Tafsir of Surah Al-Ma'idah - Verse 120

Only Truth will be of Benefit on the Day of Resurrection

Allah answers His servant and Messenger `Isa, son of Maryam, after he disowns the disbelieving Christians who lied about Allah and His Messenger, and when `Isa refers their end to the will of his Lord,

هَـذَا يَوْمُ يَنفَعُ الصَّـدِقِينَ صِدْقُهُمْ

(This is a Day on which the truthful will profit from their truth.) Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn `Abbas commented, "This is the Day when Tawhid will benefit those who believed in it."

لَهُمْ جَنَّـتٌ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا الاٌّنْهَـرُ خَـلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَداً

(Theirs are Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise) -- they shall abide therein forever.) and they will never be removed from it,

رِّضِىَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُواْ عَنْهُ

(Allah is pleased with them and they with Him.)

وَرِضْوَنٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ

(But the greatest bliss is the good pleasure of Allah.) 9:72 We will mention the Hadiths about this Ayah 9:72 later on. Allah's statement,

ذلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ

(That is the great success.) means, this is the great success, other than which there is no greater success. Allah said in another Ayat,

لِمِثْلِ هَـذَا فَلْيَعْمَلِ الْعَـمِلُونَ

(For the like of this let the workers work.) 37:61, and,

وَفِى ذَلِكَ فَلْيَتَنَافَسِ الْمُتَنَـفِسُونَ

(And for this let (all) those strive who want to strive.) 83:26 Allah's statement,

للَّهِ مُلْكُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ وَمَا فِيهِنَّ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

(To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is therein, and He is able to do all things.) means, He created everything, owns everything, controls the affairs of everything and is able to do all things. Therefore, everything and everyone are in His domain and under His power and will. There is none like Him, nor is there rival, ancestor, son, or wife for Him, nor a lord or god besides Him. Ibn Wahb said that he heard Huyay bin `Abdullah saying that Abu `Abdur-Rahman Al-Habli said that `Abdullah bin `Amr said, "The last revealed Surah was Surat Al-Ma'idah."

The Linkage of Verses

The first two sections (Ruku`) appearing earlier describe some of the happenings on the day of Qiyamah such as the reckoning, the questions and their answers. Mentioned now is the outcome of the probe and reckoning of that fateful day.

Commentary

Notes

1\. Verse 119 opens with the words: قَالَ اللَّـهُ هَـٰذَا يَوْمُ يَنفَعُ الصَّادِقِينَ صِدْقُهُمْ (Allah said, "This is a day the truth of the truthful shall bring benefit to them). Generally, what is according to what has happened is called truth while that which is not according to what has happened is referred to as false or a lie. But, according to the -Qur'an and Sunnah, sidq (truth) and kidhb کِذب (lie) are general, that is, they refer to both words and deeds. As such, given here is a Hadith in which counter-factual deed has been called kidhb مَن تَحَلَّی بِمَا لَم یُعطَ کَانَ کَلَابِسِ ثَوبَی زُورِ [ that is, whoever adorns himself (or herself) with what has not been given to him (or her) (that is, claims a quality or deed not in him or her) then, it is as if he has put on two garbs of a lie – [ Mishkat ].

There is another Hadith in which one who makes Salah with care and concern, whether in public or in private, has been called a true servant of Allah:

اِن ال (علیہ السلام) عبدَ اِذا صَلَّی فِی السِّرِّ فَاَحسَنَ قَالَ اللہ تَعَالٰی ھٰزَا عَبدی

A person who performs Salah openly, then, does it well; and when performs it in private, then, does it well, then, Allah Ta'ala says: ` This is My servant - in truth. - Mishkat.

2\. About the statement: رضِيَ اللَّـهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَ‌ضُوا عَنْهُ (Allah is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him - 119), it appears in Hadith that, after having blessed true believers with Jannah (Paradise), Allah Ta` ala will say: The real blessing is that I am pleased with you and now I shall never be displeased with you.

3\. The words appearing after that are: ذَٰلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ (That is the great achievement). Indeed, so it is. When Allah Jalla Sha'nuhu, the Master, the Creator is pleased with you, what else could it be?

فَلِلَّہِ الحَمدُ اَوَّلَہ وَ اٰخِرَہ

All praises are for Allah from the beginning to the end.

This world has been created for the sake of putting man to the test. Therefore, everybody has freedom here. Here man may prosper even after linking with God and his prophet a religion which is not connected with God and His prophet. Here, even on the strength of imaginary hopes and false wishes, the right to paradise can be claimed. Here, it is possible for a man to create a great fanfare about his leadership and to ‘prove’ that whatever he does is exactly according to the religion of God. But, no such thing will be useful on the Day of Judgement. What will be useful on the Day of Judgment will be that man should prove truthful in the eyes of God. The test of the community bearing the Divine Scripture is not whether they are the claimants of faith or not. Their real test is a demonstration of their ability to prove their claim to Faith.