ما وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَما قَلىٰ

Your Lord has neither left you nor has He turned away from you in displeasure.

EXEGESIS

Waddaʿa is to turn one’s attention away from a thing or to stop being preoccupied with it or to leave it.^{‎[1]Tahqiq, 13/68.} However, the state of preoccupation cannot be attributed to God (1:2, 10:61). Hence, if there was a turning away of attention it is not the turning away of attention in terms of God’s knowledge or sustenance, but in terms of God’s grace. The turning away of God’s grace is for those who have earned God’s displeasure (2:77), which can never include the Prophet as the verse reaffirms.

The common denominator in all of the Arabic words with qalaya as its root expresses strain, inhibition, and constraint.^{‎[2]Tahqiq, 9/314.} In verse 3, qalā can best be translated as: turned away out of displeasure, as a type of cold treatment. Verse 3 negates that God turned away from the Prophet out of displeasure.

EXPOSITION

In the Exegesis, we saw linguistically how verse 3 negates that God either left or turned away from the Prophet out of displeasure. The Messenger of God had firm faith that God would never leave him and did not need additional assurance of this.^{‎[3]Subhani.M, 1/381.} If verse 3 was not intended to reassure the Prophet, it must then come to answer the doubts or accusations of others. These doubts or accusations came from the Prophet’s sceptics and foes when they noticed what they perceived to be^{‎[4]Mafahim, 7/121.} a cessation of revelation due to the length of time that had elapsed since the last revelation.^{‎[5]Mafahim, 7/121.} Under this pretext many fuelled gossip to the effect that the Prophet was forsaken by the God he was calling to, and thus his message was devoid of content.

In reality, it is not that there was a cessation in revelation, but that revelation was to descend gradually for a number of reasons. First, God has sent the Quran in discrete parts so that the Prophet may read it to the people a little at a time (17:106). Second, the verses of the Quran have been sent down to the Prophet in a measured tone to strengthen his heart (25:32). Hence, the verses of the Quran descended at the time that best served their purpose. Knowing this, the Prophet could not have been strained or anxious due to the length of time between subsequent revelations.^{‎[6]Tahqiq, 9/314.}

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. It is narrated from Abū al-Jārūd, from Imam al-Bāqir (a), that he said with regards to verse 3: ‘This was when Gabriel delayed in coming to the Prophet. This was after the revelation of the first surah [Sūrat al-ʿAlaq] … after this Gabriel delayed in coming to the Prophet (s). Consequently, Khadijah (a) said: “Perhaps your Lord has left you and will no longer send you revelation.” In turn, God revealed the verse: Your Lord has neither left you nor has He turned away from you in displeasure.’^{‎[7]Qummi, 2/428.}

Note: There are a number of other narrations similar to this except that they attribute the doubt or accusation to either the polytheists, or Umm Jamīl – the wife of Abū Lahab, or Khadijah, or the Prophet himself.^{‎[8]Mafahim, 7/116-117.}

2. It is narrated that ʿUthmān gifted a handful of grapes (and some have said a handful of dates) to the Prophet. Then a beggar came, so the Prophet gifted the grapes to him. Then ʿUthmān bought the grapes from the beggar and offered them to the Prophet a second time. Then the same beggar returned and the Prophet gifted the grapes to him. This happened a third time. At that point, the Messenger sought to humour the beggar and said: ‘Are you a beggar or a businessman?!’ For this reason, the revelation was held back a number of days. This caused the Prophet to be greatly discomforted. Then Sūrat al-Ḍuḥā was revealed.^{‎[9]Alusi, 15/376.}
3. Ibn Abī Shaybah, Ṭabarānī, and Ibn Mardawayh report in a narration from Khawlah, who used to serve the Messenger, that: ‘A small animal slipped below the Messenger’s (s) bed and died without being noticed. From that point, the Messenger (s) saw four days without receiving revelation. So, he said: “O Khawlah, what has happened in the house that Gabriel has not come to me?” … So he got dressed and left. Then I said to myself: “What if I tidy up the house and sweep it?” In so doing, I reached with my broom under the Messenger’s (s) bed when I felt something heavy. I pulled it out and saw that it was a dead rat. So I took it and put it outside, behind our house. Then the Messenger (s) came and appeared shaken, which was something that would happen when revelation came upon him. Then he said: “O Khawlah, cover me with a blanket.” It was then that God revealed wa al-ḍuḥā until fa-tarḍā.’^{‎[10]Alusi, 15/376.}
4. It has also been reported: ‘The Muslims said: “Revelation is being held back from you, O Messenger of God (s).” He said: “And how will revelation be sent to me and you do not clean your finger joints and you do not clip your nails?” Then when the surah was revealed, the Prophet (s) said to Gabriel: “You did not come until I missed you a lot.” Then Gabriel said: “And I missed you more but I am a commanded slave and We do not descend except by the command of your Lord [19:64].”’^{‎[11]Tabrisi, 10/764.}
5. A number of exegetes have related: ‘A group of Jews came to ask the Prophet (s) about the People of the Cave, the spirit, and the story of Dhū al-Qarnayn. The Prophet (s) told them: “I will inform you tomorrow,” but he did not say “God-willing”. Consequently, revelation was held back and the polytheists said what they said and the verses [of Sūrat al-Ḍuḥā] were revealed.’^{‎[12]Alusi, 15/376.}

The above narrations attach reasons to the pause in revelation that imply that God did give the Prophet some cold treatment as a result of something he or his companions had done. These reasons given are 1. The lack of hygiene in the Prophet’s home. 2. The lack of hygiene in the Prophet’s companions. 3. The Prophet’s questionable humour with a beggar. 4. The Prophet’s saying that he will answer a set of questions from the Jews the next day, forgetting to state that this was conditional upon God’s will. Most of these reasons are dismissible due to questions about the credibility of the narrators and their disagreement on the alleged accusers and durations and reasons of pause in revelation.^{‎[13]Mafahim, 7/116-121.}

For brevity, we address the last of these alleged reasons, namely that the Prophet forgot to say ‘God-willing’ after saying that he would answer the questions of the Jews with the revelation that he would receive the following day. This is an event that would have taken place in the seventh year of messengership.^{‎[14]Mafahim, 7/119.} Some may support this claim based on the verse which reads: Do not say about something, ‘I will indeed do it tomorrow’ without [adding], ‘if Allah wishes’ (18:23-24). However, if we adopt this logic we will fall into an important impediment when we try to understand verses like Do not set up another god besides Allah, or you will sit blameworthy, forsaken (17:22). The truth is that the Prophet stands at equal distance from committing either of these violations. These two verses and others like these are words directed to the Prophet for the education of the Muslims.^{‎[15]Mafahim, 5/237.}

In the Exposition section for this verse we have advanced an alternative cause for what was perceived by many as a delay or cessation in revelation.

[1] Tahqiq, 13/68.
[2] Tahqiq, 9/314.
[3] Subhani.M, 1/381.
[4] Mafahim, 7/121.
[5] Mafahim, 7/121.
[6] Tahqiq, 9/314.
[7] Qummi, 2/428.
[8] Mafahim, 7/116-117.
[9] Alusi, 15/376.
[10] Alusi, 15/376.
[11] Tabrisi, 10/764.
[12] Alusi, 15/376.
[13] Mafahim, 7/116-121.
[14] Mafahim, 7/119.
[15] Mafahim, 5/237.