Tafsir of Ar-Ra'd 13:8

(Allah knows what every female bears): This is a resumption, serving as an answer to the question posed by those who ask: Why were they not granted their proposed demands so that their argument might be silenced and they might perhaps be guided? The answer implies that this is a matter managed by absolute knowledge and pervasive power, not by whim or following their own foolish opinions.

It is permitted that the "Guide" (al-Hadi) be intended as Allah the Exalted; this has been narrated from Ibn Abbas, ad-Dahhak, and Ibn Jubayr. The tanwin in this context is for exaltation and magnification. The orientation of the verse according to this view is that since they denied the signs out of obstinacy stemming from their blind imitation, and did not reflect upon the signs, it was said: "You are only a warner," not a "Guide" who establishes faith in their hearts and prevents them from their rejection, for that rests with Allah the Exalted alone, and He—glorified be He—is the One capable of it.

Based on this, it is said: It is permissible that His, the Exalted’s, saying "(Allah)" is the predicate of a deleted subject—i.e., "He is Allah"—making it an explanation of "Guide." The sentence "(knows)" acts as a confirmation for His, the Exalted's, independence in granting guidance, as a cause for that. It is also permissible for the sentence "(Allah knows)" to be a confirmation, functioning as a case of replacing the pronoun with the manifest noun, as if it meant: He, the Exalted, knows [that]—referring to the Guide. The first view is highly distant.

Ibn Marduyah narrated from Ibn Abbas, and Ibn Jarir from Ikrimah and Abu ad-Duha, that the "Warner" and the "Guide" is the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. The orientation of this is that "Guide" is a conjunction to "Warner," and "for every people" relates to it, placed before it for the sake of the verse ending (the rhyme). In this is evidence for the universality of his message, peace be upon him, and the encompassing nature of his call. Therein is the separation between the conjoined and the conjunction by the prepositional phrase, a matter about which grammarians differ regarding its permissibility. "Guide" may also be made the predicate of a hidden subject, i.e., "And he is a Guide" or "And you are a Guide." On the former, it involves a shift (iltifat).

Abu al-Aliyah said: The "Guide" is righteous action. Ali bin Isa said: It is the one who precedes toward guidance; for every people there is a precursor who precedes them to guidance. Abu Hayyan said: This returns to the view that the "Guide" is the Prophet, for he is the one who precedes in that. From Abu Salih, it is narrated that it is the leader to good or to evil. All of these [views] are as you see.

The Shia stated: It is Ali, may Allah honor his countenance. They narrated traditions in this regard, and al-Qushayri mentioned this from us. Ibn Jarir, Ibn Marduyah, ad-Daylami, and Ibn Asakir narrated from Ibn Abbas that he said: When "You are only a warner" was revealed, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, placed his hand on his chest and said: "I am the warner," then gestured with his hand to the shoulder of Ali, may Allah honor his countenance, and said: "You are the Guide, O Ali; by you shall the guided ones be guided after me."

Abdullah bin Ahmad also narrated in the Zawa'id al-Musnad, as did Ibn Abi Hatim, at-Tabarani in al-Awsat, al-Hakim—who authenticated it—and Ibn Asakir, from Ali, may Allah honor his countenance, that he said regarding the verse: "The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, is the warner, and I am the guide." In another wording: "The guide is a man from the Banu Hashim," meaning himself.

The Shia used this as evidence for the caliphate of Ali, may Allah honor his countenance, after the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, without interruption. The response is: We do not concede the authenticity of the report; the authentication of al-Hakim is considered devoid of weight among the scholars of Hadith. There is no indication in the verse for what they claim in any way. Furthermore, the utmost it contains is that he, may Allah honor his countenance, is one by whom the guided are guided after the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him; that necessitates only the establishment of the rank of guidance (irshad), which is one thing, and the caliphate we speak of is another—there is no necessary link between them according to us.

Some have said: If the report were authentic, it would necessitate saying that the caliphate of the three [preceding caliphs], may Allah be pleased with them, is valid, since it implies that he, may Allah honor his countenance, was upon the truth in what he approached and what he left, and that he is one who is used for guidance, yet he pledged allegiance to those caliphs willingly, praised them, and spoke well of them, without disparaging their caliphate. Therefore, one should emulate him and follow his path in that matter. To attempt to prove the contrary of what he manifested is an impossible task.

Abu Hayyan said: Assuming the narration were authentic, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, only made Ali, may Allah honor his countenance, an example of the scholars of the Ummah and its guides to the religion. It is as if he, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "O Ali, this is your attribute." Thus, it includes the three caliphs and the rest of the noble companions, may Allah be pleased with them, and indeed the rest of the scholars of the Ummah. Accordingly, the meaning of the verse is: "You are only a warner, and for every people in the past and the present, until Allah wills, there are guides and callers to good." Its apparent sense indicates that he did not interpret the precedence of the object in the report of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, as a restrictive limitation (hasr). There is, therefore, no obstacle to saying that there are many by whom one can be guided. This lack of restriction is supported by what we have from his saying, peace and blessings be upon him: "Follow those who come after me: Abu Bakr and Umar," and other traditions containing the affirmation of those by whom one is guided other than Ali, may Allah honor his countenance. I suspect you will not pay attention to this interpretation, nor care for what has been said, and will suffice with denying the report's authenticity, saying: There is neither sign nor trace in the verse that points to it.

As for "(what)," it is possible that it is masdariyyah (forming an infinitive), i.e., "He knows the bearing of every female," regardless of which female it is; "bearing" here refers to the carried fetus. It may also be mawsulah (relative pronoun) with a deleted referent, i.e., "that which she bears in her womb from the time of conception until the time of birth, not just after the completion of creation." It is also permitted that it be an indefinite noun qualified by an adjective.

"Knows" is said to be transitive to one object, meaning "recognizes" (irfaniyyah). This has been scrutinized on the basis that "recognition" cannot correctly be used for the knowledge of Allah the Exalted, though this criticism arises from a lack of understanding of the true nature of that matter, as has preceded. It is also permitted that it be interrogative, suspended (mu'allaqah) for "knows," functioning as the subject or a preceding object, with the sentence filling the place of the two objects, i.e., "He knows whatever she bears." In any case, it refers to the conditions that occur to it, time after time. It is not hidden that this is contrary to the immediate, apparent meaning. As for this "(what)," the same possibilities are permitted for what follows it as well.

The relevance of the verse to what precedes it has been made known through what has passed. It is said: Its relevance is that when their denial of resurrection preceded, and among their doubts was the dispersion of particles and the mixing of some with others such that no distinction between them was possible, He—glorified be His Majesty—alerted them through this verse to the encompassing nature of His knowledge to remove their doubt. It is also said: Its relevance is that when they hastened the punishment, He—the Almighty and Exalted—alerted them to the encompassing nature of His knowledge to indicate that, by His exalted wisdom, He only sends down the torment according to what He knows of benefit and wisdom.

In the codex of Ubayy, it is: "(what every female bears and what she delivers, and what the wombs diminish and what they increase)." This means what they decrease and what they increase in the body, such as being premature or full-term. This has been narrated from Ibn Abbas. It also refers to the duration, such as being born in the minimum gestation period or the maximum, or anywhere in between—which is another narration from the [great] scholar. It is said that ad-Dahhak was born after two years, and that Haram bin Hayyan was born after four—from which he was named "Haram" (meaning 'old' or 'decrepit'). Regarding the maximum gestation period being four years, that is the view of ash-Shafi'i. According to Malik, the maximum is five years. According to Imam Abu Hanifah, may Allah be pleased with him, the maximum is two years, which is what is narrated from Aishah, may Allah be pleased with them; for Ibn Jarir narrated from her: "The pregnancy shall not be more than two years, the distance of the turning of a spindle." In number, it refers to one or more. It is said that the maximum known is four, for it is narrated that Sharik bin Abdullah bin Abi Namir al-Qurashi was the fourth of four, and this is what our greatest Imam, may Allah be pleased with him, stood by. Ash-Shafi'i, upon him be mercy, said: A sheikh in Yemen informed me that his wife gave birth in pregnancies where each birth was five [children]. This is among the rarities; such occurrences have been agreed upon, but what is more than two, due to weakness, rarely survives. As for what is recounted that someone gave birth to forty in one womb, all the size of a finger, and that they all lived, the apparent fact is that it is a lie.

It is also said: The meaning is the decrease and increase of menstrual blood. This is narrated from a group. It likens blood in the womb to water in the earth, which diminishes at one time and appears at another. "Ghada" (to diminish) has been used both transitively and intransitively, like "naqasa." So too is "izdada" (to increase). This is something agreed upon by the linguists. If you make them both intransitive, it is not permissible for "(what)" to be relative or qualified, due to the lack of a referent. The attribution of the two verbs, however they may be, is to the wombs; for they are intransitive regarding what is inside them, and transitive toward Allah—glorified be His Majesty and exalted be His authority.

(And everything... with Him... according to a measure): That is, by a measure that does not exceed it nor fall short of it, like His saying, the Exalted: "Indeed, We created everything with a measure." For every occurring event, from accidents to substances, has at every stage of the stages of formation and its beginnings a specific time and a particular state that it hardly exceeds. Perhaps the state of the non-existent is known by implication if we say that "a thing" is that which exists.

"(With)" is an adverb relating to a deleted element acting as an adjective for "everything" or "all." "(According to a measure)" is the predicate of "everything." It is permitted that the adverb relates to a deleted element acting as a state (hal) from "measure," although it is originally an adjective for it; however, since it was placed earlier, it is parsed as a state to fulfill the rule. It is also permitted that it be an adverb for what the prepositional phrase relates to.

"Being with Him" means His scientific presence, or rather, knowledge by presence (al-ilm al-huduri), as has been said. For the realization of things in themselves, in whatever stage they are in of the stages of existence and potentiality for that, is knowledge in relation to Him, the Exalted. It is said: The meaning of "with Him" is: according to His decree.