Cheatsheet

Sūrah At-TaghābunThe Mutual Loss and Gain · Madinah · 18 āyāt · 4 movements

A short surah moving between grand cosmic themes and intimate family life: it opens by declaring Allah's dominion over the heavens and earth and His knowledge of every secret, names the Day of Resurrection 'the Day of Mutual Loss and Gain', and then turns to the near, familiar trial of spouses and children, some of whom can act as enemies to a believer's commitment, closing with the reminder that no calamity befalls except by Allah's permission.

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At a glance

Āyāt	Movement	In one line
1–6	Allah's dominion and knowledge	All dominion and praise belong to Allah alone, over the entire creation.
7–13	Calamity only by Allah's permission	No calamity occurs outside Allah's permission — this is a matter of creed, not fatalism about effort.
14–15	Family as a trial	Love for family can, without any malice, still pull a believer away from obedience or sacrifice.
16–18	Taqwā within capacity, and freedom from stinginess	Taqwā is demanded within genuine capacity, not as an impossible standard of perfection.

Occasion & setting

Several Companions reported hesitating to migrate or to strive in Allah's cause because their wives and children pleaded with them to stay, weeping and clinging to them; when they later wished to discipline those who had delayed them, this surah's verses on family as a trial, together with the command to pardon and forgive, were understood to address such situations.

— Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī, on the tafsīr of 64:14 (as reported from Ibn ʿAbbās); cf. Ibn Kathīr on 64:14

Key messages

· All dominion, praise and power belong to Allah alone over the whole of creation.
· The Day of Resurrection is named for the exchange of loss and gain finally made plain between people.
· No calamity strikes except by Allah's permission — a matter of creed, not an excuse for inaction.
· True faith produces a heart guided to settled certainty in the face of hardship.
· Spouses and children can pull a believer away from obedience without any ill intent on their part.
· The commanded response to family who hinder your commitment is pardon, overlooking, and forgiveness.
· Wealth and children are correctly understood as a trial, not the ultimate reward.
· Taqwā is required within real capacity, and freedom from the soul's stinginess marks true success.

Root vocabulary

غ ب ن

mutual loss and gain, deception in a deal

ٱلتَّغَابُنِ (mutual loss and gain (Day of)) · غَبَنَ (he outdid/deceived in a deal) · غَبِين (one who is deceived, at a loss)

ص و ب

to strike, hit (root of calamity)

مُّصِيبَةٍ (a calamity) · أَصَابَ (it struck/befell) · صَوَاب (correctness, that which hits the mark)

ه د ي

to guide

يَهْدِ (He guides) · هُدَى (guidance) · هَادِي (guide)

ع ف و

to pardon, efface

تَعْفُوا۟ (you pardon) · عَفْو (pardon) · عَفُوّ (The Pardoning (a name of Allah))

ف ت ن

trial, test

فِتْنَةٌ (a trial) · فَتَنَ (he tried/tested) · مَفْتُون (one tried/tempted)

ش ح ح

stinginess, avarice

شُحَّ (stinginess) · شَحِيح (stingy) · أَشِحَّة (misers (plural))

ف ل ح

success, prosperity

ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ (the successful) · فَلَاح (success) · أَفْلَحَ (he succeeded)

Flip cards

18 cards over the roots, movements, takeaways and seerah events of this surah. Anything you mark “still learning” comes back before the deck ends.

Sūrah At-Taghābun deck

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Concept map

The surah at the centre, its movements in sequence around it, and the roots, seerah moments and messages that hang off each one. Tap a node to focus its connections — the same way a linked notebook shows you what a single idea touches.

Tap any node to focus it and dim everything it is not connected to — the movement it sits in, the roots that carry it, and the moment of the seerah it answers.