92:15 Al-Lail (The Night)

{ لَا يَصْلَاهَا إِلَّا الْأَشْقَى الَّذِي كَذَّبَ } بالخبر { وَتَوَلَّى } عن الأمر.

قوله تعالى "لا يصلاها إلا الأشقى" أي لا يدخلها دخولا يحيط به من جميع جوانبه إلا الأشقى.

The Matter of Guidance and other than it is in the Hand of Allah, and Allah's Warning about the Hell

Qatadah said,

إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا لَلْهُدَى

(Truly, on Us is (to give) guidance.) "This means, We will explain what is lawful and what is prohibited." Others have said that it means, "Whoever traverses upon the path of guidance, then he will reach Allah (i.e., in the Hereafter)." They consider this Ayah like Allah's saying,

وَعَلَى اللَّهِ قَصْدُ السَّبِيلِ

(And upon Allah is the responsibility to explain the Straight path.) (16:9) This has been mentioned by Ibn Jarir. Allah said;

وَإِنَّ لَنَا لَلاٌّخِرَةَ وَالاٍّولَى

(And truly, unto Us (belong) the last (Hereafter) and the first (this world).) This means, `they both belong to Us and I (Allah) am in complete control of them.' Then Allah says,

فَأَنذَرْتُكُمْ نَاراً تَلَظَّى

(Therefore I have warned you of a Fire Talazza.) Mujahid said, "Blazing." Imam Ahmad recorded from Simak bin Harb that he heard An-Nu`man bin Bashir giving a sermon, in which he said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ giving a sermon, in which he said:

«أَنْذَرْتُكُمُ النَّار»

(I have warned you of the Fire.) And he said it in such a voice that if a man was in the marketplace he could hear it from where I am standing now. And he said it (with such force) that the garment that was on his shoulder fell down to his feet." Imam Ahmad recorded from Abu Ishaq that he heard An-Nu`man bin Bashir giving a sermon, in which he said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saying,

«إِنَّ أَهْوَنَ أَهْلِ النَّارِ عَذَابًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ رَجُلٌ تُوضَعُ فِي أَخْمَصِ قَدَمَيْهِ جَمْرَتَانِ يَغْلِي مِنْهُمَا دِمَاغُه»

(Verily, the person to be punished lightest of the people of the Fire on the Day of Judgement will be a man who will have placed on the soles of his feet two coals that will cause his brain to boil.)" Imam Al-Bukhari also recorded this narration. Muslim recorded that Abu Ishaq narrated from An-Nu`man bin Bashir that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«إِنَّ أَهْوَنَ أَهْلِ النَّارِ عَذَابًا مَنْ لَهُ نَعْلَانِ وَشِرَاكَانِ مِنْ نَارٍ يَغْلِي مِنْهُمَا دِمَاغُهُ كَمَا يَغْلِي الْمِرْجَلُ، مَا يَرَى أَنَّ أَحَدًا أَشَدُّ مِنْهُ عَذَابًا، وَإِنَّهُ لَأَهْوَنُهُمْ عَذَابًا»

(Verily, the lightest punishment received by the people of the Hellfire will be a man who will have two sandals whose straps will be made of fire that will cause his brain to boil just as a cauldron boils. Yet he will not think that anyone is receiving a torment more severe than him, even though he will be receiving the lightest punishment of them.) Allah says,

لاَ يَصْلَـهَآ إِلاَّ الاٌّشْقَى

(None shall enter it save the most wretched.) meaning, none will enter surrounded by it on all sides except the most wretched. Then Allah explains who this (the most wretched) is by His saying,

الَّذِى كَذَّبَ

(Who denies) meaning, in his heart.

وَتَوَلَّى

(and turns away.) meaning, from acting with his limbs and performing deeds according to their pillars. Imam Ahmad recorded from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«كُلُّ أُمَّتِي يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّـةَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِلَّا مَنْ أَبَى»

(All of my followers will enter Paradise on the Day of Judgement except for whoever refuses.) They (the Companions) said, "Who would refuse, O Messenger of Allah" He replied,

«مَنْ أَطَاعَنِي دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ، وَمَنْ عَصَانِي فَقَدْ أَبَى»

(Whoever obeys me, he will enter Paradise, and whoever disobeys me, then he has refused.) Al-Bukhari also recorded this Hadith. Allah then says,

وَسَيُجَنَّبُهَا الاٌّتْقَى

(And those with Taqwa will be far removed from it.) meaning, the righteous, pure, most pious person will be saved from the Fire. Then He explains who he is by His saying,

الَّذِى يُؤْتِى مَالَهُ يَتَزَكَّى

(He who gives of his wealth for self-purification.) meaning, he spends his wealth in obedience of his Lord in order to purify himself, his wealth and whatever Allah has bestowed upon him of religion and worldly things.

وَمَا لاًّحَدٍ عِندَهُ مِن نِّعْمَةٍ تُجْزَى

(And who has (in mind) no favor from anyone to be paid back.) meaning, giving his wealth is not done so that he may gain some favor from someone wherein they return some good to him, and therefore he gives to get something in return. He only spends his wealth

ابْتِغَآءَ وَجْهِ رَبِّهِ الاٌّعْلَى

(to seek the Face of his Lord, the Most High) meaning, hoping to attain the blessing of seeing Him in the final abode in the Gardens of Paradise. Allah then says,

وَلَسَوْفَ يَرْضَى

(He, surely, will be pleased.) meaning, indeed those with these characteristics will be pleased.

The Cause of this Revelation and the Virtue of Abu Bakr

Many of the scholars of Tafsir have mentioned that these Ayat were revealed about Abu Bakr As-Siddiq. Some of them even mentioned that there is a consensus among the Qur'anic commentators concerning this. There is no doubt that he is included in the meaning of these Ayat, and that he is the most deserving of the Ummah to be described with these characteristics in general, for indeed, the wording of these Ayat is general. As in Allah's saying,

وَسَيُجَنَّبُهَا الاٌّتْقَى - الَّذِى يُؤْتِى مَالَهُ يَتَزَكَّى - وَمَا لاًّحَدٍ عِندَهُ مِن نِّعْمَةٍ تُجْزَى

(And those with Taqwa will be far removed from it. He who gives of his wealth for self-purification. And who has (in mind) no favor from anyone to be paid back.) However, he (Abu Bakr) was the first and foremost of this Ummah to have all of these characteristics and other praiseworthy characteristics as well. For verily, he was truthful, pious, generous, charitable, and he always spent his wealth in obedience of His Master (Allah) and in aiding the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. How many Dirhams and Dinars did he spend seeking the Face of His Most Noble Lord. And did not consider any of the people as owning him some favor that he needed to get compensation for. Rather, his virtue and kindness was even shown towards leaders and chiefs from all the other tribes as well. This is why `Urwah bin Mas`ud, who was the chief of the Thaqif tribe, said to him on the day of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, "By Allah, if I did not owe you a debt, which I have not paid you back for, I would have responded to you (i.e., your call to Islam)." Abu Bakr As-Siddiq became angry with him for saying such a thing (i.e., I owe you something). So if this was his position with the chiefs of the Arabs and the heads of the tribes, then what about those other than them. Thus, Allah says,

وَمَا لاًّحَدٍ عِندَهُ مِن نِّعْمَةٍ تُجْزَى - إِلاَّ ابْتِغَآءَ وَجْهِ رَبِّهِ الاٌّعْلَى - وَلَسَوْفَ يَرْضَى

(And who has (in mind) no favor from anyone to be paid back. Except to seek the Face of his Lord, the Most High. He, surely, will be pleased.) And in the Two Sahihs it is recorded that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«مَنْ أَنْفَقَ زَوْجَيْنِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ دَعَتْهُ خَزَنَةُ الْجَنَّةِ يَاعَبْدَاللهِ، هَذَا خَيْر»

(Whoever equipped two riding animals in the way of Allah, the Gatekeepers of Paradise will call to him saying, "O servant of Allah! This is good.") So Abu Bakr said, "O Messenger of Allah! The one who is called from them will not have any need. Will there be anyone who will be called from all of them" The Prophet replied,

«نَعَمْ ، وَأَرْجُو أَنْ تَكُونَ مِنْهُم»

(Yes, and I hope that you will be one of them.) This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat Al-Layl, and all praise and thanks are due to Allah.

which none shall enter but the wretched one al-ashqā means al-shaqī

لَا يَصْلَاهَا إِلَّا الْأَشْقَى الَّذِي كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّىٰ (None will enter it but the wretched one who rejected [ the truth ] and turned away....92:16). This describes the fire of Hell. It is quite clear that only a kafir will reject Allah and His Messenger. Apparently, it seems that a sinful believer who does not reject the truth will not enter Hell, whereas the Qur'an and Hadith are replete with clear texts that a sinful believer will enter Hell, unless he had repented, or someone interceded for him, or was forgiven out of pure Grace. He will abide in Hell until he has received punishment for the sins he has committed. After paying for his sins, he will be taken out of Hell, and through the blessings of his faith, he will be admitted into Paradise.

Apparently, the wordings of the verse are contrary to this interpretation. Therefore, it is necessary that the interpretation of the verse under comment be brought in line with other Qur'anic verses and authentic Ahadith. It’ s plain and simple interpretation would be that this verse refers to entering the Hell for good, which is peculiar to the unbelievers. They will be tortured eternally in the Hell-fire. The sinful believers, on the other hand, will receive punishment for their sins and will eventually - at some time or the other - be taken out of Hell. Other scholars of Tafsir have given some other interpretations too, which can also be appropriate. Tafsir Mazhari has come up with another explanation according to which 'the wretched one' and 'the most God-fearing one' should not be taken in its general sense. Both words refer particularly to people who lived during the blessed time of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . From amongst them, no Muslim, who lived at that time, will enter Hell through the blessings of the Holy Prophet's ﷺ company, even though he might have committed some sins incidentally.

All of The Blessed Companions will be Saved from the Ordeal of Hell

The reason for this is that the Companions rarely ever committed sins. Furthermore, even if they did commit sins, they must have repented by dint of the fear of the Hereafter - as their living conditions indicate . If any of them committed a sin, his good deeds are so many that they can wipe out the sin as the Qur'an says:

إِنَّ الْحَسَنَاتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ

'...Surely good deeds erase bad deeds [ 11:114] '

Adopting the company of the Holy Prophet ﷺ is an act that can outweigh all other good deeds. The Holy Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said regarding the righteous members of the community:

ھم قوم لا یشقیٰ جلیسھم ولا یخاف انیسھم

'The one who sits with them is never deprived, and the one who feels happy in their company is never unsuccessful.' [ Sahihain ]

Obviously, a person who sits in the company of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and is his intimate associate cannot be wretched. Therefore, there are express texts available in the authentic Traditions that all the noble Companions are safe from the punishment of Hell. The Qur'an itself bears testimony that –

وَكُلًّا وَعَدَ اللَّـهُ الْحُسْنَىٰ

...and to each Allah has promised good [ 4:95] '

Husna in this statement refers to 'Paradise'. In another verse, the Qur'an says:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ سَبَقَتْ لَهُم مِّنَّا الْحُسْنَىٰ أُولَـٰئِكَ عَنْهَا مُبْعَدُونَ

Surely, those for whom the good (news) from Us has come earlier shall be kept far away from it. [ 21:101]

Husna in this statement also refers to 'Paradise'. The pronoun 'it' in the phrase 'from it' refers to 'Hell', signifying that they will be far away from Hell. A Tradition says that 'Hell-Fire will not touch him who has seen me'. [ Tirmidhi transmitted it from Jabir ؓ ].