Al-Nisa: (49-50) Have you not seen those...

When the Almighty threatened the Jews with His saying: {Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him [Shirk]} (An-Nisa: 48), they responded by claiming:

• They are not among the polytheists.
• They are the chosen ones of Allah, as recounted when they said: {We are the sons of Allah and His beloved} (Al-Ma'idah: 18).
• They claimed: {The Fire will not touch us except for a few numbered days} (Al-Baqarah: 111).
• Some of them asserted: {None shall enter Paradise except he who is a Jew or a Christian} (Al-Baqarah: 111).
• Some also claimed that their forefathers were prophets who would intercede for them.

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that a group of Jews came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) with their children and asked: "O Muhammad, do these children bear any sin?" He replied, "No." They then said: "By Allah, we are just like them. What we do at night is expiated for us during the day, and what we do during the day is expiated for us at night."

In summary, these people greatly exaggerated the purity of their own souls. Therefore, the Almighty stated in this verse that a person's self-praise is irrelevant; what matters is Allah's own testimony concerning them.

There are several issues in this verse:

The term Tazkiyah in this context means a person praising himself. This is derived from the verse: {So do not claim purity for yourselves; He is most knowing of who is righteous} (An-Najm: 32).

This is because Tazkiyah is connected to Taqwa (piety), which is an internal attribute whose reality is known only to Allah. Consequently, self-praise is invalid, which is why Allah says: {But it is Allah Who purifies whom He wills}.

Objection: Did the Prophet (PBUH) not say: "By Allah, I am the most trustworthy in the heavens and the most trustworthy on earth"?

Answer: He said this only when the hypocrites asked him to be just in distribution. Furthermore, since Allah had already purified him first through the evidence of miracles, it was permissible for him, unlike others.

The statement {But it is Allah Who purifies whom He wills} indicates that faith (Iman) comes into existence through Allah's creation. This is because the noblest and most sublime form of purification (Tazkiyah) is Iman. Since Allah states that He is the one who purifies whom He wills, it proves that the faith of the believers was only achieved through Allah's creation.

The phrase {And they will not be wronged, not even a fatiil} is similar to His saying: {Indeed, Allah does not wrong [anyone] by an atom's weight} (An-Nisa: 40).

This means that those who praise themselves will be punished for that self-praise according to their just deserts, without any injustice. Alternatively, it could mean that those whom Allah purifies will be rewarded for their obedience, and nothing will be diminished from their reward.

• Al-Fatiil: Refers to the thin thread you twist out from dirt between your fingers (it is fa'iil in the sense of maf'ool [passive]).
• According to Ibn al-Sikkit: Al-Fatiil is what is in the slit of a date pit.
• Al-Naqeer: The small dot on the back of the date pit.
• Al-Qamire: The thin membrane covering the date pit.

All these terms are used as metaphors for something trivial and insignificant, meaning they will not be wronged, whether little or much.

Then the Almighty says: {See how they invent lies about Allah}. This contains two issues:

This is an expression of astonishment directed at the Prophet (PBUH) regarding the falsehoods they attribute to Allah. This includes their self-praise, their claim: {We are the sons of Allah and His beloved}, their assertion: {None shall enter Paradise except he who is a Jew or a Christian}, and their claim that deeds done by night are expiated during the day.

Our doctrine is that a statement contrary to the reality of the matter being reported constitutes a lie, regardless of whether the speaker knows it to be false or not. Al-Jahiz, however, stipulated that knowledge of the contrary reality is a condition for it to be a lie. This verse serves as evidence for our position, because they genuinely believed in their own purity and righteousness, yet Allah contradicted them regarding their purity, which proves our point.

Then the Almighty says: {And that is sufficient as a manifest sin}. The phrase Kafa bihi (that is sufficient) is used for exaggeration, either in praise or in blame.

• In praise: As in His saying: {And Allah is sufficient as a Guardian, and Allah is sufficient as a Helper} (An-Nisa: 45).
• In blame: As in this context.

The word Ithman (sin) in Ithman Mubayyin (a manifest sin) is in the accusative case, functioning as a Tamyeez (specification/elucidation).