Al-Baqarah 221: Do not marry idolaters until they believe (in Allah). A mu’min slave girl is better than a woman who is an idolater even if you may like the idolater. And unless men who are idolaters believe (in Allah), do not marry Muslim women to them. Surely, a mu’min slave is better than an idolater even if you may like the idolater. They (idolaters) call you to fire. Allah however invites – with Allah’s permission – to paradise and to forgiveness and Allah proclaims Allah’s verses to mankind openly so that they will think and reflect.
Contents
Explanation
Translation
Do not marry idolaters until they believe (in Allah). A mu’min slave girl is better than a woman who is an idolater even if you may like the idolater. And unless men who are idolaters believe (in Allah), do not marry Muslim women to them. Surely, a mu’min slave is better than an idolater even if you may like the idolater. They (idolaters) call you to fire. Allah however invites – with Allah’s permission – to paradise and to forgiveness and Allah proclaims Allah’s verses to mankind openly so that they will think and reflect.
Tafsir
Allah (swt) warns people in a way that protects their faith. When Allah (swt) made a covenant with our spirits in the previous world, knowing their desires and wishes, He informs us with His Verses about those who will lead people away from their religion and cause them to doubt and weaken their faith. In this verse, He tells us who to marry and how to establish a family. He makes us prefer a concubine to marrying a polytheist. Let us conclude here to explain this verse. We have mentioned to you in previous Verses that some Verses have been opened incorrectly and they attribute shortcomings to Allah (swt). This verse is one of them.
Here, according to the fifth verse of Surah al-Ma'ida, not marrying a polytheist is reserved for disbelievers who are not people of the Book. It is said that it is thus permissible to marry the People of the Book. This is how the verse is opened. Yes, this is more or less the case. What is wrong is in understanding the verse. At the beginning of our book we said that the word of Allah is based on letters. If there is a change in a letter of it, the meaning changes, even the point changes. Even in the juxtaposition of letters, meanings change.
In this case, when Allah says polytheist in the Qur'an, it should not be confused with infidel. A polytheist is an idolater and does not recognize Allah and the Book. An infidel, on the other hand, is a follower of the heavenly book, but he does not accept the religion of Islam because he rebels against Allah out of his ego and hatred. There is a big difference between them. If kafir and polytheist were the same in meaning, Allah would have spoken in vain in this verse. Allah (swt) did not know the situation of the people, so He did not marry a polytheist in one place, and He did not marry a disbeliever in another place, and He did not marry a polytheist in another place. In other words, one verse has contradicted another verse of Allah's Word. Such a thing cannot happen. Such events attribute shortcomings to Allah and raise doubts in people's minds. Allah (swt) does not say in this verse not to marry disbelievers, but He says, "Do not marry polytheists and polytheists". When verses are given wrong meanings, people go towards dead ends. Finally, when one learns a verse wrongly in one place and accepts it with wrong meanings, and learns another verse correctly in another place, and when the mind learns the right one, when the mind accepts the right ones and cannot make concessions from what it has learned wrongly, you see that people are in contradictions between the two verses. Since he does not compromise on his faith, he does not dwell too much on the Verses, and so he flounders in hesitations. In this way, because people do not learn their religion fully, people are gradually moving away from the religion of Islam. Thus, people become like birds trying to fly with half a wing. They say this verse has been abrogated by this verse. There is no prohibition in the Holy Quran.
If Allah says infidel, they are infidels, they are people of the Book of Heaven, they did not accept Islam out of hatred and rebellion. If He says polytheist, they are polytheists. These people do not recognize Allah, the Book or the Prophet, and they are polytheists. If you put these verses on one side of the scale in terms of meaning, you attribute them to Allah. If you say that this verse has been changed by this verse and that verse has been abrogated, God forbid, you will unknowingly go to disbelief. In this case, you cannot marry a polytheist and a polytheist, but you can marry an infidel from the People of the Book.
Now we continue with the verse. A Muslim concubine is better than marrying such an idolater or a polytheist who does not recognize Allah, the Book or the Prophet. A Muslim woman is better than a Muslim slave than a Muslim woman married to an idolater, a polytheist. Allah (swt) says to the people, 'Do not marry these polytheists and polytheists until they believe.
(Those idolaters and idolatrous women invite you to the Fire.) Such men and women do not obey people at all. (Have you not seen the one who deifies his own soul?) They do what their souls like. If they marry people for their interests, they insistently try to lure them into their ways. They will never follow your way because they themselves never compromise their own ego. In this respect, they invite people to the Fire. In other words, if a person renounces his faith and forsakes Allah, the Creator, for his egoistic and animalistic feelings, he will be in Hell. If people marry a polytheist who pleases them with these feelings, they are inviting them to the Fire. Allah says, "Do not marry them until they believe." (Allah invites to Paradise and forgiveness by His permission.) Allah is very kind and merciful to His creatures. He has created human beings deficient in intellect. People make mistakes and if a person realizes his mistake and repents and asks Allah for forgiveness, Allah is very merciful to His servants and forgives them and promises Paradise to those who do what Allah says. Therefore, those who follow Allah's invitation will have Allah's mercy, forgiveness and Paradise.
(Allah makes His Verses clear to mankind, so that they may ponder and take heed.) We have said that Allah (swt) has created human beings incomplete in intellect, so they need to learn. If people, who have their will in their hands, organize their lives according to the Verses that Allah (swt) has revealed and follow them, they will find salvation. This is because Allah invites people to think and to take example. Those who do not think and take example are animals. Humans have the ability to think and take example, that is, to make comparisons. In this respect, Allah has given human beings emotions, and in the lives of human beings, their thinking and emotions and their actions reveal their actual deeds. In this case, the person is holding himself as a witness to his surroundings and to Allah.
In this respect, Allah makes His Verses clear. In other words, Allah's Verses prove the existence of our Lord as a miracle for people who think and take example. Now your will is in your hands and the responsibility is on your back, if you take your place on the side of Allah, you will be saved. Otherwise, if you take your place on the side of the people who are called your enemies and the enemies of Allah according to the verse (Aduwwwallahu waaduwwaqum), then that is your own affair. But you will be heading to a place where he says what an evil place of return. May you reflect and take lessons.
What is said in the video
Yes, we come to the 221st verse.
As we always say, concerning the polytheists, a verse; what does it say? Until idolaters believe, do not marry them. You may marry from the People of the Book, but you may not marry polytheists. Why may you not marry them? Because polytheists call you to the Fire, it says. Whereas Allah calls you to faith, to Paradise, it says. How beautifully our Lord says it. Yes. A believing slave woman is better than an idolatrous woman. Just as I said a moment ago. A believing slave woman, yes, a believing slave woman is better than an idolatrous woman. However little this believer may please a person by her looks, and a polytheist, in looks, be such that one sees no one in the world more beautiful, (?), that believing slave woman is better than that idolatrous person.
Even if the idolater pleases you, even if she pleases you. Idolatrous men too, until they believe, do not marry Muslim women to them. Those women are forbidden to idolaters. Surely a believing slave is better than an idolater, it says. A believing slave. Is better than an idolater. Even if the idolater pleases you, it says. Yes. They, those idolaters and idolatrous women, invite you to the Fire. There, look, how beautiful. This is the verse. They do. Allah Almighty, by His leave, invites to Paradise and forgiveness.
And He makes His verses clear to people. So that they may reflect and take a lesson. How beautifully Allah Almighty shows people His ways. An idolater,
who recognizes neither Allah nor scripture, is one who worships what he made with his own hands. These do not easily come to faith. In this situation they are very rigid-minded. They are very oppressive.
In this way they are stubborn like Satan. They turn to every kind of trick and intrigue to draw you onto the bad path.
With every kind of (?), allure, or money, a person, that Muslim, they try to draw onto their own path. That is why Allah Almighty says: they invite you to the Fire. To distance from Allah, to Hell. Whereas Allah invites you to forgiveness, to Paradise. That is, master your nafs, so that you carry out your Lord's command, so that you do not follow it, so that you take your place in your Lord's ranks and find the truth. Yes.
Allah Almighty, to protect people's faith, warns people.
A person protecting his faith is protecting himself. What is faith? Strengthening my being, my belief, that is, my belief in the one Allah, so that, my Lord who created me, through the deeds I will do, we can attain our Lord's mercy and, by acts that please our Lord, winning His love, we can reach forgiveness, Paradise, and guidance. Yes.
He will protect his faith. That is faith. He will protect faith. He warns people. When Allah Almighty made a covenant with our souls in (?), knowing their (?), He tells us with His verses about those who will turn people from their religion, throw them into doubt and weaken their faith. So when we said a moment ago that they are very stubborn, like Satan, that with their (?) property and allure, in order to drive people away from Allah, they spend every effort and pull you towards the Fire, I meant this as well. A person lives their feelings, their feelings. (?) they do not properly come to faith.
Yes, of course the exception does not break the rule; Allah Almighty brings out from among them too those who will come to faith and shows them as examples. Yes, with this verse Allah Almighty explains whom to marry and how a family is to be founded. Rather than marrying a polytheist, He makes one prefer a slave woman, prefer a slave woman. What is a slave woman? A prisoner of war. Well, or else those whom one had taken in, that is, whose husband had died, orphaned, with no one left outside, in need of protection; taking such people in, in former times. Such people: by people taking them under their protection, today's prostitution was being done away with.
Well, rather than marrying a polytheist, He makes one prefer a slave woman. Let us close here, explaining this verse. We said so. We are closing this here. In earlier verses we told you that some verses were opened up wrongly and that they ascribed attributes to Allah Almighty. This verse is one of them too. What does it say? Pardon? Say. Like: this verse was abrogated by that verse. Here, the ban on marrying a polytheist, according to Surah Al-Ma'idah, verse 5, has been restricted to kafirs who are not People of the Book. Thus marrying People of the Book has become permissible, it is said. Jalalayn says this.
In Jalalayn the verse is opened up like this. Yes. Roughly like this. Roughly. What is wrong is in understanding the verse. What is wrong is in understanding the verse. At the beginning of our book we said that Allah's word rests on the letters. If a letter of it changes, the meaning changes. There are even meanings that change with a dot. Meanings change even with the order of the letters side by side. Allah Almighty's (?). speaking on letters. So in the Quran, if Allah says polytheist, one must not confuse it with kafir. We keep stressing this to you. Because they cannot grasp these points, people say this verse was abrogated by that, this by that, well, this was changed to that.
Allah forbid. Although the Prophet (peace be upon him) is a human, and although He said, I have forgiven your past and future sins, Allah Almighty sent down verses about him. He does not speak in vain. Here, Allah Almighty, if He entrusted these to other people, and lifted the prohibitions for these people, would He not be given attributes here regarding those people? Would Allah Almighty not have committed injustice? Allah Almighty never does injustice among His servants. This is Allah's eternal law. But people restrict Allah's verses within their own understanding, and with wrong meanings, with words like 'this was abrogated', 'this belonged to the past', Allah forbid, they ascribe attributes to Allah.
Whereas Allah Almighty is free from deficient attributes. He does not fit into their limited minds. Does He fit into your mind, Hodja? He does not fit into my mind either. Then what is he explaining? I explain His knowledge as far as He has made it known to me.
What was it? I explain His knowledge as far as He has made it known to me.
Yes.
So what is it now in this case? In the Quran, if Allah says polytheist, it must be (?) with kafir. What was a kafir? We always say it. Those of the People of the Book, that is, Christians, those who know the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel. Polytheists, now, are idolaters. So, with kafirs you (?) marry. Here it says do not marry, with polytheists. Al-Ma'idah, Al-Ma'idah Surah, Al-Ma'idah Surah, verse 5, well, look what it says now in verse 5:
Today good and pure things have been made lawful for you. The food of those who were given the Book, such as Jews, Christians and so on, is lawful for you. And your food is lawful for them. The chaste among the believing women, and from those given the Book before, the chaste women, provided you give their dowries, being decent, not committing fornication and not taking secret lovers, He makes lawful to you. Whoever does not accept believing in the rulings of Islam, his deeds have gone to waste. He is among those who will be losers in the hereafter. Now they open this up. What do they say? Good and pure things are the food and drink that verses and hadiths do not forbid and that people generally do not find disgusting.
Correct. Because they have a religion whose origin is heavenly, even if it is now false, of the animals the People of the Book slaughter so as to be lawful to eat by their own beliefs, and of their other food, except what Islam forbids, such as pork, it is permissible for Muslims to eat too. Likewise, even if they have changed their religion, it is permissible for women of the People of the Book and Muslim men to marry. Yes. This is correct here. Well, these, what do some say? In this verse He says do not marry, and here He says you may marry them, so this verse was abrogated by that one, they say.
Yes.
A kafir, however, is of the People of a heavenly Book. But because, out of his nafs and rancor, he rebels against Allah, he does not accept the religion of Islam. There is a great difference between them. If kafir and polytheist were the same in meaning, Allah would have spoken in vain in this verse. Allah forbid. Allah Almighty would not have known people's situations. In one place He did not let them marry a polytheist. In another place He let them marry a kafir but not a polytheist. That is, He would have contradicted one verse of His word with another. Such a thing cannot be. Such things ascribe attributes to Allah and raise questions in people's minds.
With this verse Allah Almighty does not say: do not marry kafirs. What does He say? He commands: do not marry a polytheist man or a polytheist woman. By giving wrong meanings to verses, people head into dead ends. In the end a verse is learned wrongly in one place and accepted with wrong meanings. In another place one learns another verse correctly. And when his mind learns what is right, since minds accept what is right, and since he cannot give up what he learned wrongly either, you see that the person, between two verses, falls into contradictions. Today all, most people are like this. Since he does not give up his faith either, he does not dwell much on the verses, and so he keeps floundering in hesitation.
In this way, because people cannot fully learn their religion, they gradually drift away from the religion of Islam. So people become like birds trying to fly with half a wing. So there is absolutely no abrogation in the Holy Quran. Know it this way.
Whoever says there is abrogation in the Holy Quran goes into kufr.
Today at Al-Azhar University, roughly the (?) cradle of the religion of Islam, here too, if you meet the people there, never tell them either that there is abrogation in the Quran, because they will (?) you.
Regarding the verse of Abasa, people knowingly saying that He rebuked the Prophet, speaking like this, the people there too are astonished. There is no such thing at all, they say. Yes, we are opening these up anyway.
One must know it very well. One must know the religion of Islam, the verses, very well. If Allah says kafir, it is kafir. Of the People of a heavenly Book. In their rebellion, these people have not accepted Islam. If He said polytheist, it is polytheist. These people do not recognize Allah, scripture or prophet. This is a polytheist. If you put these verses in one pan of the scales in meaning, you ascribe attributes to Allah. 'This verse was changed by such-and-such a verse.' If you say it was abrogated, Allah protect us, you go into kufr without knowing. In this case one does not marry a polytheist man or woman.
But one may marry a kafir of the People of the Book. Because the meanings are different. Now we continue with the words of the verse. We left off there. We have learned this well. Why is there no abrogation? Having learned this, we continue with the verse. Rather than marrying such a polytheist, an idolater who recognizes neither Allah, scripture nor prophet, a Muslim slave woman is better. Again, rather than a Muslim woman marrying an idolatrous, that is, a polytheist man, a believing slave is better. Allah Almighty commands people: until these polytheist men and women believe, do not marry them.
Why? Because they are truly stubborn, never come near Allah, recognize nothing but their own ideas, and unless they turn you into (?), they will never be of one mind with you. In this respect, if out of the nafs's desires you come to like them, then you are forced to compromise your religion. That is why Allah says: they call you to the Fire. And Allah invites you to guidance and Paradise, He says. How beautiful. Now the person will make the decision. They, those idolaters and idolatrous women, invite you to the Fire. Such men and women strictly do not obey people. We are now trying to open up for you their feelings, their thoughts, their (?) here.
Such men and women strictly do not obey people. Because these are the people meant by the following verse. Have you not seen the one who takes his own nafs as his god? Those who do whatever their nafs likes. Since they never give up anything of their own nafs, they will not enter your path. In this respect they invite people to the Fire. That is, if a person gives up his faith and, for selfish and animal feelings, abandons Allah who created him, these become people of Hell. So with these feelings people end up invited to the Fire.
Allah Almighty commands: do not marry them until they believe. Allah Almighty, by His leave, invites to Paradise and forgiveness. Allah Almighty is very compassionate and merciful to His creatures.
By creation He has created people deficient in mind. People make mistakes, and a person realizes his mistake. If he repents and asks Allah's forgiveness, since Allah is very merciful to His servants, He forgives them, and to the one who does what Allah says He promises Paradise. Our Lord. In this respect, those who follow Allah's invitation attain Allah's mercy. For them there is both forgiveness and Paradise. Even if a polytheist is the most beautiful in the world, even if there has never been a more handsome man than him, a Muslim, that woman, marrying that polytheist before he becomes Muslim is not right.
Even if her heart desires him. Even if her heart rises up to the highest Throne. If she gives this up for her Lord and does not marry him, she attains Allah Almighty's forgiveness. Likewise a Muslim man: even if there has been no one in the world more beautiful than a polytheist woman, if he too, for his Lord, does not marry her while she is not Muslim, he too attains his Lord's forgiveness. Yes. So Allah makes His verses clear to people. So that they may reflect and take a lesson. We said Allah Almighty created people deficient in mind. In this respect, people need to learn. People who have their will in their hands, if according to the verses Allah Almighty has made known they order their lives and follow them, find relief.
Because, as we said, Allah Almighty created us deficient in mind. Because He created us deficient in mind, we make mistakes. So out of mercy our Lord presented the Holy Quran to people as a proof, as a light, so that people may find life. So that the human, the most honorable creation, as long as he is governed by Allah's verses, may live in peace, and by managing himself in the best way, preserve his honor and dignity, and, in keeping with the purpose of creation, attain his Lord's mercy and go into his Lord's presence in a good way. See how beautifully Allah Almighty gives people life with His verses.
Yes. If they order their lives according to the verses Allah Almighty has made known and follow them, they find relief. Because Allah invites people to reflect and take a lesson. A lesson. Do you never take a lesson from the past, He says. He who takes no lesson from his past is a fool. Those who do not reflect and take no lesson are animals. People have the ability to reflect and take a lesson, that is, to compare. In this respect Allah has given people feelings; in people's lives, thinking, and acting by their feelings, bring forth persons' actual deeds. The person makes his surroundings and Allah witness to himself.
What does Allah Almighty say? In a verse,
now, the verse,
right now it has slipped my mind which surah.
We created man. We gave him, well, feelings, He says. Because I am thinking of something else right now, I cannot recall it. God willing, when I recall it I will read you the verse.
We made feeling clear to them, Allah Almighty says. In people's lives, thinking, and acting by their feelings, bring forth persons' actual deeds. The person makes his surroundings and Allah witness to himself. Yes. In this respect Allah makes His verses clear. That is, Allah Almighty's verses, for people who reflect and take a lesson, prove our Lord's existence as a miracle. As a miracle. What is its miracle? Whoever does what He says, his way opens up, and (?), he sees. Now, the will is in your hands, the responsibility is loaded on your back; if you take your place in Allah's ranks, you are saved.
If not, outside of it: according to the verse 'aduwwi wa aduwwakum', that is, in the ranks of those He calls your enemies and Allah's enemies, if you take your place there, you know that yourself. But you head for a place of which He says: what an evil destination it was. Perhaps you will reflect and take a lesson. What is heading for that place which is an evil destination? It is buying the fire of Hell, buying the torment of Hell.