Verses 1–14
بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the name of Allah, the most Merciful, the most Compassionate
The aim of this sūrah is to warn the idolaters who reject the prophetic call to believe in God and His Messenger about the Resurrection and the painful punishment that awaits therein for those who turn away and deny. For this reason, God commences the sūrah by affirming the Resurrection: We did not create the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them except with truth… () and comes back to this theme time after time, such as when He says:
When mankind are mustered…. ()
As for him who says to his parents, “Fie on you! Do you promise me that I shall be raised…?” ()
The day when the faithless are exposed to the Fire, “You have exhausted your good things…” ()
The day when the faithless are exposed to the Fire, “Is this not a fact?” ()
Before concluding the sūrah with the words: The day when they see what they are promised, as though they had remained only an hour of a day. This is a proclamation. ()
This sūrah also contains arguments for God’s oneness and prophethood, while referring to the destruction of the people of Hūd and of villages in the vicinity of Mecca and warning the idolaters of them. It also informs them that a group of the jinn were present with the Prophet, listened to the Qur’an and believed in it before returning to their people and warning them also.
The sūrah was revealed in Mecca in its entirety aside for two verses about which commentators have disagreed. We shall look at these in our study of the traditions, God-willing. They are: Do they say, “He has fabricated it…?” () and Say, “Tell me, if it is from God…” ()
Commentary
حم ١ تَنْزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ مِنَ اللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَكِيمِ ٢
(46:1–2) Ḥā, Mīm. The sending down of the Book is from God, the All-mighty, the All-wise.
The meaning of these verses has already been explained.
مَا خَلَقْنَا السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَأَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى ۚ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا عَمَّا أُنْذِرُوا مُعْرِضُونَ ٣
(46:3) We did not create the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them except with truth and for a specified term. Yet the faithless are disregardful of what they are warned.
The heavens and the earth and whatever is between them refers to the perceptible world, both terrestrial and supernal. The preposition bāʾ (translated as with) in with truth (bi al-ḥaqq) is to signify concomitance. A specified term means that point at which the existence of a thing ends. In the verse this is the specified term for the existence of the entire universe, which alludes to the Day of Resurrection, on which the heaven will be rolled up like scrolls (see ), and the earth will be transformed into a new earth and the heavens as well, and they are presented before God, the One, the All-paramount (see ).
This means: “We did not create the perceptible universe and all of its components, the terrestrial and the supernal, except concomitant with the truth, with a fixed destination and accompanied by a specified term for its existence, which it cannot exceed. When that time comes, it will be annihilated. But it also has a fixed goal, for after this world another world will come which is the world of eternal life; the promised Resurrection.” And we already have discussed many times already what it means for creation to be concomitant with truth.
Yet the faithless are disregardful of what they are warned: On the basis of the following verse, the faithless refers to the idolaters. However, the context suggests that God is referring to their disbelief in the Resurrection which they have been warned about; the Day of Judgement and the painful punishment it holds for those who associate partners with God. It is this that they turn away from and disregard.
قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ مَا تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ أَرُونِي مَاذَا خَلَقُوا مِنَ الْأَرْضِ أَمْ لَهُمْ شِرْكٌ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ ۖ ائْتُونِي بِكِتَابٍ مِنْ قَبْلِ هَٰذَا أَوْ أَثَارَةٍ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ ٤
(46:4) Say, “Do you see what you invoke besides God. Show me what [part] of the earth have they created. Do they have any share in the heavens? Bring me a scripture before this or a trace of knowledge, should you be truthful.”
Do you see… in this context means “tell me about…” and what you invoke besides God means the idols that they would invoke and worship. After this, God refers to these idols in the plural, which is normally reserved for beings with intellects, because the idolaters would attribute the actions of intelligent beings to them. However, the argument being made in this verse applies equally to the idols and to any other deity worshipped besides God.
…Show me what of the earth have they created: Show me here has the meaning of “inform me” and what here is used as a question to which of the earth have they created is semantically attached.
Do they have any share in the heavens? This means “Do they have any share in the creation of the heavens?” because it is in the context of asking whether they have created anything in the heavens and the earth.
To clarify: They only attributed the management of the cosmos to their gods while restricting the act of creation to God alone; as God says elsewhere: If you ask them, “Who created the heavens and the earth?” they will surely say, “God” (); and: If you ask them, “Who created them?” they will surely say, “God.” () However, because the power of creation is not separable from the power of governance, this means that if their gods have some role in governing the cosmos, they must have played some role in creating it. That is why God tells His Prophet to ask them about their lords who they invoke besides God, whether they have any share in the creation of the heavens or the creation of the earth, for the notion of governance is meaningless without that of creation.
Bring me a scripture before this, or a trace of knowledge, should you be truthful: This refers to the Qur’an, and scripture before this means a divine scripture like the Torah which came down from God in which He mentions that their gods have some share in the creation of the heavens or the earth.
According to Rāghib, trace (athārah) is a verbal noun with the meaning of narration or transmission. He says: “I trace knowledge means I narrated it, and the original meaning of this is to follow something’s tracks.” With this in mind, trace in the verse is a verbal noun being used with the meaning of a passive participle, namely “a thing transmitted.” So a trace of knowledge means some knowledge which has been transmitted to the effect that their gods have any share in the heavens and the earth. However, most commentators have interpreted trace in the sense of vestige, which is very close in meaning to what we have said above.
So this verse means: “If you want to show that they have some share with God in the creation of anything in the heavens or the earth, then you must bring me proof; whether a divine scripture from before the Qur’an that mentions that, some knowledge that has been transmitted, or some vestige of knowledge that confirms this, if you are really truthful in your claim that they are God’s partners.”
وَمَنْ أَضَلُّ مِمَّنْ يَدْعُو مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَنْ لَا يَسْتَجِيبُ لَهُ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَهُمْ عَنْ دُعَائِهِمْ غَافِلُونَ ٥
(46:5) Who is more astray than him who invokes besides God such as would not respond to him at the Day of Resurrection, and who are oblivious of their invocation?
This is a rhetorical question (meaning “no one is more astray”) and it establishes that their invocations will not be answered on the Day of Resurrection because the Day of Resurrection is the appointed term of this world, but their invocations are limited to this world and this world shall be no more when the Hour sets in.
Yet another description of their gods in addition to the fact that they will not respond to their invocations. This phrase is not intended to explain why they will not answer their invocations, because the reason for this is that they do not possess anything for their worshippers, as God says: Say, “Do you worship, besides God, what has no power to bring you any benefit or harm…?” ().
Rather, their being oblivious is in addition to the fact that they will not respond. And this is mentioned in preparation of what shall be said in the next verse about their enmity towards them and their disavowal of their worship on the Day of Resurrection. For in this world they are oblivious of their invocations and shall only become aware of them on the Day of Resurrection, at which point they will become opponents of them and disavow their worship.
This verse suggests that life and awareness to some extent inheres in all things, even in inanimate objects such as idols made of wood or stone. After all, it calls them oblivious and being oblivious is a state of being for something with ability to sense; it is only used in relation to things whose nature it is to sense.
وَإِذَا حُشِرَ النَّاسُ كَانُوا لَهُمْ أَعْدَاءً وَكَانُوا بِعِبَادَتِهِمْ كَافِرِينَ ٦
(46:6) When mankind are mustered, they will be their enemies, and they will disavow their worship.
“To muster” (ḥashr) means to take something out of its place by coercion; here it refers to the resurrection of people from their graves and driving them to the place of gathering on the Day of Resurrection. On that day their own gods will be their enemies and disavow their idolatrous worship. This is as God says elsewhere: and on the Day of Resurrection they will forswear your idolatry (). He also quotes them as saying: We plead our innocence before You: it was not us that they worshipped (). Elsewhere still, they are recorded as saying: …God suffices as a witness between you and us. We were indeed unaware of your worship ().
Both of these verses allude to the fact that inanimate objects such as these, which we do not think have any life in this world because we see no trace of it in them, will be shown to be alive in the Hereafter. We have already spoken about this to some extent in our commentary on the verse: They will say, “We were given speech by God, who gave speech to all things…” ().
وَإِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُنَا بَيِّنَاتٍ قَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لِلْحَقِّ لَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ هَٰذَا سِحْرٌ مُبِينٌ ٧
(46:7) When Our manifest signs are recited to them, the faithless say of the truth when it comes to them: “This is plain magic.”
This verse and the one that follows it are to be read as a rebuke of the faithless. Manifest signs means the verses of the Qur’an which are recited to them. This is substituted with the truth that has come to them when God says of the truth when it comes to them… instead of just saying “of it” to show that these signs are the truth which has come to them. In other words, there is no way to paint these verses as plain magic while they know that they are the manifest truth. Rather, all they are doing is rejecting the truth without evidence and behaving arrogantly towards it.
أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَرَاهُ ۖ قُلْ إِنِ افْتَرَيْتُهُ فَلَا تَمْلِكُونَ لِي مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئًا ۖ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا تُفِيضُونَ فِيهِ ۖ كَفَىٰ بِهِ شَهِيدًا بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكُمْ ۖ وَهُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ ٨
(46:8) Do they say, “He has fabricated it?” Say, “Should I have fabricated it, you would not avail me anything against God. He best knows what you gossip concerning it. He suffices as a witness between me and you, and He is the All-forgiving, the All-merciful.”
Or (am) here is discontinuous, meaning: “Rather they say he has fabricated the Qur’an and claimed that it is the speech of God.”
Say, “Should I have fabricated it, you would not avail me anything against God” means: “If I had fabricated the Qur’an for your sake, God would have seized me with punishment or hastened me to punishment for this lie. And if that were the case, there would be nothing you could do to protect me from His punishment. So why would I fabricate anything for your sakes?” The essence of the argument is: “I am certain of God’s command and I know that He would seize the one who fabricates anything against Him or hasten Him to punishment. You, on the other hand, cannot prevent God from doing whatever He wants. So why would I make something like this up and put expose myself to certain punishment for you?” In other words: I have fabricated nothing against Him.
From this it becomes clear that the consequent of the conditional sentence Should I have fabricated it… is intentionally left implicit. And in its place, a phrase is put indicating that there is no external obstacle to this consequence being realized. In other words: “If I fabricated it, God would seize me and punish me, and there would be nothing you could do to prevent that!” It should not be read as mentioning the effect instead of the cause, as some commentators have suggested.
He best knows what you gossip concerning it: Gossip means idle chatter. What is either a relative noun to which concerning it refers or it is verbal in meaning, in which case it refers to the Qur’an. This means: “God knows best what you gossip about; denying the Qur’an with accusations of sorcery and fabrication.” Or: “God knows best what you gossip about the Qur’an.”
He suffices as a witness between me and you: This is a second argument against the Qur’an being a fabrication. The first argument was Should I have fabricated it, you would not avail me anything against God, which we have already explained. The meaning of the second argument is: “The fact that God himself testifies in His speech that this is His speech and not a fabrication of mine is sufficient to show that I did not fabricate it.” And God has declared this claim to be true in the verse: But God bears witness to what He has sent down to you; He sent it down with His knowledge… () and there are other verses to this effect too. As for proving that the Qur’an is actually His words, the verses challenging the faithless to produce something equal to it are sufficient for that.
…and He is the All-forgiving, the All-merciful: God follows His arguments against their false and arbitrary judgements against prophethood by mentioning these two names, as if He wishes to say: “Your accusation: He has fabricated it actually consists of two claims; first that this Qur’an is not actually God’s speech, and second that there is no such thing as prophethood (because the idolaters rejected this altogether). As for your first claim, this is refuted firstly by the fact that had he fabricated it, you would not avail him anything etc. and secondly because God suffices as a witness that this is His speech and not my own.
“As for your second claim, this is refuted by the fact that God is All-forgiving, All-merciful. And it is the necessary consequence of His wisdom that He treats His creatures with mercy and clemency, and these only encompass those who turn to him, repent and are worthy of that. For this reason, God guides them to the Straight Path, which they travel upon to gain nearness to Him and his forgiveness and mercy. These take the form of them being unburdened of their evil deeds and being admitted to the abode of eternal happiness. This is the necessary consequence of His wisdom because they are worthy of this perfection and He is the most generous and magnanimous one. God says: and the bounty of your Lord is not confined (); With God rests guidance to the straight path (). The way to bestow this guidance upon them is through the prophetic missions, therefore the Divine Wisdom makes it necessary for God to send people a messenger who will lead them to the path that will convey them to His forgiveness and His mercy.”
قُلْ مَا كُنْتُ بِدْعًا مِنَ الرُّسُلِ وَمَا أَدْرِي مَا يُفْعَلُ بِي وَلَا بِكُمْ ۖ إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ إِلَّا مَا يُوحَىٰ إِلَيَّ وَمَا أَنَا إِلَّا نَذِيرٌ مُبِينٌ ٩
(46:9) Say, “I am not a novelty among the Messengers, nor do I know what will be done with me, or with you. I just follow whatever is revealed to me, and I am just a manifest warner.”
A novelty means one without precedent, whether in characteristics, words, or deeds. Some interpret this to mean: “I am not the first messenger sent to you without any messenger before me.” It is also said: “I am not saying or doing anything novel compared to the messengers that came before me.”
The first meaning does not match the context, nor the coda of the previous verse and He is the All-forgiving, the All-merciful with the reading we have given. So the second of the two meanings for this verse is more appropriate. Therefore, this verse means: “I am not contravening any of the previous prophets, whether in my appearance or my conduct; in word or in deed. Rather I am a man like them with all the human frailties they are subject to. Their way of life is my way of life.”
With this statement, God responds to what He has quoted from the idolaters elsewhere: And they say, “What sort of Messenger is this who eats food and walks in the marketplaces? Why has not an angel been sent down to him so as to be a warner along with him? Or a treasure thrown to him, or [why does] he [not] have a garden from which he may eat?” ()
…nor do I know what will be done with me, or with you: Here he denies having any knowledge of the unseen from himself. This is like his saying elsewhere: Had I known the Unseen, I would have acquired much good, and no ill would have befallen me (). The difference between the two verses is that when he says Had I known the Unseen… this negates knowledge of the unseen in general and attests to this by the fact that he suffers ill and does not acquire much good. On the other hand, when he says: nor do I know what will be done with me, or with you this negates a specific kind of knowledge of the unseen, namely what will be done with him and them in happenings that they will all face. He says this because the idolaters claimed that someone with the powers of prophethood, if there was such a person, should have innate knowledge of the unseen almost without restriction. This belief is demonstrated by the many demands that the Qur’an relates from them. In response, God tells him to openly admit that he has no knowledge of what will happen to them or him and thus denying that he has any knowledge of the unseen from himself. Moreover, he means to say that whatever happens to him or them is beyond his ability to control; he has no say in it. Rather God will do whatever He pleases with them.
Moreover, when he says nor do I know what will be done with me, or with you, this not only negates knowledge of the unseen from him, but also any power to control what will befall them and him from the realm of the unseen.
But when this verse denies he has knowledge of the unseen, this does not preclude him knowing things about the unseen by way of revelation. This is as God says in numerous places throughout the Qur’an:
These accounts are from the Unseen, which We reveal to you…. (, )
These are accounts of the Unseen, We reveal them to you…. ()
Knower of the Unseen, He does not disclose His Unseen to anyone, except to a Messenger He approves of. ()
Also in this category is what Jesus says in the verse: And I will tell you what you have eaten and what you have stored in your houses (), and what Joseph says to his cellmates in prison: Before the meals you are served come to you, I will inform you of its interpretation. That is among things my Lord has taught me. ()
The reason there is no contradiction between these two groups of verses is that those verses which deny he or any prophet has knowledge of the unseen are negating it from their human nature. In other words that they have a human nature or a superhuman nature which allows them to have knowledge of the unseen which they can use to win benefits and avoid harm; this would be in the same way that we use normal worldly means. However, there is nothing preventing the unseen being revealed to them by divine instruction through revelation. This is in the same vein as the miracles which they were given; they did not perform these by any abilities they possessed in of their own selves. Rather all these miracles were performed by God’s leave, as He says in response to their demands for signs: Say: “Immaculate is my Lord! Am I anything but a human, a Messenger?” (). And elsewhere, he says: Say: “The signs are only with God, and I am only a manifest warner.” (); and A Messenger may not bring any sign except by God’s permission. Hence when God’s edict comes, judgment is made with truth… (40:87).
This is further attested to by what He says next, I just follow whatever is revealed to me. That this statement continues on from his previous one indicates that this is meant as a divergence, in other words: “I don’t know anything about these events of the unseen from my own self; rather, I follow what has been revealed to me.”
And I am just a manifest warner affirms everything that has come before it in the verse; I am not a novelty…, nor do I know… and I just follow….
Discourse
The discussion “A Philosophical Excursus” appears here in the printed volume. Read it in the Al-Mizan App.
Commentary continues:
قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ كَانَ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ وَكَفَرْتُمْ بِهِ وَشَهِدَ شَاهِدٌ مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ عَلَىٰ مِثْلِهِ فَآمَنَ وَاسْتَكْبَرْتُمْ ۖ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ١٠
(46:10) Say, “Tell me, if it is from God and you disbelieve in it, and a witness from the Children of Israel has testified to its like and believed, while you are disdainful?” Indeed God does not guide the wrongdoing lot.
Based on the context, the pronoun it in it is, in it, and its like refers to the Qur’an. And a witness from the Children of Israel is joined to the antecedent of the conditional sentence if… and shares its consequent. The like of the Qur’an means its likeness in terms of the divine teachings it contains, and this refers to the original Torah that was sent down to Moses. And believed, while you are disdainful means that the aforementioned Israelite witness believed after testifying to it.
Indeed God does not guide the wrongdoing lot: This explains the reason for the consequent for the conditional sentence if… which has been left implicit. It appears that the meaning of this consequent is: “If…then are you not astray?” It is not, as some have suggested “If… then are you not wrongdoers?” Because their wrongdoing is the reason God gives for it, so it only makes sense if we assume that that this is explaining their being astray, even though they are described as both wrongdoers and being astray here.
So the verse means: “Say to the idolaters: ‘Tell me, if this Qur’an was from God and you have disbelieved in it while a witness from the Children of Israel has born witness to teachings like those of the Qur’an and believed, while you yourselves disdain to do so, then aren’t you in error? For surely God does not guide a wrongdoing people.’”
According to some accounts, the one who bore witness to its likeness and believed in it is ʿAbd Allāh b. Salām, one of the Jewish scholars, making this verse Medinan, as he was a resident of that city. Other commentators have said that it is possible that the past tense is used in the phrase and a witness from the Children of Israel has testified to its like and believed because it is something that will definitely come to pass, but this is referring to a future event. However this is not a reasonable interpretation because it does not fit the context of the verse, which is presenting arguments to the idolaters. After all, if the idolaters do not believe that the Prophet is truthful, they are hardly going to accept what he tells them about future events!
There are other interpretations of this verse. For instance, that the one who bore witness to its likeness and believed is Moses; he witnessed the Torah and believed in it. The only reason for commentators to adopt is if they assume that this verse is Meccan while ʿAbd Allāh b. Salām embraced Islam in Medina.
However, first of all: there is no evidence to say that this verse is Meccan. Rather, the account of ʿAbd Allāh b. Salām suggests that it was revealed in Medina. Second, this makes Moses the criterion for these uncivilized idolaters to judge by, meaning God is effectively saying: “Moses believed in the scripture that was sent down to him, but you are too arrogant to believe in the Qur’an!” The foolishness of this is plain to see.
Another reading is that the meaning of likeness in this verse is “the fact of the matter” as God says Nothing is like His likeness (), but this is just as unlikely as the previous reading.
وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَوْ كَانَ خَيْرًا مَا سَبَقُونَا إِلَيْهِ ۚ وَإِذْ لَمْ يَهْتَدُوا بِهِ فَسَيَقُولُونَ هَٰذَا إِفْكٌ قَدِيمٌ ١١
(46:11) The faithless say to the faithful, “Had it been good, they would not have taken the lead over us toward it.” And since they were not guided by it, they will say, “This is an ancient lie.”
It is said: To (li) in to the faithful is for causation (taʿlīl), meaning “on account of their faith”, and toward it can be interpreted as “in it” (fī). It in had it and toward it both refers to the Qur’an from the aspect of believing in it.
This means: “The faithless say about the faithful—on account of their belief—if believing in the Qur’an was any good, the faithful would not have taken the lead over us toward it.”
Some commentators have suggested that the faithful refers to some of the faithful, and they in they would not have taken the lead refers to another group. Then the to in say to the faithful keeps its original meaning, which together makes the meaning: “The faithless tell some of the faithful: ‘Had it been good, those other believers would not have taken the lead over us toward it….’” However, this reading is unlikely given the context.
Other commentators have suggested that the faithful refers to all the believers, but when the faithless say they would have not taken the lead this is a transition in address; so instead of saying you [pl.] would not have taken the lead… and this is just as unlikely as the one before it. Moreover, it is not a transition in address to keep speaking to people present while referring to them in the third-person.
And since they were not guided by it, they will say, “This is an ancient lie”: By it refers to the Qur’an, as does this. Lie means fabrication. Meaning: If they are not guided by the Qur’an because of their disdain for believing in it, the faithless will say: “This Qur’an is an ancient fabrication.” And when they call it an ancient lie this is like their saying: These are nothing but myths of the ancients ().
وَمِنْ قَبْلِهِ كِتَابُ مُوسَىٰ إِمَامًا وَرَحْمَةً ۚ وَهَٰذَا كِتَابٌ مُصَدِّقٌ لِسَانًا عَرَبِيًّا لِيُنْذِرَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا وَبُشْرَىٰ لِلْمُحْسِنِينَ ١٢
(46:12) Yet before it the Book of Moses was a leader and a mercy, and this is a Book which confirms it, in an Arabic tongue to warn those who do wrong, and is a good news for the virtuous.
Yet before it appears to be a qualifying sentence (jumlah ḥāliyyah). This means: “They will say: ‘This is an ancient lie’ but the Book of Moses was a guide and a mercy for people before the Qur’an, and this Qur’an is a book confirming it, only in an Arabic tongue as a warning to the wrongdoers and a good news for the virtuous, so how can this be a lie?”
The Torah is described as a leader (imām) and a mercy because the Israelites would follow it in their daily lives, and it was a mercy for those who believed in it and followed it in order to reform themselves.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ١٣
(46:13) Indeed those who say, “Our Lord is God,” and then go aright, then they will have no fear, nor will they grieve.
Saying Our Lord is God means they affirm and bear witness to the fact that lordship belongs to God alone and that He is the only lord. “Go aright” (istaqāmū) means they hold fast to what they bear witness to without deviating or going astray, and they observe the practical requirements of this.
…then they will have no fear, nor will they grieve. This means there is no possible harm or punishment coming for them which they should fear, nor any harm that befalls them in the form of a punishment or terror for which they should grieve. People only fear harm that may come to them and they only grieve for harm they have suffered. Then in then they will have no fear is to suggest a conditional relationship between this and the first part of the verse, in other words: Whoever says “Our Lord is God” and then goes aright shall have no fear, etc.
أُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ١٤
(46:14) They shall be the companions of paradise, remaining in it—a reward for what they used to do.
They are called companions (aṣḥāb) of paradise in the sense that they will always stay with it. Remaining in it is a circumstantial qualifier which further emphasizes the fact that they will never leave it.
So the verses mean: “Those who say ‘Our Lord is God’ then go aright will remain forever in Paradise as a recompense for their obedience and sacrifice in this world.”
Examining Narrations
- In al-Kāfī, with a chain of narrators from Abī ʿUbaydah:
I asked Abū Jaʿfar about the verse Bring me a scripture before this or a trace of knowledge, should you be truthful ().
He said: “By a scripture He means the Torah or the Evangel; by a trace of knowledge he means none other than the knowledge of the successors to the prophets.”
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, Aḥmad, Ibn Mundhir, Ibn Abī Ḥātam, Ṭabarānī, and Ibn Mardawayh narrate from Abū Salamah b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, from Ibn ʿAbbās, from the Prophet:
A trace of knowledge means “writing” (al-khaṭṭ).
Author’s comments: Perhaps by writing he means a written book that has been received from the Prophets or earlier scholars. But in some of the narrations explaining the phrase or a trace of knowledge it means something well-written or elegantly written. However this is alien to the context of the argument in the verse.
- In ʿUyūn, in the chapter describing al-Riḍā’s meeting with Maʾmūn, he relates from his father, from his grandfather, from their forefathers, from al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī:
The Helpers and the Emigrants met with God’s Messenger and said: “O Messenger of God! You are in need of maintenance [for your living] and for those delegations who come to you. This wealth of ours is [yours] with our blood. So dispose of them kindly and gainfully; give whatever you wish and judge whatever you wish without worry!”
So God sent down the Trusted Spirit, who told him: “O Muḥammad! Say: ‘I do not ask you any reward for it except love of relatives.’” This means: “That you love my near relatives after me.” So the people went out and the hypocrites said: “Nothing motivated the Messenger of God to refuse our offer except to encourage us to love his near relatives after him. This is just something he made up in his meeting!” And this is a grave thing for them to say.
Then God sent down the verse: Do they say, “He has fabricated it?” Say, “Should I have fabricated it, you would not avail me anything against God. He best knows what you gossip concerning it. He suffices as a witness between me and you, and He is the All-forgiving, the All-merciful.” () When he received this verse, the Prophet sent for them and asked: “Did something happen?” They said: “Yes, by God, O Messenger of God! Some of us spoke harsh words that we disliked.” Then God’s Messenger recited the verse to them and they began to weep profusely. So God sent down the verse: It is He who accepts the repentance of His servants, and excuses their misdeeds and knows what you do ().
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, Abū Dāwūd narrates in his Nāsikh via ʿIkrimah, from Ibn ʿAbbās, about the verse nor do I know what will be done with me, or with you ():
This verse was abrogated by the verse in al-Fatḥ, so the Prophet came out to give them the good news of what he had been forgiven of sins past and future. Then a man from amongst the faithful said: “Congratulations, O Prophet of God! Now we know what He will do with you, so what will He do with us?” So God sent down the verse in Sūrah al-Aḥzāb: Announce to the faithful the good news that there will be for them a great grace from God () and He said: That He may admit the faithful, men and women, into gardens with streams running in them, to remain in them, and that He may absolve them of their misdeeds. That is a great success with God (). So God made clear what He would do with him and with them.
Author’s comments: However, there are several issues with this narration. First of all, we have already explained that the verse nor do I know what will be done with me, or with you has nothing to do with knowledge that the Prophet receives by way of revelation, as the Qur’an itself makes clear. So this verse does not negate the Prophet’s knowledge of God’s forgiveness that he has received by way of revelation in order for it to need abrogating by the verse in Sūrah al-Fatḥ.
Secondly, the apparent meaning of the narration is that the sin (dhanb) whose forgiveness is promised in the verse from Sūrah al-Fatḥ is sin in the sense of disobeying God’s commands and prohibitions. However, it will become clear when we study this verse later that it does not mean this.
Thirdly, there are a vast number of verses indicating that the faithful will enter paradise, in both Meccan and Medinan sūrahs, and the two verses of Sūrah al-Aḥzāb do not suggest anything more than what all these other verses describe. So there is no need to single them out to show that the faithful will enter paradise and be encompassed by God’s mercy.
Finally, Sūrah al-Aḥzāb was revealed some time before Sūrah al-Fatḥ, and the chronology presented above is not consistent with this.
- Abū Yaʿlā, Ibn Jarīr, Ṭabarānī, and Ḥākim narrate a tradition, which Ḥākim declares authentic, with an authentic chain of narration going back to ʿAwf b. Mālik al-Ashjaʿī. He says:
The Prophet set off while I was with him, until we came to the Jewish temple on a festival day of theirs. And they disliked for us to visit them on this occasion.
God’s Messenger said to them: “Show me twelve men from amongst you who bear witness that there is no god but God and Muḥammad is the Messenger of God. And God will remove His wrath from every Jew beneath the parchment of the heavens.” So they went quiet and no one answered him. Then he repeated the offer but no one responded. Then he repeated it a third time and no one responded. So he said: “You refuse! Then by God I am the summoner (ḥāshir), I am the follower (ʿāqib) and I am the last (muqaffī), whether you believe or deny!”
Then he made to leave while I was with him until we had almost gone out when a man came behind him and said: “As you are, O Muḥammad!” Then he turned around and that man said: “Which man amongst you knows me, O Jews?” They said: “We know of no man more learned about God’s book, nor with a better understanding than you, or your father, or your grandfather!” Then he said: “Then I bear witness by God that he is the Prophet that you find in the Torah and the Evangel.” They said: “Liar!” Then they rejected him and reviled him. So God’s Messenger said: “It is you [pl.] who have lied, and your word will never be accepted.”
So we left, the three of us—God’s Messenger, myself and Ibn Salām—and then God revealed the verse: Say, “Tell me, if it is from God and you disbelieve in it, and a witness from the Children of Israel has testified to its like and believed, while you are disdainful?” Indeed God does not guide the wrongdoing lot.
Author’s comments: There are other narrations about ʿAbd Allāh b. Salām which have been narrated through Sunni chains with regard to this verse. However, the context of the verse and the fact God says from the Children of Israel means it does not make sense that it should also be addressed to the Israelites. Moreover, this narration counts the Evangel as one of their books when, in fact, they do not believe in it.
Some other narrations say that this verse was revealed about Ibn Yāmīn, who was one of their scholars, when he embraced Islam and the Jews denied him. However, the same problems still apply.
In which case the verse should be rendered: “He best knows what you gossip about.” [Trans.] ↩︎
Which is how the verse has been rendered in the text. [Trans.] ↩︎
Otherwise this would be a circular argument. [Trans.] ↩︎
That is because a transition (iltifāt) means that you turn to address someone else, not the same person. Otherwise this is not a transition. [Trans.] ↩︎
Meaning the verse that God may forgive you what is past of your sin and what is to come (). ↩︎