Surah An-Nisa 4:64

The Necessity of Obeying the Messenger ﷺ

Allah said,

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن رَّسُولٍ إلاَّ لِيُطَاعَ

(We sent no Messenger, but to be obeyed) meaning, obeying the Prophet was ordained for those to whom Allah sends the Prophet. Allah's statement,

بِإِذُنِ اللَّهِ

(by Allah's leave) means, "None shall obey, except by My leave," according to Mujahid. This Ayah indicates that the Prophets are only obeyed by whomever Allah directs to obedience. In another Ayah, Allah said,

وَلَقَدْ صَدَقَكُمُ اللَّهُ وَعْدَهُ إِذْ تَحُسُّونَهُمْ بِإِذْنِهِ

(And Allah did indeed fulfill His promise to you when you were killing them (your enemy) with His permission) meaning, by His command, decree, will and because He granted you superiority over them. Allah's statement,

وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذ ظَّلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ

(If they (hypocrites), when they had been unjust to themselves,) directs the sinners and evildoers, when they commit errors and mistakes, to come to the Messenger ﷺ, so that they ask Allah for forgiveness in his presence and ask him to supplicate to Allah to forgive them. If they do this, Allah will forgive them and award them His mercy and pardon. This is why Allah said,

لَوَجَدُواْ اللَّهَ تَوَّاباً رَّحِيماً

(they would have found Allah All-Forgiving (One Who forgives and accepts repentance), Most Merciful).

One Does not Become a Believer Unless He Refers to the Messenger ﷺ for Judgment and Submits to his Decisions

Allah said,

فَلاَ وَرَبِّكَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ

(But no, by your Lord, they can have no faith, until they make you judge in all disputes between them,) Allah swears by His Glorious, Most Honorable Self, that no one shall attain faith until he refers to the Messenger ﷺ for judgment in all matters. Thereafter, whatever the Messenger ﷺ commands, is the plain truth that must be submitted to inwardly and outwardly. Allah said,

ثُمَّ لاَ يَجِدُواْ فِى أَنفُسِهِمْ حَرَجاً مِّمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُواْ تَسْلِيماً

(and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.) meaning: they adhere to your judgment, and thus do not feel any hesitation over your decision, and they submit to it inwardly and outwardly. They submit to the Prophet's decision with total submission without any rejection, denial or dispute. Al-Bukhari recorded that `Urwah said, "Az-Zubayr quarreled with a man about a stream which both of them used for irrigation. Allah's Messenger ﷺ said to Az-Zubayr,

«اسْقِ يَا زُبَيْرُ ثُمَّ أَرْسِلِ الْمَاءَ إِلى جَارِك»

(O Zubayr! Irrigate (your garden) first, and then let the water flow to your neighbor.) The Ansari became angry and said, `O Allah's Messenger! Is it because he is your cousin' On that, the face of Allah's Messenger changed color (because of anger) and said,

«اسْقِ يَا زُبَيْرُ ثُمَّ احْبِسِ الْمَاءَ حَتَّى يَرْجِعَ إِلَى الْجَدْرِ،ثُمَّ أَرْسِلِ الْمَاءَ إِلى جَارِك»

(Irrigate (your garden), O Zubayr, and then withhold the water until it reaches the walls (surrounding the palms). Then, release the water to your neighbor.) So, Allah's Messenger ﷺ gave Az-Zubayr his full right when the Ansari made him angry. Before that, Allah's Messenger ﷺ had given a generous judgment, beneficial for Az-Zubayr and the Ansari. Az-Zubayr said, `I think the following verse was revealed concerning that case,

فَلاَ وَرَبِّكَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ

(But no, by your Lord, they can have no faith, until they make you (O Muhammad ) judge in all disputes between them.)"' Another Reason In his Tafsir, Al-Hafiz Abu Ishaq Ibrahim bin `Abdur-Rahman bin Ibrahim bin Duhaym recorded that Damrah narrated that two men took their dispute to the Prophet , and he gave a judgment to the benefit of whoever among them had the right. The person who lost the dispute said, "I do not agree." The other person asked him, "What do you want then" He said, "Let us go to Abu Bakr As-Siddiq." They went to Abu Bakr and the person who won the dispute said, "We went to the Prophet with our dispute and he issued a decision in my favor." Abu Bakr said, "Then the decision is that which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ issued." The person who lost the dispute still rejected the decision and said, "Let us go to `Umar bin Al-Khattab." When they went to `Umar, the person who won the dispute said, "We took our dispute to the Prophet and he decided in my favor, but this man refused to submit to the decision." `Umar bin Al-Khattab asked the second man and he concurred. `Umar went to his house and emerged from it holding aloft his sword. He struck the head of the man who rejected the Prophet's decision with the sword and killed him. Consequently, Allah revealed,

فَلاَ وَرَبِّكَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ

(But no, by your Lord, they can have no faith).

Bagian pertama dari ayat ini menerangkan bahwa setiap rasul yang diutus Allah ke dunia ini semenjak dari dahulu sampai kepada Nabi Muhammad saw wajib ditaati dengan izin (perintah) Allah, karena tugas risalah mereka adalah sama, yaitu untuk menunjukkan umat manusia ke jalan yang benar dan kebahagiaan hidup mereka di dunia dan di akhirat.

Dalam ayat ini dikaitkan taat itu dengan izin Allah, maksudnya bahwa tidak ada satu makhluk pun yang boleh ditaati melainkan dengan izin Allah atau sesuai dengan perintah-Nya, seperti menaati rasul, ulil amri, ibu bapak dan sebagainya, selama mereka tidak menyuruh berbuat maksiat, sesuai dengan hadis yang diriwayatkan oleh Ali bin Abi thalib yang berbunyi:

"Tidak boleh menaati manusia yang menyuruh melanggar perintah Allah" (Riwayat al-Bukhari dan Muslim dari Ali bin Abi thalib).

"Sesungguhnya yang ditaati itu hanya perintah berbuat makruf, (Riwayat Ahmad, Muslim, Abu Dawud dan an-Nasa'i).

Bagian kedua sampai akhir ayat ini menerangkan: Andaikata orang yang menganiaya dirinya sendiri yaitu orang yang bertahkim kepada thagut seperti tersebut pada ayat 60, datang kepada Nabi Muhammad ketika itu, lalu mereka memohon ampun kepada Allah, dan Rasul pun turut memohon agar mereka diampuni, niscaya Allah akan mengampuni mereka, karena Allah Maha Penerima tobat, Maha Penyayang.

Di dalam ayat ini disebutkan orang-orang yang bertahkim kepada thagut itu adalah orang-orang yang menganiaya diri sendiri, karena mereka melakukan kesalahan besar dan membangkang tidak mau sadar. Beberapa syarat yang harus dipenuhi oleh orang yang bertobat agar tobatnya diterima oleh Tuhan, antara lain:

a. Tobat itu dilakukan seketika itu juga, artinya segera setelah membuat kesalahan.

b.Hendaklah tobat itu merupakan tobat nasuha, artinya benar-benar menyesal atas kesalahan-kesalahan yang diperbuat dan tidak akan mengulangi lagi.

c. Bila ada hak orang lain yang dilanggar, hak orang itu haruslah diselesaikan lebih dahulu dengan meminta maaf dan mengembalikan/mengganti kerugian.

Sebab turunnya ayat ini berhubungan dengan peristiwa berikut sebagaimana yang diriwayatkan oleh al-Bukhari, Muslim dan perawi-perawi lain. Mereka menceritakan bahwa Zubair bin 'Awwam mengadukan seorang laki-laki dari kaum Ansar kepada Rasulullah saw dalam suatu persengketaan tentang pembagian air untuk kebun kurma. Rasulullah memberi putusan seraya berkata kepada Zubair, "Airilah kebunmu itu lebih dahulu kemudian alirkanlah air itu kepada kebun tetanggamu". Maka laki-laki itu berkata, "Apakah karena dia anak bibimu hai Rasulullah?" Maka berubahlah muka Rasulullah karena mendengar tuduhan tentang itu. Rasulullah berkata lagi (untuk menguatkan putusannya) "Airilah hai Zubair, kebunmu itu sehingga air itu meratainya, kemudian alirkanlah kepada kebun tetanggamu". Maka turunlah ayat ini.