Tafsir of Al-Kahf 18:24

"(Except that Allah wills)" is an exception related to the prohibition, as chosen by a group of verifying scholars. The statement of Ibn Atiyyah—that this is a corruption to the point that it should not even be narrated, out of fear of refuting al-Tabari—is itself devoid of fairness. It is mufarragh (an elliptical structure) from the most general of conditions.

There is an implicit ba for association in the speech, attached to "that," and the prepositional phrase is in the position of a state (hal). That is: "Do not say that in any state of affairs, except in the state of associating it with the will of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, by mentioning it." In al-Kashf, it is stated: "For the speech to be associated with the reality of the will is impossible; therefore, it must remain as being associated with mentioning it," which is "If Allah wills" (in sha' Allah) or similar phrases indicating the suspension of affairs upon the will of Allah, the Exalted. This was refuted by what is better suited to be a confirmation rather than a refutation.

It is also permitted that the exception is from the most general of times. That is: "Do not say that at any time, except at the time when Allah, the Exalted, wills for you to say that." The "will" in this context is interpreted as "permission," because the time of the will is not known except through His notification and permission. Thus, the meaning results in: "Do not say it except after you are permitted to speak."

It is also permissible that the exception is munqati' (discontinuous), and its intent is affirmation. That is: "And do not say that ever." This is explained in al-Kashf as a prohibition against speaking except at the time of Allah’s will, and since that is unknown, one must desist forever. It is indicated that this is the intent of al-Zamakhshari, not what is imagined—namely, that he treated it like the verse: "And it was not for us to return to it, except that Allah should will"—as if the affirmation is because it is ugly for Allah not to will the doing of that tomorrow, like returning to the religion of disbelief. This is because the ugliness in the current context is not accepted in its absolute sense.

As for restricting it to that which relates to revelation—in the sense of "Do not say concerning revelation, 'I will inform you of it,' except that Allah wills," and Allah did not will that you say it from yourself, so therefore you shall never say it—this is rejected by the indefinite noun in the context of a prohibition that contains negation, and by the restriction to the future, and by the fact that his saying "I am doing that tomorrow" is a report about a matter related to revelation tomorrow, which does not imply that his speech tomorrow would be from himself and not from revelation. The analogy stands in that the exception by the will is used in the context of affirmation, even if the aspect of the indication differs—sometimes taken from the object of the will, and other times from ignorance of it.

It is not hidden that the apparent meaning of the verse is the first view, and that his nation (peace and blessings be upon him) is equal to him in the address it contains, being specific to the Prophet (may Allah, the Exalted, bless him and grant him peace). It is not permissible for the exception to be related to His saying, "I am doing," as an elliptical exception from what is within its scope from the most general states or times. For then, one must either consider the will to be attached to the act—meaning "I am doing in every state/time, except in the state/time of Allah willing the act"—which is unsound; or one must consider it attached to its non-occurrence—meaning "I am doing in every state/time, except in the state/time of Allah willing the non-act"—and there is no doubt about its inappropriateness for the prohibition; rather, it is a required matter.

Al-Khafaji said: If the exception is related to "I am doing" and the will is related to the non-occurrence, the meaning becomes: "I am doing in every state, unless Allah, the Exalted, wills the non-occurrence of my act." And the prohibition of this is invalid. As for the school of the Ahl al-Sunnah, this is manifest. As for the school of the Mu'tazilah, it is because they do not doubt that the will of Allah, the Exalted, for the non-occurrence of the optional act of the servant—if it is prevented by the creation of something that obstructs it, such as death and the like—prevents it, even if, according to them, the will is not attached to its creation or non-creation. Similarly, the prohibition is not valid if the will is related to the act in both schools. Thus, what was said—that the attachment of the exception to what was mentioned is correct, and the meaning is the prohibition of adopting the Mu'tazili path regarding the creation of acts, so he attributes them to himself saying: "If the will of Allah does not accompany the act, then I am the doer independently, but if it does, then no"—is obviously weak regarding the Prophet.

Reflect upon this. It has become widespread to object to the Mu'tazilah in their claim that sins occur without the will and desire of Allah, and that He does not will anything except acts of obedience, by saying: If it were so, it would be mandatory that when a person who owes a debt to another says, "By Allah, I will give you your due tomorrow, if Allah wills," he would be a promise-breaker (hanith) if he did not do it, because Allah has willed it as an act of obedience. And if it does not occur, the expiation for his oath would be binding upon him, and the exception would not benefit him—just as if he said: "By Allah, I will give you if Zayd stands," and he stood and he did not do it. Committing to the violation of the oath in this is a departure from consensus.

Al-Murtada answered this by saying that the exception entering into speech has various aspects. It may enter into oaths, divorce, manumission, and other contracts, as well as reports that run in their vein. This requires pausing the execution of the speech and preventing the necessity of what would otherwise follow, making the speech as if it has no ruling. This aspect of the exception is valid in the past; one says, "I have entered the house, if Allah wills," to exclude it from being a definitive report or one that mandates a ruling. It is not valid in sins because it contains the manifestation of total reliance upon Allah, and sins do not befit that. He said: "This aspect is one of the possibilities of the verse." It may also enter the speech with the intent of facilitation, empowering, enabling, and remaining upon the conditions as they are. This is the intent when it enters into permissible acts, and it is possible in the verse. It may also enter for the mere purpose of reliance upon Allah, and according to this, it is not relied upon regarding the truthfulness or falsehood of the speech, which is also possible in the verse. It may also enter with the intent of kindness and facilitation; this is specific to acts of obedience and it is not valid to apply the verse to it because it encompasses everything that is not ugly.

The statement of the debtor previously, if he intended this meaning, does not necessitate the violation of the oath if he does not act. If the debtor or others claim the intent of what does not bind them to anything, the objection raised against them carries no weight. Fairness dictates that the objection is nothing, and refuting them is free from the likes of this.

Furthermore, know that applying the "exception" to the restriction with "if Allah wills," and indeed to the restriction by a condition absolutely, is established in the language and usage, as al-Sirafi stipulated in his commentary on the Kitab. Al-Raghib said: "The exception is the repulsion of what is necessitated by a preceding generality," as in His saying: "Say, 'I do not find within that which was revealed to me anything forbidden to one who would eat it unless it be a dead animal...'" etc., or the repulsion of what the wording necessitates, such as his saying: "His wife is divorced, if Allah wills."

In the Hadith: "Whoever swears an oath upon a thing and says 'if Allah wills' has made an exception." Thus, what was said—that the phrase "if Allah wills" is called an exception because He, the Glorified, expressed it with His saying "Except that Allah wills"—is not sound. Likewise, what was said—that it resembles the exception in specification, so its name was applied to it—was stated by al-Khafaji. It is not hidden that in the Hadith there is a type of refusal to the claim that the application of "exception" to the restriction with "if Allah wills" is linguistic, because he (peace and blessings be upon him) was not sent to benefit linguistic denotations, but to communicate the Sharia rulings. So remember this.

(And remember your Lord), the Exalted—meaning the will of your Lord. The speech is based on the deletion of a possessive noun; and the mention of His will, the Exalted, is according to what the preceding part indicates—that one should say "if Allah wills." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said this when it was revealed. (If you forget)—meaning if you fall into forgetting that, then remember it when you recall. For as long as one is forgetting, one is not commanded to remember. It is a command for retrospective rectification upon remembering, whether the interval is short or long.

Ibn Jarir, al-Tabari, Ibn al-Mundhir, and others narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both of them) that he used to view the exception as valid even after a year, and he would recite the verse. This was also narrated from the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt (may Allah be pleased with them), and it is a narration from Imam Ahmad, upon him be mercy. Ibn al-Mundhir narrated from Ibn Jubayr regarding a man who swore an oath and forgot to make an exception: "He has his exception for a month." Ibn Abi Hatim narrated via Amr ibn Dinar from Ata' that he said: "Whoever swears an oath has his exception for the milking of a she-camel." He said: "And Tawus used to say: As long as he is in his sitting." Ibn Abi Hatim also narrated from Ibrahim, saying: "He may make an exception as long as he is in his speech." The generality of jurists are upon the condition of the connection of the exception to avoid the violation of the oath. If the validity of the separation and its lack of effect on rulings were true—especially up to the limit narrated from Ibn Abbas—then no promise, no divorce, and no manumission would be established, and no truth or falsehood could be known.

It is narrated that it reached al-Mansur that Abu Hanifah (may Allah be pleased with him) differed from Ibn Abbas on this issue, so he summoned him to object to him. Abu Hanifah said to him: "This returns to you; you take the oath of allegiance with oaths. Would you be pleased if they left you and then made an exception, and thus rose against you?" He found his speech excellent.

Among the strange things narrated is that a man from the scholars of the Maghrib wanted to see the scholars of Baghdad and verify the extent of their knowledge, so he set out on a journey to meet them. He entered Baghdad from the gate of al-Karkh and happened upon two men walking in front of him selling greens in baskets on their heads. He heard one of them say to the other: "O so-and-so, I am astonished by Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both of them), how he permitted the separation of the exception and said it had no effect on rulings. If the matter were as he says, Allah the Exalted would have commanded His Prophet Ayyub (peace be upon him) to make an exception so that he would not break his oath, for that would be less burdensome than what the Almighty guided him to by His saying: 'And take in your hand a bunch and strike with it and do not break your oath.' There was not more than a year between his oath and the command to do what he mentioned." That man returned to his country, satisfied with what he had heard and seen. He was asked: "How did you find the scholars of Baghdad?" He replied: "I saw that those who sell on their heads in the streets, from among its people, have reached a level of knowledge whereby they object to Ibn Abbas. So what is your thought about those in the schools who are devoted to the service of knowledge?" Fairness dictates that this objection, coming from a scholar, is not to be multiplied by one who sells greens. Allah, the Exalted, knows best the validity of the report.

It should not be said: "The apparent meaning of the verse, as you have heard, corresponds to what the scholar went to, otherwise there would be no meaning for the rectification." And likewise, what came in the report. For they said: "The rectification regarding what returns to the delegation of the servant is achieved by his mention after awareness. As for having an effect on the ruling to the point of removing it from certainty, the verse is not driven towards that, nor does it indicate it in any way."

Some said: "That is among his specificities (peace and blessings be upon him); he has, peace and blessings be upon him, the right to make an exception even after a while, unlike others." Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn Marduyah, and al-Tabari in al-Kabir narrated with a connected chain from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both of them) that he said regarding the verse: "If you forget the exception, then make the exception when you remember." Then he said: "It is a specificity for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and it is not for any of us to make an exception except in the connection of an oath."

It was said: There is no indication in the verse or report that the exception is a retrospective one from previous speech, but rather from an implicit one indicated by it. The estimate in the verse is: "Whenever you forget to mention Allah, remember Him when you remember, if Allah wills." And in the Hadith: "I will not forget the will after today, nor will I leave it, if Allah wills," or "I will say 'if Allah wills' when I say I am doing a matter in the future." It is not hidden that this is very contrary to the apparent meaning.

It is also permissible that the meaning is: "And remember your Lord with glorification and seeking forgiveness when you forget the exception." The intent of that is the exaggeration in urging it, by implying that abandoning it is one of the sins for which repentance and seeking forgiveness are obligatory. It was also said: "The meaning is 'Remember your Lord and His punishment when you leave some of what He commanded you,' so that this may drive you to rectification." Carrying "forgetting" over to "abandonment" is metaphorical due to the relationship of causality and effect. Or, "Remember your Lord when forgetfulness presents itself to you, so that He may remind you of the forgotten." On this view, "you forgot" is placed in the position of a transitive verb. It is not hidden how remote the connection of the verse is, based on these two meanings, to what preceded.

Qatadah carried the verse to the performance of the forgotten prayer when remembering it. If he intended that the meaning of the verse is "And perform the forgotten prayer when you remember it," then it is as you see, and the matter of connection is as in the preceding. If he intended that it indicates the command to perform the forgotten prayer when remembering it because it indicated the command to mention the forgotten exception—and the matter of prayer is more severe and the concern for it is greater—then the command is easier, but the apparent meaning of their speech is that he intended the first.

Ibn Abi Shaybah, al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman, and others narrated from Ikrimah that he said regarding the verse: "Meaning: Remember your Lord when you get angry." The justification for interpreting forgetting as anger is that it is a cause for forgetting, and the matter of this view is similar to what has passed.

(And say, 'Perhaps my Lord will guide me to what is closer than this of right conduct')—meaning, will grant me success to something closer and clearer than the news of the People of the Cave, from the signs and evidences indicating my prophethood—(right conduct), meaning guidance for the people and an indication of that. Al-Zajjaj went to this, and the Almighty has indeed done so, as He brought him from the clear signs that which is greater than that and clearer, such as the stories of the Prophets (peace be upon them) whose days were distant, and the events descending in future ages until the Day of Resurrection. It is as if it is a belittling by Him, the Almighty, of the affair of the story of the People of the Cave, just as He belittled it first by His saying: (Or have you thought...), etc. It relates to the whole story, and some of the elites connected it to the active agent in His saying: (When the youths retreated to the cave), as if it were said: "Remember when the youths retreated... and say: Perhaps my Lord will guide me to what is clearer than that in indication of my prophethood."

Al-Jubba'i said: It is connected to His saying (And remember your Lord) to the end. The meaning, according to him, is: "Call upon your Lord, the Glorified and Exalted, when you forget something, that He may remind you of it, and say: If He does not remind you, perhaps He will guide me to something closer than the forgotten, in goodness and benefit." "This" is a reference to the forgotten, and "right conduct" is goodness and benefit, and "closer" is on its real meaning. It is not hidden that this is closer from the perspective of the object, but more remote from other perspectives.

It was said: It is connected to the coordinate clauses before it, and "this" is a reference to what it contains of goodness, in command and prohibition. It is as if it were said: "Do such and such, and do not do such and such, and hope from your Lord that He will guide you to something closer than what you were guided to in the midst of what you heard of commands and prohibitions, in goodness and benefit." And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was guided, in the midst of what was revealed to him after that of commands and prohibitions, to what is closer than that in benefit, and it is uncountable. It is as you see, and perhaps, with all its shortcomings, it is closer than what was narrated from al-Jubba'i.

Ibn al-Anbari said: The meaning of the verse is: "Perhaps my Lord will inform me of the answer to your questions before the time I have specified for you, and hasten for me right conduct from Him." This meaning is hardly derived from the verse; and assuming it is derived, it would be like the derivation of intended meanings from riddles, and the Noble Book of Allah is too exalted for that.

Al-Bayhaqi narrated via al-Mu'tamir ibn Sulayman, saying: I heard my father narrating from a man of the people of Kufa that he used to say: "If a person forgets the exception, his repentance is to say: 'Perhaps my Lord will guide me to what is closer than this of right conduct.'" Abu Hayyan narrated it from Muhammad al-Kufi the exegete, and it is apparent that he is the man whom al-Mu'tamir mentioned. It is a saying for which there is no evidence.