Tafsir of Al-Lail 92:12

Tafsir of Surah Al-Layl (The Night), Verse 12

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Exegesis:

Having informed them that their endeavors lead to different outcomes—ease for the doer of good and hardship for the doer of evil—He then informed them that He has fulfilled His obligation concerning clarification, indication, encouragement, warning, instruction, and guidance, saying: {Indeed, upon Us is the guidance}.

This means that, according to wisdom, when Allah created mankind for worship, it was incumbent upon Him to clarify the ways of devotion and explain what constitutes obedience and what constitutes disobedience. This is because He created them only to benefit them, show mercy to them, and expose them to eternal bliss. Thus, He has done what was required of Him by wisdom.

The Mu'tazila used this verse to support their doctrine in several issues:

1. That Allah permits excuses, and He does not burden a responsible person beyond their capacity (wus' wa taqah). Therefore, it is established that Allah does not command what is impossible.
2. That the preposition 'ala (upon) implies obligation, indicating that something is indeed due to the servant from Allah.
3. That if the servant were not independently capable of initiating action (creation of the act), then the setting forth of proofs (revelation) would be pointless.

The answers of our scholars (Ahl al-Sunnah) to these points are well-known.

Al-Wahidi mentioned another interpretation, quoting Al-Farra': The meaning is: "Indeed, upon Us is guidance and misguidance." He then omitted misguidance, similar to His saying: {And garments to protect you from heat} (An-Nahl: 81), which protect from both heat and cold. This aligns with the statement of Ibn Abbas, narrated by 'Ata': "It means: I guide My allies toward obedience to Me, and I prevent My enemies from performing My obedience." This interpretation implies the meaning of misguidance.

The Mu'tazila refuted this interpretation by citing His saying: {And upon Allah is the exposition of the straight path, but among them is that which swerves} (An-Nahl: 9). This verse clarifies that the exposition of the straight path is upon Allah, but as for the deviation (swerving), it is clear that it is neither upon Allah nor from Him. Know that a comprehensive discussion of this matter has already preceded in the exegesis of that verse.

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