Tafseer Ibn Kathir of MARYAM [96]

96. Verily, those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, the Most Gracious will bestow love for them. 97. So, We have made this easy in your own tongue, only that you may give glad tidings to those who have Taqwa, and warn with it the people that are Ludda. 98. And how many a generation before them have We destroyed! Can you find a single one of them or hear even a whisper of them Allah, the Exalted, informs about His believing servants, who work righteous deeds -- deeds that He is pleased with because they are in accordance with the legislation of Muhammad -- that He plants love for them in the hearts of His righteous servants. This is something that is absolutely necessary and there is no avoiding it. This has been reported in authentic Hadiths of the Messenger of Allah in various different ways. Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Prophet said,

(Verily, whenever Allah loves a servant of His, He calls Jibril and says, ”O Jibril, verily I love so-and-so, so love him.'' Thus, Jibril will love him. Then, he (Jibril) will call out to the dwellers of the heavens, ”Verily, Allah loves so-and-so, so you too must love him.'' Then the dwellers of the heavens love him and he will be given acceptance in the earth. Whenever Allah hates a servant of His, He calls Jibril and says, ”O Jibril, verily I hate so-and-so, so hate him.'' Thus, Jibril will hate him. Then, he (Jibril) will call out amongst the dwellers of the heavens, ”Verily, Allah hates so-and-so, so you too must hate him.'' Then the dwellers of the heavens hate him and hatred for him will be placed in the earth.) Al-Bukhari and Muslim reported narrations similar to this. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Prophet said,

(Whenever Allah loves a servant of His, He calls Jibril (saying), ”Verily, I love so-and-so, so love him.'' Then, Jibril calls out into the heavens and love for him descends among the people of the earth. That is the meaning of the statement of Allah, the Mighty and Sublime: (Verily, those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, the Most Gracious will bestow love for them.)) ﴿19:96﴾ This was also reported by Muslim and At-Tirmidhi and At-Tirmidhi said, ”Hasan Sahih.''   Allah said;

(So, We have made this easy) meaning the Qur'an.

(in your own tongue,) This is an address to Prophet Muhammad and it means that the Qur'an is in the pure, complete and eloquent Arabic language.

(that you may give glad tidings to those who have Taqwa,) those who respond to Allah and believe in His Messenger ,

(and warn with it the people who are Ludda.) meaning, the people who have deviated away from the truth and are inclined towards falsehood. His saying,

(And how many a generation before them have We destroyed!) means from the nations that disbelieved in the signs of Allah and rejected His Messengers.

(Can you find a single one of them or hear even a whisper of them) Meaning, `have you seen any of them or even heard a whisper from them.' Ibn `Abbas, Abu Al-`Aliyah, `Ikrimah, Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Ad-Dahhak and Ibn Zayd all said, ”This means any sound.'' Al-Hasan and Qatadah both said that this means, ”Do you see with your eye, or hear any sound'' This is the end of the Tafsir of Surah Maryam. All praises and thanks are due to Allah. Following this will be the Tafsir of Surah Ta Ha, Allah willing and all praise is due to Allah.