4.113
Abbas - Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs
(But for the grace of Allah upon thee (Muhammad)) by bestowing upon you prophethood, (and His mercy) by sending Gabriel to you, (a party of them) of the clan of Tu'mah (had resolved) wanted and was planning (to mislead thee) in issuing the right judgement, (but they will mislead only themselves) regarding the judgement (and they will hurt thee not at all) because the hurt will befall those who committed perjury. (Allah revealeth unto thee the Scripture) He has sent you Gabriel with the Qur'an (and wisdom) expositing in it the lawful and the unlawful as well judicial decision (qada'), (and teacheth thee) by means of the Qur'an, legal rulings and legal punishments (that which thou knewest not) before the revelation of the Qur'an. (The grace of Allah towards you) by bestowing upon you prophethood (hath been infinite).
Were it not for God’s bounty to you O Muhammad (s) and His mercy by way of protecting you a party of them of Tu‘ma’s clan would have intended would have conspired to lead you astray from judging with truth by deceiving you; but they lead only themselves astray; they will not hurt you at all since the evil consequence of their leading you astray would have fallen on them. God has revealed to you the Book the Qur’ān and wisdom the rulings contained therein and He has taught you what you did not know of rulings and the Unseen; and God’s bounty to you in this and other respects is ever great.
Were it not for God's bounty to you, that is, His granting [you] of success and His reinforcement [of you] for the wayfaring along His path with what brings out your perfection [from potentiality] into actuality and accentuates the knowledge that is latent within you; and His mercy, His gift [to you] of that absolute perfection which He has deposited in you from pre-eternity, that mercy beyond which there is no [greater] mercy; but they lead only their souls astray, since that errancy the product of their original preparedness, moulded as they are upon wretchedness from pre-eternity: how then can that errancy that has been kneaded into them affect anyone other than themḍ God has revealed to you the Book, that is, the complete differentiated knowledge after the existence bestowed [on you from Him], and wisdom, knowledge of the rules governing the differentiations and the self-disclosures of the attributes and how to implement this [wisdom], and He has taught you what you did not know, since it is God's knowledge, which only He possesses, and so when He revealed to you His Essence upon your annihilation in Him, then made you subsist through the existence derived from [His Name] the Truth and your heart came to be and He veiled you with the veil of that heart, He taught you of His knowledge, as the attribute is consequent to the essence, and God's bounty, in manifesting that perfection upon you by facilitating for you the performing of deeds that have helped you arrive at where you have arrived, is ever great.
And whoever does evil or wrongs himself but afterwards seeks Allah's forgiveness, he will find Allah Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Ali bin Abi Talhah said that Ibn Abbas commented about this Ayah, "Allah informs His servants of His forgiveness, forbearing generosity and expansive mercy. So whoever commits a sin, whether minor or major,
(but afterwards seeks Allah's forgiveness, he will find Allah Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful), even if his sins were greater than the heavens, the earth and the mountains.'' Imam Ahmad recorded that Ali said,
"Whenever I hear anything from the Messenger of Allah, Allah benefits me with whatever He wills of that. Abu Bakr told me, and Abu Bakr has said the truth, that the Messenger of Allah said,
No Muslim commits a sin and then performs ablution, prays two Rak`ahs and begs Allah for forgiveness for that sin, but He forgives him. He then recited these two Ayat, وَمَن يَعْمَلْ سُوءًا أَوْ يَظْلِمْ نَفْسَهُ (And whoever does evil or wrongs himself), (4:110) and, وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُواْ فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُواْ أَنْفُسَهُمْ (And those who, when they have committed Fahishah or wronged themselves with evil).'' (3:135) Allah's statement,
And whoever earns sin, he earns it only against himself. is similar to His statement,
وَلاَ تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى
And no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another. (35:18) So no one will avail anyone else. Rather, every soul, and none else, shall carry its own burden. This is why Allah said,
... وَكَانَ اللّهُ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا ١١١
And Allah is Ever All-Knowing, All-Wise. meaning, this occurs due to His knowledge, wisdom, fairness and mercy.
Had not the grace of Allah and His mercy been upon you, a party of them would certainly have made a decision to mislead you, but they mislead none except their own selves, and no harm can they do to you in the least. Allah has sent down to you the Book, and the Hikmah,
.... وَعَلَّمَكَ مَا لَمْ تَكُنْ تَعْلَمُ...
and taught you that which you knew not, before this revelation was sent down to you. Similarly, Allah said,
And thus We have sent to you (O Muhammad) a Ruh (a revelation, and a mercy) of Our command. You knew not what is the Book) until the end of the Surah. (42:52-53) Allah said,
(save him who orders Sadaqah (charity), or goodness, or reconciliation between mankind;) meaning, except for this type of talk. Imam Ahmad recorded that Umm Kulthum bint `Uqbah said that she heard the Messenger of Allah saying,
(He who brings about reconciliation between people by embellishing good or saying good things, is not a liar.) She also said, "I never heard him allow what the people say (lies) except in three cases: in war, bringing peace between people and the man's speech (invented compliments) to his wife and her speech to her husband.'' Umm Kulthum bint `Uqbah was among the immigrant women who gave their pledge of allegiance to the Messenger of Allah. The Group also recorded this Hadith, with the exception of Ibn Majah. Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Ad-Darda' said that the Messenger of Allah said,
(Should I tell you what is better than the grade of fasting, praying and Sadaqah) They said, "Yes, O Allah's Messenger!'' He said,
«إِصْلَاحُ ذَاتِ الْبَيْن»
(Bringing reconciliation between people.) He also said,
«وَفَسَادُ ذَاتِ الْبَيْنِ هِيَ الْحَالِقَة»
(Spoiling the relationship (between people) is the destroyer.) Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi also recorded this Hadith, and At-Tirmidhi said, "Hasan Sahih''. Allah said,
وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذلِكَ ابْتَغَآءَ مَرْضَـتِ اللَّهِ
(and he who does this, seeking the good pleasure of Allah,) with sincerity and awaiting the reward with Allah, the Exalted and Most Honored,
فَسَوْفَ نُؤْتِيهِ أَجْراً عَظِيماً
(We shall give him a great reward.) meaning, an immense, enormous and tremendous reward.
The Punishment for Contradicting and Opposing the Messenger and Following a Path Other than That of the Believers
(And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger after the right path has been shown clearly to him.) refers to whoever intentionally takes a path other than the path of the Law revealed to the Messenger, after the truth has been made clear, apparent and plain to him. Allah's statement,
وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
(and follows other than the believers' way,) refers to a type of conduct that is closely related to contradicting the Messenger. This contradiction could be in the form of contradicting a text (from the Qur'an or Sunnah) or contradicting what the Ummah of Muhammad has agreed on. The Ummah of Muhammad is immune from error when they all agree on something, a miracle that serves to increase their honor, due to the greatness of their Prophet. There are many authentic Hadiths on this subject. Allah warned against the evil of contradicting the Prophet and his Ummah, when He said,
(We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell --- what an evil destination!) meaning, when one goes on this wicked path, We will punish him by making the evil path appear good in his heart, and will beautify it for him so that he is tempted further. For instance, Allah said,
(Then leave Me Alone with such as belie this Qur'an. We shall punish them gradually from directions they perceive not),
فَلَمَّا زَاغُواْ أَزَاغَ اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُمْ
(So when they turned away (from the path of Allah), Allah turned their hearts away), and,
وَنَذَرُهُمْ فِى طُغْيَانِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ
(And We shall leave them in their trespass to wander blindly). Allah made the Fire the destination of such people in the Hereafter. Indeed, the path of those who avoid the right guidance will only lead to the Fire on the Day of Resurrection, as evident by Allah's statements,
احْشُرُواْ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ وَأَزْوَجَهُمْ
((It will be said to the angels): "Assemble those who did wrong, together with their companions (from the devils)), and,
(And the criminals, shall see the Fire and apprehend that they have to fall therein. And they will find no way of escape from there).
4.113
Maududi - Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an
That is,'Even if they had succeeded in deceiving you by making a false report in regard to the case, and in getting your decision in their own favor, they would not have done any harm to you but to themselves, for even in that case they themselves would have been guilty in the sight of Allah, and not you". This is obvious because the real offender is the one who deceives the judge and gets a wrong judgment in his own favor, and not the judge who has to decide the case on the basis of the evidence presented before him. Moreover, such a one might delude himself that he has got "the right" on his side by his cunning devices, but in reality the "real right" remains the `right' in the record of Allah. (See also E.N. 192, Al-Baqarah).
Were it not for God's bounty to you and His mercy a party of them would have intended to lead you astray; but they lead only themselves astray; they will not hurt you at all. God has revealed to you the Book and wisdom and He has taught you what you did not know; and God's bounty to you is ever great. Bounty faḌl is beneficence iḥsān beyond what is due. "Bounty" alludes to [God's] protection ʿiṣma of [Muḥammad] for the Real سبحانه protected him with a distinctive protection singled out for him. Just as [God] protected [Muḥammad] from abandoning His right ḥaqq He protected him in averting the deception of His creatures khalq from him saying "Were it not for God's bounty to you and His mercy a party of them would have intended to lead you astray. There is no way that anyone can lead you astray for you are in the grip of the divine power and they lead only themselves astray and they will not hurt you at all for what is guarded maḥfūẓ by Us is secure maḥrūs from everything else. Verily God سبحانه conferred distinction upon you with the revelation of the Book and made you a special intimate in the ways He preferred and approved of you." And He has taught you what you did not know. There is nothing like the knowledge He granted to [Muḥammad] alone. It is possible that what He means by this is [Muḥammad's] ﷺ knowledge of God and His majesty and his knowledge of his own servanthood and the worth of his state in strength and beauty. It is said that "He has taught you what you did not know of the proprieties of service ādāb al-khidma even as a deep knowledge of reality was unambiguous to you." It is said that "He made you free of the instruction of any others so that none would have a light except what is borrowed from your light. Those who do not walk under your banner will not reach the entirety of Our beneficence nor will they receive the good fortune of nearness and communion with Us." "And God's bounty to you is ever great in all eternity without end ābād." You were recognized by Us in the most exalted degree and honorable rank in all eternity without beginning āzāl. It is said that "He has taught you what you did not know concerning the sublimity of your rank over all others." It is said that "He taught you what you did not know: that one can only value Our measure to the degree that one conforms to Our command."
