Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:89

"(They wish that you reject faith)" is an exposition of their extremism, their persistence in disbelief, and their undertaking to lead others astray, following the exposition of their disbelief and error within themselves. "Law" (لو) is a particle of masdariyyah (nominalization) with no answer (counter-factual conditional), meaning: they wish for your disbelief. The saying of the Almighty, "(as they have disbelieved)," is an adjective for a deleted masdar (infinitive), and "ma" (ما) is a particle of masdariyyah, meaning: a disbelief like their disbelief; or it is a circumstantial qualifier for the pronoun of that masdar, as is the view of Sibawayh. There is no indication in attributing the disbelief to them that it is created by them independently, without God the Almighty having any involvement in it, such that this verse would be evidence for diverting what preceded from its literal meaning, as Ibn Kharb claimed. This is because the actions of servants have a relation to God the Almighty in terms of creation, and a relation to the servants in terms of acquisition (kasb), according to the meaning we have verified previously.

The saying of the Almighty, "(so that you may become equal [with them in disbelief])," is conjoined to "law" (لو), and "takfurun" (you reject faith) is included with it in the ruling of the wish; meaning: they wish that you disbelieve, so that you become equal in disbelief and error. It is also permissible that the word "law" remains in its standard usage (conditional), and its answer is deleted as the object of "wish," meaning: they wish for your disbelief—if you were to disbelieve as they disbelieved, then you would be equal—they would be pleased with that.

"(So do not take from among them allies)" The "fa" (so) is eloquent (fasiha). The plural "allies" (awliya') is used in consideration of the plural addressees, for the intent is to forbid every one of the addressees from taking any one of the hypocrites as an ally; meaning: since their state is what has been mentioned regarding this wishing, do not take them as allies.

"(Until they emigrate in the way of God)" meaning: until they believe and verify their faith through an emigration that is for God the Almighty and His Messenger (peace and blessings of God be upon him), not for any worldly purpose. The root of "sabil" (way/path) is the road, and it is frequently used for the path leading to Him, the Almighty, which is the fulfillment of commands and avoidance of prohibitions. The verse is clear regarding the obligation of emigration. It has been explicitly stated in al-Taysir that it was an obligation in the early days of Islam. Emigration has three usages: the first is departing from the abode of disbelief to the abode of Islam, which is the famous usage; the second is abandoning prohibited things; and the third is going out to fight. Those who say the verse was revealed concerning those who retreated on the day of Uhud—as narrated in the report of the two Shaykhs and asserted by al-Khazin—apply the emigration to the third meaning.

"(But if they turn away)" meaning: if they turn away from emigration in the way of God the Almighty, as Ibn Abbas (may God be pleased with them both) said, "(then seize them)" if you are able to do so, "(and kill them wherever you find them)," whether in the Hill (outside the sanctuary) or the Haram (sacred precincts), for their ruling is the same as the ruling of other polytheists regarding captivity and killing. It is also said that the intent is killing only, except that the command to seize is a custom preceding the killing.

"(And do not take from among them an ally or a helper)" meaning: avoid them completely and never accept any alliance or help from them, as indicated by the imperfect tense (mudari'), which signifies continuity or repetition, which serves to emphasize.