Persecution Is Worse Than Slaughter

LESSON # 209 FROM HOLY QUR’AN

Persecution Is Worse Than Slaughter

BAQARAH – 2 (The Cow)

  Verse –191b of 286, Section – 24 (Part  - 2)

for persecution is worse than slaughter.

wal-fitnatu  ‘ashaddu  minal-qatl.

Lesson

al-fitnatu – (persecution, mischief) it has been derived from the word fatana. Its literal meaning is to put the gold into the fire for purifying. It also means only to put into the fire. Technically it is also called for the meanings of ‘trouble, difficulty, pain, test/trial and examination. Besides it, it comes in the meanings of ‘to persecute in the way of God Almighty, unrest, murder, plundering, and to push back forcibly from the religion too. In this verse it has been used as these last meanings.

To slaughter a person is very great badness. But greater badness than it is ‘to try to snatch any person’s independence by someone as though the right of the life, crush their rights, wish to remove a nation only for the purpose that she is displeased from the plurality and convinced with Oneness of God Almighty, wish to spread infidelity and plurality in place of Unity (Oneness of God Almighty). If this persecution and mischief will not be removed, then its spreading day by day will become so common that any nation would not remain living. Moreover the entire mankind will come into the entanglement of the fire of war, altercation and slaughter. So, if it is compulsory to kill a few persons to burry the persecution, then there is no harm because a little sacrifice has no significance for stopping the great badness.

Islam is the religion which shows the path of humanity, good manners, truth and just, goodness and God fearing to the human being. So opposing this religion is just like enmity against the humanity and to renounce it is like denying the life. The person, who falls back from Islam, invites his own destruction and ruin. So who becomes separate from it, likewise goes into the mouth of death. Each that person who stops the people from the natural religion like Islam, he is mischief-monger. If he will remain living, he will deform the morality and good actions of the people. So the existence of this enemy class of the humanity is unbearable. It is better to finish it so that one sheep may not spoil the entire. His mischievousness, hostile enmity of peaceful preaching is synonymous of plundering the natural independence of the mankind. And at last it will bring the world towards persecution and mischief, massacre, rebellion and unrest. So it is better to cut the root of it even now, before starting slaughter and bloodshed at the spacious range.

It is also worth considering that ‘to kick out from homes, to banish or slaughter’ are the matters for afterward, the real thing is due to which these things appear. So there is a need to cut the root for stopping the expulsion, exilement and bloodshed, and that root is persecution/mischief. All the forms of persecution and mischief should be removed, desiring it becomes necessary to slaughter for them, because it produces the spacious slaughter. To spread the unjust persecution is very bad thing and also worse than slaughter. So killing the mischief-makers is very great kindness over the humanity.    

Transliteration in Roman Script & English Translation of Holy Qur’an written by Marmaduke Pickthall, Published by Paak Company, 17-Urdu Bazar, Lahore and Paraphrase collected from Dars e Qur’aan published By Idara Islah wa Tableegh, Lahore (translated by Muhammad Sharif)