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Draft:Verse 7 of Sura al-Sharh

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Template:Infobox Verse Verse 7 of Sura al-Sharh (Arabic: آیه ۷ سوره شرح) asks the Prophet Muhammad (s) that "when he has finished [his duties], then he should strive hard [for worship]". Based on the next verse of this sura, this effort must be accompanied by eagerness towards God.

Exegetes have expressed various opinions about what is meant by finishing and what task is recommended to be undertaken in verse 7 of Sura al-Sharh: including that when you finish the obligatory prayer, engage in supplication; or when you finish obligatory acts, strive in performing recommended acts. These instances have been counted as limited examples for the broad meaning of the verse.

In some Shi'a exegeses, based on some narrations, the instance of verse 7 of Sura al-Sharh is considered to be the command to the Prophet Muhammad (s) to appoint Imam Ali (a) to Caliphate in the Event of Ghadir. Some Shi'a exegetes have considered the requirement of this interpretation to be reading the phrase "fanṣab" with a Kasra on the Ṣād (fanṣib) to mean "appoint". This issue has been criticized by some Sunni exegetes. In response to this criticism, it is said that, relying on the famous recitation of this verse with Fatha on the Ṣād, the command to appoint Imam Ali (a) to Wilaya in Ghadir can also be an instance for the general meaning of the verse; because the Prophet's (s) effort to announce the Wilaya of Imam Ali (a) was an instance of engaging in a hard task after the hard task of Messengership (Risala).

So when you have finished, strive hard!

According to exegetes, verse 7 of Sura al-Sharh asks the Prophet Muhammad (s) that when he has finished a task, he should strive in a harder task.[1] Allameh Tabataba'i, a Shi'a exegete, considered the addressee of this verse to be the Prophet (s).[2] Al-Shaykh al-Tusi believes that the addressee of this speech is the Prophet (s), but it also includes all the Mukallafs of his Umma.[3]

In Tabataba'i's view, the semantic context of this verse is the preceding verses of Sura al-Sharh: those verses speak of the heaviness of the burden of Messengership and God's favor upon His Prophet for carrying this burden;[4] a favor for expanding the breast (Qur'an 94:1), lightening the burden of Messengership (Qur'an 94:2), and exalting the Prophet's fame (Qur'an 94:4), all of which are counted as instances of "ease after hardship" (Qur'an 94:5-6).[5]

So when you have finished [with your duties], then stand up for worship.

— فَإِذَا فَرَغْتَ فَانصَبْ

Finishing What? Striving for What?

According to Nasir Makarim Shirazi, a Shi'a exegete, exegetes have expressed various opinions about what is meant by finishing and what task is recommended to be undertaken in verse 7 of Sura al-Sharh;[6] including:

In the narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt (a), instances for the subject of finishing and striving are also mentioned; for example, Shaykh al-Tabrisi, a Shi'a exegete of the 5th/11th and 6th/12th centuries, has narrated from al-Sadiqayn (a) that: When you finish the obligatory prayer, rise and stand for supplication.[14]

Some exegetes have counted some of these instances as limited examples for the broad meaning of the verse,[15] and others have weakened some of these instances.[16] In Makarim Shirazi's view, the verse has a broad concept that includes finishing any important task and engaging in another important task.[17] According to Muhammad Taqi al-Mudarrisi, a Shi'a exegete, the meaning of the verse is: when you finish a hard task, engage in a harder task;[18] a task which, based on the next verse (Qur'an 94:8), should be accompanied by eagerness towards God.[19] Mudarrisi considers the requirement of this eagerness to be a kind of amorous attraction to God; an attraction that compels a human, after performing a hard task for proximity to God, to eagerly undertake a harder task.[20] The result of this type of work, in Tabataba'i's view, will be God's favor upon the servant and bringing him to ease after hardship.[21]

Makarim Shirazi believes that since the subject of finishing and striving after finishing is not specified in this verse, the verse expresses a constructive and comprehensive general principle for human success and perfection: that complete leisure is a cause of fatigue, laziness, weariness, and in many cases, a cause of corruption and ruin.[22]

A Command to Appoint Imam Ali (a) to Caliphate in Ghadir

In some Shi'a exegeses, based on some narrations, the instance of verse 7 of Sura al-Sharh is considered to be the command to the Prophet Muhammad (s) to appoint Imam Ali (a) to Caliphate in the Event of Ghadir;[23] examples of these narrations:

  • Imam al-Sadiq (a): When you finish the Farewell Hajj, appoint the Commander of the Faithful (a).[24]
  • Imam al-Sadiq (a) from Imam al-Baqir (a): When you finish performing the obligatory acts, appoint Ali (a).[25]
  • Imam al-Sadiq (a): When you finish completing the Sharia, appoint Ali (a) as a leader for Muslims.[26]
  • Imam al-Sadiq (a): When you finish your Prophethood, appoint Ali (a).[27]
  • Imam al-Baqir (a): When you find relief from Prophethood, appoint Ali (a) for after yourself.[28]
  • Imam al-Sadiq (a): When you find relief from Prophethood, appoint Ali (a) as your successor (Wasi).[29]

Ideological Challenge over Recitation of a Phrase: Fanṣab or Fanṣib

Some Shi'a exegetes have considered the requirement for verse 7 of Sura al-Sharh being a command to appoint Imam Ali (a) to Caliphate to be that the phrase "fanṣab" be read with a Kasra on the Ṣād (fanṣib) to mean "appoint".[30] A narration has also been narrated in Shi'a sources from Imam al-Baqir (a) emphasizing that this phrase is read "fanṣib".[31] In some Sunni sources, it is also emphasized that this reading is intended by some Shi'as.[32]

Jar Allah al-Zamakhshari (d. 538/1144), a Mu'tazili Sunni exegete, opposing this view, has considered this recitation an innovation by some "Rafida";[33] in his view, if this reading were permissible, the Nasibis could also read it the same way and consider it a command to have enmity (Naṣb) towards Imam Ali (a).[34] Nasir Makarim Shirazi has considered this speech of al-Zamakhshari offensive, vulgar, and a result of religious prejudice;[35] because in his view, this expression is disrespectful to someone whom Sunnis consider the fourth successor of the Prophet (s).[36]

Some other Sunni exegetes have tried to weaken this reading: Qadi Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Abd Allah al-Ma'afiri al-Ishbili al-Maliki (d. 543/1148), known as Ibn al-'Arabi, said about this reading: The meaning of this phrase with Kasra is "appoint an Imam who is your successor"; this is invalid both in terms of recitation and meaning, because the Prophet Muhammad (s) did not appoint anyone as his successor.[37] Also, al-Alusi (d. 1270/1854) considered the Makki nature of this verse as a proof that it is not related to the appointment of Imam Ali (a) in Ghadir.[38]

In response, Makarim Shirazi said: These exegetes assumed that the Shi'a changed the recitation of the verse to argue for Wilaya; whereas the famous recitation is sufficient for this purpose.[39] He believes that without changing the reading of the verse and based on Wilaya being an instance for the general meaning of the verse, it can be interpreted as follows: after finishing an important matter like Messengership, strive for another important matter like Wilaya.[40] Makarim Shirazi has considered the Prophet's (s) persistent effort to introduce and announce the Wilaya of Imam Ali (a) to the people, based on narrations such as the Hadith al-Ghadir, as an instance of his acting upon this verse.[41] Despite al-Alusi's opinion about the Makki nature of this verse, Allameh Tabataba'i believes that Sura al-Sharh can be both Makki and Madani; although in his view, the context of the verses of this sura is more compatible with Madani suras.[42]

Notes

  1. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 27, p. 128; Mudarrisī, Min hudā l-Qurʾān, 1419 AH, vol. 18, p. 193.
  2. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1394 AH, vol. 20, p. 316.
  3. ↑ Ṭūsī, Al-Tibyān, vol. 10, p. 374.
  4. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1394 AH, vol. 20, p. 317.
  5. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1394 AH, vol. 20, p. 317.
  6. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 27, p. 129.
  7. ↑ Muqātil b. Sulaymān, Tafsīr Muqātil b. Sulaymān, 1423 AH, vol. 4, p. 742.
  8. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1408 AH, vol. 10, p. 773.
  9. ↑ Ṭūsī, Al-Tibyān, vol. 10, p. 373.
  10. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1408 AH, vol. 10, pp. 732-733.
  11. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1408 AH, vol. 10, pp. 732-733.
  12. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1408 AH, vol. 10, p. 733.
  13. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1408 AH, vol. 10, p. 733.
  14. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1408 AH, vol. 10, p. 772.
  15. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1394 AH, vol. 20, p. 317; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 27, p. 129; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 27, p. 130; Mudarrisī, Min hudā l-Qurʾān, 1419 AH, vol. 18, p. 193.
  16. ↑ For example see: Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1394 AH, vol. 20, p. 317.
  17. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 27, p. 129.
  18. ↑ Mudarrisī, Min hudā l-Qurʾān, 1419 AH, vol. 18, p. 193.
  19. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 27, p. 129; Mudarrisī, Min hudā l-Qurʾān, 1419 AH, vol. 18, p. 193.
  20. ↑ Mudarrisī, Min hudā l-Qurʾān, 1419 AH, vol. 18, p. 193.
  21. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1394 AH, vol. 20, p. 317.
  22. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 27, p. 130.
  23. ↑ For example see: Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, 1404 AH, vol. 2, pp. 428-429.
  24. ↑ Fayḍ Kāshānī, Tafsīr al-ṣāfī, 1415 AH, vol. 5, p. 344.
  25. ↑ Qāḍī Nuʿmān al-Maghribī, Sharḥ al-akhbār, 1409 AH, vol. 1, p. 245.
  26. ↑ Ibn Shahrāshūb, Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, 1379 Sh, vol. 3, p. 23.
  27. ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, 1404 AH, vol. 2, p. 429.
  28. ↑ Furāt al-Kūfī, Tafsīr Furāt al-Kūfī, 1410 AH, p. 574.
  29. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 36, p. 135.
  30. ↑ For example see: Fayḍ Kāshānī, Tafsīr al-ṣāfī, 1415 AH, vol. 5, p. 344.
  31. ↑ Qāḍī Nuʿmān al-Maghribī, Sharḥ al-akhbār, 1409 AH, vol. 1, p. 245.
  32. ↑ Zamakhsharī, Al-Kashshāf, 1415 AH, vol. 4, p. 761; Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-maʿānī, 1415 AH, vol. 15, p. 392.
  33. ↑ Zamakhsharī, Al-Kashshāf, 1415 AH, vol. 4, p. 761.
  34. ↑ Zamakhsharī, Al-Kashshāf, 1415 AH, vol. 4, pp. 761-762.
  35. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 27, pp. 131-132.
  36. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 27, p. 131.
  37. ↑ Ibn al-ʿArabī, Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, 1424 AH, vol. 4, p. 413.
  38. ↑ Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-maʿānī, 1415 AH, vol. 15, p. 392.
  39. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 27, p. 131.
  40. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 27, p. 131.
  41. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 27, p. 131.
  42. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1394 AH, vol. 20, p. 313.

References

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  • Fayḍ Kāshānī, Muḥammad Muḥsin al-. Al-Ṣāfī fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Edited by Ḥusayn Aʿlamī. Tehran, Maktabat al-Ṣadr, 1415 AH.
  • Furāt al-Kūfī, Furāt b. Ibrāhīm. Tafsīr Furāt al-Kūfī. Edited by Muḥammad Kāẓim. Tehran, Wizārat al-Thaqāfa wa l-Irshād al-Islāmī (Muʾassasat al-Ṭabʿ wa l-Nashr), 1410 AH.
  • Ibn al-ʿArabī, Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh. Aḥkām al-Qurʾān. Edited by ʿAlī Muḥammad al-Bajāwī. Beirut, Dār al-Jīl, 1424 AH.
  • Ibn Shahrāshūb, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib. Qom, ʿAllāma, 1379 Sh.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār al-jāmiʿa li-durar akhbār al-aʾimma al-aṭhār. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1403 AH.
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  • Qummī, ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm al-. Tafsīr al-Qummī. Edited by Ṭayyib Mūsawī Jazāyirī. Qom, Dār al-Kitāb, 1404 AH.
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Muʾassasat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1394 AH.
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  • Zamakhsharī, Maḥmūd b. ʿUmar al-. Al-Kashshāf ʿan ḥaqāʾiq ghawāmiḍ al-tanzīl wa ʿuyūn al-aqāwīl fī wujūh al-taʾwīl. Edited by Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Salām Shāhīn. Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1415 AH.

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