Al-Baghawi mentions how this practice of burying one’s infant daughter took place in his Tafseer (2/619): When an Arab man would have a daughter, and he wanted to let her live, he would dress her in a robe made of wool or hair and would leave her in the desert for the camels and sheep to graze. If he wanted to kill her, he would wait until she was six years old and then say to her mother: 'Dress her up so that I can take her to marry her off.'...
In the Jahiliyah period, female children were considered inferior. Male children were preferred, so female infanticide was widely practiced, and the baby girls were buried alive.
Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, put an end to his unjust act, for he preached equality between genders because that is exactly what Islam promotes.
How just is our Lord that he mentioned this injustice in the Quran, showing tha...
This verse is one of the most emotionally powerful scenes in the Qur’an because Allah does not begin by questioning the oppressor. He first turns to the victim.
“And when the girl who was buried alive is asked: For what sin was she killed?” (81:8-9)
The little girl already knows she committed no crime. Allah knows she committed no crime. Every soul on the Day of Judgment knows she committed no crime. Yet Allah asks her the question,...
A pregnant she-camel was something the Arabs in the past greatly cared for and deeply valued. If you took good care of it, it would give birth to another camel, and suddenly you would have two. Two in one !
But who did the Arabs in the past not care for? The newborn female children. They would bury them because they were not boys.
In this worldly life, the she-camel is cared for and well looked after, while baby girls are buried.
'And when the buried child is asked, 'For what crime was she slain?'' (81:8-9)
And what is it with you? You do not fight in the cause of Allah and for oppressed men, women, and children who cry out, 'Our Lord! Deliver us from this land of oppressors! Appoint for us a saviour; appoint for us a helper—all by Your grace.' (4 :75) ----
These verses are like two mirrors, reflecting the accountability we will face on the Day of Judgement.
I saw a photo of a child buried under the rubble of a bombed building and remembered this Surah. On the day the child who was buried alive will be asked 'for what crime were you buried alive'. Interestingly, the current war on Palestine has been closely associated with the phrase 'misinformation' with every group and party accusing the other of misinformation. In the 10th ayah of this Surah, Allah SWT reminds' when t...
وَإِذَا ٱلْمَوْءُۥدَةُ سُئِلَتْ The Arabs back before the revelation used to do this evil act where they used to bury the young girls alive. If one of the men were told that their wife gave birth to a girl it would be like the worst moments of their life and they would feel ashamed for it. They felt their honour was lost ; as a result they would go and bury her alive in the desert.
بِأَىِّ ذَنۢبٍ قُتِلَتْ Allah is saying that when the girl ...