4:28 An-Nisaa (The Women)

{ يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ أَنْ يُخَفِّفَ عَنْكُمْ } أي: بسهولة ما أمركم به و [ما] نهاكم عنه، ثم مع حصول المشقة في بعض الشرائع أباح لكم ما تقتضيه حاجتكم، كالميتة والدم ونحوهما للمضطر، وكتزوج الأمة للحر بتلك الشروط السابقة. وذلك لرحمته التامة وإحسانه الشامل، وعلمه وحكمته بضعف الإنسان من جميع الوجوه، ضعف البنية، وضعف الإرادة، وضعف العزيمة، وضعف الإيمان، وضعف الصبر، فناسب ذلك أن يخفف الله عنه، ما يضعف عنه وما لا يطيقه إيمانه وصبره وقوته.

"يريد الله أن يخفف عنكم" أي في شرائعه وأوامره ونواهيه وما يقدره لكم ولهذا أباح الإماء بشروط كما قال مجاهد وغيره "وخلق الإنسان ضعيفا" فناسبه التخفيف لضعفه في نفسه وضعف عزمه وهمته قال ابن أبي حاتم حدثنا محمد بن إسماعيل الأحمسي حدثنا وكيع عن سفيان عن ابن طاوس عن أبيه "وخلق الإنسان ضعيفا" أي في أمر النساء وقال وكيع يذهب عقله عندهن وقال موسى الكليم عليه السلام لنبينا محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم ليلة الإسراء حين مر عليه راجعا من عند سدرة المنتهى فقال له: ماذا فرض عليكم فقال: أمرني بخمسين صلاة في كل يوم وليلة فقال له ارجع إلى ربك فاسأله التخفيف فإن أمتك لا تطيق ذلك فإني قد بلوت الناس قبلك على ما هو أقل من ذلك فعجزوا وإن أمتك أضعف أسماعا وأبصارا وقلوبا فرجع فوضع عشرا ثم رجع إلى موسى فلم يزل كذلك حتى بقيت خمسا الحديث.

وَيَهْدِيَكُمْ سُنَنَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ

(And to show you the ways of those before you,) meaning their righteous ways and how to adhere to the commandments that He likes and is pleased with.

وَيَتُوبَ عَلَيْكُمْ

(and accept your repentance) from sin and error,

وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ

(and Allah is All-Knower, All-Wise.) in His commands, decrees, actions and statements. Allah's statement,

وَيُرِيدُ الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الشَّهَوَتِ أَن تَمِيلُواْ مَيْلاً عَظِيماً

(but those who follow their lusts, wish that you (believers) should deviate tremendously away from the right path)) indicates that the followers of Shaytan among the Jews, Christians and the adulterous, wish that you would take the horrendous path of falsehood instead of the truth.

يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ أَن يُخَفِّفَ عَنْكُمْ

(Allah wishes to lighten (the burden) for you") His legislation, orders, what He prohibits and what He decrees for you. This is why Allah has allowed free men to marry slave girls under certain conditions, as Mujahid and others have stated.

وَخُلِقَ الإِنسَـنُ ضَعِيفاً

(and man was created weak.) and this is why it is suitable in his case that the commands are made easy for him, because of his weakness and feebleness. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Tawus said that,

وَخُلِقَ الإِنسَـنُ ضَعِيفاً

(and man was created weak), "Concerning women". Waki` said, "Man's mind leaves when women are involved."

God desires to lighten things for you and make the rulings of the Law easier for you; for man was created weak unable to abstain from women and passions.

After this, in the first part of verse 28, it was said: يُرِ‌يدُ اللَّـهُ أَن يُخَفِّفَ عَنكُمْ : It means that Allah, great in His majesty, intends to make things easy on you, that is, prescribes injunctions which can be carried out by everyone obligated with them. If one cannot afford marrying free women, permission has been given to marry bond-women. Parties to a marriage were given the right to settle the dower by mutual consent. Also given was the right to marry more than one woman under circumstantial necessity, of course, on condition that justice is not compromised.

At the end, in the second part of verse 28, the text says: وَخُلِقَ الْإِنسَانُ ضَعِيفًا ،(And man has been created weak). It means that man is weak by nature, and constituted desire-prone. If man was asked to stay away from women, totally and absolutely, he would have been a hopeless performer when it came to obeying the injunctions of Allah. It was, in view of his weakness and limitations, that he was not only permitted to marry women, but also that he was induced to do so. It goes without saying that the post-marriage life of a couple offers great benefits of mutual self-realization and most of all they enjoy the blessings of a sight that is untainted and a character that is unalloyed. This mutual purity of the couple increases the moral quality of life for both of them, making them strong, self-reliant and happy. So, marriage is a smart mutual contract to remove any chances of weakness that may afflict men and. women - a peerless method indeed.

And man was created weak. Wherever the name “man” comes in the Qur'an, a displeasing attribute is linked to it. Thus He said, “Surely man is a great wrongdoer, ungrateful” [14:34]. “Surely man was created anxious” [70:19]. “Surely man is rebellious” [96:6]. “Surely man is ungrateful to his Lord” [100:6]. “Sure- ly man is in loss” [103:2]. This is because man comes from dust, and dust is the basis of density and the root of opacity. The servant's hope is that on the day He created, He saw the faults, and then He bought along with the faults. You bought me with my faults on the first day! The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O Lord, you called me ignorant. What comes from the ignorant other than disloyalty? You called me weak. What comes from the weak other than error? O Lord, take our inability to overcome ourselves as stemming from that weakness. Take our boldness and inso- lence as stemming from that ignorance. O Lord, You lifted us up and no one said, 'Lift up!' Now that You have lifted up, don't put down! Keep us in the shadow of Your bounty!” If You water, You Yourself planted. If you flatten the foundation, You Yourself raised it. I the servant am just what You fancied. Don't throw me down-You lifted me up.