No change should there be in the creation of Allah [Quran 30:30]
Abstract
The Quran informs
us that Abraham was a Haneef. Q30:30 begins with the command to set our face to the
deeni haneefan. This study explores what it means to be a haneef.
Full
Text
فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفًا فِطْرَتَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا
لَا تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ ذَٰلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
Faaqim wajhaka lilddeeni haneefan fitrata
Allahi allatee fatara alnnasa AAalayha
la tabdeela
likhalqi Allahi thalika alddeenu alqayyimu walakinna
akthara alnnasi la yaAAlamoona
So set your face to
the religion upright. Nature (made by)
Allah (upon) which He has created mankind [on it].
No change (should there be)
in the creation (of) Allah. That (is) the religion the correct, but most men
(do) not know.
[Al-Quran 30:30]
Q30:30, which is
the basis of the series of posts Mission of the Messengers,
begins with the command to set our face to the deen haneef.
Just before the
mention of the The First House
of Worship and pilgrimage to
it as a duty upon all who can find the means to go there, The Quran also informs us that Abraham was a Haneef:
قُلْ صَدَقَ اللَّهُ فَاتَّبِعُوا مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ
Qul sadaqa
Allahu faittabiAAoo millata ibraheema haneefan
wama kana mina almushrikeena
Say, Allah (has)
spoken the truth, then follow (the) religion (of) Ibrahim (the) upright, and not he was of the polytheists.
[Al-Quran 3:95]
Ha-nun-fa in the Quran
Attribution: The Quranic
Arabic Corpus
Ha-nun-fa in the Lexicon
The term Hanif or Haneef is
generally translated as upright. Looking up its meaning in the lexicon, it
means to incline towards a right state or tendency; inclining away from a false
religion to the true religion. As
applied to the religion of Abraham:
Attribution:Lane’s Lexicon, Page 658
Circumcision in The Torah
Genesis
17 narrates the covenant between God and Abraham, and informs us that the
circumcision is a token of the covenant. The order for circumcision of the male
child is reiterated to Moses in Leviticus
12:3
From the ayaat of
The Quran, it seems that the covenant has been taken from the male members of
the progeny of Adam, just as the covenant was taken from Adam.
Excerpts from Adam Facts
Discussion
An earlier effort to understand another term in Q30:30, located towards the end of the ayat, الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ draws upon some key learnings from the story of Adam:
Q30:30 commands us to follow adDeeni Haneefan (The Religion Upright), which includes circumcision of the males, and it also commands that No change should there be in the creation of Allah.
Circumcision
is a surgical procedure that involves the removal of the foreskin, something
male babies are born with. Pro-circumcision medical experts advise about the
health benefits, confirming the Muslim understanding of the purification/cleanliness
reasons behind this practice.
Based
on all of the foregoing, does the command No
change should there be in the creation of Allah mean that Muslims/Haneefs
must actively incline away from impurity and corruption towards all that
renders them pure and incorrupt?
Excerpt from Human:
Body or Soul?
References & Further Reading
Root
Word ha-nun-fa
Circumcision
Medicine,
Healing & The Jewish Tradition
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