{"id":30763,"date":"2026-07-30T11:01:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T11:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/?p=30763"},"modified":"2026-06-30T11:04:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T11:04:46","slug":"quranic-concepts-justice-and-leadership-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/quranic-concepts-justice-and-leadership-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Qur’anic concepts (justice and leadership) 2"},"content":{"rendered":"
Concepts of the Qur’an (Justice and Imamate) \u2013 Sheikh Ja’far al-Subhani \u2013 Vol. 1<\/h5>\n
<\/h5>\n
#### **The Ash\u2018arites and Obligation Beyond Capacity (al-Takl\u012bf bim\u0101 l\u0101 Yu\u1e6d\u0101q)**
\nRegrettably, a group of Muslim theologians went so far as to permit “obligation beyond capacity.” They listened to neither the call of reason (*\u2018aql*) nor revelation (*shar\u2018*); rather, they buried their innate human disposition (*fi\u1e6drah*), which decisively dictates the invalidity of imposing obligations beyond one’s capacity.<\/h5>\n
They took the literal meanings (*\u1e93aw\u0101hir*) of certain verses as a pretext for their doctrine in this regard. Here, we present and analyze these verses so that the truth may be made manifest.<\/h5>\n
##### **1. The First Verse**
\n\u201c*Those who avert [people] from the way of Allah and seek to make it [seem] deviant, while they, concerning the Hereafter, are disbelievers. Those were not causing failure [to Allah] on earth, nor did they have besides Allah any protectors. For them the punishment will be multiplied. They were not able to hear, nor did they use to see.*\u201d (11:19\u201320)<\/h5>\n
Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ash\u2018ari (260\u2013324 AH \/ 874\u2013936 CE) argued that since these individuals were commanded (obligated) to hear and see, yet “were not able to hear, nor did they use to see,” this proves the permissibility of imposing obligations beyond capacity.<\/h5>\n
This argument, however, is refuted by the following clarification:
\nAlthough they were commanded and obligated to hear and see while being incapable of doing so, this incapacity was not inherent to them from the onset of their reaching maturity (*bul\u016bgh*) and accountability (*takl\u012bf*). Rather, their persistence in sin led them to lose their hearing and sight. These blessings were stripped away from them due to their own bad choices, resulting from the sins they committed. Consequently, they ended up with hearts that do not understand and ears that do not hear. God, the Exalted, says:
\n\u201c*They have hearts with which they do not understand, they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear. Those are like livestock; rather, they are more astray.*\u201d (7:179)<\/h5>\n
Indeed, persistence and obstinacy in sin leave a dark impression on hearts to the point that the good appears bad and the bad appears good. God, the Exalted, says:
\n\u201c*Then the end of those who did evil was the worst [consequence], because they denied the signs of Allah and used to ridicule them.*\u201d (30:10)
\nThus, the verse explicitly states that committing sins and engaging in acts of disobedience result in denying the signs of God.<\/h5>\n
It follows, then, that their inability to hear and see was a definitive consequence of their evil deeds, as God says:
\n\u201c*And they will say, ‘If only we had been listening or reasoning, we would not be among the companions of the Blaze.’ And they will admit their sin, so [it is] ruin for the companions of the Blaze.*\u201d (67:10\u201311)<\/h5>\n
##### **2. The Second Verse**
\n\u201c*And He taught Adam the names – all of them. Then He showed them to the angels and said, ‘Inform Me of the names of these, if you are truthful.’ They said, ‘Exalted are You; we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, it is You who is the Knowing, the Wise.’*\u201d (2:31\u201332)<\/h5>\n
Imam al-Ash\u2018ari used this verse to argue for the permissibility of obligation beyond capacity. He argued that the angels were commanded to inform God of the names while they did not know them and were incapable of doing so.<\/h5>\n
However, he overlooked the fact that while the imperative form (*\u1e63\u012bghat al-amr*) has a single linguistic structure\u2014namely, the initiation of a demand (*insh\u0101\u2019 al-\u1e6dalab*)\u2014the underlying purpose of this initiation varies depending on the context.<\/h5>\n
Sometimes, the purpose of the command is to earnestly motivate the obligated person (*al-mukallaf*) toward performing the action. This is the true command (*al-amr al-haq\u012bq\u012b*), for which the performer is rewarded and the neglecter is punished; this type of command strictly requires capability and capacity.<\/h5>\n
At other times, the purpose behind the command is different, in which case no genuine obligation (*takl\u012bf jidd\u012b*) is derived. Examples of this include:
\n* **Demonstrating incapacity (*al-ta\u2018j\u012bz*)**, as in the verse under discussion.
\n* **Subjugation (*al-taskh\u012br*)**, as in God’s saying: \u201c*Be apes, despised.*\u201d (2:65)
\n* **Humiliation (*al-ih\u0101nah*)**, as in His saying: \u201c*Taste [this]! Indeed, you are the honored, the noble.*\u201d (44:49)
\n* **Wishing (*al-tamann\u012b*)**, as in the line from Imru’ al-Qays’s *Mu’allaqah*:
\n> *O long night, will you not yield to dawn?*
\n> *Though the morning brings no better relief than you.*<\/h5>\n
There are many other purposes and motives that prompt a speaker to express their intent using the imperative form. This is clear to anyone who lends an ear and is a witness.<\/h5>\n
##### **3. The Third Verse**
\n\u201c*The Day the shin will be uncovered and they are invited to prostration but they will not be able. Their eyes humbled, humiliation will cover them. And they used to be invited to prostration while they were sound.*\u201d (68:42\u201343)<\/h5>\n
Sheikh al-Ash\u2018ari used this verse to support his claim, arguing: “If it is permissible for God to obligate them in the Hereafter with what they cannot bear, then it is likewise permissible in this world.”<\/h5>\n
The truth is that Imam al-Ash\u2018ari and his followers\u2014especially the most prominent among them\u2014are too learned to be ignorant of the verse\u2019s true target and meaning. The invitation to prostrate in the verse is not a genuine, willed command (*takl\u012bf jidd\u012b*). Rather, the purpose of the invitation is to induce regret in the hearts of the polytheists who abandoned prostration in the worldly life when they were capable of it.<\/h5>\n
The verse aims to show that during their times of safety and health, they refused to comply and obey. But when they are rendered incapable\u2014after the veil has been lifted from their eyes and they see the punishment with their own eyes\u2014they will attempt to prostrate, but how can they possibly do so then?<\/h5>\n
Here is an explanation of the verse through its three segments:<\/h5>\n
**A: \u201c*The Day the shin will be uncovered*\u201d**
\nThis is an Arabic idiom (*kin\u0101yah*) denoting the intensification and severity of the matter, because when faced with a grave crisis…<\/h5>\n
<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Concepts of the Qur’an (Justice and Imamate) \u2013 Sheikh Ja’far al-Subhani \u2013 Vol. 1 #### **The Ash\u2018arites and Obligation Beyond Capacity (al-Takl\u012bf bim\u0101 l\u0101 Yu\u1e6d\u0101q)** Regrettably, a group of Muslim theologians went so far as to permit “obligation beyond capacity.” They listened to neither the call of reason (*\u2018aql*) nor revelation (*shar\u2018*); rather, they buried …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":30761,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1498],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-koran-"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30763"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30764,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30763\/revisions\/30764"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}