ﲀ ﲁ ﲂ ﲃ ﲄ ﲅ ﲆ ﲇ ﲈ ﲉ ﲊ ﲋ ﲌ ﲍ ﲎ ﲏ ﲐ ﲑ
And [remember, O Muhammad], when those who disbelieved plotted against you to restrain you or kill you or evict you [from Makkah]. But they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners.
Tafsir
Verse range: 8:30
The Almighty, having mentioned His favors upon the believers (by recalling their scarcity, as in {And remember when you were few} [Al-Anfal: 26]), now mentions His favor upon His Messenger: warding off the plotting and scheming of the polytheists. This Surah is Medinan.
Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah, and other exegetes state that the Quraysh polytheists conspired in the Dar al-Nadwah (Council House). Iblis (Satan) entered among them disguised as an old man claiming to be from Najd.
Some suggested: "Let us bind him and wait for fate to befall him." Iblis replied: "There is no benefit in this, for his people will become enraged and bloodshed will ensue."
Others suggested: "Let us expel him from among us so we may rest from his annoyance." Iblis replied: "There is no benefit in this, for he will gather a group around himself and fight you with them."
Abu Jahl said: "The sound opinion is that we gather one man from every tribe, and they strike him with their swords simultaneously. If they kill him, his blood will be distributed among the tribes, so Banu Hashim will not be able to fight all of Quraysh, and they will settle for blood money (Diyya)." Iblis said: "This is the correct opinion."
Allah then revealed this plot to His Prophet (PBUH) and permitted him to emigrate to Medina. He commanded him not to spend the night in his bed. Allah permitted him the Hijra (emigration) and commanded Ali to sleep in his bed, telling him: "Wrap yourself in my cloak, and no harm that you dislike will reach you."
They (the plotters) lay in wait. When morning came, they rushed to his bed and saw Ali. They were stunned, and Allah thwarted their scheme.
{وإذ يمكر بك الذين كفروا ليثبتوك أو يقتلوك أو يخرجوك ويمكرون ويمكر الله والله خير الماكرين} (And [remember] when those who disbelieved plotted against you to detain you, or kill you, or expel you. And they plotted, and Allah plotted. And Allah is the best of plotters.)
{ليثبتوك} (to detain you/confine you): Ibn Abbas interpreted this as li-yūthiqūka (to bind you securely) and li-yashuddūka (to tie you tightly). Anyone who is tightly bound cannot move; hence, someone severely afflicted by illness or wounds preventing movement is described as muthbat (fixed/immobilized). Others interpreted it as: to imprison you, or to confine you in a house (the location being omitted because the meaning is clear). Some recited it with a shaddah (li-yuthabbitūka), and Al-Nakha'i recited it from al-bayāt (spending the night).
{أو يقتلوك} (or kill you): This is what was narrated from Abu Jahl, may Allah curse him.
{أو يخرجوك} (or expel you): Meaning, expel you from Mecca.
After mentioning these three possibilities, Allah says: {ويمكرون ويمكر الله والله خير الماكرين} (And they plotted, and Allah plotted. And Allah is the best of plotters).
We have already discussed the meaning of "plotting" concerning Allah in Surah Al 'Imran, concerning the verse {And they plotted, and Allah plotted. And Allah is the best of plotters} (Al 'Imran: 54). The essence is that they devised schemes to nullify the mission of Muhammad (PBUH), but Allah supported and strengthened him, causing their actions to fail and the plan of Allah to become manifest.
Al-Qadi [Al-Fakhr al-Razi is referencing a scholar here, likely Al-Qadi Abd al-Jabbar or similar] noted that the story narrated by Ibn Abbas aligns with the Qur'an, except for the part concerning Iblis appearing in human form. He deemed this impossible, arguing that such a transformation must be either by Allah's action or Iblis's action. The former is false because Allah would not act to deceive the disbelievers in their plotting. The latter is also false because it is not fitting for Allah's wisdom to grant Iblis the power to change his own form.
A Point of Discussion: This dispute is strange. If it is not far-fetched for Allah to grant Iblis the power to cause various whispers (waswas), why would it be far-fetched for Him to grant him the power to change his form?
If it is asked: Why did Allah say {والله خير الماكرين} (And Allah is the best of plotters) when there is no good in their plotting?
We answer with several interpretations:
{وَإِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُنَا قَالُوا قَدْ سَمِعْنَا لَوْ نَشَاءُ لَقُلْنَا مِثْلَ هَٰذَا إِنْ هَٰذَا إِلَّا أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ} (And when Our verses are recited to them, they say, "We have heard. If we willed, we could say like this. This is not but legends of the former peoples.")
{وَإِذْ قَالُوا اللَّهُمَّ إِن كَانَ هَٰذَا هُوَ الْحَقَّ مِنْ عِندِكَ فَأَمْطِرْ عَلَيْنَا حِجَارَةً مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ أَوِ ائْتِنَا بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ} (And when they said, "O Allah, if this is indeed the truth from You, then rain down upon us stones from the sky or bring us a painful punishment.")
{وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَأَنتَ فِيهِمْ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَهُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ} (But Allah would not punish them while you were among them, nor would Allah punish them while they sought forgiveness.)
{وَمَا لَهُمْ أَلَّا يُعَذِّبَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَهُمْ يَصُدُّونَ عَنِ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَمَا كَانُوا أَوْلِيَاءَهُ إِنْ أَوْلِيَاؤُهُ إِلَّا الْمُتَّقُونَ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ} (And what is [the reason] for Allah not to punish them while they prevent [people] from the Sacred Mosque, and they are not its guardians? Its guardians are none except the righteous, but most of them do not know.)
