Tafsir of Surah At-Taghabun - Verse 1

Which was revealed in Al-Madinah or Makkah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

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

Praising Allah and mentioning His Creation and Knowledge

This is the last Surah among Al-Musabbihat. We mentioned before that all creatures praise the glory of Allah, their Creator and Owner. Allah the Exalted said,

لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ

(His is the dominion, and to Him belongs the praise,) meaning, He is the One Who has control over all creation, the One praised for all He created and decreed. Allah's statement,

وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

(and He is Able to do all things.) means that whatever He wills occurs without resistance, and whatever He does not will, never occurs. Allah said,

هُوَ الَّذِى خَلَقَكُمْ فَمِنكُمْ كَافِرٌ وَمِنكُمْ مُّؤْمِنٌ

(He it is Who created you, then some of you are disbelievers and some of you are believers.) meaning, Allah created you with these characteristics and He willed that for you. Therefore, there will be believers and disbelievers. Surely, Allah is the One Who sees those who deserve guidance and those who deserve misguidance. He is the Witness over His servant's deeds and He will completely recompense them. This is why Allah the Exalted said,

وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ

(And Allah is All-Seer of what you do. ) Allah said,

خَلَقَ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالأَرْضَ بِالْحقِّ

(He has created the heavens and the earth with truth,) with equity and wisdom,

وَصَوَّرَكُمْ فَأَحْسَنَ صُوَرَكُمْ

(and He shaped you and made good your shapes.) He made you in the best shapes and forms. Allah the Exalted said,

يأَيُّهَا الإِنسَـنُ مَا غَرَّكَ بِرَبِّكَ الْكَرِيمِ - الَّذِى خَلَقَكَ فَسَوَّاكَ فَعَدَلَكَ - فِى أَىِّ صُورَةٍ مَّا شَآءَ رَكَّبَكَ

(O man! What has made you careless about your Lord, the most Generous Who created you, fashioned you perfectly and gave you due proportion; in whatever form He willed, He put you together.) (82:6-8) And His saying,

اللَّهُ الَّذِى جَعَـلَ لَكُـمُ الاٌّرْضَ قَـرَاراً وَالسَّمَآءَ بِنَـآءً وَصَوَّرَكُـمْ فَأَحْسَنَ صُوَرَكُـمْ وَرَزَقَكُـمْ مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَـتِ

(Allah, it is He Who has made for you the earth as a dwelling place and the sky as a canopy, and has given you shape and made your shapes good (looking) and has provided you with good things.) (40:64) and His saying;

وَإِلَيْهِ الْمَصِيرُ

(And to Him is the return.) means the return and final destination. Allah then informs of His knowledge of all that there is in the heavens, in the earth and in the souls, He said:

يَعْلَمُ مَا فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تُسِرُّونَ وَمَا تُعْلِنُونَ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمُ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ

(He knows what is in the heavens and on earth, and He knows what you conceal and what you reveal. And Allah is the All-Knower of what is in the breasts.)

وَأَنفِقُوا مِن مَّا رَ‌زَقْنَاكُم مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ (And spend out of what We have given to you before death comes to one of you…63:10) ‘Coming of death’ in this verse refers to ‘witnessing the signs of death’. The verse exhorts the believers to make the best of their opportunities to spend in the way of Allah, in the state of good health and strength, before the signs of death appear, and thus they should have their degrees of rank elevated in the Hereafter. Once death overtakes them the opportunity to spend will be lost, and the wealth will be of no use. Earlier on it was learned that the word dhikr (remembrance of Allah) refers to all forms of obedience and following the dictates of Shari’ ah, which include spending wealth as due. Despite that, spending wealth as due. Despite that, spending wealth on this occasion has been mentioned separately. There may be two reasons for it: Firstly, one of the major objects that divert man from acting upon the sacred laws of shari’ ah is wealth. Therefore, spending wealth, in the form of Zakah, ‘Ushr, Hajj and so on, is specifically mentioned. Secondly, when a person sees the signs of death, it is not in his power to perform his missed prayers, or his missed Hajj, Ramadhan fasts. However, the wealth is in front of him, and he is sure that soon it will slip out of his hand. So he may spend the wealth to compensate his shortfalls in worship and so attain salvation from such shortcomings. Furthermore, charity [ sadaqah ] is efficacious in averting calamities and punishment.

Sahih of Bukahri and Muslim record on the authority of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ that a person asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ : “ Which sadaqah attracts most reward?” The Messenger of Allah replied: “ To spend in Allah’ s way when a person is in a state of good health, and yet he fears, in view of future needs, that if he spends the wealth he may become poor.” Then he continued: “ Do not delay spending in Allah’ s way until such time when your death reaches your throat, and at that moment you instruct (your heirs), ‘Give this much to so-and-so and give this much for such and such work.”’

فَيَقُولَ رَ‌بِّ لَوْلَا أَخَّرْ‌تَنِي إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ قَرِ‌يبٍ (…and he says, “ My Lord, would you not respite me to a near term, and I will pay sadaqah (alms) and will become one of the righteous…63:10). Sayyidna Ibn ‘Abbas ؓ says, in the interpretation of this verse, that if Zakah was due on a person and he failed to pay it, and Hajj was obligatory and he failed to perform it, he will express this desire when death approaches him. He will want a little more time so that he can give sadaqah and أَكُن مِّنَ الصَّالِحِينَ ‘become one of the righteous’ [ 10] In other words, he will also desire that he is given a little more time so that he may act righteously by fulfilling his obligations that he has missed out and repent and ask pardon for the forbidden and abominable acts he might have indulged in. but Allah makes it clear in the next verse that once his time has come, He (Allah) will not give any more time to anyone. This desire at that stage is futile.

Al-Hamdullah

The commentary on

Surah Al-Munafiqun

Ends here

This means that the universe is singing the praises of God; that the reality which is revealed in the Quran, is testified to by the entire universe. In its silent language, it confirms this to the extent of singing praises. Notwithstanding this two-fold declaration those who do not become believers, shall have to wait for the third announcement, when people will be gathered before God, so that they may hear the decision about themselves directly from the Lord of Universe.