Verses 96–101
4. An-Nisaa · The Women
Madinan176 verses
دَرَجَٰتٍۢ مِّنْهُ وَمَغْفِرَةًۭ وَرَحْمَةًۭ ۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًۭا رَّحِيمًا
4:96ranks from Him, forgiveness, and mercy, and Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful.12
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ تَوَفَّىٰهُمُ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ ظَالِمِىٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ قَالُوا۟ فِيمَ كُنتُمْ ۖ قَالُوا۟ كُنَّا مُسْتَضْعَفِينَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ قَالُوٓا۟ أَلَمْ تَكُنْ أَرْضُ ٱللَّهِ وَٰسِعَةًۭ فَتُهَاجِرُوا۟ فِيهَا ۚ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ مَأْوَىٰهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ ۖ وَسَآءَتْ مَصِيرًا
4:97Indeed, those whom the angels take away while they are wronging themselves, they ask, ‘What state were you in?’ They reply, ‘We were oppressed in the land.’ They say, ‘Was not Allah’s earth vast enough so that you might migrate in it?’ The refuge of such shall be hell, and it is an evil destination.
إِلَّا ٱلْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مِنَ ٱلرِّجَالِ وَٱلنِّسَآءِ وَٱلْوِلْدَٰنِ لَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ حِيلَةًۭ وَلَا يَهْتَدُونَ سَبِيلًۭا
4:98Except the oppressed among men, women and children, who have neither access to any means nor are guided to any way.
فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ عَسَى ٱللَّهُ أَن يَعْفُوَ عَنْهُمْ ۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ عَفُوًّا غَفُورًۭا
4:99Maybe Allah will excuse them, for Allah is all-excusing, all-forgiving.
۞ وَمَن يُهَاجِرْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ يَجِدْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مُرَٰغَمًۭا كَثِيرًۭا وَسَعَةًۭ ۚ وَمَن يَخْرُجْ مِنۢ بَيْتِهِۦ مُهَاجِرًا إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ ثُمَّ يُدْرِكْهُ ٱلْمَوْتُ فَقَدْ وَقَعَ أَجْرُهُۥ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًۭا رَّحِيمًۭا
4:100Whoever migrates in the way of Allah will find many havens and plenitude in the earth. And whoever leaves his home migrating toward Allah and His Apostle, and is then overtaken by death, his reward shall certainly fall on Allah, and Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful.3
وَإِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَن تَقْصُرُوا۟ مِنَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ إِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَن يَفْتِنَكُمُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ كَانُوا۟ لَكُمْ عَدُوًّۭا مُّبِينًۭا
4:101When you journey in the land, there is no sin upon you in shortening the prayers, if you fear that the faithless may trouble you; indeed the faithless are your manifest enemies.
Tafsir
Commentary on this passage
Verse 100
1.Islam is a doctrine and the homeland, community, tribe and family bear little value in comparison to it. The great dignity of migration is that refugee announces his true belief and in comparison of his faith, he does not give importance to his relation to materials. In this case, migration should be in the way of Allah and His Prophet (s.a.w.s.), not for searching a shelter or to earn money. This flight from their native lands is not beneficial for them and Allah is also not responsible to grant reward to these refugees. Allah helps and protects who migrates in the way of Allah and not those who travel to earn money and comforts.
Verse 101
2.The verse of the Holy Quran has kept both travel and danger in together at a single place and forms the reason to perform shortened prayer as according to traditions when you are in journey you can shorten the prayer even if there is no fear of enemy.
Footnotes
Explanations of words and phrases in these verses
- 1
Whenever the Quran has ordered Jihad it has given priority to human life over wealth. That sacrificing wealth is much easier than sacrificing ones 1ife. But in discussing the purchase of life and property of believer, the life is given priority over wealth. That the sacrifice of self which purchases Paradise is easy like the sacrifice of wealth.
- 2
The Quran has described the rewards of a holy warrior in different tones. The status, good deed, great reward, stages, forgiveness, mercy etc all show that in Islam the status of the warriors is indeed exalted. The traditions also mention that there is a good deed better than a good deed but nothing surpasses martyrdom and no man is higher than the chief of the Martyrs.
- 3
‘Muragham’ denotes the instances of perplexity where one can take refuge and defeat the enemies and an open announcement is made of the divine bounties. Benefit Migration is a natural tendency and also a sign of sacrifice. Hijrat has been instrumental in founding new empires and it also denotes the flight from ones sins. According to Tabari the Muslim calendar was formed taking the Hijrat of the Prophet as the baseline. It was adopted during the Caliphate of the second caliph on the advice of Hazrat Ali (a.s.).