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Ayah
Word by Word
إِنَّا
Indeed, we
كُنَّا
[we] used (to)
مِن
before
قَبۡلُ
before
نَدۡعُوهُۖ
call Him
إِنَّهُۥ
Indeed, He
هُوَ
[He]
ٱلۡبَرُّ
(is) the Most Kind
ٱلرَّحِيمُ
the Most Merciful
إِنَّا
Indeed, we
كُنَّا
[we] used (to)
مِن
before
قَبۡلُ
before
نَدۡعُوهُۖ
call Him
إِنَّهُۥ
Indeed, He
هُوَ
[He]
ٱلۡبَرُّ
(is) the Most Kind
ٱلرَّحِيمُ
the Most Merciful
Translation
Indeed, we used to supplicate1 Him before. Indeed, it is He who is the Beneficent, the Merciful."
Footnotes
1 - i.e., worship.
Tafsir
indeed before, that is, in the world, we used to call on Him, worship Him, affirming His Oneness. Verily He is (read innahu as the beginning of a new [independent] sentence, even if it introduces the reason in terms of its import; or read annahu as a reason in terms of the [syntactical] order of the words) the Benign, the Beneficent, the True to His promise, the Merciful, One of tremendous mercy.
Description of the Destination of the Happy Ones
Allah the Exalted described the destination of the happy ones,
إِنَّ الْمُتَّقِينَ فِي جَنَّاتٍ وَنَعِيمٍ
Verily, those who have Taqwa will be in Gardens and Delight.
in contrast to the torment and punishment of the miserable
فَاكِهِينَ بِمَا اتَاهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ
Enjoying in that which their Lord has bestowed on them,
meaning, enjoying the various types of delight that Allah has granted them therein, such as various types of foods, drinks, clothes, dwelling places, mounts, and so forth,
وَوَقَاهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ عَذَابَ الْجَحِيمِ
and (the fact that) their Lord saved them from the torment of the blazing Fire.
He saved them from the torment of the Fire, which is a bounty itself. Added to this blessing is the fact that they were entered into Paradise, which has delights that no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard, nor has a heart ever imagined.
The statement of Allah the Exalted,
كُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا هَنِييًا بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
Eat and drink with happiness because of what you used to do.
is similar to another of His statements,
كُلُواْ وَاشْرَبُواْ هَنِييَاً بِمَأ أَسْلَفْتُمْ فِى الاٌّيَّامِ الْخَالِيَةِ
Eat and drink at ease for that which you have sent on before you in days past! (69:24)
meaning this is the just reward for your deeds; surely, all this is a favor from Allah and a reward from Him.
Allah the Exalted said
مُتَّكِيِينَ عَلَى سُرُرٍ مَّصْفُوفَةٍ
They will recline (with ease) on thrones Masfufah.
Ath-Thawri reported from Husayn, from Mujahid, from Ibn Abbas:
Thrones in howdahs.
And the meaning of, (Masfufah) is they will be facing each other,
عَلَى سُرُرٍ مُّتَقَـبِلِينَ
Facing one another on thrones. (37:44)
Allah said next,
وَزَوَّجْنَاهُم بِحُورٍ عِينٍ
And We shall marry them to Hur (fair females) with wide lovely eyes.
We made for them righteous spouses, beautiful wives from Al-Hur Al-`Ayn.
We mentioned the description of Al-Hur Al-`Ayn in several other places in this Tafsir, and therefore, it is not necessary to repeat their description here.
The Offspring of Righteous Believers will be elevated to Their Grades in Paradise
Allah the Exalted says,
وَالَّذِينَ امَنُوا وَاتَّبَعَتْهُمْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُم بِإِيمَانٍ أَلْحَقْنَا بِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ
وَمَا أَلَتْنَاهُم مِّنْ عَمَلِهِم مِّن شَيْءٍ
And those who believe and whose offspring follow them in faith, -- to them shall We join their offspring, and We shall not decrease the reward of their deeds in anything.
In this Ayah, Allah the Exalted affirms His favor, generosity, graciousness, compassion and beneficence towards His creation. When the offspring of the righteous believers imitate their parents regarding faith, Allah will elevate the latter to the ranks of the former, even though the latter did not perform deeds as goodly as their parents. Allah will comfort the eyes of the parents by seeing their offspring elevated to their grades. Surely, Allah will gather them together in the best manner, and He will not decrease the reward or the grades of those higher in rank for joining them together, hence His statement,
أَلْحَقْنَا بِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ
وَمَا أَلَتْنَاهُم مِّنْ عَمَلِهِم مِّن شَيْءٍ
.
to them shall We join their offspring, and We shall not decrease the reward of their deeds in anything.
Ath-Thawri reported that Ibn Abbas said,
Verily, Allah elevates the ranks of the believers' offspring to rank of their parents, even though the latter have not performed as well as the former, so that the eyes of the parents are comforted.
Ibn Abbas then recited this Ayah,
وَالَّذِينَ امَنُوا وَاتَّبَعَتْهُمْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُم بِإِيمَانٍ أَلْحَقْنَا بِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ
وَمَا أَلَتْنَاهُم مِّنْ عَمَلِهِم مِّن شَيْءٍ
And those who believe and whose offspring follow them in faith, -- to them shall We join their offspring, and We shall not decrease the reward of their deeds in anything.
Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim recorded this statement from Sufyan Ath-Thawri from Ibn Abbas.
Ibn Abi Hatim also recorded that Ibn Abbas commented on Allah's statement,
وَالَّذِينَ امَنُوا وَاتَّبَعَتْهُمْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُم بِإِيمَانٍ أَلْحَقْنَا بِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ
(And those who believe and whose offspring follow them in faith, -- to them shall We join their offspring), saying,
They are the offspring of the believers who died on the faith. If the ranks of their parents are higher than their ranks, they will be joined with their parents. No part of the reward their parents received for their good deeds will be reduced for them.
Abdullah, son of Imam Ahmad, recorded that Ali said,
Khadijah asked the Prophet about two of her children who died during the time of Jahiliyyah, and the Messenger of Allah said;
هُمَا فِي النَّار
(They are both in the Fire).
When he ﷺ sadness on her face, he said,
لَوْ رَأَيْتِ مَكَانَهُمَا لَاَبْغَضْتِهِمَا
If you ﷺ their dwelling place, you would hate them.
She said, `O Allah's Messenger! What about my children with you.'
He said,
فِي الْجَنَّة
(They are in Paradise).
The Messenger of Allah said,
إِنَّ الْمُوْمِنِينَ وَأَوْلَادَهُمْ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَإِنَّ الْمُشْرِكِينَ وَأَوْلَادَهُمْ فِي النَّار
Verily, the believers and their offspring will dwell in Paradise, while the idolators and their offspring will dwell in the Hellfire.
The Prophet then recited the Ayah,
وَالَّذِينَ امَنُوا وَاتَّبَعَتْهُمْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُم بِإِيمَانٍ
(And those who believe and whose offspring follow them in faith...)
Certainly, it is Allah's grace and favor that He grants the children this blessing because of the good deeds of their parents. He also grants His favor to parents on account of their offspring invoking Allah for them.
Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah said,
إِنَّ اللهَ لَيَرْفَعُ الدَّرَجَةَ لِلْعَبْدِ الصَّالِحِ فِي الْجَنَّةِ فَيَقُولُ يَا رَبِّ أَنْى لِي هذِهِ
فَيَقُولُ بِاسْتِغْفَارِ وَلَدِكَ لَك
Verily, Allah shall elevate the grade of a righteous servant in Paradise, who will ask, O Lord! How did I earn this?
Allah will reply, Through your son's invoking Me to forgive you.
This Hadith has an authentic chain of narration, but it was not recorded in the Sahih this way.
However, there is a witnessing narration for it in Sahih Muslim, from the Hadith of Abu Hurayrah, who said that the Messenger of Allah said,
إِذَا مَاتَ ابْنُ ادَمَ انْقَطَعَ عَمَلُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ ثَلَثٍ
صَدَقَةٍ جَارِيَةٍ
أَوْ عِلْمٍ يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ
أَوْ وَلَدٍ صَالِحٍ يَدْعُو لَه
When the Son of Adam dies, his record of deeds will cease except in three cases:
an ongoing charity,
knowledge that people are benefiting from and
a righteous son who invokes Allah for him.
Allah is Just with the Sinners
Allah the Exalted said,
كُلُّ امْرِيٍ بِمَا كَسَبَ رَهِينٌ
Every person is a pledge for that which he has earned.
After Allah mentioned His favor of elevating the offspring to the ranks of their parents, even though the deeds of the former did not qualify them, He affirmed His fairness in that, He does not punish anyone for the mistakes of others,
كُلُّ امْرِيٍ بِمَا كَسَبَ رَهِينٌ
(Every person is a pledge for that which he has earned). Therefore, every person will be responsible for his actions. No sin committed by others shall ever be added to one's load, even if committed by his or her parents or offspring.
Allah the Exalted said,
كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ رَهِينَةٌ
إِلاَّ أَصْحَـبَ الْيَمِينِ
فِى جَنَّـتٍ يَتَسَأءَلُونَ
عَنِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ
Every person is a pledge for what he has earned, except those on the Right. In Gardens, they will ask one another about the criminals. (74:38-41)
Description of the Khamr of Paradise and the Delight of its Dwellers
Allah said,
وَأَمْدَدْنَاهُم بِفَاكِهَةٍ وَلَحْمٍ مِّمَّا يَشْتَهُونَ
And We shall provide them with fruit and meat such as they desire.
meaning, `We shall provide them with various types and kinds of fruits and meat, whatever they wish for and desire,
يَتَنَازَعُونَ فِيهَا كَأْسًا
There they shall pass from hand to hand a cup,
meaning, of wine, according to Ad-Dahhak,
لاَّا لَغْوٌ فِيهَا وَلَا تَأْثِيمٌ
free from any Laghw, and free from Ta'thim,
meaning, when they drink, they do not say any idle, vain words or utter dirty, sinful speech like the drunken people in this life do.
Ibn Abbas said that
Laghw means `falsehood' while Ta'thim means `lying'.
Mujahid said, They do not curse each other nor sin.
Qatadah said,
These were the consequences of drinking in this life, and Shaytan helped in this regard. Allah purified the wine of the Hereafter from the ills and harm caused by the wine of this life.
Therefore, Allah has purified the wine of the Hereafter from causing headaches, stomachaches and intoxication like the wine of this life. Allah stated that wine of the Hereafter shall not cause those who drink it to utter false, vain words that carry no benefit, full of foolishness and evil. Allah also described the wine of the Hereafter as beautiful in appearance, tasty and fruitful,
بَيْضَأءَ لَذَّةٍ لِّلشَّـرِبِينَ
لَا فِيهَا غَوْلٌ وَلَا هُمْ عَنْهَا يُنزَفُونَ
White, delicious to the drinkers. Neither will they have Ghawl from that nor will they suffer intoxication therefrom. (37:46-47)
and,
لااَّ يُصَدَّعُونَ عَنْهَا وَلَا يُنزِفُونَ
Wherefrom they will get neither nay aching of the head nor any intoxication. (56:19)
Allah the Exalted said here,
يَتَنَازَعُونَ فِيهَا كَأْسًا لاَّ لَغْوٌ فِيهَا وَلَا تَأْثِيمٌ
(There they shall pass from hand to hand a (wine) cup, free from any Laghw, and free from sin).
Allah said,
وَيَطُوفُ عَلَيْهِمْ غِلْمَانٌ لَّهُمْ كَأَنَّهُمْ لُوْلُوٌ مَّكْنُونٌ
And there will go round boy-servants of theirs to serve them as if they were preserved pearls.
This is a description of the servants and aids, the believers will have in Paradise. Their servants will be beautiful, graceful in appearance, clean and neat as well-preserved pearls,
يَطُوفُ عَلَيْهِمْ وِلْدَنٌ مُّخَلَّدُونَ
بِأَكْوَابٍ وَأَبَارِيقَ وَكَأْسٍ مِّن مَّعِينٍ
Immortal boys will go around them with cups, and jugs, and a glass of flowing wine. (56:17-18)
Allah the Exalted said,
وَأَقْبَلَ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ يَتَسَاءلُونَ
And some of them draw near to others, questioning.
meaning, the believers will draw near to each other talking and remembering their actions and conditions in this life, just as people in this life talk while drinking, especially when they become intoxicated,
قَالُوا إِنَّا كُنَّا قَبْلُ فِي أَهْلِنَا مُشْفِقِينَ
Saying:Aforetime, we were afraid in the midst of our families.
meaning, `in the life of world and in the midst of our families, we were afraid of our Lord and fearful of His torment and punishment,'
فَمَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَيْنَا وَوَقَانَا عَذَابَ السَّمُومِ
So Allah has been gracious to us, and has saved us from the torment of the Fire.
meaning, `He has granted us a favor and saved us from what we feared,
إِنَّا كُنَّا مِن قَبْلُ نَدْعُوهُ
Verily, We used to invoke Him before.
meaning, `we used to invoke Him with submission and humility, and He accepted our invocation and gave us what we wished,'
إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْبَرُّ الرَّحِيمُ
Verily, He is the Most Subtle, the Most Merciful.
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