Tafseer of The Cow · Al-Baqara · 2:115
And to Allah belongs the east and the west. So wherever you [might] turn, there is the Face of Allah. Indeed, Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The statement concerning the interpretation of the words of the Exalted: وَلِلَّهِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَالْمَغْرِبُ فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ
(And to Allah belong the east and the west; so wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: He — exalted be His praise — means by His words "and to Allah belong the east and the west" that to Allah belong the ownership of them and the disposal over them, just as one says: "To So-and-so belongs this house," by which one means that it belongs to him in ownership. This, then, is His statement "and to Allah belong the east and the west," by which He means that both belong to Him, in ownership and as creation.
* * *
The "east" (al-mashriq) is the place where the sun rises, that is, the place of its rising, just as one calls the place of its rising "maṭlaʿ" — with a kasra on the lām — and as we have just explained regarding the meaning of "the places of worship" (al-masājid).
* * *
If someone were to ask: Did Allah then have only one east and one west, that it should be said "and to Allah belong the east and the west"? — then the answer is: Its meaning is other than what you have supposed. Its meaning is rather: to Allah belongs the east from which the sun rises each day, and the west in which it sets each day. Its explanation, then, if that is the meaning, is: to Allah belongs all that lies between the extreme points of the east, and all that lies between the extreme points of the west, since the rising of the sun each day occurs from a place from which it does not rise again until the following year; and likewise is the case with its setting each day.
If he were to say: But even if its explanation is as you have mentioned, still all that is besides Him and all the creatures that creation comprises belong to Him! — then the answer is: Indeed!
If he were to say: How is it, then, that in this place He specifically reports concerning the eastern and western quarters that they belong to Him, to the exclusion of all other things?
Then the answer is: The interpreters (ahl al-taʾwīl) have differed concerning the reason why Allah singled out the mention of that in this place in the manner in which He did. And we shall, after mentioning their statements concerning that, set forth that which is most fitting for the interpretation of the verse. Some of them said: Allah — exalted be His praise — singled out that with the announcement because the Jews in their prayer directed their faces toward the direction of Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis), and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did so for a time, after which they were turned toward the Kaʿba. The Jews disapproved of that in the conduct of the Prophet ﷺ and said: "What has turned them away from their prayer-direction (qibla) to which they were accustomed?" Whereupon Allah — blessed and exalted is He — said to them: The eastern and western quarters all belong to Me; I turn the faces of My servants wherever I will among them; so wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah.
* Mention of who said that:
1833 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: The first of the Qurʾān to be abrogated was the qibla. And that was because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he emigrated to Medina — and most of its inhabitants were Jews — was commanded by Allah, Mighty and Majestic, to direct himself toward Jerusalem, at which the Jews rejoiced. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ directed himself thither for some ten-odd months, but the Messenger of Allah ﷺ loved the qibla of Ibrāhīm, peace be upon him, and he used to supplicate and look toward the heaven. Then Allah — blessed and exalted is He — revealed: قَدْ نَرَى تَقَلُّبَ وَجْهِكَ فِي السَّمَاءِ (Indeed, We see the turning of your face toward the heaven) [Surah Al-Baqarah: 144], up to His words: فَوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُ (so turn your faces in its direction) [Surah Al-Baqarah: 144]. Concerning that the Jews fell into doubt and said: مَا وَلاهُمْ عَنْ قِبْلَتِهِمُ الَّتِي كَانُوا عَلَيْهَا (What has turned them away from their prayer-direction to which they were accustomed?) [Surah Al-Baqarah: 142]. Then Allah, Mighty and Majestic, revealed: قُلْ لِلَّهِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَالْمَغْرِبُ (Say: To Allah belong the east and the west), and He said: (wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah).
1834 — Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, something similar.
* * *
Others said: No, Allah revealed this verse before it was prescribed to His Prophet ﷺ and to the believers to turn toward the direction of the Sacred Mosque (al-Masjid al-Ḥarām). He revealed it to him only in order to point out to His Prophet — peace and blessings be upon him — and his companions that it was permitted to them to turn their faces for prayer wherever they wished among the quarters of the east and the west, for they turned their faces toward no quarter or direction thereof but that He — exalted be His praise — was in that quarter and that direction, because to Him belong the eastern and western quarters, and because no place is devoid of Him, as He — Mighty and Majestic — has said: وَلا أَدْنَى مِنْ ذَلِكَ وَلا أَكْثَرَ إِلا هُوَ مَعَهُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كَانُوا (nor less than that, nor more, but He is with them wherever they are) [Surah Al-Mujādilah: 7]. They said: Then that was abrogated by the obligation imposed upon them, namely, to turn toward the direction of the Sacred Mosque.
* Mention of who said that:
1835 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words, Mighty and Majestic: (and to Allah belong the east and the west; wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah) — then that was abrogated thereafter, for Allah said: وَمِنْ حَيْثُ خَرَجْتَ فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ (and from wherever you set out, turn your face in the direction of the Sacred Mosque) [Surah Al-Baqarah: 150].
1836 — Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words: (wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah), he said: That is the qibla; then the qibla abrogated it, [with the turning] toward the Sacred Mosque.
1837 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Al-Ḥajjāj ibn al-Minhāl related to us, saying: Hammām related to us, saying: Yaḥyā related to us, saying: I heard Qatāda concerning the words of Allah: (wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah), he said: They prayed toward the direction of Jerusalem, while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was in Mecca, before the emigration; and after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had emigrated, he prayed for sixteen months toward the direction of Jerusalem, and thereafter he directed himself toward the Kaʿba, the Sacred House. Then Allah abrogated it in another verse: فَلَنُوَلِّيَنَّكَ قِبْلَةً تَرْضَاهَا (We shall surely turn you toward a prayer-direction that pleases you) up to وَحَيْثُمَا كُنْتُمْ فَوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُ (and wherever you are, turn your faces in its direction) [Surah Al-Baqarah: 144]. He said: This verse, then, abrogated what preceded it concerning the matter of the qibla.
1838 — Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: I heard him — namely Zayd — say: Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said to His Prophet ﷺ: (wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah; truly, Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing). He said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "These Jews direct themselves toward one of the houses of Allah; would that we too directed ourselves toward it!" Then the Prophet ﷺ directed himself toward it for sixteen months, after which it reached him that the Jews were saying: "By Allah, Muḥammad and his companions did not know where their qibla was, until we showed them the way!" That displeased the Prophet ﷺ, and he raised his face toward the heaven. Then Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: قَدْ نَرَى تَقَلُّبَ وَجْهِكَ فِي السَّمَاءِ (Indeed, We see the turning of your face toward the heaven) — the [whole] verse [Surah Al-Baqarah: 144].
* * *
Others said: This verse was revealed to the Prophet ﷺ as a permission from Allah, Mighty and Majestic, to him that he might perform the voluntary prayer (al-taṭawwuʿ) wherever he turned his face, toward east or west, during his journeying on travel, and in the state of the clashing of swords, and in intense fear, and at the meeting of the battle-ranks [in combat], as regards the obligatory prayers. And He informed him that wherever he turned his face, He is present there, with His words: (and to Allah belong the east and the west; wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah).
* Mention of who said that:
1839 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Malik related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, that he used to pray wherever his mount turned him, and he mentioned that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to do that, and he explained this verse: (wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah).
1840 — Abū al-Sāʾib related to me, saying: Ibn Fuḍayl related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī Sulaymān, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, that he said: "This verse — (wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah) — was revealed only so that you might pray voluntarily wherever your mount turns you on a journey. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to, when he returned from Mecca, pray voluntarily upon his mount, nodding his head in the direction of Medina."
* * *
Others said: No, this verse was revealed concerning a group of people for whom the qibla had become unclear, so that they did not know its direction and prayed in different directions. Then Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said to them: To Me belong the eastern and western quarters, so wherever you turn your faces, there is My face, and that is your qibla — thereby instructing them that their prayer was valid.
* Mention of who said that:
1841 — Aḥmad related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Abū al-Rabīʿ al-Sammān related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUbayd Allāh, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿĀmir ibn Rabīʿa, on the authority of his father, who said: "We were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on a black, dark night. We alighted at a resting-place, and everyone began to take stones and make of them a place of prayer in which to pray. When morning broke, it turned out that we had not prayed in the direction of the qibla. We said: O Messenger of Allah, this night we did not pray in the direction of the qibla. Then Allah, Mighty and Majestic, revealed: (and to Allah belong the east and the west; wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah; truly, Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing)."
1842 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Al-Ḥajjāj related to me, saying: Ḥammād related to us, saying: I said to al-Nakhaʿī: I had awoken — or he said: I had woken [someone]; al-Ṭabarī is in doubt about this — and there was cloud in the sky, and I did not pray in the direction of the qibla. He said: Your prayer is valid; Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says: (wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah).
1843 — Sufyān ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: My father related to us, on the authority of Ashʿath al-Sammān, on the authority of ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUbayd Allāh, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿĀmir ibn Rabīʿa, on the authority of his father, who said: We were with the Prophet ﷺ on a dark night on a journey, and we did not know where the qibla was, so we prayed, each of us praying in the direction that he had before him. When morning broke, we mentioned it to the Prophet ﷺ, and Allah, Mighty and Majestic, revealed: (wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah).
* * *
Others said: No, this verse was revealed on account of al-Najāshī (the Negus), because the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had disputed concerning his case, since he had died before he prayed toward the qibla. Then Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: The eastern and western quarters all belong to Me, so whoever turns his face toward anything thereof and thereby intends Me and seeks obedience to Me, him shall I find there. He means thereby that al-Najāshī, even though he had not prayed toward the qibla, nevertheless used to turn his face toward one of the quarters of the east or the west, and thereby sought the good pleasure of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in his prayer.
* Mention of who said that:
1844 — Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Hishām ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: My father related to me, on the authority of Qatāda, that the Prophet ﷺ said: "Your brother al-Najāshī has died, so perform the [funeral] prayer over him." They said: "Shall we perform the prayer over a man who is not a Muslim?!" He said: Then was revealed: وَإِنَّ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ لَمَنْ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَمَا أُنْـزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَمَا أُنْـزِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ خَاشِعِينَ لِلَّهِ (And indeed, among the People of the Book are those who believe in Allah, and in what was sent down to you and in what was sent down to them, humbly submissive to Allah) [Surah Āl ʿImrān: 199]. Qatāda said: Then they said: "But he did not pray toward the qibla," whereupon Allah, Mighty and Majestic, revealed: (and to Allah belong the east and the west; wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah).
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: The correct view concerning this is: that Allah — exalted be His mention — singled out the announcement concerning the east and the west in this verse with the mention that they belong to Him in ownership — even though there is nothing but that it belongs to Him in ownership — as an announcement from Him to His believing servants that to Him belongs the ownership of both, and the ownership of the creatures that are between them, and that it is incumbent upon them all — since they belong to Him in ownership — to obey Him in what He commands and forbids them, and in the obligations He has imposed upon them, and in turning toward the direction toward which He has turned them; for it belongs to the rule of owned slaves that they obey their owner. Thus He issued the announcement concerning the east and the west, while thereby the creatures that are between them are intended, in the manner I have set forth, namely, contenting oneself with the announcement of the cause of a thing in place of the mention of and announcement about the thing itself, as it is said: وَأُشْرِبُوا فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الْعِجْلَ (And the calf was made to be drunk into their hearts), and what is comparable to it.
The meaning of the verse, then, is: to Allah belongs the ownership of the creatures that are between the east and the west; He causes them to worship what He wills, and decrees concerning them what He desires, [and imposes] upon them His obedience. So turn your faces — O believers — toward the direction of My face, for wherever you turn your faces, there is My face.
* * *
As for the statement of whether this verse is abrogating or abrogated, or neither abrogating nor abrogated — the correct view concerning that is to say: that it has come in the form of the general, while the particular is intended. For His statement (wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah) admits of [the following meaning]: wherever you turn — during your journeying on your travels, in your voluntary prayer, and in the state of the clashing of swords with your enemy, in your voluntary and your obligatory [prayers] — there is the face of Allah, as Ibn ʿUmar and al-Nakhaʿī said, and those whose [statement] we have just mentioned who said that.
= And it admits [also of]: wherever you turn — of the land of Allah, wherever you are — there is the qibla of Allah toward which you turn your faces, for it is possible for you to turn from there toward the Kaʿba. As it is said:
1845 — Abū Kurayb [related to us], saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Abū Sinān, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk and al-Naḍr ibn ʿArabī, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic: (wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah), he said: [That is] the qibla of Allah, so wherever you are, in east or west, direct yourself toward it.
1846 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: Ibrāhīm informed me, on the authority of Ibn Abī Bakr, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: Wherever you are, you have a qibla toward which you direct yourselves — he said: the Kaʿba.
= And it admits [also of]: wherever you turn your faces in your supplication, there is My face; I answer your supplication, as:
1847 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, saying: Ibn Jurayj said: Mujāhid said: When was revealed: ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ (Call upon Me, I shall answer you) [Surah Ghāfir: 60], they said: "Toward which side?" Then was revealed: (wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah).
* * *
Since His statement, Mighty and Majestic (wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah), admits of the various meanings that we have mentioned, it is not for anyone to claim that it is abrogating or abrogated, except on the basis of a proof to which one must submit.
For the abrogating can exist only with an abrogated, and no proof to which one must submit has come forth that His statement (wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah) is intended as: wherever you turn your faces in your prayer, there is your qibla; nor that it was revealed after the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his companions toward the direction of Jerusalem, as a command from Allah, Mighty and Majestic, to them that they should turn toward the Kaʿba, such that it could be said: it abrogates the prayer toward the direction of Jerusalem. For there were among the people of knowledge, among the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the leaders of the tābiʿūn, those who deny that it was revealed in that meaning, and there is no established narration from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that it was revealed concerning that, and the disagreement concerning its matter existed as I have described.
= And neither — since it is not abrogating, for what we have described — has the proof come forth that it is abrogated, since it admits of the [meanings] that we have described: that it has come in general form while its meaning is: [applicable] in one state and not in another — if thereby the turning in prayer is intended —, and [applicable] in every state — if thereby supplication is intended —, and the remaining meanings that we have mentioned.
And we have demonstrated in our book "Kitāb al-bayān ʿan uṣūl al-aḥkām" (The Book of the Exposition concerning the Foundations of the Rulings) that no verse of the Qurʾān and no narration from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is abrogating, except that which nullifies an established ruling and binds the servants to an obligation thereof, while admitting in neither its outward nor its inward [meaning] of anything else. But when it admits of something else — namely, that it bears the meaning of an exception, or of the particular and the general, or of the unspecified (al-mujmal), or of the explained (al-mufassar) — then it is far removed from the abrogating and the abrogated, in a manner that makes it unnecessary to repeat it in this place. And nothing is abrogated except the nullified whose ruling and obligation had already been established.
And neither of these two meanings has been shown to be correct with respect to His statement (wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah) on the basis of a proof to which one must submit, such that one could say concerning it: it is abrogating or abrogated.
* * *
As for His word (fa-aynamā): its meaning is "wherever" (ḥaythumā).
* * *
As for His word (tuwallū): the most fitting for its interpretation is that it means: you turn toward its direction and toward it, as the speaker says: "I turned my face toward it (wallaytuhu wajhī)" and "I turned toward it (wallaytuhu ilayhi)," in the sense of: I turned myself toward it and stood facing it with my face. And we say that this is the most fitting for the interpretation of the verse on account of the consensus of the authoritative proof that that is its interpretation, and the deviance of whoever interpreted it in the sense of: you turn away from it and turn your back to it. That, then, toward which you turn is the face of Allah, in the sense of the qibla of Allah.
* * *
As for His word (fa-thamma): it has the meaning of "there" (hunālik).
* * *
There has been disagreement concerning the interpretation of His words (there is the face of Allah). Some said: its interpretation is: there is the qibla of Allah, by which He means His direction toward which He has turned them.
* Mention of who said that:
1848 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of al-Naḍr ibn ʿArabī, on the authority of Mujāhid: (there is the face of Allah), he said: [That is] the qibla of Allah.
1849 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: Ibrāhīm informed me, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: Wherever you are, you have a qibla toward which you direct yourselves.
* * *
Others said: The meaning of the statement of Allah, Mighty and Majestic (there is the face of Allah), is: there is Allah, blessed and exalted.
* * *
Others said: The meaning of His words (there is the face of Allah) is: there, by turning toward it, you will obtain the good pleasure of Allah, to whom belongs the noble face.
* * *
Others said: By "the face" was meant "the Possessor of the face." And the adherents of this statement said: The face of Allah is an attribute of His.
* * *
If someone were to ask: What is the connection of this verse with the [verse] that precedes it?
Then the answer is: It is connected with it. For its meaning is: and who is more unjust than the Christians who have prevented the servants of Allah from remembering His name in His places of worship, and who strove for their ruin? And to Allah belong the east and the west, so wherever you turn your faces, remember Him, for His face is there; His bounty and His earth and His lands afford you room, and He knows what you do. And the ruin wrought by him who ruined the mosque of Jerusalem, and the prevention by those who prevented [people] from remembering Allah therein, must not deter you from remembering Allah wherever you are in the land of Allah, while you thereby seek His face.
* * *
The statement concerning the interpretation of His words: إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ (115)
(Truly, Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: He — exalted be His praise — means by His word (wāsiʿ, All-Encompassing): He encompasses all His creatures with sufficiency, munificence, generosity, and governance.
As for His word (ʿalīm, All-Knowing): He means that He is all-knowing of their deeds; nothing thereof remains hidden from Him, and nothing escapes His knowledge, but He is all-knowing of everything thereof.
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(12) See what has just preceded: 519.
(13) His words "then all that is besides Him belongs to Him" mean: all that is of things other than Him.
(14) The narration 1833 — ʿAlī: that is Ibn Abī Ṭalḥa al-Hāshimī, trustworthy (thiqa), [though] he was criticized. The most likely view is that this criticism of him concerned his Shīʿite leaning. But he did not hear directly from Ibn ʿAbbās; Ibn Abī Ḥātim narrated in al-Marāsīl, p. 52, on the authority of Duḥaym, who said: "ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa did not hear the tafsīr [directly] from Ibn ʿAbbās." And something similar is narrated from his father Abū Ḥātim. In al-Tahdhīb [it states] that Ibn Ḥibbān mentioned him among the trustworthy and said: "He narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās, but did not see him." This, then, is a weak isnād, on account of its interruption. But its meaning is established on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās by a correct route. For Abū ʿUbayd al-Qāsim ibn Sallām narrated it in the Book of the Abrogating and the Abrogated — as Ibn Kathīr 1: 288 rendered it —: "Ḥajjāj ibn Muḥammad informed us, Ibn Jurayj and ʿUthmān ibn ʿAṭāʾ informed us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās...," and he mentioned something similar. This is a correct isnād, by the route of the narration of Ibn Jurayj on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, namely Ibn Abī Rabāḥ. As for "ʿUthmān ibn ʿAṭāʾ": that is al-Khurāsānī, and he is weak. And Ḥajjāj ibn Muḥammad heard it from both, from a trustworthy and from a weak [narrator], so there is no objection. Al-Ḥākim narrated it 2: 267–268, by the route of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, and said: "This is a correct narration according to the condition of the two shaykhs [al-Bukhārī and Muslim], but they did not include it with this wording." And al-Dhahabī agreed with him. And it is as they both said. Al-Suyūṭī mentioned it 1: 108 and attributed it to Abū ʿUbayd, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, al-Ḥākim — who declared it correct — and al-Bayhaqī in his Sunan.
(15) Ibn Kathīr said in his tafsīr 1: 289, as a comment on the words of Abū Jaʿfar, may Allah have mercy on him: "In his statement 'and that no place is devoid of Him, the Exalted' — if he means His knowledge, the Exalted, then that is correct, for His knowledge, the Exalted, encompasses all known things; but His Essence, the Exalted, is not contained in any part of His creation; exalted is Allah above that with a great exaltation." I say: What Ibn Kathīr said is [precisely] the creed of Abū Jaʿfar, may Allah have mercy on him, and he set that forth in the tafsīr of Surah Al-Mujādilah in his tafsīr 28: 10. There is, then, no reason for Ibn Kathīr's doubt regarding the words of a meticulous imam among the imams of the people of the truth; his wording is correct in its formulation, but the adherents of [errant] inclinations have made people understand from the Arabic of the eloquent a meaning other than the meaning that it indicates.
(16) In the printed edition [it states]: "it was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥasan," but the correct reading is what I have established, and it is an isnād that recurs frequently in his tafsīr; the nearest [example] is no. 1731.
(17) The narration 1839 — Ibn Idrīs: that is ʿAbd Allāh ibn Idrīs al-Awdī, whose trustworthiness was established earlier: 438. ʿAbd al-Malik: that is Ibn Abī Sulaymān, as will follow in the isnād that comes after this, and his trustworthiness was established earlier: 1455. Aḥmad narrated the narration in the Musnad: 5001, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Idrīs, with this isnād. The full documentation of it will follow with the subsequent [narration].
(18) The narration 1840 — Ibn Fuḍayl: that is Muḥammad ibn Fuḍayl ibn Ghazwān al-Ḍabbī, and he is trustworthy (thiqa), one of the teachers of Aḥmad, Isḥāq, and others. Even al-Thawrī narrated from him, although he was older than him. His biography is in al-Tahdhīb, and in al-Kabīr 1/1/207–208, and with Ibn Abī Ḥātim 4/1/57–58. Aḥmad narrated the narration likewise: 4714, on the authority of Yaḥyā al-Qaṭṭān, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī Sulaymān, something similar. And Muslim narrated it 1: 195, by the route of Yaḥyā and others. Likewise al-Bayhaqī narrated it in al-Sunan al-kubrā 2: 4, with isnāds by the route of ʿAbd al-Malik. And in the commentary on the Musnad we preferred the preceding narration, [namely] that this verse was not revealed concerning that, but is rather in a more general meaning, and serves only as a witness and proof, as that becomes clear from the understanding of its interpretation in its context.
(19) In the printed edition [it states]: "so if you turn your faces," but the correct reading is what I have established.
(20) The narration 1841 — Aḥmad, the teacher of al-Ṭabarī: that is Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq ibn ʿĪsā al-Ahwāzī, as his full lineage was mentioned earlier: 159, and he is veracious (ṣadūq), one of the teachers of Abū Dāwūd; his biography is in al-Tahdhīb. And Abū Aḥmad: that is al-Zubayrī, and his name is Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr ibn ʿUmar ibn Dirham, and he is trustworthy, a ḥāfiẓ, one of the teachers of imam Aḥmad; his biography is in al-Tahdhīb, and in al-Kabīr 1/1/133–134, and with Ibn Saʿd 6: 281, and with Ibn Abī Ḥātim 3/2/297. Abū al-Rabīʿ al-Sammān: that is Ashʿath ibn Saʿīd; it was mentioned earlier at: 24 that he is very weak. ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb: he is weak, and we have set forth his weakness in the commentary on the Musnad: 5229. ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿĀmir ibn Rabīʿa: trustworthy, one of the prominent tābiʿūn. And his father is a well-known companion (ṣaḥābī), one of the first emigrants; he experienced both emigrations, was present at [the Battle of] Badr and at all the [other] campaigns. Ibn Kathīr mentioned the narration 1: 289–290, from this place. Into it crept an error in the name of al-Ṭabarī's teacher: "Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq" was written in place of "Aḥmad." That is an error of a copyist or typesetter. Then Ibn Kathīr referred to the narration of it that follows hereafter: 1843. Thereafter he mentioned that al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Mājah, and Ibn Abī Ḥātim also narrated it. Then he rendered the words of al-Tirmidhī, who said: "This is a narration whose isnād is not so [strong]; we know it only from the narration of Ashʿath al-Sammān, and Ashʿath ibn Saʿīd Abū al-Rabīʿ al-Sammān is considered weak in narration." Ibn Kathīr said: "I say: and his teacher ʿĀṣim is likewise weak. Al-Bukhārī said: he is rejected in narration (munkar al-ḥadīth). And Ibn Maʿīn said: weak, he is not taken as proof. And Ibn Ḥibbān said: abandoned (matrūk)." And in my commentary on al-Tirmidhī, no. 345, I had inclined to judge its isnād as good (ḥasan), but I now revise that and am of the view that it is a weak narration. And al-Suyūṭī rendered it 1: 109, with the documentation of it and the exposition of its weakness.
(21) In the linguistic works, "ayqaẓtu" [in this form] does not occur as an intransitive verb, and I fear that al-Ṭabarī [so] corrects it; and such [cases] are numerous in Arabic.
(22) In Lisān al-ʿArab [it states]: "so each of us prayed ḥiyālahu," that is, straight before his face, and the addition of "ʿalā" does not detract from the meaning.
(23) The narration 1843 — this is a repetition of the narration 1841.
(24) The narration 1844 — this is a weak narration, because it is mursal. Al-Suyūṭī rendered it 1: 109 and attributed it to Ibn Jarīr and Ibn al-Mundhir. And Ibn Kathīr rendered it 1: 291, from this place, and then said: "This is strange (gharīb)." And I say: its wording indicates its weakness and rejectedness.
(25) See what preceded in this part 2: 357–360, 483.
(26) In the printed edition [it states]: "or its meaning is [applicable] in one state and not in another," and that is incorrect. His intent is that the verse has come general and admits of one of two meanings: either [applicable] in one state and not in another, or in every state, as he has set forth thereafter.
(27) In the printed edition [it states]: "in its outward," and see what preceded concerning the meaning of "the outward and the inward" 2: 15, and the references.
(28) In the printed edition [it states]: "I turned my face," but the correct reading is what I have established.
(29) In the printed edition [it states]: "fa-thamma, some said," but the correct reading is the inclusion of "the face of Allah."
(30) In the printed edition [it states]: "and as nullified what they attributed to him." And "intafā min al-shayʾ" [means]: he declared himself free of it. And "naḥala-hu al-shayʾ" [means]: he attributed it to him. And "al-firya" [means]: the fabricated lie.
