Ат-Тагабун

Which was revealed in Al-Madinah or Makkah

(In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Praising Allah and mentioning His Creation and Knowledge

This is the last Surah among Al-Musabbihat. We mentioned before that all creatures praise the glory of Allah, their Creator and Owner. Allah the Exalted said,

(His is the dominion, and to Him belongs the praise,) meaning, He is the One Who has control over all creation, the One praised for all He created and decreed. Allah's statement,

(and He is Able to do all things.) means that whatever He wills occurs without resistance, and whatever He does not will, never occurs. Allah said,

(He it is Who created you, then some of you are disbelievers and some of you are believers.) meaning, Allah created you with these characteristics and He willed that for you. Therefore, there will be believers and disbelievers. Surely, Allah is the One Who sees those who deserve guidance and those who deserve misguidance. He is the Witness over His servant's deeds and He will completely recompense them. This is why Allah the Exalted said,

(And Allah is All-Seer of what you do. ) Allah said,

(He has created the heavens and the earth with truth,) with equity and wisdom,

(and He shaped you and made good your shapes.) He made you in the best shapes and forms. Allah the Exalted said,

(O man! What has made you careless about your Lord, the most Generous Who created you, fashioned you perfectly and gave you due proportion; in whatever form He willed, He put you together.) (82:6-8) And His saying,

(Allah, it is He Who has made for you the earth as a dwelling place and the sky as a canopy, and has given you shape and made your shapes good (looking) and has provided you with good things.) (40:64) and His saying;

(And to Him is the return.) means the return and final destination. Allah then informs of His knowledge of all that there is in the heavens, in the earth and in the souls, He said:

(He knows what is in the heavens and on earth, and He knows what you conceal and what you reveal. And Allah is the All-Knower of what is in the breasts.)

A Warning delivered through mentioning the End of the Disbelieving Nations

Informing about the past nations and the torment and disciplinary lessons that they suffered because of opposing the Messengers and denying the truth. Allah says;

(Has not the news reached you of those who disbelieved aforetime) meaning, information about them and what happened to them,

(And so they tasted the evil result of their disbelief.) They tasted the evil consequences of their denial and sinful actions. And it refers to the punishment and humiliation they received in the life of the world,

(and theirs will be a painful torment.) in the Hereafter, added to the torment they received in this life. Allah explained why;

(That was because there came to them their Messengers with Bayyinat,) supporting arguments, evidence, and clear proofs,

(but they said:"Shall mere men guide us") They discounted and dismissed the possibility that the Message would be sent to a human and that their guidance would come by the hands of a man like themselves,

(So they disbelieved and turned away.) they denied the truth and turned away from abiding by it,

(But Allah was not in need.) of them,

(And Allah is not need, Worthy of all praise.)

Life after Death is True

Allah the Exalted informs about the disbelievers, idolators and the atheists that they claim that they will not be resurrected,

(Say: "Yes! By my Lord, you will certainly be resurrected, then you will be informed of what you did...") meaning, `you will be informed of all of your actions, whether major or minor, big or small,'

(and that is easy for Allah.) `resurrecting and recompensing you is easy for Allah.' This is the third Ayah in which Allah orders His Messenger to swear by His Lord, the Exalted and Most Honored, that Resurrection occurs. The first is in Surah Yunus,

(And they ask you to inform them: "Is it true" Say: "Yes! By my Lord! It is the very truth! and you can not escape it!") (10:53), The second is in Surah Saba',

(Those who disbelieve say: "The hour will not come to us." Say: "Yes, by my Lord, it will come to you...") (34:3), and the third is this Ayah,

(The disbelievers pretend that they will never be resurrected. Say: "Yes! By my Lord, you will certainly be resurrected, then you will be informed of what you did; and that is easy for Allah.") Allah the Exalted said,

(Therefore, believe in Allah and in His Messenger and in the Light which We have sent down.) that is, the Qur'an,

(And Allah is All-Aware of what you do.) none of your deeds ever escapes His knowledge.

The Day of At-Taghabun

Allah said,

(The Day when He will gather you on the Day of Gathering,) meaning the Day of Resurrection. This is the Day when the earlier and later generations will all be gathered in one area, a caller would be heard by them all, and one's vision would easily see them all. Allah said,

(That is the Day whereon mankind will be gathered together, that is a Day when all will be present.) (11:103), and,

(Say: "(Yes) verily, those of old, and those of later times. All will surely be gathered together for appointed meeting of a known Day.") (56:49-50) Allah's statement,

(that will be the Day of At-Taghabun) Ibn `Abbas said, "It is one of the names of the Day of Judgement, and that is because the people of Paradise will have gained over the people of the Fire." Qatadah and Mujahid said similarly. Muqatil bin Hayyan said, "There is no mutual loss and gain greater than these entering Paradise and those being taken to the Fire." Allah explained His statement saying;

(And whosoever believes in Allah and performs righteous deeds, He will expiate from him his sins, and will admit him to Gardens beneath which rivers flow (Paradise), to dwell therein forever; that will be the great success. But those who disbelieved and denied Our Ayat, they will be the dwellers of the Fire, to dwell therein forever. And worst indeed is that destination.) We explained these meanings several times before.

All that occurs to Mankind is by Allah's Permission

Allah informs us as He did in Surat Al-Hadid,

(No calamity occurs on the earth or in yourselves but it is inscribed in a record before We bring it into existence. Verily, that is easy for Allah.) (57:22) Allah said here,

(No calamity occurs, but by the permission of Allah,) Ibn `Abbas said; "By the command of Allah," meaning from His decree and will.

(and whosoever believes in Allah, He guides his heart. And Allah is the All-Knower of everything.) meaning, whoever suffered an affliction and he knew that it occurred by Allah's judgement and decree, and he patiently abides, awaiting Allah's reward, then Allah guides his heart, and will compensate him for his loss in this life by granting guidance to his heart and certainty in faith. Allah will replace whatever he lost for Him with the same or what is better. `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas,

(and whosoever believes in Allah, He guides his heart.) "Allah will guide his heart to certainty. Therefore, he will know that what reached him would not have missed him and what has missed him would not have reached him." There is an agreed upon Hadith that Al-Bukhari and Muslim collected and which states,

(Amazing is the believer: There is no decree that Allah writes for him, but is better for him. If an affliction strikes him, he is patient and this is better for him. If a bounty is granted to him, he is thankful and this is better for him. This trait is only for the faithful believer.)

The Order to obey Allah and His Messenger

Allah said,

(Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger;) Allah commands obedience to Him and to His Messenger in all that His legislates and in implementing His orders. Allah also forbids one from all that His Messenger forbids and prohibits. Allah the Exalted said,

(but if you turn away, then the duty of Our Messenger is only to convey clearly.) meaning, `if you refrain from abiding by the faith, then the Messenger's mission is to convey and your mission is to hear and obey. 'Az-Zuhri said, "From Allah comes the Message, its deliverance is up to the Messenger, and the adherence is up to us."

Tawhid

Allah states that He is the One, Whom all creations need and seek, the One other than Whom there is no (true) God.

(Allah! La ilaha illa Huwa. And in Allah therefore let the believers put their trust.) So, He first informs about Tawhid and its meaning. The implied meaning is to single Him out for deifica- tion, being purely devoted to Him, and relying upon Him, as He said;

(The Lord of the east and the west; La ilaha illa Huwa. So take Him alone as Trustee.) (73:9)