Surah 28. Al-Qasas

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Verses [Section]: 1-13[1], 14-21 [2], 22-28 [3], 29-42 [4], 43-50 [5], 51-60 [6], 61-75 [7], 76-82 [8], 83-88 [9]

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Quran Text of Verse 83-88تِلْكَThatالدَّارُthe Homeالْاٰخِرَةُ(of) the HereafterنَجْعَلُهَاWe assign itلِلَّذِیْنَto those whoلَا(do) notیُرِیْدُوْنَdesireعُلُوًّاexaltednessفِیinالْاَرْضِthe earthوَ لَاand notفَسَادًا ؕcorruptionوَ الْعَاقِبَةُAnd the good endلِلْمُتَّقِیْنَ (is) for the righteous مَنْWhoeverجَآءَcomesبِالْحَسَنَةِwith a good (deed)فَلَهٗthen for himخَیْرٌ(will be) betterمِّنْهَا ۚthan itوَ مَنْand whoeverجَآءَcomesبِالسَّیِّئَةِwith an evil (deed)فَلَاthen notیُجْزَیwill be recompensedالَّذِیْنَthose whoعَمِلُواdoالسَّیِّاٰتِthe evil (deeds)اِلَّاexceptمَاwhatكَانُوْاthey used (to)یَعْمَلُوْنَ do 28. Al-Qasas Page 396اِنَّIndeedالَّذِیْHe Whoفَرَضَordainedعَلَیْكَupon youالْقُرْاٰنَthe Quranلَرَآدُّكَ(will) surely take you backاِلٰیtoمَعَادٍ ؕa place of returnقُلْSayرَّبِّیْۤMy Lordاَعْلَمُ(is) most knowingمَنْ(of him) whoجَآءَcomesبِالْهُدٰیwith the guidanceوَ مَنْand whoهُوَheفِیْ(is) inضَلٰلٍan errorمُّبِیْنٍ manifest وَ مَاAnd notكُنْتَyou wereتَرْجُوْۤاexpectingاَنْthatیُّلْقٰۤیwould be sent downاِلَیْكَto youالْكِتٰبُthe Bookاِلَّاexceptرَحْمَةً(as) a mercyمِّنْfromرَّبِّكَyour LordفَلَاSo (do) notتَكُوْنَنَّbeظَهِیْرًاan assistantلِّلْكٰفِرِیْنَؗto the disbelievers وَ لَاAnd (let) notیَصُدُّنَّكَavert youعَنْfromاٰیٰتِ(the) Versesاللّٰهِ(of) Allahبَعْدَafterاِذْ[when]اُنْزِلَتْthey have been revealedاِلَیْكَto youوَ ادْعُAnd invite (people)اِلٰیtoرَبِّكَyour Lordوَ لَاAnd (do) notتَكُوْنَنَّbeمِنَofالْمُشْرِكِیْنَۚthe polytheists وَ لَاAnd (do) notتَدْعُinvokeمَعَwithاللّٰهِAllahاِلٰهًاgodاٰخَرَ ۘotherلَاۤ(There is) noاِلٰهَgodاِلَّاexceptهُوَ ۫HimكُلُّEveryشَیْءٍthingهَالِكٌ(will be) destroyedاِلَّاexceptوَجْهَهٗ ؕHis FaceلَهُTo Himالْحُكْمُ(is) the Decisionوَ اِلَیْهِand to Himتُرْجَعُوْنَ۠you will be returned

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Translation of Verse 83-88

(28:83) As for the Abode of the Hereafter,¹⁰³ We shall assign it exclusively for those who do not seek glory on earth¹⁰⁴ nor want to cause mischief.¹⁰⁵ The God-fearing shall have the best end.¹⁰⁶

(28:84) He who shall bring a good deed shall be rewarded with what is better. But those who bring evil deeds shall not be requited more than their deeds.

(28:85) (O Prophet), surely He Who has ordained the Qur'an on you¹⁰⁷ will bring you to the best end.¹⁰⁸ Say to them: "My Lord knows best who has brought true guidance and who is in clear error."

(28:86) (O Prophet), you never looked forward for the Book to be revealed to you. It is out of sheer Mercy of your Lord that it was (revealed to you).¹⁰⁹ So do not lend any support to the unbelievers.¹¹⁰

(28:87) And let it never happen that the unbelievers might turn you away¹¹¹ from the revelations of Allah after they have been revealed to you. Call people to your Lord and never become one of the unbelievers,

(28:88) and do not invoke any god beside Allah. There is no god but He. All will perish but He. To Him belongs the command.¹¹² And to Him shall all of you return.

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Commentary

103.. This means Paradise, the seat of true success.

104. Success in the Next Life will be exclusively for those who do not seek to exalt and glorify themselves on this earth; those who are not defiant, rebellious and arrogant but those who live in submission to God and who do not try make God’s bondsmen into their own.

105. “Mischief” signifies the chaos and disorder in human life which inevitably results from transgression. Whatever one does by Faeroe f i" bounds set by God constitutes mischief. Amassing wealth through un aw means and spending it on unlawful purposes is also a kind of mischief.

106. That is, ultimate success awaits those who fear God and do not disobey Him.

107. That is, the Prophet (peace be on him) had been entrusted with the responsibility to carry thé Qur’an to people, to instruct them in it, and to reform the world according to its teachings.

108. Laradduka ila ma‘adin means “He is going to bring you back towards a ma‘ad.” The literal meaning of ma‘ad is the place to which one ultimately has to return. Use of this word as an indefinite noun automatically suggests that it is a place of eminence and glory. (Ibn Manzur, Lisan al- ‘Arab, qv. ‘WD — Ed.)

Some Qur'anic commentators have taken this to mean Paradise. There is no reason, however, to confine it to Paradise alone. Why not retain it in the unrestricted sense in which God Himself used it so that it embraces a promise meant for both this world and the Next? The context also seems to suggest that the promise of glory and eminence for the Prophet (peace be on him) was applicable to both worlds — the present and the Next.

Commencing at verse 57, the discourse consists of a response to the Makkan unbelievers who had reacted to the Prophet’s Message by saying that it would lead them to a miserable end. If they joined the Prophet (peace be on him) and accepted his Religion, they would be hard put to eke out their existence in any part of the Arabian Peninsula. By way of an answer, God told His Prophet that the Almighty, Who had made him the standard-bearer of the Qur’an, would not allow him to be ruined. Rather, God would place him in a position of eminence far beyond the imagination of his compatriots.

In fact, this is exactly what happened. Within a few years, God made the Prophet (peace be on him) too powerful a ruler to be challenged by anyone in the whole of Arabia. Likewise, no religion could maintain its hold in face of the Prophet’s Religion. There was no precedent in the whole of Arabia’s history where any single person had acquired such a level of eminence and power that none in Arabia could rival him. The Arabs had never gathered around one single individual; they had never accepted any single person as their sole political and religious authority.

Some Qur’anic commentators, have expressed the opinion that the present verse was revealed on the occasion of the Prophet’s (peace be on him) Hijrah, when he was on his way to Madina. Suyuti has recorded this view in his tafsir on the authority of Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Mardawayh. (See Suyuti, al-Durr al- Manthur fi al-Tafsir bi al-Ma’ thur, Vol. 5, pp. 139-40 — Ed.) Through this verse, God promised: The Prophet (peace be on him) that He would bring him back to Makka. This, however, is implausible and there is nothing in the wording of the verse that justifies such an interpretation. For, in the first place, the word ma ‘ad does not necessarily mean Makka. Second, this Surah actually belongs to the period of migration to Abyssinia: This is borne out both by the internal evidence — that is, the subject of the discourse — as well as by authentic Traditions. Therefore, one fails to understand why this Particular verse, which was revealed several years later when the Prophet (peace be on him) was on his way-to Madina, was subsequently made a part of the present discourse. Third, the mention of the Prophet's (peace be on him) return to Makka, seen in the context of the Prophet’s Hijrah to Madina, seems out of place. Considered against this background, the ~ statement made here would not be a Persuasive response to the Quraysh; rather, it would lend strength to what the Makkans said. It would seem to be suggesting.

something as follows: “Surely, O you Makkans; you seem to be right. True, ° Muhammad is going to be expelled from the city of Makka. But he will not be expelled forever because We will bring him back. to Makka.” The Traditions reported by Bukhari, Nasa’i, Tabari and other traditionists which Support this view go back only to ‘Abd Allah ibn “Abbas, but not to the Prophet (peace be on him). The traditions in question could very well reflect Ibn ‘Abbas’ own personal opinion. In any case, it cannot be considered as authoritative as a tradition going back to. the Prophet (peace be on him). (See Tabari, Tafsir, his comments on Sarah al-Shu‘ara ’ 26: verse 85. See also Bukhari, K. al-Tafsir, ‘Bab “Inna alladhi Farada ‘alayka al-Qur’an”’ — Ed.)

109. This is presented as proof of Muhammad’s (peace be on him) Prophet hood. Just like Moses (peace be on him), he was totally unaware that he would be appointed as a Prophet and that he would be entrusted with a great mission. Nor had he desired or tried to become a Prophet, indeed the idea never even crossed his mind. In this respect, his situation was similar to Moses’. Moses was on his way to Egypt when he was suddenly summoned by God and appointed as a Prophet. So extraordinary were Moses’ accomplishments after assuming his Prophetic mission that no one who was familiar with the earlier part of his life would even have imagined them.

Something identical happened with the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him). The Makkans were familiar with his life till the time he came down from the Cave of Hira’ with a Message. They ‘knew about his occupational activities, his manner of discourse, the subjects on which he dwelt, and his interests and concerns. In fact, the whole of his life was an open book for them. It was a life replete with truthfulness, honesty, trustworthiness and chastity. It was a life characterized by a concern to keep his word and to discharge his obligations. It was a life conspicuous for its decency, for its service to God’s creatures, and for its compassion and. tenderness.

Nevertheless, there was nothing in it which foretold that this noble man would become a Prophet. Not even his close relatives, neighbors and friends could have said that he was engaged in preparations leading to his Prophet hood. No one had heard him speak about the subjects which later became the focal points of his discourse after that transforming moment in the Cave of Hira’. Until then, no one had ever heard him use such words and terms nor that special diction which they later heard from his lips the Qur’an. He had never risen to preach any idea, to espouse any cause, to support any movement. On the contrary, none of his activities gave the faintest idea that he was seized with a passion to solve societal problems, or that he was poised to initiate any activity aimed at religious or moral reform.

Until the day before this transforming moment, he was simply an honest trader who was engaged in earning his livelihood in a straightforward and lawful manner. He lived a normal, happy life with his family, helped the poor, was kind to his relatives and hospitable to his guests. He was a person who relished solitude so that he could concentrate on devotion and worship.

But lo and behold, this man suddenly rose with a world-shaking Message, started a revolutionary movement, came forth with a piece of literature that: had no parallel, expounded a fully-fledged philosophy of life, and set about promoting a system of ideas, morality and civilization. All this was far too big a change to be, psychologically speaking, the result of deliberate preparation and conscious effort, and it could not have been a product of his conscious mind. It was not possible for him to produce by himself a new philosophy of life, a new ideology, a new cultural and social system, and an altogether new kind of literature. The transformation that came about was so great that no amount of gradual preparation could have produced it. And if he was indeed preparing for this, how could he have concealed his preparations from those around him, from those among whom he spent his days and nights. Had his life gone through those stages of preparation, there would have been many in Makka who would have said: “See, did we not tell you, he was going to claim something big!” But history is a witness.

The Makkan unbelievers accused the Prophet (peace be on him) of many things, but none accused him of this.

It is evident that the Prophet (peace be on him) did not anticipate or seek to become a Prophet, and that his mission was suddenly entrusted to him. This is.

well established by Moses’ traditions which narrate the story of him receiving his first Revelation. After this initial encounter with Jibril and the Revelation of the first five verses of Surah al- ‘Alaq (Surah 96), the Prophet (peace be on him) came down the mountain, trembling and shivering. He went home and cried out: “Cover me, cover me.” After a while, when the initial fear diminished, he narrated the whole incident to his wife, Khadijah, saying: “I fear for my life.” But she said, “Not at all. God will never bring you to grief. You are mindful of the rights of your relatives, you support the helpless and the indigent, you are hospitable to your guests, you are ever ready to partake in all good works,” Then Khadijah took him to her cousin, Waraqah ibn Nawfal, who was a learned and noble man who belonged to the People of the Book. After hearing the details of the incident, Waraqah said: “He who came to you was the same Namus (angel with a special mission), who came to Moses. I wish I were younger and lived till the day when your people will expel you.” The Prophet (peace be on him) asked: “Will my people expel me?” He said: “Yes; no one has come with a Message of the kind that you have brought without arousing the enmity of his own people.” (See Bukhari, ‘K. Bad’ al-Wahy’, ‘Bab Kayf kana ‘Bad’ al-Wahy’.) (See also Muslim, ‘K. al-iman’, ‘Bab Bad’ al- Wahy ila Rasul Allah Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam’ ~ Ed.) This report of the incident depicts the graphic impact that an extraordinary event naturally produces in a simple, straightforward person. Had Muhammad (peace be on him) been anxious to become a Prophet, had he been thinking that — he must somehow obtain that position, had he been deliberating and concentrating his thoughts in anticipation of an angel’s arrival, he would have gleefully jumped up and down when Jibril appeared in the Cave of Hira’. He would have come down the mountain with gusto, instantly proclaiming that he had been appointed a Prophet. But what happened was something totally different. Muhammad (peace be on him) was stunned by the incident: he was trembling; he was filled with fear. He went home, covered himself up and only after he had recovered a little did he tell his wife, ina hushed voice and with fear: “I fear for my life.” (See Bukhari, ‘K. al-Iman’, ‘Bab kayf kana Bad’ al-Wahy ila Rasul Allah Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam’ — Ed.) This surely was not a man who was looking forward to Prophet hood.

It also needs to be pointed out that no one is more knowledgeable about the mental state and thoughts of a husband than his wife. Had his wife Khadijah known that her husband was preparing himself to assume the role of a Prophet, that he was waiting for the Angel Jibril to come, she would not have said what she did: On the contrary, she would have said something like: “Why should you worry? You have received what you have been looking forward to for so long. Go out and proclaim that and work for a successful execution of the venture while I get ready to receive offerings from your would-be devotees.” But what Khadijah had seen during the 15 years of their companionship was enough to convince her that Satan would not approach a person of his character and nobility and that God would not subject a person like him to distress and suffering. She instantly knew, therefore, that what her husband had seen was true, that he had indeed been endowed with Prophet hood.

Waraqah ibn Nawfal’s reaction was the same. He was a relative of the Prophet (peace be on him), namely, his brother-in-law. As a pious and learned Christian, he could easily establish genuine Prophet hood and Scripture and Revelation from their counterfeit versions. He was much older than Muhammad (peace be on him) and had spent the whole of his life observing what happened around him. As soon as Waraqah heard the details of what had happened in the Cave, he said that Muhammad (peace be on him) had been visited by the same angel who brought Revelation to Moses (peace be on him). For him, the situation was similar to that of Moses’ (peace be on him): a simple and good-natured man who had never thought of Prophet hood had suddenly gone through that extraordinary experience which heralds such a mission. Hence why Waraqah ibn Nawfal did not hesitate to conclude that this had not come about by Satan’s spell, nor was it the outcome of the Prophet’s (peace be on him) chimerical play of his inner self.

What this truthful and honest man had experienced was a fact rather than a fantasy.

(See Bukhari, ‘K. al-Iman’, ‘Bab Kayf Kana Bad’ al-Wahy ila Rasul Allah Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam’ — Ed.)

This is an irrefutable proof of the Prophet hood of Muhammad (peace be on him) which no reasonable and fair-minded person can deny. Hence, the Qur’an mentions it as proof on various occasions: Tell them: “Had Allah so willed, I would not have recited the Qur'an to you, nor would Allah have informed you of it. I have spent a lifetime among you before this. Do you, then, not use your reason?” (Yunus 10:16).

O Prophet, you did not know at all what was the Book and what was the Faith but We made that Revelation a light by which We show the way to whom We will from among Our servants (al-Shura 42:52). (For further details see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, Vol. IV, Yunus 10: n. 21 PP. 19-21 and Tafhim al-Qur’an, Vol. 3, al-‘Ankabut 29: nn 88-92 ‘and ibid., Vol. 4, al-Shura 42, n. 84.)

110. God had granted His Book to the Prophet (peace be on him) without his ever asking for it. It was his duty, therefore, to devote all his efforts, abilities and energy into conveying it to others. If the Prophet (peace be on him) failed to do so, it would amount to helping those who denied the Truth. This does not mean that God had any fear that the Prophet (peace be on him) would fail to perform his duty. Rather, while these words were said with reference to the unbelievers, they were actually meant to tell the Prophet (peace be on him) not to be bothered by the hue and cry and the fierce opposition of his enemies and - instead to persist in his efforts. He was also asked not to worry about the fear which he entertained, the fear that his movement would ruin people’s national interests.

111. That is, to drive away from the task of conveying the Qur’anic to others and from acting upon them.

112. It may also mean that sovereignty should be considered exclusively God’s, for He alone has the right over it.