«Say» — O Muhammad, to your people — «shall I announce to you» — shall I inform you — «of something better than that» — the aforementioned among
the desires. «For those who guarded against» — polytheism — «with their Lord are gardens beneath which rivers run, abiding» — decreed to abide forever — «therein» — once they have entered them — «and purified spouses» — purified of menstruation and of whatever else is found repugnant — «and good pleasure from Allah» — abundant good pleasure — «and Allah is seeing» — knowing — «of the servants» (Q. 3:15), and so He requites each of them according to his deed. He told us of what has been made alluring to people among the desires of this world, and He called the servants to desire what is better than that, which is working for the hereafter.
Whoever works for the hereafter enters the Garden and finds in it what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what has never occurred to the heart of any human being. Greater than all of that is the good pleasure of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, after which there is no displeasure. «And good pleasure from Allah is greater» (Q. 9:72). When a person enters the Garden and sees the blessings in it, Allah, Blessed and Exalted, says: Shall I give you more? They say: Yes — and is there anything beyond this? He says: My good pleasure — I settle it upon you, and I shall never be displeased with you thereafter. As for the people of the Garden, of everything they have found in the Garden of blessings, the greatest of it in their eyes is their […]
they are pleased with Allah and Allah is pleased with them. «Return to your Lord, well pleased and well pleasing» (Q. 89:28). This is better than this world and everything in it. Paradise is two paradises: a sensory paradise and a spiritual paradise. The spiritual paradise is knowledge of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, and whoever enters it does not long for the paradise still to come. Among people there is the one who works out of fear of the Fire, the one who works out of desire for the Garden, and the one who works for the face of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, because He deserves servitude from the servant; those are the free. «Those who say: Our Lord, we have believed» — we have affirmed the truth of You and of Your messenger — «so forgive us our sins and shield us from the punishment of the Fire» (Q. 3:16). These servants address their Lord in intimate speech: Our Lord, we have believed — faith has come about in us, so forgive us our sins. This proves that whoever believes in Allah has thereby merited forgiveness. «The patient» (Q. 3:17) — I praise the patient. Patience has three ranks: patience under affliction — whoever is patient under affliction is raised three hundred degrees, the distance between two degrees being as the distance between heaven and earth; and patience in obedience — whoever is patient in obedience is raised six hundred degrees, the distance between two degrees being as the distance between heaven and earth; and patience in abstaining from disobedience — whoever is patient in abstaining from disobedience is raised nine hundred degrees, the distance between two degrees being as the distance between heaven and earth.
⟨O people of the Garden. And they say: We are at Your service, our Lord, and at Your good pleasure. So He says: Are you content? And they say: Why should we not be content, when You have given us what You have given to none of Your creation? So He says: I shall give you something better than that. They said: Lord, and what thing is better than that? So He says: I settle My good pleasure upon you, and I shall never be displeased with you thereafter.⟩
Lesser patience is patience under affliction, middling patience is patience in obedience, and great patience is patience in abstaining from disobedience. Patience in obedience: many Muslims comply with the commands, and that comes about only through patience. Patience in abstaining from disobedience is the furthest degree; none attain it but the righteous among the servants of Allah, Blessed and Exalted. Many Muslims comply with the commands; as for avoiding the prohibitions, none have attained it but the righteous, and it is the highest degree of patience. Patience is half of faith. «And the truthful» — in faith: those who were truthful in saying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and who were truthful in their deed. Truthfulness in speech is that your deed accord with your word. Truthfulness in deed is that a man stand firm in doing good, keep to it steadily, and remain resolved upon it always, nothing turning him back from it. «And the devoutly obedient» — those obedient to Allah — «and those who spend» — those who give alms — «and those who seek forgiveness» — of Allah, by saying: O Allah, forgive us — «in the last hours before dawn» (Q. 3:17) — the final parts of the night; they were singled out […] because they are the time of heedlessness and of the pleasure of sleep. [2] He mentioned the attributes — «the patient, and the truthful, and the devoutly obedient, and those who spend, and those who seek forgiveness in the last hours before dawn» — with the wāw. This shows that whoever is characterized by a single one of these attributes is among the righteous, the patient. The station of patience: whoever is granted it is among the righteous. And truthfulness is a station. «And the devoutly obedient and those who spend». Had He said: the patient, the truthful, the devoutly obedient, those who spend, those who seek forgiveness, we would have needed to combine the attributes before we could be among the righteous; but since He joined them with the wāw, this entails that every one of these attributes obliges the servant to be among the righteous. The awliyāʾ of the shariʿa: everyone characterized by one of the attributes the Qurʾan praises is among the awliyāʾ. This is the lesser walāya.
English translation forthcoming.
And the greater [walāya] is the knowers [of Allah]: whoever has known Allah with the maʿrifa of direct vision. «Those who seek forgiveness in the pre-dawn hours» (Q. 3:17) — the last portions of the night — on account of the hadith of the descent. The Messenger ﷺ says: ⟨Allah grants respite until half the night has passed⟩ — and in [another] transmission, ⟨until a third of the night remains⟩ — two transmissions — ⟨then He descends to the lowest heaven and says: Is there any supplicant, that I may answer him? Is there any petitioner, that I may give to him? Is there any seeker of forgiveness, that I may forgive him?⟩ [3] This is the hadith of the descent, and Allah, Blessed and Exalted, has no direction, no place and no time. This descent is an expression for the Lord’s turning with His mercy toward His servants. The descent of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, wherever it is mentioned in the hadith, means His turning toward the servant. When He turns toward you, He has descended to you. So in the hadith of ʿArafāt: that Allah descends at ʿArafa and says, addressing the pilgrims: ⟨You have come dishevelled and dust-stained. Depart forgiven. I have accepted the good deeds from you, and I have accepted the doers of good among you, and I have bestowed the evildoers upon the doers of good. Depart forgiven, and your liabilities [are discharged] from My treasuries, not from your good deeds.⟩ [4] This is evidence that the hour of answering is in every night, and that it falls in the last part of the night. For this reason it is encouraged that the servant[‘s] work be in the night, that he defer it to the last portion of it. The Sufis say: Be a star; and if you cannot, be a moon; and if
you cannot, be a sun. Be a star: be one who devotes himself to worship the whole night through, just as the star passes the whole night […]. And if you cannot, be a moon — that is, you devote yourself to worship during a portion of the night. The moon courses through one part of the night and is absent during another part. And if you are not able, be a sun: worship in the daytime. Every lover loves khalwa with his beloved. And amid the night are the prayers of the khalawāt. Ibn ʿUmar used to say to his servant-boy: ⟨Have you reached the time before dawn?⟩ — have you entered into the saḥar? If he said no, he would rise and pray; and if he said yes, he would sit and seek Allah’s forgiveness, interpreting this āya. «Allah bears witness that there is no god but He» (Q. 3:18) — it was sent down when the Jews said to the Prophet ﷺ: Bring us the greatest testimony in the Qurʾan. He said: «Allah bears witness» — He has made clear to His creation by proofs and signs — «that there is no god» — there is no object of worship in existence, by right, other than He — «but He» — and the angels bore witness to that: «and the angels» — they bore witness by affirmation — «and those possessed of knowledge» — they too bore witness by affirmation. Those possessed of knowledge are of the prophets and the believers, by conviction and by utterance — «maintaining» — the governance of the things He has made, in the state of His maintaining the governance of the things He has made — «with justice» — with equity — «there is no god but He» — He repeated it for emphasis — «the Mighty» — in His dominion — «the Wise» (Q. 3:18) — in His making. «Truly the religion» — the one approved — «in Allah’s sight» — Blessed and Exalted — is «Islam» (Q. 3:19) — the Law with which the messengers were sent, founded upon tawḥīd. So Islam is Allah’s religion, the one He has approved for the whole of His creation, from the beginning of time to the end of time; and though they differed over some kinds of acts of worship, they agreed upon faith in Allah alone, upon magnifying Allah, Blessed and Exalted, and upon compassion toward His creation. «Truly the religion in Allah’s sight is Islam» (Q. 3:19): Wāʾil related from ʿAbdallāh b. Masʿūd that the Messenger ﷺ said: ⟨Whoever recites:⟩ «Allah bears witness that there is no god but He, and the angels, and those possessed of knowledge, maintaining with justice; there is no god but He, the Mighty, the Wise. Truly the religion in Allah’s sight is Islam» (Q. 3:18–19) ⟨and [then says]: ‘And I deposit this testimony with You, so that it is a deposit of mine with You, my Lord’ — he will be summoned on the Day of Resurrection and the Lord will say: ‘My servant has a covenant with Me, and I am the worthiest of those who fulfil a covenant⟩
⟨Admit him to the Garden — and he enters the Garden.⟩ [5] Ghālib b. Qaḥṭān said: ⟨I was travelling, and I lodged with al-Aʿmash. When the time of the last watch of the night came, I heard him repeating this āya and saying: It is a deposit of mine with You, my Lord. So I said [to myself]: Something has reached him concerning this āya. I had resolved to set out, so much so that my baggage went off with the caravan. When he had prayed the dawn prayer I said to him: I heard you repeating this āya — has anything reached you concerning it? He said: I will not tell you until you stay with me a full year. He said: Write down this day, such-and-such a day of the year, and I shall be at your door —⟩ until the year was complete. When the year was complete, he told him this hadith of Wāʾil from Ibn Masʿūd: that whoever recites this āya and makes it a deposit with Allah, Blessed and Exalted, will come on the Day of Resurrection, and Allah will call out to him before all the witnesses: ⟨You have a covenant with Me, and I am the most worthy of those who fulfil a covenant, so enter the Garden.⟩ [6] «And those who were given the Book did not differ» the Jews and the Christians — in religion, in that some affirmed [Allah’s] oneness and some disbelieved «except after the knowledge had come to them» [the knowledge] of [Allah’s] oneness «out of rivalry» out of envy, on the part of the disbelievers «among themselves. And whoever disbelieves in Allah’s signs — Allah is swift in reckoning» (Q. 3:19) in requiting him «If they dispute with you» the disbelievers contend with you, Muhammad, about religion «then say: I have submitted my face to Allah» I have yielded to Him «and so has whoever follows me. And say to those who were given the Book» the Jews and the Christians «and to the unlettered» the idolaters of the Arabs «Have you submitted?» [meaning] submit «Then if they submit, they have been guided» out of error «but if they turn away» from Islam «your duty is only the conveying» the delivery [of the message] «and Allah sees the servants» (Q. 3:20) so He will requite them for their deeds This was before the command to fight. «Those who disbelieve in Allah’s signs and kill the prophets without»
«right» wrongfully «and kill those who enjoin equity» with justice «from among the people» (Q. 3:21) they are the Jews. It is reported that they killed forty-three prophets, and a hundred and seventy of […] forbade them, and they killed them […]
«Give them tidings» — inform them — «of a painful punishment» (Q. 3:21) — that is, one that causes pain — and mentioning glad tidings here is tahakkum [mockery]. «Those are the ones whose deeds have come to nothing» — have been nullified; [their deeds being] whatever good they did, such as alms and keeping the ties of kinship — «in this world and the Hereafter» (Q. 3:22). So if
reckoning of them, for want of their condition «and they have no helpers» (Q. 3:22) who would ward off the punishment «Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Book» (Q. 3:23) The occasion for the revelation of this āya is that two persons among the Jews committed fornication, and they were of their notables. The Torah contained the ruling of stoning, but they had altered and changed it: when a notable fornicated they flogged him, and when a lowly man fornicated they stoned him. So when these two persons fornicated, and they were of their notables, they said: we shall go to the Prophet ﷺ to find a dispensation with him. When they told him the matter, he said: ⟨The Book of Allah is stoning.⟩ They said: ⟨No — you have wronged us, Abū al-Qāsim; stoning is not incumbent upon us.⟩ He said: ⟨Stoning is incumbent. Stoning is in the Book of Allah and in the Torah. Bring the Torah.⟩ They said: ⟨The Torah does not contain stoning.⟩ So they brought the Torah, and ʿAbd Allah b. Ṣūriyā set about reading until he reached the verse of stoning; he placed his finger on the word ‘stoning’ and read what came after it. ʿAbd Allah b. Salām was present, and he knew the Torah by heart; he lifted his hand and read the verse of stoning, and the Prophet ﷺ had the two of them stoned. [8] So this āya was revealed concerning them: «Have you not seen those who were given a portion» a share «of the Book» the Torah «they are called to the Book of Allah that it may judge between them, then a party of them turns away, and they are averse» (Q. 3:23) from accepting its judgement «That» the turning away «is because they said: the Fire will not touch us except for a number of days» (Q. 3:24) That is because they are deluded by their own lies — that they will not enter the Fire, or that if they enter it they will stay a number of days, because they are Allah’s children and His beloved — the span of their forefathers’ worship of the calf. «and what they used to fabricate has deluded them in their religion» they fabricated things. Their chiefs invented lies for them, and they held those lies to be true and went astray through them, until they forgot the Book of Allah, Blessed and Exalted. And this — though it was revealed concerning the Jews
— applies to many of the Muslims. The Muslim must have hope and fear. Hope is that which action accompanies; otherwise it is delusion. A person acts, and does his work well, and hopes in Allah, Blessed and Exalted, for His mercy, and fears on account of the badness of his deeds; so he is on a straight path so long as fear and hope contend over his heart. And when his appointed time draws near, he gives the weight to the side of hope, on account of the hadith: ⟨I am as My servant thinks of Me, so let him think of Me what he will.⟩ [9] Whoever claims that he hopes in Allah, Blessed and Exalted, while he abandons the works of good, is deluded; this is not hope, it is only a wish. «and what they used to fabricate has deluded them in their religion» (Q. 3:24) They used to say: we are of the progeny of Ibrāhīm, and Ibrāhīm is the intimate friend of Allah; we are of the progeny of ʿUzayr, and ʿUzayr is the son of Allah; we are Allah’s children and His beloved; so it is impossible that we should ever be among the people of the Fire.
A human being does not torment his own sons, nor does he torment those dear to him. This is self-delusion on their part, and a fabrication. Just as the leaders of the Jews fabricated lies to which the common people of the Jews clung until they went astray, so too many of the chiefs of the Muslims have fabricated lies by which they have deluded a body of the Muslims until they lost the way. It is related that a servant entered the Fire and remained
in it for a time. Then a voice was heard: ⟨O Compassionate One, O Bestower, O Possessor of Majesty and Honour.⟩ The angels said: […] He said: ⟨Bring out the one who uttered it.⟩ So they brought him out and set him before Allah, Blessed and Exalted, and he had turned black and had been burned until he became charcoal. Then al-Ḥaqq called him to account a second time, and he deserved the Fire. He said: ⟨Return him to the Fire.⟩ So they went back with him to the Fire, while he kept turning to the right and to the left. The Lord said to the angels: ⟨Bring him back.⟩ So they brought him back. He said: ⟨Why do you keep turning toward Me?⟩ He said: ⟨My Lord, I disobeyed You, and my hope in You was not cut off; and You called me to account and I incurred the Fire, and my hope was not cut off; and You admitted me into the Fire, and my hope was not cut off; and You set me before You, and my hope was not cut off; and You commanded that I be returned to the Fire — and until now my hope in You has not been cut off, my Lord.⟩ So He said: ⟨Admit him to the Garden.⟩ And they admitted him
to the Garden.
«So how will it be when We gather them for a day» — on a day — «there is no doubt» — no uncertainty — «about it» — and it is the Day of Resurrection — «and every soul will be paid in full» — from among the People of the Book and others — the recompense of «what it earned» — what it did of good and of evil — «and they»
— that is, the people — «will not be wronged» (Q. 3:25) — by the diminishing of a good deed or the adding of an evil one. There is no wrongdoing on the Day of Resurrection. «Whoever does the weight of a speck of good will see it, and whoever does the weight of a speck of evil will see it» (Q. 99:7–8). «Say: O Allah, Possessor of sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will» (Q. 3:26). This āya was sent down on the day of the Trench, when the idolaters gathered from every quarter and came to the city
on account of the severity of hunger, [by way of] strengthening. The Sufis have said that he feared his spirituality would overcome his corporeality and that he would then vanish from among us. In any case, he went down into the trench and took up the pickaxe, after he had performed the ablution and had poured his ablution water over the rocks. He struck, and a third of the rock broke apart, and a great light shone, as though a large lamp had been lit in a dark house. He said: ⟨Allah is greater.⟩ He struck a second time and a third, and it became scattered dust. Salmān said: ⟨We have seen a wonder:⟩
⟨Every time you struck with the pickaxe we saw a great light, as though a lamp had been lit in a dark house.⟩ He said: Did you see what Salmān saw? They said: Yes. He said: ⟨When I struck the first time, I looked toward the villages of al-Ḥīra, and I was given the good news that my Companions would possess them. The second time I saw the lands of the Byzantines — I saw the red palaces in the land of the Byzantines — and I was given the good news that my community would possess that. And the third time I looked toward Ṣanʿāʾ of Yemen; and all of these my community will possess.⟩ [14] The hypocrites said: ⟨He fills you with hopes and promises you lies. This is the one who is in dread⟩ that is, who fears ⟨his enemies, to the point of digging the trench. We cannot relieve ourselves⟩ that is, go out for a person’s need ⟨and he promises you that you will possess the lands of Persia and of the Byzantines and the cities of Khusraw. There is no way to possessing these.⟩ [15] So there was revealed: «Say» O Muhammad Allahumma O Allah «Owner of sovereignty, You give» You bestow «sovereignty to whom You will» of Your creation «and You strip sovereignty from whom You will»
— of them — «and You honour whom You will» — by giving him sovereignty — «and You abase whom You will» — by taking it away from him — «In Your hand» — by Your power — «is the good» — and the evil — «You are powerful over all things» (Q. 3:26). «You cause the night to pass into» — You bring the night into — «the day» (Q. 3:27). The night is twelve hours, and the day likewise. At certain times Allah, Blessed and Exalted, takes three hours from the night and puts them into the day, so the day becomes fifteen hours and the night nine hours; and at times
it reverts until equality is reached. And He takes three hours from the day, so the night becomes fifteen hours and the day nine hours. He who is able to do this is able to give the community of Muhammad possession of the cities of Kisrā and of Ṣanʿāʾ of the Yemen. «and You cause the day to pass into the night, and You bring forth the living from the dead» — as the human being and the bird from the drop of seed and from the egg — «and You bring forth the dead» — as the drop of seed and the egg — «from the living, and You provide for whom You will without reckoning» (Q. 3:27) — ample provision. Allah, Blessed and Exalted, is the Possessor of sovereignty: He gives to whom He will, as He will. What the Prophet ﷺ gave glad tidings of came to pass, and they subdued the two great states. As for the first, which is the state of Persia — and it was the greatest state in the world — they shattered it until it became nothing, and the Muslims have ruled in it down to this day of ours. As for the second state, the Muslims stripped it of all its colonies, so that it remained a small state, and the Muslims gained mastery over them, until the state of the Muslims entered into Europe. Allah is the Possessor of sovereignty; He gives sovereignty to whom He will. When He is pleased with the creation — when they obey Him — He sets the righteous in authority among them, the masters of mercy and compassion; and when they disobey Him, He sets in authority the basest of the people and the worst of them, as the hadith indicates: ⟨As you are, so will you be governed.⟩ [16]
Mūsā, upon him be blessing and peace, said: ⟨My Lord, You are in heaven and we are on earth. How are we to know when You are pleased with us and when You are angry with us?⟩ He said: ⟨When I set the best of you in authority over you, know that I am pleased with you; and when I set the worst of you in authority, that is a sign of My anger.⟩ al-Ḥajjāj b. Yūsuf was an unjust king, a shedder of blood, who killed a hundred and seventy thousand Muslims. The scholars of his time addressed him; they said to him: “Fear Allah and act justly, like ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb, for you lived to see the caliphate of ʿUmar. How is it that you are not like ʿUmar?” He said to them: tabadhdharū ataʿammar lakum — that is, be like Abū Dharr in renunciation and worship and I will be like ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb. This is how the saying of the Messenger ﷺ is to be construed: ⟨As you are, so will you be governed.⟩ The order of kingship is that upon which the subsistence of things rests. When he deals justly
the king, blessing descends upon crops and livestock and upon trade, so wealth becomes abundant; and when wealth becomes abundant the men grow strong, and when the men grow strong the state grows strong and the king grows strong. And when the king acts unjustly, blessing is lifted from crops and livestock, trade slumps, and the people become poor; and when the people become poor the men grow weak, and when the men grow weak there grows weak
the state, and the king grows weak. All of it is tied to the king’s justice and his injustice. One king among the kings of this world: his anger brings about the ruin of the world [entire] — what then of the anger of the King of kings, who is Allah, Blessed and Exalted? May Allah protect us from it. When ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz came to power, a scholar admonished him and said to him: “If you want to do good, appoint good men to office.” He said: ⟨That is admonition enough: when I appoint good men, they do good.⟩ There was a king among the kings who went out into the wilderness to hunt. He was cut off from his company and lost his way in the wilderness, and thirst overtook him. He came to a man who had an orchard and said to him: “Give me something from your orchard.” The man gave him a fruit; he split it open and drank, and found abundant sweet water in the fruit. The orchard pleased him, and he resolved in his heart to take the orchard by force. He said: “Hand me another fruit.” The man handed him another; he split it open and found it dry, with not a drop of water in it, sour. He said: “Glory be to Allah, what is this?” The man said: “Perhaps the king will review his intention. Did you intend something?” He remembered that he had intended to take the orchard by force, and the orchard’s condition had changed on the spot; and when he resolved on repentance, it reverted, and the fruits reverted to their [former] state. [17] All good lies in uprightness and all evil in crookedness. «He brings the living out of the dead» (Q. 3:27) In it there is a further interpretation: You bring forth the living
— the Muslim — out of the dead — out of the unbeliever. [18] An unbeliever begets a Muslim. You bring forth the living — the learned man — out of the dead — out of the ignorant man: you find an ignorant man who begets a child and the child turns out to be a scholar, and the reverse. Or: You bring forth the living — the living heart — out of the dead — out of the dead soul; when the soul dies, the heart comes alive. «And You bring the dead out of the living» (Q. 3:27) And when the soul comes alive, the heart dies. These are four verses. The Messenger ﷺ said: ⟨Fātiḥat al-Kitāb, Āyat al-Kursī, and two verses from [Āl ʿImrān]:⟩ «Allah bears witness that there is no god but He, and the angels and those who possess knowledge, upholding justice. There is no god but He, the Mighty, the Wise. The religion with Allah is Islam» (Q. 3:18–19) and «Say: O Allah, Master of the kingdom» — to — «without reckoning» (Q. 3:26–27) Four verses which were suspended, with no veil between them and Allah. When He commanded that they be sent down to the earth, these four verses complained: “O Lord, do not send us down to one who disobeys You; we have no power to dwell beside one who disobeys You.” Allah, Blessed and Exalted, said: ⟨By My might and My majesty and the loftiness of My place, no human being recites you after every prayer but that Paradise becomes due to him, and but that I look upon him seventy times, in each look granting him seventy needs, the least of which is forgiveness.⟩ So they were content and came down. [19] They are four verses: Fātiḥat al-Kitāb, Āyat al-Kursī, Shahida Allah, and Qul Allahumma
[…]
Mālik al-Mulk. Whoever keeps constantly to reciting them has what has been mentioned. «Let not the believers take the unbelievers as allies» — allying with them and befriending them — «rather than the believers» do not abandon the believers and befriend the unbelievers — «And whoever does that»
[…] «then he is not of Allah in anything» — then he is not of the religion of Allah in anything — «unless you take precaution against them as a precaution» (Q. 3:28) except
that you fear them with a fear. If the unbeliever has power and you fear him, you have a dispensation to ally with him outwardly, not inwardly; and the firm course is enmity toward the enemies of Allah and alliance with the friends of Allah. As for allying with the tongue and not with the heart, there is a dispensation for that; as for allying with the heart, there is no way to it. And the firm course is not to ally at all, even with the tongue. ⟨Whoever among you sees a wrong, let him change it with his hand; if he cannot, then with his tongue; if he cannot, then with his heart, and that is the weakest [degree] of faith.⟩ [20]
«And He warns you» [means] makes you fear, «Allah, of Himself» that He will be angry with you if you take them as allies, «and to Allah is the destination» (Q. 3:28) and the destination is to Allah, the place of return to Him, and He will requite you. Strange: Allah, Blessed and Exalted, warns us and we do not fear Him, while man is weak in himself. He cannot bear a policeman’s slap, nor the heat of the sun, nor an ant’s sting; how can he withstand the wrath of the Lord and His punishment, and the Fire and the snakes and scorpions in it? [21]
…[is] able. Three things screen a person from disobedience, if he reflects: he reflects on the wrath of Allah, Blessed
[…] ⟨…every day seventy glances; and I fulfil for him every day seventy needs, the least of which is forgiveness; and I shield him from every enemy and give him victory over it; and nothing bars him from entering the Garden but that he should die.⟩
and Exalted, and on the severity of His punishment; and he reflects on his own weakness. When a person reflects on these things he will surely leave off contravening Allah, Blessed and Exalted. «Say» to them, «if you conceal what is in your breasts» [that is] your hearts, of alliance with them, «or reveal it» make it manifest, «Allah knows it» nothing is hidden from Him, «and» — that is, He — «He knows what is in the heavens and what is in the earth, and Allah is Powerful over everything» (Q. 3:29) and of that is the punishment of whoever allies himself with the unbelievers. Recall «the Day when every soul will find what it has done» [that is] what it has done, «of good, present before it, and what it has done» it, «of evil, it will wish that between itself and it there were a far-distant span» a limit at the furthest extremity of distance, so that it never reaches it, «and Allah warns you of Himself» He repeated it for emphasis, «and Allah is Compassionate toward the servants» (Q. 3:30) Allah, Blessed and Exalted, is intensely compassionate toward His servants. «the Day when every soul will find what it has done of good, present before it» (Q. 3:30) That is: when a person’s days are spent, the angel comes to him and takes his soul, and he is carried to the grave and buried. He finds a figure of repellent appearance and foul smell. He says to him: ⟨Get away from me; I do not want to see you.⟩ It says: ⟨I am your evil deed. How long you rode me, and today I shall ride you.⟩ And if he was a righteous servant of Allah, when he enters his grave he finds something beautiful. He says to it: ⟨Come near me — how fine your face, how sweet your scent.⟩ It says: ⟨I am your righteous deed. How long I rode you; so today you will ride me.⟩ [22] This is His words, Exalted: «the Day when every soul will find what it has done of good, present before it» in his grave «and what it has done of evil, it will wish that between itself and it there were a far-distant span» (Q. 3:30) It was revealed when they said: ⟨We worship the idols only out of love for Allah, that they may bring us near to Him.⟩ As for the Jews and the delegation of Najrān, the Prophet ﷺ addressed them. He said to them: ⟨Submit.⟩ They said: ⟨We have submitted. We submitted before you; our religion precedes your religion and our Book precedes your Book.⟩ The Prophet ﷺ said to them: ⟨No. What bars you from Islam is that you say ʿĪsā is a son to Allah, and Allah has no child.⟩ They said to him: ⟨Which religion do you follow?⟩ He said: ⟨The religion of Ibrāhīm.⟩ They said: ⟨Ibrāhīm was a Jew.⟩ Allah, Blessed and Exalted, declared them liars: «Say» to them, O Muhammad
«If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you» in the sense that He will reward you, «and He will forgive you your sins, and Allah is Forgiving» to whoever follows me, for what has passed from him before that, «Merciful» to him. (Q. 3:31) This proves that whoever loves Allah takes the Messenger of Allah ﷺ as his model. The sign of love for Allah is obedience to His Messenger ﷺ. Allah joined obedience to Himself with obedience to His Messenger: «Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah» (Q. 4:80) and He made the sign of love for Him obedience to the Messenger ﷺ. This is plain: whoever loves a person loves all those he loves and all who are attached to him. Whoever loves a beloved loves those of mankind who consort with him. Majnūn Laylā: when his love for Laylā grew intense he saw a dog in the open desert and clothed it in a garment; when he was challenged about this he said: ⟨My eye saw it once in Laylā’s quarter.⟩ [23] So whoever loves Allah — Allah’s beloved is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. «If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you» (Q. 3:31) Whoever loves Allah, let him follow the Messenger ﷺ. Whoever claims love for Allah while abandoning the way of the Prophet ﷺ is a lying claimant.
Had your love been true you would have obeyed Him; the lover is obedient to the one he loves.
Following the Prophet ﷺ in all words and deeds is the highest means the servant takes for reaching the presence of Allah, Blessed and Exalted. In the Qurʾan there are seven parties who followed seven things. Among them is one who obeyed his own soul: «His soul prompted him to the killing of his brother, so he killed him, and he became one of the losers» (Q. 5:30) We understood from this that nothing is born of following the soul except loss and regret. «and he followed his whim, so his likeness is the likeness of the dog: if you drive at it, it pants, or if you leave it, it pants» (Q. 7:176) This is Balʿām: when he followed his whim he clung to the earth and followed his whim, so Allah transformed him and he became like the dog. And those who followed the chiefs of misguidance: «when those who were followed disown those who followed, and they see the punishment» (Q. 2:166) From this following nothing came out but regrets. Among them is one who followed Pharaoh: «they followed the command of Pharaoh, and the command of Pharaoh was not right-guiding. He goes before his people on the Day of Resurrection and brings them down into the Fire — and an evil watering-place is that to which they are brought down» (Q. 11:97–98) Following Pharaoh has no result except entering the Fire, nothing else. Among them is one who followed the appetites: «then after them there succeeded successors who squandered the prayer and followed the appetites; so they will meet with ruin» (Q. 19:59)
And among them is the one who followed Iblīs; Allah promised him that he and whoever follows him: «I shall surely fill Hell with you and with those of them who follow you, all together» (Q. 38:85) «And Hell is indeed their appointed place, all together» (Q. 15:43) Iblīs and whoever follows him — their destination is Hell. There is no profit in following, except in following the Prophet ﷺ: «Say: If you love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and will forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful» (Q. 3:31) Whoever follows the Prophet ﷺ finds Allah’s love; and when Allah loves His servant, he becomes
⟨You disobey the Divinity while you display love for Him — this, by my life, is a marvel in reasoning. If your love were truthful you would have obeyed Him.⟩
⟨The lover is obedient to the one he loves. Every day He opens upon you with a blessing⟩
⟨from Him, while you squander the thanks for it.⟩
him: ⟨My servant does not cease drawing near to Me with the supererogatory works of good until I love him⟩ [25] ⟨and when I have loved him, I become him.⟩ «Say: obey Allah and the Messenger» in what He commands you of tawḥīd «But if they turn away» they turned away from obedience «then Allah does not love» (Q. 3:32)
«the disbelievers» (Q. 3:32) He does not love them «Allah has chosen» selected «Ādam and Nūḥ and the family of Ibrāhīm» (Q. 3:33) Ibrāhīm [himself] «and the family of»
«ʿImrān» that is, ʿImrān «above the worlds» the worlds of their own age. (Q. 3:33) All of these Allah chose. He chose Ādam and made him a vicegerent on the earth, and He sent Nūḥ, who is the first of the prophets of the shariʿa, and Ibrāhīm, the Friend of Allah, and ʿImrān — these Allah made prophets: «a progeny, some of them from others» (Q. 3:34) and these prophets Allah made a progeny, some of them from the offspring of others. «And Allah is Hearing, Knowing» (Q. 3:34) Nūḥ is of the progeny of Ādam, and Ibrāhīm of the progeny of Nūḥ, and Ibrāhīm fathered Ismāʿīl and Isḥāq. Isḥāq is the father of Yaʿqūb, who is Isrāʾīl. The prophets of the Banū Isrāʾīl are all of them from Isḥāq, and the prophets of the Arabs, among whom is the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad ﷺ are of the progeny of Ismāʿīl. So the prophets were all of them a progeny, some of them from others, and that is the wisdom of Allah, Blessed and Exalted. ⟨The child is the secret of his father.⟩ [26] And for this reason you find most often that the prophets are the sons of prophets, the awliyāʾ the sons of the awliyāʾ, the scholars the sons of scholars, the kings the sons of kings, the disbelievers the sons of disbelievers, the transgressors the sons of transgressors. This is the rule, and it does not fail except for an accident: an accident may come, by the will of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, and alter this pattern. That is because when the father is righteous and his intention is righteous, and he marries lawfully, and eats what is wholesome, and goes in to
his wife, and is granted a child, that child will be a believer and a walī, because of the goodness of his deed, the wholesomeness of his food, the goodness of his intention, and the soundness of his creed — unless an accident intervenes and corrupts the child.
And the father, when he is a disbeliever whose creed is bad and darkened and whose intention is bad, and he eats what is unlawful and marries unlawfully — when the child comes out, it comes out a disbeliever or a transgressor, unless an accident intervenes and purifies this child. For this reason the hadith has come down: ⟨The child is the secret of his father.⟩ This appears in ʿĪsā, upon him be blessing and peace: he has no father, but the one who breathed into his mother so that she conceived was Jibrīl, upon him be blessing and peace. For that reason you find the states of the angels predominant in ʿĪsā
«a progeny, some of them from others. And Allah is Hearing, Knowing» (Q. 3:34) «when she said» recall when she said «the wife of ʿImrān» (Q. 3:35)
Ḥanna bint Fāqūdā [27]: when she had grown old and longed for a child, she prayed to Allah and felt herself with child. This Ḥanna, the mother of Maryam, was barren; she used to envy women their children and wished that she might find a child of her own. One day she looked at the servants of the mosque of Jerusalem and wished that, if she had a child, she would make him an offering, to be one of those servants in the mosque. So Allah granted her a pregnancy, and when she felt herself with child she said: «My Lord, I have vowed» that I shall make «to You what is in my womb dedicated» freed, kept pure from the preoccupations of this world, for the service of Your sanctified house «so accept from me; You are the Hearing» of supplication «the Knowing» of intentions (Q. 3:35). And ʿImrān died while she was still pregnant. «And when she gave birth to her» she bore her a girl, whereas she had been hoping it would be a boy, since only boys were dedicated. «She said» (Q. 3:36)
excusing herself: «My Lord, I have given birth to her, a female» I have borne the child a female «and Allah knew best what she had borne» a parenthetical clause «and the male is not» whom I asked for «like the female» that was bestowed on me (Q. 3:36). Allah, Blessed and Exalted, knows best what she bore. «And the male is not like the female» admits two senses: the male whom I asked for is not like the female that You bestowed on me; the female is more deficient than the male, on account of her weakness, her ʿawra, and what befalls her of menstruation
and her oil, and he would find with her the fruit of summer in winter and the fruit of winter in summer [28]. These are the karāmāt of the saints, since she was not one of the prophets. Whoever denies the karāmāt of the saints has given the lie to two hundred verses and to more than five hundred hadith. For this Maryam — the fruit of winter used to be found with her in summer, and the fruit of summer in winter. She was raised in the sanctuary of the mosque, and no man ever saw her except Zakariyāʾ, her maḥram, who would come in to her with her water for purification, her drink, and her food. «Whenever Zakariyāʾ entered upon her in the sanctuary» the chamber «he found with her provision. He said: O Maryam, from where have you this?» the fruit of winter in summer and the fruit of summer in winter? «She said» — she was still a child — «It is from Allah» He brings it to me from the Garden «Allah provides for whom He wills without reckoning» an ample provision with no liability (Q. 3:37). This is one of the karāmāt of the saints. And whoever denies the karāmāt of the saints. They said that this is an irhāṣ, a foretoken belonging to the miracles of ʿĪsā, the child. The karāmāt of the saints are established in the Book and the Sunna, and they have been witnessed; for that reason none can deny them but a flat denier. The fruit of winter in summer and the fruit of summer in winter. A karāma like this one happened to Fāṭima, the daughter of the Messenger ﷺ. She had with her a small piece of meat and a piece of bread. She saw the hunger the Prophet ﷺ was suffering, and she preferred the Prophet ﷺ over herself; so she came and set it before the Prophet ﷺ. When the Prophet lifted the cover, the bowl was full of good meat and bread and fat. The Messenger ﷺ called her, and she looked. He said: ⟨From where have you this?⟩ She said: ⟨It is from Allah.⟩ He said: ⟨al-Ḥamdu li-Llāh, who has made you like Maryam the daughter of ʿImrān, the mistress of the women of her world.⟩ The people of the house ate [all of them], and some was left over; they fed the people of the Ṣuffa [the portico of the mosque], and some was left over; then he said that it be sent to every house in Medina, and it was not used up [29]. And stranger still than this: one day of
the days, al-Ḥasan longed for some food, so they sold Fāṭima’s shift for six dirhams and prepared food. When nothing was left but the eating, a poor man stopped [at the door] and asked them for alms, and they handed it to him. Then ʿAli went out and met a man selling a camel. He said to him: ⟨Sell me the camel.⟩ He said: ⟨I will sell it to you for six dirhams on credit.⟩ So ʿAli took the camel for six dirhams on credit. Then he met another man, who said to him: ⟨Sell me the camel.⟩ He said to him: ⟨How much will you give me?⟩ He said to him: ⟨Sixty-six dirhams.⟩ So he paid him sixty-six dirhams. He took the six dirhams, intending to settle the debt he had incurred, and he sought out the first seller but did not find him; so he came with sixty-six dirhams. The Messenger said to him: ⟨Do you know the seller? The first seller was Riḍwān, the keeper of the Garden; he is the one who advanced you the camel. And the one who bought it from you for sixty-six dirhams, that was Mīkāʾīl. And the first beggar, who tested you by taking your food, was Jibrīl. Jibrīl is⟩
⟨[I am] hungry.⟩ She said: ⟨No, by Allah — [may] my father and my mother [be your ransom].⟩ When he left her, a neighbour of hers sent her two loaves and a piece of meat. She took it from her and put it in a bowl of hers, and said: ⟨By Allah, I shall give the Messenger of Allah ﷺ preference in this over myself and over those with me.⟩ They were all of them in need of a full meal. So she sent al-Ḥasan, or al-Husayn, to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he came back to her. She said: ⟨[May] my father and my mother [be your ransom] — Allah has brought something, and I have hidden it away for you.⟩ He said: ⟨Bring it here, my little daughter.⟩ She said:
⟨So I brought him the bowl and uncovered it, and there it was, filled with bread and meat. When I looked at it I was dumbfounded, and I knew that it was a blessing from Allah. So I praised Allah and invoked blessing upon His Prophet, and I set it before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. When he saw it he praised Allah and said: ‘From where have you this, O my daughter?’ She said: ‘O my father, it is from Allah; Allah provides for whom He wills without reckoning.’ So he praised Allah and said: ‘⟩ al-Ḥamdu li-Llāh ⟨[the praise is for Allah], who has made you, O my daughter, the likeness of the mistress of the women of the Children of Israel; for when Allah provided her with something and she was asked about it, she would say: It is from Allah; Allah provides for whom He wills without reckoning.’ Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent for ʿAli; then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ate, and ʿAli ate, and Fāṭima, and Ḥasan, and Husayn, and all the wives of the Prophet ﷺ and the people of his house, until all of them were filled. She said: And the bowl remained as it was. She said: So with what was left of it I provided amply for all the neighbours, and Allah placed in it blessing and much good.⟩
The poor man, and the first seller, was Riḍwān, the keeper of the Garden; and the buyer was Mīkāʾīl, inasmuch as he found sixty-six dirhams in place of six dirhams. [30]
When Zakariyyāʾ considered Maryam’s condition, he knew that the One able to bring this at this season is able to grant a child in old age. «There Zakariyyāʾ called upon his Lord» when he entered the sanctuary at night, to pray in the dead of night «He said: My Lord, grant me from You» from Your presence «a goodly offspring» a righteous child «You are the Hearer of supplication. Then the angels called to him» (Q. 3:38) that is, Jibrīl «while he was standing praying in the sanctuary» in the place of worship «that Allah gives you good news of Yaḥyā, confirming a word from Allah» the word is ʿĪsā, upon him be blessing and peace; they were maternal cousins «and a chief» one who is followed «and chaste» kept back from women — not from incapacity, but he withheld himself «and a prophet from among the righteous» (Q. 3:39) «He said: My Lord, how shall I have a boy» a son «when old age has overtaken me» that is, I have reached the limit of age, a hundred and twenty years [31] «and my wife is barren» she had reached ninety-eight years «He said» the matter «is thus» (Q. 3:40)
that Allah create a boy from the two of you «Allah does what He wills» (Q. 3:40) nothing defeats Him He speaks here of doing, and in the case of ʿĪsā of creating, because the case of ʿĪsā breaks the customary order more severely: this is doing, that is creating. «He said: My Lord, appoint for me a sign» a mark of my wife’s pregnancy «He said: Your sign is that you shall not speak to people» you will be kept from speaking to them, [occupied] with the remembrance of Allah «for three days» this is the basis of the three-day retreat that the righteous undertake «except by sign» a gesture «and remember your Lord much, and glorify» pray «in the evening and the early morning» (Q. 3:41) [and] recall «when the angels said: Maryam, Allah has chosen you» selected you «and purified you» from men’s touch «and chosen you above the women of the worlds» (Q. 3:42) the people of your time meaning the world of her own time The Messenger ﷺ said: ⟨There have attained perfection among men⟩
⟨many, and of women none has reached perfection except a few: Maryam the daughter of ʿImrān, and Āsiya the daughter of Muzāḥim⟩ [32] ⟨, and Khadīja the daughter of Khuwaylid, and ʿAʾisha the daughter of Abū Bakr, and Fāṭima the daughter of Muhammad ﷺ.⟩ [33] Of them the poet says:
⟨Were women as we have mentioned, / women would be given precedence over men.⟩ [34]
The Prophet ﷺ said of ʿAʾisha: ⟨You are the mistress of the women of the worlds.⟩ She said: ⟨How shall I be the mistress of women, when there are Maryam the daughter of ʿImrān, and Āsiya the daughter of Muzāḥim, and Khadīja the daughter of Khuwaylid?⟩ The Messenger ﷺ said: ⟨Maryam is the mistress of the women of her world, and Āsiya is the mistress of the women of her world, and Khadīja the daughter of Khuwaylid is the mistress of the women of her world, and you are the mistress of women, just as I am the master of men.⟩ She is the most excellent of them. [35]
. «O Maryam»
⟨and the fates slay us without combat.⟩
«Be devout to your Lord» — obey Him — «and prostrate yourself and bow with those who bow» (Q. 3:43) — pray with those who pray — «That is of»
«the tidings of the unseen, which We reveal to you» — O Muhammad — «and you were not with them when they cast their pens» — into the water, drawing lots — «which of them should take charge of Maryam; and you were not with them when they were disputing» (Q. 3:44) — over her guardianship. And it is «when the angels said»
Jibrīl «O Maryam, Allah gives you glad tidings of a word from Him» he is ʿĪsā «his name is the Messiah, ʿĪsā son of Maryam, held in esteem» possessed of standing […] this world, through prophethood «and the hereafter» through intercession and the high degrees «and of those brought near» (Q. 3:45) in the presence of Allah, Blessed and Exalted. The himma of a human being overpowers all created things. If you reflect on the case of Ḥanna bint Fāqūdā: she set her heart on a child who would be among the servants of the sanctuary, and so she asked for a child, and her child came as a girl — but a girl who jostled with the men in the stations until she became one of the men, until the Qurʾan described her: «And she was among the devoutly obedient men» (Q. 66:12) He did not say min al-qānitāt [with the feminine plural]. A girl as though she were a man — because her mother, when she asked for her, was attached to perfected men, and so Allah granted her a girl who attained the stations of the men. And Zakariyyāʾ, when he looked at the breaches of the customary order in Maryam’s case, he too set his heart on a child and asked for a child. Allah granted him a male child, Yaḥyā — but a male who did not marry and did not approach a woman. Through him appeared the state of Maryam, on which his father’s himma had been fixed, so that he became ḥaṣūr — not out of incapacity, but he abstained from women. And Maryam brought forth a child, ʿĪsā, through contact with Jibrīl, and so the child came to be characterised by the attributes of the angels, until he joined the highest assembly and dwelt in the heavens and came to fly with the angels. For this reason the child is affected by what his parents engage in at the time of his coming into being. «And he will speak to people in the cradle» as an infant, before the time of speech — when he was born he spoke, as will come in Sūrat Maryam «and in maturity» after forty years «and of the righteous. She said: My Lord, how shall I have a child when no man has touched me» in marriage «He said» the matter is «thus» — that a child be created from you without a father «Allah creates what He wills; when He decrees a matter, He only says to it: Be, and it is» (Q. 3:46–47) so it comes to be. «And He will teach him the Book» writing «and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel» he memorised the Torah while he was in his mother’s womb «and a messenger to the Children of Israel» (Q. 3:48–49) in childhood. Jibrīl breathed into the bosom of her shift and she conceived, and her affair was as has been mentioned
in Sūrat Maryam. When she conceived ʿĪsā, whenever she was alone, apart from people, ʿĪsā would speak with her while he was in her womb; and when people came, he occupied himself with the remembrance of Allah and left off speaking with his mother. «Then she brought him to her people, carrying him» (Q. 19:27) as will come. Yūsuf the carpenter was a relative of Maryam. He saw her pregnant and was astonished. Whenever he wanted to suspect her on account of the pregnancy, he looked at her righteousness and saw her far from suspicion; and whenever he wanted to clear her, he observed that she had conceived and had no husband. Until one day he addressed her: O Maryam, there is something in my heart that I keep pushing away from myself, and I have become unable to push it away. I must ask you a question: does a crop grow without a seed? She said: Yes. Does a tree grow without planting? She said: Yes. Is a child brought into being without a father? She said: Yes. Do you not see that Allah, Blessed and Exalted, made the crop grow before the seed? The seed came from the crop that Allah made grow without a seed, and the tree Allah made grow before any tree was planted, so the planting came from the tree that grew before the planting. And the child — do you not know that Allah created Ādam without a father and without a mother? The children are from Ādam, and Ādam has no father and no mother. So what was in his heart was healed completely; he became certain that Allah had granted her a child without a father. [36] «that I have come to you with a sign» a token of truthfulness […] «from your Lord, that I create for you from»
«clay, in the form of a bird» like its shape «then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by Allah’s permission, and I heal» I cure «the blind from birth and the leper, and I revive the dead by Allah’s permission» (Q. 3:49) He repeated this so that divinity would not be imagined of him. He used to revive the dead. One day they said: He revives the dead who have died recently, but as for one who died long ago, he is not able to revive him; we will not believe that you raise the dead unless you raise for us Sām son of Nūḥ, who died four thousand years ago. He said: Show me his grave. So they showed him his grave, and he called him: O Sām. He came out, and half his head had turned grey. They said to him: You have turned grey, yet you died in an age before greying? Greying appeared only in the time of Ibrāhīm, and Sām died a thousand years before Ibrāhīm. He said: When ʿĪsā called me, I was addressed from the side of al-Ḥaqq: Answer the Spirit of Allah. I thought the Resurrection had come, and so I was terrified, until I turned grey. ʿĪsā said to him:
Return to your place. He said: On condition that I do not taste the bitterness of death a second time. He said: How [is it with] the bitterness of death? He said: Since I died — you died four thousand years ago? He said: Yes. He said: To this moment I find the bitterness of death in my throat. [37] «and I inform you of what you eat and what you store up» you conceal «in your houses» […] «that» the aforementioned «surely a sign» (Q. 3:49)
to her: “I do not say this, but I say that Allah, Exalted, has power over whatever He wills: He says to a thing, ‘Be,’ and it comes to be.” Maryam said to him: “Do you not know that Allah, Exalted, created Ādam and his wife from neither a male nor a female?” He said: “Yes.” When she said that to him, it occurred to him that what was with her was something from Allah’s command, and that he had no room to ask her about it.
«for you, if you are believers» (Q. 3:49) «and confirming what was before me of the Torah, and to make lawful for you some of what was forbidden to you» in it so he made lawful for them, of fish and birds, whatever has no spur «and I have come to you with a sign from your Lord» (Q. 3:50)
He repeated it for emphasis and in order to build upon it. «So fear Allah and obey me» in what I command you. «Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. This» is what I command you, «is a straight path» (Q. 3:51) «And when he sensed» [that is] knew «— ʿĪsā — disbelief from them», and they intended to kill him, «he said: Who are my helpers» my supporters, going «to Allah» so that I may help His religion? «And the disciples said: We are Allah’s helpers» the supporters of His religion — they are ʿĪsā’s adherents — «we believe in Allah, and bear witness» O ʿĪsā, «that we are Muslims» (Q. 3:52) «Our Lord, we believe in what You have sent down» of the Gospel, «and we follow the Messenger» ʿĪsā, «so write us down with those who bear witness» (Q. 3:53) «And they plotted» the disbelievers of the Children of Israel [plotted] against ʿĪsā, «and Allah plotted» against them, in that He cast ʿĪsā’s likeness upon the man who meant to kill him, «and Allah is the best of plotters» (Q. 3:54) And recall «when Allah said: O ʿĪsā, I am taking you» seizing you, «and raising you to Myself» from this world, without death, «and purifying you» setting you far away, «from those who disbelieve, and placing those who followed you» — they are the Muslims, because they agreed with him, not the Christians, who made him a god — «above those who disbelieved» in you, «until the Day of Resurrection. Then to Me is your return» that is, then your return is to Me, «and I shall judge between you concerning that over which you used to differ» (Q. 3:55) «As for those who disbelieved, I shall punish them with a severe punishment in this world» by killing and captivity, «and in the hereafter» by the Fire, «and they will have no helpers» (Q. 3:56). «But as for those who believed and did righteous deeds, We shall pay them their wages in full; and Allah does not love the wrongdoers» (Q. 3:57). «That» — what has been mentioned — «We recite to you, from the signs and the wise remembrance» (Q. 3:58) the firmly established; the Qurʾan. «The likeness of ʿĪsā» his case, «with Allah is as the likeness of Ādam»: Ādam’s case is the more extraordinary. «He created him from dust, then said to him: Be» a human being, «and he is» (Q. 3:59) and so he became a human being. «The truth from your Lord» concerning the matter of ʿĪsā, «so do not be of the doubters» (Q. 3:60) «And whoever disputes with you» argues with you — from among the Christians — «concerning him, after the knowledge that has come to you» concerning his case, «then say: Come, let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves» that we gather them, «then let us pray earnestly» let us implore in supplication, «and place Allah’s curse upon the liars» (Q. 3:61) by saying:
“O Allah, curse whoever lies concerning ʿĪsā.” They accepted that. The Messenger ﷺ called Fāṭima, took al-Husayn in his arms and led al-Ḥasan by the hand, with ʿAli walking behind them, and said: “Come out with your sons and your women.” Their priest said to them: “You know that he is truly the prophet who is mentioned in the Torah. If you engage him in mubāhala, no Christian will remain on the face of the earth without perishing.” So they went back and said: “We have left off the mubāhala.” The Prophet ﷺ said to them: “Accept Islam.” They said: “No.” He said: “Then I will fight you.” They said: “We will make terms with you for a payment.” So they made terms with him for two thousand robes each year and thirty coats of mail, giving him half in Ṣafar and half in Rajab. [38] «This is the true account, and there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the Mighty, the Wise» (Q. 3:62) «And if they turn away» turn aside, «then Allah knows the corrupters well» (Q. 3:63) and He will requite them. «Say: O People of the Book» the Jews and the Christians, «come to a word that is even»
its import being even «between us and you» it is «that we worship none but Allah, and that we associate nothing with Him, and that none of us take others as lords besides Allah» «Then if they turn away» they turn aside from [Allah’s] oneness «say» you [say]: «Bear witness that we are Muslims» (Q. 3:64) affirmers of [Allah’s] oneness «People of the Book, why do you dispute about Ibrāhīm?» It was revealed when the Jews said that Ibrāhīm was a Jew and the Christians said that Ibrāhīm was a Christian. «People of the Book, why do you dispute» you contend about Ibrāhīm, claiming that he held your religion «when the Torah and the Gospel were not sent down until after him» by a long time. Judaism arose out of the Torah, and the Torah came down after Ibrāhīm; and the Gospel came down upon ʿĪsā after Ibrāhīm, and Christianity arose out of the Gospel. «Will you not then use reason?» [reason about] this. From here history came out of Allah’s Book: He argued against them by history. «Here you are — you have disputed about what you have knowledge of» concerning the matter of Mūsā and ʿĪsā «so why do you dispute about what you have no knowledge of? And Allah knows» his case «while you do not know» (Q. 3:66) He said, clearing Ibrāhīm: «Ibrāhīm was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was an upright Muslim, and he was not one of the idolaters» (Q. 3:67) «The closest of people» the most entitled of them «to Ibrāhīm are those who followed him» in his own time «and this prophet»
Muhammad ﷺ. [39] «and those who believe» the Muslims, because they hold to his religion. «And Allah is the Protector of the believers. A party of the People of the Book wish that they might lead you astray; but they lead astray none but themselves» because the sin of their leading astray falls upon them. «and they do not perceive [it]. O People of the Book, why do you disbelieve in Allah’s signs» [that is,] the Qurʾan. «while you bear witness? O People of the Book, why do you confound the truth with falsehood and conceal the truth while you know?» (Q. 3:68–71) This was treated earlier, in Sūrat al-Baqara.
«And a party of the People of the Book said» the Jews «Believe in what has been sent down upon those who believe» […]
«at the outset of the day» [that is,] its first part. «and disbelieve» in it «at its end, so that they may» [that is,] the believers, «turn back» (Q. 3:72) from their religion.
«And do not believe» [that is,] do not credit that anyone should be given the like of what you were given — these are their own words — «except in one who follows your religion. Say: Guidance is Allah’s guidance» and what lies outside it is error. «that anyone should be given the like of what you were given, or that they should dispute with you before» (Q. 3:73)
«your Lord» do not accept [it] until they argue against you before Allah, Blessed and Exalted. «Say: Bounty is in Allah’s hand; He gives it to whom He wills» So from where do you have it that no one is given the like of what you were given? «And Allah is Vast» abundant in bounty, «[Knowing]» (Q. 3:73)
of who deserves it. «He singles out for His mercy whom He wills, and Allah is the Possessor of great bounty. And among the People of the Book is one whom, [if] you entrust him with a qinṭār» a great sum of wealth, «he will render it back to you» because of his trustworthiness — like ʿAbd Allah b. Salām, with whom a man deposited one thousand two hundred ounces of gold, and he rendered them back to him. «And among them is one whom, if you entrust him with a dīnār, he will not render it back to you» because of his treachery, «unless you keep standing over him» and that is Kaʿb b. al-Ashraf, with whom a man deposited a dīnār; he denied it and did not return it to him. [40] «That is because they said: There is upon us, concerning the unlettered ones» the Arabs, «no way» [that is,] no sin. «And they speak falsehood against Allah» (Q. 3:74–75)
by attributing that to Him «while they know» that they are lying (Q. 3:75) «Rather, whoever fulfils his covenant» the covenant he made with Allah «and is godfearing» fears Allah «then Allah loves the godfearing» (Q. 3:76) «Those who sell» who exchange «Allah’s covenant» His trust «and their oaths» their swearing falsely «for a small price» of the affairs of this world «those — there is no portion»
[that is,] no portion «for them in the hereafter, and Allah will not speak to them» out of anger at them, «nor will He look at them» that is, [nor will He] have mercy on them, «on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them, and theirs is a painful punishment. And among them» the People of the Book, «is a faction» a party, «who twist their tongues with the Book so that you may suppose it to be from the Book» which Allah sent down, «though it is not from the Book; and they say: It is from Allah, though it is not from Allah; and they speak falsehood against Allah while they know» (Q. 3:77–78) that they are lying. This was sent down when the Christians of Najrān said that ʿĪsā had commanded them to take him as a lord. «It is not» fitting «for a human being to whom Allah has given the Book, judgement» that is, understanding of the Law, «and prophethood, then to say to people: Be servants of mine rather than of Allah; but rather» he says: «Be rabbāniyyūn» scholars who act [on their knowledge], «by what you used to know» (Q. 3:79)
that is, you recognise «the Book, and by what you used to study» [that is,] you study it among yourselves. «Nor would he command you to take the angels and the prophets as lords» (Q. 3:79–80) as the Ṣābiʾa took the angels, the Jews ʿUzayr, and the Christians ʿĪsā.
«Would He command you to disbelief after you have become Muslims?» (Q. 3:80) that is not fitting And recall «when Allah took the covenant of the prophets» their pledge «Whatever We have given you of a Book and wisdom, and then there comes to you a messenger confirming what is with you» of the Book and wisdom — and he is Muhammad ﷺ. «you shall certainly believe in him and shall certainly help him»
if you live to see him. «He said» [Allah] the Exalted, «Do you affirm?» that, «And have you taken» [that is,] accepted, «upon that My bond» (Q. 3:81)
[that is,] My covenant, «They said: We affirm. He said: Then bear witness» against yourselves and your followers, «and I am with you among the witnesses» (Q. 3:81)
and I am among the witnesses along with you «So whoever turns away after that» [after] the covenant «those are the transgressors» (Q. 3:82) «Do you seek other than Allah’s religion, when to Him has submitted» do you seek other than the religion of Allah? And there has submitted to Him «whoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly and unwillingly» by the sword «and to Him you will be returned» (Q. 3:83) and you return to Him «Say» O Muhammad «We believe in Allah and in what has been sent down»
«upon us, and what was sent down upon Ibrāhīm and Ismāʿīl and Isḥāq and Yaʿqūb and the tribes, and what was given to Mūsā and ʿĪsā and the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them» in crediting and discrediting «and to Him we are submitters» (Q. 3:84) sincere «And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him, and in the Hereafter he will be among the losers» (Q. 3:85) «How shall Allah guide» Allah does not guide «a people who disbelieved after their belief and bore witness» and their bearing witness «that the Messenger is true, and clear proofs came to them» the manifest arguments «And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people» (Q. 3:86) «Those — their recompense is that upon them is the curse of Allah and of the angels and of all people» (Q. 3:87) «abiding therein» that is, in the curse, or in the Fire, to which it points «the punishment will not be lightened for them, nor will they be granted respite» (Q. 3:88) «except those who repent after that and make amends» [amend] their deeds «then indeed»
«Allah is Forgiving» to them, «Merciful» (Q. 3:89) toward them. This was sent down concerning the Jews. «Those who have disbelieved» in ʿĪsā «after» (Q. 3:90)
in Mūsā «then increased in disbelief» in Muhammad «their repentance will not be accepted» when they gurgle in the death rattle and die as disbelievers «and those are the ones gone astray» (Q. 3:90) «Those who disbelieve and die while they are disbelievers — there will not be accepted from any one of them the earth’s fill of gold» the measure of what would fill it «even if he were to ransom himself with it. Those — for them is a painful punishment» agonizing «and they have no helpers» (Q. 3:91) none to ward off [the punishment]
O Allah, bless our master Muhammad.