3:179 Aal-i-Imraan (The Family of Imraan)

أي: ما كان في حكمة الله أن يترك المؤمنين على ما أنتم عليه من الاختلاط وعدم التميز حتى يميز الخبيث من الطيب، والمؤمن من المنافق، والصادق من الكاذب. ولم يكن في حكمته أيضا أن يطلع عباده على الغيب الذي يعلمه من عباده، فاقتضت حكمته الباهرة أن يبتلي عباده، ويفتنهم بما به يتميز الخبيث من الطيب، من أنواع الابتلاء والامتحان، فأرسل [الله] رسله، وأمر بطاعتهم، والانقياد لهم، والإيمان بهم، ووعدهم على الإيمان والتقوى الأجر العظيم. فانقسم الناس بحسب اتباعهم للرسل قسمين: مطيعين وعاصين، ومؤمنين ومنافقين، ومسلمين وكافرين، ليرتب على ذلك الثواب والعقاب، وليظهر عدله وفضله، وحكمته لخلقه.

قال تعالى "ما كان الله ليذر المؤمنين على ما أنتم عليه حتى يميز الخبيث من الطيب" أي لابد أن يعقد شيء من المحنة يظهر فيه وليه ويفضح به عدوه يعرف به المؤمن الصابر والمنافق الفاجر يعني بذلك يوم أحد الذي امتحن الله به المؤمنين فذكر به إيمانهم وصبرهم وجلدهم وثباتهم وطاعتهم لله ورسوله صلى الله عليه وسلم وهتك به ستار المنافقين فظهر مخالفتهم ونكولهم عن الجهاد وخيانتهم لله ولرسوله صلى الله عليه وسلم ولهذا قال تعالى "ما كان الله ليذر المؤمنين على ما أنتم عليه حتى يميز الخبيث من الطيب" قال مجاهد: ميز بينهم يوم أحد وقال قتادة: ميز بينهم بالجهاد والهجرة وقال السدي: قالوا إن كان محمد صادقا فليخبرنا عمن يؤمن به منا ومن يكفر به فأنزل الله تعالى "ما كان الله ليذر المؤمنين على ما أنتم عليه حتى يميز الخبيث من الطيب" أي حتى يخرج المؤمن من الكافر روى ذلك كله ابن جرير- ثم قال تعالى "وما كان الله ليطلعكم على الغيب" أي أنتم لا تعلمون غيب الله في خلقه حتى يميز لكم المؤمن من المنافق لولا ما يعقده من الأسباب الكاشفة عن ذلك. ثم قال تعالى "ولكن الله يجتبي من رسله من يشاء" كقوله تعالى "عالم الغيب فلا يظهر على غيبه أحدا إلا من ارتضى من رسول فإنه يسلك من بين يديه ومن خلفه رصدا" ثم قال تعالى "فآمنوا بالله ورسله" أي أطيعوا الله ورسوله واتبعوه فيما شرع لكم "وإن تؤمنوا وتتقوا فلكم أجر عظيم.

Comforting the Messenger of Allah ﷺ

Allah said to His Prophet,

وَلاَ يَحْزُنكَ الَّذِينَ يُسَـرِعُونَ فِى الْكُفْرِ

(And let not those grieve you who rush with haste to disbelieve) 3:176.

Because the Prophet was eager for people's benefit, he would become sad when the disbelievers would resort to defiance, rebellion and stubbornness. Allah said, `Do not be saddened by this behavior,'

إِنَّهُمْ لَن يَضُرُّواْ اللَّهَ شَيْئاً يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ أَلاَّ يَجْعَلَ لَهُمْ حَظّاً فِى الاٌّخِرَةِ

(verily, not the least harm will they do to Allah. It is Allah's will to give them no portion in the Hereafter.) for He decided with His power and wisdom that they shall not acquire any share in the Hereafter,

وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عظِيمٌ

(For them there is a great torment.)

Allah said about the disbelievers,

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَوُاْ الْكُفْرَ بِالإِيمَـنِ

(Verily, those who purchase disbelief at the price of faith,) by exchanging disbelief for faith,

لَن يَضُرُّواْ اللَّهَ شَيْئاً

(not the least harm will they do to Allah.) Rather, they will only harm themselves,

وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

(For them, there is a painful torment.)

Allah said next,

وَلاَ يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ أَنَّمَا نُمْلِى لَهُمْ خَيْرٌ لاًّنفُسِهِمْ إِنَّمَا نُمْلِى لَهُمْ لِيَزْدَادُواْ إِثْمَاً وَلَهْمُ عَذَابٌ مُّهِينٌ

(And let not the disbelievers think that Our postponing their punishment is good for them. We postpone the punishment only so that they may increase in sinfulness. And for them is a disgraceful torment) 3:178.

This statement is similar to Allah's other statements,

أَيَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّمَا نُمِدُّهُمْ بِهِ مِن مَّالٍ وَبَنِينَ - نُسَارِعُ لَهُمْ فِى الْخَيْرَتِ بَل لاَّ يَشْعُرُونَ

(Do they think that because We have given them abundant wealth and children, that We hasten unto them with good things. Nay, but they perceive not.) 23:55,56 and

فَذَرْنِى وَمَن يُكَذِّبُ بِهَـذَا الْحَدِيثِ سَنَسْتَدْرِجُهُمْ مِّنْ حَيْثُ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ

(Then leave Me Alone with such as belie this Qur'an. We shall punish them gradually from directions they perceive not.) 68:44, and,

وَلاَ تُعْجِبْكَ أَمْوَلُهُمْ وَأَوْلَـدُهُمْ إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ أَن يُعَذِّبَهُمْ بِهَا فِى الدُّنْيَا وَتَزْهَقَ أَنفُسُهُمْ وَهُمْ كَـفِرُونَ

(And let not their wealth or their children amaze you. Allah's plan is to punish them with these things in this world, and that their souls shall depart (die) while they are disbelievers) 9:85.

Allah then said,

مَّا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيَذَرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى مَآ أَنتُمْ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّى يَمِيزَ الْخَبِيثَ مِنَ الطَّيِّبِ

(Allah will not leave the believers in the state in which you are now, until He distinguishes the wicked from the good.) 3:179, meaning, He allows a calamity to happen, and during this calamity His friend becomes known and His enemy exposed, the patient believer recognized and the sinful hypocrite revealed. This Ayah refers to Uhud, since Allah tested the believers in that battle, thus making known the faith, endurance, patience, firmness and obedience to Allah and His Messenger that the believers had. Allah exposed the hypocrites in their defiance, reverting from Jihad, and the treachery they committed against Allah and His Messenger . This is why Allah said,

مَّا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيَذَرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى مَآ أَنتُمْ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّى يَمِيزَ الْخَبِيثَ مِنَ الطَّيِّبِ

(Allah will not leave the believers in the state in which you are now, until He distinguishes the wicked from the good.)

Mujahid commented, "He distinguished between them during the day of Uhud." Qatadah said, "He distinguished between them in Jihad and Hijrah." Allah said next,

وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُطْلِعَكُمْ عَلَى الْغَيْبِ

(Nor will Allah disclose to you the secrets of the Unseen.) meaning, you do not have access to Allah's knowledge of His creation so that you can distinguish between the believer and the hypocrite, except by the signs of each type that Allah uncovers. Allah's statement,

وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَجْتَبِى مِن رُّسُلِهِ مَن يَشَآءُ

(but Allah chooses of His Messengers whom He wills.) is similar to another Ayah,

عَـلِمُ الْغَيْبِ فَلاَ يُظْهِرُ عَلَى غَيْبِهِ أَحَداً - إِلاَّ مَنِ ارْتَضَى مِن رَّسُولٍ فَإِنَّهُ يَسْلُكُ مِن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ رَصَداً

((He Alone is) the All-Knower of the Unseen, and He reveals to none His Unseen. Except to a Messenger (from mankind) whom He has chosen, and then He makes a band of watching guards (angels) to march before him and behind him.) 72:26,27. Allah then said,

فَـَامِنُواْ بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ

(So believe in Allah and His Messengers.) Obey Allah and His Messenger and adhere to the law that he legislated for you,

وَإِن تُؤْمِنُواْ وَتَتَّقُواْ فَلَكُمْ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ

(and if you believe and fear Allah, then for you there is a great reward.)

The Censure of Selfishness, and Warning Against it

Allah said,

وَلاَ يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ بِمَآ ءَاتَـهُمُ اللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ هُوَ خَيْراً لَّهُمْ بَلْ هُوَ شَرٌّ لَّهُمْ

( And let not those who are stingy with that which Allah has bestowed on them of His bounty (wealth) think that it is good for them. Nay, it will be worse for them.) 3:180

Therefore, the Ayah says that the miser should not think that collecting money will benefit him. Rather, it will harm him in his religion and worldly affairs. Allah mentions the money that the miser collected on the Day of Resurrection,

سَيُطَوَّقُونَ مَا بَخِلُواْ بِهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَـمَةِ

(the things that they stingy with shall be tied to their necks like a collar on the Day of Resurrection.)

Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«مَنْ آتَاهُ اللهُ مَالًا فَلَمْ يُؤَدِّ زَكَاتَهُ، مُثِّلَ لَهُ شُجَاعًا أَقْرَعَ، لَهُ زَبِيبَتَانِ، يُطَوَّقُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ، يَأْخُذُ بِلِهْزِمَتَيْهِ يَعْنِي بِشِدْقَيْهِ يَقُولُ: أَنَا مَالُكَ، أَنَا كَنْزُك»

(Whoever Allah makes wealthy and he does not pay the Zakah due on his wealth, then (on the Day of Resurrection) his wealth will be made in the likeness of a bald-headed poisonous male snake with two black spots over the eyes. The snake will encircle his neck and bite his cheeks and proclaim, `I am your wealth, I am your treasure.')

The Prophet then recited the Ayah,

وَلاَ يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ بِمَآ ءَاتَـهُمُ اللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ هُوَ خَيْراً لَّهُمْ بَلْ هُوَ شَرٌّ لَّهُمْ

( And let not those who are stingy with that which Allah has bestowed on them of His bounty think that it is good for them. Nay, it will be worse for them), until the end. Al-Bukhari, but not Muslim, collected this Hadith using this chain of narration, Ibn Hibban also collected it in his Sahih.

Imam Ahmad recorded that `Abdullah said that the Prophet said,

«مَا مِنْ عَبْدٍلَا يُؤَدِّي زَكَاةَ مَالِهِ إِلَّا جُعِلَ لَهُ شُجَاعٌ أَقْرَعُ يَتْبَعُهُ، يَفِرُّ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ يَتْبَعُهُ، فَيَقُولُ: أَنَا كَنْزُك»

(Every person who does not pay the Zakah due on his wealth, will have his money made into the shape of a bald-headed, poisonous male snake who will follow him. The person will run away from the snake, who will follow him and proclaim, `I am your treasure.')

`Abdullah then recited the Ayah in Allah's Book that testifies to this fact,

سَيُطَوَّقُونَ مَا بَخِلُواْ بِهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَـمَةِ

(the things that they were stingy with shall be tied to their necks like a collar on the Day of Resurrection.)

This was recorded by At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i, and Ibn Majah, and At-Tirmidhi said, "Hasan Sahih."

Allah's statement,

وَلِلَّهِ مِيرَاثُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ

(And to Allah belongs the inheritance of the heavens and the Earth), means,

وَأَنفِقُواْ مِمَّا جَعَلَكُم مُّسْتَخْلَفِينَ فِيهِ

(and spend of that whereof He has made you trustees) 57: 7. Therefore, since all affairs are under Allah's control, then spend from your money so it will benefit you on the Day of Return,

وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ

(and Allah is Well-Acquainted with all that you do.) with your intentions and what your hearts conceal.

It is not God’s purpose to leave to abandon the believers in the state in which you O people are where the sincere are intermingled with those otherwise till He shall distinguish read yamīza or yumayyiza till He separates the evil one the hypocrite from the good the believer through the burdensome obligations that will reveal this distinction — He did this on the Day of Uhud. And it is not God’s purpose to apprise you of the Unseen so that you could recognise the hypocrites from the others before the distinguishing; but God chooses He selects of His messengers whom He will apprising him of some of His Unseen as when He apprised the Prophet s of the position of the hypocrites. So believe in God and His messengers; and if you believe and guard against hypocrisy then yours shall be a great wage.

The previous verse (178) answered the question about disbelievers as to why they, being the detested ones in the sight of Allah, are in possession of all sort of wealth, property and other means of luxurious living?

The present verse (179), in sharp contrast, removes the doubt about true believers as to why they, being the favoured servants of Allah, are tested with all sorts of hardships? Being favoured required that they should have been the ones living in comfort surrounded by its paraphernalia!

Commentary

The wisdom of making a believer distinct from a hypocrite through practical demonstration rather than through a revelation.

It has been said in this verse that Allah Almighty has His way of making a sincere believer distinct from a hypocrite through which He generates such situations of hardship as would expose the hypocrisy of the hypocrites practically. This distinction, though, could also be made by identifying hypocrites by name through a revelation. But, the later course was not taken because it would have not been wise. The whole range of wisdom behind what Allah does is known to Him alone. However, one wise consideration in the present context could be: If Muslims were told about a person being a hypocrite through revelation, they would have had no difficulty in dealing with them carefully, but this would have not provided them with a clearly demonstrated proof necessarily acceptable to the hypocrites - for, they would have still insisted: You are wrong. We are true Muslims.'

Contrary to this, the distinction was made practically. The introduction of hardship put the hypocrites to test in which they failed and ran away. Their hypocrisy was demonstrated and exposed practically and openly. Now they did not have the cheek to claim that they were true, sincere and believing Muslims.

The manner in which the hypocrites were exposed yielded yet another benefit for Muslims when their formal relationship was also severed with the hypocrites. Otherwise, maintaining a state of discord in the heart with a veneer of formal social dealing would have been equally harmful ethically.

The Unseen when communicated to anyone is no Knowledge of the Unseen as such

This verse tells us that Allah Almighty does not inform everyone about Unseen matters through the medium of revelation (Wahy). However, He does inform His chosen prophets in this manner. From this, let no one hasten to doubt that prophets too have become sharers in the Knowledge of the Unseen or the knower, of the Unseen! The reason is that the Knowledge of the Unseen which is particularly attributed to the being of Allah Almighty cannot be taken as being shared by any created being. Doing so is Shirk (the crime of ascribing partners to Allah). The particular Knowledge is fortified by two conditions:

1. This should be intrinsic to the being, not given by anyone else.

2. This has to be all-comprehensive, encompassing all universes, the past and the future - a Knowledge that covers even the minutest particle without any possibility of anything remaining hidden from it. As for things of the Unseen the information of which is given to His prophets by Allah Almighty through the medium of revelation (Wahy), they are not, really, the Knowledge of the Unseen as such. They are, rather, news of the Unseen given to prophets, something about which the Holy Qur'an it self has used the expression أَنبَاءِ الْغَيْبِ (news or reports of the Unseen) at several places :

مِنْ أَنبَاءِ الْغَيْبِ نُوحِيهَا إِلَيْكَ

... a part of the news of the Unseen We reveal to you. (11:49)

(It is not (the purpose) of Allah to leave you in your present state�) [3:179]. Al-Suddi reported that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: �The members of my community were shown to me in their forms, as they were shown to Adam, and I was informed about who would believe in me and who would disbelieve�. When the hypocrites heard this, they mocked him, saying: �Muhammad claims that he knows who would believe in him and who would not. Yet, we are in his midst and he does not know us�, and so Allah revealed this verse. Said al-Kalbi: �The people of Quraysh said: �O Muhammad! You claim that whoever opposes you will go to hellfire and Allah would be angry with him whereas whoever believes in you will go to the Garden and Allah will be pleased with him. In that case, inform us about who would believe in you and who would not?� And as a response, Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�. And Abu�l-�Aliyah said: �The believers had asked about a sign by means of which they would differentiate between the believers and the hypocrites and so Allah. Exalted is He, revealed this verse�.