3. Aal-i-Imraan

The Family of Imraan · Medinan · 200 ayahs

سُورَةُ آلِ عِمۡرَانَ

Reading Tafsir al-Jalalayn by Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli & Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti

Ayahs 111–120 of 200

لَن يَضُرُّوكُمْ إِلَّآ أَذًۭى ۖ وَإِن يُقَٰتِلُوكُمْ يُوَلُّوكُمُ ٱلْأَدْبَارَ ثُمَّ لَا يُنصَرُونَ

They will not harm you except for [some] annoyance. And if they fight you, they will show you their backs; then they will not be aided.

They the Jews will not harm you O company of Muslims in any way except a little hurt with their tongues such as slander and threats; and if they fight against you they will turn their backs to you in retreat then they will not be helped against you but you will be helped against them.

Aal-i-Imraan 3:111Listen in Qur'an →

112

ضُرِبَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلذِّلَّةُ أَيْنَ مَا ثُقِفُوٓا۟ إِلَّا بِحَبْلٍۢ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَحَبْلٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلنَّاسِ وَبَآءُو بِغَضَبٍۢ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَضُرِبَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْمَسْكَنَةُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ يَكْفُرُونَ بِـَٔايَٰتِ ٱللَّهِ وَيَقْتُلُونَ ٱلْأَنۢبِيَآءَ بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّۢ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِمَا عَصَوا۟ وَّكَانُوا۟ يَعْتَدُونَ

They have been put under humiliation [by Allah] wherever they are overtaken, except for a covenant from Allah and a rope from the Muslims. And they have drawn upon themselves anger from Allah and have been put under destitution. That is because they disbelieved in the verses of Allah and killed the prophets without right. That is because they disobeyed and [habitually] transgressed.

Abasement shall be cast upon them wherever they are found so that they have no strength and no protection save if they be clinging to a rope of God and a rope of the believing people this being the latter’s covenant of security for them on the condition that they pay the jizya in other words they have no protection other than this; they have incurred they have ended up with anger from God and poverty shall be cast upon them; that is because they disbelieved in God’s signs and slew the prophets without right; that dhālika is repeated for emphasis is because they disobeyed God’s command and used to transgress passing from what is lawful into what is unlawful.

Aal-i-Imraan 3:112Listen in Qur'an →

113

۞ لَيْسُوا۟ سَوَآءًۭ ۗ مِّنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ أُمَّةٌۭ قَآئِمَةٌۭ يَتْلُونَ ءَايَٰتِ ٱللَّهِ ءَانَآءَ ٱلَّيْلِ وَهُمْ يَسْجُدُونَ

They are not [all] the same; among the People of the Scripture is a community standing [in obedience], reciting the verses of Allah during periods of the night and prostrating [in prayer].

Yet they the People of the Scripture are not all alike equal; some of the People of the Scripture are a community upright with integrity adhering to the truth such as ‘Abd Allāh b. Salām may God be pleased with him and his companions who recite God’s verses in the watches of the night that is during its hours prostrating themselves performing prayer wa-hum yasjudūn ‘prostrating themselves’ is a circumstantial qualifier.

Aal-i-Imraan 3:113Listen in Qur'an →

114

يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْءَاخِرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ وَيُسَٰرِعُونَ فِى ٱلْخَيْرَٰتِ وَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ مِنَ ٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ

They believe in Allah and the Last Day, and they enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and hasten to good deeds. And those are among the righteous.

They believe in God and in the Last Day enjoining decency and forbidding indecency vying with one another in good works; those described in the way God has mentioned are of the righteous and some of them are not like this and are not righteous.

Aal-i-Imraan 3:114Listen in Qur'an →

115

وَمَا يَفْعَلُوا۟ مِنْ خَيْرٍۢ فَلَن يُكْفَرُوهُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌۢ بِٱلْمُتَّقِينَ

And whatever good they do - never will it be removed from them. And Allah is Knowing of the righteous.

And whatever good you do O community taf‘alū ‘you do’ or if this is read yaf‘alū ‘they do’ then it is referring to them ‘the upright community’ you shall not be denied it read in both ways fa-lan tukfarūhu ‘you shall not be denied it’ or fa-lan yukfarūhu ‘they shall not be denied it’ you shall not be deprived of its reward but you will be rewarded for it and God knows the God-fearing.

Aal-i-Imraan 3:115Listen in Qur'an →

116

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لَن تُغْنِىَ عَنْهُمْ أَمْوَٰلُهُمْ وَلَآ أَوْلَٰدُهُم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ شَيْـًۭٔا ۖ وَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ أَصْحَٰبُ ٱلنَّارِ ۚ هُمْ فِيهَا خَٰلِدُونَ

Indeed, those who disbelieve - never will their wealth or their children avail them against Allah at all, and those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally.

As for the disbelievers their riches shall not avail protect them neither their children against God that is against His chastisement these two are singled out for mention because a person usually avails himself either by paying a ransom or by resorting to the help of his children; those are the inhabitants of the Fire abiding therein.

Aal-i-Imraan 3:116Listen in Qur'an →

117

مَثَلُ مَا يُنفِقُونَ فِى هَٰذِهِ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا كَمَثَلِ رِيحٍۢ فِيهَا صِرٌّ أَصَابَتْ حَرْثَ قَوْمٍۢ ظَلَمُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ فَأَهْلَكَتْهُ ۚ وَمَا ظَلَمَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَلَٰكِنْ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ

The example of what they spend in this worldly life is like that of a wind containing frost which strikes the harvest of a people who have wronged themselves and destroys it. And Allah has not wronged them, but they wrong themselves.

The likeness the description of what they the disbelievers expend in the life of this world in the way of enmity towards the Prophet or in the way of voluntary almsgiving or the like is as the likeness of a wind wherein is a blast of extreme hot or cold that smote the tillage the crops of a people who have wronged themselves through unbelief and disobedience and destroyed it so that they could not profit from it; so it is with what they expend it perishes and they profit nothing from it. God did not wrong them when they lost what they expended but they wronged themselves through unbelief which necessitated this loss.

Aal-i-Imraan 3:117Listen in Qur'an →

118

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَتَّخِذُوا۟ بِطَانَةًۭ مِّن دُونِكُمْ لَا يَأْلُونَكُمْ خَبَالًۭا وَدُّوا۟ مَا عَنِتُّمْ قَدْ بَدَتِ ٱلْبَغْضَآءُ مِنْ أَفْوَٰهِهِمْ وَمَا تُخْفِى صُدُورُهُمْ أَكْبَرُ ۚ قَدْ بَيَّنَّا لَكُمُ ٱلْءَايَٰتِ ۖ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ

O you who have believed, do not take as intimates those other than yourselves, for they will not spare you [any] ruin. They wish you would have hardship. Hatred has already appeared from their mouths, and what their breasts conceal is greater. We have certainly made clear to you the signs, if you will use reason.

O you who believe do not take as intimates as sincere friends revealing to them your secret thoughts anyone apart from yourselves from among the Jews Christians and the hypocrites; such men spare nothing to ruin you khabālan is in the accusative because the preposition that usually precedes it sc. fī’l-khabāl has been omitted that is to say they would not be remiss about corrupting you; they would love they wish for you to suffer al-‘anat means extreme hardship. Hatred enmity towards you is revealed it is manifested by their mouths by sowing discord among you and informing the idolaters of your secret plans; and what their breasts conceal of enmity is yet greater. Now We have made clear to you the signs of their enmity; if you understand this then do not befriend them.

Aal-i-Imraan 3:118Listen in Qur'an →

119

هَٰٓأَنتُمْ أُو۟لَآءِ تُحِبُّونَهُمْ وَلَا يُحِبُّونَكُمْ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْكِتَٰبِ كُلِّهِۦ وَإِذَا لَقُوكُمْ قَالُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَوْا۟ عَضُّوا۟ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْأَنَامِلَ مِنَ ٱلْغَيْظِ ۚ قُلْ مُوتُوا۟ بِغَيْظِكُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌۢ بِذَاتِ ٱلصُّدُورِ

Here you are loving them but they are not loving you, while you believe in the Scripture - all of it. And when they meet you, they say, "We believe." But when they are alone, they bite their fingertips at you in rage. Say, "Die in your rage. Indeed, Allah is Knowing of that within the breasts."

Lo hā ‘lo!’ is for calling attention to something there you are O believers you love them on account of their kinship and their pretence of friendship towards you but they love you not since they oppose you in religion; you believe in the Book all of it that is to say in the Books all of them but they do not believe in your Book and when they meet you they say ‘We believe’ but when they are alone they bite at you their fingertips in rage in extreme fury at what they see of your mutual affection the biting of the fingertips is used to figuratively express the severity of rage even if there be no biting involved. Say ‘Perish in your rage that is be this way until the end of your lives for you shall not see what will please you; God knows what is in the breasts’ what is in the hearts including that which these conceal.

Aal-i-Imraan 3:119Listen in Qur'an →

120

إِن تَمْسَسْكُمْ حَسَنَةٌۭ تَسُؤْهُمْ وَإِن تُصِبْكُمْ سَيِّئَةٌۭ يَفْرَحُوا۟ بِهَا ۖ وَإِن تَصْبِرُوا۟ وَتَتَّقُوا۟ لَا يَضُرُّكُمْ كَيْدُهُمْ شَيْـًٔا ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ مُحِيطٌۭ

If good touches you, it distresses them; but if harm strikes you, they rejoice at it. And if you are patient and fear Allah, their plot will not harm you at all. Indeed, Allah is encompassing of what they do.

If good fortune a favour such as victory or booty befalls you it is evil for them it grieves them; but if evil such as defeat or drought befalls you they rejoice thereat the conditional statement here is semantically connected to the previous conditional and what comes in between is a parenthetical statement the meaning being that their enmity towards you is endless so why do you befriend them? Avoid them! Yet if you endure their harm and fear God by not befriending them and so on their guile will not hurt you read either lā yadirkum or lā yadurrukum at all; God encompasses what they do ya‘malūn or may be read ta‘malūn ‘what you do’ He has knowledge of it and will requite them for it.

Aal-i-Imraan 3:120Listen in Qur'an →

Commentary: Tafsir al-Jalalayn by Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli & Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti. Qur'an text and translation via AlQuran Cloud.