Tafsir of Al-Ahqaf 46:9

"Say, I am not a bid'an (innovation/novelty) among the messengers"—meaning, I am not a novelty among them. It implies: I am not bringing forth something that contradicts their ways, but rather I have come with what they brought—the call to monotheism—and I have performed acts similar to what they performed, such as manifesting the miracles that Allah Almighty has bestowed upon me, rather than bringing forth every suggestion requested. It has been said: they used to propose strange signs to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and ask him about the unseen out of stubbornness and arrogance, so Allah ordered him to say that to them.

The counterpart of bid' is khuff (meaning light/lightweight) and khull (meaning intimate friend/intimate); thus, it is either an intensive adjective (sifah mushabbahah) or an infinitive interpreted as such. It is permissible to leave it in its original form. Ikrimah, Abu Haywah, and Ibn Abi Ablah recited it as bada'an (with a fatha on the dal), which is explained as being the plural of bid'ah (like sidrah and sidr), and the speech follows a suppressed noun, meaning "possessor of innovations," or it is an infinitive used for exaggeration, or it also follows a suppressed noun.

Al-Zamakhshari said: It is permissible for it to be an adjective in the form of fi'l (like din qayyim [upright religion] and lahm zaym [scattered meat]). Al-Bahr states: Sibawayh did not authenticate an adjective of this weight except for 'adi, where he said: "We do not know of it coming as an adjective except in a word with a weak letter used to describe a plural, such as 'a people (qawm) of 'adi.'" Zaym was added to this, which is a correct addition. As for qayyim, it is shortened from qiyam; were it not so, its middle letter would be sound, just as it is in hawl and 'awd. As for the Arabs saying makan siwan, ma'in rawin, rajul ridan, and ma'in saran, they are interpreted by morphologists either as infinitives or as shortened forms. From Mujahid and Abu Haywah, it is reported as bada'an (with a fatha on the ba and a kasra on the dal), being an adjective like hadhir.

"And I do not know what will be done with me or with you"—in the two abodes [this world and the hereafter] in detail, as has been stated. Ibn Jarir extracted from Al-Hasan that he said regarding this verse: "As for the hereafter, may Allah forbid; the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) knew he would be in Paradise when his covenant was taken among the prophets. But I do not know what will be done with me in this world: will I be driven out as the prophets before me were driven out, or will I be killed as the prophets before me were killed? And [I do not know] what will be done with you: will you be my community that denies, or my community that believes, or my community pelted with stones from the sky, or my community swallowed by the earth?" Then it was revealed to him: "And when We said to you, 'Indeed your Lord encompasses the people.'" He, the Glorified, says: I have encompassed for you the Arabs, that they shall not kill you. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) knew that he would not be killed. Then Allah Almighty revealed: "It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religion. And sufficient is Allah as a Witness." He says: I bear witness for you, unto Myself, that He will manifest your religion over all religions. Then the Almighty said to him (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding his community: "And Allah was not to punish them while you were among them, and Allah was not to punish them while they seek forgiveness." Thus, Allah Almighty informed him of what was done for him and what would be done for his community.

From Al-Kalbi, it is reported that his companions (may Allah be pleased with them), weary of the harm from the polytheists, said to him: "How long shall we be in this state?" He replied: "I do not know what will be done with me or with you; will I be left in Mecca, or will I be ordered to depart to a land that has been shown to me—and I have seen it in my dream—having palm trees and vegetation."

Al-Bahr narrates from Malik ibn Anas, Qatadah, Ikrimah, Al-Hasan, and Ibn Abbas that the meaning is "what will be done with me and with you in the hereafter." Abu Dawud extracted in his Nasikh from the path of Ikrimah via Ibn Abbas that he said regarding this verse: "It was abrogated by the verse in [Surah] Al-Fath," meaning: "That Allah may forgive for you what preceded of your sin and what will follow." So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) went out to the people and brought them the good news that what preceded of his sin and what would follow had been forgiven. A man among the believers said: "Congratulations to you, O Prophet of Allah, we now know what will be done with you, but what will be done with us?" So Allah Almighty revealed in Surah Al-Ahzab: "And give good tidings to the believers that they will have from Allah a great bounty." And the Almighty said: "To admit the believing men and believing women into gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding eternally therein and to remove from them their misdeeds." Thus, Allah Almighty clarified what would be done with him and with them.

This [abrogation theory] is considered problematic because abrogation does not occur in informative statements; perhaps the "abrogated" [part] is the order in His saying "Say," if we consider it for repetition, or perhaps "abrogation" here means absolute change. Abu Hayyan said: "This view is not apparent; rather, Allah Almighty taught His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from the beginning of the mission his own state, the state of the believer, and the state of the disbeliever in the hereafter." The Imam said: "Most of the verifying scholars have deemed this view unlikely and argued that a prophet must know that he is a prophet, and when he knows that, he knows that no major sins will proceed from him and that he is forgiven. If this is the case, it is impossible for him to be in doubt about whether he is forgiven or not. Furthermore, there is no doubt that prophets are higher in status than the friends of Allah (awliya), and Allah has said regarding them: 'Unquestionably, [for] the allies of Allah there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve.' How then could it be believed that the Messenger—the leader of the prophets and the exemplar of the awliya—remained in doubt as to whether he was among the forgiven or not?"

It might be said: the intended meaning is that he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not know that in detail. What was mentioned does not necessitate the attainment of detailed knowledge, as it is possible that he was informed of it at the beginning of the affair in summary, but he was not informed thereafter of the state of each person individually in detail—such as being informed of the states of Zayd, for example, in the hereafter in detail, and the states of Amr likewise, and so on.

In Sahih al-Bukhari—and extracted by Imam Ahmad, Al-Nasa'i, and Ibn Marduyah—from Umm al-Ala', who had pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), she said: "When Uthman ibn Maz'un died, I said: 'The mercy of Allah be upon you, O Abu al-Sa'ib. My testimony for you is that Allah has honored you.' The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'How do you know that Allah has honored him? As for him, the certainty (death) has come to him from his Lord, and I truly hope for good for him. By Allah, I do not know, even though I am the Messenger of Allah, what will be done with me or with you.' Umm al-Ala' said: 'By Allah, I will not certify anyone after him.'"

In a version by Ibn Hayyan and Al-Tabarani from Zayd ibn Thabit, she said when he passed away: "O Abu al-Sa'ib, have rest, for you are in Paradise." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "How do you know?" She said: "O Messenger of Allah, Uthman ibn Maz'un?" He said: "Yes, and we have seen nothing but good, but by Allah, I do not know what will be done with me." In a version by Al-Tabarani and Ibn Marduyah from Ibn Abbas, when he died, his wife or a woman said: "Congratulations to you, Ibn Maz'un, for Paradise." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) looked at her with an angry look and said: "How do you know? By Allah, I am the Messenger of Allah, and I do not know what Allah will do with me." She said: "O Messenger of Allah, your companion and knight, and you are more knowledgeable." He said: "I hope for him the mercy of his Lord Almighty, and I fear for him his sin." However, in this version, Ibn Abbas said: "That was before the revelation of: 'That Allah may forgive for you what preceded of your sin and what will follow.'"

Al-Dahhak said: "The meaning is: I do not know what I am ordered to do, nor what you are ordered to do regarding legal rulings, laws, jihad, trials, and testing."

What I [the author] have chosen is that the meaning pertains to the negation of knowledge without revelation, regardless of whether that knowledge is detailed or summary, and whether it concerns worldly or otherworldly matters. I believe that he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not depart from this world until he was granted knowledge of Allah, His attributes, His affairs, and knowledge of things—the knowledge of which is considered an endless sea—that no one else in the world was granted. I do not believe perfection is lacking due to not knowing minor, partial worldly events, such as not knowing what Zayd, for example, does in his house or what happens to him in his day or his tomorrow. I do not consider it appropriate to say: "He (peace and blessings be upon him) knows the unseen." It is better to say instead: "Allah Almighty disclosed the unseen to him," or "The Almighty taught him it," or something of that nature.

This verse refutes those who attribute to some awliya knowledge of everything—the generalities and the particulars. I have heard a preacher on the pulpit of the congregational mosque attributed to Sheikh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani, may his secret be sanctified, on a Friday saying in a loud voice: "O Falcon (referring to the Sheikh), you are more knowledgeable of me than I am of myself!" And someone said to me: "I truly believe that the Sheikh, may his secret be sanctified, knows everything about me, even the number of my hairs." Such things are not befitting to be attributed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), so how can they be attributed to others? Let the servant fear his Lord.

The aforementioned reports regarding the matter of Uthman ibn Maz'un also serve as a refutation of those who say about those lower than him in status, or those whom the Truthful one [the Prophet] did not give glad tidings of Paradise and honor to, the likes of what was said about him. Indeed, one should have a good opinion of the believers, living and dead, and hope for good for each one of them, for Allah Almighty is the Most Merciful of the merciful.

This is [the interpretation]. The apparent [meaning] is that 'ma' is interrogative, in the nominative position as an initial (mubtada'), and the clause after it is the predicate. The [initial and predicate] clause makes the heart-based verb—which is either transitive to one or two objects—suspended. It is also permissible for 'ma' to be relative in the accusative position as the object of the verb "to know" (adry), in which case it is transitive to one object, and the clause after it is the conjunctive. Or it may be an infinitive particle, so the infinitive is the object of "I know." The interrogative [form] is the ultimate [expression] to signify the disavowal of knowledge, and 'la' [in wa la bikum] is to remind of the negation that extends over 'ma yuf'alu' etc., and to emphasize it. If not for the consideration of this extension, the structure would be ma yuf'alu bi wa bikum without 'la', because it is not a location for negation, nor for the addition of 'la'. Comparable to this is the addition of 'min' in His saying: "Those who disbelieve do not like that there should be sent down to you min [any] good," due to the extension of the negation—for if the sending down is desired, the sending down is negated. Also, the addition of 'ba' in His saying: "Do they not see that Allah, who created the heavens and the earth and did not tire by their creation, is able..." due to the extension of the negation over 'anna' and what is within its scope. If not for this, 'ba' would not be added to the predicate. Some have said: the original was wa la ma yuf'alu bikum, so it was abbreviated. Others said: wa la bikum. Zayd ibn Ali and Ibn Abi Ablah recited yuf'alu in the passive voice [as yuf'alu in the reading of others, but the text notes: "as the passive voice for the subject, which is the pronoun of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic"].

"I only follow what is revealed to me"—meaning, I do not act except by following what is revealed to me, in the sense of limiting his actions (peace and blessings be upon him) to following the revelation. "Action" here is intended to include speech and other things. This is a response to their requesting him to report on unseen matters that had not been revealed to him. The preceding address was to the polytheists. It has also been said: it is a response to the Muslims' impatience for them to be rid of the harm of the polytheists, and the preceding address was to them. The first is more consistent with His saying: "And I am not but a clear warner"—I warn you of the punishment of Allah Almighty according to what is revealed to me.

...between warning with blinding miracles and the exclusivity is relative. Ibn Amir recited yuha [as yuha] in the passive voice.