Al-An'am (The Cattle): Verse 125

Issues in the Verse

Our scholars (Ash'arites) use this verse as evidence that guidance (hidāyah) and misguidance (ḍalāl) originate from Allah, the Exalted.

This verse, in its wording, supports our position, and it also aligns with the decisive rational proof concerning this matter. The proof is as follows:

1. The servant possesses equal capacity (qudrah) for belief (īmān) and for reflection (fikr).
2. Therefore, it is impossible for belief to issue from him instead of disbelief, or vice versa, unless a motive/inclination (dā'iyah) towards it occurs in the heart. (We have explained this repeatedly in this book.)
3. This inclination (dā'iyah) is nothing other than Allah's knowledge, belief, or assumption that the action involves a superior benefit (maṣlaḥah) and a preponderant advantage (manfa'ah).
4. When this meaning occurs in the heart, it calls the person to perform that action. Conversely, if knowledge or belief occurs that the action involves a superior harm (ḍarar) and a preponderant corruption (mafsadah), it calls the person to abandon it.
5. We have proven rationally that the occurrence of these motives must originate from Allah.
6. The combination of capacity (qudrah) and motive (dā'iyah) necessitates the action (fi'l).

Conclusion: It is impossible for belief to issue from the servant unless Allah creates in his heart the belief that belief (e.g., in Muhammad) carries a greater benefit and advantage. When this belief occurs, the heart inclines towards it, resulting in the expansion of the breast (inshirāḥ al-ṣadr) for Islam.

Conversely, if the heart believes that belief in Muhammad, for instance, causes great corruption in religion and the world, leading to numerous harms, this belief results in a strong aversion (nafarah) from believing in him. This is what is meant by Allah making his breast tight and constricted (ḍayyiqan ḥarajan).

Thus, the verse implies: Whoever Allah wills to guide, He strengthens the motives towards belief in him. Whoever Allah wills to misguide, He strengthens the deterrents away from belief and strengthens the motives towards disbelief. Since this is established by rational proof, the wording of the Qur'an encompasses these rational proofs. When clear proof aligns with the explicit wording of the Qur'an, there can be no further explanation or proof beyond it.

The Mu'tazilites present two main points regarding this verse:

Point 1: Demonstrating that the verse does not support our claim (Divine determination).

This is argued through four aspects:

1. First Aspect: The verse does not state that Allah misguides people, only that if He wills to guide someone, He does X, and if He wills to misguide them, He does Y. It does not state that Allah wills either action. Evidence: Allah says, $\text{{If We had willed to take a diversion, We would have taken it from Us, if We were to do [such a thing]} (Al-Anbiyā': 17)}. This shows that Allah acts if He wills, yet it is agreed that He does not will or do that (taking a diversion).
2. Second Aspect: Allah did not say, "Whoever wills to misguide him from Islam," but simply, "Whoever wills to misguide him." Why do you specify that the intended meaning is misguidance from belief?
3. Third Aspect: The end of the verse indicates that Allah does this to the disbeliever as retribution for his disbelief, not as an initial act: \text{{Thus does Allah place the impurity upon those who do not believe}}.
4. Fourth Aspect: The phrase, "Whoever wills to misguide him, He makes his breast tight and constricted," suggests that the constriction of the breast precedes the misguidance, and that this preceding factor causes the misguidance. This is false by consensus (both ours and yours, as you attribute the cause to Allah's creation of ignorance/misguidance due to His power).

Based on these four points, the verse does not support our view.

Point 2: Interpreting the verse in a way consistent with our (Mu'tazilite) doctrine.

This is argued through three interpretations:

1. First Interpretation (Chosen by al-Jubbā'ī and supported by al-Qāḍī): The meaning is: "Whoever Allah wills to guide on the Day of Resurrection to the path of Paradise, He expands his breast for Islam so that he remains firm upon it." This expansion is achieved through subtle divine favors (alṭāf) that call him to remain steadfast. These favors can only be applied after the person becomes a believer (e.g., \text{{And whoever believes in Allah, He guides his heart} (At-Taghābun: 11)}). If a servant believes and Allah wills his steadfastness, He expands his breast. Conversely, if he disbelieves and persists, and Allah wills to misguide him from the path of Paradise, He casts tightness and constriction upon his breast.
   • Objection raised by al-Jubbā'ī against himself: We observe that disbelievers are often cheerful and free from grief.
   • Al-Jubbā'ī's Answer: Allah does not inform us that He inflicts this upon them at all times; thus, it is possible they are cheerful at other times.
   • Objection raised by al-Qāḍī against al-Jubbā'ī: Then you must affirm that every disbeliever experiences this constriction at some point.
   • Al-Qāḍī's Answer: We affirm that. This occurs especially when divine proofs appear, when Allah grants victory to the believers, or when humiliation and disgrace befall the disbelievers.

2. Second Interpretation: The meaning is: "Whoever Allah wills to guide to Paradise, He expands his breast for Islam at that time when He guides him to Paradise." When he sees the high station and noble rank achieved through belief, his desire for belief increases, and his breast expands further. Conversely, whoever Allah wills to misguide from the path of Paradise on the Day of Resurrection, his breast becomes tight and constricted at that time due to the intense grief of being deprived of Paradise and entering the Fire. This interpretation is considered plausible and the wording allows for it.

3. Third Interpretation: There is a transposition (taqdīm wa ta'khīr) in the statement.
   • Meaning A: "Whoever expands his own breast through belief, Allah wills to guide him (i.e., He favors him with favors that lead to steadfastness), or guides him to the path of Paradise."
   • Meaning B: "Whoever makes his breast tight and constricted away from belief, Allah wills to misguide him from the path of Paradise, or misguides him by withholding favors that lead to steadfastness."

Refutation of their First Point (That Allah does not explicitly say He misguides): The statement at the end, \text{{Thus does Allah place the impurity...}}, explicitly confirms that He does perform this misguidance. The letter Kāf (ka) in \text{{kadhālik}} implies comparison: "Just as We placed this constriction in his breast, so too do We place impurity upon the hearts of those who do not believe."

Refutation of their Second Point (That the verse doesn't specify misguidance from religion): The phrase \text{{Thus does Allah place the impurity upon those who do not believe}} explicitly confirms that the intended meaning of "whoever He wills to misguide" is misguidance from religion.

Refutation of their Third Point (That the impurity is retribution for prior disbelief): We do not accept that the meaning is solely retribution. Rather, it means: "Thus does Allah place the impurity upon the hearts of those whom it has been decreed they will not believe." If we interpret the verse this way, their argument collapses.

Refutation of their Fourth Point (That constriction precedes and causes misguidance): This is precisely what happens. Allah creates in his heart the belief that believing in Muhammad brings worldly disgrace and eternal punishment. This belief causes the soul to turn away and the heart to recoil from accepting the belief. This state of recoil is analogous to extreme tightness, as one cannot enter a narrow path. Because of this analogy, the term tightness (ḍīq) and constriction (ḥaraj) is used. Thus, this argument fails.

Refutation of their First Interpretation (Constriction = Grief/Sadness): This interpretation reduces the matter to the grief and sorrow experienced by the disbeliever. This is far-fetched because Allah distinguishes the disbeliever from the believer by this constriction. If it meant grief, the grief of the disbeliever should be demonstrably greater than that of the believer, which is not the case. In fact, believers often experience more hardship and affliction (as evidenced by the Prophet's saying that affliction is tested most severely upon the Prophets, then the Saints, and so on).

Refutation of their Second Interpretation (Constriction happens at the time of seeing the reward/punishment): This interpretation explains the obvious. Everyone knows that whoever is guided to Paradise by Allah rejoices and his breast expands for belief at that time. Similarly, whoever is misguided from the path of Paradise experiences constriction at that time due to the grief of deprivation. Applying the verse to something already known by necessity removes the verse's benefit.

Refutation of their Third Interpretation (Transposition of words): This requires dismantling the structure (naẓm) of the verse. The verse implies that the expansion of the breast comes first from Allah, leading to guidance/belief. You reverse this, claiming the servant first expands his own breast, and then Allah favors him with further favors for steadfastness. Linguistic evidence can only be used if the structure and order are preserved. Destroying the structure means no verse can be used as proof, which undermines the Qur'an's authority as evidence.

Conclusion on the Matter: We have established that the act of belief requires a decisive motive (dā'iyah) in the heart, and the source of that motive is Allah. The same applies to disbelief. The wording of the verse aligns with this: "Whoever Allah wills to guide, He strengthens what calls him to belief in his heart; and whoever Allah wills to misguide, He casts into his heart what deters him from belief and calls him to disbelief." Since this is proven by rational argument, all the questions raised by the Mu'tazilites fall away.

Expansion of the Breast (Sharḥ al-Ṣadr)

First View (Al-Layth): To expand the breast means to widen it to accept the matter.

• Our commentary: This widening is not literal, as that is impossible. The reality is what we previously mentioned: When a person believes an action has superior benefit, his nature inclines toward it, and strong desire arises—this is breadth of the soul (sa'at al-nafs). When he believes an action has superior harm, strong aversion arises—this is tightness of the soul. A narrow path prevents entry; a wide path allows it. Thus, when belief in superior benefit occurs, the breast is said to have expanded (tassa'a). When belief in superior harm occurs, no inclination arises, and the breast is said to be tight, like a narrow path one cannot enter.

Second View: To explain or clarify something difficult.

Note on the term Sharḥ: The term "expansion/explanation" is not exclusive to truth. It applies to disbelief as well: \text{{But is he whose breast is expanded to Islam...} (Az-Zumar: 22)} and \text{{But whoever opens his breast to disbelief} (An-Naḥl: 106)}$.

When this verse was revealed, the Prophet (PBUH) was asked how Allah expands the breast. He replied: "(He casts light into it until it becomes spacious and expanded.)" When asked for a sign, he said: "(Turning toward the Abode of Eternity, turning away from the Abode of Deception, and preparing for death before death arrives.)"

This Hadith confirms our interpretation: When a person realizes that preoccupation with the Hereafter has superior benefit and preoccupation with the world has superior harm, and he becomes certain of this (by proof, experience, or imitation), desire for the Hereafter and aversion to the world must follow. This is what is meant by "turning toward the Abode of Eternity" and "turning away from the Abode of Deception." Preparing for death encompasses both.

Since the motive (dā'iyah) must precede the action, the expansion of the breast for belief signifies the occurrence of the motive for belief, which is why the verse implies that expansion precedes Islam, and similarly for disbelief.

Tightness and Constriction (Ḍayyiqan Ḥarajan)

First Inquiry (Recitations):

• Ibn Kathir reads ḍayyiqan with a quiescent yā'. Others use a shaddah and kasra (ḍayyīqan). They may mean the same thing, like sayyid and sayyid.
• Nāfi' and Abū Bakr (from 'Āṣim) read ḥarajan with a kasra on the rā'. Others use a fatḥa. Al-Farrā' states that the kasra and fatḥa are like wajil and wajal. Al-Zajjāj says ḥaraj in language means the tightest constriction, implying extreme tightness. If one says ḥarīj al-ṣadr (with fatḥa), it means he has constriction in his breast. If one says ḥarij (with kasra), it functions as an active participle, similar to dunif (sick) and dunaf.

Second Inquiry (Meaning of Ḥaraj): Some say ḥaraj (with kasra) means tightness, while ḥaraj (with fatḥa) is the plural of ḥarajah (a place dense with trees inaccessible to shepherds).

• Al-Wāḥidī narrates two accounts from Ibn 'Abbās:
  1. Ibn 'Abbās asked a man from Banū Bakr about al-ḥarajah. The man replied it was a valley dense with intertwined trees with no path. Ibn 'Abbās concluded: "Thus is the heart of the disbeliever."
  2. Al-Wāḥidī narrates that 'Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb asked a shepherd from Kinānah about al-ḥarajah. The shepherd replied it was a tree surrounded by other trees, inaccessible to shepherds or wild animals. 'Umar said: "Thus is the heart of the disbeliever; no good reaches it."

"As if he were climbing into the sky" (Ka'annamā yaṣṣa'adu fī al-samā')

First Inquiry (Recitations):

• Ibn Kathīr reads yaṣ'adu (with quiescent ṣād). Abū Bakr (from 'Āṣim) reads yaṣā'idu (with alif and shaddah on ṣād), meaning "to ascend with effort." The rest read yaṣ'adu (with shaddah on ṣād and 'ayn, without alif).
• The reading yaṣ'adu (quiescent ṣād) is from ṣu'ūd (ascending). It means that in his aversion and the burden of Islam upon him, he is like someone forced to climb to the sky—a difficult task that the heart resists, just as belief is heavy for the disbeliever.
• Yaṣā'idu is like yataṣā'adu (striving to ascend).
• The reading yaṣ'adu (shaddah) implies yataṣa''adu (striving to ascend with difficulty), where the tā' is assimilated into the ṣād.

Second Inquiry (Meaning of the Simile):

1. Just as the effort of climbing to the sky is heavy, difficult, and causes aversion in a person, so too is belief heavy and causes aversion in the disbeliever's heart.
2. Alternatively, the meaning is that his heart recoils and moves far away from accepting Islam, and this distance is likened to the distance one travels when ascending from earth to sky.

"Thus does Allah place the impurity upon those who do not believe" (Kadhālik...)

First Inquiry (Meaning of Kāf):

1. The Kāf implies comparison: Allah places impurity upon them just as He placed constriction in their breasts.
2. Al-Zajjāj suggests the meaning is: "Like what We have related to you, Allah places the impurity."

Second Inquiry (Meaning of al-Rijs):

• Ibn 'Abbās: It is Satan whom Allah subjects to them.
• Mujāhid: That which has no good in it.
• 'Aṭā': Punishment.
• Al-Zajjāj: Cursing in this world and punishment in the Hereafter.

We conclude this exegesis with a powerful closing statement based on a narration from Muḥammad ibn Ka'b al-Qurazī:

He said that he and others discussed the issue of the Qadariyyah (those who deny divine preordination) in the presence of Ibn 'Umar. Ibn 'Umar said: "The Qadariyyah have been cursed by the tongues of seventy prophets, including our Prophet (PBUH)."

On the Day of Resurrection, a caller will announce: "Where are the adversaries of Allah (khuṣamā' Allāh)?", and the Qadariyyah will stand up.

Al-Qāḍī cites this narration, arguing it strongly supports that the Qadariyyah—those who attribute the actions of servants to Allah by decree and creation—are the adversaries of Allah. They argue to Allah: "What sin do we have that You punish us for, when You created it in us, it was by Your will, and You decreed it upon us? You created us only for it, and provided no other path." Therefore, they become Allah's adversaries due to this argument.

However, those who say Allah grants capacity and removes obstacles, and the servant acts by his own choice, their speech aligns with how punishment is administered, so they are not adversaries of Allah but submissive to Him.

Critique of Al-Qāḍī's View: This view is astonishing. It is far-fetched that you do not know the position of your opponents: they do not claim the servant has any right or entitlement against Allah. They believe everything the Lord does to the servant is wisdom and correct, and the servant has no right to object or debate the Lord. How can someone with this belief be an adversary of Allah?

The True Adversaries of Allah are the Mu'tazilites:

1. They claim that reward and compensation are obligatory upon Allah. They say: "If You do not give me that, You exit the realm of Divinity, become stripped of Lordship, and join the ranks of the foolish." This person is the adversary of Allah.
2. Consider a person who persists in disbelief for seventy years, then sincerely utters the Shahādah just before death. If Allah then grants him immense favors and high ranks for a thousand thousand years, and then wishes to withdraw those favors for a single moment, that servant would say: "O God, never, never withdraw those favors for a moment, for if You do, You become stripped of Divinity." The single act of belief obligated the Deity to grant endless favors. This is the contention (khuṣūmah).
3. Conversely, those who say no angel or prophet has a right upon Allah, and all rewards granted are merely grace and favor, are not adversaries.

Third Argument for Contention (The Story of Al-Ash'arī and Al-Jubbā'ī): Al-Ash'arī, after leaving Al-Jubbā'ī, posed a question via an old woman: I had three sons: one extremely pious, one extremely wicked, and one a child who died before puberty. What are their states? Al-Jubbā'ī answered: The pious is in the high ranks of Paradise; the disbeliever is in the lowest pits of the Fire; the child is safe. Al-Ash'arī asked: Could the child reach the high ranks of his pious brother? Al-Jubbā'ī said no, because Allah says the brother earned it through toil in knowledge and action, which the child lacked. Al-Ash'arī then asked: What if the child says, "O Lord, it is not my fault; You caused me to die before puberty. If You had let me live, perhaps I would have surpassed my pious brother in piety"? Al-Jubbā'ī answered: Allah would say, "I knew that if you lived, you would transgress and disbelieve, deserving the Fire. I looked after your interest by causing you to die so you would be saved from punishment." Al-Ash'arī then asked: What if the wicked brother raises his head from the lowest pit and says, "O most merciful of judges, just as You knew the small brother would have disbelieved if he lived, You knew the same about me. Why did You look after the interest of the small brother but not mine?" The narrator states Al-Jubbā'ī was silenced. Seeing Al-Ash'arī, he knew the question was his.

Later, Abū al-Ḥusayn al-Baṣrī tried to defend his teacher by presenting two other answers based on whether commanding (taklīf) is obligatory upon Allah (Basrans say no, Baghdadans say yes):

• If commanding is favor (Basran view): Allah favored the pious brother with long life and command; He is not obligated to favor the child similarly.
• If commanding is obligatory (Baghdadi view): Commanding the pious brother was a favor that brought no harm to others. Commanding the child would have resulted in harm to others (i.e., the wicked brother's fate), so Allah refrained from it for that reason.

Refutation of Al-Baṣrī's Answers (By the Author): The validity of this debate (servant arguing with God) only arises under the Mu'tazilite doctrine. For us (Ahl al-Sunnah), there is no debate between the servant and the Lord. The servant cannot ask his Lord, "Why did You do X or not do Y?" Thus, the adversaries of Allah are the Mu'tazilites, not the Sunnis.

1. Refuting the First Answer (Commanding is favor): This is flawed. Once Allah grants a favor (long life/command) to one person, withholding it from another who needs it is ugly (qabīḥ) on Allah, as granting it to the second person is not difficult for Him nor does it diminish His dominion. This is like refusing to let someone look into a mirror placed for public use. If the intellect judges this refusal ugly, it must judge the divine refusal ugly, or else the entire principle of rational judgment is void.
2. Refuting the Second Answer (Commanding the disbeliever causes harm to others): Our view is that the command itself does not inherently cause the harm. Rather, Allah knew that if He commanded this person, another person would choose an evil act. If this knowledge necessitates withholding the command from the first person, then by the same logic, Allah knew the disbeliever would choose disbelief upon being commanded, so He should withhold the command from him too. To claim He must refrain from commanding one person because another might choose evil, but need not refrain from commanding someone He knows will choose evil himself, is pure arbitrary control (taḥakkum).

Therefore, the subtle reasoning of Abū al-Ḥusayn is weak, and it is confirmed that the adversaries of Allah are the Mu'tazilites, not the Ash'arites.

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