يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنوا قوا أَنفُسَكُم وَأَهليكُم نارًا وَقودُهَا النّاسُ وَالحِجارَةُ عَلَيها مَلائِكَةٌ غِلاظٌ شِدادٌ لا يَعصونَ اللَّهَ ما أَمَرَهُم وَيَفعَلونَ ما يُؤمَرونَ
O you who have faith! Save yourselves and your families from a fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are [assigned] angels, severe and mighty, who do not disobey whatever Allah has commanded them, and carry out what they are commanded.
EXEGESIS
Qū (save) comes from the word wiqāyah, meaning to protect something from that which harms it. Rāghib clarifies that the word taqwā (the quality of being God-conscious or God-fearing) derives from the same root, and has the literal meaning of protecting the self from that which is feared. The connection here is obvious; in order to protect oneself from the fire, one should have taqwā.
Waqūd (fuel); some linguists maintain that waqūd has the same meaning as ḥaṭab which means firewood that is used to fuel a fire. This fuel can be wood or it can be something else, like oil in the metaphorical verse of light: lit (yūqadu) from a blessed olive tree (24:35). However, according to some others it is the spark which sets the fuel (ḥaṭab) on fire; in other words, what sets hell ablaze is the people and their concepts (2:24).
Whatever the case, this verse points to a major difference between the fire of hell and the physical fire in this world: the fire of hell is not fuelled by wood or oil, but by stones and the very people that are burning therein.
Ghilāẓ (severe) comes from ghilẓah, meaning harshness, toughness, and thickness. It is the opposite of gentle, delicate, soft, and fragile (raqīq). It is used to describe the punishment of hell itself as a harsh (ghalīẓ) punishment (11:58). When used for the angels here, it means that they are stern and severe in their attitude towards the inhabitants of hell. They offer no leniency, no clemency, and no favours to the inmates of the fire. It often could be that guards and prisoners bond over time and develop friendships. The angels guarding hell will not do so, and they cannot be beseeched for help. When their chief, Mālik, is called to put an end to their punishment, he stoically carries on with his duty: They will call out: ‘O Mālik! Let your Lord finish us off!’ He will say: ‘Indeed you will stay on’ (43:77).
Yaʿṣūna (disobey) comes from the verb ʿaṣā and has the meaning of disobedience, as per the verse, Adam disobeyed (ʿaṣā) his Lord (20:121). To go against the one in authority is to disobey (ʿiṣyān). To disobey God is to cause strife and disarray. Thus, we read in this verse that the angels are united in their obedience of God, helping maintain order in His creation, in this case by keeping evil locked away in hell.
EXPOSITION
This verse is the climax of the surah and it clearly underlines the central theme of the surah: the duty that we all have towards ourselves and our family members. The address changes once again, now from all the wives of the Prophet to all the believers. In effect it wishes to declare the generality of the advice in the previous verse and to exhort all the believers to strive to instil those qualities in their families.
This being said, there may be a particular addressee to the verse too. Since according to the narrations, verses 3-4 were referring to ʿĀʾishah and Ḥafṣah, this verse may be referring to their fathers, Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, to advise their daughters and warn them against similar actions in future, which may invoke displeasure of the Prophet, which is tantamount to the displeasure of God.
It is also a reminder to all the believers that calling others, especially one’s family, to God and to righteousness and piety is not only a duty of prophets, but rather every single Muslim. This ties in strongly to the theme of family relations present throughout the surah, and the different types of duties that family members have towards each other.
The scholars are unanimous that save … your families means to command them to good and forbid them from doing evil. Another way of acting on this verse is to teach one’s family correct values. It has also been suggested that part of this is also achieved by creating an atmosphere that is conducive to obedience; furnishing one’s house with purity and piousness and not filling it with vanity and depravity. The duty one has towards their family is not limited to providing food and shelter and other material needs only; it is also to meet their spiritual needs. As we are commanded elsewhere: And bid your family to prayer and be steadfast in its maintenance (20:132).
Having said that, it should be noted that yourselves (anfusakum) precedes the family (ahlīkum) in this verse. Anyone wishing to engage in commanding good and prohibiting from evil should start with their own selves first.
The verse then warns of the severity of the failure to act on this advice. The recompense of the actions of those who fail to be obedient to God and follow a path of righteousness is a fire unlike the fires of this world. It burns with such intensity that its fuel is people and stones.
We are told this fire is guarded by angels. In verse 4, the angels were mentioned as being supporters of the Prophet, whereas here they are mentioned in the role of guardians of hell. In both cases the angels are carrying out the command of God in their task to oppose the unjust.
The verse informs us that hell is guarded by these obedient angels. This is contrary to the demons that modern Christian theology generally portrays them as; in fact, it has been suggested that even in Christianity this was a later addition.
The addition of the statement and carry out what they are commanded after already mentioning that they do not disobey, is not repetitive. Rather, sometimes a person may not carry out what they have been commanded, not because they purposefully disobey, but because they may tire, or make a mistake, or unintentionally add or subtract something from that duty. Hence, the verse is clarifying that these angels will never have such lapses in their duty.
We may ask: what is the relevance of mentioning the obedient and severe angels in the context of the command to the believers to protect themselves and their families from the fire of hell? We know that disobedience to God may exist in this world, but in the hereafter it belongs in hell. Therefore, it is locked away in there by the angels in obedience to the command of God. As mentioned in the previous section, these angels show no leniency to the inmates of hell. Evil should not be allowed to run freely amok as it will bring destruction. This is a reminder to the believers that they should not invite such destruction into their own household by allowing disobedience to God to be freely engaged in by their own family members. Many might be inclined to look the other way when sin is committed by their own family member, but the verse warns us of the dangers this entails. Sometimes leniency and lack of severity may cause more problems in the long run, and one should know when to apply which. This ties in both to the first verse of the surah and the thought is revisited again later in verse 9 in a more general sense.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- It is reported that Abū Baṣīr asked Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) concerning the family mentioned in this verse, saying: ‘How can I protect them?’ To which the Imam (a) replied: ‘Command them to [do] what God commands, and forbid them from [doing] what God forbids. If they obey you, then you have protected them. If they disobey you, then you have performed what is incumbent upon you.’
- It is reported through Zayd ibn Aslam that the Prophet recited this verse and people asked him how they should save their families from the fire, to which he replied: ‘Command them to that which God loves and forbid them from God hates.’
- It is reported from Imam Ali (a) that he said concerning this verse: ‘Teach yourselves and your families virtue and instruct them.’
- It is reported that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said that the Prophet said: ‘God bless the parents that help their children achieve virtue.’
- It is reported from Imam al-Riḍā (a): ‘The angels are sinless (maʿṣūmūn) and protected from disbelief (kufr) and vile actions by the grace of God, the high. God, the high, has said concerning them that they do not disobey whatever Allah has commanded them, and carry out what they are commanded.’
- It is reported from the Prophet: ‘You are all shepherds, and you are all responsible for your flock.’
All of these narrations clearly explicate the duty that each believer has towards their family members with regards to teaching and calling them to good values.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
It has been attributed to Ibn Abbas and Ibn Masʿūd that the stones mentioned in the verse mean sulphur stones, since ‘they are the greatest of things in [burning with] heat when used as fuel’. Makārim Shīrāzī challenges this, saying the verse is speaking in the general, and claims that the stones will act as fuel for the fires of hell via some sort of nuclear reaction. Rāzī also challenges the claim about sulphur, saying burning sulphur is a common phenomenon, and to claim that this is meant here is diminishing the significance of what is said; rather, the fire is so intense that it burns even stones as its fuel. Others yet have interpreted stones to mean the idols, as we read in 21:98.
There is also debate about how people will act as fuel for the fire. Tabatabai has said this description is given because those people will have earned that fire with their own actions. He argues that this relates to the next verse that warns the wrongdoers, Do not make any excuses today, meaning that the punishment of hell is only an external manifestation (tajassum) of their own actions.
Ṭūsī points out in his commentary of this verse that the attribute of severe used to describe the angels is meant not in a physical sense, but in a behavioural sense. This is because he argues that the angels have been created with ethereal bodies, being completely metaphysical (rūḥānī). If they were to take physical form, they would cease to be angels.
Ṭūsī relates that al-Rummānī says the reason why angels are not able to sin is because they are beings of pure intellect and do not possess temperament (ṭabʿ). A being that only acts on intellect cannot commit vile actions.
Ṭūsī also relates that Jubbāʾī argues that there is no more duty (taklīf) in the hereafter, but only reward and recompense (jazāʾ), therefore the last part of this verse that talks about the angels not disobeying God should be related to this world and not the hereafter. He argues that the task of guarding the inmates of hell is not a duty per se, but rather a reward for those angels who will take pleasure in punishing the people of hell, just like the believers will take pleasure in the joys of paradise. Not only is Jubbāʾī’s argument problematic, his conclusion is even more so. It is very strange to say that the duty to obey God would disappear after this world. Rather, the believers would always willingly obey God. As Makārim Shīrāzī points out, while it is true that juridical (tashrīʿī) duty ceases, in the sense of a legal system of laws, the existential (takwīnī) duty to obey God would not cease. In addition to that it is distasteful and tactless to claim that the angels would take pleasure in punishing the people of hell; rather, it should be said that they willingly and obediently perform their duty because they know the importance of it and its necessity.
Tabatabai argues that the verse is absolute and unqualified in its declaration; the angels are completely obedient, both in this world and the next.
The idea of the angels being sinless is not completely unchallenged. In his commentary of verse 2:34, Ṭūsī argues that it is only certain groups of angels that are infallible. The guardians of hell (zabāniyah) are one such sinless group, who are incapable of disobeying God. He argues that this does not apply to all the angels. For more, see the commentary of 2:34.
Finally, Rāzī raises an interesting question. He says that in Sūrat al-Baqarah we also read about this fire: then beware the fire whose fuel will be humans and stones, however there it is described as being prepared for the faithless (kuffār) (2:24). Yet in this verse the believers are being addressed. Rāzī asks: is the fire then solely for the faithless, or can the faithful be made to enter it too? He answers this by saying that the sinners from amongst the believers may also be punished in hell, even though their station might not be as lowly therein. He says this is why the verse exhorts the believers to Save yourselves, meaning: avoid those sins (or in other words, avoid acting like the faithless) as that will cast you into the fire prepared for the faithless and thereby cause you to become their neighbours.
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.
- Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
- But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
- Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
- Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.
- For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.
- So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
- And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
[1] Raghib, p. 881. [2] Lisan, 3/465; Tabrisi, 10/477. [3] Mizan, 1/89. [4] Raghib, p. 612. [5] As we know, the angels have a hierarchy (see verse 35:1 and 37:164). We read that the angels guarding hell are led by nineteen commanders: There are nineteen [keepers] over it. We have assigned only angels as keepers of the fire (74:30-31). The chief of these guardians is known as Mālik. He commands all the hosts tasked with guarding hell. [6] Tibyan, 10/50. [7] Tabrisi, 10/477. [8] Nemuneh, 24/287. [9] Qurtubi (18/195) has suggested yourselves means ‘your children’; however, his reasoning for this is very weak. [10] Dale Basil Martin, ‘When Did Angels Become Demons?’, in Journal of Biblical Literature, vol. 129, no. 4 (Winter 2010), 657-677. He argues that this idea of demons was only first introduced in Christianity in around the second century (ce). Perhaps the closest thing to the fiery demons of myth would be the jinn. However, they are also inmates of hell if their evil actions so determine. God warns the evildoers amongst the jinn: As for the perverse, they will be firewood for hell (72:15). [11] Zamakhshari, 4/568-569; Mizan, 19/334; Alusi, 14/351-352. [12] Kafi, 5/62; Tahdhib, 6/179; Qummi, 2/377. [13] Suyuti. 6/244. [14] Suyuti, 6/244; Mustadrak.S, 2/494. [15] Wasail, 21/480. [16] Uyun, 1/243. [17] Bukhari, 1/215; Muslim, 6/8; Abu Dawud, 2/13. [18] Tibyan, 1/106; see also Razi, 30/572; Zamakhshari, 4/568. Ibn Kathir, 8/189, also attributes this opinion to Mujāhid, and even Imam al-Bāqir (a). [19] Nemuneh, 24/287. [20] Razi, 2/352-353. [21] Tabrisi, 1/159-160; Ibn Kathir, 8/189; Nemuneh, 24/287; Razi, 2/353. [22] Mizan, 19/334. [23] Mizan, 19/334 and 1/89-90. [24] Tibyan, 10/50. [25] Tibyan, 10/50-51. [26] Tibyan, 10/51. This similar position is also adopted by Qurtubi, 18/196. [27] Nemuneh, 24/288. Tabatabai makes a similar argument, saying that the angels in general do not have juridical duty, and only innate duty, as juridical duty is what results in reward and punishment and those are non-existent for the angels (Mizan, 19/334-335). [28] Tibyan, 1/151-152. [29] Razi, 30/572, who says this could also refer to warning them from becoming apostates. See also Zamakhshari, 4/569. [30] Proverbs 14:26. [31] Proverbs 22:6. [32] Revelation 21:8. [33] Psalms 103:20. [34] Psalms 148:2. [35] 2 Peter 2:4. [36] Matthew 13:49-50. [37] Matthew 18:9-10.