Surah At-Tawbah 9:115

Recompense comes after Proof is established

Allah describes His Honorable Self and just judgment in that He does not lead a people astray but after the Message comes to them, so that the proof is established against them. For instance, Allah said,

(And as for Thamud, We showed and made clear to them the path of truth ...) 41:17. Mujahid commented on Allah's saying;

(And Allah will never lead a people astray after He has guided them) "Allah the Mighty and Sublime is clarifying to the believers about not seeking forgiveness for the idolators in particular, and in general, it is an exhortation to beware of disobeying Him, and encouragement to obey Him. So either do or suffer." Ibn Jarir commented, "Allah says that He would not direct you to misguidance, so that you invoke Him for forgiveness for your dead idolators, after He gave you guidance and directed you to believe in Him and in His Messenger ! First, He will inform you of what you should avoid, so that you avoid it. Before He informs you that this action is not allowed, you would not have disobeyed Him and fallen into what He prohibited for you if you indulge in this action. Therefore, in this case, He will not allow you to be misguided. Verily, guidance or misguidance occurs after commands and prohibitions are established. As for those who were neither commanded nor prohibited, they can neither be obedient nor disobedient in doing what they were neither ordered nor prohibited from doing." Allah said,

(Indeed to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, He gives life and He causes death. And besides Allah you have neither any protector nor any helper.) Ibn Jarir commented, "This is an encouragement from Allah for His believing servants to fight the idolators and chiefs of disbelief. It is also a command for them to trust in Allah's aid, for He is the Owner of the heavens and earth, and not to fear His enemies. Verily, they have no protector besides Allah, nor a supporter other than Him."

Dalam ayat ini Allah menegaskan bahwa apabila satu kaum benar-benar telah diberi petunjuk, dan telah dilapangkan dada mereka untuk menerima agama Islam, maka Dia sekali-sekali tidak akan menganggap kaum tersebut sebagai orang-orang yang sesat, lalu Dia memperlakukan mereka sama dengan orang-orang yang benar-benar sesat, yang patut dicela dan disiksa. Allah tidak akan berbuat demikian apabila mereka hanya berbuat satu kesalahan, baik dengan ucapan maupun dengan perbuatan yang disebabkan kesalahan ijtihad mereka. Allah tidak akan mencela dan menyiksa mereka karena kesalahan semacam itu, sampai mereka benar-benar paham ajaran-ajaran agama, baik berupa larangan yang harus mereka hindari, maupun perintah yang harus dikerjakan.

Pada akhir ayat ini ditegaskan bahwa Allah amat mengetahui segala sesuatu, termasuk kebutuhan manusia terhadap keterangan dan penjelasan. Oleh sebab itu, Allah telah menjelaskan masalah-masalah yang penting dalam agama dengan penjelasan yang pasti dalam firman-Nya, sehingga kaum Muslimin akan dapat mencapai kebenaran dalam ijtihad mereka dan tidak akan tergoda oleh hawa nafsu mereka.

Itulah sebabnya Allah tidak menyalahkan Nabi Ibrahim ketika ia memohon ampun untuk bapaknya sebab hal itu dilakukan sebelum ia mendapat bukti dan keterangan yang jelas tentang keadaan ayahnya. Setelah ia mendapat keterangan dan bukti-bukti yang jelas, maka ia segera menghentikan doanya.

Demikian pula, Allah tidak akan menimpakan hukuman terhadap Nabi Muhammad saw dan orang-orang mukmin yang telah memohonkan ampun kepada Allah untuk ibu bapak dan kaum kerabat mereka yang telah mati dalam kekafiran, apabila hal itu dilakukan sebelum memperoleh keterangan yang jelas mengenai ketentuan Allah dalam masalah tersebut.