Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:84

His saying, Exalted and Majestic, "So fight in the way of Allah; you are not tasked except with your own self,"—it is known that the correlation of restriction to these two is not apparent. The fa (so) in this verse occurs in the response to an elided conditional clause towards which the composition of the Noble [Quran] leads; meaning: if the matter is as has been recounted regarding the disobedience of the hypocrites and the negligence of others in observing the rulings of Islam, then fight you alone, unconcerned by what they have done.

Al-Tabarsi reported two opinions regarding the connection of the verse: The first is that it is connected to His saying, Exalted be He: "And whoever fights in the way of Allah and is killed or attains victory, then We shall grant him a great reward" (4:74). The meaning is: if you desire the great reward, then fight. This was narrated from al-Zajjaj. The second is that it is connected to His saying, Exalted be He: "And why do you not fight in the way of Allah?" (4:75). The meaning is: if they do not fight in the way of Allah, then you fight alone. It is also said that it is connected to His saying, Exalted be He: "So fight the allies of Satan" (4:76).

The meaning of "you are not tasked except with your own self" is: you are not tasked except with its action, for there is no tasking with [other] beings. This is an exception confirming what preceded it, for the restriction of his task—upon him be blessings and peace—to the action of his own self is among the causes necessitating his—upon him be blessings and peace—direct engagement in fighting alone. In this is an indication that the dissuasion and retreat they performed does not harm him—upon him be blessings and peace—and he will not be held accountable for it. Some researchers held that the speech is metaphorical or a metonymy for that, so it is not countered by the fact that he is commanded to task people; how then is this? There is no need for what has been said; rather, regarding its establishment, it is said: he—upon him be blessings and peace—was commanded to fight alone initially. This is why the Truthful One (al-Siddiq)—may Allah be pleased with him—said regarding the people of apostasy: "I shall fight them alone; even if my right hand opposed me, I would fight it with my left."

Abu al-Baqa' placed this clause in the position of a state (hal) for the active participle; meaning: fight, not being tasked with anyone but your own self. It has been recited "la tukallaf" (you shall not task) in the jazm (jussive) mood, on the basis that la is prohibitive and the verb is jussive through it; meaning: do not task anyone to go forth except your own self. It is also said: it is jussive in the response to the imperative, but this is far-fetched. And "la nukallifu" (we do not task) with the nun (n) on the basis of the active subject, so "nafsaka" (your self) is a second object, with the estimation of an added noun, and it is not in the position of the first object; meaning: We do not task you except with the action of your self, or: We do not task anyone except your own self. It is said: there is no prevention to that, meaning: We do not task anyone with this tasking except your own self. The intended meaning of this tasking is fighting alone.

"And encourage the believers"—meaning: urge them toward fighting and incite them to it, and exhort them, for they are sinful by refraining, as it was made obligatory upon them years prior to this. The root of tahrid (encouragement) is the removal of harad, which is that in which there is no good and which is not relied upon. The form taf’il here is for deprivation and removal, like qadhaytuhu (I removed the speck from his eye) and jaldatuhu (I removed his skin). The object of encouragement is not mentioned due to its extreme obviousness.

"It may be that Allah will restrain the might"—the affliction—"of those who disbelieve." Among them were the Quraysh. "May" (’asa) from Allah—Exalted is He—as al-Hasan and others said, is a realization. And He, Glory be to Him, has indeed done what He promised. It is narrated from Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with both of them—that he—upon him be blessings and peace—appointed with Abu Sufyan, after the battle of Uhud, the season of the Lesser Badr in Dhu al-Qa'dah. When the appointed time arrived, he called the people to go forth, but some of them disliked it, so this was revealed. The Messenger of Allah—upon him be blessings and peace—went forth with a group of his companions—may Allah be pleased with them—until he arrived at the season of Badr. Allah, Glory be to Him, restrained from them the might of the enemy; Abu Sufyan did not meet them, and Allah cast terror into his heart. There was no fighting that day, and the Messenger of Allah—upon him be blessings and peace—returned with those who were with him, safe.

"And Allah is stronger in might" than those who disbelieve, "and stronger in punishing"—meaning: in torment. Its root is punishment with the nakl (shackle), which is the bond. Thus, He generalized it. The purpose of the clause is intimidation and encouragement. The manifestation of the Exalted Name [Allah] is for cultivating awe, explaining the ruling, strengthening the independence of the clause, and putting the predicate first to emphasize the intensity.