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Seeking Praise for Nothing
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Beneficient
Allah has made a covenant with those to whom the scriptures were given (when He bade them): “ Make it known to mankind and do not conceal it.” But they cast it behind their backs and bartered it away for a trifling price. Evil is that which they have taken in exchange for it. Do not think that those who exult in their deeds and love to be praised for what they have not done-do not think that they will escape punishment. A grievous suffering, awaits them. To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and he has power over all things.
(The House of Imran, “Aal Imran”: 3:187-189) Commentary by Sayyid Qutb, Translated by A.A.Shamis and Adil Salahi
The surah continues to expose the attitude of people of earlier religions which contravenes their covenant with Allah. He has taken a pledge from them when he gave them the scriptures that they would always make it known to the people. They however did not honour their pledges and were keen to conceal what has been entrusted with them of Allah’s revelations: Allah has made a covenant with those to whom the scriptures were given (when he bade them): “ Make it known to mankind and do not conceal it.” But they cast it behind their backs and bartered it away for a trifling price. Evil is that which they have taken in exchange for it.
The surah relates many examples of what the people of earlier generations, particularly the Jews were keen to do or say. Most serious among these was their concealment of the truth which they know for certain and their attempt to confuse that truth with falsehood in order to create doubts and uncertainities in the basic concept of religion as well as in the truthfulness of the message of Islam and the fact that, Islam shared with past religions their basic principles to the extent that Islam confirmed them and they confirmed it. The Torah was in their hands telling them that the message of Muhammad (Pbuh) was true and that it came from its own source.
At this point, their attitude appears to be exceedingly mean and seriously lacking in honour. For it is revealed that inspite of their covenant with Allah to make their scriptures and revelations known to mankind and never to conceal it, they have deliberately gone against their pledges. The expression given here to their attitude shows in clear colours their negligence and contravention of their own pledges, representing it in a movement: “But they cast it behind their backs.”
It also shows that they have committed this dishonourable act for no more than a trifling gain: “and bartered it away for a trifling price.”
Whatever the price, it was nothing more than a small gain by the standards of this world. It could only have served some personal interest of rabbis or some national interest of the Jews. All this is nothing, but a trifling price, even if it could amount to the ownership of all the earth for the rest of time. Still, trifling would this price be in return for a covenant made with Allah. How little all this appears in comparison with what is stored with Allah: “ Evil is that which they have taken in exchange for it.”
A Hadith related by Al-Bukhari on the authority of Ibn Abbas states that the Prophet (Pbuh) asked the Jews about something. They concealed it and deliberately gave him a wrong answer. At the same time, they gave him the impression that their answer was the right one, showing that they deserve to be praised for that. In fact, they rejoiced at their concealment of what he asked them about. According to this Hadith, that was the occasion for the revelation of the following verse: “ Do not think that those who exult in their deeds and love to be praised for what they have not done-do not think that they will escape punishment. A grievous suffering awaits them.”
Another Hadith, also related by Al-Bukhari, on the authority of Abu Saeed Al-Khudri, states that a group of hypocrites at the time of the Prophet (Pbuh) used to stay behind when the Prophet (Pbuh) went on a campaign of jihad. They were very pleased with themselves for sparing themselves the trouble of going out with the Prophet (Pbuh). When he came back to Madinah, they gave him all sorts of excuses, swearing that what they said was true and seeking to be praised for that which they have not done. Hence, this verse was revealed.
That a certain Quranic verse might have been revealed on a particular occasion or to answer a specific question is not always certain. It frequently happens that a certain verse is quoted in comment on a certain event because it fits the occasion and some people may say, ‘that verse was revealed on that occasion’. It may also happen that the verse itself includes fitting comments on that particular event, and it is said that the verse was revealed on its occasion. In view of that, we cannot say which of the two reports was more accurate. If it was the first, the surah speaks of the people of earlier scriptures and their concealment of what Allah has entrusted with them of His revelations when He had accepted a pledge from them that they would make it known to people. In spite of all that, they still conceal it and lie about it persistently to the extent that they seek to be praised for their lies and fabrications.
If the second report is true, the surah includes references to the hypocrites to which this verse may be attached. It describes a type of people which may be present in every community as it was at the time of the Prophet. They are those who do not have the courage of their convictions, and they cannot stand in defence of what they profess to believe in. They are not prepared to fulfill the duties imposed by faith and they stay behind, taking no share in the struggle for faith. If those who fight and struggle for their faith suffer a defeat, they put their heads up and claim for themselves the virtues of wisdom and realism. If the fighters come back victorious, these people will waste no time in pretending to have been in full support of them, claiming that they have contributed to their victory and seeking to be praised for something which they have not done.
This is a type of people who live on cowardice and false pretences. Its image is drawn in a couple of touches in the Quran, but they are enough to make all of its lines very clear and to make its distinctive marks known to all people for the rest of time.
Allah assures His messenger (Pbuh) that those people cannot escape punishment. They cannot spare themselves the grievous suffering which awaits them and they can have no support in trying to evade it: “ Do not think that they will escape punishment. A grievous suffering awaits them.”
They are threatened with the suffering by Allah, to whom the heavens and the earth belong, and Who is able to do all things, How then, can they escape it. “ To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and He has power over all things.”
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