Surah Al-Hujuraat (49) — Ayah 17

(Ayah 17) ➊ { يَمُنُّوْنَ عَلَيْكَ اَنْ اَسْلَمُوْا:} The Bedouins, by saying {’’ اٰمَنَّا ‘‘} (We have believed), were actually showing a favor to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for their becoming Muslim. In their view, it was a favor upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) which he should acknowledge, and in return, he should fulfill their demands and requests, just as a chieftain or leader, by joining a political party, considers it a favor upon the party and seeks his interests from the party leader.

➋ { قُلْ لَّا تَمُنُّوْا عَلَيَّ اِسْلَامَكُمْ:} Allah Almighty said, say to them, do not show your Islam as a favor to me, because when someone becomes a Muslim, its benefit is for himself, and if he does not, its harm is also for himself, as He said: «مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلِنَفْسِهٖ وَ مَنْ اَسَآءَ فَعَلَيْهَا » [ حٰمٓ السجدۃ : ۴۶ ] “Whoever does a good deed, it is for himself, and whoever does evil, it is against himself.” Your accepting or not accepting Islam has no benefit for me.

➌ { بَلِ اللّٰهُ يَمُنُّ عَلَيْكُمْ اَنْ هَدٰىكُمْ:} Here, apparently, it should have been said that do not show your Islam as a favor to me, rather it is my favor upon you that because of me you accepted Islam, but Allah Almighty taught to say that Allah Almighty reminds you and makes you recall His favor that He guided you to faith, that is, He granted you the ability, because even though the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gives guidance, as He said: «وَ اِنَّكَ لَتَهْدِيْۤ اِلٰى صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيْمٍ » [ الشورٰی : ۵۲ ] “And indeed, you surely guide to a straight path.” But you can only guide to the straight path, the guidance which is to walk upon the straight path, the ability for that is only in the hands of Allah Almighty, so He said: « اِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِيْ مَنْ اَحْبَبْتَ وَ لٰكِنَّ اللّٰهَ يَهْدِيْ مَنْ يَّشَآءُ» [القصص: ۵۶] “Indeed, you do not guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He wills.” And if Allah Almighty granted you the ability to have faith, then in that is entirely your benefit, you cannot benefit Allah Almighty in any way, nor can you harm Him. Not just you, even if all creation were to gather, they could neither benefit Allah Almighty nor harm Him, so what is the meaning of showing a favor upon Him or His Messenger?

➍ {اِنْ كُنْتُمْ صٰدِقِيْنَ:} That is, Allah Almighty’s favor of guiding to faith is upon you only if you are truthful in your claim of faith, otherwise your claim has not yet been verified.

17. 1 These Bedouins used to say to the Prophet ﷺ, "Look, we have become Muslims and helped you ﷺ, while other Arabs are fighting against you ﷺ." Allah Almighty, refuting them, said: Do not consider your acceptance of Islam as a favor upon Allah, because if you have become Muslims with sincerity, its benefit will be for you, not for Allah. Therefore, it is Allah's favor upon you that He granted you the ability to accept Islam, not your favor upon Allah.

17. They regard it as a favor to you that they have accepted Islam. Say, "Do not regard your Islam as a favor to me. Rather, Allah has conferred a favor upon you that He has guided you to faith [27], if you are indeed truthful."

[27]
For What Purposes Did the Bedouin Tribes Embrace Islam?

Such Bedouins, in fact, after embracing Islam, would boast that they themselves became obedient and came to you as Muslims, and you did not have to wage war against them. Their intention behind this was that now you should pay attention to us and give us some wealth from the spoils of war. In response, Allah Almighty told His Prophet to say to them that if you have embraced Islam, it is for your own personal interests; otherwise, you would have met the same fate as other disbelievers. What favor are you claiming to have done for me by embracing Islam? Rather, it is Allah’s favor upon you that He granted you the ability to accept Islam, and your lives and wealth were saved from the hands of the Muslims, and you were not beaten. What kind of upside-down logic is this? And look, if you were truly sincere believers, you should have been ashamed to say such a thing. Just as if a king employs someone, it is certainly a favor of the king upon the servant, but the servant can never say that by serving you, I am doing you a favor.