Surah At-Taghabun Ayat 14 (64:14 Quran) With Tafsir

Ala-Maududi

(64:14) Believers, there are enemies to you from among your spouses and your off-spring, so beware of them. But if you forgive and overlook their offences and pardon them, then surely Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Compassionate.^[29]

29. This verse has two meanings:

According to the first meaning, it applies to most of those difficulties which are encountered by many believing men from their wives and the women from their husbands and the parents from their children in following the way of God. It seldom so happens in the world that a man has a wife or a wife has a husband, who are full companions and helpers of each other in the matter of faith and righteousness, and that both may also have such children as may be the comfort of their eyes as regards to faith and deeds, morals and conduct. But generally it so happens that if the husband is righteous and honest, the wife and children look upon his honesty and piety and righteousness as a misfortune for themselves, and want that the husband and the father should earn Hell for their sake, and, by giving up the distinction between the lawful and the unlawful, should provide means of luxury and enjoyment, sin and vice, for them in every passable way. On the contrary, many a time a pious believing woman happens to have a husband, who does not at all approve her obedience to the laws of God. And the children, following in the footsteps of the father, make the life of the mother miserable by their deviation and evil deeds. Then, particularly, when during the conflict between Islam and unbelief a man’s faith demands that he should suffer losses for the sake of Allah and this religion, run risks, emigrate from the country or even endanger his life by joining the war against unbelief, the greatest hindrance in his way are the people of his own household.

The second meaning relates to those special circumstances which most of the Muslims were facing at the time these verses were sent down, and also today they are faced by every person who embraces Islam in a non-Muslim society. At that time in Makkah and in other parts of Arabia a situation that was commonly being experienced was that a man would embrace Islam but his wife and children would not only be disinclined to accept it but would try their best to press him to give up Islam. And similar were the situation encountered by the women who alone embraced Islam in the family.

Addressing the believers who may be confronted with either situation, three things have been impressed:

First, they have been warned as if to say: Although from the worldly point of view these are the dearest relations of man, yet from the religious point of view, they are your enemies. This enmity may be for the reason that they hinder you from good and induce you to do evil, or that they restrain you from belief and pull you towards unbelief, or that their sympathies are with he unbelievers, and through you if they ever come to know any of the war secrets of the Muslims, they convey it to the enemies of Islam. Owing to these the nature and quality of enmity may vary, but in any case it is enmity; and if you hold your faith dearer to your heart, you should regard them as your enemies. In their love you should never forget that between you and them there stands the barrier of belief and unbelief, or of obedience and disobedience.

Then, it is said: Beware of them. That is, you should not ruin your eternal life for the sake of their worldly life. Let not their love so overwhelm you that they become a hindrance for you in your relationship with Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) and your loyalty to Islam. Do not place such reliance on them that the secrets of the Muslim community should come to their notice and through them reach your enemies only by your negligence and carelessness. This is the first thing of which the Prophet (peace be upon him) has warned the Muslims in a Hadith: A person will be brought up on the Day of Resurrection, and it will be proclaimed: His wife and children ate up all his good deeds.

In the end, it is said: If you pardon and overlook and forgive, Allah is surely All-Forgiving, All-Merciful. It means: You are being made aware of their enmity so that you may beware of them and do your best to save your faith from them. This warning does not, however, mean that you should treat your wife and children harshly, or strain your relations with them so as to make your own and their domestic lift miserable and wretched. For if you did so, two of the disadvantages would obviously result: First, it may close down every avenue to the reformation of the wife and children forever; second, it may give rise to suspicions and misgivings against Islam in the society and the people around may form the impression that a Muslim turns unduly rigid and ill-tempered for his own children in his own house as soon as he has embraced Islam. In this connection, one should also keep in mind that in the beginning when the people became Muslims, they encountered a special difficulty if their parents were unbelievers. They would press their children to give up the new faith. They would face another difficulty when their wives and children (or in case of women, their husbands and children) persisted unbelief and would force them to abandon the faith of truth. About the first difficulty, instruction was given in (Surah Al-Ankabut, Ayat 8) and (Surah Luqman, Ayat 14-15), saying: Treat your parents well but if they press you to join with Me another about whom you have no knowledge, do not obey them at all. About the second difficulty the instruction has been given here, saying: You must try to save your faith from your children and family members but do not treat them harshly, but rather politely and leniently. For further explanation, see (Surah At-Taubah, Ayat 23-24); (Surah Al-Mujadalah, ayat 22) note 37; (Surah Al- Mumtahanah, ayat 1-3) note 1-3; (Surah Munafiqoon, ayat 9) note 18.

Ibn-Kathir

14. O you who believe! Verily, among your wives and your children there are enemies for you; therefore beware of them! But if you pardon (them) and overlook, and forgive, then verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. 15. Your wealth and your children are only a Fitnah, whereas Allah! With Him is a great reward. 16. So have Taqwa of Allah as much as you can; listen and obey, and spend in charity; that is better for yourselves. And whosoever is saved from his own greed, then they are the successful ones. 17. If you lend to Allah a handsome loan, He will double it for you, and will forgive you. And Allah is Shakur, Halim, 18. All-Knower of the unseen and seen, the Almighty, the All-Wise.

Allah states that some wives and children are enemies to their husbands and fathers, in that they might be busied with them rather than with performing the good deeds. Allah said in another Ayah,

(O you who believe! Let not your properties or you children divert you from the remembrance of Allah. And whosoever does that then they are the losers.) (63:9) Allah the Exalted said here,

(therefore, beware of them!) for your religion, according to Ibn Zayd. Mujahid explained the Ayah ,

(Verily, among your wives and your children there are enemies for you;) by saying, “They might direct the man to sever his relation or disobey his Lord. The man, who loves his wives and children, might obey them in this case.” Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibn `Abbas said to a man who asked him about this Ayah,

(O you who believe! Verily, among your wives and your children there are enemies for you; therefore beware of them!) “There were men who embraced Islam in Makkah and wanted to migrate to Allah’s Messenger . However, their wives and children refused to allow them. Later when they joined Allah’s Messenger , they found that those who were with him (the Companions) have gained knowledge in the religion, so they were about to punish their wives and children. Allah the Exalted sent down this Ayah,

(But if you pardon (them) and overlook, and forgive, then verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.)” At-Tirmidhi collected this Hadith and said that it is Hasan Sahih. Allah’s statement,

(Your wealth and your children are only a Fintah, whereas Allah! With Him is a great reward.) Allah said that the wealth and children are a test and trial from Allah the Exalted for His creatures, so that He knows those who obey Him and those who disobey Him. Allah’s statement,

(whereas Allah! With Him) meaning, on the Day of Resurrection,

(is a great reward.) As Allah said;

(Beautified for men is the love of things they covet; women children, Qanatir Al-Muqantarah of gold and silver, branded beautiful horses, cattle and well-tilled land. This is the pleasure of the present world’s life; but Allah has the excellent return with him.) (3:14), and the Ayah after it. Imam Ahmad recorded that Buraydah said, “The Messenger of Allah was giving a speech and Al-Hasan and Husayn came in wearing red shirts, walking and tripping. The Messenger descended from the Minbar, held them and placed them in front of them and said,

(Allah and His Messenger said the truth,`Verily, your wealth and your children are a Fitnah.’ I saw these two boys walking and tripping and could not be patient until I stopped my speech and picked them up.)” This was recorded by the Sunan compilers, and At-Tirmidhi said, “Hasan Gharib.”

Allah said,

(So have Taqwa of Allah as much as you can;) meaning, as much as you are able and can bear or endure. The Two Sahihs recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,

(When I command you to do something, do as much as you can of it, and whatever I forbid for you, then avoid it.) Allah’s statement,

(listen and obey,) means, obey what Allah and His Messenger command you to do and do not stray from it to the right or left. Do not utter a statement or make a decision before Allah and His Messenger issue a statement or decision. Do not ignore what you were ordered to do, nor commit what you were forbidden from doing.

Allah the Exalted said,

(and spend in charity; that is better for yourselves.) meaning, give from what Allah has granted you to your relatives, the poor, the needy and the weak. Be kind to Allah’s creatures, just as Allah was and still is kind with you. This will be better for you in this life and the Hereafter. Otherwise, if you do not do it, it will be worse for you in this life and the Hereafter. Allah said;

(And whosoever is saved from his own greed, then they are the successful ones.) This was explained with a similar Ayah in Surat Al-Hashr, where we also mentioned the relevant Hadiths. Therefore, we do not need to repeat them here, all praise and gratitude is due to Allah. Allah the Exalted said,

(If you lend to Allah a handsome loan, He will double it for you, and will forgive you.) meaning, whatever you spend, then Allah will replace it, and on Him will be the reward of whatever you give away in charity. Allah considered giving charity as if it is a loan to Him, just as Allah said in a Qudsi Hadith,

(“Who will give a loan to He Who is neither unjust nor poor”) This is why Allah the Exalted said in Surat Al-Baqarah,

(So that He may multiply it to him many times) (2:245) Allah said;

(and will forgive you.) meaning, He will erase your mistakes,

(And Allah is Shakur) meaning, He gives abundantly in return for what was little,

(Halim) means, He forgives, pardons, covers and absolves the sins, mistakes, errors and shortcomings,

(All-Knower of the unseen and seen, the Almighty, the All-Wise.) Its explanation has already preceded several times. This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat At-Taghabun, all the praise and appreciation is due to Allah.