Tafheem-ul-Quran - Abul Ala Maududi

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Tafheem-ul-Quran - Abul Ala Maududi translation for Surah Ash-Shuraa — Ayah 23

42:23
ذَٰلِكَ ٱلَّذِي يُبَشِّرُ ٱللَّهُ عِبَادَهُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِۗ قُل لَّآ أَسۡـَٔلُكُمۡ عَلَيۡهِ أَجۡرًا إِلَّا ٱلۡمَوَدَّةَ فِي ٱلۡقُرۡبَىٰۗ وَمَن يَقۡتَرِفۡ حَسَنَةٗ نَّزِدۡ لَهُۥ فِيهَا حُسۡنًاۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٞ شَكُورٌ ٢٣
That is the Bounty of which Allah gives tidings to His servants who have faith and do good deeds. Tell them, (O Prophet): “I do not ask you for any recompense for my work1 except love towards kinsfolk.”2 Whoever does a good deed, We shall increase its merit for him. Surely Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Appreciative.3
Footnotes
  • [1] That is, every effort that the prophet (peace be upon him) was making to save the people from Allah’s punishment and to enable them to become worthy of the promise of Paradise.
  • [2] The word qurba in the original has been interpreted differently by the different commentators. One section of them takes it in the meaning of kinship and has given this meaning to the verse: I do not ask of you any reward for this service, but I do desire that you (O people of Quraish) should show some regard for the kinship that is there between me and you. You should have accepted my invitation, but if you do not accept it, you should not be so hard-hearted as to become my bitterest enemies in the entire land of Arabia. This is the interpretation given by Hadrat Abdullah bin Abbas, which has been cited by lmam Ahmad, Bukhari. Muslim. Tirmidhi, Ibn Jarir, Tabarani, Baihaqi. Ibn Said and others on the authority of many reporters and the same commentary has been given by Mujahid. Ikrimah, Qatadah, Suddi, Abu Malik, Abdur Rehman bin Zaid bin Aslam, Dahhak. Ata bin Dinar and the other major commentators.
  • [3] The other section takes qurba in the meaning of nearness and interprets the verse to mean: I do not seek from you any other reward than this that you should develop in yourselves a desire for attaining nearness to Allah. That is, you should be reformed. That is my only reward. This commentary has been reported from Hasan Basri and a saying of Qatadah also has been cited in support of this, so much so that in a tradition by Tabarani this saying has also been attributed to Ibn Abbas. In the Quran itself, at another place, this same subject has been treated, thus: Tell them: I do not seek of you any reward for this work. I only ask of the one, who will, to adopt the way of his Lord.(Surah Al-Furqan, Ayat 57).
  • [4] Qira’at: All except for Abu ʻAmr, Hafs and Yaʻqub read it as: “As for those who combated in the way of Allah . . .”
  • [5] Addressing Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) about the town which evicted him (Makkah).
  • [6] A grammatical shift from singular to plural.