وقد نزل عليكم في الكتاب أن إذا سمعتم آيات الله يكفر بها ويستهزأ بها فلا تقعدوا معهم حتى يخوضوا في حديث غيره إنكم إذا مثلهم … · الذين يتربصون بكم فإن كان لكم فتح من الله قالوا ألم نكن معكم
Wa qad nazzala ʿalaykum fi'l-kitābi an idhā samiʿtum āyāti'llāhi yukfaru bihā wa yustahzaʾu bihā fa-lā taqʿudū maʿahum ḥattā yakhūḍū fī ḥadīthin ghayrih, innakum idhan mithluhum … · Alladhīna yatarabbaṣūna bikum fa-in kāna lakum fatḥun mina'llāhi qālū a-lam nakun maʿakum
"It has already been sent down to you in the Book: when you hear God's verses being denied and mocked, do not sit with them until they pass to some other talk; otherwise you are like them… Those who wait to see what happens to you: if a victory comes to you from God they say, 'were we not with you?'"
The most striking side of this verse is that the ruling is found in another sūra as well, and that the verse says so itself: wa qad nazzala ʿalaykum fi'l-kitāb — "it has already been sent down to you in the Book."
وَإِذَا رَأَيْتَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَخُوضُونَ فِىٓ ءَايَٰتِنَا فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ حَتَّىٰ يَخُوضُوا۟ فِى حَدِيثٍ غَيْرِهِۦ "When you see those who talk idly about Our verses, turn away from them until they pass to some other talk." (al-Anʿām 6/68)
| al-Anʿām 6/68 | al-Nisāʾ 4/140 | |
|---|---|---|
| What triggers it | Raʾayta — when you see | Samiʿtum — when you hear |
| Who is addressed | Singular — fa-aʿriḍ | Plural — fa-lā taqʿudū |
| The command | Aʿriḍ ʿanhum — turn away | Lā taqʿudū maʿahum — do not sit with them |
| The limit | Ḥattā yakhūḍū fī ḥadīthin ghayrih | Ḥattā yakhūḍū fī ḥadīthin ghayrih |
| Added qualification | — | Innakum idhan mithluhum |
And the fourth row must be recorded separately: the clause of limit is word for word identical in the two sūras. This is a countable fact.
"And the limit of the command is worth recording: ḥattā yakhūḍū fī ḥadīthin ghayrih — until they pass to some other talk. I record this as my own reading: the turning away is not without term; it is tied to the subject. And it is tied not to persons but to what is being said. That is, the separation is not set up as a permanent break."
I rely on that treatment and keep that record here too. This is a textual ground for the method's rule against sweeping rulings: the command is tied not to a person but to a subject.
And the qualification al-Nisāʾ adds must be recorded: innakum idhan mithluhum — "then you are like them".
I record this as my own reading, and its ground is the difference between the two verses: the command in al-Anʿām states a turning away; the command in al-Nisāʾ counts the sitting together itself as a taking part. Al-Nisāʾ adds the ground of the ruling.
The root ر-ب-ص: to watch and wait for something to happen. Tarabbuṣ (Form V) — to wait and watch for an opportunity.
And the word order of the verse must be recorded: both possibilities are counted, and in each the words spoken are given.
| Case | What is said |
|---|---|
| In kāna lakum fatḥun mina'llāh | A-lam nakun maʿakum — were we not with you |
| Wa in kāna li'l-kāfirīna naṣīb | A-lam nastaḥwidh ʿalaykum wa namnaʿkum mina'l-muʾminīn |
And the word naṣīb occurs here for the seventh time in the sūra. The word's distribution in the sūra will be set out in a table in the concluding section.
I record this as an observation about word order: the verse describes a disposition by two separate sayings in the face of two opposite outcomes. The description is tied not to a person but to the changing of the words.