4:121 An-Nisaa (The Women)

{ يَعِدُهُمْ وَيُمَنِّيهِمْ ْ} أي: يعد الشيطان من يسعى في إضلالهم، والوعد يشمل حتى الوعيد كما قال تعالى: { الشَّيْطَانُ يَعِدُكُمُ الْفَقْرَ ْ} فإنه يعدهم إذا أنفقوا في سبيل الله افتقروا، ويخوفهم إذا جاهدوا بالقتل وغيره، كما قال تعالى: { إِنَّمَا ذَلِكُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ يُخَوِّفُ أَوْلِيَاءَهُ ْ} الآية. ويخوفهم عند إيثار مرضاة الله بكل ما يمكن وما لا يمكن مما يدخله في عقولهم حتى يكسلوا عن فعل الخير، وكذلك يمنيهم الأماني الباطلة التي هي عند التحقيق كالسراب الذي لا حقيقة له، ولهذا قال: { وَمَا يَعِدُهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ إِلَّا غُرُورًا أُولَئِكَ مَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ ْ} أي: من انقاد للشيطان وأعرض عن ربه، وصار من أتباع إبليس وحزبه، مستقرهم النار. { وَلَا يَجِدُونَ عَنْهَا مَحِيصًا ْ} أي: مخلصا ولا ملجأ بل هم خالدون فيها أبد الآباد.

وقوله "أولئك" أي المستحسنون له فيما وعدهم ومناهم "مأواهم جهنم " أي مصيرهم ومآلهم يوم القيامة "ولا يجدون عنها محيصا" أي ليس لهم عنها مندوحة ولا مصرف ولا خلاص ولا مناص ثم ذكر تعالى حال السعداء والأتقياء ومالهم من الكرامة التامة.

Shirk Shall not be Forgiven, in Reality the Idolators Worship Shaytan

We talked about Allah's statement,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ

(Verily, Allah forgives not (the sin of) setting up partners (in worship) with Him, but He forgives whom He wills, sins other than that,) before and mentioned the relevant Hadiths in the beginning of this Surah. Allah's statement,

وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَـلاً بَعِيداً

(and whoever sets up partners in worship with Allah, has indeed strayed far away.) means, he will have taken other than the true path, deviated from guidance and righteousness, destroyed himself in this life and the Hereafter, and lost contentment in this life and the Hereafter. Juwaybir said that Ad-Dahhak said about Allah's statement,

إِن يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِ إِلاَّ إِنَـثاً

(They invoke nothing but female deities besides Him (Allah),) "The idolators claimed that the angels are Allah's daughters, saying, `We only worship them so that they bring us closer to Allah.' So they took the angels as gods, made the shapes of girls and decided, `These (idols) resemble the daughters of Allah (i.e., the angels), Whom we worship. "' This is similar to Allah's statements,

أَفَرَءَيْتُمُ اللَّـتَ وَالْعُزَّى

(Have you then considered Al-Lat and Al-`Uzza)

وَجَعَلُواْ الْمَلَـئِكَةَ الَّذِينَ هُمْ عِبَادُ الرَّحْمَـنِ إِنَـثاً

(And they make the angels who themselves are servants of the Most Gracious (Allah) females) and,

وَجَعَلُواْ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْجِنَّةِ نَسَباً

(And they have invented a kinship between Him and the Jinn). Allah's statement,

وَإِن يَدْعُونَ إِلاَّ شَيْطَـناً مَّرِيداً

(and they invoke nothing but Shaytan, a persistent rebel!) means, Shaytan has commanded them to do this and made it seem fair and beautiful in their eyes. Consequently, they are worshipping Shaytan in reality, just as Allah said in another Ayah,

أَلَمْ أَعْهَدْ إِلَيْكُمْ يبَنِى ءَادَمَ أَن لاَّ تَعْبُدُواْ الشَّيطَـنَ

(Did I not command you, O Children of Adam, that you should not worship Shaytan) Allah said that, on the Day of Resurrection, the angels shall proclaim about the idolators who worshipped them in this life:

بَلْ كَانُواْ يَعْبُدُونَ الْجِنَّ أَكْـثَرُهُم بِهِم مُّؤْمِنُونَ

(Nay, but they used to worship the Jinn; most of them were believers in them). Allah's statement,

لَّعَنَهُ اللَّهُ

(Allah cursed him), means, He expelled him and banished him from His mercy and His grace.

لاّتَّخِذَنَّ مِنْ عِبَادِكَ نَصِيباً مَّفْرُوضاً

(I will take an appointed portion of your servants) means, a fixed and known share. Muqatil bin Hayyan commented, "From every one thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine will go to the Fire and one to Paradise."

وَلأضِلَّنَّهُمْ

(Verily, I will mislead them) from the true path,

وَلأُمَنِّيَنَّهُمْ

(and surely, I will arouse in them false desires;) tempting them to feign repentance, arousing false hopes in them, encouraging them to delay and procrastinate with righteous deeds, deceiving them.

وَلاّمُرَنَّهُمْ فَلَيُبَتِّكُنَّ ءَاذَانَ الاٌّنْعَـمِ

(and certainly, I will order them to slit the ears of cattle,) meaning, slitting their ears to designate them as Bahirah, Sa'ibah, and a Wasilah, as Qatadah and As-Suddi stated.

وَلاّمُرَنَّهُمْ فَلَيُغَيِّرُنَّ خَلْقَ اللَّهِ

(And indeed I will order them to change the nature created by Allah.) means tattooing, according to Al-Hasan bin Abi Al-Hasan Al-Basri. In his Sahih, Muslim recorded the prohibition of tattooing the face, which in one of its wordings states: "May Allah curse whoever does this." It is also recorded in the Sahih that Ibn Mas`ud said, "May Allah curse those who have tattoos and those who do it, who pluck their (facial) hairs and the one who does it for them, and those who make spaces between their teeth for the purpose of beauty, changing what Allah has created." He then said, "Why should not I curse whom the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has cursed, when the Book of Allah commands it," referring to the Ayah,

وَمَآ ءَاتَـكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَـكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانتَهُواْ

(And whatsoever the Messenger gives you, take it; and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)). Allah's statement,

وَمَن يَتَّخِذِ الشَّيْطَـنَ وَلِيّاً مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ فَقَدْ خَسِرَ خُسْرَاناً مُّبِيناً

(And whoever takes Shaytan as a Wali (protector or helper) instead of Allah, has surely suffered a manifest loss.) means, he will have lost this life and the Hereafter. Indeed, this is a type of loss that cannot be compensated or restored. Allah's statement,

يَعِدُهُمْ وَيُمَنِّيهِمْ وَمَا يَعِدُهُمْ الشَّيْطَـنُ إِلاَّ غُرُوراً

(He Shaytan makes promises to them, and arouses in them false desires;) explains the true reality. Surely, Shaytan deceitfully promises his supporters and tempts them into believing that they are winners in this and the Hereafter. This is why Allah said,

وَمَا يَعِدُهُمْ الشَّيْطَـنُ إِلاَّ غُرُوراً

(and Shaytan's promises are nothing but deceptions.) Allah states that on the Day of Return,

وَقَالَ الشَّيْطَـنُ لَمَّا قُضِىَ الاٌّمْرُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَعَدَكُمْ وَعْدَ الْحَقِّ وَوَعَدتُّكُمْ فَأَخْلَفْتُكُمْ وَمَا كَانَ لِىَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِّن سُلْطَـنٍ

(And Shaytan will say when the matter has been decided: "Verily, Allah promised you a promise of truth. And I too promised you, but I betrayed you. I had no authority over you), until,

إِنَّ الظَّـلِمِينَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

(Verily, there is a painful torment for the wrongdoers.) Allah's statement,

أُوْلَـئِكَ

(of such (people)) refers to those who like and prefer what Shaytan is promising and assuring them of,

مَّأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ

(The dwelling of such (people) is Hell), as their destination and abode on the Day of Resurrection,

وَلاَ يَجِدُونَ عَنْهَا مَحِيصاً

(and they will find no way of escape from it.), meaning, they will not be able to avoid, avert, evade or elude the Hellfire.

The Reward of Righteous Believers

Allah then mentions the condition of the content righteous believers and the perfect honor they will earn in the end. Allah said,

وَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَاتِ

(And those who believe and do righteous good deeds,) meaning, their hearts were truthful and their limbs obedient with the righteous acts they were commanded, all the while abandoning the evil they were prohibited from doing.

سَنُدْخِلُهُمْ جَنَّـتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا الاٌّنْهَـرُ

(We shall admit them to Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise)) meaning, they will think of where they want these rivers to flow and they will flow there,

خَـلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَداً

(to dwell therein forever), without end or being removed from it.

وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقًّا

(Allah's promise is the truth), meaning, this is a true promise from Allah, and verily, Allah's promise shall come to pass. Allah then said,

وَمَنْ أَصْدَقُ مِنَ اللَّهِ قِيلاً

(and whose words can be truer than those of Allah) meaning, none is more truthful in statement and narration than Allah. There is no deity worthy of worship, or Lord except Him. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to proclaim in his speech,

«إِنَّ أَصْدَقَ الْحَدِيثِ كَلَامُ اللهِ، وَخَيْرَ الْهَدْيِ هَدْيُ مُحَمَّدٍصلى الله عليه وسلّم، وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا، وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ، وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ، وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّار»

(The most truthful speech is Allah's Speech, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad. The worst matters are the newly invented (in religion), every newly invented matter is an innovation, and every innovation is a heresy, and every heresy is in the Fire.)

For such — their abode shall be Hell and they shall find no refuge from it no alternative to it.

Sequence

Though, the mention of Jihad in preceding verses includes all forces hostile to Islam, yet the actual description was limited to Jews and the hypocrites. Out of the larger group of antagonists there were the pagans who were much more in numbers. The verses that follow take up their beliefs and point out to the punishment they will face. This has a coherence of its own at this place. It will be recalled that the thief mentioned earlier became an apostate. The lasting punishment he thus earned for himself becomes evident. (Bayan a1-Qur'an)

Commentary

The first verse (116) إِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ‌ أَن يُشْرَ‌كَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ‌ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاءُ ۚ (Surely, Allah does not forgive the ascribing of a partner to Him and forgives anything short of that for whomsoever He wills ...) has appeared earlier (48) in Surah al-Nis-a' in the same words except for the words at their ends. In verse 48 appearing earlier, the words at the end are: وَمَن يُشْرِ‌كْ بِاللَّـهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَ‌ىٰ إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا whoever ascribes a partner to Allah has designed a great sin) while the words at the end of verse 116 before us are: وَمَن يُشْرِ‌كْ بِاللَّـهِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا بَعِيدًا (And whoever ascribes a partner to Allah has indeed gone far astray). As explained by master exegetes, the reason for this difference is that the addressees of the earlier verse (48) were the Jewish people of the Book who knew all about the truth of Tauhid (Allah's oneness), the falsity of Shirk (ascribing of a partner to Allah) and the veracity of the mission of the noble Prophet ﷺ through the Torah. Despite that, they got involved in Shirk. Thus, through their own conduct, they pretended that it was the very teaching of the Torah which is total forgery and false accusation. That is why it was said: فَقَدِ افْتَرَ‌ىٰ إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا (... has designed a great sin) at the end of verse 48. As for the verse before us (116), the addressees were the pagans of Makkah who did not have the background of any Book or Prophet before that time, but the rational arguments in support of the Oneness of Allah were all too clear. Taking stones crafted with their own hands as their objects of worship was something ineffectual, false and erroneous even in the sight of someone with ordinary common-sense. Therefore, here it was said: فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا بَعِيدًا (... has indeed gone far astray).

The eternal Punishment of Shirk and Kufr:

Some people express doubt at this point. They think that punishment should be proportionate to the deed. The crime of disbelieving and of ascribing partners to Allah committed by the Kafir and the Mushrik was committed within the limited time frame of a given life. Why would its punishment be limitless and permanent? The answer is that the doer of Kufr and Shirk simply does not regard what he does as crime. This is, on the contrary, taken as something good and proper, worth one's while. Therefore, his line of action is accompanied by his firm intention that he will always be like that. Now, if such a Kafir or Mushrik adheres to this position right through the last breath, he has committed a permanent crime to the extent of his choice and volition, therefore, the punishment for it has to be permanent.

Zulm:

There are three kinds of Zulm (injustice):

1. That which Allah will never forgive.

2. That which could be forgiven.

3. That which meets retribution from Allah.

The first kind of injustice is Shirk, the ascribing of a partner to Allah; the second kind of injustice is falling short in fulfilling the rights of Allah, known as Huququllah; and the third kind of injustice is the contravention of the rights of Allah's created beings against each other, known as Huququl-‘Ibad. (Ibn Kathir vide Musnad Bazar)

What is the reality of Shirk?

To consider any created being other than Allah equal to Allah in worship, or in love and reverence, is what Shirk really is. The Holy Qur'an has reported the words of the disbelievers they shall utter on arrival into the Jahannam:

اللَّـهِ إِن كُنَّا لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ ﴿97﴾ إِذْ نُسَوِّيكُم بِرَ‌بِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿98﴾

By Allah, we were in obvious error when we had equated you with Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. (26:97, 98)

It is evident that even the polytheists did not believe that the idols of their making were the Creator and the Master of the universe. It was, rather, under other erroneous assumptions that they had taken to regarding their idols equal to Allah in worship or in love and reverence. This was the Shirk which caused their being in Jahannam (Fath al-Mulhim).

In short, taking any created being as equal to Allah in His particular attributes - such as, the Creator, the Provider, the Absolute Master, the Knower of the Seen and the Unseen - is Shirk