4. Surah An-Nisaa

Sequence Discussed upto this point were subsidiary injunctions mostly, alongwith issues relating to faith ('Iman) and disbelief (kufr) appearing as a corollary to dealings with antagonists. Onwards from here, these issues appear in some detail continuing almost close to the end of the Surah. In the sequence of statements, first comes a description of 'Iman (faith) as credible in the sight of the Shari’ ah. After that, various groups of disbelievers have been censured for their beliefs and for some of their deeds also which issue forth from their faulty beliefs.

Important Notes 1. The first part of the verse 137 which begins with the words: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ثُمَّ كَفَرُ‌وا (Surely, those who believed and then disbelieved, believed again and then disbelieved, then went on increasing in their disbelief) refers to the hypocrites. But, some commentators say that this verse is about the Jews for they were the ones who first believed, then, after having taken to the golden calf, became disbelievers. After that, they repented and believed. Then again, they rejected the prophethood of Sayyidna 'Isa علیہ و الصلوٰۃ السلام and fell back into disbelief. Finally, by refusing to believe in the prophethood of Sayyidna Muhammad ﷺ ، they further increased in their disbelief (Ruh al-Ma’ ani). 2. The second part of the verse 137 لَّمْ يَكُنِ اللَّـهُ لِيَغْفِرَ‌ لَهُمْ وَلَا لِيَهْدِيَهُمْ سَبِيلًا Allah is not to forgive them nor lead them on the path), when read as a whole with the first part, would mean that their repeated return to disbelief will cause their very ability to receive true guidance to be taken away from them and, in that event, they will have neither the future option to repent nor the opportunity to believe. Otherwise, the general rule laid out by the definitive texts of the Qur'an and ' Sunnah is that a disbeliever (kafir) or an apostate (مُاتَد murtadd), no matter how hardened, has his past sins forgiven -- if the taubah (repentance) made by him is sincere and true. So, if such, people too change and repent, the law of amnesty and forgiveness is open.

Commentary In the first verse (138), the hypocrites have been given the news of a painful punishment. By articulating a distressing news with the word, 'basharah' (good news), the hint given is that everyone looks forward to some good news to brighten his or her future but, for the hypocrites, there is just no other news except this.

Seek Honour from Allah alone Close friendly relations with disbelievers and polytheists have been forbidden in the second verse (139). Warning has been served on those who do so. Right along, after giving the reason why people get involved with this disease, the practice has been declared ineffectual and absurd. The words of the text are: أَيَبْتَغُونَ عِندَهُمُ الْعِزَّةَ فَإِنَّ الْعِزَّةَ لِلَّـهِ جَمِيعًا (139) (Are they seeking honour in their company? But, indeed, all honour belongs to Allah). To explain, we can say that the urge to meet and be friendly with disbelievers and polytheists is generally prompted by the assumption that their outwardly visible influence, power and collective strength may give honour and power to those who have close relations with them. Almighty Allah has exposed the reality behind this absurd notion by saying: You want to acquire honour from those who them-selves have no honour. ` Izzah (عِزَّۃَ ) which means might and mastery, belongs to none but Allah and whenever some sort of might and mastery is given to any person, it is given by Allah. With the scheme of things being such, it would certainly be a gross lack of reason to go about acquiring honour by displeasing the owner and giver of real honour and stooping down to the level of scroungers for temporal honour through His enemies? The same subject has appeared in the Qur'anic Surah al-Munafiqun with one addition as follows: وَلِلَّـهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَ‌سُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَـٰكِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ For Allah is all honour, and for His Messenger, and for believers - but, the hypocrites do not know. 63:8. By adding the messenger and the believers with Almighty Allah in this verse, it has been emphasized that Allah is the only owner-possessor of real honour and it is He Who bestows on whosoever He wills a certain part of that honour. Since the Messenger of Allah and those who believe in them are dear in the sight of Allah, therefore, honour and mastery are given to them. As for the disbelievers and the polytheists, they themselves do not have this kind of honour, then, what sort of honour can one get by acting in league with them? There-fore, Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ said: مَن اعتَزَّ بِالعبِیدِ اَذَلَّہُ اللہ Whoever seeks honour through human beings (His servants) is disgraced by Allah. (Jassas) As in Mustadrak al-Hakim, Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ said to Sayyidna Abu ` Ubaydah ؓ ، the Governor of Syria: کُنتم اَقَلَّ النَّاسِ وَ اَذَلَّ النَّاسِ فَکَثَّرَکُم بالاِسلام، وَ کُنتم اَذَلَّ النَّاسِ فَاَعَزَّکُمُ اللہُ بالاسلام مھما تطلُبُو العِزَّۃَ بغیرِ اللہِ یُذَلُّکُمُ اللہُ You were the lowest (in numbers) and the weakest (in strength) among the people (of the world), then Allah made you exceed in numbers and strength with (the grace of) Islam; and you were the meanest (in status) among the people (of the world), then Allah raised you in honour with (the grace of) Islam. So, understand this very clearly: If you seek honour from any source other than Allah, Allah will disgrace you. Explaining the meaning of this verse, the famous commentator, Abu Bakr al-Jassas has said in Ahkam al-Qur'an that the verse forbids the seeking of honour through friendship with disbelievers and sinners. However, the seeking of honour and power through Muslims is not forbidden because this verse of Su-rah al-Munafiqun has made it clear that Almighty Allah has blessed His messenger and the believers with honour. (Jassas, p. 352, v.2) If the ` Izzah or honour mentioned here means the everlasting honour of the life-to-come, the 'Akhirah, then, its applicability to Allah's messenger and the believers in the life of the present world is quite obvious, for the honour of the 'Akhirah can never become the lot of any disbeliever or polytheist. Conversely, if it is taken to mean honour in the present life of the world, then, barring transitional periods and accidental happenings, this honour and mastery is, ultimately, the right of Islam and Muslims alone. Until such time that Muslims remained Muslims in the true sense, the whole world witnessed the spectacle. Then, there shall be the later period when Muslims will reassemble around true Islam under the leadership of Sayyidna 'Isa (علیہ السلام) ascendancy will again be theirs. That Muslims appear to be weak during the interim period, because of their weakness of faith and involvement with sins does not go against it.

In the third verse (140): وَقَدْ نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الْكِتَابِ (... and He has revealed to you in the Book), by referring to another verse of the Holy Qur'an which had already been revealed' as a verse of the Surah al-An'-am before the event of Hijrah in Makkah al-Mukkarrmah, it has been re-emphasized that Allah had sent, much earlier, the command that they should not even sit in the company of disbelievers and sinners. Now, surprising as it is, these heedless people have gone much beyond that by establishing friendly relations with them assuming that they were the bearers of honour and the wielders of power in their own right. The verse of Surah al-Nisa' under discussion (140) and the verse of Surah al-An'-am (68) which has been referred to in the Surah al-Nis-a' both carry the same sense. That is, should some people sitting in a group be engaged in denying and deriding the verses revealed by Allah, then, as long as they stay occupied with this vain exercise, sitting in their company to participate or observe is also forbidden (haram). However, the words of Surah a1-An` am have some generalization, and a little more detail for it says: وَإِذَا رَ‌أَيْتَ الَّذِينَ يَخُوضُونَ فِي آيَاتِنَا فَأَعْرِ‌ضْ عَنْهُمْ حَتَّىٰ يَخُوضُوا فِي حَدِيثٍ غَيْرِ‌هِ ۚ وَإِمَّا يُنسِيَنَّكَ الشَّيْطَانُ فَلَا تَقْعُدْ بَعْدَ الذِّكْرَ‌ىٰ مَعَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ ﴿68﴾ And when you see those who indulge in Our verses adversely, turn away from them, until such time that they may get busy with some subject other than that. And if Satan makes you forget, do not sit with the unjust people after the recollection. (6:68) Here, in the verse cited above, the reference is to disputation in Divine verses which includes disbelief and mockery as well. Also included here is the act of distorting the meaning of a verse, that is, deducing such meanings from the verses of the Holy Qur'an which are contrary to the tafsir or explanation given by the Holy Prophet ﷺ and his blessed Companions, or are against the consensus of the Muslim Community. Therefore, Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ as reported by Dahhak, has said that included within the sense of this verse are those who explain the Qur'an (tafsir) erroneously or distort its meaning تَحرِیف (tahrif) or invent what is not there (bid'ah). The actual words of this report are being given below: دَخَلَ فِی ھٰذ، ہِ الاٰیَۃ، کُلُّ مُحدِّثِ فِی الِّدینِ ، وَ کُلُّ مُتدِ (علیہ السلام) عِ اِلٰی یَوم القِیٰمَۃِ (Mazhari, p.263, v.2) The impermissibility of listening to opinion-based explanations of the Holy Qur'an: From here we find out that a person who, while talking, explaining or teaching the Holy Qur'an, is not observant of the exegetical authenticity credited to the most righteous elders of the early period (i.e. the Companions of the Holy Prophet ﷺ or their pupils) instead, indulges in giving meanings of the Qur'an contrary to those stated by them, then, participation in the درس Dars (teaching sessions) or Tafsir (Exegesis) of such a person shall be impermissible under the authority of the Qur'an, being a sin rather than a source of reward. In Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit, Aba Hayyan has said: These verses tell us that what is sinful to say verbally remains equally sinful when heard through the ears voluntarily. He has even put it in a poetic exhortation: وَ سَمعَکَ صُن عَن سِمَاعَ القَبیِح کَصَونِ اللِّسَانِ عَنِ النُّطقِ بِہِ Protect your ears from hearing the evil As you protect your tongue from saying it. After looking at the element of some generalization in the verse of Surah al-An’ am, we can now turn to the other element of additional remarks about the possibility of someone having joined the company of such people unknowingly. In that case, once it is realised, the person should immediately leave that gathering. The point is that one should not sit with unjust people when alerted to the situation. Now, in both verses of Surah al-Nis-a' and Surah al-An’ am it has been declared that as long as they remain occupied with their cross-comments, sitting in their company is forbidden. Here, we face another aspect of the problem which is: When they stop talking in that particular strain and digress to some other topic, would sitting with them and taking part in mutual discourse at that time become permissible, or not? The Qur'an has elected not to be explicit on this situation, therefore, on this subject, there is a difference of views among scholars. Some have said that the reason for this prohibition was the disparagement and distortion of Divine verses - when that stopped, the prohibition stopped too. Therefore, once they start talking about something else, sitting in their company is no sin. Some others have said that (sitting in) the company of such disbelieving, sinning and unjust people is not correct even after that. This is the position taken by Hasan al-Basri, may the mercy of Allah be upon him, the argument in support of his position comes from the following sentence of Surah al-An'am: فَلَا تَقْعُدْ بَعْدَ الذِّكْرَ‌ىٰ مَعَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ. It means: Once you remember, do not sit with the unjust people. It is obvious that an unjust person remains what he is even after having terminated the questionable conversation. Therefore, abstaining from sitting in his company is necessary. (Jasas) Qadi Thanaullah Panipati has, in his al-Tafsir al-Mazhari, found consistency in both views by saying that should comments laced with disbelief, mockery and distortion of the Qur'an cease and be replaced by some other topic of conversation, then, even at that time, sitting unnecessarily in the company of such people shall, after all, remain forbidden. But, should such participation be prompted by some religious contingency or physical need, it would be permissible. Seclusion is better than bad company Imam Abu Bakr al-Jassas (رح) has said in Ahkam al-Qur'an: Should a Muslim, who is charged with the duty of forbidding the evil, witness sin being committed in a gathering, then, he should stop it by force, if he has the strength to do that. And should he be lacking in this capability, then, he should, in the least, show his displeasure, the lowest degree of which is that he should rise and leave such company. This is the reason why Sayyidna ` Umar ibn ` Abdul-` Aziz had some people arrested on the charge that they were drinking wine. On investigation, it was found that one of them was fasting. He did not drink the wine, but he was sitting in the company of those drunkards. Sayyidna ` Umar ibn ` Abdul-` Aziz punished him too for his unexplained sitting in that sort of company. (al-Bahr al-Muhit p.375, v.3) It is useful to know that Ibn Kathir has reported at this point in his Tafsir the following hadith from the Holy Prophet ﷺ where he has said: مَن کَانَ یُؤمِنُ بِاللہِ وَالیَومِ الاٰخِرِ فلَا یجلِس عَلٰی مَآیِٔدَۃِ یُدَارُ عَلَیھا الخَمَرُ One who believes in Allah and the Last Day should not sit to dine where liquor is being served. (Ibn Kathir, p.567, v.1) What has been said about leaving a gathering as part of a debated issue summarized above is hemmed by a condition. The condition is that leaving such a gathering shall not entail some sin according to Shari’ ah. For example, joining the Jama ah (congregation) in a Masjid is necessary. Should something contrary to the Shari` ah start happening there, one should not abandon praying with the Jama'ah because of that; instead, simple emotional displeasure against what is undesirable shall be considered sufficient. Similarly, there could be some other gathering the necessity of which stands proved in the Shari` ah. If some people there start doing things which are contrary to the Shari` ah, then, leaving that gathering just because of the sin being committed by others would amount to committing a sin of your own. This is neither reasonable, nor correct. Therefore, Hasan al-Basri (رح) said: If we were to keep giving up what we must do just because of the sins of other people, we shall be paving the way for all sorts of sinners to come and destroy the Sunnah and Shari` ah. To Sum Up The nature of socialization with disbelieving or falsely-believing people takes some of the following forms: 1. By condescending to their infidelistic assaults. This is infidelity (kufr). 2. By showing repugnance when confronted with open expressions of disbelief. This, if done without a valid excuse admitted by the Shari’ ah, is 'fisq' or sinfulness, contrary to the required behaviour of unalloyed righteousness. 3. For some worldly need. This is allowed. 4. To disseminate injunctions of Islam. This is an act of worship, ` Ibadah. 5. Under compulsion, exigency or emergency or helplessness (idtirar). This is excusable. Accommodating disbelief is disbelief Towards the later part of the verse (140), it was said: إِنَّكُمْ إِذًا مِّثْلُهُمْ (You, in that case, would be like them). It means: 'If you kept sitting in such a gathering where the Word of Allah is being rejected or ridiculed or distorted, quite unruffled, almost willingly, then, you too, by becoming an accomplice in their sin, have become like them.' The sense of 'having become like them can be explained either as: °God forbid, if your own thoughts and feelings are such that you show your liking for and are satisfied with their expressions of disbelief, then, in reality, you too are a disbeliever (k afir), because liking kufr is nothing but kufr.' Otherwise, if that is not the case, 'being like them' would mean: °By your participation in the activity of those who are busy hurting Islam and Muslims through their falsification of the Faith, you too, by your abetment of their conspiracy, have become, God forbid, like them.' The censure on hypocrites appearing earlier continues through the present verses. Their blameworthy approach to matters of Faith has been clearly identified here and is self-explanatory through the translation given.

Maulana Ashraf ` Ali Thanavi (رح) has, in his Tafsir Bay-an al-Qur'an, taken up the question of 'standing up lazily' in the expression: قَامُوا كُسَالَ which appears in verse 142 saying: 'The laziness censured here is doctrinal laziness, (that is, slothfulness towards observance of the articles of faith due to lack of true conviction). However, laziness which is there despite correct beliefs stands excluded from the purview of this censure. Then, should this laziness be there due to some excuse, such as, sickness, fatigue or sleepiness, it is not even blameworthy. But, when without excuse, it is.'

The purpose in previous verses was to point out to some ugly traits of the hypocrites, though their punishment of being in Hell with disbelievers was also mentioned as a corollary to another subject. From this stage onwards, the purpose is to state their punishment clearly. Since the inherent effect of such impending punishment generates a sense of fear in a good-natured person which usually becomes the reason for early repentance, therefore, exemption from punishment has been promised to those who repent alongwith the incentive of good reward for them. The Meaning of sincerity The statement: وَأَخْلَصُوا دِينَهُمْ (Make their Faith pure for Allah) in verse 146 shows that a deed in order to be acceptable with Allah has to be free of hypocrisy and exclusively for His sake and pleasure, for Muslim jurists have enunciated the meaning of Mukhlis (translated with the weaker equivalent 'sincere' ) as follows: اَلَّذِی یَعمَلُ للہ لَا یُحِبُّ اَن یُّحمَدَہُ النَّاسُ عَلَیہِ A sincere person is one who acts for Allah alone and does not like that people praise him for it. (Mazhari)

Commentary Out of these verses, the first (148) and the second (149) give a law to eradicate injustice and oppression from the world. But, this is not like the usual worldly laws which are limited to dictatory formulations. This, in turn, is the kind of law which tries a combination of persuasion and awe whereby, on the one hand, the victim of injustice has been permitted to protest against the perpetrator of injustice, or to go to a court of law to seek redress. All this is nothing but the basic demand of justice and, certainly, a source of eradication of crimes. But, along with this option, there is a restriction on it as mentioned in Surah al-Nahl: وَإِنْ عَاقَبْتُمْ فَعَاقِبُوا بِمِثْلِ مَا عُوقِبْتُم بِهِ ۖ وَلَئِن صَبَرْ‌تُمْ لَهُوَ خَيْرٌ‌ لِّلصَّابِرِ‌ينَ ﴿126﴾. It means: 'If a person inflicts injustice on you, you too can retaliate against him for that injustice. But, the condition is that your retaliation should not exceed the unjust aggressive action by him - if so, it is you who would turn into the unjust one.' (16:126) The outcome is that returning an injustice by another injustice is not allowed. Rather, the retaliation to injustice, if any, can be made only through justice. On the other hand alongwith this course of action, comes the instruction that revenge is, though permissible, yet observing patience (Sabr) and forgiving is better. This verse also tells us that for an oppressed person who goes about complaining to people about the injustice done to him or her, this will not be included under backbiting ghibah غِیبہ ، which is Haram (forbidden) - because it is the oppressor who has given the victim the opportunity to complain. Thus, the Holy Qur'an has, on the one hand, allowed the oppressed person to use the option of 'even retaliation' against the injustice. On the other hand, by teaching the oppressed to practice high morals and to forgive and forget, and by focusing before him the great gain of the life-to-come, the victim of injustice has been persuaded to do a little sacrifice in this matter of his legitimate right and take no revenge for the injustice inflicted. The Holy Qur'an says: إِن تُبْدُوا خَيْرً‌ا أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ أَوْ تَعْفُوا عَن سُوءٍ فَإِنَّ اللَّـهَ كَانَ عَفُوًّا قَدِيرً‌ا ﴿149﴾ If you do good openly or keep it secret or overlook an evil deed, then, Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Powerful - 4:149 It means: If you do a good deed openly or do it secretly or forgive any injustice or evil done by someone, then, this is better, because Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Powerful. Primarily, this verse is concerned with the forgiving of injustice but, by also mentioning the doing of what is good, openly or secretly, the hint given is that this act of over-looking and forgiving is great and anyone who elects to do it shall become deserving of the mercy and forgiveness from Almighty Allah. Towards the end of the verse, by saying فَإِنَّ اللَّـهَ كَانَ عَفُوًّا قَدِيرً‌ا (Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Powerful), it has been made clear that Allah is powerful in the absolute sense. He can punish whomsoever He wills, yet He is All-Forgiving. Now, a human being, who does not have much of power or choice, were to think of taking revenge, it is quite possible that he may just not have the capability to do that. Therefore, for such a person, overlooking and forgiving is far more desirable. This is the principle which the Holy Qur'an enunciates to eradicate injustice and reform the society. The counsel, befitting of the Sustainer of everything, does, on the one hand permit retaliation in an equal measure, thus upholding justice. On the other hand, it exhorts the aggrieved party to forgive and forgo. The result is what has been described in Qur'an at another place: فَإِذَا الَّذِي بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ "You will see that he with whom you had enmity has become your closest friend" (41:34). Court decisions and taking of revenge for injustices do play a role in checking injustice. The fact, however, is that the parties to the dispute are usually left saddled with long term grievances and feelings of abhorrence against each other which can result in further disputes in the future. The impeccable lesson in morality, given by Holy Qur'an results in patch up among quarrelling parties such that even old enmities change into close and lasting friendships. Now, we move on to verses 150, 151 and 152 where the Holy Qur'an has given the clear verdict that anyone who believes in Allah but does not believe in His messengers (علیہم السلام) ، or believes in some of them and does not believe in some others is not a believer in the sight of Allah. He is, rather, an open and avowed disbeliever for whom there is no road to salvation in the Hereafter. Let us examine this aspect of the verses concerned in some detail.

Salvation depends on Islam This clear verdict of the Holy Qur'an has exposed the rudderless and crooked ways of those who, in an effort to appear tolerant in dealings with peoples of other faiths, would like to present their religion and religious beliefs as gifts on a platter. By doing so, they wish to tell - despite and contrary to the clear injunctions of the Qur'an and Sunnah - people of other faiths that Muslims do not think that salvation depends on Islam alone and a Jew could keep to his or her creed and a Christian to his or hers and yet, both could look forward to salvation; though, they deny all prophets or at least some of them, for which reason this verse has declared them to be the kind of disbelievers who are destined for Hell. There is no doubt about the fact that Islam stands unmatched in its attitude to non-Muslims in matters of justice and fairness, sympathy and goodwill, favour and tolerance. But, good favours can be made within the limits of one's rights and possessions. Religious principles and articles of faith are not our property which we could donate or present to somebody. Of course, Islam is generous and benevolent in its teachings of tolerance and good treatment with non-Muslims, but it is also equally cautious and firm in the defence of its frontiers. It maintains its essential approach of all possible sympathy and maximum tolerance with non-Muslims, but, at the same time, Islam absolves itself decisively from all forms of disbelief and customs woven around it, declaring Muslims as a people distinct from non-Muslims - and yet, it provides full protection to their national hallmarks. In short, Islam prefers to keep not only the acts of worship Muslims perform distinct from those of others, but also its way of life in a society, the examples of which abound in the Qur'an and Sunnah. Had Islam believed in the possibility of salvation through every religion or community, it would have had no right to lay so much stress on spreading the message (Tabligh تَبلِیغ) of Islam, almost to the limit of staking property and life for it. This would have been wrong in principle and quite contrary to dictates of reason. In fact, by accepting such a premise, the very coming of the noble Prophet, may the blessings of Allah and peace be upon him, and the revelation of the glorious Qur'an, is rendered, God forbid, redundant. And, lest we miss, the entire Jihad carried out by the noble Prophet ﷺ and the rightly-guided Caliphs ؓ becomes meaningless, rather reduced to nothing but the lust for more land. In this case, some people have fallen victims to doubt by a misreading of verse 62 in Surah al-Baqarah which is cited below: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالنَّصَارَ‌ىٰ وَالصَّابِئِينَ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّـهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ‌ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُ‌هُمْ عِندَ رَ‌بِّهِمْ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ ﴿62﴾ Surely, those who believed in Allah, and those who happened to be Jews and Christians, and the Sabeans - whosoever believes in Allah and in the Last Day, and does good deeds - they have their reward with their Lord. And there is no fear for them nor shall they grieve. Since, in this verse, rather than giving the full detail of what constitutes faith, only belief in Allah and in the Last Day has been considered sufficient, those who try to understand the Qur'an through an incomplete study have misunderstood the whole idea. They assumed that simply believing in Allah and the Last Day is enough for salvation and that believing in prophets is no condition for it: Thus, they failed to understand that the Qur'an has its own terminology in which Belief in Allah, in order to be acceptable, has to be in conjunction with Belief in the Prophet. Otherwise, even the Satan admits that there is a God and that He is One. The Holy Qur'an has itself clarified the real issue in the following words: فَإِنْ آمَنُوا بِمِثْلِ مَا آمَنتُم بِهِ فَقَدِ اهْتَدَوا ۖ وَّإِن تَوَلَّوْا فَإِنَّمَا هُمْ فِي شِقَاقٍ ۖ فَسَيَكْفِيكَهُمُ اللَّـهُ ۚ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ ﴿137﴾ So, if they believe in the like of what you believe in, they have certainly found the right path. And if they turn away, they are nothing but in antagonism. Then Allah will suffice you against them, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. (2:137) In other words, we can say that their faith will be valid and trust-worthy only when they have the same faith as common Muslims do, a faith in which Belief in the Prophet is indispensably necessary with Belief in Allah. Otherwise, if they do not do that, let it be understood that they are the ones who wish to create dissension. After that, for them, Allah will be sufficient on your behalf, and He is the One who hears everything and He is the One who knows everything. As for the verses under discussion, it has been clearly declared that anyone who rejects even one of the prophets of Allah is an avowed disbeliever (kafir) and a recipient of the punishment of Hell. So, let us remember that Belief in Allah, in order to be valid, has to be with Belief in the Prophet. If the Belief in the Prophet is not there, even referring to Belief in Allah as such will not be correct.

In the concluding verse (15:22), it has been reaffirmed that salvation in the Hereafter is the lot of those who believe in Him and in all of His prophets as well. Therefore, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: اِنَ القُرٰانَ یُفَسِرُ بعصُہ بَعضاً One part of the Qur'an explains the other. It is not permissible for anyone to explain the Qur'an in any way contrary to the Tafsir of the Qur'an itself.

Some previous verses censured Jews for their mistrustfulness in matters of faith. In the present verses too, there appears a long list of some of their other evil doings and, because of these ugly problems with them, mention has been made of their punishment. This strain continues in many more verses coming later. Commentary Some Jewish chiefs came to the Holy Prophet ﷺ and demanded that he bring down a book from the heaven similar to that which came to Musa (علیہ السلام) ، all written from there: If so, they would believe him. They had made this demand not because they wished to believe with all their heart on this condition. It was just a device to drag and stall. In fact, because of their chronic urge to take an opposite stand, they were given to offering one or the other excuse all the time. By revealing this verse, Almighty Allah made the Holy Prophet ﷺ become aware of the real state of affairs. This was to give him comfort and peace of mind against the doings of a people who are used to harassing the prophets of Allah. They would go to unbelievable limits of audacity by going as far as committing outrage against Almighty Allah. Their forefathers had gone even beyond them by demanding something more grave: "Make us see Allah openly." Upon this audacity of theirs, came' a thunderbolt from the heaven and destroyed them. Then, it was despite being fully cognizant of clear signs and proofs of Allah being One and free of any partners in His Divinity, they stooped lowest of the low by taking a calf as their object of worship bypassing their own genuine Creator. But, Allah still remained forbearing; otherwise the occasion demanded that they be eliminated. Then, Allah gave His prophet, Sayyidna Musa, peace be upon him, authority and power. Then, there came an occasion when these people had flatly refused to acknowledge the canonical law of the Torah whereupon Allah raised the Mount of Tur high suspending over them, thus threatening and forcing them to acknowledge the Law of Torah or otherwise they were to be mashed under the mountain. Allah had also told them to enter the gate of the city of Eliah humbly filled with fervour to obey Him. Allah had also asked them to catch fish on the day of Sabbath which was a command from Him and which was not to be transgressed. And Allah had taken a solemn pledge from them, but it so turned out that they contravened every single command one after the other breaking the solemn pledge with Allah. So, Allah too put disgrace on them in the mortal life of the world and they will have to undergo the worst punishment in the Hereafter as well.

Like the earlier verses, the censure of Jews continues through the present ones. As a thematically coherent subject, their false ideas have also been refuted which have been discussed in detail in the following commentary.

Commentary In the verse يَا عِيسَىٰ إِنِّي مُتَوَفِّيكَ وَرَ‌افِعُكَ (Isa, I am to take you in full and lift you towards Me... 3:55) appearing in Surah 'Al-` Imran, Almighty Allah had made five promises in connection with foiling the Jewish plans against Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) and protecting him from their hostile intentions. A detailed explanation of these has been given earlier on that occasion in Surah 'Al-` Imran. One of the promises made there was that the Jews will not be allowed to have their way with their intention to kill Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) . Instead of that, Allah will lift him towards Him. In the present verses (157-158) of Surah al-Nis-a', it has been made explicit that they did not kill nor crucify Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) ، rather, what actually happened was that they were deluded by resemblance. How were the Jews 'deluded by resemblance?' While explaining the words of the Qur'an: وَلَـٰكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ (but they were deluded by resemblance), master exegete, Dahhak says: It so transpired that, following the intention of Jews to kill Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) his disciples assembled at a given place. Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) joined them there. It was Iblis who gave the address of Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) to the execution squad standing ready for the mission. Four thousand men surrounded the suspected house. Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) said to his disciples : 'Is one of you willing to go out and be killed and then be in Paradise with me?' One of them offered to do so. Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) gave him his shirt and head-cover. Then, cast on him was the resemblance of Jesus and as soon as he came out, the Jews, believing him to be Jesus, caught him and crucified him, and Sayyidna ` Isa was lifted. (Qurtubi) According to some reports, the Jews had sent a person known to Arabs as Teetlanoos to kill Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) . He did not find Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) in the house for he was already lifted by Allah towards Himself. So, when this person came out of the house, he had been made to resemble the looks of Sayyidna ` Isa . The Jews took him to be Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) . Thus, they took away their own man and killed him. (Mazhari) There is room for whichever of the situations came to pass - the Holy Qur'an has not determined any particular situation. Therefore, Allah alone knows what really happened. However, this sentence of the Holy Qur'an seen with other exegetical reports does yield the common factor that the Jews and Christians were subjected to compelling delusion. The event as it took shape remained hidden from them, though they did advance all sorts of claims based on their conjectures which only landed them into mutual differences. This is what the Holy Qur'an points out to in the following words: وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ لَفِي شَكٍّ مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا لَهُم بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلَّا اتِّبَاعَ الظَّنِّ ۚ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينًا ﴿157﴾ And those who disputed in this matter are certainly in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it, but they follow whims. It means that they do not have certitude based on any true knowledge. The diverse claims put forward by those who have differed in the case of Masih (علیہ السلام) are simply based on doubt and conjecture. The truth of the matter is that they certainly did not kill Masih (علیہ السلام) rather Allah lifted him towards Himself. According to some other reports, when some of them woke up to what had happened, they said, We seem to have killed our own man, for the man we have put to death resembles Masih in face only but not in the rest of the body. Now, if this man we have killed is Masih (علیہ السلام) where, then, is our man? And if this is our man where, then, is Masih (علیہ السلام) ?' Verse 158, part of which was referred to immediately earlier, ends at: وَكَانَ اللَّـهُ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًا : (And Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise) carrying a significant message. It means that the planning of Jews to kill Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) was insignificant as matched against the Power of Allah who has taken it upon Himself to protect Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) . Might and mastery are His domain. If materialists in their single-track isolation, remain incapable of understanding the reality of the 'lifting off of Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) ، that is their own limitation. As for Allah, He is All-Wise - everything He does is based on wisdom and fitness to whatever end is desired.