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Surah Az-Zumar  In Arabic

Transliteration English

Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem

1. Tanzeelul Kitaabi minal laahil ‘Azeezil Hakeem
2. Innaaa anzalnaaa ilaikal Kitaaba bilhaqqi fa’budil laaha mukhlisal lahud deen
3. Alaa lillaahid deenul khaalis; wallazeenat takhazoo min dooniheee awliyaaa’a maa na’buduhum illaa liyuqar riboonaaa ilal laahi zulfaa; innal laaha yahkumu baina hum fee maa hum feehi yakhtalifoon; innal laaha laa yahdee man huwa kaazibun kaffaar
4. Law araadal laahu aiyattakhiza waladal lastafaa mimmaa yakhluqu maa yashaaa’; Subhaanahoo Huwal laahul Waahidul Qahhaar
5. Khalaqas samaawaati wal arda bilhaqq; yukawwirul laila ‘alan nahaari wa yukawwirun nahaara ‘alaal laili wa sakhkharash shamsa walqamara kulluny yajree li ajalim musammaa; alaa Huwal ‘Azeezul Ghaffaar
6. Khalaqakum min nafsinw waahidatin summa ja’ala minhaa zawjahaa wa anzala lakum minal-an’aami samaani yata azwaaj; yakhlu qukum fee butooni ummahaatikum khalqam mim ba’di khalqin fee zulumaatin salaas; zaalikumul laahu Rabbukum lahul mulk; laaa ilaaha illaa Huwa fa annaa tusrafoon
7. In takfuroo fa innal laaha ghaniyyun ‘ankum; wa laa yardaa li’ibaadihil kufra wa in tashkuroo yardahu lakum; wa laa taziru waaziratunw wizra ukhraa; summa ilaa Rabikum marji’ukum fa-yunabbi’ukum bimaa kuntum ta’maloon; innahoo ‘aleemum bizaatissudoor
8. Wa izaa massal insaana durrun da’aa Rabbahoo muneeban ilaihi summa izaa khawwalahoo ni’matam minhu nasiya maa kaana yad’ooo ilaihi min qablu wa ja’ala lillaahi andaadal liyudilla ‘ansabeelih; qul tamatta’ bikufrika qaleelan innaka min Ashaabin Naar;
9. Amman huwa qaanitun aanaaa’al laili saajidanw wa qaaa’imai yahzarul Aakhirata wa yarjoo rahmata Rabbih; qul hal yastawil lazeena ya’lamoona wallazeena laa ya’lamoon; innamaa yatazakkaru ulul albaab (section 1)
10. Qul yaa ‘ibaadil lazeena aamanut taqoo Rabbakum; lillazeena ahsanoo fee haazihid dunyaa hasanah; wa ardul laahi waasi’ah; innamaa yuwaffas saabiroona ajrahum bighayri hisab
11. Qul inneee umirtu an a’budal laaha mukhlisal lahud deen
12. Wa umirtu li an akoona awwalal muslimeen
13. Qul inneee akhaafu in ‘asaitu Rabbee ‘azaaba Yawmin ‘azeem
14. Qulil laaha a’budu mukhlisal lahoo deenee
15. Fa’budoo maa shi’tum min doonih; qul innal khaasireenal lazeena khasirooo anfusahum wa ahleehim yawmal qiyaamah; alaa zaalika huwal khusraanul mubeen
16. Lahum min fawqihim zulalum minan Naari wa min tahtihim zulal; zaalika yukhaw wiful laahu bihee ‘ibaadah; yaa ‘ibaadi fattaqoon
17. Wallazeenaj tanabut Taaghoota ai ya’budoohaa wa anaabooo ilal laahi lahumul bushraa; fabashshir ‘ibaad
18. Allazeena yastami’oonal qawla fayattabi’oona ahsanah; ulaaa’ikal lazeena hadaahumul laahu wa ulaaa’ika hum ulul albaab
19. Afaman haqqa ‘alaihi kalimatul ‘azaab; afa anta tunqizu man fin Naar
20. Laakinil lazeenat taqaw Rabbahum lahum ghurafum min fawqihaa ghurafum mabniyyatun tajree min tahtihal anhaar; wa’dal laah; laa yukhliful laahul mee’aad
21. Alam tara annal laaha anzala minas samaaa’i maaa’an fasalakahoo yanaabee’a fil ardi summa yukhriju bihee zar’am mukhtalifan alwaanuhoo summa yaheeju fatarahu musfarran summa yaj’aluhoo hutaamaa; inna fee zaalika lazikraa li ulil albaab (section 2)
22. Afaman sharahal laahu sadrahoo lil Islaami fahuwa ‘alaa noorim mir Rabbih; fa wailul lilqaasiyati quloobuhum min zikril laah; ulaaa’ika fee dalaalim mubeen
23. Allahu nazzala ahsanal hadeesi Kitaabam mutashaa biham masaaniy taqsha’irru minhu juloodul lazeena yakhshawna Rabbahum summa taleenu julooduhum wa quloo buhum ilaa zikril laah; zaalika hudal laahi yahdee bihee mai yashaaa’; wa mai yudlilil laahu famaa lahoo min haad
24. Afamai yattaqee biwaj hihee sooo’al ‘azaabi Yawmal Qiyaamah; wa qeela lizzaali meena zooqoo maa kuntum taksiboon
25. Kazzabal lazeena min qablihim fa ataahumul ‘azaabu min haisu laa yash’uroon
26. Fa azaaqahumul laahul khizya fil hayaatid dunyaa wa la’azaabul Aakhirati akbar; law kaanoo ya’lamoon
27. Wa laqad darabnaa linnaasi fee haazal Qur-aani min kulli masalil la’allahum yatazakkaroon
28. Qur-aanan ‘Arabiyyan ghaira zee ‘iwajil la’allahum yattaqoon
29. Darabal laahu masalar rajulan feehi shurakaaa’u mutashaakisoona wa rajulan salamal lirajulin hal yastawi yaani masalaa; alhamdu lillaah; bal aksaruhum laa ya’lamoon
30. Innaka maiyitunw wa inna hum maiyitoon
31. Summa innakum Yawmal Qiyaamati ‘inda Rabbikum takhtasimoon (section 3) (End Juz 23)
32. Faman azlamu mimman kazaba ‘alal laahi wa kazzaba bissidqi iz jaaa’ah; alaisa fee Jahannama maswal lilkaafireen
33. Wallazee jaaa’a bissidqi wa saddaqa biheee ulaaa’ika humul muttaqoon
34. Lahum maa yashaaa’oona ‘inda Rabbihim; zaalika jazaaa’ul muhsineen
35. Liyukaffiral laahu ‘anhum aswa allazee ‘amiloo wa yajziyahum ajrahum bi ahsanil lazee kaano ya’maloon
36. Alaisal laahu bikaafin ‘abdahoo wa yukhawwi foonaka billazeena min doonih; wa mai yudlilil laahu famaa lahoo min haad
37. Wa mai yahdil laahu famaa lahoo min mudil; alai sal laahu bi’azeezin zin tiqaam
38. Wa la’in sa altahum man khalaqas samaawaati wal arda la yaqoolunal laah; qul afara’aitum maa tad’oona min doonil laahi in araadaniyal laahu bidurrin hal hunna kaashi faatu durriheee aw araadanee birahmatin hal hunna mumsikaatu rahmatih; qul hasbiyal laahu ‘alaihi yatawakkalul mutawakkiloon
39. Qul yaa qawmi’maloo ‘alaa makaanatikum innee ‘aamilun fasawfa ta’lamoon
40. Mai yaateehi ‘azaabuny yukhzeehi wa yahillu ‘alaihi ‘azaabum muqeem
41. Innaa anzalnaa ‘alaikal Kitaaba linnaasi bilhaqq; famanih tadaa falinafsihee wa man dalla fa innamaa yadillu ‘alaihaa wa maaa anta ‘alaihim biwakeel (section 4)
42. Allaahu yatawaffal anfusa heena mawtihaa wallatee lam tamut fee manaamihaa fa yumsikul latee qadaa ‘alaihal mawta wa yursilul ukhraaa ilaaa ajalim musammaa; inna fee zaalika la Aayaatil liqawmai yatafakkarroon
43. Amit takhazoo min doonillaahi shufa’aaa’; qul awalaw kaanoo laa yamlikoona shai’aw wa laa ya’qiloon
44. Qul lillaahish shafaa’atu jamee’aa; lahoo mulkus samaawaati wal ardi summa ilaihi turja’oon
45. Wa izaa zukiral laahu wahdahush ma azzat quloobul lazeena laa yu’minoona bil Aakhirati wa izaa zukiral lazeena min dooniheee izaa hum yastabshiroon
46. Qulil laahumma faatiras samaawaati wal ardi ‘Aalimal Ghaibi washshahaadati Anta tahkumu baina ‘ibaadika fee maa kaanoo feehee yakhtalifoon
47. Wa law anna lillazeena zalamoo maa fil ardi jamee’anw wa mislahoo ma’ahoo laftadaw bihee min sooo’il azaabi Yawmal Qiyaamah; wa badaa lahum minal laahi maa lam yakoonoo yahtasiboon
48. Wa badaa lahum saiyiaatu maa kasaboo wa haaqa bihim maa kaanoo bihee yastahzi’oon
49. Fa izaa massal insaana durrun da’aanaa summa izaa khawwalnaahu ni’matam minna qaala innamaaa ootee tuhoo ‘alaa ‘ilm; bal hiya fitna tunw wa laakinna aksarahum laa ya’lamoon
50. Qad qaalahal lazeena min qablihim famaaa aghnaa ‘anhum maa kaanoo yaksiboon
51. Fa asaabahum saiyi aatu maa kasaboo; wallazeena zalamoo min haaa’ulaaa’i sa yuseebuhum saiyi aatu maa kasaboo wa maa hum bimu’jizeen
52. Awalam ya’lamooo annal laaha yabsutur rizqa limai yashaaa’u wa yaqdir; inna fee zaalika la Aayaatil liqawminy yu’minoon (section 5)
53. Qul yaa’ibaadiyal lazeena asrafoo ‘alaaa anfusihim laa taqnatoo mirrahmatil laah; innal laaha yaghfiruz zunooba jamee’aa; innahoo Huwal Ghafoorur Raheem
54. Wa aneebooo ilaa Rabbikum wa aslimoo lahoo min qabli any yaatiyakumul ‘azaabu summa laa tunsaroon
55. Wattabi’ooo ahsana maaa unzila ilaikum mir Rabbikum min qabli aiyaatiyakumal ‘azaabu baghtatanw wa antum laa tash’uroon
56. An taqoola nafsuny yaahasrataa ‘alaa maa farrattu fee jambil laahi wa in kuntu laminas saakhireen
57. Aw taqoola law annal laaha hadaanee lakuntu minal muttaqeen
58. Aw taqoola heena taral ‘azaaba law anna lee karratan fa akoona minal muhsineen
59. Balaa qad jaaa’atka aayaatee fa kazzabta bihaa wa stakbarta wa kunta minal kaafireen
60. Wa Yawmal Qiyaamati taral lazeena kazaboo ‘alallaahi wujoohuhum muswaddah; alaisa fee Jahannama maswal lilmutakabbireen
61. Wa yunajjil laahul lazee nat taqaw bimafaazatihim laa yamassuhumus sooo’u wa laa hum yahzanoon
62. Allaahu khaaliqu kulli shai’inw wa Huwa ‘alaa kulli shai’inw Wakeel
63. Lahoo maqaaleedus sa maawaati wal ard; wallazeena kafaroo bi ayaatil laahi ulaaa’ika humul khaasiroon (section 6)
64. Qul afaghairal laahi taamurooonneee a’budu ayyuhal jaahiloon
65. Wa laqad oohiya ilaika wa ilal lazeena min qablika la in ashrakta la yahbatanna ‘amalu ka wa latakoonanna minal khaasireen
66. Balil laahha fa’bud wa kum minash shaakireen
67. Wa maa qadarul laaha haqqa qadrihee wal ardu jamee ‘an qabdatuhoo Yawmal Qiyaamati wassamaawaatu matwiyyaatum biyameenih; Subhaanahoo wa Ta’aalaa ‘amma yushrikoon
68. Wa nufikha fis Soori fasa’iqa man fis samaawaati wa man fil ardi illaa man shaa’al lahu summa nufikha feehi ukhraa fa izaa hum qiyaamuny yanzuroon
69. Wa ashraqatil ardu binoori Rabbihaa wa wudi’al Kitaabu wa jeee’a bin nabiyyeena wash shuhadaaa’i wa qudiya bainahum bilhaqqi wa hum laa yuzlamoon
70. Wa wuffiyat kullu nafsim maa ‘amilat wa Huwa a’lamu bimaa yaf’aloon (section 7)
71. Wa seeqal lazeena kafaroo ilaa jahannama zumaraa hattaaa izaa jaaa’oohaa futihat abwaabuhaa wa qaala lahum khazanatuhaaa alam ya’tikum Rusulun minkum yatloona ‘alaikum Aayaati Rabbikum wa yunziroonakum liqaaa’a Yawmikum haazaa; qaaloo balaa wa laakin haqqat kalimatul ‘azaabi ‘alal kaafireen
72. Qeelad khuloo abwaaba jahannama khaalideena feeha fabi’sa maswal mutakabbireen
73. Wa seeqal lazeenat taqaw Rabbahum ilal Jannati zumaraa hattaaa izaa jaaa’oohaa wa futihat abwaabuhaa wa qaala lahum khazanatuhaa salaamun ‘alaikum tibtum fadkhuloohaa khaalideen
74. Wa qaalull hamdulillaahil lazee sadaqanaa wa’dahoo wa awrasanal arda natabaw wa-u minal jannati haisu nashaaa’u fani’ma ajrul ‘aamileen
75. Wa taral malaaa’ikata haaaffeena min hawlil ‘Arshi yusabbihoona bihamdi Rabbihim wa qudiya bainahum bilhaqqi wa qeelal hamdu lillaahi Rabbil ‘aalameen (section 8)

Translation

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

1. This is the revelation of the Book from Allah, the Mighty, the Wise.
2. Surely We have revealed the Book to you with truth; so worship Allah making your submission exclusive for Him.
3. Remember, Allah alone deserves the exclusive submission. As for those who have adopted guardians other than Him (saying), :We worship them for no other reason but because they would bring us near to Allah closely , Allah will judge between them in the matters in which they are differing. Surely, Allah does not guide anyone who is liar, highly infidel.
4. Had Allah opted to have a son of His own, He would have definitely chosen anyone, as He wished, out of what He had created. (But), Pure is He. He is Allah, the Only One, the All-Dominant.
5. He created the heavens and the earth for just purpose. He wraps the night over the day and He wraps the day over the night, and He has put the sun and the moon under His command, each one of them moving for an appointed term. Remember, He is the Mighty, the Most-Forgiving.
6. He created you from a single person, then (once this person was created,) He made his match from him, and sent down for you eight pairs of the cattle. He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, in three layers of darkness. That is your Allah, your Lord. To Him belongs the whole Kingdom. There is no god but He. Then, to where are you being diverted (by your whims)?
7. If you disbelieve, then, Allah does not need you at all, however He does not like for His servants to be disbelievers; and if you are grateful, He will like it for you. No one will bear the burden of someone else. Then, to your Lord is your return; so He will tell you about what you used to do. He is aware of whatever lies in the hearts.
8. And when man is afflicted by pain, he calls his Lord turning to Him passionately. Thereafter, when He blesses him with some favor from Him, he forgets that for which he was calling Him earlier, and sets up partners for Allah, so that he leads others astray from His way. Say, :Enjoy (the pleasure of) your disbelief for a while, (then) surely, you are from among the people of the Fire.
9. Can (such people be equal to) the one who worships during the hours of night, prostrating himself and standing, fearing the Hereafter and having hopes in his Lord‘s mercy? Say, :Can those who know and those who do not know become equal? It is only the people of understanding who are receptive of the advice.
10. Say (on My behalf) :O My servants who believe, fear your Lord. Those who do good deeds in this world will have a good return, and the earth of Allah is wide. Certainly those who observe patience will be given their reward in full without measure.
11. Say, :I have been ordered to worship Allah, making my submission exclusive to Him.
12. And I have been ordered to be the first of those who submit.
13. Say, :If I were to disobey my Lord, I fear the punishment of a great day.
14. Say, :It is Allah whom I worship, making my submission exclusive to Him.
15. So, worship what you wish other than Him. Say, :Indeed, the losers are those who (will) lose their selves and their people on the Day of Judgment. Beware, that is really the obvious loss.
16. For them there are canopies of fire on top of them and canopies (of fire) underneath them. That is the thing against which Allah warns His servants. :So, O servants of Mine, fear Me.
17. And those who abstain from worshipping the Taghut and turn fervently to Allah, for them there is good news. So, give the good news to My servants
18. who listen to what is said, then, follow the best of it. Those are the ones whom Allah has guided, and those are the ones who possess understanding.
19. So tell Me about the one for whom the word of punishment is destined, – is it you, then, who would save someone who is already in the Fire?
20. But, for those who fear their Lord, there are chambers with chambers built on top of them, with rivers running from underneath them. This is Allah‘s promise. Allah does not go back on any promise.
21. Have you not seen that Allah sent down water from the sky, then made it penetrate into the earth (and gush forth) in the form of springs? Then He brings forth with it crops of different colors, and afterwards they wither, and you see them turned yellow, then He makes them chaff. Surely in that there is a lesson for the people of understanding.
22. So I ask about a person whose heart Allah has opened up for Islam, and consequently he proceeds in a light from his Lord. (Can he be equal to the one whose heart is hardened?) So, woe to those whose hearts are too hard to remember Allah. Those are wandering in open error.
23. Allah has sent down the best discourse, a book containing subjects resembling each other, mentioned again and again, shivered from which are the skins of those who have awe of their Lord. Then, their skins and their hearts become soft enough to tend to the remembrance of Allah. This is the Guidance of Allah with which He brings to the right path whomsoever He wills. As for the one whom Allah lets go astray, for him there is no one to guide.
24. Tell Me about the one who tries to save himself from the worst punishment with his face on the Day of Judgment, (whether he is equal to the one who is not liable to any punishment.) And it will be said to the wrongdoers, :Have a taste of what you used to earn.
25. Those before them had also rejected (the messengers) and consequently, the punishment came upon them in a way that they had never imagined.
26. Then Allah made them taste disgrace in the worldly life, and of course the punishment of the Hereafter is much greater. Only if they knew!
27. And We have cited for people all sorts of examples in this Qur‘an, so that they may receive the message
28. through an Arabic Qur‘an that has no digression (from the truth), so that they may be God-fearing.
29. Allah has given an example: There is a man (enslaved and) owned by some partners having rivalry with each other, and (on the other hand,) there is a man solely owned by a single man. Can they be equal in comparison? Praise be to Allah! (The truth stands established). But, most of them do not know.
30. Verily, you are to die and they are to die.
31. After that, on the Day of Doom, you will surely place your disputes before your Lord.
32. So, who is more unjust than him who forges a lie against Allah and rejects the truth when it reached him? Is it not that in Jahannam (Hell) there is an abode for the disbelievers?
33. As for the one who has come with the truth and believed it to be true, then such people are the ones who are God-fearing.
34. For them, with their Lord, there is what they wish. That is the reward of those who are good in their deeds,
35. so that Allah wipes out from them the worst deeds they did, and gives their reward to them for the best of what they used to do.
36. Is Allah not sufficient for (the protection of) His slave? They are frightening you of those (false gods whom they worship) other than Him. Whomsoever Allah would let go astray, for him there is no one to guide.
37. And whomsoever Allah gives guidance, for him there is no one to misguide. Is it not that Allah is Mighty, Powerful to avenge?
38. If you ask them as to who created the heavens and the earth, they will certainly say, :Allah. Say, :Then, tell me about those whom you invoke other than Allah, if Allah intends to cause some harm to me, are they (able) to remove the harm caused by Him? Or if He intends to bless me with mercy, are they (able) to hold back His mercy (from me)? Say, :Allah is sufficient for me. In Him trust those who (rightly) trust (in someone).
39. Say, :O my people, do at your place (what you are doing). I am to do (what I have been ordered to). Very soon, you will come to know
40. as to who will be visited by a punishment that will disgrace him, and upon whom a lasting punishment will rest.
41. We have sent down to you the Book for the people with truth. So, whoever follows the guidance, it is for his own good, and whoever goes astray, he will go astray only to his own detriment – and you are not responsible for them.
42. Allah fully takes away the souls (of the people) at the time of their death, and (of) those who do not die, in their sleep. Then He withholds those on whom He had decreed death, and sends others back, up to an appointed term. Surely, in this, there are signs for a people who ponder.
43. Is it that they have adopted intercessors out of those (whom they invoke) other than Allah? Say, :(Do you take them as intercessors) even though they have no power at all, nor do they understand?
44. Say, :Intercession belongs entirely to Allah.
45. When Allah is mentioned alone, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter are filled with disgust, and when those (whom they worship) other than Him are mentioned, they become happy forthwith.
46. Say, :O Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the Knower of the unseen and the seen, you will judge between Your servants in that about which they used to differ.
47. Were the wrongdoers to own all that is on earth, and even twice as much, they would surely seek to ransom themselves with it against the evil punishment on the Day of Judgment. There will appear to them from Allah what they have never imagined.
48. Unveiled to them will be the evils of what they used to earn; and encircled they will be by what they used to ridicule.
49. When man is visited by a trouble, he prays to Us, but when, after that, We favor him with some blessing from Us, he says, :This is given to me because of (my) knowledge. No, but this is a trial, yet most of them do not know.
50. The same was said by those before them, but what they used to earn was of no avail to them,
51. and they were overtaken by the evils of what they had earned; and the wrongdoers from these (infidels too) will be overtaken by the evils of what they have earned – and they will not be able to escape.
52. Do they not know that it is Allah who extends provision to whomsoever He wills, and straitens (it for whomsoever He wills). Surely in that, there are signs for a people who believe.
53. Say (on My behalf), :O servants of Mine who have acted recklessly against their own selves, do not despair of Allah‘s mercy. Surely, Allah will forgive all sins. Surely, He is the One who is the Most-Forgiving, the Very-Merciful.
54. Turn passionately towards your Lord, and submit to Him before the punishment comes to you, after which you will not be helped.
55. And follow the best of what has been sent down to you from your Lord before the punishment comes to you suddenly when you do not even expect,
56. lest someone should say, :Pity on me, because I fell short in respect of (observing the rights of) Allah and in fact, I was one of those who mocked ,
57. or, (lest) someone should say, :If Allah were to show me the way, I would have surely been among those who fear Allah ,
58. or, (lest) someone should say when he sees the punishment, :Would that I have a chance to return, so that I may become one of those who are good in their deeds.
59. No! My verses had reached you, but you called them untrue, and waxed proud, and became of those who disbelieved.
60. And on the Day of Judgment, you will see those who had forged lies against Allah (in a state) that their faces are turned black. Is it not that in Jahannam there is an abode for the arrogant?
61. And Allah will save the God-fearing (from Jahannam ), with utmost success granted to them, so as no evil will touch them, nor will they grieve.
62. Allah is Creator of everything, and He is the Guardian over everything.
63. To Him belong the keys to the heavens and the earth. As for those who have rejected the verses of Allah, it is they who are the losers.
64. Say, :Is it, then, someone other than Allah that you ask me to worship, O ignorant people?
65. It has already been revealed to you and to those before you (that): If you associate (partners with Allah), your deeds shall be rendered useless, and you shall be among the losers.
66. On the contrary, it is Allah whom you should worship; and be among the grateful.
67. They did not hold Allah in His true esteem. The whole earth will be in a single grip of His hand on the Day of Doom, and the heavens (will be) rolled up on his right hand. Pure is He, far too higher than what they associate with Him.
68. And Horn (Sur ) will be blown, and all those in the heavens and all those in the earth will faint, except the one whom Allah wills (otherwise). Thereafter, it will be blown once again, and suddenly they will stand up, looking around.
69. And the earth will shine with the light of its Lord, and the book (of everyone‘s deeds) will be placed, and the prophets and the witnesses will be brought, and matters will be decided between them with justice, and they will not be wronged.
70. And everyone will be paid in full for what he did – and He knows best what they do.
71. Those who disbelieved will be driven towards Jahannam in groups, until when they reach it, its gates will be opened, and its keepers will say to them, :Did messengers from among you not come to you reciting to you the verses of your Lord, and warning you about the meeting of this day of yours? They will say, :Yes (they did), but the word of punishment had become certain against those who disbelieved.
72. It will be said, :Enter the gates of Jahannam to live in it forever. So, how evil is the dwelling-place of the arrogant!
73. And those who used to fear their Lord will be led towards Jannah (Paradise) in groups, until when they reach it, while its gates will be (already) opened (for them), and its keepers will say to them, :Salamun-‘alaikum (peace be on you). How good are you! So, enter it to live here forever.
74. And they will say, :AlHamdulillah : Praise belongs to Allah who made His promise come true for us, and made us inherit the territory, so as we can dwell anywhere we wish in Jannah (Paradise) . So, excellent is the reward of those who did (good) deeds.
75. And you will see the angels ringed around the Throne proclaiming the purity of their Lord, along with His praise, and matters will stand settled between them rightfully, and it will be said: :AlHamdulillahi-rabbil_alamin : Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

Commentary

In verse 2, it was said: فَاعْبُدِ اللَّـهَ مُخْلِصًا لَّهُ الدِّينَ أَلَا لِلَّـهِ الدِّينُ الْخَالِصُ – (so worship Allah in submission to Him exclusively. Remember, Allah alone deserves the exclusive submission.). The word: دِین (deen) at this place means worship, submission, devotion or obedience which is inclusive of adhering to all religious injunctions. In the first statement earlier to this, the address was to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) where he was commanded to make the worship of and obedience to Allah sincere and exclusive for Him, so as there remains no trace of shirk or of any hypocrisy or false pretension. The second statement is to emphasize the first statement in that sincerity in worship is the exclusive right of Allah and no one else, other than Him deserves it.

It has been reported from Sayyidna Abu Hurairah (رض) that someone submitted before the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، ‘Ya rasulallah, there are occasions when I give in charity or do a favor to somebody, but my intention gets mixed up – I do look forward to seek the pleasure of Allah thereby, but I also hope that people will praise me for it.’ The noble prophet of Allah (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said, “By the One in whose hands lies the life of Muhammad, Allah Ta’ ala does not like anything in which someone or something else has been associated as a partner or sharer with Him. Then he recited the verse quoted here as the proof: أَلَا لِلَّـهِ الدِّينُ الْخَالِصُ (Remember, Allah alone deserves the exclusive submission.) “. (Qurtubi)

Acceptance of deeds with Allah depends on unalloyed measure of sincerity

Several verses of the Qur’an bear out that the deeds are not measured with Allah by numbers, instead, they are measured by weight, for example: وَنَضَعُ الْمَوَازِينَ الْقِسْطَ لِيَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ (and We shall place scales to do justice on the Day of Judgment – Al-Anbiya’, 21:47). This verse read in juxtaposition with the verses cited above tell us that the value and weight of deeds is judged by the amount of sincerity with which they are performed, and it goes without saying that perfect sincerity cannot be achieved without perfect faith, because perfect sincerity means that one should not take someone as having intrinsic power to benefit or harm someone other than Allah, nor take someone other than Allah as disposer of one’s acts, nor allow the thought of someone other than Allah enter into any act of worship or obedience of his volition. As for non-voluntary scruples, Allah Ta’ ala forgives them.

The noble Sahabah are the front line of Muslims. Their practice of prayers and good deeds may not appear to be very prominent numerically. But, despite all this, the reason why the single insignificant most of their deeds was superior to the highest of the high deeds of the rest of the Ummah was no other but their very perfection of ‘iman (faith) and perfection of ikhlas (sincerity).

The next sentence in verse 3 says: وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِن دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّ‌بُونَا (As for those who have taken to guardians other than Him [ saying ], “We worship them for no other reason than that they would bring us near to Allah closely.” – 39:3). This is a description of the creed of the Mushriks of Arabia. Even the common people among them during that period of time more or less had the same belief that Allah Ta’ ala is the creator, owner and master in all matters. But when the Shaitan (Shaitan) instigated them, they started making idols in the image of angels, as they imagined they would be. They knew it well that these idols made by them had no consciousness, reason or power, yet they believed that by showing their reverence for these idols, those angels (in whose images these idols are designed) will be pleased with them, and the angels have nearness to Allah.

They compared Allah’s nearness with that of the worldly kings where a courtier who is pleased with someone could put in a good word for him with the king and have him included among his inner circle. So, they surmised that the angels too could recommend anyone they chose very much like the royal courtiers of their world. But, all these ideas they nursed were totally false, in fact, they were nothing but satanic deception. First of all, who can say whether or not these idols happen to be on the real form of the angels and, even if they were, one cannot expect angels close to Allah showing their pleasure over being worshipped by somebody on the earth. In fact, they temperamentally hate everything that Allah Ta’ ala does not like.

In addition to that, angels cannot intercede on behalf of anyone before Allah on their own, unless they are allowed to make their intercession about a particular person. The verse of the Qur’an: وَكَم مِّن مَّلَكٍ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ لَا تُغْنِي شَفَاعَتُهُمْ شَيْئًا إِلَّا مِن بَعْدِ أَن يَأْذَنَ اللَّـهُ لِمَن يَشَاءُ وَيَرْ‌ضَىٰ (And how many angels there are in the heavens whose intercession cannot benefit (anyone) at all, but after Allah allows (it) for whomsoever He wills and pleases – An-Najm, 53:26) means exactly this.

Even the polytheists of that period were better than the disbelievers of today

Modern day materialistic disbelievers already deny the very existence of Allah Ta’ ala and would not demur when making audacious remarks against Him. Kufr or disbelief is now an imported stuff. Take the kufr that is imported from Europe. It may come in different colors and shades, like capitalism and communism. Yet, there is a common denominator. God forbid, they hold, nothing like God exists. We are masters of our destiny. There is no one to question us as to what we are doing. Terrible ingratitude indeed! As a consequence, peace has disappeared from the whole world. Ever-new gadgets of comfort proliferate, but real comfort remains missing. Advancements in health care have never been at a level they are today, but there is a matching abundance of diseases hitherto unheard of. Security arrangements, police, guards, surveillance abound, but the graph of crime keeps rising.

This craze for new instrumentation and gadgetry and this relentless pursuit of pleasure and comfort through state-of-the-art objects one is being pushed to live with are things, if someone cares to think about it, that have assumed the proportions of a curse for innocent human beings so fondly created by their Maker. As for the punishment of kufr in the Hereafter, it is, as due for all disbelievers, an everlasting stay in the Jahannam. But, one should not forget that this blind ingratitude could not go unaccounted for. The ungrateful person has to undergo some punishment for it within this world for the reason that the ungrateful person used the blessings of Allah even to ride the skies, yet failed to thank Him for it. How apt is the Persian quip: ‘In the middle of the house, I forgot the master of the house!’

The first sentence of verse 4: لَّوْ أَرَ‌ادَ اللَّـهُ أَن يَتَّخِذَ وَلَدًا (Had Allah opted to have a son of His own) is a refutation of the allegation of those who said that angels were the progeny of Allah. The idea was false and absurd. Taking it on as a supposition of the impossible, it was said: If Allah Ta’ ala were to have, God forbid, any children, it goes without saying that it could not have happened without His intention and will, for it would have been impossible as children are not imposed on anyone – definitely not so in the case of Allah. Then, suppose He had the intention, in which case, everyone other than Him happens to have been created him, so He would have picked up one of them to be His progeny. Now, children have to be of the same genus as the father, and the created cannot be of the same genus as the creator, therefore, the intention to have progeny from the created becomes impossible.

In verse 5, it was said: يُكَوِّرُ‌ اللَّيْلَ عَلَى النَّهَارِ‌ (He wraps the night over the day and He wraps the day over the night,). The word: تَکوِیر (takwir) means to throw something on top of the other and thereby hide it. The Qur’an has elected to express the phenomenon of the alternation of the night and day in terms of common perception – when night comes, it is as if a curtain has been thrown against the light of the day, and when the day comes, the darkness of the night goes behind the curtain.

Both the Moon and the Sun move

Later in verse 5, it was said: كُلٌّ يَجْرِ‌ي لِأَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى (each one of them moving for an appointed term.) This tells us that both the Sun and the Moon move. Scientific researches in astronomy and geology are not the subject of the noble Qur’an, or of any other scripture. But, it is obligatory to believe in whatever appears there as a corollary in this matter. Scientific findings, old or new, keep changing all the time. Qur’anic facts are changeless. Whatever the cited verse tells us – that the Sun and the Moon are both moving – believing in it is obligatory. Now, there remains the other matter – does the rising and setting of the Sun relate to the movement of the earth, or to the movement of these very planets? The Qur’an neither confirms nor rejects it. Hence, there is no hitch in accepting what experience or experiment bears out.

In verse 6, it was said: وَأَنزَلَ لَكُم مِّنَ الْأَنْعَامِ ثَمَانِيَةَ أَزْوَاجٍ (and sent down for you eight pairs of the cattle.). The creation of the cattle has been expressed in this verse by saying that they have been ‘sent down from the skies’ whereby an indication has been given that a major factor in their creation is water that is sent down from sky. Therefore, it can be said that these too were as if sent down from the skies. The noble Qur’an has used the same expression for human dress: أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ لِبَاسًا (We have sent down to you clothing – A1-A` raf, 7:26). Then, this word also appears in relation to some minerals, for instance, iron: وَأَنزَلْنَا الْحَدِيدَ j (and We sent down iron – Al-Hadid, 57:25). The purpose is to emphasize that these things were created through the intrinsic power of Allah Ta’ ala, and that they were given to human beings as His blessings. (Qurtubi)

Towards the later part of verse 6, it was said: خَلْقًا مِّن بَعْدِ خَلْقٍ فِي ظُلُمَاتٍ ثَلَاثٍ (He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, in three layers of darkness.) Here, some clues to the mysteries of Divine power that work in the creation of man have been released. First of all, it was well within the power of Allah Ta’ ala that He could have made the infant come to be created whole and complete in the womb of the mother within a single instant. But, such was the dictate of wisdom and expedient consideration that it was not done. Instead, a process of gradualness was opted for as indicated by: خَلْقًا مِّن بَعْدِ خَلْقٍ (creation after creation).

The purpose was to ensure that the woman in whose womb this ‘mini universe’ was taking shape should gradually become used to bearing its burden. Secondly, the creation of this matchless marvel of beauty and efficiency provided with hundreds of precision gadgets, hair-thin veins to carry life-blood and spiritual input was not to look like things created by common industrialists in spacious factories under glowing lights. Instead of that, this marvel of creation has reached its completion at a place shielded by three layers of darkness, a location so hidden from night that it beats all imagination. فَتَبَارَ‌كَ اللَّـهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ (glorious is Allah, the best of the Creators – Al-mu’ minun, 23:14).

In the opening verse (7), it was said: إِن تَكْفُرُ‌وا فَإِنَّ اللَّـهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنكُمْ (If you disbelieve, then, Allah does not need you at all,) that is, neither does your faith bring any benefit to Allah Ta’ ala, nor does your disbelief or ingratitude, any loss. According to a Hadith in Sahih of Muslim, Allah Ta’ ala said: “0 My servants, even if the first and the last among you and the humans and the Jinns, all of them, were to fall in sin and disobedience, it does not affect My power and authority in the least.” (Ibn Kathir)

Next it was said: لَا يَرْ‌ضَىٰ لِعِبَادِهِ الْكُفْرَ‌ (however He does not like for His servants to be disbelievers,) The word: رِضاء (rida) means love, liking, pleasure, or to intend to do something without objection. Its antonym: سَخَط (sakhat) means to detest something or take it to be objectionable – even if it is coupled with intention.

Ruling

Ahl-us-sunnah wa-l-Jama’ah believe that nothing good or bad, faith or disbelief can come into existence without the will and intention of Allah Ta’ ala. Therefore, for everything to come into existence, the intention of Allah Ta’ ala is a binding condition. However, the pleasure and favor of Allah Ta’ ala relates to ‘iman (faith) and good deeds only. Kufr (disbelief), Shirk (ascribing of partners to Allah) and acts of disobedience are things He does not like. Shaikh-ul-Islam Nawawi writes in his book, اَلاصُول وَ الضَوَابِط ، al-usul wa-d- dawabit:

The creed (madhhab) of people who follow the truth (ahl-ul-haqq) is to believe in destiny (al-qadr) and that all existents, good or bad, come into existence under the decision (qada’ ) and destination (qadar) of Allah Ta’ ala, and Allah Ta’ ala does make the intention to create these, but He dislikes acts of disobedience and sin – though, the intention of creating these materializes in view of some wise consideration which He alone knows in His most exalted majesty. (Ruh-ul-Ma` ani)

In the first sentence of verse 9, it was said: أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَانِتٌ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ (Can (such people be equal to) the one who worships during the hours of the night, prostrating and standing, fearing the Hereafter and having hopes in his Lord’s mercy?). The first word: أَمَّنْ (amman) is a combination of two words: اَم (am: an interrogative particle) and: مَن (man: relative pronoun). Before this sentence, the disbelievers have told on behalf of Allah Ta’ ala that they can go ahead and enjoy the fruits of their disbelief and sin during this mortal life, but finally they are doomed to stoke the fire of Jahannam. After then, the present sentence takes up the description of an obedient believer that has been initiated with the question word of أَمَّنْ (amman).

Scholars of exegesis have said that there is an ellipsis of a sentence that should have appeared earlier, that is, the disbeliever will be told, ‘are you better, or is it the obedient believer who has been mentioned later?’. The word: قَانِت (qanit) has been explained variously. That which comprehends all these meanings comes from Sayyidna Ibn Masud (رض) . According to him, it means devotedly obedient, and when this word is used in conjunction with Sala ھ ، as in: قُومُوا لِلَّـهِ قَانِتِينَ (Stand before Allah in total devotion – Al-Baqarah, 2:238), there it means the person who lowers his gaze in salah, does not see right and left, does not play with his body or clothes and does not voluntarily remember anything from his worldly life. Any incidence of forgetfulness or involuntary scruple would not be considered contrary to this. (Qurtubi)

Immediately next in verse 9, it was said: آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ (during the hours of the night). The expression means hours of the night and denotes the early, the middle and the last part of the night. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas (رض) said that, ‘a person who wishes that Allah Ta’ ala would make the reckoning on the plains of Resurrection easy on him should so manage himself that Allah Ta’ ala finds him in the state of Sujud (prostration) and Qiyam (stance of standing) during the darkness of the night in an emotional condition in which he is concerned about his fate in the Hereafter, yet is hoping for the mercy of Allah.’ Some early commentators have identified the time between Maghrib and ‘Isha’ also as included in the expression آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ (‘ana’-ul-lail). (Qurtubi)

In verse 10, it was said: وَأَرْ‌ضُ اللَّـهِ وَاسِعَةٌ (and the earth of Allah is wide).In the sentence previous to this, Good deeds had been enjoined. This might prompt someone to come up with the excuse, ‘The city or country in which I live, or the social milieu I am stuck with around me stops me from doing good deeds.’ This sentence carries an answer to this excuse – ‘if you find adherence to Islamic legal injunctions difficult while living in some particular country, city or social setup, then, leave it. The earth of Allah is wide enough.

Go and live at a place and in a surrounding that is conducive to remaining obedient to Divine commandments.’ This persuades one to migrate from a place living in which one cannot dutifully follow and observe what has been enjoined by his religion. Some rules relating to hijrah (emigration)

In the last sentence of verse 10, it was said: إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُ‌ونَ أَجْرَ‌هُم بِغَيْرِ‌ حِسَابٍ (Certainly those who observe patience will be given their reward in full without measure.) The expression: بِغَيْرِ‌ حِسَابٍ (bighayri-hisab: without measure) means that the reward of those who endure ordeals will not be given to them under some pre-determined calculations or measures, instead, it will be sans-calculation, sans-reckoning, in a spirit of generosity at its most sublime as mentioned in a Hadith narration that follows. Some others have interpreted this expression in the sense of request, or claim, that is, in this worldly life, should someone have some right due on someone, he has to initiate the claim for it. But, with Allah, those who observe patience will be given their reward without any request or claim.

Qatadah reports from Sayyidna Anas (رض) that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said, ‘On the Day of Judgment, a Scale of Justice will be set in place. When people who had given Sadaqah (charity) come forward, whatever they had given will be weighed, and they will be given their full reward against it. Similarly, the acts of worship such as Salah and Hajj will be weighed, and its reward would be duly given to those who had performed these. And when come those who had stood patient against trials and tribulations, for them, there will be no measure and weight, instead, their return and reward will be rolled down towards them without calculation, measure or reckoning – because, Allah Ta ala has said: إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُ‌ونَ أَجْرَ‌هُم بِغَيْرِ‌ حِسَابٍ (Certainly those who observe patience will be given their reward in full without measure. – 39:10). So much so that people who had lived their life of the mortal world in perfect peace and comfort would wish, ‘alas! Had our bodies been shredded with scissors during our life in the mortal world, we too would have earned a similar return for our endurance and patience against trials.’

Imam Malik (رح) has taken: صَابرین (as-sabirun) in this verse to mean people who endure hardships and remain patient over sorrows of the mortal life. Some elders have said that it means people who hold their self in check against acts of disobedience and sin. Qurtubi says, ‘when the word: صَابِر (sabir: patient) is uttered unaccompanied by some other word, it invariably means a person who observes patience against hardships caused during the process of making one’s desiring self abstain from sins. And when the word: صَبر (sabir) is used for a person who remains patient against distress, it is coupled with some other words: صَابِرت علی کَذَا (one who is patient against such and such distress). وَاللہ سبحانہ و تعالیٰ اَعلَم Allah knows best.

Commentary

  In the Tafsir of verses 17 and 18: فَبَشِّرْ‌ عِبَادِ ﴿17﴾ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقَوْلَ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ أَحْسَنَهُ ۚ أُولَـٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ هَدَاهُمُ اللَّـهُ ۖ وَأُولَـٰئِكَ هُمْ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ (So, give the good news to My servants who listen to what is said, then, follow the best of it. Those are the ones whom Allah has guided, and those are the ones who possess understanding), there are several views expressed by learned commentators. One of these is what Ibn Kathir has opted for. Maulana Ashraf ` Ali Thanavi has also gone by it. According to this view, the word: القول (al-qawl:what is said) used here means Qur’an, the Word of Allah, or it means the Qur’an inclusive of the teachings of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) – and all of it is but the best. Therefore, the obvious dictate of the occasion was to say: يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقَوْلَ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ (who listen to what is said, then, follow it). But, that is not how it was said, instead, the word: أَحْسَنَ (ahsan) was added which indicates that these people did not follow the Qur’an and the teachings of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) with any lack of discernment as is the way of some common people who hear something from someone and start following it without any inquiry, deliberation or insight.

In fact, these are believers who have followed the Word of Allah and the teachings of His Rasul after having found it true and best. As a result, towards the end of the verse, they have been praised as being: أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ (ulu-l-al-bab) that is, the people of understanding, (the wise, the farsighted, and the discerning ones). Another example of this appears in the Qur’an itself when Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) is being addressed about the Torah in the following words:فَخُذْهَا بِقُوَّةٍ وَأْمُرْ‌ قَوْمَكَ يَأْخُذُوا بِأَحْسَنِهَا (So hold it firm, and ask your people to hold on to the best things in it – Al-A` raf, 7:145). Here too, the word: اَحسَن (ahsan) means the entire Torah and its injunctions. Similarly, in the verses cited above, ‘listening to the word’ means ‘listening to the Qur’an’ and ‘following the best’ means ‘following the entire Qur’an’ which has been referred to as: أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ           (ahsan al-Hadith: the best thing said). In connection with this very Tafsir – that ‘al-qawl’ should be taken to mean the Qur’an particularly – some elders have also said that in the Qur’an as well there are many injunctions that have degrees of    (hasan: good) and حَسَن (ahsan: better, best).

For example, retaliation and pardon are both permissible, but pardon is better and more graceful: وَأَن تَصْبِرُ‌وا خَيْرٌ‌ لَّكُمْ (and that you be patient is better for you – An-Nis’ – 4:25). There are many things in which the Qur’an gives one the choice to take to what one likes without any apprehension of sin, but, on occasions, it has also pinpointed one of these as being the best and most graceful thing to do, for example: وَأَن تَعْفُوا أَقْرَ‌بُ لِلتَّقْوَىٰ (And it is closer to taqwa that you forgive – Al-Baqarah, 2:237). There are many things in which concession has been granted, but opting for the way of courage and determination has still been called better and more graceful. Thus, the verse comes to mean that these people listen to the injunctions of the Qur’an – those relating to concession (rukhsah) as well as those relating to the courageous determination (` azimah) – but elect to follow the course of determination instead of concession. And in everything where they have a choice between two things, one being good and the other, better, then, invariably they elect to do what is better.

Then, there are many commentators who take ‘al-qawl’ at this place to mean what is said by common people that includes things about tauhid, shirk, kufr, Islam, haqq and batil, even about the refinements of truth as good, better, weightier and outweighed. If we were to follow this Tafsir, the verse would mean that, as far as listening is concerned, these people do listen to what everyone has to say – be they disbelievers or believer, be it truth or falsehood, good or bad, everything – but, when it comes to following, they follow only that which is the best. Thus, they follow tauhid, not shirk; haqq (truth), not batil (falsehood), and if they have to choose between the degrees of haqq, they follow that which is better and weightier.

Therefore, these people were credited with two attributes: (1) Firstly, by virtue of: ھَدٰبھُمُ اللہُ (Allah has guided them – 39:18), therefore, they do not go astray after having listened to so many different things. (2) Secondly, by the compliment of: وَأُولَـٰئِكَ هُمْ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ (and they are the ones who possess understanding – 39:18), that is, they are sensible people, and their good sense, insight and discernment helps them draw the line between good and bad, true and false. Thus, when such people have the ability to distinguish between good and better and when it comes to opting for one of the two, they would opt for the better.

Therefore, it has been said that this verse was revealed about Sayyidna Zayd Ibn ` Amr Ibn Nufayl, Sayyidna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari and Sayyidna Salman al-Farisi (رض) . Sayyidna Zayd Ibn ` Amru Ibn Nufayl (رض) used to hate shirk and idol worship even during the days of Jahiliyyah. The other two Sahabah, Sayyidna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari and Sayyidna Salman al-Farisi (رض) listened to people of different religions, to the mushriks, the Jews and the Christians, and saw their ways of life, and it was only then that they embraced Islam and, finding the teachings of the Qur’an as the best, they preferred them. (Qurtubi)

The word: يَنَابِيعَ (yanabi in verse 21: فَسَلَكَهُ يَنَابِيعَ فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ (made it penetrate into the earth [ and gush forth ] in the form of springs) is the plural form of: یَنبُوع (yanbu) which means springs that gush out from the soil. The sense is that the act of sending down water from the sky is by itself a great blessing, but also crucial was the arrangement to conserve it underground. But for this arrangement to save this blessing of water, its users would have derived benefit from it only at the time of rains, or for a few days following it. Although, on water depends their life, and it is the kind of need one cannot stay free from, even for a day.

Therefore, Allah Ta’ ala did not consider it sufficient to just send down this blessing, instead, made elaborate and very unique arrangements for its conservation. Some of it gets deposited in ditches, ponds, tanks and reservoirs. Then a huge supply is turned into ice and made to sit on mountain peaks and its ridges, an arrangement that takes care of the danger of water going bad. Then ice melts and water travels through veins in the mountains until it reaches the land and gushes out in the form of streams, all over, on its own, without any human input, and finally finds its way through the land in the form of rivulets and rivers. Rest of the water keeps flowing underground which can be retrieved by digging a well almost anywhere.

Later in verse 21, it was said: مُّخْتَلِفًا أَلْوَانُهُ  (the crops of different colours). At the time the crops grow and ripen, colors keep changing from one to the other. Since these colors change, therefore, the word: مُّخْتَلِفًا (mukhtalifan), in terms of its grammatical analysis, has been used in the form of: حَال (ha state, circumstantial condition) which denotes change.

In the last sentence of verse 21, it was said: إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَذِكْرَ‌ىٰ لِأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ (Surely, in that, there is a lesson for the people of understanding), that is, in this process – when water is sent down, is conserved, is made available to human beings to grow all sorts of crops and trees the colors of which change following which they turn yellow and dry making grains separate from chaff – there is a great lesson for people of understanding, because they provide the proof of the infinite power and wisdom of Allah Ta’ ala. These are visible signs that could lead human beings to discover the reality behind their own creation, and that in turn, could become the means through which one succeeds in recognizing his or her own creator and master.

In the first sentence of verse 22, it was said: أَفَمَن شَرَ‌حَ اللَّـهُ صَدْرَ‌هُ لِلْإِسْلَامِ فَهُوَ عَلَىٰ نُورٍ‌ مِّن رَّ‌بِّهِ (So I ask about a person whose heart Allah has opened up for Islam, and consequently he proceeds in a light from his Lord.). The word: شَرَ‌حَ (sharh) literally means to open, enlarge or extend. The expression: شرح الصدر (sharh-us-sadr) means the capacity or capability of the heart (to receive and accommodate input). The sense is that one’s heart is capable of learning lessons and receiving benefits by deliberating into Divine signs of creation in the heavens and the earth, particularly so by deliberating in his own creation. Similar is the case with other signs of Allah revealed in the form of scriptures and injunctions. One’s heart also has to have the ability to deliberate in them and be benefited by them. In contrast, there is a heart that is straightened or hardened. The statement in a verse of the Qur’an: يَجْعَلْ صَدْرَ‌هُ ضَيِّقًا حَرَ‌جًا He makes his heart narrow, much too narrow – Al-An am, 6:125) and the one in the next verse at this place: لِّلْقَاسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُم “woe to those whose hearts are too hard to remember Allah – 39:22” has appeared in contrast to this very ‘sharh-us-sadr’ (a heart opened to acceptance of truth and at ease with it).

According to a narration from Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn Masud (رض) ، when the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) recited this verse: أَفَمَن شَرَ‌حَ اللَّـهُ صَدْرَ‌هُ (Is it not that, a person for whom Allah opens up his heart…), we asked him about the meaning of ‘sharh-us-sadr’. He said, “when the light of ‘iman (faith) enters the human heart, it enhances its capacity (which makes the comprehension and implementation of Divine commandments easy on the person concerned).” We submitted, ‘ya rasulallah, what is the sign of it (that is, of ‘sharh-us-sadr’ )?’ Then, he said:

“Longing passionately for the eternal home, and seeking refuge from the deceptive abode, and preparing for death before its arrival.” – Reported by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak and al-Baihaqi in Shu` ab-u1-‘iman (Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani).

The verse under study has been initiated as headed by an interrogative particle: اَفمَن (afaman). The sense it carries can be explained by saying: ‘Can a person whose heart has been opened up for Islam – and he is on the light coming from his Lord, that is, does everything under it – and another person with a hardened heart be equal?’ The contrasting part relating to the hardened heart has been mentioned in the next verse with a warning of woeful punishment attached to it.

In this verse (22), it was said: فَوَيْلٌ لِّلْقَاسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُم (woe to those whose hearts are too hard to remember Allah). The word:                الْقَاسِيَةِ (al-qasiyah) is a derivation from: قَسَاوَت (qasawah) which means to be hard-hearted, having no mercy for anyone, and also the one who remains totally unaffected by the need to remember Allah and follow His injunctions.

Verse 23 opens with the words: اللَّـهُ نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابًا مُّتَشَابِهًا مَّثَانِيَ (Allah has sent down the best discourse, a book containing subjects resembling each other, mentioned again and again). In the verse previous to it, the state of the faithful servants of Allah was mentioned as: يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقَوْلَ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ أَحْسَنَهُ (who listen to what is said, then, follow the best of it – 39:18). Here, in the verse under study (23), we have been told that the whole Qur’an is ‘ahsan-ul-hadith,’ the best of what is said. The word: حَدِیث (Hadith) literally means the speech or account that is related. The outcome of calling Qur’an, ‘ahsan-ul-hadith, is that, out of everything human beings say or relate, the Qur’an remains the most eloquent. Onwards from here, some attributes of the Qur’an have been mentioned: (1) It is: كِتَابًا مُّتَشَابِهًا (a book containing subjects resembling each other).

At this place, the word: مُتَشَابِہ (mutashabih) means resembling each other or mutually corresponding, that is, the subjects dealt with in the Qur’an are related to each other, and are similar. So much so that one verse gets to be explained or confirmed by another verse. This ‘word’ is free of contradiction and conflict. (2) The second attribute is: مَثَانِی (mathani) which is the plural form of: مَثنٰی (mathna) which means repeated. The sense is that a subject is taken up repeatedly in the Qur’an to help make it settle down in one’s mind. (3) As for the third attribute, it was described in very eloquent words by saying: تَقْشَعِرُّ‌ مِنْهُ جُلُودُ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَ‌بَّهُمْ (shivered from which are the skins of those who have awe of their Lord.) that is, ‘so overwhelmed and apprehensive the God-fearing become before the greatness of Allah that they, when reciting the Qur’an, are gripped with such an state of awe that it makes their hair stand on end.’ (4) The fourth attribute has been identified as: ثُمَّ تَلِينُ جُلُودُهُمْ وَقُلُوبُهُمْ إِلَىٰ ذِكْرِ‌ اللَّـهِ (Then, their skins and their hearts become soft enough to tend to the remembrance of Allah.), that is, the recitation of the Qur’an affects them in two ways. First, as said immediately above, when they hear the warnings of punishment, it makes their hair stand on end. Then they listen to the verses promising mercy and forgiveness which takes them to a state when their bodies and hearts turn tenderized, mellowed in the remembrance of Allah. Sayyidah Asma’ bint Abi Bakr (رض) says that this used to be the common emotional state of the noble Sahabah – when the Qur’an was recited before them, tear would be rolling down their eyes, and the hair would be standing on end. (Qurtubi)

It has been narrated by Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Abbas (رض) that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said, “A servant over whose body hair would stand on end due to the fear of Allah, then, Allah Ta’ ala forbids the Fire from ever touching his body. (Qurtubi)

Commentary

Verse أَفَمَن يَتَّقِي بِوَجْهِهِ (Tell Me about the one who tries to save himself from the worst punishment with his face …) carries a description of the terrifying scenario of Jahannam. If one faces something hurtful in his mortal life, he tries to fight it off by using his hands and feet as defensive shields to protect his face. But, refuge with Allah, the people of Jahannam will not be able to use even their hands and feet to defend themselves. The punishment that comes will fall directly on their faces. Even if he wished to ward off the punishment in defense, he would have no option but to use his very face as the shield, because he would have been thrown in Jahannam with his hands and feet tied. We seek refuge with Allah from such a fate.

Out of the authorities of Tafsir, ` Ata and Ibn Zayd said that a person condemned to Jahannam will have his hands and feet tied before being dragged in there. (Qurtubi)

In verse 30, it was said: إِنَّكَ مَيِّتٌ وَإِنَّهُم مَّيِّتُونَ (Verily, you are to die and they are to die). The word: مَيِّتٌ (mayyit) with a doubling sound on the letter: اَلیاء (al-ya) denotes someone who will die in the future and مَیت (mait) with the letter al-ya’ remaining quiescent, someone who has died. In this verse, the address is to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and it is being said to him that he too is to die and so are his friends and foes, who will also die. The objective behind the statement is to alert and persuade everyone to be concerned about the Hereafter and be ready to do everything necessary to achieve this goal. Then, as an inter-related side of the subject, the purpose is also to make it very clear that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) too, despite being the most sublime among the creation and the foremost among prophets, is not exempted from death, so that people would not differ about this matter after his passing away from this mortal world (from al-Qurtubi).

Justice in the court of Resurrection: The form in which the right of the oppressed will be retrieved from the oppressor

In verse 31, it was said: ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ عِندَ رَ‌بِّكُمْ تَخْتَصِمُونَ   (After that, on the Day of Doom, you will surely place your disputes before your Lord). Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas (رض) says that the word:إِنَّكُمْ (innakum: surely you…) at this place includes – believers, disbelievers, Muslims – all of them, oppressor or oppressed. All of them will submit their cases in the court of their Lord, and He will have the right of the oppressed paid back by the oppressor whether a disbeliever, or believer. And the form in which these rights will be paid back will be what has mentioned in a narration of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah (رض) that appears in the Sahih of al-Bukhari.

According to this, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، said, ‘a person who has a right of someone due against him should either pay it off, or have it forgiven right here in this world and become halal, that is, stand absolved of any responsibility on that count. The reason is that there are not going to be any currencies of dirhams and dinars (or any others found in the mortal world) in the universe of the Hereafter. If the oppressor has some good deeds in his account, then, these deeds will be taken from him to the measure of the oppression he did, and will be given to the oppressed. And in case he has no good deeds with him, bad deeds and sins of the oppressed will be taken from him and put into the account of the oppressor.

And there is a narration of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah (رض) in Sahih Muslim according to which the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) on a certain day asked his noble Sahabah, “Do you know who a pauper is?” The Sahabah said, ya rasulAllah, as for us, a pauper is one who has neither cash nor things needed (to run one’s life).’ He said, “The real pauper in my Ummah is a person who will come to the Day of Judgment with lots of good deeds, prayers, fasts, zakah and things like that, but such would the record (of his dealings with others) that he (in his mortal life) would have hurled invectives on someone, leveled false accusation against someone, devoured someone’s property by unfair means, had someone killed, beaten or harassed. All those so oppressed will take their plaint before Allah, and the good deeds of the oppressor will be distributed over the oppressed. After that, when no good deeds are left, and the claims of the oppressed still remain to be settled, then, the sins of the oppressed will be passed on to the oppressor, and he will be thrown into the Jahannam. [ Hence, this person despite having everything, ended up being a pauper on the Day of Judgment – he is what a real pauper is!]

And Tabarani, citing a trustworthy authority, has reported from Sayyidna Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (رض) that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said, “The first case presented in the court of Allah will be that of man and his wife and, by God, the tongue will be silent there, instead, hands and feet of the woman will bear witness as to blames she used to impute to her husband. Similarly, the hands and feet of the man will bear witness as to how he used to cause pain to his wife. After that, servants will be brought before their respective masters, and redress will be provided for their complaints. After that, people from common markets with whom one had one or the other dealing will be presented, and if one of them has been subjected to some injustice, his right will be duly vacated.’

All deeds will be given against oppressions and infringement of rights, but one’s ‘iman (faith) will not be given

After having reported all Hadith narrations cited above, it has been said in Tafsir Mazhari that the thing mentioned about giving the deeds of the oppressor in settlement of the rights of the oppressed means deeds other than ‘iman (faith). The reason is that all oppressions and injustices are acts of sin. They are not kufr or disbelief. And the punishment of sinful deeds will be limited as against ‘iman (faith) which is a limitless deed. Its reward too is limitless, that is, living in Jannah forever – even though, it may happen after having gone through the punishment of sins and staying in Jahannam for a certain period of time. The outcome is, when the good deeds of the oppressor – with the exception of ‘iman (faith) – will finish once given to the oppressed to the last deed leaving nothing behind but ‘iman, then, this ‘iman will not be taken away from him forcibly. Instead, the rights of the oppressed will be paid back by putting the sins of the oppressed in the account of the oppressor. As a result, this person will, after he has undergone the punishment of his sins, will finally enter the Jannah, and then this state of his will be everlasting. The author of Tafsir Mazhari says that Imam al-Baihaqi has also said so.

In verse 32, it was said: كَذَّبَ بِالصِّدْقِ (rejects the truth) while in verse 33, it was said: الَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ (As for the one who has come with the truth): At both these places, the word الصِّدْقِ : (as-sidq: the truth) means teachings brought by the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، whether it be the Qur’an, or be other teachings of ahadith in addition to the Qur’an. And the expression: صَدَّقَ بِهِ (saddaga bihi: and believed it to be true – 39:33) includes all believers who have testified to it.

Commentary

In the first verse (36), it was said: أَلَيْسَ اللَّـهُ بِكَافٍ عَبْدَهُ (Is Allah not sufficient for (the protection of) His slave?). This verse was revealed in the background of an event. The disbelievers had threatened the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and his noble Sahabah by saying that, should they act irreverently against their idols, they would never escape the curse of these idols, something very lethal to face. In reply, they were told: Is Allah not sufficient for His slave?

Therefore, some commentators have taken: عَبْدَه (abdahu: His slave) here to mean a particular slave of Allah, that is, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . Maulana Ashraf ` Ali Thanavi (رح) ، a summary of whose Tafsir appears in the original edition of Ma’ ariful-Qur’an, has also opted for this very Tafsir. Then there are other commentators who have taken abd or slave in its general sense. Another qira’ah (rendition) of this verse as: عِبَادہ (` ibadihi: His slaves) supports this position. And as for the subject itself, it is, after all, general in the sense that Allah Ta’ ala is sufficient for everyone among His slaves.

A lesson, and a good counsel

In verse 36, it was said: وَيُخَوِّفُونَكَ بِالَّذِينَ مِن دُونِهِ (And they are frightening you of those [ false gods whom they worship ] other than Him.), that is, ‘the disbelievers frighten you with the displeasure of their false objects of worship’. Readers of this verse generally tend to pass by it thinking that it is talking about a particular event that relates to the threats of disbelievers and to the blessed person of the Holy Prophet t, hence they would not exert enough to find out the guidance that it has for us. Although, it is an open fact that anyone who threatens a Muslim on the ground that, should he not do such and such haram act or sin, his superiors at whose mercy he is, will be displeased with him, and may even hurt him is also included under this verse, even if the person giving a threat is a Muslim, and the person he is being threatened of is also no one else but a Muslim, virtually Muslims on both sides. And these are terrible times for all. This happens all over the world, in most jobs they do. They have to face a dilemma.

Are they willing and ready to contravene the Divine laws (they are bound with)? Or else, are they prepared to become targets of the wrath and retribution of their superior officers? This verse gives a guideline good enough for all of them: Is Allah Ta’ ala not sufficient to protect you? Here you are. You make a resolve that you will abstain from committing sins exclusively for the sake of Allah. Then you simply do not care about any officer, any authority asking you to act counter to Divine laws. If you do just that, the help and support of Allah Taala shall be with you. The worst that can happen is that you may lose that job. So, what? Allah Ta’ ala will make some other arrangement for your sustenance. And for that matter, it is typical of a believer that he himself keeps trying to find a suitable job elsewhere after which he is placed in a position of leaving it immediately.

The time to sleep and the time to die: How is the soul exacted and what is the difference between the two

In verse 42, it was said: اللَّـهُ يَتَوَفَّى الْأَنفُسَ حِينَ مَوْتِهَا وَالَّتِي لَمْ تَمُتْ فِي مَنَامِهَا (Allah fully takes away the souls [ of the people ] at the time of their death, and [ of ] those who do not die, in their sleep.). The word: تَوَفَّی (tawaffa) literally means to receive, to take back, exact. In this verse, Allah Ta’ ala has stated very clearly and emphatically that the spirits or souls (arwah) of living beings are under the free will and discretionary dispensation of Allah Ta’ ala at all times and under all conditions. He can seize, exact and take them back at will. And there is at least one manifestation of this absolutely autonomous dispensation that every living being sees and feels everyday when, once asleep, the ruh (spirit, soul) of a person is, so to say, taken away from the body, then, returned on rising from sleep, and ultimately, one such time is bound to come when this ruh stands seized, absolutely and conclusively, following which, this will never be returned.

According to Tafsir Mazhari, the sense of ‘taking the ruh away’ is to sever its connection with the human body. There are occasions when it is totally severed, both outwardly and inwardly. This is what death is. Then, there are occasions when it is severed only outwardly while it remains active inwardly, the effect of which is that it is only the sense and volitional movement – being obvious signs of life – that are severed, however, the connection of ruh with the body remains active inwardly. Under this arrangement, one breathes and stays alive, however, the form it takes is that the human spirit (ruh) is made to turn its attention to a (panoramic) study of the universe of images (‘Alam-ul-mithal), and whereby it is made to pass into a state of forgetfulness and suspension away from this universe, so that one can become fully at rest. And then, at times, even this inward connection is severed because of which the life of the body goes extinct, totally.

In the verse cited above, the word: يَتَوَفَّى (yatawaffa) in the sense of ‘takes in full’ (qabd) is used by way of ` umum-ul- majaz which covers both meanings. This difference of ruh (spirit, soul) being taken away both in death and sleep delineated earlier also finds support in a saying of Sayyidna ` Ali (رض) . He said that, at the time of sleep, the ruh of a person goes away from his body, but a beam or ray of ruh stays behind in the body due to which one remains alive – and it is through this ‘beamed’ connection that one sees a dream. Then this dream, in the event that it has been seen in the state the attention of the ruh was raptly turned towards the universe of images, is a true dream. But, if it was seen in a state when the ruh was returning back to the body, then, it becomes polluted with Shaitanic inputs, and that dream no more remains a true dream. And he also said that the ruh that comes out of the body of a person during the state of sleep returns to the body when one wakes up within a time that is much less than an eye would take to wink.

In verse 46, it was said: قُلِ اللَّـهُمَّ فَاطِرَ‌ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْ‌ضِ (Say, “0 Allah, Creator of the heavens and the earth…). According to a narration of Sayyidna ` Abd-ur-Rahman Ibn ` Awf (رض) appearing in Sahih Muslim, he says, “I asked Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) L as to what it was from which the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) began his nightly prayer (tahajjud)? She said, ‘When he rose for the salah of tahajjud, he used to recite this prayer:

0 Allah, Lord of Jabra’i1 and Mika’il and Israfil, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the unseen and the seen, you will judge between Your servants in that about which they used to differ.. Guide me, with Your will, to the truth in which people have disputes, for You are the One who guides whomsoever He wills to the straight path.

A prayer that is answered

Sayyidna Said Ibn Jubayr (رض) says that he knows a verse of the noble Qur’an after reciting which the prayer one makes is answered. Then he pointed out to this very verse that begins with the words: اللَّـهُمَّ فَاطِرَ‌ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْ‌ضِ (0 Allah, Creator of the heavens and the earth… to the end of verse 39:46) – (al-Qurtubi)

In verse 47, it was said: وَبَدَا لَهُم مِّنَ اللَّـهِ مَا لَمْ يَكُونُوا يَحْتَسِبُونَ (And there will appear to them from Allah what they have never imagined.) The famous tabi` i, Sufyan Thawri recited this verse and said, ‘Ruined are those who did good deeds only to pretend their piety before people. (He repeated this sentence twice) This verse is about them. They did good deeds in their mortal life to impress people, who took them to be good people. Even they themselves used to deceive themselves by thinking that these deeds will become a source of salvation for them in the Hereafter. But, as these were never performed with unalloyed sincerity (‘ikhlas), they deserve no reward in the sight of Allah. So, once they are in the life after death, the punishment would come upon them suddenly against their expectation.’ (Qurtubi)

An important instruction concerning ‘mushajarat’ (disagreements among Sahabah)

Someone asked Rabi’ Ibn-u1_-Khaitham about the shahadah (martyrdom) of Sayyidna Husain (رض) . He sighed and recited the verse (46): قُلِ اللَّـهُمَّ فَاطِرَ‌ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْ‌ضِ عَالِمَ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ أَنتَ تَحْكُمُ بَيْنَ عِبَادِكَ ( O Allah, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the unseen and the seen, You will judge between Your servants…) and said, ‘whenever you have a doubt in your heart about the mutual difference of the noble Sahabah, do recite this verse.’ Tafsir Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani reports this statement and then says: This teaches us the best etiquette in regard to this issue, and is something one should always bear in mind.

Verse 53 opens with the words: قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَ‌فُوا       (0 servants of Mine who have acted recklessly against their own selves, do not despair of Allah’s mercy. Surely, Allah will forgive all sins.). Taba` i, Said Ibn Jubayr reports from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas (رض) that there were some people who had killed a lot of people unjustly and had committed a lot of shameful acts. They came to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and submitted before him, ‘The religion you invite us to is, no doubt, very good, but we have a problem. We think about all those major sins we have already committed. Now if we were to become Muslims, do you hope that our repentance will be accepted?’ Thereupon, Allah Ta’ ala revealed this verse to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) – reported by al-Bukhari in that sense (al-Qurtubi).

Therefore, the outcome of the subject taken up in the verse comes to be that, well before death arrives, the repentance made from sins, no matter how serious, even from kufr (disbelief) and shirk (ascribing of partners to Allah), gets to be accepted. And by virtue of a genuine taubah (repentance), all sins will be forgiven, therefore, no one should lose hope in the mercy of Allah.

Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Umar (رض) said that, out of all verses of the Qur’an, this verse brings the strongest message of hope for sinners. But, Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas (رض) said that the strongest such verse is: إِنَّ رَ‌بَّكَ لَذُو مَغْفِرَ‌ةٍ لِّلنَّاسِ عَلَىٰ ظُلْمِهِمْ (And surely, your Lord is the lord of forgiveness for the people against their wrongdoings – Ar-Ra’d, 13:6)

In verse 55, it was said: وَاتَّبِعُوا أَحْسَنَ مَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُم (and follow the best of what has been sent down to you). The second phrase أَحْسَنَ مَا أُنزِلَ (the best of what has been sent down) means the Qur’an, and the whole Qur’an is but ahsan, the best – and the Qur’an can be called: اَحسَںَ و اکمل (best) also in the sense that out of all scriptures – Torah, Injil, Zabur – revealed from Allah Ta’ ala, the Qur’an is the best and the most perfect. (Qurtubi)

The next three verses (56-58), beginning from: أَن تَقُولَ نَفْسٌ يَا حَسْرَ‌تَىٰ (Pity on me, because I fell short in respect of Allah… 39:56) and concluding on: مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ (…become one of those who are good in deed – 39:58), have elaborated and emphasized the subject of the three verses earlier to it (53-55), that no sinner of any description should despair of the mercy of Allah, for should he repent, Allah will forgive all his past sins. But through the use of the expression: أَن تَقُولَ نَفْسٌ (lest someone should say) at the head of the three verses: 56, 57 and 58, it was reminded that the time of taubah has a deadline – it has to be well before death. If someone were to think of making his taubah after death on the Day of Judgment, or is simply filled with remorse over what awful things he had done to himself, then, that will bring him no benefit.

In this context, it has been mentioned that some disbelievers, on the Day of Judgment, would express different wishes, regretting what they had done. Someone will be filled with remorse as to why did he have to fall short in obeying the commands of Allah Ta’ ala. Then, there will be that odd person even at a place like that who would love to wriggle out of the impasse blaming his destiny for his misconduct by saying – ‘Had Allah Ta’ ala given me the necessary guidance, I too would have been one of those who feared Him, but since He gave me no guidance, there was nothing I could do about it.’ Still someone else would wish: ‘Would that I were to be sent back into the world to become an observing believer, obeying the commandments of Allah at its best.’ But, that will be a time when no wish and no remorse of any kind will work.

These three different wishes could belong to different people, and it is also possible that these three wishes could have come, one after the other, from a single group of disbelievers, because, with the last saying which mentions the wish to be sent back to this world, it has been said in the verse that it will come to pass after they had seen the punishment. This obviously suggests that the first two sayings belong to a time before they saw the punishment, that is, it will be on the very first day of Qiyamah that they will remember the shortcomings of their deeds and say: يَا حَسْرَ‌تَىٰ عَلَىٰ مَا فَرَّ‌طتُ فِي جَنبِ اللَّـهِ (Pity on me, because I fell short in respect of Allah …39:56). Later, as an excuse, they will say that they were helpless, and had Allah guided them, they too would have become obedient and fearing, but when He Himself gave them no guidance, they were hardly at fault. After that, when they see the punishment, they would wish to be sent back into the world. In these three verses, Allah Ta’ ala has made it very clear that the forgiveness and mercy of Allah is very extensive. But, it can be won only when one repents before death. Therefore, Allah was alerting them right there against the possibility that they start to show remorse after death, and indulge in these redundant wishes in the Hereafter.

In verse 59, it was said: بَلَىٰ قَدْ جَاءَتْكَ آيَاتِي فَكَذَّبْتَ بِهَا (Why not? My verses had reached you, but you called them untrue, and waxed proud, and became of those who disbelieved…). In this verse, what the disbelievers said in: (If Allah were to show me the way, I would have surely been among those who fear Allah”,- 39:57) has been answered. The outcome of this verse is that Allah had already given the necessary guidance, fully and conclusively. He had sent His books, verses and signs. Therefore, their claim that Allah gave them no guidance was absurd. Of course, once He had given the guidance, Allah never forced anyone to be good and obedient. In fact, every servant of His was given the choice to take to either the way of the truth or the way of the false. This was a test for the maker of the choice. On this depended his or her success or failure. Whoever took to the way of error by one’s own free will, choice and volition, he or she is, himself or herself, responsible for it.

Commentary

The word: مَقَالِيدُ (maqalid) in: لَّهُ مَقَالِيدُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْ‌ضِ (To Him belong the keys to the heavens and the earth.- 39:63) is the plural form of: مِقلاد (miqlad) or: مِقلِید (miqlid) meaning a key. It has been said that this word has really been Arabicized from the Persian language. In Persian, a key is called کَلِید (kalid). When Arabicized, it became: اِقلِيد (iqlid) with its plural being: مَقَالِيدُ (maqalid) (Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani). Having keys in one’s hand denotes ownership, possession and the ability to dispense at will. Therefore, the sense of the verse is that the keys to whatever treasures lie hidden in the heavens and the earth are in the hands of Allah and He alone is the custodian and the dispenser in that it is He who gives whenever He wills to whomever He wills and as much as He wills – and would just not give to anyone He so wills.

And in some narrations of Hadith, the third kalimah, that is: سُبحَانَ اللہِ وَالحَمدُ للہِ وَ لا إلہ إلا اللہُ و اللہُ اَکبَر وَلَاحولَ وَلَا قُوَّۃَ اِلَّا بِاللہِ اَلعَلِیِّ العَظِیم (Pure is Allah and Praised is Allah and there is no god worthy of worship but Allah and Allah is Great and there is no strength and there is no power except from Allah, the High, the Great) has been called: مَقَالِيدُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْ‌ضِ (‘the keys to the heavens and the earth’ – 39:63). The outcome is: One who recites this kalimah, mornings and evenings, is blessed by Allah Ta’ ala from the treasures of the heavens and the earth. Ibn-ul-Jawzi has declared these narrations to be: موضوع (mawdu’: fabricated, forged). But, other Hadith experts have rated these as weak ضَعِیف (da` if) ahadith that can be relied

upon in the matter of the merits of good deeds. (Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani)

In the last verse (67), it was said: وَالْأَرْ‌ضُ جَمِيعًا قَبْضَتُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَالسَّمَاوَاتُ مَطْوِيَّاتٌ(and the whole earth will be in a single grip of His hand on the Day of Doom and the heavens, rolled up on His right hand). The earth being in the hand-grip of Allah Ta’ ala and the heavens being rolled up on His right hand appears here, in the view of the early forbears of Islam, in its real sense. But, the subject of the verse falls in the category of al-mutashabihat (of hidden meaning) the reality of which is not known to anyone except Allah Ta’ ala.

For people in general, even trying to find out its reality is forbidden. Hence, the thing to do is no more but to believe that whatever Allah Ta’ ala means thereby is true and correct. And since the apparent words of this verse seem to suggest grasp, grip or a hand holding something (‘qabdah’, mutthi, handful) as well as the presence of a right hand that are parts of a body while Allah Ta’ ala is pure and free from body and physicality. To this, towards the end of the verse, a hint was released: Do not take these words on the analogy of your body limbs. Allah Ta` la is free from these: سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ عَمَّا يُشْرِ‌كُونَ (Pure is He, far too high from what they ascribe to Him – 39:67).

Later day scholars, taking this verse to be metaphorical, explain it by saying that having something grasped in hand and having something in the right hand is an allusion to having something under full possession and control – and it is this perfect possession and control that is meant here. And Allah, He is pure and high – He knows best.

In verse 68, it was said: فَصَعِقَ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَن فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ إِلَّا مَن شَاءَ اللَّـهُ and all those in the heavens and all those in the earth will faint, except the one whom Allah wills.” The word: صَعِقَ (sa’iqa) literally means to swoon, faint or fall unconscious, and the sense is that they all will become unconscious first, then die, and those who had already died, their spirits will become unconscious (as in Bayan ul-Qur’ an under the commentary on Surah An-Naml and in Ibn Kathir likewise).The last part of the verse: إِلَّا مَن شَاءَ اللَّـهُ : “except those whom Allah wills [ otherwise ] ” needs to be explained. Included here, according to the narrations of ad-durr-ul-manthur, there are four angels – Jibra’il, Mika’il, Israfil and ` Izra’il (the angel of death) – and as in some narrations, the angels bearing the Throne are also included therein. That they have been so exempted means that the effect of the blowing of the sur will not cause death to them. But, later on, they too will meet their death. And no one, except the one and single Being of Allah subhanahu wa to ala, will remain alive at that time. Ibn Kathir has also opted for this view, and has said that, even out of all of them, the angel of death will be the last to die. Another verse similar to this has appeared in Surah An-Naml also where instead of the word: صَعِقَ (sa’iqa: faint), the word used is: فَزِعَ (fazi’a: frightened). Some details about it have been given there as well. (Ma’ ariful-Qur’an, Volume VI, please see under commentary on Surah An-Naml, 27:87).

In verse 69, it was said: وَجِيءَ بِالنَّبِيِّينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ (and the prophets and the witnesses will be brought,) It means that, at the time of reckoning on the plains of Resurrection, present there will be all prophets as well as all other witnesses. The prophets themselves will also be among the witnesses as said in the Qur’an: جِئْنَا مِن كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ بِشَهِيدٍ (We shall bring a witness from every community – An-Nisa’, 4:41). And angels too will be among the witnesses, as in the Qur’an: مَّعَهَا سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ (with each someone [ meaning an angel ] to drive and someone [ meaning an angel ] to bear witness – Qaf, 50:21) where the identity of the driver and the witness has been clearly established as being the angels (Tafsir Ad-Durr-ul-Manthur). And among the witnesses, there will be the followers of the prophet of Islam as in the Qur’an: لِّتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ (and [ so that ] you become witnesses to [ other ] people – Al-Hajj, 22:78). And, for that matter, even one’s own body limbs will appear as witnesses as said in the Qur’an تُكَلِّمُنَا أَيْدِيهِمْ وَتَشْهَدُ أَرْ‌جُلُهُم (their hands will speak to Us and their feet will bear witness – Sin, 36:65).

In verse 74, it was said: نَتَبَوَّأُ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ حَيْثُ نَشَاءُ (we can dwell anywhere we wish in Jannah). The sense is that, apart from their own special dwelling places, the people of Jannah will be allowed to visit others there and take pleasure trips around. Tabarani, Abu Nu’aym and Diya’, have reported, through a chain rated as ‘hasan’, from Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) that someone came to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and said to him, ‘ya rasulAllah, I love you so much that I keep thinking of you even when I go back home and I remain uncomfortable and impatient until I return to you. But, when I remember my death and remember your death, then, it occurs to me that you will be in the higher stations of Jannah and even if I reach there somehow, it is certain that I shall be on a level much below it. My worry is: How am I going to see you?’ The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) heard what he said, but he remained silent until came the angel, Jibra’il with the following verse:

And those who obey Allah and the Messenger are with those whom Allah has blessed, namely, the prophets, the Siddiqin, 1 the Shuhada’, 2 and the righteous – and what a good company they are. – an-Nisa’, 4:69.

1. Siddiq, lexically means ‘very truthful’. In the Islamic terminology, it normally refers to those Companions of a prophet who excel all others in their submission to Allah and is Messenger. They enjoy the highest status of piety after the Prophets, like Sayyidna Abu Bakr. (back)
2. Shuhada (p1. of Shahid) means the persons who sacrificed their lives in the way of Allah. The word has not been translated here by the word ‘martyr’ which sometimes is taken as an equivalent of Shahid, because the word ‘martyr’ is also applied for the persons killed in ethnic or racial wars while they may not be termed as ‘Shuhada in the Islamic terminology

In this verse, it was clearly stated that Muslims who obey Allah and the Messenger would invariably be with the prophets and those others mentioned therein. Then, from the verse under study we also come to understand that they will be allowed to visit higher stations of Jannah. May Allah Ta’ ala, in His mercy, make us join up with them in Jannah.

[From Ma’ariful Quran English by Mufti Taqi Uthmani]