Al-Tafsīr Al-Kabīr (The Grand Exegesis)

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The Review of Religions is honoured to present the translation of Sūrah al-Nās, chapter 114 of the Holy Qur’an, from Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad’s (ra) magnum opus, Al-Tafsīr Al-Kabīr. This concluding chapter, known for its emphasis on seeking refuge in Allah from the evil of external and internal factors looking to destroy the Islamic teachings, will be serialised exclusively in the upcoming editions.

سُوْرَةُ النَّاسِ مَدَنِیَّةٌ وَهِیَ سَبْعُ اٰيَاتٍ مَعَ البَسْمَلَةِ

Sūrah al-Nās is Madinan and with the inclusion of Bismillāh, it is comprised of seven verses. (1)

(1) Sūrah al-Nās is one of those chapters about which there is disagreement over whether it was revealed in Makkah or Madīnah. Scholars opine that it was revealed in Madīnah, but since there are narrations claiming it was revealed in Makkah, and others claiming it was revealed in Madīnah, instead of merely taking some of these narrations and discarding the rest without cause, we assert that this chapter was revealed in both places – Makkah and Madīnah – or that it is only Madinan since the revelation of the Holy Qur’ān was concluded there.

As I have already pointed out in the exegesis of Sūrah al-Ikhlās and Sūrah al-Falaq, these last three Sūrahs collectively summarise the Holy Qur’ān, just like Sūrah al-Fātiḥah does. As discussed in detail in my commentary of these two chapters, the subject matter of Sūrah al-Ikhlās and Sūrah al-Falaq bears a close resemblance to the themes of Sūrah al-Fātiḥah. As for Sūrah al-Nās, it covers the subject matter of  Raḥmāniyyah [graciousness], Raḥīmiyyah [mercy], Mālik Yaum al-Dīn [Master of the Day of Judgement] andWa lā al-Ḍāllīn [and nor those who have gone astray]. Therefore, the words Rabb al-Nās [Lord of Mankind] and Ilāh al-Nās [God of mankind] allude to God’s attribute of Raḥmāniyyah. Although Raḥmāniyyah is an extremely vast attribute, enveloping all of creation, it is only in relation to man that it finds its full manifestation. The Promised Messiah (as) states that Raḥmāniyyah refers to God’s favours that are independent of one’s deeds. Although such favours are manifested for the benefit of all creation, their most perfect manifestation occurs only in man. The divine grace granted to all creation continues to evolve until it manifests [perfectly] in the form of man. In fact, it is in human beings that the immense vastness of Raḥmāniyyah is revealed. Its vastness is not proven by the fact that one does no deeds yet receives rewards; rather, it is proven by the fact that Allah Almighty bestows His favours even upon those who oppose Him. The vastness of Raḥmāniyyah is not substantiated through the nurturing of a she-goat; nor by the nurturing of a bull or a horse; rather, it is revealed through His nurturing of [a sinful man like] Abu Jahl who opposed God Almighty or of Pharaoh who used to profane God Almighty. Indeed, man does good to others as well, but the Raḥmāniyyah of God Almighty also includes and envelops His enemies, as Allah the Almighty Himself states:

كُلًّا نُمِدُّ هَؤُلاءِ وَهَؤُلاءِ مِنْ عَطَاءِ رَبِّكَ

That is to say, ‘Allah helps both the believers and disbelievers continuously.’ [1]

وَمَا كَانَ عَطَاءُ رَبِّكَ مَحْظُورًا

‘And your Lord’s bestowal is never confined to any one group or people.’[2]

Thus, man alone is the absolute manifestation of Raḥmāniyyah. Reflect on Abu Jahl’s defiance of Allah Almighty, and how He continued to favour him nonetheless. Moreover, consider how Allah Almighty’s Raḥmāniyyah continued to descend on the Pharaoh in spite of his opposition. Setting aside the supplications that Abu Jahl and Pharaoh made during their lives, Allah Almighty [also] accepted their supplications even when they were near death. As he was about to die, the Pharaoh expressed his faith in Allah, or in other words, he prayed that he be saved. The Raḥīmiyyah of Allah Almighty necessitated that his prayer should not be accepted, but His Raḥmāniyyah required that it should. It is for this reason that Allah Almighty stated in the Holy Qur’ān that He would indeed preserve Pharaoh’s body. Similarly, Abu Jahl prayed, ‘O Allah! If Muḥammad (sa) is a true prophet, then shower us with stones.’ Thereafter, Allah Almighty instructed the angels to rain stones [on the disbelievers]. Therefore, Allah Almighty also accepted their prayers as they were dying, even though they foolishly supplicated at a time when they could not have benefitted from it. After all, what would Abu Jahl have gained from being showered with stones? And how did Pharaoh benefit in having his body preserved? In reality, Raḥmāniyyah manifests on the one hand with respect to all creation and on the other hand with respect to mankind alone. Indeed, in animals and insects, Raḥmāniyyah is expressed. However, its true manifestation occurs when man is hurling abuse at Allah Almighty, but even at that moment He is sending blood to his tongue.  Thus, man is the perfect and absolute manifestation of the divine attribute of Raḥmāniyyah.

The verse Malik al-Nās [King of Mankind] alludes to God’s attribute Raḥīmiyyah [mercy] because only a Malik [a king] is tasked with the responsibility of bestowing continuous and lasting favours upon his people. Even today, people continue to live in and benefit from the feudal lands granted to them by the Mughal kings. But the Mughals are from [relatively] recent times, some people are still living off the feudal lands received from the Pathan kings. In fact, even this example is in the not-too-distant past. There are feudal landowners in India who are living on those lands which their ancestors had received from the Hindu Rajas 1,500 to 2,000 years ago. Raḥīmiyyah, therefore, is an expression of Milkiyyah [kingship]. Prophet David (as) said, ‘I have been young, and now am old, yet I have  not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.’[3] This means that the progeny of the righteous people are saved from begging. In short, God’s Raḥīmiyyah has been referred to in the verse Malik al-Nās [King of mankind]. 

The words Ilāh al-Nās [God of mankind] relate to Mālik Yaum al-Dīn because the ultimate dominion belongs only to He Who is worthy of worship. This is why Ilāh al-Nās alludes to [the verse] Mālik Yaum al-Dīn. Moreover, all the contents, beginning with A‘ūdhu [I seek refuge] till the end of the chapter are closely linked to the expression Wa lā al-Dāllīn [and those who have not gone astray]. That is to say, its subject matter relates to safeguarding oneself against the evils and mischiefs of Christianity. Referring to a ḥadīth of the Holy Prophet (sa), the Promised Messiah (as) states that the Christians are the greatest manifestation of the word Ḍāllīn. The difference between the terms Ḍāll and Maghḍūb is that Maghḍūb refers to those who coerce others into accepting something through the use of force and violence, meanwhile Ḍāll does so by way of argumentation. For instance, the Christian missionaries today claim that Christianity is a beautiful religion, and that Islam oppresses women, etc. They come and sow seeds of suspicions and doubts in the minds of men. Although on the surface, they do not resort to any coercion or cruelties, they do, nonetheless, sow the seeds of suspicion. This is precisely what the term Khannās refers to: those people who stay hidden and conspire against others. A philosopher sitting in Europe is hidden from our sight, yet men are still corrupted by studying his books. He does not coerce them with his hands nor does he strangle them; rather, وَسْوِسُ فِي صُدُورِ النَّاسِ i.e, he whispers into the hearts and minds. مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ that is to say, he influences both the common man and the elite. By reading European books on imperialism, the poorer segments of Muslim society start to suspect that Islam safeguard the rights of the wealthy more than their own. This is all embodied in the verse:

يُوَسْوِسُ فِي صُدُورِ النَّاسِ * مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ

[Who whispers into the hearts of men. From among jinn and men.]

Thus, the subject matter of Sūrah al-Fātiḥah is repeated in the last three chapters of the Holy Qur’ān. This means that the Holy Qur’ān ends on the same note it started on.

The second connection this chapter has relates to Sūrah al-Lahab [chapter 111]. Sūrah al-Lahab explains the emergence of an enemy of Islam and then goes on to mention its ultimate fate. Surah al-Nās details the signs and features of this enemy and the various means by which it will attack Islam. 

The third connection this Sūrah has is with the last verse of Sūrah al-Falaq where God Almighty states:

وَمِنْ شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ

which highlights that there will be a [nation] born that will carry great envy towards Islam. They should, therefore, pray to God Almighty to be protected against its evil and mischief. In Surah al-Nās we are told that the envier refers to the Christian nation who would employ various means to attack Islam. 

The serialisation of Sūrah al-Nās will continue in the coming editions.

ENDNOTES

1. The Holy Qur’an, 17:21.

2. Ibid.

3. The Bible, Psalm 37:25.