Surah An-Nisa (The Women), Verse 136: O you who have believed...

Issues Discussed:

There are two views on how this verse connects to the preceding verse (${ \text{Be steadfast in justice} }).

1. First View: It is connected to the command: {\text{Be steadfast in justice}}. This is because a person cannot be truly steadfast in justice unless they are firmly established in believing the things mentioned in this verse (i.e., faith in God, His Messenger, and His Books).
2. Second View: After Allah mentioned numerous rulings in this Surah, He followed them up with the command to believe.

The apparent meaning of this phrase suggests a command to achieve something already possessed (i.e., commanding believers to believe), which is logically impossible. Therefore, commentators have offered several interpretations, summarized in two main positions:

Position 1: The Addressees are the Muslims

If the addressees are Muslims, the command to "believe" carries several meanings:

1. Perseverance: It means, "O you who have believed in the past and present, continue to believe in the future." This is similar to the verse {\text{So know that there is no god but Allah}} (Muhammad: 19), even though the Prophet (PBUH) already knew this.
2. From Imitation to Proof: O you who believed through mere imitation (Taqlid), believe through reasoned proof (Istidlal).
3. From General to Specific Proofs: O you who believed through general proofs, believe through detailed proofs.
4. Understanding the Unknowable: O you who believed through detailed proofs regarding God, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers, believe that the essence of God's greatness, the states of the Angels, the secrets of the Books, and the attributes of the Messengers are beyond the full comprehension of our intellects in detail.
5. Historical Context (Hadith): It is narrated that a group of Jewish scholars came to the Prophet (PBUH) saying, "We believe in you, your Book, in Moses, and the Torah, and in Uzair, but we disbelieve in the rest of the Books and Messengers." The Prophet (PBUH) replied, "Rather, believe in Allah, His Messengers, Muhammad, the Qur'an, and every Book that came before." They refused. Then this verse was revealed, and they all believed.

Position 2: The Addressees are Not Exclusively Muslims

If the addressees are not Muslims, the command to "believe" has several interpretations:

1. People of the Book: The address is to the Jews and Christians. The meaning is: "O you who believed in Moses and the Torah, and in Jesus and the Gospel, believe in Muhammad and the Qur'an."
2. The Hypocrites: The address is to the hypocrites. The meaning is: "O you who believed only with your tongues, believe with your hearts." This is supported by {\text{those who say, 'We have believed,' with their mouths, but their hearts have not believed}} (Al-Ma'idah: 41).
3. Those Who Waver: The address is to those who believed during the day but disbelieved at night. The meaning is: "O you who believed during the day, believe also at night."
4. The Idolaters: The address is to the polytheists. The meaning is: "O you who believed in Al-Lat and Al-'Uzza, believe in Allah."

Most scholars favored the first interpretation (that the addressees are Muslims) because the term 'believer' (Mu'min) in its absolute sense refers only to Muslims.

Ibn Kathir, Ibn 'Amir, and Abu 'Amr recited: {\text{The Book which was sent down to His Messenger}} (using the passive form, nuzzila). The rest recited: {\text{The Book which He sent down}} (using the active form, nazzala).

• Argument for Passive (nuzzila): They cite {\text{to clarify to the people what was sent down to them}} and {\text{And those to whom We gave the Book know that it is sent down from your Lord}} (Al-An'am: 114).
• Argument for Active (nazzala): They cite {\text{Indeed, We sent down the Reminder}} and {\text{And We sent down the Reminder}}.

Some scholars hold that both are good, but the passive form (nuzzila) is more majestic, similar to the shift in {\text{And it was said, 'O Earth, swallow your water,'}} (Hud: 44).

This verse commands belief in four things:

1. Allah.
2. His Messenger.
3. The Book sent down to His Messenger (the Qur'an).
4. The Book sent down before (previous scriptures).

It mentions five things that constitute disbelief (Kufr):

1. Disbelief in Allah.
2. Disbelief in His Angels.
3. Disbelief in His Books.
4. Disbelief in His Messengers.
5. Disbelief in the Last Day.

Then follows the statement: {\text{he has strayed a distant straying}}.

Questions Arising from the Contrast:

Question 1: Why is the Messenger mentioned before the Book in the ranks of belief, while the opposite order is implied in the ranks of disbelief?

Answer: In the order of descent (from the Creator to creation), the Book precedes the Messenger. In the order of ascent (from creation back to the Creator), the Messenger precedes the Book.

Question 2: Why are three items listed for belief (Allah, Messenger, Books), but five items for disbelief (Allah, Angels, Books, Messengers, Last Day)?

Answer: When belief in Allah, the Messengers, and the Books is established, belief in the Angels and the Last Day is necessarily established. However, a person might claim belief in Allah, the Messengers, and the Books, yet deny the Angels and the Last Day, claiming that verses concerning them should be interpreted metaphorically. Since this possibility exists, it is necessary to explicitly state that whoever denies the Angels or the Resurrection is an unbeliever in Allah.

Question 3: How can People of the Book be commanded to believe in {\text{the Book sent down before}} when they already believed in the Torah and the Gospel?

Answer (Two Views):

1. They believed only in some of the revealed Books, not all of them. They are commanded to believe in all revealed Books.
2. Their partial belief is invalid because the basis for belief is the miracle. Since the miracle is present in all revealed texts, refusing to believe in some constitutes an attack on the miracle itself. If the miracle is attacked, belief in any part becomes impossible. This is what is meant by {\text{And they wish to take a way between that [i.e., faith and disbelief]... Those are the truly disbelieving ones}} (An-Nisa: 150-151).

Question 4: Why the distinction between {\text{sent down to His Messenger}} (referring to the Qur'an) and {\text{sent down before}} (referring to previous books)?

Answer: Al-Kashshaf states that the Qur'an was revealed piecemeal over twenty years, unlike the previous Books. (The author notes that this point was previously discussed in the commentary on Al 'Imran: 3-4).

Question 5: Since {\text{the Book sent down before}} is singular, which books does it refer to?

Answer: It is a generic noun (Ism Jins), thus it is comprehensive and applies to all previous scriptures.

Verse 137:

{\text{Indeed, those who have believed and then disbelieved, and then believed and then disbelieved, and then increased in disbelief, Allah will never forgive them, nor will He guide them to a way.}} \text{Give the hypocrites the news that they will have a painful punishment.}$