Surah At Tur Tafseer

The Offspring of Righteous Believers will be elevated to Their Grades in Paradise

Allah the Exalted says,

وَالَّذِينَ امَنُوا وَاتَّبَعَتْهُمْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُم بِإِيمَانٍ أَلْحَقْنَا بِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ

وَمَا أَلَتْنَاهُم مِّنْ عَمَلِهِم مِّن شَيْءٍ

And those who believe and whose offspring follow them in faith, -- to them shall We join their offspring, and We shall not decrease the reward of their deeds in anything.

In this Ayah, Allah the Exalted affirms His favor, generosity, graciousness, compassion and beneficence towards His creation. When the offspring of the righteous believers imitate their parents regarding faith, Allah will elevate the latter to the ranks of the former, even though the latter did not perform deeds as goodly as their parents. Allah will comfort the eyes of the parents by seeing their offspring elevated to their grades. Surely, Allah will gather them together in the best manner, and He will not decrease the reward or the grades of those higher in rank for joining them together, hence His statement,

أَلْحَقْنَا بِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ

وَمَا أَلَتْنَاهُم مِّنْ عَمَلِهِم مِّن شَيْءٍ

to them shall We join their offspring, and We shall not decrease the reward of their deeds in anything.

Ath-Thawri reported that Ibn Abbas said,

"Verily, Allah elevates the ranks of the believers' offspring to rank of their parents, even though the latter have not performed as well as the former, so that the eyes of the parents are comforted."

Ibn Abbas then recited this Ayah,

وَالَّذِينَ امَنُوا وَاتَّبَعَتْهُمْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُم بِإِيمَانٍ أَلْحَقْنَا بِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ

وَمَا أَلَتْنَاهُم مِّنْ عَمَلِهِم مِّن شَيْءٍ

And those who believe and whose offspring follow them in faith, -- to them shall We join their offspring, and We shall not decrease the reward of their deeds in anything.

Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim recorded this statement from Sufyan Ath-Thawri from Ibn Abbas.

Ibn Abi Hatim also recorded that Ibn Abbas commented on Allah's statement,

وَالَّذِينَ امَنُوا وَاتَّبَعَتْهُمْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُم بِإِيمَانٍ أَلْحَقْنَا بِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ

(And those who believe and whose offspring follow them in faith, -- to them shall We join their offspring), saying,

"They are the offspring of the believers who died on the faith. If the ranks of their parents are higher than their ranks, they will be joined with their parents. No part of the reward their parents received for their good deeds will be reduced for them."

Abdullah, son of Imam Ahmad, recorded that Ali said,

"Khadijah asked the Prophet about two of her children who died during the time of Jahiliyyah, and the Messenger of Allah said;

هُمَا فِي النَّار

(They are both in the Fire).

When he saw sadness on her face, he said,

لَوْ رَأَيْتِ مَكَانَهُمَا لَاَبْغَضْتِهِمَا

If you saw their dwelling place, you would hate them.

She said, `O Allah's Messenger! What about my children with you.'

He said,

فِي الْجَنَّة

(They are in Paradise).

The Messenger of Allah said,

إِنَّ الْمُوْمِنِينَ وَأَوْلَادَهُمْ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَإِنَّ الْمُشْرِكِينَ وَأَوْلَادَهُمْ فِي النَّار

Verily, the believers and their offspring will dwell in Paradise, while the idolators and their offspring will dwell in the Hellfire.

The Prophet then recited the Ayah,

وَالَّذِينَ امَنُوا وَاتَّبَعَتْهُمْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُم بِإِيمَانٍ

(And those who believe and whose offspring follow them in faith...)"

Certainly, it is Allah's grace and favor that He grants the children this blessing because of the good deeds of their parents. He also grants His favor to parents on account of their offspring invoking Allah for them.

Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah said,

إِنَّ اللهَ لَيَرْفَعُ الدَّرَجَةَ لِلْعَبْدِ الصَّالِحِ فِي الْجَنَّةِ فَيَقُولُ يَا رَبِّ أَنْى لِي هذِهِ

فَيَقُولُ بِاسْتِغْفَارِ وَلَدِكَ لَك

Verily, Allah shall elevate the grade of a righteous servant in Paradise, who will ask, "O Lord! How did I earn this?"

Allah will reply, "Through your son's invoking Me to forgive you."

This Hadith has an authentic chain of narration, but it was not recorded in the Sahih this way.

However, there is a witnessing narration for it in Sahih Muslim, from the Hadith of Abu Hurayrah, who said that the Messenger of Allah said,

إِذَا مَاتَ ابْنُ ادَمَ انْقَطَعَ عَمَلُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ ثَلَثٍ

صَدَقَةٍ جَارِيَةٍ

أَوْ عِلْمٍ يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ

أَوْ وَلَدٍ صَالِحٍ يَدْعُو لَه

When the Son of Adam dies, his record of deeds will cease except in three cases:

an ongoing charity,

knowledge that people are benefiting from and

a righteous son who invokes Allah for him.

Allah is Just with the Sinners

Allah the Exalted said,

كُلُّ امْرِيٍ بِمَا كَسَبَ رَهِينٌ

Every person is a pledge for that which he has earned.

After Allah mentioned His favor of elevating the offspring to the ranks of their parents, even though the deeds of the former did not qualify them, He affirmed His fairness in that, He does not punish anyone for the mistakes of others,

كُلُّ امْرِيٍ بِمَا كَسَبَ رَهِينٌ

(Every person is a pledge for that which he has earned). Therefore, every person will be responsible for his actions. No sin committed by others shall ever be added to one's load, even if committed by his or her parents or offspring.

Allah the Exalted said,

كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ رَهِينَةٌ

إِلاَّ أَصْحَـبَ الْيَمِينِ

فِى جَنَّـتٍ يَتَسَأءَلُونَ

عَنِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ

Every person is a pledge for what he has earned, except those on the Right. In Gardens, they will ask one another about the criminals. (74:38-41)

Description of the Khamr of Paradise and the Delight of its Dwellers

Allah said,

وَأَمْدَدْنَاهُم بِفَاكِهَةٍ وَلَحْمٍ مِّمَّا يَشْتَهُونَ