Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:49

(Have you not seen those who claim purity for themselves) Al-Kalbi said: It was revealed concerning a group of Jews who came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with their children and said: "O Muhammad, is there any sin upon these children of ours?" He replied: "No." They then said: "By the One whom He swears by, our state is just like theirs; there is no sin we commit during the day except that it is expiated for us at night, and no sin we commit at night except that it is expiated for us during the day." This is how they claimed purity for themselves. Ibn Jarir narrated from al-Hasan that it was revealed concerning the Jews and the Christians, when they said: "We are the sons of Allah and His beloved," and said: "None will enter Paradise except one who is a Jew or a Christian." The meaning is: Look at them and marvel at their claim that they are pure before Allah, the Exalted, despite the disbelief and grave sin they are upon, or their claim that Allah, the Exalted, expiates their sins of the night and the day, despite the impossibility of any of a disbeliever's disbelief or disobedience being forgiven. Included in their meaning is anyone who praises himself and speaks highly of it without a valid purpose, such as acknowledging a blessing and the like.

(But Allah purifies whom He wills) This is an invalidation of their self-purification and an affirmation of Allah’s purification. The view that this is a transition (idrab) from rebuking them for that self-purification to rebuking them for stinginess and envy is far-fetched in both wording and meaning. The sentence is an elliptical conjunction to which the discourse leads, as if it were said: "They do not purify themselves in reality; rather, Allah purifies whom He wills to purify from among those worthy of it from His believing servants, (for He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing)." The essence of tazkiyah (purification) is cleansing and clearing away the ugly/wicked, as is apparent, or as an act, as in His, the Exalted’s saying: "He has succeeded who purifies it (the soul)," and "Take from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them to increase."

(And they will not be wronged, not even by a fatila) This is a conjunction to a deleted sentence, relying on the context to signify it, and signaling that it is dispensed from explicit mention. That is: They will be punished for that heinous act, and they will not be wronged in that punishment by even the slightest injustice. The fatila is what is meant, which is the thread found in the slit of a date pit; it is often used as a proverb for scarcity and insignificance, similar to the naqir (the speck on the back of a date pit) and the qitmir (its thin membrane). It is said that the fatila is the dirt that comes out between your fingers and palms; this has been narrated from Ibn Abbas, Abu Malik, and al-Suddi, may Allah be pleased with them.

It is also permissible that the sentence "And they will not be wronged" is in the position of a state (hal), with the pronoun referring to those who are purified (as a carry-over of the meaning). That is: The situation is that they will not be deprived of any of their reward; rather, they will be given it in full on the Day of Resurrection, along with the purity that Allah granted them and the praise they received in this world. It is also said that it is a new beginning (isti'naf), and the pronoun refers to the two groups: those who claimed purity for themselves and those whom Allah purified. That is: neither this one will be deprived of his reward, nor that one of his punishment. The first view is more appropriate for the context of a threat. The accusative case of fatila is due to it being a second object, like saying, "I wronged him of his right." Ali bin Isa said: It is also possible that it is a tamyiz (specification), like saying, "I streamed with sweat."

(Look how they invent lies against Allah) regarding their claim that they are pure before Allah, the Exalted, which includes their claim that Allah accepts them and is pleased with them. Because of the atrocity of this, as it contains an attribution to Him, the Exalted, of that which is totally impossible for Him, the focus of the gaze is directed toward the manner of it to intensify the condemnation and emphasize the astonishment indicated by the speech. Otherwise, they are also inventing lies against themselves by claiming to possess qualities of which they are the opposite. "How" (kayfa) is in the accusative case, either as an imitation of an adverb or as a state (hal), based on the well-known disagreement between Sibawayh and al-Akhfash. The operative agent is "they invent," and "against Him" is connected to it.

Abu al-Baqa permitted that it be a state (hal) from "the lie," and it is said that "about Him" is connected to it, with the sentence in the accusative position after the removal of the preposition. The verb "look" is suspended by this. The explicit mention of "lie," even though invention cannot be anything but a lie, is for the sake of exaggeration in making their state repulsive. (And sufficient is that)—that is, their invention, or it is said, this specific lie—(as a clear sin) that is not hidden from being a sin among all their other sins. This is an expression of it being grave and abominable. The sentence, as Issam al-Millah stated, is in the position of a state with the estimation of "already/being," i.e., how do they invent lies while that contradicts its content? For it is a clear sin, and the one who commits a clear sin—who does not avoid it despite its obviousness—cannot be a son of Allah, the Glorified and Exalted, or His beloved, nor can he be pure before Allah, the Exalted. The accusative case of ithman (sin) is as a tamyiz (specification).