Tafsir of Al-Ma'idah 5:34

(Except for those who repent before you overcome them): This is an exception specifically for what pertains to the rights of Allah (Exalted is He), as indicated by His saying: (So know that Allah is Forgiving, Merciful).

As for what pertains to the rights of servants—such as the rights of the guardians (kin) regarding qisas (legal retaliation) and the like—its obligation upon the Imam is nullified by repentance in his capacity as an executor of qisas, for they (the guardians) may pardon if they wish, or exact retribution if they desire.

Nasir al-Din al-Baydawi said: "Killing by way of qisas has its obligation nullified by repentance, but not its permissibility." This was criticized by the scholar Ibn Hajar in his book al-Tuhfah, where he devoted a specific warning to it, saying after quoting it: "This is strange, and even stranger is the silence of our Sheikh regarding it in his Hashiyah (marginal notes), despite its evident invalidity. For repentance has no role in qisas at all; it is inconceivable that a state of obligation and a state of permissibility could coexist under the condition of it being qisas. If we look at the guardian, his demand is permissible for him, not absolutely obligatory. Or, if we look at the Imam, if the guardian demands it from him, it becomes obligatory; otherwise, it is not obligatory in his capacity as qisas, even if it were permissible or obligatory in his capacity as a hadd (prescribed punishment). Consider this." Thus it ends.

Ibn al-Qasim countered this, stating: "His claim of invalidity is patently invalid. He (al-Baydawi) did not claim what was mentioned (the coexistence of the two states); he only claimed that repentance has a role in the description of the killing as qisas, which is its obligation. As for his statement 'it is inconceivable...' we say: He did not claim that it has states of obligation and permissibility under that specific condition, but rather that it has two states in itself, which is correct. Furthermore, it is possible for it to have two states under that condition, but based on two different perspectives: the perspective of the guardian and the perspective of the Imam when requested by the guardian. As for his statement 'If we look at...' it is a vacuous argument. There is no doubt that considering both perspectives necessitates the establishment of the two states as qisas. As for his 'Consider this,' we have considered it and found his argument to stem from a lack of reflection." Thus it ends.

Our master, the chief of all, Sibghat Allah al-Haydari, attributed the origin of the scholar's criticism to what is superficially understood from the expression—that it serves as an explanation of delegating qisas to the guardians. However, if it were interpreted as an explanation of the nullification of the hadd for the killing by the highwayman through repentance before being overpowered—rather than killing as qisas—then the criticism does not apply. Reflect upon this.

The restriction of repentance to occurring before being overpowered indicates that after being overpowered, it does not nullify the hadd, even if it may waive the torment.

A group held that the verse applies solely to apostates, because "waging war against Allah and His Messenger" is only used for disbelievers. The two Sheikhs (Bukhari and Muslim) and others reported from Anas that a group from ‘Ukl came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and accepted Islam, but they found the climate of Medina disagreeable. The Prophet (peace be upon him) ordered them to go to the charity camels and drink their milk and urine. They killed the herdsman and drove the camels away. The Prophet (peace be upon him) sent trackers after them, and they were brought to him. He cut off their hands and feet and cauterized their eyes, but he did not seal them (with fire), and left them until they died. Then Allah (Exalted is He) revealed: (Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger...) the verse.

You know that the view of specification (to apostates) is a weak view, contrary to the consensus of those who count among the predecessors and successors. Evidence that the intended meaning is the highwaymen from among the people of the creed is His saying: (Except for those who repent...). It is known that the ruling on apostates does not differ regarding the removal of punishment by repentance after being overpowered, just as it removes it before being overpowered; whereas Allah (Exalted is He) has distinguished between their repentance before being overpowered and after it. Furthermore, Islam does not waive a hadd from one upon whom it has become due.

Also, the punishment for apostates is not of that nature. The claim that "waging war" is only used for disbelievers is refuted by the fact that it is used in Hadith for those who commit sins as well. The cause of revelation (the sabab) is not sufficient to restrict the ruling, for the criterion—as established—is the generality of the wording, not the specificity of the cause.

Ibn Abi Shaybah, Ibn Abi Hatim, and others reported from al-Sha'bi, who said: "Harithah ibn Badr al-Taymi, who was from the people of Basra, had spread corruption in the land and waged war. He spoke to some men of Quraysh to ask Ali for a guarantee of safety for him, but they refused. He then went to Sa'id ibn Qays al-Hamdani, who went to Ali and said: 'O Commander of the Faithful, what is the penalty for those who wage war against Allah (Exalted is He) and His Messenger (peace be upon him) and strive to spread corruption in the land?' He replied: 'That they be killed, or crucified, or their hands and feet cut off from opposite sides, or that they be exiled from the land.' Then he said: 'Except for those who repent before you overcome them.' Sa'id asked: 'Even if it is Harithah ibn Badr?' He said: 'Even if it is Harithah ibn Badr.' He then said: 'This is Harithah ibn Badr, he has come repentant, so he is safe.' He replied: 'Yes.' He brought him to him, and he (Ali) accepted his pledge of allegiance and wrote him a safe conduct." A similar report is narrated from Abu Musa al-Ash'ari.

Furthermore, the cauterization (searing of eyes) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) performed was not performed by him on anyone else. Muslim and al-Bayhaqi reported from Anas that he said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) only cauterized the eyes of those men because they had cauterized the eyes of the herdsmen." Ibn Jarir reported from al-Walid ibn Muslim, who said: "I mentioned to al-Layth ibn Sa'd what occurred regarding the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) cauterizing their eyes and leaving them without sealing them until they died. He replied: 'I heard Muhammad ibn ‘Ajlan say: This verse was revealed to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) rebuking him for that, and he (peace be upon him) taught them the punishment as killing, crucifying, cutting, and exiling, and he did not cauterize any others after them.'" He said: "This statement was mentioned to Abu ‘Umar, who denied that it was revealed as a rebuke, saying: 'Rather, it was the punishment for those specific men, and then this verse was revealed as the punishment for others who waged war after them, so the cauterization was lifted from them.'"

(And from those who say, "We are Christians," We took their covenant; but they forgot a portion of that which they were reminded, so We stirred up among them enmity and hatred...): Meaning, We bound them to that because of the opposition of the impulses of their powers, due to them being veiled from the Light of Unicity (Tawhid) and their distance from the holy world, until the Day of Resurrection, meaning until the time they rise through the manifestation of the light of the spirit or the Great Resurrection through the manifestation of the light of Unicity. (And Allah will inform them of what they were doing): This is at the time of death and the manifestation of loss through the appearance of the ugly, harmful states firmly established within them.

(O People of the Scripture, there has come to you Our Messenger, making clear to you much of what you used to conceal of the Scripture and overlooking much...): If there is no impulse calling for it. (There has come to you from Allah a light...) which Divine Providence has brought out from the hidden places of the Unseen, (and a clear Book...) written by the Pen of the Creator on the tablets of possibility, containing every perfection. Both are an allusion to the Prophet (peace be upon him), and for this reason, the pronoun is singular in His (Glorified be He) saying: (by which Allah guides...), meaning through his mediation, (he who seeks His pleasure to the ways of peace...): which are the paths leading to Him (Mighty and Majestic is He).

Some of the ‘Arifin (Knowers) have said: "The paths to Allah (Exalted is He) are closed except for the one who follows the Prophet (peace be upon him)." (And He brings them out of darkness...), which is the darkness of doubt, psychological objections, and satanic impulses, (into the Light...), which is the light of contentment and submission, (and guides them to a straight path...), which is the path of ascension through the exalted stations. It is sometimes said: The first sentence is an allusion to the Tawhid of Actions, the second to the Tawhid of Attributes, and the third to the Tawhid of the Essence.

(They have certainly disbelieved who say, "Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary..."): They confined Divinity to him and restricted the Divine to his determination (the incarnation of the Absolute into a specific entity), while He is the Absolute Existence, even above the condition of absoluteness. (Say, "Then who could prevent Allah at all if He intended to destroy the Messiah, the son of Mary, his mother and everyone on the earth?"): For all of that consists of determinations and manifestations, while Allah is behind them, surrounding them. (And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them...): meaning the world of spirits, the world of bodies, and the world of forms. (He creates what He wills and manifests what He desires of the manifestations.)

(But the Jews and the Christians say, "We are the children of Allah and His beloved..."): They claimed a sonship of secrets and proximity to the presence of the Light of Lights. Some of the predecessors said this, as alluded to earlier, and some of the later ones said something close to it; al-Wasiti said: "The son of the Pre-Eternal and the Everlasting." But these people only knew the realities and did not taste the subtleties. Allah (Exalted is He) refuted their claim by His saying: (Say, "Then why does He punish you for your sins?"): For children and beloved ones do not sin so that they are punished, nor are they tested, as they have emerged from the place of testing in their corporeal forms. (Rather, you are human beings from among those He has created...) like all other servants of Allah (Exalted is He); you have no distinction over them as you claim. (He forgives whom He wills among them out of grace, and He punishes whom He wills among them out of justice.)

(And [mention] when Moses said to his people, "O my people, remember the favor of Allah upon you when He placed prophets among you and made you kings..."): by way of sainthood (wilayah) and knowledge of the Attributes, or by the sovereignty of ecstasy (wajd) and the power of the state, and the honor of the knowledge of gnosis, or by being masters of yourselves by preventing it from things other than my obedience. Kings, to us, are those who are free from the slavery of the two realms and what is within them. (And He gave you that which He had not given anyone among the worlds...): meaning the worlds of your time, and from it is the witnessing of the light of manifestation from the face of Moses (peace be upon him). (O my people, enter the Holy Land...): which is the presence of the Heart that Allah has written for you in the prior decree according to your capacity. (And do not turn back...) in leaning toward the city of the body and turning toward it by acquiring its pleasures, (lest you become losers...) by missing the lights of the Heart and its delights.

(They said, "O Moses, indeed within it is a people of tyrants..."): which are the attributes of the Nafs (lower self). (And indeed, we will never enter it until they leave it...) by Allah (Exalted is He) turning them away without any ascetic practice or struggle on our part, or by them weakening in their dominance naturally. (But if they leave it, then we will enter."): (Said two men from among those who fear [to disobey]...) the evil consequence of clinging to the body, whom Allah has favored with guidance to the straight path, and they are the Theoretical Intellect and the Practical Intellect: (Enter upon them through the gate...): meaning the gate of the village of the Heart, which is reliance (tawakkul) through the manifestation of Actions, just as the gate of the village of the Spirit is contentment (rida). (For when you have entered it, you will be predominant...) by exiting your own actions and power. That the gate is reliance is indicated by His saying: (And upon Allah rely, if you are truly believers...) in reality, which is faith from presence, and its lowest degree is the manifestation of Actions.

(They said, "O Moses, indeed we will not enter it, ever, as long as they are within it; so go, you and your Lord, and fight; indeed we are sitting right here..."): Meaning, clinging to our place in the station of the Nafs, devoted to passion and pleasures. (He said, "Indeed, it is forbidden to them for forty years; [in which] they will wander through the land..."): meaning the land of nature; and that is the period of their remaining in the station of the Nafs. The light of the contract of livelihood would descend upon them from the heaven of the Spirit, and they would benefit from its radiance.

(And recite to them the news of the two sons of Adam, in truth...): who are Abel of the Intellect and Cain of the Illusion. (When they both offered a sacrifice...): This is as some of the Knowers have said: The twin of the Intellect is the practical, rational, functioning one that manages the affairs of livelihood and the hereafter through sound opinions requiring good deeds and noble character, deriving various crafts and policies. And the twin of the Illusion is the imaginative power that acts upon the sensory perceptions and particular meanings to obtain satanic opinions. So Adam of the Heart commanded that the Illusion be joined with the twin of the Intellect to manage it through acquiescent ascetic exercises and spiritual policies, and to accompany it with rational, demonstrative syllogisms, thus subjugating it to the Intellect. And that the Intellect be joined with the twin of the Illusion to make it sound, prevent it from the lusts of false imaginations and the false discourses of the Nafs, and employ it in what is beneficial, so that its father (Adam of the Heart) may rest and benefit.

But Cain of the Illusion envied Abel of the Intellect because his twin was more beautiful to him and more beloved, due to its compatibility with him. So they were commanded at that time to offer a sacrifice. They both offered a sacrifice, and it was accepted from one of them, which is Abel of the Intellect, by a fire descending from heaven and consuming it. The intended meaning of the fire is the Active Intellect descending from the heaven of the world of spirits, and its consuming it is its shedding the result upon the syllogistic form, which is the sacrifice of the Intellect and its work by which it draws near to Allah (Exalted is He). It was not accepted from the other, which is Cain of the Illusion, for it is impossible for the illusory form to be accepted as it does not correspond to what is in the ultimate reality.

(He said, "I will surely kill you."): due to the increase of his envy from the increased proximity of the Intellect to Allah (Exalted is He) and its distance from the rank of the Illusion in its perceptions and actions. His killing him is an allusion to him preventing it from its action and cutting off the support of the Spirit and the light of Divine guidance by which there is life, through bringing forth illusory doubts and objections in the acquisition of theoretical demands. (He said, "Indeed, Allah only accepts from the righteous..."): those who take Allah (Exalted is He) as a shield, or those who are wary of the dark bodily states, the destructive passions, and the deadly whispers. (If you should raise your hand against me to kill me, I shall not raise my hand against you to kill you...): meaning, I will not invalidate your works which are sound in their proper places. (Indeed, I fear Allah, Lord of the worlds...): meaning, because I know Allah (Glorified be He), I know that He created you for a purpose and brought you into existence for a wisdom. Among these is that the causes of livelihood are not obtained except by the Illusion; were it not for hope, work would cease. (Indeed I want you to bear my sin and your sin...): meaning the sin of my killing and the sin of your action of false opinions, (so you will be among the companions of the Fire...), which is the fire of the veil and deprivation. (And that is the recompense of the wrongdoers...): those who place things in other than their proper places, just as he placed sensory judgments in the place of rational ones. (And his soul permitted to him the murder of his brother, so he killed him...): by preventing him from his specific actions and veiling him from the light of guidance, (so he became among the losers...) because of his harm in overpowering the Intellect. For the Illusion, when cut off from supporting the Intellect, carries the Nafs into affairs from which it is harmed.

(Then Allah sent a crow...): which is the crow of greed, (scratching in the earth...): the earth of the Nafs, (to show him how to hide the disgrace of his brother...): which is the Intellect cut off from the life of the Spirit, tainted by Illusion and passion, veiled from its world in the darkness of the earth of the Nafs. (He said, "O woe to me! Have I failed to be like this crow and hide the disgrace of my brother?" by concealing it in the darkness of the Nafs so that I may benefit from it.) (And he became of the regretful...) at the appearance of loss and the attainment of deprivation.

(Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land—it is as if he had slain mankind entirely...): because the one contains what all individuals of the species contain, and the existence of the species is in the one as it is in the totality in the external realm; there is no consideration for number, for the reality of the species does not increase by the increase of individuals, nor decrease by their decrease. And the same is said regarding the side of the living.

(Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger...): meaning His saints, (and strive upon earth [to cause] corruption...): by discouraging the travelers, (is that they be killed...): by the sword of abandonment, (or crucified...): by the rope of estrangement on the trunk of deprivation, (or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides...): from the deviation and hesitation of the travelers, (or that they be exiled from the land...): the land of proximity and fellowship, so the traveler does not turn to them nor pay them any mind. (For them is disgrace in this world, and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment.) Because of the gravity of their crime, it has come (in reports) that Allah (Exalted is He) becomes angry for His saints just as a lion becomes angry when it wars. And whoever harms a saint, I have declared war against him. We ask Allah for pardon and well-being in the religion, the world, and the Hereafter.