53:35 An-Najm (The Star)

{ أَعِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ الْغَيْبِ فَهُوَ يَرَى } الغيب ويخبر به، أم هو متقول على الله، متجرئ على الجمع بين الإساءة والتزكية كما هو الواقع، لأنه قد علم أنه ليس عنده علم من الغيب، وأنه لو قدر أنه ادعى ذلك فالإخبارات القاطعة عن علم الغيب التي على يد النبي المعصوم، تدل على نقيض قوله، وذلك دليل على بطلانه.

أي أعند هذا الذي قد أمسك يده خشية الإنفاق وقطع معروفه أعنده علم الغيب أنه سينفد ما في يده حتى قد أمسك عن معروفه فهو يرى ذلك عيانا؟ أي ليس الأمر كذلك وإنما أمسك عن الصدقة والمعروف والبر والصلة بخلا وشحا وهلعا. ولهذا جاء في الحديث "أنفق بلالا ولا تخش من ذي العرش إقلالا" وقد قال الله تعالى "وما أنفقتم من شيء فهو يخلفه وهو خير الرازقين".

Chastising Those Who disobey Allah and stop giving Charity

Allah the Exalted chastises those who turn away from His obedience,

فَلاَ صَدَّقَ وَلاَ صَلَّى - وَلَـكِن كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّى

(So he (the disbeliever) neither believed nor prayed! But on the contrary, he belied and turned away!)(75:31-32),

وَأَعْطَى قَلِيلاً وَأَكْدَى

(And gave a little, then stopped) Ibn `Abbas said, "Gave a little, then stopped giving." Similar was said by Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, `Ikrimah, Qatadah and several others. `Ikrimah and Sa`id said: "Like the case of a people who dig a well, during the course of which they find a rock preventing them from completing their work. So they say, `We are finished' and they abandon the work." Allah's statement,

أَعِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ الْغَيْبِ فَهُوَ يَرَىٰ

(Is with him the knowledge of the Unseen so that he sees) means, does this person, who stopped giving for fear of poverty and ended his acts of charity have knowledge of the Unseen and thus knows that if he does not stop giving, his wealth will go away No. Such a person has stopped giving in charity for righteous causes and did not keep relations with kith and kin because of his miserliness, being stingy and out of fear of poverty. The Prophet said in a Hadith,

«أَنْفِقْ بِلَالُ، وَلَا تَخْشَ مِنْ ذِي الْعَرْشِ إِقْلَالًا»

(O Bilal, spend and fear not less provisions from the Owner of the Thone.) Allah the Exalted and Most honored said,

وَمَآ أَنفَقْتُمْ مِّن شَىْءٍ فَهُوَ يُخْلِفُهُ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ

(And whatsoever you spend of anything (in Allah's cause), He will replace it. And He is the Best of providers.)(34:39)

The Meaning of `fulfilled

Allah the Exalted said,

أَمْ لَمْ يُنَبَّأْ بِمَا فِى صُحُفِ مُوسَى - وَإِبْرَهِيمَ الَّذِى وَفَّى

(Or is he not informed with what is in the Suhuf of Musa. And of Ibrahim who fulfilled), Sa`id bin Jubayr and Ath-Thawri said it means: "Conveyed all that he was ordered to convey." Ibn `Abbas said about:

وَفَّى

(fulfilled) "He delivered all that Allah ordered him to deliver." Sa`id bin Jubayr said about:

وَفَّى

(fulfilled), "What he was ordered." Qatadah said about:

وَفَّى

(fulfilled), "He obeyed Allah and delivered His Message to His creatures." This is the view preferred by Ibn Jarir because it includes the statement before it and supports it. Allah said,

وَإِذِ ابْتَلَى إِبْرَهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَـتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ قَالَ إِنِّى جَـعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا

(And (remember) when the Lord of Ibrahim tried him with (certain) commands, which he fulfilled. He said: "Verily, I am going to make you an Imam (a leader) for mankind.")(2:124) Therefore, Ibrahim fulfilled all the commands of his Lord, stayed away from all the prohibitions, and conveyed Allah's Message in its entirety. Therefore, he is worthy of being made a leader for mankind in all of his affairs, statements and actions. Allah the Exalted said,

ثُمَّ أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْكَ أَنِ اتَّبِعْ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَهِيمَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ

(Then, We have sent the revelation to you (saying): "Follow the religion of Ibrahim, a Hanif, and he was not of the idolators.")(16:123)

None shall carry the Burden of Any Other on the Day of Resurrection

Allah the Exalted explained what He has revealed in the Scripture of Ibrahim and Musa,

أَلاَّ تَزِرُ وَزِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى

(That no burdened person shall bear the burden of another.) Meaning, every soul shall carry its own injustices, whether disbelief or sin, and none else shall carry its burden of sin, as Allah states

وَإِن تَدْعُ مُثْقَلَةٌ إِلَى حِمْلِهَا لاَ يُحْمَلْ مِنْهُ شَىْءٌ وَلَوْ كَانَ ذَا قُرْبَى

(And if one heavily laden calls another to (bear) his load, nothing of it will be lifted even though he be near of kin.)(35:18) Allah said,

وَأَن لَّيْسَ لِلإِنسَـنِ إِلاَّ مَا سَعَى

(And that man can have nothing but what he does.) So just as no soul shall carry the burden of any other, the soul shall only benefit from the good that one earns for himself. As for the Hadith recorded by Muslim in the Sahih, that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«إِذَا مَاتَ الْإِنْسَانُ انْقَطَعَ عَمَلُهُ إِلَّا مِنْ ثَلَاثٍ: مِنْ وَلَدٍ صَالِحٍ يَدْعُو لَهُ، أَوْ صَدَقَةٍ جَارِيَةٍ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ، أَوْ عِلْمٍ يُنْتَفَعُ بِه»

(When a person dies, his deeds will cease except in three cases: from a righteous son who invokes Allah for him, or an ongoing charity after his death, or knowledge that people benefit from.) These three things are, in reality, a result of one's own deeds, efforts and actions. For example, a Hadith states,

«إِنَّ أَطْيَبَ مَا أَكَلَ الرَّجُلُ مِنْ كَسْبِهِ، وَإِنَّ وَلَدَهُ مِنْ كَسْبِه»

(Verily, the best type of provision that one consumes is from what he himself has earned, and one's offspring are among what he has earned.) The ongoing charity that one leaves behind, like an endowment, for example, are among the traces of his own actions and deeds. Allah the Exalted said,

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نُحْىِ الْمَوْتَى وَنَكْتُبُ مَاَ قَدَّمُواْ وَءَاثَارَهُمْ

(Verily, We give life to the dead, and We record that which they send before (them) and their traces.)(36:12) The knowledge that one spreads among people which they are guided by is among his actions and deeds. A Hadith collected in the Sahih states,

«مَنْ دَعَا إِلَى هُدًى كَانَ لَهُ مِنَ الْأَجْرِ مِثْلُ أُجُورِ مَنِ اتَّبَعَهُ، مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ يَنْقُصَ مِنْ أُجُورِهِمْ شَيْئًا»

(Whoever invites to guidance, he will earn as much reward as those who follow him, without decreasing anything out of their own rewards.) Allah said,

وَأَنَّ سَعْيَهُ سَوْفَ يُرَى

(And that his deeds will be seen.) meaning, on the Day of Resurrection,

وَقُلِ اعْمَلُواْ فَسَيَرَى اللَّهُ عَمَلَكُمْ وَرَسُولُهُ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَسَتُرَدُّونَ إِلَى عَـلِمِ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَـدَةِ فَيُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

(And say: "Do deeds! Allah will see your deeds, and (so will) His Messenger and the believers. And you will be brought back to the All-Knower of the unseen and the seen. Then He will inform you of what you used to do.")(9:105), Then Allah will remind you of your actions and recompense you for them in the best manner, good for good and evil for evil. Allah's statement here,

ثُمَّ يُجْزَاهُ الْجَزَآءَ الأَوْفَى

(Then he will be recompensed with a full and the best recompense.)

Does he possess knowledge of the Unseen so that he sees? and therefore from among such knowledge he is able to know that another person may bear the chastisement of the Hereafter for him? No! This was al-Walīd b. al-Mughīra or someone else the sentence beginning with a-‘indahu ‘does he possess’ is the second object of the a-ra’ayta ‘have you seen’ which has the significance of ‘inform Me!’.

أَعِندَهُ عِلْمُ الْغَيْبِ فَهُوَ يَرَ‌ىٰ (Does he have knowledge of the Unseen whereby he sees [ what he believes ]?...53:35) According to the story recounted in connection with the occasion of revelation, the verse means: The person who embraced Islam and later abandoned it because his friend assured him that he would bear the punishment in the Hereafter on his behalf, and spare him the pain. The fool believed him and took for granted the assurance given to him. Does he have the knowledge of the Unseen, so that he is able to see that the chastisement he deserves for disbelief will be taken over for sure by his friend? This is wholly a make-believe situation. He neither has the knowledge of the Unseen, nor can he take on the punishment of somebody else and save him. Apart from the story recounted in connection with the occasion of revelation, the verse would mean: Does this person, who stopped giving for fear of poverty and ended his acts of charity have knowledge of the Unseen and thus knows that if he does not stop spending, his wealth will go away? No. This is absolutely false. Such a person has neither the knowledge of the Unseen so that he is able to see that if he goes on spending, his wealth wi11 be depleted and not replenished. He stopped spending in charity for righteous causes, and did not keep relations with kith and kin because of his miserliness, being stingy and out of fear of poverty. The Qur'an makes plain in [ 34:39]

مَا أَنفَقْتُم مِّن شَيْءٍ فَهُوَ يُخْلِفُهُ ۖ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ‌ الرَّ‌ازِقِينَ

And whatever thing you spend, He replaces it. And He is the best of the sustainers. [ 34:39]