Tafseer of The Repentance · At-Tawba · 9:82
So let them laugh a little and [then] weep much as recompense for what they used to earn.
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 statement concerning the explanation of His saying: فَلْيَضْحَكُوا قَلِيلا وَلْيَبْكُوا كَثِيرًا جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ (So let them laugh a little and weep much, as a recompense for what they used to earn) (9:82).
Abū Jaʿfar (al-Ṭabarī) said: The Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says: these who stayed behind rejoiced over their sitting at home, in opposition to the Messenger of Allah. So let them, rejoicing, laugh a little in this perishable world over their sitting at home in opposition to the Messenger of Allah and over their being diverted from obedience to their Lord, for they will weep at length in Hell (jahannam), in place of their slight laughter in this world. جَزَاءً (as a recompense) — He says: as a reward from Our side to them for their disobedience, in that they refused to go forth when they were called against their enemy, and in that they remained sitting in their dwellings in opposition to the Messenger of Allah. بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ (for what they used to earn) — He says: for the sins they used to commit.
* * *
And in the spirit of what we have said about this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
17037 – Abū al-Sāʾib related to me, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl, on the authority of Abū Razīn, concerning فليضحكوا قليلا وليبكوا كثيرًا (so let them laugh a little and weep much): he said: Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, says: the world is little, let them laugh in it as much as they wish, for when they go to the Hereafter, they will weep with a weeping that does not cease. That is the much.
17038 – Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Abū Razīn, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Khuthaym: فليضحكوا قليلا (so let them laugh a little), he said: in this world; وليبكوا كثيرًا (and weep much), he said: in the Hereafter.
17039 – Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān and Yaḥyā related to us, both saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Sumayʿ, on the authority of Abū Razīn, concerning His saying: فليضحكوا قليلا وليبكوا كثيرًا (so let them laugh a little and weep much), he said: in the Hereafter.
17040 – Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Abū Razīn, that he said concerning this verse: فليضحكوا قليلا وليبكوا كثيرًا (so let them laugh a little and weep much), he said: let them laugh little in this world and let them weep much in the Fire. And he said concerning this verse: وَإِذًا لا تُمَتَّعُونَ إِلا قَلِيلا (and then you will not enjoy except for a little), [Surah Al-Aḥzāb: 16], he said: until their appointed terms. One of these two narrations he traced back to al-Rabīʿ ibn Khuthaym.
17041 – Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: فليضحكوا قليلا (so let them laugh a little), he said: let them laugh little in this world; وليبكوا كثيرًا (and weep much), in the Hereafter, in the Fire of Hell (jahannam); جزاء بما كانوا يكسبون (as a recompense for what they used to earn).
17042 – Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: فليضحكوا قليلا (so let them laugh a little): that is, in this world; وليبكوا كثيرًا (and weep much): that is, in the Fire. It has been related to us that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ said: "By Him in whose hand is my soul, if you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much." It has been related to us that he was thereupon called out to, or that it was said to him: "Do not make My servants despair."
17043 – 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 Abū Razīn, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Khuthaym: فليضحكوا قليلا (so let them laugh a little), he said: in this world; وليبكوا كثيرًا (and weep much), he said: in the Hereafter.
17044 – ...... saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Sumayʿ, on the authority of Abū Razīn: فليضحكوا قليلا (so let them laugh a little), he said: in this world, and when they go to the Hereafter, they will weep with a weeping that does not cease; that is the much.
17045 – ʿAlī ibn Dāwūd 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 saying: فليضحكوا قليلا وليبكوا كثيرًا (so let them laugh a little and weep much), he said: they are the hypocrites (munāfiqūn) and the disbelievers (kuffār), who made their religion an object of mockery and play. Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, says: فليضحكوا قليلا (so let them laugh a little), in this world; وليبكوا كثيرًا (and weep much), in the Fire.
17046 – Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying: فليضحكوا (so let them laugh), in this world, قليلا (a little); وليبكوا (and weep), on the Day of Resurrection, كثيرًا (much). And he said: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ أَجْرَمُوا كَانُوا مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَضْحَكُونَ (Indeed, those who committed crimes used to laugh at those who believed), up to where he reaches: هَلْ ثُوِّبَ الْكُفَّارُ مَا كَانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ (Have the disbelievers been rewarded for what they used to do?), [Surah Al-Muṭaffifīn: 36].
