English Translation of Surah Al-Insan Ayah 4-12
76:4 Verily, We have prepared for the disbelievers chains and shackles and a blazing fire.
76:5 Surely, the pious shall drink from a cup whose mixture is camphor.
76:6 a spring wherefrom the slaves of Allah shall drink, making it gush forth abundantly.
76:7 They fulfill their vows and fear a day whose evil is wide-spreading.
76:8 And they give food, despite their love for it, to the needy, the orphan, and the captive.
76:9 ‘We feed you only seeking the Countenance of Allah. We desire from you neither reward nor thanks.
76:10 Verily, we fear from our Lord a day, grim, horrible.’
76:11 Hence, Allah has saved them from the evil of that day and has given them radiance and joy.
76:12 And He has recompensed them for their patience with a Garden and silk,
Relationship with the Previous Part
The previous part mentions that Allah makes the path of guidance and misguidance clear for people and that they will be divided into two parties, namely, the thankful and the unthankful. Then, this part mentions the punishment that Allah has prepared for the disbelievers and the great reward that He has prepared for the believers, which makes the difference between the two parties clear and clarifies the causes behind each party’s end.
Tafsir
76:4 Verily, We have prepared for the disbelievers chains and shackles and a blazing fire.
The ayah briefly mentions the punishment that Allah has prepared for the disbelievers.
Verily, Allah has prepared for the disbelievers chains and shackles by which their hands will be tied to their necks to humiliate them. In addition, He, Exalted be He, has prepared for them the blazing fire of Hell, which will burn them, and they will suffer therein lasting torment.
After a brief reference to the severe punishment that Allah has prepared for the disbelievers, surah al-Insan elaborates on the lasting bliss and recompense that Allah has prepared for the believers. This agrees with the typical characteristic of the style of the Quran. It mentions something, and then it mentions its opposite to make concepts clear.
76:5 Surely, the pious shall drink from a cup whose mixture is camphor.
76:6 a spring wherefrom the slaves of Allah shall drink, making it gush forth abundantly.
A pious person is someone, who believes in the Oneness of Allah, obeys His commands, and avoids His prohibitions. He also constantly does his best to perform righteous deeds for the sake of Allah and he thanks Allah for all His blessings.
Allah, Exalted be He, has prepared for the pious believers lasting bliss in Paradise where they will enjoy drinking from a cup whose mixture is camphor. Its aromatic smell refreshes the souls and pleases the hearts. The cup is filled from a spring in Paradise from where the pious slaves of Allah shall drink and make gush forth abundantly wherever they want to go.
Allah, Exalted be He, mentions some of the blessings that He has prepared for the believers in the Hereafter, such as the camphor and ginger to motivate the souls to make every effort to attain them and make it easier for the minds to comprehend concepts related to the bliss of the Hereafter. However, it should be noted that even names of the enjoyments of the Hereafter have the same names of things that are in the life of this world, but only the names are similar and they never resemble anything that exists in the life of this world.
After mentioning the lasting bliss that Allah has prepared for the believers in Paradise, Allah, Exalted be He, mentions the reasons that make them deserve such a lasting reward by His mercy and bounty.
76:7 They fulfill their vows and fear a day whose evil is wide-spreading.
A vow is a serious promise that one obliges himself to perform as an act of obedience for the sake of Allah.
One of the reasons that makes the pious believers deserve such great recompense in Paradise is that they used to fulfill their vows in the worldly life, and they used to fear the Day of Judgment, whose severe punishment is wide-spreading.
Qatada, may Allah have mercy on him, said, ‘[76:7 They fulfill their vows…] They used to vow to obey Allah by performing acts of obedience for the sake of Allah, such as vowing to pray, give charity, and perform the Hajj, and Umara, though Allah has not obliged them to perform them. Therefore, Allah called them the pious. He says, [76:7 They fulfill their vows and fear a day whose evil is wide-spreading.]
76:8 And they give food, despite their love for it, to the needy, the orphan, and the captive.
The ayah mentions another characteristic of the pious believers. They give food to the needy, the orphan, and the captive despite their love for it and desire to eat it. However, they give the needy, the orphan, and the captive in preference to themselves, which indicates their piety and sublime ethics.
The ayah specifically mentions the needy, the orphans, and the captives because they deserve help and care more than other people.
76:9 ‘We feed you only seeking the Countenance of Allah. We desire from you neither reward nor thanks.
76:10 Verily, we fear from our Lord a day, grim, horrible.’
The ayah highlights the great sincerity and pure souls of the believers. They provide the needy, the orphans, and the captives with food though they need it for the sake of Allah.
They express the cause of their conduct to those who feed them either by their attitude or by telling them: ‘We feed you only because we seek the recompense and mercy of Allah. We do not want anything from you, neither a reward nor thanks. We hope that Allah may bestow His bounty on us. Indeed, we fear the punishment of our Lord on the Day of Judgment, which will be horrible for those who disobey the commands of our Lord, as they will be grim because of the severe torment that they will suffer on that day.’
Mujahid, may Allah have mercy on him, said, ‘[76:9 ‘We feed you only seeking the Countenance of Allah. We desire from you neither reward nor thanks.] Indeed, they never speak such words, but Allah knows what in their hearts is. Thus, He praises them to motivate those who desire to attain such great recompense.’
76:11 Hence, Allah has saved them from the evil of that day and has given them radiance and joy.
76:12 And He has recompensed them for their patience with a Garden and silk,
The ayah mentions the result of the sincerity and generosity of the pious believers and the great reward that Allah will give them.
Because the pious believers fulfill their vows, fear the punishment of Allah, and are sincere and generous when feeding the needy, the orphans, and the captives, Allah, out of His bounty and mercy, will save them from the evil and horrors of the Day of Judgment. He, Exalted be He, will also make their faces radiant and joyful and their souls happy and contented. Moreover, Allah will recompense the pious believers with dwelling in Paradise where they will enjoy lasting happiness and wear the best kind of silk because of their patience and sincerity in the worldly life.
It is noted that the condition of the pious believers is the opposite of the wicked disbelievers on the Day of Judgment. The pious believers will be joyous, their faces will be radiant because of the great recompense that Allah has prepared for them, while the wicked disbelievers will be miserable, and their faces will be grim because of the horrors of the Day of Judgment and the severe punishment that they will be experiencing.
Learned Lessons from Surah Al-Insan Ayah 4-12
• People will be divided into two parties according to the path they choose to follow, namely, the thankful believers and the ungrateful disbelievers. This necessitates that each party’s recompense shall be different according to the path it chooses to follow. The thankful believers will be liberally rewarded in Paradise where they will enjoy lasting happiness. On the other hand, the ungrateful disbelievers will be punished in Hell where they will suffer severe and lasting torment.
• The pious believers, who believe in the Oneness of Allah and sincerely perform righteous deeds for His sake, will enjoy drinking from cups that are filled from a spring in Paradise. The drink will be mixed with camphor, which has an aromatic smell that refreshes the bodies and pleases the souls. Moreover, they will enjoy making the spring gush forth abundantly wherever they want by the will of Allah, which is a great reward.
• The pious believers will be recompensed generously in Paradise because they used to perform righteous deeds in the worldly life for the sake of Allah. They used to fulfill their vows, perform the obligations that Allah obliges them to do, fear the punishment of Allah, and feed the needy, the orphans, and the captives for the sake of Allah without waiting for thanks or repayment.
• Allah, the generous, will reward the pious believers bountifully on the Day of Judgment. He, out of His mercy, will save them from the horrors and punishment of the Day of Judgment, and He will make them pleased in Paradise that their faces will be radiant because of the great recompense that He has prepared for them.
• Allah, Exalted be He, will reward the pious believers generously in Paradise because they were patient with the commands of Allah in worldly life. They patiently obeyed His commands, and they avoided His prohibitions.
