Tafseer of The Women · An-Nisaa · 4:111
And whoever commits a sin only earns it against himself. And Allah is ever Knowing and Wise.
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 on the explanation of His word: وَمَن يَكْسِبْ خَطِيئَةً أَوْ إِثْمًا ثُمَّ يَرْمِ بِهِ بَرِيئًا فَقَدِ احْتَمَلَ بُهْتَانًا وَإِثْمًا مُّبِينًا (4:112)
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted be His praise, means by it: and whoever commits a misstep (khaṭīʾa) — and that is the transgression = "or a sin (ithm)", and that is what is forbidden of disobedience. (65)
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He distinguished between "the misstep" and "the sin" only because "the misstep" may occur both intentionally and unintentionally, whereas "the sin" occurs only intentionally. For this reason He, exalted be His praise, distinguished between the two and said: and whoever commits a "misstep" without it being intentional on his part = "or a sin" intentionally on his part.
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= "and then ascribes it to an innocent person", (66) He means: and then ascribes what he has of his misstep or his sin which he committed intentionally (67) = to an "innocent person", who is free of that which he ascribed to him and charged against him = "he has indeed laid upon himself a slander and a manifest sin", He says: (68) he has, by that deed of his, laid upon himself a fabrication, a lie, and an enormous sin = that is to say: and an enormous offense, with knowledge on his part and with intent regarding the disobedience and the transgression which he committed.
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And the people of the explanation differed concerning whom Allah meant by His word "an innocent person", after their unanimous agreement that the one who accused the innocent person of the sin which he had committed was Ibn Ubayriq, whose case we have described earlier.
Some of them said: Allah, mighty and exalted, meant by the innocent person a man of the Muslims who was called "Labīd ibn Sahl". (69)
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And others said: no, He meant a man of the Jews who was called "Zayd ibn al-Samīn", and we have mentioned the report of those who said that in what has passed. (70)
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And among those who said: "he was a Jew", is Ibn Sīrīn.
10425 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Ghundar related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of Khālid al-Ḥadhdhāʾ, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn: "and then ascribes it to an innocent person", he said: a Jew.
10426 — Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Badal ibn al-Muḥabbar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Khālid, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, the like of it. (71)
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And it was said: "and then ascribes an innocent person to it", in the meaning of: then he accuses, with the sin which this traitor committed, someone who is innocent of that of which he accused him = the "hāʾ" (the referring pronoun) in His word "it (bihi)" thus refers back to "the sin". And if one were to make it a reference back to the mention of "the sin" and "the misstep", that would be permissible, for the deeds — even though the expressions by which they are expressed differ — go back to one meaning, namely that it is a deed. (72)
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= And as for His word: "he has indeed laid upon himself a slander and a manifest sin", its meaning is: he has laid upon himself — this one who accused, with that which he committed of disobedience and perpetrated of sin and misstep, someone who is innocent of that of which he accused him thereby = "a slander (buhtān)", and that is the fabrication and the lie (73) = "and a manifest sin", He means: a "manifest" burden (wizr), He means: that it makes manifest concerning the case of the one who bears it and his audacity toward his Lord, (74) and his haste to oppose Him in that from which He restrained him, for whoever knows his case.
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The footnotes:
(65) See the explanation of "khaṭīʾa" in what has passed earlier, 2: 110, 284, 285.
(66) In the printed edition there is an addition which I have omitted; the text read: "and then ascribes it to an innocent person, He means by the one whom he intentionally accused an innocent person, He means …", and that is a corruption in the explanation, so I have omitted it for that reason and followed the manuscript.
(67) In the printed edition it reads: "then he describes what he committed of his misstep …", and I have established what is in the manuscript, and that is the correct reading.
(68) See the explanation of "al-buhtān" in what has passed earlier, 5: 432 / 8: 124.
(69) See the report no.: 10411.
(70) See the nos.: 10412, 10416.
(71) The report 10426 — "Badal ibn al-Muḥabbar ibn al-Munabbih al-Tamīmī al-Yarbūʿī" transmitted from Shuʿba, and from al-Khalīl ibn Aḥmad, the master of prosody, and others. And from him transmitted al-Bukhārī, and the Four [Sunan compilers] through the intermediary of Muḥammad ibn Bashshār. Trustworthy (thiqa). And "Badal" is with two fatḥas.
(72) This is an abridgment of the statement of al-Farrāʾ in Maʿānī al-Qurʾān 1: 286, 287.
(73) See the explanation of "al-buhtān" in what has passed earlier, p.: 197, note: 4.
(74) See the explanation of "mubīn" in what has passed earlier, p.: 3, note: 1, and the references therein. And in the printed edition it read: "it makes manifest concerning the case of his deed", and the correct reading comes from the manuscript.
