Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:47

"O you who have been given the Scripture," [the verse was revealed,] as as-Suddi said, concerning Zayd ibn Tabut and Malik ibn al-Sayf. Al-Bayhaqi recorded in al-Dala’il and others from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) spoke to the leaders of the Jewish rabbis, among them Abdullah ibn Suriya and Ka'b ibn Asad, and said to them: "O assembly of Jews, fear Allah and embrace Islam; for by Allah, you know that what I have brought to you is the truth." They replied: "We do not acknowledge that, O Muhammad." Thereupon, Allah Almighty revealed this verse concerning them. It is not hidden that the significance lies in the generality of the expression; it encompasses those whose states and sayings were narrated, as well as others. To limit the address to the former group specifically by way of iltifat (shift in mode of address), or to suggest that describing them as being given the Scripture at one time and as being given a portion of it at another is for the sake of giving each context its due share, is very far-fetched.

Since the detailed account of those states and sayings constitutes one of the settings that could incite those addressed to abandon the misguidance they are upon, He followed it up with a command to hasten toward the path of guidance, coupled with warning, intimidation, and severe threat regarding non-compliance. Thus, the Glorified said: "Believe," with a legal, religious belief, "in what We have sent down," meaning in that which We revealed from Our presence to Our Messenger Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) of the Quran, "confirming what is with you," of the Torah that has not been altered. The manner in which the Quran confirms it has already been mentioned. He referred to the Torah with that which was mentioned to signal their complete awareness of the reality of the situation, which leads to the knowledge that the Quran is a confirmation of it.

"Before We obliterate faces," [this phrase] is connected to the command, serving to urge immediate compliance due to the threat contained therein, presented in the most eloquent and emphatic manner. It does not explicitly state that the threatened event is contingent upon disobedience, nor does it explicitly declare its occurrence upon such disobedience, as a warning that this is a finalized matter, exempt from the need for notification, and that it is on the verge of happening, directed toward those addressed. In making the word "faces" indefinite, there is an intimidation of the gravity of the affair, along with a subtle and effective appeal. The original meaning of tams (obliteration) is the uprooting of the trace of something. The intended meaning is: Believe before We erase what the Creator has inscribed with the pen of His power on the tablets of faces—from the nun of the eyebrow, the sad of the eye, the alif of the nose, and the mim of the mouth—so that We make them like the foot of a camel or the hoof of an animal. This was narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both).

Al-Farra, al-Balkhi, and Husayn al-Maghribi said: The meaning is, believe before We make the faces [like] the places where hair grows, like the faces of apes.

"And turn them toward their backs" (or: and make them like their backs): Meaning, We make them in the form of their rears and their napes, obliterated like them, for there is no feature-rendering behind the face, and it is a place where hair grows. The conjunction with fa (and/so) is either based on the intention of "We intend to obliterate," or by considering the conjunction as one of detailing after generalization. From 'Atiyah al-'Awfi: The meaning is that We invert them after obliteration by placing the eyes that are in them and what is with them onto the back of the neck; thus the conjunction with fa is apparent.

It is said: "Faces" refers to the dignitaries (wujaha'), on the premise that obliteration means absolute change. That is, before We change the states of their dignitaries, stripping them of their status and favor, and reversing them in ignominy and retreat; or that We return them to where they came from, which is Adhru'at in the Levant. Thus, the meaning is the expulsion of the Banu Nadir. Ibn Zayd adopted this meaning, though it is weakened by the fact that the context of intensifying the threat and generalizing the warning to everyone does not support it.

There is a difference of opinion as to whether the threat was for it to occur in this world or in the Hereafter. A group said: It was for it to occur in this world, and they supported this with what Ibn Jarir recorded from Isa ibn al-Mughirah, who said: We were discussing the conversion of Ka'b in the presence of Ibrahim. He said: Ka'b embraced Islam during the time of Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). He arrived, intending to go to Jerusalem, and passed through Medina. Umar went out to him and said: "O Ka'b, embrace Islam!" He replied: "Do you not read in your Book: 'The example of those who were entrusted with the Torah and then did not take it on is like that of a donkey carrying books,' and I have carried the Torah?" Then [Umar] left him. Then [Ka'b] went out until he reached Homs. He heard a man from its people reading this verse, and he said: "O Lord, I believe; O Lord, I embrace Islam," fearing that its threat would strike him. Then he returned and went to his family in Yemen, and later brought them back as Muslims. It is narrated that when Abdullah ibn Salam arrived from the Levant, having heard this verse, he came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) before going to his family, embraced Islam, and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I did not think I would reach you until my face had turned to the back of my head."

Then they differed. Al-Mubarrad said: It is an event still awaited, and there must be an obliteration and metamorphosis among the Jews before the establishment of the Hour. He supported this by the indefiniteness of "faces" and the use of the third-person pronoun in what follows. The Sheikh al-Islam objected to this, arguing that it is far from the wisdom of the All-Mighty, the All-Wise for the promised punishment to be diverted from their ancestors—who were the ones who witnessed the proofs of prophethood in the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), yet denied them; who were in the Torah, yet distorted it; who persisted in disbelief and misguidance; and to whom the address of direct warning was directed—and instead have it descend upon those of their progeny who came after many years had passed, who were misled by their misguidance and acted upon the laws of error they established.

The answer is that the custom of Allah Almighty has been with the Jews that He takes vengeance upon their successors for what their predecessors did, even if the aspect of wisdom in it is not known. If we concede this, it does not remove the remoteness in this case. Al-Bursi said: This threat was directed at them [only] if none of them believed. A group of their rabbis did believe, so it did not occur, and it was lifted from the rest. It was also objected that if the conversion of some was not a reason to confirm the descent of the punishment upon the remainder—due to their intensified denial and obstinacy after the truth became clearer and the argument was established against them by the testimony of their most upright peers—then at the very least, it should not have been a reason for lifting it from them. In reply, it is said: If it is permissible for Him to send down affliction upon a people due to the disobedience of some among them, as His saying indicates: "And fear a trial that will not strike those who have wronged among you exclusively," then it is even more permissible to lift it from all of them due to the obedience of some, as a matter of priority; for He is the All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful, whose mercy has preceded His wrath.

There have indeed come reports indicating the occurrence of this, and the claim of a distinction is one that can hardly be accepted.

It is said: The threat was for one of the two things to occur, as His saying indicates: "Or We curse them as We cursed the companions of the Sabbath." If the first did not occur, there is no dispute in the occurrence of the second, for the Jews are cursed in every tongue and in every era. The curse is in its apparent meaning, and the intent of the comparison to the cursing of the companions of the Sabbath is exaggeration in its description. It was objected that the curse that occurred upon them is what tongues have circulated, and it is far from being suitable as a judgment for this threat or a deterrent for the obstinate against disobedience. Therefore, the "curse" here is disgrace by metamorphosis and making them apes and swine, as Ibn al-Mundhir recorded from al-Dahhak, and Ibn Jarir from al-Hasan. This is supported by the appearance of the comparison. There is no trace of evidence in its conjunction with obliteration and turning to the backs that it implies the same thing, because it is an expression that differs from what it is conjoined to. The argument for the difference between the curse and the metamorphosis based on His saying: "Say, 'Shall I inform you of [what is] worse than that as a penalty from Allah? [It is that of] those whom Allah has cursed and with whom He became angry and made of them apes and swine,'" does not yield more than its difference from the metamorphosis in that [specific] verse.

Al-Balkhi and al-Jubba'i held that the threat was for the occurrence of what was mentioned in the Hereafter at the Resurrection, and one of the two things, or both by way of distribution, will occur therein. The response to what was narrated from the two rabbis—which appears to indicate that this is in this world—is that it is based on caution and the overwhelming fear suitable to their state. It is reported that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to frequently enter and exit his chambers and would have no rest when the wind intensified, saying: "I fear that the Hour may be established," despite his knowledge (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that before its establishment, there are [signs such as] the Qa'im (the Mahdi), Jesus (peace be upon him), the Dajjal (the cursed one), the Beast, the rising of the sun from the west, and other things which he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) related to us.

Some allowed, on the premise that the threat is for the Hereafter, that "obliteration" and "turning to the backs" could mean sealing the eye and the mouth and impressing [stamps] upon them. Allah Almighty said: "We would have obliterated their eyes" and "This day We will seal their mouths." Some who claimed that this is in this world permitted something similar, saying: The meaning is, believe before We obliterate faces by blinding the vision from reflecting, and deafening the ears from listening to the truth by [sealing/impressing], and turning them away from guidance toward misguidance. This was narrated from al-Dahhak, and Abu al-Jarud recorded it from Abu Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with them both).

The truth is that the verse is not an explicit text regarding whether this is in this world or in the Hereafter; rather, what is prompted by it, according to the context, is that it is in this world, because it is more effective as a deterrent. This is the basis of what was narrated from the two rabbis. However, because there is obscurity and the possibility that it occurred without reaching us, [some]—as in al-Taysir, which is not to be paid attention to—favored the possibility of it being in the Hereafter. Regardless, the secret in singling them out for this punishment among all punishments, as the Sheikh al-Islam said, is the observance of the correspondence between it and the crime that necessitated it, which is distortion and alteration; and the doer and the one content with it are the same. The pronoun in "We curse them" refers to the possessors of the faces, or to those who are on the path of iltifat, because after the address is completed, the apparent requires the second person, whereas before it, the apparent is the third person. Using the address is permissible, but it is not eloquent, like the saying: "O you whose separation is hard for us, our existence after you is non-existence." Or it refers to the faces, if meant by it is the dignitaries. "And the command of Allah" to bring about some of the things—the command here means its known meaning, or it is possible that it means one of the affairs, and that is perhaps more apparent: that is, His threat or what He has judged and decreed, "is fulfilled," effective, occurring in the present, or destined to be in the future, inevitably. Included in this is what you were threatened with, as a primary inclusion. The sentence is a parenthetical confirmation of what preceded it, and placing the Name of Majesty in place of the pronoun is by way of iltifat, as passed more than once.