4-172 The Messiah disdains not to be a servant of Allah, nor do the angels who are near to Him. And whoever disdains His service and is proud, He will gather them all together to Himself.a
لَّن يَسۡتَنكِفَ ٱلۡمَسِيحُ أَن يَكُونَ عَبۡدً۬ا لِّلَّهِ وَلَا ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةُ ٱلۡمُقَرَّبُونَۚ وَمَن يَسۡتَنكِفۡ عَنۡ عِبَادَتِهِۦ وَيَسۡتَڪۡبِرۡ فَسَيَحۡشُرُهُمۡ إِلَيۡهِ جَمِيعً۬ا (١٧٢)
4-172a: يَسۡتَنكِفَ – The meaning of نکف is to separate, and اسۡتَنكِافَ means to feel ashamed or disgraced or to feel offended (R).
At the end of last section, the command is given to desist from the error of Trinity whose foundation is the sonship of Jesus. Hence it is pointed out here that Jesus did not consider it below his dignity to be a servant of Allah so that he would suggest a separate status of sonship for himself. The existing Gospels provide clear testimony that the Messiah never disdained being a servant of Allah and in fact considered it a matter of pride to be a servant of God. Who said: Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shall thou serve (Matthew 4:10), and who said: Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God (Mark 10:18). These two statements provide sufficient testimony regarding the truthfulness of the Quran, and show that Jesus was proud of being a servant of Allah as long as he was alive. It is only after his passing away that a nation was born who when they are told that Jesus was a servant of God, respond that you scorn Jesus. What Jesus considered to be his pride is now considered as his contempt by his followers.
Angels near to Allah who are always in the presence of Allah have been mentioned because leave alone humans even they consider it a matter of pride to be servants of Allah. The excellence of humanity lies in the servantship of Allah. Another reason for mentioning the angles is that just as Christians consider Jesus to be the son of God, the Arabs considered their idols to be the daughters of God. Thus, both doctrines are refuted in the same place.
The punishment of those who are proud and consider servantship as a derision of Jesus is not mentioned here and it is only stated that ultimately, they will return to God. In the next verse, there is first a mention of the believers and after that there is the mention of the unbeliever’s punishment.
4-173 Then as for those who believe and do good, He will pay them fully their rewards and give them more out of His grace. And as for those who disdain and are proud, He will chastise them with a painful chastisement, and they will find for themselves besides Allah no friend nor helper.
فَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ فَيُوَفِّيهِمۡ أُجُورَهُمۡ وَيَزِيدُهُم مِّن فَضۡلِهِۦۖ وَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ٱسۡتَنكَفُواْ وَٱسۡتَكۡبَرُواْ فَيُعَذِّبُهُمۡ عَذَابًا أَلِيمً۬ا وَلَا يَجِدُونَ لَهُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ وَلِيًّ۬ا وَلَا نَصِيرً۬ا (١٧٣)
4-174 O people, manifest proof has indeed come to you from your Lord and We have sent down to you a clear light.a
يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلنَّاسُ قَدۡ جَآءَكُم بُرۡهَـٰنٌ۬ مِّن رَّبِّكُمۡ وَأَنزَلۡنَآ إِلَيۡكُمۡ نُورً۬ا مُّبِينً۬ا (١٧٤)
4-174a: If on the one hand, mention is made of a faith that has no rationale argument to support it, on the other hand mention is made of a lucid argument and a light that makes everything apparent and manifest and separates the truth from falsehood. It does not require the human intellect to be put aside but enlightens it and takes it to new heights. The clear light is the Quran and the manifest proof is the person of the Holy Prophet because by his actions, he made the teachings of the Quran as manifest as a proof that supports a claim.
4-175 Then as for those who believe in Allah and hold fast by Him, He will admit them to His mercy and grace, and guide them to Himself on a right path.
فَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱعۡتَصَمُواْ بِهِۦ فَسَيُدۡخِلُهُمۡ فِى رَحۡمَةٍ۬ مِّنۡهُ وَفَضۡلٍ۬ وَيَہۡدِيہِمۡ إِلَيۡهِ صِرَٲطً۬ا مُّسۡتَقِيمً۬ا (١٧٥)
4-176 They ask thee for a decision. Say: Allah gives you a decision concerning the person who has neither parents nor children. If a man dies (and) he has no son and he has a sister, hers is half of what he leaves, and he shall be her heir if she has no son. But if there be two (sisters), they shall have two-thirds of what he leaves. And if there are brethren, men and women, then for the male is the like of the portion of two females. Allah makes clear to you, lest you err. And Allah is Knower of all things.
يَسۡتَفۡتُونَكَ قُلِ ٱللَّهُ يُفۡتِيڪُمۡ فِى ٱلۡكَلَـٰلَةِۚ إِنِ ٱمۡرُؤٌاْ هَلَكَ لَيۡسَ لَهُ ۥ وَلَدٌ۬ وَلَهُ ۥۤ أُخۡتٌ۬ فَلَهَا نِصۡفُ مَا تَرَكَۚ وَهُوَ يَرِثُهَآ إِن لَّمۡ يَكُن لَّهَا وَلَدٌ۬ۚ فَإِن كَانَتَا ٱثۡنَتَيۡنِ فَلَهُمَا ٱلثُّلُثَانِ مِمَّا تَرَكَۚ وَإِن كَانُوٓاْ إِخۡوَةً۬ رِّجَالاً۬ وَنِسَآءً۬ فَلِلذَّكَرِ مِثۡلُ حَظِّ ٱلۡأُنثَيَيۡنِۗ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَڪُمۡ أَن تَضِلُّواْۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىۡءٍ عَلِيمُۢ (١٧٦)
4-176a: Inheritance from a childless person whose parents are also dead: For a detailed discussion about the inheritance from a childless person whose parents are also dead see 4-12b. The command in this verse and the command in verse 4:12 are somewhat similar both dealing with the inheritance of a childless person known as کلاله. There are two ways in which this situation may be different from the one in 4-12b. One is that the meaning of کلاله here is different from its meaning in 4:12. The second is that the brothers and sisters here are different from the brothers and sisters in 4:12. The کلاله mentioned in verse 4:12 is one where the deceased has no children but has parents so that the share of the brothers and sisters is less. The کلاله mentioned here is one in which there are neither children nor parents and the whole of the inheritance goes to the brothers and sisters, or they are given a greater share. The term لَيۡسَ لَهُ ۥ وَلَدٌ۬ is not against this interpretation because it is quite common to mention just one side (son) whereas both sides (son and daughter) are meant. Further, there is a special indication in this word whose mention comes later. The second way in which the situation in this verse may be different from verse 4:12 could be that in verse 4:12 the mention is of uterine brothers and sisters that is those who are brothers from the side of the mother and because of remoteness get a smaller share while the mention in current verse is of real brothers and sisters or brothers and sisters from the father’s side and hence their share is more. The first interpretation, in my opinion, is preferable.
A subtle indication: By finishing the chapter with a verse about inheritance, attention is drawn to the real topic of this chapter. There is also an indication here that after Jesus, the last of the Israelite prophets whose mention is made in the preceding verses, the position of Bani Israel has become that of کلاله , a childless person whose inheritance has passed on to his brothers. The chain of prophets in the house of Israel has come to an end and prophethood has now been transferred to Bani Ishmael who are brothers of Bani Israel. This is in fulfilment of the promise made to Abraham to bless both his sons. The addition of the words لَيۡسَ لَهُ ۥ وَلَدٌ۬ with کلاله is a subtle way of communicating that no spiritual children will now be born to Bani Israel.
Bayan-ul-Quran 