Tafseer of The Cow · Al-Baqara · 2:268
Satan threatens you with poverty and orders you to immorality, while Allah promises you forgiveness from Him and bounty. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing.
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 His word: الشَّيْطَانُ يَعِدُكُمُ الْفَقْرَ وَيَأْمُرُكُمْ بِالْفَحْشَاءِ وَاللَّهُ يَعِدُكُمْ مَغْفِرَةً مِنْهُ وَفَضْلا
(Satan promises you poverty and commands you to indecency, while Allah promises you forgiveness from Him and abundance.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: He — exalted be His mention — means by this: "Satan promises you," O people, on account of giving alms and on account of paying the obligatory alms (zakāh) that is due upon your possessions, that you will fall into poverty — "and commands you to indecency (al-faḥshāʾ)," that is to say: and he commands you disobedience toward Allah — Mighty and Exalted is He — and the abandonment of obedience to Him. — "while Allah promises you forgiveness from Him" — that is to say: that Allah — Mighty and Exalted is He — promises you, O believers, that He will cover your indecent deeds by remitting the punishment for them, so that He will forgive you your sins on account of the alms that you give — "and abundance (faḍl)" — that is to say: and He promises you that He will recompense you for what you give in alms, so that He will bestow upon you favors from His gifts and will make your provision abundant.
As in:
6168 — Muḥammad ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn ibn Wāqid related to us, on the authority of Yazīd al-Naḥwī, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: Two things come from Allah and two things come from Satan: "Satan promises you poverty," he says: do not spend your wealth, but keep it for yourself, for you are in need of it — "and commands you to indecency." "While Allah promises you forgiveness from Him," for these acts of disobedience — "and abundance" in provision.
6169 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: "Satan promises you poverty and commands you to indecency, while Allah promises you forgiveness from Him and abundance," he says: forgiveness for your indecent deeds, and abundance for your poverty.
6170 — Hannād related to us, saying: Abū al-Aḥwaṣ related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Murra, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Verily, Satan has a whispering (lamma) at the son of Adam, and the angel has a whispering. As for the whispering of Satan, it is the promising of evil and the denial of the truth. And as for the whispering of the angel, it is the promising of good and the affirmation of the truth. Whoever finds that, let him know that it is from Allah, and let him praise Allah; and whoever finds the other, let him seek refuge in Allah from Satan. Then he recited: "Satan promises you poverty and commands you to indecency."
6171 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: al-Ḥakam ibn Bashīr ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Murra, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, who said: Verily, the human being has from the angel a whispering, and from Satan a whispering. The whispering of the angel is the promising of good and the affirmation of the truth, and the whispering of Satan is the promising of evil and the denial of the truth. And ʿAbd Allāh recited: "Satan promises you poverty and commands you to indecency, while Allah promises you forgiveness from Him and abundance." — ʿAmr said: And we have heard in connection with this report that one used to say: when one of you perceives something of the whispering of the angel, let him praise Allah and ask Him for His abundance; and when he perceives something of the whispering of Satan, let him ask Allah for forgiveness and seek refuge against Satan.
6172 — Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib related to us, on the authority of Abū al-Aḥwaṣ — or on the authority of Murra — who said: ʿAbd Allāh said: Verily, the angel has a whispering and Satan has a whispering. The whispering of the angel is: the promising of good and the affirmation of the truth, and the whispering of Satan is: the promising of evil and the denial of the truth. That is evident from the fact that Allah says:
"Satan promises you poverty and commands you to indecency, while Allah promises you forgiveness from Him and abundance, and Allah is all-encompassing, all-knowing." So when you find something of this [first-mentioned, the good], then praise Allah for it, and when you find something of this [other, the evil], then seek your refuge in Allah from Satan.
6173 — al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, on the authority of ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUtba, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd concerning His word: "Satan promises you poverty and commands you to indecency," he said: Verily, the angel has a whispering and Satan has a whispering. The whispering of the angel is the promising of good and the affirmation of the truth; whoever finds that, let him praise Allah. And the whispering of Satan is: the promising of evil and the denial of the truth; whoever finds that, let him seek refuge in Allah.
6174 — al-Muthannā ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ḥajjāj ibn al-Minhāl related to us, saying: Ḥammād ibn Salama related to us, saying: ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib informed us, on the authority of Murra al-Hamdānī, that Ibn Masʿūd said: Verily, the angel has a whispering and Satan has a whispering. The whispering of the angel is: his promise of good and the affirmation of the truth, and the whispering of Satan is: the promising of evil and the denial of the truth. So whoever perceives something of the whispering of the angel, let him praise Allah for it, and whoever perceives something of the whispering of Satan, let him seek refuge in Allah against it. Then he recited this verse: "Satan promises you poverty and commands you to indecency, while Allah promises you forgiveness from Him and abundance, and Allah is all-encompassing, all-knowing."
6175 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Suwayd ibn Naṣr related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, on the authority of Fiṭr, on the authority of al-Musayyab ibn Rāfiʿ, on the authority of ʿĀmir ibn ʿAbada, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, with a similar import.
6176 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Murra ibn Shurāḥīl, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd, who said: Verily, Satan has a whispering and the angel has a whispering. As for the whispering of Satan, it is the denial of the truth and the promising of evil, and as for the whispering of the angel, it is the promising of good and the affirmation of the truth. Whoever finds that, let him know that it is from Allah and let him praise Allah for it. And whoever finds the other, let him seek refuge against Satan. Then he recited: "Satan promises you poverty and commands you to indecency, while Allah promises you forgiveness from Him and abundance."
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The explanation of His word: وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ (2:268)
(And Allah is all-encompassing, all-knowing.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: He — exalted be His mention — means: "And Allah is all-encompassing" with respect to the abundance (al-faḍl) that He promises to bestow upon you from His abundance and the vastness of His treasuries — "all-knowing" concerning your expenditures and your alms that you spend and give, which He tallies up for you until He will reward you for them upon your coming to Him in your Hereafter.
