Verses 57–70

Chapter 10: Yūnus (Jonah) · Printed edition: Volume 19, pp. 91–118

This section of verses once again turns to describing the Qurʾan with its noble attributes, followed by scattered discussions connected to previous topics within the aims of the chapter. These verses contain admonitions, wisdom, and arguments for various issues, as well as descriptions of God’s allies (awliyāʾ) and conveys glad tidings to them.

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْ جَاءَتْكُمْ مَوْعِظَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَشِفَاءٌ لِمَا فِي الصُّدُورِ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ٥٧

(10:57) O mankind! There has certainly come to you an advice (mawʿiẓa) from your Lord, and a cure for what is in the breasts (ṣudūr), and a guidance (hudan) and mercy (raḥma) for the faithful.

Al-Rāghib says in his Mufradāt: ‘Waʿẓ (from whence mawʿiẓa is derived) means deterrence combined with a threat.’ Al-Khalīl writes: ‘It is an admonition to goodness that softens the heart.’

The meaning of ṣadr is well known and, since the heart is situated in the breast, and people believed that a person perceives and understands matters through it—including love, hatred, desire, aversion, longing, hope, and wishes—consider the chest to be a storehouse for the secrets of the heart and the spiritual qualities within the individual, whether virtues or vices. Virtues foster the health of the heart and its uprightness, while vices entail its sickness and disease. One might say, ‘I have cured my breast with such-and-such’, meaning that they have removed the distress and tightness in their chest with it. One might also say, ‘I have cured my heart.’ Therefore, to cure one’s breast or what it contains is a figure of speech for removing from it the spiritual vices that immiserate the human being, deprive him of a happy life, and deny him the good of this world and the hereafter.

According to al-Rāghib, hudā (‘guidance’) means to point someone to their desired goal with kindness, and we have already discussed the meaning of this at length in our commentary on the verse, Whomever Allah desires to guide, He opens his breast to Islam ().

The term raḥma (‘mercy’) denotes a special effect on the heart that is engendered by seeing another person in need or experiencing suffering, which motivates the one who has this feeling to come to their aid and meet their needs. When attributed to God, ‘mercy’ signifies the outcome rather than the origin of the effect, as He is exalted above such sentiments. In this case, it applies to the totality of His bestowal of gifts to humankind and His granting of existence to all creation.

As for God’s gifts, when these are attributed to the entirety of creation, they refer to whatever is granted to Him in terms of their existence, their sustenance, and all the uncountable blessings He bestows upon them: If you enumerate Allah’s blessings, you will not be able to count them. Indeed Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful (). When these gifts are attributed specifically to the believers, it refers to the various aspects of human happiness that God bestows upon them, such as true knowledge, noble morals, righteous deeds, and a good life in this world and the hereafter, as well as Paradise and His satisfaction (riḍwān).

Thus, when the Qur’an is described as a ‘mercy for the believers’, this means that it envelops them with the various forms of goodness and blessings that God has instilled within it for those who truly understand its realities and embrace its teachings. God says, We send down in the Qurʾan that which is a cure and mercy for the faithful; and it increases the wrongdoers only in loss ().

If we consider the four attributes that God has ascribed to the Qurʾan in the present verse—namely, that it is an admonition, a cure for what is in the breasts, a guidance, and a mercy—and compare these to one other, then this verse serves as a comprehensive exposition of the Qurʾan’s beautiful, wholesome effects and the pure, untainted knowledge that is instilled in the souls of the believers from the moment it reaches their ears until it takes root in their souls and settles in their hearts.

The Qurʾan first reaches the believers while they are enveloped by heedlessness and beset by confusion, which have caused their inner selves to be filled with the darkness of doubt and scepticism, and their hearts to be afflicted with the diseases of vices and all sorts of wicked and despicable states. This being their condition, the Qurʾan delivers a beautiful admonition to them that awakens them from the slumber of heedlessness, dissuades them from their evil habits and bad deeds, and directs them instead towards goodness and happiness.

After this, it sets about purifying their inner selves from the impurities of vices and negative moral attributes, and it continues to remove the afflictions of their minds and cure the diseases of their hearts one after another until they are all gone.

After this, it gently guides them to true knowledge, noble morals, and righteous deeds, elevating them step by step and drawing them closer to the ranks of the ones brought near to God (al-muqarrabūn), until they finally settle among them and achieve the success reserved for those who are sincerely devoted to Him.

Finally, it clothes them in the garments of mercy, settles them in the abode of honor, and grants them the joy of being in the company of prophets, truthful ones, witnesses, and the righteous—an excellent company indeed. It admits them into the ranks of God’s closest servants who are lodged in the highest of the heavens.

Therefore, the Qurʾan is simultaneously an admonisher, a cure for what is in the chests, a guide to the straight path, and a provider of mercy by the leave of God, the Exalted. It admonishes, cures the chests, guides, and bestows mercy by virtue of its own essence, not because of anything external to it, as it is the direct connection between God and His creation. Thus, it is an admonition, a cure for what is in the chests, guidance, and mercy for the believers. Understand this.

God begins the verse by saying, O mankind!, which shows that it is addressed to all of humanity, and not only polytheists or only to the idolaters of Mecca, even if the verse occurs within the context of a discourse with them. This is because the attributes mentioned in this verse— There has certainly come to you an advice from your Lord, and a cure for what is in the breasts, and a guidance and mercy for the faithful—relate to all human beings, and not only a specific group of them.

Therefore, it is strange indeed to see that some scholars have said that the meaning of ‘mercy’ in this verse is the mercy and amiability that the faithful show to one another, as this is manifestly at odds with the context in which the verse occurs.

قُلْ بِفَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَبِرَحْمَتِهِ فَبِذَٰلِكَ فَلْيَفْرَحُوا هُوَ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ ٥٨

(10:58) Say, ‘In Allah’s grace and in His mercy (bi faḍl Allāh wa bi raḥmatihi)—let them rejoice in that! It is better than what they amass.’

The word faḍl (‘grace’) literally means an excess of something, and a gift is called a faḍl because when someone gives some property as a gift it is because they have no need of it. Therefore, when the Qurʾan refers to what God bestows upon His servants as a faḍl, this is an allusion to His bounteousness and the fact that He has no need of anything that He bestows on others, nor any need from those upon whom He bestows His gifts.

It is not far-fetched to assume that in using the word ‘grace’, the Qurʾan is referring to what God bestows upon His creation in general, and by ‘mercy’, it is referring to the blessings He bestows upon the faithful in particular. For when religious happiness, in the form of divine mercy, is combined with the general blessings of life, sustenance, and other common blessings, the sum of these two becomes even more worthy of feelings of joy, happiness, and delight.

Support for this reading of the verse can be found in the phrase, ‘In Allah’s grace and in His mercy’, where the preposition bi (‘in’)—signifying causation—is repeated before both grace and mercy, indicating that each of these is an independent cause. Then, the second phrase ‘let them rejoice in that’ combines the two, suggesting that the sum of both merits human happiness.

It is also possible that the term faḍl signifies other blessings besides mercy, such as those mentioned in the previous verse, like admonition, a cure for what is in the chests, and guidance. By the same token, the ‘mercy’ mentioned here refers to the same ‘mercy’ mentioned in the previous verse, which is the special divine gift that brings happiness in this life and the hereafter.

The meaning, according to this explanation, is that the blessings God has favored them with—in the form of moral admonition, a cure for what is in the chests, and guidance, as well as the mercy He grants to the believers in the form of a good life—are more deserving of their joy and happiness than the wealth they accumulate in the course of their worldly lives.

This view might be supported by His saying, Were it not for Allah’s grace and His mercy upon you, not one of you would ever be pure. But Allah purifies whomever He wishes, and Allah is all-hearing, all-knowing (). Here, their purification is attributed to both God’s grace and His mercy. However, associating this purification with God’s grace in the sense of a general blessing is far removed from the proper understanding of the verse. This view is also supported by the fact it coheres with what has been reported in various narrations which have interpreted the verse as a reference to the Prophet, ʿAlī, or the Qurʾan, which will be discussed further below.

Regarding the phrase, let them rejoice in that (fa bidhālik fal-yafraḥūn), scholars have pointed out that the use of the preposition fa is similar to a poet’s saying, ‘So if I am killed, then, at that, be alarmed (fa idhā qutiltu faʿinda dhālik fajzaʿī).’ The adverbial phrase, in that, refers back to Allah’s grace and in His mercy and is the object of let them rejoice. It is placed before the latter phrase to signify exclusivity (in other words: ‘in only that, let them rejoice’). The passage, it is better than what they amass serves as a further clarification of why they should only rejoice in that.

From the above, it is evident that this verse follows on from the message of the previous one. When God addresses the people, He mentions His grace upon them by stating that the Qurʾan is an admonition for them, a cure for what is in their chests, and guidance and mercy for the believers among them. Hence, it is fitting that they should rejoice for this blessing, manifested in God’s grace and mercy, rather than for the wealth they accumulate in their worldly lives. This is because the former, upon which their happiness in both this life and the next depends, is better than wealth, which is nothing but a trial that may lead to their destruction and misery in both this world and the next.

قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ مِنْ رِزْقٍ فَجَعَلْتُمْ مِنْهُ حَرَامًا وَحَلَالًا قُلْ آللَّهُ أَذِنَ لَكُمْ ۖ أَمْ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَفْتَرُونَ ٥٩

(10:59) Say, ‘Have you regarded what Allah has sent down for you of provision, whereupon you made some of it unlawful and lawful?’ Say, ‘Did Allah give you the sanction, or do you fabricate a lie against Allah?’

Provision (rizq), which refers to those earthly matters that sustain human life, such as food, drink, clothing, and other necessities, is attributed to being sent down based on a reality affirmed by the Qurʾan. This reality is that all these things originate in the treasure houses that exist with God, and they descend from there according to what God has determined. He says, There is not a thing but that its sources are with Us, and We do not send it down except in a known measure (). Elsewhere, He says, And in the sky is your provision and what you are promised (). Consider also the verses, and He has sent down for you eight mates of the cattle, and and We sent down iron ().

As for the view that the expression ‘sent down’ refers to the fact that people’s sustenance comes from the rain which God sends down from the sky, this is a simplistic explanation that does not apply to all the instances in which the Qurʾan uses the expression ‘sent down’ in connection with various forms of provision, as in the case of cattle and iron. The sustenance mentioned in the verse that God has sent down to them, which the idolaters have made lawful and unlawful, refers to cattle such as camels, sheep, and other animals, which they assigned special religious significance to and called waṣīla, sāʾiba, ḥām, and the like.

The proposition ‘for’ (la) in the phrase ‘for you’ (la-kum) is purposive and suggests the meaning of ‘benefit’, meaning that God sent it down for your sake and for you to benefit from it. It does not denote a direct object, as the verb ‘to send down’ (inzāl) can only become transitive through the prepositions ʿalā (lit. ‘on’) or ilā (lit. ‘to’). Based on this, the passage implies permissibility and making things lawful, meaning that God sent these things down and made them lawful. This is the reason why ‘unlawful’ is mentioned before ‘lawful’ in the passage, whereupon you made some of it unlawful and lawful. God made it lawful by sending it down as a form of sustenance to benefit you and help you live and survive, but then you divided it into two categories of your own making, saying that some parts of it were unlawful and others lawful. Therefore, the meaning of the verse is: ‘Say to them, O Muḥammad: “Tell me about the lawful sustenance that God has sent down for your benefit, which you have divided into two categories, making some of it unlawful and some of it lawful—what is the basis for that? Clearly this is something you have fabricated against God without His permission.”’

Say, ‘Did Allah give you the sanction, or do you fabricate a lie against Allah?’: This questions them about the reason behind their division of sustenance into categories of lawful and unlawful. Since it is clear that they have not done this by God’s permission, as they have no connection with Him through either revelation or a messenger, it is necessarily a fabrication. Therefore, this is a rhetorical question that is supposed to affirm that they did indeed fabricate a lie against God and to rebuke and condemn them for doing so.

At first glance, the question posed in the verse does not appear to exhaust all the possibilities. For, while it is possible for their division of God’s sustenance into unlawful and lawful to be either by God’s permission or a fabrication against Him, it is also not possible for it to be based on some benefit they perceived or claimed to exist in doing so, or due to their own desires, without attributing it to God, and therefore not making it a fabrication against Him.

From another angle, however, the question posed in the verse, which contrasts God’s permission with fabricating something against Him, suggests that the right to declare something lawful or unlawful belongs only to God. In other words, to deem some sustenance unlawful and some sustenance lawful, which was common amongst them, can only be one of two things: either it is from God or it is a fabrication against Him. At first glance, this may seem debatable, as many of the customs that are common amongst people are rooted in their communal habits or national traditions, among other things.

However, a deep reflection on God’s words and a thorough investigation dispels this notion, as the Qurʾan asserts that judgment belongs to God alone. None of His creation has the right to initiate legislation or establish rules in human society, as He says, Sovereignty belongs only to Allah ().

God has alluded to the reason for this in the verse, So set your heart on the religion as a people of pure faith, the origination of Allah according to which He originated mankind. There is no altering Allah’s creation; that is the upright religion… (). From this, it becomes clear that the idea of judgment and sovereignty belong to God alone is in accordance with the nature of creation and humankind’s natural disposition, conforming to these without contradicting what can be derived from the nature of the cosmos and existence as a whole. This is because God did not create the creation in vain, as He has said elsewhere, Did you suppose that We created you aimlessly …? (). On the contrary, God created humankind with an ultimate purpose and a teleological goal, which they strive for in accordance with their innate disposition and move towards following their natural instincts, using the means and tools that God has provided, the guidance He has inspired them with, on the way He has laid out for them: Our Lord is He who gave everything its creation and then guided it (), Then He made the way easy for him ().

Therefore, the existence of things at the outset of their creation is suitable for the state of perfection that has been designated for them, and they are equipped with the abilities and means to reach their ultimate goals. Nothing can flourish and attain its intended perfection (kamāl) except through acquiring moral traits and deeds. Therefore, it is necessary that religion, meaning the laws governing acquired moral traits and deeds, align with the human being’s created nature and innate disposition, for his innate disposition does not forget its purpose, nor does it deviate from it. It is not inclined towards action nor deterred from action except due to what it has been equipped for, and the equipment with which the human has been furnished calls for nothing other than the purpose for which it was prepared, which is the ultimate goal of humanity.

As human beings are equipped with the systems of nourishment and procreation, they judge, according to the religion of their innate disposition (dīn al-fiṭra), that they should seek out nourishment and procreation, rather than asceticism or monasticism, for example. Since humans are naturally inclined towards social interaction and cooperation, they also judge that they should participate with others in their society and engage in social activities, and so on and so forth.

Therefore, what is needed for human beings in terms of moral judgments and laws is what the cosmic order, of which they are an insignificant part, calls them to. Their existence has been furnished with the means to guide them towards their state of natural perfection. This cosmic order, with its interconnected parts is the vehicle of God’s will and carries within it the natural law of innate human nature (al-sharīʿa al-fiṭriyya al-insāniyya) and calls them to the true religion of God.

Now, the true religion is the judgment of God and there is no judgment aside from His. This is in accordance with the divine nature of creation, and any judgment besides His is necessarily a falsehood and, as such, it will only lead humans toward misery and destruction and guide them to nothing but the torment of the blazing fire.

Based on the above, we can resolve the two issues we previously identified. Since judgment belongs to God alone, every rule circulating among people is either a true judgment from God, derived from revelation or a divine message, or a false judgment that has been attributed to God. There is no third category or middle ground.

However, the polytheists used to attribute the judgments that they invented and established among themselves to God. We can see this clearly in the verse, When they commit an indecency, they say, ‘We found our fathers practicing it, and Allah has enjoined it upon us.’ Say, ‘Indeed Allah does not enjoin indecencies. Do you attribute to Allah what you do not know?’ ().

وَمَا ظَنُّ الَّذِينَ يَفْتَرُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَذِبَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَذُو فَضْلٍ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَشْكُرُونَ ٦٠

(10:60) What is the idea of those who fabricate lies against Allah on the Day of Resurrection? Indeed Allah is gracious to mankind, but most of them do not give thanks.

Since the answer to the preceding question, Did Allah give you the sanction, or do you fabricate a lie against Allah? is already known, which is that they have fabricated a lie against God, the present verse emphasizes the enormity and severity of the consequences of this. Indeed, it is a fabrication against God, and fabrication obviously is a grave sin. Therefore, it will inevitably bring about a negative effect. Therefore, God delivers the warning, What is the idea of those who fabricate lies against Allah on the Day of Resurrection?

When God says, Indeed Allah is gracious (dhū faḍl) to mankind, but most of them do not give thanks, this is intended as a complaint and a rebuke that highlights what people have become accustomed to, namely their ingratitude for God’s blessings and their failure to give thanks for His gifts and bounties. The meaning of faḍl (‘grace’) here is God’s provision for humankind, as the earlier verse mentions the sustenance that God has sent down to them, which is a form of divine grace, and how they declared some of it unlawful, which reveals their ingratitude and lack of appreciation of this grace.

By connecting the end of the verse to its beginning, their act of fabricating lies against God is held up as yet another example of their ungratefulness for His blessings. The meaning is: God is gracious and generous to people, but most of them are ungrateful for His blessings and gifts. So, what will be the thoughts of those who, by declaring some of His sustenance unlawful, spurn God’s blessings and fabricate lies against Him, when they face the reality of their deeds on the Day of Resurrection?

وَمَا تَكُونُ فِي شَأْنٍ وَمَا تَتْلُو مِنْهُ مِنْ قُرْآنٍ وَلَا تَعْمَلُونَ مِنْ عَمَلٍ إِلَّا كُنَّا عَلَيْكُمْ شُهُودًا إِذْ تُفِيضُونَ فِيهِ ۚ وَمَا يَعْزُبُ عَنْ رَبِّكَ مِنْ مِثْقَالِ ذَرَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي السَّمَاءِ وَلَا أَصْغَرَ مِنْ ذَٰلِكَ وَلَا أَكْبَرَ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ مُبِينٍ ٦١

(10:61) You do not engage in any work (shaʾn), neither do you recite any part of the Qurʾan, nor do you perform any deed without Our being witness over you when you are engaged therein (idh tufīḍūn fī-hi). Not an atom’s weight escapes your Lord in the earth or in the sky, nor anything smaller than that nor bigger, but it is in a manifest Book.

According to al-Rāghib: ‘The word shaʾn refers to some state or matter that comes about and is beneficial, and it is only used for important situations and affairs. For example, God says, Every day He is engaged in some work ().’

… neither do you recite anything from Him (min-hu) of the Qurʾan (min al-Qurʾān): It appears that the Arabic pronoun hu in min-hu (translated as ‘from Him’) refers to God. The first preposition min (‘from’) conveys the concept of ‘beginning’ or ‘origin’, while the second preposition min (‘of’) is for clarification. Therefore, the meaning is: ‘You do not read any part of the Qurʾan that has emanated from God and been sent down from Him.’ Ifāḍa (‘to be engaged in something’, from whence tufīḍūn is derived) means to be completely absorbed in an activity or pursuit.

Notice that the phrase, … without Our being witness over you …, represents a transition from God speaking about Himself in the third person in the previous verse (Indeed Allah is gracious to mankind) to Him directly addressing the Qurʾan’s audience in this one. The subtle point this conveys is the abundance of witnesses that God has at His disposal, as God has witnesses over people’s deeds from both among the angels and among the people, and God encompasses them in turn. This is in the same fashion as important people speak about themselves and others (using what is termed in English ‘the royal “we”’) to indicate that they have supporters and servants working on their behalf.

It should not be overlooked that this shift in address actually begins from the beginning of the verse. The previous verses were addressed to the Prophet, criticizing the polytheists while speaking about them in their absence and addressing them through an intermediary by telling the Prophet what to say to them (for example, Say, ‘Have you regarded …?’ ), but at the same time not communicating anything to the Prophet that is specific to his person. This verse shifts the focus of the speech, first to speak to the Prophet individually, by speaking to him about himself by saying, You do not engage in any work, neither do you recite anything from Him of the Qurʾan… (all of the instances of the pronoun ‘you’ in this passage are singular), then it shifts again to include him, the polytheists, and all others in a single address by saying, nor do you (plural) perform any deed without Our being witness over you (plural). This joins them with the Prophet while they are absent and extends the address to everyone via a form of inclusion (taghlīb), as if to say, ‘You and your people do such-and-such.’

The evidence that the address in this passage is a form of inclusion is what God says next, namely, Not an atom’s weight escapes your (singular) Lord in the earth or in the sky, where the pronoun ‘you’ is once again singular and shows that God has returned to speaking to His Prophet individually.

In any case, the purpose of the aforementioned shift in the verse’s address is to show that God’s absolute sovereignty and all-encompassing nature are manifested through His witnessing and knowing the deeds of His creatures in the most complete way from all aspects, without excluding anyone, whether they are a prophet, a believer, or an idolater, and without overlooking so much as a single deed. So, no one should imagine that God is unaware of any of the matters they are engaged in or that He will not hold them accountable for these on the Day of Resurrection. This should be their idea about their Lord on the Day of Resurrection, so, the verse says, let them be wary!

The fact that the verse mentions the recitation of the Qurʾan separately, even though it could be included in the phrase immediately prior to it, you do not engage in any work, as this is surely part of the Prophet’s work, is to highlight its importance and God’s special concern for it.

In the verse, firstly, there is a reinforcement of the admonition to the Prophet and his nation, and, secondly, an emphasis that whatever parts of the Qurʾan the Prophet recites to the people is a revelation from God, and His words are not subject to change or falsehood, neither in receiving it from God nor in reciting it to the people—it is always ‘from Him.’ Therefore, the verse is in a similar vein to His saying, Knower of the Unseen, He does not disclose His Unseen to anyone, except to a messenger He approves of. Then He dispatches a sentinel before and behind him so that He may ascertain that they have communicated the messages of their Lord ()).

Not an atom’s weight escapes your Lord: This means in terms of absence, distance, or concealment. It shows that all things are eternally present with Him, never concealed from Him, and they are preserved in a record that will never fade. We have discussed this further in our commentary on the verse, “With Him are the treasures of the Unseen ().

أَلَا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ ٦٢ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَ ٦٣

(10:62–63) Look! The allies of Allah will indeed have no fear nor will they grieve—Those who have faith, and were Godwary.

This represents the beginning of a new statement, but it is related to the primary objective of this chapter of the Qurʾan, which is the call people to believe in the Book of God and encourage them to affirm God’s oneness in its most expansive sense.

To emphasize the importance of the matter, it starts with the attention-grabbing term, ‘Look!’ In this verse and the following two verses, God mentions His allies, identifies them, describes the signs of their allegiance to Him, and details the specific qualities they possess.

Although the term wilāya (‘allegiance’) has many meanings, its original meaning is the elimination of any barrier between two things so that there is nothing between them that is not part of them. It is then metaphorically used for the closeness of one thing to another in various ways, such as closeness in familial relation, place, rank, friendship, or otherwise. That is why the term walī (‘ally’) is used for both parties of the wilāya relationship, showing that it is reciprocal, especially considering that each of them takes care of the other in a way that no one else does. God is the ally of His believing servant because He takes charge of their affairs and looks after their well-being by guiding them to His straight path, commanding and forbidding what is appropriate or inappropriate for them, and supporting them in this worldly life and the Hereafter.

In any case, the true believer is an ally of his Lord because he obeys Him in His commands and prohibitions, and receives various spiritual blessings from Him, such as guidance, success, support, and direction, as well as the honor of being granted Paradise and His pleasure.

The allies of God, in any case, are the believers, as God proclaims Himself an ally to them in their spiritual lives, as He says: and Allah is the ally of the faithful ().

However, the following verse, which explains the term further, stops short of saying this wilāya includes all believers, especially those about whom God says, “And most of them do not believe in Allah without ascribing partners to Him (). The verse, Those who have faith, and were Godwary () identifies God’s allies by the traits of faith and Godwariness, indicating that they were in a state of continuous Godwariness before they attained faith, as the verse says ‘have faith’ (āmanū, which is in the perfect tense), and ‘were Godwary’ (kānū yattqūn, which is in the past continuous tense). This shows that they were continuously Godwary before achieving their faith, and it is known that a person’s initial belief is not preceded by Godwariness, but rather that the two come together, or that they believe before becoming Godwary, especially if we are talking about continuous Godwariness.

Therefore, the intended meaning of this faith (īmān) here is another level of the stages of faith, different from the first stage of it (which has been translated as ‘initial belief’ in the previous passage). We have already discussed previously that the terms faith (īmān), Islam or submission (islām), polytheism (shirk), and disbelief (kufr) each have different levels, some of which are above others. The first stage of Islam is uttering the two testimonies of faith verbally and submitting to its teachings outwardly. This is followed by the first stage of faith, which is the acceptance of the content of the two testimonies in the heart, generally, even if one does not submit to all of the doctrines of the religion as true beliefs. Therefore, it is possible for some aspects of polytheism to endure and coexist with this belief, which is what is meant by the verse, And most of them do not believe in Allah without ascribing partners to Him ()

The submission of a servant continues to be refined and develop until this submission to God encompasses every aspect of his life and leads him to refer every affair back to Him. As a servant’s submission to God rises in degree and ascends in rank, the corresponding level of faith to this is his acceptance of the implications of that rank, until the servant truly submits to his Lord, realizes the full meaning of His divinity, and ceases any and all resistance or protestation against Him. Thus, the servant neither resents anything that He commands, nor objects to anything in that He wills. This faith is rooted in an abiding certainty about God and all that is related to Him in terms of His authority—this is complete faith, through which a servant’s devotion to God is perfected and fully realized.

God says, But no, by your Lord! They will not believe until they make you a judge in their disputes, then do not find within their hearts any dissent to your verdict and submit in full submission (). It is most likely that this level of faith, or something close to it, is the intended meaning of the verse when it says, those who have faith, and were Godwary, because this is preceded by continuous Godwariness rather than the initial level of belief.

The fact that God says that these believers will indeed have no fear nor will they grieve () also indicates that what is meant here is a higher level of faith, with which the meaning of servanthood and submission are fully realized in the servant. This is because such a servant sees that all dominion belongs solely to God, without any partner, and that they have no authority over anything, such that they should either fear its loss or grieve over it.

This is because fear only arises in the soul when it anticipates harm to itself, and grief occurs when it loses something it loves or when it experiences something it dislikes, or when something brings benefits or harm to it. This does not apply to things that have no connection to the person. A person does not fear for something nor grieve over its loss if it has no connection to them. Hence, the one who sees absolutely everything as falling within the dominion of God and knows that He does not share His dominion with anyone, does not see even themselves as having any claim or right over anything. Therefore, they neither fear nor grieve. This is the characteristic of God’s allies when He says, Look! The allies of Allah will indeed have no fear nor will they grieve (Qur’an ). These people do not fear anything nor grieve over anything, neither in this world nor in the Hereafter, except what God wills. God has willed that they fear their Lord and grieve for what they may miss from His honor if they fail to grasp it, and this is all part of submission to God.

The general scope of the verse implies that the allies of God are characterized by these two qualities: no fear and no grief whether in this world or the Hereafter. As for the likes of God’s statement, On that day, friends will be one another’s enemies, except for the Godwary. ‘O My servants! Today you will have no fear, nor will you grieve. Those who believed in Our signs and had been Muslims (). The apparent meaning of these verses is that they refer to God’s allies who are being described in the verse presently under discussion. However, one difference between the two descriptions is that affirming the absence of fear and grief for them on the Day of Resurrection does not necessarily mean they do not experience these emotions at other times. Still another difference is in the purity of God’s blessings and honors, whose perfection will be realized on the Day of Resurrection, while they may be mixed with other things and not necessarily pure at other times.

This is akin to what we read in the verses, Indeed those who say, ‘Our Lord is Allah!’ and then remain steadfast, the angels descend upon them, ‘Do not fear, nor be grieved! Receive the good news of the paradise which you have been promised. We are your allies in the life of this world and in the Hereafter ().

While the verses seem to indicate that these greetings and glad tidings are delivered on the day that they die because of the phrase, receive the good news of the paradise which you have been promised, just because this is what will be said to them when they die, it does not mean it will not be said to them at any other time.

This is what the verse suggests according to its general wording and from its comparison with other verses. Based on other verses discussing the Hereafter, most interpreters have limited the scope of the phrase, the allies of Allah will indeed have no fear nor will they grieve, to the Day of Death and to the Resurrection. However, in doing so, they have overlooked the particularity of the phrase, those who have faith, and were Godwary, and have taken faith and Godwariness as two concurrent matters, leading to the meaning that the allies of God are the God-fearing among the faithful, and they shall not fear in the Hereafter nor grieve. However, as the judicious reader will no doubt have noticed, this is an arbitrary limitation of its meaning, as there is nothing in the verse to indicate its restriction thus.

Some other scholars have generalized the absence of fear and grief by saying that the allies of God are characterized by this absence in both the worldly life and the Hereafter. However, they have distorted the meaning from another angle, saying that the allies meant here, as explained by the second verse, are all the God-fearing among the believers. What is meant by their lack of fear and grief is that they do not fear in the Hereafter what the disbelievers, sinners, and wrongdoers fear from the terrors of standing before God, the anguish of the Final Judgement, and the punishment of the Hereafter, nor do they grieve for what they have left behind. Equally, they do not fear things in their worldly existence like the disbelievers’ do nor grieve for what they grieve.

These scholars have said concerning the origins of fear and grief that these are part and parcel of the human condition, which no one can escape in this world. However, righteous believers are the most patient and content with God’s decrees, believing and knowing that if they are tested with something that causes fear or grief, it is actually a form of nurturing to guide their souls towards perfection and purify them through striving in His way, which increases their reward, as many verses have explicitly stated.

However, to critique this view, way say: As for limiting the verse to the absence of the kind of fear and grief that affects the disbelievers, but not the believers in general, and justifying this, saying it is part of human nature and supported by numerous verses, this places arbitrary limitations on the scope of the verse, without there being any textual basis for these. And as for claiming that fear and grief are things which no one can ever escape, this view shows that its proponents have not delved deeply into the study of divine ethics and the spiritual stations that human beings can achieve. As a result, they compare the honored servants of God, such as His nearmost prophets and allies, to the average state of ordinary people. Therefore, it is assumed that these general traits, which are called the natural state of human beings, must also inevitably affect the elect of His servants. This appears to assume that whatever is impossible or difficult for an ordinary person is likewise impossible for those who have attained the heights of human flourishing. But, if this were really the case, then the spiritual stations and levels on the path to the Ultimate Reality would be nothing more than empty names, without any reality behind them, matters of social convention no different from the imaginary ranks and formal social classes that we use in our societies for the sake of societal interests.

Proponents of this view have not undertaken the necessary philosophical reflection to guarantee the truth of such a conclusion. Instead, if we ponder on monotheism in its fullest and most complete sense, we see that it means that true sovereignty and dominion belong only to God Almighty. There is no scope for any other being to act independently of God in any matter, such that they could claim it for themselves and rightfully feel love, hate, fear, grief, happiness, sorrow, or anything else. Therefore, when a person has delved deeply into monotheism and realized its meaning, they will only fear, grieve, love, and hate for the sake of God. This resolves the apparent contradiction between the two propositions: That they fear only God, and that they fear much that can do them harm or are cautious about affairs which they dislike should they befall them.

Nor have they delved deeply enough into the Qurʾan, such that they would grasp the meaning of the verse, Look! The allies of Allah will indeed have no fear nor will they grieve (). For this verse indicates a general absence of fear and grief, without placing any limitation or condition on this, except for what the verses explicitly state about the necessity of Godwariness. Therefore, these individuals do not fear anything in this world or the Hereafter except God, nor do they grieve.

As for the numerous verses that describe the believers without fear and grief at the time of death or on the Day of Resurrection, they only describe their conditions in a particular context and this does not necessitate negating or affirming anything about them in a different context, as should be obvious.

The verse, however, indicates that this description is for a particular group of believers who are distinguished from others by a special rank of faith that is unique to them, as explained by His saying: those who have faith, and were Godwary, with the implications we have previously explained.

In summary, the absence of fear and grief from other than God for the allies of God does not mean that good and evil, benefit and harm, salvation and destruction, ease and hardship, pleasure and pain, blessings and afflictions are equal and indistinguishable in their perception, for the human mind and even the general animal sense cannot accept this. Rather, it means that they do not believe that anyone has any power besides God, and they restrict sovereignty and authority to Him alone. They fear only Him or what God wants them to be fearful of or to grieve over.

لَهُمُ الْبُشْرَىٰ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ ۚ لَا تَبْدِيلَ لِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ ٦٤

(10:64) For them is good news in the life of this world and in the Hereafter. There is no altering the words of Allah. That is the great success.

In this verse, God gives them glad tidings in general to gladden their hearts and reassure them. If His saying, for them is good news … is an announcement of glad tidings, it means that what they are promised will occur in both this world and the Hereafter. On the other hand, if it is informing them that God will give them glad tidings, then the glad tidings will be given to them in this world and the Hereafter, but, as for what is promised to them, will it be given to them in the Hereafter or in both this world and the Hereafter? The verse is silent on that matter.

God’s words are replete with glad tidings for the believers that apply to His allies as well, such as His saying, … and it was a must for Us to help the faithful (), His saying, Indeed We shall help Our messengers and those who have faith in the life of the world and on the day when the witnesses rise up (), and His saying: There is good news for you today! Gardens with streams running in them () and other verses.

When God says, there is no altering the words of Allah, this highlights that this is part of the foreordained decree that cannot be altered or revoked, and this should reassure the hearts of the faithful.

وَلَا يَحْزُنْكَ قَوْلُهُمْ ۘ إِنَّ الْعِزَّةَ لِلَّهِ جَمِيعًا ۚ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ ٦٥

(10:65) Do not grieve at their remarks; indeed all might belongs to Allah; He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing.

This verse admonishes the Prophet and consoles him in response to the idolaters’ harassment of him by attacking his Lord, denigrating his religion, and taking pride in their idols, as indicated by the following verse. It was as though he was saddened for the sake of God, so God consoled him and reassured him by reminding him that all honor belongs to God and that He is All-Hearing of their statements and All-Knowing of their conditions. After all, if all honor belongs to God, then there is no need to be concerned about their false claims of nobility, and if He is All-Hearing and All-Knowing, He could have punished them at any point if He wished. Therefore, if He does not punish them, it is because it is in the interest of the divine mission and in securing the best outcome for the faithful that He does not do so.

Based on this, it is evident that both His saying, indeed all might belongs to Allah, and His saying, He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing, provide the Prophet with two separate reasons why he should not let their remarks grieve him. This is why they are separated without conjunction (such as ‘and’).

أَلَا إِنَّ لِلَّهِ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ ۗ وَمَا يَتَّبِعُ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ شُرَكَاءَ ۚ إِنْ يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَخْرُصُونَ ٦٦

(10:66) Look! To Allah indeed belongs whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth. And what do they pursue who invoke partners besides Allah? They merely follow conjectures and they just make surmises.

This verse expounds His ownership of everything in the heavens and the earth, which establishes the concept of Lordship. The Lord is the owner and the one who manages the affairs of His property, and this ownership belongs to God alone, with no partners. The associates they ascribe to Him have no share in this ownership except in the imaginations of those who claim that they do and these delusions have no basis in reality.

The verse compares their associates to God and concludes that their association with Him is based on conjecture and delusion rather than truth and reality, and the remainder of the verse’s meaning is clear.

Some scholars have argued that the verse says whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth instead of ‘whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth’ because the verse is concerned with God’s Lordship over sentient and intelligent beings, which include angels and both humankind and the jinn.

هُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ لِتَسْكُنُوا فِيهِ وَالنَّهَارَ مُبْصِرًا ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَسْمَعُونَ ٦٧

(10:67) It is He who made the night for you, that you may rest in it, and the day to provide visibility. There are indeed signs in that for people who listen.

This verse completes the evidence presented in the previous verse for proving His Lordship. Lordship, as you know, is ownership and management. His ownership has been mentioned in the previous verse, and by mentioning His management of the general affairs in this verse, which ensures the livelihood of people and the continuity of their existence, the concept of Lordship is completed.

The verse mentions the night and the rest it provides, as well as the day and the vision it offers, as a demonstration of God’s management of the cosmos. The day prompts people to engage in various activities and movements to earn a living and improve their livelihoods. Human life is not complete with just activity or rest alone, so God has arranged matters with the darkness of the night, which invites people to rest and regain their energies after the exhaustion and fatigue of the day, and to find comfort and joy with their families, enjoying what they have gathered and earned during the day, and to devote themselves to worship. The light of the day, on the other hand, prompts them to see, long for, and seek things.

قَالُوا اتَّخَذَ اللَّهُ وَلَدًا ۗ سُبْحَانَهُ ۖ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ ۖ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ ۚ إِنْ عِنْدَكُمْ مِنْ سُلْطَانٍ بِهَٰذَا ۚ أَتَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ٦٨

(10:68) They say, ‘Allah has taken a son!’ Immaculate is He! He is the All-sufficient. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. You have no authority for this. Do you attribute to Allah what you do not know?

The concept of having a child, as commonly understood among people, involves a living being separating some of its physical components and nurturing it either through pregnancy or by laying eggs, gradually rearing it until it becomes an individual like itself. In particular, humans may desire a child to help them deal with the vicissitudes of life and to serve as a support in times of need. This idea, from all angles, is impossible for God, as He is utterly exalted, transcendent above having parts or gradation in His actions, and free from any resemblance or similarity to created things, utterly self-sufficient and without need of others.

The Qurʾan denies that God has a child, arguing against it from all the aforementioned perspectives, as shown in the verse, And they say, ‘Allah has taken a son.’ Immaculate is He! Rather to Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth. All are obedient to Him, the Originator of the heavens and the earth; and when He decides on a matter, He just says to it, ‘Be!’ and it is (). We have discussed this at length in our commentary on the verses quoted here.

As for the verse presently under discussion, it presents an argument against the idea of God having a child from the last perspective only, which is the purpose of having a child to rely on in times of need. This can only be imagined for someone who is, by nature, in need and incomplete. God, however, is the Self-Sufficient, who has no need, as He owns everything that exists in the heavens and the earth.

When He says, you have no authority for this, it means that they have no evidence for their claim. They speak it out of ignorance without any proof, so the meaning here is that there is no basis for their belief. In fact, all the evidence stands to the contrary: God is rationally known to be absolutely Self-Sufficient, and children are only sought by those who are in need or deficient. This argument follows the conventions used in the art of debating and is a form of refutation supported by evidence.

The question, Do you attribute to Allah what you do not know? is a reproach to them for speaking something about which they have no knowledge, which is something that human reason judges to be repugnant, especially when it concerns the Lord of the Worlds.

قُلْ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَفْتَرُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَذِبَ لَا يُفْلِحُونَ ٦٩

(10:69) Say, ‘Indeed those who fabricate lies against Allah will not be felicitous.’

This verse is a warning and a threat of the terrible consequences of fabricating lies against God. The two verses show a subtle shift in perspective that is quite apparent. God first relates their statement from a third person perspective, They say, ‘Allah has taken a son!’ Then, He addresses them directly as if He has been roused to anger and displeasure by what they have attributed to Him and fabricated against Him: You have no authority for this. Do you attribute to Allah what you do not know?

Finally, He addresses them disapprovingly without acknowledging them Himself, saying, against Allah instead of ‘against Me’ or ‘against Us,’ maintaining the dignity of His position by not associating with them directly. Then He turns away from them, distancing Himself from the expanse of their ignorance, and returns to addressing His Messenger instead, saying: Say, ‘Indeed those who fabricate lies against Allah will not be felicitous.’ as it is a warning and to warn is the Prophet’s purpose.

مَتَاعٌ فِي الدُّنْيَا ثُمَّ إِلَيْنَا مَرْجِعُهُمْ ثُمَّ نُذِيقُهُمُ الْعَذَابَ الشَّدِيدَ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْفُرُونَ ٧٠

(10:70) An enjoyment in this world; then to Us shall be their return, then We shall make them taste the severe punishment because of what they used to defy.

This verse is also addressed to the Prophet, and it explains why they will not be felicitous, namely because their disbelief in God will only rant them a brief period of enjoyment in this world, after which they will return to God and face the severe punishment that He has in store for them.

Examining Narrations

1. In the Amālī of Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, it is narrated: Abū ʿAmr reported that Aḥmad narrated from Yaʿqub b. Yūsuf b. Ziyād, who narrated from Naṣr b. Muzāhim, who narrated from Muḥammad b. Marwān, who narrated from al-Kalbī, who narrated from Abī Ṣāliḥ, who narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: ‘In Allah’s grace and in His mercy () refers to the grace that God bestowed upon the Prophet, and the mercy He bestowed upon ʿAlī.

Author’s comment: This narration has also been reported by al-Ṭabrisī and Ibn al-Fārsi as a tradition with an incomplete chain (mursal) and in al-Durr al-manthūr, by al-Khaṭīb and Ibn ʿAsākir.

2. In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, al-Ṭabrisī narrates from Imām al-Bāqir: ‘Allah’s grace refers to the Messenger of God, and His mercy refers to ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib.”

Author’s comment: This is because the Prophet is a blessing bestowed by God upon all worlds, through the message and guidance he brought. Ali is the first to open the door of divine guardianship (wilāya) and actualize the blessing of guidance, so he is God’s mercy. This narration is in accordance with what we have previously mentioned in the explanation of the verse.

3. In al-Durr al-manthūr, it is narrated from Ibn Abī Shayba, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, and al-Bayhaqī, who reported from Ibn ʿAbbās: ‘Allah’s grace is the Qurʾan and His mercy refers to making them the people of the Qurʾan.

Author’s comment: That is, God’s grace is the knowledge and judgments that it contains, and His mercy is the actual realization of these contents by those who put them into practice. This goes back to what we have previously mentioned in the explanation of the verse. There is no contradiction between this narration and the previous one in terms of validity.

4. In Tafsīr al-Qummī, about the verse You do not engage in any work (), it is narrated that when the Messenger of God read this verse, he would weep profusely.

Author’s comment: This narration has also been reported in Majmaʿ al-Bayān from Imām al-Ṣādiq.

5. In the Amālī of al-Mufīd, via his chain of narration from ʿAbāya al-Asadī from Ibn ʿAbbās, it is reported that the Commander of the Faithful ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib was asked about the verse: Look! The allies of Allah will indeed have no fear nor will they grieve (). He was asked, \Who are these allies (awliyā’)?” The Commander of the Faithful replied, ‘They are those who are sincere devoted to God in their worship and perceive the inner reality of the world while others see only its outward appearances. They recognize its transitory nature when others are deluded by its fleeting pleasures. They abandon that which they know will abandon them, and they avoid that which they know will cause their ruin.’

Then, he (Commander of the Faithful) said, ‘O you who cling to this world, running after its fleeting pleasures, striving to build what will eventually be destroyed! Haven’t you seen the places where your forefathers struggled in the lands, and where your children will struggle under the soil and dust? How often have you fallen sick and been wrapped in your shroud, seeking treatment from physicians and calling for help from your loved ones? Yet, your wealth did not save them, nor did your medicine avail them.’

6. In Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, it is narrated from Muathad al-ʿAjalī from Abī Jaʿfar al-Bāqir, that in the book of ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn, it is written regarding the verse Look! The allies of Allah will indeed have no fear nor will they grieve: ‘When they perform God’s obligatory acts, follow the examples of the Messenger of God, avoid what God has prohibited, renounce the fleeting pleasures of this world, desire what God has in store for them, earn a lawful living out of God’s provision, and do not seek to boast or compete with others. They spend on what is obligatory and necessary. God blesses them in what they earn and rewards them for their deeds in the Hereafter.’
7. In al-Durr al-manthūr, it is reported from Aḥmad, al-Ḥakīm al-Nīshābūrī, and al-Tirmidhī, from ʿAmr b. al-Jamūḥ, that he heard the Prophet say: ‘A servant does not truly attain faith until he loves for the sake of God and hates for the sake of God. When he loves for God’s sake and hates for God’s sake, he becomes deserving of God’s patronage (wilāya).’

Author’s comment: Regarding the above three narrations about the meaning of wilāya (guardianship, patronage, allyship), they are interconnected and consistent with the explanation we provided earlier for the verse.

8. In al-Durr al-manthūr, it is reported from Ibn al-Mubārak, Ibn Abī Shaybah, Ibn Jarīr, Abū al-Shaykh, and Ibn Mardawayh from Saʿīd b. Jubayr, from the Prophet regarding the verse, Look! The allies of Allah will indeed have no fear nor will they grieve: ‘People remember God when they see them.’

Author’s comment: This should be understood as one of the effects of their being allies of God, not that everyone who does so is considered a friend of God, unless it is meant that they are always like this in all their states and actions. On the meaning of this verse, it is reported from Abū al-Duḥā and Saʿd from the Prophet: ‘When they see them, people remember God.’

9. A desert nomad came to the Messenger of God and asked: ‘O Messenger of God, tell me about the verse, Those who have faith, and were Godwary. For them is good news in the life of this world and in the Hereafter ().’ The Messenger of God said: ‘As for the phrase, For them is good news in the life of this world, it refers to the good dreams that are seen for the believer and through which he is given glad tidings of the Hereafter in his worldly life. As for in the Hereafter, it refers to the glad tidings given to the believer at the time of death, namely when the angels tell him: “God has forgiven you and those who carry you to your grave.”’ (ibid.)

Author’s comment: There are many narrations in this vein from the Sunnī sources, and al-Ṣadūq has narrated it with an incomplete chain. In it, the phrase, ‘seen for the believer’ is in the passive voice, which means it includes both those dreams that the believer sees about himself and those dreams others see about him. In some narrations, the phrase, at the time of death, is supplemented with the glad tidings also given on the Day of Resurrection in Paradise.

10. In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, about the verse, For them is good news in the life of this world and in the Hereafter, it is narrated from Abū Jaʿfar al-Bāqir: ‘The meaning of good news in the life of this world is the auspicious dream that the believer sees about himself, or that is seen about him by another. In the Hereafter, means in Paradise, which the angels give them glad tidings of when they come out of their graves, and on the Day of Resurrection until they enter Paradise—they give them glad tidings moment after moment.

Author’s comment: A similar tradition is also narrated from the Prophet, and others are narrated similarly from al-Ṣādiq, and al-Qummī narrates it in his Tafsīr.

11. In Tafsīr al-burhān, it is narrated from Ibn Shahrāshūb from Zurayq from al-Ṣādiq regarding the verse, For them is good news in the life of this world: It means that they are given the glad tidings of Paradise at the time of death by Muḥammad and ʿAlī.
12. In al-Kāfī, al-Kulaynī narrates via a chain of narrators, from Abān b. ʿUthmān, from ʿUqba, that he heard Abā ʿAbd Allāh al-Ṣādiq saying: ‘Indeed, when a man’s soul reaches his chest at the time of death, he has a vision.’ I said: ‘May I be your ransom, and what does he see?’ He said: ‘He sees the Messenger of God, and the Messenger of God says to him, “I am the Messenger of God, receive the good news.” Then he said: Then he sees ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib and he says: “I am ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, the one you loved—I will certainly avail you today.”’

The narrator said: ‘I asked him: “Will anyone from the people see this and then return to the world?” He said: “If he sees this, he will die forever and that is a great thing indeed.” He said: “And that is in the Qurʾan, the saying of God Almighty: Those who have faith, and were Godwary. For them is good news in the life of this world and in the Hereafter. There is no altering the words of Allah. That is the great success.”’

Author’s comment: This meaning is narrated from the Imāms of the Prophet’s Household through many different chains, and his saying: “and that is a great thing indeed” (wa aʿzama dhālik) means the listener should consider it a great thing. And in the tradition, he took the verse, Those who have faith, and were Godwary, as an independent statement and interpreted it accordingly. A similar narration is found in al-Durr al-manthūr from Jābir b. ʿAbd Allāh from the Prophet. This is even though the apparent context of the verse explaining the verse before it, Look! The allies of Allah … , which supports what we have suggested in some of our previous discussions that all possible analyses of His speech are evidence to be treated as valid evidence. For example, we can see this at work in the verse: … Say, ‘Allah!’ Then leave them to play around in their impious gossip (), which can be split as follows: Say: ‘Allah!’, then leave them in their gossip and Say: ‘Allah!’, then leave them and: Say: ‘Allah!’

13. In al-Durr al-manthūr, Ibn Abī Shaybah, Aḥmad, al-Tirmidhī, who declared it authentic, and Ibn Mardawayh, all of whom narrated from Anas that the Messenger of God said: ‘Indeed, messengership and prophethood have been severed, so there is no messenger after me nor any prophet, but there are the bearers of good news.’ Those present said: ‘O Messenger of God, and what are the good news bearers?’ He said: ‘The dream of the Muslim, and it is one of the parts of prophethood.’

Author’s comment: A similar saying has been narrated from Abū Qatādah and ʿĀ’ishah from the Prophet. In this narration, Ibn Abī Shaybah, Muslim, al-Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd, and Ibn Mājah report from Abū Hurayrah that the Messenger of God said: ‘As the time of death approaches, the dream of the believer will rarely be false, and the most truthful in dreams will be the most truthful in speech. The dream of the Muslim is one of the forty-six parts of prophethood, and dreams are of three types: the auspicious vision is a good news from God; the dream that causes sadness; and the dream in which a person speaks to himself. If any of you sees something he dislikes, let him stand up, spit, and not narrate the dream to people.’

14. Ibn Abī Shaybah reported from ʿAwf b. Mālik al-Ashjaʿī that the Messenger of God said: ‘Dreams are of three types: One is a threat from Satan to sadden the son of Adam; another is a matter that a person experiences while awake, which he then sees in a dream; and the last is one of the forty-six parts of prophethood.’ (ibid.)

Author’s comment: As for the division of visions into three categories, as reported in these two narrations and in similar narrations from the Sunnī and Shīʿa Imāms, we will explain further in our commentary on Sūrah Yūsuf.

As for the auspicious dream being one of the forty-six parts of prophethood, many narrations have been reported from various Sunnī sources, narrated from the Prophet by a group of Companions that included Abū Hurayra, ʿUbadah b. al-Ṣāmit, Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, and Abū Razīn. Anas, Abū Qatāda, and ʿĀ’ishah that it is one of the parts of prophethood, as mentioned before.

Al-Ṣafadī has mentioned that the Prophet’s divine mission lasted for twenty-three years, during which time he called to his Lord for thirteen years before the Emigration and ten years after it. It has been reported that revelation came to him for six months in the form of auspicious dreams before the Qurʾan was revealed, and the ratio between the six months and the twenty-three years is one to forty-six.

It has also been narrated from Ibn ʿUmar and Abū Hurayra from the Prophet that it is one of the seventy parts of prophethood. If this narration is authentic, the intention of ‘seventy’ is merely to emphasize the large number without specifying the actual number seventy.

Know that the term ruʾya may be used in the language of the Qurʾan and traditions for what the seer witnesses that others do not, even if he is not necessarily asleep. We have pointed this out in our earlier discussions on prophethood, and the best statement in its explanation is his saying: ‘My eyes sleep, but my heart does not sleep.’