ﱡ ﱢ ﱣ ﱤ ﱥ ﱦ ﱧ ﱨ ﱩ ﱪ ﱫ ﱬ ﱭ ﱮ ﱯ ﱰ ﱱ ﱲ ﱳ
And why should we not rely upon Allah while He has guided us to our [good] ways. And we will surely be patient against whatever harm you should cause us. And upon Allah let those who would rely [indeed] rely."
Tafsir
Verse range: 14:11-12
(11) Their messengers said to them: "Indeed, we are only human beings like you, but Allah confers His favor upon whom He wills of His servants. It is not for us to bring you any authority except by the permission of Allah. And upon Allah let the believers rely."
Translation and Exegesis (Tafsir):
When the Almighty recounted the doubts raised by the disbelievers against prophethood, He then narrated the response of the Prophets (peace be upon them) to those doubts.
Regarding the First Doubt: Their statement was: {Indeed, you are only human beings like us} (14:11a).
The response was that the Prophets affirmed this fact: they were indeed human beings like them. However, they clarified that similarity in humanity and being human does not preclude some humans from being specially chosen for the rank of prophethood. This rank is a grace bestowed by Allah upon whomever He wills among His servants. If this is the case, then this doubt is nullified.
A Deep Scholarly Discussion:
A group of Islamic philosophers stated that it is rationally impossible for a person to attain the quality of prophethood unless their very self and body possess noble, elevated, and sanctified inherent characteristics (khawāṣṣ sharīfah ‘alawiyyah qudsiyyah).
Conversely, the literalists (al-Ẓāhiriyyūn) among the Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamā‘ah claimed that prophethood is purely a gift from Allah, bestowed upon whomever He wills, and it is not contingent upon that person possessing superior spiritual illumination or sacred power compared to others. They based their argument on this very verse, as Allah clarifies that receiving prophethood is solely by His sheer favor and gift. This topic is subtle and deep.
The first group (the philosophers) responded by saying that the Prophets did not mention their own spiritual and physical virtues out of humility. They limited their response to saying: {but Allah confers His favor upon whom He wills of His servants} (14:11b) with prophethood. This is because Allah knows that He does not single them out for these honors unless they are already described by the virtues that necessitate that selection, just as Allah says: {Allah knows best where to place His message} (Al-An'am: 124).
Regarding the Second Doubt: Their assertion was that the consensus of the predecessors on that religion proves its truth, as it is unlikely that one man would perceive something that the great masses did not perceive.
The answer to this is the very same answer given for the first doubt: the distinction between truth and falsehood, and sincerity and lying, is a grace and favor from Allah. It is not improbable that He would single out some of His servants for this gift while withholding it from the vast majority.
Regarding the Third Doubt: Their statement was: We are not satisfied with these miracles you have brought; rather, we demand overwhelming and powerful miracles.
The response is Allah’s saying: {It is not for us to bring you any authority except by the permission of Allah} (14:11c).
The explanation of this response is that the miracle we have brought and relied upon is a conclusive proof, an undeniable demonstration, and a perfect argument. As for the things you demanded, they are additions, and the judgment concerning them belongs to Allah Almighty. If He creates and manifests them, the favor is His; if He does not create them, the justice is His, and He cannot be judged after sufficient proof has appeared.
Then, the Almighty recounts that the Prophets and Messengers (peace be upon them) said after this: {And upon Allah let the believers rely} (14:11d).
It appears that once the Prophets answered their doubts with this response, the people resorted to foolishness, intimidation, and threats. At this point, the Prophets said: We do not fear your intimidation, nor do we heed your threats, for our reliance is upon Allah, and our trust is in the favor of Allah. Perhaps Allah, the Glorified, had revealed to them that those disbelievers could not inflict harm or affliction upon them. Even if this revelation had not occurred, it is not unlikely that they would disregard the foolishness of their opponents because their souls were illuminated by divine gnosis, radiant with the lights of the unseen and spiritual realm. When souls are described with these qualities, they rarely pay attention to physical conditions or give them weight, whether in ease or hardship, in times of distress or prosperity. For this reason, they relied upon Allah, trusted in His favor, and cut off their hopes from anything other than Allah.
What indicates that this is the intended meaning is His saying, recounting their words: {And what is [the reason] for us not to rely upon Allah, while He has guided us to our ways? And we will certainly bear with patience whatever you have harmed us} (14:12a).
This means: Since Allah has favored us with these spiritual ranks and divine, Lordly gnoses, how fitting is it for us not to rely upon Allah? Rather, it is fitting for us to rely only upon Him and depend only upon Him in achieving our objectives. Whoever attains the honor of servitude and reaches the station of sincerity and unveiling finds it unbecoming to turn to anyone other than the Truth in any matter, whether it pertains to their possessions, their kingdom, their spirit, or their body.
This verse indicates that Allah protects His sincere friends in their servitude from the plots and machinations of their enemies.
Then they said: {And we will certainly bear with patience whatever you have harmed us} (14:12b). Patience (ṣabr) is the key to relief and the beginning of all good things. The Truth must eventually prevail and conquer, and falsehood must eventually be defeated and subdued.
Then they repeated their statement: {And upon Allah let the believers rely} (14:11d). The benefit of this repetition is that they commanded themselves to rely upon Allah in the first instance ({And what is [the reason] for us not to rely upon Allah}), and once they finished speaking about themselves, they commanded their followers to do the same, saying: {And upon Allah let the believers rely}. This indicates that one who commands good is not effective unless he first practices that good himself.
The Saying of Shaykh Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (May Allah have mercy on him):
I have seen a fine passage in the words of Shaykh Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, the essence of which is: A person is either deficient, perfect, or devoid of both descriptions.
Since the degrees of deficiency and perfection, and the degrees of perfecting and misguiding, are infinite in quantity and quality, it is inevitable that the ranks of sainthood and life are also infinite according to perfection and deficiency.
Sometimes, the Prophet’s spiritual and psychic power is sufficient to perfect two deficient humans; sometimes it is stronger, perfecting ten or a hundred. Sometimes that power is overwhelming and potent, affecting souls like the sun affects the world, turning most scholars from the station of ignorance to the station of gnosis, and from seeking the world to seeking the Hereafter. Such was the spirit of Muhammad (PBUH). When his time came, the world was full of Jews (many of whom were anthropomorphists), Christians (who were incarnationists), Zoroastrians (whose ugly doctrines are obvious), and idolaters (whose religion’s foolishness is more apparent than needing explanation). When the call of Muhammad (PBUH) appeared, the power of his spirit spread through souls, turning most people of the world from polytheism to monotheism, from corporealism to transcendence, and from being engrossed in worldly pursuit to turning toward the Hereafter. From this station, the status of Prophethood and Messengership becomes clear to a person.
Knowing this, we say: His statement {And what is [the reason] for us not to rely upon Allah} (14:12a) points to the perfections their souls had attained. And their statement at the end, {And upon Allah let the believers rely} (14:11d), points to the influence of their perfect spirits in perfecting deficient spirits. These are high secrets hidden within the words of the Qur'an. Whoever studies Qur'anic sciences but is heedless of them is deprived of the secrets of Qur'anic knowledge. Allah knows best.
Another Interpretation of the Verse:
There is another view regarding the verse: {It is not for us to bring you any authority except by the permission of Allah. And upon Allah let the believers rely} (14:11). This means that those who demand other miracles are obligated to rely upon Allah for their appearance; if He wills, He manifests them; if He wills, He does not.
As for His saying at the end of the verse: {And we will certainly bear with patience whatever you have harmed us, and upon Allah let the believers rely} (14:12), the meaning here is the command to rely upon Allah for warding off the evil, foolishness, and harm of the disbelievers. Under this interpretation, there is no repetition, as the phrase {And upon Allah let the believers rely} appears in two different contexts with two distinct objectives.
It has also been said that the first mention establishes the necessity of reliance, while the second mention is for striving to maintain and perpetuate it. Allah knows best.
(13) And those who disbelieved said to their messengers, "We will surely drive you out of our land, or you must return to our religion." So their Lord inspired to them, "We will destroy the wrongdoers.
(14) And We will surely settle you in the land after them. That is for he who feared My station and feared My warning."
(15) And they sought victory [from Allah], and disappointed was every obstinate tyrant.
(16) Before him is Hell, and he will be made to drink boiling, pus-filled water,
(17) Which he will barely be able to swallow, and death will come to him from every direction, yet he will not die. And before him is a severe punishment.
Translation and Exegesis (Tafsir):
(13) And those who disbelieved said to their messengers, "We will surely drive you out of our land, or you must return to our religion."
(14) So their Lord inspired to them, "We will destroy the wrongdoers.
(15) And We will surely settle you in the land after them. That is for he who feared My station and feared My warning."
The disbelievers threatened the Messengers with expulsion from their land or forcing them back into their religion. In response, their Lord revealed to them: "We will destroy the wrongdoers." (14:14a)
And: "And We will surely settle you in the land after them." (14:14b) This promise of settlement in the land after the destruction of the oppressors is specifically "for he who feared My station [standing before Me on the Day of Judgment] and feared My warning" (14:14c). This refers to the Prophets and the believers who followed them.
(15) And they sought victory [from Allah], and disappointed was every obstinate tyrant.
The Messengers sought victory and aid from Allah, and every stubborn tyrant who rejected the truth was left disappointed and defeated.
(16) Before him is Hell, and he will be made to drink boiling, pus-filled water,
(17) Which he will barely be able to swallow, and death will come to him from every direction, yet he will not die. And before him is a severe punishment.
This describes the fate of the tyrant mentioned in the previous verse. Before him lies Hell. He will be forced to drink ṣadīd (boiling, foul water/pus) (14:16). He will struggle to swallow it, barely managing, and death will approach him from all sides, yet he will not die (14:17a). And beyond that, "before him is a severe punishment" (14:17b)—a punishment more grievous than the water he drinks.
