Tafsir of Surah Al-Hajj - Verse 14

The Reward of the Righteous

The mention of the misguided who are doomed is followed by mention of the righteous who are blessed. They are those who believe firmly in their hearts and confirm their faith by their actions, doing all kinds of righteous deeds and avoiding evil actions. Because of this, they will inherit dwellings in the lofty ranks of the gardens of Paradise. So Allah tells us that He sends those astray and guides these, and says:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَفْعَلُ مَا يُرِيدُ

(Verily, Allah does what He wills.)

Commentary

(And among men there is one who worships Allah (standing) on the verge - 22:11.) Bukhari and Ibn Abi Haim have related from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ that when the Holy Prophet ﷺ migrated to Madinah, people flocked to him and accepted the new religion. But there were some among them whose conversion to Islam was far from being genuine, and whose sole motive for their action was to seek self-advancement, and they lacked conviction. If, after becoming Muslims, favorable circumstances resulted in an increase in their prosperity and their children, they thought Islam was a very good religion, but they were equally ready to condemn it if things went against their personal interests. This verse was revealed to describe such people who were mere opportunists and were easily swayed either way depending on where their selfish interests lay.

Whenever a man, unmindful of God, strays from His right path or ignores it, the reason is that he has placed his entire reliance on something other than God. This could be either an idol or some other such object or being. But, in this world, there is nobody who has any powers except the one and only God. Therefore, if a man relies on something other than God, he in fact parts from a powerful Being to seek the support of some imaginary thing which has no reality as a power. What action can be more wrong than this? Moreover, one’s association with God is not a simple matter. It is in fact an acceptance of reality. It is a right of God over man. Therefore, when a man leaves God and diverts his attention towards imaginary things, he is to be harmed by his own action. As far as any benefit is concerned, it can never be received from any object other than the one true God. Those who seek the support of things other than God apparently consider those things to be on a higher plane than themselves, as they would not otherwise have had recourse to them. But the fact is that those whose support is sought and those who seek such support are equally helpless and powerless. In such a world, the pure in thought, treading the God-favoured path with eyes fixed on the Hereafter, can distinguish God from a host of false gods. They are the most precious souls on this earth. God will show His appreciation for them by settling them in the perfect world of paradise, where they will experience eternal bliss.