2. Huwal lazee khalaqakum faminkum kaafirunw wa min kum mu'min ; wallaahu bimaa ta'maloona Baseer
هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ فَمِنْكُمْ كَافِرٌ وَمِنْكُمْ مُؤْمِنٌ ۚ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
It is He Who has created you; and of you are some that are Unbelievers, and some that are Believers: and Allah sees well all that ye do.Recitation by Mishary Al-Alfasy
Name
The Surah takes its name from the sentence
Dhalika yaum-ut taghabun of verse 9, thereby implying that it is the Surah in
which the word at taghabun has occurred.
Period of Revelation
Muqatil and Kalbi say that it was partly revealed at Makkah and partly at
Madinah. Hadrat Abdullah bin Abbas and Ata bin Yasar say that vv. 1-13 were
revealed at Makkah and vv. 14-18 at Madinah. But the majority of commentators
regard the whole of the surah as a Madinan Revelation. Although there is no
internal evidence to help determine its exact period of revelation, yet a study
of its subject matter shows that it might probably have been sent down at an
early stage at Madinah. That is why it partly resembles the Makkah surahs and
partly the Madinan Surahs.
Theme and Subject Matter
The theme of this surah is invitation to the Faith and obedience (to Allah)
and the teaching of good morals. The sequence followed is that the first four
verses are addressed to all men; verses 5-10 to those men, who do not believe in
the invitation of the Qur'an; and verses 11-18 to those who accept and believe
in this invitation.
In the verses addressed to all men, they have been
made aware in a few brief sentences of the four fundamental truths:
First, that the universe in which they live is not Godless, but its Creator,
Master and Ruler is an All Powerful God, and everything in it testifies to His
being most Perfect and absolutely faultless.
Second, that the universe is
not without purpose and wisdom, but its Creator has created it with truth no one
should be under the delusion that it is a mock show, which began without a
purpose and will come to an end without a purpose.
Third, that the
excellent form that God has created you with and the choice that He has given
you to choose between belief and unbelief is not a useless and meaningless
activity so that it may be of no consequence whether you choose belief or
unbelief. In fact, God is watching as to how you exercise your choice.
Fourth, that you have not been created irresponsible and un-answerable. You have
to return ultimately to your Creator, and have to meet the Being who is aware of
everything in the universe, from Whom nothing is hidden, to Whom even the
innermost thoughts of the minds are known.
After stating these four
fundamental truths about the Universe and Man, the address turns to the people
who adopted the way of unbelief, and their attention is drawn to a phenomenon
which has persisted throughout human history, namely that nation after nation
has arisen and ultimately gone to its doom. Man by his intellect and reason has
been explaining this phenomenon in a thousand ways, but Allah tells the real
truth and declares that the fundamental causes of the destruction of the nations
were only two:
First, that they refused to believe in the Messengers whom
He sent for their guidance, with the result that Allah too left them to
themselves, and they invented their own philosophies of life and went on groping
their way from one error to another.
Second, that they also, rejected the
doctrine of Hereafter, and thought this worldly life to be an end in itself, and
that there was no life hereafter when they would have to render an account of
their deeds before God. This corrupted their whole attitude towards life, and
their impure morals and character so polluted the world that eventually the
scourge of God itself had to descend and eliminate them from the scene.
After stating these two instructive truths of human history, the deniers of the
message of Truth have been admonished to wake up and believe in Allah, His
Messenger and the Light of Guidance that Allah has sent in the form of the
Qur'an if they want to avoid the fate met by the former peoples. Besides, they
have been warned that the Day shall eventually come when all the former and the
latter generations will be collected at one place and the fraud and embezzlement
committed by each will be exposed before all mankind. Then the fate of each man
will be decided finally on the basis as to who had adopted the path of the Faith
and righteousness and who had followed the way of disbelief and denial of the
Truth. The first group shalt deserve eternal Paradise and the second shall be
doomed to everlasting Hell.
Then, addressing those who adopt the way of
the Faith, a few important instructions have been given:
First, that
whatever affliction befalls a person in the world, it befalls him by Allah's
leave. Whoever in this state of affliction remains steadfast to the Faith, Allah
blesses his heart with guidance; otherwise although the affliction of the one
who in confusion or bewilderment turns away from the path of the Faith, cannot
be averted except by Allah's leave, yet he becomes involved in another, the
greatest affliction of all, namely that his heart is deprived of the guidance of
Allah.
Secondly, that the believer is not required to affirm the faith
with the tongue only, but after the affirmation of the Faith he should
practically obey Allah and His Messenger. If he turns away from obedience he
would himself be responsible for his loss, for the Holy Messenger of Allah (upon
whom be His peace) has become absolved from the responsibility after having
delivered the message of Truth.
Thirdly, that the believer should place
his trust in Allah alone and not in his own power or some other power of the
world.
Fourthly, that the worldly goods and children are a great trial
and temptation for the believer, for it is their love which generally distracts
man from the path of faith and obedience. Therefore, the believers have to
beware some of their children, and wives lest they become robbers for them on
the Way of God directly or indirectly; and they should spend their wealth for
the sake of God so that their self remains safe against the temptations of
Satan.
Fifthly, that every man is responsible only to the extent of his
power and ability. Allah does not demand that man should exert himself beyond
his power and ability. However, the believer should try his best to live in fear
of God as far as possible, and should see that he does not transgress the bounds
set by Allah in his speech, conduct and dealings through his own negligence.
For explanation, see E.N. I of the commentary on Surah AI-Hadid. A study of
the following theme by itself shows why the discourse has ban begun with this
sentence. What has been stated below about the Universe and Man is that Allah
alone is their Creator, Master, Ruler, and He has not made this universe without
purpose and wisdom, that Man has not been created and left irresponsible, so
that he may act as he may please, and there should be nobody to call him to
account, and that the Ruler of this universe is not a care-free and ignorant
king so that he may have no knowledge of what is happening in his kingdom. The
best introduction to this theme could be the same as has been couched in this
brief sentence. In view of the context, the introduction means: In whichever
direction you may turn your gaze, from the earth to the limitless vastnesses of
the heavens, you will clearly see that everything from a particle to the great
galaxies not only testifies to the existence of God but also bears evidence that
its God is free from every defect every weakness and error. Had them been the
least probability of a defect or fault, weakness or deficiency, in His essence
and attributes, in His acts and decrees, this perfect and wise system could not
have come into being at all, nor continue to function so consistently and
immutably from eternity to eternity.
2That is, "The Kingdom of the
universe solely belongs to Him. He has not just created it and left it alone
after giving it the initial push, but He alone is actually ruling over it every
moment. No one else has any role or share whatever in this rule and sovereignty.
If others possess temporarily and on a limited scale some powers of ownership or
rule somewhere in the universe, these are not their personal powers, which they
might have acquired by virtue of their own power, but these have been granted to
them by Allah. They possess these powers as long as Allah wills, and they can be
withdrawn as and when He so desires."
3In other words; He alone is
worthy of all praise. Whatever other being has any praiseworthy quality, it has
ban granted by Allah. And if hamd (praise) be taken in the sense of shukr
(thankfulness), the meaning would be: In reality Allah alone is worthy of being
thanked, for all. good things in the world have been created by Him, and He
alone is the teal Benefactor of all kinds of creation. When we thank another
being for favor, we thank it for the reason that Allah conveyed His blessing
thought it or him to us, otherwise neither the being itself is the creator of
the blessing nor could it convey the blessing to you without Allah's permission
and help.
4That is, "He is the possessor of absolute power: He can do
whatever. He wills, there is no power to restrain or limit His Omnipotence.
5It has four meanings and all arc correct in their respective places:
First, that "He alone is your Creator, yet some of you deny His being the
Creator and others acknowledge this truth. " This meaning becomes obvious when
the first and the second sentences arc read together.
Second. that "He
Himself has created you with the nature that if you choose to adopt unbelief,
you may do so, and if you choose to affirm belief, you may do so. He has not
compelled you to either accept or reject the Faith therefore, you yourselves arc
responsible for your adopting belief or unbelief." This meaning is confirmed by
the following sentence: "Allah sees whatever you do." That is, By giving you
this choice He has put you to the test, and He is watching how you exercise this
choice."
The third meaning is. "He had created you with a sound,
wholesome nature, which demanded that you should all adopt the way of the Faith,
yet some of you adopted unbelief, which was opposed to the nature and purpose of
their creation, and some of you adopted the way of the Faith, which was in
conformity with their nature This theme becomes obvious when this verse is read
along with verse 30 of Surah Ar-Rum which says: "Set your face sincerely and
truly towards Faith, and be steadfast on the Nature whereupon Allah has created
mankind. There can be no alteration in the Nature made by Allah. This is the
right and true Faith.' And this very theme is explained by several Ahadith in
which the Holy Prophet (upon whom be Allah's peace) has repeatedly stated that
every man has been created on true human nature; then polytheism and deviation
befall him from outside (For futher explanation, see E.N.'s 42 to 47 of the
commentary of Surah Ar-Rum) Here, it may he pointed out that no Divine Book has
ever presented the concept of man's being a sinner by birth, which Christianity
has embraced as its fundamental doctrine for 1,500 years. Recently even Catholic
scholars themselves have started expressing the view that there is no basis for
this doctrine in the Bible. The famous German biblical scholar Rev. Herbert
Haag, writes in his book, Is Original Sin in Scripture "Among the earliest
Christians, at least till the 3rd century A.D., there existed no such creed that
man was a sinner by birth, and when this idea started spreading among the
people, the Christian scholars continued to contradict it for two centuries. At
last in the 5th century A.D. St Augustine by the power of his logic made this
idea a part of the fundamental beliefs of Christianity: 'Mankind is heir to the
original sin committed by Adam, and there is no way to salvation for man except
through the Atonement made by Christ."
The fourth meaning is: "Only Allah
brought you into existence from nonexistence: you were not, then you became.
This was such a simple thing that if you had thought over it seriously and seen
that life is the actual blessing through which you are benefiting by the other
blessings in the world, none of you would have adopted the attitude of disbelief
and rebellion against your Creator. But some of you did not give it due thought,
or thought wrongly, and adopted the way of disbelief, and some others adopted
the same way of belief and faith which was the very demand of correct thinking.
6In this sentence "seeing" does not merely mean to see, but it
automatically gives the meaning that man will be rewarded or punished according
to his actions and deeds. It is just like a master's taking a person into
service and then telling him: "I shall sec how you perform your duties," which
implies: "If you perform your duties well, I shall reward you fully; otherwise I
shall call you to account for your negligence."
7In this verse three
things have been stated in their sequence, which are well connected logically:
First, it has been said that Allah has created this universe with the truth.
When the word "with the truth" is spoken for a news, it means a true news; when
it is spoken for a command, it means a command based on justice; when it is
spoken for a statement, it means a correct statement; and when it is used for an
act, it implies an act which is wise, reasonable and useful. Now, khalq (to
create) is an act; therefore, to say that the universe has been created with the
truth, would inevitably mean that the universe has not been created for fun but
it is a serious work of a Wise Creator: everything in it has a rational object
and purpose, and the element of its being purposeful is so evident that if a
sensible person understands the nature of a thing well, it cannot be difficult
for him to know the rational and wise purpose for which it has been created. All
of modern science testifies that whenever man has succeeded in understanding the
true nature of a thing by careful thought, research and investigation, he has
also come to know eventually the purpose and object of its creation, and this
understanding of its purpose has led him to countless inventions which are now
being used in civilized human life. This could not be possible, had this
universe been the plaything of a carefree person, devoid of any wisdom and
purpose. (For further explanation, see E.N. 46 of AIAn-am, E.N. 11 of Yunus,
E.N. 26 of Ibrahim, E.N. 46 of Ati-Nahl, E.N.'s 15, 16 of Al-Anbiya, E.N. 102 of
Al-Mu'nunun, E.N. 75 of Al-'Ankabut, E.N. 6 of Ar-Rum, E.N. 34 of Ad-Dukhan,
B.N. 28 of AI-Jathiyah).
Secondly, it has been said that in this universe
Allah has created man in the best shape. Shape here does not imply only man's
fact but his whole bodily structure; it also inclusions all those powers and
abilities which man has been granted to function in this world. In both these
aspects man has been given the best shape and form among the creatures of the
earth, and on the same basis he has become worthy to rule over all the universe.
He has been given an erect stature he has been given most appropriate feet to
walk on; he has given most suitable hands to work with; he has been given such
senses and organs to acquire knowledge by which he obtains every kind of
information; he has been given a powerful mind to think and understand and
deduce results from the body of acquired information; he has been given a moral
sense and a power of discrimination by which he distinguishes between good and
evil, right and wrong; he has been given the power of decision by using which he
selects his own course of action, and decides as to where he should employ his
efforts and where he should not. He has even been given the freedom that he may
acknowledge his ('rector and serve Him if he so likes and reject Him if he
pleases, or may make whomever he likes his gods, or rebel even against Him Whom
he regards as his God. Along with all these capabilities and powers Allah has
granted him the authority to appropriate everything created by Him, and he is
practically using this authority in the world. (For further explanation, see
E.N. 91 of Al-Mu'min).
The third thing which logically follows from the
first two. as explained above has been stated in the third sentence of the verse
"To Him you have to return in the end.' Obviously, when a creature endowed with
power and authority has been created in a wise and purposeful system of the
universe, wisdom does not require that he should be left to live irresponsibly
in the world, but it necessarily requires that that creature should be
accountable to the Being Who has granted it this position and rank and blessed
it with these powers; 'Returning" in this verse does not merely mean to return
but to return for accountability. In the following verses it has been explained
that this return will not be in this life but into the second life after death,
and its right time will he when all mankind will be resurrected and gathered
together simultaneously for accountability, and in consequence of the
accountability man will be rewarded or punished on the ground whether he had
used the powers given him by God in the right way or the wrong way. As for the
question, why cannot this accountability be held in the present lift of the
world? and why is its right time only the second lift after death'? and why is
it necessary that this accountability be held only when all mankind has passed
away from this world, and all the former and the latter generations have been
resurrected and gathered together simultaneously? If man only uses his common
sense a little, he can understand that all this is perfectly rational as well as
the very demand of wisdom and reason that accountability should be held in the
second lift and of all mankind together. The first reason is that man is
accountable for his whole life-work. Therefore, the right time of his
accountability should necessarily be when his life-work has come to an end. The
sccond reason is that man is responsible for all those effects and influences
which he produces by his acts on the lives of others, and those influences and
effects do not come to an end with his death but continue to influence others
till ages after him Therefore, true accountability call he held only when the
life-work of entire mankind has come to an end and all the former and the latter
generations are gathered together simultaneously for accountability. (For
further explanation, see E.N. 30 of Al-,A'raf. E.N.'s 10, 11 of Yunus E.N. 105
of Hud E.N. 35 of An-Nahl, E.N. 9 of AI-Hajj, E.N. 27 of An.Naml, E.N.'s 5,6 of
Ar-Rum, E.N.'s 29, 30 of Suad, E.N. 80 of AI-Mu'min, E.N.'s 27 to 29 of Al-Jathiyah)
8Another translation can be: "Whatever you do secretly and whatever
openly."
9That is, "He is aware not only of those acts of man, which
come to the notice of the people but He knows also those acts which remain
hidden from them. Moreover, He does not only see the superficial form of the
acts, but also knows what intention and purpose underlay each act of man and
with what motive and aim he did whatever he did- This is such a truth that if
man ponders over it seriously, he can fully well understand that justice can be
done only in the Hereafter, and only in God's Court can real justice be possibly
done. Man's own intellect itself demands that man must be punished for each of
his crimes. But everyone knows that in the world most of the crimes remain
hidden. or the culprit escapes punishment because of insufficient evidence, or
even if the crime becomes revealed, the culprit is so influential and powerful
that he cannot be punished. Then the intellect of man also requires that man
should not be punished only because his behavior resembles a criminal act, but
it should be ascertained that he has committed the act intentionally and
deliberately and at the time he committed it, he was acting as a responsible
agent, his intention in actual fact was to commit the crime, and he knew that
what he was doing was a crime. That is why the worldly courts inquire into these
things when they decide the cases, and regard such an inquiry as a demand of the
rule of justice. Burt is there any means available in the world by which these
things may be precisely ascertained beyond every shadow of doubt? Considered
from this viewpoint, this verse also bears a deep logical relevance to Allah
Almighty's saying: e has created the earth and the heavens with Truth." The
necessary demand of creating them with Truth is that perfect justice should
prevail in this universe. Such justice can be established only when every act of
a responsible man may not only remain concealed from the eyes of the one
administering justice but the intention with which a person performed and act
also should not remain hidden from him. And obviously, there cannot be any
being, apart from the Creator of the universe, who can administer such justice,
Now, if a person denies Allah and the Hereafter, he in fact, asserts that we
humans live in a universe which is devoid of justice, which is rather a place
where justice cannot possibly be done. The person whose intellect, mind and
conscience feel satisfied at such an assumption would be a shameless creature if
be thought he was bing progressive and rationalistic and those people antiquated
and retrogressive who accept a highly rational concept about the universe, which
the Qur'an presents.
10That is, "The evil that they tasted in the world
in consequence of their misdeeds was neither the real punishment of their crimes
nor the full punishment. The real and full punishment they have yet to suffer in
the Hereafter. However, the people can learn a lesson from the torment that
visited them. They can see how the nations which adopted an attitude of unbelief
against their Lord, went an degenerating and consequently met with an evil and
disgraceful end." (For further explanation, see E.N.'s 5, 6 of Al-A'raf, E.N.
105 of Hud).
11The word bayyinet as used in the original has a vast
meaning. Bayyin (sing. of bayyinat) in Arabic is something which is very clear
and manifest. Saying about the Prophets that they came with bayyinat gives the
meaning that firstly, they brought such manifest signs as bore clear testimony
to their having been appointed by Allah; secondly, they presented whatever they
presented with rational and clear arguments; thirdly, there was no ambiguity in
their teaching; they clearly explained what was the truth and what was
falsehood. what was lawful and what was unlawful, what path man should follow
and what he should avoid.
12This was then the foremost and basic cause
of their degeneration and ruin Mankind could not have known the right course of
action in the world unless their Creator gave them the correct knowledge, and
there could be no practical means of bestowing such knowledge by the Creator
unless He blessed some of the human beings with the knowledge and entrusted them
with the duty to convey it to other human beings. For this purpose He sent the
Prophets with the manifest Signs bayyinat) so that there was-no reasonable
ground for the people to doubt their being on the truth. But the people refused
to believe that a human being could be a Messenger of God. Then, obviously there
could be no other way for them to receive guidance. (For further explanation,
see E.N. 11 of Surah Ya Sin). In this connection, however, a strange
manifestation of the ignorance and folly of human beings is seen. They have in
fact, never shown any hesitation in accepting the guidance of men, so much so
that they have carried out gods of wood and stone according to their guidance,
they have made human beings themselves God, the incarnation of God, even son of
God. and they have adopted such strange viewpoints by following the guidance of
their mis-leaders blindly, which ruined human civilization and morals
altogether. But when the Messengers of God came to them with the truth, and they
presented the pure Truth before them without any selfish motive, they said,
"Shall mere human beings show us guidance?" This amounted to saying that if a
human begin misled them, they would follow his guidance willingly, but if he
showed the right path to them, his guidance was not acceptable.
13That
is, when they treated the guidance sent down by Allah with indifference, then
Allah also became indifferent to them and did not care what pit they fell in.
Allah did not stand in need of their acknowledging Him God to sustain and
support His Godhead. Nor was He in need of their worship, nor of their praise
and adoration. He, in fact, willed to show them the right path only for their
own good and well-being. But when they turned away from it, Allah also became
heedless of them. Then, neither He gave them guidance, nor remained responsible
for their protection, nor saved them from being afflicted with calamities, nor
prevented them from bringing about their own ruin for they themselves were not
keen for His guidance and help.
14That is, "This was the second basic
error in which the deniers of the Truth have been involved in every age, and
which has ultimately brought about their ruin. Although no denier of the
Hereafter ever had any means of knowing, nor has he today, nor will he have in
the future, that there is no life after death, vet these ignorant people have
always asserted the same thing, whereas there neither exists any intellectual
basis for denying the Hereafter with absolute certainty nor any scientific basis
for it.
15This is the third place where Allah Almighty has instructed
His Prophet to tell the people by swearing an oath by his Lord that such a thing
shall certainly happen. First, in Surah Yunus, it was said: "They ask: Is what
you say really true Tel! them: Yes, by my Lord, it is absolutely true and you
have no power to avert it.;(v. 53). Then, in Surah Saba, it was said: "The
disbelievers say: How is it that Resurrection is not overtaking us? Say, by my
Lord, it will surely overtake you.' (v. 3)
Here, the question arises:
What difference does it make for a disbeliever in the Hereafter whether you give
him the news of its coming by swearing an oath or without swearing an oath? when
he does not believe in it at all, will he believe in it only because you arc
asserting this on oath? The answer is: In the first place, the addressees of the
Holy Prophet (upon whom be Allah s peace) were the people, who knew from their
personal knowledge and experience that he had never uttered a lie in his life.
Therefore, even if they might have forged the most shameless slander against him
with their tongue, yet in their hearts they could never conceive that a truthful
man like him could say a thing on oath by Allah of which he himself was not
convinced by knowledge and experience. Secondly, the Holy Prophet did not only
present the doctrine of the Hereafter but also gave highly rational Arguments
for it. What distinguishes a Prophet from others is that the arguments, however
strong and cogent, that others may give for the Hereafter, can at the most make
the listener admit that the occurrence of the Hereafter is more reasonable and
probable than its absence. On the contrary, a Prophet stands at A notch higher
level than a philosopher. His real position is not that be has arrived at the
conclusion of the necessity of the Hereafter by the exercise of reason But his
real position is that he has the knowledge that the Hereafter shall occur and
says with conviction that it shall surely occur. Therefore, only a Prophet can
swear an oath to declare this but not a philosopher. Then, faith in the
Hereafter can be generated only by a 'Prophet's statement; the reasoning of a
philosopher does not have the power to induce even himself to adopt it as his
religious creed on the basis of his own argument, not to speak of another
person. if the philosopher is really correct, he cannot go beyond 'should be or
ought to be;' only a Prophet can assert with conviction that a thing "is and
certainly is."
16This is the purpose for which the children of Adam will
be resurrected; this also contains the answer to the question: what is the
special need for it? If one keeps in view what has been discussed concerning vv.
1.4 above, one can easily understand that in this universe, which has been
created with the truth, it would be highly unreasonable to imagine about man who
has been given freedom to choose either belief or unbelief, who has been granted
authority to appropriate many of the things in this universe, and who after
choosing the way of belief or unbelief has accomplished much good or done evil
on his own responsibility by making the right or the wrong use of his authority
during his life, that when he has done all this , the good done by the virtuous
and the evil committed by the criminal one should neither bear any fruit, nor
should there be any time when his deeds and actions should be subjected to
security The person who asserts such an irrational thing inevitably commits one
of the two absurdities: either he thinks that although this universe is based on
wisdom, yet a creature like man, who has been endowed with authority, has been
created and left irresponsible here; or he thinks that this universe is a random
creation devoid of the wisdom of a Wise Creator. In the first place, he makes a
contradictory statement, for the existence of an irresponsible creature, endowed
with authority. in a universe based on wisdom, is clearly against justice and
wisdom. In the second case, he cannot give any rational being like man should
come into being in a haphazardly created, foolish universe, and how he conceived
the idea of justice. Only a stubborn person could uphold the belief that folly
could generate wisdom and injustice justice, or the one who has become a mental
patient because of his obsession for hair splitting.
17This is the
second argument for the Hereafter. The first argument was for its necessity and
this second is for its possibility. Obviously, when God could create such a
grand and wonderful system of the universe without any difficulty and when He
could create human beings in the world in the first instance, it cannot be
difficult for Him to resurrect the same human beings and summon them before
Himself for the purpose of accountability.
18That is, "When this is the
truth and the whole human history testifies that the real cause of the
destruction of the nations has been their disbelieving the Messengers and their
denial of the Hereafter, then they should not insist on meeting the same doom by
following their example, but should believe in the guidance presented by Allah
and His Messenger and the Qur'an." Here, as the context itself shows, by "the
Light that We have sent down", means the Qur'an Just as light itself is clearly
seen and reveals everything that was hidden in darkness around it, so is the
Qur'an a Light whose being based on the truth is self-evident ; in its Light man
can solve and understand every problem that he cannot solve and understand
exclusively by means of his own knowledge and intellect Anyone who has the Light
can clearly see the straight path of Truth out of the countless, crooked paths
of thought and action, and can follow the Straight Path throughout life in such
a way that at every step he can know where the crooked by-paths are misleading
and where the pitfalls of destruction are situated on the way, and what is the
path of safety and security among them.
19"The Day of Gathering": the
Resurrection, when all human beings horn in the world from the beginning of
creation till the Last Day will be gathered together simultaneously. This theme
has been fully explained in the Qur'an at several places; e.g. in Surah Hud it
has been said: "That will be the Day when all the people shall gather together
and will witness everything that will happen there." (v 103) And in Surah Al-Waqi'ah:
"Say to them; Surely, the former and the latter, all shall be gathered together
one day, the hour of which has already been appointed." (v. 50).
20The
word yaum-ut-taghabun as used in the original is too vast in meaning to be
explained in a word, or even a sentence, of any other language. Of all the names
of the Resurrection that occur in the Qur'an, this name probably i5 the most
meaningful Therefore, a little explanation is necessary to understand its
meaning.
Taghabun is from ghabn, which can be pronounced both as ghabn
and as ghaban. Ghabn is mostly used concerning commercial and business
transactions and ghaban concerning opinion. Lexically, it has other meanings
also, e.g. heedlessness, forgetfulness, a person's being deprived of his share,
a man's harming another inadvertently in business or mutual dealing, etc.
The derivative taghabun implies the occurrence of ghabn between two or more
persons. Thus, taghabun al-qaum means some people's treating others
fraudulently. or a person's harming another person and the other's being harmed
and damaged by him, or one's taking away the share of another and the other's
being deprived of his share, or a person's incurring loss in business and
another's gaining a profit, or some people's proving heedless or weak-minded in
comparison to others.
Now consider that in this verse it has been said
about the Resurrection: 'That will be a Day of taghabun (mutual loss and gain)
among the people." These words automatically givc the meaning that in the world
taghabun is a common thing, but this taghabun is superficial and deceptive, not
the real and factual taghabun the real taghabun will take place on the Day of
Resurrection. There it will become manifest as to who actually incurred the loss
and who actually earned the profits, who actually was deceived and who proved to
be prudent and sensible. who actually had invested all his life capital in a
wrong bargain and become bankrupt and who had invested all his energies and
abilities. wealth and time, in a good bargain and earned all the benefits and
gains. which the former also could have earned had he not been deceived in
understanding the truth about the world.
The commentators while
explaining the meaning of Yawn-ut-taghabun have given several meanings of it,
which are all correct, and throw light on different aspects of its meaning. Some
commentators have explained that on that Day the dwellers of Paradise will take
away that share of the dwellers of Hell which they would have had in Paradise
had they done good deeds in the world as did the dwellers of Paradise and the
dwellers of Hell will take away that share of the people of Paradise, which they
would have had in Hell had they done evil deeds is the world. This is supported
by a Hadith, which Bukhari has rdated in kitab ar-Riqaq. on the authority of
Hadrat Abu Hurairah, saying that the Holy Prophet said: 'Whoever goes to
Paradise will be shown the place which he would have had in Hell had he done
evil deeds in the world so that he may give more and more thanks to God; and
whoever goes to Hell will be shown the place which he would have had in Paradise
had he done good deeds in the world so that he may feel more and more
remorseful."
Some other commentators say that on that Day the wronged one
will take away so many of the good deeds done by the wrongdoer as may be a
suitable compensation for the wrong suffered, or the wrongdoer will be equal in
weight with his usurped rights. For on the Day of Resurrection man will not
possess any wealth which he they give to make up for the wrong done, there the
only commodity worth exchange will be one's conduct. Therefore, whoever had
wronged another in the world, will have to make up for the wrong done by
surrendering some of his own good deeds in his favor, or by taking some of his
sins on himself and suffering the punishment for them. This theme also has been
reported from the Holy Prophet (upon whom be Allah's peace) in Ahadith. In
Bukhari (Kitab ar-Riqaq) a tradition has been related from Hadrat Abu Hurairah,
saying that the Holy Prophet said: "Whoever bears a burden of a wrong done to
his brothel, should compensate him for it here, for in the Hereafter no one will
have any wealth or money for compensation. There, some of his good deeds will he
taken from him and given away to the wronged person, or if he did not have
enough good deeds, some of the sins of the wronged person will be transferred to
him." Likewise, in Musnad Ahmad there is a tradition from Hadrat Jabir bin
'Abdullah bin Unais. sag that the Holy Prophet said: "No dweller of Paradise
will enter Paradise and no dweller of Hell will enter Hell until he will have
compensated the other person for the wrong done to him so much so that one will
have to compensate even for a slap given to another person. We asked; How will
this compensation be made when on Resurrection we shall be naked and penniless?
The Holy Prophet replied:Compensation will he made by means of the good deeds
and the evil deeds." In Muslim and Musnad Ahmad there is a tradition from Hadrat
Abu Hurairah, saying that the Holy Prophet upon whom by Allah's peace) once
asked the people sitting in his assembly; "Do you know who is poor? The people
replied: He who has nothing to possess The Holy Prophet said: In my Ummah the
poor is he who appeared before his God on the Day of Resurrection with his acts
of the Prayer and the Fast and the payment of the zakat the while he had abused
some one, usurped the property of another, and shed blood or hit still another.
Then his good deeds were taken away and given over to each of the wronged and
when nothing was left of his good deeds to make compensation. sonic of the sins
of each wronged one were transferred to him and he was east into Hell." In
another Hadith which Muslim and Abu Da'ud have related on the authority of
Hadrat. Buraidah, the Holy Prophet said:"If in the absence from home of a
soldier for the cause of Allah, a person treats his wife and the people of his
house treacherously. the person would be made to stand before the soldier on the
Day of Resurrection, and the latter would be asked to take away whatever he
liked from his good deeds. Saying this the Holy Prophet turned to us and said
Then what do you say? That is, what do you think he would leave with him?"
Some other commentators say that tile word taghabun is mostly used
concerning commerce and business, and in the Holy Qur'an at several places the
attitude that the believer and the unbeliever adopt in their worldly lives has
been compared to trade and commerce. If the believer giving up disobedience
adopts obedience and invests his life and wealth and effort for the cause of
God. he is giving up a bad bargain and investing his capital in a business which
will fetch him much gain and profit in the end. On the contrary, if an
unbeliever abandons the way of obedience and invests his entire capital in the
way of disobedience to God, he in fact, is a trader who has purchased deviation
for guidance, and will incur loss in the end. The gain and the loss of to both
will become manifest on the Day of Resurrection. It may well so happen in the
world that the believer appears to be the loser and the disbeliever the gainer
But in the Hereafter they will see who actually had made the right bargain and
who the wrong bargain This theme has occurred at many places in the Qur'an,e.g.
in AI-Baqarah 16, 175, 207 Al- Imran 77,177 An-Nisa' 74; At-Taubah 111
An-Nahl95, Fatir 29, As-Saff 10.
Yet another from of taghabun is that in
the world the people go on cooperating with one another in unbelief and sin,
injustice and wickedness, with full peace of mind with the confidence that they
are enjoying full mutual love and friendship. The mutual intrigues and
comradeship of the members of wicked Families immoral guides and their
followers, gangs of thieves and robbers alliances of corrupt and unjust officers
and officials, groups of dishonest traders, industrialists and land owners,
groups established to spread deviation, error and mischief, and nations and
governments which support and uphold injustice and wickedness in the world, is
based on the same confidence. The individuals belonging to each of these groups
harbor the impression that they are good companions of one another and their
mutual cooperation is proving very successful But when these people reach the
Hereafter, they will suddenly wake up to the realization that they had been
grievously mistaken and deceived. Each one of them would feel that the one whom
he considered his best father brother wife husband child, friend, companion,
leader, guide disciple or supporter and helper, had been, in fact, his worst
enemy. Every kind of relationship and friendship and bond of love and reverence
will change into enmity. They will all abuse and curse each other and each one
will desire that maximum responsibility of his crimes be laid an the other and
will strive to get him severely punished. This theme also has occurred at many
places in the Qur'an, e.g. in AI-Baqrah: 167, AI-A'raf: 37 to 39, Ibrahim 21-22;
AI-Mu'minum: 101, Al-'Ankabut: 12,13. 25; Luqman: 33, AI-Ahzab: 67,68; Saba: 31
to 33; Fatir 18: As-Saaffat: 27 to 3: Suad: 59 to 61: Ha Mim: As-Sajdah: 29;
Az-Zukhruf; 67; Ad-Dukhan; 41; AI-Ma'arij; 10 to 14: 'Abasa 34 to 3.
21Believing in Allah does not merely imply believing that Allah exists but
believing in Him in the way Allah Himself has taught through His Messenger and
His Book. This belief by itself includes belief in Apostleship and belief in the
Book. Likewise a good act also does not imply every such act as man may himself
have adopted considering it a good act. or following a man-made criterion of
morality, but it implies the righteous act that is in accordance with the Law
sent down by God. Therefore no one should have the misunderstanding that
believing in Allah and doing good deeds, without the medium of the Messenger and
the Book will lead to the results being mentioned below. Whoever studies the
Qur'an carefully cannot remain unaware that according to it no such belief is
genuine belief in Allah and no such act is righteous at all.
22These
words by themselves make manifest the meaning of unbelief(Kufr). Unbelief is
nothing but denying the verse of Allah's Book to be Divine Revelation rejecting
the truths expressed therein and refusing to follow and obey the commandments
given in them; its results are those being mentioned below.
23The
discourse now turns to the believers. While reading this passage one should keep
in mind the fact that at the time when these verses were revealed. Muslims were
passing through great hardships After years of persecution at Makkah they had
left their home and emigrated to Madinah, where the sincere Muslims who had
given them refuge had been doubly burdened. On the one hand, they had to support
and sustain hundreds of the emigrants who were coming to them from different
parts of Arabia; on the other they had become the target of the persecution and
enmity of the enemies of Islam of entire Arabia.
24This same theme has
also occurred in AI-Hadid: 22-23 above and we have explained it in E.N.'s 39 to
42 of the commentary of the Surah 'The same circumstances under which this thing
was said there and the same object for which it was said underlie the verses
here as well. This means that afflictions and hardships do not descend of
themselves, nor has anyone in the world the power to cause an affliction to
descend on anyone he may like by his own authority. AII calamities wholly depend
on Allah's leave: He may allow an affliction to descend upon someone or may
disallow it, And Allah's leave in any cast is based on one or other wisdom,
directed to some ultimate good, which man neither knows, nor can understand.
25That is, "It is only belief in Allah which keeps man on the right path
even in the face of an onslaught of afflictions and does not let him waver under
the most trying circumstances. The one whose heart is devoid of belief either
looks upon afflictions as a result of mere chance, or thinks they are brought or
prevented by worldly powers, or considers them to be the work of such imaginary
powers which human superstition regards as potent in bringing good and causing
evil, or believes that God is the real Doer of everything but does not believe
so truly and sincerely, In all these different cases mart degenerates. He
endures the affliction. but then yields and bows to every false god, accepts,
every humiliation, is ready to do any mean thing and commit any wrong act he
does not hesitate to abuse God, even commit suicide. On the contrary, the heart
of the person who knows and believes sincerely that everything is in the hand of
Allah, that He alone in the Master and Ruler of the universe that only by His
permission can an affliction befall and only by His command can it be averted,
is blessed by Allah with the grace of patience and submission and of acquiescing
in Divine will, and is granted the power to face every circumstance with
determination and courage. Even under the most straitened circumstances the
candle of the hope of Allah's bounty lights up his way and no affliction,
however severe and trying, can dishearten him as to cause him to swerve from the
right path, or how to falsehood, or invoke others than Allah for the redress of
his grievances. Thus, every affliction opens up for him a new door to well-being
and happiness and no affliction remains an affliction for him in actual fact but
becomes in final result and analysis a blessing in disguise, for whether he
falls a victim to it. or passes through if safely, in each case he emerges
successful from the trial set him by his Lord. This same thing has been stated
by the Holy Prophet (upon whom be Allah's peace) in a Hadith which has been
reported unanimously by all the reporters, saying: `Strange is the affair of the
believer! Whatever Allah decrees for him is good for him: when an affliction
befalls him, he endures it patiently, and this proves good for him; when he is
blessed with prosperity, he thanks his Lord, and this too proves good for him.
Such a good fortune only falls to the lot of a believer."
26In this
context this has two meanings: first, that Allah knows who really believes and
what is the measure of his belief. So, on the basis of His knowledge He grants
guidance only to that heart, which has belief in it, and grants it guidance
precisely in accordance with the measure of belief. Another meaning also can be:
that Allah is not unaware of the condition of His believing servants. He has not
left them alone after having invited them to faith and subjected them at the
same time to severe trials and temptations of the world. He knows exactly what
hardships a believer is passing through in the world, and under what
circumstances he is fulfilling the demands of his faith. Therefore, "O
believers, you should rest assured that whatever affliction descends upon you by
Allah's leave, in Allah's knowledge it must be directed to some ultimate good,
which must be for your own well-being, for Allah is well-wisher of His believing
servants: He does not will to subject them to afflictions and hardships without
good reason."
27In view of the context, it means: "Whatever the
circumstances. good or bad. you should remain steadfast to obedience to Allah
and His Messenger. But if under the pressure of hardships you turned away from
obedience, you would only harm your own selves. The only responsibility of Our
Messenger was to guide you to the right path, which the Messenger has fulfilled
in the best way possible."
28That is, "All Divine powers belong to Allah
alone. No one else has any power to make or mar your destiny. He alone cat bring
about a good time and He alone can avert a bad time. Therefore, whoever believes
sincerely that Allah is One, has absolutely no other choice than to place his
full trust in Him and to continue doing his duty as a believer with the
conviction that goodness and well being only lie in the way that Allah has shown
him. If he attains to success in this way, it will only he by Allah's help and
leave; there is no other helper. And if he encounters difficulties, hardships,
dangers and disasters in this way, Allah alone will rescue him, for there is no
other rescuer beside Him."
29This verse has two meanings.
According to the first meaning, it applies to most of those difficulties, which
are encountered by many believing men from their wives and the women from their
husbands and the parents from their children in following the way of God. It
seldom so happens in the world that a man has a wife and a wife a husband, who
are full companions and helpers of each other in the matter of faith and
righteousness, and that both may also have such children as may be the comfort
of their eyes as regards faith and deeds, morals and conduct. Hut generally it
so happens that if the husband is righteous and honest, the wife and children
look upon his honesty and piety and righteousness as a misfortune for
themselves, and want that the husband and the father should earn Hell for their
sake, and giving up the distinction between the lawful and the unlawful should
provide means of luxury and enjoyment, sin and vice, for them in every passable
way. On the contrary, many a time a pious believing woman happens to have a
husband, Who does not at all approve her obedience to the Laws of God, and the
children too, following in the footsteps of the father, make the wife of the
mother miserable by their deviation and evil deeds. Then, particularly, when
during the conflict between Islam and unbelief a man's faith demands that he
should suffer losses for the sake of Allah and this Religion, run risks,
emigrate from the country or even endanger his life by joining the war against
unbelief, the greatest hindrance in his way are the people of his own household.
The second meaning relates to those special circumstances which most of the
Muslims were facing at the time these verses were sent down. and today also they
are faced by every person who embraces Islam in a non-Muslim society. At that
dine in Makkah and in other parts of Arabia a situation that was commonly being
experienced was that a man would embrace Islam, but his wife and children would
not only be disinclined to accept it but would try their best to press him to
give up Islam Arid similar were the situations encountered by the women, the
alone embraced Islam in their families,
Addressing the believers who may
be confronted with either situation, three things have been impressed:
First, they have been warned as if to say: "Although front the worldly point of
view. these are the dearest relations of man yet from the religious point of
view, they arc .`your enemies." This enmity may he for the reason that they
hinder you from good and induce you to do evil, or that they restrain you from
belief and pull you towards unbelief, or that their sympathies are with he
unbelievers. and through you if they ever come to know any of the war secrets of
the Muslims, they convey it to the enemies of Islam. Owing to these the nature
and quality of enmity may vary, but in any case it is enmity; and if you hold
your faith dearer to your heart, you should regard them as your enemies. In
their love you should never forget that between you and them there stands the
barrier of belief and unbelief, or of obedience and disobedience."
Then,
it is said: "Beware of them." That is, "You should not ruin your eternal life
for the sake of their worldly life. Let not their love so overwhelm you that
they become a hindrance for you in your relationship with Allah and His
Messenger and your loyalty to Islam. Do not place such reliance on them that the
secrets of the Muslim community should come to their notice and through them
reach your enemies only by your negligence and carelessness. This Is the Fame
thing of which the Holy Prophet (upon whom be Allah's peace) has warned the
Muslims in a Hadith: `A person will be brought up on the Day of Resurrection,
and it will be proclaimed: `His wife and children ate up all his good deeds'."
In the end, it is said: "If you pardon and overlook and forgive, Allah is
surely AII-Forgiving, All-Merciful. " It means: "You are being made aware of
their enmity so that you may beware of them and do your best to save your faith
from them, This warning does not, however, mean that you should treat your wife
and children harshly, or strain your relations with them so as w make your own
and their domestic lift miserable and wretched For if you did so, two of the
disadvantages would obviously result: first, it may close down every avenue to
the reformation of the wife and children for ever; second, it may give rise to
suspicions and misgivings against Islam in the society and the people around may
form the impression that a Muslim turns unduly rigid and ill-tempered for his
own children in his own house as soon as he has embraced Islam.
In this
connection, one should also keep in mind that in the beginning when the people
became Muslims, they encountered a special difficulty if their parents were
unbelievers. They would press their children to give up the new Faith. They
would face another difficulty when their wives and children (or in case of
women, their husbands and children) persisted unbelief and would force them to
abandon the Faith of Truth. About the first difficulty, instruction was given in
Al-Ankabut: 8 and Luqman; 14-15, saying: "Treat your parents well but if they
press you to join with Me another about whom you have no knowledge, do not obey
them at all " About the second difficulty the Instruction has been given here,
saying: "You must try to save your faith from your children and family members
but do not treat them harshly, but rather politely and leniently." (For further
explanation, see At-Taubah: 23-24; E N. 37 of AI-Mujadalah, E.N.'s 1 to 3 of Al-Mumtahanah;
E.N. 18 of Munafiqun).
30For explanation, sec E.N. 23 of Surah AI-Anfal.
Here one should also keep in view the Holy Prophet's saying which Tabarani has
related on the authority of Hadrat Abu Malik al-Ash'ari, saying: "Your real
enemy is not he whom if you kill there is success for you, and if he kills you,
there is Paradise for you; but your real enemy may b your own child who is born
of your own loins, or the wealth of which you are the owner." That is why here
us well as in Al-Anfal: 28, Allah says: If you save yourselves from the
temptation and allurements of worldly possessions and Children and succeed in
keeping love of them subject to the love of Allah, there are rich rewards for
you with Allah.
31At another place in the Qur'an it has been said: "Fear
Allah as He should actually be feared." (Al-'Imran: 102). At still another
place: “Allah does not burden any one with a responsibility heavier than he can
bear." (Al-Baqarah: 286) And here: "Fear Allah as far as you can." When these
three verses are read together it appears that the first verse sets an ideal
which every believer should try to attain. The second verse lays down the
principle that no one has been required to exert himself. beyond his power and
ability, for in Allah's Religion one has been made responsible only for what is
within one's power and ability. This verse enjoins every believer to try to
attain piety and consciousness of God as far as he can. He should carry out His
Commands and avoid His disobedience as best as he possibly can. For if he shows
laxity in this regard, he will not be able to escape punishment. However, one
will not be held accountable for what was beyond one's power (and Allah alone
can decide best what was really beyond a person's power and ability).
32For explanation, see E.N. 19 of Al-Hashr.
33For explanation, see E.N.
267 of Al-Baqarah, E.N. 33 of Al Ma'idah, E,N. 16 of Al-Hadid.
34For
explanation, see E.N.'s 52, 59 of Fatir; E.N.42 of Ash-Shura.