by Ibn Kathir
لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِيهِمْ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الاْخِرَ
Certainly, there has been in them an excellent example for you to follow -- for those who look forward to (the meeting with) Allah and the Last Day.
Asserting what He has said before with the exemption mentioned, i.e., the good example that Allah mentioned before,
لِمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الاْخِرَ - (for those who look forward to Allah and the Last Day), thus encouraging the believers who believe in Allah and the Return to Him.
Allah said,
وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ - And whosoever turns away, meaning, from what Allah has ordained,
فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ - Verily, Allah is Al-Ghani, Al-Hamid.
Allah said in another Ayah,
إِن تَكْفُرُواْ أَنتُمْ وَمَن فِى الاٌّرْضِ جَمِيعًا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَنِىٌّ حَمِيدٌ
If you disbelieve, you and all on the earth together, then verily! Allah is Ghani, Hamid. (14:8)
Ali bin Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas,
" الْغَنِيُّ - Ghani, is the One Who is perfectly rich."
That is Allah. This is Allah's attribute that He alone is worthy of being described by; surely, He has no equal, none like unto Him. All praise is due to Allah, the One, the Irresistible.
الْحَمِيدُ - Hamid means, the praiseworthy, in all His statements and actions, there is no (true) God except Him alone
Perhaps Allah will make a Friendship between You and Those, whom You hold as Enemies
Allah said to His faithful servants, after ordering them to be enemies with the disbelievers,
عَسَى اللَّهُ أَن يَجْعَلَ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَ الَّذِينَ عَادَيْتُم مِّنْهُم مَّوَدَّةً
Perhaps Allah will make friendship between you and those, whom you hold as enemies.
Meaning affection after animosity, tenderness after coldness and coming together after parting from each other,
وَاللَّهُ قَدِيرٌ - And Allah has power (over all things),
Allah is able to gather opposites and bring together hearts, after feeling hostility and hardness. In this case, the hearts will come together in agreement, just as Allah said when He mentioned His favor on the Ansar,
وَاذْكُرُواْ نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنتُم أَعْدَاءً فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُم بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَاناً وَكُنتُمْ عَلَى شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِّنَ النَّارِ فَأَنقَذَكُمْ مِّنْهَا
And remember Allah's favor on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His grace, you became brethren and were on the brink of a pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. (3:103)
Also the Prophet said to them,
أَلَمْ أَجِدْكُمْ ضُلَّلاً فَهَدَاكُمُ اللهُ بِي وَكُنْتُمْ مُتَفَرِّقِينَ فَأَلَّفَكُمُ اللهُ بِي
Did I not find you misguided, and Allah guided you through me; and divided, and Allah united (your hearts) through me?
Allah the Exalted said,
هُوَ الَّذِى أَيَّدَكَ بِنَصْرِهِ وَبِالْمُوْمِنِينَ
وَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِهِمْ لَوْ أَنفَقْتَ مَا فِى الاٌّرْضِ جَمِيعاً مَّأ أَلَّفْتَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِهِمْ وَلَـكِنَّ اللَّهَ أَلَّفَ بَيْنَهُمْ إِنَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ
He it is Who has supported you with His help and with the believers.
And He has united their hearts. If you had spent all that is in the earth, you could not have united their hearts, but Allah has united them. Certainly He is Almighty, All-Wise. (8:62,63)
And in the Hadith:
أَحْبِبْ حَبِيبَكَ هَوْنًا مَا فَعَسَى أَنْ يَكُونَ بَغِيضَكَ يَوْمًا مَا
وَأَبْغِضْ بَغِيضَكَ هَوْنًا مَا فَعَسَى أَنْ يَكُونَ حَبِيبَكَ يَوْمًا مَا
- Love your loved one moderately, because one day, he might become your enemy.
- Hate your hated one moderately, because one day, he might become your loved one.
Allah's statement,
وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ - And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Means, Allah forgives the disbelief of the disbelievers if they repent from it, returned to their Lord and surrendered to Him in Islam. Surely, He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most-Merciful to those who repent to Him from their sins, no matter what type of the sin it is.
The Permissibility of being Kind to Disbelievers who do not fight against the Religion And Allah's statement;
Allah command's,
لَاا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُم مِّن دِيَارِكُمْ
Allah does not forbid you with those who fought not against you on account of religion nor drove you out of your homes, means, those who did not have a role in your expulsion. Therefore, Allah does not forbid you from being kind to the disbelievers who do not fight you because of the religion, such as women and weak disbelievers,
أَن تَبَرُّوهُمْ - to deal kindly, (to be gentle with them),
وَتُقْسِطُوا إِلَيْهِمْ - and justly with those, (to be fair with them),
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ - Verily, Allah loves those who deal with equity.
Imam Ahmad recorded that Asma' bint Abu Bakr said,
"My mother, who was an idolatress at the time, came to me during the Treaty of Peace, the Prophet conducted with the Quraysh. I came to the Prophet and said, `O Allah's Messenger! My mother came visiting, desiring something from me, should I treat her with good relations'
The Prophet said,
نَعَمْ صِلِي أُمَّك - Yes. Keep good relation with your mother."
The Two Sahihs recorded this Hadith.
Imam Ahmad recorded that Abdullah bin Zubayr said,
"Qutaylah came visiting her daughter, Asma' bint Abi Bakr, with some gifts, such as Dibab, cheese and clarified (cooking) butter, and she was an idolatress at that time. Asma' refused to accept her mother's gifts and did not let her enter her house. A'ishah asked the Prophet about his verdict and Allah sent down the Ayah,
لَاا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ
Allah does not forbid you with those who fought not against you on account of religion until the end of the Ayah.
Allah's Messenger ordered Asma' to accept her mother's gifts and to let her enter her house."
Allah's statement,
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ - (Allah loves those who deal with equity), was duly explained in the Tafsir of Surah Al-Hujurat.
We also mentioned the authentic Hadith,
الْمُقْسِطُونَ عَلى مَنَابِرَ مِنْ نُورٍ عَنْ يَمِينِ الْعَرْشِ الَّذِينَ يَعْدِلُونَ فِي حُكْمِهِمْ وَأَهَالِيهِمْ وَمَا وَلُوا
The just, who are fair in their decisions, families and those under their authority, will be on podiums made of light, to the right of the Throne.
The Prohibition of being Kind towards Combatant Disbelievers
Allah's statement
إِنَّمَا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ قَاتَلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَأَخْرَجُوكُم مِّن دِيَارِكُمْ
وَظَاهَرُوا عَلَى إِخْرَاجِكُمْ أَن تَوَلَّوْهُمْ
It is only as regards those who fought against you on account of religion, and have driven you out of your homes, and helped to drive you out that Allah forbids you to befriend them.
Means, `Allah forbids you from being kind and befriending with the disbelievers who are openly hostile to you, those who fought against you, expelled you and helped to expel you. Allah the Exalted forbids you from being their friends and orders you to be their enemy.'
Then Allah stresses His threat against being friends with them, by saying,
وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُمْ فَأُوْلَيِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ - And whosoever will befriend them, then such are the wrongdoers.
As He said;
يَـأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لَا تَتَّخِذُواْ الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَـرَى أَوْلِيَأءَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَأءُ بَعْضٍ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُمْ مِّنكُمْ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى الْقَوْمَ الظَّـلِمِينَ
O you who believe!
Take not the Jews and the Christians as protecting friends, they are but protecting friends of each other. And if any among you takes them (as protecting friends), then surely, he is one of them.
Verily, Allah guides not those people who are the wrongdoers. (5:51)
After Al-Hudaybiyyah, Emigrant Muslim Women may not be returned to the Disbelievers
In Surah Al-Fath, we related the story of the treaty at Al-Hudaybiyyah that was conducted between the Messenger of Allah and the disbelievers of Quraysh. In that treaty, there were these words,
"Everyman (in another narration, every person) who reverts from our side to your side should be returned to us, even if he is a follower of your religion."
This was said by Urwah, Ad-Dahhak, Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd, Az-Zuhri, Muqatil bin Hayyan and As-Suddi.
So according to this narration, this Ayah specifies and explains the Sunnah. And this is the best case of understanding.
Yet according to another view of some of the Salaf, it abrogates it.
Allah the Exalted and Most High ordered His faithful servants to test the faith of women who emigrate to them. When they are sure that they are faithful, they should not send them back to the disbelievers, for the disbelievers are not allowed for them and they are not allowed for the disbelievers.
In the biography of Abdullah bin Abi Ahmad bin Jahsh in Al-Musnad Al-Kabir, we also mentioned that Abdullah bin Abi Ahmad said,
"Umm Kulthum bint Uqbah bin Abi Mu`ayt emigrated and her brothers, Umarah and Al-Walid, went after her. They came to Allah's Messenger and talked to him about Umm Kulthum and asked that she be returned to them. Allah abolished the part of the treaty between the Prophet and the idolators about the women particularly. So He forbade returning Muslim women to the idolators and revealed the Ayah about testing them."
Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn `Abbas, about Allah's saying:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ امَنُوا إِذَا جَاءكُمُ الْمُوْمِنَاتُ مُهَاجِرَاتٍ فَامْتَحِنُوهُنَّ
O you who believe!
When believing women come to you as emigrants, examine them;
"Their examination was asking them to testify to La ilaha illallah, and that Muhammad is Allah's servant and His Messenger."
اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِإِيمَانِهِنَّ - Allah knows best as to their faith,
Mujahid explained the Ayah,
فَامْتَحِنُوهُنَّ - (examine them) by saying, "Ask them why they migrated. If they came because they were angry with their husbands, or for any other reason, and you realized that they did not embrace the faith, then send them back to their husbands."
Allah's statement,
فَإِنْ عَلِمْتُمُوهُنَّ مُوْمِنَاتٍ فَلَإ تَرْجِعُوهُنَّ إِلَى الْكُفَّارِ - then if you ascertain that they are true believers, send them not back to the disbelievers.
This Ayah indicates that faith can be recognized and affirmed.
The Believing Woman is prohibited from marrying an Idolator and the Believing Man is prohibited from marrying the Idolatress
Allah's statement,
لَاا هُنَّ حِلٌّ لَّهُمْ وَلَاا هُمْ يَحِلُّونَ لَهُنَّ
They are not lawful for the disbelievers nor are the disbelievers lawful for them.
This Ayah forbids Muslim women for idolators, which was a lawful marriage in the beginning of Islam.
Abu Al-`As bin Ar-Rabi` was married to Zaynab, the Prophet's daughter. She was a Muslim, while Abu Al-`As was still an idolator like his people. When he was captured during the battle of Badr, his wife, Zaynab sent his ransom, a necklace that belonged to the Prophet's first wife Khadijah. The Prophet became very emotional when he saw the necklace and said to the Companions,
إِنْ رَأَيْتُمْ أَنْ تُطْلِقُوا لَهَا أَسِيرَهَا فَافْعَلُوا
If you decide to set free the prisoner who belongs to her, then do so.
They did, and Allah's Messenger set him free. His ransom was that he send his wife to Allah's Messenger.
Abu Al-`As fulfilled his promise and sent Zaynab to Allah's Messenger along with Zayd bin Harithah. Zaynab remained in Al-Madinah after the battle of Badr, which took place in the second year of Hijrah, until her husband Abu Al-`As bin Ar-Rahi` embraced Islam in the eighth year after the Hijrah. She returned to their marriage without renewing the dowry.
Allah's statement,
وَاتُوهُم مَّا أَنفَقُوا - But give them that which they have spent. Meaning, the husbands of the emigrant women who came from the idolators, return the dowry that they gave to their wives.
This was said by Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah, Az-Zuhri and several others.
Allah's statement,
وَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ أَن تَنكِحُوهُنَّ إِذَا اتَيْتُمُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ - And there will be no sin on you to marry them if you have paid their due to them. Means, when you wish to marry them, then give them their dowry. That is, marry them under the condition that their `Iddah (waiting period) is finished and they have a legal guardian for their marriage etc.
Allah said,
وَلَا تُمْسِكُوا بِعِصَمِ الْكَوَافِرِ - Likewise do not keep disbelieving women, thus forbidding His faithful servants from marrying idolator women or remaining married to them.
In the Sahih, it is recorded that Al-Miswar and Marwan bin Al-Hakam said that after the Messenger of Allah conducted the treaty with the Quraysh idolators at Al-Hudaybiyyah, some Muslim women emigrated to him and Allah the Exalted sent down this Ayah about them,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ امَنُوا إِذَا جَاءكُمُ الْمُوْمِنَاتُ مُهَاجِرَاتٍ
O you who believe! When believing women come to you as emigrants) until,
وَلَا تُمْسِكُوا بِعِصَمِ الْكَوَافِرِ
Likewise do not keep disbelieving women,
Then Umar bin Al-Khattab divorced two of his wives, who were idolatresses, and one of them got married to Mu`awiyah bin Abi Sufyan, while the other got married to Safwan bin Umayyah.
Ibn Thawr narrated that Ma`mar said that Az-Zuhri said,
"This Ayah was revealed to Allah's Messenger while he was in the area of Al-Hudaybiyyah, after making peace. He agreed that whoever comes from the Quraysh to his side, will be returned to Makkah. When some women came, this Ayah was revealed. Allah commanded that the dowry that was paid to these women be returned to their husbands. Allah also ordered that if some Muslim women revert to the side of the idolators, the idolators should return their dowry to their Muslim husbands.
Allah said,
وَلَا تُمْسِكُوا بِعِصَمِ الْكَوَافِرِ - Likewise do not keep disbelieving women."
Allah's statement,
وَاسْأَلُوا مَا أَنفَقْتُمْ وَلْيَسْأَلُوا مَا أَنفَقُوا - and ask for that which you have spent and let them ask for that which they have spent. Means, ask them for what you have paid to your wives who reverted to the side of the idolators, and they are entitled to get back the dowry that they gave their wives who emigrated to the Muslims.
Allah's statement,
ذَلِكُمْ حُكْمُ اللَّهِ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَكُمْ - That is the judgement of Allah, He judges between you.
Means, this judgement about the treaty and excluding women from its clauses, is a decision that Allah made for His creatures,
وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ - And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
Meaning, He knows what benefits His servants and is the Most Wise about that.
Allah the Exalted said
