Surah Al-Jaathiya (45) — Ayah 14

(Ayah 14) ➊ The meaning of {قُلْ لِّلَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا يَغْفِرُوْا لِلَّذِيْنَ لَا يَرْجُوْنَ: ’’رَجَا يَرْجُوْ رَجَاءً ‘‘} (ن) is to hope. Along with it, there is also fear that perhaps the hope may not be fulfilled. In short, its meaning includes both hope and fear.

➋ By {’’ اَيَّامَ اللّٰهِ ‘‘} (the bad days of Allah) are meant the memorable historical days of a nation, in which Allah Almighty gives special punishment to His enemies or bestows special rewards and honors upon His obedient servants. Sometimes, the same day is a day of punishment for some people and a day of reward for others, such as the drowning of the people of Pharaoh, which was a day of punishment for them and a day of salvation for the Children of Israel. In Sahih Muslim, there is a long hadith narrated from Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him), at the beginning of which it is stated: [ سَمِعْتُ رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ يَقُوْلُ إِنَّهُ بَيْنَمَا مُوْسٰی عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فِيْ قَوْمِهِ يُذَكِّرُهُمْ بِأَيَّامِ اللّٰهِ، وَأَيَّامُ اللّٰهِ نَعْمَاؤُهُ وَ بَلَاؤُهُ ] [ مسلم، الفضائل، باب من فضائل الخضر صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم : ۱۷۲ /۲۳۸۰ ] "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: 'Once Musa (peace be upon him) was admonishing his people with the bad days of Allah, and by the bad days of Allah are meant His blessings and His calamities.'" Therefore, "those who do not hope for the bad days of Allah" or "those who do not fear the bad days of Allah" refers to the disbelievers who are hopeless of His mercy and fearless of His grasp. The believer, however, always hopes for Allah's mercy and fears His wrath.

➌ That is, say to the believers that if those who are fearless of the bad days of Allah, i.e., the disbelievers, commit excesses or cause harm to them, then instead of seeking retaliation, they should overlook and forgive them. Some commentators have said that this command was given in Makkah when permission to raise the sword against the disbelievers was not granted; later, when permission for fighting was given, this command was abrogated. Others have said that this command is not abrogated, because the exhortation to bear excesses still remains. As for fighting the disbelievers on account of Islam, that is a different matter. This seems to be correct, because after migration and the permission to fight the disbelievers, Allah Almighty gave the same command, as He said: «لَتُبْلَوُنَّ فِيْۤ اَمْوَالِكُمْ وَ اَنْفُسِكُمْ وَ لَتَسْمَعُنَّ مِنَ الَّذِيْنَ اُوْتُوا الْكِتٰبَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ وَ مِنَ الَّذِيْنَ اَشْرَكُوْۤا اَذًى كَثِيْرًا وَ اِنْ تَصْبِرُوْا وَ تَتَّقُوْا فَاِنَّ ذٰلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الْاُمُوْرِ » [ آل عمران : ۱۸۶ ] "You will surely be tested in your wealth and yourselves, and you will surely hear much abuse from those who were given the Book before you and from those who associate others with Allah. But if you are patient and fear Allah, then indeed, that is of the matters requiring determination." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) himself, even after going to Madinah, when he had power and authority, never took revenge for any wrong done to his own person. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: [ مَا انْتَقَمَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ لِنَفْسِهِ فِيْ شَيْءٍ يُؤْتٰی إِلَيْهِ حَتّٰی يُنْتَهَكَ مِنْ حُرُمَاتِ اللّٰهِ فَيَنْتَقِمَ لِلّٰهِ ] [بخاري، الحدود، باب کم التعزیر والأدب؟ : ۶۸۵۳ ] "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) never took revenge for anything done to himself, unless the sanctities of Allah were violated, in which case he would take revenge for Allah's sake."

➍ If {لِيَجْزِيَ قَوْمًۢا بِمَا كَانُوْا يَكْسِبُوْنَ:’’ قَوْمًا‘‘} refers to the disbelievers, then it means: say to the believers that they should forgive the excesses and harm of those who do not expect the bad days of Allah's grasp, so that instead of them taking revenge, Allah Himself will recompense them for what they used to earn. {’’ قَوْمًا ‘‘} is indefinite, so it has been translated as "some people." And if {’’ قَوْمًا ‘‘} refers to the believers, then it would mean: say to the believers that they should forgive the excesses and harm of those who do not expect the bad days of Allah's grasp, so that Allah Almighty may reward them for the patience and forgiveness they showed in the face of the disbelievers' harm.