وَأَن لَوِ استَقاموا عَلَى الطَّريقَةِ لَأَسقَيناهُم ماءً غَدَقًا
If they had remained steadfast on the path [of Allah], We would have provided them with abundant water.
EXEGESIS
Istaqāmū is a perfect tense verb of the noun istiqāmah, form 10 of the verb qāma. As the term qiyām means to stand up and to rise, istiqāmah signifies the determination to rise and to undertake something. The verb istaqāmū in the verse thus implies resolve to pursue the path of God and perseverance in adhering to His commands. The subject of the verb istaqāmū are, according to many exegetes, the jinn and the humans alike.
Al-ṭarīqah (pl. ṭarāʾiq) literally signifies a traversed path that came to be used figuratively for a sect, a creed, or a particular state and condition. In the light of this verse and considering the definite article attached to it, the term ṭarīqah has been explained by the exegetes as the right path, faith, the law that is based on truth and justice, and Islam as a religion.
Asqaynāhum is a perfect tense verb of the noun isqāʾ – which is the form 4 of the verb saqā. The verb saqā means to give a drink to someone, to water, and to irrigate. As saqy means watering, isqāʾ implies to make available for somebody that which he will use for drinking. The sentence asqaytuhu nahran means ‘I branched the tributary for him to make use of it’. In other words, isqāʾ means to place a drink at the disposal of a person so that he may consume of it in whatever manner he wishes. As such, the term isqāʾ is more profound in meaning than saqy.
The terms saqy and isqāʾ have been used in the Quran in the same connotation as was just explained. Hence, the verb yasqī in the verse As for one of you, he will serve wine to his master (12:41), means: he will give wine to drink to his master. While the verb asqaynākumūh in the verse and [We] send down water from the sky providing it for you to drink (15:22) implies: We send down water from the sky and put it at your disposal, so that you may use it for different purposes.
Ghadaq is a noun that signifies heavy downpour as well as abundant water. Qurashī cites from Ibn al-Athīr that ghadaq also denotes large raindrops. Some researchers have maintained that the term ghadaq implies that which overflows and exists in profusion, be it in respect of physical or metaphysical entities. The fragment māʾan ghadaqan in the verse under discussion would thus literally mean overflowing water. This is however a metaphorical expression that signifies either the profusion of livelihood (rizq) in specific, or blessings and comfort in general.
EXPOSITION
After the narration of the speech of the jinn who accepted Islam in the previous fifteen verses, this verse is a resumption of God’s words that is related to verse 1 of this surah through conjunction. This verse would hence read as: Say: ‘It has been revealed to me that if they had remained steadfast on the path [of God], We would have provided them with abundant water’.
This verse stresses on the positive implication of perseverance on the path of God. It is an indirect address to the jinn and humans that they would attain substantial increase in natural resources and thus secure a prosperous life on earth were they to pursue the path of truth. Peace, comfort, and prosperity in earthly life can only be achieved in human society through belief in God, by following His laws, and refraining from injustice and oppression. What is explicated by this verse is, in fact, a divine norm (sunnat allāh) in creation, that strict adherence to God’s command results in the improvement of the quality of life in this world. In other words, the verse unveils a causal relationship that exists between servitude to God and prosperity in earthly life. Faith and God-consciousness (taqwā) are not only the cause for spiritual blessings, rather, if observed collectively, they are also the source of material blessings and prosperity. This reality has been explicitly stated in other verses of the Quran such as 5:66, 65:2-3, and 71:12.
Of importance to note here is that according to this verse, it is perseverance (istiqāmah) on belief in God, and not mere belief in Him, which results in spiritual and material blessings from God. The promise of ample sustenance and material blessings can be seen as a motivational factor for humans and jinn to accept the divine message.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- Imam al-Jawād (a) has said concerning the verse, If they had remained steadfast on the path [of Allah], We would have provided them with abundant water: ‘If they were steadfast on the authority (wilāyah) of Ali ibn Abī Ṭālib – the Commander of the Faithful – and the successors (awṣiyāʾ) from his progeny by obeying their commands and interdictions, We shall provide them with abundant water, that is we would imbue their hearts with faith. The path (al-ṭarīqah) is the authority of Ali ibn Abī Ṭālib and the successors [after him].’
Note: There are also other narrations reported from the Prophet’s household wherein the path has been interpreted as the wilāyah (divine authority) of Imam Ali (a). It should however be noted here that this is not considered to be part of the extrapolation (tafsīr) of the verse as such, rather it is a recounting (jary) of one among several instances for the word.
- Abū Baṣīr narrates that he asked Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) about the verse, If they had remained steadfast on the path [of Allah], We would have provided them with abundant water, to which he replied: ‘We shall confer upon them ample knowledge which they would obtain from the Imams [of the Ahl al-Bayt].’
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Makārim Shīrāzī is inclined towards the view that verses 16-19 are also part of the narration of the speech of the jinn.
Zamakhsharī is of the view that this verse refers to Satan and his progeny, and that it means: Had Satan – the leader of the jinn – persevered in worshipping God and not acted arrogantly, his progeny also would have followed Islam, and in this case We would have showered them with blessings and increase in their livelihood. He further notes that the verse can also be interpreted to mean: Had the jinn continued on the path they followed before Islam, We would have provided them with ample provision in order to draw them imperceptibly into punishment, as suggested by the opening sentence in verse 17 of this surah: So that We may test them therein.
[1] Hans Wehr, under qāma.
[2] Tahqiq, under q-w-m.
[3] Bahrayn, under q-w-m.
[4] Mizan, 20/46; Shawkani, 5369; Tabrisi, 10/559; Ithna Ashari, 13/348; Ahsan al-Hadith, 11/387; Shubbar, p. 536; Kashif, 7/439; Nemuneh, 25/121. Tantawi (15/139) considers the transgressors (qāsiṭūn) from amongst the jinn and the humans to be the subject of the verb, whilst according to Qurtubi (20/17) and Thaalabi (5/497) they are the infidels from amongst the jinn.
[5] For more information on the meaning of the word, see ṭarāʾiq under the Exegesis of verse 11.
[6] Qamus, under ṭarīqah.
[7] Tibyan, 10/154.
[8] Shubbar, p. 536; Nemuneh, 25/121; Tabrisi, 10/559.
[9] Kashif, 7/439.
[10] Mizan, 20/46; Tantawi, 15/140; Thaalabi, 5/497; Alusi, 15/100.
[11] Hans Wehr, under, saqā.
[12] Raghib and Lisan, under s-q-y.
[13] Qamus, under isqāʾ.
[14] Lisan, under gh-d-q.
[15] Qamus, under ghadaq.
[16] Tahqiq, under gh-d-q.
[17] Mizan, 20/46; Qurtubi, 20/17; Alusi, 15/100; Shawkani, 5/369; Shubbar, p. 536; Kashif, 7/439.
[18] Thaalabi, 5/497; Ahsan al-Hadith, 13/387; Nemuneh, 25/122.
[19] Mizan, 20/46; Thaalabi, 5/497; Kashif, 7/439; Zamakhshari, 4/628; Tabrisi, 10/559; Razi, 30/672.
[20] Mizan, 20/46; Alusi, 15/100; Shawkani, 5/369; Tantawi, 15/139.
[21] Qurtubi, 20/17; Ahsan al-Hadith, 11/387; Zamakhshari, 4/628.
[22] Kashif, 7/439.
[23] Tantawi, 15/139.
[24] Nemuneh, 25/122.
[25] Nemuneh, 25/122.
[26] Tibyan, 10/154.
[27] Burhan, 5/508-509.
[28] The term jary, as opposed to tafsīr, has been taken from the narrations of the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt (Mizan, 1/41).
[29] Mizan, 20/48.
[30] Burhan, 5/509-510.
[31] Nemuneh, 25/121.
[32] Zamakhshari, 4/628.