Tafsir of An-Nahl 16:50

The pronoun in His saying—exalted is He—(يخافون ربهم/ they fear their Lord) follows the same ruling. Among those who explicitly stated that the pronoun refers back to (ما / that which [refers to the shadows mentioned previously]) is Abu Sulayman al-Dimashqi. Abu Hayyan said: "It is the most apparent [interpretation]." Ibn al-Sa'ib and Muqatil held the view that we have mentioned—that is, they fear that which has dominion over them from above them. It is either connected to yakhafun (they fear), where the fearing of their Lord is a metonymy for fearing His punishment, or the speech is based on the estimation of an omitted noun, which is "the punishment," as is apparent. Or, it is connected to a hidden element that functions as a state (hal) of "their Lord," meaning: "being above them." The meaning of Him—exalted is He—being above them is His subjugation and dominion, for spatial superiority is impossible regarding Him, the Most High. The position of the Salaf (predecessors) we have already laid out for you, and I think you recall it.

The sentence is a state (hal) from the pronoun in (la yastakbirun / they do not wax proud). It is also permissible that it be an explanation and confirmation of the negation of pride, because whoever fears Allah—the Most High—does not wax proud regarding His worship. Ibn al-Munir preferred this and said: "It is the only valid interpretation, so that pride is not restricted, and to indicate the permanence of this attribute as well, without limitation." It must be said, regarding the estimation of it being a state, that it is a non-transient state, and it has occurred in eloquent speech—nay, in the most eloquent of it, according to the correct view. The selection of the title of Lordship (Rububiyyah) serves to nurture awe and signals the cause of the ruling.

That is, whatever they are commanded of acts of obedience and tasks. The mention of the verb in the passive voice follows the etiquette of Majesty, indicating that there is no need to specify the agent because it is impossible for these [acts] to be attributed to anyone other than Him—exalted is He. The verse is used as evidence that angels are under obligation (mukallafun), shifting between fear and hope. As for its indication of obligation, it is by virtue of the command. As for fear, it is more apparent than to be hidden. As for hope, it is because fear necessitates hope, as has been said. It is also said: their characterization by hope is because whoever serves the Most Generous of the generous is in a position of secure hope.

Some have claimed that their fear is only a fear of reverence and awe, not a fear of threat and punishment. This is refuted by His saying—exalted is He—(وهو من خشيته مشفقون ومن يقل منهم إني إله من دونه فذلك نجزيه جهنم / And they, out of fear of Him, are apprehensive... And whoever among them says, 'I am a god besides Him,' then that one We will reward with Hell), and this does not contradict their infallibility ('ismah). The Imam said: "The most correct view is that this fear is the fear of reverence," and he mentioned that it was narrated from Ibn Abbas, using as evidence His saying: (إنما يخشى الله من عباده العلماء / Only those among His servants who have knowledge fear Allah), though there remains some doubt in the heart regarding this.

The truth is that the verse is not fit as evidence that angels are superior to humans. A group has used it to argue for that superiority based on four aspects mentioned by the Imam, which he did not follow up with any rebuttal, because he is among those who hold this view of superiority. The place for that is the books of theology (Kalam).

(أتى أمر الله / The command of Allah has arrived) refers to the Great Resurrection, in which the veils of individual determinations are lifted and everything other than Him vanishes. Since the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was witnessing this in the state of Union (Jam'), he said, "Has arrived." Since its manifestation in detail, such that it appears to everyone, does not occur until after a time, he said: (فلا تستعجلوه / So do not seek to hasten it), for this is not the time of its manifestation. He then confirmed his witnessing of the Face of Allah and the annihilation of creation at the Resurrection by saying: (سبحانه وتعالى عما يشركون / Exalted is He and high above what they associate), by affirming the existence of the "other." Then he detailed what he witnessed in the state of Union—because he was in the station of Separation (Farq) after Union, not veiled by Unity from multiplicity, nor vice versa—so he said: (ينزل الملائكة بالروح / He sends down the angels with the Spirit), which is the knowledge by which hearts live, (على من يشاء من عباده / upon whom He wills of His servants), who are the sincere ones to Him, "that warn that there is no god but Me, so fear Me."

Some said: "Meaning, warn the creation against the base thoughts that are mixed with looking at other than Me, and make them fear My immense Majesty." This is the revelation of communication, and it is specific to the messengers—peace be upon them. They mentioned that revelation, when it is not of this kind, is not specific to them, but also comes to the saints (Awliya') who said, "Our Lord is Allah," and then remained steadfast; the angels descend upon them [saying], "Do not fear and do not grieve." It has been narrated from some of the Imams of the Household that the angels crowd them in their gatherings.

Furthermore, He—exalted is He—enumerated the attributes and detailed the blessings, saying: (خلق السماوات والأرض بالحق / He created the heavens and the earth with Truth), etc. And in His saying—exalted is He—(ويحمل أثقالكم / And it carries your burdens), there is an allusion, as narrated from al-Junayd—may his secret be sanctified—that it is fitting for whoever desires to reach his objective that the beginning of his affair and his intention be effort and diligence, so that the blessing of that may bring him to his objective.

They mentioned that those among the servants who are carried to their objectives are of various classes, as is the means by which they are carried: some are carried by the light of the Act, some by the light of the Attribute, and some by the light of the Essence. He who is carried by the light of the Act has as his land the station of Fear and Hope, his place the sincerity of certainty, and his home the square of witnessing. He who is carried by the light of the Attribute has as his land the station of Knowledge, his place the purity of intimate friendship, and his home the house of affection. He who is carried by the light of the Essence has as his land Monotheism, his place Annihilation, and his home Permanence. These classes are for the seeker (Salik). As for the attracted one (Majdhub), he is carried upon the mount of Bounty to the land of witnessing.

In His saying—exalted is He—(ويخلق ما لا تعلمون / And He creates that which you do not know), there is a bewilderment of the intellects and an incapacitation—an incapacitation from perceiving the Knower of the Unseen. Some said: "It contains a teaching to pause when the intellect cannot perceive the traces of His creation and the arts of knowledge, and not to meet that with denial." Since He—exalted is He—informed that He creates what is not known according to the requirements of ordinary human faculties, [He does so] only by divine power and eternal care. Do you not see the Sufis, whom Allah—the Most High—has favored with what He has favored? They know of immense worlds; the world of perception in relation to them is like the relation of an atom to a great mountain.

Among those who claim to be in their ranks—like the "Kashfiyyah" who dub themselves the "Manifesters"—are those who mention things about which no rational person would doubt that they have no basis. Indeed, if their speech regarding that were presented to children or madmen, they would not doubt that it is a mythical tale issuing from pure imagination. I ask Allah—the Most High—not to afflict any Muslim with the likes of what has afflicted them. I had resolved, when I saw some of their books written by some of our contemporaries, which contained such things, to compose the like of what they composed to counter falsehood with its equivalent. But modesty before Allah—the Most High—and preoccupation with the service of His speech and the knowledge that those superstitions only find favor with those who have been stripped of perception and have descended to the level of inanimate objects prevented me.

Al-Wasiti said regarding the verse: "The meaning is that He creates within you acts that you do not know whether they are for you or against you." (وعلى الله قصد السبيل / And upon Allah is the straight path), i.e., the intended path, which is Monotheism; and among them are those that deviate, which is everything else. (ولو شاء لهداكم أجمعين / And had He willed, He would have guided you all), but He did not will it due to your lack of preparedness, and so that the attributes of His Beauty and Majesty—exalted is He—might appear.

(وألقى في الأرض رواسي / And He cast into the earth firm mountains), and they are the "pegs," the masters of establishment, (أن تميد بكم / so that it may not shake with you), i.e., tremble. Among the famous sayings on tongues is: "If it were empty, it would topple." (وأنهارا / and rivers), and they are the scholars, by whose abundant sciences the trees of the hearts are brought to life. (وسبلا / and paths), and they are the guides calling to Him—exalted is He. (وعلامات / and landmarks), which are the signs in the horizons and within the souls. (وبالنجم هم يهتدون / And by the stars they are guided), and these are the lights that appear to the seeker from the world of the Unseen.

Some said: "He cast into the earth of hearts the firm mountains of unseen sciences and eternal gnoses, and caused to flow in it the rivers of the lights of knowledge, unveiling, love, yearning, passion, wisdom, and acumen. And He cleared paths for the spirits, intellects, and secrets: the path of the spirits is to the lights of the Attributes, the path of the intellects is to the lights of the signs, and the path of the secrets is to the lights of the Essence." The paths, in reality, are infinite; and among their sayings is: "The paths to Allah are as numerous as the breaths of the creation." The landmarks in the external world are the lights of the Acts for the masses, and the most specific landmarks in the world are the saints, the stars—those possessed of gnosis who swim in the orbits of eternity with their spirits, hearts, and secrets. Whoever follows them is guided to his eternal objective. In the Hadith: "My companions are like stars; whichever of them you follow, you will be guided." The intent is their elite, so that the address may be valid; it is permissible that all are intended, and the address is for us; there is no obstacle to that according to the school of the People [of the Path].

(والذين يدعون من دون الله لا يخلقون شيئا وهم يخلقون . . . / And those whom they invoke other than Allah create nothing, while they are created). How great a verse this is in reproach of whoever seeks aid from other than Allah—the Most High—from among inanimate objects and the dead, and requests from them what they cannot bring to themselves or repel from themselves.

One of the great Sufis—may Allah—the Most High—sanctify their secrets—said: "Seeking aid from the saints is forbidden except for a knower who distinguishes between the contingent and the eternal. He seeks aid from the saint not as a person, but in terms of the manifestation of the Truth in him; for that is not forbidden, as it is, at that point, seeking aid from the Truth." I say: If such is the case, what is the motivation to turn away from seeking aid from the Truth from the very beginning? Furthermore, if seeking aid from the saint is permissible from this aspect, then let prayer, fasting, and all other forms of worship be permissible for him from that same aspect as well. Perhaps the one who says the former says the latter. Indeed, I have seen from some of them that which, in relation to this statement, would be [equivalent to] praising; my pen can hardly write it, nor can my mouth open to mention it. The safe path for every sensible person is to restrict seeking aid and assistance to Allah—the Almighty and Majestic—for He—exalted is He—is the Living, the Powerful, the Knower of the interests of His servants. So beware of being included in the ranks of those who hope for benefit from other than Him—exalted is He.

(الذين تتوفاهم الملائكة ظالمي أنفسهم / Those whom the angels take in death while they are wronging themselves). They mentioned that the foremost, the monotheists, are taken in death by Allah—the Most High—by His Essence. As for the righteous and the happy, they are of two categories: whoever has ascended from the station of the ego by detachment and reached the station of the heart through sciences and virtues, the Angel of Death takes them. Whoever is in the station of the ego among the servants, the pious, the ascetics, and the religiously observant, who have not detached themselves from the attachments of the body through adornment and purification, the angels of mercy take them. As for the wicked and the miserable, the angels also take them, but they are the angels of punishment, and they take form for them in the image of their blameworthy characters, just as the angels of mercy take form for the aforementioned in the image of their praiseworthy characters.

(الذين تتوفاهم الملائكة طيبين / Those whom the angels take in death while they are pure). Their souls were pure in the service of their Master, their hearts were pure in the love of their Lord, their spirits were pure with the purity of witnessing their Lord, and their secrets were pure with the purity of the lights. It is also said: their bodies and spirits were pure through the constant service and the abandonment of desires. It is also said: their spirits were pure at death, for it is the door of union and the cause of eternal life.

(وقال الذين أشركوا لو شاء الله ما عبدنا من دونه من شيء / And those who associate others with Allah say, "If Allah had willed, we would not have worshipped anything other than Him"). They said this as an argument, in their estimation, against the monotheists. They did not know that it is an argument against themselves, because He—exalted is He—does not will except what He knows, and He does not know except what the thing is in itself. If it were not that they were polytheists in reality, Allah—the Most High—would not have willed that.

(فاسألوا أهل الذكر إن كنتم لا تعلمون / So ask the people of the Reminder if you do not know). They are the people of the Quran, who are characterized by its character, who uphold its commands and prohibitions, and who stand upon the secrets and unseen matters deposited within it; and few they are. The intent of "the Reminder" is the Quran, as in His saying—exalted is He—(وأنزلنا إليك الذكر لتبين للناس ما نزل إليهم . . . / And We revealed to you the Reminder that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them). It contains an allusion that Allah—the Most High—did not reveal the hidden secrets of His Book except to His Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace; he—peace and blessings be upon him—is the trustworthy one, entrusted with the secrets. He—exalted is He—signaled to him—peace and blessings be upon him—to clarify that, and he did so, but according to capacities. Do not withhold wisdom from its people, lest you wrong them; and do not bestow it upon those who are not its people, lest you wrong it. Secrets should not be deposited except with the free-spirited, for it is a trust; if it is deposited with others, it is not secure from betrayal, and betrayal of it is revealing it, and revealing it is a grave danger. Thus it was said:

Whoever consults them, and he reveals the secret publicly, They shall not trust him with secrets as long as he lives. They shunned him, so he did not find happiness in their proximity, And they replaced his intimacy with alienation. They do not choose as an intimate one who spreads some of their secret, Far be it from their love, far be it!

(أو لم يروا ما خلق الله من شيء / Have they not considered what Allah has created from things). That is, any created essence or reality, whatever essence it may be. (يتفيؤ ظلاله / its shadows incline). It is said: i.e., its images and manifestations appear. (عن اليمين / from the right), the side of goodness. (الشمائل / and the left), the sides of evils. Since the side of the right is an allusion to the side of good, which is attributed only to Him—exalted is He—it is in the singular. Since the side of the left is an allusion to the side of evil, which should not be attributed to Him—exalted is He—as His saying—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—directs: "And evil is not attributed to You," but rather it is attributed to other than Him—exalted is He—and there is an apparent plurality in that "other," the plural "lefts" (shamail) is used.

It is also said regarding the singularity and plurality: All existents share in a type of good from which they do not incline away, which is love ('ishq). Ibn Sina has demonstrated the pervasiveness of the power of love in every one of the identities. They do not share in evil in such a way, so that from which they incline away of evil must be plural, hence the "left" is pluralized; this is not the case for that from which they incline away of good, hence the "right" is singular. Let this be pondered.

(ولله يسجد ما في السماوات وما في الأرض من دابة / And to Allah prostrates whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth of creatures). Any existing thing that creeps and moves from non-existence to existence. (والملائكة وهم لا يستكبرون / and the angels, and they do not wax proud). They do not refrain from submission and humiliation to His command. (يخافون ربهم من فوقهم / They fear their Lord from above them), because He is the Subduer who influences them, (ويفعلون ما يؤمرون / and they do what they are commanded), obediently and submissively. And Allah—the Most High—is the Guide to the straight path.