At-Taghabun (Verse 13 – 16)

اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ

God, there is no deity but He: so in God let the believers put their trust.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّ مِنْ أَزْوَاجِكُمْ وَأَوْلَادِكُمْ عَدُوًّا لَّكُمْ فَاحْذَرُوهُمْ ۚ وَإِن تَعْفُوا وَتَصْفَحُوا وَتَغْفِرُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

O who you believe! Among your spouses and children there may be enemies for you, so beware of them. Yet, if you pardon, forbear, and forgive (their faults towards you and in worldly matters), then (know that) God is All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate¹

إِنَّمَا أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَأَوْلَادُكُمْ فِتْنَةٌ ۚ وَاللَّهُ عِندَهُ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ

Your worldly possessions and your children are but a source of temptation and trial (for you); and God is He with Whom is a tremendous reward.

فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ وَاسْمَعُوا وَأَطِيعُوا وَأَنفِقُوا خَيْرًا لِّأَنفُسِكُمْ ۗ وَمَن يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ

Keep, then, from disobedience to God in reverence for Him and piety as far as you can,² and listen attentively and submit (to His commands), and obey Him, and spend (in His cause and for the needy) as it is to the betterment of your souls. Whoever is guarded against the avarice of his soul, those are they who are truly prosperous.³


1 - Spouses are dutiful towards each other, and parents have intrinsic love for and duties towards their children. However, the love of spouses for each other and the love of parents for their children should be regulated according to the commandments of the Religion. Love of family may sometimes bar a person from his or her religious duties or cause him or her to indulge the family excessively or to work for their children and their future without considering the children’s duties towards God and their afterlife, whereas true love necessitates that parents should first consider the afterlife and the religious duties of their children. They should consider their worldly welfare within the framework of the Religion.

Unfortunately, many spouses and parents neglect this cardinal principle and they misuse their love and compassion for each other and for their children. In addition to this, some spouses and children may put pressure upon each other and their parents to act without considering the religious commandments and cause each other or themselves to lose in the Hereafter. This is, in fact, enmity. So the Quran draws the attention of spouses to this fact and warns them.

However, despite such enmity, parents should be careful, patient, and tolerant in their mutual relations and in their approach to the conduct of their children. They can be forbearing and pardon their mutual faults towards each other and the faults of their children towards themselves. (This is what is expected from parents, but children must be extremely careful about observing the rights of their parents.) They should also overlook any faults concerning worldly matters and be able to act as educators concerning religious matters. They should always give precedence to religious matters over worldly ones.

The next verse concisely expresses this truth.

2 – This statement is not contradictory with Keep from disobedience to God in reverent piety with all the reverence that is due to Him (Surah 3:102), nor does the former abrogate the latter. God should be revered and obeyed as He should because His position as God requires this. In fact, every position requires respect and obedience to the extent of its greatness. However, each human being has a capacity for respect and obedience particular to him/herself; he/she cannot go beyond this but as we cannot know the limits of our own capacity, we must try to revere and obey God as His being God requires us to do to the utmost of our capacity.

3 – This verse explains how people can be saved from the enmity of their spouses or children and be successful in the trial of their worldly possessions and children.


Taken from the book: The Qur’an with Annotated Interpretation in Modern English by Ali Unal