“Except the people of Yunus”: Tafsir al-Sa’di

In surah Yunus, Allah informs His slaves of the following point:

فَلَوْلَا كَانَتْ قَرْ‌يَةٌ آمَنَتْ فَنَفَعَهَا إِيمَانُهَا إِلَّا قَوْمَ يُونُسَ لَمَّا آمَنُوا كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُمْ عَذَابَ الْخِزْيِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَمَتَّعْنَاهُمْ إِلَىٰ حِينٍ

“Then has there not been one city that believed so its faith benefited it except the people of Yunus? When they believed, We removed from them the punishment of disgrace in worldly life and gave them enjoyment for a time.” [10:98]

Imam al-Sa’di, in his book of tafsir, wrote the following on this ayah:

يقول تعالى‏:‏ ‏{‏فَلَوْلَا كَانَتْ قَرْيَةٌ‏}‏ من قرى المكذبين ‏{‏آمَنَتْ‏}‏ حين رأت العذاب ‏{‏فَنَفَعَهَا إِيمَانُهَا‏}‏ أي‏:‏ لم يكن منهم أحد انتفع بإيمانه، حين رأى العذاب، كما قال تعالى عن فرعون ما تقدم قريبًا، لما قال‏:‏ ‏{‏آمَنْتُ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا الَّذِي آمَنَتْ بِهِ بَنُو إِسْرَائِيلَ وَأَنَا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ‏}‏ فقيل له ‏{‏آلْآنَ وَقَدْ عَصَيْتَ قَبْلُ وَكُنْتَ مِنَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ‏}‏

Allah’s statement, “Then has there not been one city” from the cities of the deniers “that believed” when it saw the punishment “so its faith benefited it” – meaning: there was never even one of them that benefited from their eemaan (faith) when they saw the punishment, just as He said concerning Fir’awn when the punishment approached him and he said, “I believe that there is no deity except that in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am of the Muslims” [10:90], and then it was said to him, “What! now! and indeed you disobeyed before and you were of the mischief-makers” [10:91].

وكما قال تعالى‏:‏ ‏{‏فَلَمَّا رَأَوْا بَأْسَنَا قَالُوا آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ وَكَفَرْنَا بِمَا كُنَّا بِهِ مُشْرِكِينَ فَلَمْ يَكُ يَنْفَعُهُمْ إِيمَانُهُمْ لَمَّا رَأَوْا بَأْسَنَا سُنَّةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي قَدْ خَلَتْ فِي عِبَادِهِ‏}‏

And similarly He said, “And when they saw Our punishment, they said, ‘We believe in Allah alone and disbelieve in that which we used to associate with Him.‘ But never did their faith benefit them once they saw Our punishment. [It is] the established way of Allah which has preceded among His servants.” [40:84-84]

وقال تعالى‏:‏ ‏{‏حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ رَبِّ ارْجِعُونِ لَعَلِّي أَعْمَلُ صَالِحًا فِيمَا تَرَكْتُ كَلَّا‏}‏

And He said, “Until, when death comes to one of them (those who join partners with Allah), he says: ‘My Lord! Send me back, so that I may do good in that which I have left behind!‘”

والحكمة في هذا ظاهرة، فإن الإيمان الاضطراري، ليس بإيمان حقيقة، ولو صرف عنه العذاب والأمر الذي اضطره إلى الإيمان، لرجع إلى الكفران‏.‏

And the wisdom in this is apparent, for if eemaan is compelled, then it is not true eemaan. And if the punishment and the affair which compelled him to eemaan were to turn away from him, then he would return to disbelief.

Moosaa, Muhammad & Adam – the Messengers to whom Allah spoke: Tafsir al-Shinqitee

In the latter part of surah al-Baqarah, Allah informs us:

تِلْكَ الرُّ‌سُلُ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ ۘ مِّنْهُم مَّن كَلَّمَ اللَّـهُ ۖ وَرَ‌فَعَ بَعْضَهُمْ دَرَ‌جَاتٍ

Those Messengers! We preferred some to others. Among them were those to whom Allah spoke, and He raised some of them in degree [2:253]

Sheikh Muhammad al-Ameen al-Shinqitee commented at length on the contents of this ayah in his book of tafsir. What follows is the first of three sections in which he discussed the messengers to whom He spoke:

قوله تعالى : تلك الرسل فضلنا بعضهم على بعض منهم من كلم الله ورفع بعضهم درجات ، لم يبين هنا هذا الذي كلمه الله منهم وقد بين أن منهم موسى عليه وعلى نبينا الصلاة والسلام بقوله : وكلم الله موسى تكليما [ 4 \ 164 ] ، وقوله : إني اصطفيتك على الناس برسالاتي وبكلامي [ 7 \ 144 ] . ـ

Allah’s statement:

تِلْكَ الرُّ‌سُلُ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ ۘ مِّنْهُم مَّن كَلَّمَ اللَّـهُ ۖ وَرَ‌فَعَ بَعْضَهُمْ دَرَ‌جَاتٍ

Those Messengers! We preferred some to others. Among them were those to whom Allah spoke, and He raised some of them in degree [2:253]

Allah does not clarify here those of them to whom He spoke, but He did explain that among them was Moosaa (peace and blessings upon him and upon our prophet) by means of His statement:

وَكَلَّمَ اللَّـهُ مُوسَىٰ تَكْلِيمًا

And Allah spoke to Moses with [direct] speech. [4:164]

And His statement [to Moosaa]:

إِنِّي اصْطَفَيْتُكَ عَلَى النَّاسِ بِرِ‌سَالَاتِي وَبِكَلَامِي

I have chosen you over the people with My messages and My words [to you]. [7:144]

قال ابن كثير : منهم من كلم الله ، يعني موسى ومحمدا صلى الله عليهما وسلم ، وكذلك آدم كما ورد في الحديث المروي في ” صحيح ابن حبان ” عن أبي ذر رضي الله عنه . ـ

Ibn Kathir said:

Khutbah regarding ‘Aashooraa’: Imam al-Sa’di

In a collection of more than 400 sermons of sheikh ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Naasir al-Sa’di, the following khutbah was one of several related to the month of Muharram:

خطبة ثانية لشهر الله المحرم

The second Khutbah regarding the month of Allah, al-Muharram

الحمد لله القاهر فوق عباده عزا وسلطانا ، القادر على مراده فما اتّخذ في خلق السماوات والارض أعوانا ، الناصر من نصر دينه فحاشاه أن يرهقه خذلانا ، العظيم الشان وناهيك بشأن الربوبية شانا ، خضعت لعزته رقاب الجبابرة إذعانا ، ودلت على وحدانيته شواهد الاعتبار عيانا ، قسم الخلق كما شاء شمائل وأيمانا ، فمنتحل إيمانا ومنتحل كفرانا ، قسمة كتبت فكتمت غير أنّ للسعادة والشقاوة عنوانا ، فطوبى للذين : < إِذَا ذُكِرَ‌ اللَّـهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُهُ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا > [الانفال 2] ، وبعدا للذين إذا ذُكّروا بآيات ربهم خرّوا عليها صمّا وعميانا .  ـ

All praise belongs to Allah, the One who is irresistibly powerful over His slaves with might and authority; the One who is fully capable of enacting His will for He did not take any assistance in the creation of the heavens and the earth; the One who aids those who aid His deen so He saves these ones from being overcome by failure. How magnificent is His greatness, not to mention the greatness of His Lordship! The necks of the tyrants humble themselves to His might in submissiveness, and the testimony of witnessed examples proves His right to be singled out. He divided the creation as He willed into those of the right and those of the left; some of them ascribed to eemaan and some ascribed to disbelief. This division was ordained and then concealed except for the fact that ultimate happiness and sorrow have signs and indications, so glad tidings to those who:

إِذَا ذُكِرَ‌ اللَّـهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُهُ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا

 when Allah is mentioned, their hearts become fearful, and when His verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith [8:2]

and ill tidings for those who, when the ayaat of their Lord are mentioned to them, they suddenly become deaf and blind.

أحمده سبحانه سرا وإعلانا . وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له شهادة أرجو بها يوم القيامة أمانا . وأشهد أن محمدا عبده ورسوله أكمل الخلق عقلا وأرجحهم ميزانا . ـ

I praise Him – exalted is He – privately and openly. And I testify that there is no deity worthy of worship in truth except Allah alone with no partners – a testimony through which I hope for safety on the Day of Judgement. And I testify that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger – the most complete of the creation in terms of intellect and the most just in judgement.

اللهم صلّ على عبدك ورسولك محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه الذين أيّد الله بهم دينه فكانوا على ذلك أنصارا وأعوانا ، وسلّم تسليما . ـ

O Allah, bestow peace and blessings upon Your slave and Messenger Muhammad and upon his family and his companions – those through whom Allah aided His religion and as such they were helpers and aids.

أما بعد : ـ فيا أيها الناس ؛ اتّقوا الله تعالى تقية من خاف وحذر واستقام ، والتزموا ما وجب عليكم من حقوق الإيمان والإسلام ، وأحبوه تعالى لما غذاكم به من جزيل الفضل والإنعام . ـ

To proceed: O People! Exercise taqwa of Allah – the taqwa of one who fears Him, keeps his guard up and is upright -, and adhere to what is obligatory upon you of the duties of al-eemaan and al-islaam, and love Him due to that with which He has nurtured you of abundant favors and blessings.

واعلموا رحمكم الله أنكم استقبلتم عاما جديدا ، وشهرا محرّما أكيدا ، خصّ باليوم العاشر ، بالأجر الجزيل الوافر . ـ

And know – may Allah have mercy on you all – that you are facing a new year and an emphasized sacred month – especially its tenth day – of abundant and plentiful rewards.

فعن ابن عباس قال : ( قدم النبي ﷺ المدينة فوجد اليهود صياما يوم عاشوراء ، فقال ‏”‏ ما هذا اليوم الذي تصومونه ؟ ‏”‏‏.‏ قالوا ” هذا يوم نجى الله فيه موسى وقومه ، وأهلك فيه فرعون وقومه ، فصامه موسى‏ شكرا لله ، ونحن نصومه ” .‏ قال ﷺ ‏”‏ نحن أَحقُّ وأولى بموسى منكم ‏”‏‏.‏ فصامه وأمر بصيامه.‏ )  [أخرجه البخاري (3315) ومسلم (2714)] ـ

For Ibn ‘Abbas reported:

I will mislead them all, except Your chosen servants: Tafsir al-Shinqitee

Allah informs us in surah al-Hijr of the story of Iblees, and that after Allah had granted his request for a period of respite, Iblees said:

قَالَ رَ‌بِّ بِمَا أَغْوَيْتَنِي لَأُزَيِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ وَلَأُغْوِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ * إِلَّا عِبَادَكَ مِنْهُمُ الْمُخْلَصِينَ

[Iblees] said, “My Lord, because You have put me in error, I will surely make [disobedience] attractive to them on earth, and I will mislead them all * Except, among them, Your chosen servants.” [15:39-40]

Commenting on the latter ayah in his book of tafsir, sheikh Muhammad al-Ameen al-Shinqitee wrote:

ذكر تعالى في هذه الآية الكريمة أن الشيطان لما أوعد بأنه سيضل أكثر بني آدم ، استثنى من ذلك عباد الله المخلصين ، معترفا بأنه لا قدرة له على إضلالهم ، ونظيره قوله في ص أيضا قال فبعزتك لأغوينهم أجمعين إلا عبادك منهم المخلصين [ 38 \ 82 – 83 ] وعباد الله المخلصون هم المرادون بالاستثناء في قوله في بني إسرائيل لأحتنكن ذريته إلا قليلا [ 17 \ 62 ] وقوله في سبأ ولقد صدق عليهم إبليس ظنه فاتبعوه إلا فريقا من المؤمنين [ 34 \ 20 ] وهم الذين احترز منهم بقوله ولا تجد أكثرهم شاكرين [ 7 \ 17 ] . ـ

In this noble ayah Allah mentioned that when the shaytaan threatened that he would misguide most of the children of Adam he made an exception therein for the chosen servants of Allah, recognizing that he had no ability to misguide them. And the counterpart of that is his statement in surah Saad; he also said:

فَبِعِزَّتِكَ لَأُغْوِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ * إِلَّا عِبَادَكَ مِنْهُمُ الْمُخْلَصِينَ

By Your might, I will surely mislead them all * Except, among them, Your chosen servants [38:82-83]

And the chosen servants of Allah are the ones intended by the exception which comes in his statement in surah Banu Israa’eel:

Exerting Oneself and Galvanizing Others – the Best of Conditions: Imam al-Sa’di

In surah al-Nisaa’, Allah commands the Prophet – and by extension his ummah – with the words:

فَقَاتِلْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّـهِ لَا تُكَلَّفُ إِلَّا نَفْسَكَ ۚ وَحَرِّ‌ضِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۖ عَسَى اللَّـهُ أَن يَكُفَّ بَأْسَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُ‌وا ۚ وَاللَّـهُ أَشَدُّ بَأْسًا وَأَشَدُّ تَنكِيلًا

So fight in the Cause of Allah; you are not held responsible except for yourself. And galvanize the believers; perhaps Allah will restrain the might of those who disbelieve. And Allah is stronger in might and sterner in punishment [4:84]

Commenting on this ayah in his famous book of tafsir, Imam ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Naasir al-Sa’di wrote:

هذه الحالة أفضل أحوال العبد، أن يجتهد في نفسه على امتثال أمر الله من الجهاد وغيره، ويحرض غيره عليه، وقد يعدم في العبد الأمران أو أحدهما فلهذا قال لرسوله: { فَقَاتِلْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ لَا تُكَلَّفُ إِلَّا نَفْسَكَ } أي: ليس لك قدرة على غير نفسك، فلن تكلف بفعل غيرك. ـ

This condition is the best of conditions of the slave – that he exerts himself to comply with the command of Allah in the form of jihaad and in other forms than that, and he also incites others to do the same. But if perhaps the slave is found wanting in one of these areas or both of them, then for this reason Allah said to His messenger, “So fight in the Cause of Allah; you are not held responsible except for yourself” – meaning, you do not have power over anyone other than your own self, so you will never be charged with the actions of anyone else.

Khutbah at the Close of the Year: Imam al-Sa’di

In a collection of more than 400 of his sermons, Imam ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Naasir al-Sa’di wrote the following khutbah related to the end of the (Hijri calendar) year, the passing of time and the believer’s response to these phenomena.

خطبة في ختام العام

Khutbah at the Close of the Year

الحمد لله منشئ الأيام والشهور ، ومفني الأعوام والدهور ، وميسر الميسور ومقدر المقدور ، يعلم خائنة الأعين وما تخفي الصدور . ـ

All praise belongs to Allah, the Creator of the days and months and the One who causes the years and time to pass away, the One who facilitates what is made easy and who apportions out what is decreed to happen. He knows the betrayals of the eyes and what the hearts conceal.

وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله الغفور الشكور . وأشهد أن محمدا عبده ورسوله أفضل آمر وأجل مأمور . ـ

I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah; the Forgiving, the Appreciative. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger; the best of those who command and the loftiest of those who were commanded.

اللهم صل وسلم وبارك على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه وضاعف اللهم لهم الأجور . ـ

O Allah, grant Your praise, blessings and salutations to our prophet, Muhammad, and to his family and his companions, and O Allah multiply the rewards for them!

أما بعد : أيها الناس ؛ اتقوا الله تعالى حق تقواه ، وتوبوا إليه وأطيعوه تدركوا رضاه . ـ

To proceed: O people, have taqwa of Allah as He deserves to be feared, repent to Him and obey Him that you might attain His pleasure!

عباد الله : تصرمت الأعوام عاما بعد عام ، وأنتم في غفلتكم ساهون نيام ، أما تشاهدون مواقع المنايا ؟ وحلول الآفات والرزايا ! وكيف فاز وأفلح المتقون ؟ وكيف خاب وخسر المبطلون والمفرطون ؟ ـ

Slaves of Allah! The years are being cut off one after the other while you in your heedlessness are neglectful as if sleeping! Haven’t you witnessed the decreed events, or the oncoming of vices and harms? How the muttaqoon have succeeded and prospered? Or how the wasteful ones and those upon falsehood regretted and lost?

A Note on the Different Qiraa’aat: Sheikh bin Baaz

Sheikh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez bin Baaz, the former grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, was asked:

 يقولون أن تعدد القراءات في القرآن معناه اختلاف في القرآن حيث يؤدي إلى معان ثانية، مثل آية الإسراء وَنُخْرِجُ لَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ كِتَابًا يَلْقَاهُ مَنْشُورًا عند يلقاه منشورا. ـ

Some say that the plurality of the qiraa’aat (recitations) for the Qur’an – that their meanings differ in the Qur’an such that it results in a second meaning, such as the ayah of surah al-Israa’:

وَنُخْرِ‌جُ لَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ كِتَابًا يَلْقَاهُ مَنشُورً‌ا

and We will produce for him on the Day of Resurrection a record which he will encounter spread open. [17:13]

as it relates to “which he will encounter spread open.”

So Sheikh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez bin Baaz replied:

 ثبت عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أن القرآن نزل من عند الله على سبعة أحرف أي لغات من لغات العرب ولهجاتها تيسيرا لتلاوته عليهم، ورحمة من الله بهم، ونقل ذلك نقلا متواترا، وصدق ذلك واقع القرآن، وما وجد فيه من القراءات فهي كلها تنزيل من حكيم حميد. ـ

It is confirmed on the authority of the Prophet (ﷺ) that the Qur’an was revealed from Allah in seven ahruf – i.e. seven tongues from the Arab tongues and their dialects – in order to facilitate its recitation for them and as a mercy from Allah towards them. This has been transmitted through a mutawaatir (mutually well-attested) transmission, and the reality of the Qur’an attests to that. And what one finds among the different qiraa’aat is that all of them are revelation from al-Hakeem al-Hameed (The Wise, the Praise-Worthy, i.e. Allah).

ليس تعددها من تحريف أو تبديل ولا لبس في معانيها ولا تناقض في مقاصدها ولا اضطراب، بل بعضها يصدق بعضا ويبين مغزاه، وقد تتنوع معاني بعض القراءات فيفيد كل منها حكما يحقق مقصدا من مقاصد الشرع، ومصلحة من مصالح العباد، مع اتساق معانيها وائتلاف مراسيها، وانتظامها في وحدة تشريع محكمة كاملة لا تعارض بينها ولا تضارب فيها. ـ

The plurality of qiraa’aat is not due to distortion or substitution or concealing their meanings nor is it a deficiency in their messages, nor are there contradictions. Rather, they affirm one another and clarify the meaning. The meanings of some of the qiraa’aat may be varied, so each one of them provides a ruling which realizes an objective from among the divinely legislated objectives and a benefit from among the beneficial matters to the slaves. All this while at the same time their meanings are in harmony, their firmly established principles are in agreement and their ordering is according to a single precise and perfect divine legislation. There is no contradiction among them nor is there conflict between them.

فمن ذلك ما ورد من القراءات في الآية التي ذكرها السائل وهي قوله تعالى: وَكُلَّ إِنْسَانٍ أَلْزَمْنَاهُ طَائِرَهُ فِي عُنُقِهِ وَنُخْرِجُ لَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ كِتَابًا يَلْقَاهُ مَنْشُورًا ، فقد قرئ وَنُخْرِجُ بضم النون وكسر الراء، وقرئ يَلْقَاهُ بفتح الياء والقاف مخففة، والمعنى: ونحن نخرج للإنسان يوم القيامة كتابا هو صحيفة عمله، يصل إليه حال كونه مفتوحا فيأخذه بيمينه إن كان سعيدا أو بشماله إن كان شقيا، وقرئ يُلَقَّاه مَنْشُورًا بضم الياء وتشديد القاف. والمعنى: ونحن نخرج للإنسان يوم القيامة كتابا – هو صحيفة عمله – يعطى الإنسان ذلك الكتاب حال كونه مفتوحا، فمعنى كل من القراءتين يتفق في النهاية مع الآخر، فإن من يلقى إليه الكتاب فقد وصل إليه، ومن وصل إليه الكتاب فقد ألقى إليه. ـ

And an example of that is what is reported of the qiraa’aat of the ayah which the questioner mentioned which is Allah’s statement:

Using truthful speech for false purposes: Imam al-Shinqitee

In his book addressing and resolving apparent contradictions and conflicts in the Qur’an, Imam Muhammad al-Ameen al-Shinqitee brought the following discussion in his chapter on surah al-An’aam:

قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: سَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا لَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا أَشْرَكْنَا وَلَا آبَاؤُنَا وَلَا حَرَّمْنَا مِنْ شَيْءٍ الْآيَةَ. ـ

Allah’s statement:

سَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ أَشْرَ‌كُوا لَوْ شَاءَ اللَّـهُ مَا أَشْرَ‌كْنَا وَلَا آبَاؤُنَا وَلَا حَرَّ‌مْنَا مِن شَيْءٍ

Those who associated with Allah will say, “If Allah had willed, we would not have associated [anything] and neither would our fathers, nor would we have prohibited anything.” [6:148]

until the end of the ayah.

هَذَا الْكَلَامُ الَّذِي قَالُوهُ بِالنَّظَرِ إِلَى ذَاتِهِ كَلَامُ صِدْقٍ لَا شَكَّ فِيهِ لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ لَوْ شَاءَ لَمْ يُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا، وَلَمْ يُحَرِّمُوا شَيْئًا مِمَّا لَمْ يُحَرِّمْهُ كَالْبَحَائِرِ وَالسَّوَائِبِ. ـ

This speech which they said – when one looks at its essence – is true speech about which there is no doubt, for were Allah to will then they would not associate anything with Him and they would not prohibit anything which He did not make prohibited, such as a bahirah or a sa’ibah [see 5:103].

وَقَدْ قَالَ تَعَالَى: وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا أَشْرَكُوا [6 \ 107] وَقَالَ: وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَآتَيْنَا كُلَّ نَفْسٍ هُدَاهَا [32 \ 13] ، وَقَالَ: وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَجَمَعَهُمْ عَلَى الْهُدَى [6 \ 35] . ـ

And Allah has said:

Four things for you and Three things against you

Imam al-Qurtubi mentioned the following statement of the taabi’ and scholar of al-Shaam Makḥool^[1] (d. 112 or 133AH) in his tafsir of surah al-Nisaa’ (4:147):

وقال مكحول: أربع من كن فيه كن له، وثلاث من كن فيه كن عليه، فالأربع اللاتي له: فالشكر والايمان والدعاء والاستغفار، قال الله تعالى: {ما يَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ بِعَذابِكُمْ إِنْ شَكَرْتُمْ وَآمَنْتُمْ} وقال الله تعالى: {وَما كانَ اللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَأَنْتَ فِيهِمْ وَما كانَ اللَّهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَهُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ} وقال تعالى: {قُلْ ما يَعْبَؤُا بِكُمْ رَبِّي لَوْلا دُعاؤُكُمْ}. .ـ

There are four things that whoever has them has them in his favor, and there are three things that whoever has them has them against him.

The four things which are in his favor are: 1) gratitude, 2) eemaan, 3) supplication and 4) seeking forgiveness.

Allah said (1 & 2):

 مَا يَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ بِعَذَابِكُمْ إِنْ شَكَرْتُمْ وَآمَنْتُمْ

Why should Allah punish you if you have thanked (Him) and have believed in Him? [4:147].

And Allah said (4):

وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَأَنْتَ فِيهِمْ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَهُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ

and Allah would not punish them while they seek forgiveness [8:33].

And He said (3):