Qur'an 57:16
 | |
| Verse's Information | |
|---|---|
| Sura | Sura al-Hadid |
| Verse | 16 |
| Juz' | 27 |
| Content Information | |
| Cause of Revelation | Address to Hypocrites in Medina who asked Salman al-Farsi for stories from the Torah, or address to companions who ceased their steadfastness after coming to Medina |
| Place of Revelation | Medina |
| Topic | Importance of Khushu' |
Qur'an 57:16 calls on the believers to humble their hearts at the remembrance of God and in response to the truth He has revealed in the Quran. It warns them against becoming hard-hearted like the People of the Book, whose hearts hardened over time, causing many of them to become transgressors.
Exegetes differ over the occasion of the revelation of this verse. Some maintain that it was revealed concerning the hypocrites in Medina who asked to hear about the wonders of the Torah. The verse admonished them to humble their hearts at the remembrance of God. Other exegetes, however, relate the verse to the Companions, whose hearts had become less receptive to religious admonition after their living conditions improved in Medina. According to a well-known account, a highwayman named Fudayl b. 'Iyad repented after hearing this verse and subsequently adopted an ascetic way of life and became a prominent Sufi.
Interpretation and Significance
Sunni[1] and Shi'a[2] exegetes understand Qur'an 57:16 as a rebuke addressed to believers for failing to humble their hearts at the remembrance of God and in response to the truth He has revealed. The verse also warns them against following the example of the People of the Book, whose hearts hardened over time, and many of whom became transgressors.
Exegetes generally interpret "the truth that has been revealed" as referring to the Quran,[3] and identify "those who were given the Book before" with the Jews and Christians.[4] The phrase "a long period passed over them" has been interpreted as referring either to the interval between the People of the Book and their prophets or to the passage of time before the Day of Judgment.[5]
According to Mohsen Qara'ati, a Qur'anic exegete, the verse emphasizes the importance of humility of the heart and regards it as one of the aims of divine revelation.[6] In his view, hard-heartedness prevents a person from attaining humility, whereas faith, remembrance of God, and recitation of the Quran help cultivate humility of the heart.[7]
Occasion of Revelation
Exegetes have offered different accounts of the occasion of the revelation of this verse:[8]
- According to reports attributed to Muhammad b. Sa'ib al-Kalbi (a 2nd/8th-century exegete) and Muqatil b. Sulayman (a 2nd/8th-century exegete and author of Tafsir Muqatil b. Sulayman), the verse was revealed concerning the Hypocrites.[9] According to this account, the verse was revealed in Medina about a year after the Hijra, when a group of hypocrites asked Salman al-Farsi to tell them about the wonders of the Torah. Salman replied, "The Qur'an contains the 'best of stories'." They nevertheless repeated their request on two further occasions. On the third occasion, the verse was revealed, admonishing them and asking whether the time had not come for their hearts to humble themselves at the remembrance of God and to refrain from making such requests.[10]
- Other Shi'a and Sunni exegetes,[11] citing a narration, identify the Companions as the people addressed in another account of the verse's revelation. According to this narration, after migrating to Medina and experiencing improved living conditions, some Companions became less steadfast than they had been during their earlier hardships.[12] These exegetes therefore understand the verse as a general admonition to believers against hard-heartedness and neglect of the Quran and remembrance of God.[13]
The Famous Story of Fudayl b. 'Iyad
According to a well-known account, Fudayl b. 'Iyad (d. 187/803), who was then a notorious highwayman, climbed the wall of a house one night in an attempt to reach a woman he wished to visit. At that moment, he heard someone reciting the Quran, including verse 16 of Sura al-Hadid: "Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humble at the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth?!" Deeply moved by the verse, Fudayl repented and exclaimed, "O Lord, the time has indeed come." Following his repentance, he adopted an ascetic way of life[14] and later became one of the prominent figures of Sufism.[15]
Notes
- ↑ Bayḍāwī, Anwār al-tanzīl, vol. 5, p. 300; Suyūṭī, Tafsīr al-Jalālayn, vol. 1, p. 721.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 19, p. 161; Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-bayān, vol. 16, p. 430.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 19, p. 161; Bayḍāwī, Anwār al-tanzīl, vol. 5, p. 300; Suyūṭī, Tafsīr al-Jalālayn, vol. 1, p. 721.
- ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 9, p. 529; Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-maʿānī, vol. 27, p. 181; Suyūṭī, Tafsīr al-Jalālayn, vol. 1, p. 721.
- ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 9, p. 529; Suyūṭī, Tafsīr al-Jalālayn, vol. 1, p. 721.
- ↑ Qarāʾtī, Tafsīr-i nūr, vol. 9, p. 472.
- ↑ Qarāʾtī, Tafsīr-i nūr, vol. 9, p. 472.
- ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, Mafātīḥ al-ghayb, vol. 29, p. 460.
- ↑ Ṭabarsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 9, p. 357; Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-maʿānī, vol. 27, p. 179.
- ↑ Ṭabarsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 9, p. 357; Thaʿlabī, al-Kashf wa l-bayān, vol. 9, p. 239.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 19, p. 161; Suyūṭī, Tafsīr al-Jalālayn, vol. 1, p. 721.
- ↑ Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 8, p. 58.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 19, pp. 161, 168; Suyūṭī, Tafsīr al-Jalālayn, vol. 1, p. 721.
- ↑ Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt al-aʿyān, vol. 4, p. 47; Thaʿlabī, al-Kashf wa l-bayān, vol. 9, p. 242.
- ↑ Āghā Buzurg Tihrānī, al-Dharīʿa, vol. 24, p. 151.
References
- Āghā Buzurg Tihrānī, Muḥammad Muḥsin. Al-Dharīʿa ilā taṣānīf al-Shīʿa. Qom, Ismāʿīliyyān, 1408/1987.
- Ālūsī, Maḥmūd b. ʿAbd Allāh al-. Rūḥ al-maʿānī fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīm wa l-sabʿ al-mathānī. Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1415/1994.
- Bayḍāwī, ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿUmar al-. Anwār al-tanzīl wa asrār al-taʾwīl. Beirut, Dār al-Fikr, n.d.
- Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar. Mafātīḥ al-ghayb. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1420/1999.
- Ibn Khallikān, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad. Wafayāt al-aʿyān. Beirut, Dār al-Thaqāfa, n.d.
- Qarāʾtī, Muḥsīn. Tafsīr-i nūr. Tehran, Muʾassisa-yi Dars-hāyī az Qurʾān, 1383 Sh.
- Suyūṭī, Jalāl al-Dīn al-. Al-Durr al-manthūr. Beirut, Dār al-Fikr, n.d.
- Suyūṭī, Jalāl al-Dīn al-. Tafsīr al-Jalālayn. Beirut, Dār al-Maʿrifa, n.d.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Qom, Daftar-i Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 1417/1996.
- Ṭabarsī, Faḍl b. Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Dār al-Maʿrifa, n.d.
- Ṭayyib, Sayyid ʿAbd al-Ḥusayn. Aṭyab al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Tehran, Intishārāt-i Islām, 1378 Sh.
- Thaʿlabī, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-. Al-Kashf wa l-bayān. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1422/2001.
- Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. Ḥasan al-. Al-Tibyān. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, n.d.