✦ AT A GLANCE ✦

التغابن

At-Taghabun

The Mutual Disillusion · 18 verses · medinan · 3 min read

✦ Why this name

The Mutual Loss and Gain — at-Taghabun, the Day when it becomes clear who gained and who lost.

✦ When it came

Madinan. Some verses relate to people whose own families pressured them not to migrate.

✦ The story

A short surah with an unusually calm answer to the question of suffering: *"No disaster strikes except by permission of Allah. And whoever believes in Allah — He will guide his heart."* Not "will remove it". Will guide the heart through it.

It is honest about where difficulty often comes from — *"among your wives and your children are enemies to you, so beware of them"* — and then, immediately, *"but if you pardon and overlook and forgive, then indeed Allah is Forgiving and Merciful."* Both halves are needed.

And it sets the bar exactly where a person can reach it: *"So fear Allah as much as you are able."*

✦ How it unfolds

  1. AYAH 1-10

    Everything glorifies Him

    Creation in truth, forms made good, and the Day of mutual loss and gain.

  2. AYAH 11-13

    Guided through it

    Nothing strikes without permission, and hearts guided by belief.

  3. AYAH 14-18

    Family as a trial

    Wealth and children as a test, pardon urged, and the command scaled to capacity.

✦ Verses to carry

Sources

Introductions to the surah in Tafsir Ibn Kathir and Mawdudi's Tafhim al-Qur'an; ayah numbering per the Madani mushaf.

Awaiting scholar review — please read alongside a trusted tafsir.