Tafseer of Abraham · Ibrahim · 14:27
Allah keeps firm those who believe, with the firm word, in worldly life and in the Hereafter. And Allah sends astray the wrongdoers. And Allah does what He wills.
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.
Allah the Exalted says: Have you not looked, O Muḥammad, at those who exchanged the favor of Allah for unbelief (kufr) ? He says: they changed what Allah had bestowed upon them of favors, and turned it into unbelief toward Him. Their exchanging of the favor of Allah for unbelief concerned the prophet of Allah Muḥammad ﷺ: Allah had bestowed him as a favor upon Quraysh, brought him forth from their midst, and sent him among them as a messenger, as a mercy to them and as a favor from Him to them — but they rejected him, accused him of lying, and thus exchanged the favor of Allah to them through him for unbelief (kufr).
His word wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār — He says: they made the polytheists (mushrikīn) of Quraysh, their people, descend into the abode of perdition. "Dār al-bawār" is "the abode of destruction"; one says: "bāra al-shayʾu yabūru bawran" (a thing perishes and is lost) when it is destroyed and comes to ruin. From this derives the verse of Ibn al-Zibaʿrā — and it has been said that it is by Abū Sufyān ibn al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib:
O Messenger of the Sovereign, my tongue restores what I tore apart when I was lost (bāʾir).
Then he gave clarification of "dār al-bawār" and what it is, and it was said: Jahannam yaṣlawnahā wa-biʾsa al-qarār — He says: and a wretched abode is Hell (jahannam) for whoever enters it. And it has been said: those who exchanged the favor of Allah for unbelief are the Banū Umayya and the Banū Makhzūm.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn Bashshār and Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, they said: Abū Aḥmad related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Zayd, on the authority of Yūsuf ibn Saʿd, on the authority of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, concerning His word: alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār Jahannam : he said: "They are the two depraved clans of Quraysh: the Banū al-Mughīra and the Banū Umayya. As for the Banū al-Mughīra — you were rid of them on the day of Badr; as for the Banū Umayya — they were granted enjoyment for a time."
Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Abū Nuʿaym al-Faḍl ibn Dukayn related to us, he said: Ḥamza al-Zayyāt informed us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Murra, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās said to ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with them both: "O Commander of the Believers, this verse: alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār ?" He said: "They are the two depraved clans of Quraysh — my maternal uncles and your paternal uncles. As for my maternal uncles — Allah extirpated them root and branch on the day of Badr; as for your paternal uncles — Allah granted them respite for a time."
Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of ʿAmr Dhī Murr, on the authority of ʿAlī: wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār — he said: "The two depraved clans of Quraysh."
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, he said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of ʿAmr Dhī Murr, on the authority of ʿAlī — the same.
Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, he said: Abū Aḥmad related to us, he said: Sufyān and Sharīk related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of ʿAmr Dhī Murr, on the authority of ʿAlī, concerning his word a-lam tara ilā alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār : he said: "The Banū al-Mughīra and the Banū Umayya. As for the Banū al-Mughīra — Allah cut off their progeny on the day of Badr; as for the Banū Umayya — they were granted enjoyment for a time."
Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, he said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, he said: I heard ʿAmr Dhī Murr say: I heard ʿAlī say concerning this verse a-lam tara ilā alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār : he said: "The two depraved clans of the Banū Asad and the Banū Makhzūm."
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, he said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Al-Qāsim ibn Abī Bazza, on the authority of Abū al-Ṭufayl, on the authority of ʿAlī, who said: "They are the unbelievers of Quraysh" — concerning His word wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār Jahannam .
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, he said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Al-Qāsim ibn Abī Bazza, on the authority of Abū al-Ṭufayl, that he heard ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, and Ibn al-Kawwāʾ asked him about this verse alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār : he said: "They are the unbelievers of Quraysh on the day of Badr."
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: Abū al-Naḍr Hāshim ibn al-Qāsim related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of Al-Qāsim ibn Abī Bazza, he said: I heard Abū al-Ṭufayl say: I heard ʿAlī — and he mentioned a similar import.
Abū al-Sāʾib related to us, he said: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Sumayʿ, on the authority of Muslim al-Baṭīn, on the authority of Abū Arṭāt, on the authority of ʿAlī, concerning His word a-lam tara ilā alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran : he said: "They are the unbelievers of Quraysh." Abū al-Sāʾib said that Muslim al-Baṭīn was on the authority of Abū Arṭāt.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad al-Zaʿfarānī related to us, he said: Abū Muʿāwiya al-Ḍarīr related to us, he said: Ismāʿīl ibn Sumayʿ related to us, on the authority of Muslim ibn Arṭāt, on the authority of ʿAlī, concerning the word of Allah the Exalted alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran : he said: "The unbelievers of Quraysh."
Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq related to us, he said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Al-Qāsim ibn Abī Bazza, on the authority of Abū al-Ṭufayl, on the authority of ʿAlī, who said concerning the word of Allah: a-lam tara ilā alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār : "They are the unbelievers of Quraysh."
Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: Shabāba related to us, he said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Al-Qāsim ibn Abī Bazza, he said: I heard Abū al-Ṭufayl report, he said: I heard ʿAlī say concerning this verse a-lam tara ilā alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār : he said: "The unbelievers of Quraysh on the day of Badr."
Al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Al-Faḍl ibn Dukayn related to us, he said: Bassām al-Ṣayrafī related to us, he said: Abū al-Ṭufayl ʿĀmir ibn Wāthila related that ʿAlī stood up on the pulpit and said: "Ask me before you can no longer ask me, and after me you will never ask anyone like me." Ibn al-Kawwāʾ stood up and said: "Who are alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār ?" He said: "The hypocrites (munāfiqūn) of Quraysh."
Al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd related to us, he said: Bassām related to us, on the authority of a man whom Al-Ṭanāfisī named, he said: A man came to ʿAlī and said: "O Commander of the Believers, who are alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār ?" He said: "They belong to Quraysh."
Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, he said: Abū Aḥmad related to us, he said: Bassām al-Ṣayrafī related to us, on the authority of Abū al-Ṭufayl, on the authority of ʿAlī, that he was asked about this verse alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran : he said: "The hypocrites of Quraysh."
Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: ʿAffān related to us, he said: Ḥammād related to us, he said: ʿAmr ibn Dīnār related to us, that Ibn ʿAbbās said concerning His word wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār : he said: "They are the polytheists among the participants at Badr."
Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Jabbār related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, he said: I heard ʿAṭāʾ say: I heard Ibn ʿAbbās say: "They are, by Allah, the people of Mecca — alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār ."
Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ṣāliḥ ibn ʿUmar related to us, on the authority of Muṭarrif ibn Ṭarīf, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, he said: I heard ʿAmr Dhā Murr say: I heard ʿAlī say on the pulpit, and he recited this verse a-lam tara ilā alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār ; he said: "They are the two depraved clans of Quraysh: the one — Allah cut off their progeny on the day of Badr; the other — they were granted enjoyment for a time."
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us — and Al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: Al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us — and Al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Shabāba related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning his word baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran : he said: "The unbelievers of Quraysh."
Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, he said: Abū Aḥmad related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb related to us, on the authority of Mujāhid: he said: "The unbelievers of Quraysh."
Al-Muthannā related to us, 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: baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran — "the unbelievers of Quraysh."
Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid — the same.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: Ibn ʿUyayna informed us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Dīnār, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, he said: I heard Ibn ʿAbbās say: "They are, by Allah — alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār — Quraysh." Or he said: "The people of Mecca."
Ibn Wakīʿ and Ibn Bashshār related to us, they said: Ghundar related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of Abū Bishr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr concerning this verse alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār : he said: "Those slain on the day of Badr."
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Ṣamad related to us, he said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū Bishr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: a-lam tara ilā alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār : he said: "They are the unbelievers of Quraysh."
Muḥammad ibn Bashshār and Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, they said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, he said: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of Abū Mālik and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, who said: "They are those slain at Badr among the polytheists."
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning a-lam tara ilā alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār : he said: "They are, by Allah, the people of Mecca." Abū Kurayb said: Sufyān said: "that is, their unbelievers."
Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Al-Ḥajjāj related to us, he said: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Dīnār, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār : he said: "They are the polytheists among the participants at Badr."
Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, he said: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of a number of the companions of ʿAlī, on the authority of ʿAlī, concerning His word a-lam tara ilā alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran : he said: "They are the two depraved clans of Quraysh — the Banū Makhzūm and the Banū Umayya. As for the Banū Makhzūm — Allah cut off their progeny on the day of Badr; as for the Banū Umayya — they were granted enjoyment for a time."
Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Muʿallā ibn Asad related to us, he said: Khālid informed us, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of Abū Mālik, concerning the word of Allah a-lam tara ilā alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran : he said: "They are the leaders of the polytheists on the day of Badr."
Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, he said: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of Abū Mālik and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, who said: "They are the unbelievers of Quraysh who were slain at Badr."
Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, he said: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of Al-Ḍaḥḥāk, who said: "They are the unbelievers of Quraysh who were slain at Badr."
It was related to me on the authority of Al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān informed us, he said: I heard Al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word a-lam tara ilā alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran — the verse — he said: "They are the polytheists among the people of Mecca."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama ibn al-Faḍl related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq informed us, on the authority of one of his companions, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn Yasār, who said: "This verse was sent down concerning those of Quraysh who were slain: a-lam tara ilā alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār — the verse."
Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, he said: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his word a-lam tara ilā alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār : "We used to transmit that they were the people of Mecca: Abū Jahl and his companions whom Allah killed on the day of Badr." Allah said: Jahannam yaṣlawnahā wa-biʾsa al-qarār .
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, concerning His word wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār : he said: "They are the leaders of the polytheists on the day of Badr; they made their people descend into the abode of perdition Jahannam yaṣlawnahā ."
Yūnus related to us, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word a-lam tara ilā alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār : he said: "They are the polytheists among the participants at Badr." And others said concerning this what Muḥammad ibn Saʿd transmitted 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 Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his word a-lam tara ilā alladhīna baddalū niʿmata Allāhi kufran wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār Jahannam yaṣlawnahā : "It is Jabala ibn al-Ayham and those who followed him among the Arabs who joined the Byzantines."
In the direction of what we have said concerning the meaning of His word wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār the exegetes also spoke.
* Mention of who said that:
Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, he said: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of Al-Ḍaḥḥāk: wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār — he said: "They made those who followed them among their people descend."
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 Ibn ʿAbbās: dāra al-bawār — he said: "Destruction." Ibn Jurayj said, Mujāhid said: wa-aḥallū qawmahum dāra al-bawār — he said: "The participants at Badr."
Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word dāra al-bawār : "The Fire." He said: "Allah has made this clear and informed you of it, for He said: Jahannam yaṣlawnahā wa-biʾsa al-qarār ."
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: dāra al-bawār Jahannam yaṣlawnahā — "It is their abode in the Hereafter."
