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Ayah
Word by Word
وَلَا
And (do) not
تَكُونُواْ
be
كَٱلَّذِينَ
like those who
نَسُواْ
forgot
ٱللَّهَ
Allah
فَأَنسَىٰهُمۡ
so He made them forget
أَنفُسَهُمۡۚ
themselves
أُوْلَٰٓئِكَ
Those
هُمُ
[they]
ٱلۡفَٰسِقُونَ
(are) the defiantly disobedient
وَلَا
And (do) not
تَكُونُواْ
be
كَٱلَّذِينَ
like those who
نَسُواْ
forgot
ٱللَّهَ
Allah
فَأَنسَىٰهُمۡ
so He made them forget
أَنفُسَهُمۡۚ
themselves
أُوْلَٰٓئِكَ
Those
هُمُ
[they]
ٱلۡفَٰسِقُونَ
(are) the defiantly disobedient
Translation
And be not like those who forgot Allāh, so He made them forget themselves. Those are the defiantly disobedient.
Tafsir
And do not be like those who forget God, [those who] neglect obedience to Him, so that He makes them forget their own souls, [to forget] to send ahead good deeds for its sake. Those - they are the immoral.
The Command to have Taqwa and to prepare for the Day of Resurrection
Imam Ahmad recorded that Al-Mundhir bin Jarir narrated that his father said,
While we were in the company of the Messenger of Allah in the early hours of the morning, some people came there who were barefooted, naked, wearing striped woolen clothes, or cloaks, with their swords hung (around their necks). Most of them, nay, all of them, belonged to the tribe of Mudar. The color of the face of the Messenger of Allah underwent a change when he ﷺ them in poverty. He then entered (his house) and came out and commanded Bilal to pronounce Adhan. Bilal pronounced Adhan and Iqamah, and the Prophet led the prayer. He then addressed them, first reciting,
يَـأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُواْ رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِى خَلَقَكُمْ مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَحِدَةٍ
O mankind! Have Taqwa of your Lord, Who created you from a single person... (4:1), until the end of the Ayah.
Then he recited the Ayah that is in Surah Al-Hashr:
وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَد
and let every person look to what he has sent forth for tomorrow,
He then said,
A man donated his Dinar, his Dirham, from his clothes, from his Sa` of wheat, from his Sa` of dates -- until he said -- even if it was half a date.
Then a person among the Ansar came there with a moneybag, which his hands could scarcely lift; in fact, his hands could not lift it. Then the people followed continuously, until I ﷺ two heaps of eatables and clothes. I ﷺ the face of the Messenger radiate with pleasure, like gold. The Messenger of Allah said,
مَنْ سَنَّ فِي الاِْسْلَمِ سُنَّةً حَسَنَةً فَلَهُ أَجْرُهَا وَأَجْرُ مَنْ عَمِلَ بِهَا بَعْدَهُ مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ يُنْقَصَ مِنْ أُجُورِهِمْ شَيْءٌ
وَمَنْ سَنَّ فِي الاِْسْلَمِ سُنَّةً سَيِّيَةً كَانَ عَلَيْهِ وِزْرُهَا وَوِزْرُ مَنْ عَمِلَ بِهَا مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ يُنْقَصَ مِنْ أَوْزَارِهِمْ شَيْء
He who sets a good example in Islam, there is a reward for him for this (act of goodness) and reward of that also who acted according to it subsequently, without any deduction from their rewards.
Whoever sets in Islam an evil example, there is upon him the burden of that evil and the burden of him also who acted upon it subsequently, without any deduction from their burden.
Muslim recorded this Hadith via the chain of Shu`bah.
Therefore, Allah's statement,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ امَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ
O you who believe! Have Taqwa of Allah,
ordains the Taqwa of Allah which pertains to obeying what He ordered and staying away from what He forbade.
Allah said,
وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ
and let every person look to what he has sent forth for tomorrow,
meaning, hold yourselves accountable before you are recompensed, and contemplate what you have kept for yourselves of good deeds for the Day of your return and being paraded before your Lord,
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ
Have Taqwa of Allah,
again ordering Taqwa,
إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
Verily, Allah is All-Aware of what you do.
Allah asserts that surely, He knows all of your deeds -- O mankind -- and actions. Nothing that pertains to you ever escapes His observation, nor any matter of yours, whether major or minor, is ever beyond His knowledge
وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ نَسُوا اللَّهَ فَأَنسَاهُمْ أَنفُسَهُمْ
And be not like those who forgot Allah, and He caused them to forget themselves.
meaning, do not forget the remembrance of Allah, the Exalted, otherwise, He will make you forget to perform the good deeds that benefit you in your return, because the recompense is equated with the action.
This is why Allah the Exalted said,
أُوْلَيِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ
Those are the rebellious.
referring to those who rebel against obedience to Allah, who will earn destruction on the Day of Resurrection and failure upon their return,
يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لاأَ تُلْهِكُمْ أَمْوَلُكُمْ وَلاأَ أَوْلَـدُكُمْ عَن ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ فَأُوْلَـيِكَ هُمُ الْخَـسِرُونَ
O you who believe! Let not your properties or your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah. And whosoever does that, then they are the losers. (63:9)
The Residents of Paradise and the Residents of Hell are never Equal
Allah said
لَاا يَسْتَوِي أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ وَأَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ
Not equal are the dwellers of the Fire and the dwellers of the Paradise.
meaning, these two categories of people are never the same with regards to the judgement of Allah, the Exalted, on the Day of Resurrection.
Allah said in other Ayat,
أَمْ حَسِبَ الَّذِينَ اجْتَرَحُواْ السَّيِّيَـتِ أَن نَّجْعَلَهُمْ كَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَـتِ سَوَاءً مَّحْيَـهُمْ وَمَمَـتُهُمْ سَأءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ
Or do those who earn evil deeds think that We shall hold them equal with those who believe and do righteous good deeds, in their present life and after their death Worst is the judgement that they make. (45:21),
and,
وَمَا يَسْتَوِى الاٌّعْـمَى وَالْبَصِيرُ وَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَـتِ وَلَا الْمُسِىءُ قَلِيـلً مَّا تَتَذَكَّرُونَ
And not equal are the blind and those who see; nor are those who believe and do righteous good deeds and those who do evil. Little do you remember! (40:58),
and,
أَمْ نَجْعَلُ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَـتِ كَالْمُفْسِدِينَ فِى الاٌّرْضِ أَمْ نَجْعَلُ الْمُتَّقِينَ كَالْفُجَّارِ
Shall We treat those who believe and do righteous good deeds as corrupters on earth Or shall We treat those who have Taqwa as the wicked? (38:28)
Therefore, Allah asserts that He will honor the righteous and humiliate the sinners, and this is why He said here,
أَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ هُمُ الْفَايِزُونَ
It is the dwellers of Paradise that will be successful.
that is, they are those who will earn safety and deliverance from the torment of Allah the Exalted and Most Honored.
Asserting the Greatness of the Qur'an
Allah the Exalted emphasizes the greatness of the Qur'an, its high status and of being worthy of making hearts humble and rent asunder upon hearing it, because of the true promises and sure threats that it contains,
لَوْ أَنزَلْنَا هَذَا الْقُرْانَ عَلَى جَبَلٍ لَّرَأَيْتَهُ خَاشِعًا مُّتَصَدِّعًا مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ
Had We sent down this Qur'an on a mountain, you would surely have seen it humbling itself and rent asunder by the fear of Allah.
If this is the case with a mountain which is hard and huge, that if it was made able to comprehend and understand this Qur'an, will feel humble and crumble from fear of Allah the Exalted, then what about you -- O mankind Why do your hearts not feel softness and humbleness from the fear of Allah, even though you understand Allah's command and comprehend His Book
This is why Allah said,
وَتِلْكَ الاَْمْثَالُ نَضْرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
Such are the parables which We put forward to mankind that they may reflect.
There is a Hadith of the Mutawatir grade that states,
The Messenger of Allah had someone make him a Minbar. Before that, he used to stand next to a tree trunk in the Masjid to deliver speeches. So, when the Minbar was made and placed in the Masjid, the Prophet came to deliver a speech and passed the tree trunk, headed towards the Minbar, the tree trunk started weeping, just like an infant. The tree trunk missed hearing the remembrance of Allah and the revelation that were being recited next to it.
In one of the narrations for this Hadith, Al-Hasan Al-Basri said after narrating the Hadith,
You - mankind -- are more worthy to miss the Messenger of Allah than the tree trunk!
Likewise, this honorable Ayah asks that if the solid mountains feel humble and are rent asunder from the fear of Allah, if it heard Allah's Speech and comprehended it, what about you -- O mankind -- who heard the Qur'an and understood it Allah the Exalted said in another Ayah,
وَلَوْ أَنَّ قُرْانًا سُيِّرَتْ بِهِ الْجِبَالُ أَوْ قُطِّعَتْ بِهِ الاٌّرْضُ أَوْ كُلِّمَ بِهِ الْمَوْتَى
And if there had been a Qur'an with which mountains could be moved, or the earth could be cloven asunder, or the dead could be made to speak. (13:31)
We mentioned the meaning of this Ayah as stating that, if there were a Qur'an that has these qualities, it would be this Qur'an.
Allah the Exalted said in another Ayah,
وَإِنَّ مِنَ الْحِجَارَةِ لَمَا يَتَفَجَّرُ مِنْهُ الَانْهَـرُ وَإِنَّ مِنْهَا لَمَا يَشَّقَّقُ فَيَخْرُجُ مِنْهُ الْمَأءُ وَإِنَّ مِنْهَا لَمَا يَهْبِطُ مِنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ
And indeed, there are stones out of which rivers gush forth, and indeed, there are of them (stones) which split asunder so that water flows from them, and indeed, there are of them which fall down for fear of Allah. (2:74)
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