Translation:
If you are in danger, then (offer your prayer) on foot or horseback (i.e., where it is safe). Once you are secure, then remember God, since He has taught you what you did not know.124
Those who die and leave their wives behind should make a bequest for their wives to (ensure) their maintenance for a year (as a minimum) without turning (them) out. If after that (or even before that, but after the waiting period), there is no blame on their wives for what they (choose to) do for themselves in a lawful manner. God is Mighty, Wise! 125
Interpretation:
124 Islam is a pragmatic religion where God should be served as a course of normal lifestyle as well as when it is difficult to demonstrate one’s commitment to God
and His requirements. Life is sacred and should be preserved; hence, when there is conflict between these two requirements, God offers alternatives that are humane and reasonable but at the same time require dedication to His services. Therefore, in times of danger, it is preferred that you offer prayers in a way that will not distract you from the enemy or distract you from danger. Similarly, when we are on a journey, God has allowed us to shorten our prayers as well as combine prayers to make prayer easier for us. Once we are secure or are back on our home ground, we should immediately turn to God and offer thanks and gratitude for His grace on us.
125 Here, the issue of the treatment of women is continued specifically for those who are widowed due to war or to the regular passing of their husband. It is a requirement, something not left to the whims of the husband or household members, that a minimum provision of one year be provided. Obviously, whatever is agreed to beyond the one year is better and encouraged, but here the minimum is established so that women are not abused or deprived. One should not take this one-year provision as inviolable but as suggestive in the context of a society where such rights and provi- sions were nonexistent. Muslims need to continue to evolve in this path of greater equality of treatment that extends to our wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters. This will require greater understanding of the Qur’an’s messages, deeper appreciation of our lives and obligations, and our collective wisdom to empower every member of our society, where women comprise more than 50% of such membership.
Reflection:
The Qur’an, unlike any other Book of revelation or religious book, discusses many of the social issues not addressed before and provides meaningful legal and moral instructions for those cases. This is also why the Prophet of Islam is known as the “Best and Foremost Lawgiver” in the world. Yet Muslim societies and countries today lack many of the legal frameworks that have been so eloquently and pragmatically provided in Islam; either they have stuck to a set of narrow defini- tions of legal rules under the guise of shariah law without recognizing the context and underpinning of the shariah law or they have totally wiped out all Islamic rules and principles with a blanket import of Western rules and regulations without due consideration of the society and the country to which these needs must be applied.
This abrogation of responsibility, intellectual laziness, and conscious failure to contin- ually strive to update and upgrade Islamic law and order has not served the Muslim communities and countries well into our current century.
Action:
Islam is more than a religion—it is a way of life, and, hence, God provided and the Prophet showed the various aspects of life, religious and secular. It is important that we put equal emphasis on both these parts of our existence and implement the teachings and instructions of the Qur’an in our lives and in our soci- eties. The longstanding traditions of continuous analysis, reviewing case studies, learning from past and present situations, and adaptive evolution of rules and laws have ceased to exist in Muslim communities. At the same time, the powerful utili- zation of collective wisdom- and consensus-based rules and regulations has been stopped by the self-serving religious leaders and so-called political leaders whose personal interests override the common interests of society.