Chapter 10 - A Commentary On: Hudan li ‘n-Nasi wa Bayyinatin
A Commentary on the phrase Hudan li ‘n-Nasi wa bayyinatin min al-huda wa al-furqan
هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ
A guidance for people and clear proofs of guidance and the criterion
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ الْهُدَىٰ وَالْفُرْقَانِ
“The month of Ramadan is one in which the Qur’an was sent down as guidance to mankind, with manifest proofs of guidance and the criterion ....” (2:185).
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هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ
Guidance for people
Therefore, my duty as a Muslim is not merely to read it with proper pronunciation, but rather to struggle and attain its meaning so that I can follow the same and thus be guided. This is the fundamental purpose of the Qur’an.
هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ
Guidance for people
Qur’an is a guidance for all people (li an-nas). The Holy Qur’an says:
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ الْهُدَىٰ وَالْفُرْقَانِ
“The month of Ramadan is one in which the Qur’an was sent down as guidance to mankind, with manifest proofs of guidance and the criterion... “(2:185).
It informs us that the teachings of the Qur’an are not meant for Muslims only, but are for an-nas which means ‘all the people’ or ‘mankind’ in general. Hence those who have taken the responsibility to spread the word of the truth must try to present it in a way that attracts an-nas (everyone). Furthermore, there are several verses in the Qur’an where Allah, the All-Merciful, addresses the human beings in general, and no specific group of believers is addressed.
The following are some examples worthy of reflection:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
“O mankind'. Worship your Lord, who created you and those who were before you, so that you may be God-wary” (2:21).
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ كُلُوا مِمَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ حَلَالًا طَيِّبًا وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ ۚ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُبِينٌ
“O mankind’. Eat of what is lawful and pure in the earth, and do not follow in Satan’s steps. Indeed, he is your manifest enemy” (2:168).
ا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًا كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاءً ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءَلُونَ بِهِ وَالْأَرْحَامَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا
“O mankind'. Be wary of your Lord who created you from a single soul, and created its mate from it, and, from the two of them, scattered numerous men and women. Be wary of Allah, in whose name you adjure one another, and the wombs. Indeed, Allah is watchful over you” (4:1).
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ بُرْهَانٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَأَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ نُورًا مُبِينًا
“O mankind! Certainly, a proof has come to you from your Lord, and We have sent down to you a manifest light” (4:174).
قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ فِي شَكٍّ مِنْ دِينِي فَلَا أَعْبُدُ الَّذِينَ تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلَٰكِنْ أَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ الَّذِي يَتَوَفَّاكُمْ ۖ وَأُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
“Say, ‘O people! If you are in doubt about my religion, then [know that] I do not worship those whom you worship besides Allah. Rather I worship only Allah, who causes you to die, and I have been commanded to be among the faithful’” (10:104).
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ فِي رَيْبٍ مِنَ الْبَعْثِ فَإِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ مِنْ تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ ثُمَّ مِنْ عَلَقَةٍ ثُمَّ مِنْ مُضْغَةٍ مُخَلَّقَةٍ وَغَيْرِ مُخَلَّقَةٍ لِنُبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ ۚ وَنُقِرُّ فِي الْأَرْحَامِ مَا نَشَاءُ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى ثُمَّ نُخْرِجُكُمْ طِفْلًا ثُمَّ لِتَبْلُغُوا أَشُدَّكُمْ ۖ وَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يُتَوَفَّىٰ وَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يُرَدُّ إِلَىٰ أَرْذَلِ الْعُمُرِ لِكَيْلَا يَعْلَمَ مِنْ بَعْدِ عِلْمٍ شَيْئًا
“O people! If you are in doubt about the resurrection, [consider that] We indeed, created you from dust, then from a drop of [seminal] fluid, then from a clinging mass, then from a fleshy tissue, partly formed and partly unformed, so that We may manifest [Our power] to you. We establish in the wombs whatever We wish for a specified term, then We bring you forth as infants, then [We rear you] so that you may come of age. [Then] there are some of you who are taken away, and there are some of you who are relegated to the nethermost age, so that he knows nothing after [having possessed] some knowledge...” (22:5).
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ ضُرِبَ مَثَلٌ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ ۚ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ لَنْ يَخْلُقُوا ذُبَابًا وَلَوِ اجْتَمَعُوا لَهُ ۖ وَإِنْ يَسْلُبْهُمُ الذُّبَابُ شَيْئًا لَا يَسْتَنْقِذُوهُ مِنْهُ ۚ ضَعُفَ الطَّالِبُ وَالْمَطْلُوبُ
“O mankind! Listen to a parable that is being drawn: Indeed, those whom you invoke besides Allah will never create [even] a fly, even if they all rallied to do so! And if a fly should take away something from them, they cannot recover that from it. Feeble is the seeker and the sought!” (22:73).
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ هَلْ مِنْ خَالِقٍ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَرْزُقُكُمْ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَأَنَّىٰ تُؤْفَكُونَ
“O mankind'. Remember Allah’s blessing upon you! Is there any creator other than Allah who provides for you from the sky and the earth? There is no god except Him. So where do you stray?” (35:3).
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ أَنْتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ إِلَى اللَّهِ ۖ وَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ
“O mankind! You are the ones who stand in need of Allah, and Allah - He is the All-Sufficient, the All-Laudable” (35:15).
Hence one of the challenges the Muslims face is to present the Qur’an in such a way that non-Muslims are attracted to it and aspire to read it. In our translations for example, a blend of simplicity, clarity and succinctness is essential. The kind of pages, fonts, typesetting, etc. is also another dimension which must not be overlooked. Advertising it in different areas according to the environment and atmosphere is also another issue. In short, the Qur’an is also for Ya ayyuha an-nas (O mankind!), and hence let us not limit it to Ya ayyuha-lladhina amanu (O you who believe!).
Is There Any Contradiction?
It may be argued that this verse contradicts the verse
ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ ۛ فِيهِ ۛ هُدًى لِلْمُتَّقِينَ
“That is the Book, in which there is no doubt, a guidance for the God-wary” (2:2)
which states that the Qur’an is a guidance for the God-wary in particular. In response we mention the following two probabilities:
1. the first verse is general and the second is specific, and hence there is no contradiction, and
2. the first refers to initial guidance which is the conceptual knowledge of the truth, whereas the second refers to existential transformation and change which is belief, action, spiritual elevation, etc. all of which are specific to the muttaqun (God-wary).
وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ الْهُدَى…
and Clear Proofs of Guidance...
The Qur’an is a book of clear proofs of guidance. The word bayyinat is the plural of bayyinah which signifies a clear proof. In the verse 2:185 quoted previously, the phrase ‘...with clear proofs of guidance...’ reveals this reality.
…وَالْفُرْقَانِ
...and the criterion
The Qur’an is a criterion that enables us to distinguish between the truth and falsehood. Al-Furqan is another name of the Holy Qur’an. Referring to this name, the Holy Qur’an says:
نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَأَنْزَلَ التَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنْجِيلَ
“He has sent down to you the Book with the truth confirming what was [revealed] before it, and He had sent down the Torah and the Evangel before as guidance for mankind, and He has sent down the Criterion” (3:3).
مِنْ قَبْلُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَأَنْزَلَ الْفُرْقَانَ ۗ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ ذُو انْتِقَامٍ
“Indeed, those who defy the signs of Allah, there is a severe punishment for them; and Allah is All-Mighty, Avenger” (3:4).
Shaykh Fakhr al-Din al-Turayhi (d. 1085), the venerable Shia lexicographer, says:
وكل ما فرق به بين الحق والباطل فهو فرقان .....
And that by which is distinguished between truth and falsehood is furqan...1
Explaining the meaning of al-Furqan, Amin al-Islam Shaykh al-Tabrasi (d. 548) says:
ومن أسمائه الفرقان: سمي بذلك لأنه يفرق بين الحق والباطل بأدلته الدالة على صحة الحق فبطلان الباطل
The Qur’an is called that [i.e. al-Furqan] because it distinguishes between truth and falsehood (li annahu yufarriqu bayna al-haqq wa al batil) through its proofs that show the correctness of truth and the invalidity of falsehood2.
