Q. Could you please explain Verse 23 in Surah 42, in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) is instructed to explain that he does not seek any wages for his work in delivering God’s message, except al-mawaddata fil-qurba. What is meant by this phrase, and why is this exception?
Bilal Naveed • Riyadh
A. Taken on its own, the Arabic phrase to which reference is made here means “love or kindness to those who are close.” This is born out by many translations of the sentence in which this phrase occurs. Thus, N.J. Dawood translates the relevant verse as: “Say: For this I demand of you no recompense. I ask you only to love your kindred.”
This translation more or less captures the linguistic meaning, although the Arabic original does not specify “your kindred”, it rather leaves it general as “kindred”. Yusuf Ali renders it as: “No reward I ask you for this except the love of those near of kin,” while Muhammad Asad translates it as: “No reward do I ask of you for this (message) other than (that you should) love your fellow-man.” Asad writes in a footnote that the literal meaning of the phrase is “love for those who are near.” However, he explains that “some commentators take this to mean “those who are near to me”, i.e. Muhammad’s kinsfolk: but quite apart from the objection that such a personal demand would conflict with the preceding assurance, “No reward do I ask of you”, the deliberate omission of any possessive pronoun in respect of the term al-qurba indicates that it is not limited to any personal relationship but, rather, alludes to a relationship common to all human beings: Namely, the fellowship of man — a concept which implies the fundamental ethical postulate to care for one another’s material and spiritual welfare.”
In his commentary on the Qur’an, the late Sayyid Qutb offers an even finer interpretation of the statement. He says that as the surah paints a fine scene of the happiness enjoyed by the dwellers of heaven, which God promises those of His servants who truly believe and do righteous deeds, He instructs His messenger to make it clear to them that he does not seek any wages for guiding them to the way that ensures such happiness for them and steers them away from hell and its suffering. He is only keen for their guidance because of his kinship with them. The Prophet was related by blood to every clan of the Quraysh. Hence, he dearly wished that they should follow divine guidance which brings them all goodness. It is because he loves them as his relatives that he wishes all this goodness for them. When they follow this guidance, he considers that he has had his full wages.
This reflects the keen insight in the Qur’an Sayyid Qutb had. According to him, the verse does not make an exception in the case of the Prophet’s own relatives. He does not ask his addressees to be kind to his relatives. On the contrary, all of them are related to him and he dearly wishes to bring them happiness through following God’s guidance. Thus, the phrase speaks of the Prophet’s motive, not his recompense.
Arab News Islam 18 August 2003