The 365 · Verses · Day 239 · Justice
Qur'an 4:65
فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّىٰ يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُوا۟ فِىٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِّمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا۟ تَسْلِيمًا
“By your Lord, they will not be true believers until they let you decide between them in all matters of dispute, and find no resistance in their souls to your decisions, accepting them totally. (Quran 4:65)”
Svenska: Nej, vid din Herre! De är inte sanna troende förrän de låter dig döma i alla sina tvister och inte känner något motstånd i sina själar mot ditt beslut. (Koranen 4:65)
A reflection to carry
Read the oath: fa-lā wa-rabbika lā yuʾminūn. By your Lord, they do not believe. Allah swore on Himself. And the condition He set was three-fold: until they accept your judgment in their disputes, until they find no ḥaraj (tightness, resistance) in their souls about what you decided, and until they submit fully. This verse closes a debate every believer eventually has with themselves. The believer who follows the Prophet ﷺ when the ruling matches their preference is a comfortable believer. The believer who accepts the Prophet's ﷺ ruling when it goes against their interest, their family's interest, their tribe's interest, and feels no ḥaraj about it: that is the believer Allah swore by Himself was an actual believer. Ya akhī, ya ukhtī, this is the test of īmān we rarely audit. Inheritance disputes where the Sunnah ruling went against you. Family disagreements where the dīn ruled for someone else. Business disputes where the Sunnah constrains your freedom of action. Marital conflicts where the Quran sided with the spouse. Each is a moment when Allah Himself swore by Himself that īmān is measured. Not at salāh. At the ruling that costs you.
Read the longer reflection
Yā Rabb, You did not phrase this verse softly. You swore by Yourself. By Your Lord. They are not believers until they accept the Prophet's ﷺ rulings without tightness in their chests, and submit fully. Ya Allāh, how many times have I performed the externals of īmān while quietly resisting an internal ruling? The inheritance distribution that gave my sister more than my preference. The Sunnah of marriage rights I quietly wished did not apply to my situation. The hadith on lowering the gaze I read past because it inconvenienced my habits. The verse on usury I sidestepped with a 'modern interpretation' because a halal alternative felt slower. Each was a small ḥaraj in my soul. A small refusal of the Prophet's ﷺ judgment dressed in argument. Forgive me. Strip the ḥaraj from my chest. Make me a believer who accepts the ruling that costs me with the same chest as the ruling that benefits me. And ya Rabb, You closed the verse with 'yusallimū taslīman': submit with a full submission. Not partial. Not contextual. Not 'as long as it feels right.' Taslīman. The same root as Islam itself. Make my Islam a taslīman, not a negotiation. And on the Day You audit who was truly a believer (because You swore by Yourself), let me arrive having said yes to the Prophet's ﷺ judgment in the rooms it cost me most. Āmīn.
A verse, a healing, and a Sunnah, every morning.
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