Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:100

"And whoever emigrates for the cause of Allah will find on the earth many locations of refuge and abundance."

This is an encouragement toward emigration and a source of solace for the one undertaking it. The meaning of muraaghaman (refuge/locations of refuge) is a place of transition and emigration, as has been narrated from Ibn Abbas, ad-Dahhak, Qatada, and others. It is a noun denoting a place, and it is expressed as such to emphasize the encouragement, as it implies that the place to which the emigrant transitions is one where he attains the cause to "rub the noses" of his people whom he has left behind—meaning to defy them.

Mujahid said: The meaning is that he will find in the land a place to move away from what he dislikes. It has been said: A place of expansion from the constriction he experienced under the polytheists. Others said: A way by which he defies his people, meaning he parts from them against their will. Al-raghm signifies humiliation and disgrace; its origin lies in the pressing of the nose into al-raghaam, which is dust. It is read as marghaman, and si’atan (abundance), meaning abundance in sustenance; this is the opinion of the majority. Malik said it means abundance in the lands.

"And whoever leaves his home, emigrating to Allah and His Messenger, then death overtakes him..."

This means death befalls him before he reaches his destination and lays down the burdens of his journey. Indeed, this applies even if that occurs right outside his doorstep, as indicated by the preference for "leaving his home" over just saying "emigrating." The use of thumma (then) does not negate this, as you shall soon know, if Allah wills.

This phrase is coordinated with the conditional verb. It is also read as yudrik-hu (in the nominative). Ibn Jinni explained it—as as-Sameen stated—as an imperfect verb in the nominative case because it is devoid of any particle of nasb (accusative) or jazm (jussive), with al-mawt (death) as its subject. The sentence then serves as the predicate for an omitted subject, meaning: thumma huwa yudrik-hu al-mawt (then he, death overtakes him). The nominal sentence is thus coordinated with the conditional verbal sentence. Younus applied this interpretation to the verse of al-A’sha: "If you mount [the horses], then the riding of horses is our habit, or if you dismount, then we are a people who dismount."

In this case, according to some investigators, the nominal sentence is in the place of a jussive, even if it is not valid as a condition itself, because they are lenient regarding subordinates. They only posited the subject so that its nominative case would be valid while coordinating it with the imperfect conditional verb. Isam al-Milla said: It should be known that under the assumption of an omitted subject, "man" (whoever) must be treated as a relative pronoun (mawsool), because a condition cannot be a nominal sentence, and yakhruj (leaves) would also be in the nominative. The objection to this is that there is no need to posit a subject. Therefore, it is better to say that the nominative case is based on the assumption that yakhruj is in the nominative because the context is a setting for the relative pronoun. It is not hidden that this is a confused argument, showing negligence regarding what they mentioned.

It is said: The damma on the kaaf is transferred from the ha, as if he intended to pause upon it, then transferred its vowels to the kaaf, like the poet’s saying: "I was amazed—and time has many things to amaze—at an Anazi who reviles me, though I have not struck him." This, as stated in al-Kashf, is very weak because it treats the state of conjunction like the state of pausing, and furthermore includes the transfer and the voweling of the ha after the transfer with a damma, and treating the attached pronoun as if it were part of the word.

Al-Hasan read yudrik-hu in the accusative (nasb). Many have explained this as involving an implicit an (to), similar to what Sibawayh cited: "I will leave my home for the tribe of Tamim and join the Hijaz, so that I may find rest." Its justification there is that "I will leave" is a future-oriented expression of desire, so it functions like a command. Since the purpose of the verse is to urge people to set out, and because the condition—which bears a strong resemblance to a non-obligatory act—precedes it, it is stronger than the poetic example.

Some investigators stated that the accusative in the verse was permitted by the Kufans because a verb occurring between the condition and the response allows for the nominative, accusative, and jussive in their view if it follows waw or fa, such as in the saying: "Whoever does not advance his foot steadily, then fixes it on the level ground, slips." They drew an analogy between them and thumma. Therefore, what is mentioned in the poetry is not a true counterpart to the verse. It is also said that it is a coordination of an assumed verbal noun with an assumed verbal noun, such as "Grant me honor and honor me," meaning: "Let there be honor from you and honor from me." The meaning is: "Whoever manifests a departure from his home and death overtakes him, his reward has [already] fallen upon Allah."

This means it has become obligatory by the requirement of His promise and His grace, and this is the answer to the condition. In pairing this condition with the previous one, there is evidence that the emigrant has one of two good outcomes: either he defies the enemies of Allah and humiliates them by his departure from them and his connection to goodness and abundance, or death overtakes him and he reaches true happiness and everlasting bliss.

The verse contains an obvious exaggeration in encouragement. It has been said: The apparent requirement would be, "Whoever emigrates to Allah and His Messenger and dies, He will reward him." However, "Whoever leaves his home as an emigrant" was chosen over "Whoever emigrates" for the reasons we indicated earlier. The placing of "death overtakes him" in place of "dies" is to signal Allah's immense pleasure, implying that death is like a gift from Him—the Almighty—to the person, because it is the cause for attaining the permanent bliss that can only be reached through death. Thumma (then) was used instead of waw (and) to complete this subtlety, indicating that the rank of departing is below this rank.

"His reward has fallen upon Allah" was placed in the stead of "He will reward him" to signify necessity, firmness, and that the reward is immense—its magnitude cannot be estimated, nor its essence fathomed, because it is upon the Most Holy Being, designated by that All-Comprehensive Name.

According to az-Zamakhshari: The benefit of thumma yudrik-hu is to clarify that the reward is established if death—not the failure of the deed—occurs. There is a difference of opinion regarding whom this was revealed about. Ibn Jarir narrated from Ibn Jubayr that it was revealed about Jundub ibn Damra. He had reached the saying of the Almighty: "Indeed, those whom the angels take [in death] while they are wronging themselves..." while he was in Mecca. When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sent this to the Muslims, he said to his sons, "Carry me, for I am not among the oppressed, and I know the way. I will not spend the night in Mecca." They carried him on a litter heading toward Medina. He was a very old man, and he died in at-Tan'im. When death overtook him, he began to strike his right hand upon his left, saying, "O Allah, this is for You, and this is for Your Messenger. I pledge to You what I pledge to Your Messenger." When news of his death reached the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), they said, "I wish he had died in Medina," so this verse was revealed.

Ash-Sha’bi narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) that it was revealed about Aksam ibn Sayfi when he embraced Islam and died while emigrating. Ibn Abi Hatim narrated via Hisham ibn Urwah from his father az-Zubayr that it was revealed about Khalid ibn Hizam, who had emigrated to Abyssinia, but a snake bit him on the way and he died. Other narrations exist as well. At any rate, the intended meaning is the universality of the wording, not the specificity of the cause.

Many others have mentioned that anyone who sets out for a matter in which there is reward—such as seeking knowledge, performing Hajj, earning a lawful living, or visiting a friend or a righteous person—and dies before reaching the destination, his ruling is the same. Abu Ya’la and al-Bayhaqi narrated from Abu Huraira who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever goes out for Hajj and dies, the reward of a pilgrim is written for him until the Day of Resurrection. Whoever goes out for Umrah and dies, the reward of one performing Umrah is written for him until the Day of Resurrection. Whoever goes out to fight in the cause of Allah the Almighty and dies, the reward of a fighter is written for him." If he dies on the way, his share of the spoils is not mandated; the correct view is the affirmation of the otherworldly reward only.

"And Allah is ever Forgiving..."—exaggerated in forgiveness, so He forgives what preceded of his sins, among which is the holding back from emigration until the time of departure.

"...Merciful."—exaggerated in mercy, so He, the Almighty, has mercy on him by completing the reward for his emigration and his intention.