سُوْرَةُ صٓ
Surah Saad (38) — Ayah 32
فَقَالَ إِنِّىٓ أَحْبَبْتُ حُبَّ ٱلْخَيْرِ عَن ذِكْرِ رَبِّى حَتَّىٰ تَوَارَتْ بِٱلْحِجَابِ ﴿32﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
He said: "I did love the good (these horses) instead of remembering my Lord (in my ‘Asr prayer)" till the time was over, and (the sun) had hidden in the veil (of night).
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
فَقَالَ
faqāla
And he said
إِنِّىٓ
innī
Indeed, I
أَحْبَبْتُ
aḥbabtu
[I] preferred
حُبَّ
ḥubba
(the) love
ٱلْخَيْرِ
l-khayri
(of) the good
عَن
ʿan
over
ذِكْرِ
dhik'ri
(the) remembrance
رَبِّى
rabbī
(of) my Lord
حَتَّىٰ
ḥattā
Until
تَوَارَتْ
tawārat
they were hidden
بِٱلْحِجَابِ
bil-ḥijābi
in the veil
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah 32) ➊ The meaning of {فَقَالَ اِنِّيْۤ اَحْبَبْتُ حُبَّ الْخَيْرِ عَنْ ذِكْرِ رَبِّيْ : ’’ الْخَيْرِ ‘‘} is goodness, but generally it refers to wealth, as it is said about man: «وَ اِنَّهٗ لِحُبِّ الْخَيْرِ لَشَدِيْدٌ » [ العادیات : ۸ ] “And indeed, he is, in the love of wealth, surely intense.” This word is generally used for abundant wealth. Here, by {’’ الْخَيْرِ ‘‘} is meant those purebred and swift horses that were presented before him in the late afternoon. The alif-lam in {’’ الْخَيْرِ ‘‘} is for specification, therefore {’’ حُبَّ الْخَيْرِ ‘‘} is translated as “the love of this wealth.” {’’ عَنْ ‘‘} here is causative, meaning “because of,” as Allah the Exalted has said: « وَ مَا كَانَ اسْتِغْفَارُ اِبْرٰهِيْمَ لِاَبِيْهِ اِلَّا عَنْ مَّوْعِدَةٍ وَّعَدَهَاۤ اِيَّاهُ » [ التوبۃ : ۱۱۴ ] “And the asking of forgiveness by Abraham for his father was only because of a promise he had made to him.”
➋ In this verse, the love of Sulayman (peace be upon him) for jihad and for keeping and training horses for that purpose is mentioned. For this objective, he kept a large number of high-bred, swift horses. One day, in the late afternoon, those purebred horses of high lineage were presented before him, which, due to their delicacy and refinement, would stand on three legs while the edge of the hoof of the fourth leg would just touch the ground, but in running they were very swift. So Sulayman (peace be upon him) considered it necessary to explain the reason for keeping such valuable horses and spending his precious time inspecting and racing them, so that no one would think it was merely for royal display and grandeur. Thus, he said that I have loved and chosen the love of this wealth, meaning the horses, for the sake of the remembrance of my Lord, so that by waging jihad with them, I may spread the remembrance of my Lord throughout the world and make His word supreme over all.
➌ { حَتّٰى تَوَارَتْ بِالْحِجَابِ : ’’ تَوَارَتْ ‘‘} is originally {’’تَوَارَيَتْ‘‘}, which is the third person feminine singular past indicative form from {’’تَوَارٰي يَتَوَارٰي تَوَارِيًا‘‘} (tafa‘ul) (to hide), which is used for a group of horses. That is, the group of horses became hidden from sight. The word {’’ حَتّٰى ‘‘} (until) indicates that some phrase is omitted before this, which is that, at the command of Sulayman (peace be upon him), they were made to run until they became hidden from sight.
➋ In this verse, the love of Sulayman (peace be upon him) for jihad and for keeping and training horses for that purpose is mentioned. For this objective, he kept a large number of high-bred, swift horses. One day, in the late afternoon, those purebred horses of high lineage were presented before him, which, due to their delicacy and refinement, would stand on three legs while the edge of the hoof of the fourth leg would just touch the ground, but in running they were very swift. So Sulayman (peace be upon him) considered it necessary to explain the reason for keeping such valuable horses and spending his precious time inspecting and racing them, so that no one would think it was merely for royal display and grandeur. Thus, he said that I have loved and chosen the love of this wealth, meaning the horses, for the sake of the remembrance of my Lord, so that by waging jihad with them, I may spread the remembrance of my Lord throughout the world and make His word supreme over all.
➌ { حَتّٰى تَوَارَتْ بِالْحِجَابِ : ’’ تَوَارَتْ ‘‘} is originally {’’تَوَارَيَتْ‘‘}, which is the third person feminine singular past indicative form from {’’تَوَارٰي يَتَوَارٰي تَوَارِيًا‘‘} (tafa‘ul) (to hide), which is used for a group of horses. That is, the group of horses became hidden from sight. The word {’’ حَتّٰى ‘‘} (until) indicates that some phrase is omitted before this, which is that, at the command of Sulayman (peace be upon him), they were made to run until they became hidden from sight.
