Volume 7: Surah Ale-Imran, Verses 149-155
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن تُطِيعُوا الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يَرُدُّوكُمْ عَلَىٰ أَعْقَابِكُمْ فَتَنقَلِبُوا خَاسِرِينَ ﴿١٤٩﴾ بَلِ اللَّـهُ مَوْلَاكُمْۖ
وَهُوَ خَيْرُ النَّاصِرِينَ ﴿١٥٠﴾ سَنُلْقِي فِي قُلُوبِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا الرُّعْبَ بِمَا أَشْرَكُوا بِاللَّـهِ مَا لَمْ يُنَزِّلْ بِهِ سُلْطَانًاۖ
وَمَأْوَاهُمُ النَّارُۚ
وَبِئْسَ مَثْوَى الظَّالِمِينَ ﴿١٥١﴾ وَلَقَدْ صَدَقَكُمُ اللَّـهُ وَعْدَهُ إِذْ تَحُسُّونَهُم بِإِذْنِهِۖ
حَتَّىٰ إِذَا فَشِلْتُمْ وَتَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ وَعَصَيْتُم مِّن بَعْدِ مَا أَرَاكُم مَّا تُحِبُّونَۚ
مِنكُم مَّن يُرِيدُ الدُّنْيَا وَمِنكُم مَّن يُرِيدُ الْآخِرَةَۚ
ثُمَّ صَرَفَكُمْ عَنْهُمْ لِيَبْتَلِيَكُمْۖ
وَلَقَدْ عَفَا عَنكُمْۗ
وَاللَّـهُ ذُو فَضْلٍ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ﴿١٥٢﴾ إِذْ تُصْعِدُونَ وَلَا تَلْوُونَ عَلَىٰ أَحَدٍ وَالرَّسُولُ يَدْعُوكُمْ فِي أُخْرَاكُمْ فَأَثَابَكُمْ غَمًّا بِغَمٍّ لِّكَيْلَا تَحْزَنُوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَاتَكُمْ وَلَا مَا أَصَابَكُمْۗ
وَاللَّـهُ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ ﴿١٥٣﴾ ثُمَّ أَنزَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّن بَعْدِ الْغَمِّ أَمَنَةً نُّعَاسًا يَغْشَىٰ طَائِفَةً مِّنكُمْۖ
وَطَائِفَةٌ قَدْ أَهَمَّتْهُمْ أَنفُسُهُمْ يَظُنُّونَ بِاللَّـهِ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ ظَنَّ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِۖ
يَقُولُونَ هَل لَّنَا مِنَ الْأَمْرِ مِن شَيْءٍۗ
قُلْ إِنَّ الْأَمْرَ كُلَّهُ لِلَّـهِۗ
يُخْفُونَ فِي أَنفُسِهِم مَّا لَا يُبْدُونَ لَكَۖ
يَقُولُونَ لَوْ كَانَ لَنَا مِنَ الْأَمْرِ شَيْءٌ مَّا قُتِلْنَا هَاهُنَاۗ
قُل لَّوْ كُنتُمْ فِي بُيُوتِكُمْ لَبَرَزَ الَّذِينَ كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقَتْلُ إِلَىٰ مَضَاجِعِهِمْۖ
وَلِيَبْتَلِيَ اللَّـهُ مَا فِي صُدُورِكُمْ وَلِيُمَحِّصَ مَا فِي قُلُوبِكُمْۗ
وَاللَّـهُ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ ﴿١٥٤﴾ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَوَلَّوْا مِنكُمْ يَوْمَ الْتَقَى الْجَمْعَانِ إِنَّمَا اسْتَزَلَّهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ بِبَعْضِ مَا كَسَبُواۖ
وَلَقَدْ عَفَا اللَّـهُ عَنْهُمْۗ
إِنَّ اللَّـهَ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ ﴿١٥٥﴾
O you who believe! if you obey those who disbelieve, they will turn you back upon your heels, so you will turn back losers (149). Nay! Allah is your Guardian and He is the best of the helpers (150). We will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve, because they set up with Allah that for which He has sent down no authority, and their abode is the fire; and evil is the abode of the unjust (151). And certainly Allah made good to you His promise, when you were extirpating them by His permission, until when you became weak-willed and disputed about the affair and disobeyed after He had shown you that which you loved; of you were some who desired this world and of you were some who desired the hereafter; then He turned you away from them that He might try you; and He has certainly pardoned you, and Allah is Gracious to the believers (152). When you ran off precipitately and did not turn towards any one, and the Messenger was calling you from your rear, so He gave you another sorrow instead of (your) sorrow, so that you might not grieve at what had escaped you, nor (at) what befell you; and Allah is aware of what you do (153). Then after sorrow He sent down security upon you, a slumber coming upon a party of you, and (there was) another party who cared only for their own selves; they entertained about Allah thoughts of ignorance quite unjustly. They say: “Do we have any hand in the affair?” Say: “Surely the affair is wholly (in the hands) of Allah.” They conceal within their souls what they would not reveal to you. They say: “Had we any hand in the affair, we would not have been slain here. “ Say: “Had you remained in your houses, those for whom slaughter was ordained would certainly have gone forth to the places where they (now) lie;” and that Allah might test what was in your breasts and that He might purge what was in your hearts; and Allah knows what is in the breasts (154). (As for) those of you who turned back on the day when the two armies met, only the Satan sought to cause them to make a slip on account of some deeds they had done, and certainly Allah has pardoned them; surely Allah is Forgiving, Forbearing (155).
COMMENTARY
It is the continuation of the verses revealed about the battle of Uhud. These verses exhort and encourage the believers to obey none except their Lord, because He alone is their Guardian and Helper; it calls them as witness that Allah had fulfilled His promise to them, and the debacle and disaster which they suffered on that day was brought upon them by their own hands, because they had transgressed the limits of what Allah had told them and His Messenger had invited them to; in spite of that Allah has forgiven them of their sins because He is Forgiving, Forbearing.
QUR'AN:
O you who believe! if you obey those who disbelieve . He is the best of the helpers:
It may possibly be inferred from the context that the unbelievers - after the battle of Uhud, when these verses were revealed - were putting ideas in the believers' minds (just as “friendly” advice!) to hold them back from fighting and to incite strife and disunity among them, in order to create rift and division in the camp of Islam. This implication might probably get support from the verses 173-175 coming later: Those to whom the people said: “Surely men have gathered against you, therefore fear them”. . It is only the Satan that frightens his friends; so do not fear them, and fear Me if you are believers.
It has also been said that the verse alludes to the shouting by the Jews and the hypocrites on the day of Uhud, “Muhammad has been killed; you should return to Your families.” But this explanation is nothing.
The verse first made it clear to the Muslims that if they obeyed the unbelievers and were inclined towards their friendship seeking their help, they would suffer a great loss, that is, they would turn back to infidelity, would become unbelievers themselves. Then it strikes at this idea by showing them the bright reality that “Allah is your Guardian and He is the best of the helpers.”
QUR'AN:
We will cast terror into the hearts. . and evil is the abode of the unjust:
It is a beautiful promise to the believers that Allah will help them through terror and scare. The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) used to mention “scare” among the special bounties which Allah had reserved for him - not giving it to any other prophet. Such traditions have been narrated by both sects.
The clause, “because they set up with Allah that for which He has sent down no authority”, points to the fact that the polytheists set up such things as partners or colleagues for Allah, which have got no authority, no proof for it. The Qur'an repeatedly says that there is no authority, no proof, which could prove any partner or colleague for Allah. Among many types of polytheism is the rejection of the Creator by saying that some thing other than Allah - like time or matter - has caused the creation and goes on managing it.
QUR'AN:
And certainly Allah made good to you His promise, . and Allah is Gracious to the believers:
“al-Hass” (to extirpate by slaying). The traditions unanimously say, and history records, that on the day of Uhud, at first the believers overpowered the enemy and defeated them; they started slaughtering them and plundering their goods. But then most of the archers left their position at the mountain-pass, and Khalid ibn Walid with his group attacked and slaughtered 'Abdullah ibn Jubayr and the few archers who had remained with him. Now the way was clear for them to attack the believers from the rear - which they did. Seeing this, the fleeing seventy of the companions and bringing utter defeat upon them.
Accordingly, the words, “And certainly Allah made good to you His promise”, affirms that Allah's promise of help - on the condition that they should remain on guard and be patient - was certainly fulfilled; the, clause, “when you were extirpating them by His permission “, is applicable to the victory which Allah gave to them to begin with on the day of Uhud; and the next clause, “until when you became weak-willed and disputed about the affair and disobeyed after He had shown you that which you loved “, may be pointing to what the archers had done; they disputed one with the other, an overwhelming majority of them left their position and ran away to join those companions who were busy in gathering the booty. In this way they showed their lack of will-power; they differed among themselves end' disobeyed the Prophet's order not to leave their place no matter what happened to the others. Accordingly, al-fashal (generally translated as 'to lose heart', 'to be weak-hearted'), would imply here, weakness or lack of will-power; obviously the meaning of weak-heartedness or cowardice would not be appropriate in this context, because they had not left their position because of any fear; rather it was because of the avarice of war-booty. If we take al-fashal for cowardice, then it would apply to the whole 'army'; and in that case, the adverb, “then”, in the clause, “then He turned you away from them”, would denote ordinal sequel, not sequence of time. The word, “disputed”, proves that not all of them were united in that weak-willedness and disobedience; some of them were determined to carry on the order, and to continue in the obedience. That is why Allah follows it with the comment: “of you were some who desired this world, and of you were some who desired the hereafter”
QUR'AN:
then He turned you away from them that He might try you;. .:
Allah stopped you from entangling with the idol-worshippers, after you manifested your lack of will-power, disputed one with the other and disobeyed the Prophet - in short, after you became disunited. He did so in order that He might examine you and test your faith and patience in His cause.
When the hearts and minds are disunited, it provides the strongest reason to conduct an examination, so that a believer may be distinguished from a hypocrite; such a test would also separate a believer who is firmly-rooted in belief and steadfast in conviction from the one who is inconsistent and fickle. Nevertheless, Allah has forgiven them by His grace, as He says, “and He has certainly pardoned you”.
QUR'AN:
When you ran off precipitately and did not turn towards any one and the Messenger was calling you from your rear:
“al Is'ad” (to go far away on the ground) is different from as-su'ud which means to rise up, to ascend. They say, As'ada fi janibi 'I -barr (he went far in the land), and Sa'ada fi 's-sullam (he climbed up the ladder). It is said that al-is'ad is, sometimes, used in the meaning of as-su'ud.
The adverb, “when”, is related to an implied verb, “remember” (i.e. remember when you ran off . .); or to the verb in the preceding verse, “He turned you away “; or to the one after that, “He might try you”, according to various explantions. al-Layy (to turn towards, to incline). According to Majma'u 'l -bayan, it is always used in negative (and never in affirmative), i.e. they do not say, Lawaytu 'ala kadha (I turned towards so-and-so).
The clause, “and the Messenger was calling you from your rear”, the word, “rear” here is opposite of front. The fact that the Prophet was calling them from their rear, shows that they had fled away en masse from around him in such a way that the mob in forefront was far off from the Prophet and the rear group was nearer; he was calling them but nobody was turning towards him - neither those in the front nor those in the rear. They ran off precipitately to save their own skins, leaving the Messenger of Allah (blessings of Allah be on him and his progeny), almost alone surrounded by the hordes of the bloodthirsty enemies.
Of course, the words in the verse 144, and Allah will a few among them whose determination was not shaken; they did never retreat - neither in the beginning nor after the rumor spread that the Prophet was martyred, as is clear from the words, “if then he dies or is killed, will you turn back upon your heels?”
The words under discussion, “and did not turn towards any one, and the Messenger was calling you from your rear”, clearly show that the rumor of the Prophet's martyrdom spread among them after they had retreated and run away from him.
QUR'AN:
so He gave you and other sorrow instead of (your) sorrow,. . of what you do:
He changed their sorrow to another sorrow in order to divert their attention from this grief. This “another sorrow” that afflicted them was, in any case, a divine grace; because Allah says: “so that you might not grieve at what had escaped you, nor (at) what befell you;” and He has condemned such grief in His Book where He says: So that you may not grieve for what has escaped you, nor be exultant at what He has given you (57:23). Obviously, this another sorrow that would prevent them from that disliked grieving would be a grace and bounty. Accordingly, this “another sorrow” should refer to the remorse that overwhelmed them for what they had done, to the distress they felt for the victory that had slipped from their hands because of their weak will-power. Consequently the second sorrow mentioned in the clause, “instead of (your) sorrow”, would refer to that undesirable grieving; the preposition “bi” in “bi-ghammin” (instead of sorrow) indicates exchange. The meaning is therefore as follows: you were grieving at what had escaped you and what had befallen you; Allah changed it to the remorse and distress for the lost victory.
Another alternative: “athabakum” (translated here as “He gave you”) may contain the connotation of change. The meaning in this case will be as follows: He changed your remorse and distress to the grief, entitling you for its reward. The meanings of the two “sorrows” will interchange, vis-à-vis, the preceding explanation.
In either case the sentence “so He gave you another sorrow”, branches out from the clause, “and He has certainly pardoned you”; and the next verse, “Then after sorrow He sent down security upon you. .”, is closely related to it. The meaning: He pardoned you, then changed your sorrow to another sorrow to prevent you from that grief of yours which He was not pleased with, then He sent down upon you security in the form of slumber which overtook you.
A third alternative is apparently supported by the context, in that the sentence, “so He gave you another sorrow. .”,would branch from the immediately preceding clause, “When you ran off precipitately...”; in this case, “another sorrow” would refer to their running off and retreating from the battlefield; and the next phrase, bi-ghammin would be translated “because of the sorrow “ (taking the preposition bi for the cause); it would then refer to the polytheists' attack on them from the rear which in its turn was the direct result of their disputation and disobedience. It is a good meaning. In this case, the clause, “so that you might not grieve. .”, would mean as follows: We explain these facts to you so that you might not grieve. Thus, it would fall into line with the words of Allah: No misfortunate befalls you on the earth nor in your own souls, but it is in a book before We bring it into existence; surely that is easy to Allah: So that you may not grieve for what has escaped you, nor be exultant at what He has given you; and Allah does not love any arrogant boaster (57:22-23).
(The meaning: He gave you another sorrow that you ran away from the battle-ground, because the polytheists attacked you from the rear when you disputed among yourselves and disobeyed the Prophet. We explain it to you so that you might not grieve at what had escaped you, nor at what befell you.)
These three possible grammatical structures maintain the order of the verse and keep the sentences well-connected to each other. The exegetes have written many other possibilities. For example, to which sentence does the conjunctive, “so”, join the words, “so He gave you another sorrow”. What are the connotations of the first and the second “sorrow”? What is the import of the preposition “bi” in “bi-hammin” (translated here as “instead of “)? What is the significance of “so that you might not”? But they are not tenable in the least, and there is no use of quoting and commenting on them.
In the light of the first two meanings given by us, “what had escaped you”, (in the clause, “so that you might not grieve at what had escaped you, nor (at) what befell you”) would refer to victory and war booty; and “what befell you “ to their slaughter and injuries.
QUR'AN:
Then after sorrow He sent down security upon you, a slumber coming upon a party of you:
al-Amanah” (security); an-nu'as (lethargy before sleep; light sleep; slumber); “slumber” is appositional substantive standing for “security”. It is also possible to take al-amanah as plural of al-'amin (peaceful) like at-talib and at-talabah; in that case it will be circumstantial clause related to “you” in “upon you”; and “slumber” will become object of the verb, “sent down “. al-Ghashayan (to cover, to envelop).
The verse shows that this slumber had overtaken only some, and not all, of the believers, as the clause, “a party of you”, clearly says. These were the people, who had come back to the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) after retreating and running off precipitately, and felt remorse and sorrow for what they had done. Far be it from Allah to pardon them mercifully while they were still fleeing away from the jihad, and were thus engaged in one of the greatest sins. Allah says about them, “and He has certainly pardoned you, and Allah is Gracious to the believers”, and it is unthinkable that Allah's grace would cover a sinner when he was actively engaged in open defiance and sin - until and unless he repented. But as explained above, Allah looked on them graciously when He changed their sorrow to another sorrow in order that they might not grieve, lest their hearts be polluted with something disliked by Allah; (and it proves that they had come back and repented before that).
So, these were some of the believers; they were those who felt remorse for what they had done, and returned to the Prophet gathering around him. Probably it was at the time when the Prophet separated himself from the hordes of the polytheists and reached the mountain-pass - although they returned to him gradually, one by one, when it was known that the Prophet was not slain.
The other group is referred to in the next sentence, “and (there was) another party who cared only for their own selves”
QUR'AN:
and (there was) another party who cared only for their own selves:
This was another group of the believers. The word “believer” is used here only to distinguish them from the hypocrites who have been mentioned later on (in 3:167-168): And that He might know the hypocrites and it was said to them: “Come, fight in Allah's way, or defend yourselves.” The said: “If we knew fighting, we would certainly have followed you” . Allah did not give this second group (that cared only for itself) the honor accorded to the first one (who were pardoned, then given another sorrow and lastly provided security and slumber). This second party, on the other hand, was left on their own; they were wholly engrossed in their own selves, oblivious of every thing else.
Allah mentioned here their two characteristics although one was a concomitant or branch of the other. First, that they cared only for themselves. It does not mean that they wanted for their own selves the happiness - in its real sense. After all, even the believers want the same thing - the happiness for themselves. Not only the man, every creature that has a little bit of will and volition thinks only about itself. What this clause connotes is that their whole attention was riveted to save their own skins - lest they lose their lives and be slain. In other words, their only aim in accepting the religion - or doing any other work - was to let their own selves have the usufruct of this world. They had professed Islam only because they thought that it was an unconquerable factor, and that Allah would not like it to be overwhelmed by His enemies - even if the enemies had all the factors in their favor. These people sought to gain benefits from the religion as long as it went on giving them something to their advantage. But if the situation changed and the tables were turned against them, they would turn back on their heels, retreating into disbelief.
QUR'AN:
they entertained about Allah thoughts of ignorance . the affair is wholly (in the hands) of Allah:
They entertained about Allah a thought that was not correct, was actually a thought of ignorance. They ascribed to Him a characteristic that was not true, and was like that which the people of ignorance used to ascribe to Him. Whatever that thought, it was related to their words, “Do we have any hand in the affair?”. It may also be inferred from the reply Allah taught His Prophet, i.e., “Say: 'Surely the affair is wholly (in the hands) of Allah.' “ This reply evidently shows that according to their thinking some affairs were in their own hands. That is why as soon as they were defeated and massacred, they started having doubts about religion, and said to each other, “Do we have any hand in the affair?”
It is clear from the above that they thought that outright victory and triumph was their right. Why? Because they were Muslims! They believed that the true religion cannot be vanquished, and consequently the followers of that religion cannot be defeated - because, according to them, it was incumbent on Allah to help it unconditionally, without any restriction, because He had promised to help.
So that was the unjust thought, the thought of ignorance. The idol-worshippers of the days of ignorance believed that Allah was the Creator of every thing; that at the same time there was a separate Lord for every phenomenon, like sustenance, life, death, love, war, etc. Also, every species and every part of creation like man, earth, river, etc., had a Lord of its own; each Lord managed the affair of his subjects and none could overpower him within his jurisdiction. They worshipped those lords so that they would provide them with sustenance, give them happiness, and protect them from evil and misfortune; and Allah was like an overlord, allotting each group of His subjects and each part of His Kingdom to a lord who had full authority to do whatever he liked within his jurisdiction and in his domain.
If someone thinks that the true religion could not be over powered in its advancement, and that the Prophet - being the first to receive it from his Lord and be responsible for it - could not be defeated in his mission or could not die or be killed, then surely such a man entertains about Allah thoughts of ignorance. He has taken a partner for Allah, and idolized the Prophet as a deity who has been given domain over victory and war booty - while in fact Allah is One Who has no partner, and in Whose hand lies every power and every authority; and none else besides Him has any authority at all. That is why when Allah said in a preceding section, “That He may cut off a portion from among those who disbelieve, or abase them so that they should return disappointed of attaining what they desired”, He cut short the speech, turning towards His Prophet to tell him, “You have no concern in the affair”. He did so, lest someone thought the Prophet had any concern or authority in that cutting off a portion of unbelievers or abasing them. It is Allah Himself Who has established the system of cause and effect. The stronger the cause the surer the appearance of its effect, no matter whether that effect is right or wrong, virtue or vice, good or bad, guidance or misguidance, justice or injustice. Also, it makes no difference whether the person involved is believer or unbeliever, beloved or hated, Muhammad (s.a.w.a.) or Abu Sufyan.
Of course, Allah has special providence for His religion and for His friends. It is because of that concern that the system in the creation is run in such a way that it would finally lead to the victory of religion, and prepare the earth for His friends - and the end is for the pious ones (7:128).
It is a universal law and no exception has been made for prophet-hood and divine mission. That is why we find that when the normal factors and causes were present for the advancement of the religion and victory of the believers (as was the case in some battles of the Prophet), the believers triumphed; and when there was any weak link in the chain (for example, hypocrisy raised its head, or they disobeyed the Prophet, or became weak-hearted or nervous) the polytheists got the upper hand, defeating the believers. The same was true in case of other prophets, vis-à-vis, their people. The enemies were men of the world, whose only aim was to gain benefits of this life; they had overwhelming powers and gathered strength upon strength, and mobilized army after army. Naturally, they got upper hand and crushed the prophets - some were slain like Zakariyya, others were beheaded like Yahya, yet, others had to leave their place like 'Isa and so on.
Nevertheless, if the truth of the religion could not be established without disturbing the normal casualty - in other words when it was a question of life or death for the truth - then it was necessary for Allah to strengthen the religion in an extraordinary and supernatural way, lest evidence of its truth be destroyed. Some details of this subject were given in the discourses on Miracle
in volume one, and on Deeds
in volume three.
However, to return to our topic: When these people (who did not care except for their own selves) asked each other whether they really had any authority in the affair, it showed that they entertained doubts about the truth of the religion, and as we have explained above, their religion had the spirit of idolatry in its body. Therefore, Allah told His Prophet to reply them in these words: “Surely the affair is wholly (in the hands) of Allah”. Before that He had told the Prophet himself that he had no concern, no authority, in the affair. All this made it clear that the religion of nature, the religion of monotheism, is the one. In which all authority is reserved for Allah; the rest of the things - including the Prophet - have got no authority at all; rather they are links in the chain of cause and effect, governed by the divine system that leads to the law of test and trial.
QUR'AN:
They conceal within their souls what they would not reveal to you. . and Allah knows what is in the breasts:
It exposes their lack of belief in a much more harsher light than their words, “Do we have any hand in the affair? “, had shown. Those words had expressed their doubt in the form of a question. But the idea hidden in their hearts (“Had we any hand in the affair, we would not have been slain here”), is an argument to prove according to their thinking untruth of the religion! That is why although they had dared to utter the former question before the Prophet, they kept the later words concealed in their hearts, as it would have clearly shown that they gave preponderance to disbelief over belief.
Allah therefore told His Prophet to reply their undisclosed thought in these words: “Say: 'Had you remained in your houses, those for whom slaughter was ordained would certainly have gone forth to the places where they (now) lie;' and that Allah might test what was in your breasts and that He might purge what was in your hearts. “ These words made it clear to them that:
First:
When the martyrs were slain in the battlefield, it was not because you were not on truth nor because the authority was not in your hands - as you think. Rather, it had happened because the divine decree - which is enforced without fail - had ordained that those martyrs would lie in this place. If you had remained behind, those for whom martyrdom was ordained would surely have gone ahead to the place of their martyrdom. There is no way of escaping from the appointed time of death; when it comes nobody can delay it an hour nor can he bring it on before its times.
Second:
It is a divinely established system that test and purge would encompass each and every human being; it would inevitably cover one and all, you as well as them. Neither you could avoid coming out of your homes nor the battle could be put off. All this was necessary in order that the martyrs might arrive at their right positions and achieve their high ranks, and you might reach your due places. In this way, everyone would be placed in his proper place - either felicity or infelicity, happiness or unhappiness - after the testing of the thoughts and ideas hidden in your breasts, and the separation of belief and polytheism concealed in your hearts.
It is amazing to see a number of exegetes writing that the group mentioned in this verse refers to the hypocrites - when the context clearly shows that it describes the condition of some believers. As for the hypocrites (i.e., the group of 'Abdullah ibn Ubayy that had withdrawn from the battle in the very beginning even before the battle had started), their condition has been described much later. Of course, that explanation might be in place if they use the word, “hypocrites”, for those of weak faith, who were so confused in their belief that it ultimately boi1ed down to rejection of faith (in reality) although they professed Islam (in words). It is they whom Allah describes as 'those in whose hearts was disease'. He says: When the hypocrites and those in whose hearts was disease said: “Their religion has deceived them” (8:49); and among you there are those who hearken for their sake (9:47). Or may be they want to say that all hypocrites had not gone back to Madina with 'Abdullah ibn Ubayy.
Even more amazing is some others' assertion that these people were good believers. They say that these people thought that the affair of divine help and victory was in their hands because they were on the true religion, and they had seen how in the battle of Badr they were given victory and how angels were sent to help them. According to these exegetes, when they said, “Do we have any hand in the affair?”, and thought, “Had we any hand in the affair, we would not have been slain here”, it was actually their way of confessing that the affair was in the hands of Allah, not theirs, otherwise they would not have been massacred.
If we accept this interpretation then the replies (Say: “Surely the affair is wholly (in the hands) of Allah”, and, Say: “Had you remained in your houses, those for whom slaughter was ordained would certainly have gone forth to the places where they (now) lie “), would be totally irrelevant. Some people have realized this defect and then have tried to explain it away in a way that has compounded the confusion. In any case, we have already explained its true meaning to you.
QUR'AN:
(As for) those of you who turned back on the day when the two armies met, only the Satan sought to cause them to make slip on account of some deeds they had done:
“Istazalahumu 'sh-shaytain” (the Satan wanted them to slip); he wanted so only because they had acquired some evil traits in their psyches, and done some bad deeds; one evil leads to another, because it emanates from following the heart's desires - and the heart desires only that which has some affinity to it.
Someone has taken the preposition “bi” (on account of) as indicative of instrument, and said that “some deeds “ refers to their fuming back on the day of fighting. But this interpretation is far fetched; because “some deeds they had done” manifestly shows that their deeds had preceded there turning back; the two cannot refer to the same thing.
In any case, the verse shows that some sins and evil deeds done by them had given the Satan power to mislead them by making them retreat and flee from the jihad. Consequently, there is no ground to suppose that the verse points to the Satanic cry on the day of Uhud that the Prophet was killed (as has been narrated in some traditions), because such interpretation is not supported by the wordings of the verse in any way.
QUR'AN:
and certainly Allah has pardoned them; surely Allah is Forgiving, Forbearing:
This pardon was granted to those who turned back on the day of battle, as mentioned in the beginning of the verse. The verse is unrestricted, and therefore covers all those who fled on that day. In other words it includes both groups: those on whom slumber was sent down and those who cared only for their own selves. But there is a difference between the two, as the former has been honored by Allah, but not the latter. Because of that difference, this general pardon (which; covers both groups) does not mention the aspects of honor) related to the formers pardon (as mentioned earlier).
It also shows that the pardon mentioned in this verse is not the same as the one described (in 3:152) above, “and He has certainly pardoned you”. That the two pardons are different may be gathered from different tones used in the two verses. Look first at the former where Allah says, “and He has certainly pardoned you, and Allah is Gracious to the believers”. It clearly, shows Allah's grace and mercy on them, and mentions them as “believers”; thereafter it goes on saying that He changed their sorrow to another sorrow in order that they might not grieve then tells them that He sent down security on them in the form of slumber. How different is that tone from the one employed in this verse where it merely says: “and certainly Allah has pardoned them; surely Allah is Forgiving, Forbearing”. Note that it speaks only about the pardon, but is silent about all the above-mentioned aspects of honor; then it ends with the adjective, “Forbearing” - focusing the attention on the fact that Allah does not make haste in giving punishment. A pardon accompanied by forbearance indicates that although the Master has overlooked the sin but still He is not pleased with the sinner.
Suggestion: Those who think that both groups are equal in rank do so because both have been granted pardon.
Reply: The former pardon is different from the latter in its connotation, although both denote pardoning. There is no proof to show that pardon, forgiveness and things like that have the same connotation everywhere; and we have explained how the two differ in these verses.
PARDON AND FORGIVENESS IN THE QUR’ĀN
What is pardon? As ar-Rāghib has said (and it is the meaning derived from its various uses): ‘‘al-‘Afw (اَلْعَفْوُ = pardon) originally means to proceed straight away to get something. They say: ‘afāh or i‘tafāh (عَفَاهُ،اِعْتَفَاهُ = he proceeded towards him to take a certain thing from him); ‘afati ’r-rīhu ’d-dār (عَفَتِ الرِّيحُ الدَّارَ = the wind proceeded to the house taking away its traces or vestiges).’’ They say, ‘afati ’d-dār ((عَفَتِ الدَّارُ when they want to say that the house has become effaced, obliterated; probably there is a fine literary point in this usage: It is as though the house itself came cover its traces and decorations, got hold of them and disappeared from sight. It is in this meaning that al-‘afw is attributed to Allāh; as though Allāh goes to His servant and takes away whatever sins he might be having - thus the servant is left without any sin.
It appears from the above that al-maghfirah (اَلْمَغْفِرَةُ = forgiveness; lit. = to cover) in a way emantes from al-‘afw. The sin is first taken away then it is covered up so that it cannot be seen - neither by the sinner nor by others. The Qur’ān says: and pardon us and forgive us [2:286]; and Allāh is Pardoning, Forgiving [4:99].
Also it is clear that pardon and forgiveness - although having different meanings, the one branching out from the other, academically - are one and the same for all practical purposes. Also, these meanings are not reserved for Allāh; these words may be used for others too in the same meanings. Allāh says: unless they remit [ya‘fūna يَعْفُوْنَ ]or he remits [ya‘fuwa يَعْفُوَ ] in whose hand is the marriage tie [2:237]; Say to those who believe (that) they forgive those who do not hope the days of Allāh [45:14]; pardon them therefore and ask forgiveness for them, and take counsel with them in the affair [3:159]. Here Allāh enjoins His Prophet to pardon them; he should not mete out to them the consequences of their disobedience, like censuring and admonishing them or shunning and avoiding them. He should also beseech Allāh to forgive them (and He will grant that prayer without fail) in order that they are saved from punishment of their sins.
Also, it is clear that the theme of pardon and forgiveness may be related with creative phenomena and legislative effects, as well as with affairs of this world and the next. Allāh says: And whatever affliction befalls you, it is on account of what your hands have wrought, and (yet) He pardons most (of your faults) [42:30]. This verse definitely includes pardon of worldly consequences of the sins and faults. The same is the apparent significance of the words of Allāh: and the angels declare His glory with the praise of their Lord and ask forgiveness for those on earth [42:5]. Also the words of Adam and his wife, quoted in the Qur’ān, point to this reality: They said: ‘‘Our Lord! We have been unjust to ourselves, and if Thou forgive us not, and have (not) mercy on us, we shall certainly be of the losers’’ [7:23]. Certainly this injustice to their own selves and the forgiveness asked for were not related to the hereafter, because the prohibition which they had contravened was in nature of an advice, not of a law.
Many Qur’ānic verses prove that nearness and proximity to Allāh and enjoyment of the paradise’s blessings cannot take place unless and until the rust of polytheism and sins are removed by repentance, etc., followed by the divine forgiveness. For example, Allāh says: Nay! rather, what they used to do has become (like) rust upon their hearts [84:14]; and whoever believes in Allāh, He guides aright his heart [64:11].
Pardon and forgiveness are, in short, like removal of impediments and eradication of contrary antagonistic facotrs. Allāh has counted belief and the hereafter as ‘‘life’’; and the effects of belief, the deeds of the people of the hereafter and their lively progress as ‘‘light’’. He says: Is he who was dead then We raised him to life and made for him a light by which he walks among the people, like him whose likeness is that of one in utter darkness whence he cannot come forth? [6:122]; and as for the next abode, that most surely is the life [29:64]. Thus, polytheism is death, and sins are utter darkness. Allāh says: Or like utter darkness in the deep sea: there covers it a wave above which is another wave, above which is a cloud, (layers of) utter darkness one above another; when he holds out his hand, he is almost unable to see it; and to whomsoever Allāh does not give light, he has no light [24:40]. Forgiveness then removes the death and darkness; it takes shape through the life (i.e., belief) and the light (i.e., divine mercy).
An unbeliever has neither life nor light. A believer whose sins are forgiven, has the life and the light both; on the other hand, a believer who is encumbered with sins is alive but with diminished light; his light will become perfect when he is forgiven. Allāh says: their light shall run on before them and on their right hands; they shall say: ‘‘Our Lord! make perfect for us our light and grant us forgiveness [66:8].
The above discourse makes it clear that when pardon and forgiveness is attributed to Allāh regarding creative affairs then it means removal of impediment (by creating a factor to erase it); in the context of legislative matters, it indicates removal of such factors that would prevent man’s success in the hereafter; while in the circle of happiness and unhappiness it would entail removal of those things that would impede his happiness.
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Author: Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai
