Surah Aal-i-Imraan (3) — Ayah 196

(Ayah 196 to 198) {لَا يَغُرَّنَّكَ تَقَلُّبُ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا … :} In the above verses, the promise of forgiving the sins of the believers and granting them a great reward has been made, even though they were living in a state of poverty and deprivation. In contrast, the disbelievers were living in great luxury and comfort. Seeing them, sometimes the Muslims would fall into misunderstandings and enter into various thoughts. Therefore, in these verses, the end of the disbelievers has been described to clear the minds of the Muslims and to console them. Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah does not do injustice to a believer regarding good deeds; He gives him the reward for that good deed in this world as well as in the Hereafter. And the disbeliever, whatever good deeds he does for Allah, he is given the full reward for it in this world, then when he reaches the Hereafter, he will have no good deed left for which he may be rewarded." [ مسلم، صفات المنافقین، باب جزاء المؤمن… : ۲۸۰۸ ] The purpose is that, seeing the commercial businesses of the disbelievers in the cities, their prosperity, and abundance of wealth, the hearts of the Muslims should not be grieved in any way, nor should they fall into despair, nor should they adopt the attitude of the hypocrites, who, in times of hardship and fear, cry out: « مَا وَعَدَنَا اللّٰهُ وَ رَسُوْلُهٗۤ اِلَّا غُرُوْرًا» [ الأحزاب : ۱۲ ] "Allah and His Messenger have promised us nothing but delusion." One should not infer the truth of disbelief from the worldly prosperity of the disbelievers; this is a small provision and a temporary spring of a few days of life. After death, their abode is Hell, and it is a very evil abode. Apparently, the addressee is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), but the intended audience is the Ummah. After this, in the next verse, the reward of the believers is mentioned, so that further consolation may be obtained, and since this is being mentioned in contrast to the disbelievers, therefore the word {’’ لٰكِنِ ‘‘} is mentioned for contrast. (Al-Manar)

196. 1. Although the address is to the Prophet ﷺ, the addressees are the entire Ummah. By traveling in cities is meant going from one city to another, from one country to another for trade and business. These business journeys are evidence of the abundance of worldly resources and the expansion and promotion of business. Allah Almighty says, all this is temporary and a benefit for a few days; the people of faith should not be deceived by it. The real outcome should be kept in view, which, in the case of deprivation of faith, is the eternal punishment of Hell in which these disbelievers, who are wealthy with worldly riches, will be afflicted. This subject has also been mentioned at several places. For example, (مَا يُجَادِلُ فِيْٓ اٰيٰتِ اللّٰهِ اِلَّا الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا فَلَا يَغْرُرْكَ تَــقَلُّبُهُمْ فِي الْبِلَادِ) 40:4 "Only those who disbelieve dispute the signs of Allah, so let not their movement through the cities deceive you." (قُلْ اِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ يَفْتَرُوْنَ عَلَي اللّٰهِ الْكَذِبَ لَا يُفْلِحُوْنَ 69؀ مَتَاعٌ فِي الدُّنْيَا ثُمَّ اِلَيْنَا مَرْجِعُھُمْ ثُمَّ نُذِيْقُھُمُ الْعَذَاب الشَّدِيْدَ بِمَا كَانُوْا يَكْفُرُوْنَ 70؀) 10:69, 70 (نُمَـتِّعُهُمْ قَلِيْلًا ثُمَّ نَضْطَرُّهُمْ اِلٰى عَذَابٍ غَلِيْظٍ 24؀) 31:24

196. (O Prophet)! Do not be deceived by the movement [197] of the disbelievers throughout the land.

[197] That is, despite opposing the religion of Allah, the trade caravans of the disbelievers travel from Yemen to Syria and earn reasonable profits, and then they spend their lives in luxury and comfort. So, from this temporary luxury and ease, one should not think that Allah is being merciful to them. Because in the Hereafter, there is eternal punishment for them. Therefore, no one should fall into this deception.