2-254 O you who believe, spend out of what We have given you before the day comes in which there is no bargaining, nor friendship, nor intercession. And the disbelievers — they are the wrongdoers.
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ أَنفِقُواْ مِمَّا رَزَقۡنَـٰكُم مِّن قَبۡلِ أَن يَأۡتِىَ يَوۡمٌ۬ لَّا بَيۡعٌ۬ فِيهِ وَلَا خُلَّةٌ۬ وَلَا شَفَـٰعَةٌ۬ۗ وَٱلۡكَـٰفِرُونَ هُمُ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ (٢٥٤)
2-254a: خُلَّةٌ۬ – خلل is the space between two things, and خُلَّة is love either because it is in the middle of the heart or because it enters the heart. And love is called love because it enters حَبَّة القلب (R).
What is the meaning of there being no bargaining, nor friendship and nor intercession in the Hereafter? The absence of these three things in the Hereafter, that is bargaining, the relationship of love, and intercession, is mentioned because these are the things that become a barrier in the way of spending wealth in the way of Allah in this world. A person can get so absorbed in his trading that he does not want any of his wealth to be used outside of his business. This stops him from spending in the way of Allah. Another spends all his wealth on the object of his love and does not give anything in the way of Allah. Sometimes intercession, that is a connection with some influential person becomes an impediment. So, when the topic of the necessity for defensive war was finished, the requirement for spending in the way of Allah is mentioned before giving the good news of the success of Islam. This topic of spending is further expounded on in the next two sections, and it is expressed that the things that impede spending in the way of Allah are of no help in the Hereafter and are not be accepted as an excuse. The real purpose here is to stress that worldly friendships, contacts, and recommendations will not exist in the next world because it is these things that become an impediment in spending wealth in the way of Allah.
Friendship and intercession of the next world are very different: As stated elsewhere in the Quran: ٱلۡأَخِلَّآءُ يَوۡمَٮِٕذِۭ بَعۡضُهُمۡ لِبَعۡضٍ عَدُوٌّ إِلَّا ٱلۡمُتَّقِينَ (Friends on that day will be foes one to another, except those who keep their duty) (43:67). It follows those pious friendships that are born out of piety, and which are not just a thing of this world will survive, but friendships of this world will not: إِلَّا مِنۢ بَعۡدِ أَن يَأۡذَنَ ٱللَّهُ لِمَن يَشَآءُ وَيَرۡضَىٰٓ (except after Allah gives permission to whom He pleases and chooses) (53:26).
Warning not to be like the unbelievers: The last words of the verse: “And the disbelievers – they are the wrongdoers,” points to two things. First, that the need to fight did not arise from a desire on the part of the believers to fight, but the wrongdoing was on the side of the disbelievers who wanted to annihilate the Truth. Second, that not spending money in the way of Allah constitutes wrongdoing because one does not do justice to the wealth Allah has bestowed, and this is not befitting for a believer; or it may be a warning that a refusal to spend would liken them to the disbelievers.
2-255 Allah — there is no god but He, the Ever-living, the Self-subsisting by Whom all subsist.a Slumber overtakes Him not, nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. Who is he that can intercede with Him but by His permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind them. And they encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He pleases.b His knowledge extends over the heavens and the earth,c and the preservation of them both tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Great.d
للَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلۡحَىُّ ٱلۡقَيُّومُۚ لَا تَأۡخُذُهُ ۥ سِنَةٌ۬ وَلَا نَوۡمٌ۬ۚ لَّهُ ۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِۗ مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشۡفَعُ عِندَهُ ۥۤ إِلَّا بِإِذۡنِهِۦۚ يَعۡلَمُ مَا بَيۡنَ أَيۡدِيهِمۡ وَمَا خَلۡفَهُمۡۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىۡءٍ۬ مِّنۡ عِلۡمِهِۦۤ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَۚ وَسِعَ كُرۡسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضَۖ وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُ ۥ حِفۡظُهُمَاۚ وَهُوَ ٱلۡعَلِىُّ ٱلۡعَظِيمُ (٢٥٥)
2-255a: ٱلۡحَىُّ – means ever living (IJ), that is, there is no bound to His beginning and no bound to His end. Imam Raghib distinguishes six forms of life. He has reserved the sixth type specifically for Allah and defines it as one for which the word death can never be true. Some have added to this explanation and stated that He is the ever living who plans, changes affairs as He likes and determines the measure of things as He pleases. The truth is that if life is an attribute of one created then life must be an attribute of the Creator because an attribute that does not exist in the Creator cannot be found in the creation. He is ever living and the fountain of life.
ٱلۡقَيُّومُ – is the superlative form of قیام – القئم الحافِظُ لِکُلِّ شئ والمُعۡطی له‘ مابه قِوِامه (R), that is, He is self-subsisting, guardian over all, and granter of the means by which others subsist. Its meaning comprises both: القائم بذاته والمقّوم لغیرہ , that is, He is self-subsisting and by whom all subsist.
2-255b: تَأۡخُذُهُ – اَخذ meaning to seize, or lay hold of, is sometimes with wrath, that is, with dominance.
سِنَةٌ۬ – The root of this is وَسَن and the meaning of both is remissness and sleep (R), or سِنَةٌ۬ is drowsiness that does not reach the stage of sleep, as is evident from a poetic verse: فی عینه سِنَة و لَیۡسَ بنائمٍ (His eyes are drowsy but he is not sleeping) (LA).
Reason for slumber preceding sleep: Slumber is mentioned before sleep because there is an element of overpowering in تَأۡخُذُهُ ۥ . Slumber does not overpower God and neither does sleep which is even more intense in rendering one unaware of one’s surroundings. It is possible that a person may not lose total awareness while slumbering but does so when asleep.
Permission required for intercession: يَشۡفَعُ عِندَهُ ۥۤ إِلَّا بِإِذۡنِهِ . See 2-48a for intercession. Permission from Allah is made a precondition of intercession here. This precondition is required not only for the one interceding but also for the one on whose behalf intercession is made as stated in: لَا يَشۡفَعُونَ إِلَّا لِمَنِ ٱرۡتَضَىٰ (…they intercede not except for him whom He approves) (21:28). So, intercession is neither something within the control of the intercessor so that he can intercede whenever he wants, and neither does the person for whom intercession is to be made have a right to present an intercessor on his behalf. What is the meaning of permission in the context of intercession? Its meaning is made clear in the hadith about intercession. This hadith states that the Holy Prophet said that on the Day of Judgment, he will fall in prostration until God will order him to raise his head and to state his wish, which will be accepted. The Holy Prophet will then intercede, and his intercession will be accepted.
Intercession is a form of prayer: This hadith shows that intercession on the Day of Judgment is actually a form of prayer. Just as the Holy Prophet prayed for his Companions and followers in this world and purified them of their sins. Similarly, on the Day of Judgment, the Holy Prophet will pray for them, and his prayer will be accepted, and his intercession will be successful. Those who believe that the prayers in this world of pious people are accepted cannot deny this kind of intercession. The intercession of the Holy Prophet manifested itself in this world in the form of the purification of the Companions in the spiritual sense, and was also responsible for granting them kingdom. It follows that the intercession of the Holy Prophet on the Day of Judgment is as much a settled fact as his intercession in this world. Islam has thrown such perfect light on all aspects of Truth that nothing is left in the dark.
مَا بَيۡنَ أَيۡدِيهِمۡ وَمَا خَلۡفَهُمۡ – Here affairs of this world are meant as is in front and what is behind are matters of the Hereafter (IJ) or the opposite of it (R). It could also mean things that have passed and things that are in the future. Another interpretation is things that one feels and those that one does not.
يُحِيطُونَ – اِحاطة or encompassing is of two types, one of matter and other of knowledge. Encompassing of knowledge means to fully know about the existence, genus, condition, and purpose of existence of a thing. Nobody besides Allah knows like this (R). Humans cannot fully comprehend even a grain of sand.
2-255c: كُرۡسِيُّ – In common parlance, كُرۡسِيُّ is something on which one sits. But Ibn Abbas takes كُرۡسِيُّ here to mean knowledge and some take it to mean kingdom (R). The statement of Ibn Abbas regarding this is in Bukhari. The following objections are made against this adoption: First, the dictionary does not give the meaning of كُرۡسِيُّ as knowledge. The response to this is that the root of كُرۡسِيُّis کرس which indicates knowledge. In fact, Ibn Jarir says that the real connotation of کرس is knowledge, and for this reason a manuscript whose writing imparts knowledge is called کراسة . Similarly, using some citation as evidence, he states تکّرس means knowledge or get to know. For this reason, scholars are called کراسی which is the plural of كُرۡسِيُّ (T). And Zamakhshari copied a proverb from Qatrab: خیر ھزا الحیوان الاناسی و خیرالاناسی الکٰراسی (The best among the living beings are humans and the best among the humans are scholars). So, when the root meaning indicates knowledge, the use of this word as an attribute of Allah by the Quran is fully justified because the new sense of the word had to be conveyed by the traditional root meaning of the word. The second objection is that the tradition of using كُرۡسِيُّ in the sense of knowledge is not correct as Ibn Abba establishes its meaning as موضع قدمیه. However, this is the manifest meaning. Bukhari accepts the narration in which Ibn Abbas holds كُرۡسِيُّ to be knowledge true and the same is corroborated by other sources as well. The third objection is that a hadith states: ما السموٰات السبع و الارضون السبع عند الکرسی الا کحلقة ملقاة بارض فلاة (The seven heavens and the seven earths are like a ring in the wilderness before the كُرۡسِيُّ ). This hadith equally makes sense if we take كُرۡسِيُّ to mean knowledge because the heaven and earth are insignificant before the knowledge of God. The meaning of كُرۡسِيُّ as knowledge is borne out as correct by the Quran itself. First, the context mentions knowledge because protection can only be afforded through knowledge. Second, there are numerous references in the Quran that whatever is in the heaven and earth belongs to Allah or that He has knowledge of it, but there is no occurrence which states that whatever is in the كُرۡسِيُّ is His or that He has knowledge of it. In any case, it is manifest that God’s hands are not like human hands and his كُرۡسِيُّ is not like the human furniture for sitting. Instead, just as there are chairs for scholars and they are endowed chairs as an acknowledgement of their scholarship, so too is the rationale for the use of the word كُرۡسِيُّ here. See 2-15a. The one who is above slumber and sleep is also free from the need of sitting and lying.و لا كُرۡسِيُّ فی الحقیقة و لا قاعد (In reality, there is neither a chair nor a sitter).
2-255d: يَـُٔودُهُ ۥ – It is a derivative of اَوۡد which means exertion and toil.
This verse is well-known as آیة الکرسی and its greatness is well documented in Hadith. The reading of this verse after every obligatory prayer is stressed. According to one hadith, this is the grandest verse, another hadith states that this verse contains the grandest name of Allah. In the Books of Hadith by Ahmad, Abu Dawud and Tirmazi there is a narration that the Holy Prophet recited this verse and the first verse of Surah Al-Imran and stated that both contain the grandest name of Allah. In another hadith, there is a statement that the grandest name of Allah occurs in Surahs Al-Baqarah, Al-Imran and Ta Ha, and in all three the commonality is the name ٱلۡحَىُّ ٱلۡقَيُّومُۚ (Ever-living, Self-subsisting) which occurs in just these three and none other. It is also established that prior to the Battle of Badar, the Holy Prophet prayed under a canopy strung for him and beseeched Allah by repeatedly invoking Allah with His attributes of یا حی and یا قیوم . This verse indicates that the ٱلۡحَىُّ ٱلۡقَيُّومُۚ God will save the Muslims from being destroyed by the unbelievers and will make them a living nation.
This verse also rebuts the incorrect beliefs of other religions: The verse first expresses the unity of Allah, and then states that ٱلۡحَىُّ is his attribute, and whatever life we see in this world is a manifestation of His attribute of ٱلۡحَىُّ . This is a rebuttal of the belief that matter and spirit were not created, and coexisted with the Creator. It is then asserted that He does not slumber or sleep. Jesus who is considered Divine slept as humans do.
It removes errors in the concept of intercession: Christians adopted a very liberal concept of intercession and hold that whoever believes that Jesus atoned for the sins of humanity will be saved. It follows that humanity can do what it pleases, and it will still have Jesus to intercede on their behalf. The other extreme is that some people consider Allah to be so constrained by the dictates of justice that they totally rejected the concept of intercession. The Quran by the use of the word بِإِذۡنِهِ (by His permission) removes both the misconceptions. There is no entitlement to intercession just because of belief. Hadith states that on the Day of Judgment, the Holy Prophet will fall in prostration and will glorify and praise Allah and will beseech Him until he will be given permission to intercede. Those who accept that prayer by pious people is accepted cannot refute intercession which is just another form of prayer.
2-256 There is no compulsion in religion — the right way is indeed clearly distinct from error.a So whoever disbelieves in the devil and believes in Allah, he indeed lays hold on the firmest handle which shall never break. And Allah is Hearing, Knowing.b
لَآ إِكۡرَاهَ فِى ٱلدِّينِۖ قَد تَّبَيَّنَ ٱلرُّشۡدُ مِنَ ٱلۡغَىِّۚ فَمَن يَكۡفُرۡ بِٱلطَّـٰغُوتِ وَيُؤۡمِنۢ بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدِ ٱسۡتَمۡسَكَ بِٱلۡعُرۡوَةِ ٱلۡوُثۡقَىٰ لَا ٱنفِصَامَ لَهَاۗ وَٱللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ (٢٥٦)
2-256a: إِكۡرَاهَ – means to have a person lift a burden that they do not like.
ٱلدِّينِ – The ال in ٱلدِّينِ stands either for a covenant or is a modifying word in the genitive case for an apposition noun and the meaning is the religion of Allah.
غَىّ – is the ignorance born out of corrupted belief but is also used to mean just ignorance (R). The opposite of this is رُشۡد which means rightly guided. By رُشۡد و غَىّ is meant truth and falsehood.
The custom of declaring a child Jewish among the Helpers as an offering: It is recorded that a custom among the denizens of Madinah was that some women, when they did not have living offspring, would make an offering; the offering was that they would make their child when born a follower of the Book because they considered the religion of the followers of the Book better than their own faith. When Islam came to Madinah, the Helpers desired that those who had thus become Jewish should be converted to Islam. One version is that this verse was revealed in that context, and it laid down the rule that conversion from one religion to another is a matter of one’s own choice. Compulsion is not allowed in religion. It is narrated by Ibn Abbas that a person belonging to the tribe of Bani Salam bin Auf had two sons who were Christians. When he became a Muslim, he asked the Holy Prophet if he could compel his sons to accept Islam. Another version is that this verse was revealed in that context.
The verse “there is no compulsion” is not abrogated: The words of this verse are so clear and far reaching in meaning that it is alone sufficient to rebut all charges against Islam of spreading by force. It is completely erroneous to allege that this verse is abrogated. Mere allegations by sundry persons cannot abrogate a Quranic verse. However, if there is a statement by the Holy Prophet then such a charge could be accepted. It is an even bigger mistake to consider this verse abrogated by the جاھد الکفار والمنٰفقین verse as not a single instance can be cited of forcible conversion based upon this injunction. The injunction to strive (جاھد) was revealed prior to the ‘no compulsion’ verse in Makkahوَجَـٰهِدۡهُم بِهِۦ جِهَادًا ڪَبِيرا (And strive against them a mighty striving with it) (25:52). When the injunction to strive (جاھد ) is present before and after the revelation of the no ‘compulsion’ verse, to argue that this verse is abrogated is meaningless.
The verse of ‘no compulsion’ is not restricted in application to the People of the Book (Ahle Kitab): Restricting the application of this verse to just the People of the Book is also clearly against the Quran. The amazing thing is that the verse itself rebuts such a restriction, and to consider this verse abrogated is to deem the argument erroneous. The argument is that the right way is differentiated from the wrong way, and hence there is no need to compel anyone to convert. To consider the verse abrogated means this distinction between the right and wrong way does not exist ,and this is counter intuitive. Leave alone restricting the application of this verse to the People of the Book, the principle of no compulsion in religion is so encompassing that its spirit includes even the followers of the Quran. The Quran does not compel its followers to anything but gives rational arguments to guide the followers because it states that the right path is made manifest, hence there is no need for any compulsion to accept. Other religions compel their followers to accept some aspects of their religion that may not be appealing but not Islam. It is only Islam that completely eradicates the use of compulsion in matters of religion.
2-256b: ٱلطَّـٰغُوتِ – is derived from طَغَی which means exorbitant, as in: لَمَّا طَغَا ٱلۡمَآءُ (Surely when the water rose high) (69:11). And طغیان is to exceed the limits in inordinacy. طاغوت is from this root of the measure of فَعَلُوت and it means every disobedient and every deity besides Allah. It is used both as a singular and a plural. Magicians, diviners, soothsayers, jinn, and those who turn people from good are called طاغوت (R). The meaning of طاغوت here according to Umar is the devil. Some take its meaning here to be diviners, some magicians, some false deities, and some idols. In reality, all things that lead astray are included in the meaning of طاغوت .
ٱسۡتَمۡسَكَ – means to hold a thing firmly with a set purpose.
عُرۡوَةِ – is derived from عُرۡوی which means to be naked or bare. عراء is a place that is open and spacious without any barriers. Another use of this word in the Quran is: لَنُبِذَ بِٱلۡعَرَآءِ (cast down on naked ground) (68:49). The meaning of عُراء means side or direction, and عروہ means a thing which is towards someone, and which is held (R). So the place where a bucket or goblet is gripped is called عروہ.
ٱنفِصَامَ – is derived from فَصۡمwhich means to break.
Here کفر با لطاغوت and ایمان باللّٰه are put in juxtaposition, and just as by کفر با لطاغوت is meant not to accept the insinuations of the devil, by ایمان باللّٰه is meant to fulfil the injunctions of Allah. A person who adheres to this principle has grabbed hold of a firm handle that will not break, that is, their actions will not be wasted. Muadh bin Jabal states: لا انفصام لھا دون الجنة . Analogically, عروہ is compared to Imaan (faith) or Islam, and holding fast to it means to fully strive to act on it. Mujahid states that on hearing these words, the Holy Prophet remarked: اللّٰه لا یغیر ما بقوم حتٰی یغیروا ما باانفسہم (Allah does not change the condition of any people unless they change themselves). Even today, the same عروہ and ثقٰی are present but Muslims do not have a firm hold on it.
2-257 Allah is the Friend of those who believe — He brings them out of darkness into light. And those who disbelieve, their friends are the devils who take them out of light into darkness. They are the companions of the Fire; therein they abide.a
ٱللَّهُ وَلِىُّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ يُخۡرِجُهُم مِّنَ ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ إِلَى ٱلنُّورِۖ وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓاْ أَوۡلِيَآؤُهُمُ ٱلطَّـٰغُوتُ يُخۡرِجُونَهُم مِّنَ ٱلنُّورِ إِلَى ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِۗ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ أَصۡحَـٰبُ ٱلنَّارِۖ هُمۡ فِيہَا خَـٰلِدُونَ (٢٥٧)
2-257a: وَلِىُّ – وَلا and تَوالی are words that are used for nearness whether it is closeness in terms of space, or relationship, or faith, or friendship, or assistance, or belief. And وِلایَة means friendship or guardianship and وَلایَة means to take charge of an affair, or both the words have the same meaning, that is, being guardian of an affair. And وَلِّی and مَوۡلٰی are both used as subject and object, that is, in the sense of مُوالی one who guards or موالیone who is guarded. And Allah, in the sense of موالِی , is called a person’s وَلِیۡ and also مَولیٰ and a person is also called Allah’s وَلِّی (in the sense of مُوالَی ) but never مَولیٰ (R). And because the real meaning of وَلَاء is a close relationship or extreme nearness لیس بینھما ما لیس منھا (R), hence Allah being a person’s ولی or a person being Allah’s ولی shows this extreme closeness, and in both there is a sense of giving help, or that help will be given. Other connotations of وَلِّی are loving and affectionate, friendly, and helper (T). Thus, there is a sense of closeness, affection, truthfulness, and help in وَلِّی . The Quran, therefore, calls believers as وَلِّی of other believers, the hypocrites as وَلِّی of other hypocrites and Satan as the وَلِّی of the unbelievers as also stated in this verse: أَوۡلِيَآؤُهُمُ ٱلطَّـٰغُوتُ (أَوۡلِيَآؤ is the plural of وَلِّی). On the Day of resurrection, the ولایت (affection) of the unbelievers for one another and the موالاة (guardianship) of Satan will be terminated, as is stated in: يَوۡمَ لَا يُغۡنِى مَوۡلًى عَن مَّوۡلً۬ى شَيۡـًٔ۬ا (The day when friend will avail friend in naught…) (44:41).
What is Allah’s ولایت with the believers: Allah is the وَلِّی protector of the believers and this is His relationship with them. His ولایت with them is that when a person believes in Him and lives a life of a believer in practice, He takes him out of the darkness of unbelief, polytheism, sin, evil customs and traditions, false beliefs, ignorance, etcetera, into light. So, the indication of true belief is that the believer comes out of darkness. The unbeliever who refuses to take a step towards goodness, wanders further and further into darkness as time goes on. He steps from one evil to another evil. The believer, on the other hand, steps from one good deed to another.
Nur or light always expressed as singular in the Quran: It is worth remembering that the Quran always expresses Nur or light as singular and ظُّلُمَـٰتِ or darkness as a plural because there is only one Nur or truth, but ظُّلُمَـٰتِ or darkness is of many types. Thus, to express the perfection of Nur, the term used is: نُورٌ عَلَىٰ نُورٍ۬ۗ (light upon light) (24:35). The same idea is expressed in: وَأَنَّ هَـٰذَا صِرَٲطِى مُسۡتَقِيمً۬ا فَٱتَّبِعُوهُۖ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُواْ ٱلسُّبُلَ (And (know) that this is My path, the right one, so follow it, and follow not (other) ways, for they will lead you away from His way) (6:153). Thus, there is only one path that leads to God, but there are many paths that lead away from him.
Bayan-ul-Quran 