Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

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

(Let not the vicissitude (of the success) of those who disbelieve, in the land, deceive thee�) [3:196]. This was revealed about the idolaters of Mecca. This is because they were living in comfort and ease, trading and enjoying themselves which led one believer to comment: �The enemies of Allah are enjoying that which we see of goodly life while we are dying of hunger and toil�, and as a result this verse was revealed.

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

(And lo! of the People of the Scripture there are some who believe in Allah�) [3:199]. Said Jabir ibn �Abd Allah, Anas, Ibn �Abbas and Qatadah: �This was revealed about the Negus. When the latter died, Gabriel, peace be upon him, informed the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, about his death on the same day he died. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said to his Companions: �Go out and perform the prayer of the dead on one of your brothers who died in a different land�. They asked him: �Who is he?� And he told them it was the Negus. Then the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, went out to the Baqi� and all that was between Medina and the land of Abyssinia was revealed to him such that he saw the bed of the Negus. He performed the prayer of the dead, uttering the expression Allahu akbar [Allah is the greatest] four times, and requested forgiveness for him. He then told his Companions: �Request forgiveness for him!� The hypocrites commented: �Look at this one, performing the prayer of the dead on a foreign Christian Abyssinian whom he has never seen and who does not even follow his religion�. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed this verse�. Abu�l-Fadl Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn �Abd Allah ibn Yusuf informed us> Abu �Amr Muhammad ibn Ja�far ibn Matar (by dictation)> Ja�far ibn Muhammad ibn Sinan al-Wasiti> Abu Hani� Muhammad ibn Bakkar al-Bahili> al-Mu�tamir ibn Sulayman> Humayd> Anas who reported that the Prophet of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said to his Companions: �Get up and perform the prayer of the dead on your brother the Negus�. Some of them said to others: �He is asking us to pray on a non-believer from Abyssinia!� And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (And lo! of the People of the Scripture there are some who believe in Allah�). Mujahid, Ibn Jurayj and Ibn Zayd stated that this was revealed about all the believers of the people of the Book.

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

O you who have faith! Be patient, vie in patience, be steadfast, and be wary of God. Perhaps you will prosper. This again is another balm, another caress, a call of bounteousness, an address of generosity, and it gives witness to the servant's faith and obedience. Be patient is addressed to the soul, vie in pa- tience to the heart, and be steadfast to the spirit. He says to the soul, “Be patient in obedience and service.” He says to the heart, “Be patient in trial and adversity. He says to the spirit, “Be patient with the burn of yearning and the pain of love.” And God it is who is patient. If like Joseph you want to come out of this prison, be patient like Zulaykhā in the pain of distance from Joseph. It has also been said, “Be patient in God, vie in patience through God, and be steadfast with God.” Patience in God is the patience of the worshipers in the station of service with the hope of reward. Patience through God is the patience of the recognizers in the station of honoring with the hope of union. Patience with God is the patience of the lovers in the state of contemplation at the moment of self-disclosure, when they are looking with gazing eyes, their hearts bewildered in what is seen, their spirits lamenting at the hand of love. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, everyone is burning in separation, but the lover in vi- sion. Now that he has come to see the Friend, what does the lover have to do with patience and settledness?” And be wary of God. Godwariness is a tree whose roots are in the earth of loyalty, its branches in the air of approval, its water from the wellspring of limpidness. It is not reached by the heat of regret, nor the cold of quenching, nor the wind of farness, nor the blight of scatteredness. The fruit it brings forth is the fruit of triumph, endless prosperity, everlasting worthiness, subsistent bliss, and the kingdom of forever. This is why the Lord of the Worlds says, “Perhaps you will prosper.” The Prophet said, “You should be wary of God, for this brings together every good; you should have struggle, for it is the submitter's monasticism; and you should have the remembrance of God, for it is your light.”