Tafseer: Two Similar Verses That End in Two Different Ways

Two similar verses that end in two different ways:
Allaah says:

{And if you count the Blessings of Allaah, never will you be able to count them. Verily!
Man is indeed an extreme wrong-doer, - a disbeliever} [Surah Ibraaheem (14): 34]
Allaah also says:

{And if you would count the graces of Allaah, never could you be able to count them.
Truly! Allaah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.} [Surah al-Nahl (16): 18]
The first ended with mans dealing with Allaah, while the second ended with Allaahs
dealing with man. How great is Allaah and how ignorant is man!
What follows is the Tafseer (exegesis) of the above two Aayaat from the following
books of Tafseer:
1. Tafseer Ibn Katheer Tafseer al-Quraan al-Àdheem
2. Tafseer al-Sa`dee Tayseer Kareem al-Rahmaan fee Tafseer Kalaam al-Mannaan
3. Tafseer al-Muyassar by a group of scholars (King Fahad Printing)
4. Tafseer al-Qurtobee al-Jaami` li Ahkaam al-Quraan
5. Tafseer al-Baghawee Maàalim al-Tanzeel
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Ibn Katheer mentions in his Tafseer of Surah Ibraaheem:

{And He gave you of all that you asked for, and if you count the Blessings of Allaah,
never will you be able to count them. Verily! Man is indeed an extreme wrong-doer, a disbeliever (an extreme ingrate, denies Allaahs Blessings by disbelief, and by
worshipping others besides Allaah, and by disobeying Allaah and His Prophet
Muhammad ) .} [Surah Ibraaheem (14): 34]
(In the earlier Aayaat) Allaah mentions some of the favors He has done for His
creatures, such as creating the heavens as a protective ceiling and the earth as a bed. He
also sends down rain from the sky and, in its aftermath brings forth a variety of
vegetation, fruits and plants of different colors, shapes, tastes, scents and uses. Allaah
also made the ships sail on the surface of the water by His command and He
made the sea able to carry these ships in order that travelers can transfer from one area
to another to transport goods. Allaah also created the rivers that flow through the
earth from one area to another as provision for the servants which they use to drink and
irrigate, and for other benefits.
Then Allaah mentions about the Sun and the Moon, the Day and Night and how they
benefit the man.
Then Allaah mentions:

{And He gave you of all that you asked for}, He has prepared for you all that you
need in all conditions, and what you ask Him to provide for you,
Some of the Salaf said: (He gave you) all that you asked and that which you did not
ask.

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{And if you try to count the blessings of Allaah, never will you be able to count them}
Allaah informs about the inability of the servants to count His blessings, let alone
thank Him duly for them.
Talq bin Habeeb said: The rights of Allaah are too heavy for the servants to fulfill
them (the way they should be fulfilled); but His blessings upon them is more than they
can ever count, except that they reach the morning repenting and they reach the
evening repenting (i.e. they seek Allaahs forgiveness throughout the day for their
shortcomings).
In Saheeh al-Bukhaaree it is recorded that the Messenger of Allaah used to
supplicate:

O Allaah! All praise is due to You, without being able to sufficiently thank You, nor
ever wish to be cutoff from You, nor ever feeling rich from relying on You; our Lord!
[Saheeh al-Bukhaaree (5458, 5459)]
It was reported that Prophet Dawood used to say in his supplication: O Lord!
How can I ever duly thank You, when my thanking You is in itself also a favor from You
to me? Allaah answered him: Now, you have thanked Me sufficiently, O Dawood,
meaning: when you admitted that you will never be able to duly thank Me.
Ibn Katheer mentions in his Tafseer of Surah al-Nahl:

Then He shows His servants some of the many blessings He granted for them, and
the many kinds of things that He has done for them. He says:

{And if you would try to count the favors of Allaah, you would never be able to count
them. Truly, Allaah is Forgiving, Most Merciful.}, meaning: that He pardons and
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forgives them. If He were to ask you to thank Him for all of His blessings, you would
not be able to do so, and if He were to command you to do so, you would be
incapable of it. If He punishes you, He is never unjust in His punishment, but He is
Oft-Forgiving and Most Merciful, He forgives much and rewards for little.
Ibn Jareer said: It means that Allaah is Forgiving when you fail to thank Him
properly, if you repent and turn to Him in obedience, and strive to do that which pleases
Him. He is Merciful to you and does not punish you if you turn to Him and repent.
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Shaikh Àbdul-Rahaan al-Sa`dee mentions in his Tafseer of Surah Ibraaheem:

never will you be able to count them. Verily! Man is indeed an extreme wrong-doer, a disbeliever.} [Surah Ibraaheem (14): 34]
{And He gave you of all that you asked for}, meaning: He gave you all that which
you desired and needed that which you asked Him either through the situation (you
were in) or by your beseeching Him using your speech from the many blessings which
He has provided.
{And if you count the Blessings of Allaah, never will you be able to count them}, let
alone thank Him duly for them.
{Verily! Man is indeed an extreme wrong-doer, - a disbeliever}, meaning: this is the
nature of man; an oppressor, ever ready to sin, negligent in fulfilling the rights of his
Lord, denying the blessings of Allaah, neither thanking Him for them nor acknowledging
them; except those whom Allaah had guided, so they thank Him for His favors and
acknowledge the rights of their Lord upon them and (try to) fulfill them.
In these Aayaat, Allaah mentioned some of the major favors which He has
bestowed upon his servants. He mentioned some of these favors in brief and others
in details, through which He invites His servants to thank Him for them and to
remind them and to encourage them towards it; and for encouraging them towards
asking Him and beseeching Him (for more and more), throughout the day, morning and
evening, the way He repeatedly bestows His favors upon them all the time.
Shaikh al-Sa`dee mentions in his Tafseer of Surah al-Nahl:

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The way He had no partner (who was involved) in your creation and the creation of
those other than you, then similarly, do not set up rivals unto Allaah in His worship;
rather worship Him alone.
{And if you were to count the Blessings of Allaah}, just counting only without thanking,
{you will never be able to count them}, let alone thanking Him for them. These
apparent and hidden blessings of Allaah upon the servants are numerous, and are of
different types, some which he knows and others which he does not know like the
numerous harms which have been removed from them (which they might never come
to know about).
{Truly! Allaah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.}, He is pleased with even little thanks
from us for His numerous blessings.
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Tafseer Muyassar, by a group of scholars:

Surah Ibraaheem:

And He gave you everything which you had asked Him for, and were you to count His
favors upon you, you will never be able to count them nor will you be able to thank Him
for them because of their innumerability and diversity. Man oppresses himself a lot and
denies the numerous favors Allaah bestowed upon him.
Surah al-Nahl

If you try to count the blessings of Allaah upon you, never will you be able to do so
because of their innumerability and diversity. Allaah is Oft-Forgiving and Most
Merciful towards you. He pardons your shortcomings in thanking Him for His
blessings, and He does not withhold from you His blessings for your negligence, nor
does He hasten His punishment.
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Al-Qurtobee mentions in his Tafseer of Surah Ibraaheem:

{And He gave you of all that you asked for}, meaning: He gave you everything that
you had asked Him. And it is said that the meaning is: He gave you everything which
you asked for and which you dont ask Him for; you dont ask Him for the sun, the moon
or the many different blessings (which are mentioned in the previous Aayaat) and like
(some of the other blessings) which Allaah has mentioned:

{and (Allaah) has made for you garments to protect you from the heat (and cold)}
[Surah al-Nahl (16): 81]
is extra wording, so the meaning would be: He
And it is said that the word min ()
gave you whenever you asked Him.
And in the recitation of Ibn Àbbaas, al-Hasan, al-Dhahhaak and Qataadah, it is:
(
i.e., there is Tanween on (

) which is a negation, meaning: He gave you from the
things which you did not ask Him for, like the sun, the moon etc.
{And if you count the blessings of Allaah, you will never be able to do so}, because of
their innumerability, you will never be able to count them, like the hearing, the sight,
and other features, and also the other blessings like good health and sustenance. And
these are the blessings of Allaah, so why do you want to change the blessings which
Allaah bestowed upon you by disbelieving in Him?! And did you utilize these blessings in
His obedience?!
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Al-Baghawee mentions in his Tafseer of Surah Ibraaheem:

{And He gave you of all that you asked for}, He gave you everything which you
asked him for. And in the recitation of al-Hasan there is Tanween on (
) and the ()
into negation, meaning: He gave you that which you dont ask Him for. He gave things
which you asked Him for and that which you did not ask him for.
{And if you count the Blessings of Allaah, never will you be able to count them}, and
you would neither be able to count the blessings of Allaah nor would you be able to
thank Him for them.
{Verily! Man is indeed an extreme wrong-doer, - a disbeliever.}, meaning: Man
oppresses himself by disobeying Allaah, and disbelieves in Him by denying His favors.
And it is said that it also means that man oppresses by thanking someone else for the
blessings which Allaah had bestowed upon him and is a disbeliever by denying Allaahs
favors upon him.
Al-Baghawee mentions in his Tafseer of Surah al-Nahl:

If you were to count the blessings of Allaah, you would never be able to do so. Allaah
is Oft-Forgiving for the servants shortcomings in thanking Him for His blessings. And He
is Merciful towards them by expanding His blessings upon them and He does not
withhold it from them because of their shortcomings and disobedience.
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Tafseer: Two Similar Verses That End in Two Different Ways

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Tafseer: Two Similar Verses That End in Two Different Ways

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Two similar verses that end in two different ways:

Ibn Katheer mentions in his Tafseer of Surah Ibraaheem:

Ibn Katheer mentions in his Tafseer of Surah al-Nahl:

Shaikh `Abdul-Rahaan al-Sa`dee mentions in his Tafseer of Surah Ibraaheem:

Shaikh al-Sa`dee mentions in his Tafseer of Surah al-Nahl:

Tafseer Muyassar, by a group of scholars:

Al-Qurtobee mentions in his Tafseer of Surah Ibraaheem:

i.e., there is Tanween on (

Al-Baghawee mentions in his Tafseer of Surah Ibraaheem:

Al-Baghawee mentions in his Tafseer of Surah al-Nahl:

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