Tafsir of Maryam 19:96

Meaning: Affection in the hearts, due to their faith and their righteous deeds. It is well-known that this appointment is in this world. Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Al-Tirmidhi, Abd ibn Humayd, and others have recorded from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "If Allah the Exalted loves a servant, He calls Gabriel and says, 'I love so-and-so, so love him.' Then he calls out in the heavens, and subsequently, love is descended for him upon the earth." This is the explanation of the saying of Allah the Exalted: "Indeed, those who have believed..." (the verse).

The mention of the title "The Most Merciful" (Al-Rahman) is because what is promised is among the effects of His mercy. The letter seen (in sa-yaj'alu - will appoint) is used because the Surah is Meccan, and they (the believers) were despised at that time among the disbelievers. Thus, He—Glorified be He—promised them that, then He fulfilled it when Islam spread and grew strong after the Hijrah.

It is mentioned that the verse was revealed regarding those who migrated to Abyssinia with Ja'far ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him); Allah promised to appoint for them affection in the heart of the Negus. Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, and Ibn Marduyah recorded from Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf that when he migrated to Medina, he felt sadness in his soul over the separation from his companions in Mecca, among them Shaybah ibn Rabi'ah, Utbah ibn Rabi'ah, and Umayyah ibn Khalaf, so Allah the Exalted revealed this verse. According to this, the verse would be Medinan.

Ibn Marduyah and Al-Daylami recorded from Al-Bara' who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to Ali (may Allah honor his face): "Say, 'O Allah, appoint for me a covenant with You and appoint for me affection in the chests of the believers.'" Then Allah the Exalted revealed this verse. Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say: "You will not find a believer except that he loves Ali (may Allah honor his face) and his household."

The Imamis narrated reports of its revelation regarding Ali (may Allah honor his face) from Ibn Abbas and Al-Baqir, supporting this with what is considered authentic to them: that he (may Allah honor his face) said: "If I struck the nose of a believer with this sword of mine so that he might hate me, he would not hate me; and if I poured the entire world upon a hypocrite so that he might love me, he would not love me." This is because it was decreed and passed down on the tongue of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he said: "No believer hates you, and no hypocrite loves you." The intended meaning is the legitimate love that contains no excess.

Some Christians have claimed love for him (may Allah honor his face). The linguistic Imam Radi al-Din Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Yusuf al-Ansari al-Shati recited verses by Ibn Ishaq al-Nasrani al-Rasghani: "I do not attempt to mention 'Adi and Taym with evil, but I am a lover of Hashim. And no blamer's blame affects me regarding Ali and his kinsmen when they are mentioned for the sake of Allah. They say, 'Why do the Christians love them, and the possessors of intellect among the Arabs and non-Arabs?' I said to them, 'I think their love has permeated the hearts of creation, even the beasts.'" You know that if a hadith is authentic, a falsehood is established (as its opposite); I suspect the attribution of these verses to a Christian has no basis, and they are among the verses of the Shia—the house of lies. How many such stratagems do they have, as explained in Al-Tuhfah al-Ithna Ashariyyah. The apparent conclusion is that the verse, according to this, is also Medinan. Then, the standard for all narrations regarding the cause of revelation is the generality of the wording, not the specificity of the cause.

Al-Juba'i held the view that this is in the Hereafter. It was said: in Paradise, where they will be brothers on thrones facing each other. It was also said: when their good deeds are displayed before the witnesses. The use of the seen in this context is apparent. Perhaps this promise is singled out from among the sublime honors they will receive on the Day of Resurrection because the disbelievers will experience hatred, opposition, severance, and mutual cursing among themselves on that day.

It is mentioned regarding the connection (between verses) that when the ugly states of the disbelievers were detailed, it was followed by mentioning the beautiful states of the believers. It is also said—based on the view that this is in the Hereafter—that when He (Glorified be He) informed that everyone from the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth will come to Him on the Day of Resurrection alone, He comforted the believers by saying that He (Glorified be He) will appoint for them on that day affection. Ibn Atiyyah interpreted it in this light as His (Exalted be He) love for them, intending by it His honoring them and His (Glorified be He) forgiveness of their sins. It is permissible that the promise is to appoint affection in both this world and the Hereafter, and I do not see this as far from the truth. Neither this nor the previous interpretation opposes the mention of the title "The Most Merciful," because it is permissible to claim generality, for it has come: "O Most Merciful of this world and the Hereafter and their Most Compassionate."

Abu al-Harith al-Hanafi read wuddan with a fatha on the waw, and Janah ibn Hubaysh read widdan with a kasra on it; both are dialectal variations of it, as is widad.