Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

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

ṣād The word ṣād is the key to His name Self-Sufficient [ṣamad]. The Self-Sufficient is He who is hallowed beyond encompassment by the knowledge of the created thing and incomparable with comprehension by the recognitions. He is saying, “I am the Self-Sufficient and have no need for anyone. I am the One and have no associate. I am the Compeller, and no one has the color of union with Me. I am the Owner of the kingdom, and no matter what I do, no one has the gall to protest or a way to fight.” Abu'l-Ḥasan Kharaqānī said, “He cut up the hearts of the sincerely truthful and turned their livers to water through waiting, but He gave Himself to no one.” Whence do water and dust become privy to talk of union with that which has no beginning and no end? What access do the attributes of the newly arrived things have to eternity? How can that which was not, then was, then was not, perceive the majestic presence of the Possessor of Majesty? That chevalier said it beautifully: “They opened a door to the garden of union with You so that people would fall into coveting You. They plundered so many of the spirits of the great ones, but not one put his foot at the top of Your street.” It has been said that the Real is the Self-Sufficient, and the meaning of the name is that the servants should lift up their needs to Him, consign their occupations to Him, and entrust themselves to Him; and He, in His unneediness, will look upon the needs of everyone and be sufficient for their every occupation. When the tawḤīd-voicing, faithful servant has this belief, He will take as his shelter nothing but His threshold and will not disgrace himself at the door of any poor and paltry thing. “A created thing seeking aid from a created thing is like a prisoner seeking aid from a prisoner.” It has come in the traditions that tomorrow a man of this community will be brought forward, and many sashes of unbelief will be removed from his waist-I mean sashes of the heart, not outward sashes, for anyone who attaches his heart to a creature has bound a sash around his heart. O chevalier! There is no mount quicker than the mount of MuḤammad the Arab, and no playing field vaster than his playing field.

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

(Maketh he the gods One God? Lo! that is an astounding thing�) [38:5-11]. Abu�l-Qasim ibn Abi Nasr al-Khuza�i informed us> Muhammad ibn �Abd Allah ibn Hamdawayh> Abu Bakr ibn Abi Darim al-Hafiz> Muhammad ibn �Uthman in Abi Shaybah> his father> Muhammad ibn �Abd Allah al-Asdi> Sufyan> al-A�mash> Yahya ibn �Umarah> Sa�id ibn Jubayr> Ibn �Abbas who said: �When Abu Talib fell ill, the Quraysh and the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, went to visit him. There was, close to the head of Abu Talib, enough room for one man to sit, so Abu Jahl rushed to it to prevent the Prophet from sitting there. They complained to Abu Talib about the Prophet. Abu Talib said to the Prophet: �Son of my brother, what is it that you want from your own people?� He said: �O uncle, I want from them one word by means of which all the Arabs will surrender to them and all the non-Arabs will pay exemption tax to them�. �What is this word?� he asked. He said: �There is no deity except Allah�. They all exclaimed: �Does he make the gods One God?� The Qur�an was then revealed about them (Sad. By the renowned Qur�an, nay, but those who disbelieve are in false pride and schism�) up to Allah�s words (This is naught but an invention) [38:1-7]�. The commentators of the Qur�an said: �When �Umar ibn al-Khattab embraced Islam, the Muslims were overjoyed while the Quraysh was devastated. Al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah said to the nobles and chiefs of Quraysh: �Go to Abu Talib and say to him: you are our elder and chief and you know well what these fools have done. We have come to you so that you judge between us and your nephew�. Abu Talib sent for the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and when he answered his call, he said to him: �Son of my brother, these are your own people and they are asking you for fairness, so do not swerve completely from them�. The Prophet asked: �What do they want from me?� They said: �Cease mentioning our deities and we will leave you alone with your God�. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said to them: �Will you grant me one word by means of which you will rule over the Arabs and subjugate the non-Arabs?� Abu Jahl said: �We will surely grant it and grant you ten like it!� The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: �Say: there is no deity except Allah!� The Quraysh were repelled and left, saying: �Does he make the gods One God? How can One God be sufficient for the whole creation?� And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed about them these verses, up to His words (The folk of Noah before them denied (their messenger)�) [38:12]�.