Tafseer of Luqman · Luqman · 31:33
O mankind, fear your Lord and fear a Day when no father will avail his son, nor will a son avail his father at all. Indeed, the promise of Allah is truth, so let not the worldly life delude you and be not deceived about Allah by the Deceiver.
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 the saying of the Exalted: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمْ وَاخْشَوْا يَوْمًا لا يَجْزِي وَالِدٌ عَنْ وَلَدِهِ وَلا مَوْلُودٌ هُوَ جَازٍ عَنْ وَالِدِهِ شَيْئًا إِنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ فَلا تَغُرَّنَّكُمُ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا وَلا يَغُرَّنَّكُمْ بِاللَّهِ الْغَرُورُ (31:33) ("O mankind, fear your Lord and dread a Day on which no father can avail anything for his child, nor any child avail anything for his father. Truly, the promise of Allah is true. So let not the life of this world deceive you, and let not the deceiver deceive you concerning Allah" (31:33)).
The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: O polytheists of Quraysh, fear Allah and be apprehensive of His wrath descending upon you on a Day on which no father is of any benefit to his child, nor is a child of any benefit to his father. That is because the affair there will be in the hand of the One who cannot be overcome, with whom no intercession and no means avail, except the means of a good deed that one has sent ahead in the life of this world. And His saying إنَّ وَعْدَ اللهِ حَقّ ("Truly, the promise of Allah is true") — He says: know that the coming of this Day is true, for Allah has promised it to His servants and there is no breaking of His promise. فَلا تَغُرَّنَّكُمُ الحَياةُ الدُّنْيا ("So let not the life of this world deceive you") — He says: let not the adornment of the life of this world and its pleasures delude you, so that you become inclined toward it and neglect the preparation of that in which lies your salvation from the punishment of Allah on that Day. And His saying وَلا يَغُرَّنَّكُمْ بالله الغَرُورُ ("and let not the deceiver deceive you concerning Allah") — He says: and let no deluder delude you concerning Allah. And "al-gharūr" with a fatḥa on the ghayn is that which deceives a person, whatever it may be — whether it be a satan, or a human being, or the life of this world. As for "al-ghurūr" with a ḍamma on the ghayn, that is the verbal noun (maṣdar) of one's saying: "gharartuhu ghurūran" (I deceived him with deception).
And in accordance with what we have said about the meaning of His saying ولا يَغُرَّنَّكُمْ باللهِ الغَرُورُ ("and let not the deceiver deceive you concerning Allah"), the people of interpretation have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying الغَرُور ("the deceiver"). He said: that is the satan.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying وَلا يَغُرنَّكُمْ باللهِ الغَرُور ("and let not the deceiver deceive you concerning Allah"): that is the satan.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh al-Faḍl ibn Khālid al-Marwazī saying: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning His saying الغَرُورُ ("the deceiver"): he said: that is the satan.
And some of them interpreted "al-gharūr" differently, such as what Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak related to us, on the authority of Ibn Lahīʿa, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn Dīnār, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning His saying وَلا يَغُرَّنَّكُمْ باللهِ الغَرُورُ ("and let not the deceiver deceive you concerning Allah"). He said: that you commit disobedience and yet covet forgiveness.