Qur'an 27:62

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Qur'an 27:62
Verse's Information
SuraSura al-Naml
Verse62
Juz'20
Content Information
Cause of
Revelation
Imam al-Mahdi (a)
Place of
Revelation
Mecca
TopicEthical
AboutFulfilling the needs and solving the troubles of a distressed person by God


Qur'an 27:62 introduces God as the source of fulfilling du'as and solving the problems of "distressed" people and discusses God's vicegerency on earth. In general culture, the first part of this verse, known as "the verse Amman Yujib", is referred to as a du'a and has been recommended to be recited when in trouble.

Some Shia scholars refer to hadiths from the Ahl al-Bayt (a) and consider the verse about Imam al-Mahdi (a) and say that in hadiths, he (a) is considered the truly distressed one whose du'as God will fulfill and appoint His vicegerent on earth. 'Allama Tabataba'i, one of the Shia commentators of the Qur'an, considered this verse to refer to examples and said that the word "mudtarr" in the verse refers to all helpless people.

Commentators debate the expression "khulafa' al-ard" ("successors on the earth"). Most Shia and Sunni commentators consider this expression to mean that God replaces a group of people with another group on the earth in every era, but some believe that it refers to God's vicegerency of all humans on the earth, meaning that God has given man the power to control the earth and everything on it.

Importance of the Verse in Public Culture

The phrase "Amman yujib-u l-mudtarr-a idha da'ah-u wa yakshif-u s-su'" is mentioned in the Qur'an 27:62. In the word of common people, this phrase is considered as a du'a, and holding a ceremony called "Khatm of Amman yujib" is customary.[1] Of course, the verse itself does not have a style and context of du'a, and upon making du'a and using it, it has been advised to be used in the form of "Ya man yujib-u l-mudtarr-a idha da'ah"[2] or "Ya man yujib-u du'a' al-mudtarr".[3]

Mirza Jawad Maliki Tabrizi advised that a person who has spent the month of Ramadan without any change in his state to ask God for help and read the verse of "Amman Yujib" in his own words.[4]

Text and Translation

Revelation's Reference

Shia scholars, including Sharaf al-Din Astarabadi[5] (d. 965/1557-8), Sharif Lahiji,[6] and Nu'mani[7] (d. 360/970-1), referred to some hadiths from the Ahl al-Bayt (a) and regarded the revelation of Qur'an 27:62 being about Imam al-Mahdi (a). In a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a) mentioned in Tafsir al-Qummi, Qur'an 27:62 was revealed about the Upriser of the Prophet Muhammad's (s) progeny, and he (a) is the true distressed one that after praying in Maqam Ibrahim (a) and supplicating to God, God will fulfill his supplication and after "removing his distress", places him as His vicegerent on the earth.[8]

In al-Ghayba, in his interpretation of the verse of "Amman Yujib", Nu'mani (d. 360/970-1) has narrated a hadith through Muhammad b. Muslim from Imam al-Baqir (a) that says that Qur'an 27:62 was revealed about Imam al-Mahdi (a) and after his appearance beside the Ka'ba, Gabriel and 313 of his companions will pledge allegiance to him.[9]

Allama Tabataba'i (d. 1981) and Makarim Shirazi considered mentioning the example of revelation of this verse in these hadiths as one of the examples and said that the verse applies to all distressed people.[10] Ali b. Ibrahim also considered mentioning the example in hadiths to be ta'wil of the verse, i.e. referring to the heart of the Qur'an.[11]

Connection between Distress and Answering Du'a

According to the Shi'a commentators, the distressed person mentioned in the verse of "Amman Yujib" is a person who has taken refuge in God due to the seriousness of something and has lost hope in anything or anyone other than Him.[12] Some Shi'a scholars such as al-Fadl b. al-Hasan al-Tabrisi (d. 548/1153-4), Fath Allah Kashani (d. 988/1580/1) and Makarim Shirazi have mentioned in the commentary of the Qur'an 27:62 that God answers everyone's du'a; however, due to the fact that the request of the distressed is stronger and made in a more submissive manner, distress is considered as a requirement for answering du'a. [13]Muhammad Sabziwari (d. 1989) and Allama Tabataba'i have also mentioned distress in the verse as a sign of true request.[14]

Different Interpretations about "Successors on the Earth

Commentators of the Qur'an have expressed different views about what is meant by the title "khulafa' al-ard" (successors of the earth). Many Shia and Sunni commentators have said that this title implies that God replaces a group of people with another group of people on the earth in every era to take its rule. al-Shaykh al-Tusi,[15] al-Tabrisi,[16] Abu l-Futuh al-Razi,[17] Fayd Kashani,[18] Muhammad b. Jarir Tabari,[19] Ibn Kathir,[20] Tha'labi,[21] Zamakhshari,[22] and Fakhr al-Razi[23] are among these commentators.

On the other hand, Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i considered the meaning of "khulafa'" ["caliphs/successors"] in the verse to refer to the man's power to control and use the earth and everything on it. According to this opinion, if troubles and difficulties lead to man's distress, he asks God to remove the troubles, and if God fulfills his du'a, He has actually perfected the man's succession that He gave to man. According to Allama Tabataba'i, other meanings do not agree with the context of the verse.[24]

Another possibility al-Tabrisi has considered weak was based on a narration from Ibn Abbas, in which the meaning of "succession" is that God replaces disbelievers with Muslims in their land so that they obey God instead of disbelievers.[25] Allama Tabataba'i also rejects this second possibility, arguing that the verse addresses the unbelievers while, according to this possibility, it should have been addressed to the believers.[26]

Is it Obligatory to Obey the Ruler according to this Verse?

Regarding this part of the verse that says, "and makes you successors on the earth", al-Suyuti (849-911/1445-1505), a Sunni commentator, has mentioned a narration from the Prophet (s), which suggests that according to God's command, obeying the Caliph (the ruler) is absolutely obligatory. He implies that if the Caliph's order is good, the proposition is true, but if it is evil, God will admonish him.[27]

In response to al-Suyuti, 'Allama Tabataba'i described the narration as fake and said that the "caliphate" does not mean "ruling" in this verse; rather, it means the succession of humans on earth and his dominance over everything on earth. Apart from this, if giving over the caliphate and ruling to someone requires absolute obedience to him, inviting people to religion would have no meaning anymore. So, we must accept that obeying them would also be obligatory.[28]

Notes

  1. Muṣāḥiba bā Āyatullāh Yūsuf Ṣāniʿī, p. 153.
  2. Sayyid b. Ṭāwūs, Muhaj al-daʿwāt, p. 342, 346; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 92, p. 103.
  3. Sayyid b. Ṭāwūs, Muhaj al-daʿwāt, p. 151.
  4. Malikī Tabrīzī, al-Murāqibāt, p. 261.
  5. Astarābādī, Taʾwīl al-āyāt, p. 399.
  6. Sharīf Lahījī, Tafsīr Sharīf lahījī, vol. 3, p. 435-436.
  7. Nuʿmanī, Kitāb al-ghayba, p. 314.
  8. Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 2, p. 129.
  9. Nuʿmānī, Kitāb al-Ghayba, p. 314.
  10. Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 15, p. 391; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 7, p. 521-522.
  11. Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 2, p. 129.
  12. See: Abū l-Futūḥ al-Rāzī, Rawḍ al-Jinān, vol. 15, p. 65; Kāshānī, Zubdat al-tafāsīr, vol. 5, p. 116; Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Tafsīr al-Ṣāfī, vol. 4, p. 71; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 15, p. 520-521.
  13. Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 7, p. 358; Kāshānī, Zubdat al-tafāsīr, vol. 5, p. 116; Makārim Shīrāzī, Piydāyīsh-i Madhāhib, p. 96.
  14. Sabziwārī, Irshād al-adhhān, p. 387; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 15, p. 381.
  15. Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 8, p. 110.
  16. Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 7, p. 358-359.
  17. Abū l-Futūḥ al-Rāzī, Rawḍ al-Jinān, vol. 15, p. 65.
  18. Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Tafsīr al-Ṣāfī, vol. 4, p. 71.
  19. Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 20, p. 4.
  20. Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīm, vol. 6, p. 185-186.
  21. Thaʿlabī, al-Kashf wa l-bayān ʿan tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 7, p. 219.
  22. Zamakhsharī, Tafsīr al-kashshāf, vol. 3, p. 376-377.
  23. Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr, vol. 24, p. 565.
  24. Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 15, p. 383.
  25. Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 7, p. 358-359.
  26. Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 15, p. 384.
  27. Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 6, p. 372.
  28. Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 15, p. 391-392.

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