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Tafsir of As-Saff 61:14

Surah As-Saff 61:14

ﳋ ﳌ ﳍ ﳎ ﳏ ﳐ ﳑ ﳒ ﳓ ﳔ ﳕ ﳖ ﳗ ﳘ ﳙ ﳚ ﳛ ﳜ ﳝ ﳞ ﳟ ﳠ ﳡ ﳢ ﳣ ﳤ ﳥ ﳦ ﳧ ﳨ ﳩ ﳪ ﳫ ﳬ ﳭ ﳮ ﳯ ﳰ

O you who have believed, be supporters of Allah, as when Jesus, the son of Mary, said to the disciples, "Who are my supporters for Allah?" The disciples said, "We are supporters of Allah." And a faction of the Children of Israel believed and a faction disbelieved. So We supported those who believed against their enemy, and they became dominant.

Tafsir

Mafatih al-Ghayb

Verse range: 61:14

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| Verse: (14) O you who believe...

Then the Almighty said: {O you who believe! Be helpers of Allah, just as Jesus, the son of Mary, said to the disciples, "Who will be my helpers to Allah?" They said, "We are the helpers of Allah."}

The statement {Be helpers of Allah} is a command to maintain and persevere in supporting the cause of Allah. It means, "Remain steadfast upon what you are doing of support." This is supported by the recitation of Ibn Mas'ud: {Be you the helpers of Allah}, indicating that they already were so. This means they are the helpers of the religion of Allah.

The phrase {just as Jesus, the son of Mary, said to the disciples} means: Support the religion of Allah just as the disciples supported Jesus when he said to them, {Who will be my helpers to Allah?}

  • Qatadah said: It means, "Who will protect me from Allah?"
  • ‘Ata’ said: It means, "Who will support the religion of Allah?"
  • Some said: Allah commanded the believers to support Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) just as the disciples supported Jesus (peace be upon him).
  • This implies that victory through Jihad (struggle) is not exclusive to this Ummah (community).
  • The disciples (al-Hawariyyun) were his chosen ones, the first to believe in him, and they were twelve men.
  • Hawari (disciple) means one's confidant and closest associate. It comes from al-Hawr, which means pure whiteness. It is also said they were launderers who yuḥawwirūn (whiten) clothes.

As for the Ansar (Helpers, referring to the people of Medina): According to Qatadah, all the Ansar were from Quraysh: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Hamzah, Ja‘far, Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah, ‘Uthman ibn Maz‘un, ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf, Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas, ‘Uthman ibn ‘Awf, Talhah ibn ‘Ubaydullah, and al-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwam.

In this verse, there are several points of discussion:

First Point: The comparison (*tashbīh*) is carried over to the meaning; what is intended is: **Be like the disciples were.**

Second Point: What is the meaning of His statement: {Who will be my helpers to Allah?} We say: Its meaning must correspond to the disciples' response. What matches this is that the meaning is: **"Who among my army will be devoted to helping Allah?"**

The addition of ‘anṣārī (my helpers) is different from the addition in anṣār Allāh (helpers of Allah). This is because the meaning of the first is "those who help Allah," while the meaning of the second is "those who are exclusively devoted to me and are with me in helping Allah."

Third Point: The companions of Jesus said, {We are the helpers of Allah}, but the companions of Muhammad did not say this. We say: Jesus’ address to them was in the form of a **question**, so a response was necessary. Muhammad’s address to his companions was in the form of an **obligation** (*ilzām*), so a response is not necessary. Rather, what is necessary is compliance with this command, which is His statement: {Be helpers of Allah}.

Then the Almighty said: {O you who believe! Be helpers of Allah, just as Jesus, the son of Mary, said to the disciples, "Who will be my helpers to Allah?"}

Ibn ‘Abbas meant by this: those who believed during the time of Jesus (peace be upon him), and those who disbelieved likewise. This is because when Jesus (peace be upon him) was raised to heaven, they split into three groups:

  1. A group said: He was Allah and ascended.
  2. A group said: He was the son of Allah and He raised him to Himself.
  3. A group said: He was the servant of Allah and His Messenger, and He raised him to Himself—and these were the Muslims.

Each group followed a segment of the people. The two disbelieving factions united against the Muslim faction, killing them and driving them out across the land. This situation persisted until Allah sent Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and the believers became victorious over the disbelievers. This is the meaning of His statement: {O you who believe! Be helpers of Allah}.

Mujahid said: {then they became victorious} means those who followed Jesus became victorious. This is also the view of the Muqātilūn (those who fight). According to this view, the meaning of the verse is: those who believed in Jesus became victorious over those who disbelieved in him, thus becoming dominant over the followers of other religions.

Ibrahim said: The proof/argument of those who believed in Jesus became manifest through the confirmation of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) that Jesus was the Word of Allah and His Spirit.

Al-Kalbi said: They became victorious through argument (al-ḥujjah). The victory through argument is the view of Zayd ibn ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).

And Allah knows best the correct view. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our Master Muhammad, his family, and all his companions.