Surah 4. An-Nisaa'

God wants to make [all this] clear unto you, and to guide you onto the [righteous] ways of life of those who preceded you,³⁵ and to turn unto you in His mercy: for God is all-knowing, wise.

  - Mohammad Asad

An allusion to the genuine religious teachings of the past, which aimed at bringing about a harmony between man's physical nature and the demands of his spirit - a harmony which is destroyed whenever asceticism is postulated as the only possible alternative to licentiousness (see also surah {2}, note [118]). This allusion arises from the discussion of sexual morality in the preceding passages devoted to marital relations.

Allah desires to clarify, and guides you to the ways which were followed by the righteous people before you, and turns to you in mercy. Allah is the Knowledgeable, Wise.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah would explain to you and guide you by the examples of those who were before you, and would turn to you in mercy. Allah is Knower, Wise.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And God wants to turn unto you in His mercy, whereas those who follow [only] their own lusts want you to drift far away from the right path.³⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "want you to deviate with a tremendous deviation".

Allah wishes to forgive you but those who follow their lusts wish to see you deviate far away from the Right Way.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And Allah would turn to you in mercy; but those who follow vain desires would have you go tremendously astray.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

God wants to lighten your burdens:³⁷ for man has been created weak.

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., to remove, by means of His guidance, all possibility of conflict between man's spirit and his bodily urges, and to show him a way of life in which these two elements of human nature can be harmonized and brought to full fruition.

Allah wishes to lighten your burdens because humans have been created weak by nature.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah would make the burden light for you, for man was created weak.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

0 YOU who have attained to faith! Do not devour one another's possessions wrongfully - not even by way of trade based on mutual agreement³⁸ - and do not destroy one another: for, behold, God is indeed a dispenser of grace unto you!

  - Mohammad Asad

If the particle illa preceding the above clause is given its usual meaning of "except" or "unless it be", the phrase ought to be rendered thus: "unless it be [an act of] trade based on mutual agreement". This formulation, however, has baffled many a commentator: for, if taken literally, it would imply that wrongful profits from trading based on mutual agreement are excepted from the general prohibition, "Devour not one another's possessions wrongfully" - a supposition impossible to maintain in view of the ethics postulated by the Qur'an. To obviate this difficulty, most of the commentators express the opinion that the particle illa has in this context the meaning of "but", and that the clause ought to be understood as follows: "but it is lawful for you to profit from one another's possessions by way of legitimate trade based on mutual agreement". However, quite apart from the fact that this interpretation is highly laboured and artificial, it does not explain why "legitimate trade" should have been singled out here as a sole means of lawfully deriving economic benefits from one another - for, as Razi rightly points out in his commentary on this verse, "it is no less lawful to benefit economically through a gift, a bequest, a legal inheritance, alms, a dower, or an indemnity for injuries received: for there are, aside from trade, many ways of acquiring possessions [lawfully]". Why, then, should trade alone have been stressed? - and, moreover, stressed in a context not particularly devoted to matters of trade? A really satisfactory answer to this puzzle can, in my opinion, be obtained only through a linguistic consideration of the particle illa. Apart from its usual connotation of "except" or "unless it be", it has sometimes - as has been pointed out in both Qamus and Mughni - the meaning of the simple conjunction "and" (wa); similarly, if it is preceded by a negative clause, it can be synonymous with "nor" or "and neither" (wa-la): as, for instance, in {27:10-11}, "no fear need the message-bearers have in My Presence, and neither (illa) need he who...", etc. Now if we apply this particular use of illa to the passage under consideration, we arrive at the reading, "nor [shall you do it] by means of trade based on mutual agreement", or simply, "not even by way of trade based on mutual agreement" - whereupon the meaning immediately becomes obvious: the believers are prohibited from devouring another person's possessions wrongfully even if that other person - being the weaker party - agrees to such a deprivation or exploitation under the stress of circumstances. The reading adopted by me logically connects, moreover, with verse {32}, which admonishes the believers not to covet one another's possessions.

O believers! Do not consume one another's wealth through unlawful means; instead, do business with mutual consent; do not kill yourselves by adopting unlawful means. Indeed Allah is Merciful to you.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

O ye who believe! Squander not your wealth among yourselves in vanity, except it be a trade by mutual consent, and kill not one another. Lo! Allah is ever Merciful unto you.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And as for him who does this with malicious intent and a will to do wrong³⁹ - him shall We, in time, cause to endure [suffering through] fire: for this is indeed easy for God.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "by way of [deliberate] transgression and wrongdoing" ('udwanan wa-zulman).

Anyone who commits such acts of aggression and injustice will soon be thrown into hellfire, and this is very easy for Allah to do.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Whoso doeth that through aggression and injustice, We shall cast him into Fire, and that is ever easy for Allah.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

If you avoid the great sins which you have been enjoined to shun, We shall efface your [minor] bad deeds, and shall cause you to enter an abode of glory.⁴⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., paradise. However, according to some of the commentators, the expression mudkhal denotes not the place but the manner of "entering" (Razi) - in which case the above phrase may be rendered thus: "We shall cause you to enter [upon your afterlife] in a state of glory".

If you avoid the heinous sins which you have been forbidden, We will do away with your small sins and cause you to enter a place of great honor (paradise).

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

If ye avoid the great (things) which ye are forbidden, We will remit from you your evil deeds and make you enter at a noble gate.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Hence, do not covet the bounties which God has bestowed more abundantly on some of you than on others. Men shall have a benefit from what they earn, and women shall have a benefit from what they earn. Ask, therefore, God [to give you] out of His bounty: behold, God has indeed full knowledge of everything.

  - Mohammad Asad

Do not envy that Allah has given some of you more than the others. Men will be rewarded according to their deeds and women will be rewarded according to theirs. Ask Allah for His grace. Surely Allah has perfect knowledge of everything.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And covet not the thing in which Allah hath made some of you excel others. Unto men a fortune from that which they have earned, and unto women a fortune from that which they have earned. (Envy not one another) but ask Allah of His bounty. Lo! Allah is ever Knower of all things.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And unto everyone have We appointed heirs to what he may leave behind: parents, and near kinsfolk, and those to whom you have pledged your troth:⁴¹ give them, therefore, their share. Behold, God is indeed a witness unto everything.

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., wives and husbands (Abu Muslim, as quoted by Razi).

For every parent and relative We have appointed the rightful heirs to inherit what they leave. As for those with whom you have made firm agreements, give them their share. Surely Allah is a Witness to everything.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And unto each We have appointed heirs of that which parents and near kindred leave; and as for those with whom your right hands have made a covenant, give them their due. Lo! Allah is ever witness over all things.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

MEN SHALL take full care of women with the bounties which God has bestowed more abundantly on the former than on the latter,⁴² and with what they may spend out of their possessions. And the righteous women are the truly devout ones, who guard the intimacy which God has [ordained to be] guarded.⁴³ And as for those women whose ill-will⁴⁴ you have reason to fear, admonish them [first]; then leave them alone in bed; then beat them;⁴⁵ and if thereupon they pay you heed, do not seek to harm them. Behold, God is indeed most high, great!

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "more on some of them than on the others". - The expression qawwam is an intensive form of qa'im ("one who is responsible for" or "takes care of" a thing or a person). Thus, qama 'ala 'l-mar'ah signifies "he undertook the maintenance of the woman" or "he maintained her" (see Lane VIII, 2995). The grammatical form qawwam is more comprehensive than qa'im, and combines the concepts of physical maintenance and protection as well as of moral responsibility: and it is because of the last-named factor that I have rendered this phrase as "men shall take full care of women".

Lit., "who guard that which cannot be perceived (al-ghayb) because God has [willed it to be] guarded".

The term nushuz (lit., "rebellion" - here rendered as "ill-will") comprises every kind of deliberate bad behaviour of a wife towards her husband or of a husband towards his wife, including what is nowadays described as "mental cruelty"; with reference to the husband, it also denotes "ill-treatment", in the physical sense, of his wife (cf. verse {128} of this surah). In this context, a wife's "ill-will" implies a deliberate, persistent breach of her marital obligations.

It is evident from many authentic Traditions that the Prophet himself intensely detested the idea of beating one's wife, and said on more than one occasion, "Could any of you beat his wife as he would beat a slave, and then lie with her in the evening?" (Bukhari and Muslim). According to another Tradition, he forbade the beating of any woman with the words, "Never beat God's handmaidens" (Abu Da'ud, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ibn Hibban and Hakim, on the authority of Iyas ibn 'Abd Allah; Ibn Hibban, on the authority of 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abbas; and Bayhaqi, on the authority of Umm Kulthum). When the above Qur'an-verse authorizing the beating of a refractory wife was revealed, the Prophet is reported to have said: "I wanted one thing, but God has willed another thing - and what God has willed must be best" (see Manar V, 74). With all this, he stipulated in his sermon on the occasion of the Farewell Pilgrimage, shortly before his death, that beating should be resorted to only if the wife "has become guilty, in an obvious manner, of immoral conduct", and that it should be done "in such a way as not to cause pain (ghayr mubarrih)"; authentic Traditions to this effect are found in Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Da'ad, Nasa'i and Ibn Majah. On the basis of these Traditions, all the authorities stress that this "beating", if resorted to at all, should be more or less symbolic - "with a toothbrush, or some such thing" (Tabari, quoting the views of scholars of the earliest times), or even "with a folded handkerchief" (Razi); and some of the greatest Muslim scholars (e.g., Ash-Shafi'i) are of the opinion that it is just barely permissible, and should preferably be avoided: and they justify this opinion by the Prophet's personal feelings with regard to this problem.

Men are overseers over women because Allah has given the one more strength than other, and because men are required to spend their wealth for the maintenance of women. Honorable women are, therefore, devoutly obedient and guard in the husband's absence what Allah require them to guard their husband's property and their own honor. As to those women from whom you fear disobedience, first admonish them, then refuse to share your bed with them, and then, if necessary, beat them. Then if they obey you, take no further actions against them and do not make excuses to punish them. Allah is Supremely Great and is aware of your actions.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath men the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High Exalted, Great.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And if you have reason to fear that a breach might occur between a [married] couple, appoint an arbiter from among his people and an arbiter from among her people; if they both want to set things aright, God may bring about their reconciliation. Behold, God is indeed all-knowing, aware.

  - Mohammad Asad

If you fear a breach of marriage between a man and his wife, appoint one arbiter from his family and another from hers; if they wish to reconcile, Allah will create a way of reconciliation between them. Allah is the Knowledgeable, Aware.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And if ye fear a breech between them twain (the man and wife), appoint an arbiter from his folk and an arbiter from her folk. If they desire amendment Allah will make them of one mind. Lo! Allah is ever Knower, Aware.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND WORSHIP God [alone], and do not ascribe divinity, in any way, to aught beside Him.⁴⁶ And do good unto your parents, and near of kin, and unto orphans, and the needy, and the neighbour from among your own people, and the neighbour who is a stranger,⁴⁷ and the friend by your side, and the wayfarer, and those whom you rightfully possess.⁴⁸ Verily, God does not love any of those who, full of self-conceit, act in a boastful manner;

  - Mohammad Asad

The expression shay'an (here rendered as "in any way") makes it clear that shirk ("the ascribing of divinity to anything beside God") is not confined to a worship of other "deities", but implies also the attribution of divine or quasi-divine powers to persons or objects not regarded as deities: in other words, it embraces also saint-worship, etc.

I.e., "whether he belongs to your own or to another community". That the expression "your own people" (dhu 'l-qurba) refers to the community and not to one's actual relatives is obvious from the fact that "the near of kin" have already been mentioned earlier in this sentence. The Prophet often stressed a believer's moral obligation towards his neighbours, whatever their faith; and his attitude has been summed up in his words, "Whoever believes in God and the Last Day, let him do good unto his neighbour" (Bukhari, Muslim, and other compilations).

According to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud and other Companions, "the friend by your side" (as-sahib bi'l-janb) is one's wife or husband (Tabari). By "those whom you rightfully possess" (lit., "whom your right hands possess") are meant, in this context, slaves of either sex. Since this verse enjoins the "doing of good" towards all people with whom one is in contact, and since the best that can be done to a slave is to free him, the above passage calls, elliptically, for the freeing of slaves (Manar V, 94). See also surah {2}, note [146], as well as 9:60 , where the freeing of human beings from bondage is explicitly mentioned as one of the objectives to which zakah funds are to be dedicated.

Serve Allah and do not commit shirk (associate any partner) with Him, and be good to your parents, kinfolks, orphans, the helpless, near and far neighbors who keep company with you, the travellers in need, and the slaves you own. Allah does not love those who are arrogant and boastful,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And serve Allah. Ascribe no thing as partner unto Him. (Show) kindness unto parents, and unto near kindred, and orphans, and the needy, and into the neighbor who is of kin (unto you) and the neighbor who is not of kin and the fellow traveller and the wayfarer and (the slaves) whom your right hands possess. Lo! Allah loveth not such as are proud and boastful,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[nor] those who are niggardly, and bid others to be niggardly, and conceal whatever God has bestowed upon them out of His bounty; and so We have readied shameful suffering for all who thus deny the truth.

  - Mohammad Asad

who are themselves stingy and enjoin others to be stingy, who hide the bounties which Allah has bestowed on them. For such unbelievers We have prepared a disgraceful punishment.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Who hoard their wealth and enjoin avarice on others, and hide that which Allah hath bestowed upon them of His bounty. For disbelievers We prepare a shameful doom;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [God does not love] those who spend their possessions on others [only] to be seen and praised by men, the while they believe neither in God nor in the Last Day; and he who has Satan for a soul-mate, how evil a soul-mate has he!⁴⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

An allusion to 2:268 , where Satan is spoken of as "threatening you with the prospect of poverty and bidding you to be niggardly", the implication being that those who obey him "have Satan for their soul-mate (qarin)". For the derivation of this term, see note [24] on 41:25 .

Similarly, Allah does not like those who spend their wealth to show off to the people, believing neither in Allah nor in the Last Day. In fact the one who chooses Shaitan as his companion has chosen a very evil companion!

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And (also) those who spend their wealth in order to be seen of men, and believe not in Allah nor the Last Day. Whoso taketh Satan for a comrade, a bad comrade hath he.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And what would they have to fear⁵⁰ if they would but believe in God and the Last Day, and spend [in His way] out of what God has granted them as sustenance - since God has indeed full knowledge of them?

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "what is it that would be upon them". This seems to be a reference to the oft-repeated Qur'anic statement that those who believe in God and live righteously "need have no fear" (la khawf 'alayhim - lit., "no fear [shall be] upon them").

What harm would they have suffered if they had believed in Allah and the Last Day and spent in charity out of what Allah had given them? Allah Knows them all.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

What have they (to fear) if they believe in Allah and the Last Day and spend (aright) of that which Allah hath bestowed upon them, when Allah is ever Aware of them ( and all they do)?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Verily, God does not wrong [anyone] by as much as an atom's weight; and if there be a good deed, He will multiply it, and will bestow out of His grace⁵¹ a mighty reward.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "from Himself" - i.e., far in excess of what the doer of good may have merited.

Rest assured that Allah does not wrong anyone even by an atom's weight. If someone does a good deed He increases it many fold and also gives an extra great reward on His own.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! Allah wrongeth not even of the weight of an ant; and if there is a good deed, He will double it and will give (the doer) from His presence an immense reward.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall