3. Surah Aal-i-Imraan

The Prophet of Islam: a great blessing for the Humanity Verse 164 speaks of the great favour Allah has shown to the Muslims by sending the Holy Prophet ﷺ towards them. The basic functions assigned to him are also mentioned in the same verse. These are the same functions which were attributed to him in the prayer of Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) as referred to by the Holy Qur'an in Surah al-Baqarah. The details of these functions have already been discussed in the first volume of this book under the said verse (2:129). What is new in the present verse is the statement: 'And Allah has surely conferred favour on the believers'. Two points about this statement are worth mentioning here: (1) The words on the believers' in this verse apparently mean that the advent of the Holy Prophet ﷺ was a favour conferred on the Muslims only while at another place the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been held as رَ‌حْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ :'the Mercy for all the worlds' which includes both Muslims and non-Muslims. In order to resolve this apparent contradiction one must understand that the particularization of this quality with 'believers' in the present verse is very much like saying that the Holy Qur'an is 'guidance for the God-fearing هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ while the fact that the Holy Qur'an is a guidance for the whole humanity is clearly proved by other verses of the Qur'an. However, there are places where this universal status of the Qur'an has been particularized to the God-fearing. There is a common reason operating at both places, that is, the beneficial coming of the Holy Prophet ﷺ is a great blessing and a great favour for the Muslim and the non-Muslim alike, just as the Qur'an is a Book of Guidance for the entire humanity. But the true Muslims and the God-fearing are the only ones who derived the fullest benefit out of these. At some places, therefore, the blessing and the guidance were particularized with them. (2) In order to explain the primary statement in the verse which declares that the Holy Prophet ﷺ is the greatest possible blessing and favour for the believers or for the whole humanity, it can be said that the statement hardly needed any explanation. only if modern man was not all that blind to the spiritual side of life and, at the same time, was sacrificing every good thing for the sake of naked material gains. Had this not been so, every reasonable person would have found out the reality of this great blessing all by himself without anybody having to tell him about it. But, the problem is that modern man has turned out to be no more than the smartest animal among the animals of the world. Tell him about 'favour' and 'blessing' and he would immediately start seeing what fills his stomach and whets his desires. He has practically stopped thinking about the basic reality of his being which is رُوح ruh, his spirit. That something good should happen to it and that something can go wrong with it are concerns he pays no heed to, not in the least. Therefore, there is the need to explain that man is not simply a being of bones and flesh. That is certainly not his reality. The reality of man is his رُوح ruh, the spirit which is contained within him. So far as this رُوح ruh is there in his body, man is what man is. His claims to humanity stand proved. He may be weak or he may be dying, nobody can dare usurp his property or take his rights away from him. But, once this رُوح ruh leaves his body, he ceases to be man, no matter how strong and well-built he may be with all parts of his body in their ideal form and shape. His ceasing to be what he was means that he now has no personal right in his own property and possessions. Prophets (علیہم السلام) come into the world to nurture the human spirit correctly, to make human beings out of men so that actions which issue forth from their bodies turn out to be beneficial to humanity and that they do not go about the world hurting other human beings like beasts and snakes. Instead of that, they should also think about their end and start working for the everlasting life of the Hereafter. Our blessed Prophet ﷺ who leads the way among the great company of prophets has a unique majesty when it comes to the mission of making men real human beings. This was exactly what he did during his Makkan life. The men he turned out formed a society of human beings which stands way ahead of even the angels. Never had the earth, nor the heavens, seen such men, each one of them, a living miracle of the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings of Allah be upon him. What happens after them? The answer is that he left behind his own footprints, and theirs, as well as teachings and the methods to institute and promote, which can be followed and acted upon. Those who do so sincerely and honestly can still reach the stations that were reached by the noble Companions. These teachings are there for the entire humanity to benefit from. Therefore, his having graced this world and his being born generous is a great favour shown to the universal kingdom of human beings, though true Muslims are the ones who have reaped the fullest benefit from these blessings

The Wisdom behind the hardships of the Muslims at Uhud The subject of verse 165, أَوَلَمَّا أَصَابَتْكُم translated as, And how is it that, when you suffered a hardship the twice of which you had inflicted upon them...° has appeared in several previous verses. Here, it comes for the sake of emphasis and further clarification because Muslims were very much disturbed as a result of this incident, so much so that some of them could not resist wondering why should they be suffering in that manner (أَنَّىٰ هَـٰذَا) while they were in the company of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، doing Jihad. In this verse, Muslims are being reminded that the hardship they were facing that day was only half of what they had already inflicted earlier at the battle of Badr, for seventy Muslims were martyred at اُحُد Uhud while seventy disbelievers were killed at بدر Badr and seventy others from them were taken prisoners by Muslims. The purpose behind this reminder is that Muslims should think positively in their present state of depression in view of the fact that they had already won a battle, inflicting a loss on the enemy twice as much as they had themselves suffered at their hands. Now, a winner-like this need not surrender to sorrow and grief in the event defeat comes once, or less. Secondly, and primarily too, the purpose of saying, قُلْ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ أَنفُسِكُمْ 'This is from your ownselves' at the end of this verse, is to tell Muslims that the hardship they have faced is not because the enemy is stronger or his forces overwhelming, but all that has been caused by some of their own shortcomings, that is, they fell short in obeying the command of the Holy Prophet ﷺ .

Immediately later, in verse 166, the words fa bi idhnillahi: فَبِإِذْنِ اللَّـه indicate that whatever happened there was with the leave and will of Allah Almighty operating behind which are many wise divine arrangements, some of them having been explained earlier. One such wise arrangement is that Allah will 'see' His true believers, and the hypocrites too, that is, the sincerity of Muslims and the hypocrisy of the hypocrites will become so clear that everybody could see it for himself. Here, the reference to Allah's knowing or seeing means seeing in the perspective of our own sense-experience in the mortal world. Otherwise, as far as Allah is concerned, He knows and sees everything, all the time. So, the wise arrangement became all the more clear when, at the time of the trial, the hypocrites bowed out of the harm's way while true Muslims stood undaunted' in the middle of the battle front.

Inci-dentally, there is another cause of comfort here in the martyrdom of Muslims in the battle, for Allah has conferred such rewards on them so that others should envy them. So, very appropriately, in وَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ قُتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّـهِ the special merits of martyrs have been taken up in the verse that follows (169). The special merits and ranks of those who sacrifice their lives in the way of Allah In addition to this statement of the Holy Qur'an, the merits of the martyrs have been taken up in great detail in sound ahadith. According to Imam Al-Qurtubi (رح) ، the shuhada' (martyrs) have different ranks and states of being which should be taken into consideration while looking at descriptions in Hadith narrations. The very first distinction of martyrs mentioned here is that they have not died; rather, they have begun to live eternally. At this point, it is worth noticing that their death and burial in a grave is something physically witnessed and realized by many, yet the Qur'an has, in several verses, clearly instructed that they should not be addressed or taken as dead. What does this mean? If this was supposed to be an interim state of life, after death and before resurrection, referred to as the state of برزخ Barzakh in Islamic terminology, that would not take us very far, for that is something commonly experienced by believers and disbelievers both, when the spirit continues to live after physical death and goes through a question-answer situation following which the true and the righteous among Muslims are welcomed to comfort and the disbelievers and the sinners are consigned to the punishment of the grave. This is proved by the Qur'an and Sunnah. Now, that the interim life of برزخ Barzakh is established as common to all, what is so special about شُھَدا shuhada' (martyrs)? The answer is given by this very verse where it is said that the شُھَدا shuhada', i.e., those killed in the way of Allah, are blessed with provisions of Paradise from Him, and it is obvious that رزق 'rizq' (provision or sustenance) is needed by and given to the living. From here we know that sustenance starts reaching the شھید shahid (martyr) immediately after the شھید shahid leaves the frame of his life in the mortal world. In this manner, the شھید shahid enters into a special type of life right away from that point of time, something which has a status distinct from that of 'the dead' of our common experience (Qurtubi). There are no easy answers to questions such as - what is that distinct status and what is the nature of that life? The only answer is that its reality remains unknown to all except to the Creator of the universe; nobody has the power to know what is it - nor is there, for that matter, any need to know. Nevertheless, there are times when the effect of their special life does show up on their bodies buried in this world, that is, the earth they rest in does not eat them up but leaves them good and intact (Qurtubi). There have been many incidents where this phenomena has been physically witnessed.

So, in summation, their first merit as pointed out in this verse is their distinct perennial life; the second is their being well-provided from Allah and the third (فَرِ‌حِينَ بِمَا آتَاهُمُ اللَّـهُ ) is that they shall always be happy with Allah's blessings and grace. The fourth (وَيَسْتَبْشِرُ‌ونَ بِالَّذِينَ لَمْ يَلْحَقُوا بِهِم) merit is the good news given to them about their relatives and circle of friends they left behind in the mortal world that they too shall deserve the same blessings and ranks with their Lord if they remain good in deeds and are active in Jihad (170-171). Al-Suddi says that a شھید shahld is informed beforehand when one of his close friend or relative is about to die. The news that a certain person was coming to them makes them as happy as one would usually be when an old friend, long separated by time and distance, comes to meet him. The background of the revelation of this verse as narrated by Abu Dawud on sound authorities from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas is as follows. The Holy Prophet said to the noble Companions: 'When your brothers-in-faith fell martyrs at the battle of Uhud, Allah Almighty placed their spirits in the bodies of green birds and set them free. They get their sustenance from the streams and fruit-trees of the Paradise following which they return to special candelabrums held suspending for them underneath the عرش 'throne' ('arsh) of the All-Merciful. When they noticed the luxury of their life there, they said, 'Can anyone tell them (their grieving friends and relatives in the world) about how we live here so that they stop grieving about us and go about striving in Jihad as we did.' Allah Almighty said, 'We shall let them know about this state of yours.' Thereupon, this verse was revealed (Qurtubi).

Commentary: The subject of the previous verse was the battle of Uhud connected with which is the battle of Hamra' al-Asad which forms the subject of the present verse. Hamra' al-Asad is a place eight miles away from Madinah. The background of this event, mentioned briefly under introductory remarks about verse 151, is that the disbelievers of Makkah left the battlefield of Uhud, reached a certain distance where they realized that they had made a mistake by retreating. Since they had almost won the battle, they should have gone for the final assault and finished off the Muslim forces. The thought so gripped them that they started getting ready to march back to Madinah. But, Allah Almighty cast such awe and fear in their hearts that they found it more convenient to march back home to Makkah. They still left a message with a passing group of travellers to Madinah asking them to give a warning to Muslims that they were coming back after them with all their awesome strength. The Holy Prophet ﷺ found this out through a revelation and he reached Hamra' al-Asad in hot pursuit (Ibn Jarir, cited by Ruh al-Ma'ani). It appears in Tafsir al-Qurtubi that, on the second day of Uhud, the Holy Prophet ﷺ made an announcement before his mujahidin that they have to pursue the disbelievers but the attacking company will be composed of those who were active participants in yesterday's battle. Two hundred مجاھدین mujahidin rose following this announcement. A report in Sahih al-Bukhari states that seventy people stood up following the announcement by the Holy Prophet ﷺ as to who was ready to go after the disbelievers. Among those were people who had been severely wounded in the battle a day earlier, some even had to be helped in walking. This blessed company marched to apprehend the disbelievers. When they reached Hamra' al-Asad, they met Nu'aym ibn Masud who told them that Abu Sufyan has assembled together a much larger force once again and he is all set to invade Madinah and eliminate its people. Injury-ridden and much weakened Companions ؓ heard this disturbing news yet it was in one voice that they said: We do not know him حَسْبُنَا اللَّـهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ (Allah is sufficient for us and He is the best caretaker.) On the one hand there was this news broken to Muslims so they get terrorized, but nothing of this sort happened to them. On the other hand, there was the instance of Ma'bad al-Khuza` i, a man from the tribe of Bahl Khuza` ah. He was on his way to Makkah. Though not a Muslim, he was a well-wisher of Muslims - his tribe was an ally of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . So, when he saw Abu Sufyan repenting his retreat from Madinah and all too resolved to go back and fight, he told Abu Sufyan: 'You are making a mistake by thinking that Muslim forces have become weak. I have just passed by a huge army of theirs camped at Hamra' al-Asad. Armed with an array of men and materials, they are about to set out in hot pursuit against you.' This report from him put the awe of Muslim forces in his (Abu Sufyan) heart. This event has been related in three verses (172-174) given above. It has been said in the first verse (172) that despite injuries and hardships from the Battle of Uhud, when Allah and His Messenger called them up for another Jihad, they were ready for that too. Worth noticing at this point is the fact that the Muslims being praised here had two distinguishing features. The first one appears in مِن بَعْدِ مَا أَصَابَهُمُ الْقَرْ‌حُ (even after they had received the wound) which means that those who responded to the call of Allah and His Messenger were people wounded at the Battle of Badr. Seventy of their brave companions had met their martyrdom on the battlefield while they themselves were riddled with injuries all over their bodies, yet when they were called to serve again, they immediately agreed to join the Jihad. The second distinctive feature has been mentioned in the words: them who did good and feared Allah) which established that these people were not simply some great achievers on the battlefield striving incessantly and staking their lives for a noble cause, but they also imbibed in their person the highest virtues of Ihsan (righteous conduct) and Taqwa (fear of Allah). Thus, this very blessed combination of virtues is the cause of their great reward. Removing a doubt Let there be no doubt about the word: مِنْهُمْ (literally of them' ) used here. It should not be taken to mean that all these people were not armed with the virtues of Ihsan and Taqwa - only some of them were. The simple reason is that the preposition: مِن min (of, some of) used here is not divisive or partitive. It is, rather, doubtlessly narrative which is confirmed by the very opening words of this very verse: الَّذِينَ اسْتَجَابُوا (Those who responded to the call). From this, it is clear that such response and submission simply cannot materialize without having the qualities of Ihsan and Taqwa ingrained in one's personality. That is why most commentators have declared that the preposition: مِن min (of, some of) has been used here in the narrative sense. In short, the essential meaning of the verse is that all these people had rewards waiting for them. Striving to achieve something good even at the cost of one's life is not enough unless there is total sincerity behind it Anyway, this particular mode of address leads us to an essential rule of conduct which is: No matter how good is an effort made and no matter how many sacrifices of wealth and life one makes to achieve that end, it can be reward-worthy in the sight of Allah only when it is simultaneously backed by Ihsan and Taqwa. Therefore, the essence of the observation is that the deed undertaken must be for the good pleasure of Allah alone. Otherwise simple feats of bravery, some of which come even at the cost of one's dear life, are just about no lesser among disbelievers as well. In its ultimate reality, the command of the Messenger of Allah is the command of Allah. In this event, it will be recalled that the command to pursue the disbelievers was given by the Holy Prophet ﷺ . This does not find mention in any verse of the Holy Qur'an. But, in this particular verse, when the obedience of those people is praised, the command was attributed to both Allah and His Messenger as evident from the words of the text: الَّذِينَ اسْتَجَابُوا لِلَّـهِ وَالرَّ‌سُولِ (172): 'Those who responded to the call of Allah and the Messenger. This proves very clearly that the command which the Holy Prophet ﷺ gives is also the command of Allah even though it has not been mentioned in the Book of Allah. As for those irreligious deviants who reject Hadith and belittle the status of the Messenger of Allah by restricting it to that of a courier (God forbid), a simple statement, that Allah Almighty has openly declared the command of the Messenger as His own, should be enough to understand the truth - if understanding is what they seek. This statement, moreover, also makes it clear that the Messenger can also by himself and at his discretion, set up rules in accordance with expedient considerations, and all such rules have the same status as that enjoyed by the commandments of Allah. The Definition of Ihsan Mentioned several times during the comments given above, the word Ihsan generally means the performance of good deeds with the best of effort and discretion. However, the basic definition of Ihsan was given by the Holy Prophet ﷺ himself as reported in the well-known 'hadith of Jibra'il'. The actual words are: اَن تَعبُد اللہ کاَنَّکَ تَرَاہُ فانِ لَّم تکُن تَرَاہُ فَاِنَّہُ یَرَاک That is, worship Allah as if you are seeing Him; and if it is not possible for you to (imagine that you) see Him, then, (imagine that) He sees you anyway. The Definition of Taqwa The word, Taqwa, has been interpreted variously but the most comprehensive definition is what was given by the blessed Companion Ubayy ibn Ka'b ؓ when Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ asked him as to what Taqwa really was. Sayyidna Ubayy ibn Ka'b ؓ said: '0 Commander of the Faithful, you may have certainly passed by pathways full of thorns, have you not?' Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ said, 'Several times, of course.' Sayyidna Ubayy ibn Ka'b ؓ asked, 'What did you do at that time?' Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ said, 'I folded the hang of my dress and walked carefully.' Sayyidna Ubayy ibn Ka'b ؓ said, 'Enough. You said it. This is what Taqwa means. This mortal world of ours is a bed of thorns, full of the thorns of sins, therefore, one should live in this world in a way that one does not get entangled in the thorns of sin. The name of this attitude to life is Taqwa, the highest capital gain one can dream of.' The blessed Companion, Sayyidna Abu al-Darda' ؓ used to recite the following verse quite often: یقولُ المَرُٔ فایٔدَتی ، و تقوَی اللہِ اَفضَلُ ما استَفَادا "People say, ` my gain' and 'my money' while, really, the fear of Allah (Taqwa) is the best of what is gained."

In the second verse (173), more praises have been showered on the noble Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all, who so courageously stepped forward to join this Jihad. The words of the verse are: الَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمُ النَّاسُ إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُوا لَكُمْ فَاخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَانًا - those to whom people said, "The people have gathered against you; so, fear them." It increased them in Faith ... That is, blessed are such people who heard the news that the enemy has assembled a big fighting force against them and also the advice that they should fear them and avoid fighting - still, this news further increased the fervour of their faith. The reason is simple: When these blessed people had agreed to obey Allah and His Messenger, they had realized right from day one that the path they have chosen to travel on is full of dangers. There will be difficulties and impediments at every step. Their passage will not be easy. They will be stopped. Even armed efforts will be made to suppress their revolutionary movement. Thus, when these noble people came across such hardships, the power of their Faith increased to levels higher than before and, as a result, they worked harder, more selflessly, more than ever. As obvious, the Faith of these noble souls was perfect from the very first day they had embraced Islam, therefore, the reference to the increase in Faith in these two verses (172-173) means the increase in the qualitative contents and end-results of Faith. Even this state of the Companions who readily responded to the call of Allah and His Messenger has been specially mentioned at this point by saying that they kept reciting: حَسْبُنَا اللَّـهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ (173) all along their march to the Jihad mission. The sentence means: Allah is all-sufficient for us and the best one to trust in. Let us consider an important rule of conduct at this point. It is a fact and we know it too well that no one in this world can claim to have placed his trust in Allah, a degree more pronounced than the Holy Prophet ﷺ to and his noble Companions ؓ . But, the form and manner of such trust was different. He would never think of sitting back forsaking all physical means available and end up saying: Allah is all-sufficient for us - He will bless us with victory while we sit out and do nothing! No. This did not work like that. Instead, he gathered the noble Companions together, infused a new fighting spirit in the hearts of those injured, prepared them for the Jihad, both materially and spiritually before marching out. It means that he collected and used all physical means which were available to him and it was only after that he said: 'Allah is all-sufficient for us.' This, then, is the most authentic form of Tawakkul (Trust in Allah) taught by the Holy Qur'an, personally practiced by the Holy Prophet ﷺ and this was what he made others around him do. All physical means which we have in the life of this world are blessings from Allah. Rejecting or abandoning them amounts to being ungrateful to Him. Placing trust in Allah after having forsaken available physical means is no Sunnah (established practice) of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ . However, if there be someone comprehensively overwhelmed by his state of being, he could be deemed as excusable while being unable to observe this precept of the Shari` ah. Otherwise, the most sound practice is no more than what has been curtly expressed in a Persian poetic line: بر توکل زانوے اشتربہ بند Before placing trust, do tie your camel. The Holy Prophet ﷺ has himself stated the meaning of this very verse: حَسْبُنَا اللَّـهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ (173) 'Allah is all-sufficient for us, and the best one to trust in,' while deciding a case reported in Hadith: As reported by Sayyidna ` Awf ibn Malik ؓ ، a case involving two men came up for hearing before the Holy Prophet ﷺ . He gave his verdict. The man who lost the case heard the verdict in perfect peace and started walking out with the words: حَسْبُنَا اللَّـهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ (Allah is all-sufficient for me, and the best one to trust in) on his lips. The Holy Prophet ﷺ asked: 'Bring this man to me.' He said to him: اِنَّ اللہ یَلُومُ عَلَی العجزِ ولٰکِن علیک بالکیسِ فاذا غلبک اَمرُفقُل حَسْبُنَا اللَّـهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ Allah censures inaction but it is your duty to use means, following which, when you find yourself powerless against odds, then say: 'Allah is all-sufficient for me, and the best one to trust in.'

The third verse (174) recounts the blessings which descended upon these noble Companions for their brave response to the call of Jihad and for saying: حَسْبُنَا اللَّـهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ (Allah is all-sufficient for us, and the best one to trust in). It was said: فَانقَلَبُوا بِنِعْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللَّـهِ وَفَضْلٍ لَّمْ يَمْسَسْهُمْ سُوءٌ وَاتَّبَعُوا رِ‌ضْوَانَ اللَّـهِ So, they returned with bounty from Allah, and grace, with no evil having even touched them -- and submitted to the pleasure of Allah. Allah Almighty bestowed on them three blessings: 1. Such awe and terror was placed in the hearts of disbelievers that they ran away because of which the Companions remained protected against the rigours of fighting on the battlefield. Allah Almighty has used the very word نِعْمَة Ni'mah for what we refer to as blessing. 2. The second blessing conferred on them was the opportunity to engage in trading in the market of Hamra'al-Asad. The benefits yielded by such financial transactions were called فضل 'Fadl' or the bounty from Allah. 3. The third and the highest of the three blessings was the attainment of the pleasure of Allah which these blessed souls received in Jihad in a special manner حَسْبُنَا اللَّـهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ : Hasbunallahu wa ni` mal-wakil: A wonderful prayer for all of us The blessings of this prayer cited by the Holy Qur'an were not limited to the Companions of the Holy Prophet ﷺ in any restrictive sense. The fact is that anyone who recites this prayer devotedly with a genuine sense of faith will share in such blessings. Muslim scholars and spiritual masters have said that one who recites this verse a thousand times with true faith, and prays, will find that Allah Almighty has not rejected his prayer. Reciting this verse under the stress of frustrations and difficulties is a proven panacea. The fourth verse (175) tells Muslims that the real agent behind the report that the disbelievers are coming back is شیطان Satan himself who would love to see Muslims overawed. In other words, شیطان Satan is threatening Muslims with the strength of his friends - his cohorts, the disbelievers. Thus, one of the two objects of the verb يُخَوِّفُ yukhawwifu [ frightens (you)] has been left out in the text. The one mentioned is in اولیاہُ 'auliya'ahu' (of his friends) while the one understood but not mentioned is 'you' as it would be in يُخَوِّفُکم yukhawwifukum (frightens you). In the end, the verse exhorts Muslims not to fear such threats. What is necessary is that Muslims must continue fearing Allah, the natural outcome of which will be that a true Muslim will always think twice before embarking on anything that means disobedience to Allah. The truth of the matter is that, with Allah's help and support on ones' side, no harm can come from any side. The Fear of Allah: What does it mean? The imperative in the present verse obligates Muslims that they must always keep fearing Allah. In another verse, يَخَافُونَ رَ‌بَّهُم مِّن فَوْقِهِمْ (They fear their Lord above them-16:50) those who do so have been praised. Some revered elders have explained it by saying that fearing Allah does not mean that one should be scared stiff or sit back in tears. Far from it, a God-fearing person is one who leaves everything which may become a source of Allah's displeasure or punishment. Abu ` Ali al-Daqqaq, may Allah's mercy be upon him, says that Abu Bakr ibn al-Fuwarrak ؓ was sick so he paid him a visit. When Abu Bakr saw him, he was in tears. Abu ` Ali consoled him by saying that there was nothing to worry about, Allah Almighty will give him health soon enough. Abu Bakr corrected Abu 'Ali's impression and said that he was certainly not weeping because of any fear of death. What he really worried about was his fate after death lest he may be awarded some punishment then. (Qurtubi)

Previous verses mentioned the treachery and ill-will of the hypocrites. The present verses comfort the Holy Prophet ﷺ asking him not to grieve over the mischief made by the disbelievers for they cannot harm him in any way. The last verse (178) carries a refutation of the false notion about disbelievers: How can they, while obviously prospering in the present world, be regarded as victims of Allah's wrath and rejection?

Commentary Material affluence of disbelievers is, after all, an extension of Divine punishment Let there be no doubt about the worldly wellbeing of disbelievers for one may be tempted to believe that since Allah Almighty has given respite, long life, security and comfort to disbelievers so that they go on increasing in their crimes, they should, then, be taken as innocent. Far from it, because the verse means that Muslims should not feel upset about this temporary respite and affluence given to disbelievers as all this worldly wealth and power in their hands - despite their disbelief and disobedience - is nothing but a form of the very punishment destined for them. Today, they do not realize it. But, once they leave the mortal world, they would. They would discover to their dismay that all those articles of comfort they acquired and spent in sin were, in reality, the very embers of Hell. This is corroborated by several other verses of the Qur'an. For instance, (Allah intends to punish them with it – 9:55) which means that the wealth and power of disbelievers and their vulgarly luxurious consumerism should not be a matter of pride for them for this is nothing but an installment of that very punishment from Allah which will cause their punishment in the Hereafter to increase.

The previous verse (178) answered the question about disbelievers as to why they, being the detested ones in the sight of Allah, are in possession of all sort of wealth, property and other means of luxurious living? The present verse (179), in sharp contrast, removes the doubt about true believers as to why they, being the favoured servants of Allah, are tested with all sorts of hardships? Being favoured required that they should have been the ones living in comfort surrounded by its paraphernalia! Commentary The wisdom of making a believer distinct from a hypocrite through practical demonstration rather than through a revelation. It has been said in this verse that Allah Almighty has His way of making a sincere believer distinct from a hypocrite through which He generates such situations of hardship as would expose the hypocrisy of the hypocrites practically. This distinction, though, could also be made by identifying hypocrites by name through a revelation. But, the later course was not taken because it would have not been wise. The whole range of wisdom behind what Allah does is known to Him alone. However, one wise consideration in the present context could be: If Muslims were told about a person being a hypocrite through revelation, they would have had no difficulty in dealing with them carefully, but this would have not provided them with a clearly demonstrated proof necessarily acceptable to the hypocrites - for, they would have still insisted: You are wrong. We are true Muslims.' Contrary to this, the distinction was made practically. The introduction of hardship put the hypocrites to test in which they failed and ran away. Their hypocrisy was demonstrated and exposed practically and openly. Now they did not have the cheek to claim that they were true, sincere and believing Muslims. The manner in which the hypocrites were exposed yielded yet another benefit for Muslims when their formal relationship was also severed with the hypocrites. Otherwise, maintaining a state of discord in the heart with a veneer of formal social dealing would have been equally harmful ethically. The Unseen when communicated to anyone is no Knowledge of the Unseen as such This verse tells us that Allah Almighty does not inform everyone about Unseen matters through the medium of revelation (Wahy). However, He does inform His chosen prophets in this manner. From this, let no one hasten to doubt that prophets too have become sharers in the Knowledge of the Unseen or the knower, of the Unseen! The reason is that the Knowledge of the Unseen which is particularly attributed to the being of Allah Almighty cannot be taken as being shared by any created being. Doing so is Shirk (the crime of ascribing partners to Allah). The particular Knowledge is fortified by two conditions: 1. This should be intrinsic to the being, not given by anyone else. 2. This has to be all-comprehensive, encompassing all universes, the past and the future - a Knowledge that covers even the minutest particle without any possibility of anything remaining hidden from it. As for things of the Unseen the information of which is given to His prophets by Allah Almighty through the medium of revelation (Wahy), they are not, really, the Knowledge of the Unseen as such. They are, rather, news of the Unseen given to prophets, something about which the Holy Qur'an it self has used the expression أَنبَاءِ الْغَيْبِ (news or reports of the Unseen) at several places : مِنْ أَنبَاءِ الْغَيْبِ نُوحِيهَا إِلَيْكَ ... a part of the news of the Unseen We reveal to you. (11:49)

Anomalies in the conduct of Jews were mentioned at the beginning of Surah 'Al-` Imran (21-25). The text now reverts back to the same subject. The verses cited above carry related topics. In between, there are words of comfort for the Holy Prophet ﷺ as well as those giving good counsel to Muslims. Commentary The first (180) of the seven verses (180-186) appearing here repudiates miserliness and carries a warning for those who practice it. The Definition of Miserliness and the punishment it brings In the terminology of the Shari` ah of Islam, miserliness (بُخل Bukhl) refers to the act of not spending that which it is obligatory to spend in the way of Allah. Therefore, miserliness is forbidden (haram). Besides, it carries a stern warning of Hell for its practitioners. As for occasions where spending is not obligatory (wajib) but only recommended (mustahabb), then not spending there is not included under the miserliness which is forbidden. However, this too is called miserliness in its general sense. As said earlier, this kind of miserliness is not forbidden (haram) but against the preferred choice (khilaf aula) it certainly is. Appearing in Hadith, there is another word - شُّحَّ Shuhh - also used in the sense of بُخل Bukhl or miserliness. By definition, it means not spending what it was obligatory to spend - one may go even farther than that by remaining consumed with greed to increase one's wealth. This then, shall be a crime much more severe than ordinary miserliness. Therefore, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: لا یَجتمِعُ شُحُّ و ایمانُ فی قَلبِ رَجُلِ مُسلِم ابَدا That is, miserliness (Shuhh) and faith (Iman) can never coexist in the heart of a Muslim. (Qurtubi) The punishment for miserliness بُخُل (Bukhl) mentioned in this verse: 'They shall be forced, on the Doomsday, to put on round their necks the shackles of what they were miserly with' has been explained by the Holy Prophet ﷺ in the following words reported by Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ 'Anyone Allah blessed with some wealth and who did not pay the zakah due on it properly will find his or her wealth turn into a deadly snake shackled round the neck chomping at the person's mouth from one to the other end of the lips and saying: 'I am your wealth. I am your capital gain.' Thereafter, the Holy Prophet ﷺ recited this verse (180). (Al-Nas'i, from Tafsir al-Qurtubi)