So which of the favours of your Lord will you deny?

Presented below is a short extract from the acclaimed Tafsir (Jāmi al-Bayān ‘an Ta’wil ay’ al-Qur’ān) of the grand Imām Abu Ja’far Muḥammad ibn Jarir al-Ṭabari regarding the oft-repeated verse in chapter 55, Surah al-Raḥman.  The verse in question, repeated throughout the entire chapter is first mentioned at verse 13:

فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان

Which is it, of the favours of your Lord, that you deny?

The extract of the Tafsir is taken from here but also includes the translation of his short comments regarding verses 18 and 30 [see: Tafsir al-Ṭabari, Vol. 22, pp. 189/191 and pp. 199, 210].

تبارك اسم ربك ذي الجلال والإكرام

Blessed be the name of your Lord, the Lord of Glory and Honour

[Abu Ja’far, may Allah have mercy on him said]

He the Exalted in His remembrance means by his statement, Which is it, of the favours of your Lord, that you deny?  ‘O Jinn and mankind, which favours (ni’am) of your Lord, among all of these favours, do you deny? As has been mentioned by:

حدثنا ابن بشار قال ثنا عبد الرحمن قال ثنا سهل السراج عن الحسن فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان فبأي نعمة ربكما تكذبان

Ibn Bashār narrated to us he said Abdar-Raḥman narrated to us he said Sahl al-Sarrāj narrated to us from al-Ḥasan (regarding the verse) Which is it, of the favours of your Lord, that you deny? (He said) Which is it, of the ni’mah – blessings, of your Lord, that you deny?

حدثنا ابن بشار قال ثنا عبد الرحمن قال ثنا سفيان عن الأعمش عن مجاهد عن ابن عباس في قوله فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان قال لا بأيتها يا رب

Ibn Bashār narrated to us he said Abdar-Raḥman narrated to us he said Sufyān narrated to us from al-‘Amash from Mujāhid from Ibn ‘Abbās concerning His statement Which is it, of the favours of your Lord, that you deny? He said: I deny none of them O Lord!

حدثنا محمد بن عباد بن موسى وعمرو بن مالك البصري قالا ثنا يحيى بن سليم الطائفي عن إسماعيل بن أمية عن نافع عن ابن عمر قال إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قرأ سورة الرحمن أو قرئت عنده فقال ما لي أسمع الجن أحسن جوابا لربها منكم قالوا ماذا يا رسول الله؟ قال ما أتيت على قول الله فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان إلا قالت الجن لا بشيء من نعمة ربنا نكذب

Muḥammad ibn ‘Abbād ibn Musa and ‘Amr ibn Mālik al-Baṣri narrated to us, they said Yaḥya ibn Sulaym al-Ṭā’ifi narrated to us from Ismā’il ibn Umayya from Nāfi’ from Ibn Umar, he said: The Messenger of Allah peace and blessings be upon him recited Surah al-Raḥman, or it was recited in his presence, and said: How is it that I hear the jinn reply to their Lord in a superior manner than you all?  They said: O Messenger of Allah, what (do they say)?  He said: I never came across Allah’s statement (mighty and majestic is He) Which is it, of the favours of your Lord, that you deny? Without (hearing) the jinn say: We deny not a single one of our Lord’s favours! [1]

حدثني علي قال ثنا أبو صالح قال ثني معاوية عن علي عن ابن عباس قوله فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان يقول فبأي نعمة الله تكذبان

Ali narrated to me he said Abu Ṣāliḥ narrated to us he said Mu’āwiya narrated to me from Ali from Ibn ‘Abbās concerning His statement, Which is it, of the favours of your Lord, that you deny?  He says: Which blessing of Allah do you deny?

حدثنا بشر قال ثنا يزيد قال ثنا سعيد عن قتادة فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان يقول للجن والإنس بأي نعم الله تكذبان

Bishr narrated to us he said Yazeed narrated to us he said Sa’eed narrated to us from Qatādah (regarding the verse): Which is it, of the favours of your Lord, that you deny?  He says: (Addressed to) the Jinn and mankind, which of the blessing of your Lord do you deny?

حدثنا ابن حميد قال ثنا مهران عن سفيان عن الأعمش وغيره عن مجاهد عن ابن عباس أنه كان إذا قرأ فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان قال: لا بأيتها ربنا

Ibn Ḥumayd narrated to us he said Mihrān narrated to us from Sufyān from al-‘Amash and other than him, from Mujāhid from Ibn ‘Abbās that he would say, whenever he recited Which is it, of the favours of your Lord, that you deny?  I deny none of them O Lord!

حدثني يونس قال أخبرنا ابن وهب قال قال ابن زيد في قوله فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان قال الآلاء القدرة، فبأي آلائه تكذب خلقكم كذا وكذا، فبأي قدرة الله تكذبان أيها الثقلان، الجن والإنس

Yunus narrated to me he said Ibn Wahb reported to us he said, Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement – Which is it, of the alā’ of your Lord, that you deny? The word alā’ means power (qudra).  So, which of His alā’ do you deny?  He created you in such-and-such a manner, so which of Allah’s powers do you deny, O both weighty ones, the jinn and mankind?

If it is said to us the following: How is it possible that the verb and pronouns in Which is it, of the favours of your Lord, that you deny? Are in the second person dual forms, but the first part of this passage is in the singular, namely, He has created man [Qur’ān 55: 3]?  It is said: The dual form is appropriate because the verb and pronoun in His statement, Which is it, of the favours of your Lord, that you deny – refer back to the jinn and mankind, as is made clear in the passage immediately following this verse, which is His statement, He created man of clay like pottery, and the jinn did He create of a flame of fire [Qur’ān 55: 14/15].  Moreover, it has also been said that the form of address can be put in the dual form even though the statement began in the singular form, on account of the practice of the Arabs, who do that.  (Sometimes) they will address a single person by means of the dual form.  For example, they say: ‘Saddle it, boy (irḥalāhā ya ghulām)’ [with the verb saddle (or ride)’ in the second person dual form].  We have already mentioned similar cases to this in other places in our book.

(verse 18) He the Exalted in His remembrance says: O Jinn and mankind, which of the favours of your Lord, among all of these favours that He has bestowed upon you, such as putting the sun at your disposal in these two Easts and two Wests – it moves perpetually for your convenience, worldly benefits and living – which of them do you deny?

(verse 30) He the Exalted in His remembrance says: O Jinn and mankind, which of your Lord’s favours that He bestows upon you, such as setting your affairs right and those of which He knows better than you know, and by turning you towards what is most beneficial for you, do you deny?

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[1] In the Tafsir of Ibn Kathir, he cites this tradition too from al-Ṭabari, thereafter mentioning: ‘And it is narrated by al-Ḥāfiz al-Bazzār from ‘Amr ibn Mālik, with it, thereafter he (al-Bazzār) said: ‘We don’t know of it being narrated from the Prophet peace and blessings be upon him, except from this pathway and by this isnād.’