Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged)

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

اللَّهُ يَبْدَأُ الْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ يُعِيدُهُ (Allah originates the creation, then He will repeat it,) Just as He was able to create it in the first place, so He is also able to repeat it. ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ (then to Him you will be returned.) on the Day of Resurrection, when each will be requited according to his deeds. Then Allah says: وَيَوْمَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ يُبْلِسُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ (And on the Day when the Hour will be established, the criminals will be plunged into destruction with despair.) Ibn `Abbas said, "The sinners will be filled with despair." Mujahid said, "The sinners will be exposed;" according to another report he said, "The sinners will grieve." وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُمْ مِّن شُرَكَآئِهِمْ شُفَعَاءُ (No intercessors will they have from those whom they made equal with Allah,) means, the gods whom they used to worship instead of Allah will not intercede for them; they will reject them and betray them despite their desperate need of them. Then Allah says: وَيَوْمَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَتَفَرَّقُونَ (And on the Day when the Hour will be established -- that Day shall (all men) be separated.) Qatadah said: "By Allah, this refers to the separation after which there will be no reunion." In other words, if one person is taken up to the highest heights and another is sent down to the lowest depths of Hell, that is the last they will ever see of one another. Allah says: فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَـتِ فَهُمْ فِى رَوْضَةٍ يُحْبَرُونَ (Then as for those who believed and did righteous good deeds, such shall be honored and made to enjoy a luxurious life in a Garden of Delight.) Mujahid and Qatadah said, "This means, they will enjoy a life of luxury."

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

The Command to pray Five Times Daily Here Allah glorifies Himself and commands His servants to glorify and praise Him at these times which come one after the other and are indicative of His might and power in the heavens. This is when the night comes with its darkness, then in the morning the day comes with its light. This glorification is followed by befitting praise, as Allah says: وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ (And His is all the praise in the heavens and the earth;) meaning, He is the One who is to be praised for what He has created in the heavens and on earth. Then Allah says: وَعَشِيّاً وَحِينَ تُظْهِرُونَ (and in `Ashiyya and when Tuzhirun.) -- the `Ashiyy is the time when the darkness is most intense, and Izhar is the brightest point of the day. Glory be to the One Who created both of them, the Cleaver of the daybreak and the One Who makes night a time of rest. Allah says: وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا جَلَّـهَا - وَالَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَـهَا (By the day as it shows up its brightness. By the night as it conceals it.) (91:3-4) وَالَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَى - وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا تَجَلَّى (By the night as it envelops. By the day as it appears in brightness. ) (92:1-2) وَالضُّحَى - وَالَّيْلِ إِذَا سَجَى (By the forenoon (after sunrise). By the night when it darkens.) (93:1-2) And there are many similar Ayat. يُخْرِجُ الْحَىَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَيُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَىِّ (He brings out the living from the dead, and brings out the dead from the living.) This is what we see of His power to create things and their opposites. These Ayat which come one after the other are all of the same; in each of them Allah mentions the creation of things and their opposites, to indicate to His creation the perfection of His power. Thus He creates the plant from the seed and the seed from the plant; He creates the egg from the chicken and the chicken from the egg; He creates man from sperm and sperm from man; He creates the believer from the disbelievers and the disbeliever from the believers. وَيُحْىِ الاٌّرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا (And He revives the earth after its death.) This is like the Ayat: وَءَايَةٌ لَّهُمُ الاٌّرْضُ الْمَيْتَةُ أَحْيَيْنَـهَا وَأَخْرَجْنَا مِنْهَا حَبّاً فَمِنْهُ يَأْكُلُونَ (And a sign for them is the dead land. We give it life, and We bring forth from it grains, so that they eat thereof.) until: وَفَجَّرْنَا فِيهَا مِنَ الْعُيُونِ (and We have caused springs of water to gush forth therein. ) (36:33-34) وَتَرَى الاٌّرْضَ هَامِدَةً فَإِذَآ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْهَا الْمَآءَ اهْتَزَّتْ وَرَبَتْ وَأَنبَتَتْ مِن كُلِّ زَوْجٍ بَهِيجٍ (And you see the earth barren, but when We send down water on it, it is stirred, and it swells and puts forth every lovely kind.) until: وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْعَثُ مَن فِى الْقُبُورِ (and certainly, Allah will resurrect those who are in the graves.) (22:5-7) وَهُوَ الَّذِى يُرْسِلُ الرِّيَاحَ بُشْرىً بَيْنَ يَدَىْ رَحْمَتِهِ حَتَّى إِذَآ أَقَلَّتْ سَحَابًا ثِقَالاً (And it is He Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His mercy. Till when they have carried a heavy-laden cloud) until: لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ (so that you may remember or take heed.) (7:57) Allah says here: وَكَذَلِكَ تُخْرَجُونَ (And thus shall you be brought out.)

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

The Command to pray Five Times Daily Here Allah glorifies Himself and commands His servants to glorify and praise Him at these times which come one after the other and are indicative of His might and power in the heavens. This is when the night comes with its darkness, then in the morning the day comes with its light. This glorification is followed by befitting praise, as Allah says: وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ (And His is all the praise in the heavens and the earth;) meaning, He is the One who is to be praised for what He has created in the heavens and on earth. Then Allah says: وَعَشِيّاً وَحِينَ تُظْهِرُونَ (and in `Ashiyya and when Tuzhirun.) -- the `Ashiyy is the time when the darkness is most intense, and Izhar is the brightest point of the day. Glory be to the One Who created both of them, the Cleaver of the daybreak and the One Who makes night a time of rest. Allah says: وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا جَلَّـهَا - وَالَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَـهَا (By the day as it shows up its brightness. By the night as it conceals it.) (91:3-4) وَالَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَى - وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا تَجَلَّى (By the night as it envelops. By the day as it appears in brightness. ) (92:1-2) وَالضُّحَى - وَالَّيْلِ إِذَا سَجَى (By the forenoon (after sunrise). By the night when it darkens.) (93:1-2) And there are many similar Ayat. يُخْرِجُ الْحَىَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَيُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَىِّ (He brings out the living from the dead, and brings out the dead from the living.) This is what we see of His power to create things and their opposites. These Ayat which come one after the other are all of the same; in each of them Allah mentions the creation of things and their opposites, to indicate to His creation the perfection of His power. Thus He creates the plant from the seed and the seed from the plant; He creates the egg from the chicken and the chicken from the egg; He creates man from sperm and sperm from man; He creates the believer from the disbelievers and the disbeliever from the believers. وَيُحْىِ الاٌّرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا (And He revives the earth after its death.) This is like the Ayat: وَءَايَةٌ لَّهُمُ الاٌّرْضُ الْمَيْتَةُ أَحْيَيْنَـهَا وَأَخْرَجْنَا مِنْهَا حَبّاً فَمِنْهُ يَأْكُلُونَ (And a sign for them is the dead land. We give it life, and We bring forth from it grains, so that they eat thereof.) until: وَفَجَّرْنَا فِيهَا مِنَ الْعُيُونِ (and We have caused springs of water to gush forth therein. ) (36:33-34) وَتَرَى الاٌّرْضَ هَامِدَةً فَإِذَآ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْهَا الْمَآءَ اهْتَزَّتْ وَرَبَتْ وَأَنبَتَتْ مِن كُلِّ زَوْجٍ بَهِيجٍ (And you see the earth barren, but when We send down water on it, it is stirred, and it swells and puts forth every lovely kind.) until: وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْعَثُ مَن فِى الْقُبُورِ (and certainly, Allah will resurrect those who are in the graves.) (22:5-7) وَهُوَ الَّذِى يُرْسِلُ الرِّيَاحَ بُشْرىً بَيْنَ يَدَىْ رَحْمَتِهِ حَتَّى إِذَآ أَقَلَّتْ سَحَابًا ثِقَالاً (And it is He Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His mercy. Till when they have carried a heavy-laden cloud) until: لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ (so that you may remember or take heed.) (7:57) Allah says here: وَكَذَلِكَ تُخْرَجُونَ (And thus shall you be brought out.)

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

The Command to pray Five Times Daily Here Allah glorifies Himself and commands His servants to glorify and praise Him at these times which come one after the other and are indicative of His might and power in the heavens. This is when the night comes with its darkness, then in the morning the day comes with its light. This glorification is followed by befitting praise, as Allah says: وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ (And His is all the praise in the heavens and the earth;) meaning, He is the One who is to be praised for what He has created in the heavens and on earth. Then Allah says: وَعَشِيّاً وَحِينَ تُظْهِرُونَ (and in `Ashiyya and when Tuzhirun.) -- the `Ashiyy is the time when the darkness is most intense, and Izhar is the brightest point of the day. Glory be to the One Who created both of them, the Cleaver of the daybreak and the One Who makes night a time of rest. Allah says: وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا جَلَّـهَا - وَالَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَـهَا (By the day as it shows up its brightness. By the night as it conceals it.) (91:3-4) وَالَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَى - وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا تَجَلَّى (By the night as it envelops. By the day as it appears in brightness. ) (92:1-2) وَالضُّحَى - وَالَّيْلِ إِذَا سَجَى (By the forenoon (after sunrise). By the night when it darkens.) (93:1-2) And there are many similar Ayat. يُخْرِجُ الْحَىَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَيُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَىِّ (He brings out the living from the dead, and brings out the dead from the living.) This is what we see of His power to create things and their opposites. These Ayat which come one after the other are all of the same; in each of them Allah mentions the creation of things and their opposites, to indicate to His creation the perfection of His power. Thus He creates the plant from the seed and the seed from the plant; He creates the egg from the chicken and the chicken from the egg; He creates man from sperm and sperm from man; He creates the believer from the disbelievers and the disbeliever from the believers. وَيُحْىِ الاٌّرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا (And He revives the earth after its death.) This is like the Ayat: وَءَايَةٌ لَّهُمُ الاٌّرْضُ الْمَيْتَةُ أَحْيَيْنَـهَا وَأَخْرَجْنَا مِنْهَا حَبّاً فَمِنْهُ يَأْكُلُونَ (And a sign for them is the dead land. We give it life, and We bring forth from it grains, so that they eat thereof.) until: وَفَجَّرْنَا فِيهَا مِنَ الْعُيُونِ (and We have caused springs of water to gush forth therein. ) (36:33-34) وَتَرَى الاٌّرْضَ هَامِدَةً فَإِذَآ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْهَا الْمَآءَ اهْتَزَّتْ وَرَبَتْ وَأَنبَتَتْ مِن كُلِّ زَوْجٍ بَهِيجٍ (And you see the earth barren, but when We send down water on it, it is stirred, and it swells and puts forth every lovely kind.) until: وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْعَثُ مَن فِى الْقُبُورِ (and certainly, Allah will resurrect those who are in the graves.) (22:5-7) وَهُوَ الَّذِى يُرْسِلُ الرِّيَاحَ بُشْرىً بَيْنَ يَدَىْ رَحْمَتِهِ حَتَّى إِذَآ أَقَلَّتْ سَحَابًا ثِقَالاً (And it is He Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His mercy. Till when they have carried a heavy-laden cloud) until: لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ (so that you may remember or take heed.) (7:57) Allah says here: وَكَذَلِكَ تُخْرَجُونَ (And thus shall you be brought out.)

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Among the Signs of Allah Allah says: وَمِنْ ءَايَـتِهِ (And among His signs) -- which speak of His might and power, is the fact that He created your father Adam out of dust. ثُمَّ إِذَآ أَنتُمْ بَشَرٌ تَنتَشِرُونَ (and then -- behold you are human beings scattered!) So man's origins lie in dust, then in a despised liquid, then he is formed and becomes a clot, then a lump of flesh, then bones in the form of a human being. Then Allah clothes the bones with flesh. Then the soul is breathed into him and he can hear and see. Then he comes forth from his mother's womb, small and weak, but the longer he lives, the stronger he becomes, until he reaches the age where he can build cities and strongholds, and he travels to different lands and across the seas, earning a living and amassing wealth, and he is smart and intelligent and crafty, with ideas and opinions of his own, and each one is able to achieve great things in this world and in the Hereafter according to his individual means. Glory be to the One Who has enabled them and made it easy for them to learn all kinds of skills for earning a living, and has caused them to vary in their levels of knowledge and intellectual ability, and in how handsome or ugly, rich or poor they are, and in whether they are blessed and doomed. Allah says: وَمِنْ ءَايَـتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَكُمْ مِّن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ إِذَآ أَنتُمْ بَشَرٌ تَنتَشِرُونَ (And among His signs is this that He created you from dust, and then -- behold you are human beings scattered!) Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Musa said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: «إِنَّ اللهَ خَلَقَ آدَمَ مِنْ قَبْضَةٍ قَبَضَهَا مِنْ جَمِيع الْأَرْضِ، فَجَاءَ بَنُو آدَمَ عَلَى قَدْرِ الْأَرْضِ، جَاءَ مِنْهُمُ الْأَبْيَضُ وَالْأَحْمَرُ وَالْأَسْوَدُ وَبَيْنَ ذَلِكَ، وَالْخَبِيثُ وَالطَّيِّبُ، وَالسَّهْلُ وَالْحَزْنُ وَبَيْنَ ذَلِك» (Allah created Adam from a handful taken from throughout the earth. Hence the sons of Adam vary as the earth varies, so they are white and red and black and colors in between, evil and good, easy-going or difficult -- or something in between.)" This was also recorded by Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi, who said, "This Hadith is Hasan Sahih." Allah said: وَمِنْ ءايَـتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَجاً (And among His signs is this that He created for you wives from among yourselves,) meaning, `He created females of your own kind, to be wives for you.' لِّتَسْكُنُواْ إِلَيْهَا (that you may find repose in them,) This is like the Ayah, هُوَ الَّذِى خَلَقَكُمْ مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَحِدَةٍ وَجَعَلَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا لِيَسْكُنَ إِلَيْهَا (It is He Who has created you from a single person, and He has created from him his wife, in order that he might enjoy the pleasure of living with her) (7:189). This refers to Hawwa'. Allah created her from Adam, from the short rib on his left. If Allah had made all of Adam's progeny male, and created the females from another kind, such as from Jinn or animals, there would never have been harmony between them and their spouses. There would have been revulsion if the spouses had been from a different kind. Out of Allah's perfect mercy He made their wives from their own kind, and created love and kindness between them. For a man stays with a woman because he loves her, or because he feels compassion towards her if they have a child together, or because she needs him to take care of her, etc. إِنَّ فِى ذلِكَ لآيَـتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ (Verily, in that are indeed signs for a people who reflect.)