Tafsir of Al-Hadeed 57:15

Surah Al-Hadid (The Iron): Verse 15

فاليوم لا يؤخذ منكم فدية ولا من الذين كفروا مأواكم النار هي مولاكم وبئس المصير

Translation & Exegesis:

فاليوم لا يؤخذ منكم فدية (So today no ransom will be accepted from you)

• Fidya (Ransom): There are two interpretations:
  1. No faith (īmān) or repentance (tawbah) will be accepted, as the time for accountability has arrived, and compulsion (ilja’) has taken place (i.e., they are facing the inevitable consequence).
  2. Rather, it means no ransom paid by wealth will be accepted to ward off the punishment, similar to the verse: {Nor will any compensation be accepted from her, nor will intercession benefit her} (Al-Baqarah: 123).

• Implications for Tawbah (Repentance): The term fidya encompasses faith, repentance, and wealth. This indicates that accepting repentance is not rationally obligatory (wājib ‘aqlan), as the Mu'tazila claim. Since the verse states that no ransom is accepted, and repentance is a form of ransom, the verse implies that repentance is fundamentally not accepted [at that stage]. If so, repentance cannot be rationally obligatory to be accepted.

• {ولا من الذين كفروا} (nor from those who disbelieved): There is a discussion here. Conjoining the hypocrite (munāfiq) with the disbeliever (kāfir) implies that the hypocrite is not a disbeliever, as there must be a distinction between the conjoined and the conjunction.
  • Response: What is meant here are those who manifested disbelief; otherwise, the hypocrite is indeed a disbeliever.

مأواكم النار هي مولاكم وبئس المصير (Your refuge is the Fire. It is your Mawlā, and wretched is the destination.)

• Regarding the term Mawlā (Master/Patron/Place): There are several views:
  1. Ibn Abbas: {Your Mawlā} means your destination (maṣīr). Its reality is that al-Mawlā is the place of the patron (al-Walī), signifying closeness. Thus, the meaning is that the Fire is your place that you approach and reach.
  2. Al-Kalbī, Al-Zajjāj, Al-Farrā’, and Abū ‘Ubaydah: It means "more worthy of you" (awlā bikum).

• Linguistic Distinction: We must note that what these scholars stated is a meaning (ma‘nā), not a literal interpretation (tafsīr) of the word. If Mawlā and Awlā meant the same thing in the language, they could be used interchangeably. It should be correct to say, "This person is Mawlā to so-and-so" just as one says, "This person is Awlā to so-and-so," and vice versa. Since this interchangeability is false, we know their assertion is a derived meaning, not a literal definition.

• Relevance to Theological Debate: We point this out because Al-Sharīf Al-Murtadā, when arguing for the Imamate of ‘Alī (peace be upon him) based on the Prophet’s saying, "Whoever I am his Mawlā, ‘Alī is his Mawlā," argued that one meaning of Mawlā is Awlā (more worthy/entitled). He used the scholars' interpretation of this verse as proof that Mawlā means Awlā. If the word is potentially this, it must be interpreted as such, because other meanings (like cousin, helper, freed slave, or emancipator) are either clearly established (making the claim redundant) or clearly absent (making the claim false). However, we have demonstrated with evidence that the assertion of these scholars in this context is a derived meaning, not a literal interpretation, thus invalidating their proof based on this verse.

• Another Interpretation of {هي مولاكم}: It means "you have no Mawlā." This is because whoever has the Fire as his Mawlā has no true patron. This is analogous to saying, "His helper is abandonment (khidhlan), and his supporter is weeping (bukā’)," meaning he has no helper or supporter. This interpretation is reinforced by the verse: {And those who disbelieve—their Mawlā is the Fire} (Muhammad: 11), and by the verse: {they will be given water like molten brass to drink} (Al-Kahf: 29 [implying torment]).

Surah Al-Hadid (The Iron): Verse 16

ألم يأن للذين آمنوا أن تخشع قلوبهم لذكر الله وما نزل من الحق ولا يكونوا كالذين أوتوا الكتاب من قبل فطال عليهم الأمد فقست قلوبهم وكثير منهم فاسقون

Translation & Exegesis:

Has the time not yet come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humble for the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the Truth, and that they should not become like those who were given the Scripture before them? The time became long for them, and so their hearts hardened, and many of them were defiantly disobedient (Fāsiqūn).

• This verse is a gentle admonishment to the believers, questioning why their hearts have not yet softened in submission to the remembrance of God and the revealed Truth (the Qur'an).
• It warns them against resembling the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) who preceded them.
• The reason for the People of the Book’s spiritual decline was the long interval (al-amad) between their prophets and revelations, which led to the hardening of their hearts.
• The verse concludes by noting that many among them became Fāsiqūn (defiantly disobedient/corrupt).