Tafsir of Surah Aal Imran - Verse 106

The Command to Establish the Invitation to Allah

Allah said,

وَلْتَكُن مِّنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ

(Let there arise out of you a group of people)

that calls to righteousness, enjoins all that is good and forbids evil in the manner Allah commanded,

وَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ

(And it is they who are the successful.)

Ad-Dahhak said, "They are a special group of the Companions and a special group of those after them, that is those who perform Jihad and the scholars."

The objective of this Ayah is that there should be a segment of this Muslim Ummah fulfilling this task, even though it is also an obligation on every member of this Ummah, each according to his ability. Muslim recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«مَنْ رَأَى مِنْكُمْ مُنْكَرًا فَلْيُغَيِّرْهُ بِيَدِهِ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِلِسَانِهِ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِع فَبِقَلْبِهِ، وَذلِكَ أَضْعَفُ الْإِيمَان»

(Whoever among you witnesses an evil, let him change it with his hand. If he is unable, then let him change it with his tongue. If he is unable, then let him change it with his heart, and this is the weakest faith.) In another narration, The Prophet said,

«وَلَيْسَ وَرَاءَ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ حَبَّةُ خَرْدَل»

(There is no faith beyond that, not even the weight of a mustard seed.)

Imam Ahmad recorded that Hudhayfah bin Al-Yaman said that the Prophet said,

«وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِه، لَتَأْمُرُنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ، وَلَتَنْهَوُنَّ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ، أَوْ لَيُوشِكَنَّ اللهُ أَنْ يَبْعَثَ عَلَيْكُمْ عِقَابًا مِنْ عِنْدِهِ، ثُمَّ لتَدْعُنَّــهُ فَلَا يَسْتَجِيبَ لَكُم»

(By He in Whose Hand is my soul! You will enjoin righteousness and forbid evil, or Allah shall send down a punishment from Him to you. Then, you will supplicate to Him, but He will not accept your supplication.)

At-Tirmidhi also collected this Hadith and said, "Hasan". There are many other Hadiths and Ayat on this subject, which will be explained later.

The Prohibition of Division

Allah said,

وَلاَ تَكُونُواْ كَالَّذِينَ تَفَرَّقُواْ وَاخْتَلَفُواْ مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَهُمُ الْبَيِّنَـتُ

(And be not as those who divided and differed among themselves after the clear proofs had come to them) 3:105.

In this Ayah, Allah forbids this Ummah from imitating the division and discord of the nations that came before them. These nations also abandoned enjoining righteousness and forbidding evil, although they had proof of its necessity.

Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu `Amir `Abdullah bin Luhay said, "We performed Hajj with Mu`awiyah bin Abi Sufyan. When we arrived at Makkah, he stood up after praying Zuhr and said, `The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«إِنَّ أَهْلَ الْكِتَابَيْنِ افْتَرَقُوا فِي دِينِهِمْ عَلى ثِنْتَيْنِ وَسَبْعِينَ مِلَّةً، وَإِنَّ هذِهِ الْأُمَّةَ سَتَفْتَرِقُ عَلى ثَلَاثٍ وَسَبْعِينَ مِلَّةً يَعْنِي الْأَهْوَاءَ كُلُّهَا فِي النَّارِ إِلَّا وَاحِدَةً وَهِيَ الْجَمَاعَةُ وَإِنَّهُ سَيَخْرُجُ فِي أُمَّتِي أَقْوَامٌ تَجَارَى بِهِمْ تِلْكَ الْأَهْوَاءُ كَمَا يَتَجَارَى الْكَلَبُ بِصَاحِبِه، لَا يَبْقَى مِنْهُ عِرْقٌ وَلَا مَفْصِلٌ إِلَّا دَخَلَه»

(The People of the Two Scriptures divided into seventy-two sects. This Ummah will divide into seventy-three sects, all in the Fire except one, that is, the Jama`ah. Some of my Ummah will be guided by desire, like one who is infected by rabies; no vein or joint will be saved from these desires.)

Mu`awiyah said next: By Allah, O Arabs! If you do not adhere to what came to you from your Prophet then other people are even more prone not to adhere to it. " Similar was recorded by Abu Dawud from Ahmad bin Hanbal and Muhammad bin Yahya.

The Benefits of Brotherly Ties and Unity and the Consequence of Division on the Day of the Gatherin

Allah said next,

يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُّ وُجُوهٌ وَتَسْوَدُّ وُجُوهٌ

(On the Day when some faces will become white and some faces will become black;) 3:106 on the Day of Resurrection. This is when the faces of followers of the Sunnah and the Jama`ah will radiate with whiteness, and the faces of followers of Bid`ah (innovation) and division will be darkened, as has been reported from Ibn `Abbas. Allah said,

فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ اسْوَدَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ أَكْفَرْتُمْ بَعْدَ إِيمَـنِكُمْ

(As for those whose faces will become black (to them will be said): "Did you reject faith after accepting it")

Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "They are the hypocrites."

فَذُوقُواْ الْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ

(Then taste the torment (in Hell) for rejecting faith,) and this description befits every disbeliever.

وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ ابْيَضَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ فَفِى رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـلِدُونَ

(And for those whose faces will become white, they will be in Allah's mercy (Paradise), therein they shall dwell forever.) in Paradise, where they will reside for eternity and shall never desire to be removed. Abu `Isa At-Tirmidhi recorded that Abu Ghalib said, "Abu Umamah saw heads (of the Khawarij sect) hanging on the streets of Damascus. He commented, `The Dogs of the Fire and the worst dead people under the cover of the sky. The best dead men are those whom these have killed.' He then recited,

يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُّ وُجُوهٌ وَتَسْوَدُّ وُجُوهٌ

(On the Day (i.e. the Day of Resurrection) when some faces will become white and some faces will become black;) until the end of the Ayah. I said to Abu Umamah, `Did you hear this from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ' He said, `If I only heard it from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ once, twice, thrice, four times, or seven times, I would not have narrated it to you.' " At-Tirmidhi said, "This Hadith is Hasan." Ibn Majah and Ahmad recorded similarly.

Allah said,

تِلْكَ آيَـتُ اللَّهِ نَتْلُوهَا عَلَيْكَ

(These are the Ayat of Allah. We recite them to you) meaning, `These are the verses of Allah, His proofs and signs that We reveal to you, O Muhammad,'

بِالْحَقِّ

(in truth) making known the true reality of this world and the Hereafter.

وَمَا اللَّهُ يُرِيدُ ظُلْماً لِّلْعَـلَمِينَ

(and Allah wills no injustice to the `Alamin. ) for He never treats them with injustice. Rather, He is the Just Ruler Who is able to do everything and has knowledge of everything. Therefore, He does not need to treat any of His creatures with injustice, and this is why He said next,

وَللَّهِ مَا فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَمَا فِى الاٌّرْضِ

(and to Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the Earth.),

they are all His servants and His property,

وَإِلَى اللَّهِ تُرْجَعُ الأُمُورُ

(And all matters go back to Allah,) for His is the decision concerning the affairs of this life and the Hereafter, and His is the Supreme Authority in this life and the Hereafter.

Commentary

The meaning of 'bright' and 'dark' faces:

This expression appears in the Holy Qur'an at several places, for instance:

وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ تَرَ‌ى الَّذِينَ كَذَبُوا عَلَى اللَّـهِ وُجُوهُهُم مُّسْوَدَّةٌ

On the day of Doom, you shall see those who lied against Allah (with) their faces blackened. (39:60)

وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ مُّسْفِرَ‌ةٌ ﴿38﴾ ضَاحِكَةٌ مُّسْتَبْشِرَ‌ةٌ ﴿39﴾ وَوُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ عَلَيْهَا غَبَرَ‌ةٌ ﴿40﴾ تَرْ‌هَقُهَا قَتَرَ‌ةٌ ﴿41﴾

Some faces on that day shall shine, laughing, joyous. Some faces on that day shall be dusty, overspread with darkness. (80:38-41)

وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ نَّاضِرَ‌ةٌ ﴿22﴾

Faces on that day shall be radiant, looking towards their Lord. (75:22)

In these verses, several words such as, بْيَضُّ 'bayad', اسْوَدَّ 'sawad', غَبَرَ‌ةٌ 'ghabarah', قَتَرَ‌ةٌ 'qatarah', and نَّاضِرَ‌ةٌ 'nadirah', have been used to carry the same sense. In the English translation, where applicable, they appear in italics. According to the majority of commentators, 'brightness' signifies the brightness of the light of Faith, that is, the faces of believers shall be resplendent with the light of Faith, fresh and smiling due to happiness (as a result of rewards bestowed upon them by Allah). 'Darkness' signifies the darkness of disbelief, that is, the faces of the disbelievers will be covered with the gloomy anguish of disbelief and the added soot of sin and transgression would turn them still darker.

Who are these people?

Commentators have explained the identity of the people with 'bright and 'dark' faces variously. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ ، says that the faces of the followers of Sunnah shall be 'bright' and those of the followers of Bid'ah (innovation in the revealed Faith, not intended by Allah and His Messenger, nor by his learned dark Companions). Hadrat ` Ata' (رح) says that the faces of the Muhajirin and Ansar shall be 'bright' and the faces of the Bani Qurayzah and Bani Nadir shall be 'dark' (Qurtubi).

Imam Tirmidhi narrates a hadith from Sayyidna Abu Umamah ؓ which identifies these as relating to the Khawarij, )the oldest sect of rebels), that is, the 'dark' faces shall belong to the Khawarij, and the 'bright' faces to those whom they shall kill. The hadith is given below:

قال ابو امامہ کلاب النار شرقتلی تحت ادیم السماء، وخیر قتلی من قتلوہ ثم قراَ : يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُّ وُجُوهٌ وَتَسْوَدُّ وُجُوهٌ

When Sayyidna Abu Umamah ؓ was asked if he had heard the hadith from the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، he replied, while counting on his fingers, that he would not have narrated this hadith had he not heard it from the Holy Prophet ﷺ seven times (Tirmidhi).

Sayyidna ` Ikrimah ؓ says that 'dark' faces shall belong to those from among the people of the Book who did confirm the coming of the Holy Prophet ﷺ before he was ordained. But when he had been given prophethood they did not accept and support him. On the contrary, they started falsifying him (Qurtubi)

There are other explanations as well, other than those cited above, but they all lead to the same conclusion, and are not contradictory. Imam al-Qurtubi has said in his Tafsir that the expression يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُّ وُجُوهٌ وَتَسْوَدُّ وُجُوهٌ in the verse means that the faces of sincere Muslims shall be 'bright' but the faces of all those who may have altered their religion, or may have become apostates and disbelievers, or may be concealing their hypocrisy in their hearts, shall be 'dark'.

Some special notes:

In the verse Allah Almighty has mentioned the بْيَضُّ bayyad first, and the سْوَدُّ sawed or darkness after it. But, in the verse which follows: فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ اسْوَدَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ (As for those whose faces turn dark), sawed or darkness has been made to appear before بْيَضُّ bayyad or brightness, although the sequence of 'the original statement required that the mention of brightness appear first at this place as well. This reversal of the order seems to indicate that Allah Almighty has pointed out to His main purpose of creation. That purpose is to bless His creation with His mercy; punishment is not the objective. So, those with bright faces come first as they deserve the mercy and merit from their Lord. People with dark, anguished faces were mentioned later as the ones who deserve punishment. Towards the close of the verse, the statement ففی رحمۃ اللہ (They rest in Allah's mercy) is meant to stress upon the great mercy of the Creator. One cannot miss observing that those deserving of mercy were identified immediately at the beginning of the verse and again, at the end of the verse, and very affectionately indeed. The mention of those whose faces shall turn dark remains in between. All this points out to His limitless, endless mercy, clearly suggesting that human beings were certainly not created to serve as an exhibit or manifestation of Divine punishment; instead, they were created to flourish under the sunshine of Allah's mercy.

About the statement, فی رحمۃ اللہ 'they shall rest in Allah's mercy', the blessed Companion Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ says that 'rahmah' or 'mercy' in the verse means جَنَّت 'Jannah' or 'paradise'. Here too, the wisdom behind giving the name 'mercy' to 'paradise' is, quite obviously, that man, no matter how worshipful and pious he may be, shall not enter Paradise unless it be through the sole mercy of Allah Almighty. The reason is that being devoted in acts of worship is no feat of human excellence as such. On the contrary, the very ability to do so is, in itself, a gift of Allah. So, عبادہ 'ibadah' or worship does not, in itself, create an inherent right to enter Paradise. It is Allah's mercy alone through which one can enjoy the bliss of Paradise. (al-Tafsir al-Kabir)

The benefit the intellectuals have of being imbued with this spirit is that all their attention remains focussed on goodness, that is, on the basics of religion. They have thus no time for hair-splitting arguments about secondary aspects of religion. Those who become the heralds of God’s greatness and arise both as warners and as harbingers of glad tidings have not the time to waste their expertise on matters of no significance. In this way, the task of exhorting people to lead a life of righteousness and forbidding evil engages them in finding solutions to real problems. Verbal jousting over supposed problems seems to them meaningless and futile, just as a farmer finds the game of chess a futile exercise, a waste of time. In showing willingness to be obedient to well-intentioned religious elders, the people are saved from schism and strife. Submitting to an authority unites all of them. Unity becomes a common attribute of believers, and unity, without doubt is the greatest of all powers in this world.