«Allah is not ashamed to strike a parable of whatever kind — a gnat, or what is above it» (Q. 2:26) This āya was revealed in reply to what the Jews said when Allah struck the parable of the fly in His saying, Exalted: «And if the fly should snatch anything from them, they could not recover it from it» (Q. 22:73) and in [the case of] the spider, in His saying: «like the likeness of the spider» (Q. 29:41) They said: What did Allah intend by mentioning these contemptible things? It is not fitting that Allah, Blessed and Exalted, should strike a parable with these paltry things; He ought to have been ashamed of that. And so it was revealed. This is the occasion of the revelation of this āya. Allah struck the parable with these paltry things, and the disbelievers and the hypocrites and the Jews objected to striking a parable with the like of these with respect to the Majestic One, Blessed and Exalted [1] So Allah replied to them with His saying: «Allah is not ashamed to strike» [that is,] to set up «a parable of whatever kind — a gnat, or what is above it» (Q. 2:26) Allah is not ashamed to take the gnat as a likeness, or what is below it, or what is above it; He does not omit to make plain the wisdom it contains. «But as for those who believe, they know that it» — the parable — «is the truth» [that is,] the firmly established, falling in its proper place
«from their Lord» (Q. 2:26) When He strikes a parable with these things, people fall into two classes: the believers know that the parable falls in its proper place. «And as for those who disbelieve, they say: What did Allah intend by this as a parable» — by this parable? — He answered: «He leads astray by it» — by this parable — «many» from the truth, because of their disbelief «and He guides by it many» of the believers, because of their holding it true «and He leads none astray by it except the transgressors» (Q. 2:26) He is not ashamed to strike a parable. al-istiḥyāʾ — shame — is the servant’s shrinking back when he does something for which he would be reproached or blamed, so that he leaves it off. Shrinking back out of aversion to what one is blamed for: this is impossible with respect to Allah, Blessed and Exalted. We have told you a rule: every attribute that is impossible of Allah, Blessed and Exalted — if you look closely into it you find that it has a beginning and an end; its beginning is impossible with respect to Allah, Blessed and Exalted, and its end is admissible with respect to Him. al-istiḥyāʾ is the shrinking back from something for which one is blamed or reproached, so that he leaves it; his leaving it is the end. As for the leaving, it is admissible of Allah, Blessed and Exalted. And since nothing keeps the great man from doing a thing except shame — for he fears no one, so nothing restrains him except shame — and Allah, Blessed and Exalted, is greater than every great one, shame is predicated of Him without qualification while what is meant is the leaving: that He does not leave it off out of shame. As for the disbelievers who faulted the striking of a parable with these paltry things, [they did so] out of their dullness and the blindness of their hearts, for these paltry things are the most remarkable of what Allah, Blessed and Exalted, created, and they hold wonders that nothing else holds. The gnat, for example, for all the smallness of its frame, has in it every organ that is in the elephant, and two wings besides. Allah, Blessed and Exalted, who had the power to create the elephant and to create the gnat and to fit into it as many organs and joints as are in the elephant — nothing defeats Him. And this creature, which is the small gnat: when Allah created it weak, and created the fly weak likewise, He put in it such boldness that it holds no one in awe. When people gather you find the fly hovering over their eyelids and over their eyes; however hard they drive it off it comes back at them, caring nothing for them. Even kings, even tyrants — the gnat alights on them and does not fear them. As for the elephant and the lion, Allah created them at the utmost of strength and solidity that they could be, and He fitted cowardice into them, so that they do not dare to come near people; they dwell in
the wastelands, and when the two of them hear the sound of a human being they both flee from him. This belongs to the kindness of Allah, Blessed and Exalted. This boldness and audacity which is in lowly things — had He placed it in these powerful things, they would have harmed people, rather would have destroyed them in a short span. If the lion acted as audaciously toward a human being as the fly and the mosquito act audaciously toward him, the people would [all] die. But out of His kindness, Blessed and Exalted, He placed fear in the strong and placed boldness in the weak, which harms no one. The fly, when it alights on you, embitters your life for you; you are in your house, or in your garden, or in whatever place — it embitters your life for you. And the mosquito likewise, for all the lowliness of these things, their weakness and their incapacity. So how do you act boldly toward Allah, Blessed and Exalted, given the severity of His punishment and what is in Hell of scorpions and snakes whose injury never ceases? Everyone who contravenes the command of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, and abandons what Allah has commanded him, is as though he were acting audaciously toward this severe punishment — while a flea or a mosquito or a fly embitters him and clouds his life for him. Let him know that he can endure nothing of the punishment of Allah, Blessed and Exalted. And these things, for all their lowliness, did not prevent the parable from falling exactly in its place: «O people, a parable has been struck, so listen to it. Those whom you call upon apart from Allah will never create a fly» (Q. 22:73) This is brilliance of the highest order. And He struck a parable for the worship of idols: «Their likeness is as the likeness of the spider: it took a house; and the frailest of houses is the spider’s house» (Q. 29:41) And the striking of parables by means of such things occurs in the Books sent down before the Qurʾan.
al-Maʾmūn was on his pulpit when the fly alighted on him. He drove it off, and it alighted on him repeatedly, and he drove it off, and he had no power over it in anything. So he sent to Abū Hudhayl, a scholar in the city, asking him: what is the wisdom in Allah’s creating these things? He said to him: ⟨Allah created these things as a humiliation for tyrants of your sort. For when the tyrant king sits upon his throne, the fly alights on his excrement and then alights on him, and he is unable to drive it away.⟩ He said to him: ⟨You have spoken truly. For this Allah created it, Blessed⟩
and Exalted. [2] They have said: were it not for the winds and the flies, the world would stink. [3] Along with that, these foul odours — the flies eat them and the winds carry them off, so they dissipate. Were it not for that, the world would stink and it would harm its inhabitants. He said «He leads many astray by it and He guides many by it» (Q. 2:26). How did He, Great is His Majesty, say that He guides many, when the people of guidance are the few in relation to the people of error? The people of error are many, and the people of guidance are few; yet despite their fewness they are many in themselves — not in relation to the people of error, but in themselves they are many. Or: the people of truth, even if they are few, are the great mass, and they are the many, and they are the ones who prevail, and it is they who count. But in reality those who stray are more numerous than those who are guided, and that is because faith is precious and because Allah, Blessed and Exalted, has no need [of anyone]. Had He willed, everyone on earth would have believed, all of them together: «And had your Lord willed, everyone on earth would have believed, all of them together» (Q. 10:99). But because He has no need of creation, He made most of the jinn and of humankind people of error. «And He leads none astray by it except the transgressors» (Q. 2:26)
those who go outside His obedience. «Those who break Allah’s covenant» (Q. 2:27): what He enjoined upon them in the scriptures, namely faith in Muhammad ﷺ. Allah’s covenant is of three kinds. The first is what He took upon the progeny of Adam on the day of «Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes» (Q. 7:172). The second is what He took upon the messengers: that if they lived to meet the Prophet ﷺ, they would believe in him and follow him. The third is what He took upon the scholars: «You shall surely make it clear to the people and not conceal it» (Q. 3:187). This covenant the Jews broke. He made the covenant something broken, as though He had made it a rope, because in the speech of the Arabs a covenant is called a rope; for this reason the expression “breaking” is admissible. «after its ratification»: its confirmation. «and they sever what Allah has commanded to be joined»: faith in the Prophet, the ties of kinship, and other than that. «and they work corruption in the earth»: by acts of disobedience and by hindering [people] from faith. «Those — they are the losers» (Q. 2:27): because their destination is the Fire made everlasting for them. «How do you disbelieve» — O people of Mecca — «in Allah, when you were» — you had been — «dead» (Q. 2:28): drops of seed in the loins
«then He gave you life» in the wombs, in this world, by the breathing of the spirit into you. And the interrogative expresses astonishment: how do they disbelieve after [all] this? «then He causes you to die» at the expiry of your appointed terms. «then He gives you life» through the resurrection. «then to Him» (Q. 2:28)
«you will be returned» (Q. 2:28): you will be brought back after the resurrection, and He will requite you for your deeds. And He said, as a proof of the resurrection when they denied it: «He it is who created for you what is in the earth» — the earth and what is in it — «all together» (Q. 2:29): so that you might benefit from it and take heed. The Real, Blessed and Exalted, announced that He created the earth and all that is in it for the children of Adam, so that they might benefit from it and take heed that the Creator who has power over this has power to raise them after their death. The lām [in “for you”] is the lām of entitlement. They said: the children of Adam are those who were given ownership of the earth and what is in it; it is not [the lām] of licence. This is where the Ibāḥiyya went astray — a school among the schools of the Muʿtazila. They say that Allah created for the children of Adam everything that is in the earth, so there is nothing on the face of the earth forbidden to us once Allah created it for us. But what is meant is other than this. «Then He turned»: after the creation of the earth He directed Himself «to the heaven and fashioned them» — that is, He made them — «seven heavens; and He is Knowing of every thing» (Q. 2:29): knowing of every thing, in sum and in detail. Will you not then take heed that the One who has power to create that in the first place — and it is greater than you — has power to restore you? «He created for you what is in the earth all together, then He turned to the heaven» (Q. 2:29). In this āya it is as though the creation of the heaven came after the creation of the earth; and in Sūrat al-Nāziʿāt, «And the earth, after that, He spread out» (Q. 79:30), it is as though the creation of the earth came later than the creation of the heavens. The reconciliation of the two is that Allah, Blessed and Exalted, created the earth first, then created the heavens, and after the creation of the heavens He spread out the earth and made it as it now is. Each of them is both prior and subsequent. «And» — mention, O Muhammad ﷺ — «And when your Lord said to the angels: I am placing in the earth a vicegerent» (Q. 2:30): who will act in My stead in carrying out My rulings in it. Allah, Blessed and Exalted, mentioned that He informed the angels that He was placing a vicegerent in the earth, and he is Adam. «They said: Will You place in it one who will work corruption in it»: by acts of disobedience. «and shed blood»: spill it by killing, as the Banū al-Jānn did. They were before Adam, and they used to work corruption in the earth and shed blood. Will You place a vicegerent like them? «while we glorify You with praise of You»: clothed in
Your praise, we say: Glory be to Allah and praise be to Him. «and we sanctify You»: and we declare You free of what does not befit You. «He said: I know what you do not know» (Q. 2:30): of the benefit in appointing Adam as vicegerent, and that among his progeny are the obedient and the disobedient, so that justice may become manifest among them. They had said: our Lord will not create a creature more honoured in His sight than us, nor more knowing, since we came before it and have seen what it has not seen. [4] So the Exalted created Adam from the adīm of the earth — that is, its surface — by taking a handful from it of all its colours, and it was kneaded with the different waters, [5] and He shaped him and breathed the spirit into him, so that he became a sentient animal after having been inanimate. This is the story of Adam’s vicegerency. Allah said: «I am placing in the earth a vicegerent» (Q. 2:30), and he is Adam. Allah, Blessed and Exalted — His vicegerent in existence is the one through whom He carries out all His rulings and His acts, like the seal belonging to every king, by which he guards his kingdom. And Allah, Blessed and Exalted, mentioned that He created Adam: He created him a human being. When He mentioned him as a human being He said: «I am creating a human being» (Q. 15:28). And He mentioned him here and made him a vicegerent, and He said «placing» — He did not say “creating,” because in his capacity as vicegerent he is not of the world of creation; rather he is of the world of command. [6] He informed the angels that Adam and his progeny are Allah’s vicegerents in the earth, and the angels answered with this answer: «Will You place in it one who will work corruption in it and shed blood?» (Q. 2:30). From where did they know that Adam’s progeny would work corruption in the earth and shed blood? They knew it from the composition of Adam’s constitution. Allah created Adam and composed in him a soul possessing appetite and anger, and an intellect. The human being has three powers: a power of anger, which sheds blood; a power of appetite, which works corruption in the earth through acts of disobedience; and the power of intellect, which is the one that sets right. So the angels looked at Adam and said: these two powers must inevitably overcome the single power, and therefore corruption must inevitably occur, and there must inevitably occur
the shedding of blood. And it is said that they understood from the word khilāfa that Adam and his progeny would work corruption on the earth, because khilāfa derives from khilāf (opposition): every khalīfa must inevitably differ from the one before him. So when Adam was Allah’s khalīfa, they knew that corruption and the shedding of blood must issue from him. Or they read this in the Tablet, because it was written in al-Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ that Adam would be a khalīfa on the earth and would have progeny, some of whom would work corruption on the earth and shed blood until Allah filled Hell with them, and some of whom would be obedient, and with them Allah would fill the Garden. They read this in the books, and that is why they said what they said. Or they heard that from Allah, Blessed and Exalted, beforehand. He spoke with them privately beforehand. They said to Him: “Our God, this Fire, [whose] force was created severe — what will You do with it?” He said to them: “I shall create a creature and bring forth progeny from his loins. Among them will be those who obey Me, and I shall admit them to the Garden, and among them those who disobey Me, and I shall admit them to the Fire.” Their objection to Adam’s vicegerency they understood from these several considerations. «And we glorify You with praise and sanctify You. He said: I know what you do not know» (Q. 2:30) So Allah, Blessed and Exalted, turned away from them. «And He taught Adam the names» the names of the things named, that is, the names of all beings, «all of them» (Q. 2:31) even the bowl and the little bowl, [7] and the fart and the little fart, [8] and the ladle. Allah, Blessed and Exalted, taught [him] everything He would create of things: this one’s name is horse and the wisdom in it is such-and-such, and this one’s name is donkey, and this one ... even the qaṣʿa and the qaṣīʿa, the large vessel and the small, and the ladle. Everything — Adam knew it on the spot, from the beginning of time to the end of time, and the angels knew nothing of this. «Then He presented them to the angels and said» in reproof «Inform me» tell me «of the names of these» the things named «if you are truthful» (Q. 2:31) in [your claim] that I shall not create anyone more knowing than you, or that you have a better right to the vicegerency than Adam «They said: Glory be to You» declaring You exalted above any objection raised against You «we have no knowledge except what You have taught us» [of] it «truly You are»
«the All-Knowing, the All-Wise» (Q. 2:32) from whose knowledge and wisdom nothing escapes «He said» Exalted [is He] «O Adam, inform them»
the angels «of their names» (Q. 2:33) the things named. Adam named each thing by its name and stated the wisdom for which it was created
«So when he had informed them of their names, He said» Exalted [is He], to them in rebuke «Did I not tell you that I know the unseen of the heavens and the earth, and I know what you disclose» what you make manifest, from your saying «Will You place therein» (Q. 2:30) «and what you were concealing» (Q. 2:33) what you keep secret, from your saying: Allah will not create anyone more honoured in His sight than us, nor more knowing.
This is the story of Adam with the angels. When Allah created Adam He taught him these things, and the angels did not know them. So Allah argued against them that Adam deserves the vicegerency because he knows a knowledge the angels do not know. For this reason the scholars said that only the one who knows is entitled to the imāma, because Allah, Blessed and Exalted, argued against the angels over Adam’s vicegerency by [appeal to] knowledge. This is the merit of knowledge. When Adam knew the things named and the angels did not know them, Allah made him khalīfa on the earth and commanded the angels — as comes now — to prostrate to him, a prostration of greeting. This is proof of the nobility of knowledge. Knowledge is the leader and action follows it. The Book, the Sunna, and reason all attest the merit of knowledge. As for the Book, Allah, Blessed and Exalted, mentioned the merit of knowledge in several āyāt, among them: «Only those of His servants who know fear Allah» (Q. 35:28) and among them: «Allah bears witness that there is no god but He, and the angels, and those possessed of knowledge» (Q. 3:18) Allah mentioned four classes whose ranks He raises. The people of Badr: «The believers are only those whose hearts tremble when Allah is mentioned» (Q. 8:2) this was sent down concerning the people of Badr, and at its end He said that He raises their ranks, that He gives them high ranks. And He mentioned those who strive: «Allah has favoured those who strive over those who sit at home with a great reward — ranks» (Q. 4:95–96) And He, Blessed and Exalted, raised the ranks of the righteous: «And whoever comes to Him a believer, having done righteous deeds — those are the ones who have the highest ranks» (Q. 20:75) And He raised the ranks of the people of knowledge above all these classes: «Allah raises those of you who believe, and those who have been given knowledge, by ranks» (Q. 58:11) So He placed those possessed of knowledge in the third rank: «Allah bears witness that there is no god but He, and the angels, and those possessed of knowledge» (Q. 3:18) In the Qurʾan there are seven persons, of every one of whom Allah mentioned that He taught him knowledge from Himself, without
intermediary: «He taught Ādam the names, all of them» (Q. 2:31) — so by that he attained the vicegerency and the prostration of the angels to him. And the Exalted said that He taught al-Khiḍr the science of physiognomy: «and We taught him knowledge from Us» (Q. 18:65) — so by that he gained a pupil like Mūsā and Yūshaʿ. And He taught Yūsuf the interpretation of dreams: «My Lord, You have given me of the kingdom and taught me of the interpretation of dreams» (Q. 12:101) — so he attained Zulaykhā and the kingdom. And He taught Dāwūd the making of coats of mail: «and We taught him the making of coats of mail» (Q. 21:80) — so he found leadership and kingship. And He taught Sulaymān the speech of the birds: «We have been taught the speech of the birds» (Q. 27:16) — and the teacher is Allah; so he found the kingdom, and he found Bilqīs and the throne. And He taught ʿĪsā the Book and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel: «and He will teach him the Book and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel» (Q. 3:48) — so by that he attained being raised up to heaven and association with the angels. And He taught Muhammad ﷺ the shariʿa: «and He taught you what you did not know» (Q. 4:113) — so through his knowledge he attained intercession.
ʿAli, may Allah ennoble his face, said: ⟨Knowledge is better than wealth in seven respects:⟩ [9]
- ⟨Wealth is the inheritance of the pharaohs, and knowledge is the inheritance of the prophets⟩
- ⟨Wealth decreases with spending, and knowledge does not decrease with spending⟩
- ⟨Wealth — the unbeliever finds it and the believer finds it; and knowledge — none finds it but a believer⟩
- ⟨Wealth needs a keeper and a guard; and knowledge guards its possessor, it needs no keeper⟩
- ⟨Wealth — when a man dies his wealth remains behind, while his knowledge enters the grave with him and does not part from him⟩
- ⟨Wealth weighs a man down on the Ṣirāṭ [the Bridge], and knowledge strengthens him to walk on the Ṣirāṭ⟩
- ⟨Knowledge — all people need it for their religion, and they do not need the possessor of wealth.⟩
So knowledge is better than wealth. And if Ādam, upon him be blessing and peace, was taught the names of existent things and was ennobled by that knowledge until he found the prostration of the angels and their salutation to him — then we have been taught the Essence and the Attributes and the Names: not the names of existent things, but the Names of Allah and His Attributes and His exalted Essence. If we have come to know this, how should we not find the greeting of the angels? Rather we find above that — we find the greeting of the Lord: «Peace — a word from a Merciful Lord» (Q. 36:58). And if al-Khiḍr found, through the science of physiognomy, the companionship of Mūsā and Yūshaʿ — and the two of them are prophets — then we, who have found the science of the Reality, how should we not find the companionship of Muhammad ﷺ? We do find it: «Those are with those whom Allah has favoured — of the prophets and the truthful and the martyrs and the righteous; and excellent are those as companions» (Q. 4:69). al-Ḥamdu li-Llāh [the praise is for Allah]
Among the excellences of knowledge is that when the student goes out from his house to a scholar seeking knowledge, the angels spread their wings in exaltation and ennoblement of him [10], and so long as he keeps going back and forth to his teacher, Allah, Blessed and Exalted, sends down mercy upon him. And when he is in the session of knowledge: whoever understands the knowledge knows what he finds, and whoever understands nothing of what is said finds charisms. He finds [this]: that he is in obedience to Allah, Blessed and Exalted, so long as he is in the session of knowledge, even if he has understood nothing; he is held back from acts of disobedience and from sins so long as he is in that session, and he is a sitting-companion of the scholars and of the angels. And if he knows nothing of what is said, his heart breaks on this account, and so Allah becomes his sitting-companion: ⟨I am with those whose hearts are broken for My sake⟩ [11]. This is something of the excellence of knowledge. When Allah willed to alert the angels that Ādam is better than them, He gave him of knowledge
what they had not found, and so they acknowledged that Ādam is better than them. «And» — recall, O Muhammad, may Allah bless you and grant you peace — […] «When We said to the angels: Prostrate yourselves to Ādam» — a prostration of salutation by bowing, or as though it were a prostration of bowing, not a prostration of worship; that none deserves but Allah, Blessed and Exalted. Or Ādam was made a qibla for them, as the Kaʿba was made a qibla for us: we prostrate towards it and do not prostrate to it in reality. In any case, this prostration to other than Allah, Blessed and Exalted, is abrogated. «So they prostrated, except Iblīs» — he is the father of the jinn; he was among the angels [12] «He refused» — he held back from prostrating — «and was arrogant» — and he said: I am better than him — «and he was among the unbelievers» (Q. 2:34). Iblīs used to be called ʿAzāzīl [13]; he was a servant brought near. He worshipped Allah, Blessed and Exalted, on every handspan of the face of the earth for a thousand years, and he was the treasurer of the Garden for forty thousand years [14], and he struggled for sixty thousand years — this was before Ādam. And when Allah created Ādam and commanded the angels to prostrate to him, Iblīs reasoned by analogy in the presence of an explicit text; he said that he is better than Ādam, so [he did] not
prostrate to him, but he refused, and the angels prostrated. Prostration was in origin a single act, and this is what analogy requires, this is what is fitting, because Allah is one, so the prostration was one. But when the angels had prostrated for half a day — five hundred years — and raised their heads from the prostration and saw that Iblīs had refused and had not prostrated, they returned a second time: they performed a second prostration in thanks to Allah, Blessed and Exalted, since He had not tried them with what He tried Iblīs with. So the prostration became two. There had been one bowing and one prostration, because the One worshipped is one; but the second was thanks to Allah, Blessed and Exalted.
He cast a specious argument upon the angels. Had Allah not refuted it, we could not have refuted it; no one can refute it by reason. He said: I know that Allah is my Lord and my Creator and my Owner. Why did He create me, after He knew that I am damned [and that] He would punish me? Why did He not leave me be? And once He created me, I obey Him — He is my Lord; why does He command me to prostrate to one other than Him, namely Ādam? And when I refused to prostrate to Ādam, why did He drive me off and curse me and make me damned, when I said nothing except that I worship none but my Lord alone, that I do not prostrate to any but Allah — and He drove me off, and He knows. Allah, when He knew in His pre-eternity that if He commanded me to prostrate to Ādam I would not prostrate to him, why did He command me to prostrate to him? And when He cursed me and drove me off and made me damned, me and everyone who followed me, why did He leave me in this world and give me power over the children of Ādam, [so that] I lead them astray and seduce them? And I asked that He defer me to the end of time, and He accepted this from me too. And He knows that a world with no evil in it is better than a world with evil in it. Why did He not relieve people of me and kill me? [15]
al-Ḥaqq, Blessed and Exalted, answered: the answer to all these specious arguments is simply that his first statement is not true in his own estimation. He said: I am his Creator and I am his Lord; if I am his Creator and his Lord, then I am not questioned about what I do. The Lord, the Creator, disposes as He wills. He first acknowledged that Allah is his Creator and his Lord and his Master. If this is true, there is nothing
nothing is incumbent upon him but to comply with everything He has commanded him, nothing more. So his saying that he is a servant of Allah — this is not true in his own view, and for this reason he raises these objections. This specious argument of Iblīs is the one that has led the sects astray from the beginning of time to the end of time. He said that he was better than Adam: this one was created from clay, while he was created from light. He had worshipped Allah for so many thousands of years, brought near to Allah, while this one was created today from clay — how can he be better than me? He did not know that Allah does whatever He wills. So when the first of the prophets, Nūḥ, upon him be blessing and peace, came, his people said: «This is only a human being like you» (Q. 23:24) — he does not deserve that they should follow him; and so on down to the last of the community. Thus did Quraysh speak of Muhammad ﷺ. This is a specious argument that is never lifted from people, and every specious argument thereafter only branches off from this one. «And We said: O Adam, dwell, you and your wife» — Ḥawwāʾ — «in the Garden, and eat from it freely» — amply, with no restriction in it — «wherever you two wish; and do not approach this tree» (Q. 2:35): by eating; and it is wheat, or the grapevine. «lest you two become»
[that is,] you two become «among the wrongdoers» the disobedient (Q. 2:35) «then Satan caused them both to slip» Iblīs; he removed them both «from it» that is, from the Garden «and he brought them both out of what they had been in» of bliss «and We said: Go down» to the earth — you two, along with the progeny you two comprised «some of you» some of the progeny «to others an enemy» an enemy to others
«And for you in the earth is a dwelling place»: a place of settlement. «and enjoyment»: that which you enjoy. «until a time» (Q. 2:36): the moment when your appointed terms expire. «Then Adam received from his Lord words» (Q. 2:37): He inspired them in him. Allah commanded Adam to dwell in the Garden, he and his wife, after He had created Ḥawwāʾ from his left rib and married her to him. [16] They dwelt in the Garden, and Allah, Blessed and Exalted, forbade them to eat of the tree; and Iblīs had been driven out of the Garden. And the serpent was an animal with four
beautiful legs, in the Garden. [17] When Iblīs was unable to enter the Garden to whisper to Ādam, he cried out at the top of his voice outside the Garden, and the serpent came to him. He wept and said to her: I have advice for Ādam and I cannot enter the Garden. Put me in your mouth so that the angels will not see me, and I will go to Ādam and deliver the advice to him. The serpent did this. Iblīs came in upon Ḥawwāʾ and found Ādam absent. He swore by Allah that this tree is the tree of immortality: if the two of them ate from it they would never leave the Garden, and if they did not eat from it Allah would inevitably bring them out of the Garden. Ḥawwāʾ said: No one is able to swear by Allah’s name while lying. [18] So she reached for the tree, took three grains, ate one on the spot, stored one away for herself and stored one away for her husband. Ādam came and ate a grain, and their garments flew off the two of them, all of them. Ādam wept and cried out in the ground of the Garden until the angels took hold of him. Allah, Blessed and Exalted, said: Ādam, what is the matter with you? He said that he had eaten from the tree. «Did I not forbid you two that tree?» (Q. 7:22) He said: Ḥawwāʾ fed me. He said to Ḥawwāʾ: What is the matter with you? She said: Iblīs advised me and swore by Your name, and no one is able to swear by Your name while lying. He said: What has Iblīs to do with entering the Garden? He said: The serpent brought me in. So they were all sent down — Ādam, Ḥawwāʾ, Iblīs and the serpent [19] — each of them an enemy to the other. Ādam came down at Sarandīb in India, Ḥawwāʾ at Jidda, Iblīs at al-Ayla and the serpent at Iṣfahān. [20] Ādam remained ashamed for three hundred
years, not raising his head to the heaven, weeping over this transgression. [21] «Then Adam received from his Lord words» (Q. 2:37)
Allah inspired Ādam with words which he took from Him, Majestic is His majesty. «So He turned to him [in acceptance]» The words, it is said, [are] «Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves» (Q. 7:23) and the rest of the āya. [22] He supplicated with them, «so He turned to him [in acceptance]» — He accepted his repentance. «He is the Ever-Relenting» toward His servants, «the Merciful» to them. (Q. 2:37) Ādam received words from Allah, Blessed and Exalted, and repented by means of them, and Allah accepted his repentance. Iblīs put together words of his own and repented by means of them, and he was not answered, because he had no authorization [idhn]. This is the secret of receiving authorization from the shaykhs. Ādam, who received words from his Lord — Allah turned to him [in acceptance]. Iblīs, who repented with words he took from himself — his repentance was not accepted. For this reason the shaykhs came to employ authorization in everything.
The secret runs with the authorization. Even the Messenger ﷺ received the Qurʾan from Jibrīl, though he is nearer to Allah than Jibrīl; but he loved the receiving. «and as one calling to Allah by His permission» (Q. 33:46) Ādam ate from this tree, and eating from the tree — its outward form is the form of disobedience, while in reality it is obedience in Ādam’s case. So it is with the disobedience of the elect: its outward is disobedience and its inward is obedience. As for Ādam, in the inward of the matter the Real (al-Ḥaqq), Blessed and Exalted, addressed him intimately and said to him: I created the Garden and the Fire and promised them both that I would fill them, and this is not possible unless I create a creature and bring out from his loins a progeny, among them one who obeys and goes to the Garden and one who disobeys and goes to the Fire. I charged the angels [with it] and they refused, and the ḥūr al-ʿīn [likewise]. «We offered the trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they refused to bear it and were afraid of it, and the human being bore it». (Q. 33:72) Ādam said: If Your good pleasure lies in this, then I will carry it out He said: I will make it appear that you contravened Me and disobeyed Me. He said: If Your good pleasure is in it, I do not mind. For this reason he contravened outwardly while being obedient in reality. Ibn al-ʿArabī al-Ḥātimī said: ⟨When Ādam ate from the tree he came down to the earth⟩
⟨and he was a vicegerent on Allah’s behalf on the earth, and he became a father to all the prophets and the messengers, to the knowers and the friends [of Allah] and the believers, until the Day of Resurrection, and he became a father to the master of existence, Muhammad ﷺ.⟩ He said: ⟨Had I been in Ādam’s place I would have eaten the whole tree and eaten its roots, all of them.⟩
So this disobedience is formal, and not real disobedience. To this al-Jīlī points, in his words: [23]
⟨I have a brilliant subtle point here which I shall state, / and it deserves that ears be lent to it.⟩
⟨It is the difference between the⟩ walī ⟨and the reprobate — / take note of it, for the matter holds wonders.⟩
⟨It is nothing but that, before it occurs, / He informs my heart of what is going to occur.⟩
⟨So I reap what He decrees within its object, / and my eye watches for it before the deeds.⟩
⟨I used to see the will from it before / I saw the act from myself, and the captive is compliant.⟩
⟨If in the command of the⟩ shariʿa ⟨I am disobedient, / then in the ruling of the⟩ Ḥaqīqa ⟨I am obedient.⟩
A scholar in the Hijaz asked me: What is the meaning of His words, Blessed and Exalted: «And Ādam disobeyed his Lord, so he went astray» (Q. 20:121)? I said to him:
Ādam is a servant of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, and this is Allah’s speech. It is for Allah to say: Ādam disobeyed and went astray. As for you and me, we are the sons of Ādam, and dutifulness toward our father is obligatory upon us. Our station is «Then his Lord chose him, and turned to him [in acceptance], and guided [him]» (Q. 20:122). Allah says:
«And Adam disobeyed his Lord, and so he went astray» (Q. 20:121). As for us, the tongue of our state says: «Then his Lord chose him, and turned to him in forgiveness, and guided [him]» (Q. 20:122). al-Tawwāb is applied to Allah, Blessed and Exalted, on account of the abundance of His accepting the repentance of the servants. Of the servant one says tāʾib and tawwāb; of Allah one says Tawwāb, and of Allah one does not say tāʾib. «We said: Go down from it» — from the Garden — «all together» (Q. 2:38): He repeated it so as to attach [what follows] to it. «and if there comes to you guidance from Me»: a book or a messenger. «then whoever follows My guidance»: and so believes in Me and acts in obedience to Me. «there shall be no fear upon them, nor shall they grieve. And those who disbelieve and deny Our signs» (Q. 2:38–39): Our books
«Those are the companions of the Fire; in it they abide» (Q. 2:39) remaining. Khulūd is long remaining, even if it is not perpetuity; it does not entail perpetuity. For this reason Allah said in some āyāt: «abiding in it». If khulūd conveyed perpetual abiding, they would not have needed abadan [‘forever’].
«O Children of Israel»: when He had narrated the story of Adam’s vicegerency, He addressed the Children of Israel — those of them who were contemporaries of the Prophet ﷺ. «O Children of Israel»: the sons of Yaʿqūb. And «remember My favour which I bestowed upon you» (Q. 2:40) — and upon your fathers: the deliverance from Pharaoh, the parting of the sea, the shading by the clouds, and other than that — by giving thanks for it through obedience to Me.
Allah, Blessed and Exalted, mentioned in this sura the favours He bestowed upon the Children of Isrāʾīl. They are ten. They met them with ten vile deeds, so Allah sent down upon them ten kinds of punishment, all of them in this sura. [24]
And the Jews who were contemporaries of the Prophet ﷺ — Allah bestowed upon them ten favours likewise, and they met them with ten
vile deeds, so Allah, Blessed and Exalted, punished them with ten kinds of chastisement likewise. [25] The reason for recounting these traits of their forefathers is that the Jews used to hold their forefathers free of fault and believed that they were upright and that they stood in obedience to Allah, Blessed and Exalted. By this āya they came to know that their forefathers were not upright. «Remember My favour which I bestowed upon you» that is, upon your forefathers. «And fulfil My covenant» (Q. 2:40) which I enjoined upon you: belief
in Muhammad ﷺ. «and I shall fulfil your covenant» which I pledged. «And Me — so fear Me» (Q. 2:40) fear
Me in failing to fulfil it, and none other than Me. «And believe in what I have sent down» namely the Qurʾan «confirming what is with you» namely the Tawrāt, by its agreeing with it in [affirming] divine oneness «and do not be the first to disbelieve» the first group to disbelieve «in it, and do not sell» exchange «My signs» which are in your Book, namely the description of Muhammad «for a paltry price» a trifling worldly gain «and Me — so fear Me» (Q. 2:41) fear Me. «And do not mix» do not blend «the truth» which was sent down to you «with falsehood» which you fabricate «and» do not «conceal the truth» the description of Muhammad «while you know» (Q. 2:42) that it is true «And establish the prayer, and give the zakat, and bow with those who bow» (Q. 2:43) pray with those who pray — Muhammad and his Companions. It was sent down concerning their scholars. They used to say to their Muslim kinsmen: Hold fast to the religion of Muhammad, for it is true. If someone consulted them about believing in the Prophet ﷺ and they saw him to be a stranger, they would say to him: Believe in him, for he is truly a prophet. But if their own followers consulted them, they would say: No, he is not a prophet. «Do you command people to righteousness» (Q. 2:44) The interrogative,
when it governs an affirmative, negates it; [26] that is, you did not command people to believe in Muhammad ﷺ. [27] «while you forget yourselves» you leave them and do not command them «while you recite the Book» the Tawrāt, in which is the threat against word diverging from deed «Will you not then use your intellects?» (Q. 2:44) the evil of your conduct, so that you turn back. «And seek help» seek assistance in your affairs «through patience» the restraining of the self over what it dislikes «and the prayer» the performance of the prayer. He singled it out for mention to magnify its standing. And in the hadith: ⟨When a matter pressed hard upon him ﷺ, he would hasten to the prayer.⟩ [28] It is said: the address is to the Jews, since what hindered them from belief was greed and love of leadership. So they were commanded to ṣabr, which is fasting, because it breaks appetite, and to the prayer, because it bequeaths humility. «And it is» this prayer «burdensome» heavy «except for the humble, who think» they are certain «that they will meet their Lord» (Q. 2:45–46)
by the resurrection. «and that to Him they are returning» (Q. 2:46): and so He will requite them. «O Children of Israel, remember My favour which I bestowed upon you» (Q. 2:47): Allah, Blessed and Exalted, reminded them of His favours so that they would give thanks. «and that I favoured you»: I favoured your fathers
«above the worlds» (Q. 2:47) the people of their own age «And fear a day on which no soul will avail another soul anything» it is the Day of Resurrection «nor will intercession be accepted from it» that is, it has no intercession that might be accepted: «So we have no intercessors» (Q. 26:100) «nor will a ransom be taken from it» a ransom «nor will they be helped» (Q. 2:48) — that is, nor will they be protected from the chastisement of Allah. «And» remember «when We delivered you» that is, your forefathers «from the folk of Firʿawn» from Firʿawn and his folk «inflicting upon you» (Q. 2:49) making you taste
«the worst of chastisement» the harshest chastisement «slaughtering your sons» (Q. 2:49) killing your newborn children
«and sparing alive» letting live «your women» — because of the word of certain soothsayers that a child would be born among the Children of Isrāʾīl who would be the cause of the passing away of your kingship. [29] «And in that» in that chastisement «was a great trial from your Lord» (Q. 2:49)
«a great trial from your Lord», or: «in that» [means] the deliverance. «a trial» a bestowal of favour, «great, from your Lord» (Q. 2:49). «And» recall: «when We parted» We split «the sea for you, and We delivered you» from drowning, «and We drowned the folk of Firʿawn» Firʿawn and his people, «while you were looking on. And when We appointed for Mūsā forty nights» (Q. 2:50–51) We would give him the Torah at the end of them. [30] «Then you took the calf» which al-Sāmirī cast, as a god, «after him» after his going off to Our appointed time, «while you were wrongdoers», by taking it [as a god], since you placed worship where it does not belong. «Then We pardoned you» your sins
«after that, so that you might be thankful. And when We gave Mūsā the Book and the Criterion» (Q. 2:52–53) an explication of the Book.
«so that you might be guided. And when Mūsā said to his people: my people, you have wronged yourselves by your taking the calf» (Q. 2:53–54) as a god, «so repent to your Maker, and kill yourselves», that is, let the innocent among you kill the guilty. «That is better for you in the sight of your Maker». (Q. 2:54) So He granted you success in doing that, and He sent upon you a black cloud so that none of you would see another and show him mercy, until some seventy thousand of you had been killed. [31] «Then He turned to you [in forgiveness]» He accepted your repentance
«He is the Ever-Relenting, the Merciful» (Q. 2:54). Allah, Blessed and Exalted, recounts in this āya the story of the Children of Israel with Firʿawn. The Firʿawn of Mūsā was named Muṣʿab b. al-Rayyān, or al-Walīd b. Muṣʿab. [32] He was king of Egypt for four hundred years, [33] he never once suffered pain in his head, no illness ever befell him, every day he would eat a camel, and he would not go to the privy except once in forty days. After that, istidrāj took hold of him. He said that he was a god and not a servant, and so he laid claim to lordship: «I know of no god for you other than me» (Q. 28:38). After that he claimed beyond that: «I am your lord, the most high» (Q. 79:24). This Firʿawn saw a dream in which a fire came out of the dwellings of the Children of Israel and burned his dwellings and his kingdoms, all of them. The soothsayers said to him: a child will be born among the Children of Israel, and in him will lie the passing of your kingship, [34] this is the meaning of your dream. He said: the Children of Israel are my slaves; it is not possible that a child be born among them who takes away my kingship. So then: everyone born among the Children of Israel who is male, I must kill him. So he killed, from among the boys then present, twenty thousand boys, and every male child born among the Children of Israel he would kill, until he had killed ninety thousand children [35] along with the twenty thousand — this is one hundred thousand and ten thousand, all of this in pursuit of Mūsā alone. And the tongue of divinity was addressing him: the child whose killing you seek, you will rear him in your house and on your lap, and you will spend on him, until he becomes the cause of your destruction at his hands, in spite of you. So Mūsā was born, as will come in [Sūrat] al-Qaṣaṣ, and the cause of the destruction
of Firʿawn was Mūsā, upon him be blessing and peace. When Allah destroyed Firʿawn and his people, Mūsā asked Allah to give him a book by which to guide his people, the Children of Israel, in which there would be the lawful and the forbidden, the command and the prohibition. So Allah commanded him to fast forty nights. [36] Forty nights, not like our fasting: its nights and its days [alike], not at all. This is eighty nights. He did not break his fast for the space of forty days, night and day, and he felt no hunger, because he was turned toward the Presence. In a single day
he went to al-Khiḍr for half a day. He said: «Bring us our midday meal; we have met with hardship from this journey of ours» (Q. 18:62). […] He went to a created being: he grew hungry in half a day. But when he turned toward the Real he remained eighty days, that is, forty days together with their nights, and he felt no hunger. For this reason the Messenger ﷺ said: ⟨Whoever is sincere toward Allah for forty days, wisdom wells up from his heart and runs upon his tongue.⟩ [37] This is the basis of the khalwa of those who enter the khalwa for forty days. The three-day khalwa has its basis in «three days except by gesture» (Q. 3:41); and the khalwa of seven nights: «seven nights and eight days in succession» (Q. 69:7). «And when you said: Mūsā, we will not believe you until we see Allah plainly, so the thunderbolt seized you while you were looking on. Then We raised you up after your death, so that you might be thankful. And We cast shade over you» (Q. 2:55–57)
«the clouds» (Q. 2:57): We covered you with the cloud. «and We sent down upon you the manna and the quails»: these two are al-taranjabīn and the sumānā birds. «Eat of the good things We have provided you»: and do not hoard. But they were ungrateful for the favour and they hoarded, so it was cut off from them. «And they did not wrong Us, but they were wronging themselves» (Q. 2:57): because its evil consequence falls upon them. «And when We said: Enter this town»: Jerusalem, or Jericho. «and eat from it wherever you wish, freely»: amply, with no restriction in it. «and enter the gate»: its gate. «bowing»: bending low. «and say» — our request is — «ḥiṭṭa» (Q. 2:58). Say ḥiṭṭa. Ḥiṭṭa is that which removes sins, and it is lā ilāha illā Llāh. [38] «your sins will be forgiven you, and We shall increase the doers of good. Then those who did wrong substituted» — among them — «a word other than the one that had been said to them» (Q. 2:58–59): they said ḥabba fī shaʿra, and they entered crawling on their backsides. They were commanded to prostrate and to say lā ilāha illā Llāh, but they did not prostrate; rather they entered crawling on their backsides and said ḥabba fī shaʿra. [39] «We sent down upon those who did wrong a plague» — a punishment, a pestilence — «from the heaven, because they were transgressing» (Q. 2:59): on account of their transgression, their going outside obedience. When they were in the trackless waste they said:
O Mūsā, where are we to get what we may eat? So tables of food came down upon them from heaven and they ate; and whenever the time of the midday meal came, the food would come down in the finest state it could be, and they would eat, and the table would be taken up until the time of its setting out on the morrow.
They said: Where are we to get clothing? Allah, Blessed and Exalted, guaranteed that their garments would neither be soiled nor wear out. Then they said: Where are we to get what we may drink? So he [Mūsā] struck the rock, and twelve springs gushed forth from it. Then they said: The sun is harming us,
So Allah brought clouds that screened them, so that they did not feel the heat of the sun. Then they complained of the darkness at night, so Allah set up pillars of light in the desert of the wilderness, all of it. All of this was through the blessing of Mūsā, who was with them. These are the merits of companionship. They, along with their ruin, their contravention of Allah’s command, and the punishment’s befalling them, had Mūsā and Hārūn among them, and they were given these kinds of blessing, all of it, because of Mūsā and Hārūn. Hārūn and Mūsā are among Allah’s righteous servants, yet when the two of them kept company with these transgressors and remained with them forty years in the wilderness, they too tasted of the punishment because of the companionship, just as the transgressors found the blessing because of the companionship. All good is in companionship and all evil is in companionship. O Allah, bless our master Muhammad and grant [him] peace.