Have you seen him who turns his back,
So did you observe him who turned away?
Hast thou considered him who turns his back
HAST THOU, then, ever considered him who turns away [from remembering Us, and cares for no more than the life of this world],
Observedest thou him who turned away?
Did you (O Muhammad SAW) observe him who turned away (from Islam).
Have you considered him who turned away?
(O Prophet), did you see him who turned away (from the Path of Allah),
Did you observe him who turned away (from Islam).
Didst thou (O Muhammad) observe him who turned away,
Did you see him who turned away,
Have you considered he who turns his back,
Have you seen the one who turned away
(Muhammad), have you ever seen the one who has turned away (from guidance),
Have you then seen him who turns his back?
Afaraayta alla<u>th</u>ee tawall<u>a</u>
Have you [Prophet] considered the man who turned away,
Seest thou one who turns back,
أَفَرَءَيْتَ ٱلَّذِى تَوَلَّىٰ
Have you seen the evil state of the one who turned away from Islam after coming close to it?
Have you seen the evil state of the one who turned away from Islam after coming close to it?
<p>Background of Revelation</p><p>Ad-Durr-ul-Manthur reports from Ibn Jarir that a person embraced Islam and one of his friends rebuked him for having abandoned his forefather's religion. He responded that he fears Allah's chastisement. The friend told him to make a certain payment to him, and he will take upon himself his punishment of the Hereafter. Thus he [ the new Muslim ] will be spared from the chastisement, and consequently he made the payment to him. The friend demanded more payment. After a scuffle, he made the additional payment to him, and for the balance a document was drawn up with signatures of witnesses. That person, according to Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani, was Walid Ibn Mughirah who was inclined towards Islam. But his friend reproached him and took the responsibility of punishment upon his own shoulders.</p><p>أَفَرَ‌أَيْتَ الَّذِي تَوَلَّىٰ (Did you see the one who turned away,… 53:33 word tawalla literally means 'to turn the face away', and it connotes in this context a person who turns away from Allah's obedience.</p>
Background of RevelationAd-Durr-ul-Manthur reports from Ibn Jarir that a person embraced Islam and one of his friends rebuked him for having abandoned his forefather's religion. He responded that he fears Allah's chastisement. The friend told him to make a certain payment to him, and he will take upon himself his punishment of the Hereafter. Thus he [ the new Muslim ] will be spared from the chastisement, and consequently he made the payment to him. The friend demanded more payment. After a scuffle, he made the additional payment to him, and for the balance a document was drawn up with signatures of witnesses. That person, according to Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani, was Walid Ibn Mughirah who was inclined towards Islam. But his friend reproached him and took the responsibility of punishment upon his own shoulders.أَفَرَ‌أَيْتَ الَّذِي تَوَلَّىٰ (Did you see the one who turned away,… 53:33 word tawalla literally means 'to turn the face away', and it connotes in this context a person who turns away from Allah's obedience.
<h2 class="title">Chastising Those Who disobey Allah and stop giving Charity</h2><p>Allah the Exalted chastises those who turn away from His obedience,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">فَلاَ صَدَّقَ وَلاَ صَلَّى - وَلَـكِن كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّى </div><p>(So he (the disbeliever) neither believed nor prayed! But on the contrary, he belied and turned away!)(75:31-32),</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَأَعْطَى قَلِيلاً وَأَكْدَى </div><p>(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,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">أَعِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ الْغَيْبِ فَهُوَ يَرَىٰ </div><p>(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,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">«أَنْفِقْ بِلَالُ، وَلَا تَخْشَ مِنْ ذِي الْعَرْشِ إِقْلَالًا»</div><p>(O Bilal, spend and fear not less provisions from the Owner of the Thone.) Allah the Exalted and Most honored said,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَمَآ أَنفَقْتُمْ مِّن شَىْءٍ فَهُوَ يُخْلِفُهُ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ</div><p>(And whatsoever you spend of anything (in Allah's cause), He will replace it. And He is the Best of providers.)(34:39)</p><h2 class="title">The Meaning of `fulfilled</h2><p>Allah the Exalted said,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">أَمْ لَمْ يُنَبَّأْ بِمَا فِى صُحُفِ مُوسَى - وَإِبْرَهِيمَ الَّذِى وَفَّى </div><p>(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:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَفَّى</div><p>(fulfilled) "He delivered all that Allah ordered him to deliver." Sa`id bin Jubayr said about:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَفَّى</div><p>(fulfilled), "What he was ordered." Qatadah said about:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَفَّى</div><p>(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,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَإِذِ ابْتَلَى إِبْرَهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَـتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ قَالَ إِنِّى جَـعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا</div><p>(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,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">ثُمَّ أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْكَ أَنِ اتَّبِعْ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَهِيمَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ </div><p>(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)</p><h2 class="title">None shall carry the Burden of Any Other on the Day of Resurrection</h2><p>Allah the Exalted explained what He has revealed in the Scripture of Ibrahim and Musa,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">أَلاَّ تَزِرُ وَزِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى </div><p>(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</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَإِن تَدْعُ مُثْقَلَةٌ إِلَى حِمْلِهَا لاَ يُحْمَلْ مِنْهُ شَىْءٌ وَلَوْ كَانَ ذَا قُرْبَى</div><p>(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,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَأَن لَّيْسَ لِلإِنسَـنِ إِلاَّ مَا سَعَى </div><p>(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 said,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">«إِذَا مَاتَ الْإِنْسَانُ انْقَطَعَ عَمَلُهُ إِلَّا مِنْ ثَلَاثٍ: مِنْ وَلَدٍ صَالِحٍ يَدْعُو لَهُ، أَوْ صَدَقَةٍ جَارِيَةٍ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ، أَوْ عِلْمٍ يُنْتَفَعُ بِه»</div><p>(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,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">«إِنَّ أَطْيَبَ مَا أَكَلَ الرَّجُلُ مِنْ كَسْبِهِ، وَإِنَّ وَلَدَهُ مِنْ كَسْبِه»</div><p>(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,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">إِنَّا نَحْنُ نُحْىِ الْمَوْتَى وَنَكْتُبُ مَاَ قَدَّمُواْ وَءَاثَارَهُمْ</div><p>(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,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">«مَنْ دَعَا إِلَى هُدًى كَانَ لَهُ مِنَ الْأَجْرِ مِثْلُ أُجُورِ مَنِ اتَّبَعَهُ، مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ يَنْقُصَ مِنْ أُجُورِهِمْ شَيْئًا»</div><p>(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,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَأَنَّ سَعْيَهُ سَوْفَ يُرَى </div><p>(And that his deeds will be seen.) meaning, on the Day of Resurrection,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَقُلِ اعْمَلُواْ فَسَيَرَى اللَّهُ عَمَلَكُمْ وَرَسُولُهُ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَسَتُرَدُّونَ إِلَى عَـلِمِ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَـدَةِ فَيُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ </div><p>(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,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">ثُمَّ يُجْزَاهُ الْجَزَآءَ الأَوْفَى </div><p>(Then he will be recompensed with a full and the best recompense.)</p>
Chastising Those Who disobey Allah and stop giving CharityAllah 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 `fulfilledAllah 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 ResurrectionAllah 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 statesوَإِن 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 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.)