Tafsir al-Jalalayn

All that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth glorifies God that is to say all that is in them exalts Him as being transcendent the lām of li’Llāhi ‘God’ is extra; the use of mā instead of the personal min is meant to indicate a predominance of non-rational beings in the heavens and the earth. And He is the Mighty the Wise in His kingdom and in His actions respectively.

It is He Who expelled those who disbelieved of the People of the Scripture namely the Jews of the Banū al-Nadīr from their homelands from their dwellings at Medina at the first exile that is their exile to Syria the last exile being their banishment to Khaybar by ‘Umar during his caliphate. You did not think O believers that they would go forth and they thought that they would be protected māni‘atuhum is the predicate of an ‘that’ by their fortresses husūnuhum the agent of the verb māni‘atuhum with which the predication is completed from God from His chastisement. But God His command and His chastisement came at them from whence they had not reckoned from whence had never occurred to them from the part of the believers and He cast terror ru‘b or ru‘ub into their hearts by having their chief Ka‘b b. al-Ashraf slain destroying as they did read yukharribūna; or yukhribūna derived from 4th form akhraba their houses in order to take away with them what they valued of wood and so on with their own hands and the hands of the believers. So take heed O you who have eyes!

And had God not prescribed had He not decreed banishment for them departure from their homeland He would have chastised them in this world by having them killed or taken captive as He did with the Jews of Banū Qurayza and in the Hereafter there is for them the chastisement of the Fire.

That is because they defied they opposed God and His Messenger; and whoever defies God indeed God is severe in retribution against him.

Whatever palm-trees you cut down O Muslims or left standing on their roots it was by God’s leave He gave you the choice in this matter and in order that by giving you leave to cut them down He might disgrace those who are immoral the Jews in return for their objection that the cutting down of productive trees was deliberate spoiling of the land.

And whatever spoils God has given to His Messenger from these you did not O Muslims spur for it any min is extra horses or camels that is to say you did not suffer any hardship in securing it but God gives His messengers sway over whomever He will and God has power over all things hence you have no right to any of this booty rather it is exclusively for the Prophet s and those of the four categories mentioned with him in the next verse to be dispensed in accordance with the way in which he used to divide it up such that each would receive a fifth of the fifth and the rest being the Prophet’s s for him to do with as he pleases — thus he gave of it to the Emigrants and three from among the Helpers on account of their poverty.

Whatever spoils God has given to His Messenger from the people of the towns such as al-Safrā’ Wādī al-Qurā and Yanbu‘ belong to God dispensing with it as He will and to the Messenger and to the near of kin the Prophet’s kin from among the Banū Hāshim and the Banū al-Muttālib and the orphans the orphaned children of Muslims those whose parents have died and who are impoverished and the needy those Muslims in need and the traveller the Muslim who may be cut off from all resources on a remote journey in other words they these spoils are the due of the Prophet s and those of the four categories divided up in the way that he used to where each category received a fifth of the fifth with the rest being his the Prophet’s so that these the spoils — this being the justification for the division of these spoils in this way do not kay-lā kay functions like lā with a following implied an sc. an-lā become a thing circulating handed round between the rich among you. And whatever the Messenger gives you of spoils or otherwise take it; and whatever he forbids you abstain from it. And fear God. Surely God is severe in retribution.

At the poor Emigrants li’l-fuqarā’i is semantically connected to an omitted verb that is to say a-‘ajibū ‘What! Do they marvel at the poor Emigrants’ who have been driven away from their homes and their possessions that they should seek bounty from God and beatitude and help God and His Messenger? Those — they are the sincere in their faith.

And those who had settled in the hometown that is Medina and had abided in faith that is to say those who had embraced it with enthusiasm — these being the Helpers before them love those who have emigrated to them and do not find in their breasts any need any envy of that which those others have been given that is to say of what the Prophet s had given the Emigrants from the seized possessions of the Banū al-Nadīr a share which was exclusively theirs; but prefer others to themselves though they be in poverty in need of that which they prefer for those others to have. And whoever is saved from the avarice of his own soul its covetousness for acquiring possessions those — they are the successful.

And those who will come after them after the Emigrants and the Helpers up to the Day of Resurrection say ‘Our Lord forgive us and our brethren who preceded us in embracing the faith and do not place any rancour any spite in our hearts toward those who believe. Our Lord You are indeed Kind Merciful!’.

Have you not considered have you not seen the hypocrites who say to their brethren who disbelieve from among the People of the Scripture namely the Banū al-Nadīr their brethren in disbelief ‘If la-in the lām is for oaths in all four instances you are expelled from Medina we will assuredly go forth with you and we will never obey anyone against you to forsake you. And if you are fought against wa-in qūtiltum the prefatory lām of la-in has been omitted we will certainly help you’. And God bears witness that they are truly liars.

For indeed if they are expelled they would not go forth with them and if they are fought against they would not help them. And even if they were to help them that is to say even if they came to help them they would surely turn their backs to flee the implied response to the oath suffices in place of the response to the conditional in all five instances — then they the Jews would not be helped.

You indeed arouse greater awe fear in their hearts that is the hearts of the hypocrites than God — but only because He has deferred His chastisement to the Hereafter. That is because they are a people who do not comprehend.

They that is the Jews will not fight against you together all in a single body except in fortified towns or from behind some wall jidār a variant reading has plural judur ‘walls’ some kind of protective fence. Their might their belligerence is great among themselves. You would suppose them to be all together united as a single body but their hearts are disunited scattered contrary to supposition. That is because they are a people who have no sense;

their likeness in relinquishing faith is as the likeness of those who recently before them a short time before — these being the idolaters from among those who fought at Badr — tasted the evil consequences of their conduct the punishment for it in this world by being killed or otherwise. And for them there will be a painful chastisement in the Hereafter.

In addition their likeness in heeding the words of the hypocrites and their forsaking of them is like Satan when he says to man ‘Disbelieve!’; so that when he man disbelieves he says ‘Lo! I am absolved of you. Indeed I fear God the Lord of the Worlds’ out of mendacity and dissimulation on his part.

So the sequel for both will be that is the sequel for both the one who leads astray and the one led astray a variant reading for ‘āqibatahumā has the nominative ‘āqibatuhumā as the subject of kāna ‘will be’ that they are in the Fire therein abiding. And that is the requital of the evildoers that is the disbelievers.

O you who believe fear God and let every soul consider what it has sent ahead for tomorrow for the Day of Resurrection. And fear God. God is indeed Aware of what you do.

And do not be like those who forget God those who neglect obedience to Him so that He makes them forget their own souls to forget to send ahead good deeds for its sake. Those — they are the immoral.

Not equal are the inhabitants of the Fire and the inhabitants of Paradise. It is the inhabitants of Paradise who are the winners.

Had We sent down this Qur’ān upon a mountain and had it the mountain been endowed with a faculty of discernment like man you would have surely seen it humbled rent asunder by the fear of God. And such similitudes as those mentioned — do We strike for mankind that perhaps they may reflect and so become believers.

He is God than Whom there is no other god Knower of the unseen and the visible what is secret and what is proclaimed — He is the Compassionate the Merciful.

He is God than Whom there is no other god the King the Holy the One sanctified from what does not befit Him the Peace unblemished by any defects the Securer the One Who confirms the sincerity of His messengers by creating miracles for them the Guardian al-muhaymin derives from haymana yuhayminu meaning that one is watcher over something in other words the One Who is Witness to the deeds of His servants the Mighty the Strong the Compeller compelling His creatures to what He will the Exalted above what does not befit Him. Glorified be God — He is declaring His transcendence — above what partners they ascribe! to Him.

He is God the Creator the Maker the Originator from nothing the Shaper. To Him belong the ninety nine Most Beautiful Names cited in hadīth al-husnā is the feminine of al-ahsan. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorify Him and He is the Mighty the Wise — already explained at the beginning of this sūra.