Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:97

This serves as an exposition of the state of those who sat back from [performing] the migration (Hijrah), following the exposition of those who sat back from fighting; or, an exposition of the state of those among the hypocrites who sat back from supporting the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and from fighting alongside him, following the exposition of the state of those among the believers who sat back.

The word tawaffahum (their taking) may be treated as past tense, with the sign of the feminine gender being omitted due to the separation [of the verb from the subject], and because the subject is not a literal feminine. It may also be treated as present tense, its origin being tatawaffahum, where one of the two ta’s was dropped for the sake of lightness; it is used to recount a past state. The first view is supported by the reading of those who read tawaffathum [explicitly feminine], and the second by Ibrahim’s reading tuwaffahum with a damma on the ta, treating it as a present tense verb derived from waffa, meaning: Allah, the Exalted, causes the angels to "fulfill" the souls [i.e., complete the task of taking them], thus they take them—meaning He empowers them to complete the task of receiving them, so they receive them fully. Ibn Jinni alluded to this. The intended meaning of tawaffi is the seizing of the soul, which is the apparent meaning favored by Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him). According to al-Hasan, the meaning is being gathered into the Fire.

The term "angels" refers to the Angel of Death and his assistants. According to al-Bahr, they are six: three for the souls of the believers and three for the souls of the disbelievers. The majority hold that the term refers only to the Angel of Death, and this is an instance of using the plural to denote the singular, for the sake of glorification and magnifying his status. It is not hidden that using the plural for the singular is not without remoteness. The most accurate position is that there is no objection to attributing the act of tawaffi to Allah, to the Angel of Death, and to his assistants. The way this is understood is that Allah, the Exalted, is the Commander and the true Agent; the assistants are those who work on extracting the soul from the veins, arteries, and nerves, and they are the ones who sever its attachment to those parts; and the Angel [of Death] is the one who directly seizes it after it has been prepared. In the Qur’an, we find: "Allah takes the souls" (39:42), "The angel of death, who has been entrusted with you, will take you" (32:11), and "Our messengers take him" (6:61). Likewise, "The angels take them."

"Who wronged their own souls" by abandoning the Hijrah and choosing to reside among the disbelievers, which necessitates the disruption of religious affairs, or by their hypocrisy and sitting back from supporting the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and assisting the disbelievers. Al-Tabarani recorded from Ibn Abbas that there were a people in Mecca who had accepted Islam. When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) migrated, they disliked migrating and were afraid, so Allah, the Exalted, revealed this verse concerning them. Ibn Jarir recorded from al-Dahhak that these were a group of hypocrites who remained behind from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in Mecca; they did not go out with him to Medina, but they went out with the polytheists of Quraysh to Badr, where they were struck down among those who were struck down, so Allah revealed this verse regarding them. It is reported from 'Ikrimah that the verse was revealed concerning Qays ibn al-Fakih ibn al-Mughirah, al-Harith ibn Zam'ah ibn al-Aswad, Qays ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah, Abu al-'As ibn Munabbih al-Hajjaj, and 'Ali ibn Umayyah ibn Khalaf. They had accepted Islam, but gathered at Badr with the polytheists of Quraysh and were killed there as disbelievers. Abu al-Jarud narrated this from Abu Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him).

Zalimi (wrongdoers) is in the accusative case as a state (hal) from the pronoun of the object in tawaffahum; its annexation (idafa) is merely nominal, so it does not render it definite. The original [in meaning] is zalimina anfusahum.

"They said"—meaning the angels (peace be upon them) to those being taken in death—as a rebuke for their failure to manifest their Islam and to establish its rulings and rituals. Or, they said it to chide them and rebuke them for the assistance they provided to the disbelievers, increasing their numbers, aligning with their army, and sitting back from supporting the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).

"In what [state] were you?"—meaning, in what condition of your religious affairs were you? The alif of the interrogative particle ma (what), when preceded by a preposition, is dropped to conform to the rule. It is written connected [to the preposition] as if it were a single word, which is why it is written as ila-m, ala-m, and hatta-m with the m [without the alif], unless one pauses on the m with an h. However, the question, as you have learned, is matched by the answer in His, the Exalted’s, saying:

"They said: 'We were oppressed in the land.'"

This sentence is a new statement stemming from a question implied by the narrative of the angels' questioning; as if it were said: "What did those who were being taken in death say in response?" So it was said: "They said in their response: We were oppressed in the land of Mecca, amidst the disbelievers, the relatives." The intent is that they offered an excuse for their failure to manifest Islam and their introduction of shortcomings into it by citing their oppression and inability to uphold the obligations of religion among the people of Mecca; thus, they sat back and remained idle, or offered an excuse for not going out with them [the believers] and joining that group—claiming that they were coerced under their [the disbelievers'] authority and that they did so unwillingly. In either case, the angels did not accept this from them, as indicated by His, the Exalted’s, saying:

"They said: 'Was not the earth of Allah spacious [enough] for you to migrate therein?'"

Meaning: Your excuse for that shortcoming by residing among the people of that land is colder than the bitter cold (zamharir), for it is possible for you to untie the knot of this matter which has harmed your religion by departing to another region of the earth where you would be able to establish the affairs of religion, just as those who migrated to Abyssinia and Medina did. Or, your excuse for not going out with the enemies of Allah, [which causes] rage to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), on the grounds that you were coerced by those tribes, is not acceptable, for you were in a position to be delivered from their coercion and were capable of migrating from their neighborhood and leaving from under their authority.

"Those—their refuge"—meaning their dwelling in the Hereafter—"is Hell" for abandoning the mandatory duty; for the Hijrah was obligatory in the early days of Islam. Al-Suddi used to say: "Whoever accepts Islam and does not migrate is a disbeliever until he migrates." The more correct view is the first one [that it applies to those who failed to support the faith]. Or, it is for their hypocrisy, disbelief, and support of the enemies of Allah against the master of His beloved ones (upon him be peace and prayer).

"And what an evil destination"—this is a structure similar to bi’sa (how evil). The subject of the blame is implied; that is, their destination, or Hell.

Some have used this verse as evidence for the obligation of migrating from a place where one is unable to establish his religion. This is the school of Imam Malik. Ibn al-'Arabi also reported the obligation of migrating from plague-stricken lands. In the book al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh, it states that it was a requirement in the early days of Islam, then it was abrogated and remained recommended. Al-Tha'labi recorded from a mursal hadith of al-Hasan: "Whoever flees with his religion from one land to another, even if it is a span of the earth, will deserve Paradise and will be a companion of his father Ibrahim and His Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)." We have provided you with what is beneficial here, so take heed.