Tafsir of Surah Ibrahim - Verse 7

Allah states that Musa reminded his people about Allah's annals anddays and of Allah's favors and bounties that He bestowed on them,when He saved them from Fir` awn and his people and the tormentand disgrace they used to exert on them.

They used to slaughter whomever they could find among their sons and let their females live. Allah delivered them from all this torment, and this is a great bounty, indeed. This is why Allah described this affliction,

وَفِى ذَلِكُمْ بَلاَءٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ عَظِيمٌ

(and in it was a tremendous trial from your Lord.) `for He granted you (O Children of Israel) a great favor for which you are unable to perfectly thank Him.' Some scholars said that this part of the Ayah means, `what Fir`awn used to do to you was a tremendous

بَلاَءً

(trial.)' Both meanings might be considered here and Allah knows best. Allah said in another Ayah ,

وَبَلَوْنَـهُمْ بِالْحَسَنَـتِ وَالسَّيِّئَاتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ

(And We tried them with good and evil in order that they might turn (to Allah). ) 7:168 Allah's statement next,

وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ

(And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed) means, proclaimed and made known His promise to you. It is possible that this Ayah means, your Lord has vowed and sworn by His might, grace and exaltness. Allah said in a similar Ayah,

وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكَ لَيَبْعَثَنَّ عَلَيْهِمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَـمَةِ

(And (remember) when your Lord declared that He would certainly keep on sending against them (i.e. the Jews), till the Day of Resurrection.) 7:167 Allah said,

لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ

(If you give thanks, I will give you more;) meaning, `if you appreciate My favor on you, I will give you more of it,

وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ

(but if you are thankless) if you are not thankful for My favors, covering and denying, them,

إِنَّ عَذَابِى لَشَدِيدٌ

(verily, My punishment is indeed severe), by depriving you of the favor and punishing you for being unappreciative of it.' A Hadith states that,

«إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيُحْرَمُ الرِّزْقَ بِالذَّنْبِ يُصِيبُه»

(A servant might be deprived of a provision (that was written for him) because of a sin that he commits. ) Allah said,

وَقَالَ مُوسَى إِن تَكْفُرُواْ أَنتُمْ وَمَن فِى الاٌّرْضِ جَمِيعًا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَنِىٌّ حَمِيدٌ

(And Musa said: "If you disbelieve, you and all on earth together, then verily, Allah is Rich (free of all needs), Worthy of all praise.") Allah does not need the gratitude of His servants, and He is worthy of all praise even if the disbelievers disbelieve in Him,

إِن تَكْفُرُواْ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِىٌّ عَنكُمْ

(If you disbelieve, then verily, Allah is not in need of you) 39:7 and,

فَكَفَرُواْ وَتَوَلَّواْ وَّاسْتَغْنَى اللَّهُ وَاللَّهُ غَنِىٌّ حَمِيدٌ

(So they disbelieved and turned away. But Allah was not in need (of them). And Allah is Rich (free of all needs), Worthy of all praise.) 64:6 In his Sahih, Muslim recorded that Abu Dharr said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that his Lord the Exalted and Most Honored said,

«يَا عِبَادِي لَوْ أَنَّ أَوَّلَكُمْ وَآخِرَكُمْ وَإِنْسَكُمْ وَجِنَّكُمْ كَانُوا عَلَى أَتْقَى قَلْبِ رَجُلٍ وَاحِدٍ مِنْكُمْ، مَا زَادَ ذَلِكَ فِي مُلْكِي شَيْئًا، يَا عِبَادِي لَوْ أَنَّ أَوَّلَكُمْ وَآخِرَكُمْ وَإِنْسَكُمْ وَجِنَّكُمْ كَانُوا عَلَى أَفْجَرِ قَلْبِ رَجُلٍ وَاحِدٍ مِنْكُمْ، مَا نَقَصَ ذَلِكَ فِي مُلْكِي شَيْئًا، يَا عِبَادِي لَوْ أَنَّ أَوَّلَكُمْ وَآخِرَكُمْ وَإِنْسَكُمْ وَجِنَّكُمْ قَامُوا فِي صَعِيدٍ وَاحِدٍ، فَسَأَلُونِي،فَأَعْطَيْتُ كُلَّ إِنْسَانٍ مَسْأَلَتَهُ، مَا نَقَصَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ مُلْكِي شَيْئًا إِلَّا كَمَا يَنْقُصُ المِخْيَطُ إِذَا أُدْخِلَ الْبَحْر»

(O My servants. If the first and the last among you, mankind and Jinns among you, had the heart of the most pious and righteous man among you, that will not increase my kingdom in the least. O My servants! If the first and the last among you, mankind and the Jinns among you, had the heart of the most wicked man among you, that will not decrease My kingdom in the least. O My servants! If the first and the last among you, the mankind and Jinns among you, stood in one flat area and each asked me (what they wish), and I gave each one of them what they asked, that will not decrease My kingdom except by that which the needle carries (of water) when inserted in the ocean.") Verily, all praise and glory are due to Allah, the Rich free of need, the Worthy of all praise.

The Outcome of Gratitude and Ingratitude

In the third verse (7), it was said: وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَ‌بُّكُمْ لَئِن شَكَرْ‌تُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ ۖ وَلَئِن كَفَرْ‌تُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِي لَشَدِيدٌ (And when your Lord declared, "If you express gratitude, I shall certainly give you more, and if you are ungrateful, then My punishment is severe." ). The word: تَأَذَّنَ (ta'adhdhana) is used in the sense of making known or announcing. The sense of the verse is that Allah Ta’ ala has announced it for all to hear: 'If you are thankful for My blessings and do not waste them in acts of disobedience to Me and in deeds which have been prohibited, and try your best to mould your deeds to suit My pleasure, then, I shall increase these blessings for you.' This increase could be in the amount and volume of blessings, or it could be in their continuity and permanence as well. The Holy Prophet وَأَنذِرْ‌ عَشِيرَ‌تَكَ الْأَقْرَ‌بِينَ said: 'A person who is blessed with the Taufiq to be grateful shall never be deprived of barakah and increase in blessings.' (Reported by Ibn Marduwayh from Ibn ` Abbas ؓ - Mazhari)

And then it was said: If you are ungrateful for My blessings then severe is My punishment too. The sum total of ungratefulness is that one spends out the blessings given by Allah Ta` ala in acts disobedient to Him and in things and ways which are impermissible; or, that one is tardy in fulfilling what has been made obligatory on him or her. As for the severe punishment against ungratefulness for blessings in the present world, it is possible that these blessings may be taken back all of a sudden; or, one may fall into some unwelcome circumstances as a result of which he remains unable to make use of that blessing, and finds punishment waiting for him in the Hereafter as well.

It is worth remembering at this point that in this verse, Allah Tad does promise good return, reward and increase in blessing, and that too in an emphatic manner: لَازِیدَنَّکُم (I shall certainly give you more). But, in contrast to this, for the ungrateful it was not said: لَاُعُذِّبَںَّکُم (I shall certainly punish you). Instead of that, given here is a limited warning which conveys the sense that 'My punishment too, to whomsoever it reaches, is very severe.' In this particular interpretation, there is a hint that it is not necessary that every ungrateful person has to undergo punishment - the likelihood of forgiveness also exists.

The speech of Moses referred to in these verses is perhaps the one which he had made in the Sinai desert to the Children of Israel, a few days before his death. This speech is recorded in detail in the present Bible. The sum and substance of this speech of Moses is that if they remained in this world as the people of God and made the affairs of God the subject of their discussion, then all the things of the world would support them; all communities would bear the stamp of their domination; God would subdue their enemies; so much so that if a river obstructed their way, God would give the command and the waters of the river would separate and give way to them, while their enemies would be drowned in that very river. He added that if they did not do as he said, they would be laid low in the eyes of God, that is, they would be deprived of God’s grace; the product of their labour would go to benefit others; they would fail in all their tasks and they would become intellectually and physically subordinate to other communities. This law of God is not only for Jews but for every community who is given the Book of God. This has been the way of God with every community bearing the Book irrespective of whether they were people of ancient times or whether they are people of the present day.