Tafseer of Hud · Hud · 11:15
Whoever desires the life of this world and its adornments - We fully repay them for their deeds therein, and they therein will not be deprived.
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.
The discourse on the explanation of the saying of Allah the Exalted: مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا نُوَفِّ إِلَيْهِمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فِيهَا وَهُمْ فِيهَا لا يُبْخَسُونَ (Whoever desires the life of this world and its adornment, We shall fully repay them their works therein, and therein they shall not be diminished.) (15)
Abū Jaʿfar said: Allah the Exalted says: Whoever, by his deeds, seeks the life of this world, and intends thereby solely this life and its adornment (zīna) — to them We shall fully pay the recompense of their deeds therein and the reward for that. "And they therein" — that is: they in the worldly life — "shall not be diminished" — that is: their reward shall not be lessened for them, but it shall be fully paid to them therein.
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And in accordance with what we have said concerning the explanation of this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
*Mention of those who said this:*
18012 — Muhammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his saying: مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا — the verse — and that is what Allah gives them of the worldly by way of recompense for their good deeds, and that is because they shall not be wronged by the weight of a single grain. He said: Whoever performs a good deed seeking thereby the worldly — fasting, prayer, or voluntary night prayer — and he performs it solely to attain the worldly, then Allah says: I shall fully pay him for that in this life the reward which he desired, and his deed which he performed to attain the worldly shall come to nothing (ḥabiṭa), and in the Hereafter he shall be among the losers.
18013 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا نُوَفِّ إِلَيْهِمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فِيهَا: He said: The reward of what they did of good in the worldly life shall be given to them in the worldly life, and there is for them in the Hereafter nothing but the Fire and the coming to nothing (ḥubūṭ) of what they did therein.
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18014 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning his saying: مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا نُوَفِّ إِلَيْهِمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فِيهَا: He said: In the measure of what they did of good, it shall be given to them in the worldly life, and there is for them in the Hereafter nothing but the Fire and the coming to nothing of what they did therein. He said: This is similar to the verse in Sūrat al-Rūm: وَمَا آتَيْتُمْ مِنْ رِبًا لِيَرْبُوَ فِي أَمْوَالِ النَّاسِ فَلا يَرْبُو عِنْدَ اللَّهِ (And whatever you give in usury (ribā) that it may increase in the wealth of the people, it does not increase with Allah.) [Sūrat al-Rūm: 39]
18015 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا: He said: Whoever labors for the worldly is fully paid for it in the worldly.
18016 — Al-Muthanná related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibil related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا: He said: Whoever performs an act that Allah has commanded — such as prayer or charity — without thereby seeking the Face of Allah, to him Allah gives the reward for it in the worldly life, equal to what he expended. That is the meaning of His saying: نُوَفِّ إِلَيْهِمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فِيهَا — in the worldly life — وَهُمْ فِيهَا لا يُبْخَسُونَ — the reward of what they did therein — أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ لَيْسَ لَهُمْ فِي الآخِرَةِ إِلا النَّارُ وَحَبِطَ مَا صَنَعُوا فِيهَا — the verse.
18017 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyá related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of ʿĪsá — that is, Ibn Maymūn — on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning his saying: مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا: He said: Concerning the one whose deed is not accepted — he is recompensed for it; he receives his reward.
18018 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of ʿĪsá al-Jarashī, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا نُوَفِّ إِلَيْهِمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فِيهَا: He said: Concerning the one whose deed is not accepted — it is hastened in payment to him in the worldly life.
18019 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his saying: مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا نُوَفِّ إِلَيْهِمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فِيهَا وَهُمْ فِيهَا لا يُبْخَسُونَ — that is: they are not wronged. He said: Whoever makes the worldly life his concern, his intense desire, his striving, and his intention, to him Allah repays his good deeds in the worldly life; then he proceeds to the Hereafter, and he has not a single good deed for which he receives a reward there. As for the believer — his good deeds are recompensed to him in the worldly life, and he is rewarded for them in the Hereafter. وَهُمْ فِيهَا لا يُبْخَسُونَ — that is: in the Hereafter they are not wronged.
18020 — Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlá related to us, saying: Muhammad ibn Thawr related to us — and al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyá related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us — both on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا نُوَفِّ إِلَيْهِمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فِيهَا — the verse: He said: Whoever has solely the worldly as his concern, pursuing it, to him Allah gives wealth and gives him therein that by which he lives, and that is for him a settlement (qiṣāṣ) for his deed. وَهُمْ فِيهَا لا يُبْخَسُونَ: He said: They are not wronged.
18021 — ... he said: Muhammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Layth ibn Abī Salm, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī: that the Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever does good from a doer of good — his reward falls to Allah, both in the near worldly life and in the deferred Hereafter."
18022 — I was related to by al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning his saying: مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا نُوَفِّ إِلَيْهِمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فِيهَا — the verse: He said: Whoever performs a good deed without piety (taqwā) — meaning thereby the people who ascribe partners to Allah (shirk) — to him is given a reward for it in the worldly life: he maintains the ties of kinship, gives to a beggar, shows mercy to one in need, and the like of these works of righteousness (birr). Allah hastens for him the reward of his deed in the worldly life, expands for him the livelihood and provision, gladdens his eye with what He has allotted him, and turns away from him the calamities of the worldly life — and the like of these things — but he has no share in the Hereafter.
18023 — Muhammad ibn al-Muthanná related to us, saying: Ḥafṣ ibn ʿUmar Abū ʿUmar al-Ḍarīr related to us, saying: Hammām related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Anas, concerning his saying: نُوَفِّ إِلَيْهِمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فِيهَا وَهُمْ فِيهَا لا يُبْخَسُونَ: He said: This concerns the Jews and the Christians.
18024 — ... he said: Ḥafṣ ibn ʿUmar related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, on the authority of Abū Rajāʾ al-Azdī, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning نُوَفِّ إِلَيْهِمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فِيهَا: He said: Their good things (ṭayyibāt).
18025 — Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Abū Rajāʾ, on the authority of al-Ḥasan — the same.
18026 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Abū Rajāʾ, on the authority of al-Ḥasan — the same.
18027 — Al-Muthanná related to me, saying: Suwayd related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, on the authority of Wuhayb: that it reached him that Mujāhid used to say concerning this verse: "They are the people of ostentation (riyāʾ), they are the people of ostentation."
18028 — ... he said: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, on the authority of Ḥaywa ibn Shurayḥ, saying: Al-Walīd ibn Abī al-Walīd Abū ʿUthmān related to me, that ʿUqba ibn Muslim related to him, that Shufayy ibn Mātiʿ al-Aṣbaḥī related to him: that he entered Medina and there was a man around whom the people had gathered. He asked: Who is this? They said: Abū Hurayra! He approached him until he sat down facing him, while he was relating traditions to the people. When he fell silent and they were alone, he said: I adjure you by the right, and by the right, that you relate to me a tradition that you heard from the Prophet ﷺ and that you know by heart and understand. He said: Abū Hurayra said: That I shall do; I shall surely relate to you a tradition that the Prophet ﷺ related to me! Then he sobbed a sob, then he recovered and said: I shall surely relate to you a tradition that the Prophet ﷺ related to me in this house, while there was none in it but he and I! Then Abū Hurayra sobbed a violent sob, then he fell forward upon his face and it lasted long with him, then he recovered and said: The Prophet ﷺ related to me: "Verily, Allah the Blessed and Exalted descends on the Day of Resurrection to judge among them, while every community is kneeling. The first to be summoned is a man who learned the Qurʾān by heart, and a man who was killed in the way of Allah, and a man of much wealth. Then Allah says to the reciter of the Qurʾān: Did I not teach you what I revealed to My messenger? He said: Yes indeed, my Lord! He said: What then did you do with what you were taught? He said: I prayed in the hours of the night and the hours of the day! Then Allah says to him: You lie! And the angels say to him: You lie! And Allah says to him: Rather, you wished that it would be said: 'So-and-so is a reciter of the Qurʾān' — and that has been said! Then the owner of wealth is brought, and Allah says to him: Did I not give you such ample provision that I left you in need of no one? He said: Yes indeed, my Lord! He said: What then did you do with what I gave you? He said: I maintained the ties of kinship and gave charity. Then Allah says to him: You lie! And the angels say to him: You lie! And Allah says to him: Rather, you wished that it would be said: 'So-and-so is generous' — and that has been said! Then the one who was killed in the way of Allah is brought, and it is said to him: For what were you killed? Then he says: You commanded jihād in Your way, so I fought until I was killed. Then Allah says to him: You lie! And the angels say to him: You lie! And Allah says to him: Rather, you wished that it would be said: 'So-and-so is brave' — and that has been said! Then the Prophet ﷺ struck my knees and said: O Abū Hurayra, those are the three; they are the first of the creation of Allah with whom the Fire shall be kindled on the Day of Resurrection."
Al-Walīd Abū ʿUthmān said: ʿUqba informed me that Shufayy is the one who entered upon Muʿāwiya and informed him of this.
Abū ʿUthmān said: And al-ʿAlāʾ ibn Abī Ḥakīm related to me: that he was an executioner of Muʿāwiya. He said: A man entered upon him and related this to him on the authority of Abū Hurayra. Abū Hurayra said: And if He has done this with these, how then will it be with those of the people who remain! Then Muʿāwiya wept loudly until we thought he would perish, and we said: [Something] grievous [has befallen us] through this man! Then Muʿāwiya recovered and wiped his face and said: Allah and His messenger have spoken the truth: مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا نُوَفِّ إِلَيْهِمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فِيهَا — and he read on until: وَبَاطِلٌ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ.
18029 — Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsá ibn Maymūn, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا — the verse: He said: Concerning the one whose deed is not accepted — he fasts and prays and intends thereby the worldly, and thereby he turns away from himself the concern for the Hereafter — وَهُمْ فِيهَا لا يُبْخَسُونَ: they are not diminished.