Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:139

"Those who take the disbelievers as allies..."

The phrase is in the accusative or nominative case, denoting censure, with the meaning: "I intend by them 'those who'..." or "They are 'those who...'." It is also permissible for it to be in the accusative case as a continuation of the description of the hypocrites, and the presence of an intervening clause does not prevent this, for the Arabs have permitted it.

Regarding "the disbelievers": it is said they are the Jews; it is said they are the polytheists of the Arabs; and it is said that it encompasses all of them, including the Christians. The first view is supported by what is narrated, that some of them used to say to one another: "The affair of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) will not reach completion," so they took the Jews as allies.

"...instead of the believers"—meaning, bypassing the alliance of the believers. This is a circumstantial qualifier (hal) for the subject of "take."

"Do they seek..."—meaning, the hypocrites.

"...with them"—meaning, with the disbelievers.

"...honor"—meaning, strength and invincibility. Its root denotes hardness; from this, it is said that hard earth is ‘azaz. The interrogative is for the purpose of denial, and the sentence is parenthetical, confirming what preceded it. It is also said it is for mockery, or for expressing astonishment.

"For all honor belongs to Allah"—meaning, it is exclusive to Him, the Exalted, and He gives it to whom He wills. He, the Glorified, has decreed it for His allies, as He, the Exalted in Majesty, said: "And to Allah belongs honor, and to His Messenger, and to the believers."

This sentence provides the reason for the nullity of their opinion and the disappointment of their hopes, as implied by the interrogative of denial. It is also said to be an explanation of the aspect of mockery or astonishment. It is also said to be the response to an implied conditional, meaning: "If they seek honor from these, then honor belongs to Allah, etc." According to this estimation, it stands in the place of the response, not that it is the response in reality.

As for "all" (jami'an), it is said to be a circumstantial qualifier for the pronoun in the prepositional phrase, as it relies upon the subject (mubtada'). There is no omitted genitive (mudaf) in the speech, such as "for the allies" (li-awliya') as some have claimed. Regarding His statement, the Glorified: [continues...]