Al-Tawbah: (129) "But if they turn away, say..."

"But if they turn away" — A shift in address, directing it toward him, may God bless him and grant him peace, as a consolation for him. That is, if they turn away from believing in you, "say: Sufficient for me is Allah." For He suffices you against their harm and aids you against them. "There is no god but He" — An inauguration serving as evidence for what preceded it, because the One who is unique in divinity is the [only] Sufficient One and Helper. "On Him I have relied" — So I neither hope for nor fear anyone but Him, may He be glorified. "And He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne" — meaning the body that encompasses all other bodies, which is called the Sphere of Spheres and is the limiter of directions. "The Mighty" — whose greatness no one knows the magnitude of except Allah the Exalted. It is reported in the tradition that the earth in relation to the lowest heaven is like a ring in a vast desert, and likewise is the lowest heaven to the one above it, and so on until the seventh heaven. And it, in relation to the Kursi (Footstool), is like a ring in a vast desert, and the Kursi in relation to the Throne is likewise. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, said that no one can estimate its scale. The astronomers stated that the distance from the center of the world to the concave of the Supreme Sphere is thirty-three million five hundred and twenty-four thousand and six hundred farsakhs, and that the distance to its convex has reached a rank known only to Allah, from whom not even the weight of an atom escapes in the earth or in the heavens, and He is All-Knowing of everything. The Throne may here be interpreted as "sovereignty," which is one of its meanings as in Al-Qamus. It has been recited as "The Mighty" (al-azimu) in the nominative case as an attribute of the Lord.

The Exalted finished this Surah with what was mentioned because He had mentioned within it difficult obligations and severe warnings, so He—glory be to Him—wished to facilitate that for them and encourage the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, in conveying it. It includes some of the noble attributes of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, among which is his being "of yourselves," for he is like a mother in this regard. His description of being compassionate and merciful to the believers does not contradict his charging them in this Surah with various difficult obligations, because this obligation is also part of the perfection of that description, as it is a means for deliverance from eternal punishment and achieving everlasting reward. Of this sort is his treatment, may God bless him and grant him peace, of the three who were left behind, as you know. How beautiful is what was said: "He was harsh so that they might be deterred; whoever is resolute must sometimes be harsh toward those he shows mercy."

According to what is narrated from Ubayy ibn Ka'b, these two verses were the last to be revealed from the Quran. However, the two Shaykhs reported from Al-Bara ibn Azib, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: "The last verse to be revealed was: 'They ask you for a legal ruling. Say: Allah gives you a ruling concerning the one who leaves no direct heirs (kalalah),' and the last Surah revealed was Bara'ah." From Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, it is said the last verse revealed was: "And fear a day when you will be returned to Allah," and between its revelation and his death, may God bless him and grant him peace, were eighty days, or it is said: nine nights. Some have attempted to reconcile the reports on this matter in a way not free from turbidity. What is narrated from Ubayy is considered unlikely by what Ibn Marduyah reported from Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, who said: "When the Messenger of Allah, may God bless him and grant him peace, came to Medina, the Juhaynah tribe came to him and said: 'You have settled among us, so give us a pledge that we may be safe from you and you from us.' He said: 'Why did you ask this?' They said: 'We seek security.' So Allah the Exalted revealed this verse: 'There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves'..." And Allah the Exalted knows the truth of the matter.

They have mentioned for His saying, glory be to Him, "But if they turn away," the properties (virtues) that they have mentioned. Abu Dawud reported from Abu Darda—as a mawquf narration—and Ibn al-Sunni from him, that he said: The Messenger of Allah, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: "Whoever says when he wakes and when he sleeps, 'Sufficient for me is Allah; there is no god but He, on Him I have relied, and He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne,' seven times, Allah the Exalted will suffice him against whatever concerns him of the affairs of this world and the Hereafter." Ibn al-Najjar reported in his history from Al-Husayn, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: "Whoever says when he wakes seven times, 'Sufficient for me is Allah; there is no god but He...' [to the end], no grief, calamity, or drowning will befall him that day or that night." Abu al-Shaykh reported from Muhammad ibn Ka'b, saying: "A detachment went out to the land of Rome, and a man fell and broke his thigh. They could not carry him, so they tied his horse near him and left him some water and provisions. When they left, someone came to him and said: 'What is wrong with you here?' He said: 'My thigh broke, and my companions left me.' He said: 'Place your hand where you feel the pain and say: "But if they turn away" [to the end].' He placed his hand and recited it, and he became healthy, mounted his horse, and caught up with his companions." This verse has been a recourse for this poor servant—and praise be to Allah—for years; we ask Allah the Exalted to grant us success for the good by its blessing, for He is the Best of Givers of success.

"Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise." When He guided them to rational faith while they were captivated by the love of self and property, He, through the intensity of His care for them, prompted them to trade that for the profitable transaction of giving them Paradise in its place. Perhaps what is meant by it is the paradise of the self, so that the price might be of the same genus as the valued item which is their habit, though there is a difference between the two matters. Ibn Ata said: "Your self is the site of every lust and affliction, and your property is the place of every sin and disobedience. Your Master purchased them from you to remove what harms you and compensate you with what benefits you." For this reason, He purchased the soul but did not purchase the heart. Some of the great masters mentioned regarding this that the self is the location of the defect, and the Generous one desires to purchase what others find undesirable. Allah the Exalted's purchase of that, despite His awareness of the defect, with a Paradise in which there is no defect, is the culmination of generosity.

Al-Junayd, may his secret be sanctified, said: "He, glory be to Him, purchased from you what is your attribute and under your control, while the heart is under His attribute and control, so the sale did not occur upon it." This is indicated by the saying of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: "The heart of the son of Adam is between two fingers of the fingers of the All-Merciful."

Some interpreters mentioned that when He purchased the selves from them, they tasted the sweetness of certainty and the delight of abandonment through the detachment from them, and they turned back from the station of the delight of the self and repented from its passion. Since nothing remained with them of the paradise of the self which had been the price, He described them as "The Repentant" (al-ta'ibun), meaning those who turn back from seeking the pleasures of the self and the expectation of reward toward Him, the Exalted. In other words, they are a people who returned from other-than-Allah to Allah and remained upright by Allah, the Exalted, with Allah, the Exalted.

"The Worshippers" (al-'abidun): Those who are humble and submissive to His greatness and pride, glorifying and magnifying Him—glory be to Him—not out of desire or fear of punishment. This is the highest degree of worship, and some call it 'ubudiyyah.

"The Praisers" (al-hamidun): By manifesting practical and intellectual perfections as an active and existential praise. The highest level of praise is the manifestation of inability to truly praise Him. It is narrated that David, peace be upon him, said: "O Lord, how can I praise You, when praise is [but] one of Your bounties?" Then Allah the Exalted revealed to him: "Now you have praised Me, O David." And how sublime is the word of our Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: "O Allah, I cannot count Your praises; You are as You have praised Yourself."

"The Travelers" (al-sa'ihun): To Him, the Exalted, by migrating from the station of natural disposition and witnessing the perfections established for them in the wilderness of the attributes and the dwellings of the splendors. Some of the knowers said: The sa'ihun are those who travel with their hearts in the Kingdom (malakut), flying with the wings of love in the atmosphere of the Power (jabarut). It is also said: They are those who fasted from the familiar things when they witnessed the crescent of His beauty, the Exalted, in this genesis, and they do not break their fast until they witness Him once again in the other genesis, having followed what the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, indicated: "Fast at its sighting and break your fast at its sighting."

"The Bowing" (al-raki'un): In the station of erasing the attributes.

"The Prostrating" (al-sajidun): By the annihilation of the essence (fana). Some of the knowers said: The bowing are the lovers bending under the weight of the burdens of knowledge at the door of greatness and the witnessing of majesty; the prostrating are those seeking His nearness, for it is stated in the tradition: "The closest a servant is to his Lord is while he is prostrating."

"The Commanding of the Right and Forbidding of the Wrong": Meaning those who call creation to the Truth and repel them from all else, for the "Right" (ma'ruf) in the absolute sense is the Truth (Allah), the Exalted, and everything in relation to His majesty, the Exalted, is "wrong" (munkar).

"And the Guardians of the boundaries of Allah": Meaning those who observe His commands and prohibitions, the Exalted, in their limbs, secrets, and spirits; or those who have preserved the known boundaries of Allah, establishing them upon themselves and upon others. It is said: They are those who stand in the station of worship after the attributes of Lordship have been unveiled to them, so they do not overstep that. Even if such things happen to them, they remain in the station of stabilization (tamkin) and sobriety, not saying what those intoxicated by love say, nor wandering in the valleys of ecstatic utterances (shathat).

In this verse is a reprimand for people who claim to be in the ranks of the party of Allah, the Exalted, and the group of His saints, while they have wasted the boundaries and breached the ship of the Sharia and spoken words considered false by the Muslims of all sects—even among the masters of the Sufis, for they made the preservation of ranks mandatory and said that wasting them is heresy (zandaqah). I have mingled with them and seen among them evils—we seek refuge in the Protector. By my life, the believer is he who speaks out against the likes of them, so beware of being deceived by them.

"And give good tidings to the believers" of true faith, who are established in the station of uprightness and adherence to the Sharia.

"It is not for the Prophet and those who have believed to ask forgiveness for the polytheists, even if they were relatives, after it has become clear to them that they are companions of Hellfire." That is, it is not correct for them, nor is it upright, for pausing at the decree (qadar) is the affair of the perfect ones. Hence it is said: "The concern of the knower does not influence [things] after the completion of his knowledge." That is, if he is certain that everything happens by the decree of Allah, the Exalted, which conforms to the ultimate wisdom, and that what Allah wills is and what He does not will is not, and he does not accuse Allah, the Exalted, in any act or omission, he rests under the canopy of the decrees, submits to the one who claims the will, listens to the announcer of wisdom, and leaves his own desire for the desire of the Beloved. Rather, he desires only what He desires, which is what the station of perfected worship requires, which is the highest of stations—below that is the station of familiarization (adlal). Our master, the Qutb, the Lordly Sheikh Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, may his secret be sanctified, had words in this station that express this, but he, may his secret be sanctified, did not pass away until he moved from it to the station of pure worship, as our master Abd al-Wahhab al-Sha'rani reported in Al-Durar wa al-Yawaqit. It is mentioned that this station was the station of his student, our master Abu al-Sa'ud al-Shalabi, may his secret be sanctified.

"And Allah would not let a people stray" — meaning to describe them as straying from the path of submission and compliance with His command and contentment with His decree— "after He has guided them" to rational unity and the witnessing that everything occurs by His decree and ordainment, "until He makes clear to them what they should avoid." That is, what is incumbent upon them to avoid in every station of their conduct and every rank of their attainment. Once He makes that clear, if they proceed in some stations toward what they were shown must be avoided, He lets them stray due to their committing what is a straying in their religion; otherwise, not. "Indeed Allah is, of all things, Knowing," so He knows the subtleties of their sins, even if no one else notices them.

"Allah has already forgiven the Prophet and the Muhajirun and the Ansar who followed him in the hour of difficulty." It is not hidden that the forgiveness of Allah, the Exalted, for everyone, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and those with him, is according to his station. Some have mentioned that when repentance is attributed to the servant, it is in the sense of returning from lapses to acts of obedience, and when it is attributed to Allah, the Exalted, it is in the sense of His returning to His servants with the quality of connection, opening the door, and lifting the veil. "And [He also forgave] the three who were left behind to the point that the earth narrowed for all its vastness and their souls narrowed for them." This is because of the perception of the Beloved's displeasure. "And they realized that there is no refuge from Allah except in Him." Meaning, they became certain of that, so they cut themselves off to Him, the Exalted, and lifted the intermediaries. "Then He forgave them." When He, the Exalted, saw their detachment unto Him and their supplication before Him, He accepted them. His custom, the Exalted, with the people of His love, when something that contradicts their station emanates from them, is to discipline them with a type of veil until, when they taste the bitterness of the transgression, they are veiled from the witnessing, and they are overcome by what overcomes them, causing them to forget their world and their hereafter. Then He pours upon them the downpour of the clouds of generosity and shines upon the horizons of their secrets the lights of Pre-Eternity. Thus, He comforts them after their despair and bestows upon them after their hopelessness. "And it is He who sends down the rain after they had despaired."

"O you who have believed, fear Allah" in all vices by avoiding them, "and be with the truthful" in intention, speech, and action. That is, be characterized by what they are characterized by of truthfulness. It is said: Associate with them so you may be like them, for every companion is imitated. Some interpreted the truthful as those who did not break the first covenant, for it is the truest word. It may be said that the root is truthfulness in the covenant of Allah, as He, the Exalted, said: "Men who were true to what they pledged to Allah," then in the determination of the resolve and the promise to the creation, as He said, the Exalted, regarding Ishmael: "Indeed, he was true to his promise." If truthfulness is observed in all places—such as the thought, the reflection, the intention, the speech, and the deed—then the dreams, the spiritual openings, the states, the stations, the gifts, and the witnessings become true. It is the root of the tree of perfection, the seed of the fruit of the states, and the pillar of all good and happiness. Its opposite is lying, which is the worst of vices and the most heinous; it is contrary to nobility, as they say: "There is no nobility for a liar."

"And it is not for the believers to go forth [all at once]. For there should separate from every division of them a group to obtain understanding in the religion." This is an indication that it is mandatory for every one of the group who is prepared to follow the path of seeking knowledge, as it is impossible for all of them to do so—outwardly, due to the loss of interests, and inwardly, due to a lack of preparation for everyone. Understanding (fiqh) is among the sciences of the heart, and it is only obtained through purification, refinement, abandoning familiar things, and following the Sharia. So the intended "going forth" is the spiritual journey; this is the beneficial knowledge. The sign of attaining it is not fearing anyone but Allah, the Exalted. Do you not see how Allah negated the understanding of those who feared other than Him, saying: "You are more intense in fear within their breasts than Allah. That is because they are a people who do not understand." Based on this, it is fitting for the likes of me to mourn over myself. Some of the great masters stated that understanding is a knowledge rooted in the heart, its veins spreading into the self, its effect visible upon the limbs; its possessor cannot commit what contradicts what it requires unless the decree and ordainment prevail. It was revealed by Allah the Exalted, as it is said, to one of the prophets of the Children of Israel: "Do not say: 'Where does knowledge descend from in the sky? Or who ascends to the depths of the earth to bring it? Or who crosses the oceans to bring it?' Knowledge is placed in your hearts; behave with the manners of the spiritual ones and adopt the characters of the truthful ones. Manifest the knowledge from your hearts until it overflows and gives to you." It came that "whoever fears Allah for forty mornings, the springs of wisdom will gush forth from his heart." If you realize this, you will know that the claim of some people today of "understanding," in the sense we mentioned, while they are prone to sins like moths to a fire and hold circles upon it, is a false claim, contradicting both reason and transmission. Far be it for them to attain that understanding as long as they are in that state, even if they were to strike their heads against a thousand solid rocks.

He linked His saying, "And [to] warn their people when they return to them," to His saying, "to obtain understanding," as an indication that warning is [only] after understanding and adorning oneself with virtues, for that is what is hoped to be beneficial. "Start with yourself and forbid it from its corruption; if it ceases from it, then you are a wise one. Then what you say will be heard, the word will be followed, and the teaching will benefit." Therefore, He, the Majestic, said: "That they might be cautious." And His saying, "O you who have believed, fight those adjacent to you of the disbelievers," is an indication of the Greater Jihad, and perhaps it is an instruction on how to conduct the required going forth and an explanation of the way to obtain understanding. That is, fight the disbelievers of the powers of your selves by opposing their passion. In the tradition: "Your greatest enemy is your self which is between your sides." "And let them find in you harshness"—meaning dominance and severity—"until you reach the degree of piety. And know that Allah is with the righteous" through guardianship and victory.

"Do they not see that they are tried every year once or twice?" That is, calamity befalls them so that they may repent. "Then they do not repent nor do they remember." In the report: "Calamity is a whip from the whips of Allah, the Exalted, with which He drives His servants to Him." This is indicated by His saying, the Exalted: "And when waves cover them like canopies, they supplicate to Allah, sincere to Him in religion," and His saying: "And when adversity touches man, he calls upon Us while lying on his side or sitting or standing." In short, calamity breaks the intensity of the self, so the heart softens and turns to its Master. Except that for those whom wretchedness has overcome, that state vanishes when the calamity is removed, as indicated by His saying: "But when He delivers them to the land, at once they associate others." And His saying, the Exalted: "Then when We removed his adversity, he passed on as if he had never called Us to an adversity that touched him."

"There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves." That is, from your own kind, so that familiarity might occur between you and him, for the kind inclines toward the kind. At that point, it becomes easy for you to extract from his lights, may God bless him and grant him peace. It has been recited, as we previously mentioned, "from among yourselves" (min anfasikum), meaning the most noble of you in everything. It is sufficient nobility for him, peace and blessings be upon him, that he is the first of the manifestations and that, as Allah the Exalted described him, he is of a great moral character. And upon the diversity of those who describe him, time will perish, and he has what cannot be described. "Grievous to him is what you suffer" — meaning your hardship is grievous to him, peace and blessings be upon him, so he suffers when you suffer, just as a person suffers when some of his limbs are afflicted with harm. From Sahl, he said: "The meaning is: your heedlessness of Allah the Exalted is severe upon him, even for the blink of an eye, for al-'ant (suffering) is what is difficult, and there is nothing in reality more difficult than heedlessness of the Beloved." "Concerned for you"—meaning for the rectitude of your state, or for your presence and lack of heedlessness of your Master, the Majestic. "To the believers, [he is] compassionate"—repelling from them what harms them—"and merciful"—bringing to them what benefits them. Among the effects of the compassion is warning them against sins and disobedience, and among the effects of his connection, may God bless him and grant him peace, is the sciences, knowledges, and perfections.

Ja'far al-Sadiq, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "Allah, the Exalted, knew the inability of His creation to obey Him, so He informed them of that so they might know that they would not attain the purity of serving Him. So He, the Exalted, set up between Himself and them a created being of their own kind in form, so He said: 'There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves,' and He clothed him with the qualities of compassion and mercy, and brought him out to the creation as a truthful ambassador, and made his obedience and his concurrence to be His own concurrence." Then He singled him out for Himself particularly and took him unto Himself by witnessing him in all his breaths. And He consoled his heart regarding their turning away from following him by His saying, the Majestic: "But if they turn away"—and turn away from accepting what you are upon due to lack of preparation and its loss—"say: Sufficient for me is Allah." I have no need of you, just as a human has no need for a rotten limb that must be severed rationally. So Allah, the Exalted, is Sufficient. "There is no god but He"—so there is no influencer other than Him, nor helper besides Him. "On Him I have relied"—not on anyone else of all the creatures, for I do not see for any of them an action, nor power, nor strength, except by Allah. "And He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne," which encompasses everything. He, the Exalted, has clothed him with the lights of His greatness and strengthened him to bear His manifestations; were it not for that, he would have dissolved in less than the blink of an eye. If it is recited "The Mighty" (al-azimu) in the nominative case, it is an attribute of the Lord, the Exalted, and His greatness, may His majesty be glorified, is such that it has no end. "And they did not appraise Allah with true appraisal." We ask Him by His majesty and greatness to grant us success to complete the interpretation of His Book as is due and pleasing, for there is no god other than Him, and none is to be hoped for but His goodness.