(p-273) Surah Al-Ahzab

Its purpose is to urge sincerity in devotion to the Creator without any consideration for the creatures. This is because He is All-Knowing of what benefits them, Wise in what He does. He elevates whom He wills, even if they are weak, and brings down whom He wills, even if they are strong. Therefore, one should not be concerned about the past regarding his affairs by hoping for anyone among them in his goodness, nor fearing him in his great evil and hidden deceit. Its name is clear in this by reflecting on the story that it refers to and indicates by the name of Allah, who, whatever He wills, is the Most Merciful. His mercy has spread throughout existence, encompassing every being, with generosity and kindness for those who rely on Him with compassion towards Him.

When the previous one was concluded with turning away from the disbelievers, and waiting for what the Lord of the worlds will judge concerning them, after establishing that the revelation of the Book is from the Planner of this entire creation, and the prohibition of doubt in meeting Him, this one began with the command regarding the foundation of that, and the prohibition of obeying the opposing ones, whether they were openly defiant or concealed. The command to follow the revelation, the greatest of which is the Book, is a reminder that turning away is only obedience to Allah while observing His piety. So He said: "O Prophet". He expressed this with a medium tool indicating that the time of the revelation of the Surah - which is the end of the fifth year, after the incident of the Confederates - is the middle of the duration after the Hijrah, hinting that there remains little time of the completeness of the support that the description of prophethood entails, which indicates elevation. He expressed this to necessitate the intended purpose of the Surah, the station of prophethood, which is between the Lord and His servant in bringing him closer and elevating him to His presence. If it is recited without a hamzah, and if it is recited with it, the focus is on informing him of the hidden and detailing it for the evident. Al-Hirali said in a book of his on the principles of religion: The reality of prophethood is the arrival of a manifest unseen, that is, from the truth through revelation to a specific one among the creation, hidden from the general among them. Then the purpose of that arriving one may specifically establish for that individual, so he becomes a prophet but not a messenger. And it may occur to him, upon the completion of his matter in his essence, instances of establishing another, and he becomes a messenger. The first rank is frequently occurring among the creation, which is prophethood, and the second is rarely occurring; the messengers are a tenth of the prophets. And for prophethood, there are two derivations: one of them is from the news, which is the report, and that is for whom has been chosen from mankind for the rank of hearing and informing, so he is informed and informs others without having the reality of what he has been informed of or what he informs. He becomes a bearer of knowledge, and the second derivation from prophethood is elevation and exaltation, and that is for whom has risen from the rank of news to the rank of knowledge. So he was knowledgeable of the reality of what was revealed to him from the unseen in its truth and completeness. Whoever rises above the descending rational share to the rank of hearing is a prophet with a hamzah, and whoever rises above that to the rank of knowledge of the reality of that is a prophet without a hamzah. Adam, peace be upon him, is an example in the knowledge of names, a prophet without a hamzah, and in what is beyond that, a prophet with a hamzah. Likewise, Ibrahim, peace be upon him, in what was shown to him from the dominion is a prophet without a hamzah, and in what is beyond that, a prophet with a hamzah. It has ended. And He did not call him by his name, glorified is He, in honor of his status, and elevation of his place. And where He named him by his name in the reports, it is for the honor from another perspective, which is his designation and specification, removing ambiguity from him, and cutting off the doubts of obstinacy.

And when He called him, glorified and exalted is He, by this noble name that necessitates expansiveness, He commanded him to fear and said: ﴿Fear Allah﴾ meaning increase in piety, O highest of creation, to the extent that you are able for the One of all majesty and honor, so that you do not turn to anything else, for He is worthy of being feared for what He possesses of majesty, greatness, and perfection.

And when He directed him with the command of the fear of the beloved guardian, He followed it with the prohibition against turning towards the enemy and the envious. He said: ﴿And do not obey the disbelievers﴾ meaning the resistors ﴿and the hypocrites﴾ meaning those who are deceitful in anything that the Creator has not previously commanded you about, even if a hint of fear appears or a flash of hope sparkles, and especially our asking about anything from what they propose in hopes of their faith, such as you appointing for them the time of the hour in which the victory will occur, for they only seek that in mockery. Abu Hayyan said: The reason for its revelation is that it has been narrated that "when the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, arrived in Medina, he loved the Islam of the Jews, and some of them followed him in hypocrisy, and he would soften his side towards them, and they would show advice through deceitful means, so this was revealed as a warning to him against them," and as a reminder of their enmity. Then he explained the command and the prohibition with what removes worries and necessitates turning towards them and adhering to them, saying, hinting that they have depths in their plotting that perhaps are hidden from him, blessings and peace be upon him. And he emphasized the encouragement to turn towards his Lord with utmost concern: ﴿Indeed, Allah﴾ meaning with His immense perfection and the might of His majesty ﴿was﴾ eternally and will always be ﴿All-Knowing﴾ encompassing all knowledge ﴿Wise﴾ profound in wisdom, for He does not command you with a command except that He knows what will result from it, and He has perfected the rectification of the situation therein.

And Imam Abu Ja'far ibn al-Zubayr said in his proof: He, glorified and exalted is He, began it with the command of His Prophet, by his being cautious, and his prohibition against inclining towards the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and his following what is revealed to him, in order to exalt His status above the trial of those who have previously been tested, of whom He mentioned in Surah As-Sajdah. And He commanded him to submit to his Creator and to rely upon Him. "And Allah speaks the truth and guides to the way" [Al-Ahzab: 4]. And when what was obtained from the two Surahs indicated the precedents, "And if We had willed, We would have given to every soul its guidance" [As-Sajdah: 13], this was a source of comfort for the Prophet of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and for his righteous followers. For this reason, He followed Surah As-Sajdah with this Surah, which contains comfort and good tidings, as is customary from His kindness, glorified and exalted is He, and the vastness of His mercy. So He, glorified and exalted is He, began the Surah with addressing His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, with piety, and informing him of what He had previously given him regarding following the path of salvation, even if it came in the form of a command to indicate to him the uprightness of his path, and clarifying his evidence. And He addressed him with the term of Prophethood because it is a matter that follows a warning and admonition, even though he, peace be upon him, has glorified Allah's status above any deviation from piety, and He protected him from all that contradicts the purity of his state and the high rank of his position. However, the way of His address, glorified and exalted is He, to the servants is that whenever their mention for praise is stripped of any command or prohibition, it is the place of their mention, especially the most praiseworthy of their attributes. And from it, "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him" [Al-Fath: 29] are the verses. So he was mentioned, blessings and peace be upon him, by the name of the message. And whatever the command and prohibition may be, it generally leans towards the more general, and from it, "O Prophet, fear Allah" and "O Prophet, urge the believers to fight" [Al-Anfal: 65], "O Prophet, when you divorce women" [At-Talaq: 1], "O Prophet, why do you prohibit what Allah has made lawful for you" [At-Tahrim: 1], "O Prophet, strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites" [At-Tahrim: 9], "O Prophet, when the believing women come to you" [Al-Mumtahana: 12]. And it has been clarified in other than this, and that what has come contrary to this rule is for a specific reason that necessitated departing from the usual, such as His saying: "O Messenger, convey what has been revealed to you from your Lord" [Al-Ma'idah: 67]. The reason for this is that His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "And if you do not do it, then you have not conveyed His message" [Al-Ma'idah: 67] is of a severe nature. So it was balanced by mentioning him, blessings and peace be upon him, by the name of the message as a form of gentleness. It is from the matter of "Allah has forgiven you, why did you give them permission" [At-Tawbah: 43], and in it is some ambiguity. And also, when he was told, "Convey," this matched his mention by the message, for the one who conveys is a messenger, and the messenger conveys, and it is not necessary for the Prophet to convey unless he is sent. As for His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "O Messenger, let not those who hasten in disbelief sadden you" [Al-Ma'idah: 41], his command, even if it is a prohibition, is clearer than the first, because it is a consolation for him, peace be upon him, and a comfort and a command for patience and gentleness with himself. So its door returns to what comes as mere praise without request. And based on what has been indicated, what has come from this. And when this Surah was opened with what we have mentioned of informing him, peace be upon him, of this matter regarding the nobility of his state and the excellence of his rank, it was appropriate to what the Surah contained from the aspect of glorification in some of its places, informing him, glorified and exalted is He, that the wives of His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, are mothers to the believers, so they are exalted above being judged like other women, as an honor for them and a distinction for the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. And from it is His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "And when the believers saw the confederates" [Al-Ahzab: 22] - the verse, so He exalted them above the possibility of evil or the entrance of doubt into their protected beliefs and their great faith. "They said, this is what Allah and His Messenger promised us, and Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth, and it only increased them in faith and submission" [Al-Ahzab: 22]. And the verse after that, which is His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "Among the believers are men who have been true" [Al-Ahzab: 23] - the verse, and from it, "O wives of the Prophet, you are not like any other women, if you fear Allah" [Al-Ahzab: 32]. So He exalted them, glorified and exalted is He, and clarified their honor over those besides them. And from it is the glorification of the people of the house and their honor, "Indeed, Allah intends to remove the impurity from you, O people of the house" [Al-Ahzab: 33] - the verse, and from it is the command for hijab, "O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks over them" [Al-Ahzab: 59]. So He exalted the believing women above the state of ignorance of showing off and lack of hijab, and protected them from humiliation and degradation. And from it is His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "O you who have believed, do not be like those who harmed Moses" [Al-Ahzab: 69]. So He commanded them, glorified and exalted is He, and exalted them by what He prohibited them from resembling those who deserved cursing and anger due to their bad manners and great misdeeds, to what the Surah contained of this kind. Then He, glorified and exalted is He, followed what has preceded with general good tidings and comprehensive kindness, as in His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "O Prophet, indeed We have sent you as a witness, and a bringer of good tidings, and a warner" [Al-Ahzab: 45], "And a caller to Allah by His permission and a shining lamp" [Al-Ahzab: 46]. Then He, glorified and exalted is He, said, "And give good tidings to the believers that they will have from Allah a great bounty" [Al-Ahzab: 47]. And His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "O you who have believed, remember Allah with much remembrance" [Al-Ahzab: 41] - to His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "A noble reward" [Al-Ahzab: 44]. And His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessings upon him and ask [Allah for] peace upon him" [Al-Ahzab: 56]. And His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "Indeed, the Muslims and the Muslim women" [Al-Ahzab: 35] - to His saying, "And a great reward" [Al-Ahzab: 35]. And His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice" [Al-Ahzab: 70] - to His saying, "A great reward" [Al-Ahzab: 71]. And His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "And Allah will turn in mercy towards the believers and the believing women" [Al-Ahzab: 73] to His saying, "And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful" [Al-Ahzab: 73]. And His saying, glorified and exalted is He, praising the believers for their loyalty and truthfulness, "And when the believers saw the confederates, they said, this is what Allah and His Messenger promised us, and Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth" [Al-Ahzab: 22] to His saying, "And they did not change [their faith] in the least" [Al-Ahzab: 23]. [And His saying] glorified and exalted is He, emphasizing the sanctity of His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and the believers, "Indeed, those who harm Allah and His Messenger" [Al-Ahzab: 57] to His saying, "And a manifest sin" [Al-Ahzab: 58]. And in these verses is comfort for the believers, good tidings for them, and the exaltation of their sanctity, which breaks the wall of fear resulting from the Surahs of Luqman and As-Sajdah and calms their terror, providing comfort without raising it. And from this kind also is what the Surah contained of recounting His blessings, glorified and exalted is He, upon them and improving their salvation, as in His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "O you who have believed, remember the favor of Allah upon you when armies came to you, and We sent against them" [Al-Ahzab: 9] - to His saying, "There, the believers were tested and shaken with a severe shaking" [Al-Ahzab: 11]. And His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "And Allah returned those who disbelieved with their rage; they did not attain any good, and Allah sufficed the believers in battle" [Al-Ahzab: 25] to His saying, "And Allah is competent over all things" [Al-Ahzab: 27]. And He concluded the Surah by mentioning repentance and forgiveness, the clearest evidence of what has been established of the purpose of it and its clarification regarding what was made clear in the praise of Allah. And when its essence is mercy, kindness, and blessing, the greatness of which cannot be measured, and the world cannot fulfill its gratitude, He concluded with what is appropriate from praise, meaning the first of the Saba. End.