Surah An-Nahl, Ayah 99

The Command to seek Refuge with Allah before reciting the Qur'an

This is a command from Allah to His servants upon the tongue of His Prophet , telling them that when they want to read Qur'an, they should seek refuge with Allah from the cursed Shaytan. The Hadiths mentioned about seeking refuge with Allah (Isti`adhah), were quoted in our discussion at the beginning of this Tafsir, praise be to Allah. The reason for seeking refuge with Allah before reading is that the reader should not get confused or mixed up, and that the Shaytan would not confuse him or stop him from thinking about and pondering over the meaning of what he reads. Hence the majority of scholars said that refuge should be sought with Allah before starting to read.

إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ لَهُ سُلْطَانٌ عَلَى الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ

(Verily, he has no power over those who believe and put their trust only in their Lord.) Ath-Thawri said: "He has no power to make them commit a sin they will not repent from." Others said: it means that he has no argument for them. Others said it is like the Ayah:

إِلاَّ عِبَادَكَ مِنْهُمُ الْمُخْلَصِينَ

(Except Your chosen servants amongst them.) 15:40

إِنَّمَا سُلْطَـنُهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ يَتَوَلَّوْنَهُ

(His power is only over those who obey and follow him (Shaytan), ) Mujahid said: "Those who obey him." Others said, "Those who take him as their protector instead of Allah."

وَالَّذِينَ هُم بِهِ مُشْرِكُونَ

(and those who join partners with Him.) means, those who associate others in worship with Allah.

The way of Faith and Trust in Allah is the way of freedom from the power and control of the Shaitan

Verses 99 and 100 make it clear that Allah Ta’ ala has not given the Shaitan the kind of power which would disarm any human being and compel him to become helpless and take to evil. So, should one opt for not using his capability of choice and control because of sheer carelessness or some selfish motive, then, this would be his own fault. Therefore, it was said that people who have faith in Allah and who, rather than trust their will power in their states and actions, place their ultimate trust in Allah Ta’ ala for He is the One who gives us the ability to do everything good and also the One who shields us from everything evil. The Shaitan cannot possess and dictate such people. Of course, those who elect to befriend none but the Shaitan because of their selfish motives, particularly like things about him and go about associating others in the pristine divinity of Allah Ta` ala, then, the Shaitan is all over them, in possession, in control, and would not let them go towards anything good while, in every evil, they are right in front.

The same subject has been taken up in verse 42 of Surah al-Hijr where Allah Ta’ ala has Himself refuted the claim of the Shaitan by saying: إِنَّ عِبَادِي لَيْسَ لَكَ عَلَيْهِمْ سُلْطَانٌ إِلَّا مَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ (Surely, My servants [ are such that ] you have no power over them - except [ over ] the one who follows you from among the astray - 15:42).

Supporting a messenger of God amounts to renouncing the customary religious system and becoming attached to a non-customary religion. This type of action is always most difficult for man. This involves ignoring the benefit to be received from human beings and proceeding towards the benefit which will be given by God. The only virtue which is required if this type of decision is to be taken is ‘patience’; that is, a man should be able to bear today’s loss for the sake of tomorrow’s benefit; he should have the ability to give more importance to a thing which is unseen in comparison to that which is seen; he should have the urge to adopt something at the cost of sacrifice, even if it means forfeiting some immediate benefit. The subjects of God who prove to have such high ideals deserve to be blessed by God with the highest type of bounties. Those who support unadulterated pure Truth suffer a loss in the current system, so people think that such individuals are ruined. But there is a promise from God that He will fully compensate them for their sacrifices. In the eternal world after death, He will bless them with an extremely good life. Whatever they have lost temporarily will be restored by God in a better form and forever. This promise of God applies equally to women. Before God in the matter of rewards, there is no distinction between men and women.