Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs
(And covet not the thing in which Allah hath made some of you excel others) Allah says: a man should not covet the wealth, mount or wife of his brother nor, in fact, anything that his brother may possess. Rather you should ask of Allah abundant bounty and say: “O Allah provide us with the like of, or better than, what you have provided him with”, while consigning the matter to Allah. It is also said that this verse was revealed about Umm Salamah, the wife of the Prophet (pbuh) because she said to him: “if only it is prescribed unto us as it is prescribed unto men so that we get rewarded as men do”. Allah prohibited such talk, saying: covet not the thing in which Allah has made a group of you excel over others, such as praying in congregation, attending the Friday Prayer, participating in military expeditions, jihad, enjoining good and forbidding evil. In this verse (some of you) and (others) refers to men and women. Allah then explained the reward that men and women earn for their works, saying: (Unto men a fortune) a reward (from that which they have earned) of works of goodness, (and unto women a fortune) a reward (from that which they have earned) of works of goodness in their homes. (But ask Allah of His bounty) Ask Allah to give you success and protection. (Lo! Allah is ever Knower of all things) good and bad, reward and punishment, success and otherwise.
Tafsir Ibn 'Abbas, trans. Mokrane Guezzou
© 2021 Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, Amman, Jordan (http://www.aalalbayt.org) ® All Rights Reserved
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, this work may not be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the Great Tafsirs Project, Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought (aalalbayt@aalalbayt.org)