Al-Baqarah: (209) If you slip...

Issues in the Verse:

Issue 1: Abu al-Sammal recited: {زَلَلْتُمْ} (zalaltum) with a kasra on the first lām (i.e., zullitum). These are two variant readings (two lughāt), similar to ḍalalta and ḍulilta.

Issue 2: The verb zalla (to slip) is used for when one's foot slips (zalūlan or zilzālan), or when one slips in mud. It is also said that the situation slipped away from someone (zallat bihi al-ḥāl). Sin is called a zallah (a slip), meaning a deviation from what is obligatory. Therefore, {فَإِنْ زَلَلْتُمْ} means: If you erred and transgressed the Truth.

Regarding the occasion of revelation for this verse, scholars differed:

1. If the first part of the passage referred to the hypocrites, then the second part does too.
2. If it referred to the People of the Book, then the second part does too. The rest of the opinions follow this pattern.

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas that {فَإِنْ زَلَلْتُمْ} refers to the prohibition of the Sabbath and the meat of camels, {مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْكُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ} (after the clear proofs have come to you), which are Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his laws. Then, {فَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ} (know that Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise). Because of this, they said: "If You wish, O Messenger of Allah, we will abandon every book except Your Book." Then Allah revealed: {يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا آمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ} (O you who have believed, believe in Allah and His Messenger) (An-Nisa: 136).

Issue 3: Regarding the phrase {فَإِنْ زَلَلْتُمْ}, a question arises: A conditional ruling is usually appropriate for one who does not know the consequences of actions. Qatadah answered this by saying: Allah already knew they would slip, but He mentioned it and warned against it so that He would have an argument against His creation.

Issue 4: {فَإِنْ زَلَلْتُمْ} means: If you deviate from the path commanded to you. Under this interpretation, both major sins (kabā'ir) and minor sins (ṣaghā'ir) are included, because deviation occurs through both large amounts and small amounts. Allah threatened them for all of this to deter them from deviating from the path, so that the believer guards against both the small and the large deviations. This is because what is among the major sins must certainly be avoided, and for what is not known to be a major sin, one cannot be certain that punishment is not deserved for it, thus necessitating avoidance.

Issue 5: {مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْكُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ} (after the clear proofs have come to you) encompasses all rational and transmitted proofs.

• Rational proofs are those establishing the truth of Muhammad's prophethood (PBUH), such as knowledge of the world's creation and its need for a Creator who is All-Knowing of all knowables, All-Powerful over all possibilities, and independent of all needs. Also included is the knowledge distinguishing miracles from magic, and the knowledge of how a miracle proves truthfulness. All these are rational proofs.
• Transmitted proofs are the explanations found in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. All these proofs are included in the verse because the excuse of the accountable person is removed once all these proofs are present.

Issue 6: The Judge (Al-Qadi) said: This verse indicates that accountability for sin does not occur except after the proof has been established and the excuse removed. If the threat is conditioned upon the coming of the clear proofs and their attainment, then it is even more true that the threat is not incurred by one who has no ability to act at all. Furthermore, guidance is only beneficial to those with ability, whereas ability can be beneficial even if guidance is absent.

He also said: The verse indicates that what is considered is the attainment of the proofs, not the attainment of certainty by the accountable person. From this perspective, the verse indicates that one capable of reflection and inference is subject to the threat, just like one who already knows. This refutes the opinion of those who claim Allah has no argument against someone who knows and understands.

Regarding the Almighty's saying: {فَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ} (Then know that Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise):

Issue 1: One might ask: Since {فَإِنْ زَلَلْتُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْكُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ} refers to their sin and crime, how does the statement {أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ} serve as a deterrent and threat?

Answer:

• Al-Aziz (All-Mighty) is He whom nothing prevents from achieving His purpose, which is achieved through perfect power. It is established that He is capable of all possibilities, so He is absolutely Aziz.
• The meaning of the verse becomes: If you slip after the clear proofs have come to you, then know that Allah is powerful over you; no barrier prevents Him from achieving what He wills concerning you. This is the ultimate form of warning, as it combines types of fear that a mere mention of punishment does not encompass. A parent might say to a child: "If you disobey me, know that you know Me, and you know My power over you and the severity of My might." This statement is more effective in deterring than mentioning physical punishment.

If it is asked: Does this verse contain a promise as well as a threat? Yes, because it is followed by {حَكِيمٌ} (All-Wise). Wisdom necessitates distinguishing between the doer of good and the doer of evil. Just as it is fitting for the Wise to inflict punishment on the evildoer, it is also fitting for Him to bestow reward upon the doer of good. Indeed, this latter aspect is more appropriate for wisdom and closer to mercy.

Issue 2: Those who argue that no obligation exists prior to the Law (Sharīʿah) use this verse as evidence. They argue: Allah established the threat and warning conditional upon the coming of the clear proofs ({الْبَيِّنَاتُ}), which is a plural noun encompassing everything. This indicates that the threat is conditional upon the arrival of all the proofs. Before the Law, not all proofs had arrived; therefore, the threat should not be incurred, and thus, obligation prior to the Law should not be established.

Issue 3: Abu Ali al-Jubba'i said: If the situation were as the Mujbirah (determinists) claim—that Allah wills foolishness and disbelief from the foolish and the disbelievers—then He could not be described as Ḥakīm (Wise). This is because whoever wills foolishness and acts upon it is foolish, and a foolish person cannot be wise. The scholars (Aṣḥāb) replied: Ḥakīm means He is All-Knowing of the consequences of matters. Thus, His being Ḥakīm refers to His knowledge of all knowables, which does not contradict His being the Creator and Willer of all things; rather, it necessitates it, based on what we have explained: If He willed something whose non-existence He knew, it would imply He willed His own ignorance. They further argued: If this were true, then when He commands something whose non-fulfillment He knows, it implies He commands His own ignorance. We reply: This only follows if the command for a thing necessarily implies the command for that which completes it, and this is disputed by us. If they argue: If not so, it implies commanding what is beyond capacity (taklīf mā lā yuṭāq). We reply: This is permissible according to us. (And Allah knows best.)

Issue 4: It is narrated that a reciter read {غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ} (Forgiving, Merciful) [in a context related to slipping]. A Bedouin heard this and rejected it, saying: If this is the word of God, He would not say this. Forgiveness mentioned immediately after slipping is an incitement to it.

{هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَن يَأْتِيَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي ظُلَلٍ مِّنَ الْغَمَامِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ وَقُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ وَإِلَى اللَّهِ تُرْجَعُ الْأُمُورُ} (7:209)

Do they await anything other than that Allah should come to them in canopies of clouds with the angels, and the matter is decided? And to Allah all matters are returned.