Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:79
ﱔ ﱕ ﱖ ﱗ ﱘ ﱙ ﱚ ﱛ ﱜ ﱝ ﱞ
They used not to prevent one another from wrongdoing that they did. How wretched was that which they were doing.
Tafsir of Al-Ma'idah 5:79
Tafsir
Mafatih al-Ghayb
Verse range: 5:79
Al-Ma'idah (5:79)
They used not to forbid one another what they committed.
Then, the Almighty explained the sin and transgression by saying:
{They used not to forbid one another what they committed.}
The term al-Tanāhī (forbidding/ceasing) here has two meanings:
- The meaning held by the majority: It is the reciprocal form of al-Nahy (forbidding). This means they did not forbid one another. It is narrated from Ibn Mas'ud, from the Prophet (peace be upon him), that he said: "Whoever is pleased with the actions of a people is one of them, and whoever increases the numbers of a people is one of them."
- The second meaning of al-Tanāhī: It means cessation or stopping. It is said, Intahā ‘an al-amr (He ceased from the matter) and Tanāhā ‘anhu (He refrained from it).
Then the Almighty said:
{Evil indeed is that which they used to do.}
The Lām in {Labi’sa} is the Lām of the oath (Qasam), as if He were saying: "I swear, evil indeed is that which they used to do," referring to committing sins and aggression, and abandoning enjoining good and forbidding evil.
If one asks: Ceasing from something after it has been done is not possible, so why did He blame them for it?
We reply that the answer comes from several aspects:
- The meaning intended is that they did not forbid one another from repeating the evil they had committed.
- The meaning intended is that they did not forbid one another from an evil they intended to do and for which they had prepared the instruments and tools.
- The meaning intended is that they did not forbid one another from persisting in an evil they had committed.
{You see many of them befriending those who disbelieve. Evil indeed is that which their souls have put forth for them, that the wrath of Allah is upon them, and in the punishment they will abide eternally.}