Tulayhah Blog

Imam Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari reported the following narration under his tafsir of surah al-Nisa' ayah 123: [حدثنا بشر بن معاذ قال : حدثنا يزيد قال : حدثنا سعيد ، عن قتادة قال : ذكر لنا أن المسلمين وأهل الكتاب افتخروا ، فقال أهل الكتاب : نبينا قبل نبيكم ، وكتابنا قبل كتابكم ، ونحن أولى بالله منكم! وقال المسلمون : نحن أولى بالله منكم ، نبينا خاتم النبيين ، وكتابنا يقضي على الكتب التي كانت قبله! فأنزل الله : " ليس بأمانيكم ولا أماني أهل الكتاب من يعمل سوءا يجز به " ، إلى قوله : " ومن أحسن دينا ممن أسلم وجهه لله وهو محسن واتبع ملة إبراهيم حنيفا " ، فأفلج الله حجة المسلمين على من ناوأهم من أهل الأديان .] Qatadah said: We were told that once the Muslims and the Ahl al-Kitab were boasting about themselves to one another. The Ahl al-Kitab said, "Our prophet came before your prophet, our scripture came before your scripture, and we have more right to Allah than you!" The Muslims said, "We have more right to Allah than you! Our prophet is the seal of the prophets, and our scripture has the final authority to judge over the previous scriptures!" So Allah revealed: [لَّيْسَ بِأَمَانِيِّكُمْ وَلَا أَمَانِيِّ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ ۗ مَن يَعْمَلْ سُوءًا يُجْزَ بِهِ وَلَا يَجِدْ لَهُ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلِيًّا وَلَا نَصِيرًا ‎*‏ وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِنَ الصَّالِحَاتِ مِن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنثَىٰ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَأُولَٰئِكَ يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ وَلَا يُظْلَمُونَ نَقِيرًا ‎* وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ دِينًا مِّمَّنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ وَاتَّبَعَ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا] "It is not according to your wishes or the Ahl al-Kitab's wishes. Whoever commits a sin will be repaid for it and he will not find any ally or protector besides Allah. * And whoever does any part of righteous deeds - whether male of female - while being a believer, those ones will enter Jannah and not be wronged in the least. * And who is better in terms of the religion than one who submits his face to Allah while being a good-doer and follows the religion Ibrahim sincerely." [al-Nisa' 123-125] So Allah supported the believer's argument against the followers of other religions who opposed them. [Tafsir al-Tabari 9/229]

Allah recounts some of the events of the Prophet's migration from Makkah to al-Madinah in surah al-Tawbah [9] when He says: [إِذْ هُمَا فِي الْغَارِ إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَاحِبِهِ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَنَا] ... when the two of them were in the cave and he said to his companion, "Do not worry; Allah is with us." [40] In his tafsir of this ayah, al-Qurtubi wrote: [هذه الآية تضمنت فضائل الصديق رضي الله عنه ... فحقق الله تعالى قوله له بكلامه ووصف الصحبة في كتابه . قال بعض العلماء : من أنكر أن يكون عمر وعثمان أو أحد [ ص: 77 ] من الصحابة صاحب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فهو كذاب مبتدع . ومن أنكر أن يكون أبو بكر رضي الله عنه صاحب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فهو كافر ؛ لأنه رد نص القرآن .] This ayah indicates some of the virtues of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. Allah confirmed the truth of the Prophet's statement to Abu Bakr and described him in His Book as a "companion". Some of the scholars have said: If anyone denies that 'Umar, 'Uthman or any of the sahabah were companions of Allah's Messenger, then they are a liar and an innovator. But if anyone denies that Abu Bakr was a companion of Allah's Messenger, then they are a disbeliever for they have rejected an explicit statement of the Qur'an. [Jaami' li-Ahkam al-Qur'an 8/77]

Allah says in surah al-Nisa': [وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ سَنُدْخِلُهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ۖ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقًّا ۚ وَمَنْ أَصْدَقُ مِنَ اللَّهِ قِيلًا] Those who believe and do righteous deeds - We will enter them into gardens under which rivers flow, in which they will reside forever. That is a true promise of Allah. And who is more truthful in speech than Allah? [122] In his book of tafsir, al-Qasimi explained this ayah by writing: [والذين آمنوا أي: صدقت قلوبهم وعملوا الصالحات أي: عملت جوارحهم بما أمروا به من الخيرات سندخلهم جنات تجري من تحتها أي: من تحت غرفها ومساكنها الأنهار أنهار الخمر والماء واللبن والعسل خالدين فيها مقيمين في الجنة، لا يموتون ولا يخرجون منها أبدا وعد الله حقا صدقا واقعا لا محالة] "Those who believe ..." - affirm with their hearts "... and do righteous deeds ..." - use their limbs to perform the good deeds they have been commanded to do "... We will enter them into gardens under which rivers flow ..." - i.e. rivers which flow under their homes and dwellings, rivers of wine, water, milk, and honey. "... in which they will reside ..." - remaining in Jannah, neither dying nor leaving it "... forever. That is a true promise of Allah ..." - that will certainly happen; there is no way to avoid it. [Tafsir al-Qasimi 5/1573]

Words proven true by experience from Dr. 'Abd al-Rahman al-Ahdal, project manager of the Thematic Tafsir Encyclopedia

New Post Assorted Qur’an Benefits #70 We continue with our monthly series gathering the short benefits from the books of tafsir originally posted on our social media channels and giving them a more permanent home on the website. This batch comes from July 2021 https://tulayhah.wordpress.com/2024/07/08/assorted-quran-benefits-70/

Allah says in surah al-Baqarah: [وَلَا تَأْكُلُوا أَمْوَالَكُم بَيْنَكُم بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتُدْلُوا بِهَا إِلَى الْحُكَّامِ لِتَأْكُلُوا فَرِيقًا مِّنْ أَمْوَالِ النَّاسِ بِالْإِثْمِ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ] "And do not consume one another’s wealth through falsehood or send the matter to judges so that you can consume a portion of the people’s wealth wrongly while you know." [188] Sa'eed ibn Mansoor reported the following explanation from one of the tabi'oon: [قال مجاهد : لاَ تُخَاصِمْ ، وَأَنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ ظَالِمٌ .] Mujahid said: Do not litigate when you know that you are in the wrong. [Sunan Sa'eed ibn Mansoor 272]

Allah describes the plot of the shaytaan in surah al-Nisa': [يَعِدُهُمْ وَيُمَنِّيهِمْ ۖ وَمَا يَعِدُهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ إِلَّا غُرُورًا] "The shaytaan makes them promises and deludes them. And the shaytaan only promises them delusion." [120] Imam al-Sa'di said the profound words under his tafsir of this ayah: [يعدهم ويمنيهم أي: يعد الشيطان من يسعى في إضلالهم، والوعد يشمل حتى الوعيد كما قال تعالى: الشيطان يعدكم الفقر فإنه يعدهم إذا أنفقوا في سبيل الله افتقروا، ويخوفهم إذا جاهدوا بالقتل وغيره، كما قال تعالى: إنما ذلكم الشيطان يخوف أولياءه الآية. ويخوفهم عند إيثار مرضاة الله بكل ما يمكن وما لا يمكن مما يدخله في عقولهم حتى يكسلوا عن فعل الخير، وكذلك يمنيهم الأماني الباطلة التي هي عند التحقيق كالسراب الذي لا حقيقة له، ولهذا قال: وما يعدهم الشيطان إلا غرورا . ] "The shaytaan makes them promises and deludes them" - The shaytaan promises those whom He strives to mislead, and the word "promise" includes even threats, like in Allah's statement: [الشَّيْطَانُ يَعِدُكُمُ الْفَقْرَ] "The shaytaan promises them poverty" [al-Baqarah ayah 268] for he promises them that if they spend in Allah's cause that they will become poor and he makes them afraid that if they perform jihaad that they will be killed, and so on. This is like Allah's statement: [إِنَّمَا ذَٰلِكُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ يُخَوِّفُ أَوْلِيَاءَهُ فَلَا تَخَافُوهُمْ وَخَافُونِ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ] "That is only the shaytaan who frighten you of his supporters. So do not fear them; fear Me if you are truly believers." [Aal 'Imran ayah 175] When a servant tries to make Allah's pleasure His primary concern, the shaytaan causes him to fear and worry about what might happen and even what couldn't possibly happen - whatever might cross his mind - until he gives up on doing any good. Likewise, the shaytaan tricks them with false delusions which in reality are just like a mirage. That is why Allah then says, "And the shaytaan only promises them delusion." [Taysir al-Karim al-Rahman pg. 222]

In his collection of narrations, ibn Abi Shaybah mentioned: [قال زر بن حبيش : كنا نعرض المصاحف على عبدالله بن مسعود ( رضي الله عنه ) فسأله رجل من ثقيف فقال : يا أبا عبد الرحمن : أيُّ الأعمال أفضل ؟ قال ابن مسعود : الصلاة , ومن لم يصل , فلا دين له .] Zirr ibn Hubaysh said: One day while we were presenting our personal mushafs to ibn Mas'ood to review, a man from Thaqif asked him, "O Abu 'Abd al-Rahman, what is the best deed?" Ibn Mas'ood replied, "The salah. Whoever doesn't pray, they he has no share of the religion." [Musannaf ibn Abi Shaybah #7719]

In surah al-Nisa', Allah describes the plot of the shaytaan who said: [وَلَأُضِلَّنَّهُمْ وَلَأُمَنِّيَنَّهُمْ] I will surely misguide them and delude them." [119] Commenting on this, al-Sa'di wrote: [ولأمنينهم أي: مع الإضلال، لأمنينهم أن ينالوا ما ناله المهتدون. وهذا هو الغرور بعينه، فلم يقتصر على مجرد إضلالهم حتى زين لهم ما هم فيه من الضلال. وهذا زيادة شر إلى شرهم حيث عملوا أعمال أهل النار الموجبة للعقوبة وحسبوا أنها موجبة للجنة، واعتبر ذلك باليهود والنصارى ونحوهم فإنهم كما حكى الله عنهم، وقالوا لن يدخل الجنة إلا من كان هودا أو نصارى تلك أمانيهم كذلك زينا لكل أمة عملهم قل هل ننبئكم بالأخسرين أعمالا الذين ضل سعيهم في الحياة الدنيا وهم يحسبون أنهم يحسنون صنعا... الآية. وقال تعالى عن المنافقين: إنهم يقولون يوم القيامة للمؤمنين: ألم نكن معكم قالوا بلى ولكنكم فتنتم أنفسكم وتربصتم وارتبتم وغرتكم الأماني حتى جاء أمر الله وغركم بالله الغرور . ] "And delude them" i.e. in addition to misguiding them. I will delude them into thinking that they will achieve what the rightly guided people will achieve, and this is the very definition of delusion. So the shaytaan does not content himself to merely misguiding them; he goes further to make the misguidance that they have fallen into seem beautiful to them. This is piling evil on top of their evil so that they are committing the deeds of the people of hell which bring about punishment while thinking that such deeds will bring about Jannah! Allah has spoken about this as it relates to the Jews, Christians and those like them, and it is just as Allah has told us about them: [وَقَالُوا لَن يَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ إِلَّا مَن كَانَ هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَىٰ ۗ تِلْكَ أَمَانِيُّهُمْ] "They say: No one will ever enter Jannah unless he is a Jew or a Christian. That is their delusion." [al-Baqarah ayah 111] [كَذَٰلِكَ زَيَّنَّا لِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ عَمَلَهُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِم مَّرْجِعُهُمْ فَيُنَبِّئُهُم بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُو] "This do We make the actions of every people good-seeming to them. Then their return is to their Lord and He will inform them about what they used to do." [al-An'aam ayah 108] [قُلْ هَلْ نُنَبِّئُكُم بِالْأَخْسَرِينَ أَعْمَالًا ‎*‏ الَّذِينَ ضَلَّ سَعْيُهُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَهُمْ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُمْ يُحْسِنُونَ صُنْعًا ‎] "Say: Shall I tell you about the greatest losers when it comes to deeds? * They are those who misplaced their efforts during the worldly life while they thought they were doing good." [al-Kahf 103-104] And He said about the munafiqoon that on the Day of Resurrection, they will say to the believers: [أَلَمْ نَكُن مَّعَكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا بَلَىٰ وَلَٰكِنَّكُمْ فَتَنتُمْ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَتَرَبَّصْتُمْ وَارْتَبْتُمْ وَغَرَّتْكُمُ الْأَمَانِيُّ حَتَّىٰ جَاءَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ وَغَرَّكُم بِاللَّهِ الْغَرُورُ] "Weren't we with you? They will reply: Yes, but you spoiled things for yourselves, waited on the fence, doubted, and were misled by your delusions until Allah's order came. And the deceiver deceived you about Allah." [al-Hadid ayah 14] [Taysir al-Karim al-Rahman pg. 221]

One of the genres of the Qur'anic sciences is علم مبهمات القرآن or the study of names/places/things that have been left unspecified in the Qur'an. For example, what is the name of the believer in surah Mu'min, or who were the people of the cave in surah al-Kahf. Many authors in this field illustrate the basis for this field by mentioning the following hadith in their introductions: [قال ابن عباس : مَكَثْتُ سَنَةً أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَسْأَلَ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ عَنْ آيَةٍ، فَمَا أَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ أَسْأَلَهُ هَيْبَةً لَهُ، حَتَّى خَرَجَ حَاجًّا فَخَرَجْتُ مَعَهُ فَلَمَّا رَجَعْتُ وَكُنَّا بِبَعْضِ الطَّرِيقِ عَدَلَ إِلَى الأَرَاكِ لِحَاجَةٍ لَهُ ـ قَالَ ـ فَوَقَفْتُ لَهُ حَتَّى فَرَغَ سِرْتُ مَعَهُ فَقُلْتُ يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مَنِ اللَّتَانِ تَظَاهَرَتَا عَلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم مِنْ أَزْوَاجِهِ فَقَالَ تِلْكَ حَفْصَةُ وَعَائِشَةُ‏ ...] Ibn 'Abbaas said: I once spent a year waiting to ask 'Umar ibn al-Khattab a question about an ayah, for my great respect for him kept me from asking him. Then when he went out to perform Hajj, I went out with him. On the way back, while we were still on the road, 'Umar stepped aside behind an arak tree to relieve himself, so I waited for him until he finished, then I started walking with him and said, "O Leader of the Faithful, who are the two wives of the Prophet who aided one another against him?" to which he replied, "That was Hafsah and 'A'ishah." [part of a longer narration in Sahih al-Bukhari #4913 under al-Bukhari's section explaining surah al-Tahrim]