Tafsir of Surah Al-'Ankabut - Verse 1

Which was revealed in Makkah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

The Believers are tested so that it may be known Who is Sincere and Who is Lying

Allah says:

الم

Alif Lam Mim.

In the beginning of the Tafsir of Surah Al-Baqarah, we discussed the letters which appear at the beginning of some Surahs.

أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَكُواْ أَن يَقُولُواْ ءَامَنَّا وَهُمْ لاَ يُفْتَنُونَ

(Do people think that they will be left alone because they say: "We believe," and will not be tested.) This is a rebuke in the form of a question, meaning that Allah will inevitably test His believing servants according to their level of faith, as it recorded in the authentic Hadith:

«أَشَدُّ النَّاسِ بَلَاءً الْأَنْبِيَاءُ، ثُمَّ الصَّالِحُونَ، ثُمَّ الْأَمْثَلُ فَالْأَمْثَلُ، يُبْتَلَى الرَّجُلُ عَلَى حَسَبِ دِينِهِ، فَإِنْ كَانَ فِي دِينِهِ صَلَابَةٌ زِيدَ لَهُ فِي الْبَلَاء»

(The people most severly tested are the Prophets, then the righteous, then the next best and the next best. A man will be tested in accordance with the degree of his religious commitment; the stonger his religious commitment, the stronger his test.) This Ayah is like the Ayah,

أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَن تَدْخُلُواْ الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَعْلَمِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ جَـهَدُواْ مِنكُمْ وَيَعْلَمَ الصَّـبِرِينَ

(Do you think that you will enter Paradise without Allah knowing those of you who fought (in His cause) and knowing those who are the patient) (3:142) There is a similar Ayah in Surat At-Tawbah. And Allah says:

أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَن تَدْخُلُواْ الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُم مَّثَلُ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْاْ مِن قَبْلِكُم مَّسَّتْهُمُ الْبَأْسَآءُ وَالضَّرَّآءُ وَزُلْزِلُواْ حَتَّى يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ مَعَهُ مَتَى نَصْرُ اللَّهِ أَلاَ إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ

(Or think you that you will enter Paradise without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you They were afflicted with severe poverty and ailments and were so shaken that even the Messenger and those who believed along with him said, "When (will come) the help of Allah" Yes! Certainly, the help of Allah is near!) (2:214) Allah says here:

وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُواْ وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ الْكَـذِبِينَ

(And We indeed tested those who were before them so that Allah will know those who are true, and will know those who are liars.) meaning, He will make know which are sincere in their claim to be believers from those who are lying. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, knows what has happened in the past and what is yet to come, and He knows how that which will not happen would have happened if it were to happen. All the Imams of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah are agreed on this. This is the view of Ibn `Abbas and others concerning phrases such as the Ayah,

إِلاَّ لِنَعْلَمَ

(only that We know) (2:143). Meaning, only to see -- because seeing has to do with what is there, but knowledge is broader than seeing, since it includes what is not present as well as what is.

The Evildoers cannot escape from Allah Allah said:

أَمْ حَسِبَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ أَن يَسْبِقُونَا سَآءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ

(Or think those who do evil deeds that they can outstrip Us Evil is that which they judge!) means, those who are not believers should not think that they will escape such trials and tests, for ahead of them lies a greater and more severe punishment. Allah says:

أَمْ حَسِبَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ أَن يَسْبِقُونَا

(Or think those who do evil deeds that they can outstrip Us) meaning, "escape" from Us.

سَآءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ

(Evil is that which they judge!) what they think is evil.

كُلُّ شَيْءٍ هَالِكٌ إِلَّا وَجْهَهُ (Everything is going to perish except His Face - 28:88). The word 'His Face' in this verse means the very Being of Allah Ta’ ala. Hence, the meaning of the verse is that except for Allah Ta’ ala everything is mortal and will get destroyed and will vanish. Some commentators have taken the phrase' His Face' to mean the good deeds performed by human beings exclusively for Allah Ta’ ala. In that case the meaning of the verse would be that those actions which are performed exclusively for Allah Ta’ ala will not be destroyed, while all other things will perish.

اَلحَمدُ للہ Al-hamdulillah, today on Dhulqa'dah 9, 1391-H (September 1971), the commentary on Surah Al-Qasas has concluded in such conditions that Pakistan was attacked by India and the unholy alliance of the big powers. For fourteen days Karachi was bombarded daily. The city was severely damaged. Hundreds of Muslims were martyred, and many a houses were demolished. Fourteen days war finished on the sad note that East Pakistan is cut off from Pakistan, and about ninety thousand troops have surrendered there. Killing is still going on in East Pakistan. Every Muslim is stuck with grief and bewilderment.

إِنَّا لِلَّـهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَ‌اجِعُونَ و الیہ المشتکی ولا منجا من اللہ اِلَّا اِلیہ

The question of whether a man is a true believer is decided on the basis of how he conducts himself in extraordinary rather than in ordinary circumstances. It becomes clear, on such occasions through a man’s overt actions whether he is in actual fact what he claims to be. Those who prove to be steadfast in their belief and convictions under extraordinary circumstances, will be treated by God as believers in the true sense. To pass the divine test means to become a man of faith by adopting the way of sacrifice, that is to say, to accept and confirm the Truth when people in general reject it; to be staunch in one’s beliefs when people harbour doubts; to be a believer even at the cost of curbing one’s ego; to accept the Truth even when rejection of it does not entail any loss; to spend when restraint would appear to be more prudent; to be steadfast and firm when circumstances warrant fleeing; to surrender when the occasion demands that one save one’s skin; to bow down in submission when there is an occasion for arrogance; to support and co-operate when it amounts to surrendering and sacrificing everything. The inner man is revealed on such extraordinary occasions. Thereafter, no one is left with the opportunity to make fictitious claims about what in actual fact one is not.