«Those» [means] the company, «the messengers» — it is ‘those’ and ‘the messengers,’ subject and predicate; or [the reading is] ‘those messengers.’ «We favoured some of them above others». Allah favoured some of the prophets above others by His singling [one] out with a merit that belongs to no other. «Among them is one to whom Allah spoke» such as Mūsā, «and He raised some of them» — namely Muhammad ﷺ — «in degrees» (Q. 2:253) above the rest, by the universality of the summons, the sealing of prophethood, the preferment of his community above all other communities, the multiplying miracles, and the many distinguishing properties. He mentions in this āya that Allah favoured some of the prophets above others. They agreed that some of the prophets are more excellent than others, and they reached consensus that Muhammad ﷺ is the most excellent of the prophets and the messengers; and that [rests] on many grounds. One of them is that Allah, Blessed and Exalted, reported in the Qurʾan that He sent the Prophet ﷺ as a mercy to the worlds, in His words: «We sent you only as a mercy to the worlds» (Q. 21:107) Since he was a mercy to all the worlds, it is established that he is the most excellent of all the worlds — because every single one in the world is shown mercy by reason of Muhammad ﷺ, so Muhammad became more excellent than all of them. And Allah, Blessed and Exalted, joined obedience to him to obedience to Himself, the pledge of allegiance to him to the pledge of allegiance to Himself, his good pleasure to His good pleasure, and his might to His might. He, Exalted, said: «Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah» (Q. 4:80) And He, Exalted, said: «Those who pledge allegiance to you pledge allegiance only to Allah; the hand of Allah is above their hands» (Q. 48:10) And this hand is the hand of Muhammad

ﷺ — and his good pleasure to His good pleasure: «And Allah and His Messenger are more worthy that they should please Him» (Q. 9:62) — and his might to His might: «and to Allah belongs the might, and to His Messenger, and to the believers» (Q. 63:8) And also: as for the Prophet ﷺ, Allah reported in His Book that He raised his renown

«And We raised your renown for you» (Q. 94:4) That [was] by His joining mention of him to the mention of Allah at the adhān, at the iqāma, at the khuṭba, and at the tashahhud — that is, at the pronouncing of the two testimonies: whoever says ‘I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah’ says ‘and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.’ This belonged to no other of all the prophets. And Allah, Blessed and Exalted, reported in His Book that he is the seal of the prophets, and this shows that he is more excellent than all of them, because it is not intelligible that something excellent be sealed with something of lesser worth. When the craftsman comes to the last of his work, he brings out the mastery of his work and makes it the seal. So since Muhammad was the seal of the prophets, it became clear that he is more excellent than all of them, because sealing with something of lesser worth is neither intelligible nor wise. And Allah reported in His Book that the community of Muhammad is the best of all communities: «You were the best community brought forth for mankind» (Q. 3:110) Whence did they come by this? From the Prophet ﷺ. Since we were the best community by reason of Muhammad ﷺ, it became clear that Muhammad is more excellent than the prophets who were sent to the communities before us; and his Book is more excellent than their books, his religion more excellent than their religions, and his law more excellent than their laws. Along with that, he has the most miracles of them all. Mūsā is the prophet with the most miracles: Allah mentioned that He gave him nine clear signs, and [to] Muhammad ﷺ Allah gave of clear signs what He gave to none of the prophets before him. Along with that, Allah issued a challenge in the Qurʾan with a single sura: «then bring a sura like it» (Q. 2:23) And the shortest of the suras is «We have given you al-Kawthar» (Q. 108:1), and it is three āyāt. From this it emerged that every three āyāt in the Qurʾan are a miracle, and the Qurʾan is more than six thousand āyāt. So the Qurʾan alone comprises, of miracles, more than two thousand miracles — knowing that Mūsā had only nine signs — to say nothing of the miracles that appeared to his Companions,

and he left behind, of the Companions, one hundred and fourteen thousand, [1] each one of whom witnessed a miracle that no one else witnessed. And [each] prophet used to be sent

to his own people, whereas the Chosen One ﷺ was sent to mankind entire — rather, to the jinn and mankind [alike]. And Allah says in His Book: «And We sent you only as one [sent] to mankind entire» (Q. 34:28) And since he was a messenger to all mankind, his hardship was greater than the hardship of all the prophets, because every one of them was sent only among his own people.

And when the hardship is greater, the merit is greater. For this reason the Prophet ﷺ is more excellent than all the prophets. And also, the Prophet ﷺ says: ⟨I am the master of the children of Ādam, and [this is] without boasting. Ādam and those below him are under my banner on the Day of Resurrection.⟩ [2] It emerged from this that he is more excellent than Ādam and than all the sons of Ādam. ʿAli came up one day, and the Prophet ﷺ looked at him and said: ⟨This is the master of the Arabs.⟩ ʿAʾisha said: ⟨The master of the Arabs, while you are present?⟩ He said: ⟨He is the master of the Arabs, and I am the master of the worlds.⟩ And al-ʿālamīn [‘the worlds’][3] — there enters into it all

the prophets, but even the angels. Also, the Prophet ﷺ went out one day to his Companions and found them talking. One of them said: ⟨How remarkable Ibrāhīm is: Allah took him as a⟩ khalīl ⟨.⟩ Another said: ⟨This is no more remarkable than Mūsā, to whom Allah spoke directly.⟩ Another said: ⟨This is no more remarkable than ʿĪsā, who came to be the Spirit of Allah, Blessed and Exalted.⟩ Another said: ⟨Ādam is the chosen of Allah; Allah created him with His own hand and made the angels prostrate to him.⟩ So the Prophet ﷺ went out and said: ⟨I have heard what you say. Yes, Allah took Ibrāhīm as a⟩ khalīl ⟨, as you said; and He spoke to Mūsā directly, as you said; and He made ʿĪsā b. Maryam the Spirit of Allah and His word, as you said; and Ādam the chosen of Allah and His deputy on the earth. But as for me, Allah took me as a⟩ ḥabīb ⟨; so just as He took Ibrāhīm as a⟩ khalīl ⟨, He took me as a⟩ ḥabīb ⟨.⟩ [4] ⟨By Him in whose hand my soul lies, were Mūsā b. ʿImrān, upon whom the Torah was sent down, and ʿĪsā b. Maryam, upon whom the Gospel was sent down, to come, nothing would be open to them but to follow me.⟩ [5] And the ḥabīb stands above the khalīl. Allah mentioned the khalīl

in the Qurʾan, and He mentioned the ḥabīb. Through the Qurʾan we understand the excellence of the ḥabīb over the khalīl. The khalīl is Ibrāhīm, and the khalīl is one who is granted what he asks of his khalīl. Khalīl comes from khulla, because the khalīl — you fill his need and he fills your need. This entails that every khalīl of whom his khalīl asks something helps him in what he seeks. And so we find Ibrāhīm saying: «and it is He who I hope will forgive me my sin on the Day of Judgement» (Q. 26:82). This is a request from him: he asked Allah to forgive him his sin on the Day of Judgement, and Allah granted him what he asked. And Muhammad ﷺ without asking: «We have granted you a clear victory, that Allah may forgive you what has gone before of your sin and what came after, and complete His favour upon you, and guide you to a straight path» (Q. 48:1–2). The khalīl said: «and grant me a tongue of truthfulness among those who come after» (Q. 26:84). He asked Allah that he be praised among those who come after him, and Allah answered this supplication of his, so that the Jews say that they follow the religion of Ibrāhīm, and the Christians say that they follow the religion of Ibrāhīm, and the Muslims follow the religion of Ibrāhīm. This is praise enough; but it does not reach: «Have We not expanded your breast for you? … And We raised high your renown for you» (Q. 94:1, 4). He joined the mention of him to the mention of Himself. And the khalīl said: «and keep me and my sons from worshipping the idols» (Q. 14:35), while Allah said to His ḥabīb: «Allah wishes only to remove impurity from you, O People of the House» (Q. 33:33) — without any asking. And the khalīl was one who emigrated to Allah, Blessed and Exalted, and he said: «I am going to my Lord; He will guide me» (Q. 37:99), so the going was from him; whereas Muhammad ﷺ was taken by night: «Glory be to Him who took His servant by night» (Q. 17:1). That one went of his own accord; this one was taken by night by the power of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, without effort and without hardship. And since what was given to Muhammad ﷺ came as a free gift, so it is with his community. Mūsā came to the appointed meeting of his own accord, «and when Mūsā came to Our appointed time» (Q. 7:143), so the coming was from him, at his own cost; and the community of Muhammad, following Muhammad ﷺ is likewise: when Allah took the Prophet ﷺ by night, He disclosed His signs to us without effort on our part, «We shall show them Our signs in the horizons and in themselves, until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth» (Q. 41:53) — by [His] help, not at our own cost. And the Prophet ﷺ is superior to all the prophets, upon them be blessings and peace, in these respects and more. The banner of praise is in his hand on the Day of Resurrection; the intercession is his; the wasīla is his. There will come the hadith of

the intercession, at its full length. They came to Ādam, and to Nūḥ, and to Ibrāhīm, and to Mūsā, and to ʿĪsā; each of them says: ⟨Myself, myself.⟩ And when they came to Muhammad he said: ⟨I am the one for it; I am the one entitled to the intercession.⟩ And he said: ⟨Allah, Blessed and Exalted, gave me the choice between half my community entering the Garden and His granting me the intercession, and I chose the intercession because it is more encompassing.⟩ He said:

⟨My intercession is for those of my community who commit the grave sins.⟩ [6] And Allah said: «and your Lord will surely give you, and you will be well pleased» (Q. 93:5). And he said ﷺ: ⟨I am the first to knock at the gate of the Garden, and I enter it.⟩ [7] ⟨It is forbidden to all the prophets and the messengers to enter the Garden before me, and forbidden to their communities to enter before my community.⟩ [8] Those who enter the Garden are a hundred and twenty rows: eighty of the rows from this community, and the forty from the remaining communities. [9] And he said: I ⟨am the first for whom the earth will split open,⟩ [10] the first to be raised. All of this is decisive proof that the Prophet ﷺ.

ﷺ is more excellent than the rest of the prophets. [11] The highest of the prophets in station are Ibrāhīm, Mūsā and ʿĪsā. Mūsā, upon him be blessing and peace, came to the appointed meeting-place to commune with Allah, Blessed and Exalted, and his communing was at Mount Ṭūr, while the Prophet ﷺ passed beyond seven heavens, then drew near and hung suspended, until he was «two bow-lengths away, or nearer» (Q. 53:9), and he was called in that station. This is higher than Mūsā’s communing at Mount Ṭūr. As for Mūsā, Allah, Blessed and Exalted, reported concerning him that he asked for the vision: «My Lord, show me [Yourself] that I may look at You» (Q. 7:143), and the answer was: «You will not see Me» (Q. 7:143). As for Muhammad ﷺ, the Qurʾan reported: «The heart did not lie about what it saw» (Q. 53:11). And Mūsā fell down in a swoon: «and Mūsā fell down in a swoon» (Q. 7:143), that is, unconscious; whereas Muhammad ﷺ: «The eye did not swerve, nor did it transgress» (Q. 53:17).

Allah addressed all the prophets and messengers by their names: O Nūḥ, O Ibrāhīm, O Mūsā, O ʿĪsā, O Ādam, O Dāwūd — every one of them He calls by his bare name, because, for all the majesty of their stations, every one of them is only a servant of His. As for Muhammad ﷺ, He did not call him by his name even once: O Messenger, O Prophet, O you wrapped in a cloak. Yes, He mentioned his name in the Qurʾan, because had He not mentioned his name we would not know who this mighty creature is; so He mentioned him, and He mentioned him only by joining the messengership to the mention of him: «Muhammad is nothing but a messenger» (Q. 3:144), «Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah» (Q. 48:29), «Muhammad is not the father of any one of your men, but the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets» (Q. 33:40). This is the difference between our Prophet and the prophets before him. And since the Qurʾan states explicitly that He favoured some of the prophets over others, and we have witnessed these excellences and these conclusive proofs that Muhammad ﷺ is the most excellent of the prophets, no one doubts the pre-eminence of Muhammad ﷺ except one who does not believe this Qurʾan and has thereby left the religion altogether.

«And We gave ʿĪsā son of Maryam the clear proofs, and We strengthened him» We reinforced him «with the Holy Spirit» Jibrīl, who went with him wherever he went «And had Allah willed» [He would have] guided all people «those who came after them would not have fought one another» after the messengers

«after the clear proofs had come to them» because of their disagreement and their declaring one another astray «but they disagreed» by His will «so among them was he who believed» held firm to his faith «and among them was he who disbelieved» like the Christians after the Messiah «And had [Allah] willed»

«Allah, they would not have fought one another» [this is] emphasis «but Allah does what He wills» granting success to whom He wills and forsaking whom He wills (Q. 2:253). «O you who believe, spend out of what We have provided you» its zakat «before there comes a day in which there is no sale» [that is,] ransom «in it»

«nor friendship» a friendship that brings benefit «nor intercession» without His permission; and that day is the Day of Resurrection «And the disbelievers»

in Allah, or in what He has imposed upon them «they are the wrongdoers» the disbelievers are the wrongdoers (Q. 2:254). The scholars said: al-Ḥamdu li-Llāh [the praise is for Allah] that He did not say ‘the wrongdoers are the disbelievers’, but rather ‘the disbelievers are the wrongdoers’. [12] The Qurʾan’s practice, when it recounts the narratives, is to mention the rulings and to mention tawḥīd, because patience with a single kind is hard for the children of Ādam, even in foods: they like to move from one food to another, from one dish to another; that is more pleasurable to them. So the Qurʾan came in this way: it brings the narratives, then it brings the rulings, then it brings tawḥīd. It brought tawḥīd: this is the greatest verse in the Qurʾan. The Messenger ﷺ said: ⟨Ādam is the master of mankind, I am the master of the Arabs, the Verse of the Throne is the master of the verses, Salmān is the master of Persia, Bilāl is the master of Abyssinia, and Friday is the master of the days.⟩ [13]

And he said: ⟨The most excellent of the Qurʾan […] and the most excellent of its verses is the Verse of the Throne.⟩ [14] because this verse comprises, of

tawḥīd, what no other verse comprises, in fifty words, all of them on tawḥīd, whereas [Sūrat] al-Ikhlāṣ is in only fifteen words. «Allah» a proper name for the Exalted Essence, the Necessarily Existent, who has no need of anything other than Himself, while everything other than Him depends upon Him. Allah — and He is the one truly worshipped. «There is no deity but He» there is nothing truly worshipped in existence except Him «the Living» perpetual in subsistence «the Sustainer» who undertakes to the utmost the governance of His creation (Q. 2:255). He stated that Allah, Blessed and Exalted, has none truly worshipped besides Him, and this is the tawḥīd of the generality.

Tawḥīd has three ranks: it has a husk and it has a kernel, and the kernel itself also has a kernel. The kernel of the kernel is the oil that comes out of the kernel. The tawḥīd of the generality is lā ilāha illā Llāh, lā ilāha illā huwa, because they are absent from the Real, Blessed and Exalted. The tawḥīd of the elect is lā ilāha illā anta, because they are present with Allah, Blessed and Exalted — this is the kernel. The tawḥīd of the elect of the elect is that they pass away from themselves and so hear the tawḥīd from the One who declares the unity: lā ilāha illā anā. This one did not speak; rather the tawḥīd came out of him. The Real spoke upon his tongue, as He spoke upon the tongue of the tree in the case of Mūsā. Mūsā came to a tree and it said: «Truly I am Allah» (Q. 28:30). If the Real speaks upon the tongue of a tree, then that He should speak upon the tongue of the children of Ādam is more fitting. The meaning of lā ilāha illā Llāh for the generality is: there is nothing rightfully worshipped other than Allah. The meaning of lā ilāha illā Llāh for the aspirants is: there is nothing rightfully intended other than Allah, because they have set their aim upon the Presence. If they are truthful in intending nothing other than the Presence, then for them there is nothing intended but Allah. As for the tawḥīd of those who have arrived, the meaning of lā ilāha illā Llāh for them is: there is nothing rightfully existent other than Allah. They say lā illā Llāh [there is nothing but Allah]. «Each people has come to know»

«their drinking place» (Q. 2:60). This āya contains the mention of Allah seventeen times, between the explicit [noun] and the pronoun: «Allah — there is no deity but He» — this is His name, huwa [He]; «The Living» — His name; «The Self-Subsisting» — [His name]; «There does not take Him» — the pronoun refers back to Him — «slumber nor sleep. To Him belongs what is in the heavens and what is in the earth» — the pronoun refers back to Him — «Who is there that intercedes with Him» — the pronoun refers back to Allah, Blessed and Exalted — «except by His permission»; «He knows» — [the subject is] He — «what is before them and what is behind them, and they do not encompass anything of His knowledge» — [the pronoun] refers back to Allah, Blessed and Exalted — «except by what He wills» [that is,] Allah; «His Footstool extends over the heavens and the earth, and there does not weary Him» — [the pronoun] refers back to Him — «their preservation» — the agent of the verbal noun is a concealed pronoun referring back to Him — «and He is the Most High, the Great» (Q. 2:255). These are seventeen names of Allah in a single āya. This is not found in the Qurʾan except in Āyat al-Kursī, and for this reason it came as the greatest of the āyāt. Ranking in excellence exists only with respect to Allah, Blessed and Exalted, on the side of

Allah. Whoever wants to rank us above others by something other than Allah, let him take his preferment back. «The Living» — the one whose subsistence is perpetual; «The Self-Subsisting» — the one who is utmost in undertaking the governance of His creation (Q. 2:255). These two names describe Allah, Blessed and Exalted, with a description that no names other than these two accomplish. And Allah is the greatest of Allah’s ninety-nine names: you find that every name is annexed to it, while it is not annexed to any name. You say: al-Raḥmān is one of the names of Allah, al-Raḥīm is one of the names of Allah, al-Ḥayy is one of the names of Allah, al-Qayyūm is one of the names of Allah. And every word from which a letter is dropped loses its meaning and remains without meaning — except this word. If you drop the alif, there remains li-Llāh: «To Allah belongs what is in the heavens and the earth» (Q. 2:284). And if you drop the first lām, there remains lahu: «To Him belongs what is in the heavens and the earth» (Q. 2:116). And if you drop the second lām, there remains huwa: «He is Allah; there is no deity but He» (Q. 59:22). «There does not take Him slumber» — drowsiness — «nor sleep» (Q. 2:255). The due of hyperbole would have been for Him to say that no sleep takes Him and no slumber; but the beginning of sleep is drowsiness, so [if] no slumber takes Him, then no sleep all the more. He does not sleep and does not grow drowsy. It is related that it occurred to Mūsā, upon him be blessing and peace, one day: does our Lord sleep? So the angel came to him and kept him sleepless three nights running; he did not taste sleep. After that he was brought two flasks filled with water, [left] with him in trust for him to guard. He began to doze, and one flask knocked against the other, and he dozed, until sleep overcame him

and the two glass vessels broke, both of them. When he awoke he found the two flasks had both broken. [15] Allah revealed to him: ⟨You are the one who slept; you were unable to guard two flasks. I am the One who guards the heavens and the earth, the Throne and the Footstool, and the creation they contain — how should I sleep?⟩ One of the righteous had bought a slave, and the slave was one of the friends of Allah. When they had taken supper and nothing remained but sleep, he said to him: spread out my bedding for me so that I may sleep. He said to him: My master, do you have a master? He said to him: yes. He said: does your master sleep? He said: no, my Master does not sleep. He said: are you not ashamed to sleep before your master sleeps? This cannot be. So he set him free. [16] Two aspirants fell into disagreement, one of them saying to the other:

sleep is better than wakefulness, because the sleeper does not disobey Allah, Blessed and Exalted. And the other says to him: No, wakefulness is far better, because so long as you are awake you are a knower of Allah and you are able to make remembrance of Allah, whereas the sleeper does not know Allah and does not know anything. So the two of them brought their dispute before the Shaykh. One of them said: I said that sleep is better, because the sleeper does not disobey. The other said: I said that wakefulness is better, because the waking man knows Allah, Blessed and Exalted. The Shaykh said: As for you, who said that wakefulness is better than sleep — your life is better than your death. And he kept silent about the other, [17] [so] it is known from what was said to him [that the other’s] death is better for him.

«To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth» as possession, as creation, and as slaves; and ownership is incompatible with sonship. «Who is there that shall intercede with Him» No one intercedes with Him «except by His permission» [granted] to him. «He knows what is before them» [that is,] the creation «and what is behind them» of the affair of this world and of the hereafter. «And they do not encompass anything of His knowledge» they do not know anything of what He knows «except what He wills» that He should teach them, through the reports of the messengers. «His Kursī encompasses the heavens and the earth» It is said: His knowledge encompasses them both. And it is said: His dominion [does]. And it is said: the Kursī itself contains them both, by reason of its vastness, on account of the hadith: ⟨The seven heavens in the Kursī are but as seven dirhams cast into a shield. ⟩ [18] «And it does not weary Him» [that is,] weigh upon Him «the preserving of them both» that is, the heavens and the earth. «And He is the Exalted» above His creation by [His] overpowering «the Immense» (Q. 2:255) that is,

the Great. This is Āyat al-Kursī. The Messenger ﷺ said: ⟨Whoever keeps constantly to the recitation of Āyat al-Kursī after every prayer, nothing bars him from entering the Garden but death.⟩ And he said: ⟨When you take to your bed and recite Āyat al-Kursī, Allah preserves you, and preserves whoever is with you in the house, and the houses around [you].⟩

[19] The Prophet ﷺ had left dates of ṣadaqa with Abū Hurayra, who was his storekeeper. When night came, a person came in to steal from them, and Abū Hurayra seized him. He said to him: By Allah, let me go, and I will not do it again. So he came to the Messenger ﷺ in the morning, and he said to him: Abū Hurayra, what did your captive do? He said: He pledged to me that he would not do it again. He said: He will certainly do it again. And on the following night, when Abū Hurayra grew drowsy, he came back and wanted to take some of

the ṣadaqa, so he seized him again and said to him: You gave a pledge that you would not do it again, and you have done it again. He said: Let me go, and I will not do it again. So he let him go. When morning came al-Muṣṭafā said to him: Abū Hurayra, what did your captive do? He said: He pledged to me that he would not do it again. He said: He will certainly do it again. And on the third night he came again and set about scooping up [the dates], wanting to steal. So Abū Hurayra seized him and said to him: You are a traitor; every day you give a pledge that you will not come back, and you come back. He said to him: Let me go, and I will teach you something which, if you recite it, Allah will preserve you from the devils. He said to him: What is it? He said: Āyat al-Kursī.

When morning came the Messenger ﷺ said to him: Abū Hurayra, what did your captive do? He said: He taught me something; he said that when I recite it before sleep Allah preserves me from Satan — and it is Āyat al-Kursī. He said: He has certainly told you the truth, though he is a great liar. [20]

And whoever recites it for a need three hundred and thirteen times — the number of the messengers and the number of the people of Badr — Allah grants that need, whatever it may be; [21] and whoever recites it fifty times before sleep, Allah heals him of madness. They have mentioned many things concerning its excellences. «There is no compulsion in religion» there is no compelling [anyone] to enter the religion «right guidance has been made clear from error» it has become plain, through the clear signs, that belief is right guidance and unbelief is error. It was sent down concerning those of the Anṣār who had children whom they wanted to compel to Islam. «So whoever disbelieves in the ṭāghūt» Satan, or the idols «and believes in Allah has grasped» has taken hold of «the firmest handhold» the firmly tied knot «which does not break; and Allah is Hearing» of what is said «Knowing» (Q. 2:256) of what is done. «Allah is the protector of those who believe» their helper «He brings them out of the darknesses» unbelief «into the light» belief. He put ‘the darknesses’ in the plural because the paths of unbelief are many and the path of belief is one. «And those who disbelieve — their protectors are the ṭāghūt; they bring them out of the light» belief «into the darknesses. Those are the companions of the Fire; they abide in it forever». (Q. 2:257) He brings the story. «Have you not seen him who contended» disputed «with Ibrāhīm concerning his Lord, because Allah had given him kingship» (Q. 2:258) His insolence and his pride at the blessings of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, carried him [to this], and so he took to disputing

Allah’s prophet Ibrāhīm — and he [the disputant] is [Nam]rūd b. Kanʿān «When Ibrāhīm said» — when he said to him: who is your Lord, the one to whom you call us? Ibrāhīm said «My Lord is He who gives life and causes death» he creates life and death in bodies «He said» he [that is, Namrūd] «I give life and I cause death» by killing and by pardoning. He summoned two men, killed one and let the other go, and said to him: I have caused death and I have given life. When Ibrāhīm saw that, he moved to a clearer proof. «Ibrāhīm said» «Then Allah brings the sun from the east, so bring it» you «from the west. So the one who disbelieved was confounded» the disbeliever was bewildered and astonished; he knew no answer «And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people» (Q. 2:258) This Namrūd was a tyrannical king; he ruled the whole world. No one has ruled the world in its entirety except four persons: two of the believers and two of the disbelievers. Two of the believers: Sulaymān b. Dāwūd, who ruled the whole world, and Dhū al-Qarnayn, the Arab whom Allah mentioned at the end of [Sūrat] al-Kahf. And two of the disbelievers: this Namrūd b. Kanʿān, the Pharaoh of Ibrāhīm, and Bukhtanaṣṣar, whose account will come in Sūrat al-Isrāʾ. [22] Today the world contains more than a hundred states. Pharaoh, for all his tyranny, ruled nothing but Egypt, whereas this Namrūd ruled the whole world, and he lived four hundred years and no illness ever befell him. Then Iblīs came to him and said to him: you are not a human being, you are a god; call the people to worship you alone. So he claimed lordship. When Allah sent Ibrāhīm and he called them to the worship of the One Creator, he disputed with him in this disputation. It was a time of drought. Ibrāhīm went out from al-Shām seeking provisions, and when Ibrāhīm refused to acknowledge him, he denied him the provisions, so Ibrāhīm went back to his family without provisions. When he drew near the village he said: if I come back empty-handed, this will frighten my dependents; it is better that I fill my sacks with this earth. So he took earth on a rise, filled his sacks and loaded them on his animals. When he arrived, fatigue overcame him and he slept. When he had fallen asleep, the lady of the house said: I will take some of the provisions he has brought and make him food before he wakes. So she opened a sack and found the finest wheat, and she made bread,

When Ibrāhīm awoke and smelled the food, he asked her: where did you get this food? She said: from the wheat you brought from your khalīl [friend]. And so Ibrāhīm was named khalīl. He knew that this was from Allah, Blessed and Exalted. [23] It is also said that he was named al-Khalīl because Ibrāhīm was wealthy: he owned five thousand head of cattle, and he had dogs that pastured the cattle, and every one of his livestock dogs he collared with pure gold. The angels said: what Ibrāhīm has done is extravagance, and perhaps the abundance of his wealth distracts him from the remembrance of Allah, Blessed and Exalted. So […] said to the angels: go to Ibrāhīm and test him. An angel came to him and said to him: Ibrāhīm, these dogs — gold is hung upon their necks? He said: because of the worthlessness of this world; gold is contemptible, and nothing suits it but dogs. He said to him: this cattle you own is abundant. He said: make mention of Allah once and I will give you half of it. So he said: lā ilāha illā Allah. He said: make mention of Him a second time and I will give you all of it. So he made mention of Allah, and he said to him: all the cattle I have is yours, and if you add [another] I will give you all the possessions I have. So he made mention of Allah a third time, and he said to him: if you do it again I will give you myself — I will be your servant for the rest of my life. So he made mention of Allah, and the angel made to leave. He said to him: do not go away from your property. He said to him: I am an angel from among the angels; I have no need of wealth. So he went back and said: it is fitting for this one, O

my Lord, that You take him as an intimate friend [khalīl]. [24] Then Ibrāhīm said: this wealth, which he gave for Allah’s sake, does not return to him. So with it he built the porticoes that are in Jerusalem — the porticoes of Ibrāhīm, standing to this day, [built] from that wealth. «Or like the one who passed by a town» — it is Jerusalem — riding on a donkey, with a basket of figs and a cup of juice with him; and he is ʿUzayr — «and it was hollow» fallen down «upon its trellises» its roofs, when Bukhtanaṣṣar [Nebuchadnezzar] laid it waste. When Bukhtanaṣṣar destroyed Jerusalem, demolished the mosques, and killed the prophets and the Muslims, all of them, and held power over them for four hundred years as well, ʿUzayr passed by Jerusalem and it was empty. «He said: By what means» how «will Allah give life to this after its death» how will Allah give life to this city after its death — in amazement at the power of [Allah] the Exalted. «So Allah caused him to die» Allah caused him to die, him, and made him remain «a hundred years, then He raised him» raised him to life, to show him the manner of it. ʿUzayr, when he asked how Allah gives life to the dead, his question did not carry complete adab, as Ibrāhīm’s question that comes next does; and for this reason the sign was shown to him in his own person. Allah caused him to die for a hundred years, then raised him. He and his donkey both died and their bones crumbled, then Allah raised him. «He said: How long did you remain?» When Allah raised him and he sat up, he was asked: how long did you stay here? «He said: I remained a day» He said: one single day, supposing it to be the day on which he died and at the end of which he was raised. He said «or part of a day» because he had fallen asleep at the beginning of the day and was taken [in death], and was brought to life at sunset, so he supposed it was the day of his sleep. «He said: Rather, you remained a hundred years» Allah informed him that he had stayed there a hundred years. «So look at your food» He looked at the figs, and there they were in the state they were in when they were picked from the tree, moist and fresh. «and your drink» the juice too was fresh «it has not gone stale with the years» it had not altered. ʿUzayr and the donkey both died, until their bones gleamed bare, while the basket and the juice stayed as they were on the day it was pressed. «and look at your donkey» (Q. 2:259)

how it is. And he saw it dead, its bones white and gleaming. We did that so that you may know. «and so that We may make you a sign» of the resurrection «for the people — and look at the bones» look again at the bones of your donkey «how We revive them» (Q. 2:259) — we give them life — our reading,

and the reading of Ḥafṣ is kayfa nunshizuhā, that is, We move them «then We clothe them with flesh» He looked at them, and they had been fitted together and clothed with flesh, and the spirit was breathed into it, and it stood up and brayed. «So when it became clear to him» that, by direct witnessing «He said: I know» a knowing by direct witnessing «that Allah is powerful over all things» (Q. 2:259). This is ʿUzayr. When ʿUzayr had lived until he reached twenty years, a child was born to him; and when he reached forty years he set out on this journey of his, and Allah caused him to die for a hundred years, then raised him. He was raised at the age of forty, and he had left behind a son of twenty years who lived on after him for a hundred years. So he came back at the age of forty while his son was a hundred and twenty years old, and the two of them died on a single day. A riddle is made of it: a man died, he and his son, on a single day, and his son was older than him by eighty years, two thirds of his lifetime — the two thirds are eighty years. ʿUzayr died at the age of forty and his son died at the age of a hundred and twenty; the son was longer-lived than the father by two thirds of his lifetime. So ʿUzayr mounted the donkey and entered the city, and saw that every landmark of the town had changed. He came and gave greeting. They said:

Who are you? He said: I am ʿUzayr. They said: do not remind us of our calamity — ʿUzayr went out travelling and perished on his journey, and has not come back these hundred years. He said: I am ʿUzayr. They said: No. He said: He is ʿUzayr. They said to him: you must bring us proof that you are ʿUzayr. They said to him: ʿUzayr knew the Torah by heart, and the Torah was lost at the hand of Bukhtanaṣṣar, and all those who knew the Torah by heart perished; no Torah is left with us. So he set about dictating the Torah to them from its beginning to its end. When he had finished, one of them said: I have found it written that my grandfather reports from his grandfather that he deposited a copy of the Torah under such-and-such a palm tree. So they called for someone who knew that place, and they came and dug and found the Torah, and they compared it with the Torah that ʿUzayr had dictated, and he had not altered so much as a single vowel-mark. So they said: this one is nothing less than the son of Allah. For this they perished.

What calls for guidance becomes what calls for their own destruction. And ʿUzayr — his question has no adab in it: «He said: By what means will Allah give life to this after its death» (Q. 2:259) and for this reason the sign was shown to him, but in his own person: he tasted hardship. And Ibrāhīm, who is complete in adab, asked for what ʿUzayr asked, but with complete adab. «And» recall «when Ibrāhīm said: My Lord, show me how You give life to the dead» (Q. 2:260) He came with the name rabb — O my Lord, show me — he asked Allah, Blessed and Exalted, to show him the manner of it. He did not doubt

in the power, but he wished to witness [it]. «He said: Do you not then believe?» in My power to give life. He asked him, Blessed and Exalted, even though He knew of his belief in that, so that he might answer what he was asked and the hearers might learn his purpose. «He said: Yes, but so that my heart may be at rest» (Q. 2:260) Ibrāhīm asked for the seeing so that his heart might be at rest, and for this reason the Messenger ﷺ said:

⟨We have more right to doubt than Ibrāhīm.⟩ [25] He said this out of humility. He wished for the witnessing so that his heart might be at rest. Hearts fall into classes:

A heart that is at rest in this world alone: «They were content with the life of this world and were at rest in it» (Q. 10:7) The people of this world — their rest is in this world alone, because that is the limit of their knowledge. And the people of Allah — their rest is in the remembrance of Allah: «Is it not by the remembrance of Allah that hearts are at rest?» (Q. 13:28) And the elect of the elect — their rest is in direct witnessing: «Show me how You give life to the dead» «Do you not then believe? He said: Yes. But so that my heart may be at rest» (Q. 2:260) — by direct witnessing. Ibrāhīm is one of the people of direct witnessing. «He said: Then take four of the birds and draw them to yourself» Take four of the birds: the cock, the vulture, the crow and the peacock. Kill them, cut them up, mix their flesh with their feathers, and gather all of that together. «then set upon every mountain» of the mountains of your land «a portion of them, then call them: they will come to you in haste» swiftly «and know that Allah is Mighty, Wise» (Q. 2:260) in His making. So he took a peacock, a vulture, a crow and a cock, and did with them what has been described, and kept their heads with him, and called them. The pieces flew to one another until they were made complete, then they came forward to their heads, and each stood up a bird. This is Ibrāhīm: when he asked to see the manner of the raising of the dead, Allah directed him to these four birds. He killed them, pounded them up with their feathers and their flesh, and divided them into four portions as has been described. Then he called out, O cock, and out came whatever belonged to

the cock from every portion, and it fitted itself together until the whole of it was joined and was attached to its head, and it stood up a cock. The peacock likewise, the vulture likewise, the crow likewise. So Ibrāhīm knew by direct witnessing that Allah has the power to give life to the dead. Ibrāhīm is one of the knowers [al-ʿārifūn] whose journeying is always in the Dominion [al-malakūt]; their hearts fly in the Dominion, and for this reason Allah showed him marvels in the birds. These birds have in them the natural dispositions of the sons of Adam. The cock has appetite in it always, the appetite for intercourse; the crow is covetous; the vulture loves eating and never slackens from eating; and the peacock loves adornment and boasting. [26] When a man purifies his soul of these dispositions he dwells in the dominion of the heavens and the earth. When he struggles against his soul until he has severed it from appetite, from much eating, from boasting and self-adornment, and from covetousness, he enters the dominion of the heavens and the earth. Man was created from the four elements: from water, earth, air and fire — these are the four elements. From the nature of water and earth came covetousness and miserliness; from air and fire came anger and appetite. These are four. Covetousness married envy, miserliness married rancour, anger married pride, and appetite has no spouse: it is a beloved, like a woman held in common among men. So these are seven: there appeared covetousness and its wife envy, miserliness and its wife rancour, anger and its wife pride, and appetite, which has no spouse. These seven are the gates of Hell: «It has seven gates; to each gate a portion of them is assigned» (Q. 15:44) So whoever struggles against his soul and purifies it of covetousness and of miserliness, of envy, of rancour, of anger, of pride and of appetite has freed his soul from the Fire. Covetousness is the first thing by which Allah was disobeyed: Adam ate from the forbidden tree after he had possessed the Garden and what is in it, out of covetousness on his part for remaining in the Garden — and so he went out of the Garden. And envy is the first thing by which Iblīs disobeyed: he envied Adam and so refused to prostrate to him, and contrived against him until he brought him out of the Garden, out of envy. And by envy Qābīl killed Hābīl. These three acts of disobedience are the first acts of disobedience upon the face of

the earth: covetousness, envy and killing. «The likeness of those who spend their wealth in the path of Allah is as the likeness of a grain that put forth seven ears, in each ear a hundred grains» (Q. 2:261) This verse came down concerning the army of hardship — I mean the expedition of Tabūk. The Messenger ﷺ said: ⟨Whoever equips the army of hardship, the Garden is his.⟩ [27] ʿUthmān b. ʿAffān came to him and said to him: ⟨Upon me are a thousand camels, each camel with its load of wheat, and a hundred horses with their saddles and their saddle-cloths.⟩ And he brought a thousand dīnārs and poured them into the lap of the Prophet ﷺ and the Prophet began to turn the gold over and to say:

⟨O Allah, I am pleased with him, so be pleased with him. By Allah, nothing ʿUthmān does after this day will harm him.⟩ [28] And so there came down: «The likeness of those who spend their wealth in the path of Allah is as the likeness of a grain that put forth seven ears, in each ear a hundred grains» (Q. 2:261) And so likewise

their expenditures are multiplied seven hundredfold. [29] «And Allah multiplies for whom He wills, and Allah is Vast» His bounty [is vast]. «Knowing» (Q. 2:261) «Those who spend their wealth in the path of Allah, then do not follow what they have spent with reproach» upon the one spent upon, as when they say, for example: I have done him a kindness and mended his condition. «nor harm» by mentioning it to someone whose learning of it he would not like «They shall have their reward with their Lord, and no fear shall be upon them, nor shall they grieve» (Q. 2:262) «A kind word» good speech, and a reply to the one who asks «and forgiveness» towards him in the matter of the need — that is, a veiling of his need «are better than a charity followed by harm» by reproach, and by shaming him for having asked «And Allah is Rich» beyond need of the charity of [His] servants «Forbearing» (Q. 2:263) in deferring the punishment from the one who reproaches «O you who believe, do not nullify your acts of charity» [that is], their rewards «by reproach and harm, like the one who» like the nullifying of [the expenditure of] the one who «spends his wealth for show before people» making a display to them «and does not believe in Allah and the Last Day» and he is the hypocrite «His likeness is as the likeness of a bare rock» a smooth stone «upon which is dust, and a downpour strikes it» heavy rain «and leaves it bare»

hard and smooth, with nothing upon it «They have no power» that is, the hypocrites «over anything of what they have earned» they find nothing of the reward of what they did «And Allah does not guide the disbelieving people» (Q. 2:264) «And the likeness of those who spend their wealth seeking the good pleasure of Allah and out of a firmness in themselves» in certainty of the reward, unlike the hypocrites «is as the likeness of a garden» an orchard «on a height» elevated and level «a downpour strikes it, and it yields» it gives «its produce» that is, its fruit «twofold; and if no downpour strikes it, then a drizzle» light rain «And Allah is Seeing of what you do» (Q. 2:265) And Allah is seeing of what you do. «Would [one] wish»

would he like «any of you that he should have a garden» an orchard «of date palms and vines, beneath which rivers flow, in which he has» fruit «of all the fruits, and there strikes him» when there has already struck him «old age» so that he has become too weak from old age to earn «and he has weak offspring» young children «and a whirlwind strikes it» a violent wind «in which is fire»

«and it burns up» and so he lost it when he was most in need of it. Would any of you like this? No. So too the man: when he gives a charity and makes a display in it — when he enters his grave and comes to be most in need of his good deeds, he finds them scattered dust, as nothing. «Thus does Allah make clear to you the signs, that you may reflect» (Q. 2:266) and so take warning «O you who believe, spend» [that is], pay the zakat «of the good things of what you have earned» the choice part of what you have earned. The ṭayyib here means fine quality, because «Spend» indicates that it is lawful; so what remains is that the meaning of «of the good things of what you have earned» is: of the choice part of them. When a man gives charity, he gives from wealth that is good. «and of what We have brought forth for you from the earth» of grains and fruits «and do not aim at» do not intend «the bad» the inferior «of it to spend, when you would not take it»

[that is], the bad «except that you close your eyes to it» out of the intensity of your dislike of it «and know that Allah is Rich» beyond need of your expenditures «Praiseworthy» (Q. 2:267) praised «Satan promises you poverty» he frightens you with it if you give charity, so that you hold back «and commands you to indecency» with miserliness. Every al-faḥshāʾ in the Qurʾan has the sense of fornication except this one, which has the sense of miserliness. [30] «And Allah promises you» for spending «forgiveness from Him» for your sins «and bounty» provision given in replacement from Him «And Allah is Vast, Knowing» (Q. 2:268) of the one who spends. When a man resolves to bring out the charity — the Messenger said: ⟨The charity does not go out until it has been wrested from the hand of seventy devils.⟩ [31] And the charity, when it goes out from the hand of the one who gives it, speaks words: I was little and you made me much; I was small and you made me great; I was perishing and you made me endure; I was guarded, and now I remain a guard for you; I was an enemy and you made me beloved. Every charity utters these five words

before it reaches the poor man. [32] It was little and became much; it was small and became great; it was guarded and became a guard; it was perishing and became enduring; it was an enemy and became a beloved. «He gives wisdom» beneficial knowledge that leads to action «to whom He wills; and whoever is given wisdom has been given much good» because his end is everlasting felicity. Wisdom is knowledge of the Qurʾan, beneficial knowledge. Wherever it is mentioned in the Qurʾan its meaning is the admonitions of the Qurʾan, the sunna of the Messenger ﷺ and working for the hereafter. Knowledge that comprises this, the Qurʾan describes as much good — after this world and what is in it had been [called] little, and knowledge [had been called] little, by this it has become much; and that which was called little, we never know its end. «And none remembers except those possessed of understanding» (Q. 2:269) «And whatever you spend of expenditure» [that is], what you have paid of zakat or charity «or vow of a vow» and have fulfilled [it] «then Allah knows it» and will requite you for it «And the wrongdoers shall have no helpers» (Q. 2:270) who could prevent [it] «If you disclose the charities»

the voluntary offerings «then how excellent it is» making them public is a good thing «and if you conceal them» you cover them over «and give them to the poor, that is better for you» (Q. 2:271) than making them public. Almsgiving is of two kinds: if it is an obligatory alms and the person is one whose example is followed, then making it public is better than concealing it, because of the following of his example that results from it; and if he is not such a one, then concealing it is better. [33] «and We shall remit for you some of your evil deeds, and Allah is aware of what you do» (Q. 2:271) Our master ʿAli, may Allah ennoble his face, uttered nine sayings: three in his intimate converse with Allah, Blessed and Exalted, three in wisdom, and three in the proprieties [al-ādāb]:

Three in the intimate converse. He says: ⟨It is enough glory for me that You are my Lord, and it is enough honour for me that I am Your servant. [34] You are as I love, so make me as You love.⟩ This is in his intimate converse. And three in wisdom. ʿAli said, may Allah ennoble his

face: ⟨The worth of every man is what he does well. [35] He who knows his own measure does not perish. [36] Whoever knows what he aims at finds easy what he seeks.⟩ And he said, concerning the proprieties: ⟨Spend on everyone you love, and you are his commander; have no need of everyone you love, and you are his equal; plead with everyone you love, and you are his captive.⟩ [37] If you have no need of a man, however high he has risen, you are his equal; and if you need him, you are his captive; and if you do good to him, you are his commander. «Their guidance is not upon you» (Q. 2:272) The occasion for the descent of this verse is that the Prophet ﷺ said: ⟨Withhold the alms from the poor among the unbelievers, so that they may accept Islam.⟩ [38] The alms used to reach them only from the Muslims. If the Muslims withheld their alms, they might be driven to Islam. And Allah, in His justice, says: «Their guidance is not upon you» the guiding of people to entering Islam. Upon you is only the delivering [of the message], that alone. «but Allah guides whom He wills» His guiding him to enter into it «and whatever good you spend» of wealth «is for yourselves» The alms is not for the poor man; it is for the giver of the alms. «and you spend nothing except in seeking Allah’s face» His reward, nothing else «and whatever good you spend will be repaid to you in full» its recompense «and you will not be wronged» (Q. 2:272) you will not be diminished of anything of it «For the poor»

The alms are for the poor «who are confined in the path of Allah» (Q. 2:273) they have confined themselves to the jihad, and they are the people of

the Ṣuffa [the portico of the Prophet’s mosque]. [39] Their chief was Abū Hurayra. They were four hundred of the Emigrants who had set themselves apart for learning the Qurʾan and for going out with the raiding parties. «they are unable [to make] any journeying» travel «in the land» for trade and for a livelihood, because they are occupied with the jihad «the ignorant man supposes them» [ignorant] of their condition «to be rich, because of [their] abstinence» because they abstain from begging «You know them»

O you who are addressed «by their mark» their sign, which is humility and the trace of exertion «they do not ask people» for anything, importuning them «with importunity» they do not beg at all «and whatever good you spend, Allah knows it» (Q. 2:273) and He will requite [you] for it «Those who spend their wealth by night and by day, secretly and openly» (Q. 2:274) It came down concerning our master ʿAli b. Abī Ṭālib, may Allah ennoble his face. He hired himself out and worked the whole day; when night came they gave him four dirhams. He gave one dirham in alms by night, one dirham by day, one dirham in secret and one dirham openly. [40] And so Allah said: «Those who spend their wealth by night and by day, secretly and openly — theirs is their reward with their Lord; no fear shall be upon them, nor shall they grieve» (Q. 2:274) «Those who consume usury» they take it, and it is the increase in dealing with coin and with foodstuffs, whether in quantity or in term «shall not rise» from their graves «except» [with] a rising «as he rises whom he afflicts» throws him down «Satan, from the touch» from madness «That» which has befallen them «is because they» for the reason that they «said: Trade is only like»

«usury» (Q. 2:275) Allah forbade usury, and they said: whoever sells cannot do without usury. This is the comparison reversed. «whereas Allah has made trade lawful and has forbidden usury» (Q. 2:275) Allah answered them: He made trade lawful and forbade usury. How can trade be like usury

«So he to whom there comes» reaches him «an admonition» an exhortation «from his Lord, and desists» from consuming it «his is what is past» (Q. 2:275)

before the prohibition. «And his affair» in [the matter of] pardon «[is] unto Allah». «And whoever returns» to consuming it, likening it to sale in respect of lawfulness, «those are the companions of the Fire; they abide therein forever» (Q. 2:275) «Allah effaces usury» He denied the advantage here as well, in that Allah diminishes usury and strips away its blessing «and He causes the charities to grow» He increases them, makes them grow, and multiplies their reward. Usury is effaced and then burned, while the charities Allah increases and multiplies. «And Allah does not love every disbeliever» by declaring usury lawful «sinner» dissolute through consuming it; rather, He punishes him (Q. 2:276) «Those who believe and do righteous deeds and establish the prayer and pay the alms — theirs is their reward with their Lord; no fear is upon them, nor do they grieve» The like of it has already come. (Q. 2:277) «O you who believe, fear Allah and leave» abandon «what remains of usury, if you are believers» truthful in your faith, for compliance with Allah’s command belongs to the character of the believer. It was revealed when some of the Companions demanded, after the prohibition, usury that had been owed to him beforehand. (Q. 2:278) [41] «But if you do not do so» what you were commanded, namely the abandonment of usury «then be apprised» know «of war from Allah and His Messenger» against you. In it is a severe threat to them. And when it was revealed they said: we have no hand for war with Him. «And if you repent, you shall have the principal sums of your wealth» the capital sums of your wealth «you will not wrong» by [exacting] an increase «nor will you be wronged» by [suffering] a reduction (Q. 2:279) «And if there be» there happens to be a debtor «one in straitened circumstances, then a deferment» that is, deferring him «until ease» until the time of ease «And that you remit it is better for you, if you only knew» that it is better — so do it. (Q. 2:280) In the hadith: ⟨Whoever grants respite to one in straits, or remits [the debt] for him, Allah will shade him in His shade.⟩

Muslim transmitted it. [42] «And fear a Day on which you will be returned to Allah» you will be brought back on it to Allah, and it is the Day of Resurrection «then every soul will be paid in full for what it earned» it did, of good and of evil […] «and they will not be wronged» (Q. 2:281) by the diminution of a good deed or the addition of an evil one «O you who believe, when you contract a debt with one another» that is, you deal with one another by means of a debt, such as a salam [sale] or a loan «for a stated term» that is, known «then write it down» as a safeguard and to forestall dispute «and let [one] write» the document of the debt «[between you] a scribe, in justice» with truth in what he writes: he adds nothing to the sum or the term and subtracts nothing «and let [him] not refuse» that is, decline, «a scribe, to write [it]» when he is called to it «as Allah has taught him» since Allah has favoured him with writing, let him not be miserly [with it] «so let him write; and let dictate» to the scribe «the one who owes the debt» the debt, because he is the one testified against, so he acknowledges [it] so that what he owes may be known «and let him fear Allah, his Lord» in his dictation «and let him not diminish» that is, reduce «anything from it. And if the one who owes the debt is a prodigal» a squanderer «or weak» unable to dictate, through youth or old age «or unable to dictate himself» through muteness, or ignorance of the language, or the like «then let his guardian dictate» the one in charge of his affairs: a father, an executor, a court-appointed guardian, or an interpreter «in justice. And call witnesses» have witnesses testify to the debt «two witnesses» two men who give testimony «from among your men» free Muslim men who have reached majority «and if they are not» that is, the two witnesses «two men, then one man and two women» who give testimony «from those of whom you approve as witnesses» for his religion and his probity; and the women are two [rather than one, so that] «one of them should err» that is, forget «one of the two, so that the one may remind the other. And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called» to assume the testimony and to give it «and do not grow weary» that is, become bored «of writing it down, small or large» little or much «until its term. That [course] of yours» that is, the writing [of it] «is more equitable» more just «in Allah’s sight, and more upright for testimony, and nearer» that is, closer «to your not doubting» that you doubt the amount of the debt or the term «unless it be» that is, there occurs «a present trade which you circulate among yourselves» you take possession of it, and there is no term in it «then there is no blame on you that you do not write it down. And call witnesses when you trade with one another» (Q. 2:282) [call witnesses] to it, for that best wards off disagreement,

and this, and what precedes it, is a command of recommendation. «And let no writer or witness cause harm» [namely, to] the holder of the right and the one who owes it, by distortion or by refusing to testify «And if you do» what you were forbidden «then it is a transgression» a departure from obedience «on your part. And fear Allah» in His command and His prohibition «And Allah teaches you» the welfare of your affairs «and Allah is Knowing of all things» (Q. 2:282) «And if you are upon a journey» travelling, and you contract a debt with one another, «and you find no writer, then pledges» the plural of rahn «taken in hand»

by which you take security. «But if one of you trusts another» the creditor trusted the debtor with his right and so took no pledge «then let him who is trusted render» the debtor «his trust» his debt «and let him fear Allah his Lord» in rendering it «And do not conceal the testimony» (Q. 2:283)

when you are called to give it «and whoever conceals it, his heart is sinful» the heart is singled out for mention because it is the seat of testimony, and because when it sins the rest [of the body] follows it; so he is punished for it with the punishment of sinners. ⟨In the body there is a morsel of flesh: when it is sound the whole body is sound, and when it is corrupt the whole body is corrupt. It is the heart.⟩ [43] «and Allah is knowing of what you do» (Q. 2:283) nothing is hidden from Him «To Allah belongs what is in the heavens and what is in the earth. And whether you disclose» that is, make manifest «what is in yourselves» of evil and of equity «or conceal it» that is, keep it secret «Allah will bring you to account for it» on the Day of Resurrection «so He forgives whom He wills» [whom He wills] forgiveness for «and punishes whom He wills» [whom He wills] to punish «and Allah is powerful over everything» (Q. 2:284) and that includes bringing you to account and requiting you; when it came down, Abū Bakr came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said to him: ⟨If Allah takes us to account for what is in our souls, then we perish; we have no capacity for this.⟩ The Messenger ﷺ said: ⟨Do you wish to say what the people of the two Books before you said: We have heard and we have disobeyed?⟩ Abū Bakr said: ⟨No, but we have no capacity for this. If Allah takes us to account for what is in our souls, there is no deliverance at all.⟩ so there came down «Allah does not burden»

«a soul beyond its capacity» (Q. 2:286) [44] — the āya that follows. «The Messenger has believed» [that is,] Muhammad «in what has been sent down to him from his Lord» of the Qurʾan «and the believers» [this is] coordinated with it «each one» of them «has believed in Allah, His angels, His books and His messengers» (Q. 2:285)

They say: «We make no distinction between any of His messengers» so as to believe in some and disbelieve in others, as the Jews and the Christians did. «And they said: We have heard» [that is,] what we were commanded — a hearing of acceptance «and we have obeyed. Your forgiveness» we ask You for Your forgiveness «our Lord, and to You is the return» (Q. 2:285) When the āya before it came down, the believers complained of the whispering [of the soul], and being brought to account for it weighed heavily upon them. And so there came down: «Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity» that is, [beyond] what its power can encompass «To it belongs what it has earned» (Q. 2:286)

of good «and against it is what it has acquired» of evil «Our Lord» [that is,] say: Our Lord «do not take us to task» with punishment «if we forget or err» (Q. 2:286) [that is,] we have abandoned what is right, [not] deliberately, as You took to task those before us for it. And Allah has lifted that

from this community, as has come in the hadith. [45] So his asking [for this] is an acknowledgement of Allah’s favour. «Our Lord, do not lay upon us a burden» a matter whose carrying weighs heavily on us «as You laid it upon those before us» the Children of Israel: the killing of the self, since whoever wished to repent would kill himself; and the handing over of a quarter of one’s wealth, for the alms-tax was a quarter of their wealth; and the cutting away of the place [touched by] impurity «Our Lord, do not burden us with what we have no strength for» of obligations and affliction «and pardon us» efface our sins «and forgive us and have mercy on us» mercy is something more than forgiveness «You are our Protector» our Master and the One who manages our affairs «so help us against the disbelieving people» (Q. 2:286) by establishing the proof and by victory in fighting them, for it belongs to a protector to help those under his protection against enemies, and in the hadith: ⟨When this āya came down and he ﷺ recited it, he was told after every phrase: I have done [it].⟩ [46] His supplication was answered.

Sūrat Āl ʿImrān

Medinan. Two hundred āyāt, or [two hundred] less one āya.

«By Allah’s Name: The Entirely Merciful, The Especially Merciful» «Alif Lām Mīm» (Q. 3:1) Allah knows best what He intends by it. The right course in interpreting it is: Allah knows best what He intends. It came down concerning the disputation of the Messenger ﷺ with the delegation of the Christians of Najrān.

Sixty riders came from the Christians of Najrān. Among them was the king, among them the head of the bishops, and among them the greatest of their merchants, their rich man — they are the lords to whose word [the rest] defer. They came to the Prophet ﷺ disputing with him about the affair of ʿĪsā. At one time they would say: ʿĪsā is Allah, because he gives life to the dead and heals the one born blind and the leper, and creates from clay the likeness of a bird — so he is Allah. At another time they would say: ʿĪsā is a son to Allah, because he has no father. Have you seen a child with no father? Since he had no father, we know that Allah is his father. At another time they would say: the third of three…

Have you not read the word of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, ‘We did’ and ‘We said’? Had He been alone, He would have said ‘I said’ and ‘I did’. [47] The Prophet ﷺ said to them: ⟨Do you know that Allah, Blessed and Exalted, is Living and does not die?⟩ They said: Yes.

He said: ⟨And does death come to ʿĪsā?⟩ They said: ⟨Yes.⟩ He said: ⟨Do you not know that Allah, Blessed and Exalted, is able to form people in the wombs, and that ʿĪsā has nothing of that?⟩ They said: ⟨Yes indeed.⟩ He said: ⟨Do you not know that a child must resemble his father, and Allah is the Living, the Self-Subsisting, whom no slumber takes nor sleep, living, who never dies, while ʿĪsā — his mother carried him as women carry, and she bore him as women bear, and she suckled him as women suckle, and he used to eat and drink and relieve himself?⟩ They said: ⟨Yes indeed.⟩ He said: ⟨You know that ʿĪsā — the Christians claimed that he was killed, and that he was powerless to defend himself, while Allah, Blessed and Exalted, is living, abiding.⟩ They said: ⟨Yes.⟩ And so there came seventy āyāt from

the beginning of this sura, concerning that disputation, making clear the confirmation of the Prophet ﷺ and his agreement with the truth. [48] «Allah — there is no deity but He, The Living, The Self-Subsisting» (Q. 3:2) Allah, the one who deserves worship; there is no object of worship in truth other than Him. And He is «The Living» — the everlasting; «The Self-Subsisting» — the one who undertakes the governance of His creation perpetually. ʿĪsā is not like that. «And He sent down upon you» O Muhammad «the Book» the Qurʾan «with the truth, confirming what was before it» (Q. 3:3) That the Qurʾan came down upon Muhammad — in this is the strongest proof for Muhammad ﷺ of his truthfulness in what he said. «and He sent down the Torah and the Gospel before, as guidance» — guides out of error — «for mankind» (Q. 3:3–4) because if they acknowledge that Allah sent down the Torah and the Gospel, they cannot deny that Allah sent down the Qurʾan upon Muhammad. Either they disbelieve in all the prophets and all the books, and so disbelieve in the Qurʾan; but if they affirm the truth of one prophet among the prophets, or one book among the books, then they cannot declare false

Muhammad or the Qurʾan, for they have no argument. The prophets came with books from Allah, Blessed and Exalted, and what strengthened them, so that we accepted that this came from Allah, were the miracles; and Muhammad came with a book from Allah and came with dazzling miracles. So how can one believe in a prophet and disbelieve in Muhammad ﷺ, when he has miracles they do not have, and when he claimed nothing but a book that came to him from Allah, Blessed and Exalted? For this reason He informed them that it is He who sent down this Book, just as He sent down the Torah and the Gospel before. «and He sent down the Furqān» (Q. 3:4) meaning the books that distinguish truth from falsehood, or the miracles, in all three. So either one affirms all of them or one disbelieves in all of them: may Allah protect us from that. «Those who disbelieve in Allah’s signs will have a severe punishment; and Allah is Mighty» prevailing in His affair, so nothing prevents Him from carrying out His promise and His threat «Possessor of retribution» (Q. 3:4) a severe punishment for whoever disobeys Him «Allah: nothing is hidden from Him» that exists «in the earth or in the heaven» (Q. 3:5) because of His knowledge of what occurs in the world, universal and particular «He it is who forms you in the wombs however He wills» as the Prophet ﷺ mentioned: maleness and femaleness, whiteness and blackness «there is no deity but He, the Mighty, the Wise» (Q. 3:6) in what He makes. The Messenger ﷺ says: ⟨The creation of one of you is gathered in his mother’s belly for forty days as a drop, and forty days as a clot, and forty days as a morsel of flesh; then the spirit is breathed into him.⟩ [49] And in another narration: ⟨When there falls⟩

The drop of fluid in the mother’s womb: the angel asks, Is he wretched or felicitous? And he is answered: wretched, or felicitous. Rich or poor? And he is answered: rich or poor. What is his deed, and what is his term? These four — the pen has dried upon them. This is an instruction to the angel of what had already preceded in the Tablet; otherwise, this had already preceded before the child’s descent into its mother’s womb. «And He it is who sent down upon you the Book; of it are determinate verses — they are the mother of the Book» (Q. 3:7) Allah is He who sent down this Qurʾan upon Muhammad. In it are determinate verses, clear in their signification; they are the foundation of the Book, and from them the rulings were derived. «and others ambiguous» (Q. 3:7) — their meanings are not understood, like the openings of the suras. Allah, Blessed and Exalted, described the Qurʾan as being entirely muḥkam: «its verses have been made determinate» (Q. 11:1). So it became entirely muḥkam. This is because it is without precedent in its composition, its meanings, its eloquence and its rhetoric. And He described the Qurʾan as being entirely mutashābih: «Allah has sent down the best of discourse, a Book of resembling parts, paired» (Q. 39:23). That is because of the resemblance of one part of it to another. And He described the Qurʾan as being of two parts: in it there is muḥkam and mutashābih. The muḥkam is what is clear in its signification, and the mutashābih is what is not understood in its meaning, like the openings of the suras, and the attributes of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, and the like. The Qurʾan, then, falls into four parts. One part is clear with a manifest clarity, so that everyone who knows Arabic understands its meaning when he hears it, such as «Say: He is Allah, One» (Q. 112:1) — every Arab knows the meaning of «He is Allah, One» — and this is the greater part of the Qurʾan. One part contains obscure meanings and requires deep competence in Arabic, in grammar, in morphology and in rhetoric, and for this reason it requires an exegete to explain it. One part none knows except those firmly rooted in knowledge. And one part none knows except Allah, Blessed and Exalted, and that is the mutashābih, such as the mention of a hand for Allah, Blessed and Exalted. He said that He has a hand, and He said that He has two hands: «rather, His two hands»

«are outstretched» (Q. 5:64) — and both of them are a right hand. [50] This a human being does not understand: the two hands, each one of them is a right hand. And He mentioned that He has hands, many hands: «and the heaven — We built it with hands» (Q. 51:47). If we have recourse to taʾwīl, as those who practise it hold, and say that the hand is power, the naming refutes this, because power is not put into the dual, much less into the plural. So the attributes of Allah with which He described Himself: we believe in them according to what Allah, Blessed and Exalted, intends by them. This is what is correct. He mentioned that He has a face, and that He has a hand; He mentioned that He has a foot; He mentioned that He descends; He mentioned that He istawā. All of these are sound meanings which Allah knows and we do not know. The chief qadi in the Hijaz questioned me — they affirm direction, they say that Allah is seated upon the Throne, in these very words, we seek refuge with Allah; they do not say mustawin, they say seated upon the Throne — he followed me in the Hijaz until he sat down at my side and began to question me. He said to me: Whoever does not hold that [Allah] is seated above the Throne, his faith is deficient, or he is not a believer. «The Merciful — upon the Throne He settled» (Q. 20:5). And in the hadith: ⟨Where was our Lord before He created the heavens and the earth? Cloud above cloud, and Allah above that.⟩ [51] And the hadith: ⟨Allah created seven heavens and chose the seventh.⟩ [52] He recited all of this to me, so I said to him: I hold that

Allah mentioned for Himself a Throne and a Footstool, and He mentioned that He istawā upon His Throne, and the Throne is hidden from us. But He also mentioned that He has a House, and here we are at His House now. He mentioned that He has a she-camel: have we ever seen Him ride a she-camel? He said: No.

I said: «the she-camel of Allah and her drink» (Q. 91:13) — whose is this she-camel? This is the House of Allah: if we enter it, do we find Him in it or not? He said: We do not find Him in it. I said: If, when we enter His House, we do not find Him there — and the norm is that a man is found in his house — then it is possible that His Throne too, if we come to it, we will not find Him upon it. He said: What are we to do with this hadith: ⟨Our Lord descends every night, when the first third of the night has passed, and says: Is there any petitioner, that I may give to him? Is there any caller, that I may answer him? Is there any seeker of forgiveness, that I may forgive him?⟩ [53] This descent is proof that He is above. I said to him: Yes, He descends every night, and we believe that. But this Qurʾan says that Allah sent down to us eight kinds of livestock: of camels two, of cattle two, of sheep two, of goats two. These are eight that Allah reported He sent down to us from heaven. Every day we see a she-camel giving birth to a camel, and we see a cow giving birth to a cow, and we see a ewe giving birth to a ewe, and a she-goat giving birth to a she-goat. How did these descend from heaven, when we are watching their mothers give birth to them? He said: We do not know the reality

How did it descend from heaven? I said: if we do not understand the descent of the animals, how are we to understand the descent of the Master, Mighty and Exalted? He fell silent. As for al-mutashābih [the ambiguous], the sound position concerning it is the position of al-Shāfiʿī: ⟨We believe in what Allah said according to what Allah intended, and we believe in the speech of the Messenger of Allah according to what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ intended.⟩ «As for those in whose hearts there is deviation» an inclination [away from the truth] «they follow what is ambiguous in it, seeking discord» because of their ignorance of their own falling into the ambiguities «and seeking its interpretation» its exegesis «And none knows its interpretation» its exegesis «except Allah» alone «and those firmly rooted in knowledge say: We believe in it» (Q. 3:7) Or: none knows its interpretation except Allah and those firmly rooted in knowledge — none knows it except Allah and those firmly rooted; or: none knows it except Allah, and those firmly rooted in knowledge say, ‘We believe in it.’ [This is] a mark of knowledge as well. The Messenger ﷺ said: ⟨Learn knowledge, for learning it for Allah’s sake is fear [of Him], seeking it is worship, investigating it is⟩ jihad ⟨, and teaching [it] to one who does not know it is alms — since it is the markers of the licit and the illicit. Knowledge is the intimate in desolation, the companion in solitude, the one who converses in seclusion. By it Allah raises people up until He makes them leaders and imams whose deeds are taken as a pattern⟩

⟨and their words⟩

[54] ⟨and they become intercessors with Allah on the Day of Resurrection.⟩ [55] «All» of the muḥkam and the mutashābih «they say: We believe in it» (Q. 3:7)

in the mutashābih «All» of the muḥkam and the mutashābih «is from our Lord. And none takes heed» takes admonition «except those possessed of understanding» the possessors of intellects. «Our Lord, do not cause our hearts to deviate» make them incline away from the truth by seeking an interpretation of it that does not befit us «after You have guided us» You have directed us «and grant us from Your presence» from You «a mercy» a setting [of us] aright «Truly You are the Bestower. Our Lord, truly You are the gatherer of mankind» You will gather them «for a day» on a day «in which there is no doubt» that is the Day of Resurrection, and You will requite them for their deeds «Truly Allah does not break the appointed promise» (Q. 3:8–9) His promise of the resurrection on it. In this there is a turning away from the [second-person] address [iltifāt], and it may be part of His own speech, Exalted. The purpose of the supplication in these terms is to show that their concern is the matter of the hereafter; and for that reason they asked for steadfastness in guidance, that they might attain its reward. The two Shaykhs transmitted from ʿAʾisha, may Allah the Exalted be pleased with her, who said: ⟨The Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited this āya:⟩ «He it is who sent down upon you the Book; in it are decisive verses» (Q. 3:7) ⟨to the end of it, and he said: ‘If you see those who follow what is ambiguous in it, those are the ones Allah has named, so beware of them.’⟩ [56] And al-Ṭabarānī transmitted in al-Kabīr from Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī that he heard the Prophet ﷺ say: ⟨I fear for my community nothing but three traits⟩ — and he mentioned among them: ⟨that the Book be opened to them, and the believer takes it seeking its interpretation, while none knows its interpretation except Allah⟩ «and those firmly rooted in»

«knowledge say: We believe in it, all of it is from our Lord. And none take heed but those possessed of understanding» [57] (Q. 3:7) «Those who disbelieve: there will not avail» that is, ward off «them, their wealth or their children, against Allah» against His punishment «anything; and they are the fuel of the Fire» (Q. 3:10) the fuel of the Fire is that with which it is kindled, their way, that is, their custom [was] «like the way of the folk of Pharaoh» like the custom of the folk of Pharaoh «and those before them» of the nations, such as ʿĀd and Thamūd «they denied Our signs, so Allah seized them» (Q. 3:11) that is, destroyed them

«for their sins» on account of their sins «and Allah is severe in punishment» (Q. 3:11) It was revealed when the Prophet ﷺ commanded the Jews to [accept] Islam on his return from Badr, and they said to him: ⟨Do not let it delude you that you have fought a band of Quraysh, raw youths who do [not] know fighting. If you confront us, you will know that we are the men and we are the champions.⟩ [58] So it was revealed. «Say» O Muhammad «to those who disbelieve» of the Jews «you will be overcome» (Q. 3:12) by killing and captivity and the levying of the jizya — and that has come to pass.

This is a miracle. «and you will be gathered to Hell» and so enter it «and wretched is the resting place» (Q. 3:12) the bed, In addressing the Prophet ﷺ, they said that his fighting was against Quraysh, and that they are callow and know nothing of war, so that it gives no ground for boasting; so Allah, Blessed and Exalted, mentioned that expedition, namely the battle of Badr «there has been for you a sign» a lesson «in two companies» two groups «that met» on the day of Badr, for battle «one company fighting in Allah’s path» (Q. 3:13) that is, in obedience to Him

and they are the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions. They were three hundred and thirteen men, and with them two horses. [59]

and six coats of mail and eight swords; most of them were on foot. This is the army of the Prophet ﷺ. «and another, disbelieving — you see them as twice their number» — that is, the Muslims more numerous than the disbelievers. And they were about a thousand: Quraysh a thousand, or nine hundred. [60] And Allah mentioned that at the beginning of the affair He makes them few in your eyes and makes you few in their eyes, as comes in Sūrat al-Anfāl — this is at the beginning — and at the end He made the disbelievers look upon the Muslims as though they were two thousand, so that their fear of them would increase. Is this not lesson enough? A company of brave men, a thousand, every one of them trained for war, with a sword, and a horse, and provision enough; and three hundred who had no weapons but eight swords, and no mounts but two horses, the horse of al-Zubayr and the horse of al-Miqdād, only these. So they met, and they feared them — that is, those of the thousand [were the ones who feared] — until they saw them as twice their number, «to the eye’s seeing» — and this was direct witnessing: Allah created that, so they saw them plainly, as though they were two thousand. «And Allah strengthens with His help whom He wills. In that there is a lesson for those possessed of sight». (Q. 3:13) This is the Battle of Badr. It took place in Shawwāl in the second year of the Hijra, a year after the Hijra. The Messenger ﷺ invoked [Allah] against Quraysh: ⟨O Allah, make it years upon them like the years of my brother Yūsuf.⟩ [61] Then the drought fell, until they went hungry, until they ate apes and ate dogs. So they gathered their wealth and their stores and sent their lesser king, Abū Sufyān. He went to Syria and bought for them a great store of provisions. And when

he returned, the Prophet ﷺ saw in a dream that Allah had given him one of the two parties: Abū Jahl, with him the army, and Abū Sufyān, with him the caravan. Allah promised him one of the two parties, as will come in Sūrat al-Anfāl. So they gathered. As for the caravan, they fled and saved themselves and reached the Hijaz; and as for the war-party, they went out […] armed to the teeth in weapons, and they came to Badr. In this there was a sign, that is, a lesson, because the Prophet ﷺ announced that they would be victorious, and he announced the places where the people would fall: so-and-so is struck down here, and so-and-so is struck down here, and so-and-so is struck down here, to the last of them; and the matter fell out as he had said. So they met, and the Muslims overcame them, and they took captive from among them […] chiefs from among their chiefs, among them al-ʿAbbās b. ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib. This is a lesson for whoever takes a lesson. More of […] will come

in Sūrat al-Anfāl.

«The love of desires has been made alluring to people» — what the soul craves and is drawn to. Allah made them alluring as a trial, or Satan [did]. In this āya He mentioned seven things that a human being loves, seven things in which a human being’s desires lie; love is gathered in them. And you know that a person loves a thing and does not love to love it, as a Muslim loves something forbidden — so then, that is, he does not love to love it; and he loves a thing that he loves to love and in which his desire does not lie; and he loves a thing that he loves to love and in which his desire does lie — this is the stronger. All of them came together in the āya: the love of desires. He mentioned that they are desires made alluring to them and that they loved them. «of women» — when a man comes of age, the first thing he attaches himself to is to find a wife who suits him. «and sons» — when he has found a wife, he loves that Allah provide him with children. «and heaped-up hoards of gold and silver» — and when he has found women and sons, he loves to find much gold and silver. As for gold, its own word makes you renounce it: al-dhahab is from al-dhahāb, going away; so everything you own of gold must go away. And silver, al-fiḍḍa, is from al-faḍḍ, which is scattering: everything you own of silver must be scattered. Women and sons and gold and silver. «and branded horses» — the steeds; they are called khayl for their khuyalāʾ [their vainglorious bearing]. «and cattle» — camels and cows and sheep and goats. «and tilled land» — cultivation. «That is the enjoyment of the life of this world» — all these things are goods enjoyed in this world,

then it perishes. «and with Allah is the best of returns» (Q. 3:14) That is the goodly place of return, which is the Garden, with Allah, Blessed and Exalted; so one should desire it and nothing else. ʿAli, may Allah ennoble his face, said: ⟨Man’s appetites are in women, food, drink, clothing, and mounts.⟩ He said: ⟨The best food is honey, and it is only the excrement of a fly; the best drink is water, in which people, beasts, livestock and wild animals are all alike; women are only a urinary passage within a urinary passage; the best of mounts are horses, and upon them men are killed; and the finest clothing is silk, which is only the excrement of a worm.⟩ [62] None of this deserves attention. Attention belongs to what is with Allah, Blessed and Exalted, and that is attained only by obeying Him, by carrying out His command and avoiding what He forbids. O Allah, bless our master Muhammad.