4:173 An-Nisaa (The Women)

ثم فصل حكمه فيهم فقال: { فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ } أي: جمعوا بين الإيمان المأمور به، وعمل الصالحات من واجبات ومستحبات، من حقوق الله وحقوق عباده. { فَيُوَفِّيهِمْ أُجُورَهُمْ } أي: الأجور التي رتبها على الأعمال، كُلٌّ بحسب إيمانه وعمله. { وَيَزِيدُهُم مِن فَضْلِهِ } من الثواب الذي لم تنله أعمالهم ولم تصل إليه أفعالهم، ولم يخطر على قلوبهم. ودخل في ذلك كل ما في الجنة من المآكل والمشارب، والمناكح، والمناظر والسرور، ونعيم القلب والروح، ونعيم البدن، بل يدخل في ذلك كل خير ديني ودنيوي رتب على الإيمان والعمل الصالح. { وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ اسْتَنكَفُوا وَاسْتَكْبَرُوا } أي: عن عبادة الله تعالى { فَيُعَذِّبُهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا } وهو سخط الله وغضبه، والنار الموقدة التي تطلع على الأفئدة. { وَلَا يَجِدُونَ لَهُم مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلِيًّا وَلَا نَصِيرًا } أي: لا يجدون أحدا من الخلق يتولاهم فيحصل لهم المطلوب، ولا مَن ينصرهم فيدفع عنهم المرهوب، بل قد تخلى عنهم أرحم الراحمين، وتركهم في عذابهم خالدين، وما حكم به تعالى فلا رادّ لحكمه ولا مغيّر لقضائه.

ولهذا قال "فأما الذين آمنوا وعملوا الصالحات فيوفيهم أجورهم ويزيدهم من فضله" أي فيعطيهم من الثواب على قدر أعمالهم الصالحة ويزيدهم على ذلك من فضله وإحسانه وسعة رحمته وامتنانه وقد روى ابن مردويه من طريق بقية عن إسماعيل بن عبد الله الكندي عن الأعمش عن سفيان عن عبد الله مرفوعا قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم "فيوفيهم أجورهم ويزيدهم من فضله" أجورهم قال "أدخلهم الجنة"ويزيدهم من فضله" قال "الشفاعة فيمن وجبت له النار ممن صنع إليهم المعروف في دنياهم" وهذا إسناد لا يثبت. وإذا روى عن ابن مسعود موقوفا فهو جيد "وأما الذين استنكفوا واستكبروا" أي امتنعوا من طاعة الله وعبادته واستكبروا عن ذلك "فيعذبهم عذابا أليما ولا يجدون لهم من دون الله وليا ولا نصيرا" كقوله "إن الذين يستكبرون عن عبادتي سيدخلون جهنم داخرين" أي صاغرين حقيرين ذليلين كما كانوا ممتنعين مستكبرين.

The Prophets and Angels Are Never too Proud to Worship Allah

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibn `Abbas said that, `proud', means insolent. Qatadah said that,

الْمَسِيحُ أَن يَكُونَ عَبْداً للَّهِ وَلاَ الْمَلَـئِكَةُ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ

(Al-Masih will never be too proud to be a servant of Allah nor the angels who are near (to Allah).) they will never be arrogant, Allah then said,

وَمَن يَسْتَنْكِفْ عَنْ عِبَادَتِهِ وَيَسْتَكْبِرْ فَسَيَحْشُرُهُمْ إِلَيهِ جَمِيعاً

(And whosoever rejects His worship and is proud, then He will gather them all together unto Himself.) on the Day of Resurrection. Then, Allah will judge between them with His just judgment that is never unjust or wrong.

فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَـتِ فَيُوَفِّيهِمْ أُجُورَهُمْ وَيَزيدُهُمْ مِّن فَضْلِهِ

(So, as for those who believed and did deeds of righteousness, He will give their (due) rewards, and more out of His bounty.) Allah will award them their full rewards for their righteous actions and will give them more of His bounty, kindness, ample mercy and favor.

وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ اسْتَنكَفُواْ وَاسْتَكْبَرُواْ

(But as for those who refused His worship and were proud, ) out of arrogance, they refused to obey and worship Him,

فَيُعَذِّبُهُمْ عَذَاباً أَلُيماً وَلاَ يَجِدُونَ لَهُمْ مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلِيّاً وَلاَ نَصِيراً

(He will punish them with a painful torment. And they will not find for themselves besides Allah any protector or helper.) In another Ayah, Allah said,

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِى سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَخِرِينَ

(Verily! Those who scorn My worship, they will surely enter Hell in humiliation,) degradation, disgrace and dishonor, for they were arrogant and rebellious.

As for those who believed who did righteous deeds He will pay them in full their wages the reward for their deeds and He will give them more of His bounty what no eye has seen no ear has heard and no man’s heart has ever wished for; and as for them who disdain and are too proud to worship Him He will chastise them with a painful chastisement which is the chastisement of the Fire and they shall not find for themselves besides God that is other than Him any friend to ward it off them or helper to protect them from it.

From the affirmation of Allah's absolute purity and the refutation of assumed Godhood of Sayyidna 'Isa (علیہ السلام) earlier, the text now moves to further strengthen the argument by showing that Sayyidna 'Isa (علیہ السلام) would himself confess to being a servant of Allah and so will the angels (which includes Sayyidna Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) alleged to be a person of Trinity). Then, follows the warning for those who choose to retract in distaste and the good news for those who believe and are good in deeds for they will be rewarded for their belief and deeds with many more added graces from Allah.

Commentary

The Honour of being a servant of Allah

Maulana Shabbir Ahmad ` Usmani, in his comments on the opening statement of Verse 172: لَّن يَسْتَنكِفَ الْمَسِيحُ أَن يَكُونَ عَبْدًا لِّلَّـهِ (The Masih shall never spurn being a slave of Allah, nor shall the angels, the close ones), says that so it is because being a servant of Allah, being devoted to His worship and being obedient to His will and command, is an honour by itself and certainly a nobility of the highest class. Sayyidna Masih (علیہ السلام) and the close angels are the best testifiers to the worth and value of this blessing. How could they spurn an honour like that? Quite contrary to this, the worst disgrace and dishonour there can be imagined lies in worshipping someone other than Allah. This is what the Christians did when they took Sayyidna Masih (علیہ السلام) as the son of Allah and the object of their worship. Similar was the case with disbelievers who took angels as daughters of Allah and started worshipping them alongwith their idols. So, for them, there is punishment, and disgrace. (Notes in Tafsir Usmani)