Tafseer Ibn Kathir of AL BAQARAH [284]

284. To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth, and whether you disclose what is in yourselves or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it. Then He forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills. And Allah is able to do all things. Allah states that His is the kingship of the heavens and earth and of what and whoever is on or between them, that He has perfect watch over them. No apparent matter or secret that the heart conceals is ever a secret to Him, however minor it is. Allah also states that He will hold His servants accountable for what they do and what they conceal in their hearts. In similar statements, Allah said,

(Say (O Muhammad ): ”Whether you hide what is in your breasts or reveal it, Allah knows it, and He knows what is in the heavens and what is in the earth. And Allah is able to do all things) ﴿3:29﴾, and,

(He knows the secret and that which is yet more hidden.) There are many other Ayat on this subject. In this Ayah ﴿2:284﴾, Allah states that He has knowledge of what the hearts conceal, and consequently, He will hold the creation accountable for whatever is in their hearts. This is why when this Ayah was revealed, it was hard on the Companions, since out of their strong faith and conviction, they were afraid that such reckoning would diminish their good deeds. Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said, ”When

(To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth, and whether you disclose what is in yourselves or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it. Then He forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills. And Allah is able to do all things) was revealed to the Messenger of Allah , it was very hard for the Companions of the Messenger . The Companions came to the Messenger and fell to their knees saying, `O Messenger of Allah! We were asked to perform what we can bear of deeds: the prayer, the fast, Jihad and charity. However, this Ayah was revealed to you, and we cannot bear it.' The Messenger of Allah said,

(Do you want to repeat what the People of the Two Scriptures before you said, that is, `We hear and we disobey' Rather, say, `We hear and we obey, and we seek Your forgiveness, O our Lord, and the Return is to You.) When the people accepted this statement and their tongues recited it, Allah sent down afterwards,

(The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and (so do)the believers. Each one believes in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. (They say,) ”We make no distinction between one another of His Messengers ـ and they say, ”We hear, and we obey. (We seek) Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the return (of all).'') When they did that, Allah abrogated the Ayah ﴿2:284﴾ and sent down the Ayah,

(Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope. He gets reward for that (good) which he has earned, and he is punished for that (evil) which he has earned. ”Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error.'') until the end.'' Muslim recorded it with the wording; ”When they did that, Allah abrogated it ﴿2:284﴾ and sent down,

(Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope. He gets reward for that (good) which he has earned, and he is punished for that (evil) which he has earned. ”Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error''.) Allah said, `I shall (accept your supplication),'

(”Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which You did lay on those before us (Jews and Christians)'') Allah said, `I shall (accept your supplication),'

(”Our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. '') Allah said, `I shall (accept your supplication),'

(”Pardon us and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. You are our Mawla (Supporter and Protector) and give us victory over the disbelieving people.'') Allah said, `I shall.''' Imam Ahmad recorded that Mujahid said, ”I saw Ibn `Abbas and said to him, `O Abu Abbas! I was with Ibn `Umar, and he read this Ayah and cried.' He asked, `Which Ayah' I said,

`(And whether you disclose what is in yourselves or conceal it.)' Ibn `Abbas said, `When this Ayah was revealed, it was very hard on the Companions of the Messenger of Allah and worried them tremendously. They said: O Messenger of Allah! We know that we would be punished according to our statements and our actions, but as for what occurs in our hearts, we do not control what is in them.' The Messenger of Allah said,

(Say, `We hear and we obey.') They said, `We hear and we obey.' Thereafter, this Ayah abrogated the previous Ayah,

(The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers. Each one believes in Allah), until,

(Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope. He gets reward for that (good) which he has earned, and he is punished for that (evil) which he has earned.) Therefore, they were pardoned what happens in their hearts, and were held accountable only for their actions.''' The Group recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,

(Allah has pardoned my Ummah for what they say to themselves, as long as they do not utter it or act on it.) The Two Sahihs recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,

(Allah said (to His angels), ”If My servant intends to commit an evil deed, do not record it as such for him, and if he commits it, write it for him as one evil deed. If he intends to perform a good deed, but did not perform it, then write it for him as one good deed, and if he performs it, write it for him as ten good deeds.'')