Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

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

(How can ye disbelieve�.) [3:101]. Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Hiri informed us> Muhammad ibn Ya'qub> al-'Abbas al-Duri> Abu Nu'aym al-Fadl ibn Dukayn> Qays ibn al-Rabi'> al-Agharr> Khalifah ibn Husayn> Abu Nasr> Ibn 'Abbas who said: �The Aws and the Khazraj had a feud in the pre-Islamic period. One day, they mentioned to each other what had happened in that period and this led them to brandish their swords at each others. Upon being informed of what was happening, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, went to them and this verse was revealed (How can ye disbelieve, when it is ye unto whom Allah's revelations are recited, and His messenger is in your midst?) up to His saying (And hold fast, all of you together, to the cable of Allah, and do not separate) [3:103]�. Al-Sharif Isma'il ibn al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Naqib informed us> his grandfather Muhammad ibn al-Husayn> Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Hafiz> Hatim ibn Yunus al-Jurjani> Ibrahim ibn Abi al-Layth> al-Ashja'i> Sufyan> Khalifah ibn Husayn> Abu Nasr> Ibn 'Abbas who said: �The Aws and the Khazraj were one day talking and became angry with each other to the extent that war nearly broke out between them. They had taken arms and marched toward each other. Then the verse (How can ye disbelieve, when it is ye unto whom Allah's revelations are recited) up to His saying (He did save you from it�)�.

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

O you who have faith, be wary of God as is the rightful due of His wariness. When He says, “O people,” He says, “Be wary of your Lord” along with it. When He says, “O you who have faith,” He says, “Be wary of God” along with it. Be wary of your Lord is addressed to the common people. Their godwariness is based on seeing blessings, and their aspiration is nurturing the body to serve the Real. Be wary of God is addressed to the folk of caresses and generosity. Their godwariness is based on being watchful of the Beneficent and their aim is the repose of the spirit in witnessing the Real. What a difference between the two! Be wary of your Lord is addressed to the wage-earners, and Be wary of God is addressed to the recognizers. The wage-earners are seeking joy and blessings, and the recognizers are seeking the mystery of the Beneficent. From God the wage-earners want other than Him, but the recognizers want God Himself. AḤmad ibn Khiẓrūya saw the Real in a dream. He said, “O AḤmad! Everyone is seeking something from Me, except Abū Yazīd. He is seeking Me.” People are wishing for repose and comfort, but I, O Exalted One, wish to encounter You empty. * On the day I reach union with You I will disdain the state of the paradise-dwellers. It has been said that godwariness is of three sorts: One is wariness of God's punishment by having patience against acts of disobedience, as He says: “Be wary of the Fire that has been prepared for the unbelievers” [3:131]. Second is the godwariness of gratitude for blessings, as He says: “Be wary of your Lord” [4:1]. Third is godwariness at the vision of Unity, without taking into account reward or punishment, as He says: “Be wary of God as is the rightful due of His wariness.” The first is the godwariness of the wrongdoers, the second the godwariness of the moderate, and the third the godwariness of the preceders.

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

Let there be a community of you inviting to the good. This is an allusion to peoples who stand up for God in God. They are not taken aback by the blame of any blamer nor cut off from God by relying on any causes. They have seen the shortcomings of their own souls and immersed their lives in gaining God's approval. They act for God, give counsel for God's religion, and call God's creatures to God. Their trade has profited them and they do not regret their handshake. This is the description of a people who stand through the Real's making them stand and who have been freed from their own power and strength and disengaged from their own desires and aims. They are outside the circle of deeds and states, free of the captivity of choice and self- determination. They know God, they call upon God, and they strive in God's religion. They do not think about people or their blame. In their hearts they have friendship for the Patron and in their eyes the collyrium of Self-disclosure. They see everything just as it is. Others look from the artisanry to the Artisan, but they look from the Artisan to the artisanry. They are the elect of the Presence, branded by the Empire. Be the elect servant of the king-with his brand you're safe from police by day and patrols by night. They are the ones burnt by union and killed by love. Their blood has been spilled and their prop- erty destroyed, but their hearts are in His grasp, their spirits in His embrace. This is why they say, You have a Heart-taker better than life. Don't grieve-let go of life. “When someone is destroyed in God, God takes his place.”

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

And do not be like those who became dispersed and disagreed. Dispersion is one thing and disagreement something else. Dispersion is the opposite of together- ness and disagreement the opposite of agreement. Dispersion is the scatteredness of the folk of the Tariqah and disagreement the scatteredness of the folk of the Shariah. Dispersion is that the servant desires one thing and the Real desires something else. Togeth- erness is that the servant's desire and the Real's desire are one. According to the report, “When someone makes his concerns one concern, God will spare him the concerns of this world and the next world.” It has been said that dispersion is to gaze on the creatures and to see the secondary causes such that you are never relieved of suffering and creaturely antagonism. Togetherness is to gaze on the Real and to know that the Real is one, the work comes from one place, and the decree comes from this one door. As for the disagreement of the lords of the Shariah, that is of two sorts: One is in the principles of the religion, the other in the branches. Disagreement in the principles is terrible and dangerous, since one must be right and the other wrong. When someone's goal lies in the west and he takes the road east, how can he ever reach the goal? The more he goes, the more he moves away from the goal day by day, and he falls farther behind. This is alluded to in His words, “Surely this path of Mine is straight, so follow it. And do not follow the paths, lest they disperse you from His path” [6:153]. As for the disagreement of the community on the branches, it is like a group who set out for one goal by disagreeing roads, some going nearer and some farther. Although they disagree in the traveling, they arrive at one goal and come together. This disagreement is mercy itself. To it the Prophet alluded: “Disagreement in my community is a mercy.” In other words, this disagreement in branches is God's mercy toward the creatures, so that the work of the religion would not become narrow for them and its road would not be difficult. This is in His words, “He placed no hardship upon you in the religion” [22:78]; and in God's words, “God desires for you ease and does not desire for you hardship” [2:185].