Surah An Najm Notes (33-42)

Source: Ibn Kathir

Chastising Those Who disobey Allah and stop giving Charity

(33) Did you (O Muhammad SAW) observe him who turned away (from Islam).

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

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

(34) And gave a little, then stopped (giving)?

(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.'' 

(35) Is with him the knowledge of the unseen so that he sees?

(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, (O Bilal, spend and fear not less provisions from the Owner of the Thone.) 

Allah the Exalted and Most honored said,

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

(36) Or is he not informed with what is in the Pages (Scripture) of Musa (Moses),

(37) And of Ibrahim (Abraham) who fulfilled (or conveyed) all that (what Allah ordered him to do or convey),

Allah the Exalted said,

(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:

(fulfilled) "He delivered all that Allah ordered him to deliver.'' 

Sa`id bin Jubayr said about:

(fulfilled), "What he was ordered.'' 

Qatadah said about:

(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, 

(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,

(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

(38) That no burdened person (with sins) shall bear the burden (sins) of another.

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

(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

(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)  

(39) And that man can have nothing but what he does (good or bad).

 Allah said,

(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, (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,

(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,

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

(40) And that his deeds will be seen,

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

(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),

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

 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,

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

(42) And that to your Lord (Allah) is the End (Return of everything).

Allah the Exalted said,

(And that to your Lord is the End.) meaning, the return of everything on the Day of Resurrection. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that `Amr bin Maymun Al-Awdi said, "Once, Mu`adh bin Jabal stood up among us and said, `O Children of Awd! I am the emissary of Allah's Messenger to you; know that the Return is to Allah, either to Paradise or the Fire.'''