سُوْرَةُ الْقَلَمِ
Surah Al-Qalam (68) — Ayah 18
وَلَا يَسْتَثْنُونَ ﴿18﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Without saying: Inshâ’ Allâh (If Allâh wills).
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَلَا
walā
And not
يَسْتَثْنُونَ
yastathnūna
making exception
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.
18. And they made no exception [15].
[15]
The Story of the Garden Owners:
This incident is spread from verse 17 to verse 33. We will narrate it in sequence in our own words. There was a man who owned a garden that produced abundant crops. Throughout his life, his practice was that whenever he harvested the fruit, he would divide it into three parts. One part he kept for the needs of his own household. The second part he distributed among his close relatives and neighbors, and the third part he gave to the poor and needy. Because of his generosity, his garden yielded the most produce. On the day of harvest, the poor and needy would arrive on the spot and receive their share.
When this man passed away, his sons thought that their father had spent his whole life distributing the garden’s produce here and there, squandering his earnings, and remained poor all his life. Now, this custom should be ended. The garden is ours, and we alone have the right to it. So, they decided among themselves that when the time for harvest came, they would do it overnight, so that neither the poor nor the needy would come, nor would they trouble them, nor would they be seen as bad people. They swore oaths that they would do exactly this, and they were so confident in their scheme that they did not even feel the need to say "InshaAllah."
When the time for harvest arrived, they set out for their garden overnight, happily, skipping and jumping. Meanwhile, by Allah’s will, a fierce storm came that very night, which contained fire. Through the wind, the fire reached the trees of the garden and in a short time burned them to ashes. In an instant, the entire garden was reduced to a heap of ashes.
When these wise sons arrived there, the scene was completely changed. They saw nothing that resembled a garden. They began to think that perhaps, in the darkness of night, they had reached the wrong place. Then, when they regained their senses, the reality dawned upon them that the corruption of their intention had turned into a storm of punishment and destroyed their garden.
Now they began to blame one another. Their middle brother said, "Did I not tell you to glorify Allah, to remember Him at all times, and to seek goodness from Him?" But none of the brothers paid attention to the middle brother, so he too was compelled to join them. And they blamed each other in such a way that one would say, "You were the one who encouraged this," and the other would say, "This was your suggestion." But now, regretting was of no use. What was to happen had happened.
The father, because of his generosity and kindness to others, received the reward that his garden produced the most fruit, and whatever he spent on others, Allah provided him with even more. But when greed and miserliness overcame the sons, the result was that the corruption of their intention took the form of a storm and destroyed the entire garden. At that time, neither the fertility of the land was of any use, nor any of their strategies.
From this incident, it becomes clear that if, because of kindness and good treatment of others, Allah can provide sustenance through unseen means, then when there is corruption in intention, He can also take away the sustenance given through such unseen means. In the end, they all said, "Indeed, it was our excess that we tried to deprive the poor and needy of their right, and in our greed and avarice, we lost even the principal. Whatever calamity has come, we ourselves are to blame. But even now, we do not despair of our Lord. Who knows, perhaps He, out of His mercy, will grant us a garden better than the previous one."
[15]
The Story of the Garden Owners:
This incident is spread from verse 17 to verse 33. We will narrate it in sequence in our own words. There was a man who owned a garden that produced abundant crops. Throughout his life, his practice was that whenever he harvested the fruit, he would divide it into three parts. One part he kept for the needs of his own household. The second part he distributed among his close relatives and neighbors, and the third part he gave to the poor and needy. Because of his generosity, his garden yielded the most produce. On the day of harvest, the poor and needy would arrive on the spot and receive their share.
When this man passed away, his sons thought that their father had spent his whole life distributing the garden’s produce here and there, squandering his earnings, and remained poor all his life. Now, this custom should be ended. The garden is ours, and we alone have the right to it. So, they decided among themselves that when the time for harvest came, they would do it overnight, so that neither the poor nor the needy would come, nor would they trouble them, nor would they be seen as bad people. They swore oaths that they would do exactly this, and they were so confident in their scheme that they did not even feel the need to say "InshaAllah."
When the time for harvest arrived, they set out for their garden overnight, happily, skipping and jumping. Meanwhile, by Allah’s will, a fierce storm came that very night, which contained fire. Through the wind, the fire reached the trees of the garden and in a short time burned them to ashes. In an instant, the entire garden was reduced to a heap of ashes.
When these wise sons arrived there, the scene was completely changed. They saw nothing that resembled a garden. They began to think that perhaps, in the darkness of night, they had reached the wrong place. Then, when they regained their senses, the reality dawned upon them that the corruption of their intention had turned into a storm of punishment and destroyed their garden.
Now they began to blame one another. Their middle brother said, "Did I not tell you to glorify Allah, to remember Him at all times, and to seek goodness from Him?" But none of the brothers paid attention to the middle brother, so he too was compelled to join them. And they blamed each other in such a way that one would say, "You were the one who encouraged this," and the other would say, "This was your suggestion." But now, regretting was of no use. What was to happen had happened.
The father, because of his generosity and kindness to others, received the reward that his garden produced the most fruit, and whatever he spent on others, Allah provided him with even more. But when greed and miserliness overcame the sons, the result was that the corruption of their intention took the form of a storm and destroyed the entire garden. At that time, neither the fertility of the land was of any use, nor any of their strategies.
From this incident, it becomes clear that if, because of kindness and good treatment of others, Allah can provide sustenance through unseen means, then when there is corruption in intention, He can also take away the sustenance given through such unseen means. In the end, they all said, "Indeed, it was our excess that we tried to deprive the poor and needy of their right, and in our greed and avarice, we lost even the principal. Whatever calamity has come, we ourselves are to blame. But even now, we do not despair of our Lord. Who knows, perhaps He, out of His mercy, will grant us a garden better than the previous one."
