The Spoils of War — Verse 53

Allah affirms His perfect justice and fairness in His decisions, for He decided that He will not change a bounty that He has granted someone, except on account of an evil that they committed. Allah said in another Ayah, إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ وَإِذَآ أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوءًا فَلاَ مَرَدَّ لَهُ وَمَا لَهُمْ مِّن دُونِهِ مِن وَالٍ (Verily, Allah will not change the (good) condition of a people as long as they do not change their state (of goodness) themselves. But when Allah wills a people's punishment, there can be no turning it back, and they will find besides Him no protector.) 13:11 Allah said next, كَدَأْبِ ءَالِ فِرْعَوْنَ (Similar to the behavior of the people of Fir`awn,) meaning, He punished Fir`awn and his kind, those who denied His Ayat. Allah destroyed them because of their sins, and took away the favors that He granted them, such as gardens, springs, plants, treasures and pleasant dwellings, as well as all of the delights that they enjoyed. Allah did not wrong them, but it is they who wronged themselves.

That chastisement of the disbelievers is because God would never change a grace that He had conferred on a people substituting it with affliction until they have changed that which is in themselves until they have exchanged the grace conferred upon them for unbelief in the way that the Meccan disbelievers exchanged their being ‘fed against hunger’ their being made ‘safe from fear’ cf. Q. 1064 and the sending of the Prophet s to them for unbelief for barring against the way of God and for fighting Muslims; and know that God is Hearing Knowing.

That is because God would never change a grace that He had conferred on a people, to the end [of the verse]: in other words, all that reaches man is [only] that which his preparedness entails and what he requests by the supplications of his state and by the requesting of is deserved [by him]. Thus when He confers upon a person an outward or an inward grace by virute of the soundness of [his] preparedness and the remainder of goodness in him, He does not change it until that [person] corrupts his preparedness and changes his receptivity for righteousness by veiling himself and by the transmutation of the good that is in him in potentiality into evil because of the actualisation of rust [on his heart] and the accumulation of darkness therein, such that there no longer remains in him any correspondence to good nor any possibility for it to issue from him, whereupon He will change that [grace] into a disfavour, as an act of justice and generosity from Him and in response to the demand made for it by that preparedness by virtue of the attraction in terms of genus and correspondence, and not out of any injustice or tyranny [on His part].

That is because God would never change a grace that He had conferred on a people, to the end [of the verse]: in other words, all that reaches man is [only] that which his preparedness entails and what he requests by the supplications of his state and by the requesting of is deserved [by him]. Thus when He confers upon a person an outward or an inward grace by virute of the soundness of [his] preparedness and the remainder of goodness in him, He does not change it until that [person] corrupts his preparedness and changes his receptivity for righteousness by veiling himself and by the transmutation of the good that is in him in potentiality into evil because of the actualisation of rust [on his heart] and the accumulation of darkness therein, such that there no longer remains in him any correspondence to good nor any possibility for it to issue from him, whereupon He will change that [grace] into a disfavour, as an act of justice and generosity from Him and in response to the demand made for it by that preparedness by virtue of the attraction in terms of genus and correspondence, and not out of any injustice or tyranny [on His part].

ذلك الجزاء السيِّئ بأن الله إذا أنعم على قوم نعمة لم يسلبها منهم حتى يغيِّروا حالهم الطيبة إلى حال سيئة، وأن الله سميع لأقوال خلقه، عليم بأحوالهم، فيجري عليهم ما اقتضاه علمه ومشيئته.

يخبر تعالى عن تمام عدله وقسطه في حكمه بأنه تعالى لا يغير نعمة أنعمها على أحد إلا بسبب ذنب ارتكبه كقوله تعالى "إن الله لا يغير ما بقوم حتى يغيروا ما بأنفسهم وإذا أراد الله بقوم سوءا فلا مرد له وما لهم من دونه من وال".

وقوله : ( ذلك بِأَنَّ الله لَمْ يَكُ مُغَيِّراً نِّعْمَةً أَنْعَمَهَا على قَوْمٍ حتى يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ . . . ) بيان لسنة من سننه - تعالى - فى خلقه ، وتعليل لتعذيب أولئك الكفار ، ولسلب نعمه عنهم وعن أشباههم من العصاة والجاحدين واسم الإِشارة : ( ذلك ) يعود إلى تعذيب الكفرة المعبر عنه بقوله - تعالى - ( فَأَخَذَهُمُ الله بِذُنُوبِهِمْ ) .وهو ، أى : اسم الإِشارة مبتدأ وخبره قوله - سبحانه - ( بِأَنَّ الله لَمْ يَكُ مُغَيِّراً . . ) إلخ .والمعنى : ذلك الذى نزل بهؤلاء الكفرة من التعذيب والخذلان عدل إلهيى ، فقد جرت سنته - سبحانه - فى خلقه ، واقتضت حكمته فى حكمه ألا يبدل نعمه بنقم إلا بسبب ارتكاب الذنوب ، واجتراح السيئات ، فإذا لم يتلق الناس نعمه - عز وجل - بالشكر والطاعة ، وقابلوها بالكفر والعصيان ، بدل نعمتهم بنقم جزاء وفاقا .وشبيه بهذا قوله - تعالى - فى آية أخرى : ( إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حتى يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ ) قال الفخر الرازى : قال القاضى : معنى الآية أنه - تعالى - أنعم عليهم بالعقل والقدرة وإزالة الموانع وتسهيل السبل ، والمقصود أن يشتغلوا بالعبادة والشكر ، ويعدلوا عن الكفر ، فإذا صرفوا هذه الأحوال إلى الفسق والكفر ، فقد غيروا نعمة الله - تعالى - على أنفسهم ، فلا جرم استحقوا تبديل النعم بالنقم ، والمنح بالمحن .قال : وهذا من أوكد ما يدل على أنه - تعالى - لا يبتدئ أحدا بالعذاب والمضرة .وقال صاحب الكشاف : " فإن قلت : فما كان من تغيير آل فرعون ومشركى مكة حتى غير الله نعمته عليهم ، ولم تكن لهم حال مرضية فيغيروها إلى حال مسخوطة؟ .قلت : كما تغير الحال المرضية إلى المسخوطة ، تغير الحال المسخوطة إلى أسخط منها وأولئك كانوا قبل بعثه الرسول - صلى الله عليه وسلم - إليهم كفرة عبدة أصنام ، فلما بعث إليهم بالآيات البينات فكذبوه وعادوه وتحزبوا عليه ساعين فى إراقة دمه ، غيروا حالهم إلى أسوأ مما كانت ، فغير الله ما أنعم به عليهم من الإِمهال وعاجلهم بالعذاب .وقوله : ( وَأَنَّ الله سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ ) معطوف على قوله : ( بِأَنَّ الله لَمْ يَكُ مُغَيِّراً نِّعْمَةً ) إلخ .أى : ذلك التعذيب بسبب جحودهم لنعم ، وبسبب أنه - سبحانه - سميع لما نطقوا به من سوء ، وعليم بما ارتكبوه من قبائح ومنكرات ، وقد عاقبتهم على ذلك بما يستحقون من عذاب : ( وَمَا ظَلَمَهُمُ الله ولكن أَنْفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ )

القول في تأويل قوله : ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ لَمْ يَكُ مُغَيِّرًا نِعْمَةً أَنْعَمَهَا عَلَى قَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ (53)قال أبو جعفر: يقول تعالى ذكره: وأخذنا هؤلاء الذين كفروا بآياتنا من مشركي قريش ببدر بذنوبهم، (1) وفعلنا ذلك بهم, بأنهم غيَّروا ما أنعم الله عليهم به من ابتعاثه رسولَه منهم وبين أظهرهم, بإخراجهم إياه من بينهم، وتكذيبهم له، وحربهم إياه، فغيرنا نعمتنا عليهم بإهلاكنا إياهم, كفعلنا ذلك في الماضين قبلهم ممن طغى علينا وعصى أمرنا.* * *وبنحو ما قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل.* ذكر من قال ذلك:16209- حدثني محمد بن الحسين قال: حدثنا أحمد بن المفضل قال: حدثنا أسباط, عن السدي: (ذلك بأن الله لم يك مغيرًا نعمةً أنعمها على قوم حتى يغيروا ما بأنفسهم)، يقول: " نعمة الله "، محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم , أنعم به على قريش، وكفروا, فنقله إلى الأنصار.* * *وقوله: (وأن الله سميع عليم)، يقول: لا يخفى عليه شيء من كلام خلقه, يسمع كلام كلّ ناطق منهم بخير نطق أو بشرٍّ =(عليم)، بما تضمره صدورهم, وهو مجازيهم ومثيبهم على ما يقولون ويعملون, إن خيرًا فخيرًا، وإن شرًّا فشرًّا. (2)---------------------الهوامش :(1) انظر تفسير " الأخذ " فيما سلف من فهارس اللغة ( أخذ ) .(2) انظر تفسير " سميع " و " عليم " فيما سلف من فهارس اللغة ( سمع ) ، ( علم ) .

( ذلك بأن الله لم يك مغيرا نعمة أنعمها على قوم حتى يغيروا ما بأنفسهم ) أراد : أن الله تعالى لا يغير ما أنعم على قوم حتى يغيروا هم ما بهم ، بالكفران وترك الشكر ، فإذا فعلوا ذلك غير الله ما بهم ، فسلبهم النعمة .وقال السدي : نعمة الله محمد - صلى الله عليه وسلم - أنعم الله به على قريش وأهل مكة ، فكذبوه وكفروا به فنقله الله إلى الأنصار ، ( وأن الله سميع عليم )

استئناف بياني . والإشارة إلى مضمون قوله : { فأخذهم الله بذنوبهم إن الله قوي شديد العقاب } [ الأنفال : 52 ] أي ذلك المذكور بسبب أنّ الله لم يك مغيّرا إلخ أي ذلك الأخذ بسبب أعمالهم التي تسببوا بها في زوال نعمتهم .والإشارة تفيد العناية بالمخبر عنه ، وبالخبر . والتسبيب يقتضي أنّ آل فرعون والذين من قبلهم كانوا في نعمة فغيرها الله عليهم بالنقمة ، وأنّ ذلك جرى على سنة الله أنّه لا يسلب نعمة أنعمها على قوم حتّى يغيّروا ذلك بأنفسهم ، وأنّ قوم فرعون والذين من قبلهم كانوا من جملة الأقوام الذين أنعم الله عليهم فتسببّوا بأنفسهم في زوال النعمة كما قال تعالى : { وكم أهلكنا من قرية بطرت معيشتها } [ القصص : 58 ].وهذا إنذار لقريش يحلّ بهم مثل ما حَلّ بغيرهم من الأمم الذين بطروا النعمة . فقوله : { لم يك مغيراً } مؤذن بأنّه سنة الله ومقتضى حكمته ، لأنّ نفي الكون بصيغة المضارع يقتضي تجدد النفي ومنفيّه .و«التغيير» تبديل شيء بما يضاده فقد يكون تبديلَ صورة جسم كما يقال : غَيّرتُ داري ، ويكون تغيير حال وصفة ومنه تغيير الشيب أي صباغه ، وكأنه مشتقّ من الغير وهو المخالف ، فتغيير النعمة إبدالها بضدّها وهو النقمة وسوء الحال ، أي تبديل حالة حسنة بحالة سيّئة .ووصف النعمة ب { أنعمها على قوم } للتذكير بأنّ أصل النعمة من الله .و { ما بأنفسهم } موصول وصلة ، والباء للملابسة ، أي ما استقرّ وعلق بهم . وما صْدق { ما } النعمة التي أنعم الله عليهم كما يؤذن به قوله : { مغيراً نعمة أنعمها على قوم } والمراد بهذا التغيير تغيير سببه . وهو الشكر بأن يبدلوه بالكفران .ذلك أنّ الأمم تكون صالحة ثم تتغيّر أحوالها ببطر النعمة فيعظم فسادها ، فذلك تغيير ما كانوا عليه؛ فإذا أراد الله إصلاحهم أرسل إليهم هداة لهم ، فإذا أصلحوا استمرّت عليهم النعم مثل قوم يونس وهم أهل ( نينوَى ) ، وإذا كذَّبوا وبطِروا النعمة غيّر الله ما بهم من النعمة إلى عذاب ونقمة . فالغاية المستفادة من { حتّى } لانتفاء تغيير نعمة الله على الأقوام هي غاية متّسعة ، لأنّ الأقوام إذا غيّروا ما بأنفسهم من هُدى؛ أمهلهم الله زمناً ثم أرسل إليهم الرسل فإذا أرسل إليهم الرسل فقد نبّههم إلى اقتراب المؤاخذة ثم أمهلهم مدّة لتبليغ الدعوة والنظر فإذا أصرّوا على الكفر غيَّر نعمته عليهم بإبدالها بالعذاب أو الذلّ أو الأسر كما فعل ببني إسرائيل حين أفسدوا في الأرض فسلَّط عليهم الأشوريين .و { أنّ الله سميع عليم } عطف على قوله : { بأن الله لم يك مغيراً } أي ذلك بأنّ الله يعلم ما يضمره الناس وما يعملونه ويعلم ما ينطقون به فهو يعاملهم بما يعلم منهم . وذكر صفة { سميع } قبل صفة { عليم } يومىء إلى أن التغيير الذي أحدثه المعرَّض بهم متعلّق بأقوالهم وهو دعوتهم آلهة غير الله تعالى .

‏ذَلِكَ‏}‏ العذاب الذي أوقعه اللّه بالأمم المكذبين وأزال عنهم ما هم فيه من النعم والنعيم، بسبب ذنوبهم وتغييرهم ما بأنفسهم،فإن الله لم يك مغيرا نعمة أنعمها على قوم من نعم الدين والدنيا، بل يبقيها ويزيدهم منها، إن ازدادوا له شكرا‏.‏ ‏{‏حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ‏}‏ من الطاعة إلى المعصية فيكفروا نعمة اللّه ويبدلوها كفرا، فيسلبهم إياها ويغيرها عليهم كما غيروا ما بأنفسهم‏.‏ وللّه الحكمة في ذلك والعدل والإحسان إلى عباده، حيث لم يعاقبهم إلا بظلمهم، وحيث جذب قلوب أوليائه إليه، بما يذيق العباد من النكال إذا خالفوا أمره‏.‏ ‏{‏وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ‏}‏ يسمع جميع ما نطق به الناطقون، سواء من أسر القول ومن جهر به،ويعلم ما تنطوي عليه الضمائر، وتخفيه السرائر، فيجري على عباده من الأقدار ما اقتضاه علمه وجرت به مشيئته‏.‏

قوله تعالى ذلك بأن الله لم يك مغيرا نعمة أنعمها على قوم حتى يغيروا ما بأنفسهم وأن الله سميع عليم تعليل . أي هذا العقاب ، لأنهم غيروا وبدلوا ، ونعمة الله على قريش الخصب والسعة ، والأمن والعافية . أولم يروا أنا جعلنا حرما آمنا ويتخطف الناس من حولهم الآية . وقال السدي : نعمة الله عليهم محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم فكفروا به ، فنقل إلى المدينة وحل بالمشركين العقاب .

The granting of God’s bounty depends upon eligibility for entitlement to such bounty. At the national or community level, bounty is commensurate with the worth of the individuals making up the larger entity. Collective bounty or blessings are given according to the status of a community assessed at the level of its individuals. This means that if a group wants to have God’s collective grace, it should bend its entire energies to the improvement of the inner selves of its individuals. Similarly, if a community finds that collective bounties are taken away from it, instead of running after the bounties themselves, it should pursue its individuals, because of the fact that it is due to deterioration in individuals that it is deprived of bounties, and only on the reformation of individuals can it have God’s grace restored. When a community adopts the way of tyranny instead of justice and the way of arrogance instead of modesty, then a pronouncement of Truth is made before it so that it is given a warning. This declaration, in view of its perfect clarity, is a sign from God. Accepting it amounts to accepting God, just as its rejection amounts to rejection of God. When the call of God reveals itself to the extent of a sign (ayah), and appears before people, and still they reject it, they necessarily become liable for punishment. Though the beginning of this punishment starts in this world, the punishment of the world is far more lenient than the punishment that man is going to face after death. The beatings of the angels, humiliation before all the creatures, burning in the fire of hell—all these stages are so terrible that one cannot even imagine them in the present conditions. When a man adopts the ways of tyranny and arrogance, he receives at first a warning. When he does not learn a lesson from it, he is finally struck down by the severe punishment of God.

Stated in the fourth verse (53) there is a standing rule which spells out the condition under which Allah Ta` ala allows a people to continue enjoying blessings bestowed by Him. It was said: بِأَنَّ اللَّـهَ لَمْ يَكُ مُغَيِّرً‌ا نِّعْمَةً أَنْعَمَهَا عَلَىٰ قَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُ‌وا مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ (because Allah is not to change a favour He has conferred on a people unless they change their own selves - 53). The first thing worth pondering about at this place is that Allah Ta` ala has not set forth any rule as to the bestowal of blessing and favour, nor has He put any restriction and condition for it, nor has He made it to be dependent on some good deed - because, had this been so, then, the foremost favour bestowed on us is our very existence. Placed in this marvelous menagerie of the power of Allah are thousands and thousands of additional blessings which, it is all too obvious, were conferred on us at a time when we did not exist nor any of our deed did. If blessings and favours from Allah Ta` ala were to wait for good deeds from His servants, our being itself would have not materialized. The blessing and the mercy of Allah Ta` ala is there all by itself as an outcome of His being the Lord of all the worlds and the One who is All-Merciful and Very-Merciful. However, what has been described in this verse is a rule which governs the continuity of this favour and mercy. According to this rule, when Allah Ta` a1a favours a people with His blessing, He does not take it back until such time that the people themselves bring about changes in their conditions of living and ways of doing things and thus become the very agency which invites the punishment of Allah. The change of conditions referred to here means a shift or change from good deeds to bad deeds and from good 'states of being to bad states of being, or that a person who, at the time of the coming of blessings, was involved in certain sins and evils, then, once he had re-ceived those blessings, he stoops lower and gets involved in deeds far more evil. It becomes evident from the details given above that peoples mentioned in previous verses, that is, the Quraysh disbelievers and the people of Pharaoh, have their relevance to the present verse on the grounds that these people were not all that good in their states of living even at the time the blessings came. They were still the polytheists and disbelievers they were. But, after having been blessed with favours, these people became far more dauntless in their evil deeds and acts of wickedness. The people of Pharaoh started inflicting all sorts of injustices against the Bani Isra'il. Then they rose in hostility against Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) which was a grave addition to their past crimes. Through these doings, they brought changes in their living conditions which led them to more evils and when this happened, Allah Ta` ala too brought a change in His blessing by changing it into retribution and punishment. Similarly, the Quraysh of Makkah were though involved in polytheism and other evil practices, yet they did have a few good deeds to their credit, such as, regard for kinship, hospitality, service of Hajj pil-grims, respect for Baytullah etc. Allah Ta` ala showered on them many material and spiritual blessings. On the material plane, great impetus was given to their trading activities. In a country where no trading caravan belonging to anyone could pass through safely, their trade caravans would go to Syria in the north and Yemen in the south and return in safety and with success - something mentioned by the Qur'an in Surah al-Quraysh (106) under: رِ‌حْلَةَ الشِّتَاءِ وَالصَّيْفِ (they used to make alternate trading visits in winter and summer -106:2). Then, on the spiritual plane in terms of their religion, they were blessed with a favour so great as was never conferred upon any of the past peoples - that the foremost among prophets, the last of the line, sallallahu ` alaihi wa sallam, was destined to rise among them, and Qur'an, the last, the comprehensive Book of Allah Ta` ala was sent to them through him. But, these people, rather than correct themselves through gratitude and appreciation for these blessings of Allah Ta` ala, went on to make a mess of their moral condition, making it far worse than it al-ready was. They stopped treating their near relations well and started inflicting savage injustices against their own brothers and nephews who chose to embrace Islam. Rather than keep to their tradition of hospitality, pledges were written and promulgated that a total boycott of such Muslims be made, even to the limit of holding back the supply of food and water to them. Instead of providing essential services for Hajj pilgrims which they once considered to be their duty, they started preventing Muslims from entering the Haram. These were the standing conditions on the ground which brought about a change in the disbelievers of Quraysh - as a result of which came the counter-change from Allah Ta` ala. He transformed His favours and blessings into retribution and punishment, thus making them have a taste of disgrace in the mortal world too, and then, it was through the noble person sent as mercy for all the worlds that they invited their own destruction. As based on trustworthy books of history, it has been said in Tafsir Mazhari that Kilab ibn Murrah, who is the grandfather of the third grandfather of the Holy Prophet ﷺ genealogically, was a staunch adherent of the faith of Sayyidna Ibrahim and Ismail (علیہما السلام) right from the beginning, and he retained the role of leadership in this faith, generations after generation. It was during the period of Qusayy ibn Kilab that idol-worship started as a practice among people. Before him, Ka'b ibn Lu'aiyy was their religious leader. He used to deliver a sermon before everyone on the day of Jumu'ah which was called ` Arubah in their dialect and tell his audience that the last among prophets I ﷺ would rise from among their progeny. Everyone will be bound to follow him. Whoever fails to have faith in him, no deed of his shall be acceptable with Allah. Well-known are his poetic compositions about the coming of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، as part of pagan poetry. Then, Qusayy ibn Kilab used to make arrangements of food and water for all Hajj pilgrims, so much so, that these things continued to be within the family of the Holy Prophet ﷺ until his blessed period. Given this historical perspective, it could also be said that the change which affected the mass behaviour of the Quraysh may as well mean that they had forsaken the faith of Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) and taken to idol-worship. However, a return to the subject of the verse tells us that there are occasions when Allah Ta` ala would bestow His favour also on people who do not seem to be deserving of it in view of their deeds. But, should they start, after having received that favour, committing ex-cesses and indulging in evil deeds more frequently, rather than turn the direction of their deeds towards correction and betterment, then, this favour is taken away from them and they become deserving of Divine punishment. At the end of the verse, it was said: وَأَنَّ اللَّـهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ (and that Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing - 53). It means that Allah Ta` ala is the one who hears everything they say and knows everything they do, there-fore, there is no probability of some error or misunderstanding in the decision He finally takes.

(That is because Allah never changeth the grace He hath bestowed on any people) by sending them a Scripture, messenger and security (until they first change that which is in their hearts) by abstaining from giving thanks to Him, (and (that is) because Allah is Hearer) of your supplications, (Knower) of your answer.

Because God will never change a grace that He has conferred on a people, until they change that which is in themselves�He [Sahl] said:Verily God most High has privileged the prophets  and some of the veracious (ṣiddīqūn) by acquainting them with the blessings (anʿām) He had bestowed upon them, before they disappear. God showed clemency towards them.His words: