Al Mizan- Vol 9 Chapter 4 (v 77-176)

This second edition, volume 9 of Tafsīr al-Mīzān comprises the tafsīr of verses 77-176 of Sūrah Āl-Nisāʾ, which is a continuation from Eng. volume 8, and the first three verses of Sūrah al-Māʾidah.

The first discussion in this volume under Chapter 4 is on the attribution of good and evil to God. The discussion shows first that all good comes from God because every good thing is His creation and the creation is not separable from goodness; second, no harm, evil or misfortune is attributable to God because evil, per se, is not created, and He is the Creator. ʿAllāmah says that when God withholds His mercy from people because of what their hands have done, it is called misfortune, calamity or evil.

The second important discussion in this volume is on the meaning of al-ʾIsmah (usually translated as “sinlessness”). In this discussion, we learn that the basic factor from which al-ʾIsmah emanates is a sort of knowledge that prevents the knower from indulging in sin and mistake. In other words, knowledge prevents one from going astray.

 This volume ends with the commentary of three verses of Chapter 5,  Sūrah al-Māʾidah. The first discussion under this sūrah concerns the Qur’anic sense of ʿaqd (contract). Concerning the verse, …The cattle quadrupeds are allowed to you … (5:1), and its following verse, the permissibility of the flesh of various animals, is discussed. ʿAllāmah discusses this issue logically and scientifically in three sections, and the Islamic view in this respect is compared with those of other religions.