Tafsir of Al Imran 3:189

(And Allah is powerful over all things) A confirmation upon a confirmation. The use of the explicit noun in place of the pronoun is for the sake of cultivating reverence, while signaling the basis of the ruling, for the encompassing nature of power over all things is among the requirements of Divinity. It also hints at the independence of each of the two sentences in providing confirmation.

It has been said: The totality of the two sentences is driven to refute the previous statement of the Jews: "Indeed, Allah is poor, and we are rich." This is weakened by its remoteness; if it were said, "And in it is a refutation," the matter would be easier.

(And let them not grieve you) due to the expectation of harm or the intensity of zeal. (Those who hasten into disbelief) due to their original veil and essential darkness. (They will not harm Allah at all) for the courtyard of Majesty is sanctified from the assault of the shadows of misguidance. Or, the meaning is: They will not harm you, O Greatest Manifestation, except that He, the Exalted, has placed His own Self in the place of the Self of the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him. In the verse, there is an allusion to separation and union.

(Allah desires that He should not give them a share in the Hereafter, and for them is a great punishment) due to the greatness of their veil and their looking toward others.

(Indeed, those who purchased disbelief) and took it by replacing faith with it, due to their wretched capacity and their evil choice which was not ordained—(they will not harm Allah at all), but they harm their own souls by depriving them of the manifestation of Beauty. (And for them is a painful punishment) for having become, through that, a manifestation of Majesty.

(And do not think that those who disbelieved—that We extend for them) and increase their respite—(is good for their souls) that they might benefit from it in drawing near to Us. (We only extend for them that they may increase in sin) because of that, due to their increase in veil upon veil and distance upon distance. (And for them is a humiliating punishment) due to the excessiveness of their distance from the source of Might.

(Allah was not to leave the believers in that which you are upon) of outward Islam and the confirmation of the tongue, (until He distinguishes the wicked) from the qualities of the soul, the portions of Satan, and the promptings of desire, (from the good) which are the qualities of the heart, such as sincerity, certainty, unveiling, the witnessing of the spirit, and the intimate conversation and discourse of the secret. This occurs through the manifestation of trials and calamities among you.

(And Allah was not to inform you of the unseen)—that is, the unseen of your own existence, regarding the truths hidden within you—without the intermediary of the Messenger, due to the distance, the lack of suitability, and the absence of the capacity to receive from Him, Glorified be He. (But Allah chooses from His messengers whom He wills), so He informs him of that, and He guides you to what was hidden from you of the treasures of your existence and its secrets, due to the kinship between you and Him.

(So believe in Allah and His messengers) through confirmation and holding fast to the Sharia, so that you may be enabled to receive from them. (And if you believe) after that—the true faith attained through spiritual wayfaring and following the path—(and are pious) toward the veils and obstacles, (then for you is a great reward) of unveiling the Truth.

It is sometimes said: Allah, the Exalted, has Unseens: the Unseen of the Manifest, the Unseen of the Hidden, the Unseen of the Unseen, the Secret of the Unseen, and the Unseen of the Secret. The Unseen of the Manifest is what He, the Glorified, informed of regarding the affairs of the Hereafter. The Unseen of the Hidden is the unseen of the predestined things concealed from the hearts of the others. The Unseen of the Unseen is the secret of the attributes in the actions. The Secret of the Unseen is the light of the Essence in the attribute. The Unseen of the Secret is the unseen of Eternity and the secret of the Truth.

Attaining information through an intermediary regarding all except the last is a reality for the wayfarers according to their ranks. As for attaining information regarding the last, it does not happen to anyone at all, for the Pre-Eternity is exalted above being grasped. The prophet of ours, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, was favored with that meaning by seeing it in the manner of unveiling and the smile of the morning of Pre-Eternity upon his face, not in the manner of encompassing or grasping.

(And do not think those who are stingy with what Allah has given them of His bounty)—of wealth, knowledge, power, or soul—and do not spend it in the way of Allah upon those who deserve it, or those prepared for it, or the prophets and the truthful in defending them, or in annihilating the self in Allah, the Exalted—(is better for them; rather, it is worse for them) due to their being veiled by it. (They will be circled with what they were stingy with on the Day of Resurrection) and they will be bound to its consequence, and it will remain as a regret in their hearts when they perish, as alluded to by His saying: (And to Allah belongs the inheritance of the heavens and the earth).

Some of the knowers have mentioned that one of the greatest types of stinginess is concealing secrets from those who deserve them, not manifesting the gifts of Allah, the Exalted, upon the disciples, and leaving them in the wilderness of the path while being capable of guiding them. It is said: The foundation of the path is generosity; generosity with wealth is the attribute of the disciples, generosity with the soul is the attribute of the lovers, and with the spirit is the attribute of the knowers.

Ibn Ata said: Generosity is the sacrificing of the soul, the secret, the spirit, and everything. Whoever is stingy in the path of the Truth with their wealth is veiled and remains with it, and whoever looks toward "other" is forbidden the benefits of the Truth and the flashing lights of nearness.

(Allah has heard the speech of those who said: "Indeed, Allah is poor, and we are rich.") They are the Jews who heard the request for a loan but did not understand its secret, so they fell into what they fell into and said what they said. This statement is only drawn by tyranny, the predominance of blameworthy attributes, and the seizure of the authority of desire over the commanding soul. It then seeks to wear the cloak of Lordship, and from here it says sometimes: "I am your Lord the Most High," along with its veil and distance from the Presence.

(Those who said: "Indeed, Allah has taken a covenant from us that we should not believe a messenger until he brings us an offering which the fire consumes.") It is said: It is narrated that the miracle of the prophets of the Children of Israel was that they would bring an offering, call upon Allah, and a fire would come from the sky to consume it. Its interpretation is that they would bring their own souls, offer them up to Allah, and call upon Him through asceticism and worship; then the fire of love would come from the sky of the spirit, consume it, and annihilate it in Unity. After that, their prophethood would be validated and manifest. When the commoners among the Children of Israel heard of this, they believed in its literal, outer meaning, which is possible in the realm of power, so they demanded that sign of every prophet until our Prophet, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, came and they demanded it of him. Allah, the Exalted, conveyed that to us and refuted it for them.

More appropriate than this in the chapter of interpretation is that the Jews—who represent the animal and satanic qualities of the soul—said to the messenger of the Merciful thought and Divine inspiration: "We will not submit to you (until you bring us an offering)" which is the world and what is in it, that you make it a sacrifice to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, so that the fire of love may consume it.

(Say), O bearer of Truth, (there have come to you messengers before me)—that is, the incoming manifestations of the Truth—(with clear proofs)—with blinding arguments—(and with that which you spoke of), which is making the world and what is in it an offering. (Why, then, did you kill them?)—that is, you overcame them and erased them until you left no trace of those incoming manifestations—(if you were truthful) in that you believe whoever brings you that.

(Then if they deny you)—a discourse to the Greatest Messenger, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him—(then messengers before you were denied, who came with clear proofs) for the commoners, (and with the Scriptures) for the intermediate, (and the Illuminating Book) for the elite.

It is possible that the first is an allusion to the Unity of Actions, the second to the Unity of Attributes, and the third to the Unity of the Essence, alluded to by His saying: (Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth). This is why He brought the "Book" in the singular and described it as "Illuminating." It is also permitted that the discourse is to the Merciful manifestation, and the "messengers" are an allusion to the different and varied incoming manifestations.

(Every soul shall taste death)—a ruling encompassing all souls, whether they are abstract or simple, by carrying "death" to include both natural death and the annihilation in Allah, the Glorified and Exalted. (Then you will be paid your rewards) in their variations on the Day of Resurrection. (So whoever is drawn away from the Fire)—the fire of the veil or what encompasses it and the known Fire—(and admitted into the Garden)—varied as we have presented more than once, or the Garden in the broader sense—(has indeed succeeded; and the life of the world) and its vanishing pleasures (is not but the enjoyment of delusion), because it is the greatest veil for whoever looks at it from the perspective of what it is.

(You will surely be tested) in your wealth by the obligation of spending it, despite your inclination toward it; and in your souls by exposing them to what nearly leads to their destruction, despite your love for them.

Some of the knowers said: Allah, the Exalted, manifested the soul and adorned it with the cloak of Lordship, filled it with kindness and severity, and dressed it in the adornment of kingdom from wealth as a trial and an examination. Whoever looked at his soul with the eye of the adornment of Lordship, his soul was annihilated in it, and the tongue of Lordship spoke from him, and he became like the tree of Moses, peace be upon him, where the Truth spoke from it. This is like al-Hallaj, who said: "I am the Truth." Whoever looked at the adornment of wealth—which is the adornment of the kingdom—his state became like that of Solomon, peace be upon him, where he would look at the greatness of the Majesty of the Master through that adornment.

Whoever looked at his soul from the perspective that it is his soul, was deluded by the mirage, and did not realize through tasting what he possessed, his state became like that of Pharaoh when he called out: (I am your lord the Most High). Whoever looked at the greenery of the world, drank the cup of its desires, and became intoxicated by it, became like Balaam: (So his example is like that of the dog: if you chase him, he pants, or if you leave him, he pants). This is the aspect of the trial with wealth and souls, and what trial is greater than seeing the kingdom and seeing Lordship in the cosmos, which is the place of confusion?

(And you will surely hear from those who were given the Scripture before you)—the people of the station of union—(and from those who associate partners)—the people of the station of plurality—(much abuse) due to their speaking in a way that contradicts your path. The discourse is to the intermediate among the wayfarers, for they deny the people of the station of union and the people of the station of plurality entirely, as long as they have not arrived at the Unity of the Essence and have not drunk from the oceans of separation after the union.

(And if you are patient) in struggling against your souls (and are pious) in looking toward others, (indeed, that is of the matters of determination)—that is, of the required matters that lead to the objective and attaining the goal.

(And when Allah took the covenant of those who were given the Scripture: "You must make it clear to the people and not conceal it.") The apparent meaning here is the invalidity of desiring the meaning that was desired earlier of "those who were given the Scripture," and whoever carries it to that is extremely strained. It is perhaps remaining upon its literal meaning, or it is an allusion to the scholars absolutely. The pronoun in (but they cast it behind their backs), etc., returns to them, considering some of them. So reflect.

(And do not think those who rejoice in what they have attained)—that is, they are impressed by what they have done of obedience and are veiled by seeing it—(and love to be praised)—that is, that people praise them, so they are veiled by the objective of praise and the eulogy of the people, or that they wish to be praised by Allah—(for what they have not done); rather, Allah, the Exalted, did it by their hands, for there is no action in reality except for Allah, the Exalted. (Do not think them in a place of safety from the punishment; and for them is a painful punishment), which is the punishment of deprivation and the veil.

(And to Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth)—no one has anything in them, and He is the One who disposes of them and what is contained within them; so how can someone whose hand has been a manifestation for an action be impressed by what appeared? (And Allah is powerful over all things)—no one besides Him is capable of any action such that he might be veiled by seeing it.