Tafsir of Surah An-Nahl - Verse 127

The Command for Equality in Punishment

Allah commands justice in punishment and equity in settling the cases of rights. `Abdur-Razzaq recorded that, concerning the Ayah,

فَعَاقِبُواْ بِمِثْلِ مَا عُوقِبْتُمْ بِهِ

(then punish them with the like of that with which you were afflicted.) Ibn Sirin said, "If a man among you takes something from you, then you should take something similar from him." This was also the opinion of Mujahid, Ibrahim, Al-Hasan Al-Basri, and others. Ibn Jarir also favored this opinion. Ibn Zayd said: "They had been commanded to forgive the idolators, then some men became Muslim who were strong and powerful. They said, `O Messenger of Allah, if only Allah would give us permission, we would sort out these dogs!' Then this Ayah was revealed, then it was latter abrogated by the command to engage in Jihad."

وَاصْبِرْ وَمَا صَبْرُكَ إِلاَّ بِاللَّهِ

(And be patient, and your patience will not be but by the help of Allah.) This emphasizes the command to be patient and tells us that patience cannot be acquired except by the will, help, decree and power of Allah. Then Allah says:

وَلاَ تَحْزَنْ عَلَيْهِمْ

(And do not grieve over them,) meaning, those who oppose you, for Allah has decreed that this should happen.

وَلاَ تَكُ فِى ضَيْقٍ

(and do not be distressed) means do not be worried or upset.

مِّمَّا يَمْكُرُونَ

(by their plots.) meaning; because of the efforts they are putting into opposing you and causing you harm, for Allah is protecting, helping, and supporting you, and He will cause you to prevail and defeat them.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَواْ وَّالَّذِينَ هُم مُّحْسِنُونَ

(Truly, Allah is with those who have Taqwa, and the doers of good.) meaning; He is with them in the sense of supporting them, helping them and guiding them. This is a special kind of "being with", as Allah says elsewhere:

إِذْ يُوحِى رَبُّكَ إِلَى الْمَلَـئِكَةِ أَنِّي مَعَكُمْ فَثَبِّتُواْ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ

((Remember) when your Lord revealed to the angels, "Verily, I am with you, so support those who believe.") 8:12 And Allah said to Musa and Harun:

لاَ تَخَافَآ إِنَّنِى مَعَكُمَآ أَسْمَعُ وَأَرَى

(Fear not, verily I am with you both, hearing and seeing.) 20:46 The Prophet said to (Abu Bakr) As-Siddiq when they were in the cave:

«لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللهَ مَعَنَا»

(Do not worry, Allah is with us.") The general kind of "being with" some one, or something is by means of seeing, hearing and knowing, as Allah says:

وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُمْ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ

(And He is with you wherever you may be. And Allah sees whatever you do.) 57:4

أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَمَا فِى الاٌّرْضِ مَا يَكُونُ مِن نَّجْوَى ثَلَـثَةٍ إِلاَّ هُوَ رَابِعُهُمْ وَلاَ خَمْسَةٍ إِلاَّ هُوَ سَادِسُهُمْ وَلاَ أَدْنَى مِن ذَلِكَ وَلاَ أَكْثَرَ إِلاَّ هُوَ مَعَهُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كَانُواْ

(Have you not seen that Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth There is no secret counsel of three but He is their fourth, - nor of five but He is their sixth, - nor of less than that or more, but He is with them wherever they may be.) 58:7

وَمَا تَكُونُ فِى شَأْنٍ وَمَا تَتْلُواْ مِنْهُ مِن قُرْءَانٍ وَلاَ تَعْمَلُونَ مِنْ عَمَلٍ إِلاَّ كُنَّا عَلَيْكُمْ شُهُودًا

(You will not be in any circumstance, nor recite any portion of the Qur'an, nor having done any deeds, but We are witnessing you.) 10:61

وَالَّذِينَ اتَّقَواْ

(those who have Taqwa) means, they keep away from that which is forbidden.

وَّالَّذِينَ هُم مُّحْسِنُونَ

(and the doers of good. ) meaning they do deeds of obedience to Allah. These are the ones whom Allah takes care of, He gives them support, and helps them to prevail over their enemies and opponents. This is end of the Tafsir of Surat An-Nahl. To Allah be praise and blessings, and peace and blessings be upon Muhammad and his family and Companions.

Causing Pain to a Man of Da'wah: Revenge is Permissible, but Patience is Better.

The next three verses (126, 127, 128) carry another important instruction for those who present the message of Truth before people. It tells them about what they have to do in unusual conditions. There are occasions when they have to face people who are hard-hearted and very ignorant. No matter how softly and politely one explains things to them and no matter how much goodwill one has for them in his heart, they would, even then, go in a fit of anger, use bad language and cause pain. There are times when they would go beyond that and hurt the preacher physically or would not even mind killing. So, a remedial measure was in order.

For this purpose, by saying: وَإِنْ عَاقَبْتُمْ (And if you were to harm them in retaliation, harm them to the measure you were harmed. And if you opt for patience, it is definitely much better for those who are patient - 126), these noble workers in the way of Allah were given the legal right that it was permissible for them to retaliate against injustice done to them. But, this was to be subject to the condition that retaliation should not exceed the measure of injustice done. In other words, assess the injustice inflicted on you, retaliate only to that measure and ensure that no excess occurs.

And at the end of the verse, given there is the advice: Though, you do have the right to retaliate, but be patient and do not retaliate. It is better.

The Background in which this Verse was Revealed and How it was Implemented by the Holy Prophet ﷺ and his noble Sahabah ؓ

According to the majority of commentators, this verse is Madani. It was revealed in relation to the shahadah of seventy sahabah and about the event in which Sayyidna Hamzah ؓ was killed and his body was subjected to post-killing mutilations (muthlah). The narration in Sahih al-Bukhari is in accordance with it. Darqutni has reported from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ as follows:

"In the battle of Uhud when the Mushriks marched back, the dead bodies of seventy leading sahabah were found. Also included there was Sayyidna Hamzah ؓ ، the revered uncle of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . Since the Mushriks were particularly angry with him, therefore, once he was killed by them, they took out their anger on his dead body. His nose, ears and other parts of the body were cut and the abdomen was slit open. The very sight of it shocked the Holy Prophet ﷺ and he said that, to avenge Hamzah, he would have seventy men from the Mushriks subjected to a 'muthlah' similar to what they have done to Hamzah. It was in the background of this event that these three verses were revealed (126, 127, 128) ". (Tafsir Qurtubi)

It appears in some narrations that these cruel people had meted out the same treatment of 'muthlah' (mutilation) in the case of other sahabah as well. (As reported by al-Tirmidhi, Ahmad, and Ibn Khuzaimah and Ibn Hibban in their Sahihs from Sayyidna Ubaiyy ibn Ka` b ؓ

In this matter, being extremely grieved, the Holy Prophet ﷺ had declared his determination to subject seventy Mushriks in retaliation for his sahabah irrespective of their exact number, and this was not in accord with the principle of justice and equity Allah Ta` ala intended to stand established in this world through him. Therefore, two things were done. (1) He was alerted and told that the right of retaliation was there but it had to match the measure of injustice done. Retaliating against seventy for a few, irrespective of their number, is not right. (2) Then, he was to be the model of morals at their best. Therefore, given to him was the good counsel: Though, you are allowed to retaliate evenly but, should you set aside this option and be patient and generous to the unjust, that would be much better.

Thereupon, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, "Now, patient we shall be. We shall not take any revenge from anyone" - and he paid out a kaffarah (expiation) for his oath. (Mazhari from al-Baghawi) When, on the eve of the Conquest of Makkah, having all those Mushriks of Makkah under his control, it was certainly the time to do what he had declared on the battlefield of Uhud that he would do. But, it was precisely at the time of the revelation of the cited verses that the Holy Prophet ﷺ had forsaken his earlier intention and had, instead, decided to observe patience. Therefore, at the time of the Conquest of Makkah, the course of patience was taken in accordance with the imperative of these verses. Perhaps, it is on this basis that it has been mentioned in some narration that these verses were revealed at the time of the Conquest of Makkah. And it is also not too far out to believe that the revelation of these verses was repeated, that is, initially they were revealed at the battle of 'Uhud and then, when came the Conquest of Makkah, they were revealed again. (as narrated by al-Mazhari from Ibn al-Hassar)

RULING:

This verse has told us about the Law of Even Retaliation when avenging. Therefore, Muslim jurists say that in the event a person kills someone, the killed will be avenged by killing the killer. One who inflicts injury will have an even injury inflicted on him. Against one who cuts off someone's hand and feet, and then kills him, the guardian of the killed will be given the right that he too should first cut off the killer's hands and feet and then kill him.

Yes, if someone kills someone else by hitting him with a rock, or kills him by injuring him with arrows, then, it is not possible to determine the correct measure of the way of killing, that is, how many strikes did it take to make this killing take place, and how much pain has been inflicted on the person killed. In this matter, there is no measure of determining real equalization. Therefore, he will have to be killed invariably with a sword. (AI-Jassas)

RULING:

Though the verse has been revealed in relation to physical pain and loss, but its words are general which includes the inflicting of financial loss. Therefore, Muslim jurists have said that a person who usurps مَال mal (money, property etc.) belonging to another person, then, this other person has the right to forcibly take away from him his mal in accordance with his right, or take it by stealth on condition that the مَال mal taken is from the genus of his right, for example, if cash has been taken, then, he can take, in lieu of it, the same amount of cash from him, by usurpation or theft. If things usurped are like grains, corn or cloth, then, similar grains, corn or cloth can be taken back. But, one cannot take another kind in lieu of the kind taken from him, for example, one cannot forcibly take cloth or some other article of use in lieu of cash. However, some fuqaha.' (Muslim jurists) have permitted it unconditionally - whether it be from the entitled kind or from some other. Some details of these rules have been covered by al-Qurtubi in his Tafsir while more comprehensive details appear in books of Fiqh.

Mentioned in verse 126: وَإِنْ عَاقَبْتُمْ , (And if you were to harm...) was the general law in which avenging harm done with even harm was declared to be permissible for all Muslims, but taking the option of patience was recommended as definitely much better. And in the next verse (127), the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been addressed in a special manner and prompted to be patient because, in view of his great dignity and high station, the later response was certainly more appropriate and becoming for him as compared with others. Therefore, it was said: وَاصْبِرْ‌ وَمَا صَبْرُ‌كَ إِلَّا بِاللَّـهِ (And be patient. And your patience is bestowed by none but Allah). It means: 'As for you, you just do not even contemplate a revenge. Take to Sabr (patience) as your only option.' And then, he was also told that his Sabr will come with the help of Allah alone, that is, observing Sabr will be made easy for him.

The preacher’s call to the Truth is a process which emerges out of intense feelings of sincerity, seriousness and well-wishing. The realization of a man that he is answerable to God forces him to issue such a call to the subjects of God. He does so because he thinks that if he does not, he himself will be caught on the Day of Judgement. The natural result of such thinking is that the preacher speaks words of wisdom, gives good advice and engages in serious discussion. Exhortations to accept the Truth can be effective only when they are supported by argument and reasoning, and when they take into account the mentality of the addressees. A reasoned discourse should readily convince them of the reality of things but if it ignores their intellectual capacity, it will miss the mark and will do nothing to bolster the status of the preacher. Sympathy is a characteristic which develops in a discourse due to a well-wishing mentality (al-mu‘izah al-hasanah). When the preacher whose personality has been radically transformed by his realization of God’s majesty and glory speaks about God, the majesty of God will definitely shine through his discourse. The messenger of God who, after seeing heaven and hell, comes forward to show them to others will certainly in his discourse give glimpses of the joys of heaven and the terror of hell. The combination of these features will make his discourse so effective that it will melt hearts and bring tears to the eyes. Wisdom and good counselling are the staff of dawah work. However there are always those addressees who indulge in pointless discussions with the intention, who have no desire to understand the message but they only want to complicate matters. In such a case, the preacher must respond with gentleness; in the face of harsh words he must resort to reasoning and analysis and, in response to provocation, he must exercise patience. The eye of one who calls on others to the Truth is not on his audience but on God, who transcends all. Therefore, he utters such statements as prove to be true in God’s eyes rather than in man’s assessment.