Tafsir of Fatir 35:32

(Then We caused to inherit the Book)—meaning the Quran, as held by the majority. The conjunction (the thumma in "then") is said to be linked to "that which We have revealed" (alladhi awhayna), and it is also said to be linked to "We have revealed" (awhayna) by substituting the explicit noun for the pronoun returning to the relative pronoun. This is considered more prominent due to the proximity and the concordance of the two sentences; meaning: We then gave it—without toil or difficulty in seeking it—(to those whom We have chosen from Our servants). These, as Ibn Abbas and others have said, are the nation of Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), for Allah the Almighty chose them over all other nations and made them a "middle nation" to be witnesses over the people, and distinguished them by their affiliation to the noblest and most excellent of His messengers, upon them be prayer and peace.

The thumma here signifies a hierarchical postponement (al-tarakhi al-rutbi), for the revelation of the Book to him (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is nobler than the aforementioned inheritance; it is as if it were the cause of it, and through it was verified his prophethood, which is the source of all good. It does not signify temporal postponement, for the time of its revelation to him is the time of its bequest and granting to his nation, in the sense of designating it for them and making it their Book to which they return and by acting upon which they benefit. If by "bequeathing it to them" one means their inheritance from him (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and making them beneficiaries of it—understanding what is in it either essentially, like the scholars, or through mediation, like others after him—then it signifies temporal postponement, and the expression of this in the past tense denotes its certainty. It is also permissible that the meaning of "We caused to inherit the Book" is: We decreed its inheritance and ordained it, as it is a metaphor of the cause for the effect; in this case, thumma is for hierarchical postponement; otherwise, the time of the decree precedes the time of revelation.

The rationale for the use of the past tense in this view is evident. In Sharh al-Radi, it is stated that thumma may come in the conjunction of sentences specifically because of the remoteness of the content of what follows from the content of what precedes it, and its lack of suitability to it, as in His saying: "Seek forgiveness of your Lord, then repent to Him." For between the repentance of servants—which is the complete turning of the servant to Him, the Almighty—and the request for forgiveness, there is a wide gap. This meaning is a branch of postponement and its metaphorical usage.

Ibn al-Sheikh made the case here similar to that in the aforementioned verse. It is also permitted that "Then We caused to inherit the Book..." is connected to what preceded it from His saying: "Indeed, We have sent you with the truth as a bringer of good tidings and a warner. And there was no nation but that there had passed within it a warner." The intent is: Then We inherited the Book from the preceding nations, and gave it after them to those whom We chose from the Muhammadan nation. And the Book is the Quran, as it is said: "And indeed, it is in the scriptures of former peoples." It is said that there is no need to consider this, and the meaning is: Then We delayed the Quran from the former nations and gave it to this nation. The order of the composition is that He, the Almighty, sent a messenger to every nation and followed it with what indicates that those nations split into two parties: a party that denied the messengers and what was sent with them—and these are those referred to by His saying: "Indeed, those before them denied; their messengers came to them with clear proofs and with scriptures and with the illuminating Book"—and a party that believed them, recited the Book of Allah, and acted according to its requirements—and these are those referred to by His saying: "Indeed, those who recite the Book of Allah and establish prayer," etc. After He, the Almighty, praised those who recite His books and act according to His laws from among those who denied them from all nations, He came with what pertains specifically to His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in His saying: "And that which We have revealed to you of the Book," etc., as an interpolation and interjection. Then He, the Almighty, informed of His bequeathing this noble Book to this nation after granting those nations the scriptures and the illuminating Book. According to this, the meaning of "We caused to inherit" is on its literal sense, and thumma is for postponement in narration or postponement in rank, signaling the excellence of this Book over all other books and the excellence of this nation over all other nations. In this view, the "Book" in His saying "those who recite the Book of Allah" is taken as a generic noun, and the verse is a praise for the believing nations after recounting the state of the deniers among them. If what is in it is repelled, it is of a high degree of beauty. It is also permitted that it is a conjunction to "those who recite the Book of Allah," and if the inheritance of the Book precedes its recitation, the meaning is literal and thumma is for hierarchical disparity or postponement in narration. "And that which We have revealed" etc., is an interruption to explain the manner of the inheritance, for if he affirms it by conforming to it in doctrines and foundations, it is as if it were it, and as if it were transferred to them from those who preceded.

It is permitted in this and the preceding view that "the Book" be intended as a generic noun. It is not hidden that the intention of the Quran is the apparent meaning. It is said that the "chosen ones" are the scholars of the nation from the Companions and those after them who walk in their path; their inheritance of the Quran is making them understand its meaning, standing upon its truths and subtleties, and being trustees of its secrets.

The Imami school narrates from al-Sadiq and al-Baqir (may Allah be pleased with them both) that they said: "It is for us specifically, and it is us they meant." They intended that the Ahl al-Bayt or the Imams among them are the chosen ones who inherited the Book. Al-Tabarsi al-Imami chose this, saying in his Majma' al-Bayan: "This is the closest of the opinions, because they are the people most entitled to the description of being chosen and selected, and the inheritance of the knowledge of the prophets, peace be upon them." This is perhaps supported by his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "I am leaving among you two heavy things: the Book of Allah and my progeny; they will not separate until they meet me at the Pool." However, carrying them as the scholars of the nation is more appropriate than this specification, and the scholars of the Ahl al-Bayt are included in them primarily; for in their house the Book descended, and they will not separate until they meet the Pool on the Day of Reckoning. If the genitive in "Our servants" is for honor, and the servants are restricted to the believers of this nation, and "from" (min) is for partitive designation, then carrying the "chosen ones" to mean the scholars is as good as certain. From al-Jubba'i, it is that they are the prophets, peace be upon them; Allah chose them and honored them with His message and His books. On this basis, the definition of the Book is for the genus, and the conjunction is to His saying: "And that which We have revealed to you of the Book is the truth," and thumma is for postponement in narration. He informed, the Almighty, first about what was given to our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), which contains the news of His granting the Book to him in the most perfect way, then He informed of bequeathing it to his brothers, the prophets, and granting them the Books. Among what rebuts this is that the granting of the Books to the prophets was known beforehand from His saying: "Indeed, those before them denied; their messengers came to them with clear proofs and with scriptures and with the illuminating Book."

From Abu Muslim: they are the chosen ones mentioned in His saying: "Indeed, Allah chose Adam and Noah and the family of Abraham and the family of Imran over the worlds." This is lower than the previous one. Regardless, the relative pronoun is the first object of "We caused to inherit," and "the Book" is its second object, placed first for its nobility, concern for it, and the absence of confusion. "From" (min) is for explication or partitive designation. (And of them is one who wrongs himself)—the Fa is for classification, not for causation as has been said. The plural pronoun refers to the aforementioned relative pronoun. The one who wrongs himself is he who falls short in acting upon the Book and exceeds the limits against his own self; this is true for he who wrongs others because by doing so he is wronging himself. The famous contrast to it is the "wrongdoer to others," and the Lam is for strengthening.

(And of them is the moderate)—who fluctuates between acting upon it and opposing it, so he acts at times and opposes at others. The original meaning of moderation is the middle course in an affair. (And of them is the forerunner)—advancing towards the reward of Allah and His Paradise—(with good deeds)—meaning by reason of good deeds, that is, righteous acts. It is said: a forerunner over the wrongdoer to himself and the moderate in ranks by reason of good deeds. It is also said: one who attains excellence by reason of them. (By the permission of Allah)—meaning by His, the Almighty's, facilitation and success. In this is an alert to the preciousness of attaining this rank and the difficulty of its attainment. It has been interpreted as the one whose obedience outweighs his disobedience and whose acting upon the Book of Allah is frequent. What is mentioned in the interpretation of the three is what the speech of al-Hasan points to, for it is narrated from him that he said: "The wrongdoer is he whose good deeds are light, the moderate is he whose [good and bad deeds] are equal, and the forerunner is he whose good deeds outweigh." Beyond this are many sayings: Mu'adh said: "The wrongdoer to himself is he who died upon a major sin for which he did not repent; the moderate is he who died upon a minor sin and did not commit a major sin for which he did not repent; and the forerunner is he who died having repented from a major or minor sin, or did not commit such." It is said: the wrongdoer is the excessive sinner; the moderate is the one who avoids major sins; and the forerunner is the one who avoids sins absolutely. It is said: the first is the one who is negligent in action; the second is the one who acts upon the Book most of the time but is not free from mixing [bad with good]; and the third are the foremost among the Emigrants and the Helpers.

It is said: the first two are as mentioned, and the third is the one who persists in establishing the requirements of the Book in knowledge, action, and teaching. It is said: the first is he who embraced Islam after the Conquest; the second is he who embraced it before; and the third is he who embraced it before the Migration. It is said: they are he who does not care where he gets from, he who is satisfied with what is lawful, and he who is satisfied with the world with what suffices for the journey. It is said: he whose concern is the world, he whose concern is the Hereafter, and he whose concern is the Master. It is said: the seeker of salvation, the seeker of degrees, and the seeker of communion. It is said: the abandoner of the slip, the abandoner of heedlessness, and the abandoner of attachment. It is said: he whose livelihood distracts him from his return, he whose is distracted by both, and he whose return distracts him from his livelihood. It is said: he who performs the obligatory acts out of fear of the Fire, he who performs them out of fear and out of hope and seeking reward, and he who performs them only out of hope and seeking reward. It is said: he who is heedless of the time and the congregation, he who guards the time but not the congregation, and he who guards both. It is said: he whose desire overcomes his intellect, he whose [desire and intellect] are equal, and he whose intellect overcomes his desire. It is said: he who does not forbid evil but commits it, he who forbids evil but commits it, and he who commands good and performs it. It is said: the possessor of injustice, the possessor of justice, and the possessor of virtue. It is said: the dweller of the desert, the city-dweller, and the striver [in the way of Allah]. It is said: he whose outward is better than his inward, he whose inward and outward are equal, and he whose inward is better than his outward.

It is said: the reciter of the Quran who is neither knowledgeable of it nor an actor upon its requirements, the reciter who is knowledgeable but not an actor, and the reciter who is knowledgeable and an actor. It is said: the ignorant, the student, and the scholar. It is said: he who opposes the commands and commits the prohibitions, he who strives in performing the obligations even if he is not successful in that, and he who does not oppose the obligations of Allah.

Some of the Imamis narrated from Maysar bin Abd al-Aziz from Ja'far al-Sadiq (may Allah be pleased with him): "The wrongdoer to himself among us is he who does not know the right of the Imam; the moderate is the one who knows the right of the Imam; and the forerunner is the Imam." And from Ziyad bin al-Mundhir from Abu Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him): "The wrongdoer to himself among us is he who did a righteous deed and another evil one; the moderate is the striving worshiper; and the forerunner with good deeds is Ali, al-Hasan, and al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with them) and whoever of the family of Muhammad is killed as a martyr." It is said: they are the monotheist in his tongue whom his limbs oppose, the monotheist who restrains his limbs by obligation, and the monotheist whom monotheism makes him forget [all else]. It is said: he who enters Paradise by intercession, he who enters it by the grace of Allah, and he who enters it without reckoning. It is said: he who is given his book behind his back, he who is given it in his left hand, and he who is given it in his right. It is said: the absolute disbeliever, the sinner, and the pious believer. In this meaning is what came in a narration from Ibn Abbas, Qatadah, and Ikrimah: "The wrongdoer to himself are the people of the left hand; the moderate are the people of the right hand; and the forerunner with good deeds are the foremost brought near." It is apparent that these and those who said similar to them make the pronoun in "of them" refer to the servants, not the relative pronoun. There is no doubt that among them are the disbeliever and others, and that the "servants" added to Allah the Almighty being restricted to the believers is not consistent; it is only so if the addition is intended for honor. The saying that the pronoun returns to the relative pronoun and committing to the choosing being according to nature is far-fetched, as is not hidden. It is said in the interpretation of the three other than what was mentioned, and in al-Tahrir, forty-three sayings were mentioned regarding this. He who tracks the commentaries finds them more than that, but he will not find in most of them much difference. What most of the narrations and traditions support is that the three categories are from the people of Paradise, so it is not appropriate to pay attention to interpreting the "wrongdoer" as the disbeliever except through the interpretation of the "disbeliever of grace" and intending the sinner by it.

Imam Ahmad, al-Tayalisi, Abd bin Humayd, Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn Mardawayh, al-Bayhaqi, and al-Tirmidhi—who deemed it sound—narrated from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that he said regarding this verse: "These are all of one rank, and all of them are in Paradise." And his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) "and all of them..." is an explanatory conjunction.

Al-Tabarani and Ibn Mardawayh in al-Ba'th narrated from Usama bin Zayd that he said regarding the verse: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "All of them are from this nation, and all of them are in Paradise." Ibn al-Najjar narrated from Anas that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "Our forerunner is a forerunner, our moderate is saved, and our wrongdoer is forgiven." Al-Uqayli, Ibn Mardawayh, and al-Bayhaqi narrated something similar from Umar bin al-Khattab in a marfu' form.

Imam Ahmad, Abd bin Humayd, Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, al-Tabarani, al-Hakim, Ibn Mardawayh, and al-Bayhaqi narrated from Abu al-Darda' who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) saying: "Allah the Almighty says: 'Then We caused to inherit the Book to those whom We have chosen from Our servants; so of them is one who wrongs himself, and of them is the moderate, and of them is the forerunner with good deeds by the permission of Allah.' As for those who were forerunners, they shall enter Paradise without reckoning. As for those who were moderate, they are those who will be subjected to an easy reckoning. As for those who wronged themselves, they will be counted for the length of the gathering, then they are those whom Allah the Almighty meets with His mercy; they are the ones who say: 'Praise to Allah, who has removed from us [all] sorrow. Indeed, our Lord is Forgiving and Appreciative.'" Al-Bayhaqi said: "When the narrations in a hadith become numerous, it appears that the hadith has a basis," and the reports on this topic are many, and what is mentioned is sufficient. He put the "wrongdoer to himself" first because of the multitude of those who wrong themselves, followed by the "moderate" because of the scarcity of the moderate relative to them, and delayed the "forerunner" because the forerunners are fewer than the few; al-Zamakhshari said this. Al-Tabarsi related that this arrangement corresponds to the stations of people, for the states of servants are three: sin, then repentance, then nearness. When the servant sins, he is a wrongdoer; when he repents, he is a moderate; and when his repentance is sound and his striving increases, he is a forerunner. It is said: the wrongdoer was put first so he does not despair of the mercy of Allah, and the forerunner was put last so he does not become conceited by his deed, so the intermediacy of the moderate was determined. Qutb al-Din said: "The point in putting the wrongdoer first is that he is the closest of the three to the beginning of the state of the servant before his choosing by the inheritance of the Book. When the choosing reaches him, some servants are affected a little, which is the wrongdoer to himself; some are affected moderately, which is the moderate; and some are affected perfectly, which is the forerunner." Close to this is what was said: that the choosing is a layered concept whose degrees vary; the first of them is what the believer who wrongs himself receives, above it is what the moderate receives, and above the above is what the forerunner with good deeds receives, so the arrangement came as an ascent in ranks. It is said: the forerunner was delayed due to the multiplicity of what pertains to him; if he were put first or in the middle, the distance between the conjoined sections would be far. Since moderation is like the ratio between wrong and precedence, that necessitated putting the wrongdoer first and delaying the moderate so that the moderate is between the wrongdoer and the forerunner in wording as he is between them in meaning. It is also said: these three were arranged in this order to match their state in mention relative to what they were promised of Paradise in His saying "Gardens of Eden," etc., to their state in the Gathering when the promise is realized. He delayed the forerunner, who enters the Gardens first, so that his mention connects to the mention of the Gardens promised, and he mentioned the moderate before him, and made the forerunner a separator between him and the Gardens, because he only enters after him. He mentioned the wrongdoer to himself before them both, because he only enters and connects to them after the entry of those two. Thus, the delay of the forerunner in meaning is a precedence, and the precedence of the wrongdoer in meaning is a delay. It is possible that there are other aspects that appear through reflection, so reflect. Abu Imran al-Jawni, Umar bin Abi Shuja', Ya'qub in one narration, and al-Qazzaz from Abu Umar read sibaq (forerunner) in the form of a superlative. (That)—meaning what has passed of the inheritance and choosing—(is the great bounty)—from Allah the Almighty; exertion has no part in it.