Verse 282 of Surah Al-Baqarah, as one of the most comprehensive jurisprudential verses of the Holy Qur'an, provides precise and all-encompassing directives for the regulation of financial transactions, particularly concerning borrowing and debt. This verse, emphasising the written recording of transactions, the establishment of equitable conditions, and the presence of witnesses, not only addresses legal and jurisprudential dimensions but also elucidates the sociological, psychological, and civilisational aspects of early Islam. This treatise, adopting a scholarly and specialised approach, analyses this verse and, by integrating the content of the lectures, offers a systematic and academic exegesis suitable for erudite audiences and researchers. The objective is to elucidate the divine wisdom underlying Quranic legislation and its application in reforming contemporary legal and social systems.
فَإِنْ كَانَ الَّذِي عَلَيْهِ الْحَقُّ سَفِيهًا أَوْ ضَعِيفًا أَوْ لَا يَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ يُمِلَّ هُوَ فَلْيُمْلِلْ وَلِيُّهُ بِالْعَدْلِ ۚ وَاسْتَشْهِدُوا شَهِيدَيْنِ مِنْ رِجَالِكُمْ ۖ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُونَا رَجُلَيْنِ فَرَجُلٌ وَامْرَأَتَانِ مِمَّنْ تَرْضَوْنَ مِنَ الشُّهَدَاءِ أَنْ تَضِلَّ إِحْدَاهُمَا فَتُذَكِّرَ إِحْدَاهُمَا الْأُخْرَىٰ
Translation: If the one liable to fulfil the right is of limited understanding, or weak, or unable to dictate, then let his guardian dictate justly. And call as witnesses two men from among your men; and if there are not two men, then one man and two women from those whom you accept as witnesses, so that if one of the two errs, the other may remind her.
Verse 282 of Surah Al-Baqarah underscores the importance of formal structure in regulating financial transactions. Deficiency in form can lead to the impairment of the transactions substance, akin to a dam collapsing if its foundations are weak.
In the process of documenting the transaction, the debtor is required to dictate the terms of the transaction while the scribe records it, rather than the creditor who holds a position of authority. This rule, resembling a balanced scale, preserves legal equity.
Should the debtor be incapable of dictation, the verse provides practical solutions, similar to a bridge facilitating a safe passage.
The verse categorises the debtors incapacity into three groups: a person of limited understanding (safh), a weak person, or one unable to dictate due to other reasons. This classification, like a precise map, identifies different social groups and assigns appropriate rulings.
The term safh refers to an individual afflicted with mental and psychological disorders but who retains legal and financial competence to engage in transactions. This definition, like a lantern in the darkness, illuminates the rights of those with special needs.
The category of weak refers to those physically incapacitated, such as very young children or elderly persons in their final stages of life. This classification, akin to a broad umbrella, encompasses various groups.
The third group includes those temporarily unable to dictate, for reasons such as muteness or speech impediments. This consideration, like a flexible stream, accounts for special conditions.
The rulings of this verse are advisory and based on reason rather than compulsory. Non-compliance is not sinful but may be disadvantageous to the individual, akin to a guide showing the path without enforcing compulsion.
The verse endorses rational rules accepted by the wise and confers upon them a religious status, akin to a seal of collective wisdom.
The objective of studying the Holy Quran is not merely historical comprehension but self-knowledge and the reform of contemporary society, like a mirror reflecting the truth.
In contemporary society, vulnerable individuals, such as children or the disabled, are often deprived of rights and independence, contrary to the Quranic approach which, like a clear spring, flows with justice.
The Quran grants children, even at young ages, financial and legal independence, like a tree nurtured from a sapling.
Dependent upbringing of children leads to social weakness and incapacity in adulthood, like a building founded on a fragile base.
In Japanese culture, the elderly become dependents with age, but the Quran grants even disabled elderly financial independence, like a light shining in darkness.
Focusing on religious externals without attention to the essence of justice and independence leads to the inefficacy of religion in society, like an ornate yet hollow shell.
Children should be acquainted with financial concepts from an early age to become independent and capable, like a sapling that, with proper watering, grows into a sturdy tree.
Parents who deny children independence result in raising weak and dependent individuals, like a gardener restricting the growth of a sapling.
Practical teaching to children, such as buying and selling or carrying loads, contributes to skill growth and independence, like exercise strengthening muscles.
The inability of individuals to perform simple tasks, such as finding their seat number on an aeroplane, indicates a deficiency in social education, like a building erected without foundations.
Utilising facilities, such as aeroplanes, necessitates awareness and responsibility, like a driver who must know traffic rules.
If the debtor is unable to manage the property, the guardian must manage it with justice, like a judge holding the scales of justice.
Guardianship, whether by parents, religious scholars, or the government, must be based on justice, like a pillar that firmly supports the structure of society.
Claims of ownership over public properties, such as Khums and the Imams share, by officials are incorrect, similar to a guard who does not become the owner of a garden.
Public assets, such as Khums and the Imams share, belong to the needy, and officials are solely responsible for their distribution, like a trustee who returns a treasure to its rightful owner.
Khums and the Imams share must be distributed to the needy through a call, like a stream flowing towards the thirsty.
Failure to distribute assets fairly to the needy leads to poverty and corruption, like a spring that has dried up and rendered the land barren.
Hoarding and accumulation of wealth result in corruption and inequality, like a dam that prevents water from reaching the fields.
Religion and worldly matters must be separated to prevent misuse, like clear water that is not contaminated by mud.
The incident of Fadak illustrates Islams sensitivity to justice in the management of properties, like a mirror reflecting the truth.
The guardian, even if infallible, does not have the right to arbitrarily dispossess others of their property, like a guard who merely preserves a trust.
Despotism in guardianship contradicts Islamic principles and must be replaced by justice, like a wind dispersing dark clouds.
The culture of punishment, such as corporal punishment in education, results in adverse outcomes, like a seed that fails to grow in unsuitable soil.
The verse emphasises the necessity of the presence of two male witnesses or one male and two female witnesses, like guardians who safeguard the integrity of the transaction.
The witness must testify willingly, unlike the scribe who is obliged to write, like the difference between a volunteer and an appointed officer.
Documentation is a communal obligation (wjib kifyah) because it requires special skills, whereas testimony is not a communal obligation, like the difference between a professional and a layperson.
The presence of two women instead of one man is due to the possibility of error by one and the reminder by the other, like two guards assisting one another.
In early Islam, society was patriarchal and women were deprived of social presence, like a flower confined in shade.
In contemporary societies, women are socially and professionally equal to men, like birds flying freely in the sky.
Traditional interpretations that regard women as intellectually deficient do not accord with modern realities, like a map that no longer corresponds to the land.
Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her), despite her superiority over prophets and imams, did not become a prophet or imam due to social restrictions of early Islam, like a jewel hidden within a shell.
With changes in social conditions, prophethood or imamate for women is not impossible, like a door opened with the key of time.
Women and men have equal capabilities in many domains, like the two wings of a bird flying in harmony.
Fixed Quranic rulings are distinct from variable matters, like the fixed pillars and movable walls of a building.
Verse 282 of Surah Al-Baqarah, by providing instructional guidelines for regulating financial transactions, addresses jurisprudential, sociological, and psychological aspects. This verse, by categorising the incapacities of the debtor and offering just solutions, demonstrates the comprehensiveness and precision of the Quranic legal system. Critiques of contemporary social culture, emphasis on the independence of children and the elderly, and the necessity of revising traditional interpretations are prominent features of this analysis. The transformation of womens roles and the possibility of adapting Quranic matters to new conditions underscore the dynamism and flexibility of the Quran. This verse, by promoting justice, transparency, and accountability, offers a model for reforming legal and social systems and reveals Divine wisdom in guiding human society.
