An-Nisa · Madani · ayah 94 of 176

An-Nisa 4:94

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ فَتَبَيَّنُوا۟ وَلَا تَقُولُوا۟ لِمَنْ أَلْقَىٰٓ إِلَيْكُمُ ٱلسَّلَـٰمَ لَسْتَ مُؤْمِنًا تَبْتَغُونَ عَرَضَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا فَعِندَ ٱللَّهِ مَغَانِمُ كَثِيرَةٌ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ كُنتُم مِّن قَبْلُ فَمَنَّ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ فَتَبَيَّنُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًا

“O you who have believed, when you go forth [to fight] in the cause of Allāh, investigate; and do not say to one who gives you [a greeting of] peace, "You are not a believer,"[211] aspiring for the goods of worldly life; for with Allāh are many acquisitions. You [yourselves] were like that before; then Allāh conferred His favor [i.e., guidance] upon you, so investigate. Indeed Allāh is ever, of what you do, Aware.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Before any verdict on someone's faith, look again until it is clear: gain quietly bends judgement, and only Allah sees inside a heart.

A reflection

Did you split open his heart?

The ayah closes with a quiet sentence that holds everything before it. Inna Allāha kāna bi-mā taʿmalūna khabīrā: Allah is ever aware of what you do.

Khabīr has a particular depth. The lexicons say khubr is knowing a thing from the inside, as one knows a person after testing him. The Arabs set a man's makhbar, what he proves to be, against his manẓar, how he looks. People see the manẓar. Allah alone sees the makhbar of every heart, without needing to test it.

Sahih Muslim records Usama ibn Zayd's own account of a raid. A man he had overtaken said there is no god but Allah, and Usama struck him. Back in Madinah he told the Prophet ﷺ the man had said it only from fear of the weapon. The reply came as a question. Did you split open his heart, to know whether he said it or not? And he kept repeating it.

That question shrinks something in every one of us. The ego loves to read hearts. He only prays to be seen. She only gives so people will talk. Each verdict quietly claims a knowledge that belongs to Al-Khabīr alone.

Picture a store detective stopping a teenage boy at a supermarket exit. He empties the boy's rucksack onto the floor while the queue watches. Bread, a phone charger, a bottle of squash. The receipt was in the boy's coat pocket the whole time. The detective had been certain. Certainty was all he had.

Is this reminder of His awareness a God needing to be watched and feared? Here it works the other way. His knowledge was the shepherd's protection, not His own need. The man with the small flock had no tribe beside him and no witness. The One who knew his heart spoke for him, in words recited ever since.

The humility asked of us is simple. Leave the inside of people to the One who made it.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.