Al-Wahidi With Introduction

The necessity and extreme importance of codifying the knowledge and methodological tools requiredfor a proper understanding and interpretation of the Qur’an, and also of some other disciplines, was greatlyfelt when the prophetic Companions dispersed in different parts of the Muslim world. Other social, politicaland theological factors also played a major role in channelling the efforts of Muslim scholarship to codify theknowledge inherited from the Prophet and his Companions. Less than three decades after the death of theProphet, different ethnic groups came under the fold of Islam. Muslims also came into contact with the preIslamic religions of Byzantium and Persia. Political dissent and schisms among Muslims impacted on howsome Muslims approached their religion at the intellectual, theological and practical levels. And matters werefurther complicated by the emergence of the Kharijites, the Shi‘ites and the Mu‘tazilites within the House ofIslam. Against this backdrop, the sciences of the Qur’an (‘Ulum al-Qur’an) emerged as a separate discipline,just as Islamic law, theology, Hadith and other specialised branches of knowledge did emerge asindependent disciplines.A quick glance at the contents of any major classical work on the sciences of the Qur’an5 will revealthat Muslim scholars have left nothing to chance and did exert a great deal of effort to cover every possibleaspect that the commentator of the Qur’an might need in his or her objective appreciation of the Qur’an;aspects without which a comprehensive understanding and interpretation of the Book of Islam is extremelydifficult, and even impossible. These sciences deal, among others, with the knowledge of the first and thelast passages of the Qur’an to be revealed; the portions of the Qur’an revealed in Mecca and those revealedin Medina; the passages of the Qur’an revealed while the Prophet was travelling; those passages which wererevealed at night and those which were revealed during the day; the sections of the Qur’an which wererevealed in summer and those which were revealed in winter; how the Qur’an was sent down; the differentnames of the Qur’an and Surahs; the collection and ordering of the Qur’an; the names of the propheticCompanions who memorised the Qur’an and the names of those who transmitted it; the different types ofrecitation (al-Qira’at), those which are accepted and those which are not; the proper pronunciation andrecitation of the Qur’an; the different Arabic dialects used in the Qur’an; the foreign vocabulary of theQur’an; homonyms and key-words which the commentator of the Qur’an needs to know; the clear andobscure verses (al-Ayat al-Muhkamat/al-Ayat al-Mutashabihat); the passages of the Qur’an which are ofgeneral applicability and those which are of particular applicability; the abrogating and abrogated passagesof the Qur’an (al-Nasikh/al-Mansukh); the passages which require details and explanation in order to beproperly understood and those passages which do not require further elaboration; the passages whosepurport is applied without restriction and those which are applied with restriction; the inimitability of theQur’an, etc. It is not our intention here to give a detailed list of all the topics covered in works on thesciences of the Qur’an. If we have listed quite a few of these topics above, it is only in order to show theseriousness with which Muslim scholars have approached their Holy Book and their thorough andcomprehensive way of exploring it.6One of these sciences of the Qur’an is the Asbab al-Nuzul, i.e. the occasions, reasons or causes ofrevelation. The Qur’an, as is well known, was revealed in instalments over a period of nearly twenty threeyears. Muslim scholars agree that the revelations of the Qur’an can be divided into two broad types. Onetype includes passages of the Qur’an which were revealed in response to specific events, incidents orquestions put forward to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace. The second type includespassages of the Qur’an which were not direct responses to any historical or social development in the life ofthe Muslim community.7 A thorough understanding and full appreciation of the scope of the first type ofQur’anic passages, therefore, depend on knowing the circumstances, facts and details of the events whichoccasioned them. Such knowledge is an invaluable tool for grasping the meanings of this type of Qur’anicverses. Knowledge of the occasions about which particular Qur’anic passages were revealed also helps inunderstanding the motif or wisdom behind the legislation of certain legal rulings. Delimiting the scope andextent of the legal applicability of certain Qur’anic passages is also another factor which highlights the5See, for example, the contents of Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti’s al-Itqan fi ‘Ulum al-Qur’an (Dar al-Nadwah al-Jadidah, Beirut, n.d) which isconsidered one of the best books on the sciences of the Qur’an; and for an English translation of these contents, see: Al-Tabari, TheCommentary on the Qur’an, volume 1, (tr. J. Cooper), Oxford University Press, 1987, pp. XXXVII-XXXIX.6The importance and necessity of the different sciences of the Qur’an cannot be emphasised enough. However, from the point of viewof personal spiritual discipline alone, a Muslim does not need to know all the detailed knowledge that these sciences provide. This isbecause from this particular point of view, all that matters is how to regain the sense of eternity — which is the aim of any genuinespiritual discipline — and partake in the realm of the ‘eternal now’ which is the realm of the Qur’an. All that a Muslim is required to do,in this regard, is to approach the Word of God with awe and utter indigence and make the Qur’an his point of focus on the Divine.7Cf. Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti’s al-Itqan fi ‘Ulum al-Qur’an (hereafter Itqan), Dar al-Nadwah al-Jadidah, Beirut, n.d., p. 28.iii

importance of knowing their occasions. This is amply illustrated, for instance, by one of the narrations whichImam al-Wahidi (d. 468/1075) cites in his Asbab al-Nuzul upon treating the occasions of verse III:187. Hementioned that Marwan ibn al-Hakam, then governor of Medina, was alarmed by the saying of Allah, exaltedis He, (Think not that those who exult in what they have given), for he thought that everyone exults in whathe gives and likes to be praised for what he has not done. Ibn ‘Abbas explained to him that hisunderstanding was out of context. He informed him that one day the Prophet, Allah bless him and give himpeace, summoned the Jews and asked them about a certain matter. They concealed from him the correctanswer and instead informed him about something else. They then expected him to praise them forinforming him about that which he asked them and exulted in their act of concealing the matter from him.The above verse was revealed about them. From this example it becomes clear that if the wording of a givenQur’anic passage is of general applicability and there is proof that it is, in fact, of particular applicability,knowledge of its occasion will help explain the different possible scenarios upon which this given passagecan be applied and any other scenario upon which it cannot be applied can then be excluded.8Knowledge of the occasions of revelations is acquired through sound and authentic transmissionsfrom the Prophetic Companions. Mere guessing and personal opinion are strictly forbidden in this domain.Apart from a few instances whose occasions were mentioned in the Qur’an itself, knowledge of most of theoccasions is related from the prophetic Companions. The latter knew these occasions either because someQur’anic passages were revealed in connection to something that occurred to them personally, or becausesome revelations were revealed regarding incidents they witnessed or because they had access to othercorroborating facts and indications that only someone in their position could have access to.9Muslim scholarship has produced a relatively abundant body of literature on Asbab al-Nuzul. It maynot be as extensive as the literature dealing with some other sciences of the Qur’an such as the abrogatingand abrogated genre, the different readings and recitations of the Qur’an, or even the stylistic, grammaticaland linguistic aspects of the Qur’an. But considering the nature of the material itself and its restricted modeof communication, the body of writings on this genre remains quite substantial.10 The earliest known workon Asbab al-Nuzul, as mentioned by Ibn al-Nadim (d. 380/990) in his al-Fihrist, is attributed to ‘Ali ibn alMadini (d. 234/848), the Shaykh of Imam al-Bukhari; his book is entitled Kitab al-Tanzil.11 This work isunfortunately no longer extant. The earliest extant and most famous work in the genre is undoubtedly Asbabal-Nuzul of Abu’l-Hasan ‘Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi about which more is said below. Another well-known andpopular work in this genre is Lubab al-Nuqul fi Asbab al-Nuzul of Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911/1505). Thiswork might be considered a slight improvement on the classic contribution of al-Wahidi. It contains a fewadditional narrated materials not included in al-Wahidi’s work. Lubab al-Nuqul fi Asbab al-Nuzul may alsoclaim an added advantage over Asbab al-Nuzul of al-Wahidi in that the contents of the latter have beenthoroughly edited by al-Suyuti. However, even though Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti wrote his book more than fourcenturies after the death of al-Wahidi, and despite being more expert in Hadith than his predecessor, hisLubab al-Nuqul contains drawbacks, some of which he had himself pointed out in the work of al-Wahidi.12The extent and scope of usefulness of the occasions of revelation have been a matter of contentionamong Muslim scholars. Some scholars overstressed their importance so much that they gave the impressionthat every passage of the Qur’an must have an occasion, while others seemed inclined to play down theirusefulness and importance altogether. In the introduction to his Asbab al-Nuzul, Imam al-Wahidi wrote: “ As a result, we have ended up benefiting the beginners in the sciences of the Book, by expounding theoccasions for which it was revealed. This is because it is the best that one ought to know and the mostappropriate thing to which one should direct one’s attention, since it is not possible to know theinterpretation of a given verse or the meaning it alludes to without knowing its story and the occasion of its89Itqan, op. cit., pp. 28-29.Cf. Al-Wahidi’s introduction to his Asbab al-Nuzul; Itqan, op. cit., p. 31.See, the introduction of al-Sayyid Ahmad Saqr to his edition of al-Wahidi’s Asbab al-Nuzul, Damascus: Mu’assasat ‘Ulum al-Qur’an,1987, pp. 23-28; A. Rippin, “The Exegetical Genre Asbab al-Nuzul: A Bibliographical and Terminological Survey”, Bulletin of the School ofOriental and African Studies, 1985, vol. 48, pp. 1-15. This survey is not comprehensive but covers some of the main writings in thefield.11A. Rippin, ibid., p. 3. The author also mentions in footnote no. 21 that W. Ahlwardt in his Handschriften Verzeichnisse (I, 185) givesthe title of al-Madini’s work as Asbab al-Nuzul. But Andrew Rippin casts doubt on the existence of this work. The fact that the book is nolonger extant is not a sufficient proof for its non-existence.12For a critical assessment of al-Suyuti’s Lubab al-Nuqul fi Asbab al-Nuzul, see: the introduction of al-Sayyid Ahmad Saqr to his editionof al-Wahidi’s Asbab al-Nuzul, op. cit., pp. 28-32.10iv

revelation”.13 A statement such as this, if not qualified and presented in a relevant context, can be veryproblematic. One says problematic not least because al-Wahidi, for example, mentions only the occasions ofabout 570 verses out of over 6600 verses which make up the entirety of the Qur’an. Moreover, some of theoccasions of these 570 verses are not well-authenticated, some occasions are cited in connection with morethan one incident, some are self-contradictory while others are not occasions at all but proper commentariesby the prophetic Companions on particular verses. The same can practically be said about most, if not all, ofthe works on the occasions of revelation at hand, for the material contained in them is more or less thesame.These are some of the factors which perhaps have led some scholars, especially in the last threecenturies, to be more critical in their assessment of the usefulness and importance of the occasions ofrevelation. Shah Waliullah al-Dahlawi (d. 1176/1762), for instance, was of the view that there are two kindsof occasions of Revelation.14 One kind is required for the understanding of Qur’anic passages which wererevealed in connection with specific historical events. What happened to the believers and their enemies atthe battles of Uhud and the Ditch, for instance, the Qur’an has dealt with at length, highlighting in theprocess too many nuances and direct messages regarding all parties involved. In cases such as these, ShahWaliullah states that the events must be clearly explained. This is done by reference to the historicalincidents themselves as they have come down to us through transmission. On the other hand, there areQur’anic passages whose wordings are of general applicability and the meanings of which are very clearindependently of any reference to historical events. In Shah Waliullah’s opinion, mentioning the occasions ofrevelation of such Qur’anic passages is unnecessary. And when it is said in relation to this kind of Qur’anicpassage ‘such-and-such verse was revealed about this or that incident’ what is meant is the depiction of anyeventuality upon which a particular Qur’anic passage applies, regardless of whether this eventuality did takeplace before the revelation of the passage in question or after it.The Indian scholar Hamid al-Din al-Farahi (d. 1930) and his student Amin Ahsan Islahi (d. 1997)have also played down the importance of Asbab al-Nuzul. These two scholars have tackled the issue of theoccasions of revelation from within the perspective of their grand theory of the coherence of the Qur’an(Nazm al-Qur’an). According to this theory, the Qur’an is self-explanatory. And if it is admitted that somesocial or historical events might have occasioned certain verses or Surahs of the Qur’an, it must nonethelessbe emphasised that these occasions of revelation should be derived from the Qur’an itself. Rather thanviewing them as a tool which helps the commentator of the Qur’an to appreciate the shades of meaning anddifferent nuances of Revelation, al-Farahi and Islahi thought that the occasions of Revelation render such anappreciation difficult in that they quite often make a Surah look like a completely disjointed discourse.15An objective and balanced summary evaluation of the usefulness and importance of the whole genreof Asbab al-Nuzul is provided by Muhammad al-Tahir ibn ‘Ashur (d. 1973), the great Usuli and commentatorof the Qur’an.16 According to him, there are certain occasions of revelation that the commentator of theQur’an ought to know, for they provide elaboration on and explanation of Qur’anic verses which requireelaboration and explanation or they may clarify points of detail which are not readily clear. Some occasionsserve as sufficient commentaries on the verses which were revealed as an answer to them. There are otheroccasions which direct the commentator of the Qur’an to seek scriptural proofs which may enable him toexplain or understand a given verse. Lastly, there are occasions of the Qur’an which alert the commentatorof the Qur’an to stylistic peculiarities which are due to the implications that different conditions andcircumstances give rise to.Furthermore, Ibn ‘Ashur is of the opinion that all the sound occasions of revelation that have comedown to us can be grouped in five categories.17 First, there are occasions the knowledge of which isindispensable for understanding the meaning of a given passage of the Qur’an. An example of this is thestory of Khawlah bint Tha‘labah who went to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, to complainabout her husband and about whom it was revealed: (Allah hath heard the saying of her that disputeth with13Imam al-Wahidi’s assessment of the usefulness of Asbab al-Nuzul does not belong to either of the two extreme tendencies describedabove. However, as we shall see below, what he considers to be an occasion of revelation differs from the narrow sense that mostMuslim scholars give to the meaning of a Sabab al-Nuzul.14Shah Waliullah al-Dahlawi, al-Fawz al-Kabir fi Usul al-Tafsir, Lucknow: Dar al-Sunnah, 1993, pp. 107-108.15Mustansir Mir, Coherence in the Qur’an: A Study of Islah’s Concept of Nazm in Tadabbur-i Qur’an, Washington: American TrustPublications, 1986, pp. 29-30 & pp. 61-62.16Tafsir al-Tahrir wa’l-Tanwir, Tunis: Dar Suhnun lil-Nashr wa al-Tawzi‘, n.d., vol. I, part 1, p. 47.17Tafsir al-Tahrir wa’l-Tanwir, op. cit., vol. I, part 1, pp. 47-49.v

thee (Muhammad) concerning her husband ) [58:1]. Second, there are occasions which help as an extraaid to understanding certain verses and serve also as illustrations for the legal rulings that these verseselucidate. The narration of Ka‘b ibn ‘Ujrah about whom was revealed (And whoever among you is sick orhath an ailment of the head ) [2:196] is an example. Occasions of revelation like this one do not restrict theapplicability of the verses they have occasioned. Ka‘b ibn ‘Ujrah is reported to have said: “ This wasspecifically revealed about me but it applies to all of you”.18 Third, there are incidents which involve orhappen to one person but the like of which happen quite often. Some Qur’anic verses were revealed aboutsimilar events in order to clarify the legal rulings surrounding them and to rebuke whoever is involved inthem. In this context, when the commentators of the Qur’an say “this Qur’anic verse was revealed about thisincident”, what they mean is that the particular case which this specific event depicts is one of the cases orscenarios covered by the meanings of this Qur’anic verse. In other words, the particular case is simply onepossible illustration of the meanings of the said verse. This category of occasions of revelation is found inabundance in the commentaries of the Qur’an and in the narrations of story-tellers. Ibn ‘Ashur thinks there isno benefit in mentioning these occasions at all. Fourth, some genuine historical events correspond to themeanings of certain verses of the Qur’an. But the statements of the early pious Predecessors give theimpression that the meaning of these verses of the Qur’an is solely confined to these specific events whenthis is not the case. And finally, there are occasions which elaborate upon Qur’anic passages which requiredetails in order to be properly understood or which clear ambiguities. Ibn ‘Ashur gives the following example.God says in the Qur’an ( Whoso judgeth [wa-man] not by that which Allah hath revealed: such aredisbelievers) [5:44]. If ‘whoso’ [man] in this verse is understood to be a conditional particle, it will bedifficult to explain how transgressing in judgment can turn into disbelief. But if one knows that the verse wasrevealed about the Christians, one will also realise that ‘whoso’ here serves as a definite conjunctivepronoun. The meaning of the verse then becomes very clear. If the Christians had already failed to judge bythe Gospel, it is not farfetched that they should disbelieve in Muhammad, Allah bless him and give himpeace. Also included in this last category are occasions of revelation which do not provide details to unclearQur’anic passages nor elucidate difficulties in ambiguous verses but, nevertheless, bring to the fore theharmony of the Qur’an and the correspondence of its verses with each other. For example, when Godrevealed (Those who believe and obscure not their belief by wrongdoing [Zulm] ) [6:82], the propheticCompanions were confused. They could not understand how wrongdoing can obscure faith. But theMessenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, explained to them that term Zulm here refers toassociating partners with God and he recited the verse ( Ascribe no partners unto Allah. Lo! To ascribepartners (unto Him) is a tremendous wrong [Zulmun ‘Azim]) [31:13].Concluding his assessment of the Asbab al-Nuzul’s extent of applicability, Ibn ‘Ashur made a remarkwhich helps to put the whole genre in perspective. He opined that the Qur’an was revealed as a book ofguidance and legislation for the Muslim community. This guidance and legislation was revealed in the form ofdidactic and legislative universal discourses. This was done only in order to make the religion easy tounderstand and to allow the scholars to deduct relevant rulings and legislations for as long as the Muslimcommunity exists. This being the case, the discourses of the Qur’an should not entirely be confined topartial, particular scenarios for this will annul what is intended by them. Likewise, those passages of theQur’an which are certain to be of particular applicability should not be generalised, just as the discourseswhich are applied without restriction should not be restricted and those which are restricted should not beunrestricted in their applicability. Failing to take this into consideration will lead to confusion regarding God’sintent in His Revelation.191819See below the occasion of reve

Forthcoming titles in this series include Sahl al-Tustari’s Tafsir , Osman Bakar’s Scientific Commentary on the Qur’an, Kashani’s Ta’wilat, Baydawi’s Tafsir , Qushayri’s Lata’if al-Isharat, Nasafi’s Tafsir , Tabari’s Tafsir, and Fakhr al-Din al-Razi’s Great Tafsir (Mafatih al