An-Nisa (The Women): Verse 78

Translation and Exegesis

{أَيْنَمَا تَكُونُوا يُدْرِكْكُمُ الْمَوْتُ} Wherever you may be, death will overtake you...

The purpose of this statement is to rebuke those who, when the command for fighting (Jihad) was imposed, feared men as they feared God, or even more, and said, "Our Lord, why have You prescribed fighting for us?"

The Almighty responded: {Wherever you may be, death will overtake you}.

The Almighty clarified that there is no escape for them from death. Jihad is a death followed by the bliss of the Hereafter. If death is inevitable, it is better that it occurs in a manner that leads to eternal happiness than otherwise.

A similar verse is His saying: {Say: Flight will not avail you if you flee from death or killing; and then you would not be allowed to enjoy (life) but a little} (Al-Ahzab: 16).

Al-Buruj in Arabic speech refers to palaces and fortresses. Its linguistic origin is from manifestation (al-Zuhur); it is said, tabarrajat al-mar'ah (the woman adorned herself) when she displayed her charms. Al-Mashyidah means elevated. It was also read as mashīdah. Al-Sāhib of Al-Kashshāf said it comes from shāda (to raise) or from being plastered with shīd (gypsum). Nu'aym ibn Maysarah read it with a kasra on the yā’, describing it metaphorically by the action of its agent, just as they say qasīdatun shā'iratun (a composing poem), even though the poet is the one who composes it.

{وَإِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ حَسَنَةٌ يَقُولُوا هَٰذِهِ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ وَإِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ يَقُولُوا هَٰذِهِ مِنْ عِنْدِكَ قُلْ كُلٌّ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ} And if a good thing reaches them, they say, "This is from Allah"; but if an evil thing reaches them, they say, "This is from you." Say, "All is from Allah."

Know that when the Almighty recounted the hypocrisy of those who were reluctant to fight, fearful of death, and uninterested in the bliss of the Hereafter, He then mentioned another ugly trait, even uglier than the first.

There is another interpretation regarding the structure (al-Naẓm): These people, fearful of death and sluggish in Jihad, had a habit: if they fought and achieved a victory or spoils, they would say, "This is from Allah." But if they suffered harm, they would say, "This is due to the ill omen of accompanying Muhammad (PBUH)." This indicates the utmost foolishness, ignorance, and stubbornness on their part.

In this verse, there are several issues:

There are several views regarding the Ḥasanah and Sayyi’ah:

1. The first view (Exegesis): The commentators said that when the Messenger (PBUH) arrived, Medina was full of blessings. When the obstinacy of the Jews and the hypocrisy of the hypocrites became apparent, God withheld some of those blessings, as is His custom with all nations. He said: {And We did not send a prophet to a town except that We seized its people with adversity and affliction} (Al-A'rāf: 94). At this point, the Jews and hypocrites said, "We have never seen a worse omen than this man; our fruits have diminished and our prices have risen since he arrived." Thus, His saying {And if a good thing reaches them} means fertility and low prices and successive rains, they say, "This is from Allah." And {but if an evil thing reaches them} means drought and high prices, they say, "This is due to the ill omen of Muhammad." This is like His saying: {But when a good thing came to them, they said, "This is for us." But if an evil thing afflicted them, they attributed it to the ill omen of Moses and those with him} (Al-A'rāf: 131), and concerning the people of Salih: {They said, "We take an evil omen from you and from those who are with you"}.

2. The second view: The intended meaning of Ḥasanah is victory over enemies and spoils, and Sayyi’ah means killing and defeat. Al-Qāḍī said that the first view is more sound because attributing fertility and scarcity to God, and the abundance or lack of blessings to God, is permissible. However, attributing victory and defeat to God is not permissible, because if Sayyi’ah means defeat and killing, it is not permissible to attribute it to God.

My comment: The view is as he stated according to his school of thought. However, according to our school, all of this falls under the decree and predestination of God.

Know that Sayyi’ah refers to affliction (al-baliyyah) and sin (al-ma‘ṣiyah), and Ḥasanah refers to blessing (al-ni‘mah) and obedience (al-ṭā‘ah). God says: {And We tested them with good (Ḥasanāt) and evil (Sayyi’āt) that perhaps they would return} (Al-A'rāf: 168), and {Indeed, good deeds drive away bad deeds} (Hūd: 114).

Once this is established, we say: His saying {And if a good thing reaches them} implies generality concerning all good things, and similarly, {but if an evil thing reaches them} implies generality concerning all evil things. Then He said afterward: {Say, "All is from Allah"}. This is an explicit statement that all good things and all evil things are from Allah. Since we have established that obedience and sin are included under the names Ḥasanah and Sayyi’ah, the verse indicates that all obedience and sin are from Allah, which is what is sought.

Objection: It might be argued that Ḥasanah and Sayyi’ah here do not refer to obedience and sin. Evidence for this includes:

1. Agreement: Everyone agrees that this verse was revealed concerning fertility and drought, so it must be specific to them.
2. Linguistic Usage: The Ḥasanah intended as good and obedience is not expressed by the phrase aṣābatnī (it reached me). Rather, one says aṣabtuhā (I achieved it). There is no usage in Arabic where aṣābat-hu ḥasanatun means "he performed a good deed," or aṣābat-hu sayyi’atun means "he committed a sin." Therefore, if that were the meaning, it should have been said: In aṣabtum ḥasanatan (If you achieve a good thing).
3. Shared Terminology: The word Ḥasanah is used equivocally for both obedience and benefit. Here, the commentators unanimously agree that benefit is intended, making it impossible for obedience to be intended, as it is not permissible to use a shared term for both of its meanings simultaneously.

The Response:

1. To the first point: You concede that the specificity of the occasion does not negate the generality of the wording.
2. To the second point: It is valid to say, "Divine success (tawfīq) from Allah and aid from Allah reached me," meaning that success/aid is the obedience. And "He was afflicted by abandonment (khidhlan) from Allah," meaning that abandonment is the sin.
3. To the third point: Everything that brings benefit is a Ḥasanah. If the benefit is for the Hereafter, it is obedience. If the benefit is in this world, it is present well-being. Thus, the term Ḥasanah is used consistently (mutawāṭi’) across these two categories, resolving the objection.

Therefore, the apparent meaning of the verse supports what we have stated. What further proves that the intended meaning is precisely this is what is established by innate reason: every existing thing is either wājib bi-dhātihi (necessary in itself) or mumkin bi-dhātihi (contingent in itself). The Necessary in Itself is One: Allah, the Glorified and Exalted. Everything else is contingent in itself.

If the contingent in itself were independent of an agent, then the argument from the possibility and contingency of the world to prove the existence of the Creator would be invalid, which necessitates denying the Creator. But if the contingent in itself requires an agent, and everything other than Allah is contingent, then everything other than Allah must be ultimately dependent on Allah. This ruling does not differ whether that contingent thing is property, inanimate matter, an action of an animal, or a quality of a plant. The ruling of dependence of the contingent upon the Necessary is the same for all, based on its contingency. This is a proof clearer and more evident than the sun that the truth is what the Almighty stated: {Say, "All is from Allah"}.

{فَمَالِ هَٰؤُلَاءِ الْقَوْمِ لَا يَكَادُونَ يَفْقَهُونَ حَدِيثًا} What is the matter with these people that they can hardly understand a saying?

In this verse, there are several issues:

Since the proof demonstrating that everything other than Allah is dependent on Him—as summarized above—is extremely clear and evident, the Almighty said: {What is the matter with these people that they can hardly understand a saying?}. This serves as an expression of astonishment at their failure to grasp the correctness of this statement despite its clarity.

The Mu'tazilites argue that this verse proves their position. They claim that if understanding and knowledge were created by God, this astonishment would be meaningless, as the reason for the lack of knowledge would simply be that God did not create it. Therefore, the presence of this astonishment implies that understanding is achieved by the action of the servant, not by the action of God.

Know that this argument is merely relying on the principle of praise and blame, which we have already addressed as being contradicted by knowledge (al-'Ilm).

The Mu'tazilites said: The commentators agree that what is meant by {they can hardly understand a saying (ḥadīth)} is that they do not understand the saying mentioned in this context (i.e., the preceding statement). This requires describing the Qur'an as ḥadīth, and ḥadīth is fa'īl in the sense of maf'ūl (passive participle, meaning 'spoken/created'). This necessitates that the Qur'an is created (muḥdath).

The Response: What you mean by the Qur'an is merely these expressions, and we do not dispute that these expressions are created (muḥdathah).

Fiqh means understanding. It is said, "He was given fiqh." This is derived from the Prophet's (PBUH) supplication for Ibn Abbas: (Grant him understanding in interpretation (ta’wīl)).

{مَا أَصَابَكَ مِنْ حَسَنَةٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ وَمَا أَصَابَكَ مِنْ سَيِّئَةٍ فَمِنْ نَفْسِكَ وَأَرْسَلْنَاكَ لِلنَّاسِ رَسُولًا وَكَفَى بِاللَّهِ شَهِيدًا} Whatever good reaches you is from Allah, but whatever evil befalls you is from yourself. And We have sent you to mankind as a messenger. And sufficient is Allah as Witness.