Tafsir of An-Nur 24:64

"Behold, indeed to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth"—in terms of all existing things, by way of creation, ownership, and disposal; bringing into existence and annihilating; originating and restoring. No one else has any share in this, whether by partnership or independence.

"He already knows what you are upon"—O you who are tasked with obligations—of those states and conditions, among which are agreement or opposition, sincerity or hypocrisy. Although the preceding address was directed toward the believers by way of generalization (taghlib), the statement of the Exalted, "and the day they will be returned to Him," is specific to the hypocrites. It is a direct object acting as a conjunction to "what you are upon." That is: He knows the day when the hypocrites who oppose the command will return to the Almighty for recompense and punishment.

The suspension of His knowledge upon the day of their return—and not merely upon their return itself—is for the sake of increasing the verification of His, the Glorified's, knowledge of that matter. The ultimate point of confirming it is that knowledge of the time of a thing’s occurrence necessitates knowledge of the occurrence of the thing itself in the most eloquent and emphatic manner. It contains an indication that His knowledge, the Almighty, of the very act of their return is so manifest that it requires no explanation whatsoever.

It is permissible that the previous address was also specific to them, in which case two shifts (iltifat) occur: a shift from the third person to the second person in "you are upon" (antum), and a shift from the second person to the third person in "they will be returned" (yarji'un). The conjunction remains valid. It is also permitted that it refers to a duration—i.e., "what you are upon now, and on the day of [judgment]," etc.—since the nominal sentence denotes a state within the meaning of permanence and stability. It has been said: It is possible that "the day" is an adverbial object for an omitted verb, conjoined to what precedes it, meaning: "And He will call them to account [on the] day..." or something similar. However, I do not see it as exclusively limited to the second interpretation regarding the address.

In al-Bahr, after mentioning the two interpretations regarding it, it is stated: "The most apparent meaning is the conjunction of 'the day' to 'what you are upon'." Ibn 'Atiyyah said: "It is permissible that the estimation is 'and knowledge will appear to you' or something similar 'on the day,' making 'the day' an accusative of time for an omitted verb." The particle qad is for verification, and it contains both of the aforementioned possibilities. It has passed more than once what is intended by such sentences in terms of threat or promise, and the suitability of each of the possibilities regarding "you are" and "they return" is not hidden. Ibn Ya'mar, Ibn Abi Ishaq, and Abu 'Amr read yurja'un (they will be returned) in the passive voice.

"Then He will inform them of what they have done"—meaning, of their knowledge or of the evil deeds they committed, among which is the opposition to the commander. So the Almighty will arrange for them what is fitting in terms of rebuke and recompense. Or, He will inform them of what they have done, whether good or evil, and He will arrange for that what is fitting: if it is good, then good; and if it is evil, then evil. "And Allah is Knowing of all things."

"Nothing is hidden from Him among all things." This sentence is a concluding supplement (tadhyil) confirming what preceded it. The manifestation of the Exalted Name (Allah) in the place of the pronoun is to emphasize the independence of the sentence and to indicate the cause of the ruling. The placing of the prepositional phrase (al-zarf) first is to observe the endings of the verses. It is said—and in this there is a discussion—that it is for exclusivity (hasr), meaning: Allah is knowing of all things, not just some things, as some ignorant philosophers and those who follow their path claim. May Allah protect us and the Muslims from the misguidance they are upon, and may He make for us a light by which we may be guided when the night of ignorance becomes dark.

"Do you not see that Allah drives clouds..." is an indication of the gathering of the four elements and the composition of forms from them, then the pouring forth of the rain of perception from its eyes and ears, for example. He sends down from the heaven of the "Overflowing Intellect" the hail of the truths of knowledge, so He strikes with it whom He wills, and its effects appear upon him; and He averts it from whom He wills, according to what Divine Wisdom necessitates. "The flash of its lightning almost takes away the sight"—the light of His manifestation—by disabling them from seeing and annihilating their possessors from them, because the perception by His light is above the perception by the light of the eyes. "Allah alternates the night and the day" is an indication of the night of concealment and the day of manifestation, or the night of contraction and the day of expansion, or the night of Majesty and the day of Beauty, or similar.

It is also said: He drives the clouds of disobedience until they accumulate, and you see the rain of repentance pouring from their midst, just as the rain poured from the cloud of [Adam's] disobedience—"and Adam disobeyed"—followed by "then his Lord chose him." He sends down from the heaven of hearts, from the mountains of hardness therein, the hail of severity. Allah alternates the night of disobedience for whom He wills into the day of obedience, and vice versa.

"And Allah has created every creature from water..."—the discussion on water has passed. "And among them are those that walk upon their bellies"—those who rely in their journey upon the inner-self (batin); these are the people of divine attraction (jadhba) who are submerged in the seas of love. "And among them are those that walk on two legs"—those who rely in their journey upon the Sharia and the Tariqa, but only in what concerns them personally. These are a class of the perfected ones who dwelled in the corners of obscurity, did not mingle with the people, and did not occupy themselves with guidance. "And among them are those that walk on four"—those who rely in their journey upon the Sharia and the Tariqa in what concerns both them and others. These are another class of the perfected ones who emerged to the people, mingled with them, occupied themselves with guidance, and acted in their own selves according to what the Sharia and Tariqa necessitate, and dealt with the people and the disciples accordingly. "Allah creates what He wills"—so it is not unlikely that among His creation are those who walk on more [legs], such as the perfected ones whom Allah the Exalted has granted knowledge of the secrets of the visible and invisible worlds, and what He has determined for every nation and every type of creature. After acting upon their own selves, they dealt with every nation and every type according to what was determined for it. "Each [one] has known his prayer and his exaltation."

In His statement, "And they say, 'We have believed in Allah and the Messenger'...", there is an indication of the states of those who deny the masters in their hearts, and the states of those who believe in them both inwardly and outwardly. In His statement, "And if you obey him, you will be guided", there is an indication that obedience to the Messenger is a cause for the attainment of unveilings and the like. Abu Uthman said: "Whoever imposes the Sunnah upon himself, in speech and action, speaks with wisdom. And whoever imposes caprice upon himself, speaks with innovation, because Allah the Exalted says: 'And if you obey him, you will be guided.'"

In His statement, "The believers are only those who believe in Allah and His Messenger and, when they are with him upon a matter of common interest, do not leave until they ask his permission", there is an indication that a disciple should not act independently in anything. Abdullah al-Razi said: "A group of Abu Uthman’s companions asked him for advice, so he said: 'You must hold fast to the community of the religion, and beware of opposing the elders and entering into any acts of worship except with their permission and consultation. And comfort the needy with what you are able. If you do that, I hope that Allah the Exalted will not let any effort of yours go to waste.'"

"Do not make the calling of the Messenger among yourselves as the calling of one of you to another" contains the respect for the affair of the Messenger (peace be upon him). It is mentioned that the Sheikh in his group is like the Prophet in his nation; therefore, he should be respected in address and distinguished from others.

"So let those who dissent from his command beware lest a trial strike them or a painful punishment strike them." Abu Sa'id al-Kharraz said: "The trial is the outpouring of blessings along with gradual enticement (istidraj)." Al-Junayd—may his secret be sanctified—said: "It is the hardening of the heart against knowing the recognized [good] and the denied [evil]." Others said: "It is the sealing of the hearts." The "painful punishment" is the punishment of distance and the veil from the Presence. We seek refuge in Allah the Exalted from that and ask Him, the Glorified, for success to the most upright of paths; for there is no Lord other than Him, and none is hoped for except His goodness.