'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'

Tafsir of Surah Al-Ankabut

This Surah is Meccan except for the beginning of it, the first ten verses, for they are Medinan. It was revealed concerning those who were among the Muslims in Mecca, and there is a difference regarding this.

His saying, exalted is He:

﴿Alif Lam Meem﴾ ﴿Do people think that they will be left alone because they say, "We have believed," and they will not be tried?﴾ ﴿And We certainly tried those before them. So Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars.﴾

The discussion regarding the disconnected letters at the beginning of the Surahs has preceded. Warsh read: "Alif Lam Meem, do people think that they will be left alone" with the opening of the letter 'meem' without a hamzah after it. This is based on the lightening of the hamzah and placing its vowel on the 'meem'.

This verse was revealed concerning a group of believers who were in Mecca. The disbelievers from Quraysh were harming them and torturing them for their Islam. Their chests were constricted because of this, and it was sometimes wondered why Allah would allow the disbelievers to have power over the believers. Mujahid and others said: This verse was revealed as a consolation and to inform that this situation is the way of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, in testing His servants, to know the truthful and to see the reward of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, for him, and to know the liar and to see the punishment upon him.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

This verse, although it was revealed for this reason and concerning this group, its meaning remains applicable in the Ummah of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. Its ruling exists for the duration of time, for the trial from Allah, glorified and exalted is He, remains at the borders of the Muslims through captivity, the hostility of the enemy, and other than that. If one considers every place, there is that in terms of diseases and types of trials. However, that which resembles the trial of the believers with Quraysh is what we mentioned regarding the matter of the enemy in every border.

Abdullah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, said: This verse was revealed concerning Ammar ibn Yasir; when he was being tortured for the sake of Allah - and his peers. Al-Sha'bi said: The reason for the verse is what the believers were tasked with. As for the trial, it is the migration which they were not left without; especially since they were pursued because of it by the disbelievers who turned them back and fought them. So those who were killed were killed, and those who survived survived. Al-Suddi said: It was revealed concerning Muslims who were in Mecca and disliked jihad and fighting when it was made obligatory upon the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him.

And "Hasa" means: to think, and "an" is in the accusative due to "Hasa," and it and the sentence that follows it suffice as the two objects of "Hasa." The second "an" is in the accusative position based on the estimation of dropping the preposition, and its estimation is: "that they say," and it is possible that it is estimated as: "for them to say," and the meaning in the preposition 'bi' and 'li' is different. This is because in 'bi' it is as you say: "I left Zayd in his state," and in 'li' it means: "for the sake of," meaning: they thought that their faith was a reason for being left alone.

And ﴿those before them﴾ means by it the believers with the prophets in ancient times.

And the majority read: "So let them know" with a فتح (fath) on the ياء (ya) and the second لام (lam). The meaning of that is: He will certainly make known His knowledge and bring forth what He has known eternally. This is because His knowledge of this has been eternal and ancient. It is merely an expression of bringing into existence in the state that the ancient knowledge entails. Truthfulness and falsehood are as they are, meaning: whoever's action and words are truthful and whoever's are false. A group said: It is merely a metaphor, and what is meant by them is firmness in religion, or confusion in it and in the struggle against the enemy, and similar to this. An example of this is the saying of Zuhayr:

A lion that stumbles, hunts men when the lion has spoken truthfully about his peers.

Al-Naqqash said: It is said that the reference to "they were truthful" is to the martyr of Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him; for he was the first martyr killed among the believers on the day of Badr.

And Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, read: "So He will certainly inform" with a ضم (dham) on the ياء (ya) and a كسر (kasr) on the second لام (lam). This reading has three meanings: one of them is that He will inform in the Hereafter these truthful and false ones of their stations of reward and punishment, and of their deeds in this world, meaning He will make them aware of what was from them. The second is that He will inform the people and the world of these truthful and false ones, meaning He will expose and make them known, these in good and those in evil, and that is in this world and the Hereafter. The third is that this will be a sign, meaning He will place a sign for each group by which they will be known. Thus, the verse - according to this - relates to the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "Whoever conceals a secret, Allah will clothe him with its garment." And in every meaning of it, there is a promise for the truthful believers and a warning for the disbelievers.

And al-Zuhri read the first like the reading of the majority, and the second like the reading of Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him.