At-Taghaabun (Mutual Disillusion)
Verse 1
Table of Contents
Section (juz’) 28
Number of Verses: 18
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
The blessed Chapter, revealed in Medina, has eighteen Verses and the designation of the Chapter derives from making mention of the Day of Resurrection in the ninth Verse as the Day of Mutual Loss and Gain (taghabun).
The Arabic word taghabun denotes mutual defraud and gaining personal benefits. The point is that on the Day of Resurrection, everyone aims to save oneself and put the blame on others. The blessed Verses of the Chapter in question bear stylistic resemblance to Chapter 57 (Surah al-Hadid) and they seemingly constitute a summary of the latter.
The blessed Chapter opens with Divine Unity and proceeds with warning people against watching their deeds and according attention to the Day of Resurrection and closes with urging people to expend in Allah’s Cause and turn away from mundane attachments.
The Merit of Reciting the Chapter
It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (as) that whoever recites Surah al-Taghabun in as a part of his religious obligations or on other occasions, he will be amongst the people of Paradise on the Day of Resurrection1 provided that he acted upon Qur’anic and Islamic Injunctions.
Surah al-Taghabun - Verse 1
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ يُسَبِّحُ لِلَّهِ ما فِي السَّماواتِ وَ ما فِي الْأَرْضِ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَ لَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَ هُوَ عَلی كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ (1)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
1. Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth glorifies Allah. His is the Dominion and to Him belong all the praises and He is Omnipotent to do all things.
Aiming at gaining and maintaining power, the rulers in this world commit vices, but God Almighty is the Sovereign glorified by all the world of existence and He never wrongs anyone. It is worthy of note that praise belongs to the One Who is Free from any defect or shortcoming.
Thus, the blessed Verse opens with the glorification of God Almighty and it proceeds to treat of His glorification in genuflexion and prostration before Him. Furthermore, it is common knowledge that all creatures in the world of existence possess some sort of perception and accordingly glorify Allah. However, it is unfortunate that some men, failing to worship and glorify God Almighty and committing sins, act inharmoniously.
As mentioned earlier, the blessed Verse opens with the glorification of God Almighty, the Sovereign Lord Whose Omnipotence sways the entire world of existence, saying that whatever exists in the heavens and on the earth glorify God Almighty.
The blessed Verse proceeds to say that to Him belong Ownership and Sovereignty thereby all praises belong to His Pure Essence and He is the Omnipotence Lord.
Since the glorification of all the creatures of the world and different interpretations have been mentioned above, there is no need to reiterate them. Such glorification and praise reflect His Omnipotence and Ownership of all things, since Divine Majestic and Beauteous Attributes lie in the same.
Footnotes
Majma‘ al-Bayan. ↩