َ فَأَمَّا مَنْ أَعْطَى وَاتَّقَى ﴿۵﴾ وَصَدَّقَ بِالْحُسْنَى ﴿۶﴾ فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلْيُسْرَى ﴿۷﴾ وَأَمَّا مَنْ بَخِلَ وَاسْتَغْنَى ﴿۸﴾ وَكَذَّبَ بِالْحُسْنَى ﴿۹﴾ فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلْعُسْرَى ﴿۱۰﴾ وَمَا يُغْنِي عَنْهُ مَالُهُ إِذَا تَرَدَّى ﴿۱۱﴾ إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا لَلْهُدَى ﴿۱۲﴾ وَإِنَّ لَنَا لَلْآخِرَةَ وَالْأُولَى ﴿۱۳﴾ فَأَنْذَرْتُكُمْ نَارًا تَلَظَّى ﴿۱۴﴾ لَا يَصْلَاهَا إِلَّا الْأَشْقَى ﴿۱۵﴾ الَّذِي كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّى ﴿۱۶﴾
﴾5﴿ Fa ammaa man a'taa wattaqaa
﴾6﴿ Wa saddaqa bil husnaa
﴾7﴿ Fasanu yassiruhoo lilyusraa
﴾8﴿ Wa ammaa man bakhila wastaghnaa
﴾9﴿ Wa kazzaba bil husnaa
﴾10﴿ Wa maa yughnee 'anhu maaluhooo izaa taraddaa
﴾11﴿ Wa maa yughnee 'anhu maaluhooo izaa taraddaa
﴾12﴿ Inna 'alainaa lal hudaa
﴾13﴿ Wa inna lanaa lal Aakhirata wal oolaa
﴾14﴿ Fa anzartukum naaran talazzaa
﴾15﴿ Laa yaslaahaaa illal ashqaa
﴾16﴿ Allazee kazzaba wa tawallaa
﴾5﴿ But as for the one who gave (in charity) and was mindful (of Allah)
﴾6﴿ And affirmed the truth of the good word
﴾7﴿ So surely We will ease for him the path of ease
﴾8﴿ But as for the one who was stingy and considered himself self-sufficient
﴾9﴿ And denied the good word
﴾10﴿ So We will ease him toward difficulty
﴾11﴿ And his wealth will not benefit him when he falls
﴾12﴿ Indeed, guidance is Our responsibility
﴾13﴿ And indeed, the Hereafter and the world are in Our control
﴾14﴿ So I warn you of a blazing fire
﴾15﴿ None will enter it except the wretched
﴾16﴿ The one who denied the truth and turned away
[5,6] This explains striving in goodness and mentions its three causes:
First: He gave—meaning he gave faith, along with obedience, sincerity, repentance, gratitude, and generosity with wealth, body, and intention—his soul and body are fully obedient.
Second: And feared (Allah)—this includes avoiding all prohibitions and doubtful matters, and staying away from all forms of shirk, innovations, immorality, and wickedness.
Third: And affirmed the best—this includes belief in the word of Tawhid, Paradise, reward, recompense, all rulings, and the truths of the revealed reports—all are encompassed within this.
[7] Taysīr (ease) from Allah means granting success in knowledge and righteous action.
For ease—al-yusrā refers to qualities of goodness or the path to Paradise. In an authentic hadith, it is mentioned (one part of it) that if someone is among the people of happiness, the actions of happiness are made easy for him.
[8,9] Here too, three causes are mentioned, which oppose the previous three:
First: He was stingy—meaning he fulfills no right, whether it is the right of Allah or of His servants. This includes stinginess with the self, the body, and wealth—covering all aspects.
Second: And considered himself free of need—he regards himself as independent of Allah and people, and this arrogance leads to committing sins and engaging in doubtful matters. That is why it is mentioned in opposition to taqwā (God-consciousness).
Third: He denied the best—he rejects Tawhid, the way of the Shari‘ah, and righteous deeds.
[10] Here, taysīr (ease) refers to the facilitation of the means of evil and the prevention from the means of good—this is known as khudhlān (abandonment by Allah).
For hardship—al-‘usrā refers to every trait and path whose end is hardship and that leads to Hell.
Likewise, in an authentic hadith, it is mentioned that if a person is among the people of wretchedness, then the actions of wretchedness are made easy for him.
[11] Taraddā originally means to fall or tumble from a height, and what is meant by it here is destruction—either through worldly punishment or punishment in the Hereafter.
[12,13] This explains the reason behind the previous message: that the detailed explanation of good or evil comes from Allah. It also encourages turning to the Qur’an, because this explanation from Allah is found in the Qur’an.
And indeed, to Us belong the Hereafter and the first (life)—the Hereafter here refers to the eternal abode, meaning Paradise. So the message is that granting Paradise and worldly life are both in the control of Allah, and thus, one should seek them from Him.
Or the Hereafter may mean the Day of Judgment, indicating that both the Hereafter and this world are under the authority of Allah, and therefore, guidance is also in His control.
[14,15,16] This is a warning directed at the second group.
Except the most wretched—the superlative form indicates that what is meant here is the disbeliever and polytheist. Under that, the general term wretched may also include the sinful believer.
Denied and turned away—denial refers to the rejection in the heart, and turning away refers to the actions.
A blazing fire—this is a specific level of Hellfire, reserved for al-ashqā (the most wretched, i.e., the disbeliever).
As for the sinful believer, if Allah wills to punish him, He will enter him into another level of Hell, not this one.