Surah An-Nisa was revealed after the migration of the Prophet from Mecca to Medina. This was the time when a Muslim state had been established in Medina and the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was culminating the argument of the religion against the People of the Book and purifying and cleansing the Muslims. Hence, the subject matter of this Surah revolves around laying down the foundations for a righteous society for the Muslim community and its purification.
This Surah contains 176 verses. However, its main subject concludes at verse 126. The verses completing the subject matter are:
وَمَنْ اَحْسَنُ دِيْنًا مِّمَّنْ اَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهٗ لِلّٰهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ وَّاتَّبَعَ مِلَّةَ اِبْرٰهِيْمَ حَنِيْفًاﵧ وَاتَّخَذَ اللّٰهُ اِبْرٰهِيْمَ خَلِيْلًا. وَلِلّٰهِ مَا فِي السَّمٰوٰتِ وَمَا فِي الْاَرْضِﵧ وَكَانَ اللّٰهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ مُّحِيْطًا.
[These Hypocrites give preference to the Idolaters with regard to the believers] and [do not understand] who has a better religion than he who resigns himself to God and is one thorough in his deeds and follows the way of Abraham who was totally devoted – and [because of this very reason] God had chosen Abraham to be His friend. [Who is more worthy than God to submit oneself to because] to God belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth, and God encompasses all things. (4:125-126)
The portion of the Surah from this verse to its conclusion functions as an appendix, addressing questions that arose during the time of its revelation.
The first question was posed by the Muslims who struggled fulfilling the demands of faith and morals. This question begins with the following words in verse 127: Wa yastaftūnaka fī an-nisāʾ (They ask you for a legal verdict concerning women). It pertains to the issues of dowry and justice in the case of marrying the mothers of orphans. The answer to this question has been given in verses up to 134.
The second question is evident from the behavior of the hypocrites. They preferred their relationships with the People of the Book over truth and righteousness, and questioned why Allah had decreed punishment for the Jews and Christians along with the polytheists. Their question has been answered in verses up to 152.
The third question was raised by the People of the Book in the form of a demand. The response is offered in verses up to 175.
The fourth and final question is about the rulings on inheritance mentioned at the beginning of the Surah. The response to this is given in verse 176.
The third question that the People of the Book raised with Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in the form of a demand is stated in verse 153 of the Qur’an:
يَسْـَٔلُكَ اَهْلُ الْكِتٰبِ اَنْ تُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْهِمْ كِتٰبًا مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ...
These People of the Book ask you to bring down directly to them a book from the heavens [instead of this Qur’an]. (4:153)
Allah Almighty has responded to this in an extremely stern tone, enumerating the worst crimes of the Jews with the full force of His speech. Regarding this exchange of question and answer, Javed Ahmed Ghamidi has written:
Now this is the third question which in response to the call of this Surah was posed by the People of the Book in the form of a demand. They demanded that instead of the Qur’an, they wanted a book directly revealed to them from the heavens. Only after that would they be willing to embrace faith. The answer given to them is couched in such an aggressive tone that in the words of Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi anger is exuding from every single word. He writes:
… The whole speech from the beginning to the end is based only on the charge sheet against them and the force and flow of the discourse is such that it becomes difficult to ascertain where exactly the speech ends. In such a forceful and furious discourse, the predicate is generally suppressed. It is as if the rage of the speaker has taken the place of this predicate, and it becomes evident from the subject as to what the speaker intends to say. (Tadabbur-e-Qur’an 2/415) (Al-Bayan 1/567-568)
In this indictment of crimes, the following criminal activities of the Jews have been described:
1. They demanded from Moses to make them see Allah directly. (Verse 153)
2. Despite witnessing clear signs, they took the calf as a deity. (Verse 153)
3. Allah hung the Tūr mountain over their heads to take their solemn pledge that they would enter the place of worship humbly and not desecrate the Sabbath, but they broke this firm covenant. (Verse 154)
4. They rejected Allah’s signs. (Verse 155)
5. They killed the prophets without any justification. (Verse 155)
6. They said that their hearts were impervious to Moses’s teachings. (Verse 155)
7. In general, they chose disbelief. (Verse 156)
8. They slandered Mary. (Verse 156)
9. They falsely claimed to have killed Allah’s Messenger Jesus. (Verse 157)
10. Despite prohibition from Allah, they continued to trade in usury. (Verse 161)
11. They consumed people’s wealth through illicit means. (Verse 161)
This is a list of the crimes committed by the People of the Book. Their questions clearly indicate that this response does not meet their demand. Their demand is that Allah should send down a book directly to them instead of this Qur’an. This statement is an expression of Allah’s severe wrath. The reason for this is that their demand is the worst manifestation of their narrow-mindedness, baseness, and insolence. Therefore, Allah, with the full grandeur of His speech, has exposed their reality and, between the lines, indicated that those who have previously made even greater demands and persisted in defiance despite witnessing Allah’s magnificent signs will not refrain from such behavior.
The ninth crime from the list is that they claimed to have killed Jesus who was in direct protection of God because of his status as a divine messenger and could not be harmed by anyone. Since this claim was tantamount to challenging the divine law of Messengership of Allah, it was immediately refuted forcefully declaring:
... وَمَا قَتَلُوْهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوْهُ وَلٰكِنْ شُبِّهَ لَهُمْﵧ وَاِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ اخْتَلَفُوْا فِيْهِ لَفِيْ شَكٍّ مِّنْهُﵧ مَا لَهُمْ بِهٖ مِنْ عِلْمٍ اِلَّا اتِّبَاعَ الظَّنِّﵐ وَمَا قَتَلُوْهُ يَقِيْنًا . بَلْ رَّفَعَهُ اللّٰهُ اِلَيْهِ...
...neither did they kill him nor did they crucify him; in fact, the matter was muddled up for them. Those who disagree on it are inflicted with doubts about it; they have no knowledge about it; they are only following conjectures. They certainly did not slay him; in fact, God had lifted him up to Him… (4:157-158)
From this detail, it is clear that the above sentence is not related to the next sentence, but to the previous sentence, which is the ninth crime of the Israelites. The words of the sentence are:
وَقَوْلِهِمْ اِنَّا قَتَلْنَا الْمَسِيْحَ عِيْسَي ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ ...
Because of their claim that we have killed Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah... (4:157)
Now the question arises as to what is meant by the directive of verse 159, and the answer to that is that it is a response to the demand of the Israelites, which appears at the beginning of the discourse in the following words:
يَسْـَٔلُكَ اَهْلُ الْكِتٰبِ اَنْ تُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْهِمْ كِتٰبًا مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ ...
These People of the Book ask you to bring down directly to them a book from the heavens [instead of this Qur’an]. (4:153)
In response to this, it has been stated:
وَاِنْ مِّنْ اَهْلِ الْكِتٰبِ اِلَّا لَيُؤْمِنَنَّ بِهٖ قَبْلَ مَوْتِهٖﵐ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيٰمَةِ يَكُوْنُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيْدًا.
[This is a list of their crimes; so, if they are now demanding that a book other than the Qur’an be directly revealed to them from the heavens, just ignore them. O Prophet!] Everyone from among these People of the Book shall definitely believe in [this Qur’an] before his death; and on the Day of Judgement it will bear witness to them. (4:159)
Finally, it is clarified that the People of the Book who accept the Qur’an as Allah’s book are exempted from this admonition. They not only accept the Qur’an as the divine book but also consider the books that were revealed earlier as divine revelations from Allah. It is stated:
لٰكِنِ الرّٰسِخُوْنَ فِي الْعِلْمِ مِنْهُمْ وَالْمُؤْمِنُوْنَ يُؤْمِنُوْنَ بِمَا٘ اُنْزِلَ اِلَيْكَ وَمَا٘ اُنْزِلَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ وَالْمُقِيْمِيْنَ الصَّلٰوةَ وَالْمُؤْتُوْنَ الزَّكٰوةَ وَالْمُؤْمِنُوْنَ بِاللّٰهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْاٰخِرِ اُولٰٓئِكَ سَنُؤْتِيْهِمْ اَجْرًا عَظِيْمًا.
However, those of deep knowledge among them and those who have faith believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you and are especially diligent in the prayer, pay the zakah, and believe in God and the Last Day. It is those whom We shall soon richly reward. (4:162)
According to this detail, the arrangement of the discourse comes forth as follows:
1. The demand of the Israelites from the Messenger of Allah for a book directly sent down to them, instead of the Qur’an
2. The first parenthetical sentence: Allah’s expression of anger and reprimand regarding their illegitimate demand by pointing out their crimes
3. The answer from Allah to the Israelites’s query: The declaration that every individual from the People of the Book who is an addressee of the Messenger of Allah will come to believe in the Qur’an as Allah’s book before their death
4. The second parenthetical sentence: The addition of some more crimes in their list of crimes.
5. Commentary on those from the People of the Book who accept the Qur’an as the divine book: Their admiration and the announcement of a great reward for them
In this context, now read the whole discourse once more so that the purpose and meaning of the verse under discussion become clear in its full context and subtext:
يَسْـَٔلُكَ اَهْلُ الْكِتٰبِ اَنْ تُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْهِمْ كِتٰبًا مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ فَقَدْ سَاَلُوْا مُوْسٰ٘ياَكْبَرَ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ فَقَالُوْ٘ا اَرِنَا اللّٰهَ جَهْرَةً فَاَخَذَتْهُمُ الصّٰعِقَةُ بِظُلْمِهِمْﵐ ثُمَّ اتَّخَذُوا الْعِجْلَ مِنْۣ بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنٰتُ فَعَفَوْنَا عَنْ ذٰلِكَﵐ وَاٰتَيْنَا مُوْسٰي سُلْطٰنًا مُّبِيْنًا . وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَهُمُ الطُّوْرَ بِمِيْثَاقِهِمْ وَقُلْنَا لَهُمُ ادْخُلُوا الْبَابَ سُجَّدًا وَّقُلْنَا لَهُمْ لَا تَعْدُوْا فِي السَّبْتِ وَاَخَذْنَا مِنْهُمْ مِّيْثَاقًا غَلِيْظًا . فَبِمَا نَقْضِهِمْ مِّيْثَاقَهُمْ وَكُفْرِهِمْ بِاٰيٰتِ اللّٰهِ وَقَتْلِهِمُ الْاَنْۣبِيَآءَ بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ وَّقَوْلِهِمْ قُلُوْبُنَا غُلْفٌﵧ بَلْ طَبَعَ اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهَا بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَلَا يُؤْمِنُوْنَ اِلَّا قَلِيْلًا. وَّبِكُفْرِهِمْ وَقَوْلِهِمْ عَلٰي مَرْيَمَ بُهْتَانًا عَظِيْمًا . وَّقَوْلِهِمْ اِنَّا قَتَلْنَا الْمَسِيْحَ عِيْسَي ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِﵐ وَمَا قَتَلُوْهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوْهُ وَلٰكِنْ شُبِّهَ لَهُمْﵧ وَاِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ اخْتَلَفُوْا فِيْهِ لَفِيْ شَكٍّ مِّنْهُﵧ مَا لَهُمْ بِهٖ مِنْ عِلْمٍ اِلَّا اتِّبَاعَ الظَّنِّﵐ وَمَا قَتَلُوْهُ يَقِيْنًا ۣ . بَلْ رَّفَعَهُ اللّٰهُ اِلَيْهِﵧ وَكَانَ اللّٰهُ عَزِيْزًا حَكِيْمًا . وَاِنْ مِّنْ اَهْلِ الْكِتٰبِ اِلَّا لَيُؤْمِنَنَّ بِهٖ قَبْلَ مَوْتِهٖﵐ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيٰمَةِ يَكُوْنُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيْدًا . فَبِظُلْمٍ مِّنَ الَّذِيْنَ هَادُوْا حَرَّمْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ طَيِّبٰتٍ اُحِلَّتْ لَهُمْ وَبِصَدِّهِمْ عَنْ سَبِيْلِ اللّٰهِ كَثِيْرًا . وَّاَخْذِهِمُ الرِّبٰوا وَقَدْ نُهُوْا عَنْهُ وَاَكْلِهِمْ اَمْوَالَ النَّاسِ بِالْبَاطِلِﵧ وَاَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكٰفِرِيْنَ مِنْهُمْ عَذَابًا اَلِيْمًا . لٰكِنِ الرّٰسِخُوْنَ فِي الْعِلْمِ مِنْهُمْ وَالْمُؤْمِنُوْنَ يُؤْمِنُوْنَ بِمَا٘ اُنْزِلَ اِلَيْكَ وَمَا٘ اُنْزِلَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ وَالْمُقِيْمِيْنَ الصَّلٰوةَ وَالْمُؤْتُوْنَ الزَّكٰوةَ وَالْمُؤْمِنُوْنَ بِاللّٰهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْاٰخِرِﵧ اُولٰٓئِكَ سَنُؤْتِيْهِمْ اَجْرًا عَظِيْمًا.
These People of the Book ask you to bring down directly to them a book from the heavens [instead of this Qur’ān]. So, this is no matter of wonder. Of Moses they made an even greater demand. They had asked him: ‘Show us God face to face.’ Then, because of this rebelliousness, a thunderbolt struck them. After that, they deified the calf even when obvious signs had come to them; yet We still forgave this and had given Moses clear dominance [on them].
And We had lifted Ṭūr over them with a covenant with them and had directed them: ‘Enter the gates [of the city] bowing your heads,’ and had said to them: ‘Do not be disobedient in the matter of the Sabbath,’ and [on all these things] We had taken from them a firm covenant. Then because they broke their covenant [We laid a curse on them] and because they denied the revelations of God and because they killed the prophets unjustly and because they said: ‘Our hearts have a covering on them.’ – no, in fact, it is God who has sealed their hearts because of their disbelief; so, [now] they will seldom embrace faith and because of their disbelief and because of their vicious accusation against Mary.
And because of their claim: ‘We have killed the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of God.’ – even though neither did they kill him nor did they crucify him; in fact, the matter was muddled up for them. Those who are disagreeing in this are inflicted with doubts about it; they have no knowledge about it; they are only following conjectures. They certainly did not slay him; in fact, God had lifted him up to Him. And God is Mighty, very Wise. [This is a list of their crimes; so, if they are now demanding that a book other than the Qur’ān be directly revealed to them from the heavens, just ignore them. O Prophet!] Everyone from among these People of the Book shall definitely believe in [this Qur’ān] before his death; and on the Day of Judgement it will bear witness to them.
Then only because of the iniquity of these Jews, We had also forbidden them wholesome things which had been allowed to them and because they have been stopping others a lot from the path of God and because they have been taking interest even though they had been stopped from it and because they have been unjustly devouring the wealth of others, and it is for their disbelievers that We have prepared a woeful punishment. However, those of deep knowledge among them and those who have faith believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you and are especially diligent in the prayer and pay the zakah and believe in God and the Last Day. It is these whom We shall soon richly reward. (4:153-162)
With this explanation and detail, the references of all pronouns in verse 159 have become completely clear. According to this:
This is Javed Ahmed Ghamidi’s stance regarding the mentioned verse. If someone enquires about the basis on which he has identified the references for these pronouns, the definitive answer is that he has done so through the standard methodology applied in any discourse.
A fundamental principle of language and expression is that the references of pronouns in a discourse are understood from the subject matter, context, and indicators within the text. Pronouns such as he, they, it, and them serve as substitutes for nouns mentioned earlier in the discourse. When these pronouns are used, they must follow a clear reference to the nouns they replace. In cases where ambiguity arises, the context, subject matter, and intent of the discourse are used to clarify their reference. These components are collectively referred to as ‘indicators.’
Javed Ahmed Ghamidi has declared the reference of the pronoun in layu’minanna bihī to be the Glorious Qur’an and the reference of the pronoun in qabla mawtihī to be every member of the People of the Book who was a direct addressee of the Prophet’s message. The detail of the indicators for this determination in the discourse is as follows:
The first indicator is the phrase at the beginning of the discourse yas’aluka ahl al-kitābi an tunazzila ‘alayhim kitāban mina as-samāi (The People of the Book are demanding from you to send down a book directly from the heavens upon them). This sentence outlines the whole subject matter of the discourse, namely, what Allah Almighty has chosen for His commentary. That is, the People of the Book’s demand that the Prophet should present a book specifically revealed for the Israelites as opposed to the Qur’an which was revealed upon his heart. The rest of the discourse is a manifestation of Allah’s reproach over this demand.
From this sentence, along with understanding the subject under discussion, the following information is also gathered:
This indicator shows that the subject matter of the discourse is the issue of the People of the Book’s belief or disbelief in the Qur’an.
The second indicator is found at the end of the discourse in these words: Lākin ar-rāsikhūna fī al-‘ilmi minhum wal-mu’minūna yu’minūna bimā unzila ilayka wa mā unzila min qablika, wal-muqīmīna as-salāta wal-mu’tūna az-zakāta wal-mu’minūna billāhi wa al-yawmi al-ākhiri, ulā’ika sanu’tīhim ajran ‘azīmā (However, those of deep knowledge among them and those who have faith believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you and are especially diligent in the prayer and pay the zakah and believe in God and the Last Day. It is these whom We shall soon richly reward.) This section mentions those People of the Book who believe that the book revealed to the Prophet, the Glorious Qur’an, is from Allah. This means there were two types of people among the People of the Book during the Prophet’s time. The majority were those refusing to accept the Qur’an as a divine book. Yet, among their knowledgeable and faithful, there were individuals recognizing the Qur’an as a revelation from Allah. This indicator also clarifies the discourse’s subject as the belief or disbelief of the People of the Book in the Qur’an.
Additionally, this sentence clarifies the following facts:
It should also be noted that this is a sentence of threat and warning. It means that the matters being explained to them by means of reason will become a reality in the coming days. They should think about what they will do at that time. They would have no choice other than believing it. (Al-Bayan 1/574)
This is Javed Ahmed Ghamidi’s position regarding the interpretation of verse 159 from Surah An-Nisa. In his opinion, the subject, sequence, and arrangement of the statements, and the context of the verse accepts only one interpretation discussed above.
After clarifying Javed Ahmed Ghamidi’s position, it is also necessary to understand the mistake found in the position held by traditional scholars.
The general stance of our scholars regarding the interpretation of verse 159 of An-Nisa is that both objective pronouns in the phrase Layu’minanna bihi qabla mawtihī refer to Jesus (PBUH). Accordingly, the meaning of the verse would be: ‘Every person from the People of the Book will necessarily believe in Jesus before his death.’
The reason for the error in this interpretation lies in the following words of the verses 157-158:
...وَمَا قَتَلُوْهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوْهُ وَلٰكِنْ شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ وَاِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ اخْتَلَفُوْا فِيْهِ لَفِيْ شَكٍّ مِّنْهُ مَا لَهُمْ بِهٖ مِنْ عِلْمٍ اِلَّا اتِّبَاعَ الظَّنِّﵐ وَمَا قَتَلُوْهُ يَقِيْنًا . بَلْ رَّفَعَهُ اللّٰهُ اِلَيْهِ.
...neither did they kill him nor did they crucify him; in fact, the matter was muddled up for them. Those who are disagreeing in this are inflicted with doubts about it; they have no knowledge about it; they are only following conjectures. They certainly did not slay him; in fact, God had lifted him up to Him… (4:157-158)
This passage is part of the parenthetical statement that begins with Faqad saʾalū Mūsā akbara min dhālika. and mentions the indictment against the Israelites as a rebuke. This parenthetical statement ends with the words azīzan Hakīman. The sentence from wa mā qatalūhu to azīzan Hakīman is another parenthetical statement within the one containing the threat. Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi explains the need for this additional parenthetical statement as follows:
The Qur’anic verse denies the claim of the Jews to have killed Jesus. There are two aspects to this immediate denial. One is that God’s messengers are under His protection and that the plots of their enemies against them are not allowed to succeed by God. Hence, the Jewish claim of killing or crucifying Jesus is completely baseless. They have utterly failed in their mischief but have become permanently detested and cursed for carrying the burden of a false claim. The second aspect is that nowhere did an event of killing or crucifixion of Jesus occur, but Paul’s followers, the Christians, concocted this imaginary tale into a complete mythology and thus cut their own noses to spite others’ face. (Tadabbur-e-Qur’an 2/420)
When this second parenthetical statement is considered within the context of the threatening tone of the discourse, it becomes evident that it pertains to the list of crimes, some of which are mentioned before and others after it. Verse 159 bears no connection to this context.
From this detail, it is evident that the interpretation by the majority of scholars does not match the text therefore, it cannot be considered correct.
Nevertheless, for the sake of argument, even if we consider it correct, its application and relevance cannot be determined. As a result, it creates an impossible situation, and the content of the verse no longer remains applicable or feasible.
It is fairly visible that the scholars’ position is that both objective pronouns in the phrase Layu’minanna bihi qabla mawtihī refer to Jesus. In that case, the meaning of the verse would be as follows: Every Jew and Christian will necessarily believe in Jesus before Jesus’s death, meaning every Jew and Christian will face death only after believing in Jesus.
There are five possible avenues for applying this statement: