ثُمَّ قَفَّينا عَلىٰ آثارِهِم بِرُسُلِنا وَقَفَّينا بِعيسَى ابنِ مَريَمَ وَآتَيناهُ الإِنجيلَ وَجَعَلنا في قُلوبِ الَّذينَ اتَّبَعوهُ رَأفَةً وَرَحمَةً وَرَهبانِيَّةً ابتَدَعوها ما كَتَبناها عَلَيهِم إِلَّا ابتِغاءَ رِضوانِ اللَّهِ فَما رَعَوها حَقَّ رِعايَتِها ۖ فَآتَينَا الَّذينَ آمَنوا مِنهُم أَجرَهُم ۖ وَكَثيرٌ مِنهُم فاسِقونَ

Then We followed them up with Our apostles and We followed [them] with Jesus son of Mary, and We gave him the Evangel, and We put in the hearts of those who followed him kindness and mercy. But as for monasticism, they innovated it – We had not prescribed it for them – only seeking Allah’s pleasure. Yet they did not observe it with due observance. So We gave to the faithful among them their [due] reward, but many of them are transgressors.

EXEGESIS

In Arabic, Then We followed them up with Our apostles is, more literally, given as: Then We caused Our apostles to follow in their tracks (āthārihim), showing the later apostles walking in the footsteps of their predecessors, who were mentioned in the previous verse.

The Arabic verb used for We followed – qaffaynā – is significant. It is derived from qafā, a verb whose second form in grammar means to rhyme or put into rhyme.^[1] In Arabic poetry, qāfiyah is a literary device used to make the ends of words or last lines in each stanza rhyme with each other.^[2] Its use here for the apostles, one following another, is to emphasise that they all came saying the same thing. The fact that they came to different peoples in different times yet all with the same consistent message, confirms that their source was always the same. The recurring confirmations also assure humanity of the veracity of the message from their Lord.

The mention of Our apostles before the addition and We followed [them] with Jesus is to include all who came between Prophet Abraham (a), mentioned last in the previous verse, and Prophet Jesus (a) mentioned here, who was given the Evangel. The verse does not mention Prophet Moses (a) as it seems to focus on the Christians exclusively.

Raʾfah (kindness) and raḥmah (mercy) are described as two admirable qualities that We put in the hearts of those who followed him, meaning the followers of Prophet Jesus (a), who emphasise God’s love and kindness to others and are also nearest in affection (mawaddah) to the faithful (5:82).

There is however a subtle difference between raʾfah and raḥmah, which was explained under verse 9, where God Himself is described as kind (al-raʾūf) and merciful (al-raḥīm). We put in the hearts also proves that God fills the hearts of His creatures with His own attributes when they are receptive to them.

The translation here, But as for monasticism, is simply ‘and monasticism’ in Arabic. Some exegetes have therefore suggested the ‘and’ serves as a conjunction to the preceding words, kindness and mercy, to mean a form of monasticism was also prescribed by God but they changed it (see Review of Tafsīr Literature). This however is unlikely, and this is a new statement. This is because it is followed by ibtadaʿūhā (they innovated it). Ibtidāʿ is to start something new. Had it been ibtadaʿū fīhā (they innovated in it) then it would mean they changed and added new matters to what God had prescribed for them.

Furthermore, unlike kindness and mercy, monasticism is a way of life and cannot be put in the hearts of people by God unless one rejects free will in action.

Rahbāniyyah (monasticism) is derived from the word rahbah which signifies awe, especially the kind that perturbs a person to a point of making him constantly wary and on guard.^[3] Rahbah is often contrasted with raghbah (desire). God is said to employ these two conditions in His revelations, targhīb (persuasion) in heeding God’s orders, and tarhīb (instilling awe), to create the perfect balance in the hearts of the faithful of neither becoming arrogant nor despondent in His mercy. Rahbah is also praised in the Quran as awe for Almighty God, but it is condemned when it is for others besides Him (2:40, 7:116, 8:60, 21:90). From rahbah came the term rāhib (monk), one who fears God with awe and reverence, and hence the definition of rahbāniyyah as monasticism, asceticism, and so on, which came to mean ‘to live the life of a monk or Christian ascetic’.

We had not prescribed it for them once again emphasises that their practice of monasticism was not from God. Islam believes it is unnatural for man to adopt celibacy so as to devote oneself to God, or to live a life cut off from any social dealings; and it cautions against a unilateral forbidding of what God has made permissible (5:87, 7:32, 66:1).

What God did prescribe was seeking Allah’s pleasure. Riḍwān, as God’s pleasure, was explained earlier under verse 20.

Yet they did not observe it with due observance means they did not observe what We prescribed – seeking Allah’s pleasure. Other meanings for this are explored under the Review of Tafsīr Literature. They did not observe it with due observance is also said in the Quran about God-wariness (taqwā) (3:102) and striving in God’s way (22:78), and it is, therefore, a criticism for any act of worship that is not done only seeking Allah’s pleasure.

Raʿawhā (observe it) and riʿāyatihā (its observance) are from riʿāyah, to graze or tend to a flock of animals[4] and protect them from predators.[5] A shepherd is called rāʿi and the Quran uses it in this literal sense of pastures and pasturing (20:54, 79:31, 87:4). As a metaphor, it is associated with governance. A prince who governs, for example, is called the rāʿi (shepherd) and his subjects are his raʿiyyah. A popular prophetic tradition relates: ‘Every one of you is a guardian (rāʿi) and every one of you is responsible for your subjects (raʿiyyah). The ruler is a guardian [over his subjects]; the man is a guardian over his family; the woman is a guardian and responsible for her husband’s house and his offspring. So everyone is a guardian and everyone is responsible for their subjects.’[6] See also the meaning of rāʿinā under 2:104.

But many of them are transgressors meaning, like the previous generations from the nations of other prophets, some of them are [rightly] guided, and many of them are transgressors (verse 26). The root of fāsiqīn (transgressors), from fisq, was explained earlier under verse 16.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. From Ibn Masʿūd: ‘I was [riding] behind the Apostle of God (s) on a donkey when he said: “O son of Umm ʿAbd – do you know how the Children of Israel innovated monasticism?” “God and His Apostle know better,” I replied. So he said: “They came to be ruled by tyrants after Jesus (a), who acted sinfully against God. This angered the people of faith so they fought them but the people of faith were vanquished thrice until very few of them were left. They said [to themselves]: ‘If we remain exposed to these [tyrants] they will annihilate us and none will remain for religion, to invite to it. So come, let us disperse on the earth until God sends the Prophet [Muhammad (s)] whom Jesus (a) promised us about.’ So they scattered into caves in the mountains and innovated monasticism. And some of them held on to their religion whilst others became faithless.” Then he recited this verse: monasticism, they innovated it – We had not prescribed it for them until the end of the verse. Then he said: “O son of Umm ʿAbd, do you know what is monasticism for my nation?” I said: “God and His Apostle know better.” He said: “Migration (hijrah) [for the sake of God], combat in the way of God (jihād), the canonical prayer (ṣalāh), the fast (ṣawm), the hajj, and the minor pilgrimage (ʿumrah).”’[7]
2. From the Prophet: ‘There is no [validity for] monasticism, roaming [the earth as an ascetic] or clamming up [adopting silence to isolate oneself] in my nation.’[8]
3. From the Prophet: ‘I marry and I sleep at night. Anyone who does not follow my practice is not from me.’[9]
4. When ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn’s son died, he, out of grief over his son’s loss, never returned to going out for work. He occupied himself with worship and forsook all other work besides it and set aside a place of worship in his home. When this news reached the Prophet, he visited him and said to him: ‘O ʿUthmān, God, the glorious and exalted, did not prescribe monasticism on us. Monasticism for my nation is fighting in God’s way.’[10]

Note: Ibn Kathir reports the Prophet as saying: ‘Every Prophet has a form of monasticism; striving in the way of God is the monasticism of this community.’[11] Such a report, argues Nasr, would imply some form of monasticism may have been enjoined upon Christians[12] and what this verse criticises is alterations and innovations to what God had prescribed. The above hadith as well says that God ‘did not prescribe monasticism on us’ suggesting it may have been for others, and likewise, the first hadith quotes the Prophet asking his companion: ‘Do you know what is the monasticism for my nation?’ Regardless, whether they innovated monasticism or God prescribed some form of spiritual practice that they then added to, the criticism in this verse is that what they introduced was unnatural and extreme, and as a result, they did not observe it with due observance. See the Review of Tafsīr Literature for more on this matter.

5. Abū Qilābah narrated that some of the companions of the Prophet decided to relinquish the world, forsake their wives, and become monks. The Prophet addressed them sternly: ‘People before you perished because of their asceticism; they made excessive demands on themselves until God brought hardships on them: you can still see a few of them remaining in monasteries and temples. Worship God and do not associate anything with Him, perform the hajj and the ʿumrah, be righteous, and all affairs will be set right for you.’ Abū Qilābah added that the following verse was revealed concerning them: O you who have faith! Do not prohibit the good of things that Allah has made lawful for you, and do not transgress; indeed, Allah does not like transgressors (5:87).[13]
6. Concerning the verses, Say: ‘Shall we inform you about the biggest losers in regard to works? Those whose endeavour goes awry in the life of the world, while they suppose they are doing good’ (18:103-104), Imam Ali (a) said: ‘They are the monks who seclude themselves behind the walls [of monasteries].’[14]
7. When ʿAlāʾ ibn Ziyād al-Ḥārithī complained to Imam Ali (a) concerning his brother, ʿĀṣim ibn Ziyād, who had ‘put on a woollen coat’ (meaning the garb of the Sufis) and cut himself away from the world, Imam Ali (a), commanded: ‘Present him to me,’ and when ʿĀṣim came, he said to him: ‘O enemy of yourself! Certainly, the evil one [Satan] has misguided you. Do you feel no pity for your wife and your children? Do you believe that having made things lawful for you, God dislikes you enjoying them? You are too unimportant for God to do so.’ He (ʿĀṣim) said: ‘Commander of the Faithful, but you too have put on a coarse dress and eat rough food?’ To which Imam Ali (a) replied: ‘Woe be to you, I am not like you. Certainly, God, the sublime, has made it obligatory on just leaders that they should maintain themselves at the level of the weakest so that the poor do not cry over their poverty!’[15]
8. When Imam al-Kāẓim (a) was asked by his brother, Ali ibn Jaʿfar: ‘Is it proper for a Muslim man to roam the earth [in ascetic practice] or to seclude himself in the home not leaving it?’ He replied: ‘No.’[16]

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Makārim Shīrāzī suggests it is quite possible that when the words, We put in the hearts of those who followed him kindness and mercy were revealed, it was with the Axumite[17] Christian King Negus (Najāshī) in mind, who gave refuge to the early Muslims fleeing persecution in Mecca, treating them with utmost kindness and love.[18] He is said to have embraced Islam before his demise and some exegetes attribute verse 3:199 to him as well.

Ibn Kathīr on the other hand believes and We put in the hearts of those who followed him kindness and mercy refers to the disciples (ḥawāriyyūn) of Prophet Jesus (a).^[19]

Exegetes such as Qurṭubī have said the conjunction and before the mention of monasticism could be a continuation from the words, and We put in the hearts of those who followed him kindness and mercy, meaning God prescribed some form of monasticism or asceticism for the followers of Prophet Jesus (a) (perhaps similar to the Islamic concept of iʿtikāf)[20] but then they innovated it, adding other matters into this practice[21] that We had not prescribed it for them. What God had prescribed was only seeking Allah’s pleasure. Suyūṭī is more specific and explains these innovations to be the ‘abstention from women and seclusion in monasteries’[22] meaning celibacy and detachment from society. But because it was extreme and unnatural, they failed to uphold what they had imposed upon themselves – they did not observe it with due observance, says Ibn Kathīr.[23]

But as mentioned under the Exegesis, a practice such as monasticism could not have been put in their hearts like kindness and mercy. It would have been prescribed or legislated. Makārim Shīrāzī suggests that perhaps God could have put it in their hearts through Prophet Jesus (a) preaching austerity (zuhd).[24] But this was meant to be a moderate form of asceticism only seeking Allah’s pleasure that did not include abandoning society. So, they innovated it – We had not prescribed it for them would mean they took it to extremes and began adopting monastic practices that did not exist in religion or any previous revelation.

Rāzī is even more generous. He argues the words they innovated it – We had not prescribed it for them are not necessarily in condemnation. It may mean that though God did not prescribe it, He was not opposed to it until they did not observe it with due observance and began introducing unnatural practices like celibacy, cutting oneself from society, and forsaking work, depending instead on others to provide for them.^[25] This is because the Quran appears to support the existence of monasteries (22:40) and monks (5:82).

By far, however, the most contentious debate on this verse is Emran El-Badawi’s paper[26] that questions whether the term rahbāniyyah in this verse even means monasticism. El-Badawi argues that the Quran used this term in the context of Christian clergy and religious leadership, whereas hadith and subsequent classic Islamic literature altered it to mean celibacy and monasticism, and this shift in meaning was influenced largely by Christian legal texts contemporary to when hadith and classic Islamic texts were formulated and compiled. This misinterpretation and shift in meaning, he contends, was especially as the Muslim community evolved into an imperial power, which El-Badawi marks around the time of the caliph ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān (d. 86 ah/705 ce).[27]

El-Badawi, therefore, translates rahbāniyyah in this verse as ‘clergy’[28] and argues that what the Quran is criticising here is the concept of the clergy in Christianity that the Church elders innovated. There are, however, several problems with El-Badawi’s assumptions.

First, if rahbāniyyah means the innovation of a clergy then he does not explain the meaning of the words after: however, they did not care for it as it should have been cared for … (in his translation of this verse).

Second, El-Badawi sees this entire surah as being preoccupied with wealth (re-)distribution and criticising a wealthy audience that he posits were the Christian clergy. But the surah quite clearly is addressing the faithful (muʾminīn) (verse 10 being a good example and proof). To circumvent this, El-Badawi suggests that it was only after the passing away of caliph ʿAbd al-Malik that the term muʾminīn was finally instilled with an Islamic identity that differentiated them from their Christian and Jewish brethren.[29] To prove this, he relies on Fred Donner’s thesis, ‘From believers to Muslims’[30] that argues that, prior to the reforms of the Umayyad state bureaucracy under ʿAbd al-Malik, ‘believers’ in the revelation of the Quran and prophethood of Muhammad (s) included Christians, Jews, and other monotheists.[31]

This introduces many other issues not least of which are the facts that the Quran clearly distinguishes the People of the Book from the muʾminīn (2:109, 2:120, 2:135, 3:59-64, 3:69, 3:72, 3:75, 3:110, 3:113, 4:123, 4:159, 4:171, 5:51, 5:65, 5:82) and most of these are not criticisms that may be attributed to only a group from the People of the Book (such as 2:146, 2:159, 2:174, 4:46, 6:20, 9:31-34).

In addition, if this surah is addressing a wealthy and affluent audience, unwilling to help in God’s cause, it would have been the Jews and not what he calls ‘the wealthy clergy as it is consistent with 9:31-34’s condemnation of scribes and priests’.[32] The Jews were, by far, the larger and more affluent group in Medina.

Rahbāniyyah as monasticism in this verse is therefore not out of place. It is brought up because it follows the mention of Prophet Jesus (a) and those who followed him. After this verse the surah goes back to addressing the faithful, promising them a double share (verse 28) of God’s mercy, So that the People of the Book may know (verse 29) that God gives of His grace whomever He pleases.

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

The Christians as well trace the origins of monasticism to the Middle East. In particular, the life and monastic practices of Saint Anthony the Great (c. 251-356), one of the most prominent Desert Fathers, who is at times called the ‘Father of Christian Monasticism’, is said to have influenced the practice greatly. The Monastery of Saint Anthony in Egypt, built over his tomb, still stands today. His biography by Athanasius of Alexandria is said to have helped spread the concept of monasticism, particularly in Western Europe through Latin translations.

In the West, the persecution of Christians by the Roman Emperor Decius (c. 201-251) may also have been a contributing factor for the fleeing of the pious Christians to the wilderness and isolated regions where, in time, monasteries took formation. This may well be what is alluded to in the first tradition quoted under Insights from Hadith for this verse.[33]

[1] Hans Wehr, q-f-a.
[2] In Persian, Turkish, and Urdu poetry, in the form of poetry known as ghazal, the second line of all the couplets sometimes ends with the same word (called the radīf) and sometimes the ending only needs to rhyme (called the qāfiyah) even if the words are not the same.
[3] Raghib, r-h-b.
[4] Hans Wehr, r-ʿ-y.
[5] Raghib, r-ʿ-y.
[6] Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn, h. 283, from Bukhari and Muslim.
[7] Tabrisi, 9/243; Suyuti, 6/177; Ibn Kathir, 8/61.
[8] Wasail, 11/344, h. 14972.
[9] Bihar, 67/117.
[10] Bihar, 67/115; Cf. Tabari, 7/7.
[11] Ibn Kathir, 8/63.
[12] Nasr, p. 1339.
[13] Tabari, 7/7.
[14] Kanz, h. 4496.
[15] Nahj, sermon 209.
[16] Wasail, 11/345, h. 14975.
[17] Also called Aksumite. The Kingdom of Aksumite centred in northern Ethiopia and parts of what is today Eritrea. King Negus is said to have ruled over this kingdom between 614 and 631 ce.
[18] Nemuneh, 23/381.
[19] Ibn Kathir, 8/61.
[20] Iʿtikāf: a voluntary practice in which Muslims can isolate themselves in a mosque, in devotion to God, whilst fasting, and for a maximum period of ten days at a time. The Prophet is said to have practised and encouraged this in the last ten days of the month of Ramadan.
[21] Qurtubi, 17/263.
[22] Jalalayn, p. 544.
[23] Ibn Kathir, 8/61.
[24] Nemuneh, 23/382.
[25] Razi, 29/472.
[26] Emran El-Badawi, From ‘Clergy’ to ‘Celibacy’: The Development of Rahbānīyyah between the Qurʾān, hadīth and Church Canon (Al-Bayān - Journal of Qurʾān and Hadith Studies, vol. 11, no. 1, Jun 2013), pp. 1-14.
[27] Emran El-Badawi, From ‘Clergy’ to ‘Celibacy’: The Development of Rahbānīyyah between the Qurʾān, hadīth and Church Canon (Al-Bayān - Journal of Qurʾān and Hadith Studies, vol. 11, no. 1, Jun 2013), p. 1.
[28] Emran El-Badawi, From ‘Clergy’ to ‘Celibacy’: The Development of Rahbānīyyah between the Qurʾān, hadīth and Church Canon (Al-Bayān - Journal of Qurʾān and Hadith Studies, vol. 11, no. 1, Jun 2013), p. 5.
[29] Emran El-Badawi, From ‘Clergy’ to ‘Celibacy’: The Development of Rahbānīyyah between the Qurʾān, hadīth and Church Canon (Al-Bayān - Journal of Qurʾān and Hadith Studies, vol. 11, no. 1, Jun 2013), p. 4.
[30] Fred Donner, “From believers to Muslims,” Al-Abhath 50-51 (2002-3): 9-53; Muhammad and the Believers: At the Origins of Islam (Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University, 2010).
[31] Emran El-Badawi, From ‘Clergy’ to ‘Celibacy’: The Development of Rahbānīyyah between the Qurʾān, hadīth and Church Canon (Al-Bayān - Journal of Qurʾān and Hadith Studies, vol. 11, no. 1, Jun 2013), p. 3.
[32] Emran El-Badawi, From ‘Clergy’ to ‘Celibacy’: The Development of Rahbānīyyah between the Qurʾān, hadīth and Church Canon (Al-Bayān - Journal of Qurʾān and Hadith Studies, vol. 11, no. 1, Jun 2013), p. 4.
[33] For more on the history of Christian Monasticism, see: Marilyn Dunn, Emergence of Monasticism: From the Desert Fathers to the Early Middle Ages (Blackwell Publishers Ltd., 2000).