Taha 20:132
Ta-Ha · Juz 16 · Page 321
وَأۡمُرۡ أَهۡلَكَ بِٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَٱصۡطَبِرۡ عَلَيۡهَاۖ لَا نَسۡـَٔلُكَ رِزۡقٗاۖ نَّحۡنُ نَرۡزُقُكَۗ وَٱلۡعَٰقِبَةُ لِلتَّقۡوَىٰ ١٣٢
And enjoin prayer upon your family [and people] and be steadfast therein. We ask you not for provision; We provide for you, and the [best] outcome is for [those of] righteousness.
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Ma'arif al-Qur'an
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Commentary on 20:132
Requiring one's relatives and associates to offer their prayers regularly and the philosophy behind it
وَأْمُرْ أَهْلَكَ بِالصَّلَاةِ وَاصْطَبِرْ عَلَيْهَا (And bid your family to perform salah and adhere to it yourself - 132) Here the Holy Prophet has been asked to direct the members of his family to say prayers and that he himself should be very particular about his prayers. These appear to be two separate commands, i.e. one for the family and the other for himself but the fact is that for a person to be steadfast in saying prayers it is essential that his family and friends should be equally mindful of their duty in this matter. The word اھل ahl used for the family is quite comprehensive and includes a person's wife, children and his associates because all of them influence the environment and are an integral part of society. After this verse was revealed to the Holy Prophet ﷺ he used to go to the house of Sayyidna Ali and Sayyidah Fatimah ؓ every morning at the time of morning prayers and call out الصَّلَاةِ الصَّلَاةِ (Come to salah, come to salah). (Qurtubi)
It is reported that whenever Sayyidna ` Urwah ibn Zubair ؓ saw a display of wealth, he would at once return home, call his family to prayer and recite to them this verse. Also when Sayyidna ` Umar ibn Khattab ؓ got up for his midnight (tahajjud) prayers, he would awake the other members of his family and recite to them this verse. (Qurtubi)
Allah provides easy sustenance to a person who devotes himself to prayers and to His worship
لَا نَسْأَلُكَ رِزْقًا (We ask no provision from you - 20:132) Allah does not demand of the people that they should provide sustenance to their families and dependants by their own power, because the responsibility for this is in His hands alone. Man is incapable of providing for himself, and the best that he can do is to plough the land and plant seeds in it, but he has no power to germinate it or to make a tree grow out of it. The role of man in all this is to protect the tree after it has grown to maturity and then to put its yield to his personal use. And for the person who spends all his time in prayer Allah makes even this labour bearable for him (Tirmidhi). Ibn Majah has quoted Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said,
یقول اللہ تعالیٰ : یا ابن آدم : تفرَّغ لعبادتی املأ صدرک غنی واسد فقرک، وان لم تفعل ملأت صدرک شغلا ولم اسد فقرک (ابن کثیر)
"Allah says: '0 son of 'Adam! You dedicate yourself to My worship and I will fill your chest with sufficiency and free you from want. But if you do not obey my commands, I will fill your chest with anxieties and worries and will not free you from want."' (Ibn Kathir)
The meaning of the words لم اسد فقرک (I will not free you from want) is that such a man will always remain poor because the more wealth he acquires the more his greed will increase. And Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Mas’ ud ؓ says that he heard the Holy Prophet ﷺ saying,
من جعل ھمومہ ھمّا واحدا ھمّ المعاد، کفاہ اللہ ھمّ دنیاہ، ومن تشعبت بہ الھموم فی احوال الدّنیا لم یبال اللہ وی ایّ اودیۃ ھلک [رواہ ابن ماجہ ] (ابن کثیر)
"A man who makes his concern for the Hereafter the focal point of all his efforts, Allah will take care of his concerns, but a person whose concerns are all about worldly affairs, Allah does not care in which valley he perishes."
Page 321
20:126
قَالَ كَذَٰلِكَ أَتَتۡكَ ءَايَٰتُنَا فَنَسِيتَهَاۖ وَكَذَٰلِكَ ٱلۡيَوۡمَ تُنسَىٰ ١٢٦
[Allāh] will say, "Thus did Our signs come to you, and you forgot [i.e., disregarded] them; and thus will you this Day be forgotten."
20:127
وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجۡزِي مَنۡ أَسۡرَفَ وَلَمۡ يُؤۡمِنۢ بِـَٔايَٰتِ رَبِّهِۦۚ وَلَعَذَابُ ٱلۡأٓخِرَةِ أَشَدُّ وَأَبۡقَىٰٓ ١٢٧
And thus do We recompense he who transgressed and did not believe in the signs of his Lord. And the punishment of the Hereafter is more severe and more enduring.1
1 translator’s note
- Than that of this world. ↩
20:128
أَفَلَمۡ يَهۡدِ لَهُمۡ كَمۡ أَهۡلَكۡنَا قَبۡلَهُم مِّنَ ٱلۡقُرُونِ يَمۡشُونَ فِي مَسَٰكِنِهِمۡۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَأٓيَٰتٖ لِّأُوْلِي ٱلنُّهَىٰ ١٢٨
Then, has it not become clear to them how many generations We destroyed before them as they walk among their dwellings? Indeed in that are signs for those of intelligence.
20:129
وَلَوۡلَا كَلِمَةٞ سَبَقَتۡ مِن رَّبِّكَ لَكَانَ لِزَامٗا وَأَجَلٞ مُّسَمّٗى ١٢٩
And if not for a word1 that preceded from your Lord, it [i.e., punishment] would have been an obligation [due immediately],2 and [if not for] a specified term [decreed].
20:130
فَٱصۡبِرۡ عَلَىٰ مَا يَقُولُونَ وَسَبِّحۡ بِحَمۡدِ رَبِّكَ قَبۡلَ طُلُوعِ ٱلشَّمۡسِ وَقَبۡلَ غُرُوبِهَاۖ وَمِنۡ ءَانَآيِٕ ٱلَّيۡلِ فَسَبِّحۡ وَأَطۡرَافَ ٱلنَّهَارِ لَعَلَّكَ تَرۡضَىٰ ١٣٠
So be patient over what they say and exalt [Allāh] with praise of your Lord before the rising of the sun and before its setting; and during periods of the night [exalt Him] and at the ends of the day, that you may be satisfied.
20:131
وَلَا تَمُدَّنَّ عَيۡنَيۡكَ إِلَىٰ مَا مَتَّعۡنَا بِهِۦٓ أَزۡوَٰجٗا مِّنۡهُمۡ زَهۡرَةَ ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَا لِنَفۡتِنَهُمۡ فِيهِۚ وَرِزۡقُ رَبِّكَ خَيۡرٞ وَأَبۡقَىٰ ١٣١
And do not extend your eyes toward that by which We have given enjoyment to [some] categories of them, [its being but] the splendor of worldly life by which We test them. And the provision of your Lord is better and more enduring.
20:132
وَأۡمُرۡ أَهۡلَكَ بِٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَٱصۡطَبِرۡ عَلَيۡهَاۖ لَا نَسۡـَٔلُكَ رِزۡقٗاۖ نَّحۡنُ نَرۡزُقُكَۗ وَٱلۡعَٰقِبَةُ لِلتَّقۡوَىٰ ١٣٢
And enjoin prayer upon your family [and people] and be steadfast therein. We ask you not for provision; We provide for you, and the [best] outcome is for [those of] righteousness.
20:133
وَقَالُواْ لَوۡلَا يَأۡتِينَا بِـَٔايَةٖ مِّن رَّبِّهِۦٓۚ أَوَلَمۡ تَأۡتِهِم بَيِّنَةُ مَا فِي ٱلصُّحُفِ ٱلۡأُولَىٰ ١٣٣
And they say, "Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord?" Has there not come to them evidence of what was in the former scriptures?1
1 translator’s note
- Is not the Qur’ān an adequate proof of Muḥammad's prophethood and sufficient as a lasting miracle? ↩
20:134
وَلَوۡ أَنَّآ أَهۡلَكۡنَٰهُم بِعَذَابٖ مِّن قَبۡلِهِۦ لَقَالُواْ رَبَّنَا لَوۡلَآ أَرۡسَلۡتَ إِلَيۡنَا رَسُولٗا فَنَتَّبِعَ ءَايَٰتِكَ مِن قَبۡلِ أَن نَّذِلَّ وَنَخۡزَىٰ ١٣٤
And if We had destroyed them with a punishment before him,1 they would have said, "Our Lord, why did You not send to us a messenger so we could have followed Your verses [i.e., teachings] before we were humiliated and disgraced?"
1 translator’s note
- Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ). Also interpreted as "before it," i.e., the Qur’ān. ↩
20:135
قُلۡ كُلّٞ مُّتَرَبِّصٞ فَتَرَبَّصُواْۖ فَسَتَعۡلَمُونَ مَنۡ أَصۡحَٰبُ ٱلصِّرَٰطِ ٱلسَّوِيِّ وَمَنِ ٱهۡتَدَىٰ ١٣٥
Say, "Each [of us] is waiting;1 so wait. For you will know who are the companions of the sound path and who is guided."
1 translator’s note
- For the outcome of this matter. ↩