Surah At-Taghabun

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 · At-Taghabun

﴾١﴿ يُسَبِّحُ لِلَّهِ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ لَهُ ٱلْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ ٱلْحَمْدُ ۖ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ قَدِيرٌ

Yusabbihu lillahi ma fi as-samawati wa ma fi al-ard, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-hamd, wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in qadir

Everything in the heavens and everything on the earth glorifies Allah. To Him belongs the dominion and to Him belongs the praise, and He is capable of all things.

﴾٢﴿ هُوَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكُمْ فَمِنكُمْ كَافِرٌۭ وَمِنكُم مُّؤْمِنٌۭ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ

Huwa alladhi khalaqakum faminkum kafirun wa minkum mu'min, wallahu bima ta'maluna basir

He is the One who created you, and among you is a disbeliever and among you is a believer, and Allah sees what you do.

﴾٣﴿ خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَصَوَّرَكُمْ فَأَحْسَنَ صُوَرَكُمْ ۖ وَإِلَيْهِ ٱلْمَصِيرُ

Khalaqa as-samawati wal-arda bil-haqqi wa sawwarakum fa-ahsana suwarakum wa ilayhi al-masir

He created the heavens and the earth in truth, and He formed you and perfected your forms, and to Him is the destination.

﴾٤﴿ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تُسِرُّونَ وَمَا تُعْلِنُونَ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌۢ بِذَاتِ ٱلصُّدُورِ

Ya'lamu ma fi as-samawati wal-ardi wa ya'lamu ma tusirruna wa ma tu'linun, wallahu 'alimun bidhati as-sudur

He knows what is in the heavens and the earth, and He knows what you conceal and what you declare, and Allah knows what is inside the chests.

﴾٥﴿ أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَبَؤُا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِن قَبْلُ فَذَاقُوا۟ وَبَالَ أَمْرِهِمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۭ

Alam ya'tikum naba'u alladhina kafaru min qablu fadhaqu wabala amrihim wa lahum 'adhabun alim

Has the news of those who disbelieved before you not reached you? They tasted the consequence of their affair, and for them is a painful punishment.

﴾٦﴿ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُۥ كَانَت تَّأْتِيهِمْ رُسُلُهُم بِٱلْبَيِّنَٰتِ فَقَالُوٓا۟ أَبَشَرٌۭ يَهْدُونَنَا فَكَفَرُوا۟ وَتَوَلَّوا۟ ۚ وَّٱسْتَغْنَى ٱللَّهُ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ غَنِىٌّ حَمِيدٌۭ

Dhalika bi-annahu kanat ta'tihim rusuluhum bil-bayyinati faqalu abasharun yahdunana fakafaru wa tawallaw, wastaghna Allah, wallahu ghaniyyun hamid

That is because their messengers kept coming to them with clear proofs and they said: shall human beings guide us? So they denied and turned away, and Allah had no need of them. Allah is Free of need, Praiseworthy.

﴾٧﴿ زَعَمَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ أَن لَّن يُبْعَثُوا۟ ۚ قُلْ بَلَىٰ وَرَبِّى لَتُبْعَثُنَّ ثُمَّ لَتُنَبَّؤُنَّ بِمَا عَمِلْتُمْ ۚ وَذَٰلِكَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ يَسِيرٌۭ

Za'ama alladhina kafaru an lan yub'athu, qul bala wa Rabbi latub'athunna thumma latunabba'unna bima 'amiltum, wa dhalika 'ala Allahi yasir

Those who disbelieved claim they will not be raised. Say: yes, by my Lord, you will be raised, and then you will be informed of what you did. That is easy for Allah.

﴾٨﴿ فَـَٔامِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ وَٱلنُّورِ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنزَلْنَا ۚ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌۭ

Fa-aminu billahi wa rasulihi wan-nuri alladhi anzalna, wallahu bima ta'maluna khabir

So believe in Allah, in His Messenger, and in the light We have sent down. Allah is aware of what you do.

﴾٩﴿ يَوْمَ يَجْمَعُكُمْ لِيَوْمِ ٱلْجَمْعِ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمُ ٱلتَّغَابُنِ ۗ وَمَن يُؤْمِنۢ بِٱللَّهِ وَيَعْمَلْ صَٰلِحًۭا يُكَفِّرْ عَنْهُ سَيِّـَٔاتِهِۦ وَيُدْخِلْهُ جَنَّٰتٍۢ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَٰرُ خَٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَدًۭا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ

Yawma yajma'ukum liyawmi al-jam'i dhalika yawmu at-taghabun, wa man yu'min billahi wa ya'mal salihan yukaffir 'anhu sayyi'atihi wa yudkhilhu jannatin tajri min tahtiha al-anharu khalidina fiha abada, dhalika al-fawzu al-'azim

The Day He gathers you for the Day of Gathering, that is the Day of Mutual Loss and Gain. Whoever believes in Allah and does right, He will cover his bad deeds and admit him into gardens with rivers running beneath them, remaining there forever. That is the great triumph.

﴾١٠﴿ وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ وَكَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَآ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ أَصْحَٰبُ ٱلنَّارِ خَٰلِدِينَ فِيهَا ۖ وَبِئْسَ ٱلْمَصِيرُ

Walladhina kafaru wa kadhdhabu bi-ayatina ula'ika ashabu an-nari khalidina fiha, wa bi'sa al-masir

Those who disbelieved and denied Our signs are the companions of the Fire, remaining there, and wretched is that destination.

﴾١١﴿ مَآ أَصَابَ مِن مُّصِيبَةٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَمَن يُؤْمِنۢ بِٱللَّهِ يَهْدِ قَلْبَهُۥ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌۭ

Ma asaba min musibatin illa bi-idhni Allah, wa man yu'min billahi yahdi qalbah, wallahu bikulli shay'in 'alim

No disaster strikes except by permission of Allah. Whoever believes in Allah, He guides his heart, and Allah knows all things.

﴾١٢﴿ وَأَطِيعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا۟ ٱلرَّسُولَ ۚ فَإِن تَوَلَّيْتُمْ فَإِنَّمَا عَلَىٰ رَسُولِنَا ٱلْبَلَٰغُ ٱلْمُبِينُ

Wa ati'u Allaha wa ati'u ar-rasul, fa-in tawallaytum fa-innama 'ala rasulina al-balaghu al-mubin

Obey Allah and obey the Messenger. If you turn away, the duty of Our Messenger is only clear delivery.

﴾١٣﴿ ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ وَعَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ

Allahu la ilaha illa huwa, wa 'ala Allahi falyatawakkali al-mu'minun

Allah, there is no god but Him. So let the believers rely on Allah.

﴾١٤﴿ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِنَّ مِنْ أَزْوَٰجِكُمْ وَأَوْلَٰدِكُمْ عَدُوًّۭا لَّكُمْ فَٱحْذَرُوهُمْ ۚ وَإِن تَعْفُوا۟ وَتَصْفَحُوا۟ وَتَغْفِرُوا۟ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌ

Ya ayyuha alladhina amanu inna min azwajikum wa awladikum 'aduwwan lakum fahdharuhum, wa in ta'fu wa tasfahu wa taghfiru fa-inna Allaha ghafurun rahim

You who believe, among your spouses and your children are enemies to you, so beware of them. If you pardon, overlook, and forgive, then Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

﴾١٥﴿ إِنَّمَآ أَمْوَٰلُكُمْ وَأَوْلَٰدُكُمْ فِتْنَةٌۭ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ عِندَهُۥٓ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌۭ

Innama amwalukum wa awladukum fitnah, wallahu 'indahu ajrun 'azim

Your wealth and your children are only a trial, and with Allah is a great reward.

﴾١٦﴿ فَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا ٱسْتَطَعْتُمْ وَٱسْمَعُوا۟ وَأَطِيعُوا۟ وَأَنفِقُوا۟ خَيْرًۭا لِّأَنفُسِكُمْ ۗ وَمَن يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِۦ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ

Fattaqu Allaha ma istata'tum wasma'u wa ati'u wa anfiqu khayran li-anfusikum, wa man yuqa shuhha nafsihi fa-ula'ika humu al-muflihun

So fear Allah as much as you are able, and listen, and obey, and spend, better for yourselves. Whoever is protected from the miserliness of his own soul, those are the successful.

﴾١٧﴿ إِن تُقْرِضُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًۭا يُضَٰعِفْهُ لَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ شَكُورٌ حَلِيمٌ

In tuqridu Allaha qardan hasanan yuda'ifhu lakum wa yaghfir lakum, wallahu shakurun halim

If you lend Allah a goodly loan, He will multiply it for you and forgive you. Allah is Appreciative, Forbearing.

﴾١٨﴿ عَٰلِمُ ٱلْغَيْبِ وَٱلشَّهَٰدَةِ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ

'Alimu al-ghaybi wash-shahadati al-'azizu al-hakim

Knower of the unseen and the seen, the Exalted in Might, the Wise.

The Tafsir · The Breakdown

What The Surah Means

Overview

Surah At-Taghabun is eighteen verses, chapter 64, Madani. Its name comes from a commercial word. Ghabn is what happens in a transaction when one party gets the better of the other and the loser only realizes it afterward. Taghabun is that, applied to everyone at once, on the Day the trade is finally settled.

The surah then does something the rest of Juz 28 has been building toward. It names the hardest obligations in the Quran and immediately attaches a mercy clause to them, in verse 16, which is the verse most people need and few can quote.

Ghabn is the moment you discover you took the worse end of the deal. The Day is named after that moment.

Verses 1–4 · Two Kinds, One Design

He created you, and among you is a disbeliever and among you is a believer, and Allah sees what you do.

Huwa alladhi khalaqakum faminkum kafirun wa minkum mu'min: the split is stated as a fact about the created population, immediately after the statement that He created them. The Quran does not present this as a surprise or a failure of the design.

Khalaqa as-samawati wal-arda bil-haqq: created in truth, which is the standing Quranic claim that the world is not arbitrary.

Wa sawwarakum fa-ahsana suwarakum: and He formed you and perfected your forms. Then, wa ilayhi al-masir, and to Him is the destination. The verse gives you your face and your endpoint in one line.

Ya'lamu ma fi as-samawati wal-ardi wa ya'lamu ma tusirruna wa ma tu'linun: He knows what you conceal and what you declare. The same pairing Al-Mujadila used, and the same purpose. Private and public are one category to Him.

Two kinds of people, one designer, perfected forms, and one destination.

Verses 7–10 · The Day It Is Settled

That is the Day of Gathering, the Day of Mutual Loss and Gain.

Za'ama alladhina kafaru an lan yub'athu: those who disbelieved claim they will not be resurrected. Qul bala wa Rabbi latub'athunna thumma latunabba'unna bima 'amiltum: say, yes, by my Lord, you will be resurrected and then you will be informed of what you did.

Yawma yajma'ukum liyawmi al-jam'i dhalika yawmu at-taghabun: the Day He gathers you for the Day of Gathering, that is the Day of Taghabun. The commercial word is placed at the center of the eschatology on purpose.

Every exchange you ever made, every hour you traded for something, is being repriced with the true values visible. Some men discover they sold cheap. That is ghabn.

Wa man yu'min billahi wa ya'mal salihan yukaffir 'anhu sayyi'atih wa yudkhilhu jannat: belief and right action, then the covering of bad deeds and the entry. The remedy is stated in the same passage as the loss.

The Day is named after the moment the true prices become visible.

Verses 11–13 · Nothing Lands Without Permission

No disaster strikes except by permission of Allah. And whoever believes in Allah, He guides his heart.

Ma asaba min musibatin illa bi-idhni Allah: nothing that strikes you arrived without permission. The verse does not explain the disaster. It locates the authority over it.

Wa man yu'min billahi yahdi qalbah: and whoever believes in Allah, He guides his heart. Ibn Kathir carries the reading from the early scholars that this describes the man who, when calamity strikes, knows it was decreed and submits to it, and is given guidance in his heart as the result.

That is the mechanism, and it is worth naming precisely. The guidance is not offered instead of the calamity. It is given to the man who takes the calamity correctly.

Wa ati'u Allaha wa ati'u ar-rasul, fa in tawallaytum fa-innama 'ala rasulina al-balaghu al-mubin: obey, and if you turn away, the Messenger's duty is only clear delivery. The same reduction to delivery as Al-Jinn.

It did not land without permission. The heart is guided in the man who receives it that way.

Verses 14–18 · The Mercy Clause

Fear Allah as much as you are able.

Inna min azwajikum wa awladikum 'aduwwan lakum fahdharuhum: among your spouses and your children are enemies to you, so beware of them. The word is not softened. And then immediately, wa in ta'fu wa tasfahu wa taghfiru fa-inna Allaha ghafurun rahim. If you pardon, overlook, and forgive, then Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. The warning and the pardon are given in one verse, and the pardon is the instruction.

Innama amwalukum wa awladukum fitnah: your wealth and your children are only a trial. Wa Allahu 'indahu ajrun 'azim, and with Allah is a great reward. The same two items Al-Munafiqun named as distractions are named here as the test itself.

Fattaqu Allaha ma istata'tum: so fear Allah as much as you are able. This is the mercy clause of the Quran. The obligation is scaled to capacity, stated plainly, with no apology, and it sits directly after the hardest material in the surah.

Wa isma'u wa ati'u wa anfiqu khayran li-anfusikum, wa man yuqa shuhha nafsihi fa-ula'ika humu al-muflihun: listen, obey, and spend, better for yourselves. And whoever is protected from the miserliness of his own soul, those are the successful. The same line as Al-Hashr 9, repeated within one juz.

In tuqridu Allaha qardan hasanan yuda'ifhu lakum wa yaghfir lakum: if you lend Allah a goodly loan, He will multiply it for you and forgive you. The loan language again, as in Al-Muzzammil 20.

As much as you are able. The bar is set at your capacity, and the closing instruction is to lend.

Structural Summary

Eighteen Verses. As Much As You Are Able.

Verses 1–4The DesignTwo kinds of people from one Creator, forms perfected, and everything concealed or declared known.

Verses 5–6The PatternThe news of those before, who refused to be led by human messengers.

Verses 7–10The SettlingThe Day of Gathering is the Day of Mutual Loss and Gain, when the true prices become visible.

Verses 11–13The PermissionNothing strikes without His permission, and the one who believes has his heart guided.

Verses 14–15The HouseholdEnemies can be among your own, and the instruction is to pardon. Wealth and children are the trial itself.

Verse 16The CapacityFear Allah as much as you are able. Listen, obey, spend, and be protected from the miserliness of your soul.

Verses 17–18The LoanLend Allah a goodly loan and He multiplies it, Appreciative and Forbearing.

Why This Surah Is For You

Verse 16 is the verse to hold on the days the standard feels impossible. Fattaqu Allaha ma istata'tum. As much as you are able. The Quran sets the bar at capacity, and it does so immediately after telling you that your household can contain an enemy and that your wealth and children are a trial.

Verse 9 gives the accounting a commercial name, and it is the right one for a man who trades. Taghabun is the discovery that you took the worse end. Everything you have exchanged hours for is on that ledger at its real price.

Verse 11 answers what to do when something lands badly. It arrived by permission, and the heart of the man who takes it that way is guided. Not comforted. Guided. The calamity becomes an instrument of direction rather than a detour.

Verse 14 is unusually direct about family, and then it does not leave you with the warning. Pardon, overlook, forgive. The verse tells you to be alert and then tells you what to do with what you find, and the two instructions belong together.

The Practice · Daily Integration

Eighteen Verses. Price It Honestly.

Reprice one trade this week using verse 9. What did you actually exchange, and what did you get, at real values.

When something lands badly, say verse 11 before you say anything else. It arrived by permission, and the guidance is attached to receiving it that way.

Use verse 16 as the floor rather than the ceiling. As much as you are able is a real standard, and it forbids both the excuse and the despair.

Treat giving as the loan verse 17 calls it. Lent, multiplied, and forgiven.

The Day is named after the moment the real prices are shown. Fear Him as much as you are able, and lend while the lending counts.

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 / 36

The Verse

يُسَبِّحُ لِلَّهِ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ

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

How does the surah open?