Tafsir of Hud 11:95

(Truly, away with Madyan, as Thamud were sent away!) The departure from the pronoun to the noun is for the sake of exaggeration in emphasizing the atrocity of their condition, and so that it is more fitting to what their destruction is compared—namely, the destruction of Thamud. Their destruction was likened to that of Thamud because the punishment for each was by a cry (al-sayhah). However, al-Kalbi narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both of them) that the cry of Thamud came from beneath them, while the cry of Madyan came from above them.

Al-Sulami and Abu Haywah read bu‘idat with a damma on the ‘ayn, while the majority read it with a kasra, based on the verb ba‘uda-yab‘udu (with a kasra on the ‘ayn in the past and a fatha in the present tense), meaning "to perish." From this is the saying: "They say: 'Do not perish (la tab‘ad)' while they bury me, and where is the place of perishing if not a place?" As for ba‘uda-yab‘udu with a damma, it signifies distance, the opposite of nearness, as stated by Ibn Qutaybah. It is said that the Arabs intended by this change to differentiate between the two meanings. Ibn al-Anbari stated that some Arabs equate the sense of perishing with the sense of distance that is the opposite of nearness. In the Qamus, it is stated: "Distance (al-bu‘d) is well-known, and it also means death; its verb is like karuma and fariha, [occurring as] bu‘dan and bu‘dan with two fathas." Al-Mahdawi said: "Bu‘d with a damma is used for both good and evil, whereas bu‘d with a kasra is used exclusively for evil. Regardless of the matter, the intended meaning of bu‘idat in that reading is also "perished." At most, it is either literal or metaphorical; for whoever perishes has indeed become distant and far, as the poet said: "And whoever is between you and him in the dust is two months away, he is in the utmost distance."

In the verse is what is called istitrad (digression/transition). It is said that no other instance of this type exists in the Quran except in this location, though the Arabs utilized it in their poetry. Among such is the saying of Hassan (may Allah be pleased with him): "If you were lying in what you told me, then you escaped the escape of al-Harith ibn Hisham; he abandoned his loved ones, failing to fight on their behalf, and escaped with the head of a fast horse and a bridle."

His saying (Exalted is He) regarding the story of Hud (peace be upon him): (There is no moving creature but He holds it by its forelock. Indeed, my Lord is on a straight path), contains an allusion that every living soul is under His subjugation and authority, a captive in the hand of His disposal and dominion, incapable of action except by His permission. It also indicates that He (Almighty and Majestic is He) does not empower one over another except for the desert of a sin or the raising of a rank and the elevating of a station, because He (Blessed and Exalted is He) is on the path of justice in which there is no crookedness.

The Greatest Sheikh (may his secret be sanctified) mentioned in his Fusus: "Everything other than the Truth is a 'moving creature' (dabbah), for it possesses a spirit; and there is nothing that moves by itself, but rather moves by another, by virtue of following the One who is on a straight path. Thus, every walker is on the straight path, and in that case, there is no one who is 'the object of wrath' nor 'astray' from this perspective."

Yes, people are of two divisions: the People of Unveiling (Kashf) and the People of the Veil (Hijab). The former walk on a path they know, and they know its end; thus, it is a straight path in their regard, just as it is so in the essence of the matter. The latter walk on a path they are ignorant of, and they do not know its end—that it terminates in the Truth—therefore, in their regard, it is not a straight path, even if to the Gnostic and in the reality of the matter, it is a straight path. He (may his secret be sanctified) deduced from the verse that the final return of all creation is to the Mercy that encompasses everything, which is the Mercy that precedes the Wrath; and he claimed that it contains glad tidings for creation—what glad tidings!

Al-Qaysari said in his interpretation of it: "Meaning, there is no existing thing except that He (Exalted is He) holds it by its forelock. He only made it a 'moving creature' because to the possessor of witnessing and the people of [true] existence, everything is alive. Thus, the meaning is: there is no living being except that the Truth holds it by its forelock, disposing of it according to His Names, leading it upon whichever of His paths He wills, and He is on a straight path." By His saying (Exalted is He), "Holding it," He alluded to the identity of the Truth that is with every one of the Names and their manifestations. He said: (Indeed, my Lord is on a straight path), by appending "Lord" to Himself and making "path" indefinite, alerting that every lord is upon his straight path which was determined for him from the Divine Presence. The straight path that encompasses [all] paths is the one specific to the Divine Name and its manifestation. That is why He said in the Fatihah, which is exclusive to our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace): (Guide us to the straight path), with the definite article of "covenant" or [referring to] the reality from which its particulars branch out.

Therefore, it should not be said: "If everyone is on the straight path, what is the benefit of the call [to faith]?" For we say: The call is to the Guide, away from the misguider, and to the Just, away from the oppressor, as He (Exalted is He) said: (The day We gather the righteous to the Most Merciful as a delegation). End of his words.

Greater than this in difficulty is [the concept of] obligation (taklif) alongside the belief in Unity (Wahdah), as well as [the concepts of] rewarding and punishing. For the apparent [implication] from the estimation of the words of the scholars among the Sufis is that the obligated one is an expression for an existing thing that is a portion of the Absolute Existence bestowed upon the realities of the possibilities, determined by various determinations necessitated by the essential preparations of the realities which are the non-existents distinguished in the essence of the matter, prepared by essential preparations that are not "created." Thus, the obligated one is a restriction from the restrictions of the Absolute Existence bestowed, and the restricted cannot exist without the Absolute, for It is its Self-Subsisting Sustainer (Qayyum), and the Absolute—from the aspect of Its absoluteness—is the very Truth.

There is no doubt that the rule of obligation requires that there be a real, essential difference and separation between the two, so that obligation and the rewarding and punishing that follow it may be valid. It has been answered that the reality of the possible is a non-existent thing, distinguished in itself by an essential distinction that is not "created," and a specific existence restricted by a certain particularity necessitated by its essential preparation for its non-existent essence. Therefore, it is a composite of existence and non-existence, and its reality differs from its existence in rationalization due to their distinction in the mind. This does not contradict the statement of al-Ash'ari: "The existence of everything is the same as its reality," for reasons explained in their proper place. The reality of the Truth (Exalted is He) does not differ from His existence, and His existence (Exalted is He) is the Absolute Existence by true absoluteness, according to what the scholars of the Sufis have established.

Thus, the essential difference between the obligated and the Obligator is in the utmost clarity, because the obligated is the non-existent thing cloaked in a portion of existence determined by the requirement of its reality, while the Obligator (Exalted is He) is the Truth (Almighty and Majestic is He), who is the very Absolute Existence, not coupled with a non-existent essence. In other words: the reality of the possible is a non-existent thing, and the reality of the Necessary (Exalted is He) is the Absolute Existence, even from the restriction of absoluteness. The manifestation of the Identity has occurred in the servant, and that manifestation is the container of power and other perfections upon which obligation depends, according to the requirements of wisdom and the verification of difference.

The gist of this is that the reality of the blending between the manifestation of the Identity and the posterior image determined by the requirement of the non-existent reality is what brought about that through which obligation is valid, and what follows from it. The fact that the Truth (Exalted is He) is the Self-Subsisting Sustainer of the restricted existence does not impair this; rather, Self-Subsistence is what validates it, based on the proofs that there is no obligation except according to capacity, and there is no capacity for the possible except by His (Exalted is He) self-subsistence, by the text: (There is no power except by Allah). And what is by Allah is for Allah (Exalted is He). The discussion on this is lengthy, and from some of their words, it appears as though there is no difference between the obligated and the Obligator; among that is the saying: "I was for an age, before the veil was lifted, imagining that I was the rememberer of You and the grateful one. But when the night shone, I became a witness that You are the Remembered, the Remembrance, and the Rememberer." However, it is necessary that the listener should not hasten to deny it, but rather refer in its intended meaning to those who know the subtleties of the mysteries.

This, and the discussion has passed regarding the she-camel of Salih (peace be upon him). In what Allah (Exalted is He) narrated here about Abraham (peace be upon him) is an allusion to some of the etiquettes of chivalry (futuwwah). They have said: "Among its etiquettes is that when a guest arrives, one should begin with generosity in hosting, then follow with generosity in food." He (peace be upon him) only felt fear in his heart because he thought it was wrath, and the Friend (Khalil) fears the wrath of his Friend and desires His satisfaction. To Allah belongs the beauty of the one who said: "Perhaps you are angry, and I do not know; peace be upon both abodes if You are pleased."

In this story is evidence that the door of intuition (firasah) may be closed to the perfect ones for a wisdom Allah (Exalted is He) desires. Because of this, Abraham, and likewise Lot (peace be upon them both), did not recognize the angels (peace be upon them) at the first. His disputation (peace be upon him) was of the effects of the station of "intimacy" (idlal), as it has been said. Regarding His saying (Exalted is He) about Lot (peace be upon him): (If only I had against you some power or could take refuge in a strong support), it is said that he alludes by "power" to spiritual resolve (himmah), which they consider the power that influences souls, for power is either bodily or spiritual; this [spiritual power] is what is called himmah, and it is stronger in influence because it may influence most of the world or all of it, unlike the bodily one. He (peace be upon him) intended by "strong support" the tribe, because he knew that the actions of Allah (Exalted is He) do not appear in the external world except at the hands of manifestations. Thus, he turned to Allah (Exalted is He) and asked Him to provide him with helpers who would support him against the enemies of Allah (Exalted is He), and he fluctuated between that and asking Him to grant him a himmah within himself that influences, so that he might resist the enemies through it. You have already known what was narrated from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in his saying: "May Allah (Exalted is He) have mercy on my brother Lot," etc. The Greatest Sheikh (may his secret be sanctified) mentioned that he (peace and blessings be upon him) alerted by that saying that Lot was with Allah (Exalted is He), in that He (Exalted is He) is the "strong support."

The allusion in the story of Shu'ayb (peace be upon him) is that it is necessary for whoever is in a position [of authority or guidance] not to disobey Allah (Exalted is He), and for the preacher not to let his actions contradict his words: "Do not forbid a trait and then commit the like of it; a shame upon you if you do a grave thing." And that there should be nothing to the servant more dear than Allah (Exalted is He), along with other matters. And Allah (Exalted is He) is the Guide to the path of rectitude.