لَقَد أَرسَلنا رُسُلَنا بِالبَيِّناتِ وَأَنزَلنا مَعَهُمُ الكِتابَ وَالميزانَ لِيَقومَ النّاسُ بِالقِسطِ ۖ وَأَنزَلنَا الحَديدَ فيهِ بَأسٌ شَديدٌ وَمَنافِعُ لِلنّاسِ وَلِيَعلَمَ اللَّهُ مَن يَنصُرُهُ وَرُسُلَهُ بِالغَيبِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَوِيٌّ عَزيزٌ
Certainly We sent Our apostles with manifest proofs, and We sent down with them the book and the balance, so that mankind may maintain justice; and We sent down iron, in which there is great might and uses for mankind, and so that Allah may know those who help Him and His apostles in [their] absence. Indeed Allah is all-strong, all-mighty.
EXEGESIS
The conversation now broadens to include past prophets and their communities. This will continue for most of the remaining verses in the surah. This technique, of citing obligations brought by earlier messengers (cf. 2:183), speaking of past prophets and their messages, and narrating how their communities behaved, is how the Quran impresses upon the mind of the faithful that the message sent to them through God’s final prophet is a culmination to a long line of prior messages (verses 26-27).[1]
The verb and subject noun in arsalnā rusulanā (We sent Our apostles) is from irsāl (to send, dispatch, set free, and so on). A messenger is called a rasūl (pl. rusul) and the Quran uses this meaning frequently for God’s prophets (3:144, 5:67, 6:48, 13:38, 23:44, 40:78, 57:25), as well as angels (11:77, 11:81, 29:31, 77:1, 43:80, 81:19). When the rasūl is mentioned, without a name, it usually signifies Prophet Muhammad (s), as in, Whoever obeys the Apostle (al-rasūl) certainly obeys Allah (4:80), and many others (4:59, 4:170, 5:41, 5:67, 5:92, 9:88, 33:53, and so on).
The verb arsala is even used for non-sentient beings, including natural elements such as rain (6:6, 71:11), winds (7:57, 15:22, 27:63, 30:46), pestilence, plague, and chastisement from the heavens (7:133, 7:162, 29:40, 33:9, 41:16, 54:19, 54:31, 54:34, 67:17), thunderbolts (13:13, 18:40), and even humans who dispatch messengers, both good (6:61) and evil (26:53), and for the unleashing of devils upon the faithless (19:83). Irsāl (dispatching) therefore stands as the opposite of imsāk (withholding), and the two can be seen in contrast when, for example, the Quran speaks of the manifestation of blessings or chastisements (35:2). For more, see 71:1.
Bayyināt (manifest proofs) was already explained previously under verse 9 where it was translated as manifest only and not manifest proofs because it served as an adjective to āyāt (hence manifest signs). Bayyinah (pl. bayyināt) occurs frequently in the Quran and almost always refers to the guidance from God in the form of a prophet or scripture (or both), and also to the signs from God such as the miracles shown at the hands of His messengers. The context, therefore, determines its exact meaning. In verse 9 the context clearly tells us that manifest signs (āyāt bayyināt) refers to the Quran. Here, however, We sent Our apostles with manifest proofs (bayyināt) refers to the miracles they showed people, as proof of their being appointed by God. The scriptures given to the apostles is covered by the words thereafter: We sent down with them the book. See also the ninety-eighth chapter of the Quran named Sūrat al-Bayyinah (The Clear Proof), derived from its verses 1 and 4.
God sent prophets with manifest proofs to prove their prophethood and He sent them with the book and the balance as a means to guide people to truth and justice so that they may remain steadfast on His straight path.
The mention of We sent down with them the book and the balance tells us that these apostles (rusul) are not ordinary prophets (anbiyāʾ sing. nabī) but those of higher rank, like the resolute (ulū al-ʿazm) among the apostles (46:35).
Qisṭ (justice) is a practical form of justice that implies distributing to others with fairness. It is juxtaposed with its (more common) synonym ʿadl in the verse, and make peace between them fairly (bil-ʿadl), and do justice (aqsiṭū). Indeed Allah loves the just (al-muqsitīn) (49:9).[2]
The opposite of qisṭ is qasṭ, which is to take away the share of others and hence an injustice (jawr). Likewise, the opposite of al-muqsiṭīn (the just) is al-qāsiṭīn (the unjust) as in, and some of us are unjust (al-qāsiṭīn) … As for the unjust (al-qāsiṭīn), they will be firewood for hell (72:14-15).
And because the balance (mīzān) is a symbol of justice – used to weigh and measure things fairly against fixed weights – it is also called al-qisṭās (17:35, 26:182). Numerous other verses also use qisṭ as a commandment to treat others with justice and deal with them with equity (4:135, 5:8, 5:42, 6:152, 10:4, 11:85, 21:47, 55:9).
This surah takes its name from this verse, where ḥadīd (iron) is mentioned and it is described as that in which there is great might (baʾs) and uses (manāfiʿ) for mankind. Baʾs suggests strength, fortitude, courage, power.[3] For example: Allah is the greatest in might (baʾs) (4:84). See also 17:5, 27:33, and 48:16.
And manāfiʿ (sing. manfaʿah) (uses) is from nafʿ, which denotes anything useful; that whose help is used in attaining what is good (khayr). The opposite is muḍirr (harmful), that which causes harm (ḍurr). Both terms appear, as opposites, in some verses such as, and who have no control over their own harm (ḍarr) or benefit (nafʿ) (25:3. Cf. 7:188), but nafʿ also occurs frequently on its own with the meaning of beneficial (11:34, 34:23, 60:3, and others).
If the iron was created in this world for its strength and usefulness, the verse reminds that God did this for mankind. It is yet another clear example of His beneficence and care for people.
So that Allah may know those who help Him and His apostles in [their] absence is not because He does not know already, but it means so that God may reveal, make apparent, and distinguish those who help Him and His apostles from those who do not. See the Exposition for more on this and the various, possible meanings of in [their] absence.
Indeed Allah is all-strong, all-mighty is an apt conclusion to a verse that praises the great might of the iron. For man must not forget, no matter how strong anyone or anything may be, it remains weak and of no strength before the One who gives it its strength. Might (baʾs), for example, is distinguished from power (quwwah) in 27:33.
Al-qawī (all-strong) is from quwwah (power). It is the attribute of God to mean ‘One for whom any form of weakness is unimaginable’ for the opposite of quwwah is ḍuʿf (weakness). And al-ʿazīz (all-mighty) is derived from ʿizzah, which implies a condition whereby one is indomitable and invincible and cannot be vanquished or prevailed upon. True ʿizzah belongs to God alone and He reserves it for His Apostle and the faithful (63:8). Rāghib defines al-ʿazīz as: ‘One who subjugates and overpowers but can never be overpowered.’[4]
EXPOSITION
The words so that mankind may maintain justice prove that God’s will is for people to establish justice themselves and not for His apostles to force it upon them. The apostles only offer guidance. It is for people to uphold justice for their benefit; hence the words in [their] absence after the mention of those who help Him and His apostles. But as Tabatabai notes, since mankind continues to need the maintaining of justice, therefore the work of the apostles – even in their absence – the teaching of the book and upholding the balance continues to be needed, and hence the need for those who can fulfil this role.[5]
The balance has many meanings besides the literal idea of an instrument or mechanism by which man measures fairly and upholds justice in society. It includes the meaning of the religious law (sharīʿah), as the standard by which good and beneficial is weighed against what is evil and harmful. Cf. 42:17. See the Review of Tafsīr Literature for more views on the balance.
And We sent down (anzalnā) iron can simply mean: and We created iron. The reason for it being singled out may be to point out its might and uses for mankind since it is relevant here in discussing the maintenance of justice. Other matters, useful and essential to man for his existence, are also mentioned as being sent down. For example: cattle (39:6), garments (7:26), and sustenance (2:57, 7:160, 10:59, 45:5). Sent down is also often said for the more obvious and literal descent of rainwater and the revelation of scripture from a higher source. Other meanings for We sent down iron are explored under the Review of Tafsīr Literature section.
Unlike the manifest proofs and the book and the balance, the iron is not sent down with the apostles. It is simply sent down but it still relates to the context because it plays an important role in helping the apostles’ mission even after them: We sent down iron … and so that Allah may know those who help Him and His apostles in [their] absence.
The mention of iron as that in which there is great might alludes to its use in weaponry as an added support to what the apostles brought, so that mankind may maintain justice. The sword as the quintessential of this iron, in which there is great might can therefore be a blessing or a trial. Wherever its mention is praised in traditions, it is understood as a symbol of justice that stops tyranny and oppression. For example, it is reported from the Apostle of God: ‘People are not corrected except by the sword. The swords are the keys to paradise and hellfire.’[6] And from Imam Ali (a): ‘Indeed God, the mighty and glorious, made jihad obligatory and magnified it and He made it His help and His helper. By Allah, neither the world nor religion ever thrived except by it.’[7] And also from Imam al-Bāqir (a): ‘All good lies in the sword and under the sword and in the shade of the sword.’[8] None of these examples is promoting the use of force. They intend the same meaning as so that mankind may maintain justice and as an aid for those who would continue to help God’s cause after His apostles.
Indeed, the Quran itself clarifies the necessity of the use of arms in defence and in upholding justice: Had not Allah driven back people, some of them with others, ruin would have befallen the monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which Allah’s name is mentioned greatly. Allah will surely help those who help Him. Indeed Allah is all-strong, all-mighty (22:40); Why should you not fight in the way of Allah and the abased men, women, and children, who say: ‘Our Lord, bring us out of this town whose people are wrongdoers, and appoint for us a guardian from You, and appoint for us a helper from You’? (4:75), and, There is life for you in retribution, O you who possess intellects! (2:179).
And uses for mankind highlights the indispensability of iron for human existence, besides its use for weapons. Its widespread use hardly needs examples. Humans mark the Iron Age as a milestone in their history when its use transformed human life on earth, from farming tools and utensils, to the wheels for transportation. What makes it even more special is that it is found everywhere; despite its numerous uses and great strength it is not a precious metal and therefore equally accessible to both the rich and the poor. The usefulness of iron in the lives of the prophets is mentioned in various verses of the Quran including 18:95-97, 21:80, and 34:10-13. Also, its mention here is general enough to include other related metals, such as steel, an alloy of iron with improved resistance and strength.
So that Allah may know is not because He does not already. Rather it means so that He may distinguish those who help His cause and His apostles from those who do not. And it is in this sense that we must also understand all verses that speak of so that Allah may know (cf. 3:140, 3:142, 3:166-167). God wishes for people to reveal and be witnesses to their true nature through the choices they make with their free will, even though He knows them well. So that Allah may test what is in your breasts, and that He may purge what is in your hearts, and Allah knows best what is in the breasts (3:154), Allah will not leave the faithful in your present state, until He has separated the bad ones from the good (3:179).
Those who help Him and His apostles is also not because God needs the help of His creation for Whoever strives, strives only for his own sake. Indeed Allah has no need of the creatures (29:6); O mankind! You are the ones who stand in need of Allah, and Allah – He is the all-sufficient, the all-laudable (35:15); Allah is the all-sufficient, and you are all-needy, and if you turn away He will replace you with another people, and they will not be like you (47:38). But just as giving in God’s way is only to the benefit of the creatures (9:103), likewise helping God’s cause is only to avail people an opportunity to help themselves: If you help Allah, He will help you and make your feet steady (47:7). And therefore, so that Allah may know those who help Him and His apostles means so that God may expose and separate the hypocrites from the righteous and distinguish those whose actions match their words. Cf. 3:142.
The word ghayb in the concluding statement of this verse has been interpreted as absence but also unseen or secretly. So those who help Him and His apostles in [their] absence means those who aid the religion of God during the periods when there is no physical presence of God’s apostles and prophets.[9] But as unseen, it can also mean those strive for God’s religion even without having seen any of God’s messengers,[10] and as secretly it would allude to those who perform righteous action and aid religion without seeking attention, sincerely, only for God’s pleasure, not wanting to be seen and acknowledge by others.[11]
Indeed Allah is all-strong, all-mighty is to remind and clarify that the call to fight for His cause and to help Him and His apostles is also to distinguish the faithful from the hypocrites. It is not because God is weak or in need of any helper for Himself or His apostles. It also serves as a warning to the unjust that even if they have the iron, in which there is great might yet it does not make them invincible for Indeed Allah is all-strong, all-mighty. He will avenge the oppressed against the tyrants.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- From Imam Ali (a) concerning and We sent down iron, in which there is great might: ‘Its sending down (inzāluhu) is its creation.’[12]
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Zamakhsharī has suggested We sent Our apostles may refer to the angels who first brought the proofs – the book and the balance – to the prophets,[13] but most exegetes agree We sent Our apostles are the apostles from mankind and that the names of apostles given in the next two verses are specific examples of them.
On the balance, exegetes like Rāzī, Zamakhsharī, and Ālūsī understand it to be the literal weighing scale, as a tool for measuring with justice amongst people, especially in trade. And so they relate that Gabriel descended with the balance and entrusted it to Prophet Noah (a), saying: ‘Command your people to weigh with it.’[14] Prophet Noah (a), perhaps, because he is the earliest apostle mentioned in the next verse and he is also known to be the first of the aṣḥāb al-sharīʿah (major promulgators of divine legislation) (42:13).
Besides this literal interpretation of the balance (mīzān) as it has been used in verses such as, Maintain the weights with justice (bil-qisṭ), and do not shorten the balance (mīzān)! (55:9), exegetes have also suggested other symbolic meanings for it in this verse: 1. Ibn Kathīr, for example, says the balance is the truth that the heart already knows, and the intellect cannot deny bearing witness to, in opposition to what is false. It is that by which one stands on a manifest proof from his Lord (11:17), and what is carved into the human conscience as instinct or the origination (fiṭrah) of Allah according to which He originated mankind (30:30).[15] One therefore needs to purify his or her heart for it to act as a balance between truth and falsehood. 2. Mughniyyah as well has said anything by which you come to know and realise the truth is a balance, whether it is revelation, the intellect, personal experience, or direct witnessing of the truth. But such an understanding may raise the question of why the balance is mentioned after the book, since the book, in this case as revelation, becomes a specific example and only one form of the balance. But this is fine too, argues Mughniyyah, for it would be patterned after verses like and that which Moses and Jesus were given, and the prophets, from their Lord (3:84), in which the general (ʿāmm) category (prophets) is given after specific (khāṣṣ) examples (Moses and Jesus).[16] In 42:17 as well, the book with the truth is mentioned before the balance: It is Allah who has sent down the book with the truth and [He has sent down] the balance. 3. And finally, Tabatabai, who accepts that the apparent meaning of the balance is valid, since, as an objective weighing instrument it is crucial in the establishment of a system of justice and fairness amongst humans, also seems to agree that it is not farfetched to suggest that the balance is also the intellect or man’s inherent sense of justice or even the religion of God,[17] for through it is measured and weighed the beliefs of people and the value of their actions.[18]
The balance could also simply be the book but its function as a source by which justice can be maintained is being highlighted. And in that regard, it is no different from the Torah being described as the book and the criterion (furqān) (2:53) or the repeated mention of the book and the wisdom as explained under the Exposition of 2:129.
Tabatabai understands and We sent down iron to mean: and We brought it into existence. He holds this notion even for the other matters that are sent down (listed in the Exposition), because, he believes, this is how God refers to the manifestation of things into our world from His treasures that were beforehand from the hidden. He argues all this based on the verse: There is not a thing but that its sources are with Us, and We do not send it down except in a known measure (15:21).[19] See also the Exposition of 2:4 and 3:3 for the meaning of the book being sent down.
Ghazālī, as well, understood everything in this world as being sent down in the sense of being the effect of what exists in the higher, angelic, or world of dominion (malakūt), iron being only one example, mentioned for its might and usefulness to mankind. In his Mishkāt al-Anwār, for example, he wrote: ‘When someone is in the world of dominion (ʿālam al-malakūt), he is with God, And with Him are the keys of the unseen [6:59]. In other words, from God, the secondary causes of existent things descend into the visible world, while the visible world is one of the effects of the world of dominion. The visible world comes forth from the world of dominion just as the shadow comes forth from the thing that throws it, the fruit comes forth from the tree, and the effect comes forth from the secondary cause. The keys to knowledge of effects are found only in their secondary causes. Hence the visible world (ʿālam al-shahādah) is a similitude (mithāl) of the world of dominion.’[20]
[1] Haleem, Abdel, How to Read the Qurʾan: Sūrat Al-Ḥadīd (Q. 57), (Journal of Qurʾanic Studies, vol. 10, no. 2, 2008), p. 128.
[2] Some Quran translators have switched the words and translated qisṭ as fair and ʿadl as justice (Yusuf Ali). Others have translated ʿadl as justice and qisṭ as being equitable (Pickthall, Shakir, Mohsin Khan), or even-handed reconciliation (Abdel Haleem).
[3] Hans Wehr, b-ʾ-s.
[4] Raghib, ʿ-z.
[5] Mizan, 19/171.
[6] Kafi, 5/2, h. 1.
[7] Kafi, 5/8, h. 15.
[8] Kafi, 5/8, h. 11.
[9] Zamakhshari, 4/481; Tabari, 27/137; Qurtubi, 17/261.
[10] Zamakhshari, 4/481; Qurtubi, 17/261.
[11] Qurtubi, 17/262.
[12] Ihtijaj, 1/250.
[13] Zamakhshari, 4/480.
[14] Zamakhshari, 4/480; Razi, 29/470; Alusi, 14/189.
[15] Ibn Kathir, 8/59.
[16] Kashif, 7/256.
[17] Or, more appropriately, a combination of all these since, in light of this verse, the apostles were not sent down with intellect or a sense of justice that has always been ingrained in humans.
[18] Mizan, 19/171-172.
[19] Mizan, 19/172.
[20] Ghazali, The Niche of Lights trans. David Buchman (Provo, UT: BYU Press, 1998), p. 12.