Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:123

(It is not by your vain desires, nor the desires of the People of the Scripture). The address is to the believers. The word amaniy (desires/vain hopes)—written and recited both with a shaddah (stressed) and a takhfif (unstressed) ya—is the plural of umniyyah (on the pattern of uf’ulah). As Al-Raghib said, it is the image formed in the soul from desiring a thing; that is, estimating it in the soul and visualizing it there. It is said, "He manna (estimated/allotted) for him al-maniya," meaning he set a measure for him, hence the word maniyah (destiny/allotted death). Often, "desire" (tamanni) is used for imagining something that has no reality, and from this, it is used to denote lying, because it is the visualization of what is mentioned and expressing it in words, as if the desire is its inception. Thus, it is valid to express it as such, like the saying of Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him): "I have not lied nor desired since I embraced Islam."

The ba in bi-amaniyikum (by your desires) is like the one in Zaidun bil-bab (Zaid is at the door); it is not redundant, though redundancy is possible, and some have rejected it. The subject of laysa (it is not) is implicit, referring back to the "promise" in its infinitive sense, or in the sense of the "promised thing"—this is a usage of substitution (istikhdam), as Al-Sa'd said. It is also said it refers to the "promised thing" included in the agent of "Allah promised," or to entering Paradise, or to righteous deeds. It is also said it refers to the "faith" understood from "those who believe," or to the matter being debated, based on the context of the revelation.

Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from Al-Suddi that he said: A group of Muslims, Jews, and Christians met. The Jews said to the Muslims: "We are better than you; our religion is before yours, our Book is before yours, our Prophet is before yours, and we are upon the religion of Abraham. None shall enter Paradise but he who is a Jew." The Christians said the same. The Muslims said: "Our Book is after yours, our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is after yours, and our religion is after yours. You were commanded to follow us and abandon your ways; we are better than you, and we are upon the religion of Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac. None shall enter Paradise but he who is upon our religion." Then Allah the Almighty revealed: “It is not by your vain desires…” until His saying: “And who is better…”.

This means: The promise of Allah, or what He has promised of reward, or entering Paradise, or righteous deeds, or faith, or what you have debated, is not achieved by your mere desires, O Muslims, nor the desires of the Jews and Christians. It is only achieved by striving and girding oneself with the legs of seriousness to carry out the command.

That the pronoun refers to "faith," understood from what precedes it, is supported by what Ibn Abi Shaybah recorded from Al-Hasan (in a mawquf narration): "Faith is not by desire, but what settles in the heart and is verified by deeds. A people were preoccupied by the desire for forgiveness until they left the world with no good deeds, saying, 'We think well of Allah.' They lied; had they thought well of Allah, they would have done good deeds." Al-Bukhari also recorded in his History from Anas (in a marfu narration): "Faith is not by desire nor by outward adornment, but it is what settles in the heart..."

It has been narrated from Mujahid and Ibn Zayd that the address is to the polytheists, for they said: "We shall not be resurrected, and we shall not be punished," just as the People of the Scripture said: "None shall enter Paradise but those who are Jews or Christians." This is supported by the fact that the Muslims were not mentioned regarding "desires," while the polytheists were. That is: The matter is not by the desires of the polytheists—their saying that there is no resurrection or punishment—nor by the desires of the People of the Scripture and what they said. Allah confirmed this with His saying: (Whoever does evil will be recompensed for it), either sooner or later.

Al-Tirmidhi and others recorded from Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: I was with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) when this verse was revealed. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "O Abu Bakr, shall I not recite to you what was revealed to me?" I said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah." He recited it to me, and I felt a fracture in my back until I stretched out from it. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "What is the matter with you, O Abu Bakr?" I said: "May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah! Which of us has not done evil? And we are to be recompensed for every evil we have done!" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "As for you and your companions, O Abu Bakr, the believers, you are recompensed for that in this world until you meet Allah with no sins upon you. As for the others, it is gathered for them until they are recompensed on the Day of Judgment."

Muslim and others recorded from Abu Hurairah that he said: When this verse was revealed, it weighed heavily upon the Muslims, and it reached them as much as Allah willed. They complained of this to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said: "Be upright and draw near, for everything that afflicts a Muslim is an expiation, even a thorn that pricks him or a calamity that befalls him." The narrations to this effect are too many to count. For this reason, the majority of scholars are in consensus that illnesses, diseases, worldly calamities, and sorrows—even if their hardship is slight—are means by which Allah the Almighty expiates sins. Most scholars hold that degrees are raised and good deeds are written by them as well, and this is the correct view upon which reliance is placed. It has been authenticated through more than one chain: "No Muslim is pricked by a thorn or anything beyond it, except that a degree is written for him by it, and a sin is erased from him by it."

Al-Qadi related from some that they only expiate sins and do not raise degrees. It is narrated from Ibn Mas’ud that pain does not have a reward written for it, but it expiates sins. He relied on the narrations that mention only expiation, and the authentic narrations explicitly stating the raising of degrees and the recording of good deeds did not reach him. The remaining discussion is whether they expiate major sins or not. The apparent meaning of the narrations—among them the report of Abu Bakr—is that they do expiate them. It has come in a good report from ‘Aishah that the servant is thereby cleared of his sins just as pure gold is cleared in the furnace. Ibn Abi al-Dunya and Al-Bayhaqi recorded from Yazid ibn Abi Habib that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The headache and fever do not cease to afflict the believing person until he is left like white silver," and so on.

It is not hidden that leaving the verse to its apparent meaning is something their speech refuses, and some have restricted this recompense to the Hereafter or to the polytheists and People of the Scripture. This is narrated from Al-Hasan, Al-Dahhak, and Ibn Zayd, who said: "This is like His saying: 'And will any be recompensed but the ungrateful?'" It is also said that "evil" here means polytheism (shirk). This was recorded by Ibn Jurayj from Ibn Abbas and Ibn Jubayr. Both views are contrary to the apparent meaning. The verse contains a refutation of the Murji'ah, who say: "With faith, no sin is harmful, just as with disbelief, no obedience is beneficial."

(And he will not find for himself besides Allah)—meaning someone who transcends the guardianship and aid of Allah—(any protector)—who manages his affair, defends him, and wards off the punishment of Allah from him—(nor a helper)—who aids him and saves him from the punishment of Allah if it befalls him.

There is no basis in the verse for those who forbid pardoning the sinner, for the generality in it is restricted to the one who repents by consensus. Once the door of restriction is opened, there is nothing to prevent us from also restricting it to those whom Allah favors with pardon, according to what the evidences have indicated.