Verses 25–29
In the previous section, God called attention to the hardening hearts of the faithful and their laxity and reluctance to obey the ordinances of His religion, especially those pertaining to spending in the way of God, which is in support of the command to fight in His way. In that section, He compared them to the People of the Book, whose hearts also hardened with the passage of time.
This section explains that the goal of God in sending divine messengers to humankind and sending down the Book and the Balance with them is so that people might maintain justice and live in a just and fair society. It also says that He sent down iron to try His servants with the duty of defending their virtuous community and spreading the word of truth in the land, in addition to the benefits that they can obtain through its use.
Then it mentions that God sent Noah and Abraham and placed prophethood and scripture amongst their descendants, and followed them with messenger after messenger. And that this continued amongst the nations, with some of them having faith and being guided and many of them transgressing. The chapter ends by calling on the faithful to perfect and complete their faith that they may receive a double measure of mercy.
Commentary
لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَنْزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْمِيزَانَ لِيَقُومَ النَّاسُ بِالْقِسْطِ ۖ وَأَنْزَلْنَا الْحَدِيدَ فِيهِ بَأْسٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلِيَعْلَمَ اللَّهُ مَنْ يَنْصُرُهُ وَرُسُلَهُ بِالْغَيْبِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ ٢٥
(57:25) Certainly We sent Our messengers with manifest proofs, and We sent down with them the Book and the Balance, so that mankind may maintain justice; and We sent down iron, in which there is great might and uses for mankind, and so that Allah may know those who help Him and His messengers in (their) absence. Indeed Allah is all-strong, all-mighty.
This verse represents the beginning of a new discussion, which explains the meaning of promulgating the religion of truth by sending messengers and sending down the Book and the Balance with them. It says that the goal behind this is so that human beings can maintain justice, and that God tested humankind by sending down iron, to distinguish those who will come to God’s aid in the absence of the messengers. It also shows that prophethood is something that continued through the generations of humankind, and that some members of each nation were guided, while many were transgressors.
Certainly We sent Our messengers with manifest proofs: That is, with clear signs that showed them to be prophets sent by God, such as wondrous miracles, manifest prophecies, and definitive arguments.
… and We sent down with them the Book: Referring to the revelation that can be written down and thus become scripture, containing the teachings of the religion, including beliefs and practices. This refers to five scriptures in total: Those of Noah, Abraham, the Torah, the Evangel, and the Qurʾan.
… and the Balance (al–Mīzān), so that mankind may maintain justice: Scholars have said a mīzān refers to a scale with two hands that is used to measure weights and say that the phrase, so that mankind may maintain justice, explains the purpose of sending down the Balance.
Therefore, the meaning of the verse is: ‘We sent down the Balance so that humankind may maintain justice in their dealings and not lose through errors in the measurement of weights or in ascertaining the relative value of one thing to another.’ This is because the human being’s life depends upon community, and community depends upon the dealings and exchanges of goods and services between its members, and dealings involving weights depends upon maintaining the relative value of different things, and this is the purpose of the Balance.
It is possible that the Balance in this verse symbolizes the religion, for the religion is the measure of people’s beliefs and their deeds, and it is the religion that constitutes the foundation of a happy life for people, both in a community and as individuals. This interpretation fits well with the context of the verse, insofar as it occurs within a discussion about people’s reverence for God versus the hardness of their hearts, and their seriousness and laxity in the matter of religion. Some have also said that the Balance here symbolizes justice or intellect.
… and We sent down iron: This appears to be in the same vein as the verse, … and He has sent down for you eight mates of the cattle (). In our commentary on this verse, we saw that God refers to the act of creating things upon the earth as ‘sending down’ (inzāl). This is because He describes the coming into being of things in the cosmos as their being ‘sent down’ from the treasuries that exist with him, and from the realm of the Unseen to the material realm, There is not a thing but that its sources are with Us, and We do not send it down except in a known measure ().
… in which there is great might (baʾs) and uses for mankind: The term baʾs means to be powerful in effect, and it is usually used to refer to violence. Wars, battles, and all manner of defensive actions have depended on iron and the arms and armor made from it ever since human beings became aware of it and learnt how to utilise it.
As for the uses it provides for humankind, these are self-evident and do not require explanation, for iron is used in all areas of life and all industries in one form or another.
… and so that Allah may know those who help Him and His messengers in absence: This phrase explains the purpose for which God sent down iron. In the context of this verse, helping God and His messengers means to strive in His way by waging jihād in order to defend the community of the faithful from its enemies and spread the message of truth. To help Him in absence here means to help while He is absent from them or when they are absent from Him. The verse says so that Allah may know those who help does not mean that God does not know who will help, rather it means so that they might be distinguished from those who do not know in the external world.
The verse concludes with the coda, indeed Allah is all-strong, all-mighty, is to emphasise that God’s command to them to strive in His way was only to distinguish which of them will obey His commands from which will not, and not because He has any need for a helper to come to His aid, this is because He is all-powerful, not afflicted by any weakness, and all-mighty, not afflicted by any limitation.
وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ وَجَعَلْنَا فِي ذُرِّيَّتِهِمَا النُّبُوَّةَ وَالْكِتَابَ ۖ فَمِنْهُمْ مُهْتَدٍ ۖ وَكَثِيرٌ مِنْهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ ٢٦
(57:26) Certainly We sent Noah and Abraham and We ordained among their descendants prophethood and the Book. Some of them are guided, and many of them are transgressors.
In this verse, God begins to explain that being guided and transgression were tendencies that existed from past nations until the present day amongst all their members, and, in fact, many of them remain transgressors. The pronoun ‘them’ in some of them are guided, and many of them are transgressors, refers back to ‘their descendants.’ The remainder of the verse’s meaning is clear.
ثُمَّ قَفَّيْنَا عَلَىٰ آثَارِهِمْ بِرُسُلِنَا وَقَفَّيْنَا بِعِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْإِنْجِيلَ وَجَعَلْنَا فِي قُلُوبِ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُ رَأْفَةً وَرَحْمَةً وَرَهْبَانِيَّةً ابْتَدَعُوهَا مَا كَتَبْنَاهَا عَلَيْهِمْ إِلَّا ابْتِغَاءَ رِضْوَانِ اللَّهِ فَمَا رَعَوْهَا حَقَّ رِعَايَتِهَا ۖ فَآتَيْنَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْهُمْ أَجْرَهُمْ ۖ وَكَثِيرٌ مِنْهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ ٢٧
(57:27) Then We followed them up (qaffaynā ʿalā āthāri–him) with Our messengers and We followed with Jesus son of Mary, and We gave him the Evangel, and We put in the hearts of those who followed him kindness and mercy. But as for monasticism, they innovated it—We had not prescribed it for them—only seeking Allah’s pleasure. Yet they did not observe it with due observance. So We gave to the faithful among them their reward, but many of them are transgressors.
In Majmaʿ al-bayān, we read: ‘Taqfiyya (‘to follow’, from which qaffaynā is derived) means to continuously place one thing after another. That is why the word qawāfī—which is derived from the same root—is used to refer to the rhyme-scheme of poetry, as the rhyme of the poem depends upon the ending of the verses, and the rhyme appears at the end of each and every verse of the poem.’
The pronoun ‘them’ in ‘We followed them up’ refers to Noah, Abraham, and those of their descendants who have come before. The evidence for this is that there is no prophet after Noah save that they were from His descendants, because all of humanity is descended from Noah. As for the fact that Jesus is a descendant of Abraham, see the verse about Noah, and made his descendants the survivors (); and the verse, and from his offspring, David and Solomon … and Zechariah, John, Jesus … (). Therefore, the meaning of the verse, then We followed them up with Our messengers, means: ‘We followed Noah and Abraham with their later descendants and their earlier descendants…’
The phrase, We followed them up, also shows that there is a single path, in which each prophet follows the previous one.
… and We followed with Jesus son of Mary, and We gave him the Evangel, and We put in the hearts of those who followed him kindness and mercy: According to what commentators have said, kindness and mercy are synonymous with one another, though some relate that kindness (raʾfa) refers to repelling harm, while mercy (raḥma) refers to attracting benefit.
When God says that He put kindness and mercy in the hearts of those who follow Jesus, this means that He inspired them to show kindness and mercy to one another. So they lived on the basis of mutual support and peacefulness, in a similar vein to God’s description of those who are with the Prophet, merciful amongst themselves (). Some have said that putting kindness and mercy in their hearts means commanding them to show kindness and mercy to one another and promising a divine reward in return.
But as for monasticism (ruhbāniyya), they innovated it (ibtadaʿū–hā)—We had not prescribed it for them: The term rubhābiyya is originally derived from the word rahba, meaning ‘fear’ (khashya), it is commonly used to refer to someone who has isolated himself from other people to worship God out of fear of Him. Ibtidāʿ (‘to innovate’) means to devise something without precedent in religion, tradition, or craft. When God says, We had not prescribed it for them, it is as though this is in response to the question, ‘What do you mean that they innovated it?’
Therefore, the meaning is: ‘They made monasticism up for themselves; We did not ordain it for them.’
… only seeking Allah’s pleasure. Yet they did not observe it with due observance: Meaning that we did not impose monasticism on them, but they imposed it on themselves in pursuit of God’s pleasure and His reward. However, they did not maintain it as they should, because they overstepped its bounds. This also suggests that this was still something pleasing to God, even if He did not legislate it and they innovated it.
So We gave to the faithful among them their reward, but many of them are transgressors: This shows that Jesus’s nation was like those of other messengers before it, in that it contained believers who will be rewarded for their faith but also that many of them—in fact, most of them—were transgressors.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَآمِنُوا بِرَسُولِهِ يُؤْتِكُمْ كِفْلَيْنِ مِنْ رَحْمَتِهِ وَيَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ نُورًا تَمْشُونَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ۚ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ ٢٨
(57:28) O you who have faith! Be wary of Allah and have faith in His Messenger. He will grant you a double share of His mercy and give you a light to walk by, and forgive you, and Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful;
In this verse, God commands the faithful to be wary of Him and to have faith in His Messenger. Note that those ‘who have faith’ already have faith in God and His Messenger. Therefore, the meaning of this command to have faith in the Messenger is to follow him fully and obey him completely in his commands and prohibitions, whether these commands and prohibitions pertain to divine laws or his role as the ruler of the nation. This is as God says elsewhere, But no, by your Lord! They will not believe until they make you a judge in their disputes, then do not find within their hearts any dissent to your verdict and submit in full submission ().
Therefore, this is a command to have faith to those who already have faith, which represents a higher level of faith than mere belief, whereby a person’s faith is sufficiently weak that it might not lead to action emanating from them. This explains the meaning of the phrase, He will grant you a double share of His mercy—as He is promising reward upon reward, just as He is commanding faith upon faith.
Some have said that the meaning of God granting them a double share of His mercy means giving them double the reward of the faithful from the People of the Book. It is as if to say, ‘He will give you the reward He promised to the People of the Book twice over, because, like them, you believe in all the previous prophets, but you also believe in the Final Prophet without drawing any distinction between one messenger and another.’
… and give you a light to walk by: Some commentators have said this means on the Day of Resurrection and refers to the light mentioned in the verse, with their light moving swiftly before them and on their right ().
However, the problem with this interpretation is that there is no evidence that this light refers to the same the light the faithful will have on the Day of Resurrection. After all, they shall have both a light to walk by in this world, as we see in the verse, is he who was lifeless, then We gave him life and provided him with a light by which he walks among the people, like one who dwells in a manifold darkness which he cannot leave? (), and a light to walk by in the Hereafter, as we see in the verse, the day you will see the faithful, men and women, with their light moving swiftly before them and on their right ().
God completes this promise to grant the faithful two shares of mercy and a light by which they can walk by with a further promise to grant them forgiveness: … and forgive you, and Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful;
لِئَلَّا يَعْلَمَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ أَلَّا يَقْدِرُونَ عَلَىٰ شَيْءٍ مِنْ فَضْلِ اللَّهِ ۙ وَأَنَّ الْفَضْلَ بِيَدِ اللَّهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ ۚ وَاللَّهُ ذُو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظِيمِ ٢٩
(57:29) lest the People of the Book think (li–illā yaʿlam) that they have no power over anything of Allah’s grace, and that all grace is in Allah’s hand which He grants to whomever He wishes and Allah is dispenser of a great grace.
Based on the context in which it occurs, this verse appears to shift from addressing the believers directly to address the Prophet individually. The meaning of ʿilm in the phrase, lest the People of the Book think…, is any kind of belief (i.e. ‘to think’), rather than knowledge in the strict sense of the word ʿilm. The pronoun ‘they’ in …that they have no power over anything of Allah’s grace refers to the faithful. This verse alludes to the rationale behind the preceding verse.
Therefore the meaning is: ‘We only commanded them to have faith upon faith and promised the to give them a double share of mercy, a light to walk by, and forgiveness for their sins lest the People of the Book imagine that the faithful have no power over anything of God’s grace, in contrast to the believers from the People of the Book. This is because the faithful will be given their reward twice if they believe.’
Some have said that the preposition li-illā (‘lest’) in the phrase li-illā yaʿlam (‘lest… think’) is superfluous and the pronoun they in that they have no power refers to the People of the Book. In this case, the meaning becomes: ‘We have only promised this to the faithful so that the People of the Book will know, when they say, “Whoever of us believe in your Book will have two rewards and whoever does not believe in it will have a single reward for their belief in our book,” that they have no power over anything of God’s grace so long as they do not believe.’ However, it will be evident to the reader that this is a rather tortuous reading of the verse.
… and that all grace is in Allah’s hand which He grants to whomever He wishes and Allah is dispenser of a great grace: This is also the object of so that the People of the Book may know, in other words: ‘We have only promised them this because of such-and-such and because all grace is in God’s hand, and God is the dispenser of great grace.’
There are other readings and interpretations of the verse which are without merit and which we have, therefore, omitted from our discussion here.
Examining Narrations
- It is narrated in Jawāmiʿ al-jamiʿ that Gabriel descended with the Balance and gave it to Noah, saying: ‘Give it to your people that they might weigh with it.’
- In al-Iḥtijāj, it is narrated from ʿAlī in a tradition about the verse, and We sent down iron, in which there is great might (): ‘His sending it down means that He created it.’
- In Majmaʿ al-bayān, it is narrated from Ibn Masʿūd: ‘I rode with the Messenger of God upon his donkey. He said, “O son of a slave’s mother, do you know from whence the Israelites contrived monasticism?” I said, “God and His Messenger know best.” He said: “Tyrants gained power over them after Jesus and they sinned against God, so the people of faith were enraged, so they fought them. The people of faith were defeated three times, until only a few of them remained.
They said, ‘If we rise up against them again, they will annihilate us, and no one will remain to call others to the religion. So instead, let us disperse through the earth until God sends the prophet that Jesus foretold would come’”—meaning Muḥammad—”so they scattered themselves amongst the caves of mountains and devised monasticism as a way of living. Then, there were those of them who held fast to their religion and others who disbelieved.” Then he recited the verse, But as for monasticism, they innovated it—We had not prescribed it for them ().
Then he said to me, “O son of a slave’s mother, do you know what is the monasticism of my nation?” I said, “God and His Messenger know best.” He said, “Emigration, striving in the way of God, prayer, fasting, Ḥajj, and ʿUmra.”’
- In al-Kāfī, al-Kulaynī narrates via a chain of narrators going back to Abī al-Jārūd: ‘I said to Abū al-Jaʿfar (al-Bāqir), “God has given the People of the Book abundant good.” He said, “How so?” I said, “The verses, Those to whom We gave the Book before it are the ones who believe in it … Those will be given their reward two times for their patience ().” He said, “God has given you the like of what He has given them. Then he recited the verse, O you who have faith! Be wary of Allah and have faith in His Messenger. He will grant you a double share of His mercy and give you a light to walk by—meaning an Imām you can follow” ().’
- In Majmaʿ al-bayān, it is narrated from Saʿīd b. Jubayr: ‘The Messenger of God sent Jaʿfar with seventy riders to al-Najāshī to invite him to have faith. He went and invited him, and he accepted their preaching and believed in it. And when it was time for Jaʿfar to depart, those of al-Najāshī’s subjects who believed—and there were forty of them—said, “Permit us to go to this prophet and submit to him personally.”
So they went with Jaʿfar, and when they saw the special status of the Muslims, they sought the leave of the Prophet and said, “O Prophet of God, we have wealth, and we see the special status of the Muslims, so if you will permit us, we will go and return with our wealth and share it with the Muslims.” So, he granted them leave, they went and returned with their wealth and shared it with the Muslims. Then God revealed about them, Those to whom We gave the Book before it are the ones who believe in it… and spend out of what We have provided them. And this referred to the monies they shared with the Muslims.
When members of the People of the Book who did not believe in the Prophet heard the verse, those will be given their reward two times for their patience, they mocked the Muslims and said, “O group of Muslims, those of us who believe in our book and your book will have two rewards, and whoever of us believes in our book alone shall have one reward. So what makes you any better than us?” That is when God sent down the verse, O you who have faith! Be wary of Allah and have faith in His Messenger…—and, in doing so, He promised them not only a double share of reward, but also light and forgiveness. Then He said, so that the People of the Book may know … ().’