Tafsir of Surah As-Saff - Verse 4

Which was revealed in Madina

The Virtues of Surat As-Saff

Imam Ahmad recorded that `Abdullah bin Salam said, "We asked, `Who among us should go to the Messenger ﷺ and ask him about the dearest actions to Allah' None among us volunteered. The Messenger ﷺ sent a man to us and that man gathered us and recited this Surah, Surat As-Saff, in its entirety."'

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Chastising Those Who say what They do not do

We mentioned in many a places before the meaning of Allah's statement,

سَبَّحَ لِلَّهِ مَا فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَمَا فِى الاٌّرْضِ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ

(Whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth glorifies Allah. And He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.) Therefore, we do not need to repeat its meaning here. Allah's statement,

يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لاَ تَفْعَلُونَ

(O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do) This refutes those who neglect to fulfill their promises. This honorable Ayah supports the view that several scholars of the Salaf held, that it is necessary to fulfill the promise, regardless of whether the promise includes some type of wealth for the person receiving the promise or otherwise. They also argue from the Sunnah, with the Hadith recorded in the Two Sahihs in which Allah's Messenger ﷺ said,

«آيَةُ الْمُنَافِقِ ثَلَاثٌ: إِذَا وَعَدَ أَخْلَفَ، وَإِذَا حَدَّثَ كَذَبَ، وَإِذَا اؤْتُمِنَ خَان»

(There are three signs for a hypocrite: when he promises, he breaks his promise; when speaks, he lies; and when he is entrusted, he betrays.) And in another Hadith in the Sahih,

«أَرْبَعٌ مَنْ كُنَّ فِيهِ كَانَ مُنَافِقًا خَالِصًا،وَمَنْ كَانَتْ فِيهِ وَاحِدَةٌ مِنْهُنَّ كَانَتْ فِيهِ خَصْلَةٌ مِنْ نِفَاقٍ حَتْى يَدَعَهَا»

(There are four characteristics which if one has all of them, he is the pure hypocrite, and if anyone has any of them, he has a characteristic of hypocrisy, until he abandons it.) So he mentioned breaking the promise among these four characteristics. We mentioned the meaning of these two Hadiths in the beginning of the explanation of Sahih Al-Bukhari, and to Allah is the praise and the thanks. Therefore Allah implied this meaning, when He continued His admonishment by saying,

كَبُرَ مَقْتاً عِندَ اللَّهِ أَن تَقُولُواْ مَا لاَ تَفْعَلُونَ

(Most hateful it is with Allah that you say that which you do not do.) Imam Ahmad and Abu Dawud recorded that `Abdullah bin `Amir bin Rabi`ah said, "Allah's Messenger ﷺ came to us while I was a young boy, and I went out to play. My mother said, `O `Abdullah! Come, I want to give you something.' Allah's Messenger ﷺ said to her,

«وَمَا أَرَدْتِ أَنْ تُعْطِيَهُ؟»

(What did you want to give him) She said, `Dates.' He said,

«أَمَا إِنَّكِ لَوْ لَمْ تَفْعَلِي كُتِبَتْ عَلَيْكِ كَذْبَة»

(If you had not given them to him, it would have been written as a lie in your record.)" Muqatil bin Hayyan said, "The faithful believers said, `If we only knew the dearest good actions to Allah, we would perform them.' Thus, Allah told them about the dearest actions to Him,saying,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الَّذِينَ يُقَـتِلُونَ فِى سَبِيلِهِ صَفّاً

(Verily, Allah loves those who fight in His cause in rows) Allah stated what He likes, and they were tested on the day of Uhud. However, they retreated and fled, leaving the Prophet behind. It was about their case that Allah revealed this Ayah:

يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لاَ تَفْعَلُونَ

(O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do) Allah says here, `The dearest of you to Me, is he who fights in My cause."' Some said that it was revealed about the gravity of fighting in battle, when one says that he fought and endured the battle, even though he did not do so. Qatadah and Ad-Dahhak said that this Ayah was sent down to admonish some people who used to say that they killed, fought, stabbed, and did such and such during battle, even though they did not do any of it. Sa`id bin Jubayr said about Allah's statement,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الَّذِينَ يُقَـتِلُونَ فِى سَبِيلِهِ صَفّاً

(Verily, Allah loves those who fight in His cause in rows (ranks)) "Before Allah's Messenger ﷺ began the battle against the enemy, he liked to line up his forces in rows; in this Surah, Allah teaches the believers to do the same." He also said that Allah's statement,

كَأَنَّهُم بُنْيَـنٌ مَّرْصُوصٌ

(as if they were a solid structure.) means, its parts are firmly connected to each other; in rows for battle. Muqatil bin Hayyan said, "Firmly connected to each other." Ibn `Abbas commented on the meaning of the Ayah,

كَأَنَّهُم بُنْيَـنٌ مَّرْصُوصٌ

(as if they were a solid structure.) by saying, "They are like a firm structure that does not move, because its parts are cemented to each other."

إِنَّ اللَّـهَ يُحِبُّ الَّذِينَ يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِهِ صَفًّا كَأَنَّهُم بُنْيَانٌ مَّرْ‌صُوصٌ (Surely Allah loves those who fight in His way in firm rows, as if they were a solid edifice...61:4) The main subject of this Surah for which it was revealed is to mention the dearest action in the sight of Allah. This verse states that it is jihad in Allah's way, and that the best row of battle in the sight of Allah is the one firmly established against Allah's enemies to make Allah's word prevail, and which, on account of the valor and unshaken determination of Mujahidin, looks like a strong structure cemented with molten lead.

This is followed by a description of the Jihads which Prophets Musa and ` Isa (علیہما السلام) fought in Allah's Cause, and how they suffered at the hands of the enemies. After this description, the Muslims are directed to undertake jihad. The stories of Prophets Musa and ` Isa (علیہما السلام) have many academic and practical lessons and guidance to offer. For instance, it is described in the story of ` Isa (علیہ السلام) that when he invited the Children of Israel to accept his prophethood and obey him, he mentioned two things in particular. First, he said that he was not a unique Prophet who came with unique teachings. In fact, his teachings were the same as those of the previous prophets. They are mentioned in the earlier celestial scriptures, and the same teachings will be imparted later by the Final Messenger of Allah ﷺ . From among the earlier Scriptures, Torah is specially mentioned in this context, probably because that was the latest Scripture that was revealed to the Children of Israel. Otherwise belief in the Prophets embraces all the previous Scriptures of Allah. This also points out that the Shari’ ah of ` Isa (علیہ السلام) was, though an independent Shari’ ah, its most rules conformed to the sacred laws of Musa (علیہ السلام) and the Torah. Only a few laws had been changed. This theme covered the subject of belief in the previous Prophets and their Books.

The second thing ` Isa (علیہ السلام) mentioned in particular was the good news of the advent of the Final Messenger ﷺ . This too points out that his teachings will also be the same as those of the previous Prophets (علیہم السلام) ، and therefore it is the demand of reason and honesty to believe in him.

Prophet ` Isa (علیہ السلام) foretold the Children of Israel that a Final Messenger ﷺ will come after him by the name of Ahmad. When he appears, it would be obligatory for them to embrace faith in him and obey him مُبَشِّرً‌ا بِرَ‌سُولٍ يَأْتِي مِن بَعْدِي اسْمُهُ أَحْمَدُ (…and giving you the good news of a messenger who will come after me, whose name is Ahmad."...6) The name of the Final Messenger ﷺ is given here as Ahmad. The name of the Final Messenger ﷺ was Muhammad and Ahmad. He had some other names as well. However, the name given in Injil is Ahmad rather than Muhammad, perhaps because Muhammad was a common name in Arabia since time immemorial. There was a possibility that the people might take the reference to some other person, rather than the Final Messenger of Allah ﷺ . The name Ahmad, on the other hand, was an uncommon name in Arabia, and was exclusive to the Final Messenger of Allah ﷺ .

Prophecy of The Final Messenger of Allah ﷺ in Injil

It is a known fact that the previously revealed Divine scriptures have been changed and distorted. The Jews and the Christians themselves had to admit that Torah and Injil have been subjected to changes and distortion. As a matter of fact, the distortions made in these scriptures are so drastic that it is hardly possible to make out the original texts of the scriptures. Based on the distorted version of Injil, the Christians today challenge the correctness of the Qur'anic version of the prophecy, asserting that no prophecy in the name of Ahmad is found in the Injil. An elaborate response to Christian challenge has been prepared by Maulana Rahmatullah Kairanwi (رح) . The name of his book is Izhar-ul -Haqq. He has thoroughly analyzed Christianity and changes made in the Bible. He concludes that despite drastic changes in the present Biblical version the prophecy about the Prophet Ahmad ﷺ is still available.

This book was originally written in Arabic, later its translations appeared in Turkish and English. Christian missionaries attempted their utmost to destroy it. Its Urdu translation was not available until recently. A little while back, Maulana Akbar ` Ali, a lecturer at Darul Uloom Karachi, translated it into Urdu, with in-depth research into current versions of the Bible by Maulana Muhammad Taqi, lecturer at Darul Uloom, and published in three volumes. Volume [ 3] from pages 182 to 362 elaborates on the prophecies pertaining to the Holy Prophet ﷺ with reference to the currently published Bibles, and rebuts their doubts and allays their suspicions.

In the universe, with the exception of the conduct of human beings, there is no inconsistency anywhere. In this world wood is always wood and anything which has the appearance of being iron or stone will be iron or stone in actual experience. Man should also be like this. There should be consistency in a man’s sayings and doings, even if he is required to pay the price of facing all sorts of difficulties and has to become exceptionally patient.