Surah At-Taghaabun (64): Read Online and Download - English Translation

Commentary

هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ فَمِنكُمْ كَافِرٌ‌ وَمِنكُم مُّؤْمِنٌ (He is the One who created you, then some of you are disbelievers, and some of you are believers…64:2). In the phrase fa-minkum, the particle ‘fa’ [ translated here as ‘then’] denotes ‘one thing happening after another’. In this instance, the phrase ‘khalaqakum’ [ created you ] indicates that at the inception of creation there were no unbelievers [ kafis ]. Human beings were, subsequently, divided into believers and non-believers by their own free will and choice with which Allah has invested them. They are rewarded or punished on account of exercising the free will and choice. A Prophetic Tradition states: کُلُّ مَولُودٍ یُّولَدُ علَی الفِطرَۃِ فَاَبَوَاہُ یُھِّدَانِہٖ وَ یُنَصِّرَانِہٖ (Everyone is born a Muslim, but his parents make him a Jew, a Christian…) [ Qurtubi ].

Two Nations Theory

The Holy Qura’ n has divided mankind here into two groups: a believing group and a non-believing one. This indicates that the children of ‘Adam (علیہ السلام) is one single brotherhood, and all human beings are members of this brotherhood. Kufr [ unbelief ] is the only dividing line that severs relationship with this brotherhood and creates another group. He who becomes a Kafir has severed the relationship of human brotherhood. Thus group-formation can only take place on the basis of ‘Iman and Kufr. Neither colour nor language, neither lineage nor family, neither land, territory or geographical region can divide human brotherhood into rival groups. The offspring of one father may live in different cities, or use different languages, or have different colours, but it does not divide them into different groups. Despite differences of colour, language, country or territory, they are members of the same brotherhood. No sane person will ever regard them as different groups.

In the Days of Ignorance, ethnicity and tribal divisions had become the basis of factionalism but the Messenger of Allah ﷺ broke down these idols, which they pursued. By the express text of the Holy Qur’ an اِنَّمَا المُؤمِنُونَ اِخوَۃٌ ‘All believers are but brothers’ irrespective of their country or territory, their colour or family, or their language. They all belong to one brotherhood. So likewise, the non-believers, in the sight of Islam, belong to a single community.

The above verse also bears evidence to the fact that Allah has divided all mankind into two groups – the believers and the non-believers. The variety of the perfect power of Allah, and having many socio-economic benefits, it is a great blessing, but it is not permitted to use it as the basis of factionalism or group-foration among mankind.

Moreover, the binary division of mankind on the basis of ‘Iman and Kufr is a matter of free will and choice. Both ‘Iman and Kufr may be adopted by one’ s free will. If a person chooses out of his own free will to abandon his group and join another, he can do it very easily: He may give up his articles of faith, choose another faith and thus join the other group. On the other hand, the affiliations of race, lineage, colour, language or territory are not within the power or control of anyone. No one can change his affiliation with his race, colour or language.

It is this Islamic brotherhood that, in a short span of time, from east to west, north to south, white and black, and Arabs and non-Arabs, whose might and power could not be resisted by the nations of the world, and therefore they revived once again the idols that were shattered by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and Islam. They partitioned the one mighty ummah and Muslims in to small bits and pieces of nations based on territory, homeland, language and colour, race and lineage, and caused them to collide with one another. This cleared the way for the enemies of Islam to attack, the consequences of which are visible to every eye today. The Muslims of east and west were one nation and one heart, but are now divided into small groups fighting one another. As against this, the Shaitanic forces of Kufr, despite mutual disagreements, look like a united force against the Muslims.

وَصَوَّرَ‌كُمْ فَأَحْسَنَ صُوَرَ‌كُمْ (…and shaped your figures, and made your figures good…64:3). Shaping the figures of the creatures is one of the exclusive attributes of Allah, that is why Al-Musawwiru [ the shaper ] is one of His attributive names. If we analyze or look carefully into the universe, there are several classes of things. Each class has several species and each species has several sexes. Each sex has billions of members. No single shape ever resembles another shape. Among humankind, for instance, on account of difference of country or territory or difference of stock and nations, there is clear distinction in the shapes and faces of individuals. The face and shape of each individual is so amazingly unique and that it baffles the human imagination. The human face is no more than six to seven square inches, and there are uncountable faces of the same type, and yet one face does not look exactly like the other one so that distinguishing one from the other would be difficult. The present verse mentions figure-making as one of the Divine blessings and immediately thereafter it goes on to say فَأَحْسَنَ صُوَرَ‌كُمْ (and made your figures good). In the entire universe, Allah made the human shape the most beautiful. No matter how ugly a man or an individual might seem in his community, he is still beautiful in his own right, relative to the shapes of all other non-human creatures.

فَقَالُوا أَبَشَرٌ‌ يَهْدُونَنَا (…but they said, “ Shall some mortals give us guidance?”…64:6). Though the word basher [ mortal (s)] is singular, but in meaning it is plural. Therefore, the verb يَهْدُونَنَا ‘give us guidance’ is plural. All unbelievers held the notion that prophets and messengers cannot be human beings. The Qur’ an has time and again falsified and refuted this notion of the unbelievers. Alas, there is also a group of Muslims who denies the mortality of the Allah’ s Messenger. They need to think in which direction they are moving. His mortality is not contradictory to his prophet-hood, nor is it incompatible with his high station of messenger-ship, nor is his being a Messenger inconsistent with his being a Nur (light). He is Nur (light) as well as a mortal. It is a false analogy to compare his light with that of a lamp or of the sun or the moon.

فَآمِنُوا بِاللَّـهِ وَرَ‌سُولِهِ وَالنُّورِ‌ الَّذِي أَنزَلْنَا (So, believe in Allah and His Messenger, and in the light We have sent down…64:8). The word Nur [ light ] in this context refers to the Qur’ an. ‘Light’ fulfils two functions: In the first place it is itself luminous and in the second place it makes other things luminous and bright. The Qur’ an, on account of its miraculous nature, is itself luminous, and it illuminates what pleases or displeases Allah, the sacred laws, injunctions and commands, and the realities of the Hereafter, which human being ought to know.

يَوْمَ يَجْمَعُكُمْ لِيَوْمِ الْجَمْعِ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمُ التَّغَابُنِ ([ Be mindful of ] the day when He will gather you for the Day of Gathering. That will be the Day of loss and gain…64:9) ‘The Day of Gathering’ and ‘the Day of Loss and gain’ are both the names of the Day of Judgment. The reason why that day is called ‘The Day of Gathering’ is quite obvious. On that day all creations, the earlier generation as well as the later generations, will be brought together to give account of their deeds and for reward and punishment. The reason for calling the day a ‘The Day of Loss and Gain’ is because the word taghabun is derived from ghabn which means ‘loss’. Financial loss as well as mental deficiency is referred to as ghabn. Imam Raghib Isfahani in his Mufrada-ul-Qur’ an says that when the word refers to financial loss, it is expressed in the passive voice thus ghubina fulanun ‘so-and-so suffered financial loss’. When one wants to say that ‘he was or became deficient in his opinion or judgment’, one would express it thus ghabina from the tri-literal verb form, the second radical being vowelled with kasrah [-i-] on the measure of sami’ a. the word taghabun is a two-way process and signifies ‘mutuality of actions’, where two parties mutually cause loss of each other, or they make manifest each other’ s loss. In the context of this verse, however, it is one-sided or one-way process of making manifest of non-believer’ s loss. The latter sense is also its recognized use. ‘The Day of Loss and Gain’ is so called because, according to authentic Traditions, Allah has created two abodes for everyone in the Hereafter_one in Hell and another in Paradise. Before admitting the righteous believers to Paradise, they will be shown the abode in Hell, which they would have received if they failed to believe and act righteously, so that they may appreciate their abode in Paradise more highly and thank Allah more profoundly. On the other hand, the non-believers will be shown their abode in Paradise, which they would have received had they believed and acted righteously, so that they may regret more bitterly and be more remorseful. These narratives also tell us that the abodes in Paradise that were prepared for the non-believers will be given to the believers in Paradise, and the abodes in Hell that were prepared for the believers will be given to the non-believers in Hell. These Traditions are elaborately recorded in the two Sahihs and other collections of Traditions. When the inmates of Paradise will attain the places originally prepared for the disbelievers, the latter will realize what they have lost what they have gained.

Sahih Muslim, Tirmidhi and others record on the authority of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked the noble Companions: “ Do you know who is a pauper?” They replied: “ One who has no possessions.” The Messenger ﷺ said that a pauper in my community is one who will come on the Day of Judgment with a heap of righteous deeds, such as prayers, fasting, alms-giving and so on, but he might have reviled someone in the world, or he might have slandered another person, or he might have killed or murdered some other person, and he might have taken away someone’ s property unlawfully. All these people will gather around him and demand their rights. One will take away his prayers, another will snatch away his fasts, someone will take away his alms and a third person will carry away his other good deeds. When all his good deeds would be exhausted, the sins of the oppressed will be loaded on the oppressor, and in this way the score will be settled. Consequently, he will be purshed into the Fire of Hell. [ Mazhari ]

It is recorded in the Sahih of Bukahri that the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said, “ Whoever has an obligation towards someone should discharge it or ask his obligor to forgive it here in this world. Otherwise, he will have no dirhams or dinars (money) there in the Hereafter to set off his liabilities. The obligors will be given the good deeds of the debtor in lieu of their unfulfilled rights. When his good deeds will be exhausted, the sins of the oppressed will be added to the account of the oppressor.”

Sayyidna Ibn ‘Abbas ؓ and other leading authorities on Tafsir have given the foregoing reason for naming the Day of Judgment as ‘The Day of Loss and Gain’. Other authorities express the view that the grief of loss will not only be felt by the miserable non-believers, but also by the righteous believers. The latter will feel a sense of loss in that they will bitterly regret that they wasted much of their time in life and failed to carry out more good deeds, so as to attain more blessings and favours in Paradise, as is stated in a Prophetic Tradition.

مَن جَلَسَ مَجلِسًا لَّم یَذکُرِ اللہَ فِیہِ کَانَ عَلَیہِ تِرَۃً یَومَ القِیامَۃِ

(He who sits in an assembly and does not remember Allah in the entire session, this assembly will be a source of bitter regret for him.)

Qurtubi writes that on that Day every believer will feel a sense of loss on account of shortcomings in the fulfillment of his duties and obligations in life. Naming the Judgment Day as the ‘Day of Loss and Gain’ is like its being named as ‘The Day of (Bitter) Regret’ in Surah Maryam, thus وَأَنذِرْ‌هُمْ يَوْمَ الْحَسْرَ‌ةِ إِذْ قُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ‌ ‘And warn them of the Day of (Bitter) Regret when the affair will be resolved…19:39). Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani interprets this verse as implying that on that day the unjust and unrighteous people will bitterly regret their shortcomings, and the righteous believers will regret their shortcomings in the performance of their righteous deeds. In this way, everyone on the Day of Judgment will regret and have a feeling of loss as his shortcomings. Therefore, this day is named as the ‘Day of Loss and Gain’.