Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:83

(And when there comes to them), meaning the hypocrites, as has been narrated from Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with both of them—al-Dahhak, and Abu Mu'adh; or the weak among the Muslims, as has been narrated from al-Hasan, and which most exegetes have adopted; or both groups, as has been reported by Ibn Atiyyah, (a matter of security or fear)—that is, from that which necessitates either security or fear—[they spread it about].

This means they publicize it, and the ba (in bihi) is extra (za'idah). In al-Kashshaf, it is said: "One broadcasts (adh'a) a matter, and broadcasts with (adh'a bi) it." It is also possible that the meaning is that they performed the act of idha'ah (spreading) with it, which is more emphatic than saying adha'uhu (they spread it), because it indicates that they performed the very essence of the action, as in the expression, "So-and-so gives and withholds." It also contains a sense of ambiguity followed by clarification. It is also said that the ba is there because idha'ah carries the meaning of tahdith (narrating/talking). Making it mean "along with" while attributing the pronoun to the "coming" (of the matter) is something that should not be used to interpret the noble Speech of Allah.

The discourse is driven to explain another crime of the hypocrites, or to explain a crime of the weak following the explanation of the crime of the hypocrites. This is because whenever a military detachment of the Muslims would go out, news of them would reach the people, and they would say: "The Muslims have attained such and such from their enemy, and the enemy has attained such and such from the Muslims." They would spread this among themselves without the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) being the one to inform them of it, and this rarely lacked corruption.

It is said that they used to stand in a position of reliance and trust upon the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and those in authority regarding security or the anticipation of victory over some enemies, or regarding fear, and they would broadcast it, causing it to spread until it reached the enemies, and thus the broadcasting turned into corruption.

It is also said that the weak would hear from the mouths of the hypocrites some news regarding the detachments—news that was surmised and of unknown validity—and they would broadcast it before verifying it, which would result in harm to the believers. This contains a rebuke against those who narrate something before verifying it. Muslim has recorded from Abu Hurayrah in a marfu' (attributed) report: "It is sufficient for a person to be considered a liar that he narrates everything he hears."

According to the author of al-Kashf, the sentence is linked to the Almighty’s saying: "And they say, 'Obedience,'" and the Almighty’s saying: "Will they not then contemplate the Qur'an?" is an objection serving as a warning to them against concealing that which contradicts the apparent, for contemplating the Qur'an draws one toward obedience to the one upon whom it was revealed.

It is also said that the speech is directed toward repelling what might be imagined in some matters as a scent of contradiction, based on a lack of understanding of the intended meaning, by clarifying that such (contradiction) is due to their not grasping the meaning of the speech, not due to its implication failing to occur. This is because a group of the weak among the Muslims, who lacked experience in affairs, would—when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) informed them of what was revealed to him regarding promises of victory or warnings from the disbelievers—broadcast it without understanding its meaning or grasping its implications, interpreting it according to their own understandings. Even if they did understand it, it might have been conditional upon matters that were lost by the broadcasting, causing the expected effect not to appear, which then became a source for imagining a contradiction. This interpretation is not devoid of merit, although the narrations of the predecessors contradict it.

Regardless, Allah has rebuked them for this, and the Almighty said: (And if they had referred it)—that is, that matter which came to them—(to the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and to those in authority among them)—and these are the senior Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, who are insightful in matters. This is the view adopted by al-Hasan, Qatadah, and a large group. Al-Suddi, Ibn Zayd, and Abu Ali al-Jubba'i said: "It means the commanders of the detachments and the governors." The former (the senior Companions) is the view upon which there is reliance.

(For the knowledge of those who can deduce it from among them)—that is, those who extract the strategy for it through their acumen, experiences, and knowledge of the affairs of war and its stratagems; or, if they had referred it to the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and those mentioned, and delegated it to them, and acted as if they had not heard it, then those who deduce its strategy would know how to manage it and what to do or leave.

Or, if they had referred it to the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the senior among his Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—and said, "We will hold back until we hear it from them and know whether it is of the type that should be broadcast or not," then they would know its validity and whether it is to be broadcast or not. These "broadcasters" are those who deduce it from the Messenger and those in authority, meaning they receive it from them and extract its knowledge from their direction. Or, if they had presented it to his opinion (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) seeking to discover its meaning and the strategy appropriate for it, and (referred it) to his eminent Companions, then those who referred it would know its meaning and strategy—and they are the ones who deduce its knowledge and strategy from the direction of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and those honored by being coupled with him.

The expression "the Messenger" is used because it is one of the causes necessitating the referral. The word "min" (from) is either ibtida'iyyah (denoting origin) and the prepositional phrase is connected to "deduce," or it is tab'idiyyah (partitive) or bayaniyyah tajridiyyah (explicative/abstractive), and the prepositional phrase is a hal (state). Placing the relative noun (alladhina) in the place of the pronoun in the latter two possibilities is to signal that the purpose of the referral should be the discovery of meaning and the clarification of the intent. "Istinbat" (deduction) in its origin is the extraction of something from its source, like water from a well or gems from a mine; the one who extracts is called "nabit." Then it was used metaphorically and applied to any act of taking or receiving.

[And if not for the favor of Allah upon you and His mercy]—an address to the group mentioned earlier, based on the understanding that they are the weak among the believers, using the method of iltifat (shift in address). The "favor" and "mercy" refer to the same thing, meaning: were it not for His grace and mercy in guiding you to the path of rectitude, which is the referral to the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and to those in authority, [you would have followed Satan] and acted according to your own weak opinions, or followed the opinions of the hypocrites in what you do and leave, and you would not have been guided to the direction of the truth, (except for a few). These are those in authority whose intellects are illuminated by the lights of firm faith, who stand upon the secrets (of reality), and are firmly grounded in the knowledge of the rulings through borrowing from the niche of Prophethood; thus the exception is munqati' (disconnected).

Or, the address is to all people, meaning: were it not for Allah’s favor through the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and His mercy by sending down the Qur'an—as al-Suddi and al-Dahhak interpreted them, and it is the choice of al-Jubba'i, and the opposite is not far-fetched—you would all have followed Satan and remained in disbelief and misguidance, except for a few among you whom He favored with a sound intellect, through which they were guided to the path of truth and were saved from the abysses of misguidance, and protected from following Satan without the sending of the Messenger and the revelation of the Book, like Qass ibn Sa'idah al-Iyadi, Zayd ibn 'Amr ibn Nufayl, Waraqah ibn Nawfal, and their like. In this case, the exception is muttasil (connected), and this is the view of al-Anbari.

Abu Muslim said: The meaning of Allah's favor and mercy is victory and help time after time. The meaning is: if not for the attainment of victory and triumph, one after another, you would have followed Satan in the whispers and thoughts he casts upon you that lead to cowardice, failure, reliance on misguidance, and the abandonment of the religion, except for a few. These are the people of penetrating insight, firm resolve, and pure intentions from among the elite believers who know that it is not a condition for the truth of the religion that it attain worldly power, nor for its falsehood that it suffer defeat; rather, the criterion for whether it is truth or falsehood is the proof.

It should not be objected that it necessarily follows—if the exception is made from the sentence that precedes it—that it is permissible for a person to move from disbelief to faith, and from following Satan to disobeying him and his humiliation, and that Allah has no favor upon him in that. Far be it from Allah that any monotheist Muslim, whether Sunni or Mu'tazili, would believe this! This is because "if not for" (lawla) is a particle of prevention due to existence. It has informed that the prevention of the believers from following Satan in disbelief and other matters was only by the favor of Allah upon them. Therefore, the favor is the cause that prevents the following of Satan. If the exception is made from what was mentioned, the effect of Allah’s favor in preventing the following of Satan has been stripped from the excepted few, making them independent in their faith and their disobedience to the Satan who invites to disbelief, by themselves and not by Allah's favor. Do you not see, if you say to one whom you remind of your right over him: "If not for my help to you, you would have lost your wealth, except for a little," how you grant your help an effect in the remaining of the "little" for the addressee, while you have bestowed a favor upon him regarding the effect of your help in the majority of his wealth, not in all of it? We say this applies when the favor is general, not when it is specified, as we have indicated, because the absence of following when it is not by this specific favor does not negate that it may be by another favor.

Yes, the outward appearance of the expression in al-Kashshaf in this place is problematic, as it makes the exception from the final sentence and adds conciliation in the explanation. It is possible also to say: He intended by it a specific granting of success (tawfiq) that arose from what preceded it, and this is better than generalization. Deflecting the problem by saying that the absence of favor and mercy on all does not necessitate the absence on some, because it involves affectation (takalluf).

Some sought to escape the objection by making the exception from His saying: "they spread it about," and this is reported from Ibn Abbas, and it is the choice of al-Mubarrad, al-Kisa'i, al-Farra', al-Balkhi, and al-Tabari. Judge Abu Bakr took the verse as evidence in refuting those who asserted that, when multiple sentences occur, the exception necessarily returns to the last one.

Some linguists said that the exception is from His saying: "they would have found within it much contradiction," and most of them said it is from His saying: "for the knowledge of those who can deduce it." Al-Farra' and al-Mubarrad objected to this by saying that what is known by deduction, the few know it and the many are ignorant of it, and directing the exception to what they mentioned necessitates the opposite of that. Al-Zajjaj countered this by saying it is a mistake, because what is intended by this "deduction" is not that which is extracted through subtle reflection and profound thought, but rather it is the deduction of news; when that is the case, the majority know it and only the extremely dull-witted are ignorant of it—though there is room for consideration in this.

Some have turned to making the exception "empty" (mufragh) from the verbal noun, so that what is after "except" is in the accusative case as an absolute object (maf'ul mutlaq), meaning: "You would have followed him in every following, except for a small following," in that you remained in the continuation of disbelief and its effects, except for a small and rare remainder relative to some. This might be by mere nature and habit.

The best of the views and the closest to the truth, in the opinion of the Imam, is what Abu Muslim mentioned. He supported the specification (takhsis) in what al-Anbari went with, because His saying: "And whoever obeys the Messenger," etc., and His saying: "Will they not then contemplate the Qur'an?" bear witness to it, and regarding what follows it, because His saying: "And when there comes to them a matter of security or fear," etc.