Verses 85–88
These verses feature as the termination of this sūrah. They contain a beautiful, hope-inspiring promise to the Prophet that God shall bless him by raising aloft his significance and prestige, that He shall make his teachings become well established and widely prevalent, making the faith that he preached advance and progress greatly, and that He shall extend peace and security to him and to those who believed in him just as He had done with Moses and the Children of Israel. This is while the story of Moses and the Children of Israel narrated in this sūrah was exactly in order to convey and clarify just such a reality.
Commentary
إِنَّ الَّذِي فَرَضَ عَلَيْكَ الْقُرْآنَ لَرَادُّكَ إِلَىٰ مَعَادٍ ۚ قُلْ رَبِّي أَعْلَمُ مَنْ جَاءَ بِالْهُدَىٰ وَمَنْ هُوَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ ٨٥
(28:85) Most surely He Who has made the Qurʾan binding on you will bring you back to the destination. Say: My Lord knows best him who has brought the guidance and him who is in manifest error.
The noun al-farḍ has been defined as “imposing something as an obligation,” “to make something binding.” Hence the meaning of the sentence in this verse that reads faraḍa ʿalayka al-Qurʾān, which is translated as (He)… has made the Qur’an binding on you means: “He has imposed on you the obligation to practice and actualize the teachings of the Qur’an” or “He has made it binding on you to put into practice the teachings of the Qur’an with respect to what these contain of laws and regulations.” Thus this part of the verse is in the form of a relational metaphor.
Some commentators have suggested an interpretation that is better than the previous one, which is that the meaning of the sentence He has made the Qur’an binding on you means: “He has made the recitation, preaching, and practice of the Qur’an binding on you.” This interpretation is better since it is in harmony with the next part of this same verse which reads [He] will bring you back to the destination, in light of what is to follow regarding its meaning.
As for the part of this verse that reads [He] will bring you back to the destination, the word maʿād that occurs in this verse is either a noun of place or a noun of time and is derived from the verbal noun al-ʿawd (“to return,” “returning”). The interpretations of the scholars differ with respect to the referent of this term. Thus it is suggested that it refers to Mecca in which case the verse contains a promise to the Prophet Muḥammad that God shall return him once again to Mecca after his migration to Medina. It is also suggested that this word refers to death or to the resurrection or to the plain of the day of resurrection. It is also suggested that it refers to the praiseworthy station (al-maqām al-maḥmūd) which is the station of the great intercession (al-shafāʿah al-kubrā) promised to the Prophet Muḥammad just as it is also suggested to refer to paradise and to Bayt al-Maqdis (in Jerusalem). In case of the ultimate referent, it would in fact refer to the promise of a second ascent (al-miʿrāj) where the Prophet would once again visit Bayt al-Maqdis after having had visited it once before during the experience of the first ascent (al-miʿrāj). Finally, it is also suggested to refer to “the beloved matter or affair.” Most or all of these suggested referents for the word maʿād may be admitted as valid interpretations for it.
The matter which invites reflection and contemplation in the course of studying the verses of this sūrah and their contexts is that this verse under discussion [] serves as a clarification for the narrative related at the beginning of the sūrah, hinting at it, while the verses that follow this verse [] confirm and endorse it.
Thus, God related the story of the Children of Israel and Moses at the inception of this sūrah elaborating in detail as to how He blessed them with peace and security, dignity, glory, and power after they had been humiliated and rendered helpless and weak due to the tyranny of the Pharaoh’s people. The latter butchered their sons while letting their women-folk live. This narrative had concomitantly indicated a beautiful, hope-inspiring promise for the believers, which the introductory section of this sūrah corroborates, which was that God would rescue them from the trials, severity, and hardship that they suffered, and that He would render their religion triumphant over all faiths, and that He would settle them in the land thereby changing their state for the better, after their previous state which was such that the sky refused to shelter them and the land refused to carry them.
Then, after completing the story, God mentions that it is imperative in light of divine wisdom to reveal a book that guides mankind to the truth by way of a reminder and by way of completing the proof. This is so that mankind may save itself, due to the reminder, from God’s punishment just as He had revealed a book to Moses after having had destroyed the past generations and just as He revealed a book to the Prophet Muḥammad. This was even though the Meccan polytheists belied it in stubborn resistance to the truth and in preference to the life of this world rather than that of the hereafter.
Such a context inspires hope in the listener that God would certainly bring to fruition what He had indicated and hinted at in the course of the story. Thus when the listener hears the words Most surely He Who has made the Qur’an binding on you will bring you back to the destination, it does not take the listener long before s or he realizes that this is the beautiful, hope-inspiring promise which s or he had been anticipating, especially when the verse begins with the words Most surely He Who has made the Qur’an binding on you. This is while the parallel between the Torah and the Qur’an had already been made previously while what He had narrated of the story of the rescue of the Children of Israel served as a prologue to the revelation of the Torah such that the Children of Israel became leaders and heirs due to accepting it and acting on its teachings.
Thus the meaning of the verse is as follows: “The One Who made the Qur’an binding on you so that you may recite it to the people, convey it to them, and act according to its teachings shall return you to a place whereby this returning to it shall prove to be a real returning for you and the place of return shall prove a destination for you. This is similar to how He made the Torah binding on Moses and thereby raised his station and the station of his people.”
It is well-known that the Prophet used to reside in Mecca where he suffered hardships, difficulties, and tribulations, consequently migrating to Medina from there. Then he returned to Mecca in triumph—as a winner, whereby the principles and teachings of his faith were established and strengthened, and the idols were broken while the foundations of polytheism were decimated and destroyed, and the believers became the heirs of the land after they had previously been humble, tortured, and oppressed.
The indefinite form of the word maʿād in this verse serves to indicate the great and sublime significance of this return such that it cannot be compared to the Prophet’s (previous) residence there, and history bears witness to that.
Say: My Lord knows best him who has brought the guidance and him who is in manifest error: This serves to affirm the interpretation we have suggested, since it parallels the speech of Moses which he uttered when the Pharaoh and his people belied him and judged his clear signs as forged magic: And Moses said: My Lord knows best who comes with guidance from Him, and whose shall be the good end of the abode ().
Thus God instructed the Prophet to say to the pharaohs from the polytheists of his people when they belied him and accused him of sorcery what Moses had said to the people of the Pharaoh when the latter belied the former and charged the former with sorcery. This was due to the complete similarity between the prophetic experiences of Moses and the Prophet Muḥammad as is evidenced by the story. This similarity between Moses and the Prophet is further attested to and brought to light fully in: Surely We have sent to you a Messenger, a witness against you, as We sent a messenger to the Pharaoh ().
This verse suffices with citing just the first part of Moses’ response and does not cite the second part of his response, which was and whose shall be the good end of the abode (). This is probably due to the contextual demands of the composition of this speech in that the speech should not exceed the limits of indication and allusion. Additionally, the section is rendered complete in light of its context, when it says [He] will bring you back to the destination (), where the address is specifically directed at the Prophet Muḥammad and which address mentions the term maʿād (destination).
However it may be, the one referred to in [he] who has brought the guidance is the Prophet Muḥammad himself while the referent in and him who is in manifest error is to the polytheists from his people. This is while the difference in the manner of address—such that in reference to the Prophet the verse says [he] who has brought the guidance while in reference to the polytheists it says and him who is in manifest error, whereby the comparison is between the error of the polytheists and the bringing of the guidance by the Prophet rather than a comparison between their error and the Prophet’s state of being rightly guided—is because their belying the Prophet was essentially directed at what he had brought forth rather than at his person.
وَمَا كُنْتَ تَرْجُو أَنْ يُلْقَىٰ إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَابُ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً مِنْ رَبِّكَ ۖ فَلَا تَكُونَنَّ ظَهِيرًا لِلْكَافِرِينَ ٨٦
(28:86) And you did not expect that the Book would be inspired to you, but it is a mercy from your Lord; therefore, be not a backer of the unbelievers.
The beginning part of this verse serves as confirmation for the beautiful, hope-inspiring promise that occurs in the previous verse which reads: Most surely He Who has made the Qur’an binding on you will bring you back to the destination. It means: “God shall return you to the destination while you do not expect it just as He inspired the Book to you which you did not expect.”
It is also suggested that it serves as a renewed reminder of the blessings of God on the Prophet, which is a notable interpretation too. The statement of confirmation where God promises to return the Prophet to his destination, which contains an allusion to raising high his stature, the progress of his preaching, and the prevalence of his faith, also outlines for him the path that he is expected to traverse with diligence and careful oversight. Thus God clarifies to the Prophet that the inspiration of the Book to him was not in a manner akin to ordinary incidents, whereby it is in the nature of the latter that they are hoped for and anticipated; rather, the inspiration of the Book was in the form of a special mercy from his Lord, and He had promised him what He promised him when He made the Qur’an binding on him. Thus it was obligatory for the Prophet, in light of these blessings, in light of the progress of his call and its ultimate success which God had promised him, that he should not aid the disbelievers nor obey them—that he should call to his Lord to the exclusion of all other deities and that he should not be of the polytheists.
The part of this verse that reads but it is a mercy from your Lord conveys a certain and definite exception, meaning: “Nevertheless He inspired you ‘as a mercy from your Lord’ and it is not an ordinary inspiration whose like may be anticipated or wished for.” As for the terminal part of this verse that reads therefore be not a backer of the unbelievers, it serves as additional information to but it is a mercy from your Lord, meaning: “If His inspiration to you was ‘but as a mercy from your Lord’ which He favored you with whilst this favor was beyond your expectations then, therefore, dissociate from the unbelievers and do not be a supporter or a helper to them.”
It is highly probable that the terminal part of this verse features as a kind of parallel to Moses’ statement which he uttered when he had killed the Copt. This is Moses’ statement in which reads: He said: My Lord! Because Thou hast bestowed a favor on me, I shall never be a backer of the guilty. In light of this, the prohibition to support the unbelievers contains an indication that the inspiration of the Book to the Prophet was a blessing with which God had blessed him and by means of which he was supposed to guide the people to the truth and call them to monotheism. Consequently it was incumbent on the Prophet not to help or aid the unbelievers in their denial and rejection, nor should he incline to them or heed their attempts at turning him away from the signs of God after their revelation to him, just as Moses had promised his Lord, in response to God blessing him with judgment and knowledge, that he would not be a backer of the guilty, ever. It shall be seen shortly that the next verse which reads And let them not turn you aside from the communications of Allah after they have been revealed to you, and call [men] to your Lord and be not of the polytheists () serves as an explanatory commentary to this sentence.
وَلَا يَصُدُّنَّكَ عَنْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ بَعْدَ إِذْ أُنْزِلَتْ إِلَيْكَ ۖ وَادْعُ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ ۖ وَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ ٨٧
(28:87) And let them not turn you aside from the communications of Allah after they have been revealed to you and call [men] to your Lord and be not of the polytheists.
This verse consists of a prohibition to the Prophet from turning away from the signs of God due to the verbal attempts of the unbelievers to turn him away from them and due to their efforts at dissuading him from them such that his turning away would be as a result of their prevention and hindering. This is similar to God’s warning speech to Adam and his spouse: So We said: O Adam! This is an enemy to you and to your wife; therefore, let him not drive you both forth from the garden so that you should be unhappy (), meaning: “Beware! Lest both of you end up leaving the garden due to Satan’s driving both of you out of it by evil whisperings and insinuations.”
It is apparent that this verse and the one following it serve to explain and clarify verse which reads therefore be not a backer to the unbelievers. Its aim and benefit is to emphasize the prohibitions one after the other. Thus God first forbids the Prophet from turning away from the Qur’an which was revealed to him. This was despite the polytheists’ charges against the Book of God that it was a work of magic or a work of poetry or soothsaying or a work consisting of ancient tales which he had written down. Then God instructs him to call the people to his Lord, and finally, He forbids him to be from the polytheists, which God clarifies as referring to associating other gods with God. Furthermore, God repeats the attribute al-rabb—“the Lord or the Nourisher”—in these verses, appending it to the Prophet. This is in order to indicate the Prophet’s special status as being one who was especially graced with mercy and blessings and as one who was singularly unique in his worship of God, a characteristic which the polytheists did not share with him in the worship of God.
وَلَا تَدْعُ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَٰهًا آخَرَ ۘ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ هَالِكٌ إِلَّا وَجْهَهُ ۚ لَهُ الْحُكْمُ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ ٨٨
(28:88) And call not with Allah any other Allah. There is no Allah but He. Everything is perishable but His Face; His is the judgment, and to Him, you shall be brought back.
The beginning part of this verse which reads and call not with Allah any other Allah has already been discussed as one that occurs as an explanation to the speech of God in the previous verse, which reads and be not of the polytheists ().
There is no Allah but He is a statement of sincerity denoting devotion and faith (in God), and it occurs as an explanation to God’s speech that occurs at the beginning of this verse, which reads and call not with Allah any other Allah since there is no deity worthy of worship other than God. This very same part of the verse also occurs as an explanation to God’s speech that follows it as it shall become clear shortly.
As for the part of this verse that reads everything is perishable (hālik) but His face (wajhahu), the word shayʾ (“thing”) is equivalent to the word mawjūd (“existent”). It is applied to every existing thing to the extent that it is even applied to God as verse attests: Say: What thing is the weightiest in testimony? Say: Allah. The term halāk means “to perish,” “to expire,” “to become non-existent,” “to become ineffective and void.” The terms al-wajh and al-jihah mean one and the same just as the word al-waʿd and al-ʿidah mean one and the same thing (“promise,” “pledge”). The meaning of the term wajh in common parlance is “that by which something faces, meets or receives another thing or that by which something turns to another thing and by which it connects with it.” When the word al-wajh is applied to a body, it refers to the apparent, manifest surface of it, while when it is applied with reference to a human being, it refers to the front half of their head. With respect to the wajh of God, it refers to that by which He turns to a being from His creatures and by which His creatures turn to Him. These are God’s noble attributes such as life, power, knowledge, hearing, sight, and those attributes that are traced back to these aforementioned attributes from the attributes of acts such as creating, sustaining, giving life, causing death, forgiveness, mercy, as well as His signs that point to Him.
Therefore everything is perishable and essentially void in and of itself. It has no reality save what it possesses of God’s grace which is granted to it. As for that which may not be attributed to God, these are nothing save the deluded and confused fancies and illusions of the imagination or the mirages that the imagination has conjured such as the idols which have no reality save that they are stones or pieces of wood or things made of metal. As for the belief that these idols are gods and deities or things that are supposed to benefit or harm, these are nothing save names that their worshipers have coined. Similarly, the human being has no reality to him or her save what creation has entrusted it of a soul and a body and what the human being may achieve of the attributes of perfection. Instead, all of these are attributable to God while what the collective social intellect attributes to the human being of power, authority, leadership, nobility, wealth, dignity, glory, progeny and support are naught but mirages that shall perish and fade away. They are but false hopes and desires, and similar are all the existent things. They have no reality to them save what God grants them of His grace, which in turn serve as signs that point to His noble attributes such as mercy, providence, grace, benevolence and the like. Thus the reality that is established in truth, which shall never perish or become void from among things, is God’s noble attributes and His signs which point to His attributes while all else is established due to or by the Sacred and Holy essence of God.
The above is based on the assumption that the meaning and intent of the term hālik in the verse under discussion means “perishable in fact,” and thus the conclusion or meaning derived from the explanation of the statement of sincerity which is there is no Allah but He by everything is perishable but His Face is that God, who is the deity that is worshiped in truth, is a god that is worshiped only if He is a being that has a true reality which is not subject to perishing or destruction or subject to being voided. The power to manage the universe belongs to Him in light of this description while all else other than Him is void in and of itself, save what serves as a face for Him and is related to Him. Consequently, there is no god in existence other than God .
The idol-worshipers, even if they considered the existence of their gods to be related to God and to be from Him, rendered their gods independent of God in matters of planning and management of the universe such that the relationship of these gods was considered severed from Him in the realm of the management of the universe whereby the command of the gods was considered independent of God’s command. This is the reason they worshiped these gods instead of God; however, nothing enjoys independence from God in anything and none deserves worship save Him.
But there is yet another perspective or interpretation that is more accurate and exact than the previous one, which is that the meaning of the term wajh is suggested to refer to the very essence or being of a thing. This is what some scholars have suggested as the meaning for the term wajh. Thus, for example, wajh al-nahār (literally “the face of the day”) or wajh al-ṭarīq (literally “the face of the path”) mean “the day itself” or “the path itself” respectively. That is, wajh used in relation to the day and the path respectively mean these two things in and of themselves, even if this exegetical suggestion may be debated. Others have suggested that wajh refers to the “noble, reputable, dignified self” as wujūh al-nās (literally “the faces of the people”) means “the noble, reputable, and dignified persons from among the people,” which is a kind of figurative speech. Anyway, on the basis of both assumptions, the meaning and intent is that a being other than God is a contingent being. Even if it is existing due to having had been brought into existence by God, it is nevertheless subject to non-existence with respect to its being, and perishable and subject to being voided with respect to itself while the being to which voiding and perishing have no recourse is the essence and being of God which is necessary in and of itself—necessary in its essence and existence.
Hence the meaning obtained on the basis of this explanation is that the true and real God worthy of worship necessarily has to be a being in whose power and control lies the management of the universe while the management of the universe is not separate from the act of creating and originating things. Therefore there is no meaning or sense to the idea that one being creates various things and another manages its affairs. In this book, we have shed light repeatedly on the truism that the existent creator is nothing but the necessary existent while there is no necessary existent save Him, and therefore there is no God save Him.
The polytheists claim that God is far too exalted and far too glorified for the human intellect or imagination to encompass, and therefore it is not possible to turn one’s devotional attention to Him in worship. Consequently, it becomes necessary to turn to Him in worship by turning to some of those who are close to Him from among the noble angels and others so that they may act as intercessors with Him. This is negated on the basis that knowledge does not need to be encompassing in order for devotion and worship to be true and valid; rather, knowledge or cognizance is sufficient, and this is necessarily attainable.
As for the assumption that the meaning and intent of the term hālik in this verse under discussion refers to future annihilation, voiding, and extermination which is on the basis that the active participle apparently points to the future, the apparent connotation of this part of the verse is that everything shall experience destruction and annihilation after its existence save the face of God. Indeed, the future annihilation of various things differs one from the other. Thus the future annihilation of a thing in terms of time refers to the coming to an end of the period of its existence and its subsequent voiding and annihilation, while with respect to others, it means the existence of a thing such that it is encompassed by extermination and annihilation from all sides. Therefore the perishing of things from this perspective means the voiding of their initial existence and of their being stripped of their initial coming into being or existence by their transfer to another, subsequent existence and their return to God and their settling in with God. As for absolute voiding after existence, the clear verses of the Book of God negate that. Hence the verses of the Book of God consecutively mention that the ultimate place of return for everything is with God and that everything shall end up with Him and to Him is the return, while He is the One who begins creation and then recreates it.
Thus the meaning for this verse that is obtained—if the meaning of the word wajh is understood to mean God’s noble attributes—is that everything shall vacate its place and return to God save His noble attributes which are the wellsprings of His graces. Thus these pour forth graces time and again endlessly, and a deity necessarily has to be thus whereby its being suffers no voiding or termination, and nor do its attributes, which pour forth graces, suffer discontinuity, and since there is nothing other than Him who enjoys such a description, it consequently means that there is no God other than Him.
On the other hand if the term wajh is understood to refer to God’s holy and sacred being, then the meaning obtained is that everything shall meet with destruction, perishing, and annihilation by returning to God save His true, real, and established being to which perishing and annihilation have no recourse, in which case the attributes of God are reckoned to fall within the ambit of His being. A deity necessarily has to be of such kind whereby annihilation does not even touch it and there is nothing other than God that enjoys such a description. Consequently, there is no god other than Him.
On the basis of the preceding explanation, then, an objection is raised which is that things such as paradise, hell, and the Throne are included in the meaning and scope of this verse. This objection is made on the basis of the general nature of the verse to include these things within its ambit and scope. However, this objection is refuted since paradise and hell do not perish after having had come into existence, rather they continue to exist forever, ad infinitum. This also includes the Throne because some traditions say that the roof of paradise is the Throne. The basis for this refutation is that the meaning of annihilation is the change or transformation in the existence of a thing and its return to God which is expressed by the transition of a being from this world to the hereafter and by the very act of returning after inception. This relates to an existing being whose initial existence was this-worldly; however, as for the world-here-in-after and for beings that exist in that world such as paradise and hell, things such as these are not characterized by annihilation and perishing of this kind.
God says: What is with you passes away and what is with Allah is enduring (); And that which is with Allah is best for the righteous (); There shall befall those who are guilty humiliation from Allah and severe chastisement because of what they planned ().
Similar to these two punishments [that is, humiliation and severe chastisement] are the treasures of God’s mercy as God said in: And there is not a thing but with Us are the treasures of it (). And similarly so is the Preserved Tablet. God says: and with Us is a writing that preserves (). As for what they have mentioned about the Throne then the relevant discussion has already been made in the course of the commentary of verse .
It is also possible that the meaning of the word wajh is the direction of God which is attributed to Him. This is the direction that a person intends or the direction which a person aims for or directs himself to. Such a meaning for this term is abundantly manifested in God’s use of this term in His speech such as: And do not drive away those who call upon their Lord in the morning and the evening, they desire only His favor (yurīdūna wajhahu) (); Except the seeking of the pleasure of his Lord, the Most High (illā ibtighāʾa wajhi rabbihi al-aʿlā) (). There are numerous similar verses.
As a result, this word becomes an expression for all that which may be ascribed or attributed to God alone. Thus even if this word, generally and on the basis of its apparent connotation, is applied to the first interpretation and meaning discussed above, the names of God, His attributes, His prophets and messengers, His vice-regents, and His religion which comes from Him can all be taken as valid and relevant instances of this word.
However if wajh is deemed to refer specifically to “religion” as suggested in some traditions, if such a specification is not deemed from the perspective of applying the word to a valid instance of it from a pool of valid instances for it (al-tatbīq), then the meaning of perishing and annihilation with respect to religion would mean the corruption and the loss of its effect, in which case this part of the verse would be understood to serve as an explanation for the sentence at the inception of this verse which reads And call not with Allah any other Allah, while that which appears before this verse serve as contextual evidence that the meaning and intent of the word shayʾ means “religion and the deeds and acts that relate to that religion.” In such a case the meaning obtained is: “Do not take up as a religion any faith save the faith and religion of monotheism for every religion is void and has no effect save the faith and religion of monotheism.”
Therefore, in light of the above, it is most appropriate that the meaning and referent of the word al-ḥukm at the tail end of this verse that reads His is the judgment… (lahu al-ḥukm) is legislative judgment (al-ḥukm al-tashriʿī) or a meaning more general and wide than it, including the creative judgment (al-ḥukm al-takwinī) too. Hence the meaning would be: “Every religion shall perish save His religion since the legislation of the religion is His prerogative and to Him shall you all return, not to the legislators of other religions and faiths.” This is what reflection and contemplation of this noble verse suggest; however, commentators of the Qur’an have suggested other, different opinions for it.
Thus it is suggested that the meaning of the term wajhu is the blessed, sacred, and exalted being of God while the meaning of the active participle hālik is non-existence, and thus the meaning obtained is that everything, in and of itself, is subject to non-existence and annihilation since its existence ensues or originates from other than itself save the necessary being of God. Therefore this meaning rests on a comparison which is that everything other than God is as if it is annihilated and perishing because its existence relies and rests on other than itself.
It is also suggested that the term wajh occurs in the meaning of “self,” “being,” “essence” and its meaning, therefore, is the self and being of a thing while the masculine singular pronominal suffix -hu appended to the term wajh refers to God since the self or the being of a thing is that being’s property and is owned by it, in which case the meaning obtained is that everything shall perish save the self and being of God since it is the self and being of that thing and its very existence.
It is also suggested that the term wajh refers to an intended and specified direction while the masculine singular pronominal suffix -hu pertains to God. Thus the meaning obtained is that everything will be subject to annihilation and perishing along with all that relates to it save the direction which is attributed to God and this refers to the existence which God has graced it with.
It is also suggested that the meaning of the term hālik is death, where the general nature of the verse is restricted and specified to those who possess life, in which case the meaning obtained is that everything that possesses life shall perish and die save His face.
It is also suggested that the term wajh refers to virtuous deeds whereby the meaning obtained is that the deed was in the realm of non-existence and so when the slave of God did it in obedience to the instruction and command of God, God consequently rendered it lasting without it being affected by nullification or annihilation till He rewarded it, or that the deed, on being accepted, became such that it would not accept annihilation since the reward resulting from it stands in its place and is everlasting.
It is also suggested that the term wajh refers to God’s glory, honor, and prestige which He has established among mankind. And it is suggested that the annihilation mentioned in this verse has a general connotation, being applicable to all other than God, where it is a constant phenomenon and occurrence. This is because the existence that beings other than God enjoy and which has been bestowed on them is renewed every moment. Thus it is ever-changing, ever-perishing, and annihilating in the world and in the hereafter, in which case the meaning obtained is that everything is constantly changing in its being and existence other than God.
These perspectives are such that some of them do not correlate with the context of the verse while others render the verse’s proof unsuccessful while yet others are very far from the meaning of the verse. A careful consideration of what we have discussed and presented makes clear the value of these various perspectives, and therefore we are not prolonging the discussion further.
As for the part of the verse that reads His is the judgment, and to Him, you shall be brought back, the noun al-ḥukm means God’s judgment and authority that is effective in things and on the basis of which operates the management and planning of the system of existence. As for this term meaning the discharge of His judgment on the Day of Resurrection, such a meaning is excluded by the bringing forward of the mention of His judgment in this verse to the mention of the return to Him which will be on the day of resurrection since the discharge of judgment will be subsequent to it. Both these sentences that make up the terminal part of this verse occur in the meaning of an explanation, and each one of the two, on its own, can serve as a complete proof in favor of the unity of God in His divinity, being qualified, capable, and relevant in explaining the meaning of sincerity to Him. Furthermore, it has already been suggested previously that the term al-ḥukm can be taken to mean “legislative judgment” in light of some of the aforementioned perspectives.
Examining Narrations
- It is narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās regarding Most surely He… will bring you back to the destination ():
It means back to Mecca, just as He brought you out from there.
Author’s comment: It is related from Ibn ʿAbbās and from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī with respect to the verse Most surely He… will bring you back to the destination () that the “destination” refers to death. It is also related from ʿAlī from the Prophet that the “destination” mentioned in this verse refers to paradise. The last two identifications for the verse under discussion are not explicit. And it is related in Tafsīr al-Qummī from Ḥarīz from Imam al-Bāqir and from Abū Khālid al-Kābūlī from Imam ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn that they said: “The destination mentioned in the verse most surely He… will bring you back to the destination refers to the rajʿa.” This interpretation is probably an inner meaning (al-baṭn) suggested for this verse rather than an explanation (al-tafsīr) for it.
- It is related from Amīr al-Muʾminīn in a lengthy report:
Everything is perishable but His face… () means that everything is perishable except His religion since it is impossibly absurd and unreasonable that everything of God should perish while only His face should remain. He is far greater and exalted than that; rather whoever is not from Him shall perish. Have you not observed that God has said: Everyone on it must pass away (kullu man ʿalayhā fānn). And there will endure forever the face of your Lord (wa yabqā wajhu rabbika) ()?
- It is related from Ḥārith ibn al-Mughīrah al-Naṣrī:
Imam al-Ṣādiq was asked about everything is perishable but His face ().
He asked in turn: “What do they say about it?”
I replied: “They say that everything shall perish except the face of God.”
He responded by saying: “Glory be to God, they have said a colossally monstrous thing! Rather what He meant by it was the ‘face of God’ that which comes forth from Him.”
Author’s comment: A similar report is transmitted in al-Tawḥīd via its chain of transmission from Ḥārith ibn al-Mughīrah al-Naṣrī from the Imam, where the wording is: “I asked Imam al-Ṣādiq about everything is perishable but His face (). He replied: It means everything is perishable save whoever adopts the path of truth.” The same report is related in al-Maḥāsin by al-Barqī save that its terminal part reads: “save whoever adopts the path which you are following [that is, the path the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt].”
The apparent confusion that comes across in these reports is because these reports have been transmitted in terms of their meaning [rather than strict verbal transmission]. Thus if wajh, in the sense of that which comes forth from God, refers to absolutely all that which may be attributed to Him and is from Him, then such a meaning is congruent with the first interpretation for this term that we suggested during the course of discussing this verse above. However, if the meaning of the term wajh is “religion,” by means of which a person turns to God by his intention, then the meaning of the “perishing or annihilation” which occurs in this verse is voidance, uselessness, and lack of effect. In this case, the meaning would be: “There is no God but He. Every religion is void and useless save His true religion which comes forth from Him since the adherent shall benefit from it and shall be rewarded for it.” An indication of these two perspectives has already been made in the course of the discussion of this verse above.
- ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm al-Qummī relates with respect to therefore be not a backer of the unbelievers ():
This is addressed to the Prophet; however, the message is for the people. Similar is the verse that reads And call not with Allah any other Allah (). The address is made to the Prophet, but the message is for the people. This understanding is based on the teaching of al-Ṣādiq who said: “God sent forth to His Prophet messages and teachings on the principle ‘I intend you [by My apparent address], but listen O ye neighbor’.”
See the translator’s second note under verse . (Ed.) ↩︎
A noun of place (ism al-makān) expresses the place where the action of the verb is performed while the noun of time (ism al-zamān) expresses the time or occasion of that action. (Trans.) ↩︎
The commentators have said, with respect to the part of this verse that reads rabbī aʿlamu man jāʾa bi al-hudā (My Lord knows best him who has brought the guidance, ) that the relative pronoun man (“him,” “who”) that occurs here is in the accusative mode due to the effect of an implied verb which the superlative noun aʿlamu (“He knows best”) points to. Thus the implication is rabbī yaʿlamu man jāʾa bi al-hudā (“my Lord knows him who has brought guidance”). This idea is advocated on the well-known basis that the superlative noun itself does not render the object in a sentence accusative [and therefore the need to consider the implied verb]. Other commentators have suggested that the relative pronoun man is in the accusative mode due to the superlative noun aʿlamu in the sense that it is considered to be in the active participle mode ʿālimun; however, this has no evidence to prove its efficacy while I maintain that the relative pronoun man is in the accusative mode due to the suppression of the preposition bi even if the accusative mode does not become apparent in the sentence due to the exigencies of its composition. Thus the implication is rabbī aʿlamu bi-man jāʾa bi al-hudā—which is valid since there is no evidence to counteract it such that it would be negated. (Auth.) ↩︎
This is the form in which the term hālik occurs in this verse, the active participle being denoted by the form fāʿil. (Trans.) ↩︎
Al-Durr al-Manthūr, on the authority of Ibn Abī Shaybah, ʿAbd ibn Ḥamīd, al-Bukhāri, al-Nasāʾi, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abī Ḥātim and Ibn al-Mardawayh as well as on the authority of al-Bayhaqi in his al-Dalāʾil by means of several chains of transmission. ↩︎
This additional clause is reported by Ibn al-Mardawayh. ↩︎
Al-Ihtijāj. ↩︎
Al-Kāfi, via its chain of transmission on the authority of Sayf, from one whom he mentioned. ↩︎
Tafsīr al-Qummī. ↩︎