWT)'s name and attributes. There should be an entity whose cognitive self becomes the focus of light.

Such entities have been pointed out clearly in Ahzab 33:33 and Ali Imran 3:61 as [**] THE FIRST AND THE FOREMOST IN RECEIVING THE LIGHT OF EXISTENCE IN THE ARC OF DESCENT AND THE-LAST IN THE ARC OF ASCENT.

IN THE REALM OF CREATION THEY ARE THE BEST ENTITIES OR "POINTS" IN WHICH THE LIGHT OF CREATION MANIFESTED ITSELF ORIGINALLY. IN THE REALM OF LEGISLATION AND GUIDANCE TOO THEY ARE THE BEST MODELS.

**If applied to any individual the niche is the power of expression and the "house" (in which the niche is situated) is the body.

**If applied to the group of the Ahlul Bayt and the prophets, the niche in the house is the Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad).

The divine light passed through the purest transparent chain of prophets, without any detour, and manifested itself in its full glory in the Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad), to illuminate the human society for ever.

ALL THE MEDIUMS-lamp, glass etcetera -which are the various stages between the original source and the final spreading of the light should be of the highest transparency so as not to affect the purity of light passing through them. It implies that the minds, hearts, loins and wombs of the ancestors of the Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) were free from the dirt of polytheism.

**The ‘house’ in which the niche always remained is described in verse 36 of this surah. There always exists a group of persons whose hearts and minds are fully occupied with the remembrance of ALLAH (SWT).

**The niche is the source of light, and the oil of the blessed tree is a pure "light above light". There is not a slightest trace of darkness. Darkness or evil exists outside the sphere of the houses in which the niche is located and cannot enter into it.

Also refer to the commentary of al Baqarah 2:275; Nisa 4:175; Ma-idah 5:1 5 and Yunus 10:87.

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(24:35) Allah *61 is the light of the heavens and the earth: *62 His light (in the universe) may be likened (to the light of) a lamp in a niche: the lamp is in a glass shade: the glass shade is like a glittering star and lamp is lit with the olive oil of a blessed tree *63 which is neither eastern nor western: *64 its oil is (so fine) as if it were going to shine forth by itself though no fire touched it (as though all the means of increasing) light upon light (were provided *65 ); Allah guides to His light whomever He wills. *66 He cites parables to make the Message clear to the people; He has perfect knowledge of everything. *67

*61 From here the discourse is directed towards the hypocrites, who were bent upon starting mischief in the Islamic community, and were as active from within as the unbelievers were from without to harm the Islamic movement and the body politic of Islam. As these people professed belief, and apparently belonged to the Muslim community, and had blood relationships with the Muslims, especially with the Ansar, they were better placed to start and spread mischief. The result was that even some sincere Muslims, due to simplicity or weakness, became tools in their hands and even their supporters. But in spite of their profession of faith, the lure of worldly gains had utterly blinded them to the light that was spreading in the world through the teachings of the Qur'an and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Allah's peace and blessings be upon him).

The indirect address to the hypocrites here has three things in view: Firstly, to admonish them, for the first and foremost demand of Allah's providence and His mercy is to go on admonishing the misguided and the erring one till the last in spite of his persistence in mischief and wickedness. Secondly, to differentiate clearly between belief and hypocrisy so that every right thinking person from the Muslim community should be able to distinguish between a true believer and a hypocrite. Then if anybody, in spite of this differentiation, falls a prey to the machinations of the hypocrites or supports them, he should himself be responsible for his conduct. Thirdly, to warn the hypocrites clearly and plainly that Allah's promises for the believers are meant only for those who sincerely believe and then fulfil the demands and requirements of their Faith. These promises are not meant for anybody who poses himself as a Muslim. The hypocrites and the sinful people therefore should not cherish any hope that they will have any share in these. 
*62 The phrase "heavens and the earth" in the Qur'an is generally used for the "universe". Thus the verse would also mean: "Allah is the light of the whole universe"
LIGHT IS SOMETHING WHICH MAKES THINGS VISIBLE; WHICH IS ITSELF MANIFEST AND HELPS MAKE OTHER THINGS MANIFEST. The human mind conceives light in this very sense. Absence of light is termed darkness, invisibility and obscurity. On the other hand, when there is visibility and things become exposed to view, man says there is light. AIlah has been called `Light' in this basic sense, and not in the sense of a beam of light which travels at the speed of 186,000 miles per second and stimulates the optic nerve through the retina. This conception of light has nothing to do with the reality of the meaning for which human mind has coined this word; rather the word light is used for alI those lights which we experience in this physical world All human words used for Allah are used in their basic sense and meaning, and not with reference to their physical connotation. For instance, when, the word "sight" is used with respect to Allah, it does not mean that AIlah has an eye like men and animals with which He sees. Similarly when we say that AIlah 'hears' or 'grips' or 'grasps', it does not mean that He hears through ears, or grips or grasps with the hand like us. These words are used in a metaphorical sense and only a man of very poor intelligence would have the misconception that hearing or seeing or grasping is not possible except in the limited and specific sense in which we experience it. Similarly it will be shortsightedness to interpret the word 'light' in the sense of physical light rays emanating from a luminous body and affecting the retina. This word is not applicable to AIIah in its limited sense, but in its absolute sense. That is, He alone in this universe is the real and prime "Cause of manifestation", otherwise there is nothing but darkness here. Everything which gives light and illuminates other things has got its light from Him; it has no light of its own
The word light is also used for knowledge, and ignorance is termed as darkness. Allah is the Light of the universe in this sense too, because the knowledge of Reality and of right Guidance can be obtained from Him alone; without having recourse to His `Light', there will be nothing but darkness of ignorance and the resultant vice and wickedness in the world. 
*63 "Blessed": yielding multiple benefits 
*64 which is neither eastern nor western": which grows in an open plane or on a hill, where it gets sunshine from morning till evening. Such an olive tree yields tine oil which gives a bright light. On the other hand, a tree which gets sunlight only from the east or only from the west, yields thick oil which gives weak light.
*65 In this parable, AIlah has been likened to the Lamp and the universe to the Niche. The glass shade is the veil behind which Allah has concealed Himself from His creation. This veil is not a physical veil for concealment, but a veil caused by the intensity of Divine manifestation. The human eye is unable to see Him not because of the intervening darkness but because of the intensity of the all pervading, aII-embracing Light radiating through the transparent veil. The human vision which is limited in nature cannot comprehend it. It can only comprehend and perceive limited physical lights which vary in brightness, which disappear and reappear, and Which can be perceived only by contrast to existing darkness. But the 'Absolute Light' has no confronting dark ness: it does not vanish, it shines forth and pervades aII around with ever-existing glory; it is beyond human perception and comprehension.
As for "the lamp which is lit with the oil of a blessed olive tree, which is neither eastern nor western"', this is a metaphor to give an idea of the perfect light of the lamp and its brilliance. In antiquity the source for brilliant light were the olive lamps, and the most superior oil for the purpose was that obtained from a tree standing in an open and elevated place. The epithet of Lamp for Allah in the parable does trot mean that AIIah is deriving His energy from some external source. It only means that the Lamp of the parable is not an ordinary lamp but the most brilliant lamp that can be imagined. Just as a brilliant lamp illuminates the whale house, so has Allah illuminated the whole universe.
Again, the words "  .... its oil is (so fine) as if it were going to shine forth by itself though no fire touched it", are also meant to emphasize the brilliance of :he light of the lamp, which is being fed by the finest and most readily combustible oil. The 'olive' and 'its being neither eastern nor western', and 'high combustibility of its oil by itself' (without fire), are not the essential elements of the parable, but attributes of the lamp, which is the primary element of the parable. The essential elements of the parable are only three: the Lamp, the Niche and the transparent Glass Shade.
The sentence, "His light may be likened......", dispels the possible misunderstanding that one could have front the words: "'Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth." This shows that the use of the word "light" for Allah does not at all mean that the essence of His Being is nothing but 'light'. In essence, He is a Perfect Being, Who is AII-Knowing, All-Powerful, All-Wise etc. and also possessing aII 'Light' H2 has been called 'Light' itself because of His Perfection as a Source of Light, just as somebody may be called `Grace' on account of his being highly gracious and beneficent and 'Beauty' because of his being highly beautiful and attractive.
*66 That is, although Allah's Light is illuminating the whole world, everybody does not and cannot perceive it. It is Allah alone Who blesses whomsoever He wills with the capacity for perceiving His Light and benefiting by it. Just as the day and night are alike to a blind man, so is the case of a man without the gift of inner perception: he may see the electric light, the sunlight, the moonlight and the light from stars, but he cannot perceive the Light of AIlah. For him there is nothing but darkness in the universe. Just as a blind man cannot see the stone in his way unless he stumbles over it, so is the man without the gift of inner perception, who cannot perceive even those realities around him which may he aII brilliance and shining by Allah's Light. He will perceive them only when he is overtaken by the consequences of his own misdeeds. 
*67 This means two things: First, He knows what parable can best explain a certain reality, and secondly, He knows who is entitled to receive this bounty and who is not. Allah has no need to show His Light to the one who has do desire or longing for it and who is utterly lost in worldly pursuits and in seeking material pleasures and gains. This bounty can be bestowed only on the one who in the knowledge of Allah has a sincere desire for it. 

فِي بُيُوتٍ أَذِنَ اللَّهُ أَنْ تُرْفَعَ وَيُذْكَرَ فِيهَا اسْمُهُ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ فِيهَا بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالْآصَالِ {24:36}

[Q24:36] Fee buyootin azinal laahu an turfa'a wa yuzkara feehasmuhoo yusabbihu lahoo feehaa bilghuduwwi wal aasaal. 
[Q24:36] In houses which ALLAH (SWT) has permitted to be exalted and that His name may be remembered in them; there glorify Him therein in the mornings and the evenings,

[Q24:36] (Nur hidayat petunjuk ALLAH (SwT) itu bersinar dengan nyatanya terutama sekali) di rumah-rumah ibadat yang diperintahkan oleh ALLAH (SwT) supaya dimuliakan keadaannya dan disebut serta diperingat nama ALLAH (SwT) padanya; di situ juga dikerjakan ibadat mensuci dan memuji ALLAH (SwT) pada waktu pagi dan petang.

The houses referred to in this verse are said to be 1. The Ka-bah, built by Ibrahim and Ismail  2. The masjid in Jerusalem, built by Dawud and Sulayman 3. The masjid in Quba and 4. the masjid in Madina, both built under the command of the Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad).

Ø  Imam Muhammad bin Ali al Baqir said:

"The houses referred to in verse 36 of An Nur are the houses of the prophets and the holy Imams."

Ø  Thalabi, in the interpretation of this verse, relates from Anas bin Malik and Buraydah that when the Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) recited this verse, Abu Bakr stood up and asked, pointing towards the house of Ali and Fatimah, whether that house was included in the houses referred to and the Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) replied: "Yes, and it is better than other houses to which this verse refers."

Ø  Qutadah, an eminent scholar, says that once he told Imam Jafar bin Muhammad as Sadiq, while sitting in his company:

"I sat with many a great scholar, but my heart never felt the awe and reverence in any company it feels in your presence."

The Imam said:

"Because you are sitting in the house glorified by ALLAH (SWT) in the Quran (and recited this verse)."

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(24:36) (Those who obtain guidance to His light are found) in the houses which He has enjoined to raise up and to mention His name therein. *68 In them such people glorify Him morning and evening

*68 Some commentators have interpreted these "houses" to mean the mosques, and 'raising them' to mean constructing and reverencing them. Some others, however, take them to mean the houses of the believers and 'raising them' to mean raising their moral status. The words "to mention His name therein" seem to refer to the mosques and support the tirst interpretation, but if we look deeper, we see that they support the second interpretation equally well. This is because Divine Law does not confine worship to mosques alone as is the case with the priest-ridden religions where the rituals can only be performed under the leadership of a clergy in Islam a house is also a place of worship like the mosque and every man is his own priest. As this Surah mostly contains instructions for ennobling domestic life, we feel that the second interpretation is more in keeping with the context though there is no reason for rejecting the first interpretation. There will be no harm if both the mosques and the houses of the believers are implied here. 

رِجَالٌ لَا تُلْهِيهِمْ تِجَارَةٌ وَلَا بَيْعٌ عَنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَإِقَامِ الصَّلَاةِ وَإِيتَاءِ الزَّكَاةِ ۙ يَخَافُونَ يَوْمًا تَتَقَلَّبُ فِيهِ الْقُلُوبُ وَالْأَبْصَارُ{24:37}

[Q24:37] Rinjaalul laa tulheehim tijaaratunw wa laa bai'un 'an zikril laahi wa iqaamis Salaati wa eetaaa'iz Zakaati yakkhaafoona Yawman tataqallabu feehil quloobu wal absaar, 
[Q24:37] Men whom neither merchandise nor selling diverts from the remembrance of ALLAH (SWT)  and the keeping up of prayer and the giving of poor-rate; they fear a day in which the hearts and eyes shall turn about;

[Q24:37] (Ibadat itu dikerjakan oleh) orang-orang yang kuat imannya yang tidak dilalaikan oleh perniagaan atau berjual beli daripada menyebut serta mengingati ALLAH (SwT) dan mendirikan sembahyang serta memberi zakat; mereka takutkan hari (kiamat) yang padanya berbalik-balik hati dan pandangan.

THIS IS A FURTHER IDENTIFICATION OF THE QUALITIES OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE SAID TO HAVE BEEN PERMITTED OR COMMANDED TO REMEMBER ALLAH (SWT) AND TO GLORIFY HIM. It was only the life as a whole of the holy Ahlul Bait which was wholly dedicated to charity and charitable services and it was the life of these holy ones which was the best and the most practical example of ALLAH (SWT)ly life on earth (see verse 6:163).  

v  The one example of the First Holy Imam Ali ibne Abi Talib’s total absorption of his self into the All-Divine Absolute One, while in prayers, would suffice to bring home to an intelligent reader the fact that it is the holy Ahlul Bait in whose houses ALLAH (SWT) has ordained His remembrance and His glorification (see verse 23:2).

v  The Islamic world as a whole knows it that it was Ali whom even a surgical operation to extract a spearhead from his body which was struck into it, while he was in prayer, could not disturbed his meditation to ALLAH (SWT). Ali was not aware even of the cut affected into his body until after his finishing the prayers.

**How absurd would it be to compare this divine personality to those who ran away for their lives from the battlefield deserting the ranks of the faithful, leaving the Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) to his fate amidst his bloodthirsty enemies?

**And how wonderful is the historic event that fire was taken to burn the house Ali and Fatema and as regards the house of Husain, his camp as a whole was burnt and looted in Karbala by those professed to be the followers of the Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad).  

ä  It is a historic fact that the Holy Imam Ali ibne Abi Talib **used to offer 1,000 ‘Rak’ats’ (units of prayers) every night and it was Ali who **used to spend his days and nights in giving alms to the poor and even while in prayers, it was Ali who did not deny the begger of the charity, and gave away his ring which cause the revelation of Verse 5:55.

NO WORLDLY INVOLVEMENT DISTRACTS THEIR ATTENTION FROM THE SERVICE, WORSHIP AND REMEMBRANCE OF ALLAH (SWT). Verse 4:163 of An-am: "Verily my worship and my sacrifice, my life and my death are for ALLAH (SWT)," gives a true picture of the life of every Imam of the Ahlul Bait.

Ä  See commentary of Muminun 23:2 for the total surrender to the remembrance of ALLAH (SWT) by Ali ibne Abi Talib.

Ä  Also refer to the commentary of Ma-idah 5:55 for the highest example of "spending in the way of ALLAH (SWT)" by Ali ibne Abi Talib.

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(24:37) as are not diverted by trade and merchandise from remembering Him and from establishing Salat and paying Zakat, for they fear the Day when the hearts will be overturned and the eyes will become petrified.

لِيَجْزِيَهُمُ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنَ مَا عَمِلُوا وَيَزِيدَهُمْ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ يَرْزُقُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ {24:38}

[Q24:38] Liyajziyahumul laahu ahsana maa 'amiloo wa yazeedahum min fadlih; wal laahu yarzuqu mai yashaaa'u bighairi hisaab. 
[Q24:38] That ALLAH (SWT) may give them the best reward of what they have done, and give them more out of His grace; and ALLAH (SWT) gives sustenance to whom He pleases without measure.

[Q24:38] (Mereka mengerjakan semuanya itu) supaya ALLAH (SwT) membalas mereka dengan sebaik-baik balasan bagi apa yang mereka kerjakan dan menambahi mereka lagi dari limpah kurniaNya dan sememangnya ALLAH (SwT) memberi rezeki kepada sesiapa yang dikehendakiNya dengan tidak terhitung.

Out of the unbounded grace of ALLAH (SWT) more is added to that which the righteous earn by their good deeds. IN GIVING REWARDS, ALLAH (SWT)'S GRACE IS BOUNDLESS. It is said that whosoever goes to the masjid or a house where ALLAH (SWT) is remembered and worshipped to pray salat, learn from or teach others the meanings and interpretation of the verses of Quran, enjoin good and forbid evil, shall have an abode in paradise.

Special degrees of the grace of ALLAH (SWT) and grant His bounties are similarly promised to those who offer prayers in the four great mosques at Jerusalem, Makka, Quba and Madina.

**It is reported that once a man Khamratul-Laithi saw Ali at the mid of the night, standing in the mosque and addressing in prayer in all humanity and after the prayers held his beard with his one hand addressing the world saying: “O’ World! Thou hast tried thine worst to get thyself attracted by me; I have nothing to do with thee; I have divorced thee thrice” (in the Islamic Law a woman divorced for the third time has no return to her husband… refer to ‘Fiqh’). It is Ali who said: “The World is a corpse and its seekers are dogs.”

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(24:38) (And they behave like this) so that Allah may reward them for their excellent deeds and, in addition to it, show His favour to them out of His bounty: Allah provides without stint *69 for anyone He pleases.

*69 Here those characteristics have been described which are necessary for the true perception of Allah's Absolute Light and for benefiting from His bounties. Allah does not bestow His bounties without reason. He bestows them on the deserving ones alone. He only sees this that the recipient has sincere love for Him, stands in awe of Him, seeks His favours and avoids His wrath; he is not lost in material pursuits but in spite of his worldly engagements keeps his heart warm with God's remembrance. Such a person dces not rest content with low spiritual levels, but actively endeavours to attain the heights towards which his Master may guide him. He does not go for the paltry gains of this transitory world, but has his gaze constantly fixed on the everlasting life of the Hereafter. These are the things which determine whether or not a person should be granted the favour to benefit from Allah's Light. Then, when Allah is pleased to bestow His bounties, He bestows them without measure; and it will be man's own incapacity if he does not receive them in full. 

وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَعْمَالُهُمْ كَسَرَابٍ بِقِيعَةٍ يَحْسَبُهُ الظَّمْآنُ مَاءً حَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَاءَهُ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْئًا وَوَجَدَ اللَّهَ عِنْدَهُ فَوَفَّاهُ حِسَابَهُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ {24:39}

[Q24:39] Wallazeena kafarooo a'maaluhum kasaraabim biqee'atiny yahsabuhuz zamaanu maaa'an hattaaa izaa jaaa'ahoo lam yajid hu shai'anw wa wajadal laaha 'indahoo fa waffaahu hisaabah; wallaahu saree'ul hisaab. 
[Q24:39] And (as for) those who disbelieve, their deeds are like the mirage in a desert, which the thirsty man deems to be water; until when he comes to it he finds it to be naught, and there he finds ALLAH (SWT), so He pays back to him his reckoning in full; and ALLAH (SWT) is quick in reckoning;

[Q24:39] Dan orang-orang yang kafir pula, amal-amal mereka adalah umpama riak sinaran panas di tanah rata yang disangkanya air oleh orang yang dahaga, (lalu dia menuju ke arahnya) sehingga apabila dia datang ke tempat itu, tidak didapati sesuatu pun yang disangkanya itu; (demikianlah keadaan orang kafir, tidak mendapat faedah dari amalnya sebagaimana yang disangkanya) dan dia tetap mendapati hukum ALLAH (SwT) di sisi amalnya, lalu ALLAH (SwT) meyempurnakan hitungan amalnya (serta membalasnya); dan (ingatlah) ALLAH (SwT) Amat segera hitungan hisabNya.

As it is almost impossible for man to comprehend the absolute reality on account of the limitations he is encumbered with, ALLAH (SWT) sets forth parables for him. Although ALLAH (SWT)'s being can never be compared to anything at all, yet to enable man to see a glimpse of the truth the parable of light has been given in verse 35. IN THIS VERSE THE DISBELIEVERS' FATE is compared to the disappointment of a traveller in the desert who sees false image of water and pursues it with conviction that he will quench his thirst when he reaches it, but as soon as he comes up to it, he finds it to be a mirage (nothing), and dies in protracted agony.

See commentary of al Baqarah 2:48, 123, 254; An-am 6:165 and Bani Israil 17:15 for "ALLAH (SWT) will pay him his account."

v  Imam Ali said:

"ALLAH (SWT) shall take account of all at one and the same time as He gives sustenance to them all without a break or gap in His divine system of nourishing and cherishing the living beings all over the universe."

FIRST the perfect man has been presented as the niche and the inhabitants of the divine house as those through whom the divine light spreads to guide all mankind. ON THE CONTRARY THE DEEDS AND THE THEORIES of the infidels may appear to be of some use and attract people as a mirage does, BUT darkness or falsehood brings nothing except disappointment and gives nothing save punishment.

Many great factors of Truth of absolutely abstract nature have been spoken of, and explained in the Holy Qur’an through parables, allegories, metaphors and similes BECAUSE man in his physical form with its limitations can never possibly conceive factors of purely abs tract nature. The concluding words mean to say that every man or woman shall have the return for his or her own faith and deeds and none shall have the others to account for him--- see verses 2:48, 2:123, 2:254; 6:165; 17:15; 35:18 and 53:38.

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(24:39) (On the other hand,) the deeds of those who disbelieved, *70 maybe likened to a mirage in a waterless desert, which the thirsty one took for water; but when he reached there he found nothing to drink; nay, he found there Allah Who settled his full account, and Allah is very swift at reckoning. *71

*70. That is, they refused to accept sincerely the Divine Message which was brought by the Prophets, and which at that time was being given by the Prophet Muhammad (Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). These verses clearly show that the truthful and righteouse believers only can benefit from Allah's Light. In contrast to them, the state of those people is being described here, who refused to believe and obey the Holy Prophet, who was the real and sole means of attaining the Light of Allah. 
*71. This parable describes the condition of those people who, in spite of disbelief and hypocrisy, practise some good deeds and also believe, among other things, in the life after death in the hope that their good deeds will be of some help to thetas in the Hereafter even if they did not believe and follow the Prophet and lacked the qualities of true believers. In this parable they are being told that their expectations of reaping benefits of their ostentatious deeds of virtue in the Hereafter are no more than a mirage. Just as a traveller in the desert takes the glittering sands for a surging pool of water and runs towards it for quenching his thirst, so are these people travelling on the road to death cherishing false hopes on account of their good deeds. But just as the one running towards a mirage does not find anything there to quench his thirst, so will these people find nothing to avail them when they enter the state of death. On the contrary, they will find Allah there, Who will require them to account for their disbelief, hypocrisy and misdeeds, which they committed along with their ostentatious deeds of virtue, and will deal with them in full justice.

أَوْ كَظُلُمَاتٍ فِي بَحْرٍ لُجِّيٍّ يَغْشَاهُ مَوْجٌ مِنْ فَوْقِهِ مَوْجٌ مِنْ فَوْقِهِ سَحَابٌ ۚ ظُلُمَاتٌ بَعْضُهَا فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ إِذَا أَخْرَجَ يَدَهُ لَمْ يَكَدْ يَرَاهَا ۗ وَمَنْ لَمْ يَجْعَلِ اللَّهُ لَهُ نُورًا فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ نُورٍ {24:40}

[Q24:40] Aw kazulumaatin fee bahril lujjiyyiny yaghshaahu mawjum min fawqihee mawjum min fawqihee mawjum min fawqihee sahaab; zulumatum ba'duhaa fawqa ba'din izaaa akhraja yadahoo lam yakad yaraahaa wa mal lam yaj'alil laahu lahoo noora famaa lahoo min noor. 
[Q24:40] Or like utter darkness in the deep sea: there covers it a wave above which is another wave, above which is a cloud, (layers of) utter darkness one above another; when he holds out his hand, he is almost unable to see it; and to whomsoever ALLAH (SWT) does not give light, he has no light.

[Q24:40] Atau (orang-orang kafir itu keadaannya) adalah umpama keadaan (orang yang di dalam) gelap-gelita di lautan yang dalam, yang diliputi oleh ombak bertindih ombak; di sebelah atasnya pula awan tebal (demikianlah keadaannya) gelap-gelita berlapis-lapis - apabila orang itu mengeluarkan tangannya, dia tidak dapat melihatnya sama sekali dan (ingatlah) sesiapa yang tidak dijadikan ALLAH (SwT) menurut undang-undang peraturanNya mendapat cahaya (hidayat petunjuk) maka dia tidak akan beroleh sebarang cahaya (yang akan memandunya ke jalan yang benar).

THIS VERSE GIVES A GRAPHIC PICTURE OF DARKNESS (INFIDELITY) IN THE DEPTHS OF OCEAN, wave upon wave, and on top of all, dense dark clouds.

In verse 35 the likeness of the divine light is as "light upon light" unto which the believers are drawn to be rightly guided, AND in contrast, in this verse, the disbelievers are overwhelmed in utter darkness; AND darkness is not a reality BUT a negation of reality.

1.        The darkness over darkness alludes to the persistent disbelief of the infidels,

2.        the depth of ocean is the dark chamber of a disbeliever's heart,

3.        the wave over wave is the thick cover of disbelief under which the obstinate mind of the disbeliever works, and

4.        the "dark clouds" is the seal of infidelity with which the disbelieving heart is closed up and locked for ever.

A MAN WHO BELIES AND REJECTS THE MESSAGE OF ALLAH (SWT) PRESENTED TO HIM WITH CLEAR SIGNS AND DECISIVE ARGUMENTS CAN GO NO WHERE BUT TO THE BOTTOM OF UTTER DARKNESS.

v  The Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) said:

"My followers will cross the bridge of sirat guided and aided by the light of Ali, and Ali by my light, and I by the light of ALLAH (SWT). Those who are not attached with us shall not have the light to cross it, because to whom ALLAH (SWT) does not give light, for him there is no light."

Verses 6:123 of An-am and 42:52 of Shura, together with this verse, clearly indicate that the light of guidance comes from the divine source-prophets, Imams and the revealed scriptures. Even the proper understanding of the revealed scriptures requires divine endowment of knowledge as per verse 35:32 of al Fatir.

DARKNESS BY ITSELF HAS NO INDIVIDUAL EXISTENCE EXCEPT THAT IT IS THE STATE OF THE DENIAL OF THE LIGHT WHICH IS OF ALLAH (SWT).

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(24:40) Or (their efforts may be likened to those of a man trying to swim in) a deep dark ocean, covered with billows, one over the other, and above it a cloud: darkness upon darkness: so much so that if he stretches out his hand, he cannot see *72 it. There is no light for the one whom Allah does not give light.  *73

*72 This parable describes the condition of all the disbelievers and the hypocrites including those who perform good deeds for ostentation. It is being stated that such people are passing their life in a state of absolute and complete ignorance, whether otherwise they are the most learned people in the world and leaders in their respective fields of learning. They are like the mart who is lost in complete darkness where no ray of light can reach him. They think that knowledge merely consists in producing atom bombs, hydrogen bombs, supersonic planes and moon rockets, or in attaining excellence in economics and finance and law and philosophy. But they little understand that real knowledge is something entirely different and they have no idea of it. Thus considered they are just ignorant, and an illiterate peasant who has gained some acquaintance of the Divine Truth is wiser than they. 
*73 . Here is stated the real object of the discourse which began with: "AIlah is the Light of the heavens and the earth." When in fact there is no light in the universe except the Light of Allah and all manifestation of reality is due to that Light, where from can the one whom Allah does not give light have light? There exists no other source of light from where he can receive a ray.