4-116 Surely Allah forgives not setting up partners with Him, and He forgives all besides this to whom He pleases. And whoever sets up a partner with Allah, he indeed goes far astray.a
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَغۡفِرُ أَن يُشۡرَكَ بِهِۦ وَيَغۡفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٲلِكَ لِمَن يَشَآءُۚ وَمَن يُشۡرِكۡ بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدۡ ضَلَّ ضَلَـٰلاَۢ بَعِيدًا (١١٦)
4-116a: In the discussion about hypocrites at the end of last section, it is stated that the correct path is the one on which the righteous are treading. In this section, a comparison is drawn between a polytheist and a monotheist, the strategy adopted by the hypocrites is described and it is stated that they cannot be successful. Polytheism is mentioned because it is the root of all sins, See 4-48a for polytheism being an unforgivable sin. It is also revealed here why Allah does not forgives setting up partners with Him, namely because such a person errs so greatly and strays so far from righteousness that it is difficult for him to come back. There is no spiritual disease whose roots are deeper than polytheism and idol worship.
4-117 Besides Him they call on nothing but female divinities and they call on nothing but a rebellious devil,a
إِن يَدۡعُونَ مِن دُونِهِۦۤ إِلَّآ إِنَـٰثً۬ا وَإِن يَدۡعُونَ إِلَّا شَيۡطَـٰنً۬ا مَّرِيدً۬ا (١١٧)
4-117a: اناث – It is the plural of انثیٰ . All those besides God to whom the polytheists turn for their needs to be fulfilled are called اناث . Another reason they are called اناث may be because in pre-Islamic Arabia, the idols had female names, such as Lat, Uzza and Manaat (R). According to Hassan, every tribe had an idol which was called انثیٰ بن فلان that is, the goddess of so and so tribe and this nomenclature was used because those things that do not have a spirit are called اناث (IJ). Imam Raghib has also taken اناث to mean inorganic matter because it is passive, that is it accepts external influences only and he says that by using this word for their gods the idolaters have been warned of their ignorance that they call for help from things that can neither see, nor hear nor have the power to do anything. A similarity of this is the saying of Abraham: لِأَبِيهِ يَـٰٓأَبَتِ لِمَ تَعۡبُدُ مَا لَا يَسۡمَعُ وَلَا يُبۡصِرُ وَلَا يُغۡنِى عَنكَ شَيۡـًٔ۬ا (O my sire, why worshippest thou that which hears not, nor sees, nor can it avail thee aught?) (19:42). In another place it is stated: وَجَعَلُواْ ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةَ ٱلَّذِينَ هُمۡ عِبَـٰدُ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ إِنَـٰثًاۚ (And they make the angels, who are the servants of the Beneficent, females (43:19). This is with relation to their calling the angels daughters of Allah (R).
مرید – It is derived from مرد – شجرٌ اَمۡردُ is a tree that does not have leaves and امرد is a man whose facial hair have not appeared yet. Hence مرید and مارد is one from among the jinn and men who is devoid of any goodness, as in: وَحِفۡظً۬ا مِّن كُلِّ شَيۡطَـٰنٍ۬ مَّارِدٍ۬ (And (there is) a safeguard against every devil)) (37:7). In one narration, the term اھل الجنة مُردٌ is used and is taken to mean that they will be free of any defects and harm, and the meaning of: مَرَدُواْ عَلَى ٱلنِّفَاقِ (9:101) is that they will be free of any goodness and persist in hypocrisy.
The meaning of worshipping the devil: By the statement that they call on nothing but a rebellious devil is meant that those whom they call upon as gods did not claim being gods and it is only on the instigation of the devil that they worship them. Thus they listen and obey the devil and thus it is the devil that they really worship.
4-118 Whom Allah has cursed. And he said: Certainly I will take of Thy servants an appointed portion;
لَّعَنَهُ ٱللَّهُۘ وَقَالَ لَأَتَّخِذَنَّ مِنۡ عِبَادِكَ نَصِيبً۬ا مَّفۡرُوضً۬ا (١١٨)
4-119 And certainly I will lead them astray and excite in them vain desires and bid them so that they will slit the ears of the cattle,a and bid them so that they will alter Allah’s creation.b And whoever takes the devil for a friend, forsaking Allah, he indeed suffers a manifest loss.
وَلَأُضِلَّنَّهُمۡ وَلَأُمَنِّيَنَّهُمۡ وَلَأَمُرَنَّهُمۡ فَلَيُبَتِّڪُنَّ ءَاذَانَ ٱلۡأَنۡعَـٰمِ وَلَأَمُرَنَّہُمۡ فَلَيُغَيِّرُنَّ خَلۡقَ ٱللَّهِۚ وَمَن يَتَّخِذِ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنَ وَلِيًّ۬ا مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ فَقَدۡ خَسِرَ خُسۡرَانً۬ا مُّبِينً۬ا (١١٩)
4-119a: لَيُبَتِّڪُنَّ- The root of يُبَتِّكَ is بَتۡك , and بَتۡك and بَتّ have the same meaning but they are used in separate contexts. بَتۡك is used for the cutting of hair or limbs while بَتّ is used for the severance of relationships and resources (R).
The custom of slitting the ears of cattle: It was the custom during the Days of Ignorance that when a she camel had given birth to five calves and if the fifth happened to be a male, the she camel’s ear was slit and she was let out to pasture and she was neither ridden or put to other use. This was a polytheistic custom and was done in the name of idols. This was called بحیرہ and it is also mentioned elsewhere: مَا جَعَلَ ٱللَّهُ مِنۢ بَحِيرَةٍ۬ وَلَا سَآٮِٕبَةٍ۬ (Allah has not ordained a bahirah or a saibah ) (5:103). Some have said that it was part of the worship of an idol that the ears of animals were slit.
4-119b: What is meant by خَلۡقَ ٱللَّهِ : The Quran itself has explained this term elsewhere: فِطۡرَتَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلَّتِى فَطَرَ ٱلنَّاسَ عَلَيۡہَاۚ لَا تَبۡدِيلَ لِخَلۡقِ ٱللَّهِۚ ذَٲلِكَ ٱلدِّينُ ٱلۡقَيِّمُ (the nature made by Allah in which he has created men. There is no altering Allah’s creation – that is the right religion) (30:30). So by altering خَلۡقَ ٱللَّهِ is meant altering the religion of Allah, and this is the meaning adopted by Hassan, Dahak, Mujahid and many other religious leaders (IK, IJ). There is a hadith found in the two most authentic Books of Hadith which states: کل مولود یولد علی الفطرۃ (Every child is born on Fitrah (natural disposition; or true faith of Islam to worship none but Allah)). Thus, on the one hand, an obvious type of polytheistic practice is pointed out, that is slitting the ears of animals, on the other hand its subtlest form is also pointed out, that is changing Allah’s religion, by which is meant making prohibited what Allah has made permissible and making permissible what Allah has prohibited. Its explanation as: لعن ٱللَّه الواشمات (May Allah curse tattoos) is not correct, because there is no change in the creation of Allah and further such an interpretation will make any kind of adornment as change in the creation of Allah. The intention of the hadith appears to be only that the Holy Prophet cursed those women who try to seduce men by ornamenting their hands with blue dye. Another interpretation of change in خَلۡقَ ٱللَّهِ is a change in the purpose for which Allah has created a thing. For example, animals have been created to ride them and worshipping them by making them bahirah or saibah is change in خَلۡقَ ٱللَّهِ and Allah has subjugated the sun and moon to humans and worshipping them is altering خَلۡقَ ٱللَّهِ.
4-120 He promises them and excites vain desires in them. And the devil promises them only to deceive.a
يَعِدُهُمۡ وَيُمَنِّيہِمۡۖ وَمَا يَعِدُهُمُ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنُ إِلَّا غُرُورًا (١٢٠)
4-120a: Devil’s promises are a deception: These words are noteworthy and not only are the promises of devils and jinns false and deceptive but also those of devilish men who when they lead people on the wrong path do so by deceptive promises. A person who incites another towards evil adorns that evil path and that is the reason why those who keep the company of evil persons end up destroying themselves because they believe their lies.
4-121 These — their refuge is hell, and they will find no way of escape from it.
أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ مَأۡوَٮٰهُمۡ جَهَنَّمُ وَلَا يَجِدُونَ عَنۡہَا مَحِيصً۬ا (١٢١)
4-122 And those who believe and do good, We shall make them enter Gardens in which rivers flow, to abide therein for ever. It is Allah’s promise, in truth. And who is more truthful in word than Allah?
وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ سَنُدۡخِلُهُمۡ جَنَّـٰتٍ۬ تَجۡرِى مِن تَحۡتِهَا ٱلۡأَنۡهَـٰرُ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيہَآ أَبَدً۬اۖ وَعۡدَ ٱللَّهِ حَقًّ۬اۚ وَمَنۡ أَصۡدَقُ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ قِيلاً۬ (١٢٢)
4-123 It will not be in accordance with your vain desires nor the vain desires of the People of the Book. Whoever does evil, will be requited for it and will not find for himself besides Allah a friend or a helper.a
لَّيۡسَ بِأَمَانِيِّكُمۡ وَلَآ أَمَانِىِّ أَهۡلِ ٱلۡڪِتَـٰبِۗ مَن يَعۡمَلۡ سُوٓءً۬ا يُجۡزَ بِهِۦ وَلَا يَجِدۡ لَهُ ۥ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ وَلِيًّ۬ا وَلَا نَصِيرً۬ا (١٢٣)
4-123a: What a pure religion! There is no reward for desires and wishes regardless of whether the person is a Muslim, Jew or Christian. Those Muslims who are only Muslims in name and do not make the Quran their way of life are only following their desires, and this verse of the Quran is decisive in that just desires are not enough unless they are backed deeds. If a Muslim commits an evil act, he will be punished and if a non-Muslim does a good deed, he will be rewarded. Right belief does not exempt a person from doing good deeds. In fact, the whole purpose of right belief is to put a person on the path of right actions.
4-124 And whoever does good deeds, whether male or female, and he (or she) is a believer — these will enter the Garden, and they will not be dealt with a whit unjustly.
وَمَن يَعۡمَلۡ مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ مِن ذَڪَرٍ أَوۡ أُنثَىٰ وَهُوَ مُؤۡمِنٌ۬ فَأُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ يَدۡخُلُونَ ٱلۡجَنَّةَ وَلَا يُظۡلَمُونَ نَقِيرً۬ا (١٢٤)
4-124a: Equity in reward for men and women: There is complete equity between men and women in terms of reward for deeds. Just as there are blessings in heaven for men, there are the same blessings in heaven for women as well. The Quran has kept no difference in the blessings for the two and has not stated anywhere that there are more blessings for men than for women. If the Christians have wrongly accused Islam that according to Islamic teachings women have no soul, many Muslims too harbor similar feelings that men will have blessings in heaven which the women will not. Quran has established complete equity between men and women for the results of their actions.
4-125 And who is better in religion than he who submits himself entirely to Allah while doing good (to others) and follows the faith of Abraham, the upright one? And Allah took Abraham for a friend.a
وَمَنۡ أَحۡسَنُ دِينً۬ا مِّمَّنۡ أَسۡلَمَ وَجۡهَهُ ۥ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحۡسِنٌ۬ وَٱتَّبَعَ مِلَّةَ إِبۡرَٲهِيمَ حَنِيفً۬اۗ وَٱتَّخَذَ ٱللَّهُ إِبۡرَٲهِيمَ خَلِيلاً۬ (١٢٥)
4:125a: خَلِيل – It is derived from خُلّة which means affection because it enters a person’s soul and خَلَل is a crevice between two things or the middle of a thing, as in: فَتَرَى ٱلۡوَدۡقَ يَخۡرُجُ مِنۡ خِلَـٰلِهِ (…then piles them up, so that thou seest the rain coming forth from their midst) (24:43) and فَجَاسُواْ خِلَـٰلَ ٱلدِّيَارِ (…so they made havoc in (your) houses) (17:5).
Allah took Abraham as His friend because when a person loves Allah, He loves him in return. However, the glad tidings given here is not that Allah took Abraham as a friend but that whoever follows the faith of Abraham and focuses his attention on being perfectly obedient to Allah and acts with goodness towards the creation of Allah becomes a friend of Allah and wins His affection.
What is meant by ٱتَّبَعَ مِلَّةَ إِبۡرَٲهِيمَ (follows the faith of Abraham)? Here it is only being upright which is called the faith of Abraham, that is those rules of religion which avoid extremes. See 2-135a, and those rules of religion have also been specified here, that is: أَسۡلَمَ وَجۡهَهُ ۥ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحۡسِنٌ۬ (submits entirely to Allah and does good to others). So, the requirement is to follow these rules which are also the essential rules of Islam. In fact, these rules were universal to all religions when they existed in their pristine form. They all espoused the worship of one God and acting with goodness towards the creation of Allah.
Bayan-ul-Quran 