I have a question concerning the meaning of one verse in the Qur’an. Montgomery Watt attributes one meaning to it and I wanted to ask you about this. Who attributes it? Montgomery Watt. That’s right. The verse reads, Remember that the recompense of an injury is an injury the like thereof, but whoso forgives and thereby brings about an improvement, his reward is with Allah. Surely he loves not the wrongdoers. Now Montgomery Watt writes that to forgive here means to accept compensation, not to free forgive. Not at all. Totally wrong. I’m really surprised at what he did to this verse. He’s a great scholar, no doubt. And from him we cannot expect such childish mistake.
The only other alternative for one to believe is that he is consciously misleading people. And that too goes against his grain, I mean the grain which is known from outside. People generally have a very good impression on Mr. Montgomery Watt about his attitude to Islam and they believe that he is very fair-minded. And he himself takes pride in this fact. But as I pointed out earlier, when I read some of his earlier books, there I suspected that he is not what all he seems. Because he unfolds a plan of his own in so many words, how to treat the Holy Quran and Islam and all that. And he wants to run with the hare and also keep side with the dogs, hounds, whatever they call it.
So that is the sort of policy. He wants to be mild and praising here and there, yet attack Islam wherever it is possible. Because this is such a beautiful verse, if he had rendered it correctly in his true perspective, it would have won so many hearts for Islam. So that shows most unfortunately his narrow-mindedness. He is too miserly to give to Islam what belongs to Islam. So he distorts the meaning. Completely out of text. Totally unrelated. It has nothing whatsoever to do with acceptance of… What he said? Compensation or what another word is used? Recompense of blood money. No, no, that’s just ordinary recompense.
But blood money or something like that, you know. Qasas, I think he is referring to that. While that subject is nowhere near this verse, it simply makes a statement that those who are wronged, if they take their revenge on the condition that they do not transgress, then they take their revenge and do the enemy harm exactly as he has done or less, not more. This is a very strict measure laid down by Islam in permission of revenge. After that, the Holy Quran says, if you do that, there is no blame on you. Allah will not bring you to book. If you stick to this condition and perform your vengeance, exactly as is stated and permitted by Allah. But… These are the words.
But such of you as choose to forgive, on the condition that that forgiveness causes reformation, for those, the reward lies with Allah. This is the most fundamental verse of the Holy Quran regarding human affairs, human relationship. Most of the human actions, I mean, in person to person relationship, as well as in national, international relationship, revolve around this, who has wronged whom, and how he should be requited in return. And there, most of the follies, which we suffer from in the present age, spring from this relationship. It is an accepted norm and established rule now with mankind, that if somebody wrongs you, you must take yours back and then act to it.
And treat him so harshly in return, that it’s many times more than the wrong done to you. This is the normal accepted relationship or the code of human conduct, that is also accepted in the civilized world. When they go into wars, for some imaginary wrongs or real wrongs, this is how they treat the enemy nation. But the Holy Quran lays down the rule that if you are wronged, you are permitted to take your revenge, but on the condition not to go far beyond the wrong which has been done to you.
The second, and this is the most beautiful point, forgiveness is only permitted under the condition that it causes reformation. Why I call this fundamental? Because it stands between the teachings of Judaism and Christianity and stands in a position where no further improvement can be made in human relationship, whatsoever you do. Judaism laid special stress on revenge, and equal revenge we must say, we must give them to this, truth for truth and eye for eye. But apparently, with no permission to forgive, as if it were the injunction of Allah to them, that revenge you must take, you have given no choice.
So they became hard-hearted. Now I look at that teaching not as an imperfect teaching. This attitude is wrong. No teaching from Allah can ever be imperfect. But the meaning of perfection varies from time to time. Because we are imperfect, so we cannot be related to absolute values in the sense that a perfect teaching can be given to all mankind at all ages. This is not possible. Because we have been passing at different stages of our development, and at certain times our psychological development was at a stage where we could absorb only that much and not more or less. So perfection here means relative perfection.
A teaching is revealed to mankind all over the world, in every phase of history, in perfect relationship to the requirements of those people. So here perfection means exactly as is needed. Not the perfection in absolute values. For instance, if you have a smaller vessel to fill, and you fill it from an ocean, as far as ocean’s generosity is concerned, it is not limited by the fact that you can only contain that much water. If you could fill it with a larger vessel, you could easily do that. But you are perfectly filled. Because you have filled your vessel to the brim. And that is all you had. So this is what I mean by relative perfection. Allah educates us according to our containers, what we can contain and what we can receive.
So from time to time in history, the teachings have been varying, and I can prove to the best of my knowledge that at each time, each teaching in the history of religion was perfect in this meaning of the word as I have understood. So let’s go back to the history of Moses. He found his people in a state where they were trampled upon most cruelly by a despot. Not only a despot, but a despotic nation for centuries. And there was no way out. They were born men, as a people, to a superior, more powerful ruler who would deprive them of all their civil rights. And yet they could not do anything. So they invented an excuse for themselves. They thought good moral is to forgive.
And to tolerate anything. They sank so low as never to think of revenge because they were too weak. So to lift such a people from such a lowly situation, a very special teaching was required. Go back to their time, project yourself for a while into their thinking. Can you imagine if you were permitted to either take revenge or forgive, you will ever take revenge? Never. Because you say, alright, because forgiveness is permitted and I am weak, so why not forgive? It suits us both. So this was the state of affair when this teaching was revealed. And the Holy Quran narrates a solitary incident, which people think, why it is related? But it fits into this whole background and to enhance the picture, that is related there.
Moses hit that nation which was a ruling nation, one of them, with his box, I mean he boxed him with his fist. And ordinarily people hit each other with fists and it’s not a thing noteworthy. But the Holy Quran takes note of this fact. And it was so exceptional, so out of place, so unusual, that the greatest elders of Pharaoh’s people sat together, considering what had happened. Ordinarily they had been fighting with each other and it was never taken note of. Murders, there would have been many. But why this?
This incident is brought to limelight by the Holy Quran because Allah wants to convey the poor picture of the Israelites at that time. They were so downtrodden that for them to take their revenge, even by boxing somebody in retaliation, was very unusual. And to box him so strongly as to cause death, that is very exceptional. So in such a state, a teaching was required. And that was tooth for tooth, eye for eye. You are not permitted to forgive. Because otherwise you will not be cured.
So it went on and on for some time until the soft hearts began to turn hard and they were hardened into stones, the Holy Quran tells us. To such stones as to decide for the most innocent man of their time, a punishment of crucifixion, for no crime of his. And they took pride in this fact. They jubilated that we have succeeded ultimately in doing this. So the Holy Quran says, وَبِكُفْرِهِمْ وَبِقَوْلِهِمْ أَنَّا قَتَلْنَا الْمَسِيحَ عِيسَةً مَرِيَمًا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ This verse applies to their jubilation. Allah noted this fact and related it for the progenies to come. I mean for the future generations to come. That this was their meanness.
Not only they attempted to murder an innocent man, most poorly, but they took pride, they talked between themselves, they jubilated at the fact that they had done this. So this was the other extreme they had reached. Allah to permit them to take revenge and also to decide to forgive was an imperfect teaching as applicable to that situation. This is what I mean. Apparently it’s the most beautiful teaching. You can forgive, you can take your revenge, okay. Choose for yourself. But if this choice is given now to the Jews of the time of the Christ, they would always choose for revenge. Will never forgive.
So that right is taken back temporarily. And an imperfect teaching appears to be most perfect in relationship to the time. Now comes Islam, which stands at the summit. And now this is the Islamic teaching. You can take your revenge, but we modify this statement. Not revenge, unlimited revenge, but a revenge which is controlled and in which you stand answerable to God, that if you transgress more than you were transgressed by the enemy, then you are accountable. But you are also not permitted to forgive. Make your own choice. You have come to the age of adulthood.
But forgiveness is again conditioned. If your forgiveness does not cause reformation, but promotes crime, this is the meaning, then you are not permitted to forgive. Sometimes you forgive, you feel as if you are doing a good act, but that forgiveness causes crime to flourish, like it’s happening in so many civilized societies of the West. They are showing softness to crime, not to human beings. To good people they are showing in reality cruelty. Because if you show softness to criminal, with the result that the crime is encouraged, then the good will suffer, the innocent would suffer.
So this is what I have been telling the opponents of Islam, and particularly to the Baha’is who say Islam has also been left behind in time. I have been telling them to try to improve now. You think you have advanced in time, you think man has gained so much knowledge, try to improve this teaching. You have taught a bit. This is why the Holy Qur’an throws the challenge, try to bring a verse like this. This is the meaning of this. There are verses in the Holy Qur’an regarding the teachings, fundamental and permanent teachings, which cannot be improved upon.
Neither you can take out of these, nor you can add to them. This is the verse which hurts so much a man like Mr. Watts. I can’t understand him to have failed to grasp the meaning of this. He is a scholarly learned person, and yet he says he is not prejudicial either. But here is a dilemma for us. Why didn’t he see the true meaning? He must have seen it and tried to hide it, otherwise there is no justification for this meaning which he attributes wrongly to this verse. Thank you for pointing out.
