Tafseer of The Stories · Al-Qasas · 28:54
Those will be given their reward twice for what they patiently endured and [because] they avert evil through good, and from what We have provided them they spend.
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, the Exalted: أُولَئِكَ يُؤْتَوْنَ أَجْرَهُمْ مَرَّتَيْنِ بِمَا صَبَرُوا وَيَدْرَءُونَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ السَّيِّئَةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ (These will receive their reward twice, because they were patient and ward off evil with good and spend out of what We have provided them) (54).
The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: These, whose characteristic I have described, يُؤْتَوْنَ (will receive) the reward for their deeds مَرَّتَيْنِ بِمَا صَبَرُوا (twice, because they were patient).
The exegetes differed concerning the meaning of the patience for which Allah promised what He promised. Some said:
He promised them what He promised, mighty is His praise, on account of their patience with respect to the first Book, their following of Muḥammad — Allah's peace and blessings be upon him — and their patience therein. That is the statement of Qatāda, which we have already mentioned earlier.
Others said: No, He promised them on account of their patience by means of their belief in Muḥammad — Allah's peace and blessings be upon him — before he was sent, and by means of their following of him when he was sent. That is the statement of al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim, which we have likewise already mentioned earlier. And among those who agreed with Qatāda in his statement is ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Zayd.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His word: إِنَّا كُنَّا مِنْ قَبْلِهِ مُسْلِمِينَ (Verily, we were already before it Muslims): upon the religion (dīn) of ʿĪsā; and when the Prophet — Allah's peace and blessings be upon him — came, they submitted (aslamū). Thus there was for them their reward twice: because they were patient the first time, and they entered into Islam with the Prophet — Allah's peace and blessings be upon him.
And a group said concerning it what Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: My father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: There was a people who were polytheists (mushrikīn) and converted to Islam, and their people inflicted harm upon them; then it was revealed: أُولَئِكَ يُؤْتَوْنَ أَجْرَهُمْ مَرَّتَيْنِ بِمَا صَبَرُوا (These will receive their reward twice, because they were patient). And His word: وَيَدْرَءُونَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ السَّيِّئَةَ (and ward off evil with good), He says: and they ward off their evil deeds with the good deeds that they perform; وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ (and out of what We have provided them) of possessions يُنْفِقُونَ (they spend) in obedience to Allah, whether in jihād on the path of Allah, or in alms to a needy person, or in maintaining the ties of kinship.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: وَإِذَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ قَالُوا آمَنَّا بِهِ إِنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا مِنْ قَبْلِهِ مُسْلِمِينَ (And when it is recited to them, they say: We believe in it; verily, it is the Truth from our Lord; verily, we were already before it Muslims), Allah said: أُولَئِكَ يُؤْتَوْنَ أَجْرَهُمْ مَرَّتَيْنِ بِمَا صَبَرُوا (These will receive their reward twice, because they were patient), and Allah praised them in the most beautiful manner, as you hear, and He said: وَيَدْرَءُونَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ السَّيِّئَةَ (and ward off evil with good).
