The Story of ‘Uqbah ibn Abi Mu’ayt: Tafsir al-Baghawi

Allah says in surah al-Furqan:

وَيَوْمَ يَعَضُّ الظَّالِمُ عَلَىٰ يَدَيْهِ يَقُولُ يَا لَيْتَنِي اتَّخَذْتُ مَعَ الرَّسُولِ سَبِيلًا * يَا وَيْلَتَىٰ لَيْتَنِي لَمْ أَتَّخِذْ فُلَانًا خَلِيلًا * لَّقَدْ أَضَلَّنِي عَنِ الذِّكْرِ بَعْدَ إِذْ جَاءَنِي ۗ وَكَانَ الشَّيْطَانُ لِلْإِنسَانِ خَذُولًا * وَقَالَ الرَّسُولُ يَا رَبِّ إِنَّ قَوْمِي اتَّخَذُوا هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنَ مَهْجُورًا * وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نَبِيٍّ عَدُوًّا مِّنَ الْمُجْرِمِينَ ۗ وَكَفَىٰ بِرَبِّكَ هَادِيًا وَنَصِيرًا

And on the day that the wrongdoer will bite his hand, he will say, “O, if only I had taken a path with the Messenger! * O woe is me, if only I had not taken so-and-so as a close friend! * He took me off course from the reminder after it had come to me.” And the shaytaan is a deserter of man. * And the Messenger said, “O Lord, my people have taken this Qur’an as something to be discarded!” * Likewise We have made an enemy out of the criminals for every prophet. And your Lord is sufficient as a guide and protector. [25:27-31]

Commenting on this, Imam Abu Muhammad al-Husayn al-Baghawi wrote:

ـ ( ويوم يعض الظالم على يديه ) أراد بالظالم عقبة بن أبي معيط ، وذلك أن عقبة كان لا يقدم من سفر إلا صنع طعاما فدعا إليه أشراف قومه ، وكان يكثر مجالسة النبي – صلى الله عليه وسلم – فقدم ذات [ ص: 81 ] يوم من سفر فصنع طعاما فدعا الناس ودعا رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – ، فلما قرب الطعام قال رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – : ” ما أنا بآكل طعامك حتى تشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأني رسول الله ” فقال عقبة : أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمدا رسول الله ، فأكل رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – من طعامه ، وكان عقبة صديقا لأبي بن خلف ، فلما أخبر أبي بن خلف قال له : يا عقبة صبأت قال : لا والله ما صبأت ، ولكن دخل علي رجل فأبى أن يأكل طعامي إلا أن أشهد له ، فاستحييت أن يخرج من بيتي ولم يطعم ، فشهدت له فطعم ، فقال : ما أنا بالذي أرضى عنك أبدا إلا أن تأتيه فتبزق في وجهه ، ففعل ذلك عقبة ، فقال عليه السلام : ” لا ألقاك خارجا من مكة إلا علوت رأسك بالسيف ” فقتل عقبة يوم بدر صبرا . وأما أبي بن خلف فقتله النبي – صلى الله عليه وسلم – يوم أحد بيده ـ

وَيَوْمَ يَعَضُّ الظَّالِمُ عَلَىٰ يَدَيْهِ

And on the day that the wrongdoer will bite his hand …

The wrongdoer here is ‘Uqbah ibn Abi Mu’ayt. It used to be ‘Uqbah’s practice that whenever he would return from traveling, he would prepare a feast and invite the noblemen of his tribe, and he used to frequently host the Prophet.

One day, he returned from a trip, prepared a feast, and invited the people, including Allah’s Messenger. When he brought out the food, the Messenger of Allah said, “I will not eat any of your food until you bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship besides Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah,” so ‘Uqbah said, “I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship besides Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,” and so Allah’s Messenger ate his food.

Now, ‘Uqbah was a friend of Ubay ibn Khalaf, so when ‘Ubay ibn Khalaf heard about this, he said, “‘Uqbah, you have become a Sabee’!” ‘Uqbah said, “No, I swear I am not a Sabee’. It’s just that a man was my guest and he refused to eat my food unless I made this declaration for him. I was too shy to have him leave my house without having fed him anything, so I made the declaration of faith and then he ate.”

Ubay said, “I will never be happy with you again unless you go to him and spit on his face,” so ‘Uqbah went and did that. The Prophet then said, “If I meet you outside of Mecca, I will strike your head with a sword.” He was beheaded on the Day of Badr after having been captured, and as for Ubay ibn Khalaf, then the Prophet killed him on the Day of Uhud with his own hand.

Did al-Hajjaj Change the ‘Uthmani Mushaf?: Sheikh Muhammad Bazmool

Some have alleged that the Qur’an was changed during the time of the khalifah ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (died 86 AH) at the hands of his governor al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf (died 95 AH). In his doctoral thesis on the qira’at, sheikh Muhammad Bazmool (professor and head of the Qira’at division at Umm al-Qura University in Mecca) addressed this claim as follows:

الشبهة الثانية : الحجاج غيّر أحد عشر حرفا في مصحف عثمان بن عفان

The Second Doubt: That al-Hajjaj Changed Eleven Words in the Mushaf of ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan

تستند هذه الشبهة على ما جاء عن عوف بن أبي جميلة قال : إن الحجاج بن يوسف غيّر في مصحف عثمان أحد عشر حرفاً. ـ قال: كانت في البقرة ٢٥٩ {لم يتسن وانظر} بغير هاء، فغيرها “لَم يَتَسَنه” بالهاء . ـ وكانت في المائدة ٤٨ {شريعة ومنهاجاً} ، فغيّرها “شِرعَةً وَمِنهاجَاً” . وكانت في يونس: ٢٢ {هوالذي ينشركم} ، فغيَّرها “يُسَيّرُكُم” . وكانت في يوسف: ٤٥ {أنا آتيكم بتأويله} ، فغيَّرها “أنا أُنَبِئُكُم بِتَأوِيلِهِ” . وكانت في المؤمنين: ٨٥، ٨٧، ٨٩ {سيقولون لله … سيقولون لله … سيقولون لله} ثلاثتهن ، فجعل الاخريين : “الله ، الله” . ـ وكانت في الشعراء في قصة نوح ١١٦ {من المخرجين} وفي قصة لوط ١٦٧ {من المرجومين} ، فغير قصة نوح “من المرجومين” وقصة لوط “من المخرجين” . ـ وكانت في الزخرف: ٣٢ {نحن قسمنا بينهم معايشهم} ، فغيّرها “مَعِيشَتَهُم” . ـ وكانت في {الذين كفروا} [محمد ١٥] : “من ماء غير ياسن” فغيرها : “من ماء غير ءاسن” . ـ وكانت في الحديد ٧ {فالذين آمنوا منكم واتقوا لهم أجر كبير} فغيرها : “وأنفقوا” . ـ وكانت في {إذا الشمس كورت} : {وما هوعلى الغيب بظنين} ، فغيّرها {بِضَنينٍ} ـ

This doubt can be traced back to a report from ‘Awf ibn Abi Jamilah who said:

al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf changed eleven words in the mushaf of ‘Uthman.

In surah al-Baqarah, it was:

لم يتسن وانظر

… it has not changed. And look at …

without the letter haa, then he changed it to

لَمْ يَتَسَنَّهْ

… it has not changed … [2:259]

with the letter haa

Three Types of People in Taking on Allah’s Trust: Sheikh ‘Abd al-Razzaq al-Badr

In one of his classes, sheikh ‘Abd al-Razzaq al-Badr (teacher at al-Masjid al-Nabawi) mentioned the following point:

الامانة يأتي الامر بها وبيان عظم شأنها في القرآن الكريم في آيات عديدة منها قوله تعالى : {إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا الْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَن يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا الْإِنسَانُ ۖ إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا} . ـ

Allah has commanded us to be dutiful with our trusts and has illustrated the importance of this issue in a number of ayaat throughout the Qur’an. One example of this is His statement:

إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا الْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَن يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا الْإِنسَانُ ۖ إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا

We offered the trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains but they declined to take it on and they were afraid of it. But man took it on; he is certainly unjust and ignorant. [33:72]

فذكر عز وجل عظم شأن الامانة وأن الله عز وجل عرض تحمل الامانة على السموات وعلى الارض وعلى الجبال فأبين أن يحملنها وذكر سبحانه وتعالى سبب هذا الاباء وأنه ليس امتناعا لأمر الله وعدم رضوخ لما امر الله به بل هو شفقة من عدم القدرة على التحمل ولهذا قال : {وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا} فالجبال مع صلابتها وقوتها ولارضون والسموات لما عرض الله عليها تحمل الامانة شفقة منها ، والعرض لم يكن على وجه الالزام وانما كان على وجه التخيير ولهذا اختيار السموات والارض والجبال عدم التحمل شفقة من عدم القدرة . ـ

Allah mentioned the significance of taking on a trust and that He offered the opportunity to take on this trust to the heavens and to the earth and to the mountains but they declined to take it on. He mentioned that the reason why they declined and that this was not a refusal to carry out one of Allah’s commands or a lack of submission to Allah’s order, but that it this was because they feared that they would not be able to bear it. That is why He said:

The Linguistic Meaning of the Word “al-Qur’an”: al-Suyooti

In his famous manual for the Qur’an sciences, al-Itqan fee ‘Uloom al-Qur’an, Jalal al-Deen al-Suyooti included an in-depth discussion about the linguistic root and meaning of the word al-Qur’an. We have added some section headers in brackets [] to help with navigation:

وأما القرآن : فاختلف فيه ، فقال جماعة : هو اسم علم غير مشتق ، خاص بكلام الله . فهو غير مهموز ، وبه قرأ ابن كثير ، وهو مروي عن الشافعي ، أخرج البيهقي والخطيب وغيرهما عنه : أنه كان يهمز قرأت ، ولا يهمز القرآن ويقول : القران اسم وليس بمهموز ولم يؤخذ من قراءة ولكنه اسم لكتاب الله ، مثل التوراة والإنجيل . ـ

As for the word al-Qur’an, the scholars have differed regarding its linguistic meaning.

[Those who held that its meaning was not tied to its root letters]

Some have said that is is a title whose root letters do not reflect anything about its meaning and that this title is reserved exclusively for Allah’s Speech. This is without a hamzah,

القران

al-Qurān

which is how the reciter ibn Kathir recited it.

This position has been transmitted as that of al-Shafi’ee. al-Bayhaqi, al-Khatib and others reported that al-Shafi’ee used to articulate a hamzah in the word

قرأت

qara’tu

I read

but would not articulate a hamzah in the word

القران

al-Qurān

saying:

al-Qurān is a title which does not include a hamzah and it is not derived from qirā’ah – “recitation”. Rather, it is the title of Allah’s Book in a similar manner to al-Tawrah and al-Injeel.

Do Not Deviate Regarding Allah’s Names: Tafsir al-Baghawi

Allah says in surah al-A’raaf:

وَلِلَّهِ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا ۖ وَذَرُوا الَّذِينَ يُلْحِدُونَ فِي أَسْمَائِهِ ۚ سَيُجْزَوْنَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

To Allah belong the beautiful Names so call on Him by them, and leave those who deviate regarding His Names. They will be repayed for what they used to do. [7:180]

Commenting on this, Imam Abu Muhammad al-Husayn al-Baghawi wrote:

قوله تعالى : ( ولله الأسماء الحسنى فادعوه بها ) قال مقاتل : وذلك أن رجلا دعا الله في صلاته ودعا الرحمن ، فقال بعض مشركي مكة : إن محمدا – صلى الله عليه وسلم – وأصحابه يدعون أنهم يعبدون ربا واحدا ، فما بال هذا يدعو اثنين؟ فأنزل الله – عز وجل – : ” ولله الأسماء الحسنى فادعوه بها ” . والحسنى تأنيث الأحسن كالكبرى والصغرى ، فادعوه بها . ـ

Regarding Allah’s statement:

وَلِلَّهِ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا

To Allah belong the beautiful Names so call on Him by them …

Muqatil said:

That is for a person to call on Allah and to call on al-Rahman during His prayer, for some of the mushrikoon of Mecca used to said, “Muhammad and his followers claim that they only worship one lord, so then why do they call out to two?” Allah then revealed:

وَلِلَّهِ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا

To Allah belong the beautiful Names so call on Him by them …

And the word al-husna is the feminine form of al-ahsan, similar in form to the words al-kubra and al-sughra.

فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا

… so call on Him by them …

Where Were the ‘Uthmani Mushafs Sent?: Ibn Hajr

In his part of his famous explanation of Sahih al-Bukhari, ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalani spoke about the compilation of the ‘Uthmani mushafs. In the following excerpt, ibn Hajr brought a small collection of narrations regarding how many ‘Uthmani mushafs were made and where they were sent:

قوله : ( فأرسل إلى كل أفق بمصحف مما نسخوا ) في رواية شعيب ” فأرسل إلى كل جند من أجناد المسلمين بمصحف ” . واختلفوا في عدة المصاحف التي أرسل بها عثمان إلى الآفاق ، فالمشهور أنها خمسة ، وأخرج ابن أبي داود في ” كتاب المصاحف ” من طريق حمزة الزيات قال : أرسل عثمان أربعة مصاحف ، وبعث منها إلى الكوفة بمصحف ، فوقع عند رجل من مراد ، فبقي حتى كتبت مصحفي عليه . قال ابن أبي داود أبو حاتم السجستاني يقول : كتبت سبعة مصاحف إلى مكة وإلى الشام وإلى اليمن وإلى البحرين وإلى البصرة وإلى الكوفة ، وحبس بالمدينة واحدا . وأخرج بإسناد صحيح إلى إبراهيم النخعي قال : قال لي رجل من أهل الشام مصحفنا ومصحف أهل البصرة أضبط من مصحف أهل الكوفة ، قلت : لم ؟ قال : لأن عثمان بعث إلى الكوفة لما بلغه من اختلافهم بمصحف قبل أن يعرض ، وبقي مصحفنا ومصحف أهل البصرة حتى عرضا . ـ

Regarding Anas’ statement:

… ‘Uthman then sent one of the mushafs he had had copied to each direction …

and according to the riwayah of Shu’ayb, he said:

… ‘Uthman then sent a mushaf to each of the Muslim armies

The scholars have differed regarding the number of mushafs that ‘Uthman sent to the various regions, which the most popular position being that there were five.

Assorted Qur’an Benefits #64

In addition to our regular article schedule, we also periodically share shorter benefits from the books of tafsir on our social media pages. The following benefits were originally posted on our Facebook and Telegram channels in the last part of April 2021 and have been collected here on the website to give them a more permanent home:

♦ Allah is Certainly Forgiving and Merciful

In part of surah al-Nahl – also sometimes referred to as the surah of blessings – Allah says:

وَإِن تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

And if you were to count the blessings of Allah, you would never be able to count them. Allah is certainly Forgiving and Merciful. [16:18]

Commenting on this, Imam al-Baghawi wrote:

ـ( إن الله لغفور ) لتقصيركم في شكر نعمه ، ( رحيم ) بكم حيث وسع عليكم النعم ، ولم يقطعها عنكم بالتقصير والمعاصي

“Allah is certainly Forgiving” of your shortcomings regarding gratitude for His blessings “Merciful” towards you such that He graciously extends blessings to you and does not cut those blessing off from you as a result of your shortcomings and sins.

[Tafsir al-Baghawi 5/14]

Tafsir of Surah Nuh: al-Tafsir al-Muyassar

The book Al-Tafsir al-Muyassar was written by a group of scholars under the direction of sheikh Saalih Aal al-Sheikh, Minister of Islamic Affairs for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was designed to be a simple and easy-to-understand tafsir according to the understanding of the salaf. What follows is its brief tafsir of surah Nuh (71) and translation:

ـ {إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَى قَوْمِهِ أَنْ أَنذِرْ قَوْمَكَ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ يَأْتِيَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ (1) قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ إِنِّي لَكُمْ نَذِيرٌ مُبِينٌ (2) أَنْ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاتَّقُوهُ وَأَطِيعُونِ (3) يَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ مِنْ ذُنُوبِكُمْ وَيُؤَخِّرْكُمْ إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى إِنَّ أَجَلَ اللَّهِ إِذَا جَاءَ لا يُؤَخَّرُ لَوْ كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ (4)}
إنا بعثنا نوحا إلى قومه، وقلنا له: حذِّر قومك من قبل أن يأتيهم عذاب موجع. قال نوح: يا قومي إني نذير لكم بيِّن الإنذار من عذاب الله إن عصيتموه، وإني رسول الله إليكم فاعبدوه وحده، وخافوا عقابه، وأطيعوني فيما آمركم به، وأنهاكم عنه، فإن أطعتموني واستجبتم لي يصفح الله عن ذنوبكم ويغفر لكم، ويُمدد في أعماركم إلى وقت مقدر في علم الله تعالى، إن الموت إذا جاء لا يؤخر أبدًا، لو كنتم تعلمون ذلك لسارعتم إلى الإيمان والطاعة. ـ

إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِ أَنْ أَنذِرْ قَوْمَكَ مِن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ * قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ إِنِّي لَكُمْ نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ * أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاتَّقُوهُ وَأَطِيعُونِ * يَغْفِرْ لَكُم مِّن ذُنُوبِكُمْ وَيُؤَخِّرْكُمْ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ۚ إِنَّ أَجَلَ اللَّهِ إِذَا جَاءَ لَا يُؤَخَّرُ ۖ لَوْ كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

We certainly sent Nuh to his people. “Warn your people before a painful punishment comes to them.” (1) He said, “O people, I am a clear warner to you. (2) Worship Allah, have taqwa of Him, and obey Me. (3) He will forgive you of your sins and grant you an extension until a certain time. When Allah’s time comes, it cannot be delayed. If only you knew.” (4)

We certainly sent Nuh to his people and told him, “Warn your people before an excruciating punishment comes to them.”

Nuh said, “O my people, I am a warner to you clearly warning you of Allah’s punishment if you disobey Him. I am Allah’s Messenger to you, so worship Him alone, fear His punishment, and obey me in what I command and forbid for you. If you obey me and respond to me, Allah will overlook your sins and forgive you, and He will prolong your lives until a specified time that He knows. When death comes, it can never be pushed back. If you only knew that, you would rush to believe and obey.”

Du’a of the Qur’an Part 5: al-Sa’di

In his collection of various reflections on the Qur’an that he penned one Ramadan, sheikh ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sa’di included a beautiful section on some of the du’a found within the Qur’an. After first discussing the du’a at the heart of surah al-Fatihah, another du’a from surah al-Baqarah, the du’a at the end of surah al-Baqarah, and a du’a at the outset of surah Aal ‘Imran, al-Sa’di then turned to this du’a near the beginning of surah Aal ‘Imran:

كذلك: دعاء المتقين الذين أعد لهم الجنة وما فيها الذين يقولون: ﴿رَبَّنَا إِنَّنَا آمَنَّا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ﴾[آل عمران: 16]فتوسلوا بربوبية الله لهم وبإيمانهم أن يغفر لهم الذنوب وأن يقيهم عذاب النار، وإذ غُفرت ذنوبهم ووقاهم الله عذاب النار زال عنهم الشر بأجمَعه، وحصل لهم الخير بأجمَعه؛ لأن الأدعية هكذا تارة تأتي مطابقة لجميع مطالب العبد، وتارة يُذكر نوعٌ منها ويدخل الباقي باللزوم، كهذا الدعاء. ـ

Likewise, another comprehensive du’a of the Qur’an is: the du’a of the righteous ones who have been promised Jannah and the pleasures it contains:

الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا إِنَّنَا آمَنَّا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ ‎

Those who say, “O our Lord, we certainly believe so forgive us of our sins and protect us from the punishment of the fire.” [3:16]

So they are asking Allah by His caretaking role towards them and by their faith to forgive them for their sins and to protect them from the punishment of the hellfire.

If their sins and forgiven and Allah protects them from the punishment of the hellfire, then all forms of evil will be lifted from them and all forms of good will reach them. For with these types of comprehensive du’as, they will sometimes mention every goal a person would have, and sometimes they will only mention a certain type of goal with the others still falling under that goal by implication, and this du’a is an example of the second category.

[al-Mawahib al-Rabbaniyyah pg. 58-59]

See also: Taking the Means to Allah’s Forgiveness: Tafsir al-Sa’di