Tafseer of Abraham · Ibrahim · 14:26
And the example of a bad word is like a bad tree, uprooted from the surface of the earth, not having any stability.
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.
Abū Jaʿfar says: Allah the Exalted means by His words يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا that Allah will confirm and establish their deeds and their faith (īmān) بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ — that is: by the true word, and that is — according to what has been said — the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah.
And as for His words فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا : the exegetes differed concerning this. Some said: by it is meant that Allah keeps them firm in their graves before the resurrection on the Day of Judgment.
20758 — Abū al-Sāʾib Salm ibn Junāda related to me, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Saʿd ibn ʿUbayda, on the authority of al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib, concerning His words يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا : he said: the keeping firm (al-tathbīt) in the worldly life is when the two angels come to him in his grave and say: "Who is your Lord?" He says: "My Lord is Allah." They say: "What is your religion?" He says: "My religion is Islam." They say: "Who is your Prophet?" He says: "My Prophet is Muḥammad ﷺ." That is the keeping firm in the worldly life.
20759 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Jābir ibn Nūḥ related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Saʿd ibn ʿUbayda, on the authority of al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib — something similar in meaning.
20760 — ʿAbd Allāh ibn Isḥāq al-Nāqid al-Wāsiṭī related to me, saying: Wahb ibn Jarīr related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of ʿAlqama ibn Marthad, on the authority of Saʿd ibn ʿUbayda, on the authority of al-Barāʾ, who said: the Prophet ﷺ mentioned the believer and the unbeliever and said: "When the believer is questioned in his grave, he says: My Lord is Allah." That is His word: يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ .
20761 — Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, saying: ʿAlqama ibn Marthad informed me: I heard Saʿd ibn ʿUbayda, on the authority of al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "When the Muslim is questioned in the grave, he testifies that there is no god but Allah and that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah." He said: that is His word: يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ .
20762 — Al-Ḥusayn ibn Salama ibn Abī Kabsha and Muḥammad ibn Maʿmar al-Baḥrānī related to us — the wording is that of Ibn Abī Kabsha: Abū ʿĀmir ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: ʿAbbād ibn Rāshid related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind, on the authority of Abū Naḍra, on the authority of Abū Saʿīd, who said: we were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ at a funeral. He said: "O people, this community (umma) will be tested in their graves. When a person is buried and his companions depart from him, an angel comes with a hammer in his hand. He makes him sit upright and says: 'What do you say about this man?' If he is a believer, he says: 'I testify that there is no god but Allah alone, without partner, and that Muḥammad is His servant and Messenger.' The angel says: 'You have spoken the truth.' Then a door to the Fire is opened for him, and it is said: 'This would have been your abode had you denied your Lord; but now that you have believed in Him, Allah has given you this in its place.' Then a door to the Garden is opened for him, and he wishes to rise to go toward it; it is said: 'Remain seated.' Then his grave is widened for him. As for the unbeliever or the hypocrite (munāfiq): it is said to him: 'What do you say about this man?' He says: 'I do not know!' It is said: 'You did not know and you did not seek, and you did not find guidance!' Then a door to the Garden is opened for him and it is said: 'This was to be your abode had you believed in your Lord; but now that you are an unbeliever, Allah has given you this in its place.' Then a door to the Fire is opened for him. Then the angel strikes him with the hammer a blow that all of Allah's creatures hear, except the two heavy ones (al-thaqalayn)." One of his companions said: "O Messenger of Allah, there is none among us beside whose head stands an angel with a hammer in his hand, but that he would be effaced thereby!" The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ وَيُضِلُّ اللَّهُ الظَّالِمِينَ وَيَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ مَا يَشَاءُ .
20763 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of al-Minhāl, on the authority of Zādhān, on the authority of al-Barāʾ, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, and he described the taking of the soul of the believer: "His soul is returned to his body. Two angels come to him and make him sit upright in his grave. They say: 'Who is your Lord?' He says: 'My Lord is Allah.' They say: 'What is your religion?' He says: 'My religion is Islam.' They say: 'What is this concerning the man who was sent among you?' He says: 'He is the Messenger of Allah.' They say: 'How do you know that?' He says: 'I read the Book of Allah and believed in it and acknowledged it as truth.' Then a caller calls from the heaven: 'My servant has spoken the truth.'" He said: that is the word of Allah, Exalted and Majestic: يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ .
20764 — Abū al-Sāʾib related to me, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, saying: al-Aʿmash related to us, on the authority of al-Minhāl ibn ʿAmr, on the authority of Zādhān, on the authority of al-Barāʾ, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ — something similar.
20765 — Ibn Ḥumayd and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, they said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of al-Minhāl, on the authority of Zādhān, on the authority of al-Barāʾ, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ — something similar.
20766 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Numayr related to us, saying: al-Aʿmash related to us, saying: al-Minhāl ibn ʿAmr related to us, on the authority of Zādhān, on the authority of al-Barāʾ, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ — something similar.
20767 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: al-Ḥakam ibn Bashīr related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn Qays related to us, on the authority of Yūnus ibn Khabbāb, on the authority of al-Minhāl, on the authority of Zādhān, on the authority of al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ — something similar.
20768 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar; and al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr related to us, saying: Mahdī ibn Maymūn related to us — both on the authority of Yūnus ibn Khabbāb, on the authority of al-Minhāl ibn ʿAmr, on the authority of Zādhān, on the authority of al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib, who said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said — and he described the taking of the soul of the believer — he said: "Someone comes to him in his grave and asks: 'Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who is your Prophet?' He says: 'My Lord is Allah, my religion is Islam, and my Prophet is Muḥammad ﷺ.' The questioner reviles him and asks again: 'Who is your Lord? What is your religion?' This is the last test presented to the believer. That is the moment at which Allah, Exalted and Majestic, says: يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ . He says: 'My Lord is Allah, my religion is Islam, and my Prophet is Muḥammad ﷺ.' It is said to him: 'You have spoken the truth.'" The wording is that of Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā.
20769 — Muḥammad ibn Khalaf al-ʿAsqalānī related to us, saying: Ādam related to us, saying: Ḥammād ibn Salama related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr, on the authority of Abū Salama, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, who said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ and said: "That is when it is asked in the grave: 'Who is your Lord? What is your religion?' He says: 'My Lord is Allah, my religion is Islam, and my Prophet is Muḥammad ﷺ; he came with clear proofs from Allah, and I believed in him and acknowledged him as truthful.' It is said to him: 'You have spoken the truth. Thus did you live, thus did you die, and thus will you be raised up.'"
20770 — Mujāhid ibn Mūsā and al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, they said: Yazīd related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr informed us, on the authority of Abū Salama, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, who said: the dead person hears the sound of their sandals when they depart from him and turn their backs on him. If he is a believer, the ritual prayer (al-ṣalāh) is at his head, the obligatory alms (al-zakāh) to his right, the fasting (al-ṣawm) to his left, and the good deeds — voluntary charity, the bond of kinship, righteousness, and beneficence toward people — at his feet. The approach is made at his head, but the prayer says: "From my side there is no entry." The approach is made at his right, but the zakāh says: "From my side there is no entry." The approach is made at his left, but the fasting says: "From my side there is no entry." The approach is made at his feet, but the good deeds say: "From my side there is no entry." Then it is said: "Sit up." He sits up, and the sun appears to him as though near to setting. Then it is said to him: "Tell us about what we ask you." He says: "Leave me — I must first perform the prayer." It is said: "You will do that; first tell us about what we ask you." He says: "About what do you ask?" It is said: "Do you know this man who was sent among you? What do you say about him? What do you testify of him?" He says: "Muḥammad?" It is said: "Yes." He says: "I testify that he is the Messenger of Allah, and that he came with clear proofs from Allah, and we acknowledged him as truthful." Then it is said: "Thus did you live, thus did you die, and thus will you be raised up, if Allah wills." Then his grave is widened for him as far as his eye can reach; light is placed in it; then a door to the Garden is opened for him and it is said: "Look at what Allah has prepared for you therein." This increases his joy and gladness. Then a door to the Fire is opened for him and it is said: "Look at what Allah has averted from you had you disobeyed Him." This increases his joy and gladness yet more. Then his soul is placed among the fragrant souls — these are green birds that hang in the trees of the Garden — and his body is returned to that from which he was created, the earth. That is the word of Allah the Exalted: يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ .
20771 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Abū Qaṭan related to us, saying: al-Masʿūdī related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Mukhāriq, on the authority of his father, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, who said: when the believer dies, he is set upright in his grave. It is said to him: "Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who is your Prophet?" Allah then keeps him firm and he says: "My Lord is Allah, my religion is Islam, and my Prophet is Muḥammad." ʿAbd Allāh then recited: يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ .
20772 — Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Abū Khālid al-Qurashī related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of his father; and Aḥmad related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Khaythama, on the authority of al-Barāʾ, concerning His words يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا : he said: the punishment in the grave (ʿadhāb al-qabr).
20773 — Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAffān related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of ʿAlqama ibn Marthad, on the authority of Saʿd ibn ʿUbayda, on the authority of al-Barāʾ, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, concerning the word of Allah the Exalted يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ : Shuʿba said something I could not memorize — he said: "in the grave."
20774 — Muḥammad 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 words يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ up to His words وَيُضِلُّ اللَّهُ الظَّالِمِينَ : he said: when the believer approaches death, the angels come to him and greet him and give him glad tidings of the Garden. When he dies, they walk at his funeral and perform the prayer over him together with the people. When he is buried, he is set upright in his grave. He is asked: "Who is your Lord?" He says: "My Lord is Allah." He is asked: "Who is your messenger?" He says: "Muḥammad." He is asked: "What is your testimony?" He says: "I testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah." Then his grave is widened for him as far as his eye can reach.
20775 — Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj said: I heard Ibn Ṭāwūs relate from his father, who said — I think he said: it pertains to the trial in the grave, concerning His words يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ .
20776 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of al-ʿAlāʾ ibn al-Musayyab, on the authority of his father, who used to say concerning this verse يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ : it pertains to the dweller of the grave.
20777 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of al-ʿAwwām, on the authority of al-Musayyab ibn Rāfiʿ: يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ — he said: this was sent down concerning the dweller of the grave.
20778 — Aḥmad related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: ʿAbbād ibn al-ʿAwwām related to us, on the authority of al-ʿAlāʾ ibn al-Musayyab, on the authority of his father al-Musayyab ibn Rāfiʿ — something similar.
20779 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq informed us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Saʿd related to us, saying: Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī informed us, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, concerning the word of Allah the Exalted يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ : he said: it reached us that this community is questioned in their graves, and Allah the Exalted then keeps the believer firm when he is questioned.
20780 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Rabīʿa Fahd related to us, saying: Abū ʿAwāna related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of al-Minhāl ibn ʿAmr, on the authority of Zādhān, on the authority of al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib, who said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said — and he described the taking of the soul of the believer: "His soul is returned to his body. Allah sends two angels to him who speak harshly to him. They make him sit upright, revile him, and say: 'Who is your Lord?' He says: 'Allah.' 'What is your religion?' He says: 'Islam.' They say: 'What is this man — or this Prophet — who was sent among you?' He says: 'Muḥammad, the Messenger of Allah.' They say: 'How do you know that?' He says: 'I read the Book of Allah and believed in it and acknowledged it as truth!'" That is the word of Allah: يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ .
20781 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His words يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ : he said: this was sent down concerning the dead person who is questioned in his grave about the Prophet ﷺ.
20782 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning the word of Allah: يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ : he said: it reached us that this community is questioned in their graves, and Allah the Exalted keeps the believer firm when he is questioned.
20783 — Aḥmad related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Sharīk related to us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm ibn Muhājir, on the authority of Mujāhid: يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا : he said: this pertains to his questioning in the grave; and وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ — something similar.
Others said: its meaning is: Allah keeps firm those who believed with faith (al-īmān) in the worldly life — and that is the "abiding word" (al-qawl al-thābit) — and وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ pertains to the questioning in the grave.
20784 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Ibn Ṭāwūs, on the authority of his father: يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا — he said: "There is no god but Allah"; وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ — the questioning in the grave.
20785 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا : as for the "worldly life" — He keeps them firm therein with good and the righteous deed; and as for His words وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ — that is: in the grave.
Abū Jaʿfar says: the most correct of what has been said concerning this is what the narration from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has established, namely that the meaning is: Allah keeps firm those who believed with the abiding word in the worldly life — and that is His keeping them firm in the worldly life through faith in Allah and His Messenger Muḥammad ﷺ — and وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ by the same thing with which He kept them firm in the worldly life, and that is in their graves when they are questioned about what they hold to of the oneness of Allah (al-tawḥīd) and faith in His Messenger ﷺ.
And as for His words وَيُضِلُّ اللَّهُ الظَّالِمِينَ : that is: Allah does not guide the hypocrite (munāfiq) and the unbeliever (kāfir) aright in the worldly life nor in the Hereafter during the questioning in the grave — unlike the way to faith which He has shown to the believer in Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.
And as for His words وَيَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ مَا يَشَاءُ : that is: guidance and misguidance are in the hand of Allah, so do not deny, O people, His omnipotence, nor the guidance of whoever among you was astray, nor the misguidance of whoever was guided, for in His hand lies the disposal of His creation and the turning of their hearts — He does with them what He wills.
20786 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to us, 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, who said: as for the unbeliever — the angels descend when his death approaches and stretch out their hands — "the stretching out" is the striking — they strike his face and his back at death. When he is laid in his grave, he is set upright. It is said to him: "Who is your Lord?" But he answers them with nothing — Allah makes him forget the recollection of that. When he is asked: "Who is the messenger who was sent to you?" — he finds no way and answers them with nothing. Allah says: وَيُضِلُّ اللَّهُ الظَّالِمِينَ .
20787 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Fahd ibn ʿAwf, Abū Rabīʿa, related to us, saying: Abū ʿAwāna related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of al-Minhāl ibn ʿAmr, on the authority of Zādhān, on the authority of al-Barāʾ, who said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said — and he described the unbeliever at the taking of his soul: "His soul is returned to his body. Two angels come to him who speak harshly to him. They make him sit upright and speak harshly to him. They say: 'Who is your Lord?' He says: 'I do not know.' They say: 'What is your religion?' He says: 'I do not know.' He is asked: 'What is this Prophet who was sent among you?' He says: 'I heard the people saying it; I do not know.' They say: 'You do not know.'" That is the word of Allah: وَيُضِلُّ اللَّهُ الظَّالِمِينَ وَيَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ مَا يَشَاءُ .