Verse. 525

'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī

تفسير : (and covet not the thing in which allah hath made some of you excel others) allah says: a man should not covet the wealth, mount or wife of his brother nor, in fact, anything that his brother may possess. rather you should ask of allah abundant bounty and say: “o allah provide us with the like of, or better than, what you have provided him with”, while consigning the matter to allah. it is also said that this verse was revealed about umm salamah, the wife of the prophet (pbuh) because she said to him: “if only it is prescribed unto us as it is prescribed unto men so that we get rewarded as men do”. allah prohibited such talk, saying: covet not the thing in which allah has made a group of you excel over others, such as praying in congregation, attending the friday prayer, participating in military expeditions, jihad, enjoining good and forbidding evil. in this verse (some of you) and (others) refers to men and women. allah then explained the reward that men and women earn for their works, saying: (unto men a fortune) a reward (from that which they have earned) of works of goodness, (and unto women a fortune) a reward (from that which they have earned) of works of goodness in their homes. (but ask allah of his bounty) ask allah to give you success and protection. (lo! allah is ever knower of all things) good and bad, reward and punishment, success and otherwise.

Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī

تفسير : do not covet that in which god has preferred some of you above others, in the way of worldly affairs or religion, lest it lead to mutual envy and hatred. to men a share from, a reward for, what they have earned, for their acts in the struggle and so on, and to women a share from what they have earned, by way of being obedient to their spouses and guarding their private parts: this was revealed when umm salama said: ‘would that we were men, so that we could join the struggle and receive the reward they receive!’ and ask (read wa-s’alū or wa-salū) god of his bounty, what you need and he will give it to you; god is ever knower of all things, including where merit is deserved and that for which you ask.

Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi

تفسير : (and covet not the thing in which allah hath made some of you excel others…) [4:32] isma‘il ibn abi al-qasim al-sufi informed us> isma‘il ibn najid> ja‘far ibn muhammad ibn sawwar> qutaybah> sufyan ibn ‘uyaynah> ibn abi najih> mujahid who reported that umm salamah asked: “o messenger of allah! [how is it that] the men go out in military conquests and we do not; and how come we have half of the inheritance”. and so allah, exalted is he, revealed this verse (and covet not the thing in which allah hath made some of you excel others). muhammad ibn ‘abd al-‘aziz informed us> muhammad ibn al-husayn> muhammad ibn yahya ibn yazid> ishaq ibn ibrahim> ‘attab ibn bashir> khusayf> ‘ikrimah who reported that the women asked about jihad, saying: “we wish that allah had prescribed military conquest for us so that we acquire the same reward that men do”, and so allah, exalted is he, revealed this verse (and covet not the thing in which allah hath made some of you excel others). said qatadah and al-suddi: “when the words of allah (… unto the male the equivalent of the share of two females…) [4:176], the men said: ‘we hope that we shall be preferred over women through our rewards in the afterlife just as we were preferred over them in the division of estate so that our reward is double the reward of women’. the women, on the other hand, said: ‘we hope that our onus will be half that of men in the afterlife just as our share of estate is half that of men in this world’. and so allah, exalted is he, revealed (and covet not the thing in which allah hath made some of you excel others)”.