Tafseer of The Pilgrimage · Al-Hajj · 22:58
And those who emigrated for the cause of Allah and then were killed or died - Allah will surely provide for them a good provision. And indeed, it is Allah who is the best of providers.
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, exalted be His remembrance, says: Those who left their dwelling places and their kinsfolk — abandoning this in the pursuit of Allah's good pleasure, in obedience to Him, and in fighting His enemies — and were thereafter killed or died while in that condition, Allah will surely grant them on the Day of Judgement a goodly provision in His gardens. By "goodly" He means: abundant and noble. And by the goodly provision He means the abundant reward. وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَهُوَ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ — that is to say: and indeed, Allah is surely the One who pours out His grace most amply upon the people of His obedience and honors them most.
It has been reported that this verse was sent down concerning a group of Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ who differed over the legal ruling (ḥukm) concerning one who dies in the path of Allah. Some of them said: the one killed and the one who died are equal. Others said: the one killed is of greater worth. Thereupon Allah sent down this verse to His Prophet ﷺ, to make them know that the one who dies in His path stands equal to the one killed in it with respect to the reward with Him.
And it has been related to us: Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Shurayḥ informed me, on the authority of Salamān ibn ʿĀmir, who said: Faḍāla was governor over the quarters on Rhodes — he brought out the biers of two men, one of whom had been killed and the other had died; and he saw that the people inclined more toward the grave of the one who had been killed. He said: "I see, O people, that you incline toward the one killed and hold him higher than his brother the one who died." They said: "This one was killed in the path of Allah." He said: "By Him in whose hand is my soul — I do not care from which of the two graves I am raised up! Recite the word of Allah the Exalted: وَالَّذِينَ هَاجَرُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ قُتِلُوا أَوْ مَاتُوا — up to His word: وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَعَلِيمٌ حَلِيمٌ."
