4-51 Hast thou not seen those to whom a portion of the Book was given? They believe in sorcery and diviners and say of those who disbelieve: These are better guided in the path than those who believe.a
اَلَمْ تَرَ اِلَی الَّذِیْنَ اُوْتُوْا نَصِیْبًا مِّنَ الْكِتٰبِ یُؤْمِنُوْنَ بِالْجِبْتِ وَ الطَّاغُوْتِ وَ یَقُوْلُوْنَ لِلَّذِیْنَ كَفَرُوْا هٰۤؤُلَآءِ اَهْدٰی مِنَ الَّذِیْنَ اٰمَنُوْا سَبِیْلً (۵۱)
4-51a: الْجِبْتِ – The meaning of جِبْتِ and جِبۡس is a thing that has no useful purpose and it has been said that the تا in جِبْتِ is a replacement for س and everything that is worshipped besides Allah is called جِبْتِ . Sorcerers and diviners are also called جِبْتِ (R). A hadith states: ان العیافة و الطرق و الطیرۃ من الجبت (Deducing omens from the flight of birds or lines on the ground or any other form of divination is جِبْتِ) . A saying of Caliph Umar in Bukhari states: اَلۡجِبۡتُ السِّھۡرُ ( الْجِبْتِis magic).
طَّاغُوْتِ – The meaning of طَّاغُوْتِ has already been explained in 2-256b. In a hadith narration, Jabir bin Abdullah was questioned about طَّاغُوْتِ and he replied: ھم کُہَّانٌ یَنۡزل علیہم الشیطانُ (These are diviners on whom devils alight) (Bukhari). The same hadith states that there was a diviner in each tribe who was sought for making decisions. Mujahid has stated: الطَّاغُوْتِ الشیطان فی صورۃ انسان (الطَّاغُوْتِ is Satan in the shape of a man who is sought for making decisions and he is their master) (IK).
The influence of Arab’s idol worship on Judaism: This section provides some more information about the conditions of the Jews with a view to caution the Muslims. It is stated that by severing allegiance to the truth, the Jews have finally reached the stage where they are inclining towards unbelief. This is what is indicated in this verse by the words: یُؤْمِنُوْنَ بِالْجِبْتِ وَ الطَّاغُوْتِ . It appears that because of their long association with the Arabs, the Jews had begun to evince faith in idol worship and divination. This is the fate of every nation that does not strive to propagate the truth because slowly it begins to take on the influence of others. The Jews who had come to Arabia with the message of monotheism, instead of bringing the idol worshippers towards monotheism, themselves got embroiled with idol worshippers and diviners. A similar example can also be found among the Muslims. As long as they kept on striving to take the message of monotheism to others, their ideas kept on influencing the Hindus, but when they abandoned this striving, many ideas of Hinduism found a home with them. There are many sects of Sufis who have adopted the prayers and mode of worship of Hindus. Many Hindu traditions and customs have been embraced by Muslims. Worship of Pirs and graves of buried saints which is found among the Muslims is in reality a form of idol worship. Some commentators have written that when Kab ibn al Ashraf and Huyayy ibn Akhtab went to Makkah to stir up the Quraish against the Holy Prophet and promised to help them, the Quraish said that they could not trust them until Kab and Huyayy prostrated before their idols. So, they prostrated to their idols. Their effort to ally with the Quraish in order to destroy the monotheist Muslims shows that they considered the idol worshippers better than the monotheist Muslims and the narrations specifically record this as their actual statement.
4-52 Those are they whom Allah has cursed. And whomever Allah curses, thou wilt not find a helper for him.
اُولٰٓىِٕكَ الَّذِیْنَ لَعَنَهُمُ اللّٰهُ ؕ وَ مَنْ یَّلْعَنِ اللّٰهُ فَلَنْ تَجِدَ لَهٗ نَصِیْرًاؕ (۵۲)
4-53 Or have they a share in the kingdom? But then they would not give to people even the speck on a date-stone.
اَمْ لَهُمْ نَصِیْبٌ مِّنَ الْمُلْكِ فَاِذًا لَّا یُؤْتُوْنَ النَّاسَ نَقِیْرًاۙ (۵۳)
4-53a: نَقِیْر – The literal meaning of نقر is to dig or excavate. Accordingly, the beak of an animal with which it digs is called منقار . The iron that is used to drill a hole in the grindstone is also called نقر . Derived from it is the word نَقِیْر which is the grove on a date pit and it is used as a metaphor for a thing which is of little or no consequence just as the metaphorical use of a grain of oil seed (تل) or mustard seed (رائ ) in Urdu denotes a small amount.
This verse explains that that the Jews are jealous of the Holy Prophet because he is from Bani Ishmael and they maintain that the last prophet should be from Bani Israel. However, their moral condition has deteriorated to an extent that they are not even fit to be rulers leave alone prophethood which is a much greater reward and requires large heartedness. For this reason, they have no kingdom and had they had one, they are so niggardly that they would not have given others anything from it. This shows that a large heart is needed for governance. Governance and miserliness do not go together, but for prophethood an even greater large heartedness is required. Because Muslims have been made the heir to the Holy Prophet and to the knowledge that springs from prophethood as stated in: لِّتَكُوْنُوْا شُهَدَآءَ عَلَی النَّاسِ (…that you maybe the bearer of witness to the people…) (2:143), Muslims should improve their morals to be like those of prophets.
4-54 Or do they envy the people for that which Allah has given them of His grace? But indeed We have given to Abraham’s children the Book and the Wisdom, and We have given them a grand kingdom.a
اَمْ یَحْسُدُوْنَ النَّاسَ عَلٰی مَاۤ اٰتٰىهُمُ اللّٰهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهٖ ۚ فَقَدْ اٰتَیْنَاۤ اٰلَ اِبْرٰهِیْمَ الْكِتٰبَ وَ الْحِكْمَةَ وَ اٰتَیْنٰهُمْ مُّلْكًا عَظِیْمًا (۵۴)
4-54a: Two things, namely the Book and Wisdom, and a grand kingdom are mentioned as having been given to the children of Abraham, that is the Muslims. By Book and Wisdom is meant prophethood because these two things are the purpose and objective of prophethood, and this is mentioned first because of the magnificence of prophethood. Then there is a mention of the grant of a great kingdom even though the Muslims had no kingdom to speak of at the time of this revelation. Their rule was confined to the precincts of Madinah and even in the city their rule was not complete because of the opposition from Jews, idol worshippers and hypocrites. So, the promise of a grand kingdom was a promise for the future, but it took only a few years from this promise that a Muslim kingdom of great magnificence became established over a large part of the earth. Another purpose of this promise was to inform the Ahle Kitab that they can oppose as much as they want but Allah was now about to grant the Muslims a grand kingdom on this earth. Just as the Book and Wisdom given to the Muslims cannot be pried away from them because their prophet is alive till the end of the world, their worldly kingdom also cannot be snatched away, even if laziness and remissness may weaken it temporarily. Muslims here have been called the family of Abraham because this was a promise given to Abraham and in this way, it has also been made manifest that the Muslims are the children of Abraham just as the Bani Israel are his children.
4-55 So of them is he who believes in him, and of them is he who turns away from him. And Hell is sufficient to burn.a
فَمِنْهُمْ مَّنْ اٰمَنَ بِهٖ وَ مِنْهُمْ مَّنْ صَدَّ عَنْهُ ؕ وَ كَفٰی بِجَهَنَّمَ سَعِیْرً (۵۵)
4-55a: اٰمَنَ بِهٖ – By اٰمَنَ بِهٖ is meant believe in the Holy Prophet as has been narrated by Imam Mujahid.
صَدَّ عَنْهُ – Those included in صَدَّ عَنْهُ includes those people who did not join Islam or stopped others from joining Islam. The next verse makes it very clear that it is belief in the Holy Prophet and his rejection which is meant here.
4-56 Those who disbelieve in Our Messages, We shall make them enter Fire. As often as their skins are burned, We shall change them for other skins, that they may taste the chastisement. Surely Allah is ever Mighty, Wise.a
اِنَّ الَّذِیْنَ كَفَرُوْا بِاٰیٰتِنَا سَوْفَ نُصْلِیْهِمْ نَارًا ؕ كُلَّمَا نَضِجَتْ جُلُوْدُهُمْ بَدَّلْنٰهُمْ جُلُوْدًا غَیْرَهَا لِیَذُوْقُوا الْعَذَابَ ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ كَانَ عَزِیْزًا حَكِیْمًا (۵۶)
4-56a: نَضِجَتْ – نَضۡج is also spoken of meat when it is fully cooked in the pot or fully roasted in kabob. نضیج الراۓ is a person whose opinion that the fruit on a tree is fully ripe is considered to be authoritative.
جُلُوْد – It is the plural of جِلۡد and is the name for the covering of the body, that is the skin, but sometimes it is used to mean the body as in: تَقْشَعِرُّ مِنْهُ جُلُوْدُ الَّذِیْنَ یَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ (…whereat do shudder the bodies of those who fear the Lord) (39:23) where by جُلُوْد is meant bodies (R).
What is meant by their skins are burned and change for other skins? Just as one cannot fathom the reality of the blessings of heaven, similarly one cannot know the reality of the pain of fire. In such situations, the Quran describes the events in a manner that is easiest for a person to visualize. It is common experience that sensation ceases when nerve endings are destroyed in a diseased part of the skin. The purport of the statement is that unlike this world in which sensation may cease in a diseased area and the area may become insensitive to further pain even from burning, this will not be the case in the next world. The statement, therefore, for burning and replacement of skin is only an idiom. Some have gone so far as to say: المراد الدوام و عدم الانقطاع و لا نضبح و لا احتتراق (What is meant is the continuity and non-interruption of the burning) (G). The Quran itself has explained the purpose of the burning and the change of skin as لیزوقو العذاب that is, that they may keep on tasting the punishment. It will not be the case that the inmates of hell will get used to the punishment and stop feeling the pain.
4-57 And those who believe and do good deeds, We shall make flow rivers, to abide in them forever. For them therein are pure companions and We shall make them enter a pleasant shade.
وَ الَّذِیْنَ اٰمَنُوْا وَ عَمِلُوا الصّٰلِحٰتِ سَنُدْخِلُهُمْ جَنّٰتٍ تَجْرِیْ مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْاَنْهٰرُ خٰلِدِیْنَ فِیْهَاۤ اَبَدًا ؕ لَهُمْ فِیْهَاۤ اَزْوَاجٌ مُّطَهَّرَةٌ ؗ وَّ نُدْخِلُهُمْ ظِلًّا ظَلِیْلً (۵۷)
4-57a: ظِلًّا ظَلِیْلً – It is stated in Mufradat that ظِلّ ضَحّ is the opposite of being in the sun. Its use is more general than فۓ which has a similar meaning because one can say ظِلُّ اللیل and ظلِ الجنة . Every location where the sun’s rays do not reach can be called ظلِ and فۓ is said only of a place where the sun’s rays did reach but have now passed it by. ظلِ is also taken to mean respect, security and ease. In the verse: اِنَّ الْمُتَّقِیْنَ فِیْ ظِلٰلٍ (Surely the dutiful are amid shades…) (77:41) the meaning of ظِلٰلٍ is dignified and secure. In the verses: أُڪُلُهَا دَآٮِٕمٌ۬ وَظِلُّهَا (Its fruits are perpetual and its plenty) (13:35), هُمۡ وَأَزۡوَٲجُهُمۡ فِى ظِلَـٰلٍ (They and their wives are in shades) (36:56), and in any common idiom where ظَلَّنی فلانٌ appears, the meaning given is: Took care of me, and provided me His protection, dignity (that is, restraint) and safety. In the commentary of this verse, ظِلًّا ظَلِیْلً is said to be a metaphor for a happy life. According to Lissan al-Arab ظلِ is the light from the sun’s rays minus the rays because if there is no light, it is not ظلِ but ظلمت (darkness). ظَلِیْلً is a derived attribute of emphasis from ظلِ . In the Hadith, ظل اللّٰه has been used for a king and in reality, the meaning here cannot be shade because the Being of Allah is not corporeal. A narration in a hadith states: سبعة یظلھم اللّٰه فی ظله (Seven whom Allah will shade in His shade) and in an almost identical hadith the last part is replaced by ظلل العرش and the meaning here cannot be shade. Mention is made in the previous verse of those who reject the signs of Allah and their punishment, and the style of the Quran is that when mention is made of those who reject, mention is also made in juxtaposition of the believers and those who act righteously.
4-58 Surely Allah commands you to make over trusts to those worthy of them, and that when you judge between people, you judge with justice. Surely Allah admonishes you with what is excellent. Surely Allah is ever Hearing, Seeing.a
اِنَّ اللّٰهَ یَاْمُرُكُمْ اَنْ تُؤَدُّوا الْاَمٰنٰتِ اِلٰۤی اَهْلِهَا ۙ وَ اِذَا حَكَمْتُمْ بَیْنَ النَّاسِ اَنْ تَحْكُمُوْا بِالْعَدْلِ ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ نِعِمَّا یَعِظُكُمْ بِهٖ ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ كَانَ سَمِیْعًۢا بَصِیْرًا (۵۸)
4-58a: الْاَمٰنٰتِ – It is the plural of امانة , and اَمَانة and امان are derived from اَمۡن . It is stated in Mufradat that امان is sometimes the name of the state in which a person is in safety and tranquility and sometimes it is the situation in which a person is made a trustee, as in: تَخُونُوٓاْ أَمَـٰنَـٰتِكُمۡ (8:27) where the meaning of امانات is those things over which a person is made a trustee. In the verse: إِنَّا عَرَضۡنَا ٱلۡأَمَانَةَ عَلَى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ (Surely We offered the trust to the heaven) (33:72), Ibn Abbas has narrated the meaning of امانات as obligation or duties (LA). According to Al-Nihayah, the word امانت is used in several different senses in the Hadith which are: طاعت (devotion; submission) and عبادت (worship) and ودیعت (trust) and ثقة (reliable; dependable) and امان.
On the face of it, this verse seems to be introducing a new topic. The intemperance of the Jews is mentioned above, and the narration now turns to trusts. A third topic introduced in this verse is to judge between people justly. In reality, there is a deep relationship between these three topics. The real purpose in the mention of the intemperance of the Jews, as has been mentioned earlier, is to warn the Muslims. What was the intemperance of the Jews and what was its cause? This was the result of the disobedience of God’s commands – deflection from the worship of God, the use of God gifted powers in the wrong way, and this is, in reality, a misappropriation of trust because the real meaning of trust is obedience, worship, belief and the like. The Jews wasted God’s trust, disobeyed Him, strayed from His given ways and did not put their God given powers to proper use. By commanding the Muslims not to misappropriate trusts, the narration reverts to the real topic and to the actual purport of mentioning the Jews. The command given here to discharge trusts includes not only trust of physical assets but also includes the real trust which is obedience to Allah and the proper use of the God given powers. The extension اِلٰۤی اَهْلِهَا is added because the real measure of a person’s goodness is the degree to which one fulfills the ties of relationship with others. The goodness of a person who does not measure up to this standard is only minimal at best. Giving to every person his just due and fulfilling one’s responsibilities towards the person is in reality making over trusts to those worthy of them. Also included as part of discharging trusts is to make those people leaders who are worthy of being leaders and to entrust governance to those who are fit to govern. If the command of the army is given to a religious recluse it will not qualify as discharging the trust and similarly if a hermit is made the head of administration then that too is not discharging the trust.
The relationship of the governor and governed: The relationship of a person with other persons is firstly based on equality. Every person has some responsibilities towards other persons just as they have some responsibilities towards him. Whether it is a husband and wife, master or servant, or a brother, or a relative or stranger, or the denizens of one town or one country, of one nation or of different nations, they are responsible for discharging their mutual responsibilities towards one another. The discharge of these responsibilities takes up the major portion of a person’s life. However, another kind of relationship has also become necessary for maintaining human civilization and that is the relationship between the governed and the governor. So, when mention is made of discharging the trust to those worthy of it which includes the majority of human relationships, the special relationship between the governors and governed is also specified. The responsibility of the governors is given in this verse and those of the governed in the next verse. Accordingly, it is stated here that when one is appointed as a ruler over people and has to adjudicate disputes, the command of God is to adjudicate justly. The use of the word النَّاسِ gives a generality to the command and whether the disputant is a Muslim, Hindu or Christian, the requirement of justice must be uppermost. There must not be any bias towards any party.
In a discussion of the revelation of this verse, most commentators have mentioned the incident of Usman bin Abi Talhah who was the custodian of the Kabbah and the keeper of its key. When Makkah was conquered, he initially refused to part with the key, but it was taken away from him. Abbas (or Ali) desired that the positions of the guardian and the provider of drinks to the pilgrims be merged. It is said that this verse was revealed at the time and the Holy Prophet returned the key to Usman and since then his family has had the key to this day. Even if this verse was revealed at this time, its import is general, and this has been conceded by the commentators. According to some narrations, it appears that Usman bin Abi Talhah had not become a Muslim till then. This speaks volumes for the large heartedness of the Holy Prophet.
4-59 O you who believe, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority from among you; then if you quarrel about anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. This is best and more suitable to (achieve) the end.
یٰۤاَیُّهَا الَّذِیْنَ اٰمَنُوْۤا اَطِیْعُوا اللّٰهَ وَ اَطِیْعُوا الرَّسُوْلَ وَ اُولِی الْاَمْرِ مِنْكُمْ ۚ فَاِنْ تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِیْ شَیْءٍ فَرُدُّوْهُ اِلَی اللّٰهِ وَ الرَّسُوْلِ اِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُؤْمِنُوْنَ بِاللّٰهِ وَ الْیَوْمِ الْاٰخِرِ ؕ ذٰلِكَ خَیْرٌ وَّ اَحْسَنُ تَاْوِیْلًا۠ (۵۹)
4-59a: اُولِی الْاَمْرِ – The meaning of اَمَرۡتُه‘is I entrusted him with a duty to do something. So, اَمۡر is in the sense of a command, and according to some what is meant by اُولِی الْاَمْرِ are the governors and commanders who were appointed during the time of the Holy Prophet, and some say it means the Imams from the family of the Holy Prophet, some say it means those who enjoin good (امر بالمعروف) and according to Ibn Abbas it means jurists and religious scholars. Imam Raghib has included all of the above in اُولِی الْاَمْرِ because اُولِی الْاَمْرِ who give orders or are influencers are of four types: 1) Prophets whose orders are for the material and spiritual aspects of both the elite and the general populace 2) Kings whose orders are for the material aspects of life and not for the spiritual aspects 3) Philosophers whose orders influence the hidden aspects of a certain elite class 4) Imams whose orders influence the spiritual but not the physical aspects of life.
How far can one go to accept the command of اُولِی الْاَمْرِ : The last verse commands that the rights of each other should be discharges in mutual relationships. The governors should deal justly with the governed. This verse now details the kind of relationship the governed should have with the governors, but before going into its details, it is mentioned that the real obedience must always be to Allah and His Prophet. Obedience to Allah and His Prophet is unconditional but obedience to the third entity mentioned, that is اُولِی الْاَمْرِ (those in authority) is conditional. The condition that is imposed is that if there is a dispute about a matter, it should be returned to Allah and His Messenger. This shows that the command to obey اُولِی الْاَمْرِ is not absolute and without condition as is the case with Allah and His Messenger but is conditional on there being no conflict between the command of the اُولِی الْاَمْرِ and the commands of Allah and His Messenger. Thus, the commands of Allah and His Messenger are in one category and that of the اُولِی الْاَمْرِ in another. Allah and His Messenger cannot make a mistake in giving a command and neither can the command of the Messenger in any way contradict the command of Allah, but اُولِی الْاَمْرِ can make a mistake in the command he issues and there is a possibility that his command may be against what Allah and His Messenger have ordered. Thus, the commands of Allah and His Messenger must be obeyed under any condition and the command of اُولِی الْاَمْرِ must also be obeyed generally but if it happens to be against what Allah and His Messenger has ordered then it must not be obeyed.
Historical examples: There are many hadith about this. It is narrated in Bukhari and other Books of Hadith that the Holy Prophet dispatched a force and appointed an Ansar as its commander. Somewhere along the way, the Ansar commander got angry at something and told his troops that the Holy Prophet had instructed them to obey him. They replied that it was so. The commander than had a huge fire lit and ordered them to enter the fire. A young member of the force replied that they had fled the fire to join the Holy Prophet and further advised the commander not to hurry and to wait till they returned to the Prophet. So, when they came back, the incident was narrated to the Holy Prophet. He stated that if you had entered the fire, you would not have come out. انّما الطاعة فی المعروف (Obedience is only in things that are good), that is in things that are not against the shariah. There is a narration from Abdullah bin Umar in Abu Daud that the Holy Prophet said: السمع و الطاعة علی المرء المسلم فیما احب و کرہ مالم یؤمر بمعصیت فلا سمع و لا طاعة (It is incumbent on a Muslim person that he accepts and obeys regardless of whether he likes or dislikes a thing unless he is commanded to disobey (Allah and His Messenger) but if he is commanded to disobey Allah and His Messenger then there is no acceptance or obeying. There is another hadith in Bukhari in which the Holy Prophet has been reported to have said: Accept and obey even if a negro slave is appointed as your leader. It is reported in Bukhari and Muslim that if a person sees something in his leader that he dislikes, he should be patient because a person who strays even a little from his party, dies a death of ignorance.
Unity of party important goal: It is apparent from these hadith that the real rationale for making it binding to obey the leader is to maintain the unity of the party. Unless all members of a party are subservient to a command, the unity of the party cannot be maintained. Hence if the leader passes an order that a member does not like, he should still obey it unless it happens to be against a command of Allah and His Messenger, in which case it should not be obeyed. As pointed out, leaders, kings, governors are all included in اُولِی الْاَمْرِ منکم but since the address is to الَّذِیْنَ اٰمَنُوْۤا the condition of منکم makes it quite clear that the purport is Muslim rulers. It is a separate question whether Muslims who are living under the rule of a non-Muslim ruler should obey his orders or not provided the orders are not against the Quran and Hadith. The example of the Holy Prophet and his Companions who migrated to Ethiopia is sufficient to answer this question. The same answer can also be extracted by ijtihad (independent reasoning) of this verse of the Quran.
It is also important to remember that the deciding factor in any dispute can only be the word of God or a hadith of the Holy Prophet. So, whenever there is any dispute among Muslims the arbiter is first the Quran and after it Hadith. The first priority of the Quran is also established by the fact that in another place only فحکمه الی اللّٰه is mentioned as an arbiter in case of a dispute, that is Allah is the final judge in the matter. It is also a fact that Quran is protected against all corruption in a manner that Hadith is not. An increase or decrease of words in the Hadith is a possibility and it is a fact that some hadith are meaningless.
Ahle Quran and obedience of the Holy Prophet: It is also important to mention another affair here. The sect known as Ahle Quran hold that obedience of Holy Prophet is shirk or an association with God. This concept has already been debunked in 3-132a. The explanation of this verse given by this sect is as follows: O you who believe! In the matter of the religion of Islam obey only the command of Allah, the Most High, that is obey only the command of the Book of Allah, and in the matters of kingdom obey the orders of the ruler of the time who rules over you. If you quarrel among yourselves about some matter regarding the religion of Islam then refer it only to the command of Allah, that is purely to the command of the Book of Allah (Translation from Tarjamul Quran ba ayat al-Furqan by Maulvi Abdullah Chakaralwi). In order to make the Quran accord with their view, many things have been deliberately added to change the meaning.
There are other problems that arise with this augmentation. First, this implies that the affairs of the state have no relationship with the religion of Islam. This is an absurd and meaningless supposition. The religion that gives commands regarding social intercourse, civilization, and ordinary relationships, does it not give any commands about the affairs of the state and appoints the ruler of the time to give all the commands about the matter? The ruler may well be areligious, and then does it follow that one must obey all commands that such a ruler gives. Further, it follows from the interpretation of the Ahle Quran that it is permissible to have a dispute about the religion of Islam, but it is not permissible to have a dispute about matters of the state. In snatching the authority from the Prophet, they have given the ruler even a greater authority than the Prophet over some aspects of the religion of Islam. So, just as one must be obedient to Allah without questioning and without disputing, the ruler must also be obeyed without question and without objection. Thus any kind of disagreement with the ruler of the time is disobedience of the command of Allah.
Shia and Qadiani Ahmadies: This verse rebuts the view of the Shia sect who believe in the existence of Imam Masum (the Innocent Imam) and also of the Qadiani sect of Ahmadies who accept Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian as a prophet and messenger. If there was to be an Imam Masum who could do no wrong or there was to be a prophet and messenger who had to be obeyed in the same way as the Holy Prophet, then such persons should have been mentioned in this verse. It is clear that anyone who belongs to the Islamic community, regardless of how great a person he is, will be counted as اُولِی الْاَمْرِ and it is possible to have a difference of opinion with him., and the real arbiter will be Allah, that is His Book, and the Messenger that is the tradition of the Prophet. الَّذِیْنَ اٰمَنُوْۤا will be under a separate command and the Messenger under another command, that is the former will always be the ones who obey and the latter the one who has to be obeyed. It is true that religious leaders and scholars, jurists and rulers also need to be obeyed but a dispute can arise with any one of them and hence the Holy Prophet stays as the arbiter. The Companions occasionally disagreed with the Caliphs Abu Bakr and Umar and the matter was settled by referring to the Book of Allah. Even if there is disagreement with Imams Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Hanifa, Malik, Shafii, Ahmad or the reformers of each century or the Promised Messiah, the arbiter will be the Book of Allah and the tradition of the Prophet. The real arbiter for the Muslim community will always be the Holy Prophet. It is for this reason, the verse is ended with: This is best and more suitable, because this is the only way agreement and unity can be maintained in the Islamic community. If every sect was free to pick their own arbiter, there would be disunity and the purpose of sending one Messenger would be defeated. Even otherwise, by putting the whole community under the same rule, the world has been shown a golden rule of democracy.
Bayan-ul-Quran 