Tafsir of Surah Al-A'raf - Verse 199

Showing Forgiveness

`Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam commented on Allah's statement,

خُذِ الْعَفْوَ

(Show forgiveness) "Allah commanded Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to show forgiveness and turn away from the idolators for ten years. Afterwards Allah ordered him to be harsh with them." And more than one narration from Mujahid says, "From the bad behavior and actions of the people, of those who have not committed espionage." And Hashim bin `Urwah said that his father said, "Allah ordered Allah's Messenger ﷺ to pardon the people for their behavior." And in one narration, "pardon what I have allowed you of their behavior. In Sahih Al-Bukhari it is recorded that Hisham reported from his father `Urwah from his brother `Abdullah bin Az-Zubayr who said; "The Ayah;

خُذِ الْعَفْوَ

(Show forgiveness) was only revealed about the peoples bad character." There is a narration from Mughirah from Hisham from his father from Ibn `Umar; and another from Hisham from his father from `A'ishah, both of whom said similarly. And Allah knows best. Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Yunus said that Sufyan bin `Uyaynah narrated that Umay said, "When Allah, the Exalted and Most Honored, revealed this Ayah,

خُذِ الْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِض عَنِ الْجَـهِلِينَ

(Show forgiveness, enjoin Al-`Urf (what is good), and turn away from the foolish) to His Prophet, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked,

«مَا هَذَا يَا جِبْرِيل»

(`What does it mean, O Jibril) Jibril said, `Allah commands you to forgive those who wronged you, give to those who deprived you, and keep relations with those who cut theirs with you."' Al-Bukhari said, "Allah said,

خُذِ الْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِض عَنِ الْجَـهِلِينَ

(Show forgiveness, enjoin Al-`Urf and turn away from the ignorant). `Al-`Urf', means, righteousness." Al-Bukhari next recorded from Ibn `Abbas that he said, "`Uyaynah bin Hisn bin Hudhayfah stayed with his nephew Al-Hur bin Qays, who was among the people whom `Umar used to have near him, for `Umar used to like to have the reciters of the Qur'an (who memorized it) near him and would listen to their opinion, regardless of whether they were old or young men. `Uyaynah said to his nephew, `O my nephew! You are close to this chief (`Umar), so ask for permission for me to see him.' Al-Hur said `I will ask him for you,' and he asked `Umar for permission for `Uyaynah to meet him, and `Umar gave him permission. When `Uyaynah entered on `Umar, he said, `O Ibn Al-Khattab! You neither give to us sufficiently nor rule with justice between us.' `Umar became so angry that he almost punished `Uyaynah. However, Al-Hur said, `O Chief of he Faithful! Allah, the Exalted, said to His Prophet ,

خُذِ الْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِض عَنِ الْجَـهِلِينَ

(Show forgiveness, enjoin Al-`Urf, and turn away from the foolish) Verily this man (`Uyaynah) is one of the fools!' By Allah, `Umar did not do anything after he heard that Ayah being recited, and indeed, he was one who adhered to the Book of Allah, the Exalted and Most Honored." Al-Bukhari recorded this Hadith. Some scholars said that people are of two kinds, a good-doer, so accept his good doing and neither ask him more than he can bear nor what causes him hardship. The other kind is the one who falls in shortcomings, so enjoin righteousness on him. If he still insists on evil, becomes difficult and continues in his ignorance, then turn away from him, so that your ignoring him might avert his evilness. Allah said in other instances,

ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِى هِىَ أَحْسَنُ السَّيِّئَةَ نَحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَصِفُونَ - وَقُلْ رَّبِّ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ هَمَزَاتِ الشَّيـطِينِ - وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ رَبِّ أَن يَحْضُرُونِ

(Repel evil with that which is better. We are best-acquainted with the things they utter. And say: "My Lord! I seek refuge with You from the whisperings (suggestions) of the Shayatin (devils). And I seek refuge with You, My Lord! lest they should come near me.")23:96-98 and,

وَلاَ تَسْتَوِى الْحَسَنَةُ وَلاَ السَّيِّئَةُ ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِى هِىَ أَحْسَنُ فَإِذَا الَّذِى بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِىٌّ حَمِيمٌ - وَمَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلاَّ الَّذِينَ صَبَرُواْ وَمَا يُلَقَّاهَآ إِلاَّ ذُو حَظِّ عَظِيمٍ

(The good deed and the evil deed cannot be equal. Repel (the evil) with one which is better, then verily he, between whom and you there was enmity, (will become) as though he was a close friend. But none is granted it (the above quality) except those who are patient -- and none is granted it except the owner of the great portion in this world.) 41:34-35 in reference to the advice contained in these Ayat,

وَإِمَّا يَنزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ الشَّيْطَـنِ نَزْغٌ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ

(And if an evil whisper from Shaytan tries to turn you away (from doing good), then seek refuge in Allah. Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower) 41:36. Allah said in this honorable Suah,

وَإِمَّا يَنَزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ الشَّيْطَـنِ نَزْغٌ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ إِنَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

(And if an evil whisper comes to you from Shaytan, then seek refuge with Allah. Verily, He is All-Hearer, All-Knower.) 7:200 These three instances in the Qur'an, in Surahs Al-A`raf, Al-Mu'minun and As-Sajdah, are uinque in the Qur'an. Allah encourages lenient treatment of evil doers, for this might deter them from persistence in their evil, Allah willing,

فَإِذَا الَّذِى بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِىٌّ حَمِيمٌ

(then verily he, between whom and you there was enmity, (will become) as though he was a close friend) 41:34. Allah also encourages seeking refuge with Him from the devils of the Jinns. The devil will not be deterred if one is lenient with him, because he seeks your destruction and total demise. The devil to you, O mankind, is an open enemy, just as he was for your father before you. Ibn Jarir said, while explaining Allah's statement,

وَإِمَّا يَنَزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ الشَّيْطَـنِ نَزْغٌ

(And if an evil whisper comes to you from Shaytan), "If the devil lures you to get angry, thus directing you away from forgiving the ignorant and towards punishing him

فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ

(then seek refuge with Allah.) Allah commands here to seek refuge with Him from the devil's whispers,

إِنَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

(Verily, He is All-Hearer, All-Knower.) Allah hears the ignorance that the fools subject you to, your seeking refuge with Him from the devil's whispers, and the rest of the speech of His creation; none of it escapes His knowledge. He knows what drives the lures of the devil away from you, as well as, the rest of what His creatures do." We mentioned the Hadiths concerning Isti`adhah (seeking refuge with Allah) in the beginning of this Tafsir, so we do not need to repeat them here.

The Ideal Manifesto of Qur'anic Ethics

The above verse provides us with a perfect code and model discipline of moral excellences. It was through this discipline that the Holy Prophet ﷺ was trained and then was conferred with the title of صاحِب خُلق عظیم (The manifestation of all moral excellences) which is unique to him out of the whole mankind. After giving a description of obstinate ignorance, and immoral behaviour of the adversaries of Islam in the foregoing verses, the Holy Qur'an, in contrast to the above, provides the Holy Prophet ﷺ with some moral teachings. The first is خُذِ الْعَفْوَ (Take to forbearance). The Arabic word عَفْوَ has many significations. Each of them can be taken to mean here. This is why the experts in the exegesis of the Qur'an have presented varied comments on this verse. The most agreed interpretation of this word is that it is an act which can be done with ease or without any difficulty. The first sentence therefore, shall mean "Accept what people can do easily," implying that, in the matter of Islamic obligations, the Holy Prophet ﷺ should not demand high standard of deeds from the people. Rather, he should accept the degree of perfection which can be achieved easily by the people.

To make it more clear, let us take the example of Salah (the prayer) which in true sense means to isolate oneself from all the worldly thoughts and actions and stand before his Lord in perfect veneration. He is supposed to present his praise to his Lord directly as though he is addressing his Lord and making his supplications to Him directly with nothing and no one between him and His Lord.

This state of mind shows itself in a worshipper by some expressive signs like خُشُوع و خُضُوع (submission and humbleness), which are achieved only by a few fortunate worshippers. This degree of veneration and love cannot be expected from all the worshippers. This verse has therefore, asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ not to demand the high standard of performance from the people, and to accept what degree of perfection they can achieve easily in their deeds.

The above interpretation has been reported in Sahih al-Bukhari on the authority of Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Zubair ؓ . Another report cited by Ibn Kathir, has said that the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، at the time of the revelation of this verse, said, "I have been commanded (by Allah) to accept common or unexceptional obedience from the people in their worships and behaviour. I have, therefore, decided to do the same as long as I am in their company." A large number of the exegetes of the Holy Qur'an like Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Umar, ` Abdullah ibn Zubair, Sayyidah ` A'ishah رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہم and the scholar Mujahid have confirmed the same meaning of this Qur'anic phrase.

Another meaning of the word is to pardon or to forgive. Some of the exegetes have adopted this meaning here. According to them this Qur'anic phrase has asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ to pardon the errors and shortcomings of the people.

Imam Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, the great exegete of the Holy Qur'an has reported that at the time of revelation of this verse the Holy Prophet ﷺ asked the Archangel Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) about the implication of this verse. The Archangel after confirming the meaning from Allah answered that you have been commanded to pardon the one who does you wrong, and to be generous to the one who gives you nothing, and to continue your relation with one who breaks off his connections with you.

Under the comment on this verse Ibn Marduwaih has reported, on the authority of Sayyidna Sa'ad ibn ` Ubadah ؓ ، that this verse was revealed when, in the battle of Uhud, Sayyidna Hamzah ؓ was martyred and parts of his body were savagely cut off. The Holy Prophet ﷺ ، seeing his body in such miserable condition, said, "I shall behave to seventy of their people the way they have behaved with Hamzah." This verse was revealed to him implying that it does not suit his dignified position. He should pardon and forgive people.

This is supported by another Hadith reported by Imam Ahmad (رح) on the authority of 'Uqbah ibn ` Amir ؓ saying that the Holy Prophet ﷺ had instructed him of the same. That is, to pardon the one who does wrong to him, to keep relation with one who cuts off his relation with him and to give the one who deprives him. Bayhaqi also has reported from Sayyidna ` Ali ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said to him. 'I teach you the manners better than the manners of all the early and the later people, that you should give the one who deprives you, pardon the one who does wrong to you and continue your relation with one who breaks off with you.

The above two meanings of the word عفو hough, are different from each other but the purest essence of both is one and the same, that is, he should not demand the high standard of worship and deeds from the people and pardon them for their errors, and should not take revenge of their wrongs, and be generous to them with no regard to receiving any return from them.

The authentic records of the life of the Holy Prophet ﷺ have shown that he demonstrated the truest picture of the above Qur'anic model of deeds and morals. This model appeared in full bloom when Makkah was conquered and his sworn enemies were at his mercy. At that time, he set all of them free saying that 'far from any thoughts of seeking any revenge against them for their injustices, he would not even blame them in any way for what had happened between them in the past.'

The second sentence of this manifesto or testament reads: وَأْمُرْ‌ بِالْعُرْ‌فِ (and bid the Fair - 199). The word: 4 (` عُرْ‌فِ ) meaning 'recognized' refers to everything done in a way which is good and praiseworthy. The sense is that he should not seek to avenge the oppressive treatment meted out to him by his enemies, rather, he should forgive them but, along with it, he should also continue to ask them to do what was good and beneficial. Thus, he would not only be repaying evil with good and injustice with justice alone, in fact, he would be repaying them for all that by a higher degree of favor and grace - that of Ihsan.

In the third sentence, it was said: وَأَعْرِ‌ضْ عَنِ الْجَاهِلِي (and ignore the ignorant). It means that he should, no doubt, forgo revenge against injustice, deal with his enemies having goodwill and concern for them, and softly explain the truth of the matter to them. But, in this process, there will be those ignorant diehards who would not still be impressed or affected by this highly gentle moral response. They would, in spite of that, display more of their ignorance and harshness. If so, he was advised not to be affected by their heart-rending comments and rustic challenges, offer no response in their terms, instead, stay away from and ignore them.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir has said that 'to ignore' also means that he should not repay evil with evil. It does not mean that he should stop giving good advice to them, for this would not be befitting in terms of the standing mission a prophet and messenger of Allah is charged with.

At this stage, according to an event reported in the Sahih of al-Bukhari from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ ، it was during the period of the Khilafah of Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ that ` Uyaiynah ibn Hisn came to Madinah and stayed there as a guest of his nephew, Hurr ibn Qays. Sayyidna Hurr ؓ was among the learned men of Madinah who used to attend the advisory council of Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ . ` Uyaiynah said to his nephew, Hurr ibn Qays, you are close to the Amir al-Mu'minin. Take an appointment for me to see him.' Sayyidna Hurr ibn Qays requested Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ that his uncle, ` Uyaiynah wanted to meet him. He gave the permission.

But, once ` Uyaiynah was in the company of Sayyidna ` Umar al-Faruq ؓ ، he spoke to him in a manner that was uncivilized and contrary to facts while complaining that he neither gave them their full rights nor treated them with justice and equity. Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ was angry. Thereupon, Sayyidna Hurr ibn Qays submitted, 'ya Amir al-Mu'minin, Allah Ta` ala has said: خُذِ الْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ‌ بِالْعُرْ‌فِ وَأَعْرِ‌ضْ عَنِ الْجَاهِلِينَ (Take to forbearance, and bid the Fair and ignore the ignorant - 199) and this person too is one of the ignorant ones.' Hearing this verse, his anger subsided and he said nothing to him. This habit of Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ was well known. About him it was said: کَانَ وَ قَّافاً عندَ کِتابِ اللہِ عَسَّوَجَلَّ (He readily mellowed before the commandments of the Book of Allah, the Mighty, the Exalted).

This verse carries a comprehensive statement of noble traits of character. Some scholars have explained these briefly by saying that there are two kinds of people: (1) Those who are good in deeds and (2) those who are evil and unjust. This verse tells us to treat both kinds nobly. As for those who do good, accept what they offer as such. Do not investigate too much and do not be unnecessarily inquisitive. Do not demand good at its highest from them and accept what they come up with as sufficient. As for the evildoing, the instruction given is: Teach them to do what is good. Show them the way of righteousness. If they do not accept it and choose to stick to their straying and error and talk haughtily and aggressively, the appropriate course is to stay away from them and avoid responding to their ignorant comments. It is hoped that this approach may bring them round at some stage when they may realize their error.

Calling people to monotheism, the Hereafter, a virtuous life and justice is to call people to good (‘urf). That is, it is calling people to those good deeds, the goodness of which can be verified by reason. But people have found leading an upright life most difficult. The desire for immediate gain makes them opt for worldly gain. Very often they exploit religion to achieve their worldly interests. In such a state of affairs when the call for pure Truth is given to them, they are afraid that their interests will be affected so they oppose it with all their might. What should a preacher (da‘i) do in such a situation? The only right response from him on such occasions, is avoidance. That is, he should continue spreading the message without stirring up any clash or confrontation. If he fails to do so, ‘dawah’ will be turned into debate. His time and energies will be wasted in debating with his addressees. That is why, in order to preserve the purity of the call, it is essential that the da‘i exercise patience in all unpleasant situations and continue his work along positive lines. However, in this present world, no one is exempt from the attacks of self and Satan. What saves him on all such occasions is the fear of God. Fear of God makes one extremely sensitive. It is this sensitivity which is man’s greatest shield in this world of trial. Whenever any evil thought comes to his mind, or he is afflicted by a negative psychology, it is his sensitivity which immediately alerts him against it. Instantly his eyes are opened and he seeks God’s forgiveness and resolves never to commit such perverse acts again. On the contrary, those whose hearts are free from the fear of God are never on guard against Satan’s attacks. Satan leads them on and on to the pit of destruction without their ever being conscious of it. Sensitivity is man’s greatest shield. While insensitivity renders one defenceless against Satan’s attacks.