Surah At-Tur (52) — Ayah 21

(Ayah 21) ➊ The tanween on {وَ الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا وَ اتَّبَعَتْهُمْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُمْ بِاِيْمَانٍ: ’’ بِاِيْمَانٍ ‘‘} is for tankeer and taqleel, therefore the translation is: "and their offspring followed them in any degree of faith."
➋ { اَلْحَقْنَا بِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ:} Tabari has narrated its explanation from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) with an authentic chain from Ali bin Abi Talhah: [ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالٰی يَرْفَعُ لِلْمُؤْمِنِ ذُرِّيَّتَهُ، وَإِنْ كَانُوْا دُوْنَهُ فِي الْعَمَلِ، لِيُقِرَّ اللّٰهُ بِهِمْ عَيْنَهُ ] [ طبري : ۳۲۶۲۲ ] "Allah Almighty will raise the offspring for the sake of the believer, even if they are lesser in deeds than him, so that Allah may cool his eyes through them." Previously, in Surah Ra'd (23), it was stated that among the parents and wives and children of the people of Paradise, whoever is righteous will enter Paradise with them, and in Surah Ghafir (8), it was stated that the angels pray to Allah Almighty for the believers that He admits them and their parents, wives, and offspring into Paradise.
In the verse under commentary, along with entry into Paradise, another great glad tiding is given: if the offspring, by bringing faith of any degree, continued to follow in the footsteps of their righteous parents, then even if they are not deserving of that high rank in terms of faith or deeds which their parents will attain, still Allah Almighty will join them with their parents.
➌ { وَ مَاۤ اَلَتْنٰهُمْ مِّنْ عَمَلِهِمْ مِّنْ شَيْءٍ: ’’أَلَتَ يَأْلِتُ أَلْتًا‘‘ (ض) ’’ اَلشَّيْءُ ‘‘} means the decrease of something. {’’أَلَتَ الرَّجُلَ حَقَّهُ‘‘} "To decrease in the right of a person, not to give fully." That is, it will not happen that We bring the parents down from their high rank to join them with their offspring, because that would necessitate decreasing the reward of their deeds. Therefore, We will not decrease their deeds in any way, rather, purely out of Our grace, We will raise the rank of the offspring and bring them to the high rank of the parents.
➍ Just as the ranks of the offspring will be elevated due to the blessing of the parents' deeds, likewise, by virtue of the offspring's supplication, Allah Almighty will also bestow grace upon the parents. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَيَرْفَعُ الدَّرَجَةَ لِلْعَبْدِ الصَّالِحِ فِي الْجَنَّةِ، فَيَقُوْلُ يَا رَبِّ! أَنّٰی لِيْ هٰذِهِ ؟ فَيَقُوْلُ بِاسْتِغْفَارِ وَلَدِكَ لَكَ ] [ مسند أحمد : 509/2، ح : ۱۰۶۱۰، مسند احمد کے محققین نے اس کی سند کو حسن اور ابن کثیر نے صحیح قرار دیا ہے ] "Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, will raise the rank of the righteous servant in Paradise, so he will say: 'O my Lord! How did I attain this rank?' Allah Almighty will say: 'Because of your child's seeking forgiveness for you.'" This is supported by the well-known hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he said: [ إِذَا مَاتَ الْإِنْسَانُ انْقَطَعَ عَنْهُ عَمَلُهُ إِلَّا مِنْ ثَلَاثَةٍ إِلَّا مِنْ صَدَقَةٍ جَارِيَةٍ أَوْ عِلْمٍ يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ أَوْ وَلَدٍ صَالِحٍ يَدْعُوْ لَهُ ] [مسلم، الوصیۃ، باب ما یلحق الإنسان من الثواب بعد وفاتہ : ۱۶۳۱ ] "When a person dies, his deeds are cut off from him except for three: ongoing charity, or knowledge from which benefit is derived, or a righteous child who prays for him."
➎ {كُلُّ امْرِئٍۭ بِمَا كَسَبَ رَهِيْنٌ: ’’رَهَنَ يَرْهَنُ رَهْنًا‘‘} (f) To mortgage. {’’ رَهِيْنٌ ‘‘} Mortgaged. If a person takes a loan from someone and the lender, as a guarantee for the recovery of his right, keeps something of his as collateral (mortgage), then until he repays the loan, the mortgaged item is not released, and if he cannot repay, it is seized. Here, Allah Almighty first mentioned His grace that if the deeds of the righteous offspring are not worthy of the rank of their parents, even then they will be joined with their parents. Now He mentions His justice: no person will be seized for another's sin, rather every person will be seized only for what he has earned, whether he is a father or a son. Then, either a person will present the deed whose fulfillment was due from him and be released, or, due to being unable to present it, will remain detained. See also Surah An'am (164), Fatir (18), and Surah Muddathir (38).

21. 1 That is, those whose fathers will be granted the highest ranks in Paradise based on their sincerity, piety, and deeds and character, Allah will also elevate the ranks of their believing children and join them with their fathers. He will not lower the ranks of the fathers to bring them down to the lesser ranks of their children. In other words, Allah will bestow a double favor upon the believers: firstly, He will unite fathers and sons so that their eyes may be cooled, provided both are believers; secondly, He will raise those of lower ranks to higher ranks. Otherwise, another way of uniting them could have been to give the A-class people the B-class, but since this would be beneath His grace and favor, He will not do so; rather, He will grant the B-class people the A-class. This is the favor of Allah upon the children due to the blessings of the deeds of the fathers. And it is mentioned in the hadith that the ranks of the fathers are also elevated by the supplication and seeking forgiveness of the children. When a person's rank is elevated in Paradise, he asks Allah the reason for it. Allah says, "Because your child sought forgiveness for you." (Musnad Ahmad) This is also supported by the hadith in which it is mentioned that when a person dies, the reward for his deeds comes to an end, except for three things: ongoing charity, knowledge from which people continue to benefit, and a righteous child who prays for him. (Sahih Muslim)

21. 2 "Rahīn" means "marhūn" (a pledged thing). Every person will be pledged for his deeds. This is general. It includes both believers and disbelievers, and it means that whoever does good or bad deeds will receive a good or bad recompense accordingly. Or it may refer only to disbelievers, that they will be seized by their deeds, as stated elsewhere: "كُلُّ نَفْسٍۢ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ رَهِيْنَةٌ" (74:38) Every soul will be held in pledge for what it has earned.

And those who believed, and whose descendants followed them in faith, We will join their descendants with them, and We will not deprive them of anything of their deeds [15]. Every person is pledged [16] for what he has earned.

[15]
Joining the Lower-Ranked Offspring with Their Parents:

That is, the parents were righteous and pious. The children tried to follow their parents, but they did not reach the same level of righteousness and piety as their parents. So Allah, the Exalted, will show mercy to the children by raising them to the rank of their parents and joining them with their parents in Paradise, so that just as parents and children were together in the world, they may also be together in Paradise, and both the parents and children may find comfort. In this matter, it will not happen that the rank of the parents is reduced somewhat and the rank of the children is increased somewhat, and both are joined together in Paradise at an intermediate level. Rather, only the rank of the children will be elevated; the rank of the parents will not be reduced.

[16]
The Meaning of Every Person Being Held in Pledge with Allah:

That is, every person is indebted to Allah for His favors and blessings, and in return, a person’s soul is held as collateral or pledged with Allah. The way to repay this debt is for a person to show gratitude for Allah’s blessings, to obey His commands, and not to associate any partners with Him. Whoever repays this debt, his soul is freed from the punishment of Hell. He is successful and saved, and whoever does not repay this debt, his soul is already held in pledge with Allah. Two things are understood from this verse: first, that Paradise is attained solely by Allah’s grace; second, that one person’s righteousness cannot free another’s soul, nor can it save him from the punishment of Hell.