Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The Children of Israel were commanded to enter (the gate of Jerusalem) bowing and to say, "We seek forgiveness for our sins; your sins will be forgiven." But the Children of Israel acted against the command and entered the gate dragging themselves on their buttocks and saying, "A grain in the ear" (meaning: we want wheat).

Abu Ishaq says: I heard from Sayyiduna Bara’ (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: When the Ansar would return after performing Hajj, they would not enter their houses through the door, but would climb over from the back (wall). One Ansari came and entered through the door, so people talked to him about this. Then this verse was revealed: "It is not righteousness that you enter houses from the back, but righteousness is to fear Allah, and enter houses through their doors."

The hadith of Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) has already been mentioned in the Book of Virtues in this chapter (see Hadith: 1608).

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) says that when this verse was revealed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): (Allah’s is whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth...) meaning,“Whatever is in the heavens and the earth belongs to Allah. Whether you disclose what is in your hearts or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it. Then He will forgive whom He wills and punish whom He wills, and Allah has power over all things,”this verse was very hard on the Companions. They came to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and sat down on their knees. Then they said,“O Messenger of Allah! (Previously) we were made responsible for acts such as prayer, fasting, jihad, and charity, which we had the strength to do, but now this verse has been revealed to you, and we do not have the strength for it.”The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,“Do you want to say what the people of the two books (the Jews and Christians) before you said (that is, they said), ‘We have heard and we disobey,’ that we have heard (the word of Allah and His Messenger) but we do not accept it? Rather, you should say, ‘We have heard and we obey. O our Lord, we seek Your forgiveness, and to You is our return.’”So the Companions said,“We have heard and we obey. We seek forgiveness for our sins, O our Lord! And to You is our return.”When the Companions began to recite this, it became easy for their tongues to recite it, so Allah revealed these verses: (The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him...) meaning,“The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has believed in what was sent down to him from his Lord, and the believers (have believed as well). All of them have believed in Allah, His angels, His books, and His messengers. (They all say) ‘We make no distinction between any of His messengers (we believe in all the messengers, not that we believe in some and not in others),’ and they said, ‘We have heard and we obey. O our Lord, we seek Your forgiveness, and to You is the return.’”When the Companions did this (that is, recited these verses and recited them sincerely), Allah abrogated the verse (Whether you disclose what is in your hearts...) and revealed the verse (Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity...) meaning,“Allah does not burden any soul beyond its capacity. For it is what it has earned, and against it is what it has earned. O our Lord, do not lay upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us.”So Allah said,“Yes.”“O our Lord, do not place upon us a burden greater than we have strength to bear.”So Allah said,“Yes.”“And pardon us, forgive us, have mercy on us. You are our Protector, so help us against the disbelieving people.”So Allah said,“Yes.”

‘Mother of the Believers, Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) says that’ the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse:“It is Allah who has sent down to you the Book; in it are verses that are clear and precise (muhkam), they are the foundation of the Book, and others are ambiguous (mutashabih, i.e., allegorical or with hidden meanings). Then those in whose hearts is deviation follow that which is ambiguous, seeking discord and seeking its interpretation, but no one knows its interpretation except Allah. And those firm in knowledge say: ‘We believe in it; all of it is from our Lord.’ And none take heed except those of understanding.”Mother of the Believers says that (after reciting) the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When you see those who pursue ambiguous verses, then avoid them, for they are the ones whom Allah has named (in the Qur’an). (That is, there is deviation in their hearts, so the believers should avoid such people.)

Narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, that there were some hypocrites during the blessed era of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, who would stay behind when you, peace and blessings be upon him, went out for battle, and they were pleased to remain at home behind the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Then when you, peace and blessings be upon him, returned, they would make excuses to you, swear oaths, and wish that people would praise them for deeds they had not done. Then Allah Almighty revealed this verse: "Do not think of those who rejoice for what they have done, and love to be praised for what they did not do, as being safe from the punishment; for them is a painful punishment."

It is narrated from Humaid bin Abdur Rahman bin Awf that Marwan said to his doorkeeper Rafi‘, "Go to Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and say: If every person among us who is pleased with what he has done and wants people to praise him for what he has not done were to be punished, then all of us would be punished (because this flaw exists in all of us)." So Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said, "What concern do you have with this verse? This verse was revealed regarding the People of the Book." Then Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) recited this verse ((wa idh akhadhallahu...)) to the end, and then recited the verse ((la tahsabanna alladhina...)). Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said, "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked the People of the Book about something, so they concealed it and instead told him something else. Then they left in such a state that they made the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) think that they had told him what he had asked, and they sought praise from him, and in their hearts they were pleased with what they had done (i.e., with concealing the real matter which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had asked them about). So Allah the Exalted says about them that they will be punished, and what is meant is the People of the Book."

Narrated from Sayyiduna Urwah bin Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) that he asked Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) about the statement of Allah, the Exalted:“If you fear that you will not be able to deal justly with the orphan girls, then marry those women who please you, two, three, or four.”She said: O my nephew! This verse refers to the orphan girl who is under the guardianship (i.e., upbringing, like a niece under her uncle’s care) and shares in his wealth (for example, in the uncle’s wealth). Then the guardian is attracted to her wealth and beauty and wishes to marry her, but does not deal justly with her regarding her dowry and does not give her as much dowry as others would be willing to give. So Allah, the Exalted, forbade marrying such girls except in the case when they act justly and are willing to give the full dowry. And they were commanded to marry other women who please them (instead of these orphans). Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) said: After this verse was revealed, people again asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about these girls, so Allah, the Exalted, revealed this verse:“They ask you concerning women. Say: Allah gives you a ruling about them, and what is recited to you in the Book concerning the orphan girls to whom you do not give what is prescribed for them and yet you desire to marry them.”Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: What Allah, the Exalted, mentioned,“If you fear that you will not be able to deal justly with the orphans, then marry those women who please you (other than them),”and Umm al-Mu’minin (may Allah be pleased with her) said: In the other verse, Allah’s statement,“and you desire to marry them,”means that one of you does not intend to marry that orphan girl who is under your care and is deficient in wealth and beauty. Thus, they were forbidden to marry that orphan woman who is wealthy and beautiful except in the case when they act justly (i.e., give them their full dowry and wealth, etc.). (The meaning is that in the beginning, people used to marry those orphan girls who were under their care and were wealthy and beautiful, but they would be dishonest with their wealth and not give the full dowry. In this case, in the verse at the beginning of the Surah, they were forbidden to marry them, but when the Companions asked about marrying them if it was better for the girls themselves, Allah, the Exalted, revealed verse 127 of Surah An-Nisa, stating that marrying them with justice is permissible and the best course of action.)

It is narrated from Umm al-Mu'minin Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) regarding this verse: "Whoever is rich, let him abstain (and whoever is poor, let him eat according to what is reasonable for him)," that this verse was revealed about the person who is the guardian of an orphan's wealth and manages and improves it. So if he is needy, he may eat from it according to what is customary (and if he is wealthy, he should not take anything).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) set out for the Battle of Uhud, and among those who were with him, some men turned back (they were hypocrites and were about three hundred). The companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) became divided into two groups regarding their case. Some said, "We will kill them," and others said, "No! We will not kill them." Then Allah the Exalted revealed this verse: "What is the matter with you that you are divided into two groups regarding the hypocrites?"