Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi — Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

A surah that We have sent down and made obligatory; and We sent down in it clear signs that perhaps you will remember. A dervish was asked, “What is the evidence for God's being?” He replied, “Morning takes away the need for a lamp.” When the sun rises, a lamp is not re- quired. The whole cosmos is the evidence, it needs someone to look. The whole cosmos is fragrant herbs, it needs someone to smell. The whole cosmos is the antidote, it needs someone bitten by a snake. The whole cosmos is the signs and banners of His power, the marks and denotations of His wisdom, the proof of His unity and solitariness. O chevalier! If one day you see the sun of recognition shining from the sphere of magnifi- cence, and if the eyes of your aspiration see the signs and banners of the exalted majesticness, then this world, which had taken you as its prey, will be made into a shoe and nailed to the hoof of your aspiration's steed. The afterworld, which had been your shackle, will be made into a ring for the ears of your presence's servants. Then you will be brought, like a king, into the special court of majesty, in a seat of truthfulness, at an Omnipotent King [54:55].

Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi — Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

The fornicatress and the fornicator-flog each of them a hundred lashes, and let no clem- ency toward them seize you in God's religion, if you have faith in God and the Last Day. And let a group of the faithful witness their chastisement. The world's folk are three groups: the common people, the elect of the Presence, and the elect of the elect. If the common people fornicate, their penalty, in the tongue of the Shariah, is whipping or stoning. MuṣṬafā said, “Take this from me! Take this from me! God has appointed for them a path: for virgins, one hundred stripes and banishment; for those formerly married, one hundred stripes and stoning.” He also said, “Receive kindly the stumbles of those with positions except in the case of penalties.” The fornication of the elect is the gazing of the eyes. MuṣṬafā said, “The fornication of the eyes is the gaze.” Their penalty is to cast down the eyesight and to turn the eyes away from the soul's pleasures and appetites, even if they are licit. The Prophet said, “Cast down your eyes, guard your private parts, and hold back your hands.” The fornication of the elect of the elect is the heart's thoughts about anything less than the Real. If they give something else access to their secret core, this is counted in the Tariqah as forni- cation. Their penalty is disentanglement from attachments and withdrawal from people. God says, “Say 'God,' then leave them” [6:91]. Let no clemency toward them seize you in God's religion, if you have faith in God. One of them said this means, “If you are among the folk of affection and love for Me, oppose those who oppose My command and do what I have prohibited. No one is a lover who has patience with op- position to his beloved.” Junayd said, “Tenderness toward those in opposition is like turning away from those who conform.” In other words, “Being tender to those who oppose at the moment of opposition is just like turning away from those who conform at the moment of their conformity.” Having mercy in accordance with the Shariah is beautiful and praiseworthy. “The All-Merci- ful has mercy on those who are merciful.” But, it is not a stipulation to have mercy as a requisite of nature and habit at the moment of opposition, and it is not allowable to be remiss in enacting the penalties.

Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi — Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

(The adulterer shall not marry save an adulteress or an idolatress�) [24:3]. The commentators of the Qur�an said: �When the Emigrants, some of whom without any means, arrived at Medina, they found there prostitutes who sold pleasure for a price. These prostitutes were, at that time, amongst the most well off people of Medina. Some poor Emigrants coveted their earnings, saying: �Why do we not marry them and live with them until Allah, exalted is He, suffices us from them?� They asked permission from the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, to marry them, but then this verse was revealed which states that it is forbidden to marry an adulteress in order to exonerate the believers from such acts�. �Ikrimah said: �This verse was revealed about some prostitutes who worked openly in Mecca and Medina. There were so many of them. However, nine of them had banners like the banners of al-Baytar by means of which they were known. These nine prostitutes were: Umm Mahzul, the slave girl of al-Sa�ib ibn Abi al-Sa�ib al-Makhzumi, Umm �Ulayt, the slave girl of Safwan ibn Umayyah, Hannah the Copt, the slave girl of al-�As ibn Wa�il, Muznah, the slave girl of Malik ibn �Amilah ibn al-Subaq, Jalalah, the slave girl of Suhayl ibn �Amr, Umm Suwayd, the slave girl of �Amr ibn �Uthman al-Makhzumi, Sharifah, the slave girl of Zum�ah ibn al-Aswad, Farsah, the slave girl of Hisham ibn Rabi�ah and Fartana, the slave girl of Hilal ibn Anas. The houses of these prostitutes were called, in the pre-Islamic period, mawakhir and those who entered them to buy pleasure were either Muslim adulterers or idolaters, worshippers of idols. Some Muslims wanted to marry prostitutes to gain a living from them, and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse, warned the believers against it and made it forbidden unto them�. Abu Salih Mansur ibn �Abd al-Wahhab al-Bazzar informed us> Abu �Amr ibn Hamdan> Ahmad ibn al-Hasan ibn �Abd al-Jabbar> Ibrahim ibn �Ar�arah> Mu�tamir> his father> al-Hadrami> al-Qasim ibn Muhammad> �Abd Allah ibn �Amr who related that a woman by the name of Umm Mahzul used to fornicate. And her condition for any man who proposed to marry her was that she would provide for him [by continuing to sell herself]. A Muslim man wanted to marry her. He mentioned the matter to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and so this verse was revealed (The adulterer shall not marry save an adulteress or an idolatress).