Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

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

(Alif. Lam. Mim. The Romans have been defeated in the nearer land�) [30:1-3]. The commentators of the Qur�an said: �Chosroes sent an army under the command of a man called Shahryaraz to Byzantium. This man marched on Byzantium and defeated them. He killed the men, destroyed their cities and demolished all their olive trees. The Caesar had entrusted the command of his army to a man called Juhannas. The latter fought against Shahryaraz at Adhri�at and Busrah, which are the closest parts of Syria to the land of the Arabs. The Persian defeated the Byzantines. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and his Companions heard this while in Mecca and felt sad about it. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, disliked that the Magians, who did not have a revealed Scripture, have the upper hand over the Byzantines who were people of the Book. The disbelievers of Mecca, on the other hand, were exultant and spiteful. When they met the Companions of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, they said to them: �You are people of the Book and the Christians are people of the Book. We are without a revealed Scripture and our brothers the Persians have defeated your brothers the Byzantines. If you ever fight us, we will defeat you too�. Therefore, Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Alif. Lam. Mim. The Romans have been defeated in the nearer land) to the end of these verses�. Isma�il ibn Ibrahim al-Wa�iz informed us> Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Hamid al-�Attar> Ahmad ibn al-Husayn ibn �Abd al-Jabbar> al-Harith ibn Shurayh> al-Mu�tamir ibn Sulayman> his father> al-A�mash> �Atiyyah al-�Awfi> Abu Sa�id al-Khudri who said: �When the Battle of Badr took place, the Byzantines had also defeated the Persians. The believers rejoiced and so these verses were revealed (Alif. Lam. Mim. The Romans have been defeated) up to His words (� believers will rejoice in Allah�s help to victory), i.e. the believers will rejoice in the defeat of the Persians by the Byzantines�.

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

(Alif. Lam. Mim. The Romans have been defeated in the nearer land�) [30:1-3]. The commentators of the Qur�an said: �Chosroes sent an army under the command of a man called Shahryaraz to Byzantium. This man marched on Byzantium and defeated them. He killed the men, destroyed their cities and demolished all their olive trees. The Caesar had entrusted the command of his army to a man called Juhannas. The latter fought against Shahryaraz at Adhri�at and Busrah, which are the closest parts of Syria to the land of the Arabs. The Persian defeated the Byzantines. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and his Companions heard this while in Mecca and felt sad about it. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, disliked that the Magians, who did not have a revealed Scripture, have the upper hand over the Byzantines who were people of the Book. The disbelievers of Mecca, on the other hand, were exultant and spiteful. When they met the Companions of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, they said to them: �You are people of the Book and the Christians are people of the Book. We are without a revealed Scripture and our brothers the Persians have defeated your brothers the Byzantines. If you ever fight us, we will defeat you too�. Therefore, Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Alif. Lam. Mim. The Romans have been defeated in the nearer land) to the end of these verses�. Isma�il ibn Ibrahim al-Wa�iz informed us> Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Hamid al-�Attar> Ahmad ibn al-Husayn ibn �Abd al-Jabbar> al-Harith ibn Shurayh> al-Mu�tamir ibn Sulayman> his father> al-A�mash> �Atiyyah al-�Awfi> Abu Sa�id al-Khudri who said: �When the Battle of Badr took place, the Byzantines had also defeated the Persians. The believers rejoiced and so these verses were revealed (Alif. Lam. Mim. The Romans have been defeated) up to His words (� believers will rejoice in Allah�s help to victory), i.e. the believers will rejoice in the defeat of the Persians by the Byzantines�.

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

(Alif. Lam. Mim. The Romans have been defeated in the nearer land�) [30:1-3]. The commentators of the Qur�an said: �Chosroes sent an army under the command of a man called Shahryaraz to Byzantium. This man marched on Byzantium and defeated them. He killed the men, destroyed their cities and demolished all their olive trees. The Caesar had entrusted the command of his army to a man called Juhannas. The latter fought against Shahryaraz at Adhri�at and Busrah, which are the closest parts of Syria to the land of the Arabs. The Persian defeated the Byzantines. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and his Companions heard this while in Mecca and felt sad about it. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, disliked that the Magians, who did not have a revealed Scripture, have the upper hand over the Byzantines who were people of the Book. The disbelievers of Mecca, on the other hand, were exultant and spiteful. When they met the Companions of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, they said to them: �You are people of the Book and the Christians are people of the Book. We are without a revealed Scripture and our brothers the Persians have defeated your brothers the Byzantines. If you ever fight us, we will defeat you too�. Therefore, Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Alif. Lam. Mim. The Romans have been defeated in the nearer land) to the end of these verses�. Isma�il ibn Ibrahim al-Wa�iz informed us> Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Hamid al-�Attar> Ahmad ibn al-Husayn ibn �Abd al-Jabbar> al-Harith ibn Shurayh> al-Mu�tamir ibn Sulayman> his father> al-A�mash> �Atiyyah al-�Awfi> Abu Sa�id al-Khudri who said: �When the Battle of Badr took place, the Byzantines had also defeated the Persians. The believers rejoiced and so these verses were revealed (Alif. Lam. Mim. The Romans have been defeated) up to His words (� believers will rejoice in Allah�s help to victory), i.e. the believers will rejoice in the defeat of the Persians by the Byzantines�.

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

To God belongs the command, before and after. And on that day the faithful will rejoice in God's help. Here before is the Beginningless, and after is the Endless. The meaning is that the beginningless command belongs to God and the endless command belongs to God, because the beginningless Lord and the endless Master is God. In the Beginningless and the Endless it is God who is one and unique. In the command He is without end, in knowledge He is without limit, and in decree He is without why. He is before when and in place before place. Before us He was there for Us in the Beginningless, and without us He will be our portion in the Endless. This is the intimation that He voiced to the paragon of the world on the night of the miʿrāj: “O MuḤammad, be for Me as if you were not, and I will be for you as I have always been.” The Pir of the Tariqah said, “Look at proximity so that intimacy may be born, look at tremen- dousness so that veneration may increase. Wait and see between this and that what indeed will be displayed by the precedent solicitude. To God belongs the command, before and after.” In another place He says, “Surely His are the creation and the command” [7:54]. The world of the creation comes to an end, but the world of the command has no end. It is permissible for the world of the creation to disappear, but the world of the command is necessarily permanent. As long as a man does not pass beyond the world of the creation, he is not allowed to enter the world of the command. He must become naked of his own makeup and cut off the relation of createdness from the innate disposition of recognition. If you want to pass into the world of the command, to rise up from your ungrateful makeup, and to cut away your ascription to great wrongdoing and deep ignorance, you can only do so by lingering and passing time. Just as you must linger in coming, so also you must linger in leav- ing. Just as the sperm-drop is held back for a while before it becomes a clot-and so on with the clot until it becomes bones, the bones until it becomes flesh, which is then kept for a time until it comes into movement-so also in the measure that a man comes up from under his own hand he becomes familiar with the command of the Real.

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

To God belongs the command, before and after. And on that day the faithful will rejoice in God's help. Here before is the Beginningless, and after is the Endless. The meaning is that the beginningless command belongs to God and the endless command belongs to God, because the beginningless Lord and the endless Master is God. In the Beginningless and the Endless it is God who is one and unique. In the command He is without end, in knowledge He is without limit, and in decree He is without why. He is before when and in place before place. Before us He was there for Us in the Beginningless, and without us He will be our portion in the Endless. This is the intimation that He voiced to the paragon of the world on the night of the miʿrāj: “O MuḤammad, be for Me as if you were not, and I will be for you as I have always been.” The Pir of the Tariqah said, “Look at proximity so that intimacy may be born, look at tremen- dousness so that veneration may increase. Wait and see between this and that what indeed will be displayed by the precedent solicitude. To God belongs the command, before and after.” In another place He says, “Surely His are the creation and the command” [7:54]. The world of the creation comes to an end, but the world of the command has no end. It is permissible for the world of the creation to disappear, but the world of the command is necessarily permanent. As long as a man does not pass beyond the world of the creation, he is not allowed to enter the world of the command. He must become naked of his own makeup and cut off the relation of createdness from the innate disposition of recognition. If you want to pass into the world of the command, to rise up from your ungrateful makeup, and to cut away your ascription to great wrongdoing and deep ignorance, you can only do so by lingering and passing time. Just as you must linger in coming, so also you must linger in leav- ing. Just as the sperm-drop is held back for a while before it becomes a clot-and so on with the clot until it becomes bones, the bones until it becomes flesh, which is then kept for a time until it comes into movement-so also in the measure that a man comes up from under his own hand he becomes familiar with the command of the Real.