Verses 17–26
This fourth group of verses define divine revelation by saying that the religion revealed thereby is in the form of a scripture written for the people, and a balance in which deeds are weighed. It is on the basis of these two things that people will be recompensed on the Day of Resurrection, and a good recompense is divine provision (rizq). Then the conversation shifts to discuss what kinds of reward and punishment await people on the Day of Resurrection. Also in this section is the verse enjoining affection for the Prophet’s near relatives (āyat al-mawaddah fī al-qurbā) and everything associated with that.
Commentary
اللَّهُ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ وَالْمِيزَانَ ۗ وَمَا يُدْرِيكَ لَعَلَّ السَّاعَةَ قَرِيبٌ ١٧
(42:17) God it is Who revealed the Book with truth, and the balance. And what will make you comprehend that perhaps the Hour is nigh?
Each of the previous groups of verses began with a verb relating to the divine revelation, its goal and its effects:
The first group began: Thusly does God, the Mighty, the Wise, reveal to you…
The second began: And thus have We revealed to you an Arabic Qur’an…
And the third began: He has made plain to you of the religion…
However, the tone at the beginning of this section differs. It begins with a nominal (rather than a verbal) sentence that attributes to God the sending down of the Book and the Balance: God it is Who revealed the Book… and this implies that revelation is defined as sending down the Book and the Balance with it.
Perhaps the reason for this is the disputation mentioned in the last verse of the previous section, when God said: And [as for] those who dispute about God… In other words, this called for God to introduce Himself to those who dispute and say that He is the One who sent down the Book with truth and the Balance. As you can see, this serves to define divine revelation according to its effects.
In any case, by the Book (kitāb) God means the revelation containing the teachings of the religion that are meant to govern human society. We have already seen in our commentary on the verse People were a single nation; so God raised prophets… () that this is what God means when He says the Book in the Qur’an. And sending it down with truth (bi al-ḥaqq) means He has sent it down accompanying the truth, without it being contaminated by any Satanic inspirations or selfish contradictions.
A balance (mīzān) is something used to weigh and measure things. In the context of this verse and the one after it, it refers to the religion contained in the Book. This is because all human beliefs and actions are measured according to it; they are accounted for and their recompense is given according to it on the Day of Resurrection. So the Balance is the religion in its totality, encompassing both its roots (uṣūl) and branches (furūʿ). This understanding is supported by the verse, Certainly We sent Our apostles with clear arguments, and sent down with them the Book and the balance… (), as indicated by the apparent meaning of the words with them.
It is said: The Balance means justice. It is called “the balance” because a balance is a tool for fairness and equity between people, and justice is like this too. This is supported by the mention of justice previously in the verse: I am commanded to do justice between you ().
However, there is no indication of this expressed in the verse. Moreover, we have already seen that the meaning of “justice” in I am commanded to do justice… is to treat people equally in calling them to Islam and in the context of applying its teachings to their lives. It does not refer to justice in governance or arbitration.
It is said: It means the common balance scale used for weights and measures.
And it is said: It means the Prophet. Perhaps this interpretation can be reconciled with what we have already said in that the Prophet is the perfect example of the religion in faith and practice. So each individual believer has a beautiful religion to the extent that his religion resembles that of the Prophet. However, this does not accord very well with the verse of Sūrat al-Ḥadīd we just mentioned.
And what will make you comprehend that perhaps the Hour is nigh?
Insofar as the Balance symbolizes accounting and recompense, it also alludes to resurrection and judgement. It is to this matter that the discourse now turns, warning some people about what terrors await them, while giving glad tidings of what is promised to the righteous.
“To make comprehend” (idrāʾ) means “to inform” (iʿlām).
“The Hour” (al-sāʿah)—according to what has been said—refers to “the coming of the Hour”, which is why its predicate (“near”) is grammatically masculine. And this means: What will make you understand that perhaps the coming of the Hour is near? This verse is addressed to the Prophet insofar as he is the listener but it encompasses everyone who hears it, so the warning and threat it contains are general as well.
يَسْتَعْجِلُ بِهَا الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهَا ۖ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مُشْفِقُونَ مِنْهَا وَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهَا الْحَقُّ ۗ أَلَا إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُمَارُونَ فِي السَّاعَةِ لَفِي ضَلَالٍ بَعِيدٍ١٨
(42:18) Those who do not believe in it would hasten it on, and those who believe are anxious about it, and they know that it is the truth. Now most surely those who dispute obstinately concerning the hour are in a great error.
By “hasten it on”, God refers to the derisive urging of the Prophet to call down the punishment upon them. The Qur’an repeatedly relates their words: And they say: When will this threat come about, if you are truthful? ().
Anxiety (ishfāq) is a kind of fear. Rāghib says:
“Anxiety” signifies concern mixed with fear, because the one who is anxious loves the one who he is anxious about, but also fears what might become of him. God says: they are anxious about the hour (). If the particle “about” (min) is attached to it, then the aspect of fear is more apparent. And if the particle “for” (fī) is attached, then that of concern is clearer. God says: Surely we were anxious before for our families (), and God says: …those who believe are anxious about it ().
Now most surely those who dispute obstinately concerning the hour are in a great error: “To dispute obstinately” (mumārah) means to persist in arguing, and this refers to their constant denial of the Hour. They are described as being in a great error (ḍalāl baʿīd) because they have erred in their way of life when finding the right way to live is the most important thing imaginable to the human being. Because they imagine that this fleeting of theirs is all they have, they spend it immersed in worldly pleasures, when they should be this life to prepare for their eternal life in the Hereafter. But they have strayed from the path of good sense and so fallen into the path of error.
اللَّهُ لَطِيفٌ بِعِبَادِهِ يَرْزُقُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ ۖ وَهُوَ الْقَوِيُّ الْعَزِيزُ ١٩
(42:19) God is gracious (laṭīf) to His servants; He gives sustenance to whom He pleases, and He is the Strong, the Mighty.
The word “grace” (luṭf) conveys a sense of care, ease, and precision. So if someone does something requiring precision with care and ease, he is considered “gracious” (laṭīf), just like the air which fills the subtle openings of physical bodies with ease and gentleness of touch. Now, if we banish the physical implications of the word, then it is fitting to apply it to God; He apprehends the subtleties of matters because of His all-encompassing knowledge, and He acts upon them however He wills with precision and care, so He is laṭīf.
This verse predicates sustenance (rizq) and God’s being gracious (laṭīf) to His servants, as well as strong and mighty. This shows that when God wishes to provide for someone, His grace means that they never escape His notice, His strength means He is never unable to provide for them, and His might means nothing can prevent Him from providing for them.
“Sustenance” here includes the gift of faith, which He bestows on whomsoever He wishes from amongst His servants (as we have seen in the verses above), and that is why He mentions it after His saying: God it is Who revealed the Book with truth, and the balance…
مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ حَرْثَ الْآخِرَةِ نَزِدْ لَهُ فِي حَرْثِهِ ۖ وَمَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ حَرْثَ الدُّنْيَا نُؤْتِهِ مِنْهَا وَمَا لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنْ نَصِيبٍ ٢٠
(42:20) Whoever desires the tillage of the Hereafter, We will enhance for him his tillage, and whoever desires the tillage of the world, We will give to him thereof, but he will have no share in the Hereafter.
This means whoever strives for worldly goals and only desires the result in this life rather than the Hereafter, We will grant him some worldly gains but He shall have no share in the Hereafter. Using the word “tillage” (ḥarth) alludes to the fact that one must work for their goals, whether in this world or the Hereafter, as God says: nothing belongs to man except what he strives for ().
And God has left what He will give him in this world ambiguous by saying We will give to him thereof, indicating that this matter depends on the Divine Will; perhaps He will expand his sustenance and perhaps He will contract it, as God says: Whoever desires this transitory life, We expedite for him therein whatever We wish, for whomever We desire ().
The transition here from speaking in the third-person (God is gracious…) to the first-person plural (We will enhance…, We will give…) signifies the grandeur which is conveyed by God describing Himself as …the Strong, the Mighty in the previous verse.
These two verses tell us that God is gracious to all His servants; He is also almighty and all-powerful. He provides for His servants however He wills; for those who desire the Hereafter and strive for it, He has willed to provide for them thereof and increase it for them. Whereas for those who only desire this world and strive for it, He has willed to give them something from it while saying they have no share in the Hereafter.
From the above it becomes clear that the first verse is general, encompassing both groups that are mentioned in the second. The meaning of “servants” (ʿibād) includes all the inhabitants of this world and the Hereafter, as does sustenance (rizq). Meanwhile, the second verse serves to expand upon the general statement contained in the first: He gives sustenance to whom He pleases.
أَمْ لَهُمْ شُرَكَاءُ شَرَعُوا لَهُمْ مِنَ الدِّينِ مَا لَمْ يَأْذَنْ بِهِ اللَّهُ ۚ وَلَوْلَا كَلِمَةُ الْفَصْلِ لَقُضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ ۗ وَإِنَّ الظَّالِمِينَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ ٢١
(42:21) Do they have partners [besides God] who have ordained for them a religion which has not been permitted by God? Had it not been for the conclusive word, the decision would have been made between them; and surely the unjust shall have a painful punishment.
So far, we have read that it is God who sent down the Book with truth and made clear for them the religion that is the measure of their deeds; that it is only by God’s grace, strength, and might that He provides for those who desire the Hereafter and strive for it, and increases their share thereof; and that those who desire this world but forget the Hereafter have no share in it. This shows that whoever disbelieves in the Hereafter shall have no share in it. This is because they deny that there is no other religion for them to follow except the one God has made clear so that they can earn sustenance like that of the faithful in the Hereafter by acting on it, for God has no partner who can promulgate a religion other than His without His leave. So the only religion is God’s religion, and only those who follow it will receive pleasant sustenance in the Hereafter.
So when God says Do they have partners…? this is a rhetorical question which repudiates this. When God says, Had it not been for the conclusive word, the decision would have been made between them, this refers to the fact that God had already given His word that they could dwell on this earth until a fixed time. The tone of this sentence magnifies their culpability and sinfulness.
And when God says, and surely the unjust shall have a painful punishment, this threatens them with punishment on account of their wrongdoing and implies that they cannot escape him; even if He does not judge between them and punish them in this world, they shall still have a painful punishment in the Hereafter.
تَرَى الظَّالِمِينَ مُشْفِقِينَ مِمَّا كَسَبُوا وَهُوَ وَاقِعٌ بِهِمْ ۗ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ فِي رَوْضَاتِ الْجَنَّاتِ ۖ لَهُمْ مَا يَشَاءُونَ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَضْلُ الْكَبِيرُ ٢٢
(42:22) You will see the unjust anxious on account of what they have earned, and it must befall them; and those who believe and do good shall be in the meadows of the gardens; they shall have what they please with their Lord: that is the great grace.
“You” refers to the Prophet insofar as he is the listener, but it encompasses everyone who hears this verse and is capable of seeing. “The unjust” (ẓālimīn) here means those who forsake the religion which God made clear for His servants and those who ignore the Hour. So this means “Anyone with sight will see the unjust anxious on the Day of Resurrection on account of the evil deeds they have acquired, but it will certainly befall them and they have no escape from it.”
This is one of the verses which clearly state the people’s deeds will be given a physical reality on the Day of Resurrection (tajassum al-aʿmāl). It is said that the implicit meaning is that they are anxious about the burden of what they have earned, but there is no need for such an interpretation.
…and those who believe and do good shall be in the meadows of the gardens… In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, we read:
A meadow (rawḍah) is a green land with lush vegetation, while a garden (jannah) is a land surrounded by trees. So the meadows of the gardens [in Paradise] are green gardens surrounded by rows of trees.
…they shall have what they please with their Lord… In other words, the system of cause and effect works differently there. In fact, the only cause needed for anything is their willing it, then God will create for them whatever they desire with Himself. That is the great grace.
ذَٰلِكَ الَّذِي يُبَشِّرُ اللَّهُ عِبَادَهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ ۗ قُلْ لَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا إِلَّا الْمَوَدَّةَ فِي الْقُرْبَىٰ ۗ وَمَنْ يَقْتَرِفْ حَسَنَةً نَزِدْ لَهُ فِيهَا حُسْنًا ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ شَكُورٌ ٢٣
(42:23) That is of which God gives the good news to His servants, those who believe and do good deeds. Say, “I do not ask you any reward for it except love of my near relatives”; and whoever earns good, We give him more of good therein; surely God is Forgiving, Grateful.
These are glad tidings for the righteous believers. They are described as “His servants” to honour them.
Key Debate: The Verse of Affection (Āyat al-Mawaddah) →
Say, “I do not ask you any reward for it except love of my near relatives.” The thing which he does not ask any reward for is conveying the message of Islam and calling people towards it. God has related the same statement from a number of prophets who came before him, like Noah, Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, Lot, and Jethro, which they directed to their own peoples. For one example, see: I do not ask you any reward for it; my reward lies only with the Lord of all the worlds. ().
This has also been said about the Prophet elsewhere: You do not ask them any reward for it… (). And the Prophet is commanded to tell people that in various ways:
Say, “I do not ask you any reward for it.” ()
Say, “Whatever reward I may have asked you is for your own good. My reward lies only with God….” ()
Say, “I do not ask you any recompense for it. It is just an admonition for all the nations.” ()
The verse suggests that the reason he asks no reward is because it is an admonition for all the nations; it is not for some people but not others such that he could ask for a reward.
Say, “I do not ask you any reward for it, except that anyone who wishes should take the way to his Lord.” ()
When we commented on this verse previously, we said that this meant “save that one of you wishes to take a way to his Lord by answering my call by your own free will. That is my reward. So there is nothing here for me besides calling you to the truth—that is there is no reward.”
In this sūrah, God says: Say, “I do not ask you any reward for it except love of my near relatives.” This makes the reward for conveying his message the love of his near relatives. And we can be sure from the meaning of the other verses in this regard that this love is something that goes back to accepting his message, either as a whole or just that part which is concerned with it. In any case, this appears to be a continuous exception (istithnāʾ muṭṭaṣil), meaning that this love is a reward connected to his preaching. There is no need for the arduous interpretations which try to read this as a discontinuous one (istithnāʾ munqaṭiʿ).
As for the meaning of love of my near relatives, commentators have offered differing interpretations:
It is said—and this is attributed to the masses—that this statement is addressed to the Quraysh, and the reward requested is their love for the Prophet because of his family connection to them. This is because they denied him and hated him after, according to some accounts, he challenged their idols. In response, he was commanded to ask them: If they will not believe in him, then let them at least show affection to him because of his relationship with them and avoid hating or harassing him. So in this interpretation, “near relatives” (qurbā) is a verbal noun in the meaning of “nearness” (qirābah) and “of” (fī) is causal.
However, something can only be called a “reward” (ajr) if it is being offered in return for some work that has benefited the one giving it, and if it is a recompense given to the doer of that work in the form of money or something else. So it makes no sense for the Prophet to ask the Quraysh for any reward while they were denying him and disbelieving in his message. This only makes sense on the assumption whoever he was addressing believed in him; if they denied his message and disbelieved in him, then they haven’t taken anything from him to warrant a reward! And, if they did believe in him—prophethood being one of the three fundamental tenets of the religion—then it is impossible to imagine them hating him in order for him to ask them to love him in recompense for conveying the message!
In short, it is senseless to ask for a reward if those being asked did not believe, and it is inconceivable that those being asked hated the Prophet if they believed in him, in which case he would not need to ask for their affection.
This objection applies even if we assume the exception save for is a discontinuous exception, as the only situation in which it is conceivable to ask for a reward from them is if they already believe. But whatever follows a discontinuous exception must be distinct from the generality in every aspect, so reflect on this.
It is also said: Love for my near relatives means the same as above and it is addressed to the Anṣār. It is said they brought him money to help him in his difficulties but then the verse came down so he refused it, and he had a relative amongst them in the form of Salmā bt. Zayd al-Najjārī, and through his mother’s brothers according to some accounts.
However the fact that the Anṣār loved the Prophet is beyond doubt, for they are the ones who invited him to come and live with them and provided a house for him. It was they who laid down their lives, their property, and their sons for him; they gave everything they had to help him, even in generosity to those believers who came to them with him. God even praises them in such glowing terms as and those who were settled in the land and [abided] in faith before them, who love those who migrate toward them, and do not find in their chests any need for that which is given to them, but prefer [the Emigrants] to themselves, though poverty be their own lot (). This is the extent of their love not just for the Prophet, but for those who emigrated for the sake of the Prophet. So who could doubt their love?
So, considering the extent of their love, why should the Prophet be commanded to ask them for their love because of his somewhat distant connection to them through his womenfolk, while the Arabs in those days did not give much weight to relations through women. They would say: “Our children are the sons of our sons. Our daughter’s children are the children of strangers.”
And they would say: “People’s mothers only carry them for a while, their bloodlines are from their fathers.”
It was only with the advent of Islam that women were considered in family ties and the children of daughters were put on an equal footing with those of sons, as we have already discussed elsewhere.
It is said: It is addressed to the Quraysh, and love for my near relatives means “love because of kinship” except this means the love of the Prophet rather than that of the Quraysh. As in the first interpretation, above, the exception is discontinuous and resultant meaning is: “I do not ask of you any reward for the guidance I call you to, which will take you to the gardens of Paradise and grant you eternal life therein. Nor do I seek any recompense. It is only my love of you because of our kinship that motivates me to guide you to it.”
However, this interpretation does not fit with what God tells him elsewhere about calling people towards guidance. On numerous occasions throughout the Qur’an, He makes clear that the matter of guiding people is only in God’s hands and the Prophet has no influence in this matter. He should not be saddened by their faithlessness or their rejection of his message, his only job is to convey it to them. So he should not be motivated to guide anyone because he loves them, or to neglect others out of enmity or dislike. And with all of this in mind, it is inconceivable that God would command His Prophet to tell the disbelievers of the Quraysh Say: I do not ask you… if this meant that he was only motivated to guide them out of the love he felt for them as his relatives rather than because of any reward he expected!
It is said: Love for my near relatives means love of near relations generally and this is addressed to either the Quraysh or to everyone. It means: “I do not ask you any reward for my preaching save that you love your near relatives.”
But Islam does not teach that people should love their near relations unconditionally. God says: You will not find a people believing in God and the Last Day endearing those who oppose God and His Messenger even though they were their own parents, or children, or brothers, or kinsfolk. [For] such, He has written faith into their hearts and strengthened them with a spirit from Him. (58:66) Moreover the context of this verse means that we cannot simply qualify it to mean only believing near relatives, as this does not fit with the fact that it is addressing the Quraysh or people as a whole.
Rather, the tone of the verse indicates that Islam teaches people to love for the sake of God without any preference for near relatives. Yes, there is a strong emphasis on the matter of near relations and womb relatives, but this falls under the rubric of maintaining relations (ṣilat al-raḥm) and giving money because of His love for relations, not under the rubric of “love for near relations” (muwaddat al-qurbā); all love is for the sake of God.
Nor is there any basis to say that love for near relations refers to maintaining relations or kindness toward them by giving money. This is because there is nothing in the text to indicate that the intended meaning is the literal meaning (maʿnā ḥaqīqī) which does not accord with the teachings of Islam about loving for the sake of God.
It is said: The meaning of qurbā is actually “seeking nearness to God” (taqarrub), so the love of qurbā means to show one’s love for God through obedience and worship. In which case the verse means “I ask you not reward for it save that you show your love for God by seeking nearness to Him.”
However, this introduces ambiguity the phrase “Except the love of qurbā”. It cannot have been addressing the idolaters because they did not reject seeking nearness to God or expressing their love of Him, in fact they saw their own worship of idols to be a form of seeking nearness to Him. The Qur’an quotes them as saying: We only worship them so that they may bring us near to God () and: These are our intercessors with God. ()
Such an interpretation is deeply problematic as it would entail the Prophet asking the idolaters to show their love for God by seeking nearness to Him, without properly qualifying this statement to mean “by worshipping Him alone.” And this ambiguous request would be directed to those who see associating partners with God as a kind of love and seeking nearness to Him. Yet the context of this statement is supposed to demonstrate the Prophet’s sincerity in calling them to the Religion of Divine Unity by never asking them for a reward in exchange. So this is something no one with good sense can accept.
Insofar as the verse uses the word mawaddah (“affection”) rather than tawaddud (“showing affection”), it means their love for God in seeking nearness to Him. But nowhere in the Qur’an does God use the word mawaddah to denote human love for God, even though it appears in the opposite sense (that is, God’s love for human beings), as in the verses:
My Lord is indeed all-merciful, all-affectionate. ()
And He is the All-forgiving, the All-affectionate. ()
Perhaps the reason for this is that the word mawaddah conveys a sense of doting on the object of affection. Some even say, according to what Rāghib has recorded, that God’s mawaddah for His servants means His watching over them.
And our prior objection stands even if we interpret mawaddah fī al-qurbā to mean people’s affection for one another and their love for seeking nearness to God, in the sense that the things that bring them closer to God also cause love and affection between them. This is because the idolaters enjoy the same relations amongst themselves according to what they believe.
It is said: Love of my near relatives means the love of the Prophet’s near relatives, namely the progeny (ʿitrah) from his household (ahl al-bayt), and numerous narrations have come down from both Sunni and Shiʿi sources stating that this means to love them and be loyal to them. This is further supported by mutawātir narrations from both sects that consider love and loyalty to the Prophet’s Household a religious obligation.
When we look at all the narrations which have been transmitted by both sects from the Prophet instructing people to refer to his Household (ahl al-bayt) to understand the Book of God and its teachings, such as Ḥadīth al-Thaqalayn, Ḥadīth al-Safīnah and others, these leave no room for doubt that loving them is a religious obligation. Making their love the Prophet’s reward (ajr) for conveying God’s message was only to guarantee that people would refer to them because of the preeminent religious knowledge. From this it should be clear that the command to love them as a reward for the Prophet conveying his message had no purpose behind it save ensuring that this message would endure and continue after the Prophet. So this verse does not contradict the other verses which negate the asking of any reward.
In this case, the meaning of the verse becomes: “I do not ask you any reward for it except that God has enjoined you to love the faithful, amongst whom are my near relatives. I consider your love for my relatives worship, and I consider it a reward for my conveying this message to you.” God says: Indeed those who have faith and do righteous deeds the All-beneficent will endear them (). And God says: But the faithful, men and women, are comrades of one another…. ()
This clearly refutes the argument of those who say such a request does not befit the position of prophethood because of the suspicion it begets; most of those who seek worldly gain will do something good and then ask for a reward that benefits their children and relatives, or that it contradicts the verse: You do not ask them any reward for it… ().
This is because the verse only calls this a “reward” (ajr) with regards to the invitation to Islam, whereas in reality this verse does not add anything to what the other verses have said about not asking for a reward—as you can see. Moreover, this does not bring any benefit to his near relatives so there is no basis for suspicion.
Furthermore, this verse was revealed in Medina and addresses the Muslims there; how could they harbour any suspicions about what their Prophet brings them from their Lord when they believed in him and knew him to be protected by divine infallibility? If it was possible for them to suspect him of dishonesty in this matter and this was contrary to the position of prophethood, it would not be proper to address him with such a verse. And yet we find no suggestion of this in any other verse of the Qur’an—not even those which invest him with absolute authority, proclaim that the spoils and booty of war belong to God and His Messenger, declare that the fifth (khums) is for the near relatives, or grant him unique permissions in the matter of his wives!
Moreover, God has addressed this suspicion and refuted it with the verse: Or do they say: He has forged a lie against God? But if God pleased, He would seal your heart (). And we shall discuss this below.
But let us suppose that we interpret this verse in another way to avoid arousing such suspicions: What could possibly refute the countless traditions narrated from him by both sects stating it is a religious duty to love his Household?
The claim that this interpretation somehow contradicts the verse You do not ask them any reward for it… () is obviously false based on what we have already said. After all, it is no different in its connotation compared to this verse than that of the verse, Say, “I do not ask you any reward for it, except that anyone who wishes should take the way to his Lord” ().
In Kashshāf, Zamakhsharī chooses this interpretation and then poses the question: Is it not said in Arabic: illā mawaddat al-qurbā or illa al-mawaddah li al-qurbā? So what is the meaning of illā al-mawaddah fī al-qurbā?
I respond: It means they are made the locus of affection and its abode. For example, one might say: “I have love for the family of so-and-so” (lī fī āl fulān mawaddah) or “I have affection for them and a strong love.” By this, you mean that you love them and they are the locus and abode of your love.
He continues:
Using fī in connection with mawaddah is not the same as using lām with it when you say illā al-mawaddah li al-qurbā. This is because when you say fī you actually introduce an implicit clause connected to the thing contained (ẓarf bih), as when you say: “The money is in the bag” (al-māl fī al-kīs). In other words, you say: “Except that love is fixed firmly in my near relatives.”
…and whoever earns good, We give him more of good therein; surely God is Forgiving, Grateful: “To earn” (iqtirfāf) means to gain, and “good” (ḥasanan) means a deed which God is pleased with and rewards. A deed’s good is determined by it being conducive to human felicity and the intention for which it is done. By the same token, a deed’s evil is determined by the opposite. Increasing the good of a deed means to complete whatever aspects of it are deficient and perfect it, from which flows an increase in the reward granted in recompense for it. God says: …and We will surely reward them by the best of what they used to do. ().
And He says: …so that God may reward them by the best of what they have done, and enhance them out of His grace ().
So this verse means: Whoever earns a good deed, God will enhance the goodness of this deed by removing its shortcomings and increasing its reward. God is indeed Forgiving—because He erases iniquities—and Grateful—because He makes manifest the best aspects of a doer’s deeds.
It is said: Good means love of the Prophet’s near relatives, and this is supported by narrations from the Imams of the Prophet’s Household regarding this verse. They say that this verse and the four that follow it were revealed about the love of the Prophet’s near relatives. The logical corollary of this is that these verses should be Medinan, they should have a single flow of meaning, and the practical meaning of good (ḥasanan) is this love of the Prophet’s Family. On this basis the words Or do they say: He has forged a lie against God? () and what follows them refers to what the hypocrites say because they find it hard to accept and those believers who give ear to them. And the words And He it is Who accepts repentance from His servants… until the end of the following verse refer to the repentance of those hypocrites who returned to faith and God’s acceptance thereof.
God’s words, …surely God is Forgiving, Grateful, contain a transition from speaking in the first-person (“We”) to the third-person (“He”). This alludes to the reason He is attributed with forgiveness and gratitude. So this means: “God is Forgiving and Grateful because He is God.”
أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَرَىٰ عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِبًا ۖ فَإِنْ يَشَإِ اللَّهُ يَخْتِمْ عَلَىٰ قَلْبِكَ ۗ وَيَمْحُ اللَّهُ الْبَاطِلَ وَيُحِقُّ الْحَقَّ بِكَلِمَاتِهِ ۚ إِنَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ ٢٤
(42:24) Or do they say: He has forged a lie against God? But if God pleased, He would seal your heart; and God will blot out the falsehood and confirm the truth with His words; surely He knows best what is in the chests (ṣudūr).
The tone of this statement—whether to the end of the verse or taken by itself—is one of rebuke, implying a rejection of the accusation that he forged a lie against God.
But if God pleased, He would seal your heart… From the context, this means that you have not forged a lie against God because you have no say in the matter to begin with. So even if you wanted to, you cannot decide to forge something and pass it off as coming from God. This is nothing except revelation from God, which you have no role in producing; it depends entirely upon God’s will. If He wished, He would seal your heart and close the door of revelation to you. But instead He has chosen to send revelation to you and make clear the truth, for it is ever His habit to erase falsehood and establish truth through His words.
When God says But if God pleased, He would seal your heart, this alludes to the fact that revelation in its entirety depends on God, and divests the Prophet of producing anything from his own self. This meaning—as you shall see—is the one most appropriate to the context here, assuming that the meaning of “near relatives” is those of the Prophet, and the rebuke is directed against the hypocrites with a sickness in their hearts.
However, commentators have mentioned other interpretations for this sentence:
One is mentioned by Zamakhsharī in his Kashshāf. He says:
But if God pleased, He would seal your heart means that if God willed He would make you someone whose heart was sealed—someone just like your accusers—for you to invent lies about God. After all, no one invents such lies except people like them!
And this approach invokes scepticism that someone like the Prophet would invent lies as from one angle this is equivalent to associating partners with Him and becoming one of those with a sealed heart. This is like a trustworthy person who has let someone down saying: “Perhaps God has forsaken me or blinded my heart!” Of course he does not mean to say God has done either of these things, he merely means to express his disbelief that someone like him could have done this, and to call attention to the fact that he has committed a grave sin.
It is also said:
This means that if you had so much as considered inventing a lie against God, He would have sealed your heart and caused you to forget the Qur’an, so how could you possibly do such a thing? And this is God’s saying: If you ascribe a partner to God, your works shall fail ().
And it is said:
It means that if God wills, He could fix your heart upon patience (ṣabr) should they bother you so that you will not be grieved by their accusations: “He is a liar and a magician!” And these interpretations are not without their weaknesses.
And it is said:
It means that if God willed, He would seal your heart just as He has sealed theirs. This is a consolation to the Prophet so that he will give thanks to his Lord for all the blessings He has given him.
And it is said:
It means that if God willed, He would seal the hearts of the faithless and their tongues and hasten their punishment. The reason why God uses the second-person singular instead of a third-person plural is because He means to say: “He could seal your heart, O you who say that the Prophet has forged a lie against God!”
…and God blots out the falsehood and confirms the truth with His words… Here the present tense (muḍāriʿ) is used—in blots out and confirms—to signify a continuous action. This means that God’s continuous habit is to erase falsehood and confirm the truth with His words. His words refers to the divine revelation He sends down to the prophets, lordly speech (taklīm rubūbī), and it could also mean the souls of the prophets insofar as they are inspired by an unseen faculty (ḍamīr ghaybī).
…surely He knows best what is in the chests: This serves to explain …and God blots out…. In other words, He erases falsehood and establishes truth with His words because He knows the hearts and their contents; He knows what revelation and preaching will lead them towards guidance or error and what will open them or seal them.
It is said that this verse implies a promise of divine assistance (naṣr) to the Prophet, and this interpretation is not without merit.
وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَقْبَلُ التَّوْبَةَ عَنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَعْفُو عَنِ السَّيِّئَاتِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ ٢٥
(42:25) And He it is Who accepts repentance from [of] (ʿan) His servants and pardons the evil deeds and He knows what you do.
In Arabic, it is possible to say “accepts… from…” by using either the particle min or ʿan. In Kashshāf, Zamakhsharī says:
One can say: qabiltu minhu al-shayʾ or qabiltū ʿanhu al-shayʾ. In the first instance, this means “I took it from him and made him the source and origin of my acceptance.” However, the second instance (which appears in the verse) means “I took it from him and made it my own [it signifies complete separation between the giver and what has been given].”
The words …and He knows what you do urge people to repent and warn them against sinning. Their meaning is clear.
وَيَسْتَجِيبُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَيَزِيدُهُمْ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ ۚ وَالْكَافِرُونَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ ٢٦
(42:26) And He answers those who believe and do good deeds, and gives them more out of His grace; and [as for] the faithless, they shall have a severe punishment.
The subject of the verb He answers (yastajīb) is God.
The phrase those who believe and do good deeds is situated as the verb’s object, meaning He responds to them. It is said that the subject of the verb answers is actually those who believe, but this is very unlikely in the context.
“Answering” (istijābah) means responding to a supplication. Insofar as all worship is a kind of supplication to Him, he refers to accepting worship as answering or responding to them. The evidence for this meaning is God’s words, and gives them more out of His grace, for the apparent meaning here is an increase in their reward. The same is true when He juxtaposes and [as for] the faithless, they shall have a severe punishment, with the condition of the faithful.
It is said: This means that He responds to them when they supplicate and not only gives them what they ask for but more as well. But this does not fit with the context of the verse, as God does not only respond to the supplications of the faithful.
Examining Narrations
- In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, Zādān narrates from ʿAlī:
There is a verse concerning us in the house of ḥā mīm saying that none preserves our love except every believer.
Then he recited:
Say, “I do not ask you any reward for it except love of my near relatives.”
Ṭabrisī says:
It is to this that Kumayt refers with the words: “We found a verse of yours in the house of ḥā mīm / on which ponder those of us both wary and forthright.”
- Concerning this, in an authentic narration from al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī:
He gave a speech to the people, in which he said: “We are the Prophet’s Household whose love God has enjoined upon each and every Muslim by saying: Say, ‘I do not ask you any reward for it except love of my near relatives.’”
- In al-Kāfī, with a chain of narrators from ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAjalān, it is related that Abū Jaʿfar [Imām al-Bāqir] said about Say, “I do not ask you any reward for it except love of my near relatives”:
They are the Imāms.
Author’s comments: The traditions the Shiʿa narrate from the Imams of the Prophet’s Household in this regard are copious in number.
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, Aḥmad, ʿAbd Allāh b. Ḥamīd, Bukhārī, Muslim, Tirmidhī, Ibn Jarīr, and Ibn Mardawayh all relate via Ṭāwūs:
Ibn ʿAbbās was asked about the verse …except love of my near relatives….
Saʿīd b. Jubayr said: “They are the near relatives of Muḥammad’s Household.”
Ibn ʿAbbās interjected: “Not so fast! The Prophet was not amongst the Quraysh save for the fact they were related to one another. So the verse means: ‘…except that you respect the relation that exists between us.’”
Author’s comments: This has been narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās by other chains as well. However, we have seen that this meaning does not fit with the verse or its context. It is strange indeed to see that some of these narrations try to claim that the verse under discussion has been abrogated by God’s saying: Say, “Whatever reward I may have asked you is for your own good. My reward lies only with God, and He is witness to all things” ().
- Abu Naʿīm and al-Daylamī narrate from Mujāhid, from Ibn ʿAbbās that the Prophet said:
I do not ask you any reward for it except love of my near relatives, that you preserve me in my Household and love them for me.
- Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, Ṭabarānī, and Ibn Mardawayh narrate with a weak chain from Saʿīd b. Jubayr that Ibn ʿAbbās said:
When the verse came down Say, “I do not ask you any reward for it except love of my near relatives” people said: “O Messenger of God! Who are these near relatives of yours whose love is a duty?”
He replied: “ʿAlī, Fāṭimah, and her two sons.”
Author’s comments: Ṭabrisī narrates the same tradition in Majmaʿ but with “her sons” (wuluduhā) instead of “her two sons” (waladāhā).
- Ibn Jarīr narrates from Abū al-Daylam:
When ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn was brought to Damascus as a prisoner and stood on its steps, a Syrian man stood up and said: “Praise God for destroying you utterly!”
So ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn asked him: “Have you read the Qur’an?”
The man said: “Yes.”
He asked: “Have you read the stanza of Ḥā Mīm?”
The man said: “Yes.”
He asked: “Have you read the verse: Say, I do not ask you any reward for it except love of my near relatives?”
The man asked: “Are you them!?”
He said: “Yes.”
Ibn Abī Ḥātim narrates from Ibn ʿAbbas: “…and whoever earns good…” means the love of Muḥammad’s Household.”
Author’s comments: A tradition to the same effect has been narrated in al-Kāfī from Muḥammad b. Muslim from Abū Jaʿfar.
- In Tafsīr al-Qummī, we read:
Ibn Abī Najrān related to me from ʿĀṣim b. Ḥamīd from Muḥammad b. Muslim: “I heard Abū Jaʿfar [Imām al-Bāqir] say about Say, “I do not ask you any reward for it except love of my near relatives: ‘This means of his Household (ahl al-bayt).’”
“He continued: ‘The Anṣār came to God’s Messenger and said: “We have given you our shelter and support already, so take some of our wealth to help you in your adversity.” Then the verse was revealed: Say, “I do not ask you any reward for it except love of my near relatives” meaning of his Household.’
“Then he said: ‘Do you not see that if a man has a friend and this friend has something against his household, his heart will not be at rest? God did not want His Messenger to feel any aversion to his community, so he enjoined upon them the love of the near relatives. That way, if they obeyed, they obeyed an obligation, and if they disobeyed, they disobeyed an obligation.’
“He said: ‘Then they dispersed from him, some of them saying: “We offered him our wealth but he said: ‘No, defend my Household after me instead.’” While others said: “God’s Messenger said no such thing, and they refused.” This is just as God related from them: Or do they say: He has forged a lie against God? So God said in response: But if God pleased, He would seal your heart—meaning: if you had forged something. And God will blot out the falsehood…—meaning He will invalidate it and confirm the truth with His words—meaning with the Imams and the Qāʾim from the Household of Muḥammad—surely He knows best what is in the breasts.’”
Author’s comments: Suyūṭī relates the story of the Anṣār in al-Durr al-Manthūr from Ṭabarānī and Ibn Mardawayh via Ibn Jubayr, but he says it is weak.
The word for “Hour” (sāʿah) is grammatically feminine, so the predicate “near” should also be feminine—qarībah. However, here it appears masculine (qarīb), suggesting that it refers to the coming of the Hour rather than the Hour itself. [Trans.] ↩︎
Because the second-person pronoun is grammatically singular. [Trans.] ↩︎
This is because laṭīf in Arabic means both “gracious” and “subtle.” [Trans.] ↩︎
The difference between a continuous and discontinuous exception is that in the former the excepted belongs to the same category as the generality, example, “All the people came except Zayd.” In the latter, however the excepted is not in the same category as the generality, example, “The angels prostrated except for Iblīs” (as Iblīs is not an angel). In this case, the question is whether or not the love of the near relatives counts as a reward for conveying God’s message. [Trans.] ↩︎
In which case, the proper translation would be: “…save for love on account of my kinship with you.” [Trans.] ↩︎
See the translation in the previous note. [Trans.] ↩︎
Translated as “near relatives” above. [Trans.] ↩︎
Mutawātir: A narration with so many independent chains of narration that there is no possibility that it could have been fabricated. ↩︎
The tradition: “I am leaving amongst you two weighty things (thaqalayn), the Book of God and my progeny of the People of my Household.” ↩︎
The tradition: “The similitude of my Household is like that of Noah’s Ark; whoever boards it will be saved, and whoever forsakes it will perish.” ↩︎
In other words, this shows that He is talking about the situation of the believers in the Hereafter because He compares it to the position of the faithless in the Hereafter. [Trans.] ↩︎
Referring to this chapter of the Qur’an, as it begins with these letters. [Trans.] ↩︎
By “wary” and “forthright”, Kumayt means that amongst the supporters of the Prophet’s Household are those who do not openly say that the verse refers to them because they are wary of persecution by their enemies, but there are others who proclaim it openly and will not keep silent. [Trans.] ↩︎