Al-Ahzab 33:63–73

No One knows when the Day of Resurrection will come except Allah

Here Allah tells His Messenger that he cannot know when the Hour will come, and if people ask him about that, He instructs him to refer the matter to Allah, may He be exalted, as Allah says in Surat Al-A`raf, even though that was revealed in Makkah and this Surah was revealed in Al-Madinah. Allah continues to tell him to refer this matter to the One Who knows about it, but He tells him that it is at hand, as He says:

(What do you know It may be that the Hour is near!) This is like the Ayat:

(The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has been cleft asunder.) 54:1

(Draws near for mankind their reckoning, while they turn away in heedlessness.) 21:1

(The Event (the Hour) ordained by Allah will come to pass, so seek not to hasten it) 16:1.

The Curse on the Disbelievers and its Eternity and their Regret

Then Allah says:

(Verily, Allah has cursed the disbelievers,) means, He has distanced them from His mercy.

(and has prepared for them a flaming Fire (Hell).) means, in the Hereafter. e

(Wherein they will abide forever,) means, they will stay there forever and ever, never leaving or finding relief from it.

(and they will find neither a a protector nor a helper.) means, they will have no saviour to help them or rescue them from their predicament. Then Allah says:

(On the Day when their faces will be turned over in the Fire, they will say: "Oh, would that we had obeyed Allah and obeyed the Messenger.") means, they will be dragged into the Fire on their faces and their faces will be contorted in Hell, and in that state they will wish that they had been among those who had obeyed Allah and His Messenger in this world. Allah describes how they will be in the Hereafter:

(And the Day when the wrongdoer will bite at his hands, he will say: "Oh! Would that I had taken a path with the Messenger. Ah! Woe to me! Would that I had never taken so-and-so as an intimate friend! He indeed led me astray from the Reminder after it had come to me. And Shaytan is to man ever a deserter in the hour of need.") (25:27-29)

(How much would those who disbelieved wish that they had been Muslims.) (15:2) And here too, Allah tells us that when they are in this state, they will wish that they had obeyed Allah and His Messenger in this world:

(And they will say: "Our Lord! Verily, we obeyed our chiefs and our great ones, and they misled us from the way.") Tawus said: " `Our chiefs' means their nobles and `our great ones' means their scholars."

(Our Lord! Give them double torment) means, `for their disbelief and because they mislead us.' Abu Al-Qasim At-Tabarani recorded from Abu Rafi` that among the names of those who fought with `Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, was Al-Hajjaj bin `Amr bin Ghaziyah, and he was the one who, when they met, said; "O people of the Ansar! Do you want to say when we meet our Lord:

(Our Lord! Verily, we obeyed our chiefs and our great ones, and they misled us from the way. Our Lord! Give them double torment and curse them with a mighty curse!)"

The Fabrications of the Jews against Musa

Al-Bukhari recorded in the Book of Hadiths about the Prophets, that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«إِنَّ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ كَانَ رَجُلًا حَيِيًّا سِتِّيرًا لَا يُرَى مِنْ جِلْدِهِ شَيْءٌ اسْتِحْيَاءً مِنْهُ، فَآذَاهُ مَنْ آذَاهُ مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ فَقَالُوا: مَا يَتَسَتَّرُ هَذَا التَّسَتُّرَ إِلَّا مِنْ عَيْبٍ فِي جِلْدِهِ إِمَّا بَرَصٌ وَإِمَّا أُدْرَةٌ وَإِمَّا آفَةٌ. وَإِنَّ اللهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَرَادَ أَنْ يُبَرِّئَهُ مِمَّا قَالُوا لِمُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ، فَخَلَا يَوْمًا وَحْدَهُ فَخَلَعَ ثِيَابَهُ عَلَى حَجَرٍ ثُمَّ اغْتَسَلَ، فَلَمَّا فَرَغَ أَقْبَلَ إِلَى ثِيَابِهِ لِيَأْخُذَهَا، وَإِنَّ الْحَجَرَ عَدَا بِثَوْبِهِ فَأَخَذَ مُوسَى عَصَاهُ وَطَلَبَ الْحَجَرَ فَجَعَلَ يَقُولُ: ثَوْبِي حَجَرُ، ثَوْبِي حَجَرُ، حَتْى انْتَهَى إِلَى مَلَإٍ مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ، فَرَأَوْهُ عُرْيَانًا أَحْسَنَ مَا خَلَقَ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَأَبْرَأَهُ مِمَّا يَقُولُونَ، وَقَامَ الْحَجَرُ، فَأَخَذَ ثَوْبَهُ فَلَبِسَهُ، وَطَفِقَ بِالْحَجَرِ ضَرْبًا بِعَصَاهُ، فَوَاللهِ إِنَّ بِالْحَجَرِ لَنَدَبًا مِنْ أَثَرِ ضَرْبِهِ ثَلَاثًا أَوْ أَرْبَعًا أَوْ خَمْسًا قَالَ: فَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى:

يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لاَ تَكُونُواْ كَالَّذِينَ ءَاذَوْاْ مُوسَى فَبرَّأَهُ اللَّهُ مِمَّا قَالُواْ وَكَانَ عِندَ اللَّهِ وَجِيهاً »

(Musa, peace be upon him, was a shy and modest man who would never show anything of his skin because of his shyness. Some of the Children of Israel annoyed him by saying: "He only keeps himself covered because of some defect in his skin, either leprosy or scrotal hernia or some other defect." Allah, may He be glorified, wanted to clear Musa, peace be upon him, of what they were saying. One day Musa was alone, so he took off his garment and put it on a rock, then he took a bath. When he had finished, he turned back to pick up his garment, but the rock moved away, taking his garment with it. Musa picked up his stick and chased the rock, saying, "My garment, O rock! My garment, O rock!" Until he reached a group of the Children of Israel, who saw him naked and found that he was the best of those whom Allah had created. Thus he was cleared of what they had said about him. Then the rock stood still, so he took his garment and put it on. He started hitting the rock with his stick, and by Allah, the marks of that beating were left on the rock, three or four or five. This is what is referred to in the Ayah: (O you who believe! Be not like those who annoyed Musa, but Allah cleared him of that which they alleged, and he was honorable before Allah.)) This Hadith is one of those which were recorded by Al-Bukhari but not Muslim. Imam Ahmad recorded that `Abdullah (bin Mas`ud) said: "One day, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ distributed some booty and a man among the Ansar said, `This division was not done for the sake of Allah.' I said, `O enemy of Allah! I am going to tell the Messenger of Allah ﷺ what you have said.' So, I told the Prophet about it. His face reddened and he said,

«رَحْمَةُ اللهِ عَلَى مُوسَى لَقَدْ أُوذِيَ بِأَكْثَرَ مِنْ هَذَا فَصَبَر»

(May Allah have mercy on Musa. He was annoyed with worse than this, yet he remained patient.)" This was recorded in the Two Sahihs.

وَكَانَ عِندَ اللَّهِ وَجِيهاً

(and he was honorable before Allah. ) means, he had a position of status and honor before his Lord, may He be exalted and glorified. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said: "His supplications would be answered by Allah." Some of them said that part of his great standing before Allah was that he interceded for his brother Harun, asking Allah to send him with him as a Messenger, and Allah granted his request and said:

وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ مِن رَّحْمَتِنَآ أَخَاهُ هَرُونَ نَبِيّاً

(And We granted him his brother Harun, (also) a Prophet, out of Our mercy.) (19:53)

يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ وَقُولُواْ قَوْلاً سَدِيداً - يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَلَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَمَن يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزاً عَظِيماً

The Command to the Believers to have Taqwa and speak the Truth

Here Allah commands His servants to have Taqwa of Him, worshipping Him as if they can see Him, and to

(speak (always) the truth.) meaning, to speak in a straightforward manner, with no crookedness or distortion. He promises them that if they do that, He will reward them by making their deeds righteous, i.e., enabling them to do righteous deeds, and He will forgive them their past sins. With regard to whatever sins they may commit in the future, He will inspire them to repent from them. Then He says:

(And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed achieved a great victory.) meaning, he will be saved from the fire of Hell and will enjoy everlasting delights (in Paradise).

How Man bore the Amanah

Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "Al-Amanah means obedience. This was offered to them before it was offered to Adam, and they could not bear it. Then Allah said to Adam: `I have offered the Amanah to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they could not bear it. Will you take it on' He said, `O Lord, what does it involve' He said, `If you do good, you will be rewarded, and if you do evil, you will be punished.' So Adam took the Amanah and bore it, and this is what is referred to in the Ayah:

وَحَمَلَهَا الإِنْسَنُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُوماً جَهُولاً

(But man bore it. Verily, he was unjust and ignorant.)" `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "Al-Amanah means Al-Fara'id (the obligatory duties). Allah offered them to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, (on the grounds that) if they fulfilled them, He would reward them; and if they failed, He would punish them. But they did not want to do that, and they were afraid of it, not because their intention was sinful, but because of their respect for the religion of Allah, in case they could not fulfill the obligations involved. Then Allah offered it to Adam, and he accepted it with all that it entailed. This is what is referred to in the Ayah:

وَحَمَلَهَا الإِنْسَنُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُوماً جَهُولاً

(But man bore it. Verily, he was unjust and ignorant. ) meaning, he underestimated the command of Allah." This was also the view of Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Ad-Dahhak, Al-Hasan Al-Basri and others that Al-Amanah means Al-Fara'id. Others said that it meant obedience. Al-A`mash narrated from Abu Ad-Duha from Masruq that Ubayy bin Ka`b said: "Part of Al-Amanah means that woman was entrusted with her own chastity." Qatadah said: "Al-Amanah means religion, obligatory duties and prescribed punishments." Malik narrated that Zayd bin Aslam said: "Al-Amanah means three things: prayer, fasting and performing Ghusl to cleanse oneself from sexual impurity." There is no contradiction between all of these views; they are all in agreement and all refer to responsibility and the acceptance of commands and prohibitions with their attendant conditions, which is that the one who fulfills this responsibility, will be rewarded; while the one who neglects it, will be punished. Man accepted this despite the fact that he is weak, ignorant and unjust -- except for those whom Allah helps, and Allah is the One Whose help we seek. One of the reports which deal with Al-Amanah is the Hadith recorded by Imam Ahmad from Hudhayfah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ told us two Hadiths, one of which I have seen and the other I am still waiting to see. He told us that Al-Amanah is deeply rooted in the heart of man, then the Qur'an was revealed and they know it from the Qur'an and from the Sunnah. Then he told us that Al-Amanah will be taken away. He said,

«يَنَامُ الرَّجُلُ النَّوْمَةَ فَتُقْبَضُ الْأَمَانَةُ مِنْ قَلْبِهِ، فَيَظَلُّ أَثَرُهَا مِثْلَ أَثَرِ الْمَجْلِ كَجَمْرٍ دَحْرَجْتَهُ عَلَى رِجْلِكِ، تَرَاهُ مُنْتَبِرًا وَلَيْسَ فِيهِ شَيْء»

. (A man may sleep and Al-Amanah will be taken from his heart, leaving nothing but a trace like a blister left by a coal if you were to roll it over your leg -- you will see it protruding but there is nothing inside.) Then he took a pebble and rolled it over his leg, then he said:

«فَيُصْبِحُ النَّاسُ يَتَبَايَعُونَ لَا يَكَادُ أَحَدٌ يُؤَدِّي الْأَمَانَةَ حَتَّى يُقَالَ: إِنَّ فِي بَنِي فُلَانٍ رَجُلًا أَمِينًا، حَتَّى يُقَالَ لِلرَّجُلِ مَا أَجْلَدَهُ وَأَظْرَفَهُ وَأَعْقَلَهُ وَمَا فِي قَلْبِهِ حَبَّةُ خَرْدَلٍ مِنْ إِيمَان»

(Then the people will start buying and selling, and hardly anyone will be paying attention to Al-Amanah, until it will be said that among the tribe of so-and-so there is a trustworthy man, and it will said of a man, `how strong he is, how nice and how wise,' and there is not even a mustard seed of faith in his heart.) No doubt, there came upon me a time when I did not mind dealing (bargaining) with anyone of you, for if he was a Muslim, his Islam would compel him to pay me what is due to me, and if he was a Christian, or Jew, the Muslim official would compel him to pay me what is due to me, but today, I do not deal except with such and such person among you." It was also recorded in the Two Sahihs from the Hadith of Al-A`mash. Imam Ahmad recorded that `Abdullah bin `Amr, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«أَرْبَعٌ إِذَا كُنَّ فِيكَ فَلَا عَلَيْكَ مَا فَاتَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا: حِفْظُ أَمَانَةٍ، وَصِدْقُ حَدِيثٍ، وَحُسْنُ خَلِيقَةٍ، وَعِفَّةُ طُعْمَة»

(There are four things, if you attain them, then whatever you miss in this world will not matter: preserving trust, speaking the truth, being of good character and moderation in eating.)

The Result of taking on the Amanah

لِّيُعَذِّبَ اللَّهُ الْمُنَفِقِينَ وَالْمُنَفِقَتِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ وَالْمُشْرِكَتِ

(So that Allah will punish the hypocrites, men and women, and the men and women who are idolators.) means, because the sons of Adam have undertaken to fulfill the Amanah, which means duties, Allah will punish the men and women among them who are hypocrites, who are those who make an outward display of faith because they fear the believers, but in their hearts they conceal disbelief and in fact are followers of the disbelievers.

وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ وَالْمُشْرِكَتِ

(and the men and women who are idolators.) these are the ones who both outwardly and inwardly associate others in worship with Allah and go against His Messengers.

وَيَتُوبَ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَتِ

(And Allah will pardon the believers, men and women.) means, He will show mercy to the believers among mankind, who believe in Allah and in His angels, Books and Messengers, and who obey Him.

وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُوراً رَّحِيماً

(And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.) This is end of the Tafsir of Surat Al-Ahzab. Allah's is the praise and thanks.