ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Probe into the History of Ashura' Chapter 34: Divine Law is Unalterable Whenever the word Sunnah has been used in the Holy Qur'an it has been used in this very literal meaning i.e. the manner in which Allah has treated the past nations.

And whenever Allah says that His Sunnah is unalterable it means that there is a path for attaining to dignity and honor and He does not change it, and there is also a path and ground which leads to adversity and helplessness and that, too, is unalterable. Allah says: That was the law of Allah in the case of those who lived before and there will never be any change in the law of Allah.

(Surah al-Ahzab, 33:63) It means that it has been the practice of Allah in the case of the sinners and the hypocrites that in order to serve an ultimatum upon them, He in the first instance sends the Prophets to them and makes goodness and badness and truth and falsehood perfectly clear to them. Thereafter He destroys and makes extinct those who do not believe, but persist in their infidelity.

As regards those who try to deceive Allah and His Prophet and behave hypocritically, side with Allah as well as with His enemies, and on the one hand take from the Prophet a share out of the war booty and other benefits due to the Muslims, and on the other hand take remuneration from the enemies for spying for them and creating trouble, He disgraces them, deprives them from gaining from either side and drives them hither and thither.

This Sunnah of Allah is unalterable and it should not be expected that deceit and hypocrisy can be the cause of shame and disgrace on one day and the means of honor and good name on another day. The same thing has been said in the Holy Qur'an in these words: {Such was Our) system in the case of those whom We sent before you {to mankind), and you will never find change in Our system.

(Surah Bani Israil, 17:77) In the following verse also the word Sunnah has been used in this very sense: Tell the unbelievers, 'If you give up your evil behavior, Allah will forgive whatever you have done in the past. But if you transgress again, your fate will be the same as that of those (unbelievers) who lived before you " (Surah al-Anfal, 8: 38) i.e.

Allah declares 'We shall employ the same method in their case which We employed in the case of the past people and shall destroy these deviated people in the same way in which We destroyed them'.