Sūrat an-Nisāʾ
Section 14 of 28 · Surah Studies · Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Until They Make You the Judge
Because of that, a great many problems began to arise, and for this reason Allah (swt) reveals a number of verses, from 60 onwards, that treat of all these matters. The main point in all of it is this:
فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّىٰ يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُوا۟ فِىٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِّمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا۟ تَسْلِيمًا
“So, never by your Lord! Never shall they become believers, unless they make you the judge in the disputes that arise between them, then find no discomfort in their hearts against what you have decided, and surrender to it in total submission.” (4:65)
No, by your Lord, they cannot be true believers until they make you the judge in what they dispute among themselves; and then, once you have given judgement, they find no difficulty with it. They have no reservations about your judgement, about the judgement you gave, and they submit fully. They submit fully. This was the problem with the munāfiqīn. They were the added burden: it was one thing to have non-Muslims against you; then there were those who were non-Muslim within but showed themselves Muslims without. They were an even greater problem. That is why Allah (swt) speaks of them.
وَمَن يُطِعِ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلرَّسُولَ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ مَعَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ وَٱلصِّدِّيقِينَ وَٱلشُّهَدَآءِ وَٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ ۚ وَحَسُنَ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ رَفِيقًا ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْفَضْلُ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَكَفَىٰ بِٱللَّهِ عَلِيمًا
“Those who obey Allah and the Messenger are with those whom Allah has blessed, namely, the prophets, the Siddiqīn, the Shuhadā’ and the righteous. And excellent are they as companions. That grace is from Allah; and Allah is sufficient as being the One who knows.” (4:69–70)
Wa-man yuṭiʿi Allāha wa-l-rasūla fa-ulāʾika — this is one of the wonderful verses, being a tafsīr of part of Sūrat al-Fātiḥah: tafsīr of the Qur'an by the Qur'an. It is verse 69. Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger — they are the ones who will be with those upon whom Allah (swt) showered His blessings: maʿa alladhīna anʿama Allāhu ʿalayhim, the prophets; the ṣiddīqīn, the champions of truth; wa-l-shuhadāʾ, the martyrs; wa-l-ṣāliḥīn, the righteous. Wa-ḥasuna ulāʾika rafīqā: and what beautiful company and companions these are. May Allah make us among them. Dhālika al-faḍlu mina Allāhi wa-kafā bi-llāhi ʿalīmā.