Tafseer of Hud · Hud · 11:23
Indeed, they who have believed and done righteous deeds and humbled themselves to their Lord - those are the companions of Paradise; they will abide eternally therein.
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 explanation of the word of Allah the Exalted: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَأَخْبَتُوا إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ أُولَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ ("Indeed, those who believed and performed righteous deeds and showed ikhbāt toward their Lord — they are the dwellers of the Garden (janna), abiding therein eternally.") (23)
Abū Jaʿfar said: Allah the Exalted says: Indeed, those who believed in Allah and His Messenger and acted in the worldly life in obedience to Allah — and "they showed ikhbāt toward their Lord."
The exegetes of the Qurʾān (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed concerning the meaning of "ikhbāt."
Some said: The meaning of this is: they turned back to their Lord (anābū).
Mention of who said this:
18095 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning the word: ("Indeed, those who believed and performed righteous deeds and showed ikhbāt toward their Lord"), he said: "ikhbāt" means turning back (inābah).
18096 — Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning the word: ("and they showed ikhbāt toward their Lord"), he said: they turned back to their Lord.
Others said: The meaning of this is: they feared.
Mention of who said this:
18097 — Al-Muthanná related to me, he said: ʿAbdallāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning the word: ("and they showed ikhbāt toward their Lord"), he said: they feared.
Others said: The meaning is: they became tranquil (iṭmaʾannū).
Mention of who said this:
18098 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Muthanná related to me, he said: Isḥāq related to us, he said: ʿAbdallāh related to us, on the authority of Warqāʾ, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: ("and they showed ikhbāt toward their Lord"), he said: they became tranquil.
18099 — Al-Muthanná 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: the same.
18100 — Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: the same.
Others said: The meaning is: they showed humility and submissiveness (khashaʿū).
Mention of who said this:
18101 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: ("and they showed ikhbāt toward their Lord"), he said: "ikhbāt" means humility and lowliness (takhashshuʿ wa-tawāḍuʿ).
Abū Jaʿfar said: All these statements are close to one another in meaning, even though the words differ. For turning back to Allah arises from the fear of Allah and from humility and submissiveness toward Allah in obedience, and tranquility in Him arises from humility before Him. But the actual meaning of "ikhbāt" in Arabic is: humility and lowliness.
And He said: ("toward their Lord"), while the meaning is: to their Lord. The Arabs sometimes use "ilā" and "li-" in place of one another, as Allah the Exalted says: بِأَنَّ رَبَّكَ أَوْحَى لَهَا ("because your Lord revealed to her") (Surah Al-Zalzala: 5), with the meaning: revealed to her. And it may be that this was said because they are described as those who directed their ikhbāt to Allah.
And His word: ("They are the dwellers of the Garden, abiding therein eternally") — He says: Those whose attribute this is are the dwellers of the Garden, who never come out of it and do not die in it, but who abide therein for all eternity.
