سُورَةُ آلِ عِمۡرَانَ
Reading Kashf al-Asrar (alternate text) by Rashid al-Din Maybudi
Ayahs 71–80 of 200
يَٰٓأَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ لِمَ تَلْبِسُونَ ٱلْحَقَّ بِٱلْبَٰطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُونَ ٱلْحَقَّ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
O People of the Scripture, why do you confuse the truth with falsehood and conceal the truth while you know [it]?
Explained together with ayah 64
وَقَالَت طَّآئِفَةٌۭ مِّنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ ءَامِنُوا۟ بِٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَجْهَ ٱلنَّهَارِ وَٱكْفُرُوٓا۟ ءَاخِرَهُۥ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ
And a faction of the People of the Scripture say [to each other], "Believe in that which was revealed to the believers at the beginning of the day and reject it at its end that perhaps they will abandon their religion,
Explained together with ayah 64
وَلَا تُؤْمِنُوٓا۟ إِلَّا لِمَن تَبِعَ دِينَكُمْ قُلْ إِنَّ ٱلْهُدَىٰ هُدَى ٱللَّهِ أَن يُؤْتَىٰٓ أَحَدٌۭ مِّثْلَ مَآ أُوتِيتُمْ أَوْ يُحَآجُّوكُمْ عِندَ رَبِّكُمْ ۗ قُلْ إِنَّ ٱلْفَضْلَ بِيَدِ ٱللَّهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَن يَشَآءُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ وَٰسِعٌ عَلِيمٌۭ
And do not trust except those who follow your religion." Say, "Indeed, the [true] guidance is the guidance of Allah. [Do you fear] lest someone be given [knowledge] like you were given or that they would [thereby] argue with you before your Lord?" Say, "Indeed, [all] bounty is in the hand of Allah - He grants it to whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Wise."
Do not have faith in any but those who follow your religion. Say: “Surely the guidance is God's guidance,” lest anyone should be given the like of what you have been given, or dispute with you before your Lord. Say: “Surely the bounty is in God's hand. He gives it to whomso- ever He wills.” And God is all-embracing, knowing. Some of the commentators have said that here God is addressing the Muslims and caressing the folk of recognition and faith. He is reminding them of His favor toward them with the religion of the submission. The address then has two paths. In one respect it is addressed to the common faithful of this community, and in the other respect it is addressed to the recognizers and the elect among the folk of the Tariqah. The first respect is this: “O assembly of submitters! Do not suppose or hold firm that anyone has been given what has been given to you. There is no religion like the religion of the submission, and it was given to you. There is no book like the Qur'an, and it was given to you. There is no prophet like MuḤammad, and he was given to you. There is no month like Ramadan, and it belongs to you. There is no day like Friday, and it belongs to you. All the shariahs have been abrogated by your shariah, and all the compacts have been abrogated by your compact. The perfection of the religion and the Shariah and the beauty of the Tariqah and the Haqiqah are all in your covenant.” This is in His words, “Today I have perfected your religion for you and I have completed My bless- ings upon you and I have approved the submission for you as a religion” [5:3]. “Now give gratitude for this blessing, give thanks to your Object of worship, and obey the command. The command is this: 'Do not have faith in any but those who follow your religion.' Do not exercise friendship with any but those who share your religion, and do not show brother- hood to any but the faithful. Keep away from the irreligious and the estranged.” This is just what He says in this verse: “Do not lean upon those who do wrong, lest the Fire touch you” [11:113]. He also says, “Thou wilt not find a people having faith in God and the Last Day loving those who oppose God and His Messenger” [58:22]. “Then see all this blessing and generosity from the Object of your worship and remember His favor. Do not place any cause in the midst along with Him and do not associate any others, for guidance and going astray, higherness and lowerness, are all from His bounty and justice, all by His desire and decree. Say: “Surely the guidance is God's guidance.” Say: “Surely the bounty is in God's hand.” The other respect is that this is addressed to the recognizers and it caresses the lovers. He is saying, “Do not divulge the Real's secrets to other than its folk.” Do not tell the mystery of love to anyone and do not make manifest the secret of poverty to the unworthy. Conceal the face of the Haqiqah's beauty with the mask of inaccessibility, so that the eyes of the non-privy may not gaze at it. When you drink wine, drink it with a privy, pain-filled companion. When you lose it all, lose with a clever, wise companion. [DS 972] Shiblī had secret whispering with the Real. He said, …
يَخْتَصُّ بِرَحْمَتِهِۦ مَن يَشَآءُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ ذُو ٱلْفَضْلِ ٱلْعَظِيمِ
He selects for His mercy whom He wills. And Allah is the possessor of great bounty.
He singles out for His mercy whomsoever He will. That is, He singles out for His blessings whomsoever He will. He singles out a group for provisions, He singles out a group for the blessing of character traits, He singles out a group for the blessing of worship, others for the blessing of desire, others for the success of outwardness, others for the realiza- tion of the secret cores, others for the gift of outer skins, others for the encounter with the secrets. God says, and His words are truth: “If you count God's blessings, you will not enumerate them” [14:34].7 He singles out for His mercy whomsoever He will. He brought them together obscurely and did not specify anyone so that the hopeful would increase in their hope and the fearful would not remain in their fear. In the station of worship and obedience the servants will not find any states better than hope and fear, for the Lord of the Worlds praises the servants in these two states and says, “They hope for His mercy and fear His chastisement” [17:57]. He is also calling attention to the fact that even if the servants strive to the utmost in obedience and perform all the conditions of servanthood, in the end it is God's mercy that will deliver them. Concerning this the following has been narrated from the Prophet: “No one will enter the Garden by his deeds.” It was said to him, “Not even you, O Messenger of God!” He said, “Not even I, unless God envelops me with His mercy.”
۞ وَمِنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ مَنْ إِن تَأْمَنْهُ بِقِنطَارٍۢ يُؤَدِّهِۦٓ إِلَيْكَ وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ إِن تَأْمَنْهُ بِدِينَارٍۢ لَّا يُؤَدِّهِۦٓ إِلَيْكَ إِلَّا مَا دُمْتَ عَلَيْهِ قَآئِمًۭا ۗ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا۟ لَيْسَ عَلَيْنَا فِى ٱلْأُمِّيِّۦنَ سَبِيلٌۭ وَيَقُولُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلْكَذِبَ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ
And among the People of the Scripture is he who, if you entrust him with a great amount [of wealth], he will return it to you. And among them is he who, if you entrust him with a [single] silver coin, he will not return it to you unless you are constantly standing over him [demanding it]. That is because they say, "There is no blame upon us concerning the unlearned." And they speak untruth about Allah while they know [it].
Explained together with ayah 74
بَلَىٰ مَنْ أَوْفَىٰ بِعَهْدِهِۦ وَٱتَّقَىٰ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُتَّقِينَ
But yes, whoever fulfills his commitment and fears Allah - then indeed, Allah loves those who fear Him.
Explained together with ayah 74
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَشْتَرُونَ بِعَهْدِ ٱللَّهِ وَأَيْمَٰنِهِمْ ثَمَنًۭا قَلِيلًا أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ لَا خَلَٰقَ لَهُمْ فِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ وَلَا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَلَا يَنظُرُ إِلَيْهِمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ وَلَا يُزَكِّيهِمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۭ
Indeed, those who exchange the covenant of Allah and their [own] oaths for a small price will have no share in the Hereafter, and Allah will not speak to them or look at them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them; and they will have a painful punishment.
Explained together with ayah 74
وَإِنَّ مِنْهُمْ لَفَرِيقًۭا يَلْوُۥنَ أَلْسِنَتَهُم بِٱلْكِتَٰبِ لِتَحْسَبُوهُ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ وَمَا هُوَ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ وَيَقُولُونَ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ وَيَقُولُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلْكَذِبَ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ
And indeed, there is among them a party who alter the Scripture with their tongues so you may think it is from the Scripture, but it is not from the Scripture. And they say, "This is from Allah," but it is not from Allah. And they speak untruth about Allah while they know.
Explained together with ayah 74
مَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَن يُؤْتِيَهُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ وَٱلْحُكْمَ وَٱلنُّبُوَّةَ ثُمَّ يَقُولَ لِلنَّاسِ كُونُوا۟ عِبَادًۭا لِّى مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ وَلَٰكِن كُونُوا۟ رَبَّٰنِيِّۦنَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تُعَلِّمُونَ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ وَبِمَا كُنتُمْ تَدْرُسُونَ
It is not for a human [prophet] that Allah should give him the Scripture and authority and prophethood and then he would say to the people, "Be servants to me rather than Allah," but [instead, he would say], "Be pious scholars of the Lord because of what you have taught of the Scripture and because of what you have studied."
It belongs to no mortal man that God should give him the Book, the judgment, and prophet- hood, and then he should say to the people, “Be servants of me instead of God!” But, “Be you lordly ones from having taught the Book and from having studied!” Before giving existence to the universe and creating Adam, the majestic compeller, the great God, the renowned enactor, knew in His eternal knowledge who among the children of Adam would be worthy of prophethood and friendship and who would be qualified for love and suited for messen- gerhood. God knows better where to place His message [6:124]. How can he upon whom He has placed the brand of deprivation and the inscription of unawareness be sinless and truthful on the road today? And how can he to whom He has given good fortune gratis and whom He has placed on the road of truthfulness and sinlessness be roadless and bad in state today? So, what will take form and how can it enter into imagination? It could never happen that the chosen MuṣṬafā and the caressed Jesus, after the honor of prophethood, the confirmation of sinlessness, and the strength of messengerhood, take a step out of line and say to the people, “Be servants of me instead of God!” By virtue of the beginningless choice and eternal solicitude, the Lord of the Worlds answered on their behalf as their deputy: “They do not say this. Rather they say, 'Be you lordly ones!'” In other words: Be among those singled out for God, those who are described by His words, “When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears and his eyesight with which he sees.” In keeping with the tasting of the folk of recognition, the lordly ones are those who become one for God with disengaged intention, sound trust, and intimacy's breeze. They step beyond the two worlds and seize hold of the gentleness of the Patron's love. They say the prayer of the dead for their own attributes. When someone steps into the field of passion for the beautiful, night and day will recite for him the prayer of the dead. [DS 210] They have souls undergoing annihilation and hearts full of thirst. They have burnt souls, secret cores lit by passion, and spirits hanging in hope. I want a heart for choosing only You, a spirit for breathing the pain of Your passion, A body for desiring only Your love, an eye for seeing You and only You. Their aspiration goes beyond this world, their desire beyond paradise, their repose beyond heaven and earth. They are waiting: When will the sun of love rise, when will the moon of good fortune come forth, when will the breeze of felicity blow, when will the beginningless remembrance bear fruit? When will I throw off this cage and build a nest in the divine garden!? It is also said that the lordly ones are those singled out for God. Through this they are ascribed to Him, described by His attributes, and come forth with His character traits as long as their servant- hood lasts and their makeup stays in place. This view is taken from the saying of MuṣṬafā, “Be- come characterized by the character traits of God!” He also said, “God has a number of character traits. Whoever becomes characterized by one of them will enter the Garden.” The folk of knowledge …
وَلَا يَأْمُرَكُمْ أَن تَتَّخِذُوا۟ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةَ وَٱلنَّبِيِّۦنَ أَرْبَابًا ۗ أَيَأْمُرُكُم بِٱلْكُفْرِ بَعْدَ إِذْ أَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ
Nor could he order you to take the angels and prophets as lords. Would he order you to disbelief after you had been Muslims?
Explained together with ayah 79
Commentary: Kashf al-Asrar (alternate text) by Rashid al-Din Maybudi. Qur'an text and translation via AlQuran Cloud.
