• The saying of the Exalted, "then He showed them to the Angels": meaning the objects that were named, not the actual names as the literal meaning of the verse may suggest. And He indicated that they were the objects and not the names in His saying, "tell Me the names of these" as is obvious.

• The saying of the Exalted, "and what you have been concealing": There is no explanation here as to what they used to conceal. Some of the scholars said: it refers to what Iblees was hiding of arrogance, and this opinion is clarified by His saying, "except Iblees he refused and was arrogant."

• The saying of the Exalted, "And (remember) when We said to the Angels: ‘prostrate yourselves to Adam’": There is no explanation here as to whether He said this to them before He Created Adam or after. But He made it clear in Surah Hijr and Saad that He said this to them before the creation of Adam. So He said in Surah al-Hijr,

And He said in Surah Saad,

[Ibn al-Arabee al-Maalikee says in his "the nation is agreed that this prostration to Adam was not a prostration of worship, rather it is understood in one of two ways: that salaam was to be given to the foreigner (i.e. Adam) by …, bowing to him and exalting him, or that he was made the Qiblah (of that time) as is the case with (our) prostrating towards the Ka’bah and the Bait al-Maqdis. This case is more clear due to His saying in another verse, "then fall you down prostrate to Him," so this (command) was not by way of exaltation, rather this arose by way of enjoining worship (by obeying Allaah) and taking Adam as the Qiblah. And Allaah has abrogated all of this for this nation." {1}

Ibn Katheer says, "so this (prostration) was done in obedience to Allaah but the prostration was to Adam. This so that Allaah honoured Adam by having the Angels prostrate to him. Some of the people said: this prostration was as a greeting, salaam, and in honour of Adam as Allaah said, "and He raised his parents to the throne and they fell before him prostrate. He said, ‘O my father! This is the explanation of my dream of old! My Lord has made it come true." [12:100] This sort of prostration was legislated for the religions that came before us but it has been abrogated in our Religion. Mu’aadh said, "I went to Shaam and I saw them prostrating to their leaders and scholars, but you O Messenger of Allaah are more deserving of being prostrated to." So he said, "if I were to command a person to prostrate to another, then I would have commanded the woman to prostrate to her husband due to the great right he has over her." {2} And this was what ar-Raazee came to declare the strongest opinion."

Al-Baghawee says, "this prostration was not one whereby the face was placed on the earth, rather it was merely bowing, and when Islaam came then this (action of bowing to other than Allaah) was invalidated." {3}]

• The saying of the Exalted, "except Iblees, he refused and was arrogant": there is no explanation here as to what thoughts of Iblees led to this arrogance. But this is explained in other places, such as His sayings,

Addendum: the likes of the analogy of Iblees to his racial origin, which is fire, and his analogy of Adam to his racial origin, which is clay, and his deriving from this that he is better than Adam and that it was not desired for him to prostrate to one who was lesser than he, despite the existence of a clear and unequivocal text, which is His saying, "prostrate to Adam", is called ‘corrupt consideration’ (Faasid al-I’tibaar) according to the convention of the scholars of Usul. And it was to this that the author of ‘Maraaqee as-Sa’ud’ indicated in his saying,

Opposing the text, or a consensus that is claimed

Is corrupt consideration from everyone who is aware

So anyone who rejects a clear and unequivocal text of revelation due to analogy then his precedent for this lies with Iblees.

This analogy of Iblees, may Allaah curse him, is invalid due to three reasons:

1. That is it ‘corrupt consideration’ due to it’s opposing the clear text as has just preceded
2. That we do not accept that fire is better than clay, rather clay is better than fire. This because the substance of fire is inconsistency, thoughtlessness, corruption and dis-unification. Whereas the substance of clay is composure and correction, seeds are sown in it …..

So if you want to understand the ability of clay then look to the resplendent garden, and what it contains of delicious fruits, and beautiful flowers, and goodly smells, you will then come to know that clay is indeed better than fire.

3. That even if we were to accept, for the sake of argument, that fire is better than clay. Then this does not necessitate that Iblees is better than Adam, for the nobility of the foundation does not necessitate the nobility of the off-shoot, rather it is possible that the foundation be elevated and the off-shoot be disgraced, as the poet said,

• The saying of the Exalted, "then Adam received Words from his Lord": There is no explanation here as to what these words, but this is explained in Surah al-A’raaf with His saying, "They said: Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers." (7:23)

• The saying of the Exalted, "O Children of Isreal! Remember My Favour which I bestowed upon you": There is no explanation here as to what favours He bestowed upon them, but this is explained in other verses, like His sayings,

And other verses.

• The saying of the Exalted, "and fulfil (your obligations) to My Covenant so that I fulfil (My Obligations) to your covenant": There is no explanation here as to what His Covenant is and what their covenant is, but this is explained in a number of other places such as in His saying,

So their covenant is mentioned in the words, "if you establish the prayers and give the Zakat and believe in My Messengers; honour and assist them, and lend to Allaah a goodly loan." And His Covenant is mentioned in the words, "I will remit your sins and admit you to Gardens."

And He indicated their covenant also in His saying, "and (remember) when Allaah took a covenant from those who were given the Scripture to make it (the glad tidings of Muhammad (SAW) and knowledge) known and clear to mankind." (3:187) And other such verses.

• The saying of the Exalted, "and do not mix the truth with falsehood": The truth, which they covered with falsehood, was their faith in some of what the Torah contained. The falsehood by which they covered truth was their disbelief and rejection of some of what the Torah contained – such as the descriptions of the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) and other things. This is explained in His saying, "so do you believe in some of the book and disbelieve in the rest?" (2:85) And consideration is given to the generality of the wording, not to the specific occurrence that resulted in the revelation of the verse as has preceded. {5}

• The saying of the Exalted, "seek help with patience and prayer": As for having patience upon the matters of this world and the Hereafter then there is no obscurity in this, but as for the result of having patience in prayer then this is pointed out by Allaah in a number of verses of His Book. So He mentioned that from amongst the results of this is that the one who prays is prevented from actions that are not befitting, this in His saying, "indeed prayer prevents from immoral and evil deeds" (29:45). And that from the results of this is that it brings about increase in provisions, this in His saying, "and enjoin prayer on your family, and be patient in offering them. We ask not of you any provision, rather We give it to you. And the goodly end is for those that fear Allaah." (20:132) This is why when a matter concerned the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) he would resort to prayer. {6}

This is further clarified when we understand that when the servant stands before his Lord, discoursing with Him, reciting His Book, then all of the matters of this world become insignificant to him in the face of his desire for what is with Allaah, and his dislike of not attaining it. So, as a result, he distances himself from all that Allaah is not Pleased with, and hence Allaah provides for him and guides him.

• The saying of the Exalted, "those who are certain (yadhunnoon) that they are going to meet their Lord": The meaning of dhann{7} here is certainty as is proven by His words,

• (ins) The saying of the Exalted, "and I preferred you to the whole of the universe.": This does not contradict His saying, concerning the precedence and superiority of this Muslim nation, "you are the best nation raised up for mankind." (3:110) Because the ‘universe’ in the verse refers to the nations at their time specifically. This is proven by a number of verses and clear ahaadeeth. For example the hadeeth reported in the Musnads and the Sunans from the hadeeth of Mu’aawiyah bin Hayda al-Qushayree who said that the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) said,

Do you not see that Allaah made the highest rank of their nation as the Muqtasid (those that perform what is required of them) as in His Saying,

But He made, for this nation, a rank higher than the Muqtasid, and that is as-Saabiq bil Khayraat (those that excel in performing good deeds) as in His saying,

• The saying of the Exalted, "nor will intercession be accepted from him": {8} The literal meaning of this verse indicates that there is no intercession on the Day of Judgement at all, but in other places it is explained that the intercession that is denied, is intercession for the disbelievers and intercession for other than the disbelievers without the Permission of Allaah.

As for the intercession of the believers with the Permission of Allaah, then the Book, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Muslims establish this.

So He textually stated that the disbelievers will not be interceded for in His saying, "they cannot intercede except for him with whom He is Pleased with." (21:28) And Allaah has said, "He is not Pleased with disbelief for His servants." (39:7)

Allaah said about them, further endorsing this fact,

And other such verses.

And He said concerning the intercession without His Permission,

And other such verses.

Therefore the claim that there are intercessors with Allaah for the disbelievers, or those that Allaah has not given Permission for, is from the various forms of disbelief in Him, Jalla wa Alaa. As He Himself has clarified in His saying,

Addendum: what we have established thusfar that intercession for the disbelievers is impossible according to the Sharee’ah unrestrictedly, has an exception in the intercession of the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) for his uncle Abu Taalib so that he will be moved from one place in the fire to another. This is established from him (SAW) in the Saheeh. {9}

• The saying of the Exalted, "who were afflicting you with a great punishment": This punishment is explained in the words following this, "killing your sons and sparing your women-folk."

(ins) The literal sense of this verse shows that the sparing of the women-folk was part of the punishment afflicted upon them by Pharaoh, but there are other verses that show that female offspring are a gift from amongst the gifts of Allaah that He bestows on whomsoever He Wills, such as His saying,

So the sparing of some of the offspring is surely better than the killing of all of them? The answer to this is that even though the woman be one of the gifts of Allaah which He gives to whomsoever He Wills, their remaining alive as slaves to the enemy such that they could do whatever indecent act they wished with them - the women being forced into this situation was a portion of the punishment and their being killed would have been a relief from this punishment.

• The saying of the Exalted, "and (remember) when We separated the sea for you and saved you": There is no explanation here as to how the sea was separated, but this is explained in other places such as His sayings,

• The saying of the Exalted, "and We drowned the people of Pharaoh": There is no explanation here as to how they were drowned, but this is explained in other places such as His sayings,

His saying, "rahwan" means still and silent in the state of it’s being separated, until the hosts of Pharaoh enter it. And other such verses.

• The saying of the Exalted, "and (remember) when We appointed for Moses forty nights": there is no explanation here as to whether they were appointed to him all in one go or separately. But it is explained in Surah al-A’raaf that they were appointed separately and that he was initially appointed thirty nights and then he completed the forty by adding ten more. This in His saying,

• The saying of the Exalted, "and (remember) when We gave Moses the Scripture and the Criterion so that you may be guided aright.": the literal meaning of this verse is that the Criterion is the Scripture that was given Moses, and that it is linked to itself (in order to clarify further what the Scripture is)…. This is because the Scripture, which is the Torah, is described in two ways:

1. That it is written, Written by Allaah for His Prophet, Moses, upon him and our Prophet be peace and blessings.
2. That it is a Criterion by which the truth is made clear from falsehood.

So ‘the Criterion’ was added, following ‘the Scripture’, despite the fact that it refers to the same thing, as a result of looking to these two attributes. In the language the Arabs add something to itself which differs in wording only (and not in meaning), and they suffice with the difference of wording.

And the evidence from the Qur’aan that the Criterion is (the Scripture) that was given to Moses lies in His sayings, "And We gave Moses and Aaron the Criterion." (21:48)

• The saying of the Exalted, "indeed you have wronged yourselves by taking the calf (for worship)": there is no explanation here as to what this calf that was worshipped was made of, but this is explained in other places such as His sayings,

There is no mention in the whole of the Qur’aan of the second object (to the sentence ‘indeed you have wronged yourselves by taking the calf’), but it is understood to be ‘as a god,’ as has been indicated in Surah Taa Haa with His saying,

FOOTNOTES:

{1}‘Ahkaam al-Qur’aan’ (1/16)

{2} Shaykh Muqbil bin Haadee said about the above quoted hadeeth: "Reported by Ahmad (1/508) and it is weak….but the basis of the hadeeth is reported by at-Tirmidhee from the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah and al-Haakim from Buraydah, and Ahmad, ibn Maajah and ibn Hibbaan from Abdullaah bin Ubayy. So the hadeeth, when considering all of its routes of narration ends up as being established." [Tafseer ibn Katheer 1/143 with the notes of Shaykh Muqbil]

{3}‘Mu’aalim at-Tanzeel’ (1/81)

{4} Ibn Katheer says, "the interpreters differed about the definition of al-Manna. Some said that it is dew that resembled thickened juice of fruit or pulp. Others said that it fell on them like snow, whiter than milk and sweeter than honey." [Tafseer ibn Katheer Eng. Trans. pg. 111]

{5}

{6} As is reported in Abu Dawood and Ahmad with a weak chain of narration as declared so by al-Albaanee in his notes to ‘al-Mishkaat’ (1/1326 no.1325) and Muqbil bin Haadee in his notes to ibn Katheer (1/160 fn. 1).

{7} Dhann is normally taken to mean doubt, but it is possible that it also mean certainty in certain contexts.

{8} As for the statement, "and nor will compensation be accepted from him" then ibn Katheer says in his commentary to this verse, "meaning ‘ransom’ as the Exalted said, ‘indeed those who disbelieve and die in disbelief, no ransom even if it was the earth full of gold would be accepted from them.’" (3:91)

{9} Saheeh Bukhaaree [Eng. Trans. 5/140 no. 222]. The wording is, "al-Abbaas bin Abdul Muttalib (RA) said to the Prophet (SAW), ‘you have not been of any avail to your uncle (Abu Taalib). By Allaah, he used to protect you and used to become angry on your behalf.’ The Prophet (SAW) said, ‘He is in a shallow fire, and had it not been for me, he would have been in the bottom of the Fire.’"