Tafsir of Ar-Rum 30:45

Surah Ar-Rum (The Romans): Verse 45

Original Text Context: This section elaborates on the reward promised to the believers for their good deeds.

Translation & Exegesis:

He mentioned the increase in detail regarding what the believer prepares for his good action and righteous deed: the reward with which God will recompense him.

If a king is great and generous, and he promises one of his servants that he will reward him, what reaches him from the king will be more than he expects. Then He confirmed this by saying: {from His Bounty} (Min Faḍlih). This means: "I am the one giving the reward, so how great must the recompense be?" Furthermore, "I will not reward you based on justice (Adl), but rather I will reward you from My Bounty (Faḍl)," which increases hope.

Then the Almighty said: {Indeed, He does not love the disbelievers} (Innahu lā yuḥibbu al-kāfirīn). He warned them with a threat, but did not detail it, as we have previously explained. Even though, according to the verified view, this generalization is like a detailed explanation, because God’s lack of love for them is the ultimate form of torment.

Understand this by analogy: If someone tells a lover that he has promised him dirhams and dinars, how great will his joy be? But if he is told, "He said, 'I love so-and-so,'" how much greater will his delight be?

Subtlety Regarding Order (Ta'khīr and Taqdīm):

There is a subtle point here: When God attributed disbelief and belief to the servant, He mentioned the disbeliever first: {Whoever disbelieves, upon him is his disbelief} (Ar-Rum: 44). However, when He attributed the recompense to Himself, He mentioned the believer first: {To Him is your return, all of you}. Then the Almighty said: {Indeed, He does not love the disbelievers}.

This ordering is because the statement {Whoever disbelieves} is, in reality, meant to deter the disbeliever from disbelief through warning and threatening him against his action. Conversely, {Whoever does righteous deeds} is meant to encourage the believer. The prohibition acts like a warning (I'wād), and encouragement acts as confirmation (Taqrīr). The warning (I'wād) is prioritized by the Wise and Merciful.

However, when He mentioned the reward, He began with the good deed (Iḥsān) to show His Generosity and Mercy.

If someone asks: "This only holds true if the mention is always in this order, but it is not so, as God often mentions the believer's faith before the disbeliever's disbelief, and punishment before reward."

We reply: If God grants us success, we will explain what necessitated the specific ordering used. We maintain that every word mentioned in the Qur'an is for a meaning, and every arrangement found is for a wisdom. What is mentioned contrary to this [specific pattern] is not on the same level as what was revealed in the Qur'an.

Let us clarify this with an example: Consider the Almighty’s saying: {On that Day, they will be separated. Then as for those who believed and did righteous deeds, they will be in a garden, delighted} (Ar-Rum: 14-15). Here, the believer is mentioned before the disbeliever.

Yet, here [in the preceding verses], a similar meaning was mentioned in the statement: {On that Day, they will be split apart} (Ar-Rum: 43), meaning separated, and here the disbeliever is mentioned before the believer.

We say that there [where the disbeliever was mentioned first] it was because God had previously said: {And on the Day the Hour appears, the criminals will despair} (Ar-Rum: 12). Thus, the disbeliever and his despair were mentioned. Then the Almighty said: {And on the Day the Hour appears, on that Day they will be separated} (Ar-Rum: 14). It was necessary to mention the believer alone to clarify the manner of separation through the combination of {the criminals will despair} and the description of the believer: {in a garden, delighted}. But God Almighty repeated the mention of the criminals again for detailed explanation, saying: {And as for those who disbelieved} [in the subsequent verse].

Verse 45:

{And among His Signs is that He sends the winds as bearers of good tidings, and that He may let you taste His Mercy, and that the ships may sail by His command, and that you may seek of His Bounty, and that you may be grateful.}