Verses 1–8
بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the name of God, the most Merciful, the most Compassionate
Introduction
This chapter invites people to true belief and good deeds through warning and giving glad tidings as indicated by the first two verses and the final: . . . Therefore, whoever hopes to meet his Lord should do good deeds and not join anyone in the service of his Lord (). Special attention is given to refuting that God has a son by issuing a specific warning: And (so that he may) warn those who say: God has taken a son (), after first issuing a general warning: . . . So that he may warn of a severe punishment from Him . . . ()
This is addressed to the idolaters who believe that the angels, jinn, and spiritual reformers (muṣliḥīn) are sons of God, [and it is addressed to] the Christians who say “the Messiah is the son of God.” Perhaps it is also addressed to the Jews who attribute partners to Him, as the Qur’an mentions: And the Jews say: ʿUzayr (Ezra) is God’s son. . . ().
It would not be far from the truth to say that the purpose of revealing this chapter was to narrate three amazing stories which are not mentioned anywhere else in the Qur’an apart from this chapter: the stories of the Companions of the Cave (aṣḥāb al-kahf), Moses and his servant on their way to where the seas meet, and Dhū l-Qarnayn. They are narrated so inferences can be drawn from them and applied to what is mentioned in the chapter; namely, to refute the belief that God has any partner, and to inspire mindfulness of Him.
The context of the verses shows that the chapter was revealed in Mecca, except for the verse beginning with: And keep yourself patient [by being] with those who call upon their Lord (); this will be explained later.
Commentary
ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِيٓ أَنزَلَ عَلَىٰ عَبۡدِهِ ٱلۡكِتَٰبَ وَلَمۡ يَجۡعَل لَّهُۥ عِوَجَاۜ ١
(18:1) (All) praise is due to God who revealed the Book to His servant and did not make in it any crookedness.
ʿIwaj can be spelled with either a fatha above or a kasra below the ayn, and it means “crookedness.” Majmaʿ al-bayān says:
ʿAwaj is used for something visible, such as a spear or a wooden column. ʿIwaj means something which does not have a visible outer form, such as religion or, speech.
Perhaps it also means what can or cannot be seen, and whatever forms are easily visible, as al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī says in his book, Mufradāt al-Qurʾān:
ʿAwaj is used for what can easily be seen with the eye, like propped up wood; whereas ʿiwaj is used for what is perceived by thought or reflection (baṣīra), such as a flat land, the unevenness of which can be realized through reflection; and like religion and sustenance.
These definitions are not contradicted (by how the words are used) in His saying: You shall not see therein any crookedness (ʿiwajan) or unevenness. ()
So bear that in mind.
The Almighty begins the chapter by praising Himself for what He revealed to His servant; namely, the Qur’an, which contains no deviation from the truth. It looks after His servants’ best interests both in this life and in the hereafter. All praise is due to Him for all the goodness and blessings that came with it from the day it [this book] was revealed to the Day of Resurrection.
So, the critical researcher should not doubt that all the goodness and rightness in human society comes from the blessings of what the noble prophets called people to: the word of the Truth, good manners, and good deeds. The Qur’an and the message have both had a beautiful hand in the refinement and advancement of human society, encouraging progress in useful knowledge and good deeds; both the Qur’an and the message have had their own impact, all distinguishing the fourteen centuries of the age of the Qur’an from the centuries that precede them; so, for this, all praise is due to God.
Thus, it becomes clear that it is wrong for some exegetes to say that this verse means, “Say, Praise is due to God who revealed . . .” (That is, to take this verse as a command to say “Praise be to God” instead of an actual praise of God).
The pronoun “it” in the clause, And did not make in it any crookedness, refers to the Qur’an. The phrase is a circumstantial expression (ḥāl) describing the Book.
Rightly directing (Qayyiman, in the next verse), is another description after the first one. This is what the context indicates because He is praising Himself for revealing a Book described as having no crookedness at all, one that is “rightly directing” for the best interests of human society. It can be inferred that equal attention is paid to both the adjectival phrases because they describe the Book’s condition or status.
It is said that the phrase, and did not make in it any crookedness, is adjoined by a conjunction to the relative clause, and that “rightly directing” describes the condition or status (ḥāl) which is derived from the pronoun “it” in “to it” (lahu). This explanation means that He did not make any crookedness in the Book since it is rightly directing. Alternatively, it is said that “rightly directing” is placed in the accusative case by implied words, “He did not make in it any crookedness, making it rightly directing (guiding)”. Both explanations would mean that attention would be divided between the revelation itself and the Book being straightforward without any crookedness. You now know that they both contradict what can be inferred from the context.
It is also said that some phrases in the verses have been placed in front of others in contrast to where they would usually be placed, and that what is meant is: “He revealed the Book properly and did not make any crookedness in it”—but this is the worst explanation.
First, any crookedness in the Book is denied; and, next, its being “rightly directing” is affirmed, because the former (the absence of crookedness) is perfection itself, whereas the latter (being rightly directing) is something that would bring about perfection. Thus, perfection is naturally mentioned before the thing that would bring about perfection.
ʿIwajan (crookedness), which occurs after the negative particle “did not,” is indefinite to indicate generality. The Qur’an is therefore straight in all respects, clear in its wording, eloquent in its meaning, on target in its guidance, alive in its proofs and demonstrations, admonishing when it commands and prohibits, truthful in the stories it narrates and in its glad tidings, definitive in the judgment it passes, protected from corruption (or interpolation), without any discrepancy in it; and falsehood does not approach it from the front or from behind.
قَيِّمٗا لِّيُنذِرَ بَأۡسٗا شَدِيدٗا مِّن لَّدُنۡهُ وَيُبَشِّرَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَعۡمَلُونَ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ أَنَّ لَهُمۡ أَجۡرًا حَسَنٗا ٢ مَّٰكِثِينَ فِيهِ أَبَدٗا ٣
(18:2-3) Rightly directing, so that he may warn of a severe punishment from Him and give glad tidings to the believers who do good deeds that they shall have a goodly reward, Staying in it forever.
Al-qayyim describes someone who takes care of another person’s interests and manages his affairs, such as a household’s breadwinner who looks after the household’s interests and whom the members of the household refer to with regard to their affairs. The Book is straightforward (qayyim) only on account of its content. What the Qur’an contains is true belief and good practice (al-ʿamal al-ṣāliḥ) as He said: . . . guiding to the truth and to a straight path ().
This is indeed the religion, and He describes it as qayyim in various places in His Book, for example: Then turn your face straight to the right religion. . .().
Thus, the Book is described as being right (qayyim) because Islam is the right religion, one that is in the best interests of humankind in this world and in the hereafter.
It may be the other way around: the Book was first described as being straight and then the religion was later described likewise, as in the verse: . . . and that is the right religion (dīn al-qayyima) ().
This is based on interpreting the clause, the right religion, as the religion of the true books (dīn al-kutub al-qayyima), which is a kind of a metaphor.
It is said that al-qayyim is what is straight and even (as opposed to odd), or that in which there is neither neglect nor exaggeration.
It is also said that al-qayyim means that which is responsible for all other heavenly books, confirming and preserving them, or repealing their codes of religious law. It concludes what He said with the statement, so that it may warn of a severe punishment from Him and give glad tidings to the believers, which supports what we said above.
The verse () warns the unbelievers of a severe punishment from God. The likely meaning is an implied one—to warn those who do not do righteous deeds, both those who do not believe at all and those who do believe but commit sinful deeds. This is within the context of qualifying the believers who have been given glad tidings as those—who do good.
In any case, the sentence explains why He revealed the Book to His servant perfectly. Had it not been straight in itself and able to correct other things, to warn, and to deliver glad tidings, it would not have integrity, as is obvious.
It is clear that the implication of “a goodly reward” is heaven, a meaning which is deduced from the context of the next verse, staying in it forever. And the meaning is clear.
وَيُنذِرَ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُواْ ٱتَّخَذَ ٱللَّهُ وَلَدٗا ٤
(18:4) And warn those who say: God has taken a son.
The statement refers to all idolaters who say that the angels—and perhaps even the jinn and the human reformers—are His sons or daughters, [and to warn] the Christians who say that “Christ is the son of God.” The Qur’an also says that the Jews claim that: ʿUzayr (Ezra) is God’s son.
This second, specific warning (to the Jews and Christians) was given after the first general warning, So that he may warn of a severe punishment from Him, to draw greater attention to their belief.
مَّا لَهُم بِهِۦ مِنۡ عِلۡمٖ وَلَا لِأٓبَآئِهِمۡۚ كَبُرَتۡ كَلِمَةٗ تَخۡرُجُ مِنۡ أَفۡوَٰهِهِمۡۚ إِن يَقُولُونَ إِلَّا كَذِبٗا٥
(18:5) They have no knowledge of it, nor did their fathers; a grievous word it is that comes out of their mouths; they speak nothing but a lie.
What they all meant was literally begetting as is made clear by His words: How could He have a son when He has no consort, while He (Himself) created everything, and He is the One who knows all things? ().
God refuted what they claim, first by saying that what they uttered was out of ignorance, not based on knowledge, and second by the clause at the end of the verse, they speak nothing but a lie.
The clause, they have no knowledge (ʿilm) of it, applies to all of them—fathers and sons. They blamed their fathers for their belief in it, claiming that it was the religion of their forefathers who were more knowledgeable than them, since they said, “we should do nothing but follow them and walk in their footsteps.” Thus God draws a distinction between them and their forefathers by first denying their knowledge and then that of their forefathers, whom they were claiming to take their knowledge from.
The sentence, A grievous word it is that comes out of their mouths. . . rebukes them because of the seriousness of what they claimed—that is, “God has taken a son”—and because of the enormous audacity against God when they claimed that He has a partner, thus rendering Him corporeal, made up of parts, in need of a helper or a vicegerent—far be He above that!
It is possible that they began saying this because some of their ancestors may have referred to some people honorifically (as the “son of God”)—like the Jews said: ʿUzayr is God’s son, and: We are God’s children and His beloved (); to indicate their closeness to God. Also, their earliest ancestors may have allegorically referred to the first creation as a son (of God) because it came from Him the way a child comes from its father. Or they may have been referring to (God as) the means by which one comes into being—the way a man’s wife is the means by which his son comes into being. Thus, they called some of the first angels that were created “wives,” and others “sons” and “daughters” (of the Almighty).
Even though the latter two types of expressions and other similar expressions are not as bad as the first one, because they are allegorical with the intent to be honorific, they are still considered unlawful according to the shariah. The fact that such expressions steer people to everlasting misery and eternal doom is enough for them to be unlawful.
فَلَعَلَّكَ بَٰخِعٞ نَّفۡسَكَ عَلَىٰٓ ءَاثَٰرِهِمۡ إِن لَّمۡ يُؤۡمِنُواْ بِهَٰذَا ٱلۡحَدِيثِ أَسَفًا ٦
(18:6) Then maybe you will kill (bākhiʿun) yourself with grief over them if they do not believe in this announcement.
Bukhūʿ and bakhʿ means “killing” and “consuming.” Āthār are tracks left by a person walking across the land and asaf means “severe grief.” This announcement, refers to the Qur’an.
This and the two subsequent verses are meant to console the Prophet and encourage him. The fāʾ refers back to what they said as a result of their disbelief and rejection of God’s revelations as understood from the previous verses. This verse means: “It is feared that you will be consumed with profound grief following the turning of their backs on the Qur’an and away from you.” ʿAlā āthārihim (lit. “over their tracks”) metaphorically means their turning their backs on and away from him.
إِنَّا جَعَلۡنَا مَا عَلَى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ زِينَةٗ لَّهَا لِنَبۡلُوَهُمۡ أَيُّهُمۡ أَحۡسَنُ َ َ ٗ ٧ وَإِنَّا لَجَٰعِلُونَ مَا عَلَيۡهَا صَعِيدٗا جُرُزًا ٨
(18:7–8) Surely We have made whatever is on the earth an embellishment for it (zīnatan lahā) so that We may try them (as to) which of them is best in deeds. And most surely We will make what is on it bare ground without herbage.
Zīna means “a beautiful thing,” “an ornament,” “a decoration,” or “an embellishment” which is added to something in order to make it beautiful and desirable. Ṣaʿīd means “the face of the earth.” According to Majmaʿ al-bayān, juruz means, “barren earth which seems to devour all growth.”
In these two verses, there is a remarkable explanation of the truth about man’s earthly existence, namely about those human souls whose essences are sublime and noble and would not have inclined toward the earth and the life on it. However, God decreed that their perfection and eternal happiness would be in true belief and good deeds, so the divine providence brilliantly resorted to placing them where they have to believe and act, and sending them to a testing place for purification and cleansing, making them dwell on the earth until an appointed time and creating attachments and ties between them and life’s pleasures on earth; [ties] such as money, children, and prestige, things [which have been] made dear to their hearts. That which is beautiful to them and dear to their hearts on the earth is the earth’s ornamentation and the adornment which it is decorated with; their souls cling to the earth because of it, feeling comfortable with it.
When their term for dwelling on the earth as appointed by God comes to an end, with whatever trial and tribulation He willed having been realized, God takes away whatever attachment there existed between them and what was on the earth. He effaces whatever beauty and finery it had, and the earth becomes like barren dust on which there is no vegetation or bloom. They are then called to journey all alone as they were originally created by God.
This is God’s way—in creating human beings, making them dwell on earth, making what is on it seem good to test them with it so that the honorable people would be distinguished from the rest. The Almighty brings generation after generation, individual after individual, making the life’s pleasures seem good to them, leaving it up to them to choose—all this [is] in order to test them. Then, once the test is over, He cuts them off from the ornaments of the adorned world and transfers them from the abode of toil to the abode of punishment and reward. God said: . . . And if you had seen when the unjust shall be in the agonies of death, and the angels shall spread forth their hands: Give up your souls! . . . () And certainly you have come to Us alone as We created you at first, and you have left behind the things which We gave you, and We do not see with you your intercessors about whom you asserted were (God’s) associates in respect to you; certainly the ties between you are now cut off and what you asserted has deserted you ().
In sum, the verse means (while addressing the Prophet): “Do not be distressed or feel sad for them because they turned their backs on your call, which includes warning as well as conveying glad tidings, and they have kept themselves busy enjoying life’s pleasures, for they are neither the first to do so nor are they the last. The reality of this life of theirs is a type of divine preparation; that is, We made them dwell on the earth, then made what is on the earth a finery; a person who gazes on it is tested, in a way that their souls would become attached to it so that We may try them (as to) which of them is best in deeds. We will then make this very thing, which was made to appear good to them, like barren dust on which there is neither vegetation nor anything which a soul would desire. It is not as if God willed them all to have faith and hence was defeated by their disbelief in the book and their protracted misguidance, and, hence, you would destroy yourself with grief over them. Instead, He willed that they be tried and tested, and His will and power shall always prevail.”
From the above, it is clear that the clause, Most surely We will make what is on it bare ground without herbage, is a metaphorical allusion, meaning cutting the link and attachment between the human being and the pleasures of the worldly life on the earth.
It may be said that what is implied is the actual ground without herbage, that is, “We will render all the finery on earth to dust, level it with the earth, making it smooth ground without herbage or anything else.”
The words (on it as opposed to “it”) in the clause, What is on it. . . is an instance of spelling out something which is normally expressed through pronouns—as it would be natural to say: “And most surely, We will make it . . .” The reason for this is perhaps to draw attention to its description as being on the earth.
Examining Narrations
- Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (said regarding the verse), so that he may warn them of a severe punishment:
“The ‘severe punishment’ is (concerning) ʿAlī. It is from (min ladun) God’s Messenger. With ʿAlī, he fought his enemy. Such is the meaning of His words, so that he may warn them of a severe punishment from Him (min ladunhu).”
Author’s comment: Ibn Shahr Āshūb also narrates this hadith from Imam al-Bāqir and Imam al-Sādiq. It is an allegorical interpretation (taṭbīq), not exegesis (tafsīr).
- Concerning the verse, Then maybe you will kill yourself. . . , Abū Jaʿfar [Imam al-Bāqir] said:
“It means killing yourself over them. As for asafan, it means with grief.”
- ʿAbdullāh b. ʿUmar is quoted saying:
“God’s Messenger recited the verse, So that We may try them (as to) which of them is best in deeds. So I asked, What does that mean, O Messenger of God? He replied, [it means] ‘So that We may try which of them is better restrained, better at refraining from what God has forbidden, and quicker at obeying God.’”
- Regarding His words, bare ground without herbage, Abū Jaʿfar [Imam al-Bāqir] said that it is (ground) on which nothing grows.
Fāʾ is an Arabic conjunction usually translated as “so.” It occurs at the beginning of the verse. (Ed.) ↩︎
Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, related by Al-Barqī (without a chain of narrators), from Abū Baṣīr. ↩︎
Tafsīr al-Qummī, related by Abū Jarūd. ↩︎
Ibn Jarīr, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, and Ibn Mardawayh narrate in al-Durr al-manthūr and al-Ḥākim in al-Tārīkh. ↩︎
Tafsīr al-Qummī, related by Abū Jārūd. ↩︎