(One hundred and seventy-six verses in total; revealed in Medina)
This surah deals with certain rights of women that were unheard of at the time—the right to inherit, the right to just treatment within and outside of marriage, and societal responsibility toward widows and orphans. Conflicts whereby many men were killed, a situation not uncommon even in our contemporary world where large-scale conflicts persist, resulted in many widows and orphans. This surah also deals with issues of faith, deception by hypocrites, and the nature of relationship and conflicts with people of Jewish faith in Medina in the early days of Islam, primarily in the fourth year of immigration by the Prophet to Medina.
Below is a list of key topics covered, which are explained further at the end of this chapter. A cursory look at the list shows the wide-ranging topics that have been covered, with special attention given to rights of women, the challenge of hypocrisy in faith and community building, and protection of the marginalized members of the society, such as orphans. The notion of justice and fairness is ever present as a foundational theme as well as our sense of accountability for what we do and what we do not do. We also see the unity of faith that emanated from Abraham and the discord that resulted from some of the Jewish tribes and their members’ opposition to the message of Islam as it confirms the faith of Abraham, which is the foundation of the three faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
The notion of religious plurality is confirmed time and again as people are inherently free to choose what they want to believe or do not want to believe. A significant number of verses (about fifteen altogether) are directed to the notion of a civil society guided by a sense of justice and fairness, rule of law, quality of leadership, social activism, and social consciousness. Such messages contained in a surah titled after women is also significant in itself; it implies for all time that gender equality is a matter of right and communal obligation in the society built on such timeless human principles and divine imperatives as amplified in the pivotal surah.
· Oneness of humanity and our mutual relationship (4:1)
· Treatment of orphans and preservation of their wealth and dignity (4:2–6, 8–10)
· Right of inheritance for women (4:7, 11–13, 33)
· Fair treatment of women (4:19–21, 32)
· Marriage rules and boundaries (4:22–25)
· Marriage roles and responsibilities (4:34–35, 127–130)
· Goodness to others (4:36–40)
· Physical purity and methods before ritual prayer (4:43)
· Practices of fortune telling and sorcery forbidden (4:51)
· Guidance toward and leadership in civil society (4:58–59, 63, 65, 69, 83–86, 110–112, 114, 144, 148)
· Fight for justice and against oppression (4:74–76, 88–91, 95,97–100, 104)
· Responsibility for our actions (4:77–81).
· The Qur’an has to be reflected on and understood (4:82).
· Prohibition against killing another person of faith (4:92–96)
· Ritual prayer at fixed intervals prescribed (4:103).
· God accepts no partnership (4:116).
· The faith of Abraham as the true faith (4:125).
· Oneness of faith reaffirmed (4:136, 162–163)
· Disagreement among Jews and Christians (4:153–161,171–172)
· Strong stance against disbelief and injustice (4:168, 173).
· Freedom to believe or not (4:170, 174–175).