Surah 4

Surah 4:114

"(There is) no good in much of their secret talk, except for the one who commands voluntary giving, or what is right, or setting (things) right among the people. Whoever does that, seeking the approval of God – We shall give him a great reward."
Righteous Najwa, Secret Talk Verses 4:114-115
Show Full Scripture Context (4:114-115) — 2 Verses
Verse 114

۞لَّا خَيۡرَ فِي كَثِيرٖ مِّن نَّجۡوَىٰهُمۡ إِلَّا مَنۡ أَمَرَ بِصَدَقَةٍ أَوۡ مَعۡرُوفٍ أَوۡ إِصۡلَٰحِۭ بَيۡنَ ٱلنَّاسِۚ وَمَن يَفۡعَلۡ ذَٰلِكَ ٱبۡتِغَآءَ مَرۡضَاتِ ٱللَّهِ فَسَوۡفَ نُؤۡتِيهِ أَجۡرًا عَظِيمٗا

(There is) no good in much of their secret talk, except for the one who commands voluntary giving, or what is right, or setting (things) right among the people. Whoever does that, seeking the approval of God – We shall give him a great reward.

Verse 115

وَمَن يُشَاقِقِ ٱلرَّسُولَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ ٱلۡهُدَىٰ وَيَتَّبِعۡ غَيۡرَ سَبِيلِ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ نُوَلِّهِۦ مَا تَوَلَّىٰ وَنُصۡلِهِۦ جَهَنَّمَۖ وَسَآءَتۡ مَصِيرًا

But whoever breaks with the messenger after the guidance has become clear to him, and follows a way other (than that) of the believers – We shall turn him (over) to what he has turned to, and burn him in Gehenna – and it is an evil destination!

<114. There is no good in most of their secret talks save (in) him who orders Sadaqah, or goodness, or conciliation between mankind; and he who does this, seeking the good pleasure of Allah, We shall give him a great reward.>
<115. And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than the believers' way, We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell - what an evil destination!>

Allah said,
<There is no good in most of their secret talks>
meaning, what the people say to each other.
<save him who orders Sadaqah (charity), or goodness, or reconciliation between mankind;>
meaning, except for this type of talk.
Imam Ahmad recorded that Umm Kulthum bint 'Uqbah said that she heard the Messenger of Allah saying,
“He who brings about reconciliation between people by embellishing good or saying good things, is not a liar.»
She also said, “I never heard him allow what the people say (lies) except in three cases: in war, bringing peace between people and the man’s speech (invented compliments) to his wife and her speech to her husband.” Umm Kulthum bint ‘Uqbah was among the immigrant women who gave their pledge of allegiance to the Messenger of Allah. The Group also recorded this Hadith, with the exception of Ibn Majah.
Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Ad-Darda’ said that the Messenger of Allah said,
«Should I tell you what is better than the grade of fasting, praying and Sadaqah?»
They said, “Yes, O Allah’s Messenger!” He said,
«Bringing reconciliation between people.»
He also said,
«Spoiling the relationship (between people) is the destroyer.»
Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi also recorded this Hadith, and At-Tirmidhi said, “Hasan Sahih”.
Allah said,
<and he who does this, seeking the good pleasure of Allah,>
with sincerity and awaiting the reward with Allah, the Exalted and Most Honored,
<We shall give him a great reward.>
meaning, an immense, enormous and tremendous reward.

The Punishment for Contradicting and Opposing the Messenger and Following a Path Other than That of the Believers

Allah’s statement,
<And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger after the right path has been shown clearly to him.>
refers to whoever intentionally takes a path other than the path of the Law revealed to the Messenger, after the truth has been made clear, apparent and plain to him.
Allah’s statement,
<and follows other than the believers' way,>
refers to a type of conduct that is closely related to contradicting the Messenger. This contradiction could be in the form of contradicting a text (from the Qur’an or Sunnah) or contradicting what the Ummah of Muhammad has agreed on. The Ummah of Muhammad is immune from error when they all agree on something, a miracle that serves to increase their honor, due to the greatness of their Prophet.
There are many authentic Hadiths on this subject. Allah warned against the evil of contradicting the Prophet and his Ummah, when He said,
<We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell - what an evil destination!>
meaning, when one goes on this wicked path, We will punish him by making the evil path appear good in his heart, and will beautify it for him so that he is tempted further. For instance, Allah said.
<So when they turned away (from the Path of Allah), Allah turned their hearts away> [61:5], and,
<And We shall turn their hearts and their eyes away (from guidance), as they refused to believe therein for the first time> [6:110].

— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Vol. 3, Page 579-583)

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.