Tafsir of Ad-Dhuha 93:3

His saying, "Your Lord has not forsaken you," is the response to the oath. Tawdi' (forsaking/bidding farewell) is derived from da'ah (tranquility). Originally, it meant to pray for a traveler that God might ward off the burdens of travel from him and grant him tranquility and a comfortable life, just as taslim (salutation) is a prayer for safety. Then, it became conventionally used for seeing off a traveler and leaving them, and subsequently was used to mean abandonment (leaving) absolutely. It is interpreted as such here, meaning: "Your Lord has not left you." In Al-Bahr and Al-Kashshaf, it is noted that tawdi' is an intensive form of wad', meaning abandonment; for whoever sees you off as he parts from you has intensified his abandonment of you. It has been said that this implies that the denied action is the "intensive abandonment" rather than the "fundamental abandonment," even though the apparent meaning is the denial of the latter. Therefore, it must be said that this was denied because it was what was spoken by the polytheists, for whom the verse was revealed, or that the intensity applies to the negation, making the meaning an intensive denial, not a denial of intensity. Scholars have mentioned similar arguments regarding His saying, "And your Lord is not ever unjust to [His] servants," so contemplate this.

It is also said that the meaning is: "He has not severed ties with you as one who bids farewell severs ties," implying that tawdi' is a metaphorical term for abandonment. There is a degree of gentleness and veneration in this that is not hidden, for bidding farewell occurs between loved ones and those whose parting is difficult, as the poet Al-Mutanabbi said: "A remainder of a soul that bade farewell the day they bade farewell; I did not know which of the departing ones to follow."

The literal, conventional meaning of tawdi' is not conceivable here. This is countered by the argument that, in this view, it would not be a refutation of what the polytheists said, as they did not use the word wadda'ahu (bid him farewell) in this sense; how could they, when they were far from believing that he (peace and blessings be upon him) held the station he holds with his Lord? It is said in response that wadda'ahu rabbuhu can indeed point to this, yet they—may God fight them—said it by way of mockery and sarcasm. When they were refuted, the intention was to address what the wording implies upon investigation. It is also said that abandonment is absolute in their speech, and the apparent state of their affairs is that they did not intend the essence in its abstract sense, nor in a way that would not compromise his noble station (peace and blessings be upon him), but rather the essence as it manifests in a way that does compromise it. Since the objective was to comfort him (peace and blessings be upon him) and remove his distress, a phrasing was used that negates what they claimed in the most eloquent manner—as if it were said: "This type of abandonment that does not compromise your station has not occurred, let alone the abandonment that they claimed which would compromise your lofty station." In my view, the apparent meaning is that the statement, regardless of its intended sense, was issued by way of mockery, given that the "Lord" intended is God Almighty and the speaker was one of the polytheists, as is not hidden from the contemplative mind.

'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, his son Hisham, Abu Haywah, Abu Bahriyyah, and Ibn Abi 'Ablah recited ma wada'aka with the takhfif (lightening of the 'ayn). According to Ibn Jinni, this was the recitation of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and it is explained that wada'a is the lightened form of wadda'a, both having the same meaning. It is stated in Al-Qamus that "wada'ahu" is like "wada'ahu" (meaning to leave). Others say it is not a lightened form, but a verb in its own right meaning "to abandon," and that this challenges the claim of grammarians who say the Arabs abandoned the past tense of yada'u (to leave) and yadharu (to abandon), as well as their verbal nouns and participles, replacing them with yatraku. In Al-Maghrib, it is stated that the grammarians claimed the Arabs abandoned this, yet the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is the most eloquent of them, and he has said: "Let people cease from their wa'd (abandoning) the congregations." Abu al-Aswad recited ma wada'aka. Abu al-Aswad also said: "Would that I knew, regarding my beloved, what it was that overwhelmed him in love until he abandoned (wada'a) me?" Similar is the saying of another: "And there, we abandoned (wada'na) the tribe of 'Amr and 'Amir, as prey for the tips of the brown, sharpened spears." This is also proof of the usage of wada'a, which takes two objects, so do not overlook this. In the Hadith: "Leave the Turks as long as they leave you, and leave the Abyssinians as long as they leave you." Al-Mustawfi states that all of this has appeared in the speech of the Arabs, and the words of the grammarians are of no account; "When the river of God comes, the river of Ma'qal is rendered void." Yes, its occurrence is rare. Al-Tibi, after mentioning its occurrence in poetry and prose, stated that this recitation is made beautiful by the harmony between the two words—meaning this one and the next—as in the Hadith of the Turks and Abyssinians, because the return of the end of the sentence to the beginning and the art of tarsi' (embellishment) have compensated for it.

It is said that those who spoke only said wadda'ahu rabbuhu (with tashdid), and this was revealed, so the beauty lies in the correspondence to what they said, as they spoke with the unconventional, perhaps out of a superstitious omen. Or, since they intended mockery, the usage of the word was appropriate, for they say that the usage of strange words and the like is appropriate in satire, so it is not far-fetched that it is the same in mockery. The truth is that once its occurrence is established, there is no need to labor to find a rhetorical justification.

The apparent meaning is that the "Lord" is God Almighty, and the expression of Him by the title of Lordship and its attribution to his pronoun (peace and blessings be upon him) contains a gentleness that is not hidden; it is as if it were said: "The One who takes care of your interests and raises you gradually, as befits you, has not abandoned you."

"And [He has not] qala (hated) you." The object is omitted so that he (peace and blessings be upon him) might not be confronted with the attribution of hatred—even if it is in a negated statement—out of gentleness and compassion toward him (peace and blessings be upon him), or to negate its occurrence from Him (Exalted is He) toward him (peace and blessings be upon him), or toward any of his companions, or anyone who loves him (peace and blessings be upon him) until the Day of Judgment, or because it is dispensed with by the previous mention, while also observing the rhyme. The well-known language for the present tense of qala is like yarmu (to throw) and tawa (to fold). You say yaqlu with a fatha on the 'ayn, like yarda. The interpretation of qala as hatred is widespread. In Al-Qamus, it is said of the wawi (w-stem): qala Zayd, qala—and qalahu means he hated him. Of the ya'i (y-stem): qalahu, like ramahu (he threw at him) and radiyahu (he was pleased with him)—he qala and qalahu and maqliyyuhu means he hated him and detested him intensely, so he abandoned him. Or he qala him in abandonment and qalahu in hatred. In Mufradat al-Raghib, qala is intense hatred; it is said qalahu, yaqluhu, wa yaqlihi. Whoever considers it wawi derives it from qalu (throwing), from the saying: "The camel threw its rider," and qala with a qullah. Thus, the hated one is he whom the heart casts out due to its hatred, so it does not accept him. Whoever considers it ya'i derives it from qalaitu the unripe dates and the sawiq (barley flour) in the frying pan. There is a clear difference between them. Upon the consideration of intense hatred, the apparent meaning is that this only appears in the verse because it was what occurred in their speech.

The commentators said: Gabriel (peace be upon him) was slow to come to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so the polytheists said, "His Lord has hated him and forsaken him," so God Almighty revealed this. Al-Hakim recorded from Zayd ibn Arqam: When "Perish the hands of Abu Lahab" was revealed, it was said to the wife of Abu Lahab, Umm Jamil, that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) had satirized her. She came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was sitting among a crowd and said, "O Muhammad, on what grounds do you satirize me?" He said, "By God, I have not satirized you; only God Almighty has satirized you." She said, "Have you seen me carrying firewood, or a rope of palm fiber around my neck?" Then she left. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) remained for a while without revelation descending upon him, and she said, "I see that your companion has indeed forsaken you and hated you." So God Almighty revealed this. Al-Tirmidhi—who authenticated it—and Ibn Abi Hatim, with his wording, recorded from Jundub al-Bajali: The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) struck his finger with a stone and said: "You are but a finger that has bled; and in the path of God is what I have encountered." He remained two or three nights without standing [for prayer/revelation], and a woman said to him, "I see that your devil has indeed left you." In another narration by Al-Tirmidhi, and by Imam Ahmad, Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Al-Nasa'i, and a group, the wording is: "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was unwell and did not stand for two or three nights, so God Almighty revealed 'Al-Duha' and 'Al-Layl'. There is no mention in it of the woman, the stone, or the taunt, and that does not challenge its authenticity.

A group of commentators said that the Jews asked him (peace and blessings be upon him) about the Companions of the Cave, the Spirit, and the story of Dhu al-Qarnayn. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "I will tell you tomorrow," and he did not add "if God wills," so the revelation was withheld from him, and the polytheists said what they said, so this was revealed. It is also said that 'Uthman gifted him (peace and blessings be upon him) a cluster of grapes, or a bunch of dates. A beggar came, and he gave it to him. 'Uthman then bought it for a dirham and offered it to him a second time, and then the beggar returned and he gave it to him, and this happened three times. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, speaking gently, not in anger, "Are you a beggar, O so-and-so, or a merchant?" The revelation was delayed for days, and he felt distressed, so this was revealed. Perhaps they also said what they said.

Ibn Abi Shaybah in his Musnad, Al-Tabarani, and Ibn Marduyah recorded from the Hadith of Khawlah, who served the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him), that a puppy died under the bed of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) and they did not notice. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) waited four days without revelation descending upon him, and he said, "O Khawlah, what has happened in the house of the Messenger of God? Gabriel does not come to me." I said, "O Prophet of God, no day has passed upon us better than today." He took his cloak, put it on, and went out. I said to myself, "If I were to tidy the house and sweep it..." I swept under the bed, and there was something heavy. I kept pushing it until the puppy appeared, dead. I took it in my hand and threw it behind the house. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came, his beard trembling—for when the revelation descended, the trembling would take him—and he said, "O Khawlah, cover me." So God Almighty revealed "Al-Duha" and "Al-Layl" up to His saying (Exalted is He), "He will be satisfied." This narration indicates that the interruption was four days. Ibn Jurayj reported it was twelve days; Al-Kalbi said fifteen; others said more than ten; Ibn 'Abbas said twenty-five; and Al-Suddi and Muqatil said forty days. You know that matters like these are subject to variation in the knowledge of their inception and can hardly be known with certainty except from him (peace and blessings be upon him), and God Almighty knows best.

In some narrations, there is that which indicates that the speaker of this was the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself. Al-Hasan said: The revelation was slow for the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him), so he said to Khadijah, "My Lord has forsaken me and hated me," complaining to her. She said, "Nay, by the One who sent you with the Truth, God Almighty did not initiate you with this honor except that He (Exalted is He) intends to complete it for you," so this was revealed. This is considered problematic, as it does not befit the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to think that God (Exalted is He) had forsaken and hated him. Is this not a form of dismissal? And the dismissal of a Prophet from his Prophethood is not permitted in His wisdom (Exalted is He). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) knew that better, and he also knew that the delay of revelation and its opposite are never without a benefit and wisdom. It is answered that his intention (peace and blessings be upon him), if true, was to test her to see the extent of her knowledge, or for people to know that, so he said what he said (peace and blessings be upon him) by way of interpretation, intending: "My Lord has forsaken me and hated me—according to the claim of the polytheists," or that His dealing with him (Exalted is He) by delaying the revelation resembles the appearance of the dealing of one who forsakes and one who hates. You know that this narration is strange, not to be relied upon, and not to be turned toward; therefore, one should not tire the mind by interpreting it.

Similar to this is that which indicates the speaker was Khadijah (may God be pleased with her). Ibn Jarir and Ibn al-Mundhir recorded from 'Urwah, who said: Gabriel (peace be upon him) was slow to come to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he was greatly distressed. Khadijah said, "I see that your Lord has hated you, from the distress I see in you," so "Al-Duha" and "Al-Layl" up to the end were revealed. The truth is that she (may God be pleased with her) intended that this distress should not be except from the hatred of your Lord—and far be it that He should hate you!—so this distress is extremely far-fetched. The reliance is upon what the majority hold, and what the reports have authenticated: that the speakers were the polytheists, and that he (peace and blessings be upon him) was only saddened, by the requirements of human nature, by their expression and the lack of seeing Gabriel (peace be upon him), along with his intense love for him. In some reports, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Gabriel (peace be upon him), "You did not come to me until I longed for you." Gabriel (peace be upon him) said, "I was more longing for you, but I am a slave under command," and he recited: "And we descend not except by the command of your Lord." In another narration, he rebuked them (both peace be upon them), saying: "Do you not know that we do not enter a house in which there is a dog or a picture?" The narrator of this reports that the cause for the delay of the revelation was the existence of a puppy in his house (peace and blessings be upon him), and the reports regarding that are varied. Some have permitted that the delay was for the convergence of causes.

Finally, some have claimed, based on some of the previous reports, that it is possible that "your Lord" in "your Lord has not forsaken you" refers not to what follows "your companion" (i.e., God), but to Gabriel (peace be upon him). This is as you see it. And since what preceded it includes the negation of forsaking and hatred, it implies that He (Exalted is He) continues to reach him (peace and blessings be upon him) with revelation and honor in the world. He (peace and blessings be upon him) was given glad tidings that what he will be given in the Hereafter is more magnificent and greater than that; thus, it was said...