سُوْرَةُ الْبَلَدِ
Surah Al-Balad (90) — Ayah 11
فَلَا ٱقْتَحَمَ ٱلْعَقَبَةَ ﴿11﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
But he has not attempted to pass on the path that is steep (i.e. the path which will lead to goodness and success).
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
فَلَا
falā
But not
ٱقْتَحَمَ
iq'taḥama
he has attempted
ٱلْعَقَبَةَ
l-ʿaqabata
the steep path
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan — Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan is a well-known Quran commentary by Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. This tafsir explains the meanings of the Quran in accordance with the methodology of the Salaf (early righteous generations), relying on authentic sources and straightforward language. Due to its reliability and adherence to sound Islamic scholarship, the Saudi government publishes and distributes this tafsir among the Hujjaj (pilgrims) visiting the Haramain. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
11. 1. ‘Aqabah’ refers to a mountain pass, that is, a path through a mountain, which is generally extremely difficult to traverse. This sentence here is in the form of a rhetorical question implying negation, that is, (فَلَا اقْتَحَمَ الْعَقَبَةَ 11ڮ) 90. Al-Balad:11) “Has he not entered the mountain pass?” The meaning is: he has not entered. This is an example to clarify the effort and hardship that a person must endure against the whispers and demands of Satan in order to do good deeds, just as climbing a mountain pass requires intense struggle (Fath al-Qadeer).
