The Quran

Preface

إِنَّ الَّذينَ تَوَفّاهُمُ المَلائِكَةُ ظالِمي أَنفُسِهِم قالوا فيمَ كُنتُم ۖ قالوا كُنّا مُستَضعَفينَ فِي الأَرضِ ۚ قالوا أَلَم تَكُن أَرضُ اللَّهِ واسِعَةً فَتُهاجِروا فيها ۚ فَأُولٰئِكَ مَأواهُم جَهَنَّمُ ۖ وَساءَت مَصيرًا

Yusuf Ali

When angels take the souls of those who die in sin against their souls,¹ they say: “In what (plight) Were ye?” They reply: “Weak and oppressed Were we in the earth.” They say: “Was not the earth of God spacious enough for you to move yourselves away (From evil)?” Such men will find their abode in Hell,- What an evil refuge! -

The immediate occasion for this passage was the question of migration (hijrah) from places where Islam was being persecuted and suppressed. Obviously the duty of Muslims was to leave such places, even if it involved forsaking their homes, and join and strengthen the Muslim community among whom they could live in peace and with whom they could help in fighting the evils around them. But the meaning is wider. Islam does not say: “Resist not evil.” On the contrary it requires a constant, unceasing struggle against evil. For such struggle it may be necessary to forsake home and unite and organise and join our brethren in assaulting and overthrowing the fortress of evil. For the Muslim’s duty is not only to enjoin good but to prohibit evil. To make our assault we must be prepared to put ourselves in a position from which such assault would be possible, and God’s earth is spacious enough for the purpose. “Position” includes not only local position, but moral and material position. For example, we must shun evil company where we cannot put it down, but organize a position from which we can put it down.