Allah Most High states that His granting victory to His believing servants serves one of two purposes. The first is that He cuts down a portion of those who disbelieve—that is, a segment of them and one of their mainstays—whether through killing, capture, the conquest of territory, or the taking of wealth as spoils. The believers are thereby strengthened and the disbelievers humbled. This is because their resistance and warfare against Islam depend upon their manpower, weapons, wealth, and territory; it is only through these things that they are able to resist and fight. Taking away any part of them therefore removes part of their strength.

The second is that the disbelievers, relying on their power and numbers, make designs upon the Muslims. They entertain hopes of doing so, pursue it with the utmost eagerness, and expend their strength and wealth toward that end. Allah then grants the believers victory over them and sends them back disappointed, without having achieved their objective. Instead, they return with loss, anguish, and regret. If you reflect upon what actually occurs, you will see that Allah’s aid to His believing servants always takes one of these two forms and never falls outside them: either victory over their foes or the thwarting of their foes’ designs. ⦗147⦘

⦗128–129⦘ “You have no part in the matter: He may turn to them in mercy, or He may punish them, for they are indeed wrongdoers. To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth. He forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills. Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

When the events of the day of Uhud took place and the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—suffered afflictions through which Allah elevated his rank, his head was wounded and one of his incisors was broken. He said, “How can a people prosper when they have wounded their Prophet’s head?” He then began supplicating against leaders of the polytheists such as Abū Sufyān ibn Harb, Safwān ibn Umayya, Suhayl ibn Amr, and al-Hārith ibn Hishām. Allah Most High then revealed to His Messenger a prohibition against supplicating for them to be cursed and banished from Allah’s mercy: “You have no part in the matter.” Your duty is only to convey the message, guide people, and seek their welfare. All authority belongs to Allah Most High; He alone directs affairs, guides whom He wills, and allows whom He wills to go astray. Therefore, do not supplicate against them, for their affair returns to their Lord. If His wisdom and mercy entail that He turn to them in mercy and favor them with Islam, He does so. If His wisdom entails leaving them in disbelief and not guiding them—because they themselves wronged and harmed their own souls and brought that upon themselves—He does so. Allah did indeed turn in mercy to these particular men and others and guided them to Islam; may Allah be pleased with them.

This verse demonstrates that Allah’s choice prevails over the choices of His servants, and that a servant, however elevated his rank and lofty his standing, may choose something while what is truly best and beneficial lies elsewhere. It also demonstrates that the Messenger—peace and blessings be upon him—has no part in the matter, and this is even more true of everyone else. It therefore contains the strongest refutation of those who place their dependence upon prophets, righteous people, or anyone else. Such conduct is shirk in worship and a deficiency in reason: they forsake the One to whom all authority belongs and call upon one who possesses not even an atom’s weight of authority. This is truly a far-reaching error.

Consider how, when Allah Most High mentioned His turning to them in mercy, He attributed the act to Himself and mentioned no prior cause on their part that necessitated it. This shows that the blessing is purely His grace toward His servant, without any preceding cause or means from the servant. But when He mentioned punishment, He also mentioned their wrongdoing and causally linked the punishment to it with the particle fa (“for”), saying: “or He may punish them, for they are indeed wrongdoers.” This demonstrates the perfection of Allah’s justice and wisdom: He places punishment where it belongs and does not wrong His servant; rather, the servant is the one who wrongs himself.

After declaring that His Messenger has no part in the matter, Allah affirmed who possesses all authority, saying: “To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth”—including the angels, humankind, jinn, animals, celestial spheres, and all inanimate things. Everything in the heavens and on the earth belongs to Allah. All are created and governed by Him, and He disposes of them as subjects under His ownership. They possess not even an atom’s weight of dominion. Since this is their condition, they are subject either to His forgiveness or His punishment. He forgives whom He wills by guiding him to Islam and thereby forgiving his shirk, and by graciously enabling him to forsake disobedience and thereby forgiving his sin. “And He punishes whom He wills” by leaving him to his ignorant, wrongdoing soul, which impels him to commit evil; he then commits evil and Allah punishes him for it.

Allah then concluded the verse with two noble names that indicate the vastness of His mercy, the comprehensiveness of His forgiveness, and the immense and all-encompassing nature of His beneficence, saying: “Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” This contains the greatest glad tidings: His mercy has prevailed over His wrath, and His forgiveness over His taking to account. The verse informs us of the condition of creation: some are forgiven by Allah, while others are punished. Yet He did not conclude it with two names, one indicating mercy and the other vengeance. Rather, He concluded it with two names that both indicate mercy. Allah Most High possesses mercy and beneficence by which He will show His servants a mercy beyond anything that could occur to a human mind or be encompassed by description. We therefore ask Him Most High to envelop us and admit us, by His mercy, among His righteous servants.

The first volume of this blessed commentary has been completed through Allah’s facilitation and aid. To Him belong all praise, thanks, and commendation. I ask Him for yet more of His grace, generosity, and beneficence. It is followed by the second volume, which begins with the words of the Creator—glorified and exalted is He—“O you who believe, do not consume usury, doubled and multiplied,” to the end of the verse. This was on the twenty-ninth of Rabī al-Awwal in the year 1343—one thousand three hundred and forty-three—of the Prophetic Hijrah. May Allah bless Muhammad and grant him abundant peace. Penned by its compiler, Abd al-Rahmān ibn Nāsir ibn Abd Allāh ibn Sa‘dī. May Allah forgive him, his parents, and his Muslim brethren. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds.

Volume Two of Taysīr al-Karīm al-Mannān fī Tafsīr Kalām al-Rahmān, compiled by one in need of Allah: Abd al-Rahmān ibn Nāsir ibn Abd Allāh ibn Sa‘dī. May Allah forgive him, his parents, and the Muslims. Amen.

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our own souls and from our wicked deeds. No one can misguide whomever Allah guides, and no one can guide whomever He allows to go astray. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. May Allah bless him and grant him abundant peace. Allah Most High says: