Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:113

An-Nisa (The Women): Verse 113

{And were it not for the grace of Allah upon you and His mercy, a party of them would have resolved to lead you astray.}

The meaning is: Were it not that Allah singled you out with His Grace, which is Prophethood, and with His Mercy, which is Infallibility (Ismah), a party of them would have resolved to lead you astray. This is because the people of Thābit (the one whose case is being discussed) had known that he was a thief, yet they asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) to defend him, argue on his behalf, acquit him of the theft, and attribute that theft to the Jew.

The meaning of {to lead you astray} (يضلوك) is to throw you into a false and erroneous judgment.

{But they only mislead themselves} due to their cooperation in sin and aggression, and their false and slanderous testimony. When they commit these actions, they are the ones performing the deeds of the misguided.

{And they will not harm you in anything.} There are two interpretations for this:

1. Al-Qaffāl (may Allah have mercy on him) said: They will not harm you in the future. Allah promised him in this verse the perpetuity of his infallibility against what they intend to subject him to falsehood.
2. The meaning is that even if they strive to lead you into error, you did not fall into falsehood because you based the ruling on the apparent situation (ظاهر الحال), and you were only commanded to base judgments on appearances.

{And Allah sent down to you the Book and Wisdom.}

We should note that if we interpret {And they will not harm you in anything} as a promise from Allah regarding future infallibility, then the statement {And Allah sent down to you the Book} confirms that promise. That is, since Allah sent down the Book and Wisdom to you and commanded you to convey the Sharia to creation, how would it be fitting for His Wisdom not to protect you from falling into doubts and misguidance?

However, if we interpret that verse to mean the Prophet (peace be upon him) was excused for basing the ruling on the apparent situation, then the meaning is: And Allah sent down the Book and Wisdom to you, and He obligated the basing of the rulings of the Law upon appearances. So, how could basing the matter on appearances harm you?

{And Wisdom, and He taught you what you did not know. And the grace of Allah upon you was great.}

Al-Qaffāl (may Allah have mercy on him) said this verse admits of two interpretations:

1. That which relates to the Religion: As He said, {And before this, you knew not what the Book was, nor what Faith was} (Ash-Shura: 52). Under this interpretation, the structure of the verse is: Allah sent down the Book and Wisdom to you, informed you of their secrets, and made you aware of their realities, even though you knew nothing of them before. Thus, He will deal with you in the coming days; no one among the hypocrites will be able to lead you astray or cause you to slip.
2. That which relates to worldly matters: He taught you what you did not know concerning the news of past peoples. Similarly, He will teach you about the stratagems of the hypocrites and the ways of their plotting, enabling you to guard against their plots and deceit.

Then He said, {And the grace of Allah upon you was great.} This is one of the greatest proofs that knowledge is the noblest of virtues and merits. This is because Allah has only given creation a small amount of knowledge, as He said, {And you have not been given of knowledge except a little} (Al-Isra: 85). The share of one person from the knowledge of all creation is small. Yet, He called that small amount "great" when He said {And the grace of Allah upon you was great}, just as He called all of this world "little" when He said, {Say: The enjoyment of this world is but little} (An-Nisa: 77). This indicates the utmost nobility of knowledge.

An-Nisa (The Women): Verse 114

{There is no good in much of their private conversation, except for one who enjoins charity, or what is right, or reconciliation between people. And whoever does that seeking the pleasure of Allah, We will give him a great reward.}