سُوْرَةُ اٰلِ عِمْرٰنَ
Surah Aal-i-Imraan (3) — Ayah 179
مَّا كَانَ ٱللَّهُ لِيَذَرَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَىٰ مَآ أَنتُمْ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّىٰ يَمِيزَ ٱلْخَبِيثَ مِنَ ٱلطَّيِّبِ ۗ وَمَا كَانَ ٱللَّهُ لِيُطْلِعَكُمْ عَلَى ٱلْغَيْبِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَجْتَبِى مِن رُّسُلِهِۦ مَن يَشَآءُ ۖ فَـَٔامِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِۦ ۚ وَإِن تُؤْمِنُوا۟ وَتَتَّقُوا۟ فَلَكُمْ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ ﴿179﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Allâh will not leave the believers in the state in which you are now, until He distinguishes the wicked from the good. Nor will Allâh disclose to you the secrets of the Ghaib (unseen), but Allâh chooses of His Messengers whom He wills. So believe in Allâh and His Messengers. And if you believe and fear Allâh, then for you there is a great reward.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
مَّا
mā
Not
كَانَ
kāna
is
ٱللَّهُ
l-lahu
Allah
لِيَذَرَ
liyadhara
to leave
ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
l-mu'minīna
the believers
عَلَىٰ
ʿalā
on
مَآ
mā
what
أَنتُمْ
antum
you (are)
عَلَيْهِ
ʿalayhi
in [it]
حَتَّىٰ
ḥattā
until
يَمِيزَ
yamīza
He separates
ٱلْخَبِيثَ
l-khabītha
the evil
مِنَ
mina
from
ٱلطَّيِّبِ ۗ
l-ṭayibi
the good
وَمَا
wamā
And not
كَانَ
kāna
is
ٱللَّهُ
l-lahu
Allah
لِيُطْلِعَكُمْ
liyuṭ'liʿakum
to inform you
عَلَى
ʿalā
about
ٱلْغَيْبِ
l-ghaybi
the unseen
وَلَـٰكِنَّ
walākinna
[and] but
ٱللَّهَ
l-laha
Allah
يَجْتَبِى
yajtabī
chooses
مِن
min
from
رُّسُلِهِۦ
rusulihi
His Messengers
مَن
man
whom
يَشَآءُ ۖ
yashāu
He wills
فَـَٔامِنُوا۟
faāminū
so believe
بِٱللَّهِ
bil-lahi
in Allah
وَرُسُلِهِۦ ۚ
warusulihi
and His Messengers
وَإِن
wa-in
and if
تُؤْمِنُوا۟
tu'minū
you believe
وَتَتَّقُوا۟
watattaqū
and fear (Allah)
فَلَكُمْ
falakum
then for you
أَجْرٌ
ajrun
(is a) reward
عَظِيمٌۭ
ʿaẓīmun
great
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
179. Allah will not leave the believers in the state you are in until He separates the impure from the pure. Nor is it Allah’s way to inform you of the unseen [177], but Allah chooses from His messengers whom He wills. So believe in Allah and His Messenger. And if you believe and are mindful of Allah, you will have a great reward.
[176] That is, in such a state, believers with firm faith, those with weak faith, and the hypocrites all live together in the same Islamic society and are all considered Muslims at the same level. The distinction between their degrees of faith is only possible if Allah puts them all through a trial, and thus the distinction between the good and the bad becomes apparent by itself, as happened during the Battle of Uhud when the Muslims faced defeat, and everyone came to know the firmness, weakness, and hypocrisy of each other's faith.
[177]
The Prophets Have Knowledge of the Unseen Only as Much as Allah Grants:
Apart from trials, another way to know the different degrees of faith among Muslims could have been that Allah would inform His Prophet of their conditions through revelation. But this is against the way of Allah, because faith is by its very nature in the unseen. If the unseen is no longer unseen, then what kind of faith is that? Whatever information about the unseen mankind needed, Allah has already informed all people through the previous prophets. For example, that the Day of Judgment will certainly come. On that day, everyone will be rewarded or punished for their deeds, good or bad. The righteous will go to Paradise and the wicked to Hell, and so on. Allah and His Messenger have described the signs of the hypocrites, but have not named anyone specifically as a hypocrite. In the Prophetic era, there is only one such incident when Allah, due to a severe necessity, informed His Prophet of the names of a few hypocrites. During the return journey from the Battle of Tabuk, fourteen or fifteen hypocrites plotted to throw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ from his mount into a ravine at night during the journey, intending to kill him. At that time, Hudhayfah bin Yaman ؓ was driving his mount from behind. Allah informed him of the hypocrites' plot through revelation and also told him the names of those hypocrites and their fathers, which he also told Hudhayfah ؓ, and at the same time strictly instructed him not to tell anyone their names, etc. That is why Hudhayfah ؓ is called the Keeper of the Prophet's Secret. [مزيد تفصيل كے ليے ديكهيے مسلم كتاب صفات المنافقين] Allah informs the Prophet of the unseen whenever He wills, and as much as He wills. And if He wills, He does not inform him. For example, when the shirt was being brought from Egypt, Jacob ؑ was immediately given the good news through revelation. But when Joseph was lying in a well in Canaan near him and Jacob was sick with grief for him, at that time he was not informed. Similarly, when Umar ؓ was coming to accept Islam and was on his way to him, he was informed through revelation, but when he was extremely anxious and distressed for a whole month regarding the incident of Ifk, the revelation came only after a full month.
[176] That is, in such a state, believers with firm faith, those with weak faith, and the hypocrites all live together in the same Islamic society and are all considered Muslims at the same level. The distinction between their degrees of faith is only possible if Allah puts them all through a trial, and thus the distinction between the good and the bad becomes apparent by itself, as happened during the Battle of Uhud when the Muslims faced defeat, and everyone came to know the firmness, weakness, and hypocrisy of each other's faith.
[177]
The Prophets Have Knowledge of the Unseen Only as Much as Allah Grants:
Apart from trials, another way to know the different degrees of faith among Muslims could have been that Allah would inform His Prophet of their conditions through revelation. But this is against the way of Allah, because faith is by its very nature in the unseen. If the unseen is no longer unseen, then what kind of faith is that? Whatever information about the unseen mankind needed, Allah has already informed all people through the previous prophets. For example, that the Day of Judgment will certainly come. On that day, everyone will be rewarded or punished for their deeds, good or bad. The righteous will go to Paradise and the wicked to Hell, and so on. Allah and His Messenger have described the signs of the hypocrites, but have not named anyone specifically as a hypocrite. In the Prophetic era, there is only one such incident when Allah, due to a severe necessity, informed His Prophet of the names of a few hypocrites. During the return journey from the Battle of Tabuk, fourteen or fifteen hypocrites plotted to throw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ from his mount into a ravine at night during the journey, intending to kill him. At that time, Hudhayfah bin Yaman ؓ was driving his mount from behind. Allah informed him of the hypocrites' plot through revelation and also told him the names of those hypocrites and their fathers, which he also told Hudhayfah ؓ, and at the same time strictly instructed him not to tell anyone their names, etc. That is why Hudhayfah ؓ is called the Keeper of the Prophet's Secret. [مزيد تفصيل كے ليے ديكهيے مسلم كتاب صفات المنافقين] Allah informs the Prophet of the unseen whenever He wills, and as much as He wills. And if He wills, He does not inform him. For example, when the shirt was being brought from Egypt, Jacob ؑ was immediately given the good news through revelation. But when Joseph was lying in a well in Canaan near him and Jacob was sick with grief for him, at that time he was not informed. Similarly, when Umar ؓ was coming to accept Islam and was on his way to him, he was informed through revelation, but when he was extremely anxious and distressed for a whole month regarding the incident of Ifk, the revelation came only after a full month.
