Am hasibtum an tadkhuloo aljannata walamma yatikum mathalu allatheena khalaw min qablikum massathumu albasao waalddarrao wazulziloo hatta yaqoola alrrasoolu waallatheena amanoo maAAahu mata nasru Allahi ala inna nasra Allahi qareebun
English
Ahmed Ali
Do you think you will find your way to Paradise even though you have not known what the others before you have gone through? They had suffered affliction and loss, and were shaken and tossed about so that even the Apostle had to cry out with his followers: "When will the help of God arrive?" Remember, the help of God is ever at hand.
214
Tafseer
'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī
تفسير : (or think ye) o group of believers!-referring here to 'uthman [ibn 'affan] and his fellow believers-(that ye will enter paradise while yet there hath not come unto you the like of (that which came to) those who passed away before you?) i.e. without being tried as were the believers who came before you. (affliction) fear, calamities, hardships (and adversity) sickness, pain and hunger (befell them) visited them, (they were shaken as with an earthquake) in hardship, (till the messenger (of allah)) until their messenger (and those who believed along with him) those who believed in him (said: when cometh allah's help) over the enemy? allah said to that prophet: (now surely allah's help) over your enemy by means of your safety (is near).
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī
تفسير : the following was revealed after the muslims suffered a trying experience: or did you suppose that you should enter paradise without there having come upon you the like of, what came upon, those, believers, who passed away before you?, of trials, so that you may endure as they did; a new sentence begins here, explaining the previous one: they were afflicted by misery, extreme poverty, and hardship, illness, and were so convulsed, by all types of tribulations, that the messenger and those who believed with him said (read yaqūla or yaqūlu), not expecting to see any help, on account of the extreme hardship afflicting them, ‘when will god’s help come?’, [the help] which we were promised; and god responded to them: ah, but surely god’s help is nigh, in coming.
Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi
تفسير : (or think ye that ye will enter paradise…) [2:214].
qatadah and al-suddi said: “this verse was revealed about the battle of the ditch when muslims were stricken with exhaustion, hardship, heat, fear, cold, tightness of living and all kinds of harm. and it was as allah, exalted is he, described: (… and hearts reached to the throats…) [33:10]”.
said 'ata': “when the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, and his companions migrated to medina, the muslims lived under extreme duress because they migrated without their wealth and had left their houses and fortunes in the hands of the idolaters, preferring instead the good pleasure of allah and his messenger. additionally, the jews manifested their enmity to the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, and a number of wealthy people were hypocrites in secret. in order to set their minds at rest, allah, exalted is he, revealed (or think ye that ye will enter paradise…)”.
Sahl al-Tustari
تفسير : …and were so shaken [in spirit]… that is, their willing was through him, they were fearful because of him, and were wary of god’s ruse (makr), mighty and majestic is he; …that the messenger and those who believed with him said, ‘when will god’s help come?’ ah, but surely god’s help is nigh.sahl was asked concerning these words, ‘did they ask this because they found that help slow in arriving?’ he replied:no, but when they lost hope in their own devising (tadbīr) they said, ‘when will god’s help come?’ hence, when god, exalted is he, saw that they had given up on their own power (ḥawl), strength (quwwa) and devising (tadbīr), and saw their display of neediness for him, and [their admission that] they had no means without him, he responded to them with his words, ah, but surely god’s help is nigh.sahl further said:affliction (balāʾ) and well-being (ʿāfiya) are from god, mighty and majestic is he. the commandand prohibition are from him; protection and the granting of success are from him; and reward and punishment are from him. however, actions are attributed (manṣūba) to the children of adam, so whoever performs a good action must express gratitude to merit thereby an increase [in goodness]; and whoever performs a wicked act must seek forgiveness, so that he thereby merits forgiveness. affliction from god is of two kinds: an affliction of mercy and an affliction of punishment. an affliction of mercy leads the afflicted person to show his utter need (iftiqār) for god, mighty and majestic is he, and leads him to the abandonment of devising(tadbīr). however, an affliction of punishment leads the afflicted person [to rely] on his own choice (ikhtiyār) and devising.sahl was then asked, ‘which is more difficult, patience (ṣabr) in [a state of] well-being or patience during adversity?’ he replied:asking for safety (salāma) in times of security is more difficult than asking for safety in [a state of] fear.[on the same subject] sahl said regarding his words, and if anyone believes in god, [god] guides his heart [aright] [64:11], ‘[whoever] believes in god and that his affliction comes from god, will find his heart guided by god to the expectation of relief (intiẓār al-faraj) from him’.his words:
[5:2] …help one another to righteousness and mindfulness of god…that is, to the performance of the obligatory acts, for righteousness (birr) is faith (īmān), and the performance of obligatory acts is a branch (farʿ) of faith. mindfulness of god (taqwā) signifies the sunna, and an obligatory act is not complete without the sunna. he prohibited helping one another to sin (ithm) — which [is tantamount to] disbelief (kufr) and hypocrisy (nifāq) — and enmity, which [signifies] innovation (bidʿa) and controversy (khiṣām). both the aforementioned are [derisive] play (laʿbān), and they have been forbidden from derisive play. they have also been commanded to do [acts of] righteousness, which include both the obligatory acts and those which are sunna, and to be steadfast in sincerely devoting themselves to god in all of this.[concerning] his words:
