Verses 81–96
This is the third part of what is attributed to them [the unbelievers], namely their associating partners with God by believing in other gods and saying, “God has taken to Himself a son”, a claim of which He is absolved. In addition, it contains the response to these allegations.
Commentary
وَاتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ آلِهَةً لِيَكُونُوا لَهُمْ عِزًّا ٨١
(19:81) And they have taken gods besides God, that they should be to them a source of strength;
These “gods” are Angels, jinns, holy people and tyrannical rulers and kings based on the belief that the possession of rulership implied a kind of celestial sanctity. For them, being, a source of strength means their being intercessors who could get them closer to God through their intercession. With this, they believed that they could hold greater strength in this world, drawing good to themselves and casting away evil. Anyone who interprets their being a source of strength to them as being their intercessors in the Hereafter has overlooked the fact that polytheists do not believe in resurrection.
كَلَّا ۚ سَيَكْفُرُونَ بِعِبَادَتِهِمْ وَيَكُونُونَ عَلَيْهِمْ ضِدًّا ٨٢
(19:82) By no means! They shall soon reject their worship, and they shall be adversaries (ḍiddan) to them.
Lexically, a ḍidd is an opposite of something that can never be joined or combined with it.
According to al-Akhfash, al-ḍidd—like rasūl (Messenger) and ʿaduww (enemy)—can be used to refer to the singular or the plural. However, some commentators do not accept that. The use of ḍidd, which is singular, to refer to the “gods”, which is plural is to communicate that there will come a time when these beings taken as “gods” will become unanimous in their enmity towards those who worshiped them and in their denouncement of their worship as though they we were a single body. In this way, referring to them in the singular form is appropriate.
It is apparent from the context that the two pronouns in, they shall soon reject and, they shall be refer to those taken as gods. The two pronouns in their worship and, to them refer to the polytheists who took these beings as objects of worship. It means: “Those taken as gods will renounce the polytheists. Instead of being on their side, they will become their adversaries. Had they really been a source of strength to them, they would always remain firm in that”. He said something similar in: And when those who are unjust shall see the chastisement, it shall not be lightened for them, nor shall they be (given) respite. And when those who associate (others with God) shall see their associate-gods, they shall say: Our Lord, these are our associate-gods on whom we called besides You. But they will give them back the reply: Most surely you are liars ().
Even clearer than that are His words: … and those whom you call upon besides Him do not control a straw. If you call on them they will not hear your call, and even if they could hear they would not answer you; and on the resurrection day they will deny your associating them (with God) ().
It may be possible to apply the opposite interpretation to the verse under discussion, that is, the polytheists will deny worshiping other gods and will be adversaries to those gods, as in: Then their excuse would be nothing but that they would say: By God, our Lord, we were not polytheists ().
This is an unlikely interpretation because the apparent line of reasoning places adversaries as the diametric opposite of a source of strength in the preceding verse. A source of strength comes as a description to those being deified and not the polytheists. Accordingly, and with attention to the specific ordering of pronouns in the verses, it is those being deified and described as ḍiddan (the adversaries) that will denounce the polytheists’ worship of them. Furthermore, if the verses were to express that the polytheists will denounce their deities, the appropriate turn of phrase would have been to say: “Sa yakfurūn bihim, they will disbelieve in them”. Similarly, to express disbelief in God one says: kufr billāh, literally meaning disbelieving in God. As for the expression kufr bi ʿibādati [A]llah, literally meaning denying the worshiping of God, it is not a proper way of expressing disbelief in God [in Arabic].
The rejection on the Day of Resurrection by those being deified of the polytheists’ worship of them depicts how the truth of the matter will become apparent on that day. In fact, Resurrection Day is characterized by manifesting pre-existing truths to all people and not causing their occurrence. Hence, if those being deified did not reject being made into objects of worship in this world and were not adversaries to those who worshiped them and only did so for the first time on the Day of Resurrection, the argument raised in the verse would be deficient. Ponder on this.
On the basis of this interpretation, do you not see … follows on consequentially from, by no means! They shall soon reject their worship …
أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّا أَرْسَلْنَا الشَّيَاطِينَ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ تَؤُزُّهُمْ أَزًّا ٨٣
(19:83) Do you not see that We have sent the Satans against the unbelievers, inciting them by incitement?
The words azz and hazz means the same thing, that is, to cause to move vigorously and to disturb. It means the devils were inciting them towards evil and corruption and encouraging them to follow falsehood, leading them astray by shaking them away from resoluteness and steadfastness on the truth.
There is no harm in attributing the dispatch of the devils to Him , since it is by way of a punishment for the unbelievers’ rejection of the truth. Only then, God punished them by increasing their disbelief and error. The words “against the unbelievers” are evidence of that. If it meant a pre-emptive divine misguidance it would have said: “against them”—using a pronoun, them, instead of a noun, unbelievers.
The verse beginning with, Do you not see…, calls to witness the supporting evidence that reinforces the assertion of the previous verse that those they deified were actually their adversaries. The devils inciting them towards evil, corruption, and pursuit of falsehood is out of adversarial enmity. The Satans—who are of the jinn—are some of their false gods. If these deified beings were not adversaries to the disbelievers they would not invite them to wherein lies their doom and their wretchedness.
Thus, the verse is equivalent to saying: “Those gods whom you reckon to be a source of strength for you are actually your adversaries. Confirmation of that lies in the fact that the Satans—who are some of their gods—incite them officiously toward their misfortune”. Nevertheless, the devils do not have free rein. On the contrary, it is with God’s permission and it has been classified as ‘sending’ (ʾirsāl). Hence, this verse is linked to the previous one, as is evident.
The author of Ruḥ al-maʿānī construes this verse as being part of a logical whole starting from, And says man: What! when I am dead shall I truly be brought forth alive? up to, and they shall be adversaries to them. He goes to great lengths to explain how these verses are part of a single logical whole without avail. What he proposed, corrupts the line of reasoning of the verses and the link between the verses subsequent to this one and those preceding it.
فَلَا تَعْجَلْ عَلَيْهِمْ ۖ إِنَّمَا نَعُدُّ لَهُمْ عَدًّا ٨٤
(19:84) Therefore be not in haste against them, We only number out to them a number (of days).
The word ʿadd means counting. In addition, ʿadd also exhausts and consumes that which it counts. With this understanding God means that He is extinguishing their lives and arriving at their final breaths. It is as if the total sum of their breaths is stored with God and He extinguishes their lives by sending them each of their breaths one after the other until they run out and announce their appointed day. The length of a person’s life is really the length of time over which he is tried and tested—as we are told by: Surely We have made whatever is on the earth an embellishment for it, so that We may try them (as to) which of them is best in works ().
Hence, what is really being enumerated are the deeds recorded on the scroll of a person’s life. In turn, these deeds shape the edifice of their eternal afterlife and construct the afterlife suitable for him there, be it one of comforts or punishments. Just as a person’s body is formed by the fetus remaining in the womb for its term, so too, through the time a person remains in this world, his soul (nafs) takes its form. In this way God records what has been written [for his servant] of divine bounties and realizes it.
Thus a person should not wish for a swift death for:
- A wicked unbeliever because the length of his life is time to number his evil deeds to hold him to account for and punish him for them, or,
- A good believer because the length of his life is time to number his good deeds so that he can be rewarded and blessed for performing them.
The verse does not place any restriction on the counting—even though at first glance it may appear to refer just to numbering a person’s breaths or days.
Whatever the case may be, therefore, be not in haste against them follows on consequentially from what precedes it and, We only number out is the reason for it—it is in reality the reason for the delay. In sum, it means: “Being that they reap no benefit from adopting their gods, that they and their gods will eventually come to Us , that they cannot escape Our authority, and they cannot travel their path without Our permission, [therefore,]do not hasten to seize or judge them and do not be troubled by any delay in that. We are just counting their breaths or deeds thoroughly”.
يَوْمَ نَحْشُرُ الْمُتَّقِينَ إِلَى الرَّحْمَٰنِ وَفْدًا ٨٥
(19:85) The day on which We will gather those who fear (God) to the Beneficent to receive honors.
A wafd is a delegation of people who come to visit, to fulfill a request or the like. They can only be called a wafd if they are mounted. Wafd is plural. The singular is wāfid. It may be possible to infer from, to the Beneficent in this verse being made the opposite of, to Hell in the next verse that their being gathered to the Beneficent means their being gathered in Heaven. The only reason it is referred to as being gathered to the Beneficent is because Heaven is the station of nearness to Him . Thus being gathered in Heaven is being gathered near Him. The meaning of the verse is clear.
وَنَسُوقُ الْمُجْرِمِينَ إِلَىٰ جَهَنَّمَ وِرْدًا ٨٦
(19:86) And We will drive the guilty to hell thirsty.
The word wird has been interpreted as thirst. It is as if it is derived from wurūd al-māʾ that is, heading for water to drink. Since one only goes to drink when they are thirsty, wird became a metonymy for thirst. Describing those driven to Hell as the guilty communicates the cause of their end. Similarly, those gathered to the Beneficent in the previous verse are classified as those who fear God. The meaning of the verse is clear.
لَا يَمْلِكُونَ الشَّفَاعَةَ إِلَّا مَنِ اتَّخَذَ عِنْدَ الرَّحْمَٰنِ عَهْدًا ٨٧
(19:87) They shall not control intercession, save he who has made a covenant with the Beneficent.
This is a second response to their adopting gods for intercession. It states that not everyone whose intercession humankind desires and adopts and therefore takes as a deity is an intercessor. On the contrary, intercession can only be acquired by means of a covenant with God. It is a covenant granted and upheld by only a very select few of those near His Divine Presence. He says: And those whom they call upon besides Him have no authority for intercession, but he who bears witness of the truth and they know (him) ().
Claims: Some exegetes have given different interpretations that take the verse to mean that:
- No one is entitled to receive intercession except for those who uphold a covenant with God. The covenant is to believe in God and attest to Prophethood.
- This verse refers to God’s promise of granting [the right of] intercession to the Prophets, the Imams, the believers and the Angels—according to the oral traditions.
- It means testifying that there is no god but God and acknowledging that one has no power or strength and that God is one’s only hope.
Reply: The first claim is the best and fits the context best.
وَقَالُوا اتَّخَذَ الرَّحْمَٰنُ وَلَدًا ٨٨
(19:88) And they say: The Beneficent has taken (to Himself) a son.
This is what the idolaters say. Even though some of their elite say that all or some of the gods are God’s sons honorifically or as a mark of respect; the masses and indeed some of the elite, when teaching, say that it is literally true—in the sense of a derivation from His actual divine nature where the “son” has his “father’s” essence. This is what the verse means, as evidenced by use of the word walad (biological son) as opposed to ibn (biological or adopted son). Hence, everything from the words, there is no one in the Heavens and the earth up to the end of verse 95 is part of the argument to refute these claims.
لَقَدْ جِئْتُمْ شَيْئًا إِدًّا ٨٩ تَكَادُ السَّمَاوَاتُ يَتَفَطَّرْنَ مِنْهُ وَتَنْشَقُّ الْأَرْضُ وَتَخِرُّ الْجِبَالُ هَدًّا ٩٠ أَنْ دَعَوْا لِلرَّحْمَٰنِ وَلَدًا ٩١
(19:89-91) Certainly you have made an abominable assertion, the Heavens may almost be rent thereat, and the earth cleaves asunder, and the mountains fall down in pieces, that they ascribe a son to the Beneficent.
Idd means something evil and abominable. Tafaṭṭur means being rent asunder. Khurūr means falling down and hadd means destruction. The verses express the severity of the sin and the immensity of its consequences by likening them to something tangible. In so doing, it is saying: “You have committed an evil and abominable thing by making this assertion. The Heavens are almost rent asunder and split apart, the earth almost cleft asunder and the mountains have almost fallen apart upon the flatland because of their claim that the Beneficent has a son”.
وَمَا يَنْبَغِي لِلرَّحْمَٰنِ أَنْ يَتَّخِذَ وَلَدًا ٩٢ إِنْ كُلُّ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ إِلَّا آتِي الرَّحْمَٰنِ عَبْدًا ٩٣ لَقَدْ أَحْصَاهُمْ وَعَدَّهُمْ عَدًّا ٩٤ وَكُلُّهُمْ آتِيهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فَرْدًا ٩٥
(19:92-95) And it is not worthy of the Beneficent that He should take (to Himself) a son. There is no one in the Heavens and the earth but will come to the Beneficent as a servant. Certainly He has a comprehensive knowledge of them and He has numbered them a (comprehensive) numbering. And every one of them will come to Him on the day of resurrection alone.
The intended meaning of the ‘coming’ in, but will come to the Beneficent as a servant depicts the reality that everyone is moving towards Him and standing before Him while under His absolute and crude ownership. Each of them is owned by Him and has no power to bring benefit or harm or death or life or resurrection to himself. In fact, this reality is concomitant to them as long as they exist which is why ‘coming’ in the verse is not restricted to the resurrection, contrary to verse 95.
Having an account of them and numbering them means confirming them to be slaves. The nature of slaves is that their provisions are decided, their tasks assigned and their functions are set after they are accounted for and noted in the slave register, thus officially taking them into slavery.
Coming to God alone on the Day of Resurrection depicts the human being’s coming to Him empty-handed, without possessing anything that they seemingly used to possess in this world. In this life, it used to be said of a person that he had strength and power, wealth, children, helpers, ways, means and other. Yet, on that day, it will become clear to him, when his means are cut off, that he is alone owning nothing, that he is but a slave in the full sense of the word, that he never owned anything and will never own anything. It is the affair of the Day of Resurrection that will manifest the truths.
It is clear from the above that the proof in the verses against God’s having a son is a single proof which can be summarized as follows: “Everyone [including whoever was claimed to be the son of God] in the Heavens and earth is God’s slave, obedient to Him in their servitude with no existence or trace of existence apart from what is given by Him. Hence, He has taken all of them to be obedient to His command, pursuant to His Will without having any say in the matter. This is not all there is to their bondage. On the contrary, God counts and numbers them, records them as slaves, fixes each of them in their place, puts them at His disposal, and uses them as He pleases. Thus they are a witness to their own bondage. Even this is not all there is to it. Rather every one of them will come back to Him alone, without owning anything or anything accompanying him, so that the reality of their bondage becomes manifest for all to witness. If this is the way everyone in the Heavens and earth is, how can any of them be God’s son and have true, divine nature derived from His essence? How can divinity and need come together?”
The fact that the existence of everything is sourced in Him alone, as implied by verse 93, is something that cannot be doubted by those for whom the existence of the Creator is an established fact, irrespective of whether they are monotheists or polytheists. The point of debate is over whether they have many objects or a single object of worship, or, many lords in the sense of custodians—even if by delegation—or a single one.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ سَيَجْعَلُ لَهُمُ الرَّحْمَٰنُ وُدًّا ٩٦
(19:96) Surely (as for) those who believe and do good deeds for them will the Beneficent bring about love.
The words wudd and mawadda mean love. In this verse, He makes a beautiful promise to produce love in the hearts of those who believe and do good deeds. He does not restrict it to love between themselves or for others or to love in this world or in the Hereafter or in Heaven. Hence, there is no reason for some exegetes to have said it only applies to Heaven and for others to have said it only applies to people in the world or for any other such restriction.
Both the Shia and the Ahl al-Sunna give reasons for the revelation and say that the verse was revealed about ʿAlī. Some narrations from Ahl al-Sunna say that it was revealed about those who migrated to Ethiopia. Others say something else, as is coming up in the discussion on the relevant oral traditions.
In any event, the general wording of the verse is intended and it is likely that it is linked to: By no means! They shall soon deny their worshiping them, and they shall be adversaries to them ().
Examining Narrations
- al-Ṣādiq said regarding, By no means! They shall soon deny their worshiping them, and they shall be adversaries to them: The Day of Resurrection, that is, those deified and taken as gods instead of God will be their [that is, the disbelievers] adversaries on the Day of Resurrection. More so, they [that is, those being deified] will disassociate themselves from them [that is, the disbelievers] and from their worship till the Day of Resurrection.
- Al-Kāfī says via its chain of narration that ʿAbd al-Aʿlā, Āl Sām’s freeman, said: I asked al-Ṣādiq about God’s words, Mighty and Sublime is He: We only number out to them a number … : He asked: What do they mean to you? I replied: Counting the days. He replied: Fathers and mothers count that. Rather, it is the number of breaths.
- [In] Nahj al-balāgha, among the sayings of Imām ʿAlī, [we find]: “A person’s breaths are his steps to his appointed time [of death]. Everything counted is diminishing and everything expected is inevitable”.
- Abū Jaʾfar Muhammad b. ʿAlī said regarding, We only number out to them a number: (It means) everything—even breaths.
Author’s comment: This is the most comprehensive oral tradition. It would not be surprising if reference to breaths in the oral traditions was by way of example.
- al-Ṣādiq said regarding God’s words, Mighty and Sublime is He: The day on which We will gather those who fear (God) to the Beneficent wafdan: (It means) they will be gathered riding thoroughbreds.
- al-Ṣādiq said: ʿAlī asked God’s Messenger about the exegesis of His Words, Mighty and Sublime is He: The day on which We will gather those who fear (God) to the Beneficent wafdan. He replied: O ʿAlī, a wafd is only ever mounted. Those are men who feared God, Mighty and Sublime is He, and so God loved them, favored upon them, was pleased with their deeds, and called them the Godwary (al-muṭaqīn). [The hadith continues.]
- Imām then narrates another long oral tradition in which he depicts their coming out of their graves, riding camels from Heaven, their entry into Heaven, and their enjoyment of the comforts provided there in.
- The Prophet said regarding the verse [The day on which We will gather those who fear (God) to the Beneficent to receive honors]: By God, they will not be gathered on foot or taken a taking [of captives or prisoners]. On the contrary, they will be brought on camels from Heaven, the likes of which no creature has ever seen. Their saddles will be made of gold and their reins of chrysolite. They will sit on them until they knock on Heaven’s door.
Author’s comment: The same thing is narrated on the authority of the Prophet in a long hadith describing their riding, arriving, entering into Heaven, their settling therein, and their enjoyment of its blessings. It is also narrated by a number of hadith compilers on the authority of ʿAlī.
- Abū Baṣīr asked al-Ṣādiq about, They shall not control intercession, save he who has made a covenant with the Beneficent. He replied: He replied: Save he holds steadfast to the guardianship (wilayat) of the Commander of the Faithful and the Imams after him: it is the covenant with God. (Al-Kāfī via its chain of narration)
- The Prophet said: Whoever brings happiness to the heart of a believer makes me happy. Whoever makes me happy has made a covenant with God. [The hadith continues.]
- It is narrated on the authority of Abū Hurayra on his authority: Keeping the covenant means performing the five prayers.
There are other oral traditions narrated by both the Shia and the Sunnis. It can be inferred from all of them put together that the covenant made with God is true belief or a good deed that is conducive to the believer’s salvation on the Day of Resurrection and that the oral traditions under discussion relate what should be understood as different applications of the same principle (maṣadīq).
The reader should also note that the above narrations are based on interpreting those who have intercession—to whom the verse refers—either as those who will benefit from intercession or to both the intercessors and those on whose behalf they intercede. As for interpreting them as intercessors [alone], the oral traditions have nothing to do with that.
- Abū Baṣīr asked al-Ṣādiq about His Words, mighty and sublime is He: And they say: The Beneficent has taken (to Himself) a son. He replied: This means when Quraysh said: Verily God, Mighty and Sublime is He, has a son and the Angels are females. Thereafter, God, Blessed and Transcendent is He, said in response to them: Certainly you have made an abominable assertion. The Heavens may almost be rent thereat—that is, at what they said and what they accused Him of—and the earth cleaves asunder, and the mountains fall down in pieces—at what they said and accused Him of—that they ascribe a son to the Beneficent. Thereafter, God, Blessed and Transcendent is He, said: And it is not worthy of the Beneficent that He should take (to Himself) a son. There is no one in the Heavens and the earth but will come to the Beneficent as a servant. Certainly He has comprehensive knowledge of them and He has numbered them a (comprehensive) numbering. And every one of them will come to Him on the day of resurrection alone, that is, one by one.
- Abū Baṣīr asked al-Ṣādiq about His Words, mighty and sublime is He: Surely (as for) those who believe and do good deeds for them will the Beneficent bring about love. He replied: Holding to the guardianship (wilāyah) of the Commander of the Faithful. That is the wud (love) to which God refers. (Tafsīr, al-Qummī via its chain of narration)
- Al-Kāfī narrates the same via its chain of narration on the authority of Abū Baṣīr, also on [Imām Ṣādiq’s] authority.
- God’s Messenger told ʿAlī: Say: O, God make a covenant for me with You, make there for me love with You and place binding devotion (muwaddah) for me in the breasts of the believers. Thereafter, God revealed: Surely (as for) those who believe and do good deeds for them will the Beneficent bring about love. He said: It was revealed about ʿAlī.
- Ibn ʿAbbās said: [This] was revealed about ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib: Surely (as for) those who believe and do good deeds for them will God bring about love. He said: It is love in the hearts of the believers.
- Majmaʿ al-bayān says about the (same) verse: A number of claims are made about it, including that it is exclusively about ʿAlī. Indeed, “there is not a single believer who does not have love in his heart for ʿAlī” as narrated on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās.
- Ibn ʿAbbās said, al-Ṣādiq told me: God’s Messenger said to ʿAlī: Say: O, God, make me covenant with You and put love for me in the hearts of the believers. He then said both [lines] and so this verse was revealed. Something similar is narrated on the authority of Jābir b. ʿAbdallāh. (Tafsīr, Abī Ḥamza al-Thimālī)
- Ruḥ al-maʿānī says: It is clear that based on this interpretation, the verse would have to be Medinite.
Author’s comment: However, the reader knows that there is absolutely no indication in any of the hadiths that the story took place in Medina.
- ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿAwf narrates that when he migrated to Medina he was grieved at having to part with his companions in Mecca, including Shayba b. Rubayʿa, ʿUtba b. Rubayʿa, and Umayya b. Khalaf. Thereafter, God revealed: Surely (as for) those who believe and do good deeds for them will God bring about love.
Author’s comment: The hadith explicitly indicates that the verse is Medinite. This is refuted by the consensus that the entire sūrah—every single verse—is Meccan. This was stated above at the beginning of the sūrah.
- ʿAlī said: I asked God’s Messenger what: Surely (as for) those who believe and do good deeds for them will God bring about love means. He replied: Love in the hearts of the believers, and favored Angels. ʿAlī, verily God has given three things to a believer in that he evokes tenderness (miqah) and love, sweetness and veneration in the hearts of the pious.
Author’s comment: Tenderness (miqah) is love (maḥabbah). There are some other narrations to the same effect narrated by various Ahl al-Sunna chains based on the general wording of the verse. This does not contradict the specific circumstances in which the verse was revealed.
Tafsīr, al-Qummī via its chain of narration on the authority of Abū Baṣīr. ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr cited by ʿAbd b. Ḥamīd. ↩︎
Al-Barqī’s al-Maḥāsin via his chain of narration back to Ḥammād b. ʿUthmān and others. ↩︎
Tafsīr, al-Qummī via its chain of narration on the authority of ʿAbdallāh b. Shurayk al-ʿĀmirī. ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr on the authority of Ibn Mardawayh on the authority of ʿAlī ↩︎
On the authority of Ibn Abī Dunyā, Ibn Abī Ḥātim and Ibn Mardawayh via chains of narration leading back to ʿAlī ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās. ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr cited by Ibn Mardawayh and al-Daylamī on the authority of al-Barrāʾ ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr cited by al-Ṭabarānī and Ibn Mardawayh ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr cited by Ibn Jarīr, Ibn al-Mundhir, and Ibn Mardawayh ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr cited by Al-Ḥakīm, al-Tirmidhī and Ibn Mardawayh ↩︎