Tafseer of The Originator · Faatir · 35:32
Then we caused to inherit the Book those We have chosen of Our servants; and among them is he who wrongs himself, and among them is he who is moderate, and among them is he who is foremost in good deeds by permission of Allah. That [inheritance] is what is the great bounty.
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: Then We caused to inherit the Book those whom We have chosen among Our servants; among them is he who wrongs himself, and among them is he who keeps to the middle course, and among them is he who is foremost in good deeds by the permission of Allah; that is the great bounty (35:32).
The scholars of interpretation differed concerning the meaning of the Book that Allah mentions in this verse as that which He caused to be inherited by those whom He has chosen among His servants, and concerning who the chosen ones among His servants are, and who the one who wrongs himself is. Some said: the Book refers to the Books that Allah sent down before the Furqān (the Qurʾān). And the chosen ones among His servants are the community (umma) of Muḥammad (the Prophet ﷺ). And the one who wrongs himself refers to the criminals among them.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to us, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word Then We caused to inherit the Book... up to His word the great bounty: they are the community of Muḥammad (the Prophet ﷺ); Allah caused them to inherit every Book that He sent down; the one among them who wrongs himself is forgiven, the one who keeps to the middle course is reckoned with a light reckoning, and the one who is foremost enters the Garden without reckoning.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: al-Ḥakam ibn Bashīr related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn Qays related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿĪsā, on the authority of Yazīd ibn al-Ḥārith, on the authority of Shaqīq, on the authority of Abū Wāʾil, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd, that he said: this community will be in three thirds on the Day of Resurrection: a third enters the Garden without reckoning, a third is reckoned with a light reckoning, and a third comes with grave sins, until He says: who are these? — and He, the Blessed and Exalted, knows — whereupon the angels say: these have come with grave sins, except that they have not assigned any partners to You; whereupon the Lord says: make these enter into the breadth of My mercy. And ʿAbd Allāh recited this verse Then We caused to inherit the Book those whom We have chosen among Our servants.
Ḥumayd ibn Masʿada related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: ʿAwn related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Nawfal related to us, saying: Kaʿb al-Aḥbār related to us that the one who wrongs himself from this community, and the one who keeps to the middle course, and the one who is foremost in good deeds — they are all in the Garden. Do you not see that Allah said Then We caused to inherit the Book those whom We have chosen among Our servants... up to His word every ingrate?
ʿAlī ibn Saʿīd al-Kindī related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak related to us, on the authority of ʿAwf, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Nawfal, he said: I heard Kaʿb saying, concerning among them is he who wrongs himself, and among them is he who keeps to the middle course, and among them is he who is foremost in good deeds by the permission of Allah, he said: they are all in the Garden; and he recited this verse Gardens of ʿAdn (eternal abode) which they enter.
Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿArafa related to us, saying: Marwān ibn Muʿāwiya al-Fazārī related to us, on the authority of ʿAwf ibn Abī Jabala, he said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Nawfal related to us, saying: Kaʿb related to us that the wrongdoer from this community, and the one who keeps to the middle course, and the one who is foremost in good deeds — they are all in the Garden. Do you not see that Allah said Then We caused to inherit the Book those whom We have chosen among Our servants... up to His word weariness, and (concerning) those who disbelieved: for them is the fire of Hell (jahannam). He said: Kaʿb said: these are the people of the Fire.
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of ʿAwf, he said: I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥārith saying: Kaʿb said: truly, the one who wrongs himself, and the one who keeps to the middle course, and the one who is foremost in good deeds from this community — they are all in the Garden. Do you not see that Allah says Then We caused to inherit the Book those whom We have chosen among Our servants... until he reached His word Gardens of ʿAdn which they enter?
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Ḥumayd informed us, on the authority of Isḥāq ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥārith, on the authority of his father, that Ibn ʿAbbās asked Kaʿb about His word, the Exalted Then We caused to inherit the Book those whom We have chosen among Our servants... up to His word by the permission of Allah, whereupon he said: their shoulders touch one another, by the Lord of the Kaʿba, then they are given precedence according to their deeds.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: al-Ḥakam ibn Bashīr related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn Qays related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq al-Sabīʿī, concerning this verse Then We caused to inherit the Book those whom We have chosen, he said: Abū Isḥāq said: as for what I have heard for sixty years — they are all saved.
He said: ʿAmr related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyya, he said: truly, it is a community shown mercy; the wrongdoer is forgiven, the one who keeps to the middle course is in the gardens with Allah, and the one who is foremost in good deeds is in the high ranks with Allah.
And others said: the Book which He caused these people to inherit is the testimony that there is no god but Allah; and the chosen ones are the community of Muḥammad (the Prophet ﷺ); and the one among them who wrongs himself is the hypocrite (munāfiq), and he is in the Fire; and the one who keeps to the middle course and the one who is foremost in good deeds are in the Garden.
* Mention of who said that:
Abū ʿAmmār al-Ḥusayn ibn Ḥurayth al-Marwazī related to us, saying: al-Faḍl ibn Mūsā related to us, on the authority of Ḥusayn ibn Wāqid, on the authority of Yazīd, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh among them is he who wrongs himself, and among them is he who keeps to the middle course, and among them is he who is foremost in good deeds, he said: two are in the Garden and one in the Fire.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word Then We caused to inherit the Book those whom We have chosen among Our servants... to the end of the verse, he said: He placed the people of faith in three ranks, like His word So there are the people of the right hand — what are the people of the right hand! — and the people of the left hand — what are the people of the left hand! — and the foremost, the foremost; they are the ones brought near; so they are according to this pattern.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, on the authority of Yazīd, on the authority of ʿIkrima among them is he who wrongs himself, and among them is he who keeps to the middle course... — the verse, he said: the two are in the Garden and one in the Fire; and it is of the same rank as that in (sūrat) al-Wāqiʿa So there are the people of the right hand — what are the people of the right hand! — and the people of the left hand — what are the people of the left hand! — and the foremost, the foremost; they are the ones brought near.
Sahl ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Majīd related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word Then We caused to inherit the Book those whom We have chosen among Our servants; among them is he who wrongs himself, he said: they are the people of the left hand. and among them is he who keeps to the middle course, he said: they are the people of the right hand. and among them is he who is foremost in good deeds, he said: they are the foremost of all people.
Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿArafa related to us, saying: Marwān ibn Muʿāwiya related to us, saying: ʿAwf said: al-Ḥasan said: as for the one who wrongs himself — truly, that is the hypocrite, this one falls away; and as for the one who keeps to the middle course and the one who is foremost in good deeds — those two are the inhabitants of the Garden.
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of ʿAwf, he said: al-Ḥasan said: the one who wrongs himself is the hypocrite.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word Then We caused to inherit the Book those whom We have chosen among Our servants: the testimony that there is no god but Allah. among them is he who wrongs himself: this is the hypocrite, according to the saying of Qatāda and al-Ḥasan. and among them is he who keeps to the middle course, he said: this is the man of the right hand. and among them is he who is foremost in good deeds, he said: this is the one brought near. Qatāda said: people were in three ranks in this world, and in three ranks at death, and in three ranks in the Hereafter. As for this world, they were: believer, hypocrite, and polytheist (mushrik). And as for at death: Allah said As for him, if he is among the ones brought near, then rest and fragrance and a garden of bliss; and as for him, if he is among the people of the right hand, then: peace be upon you, being among the people of the right hand; and as for him, if he is among the deniers, the astray, then a reception of boiling water and the roasting in a hellfire (jaḥīm). And as for in the Hereafter, they were three kinds: So there are the people of the right hand — what are the people of the right hand! — and the people of the left hand — what are the people of the left hand! — and the foremost, the foremost; they are the ones brought near.
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 word Then We caused to inherit the Book those whom We have chosen among Our servants; among them is he who wrongs himself, he said: they are the people of the left hand. and among them is he who keeps to the middle course, he said: the people of the right hand. and among them is he who is foremost in good deeds, he said: they are the foremost of all people.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, 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 Then We caused to inherit the Book those whom We have chosen among Our servants; among them is he who wrongs himself, he said: this one falls away. and among them is he who keeps to the middle course, and among them is he who is foremost in good deeds by the permission of Allah, he said: this one is foremost in good deeds, and this one keeps to the middle course in his trail.
And the most fitting of the statements concerning this, in terms of correctness, is the interpretation of the one who said: by His word Then We caused to inherit the Book those whom We have chosen among Our servants are meant the Books that were sent down before the Furqān.
If someone were to say: how can that be its meaning, when the community of Muḥammad (the Prophet ﷺ) recites only their own Book and acts only according to the rules and laws that are in it? Then it is answered: truly, its meaning is other than what you have supposed; its meaning is only: then We caused to inherit faith in the Book those whom We have chosen. Among them are those who believe in every Book that Allah sent down from heaven before their Book, and who act according to it; for every Book that was sent down from heaven before the Furqān commands acting according to the Furqān upon its being sent down, and following the one who brought it. And that is the act of whoever acknowledged Muḥammad (the Prophet ﷺ) and that with which he came, and who acted according to that to which he called, in accordance with what is in the Qurʾān and what is in the other Books that were sent down before him.
And it was said that by His word Then We caused to inherit the Book are meant the Books we mentioned only because Allah, mighty is His praise, said to His prophet Muḥammad (the Prophet ﷺ) And what We have revealed to you of the Book, that is the truth, confirming what preceded it, and then He followed it with His word Then We caused to inherit the Book those whom We have chosen. So it was known — since the meaning of inheritance is only the transfer of a matter from one people to another, and at the time of our Prophet (the Prophet ﷺ) there was no community to which a Book had been transferred from a people who lived before them except his community — that that is its meaning. And since that is so, it is clear that the chosen ones among His servants are the believers of his community. And as for the one who wrongs himself: that he belongs to the people of sins and transgressions that are below hypocrisy (nifāq) and the assigning of partners (shirk) is, in my view, more in accordance with the meaning of the verse than that he should be the hypocrite or the disbeliever. That is because Allah, the Exalted, exalted is His mention, followed this verse with His word Gardens of ʿAdn which they enter; so He made the entering of the Garden general for all three kinds.
If someone were to say: truly, by His word which they enter are meant only the one who keeps to the middle course and the one who is foremost! — then it is said to him: and what is your proof that that is so, from transmission or reason? If he says: the proof is the established ground that the wrongdoer from this community will enter the Fire, and if none of these three kinds were to enter the Fire, it would follow that there would be no threat for the people of faith? — then it is said: truly, there is in the verse no statement that they do not enter the Fire; there is in it only a statement from Allah, the Exalted, exalted is His mention, that they enter the Gardens of ʿAdn. And it is possible that the one who wrongs himself enters it after Allah's punishment of him for his sins which he committed in this world, and his wronging of himself therein, by the Fire or by whatever punishment He wills; then He makes him enter the Garden, so that he is among those whom the statement of Allah, mighty is His praise, encompasses by His word Gardens of ʿAdn which they enter.
And it has been transmitted from the Messenger of Allah (the Prophet ﷺ) as we have said concerning this, in reports in which, even though there is something to be remarked upon in their chains of transmission, with the proof of the Book for their correctness, in the manner that I have set forth.
* Mention of the report that has been transmitted concerning that:
Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad al-Zubayrī related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, he said: Abū Thābit mentioned that he entered the mosque and sat down beside Abū al-Dardāʾ, and said: O Allah, lighten my loneliness, have mercy on my exile, and provide me with a righteous companion. Whereupon Abū al-Dardāʾ said: if you are truthful, then I am happier with that than you; I will relate to you a report which I heard from the Messenger of Allah (the Prophet ﷺ) and which I have not related since I heard it. He mentioned this verse Then We caused to inherit the Book those whom We have chosen among Our servants; among them is he who wrongs himself, and among them is he who keeps to the middle course, and among them is he who is foremost in good deeds: as for the one who is foremost in good deeds, he enters it (the Garden) without reckoning; as for the one who keeps to the middle course, he is reckoned with a light reckoning; and as for the one who wrongs himself, in that place grief and sorrow befall him. That is His word Praise be to Allah, who has removed grief from us.
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīra, that he heard a man from Thaqīf relating, on the authority of a man from Kināna, on the authority of Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, on the authority of the Prophet (the Prophet ﷺ), that he said concerning this verse Then We caused to inherit the Book those whom We have chosen among Our servants; among them is he who wrongs himself, and among them is he who keeps to the middle course, and among them is he who is foremost in good deeds by the permission of Allah, he said: "These are all of the same rank, and they are all in the Garden." And by His word those whom We have chosen among Our servants are meant: those whom We have selected for Our obedience and have chosen. And His word among them is he who wrongs himself: He says: among these whom We have chosen among Our servants is he who wrongs himself by committing misdeeds, perpetrating transgressions, and performing shameful acts. and among them is he who keeps to the middle course: and that is the one who does not excel in obedience to his Lord and does not exert himself in the service of his Lord that was imposed upon him, so that his conduct therein is moderate (qaṣd). and among them is he who is foremost in good deeds: and that is the excelling one who outstripped those who exert themselves in the service of his Lord and the fulfilling of the obligations imposed upon him; he passed them by in righteous deeds, and those are the good deeds (al-khayrāt) about which Allah, mighty is His praise, said by the permission of Allah: He says: by Allah's bestowal of grace upon him toward that.
And His word that is the great bounty: the Exalted, exalted is His mention, says: the being foremost of this foremost one, who was foremost in good deeds by the permission of Allah, that is the great bounty by which he was favored over the one who remained below his rank in obedience to Allah — namely the one who keeps to the middle course and the one who wrongs himself.
------------------------ Footnotes: (1) This is the supplying of an omitted subject before it, that is: they are (a) believer... etc., or: some of them are a believer.
