96:8 Al-Alaq (The Clot)

ونسي أن إلى ربه الرجعى، ولم يخف الجزاء، بل ربما وصلت به الحال أنه يترك الهدى بنفسه، ويدعو [غيره] إلى تركه، فينهى عن الصلاة التي هي أفضل أعمال الإيمان.

فقال "إن إلى ربك الرجعى" أي إلى الله المصير والمرجع وسيحاسبك على مالك من أين جمعته وفيم صرفته. قال ابن أبي حاتم حدثنا زيد بن إسماعيل الصائغ حدثنا جعفر بن عون حدثنا أبو عميس عن عون قال: قال عبدالله: منهومان لا يشبعان صاحب العلم وصاحب الدنيا ولا يستويان فأما صاحب العلم فيزداد رضى الرحمن وأما صاحب الدنيا فيتمادى فى الطغيان قال ثم قرأ عبدالله "إن الإنسان ليطغى أن رآه استغنى" وقال للآخر "إنما يخشى الله من عباده العلماء" وقد روي هذا مرفوعا إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم "منهومان لا يشبعان طالب علم وطالب دنيا".

The Threat against Man's Transgression for the sake of Wealth

Allah informs that man is very pleased, most evil, scornful and transgressive when he considers himself self-sufficient and having an abundance of wealth. Then Allah threatens, warns and admonishes him in His saying,

إِنَّ إِلَى رَبِّكَ الرُّجْعَى

(Surely, unto your Lord is the return.) meaning, `unto Allah is the final destination and return, and He will hold you accountable for your wealth, as to where you obtained it from and how did you spend it.'

Scolding of Abu Jahl and the Threat of seizing Him

Then Allah says,

أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِى يَنْهَى - عَبْداً إِذَا صَلَّى

(Have you seen him who prevents. A servant when he prays) This was revealed about Abu Jahl, may Allah curse him. He threatened the Prophet for performing Salah at the Ka`bah. Thus, Allah firstly admonished him with that which was better by saying,

أَرَءَيْتَ إِن كَانَ عَلَى الْهُدَى

(Have you seen if he is on the guidance.) meaning, `do you think this man whom you are preventing is upon the straight path in his action, or

أَوْ أَمَرَ بِالتَّقْوَى

(Or enjoins Taqwa) in his statements Yet, you rebuke him and threaten him due to his prayer.' Thus, Allah says,

أَلَمْ يَعْلَم بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ يَرَى

(Knows he not that Allah sees) meaning, doesn't this person who is preventing this man who is following correct guidance know that Allah sees him and hears his words, and He will compensate him in full for what he has done Then Allah says by way of warning and threatening,

كَلاَّ لَئِن لَّمْ يَنتَهِ

(Nay! If he ceases not,) meaning, if he does not recant from his discord and obstinacy,

لَنَسْفَعاً بِالنَّاصِيَةِ

(We will scorch his forehead.) meaning, `indeed We will make it extremely black on the Day of Judgement.' Then He says,

نَاصِيَةٍ كَـذِبَةٍ خَاطِئَةٍ

(A lying, sinful forehead!) meaning, the forehead of Abu Jahl is lying in its statements and sinful in its actions.

فَلْيَدْعُ نَادِيَهُ

(Then let him call upon his council.) meaning, his people and his tribe. In other words, let him call them in order to seek help from them.

سَنَدْعُ الزَّبَانِيَةَ

(We will call out the guards of Hell!) `And they are the angels of torment. This is so that he may know who will win -- Our group or his group' Al-Bukhari recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "Abu Jahl said, `If I see Muhammad praying at the Ka`bah, I will stomp on his neck.' So this reached the Prophet , who said,

«لَئِنْ فَعَلَ لَأَخَذَتْهُ الْمَلَائِكَة»

(If he does, he will be seized by the angels.)" This Hadith was also recorded by At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i in their Books of Tafsir. Likewise, it has been recorded by Ibn Jarir. Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i and Ibn Jarir, all recorded it from Ibn `Abbas with the following wording: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was praying at the Maqam (prayer station of Ibrahim) when Abu Jahl bin Hisham passed by him and said, `O Muhammad! Haven't I prevented you from this' He threatened the Prophet and thus, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ became angry with him and reprimanded him. Then he said, `O Muhammad! What can you threaten me with By Allah, I have the most kinsmen of this valley with me in the large.' Then Allah revealed,

فَلْيَدْعُ نَادِيَهُ - سَنَدْعُ الزَّبَانِيَةَ

(Then let him call upon his council. We will call out the guards of Hell!)" Ibn `Abbas then said, "If he had called his people, the angels of torment would have seized him at that very instant." At-Tirmidhi said, "Hasan Sahih." Ibn Jarir recorded from Abu Hurayrah that Abu Jahl said, "Does Muhammad cover his face with dust (i.e., from prostration) while he is among you all" They (the people) replied, "Yes." Then he said, "By Al-Lat and Al-`Uzza, if I see him praying like this, I will stomp on his neck, and I will certainly put his face in the dust." So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came and he began praying, which made it possible for Abu Jahl to stomp on his neck. Then the people became surprised at him (Abu Jahl) because he began retreating on his heels and covering himself with his hands. Then it was said to him, "What's the matter with you" He replied, "Verily, between me and him is a ditch of fire, monsters and wings." Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«لَوْ دَنَا مِنِّي لَاخْتَطَفَتْهُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ عُضْوًا عُضْوًا»

(If he had come near me, the angels would have snatched him limb by limb.) The narrator added; "Allah revealed an Ayah, but I do not know whether it is concerning the Hadith of Abu Hurayrah or not:

كَلاَّ إِنَّ الإِنسَـنَ لَيَطْغَى

(Nay! Verily, man does transgress.) to the end of the Surah." Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, Muslim, An-Nasa'i and Ibn Abi Hatim all recorded this Hadith.

Amusement for the Prophet

Then Allah says,

كَلاَّ لاَ تُطِعْهُ

(Nay! Do not obey him.) meaning, `O Muhammad! Do not obey him in what he is forbidding from such as steadfastness in worship and performing worship in abundance. Pray wherever you wish and do not worry about him. For indeed Allah will protect you and help you, and He will defend you against the people.'

وَاسْجُدْ وَاقْتَرِب

(Fall prostrate and draw near (to Allah)!) This is just like what has been confirmed in the Sahih of Muslim on the authority of Abu Salih who reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«أَقْرَبُ مَا يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَهُوَ سَاجِدٌ، فَأَكْثِرُوا الدُّعَاء»

(The closest that a servant can be to his Lord is when he is in prostration. Therefore, make abundant supplications (i.e., while prostrating).)" It has also been mentioned previously that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to prostrate when he recited

إِذَا السَّمَآءُ انشَقَّتْ

(When the heaven is split asunder.) (84:1) and

اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِى خَلَقَ

(Read! In the Name of your Lord Who has created.) (96:1) This is the end of the Tafsir of Surah Iqra' (Surat Al-`Alaq). Unto Allah is due all praise and thanks, and He is the Giver of success and protection against error.

Surely to your Lord O man is the return — meant as a threat for him — and so He will requite the rebellious one with what he deserves.

Verse [ 8] إِنَّ إِلَىٰ رَ‌بِّكَ الرُّ‌جْعَىٰ إِنَّ إِلَىٰ رَ‌بِّكَ الرُّ‌جْعَىٰ (Surely to your Lord is the Return.) The word rufa, like bushra, is the verbal noun of infinitive - meaning all will be returning to their Lord. The apparent meaning is 'returning to the Lord after death and giving account of good and bad deeds and seeing with their own eyes the evil consequences of arrogance.' The profounder meaning of the verse is that though man has been endowed with great natural powers and has been created in the best make, he errs grievously if he thinks that he can ignore Allah's help and guidance. He constantly stands in need of Divine assistance, because his capacities and capabilities - either as an individual or in his collective capacity - are at best limited. The proud and arrogant man is thus not self-sufficient. If he thinks deeply, he will find that he needs Allah for every movement and pause. If He has apparently not made any member of the human species in need of another, he is at least in need of Allah for all his needs. Thinking that human beings are not in need of one another is also a fallacy. Allah has made man a social being, and as such he cannot satisfy all his needs by himself. Allah has made the social system or network such that all human beings need one another to satisfy their needs some time or the other. Let us consider an example: A fresh morsel of food that goes into our mouth and we swallow it unreflecting, is the result of thousands of human beings and animals who worked hard for a long period of time. It is not possible for anyone to engage so many thousands of human beings in his service. The same applies to clothes and other needs which require the services of thousands of millions of humans and animals to prepare the needful things. None of them is his servant. Even if he hires them at a rate of wages to work for him, it would not be possible for him to pay them their wages or salary. This secret or mystery dawns upon man when he realizes that the system of preparing all his needs is set into motion by the consummate wisdom of the Creator of the universe. He inspired someone to become a farmer, He cast into another's mind to become a woodcutter or a carpenter, He kindled in someone else's mind to become a blacksmith, He stimulated others to be content with labouring or working for somebody else, He ignited in others the burning desire to be involved in commerce or business, trade or industry. In this way, Allah has set up a bazaar of human needs which no government, nor its legal system or an individual could ever set up. A careful thinking along this line must lead us to the natural corollary that إِنَّ إِلَىٰ رَ‌بِّكَ الرُّ‌جْعَىٰ (Surely to your Lord is the Return.", that is, we witness that ultimately all things are under Divine power and wisdom.