Indexed OCR Text

626
Surah Al-Nisa'
4 : 155-159
السجدة واحدة لله رب العلمين. ثم قال أبو هريرة: واقرؤا أن شئتم "وَإِنُ
مِّنْ آَهْلِ الْكِتْبِ إِلَّ لَيُؤُمِنَنَّ بِهِ قَبْلَ مُوتِهِ" قال أبو هريرة: "قبل موت
عيسى " يعيدها ثلث مرات .
"The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: The son of Maryam shall
definitely reappear as a just ruler. He will kill the Anti-Christ
and the swine. He will break the Cross and worship shall be
made for Allah alone, the one Lord of all the worlds. Then,
Sayyidna Abu Hurairah said: Read, if you wish, the verse of
the Qur'an - ◌ٍ159) وَإِنٌ مِّنُ اَهُلِ الْكِتْبِ إِلَّ لَيُؤُمِنَنَّ بِهِ قَبْلَ مَوْتِه) which mentions
that not one person from out of the People of the Book will
remain without having believed in Sayyidna 'Isa before his
death. Sayyidna Abu Hurairah, then, said with stress: 'Before
the death of Isa WJIL' and he repeated it three times.
(Qurțubi)
This Tafsir (explanation) of the verse under reference stands
proved from a highly venerated Companion such as Sayyidna Abu
Hurairah &e Algo, on the added strength of sound chain of narrators.
This report establishes that the Qur'anic words: " ju (before his
death) mean 'before the death of Sayyidna 'Isa >JIoule and which expli-
citly determines that this verse is related to the coming of Sayyidna
'Isa WJI ale close to the Qiyamah (Doomsday).
As based on this tafsir, this verse is a conclusive evidence that the
death of Sayyidna 'Isa WJILL has not yet come to pass. In fact, when
he is sent down from the heaven close to Qiyamah and the wise consid-
erations of Almighty Allah working behind his coming reach their ulti-
mate fruition, it will be only then that his death will occur on this very
earth.
This is also supported by the following verse of Surah al-Zukhruf
is a sign عليه السلام that is, Sayyidna Isa) وَإِنَّهْ لَعِلُمٌ لِلِّسَّاعَةٍ فَلَا تَتُرْنَّ بِهَا وَاتَّبِعُونِ: (43:61)
of the Doomsday. So, do not doubt it and listen to what I say.) A larger
number of commentators has said that the pronoun in the Qur'anic
word 'si at this point refers back to Sayyidna 'Isa WILL and it means
that Sayyidna 'Isa MI ale is a sign of Qiyamah (Doomsday). From here
we learn that this verse reports the coming of the Masih Y JI ule , that
is, he will appear close to the Qiyamah and his appearance will be one
of the signs of it.

627
Surah Al-Nisa'
4 : 155-159
Also worth attention is yet another reading of the Qur'anic word
(la'ilmun) in this verse (43:61) which is:"L5 (la'alamun). According to this
reading the meaning becomes all the more clear because the word ".
('alam) with the fatha of lam means 'sign or symbol.' The following
tafsir of Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas e Ula lends added support to
عن ابن عباس رضى الله عنهٍ فى قوله تعالى: "وَإِنَّةِ لَعِلُمٌ لِلْسَّاعَةِ" قال: خروج عيسى عليه السلام :this view
Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas - 43:61 - وَإِنَّهَ لَعِدُ لِلِّسَّاعَةِ : About the verse) قَبْلَ يَوْمِ القِيْمَةِ
reported that it refers to Sayyidna 'Isa >JILL who will come before
the Qiyamah (Ibn Kathir)
In short, if we combine the statement: 'Qabla mawtihi' (Before his
death - 4:159) with the authentic hadith of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah and
its explanation, the truth that Sayyidna 'Isa WJILL is alive and that
he will reappear close to the Doomsday and overcome the Jews stands
proved conclusively. Similarly, this view also becomes certain through
the words: 03's by : 'Surely, he (Sayyidna 'Isa) is a sign of the
. رضى الله عنه Doomsday,' as explained by Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas
The master commentator, Ibn Kathir, while explaining the verse:
:cited above, has said وَإِنَّ لَعِلْمٌ لِلْسَّاعَةِ
وقد تواترت الاحاديث عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم انه اخبر بنزول
عيسى عليه السلام قبل يوم القيمة أماما عادلا (ابن كثير)
"The sayings of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in this connec-
tion have been reported through tawatur (in an uninterrupted
succession) that he has conveyed the tidings of the coming of
'Isa WILL in this world before the Day of Doom as a just
ruler. (Ibn Kathir)
These narrations appearing in an uninterrupted succession
(mutawatir) were collected by my teacher and a great servant of Islam,
Maulana Muhammad Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri. These were more than
a hundred in number. This humble writer compiled this collection in
التصريح بما تواتر فى نزول :Arabic and it was published way back under the title
l as proposed by my respected teacher. Recently, a major Syrian
scholar, Al-'Allamah 'Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah has published from
the city of Beirut a deluxe edition of this work with additional expla-
nations and notes.

628
Surah Al-Nisa'
4 :160-161
The belief in the coming of Isa WI . towards the later times is
absolute and unanimous as held by the Muslims and the denier
of which goes out of the pale of Islam
This subject has become clear enough from the discussion of verses
in this part of the commentary. A more comprehensive treatment of
the subject has already appeared in the commentary on Surah 'Al-
'Imran which may be consulted. The discussions there also include
answers to doubts raised by some so-called modernists of our time in
order to hurt the credibility of this article of Muslim faith. Only Allah
can guide whomsoever He wills.
Verses 160 - 161
فَبِظُلْمٍ مِنَ الَّذِيْنَ هَادُوا حَرَّمْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ طَيِّبْتٍ أُحِلَّتُ لَهُمْ
وَبِصَدِّهِمْ عَنُ سَبِيُلِ اللَّهِ كَثِيرًا( ١٦) وَآَخْذِهِمُ الرِّبُوا وَقَدُ
نُهُوْا عَنْهُ وَآَكُلِهِمْ آَمْوَالَ النَّاسِ بِالْبَاطِلِ، وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكُفِرِتْنَ
مِنْهُمُ عَذَابًا أَلِيُّمَا ﴿١٦١)
So, for the transgression of those who became Jews, We
prohibited for them good things which were made
lawful for them earlier and for their preventing
(people) frequently from the way of Allah, [160] and for
their taking riba (usury or interest) while they were
forbidden from it, and for their eating up of the proper-
ties of the people by false means. And We have
prepared, for the disbelievers among them, a painful
punishment. [161]
Mentioned earlier through several verses were the wrongdoings of
Jews and the punishment they would get for doing so. The present
verses talk about some other vices of theirs and mention yet another
kind of punishment as well. This punishment will, obviously, visit
them on the Day of Judgment. But, right here in this present world,
the outcome will be that they will find many things already lawful for
them made unlawful as a measure of punishment.
Commentary
In the Shari'ah brought by the Holy Prophet Muhammad al-
Mustafa صلى الله عليه وسلم there are some things too, known as haram or

629
Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 162
unlawful, but these were forbidden because of one or the other phys-
ical or spiritual harm they bring. This was contrary to what happened
with the Jews - the good things forbidden to them had no physical or
spiritual harm in them, instead, these were forbidden to them as the
punishment of their acts of transgression and disobedience.
**
Verse 162
لَكِنِ الرُّسِكُوْنَ فِى الْعِلِمِ مِنْهُمْ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ مُؤْ مِنُونَ بِّآ أُنْزِلَ
إِلَيْكَ وَمَّا أُنْزِلَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ وَالْقِيْمِيْنَ الصَّلَوةَ وَالْمُؤْتُونَ الزَّكُوَةَ
وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ، أُولَلْتِكَ سَنُؤْنِيْهِمْ آَجْرًّا
عَظِيْمًا ﴿١٦٢﴾
But those well-grounded in knowledge among them
and the believers, believe in what has been revealed to
you and what has been revealed before you, and, of
course, those observing the Salah and paying the Zakah
and those believing in Allah and the Last Day. To them
we shall give a great reward. [162]
The previous verses referred to Jews who adhered to their disbelief
and obstinately continued practising what was blame-worthy. The
present verse now cites those who were, no doubt, from among the
People of the Book, but, when the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم came
with his mission and they found in him, fully and unmistakably, all
qualities the Last among Prophets WI +de was supposed to have
according to the prophesies of their Scriptures, they believed in him -
like Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn Salam, Usayd and Tha'labah, may Allah
be pleased with them all. The words of praise in this verse are for
these blessed souls.
Commentary
The great reward promised to those referred to here is because of
their qualities of faith and righteous deeds. As far as salvation as such
is concerned that depends on the correction of essentials of doctrinal
matters - of course, subject to the condition, that one's life ends with
the blessing of faith ('Iman).

630
Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 163-169
Verses 163 - 169
أَنَّا أَوُحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ كَمَآ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلى نُوُجِ وَالنَّبِيِّنَ مِنْ بَعْدِهٍ
وَآؤُ حَيْنَا إِلَى اِبْراهِيمَ وَإِسْمُعِيْلَ وَ إِسْحُقَ وَيَعْفُرُبَ وَالْأَسْبَاطِ
وَعِيْسِى بُوَيُّوُّبَ وَيُنُسَ وَ هُونَ وَسُلَيْمِنَّْ وَاتَيْنَا دَاؤَدَ
زَبُوُرًا(١٦٣) وَرُجملًا قَدْ قَصَصْنُهُمْ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَرُسُلَا لَّمْ
نَقْصُصُهُمْ عَلَيْكَ، وَكَلَّمَ اللَّهُ مُؤْسَى تَكْلِيمًا ﴿١٦٤) رُسْلًا
تُبَشِّرِيْنَ وَمُنْذِرِينَ لِفَلَّايَكُوْنَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَى اللَّهِ حُبَّهُ بَعْدَ
الرُّسُلِ، وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَزِيزًا حَكِيْمًا ﴿١٦٥﴾ لكِنِ اللّهُ يَشْهَدُ فِّاً
أَنْزَلَ إِلَيُكَ انْزَلَهُ بِعِلُّمِهِ وَالْمَلِفِكَةُ بَشْهَدُونَ، وَكَفَى بِاللَّهِ
شَهِبْدًا (١٦٦) إِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوا وَصَدُّوا عَنْ سَبِيْلِ اللَّهِ قَدُ
ضَلُّواْ ضَلِلاً، بَعِيُّدًا (١٦٧) إِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوا وَظَلَهُوْا لَمْ يَكُنِ
اللّهُ لِيَغْفِرَلَهُمْ وَلَاَ لِيَهْدِيَهُمْ طَرِيقًا ﴿١٦٨) إِلَّ طَرِيْقَ جَهَنَّمَ
خُلِدِيْنَ فِيْهَا آَبَدًّا، وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرًا﴿١٦٩﴾
Surely, We have revealed to you as We have revealed to
Nuh (Noah) and to the prophets after him; and We have
revealed to Ibrahim, Ismail, Ishaq, Ya'qub and their chil-
dren, and to 'Isa, Ayyub, Yunus, Harun and Sulayman.
And We have given Zabur to Dawud. 1 [163]
And, (We have sent down) some Messengers We have
already told you about, and some other Messengers We
did not tell you about and Allah has spoken to Musa
verbally [164] - Messengers giving good tidings and
warning so that people may have no plea against Allah
1. These are the names of the prophets Biblically spelt respectively as
follows:
Abraham, Ishmael, Issac, Israel, Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, Solomon and
David.
Zabur is the name of the Book revealed to David, Biblically known as the
Psalms.

631
Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 163-169
after the Messengers (have come). And Allah is All-
Mighty, All-Wise. [165]
But Allah bears witness (to your prophethood) through'
what He has revealed to you, (and) revealed it with His
knowledge. And the angels too, bear witness. And Allah
is sufficient as witness. [166]
Surely, those who disbelieved and prevented (people)
from the way of Allah have gone far astray. [167] Surely,
those who disbelieved and transgressed, Allah is not
going to forgive them nor lead them to a way [168] -
other than the way of Jahannam where they are to
remain for ever. And that, for Allah, is easy. [169]
If we refer back to Verse 153 : ◌ِيَسْتَلُكَ اهُلُ الْكِتْب (The People of the Book
ask you ... ), it will be noticed that a silly question asked by the Jews
was responded to in the mode of reproach. Here, in the present verse,
the same question is being proved false in a different manner. It takes
up their condition which they place before the Holy Prophet , that
is, they would believe in him if he brings before them a Book, all
written up, from the heavens. They are being asked to realize that
they do not make such demands before believing in the great prophets
mentioned in the verse, prophets they too accept. Keeping this in view,
it is necessary that they keep to the line of argument they use in
favour of these great prophets, that is, they accept them on the basis
صلى الله عليه وسلم of their miracles. As for miracles, Sayyidna Muhammad
has his miracles as well, therefore, there is no reason why they cannot
step forward and believe in him too. But, the truth of the matter is
that the demand they are making is no quest for truth. On the
contrary, it is rooted in prejudice and hostility.
Then comes a delineation of the wisdom behind the sending of
prophets and an address to the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم assuring
him that Allah and His angels are witnesses to his prophethood and
those who do not believe in him do nothing but ruin their own end.
(Bayan al-Qur'an)
Commentary
: إِنَّا أَوُحَيْئًا إِلَيْكَ كَمَّا أَوْحَيْتًاً إلى نُوَّحِ وَالنَّبِينَ مِنْ بَعْدِ :Verse 163 begins with the words
'Surely, We have revealed to you as We have revealed to Nuh (Noah)

632
Surah Al-Nisa'
4 :163-169
and to the prophets after him ... ' It tells us clearly that Wahy
(revelation) is a command of Allah, unique and unimitable, and His
message sent to prophets; and that Almighty Allah sent His Wahy to
Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa صلى الله عليه وسلم just as it was sent to the
past prophets; and that whoever believed in the Wahy sent to past
prophets must believe in this too; and that whoever rejects this
becomes so to say, a rejecter of all those revelations.
The reason for striking a similarity between Sayyidna Nuh and
those who came after him is probably that the Wahy at the time of
Sayyidna Adam WJILL was at an initial stage which reached its
perfection with the prophethood of Sayyidna Nuh >_ . It can be
said that the first state was an state of educational initiation while by
the time of Sayyidna Nuh Mi _Je that state reached a stage of devel-
opment under which people could be tested with the incentive of
reward for the obedient and the warning of punishment for the disobe-
dient. Thus, it was from Sayyidna Nuh JI Le himself that the chain
of great prophets began and it was from his time too that the first
punishment descended on those who transgressed against Divine reve-
lation.
In short, punishment would not descend upon people for their
hostility against Divine commandments and prophetic teachings. They
were considered rather excusable and allowed to learn in due time
through good counsel. Once religious education became fully wide-
spread and people were left with no hidden reason to avoid following
the dictates of Divine will, punishment did descend upon the disobe-
dient ones. The Great Flood came during the time of Sayyidna Nuh de
W.JI followed by different kinds of punishment visiting disbelievers
during the times of prophets Sayyidna Salih, Sayyidna Shu'ayb and
many others, may peace be on them all. Thus, by likening the Way
which came to the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم with the Wahy of Sayy-
idna Nuh and of those who came after him, full waring has been
served on the People of the Book and on the. disbelievers of Makkah
that anyone who will not believe in the Wahy (that is, The Qur'an) of
the Last of the Prophets will deserve the greatest punishment.
(Exegetical notes of Maulana Shabbir Ahmad 'Usmani)
Before we move to the next verse, it would be useful to keep in

633
Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 163-169
mind that the personal presence of Sayyidna Nuh >JI de, whose name
appears first in this verse, was a miracle by itself. He was blessed with
an age of nine hundred and fifty years. He had lost none of his teeth
and had no streaks of white hair on his head and had faced no defi-
ciency in his physical strength - yet, he spent his whole life time
braving the pain inflicted by his people on him with matching patience
and fortitude. (Mazhari)
In verse 164 which opens with the words: Que2 2 52; 'And, (We
have sent down) some Messengers We have already told you about ... ',
after a brief mention of prophets who appeared after Sayyidna Nuh Le
> JI , a special citation has been made of the greatest prophets from
among them. The purpose is to tell us that they are all prophets and
Wahy comes to prophets via different modes. It could be an angel with
a message. It could also be a written Book. Sometimes Almighty Allah
talks directly to His Messenger. In short, when Wahy comes, no
matter in what mode or manner it does, acting in accordance with it
becomes obligatory. Therefore, the saying of Jews that they would
believe only if there comes to them a written Book like the Torah,
otherwise they would not, is to say the least, being short on sense and
tall on disbelief.
As reported by Sayyidna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari Le JI yo, , the Holy
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: 'Almighty Allah has sent one hundred and
twenty four thousand prophets out of which three hundred and thir-
teen were Shari'ah-bearing Messengers of Allah.' (Qurtubi)
Then comes verse 165 :َمُسُلًا مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنذِرِين ( -- Messengers giving good
tidings and warning ... ) which succinctly tells that Almighty Allah
consistently sent messengers to convey good tidings to all believers
and to warn all disbelievers so that there remains no room for the
excuse that they did not know the will of God and His Messengers --
had they known about it, they would have certainly followed it! Now,
that Almighty Allah has sent messengers with miracles and His
messengers have shown the straight path of truth, the option of not
accepting the true faith cannot be accepted from anyone under any
pretext or excuse. Such is the nature of Divine Revelation. Wahy is an
absolute argument, final, conclusive and disarming. No argument
stands operative against it. In fact, all arguments lie surrendered

634
Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 170
under its weight. And this is the wisdom of Allah and His modus oper-
andi.
It has been narrated by Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbase Jf », that a group
of Jews came to the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم . He said to them:
Surely, you do know that I am a true messenger of Allah? They
refused to accept that whereupon came the following verse (166): LI
afare LL 'But Allah bears witness (to your prophethood) through
what He has revealed to you ... ' The verse addressed to the Holy
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم declares that Allah is a witness to his prophet-
hood through the miraculous Qur'an, a perfect message from out of His
Knowledge. The Book has been revealed to him with full realization
that he is deserving of it, and the angels too join in the testimony.
After the very witnessing of the All-Knowing, All-Aware Allah, there is
nothing left to argue about.
The text, after having confirmed the veracity of the glorious Qur'an
and the noble Prophet LyL. J .L., turns to those who still deny
them, conceal his character traits and circumstantial indicators of his
appearance present in the Torah and, sordidly enough, try to keep
others away from the true faith by bringing out before them things
which are not there or things which have been jumbled together to
distort the truth. For such people, there shall be no forgiveness and no
guidance either. Thus, it becomes very clear that guidance or the
ability to find the straight path depends on following the Holy Prophet
and straying away, whatever be its nature, is nothing but hostility
towards him. This, then, comprehensively refutes all erroneous ideas
of the Jews.
Verse 170
◌ََّيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْجَاءَكُمُ الرَّسُلُ بِالْحَقِّ مِنْ رَّبِّكُمْ فَأْمِنُوا خَيْرًا
◌َّكُمْ، وَإِنُ تَكْفُرُوا فَإِنَّ لِلَّهِ مَافِى السَّمُوتِ وَاُلْأَرْضِ، وَكَانَ
اللَّهُ عَلِيْمَا حَكِيْمَا ( ١٧)
O men, the Messenger has come to you with the truth
from your Lord. So, believe. That is good for you. And if
you disbelieve, then, to Allah belongs what is in the
heavens and the earth. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-

635
Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 171
Wise. [170]
After answering the objections raised by the Jews and confirming
the prophethood of Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa, وصلى الله عليه وسلم the
Qur'an carries the message of Allah to all human beings wherever
they may be as they are its direct addressees in this verse. The essence
of the message is: Your salvation lies nowhere but in your belief in the
prophethood of Muhammad صلى اللّه عليه وسلم so, believe and prosper.
As for those who choose to disbelieve, they lose everything while
Allah loses nothing. With His limitless domain and power, who can
conceive of bringing any loss or harm to Him? This is something the
disbelievers should worry about. Let them be certain that Allah knows
everything about their believing and disbelieving and let not the delay
or decrease in punishment in this world put them on the wrong foot for
He is All-Wise too and does what His wisdom allows to prevail.
Verse 171
يَآَهُلَ الْكِتِبِ لَاتَغُلُوا فِىُ دِيْنِكُمْ وَلَا تَقُوُلُؤْا عَلَى اللّهِإِلَّ
الْحَّ إِنََّا الْمُسِبْحُ عِيْسَى ابْهُ مَرْيَمَ رَسُلُ اللَّهِ وَكَلِمَتُهُ،
اَلْقُهَا إِلى مَرْيَمَ وَدُوٌٌ مِنُهُ: قَامِنُوا بِاللهِ وَرُ سُلِ ◌ّغْ وَلَا تَقُّؤْلُؤًا
ثَلَثَةُ: إِنْتَهُوا خَيْرًا لَكُمُ، إِنَّا اللَّهُ إِلهَّ وَاحِدٌّ، سُبْحَتَةً أَنْ يَّكُوُّنَ
لَهُ وَلَدٌّ لَهُ مَا فِى السَّمُوْتِ وَمَا فِى الْأَرْضِ، وَكَفَى بِاللَّهِ
وَكِيْلًا ﴿١٧١﴾
O people of the Book, be not excessive in your Faith
and do not say about Allah anything but the truth. The
Masih 'Isa, the son of Maryam, is only a Messenger of
Allah and His word He delivered to Maryam, and a
spirit from Him. So, believe in Allah and His Messen-
gers. And do not say "Three". Stop it. That is good for
you. Allah is the only One God. He is far too pure to
have a son. To Him belongs what is in the heavens and
what is in the earth. And Allah is enough to trust in.
[171]
Jews were the addressees in previous verses which provided
details of how astray they had gone. The present verses address the.

636
Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 171
Christians and refute their doctrinal position as related to God and
. عليه السلام Sayyidna 'Isa
Commentary
The word: "y : Kalimatuh used in this verse tells us that Sayyidna
'Isa WILL is the 'word' of Allah. Commentators have given different
meanings of this expression:
1. Imam al-Ghazzali has said that two factors operate in the birth
of a child: One is the sperm, the other is the saying of the word 3 or
'be' by Almighty Allah after which the child comes to exist. Since the
first factor is out of question in the case of Sayyidna 'Isa WulLe,
therefore, it was by attribution to the second factor that he was called
Jur las (the word of Allah). It means that he came into existence solely
through the word: : 3 (be) without the mediacy of material means. In
this case, the statement which follows immediately, that is, 3 ) Chi
would mean that Almighty Allah delivered this word to Maryam Que
.came to be عليه السلام as a result of which the birth of Sayyidna 'Isa السلام
2. Some have said that the expression: wink (the word of Allah)
has been used in the sense of: JIsu (the glad tiding of Allah) and it
refers to Sayyidna 'Isa WI que . It will be recalled that the glad tiding
of the coming of Sayyidna Isa عليه السلام given to Maryam عليها السلام by
Almighty Allah through the angels carries the expression: Kalimah or
word : ◌ٍإِذْ قَالَتِ الْمَئِكَةُ بُمَرْيَمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ يُبٍَُّ بِكَلِمَة (When the angels said, "O Maryam,
Allah gives you the good news of a word ... 3:45).
3. Some have said that kalimah (word) has been used here in the
sense of'ayah or sign, as it has appeared elsewhere in the same sense:
SUR LES She (Maryam) testified to the word of her Lord as true."
(66:12)
Let us now consider the statement:
233 ( ... and a spirit from
Him.) in this verse. Worth attention here are two aspects of our probe.
Firstly, why has Sayyidna 'Isa ,W.JI de been referred to as ruh or spirit?
Secondly, since by saying 'from Him' the spirit has been attributed to
Almighty Allah, what, then, would be the sense of such an attribution?
In this connection, several exegetical stances of commentators have.
been reported. Their gist is being given below:
1. Some of them explain it on the basis of lexical usage. They say

637
Surah Al-Nisa'
4:171
that, according to the rule of 'urf or recognized customary practice, the
word 'ruh' or 'spirit' is used in the sense of 'essence' to enhance the
effect of pristine purity in something. Since the birth of Sayyidna Isa
WILle was totally unrelated to the mediation of any father and he
was the outcome of nothing but the will of Allah, in His supreme
majesty, and a result of the word: " (kun: be), therefore, he was
blessed with the most perfect degree of purity. This is the reason why
he was called 'a spirit' or 'essence' as admitted by recognized practice.
As for the attribution to Allah, it is there to hold him in esteem. This is
like attributing Masajid (mosques) to Allah in order to enhance the
respect in which they are held. Hence, the expression: Masajidullah or
the Mosques of Allah. Or, the Holy Ka'bah, by attributing it to Allah,
is called: Baytullah or the House of Allah. Or, by attributing someone
religiously observing and worshipfully obedient to Allah, he is called:
'Abd Allah' or the servant or slave of Allah. Thus, it is in accord with
this formulation that the Holy Prophet & has been referred to in
Surah Bani Isra'il in the wordings: " 321 (carried His servant) (17:1)
where the attribution to Allah reflects honour given to him.
2. Some commentators have said that the purpose behind the
coming of Sayyidna 'Isa >JI ale was that he should infuse spiritual life
into the dead hearts of people and make them alive once again
(familiar as born-again Christians in the West). Since he was the
cause of spiritual life very much like the spirit is the cause of physical
life, therefore, it was in this light that he was called a spirit. In fact,
this word has been used for the Holy Qur'an as well: 3 63 af esnauk;
uzi (and thus We have revealed to you a spirit of Our Command - 42:52)
because the Holy Qur'an too blesses people with spiritual life.
3. Some others have said that ruh (spirit) is also used in the sense
of secret. Since Sayyidna 'Isa >JI ute was, because of his unusual birth,
a sign and secret of Allah, therefore, he was called: Ruhullah (the
spirit of Allah).
4. Some say that the adjunct is understood here since the state-
ment was to be read as: 2 335 (the possessor of a spirit from Him).
However, since all rational"beings are equal as the possessors of a
spirit, the distinction of Sayyidna 'Isa WI ol was made manifest when
Almighty Allah turned his attribution towards Himself.

638
Surah Al-Nisa'
4:171
5. According to yet another exegetical view, the word: Ruh has
been used in the sense of nafkh or the blowing of breath. Sayyidna
Jibra'il JIu had, as commanded by Allah, blown his breath on the
collar of Sayyidah Maryam JI 4.1. and that became the conception.
Since only a blow of breath had caused the birth of Sayyidna 'Isa Je
>JI as a miracle, therefore, he was called: Ruhullah or the spirit of
Allah. Another verse of the Holy Qur'an : فَتَفَخُنَا فِيهَا مِنْ زُّوحِنَا (then, We blew
Our spirit in her - 21:91) points out in this direction.
In addition to these, several other probabilities have also been
suggested. However, none of these come to mean that Sayyidna 'Isa
Jule is a part of Allah or a divine person on the basis of which it
could be suggested that this very spirit we are talking about has mani-
fested itself in the human form of Sayyidna 'Isa Mulade .
A telling repartee
'Allamah Al-Alusi, the author of the famous Tafsir Ru al-Ma'ani
has reported an episode from the court of Caliph Harun al-Rashid
where a Christian physician entered into a debate against the scholar
'Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Waqidi challenging him that his Book (the
Qur'an) has a particular word which indicates that Sayyidna 'Isa de
> JI is a part of Allah. And as a proof, he read out the verse (171) which
carries the words: '233; (a spirit from Him). 'Allamah al-Waqidi came
up with a rejoinder and recited another verse (45:13) of the Qur'an:
The meaning of the verse is that) وَسَخَّرَلَكُمُ ◌َّا فِى السَّمُوْتِ وَمَا فِى الْآَرْضِ جَمِيْقَا مِّنْهُ
everything that there is in the heavens and the earth is from the same
Allah where the word - minhu: from Him - serves to attribute every-
thing to Allah) and said: 'If 2;33; (ruhim-minhu: a spirit from Him)
means, as you think, that Sayyidna 'Isa >JI ul is a part of Allah, then,
the verse I have just recited would mean that every thing in the
heavens and the earth is also a part of Allah?' Thus, silenced, the
Christian physician chose to become a Muslim.
The Qur'an and the doctrine of Trinity
Reflected in the statement of the Qur'an: die prů ý, (And do not say
"Three") is the state of the major sects among Christians in which
they were divided at the time of the revelation of the Qur'an. The
doctrine of Trinity they adhered to was based on three separate princi-
ples. One sect maintained that Masih is God and it is God Himself

639
Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 171
who has appeared in the world in the form of Masih. The second sect
believed that Masih is the son of God while the third sect claimed
unity in trinity - the father, the son and Mary. Even this group was
split in two. The second group said that the Holy Spirit (Ruhul-Quds)
and not Sayyidah Maryam (Mary) was the third person (hypostasis).
So, these people acknowledged Sayyidna Masih WILL as the third of
the three. Therefore, all the three sects have been addressed, separ-
ately and jointly in the Holy Qur'an whereby the Christians have been
clearly told that there is just one truth and that truth is that Masih de
WJI is a human being born to Maryam wJILL , and a true Messenger
of God. Whatever is said beyond that is all false and ineffectual -
whether it be loaded with the excess of under-estimation, as believed
by the Jews, viz., God forbid, he was an imposter and fabricator: or, be
a case of the excess of over-estimation as believed by the Christians,
viz., God forbid, he is God or the son of God or the third of the three.
In many of its verses, the Holy Qur'an has, on the one hand,
pointed out to the strayings of the Christians and Jews while, on the
other, it has focused brightly on the exalted station of Sayyidna
'Isa )JI ule in the sight of Almighty Allah so that the true path of
moderation could emerge clearly from out of the mazes of excess and
deficiency.
Those interested in detailed information about various aspects of
Christian beliefs vis-a-vis the veracity of Islam may wish to study the
world-famous book, Izharul-Haqq by Maulana Rahmatullah Kiranawi.
This original work in Arabic has been translated and published by
Darul-Uloom, Karachi, Pakistan in three volumes with detailed anno-
tations.1
لَهُ مَا فِى السَّئُوْتِ وَمَا فِى الأَرْضِ :Towards the end of the verse, it was declared
Sess tu Jis; (To him belongs what is in the heavens and what is in the
earth. And Allah is enough to trust in.). The drive of the meaning is:
When everything has been created by Him, when everything falls
under the domain of His mastery and when everyone is a servant of
1. An English translation of this work has been recently completed by
Maulana Muhammd Wali Raazi, son of Hadrat Mufti Muhammad Shafi
Le Afli, and is presently under the process of publication under the
auspices of the translator himself.

640
Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 171
Allah, who and how could anyone become His partner or associate or
son? The fact is that Almighty Allah is the dispenser of all our needs
and the sole caretaker of everyone's wants - He is universally and
perennially sufficient, all by Himself. He needs nobody. How, then,
could He need to have a partner or son?
To sum up, we can say that no created being has the ability or
qualification to become His partner, nor does His most sacred Being
have the room or need for it. This much is enough to tell us that
suggesting a partner to God or ascribing a son to Him can be accom-
plished by none but the one who is deprived of faith and reason both.
Excess in Faith
Let us now go back to the opening statement of the verse: 21 pisy
a's . In this verse, the People of the Book have been asked not to
indulge in excess in matters relating to their Faith. Lexically, the
Qur'anic word: J : al-Ghuluww means to cross the limits or trans-
gress. In Ahkam al-Qur'an, Imam al-Jassaș says:
الغلو فى الدين هو مجاوزة حدالحق فيه
Excess in Faith is crossing the limit set therein.
The People of the Book, that is, the Jews and the Christians were
both made addressees of this injunction because excess in Faith is the
common factor between them. Both groups have fallen victims to
nothing but excess in matters of Faith. The Christians committed
excess in believing and honouring Sayyidna 'Isa )JILL when they
went on to the extreme of taking him to be God or son of God or the
third God. As for Jews, they committed excess in disbelieving and
rejecting him - not simply that they did not accept him even as a
prophet, they were audacious enough to, God forbid, impute a false
accusation to his revered mother, Sayyidah Maryam WJI, and to
cast a slur against her parentage.
Since the disasterous deviation of Jews and Christians in matters
of Faith was a common scene of the time, the Holy Prophet
specially instructed his community to be very careful about it.
According to a report from Sayyidna 'Umar _ In _+, appearing in the
Musnad of Ahmad, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

641
Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 171
لاتطروني كما اطرت النصارى عيسى بن مريم، فانما انا عبد، فقولوا:
"عبد الله ورسوله"
Do not exaggerate in my praise as was done by Christians in
the case of 'Isa son of Maryam Wul ,de . Beware, I am only a
servant. So, call me a servant of Allah and His messenger.
(This narration has also been reported by al-Bukhari and Ibn al-
Madini rating it as sound and authentically reported)
In brief, the sense of what he said is: I am one with everyone in
being a servant of Allah and a human being. The highest rank I have
is that I am a Messenger of Allah. Raising it higher to the limit that
you go about taking me as partner in the attributes of Almighty Allah
is excess and I do not want you to fall into this excess like the Chris-
tians. This excess in Faith practiced by the Jews and Christians did
not remain limited to prophets only. Once used to it, they extended
this attitude of theirs to the apostles, followers and deputies of the
prophets. They had already assigned Godhood to their prophet, now
they invested the followers of the prophet with immunity from sin.
While doing so, they did not even take the trouble of investigating and
making sure if such followers were genuine followers of the prophet
and who correctly and firmly adhered to his teachings, or they were no
more than hereditary religious scholars and guides. This resulted in
the emergence of a leadership which was astray in itself and could do
nothing but keep adding to the strayings of others. So, they ruined
their Faith by practicing it erroneously from within. The Holy Qur'an
has described this very condition of these people in the verse: "series,
Die tei - (that is, these people took their religious leaders as
objects of worship, other than Allah). It means that they had already
been excessive in making their prophet a God, then, they started
worshipping later-day religious leaders in the name of following the
prophet!
The lesson to be learnt is that excess in Faith is a dangerous atti-
tude which has destroyed the Faiths of earlier religious communities
all in the fair name of Faith. So serious were the implications that our
noble master devised perfect defences to keep his community safe
against this terrible epidemic.
It appears in Hadith that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم asked

642
Surah Al-Nisa' 4: 171
Sayyidna'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas as Ul yo, on the occasion of Hajj that he
should go and collect pebbles which he could use to throw at the
Jamarat. He returned with average-sized pebbles and presented them
to the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم who liked them very much and said
twice: Salt . Sous (like these, like these) which means that one should do
his or her ramy at Jamarat using average-sized pebbles like these.
Then, he said:
إِيَّاكُمُ وَالْغُلُوَّ فِى الْدِّيْنِ، فََّ هَلَكَ مِنْ قَبْلَكُمُ بِالْغُلُمِّ فِىْ دِيْنِهِمْ
It is your duty to avoid excess in Faith for communities before
you were destroyed because of being excessive in their Faith.
Important Rules of Guidance
Some important rules come out from this hadith:
1. The masnun limit placed on pebbles thrown at the Jamarat
during the Hajj is that they should be average in size, neither too
small nor too big. Throwing big rocks is included under excess in
Faith.
2. The legal limit of everything is what the Holy Prophet & has left
determined by his word and deed. Going beyond this limit is ghuluww,
excess in Faith.
3. Precisely defined, excess in Faith is the crossing of the masn un
limit set for doing something.
The Limits of Materialism
The greed for worldly wealth and luxury beyond the level of need is
considered blameworthy in Islam. Instructions to observe restraint
against such urges are profusely spread out in the Qur'an. But, the
Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم while prohibiting attachment to wordly life
greedily, has set its proper limits by his word and deed. He declared
marriage to be his way and pursuaded others to follow his example.
He explained the many-faceted blessings of having children. To live
nicely and wisely with the family and to fulfill the rights of everyone
properly were things he prescribed as obligatory. To work for one's
family and earn a good living was what he called an obligation after
the obligation (فريضة بعد الفريضة).He laid stress on people to engage in busi-
ness, agriculture, industry and labour. The establishment of an
Islamic state and government and the promotion of a system governed

643
Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 171
by Islam was something he declared to be part of the mandate of
prophethood. Thus, by acting in accordance with it, he went on to
establish a state system throughout the Arabian peninsula which was
later extended to other parts of the world in the East and the West. All
this shows that being engaged in these pursuits within the limits of
need is not counted as gross love of the material nor as greed and
avarice.
The Jews and Christians did not realize the truth of the matter
and got themselves involved in monasticism. The Holy Qur'an has
refuted this uncalled for involvement of theirs by saying:
وَرَهُبَانِيَّةٍ إِبْتَدَعُهَا مَا كَتَبْنُهَا عَلَيْهِمُ إِلَّ ابْتِغَاءَ رِضُوَانِ اللَّهِ فَمَا رَعَوْهَا حَقَّ
رِعَايَتِهَا
It means that they took to ways of monasticism which were
not prescribed for them by Allah except that they were to seek
the pleasure of Allah Then, they failed to fulfill the conditions
of what they had themselves imposed. (57:27)
The Limits of Sunnah and Bid'ah
By his word and deed, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has, in every-
thing such as religious acts of worship and social transactions and
dealings, demarcated the limits of moderation. Any deviation from
these limits, whether it be in falling behind or in pushing ahead of
them, is forbidden for it leads a believer astray from the right path. It
was for this reason that he has very emphatically blocked the incur-
sion of bid'at: oux (self-promoted innovations in established religion)
and muhdathat: ot. (the embracing of everything appearing recent
and novel in a given time as if a part of established religion which, in
our time, are introduced under the fancy garbs of recension and
modernity). Let us, therefore, remember what he said:
كُلُّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَةٌ، وَكُلّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِى النَّارِ
'Every Bid'ah is straying and every straying ends in
Jahannam."
The word Bid'ah used in the hadith refers to everything (assumed
to be a part of religion) which is not there in the word and deed of the
Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم clearly or through hint. Hadrat Shah
Waliyyullah has said that Islam condemns Bid'ah as a serious offence

644
Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 171
because it opens the doors to alteration in religion. This is what
happened with earlier religious communities. They added up things on
their own to what their Book said and their prophet taught. Then
came another generation, and the generations that followed, each
adding its share to the original. Finally, everything got so mixed up
that it became impossible to identify the true religion as distinct from
the additions introduced by its adherents.
In his famous book, Hujjatullah al-Balighah, he has also given
details of circumstances under which efforts have been made all over
the world to inject alterations in the religion of Islam. He has also
pointed out to the concern shown by the Shari'ah of Islam which has
installed defensive mechanisms on all such doors of incursion so that
there remains no single outlet through which this disease could hit the
Muslim community in epidemic proportions.
The Moderate Course in honouring and following religious
leaders
One such cause referred to above is the practice of excess in Faith
Two factors distinctly contribute to the emergence of this .(غلو فى الدين)
attitude: Firstly, the desire to undertake deep investigations unneces-
sarily or to be involved in far-fetched interpretations; and secondly,
the choice of a hardened stance. It is a matter of great regret that ,
صلى الله عليه وسلم despite so much elaborations made by the Holy Prophet
and active restrictions placed by the Shari'ah of Islam, the Muslim
community is suffering fatally from this very disease of excess. Its
fallout can be distinctly noticed in all departments of our Faith. Out of
these, the field most affected is that of religious leaders where the
question is: Whom to follow?
Stretching between two extremes, a group of Muslims has gone far
out by holding that there is no such thing as a religious leader or
teacher or 'Alim or Shaykh. They would say: 'The Book of Allah is suffi-
cient for us. If they understand the Book of Allah so do we - 33, JE,;
"Ju, - They are men, so are we.' The result was that every ambitious
pseudo-intellectual - unlettered in Arabic and uninitiated into the
facts of and insights into the Qur'an and unfamiliar with the exeget-
ical clarifications given by the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم - considered
it sufficient to look at translations of the Qur'an and be hoisted as a

645
Surah Al-Nisa'
4:171
scholar of the Qur'an! How can a tafsir or explanation of the Qur'an
which has been authentically reported from the Holy Prophet e int L.
, or from his direct disciples, the noble Companions, be ever ignored
or bypassed? But, such is the breed of these dabblers in the discipline
that they would dismiss anything in favour of their brain wave and
still have the temerity to tie it with the Qur'an. Although, had a book
without a teacher been enough, Almighty Allah had the power to make
written copies of the book become available for people at their homes -
there was, then, no need to send a prophet to teach. A little reflection
would reveal that this is not something peculiar to the Book of Allah.
No one can, by simply looking at the translation of any book in the
arts and sciences, become an expert in those fields. We have yet to find
a physician who became a physician through a familiarity with trans-
lations of medical books. No engineer became an engineer by browsing
through engineering texts. Even the study of common books on sewing
and cooking has not made anyone succeed as a master tailor or chef.
So, the truth lies elsewhere - the system needs the elements of
teaching and learning under a teacher. This is all too established for
everyone. But, it is indeed sad to see that the Qur'an and Sunnah
alone, of all things around us, have been taken so casually as not to
need any teacher. Thus, a fairly large group of educated people drifted
down in the direction of serious deficiency when they took the lone
study of the Qur'an as all sufficient and totally dispensed of with the
need to consult the exegesis and interpretation of early scholars, and
to be guided by them.
On the other side of the extreme, a large group of Muslims got
involved in a kind of excess which goaded them to take just about
anyone as their religious guide almost blindly, and blindly it was that
they started following them. They never took the trouble of finding out
whether or not the person they were taking as guide came up to the
standard of high intellectual achievement, corresponding personal
behaviour, concern for the good of people and the genuine sense of
responsibility before Allah. They did not even care to apply a much
simpler test by looking at the kind of teaching such a person was
imparting and making sure that it was not against the Qur'an and
Sunnah.