064- AL-TAGHABUN
MUTUAL DISPOSSESSION
IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL
# Whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth glorifies God. His is the Sovereignty and His is the praise, and He is Powerful over all things. # He it is Who created you; among you are disbelievers and among you are believers. And God sees whatsoever you do. # He created the heavens and the earth in truth and formed you, then made beautiful your forms, and unto Him is the journey’s end. # He knows whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth, and He knows what you hide and what you disclose; God knows what lies within breasts. # Has not the account come to you of those who disbelieved aforetime such that they tasted the evil consequences of their affair, and theirs shall be a painful punishment? # That is because their messengers brought them clear proofs, at which they said, “Shall a human being guide us?” So they disbelieved and turned away; yet God is beyond need. And God is Self-Sufficient, Praised. # Those who disbelieve claim that they will not be resurrected. Say, “Yea! By my Lord! Surely you shall be resurrected. Then you shall be informed of that which you did; and that is easy for God.” # So believe in God and His Messenger and the light We have sent down. God is Aware of whatsoever you do. # The day that He gathers you for the Day of Gathering, that is the Day of Mutual Dispossession. And whosoever believes in God and works righteousness, He will absolve him of his evil deeds and cause him to enter Gardens with rivers running below, to abide therein forever. That is the great triumph. # And those who disbelieve and deny Our signs, they are the inhabitants of the Fire, abiding therein. What an evil journey’s end! # No misfortune befalls, save by God’s Leave. And whosoever believes in God, He guides his heart. And God is Knower of all things. # Obey God and obey the Messenger. Then if you turn away —only the clear proclamation is incumbent upon Our Messenger. # God, there is no god but He, and in God let the believers trust. # O you who believe! Among your spouses and your children there is indeed an enemy unto you; so be wary of them. Yet if you pardon, forbear, and forgive, then truly God is Forgiving, Merciful. # Your property and your children are only a trial; and God—with Him is a great reward. # So reverence God as much as you are able. Listen, obey, and spend; that is better for your souls. And whosoever is shielded from the avarice of his soul, it is they who shall prosper. # If you lend unto God a goodly loan, He will multiply it for you and forgive you; and God is Thankful, Clement, # Knower of the Unseen and the seen, the Mighty, the Wise.
Commentary
# Whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth glorifies God. His is the Sovereignty and His is the praise, and He is Powerful over all things.
1 Whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth glorifies God also appears in 59:1; 61:1; and 62:1 (cf. 57:1; 59:24). Here, as in 24:41, 59:24, and 62:1, glorifies appears in the present tense (yusabbiḥu). In 57:1; 59:1; and 61:1, it is in the past tense (sabbaḥa), and in 87:1 it occurs as an imperative: Glorify the Name of thy Lord. According to al-Rāzī, this is to indicate that the glorification of God should be and in reality is constant in the past, present, and future: the past tense conveys glorification from the beginning of time until the present moment, the present tense conveys glorification from the present moment into the future until the end of time (as the present tense can be used to indicate the future in Arabic), and the imperative indicates glorification at the present moment (R on 61:1).
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# He it is Who created you; among you are disbelievers and among you are believers. And God sees whatsoever you do.
2 The whole of this verse implies that only God knows those who are truly disbelievers and those who are truly believers. According to a ḥadīth, “People are born in various degrees (ṭabaqāt). A person may be born as a believer, live as a believer, and die as a believer. A person may be born as a disbeliever, live as a disbeliever, and die as a disbeliever. [Another] person may be born as a believer, live as a believer, and die as a disbeliever. And [another] person may be born as a disbeliever, live as a disbeliever, and die as a believer” (Q). With regard to one’s actions, another ḥadīth states, “A person may act like the people of the Garden as it appears to the people, though he is among the people of the Fire. And a person may act like the people of the Fire as it appears to the people, though he is among the people of the Garden” (Q).
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# He created the heavens and the earth in truth and formed you, then made beautiful your forms, and unto Him is the journey’s end.
3 The final words of He created the heavens and the earth in truth (cf. 6:73; 14:19; 16:3; 29:44; 39:5, 45:22; 46:3) may also be rendered “for truth,” so that those who do evil and those who do good will be requited in accord with what they have done (Q); see 6:73c. That God made beautiful your forms can mean the human form; the inner reality of the human being, as in 95:4, Truly We created man in the most beautiful stature; or the forms of all things, as it is God Who made beautiful all that He created (32:7), and He formed you and made beautiful your forms (40:64); see 32:7c; 95:4c.
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# He knows whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth, and He knows what you hide and what you disclose; God knows what lies within breasts.
4 In this context, this verse indicates that God knows the actions, intentions, and inner thoughts of all believers and disbelievers and is able to distinguish sincerity from insincerity, as in 2:284: And whether you disclose what is in your souls or hide it, God will bring you to account for it (see also 3:29); cf. 2:77; 11:5; 16:19, 23; 36:76. That God knows what lies within breasts is repeated in 3:119, 154; 5:7; 8:43; 11:5; 29:10; 31:23; 35:38; 39:7; 42:24; 57:6; 67:13; see 5:7c.
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# Has not the account come to you of those who disbelieved aforetime such that they tasted the evil consequences of their affair, and theirs shall be a painful punishment?
5 That the disbelievers have tasted the evil consequences of their affair (cf. 5:95; 59:15; 65:9) indicates the afflictions that befell them in this life, while the painful punishment refers to the punishment that they will receive in the Hereafter. Those who disbelieved aforetime refers to all previous peoples who rejected the messengers that came to them with clear proofs (see 3:183–84; 7:101; 9:70; 10:13; 14:9; 30:47). Jesus, Moses, and Muhammad are most frequently cited as those who were sent with the clear proofs of revelation, but this can also be said of all the other prophets (see 9:70).
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# That is because their messengers brought them clear proofs, at which they said, “Shall a human being guide us?” So they disbelieved and turned away; yet God is beyond need. And God is Self-Sufficient, Praised.
6 People’s incredulousness at the idea that Divine messages would be sent through human messengers—reflected here in their question Shall a human being guide us?—is presented in the Quran as one of the constant barriers to belief, as in 17:94: And naught hindered men from believing when guidance came unto them, save that they said, “Has God sent a human being as a messenger?” (see also 6:6–9, 50, 91; 11:12, 27; 14:10–11; 21:3; 23:24, 33, 47; 26:154, 186; 36:15; 41:14; 50:2; 54:24; 74:25). This same objection is attributed to those who rejected the prophethood of Muhammad: And they say, “What ails this Messenger, who eats food and walks in the markets? Why is there not an angel sent down unto him to be a warner with him?” (25:7). That God is Self-Sufficient could indicate that God has no need of them or no need for them to believe in Him; thus He did not compel them to believe in Him despite His ability to do so (R, Z). That God is Praised indicates that being praised is intrinsic to the Divine Nature and not dependent upon anything to praise Him (Āl), thus it is often joined with the mention of God’s being Self-Sufficient (see 4:131; 14:8; 22:64; 31:12, 26; 35:15; 60:6).
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# Those who disbelieve claim that they will not be resurrected. Say, “Yea! By my Lord! Surely you shall be resurrected. Then you shall be informed of that which you did; and that is easy for God.”
7 They claim translates zaʿama, which refers to false claims of knowledge and thus indicates lying (Z). This is one of several verses where the disbelievers’ denial of resurrection is made explicit (see also 6:29; 23:37; 44:35). In other verses, their rejection takes the form of amazement or disparagement, as in 37:16–17: What! When we have died and are dust and bones, are we to be resurrected, and our fathers of old? (see also 17:49; 37:53; 50:3; 56:47; 79:11). That people will be informed of their past actions is central to the Quranic understanding of the Resurrection and the Final Judgment (see 5:14, 105; 6:60, 108, 159; 9:94, 105; 10:23; 24:64; 29:8; 31:15, 23; 39:7; 41:50; 58:6–7; 62:8; 75:13); see 6:60c.
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# So believe in God and His Messenger and the light We have sent down. God is Aware of whatsoever you do.
8 Here light refers primarily to the Quran (Q, R, Ṭ, Z), though it can also be understood as a reference to Divine Guidance in general. In the Quran, light is frequently associated with the guidance that comes through the prophets and revelation (see 6:91; 7:157; 21:48; 42:52; 57:9, 28), and in 9:32–33 and 61:8–9 the Quran mentions those who would try to extinguish the Light of God, which in relation to this verse could be read as an attempt to conceal Divine Revelation. According to a Shiite interpretation, in this verse light refers to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as the leader of the believers after the Prophet (Kā, Qm), all of the Shiite Imams, or the Imam within the hearts of the believers (Qm).
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# The day that He gathers you for the Day of Gathering, that is the Day of Mutual Dispossession. And whosoever believes in God and works righteousness, He will absolve him of his evil deeds and cause him to enter Gardens with rivers running below, to abide therein forever. That is the great triumph.
9 The Day of Gathering (cf. 42:7) refers to the Day of Resurrection, when all human beings of all generations and all jinn will be gathered on a single open, barren plain for judgment (see, e.g., 3:25; 4:87; 6:128; 18:47; 20:106; 79:14), each community behind its prophet (see 17:71), as all living things are gathered unto their Lord in the end (6:38). It can also be seen as a reference to God’s gathering together one’s bones for resurrection, since one of the objections to resurrection posed by the disbelievers was to say, What! When we are bones and dust, shall we indeed be resurrected as a new creation? (17:49, 98; see also 23:35, 82; 36:78; 37:16, 53; 56:47; 75:3). Mutual Dispossession renders taghābun, which derives from ghabana, meaning “to stint or shortchange another in a transaction” and implying an element of deception or subterfuge (Iṣ). It is most likely used as a reference to the Day of Resurrection because there is no way that human beings can fully repay the debt they owe to God. Although every soul will be paid in full for that which it has done (16:111; see also, e.g., 2:272, 281; 3:25, 57, 161, 185; 8:60; 11:15, 111), no soul can pay God in full for that which God has done. The believer is also said to be one who sells his soul seeking God’s good pleasure (2:207) and one who would sell the life of this world for the Hereafter (4:74). For those who have succeeded in making this transaction, 9:111 says, Truly God has purchased from the believers their souls and their wealth in exchange for the Garden being theirs (see also 35:29). Such a transaction is so completely one-sided that one could be said to have “stinted” (ghabana) God. In addition, those who sell God’s pact and their oaths for a paltry price (3:77) have stinted or shortchanged themselves by not honoring the agreement in which they were guaranteed that they would be paid in full. Thus 2:16 says of them, It is they who have purchased error at the price of guidance. Their commerce has not brought them profit, and they are not rightly guided (see also 2:175; 3:177). In contrast, those who sell their souls for God have their evil deeds absolved in this life and enter Paradise in the next; see 66:8c. Attaining the Garden is referred to as the great triumph in over a dozen verses; for the blessings of Paradise, see commentary on 5:119; 44:51–57. Regarding God’s admitting people into Gardens with rivers running below, see 2:25c; 3:195; 5:12; 48:5.
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# And those who disbelieve and deny Our signs, they are the inhabitants of the Fire, abiding therein. What an evil journey’s end!
# No misfortune befalls, save by God’s Leave. And whosoever believes in God, He guides his heart. And God is Knower of all things.
10–11 Signs can also mean “verses,” in which case v. 10 would contain a direct reference to the Quran. Together, these verses along with v. 12 are a reminder to the Prophet and his followers that no matter what they do, there are some who will continue to reject revelation, since only God can guide, as in 17:97: Whomsoever God guides, he is rightly guided, and whomsoever He leads astray, thou wilt find no protectors for them apart from Him (see also 18:17).
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# Obey God and obey the Messenger. Then if you turn away—only the clear proclamation is incumbent upon Our Messenger.
12 Cf. 5:92. Regarding the relationship between obedience to God and obedience to the Messenger, see 3:32, 132; 4:59; 5:92; 8:1, 20, 46; 24:54, 56; 33:33; 49:14; 58:13 (see also 7:156–57; 59:7). From a Quranic perspective, to obey the Messenger is in fact to obey God, since whosoever obeys the Messenger obeys God (4:80); thus those who believe in him, honor him, help him, and follow the light that has been sent down with him, it is they who shall prosper (7:157). Prophets are only responsible for delivering the message (see 3:20; 5:92, 99; 13:40; 16:35, 82; 24:54; 29:18; 36:17; 42:48), meaning that their duty is to fulfill this responsibility; the salvation or damnation of human souls is for God alone to determine.
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# God, there is no god but He, and in God let the believers trust.
13 Regarding the virtue of trust in God (tawakkul), see 14:11–12c; cf. 3:122, 160; 5:11; 9:51; 12:67; 14:11–12; 39:38; 58:10.
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# O you who believe! Among your spouses and your children there is indeed an enemy unto you; so be wary of them. Yet if you pardon, forbear, and forgive, then truly God is Forgiving, Merciful.
14 This verse reportedly refers to those who were prevented by their families from migrating to Madinah after they had embraced Islam. Some took pity on their own families and did not emigrate or delayed their emigration (Q, Sy, Ṭ, W). Then this verse was revealed to instruct them to be on their guard against family members who did not support them in their religion, but also not to punish them for it. For other references to the manner in which family can serve as a distraction or even hindrance in religious matters, see 3:10, 14, 116; 8:28; 9:24, 55, 69, 85; 18:39–40, 46; 23:55–56; 26:88; 34:35–37; 60:3; 63:9; 64:15; 71:21.
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# Your property and your children are only a trial; and God—with Him is a great reward.
15 Cf. 8:28. Property and possessions are a trial insofar as one becomes overly attached to them, even a slave to them, rather than to God. In this vein a famous ḥadīth states, “Wretched is the slave of dīnārs. Wretched is the slave of dirhams. Wretched is the slave of fine dress. Wretched is the slave of fine cloth” (Q). Regarding the manner in which property and children can be said to be a trial, see 9:55c; 63:9c.
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# So reverence God as much as you are able. Listen, obey, and spend; that is better for your souls. And whosoever is shielded from the avarice of his soul, it is they who shall prosper.
16 According to some, Reverence God as much as you are able was later abrogated by Reverence God as He should be reverenced (3:102; Q), in which case this verse would be seen as an incremental step toward complete reverence for God. Nonetheless, the two phrases can be seen as complementary rather than contradictory. Together, listening and obeying indicate the two necessary dispositions toward revelation, first to contemplate it and understand it, and second to act upon it by refraining from what it forbids and doing what it enjoins. Thus listening must precede obeying as contemplation must precede action. Here spend means in charity, in alms (zakāh), or upon oneself (Q). It could also be rendered, “Spend what is better for your souls” (Q), which, in relation to vv. 9 and 17, would mean that those who spend what is best will not experience “dispossession” on the Day of Judgment, as they are those who lend unto God a goodly loan (v. 17). In this context, whosoever is shielded from the avarice of his soul (cf. 59:9) indicates both a general principle and that for those who do not succumb to the trials associated with family and property (see vv. 13–15) but are able to treat them in a just and equitable manner, it is they who shall prosper; see 59:9c.
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# If you lend unto God a goodly loan, He will multiply it for you and forgive you; and God is Thankful, Clement,
17 This verse follows upon the reference to the Day of Mutual Dispossession in v. 9. In contrast to the disbelievers, who have purchased error at the price of guidance, and punishment at the price of forgiveness (2:175), the believers sell their souls seeking God’s good pleasure (see 2:207) and thus lend unto God a goodly loan (cf. 2:245; 5:12; 57:11, 18; 73:20); see 57:11c; 57:18c. The manner in which God multiplies charitable offerings is best reflected in 2:261: The parable of those who spend their wealth in the way of God is that of a grain that grows seven ears, in every ear a hundred grains. And God multiplies for whomsoever He will (see also 2:245; 4:40; 6:160). Regarding the manner in which God can be understood as Thankful, see 35:30c.
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# Knower of the Unseen and the seen, the Mighty, the Wise. 18 Regarding God as Knower of the Unseen and the seen (cf. 6:73; 9:94, 105; 13:9; 23:92; 32:6; 39:46; 59:22; 62:8), see 9:94c; 59:22c.
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