Surah At-Tur - سورة الطور

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Ibn Kathir explanation) for verse 21 of Surah

At-Tur - تفسير بن كثير للآية 21 من سورة الطور

وَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَاتَّبَعَتْهُمْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُم بِإِيمَـنٍ أَلْحَقْنَا بِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَمَآ أَلَتْنَـهُمْ مِّنْ عَمَلِهِم مِّن شَىْءٍ كُلُّ امْرِىءٍ بِمَا كَسَبَ رَهَينٌ

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. Every person is a pledge for that which he has earned.

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 وَمَآ أَلَتْنَـهُمْ مِّنْ عَمَلِهِم مِّن شَىْءٍ

(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 ءَامَنُواْ وَاتَّبَعَتْهُمْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُم بِإِيمَـنٍ أَلْحَقْنَا بِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَمَآ أَلَتْنَـهُمْ مِّنْ عَمَلِهِم مِّن شَىْءٍ

(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 ءَامَنُواْ وَاتَّبَعَتْهُمْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُم بِإِيمَـنٍ 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 saw sadness on her face, he said,

لَوْ رَأَيْتِ مَكَانَهُمَا لَأَبْغَضْتِهِمَا

(If you saw 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 الْمُؤْمِنِينَ 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 ءَامَنُواْ وَاتَّبَعَتْهُمْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُم بِإِيمَـنٍ

(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 آدَمَ انْقَطَعَ عَمَلُهُ إِلَّا مِنْ ثَلَاثٍ: 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.)

كُلُّ امْرِىءٍ بِمَا كَسَبَ رَهَينٌ

(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 امْرِىءٍ بِمَا كَسَبَ رَهَينٌ

(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 يَتَسَآءَلُونَ - 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)

Surah At-Tur - سورة الطور

Muhammad Muhsin Khan - Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali Translation

1. By the Mount;
2. And by the Book Inscribed.
3. In parchment unrolled.
4. And by the Bait-ul-Ma'mur (the house over the heavens parable to the Ka'bah at Makkah, continuously visited by the angels);
5. And by the roof raised high (i.e. the heaven).
6. And by the sea kept filled (or it will be fire kindled on the Day of Resurrection).
7. Verily, the Torment of your Lord will surely come to pass,
8. There is none that can avert it;
9. On the Day when the heaven will shake with a dreadful shaking,
10. And the mountains will move away with a (horrible) movement.
11. Then woe that Day to the beliers;
12. Who are playing in falsehood.
13. The Day when they will be pushed down by force to the Fire of Hell, with a horrible, forceful pushing.
14. This is the Fire which you used to belie.
15. Is this magic, or do you not see?
16. Taste you therein its heat, and whether you are patient of it or impatient of it, it is all the same. You are only being requited for what you used to do.
17. Verily, the Muttaqun (pious - see V.2:2) will be in Gardens (Paradise), and Delight.
18. Enjoying in that which their Lord has bestowed on them, and (the fact that) their Lord saved them from the torment of the blazing Fire.
19. "Eat and drink with happiness because of what you used to do."
20. They will recline (with ease) on thrones arranged in ranks. And We shall marry them to Houris (female, fair ones) with wide lovely eyes.
21. 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. Every person is a pledge for that which he has earned.
22. And We shall provide them with fruit and meat, such as they desire.
23. There they shall pass from hand to hand a (wine) cup, free from any Laghw (dirty, false, evil vague talk between them), and free from sin (because it will be legal for them to drink).
24. And there will go round boy-servants of theirs, to serve them as if they were preserved pearls.
25. And some of them draw near to others, questioning.
26. Saying: "Aforetime, we were afraid with our families (from the punishment of Allah).
27. "But Allah has been gracious to us, and has saved us from the torment of the Fire.
28. "Verily, We used to invoke Him (Alone and none else) before. Verily, He is Al-Barr (the Most Subtle, Kind, Courteous, and Generous), the Most Merciful."
29. Therefore, remind and preach (mankind, O Muhammad SAW of Islamic Monotheism). By the Grace of Allah, you are neither a soothsayer, nor a madman.
30. Or do they say: "(Muhammad SAW is) a poet! We await for him some calamity by time!
31. Say (O Muhammad SAW to them): "Wait! I am with you, among the waiters!"
32. Do their minds command them this [i.e. to tell a lie against you (Muhammad SAW)] or are they people exceeding the bounds (i.e. from Belief in Allah to disbelief).
33. Or do they say: "He (Muhammad SAW) has forged it (this Quran)?" Nay! They believe not!
34. Let them then produce a recital like unto it (the Quran) if they are truthful.
35. Were they created by nothing, or were they themselves the creators?
36. Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay, but they have no firm Belief.
37. Or are with them the treasures of your Lord? Or are they the tyrants with the authority to do as they like?
38. Or have they a stairway (to heaven), by means of which they listen (to the talks of the angels)? Then let their listener produce some manifest proof.
39. Or has He (Allah) only daughters and you have sons?
40. Or is it that you (O Muhammad SAW) ask a wage from them (for your preaching of Islamic Monotheism) so that they are burdened with a load of debt?
41. Or that the Ghaib (unseen) is with them, and they write it down?
42. Or do they intend a plot (against you O Muhammad SAW)? But those who disbelieve (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic Monotheism) are themselves in a plot!
43. Or have they an ilah (a god) other than Allah? Glorified be Allah from all that they ascribe as partners (to Him)
44. And if they were to see a piece of the heaven falling down, they would say: "Clouds gathered in heaps!"
45. So leave them alone till they meet their Day, in which they will sink into a fainting (with horror).
46. The Day when their plotting shall not avail them at all nor will they be helped (i.e. they will receive their torment in Hell).
47. And verily, for those who do wrong, there is another punishment (i.e. the torment in this world and in their graves) before this, but most of them know not. [Tafsir At-Tabari, Vol. 27, Page 36].
48. So wait patiently (O Muhammad SAW) for the Decision of your Lord, for verily, you are under Our Eyes , and glorify the Praises of your Lord when you get up from sleep.
49. And in the night time, also glorify His Praises, and at the setting of the stars.