Tafseer of Hud · Hud · 11:119
Except whom your Lord has given mercy, and for that He created them. But the word of your Lord is to be fulfilled that, "I will surely fill Hell with jinn and men all together."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
(إلا من رحم ربك) — he said: these are the adherents of the ḥanīfiyya.
18702 — Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, and Ibn Wakīʿ, they said: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, he said: Manṣūr ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān informed us, he said: I asked al-Ḥasan about his words: وَلا يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ إِلا مَنْ رَحِمَ رَبُّكَ (And they will not cease to differ, except those upon whom your Lord has shown mercy.) He said: "People differ and adhere to divergent religions, except those to whom your Lord has granted mercy; whoever has received mercy does not differ."
18703 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: my father related to us, on the authority of Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَلا يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ — he said: "the adherents of falsehood." إلا من رحم ربك — he said: "the adherents of the truth."
18704 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَلا يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ — he said: "the adherents of falsehood." إلا من رحم ربك — he said: "the adherents of the truth."
18705 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, he said: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, with the same import.
18706 — [...] he said: Muʿallā ibn Asad related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, he said: al-Ḥasan was asked about this verse: وَلا يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ * إِلا مَنْ رَحِمَ رَبُّكَ — he said: "All people differ and adhere to divergent religions, except those to whom your Lord has granted mercy; whoever has received mercy does not differ." I asked him: ولذلك خلقهم (And for that He created them)? He said: "These He created for His paradise, and these for His fire; these He created for His mercy, and these for His punishment."
18707 — [...] he said: Isḥāq related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Saʿd related to us, he said: Abū Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the words: وَلا يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ — he said: "the adherents of falsehood." إلا من رحم ربك — he said: "the adherents of the truth."
18708 — [...] he said: al-Ḥamānī related to us, he said: Sharīk related to us, on the authority of Khaṣīf, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning his words: وَلا يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ — he said: "the adherents of the truth and the adherents of falsehood." إلا من رحم ربك — he said: "the adherents of the truth."
18709 — [...] he said: Sharīk related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid, with the same import.
18710 — [...] he said: Suwayd ibn Naṣr related to us, he said: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us: إلا من رحم ربك — he said: "the adherents of the truth; among them there is no disagreement."
18711 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿIkrima: وَلا يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ — he said: "the Jews and the Christians." إلا من رحم ربك — he said: "the people of the qibla."
18712 — Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: al-Ḥakam ibn Abān informed me, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: وَلا يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ — he said: "the adherents of falsehood." إلا من رحم ربك — he said: "the adherents of the truth."
18713 — Hannād related to us, he said: Abū al-Aḥwaṣ related to us, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning his words: وَلا يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ * إِلا مَنْ رَحِمَ رَبُّكَ — he said: "They will not cease to differ in their passions."
18714 — Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his words: وَلا يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ * إِلا مَنْ رَحِمَ رَبُّكَ — "The people of Allah's mercy are the people of the community (jamāʿa), even if their houses and bodies are scattered; and the people of His disobedience are the people of division, even if their houses and bodies dwell together."
18715 — Al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash: وَلا يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ * إِلا مَنْ رَحِمَ رَبُّكَ — he said: "those whom He has established upon Islam."
18716 — [...] he said: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, he said: al-Ḥasan ibn Wāṣil related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: وَلا يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ — he said: "the adherents of falsehood." إلا من رحم ربك.
18717 — [...] he said: Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAnbasa, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, on the authority of al-Qāsim ibn Abī Bazza, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning his words: وَلا يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ — he said: "the adherents of falsehood." إلا من رحم ربك — he said: "the adherents of the truth."
18718 — Ibn Ḥumayd and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, they said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid, with the same import.
* * *
Others said: rather, the meaning is: they will not cease to differ in their livelihood — one is poor and the other is rich.
Statement of who said that:
18719 — Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Muʿtamir related to us, on the authority of his father, that al-Ḥasan said: "Differing in livelihood; some of them have been made to serve others."
* * *
Some said: they differ concerning forgiveness and mercy — or with a comparable wording.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar says: The most correct of these statements concerning the interpretation of this is the opinion of the one who says: the meaning is "People will not cease to differ concerning their religions and their passions, and they will adhere to divergent religions, creeds, and passions — except those to whom your Lord has granted mercy and who have believed in Allah and confirmed His messengers; for they do not differ concerning the oneness of Allah, the affirmation of His messengers, and what has come to them from Allah."
I say that this is the most correct interpretation, because Allah — exalted be His praise — followed this with His words: وتمت كلمة ربك لأملأن جهنم من الجِنة والناس أجمعين (And the word of your Lord has been fulfilled: "Surely, I shall fill Hell with jinn and people altogether"), and in that there is a clear proof that what precedes it — the report concerning the division of people — is only a report about a blameworthy division that makes them deserve Hell. Had it been a report about their division in livelihood, He would not have followed it with the report about their punishment and their torment.
* * *
As for His words ولذلك خلقهم (And for that He created them): the exegetes differed concerning its interpretation.
Some said: the meaning is "He created them for division."
Statement of who said that:
18720 — Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Wakīʿ related to us; and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: my father related to us, on the authority of Mubārak ibn Faḍāla, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: ولذلك خلقهم — he said: "for division."
18721 — Yaʿqūb related to me, he said: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, he said: Manṣūr ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, he said: I asked al-Ḥasan: ولذلك خلقهم? He said: "These He created for His paradise, and these for His fire; these He created for His mercy, and these for His punishment."
18722 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, with the same import.
18723 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: al-Muʿallā ibn Asad related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, with a comparable import.
18724 — [...] he said: al-Ḥajjāj ibn al-Minhāl related to us, he said: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of Khālid al-Ḥadhdāʾ, that al-Ḥasan said concerning this verse: ولذلك خلقهم — he said: "These He created for this, and these for that."
18725 — Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Hawdha ibn Khalīfa related to us, he said: ʿAwf related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, he said: ولذلك خلقهم — he said: "The people of Allah's mercy; they do not differ in a manner that harms them."
18726 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his words: ولذلك خلقهم — he said: "He created them in two groups: a group to whom He grants mercy and who do not differ, and a group to whom He grants no mercy and who differ. This is what His words mean: فَمِنْهُمْ شَقِيٌّ وَسَعِيدٌ (Among them are the wretched and the happy), [Sūrat Hūd: 105]."
18727 — Al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ṭalḥa ibn ʿAmr, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, concerning his words: وَلا يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ — he said: "Jews, Christians, and Magians." إلا من رحم ربك — he said: "those whom He has established upon Islam." ولذلك خلقهم — he said: "believer and unbeliever."
18728 — Al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, he said: al-Aʿmash related to us: ولذلك خلقهم — he said: "believer and unbeliever."
18729 — Yūnus related to me, he said: Ashhab informed us, he said: Mālik was asked about the words of Allah: وَلا يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ * إِلا مَنْ رَحِمَ رَبُّكَ وَلِذَلِكَ خَلَقَهُمْ — he said: "He created them in two groups: a group in paradise, and a group in the blazing Fire."
* * *
Others said: rather, the meaning is: "He created them for mercy."
Statement of who said that:
18730 — Abū Kurayb related to me, he said: Wakīʿ related to us; and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: my father related to us, on the authority of Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid: ولذلك خلقهم — he said: "for mercy."
18731 — Ibn Ḥumayd and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, they said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid: ولذلك خلقهم — he said: "for mercy."
18732 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: al-Ḥamānī related to us, he said: Sharīk related to us, on the authority of Khaṣīf, on the authority of Mujāhid, with the same import.
18733 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Suwayd related to us, he said: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, on the authority of Sharīk, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid, with the same import.
18734 — [...] he said: Isḥāq related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Saʿd related to us, he said: Abū Ḥafṣ informed us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid, with the same import, except that he said: "for mercy He created them."
18735 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, he said: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: ولذلك خلقهم — he said: "for mercy He created them."
18736 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of one whom he named, on the authority of Thābit, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: ولذلك خلقهم — he said: "for mercy."
18737 — Al-Qāsim related to me, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: al-Ḥakam ibn Abān informed me, on the authority of ʿIkrima: ولذلك خلقهم — he said: "the adherents of the truth and those who follow them — for His mercy."
18738 — Saʿd ibn ʿAbd Allāh related to me, he said: Ḥafṣ ibn ʿUmar related to us, he said: al-Ḥakam ibn Abān related to us, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his words: وَلا يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ * إِلا مَنْ رَحِمَ رَبُّكَ وَلِذَلِكَ — he said: "He created them for mercy, and not for punishment."
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar says: The most correct of the two statements concerning this is the opinion of the one who says: He created them for division into wretchedness and happiness, because Allah — exalted be His remembrance — mentioned two kinds of His creatures: the one are the people of division and falsehood, and the other are the people of the truth; then He followed that with His words: ولذلك خلقهم (And for that He created them), and by His words ولذلك خلقهم He encompassed the description of both kinds, and reported concerning each group separately that it is destined for that for which it was created.
* * *
If someone says: if the interpretation of this is as you have stated, then it would follow logically that the divided are not to be blamed for their division, since their Lord created them for it, and that the believers would then be the blameworthy group?
The answer is: the meaning of this is other than what you envision; the meaning of the words is only: people will not cease to differ through the falsehood that is in their religions and creeds — إلا من رحم ربك except those to whom your Lord has granted mercy, whom He has guided to the truth and to His knowledge. And on the basis of His penetrating foreknowledge concerning them, before He created them — that among them there would be a believer and an unbeliever, a wretched one and a happy one — He created them. The meaning of the lām (ل) in His words ولذلك خلقهم is like the meaning of "on the basis of" (على), as one says: "I have honored you for your kindness toward me" — both with على and with ل it has the same meaning.
* * *
As for His words وتمت كلمة ربك لأملأن جهنم من الجنة والناس أجمعين (And the word of your Lord has been fulfilled: "Surely, I shall fill Hell with jinn and people altogether"): this is on account of His pre-existing foreknowledge concerning them — that they deserve Hell through their unbelief in Allah and their resistance to His command.
* * *
And His words وتمت كلمة ربك (And the word of your Lord has been fulfilled) is an oath, as one says: "My oath: I shall surely visit you" and "It has become clear to me: I shall surely come to you," and for this reason it has been received with the oath-lām (lām al-yamīn).
* * *
And His words من الجنة — these are the beings that conceal themselves from the eyes of the children of Ādam. والناس — that is to say: the children of Ādam.
* * *
It is said that they are called "al-jinna" (الجنة) because they were upon the jinān (jinnī beings).
Statement of who said that:
18739 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of Abū Mālik: "They are called 'al-jinna' because they were upon the jinān; and the angels are all 'jinna'."
18740 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of Abū Mālik, he said: "Al-jinna: these are the angels."
* * *
The meaning of the words of Abū Mālik is that Iblīs belonged to the angels, and that the jinn are his progeny, and that the angels, according to him, are called "al-jinn" — as I have already set forth earlier in this book.