ﱓ ﱔ ﱕ ﱖ ﱗ ﱘ ﱙ ﱚ ﱛ ﱜ ﱝ ﱞ ﱟ ﱠ ﱡ ﱢ ﱣ ﱤ ﱥ ﱦ ﱧ ﱨ ﱩ ﱪ ﱫ ﱬ ﱭ ﱮ
Say, "Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has produced for His servants and the good [lawful] things of provision?" Say, "They are for those who believe during the worldly life [but] exclusively for them on the Day of Resurrection." Thus do We detail the verses for a people who know.
Tafsir
Verse range: 7:31-32
Know that when Allah Almighty commanded justice in the first verse, and since clothing, food, and drink are part of justice, He consequently followed it by mentioning them. Also, when He commanded establishing prayer in His saying: {And set your faces toward every place of prostration} (Al-A'raf: 29), and covering the private parts (awrah) is a condition for the validity of prayer, He consequently followed it by mentioning clothing.
There are several issues in this verse:
Ibn Abbas said that the people of Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance) among the Arab tribes used to circumambulate the Ka'bah naked. Men did so during the day, and women during the night. When they reached a mosque of Mina, they would cast off their garments and approach the mosque naked. They said: "We will not circumambulate in garments in which we have committed sins." Some of them said they did this as an omen, so that they might be stripped of sins just as they were stripped of clothes.
Among them, a woman would fashion a covering to hang around her waist to conceal herself from the Hums (the Quraysh), who did not do this. The Quraysh prayed in their garments, and they only ate bare necessities, abstaining from fats. The Muslims then said: "O Messenger of Allah, we are more deserving of doing this." So Allah Almighty revealed this verse, meaning: (Take your adornment/dress at every mosque, and eat and drink, but be not excessive.)
The intended meaning of Zinah (adornment) here is wearing clothes. The evidence for this is His Almighty saying: {And not display their beauty/adornment} (An-Nur: 31), meaning garments. Furthermore, adornment is only achieved through completely covering the awrah. This is why adorning oneself with the finest clothes for gatherings and festivals became a Sunnah.
Moreover, Allah Almighty said in the preceding verse: {Indeed, We have sent down upon you garments to cover your private parts and as adornment/richness} (Al-A'raf: 26). He clarified that the garment which covers the awrah is a type of Riyash (richness/adornment). Since He then commanded taking adornment in this verse, the intended meaning of this Zinah must be what was previously mentioned in that verse. Thus, this Zinah must be interpreted as covering the awrah.
Furthermore, the commentators have unanimously agreed that the meaning of Zinah here is wearing the garment that covers the awrah. Also, His saying: {Take your adornment} is a command. A command implies obligation (Wujub). Therefore, taking adornment is established as obligatory. Since everything other than clothing is not obligatory, Zinah must be interpreted as clothing, acting upon the explicit text as much as possible.
Once this is established, we say: His saying {Take your adornment} is a command, and the apparent meaning of a command is obligation. This indicates the obligation of covering the awrah for every prayer.
Here are two questions:
He Almighty conjoined it with His saying: {And eat and drink}, which is undoubtedly a command permitting (Ibahah). Therefore, {Take your adornment} should also be a command of permission.
Answer: The abandonment of the apparent meaning in the conjoined phrase does not necessitate abandoning it in the phrase it is conjoined with. Moreover, eating and drinking can also be obligatory in terms of ruling.
This verse was revealed concerning the prohibition of circumambulating while naked.
Answer: We have explained in the principles of jurisprudence (Usul al-Fiqh) that the consideration is the generality of the wording, not the specificity of the occasion (reason for revelation).
Once this is established, we say: His saying {Take your adornment at every mosque} necessitates complete covering during every prayer, because complete covering is the adornment. Abandoning this in the measure that does not require covering the limbs is excused by consensus (Ijma'). What remains falls under the explicit wording. Since covering the awrah is established as obligatory in prayer, the prayer must be invalid if it is omitted, because omitting it means abandoning what was commanded. Abandoning what is commanded is a sin, and sin necessitates punishment, as we have explained this methodology in Usul.
The companions of Abu Hanifa relied on this verse regarding the issue of removing impurity with rose water. They argued: We were commanded to establish prayer in His saying: {And establish prayer} (Yunus: 87), and prayer is defined as supplication (Du'a). Since this has been performed, fulfilling the command necessitates exemption from responsibility. Therefore, the validity of prayer should not depend on covering the awrah. However, we made this necessary based on His Almighty saying: {Take your adornment at every mosque}. Wearing a garment washed with rose water, in the highest degree of cleanliness, is taking adornment. Therefore, it should suffice for the validity of the prayer.
Our Answer: The definite article (Alif and Lam) in {And establish prayer} refers back to the established practice (Ma'hud), which is the practice of the Prophet (peace be upon him). When did you claim that the Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed in a garment washed with rose water? And Allah knows best.
As for His Almighty saying: {And eat and drink}, know that we mentioned that the people of Jahiliyyah used to eat only little food during their Hajj days, and they abstained from fats, honoring their Hajj thereby. So Allah Almighty revealed this verse to clarify the falsehood of that practice.
The second opinion is that they claimed Allah Almighty had forbidden them certain things from the bellies of livestock, such as the Bahirah and the Sa'ibah. So Allah Almighty revealed this verse to clarify the falsehood of their claim in this matter.
Know that His saying {And eat and drink} is unrestricted, encompassing all times and states, and covering all foods and drinks. Therefore, the default ruling concerning them must be permissibility (Halal) at all times and for all foods and drinks, except what is specified by a separate proof. Reason also confirms this, because the default ruling concerning benefits is permissibility and lawfulness.
As for His Almighty saying: {but be not excessive}, there are two opinions regarding it:
The First Opinion: That one should eat and drink without transgressing into the forbidden, without excessive, reprehensible spending, and without consuming an amount that harms one or is unnecessary.
The Second Opinion (the opinion of Abu Bakr al-Asamm): That Israf (excessiveness) refers to their claim of prohibiting the Bahirah and the Sa'ibah. They removed them from their ownership and refrained from benefiting from them. Also, they prohibited certain things for themselves during Hajj that Allah had permitted them, and that is excessiveness.
Know that interpreting the word Israf as excessive consumption that is inappropriate is preferable to interpreting it as prohibiting what is not permissible or appropriate.
Then He Almighty said: {Indeed, He does not love the excessive ones}. This is the ultimate threat, because everything that Allah does not love is deprived of reward. The meaning of Allah loving a servant is conveying reward to him. Thus, the absence of this love is an expression for the absence of reward. When reward is not obtained, punishment must occur, due to the consensus that no accountable being in existence is neither rewarded nor punished.
Then He Almighty said: {Say, "Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has produced for His servants and the good things of provision?"} There are issues concerning this:
The apparent meaning of this verse is an interrogative, but the intended meaning is to affirm and greatly emphasize the denial (of the prohibition). There are two opinions regarding the verse:
The First Opinion: That the Zinah in this verse refers to the garment used to cover the awrah, which is the view of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) and many commentators.
The Second Opinion: That it encompasses all types of adornment. Thus, all types of beautification are included, as is cleaning the body in all aspects, means of transport, and types of jewelry, because all of these are adornment. If there were no explicit text prohibiting gold, silver, and silk for men, they would be included under this generality. And included under the Tayyibat (good things) of provision are all types of foods and drinks that are relished and desired, and also enjoying women and perfumes.
It is narrated that Uthman ibn Maz'un came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said: "My inner self is overcome by thoughts. I have resolved to castrate myself." He said: "Hold back, O Uthman! The castration of my Ummah is fasting." He said: "My self suggests asceticism (Tarahhub)." He said: "The asceticism of my Ummah is remaining in the mosques awaiting prayer." He said: "My self suggests seclusion (Siyaha)." He said: "The Siyaha of my Ummah is Ghazw (raiding/struggle), Hajj, and Umrah." He said: "My self suggests I give away all my possessions." He said: "It is better that you suffice yourself and your family, and show mercy to the orphan and the needy by giving them what is better than that." He said: "My self suggests I divorce Khawlah." He said: "The Hijra in my Ummah is the emigration from what Allah has forbidden." He said: "My self suggests I do not approach her (my wife)." He said: "If a Muslim approaches his wife or what his right hand possesses, and if he does not have offspring from that encounter, he will have a servant in Paradise. If he has a child who dies before or after him, that child will be a source of comfort and joy for him on the Day of Resurrection. If the child dies before reaching puberty, he will be an intercessor and mercy for him on the Day of Resurrection." He said: "My self suggests I do not eat meat." He said: "Hold back! I eat meat when I find it, and if I had asked Allah to feed me meat every day, He would have done so." He said: "My self suggests I do not use perfume." He said: "Hold back! Gabriel commanded me to use perfume intermittently, and said: 'Do not abandon it on Friday.'" Then he said: "O Uthman, do not turn away from my Sunnah, for whoever turns away from my Sunnah and dies before repenting, the angels will turn his face away from my Cistern (Hawd)."
Know that this Hadith indicates that this complete Shari'ah demonstrates that all types of adornment are permissible and authorized, except what is specified by proof. For this reason, we include everything under His saying: {Say, "Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has produced for His servants...}
The implication of this verse is that everything by which a person adorns himself must be lawful (Halal), just as everything that is found desirable (Yustatab) must be lawful. This verse implies the lawfulness of all benefits. This is a recognized principle in the entire Shari'ah. For every event that occurs, either the benefit in it is pure, or the benefit outweighs the harm, or the harm is pure, or the harm outweighs the benefit, or the harm and benefit are equal, or both are absent.
As for the last two categories—where harm and benefit are equal, or where both are absent—in these two cases, the ruling must be to maintain the previous state. If the benefit is pure, the ruling must be unrestricted according to this verse. If the benefit outweighs the harm, the equal parts are balanced, and the excess remains as pure benefit, thus joining the category where the benefit is pure. If the harm is pure, abandoning it results in pure benefit, thus joining the previous category. If the harm outweighs the benefit, the excess remains as pure harm, so abandoning it becomes pure benefit.
Through this path, this verse becomes indicative of endless rulings concerning lawfulness and prohibition. If we find an explicit text concerning a specific event, we rule the benefit as lawful and the harm as prohibited. In this way, all endless rulings fall under the explicit text.
Then he mentioned those who deny Qiyas (analogical reasoning). If we were obligated by Allah Almighty through Qiyas, the ruling of that Qiyas would either conform to the ruling of this general text (in which case it is redundant because this text is self-sufficient), or it would contradict it (in which case that Qiyas would be a specification of the generality of this text, and thus rejected, because acting upon the explicit text is preferable to acting upon Qiyas). They argue that through this path, the Qur'an alone is sufficient to explain all rulings of the Shari'ah, and no other path is needed. This is the assertion of those who say the Qur'an is sufficient to explain all occurrences. And Allah knows best.
As for His Almighty saying: {Say, "Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has produced for His servants and the good things of provision?"}, there are two issues concerning it:
The interpretation of the verse is that these blessings are for the believers in this worldly life, but they are not exclusively theirs, because the polytheists share them. On the Day of Resurrection, they will be exclusively theirs, and no one will share them.
If it is asked: Why was it not said, "For those who believe and for others"?
We reply: It implies a reminder that these blessings were created primarily for the believers, and the disbelievers are secondary to them, like His saying: {And whoever disbelieves - then I will let him enjoy a little, then I will drive him to the punishment of the Fire} (Al-Baqarah: 126). The essence is that this is a reminder that these blessings will only be purified from the impurities of mercy on the Day of Resurrection. In this world, however, they are mixed and tainted.
Nafi' recited {Khāliṣatan} (exclusively) in the nominative case (raising), while the rest recited it in the accusative case (accusative).
Al-Zajjaj said: The raising is as a second predicate, like saying: "Zayd is sensible, eloquent." The meaning is: Say, "They are established for the believers in this worldly life, exclusively on the Day of Resurrection."
Abu Ali said: It is also possible that {Khāliṣatan} is the predicate of the implied subject, and {for those who believe} is related to Khāliṣatan. The structure would be: "They are exclusively for those who believe in this worldly life."
As for the accusative reading, it is taken as a circumstantial adverb (Hal). The meaning is: They are established for those who believe while they are exclusively theirs on the Day of Resurrection.
Then He Almighty said: {Thus do We detail the verses for a people who know}. The meaning of detailing the verses has preceded. His saying {for a people who know} means for people capable of observation and deduction, so that they may reach theoretical knowledge through it. And Allah knows best.
