Women — Verse 28
4:28 · an-Nisa`
Verse display
یُرِیدُ ٱللَّهُ أَن یُخَفِّفَ عَنكُمۡۚ وَخُلِقَ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنُ ضَعِیفࣰا ٢٨
yurīdu l-lahu an yukhaffifa ʿankum wakhuliqa l-insānu ḍaʿīfa
Women / an-Nisa` (4:28)
Connections 5 multi-source 3 commentators
Multi-source connections cited by 2+ commentators
By commentator who cites how many verses on this ayah
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Al-Qushairi Tafsir 5 verses 10 mentions total
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Kashani Tafsir 5 verses 10 mentions total
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Kashf Al-Asrar Tafsir 5 verses
Note: these connections are extracted from numeric S:A references inside the commentary text and are therefore biased toward mufassirun who use that notation. Prose-style references (e.g. "Surat al-Baqarah verse 30") will be added later, which should surface additional multi-source consensus.
God wishes to lighten your burden; man was created weak
yurīdu l-lahu an yukhaffifa ʿankum wakhuliqa l-insānu ḍaʿīfa
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Tafsir Commentary
وَيَهْدِيَكُمْ سُنَنَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ
(And to show you the ways of those before you,) meaning their righteous ways and how to adhere to the commandments that He likes and is pleased with.
وَيَتُوبَ عَلَيْكُمْ
(and accept your repentance) from sin and error,
وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ
(and Allah is All-Knower, All-Wise.) in His commands, decrees, actions and statements. Allah's statement,
وَيُرِيدُ الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الشَّهَوَتِ أَن تَمِيلُواْ مَيْلاً عَظِيماً
(but those who follow their lusts, wish that you (believers) should deviate tremendously away from the right path)) indicates that the followers of Shaytan among the Jews, Christians and the adulterous, wish that you would take the horrendous path of falsehood instead of the truth.
يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ أَن يُخَفِّفَ عَنْكُمْ
(Allah wishes to lighten (the burden) for you") His legislation, orders, what He prohibits and what He decrees for you. This is why Allah has allowed free men to marry slave girls under certain conditions, as Mujahid and others have stated.
وَخُلِقَ الإِنسَـنُ ضَعِيفاً
(and man was created weak.) and this is why it is suitable in his case that the commands are made easy for him, because of his weakness and feebleness. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Tawus said that,
وَخُلِقَ الإِنسَـنُ ضَعِيفاً
(and man was created weak), "Concerning women". Waki` said, "Man's mind leaves when women are involved."
God desires to lighten things for you and make the rulings of the Law easier for you; for man was created weak unable to abstain from women and passions.
And man was created weak. Wherever the name “man” comes in the Qur'an, a displeasing attribute is linked to it. Thus He said, “Surely man is a great wrongdoer, ungrateful” [14:34]. “Surely man was created anxious” [70:19]. “Surely man is rebellious” [96:6]. “Surely man is ungrateful to his Lord” [100:6]. “Sure- ly man is in loss” [103:2]. This is because man comes from dust, and dust is the basis of density and the root of opacity. The servant's hope is that on the day He created, He saw the faults, and then He bought along with the faults. You bought me with my faults on the first day! The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O Lord, you called me ignorant. What comes from the ignorant other than disloyalty? You called me weak. What comes from the weak other than error? O Lord, take our inability to overcome ourselves as stemming from that weakness. Take our boldness and inso- lence as stemming from that ignorance. O Lord, You lifted us up and no one said, 'Lift up!' Now that You have lifted up, don't put down! Keep us in the shadow of Your bounty!” If You water, You Yourself planted. If you flatten the foundation, You Yourself raised it. I the servant am just what You fancied. Don't throw me down-You lifted me up.
And man was created weak. Wherever the name “man” comes in the Qur'an, a displeasing attribute is linked to it. Thus He said, “Surely man is a great wrongdoer, ungrateful” [14:34]. “Surely man was created anxious” [70:19]. “Surely man is rebellious” [96:6]. “Surely man is ungrateful to his Lord” [100:6]. “Sure- ly man is in loss” [103:2]. This is because man comes from dust, and dust is the basis of density and the root of opacity. The servant's hope is that on the day He created, He saw the faults, and then He bought along with the faults. You bought me with my faults on the first day! The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O Lord, you called me ignorant. What comes from the ignorant other than disloyalty? You called me weak. What comes from the weak other than error? O Lord, take our inability to overcome ourselves as stemming from that weakness. Take our boldness and inso- lence as stemming from that ignorance. O Lord, You lifted us up and no one said, 'Lift up!' Now that You have lifted up, don't put down! Keep us in the shadow of Your bounty!” If You water, You Yourself planted. If you flatten the foundation, You Yourself raised it. I the servant am just what You fancied. Don't throw me down-You lifted me up.
And man was created weak. Wherever the name “man” comes in the Qur'an, a displeasing attribute is linked to it. Thus He said, “Surely man is a great wrongdoer, ungrateful” [14:34]. “Surely man was created anxious” [70:19]. “Surely man is rebellious” [96:6]. “Surely man is ungrateful to his Lord” [100:6]. “Sure- ly man is in loss” [103:2]. This is because man comes from dust, and dust is the basis of density and the root of opacity. The servant's hope is that on the day He created, He saw the faults, and then He bought along with the faults. You bought me with my faults on the first day! The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O Lord, you called me ignorant. What comes from the ignorant other than disloyalty? You called me weak. What comes from the weak other than error? O Lord, take our inability to overcome ourselves as stemming from that weakness. Take our boldness and inso- lence as stemming from that ignorance. O Lord, You lifted us up and no one said, 'Lift up!' Now that You have lifted up, don't put down! Keep us in the shadow of Your bounty!” If You water, You Yourself planted. If you flatten the foundation, You Yourself raised it. I the servant am just what You fancied. Don't throw me down-You lifted me up.
And man was created weak. Wherever the name “man” comes in the Qur'an, a displeasing attribute is linked to it. Thus He said, “Surely man is a great wrongdoer, ungrateful” [14:34]. “Surely man was created anxious” [70:19]. “Surely man is rebellious” [96:6]. “Surely man is ungrateful to his Lord” [100:6]. “Sure- ly man is in loss” [103:2]. This is because man comes from dust, and dust is the basis of density and the root of opacity. The servant's hope is that on the day He created, He saw the faults, and then He bought along with the faults. You bought me with my faults on the first day! The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O Lord, you called me ignorant. What comes from the ignorant other than disloyalty? You called me weak. What comes from the weak other than error? O Lord, take our inability to overcome ourselves as stemming from that weakness. Take our boldness and inso- lence as stemming from that ignorance. O Lord, You lifted us up and no one said, 'Lift up!' Now that You have lifted up, don't put down! Keep us in the shadow of Your bounty!” If You water, You Yourself planted. If you flatten the foundation, You Yourself raised it. I the servant am just what You fancied. Don't throw me down-You lifted me up.
And man was created weak.Wherever the name �man� comes in the Qur'an, a displeasing attribute is linked to it. Thus He said, �Surely man is a great wrongdoer, ungrateful� [14:34]. �Surely man was created anxious� [70:19]. �Surely man is rebellious� [96:6]. �Surely man is ungrateful to his Lord� [100:6]. �Sure- ly man is in loss� [103:2]. This is because man comes from dust, and dust is the basis of density and the root of opacity. The servant's hope is that on the day He created, He saw the faults, and then He bought along with the faults.You bought me with my faults on the first day!The Pir of the Tariqah said, �O Lord, you called me ignorant. What comes from the ignorant other than disloyalty? You called me weak. What comes from the weak other than error? O Lord, take our inability to overcome ourselves as stemming from that weakness. Take our boldness and inso- lence as stemming from that ignorance. O Lord, You lifted us up and no one said, 'Lift up!' Now that You have lifted up, don't put down! Keep us in the shadow of Your bounty!�If You water, You Yourself planted.If you flatten the foundation, You Yourself raised it.I the servant am just what You fancied.Don't throw me down-You lifted me up.
يريد الله تعالى بما شرعه لكم التيسير، وعدم التشديد عليكم؛ لأنكم خلقتم ضعفاء.
"يريد الله أن يخفف عنكم" أي في شرائعه وأوامره ونواهيه وما يقدره لكم ولهذا أباح الإماء بشروط كما قال مجاهد وغيره "وخلق الإنسان ضعيفا" فناسبه التخفيف لضعفه في نفسه وضعف عزمه وهمته قال ابن أبي حاتم حدثنا محمد بن إسماعيل الأحمسي حدثنا وكيع عن سفيان عن ابن طاوس عن أبيه "وخلق الإنسان ضعيفا" أي في أمر النساء وقال وكيع يذهب عقله عندهن وقال موسى الكليم عليه السلام لنبينا محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم ليلة الإسراء حين مر عليه راجعا من عند سدرة المنتهى فقال له: ماذا فرض عليكم فقال: أمرني بخمسين صلاة في كل يوم وليلة فقال له ارجع إلى ربك فاسأله التخفيف فإن أمتك لا تطيق ذلك فإني قد بلوت الناس قبلك على ما هو أقل من ذلك فعجزوا وإن أمتك أضعف أسماعا وأبصارا وقلوبا فرجع فوضع عشرا ثم رجع إلى موسى فلم يزل كذلك حتى بقيت خمسا الحديث.
ثم بين - سبحانه - لونا آخر من ألوان رحمته ورأفته بعباده فقال : ( يُرِيدُ الله أَن يُخَفِّفَ عَنْكُمْ وَخُلِقَ الإنسان ضَعِيفاً ) .أى : يريد الله بما شرعه لكم من أحكام ، وبما كلفكم به من تكاليف هى فى قدرتكم واستطاعتكم أن يخفف عنكم فى شرائعه وأوامره ونواهيه ، لكى تزدادوا له فى الطاعة والاستجابة والشكر .( وَخُلِقَ الإنسان ضَعِيفاً ) أى لا يصبر على مشاق الطاعات ، فكان من رحمة الله - تعالى - به أن خفف عنه فى التكاليف .وهذا السير والتخفيف فى التكاليف من أبرز مميزات الشريعة الإِسلامية ، وقد بين القرآن الكريم ذلك فى كثير من آياته ، ومن ذلك قوله - تعالى - : ( يُرِيدُ الله بِكُمُ اليسر وَلاَ يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ العسر ) وقوله - تعالى - ( وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدين مِنْ حَرَجٍ ) وقوله - تعالى -( وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَسَأَكْتُبُهَا لِلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزكاة والذين هُم بِآيَاتِنَا يُؤْمِنُونَ الذين يَتَّبِعُونَ الرسول النبي الأمي الذي يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوباً عِندَهُمْ فِي التوراة والإنجيل يَأْمُرُهُم بالمعروف وَيَنْهَاهُمْ عَنِ المنكر وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطيبات وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الخبآئث وَيَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ إِصْرَهُمْ والأغلال التي كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ ) ولقد كان من هدى النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم التخفيف والتيسير ، ففى الحديث الشريف : " إن هذا الدين يسر ولن يشاد الدين أحد إلا غلبه " .وكان من وصاياه لمعاذ بن جبل وأبى موسى الأشعرى عندما أرسلهما إلى اليمن " يسرا ولا تعسرا وبشرا ولا تنفرا " .وبذلك نرى أن هذه الآيات الكريمة قد بينت لنا الوانا من مظاهر فضل الله على عباده ورحمته بهم ، لكى يزدادوا له شكرا وطاعة وخضوعا .
القول في تأويل قوله : يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ أَنْ يُخَفِّفَ عَنْكُمْ وَخُلِقَ الإِنْسَانُ ضَعِيفًا (28)قال أبو جعفر: يعني جل ثناؤه بقوله: " يريد الله أن يخفف عنكم "، يريد الله أن يُيسر عليكم، (2) بإذنه لكم في نكاح الفتيات المؤمنات إذا لم تستطيعوا طولا لحرة =" وخلق الإنسان ضعيفًا "، يقول: يسَّر ذلك عليكم إذا كنتم غيرَ مستطيعي الطوْل للحرائر، لأنكم خُلِقتم ضعفاء عجزةً عن ترك جماع النساء، قليلي الصبر عنه، فأذن لكم في نكاح فتياتكم المؤمنات عند خوفكم العَنَت على أنفسكم، ولم تجدُوا طولا لحرة، لئلا تزنوا، لقلّة صبركم على ترك جماع النساء.* * *وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل.*ذكر من قال ذلك:9135 - حدثني محمد بن عمرو قال، حدثنا أبو عاصم، عن عيسى، عن ابن أبي نجيح، عن مجاهد: " يريد الله أن يخفف عنكم " في نكاح الأمة، وفي كل شيء فيه يُسر.9136 - حدثنا محمد بن بشار قال، حدثنا أبو أحمد الزبيري قال، حدثنا &; 8-216 &; سفيان، عن ابن طاوس، عن أبيه: " وخلق الإنسان ضعيفًا "، قال: في أمر الجماع.9137 - حدثنا ابن بشار قال، حدثنا أبو عاصم قال، حدثنا سفيان، عن ابن طاوس، عن أبيه: " وخلق الإنسان ضعيفًا "، قال: في أمر النساء.9138 - حدثنا الحسن بن يحيى قال، أخبرنا عبد الرزاق قال، أخبرنا معمر، عن ابن طاوس، عن أبيه: " وخلق الإنسان ضعيفًا "، قال: في أمور النساء. ليس يكون الإنسان في شيء أضعفَ منه في النساء.9139 - حدثني يونس قال، أخبرنا ابن وهب قال، قال ابن زيد في قوله: " يريد الله أن يخفف عنكم "، قال: رخّص لكم في نكاح هؤلاء الإماء، حين اضطُرّوا إليهن =" وخلق الإنسان ضعيفًا "، قال: لو لم يرخِّص له فيها، لم يكن إلا الأمرُ الأول، إذا لم يجد حرّة.---------------------الهوامش:(2) انظر تفسير"التخفيف" فيما سلف 6: 577.
( يريد الله أن يخفف عنكم ) يسهل عليكم في أحكام الشرع ، وقد سهل كما قال جل ذكره : " ويضع عنهم إصرهم " ( الأعراف - 157 ) وقال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم : " بعثت بالحنيفية السمحة السهلة " ، ( وخلق الإنسان ضعيفا ) قال طاوس والكلبي وغيرهما في أمر النساء : لا يصبر عنهن ، وقال ابن كيسان : ( وخلق الإنسان ضعيفا ) يستميله هواه وشهوته ، وقال الحسن : هو أنه خلق من ماء مهين ، بيانه قوله تعالى : " الله الذي خلقكم من ضعف " ( الروم - 54 ) .
أعقب الاعتذار الذي تقدّم بقوله : { يريد الله ليبين لكم ويهديكم سنن الذين من قبلكم } [ النساء : 26 ] بالتذكير بأنّ الله لا يزال مراعياً رفقه بهذه الأمّة وإرادته بها اليسر دون العسر ، إشارة إلى أنّ هذا الدين بيّن حفظ المصالح ودرء المفاسد ، في أيسر كيفية وأرفقها ، فربما ألغت الشريعة بعض المفاسد إذا كان في الحمل على تركها مشقّة أو تعطيل مصلحة ، كما ألغت مفاسد نكاح الإماء نظراً للمشقّة على غير ذي الطول . والآيات الدالّة على هذا المعنى بلغت مبلغ القطع كقوله : { وما جعل عليكم في الدين من حرج } [ الحج : 78 ] وقوله : { يريد الله بكم اليسر ولا يريد بكم العسر } [ البقرة : 185 ] وقوله : { ويضع عنهم إصرهم والأغلال التي كانت عليهم } [ الأعراف : 157 ] ، وفي الحديث الصحيح : " إنّ هذا الدين يسر ولن يشادّ هذا الدين أحد إلاّ غلبه " وكذلك كان يأمر أصحابه الذين يرسلهم إلى بثّ الدين؛ فقال لمعاذ وأبي موسى : «يسِّرّا ولا تُعَسِّرا» وقال : ( إنما بعثتم مبشرين لا منفرين ) . وقال لمعاذ لمّا شكا بعض المصلّين خلفه من تطويله «أفَتَّان أنْتَ» . فكان التيسير من أصول الشريعة الإسلامية ، وعنه تفّرعت الرخص بنوعيها .وقوله : { وخلق الإنسان ضعيفاً } تذييل وتوجيه للتخفيف ، وإظهار لمزية هذا الدين وأنّه أليق الأديان بالناس في كلّ زمان ومَكان ، ولذلك فما مضى من الأديان كان مراعى فيه حال دون حال ، ومن هذا المعنى قوله تعالى : { الآن خفف الله عنكم وعلم أن فيكم ضعفاً } الآية في سورة الأنفال ( 66 ) . وقد فسّر بعضهم الضعف هنا بأنّه الضعف من جهة النساء . قال طاووس ليس يكون الإنسان في شيء أضعف منه في أمر النساء وليس مراده حصر معنى الآية فيه ، ولكنّه ممّا رُوعي في الآية لا محالة ، لأنّ من الأحكام المتقدّمة ما هو ترخيص في النكاح .
{ يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ أَنْ يُخَفِّفَ عَنْكُمْ } أي: بسهولة ما أمركم به و [ما] نهاكم عنه، ثم مع حصول المشقة في بعض الشرائع أباح لكم ما تقتضيه حاجتكم، كالميتة والدم ونحوهما للمضطر، وكتزوج الأمة للحر بتلك الشروط السابقة. وذلك لرحمته التامة وإحسانه الشامل، وعلمه وحكمته بضعف الإنسان من جميع الوجوه، ضعف البنية، وضعف الإرادة، وضعف العزيمة، وضعف الإيمان، وضعف الصبر، فناسب ذلك أن يخفف الله عنه، ما يضعف عنه وما لا يطيقه إيمانه وصبره وقوته.
قوله تعالى : وخلق الإنسان ضعيفا نصب على الحال ؛ والمعنى أن هواه يستميله وشهوته وغضبه يستخفانه ، وهذا أشد الضعف فاحتاج إلى التخفيف . وقال طاوس : ذلك في أمر النساء خاصة . وروي عن ابن عباس أنه قرأ " وخلق الإنسان ضعيفا " أي وخلق الله الإنسان ضعيفا ، أي لا يصبر عن النساء . قال ابن المسيب : لقد أتى علي ثمانون سنة وذهبت إحدى عيني وأنا أعشو بالأخرى وصاحبي أعمى أصم - يعني ذكره - وإني أخاف من فتنة النساء . ونحوه عن عبادة بن الصامت رضي الله عنه ، قال عبادة : ألا تروني لا أقوم إلا رفدا ولا آكل إلا ما لوق لي - قال يحيى : يعني لين وسخن - وقد مات صاحبي منذ زمان - قال يحيى : يعني ذكره - وما يسرني أني خلوت بامرأة لا تحل لي ، وأن لي ما تطلع عليه الشمس مخافة أن يأتيني الشيطان فيحركه علي ، إنه لا سمع له ولا بصر .
There is nothing new about the moral standards laid down in the Quran. In every age God has been proclaiming them through His messengers and believing people in every age have followed them. But since the ancient heavenly books could not remain untampered with, the divine modes of living were consequently lost or obscured. God, however, revealed them again in the Arabic language through His final Messenger. Today, when any group of people follows them, it joins that eternal caravan of righteous humanity which, favoured with the grace of God, adhered steadfastly to the divine path. In every group of people certain traditions become rooted as a matter of centuries-old practice and people become too accustomed to them to think of them critically. When an original thinker tries to bring in social reform, he is bitterly opposed by traditionalists. They find it difficult to leave their familiar ways and adopt unfamiliar ones. They become hostile to any effort at reformation which would distance them from the ways of their forefathers. In such cases the reaction of the religious class is by far the strongest. When the core of a religion becomes weak, it is vitiated by hair-splitting arguments, and a structure of elaborate rules based on form is built up. Devoid of the real spirit, people keep following the old rituals, thinking that they are adhering to the religion of God. This religion of human creation is gradually identified with their forefathers and becomes sacred. Ultimately, the simple and natural religion of God is so heavily veiled that it becomes difficult to recognize it as the original religion. The situation being such, any movement for the revival of the simple and natural religion faces bitter opposition; people find their ritualistic dogma threatened and negated by it. Those whose dogma is based on self-styled faith viciously oppose any effort to revive God’s simple and straightforward religion, because they anticipate that such an effort may lead to the end of their dominance and leadership.
After this, in the first part of verse 28, it was said: يُرِيدُ اللَّـهُ أَن يُخَفِّفَ عَنكُمْ : It means that Allah, great in His majesty, intends to make things easy on you, that is, prescribes injunctions which can be carried out by everyone obligated with them. If one cannot afford marrying free women, permission has been given to marry bond-women. Parties to a marriage were given the right to settle the dower by mutual consent. Also given was the right to marry more than one woman under circumstantial necessity, of course, on condition that justice is not compromised.
At the end, in the second part of verse 28, the text says: وَخُلِقَ الْإِنسَانُ ضَعِيفًا ،(And man has been created weak). It means that man is weak by nature, and constituted desire-prone. If man was asked to stay away from women, totally and absolutely, he would have been a hopeless performer when it came to obeying the injunctions of Allah. It was, in view of his weakness and limitations, that he was not only permitted to marry women, but also that he was induced to do so. It goes without saying that the post-marriage life of a couple offers great benefits of mutual self-realization and most of all they enjoy the blessings of a sight that is untainted and a character that is unalloyed. This mutual purity of the couple increases the moral quality of life for both of them, making them strong, self-reliant and happy. So, marriage is a smart mutual contract to remove any chances of weakness that may afflict men and. women - a peerless method indeed.
(Allah would make the burden light for you) He wishes to make things easy for you by marrying captives in case of necessity, (for man was created weak) in that he cannot do without women.