Tafsir of An-Najm 53:34

Surah An-Najm 53:34

ﲵ ﲶ ﲷ

And gave a little and [then] refrained?

Tafsir

Ruh al-Ma'ani

Verse range: 53:34

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"And gave a little and stopped."

(And gave a little), meaning a small thing or a small giving, (and stopped), meaning he ceased. It is derived from the saying, "He dug and reached kudyah (hard earth)," meaning he reached a hardness in the earth and was unable to continue digging.

Mujahid and Ibn Zayd said: It was revealed concerning al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah. He had heard the recitation of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), sat down, and listened to his exhortation, becoming close to Islam; the Messenger of Allah (may Allah be exalted) had hope for him. Then, a man from the polytheists reproached him, saying: "Do you abandon the religion of your forefathers? Return to your religion and remain firm upon it, and I will bear for you everything you fear regarding the Hereafter, provided that you give me such and such amount of wealth." Al-Walid agreed to this, turned back from the Islam he had intended, and strayed far astray. He gave some of the wealth to that man, then withheld the rest and became stingy.

Al-Dahhak said: It refers to al-Nadr ibn al-Harith; he gave a fifth to a poor man from the Emigrants so that he would apostatize from his religion, and he guaranteed to bear the sin of his return. Al-Suddi said: It was revealed concerning al-As ibn Wa’il al-Sahmi, who used to agree with the Prophet (may Allah be exalted) on certain matters. Muhammad ibn Ka’b said: It refers to Abu Jahl, who said, "By Allah, Muhammad only commands noble character."

The first opinion is the most famous and most appropriate for what follows in His, the Glorified's, speech: (Does he possess knowledge of the Unseen...) and so on.

As for what is in al-Kashshaf—that it was revealed concerning Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him), who used to give his wealth for good causes, and Abdullah ibn Sa’d ibn Abi Sarh said to him, "You are nearing a point where nothing will be left for you," to which Uthman replied, "I have sins and errors, and I seek by what I do the pleasure of Allah, the Exalted, and I hope for His pardon," and Abdullah said, "Give me your camel with its saddle, and I will bear all your sins for you," so he gave it to him, called witnesses to it, and then withheld his giving—this is false, as Ibn Atiyyah stated, and has no basis. Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) is far above such a thing.

(Have you then seen...) here, according to what is in al-Bahr, means "Inform me." Its first object is the relative pronoun (alladhi), and the second is the interrogative sentence.