Tafsir

The Prophets and Angels Are Never too Proud to Worship Allah

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibn `Abbas said that, `proud', means insolent. Qatadah said that,الْمَسِيحُ أَن يَكُونَ عَبْداً للَّهِ وَلاَ الْمَلَـئِكَةُ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ(Al-Masih will never be too proud to be a servant of Allah nor the angels who are near (to Allah).) they will never be arrogant, Allah then said,وَمَن يَسْتَنْكِفْ عَنْ عِبَادَتِهِ وَيَسْتَكْبِرْ فَسَيَحْشُرُهُمْ إِلَيهِ جَمِيعاً(And whosoever rejects His worship and is proud, then He will gather them all together unto Himself.) on the Day of Resurrection.

Then, Allah will judge between them with His just judgment that is never unjust or wrong.فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَـتِ فَيُوَفِّيهِمْ أُجُورَهُمْ وَيَزيدُهُمْ مِّن فَضْلِهِ(So, as for those who believed and did deeds of righteousness, He will give their (due) rewards, and more out of His bounty.) Allah will award them their full rewards for their righteous actions and will give them more of His bounty, kindness, ample mercy and favor.وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ اسْتَنكَفُواْ وَاسْتَكْبَرُواْ(But as for those who refused His worship and were proud, ) out of arrogance, they refused to obey and worship Him,فَيُعَذِّبُهُمْ عَذَاباً أَلُيماً وَلاَ يَجِدُونَ لَهُمْ مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلِيّاً وَلاَ نَصِيراً(He will punish them with a painful torment. And they will not find for themselves besides Allah any protector or helper.) In another Ayah, Allah said,إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِى سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَخِرِينَ(Verily!

Those who scorn My worship, they will surely enter Hell in humiliation,) degradation, disgrace and dishonor, for they were arrogant and rebellious.

From the affirmation of Allah's absolute purity and the refutation of assumed Godhood of Sayyidna 'Isa (علیہ السلام) earlier, the text now moves to further strengthen the argument by showing that Sayyidna 'Isa (علیہ السلام) would himself confess to being a servant of Allah and so will the angels (which includes Sayyidna Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) alleged to be a person of Trinity). Then, follows the warning for those who choose to retract in distaste and the good news for those who believe and are good in deeds for they will be rewarded for their belief and deeds with many more added graces from Allah.

Commentary

The Honour of being a servant of Allah

Maulana Shabbir Ahmad ` Usmani, in his comments on the opening statement of Verse 172: لَّن يَسْتَنكِفَ الْمَسِيحُ أَن يَكُونَ عَبْدًا لِّلَّـهِ (The Masih shall never spurn being a slave of Allah, nor shall the angels, the close ones), says that so it is because being a servant of Allah, being devoted to His worship and being obedient to His will and command, is an honour by itself and certainly a nobility of the highest class. Sayyidna Masih (علیہ السلام) and the close angels are the best testifiers to the worth and value of this blessing. How could they spurn an honour like that? Quite contrary to this, the worst disgrace and dishonour there can be imagined lies in worshipping someone other than Allah. This is what the Christians did when they took Sayyidna Masih (علیہ السلام) as the son of Allah and the object of their worship. Similar was the case with disbelievers who took angels as daughters of Allah and started worshipping them alongwith their idols. So, for them, there is punishment, and disgrace. (Notes in Tafsir Usmani)

لن يَأْنف ولن يمتنع المسيح أن يكون عبدًا لله، وكذلك لن يأنَفَ الملائكة المُقَرَّبون من الإقرار بالعبودية لله تعالى. ومن يأنف عن الانقياد والخضوع ويستكبر فسيحشرهم كلهم إليه يوم القيامة، ويفصلُ بينهم بحكمه العادل، ويجازي كلا بما يستحق.

قال ابن أبي حاتم : حدثنا أبي ، حدثنا إبراهيم بن موسى ، حدثنا ، عن ابن جريج ، عن عطاء ، عن ابن عباس قوله : ( لن يستنكف المسيح أن يكون عبدا لله ) لن يستكبر .وقال قتادة : لن يحتشم ( المسيح أن يكون عبدا لله ولا الملائكة المقربون ) وقد استدل بعض من ذهب إلى تفضيل الملائكة على البشر بهذه الآية حيث قال : ( ولا الملائكة المقربون ) وليس له في ذلك دلالة ; لأنه إنما عطف الملائكة على المسيح ; لأن الاستنكاف هو الامتناع ، والملائكة أقدر على ذلك من المسيح ; فلهذا قال : ( ولا الملائكة المقربون ) ولا يلزم من كونهم أقوى وأقدر على الامتناع أن يكونوا أفضل .وقيل : إنما ذكروا ; لأنهم اتخذوا آلهة مع الله ، كما اتخذ المسيح ، فأخبر تعالى أنهم عبيد من عبيده وخلق من خلقه ، كما قال الله تعالى : ( وقالوا اتخذ الرحمن ولدا سبحانه بل عباد مكرمون [ لا يسبقونه بالقول وهم بأمره يعملون . يعلم ما بين أيديهم وما خلفهم ولا يشفعون إلا لمن ارتضى وهم من خشيته مشفقون . ومن يقل منهم إني إله من دونه فذلك نجزيه جهنم كذلك نجزي الظالمين ] ) الأنبياء : [ 26 - 29 ] .ثم قال : ( ومن يستنكف عن عبادته ويستكبر فسيحشرهم إليه جميعا ) أي : فيجمعهم إليه يوم القيامة ، ويفصل بينهم بحكمه العدل ، الذي لا يجور فيه ولا يحيف