Tafsir of An-Naml 27:10

(And throw your staff): This is conjoined to "blessed is he who is in the fire" (burika), being arranged with it in the sequence of interpreting the call [from the fire]. Or, the meaning is: "He was called to that He is blessed, and that: Throw your staff." This is supported by His saying—exalted is He—"And throw your staff" after His saying, "O Moses, indeed I am Allah," by repeating the particle an. For the Quran explains itself, and this is what Az-Zamakhshari chose.

It was objected against this that renewing the call in His saying, "O Moses," etc., forbids it. This was answered by saying that it is not a renewal of the call, but rather part of the interpretation of the aforementioned call. It was also said: It does not forbid it, because it is a parenthetical sentence; though this view has been contested. It was further objected that "blessed is he" is an information (ikhbar), while "throw" is an injunction (insha'), and one does not conjoin an injunction to an information. Hence, it was said: The conjunction depends on an implied [verb], or it is said: "It was said to him: Throw," or the conjunction is to an implied [phrase], i.e., "Do what I command you: Throw." Yet, in such cases, it is permissible to conjoin an injunction to an information because the call (nida') has the meaning of a speech (qawl); indeed, Sibawayh permitted the conjunction in the phrase: "Zayd came, and [so did] Amr."

This objection does not apply at all to one who considers "blessed is he" as an injunction. As for the one who considers the conjunction to be to an omitted imperative, the apparent form would then be "so throw" (falqi) with the fa (so/then). Abu Hayyan chose the view that the conjunction is to the sentence, "Indeed, I am Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Wise," and he did not care about the disparity between the two sentences (nominal and verbal, informative and injunctive), because he stated that the correct view is that the correspondence of two conjoined sentences is not required in that regard, as you have just heard from Sibawayh.

The fa in His saying—exalted is He—"but when he saw it vibrating" is fasiha (eloquent), disclosing a sentence that has been omitted, relying on its obviousness and as an indication of the speed of its occurrence, as if it were said: "So he threw it, and it turned into a snake; then when he saw it..." The sentence "vibrating" (tahtazzu) is in the position of a state (hal) of the object of "saw," for the seeing here is visual (as we have indicated), not intellectual, as has been claimed.

His saying—exalted is He—"as if it were a jan (a swift snake)" is in the position of another state from it, or it is a state of the pronoun in "vibrating" via the method of intercalation (tadakhul). A jan is a small, swift-moving snake. The Exalted one likened it—in the intensity of its movement and agitation, despite the magnitude of its body—to small, swift snakes. Thus, this does not contradict His saying in another place: "And then it was a plain serpent" (thu'ban mubin). It is said: It is permissible that the reporting of it with different attributes is in consideration of its transitions between them. Al-Hasan, Az-Zuhri, and Amr ibn Ubayd recited it as ja'n with an open hamza, to avoid the meeting of two vowelless letters, even if it is on its standard form, as has been said: da'bah and sha'bah.

(He turned in retreat): Meaning he fled. (And did not return): Meaning he did not turn back on his heels, from "retreating" ('aqaba), said of a fighter when he returns after fleeing. The poet said: "They did not retreat when it was said, 'Is there any defender?' nor did they descend on the day of battle into a position." This is reported from Mujahid, and close to it is the saying of Qatada: "Meaning he did not look back." This is what Al-Raghib mentioned. This occurred from him—peace be upon him—due to a fear that overtook him. It is said: By the requirements of human nature, for if a human sees a truly horrific thing, he fears by nature; or because he thought that this was for a matter intended to befall him. This is indicated by His saying—the Exalted—"O Moses, do not fear," meaning: "Do not fear from other than Me, whether it be any creature, snake or otherwise, relying on Me and depending on Me." Or: "Do not fear at all," treating the verb as an intransitive one. This is either for mere reassurance without intending the reality of a prohibition, or for the prohibition of the source of the fear, which is the suspicion you heard about. And His saying—the Exalted—"Indeed, the messengers do not fear in My presence" is a justification for the prohibition of fear. As has been said, this supports the view that the fear was due to the aforementioned suspicion, and that the meaning is "Do not fear at all." The meaning of "in My presence" (ladayya) is in the abode of My proximity, and that is during revelation.

The meaning is that the situation is not such that messengers should fear when revelation comes to them; rather, fear should not cross their minds, even if there is something to be feared, due to their extreme absorption in receiving the commands and the attraction of their souls to the realm of the dominion (malakut). The restriction "in My presence" is used because messengers, in other times, are the most fearful of people of Allah—the Exalted and Glorious. For Allah—the Exalted—has said: "Only those among His servants who have knowledge fear Allah." And I do not know any of them who know Allah—the Exalted is His state—more than them.

It is said: The meaning is "Do not fear from other than Me" or "Do not fear at all," for the one whom the likes of you—the messengers—should fear is the final outcome, and the situation is that there is no evil outcome for the messengers with Me, such that they should fear it.

The intended "evil outcome" is that of the Hereafter, not of the worldly life, so that the killing of some of the messengers—peace be upon them—does not count against them. The intended meaning of "in My presence," according to what Al-Khafaji said, is "at My encounter," and in My judgment, according to what Ibn al-Sheikh said. Regardless, it follows from what was mentioned that the messengers—peace be upon them—do not fear an evil outcome because Allah—the Exalted—has granted them security from it. If they were to fear, it would imply that they do not trust in Him—the Exalted and Majestic. This is the correct view, as stated in the Shahabiyyah marginalia regarding Al-Ash'ari.

The apparent meaning of the traditions suggests that they—peace be upon them—did fear this. It is reported that he—peace and blessings be upon him—used to frequently say: "O Turner of hearts, keep my heart firm upon Your religion." 'Aisha—may Allah be pleased with her—said one day: "O Messenger of Allah, you frequently make this supplication, do you fear?" He—may Allah be pleased with him—said: "And what makes me feel secure, O 'Aisha, when the hearts of the servants are between two fingers of the fingers of the All-Merciful? If He wills, He turns the heart of His servant." The appearance of some verses also suggests this, such as His saying—the Exalted: "And none feels secure from the plan of Allah except the losing people."

If, by Allah—the Exalted—granting them security from that, it is intended what was mentioned within the context of the glad tidings of Paradise, it is established that the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—who were promised Paradise used to fear an evil outcome, despite their knowledge of His—the Exalted—promise of Paradise to them. From this, it is known that fear can coexist with the glad tidings, and it does not imply a lack of trust in Him—the Exalted and Majestic—because there is the possibility that there is a condition that Allah—the Exalted—has not revealed to them, for the sake of trial or other divine wisdom. If it is intended what was stated by the explicit "I have granted you security from an evil outcome," this possibility still stands, and thus fear of it arises. If it is intended what was implied by Allah—the Exalted—making them infallible (ma'sumin) from disbelief and the like, it is countered that the angels—peace be upon them—were made infallible by Allah—the Exalted—from that, and yet they fear.

In the tradition: When Iblis plotted, Gabriel and Michael—peace be upon them—wept. Allah—the Exalted and Majestic—said to them: "What makes you weep?" They said: "O Lord, we do not feel secure from Your plan." He—the Exalted—said: "Be like this; do not feel secure from My plan." Perhaps this is because infallibility, according to our view—based on the principle of the attribution of all things to the Choosing Agent primarily, as in Al-Mawaqif and its commentary by Ash-Sharif al-Jurjani—is that Allah—the Exalted—does not create sin in the person. According to the philosophers, based on their doctrine of necessity and the consideration of the readiness of the recipients, it is a faculty that prevents immorality and is attained initially through knowledge of the vices of sins and the virtues of acts of obedience, and is confirmed by the succession of revelation with commands and prohibitions. In both meanings, it does not necessitate the impossibility of sin.

As for it not necessitating that in the first sense, it is because His—the Exalted—not creating it is not obligatory upon Him—the Exalted—such that creating it would be impossible for Him. When creation is not impossible for Him—the Exalted—how can security from the [divine] plan be attained? As for it not necessitating that in the second sense, it is because the disappearance of that faculty is possible, and the fact that knowledge of vices and virtues necessitates it initially, and its confirmation by the succession of revelation, are not among the intellectual necessities. When the matter is such, security is not attained merely by the acquisition of the faculty.

Yes, some said: Infallibility is a specific property in the self of the person or in his body, due to which the occurrence of sin from him is impossible. Those who argue for security might rely on this. It is not hidden that even if the proof for this claim were complete, it is, in itself, incorrect. In Al-Mawaqif and its commentary, it is stated that this saying is falsified by the fact that if the occurrence of sin were impossible, the Prophet—peace be upon him—would not deserve praise for refraining from sin, for there is no praise in refraining from what is impossible, as it is not within one's power and does not fall under choice. Furthermore, there is a consensus that the Prophets—peace be upon them—are tasked with refraining from sins and are rewarded for it; if the occurrence of sin were impossible for them, this would not be the case. Also, His saying—the Exalted: "Say, 'I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed...'" indicates their—peace be upon them—resemblance to the rest of people regarding human nature, with the distinction of revelation; thus, the occurrence of sin is not impossible for them, just as it is not impossible for the rest of humanity.

Al-Khafaji mentioned in his commentary on Ash-Shifa, from Ibn al-Humam, that he said in At-Tahrir: "Infallibility is the absence of the power to commit sin and the creation of a preventive [force] against it that is not coercive." Then he said: "This is suitable for the saying of Al-Maturidi: Infallibility does not remove the trial," i.e., the testing that necessitates the persistence of choice. Its meaning, as in Al-Hidayah, is that it does not compel him to obey nor does it incapacitate him from sin; rather, it is a grace from Allah—the Exalted—upon his action, deterring him from evil while choice remains, and perfecting the trial. This is clear regarding the lack of intrinsic impossibility of the occurrence of sin. Perhaps what occurred in the speech of some dignitaries concerning the impossibility of the occurrence of sin from them—peace be upon them—is interpreted as legal impossibility, as the words of the scholar Ibn Hajar in the commentary on Al-Hamziyyah suggest.

In short, what the apparent texts require and what the intellect testifies to is that the Prophets—peace be upon them—fear and do not feel secure from the plan of Allah—the Exalted—because even if the occurrence of sin is legally impossible for them, it is not intellectually impossible. Rather, it is among the possibilities to which the power of Allah—the Exalted—can relate. Given the consideration of its intrinsic possibility, and that nothing is obligatory upon Allah—the Exalted, and the existence of the possibility of restricting the absolute by what has not been explicitly stated, for a wisdom such as [His] will, no infallible person is secure from the plan of the Living, the Sustaining King. Thus, the Prophets and the angels are all fearful, and from His—the Exalted and Majestic—awe, they are apprehensive. You should not restrict their fear to the fear of reverence, for the apparent meaning is generality, and there is no proof for restriction that can be relied upon by the masters of men.

Yes, it might be said that it is possible for security from the [divine] plan to be attained through Allah—the Exalted—creating in the servant a necessary knowledge that what is feared will not occur at any time, because of Allah's—the Exalted—knowledge that it will not occur as such, even if it is intrinsically possible. Perhaps this is attained by the people of Paradise so that their pleasure in it is complete; for it has been said: "If you wish to live a pleasant life, do not take anything for which you fear loss." It is not far-fetched that it may be attained by whom Allah wills of His servants on the Day of Resurrection before entering it as well. However, no sign has appeared to me that it is attained in this world by anyone. And Allah—the Exalted—knows best. Contemplate that, and may Allah—the Exalted—take charge of your guidance. The Imam narrated from some of them that he said: The meaning of the verse is: "If I command the messengers to manifest a miracle, they should not fear concerning the manifestation of that; otherwise, the messenger may well fear."