Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:131

Thus, it is not difficult for Him to grant sufficiency after separation, nor to grant solace after loneliness. In this, there is an alert regarding the perfection of His vastness and the greatness of His power that is not hidden. The sentence is inaugural (musta’nafah), brought about—as it is said—for that purpose.

Meaning: We commanded them in the most eloquent manner. Those meant are the Jews and the Christians, and those before them from the nations. "The Scripture" is general for all divine scriptures, and there is no necessity that calls for specifying the relative pronoun to the Jews and the Scripture to the Torah. Indeed, one may claim that generalization is more appropriate for the purpose for which the speech is driven, which is the emphasis on the command to be sincere. "From" (min) is connected to "We instructed" (wassayna) or to "were given" (utu).

This is conjoined to the relative pronoun (the ones given the Scripture). It is a rule that the conjoined pronoun must be separated (in form), and it was not brought forward to be joined (i.e., not saying "Iyyakum wassayna") in order to observe the existential order.

Meaning: We instructed each of them and you to fear Allah, the Exalted. The particle an (that) is the masdariyyah (infinitive-forming), with a prepositional particle implied; its place is in the accusative or genitive according to both schools of thought. Connecting it with a command—like a prohibition or the like—is permissible, as Sibawayh has stated. It is also permissible for it to be explanatory (mufassirah) of the instruction, because it contains the meaning of "saying."

As for His saying, Exalted is He:

This is conjoined to "We instructed" with an implied "We said," meaning: We instructed you and them, and we said, "If you disbelieve, then know that He, Glorified is He, is the Possessor of the kingdom and the dominion; your disbelief and your disobedience do not harm Him, just as your gratitude and your piety do not benefit Him." He only instructed you and them out of His mercy, not out of any need for you. There is a preponderance (taghlib) of the addressed over the absent in the speech. The literal appearance of some people’s discourse suggests that the conjunction is to "fear Allah," but it is countered by the fact that the conditional "if" (in) cannot occur after the masdariyyah or explanatory an. Therefore, it is not valid to conjoin it to what comes after them, whether it is an act of creation (insha') or a report (ikhbar), nor to the verb "we instructed," "we commanded," or other such verbs. It has been said: This aforementioned conjunction is of the category of "I fed her straw and cold water" (an idiom for impossible or mismatched connections).

Abu Hayyan permitted it to be an inaugural sentence in which this nation alone is addressed, or with those who were given the Scripture.

Meaning: Free of need in His essence, independent of creation and their worship. Praiseworthy in His essence, whether they praise Him or do not praise Him. The sentence is a concluding statement (tadhil) confirming what preceded it.

It has been said: His saying—Glorified is He—{And to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens...} is a threat against disbelief, meaning that He, Exalted is He, is capable of punishing you with whatever He wills, and there is no escape from His punishment, for all that is in the heavens and on the earth belongs to Him. And His saying, Mighty and Majestic is He, {And Allah is Ever Free of need, Praiseworthy} is to indicate that He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is not harmed by their disbelief.