Tafsir of Surah Yunus - Verse 58

None can make Anything Lawful or Unlawful except Allah or Those Whom Allah has allowed to do so

Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah, `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam and others said: "This Ayah was revealed to criticize the idolators for what they used to make lawful and unlawful. Like the Bahirah, Sa'ibah and Wasilah." As Allah said:

وَجَعَلُواْ لِلَّهِ مِمَّا ذَرَأَ مِنَ الْحَرْثِ وَالاٌّنْعَامِ نَصِيباً

(And they assign to Allah a share of the tilth and cattle which He has created.)6:136 Imam Ahmad recorded a narration from Malik bin Nadlah who said, "I came to Allah's Messenger while in filthy clothes. He said,

«هَلْ لَكَ مَالٌ؟»

(Do you have wealth) I answered, `Yes.' He said,

«مِنْ أَيِّ الْمَالِ؟»

(what kind of wealth) I answered, `All kinds; camels, slaves, horses, sheep.' So he said,

«إِذَا آَتَاكَ اللَّهُ مَالًا فَلْيُرَ عَلَيْك»

(If Allah gives you wealth, then let it be seen on you.) Then he said,

«هَلْ تُنْتَجُ إِبْلُكَ صِحَاحًا آذَانُهَا، فَتَعْمِدَ إِلَى مُوسًى فَتَقْطَعَ آذَانَهَا، فَتَقُولُ: هَذِهِ بُحْرٌ، وَتَشُقُّ جُلُودَهَا وَتَقُولُ: هَذِهِ صُرُمٌ، وَتُحَرِّمُهَا عَلَيْكَ وَعَلَى أَهْلِك»

؟ (It is not that your camels are born with healthy ears, you take a knife and cut them, then say, "This is a Bahr," tear its skin, then say, `This is a Sarm," and prohibit them for yourself and your family) I replied, `Yes.' He said,

«فَإِنَّ مَا آتَاكَ اللهُ لَكَ حِلٌّ، سَاعِدُ اللهِ أَشَدُّ مِنْ سَاعِدِكَ، وَمُوسَى الله أَحَدُ مِنْ مُوسَاك»

(What Allah has given you is lawful. Allah's Forearm is stronger than your forearm, and Allah's knife is sharper then your knife.)" And he mentioned the Hadith in its complete form, and the chain for this Hadith is a strong, good chain. Allah criticized those who make lawful what Allah has made unlawful or vice verse. This is because they are based on mere desires and false opinions that are not supported with evidence or proof. Allah then warned them with a promise of the Day of Resurrection. He asked:

وَمَا ظَنُّ الَّذِينَ يَفْتَرُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَذِبَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَـمَةِ

(And what think those who invent a lie against Allah, on the Day of Resurrection) What do they think will happen to them when they return to Us on the Day of Resurrection Ibn Jarir said that Allah's statement:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَذُو فَضْلٍ عَلَى النَّاسِ

(Truly, Allah is full of bounty to mankind,) indicated that the bounty is in postponing their punishment in this world. I (Ibn Kathir) say, the meaning could be that the Grace for people is in the good benefits that He made permissible for them in this world or in their religion. He also has not prohibited them except what is harmful to them in their world and the Hereafter.

وَلَـكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لاَ يَشْكُرُونَ

(but most of them are ungrateful.) So they prohibited what Allah has bestowed upon them and made it hard and narrow upon themselves. They made some things lawful and others unlawful. The idolators committed these actions when they set laws for themselves. And so did the People of the Book when they invented innovations in their religion.

4\. MERCY as in وَرَ‌حْمَةٌ (and mercy for the believers).

In the second verse (58), it was said: قُلْ بِفَضْلِ اللَّـهِ وَبِرَ‌حْمَتِهِ فَبِذَٰلِكَ فَلْيَفْرَ‌حُوا هُوَ خَيْرٌ‌ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ ﴿58﴾ (Say, "With the grace of Allah and with His mercy" - in these they should rejoice. It is far better than what they accumulate). The sense of the verse is that people should take only the grace and mercy of Allah Ta` ala as the real thing to be delighted about and be pleased with it. As for the short-lived worldly wealth, possession, comfort and recognition, these are things not worth being happy about in the real sense. Because, to start with, no matter how much one has, it turns out to be not as much as one would have wished. It becomes a cycle that never ends. Then, there is that ever-lurking danger that it may start declining any time. Therefore, at the end of the verse, it was said: هُوَ خَيْرٌ‌ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ (It is far better than what they accumulate). Thus, the core of the meaning is that the grace and mercy of Allah is far better than the layers upon layers of wealth and property and worldly recognition and power one accumulates as the sum-total of one's entire life.

Two things have been identified as a source of delight in this verse, one being grace, and the other, mercy. What do these two mean here? Regarding this, there is a Hadith from Sayyidna Anas ؓ عنہ where it has been reported that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, فضل ` the :fadl (grace) of Allah denotes the Qur'an and: رحمہ : rahmah (mercy) means that you were blessed with the taufiq (ability) of reciting the Qur'an and acting in accordance with it.' (Ruh al-Ma` ani from Ibn Marduwayh)

The same thing has also been reported from Sayyidna Bara' ibn ` Azib and Sayyidna Abu Said al-Khudri ؓ while there are many commentators who say that fadl (grace) means the Qur'an while rahmah (mercy) signifies Islam. However, the sense remains the same as given in the Hadith appearing earlier, that is, rahmah (mercy) means that Allah Ta` ala taught us the Qur'an, gave us the taufiq to follow it practically, and that is what Islam is in reality.

And Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہما narrates that fdll means the Qur'an, and rahmah refers to the Holy Prophet ﷺ This interpretation finds support in the verse of the Holy Qur'an where it is said: وَمَا أَرْ‌سَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَ‌حْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ ﴿107﴾ (And We have not sent you [ 0 Muhammad ] except as mercy for the worlds - 21:107). However, the outcome of this too is no different from the earlier tafsir - because, acting in accordance with the Qur'an, or Islam ultimately reverts to following the lead given by the Holy Prophet Ili through his word and deed.

In this verse, the word: فَلْيَفْرَ‌حُوا (they should rejoice) has appeared in the third person in accordance with its well-known rendition (qira'ah), although its real addressees were those present there or were living at that time. The exigency of the situation required that the form used should have been that in the second person - as it does actually appear in some renditions. But, the wisdom behind the use of the third person, as in the well-known rendition, is that the universal mercy of the Holy Prophet ﷺ or Islam, was not restricted only to those present there, or living at that time. Instead, it included even the generations that will be born right through the last day of Qiyamah. (Ruh al-Ma` ni)

Special Note

At this point it is worth our attention that there is another verse of the Qur'an which, in terms of its outward literal sense, seems to indicate that this world is just no place for any highly stimulated expression of joy and merriment. It was said: لَا تَفْرَ‌حْ ۖ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْفَرِ‌حِين (Do not exult. Indeed, Allah does not like the exultant - Al-Qasas 28:76). The word: لَا تَفْرَ‌حْ (la tafrah) translated here as ` do not exult' means rejoicing in triumph or intoxication. But, in the verse under study (58), the command to rejoice appears in the imperative mood. One answer for this seemingly apparent contradiction is that the place where rejoicing has been prohibited is a place where rejoicing relates to the fleeting enjoyments of the mortal world. And the place where rejoicing is commanded is a place where rejoicing is related to the grace and mercy of Allah Ta` ala. Then, there is yet another difference here. Wherever rejoicing is prohibited, it does not refer to rejoicing in the absolute sense. Instead, it means getting euphoric and intoxicated in exultation and rejoicing. And wherever permitted, it means rejoicing in an absolute sense.

Man is a psychological being. If psychologically he is vitiated, his whole life is affected. The guidance revealed by God in the form of the divine Book is an absolute mercy to all humanity. It consists of the best advice and guidance, but it is necessary for a man to be its recipient that he should not have lost his power of right thinking. As for one who has perverted his faculty of right thinking, the principles enshrined in the divine Book will fail to guide him. The things of the present world and its glories and grandeur are ‘cash’ benefits in the eyes of man. Man relishes their taste and savours them at every moment. In comparison to this, the bounties of the Hereafter count as mere ‘promises’. Man only hears about them; he does not experience them. For this reason, many people rush towards and fall all-out on the ‘ready’ benefits of world. But those who think deeply will be happy with the thought that God, by revealing His guidance, has opened for them the doors to attaining eternal bounties.