Tafsir Ibn Kathir -> Surah Ash-Shura -> The Provision of Allah in this World and the Hereafter |
Here Allah speaks of His kindness towards His creation, in that He provides for every last one of them and does not forget anyone. When it comes to His provision, the righteous and the sinner are alike. Allah says: ﴿وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٍ فِي الاٌّرْضِ إِلاَّ عَلَى اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا وَيَعْلَمُ مُسْتَقَرَّهَا وَمُسْتَوْدَعَهَا كُلٌّ فِى كِتَابٍ مُّبِينٍ ﴾ (And no moving creature is there on the earth but its provision is due from Allah. And He knows its dwelling place and its deposit. All is in a Clear Book.) (11:6) And there are many similar Ayat. ﴿يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَآءُ﴾ (He gives provisions to whom He wills.) means, He gives generously to whomsoever He wills. ﴿وَهُوَ الْقَوِىُّ الْعَزِيزُ﴾ (And He is the All-Strong, the Almighty.) means, there is nothing that can overpower Him. Then Allah says: ﴿مَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ حَرْثَ الاٌّخِرَةِ﴾ (Whosoever desires the reward of the Hereafter,) means, whoever does things for the sake of the Hereafter, ﴿نَزِدْ لَهُ فِى حَرْثِهِ﴾ (We give him increase in his reward, ) meaning, `We will give him strength and help him to do what he wants to do, and We will increase it for him. So for every good, We will multiply it and give him between ten and seven hundred good rewards,' as much as Allah wills. ﴿وَمَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ حَرْثَ الدُّنْيَا نُؤْتِهِ مِنْهَا وَمَا لَهُ فِى الاٌّخِرَةِ مِن نَّصِيبٍ﴾ (and whosoever desires the reward of this world, We give him thereof, and he has no portion in the Hereafter.) means, whoever strives for the purpose of worldly gains, and never pays any heed to the Hereafter at all, Allah will deny him the Hereafter; and in this world, if He wills He will give to him and if He does not will, he will gain neither. So the one who strives with this intention in mind will have the worst deal in this world and in the Hereafter. The evidence for that is the fact that this Ayah is reinforced by the passage in Subhan (i.e., Surat Al-Isra') in which Allah says: y ﴿مَّن كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعَـجِلَةَ عَجَّلْنَا لَهُ فِيهَا مَا نَشَآءُ لِمَن نُّرِيدُ ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَا لَهُ جَهَنَّمَ يَصْلَـهَا مَذْمُومًا مَّدْحُورًا - وَمَنْ أَرَادَ الاٌّخِرَةَ وَسَعَى لَهَا سَعْيَهَا وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَأُولَـئِكَ كَانَ سَعْيُهُم مَّشْكُورًا - كُلاًّ نُّمِدُّ هَـؤُلاءِ وَهَـؤُلاءِ مِنْ عَطَآءِ رَبِّكَ وَمَا كَانَ عَطَآءُ رَبِّكَ مَحْظُورًا - انظُرْ كَيْفَ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ وَلَلاٌّخِرَةُ أَكْبَرُ دَرَجَـتٍ وَأَكْبَرُ تَفْضِيلاً ﴾ (Whoever desires the quick-passing, We readily grant him what We will for whom We like. Then, afterwards, We have appointed for him Hell; he will (enter) burn therein disgraced and rejected. And whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it, with the necessary effort due for it while he is a believer -- then such are the ones whose striving shall be appreciated. On each -- these as well as those -- We bestow from the bounties of your Lord. And the bounties of your Lord can never be forbidden. See how We prefer one above another (in this world), and verily, the Hereafter will be greater in degrees and greater in preferment.) (17:18-21) It was reported that Ubayy bin Ka`b, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Messenger of Allah said: «بَشِّرْ هذِهِ الْأُمَّةَ بِالسَّنَاءِ وَالرِّفْعَةِ وَالنَّصْرِ وَالتَّمْكِينِ فِي الْأَرْضِ، فَمَنْ عَمِلَ مِنْهُمْ عَمَلَ الْاخِرَةِ لِلدُّنْيَا، لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ فِي الْاخِرَةِ مِنْ نَصِيب» (Give the glad tidings to this Ummah of sublimity, high status, victory and power in the land. But whoever among them does the deeds of the Hereafter for the sake of worldly gain, will have no portion of the Hereafter.)''
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