Surah Al-Ahzaab
Chapter 33 · Verse 71 · Revealed in Madinah
“He will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment.”
Translation: Saheeh International
Listen to recitation
Mishary Rashid Alafasy
Reflection — Ibn Kathir
The Command to the Believers to have Taqwa and speak the Truth
Here Allah commands His servants to have Taqwa of Him, worshipping Him as if they can see Him, and to
قَوْلاً سَدِيداً
Reflection — Maarif ul Quran
Correct use of one's power of speech is an effective source of correcting all deeds issuing forth from other parts of the body
The basic command given to all Muslims in this verse is: اِتَّقُوا اللہَ (Take to taqwa, that is, fear Allah and act accordingly). The reality of taqwa lies in one's total obedience to all Divine injunctions whereby one carries out everything enjoined and abstains from everything declared prohibited and repugnant. And it is obvious that doing so is no easy task for human beings. Therefore, immediately after the main guideline of اتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ (ittaqullah: Fear Allah and act accordingly), there appears an instruction to start doing something particular, that is, the correction and reform of one's speech. Though, this too is nothing but a part of taqwa itself, yet it is one such part of it that, should this thing come under control, all other remaining components of the comprehensive requirement of taqwa would start becoming achievable automatically, as the verse itself has promised that, as a result of one's making his or her speech truthful and straight, Allah will correct his deeds. In other words it means that, 'should you succeed in holding your tongue and avoiding errors of speech and get used to saying what is correct, straight and right, Allah Ta’ ala will correct every other deed you do and make all of them better.' Then, concluding the verse, another promise was made and it was said: يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ (and He will forgive for you your sins). It means: 'One who gains control over his tongue, learns to harness his or her power of speech and becomes used to saying what is true and right, then, Allah Ta` a1a will take care of the rest of his or her deeds, have them corrected and made better as well as forgive any errors or slips made therein.'
What does this verse bring up for you today?