Verses 95–100

Chapter 4: Al-Nisāʾ (The Women) · Printed edition: Volume 9, pp. 52–70

لَا يَسْتَوِي الْقَاعِدُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ غَيْرُ أُولِي الضَّرَرِ وَالْمُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنْفُسِهِمْ ۚ فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنْفُسِهِمْ عَلَى الْقَاعِدِينَ دَرَجَةً ۚ وَكُلًّا وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ وَفَضَّلَ اللَّهُ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ عَلَى الْقَاعِدِينَ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا ٩٥

(4:95) The holders back from among the believers, not having any injury, and those who strive hard in Allah’s way with their property and their persons are not equal; Allah has made the strivers with their property and their persons to excel the holders back in rank, and to each Allah has promised good; and Allah has distinguished the strivers above the holders back (by) a great recompense

al-Darar (the damage and defect in body) which prevents one from participating in jihād and fighting, e.g., blindness, lameness and sickness. Striving hard with their property means spending it in the way of God in order to gain victory over the enemies of the religion; striving with their persons denotes fighting in God’s way.

The phrase: and to each Allah has promised good, indicates that the verse is speaking about those holders back who had not gone forth for jihād at a time when their participation was not very vital—because a sufficient number of warriors had already joined the Islamic force. Accordingly, the verse aims at encouraging and exhorting the believers to participate in jihād, to hasten to it and hurry in joining it.

As a further proof, see that God has exempted from jihād those who are not physically fit; then He says that the holders back [with exception of the unfit ones] are not equal to the fighters—yet the fact remains that the physically unfit ones too are not equal to the fighters in the way of God. [So, why this exception?] We may say that God will compensate their inability because their intention was good. Even then, the fighting, and martyrdom or victory over the enemies of God are really great distinctions for those who fight in the way of God over the non-participators.

In short, the verse serves to exhort and encourage the believers and re-awaken their spirit of faith in order that they should hasten and race towards good deeds and excellence.

…Allah has made the strivers with their property and their persons to excel the holders back in rank,… : The sentence gives the reason why the two groups are not equal; that is why there is no conjunction etc., attached to it. al-Darajah (degree, rank); al-darajāt (rank after rank; degree after degree). As for the phrase, and to each Allah has promised good, it may refer to the two groups of the holders back and the strivers, or to all the three groups: the holders back without any injury, the holders back because of an injury and the strivers in the way of God. The word, “good”, is an adjective whose related noun is omitted; it may mean good outcome, good recompense or similar things. This sentence is put here to remove a possible misunderstanding: A holder back from among the believers—hearing the preceding declaration—could have thought that now he had nothing to his credit and that his faith and all other good deeds were now of no value at all. God assures them that to each of them He has promised good.

…and Allah has distinguished the strivers above the holders back (by) a great recompense: (high) degrees from Him and pardon and mercy…: This distinction and excellence explains in detail the distinction mentioned above. Also it contains another important message: The believers should not remain content with the good promise offered by the phrase: and to each Allah has promised good; they should not be indolent in striving in the way of God, should not neglect their duty in putting utmost effort to raise the word of truth and to erase the falsehood, because the strivers have been granted considerably great excellence and distinction above the holders back; they shall get very high degrees of forgiveness and mercy.

The verse contains a remarkable style:

First: The “strivers” have been qualified initially with the phrase: in Allah’s way with their property and their persons; then it has come down to, with their property and their persons; and finally they are mentioned without any qualification or restriction.

Second: Their distinction is described first in singular, rank or degree and then it goes to plural, “degrees from Him.”

Why? As for the qualifications of the strivers, the verse aims at description of the distinction and excellence of jihād on holding back. Jihād can only be of any value if it is done in the way of God, not in the way of one’s desires, by giving away the most precious thing, that is, wealth and property, and sacrificing what is even dearer than that, that is, one’s person and life. That is why at the first opportunity it was fully explained with all details, those who strive hard in Allah’s way with their property and their persons, so that no room is left for any misunderstanding or doubt. When it was said, Allah has made the strivers with their property and their persons to excel, there was actually no need to mention any qualifying phrase, because every thing had already been clarified; but as the sentence was to be followed by the phrase, and to each Allah has promised good, it was appropriate to explain the reason of excellence and distinction, (that is, spending the wealth and sacrificing the life in spite of their attraction); that is why only these two factors were used to qualify the strivers. When the time came to say, “and God has distinguished the strivers above the holders back (by) a great recompense,” there was no need to mention any attribute at all; not even partially. As for the change of singular ‘rank’ or ‘degree’ to the plural ‘degrees’, in the first, (Allah has made the strivers… to excel the holders back in rank) the word darajah (rank, degree) is accusative of specification, and it only describes that the excellence is in rank and degree, without going into detail as to whether the said degree is one or more. On the other hand, when it says: “and God has distinguished the strivers (by) a great recompense: (High) degrees from Him”, the word, ‘distinguished’, implies bestowal, and the word, “(High) degrees”, is in explicative apposition to the preceding “a great recompense”, or stand for it. The meaning: God, has given the strivers a great recompense, distinguishing them over the holders back by a great reward, that is, the high degrees from God.

In short, the speech mentions at first only that the strivers excel the holders back in rank, without saying whether the rank is one or more; while the next sentence says that it is not a single rank, rather there are many degrees and ranks, and that it is the great recompense given to the strivers.

On a cursory glance, it may look as if there was some contradiction in mentioning the rank or degree in singular and then in plural. But the above explanation may remove any such misunderstanding. Many other exegetes have tried to explain this apparent contradiction, but almost all their explanations seem far-fetched. For example:

The singular describes their excellence over the holders back who are unfit to fight, while the plural shows the excellence over those not having any injury. The singular indicates the worldly benefits, e.g., war-booty and high prestige etc., while the plural points to the ranks of the hereafter, which surely are much superior, as God says: and certainly the hereafter is much greater in respect of degrees. ()

The singular ‘rank’ shows their status in presence of God which is a spiritual reality, while the plural indicates the grades of the Garden and its high ranks which is a phenomenal affair.

You may see for yourself that there is nothing in the Qur’anic text to support any of these explanations.

دَرَجَاتٍ مِنْهُ وَمَغْفِرَةً وَرَحْمَةً ۚ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا ٩٦

(4:96) (High) degrees from Him and pardon and mercy, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful

In the phrase, “(High) degrees from Him,” the pronoun ‘Him’ refers to God, and this explanation is supported by the next words, “and pardon and mercy”, assuming that these words describe the degrees, and obviously pardon and mercy comes from God. Alternatively, the pronoun may relate to the “great recompense” preceding it. [In this case, the translation will be changed to ‘High degrees from it.’]

The words, “and pardon and mercy”, obviously describe the high degrees; the degrees, that is, the ranks bestowed by God, whatsoever their nature, are manifestation of divine pardon and mercy; and it has already been explained somewhere that the mercy, that is, divine bestowal of bounties, depends on removal of all impediments and obstacles which might prevent one from receiving those bounties—and this removal of obstacles is the pardon. Now, each level of divine bounty and favor and each rank and status [is mercy in itself, but it also prepares man to receive still higher rank; in this way] it is ‘pardon’ when seen in relation to the next higher rank. It is therefore perfectly right to say that the ranks of the hereafter—whatever their nature—are divine pardon and mercy. In most places where mercy, bounty or similar realities are mentioned in the Qur’an, it is usually joined with pardon and forgiveness. For example: they shall have forgiveness and a mighty reward (); and forgiveness and an honorable sustenance (); they shall have forgiveness and a great reward (); and forgiveness from Allah and (His) pleasure (); and forgive us and have mercy on us ( ). There are many such verses in the Qur’an.

The verse ends on the words: and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. Its appropriateness with the theme of the verse in quite clear, particularly as it ends on “pardon and mercy”.

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَوَفَّاهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ ظَالِمِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ قَالُوا فِيمَ كُنْتُمْ ۖ قَالُوا كُنَّا مُسْتَضْعَفِينَ فِي الْأَرْضِ ۚ قَالُوا أَلَمْ تَكُنْ أَرْضُ اللَّهِ وَاسِعَةً فَتُهَاجِرُوا فِيهَا ۚ فَأُولَٰئِكَ مَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ ۖ وَسَاءَتْ مَصِيرًا ٩٧

(4:97) Surely (as for) those whom the angels cause to die while the are unjust to their souls they shall say: “In what state were you?” They shall say: “We were weak in the earth.” They shall say: “Was not Allah’s earth vast (enough), so that you should have emigrated therein?” So these it is whose abode is hell, and it is an evil resort

Tawaffāhum translated here as “cause to die” is in aorist tense; in that case its original form is tatawaffāhum from which one “ta” has been removed for easy pronunciation. The complete form is given in 16:28: Those whom the angels cause to die while they are unjust to themselves. Then would they offer submission.

Alternatively the verb may be taken as a past tense.

As evidenced by this latter verse, the injustice mentioned here refers to the harm they had inflicted on themselves by turning away from the divine religion and neglecting to establish its practices—all because they lived in the midst of unbelievers, among polytheists, and had no means of learning the religion’s tenets and implanting what the belief in God’s lordship demands. This may be clearly seen from the words: they shall say: “In what state were you?” They shall say: “We were weak in the earth”, [Read up to the end of the verse 100.]

God has explained the adjective, ‘unjust’, (used without a qualifying word) in these words: the curse of Allah is on the unjust who hinder (people) from Allah’s way and seek to make it crooked… (; ). These verses define the injustice as turning away from God’s way and seeking to make it crooked and altered. This definition fits on the theme of the verse under discussion.

…They shall say: “In what state were you?”…: That is: What was the state and condition of your religion? ma [in fīma, in what] is the shortened form of mā (what).

The verse points in a general way to the ‘questioning in the grave’ as the traditions say: that the angels ask the dead person about his religion, This phenomenon is described also in another place: Those whom the angels cause to die while they are unjust to themselves. Then would they offer submission: “We used not to do an evil.” Aye! Surely Allah knows what you were doing, Therefore enter the gates of hell, to abide therein; so certainly evil is the dwelling place of the proud. And it is said to those who are pious: “What is it that your Lord has revealed?” They say: “Good…” ().

…They shall say: “We were weak in the earth.” They shall say: “Was not Allah’s earth vast (enough), so that you should have emigrated therein?”…: The angels’ first question: In what state were you? Was an enquiry about their religious condition; but the position of the unjust persons in that respect was not satisfactory; therefore they, instead of giving direct answer, tried to explain the reason of their objectionable condition: that they lived in a place, [country or town] where they could not obey the dictates of religion, because its inhabitants were powerful polytheists who oppressed them and prevented them from learning the rules of sharīʾah and acting upon them.

But their weakness—even if their claim was right—emanated from their abiding under the polytheists’ sway, in a land under their domination. The enemies had no control or authority outside their boundary. Therefore, these ‘weak’ people were not really weak; they could easily have changed their condition by emigrating from that place. That is why the angels refuted their claim of weakness, reminding them that God’s earth was vast enough for them to go forth and be free from the polytheists’ oppression; it was not beyond their power to leave the land of oppression and emigrate to some other place. They actually were not weak people as they could have removed the fetters of oppression from themselves. It was their own wrong choice which had put them in that bad state.

The question, “Was not God’s earth vast (enough) so that you should have migrated therein?” is for reprimand and rebuke, as is the first question, “In what state were you?” Alternatively this first question could be just an enquiry, because in the verses 28–30), of chapter 16 the same question has been addressed to the unjust and the pious ones. But in any case the second question is for reprimand.

The angels called the earth “God’s earth”; it may be a pointer to the fact that God first gave this vastness to the Earth, and it was later that He called them to the faith and good deeds. The same idea may be inferred from the verse coming at the end: And whoever emigrates in Allah’s, way he will find in the earth many a place of refuge and abundant resources.

As the earth has been described as ‘vast’, the preposition ‘in’ has been used for emigration: “so that you should have emigrated therein,” that is, migrated from one of its places to another. Had it not been vast enough, the phrase would have been, emigrated from it.

Then after this questioning, God judged their case and said:

So these it is whose abode is hell, and it is an evil resort.

إِلَّا الْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ وَالنِّسَاءِ وَالْوِلْدَانِ لَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ حِيلَةً وَلَا يَهْتَدُونَ سَبِيلًا ٩٨

(4:98) Except the weak ones from among the men and the women and the children who have not in their power the means nor can they find a way (to escape)

The exception is isolated. God calls this group weak and their weakness is explained in this very verse. It proves that the previously mentioned unjust people were not weak because they could liberate themselves from the fetters of oppression by emigrating from that land. Weak in reality are these people mentioned in this verse. To mention them with such detail, “the men and the women and the children” makes the divine order clearer and removes all possible misunderstandings. Hīlah (translated here as ‘means’) is derived from al-haylulah (to interpose, to come between); then it was used for a device which comes between a person and his goal; it is mostly used for what is done secretly and for objectionable activity—artifice, ruse, subterfuge. Its root contains a connotation of change, as al-Rāghib has written in his Mufradāt al-Qur’an.

The meaning: These people are unable to do anything to avert from themselves the oppression perpetrated against them by the polytheists; they cannot find a way to get out from the enemies’ clutch. The ‘way’ in this context means the real path (e.g., the way to Medina for the intending emigrants from Mecca) as well as the metaphorical way, that is, every means which could free them from the polytheists’ hands and put an end to their oppression and tyranny.

Discourse

The discussion “On the “Weak Ones”” appears here in the printed volume. Read it in the Al-Mizan App.

فَأُولَٰئِكَ عَسَى اللَّهُ أَنْ يَعْفُوَ عَنْهُمْ ۚ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَفُوًّا غَفُورًا ٩٩

(4:99) So these, it may be, Allah will pardon them, and Allah is Pardoning, Forgiving

The weak ones have not earned any sin, because they were unable to remove their ignorance. Yet, as explained before, man’s affairs are either good or evil, and it is enough for one’s infelicity if one does not earn good for himself. Man, whether he is good, evil or just empty-handed, can never be free from the need of God’s pardon and forgiveness; it is this divine pardoning which erases the traces of evil and infelicity. That is why God has offered them here a hope of pardon.

First the hope is offered to them of being pardoned, and it is immediately followed by the declaration: and Allah is Pardoning, Forgiving. It makes it almost definite that the divine forgiveness will cover them [on the day of judgement], as they have been separated, through exception, from the unjust ones who have been threatened that their abode is hell and it is evil resort.

وَمَنْ يُهَاجِرْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ يَجِدْ فِي الْأَرْضِ مُرَاغَمًا كَثِيرًا وَسَعَةً ۚ وَمَنْ يَخْرُجْ مِنْ بَيْتِهِ مُهَاجِرًا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ثُمَّ يُدْرِكْهُ الْمَوْتُ فَقَدْ وَقَعَ أَجْرُهُ عَلَى اللَّهِ ۗ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا ١٠٠

(4:100) And whoever emigrates in Allah’s way, he will find in the earth many a place of refuge and abundant resources; and whoever goes forth from his house emigrating to Allah and His Messenger, and then death overtakes him, his reward is surely incumbent upon Allah, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful

al-Rāghib has written: “al-Raghām (fine dust or soil); [they say] his nose fell in the dust, or someone rubbed his nose in dust; it is an idiom to show displeasure. A poet says: When those noses are rubbed in dust, I do not (try to) please them, No do I seek their pardon; rather I increase their displeasure. As the word is placed in opposition to seeking pleasure, it shows that rubbing nose in dust means to enrage, to embitter. That is why it is said: May God rub his nose in dust [that is, May God cause him to be indignant]; arghamahū (he made him angry); rāghamahu (They both tried to spite each other); then al-murāghamah was taken to mean “to quarrel with each other”. God says: “He will find in the earth many a murāghaman”, that is, ways and paths which he might use and if he saw something undesirable he would feel indignant; as you say: “I was displeased to so-and-so from such and such, [that is, I did not like that thing so I turned to so-and-so to express my displeasure].”

The meaning is therefore as follows: And whoever emigrates in God’s way (that is, seeking His pleasure by full involvement with religion in theory and practice), he will find in the earth many places, so that if someone prevents him in one place from following the religious tenets he would turn and emigrate to another place, thus rubbing the adversary’s nose in dust and letting him be embittered and angry. [It is to convey this connotation that we have translated murāghaman as place of refuge.] And he will find abundance of resources in those new places.

Earlier, the angels had asked: Was not Allah’s earth vast (enough), so that you should have emigrated therein? As the verse under discussion is based on it, it would apparently look appropriate to say, ‘And whoever emigrates, he will find in the earth abundant resources.’ But as God has added “many a place of refuge”, and this refuge was of importance to a person who wanted to proceed in the way of God, the migration too was qualified by the phrase, “in God’s way”; thus the whole verse is perfectly integrated and well-adapted to the main theme, that is, admonishing the believers living in polytheists’ midst, exhorting them to emigrate in the way of God, and assuring them of abundant, resources if they emigrated.

…and whoever goes forth from his house emigrating to Allah and His Messenger… Forgiving, Merciful: Emigration to God and His Messenger stands for emigrating to the place of Islam, where one can learn the Book of God and the sunnah of His Messenger, and act accordingly. The phrase: “death overtakes him”, is an extended metaphor alluding to occurrence of death or sudden death. ‘Overtaking’ creates a mental image of a person pursuing another until he catches up with him. Likewise, the words, “his reward is surely incumbent on God”, literally mean, his reward has surely fallen on God; this too is an extended metaphor alluding to the meaning given in the translation. There is certainly good reward and abundant recompense offered to the servant; and God will deal with him in His divinity, for Whom nothing is difficult, nothing is formidable; whatever He wills happens; and whatever He promises is fulfilled. The speech ends on the phrase, “and God is forgiving, Merciful”. It emphasizes the good promise to assure them of full reward and recompense.

In these verses, God has divided those who claim to be believers into various groups according to their residence in the place of Islam or that of polytheism; and has described the appropriate recompense for each. The aim is first to admonish and warn, then to encourage and exhort them to emigrate to the land of Islam and assemble therein in order to strengthen the Islamic society. Thus they shall be able to unite and cooperate with each other in righteousness and piety, to bring up the word of truth and raise the standard of tawhīd and flag of the religion.

The first main group was of the believers who lived in the land of Islam: among them were those who strived hard in the way of God with their property and their souls. Then there were those who held back without any injury or disability; and finally those who held back because of disabling injury. God promised good to each sub-group, but He made the strivers to excel the holders back in ranks.

Another main group is of those who stayed in the land of polytheism; it is an unjust group which does not emigrate in the way of God; its abode is the hell and it is an evil resort. There is another sub-group of truly weak man, women and children, which is not unjust, they have no means nor do they find any way to escape; and lastly there are those who were not weak, they went forth from their houses emigrating to God and His Messenger, but were overtaken by death; their reward is surely incumbent upon God.

The verses, with all the classifications, are applicable to the Muslims in all eras and periods, although, to begin with, they were revealed to describe the Muslims’ condition in Arabia during the Prophet’s time between his emigration to Medina and the conquest of Mecca. The land was divided in those day in two parts:

Dār al-Islām (the House of Islam) that is, Medina and the neighboring regions, dominated by the Muslims (who had complete freedom to observe their religion). Of course, there were some polytheists and followers of other religions too in that land, but they did not interfere with the Muslims because of various agreements, etc., they had with them.

Dār al-shirk (the House of polytheism) that is, Mecca and its neighboring regions, dominated by the polytheists who persisted in idol-worship and prevented those Muslims who lived in their midst from following their religion; they oppressed and tortured those Muslims and put them under utmost pressure hoping to turn them away from Islam.

The principle laid down in these verses provides guidance to the Muslims for all times to come. A Muslim is required to live in a place where he can acquire the knowledge of Islamic tenets and beliefs, can perform religious ceremonies and follow the sharīʾah’s commands and rules. He must emigrate from a country where he is unable to learn religion’s realities and finds no way to live according to Islamic principles. It makes no difference whether today that country is called Dār al-Islām or Dār al-Shirk, because these days the names have changed, the actual meanings have been discarded, religion is just a citizenship and Islam merely a name—without caring whether one called Muslim actually believes in its reality and follows its rules or not.

But according to the Qur’an, results emanate from the reality of Islam, not its name; and it obliges the Muslims to follow the spirit of its rules, not merely the letters. God says: This shall not be in accordance with your vain desires nor in accordance with the vain desires of the People of the Book; whoever does evil he shall be required with it, and besides Allah he will find for himself neither a guardian nor a helper. And whoever does good deeds whether male or female, and he is a believer—these shall enter the garden and they shall not be dealt with a jot unjustly (); Surely those who believe and those who are Jews and the Christians, and the Sabaeans, whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve ().

Examining Narrations

1. Ibn Jarīr, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abī Hātim, Ibn Marduwayh and al-Bayhaqī (in his al-Sunan) have narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās that he said: “A group of Meccans had accepted Islam, but they kept it secret. The polytheists brought them out [that is, forced them to come out] with them on the day of Badr; some were afflicted, other were killed. The Muslims said: ‘These our companions were Muslims and were forced; so let us pray for their forgiveness.’ Then the verse was revealed: Surely (as for) those whom the angels cause to die while they are unjust to their souls… “ He further said: “This verse was then written to those Muslims who were still at Mecca, that they had no excuse (to remain there). So they came out, but the polytheists overtook and harried them [so they returned to Mecca]. Then was revealed the verse: And among men is he who says: “We believe in Allah;” but when he is persecuted in (the way of) Allah, he thinks the persecution of men to be as the chastisement of Allah; () The Muslims wrote it to them; so they were afflicted with grief and lost hope of every good. Thereupon the verse was revealed: Yet surely your Lord, with respect to those who emigrate after they are persecuted, then they struggle hard and are patient, surely your Lord after that is Forgiving, Merciful (). The Muslims again wrote to them about it that God has made for you a way out, so come away (from Mecca). They came out, the polytheists (again) overtook them, but the Muslims (this time) fought with them until was saved who was saved and was killed who was killed.” (al-Durr al-manthūr)
2. Ibn Jarīr and Ibn Abī Hātim have narrated from al-Dahhāk about this verse that he said: “They were some hypocrites who remained behind the Messenger of God at Mecca and did not emigrate with him to Medina; thereafter they came out with Qurayshite idol-worshippers to Badr, and were afflicted in the battle with [other polytheists]. Then God revealed this verse about them.” (ibid.)
3. Ibn Jarīr has narrated from Ibn Zayd about this verse that he said: “When the Prophet was sent and the (true) faith appeared and spread, hypocrisy too spread side by side. Some people came to the Messenger of God and said: ‘O Messenger of God! If we were not afraid of these people that they would torment us and would do and do [unbearable things to us], we would have accepted Islam [openly]; nevertheless we bear witness that there is no god except God and that you are the Messenger of God.’ They used to say this to him. When the day of Badr came the polytheists stood up [to fight] and said: ‘No one will remain behind from us but that we shall demolish his house and seize his property.’ [Hearing it,] those people too went forth (with polytheists) who used to say those words to the Prophet; some of them were killed; some others were taken prisoners.”

Then (Ibn Zayd) said: “As for those who were killed, they were those about whom God has said: Surely (as for) those whom the angels cause to die while they are unjust to their souls… Was not Allah’s earth vast (enough) so that you should have emigrated therein - leaving these oppressors behind? So these it is whose abode is hell and it is an evil resort.

“Then God excused those with genuine inability and said: Except the weak ones from among the men and the women and the children who have not in their power the means nor can they find a way where they can head to; if they went forth they would be destroyed, so these it may be Allah will pardon them their staying in the midst of idol-worshippers.

“As for those who were captured, they said: ‘O Messenger of God: you know that we used to come to you and bear witness that there was no god except God and that you were His Messenger; yet we had to come out with these people fearing (their reprisals)’ God said: O Prophet! say to those of the captives who are in your hands: “If Allah knows anything good in your hearts He will give to you better than that which has been taken away from you and will forgive you the misdeed you have done”; that is, your coming out with the polytheists against the Prophet… And if they intend to act unfaithfully towards you, so indeed they acted unfaithfully towards Allah before—when they joined the polytheists in coming out—but He gave (you) mastery over them.” ()

4. ʿAbd b. Hamīd, Ibn Abī Hātim and Ibn Jarīr have narrated from ʿIkrimah about the verse, Surely (as for) those whom the angels cause to die while they are unjust to their souls… and it is an evil resort, that he said: “It was revealed about Qays b. al-Fākih b. al-Mughīrah al-Hārith b. Zamʾah b. al-Aswad, Qays b. al-Walīd b. al-Mughīrah, Abu al-ʾĀs b. Munabbih b. al-Hajjāj and ʿAlī b. Umayyah b. Khalaf.” He further said: “When the polytheists of Quraysh and their followers went forth to protect Abū Sufyān b. Harb and the caravan of the Quraysh from the Messenger of God and his companions and also intending to take revenge of what they had suffered at Nakhlah; they took with them some youths who were unwilling (to join them as) they had (secretly) accepted Islam. They faced the Muslims at Badr without prior rendezvous. So (those youths) were killed at Badr while they were kāfirs and have turned away from Islam; and they were those we have named above.” (ibid.)

Author’s comment: There are a lot of traditions, from the Sunnī sources, of the same theme. Apparently all these are attempts to apply the verses to some suitable incidents, yet it is a good application. The most important information gleaned from these traditions as well as from meditating on the said verses is the existence of hypocrites in Mecca [even] before hijrah as well as after it. This fact has a direct bearing on discussion about the hypocrites as will be seen in the chapter of’ “Repentance”, God willing.

5. Ibn Jarīr, Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn Abī Hātim have narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās that he said: “There was a man, Damrah from Banū Bakr, who was [very] sick. He told his people, ‘Take me out of Mecca, because I find it hot (here). ‘They said: ‘Where should we take you to?’ He indicated with his hand towards the way of Medina. They took him out but he expired at (only) two miles from Mecca. Then this verse was revealed: And whoever goes forth from his house emigrating to Allah and His Messenger, and then death overtakes him…” (ibid.)

Author’s comment: There are many traditions of similar theme, but there is much discrepancy about identity of the believer who expired on the way. Various traditions name him as Damrah b. Jundab, Aktham b. Sayfī, Abū Damrah b. al-ʾĪs al-Zurqī, Damrah b. al-ʾĪs al-Laythī and Jundaʾ b. Damrah al-Jundaʾī. Some traditions say that it was revealed about Khālid b. Hizām who went out intending to emigrate to Ethiopia, and was bitten by a snake on the way and died.

6. Some traditions narrate from Ibn ʿAbbās that it was Aktham b. Sayfī. The narrator asked him: “Then where is al-Laythī?” Ibn ʿAbbās said: “It was before al-Laythī, and it is particular (and) general.”

Author’s comment: That is, the verse was revealed for Aktham in particular, then it is applied to others in general. It may be gleaned from the traditions that three Muslims had met their death while on their way to hijrah: Aktham b. Sayfī, al-Laythī and Khālid b. Hizām. But [it is difficult] to pinpoint as to whom the verse was revealed about; and the traditions are probably the narrators’ attempts to apply the verse to this or that person.

7. Zurārah says: “I asked Abū Jaʾfar about the mustadʾaf (weak, weakened). He said: ‘He is the one who does not have a means to disbelief (that he may disbelieve), nor does he find a way to belief; he is unable to believe and unable to reject (the belief); among them are the children as well as those men and women whose understanding is like that of the children; they are freed from responsibility.” (al-Kāfī)

Author’s comment: The tradition is extensively narrated from Zurārah; al-Kulaynī, al-Sadūq and al-ʿAyyāshī have narrated it from him through numerous chains.

8. al-Kulaynī narrated through his links from Ismāʾīl al-Juʾfī that he said: “I asked Abū Jaʾfar about the religion which no one can afford to be ignorant of. He said: ‘The religion is spacious, but the Khārijites, as a result of their ignorance, have cramped it for themselves.’ I said: ‘May I be your ransom! Should I then relate to you the religion which I follow? He said: ‘Yes.’ So I said: ‘I bear witness that there is no god except God, and Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger; and I acknowledge (and believe in) what he has brought from God, the High; and I love you and I keep away from your enemies and those who oppressed you and [wrongfully] became your rulers and usurped your rights.’ He said: ‘By God you have not overlooked anything. It is, by God! the [religion] we are on.’ Then I said: ‘Can someone not knowing this matter be saved?’ He said: ‘[None] except the weak ones.’ I said: ‘Who are they?’ He said: ‘Your women and your children.’ Then he said: ‘Had you seen Umm Ayman? I bear witness that she was from the people of the garden, but she did not know [in such detail the religion] you are on.’” (ibid.)
9. Sulaymān b. Khālid narrates that he asked Abū Jaʾfar about the weak ones. The Imām said: “A simple-minded woman in her private room; a slave-girl that you tell her to pray and she prays, she does not know except what you tell her; a foreign slave who does not understand except what you tell him; an aged old man; a child, a small boy: these are the weak ones. But a thick-necked man, disputatious (and) antagonist, who deals in sale and purchase, whom you cannot tire in anything: Will you say, he is weak? No; by no means.” (al-Tafsīr, al-ʿAyyāshī)
10. Sulaymān has narrated from al-Ṣādiq that he said about this verse: “O Sulaymān! In these weak ones there are those who have thicker necks than yours. Weak are the people who fast and pray, keep their stomachs and genitals away [from forbidden things]; they do not believe that the right is with our adversaries; they are holding the tree’s branches; these are that God may pardon them if they keep the hold of the tree’s branches and know those. Then if God pardons them it will be by His mercy, and if He punishes them it will be because of their error.” (Maʾāni al-akhbār)

Author’s comment: The words, “they do not believe that the right is with our adversaries”, mean that they do not have ill-feelings towards us, or that such ideas are not based on their own negligence, as is clear from the following traditions.

11. al-Ṣādiq has said that weak ones are of many kinds, differing among themselves; and anyone among the People of the Qiblah (that is, Muslims) who is not inimical to us, is mustadʾaf, weak. (ibid.)
12. al-Ṣādiq said explaining this verse: “’who have not in their power the means’ to our enmity, so that they could have got ill-feelings [towards us], ‘nor can they find a way’ to the truth, that they could come on the right path; they will enter the garden because of their good deeds and their abstaining from the unlawful things forbidden by God, but they will not get the rank of the righteous ones.” (ibid.; al-Tafsīr, al-ʿAyyāshī)
13. Durays al-Kunāsī narrates that he said to Abū Jaʾfar: “May I be made your ransom! What is the condition of those who believe in the One God and the prophethood of Muhammad, who have committed sins and die without believing in an imām and do not know about your love and obedience?” He said: “As for these, they shall remain in their graves, and not come out; whoever (among them) had done good deeds and did not show any animosity [towards us], a tunnel will be opened for him to the garden which God has created in the west; thus refreshing breeze will continue reaching him in his grave up to the Day of Resurrection until he comes before God; He will take account of his good and evil, then he will go either to the paradise or to the fire. These are they who depend on the decision of God. Then he said: “And likewise is done to the weak ones, the idiots, the children and the minor children of the Muslims. And as for [our] antagonists among the People of the Qiblah, a tunnel is dug for them to the fire which God has created in the east, and will reach to him the flames, sparks, smoke and the hell’s out-bursts up to the Day of Resurrection; then their destination is the hell.” (al-Tafsīr, al- Qummī)
14. al-Ṣādiq narrates from his father, from his and father, from ʿAlī that he said: “Surely the Garden has eight gates: from one gate will enter the Prophets and the Truthful ones; from another gate will enter the Witnesses and the Good servants; and from five gates will enter our Shīʾahs and lovers;… and from [the eighth] gate will enter all the Muslims who bear witness that there is no god but God and in whose heart there is not an atom’s weight of animosity towards us, the Ahl al-bayt. (al-Khisāl)
15. Humrān narrates: “I asked Abū ʿAbdillāh about the word of God: Except the weak ones. He said: ‘They are the People of al-wilāyah (friendship, authority, power, guardianship.)’ I said: ‘Which wilāyah?’ He said: ‘It is not the wilāyah in religion, but the wilāyah in marrying each other, inheriting from each other and mixing with each other; they are neither believers nor kāfirs, they are the ones made to await God’s command.” (Maʾāni al-akhbār; al-Tafsīr, al-ʿAyyāshī)

Author’s comment: It refers to the verse: And others are made to await Allah’s command, whether He will chastise them or whether He will turn to them (in mercy)… ()

16. ʿAlī said: “The name of weakness is not used for him to whom the proof has reached, and his ears heard it and his heart understood it.” (Nahj al-balāghah)
17. [Imām] al-Kādhim was asked about the weak ones. He wrote: “The weak is he to whom proof has not been conveyed and who is unaware of [religious] difference. But he is no more weak once he knew the difference.” (al-Kāfī)
18. al-Ṣādiq was asked: “What do you say about the weak ones?” He replied in a dismayed manner, ‘Have you left anyone who could be called weak? Where are the weak ones? Because, by God! this affair of yours [that is, Shīʾite faith] has been taken by ladies in their boudoirs to other ladies, and have discussed it the water-carriers in the streets of Medina.” (ibid.)
19. ʿUmar b. Isḥāq says: “Abū ʿAbdillāh was asked as to what was the definition of the weak which has been mentioned by God. He said: ‘He who does not properly recite any of the Qur’anic chapters, while God has created it in such a way that no one should fail to recite it properly.”’ (Maʾāni al-akhbār)

Author’s comment: There are several other Traditions; but what has been quoted above covers all the themes mentioned therein. Although the traditions apparently seem to differ with one another, yet if we overlook the particulars which throw light on various degrees of weakness, all of them jointly prove one fact which the generality of the verse shows: that weakness means not finding one’s way to the right path—without any negligence on one’s own part.