Surah Nisa ayat 136 Tafsir Quran 4:136

﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا آمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ مِن قَبْلُ ۚ وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا بَعِيدًا﴾
[ النساء: 136]

4:136 O you who have believed, believe in Allah and His Messenger and the Book that He sent down upon His Messenger and the Scripture which He sent down before. And whoever disbelieves in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day has certainly gone far astray.

O you who believe believe with perseverance in God and His Messenger and the Book which has been revealed to His Messenger Muhammad (s) and that is the Qur’ān; and the Book which was revealed before to the messengers namely the scriptures a variant reading for nuzzila and unzila ‘was revealed’ has the active form for both verbs nazzala and anzala ‘He revealed’. And whoever disbelieves in God and His angels and His Books and His messengers and the Last Day verily he has strayed far away from the truth.

O you who have conformed to Islam: Believe in Allah with hearts impressed with the image of religious and spiritual virtues, and acknowledge His Messenger and give credence to the Book He has sent down to him- the Quran- and to the Book He sent down before. And he, who denies Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers and the Day of Resurrection, shall have erred and strayed far deep in the maze of error

The Order to Have Faith after Believing Allah commands His faithful servants to adhere to all the elements of faith, its branches, pillars and cornerstones.
This is not stated as mere redundancy, but from the view of completing faith and the continual maintenence of it.
For instance, the believer proclaims in every prayer, اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ ( Guide us to the straight way. ) which means, make us aware of the straight path and increase us in guidance and strengthen us on it.
In this Ayah 4:136, Allah commands the believers to believe in Him and in His Messenger, just as He said elsewhere, يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ وَءَامِنُواْ بِرَسُولِهِ ( O you who believe! Have Taqwa of Allah, and believe in His Messenger, ).
Allah's statement, وَالْكِتَـبِ الَّذِى نَزَّلَ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ ( and the Book which He has sent down to His Messenger, ) refers to the Qur'an, while, وَالْكِتَـبِ الَّذِى أَنَزلَ مِن قَبْلُ ( and the Scripture which He sent down to those before (him );) refers to the previously revealed divine Books.
Allah then said, وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَـئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الاٌّخِرِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَـلاً بَعِيداً ( and whosoever disbelieves in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Last Day, then indeed he has strayed far away. ) meaning, he will have deviated from the correct guidance and strayed far away from its path. إِنَّ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ثُمَّ كَفَرُواْ ثُمَّ ءَامَنُواْ ثُمَّ كَفَرُواْ ثُمَّ ازْدَادُواْ كُفْراً لَّمْ يَكُنْ اللَّهُ لِيَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ وَلاَ لِيَهْدِيَهُمْ سَبِيلاً - بَشِّرِ الْمُنَـفِقِينَ بِأَنَّ لَهُمْ عَذَاباً أَلِيماً

(4:136) Believers! Believe *166 in Allah and His Messenger and in the Book He has revealed to His Messenger, and in the Book He revealed before. And whoever disbelieves *167 in Allah, in His angels, in His Books, in His Messengers and in the Last Day, has indeed strayed far away.

O you who have believed, believe in meaning

*166).
To ask believers to believe might at first seem strange.
The fact is, however, that belief as used here has two meanings.
First, belief denotes that a man has preferred to acknowledge the soundness of true guidance, to distance himself from the fold of those who disbelieve, and to join the camp of the believers.
Second, belief denotes faith, a man's believing in the truth with all his heart, with full earnestness and sincerity.
It denotes man's sincere determination to mould his way of thinking, his taste and temperament, his likes and dislikes, his conduct and character, his friendship and enmity, and the direction of his efforts and striving, in conformity with the creed which he has resolved to embrace.
This verse is addressed to all those who are 'believers' in the first sense of the term, and they are asked to change themselves into true believers, i.e.
believers in the second sense.

*167).
Kufr has two meanings.
One signifies categorical rejection.
The other signifies that pretence of belief even when either one's heart is not convinced or one's conduct is flagrantly opposed to the demands of one's belief.
Here the term Kufr conveys both meanings, and the verse aims at impressing upon people that whichever kind of Kufr they adopt in respect of the fundamental beliefs of Islam, it will only alienate them from the Truth, and lead them instead to falsehood, and ultimately to their tragic failure and destruction.

 

The Order to Have Faith after Believing Allah commands His faithful servants to adhere to all the elements of faith, its branches, pillars and cornerstones.
This is not stated as mere redundancy, but from the view of completing faith and the continual maintenence of it.
For instance, the believer proclaims in every prayer, اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ ( Guide us to the straight way. ) which means, make us aware of the straight path and increase us in guidance and strengthen us on it.
In this Ayah 4:136, Allah commands the believers to believe in Him and in His Messenger, just as He said elsewhere, يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ وَءَامِنُواْ بِرَسُولِهِ ( O you who believe! Have Taqwa of Allah, and believe in His Messenger, ).
Allah's statement, وَالْكِتَـبِ الَّذِى نَزَّلَ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ ( and the Book which He has sent down to His Messenger, ) refers to the Qur'an, while, وَالْكِتَـبِ الَّذِى أَنَزلَ مِن قَبْلُ ( and the Scripture which He sent down to those before (him );) refers to the previously revealed divine Books.
Allah then said, وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَـئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الاٌّخِرِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَـلاً بَعِيداً ( and whosoever disbelieves in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Last Day, then indeed he has strayed far away. ) meaning, he will have deviated from the correct guidance and strayed far away from its path. إِنَّ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ثُمَّ كَفَرُواْ ثُمَّ ءَامَنُواْ ثُمَّ كَفَرُواْ ثُمَّ ازْدَادُواْ كُفْراً لَّمْ يَكُنْ اللَّهُ لِيَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ وَلاَ لِيَهْدِيَهُمْ سَبِيلاً - بَشِّرِ الْمُنَـفِقِينَ بِأَنَّ لَهُمْ عَذَاباً أَلِيماً

( O ye who believe ) O you who believed on the day of the covenant and disbelieved thereafter! ( Believe ) now ( in Allah and His messenger ) it is also said that Allah called them by the name of their forefathers who had believed in the past. This verse was revealed regarding ’Abdullah Ibn Salam, Asad and Usayd the sons of Ka’b, Tha’labah Ibn Qays and Salam and Salamah, the nephews of ’Abdullah Ibn Salam, and Yamin Ibn Yamin. These were the believers from among the people of the Torah. It was said about them: O you who believe in Moses and the Torah, believe in Allah and His Messenger Muhammad ( and the Scripture which He hath revealed unto His messenger ) Muhammad, i.e. the Qur’an, ( and the Scripture which He revealed aforetime ) before Muhammad and the Qur’an upon all past prophets. ( Whoso disbelieveth in Allah and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers and the Last Day ) resurrection after death, ( he verily hath wandered far astray. ) When this verse was revealed all the people mentioned above embraced Islam.

O you who believe! Believe in Allah, and His Messenger (Muhammad SAW), and the Book (the Quran) which He has sent down to His Messenger, and the Scripture which He sent down to those before (him), and whosoever disbelieves in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Last Day, then indeed he has strayed far away.

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