The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 307
PT. 2 R. 24. AL-BAQARAH CH. 2 يَسْتَلُوْنَكَ عَنِ الْأَهِلَّةِ قُلْ هِيَ مَوَاقِيْتُ They ask thee about the. 190 new moons. Say, "They are لِلنَّاسِ وَالْحَج وَلَيْسَ الْبِرُّ بِاَنْ تَأْتُوا means for measuring time for the general good of mankind البيوتَ مِنْ ظُهُورِهَا وَلَكِنَّ الْبِرَّمَنِ and for the Pilgrimage. And it اتَّقَى وَأتُوا الْبُيُوتَ مِنْ اَبْوَابِهَا وَاتَّقُوا is not righteousness that you come into houses by the backs "2:198; 9:36. more scrupulously avoided. Indeed, one of the greatest evils prevailing in the world is the practice of devouring other men's property by means of falsehood, fraud and litigation. Many a sin is nothing but an offshoot of this evil. Islam condemns the practice of taking another man's property without his knowledge or consent. Similarly, it is unlawful to appropriate another person's possessions by means of false litigation. If a man takes possession of a property that does not belong to him by right, it will prove the ruin of him, even if a court of justice should decree the property as his. Says the Holy Prophet: "Beware! I am but a man like you and it sometimes happens that a litigant comes to me and he is more eloquent than his opponent, and I, after listening to his arguments, may give my decision in his favour. But if the property is really not his, my decision will not make it his in the sight of God; in that case it is nothing but a piece of burning fire; so let him put this fire into his belly if he likes, or let him leave it" (Bukhārī). The verse cuts at the root of the evil that has made its appearance in the 307 present age even among those who lay claim to culture and enlightenment. People generally do not deem it worthwhile to consider what right is. All that is seen is how the judge decides. When a judge awards a property to a man, he eagerly takes possession of it without the slightest compunction, even if it happens not to belong to him by right. It never occurs to him that in the sight of God he is no less a usurper than he who forcibly seizes another man's property. Incidentally the verse also forcefully condemns the practice of the giving and taking of bribe which unfortunately is SO rampant nowadays. In many countries justice has actually to be bought. What is still worse is that through this evil practice, the door of justice is often closed to a rightful owner. The practice is to be found even in some advanced Western countries and is said to be prevalent in certain parts of the New World. The Holy Prophet has condemned it in the strongest of terms saying: "The taker and giver of a bribe are alike, and both stand accursed" (Tirmidhī).