The refusal of the Hypocrites to fight, Their secret plans, Their propagating Falsehood, The Apostle enjoined to fight even single-handed, To depend upon God, To ponder over the teachings of the Holy Qur’an.

An-Nisa’ Verses 77 – 87

أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ قِيلَ لَهُمْ كُفُّوا أَيْدِيَكُمْ وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ فَلَمَّا كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقِتَالُ إِذَا فَرِيقٌ مِنْهُمْ يَخْشَوْنَ النَّاسَ كَخَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ أَوْ أَشَدَّ خَشْيَةً وَقَالُوا رَبَّنَا لِمَ كَتَبْتَ عَلَيْنَا الْقِتَالَ لَوْلَا أَخَّرْتَنَا إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ قُلْ مَتَاعُ الدُّنْيَا قَلِيلٌ وَالْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لِمَنِ اتَّقَىٰ وَلَا تُظْلَمُونَ فَتِيلًا

“Hast thou not seen those unto whom was said “withhold your hand (from war) and establish prayer and pay the poor-rate,” but when fighting was prescribed for them, lo! a party of them fear men as (it should be) the fear of God, or even (with) a greater fear and say “O Our Lord! why hast Thou ordained upon us fighting, wherefore didst Thou not grant us respite to a near end;” Say (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) the provision of this world is scant and the hereafter is better for him who guardeth (himself against evil), and ye shall not be wronged (even to the extent of) the husk of a date-stone1.” (4:77)

أَيْنَمَا تَكُونُوا يُدْرِكْكُمُ الْمَوْتُ وَلَوْ كُنْتُمْ فِي بُرُوجٍ مُشَيَّدَةٍ وَإِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ حَسَنَةٌ يَقُولُوا هَٰذِهِ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ وَإِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ يَقُولُوا هَٰذِهِ مِنْ عِنْدِكَ قُلْ كُلٌّ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ فَمَالِ هَٰؤُلَاءِ الْقَوْمِ لَا يَكَادُونَ يَفْقَهُونَ حَدِيثًا

“Wherever ye be, death will overtake you, even if ye be in towers (strong and) lofty; If good befalleth them they say, “This is from God” but if evil befalleth them say they “This is from thee;” Say (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) all is from God; But what hath happened to these people that well-nigh they understand not anything spoken (to them).” (4:78)

مَا أَصَابَكَ مِنْ حَسَنَةٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ وَمَا أَصَابَكَ مِنْ سَيِّئَةٍ فَمِنْ نَفْسِكَ وَأَرْسَلْنَاكَ لِلنَّاسِ رَسُولًا وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ شَهِيدًا

“Whatever good befalleth thee (O’ Man!) it is from God and whatever evil befalleth thee, it is from thyself; We have sent thee (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) unto mankind2as (Our) Apostle; and God is sufficient a witness (thereof).” (4:79)

مَنْ يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ وَمَنْ تَوَلَّىٰ فَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظًا

“Whoso obeyeth the Apostle, he indeed obeyeth God; and whoever turneth away We have not sent thee upon them to watch.” (4:80)

وَيَقُولُونَ طَاعَةٌ فَإِذَا بَرَزُوا مِنْ عِنْدِكَ بَيَّتَ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْهُمْ غَيْرَ الَّذِي تَقُولُ وَاللَّهُ يَكْتُبُ مَا يُبَيِّتُونَ فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ وَكِيلًا

“And they say: ‘Obedience’, but when they get out from thy presence, a party of them brood3by night over other than what thou sayest; and verily God writeth down what they brood by night, therefore turn aside from them and trust in God and God is sufficient Protector.” (4:81)

أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِنْدِ غَيْرِ اللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا فِيهِ اخْتِلَافًا كَثِيرًا

“Do they not think4(carefully) in Qur’an? And if it had been from any other than God, they would surely have found in it much discrepancy.” (4:82)

وَإِذَا جَاءَهُمْ أَمْرٌ مِنَ الْأَمْنِ أَوِ الْخَوْفِ أَذَاعُوا بِهِ وَلَوْ رَدُّوهُ إِلَى الرَّسُولِ وَإِلَىٰ أُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْهُمْ لَعَلِمَهُ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَنْبِطُونَهُ مِنْهُمْ وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ لَاتَّبَعْتُمُ الشَّيْطَانَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا

“And when there cometh unto them news of security or (of) alarm, they spread it abroad; and if they had referred it to the Apostle and (to) those in authority5from among them, (who could) draw the matter (the truth) in it; would have known it (the truth) from them; and were it not for the grace of God upon you and His mercy, you would certainly have followed the devil save a few6.” (4:83)

فَقَاتِلْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ لَا تُكَلَّفُ إِلَّا نَفْسَكَ وَحَرِّضِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَسَى اللَّهُ أَنْ يَكُفَّ بَأْسَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَاللَّهُ أَشَدُّ بَأْسًا وَأَشَدُّ تَنْكِيلًا

“Fight then in God’s way: it is not imposed (on any) except in relation to thyself; and stir up the faithful, may be God will restrain the might of those who disbelieve, Verily, God is the strongest in might and the severest in punishing7.” (4:84)

مَنْ يَشْفَعْ شَفَاعَةً حَسَنَةً يَكُنْ لَهُ نَصِيبٌ مِنْهَا وَمَنْ يَشْفَعْ شَفَاعَةً سَيِّئَةً يَكُنْ لَهُ كِفْلٌ مِنْهَا وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مُقِيتًا

“Whoever intercedeth8with a good intercession9shall have a share10therefrom; and whoever intercedeth a bad intercession shall bear the burden of it; and God keepeth control over all things.” (4:85)

وَإِذَا حُيِّيتُمْ بِتَحِيَّةٍ فَحَيُّوا بِأَحْسَنَ مِنْهَا أَوْ رُدُّوهَا إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ حَسِيبًا

“When ye are greeted with a greeting, then greet ye with a better11(than it), or return it; Verily, God, of all things, taketh account.” (4:86)

اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ لَيَجْمَعَنَّكُمْ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ وَمَنْ أَصْدَقُ مِنَ اللَّهِ حَدِيثًا

“God! there is no God but He! He will certainly gather you all together on the Day of Resurrection; there is no doubt in it; who can be more True in Word12than God?” (4:87)

Commentary

Verse 77

Refers to the conduct of the hypocrites who when they were not permitted to fight, they were not content and in Madina when they were commanded to fight in defence, they resented and questioned as to why fight had been prescribed. They feared men as they should fear God, nay more than that they dreaded their enemy.

Verse 78

Certainty of death approaching anyone and everyone be he in the strongest fortress, i.e., nothing besides God can ever avoid death if it is destined to come.

When the Holy Prophet migrated from Mecca and reached Madina, that year the produce of fruits and grains was unusually less than the average. The Jews availed of the dearth to attribute it as a bad omen for the arrival of the Holy Prophet. This verse referring to it, says that the people attribute good to God and if any evil befalls them, they attributed it to the Holy Prophet, God exhorts to say that the good and the evil both are at God’s will.

Verse 78-79

The reference can be to the reverse which the Muslims suffered in the Battle of Uhud which was actually caused by the disobedience of the people, of the orders of the Holy Prophet, when even some of the prominent companions of the Holy Prophet had proved treacherous and had deserted him, but the hypocrites wanted to rest the responsibility on the Holy Prophet for not listening to their advice. The passage establishes the general principle of the cause of good and evil which befalls men. The usual tendency of the common man is to attribute good to his own effort, or at the most to the Absolute Cause and attribute evil to those in authority exempting himself of the responsibility.

Here Qur’an says whether good or evil, it undoubtedly proceeds from God as the Absolute Active Cause but that does not exempt the sufferers of the mishap, of their personal responsibilities, for whatever may be the result, the act proceeding from God, is good but as on His creatures explained in S.I. (Sura Fatiha) every act of His has a reaction from the creature. In other words, all our actions are the reactions of God’s action; His actions are not conditioned with the state or the nature of the creature, but the reaction is necessarily or naturally conditioned by the creature’s state. Therefore, it is true that whatever good we have, is from God and the evil from us. (A.P.)

Verse 79

In the preceding verse it has been said that everything is from God. Good and evil, bounties and punishments are from God. While benefits and bounties are from God, no evil or distress afflicts a man unless man earns them by his own mistakes or blunders. In the previous verse, in reply to the hypocrites who attributed misfortune to the Holy Prophet, it is said misfortune as well as fortune, both are from God. In this verse it is said in explaining the phenomena that though misfortune also comes from God, but it is earned by man through his own doings.

‘Arsalnaka linnasi Rasoola’, i.e., ‘We sent thee (O’ Our Prophet) as Our Apostle to mankind.’ The people are informed of the position of the Holy Prophet as an apostle not for any particular people or age as Jesus or any other prophet was (Math. 14/22-26) but for mankind as a whole for all times.

Of the apostles of God who had been sent to the different parts of the earth in the different ages, there were such among them who had been sent for their own tribe and some to a particular people like Jesus who had himself openly declared his actual position as the one sent to the children of Israel.

“And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.”

“But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; jar she crieth after us.”

“But he answered and said, 1 am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

“Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.”

“But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.” Math. 15/22-26.

While sending his disciples to preach the Gospel, Jesus warned them not to go to everyone but only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (Math. 10/5)

God declares to mankind that the Holy Prophet Muhammad has been sent to the human race as a whole. This fact has been repeated in 7:158; 21:107 and 34:28.

In declaring the position of the Holy Prophet the address is to the Holy Prophet himself. It does not mean that the Holy Prophet did not know his own position, but it is to be declared for the information of the people.

The Holy Prophet’s responsibility as an authority is identified with God’s. Thus, holding the Holy Prophet responsible means holding God responsible. (A.P.)

Verse 80

It is to be noted that obedience to the Holy Prophet has been declared as the obedience to God and it is naturally and logically established that disobedience to the Holy Prophet being the obedience to God Himself, the obedience must be absolute not restricted or conditional pertaining to any particular aspect of life but relating to every matter and to life as a whole.

The question arises. When the Holy Prophet demanded pen and paper to record his final word to his people, but the command was not only disobeyed but also ridiculed saying that the Holy Prophet was under a delirious state. Was not this disobedience to the command of the Holy Prophet, disobedience to God? What is the position of those who have done? The questioning and the judgment is left to every intelligent, impartial and dispassionate mind.

This strikes a blow to what we often see in the traditions about some of the companions that they used to question the Holy Prophet whether what he said was his own or from God. And we invariably hear the answer from the Holy Prophet ‘I say not anything of my own’, except what Bokhari narrates about the Holy Prophet’s preventing the farmers to fertilize the date-palms which resulted into the failure of the crop and the Holy Prophet saying ‘It was my own,’ This is entirely a false report for it is an accusation which is not worthy of even an ordinary man of ordinary experience What then about the Holy Prophet who informs us that every growing being, rather every creature is of a positive and a negative sex. This report is like many other unbelievable reports given on behalf of the Holy Prophet. (A.P.)

Verse 81

This verse refers to the conduct of the hypocrites who used to acknowledge the truthfulness of the Holy Prophet in his presence and while they retire from him at night, they doubted his authority as an Apostle of God.

Verse 82

Note the independent meditation over the Holy Qur’an, invited of every individual reader, to scrutinize and judge for himself about the authority of the Holy Book being from God. There is no unreasonable assertion demanding any blind following. Islam attaches the greatest importance to the use of conscience and common sense, and wants the belief in God to be of independent decision followed by conviction. At every step the Holy Qur’an invites man and woman, to use the intellect and the native endowments in finding out right way for one’s own self.

Verse 83

‘‘Ul al-’Amr’, i.e., The Holy Imam of the age- (i.e., all the Twelve Holy Imams13).

‘Fazlullah’ stands for the Holy Prophet and ‘Rahmat’ for the Holy Qur’an (M.S.) According to (F.A.) In one of the traditions of the Holy Prophet, ‘Rahmat’ stands for ‘Ali. But for the Holy Prophet, the people could never have had the guidance to Islam and would never had been liberated from the bondage of ignorance and from the pagan cult and but for ‘Ali Islam and the Muslims would have been wiped out of existence in the battles in which was decided the fate of the faith and the faithful. Referring to the unique, the matchless the invaluable services of ‘Ali, the Holy Prophet declared about ‘Ali’s fighting at ‘Uhud’ saying: “The One stroke of ‘Ali on the day of the Battle of ‘Khandaq’ (the Ditch) is superior to the adoration or the prayer of both the worlds” In fact it was so, but for ‘Ali’s services on that day there would not have remained even a trace of the faith, Islam, and the Muslims, except perhaps in some Book of legends with all prejudicial remarks there would have been a stay about Islam and the Holy Prophet.

Verse 84

When the heathens of Mecca attacked the Muslims, and the Holy Prophet had to face the attack of an unprovoked aggression at the first Battle of Badr called the ‘Badr-Sughra’ the hypocrites frightened the Muslims at Madina against overwhelming and the tremendous strength of the enemy. The Muslims disheartened, would not move to fight. Then this verse was revealed and the Holy Prophet declared that even if none else accompanies him he would go and defend Islam, fighting the enemy singlehanded.

Only Seventy persons could be gathered and the Holy Prophet with bis seventy men marched to meet the thousands of the well-equipped and fully armed heathen. A miraculous fright was dawned upon Abu-Sufyan and his forces, and they retreated to Mecca and the Holy Prophet returned safe to Madina with his men.

Verse 85

Help and support for a good cause actively or by prayer or by good wishes, as the situation or the ease may need, entitles the individual who does it, to a share in all its credit and its consequent triumph. And similarly, a similar service for any evil cannot be without the responsibility to share the evil consequences. This is clear evidence of Islam’s invitation to every one of its adherents to always carefully abstaining from taking any part in any evil. This is another clear exhortation towards ‘Tawallah’ and ‘Tabarra’ which are the last two or the final articles of the practice of the faith, the Islam-Original distinguished by the title ‘Shi’asm.’

Whoever helps in a good cause shall have a share in its consequence. Similarly, whoever helps in an evil cause shall share the consequence of it. (A.P.)

Verse 86

This is a summons to every Muslim to cultivate sweetness and cordiality’ in the daily social life among the peace-loving members of the human family. This command followed strictly’ and faithfully has established the unique ever living brotherhood of the believers in the true faith, Islam, which is still coveted and even envied by every other religious order in the world.

Verse 87

A party of the people of Mecca who had professed Islam, had left Mecca on migration to Madina but while on the way they changed their mind and returned to Mecca and joined the heathens professing idolatry and left for Yaman, but they also sent messengers to the Muslims at Madina saying that they were still Muslims and had not deserted the faith of Islam, while they had actually done it. The Muslims were divided in their opinion about the deserters. Some still held them as Muslims, and some said that they were the deserters. This verse along with the following one was revealed clarifying the position of the hypocrites.

• 1. Refer to Verse 47:20.
• 2. Compare What Jesus said: I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel’ Mat. 15/24. Refer to Verses 7:158; 21:107; 34:28.
• 3. Plan, decide.
• 4. The Uniformity or the Unity or the Consistency of the ideas signify, its coming from the Unique One (AP).
• 5. Refer to Verse 4:59.
• 6. Refer to Verses 2:225, 10:3, 19:86, 20:109, 21:28, 34:23, 39:44, 74:48.
• 7. in inflicting punishment.
• 8. Helps.
• 9. Cause.
• 10. Whoever helps in a good cause shall have a share in its reward-similarly whoever helps a bad cause shall share the bad consequence of it.
• 11. A social ordinance unique only to Islam to impose it as an ordinance.
• 12. Statement.
• 13. See detailed description of ‘Ul al-’Amr.