Surah 33. Al-Ahzab

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Verses [Section]: 1-8[1], 9-20 [2], 21-27 [3], 28-34 [4], 35-40 [5], 41-52 [6], 53-58 [7], 59-68 [8], 69-73 [9]

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Quran Text of Verse 69-73یٰۤاَیُّهَاO you who believeالَّذِیْنَO you who believeاٰمَنُوْاO you who believeلَا(Do) notتَكُوْنُوْاbeكَالَّذِیْنَlike those whoاٰذَوْاannoyedمُوْسٰیMusaفَبَرَّاَهُthen Allah cleared himاللّٰهُthen Allah cleared himمِمَّاof whatقَالُوْا ؕthey saidوَ كَانَAnd he wasعِنْدَnearاللّٰهِAllahوَجِیْهًاؕhonorable یٰۤاَیُّهَاO you who believeالَّذِیْنَO you who believeاٰمَنُواO you who believeاتَّقُواFearاللّٰهَAllahوَ قُوْلُوْاand speakقَوْلًاa wordسَدِیْدًاۙright یُّصْلِحْHe will amendلَكُمْfor youاَعْمَالَكُمْyour deedsوَ یَغْفِرْand forgiveلَكُمْyouذُنُوْبَكُمْ ؕyour sinsوَ مَنْAnd whoeverیُّطِعِobeysاللّٰهَAllahوَ رَسُوْلَهٗand His Messengerفَقَدْcertainlyفَازَhas attainedفَوْزًاan attainmentعَظِیْمًا great اِنَّاIndeedعَرَضْنَا[We] offeredالْاَمَانَةَthe Trustعَلَیtoالسَّمٰوٰتِthe heavensوَ الْاَرْضِand the earthوَ الْجِبَالِand the mountainsفَاَبَیْنَbut they refusedاَنْtoیَّحْمِلْنَهَاbear itوَ اَشْفَقْنَand they fearedمِنْهَاfrom itوَ حَمَلَهَاbut bore itالْاِنْسَانُ ؕthe manاِنَّهٗIndeed heكَانَwasظَلُوْمًاvery unjustجَهُوْلًاۙvery ignorant لِّیُعَذِّبَSo that Allah may punishاللّٰهُSo that Allah may punishالْمُنٰفِقِیْنَthe hypocrite menوَ الْمُنٰفِقٰتِand the hypocrite womenوَ الْمُشْرِكِیْنَand the polytheist menوَ الْمُشْرِكٰتِand the polytheist womenوَ یَتُوْبَand Allah will turn (in Mercy)اللّٰهُand Allah will turn (in Mercy)عَلَیtoالْمُؤْمِنِیْنَthe believing menوَ الْمُؤْمِنٰتِ ؕand the believing womenوَ كَانَAnd Allah isاللّٰهُAnd Allah isغَفُوْرًاOft-Forgivingرَّحِیْمًا۠Most Merciful

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Translation of Verse 69-73

(33:69) Believers,¹¹⁸ do not be like those who distressed Moses and then Allah declared him quit of the ill they spoke about him; and he had a high standing with Allah.¹¹⁹

(33:70) Believers, fear Allah and speak the truth:

(33:71) Allah will set your deeds right for you and will forgive you your sins. Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has achieved a great triumph.

(33:72) We offered the trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to carry it and were afraid of doing so; but man carried it. Surely he is wrong-doing, ignorant.¹²⁰

(33:73) (The consequence of man's carrying the trust is) that Allah may chastise hypocritical men and hypocritical women and accept the repentance of believing men and believing women. He is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.

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Commentary

118. We should bear in mind that the Qur’anic expression “O believers” denotes at places those who truly believe while at other places it denotes the community of Muslims as a whole. In the latter instance, the word “believers” comprehends both true believers and hypocrites.

Moreover, the Qur’an occasionally addresses the hypocrites directly.

When hypocrites and people of infirm faith are addressed as “believers”, the purpose is to put them to shame for their misdeeds despite their claim to have faith. One can easily ascertain from the context what kind of people are meant when the expression “O you believers” is used. In the verse under study, it is the Muslims as a whole who are addressed.

119. Muslims are asked not to behave like Jews. They should not act towards the Prophet (peace be on him) in the manner the Jews did vis-a-vis the Prophet Moses (peace be on him). Although the Jews look upon the Prophet Moses (peace be on him) as their great benefactor, their actual conduct towards him is recorded in the following Biblical passages: Exodus 5:20-21, 14:11-12, 16:2-3 and 17:3-5; and Numbers 111-15 aa ikt0.

The Qur’an draws attention to the Jews’ ingratitude towards the Prophet Moses (peace be on him) and warns the Muslims not to do the same in relation to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him). They are warned that if they do so, they will face the same end that befell the Jews.

On several occasions the Prophet (peace be on him) drew attention to this.

For example, he once distributed the booty among Muslims. When they left the scene, someone said: “Today Muhammad (peace be on him) did not fear God or the Hereafter in his distribution of booty”. This was overheard by ‘Abd Allah ibn Mas‘ud who reported it to the Prophet (peace be on him). In reply, however, he said to him: “May God's mercy be upon Moses.

He was subjected to even greater suffering (adha) and yet he remained patient”. (Tirmidhi, Bab Fad] Azwaj al-Nabi; Abu Da’ud, Kitab al-Adab and Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad, narrated by ‘Abd Allah ibn Mas‘ud.)

120. Concluding the discussion on this question, God draws man’s attention to his true position in this world. If he behaves irresponsibly, treating life in the world as though it were a mere play and sport, and follows a wrong path, he will court destruction. The word “trust” used.

here denotes man’s vicegerency, with which he was invested on earth.

What the Qur’an calls “trust” is referred to in al-Baqarah 2:30 as khilafah (vicegerency), which has been conferred upon man. God has granted man the freedom to obey or to defy Him. He has also granted man the power and authority which he exercises in harnessing to use God’s numerous creatures in exercise of the freedom so granted him. The inevitable and logical consequence of this is that man will be held responsible for his actions and will be recompensed for both his good and evil deeds. Man _ does not enjoy power and authority of his own. Rather, God has conferred it on him. Accordingly, he is accountable to God for his exercise of that "power and authority. In view of these considerations, the Qur’an employs the expression “trust” and “vicegerency” for describing man’s position in the world’s scheme of things.

The idea that the task of vicegerency is crushingly heavy is conveyed through the description of the heavens and earth which, notwithstanding their massiveness, shrank from accepting it. It was man who shouldered this burdensome task in spite of his infirmities and weaknesses. That the heavens and the earth declined to shoulder this responsibility may ‘be meant literally or be a metaphorical representation of the truth. We can neither accurately know or comprehend the true state of God’s relationship with His creatures. For us, the earth, the sun, the moon and.

the mountains appear to be deaf and dumb. That may, however, not be the case in their relationship with God. It is, therefore, likely that when God asked them to bear this great responsibility, they trembled with fear and expressed their inability to do so. They may even have petitioned God that they would prefer to remain His subservient creatures, unencumbered with free will and choice. Alternatively, they may have declined the offer of free will fearing that they might not be able to acquit themselves of the responsibilities flowing from it. Likewise, another possibility is that before the present phase of existence, God had granted a particular form to the entire human species and they expressed their willingness to undertake this responsibility. There is no valid reason to rule this out as a possibility. Only he who suffers from illusions about his intellectual caliber might dismiss this out of hand. Equally tenable is the view that the whole description is allegorical and is simply aimed at emphasizing the extraordinary nature of the situation. God Himself describes the scene as though the massive earth, the heavens and the mountains stood on one side and man, of five or six feet, on the other. God asked all those present as to who would take up the role of His vicegerent. He made it clear that the creature taking up this role would be free to affirm God’s supremacy and obey His command out of choice or he may refuse to do so, rising in revolt against Him. After having granted this authority, God would retire from the scene as if He were no longer there. Vast power and immense potential would be conferred upon man, along with the ability for him who took up the role to lord it over other creatures. However, at an appointed hour, this creature would be taken to task. Those who had misused the freedom granted by God would be subjected to a punishment that had not been inflicted upon anyone before. Conversely, those who faithfully obeyed God and refrained from disobeying Him, although they could have done so, will be granted unprecedented reward. All were then asked: who of you is ready to shoulder this task? This offer left all awe-struck, with one creature after another expressing their inability to shoulder this responsibility. After others had declined the offer, man expressed his readiness to accept it. He accepted this offer in the hope of attaining the highest position in God’s dominion. He was willing to face all the risks to which he was exposed in the hope of winning great rewards.

The whole scenario brings to mind the onerousness of man’s responsibility. It is a great pity that man does not realize the greatness of his role. God, therefore, brands man as “ignorant” and “wrong-doing”. He is “ignorant” in so far as he is not cognizant of the immense responsibility he is carrying. He is also “wrong-doing” in so far as he is inviting destruction upon himself and numerous other creatures by his misdeeds.