Surah An-Nisa 4:116-126 - Quran Translation Commentary

(4:116) Surely, Allah will not forgive that He is associated with, but shall forgive less than that for whom He will,.²⁹⁵ And whosoever associated (aught) with Allah, surely, strayed far away (from Truth).

(4:117) Indeed, they invoke not besides Him, but female (deities).²⁹⁶ (But) in truth, they invoke none other than a rebellious Shaytan.

(4:118) (Whom) Allah has cursed, and who vowed that, ‘Assuredly I will take of Your slaves an appointed portion.’²⁹⁷

(4:119) ‘Indeed, I shall lead them astray, and surely, I will arouse in them false hopes, and assuredly, I shall command them so that they shall slit the ears of the cattle,²⁹⁸ and indeed, I shall order them so that they shall deface the creation of Allah.’²⁹⁹ And whoever took Shaytan for a patron, instead of Allah, surely suffered a manifest loss.³⁰⁰

(4:120) He will promise them and lend them hopes. But Shaytan does not promise them save delusions.³⁰¹

(4:121) Their end shall be Jahannum from which they shall find no escape.

(4:122) Whereas, those who believe and do righteous deeds, We shall surely admit them into gardens underneath which rivers flow, abiding therein forever. Allah’s promise is true. And who is truer to his word than Allah?

(4:123) Not by your desires (O Muslims), nor by the desires of the People of the Book (are the affairs judged).³⁰² Rather, whosoever does evil, will be recompensed for it.³⁰³ and will not find for himself, besides Allah, anyone as a supporter or a helper.

(4:124) And whosoever does righteous deeds, whether male or female, and he be a believer, such shall enter Paradise. They shall not be wronged by a speck.

(4:125) And who can be on a better religion than him who submitted his will to Allah, did righteous deeds, and followed the ways of Ibrahim, the upright?³⁰⁴ And Allah took Ibrahim for a friend.³⁰⁵

(4:126) To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth.³⁰⁶ And Allah encompasses everything.

Commentary

295. The immediate reference was to To`mah, who, had he not gone and joined the pagans, still had the chance of being forgiven (Razi). But, instead of seeking Allah’s forgiveness, he preferred to worship female deities (Au.).

296. According to Suddi, Ibn Zayd and others the allusion is to Lat, `Uzza, Manat, Isaf and Na’ilah: all female deities. (They used to even adorn them with jewellery: Thanwi). However, the opinion of Ibn `Abbas and Qatadah is that the word inath is also used for inanimate objects that have no souls, and thus the allusion is to idols. A third opinion is that the allusion is to the belief of the pagans who claimed that their deities were originally angels which, in their belief, were females (Ibn Jarir, Razi). Thanwi adds: Not that they did not worship male deities. It was to set a point about their abundant idiocy that their worship of female deities was made note of. Majid writes: “It was not only the Arabs who worshipped as ‘daughters of God’ angels and certain of their images, but many divinities throughout the world, including the sun, the moon, and the ‘Great Mother,; have been construed as feminine, and the cult of goddesses has been almost universal”. He quotes The Encyclopaedia of Religion: “Among many primitive peoples, and at the present time in a large number of less developed cults, goddesses occupy important places in the pantheon.” Lakshmi Devi, Durga Bai and Maryam are some of the other names that easily come to mind (Au.).

297. That portion is 999 from every 1000 souls. Says a tradition of Muslim:

عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يَا آدَمُ فَيَقُولُ لَبَّيْكَ وَسَعْدَيْكَ وَالْخَيْرُ فِي يَدَيْكَ قَالَ يَقُولُ أَخْرِجْ بَعْثَ النَّارِ قَالَ وَمَا بَعْثُ النَّارِ قَالَ مِنْ كُلِّ أَلْفٍ تِسْعَ مِائَةٍ وَتِسْعَةً وَتِسْعِينَ قَالَ فَذَاكَ حِينَ يَشِيبُ الصَّغِيرُ . صحيح مسلم

“Allah will say to Adam on the Day of Judgment, ‘O Adam.’ He will answer, ‘Here I am O our Lord. Good is in Your Hand.’ He will say, ‘Send across the assortment of the Fire.’ He will ask, ‘And what is the assortment of the Fire?’ It will be said, ‘From every thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine.’ The Prophet added, ‘That will be the time when the little one will become old.’” (Qurtubi).

298. The pagans used to slit, pierce, or cut the ear lobes of the cattle for various superstitious reasons, as well as, sometimes, in dedication to a deity (Au).

299. The pagans used to also castrate the cattle. Ibn `Abbas disapproved of the practice and used to say that to castrate an animal is tantamount to defacing a creation of Allah. (In fact there is a hadith also - sahih, according to Haythami: Syed Ibrahim - which says that the Prophet prohibited castration of domesticated animals: Shawkani). `Ikrimah, Abu Salih and Anas b. Malik held the same opinion. However, according to another opinion of Ibn `Abbas, the khalq of the original (translated herewith as “creation”), is to be understood as “religion.” Scholars such as Mujahid, Ibrahim, Qatadah, Suddi and Dahhak are with him in this opinion. They have argued with the verse 30 of ch.30 as the basis, which says:

فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفًا فِطْرَتَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا لَا تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ [الروم : 30]

“So set thy face to the pure incorrupt religion, Allah’s original (fitrah) upon which He originated mankind.” Further, `Abdullah (ibn Mas`ud) and Hasan have mentioned tattoo as also included in the disapproved defacing alluded to here (Ibn Jarir). Qurtubi comments: A hadith of the Prophet (saws) in Muslim says:

لعن الله الواشمات والمستوشمات والنامصات والمتنمصات،

“Allah has cursed those women who add artificial hair, those who help them in that, those who tattoo themselves and those who help them in that.” Another hadith, also in Muslim, prohibits dressing up of the teeth because all these acts amount to defacing the creation of Allah. Accordingly, if one has, for example, an extra finger, he might not get it removed, unless it hurts him to have that extra finger. Application of henna, or use of ribbon in the hair, and other such practices for beautification purposes, are not prohibited, as they do not disfigure the creation of Allah. In fact, the Prophet once suggested to a woman that she apply henna to her hand. The lady took it so serious that she continued to use henna until the age of ninety. Some scholars have said that shaving off the beard also falls in the category of “defacing the creation of Allah” (Thanwi).

300. Whoever followed Shaytan and obeyed him, took him for a patron and abandoned Allah’s protection (Razi).

301. As it happened at Badr when Shaytan deluded them by saying (8: 48):

ﭴ ﭵ ﭶ ﭷ ﭸ ﭹ ﭺ ﭻ ﭼ ﭽ ﭾ ﭿ ﮀ ﮁ ﮂﮃ ﮄ ﮅ ﮆ ﮇ ﮈ ﮉ ﮊ ﮋ ﮌ ﮍ ﮎ ﮏ ﮐ ﮑ ﮒ ﮓ ﮔ ﮕﮖ ﮗ ﮘ ﮙ ﮚ

“When Shaytan beautified their deeds and said, ‘Today no one can overcome you. Moreover, I am by your side.’ But when he saw the two forces, (i.e., the believers and the angels) he turned on his back and said, ‘I have nothing to do with you. I see what you cannot see. I fear Allah. Surely, Allah is severe in punishment.’” However, his delusion will truly be apparent on the Day of Judgment when Shaytan will say:

وَقَالَ الشَّيْطَانُ لَمَّا قُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَعَدَكُمْ وَعْدَ الْحَقِّ وَوَعَدْتُكُمْ فَأَخْلَفْتُكُمْ وَمَا كَانَ لِيَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْ سُلْطَانٍ إِلَّا أَنْ دَعَوْتُكُمْ فَاسْتَجَبْتُمْ لِي فَلَا تَلُومُونِي وَلُومُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ مَا أَنَا بِمُصْرِخِكُمْ وَمَا أَنْتُمْ بِمُصْرِخِيَّ إِنِّي كَفَرْتُ بِمَا أَشْرَكْتُمُونِ مِنْ قَبْلُ إِنَّ الظَّالِمِينَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ [إبراهيم : 22]

“And Shaytan will say when the affairs are decided, ‘Verily, Allah made you a true promise. I also promised you but I did not keep it. (Further), I did not have any power over you, except that I invited you and you answered. Therefore, do not blame me, rather, blame yourselves. I cannot help you (now) nor can you me. I disown your earlier acts of worship to me” (Ibn Jarir).

302. Ibn `Abbas, Qatadah, Suddi, Abu Salih and Dahhak have said that some Muslims, Christians and Jews, argued among themselves. The Jews said: “Our Book is better than yours. It came down before yours and our Prophet was the best of Prophets.” The Christians said similar things. The Muslims said their Book had abrogated the previous ones and that their Prophet was the seal of Prophets. In response Allah revealed this verse. However, Mujahid holds a different and weightier opinion. He said that the first part of the verse (i.e., “Not by your desires”) addressed the pagans. In other words, the verse is saying: “Not by your desires (O pagans), nor by the desires of the People of the Book..” (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathi). Hasan al-Busri has said: ليس الإيمان بالتمني ولكن ما وقر في القلب وصدقه العمل إن قوما ألهتهم اماني المغفرة حتى خرجوا في الدنيا ولا حسنة لهم وقالوا نحسن الظن بالله وكذبوا لو احسنوا الظن بالله لأحسنوا العمل له Faith is not the name of dreams or vain desires, rather, what takes root in the heart and good deeds confirm it. Vain hopes of forgiveness led a people to neglect, so that they left the world without a good deed in their account. They said, ‘We fasten good hopes in Allah.’ They lied. Had they truly fastened good hopes in Allah, they would have attempt good deeds (Kashshaf).

303. `A’isha, Ubayy b. Ka`b and Mujahid have said that the principle enunciated in this verse holds good for the believers also save that the believers are recompensed for their minor sins by whatever unpleasant things that happen to them, although Allah forgives much. As for the unbelievers, Hasan and Dahhak have said that they will be recompensed for all that they do, major or minor (in the Hereafter). In fact, this meaning goes back right to the Prophet. It is reported that when this verse was revealed, Muslims felt it hard upon themselves. They spoke to the Prophet. He told them:

سَدِّدوا وقاربوا، فإن في كل ما يصاب به المسلم كفارة حتى الشوكة يُشَاكها، والنَّكْبَة يَنْكُبُهَا

“Set your objectives right and try to be as near as (the ideal) as possible, for all that a Muslim suffers is by way of expiation, including a minor misfortune that befalls him, or a thorn that pricks him.” (This hadith is in Muslim, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i and others: Ibn Kathir. Some ahadith add the words: “including the little scare that one suffers, when, having placed a thing in one pocket, searches for it in another but does not find it”: Qurtubi). There are several other reports to this effect with Abu Bakr as the enquirer (Ibn Jarir). According to some sources, Abu Bakr felt his back broken when this verse said: “Whosoever does evil, will be recompensed for it” (Shafi`). The report about Abu Bakr is in Muslim also, as in other compilations. Bukhari and Muslim have Abu Sa`id and Abu Hurayrah also relating that the Prophet said:

مَا يُصِيبُ الْمُسْلِمَ مِنْ نَصَبٍ وَلَا وَصَبٍ وَلَا هَمٍّ وَلَا حُزْنٍ وَلَا أَذًى وَلَا غَمٍّ حَتَّى الشَّوْكَةِ يُشَاكُهَا إِلَّا كَفَّرَ اللَّهُ بِهَا مِنْ خَطَايَاهُ

“Nothing befalls a Muslim, whether it is a hardship, discomfort, illness or grief, including a distress that might strike him, but it expiates his sins” (Ibn Kathir).

304. The word in the original for upright is hanif. See ch.2 n. and ch.3 n. 113 for explanation.

305. Allah took Ibrahim for a friend because of Ibrahim’s extreme love for Allah and complete submission to Him. In a report of Muslim the Prophet said:

عَنْ أَبِى الأَحْوَصِ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عَنِ النَّبِىِّ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- قَالَ « لَوْ كُنْتُ مُتَّخِذًا مِنْ أَهْلِ الأَرْضِ خَلِيلاً لاَتَّخَذْتُ ابْنَ أَبِى قُحَافَةَ خَلِيلاً وَلَكِنْ صَاحِبُكُمْ خَلِيلُ اللَّهِ

“Were I to take a Friend from the peoples of the earth, I would have taken Abu Quhafah’s son (Abu Bakr) as a friend. But your companion (himself) is Allah’s friend.” According to another report:

إن الله اتخذني خليلاً، كما اتخذ إبراهيم خليلاً

“Verily Allah took me for a friend, as He took Ibrahim for a friend” (Ibn Kathir). Qurtubi adds: A tradition of the Prophet says:

الرَّجُلُ عَلَى دِينِ خَلِيلِهِ فَلْيَنْظُرْ أَحَدُكُمْ مَنْ يُخَالِلُ. قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ.(ترمذي )

“A man is on the religion of his friend. So check on yourself as to whom do you befriend.” Tirmidhi evaluated it as Hasan. And Hassan b. Thabit has said: Plenty are a man’s friends, But in distress few Be not misled by the friendship of those you befriend When in perils, you might have none around you Every brother says I am trustworthy But not everyone does what he says, exactly `cept for the well-bred, religious friend `Tis he who is true to his declaration. (Tr. by an unknown translator)

306. When Allah said that He took Ibrahim as a friend, someone might imagine that perhaps He needed him. Allah emphatically asserted His Self-sufficiency by stating: “To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth..” (Razi).