Surah Al-Hashr

Ta'awwudh · Seeking Refuge

أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ

A'udhu billahi min ash-shaytani ar-rajim. I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed.

The Name · Bismillah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Bismillahi ar-Rahmani ar-Rahim. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

✦

The Surah · Al-Hashr

﴾١﴿ سَبَّحَ لِلَّهِ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ

Sabbaha lillahi ma fi as-samawati wa ma fi al-ard, wa huwa al-'Azizu al-Hakim

Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth glorifies Allah, and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.

﴾٢﴿ هُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَخْرَجَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ مِن دِيَٰرِهِمْ لِأَوَّلِ ٱلْحَشْرِ ۚ مَا ظَنَنتُمْ أَن يَخْرُجُوا۟ ۖ وَظَنُّوٓا۟ أَنَّهُم مَّانِعَتُهُمْ حُصُونُهُم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ فَأَتَىٰهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَمْ يَحْتَسِبُوا۟ ۖ وَقَذَفَ فِى قُلُوبِهِمُ ٱلرُّعْبَ ۚ يُخْرِبُونَ بُيُوتَهُم بِأَيْدِيهِمْ وَأَيْدِى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَٱعْتَبِرُوا۟ يَٰٓأُو۟لِى ٱلْأَبْصَٰرِ

Huwa alladhi akhraja alladhina kafaru min ahli al-kitabi min diyarihim li-awwali al-hashr, ma zanantum an yakhruju wa zannu annahum mani'atuhum husunuhum mina Allah, fa-atahumu Allahu min haythu lam yahtasibu wa qadhafa fi qulubihimu ar-ru'ba yukhribuna buyutahum bi-aydihim wa aydi al-mu'minina fa'tabiru ya uli al-absar

He is the One who drove out those who disbelieved from among the People of the Book from their homes at the first gathering. You did not think they would leave, and they thought their fortresses would protect them from Allah. So Allah came upon them from where they had not accounted for it, and He cast terror into their hearts. They destroyed their houses with their own hands and the hands of the believers. So take a lesson, O people of vision.

﴾٣﴿ وَلَوْلَآ أَن كَتَبَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْجَلَآءَ لَعَذَّبَهُمْ فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَلَهُمْ فِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ عَذَابُ ٱلنَّارِ

Wa law la an kataba Allahu 'alayhimu al-jala'a la-'adhdhabahum fi ad-dunya, wa lahum fi al-akhirati 'adhabu an-nar

Had Allah not decreed exile for them, He would have punished them in this world. And in the Hereafter they have the punishment of the Fire.

﴾٤﴿ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ شَآقُّوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ ۖ وَمَن يُشَآقِّ ٱللَّهَ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَدِيدُ ٱلْعِقَابِ

Dhalika bi-annahum shaqqu Allaha wa rasulah, wa man yushaqqi Allaha fa-inna Allaha shadidu al-'iqab

That is because they opposed Allah and His Messenger. Whoever opposes Allah, then Allah is severe in penalty.

﴾٥﴿ مَا قَطَعْتُم مِّن لِّينَةٍ أَوْ تَرَكْتُمُوهَا قَآئِمَةً عَلَىٰٓ أُصُولِهَا فَبِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ وَلِيُخْزِىَ ٱلْفَٰسِقِينَ

Ma qata'tum min linatin aw taraktumuha qa'imatan 'ala usuliha fabi-idhni Allahi wa liyukhziya al-fasiqin

Whatever palm tree you cut down or left standing on its roots, it was by the permission of Allah, and so that He would disgrace those who defied Him.

﴾٦﴿ وَمَآ أَفَآءَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِۦ مِنْهُمْ فَمَآ أَوْجَفْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ خَيْلٍۢ وَلَا رِكَابٍۢ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُسَلِّطُ رُسُلَهُۥ عَلَىٰ مَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ قَدِيرٌۭ

Wa ma afa'a Allahu 'ala rasulihi minhum fama awjaftum 'alayhi min khaylin wa la rikabin wa lakinna Allaha yusallitu rusulahu 'ala man yasha', wallahu 'ala kulli shay'in qadir

Whatever Allah restored to His Messenger from them, you spurred no horse and no camel for it. Allah gives His messengers authority over whom He wills, and Allah is capable of all things.

﴾٧﴿ مَّآ أَفَآءَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِۦ مِنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْقُرَىٰ فَلِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ وَلِذِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْيَتَٰمَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَٰكِينِ وَٱبْنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ كَىْ لَا يَكُونَ دُولَةًۢ بَيْنَ ٱلْأَغْنِيَآءِ مِنكُمْ ۚ وَمَآ ءَاتَىٰكُمُ ٱلرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَىٰكُمْ عَنْهُ فَٱنتَهُوا۟ ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَدِيدُ ٱلْعِقَابِ

Ma afa'a Allahu 'ala rasulihi min ahli al-qura falillahi wa lir-rasuli wa lidhi al-qurba wal-yatama wal-masakini wabni as-sabili kay la yakuna dulatan bayna al-aghniya'i minkum, wa ma atakumu ar-rasulu fakhudhuhu wa ma nahakum 'anhu fantahu, wattaqu Allah, inna Allaha shadidu al-'iqab

Whatever Allah restored to His Messenger from the people of the towns belongs to Allah and to the Messenger, and to near relatives, orphans, the poor, and the traveler, so that it does not become a thing circulating between the wealthy among you. Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatever he forbids you, stop. And fear Allah. Allah is severe in penalty.

﴾٨﴿ لِلْفُقَرَآءِ ٱلْمُهَٰجِرِينَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُخْرِجُوا۟ مِن دِيَٰرِهِمْ وَأَمْوَٰلِهِمْ يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلًۭا مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرِضْوَٰنًۭا وَيَنصُرُونَ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥٓ ۚ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلصَّٰدِقُونَ

Lil-fuqara'i al-muhajirina alladhina ukhriju min diyarihim wa amwalihim yabtaghuna fadlan mina Allahi wa ridwanan wa yansuruna Allaha wa rasulah, ula'ika humu as-sadiqun

It is for the poor emigrants who were driven from their homes and their property, seeking bounty from Allah and His pleasure, and supporting Allah and His Messenger. Those are the truthful.

﴾٩﴿ وَٱلَّذِينَ تَبَوَّءُو ٱلدَّارَ وَٱلْإِيمَٰنَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ يُحِبُّونَ مَنْ هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَا يَجِدُونَ فِى صُدُورِهِمْ حَاجَةًۭ مِّمَّآ أُوتُوا۟ وَيُؤْثِرُونَ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَلَوْ كَانَ بِهِمْ خَصَاصَةٌۭ ۚ وَمَن يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِۦ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ

Walladhina tabawwa'u ad-dara wal-imana min qablihim yuhibbuna man hajara ilayhim wa la yajiduna fi sudurihim hajatan mimma utu wa yu'thiruna 'ala anfusihim wa law kana bihim khasasah, wa man yuqa shuhha nafsihi fa-ula'ika humu al-muflihun

And those who settled in the home and in faith before them love whoever emigrates to them, and find in their chests no want for what the others were given. They give preference over themselves, even though poverty is upon them. Whoever is protected from the miserliness of his own soul, those are the successful.

﴾١٠﴿ وَٱلَّذِينَ جَآءُو مِنۢ بَعْدِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا ٱغْفِرْ لَنَا وَلِإِخْوَٰنِنَا ٱلَّذِينَ سَبَقُونَا بِٱلْإِيمَٰنِ وَلَا تَجْعَلْ فِى قُلُوبِنَا غِلًّۭا لِّلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ رَبَّنَآ إِنَّكَ رَءُوفٌۭ رَّحِيمٌ

Walladhina ja'u min ba'dihim yaquluna Rabbana ighfir lana wa li-ikhwanina alladhina sabaquna bil-imani wa la taj'al fi qulubina ghillan lilladhina amanu, Rabbana innaka Ra'ufun Rahim

And those who came after them say: our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith, and do not place in our hearts resentment toward those who believed. Our Lord, You are Kind, Merciful.

﴾١١﴿ ۞ أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ نَافَقُوا۟ يَقُولُونَ لِإِخْوَٰنِهِمُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ لَئِنْ أُخْرِجْتُمْ لَنَخْرُجَنَّ مَعَكُمْ وَلَا نُطِيعُ فِيكُمْ أَحَدًا أَبَدًۭا وَإِن قُوتِلْتُمْ لَنَنصُرَنَّكُمْ وَٱللَّهُ يَشْهَدُ إِنَّهُمْ لَكَٰذِبُونَ

Alam tara ila alladhina nafaqu yaquluna li-ikhwanihimu alladhina kafaru min ahli al-kitabi la'in ukhrijtum lanakhrujanna ma'akum wa la nuti'u fikum ahadan abadan wa in qutiltum lanansurannakum, wallahu yashhadu innahum lakadhibun

Have you not seen those who practice hypocrisy, saying to their brothers who disbelieved among the People of the Book: if you are driven out we will leave with you, and we will never obey anyone against you, and if you are fought we will help you. Allah bears witness that they are liars.

﴾١٢﴿ لَئِنْ أُخْرِجُوا۟ لَا يَخْرُجُونَ مَعَهُمْ وَلَئِن قُوتِلُوا۟ لَا يَنصُرُونَهُمْ وَلَئِن نَّصَرُوهُمْ لَيُوَلُّنَّ ٱلْأَدْبَٰرَ ثُمَّ لَا يُنصَرُونَ

La'in ukhriju la yakhrujuna ma'ahum wa la'in qutilu la yansurunahum wa la'in nasaruhum layuwallunna al-adbara thumma la yunsarun

If they are driven out, they will not leave with them. If they are fought, they will not help them. And if they did help them, they would turn their backs, then they would not be helped.

﴾١٣﴿ لَأَنتُمْ أَشَدُّ رَهْبَةًۭ فِى صُدُورِهِم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌۭ لَّا يَفْقَهُونَ

La-antum ashaddu rahbatan fi sudurihim mina Allah, dhalika bi-annahum qawmun la yafqahun

You are a greater terror in their chests than Allah. That is because they are a people who do not understand.

﴾١٤﴿ لَا يُقَٰتِلُونَكُمْ جَمِيعًا إِلَّا فِى قُرًۭى مُّحَصَّنَةٍ أَوْ مِن وَرَآءِ جُدُرٍۭ ۚ بَأْسُهُم بَيْنَهُمْ شَدِيدٌۭ ۚ تَحْسَبُهُمْ جَمِيعًۭا وَقُلُوبُهُمْ شَتَّىٰ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌۭ لَّا يَعْقِلُونَ

La yuqatilunakum jami'an illa fi quran muhassanatin aw min wara'i judur, ba'suhum baynahum shadid, tahsabuhum jami'an wa qulubuhum shatta, dhalika bi-annahum qawmun la ya'qilun

They will not fight you together except in fortified towns or from behind walls. Their violence among themselves is severe. You think them united, and their hearts are divided. That is because they are a people who do not reason.

﴾١٥﴿ كَمَثَلِ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ قَرِيبًۭا ۖ ذَاقُوا۟ وَبَالَ أَمْرِهِمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۭ

Kamathali alladhina min qablihim qariban dhaqu wabala amrihim wa lahum 'adhabun alim

Like those shortly before them, who tasted the consequence of their affair, and for them is a painful punishment.

﴾١٦﴿ كَمَثَلِ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنِ إِذْ قَالَ لِلْإِنسَٰنِ ٱكْفُرْ فَلَمَّا كَفَرَ قَالَ إِنِّى بَرِىٓءٌۭ مِّنكَ إِنِّىٓ أَخَافُ ٱللَّهَ رَبَّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ

Kamathali ash-shaytani idh qala lil-insani ukfur, falamma kafara qala inni bari'un minka inni akhafu Allaha Rabba al-'alamin

Like Shaytan, when he says to man: disbelieve. Then when he disbelieves, he says: I am free of you, I fear Allah, Lord of the worlds.

﴾١٧﴿ فَكَانَ عَٰقِبَتَهُمَآ أَنَّهُمَا فِى ٱلنَّارِ خَٰلِدَيْنِ فِيهَا ۚ وَذَٰلِكَ جَزَٰٓؤُا۟ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ

Fakana 'aqibatahuma annahuma fi an-nari khalidayni fiha, wa dhalika jaza'u az-zalimin

So the end of them both is that they are in the Fire, remaining in it. That is the recompense of the wrongdoers.

﴾١٨﴿ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌۭ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍۢ ۖ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ خَبِيرٌۢ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ

Ya ayyuha alladhina amanu ittaqu Allaha waltanzur nafsun ma qaddamat li-ghad, wattaqu Allah, inna Allaha khabirun bima ta'malun

You who believe, fear Allah, and let every soul look at what it has sent ahead for tomorrow. And fear Allah. Allah is Aware of what you do.

﴾١٩﴿ وَلَا تَكُونُوا۟ كَٱلَّذِينَ نَسُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ فَأَنسَىٰهُمْ أَنفُسَهُمْ ۚ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْفَٰسِقُونَ

Wa la takunu ka-alladhina nasu Allaha fa-ansahum anfusahum, ula'ika humu al-fasiqun

Do not be like those who forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves. Those are the ones who defied Him.

﴾٢٠﴿ لَا يَسْتَوِىٓ أَصْحَٰبُ ٱلنَّارِ وَأَصْحَٰبُ ٱلْجَنَّةِ ۚ أَصْحَٰبُ ٱلْجَنَّةِ هُمُ ٱلْفَآئِزُونَ

La yastawi ashabu an-nari wa ashabu al-jannah, ashabu al-jannati humu al-fa'izun

The companions of the Fire and the companions of the Garden are not equal. The companions of the Garden are the ones who attain.

﴾٢١﴿ لَوْ أَنزَلْنَا هَٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانَ عَلَىٰ جَبَلٍۢ لَّرَأَيْتَهُۥ خَٰشِعًۭا مُّتَصَدِّعًۭا مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَتِلْكَ ٱلْأَمْثَٰلُ نَضْرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

Law anzalna hadha al-Qur'ana 'ala jabalin lara'aytahu khashi'an mutasaddi'an min khashyati Allah, wa tilka al-amthalu nadribuha lin-nasi la'allahum yatafakkarun

Had We sent this Quran down upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and split apart from the fear of Allah. We present these comparisons to people so that they may reflect.

﴾٢٢﴿ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ عَٰلِمُ ٱلْغَيْبِ وَٱلشَّهَٰدَةِ ۖ هُوَ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ

Huwa Allahu alladhi la ilaha illa huwa, 'alimu al-ghaybi wash-shahadah, huwa ar-Rahmanu ar-Rahim

He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed. He is the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

﴾٢٣﴿ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْمَلِكُ ٱلْقُدُّوسُ ٱلسَّلَٰمُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُ ٱلْمُهَيْمِنُ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْجَبَّارُ ٱلْمُتَكَبِّرُ ۚ سُبْحَٰنَ ٱللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ

Huwa Allahu alladhi la ilaha illa huwa, al-Maliku al-Quddusu as-Salamu al-Mu'minu al-Muhayminu al-'Azizu al-Jabbaru al-Mutakabbir, subhana Allahi 'amma yushrikun

He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, the King, the Pure, the Source of Peace, the Granter of Security, the Overseer, the Exalted in Might, the Compeller, the Superior. Glory to Allah above what they associate with Him.

﴾٢٤﴿ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْخَٰلِقُ ٱلْبَارِئُ ٱلْمُصَوِّرُ ۖ لَهُ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ

Huwa Allahu al-Khaliqu al-Bari'u al-Musawwir, lahu al-asma'u al-husna, yusabbihu lahu ma fi as-samawati wal-ard, wa huwa al-'Azizu al-Hakim

He is Allah, the Creator, the Originator, the Fashioner. To Him belong the most beautiful names. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him, and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.

The Tafsir · The Breakdown

What The Surah Means

Overview

Surah Al-Hashr is twenty-four verses, chapter 59, Madani. It takes its name from the exile of a tribe that had broken its treaty in Medina, and Ibn Kathir records that Ibn Abbas used to call it Surah an-Nadir. It opens on a military and political event and closes on the names of Allah, and the distance between those two things is the surah's argument.

In between sits the single most important economic verse in the Quran for anyone who accumulates, and the highest description of generosity in the Quran, given to men who had almost nothing. Verse 18 then compresses the whole of accountability into one instruction that takes four seconds to read.

It begins with a tribe leaving their homes and ends with the names of God. Everything between those two points is about what you do with what you were handed.

Verses 2–6 · Take a Lesson

They thought their fortresses would protect them from Allah, and it came upon them from where they did not expect.

Wa zannu annahum mani'atuhum husunuhum mina Allah: they assumed their fortifications would hold. The word for their assumption is the word for a confident opinion, not a doubt.

Fa-atahumu Allahu min haythu lam yahtasibu: it came to them from where they had not accounted for it. The same phrasing as istidraj in Al-Qalam, pointed the other way. What arrives from the unwatched direction can be provision or it can be the end of it.

Yukhribuna buyutahum bi-aydihim wa aydi al-mu'minin: they were destroying their own houses with their own hands, and with the hands of the believers. They dismantled their homes so nothing of value would be left behind, which means the loss was executed by both sides at once.

Fa'tabiru ya uli al-absar: so take a lesson, O people of vision. The command is to extract the transferable principle from someone else's collapse. The Arabic root is the root of crossing over, moving from the event to what it teaches.

The fortresses held nothing. They took their own houses apart, and the instruction issued to everyone watching was to learn from it.

Verse 7 · So It Does Not Circulate Among the Rich

So that it does not become a thing circulating between the wealthy among you.

The verse governs fay', wealth that came without fighting, and directs it to Allah and His Messenger, near relatives, orphans, the poor, and the traveler.

Kay la yakuna dulatan bayna al-aghniya'i minkum: so that it does not become something that circulates only among your rich. This is a stated legislative purpose, which the Quran gives rarely. The distribution is designed against concentration.

Read that clause as what it is. A society where wealth cycles between the same people is named as the outcome the law exists to prevent, and the correction is structural rather than charitable.

Wa ma atakumu ar-rasulu fakhudhuhu wa ma nahakum 'anhu fantahu: whatever the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatever he forbids you, stop. The verse arrives in the middle of a financial ruling, which is where obedience is hardest and therefore where it is stated.

Wattaqu Allah, inna Allaha shadidu al-'iqab: and fear Allah. The sentence that closes a passage about money is a warning about severity.

The law names its own purpose. Wealth is not to cycle among the same hands, and the instruction after it is to take what you are given and stop where you are stopped.

Verses 8–10 · They Preferred Others Over Themselves

They give preference over themselves, even though they are in need.

The passage first names the emigrants who were driven from their homes and property, and then turns to the Ansar, who had the houses.

Wa yu'thiruna 'ala anfusihim wa law kana bihim khasasah: they prefer others above themselves even while poverty is on them. Not giving from surplus. Giving from need, to a man who arrived with nothing, and choosing him over yourself while you are also hungry.

Al-Bukhari records the incident of the man who fed his guest by putting out the lamp and pretending to eat while his family went hungry, and the verse that came down about it.

Wa man yuqa shuhha nafsihi fa-ula'ika humu al-muflihun: whoever is protected from the miserliness of his own soul, those are the successful. Shuhh is not stinginess with money alone. It is the grasping instinct itself, which extends to time, credit, and attention. The verse describes it as something you are protected from, not something you defeat.

Then verse 10 widens it forward. Those who came after them say: our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith, and do not place in our hearts resentment toward those who believed. The generation that arrives later is taught to pray for the one that went before, and specifically against holding a grudge about it.

They chose the stranger over themselves while hungry. Then the next generation was taught to ask forgiveness for them and to hold no resentment.

Verses 16–20 · Look at What You Sent Ahead

Let every soul look at what it has sent ahead for tomorrow.

Kamathali ash-shaytani idh qala lil-insani ukfur, falamma kafara qala inni bari'un mink: like Shaytan when he says to a man, disbelieve, and when he does, says I am free of you. The withdrawal comes after the commitment, which is the shape of every arrangement that requires you to burn something first.

Ya ayyuha alladhina amanu ittaqu Allaha waltanzur nafsun ma qaddamat li-ghad: fear Allah, and let every soul look at what it has sent ahead for tomorrow. Ghad, tomorrow, is used for the Day itself, which brings the accounting close enough to plan around.

Wa la takunu ka-alladhina nasu Allaha fa-ansahum anfusahum: do not be like those who forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves. Forgetting Him is presented as the cause and losing track of your own self is the consequence. Not punishment applied later, mechanism applied immediately.

La yastawi ashabu an-nari wa ashabu al-jannah: the two are not equal. The surah refuses the flattening that says everyone is doing their best.

Look at what you sent ahead for tomorrow. Forget Him and the thing you lose track of is yourself.

Verses 21–24 · The Mountain and the Names

If We had sent this Quran down upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and split apart from fear of Allah.

Law anzalna hadha al-Qur'ana 'ala jabalin la-ra'aytahu khashi'an mutasaddi'an min khashyati Allah: the mountain would have broken. The verse is aimed at readers who handle the same text daily without a change in their pulse, and the comparison is deliberate.

Wa tilka al-amthalu nadribuha lin-nasi la'allahum yatafakkarun: We present these comparisons so that they may reflect. Tafakkur is named as the intended response.

Then the three closing verses run the names. He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful. He is the King, the Pure, the Source of Peace, the Granter of Security, the Overseer, the Exalted in Might, the Compeller, the Superior. He is the Creator, the Originator, the Fashioner. To Him belong the most beautiful names. Everything in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him, and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.

The surah opened with a treaty broken and a tribe exiled, and it closes by naming who was running it. Al-Bukhari and al-Tirmidhi carry narrations on the merit of reciting the end of Al-Hashr, and Ibn Kathir gathers them in his commentary on these verses.

The mountain would have split. The surah ends by naming the One the mountain would have split for.

Structural Summary

Twenty-Four Verses. Not Among the Rich Alone.

Verses 1–6The ExileFortresses that held nothing, houses dismantled by their own hands, and an order to take the lesson.

Verse 7The PurposeWealth distributed so it does not circulate among the rich alone. Take what he gives, stop where he stops.

Verses 8–9The PreferenceMen in need who chose others over themselves, and protection from the miserliness of the soul.

Verse 10The Later OnesThose who came after ask forgiveness for those who preceded, and ask for no resentment in the heart.

Verses 11–17The HypocritesPromises that do not survive contact, and Shaytan who says disbelieve and then says I am free of you.

Verses 18–20The InstructionLook at what you sent ahead for tomorrow. Forget Him and you will be made to forget yourself.

Verses 21–24The NamesA mountain would have split. He is the King, the Pure, the Source of Peace, the Creator, the Fashioner.

Why This Surah Is For You

Verse 7 states its own legislative purpose, which the Quran almost never does. Wealth is not to become a thing that circulates among the rich. Every structure you build should be checked against that clause. Not whether you give, but whether the money you move ever leaves the circle it is already in.

Verse 9 sets the ceiling on generosity and it was met by men who were hungry. Preferring someone else while you are in need is a different act from writing a check out of surplus, and the verse names it as the highest form. Then it names what stops most men, shuhh, the grasping of the soul, and calls it a thing you are protected from rather than a thing you conquer.

Verse 18 is the whole of accountability in one instruction. Look at what you have sent ahead for tomorrow. It is not a call to feel guilty. It is an audit instruction, and it is the same principle Al-Haqqah put in the mouth of the man holding his record in his right hand.

Verse 19 explains something men feel and cannot name. They forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves. The disorientation, the not knowing what you actually want, the drift into a life you did not choose. The surah gives the cause and it is not a psychological one.

The Practice · Daily Integration

Twenty-Four Verses. Send It Ahead.

Run verse 7 against your own giving once a quarter. Trace where the money lands and ask whether it left the circle it was already circulating in.

Practice verse 9 once in a season where you are stretched. Give when it costs you something, to someone who cannot return it.

Use verse 18 as a weekly close. One question. What did I send ahead for tomorrow this week.

Recite the closing three verses, verses 22 to 24, morning and evening. Ibn Kathir gathers the narrations on their merit in his commentary.

A mountain would have split under it. Look at what you sent ahead, and remember who is holding the names.

آمِين

Prepared with discipline · Ameen

Verse-By-Verse · Test Yourself

The Quiz

Two questions per verse. Translation and a key Arabic word. Walk through it slow. The goal is comprehension, not speed.

Verse 11 / 48

The Verse

سَبَّحَ لِلَّهِ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ

Sabbaha lillahi ma fi as-samawati wa ma fi al-ard

What does this verse say?