Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 4 An-Nisa, Ayat 135-141

يٰۤـاَيُّهَا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا كُوۡنُوۡا قَوَّامِيۡنَ بِالۡقِسۡطِ شُهَدَآءَ لِلّٰهِ وَلَوۡ عَلٰٓى اَنۡفُسِكُمۡ اَوِ الۡوَالِدَيۡنِ وَالۡاَقۡرَبِيۡنَ​ ؕ اِنۡ يَّكُنۡ غَنِيًّا اَوۡ فَقِيۡرًا فَاللّٰهُ اَوۡلٰى بِهِمَا​ فَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا الۡهَوٰٓى اَنۡ تَعۡدِلُوۡا ​ۚ وَاِنۡ تَلۡوٗۤا اَوۡ تُعۡرِضُوۡا فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعۡمَلُوۡنَ خَبِيۡرًا‏ ﴿4:135﴾ يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡۤا اٰمِنُوۡا بِاللّٰهِ وَرَسُوۡلِهٖ وَالۡكِتٰبِ الَّذِىۡ نَزَّلَ عَلٰى رَسُوۡلِهٖ وَالۡكِتٰبِ الَّذِىۡۤ اَنۡزَلَ مِنۡ قَبۡلُ​ؕ وَمَنۡ يَّكۡفُرۡ بِاللّٰهِ وَمَلٰٓـئِكَتِهٖ وَكُتُبِهٖ وَرُسُلِهٖ وَالۡيَوۡمِ الۡاٰخِرِ فَقَدۡ ضَلَّ ضَلٰلًاۢ بَعِيۡدًا‏ ﴿4:136﴾ اِنَّ الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا ثُمَّ كَفَرُوۡا ثُمَّ اٰمَنُوۡا ثُمَّ كَفَرُوۡا ثُمَّ ازۡدَادُوۡا كُفۡرًا لَّمۡ يَكُنِ اللّٰهُ لِيَـغۡفِرَ لَهُمۡ وَلَا لِيَـهۡدِيَهُمۡ سَبِيۡلًا ؕ‏ ﴿4:137﴾ بَشِّرِ الۡمُنٰفِقِيۡنَ بِاَنَّ لَهُمۡ عَذَابًا اَلِيۡمًاۙ‏ ﴿4:138﴾ الَّذِيۡنَ يَتَّخِذُوۡنَ الۡـكٰفِرِيۡنَ اَوۡلِيَآءَ مِنۡ دُوۡنِ الۡمُؤۡمِنِيۡنَ​ ؕ اَيَبۡتَغُوۡنَ عِنۡدَهُمُ الۡعِزَّةَ فَاِنَّ الۡعِزَّةَ لِلّٰهِ جَمِيۡعًا ؕ‏ ﴿4:139﴾ وَقَدۡ نَزَّلَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ فِى الۡـكِتٰبِ اَنۡ اِذَا سَمِعۡتُمۡ اٰيٰتِ اللّٰهِ يُكۡفَرُ بِهَا وَيُسۡتَهۡزَاُبِهَا فَلَا تَقۡعُدُوۡا مَعَهُمۡ حَتّٰى يَخُوۡضُوۡا فِىۡ حَدِيۡثٍ غَيۡرِهٖۤ​ ​ ۖ اِنَّكُمۡ اِذًا مِّثۡلُهُمۡ​ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ جَامِعُ​​​الۡمُنٰفِقِيۡنَ وَالۡكٰفِرِيۡنَ فِىۡ جَهَـنَّمَ جَمِيۡعَاۨ ۙ‏ ﴿4:140﴾ الَّذِيۡنَ يَتَرَ بَّصُوۡنَ بِكُمۡ​ ۚ فَاِنۡ كَانَ لَـكُمۡ فَتۡحٌ مِّنَ اللّٰهِ قَالُـوۡۤا اَلَمۡ نَـكُنۡ مَّعَكُمۡ ​ ۖ وَاِنۡ كَانَ لِلۡكٰفِرِيۡنَ نَصِيۡبٌۙ قَالُـوۡۤا اَلَمۡ نَسۡتَحۡوِذۡ عَلَيۡكُمۡ وَنَمۡنَعۡكُمۡ مِّنَ الۡمُؤۡمِنِيۡنَ​ ؕ فَاللّٰهُ يَحۡكُمُ بَيۡنَكُمۡ يَوۡمَ الۡقِيٰمَةِ ​ؕ وَلَنۡ يَّجۡعَلَ اللّٰهُ لِلۡكٰفِرِيۡنَ عَلَى الۡمُؤۡمِنِيۡنَ سَبِيۡلًا‏ ﴿4:141﴾

(4:135) Believers! Be upholders of justice,164 and bearers of witness to truth for the sake of Allah,165 even though it may either be against yourselves or against your parents and kinsmen, or the rich or the poor: for Allah is more concerned with their well-being than you are. Do not, then, follow your own desires lest you keep away from justice. If you twist or turn away from (the truth), know that Allah is well aware of all that you do. (4:136) Believers! Believe166 in Allah and His Messenger and in the Book He has revealed to His Messenger, and in the Book He revealed before. And whoever disbelieves167 in Allah, in His angels, in His Books, in His Messengers and in the Last Day, has indeed strayed far away. (4:137) Allah will neither forgive nor show the right way to those who believed, and then disbelieved, then believed, and again disbelieved, and thenceforth became ever more intense in their disbelief.168 (4:138) Give tidings of painful chastisement to the hypocrites. (4:139) who take the unbelievers for their allies in preference to the believers. Do they seek honour from them169 whereas honour altogether belongs to Allah alone? (4:140) Allah has enjoined upon you in the-Book that when you hear the signs of Allah being rejected and scoffed at, you will not sit with them until they engage in some other talk, or else you will become like them.170 Know well, Allah will gather the hypocrites and the unbe-lievers in Hell - all together. (4:141) These hypocrites watch you closely: if victory is granted to you by Allah, they will say: 'Were we not with you?' And were the unbelievers to gain the upper hand, they will say: 'Did we not have mastery over you, and yet we protected you from the believers?'171 It is Allah Who will judge between you on the Day of Resurrection, and He will not allow the unbelievers, in any way, to gain advantage over the believers.

Notes

164. It is not enough for believers to uphold justice themselves: they are expected to be its standard-bearers. They are supposed not merely to practise justice in their own dealings but to strive for its triumph. They have to do all within their power to ensure that injustice is eradicated and replaced by equity and justice. A true believer is required to be the pillar supporting the establishment of right and justice.

165. The testimony of the believers should be solely for the sake of God. Their testimony should not be biased in favour of any of the parties concerned, they should not use any opportunity for personal aggrandizement, and they should not seek to please anyone but God.

166. To ask believers to believe might at first seem strange. The fact is, however, that belief as used here has two meanings. First, belief denotes that a man has preferred to acknowledge the soundness of true guidance, to distance himself from the fold of those who disbelieve, and to join the camp of the believers. Second, belief denotes faith, a man's believing in the truth with all his heart, with full earnestness and sincerity. It denotes man's sincere determination to mould his way of thinking, his taste and temperament, his likes and dislikes, his conduct and character, his friendship and enmity, and the direction of his efforts and striving, in conformity with the creed which he has resolved to embrace. This verse is addressed to all those who are 'believers' in the first sense of the term, and they are asked to change themselves into true believers, i.e. believers in the second sense.

167. Kufr has two meanings. One signifies categorical rejection. The other signifies that pretence of belief even when either one's heart is not convinced or one's conduct is flagrantly opposed to the demands of one's belief. Here the term Kufr conveys both meanings, and the verse aims at impressing upon people that whichever kind of Kufr they adopt in respect of the fundamental beliefs of Islam, it will only alienate them from the Truth, and lead them instead to falsehood, and ultimately to their tragic failure and destruction.

168. This refers to those for whom religion is no more than an object of casual entertainment, a toy with which they like to play as long as it suits their desires and fancies. One wave carries them to the fold of Islam and the next away to that of disbelief. Whenever Islam appears to suit their interests they become Muslims; and when the glamorous visage of the god of utility leaps up before their eyes they rush off to worship it. To such people God holds out neither the assurance of forgiveness nor of direction to true guidance. The statement that such people 'became even more intense in their disbelief refers to those who are not content with not believing themselves, but also try to undermine the faith of others and to persuade them to disbelief, who engage in secret conspiracies as well as overt activities against Islam, and who devote their energies to the struggle aimed at exalting disbelief and degrading the true religion of God. This is a higher degree of disbelief, involving the progressive heaping of crime upon crime. It is obvious that the punishment for this must be greater than for simple disbelief.

169. The term 'jzzah denotes a position which is at once exalted and secure. In other words, the term signifies 'inviolable honour and glory'.

170. A person who professes Islam and yet enjoys the company of those who indulge in blasphemy against God, and who bears with equanimity their scoffing at God and His Messenger, is no different' from the unbelievers mentioned here. (For the injunction in this verse, see also (Surah al-An'am 6: 68) below.

171. This is typical of the hypocrites of every age. Such people try to avail themselves of all the benefits which can accrue from a verbal profession of Islam and identification with the Islamic community. They also try to secure the advantages to be obtained by associating with the unbelievers, by assuring them in every possible way about themselves that they are not 'fanatic Muslims', that their association with the Muslims is only nominal. On the other hand, they never fail to assure the unbelievers that their loyalties and concerns are the same as theirs, that in mental outlook, cultural orientation and taste they are in harmony with them, and that if a decisive conflict between Islam and unbelief were to take place, their weight will certainly be on the side of the latter.