Tafseer of The letter Saad · Saad · 38:32
And he said, "Indeed, I gave preference to the love of good [things] over the remembrance of my Lord until the sun disappeared into the curtain [of darkness]."
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.
And His saying فَقَالَ إِنِّي أَحْبَبْتُ حُبَّ الْخَيْرِ عَنْ ذِكْرِ رَبِّي حَتَّى تَوَارَتْ بِالْحِجَابِ (and he said: I have loved the love of good above the remembrance of my Lord, until it concealed itself behind the veil). In this saying something has been omitted, which the clarity of the evident has made superfluous to mention, namely: he was thereby distracted from the prayer until it passed him by, and then he said: I have loved the love of good. And by His saying فَقَالَ إِنِّي أَحْبَبْتُ حُبَّ الْخَيْرِ (and he said: I have loved the love of good) is meant: namely the property and the horses, or the good in the form of property.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Suddī فَقَالَ إِنِّي أَحْبَبْتُ حُبَّ الْخَيْرِ (and he said: I have loved the love of good), he said: the horses.
Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His saying إِنِّي أَحْبَبْتُ حُبَّ الْخَيْرِ (I have loved the love of good), he said: the property.
And His saying عَنْ ذِكْرِ رَبِّي (above the remembrance of my Lord) means: I loved the love of good until I neglected the remembrance of my Lord and the performance of His obligation. It has been said: that was the afternoon prayer (ṣalāt al-ʿaṣr).
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Those who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda عَنْ ذِكْرِ رَبِّي (above the remembrance of my Lord): from the afternoon prayer (ṣalāt al-ʿaṣr).
Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī عَنْ ذِكْرِ رَبِّي (above the remembrance of my Lord), he said: the afternoon prayer. Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam related to us, saying: Abū Zurʿa related to us, saying: Ḥaywa ibn Shurayḥ related to us, saying: Abū Ṣakhr related to us, that he heard Abū Muʿāwiya al-Bajalī, one of the people of Kūfa, saying: I heard Abū al-Ṣahbāʾ al-Bakrī saying: I asked ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib about the middle prayer (al-ṣalāt al-wusṭā), and he said: that is the afternoon prayer (al-ʿaṣr), and that is the prayer with which Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd was tested.
And His saying حَتَّى تَوَارَتْ بِالْحِجَابِ (until it concealed itself behind the veil) means: until the sun concealed itself behind the veil, that is to say: it disappeared at its setting. As Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, saying: Mīkāʾīl related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind, saying: Ibn Masʿūd said, concerning His saying إِنِّي أَحْبَبْتُ حُبَّ الْخَيْرِ عَنْ ذِكْرِ رَبِّي حَتَّى تَوَارَتْ بِالْحِجَابِ (I have loved the love of good above the remembrance of my Lord, until it concealed itself behind the veil), he said: the sun concealed itself behind a green ruby, and from that comes the greenness of the sky.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda حَتَّى تَوَارَتْ بِالْحِجَابِ (until it concealed itself behind the veil): until it inclined toward setting. Qatāda said: and by Allah, the children of Israel did not dispute with him nor set themselves against him, but they appointed him over that which Allah had appointed him over.
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī حَتَّى تَوَارَتْ بِالْحِجَابِ (until it concealed itself behind the veil): until it set.
