Fath al-Rabbani

Benefits: … When the brothers of Yusuf (radi Allahu anhu) requested their father Yaqub (radi Allahu anhu) to send his son with them to procure grain, at that time he took a firm covenant from them that they would surely bring him back with them, as is stated in the Word of Allah, the Exalted:
{قَالَ لَنْ اُرْسِلَہ مَعَکُمْ حَتّٰی تُؤْتُوْنِ مَوْثِقًا مِّنَ اللّٰہِ لَتَاْتُنَّنِیْ بِہٖٓاِلَّآاَنْیُّحَاطَ بِکُمْ فَلَمَّآ اٰتَوْہُ مَوْثِقَہُمْ قَالَ اللّٰہُ عَلٰی مَا نَقُوْلُ وَکِیْلٌ۔} … He said, “I will never send him with you until you give me a firm covenant by Allah that you will surely bring him back to me, unless you are surrounded (by enemies and unable to do so).” Then, when they gave him their firm covenant, he said, “Allah is a witness over what we say.” (Surah Yusuf: 66)

Further clarification of this hadith is provided by the following narration:
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhuma), who said: “A group of Jews came to the Prophet of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) one day and said: ‘O Abu al-Qasim! Tell us about some matters which we will ask you about, which only a Prophet knows.’ He (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: ‘Ask me whatever you wish, but make for me the covenant of Allah, and what Yaqub (alayhis salam) took from his sons, that if I inform you of something and you recognize it, you will follow me in Islam.’ They said: ‘That is for you.’ He (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: ‘So ask me whatever you wish.’ They said: ‘Inform us about four matters we will ask you about: Inform us, which food did Israel (Yaqub alayhis salam) make unlawful for himself before the Torah was revealed? And inform us, how is it that the fluid of the man and the fluid of the woman, how does the male child come from it? And inform us, how does this unlettered Prophet sleep? And who is his ally among the angels?’ He (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: ‘So upon you is the covenant of Allah and His pledge, that if I inform you, you will follow me.’ They gave him whatever firm covenant and pledge he wished. He (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: ‘I adjure you by the One Who sent down the Torah upon Musa (alayhis salam), do you know that Israel (Yaqub alayhis salam) became severely ill, and his illness was prolonged, so he vowed to Allah that if Allah, the Exalted, cured him of his illness, he would make unlawful to himself the most beloved drink to him and the most beloved food to him? And the most beloved food to him was camel meat, and the most beloved drink to him was its milk?’ They said: ‘O Allah, yes.’ He (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: ‘O Allah, bear witness against them.’ Then he said: ‘I adjure you by Allah, the One besides Whom there is no deity, Who sent down the Torah upon Musa, do you know that the fluid of the man is white and thick, and the fluid of the woman is yellow and thin, and whichever of them prevails, by the permission of Allah, the child will resemble that one? If the man’s fluid prevails over the woman’s, then by the permission of Allah, the child will be male, and if the woman’s fluid prevails over the man’s, then it will be female, by the permission of Allah?’ They said: ‘O Allah, yes.’ He (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: ‘O Allah, bear witness against them.’ Then he said: ‘I adjure you by the One Who sent down the Torah upon Musa, do you know that this unlettered Prophet’s eyes sleep but his heart does not sleep?’ They said: ‘O Allah, yes.’ He (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: ‘O Allah, bear witness.’ They said: ‘And now, tell us, who is your ally among the angels? After that, we will either join you or part from you.’ He (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: ‘My ally is Jibril (alayhis salam), and Allah has never sent a Prophet except that he was his ally.’ They said: ‘Then at this point, we part from you. If your ally had been someone other than him among the angels, we would have followed you and believed in you.’ He (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: ‘What prevents you from believing in him?’ They said: ‘He is our enemy.’ At that, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, said: {قُلْ مَنْ کَانَ عَدُوًّا لِجِبْرِیلَ فَإِنَّہُ نَزَّلَہُ عَلٰی قَلْبِکَ بِإِذْنِ اللّٰہِ} up to His saying, the Mighty and Majestic: {کِتَابَ اللّٰہِ وَرَائَ ظُہُورِہِمْ کَأَنَّہُمْ لَا یَعْلَمُونَ} At that point, {بَائُ وْا بِغَضَبٍ عَلَی غَضَبٍ} the verse.”

A group of Jews came one day to the Prophet of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and said: “O Abu al-Qasim! Tell us about some matters, which only a Prophet knows.” The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “Ask whatever you wish, but keep in mind the covenant of Allah, and also what Yaqub (alayhis salam) took as a responsibility from his sons, that if I give you correct answers to your questions, then you must follow me according to Islam.” They said: “Alright, this is your right.” The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “Now ask whatever you wish.” They said: “Tell us about four things: Which food did Yaqub (alayhis salam) make unlawful for himself before the Torah was revealed? How does a male child result when the man’s fluid overcomes the woman’s fluid? How does this unlettered Prophet sleep? And who among the angels is his friend?” The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “I give you the covenant and pledge of Allah, that if I answer you, you will follow me.” They gave the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) every firm covenant. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “I ask you by Allah, Who sent down the Torah upon Musa (alayhis salam), do you know that Yaqub (alayhis salam) became severely ill and his illness was prolonged, so he vowed that if Allah, the Exalted, cured him, he would make unlawful to himself the most beloved drink and the most beloved food to him? And the most beloved food to him was camel meat, and the most beloved drink to him was camel’s milk?” They said: “Yes.” The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “O my Allah! Bear witness against them.” The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “I ask you by Allah, besides Whom there is no deity, and Who sent down the Torah upon Musa (alayhis salam), do you know that the man’s fluid is white and thick, and the woman’s fluid is yellow and thin, and whichever of them prevails, by Allah’s command, the child will resemble that one? If the man’s fluid prevails over the woman’s, then by Allah’s command, a male is born, and if the woman’s fluid prevails over the man’s semen, then a female is born?” They said: “Allah knows, this is the truth.” The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “O my Allah! Bear witness against them.” Then the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “I ask you by Allah, Who sent down the Torah upon Musa (alayhis salam), do you know that the eyes of this unlettered Prophet sleep, but his heart does not sleep?” They said: “Allah knows, this is the truth.” The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “O my Allah! Bear witness.” They said: “You are also like this now. Tell us, who among the angels is your friend? After you tell us, we will either join you or part from you.” The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “My friend is Jibril (alayhis salam), rather, Allah has never sent a Prophet except that Jibril (alayhis salam) was his friend.” They said: “Then we part from you. If your friend had been any other angel, we would have followed you and affirmed you.” The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “What prevents you from affirming Jibril?” They said: “This angel is our enemy.” At that time, Allah, the Exalted, said: {قُلْ مَنْ کَانَ عَدُوًّا لِّجِبْرِیْلَ فَاِنَّہ نَزَّلَہ عَلٰی قَلْبِکَ بِاِذْنِ اللّٰہِ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَیْنَیَدَیْہِ وَھُدًی وَّبُشْرٰی لِلْمُؤْمِنِیْنَ۔ … … کِتَابَ اللّٰہِ وَرَائَ ظُہُورِہِمْ کَأَنَّہُمْ لَا یَعْلَمُونَ} … “Say: Whoever is an enemy to Jibril, then indeed he has brought it (the Qur’an) down upon your heart by Allah’s permission, confirming what was before it, and as guidance and glad tidings for the believers.” … “They threw the Book of Allah behind their backs, as if they did not know.” Thus, at that time, these people returned with double wrath. (Musnad Ahmad: 2514, Musnad Tayalisi: 2731)

Benefits: … These are the complete verses:
{Say: Whoever is an enemy to Jibril, then indeed he has brought it (the Qur’an) down upon your heart by Allah’s permission, confirming what was before it, and as guidance and glad tidings for the believers. Whoever is an enemy to Allah and His angels and His messengers and Jibril and Mika’il, then indeed Allah is an enemy to the disbelievers. And verily, We have sent down to you clear verses, and none disbelieve in them except the defiantly disobedient. Is it not (the case) that every time they make a covenant, a group of them throws it away? Rather, most of them do not believe. And when a messenger from Allah came to them, confirming what was with them, a group of those who were given the Book threw the Book of Allah behind their backs as if they did not know.} … “Say: Whoever is an enemy to Jibril, then indeed he has brought it (the Qur’an) down upon your heart by Allah’s permission, confirming what was before it, and as guidance and glad tidings for the believers. Whoever is an enemy to Allah and His angels and His messengers and Jibril and Mika’il, then indeed Allah is an enemy to the disbelievers. And verily, We have sent down to you clear verses, and none disbelieve in them except the defiantly disobedient. Is it not (the case) that every time they make a covenant, a group of them throws it away? Rather, most of them do not believe.” (Surah al-Baqarah: 97–101)

This was the stubbornness of the Jews; they had no way to deny the answers to the previous four questions, so they fabricated this matter regarding Jibril (alayhis salam).
{بَائُ وْا بِغَضَبٍ عَلَی غَضَبٍ} … “They returned with double wrath.” Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhuma) and Mujahid said: The first wrath was due to neglecting the Torah, and the second was due to disbelief in Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). While Qatadah said: The first wrath was due to disbelief in Isa (alayhis salam) and the Injil, and the second was due to disbelief in Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and the Qur’an.

In Makkah Mukarramah, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) had only one enemy in the form of the polytheists of Makkah, but when the Noble Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) migrated to Madinah Munawwarah, the number of his enemies increased. In Madinah, there were internal enemies in the form of hypocrites and Jews, and external enemies in the form of the polytheists of Makkah and other tribes and kingdoms. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), in a short span of ten years, with excellent planning, rid himself of every nearby enemy, and for dealing with distant enemies, he gave his Companions a methodology and then himself passed away.