Tafseer of The Family of Imraan · Aal-i-Imraan · 3:156
O you who have believed, do not be like those who disbelieved and said about their brothers when they traveled through the land or went out to fight, "If they had been with us, they would not have died or have been killed," so Allah makes that [misconception] a regret within their hearts. And it is Allah who gives life and causes death, and Allah is Seeing of what you do.
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 discourse on the explanation of His statement: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَقَالُوا لإِخْوَانِهِمْ إِذَا ضَرَبُوا فِي الأَرْضِ أَوْ كَانُوا غُزًّى لَوْ كَانُوا عِنْدَنَا مَا مَاتُوا وَمَا قُتِلُوا لِيَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ ذَلِكَ حَسْرَةً فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ (O you who believe, be not like those who disbelieve and who said of their brethren, when these had journeyed through the land or had been on a military campaign: "Had they remained with us, they would not have died nor been killed." So that Allah might make that a remorse in their hearts) (3:156).
Abū Jaʿfar said: By this He means, exalted is His praise: O you who held Allah and His Messenger to be truthful and acknowledged what Muḥammad ﷺ brought from Allah, be not like him who disbelieved in Allah and in His Messenger, and denied the prophethood of Muḥammad ﷺ, and said to his brethren among the people of disbelief — إِذَا ضَرَبُوا فِي الأَرْضِ "when these had journeyed through the land," that is to say: when they set out from their lands on a journey for trade — أَوْ كَانُوا غُزًّى "or had been on a military campaign," He says: or their departure from their lands took place as warriors, and they perished and died on their journey, or were killed on their campaign — لَوْ كَانُوا عِنْدَنَا مَا مَاتُوا وَمَا قُتِلُوا "Had they remained with us, they would not have died nor been killed." By this He gives news of the statement of these unbelievers, that they say concerning whoever among them went out to fight and was killed, or died on a journey he undertook in obedience to Allah or for trade: had they not departed from us and had they remained in their lands, they would not have died nor been killed — لِيَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ ذَلِكَ حَسْرَةً فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ "so that Allah might make that a remorse in their hearts." That is to say: they say that, so that Allah might make their statement a grief and sorrow in their hearts, while they do not know that this belongs to Allah, exalted is His praise, and lies in His hand.
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It has been said: those whom Allah in this verse forbade the believers to imitate in that which He forbade them of evil conviction concerning Allah are ʿAbdallāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl and his companions.
Mention of who said that:
8107 — Muḥammad related to me, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: يا أيها الذين آمنوا لا تكونوا كالذين كفروا وقالوا لإخوانهم "O you who believe, be not like those who disbelieve and who said of their brethren," the verse. He said: These are the hypocrites, the companions of ʿAbdallāh ibn Ubayy.
8108 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His statement: وقالوا لإخوانهم إذا ضربوا في الأرض أو كانوا غُزًّى "and who said of their brethren, when these had journeyed through the land or had been on a military campaign": it is the statement of the hypocrite ʿAbdallāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl.
8109 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the like of that.
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Others have said concerning that: they are all the hypocrites (munāfiqūn) collectively.
Mention of who said that:
8110 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: يا أيها الذين آمنوا لا تكونوا كالذين كفروا وقالوا لإخوانهم "O you who believe, be not like those who disbelieve and who said of their brethren," the verse. That is to say: be not like the hypocrites who forbid their brethren to wage jihād in the way of Allah and to journey through the land in obedience to Allah and obedience to His Messenger, and who, when these die or are killed, say: had they obeyed us, they would not have died nor been killed.
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As for His statement: إذا ضربوا في الأرض "when these had journeyed through the land," there has been disagreement over its explanation. Some said: it is the journey for trade, and the journeying through the land to seek livelihood.
Mention of who said that:
8111 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: إذا ضربوا في الأرض "when these had journeyed through the land," and that is trade.
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Others said: no, it is the journeying in obedience to Allah and obedience to His Messenger ﷺ.
Mention of who said that:
8112 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: إذا ضربوا في الأرض "when these had journeyed through the land," the journeying through the land in obedience to Allah and obedience to His Messenger.
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The root meaning of "journeying through the land" (al-ḍarb fī l-arḍ) is removing oneself across it by traveling.
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As for His statement: أو كانوا غُزًّى "or had been on a military campaign," by it He means: or they were warriors in the way of Allah.
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And "al-ghuzzā" is the plural of "ghāzin" (warrior), formed on the pattern "fuʿʿal," just as "shāhid" is pluralized to "shuhhad," and "qāʾil" to "quwwal." And one indeed recites the verse of Ruʾba:
Today my self-restraint has held me back, and the returning of a sober gravity that is not branded as folly, and those who say: "If not this, then nothing" (illā dah fa-lā dah).
And one also recites:
And their saying: "If not this, then nothing."
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And one has said only: لا تكونوا كالذين كفروا وقالوا لإخوانهم إذا ضربوا في الأرض أو كانوا غزى "be not like those who disbelieve and who said of their brethren, when these had journeyed through the land or had been on a military campaign," whereby the perfect verb was accompanied by the particle that, with its perfect, accompanies only the future tense. For it was said: وقالوا لإخوانهم "and they said of their brethren," and then it was said: إذا ضربوا "when they journeyed," whereas in the language one says: "I honored you when (idh) you visited me," and one does not say: "I honored you when (idhā) you visit me." For "the saying" in His words وقالوا لإخوانهم "and they said of their brethren," even though it stands in the form of the perfect, carries the meaning of the future tense. That is because the Arabs, with "alladhīna" (those who), take the direction of the conditional clause, and treat it in that respect like "man" (whoever) and "mā" (whatever), owing to the closeness of those meanings in many matters, and because they are all indefinite matters, not fixed as "ʿAmr" and "Zayd" are fixed.
And since that was so — and since it is correct and eloquent in the language for one to say to a man: "Honor whoever honors you" and "Honor every man who honors you," whereby the utterance comes out in the form of the perfect with "man" and "kull," both of which are indefinite, while its meaning is the future tense, because that which is described by the verb is not fixed — and since "alladhīna" in His statement لا تكونوا كالذين كفروا وقالوا لإخوانهم إذا ضربوا في الأرض "be not like those who disbelieve and who said of their brethren, when these had journeyed through the land," is not fixed, it was treated like "man" and "mā" in their interpretation which takes the direction of the conditional clause, and in the expressing of their subordinate clauses with the expressions of the perfect of the verbs, while they carry the meaning of the future tense, as the poet said concerning "mā":
And indeed, I come to you out of gratitude for what of the matter has passed, and to make deserved what tomorrow will be.
He said: "what tomorrow will be" (mā kāna fī ghad), while meaning: what will happen tomorrow. And had he meant the past, he would have said: "what was yesterday," and it would not be permissible for him to say: "what was tomorrow."
And had "alladhī" been fixed, it would not be permissible to say that. It is wrong to say: "You shall surely honor this one who honored you when you visit him," because "alladhī" here is fixed and has thus departed from the meaning of the conditional clause; and had "this one" (hādhā) not been in the utterance, it would be permissible and eloquent, because "alladhī" then becomes indefinite and not fixed. To that belongs the statement of Allah, mighty and exalted: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَيَصُدُّونَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ (Verily, those who disbelieve and bar from the way of Allah) [Surah Al-Ḥajj: 25]. He made "yaṣuddūna" (they bar) refer back to "kafarū" (they disbelieved), because "alladhīna" is not fixed. His statement "kafarū," even though it stands in the form of the perfect, carries the meaning of the future tense. And likewise His statement: إِلا مَنْ تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا (except whoever repents and believes and does righteous work) [Surah Maryam: 60], and His statement: إِلا الَّذِينَ تَابُوا مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ تَقْدِرُوا عَلَيْهِمْ (except those who repent before you gain power over them) [Surah Al-Māʾida: 34], the meaning of which is: except those who repent before you gain power over them, and except whoever repents and believes. And the cases that are like this are numerous in the Qurʾān and in the language, and the cause in all of that is one and the same.
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As for His statement: ليجعل الله ذلك حسرة في قلوبهم "so that Allah might make that a remorse in their hearts," by it He means: grief in their hearts, as in:
8113 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His statement: في قلوبهم "in their hearts," he said: their saying grieves them, and avails them nothing.
8114 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the like of that.
8115 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: ليجعل الله ذلك حسرة في قلوبهم "so that Allah might make that a remorse in their hearts," because of the paucity of their conviction concerning their Lord, exalted is His praise.
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The discourse on the explanation of His statement, exalted is His praise: وَاللَّهُ يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ (And Allah gives life and causes death, and Allah is All-Seeing of what you do) (3:156).
Abū Jaʿfar said: By this He means, exalted is His praise, by His statement (And Allah gives life and causes death): and Allah is the One who brings forward death for whom He wills, from where He wills, and the One who causes to die whom He wills, whenever He wills, to the exclusion of all others among His creatures.
And this is from Allah, mighty and exalted, an exhortation to His believing servants toward jihād against His enemy and patience in their fighting (qitāl) against them, and the dispelling of the fear of them from their breasts, even though their number be small and the number of their enemies and the enemies of Allah great — and an instruction from Him to them that the causing of death and the giving of life lies in His hand, and that none shall die nor be killed except after the elapsing of his appointed term that is written for him — and a prohibition from Him to them, since that is so, against falling into despair over the death of whoever among them has died or the killing of whoever among them has been killed in the war against the polytheists (mushrikīn).
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Then He said, exalted is His praise: والله بما تعملون بصير "and Allah is All-Seeing of what you do." He says: verily, Allah sees what you do of good and evil, so fear Him, O believers; verily, He keeps account of all that, until He will requite every doer for his deed according to the measure of what he deserves.
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And in the manner of what we have said about that, Ibn Isḥāq said.
8116 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: والله يحيي ويميت "and Allah gives life and causes death," that is to say: He brings forward what He wills and defers what He wills of their appointed terms, by His power.
