Tafsir of Surah Al Baqarah

Allah says, the matter is not as you have wished and hoped it to be. Rather, whoever does an evil deed and abides purposefully in his error, coming on the Day of Resurrection with no good deeds, only evil deeds, then he will be among the people of the Fire.

Also, Abu Hurayrah, Abu Wa'il, Ata, and Al-Hasan said that,

وَأَحَاطَتْ بِهِ خَطِيـيَتُهُ

(And his sin has surrounded him) means,

"His Shirk (polytheism) has surrounded him."

Also, Al-Amash reported from Abu Razin that Ar-Rabi bin Khuthaym said,

وَأَحَاطَتْ بِهِ خَطِيـيَتُهُ

(And his sin has surrounded him),

"Whoever dies before repenting from his wrongs."

As-Suddi and Abu Razin said similarly.

Abu Al-Aliyah, Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and Ar-Rabi bin Anas said that,

it refers to major sins.

All of these statements carry similar meanings, and Allah knows best.

When Small Sins gather, They bring about Destruction

Here we should mention the Hadith that Imam Ahmad recorded, in which Abdullah bin Mas`ud said that the Messenger of Allah said,

إِيَّاكُمْ وَمُحَقَّرَاتِ الذُّنُوبِ فَإِنَّهُنَّ يَجْتَمِعْنَ عَلَى الرَّجُلِ حَتّى يُهْلِكْنَه

Beware of the belittled sins, because they gather on a person until they destroy him.

He then said that the Messenger of Allah gave them an example,

كَمَثَلٍ قَوْمٍ نَزَلُوا بِأَرْضِ فَلَةٍ فَحَضَرَ صَنِيعُ الْقَوْمِ فَجَعَلَ الرَّجُلُ يَنْطَلِقُ فَيَجِيءُ بِالْعُودِ وَالرَّجُلُ يَجِيءُ بِالْعُودِ حَتّى جَمَعُوا سَوَادًا وَأَجَّجُوا نَارًا فَأَنْضَجُوا مَا قَذَفُوا فِيهَا

This is the example of people who set up camp on a flat land, and then their servants came. One of them collected some wood and another man collected some wood until they collected a great deal. They then started a fire and cooked what they put on it.

Allah says,