Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:124

"And whoever does of [the deeds] righteous deeds" — meaning some of them, or a portion thereof, because it is impossible for anyone to perform all righteous deeds; how many a legally responsible person (mukallaf) has no Hajj, no Zakat, and no Jihad to perform? Thus, the min is for partitioning (tab'idiyyah). It has been said that it is extra (za'idah), a view chosen by al-Tabarsi, but it is weak. Specifying the "righteous deeds" as only the obligatory ones (fara'id), as is narrated from Ibn Abbas, is contrary to the apparent meaning.

His saying, Glorified be He: "from male or female" is in the position of a circumstantial qualifier (hal) from the pronoun in ya'mal (he does), and the min here is for clarification (bayaniyyah). It is also permissible that it be a circumstantial qualifier for "righteous deeds," with the min being inceptive (ibtida'iyyah), meaning: "existing from a male or female," etc. This has been objected to on the grounds that it is not sound in terms of meaning. Furthermore, the more apparent reading is the estimation of ka'inan (masculine, referring to the one who does) rather than ka'inatan (feminine), because it is a circumstantial qualifier for "a portion thereof" (shay'an minha). Making the meaning "righteous deeds issuing from a male or female" is of no benefit, as it contains feebleness. Perhaps the clarification of the agent by "male or female" is to rebuke the polytheists for their destruction of their female children and for rendering them deprived of inheritance.

His saying, the Almighty: "while he is a believer" is also a circumstantial qualifier. In the requirement that faith must accompany the deed to warrant the reward it entails, there is a notification that deeds have no consideration without it. This also serves to dispel the illusion that righteous deeds could benefit a disbeliever, just as the mention of evil deeds harms both the believer and the disbeliever. The masculine gender is used by way of dominance (taghlib) of the masculine over the feminine, as has been said, and you have already passed by that which will benefit you, so remember.

"Then those" — this is an allusion to "whoever" by the title of his being characterized by righteous deeds and faith. The plural is used in consideration of its meaning, just as the preceding singular was in consideration of its wording. The sense of distance contained therein is for what has passed more than once.

"Will enter Paradise" — as a recompense for their deeds. Ibn Kathir, Abu 'Amr, and Abu Ja'far read it as yudkhaluna (passive voice), meaning "they will be caused to enter."

"And they will not be wronged [even as much as] a naqir" — meaning they will not be diminished of even a tiny thing from the reward of their deeds. The naqir is a symbol of smallness and insignificance; its origin is the spot on the back of a date stone from which the palm tree sprouts. From the negation of diminishing the reward of the obedient, it is understood, a fortiori, that there is no increasing the punishment of the disobedient, because the harm in increasing the punishment is more severe than in diminishing the reward. Since He is not pleased with the former—and He is the Most Merciful of the merciful—how then would He be pleased with the latter? This is the secret behind specifying the lack of diminishing the reward, without mentioning the lack of increasing the punishment, especially since the context is one of encouragement toward righteous deeds, to which only this is appropriate. The sentence is a concluding tag (tadhyil) to what preceded it, or a conjunction to it.