Al-An'am (The Cattle): (54) And when those who believe in Our signs come to you...

Issues in the Verse:

Some scholars hold that this statement is absolute, applying to everyone possessing this description. Others maintain that it was revealed specifically concerning the Ahl al-Suffah (People of the Bench), whom the polytheists asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) to expel and keep away. God honored them with this honor because He first forbade the Prophet (PBUH) from driving them away, and then commanded him to honor them in this manner.

It is narrated from 'Ikrimah that whenever the Prophet (PBUH) saw them, he would initiate the greeting (Salam) and say: "Praise be to Allah, who has placed among my Ummah those whom He commanded me to greet first."

Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that when 'Umar apologized for his previous statement and sought forgiveness for it, telling the Prophet (PBUH) that he only intended good, this verse was revealed.

Another view suggests it was revealed concerning people who committed sins, then came to the Prophet (PBUH) showing remorse and sorrow; this verse was then revealed for them.

The most sound opinion among these views is to take the verse in its generality: whoever believes in God falls under this honor.

A difficulty arises here: Scholars agree that this entire Surah was revealed at one time. If so, how can it be claimed that a specific event was the reason for the revelation of each individual verse in the Surah?

This phrase contains profound secrets. Everything other than God Almighty is a sign of God's existence, a sign of His glorious attributes, His majesty, and His oneness. Since everything besides God is infinite, the intellect cannot fully grasp it in detail.

The possible path is for a person to become aware of some of these signs and use that knowledge as a means to know God Almighty. Then, they believe in the rest of the signs summarily (in general). During their lifetime, they become like a traveler in those deserts or a swimmer in those oceans. Since these signs are endless, the ascent of the servant through the stages of these signs is also endless. This is a general principle whose details have no end.

When the servant attains this description, God commands Muhammad (PBUH) to say to them: "Peace be upon you" (Salāmun 'alaykum). This greeting is glad tidings of attaining safety (Salāmah).

And His saying: "Your Lord has decreed mercy upon Himself" is glad tidings of attaining mercy following that safety.

• Safety (Salāmah) means deliverance from the sea of the world of darkness, the center of corporeality, the source of afflictions and contradictions, and the place of changes and transformations.
• Honor (Karāmāt) means reaching the everlasting good deeds (al-Bāqiyāt al-Sālihāt) and the sanctified pure realities, reaching the expanse of the world of lights, and ascending to the stages of the veils of Majesty.

Al-Zajjaj narrated from Al-Mubarrad that the word Salāmah (safety/peace) in the Arabic language has four meanings:

1. Salimtu salāman (I greeted), which means supplication/greeting.
2. It is one of the Names of God Almighty.
3. It means Islam.
4. It is the name for a large tree, perhaps named so because of its safety from afflictions. It is also the name for hard stones, also due to their safety from softness.

Al-Zajjaj then said: The phrase "Peace be upon you" (Salāmun 'alaykum) here admits two interpretations:

1. It is a masdar (verbal noun) like Salāmun from Salimtu taslīman (I greeted), similar to Sarāh from Tasrīh. The meaning is: I supplicated for him to be safe from afflictions in his religion and self. Thus, Salām means Taslīm (conveying peace/submission).
2. Salām is the plural of Salāmah (safety). The meaning is: Safety be upon you.

Abu Bakr Ibn al-Anbārī said: Some people held that Al-Salām is God Himself, so the meaning of "Peace be upon you" would be "God is upon you" (i.e., guarding you). This is considered weak in this verse because Salām is indefinite (without al-). If it were definite, this interpretation would be valid.

I have written comprehensive chapters on the phrase "Peace be upon you" in Surah At-Tawbah, which are extraneous to this context. If I were to transfer them here, the discussion would be complete. And God knows best.

Regarding His saying: "Your Lord has decreed mercy upon Himself"

The phrase "He decreed such-and-such upon so-and-so" implies obligation. The preposition 'alā (upon) also implies obligation. Their combination is an emphasis on the obligation. This necessitates that He (Exalted is He) is Merciful to His servants and Compassionate towards them necessarily.

The rationalists differed on the reason for this necessity:

• Our companions (Ash'arites): He (Exalted is He) has the right to deal with His servants as He wills, but He obligated mercy upon Himself out of grace and generosity.
• Mu'tazilites: His knowledge of the ugliness of evil deeds, and His self-sufficiency (being free from needing them), prevents Him from committing evil. If He did commit evil, it would be injustice, and injustice is ugly, and ugliness is impossible for Him. This is a clear issue in the science of Usul (Principles of Jurisprudence).

This verse indicates that it is permissible to attribute the term Nafs (Self) to the essence of God (Exalted is He). Furthermore, the verse: "You know what is within my self, and I do not know what is within Your Self" (Al-Ma'idah: 116) also indicates this. Here, Nafs means essence and reality. God Almighty is sanctified from it meaning body or blood, because if He were a body, He would be composite. A composite being is contingent (mumkin). Moreover, He is the One (Al-Ahad), and the One cannot be composite. Also, He is self-sufficient, as stated: "And Allah is the Self-Sufficient" (Al-Baqarah: 267), and the self-sufficient cannot be composite, and what is not composite is not a body. Furthermore, bodies are similar in the completeness of their essence; if He were a body, He would have a like, which is false due to His saying: "There is nothing like unto Him" (Ash-Shura: 11). There are many clear, powerful, and manifest rational proofs for this, praise be to God.

The Mu'tazilites argue that "Your Lord has decreed mercy upon Himself" contradicts the idea that He creates disbelief in the disbeliever and then punishes him eternally for it, or that He prevents someone from faith while commanding him to believe in that state of prevention, and then punishes him for abandoning that faith.

The response of our companions (Ash'arites) is that He is the Giver of harm and benefit, the Giver of life and death. He performs that ultimate mercy and that ultimate overpowering, and there is no contradiction between the two actions.

Some scholars say that since God commanded the Prophet (PBUH) to say to them: "Peace be upon you, your Lord has decreed mercy upon Himself," this statement is from God and His speech. This implies that He (Exalted is He) said to them in this life: "Peace be upon you, your Lord has decreed mercy upon Himself."

The reality of this is that God promised certain people that He would say to them after death: "Peace, a word from a Merciful Lord" (Ya-Sin: 58). Then, certain people spent their lives in servitude until, during their worldly life, it was as if they had transitioned to the Hereafter. Consequently, the promised greeting after death became applicable to them while they were still alive in this world.

Others say this is the speech of the Prophet (PBUH). In either case, it signifies a high station.

Then God Almighty said: "Indeed, whoever of you does evil out of ignorance, then repents thereafter and reforms..."

Know that this does not cover repentance from disbelief (Kufr). This address is directed to those whom He described as: "And when those who believe in Our signs come to you." Therefore, it is established that what is meant is the repentance of a Muslim from sin.

The meaning of "out of ignorance" (bi-jāhalatin) is not error or mistake, as such things do not require repentance. Rather, it means committing the transgression due to desire/passion. The intent is to clarify that if a Muslim commits a sin while knowing it is a sin, and then repents sincerely, God Almighty accepts his repentance.

Nāfi' recited the first An (that) with Fath (A-sound) and the second Fa-anna (then that) with Kasr (I-sound). 'Āṣim and Ibn 'Āmir recited both with Fath. The rest recited both with Kasr.

• Opening with Fath (Anna): This is to explain the Mercy, as if it means: "Your Lord has decreed upon Himself that whoever of you does evil..."
• Opening with Fath and closing with Fath (Fa-anna): This makes the second clause a substitute for the first, like in: "Does He promise you that when you die and become dust and bones, that you will be brought forth?" (Al-Mu'minun: 85), and "He decreed upon him that whoever turns away from Him, then indeed He will lead him astray" (Al-Hajj: 4), and "Did they not know that whoever opposes Allah and His Messenger, then indeed for him is the Fire of Hell?" (At-Tawbah: 63).

Abu 'Alī al-Fārisī said: Whoever opens the first with Fath has made it a substitute for Mercy. As for the one after Fā', it is because a predicate is omitted, meaning: "Then for him is that He is Forgiving and Merciful," i.e., for him is His forgiveness, or an omitted subject whose predicate is Anna, as if saying: "Then his command is that He is Forgiving and Merciful."

• Opening with Kasr (Inna) and closing with Kasr (Fa-inna): Because when He said, "Your Lord has decreed mercy upon Himself," that statement is complete. Then He began a new sentence: "Indeed, whoever of you does evil out of ignorance, then repents thereafter and reforms, then indeed He is Forgiving and Merciful." The Fā' enters as the response to the condition (Jazā' al-Ṣḥarṭ), and Inna is vocalized with Kasr because it enters upon a subject and predicate, as if you said: "Then he is Forgiving and Merciful." However, the use of Inna emphasizes this. This aligns with the view of Al-Zajjaj.

• Nāfi' recited the first with Fath and the second with Kasr: Because he substituted the first for Mercy and started a new sentence after the Fā'. And God knows best.

Al-Hasan said: Everyone who commits a sin is ignorant. They differed on the nature of this ignorance:

1. He is ignorant of the magnitude of the reward he missed and the punishment he deserved.
2. Even if he knows the consequence of the act is blameworthy, he prefers immediate pleasure over great future good. Whoever prefers the little over the much is conventionally called ignorant.

The essence of the matter is that even if he is not ignorant in the absolute sense, because he performed an act befitting the ignorant, the term "ignorant" is applied to him.

It is also said that this verse was revealed concerning 'Umar when he suggested accepting the polytheists' demands, not realizing the resulting corruption. A similar verse is His saying: "Indeed, repentance is [binding] upon Allah only for those who do evil out of ignorance and then repent soon thereafter..." (An-Nisā': 17).

His saying: "then repents thereafter and reforms":

• "Repents" (Tāba) refers to remorse for the past.
• "And reforms" (Aslaha) refers to performing righteous deeds in the future.

Then: "then indeed He is Forgiving and Merciful":

• He is Forgiving because He removes the punishment.
• He is Merciful because He grants the reward, which is the ultimate expression of mercy. And God knows best.

! 7 < { And thus do We detail the verses, and that the way of the criminals may become evident. * Say, "Indeed, I have been forbidden to worship those you call upon besides Allah." Say, "I will not follow your desires. Indeed, I would then have gone astray, and I would not be of the guided." * Say, "Indeed, I am upon clear evidence from my Lord, and you have denied it. I do not possess what you seek to hasten. Judgment belongs only to Allah. He relates the truth, and He is the best of judges." } > 7

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