Verse 6:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن جَاءكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَأٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا أَن تُصِيبُوا قَوْمًا بِجَهَالَةٍ فَتُصْبِحُوا عَلَى مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَادِمِينَ
O believers! If an unrighteous person comes to you with information, you should verify it or else you might inflict harm on a people in ignorance and then end up regretting what you have done.
| O you | يَا أَيُّهَا |
| who | الَّذِينَ |
| believe | آمَنُوا |
| If | إِن |
| comes to you | جَاءكُمْ |
| a rebellious evil person | فَاسِقٌ |
| with a news | بِنَبَأٍ |
| verify it | فَتَبَيَّنُوا |
| lest | أَن |
| you harm | تُصِيبُوا |
| people | قَوْمًا |
| in ignorance | بِجَهَالَةٍ |
| And afterwards you become | فَتُصْبِحُوا |
| for | عَلَى |
| what | مَا |
| you have done | فَعَلْتُمْ |
| regretful | نَادِمِينَ |
Verse six is one of the most negelected verse in the Qur’an. It has a great significance and is a very important principle in our deen.
Banu Mustaliq was plotting against the Prophet (sallahu alaihyi wa salaam). It was because of this that the Prophet (sallahu aliahyi wa salaam) took the initiative to invade first. A portion of the tribe was killed in the battle, while the majority were taken as captives. The members of the tribe were divided and given to the Muslims as slaves. Juwairaiya, the daughter of the chief, Al-Haarith, was married to the Prophet (sallahu alaihyi wa salaam). The companions felt ashamaed of keeping her people as slaves, while she was married to the Prophet (sallahu alaihyi wa salaam), therefore all of her people were freed. It is said there was no women who did her people a greater favor than Juwairaiya because of this. Muhammad (sallahu alaihyi wa salaam) gave dawah to Al-Haarith and he accepted Islam. He then told Al-Haarith to invite the rest of his tribe to Islam, and to collect zakah from them. Al-Haarith agreed and asked the Prophet (sallahu alaihyi wa salaam) to send him a messenger to collect the zakah. A date was set when the Prophet (sallahu alaihyi wa salaam) would send a messenger to collect it. The time arrived and no one arrived to Al-Haarith, so he thought that the Prophet was displeased with him and his tribe. He sent a group of people to meet the Prophet (sallahu alaihyi wa salaam). In the meanwhile, Al-Waleed bin Uqbah was sent by the Prophet to collect the zakah from Al-Haarith. On his way, he heard that Banu Mustaliq were armed and on their way to the Rasul. Upon hearing this, he assumed they were on their way to kill him. He went back to the Prophet (sallahu alaihyi wa salaam) and told him that Banu Mustaliq refused to give zakah. The Prophet (sallahu alaihyi wa salaam) became infuriated with this. He dispatched an army to go and fight Banu Mustaliq. The Prophet (sallahu alaihyi wa salaam) himself did not go out. The two groups met in between and were about to engage in a battle, but Banu Mustaliq surrendered. They asked the army why the Prophet (sallahu alaihyi wa salaam) was not pleased with them. They were informed it was due to their rejecting to pay the zakah. The two groups returned to the Prophet (sallahu alaihyi wa salaam) and saw the Prophet was upset. The Prophet (sallahu alaihyi wa salaam) asked Al-Haarith why he refused to pay zakah and tried to kill the messenger sent to him. Al-Haarith replied,
“By the one who sent you the truth, I did not see him nor did he come to me, and the only reason I came was because I feared that your reason for not contacting me was due to Allah’s displeasure with us.”
Al-Waleed ib Uqbah was asked about this, and he admitted to the truth. Immediately Allah revealed this ayat to reprimand the Prophet (sallahu alaihyi wa salaam), and confirmed Al-Haarith and his people’s intention.
Everyone was blamed in this ayat; the person who made an assumption, the person who invented the story and the people around the Prophet (sallahua alaihyi wa salaam) including himself. Allah informed them they should not have reacted in the way they did, rather the information should have been verified first.
Subhanallah, back in the day, they were excited to give zakat whereas these days we ask for extensions, etc.
Any news that comes to you, you can do one of the three things:
- accept it
- reject it
- verify it
Don’t reject the news easily, you should verify it…Do not reject nor accept…if its rejected by our shai’rah, you reject it, if its not , then accept it. But if it comes from the People of the Book, don’t accept nor reject unless you can verify it.
“Google everything” – Shaykh Muhammad Faqih.
Elements of a news:
- Information it self, writer, who they are attributing to, source must be credible.
- Information needs to make sense
- Information must have principle of shai’rah
There are two concerns for the fasiqeen (transgressors)
- The person may be wicked, having a bad agenda. Immediately what they say is rejected.
- The person may not be wicked, but the person has a problem in their accuracy. That is why ahl alHadith when looking at a narrator narrating a hadith, not only question the faith of the person, but also the level of his accuracy.
How does regret happened?
- consequences of your actions
- the realization of an error or mistake.
IF not sure what to do, use istikhara for your decisions. Don’t underestimate it!, use it J!
Two things that Allah (swt) loves:
- Forbearance
- Deliberation
Authenticating and confirming the news is the responsibility of the person who receives it. If a person is going to act upon it or make decision because of it, then the news MUST be investigated first.
This can take on many levels:
- First level à The most critical of all is the level of the society and leadership
- Second level à Is the judge. A Judge in Islam can not rule based on a testimony
When a person is called upon to judge between two, he must listen to both sides before issuing an answer. This can be seen in the following story of Dawood.
إِذْ دَخَلُوا عَلَى دَاوُودَ فَفَزِعَ مِنْهُمْ قَالُوا لَا تَخَفْ خَصْمَانِ بَغَى بَعْضُنَا عَلَى بَعْضٍ فَاحْكُم بَيْنَنَا بِالْحَقِّ وَلَا تُشْطِطْ وَاهْدِنَا إِلَى سَوَاء الصِّرَاطِ
When they entered the presence of David, and he was terrified of them, they said: "Fear not: we are two disputants, one of whom has wronged the other: Decide now between us with truth, and treat us not with injustice, but guide us to the even Path..(38:22)
إِنَّ هَذَا أَخِي لَهُ تِسْعٌ وَتِسْعُونَ نَعْجَةً وَلِيَ نَعْجَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ فَقَالَ أَكْفِلْنِيهَا وَعَزَّنِي فِي الْخِطَابِ
"This man is my brother: He has nine and ninety ewes, and I have (but) one: Yet he says, 'commit her to my care,' and is (moreover) harsh to me in speech." (38:23)
قَالَ لَقَدْ ظَلَمَكَ بِسُؤَالِ نَعْجَتِكَ إِلَى نِعَاجِهِ وَإِنَّ كَثِيراً مِّنْ الْخُلَطَاء لَيَبْغِي بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَقَلِيلٌ مَّا هُمْ وَظَنَّ دَاوُودُ أَنَّمَا فَتَنَّاهُ فَاسْتَغْفَرَ رَبَّهُ وَخَرَّ رَاكِعًا وَأَنَابَ
(David) said: "He has undoubtedly wronged thee in demanding thy (single) ewe to be added to his (flock of) ewes: truly many are the partners (in business) who wrong each other: Not so do those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, and how few are they?"...and David gathered that We had tried him: he asked forgiveness of his Lord, fell down, bowing (in prostration), and turned (to Allah in repentance). (38:24)
Allah sent Dawud two people, who were actually angels in the forms of human beings. After only listening to one side, Dawud realized that this was a test from Allah and he made sujood right away. His mistake was that he did not listen to the other party involved.
When Umar was approached by a person who had his eye poke out and wanted justice done, Umar wouldn’t decide on the matter until he heard the other side saying that it could have been that the person who approached him could have poked both of the eyes of the other person.
One of the rights of a Muslim is if they have asked for your advice, go and research and give them advice.
Anytime anyone relays good news to another, it does not have to be verified (if it comes from someone known to be trustworthy). On the other hand, when someone conveys something negative, then he must come with evidence, supporting his claim.
It is from the believer’s good character to keep himself from doubtful matters or situations that may raise some suspicion about himself.
Human are prone to pass judgment. That is why it is not allowed to pass judgment about othes, but rather all news must be verified first.
