Surah At-Tur Ayat 21 (52:21 Quran) With Tafsir

Ala-Maududi

(52:21) We shall unite the believers with those descendants of theirs who followed them in their faith, and shall not deny them any part of the reward for their good deeds.^[15] Every person is pledged to what he did.^[16]

15. This theme has already been mentioned in (Surah Ar- Raad, Ayat 23) and (Surah Al-Momin, Ayat 8), but here a greater good news has been given. In the verse of Surah Ar- Raad only this much was said: They will enter into them (Gardens) along with the righteous from among their forefathers, wives and descendants, and in Surah Al-Mmin: The angels ask forgiveness for the believers; they say Our Lord… (admit therein also) of their parents and wives and children who are righteous. Here, what has been said in addition is: If the children had been following in the footsteps of their forefathers in faith, they will be joined with them in Paradise even though they might not deserve, on the basis of their deeds, the same high rank which the elders would attain on the basis of their superior faith and deeds, and this joining will not be of the nature of occasional visits and meetings but they will be lodged permanently with them in Paradise as is borne out by the words: alhaqna bi-him. For the sake of further satisfaction it has been stated: In order to be joined with their offspring the parents will not be lowered and reduced in rank, but in order to be joined with their elders the rank of the children will be enhanced and exalted.

Here, it should be borne in mind that this news has been given in respect of the children who on reaching maturity voluntarily decided to affirm faith and of their own free will followed in the footsteps of their righteous forefathers. As for those of the children of a believer, who might have died even before reaching maturity, there cannot be any question of belief or disbelief, obedience or disobedience, for they will be admitted to Paradise automatically and will be lodged along with their parents to be a comfort of the eyes for them.

16. Here, the metaphor of rahn (pledge) is very meaningful. If a person takes a loan from somebody, and the creditor keeps some article belonging to the debtor as a pledge with himself as a guarantee for the payment of his right, the debtor cannot redeem his pledge unless he pays off the debts; and if he does not redeem his pledge within the fixed time limit, the pledged article stands forfeited. The nature of the affair between man and God has been compared here to this very situation. The provisions, powers, capabilities and authority that God has granted man in the world are a debt that the Master has given to His servant, and as a guarantee for this debt the self of man is a pledge with Allah. If man by employing the provisions and the powers and authority in the right way earns the good by which the debt can be paid off, he will redeem the pledged thing, i.e. his own self, otherwise it will be forfeited. This thing has been said immediately after the preceding verse because even though the righteous believers may themselves be the people of a very high rank, their children cannot redeem their pledge unless they redeem their self by their own labor and effort. The earning of the forefathers cannot redeem the children. However, if the children are able to redeem themselves by virtue of their faith in some degree by following their righteous forefathers in their footsteps, it would then be Allah’s grace and bounty that in Paradise He may exalt them from lower ranks to be joined with their parents in the higher ranks. The good done by the forefathers can benefit the children only so far, but if by their own deeds they deserve Hell, it is not possible that they may be admitted to Paradise for the sake of the forefathers. Another thing that can be deduced from this verse is that the less righteous children’s being joined with their more righteous forefathers is not in reality the result of the lifework of the children but of their forefathers’. They by virtue of their deeds will deserve the grace that their children be joined with them in order to be a comfort of the eyes for them. That is why Allah will not lower their ranks to join them with their children but will exalt the children’s ranks to be joined with them, so that the perfection of Allah’s blessings on them is not marred by the distress that they may suffer on account of the remoteness of their children far away.

Ibn-Kathir

21. And those who believe and whose offspring follow them in faith, — to them shall We join their offspring, and We shall not decrease the reward of their deeds in anything. Every person is a pledge for that which he has earned. 22. And We shall provide them with fruit and meat such as they desire. 23. There they shall pass from hand to hand a cup, free from any idle talk, and free from sin. 24. And there will go round boy-servants of theirs, to serve them as if they were preserved pearls. 25. And some of them draw near to others, questioning. 26. Saying: “A foretime, we were afraid in the midst of our families.” 27. “So Allah has been gracious to us, and has saved us from the torment of the Fire.” 28. “Verily, We used to invoke Him before. Verily, He is the Most Subtle, the Most Merciful.”

In this Ayah, Allah the Exalted affirms His favor, generosity, graciousness, compassion and beneficence towards His creation. When the offspring of the righteous believers imitate their parents regarding faith, Allah will elevate the latter to the ranks of the former, even though the latter did not perform deeds as goodly as their parents. Allah will comfort the eyes of the parents by seeing their offspring elevated to their grades. Surely, Allah will gather them together in the best manner, and He will not decrease the reward or the grades of those higher in rank for joining them together, hence His statement,

(to them shall We join their offspring, and We shall not decrease the reward of their deeds in anything.) Ath-Thawri reported that Ibn `Abbas said, “Verily, Allah elevates the ranks of the believers’ offspring to rank of their parents, even though the latter have not performed as well as the former, so that the eyes of the parents are comforted.” Ibn `Abbas then recited this Ayah,

(And those who believe and whose offspring follow them in faith, — to them shall We join their offspring, and We shall not decrease the reward of their deeds in anything.) Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim recorded this statement from Sufyan Ath-Thawri from Ibn `Abbas. Ibn Abi Hatim also recorded that Ibn `Abbas commented on Allah’s statement,

(And those who believe and whose offspring follow them in faith, — to them shall We join their offspring.) saying, “They are the offspring of the believers who died on the faith. If the ranks of their parents are higher than their ranks, they will be joined with their parents. No part of the reward their parents received for their good deeds will be reduced for them.” `Abdullah, son of Imam Ahmad, recorded that `Ali said, “Khadijah asked the Prophet about two of her children who died during the time of Jahiliyyah, and the Messenger of Allah said;

(They are both in the Fire.) When he saw sadness on her face, he said,

(If you saw their dwelling place, you would hate them.) She said, `O Allah’s Messenger! What about my children with you.’ He said,

(They are in Paradise.) The Messenger of Allah said,

(Verily, the believers and their offspring will dwell in Paradise, while the idolators and their offspring will dwell in the Hellfire.) The Prophet then recited the Ayah,

(And those who believe and whose offspring follow them in faith…)” Certainly, it is Allah’s grace and favor that He grants the children this blessing because of the good deeds of their parents. He also grants His favor to parents on account of their offspring invoking Allah for them. Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah said,

(Verily, Allah shall elevate the grade of a righteous servant in Paradise, who will ask, “O Lord! How did I earn this” Allah will reply, “Through your son’s invoking Me to forgive you.”) This Hadith has an authentic chain of narration, but it was not recorded in the Sahih this way. However, there is a witnessing narration for it in Sahih Muslim, from the Hadith of Abu Hurayrah, who said that the Messenger of Allah said,

(When the Son of Adam dies, his record of deeds will cease except in three cases: an ongoing charity, knowledge that people are benefiting from and a righteous son who invokes Allah for him.)

Allah the Exalted said,

(Every person is a pledge for that which he has earned.) After Allah mentioned His favor of elevating the offspring to the ranks of their parents, even though the deeds of the former did not qualify them, He affirmed His fairness in that, He does not punish anyone for the mistakes of others,

(Every person is a pledge for that which he has earned.) Therefore, every person will be responsible for his actions. No sin committed by others shall ever be added to one’s load, even if committed by his or her parents or offspring. Allah the Exalted said,

(Every person is a pledge for what he has earned, except those on the Right. In Gardens, they will ask one another about the criminals.)(74:38-41)

Allah said,

(And We shall provide them with fruit and meat such as they desire.) meaning, `We shall provide them with various types and kinds of fruits and meat, whatever they wish for and desire,’

(There they shall pass from hand to hand a cup,) meaning, of wine, according to Ad-Dahhak,

(free from any Laghw, and free from Ta’thim) meaning, when they drink, they do not say any idle, vain words or utter dirty, sinful speech like the drunken people in this life do. Ibn `Abbas said that Laghw means `falsehood’ while Ta’thim means `lying’. Mujahid said, “They do not curse each other nor sin.” Qatadah said, “These were the consequences of drinking in this life, and Shaytan helped in this regard. Allah purified the wine of the Hereafter from the ills and harm caused by the wine of this life.” Therefore, Allah has purified the wine of the Hereafter from causing headaches, stomachaches and intoxication like the wine of this life. Allah stated that wine of the Hereafter shall not cause those who drink it to utter false, vain words that carry no benefit, full of foolishness and evil. Allah also described the wine of the Hereafter as beautiful in appearance, tasty and fruitful,

(White, delicious to the drinkers. Neither will they have Ghawl from that nor will they suffer intoxication therefrom.)(37:46-47) and,

(Wherefrom they will get neither nay aching of the head nor any intoxication.)(56:19) Allah the Exalted said here,

(There they shall pass from hand to hand a (wine) cup, free from any Laghw, and free from sin.) Allah said,

(And there will go round boy-servants of theirs to serve them as if they were preserved pearls.) This is a description of the servants and aids, the believers will have in Paradise. Their servants will be beautiful, graceful in appearance, clean and neat as well-preserved pearls,

(Immortal boys will go around them with cups, and jugs, and a glass of flowing wine.)(56:17-18) Allah the Exalted said,

(And some of them draw near to others, questioning.) meaning, the believers will draw near to each other talking and remembering their actions and conditions in this life, just as people in this life talk while drinking, especially when they become intoxicated,

(Saying: “Aforetime, we were afraid in the midst of our families.”) meaning, `in the life of world and in the midst of our families, we were afraid of our Lord and fearful of His torment and punishment,’

(So Allah has been gracious to us, and has saved us from the torment of the Fire.) meaning, `He has granted us a favor and saved us from what we feared,’

(Verily, We used to invoke Him before.) meaning, `we used to invoke Him with submission and humility, and He accepted our invocation and gave us what we wished,’

(Verily, He is the Most Subtle, the Most Merciful.)