Tafsir of Ibraheem 14:7

Surah Ibrahim (14:7)

{وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِي لَشَدِيدٌ}

It is to be noted that the phrase {وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ} (And when your Lord proclaimed) is part of what Moses said to his people. It is as if it were said: "And when Moses said to his people: 'Remember the favor of Allah upon you, and remember when your Lord proclaimed...'"

The meaning of {تَأَذَّنَ} (ta'adhdhana) is {أَذَّنَ} (adhana - proclaimed). Similar pairs exist, such as tawa‘‘ada and aw‘‘ada (warned), and tafaddala and afdala (favored). In the form tafa‘‘ala, there is an added nuance not present in af‘‘ala. It is as if it means: "And when your Lord proclaimed a clear proclamation (إِيذَانًا بَلِيغًا) by which doubts are dispelled and ambiguities removed."

The meaning is: "And when your Lord proclaimed..." Then He said: {لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ} (If you are grateful).

Al-Razi notes that {تَأَذَّنَ} is used here in the sense of qāla (said) because it is a form of speech. In the recitation of Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him), it is read as {وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ} (And when your Lord said).

The objective of this verse is to clarify that whoever occupies himself with thanking Allah for His blessings, Allah will increase him in those blessings.

Here, it is necessary to understand:

1. The reality of gratitude (Shukr).
2. The nature of the increased blessings resulting from engaging in gratitude.

The Reality of Gratitude (Shukr): Gratitude is the acknowledgment of the Benefactor's favor, coupled with glorifying Him and resolving the self to maintain this path.

The Increase in Blessings: The increase in blessings is of two types:

1. Spiritual Blessings (النعم الروحانية): The grateful person is constantly engaged in contemplating the types of Allah's favors and the varieties of His grace and generosity. When someone bestows much favor upon a person, that person will inevitably love him. Thus, occupying the self with contemplating the types of Allah's grace and favor necessitates the strengthening of the servant's love for Allah Almighty. The station of Love (المحبة) is the highest station of the Truthful ones (الصديقين). Furthermore, the servant may ascend from this state until his love for the Bestower (Allah) becomes so engrossing that it distracts him from even noticing the blessing itself. Undoubtedly, the source of all happiness and the sign of all good things is the love and knowledge of Allah. Therefore, it is established that engaging in gratitude necessitates an increase in spiritual blessings.

2. Physical Blessings (النعم الجسمانية): Observation (الاستقراء) indicates that the more a person is occupied with thanking Allah for His blessings, the more Allah's blessings reach him. In summary, gratitude is well-received because it is an engagement in knowing the Worshipped One. Any station that moves the servant from the realm of delusion (عالم الغرور) to the realm of sanctity (عالم القدس) is a noble, high station that necessitates happiness in both religion and the world.

Regarding the second part: {وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِي لَشَدِيدٌ} (But if you are ungrateful, then indeed, My punishment is severe).

Here, الكفران (ingratitude/disbelief in favor) is intended, not الكفر (absolute disbelief in the Divine Essence). This is because the kufr mentioned in contrast to shukr is nothing but kufrān (ingratitude).

The reason for this is that ingratitude for a blessing only occurs due to ignorance that the blessing is, in fact, a blessing from Allah. Whoever is ignorant of the blessing is ignorant of Allah, and ignorance of Allah is one of the greatest forms of punishment and torment.

Furthermore, there is another subtle point: Everything other than the One, the Unique Truth (الواحد الأحد الحق), is possible in its essence (ممكن لذاته). Since its existence depends on the Necessary-by-Itself (الواجب لذاته), and its non-existence depends on the removal by the Necessary-by-Itself, then everything besides the Truth is obedient and submissive to the Truth.

If all contingent beings are submissive to Allah, then any heart in which the light of knowledge of the Truth and the majesty of His Glory is present will naturally command submission from everything else, because the presence of that light in the heart subjugates everything else by nature. Conversely, if the heart is devoid of that light, it becomes weak and base, and everything else subjugates it and looks down upon it.

Through this experiential path (الطريق الذوقي), one comes to know that engaging in the knowledge of the Truth opens the doors of goodness in this world and the Hereafter. However, turning away from the knowledge of the Truth by focusing solely on physical matters opens the doors of calamities and fears in this world and the Hereafter.

[Continuation of the narrative context, mentioning the subsequent verses]:

{وَقَالَ مُوسَىٰ إِن تَكْفُرُوا أَنتُمْ وَمَن فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَنِيٌّ حَمِيدٌ * أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُم نَبَأُ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ قَوْمِ نُوحٍ وَعَادٍ وَثَمُودَ وَالَّذِينَ مِن بَعْدِهِمْ لَا يَعْلَمُهُمْ إِلَّا اللَّهُ جَاءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُم بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ فَرَدُّوا أَيْدِيَهُمْ فِي أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَقَالُوا إِنَّا كَفَرْنَا بِمَا أُرْسِلْتُم بِهِ وَإِنَّا لَفِي شَكٍّ مِّمَّا تَدْعُونَنَا إِلَيْهِ مُرِيبٍ} (7)