Tag: Quran

Femicide in Pre-Islamic Arabia

“And [on the Day of Judgment] when the baby girl who was buried alive shall be asked, for what sin was she killed?” (Quran, 81:8-9)

Quranic exegete Biqa`i (died 1480 CE = 885 H) commented:
Throwing [the baby girl] into the grave dug for her is similar to the stars swooping down and falling (which is mentioned earlier in 81:2)…. 
Since this was the simplest way of killing among them (the pre-Islamic Arabs), and they used to think that this was not of significance ….. 
[God] has made clear that He does pay attention to it, and that it is no escaping [that child] being resurrected [on the Day of Judgment] and being made capable of understanding and replying. 
So [if even the innocent child shall be questioned by God] then what do you think will be the fate of the offender? She will be questioned [not due to any guilt on her part, but] in order to censure her killer, …. 
….for the [pre-Islamic Arabs] used to bury daughters alive out of fear of poverty or of being shamed [by their community, for having had a daughter rather than a son]. So, they would say: It is better for us to send [the daughters] back to God [by killing them]. 
[But] there were [also] people among them [the pre-Islamic Arabs] who were nobler than to do such things, and others who would rescue buried-alive girls and raise them. 
 
 

﴿وَإِذَا ٱلۡمَوۡءُۥدَةُ سُىِٕلَتۡ بِأَیِّ ذَنۢبࣲ قُتِلَتۡ﴾ [القرآن، سورة التكوير 8 و 9]  قال البقاعي: وإلْقاؤُها في البِئْر المَحْفُورِ لَها قَرِيبٌ مِن انْكِدارِ النُّجومِ وتَساقُطِها. ولمّا كانَ هذا أهْوَن القَتْلِ عندهم وكانوا يَظُنُّونَ أنَّهُ مِمّا لا عِبرَةَ بِهِ، بَيَّنَ أنَّهُ مُعْتَنًى بِهِ وأنَّهُ لا بُدَّ من بَعْثِها وجَعْلِها بِحَيْثُ تَعْقِلُ وتُجِيبُ  وقال: فَما ظَنُّكَ بِمَن هو فَوْقَها وبِمَن هو جانٍ، وسُؤالُها هو عَلى وجْهِ التَّبْكِيتِ لِقاتِلِها، فَإنَّ العَرَبَ كانَتْ تَدْفِنُ البَناتَ أحْياءً مَخافَةَ الإمْلاقِ أوْ لُحُوقِ العارِ بِهِنَّ، ويَقُولُونَ: نَرُدُّها إلى اللَّهِ هو أوْلى بِها،  وقال: وكانَ فِيهِمْ مَن يَتَكَرَّمُ عَنْ ذَلِكَ ومَن يَفْدِي المَوْءُوداتِ ويُرَبِّيهِنَّ 

Pharoah’s Yes-Men

“[Pharaoh] said to the eminent ones around him, ‘This is indeed a learned magician.” 26:34
Ibn `Ashur (d. 1973CE) comments in his exegesis:

In this verse, these [words] are the statement of Pharoah to the eminent ones, but in the verse of al-A`raf (7:109) [we have]: “The eminent ones among the people of Pharoah said…” They can be pieced together by [saying] that Pharoah said it to those around him, and they repeated it in his [very] words, so as to completely agree with him, such that they did not suffice with [merely] saying, ‘Yes,’ but rather they repeated Pharoah’s words so that their words could be perfectly matching his.

قالَ لِلْمَلَإِ حَوْلَهُۥٓ إِنَّ هَـٰذَا لَسَـٰحِرٌ عَلِيمٌ
26:34قال ابن عاشور: وفي هَذِهِ الآيَةِ أنَّ هَذا قَوْلُ فِرْعَوْنَ لِلْمَلَأِ، وفي آيَةِ الأعْرافِ (﴿قالَ المَلَأُ مِن قَوْمِ فِرْعَوْنَ﴾ [الأعراف: ١٠٩]) والجَمْعُ بَيْنَهُما أنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ قالَهُ لِمَن حَوْلَهُ فَأعادُوهُ بِلَفْظِهِ لِلْمُوافَقَةِ التّامَّةِ بِحَيْثُ لَمْ يَكْتَفُوا بِقَوْلِ: نَعَمْ، بَلْ أعادُوا كَلامَ فِرْعَوْنَ لِيَكَونَ قَوْلُهم عَلى تَمامِ قَوْلِهِ.