87:9 So remind if the reminding profits.
87:10 He who fears will be mindful,
87:11 and the most wretched will avoid it,
87:12 who will burn in the Great Fire,
87:13 then he will neither die therein nor live.
87:14 Successful is indeed he who purifies himself,
87:15 and remembers the Name of his Lord and prays.
87:16 Nay, you prefer the worldly life,
87:17 while the Hereafter is better and more lasting.
87:18 Surely this is in the earlier Scriptures,
87:19 the Scriptures of Ibrahim and Moses.
Relationship with the Previous Part
Messenger Muhammad was given good news in the previous part, i.e. he would memorize the Quran and would not forget it, and facilitating all his affairs. Then, Allah, Exalted be He, commanded Messenger Muhammad to remind people of what benefits them in their religion and their life. He was also commanded to invite people to follow the path of guidance.
Then the surah mentions that only those who fear Allah will benefit from admonition, and the disobedient will turn away from it. Finally, the surah mentions that divine creeds share the same principles.
Tafsir
87:9 So remind if the reminding profits.
87:10 He who fears will be mindful,
O noble Messenger Muhammad, remind people of what brings them happiness in this life and the Hereafter. Admonish them by reciting the Quran to them, as it contains beneficial teachings and admonitions. Guide them to the right path and teach them the rules of Islam. Admonish them when doing so is beneficial. That is because people are divided into two types concerning admonition: some people benefit from admonition, while others do not. Those who fear Allah benefit from admonition, as they know that they will meet Him on the Day of Judgment and that He will recompense them for their deeds. As for those who do not benefit from admonition, they insist on disbelief in Allah’s Oneness and denying the truth. Thus, reminding them will be fruitless.
87:9 So remind if the reminding profits.
The ayah refers to the etiquette of spreading knowledge, i.e. it should not be taught to those who cannot understand it or are unwilling to benefit from it. Abdul Allah bin Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that Messenger Muhammad said, ‘You will not narrate a narration to the people that their minds cannot grasp, but it will be a cause of affliction for some of them.’ In other words, some people may not understand the narration and this may lead them to misunderstand it, which will lead them to trouble.
One may say, ‘Messenger Muhammad was commanded to admonish people whether the admonition benefited them or not. So why benefiting from the admonition is stipulated. The answer is as follows: 1) Messenger Muhammad did his best to admonish the disbelievers; however, his sincere admonition increased them nothing but stubbornness and tyranny. Their unfavorable attitude saddened him and made him exert more effort to guide them to the right path. In sum, his admonition increased the disbelievers nothing but stubbornness and it did not benefit them. 2) The ayah stipulated benefiting from the admonition, but the intended meaning was to censure those who turned away from the admonition and rule out that admonition would benefit them, and Allah knows best.
It seems that the meaning is to exhort Messenger Muhammad to keep on inviting people to the right path. Even his admonition would not benefit all people, it would benefit some of them. That is because Allah’s wisdom necessitates that some people will always follow the right path.
87:10 He who fears will be mindful,
O noble Messenger, a person who fears Allah’s punishment and hopes for His reward will benefit from your admonition.
87:11 and the most wretched will avoid it,
87:12 who will burn in the Great Fire,
87:13 then he will neither die therein nor live.
The most wretched person will avoid the admonition, and he will insist on disbelief in Allah’s Oneness and stubbornness because he does not fear Allah and His punishment. On the Day of Judgement, will burn in the Great Fire of Hell and suffer its severe torment. Then he will neither die so that his torment ends, nor live a pleasant life; rather, he will remain in Hell forever.
87:14 Successful is indeed he who purifies himself,
87:15 and remembers the Name of Lord and prays.
After mentioning the evil end of the wicked, the surah mentions what brings comfort to the souls by mentioning the happy end of the successful.
A person who purifies his soul from sins and whatever displeases Allah and always remembers Allah’s name by his heart and tongue will be successful. He also prayers the obligatory prayers and as much as he can of the voluntary prayers. He will achieve what he wants in this world and the Hereafter by Allah’s bounty and mercy.
Purification refers to avoiding void creeds, and remembering Allah’s name refers to performing Islamic obligations, the most important of which is the obligatory prayer.
87:16 Nay, you prefer the worldly life,
87:17 while the Hereafter is better and more lasting.
O people, the path of happiness is made clear to you. However, some people ignore following the right path, as they favor the fleeting pleasures of this world over the lasting happiness of the Hereafter.
The address is directed to all people in general. As for the believers, they favor this world by sometimes giving it a priority that they neglect working for the Hereafter. As for the disbelievers, they favor the enjoyment of this world, as they do not believe in the Hereafter.
87:18 Surely this is in the earlier Scriptures,
87:19 the Scriptures of Ibrahim and Moses.
The surah is concluded with referring to the fact that the principle teachings of all divine messages are the same.
What is mentioned in this surah, i.e. success of those who purify their souls from sins, exhorting to mention Allah’s name, people favor this world over the Hereafter… etc. is mentioned in the former divine Scriptures of Prophet Ibrahim and Prophet Moses.
What is mentioned in the Scriptures of Prophet Ibrahim and Prophet Moses is not the same words and phrases; rather, the basic meanings of what is mentioned in this surah.
Learned Lessons from Surah al-A’la Ayah 9-19
• People should be reminded of what brings them happiness in this world and the Hereafter whether the admonition benefits them or not. However, only those who fear Allah by obeying His commands and avoiding His prohibition benefit from the admonition. As for those who insist on sinning, they will not benefit from the admonition.
• The wretched will avoid the admonition. Their recompense will be Hell where they will burn and suffer severe torment forever.
• Those who purify their souls from worshipping others besides Allah and whatever displeases Allah, fulfill their obligations, and remember Allah will be successful.
• Remembering Allah’s name is one of the righteous deeds that leads to success.
• Most people favor this world over the Hereafter. Their first concern is enjoying this world. However, the believers work for this world and the Hereafter, as they believe that they will be recompensed for their deeds in the Hereafter.
• All divine creeds have the same principle teachings, such as commanding to worship Allah alone and perform righteous deeds.
The Noble Quran, English Translation of Surah al-A'la
The Noble Quran Tafsir ibn Kathir, English Translation
The Noble Quran: Introduction to Surah al-Fatihah [Part3] Virtues of Surah al-Fatihah
The Noble Quran Surah Jonah English Translation and Tafsir
