Transliteration:( Wa la udillannahum wa la umanni yannnahum wa la aamurannahum fala yubat tikunna aazaanal an'aami wa la aamurannahum fala yughai yirunna khalqal laah; wa mai yattakhizish Shaitaana waliyyam min doonil laahi faqad khasira khusraanam mubeena )
“And I will certainly lead them astray, and I will arouse in them (sinful) desires [361] and will command that so they will cut the ears of cattle [362], and I will command that so they will change the creation of Allah [363]. And he who takes Shaitaan for a friend [364], besides Allah, has certainly sustained a clear loss.”
It should be remembered that if desires for long life, material wealth, and similar things become obstacles in remembering Allah Almighty, then such desires are from the devil.
However, if these desires are directed as means to please Allah Almighty, such as wealth spent in charity or good health used in worship, they are acts of worship.
From this we learn that acts like revering cows, decorating animals during festivals like Diwali and Holi, or following the customs of polytheists are included among the works of the devil.
It is obligatory for Muslims to refrain from such practices. To honor their festivals, show respect to the River Ganges, or adopt such symbolic gestures is considered acts of disbelief.
This verse shows that Allah has granted the devil certain knowledge of future events, for what he claimed is visibly happening today.
If disease (misguidance) has power, then treatment (guidance) must be more powerful.
The devil is the disease, and the Prophets and Saints are the cure.
An example of altering Allah’s creation is the shaving of the beard, which is prohibited for men.
Just as a woman is forbidden from shaving her head, it is also forbidden for men to shave their beards, as it represents tampering with Allah’s design.
This verse serves as a commentary on all those verses that prohibit taking others as friends besides Allah Almighty.
It clearly shows that the so-called friend besides Allah is in fact the devil, and those who follow him.
One must understand the distinction between:
Friends of Allah Almighty, and
Friends besides Allah, who are followers of the devil.
Being mindful of this difference is essential, as friendship with Shaitaan leads to clear loss, both in this world and the hereafter.
The tafsir of Surah Nisa verse 119 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Nisa ayat 116 which provides the complete commentary from verse 116 through 122.
(4:119) and shall lead them astray, and shall engross them in vain desires, and I shall command them and they will cut off the ears of the cattle,[147] and I shall command them and they will disfigure Allah’s creation.’[148] He who took Satan rather than Allah for his guardian has indeed suffered a man-ifest loss.
147. The reference here is to a superstitious Arabian custom. It was customary among the Arabs that after a camel had given birth to five or ten young to slit her ears and let her go in the name of their deity; they considered it forbidden to put her to any work. Likewise, the male camel that had caused the birth of ten camels was consecrated to some deity. The slitting of ears symbolized this consecration.
148. To alter God’s creation in some respect does not mean changing its original form. If that was meant, human civilization would have to be considered Satanic in its entirety. For civilization consists essentially of man’s putting to use the resources endowed by God. Hence the alteration of God’s creation, which is characterized as Satanic, consists in using a thing not for the purpose for which it was created by God. In other words, all acts performed in violation either of one’s true nature or of the intrinsic nature of other things are the result of the misleading promptings of Satan. These include, for instance, sodomy, birth control, monasticism, celibacy, sterilization of either men or women, turning males into eunuchs, diverting females from the functions entrusted to them by nature and driving them to perform the functions for which men were created. These and numerous similar measures are enacted by Satan’s disciples in this world, which amounts on their part, to saying that the laws of the Creator were faulty and that they would like to ‘reform’ them.
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