Central Theme and Relationship with the Previous Sūrah
The Qur’ānic name of this sūrah is the same as that of the previous one, and its introductory passage is also the same viz a viz the implied meaning as that of the introductory passage of the previous sūrah. However, the difference between the two sūrahs is that in the previous one arguments in favour of monotheism are prominent, while in this one, the element of warning is prominent. If the whole sūrah is reflected upon, it will become evident that in it the Qur’ān and the prophethood of Muhammad (sws) are validated through the premise that the fate of which the Qur’ān is informing its rejecters is something which is certain to take place both in this world and the Hereafter. History bears witness to it and it is also a requisite of sense and human nature. In other words, it can also be stated that the warning sounded in the last verse of the previous sūrah: فَاصْفَحْ عَنْهُمْ وَقُلْ سَلَامٌ فَسَوْفَ يَعْلَمُونَ (٤٣: ٨٩) (ignore them and say: “peace be to you”; so soon they shall come to know, (43:89)) is substantiated and corroborated in this sūrah. In the subsequent sūrahs of the group, this subject will become even more prominent. So much so, the Madīnan sūrahs at the end of the group declare that the Quraysh will be stripped of their position and the believers will be divinely helped and will reign supreme in the land.
Analysis of the Discourse
Verses (1-16): A reference to the exalted and majestic nature of the Qur’ān: it was revealed in the blessed Night of Destiny (ليلة القدر) in which affairs are decided at the behest of God. The Qur’ān has been revealed as a requisite of mercy and providence of the God Who hears and knows all, and apart from Whom there is no god. The purpose of its revelation is to warn people who are leading their lives in indifference and apathy to wake up from their slumber and prepare for the day which is to come. There were people in those times who said that they would only regard Muhammad (sws) to be a true prophet if they were shown the promised punishment. Such people are warned that the faith which is professed after observing this punishment is of no benefit. If the punishment is being deferred, it does not mean that its promise is merely a threat. If God grants respite to people in this world, it does not mean that they will be saved from His torment. They shall necessarily be punished in the Hereafter and a grave punishment it shall be.
Verses (17-33): The example of the Pharaoh and his people is cited to the Quraysh so that they can learn a lesson. Moses (sws) warned them of the Hereafter but they remained afflicted with the arrogance produced in them by their wealth and status. Once the truth had been conclusively conveyed to them, the Almighty destroyed them. Their country as well as their wealth and assets were occupied by others and the Israelites who were suffering in their yoke of slavery were emancipated and became a great nation of the world.
Verses (34-67): The real reason behind the arrogance and haughtiness of the Quraysh is alluded to: they do not believe in any concept of afterlife. For this reason, its warnings seem a piece of jest to them. In order to admonish them, logical as well as historical arguments in favour of reward and punishment are briefly referred to. It is mentioned in detail that God will not deal equally between those who spent their lives in indifference to the Hereafter and those who did so while having full faith in it. The Almighty will deal with them differently, and this dealing will be totally based on justice. The disbelievers will suffer the punishment for their ingratitude, and the believers will be duly rewarded for their virtues – and this is real success and not the one by which these naïve people are lured away.
Verses (58-59): This is the closing section of the sūrah. A reference is made to the great favour done by the Almighty to the Quraysh by revealing the Qur’ān to them in lucid Arabic. It may be noted that the sūrah began with a note on the exaltedness of the Qur’ān and it ends on the same note. In it, the Quraysh are warned that the Almighty has equipped the Qur’ān with all essential requisites to conclusively convey the truth. If they do not duly honour it, they should get ready to face the consequences that are destined for those who reject the messengers of God. In the last verse, the Prophet (sws) is also assured that if instead of benefiting from this favour, these people want to wait for the punishment, then he too should wait for the advent of this evil day for them.
Section I: Verses (1-16)
Text and Translation
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
حم (١) وَالْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ (٢) إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةٍ مُّبَارَكَةٍ إِنَّا كُنَّا مُنذِرِينَ (٣) فِيهَا يُفْرَقُ كُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَكِيمٍ (٤) أَمْرًا مِّنْ عِندِنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا مُرْسِلِينَ (٥) رَحْمَةً مِّن رَّبِّكَ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ (٦) رَبِّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا إِن كُنتُم مُّوقِنِينَ (٧) لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ رَبُّكُمْ وَرَبُّ آبَائِكُمُ الْأَوَّلِينَ (٨) بَلْ هُمْ فِي شَكٍّ يَلْعَبُونَ (٩) فَارْتَقِبْ يَوْمَ تَأْتِي السَّمَاء بِدُخَانٍ مُّبِينٍ (١٠) يَغْشَى النَّاسَ هَذَا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ (١١) رَبَّنَا اكْشِفْ عَنَّا الْعَذَابَ إِنَّا مُؤْمِنُونَ (١٢) أَنَّى لَهُمُ الذِّكْرَى وَقَدْ جَاءهُمْ رَسُولٌ مُّبِينٌ (١٣) ثُمَّ تَوَلَّوْا عَنْهُ وَقَالُوا مُعَلَّمٌ مَّجْنُونٌ (١٤) إِنَّا كَاشِفُو الْعَذَابِ قَلِيلًا إِنَّكُمْ عَائِدُونَ (١٥) يَوْمَ نَبْطِشُ الْبَطْشَةَ الْكُبْرَى إِنَّا مُنتَقِمُونَ (١٦)
This is Ha Mim. By the lucid Book! Indeed, We revealed it in a blessed night. Indeed, We were to inform people. On this night, all wise matters are distributed as a special directive from Ourself. Indeed, We were to send a Messenger as a special blessing from your Lord. Indeed, He it is Who sees and hears. With His mercy Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, if you show conviction. There is no god but Him. He only gives life and death. He is your Lord and also the Lord of your forefathers. (1-8)
Yet they are in doubt, playing about. So wait for the day when the sky will appear with a palpable smoke. That smoke will envelop people. This is a grave torment. Lord! Distance this torment from us; we are now believers. But what opportunity remains for them now to pay heed! An enlightening Messenger had come to them. So they turned away from him and said: “A madman, taught by others!” If We for some time open the torment, you will do what you had been doing. Remember the day when We will grasp intensely; on that day, We will take full revenge. (9-16)
Explanation
حم (١) 1
This is the Qur’ānic name of the sūrah. The previous sūrah also has the same name. Commonality in name bears evidence to commonality in topic. Thus, a little deliberation shows that this sūrah explains in detail the threat sounded to the Quraysh in the last verse of the previous sūrah viz a viz the fate the Quraysh would meet as a result of denying the Msessenger of God.
The succeeding verses will elucidate this.
وَالْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ (٢) 2
The particle وَ signifies an oath and it has been explained in the course of this tafsīr that in Arabic, oaths are meant to substantiate a claim. For this reason, the question arises about the claim that is meant to be substantiated here. In general, our exegetes have regarded the very next verse to be the statement of this claim. Though there is nothing wrong with this view as far as linguistic principles are concerned, I am not fully convinced of this view. An oath and its complement (the statement which substantiates the claim) are related to one another the way a premise and corroborating evidence are. Here, I am unable to understand how the Qur’ān, being a lucid Book, bears evidence to the fact that God revealed it in a blessed night. In my opinion, the complement of oath is suppressed here. Contextual evidence and occasion of the discourse point to this suppression. There are several examples in the Qur’ān where a complement of oath is not mentioned because of concomitant indications. A clear example of this exists in Sūrah Qāf: ق وَالْقُرْآنِ الْمَجِيدِ بَلْ عَجِبُوا أَن جَاءهُمْ مُنذِرٌ مِّنْهُم (٥٠: ١-٢) (This is Sūrah Qāf. By the glorious Qur’ān! In fact, they were confounded by the fact that a warner from amongst themselves had come to them. (50:1-2)). Obviously, the complement of oath is suppressed here. In a similar manner, it is also suppressed in the verse under discussion. The benefit of this suppression is that whatever is implied can be supposed to be understood as per contextual indications. If this suppression is revealed, the overall discourse would be something to the effect: It is a lucid Book which in itself is a conclusive proof on its claim; it bears evidence to the fact that the fate with which it is threatening its rejecters is certain to come; the person who is presenting this Book should not be regarded by them to be a lunatic or a madman; he is an indisputable Messenger of God; all his preaching is based on wisdom; those who accept it will earn the mercy of God and those who reject it will earn his wrath; people do not need to look beyond the Qur’ān to find arguments in support of all these premises; the Qur’ān alone is sufficient to highlight each of them; those who deny it are calling for their own doom.
إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةٍ مُّبَارَكَةٍ إِنَّا كُنَّا مُنذِرِينَ (٣) 3
This is a mention of the elaborate arrangement made by the Almighty to reveal this Book. The purpose is to make evident upon the addressees that this Book is not a matter of jest nor is it a pretentious product of a lunatic; on the contrary, it is a grand part of a great scheme of God and to reveal it the Almighty chose that blessed night in which all affairs of wisdom are specially entrusted by Him. The purpose of revealing it is to warn people whose forefathers had not been warned so that the truth is conclusively revealed to them from God and they are not able to present the excuse on the Day of Judgement that they had been seized without any warning. There are certain other aspects also which relate to this elaborate arrangement undertaken by the Almighty while revealing the Qur’ān. I will allude to them in the tafsīrs of the Sūrah Jinn and Sūrah Qadr respectively.
The words لَيْلَةٍ مُّبَارَكَةٍ obviously allude to لَيْلَة الْقَدْر (the Night of Destiny). Thus it is specified in Sūrah Qadr that it was on this night that the Qur’ān was revealed:
إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ (١) وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ (٢) لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ (٣) تَنَزَّلُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَالرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ مِنْ كُلِّ أَمْرٍ (٤) سَلَامٌ هِيَ حَتَّى مَطْلَعِ الْفَجْرِ(٥)
Indeed, We sent it down in the Night of Destiny. And what do you imagine what the Night of Destiny is? Better is the Night of Destiny than a thousand months. The angels and the Spirit descend therein [with decrees] about all matters, by the permission of their Lord. The night is peace in its entirety. It remains until the rise of dawn. (97:1-5)
The لَيْلَة الْقَدْر (the Night of Destiny) has to be some night of the month of Ramadān because the Qur’ān has specified that it was in this month that the Qur’ān was revealed: شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِيَ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ (٢: ١٨٥) (it is the month of Ramadān in which the Qur’ān was revealed, (2:185)).
As far as the question of the exact day is concerned, it is difficult to answer it. At best it can be said in the light of various narratives that it is of the last ten nights of Ramadān. Apparently the divine wisdom behind not specifying it is that people should continue to seek it, and in this manner their fondness and desire to find it is tested. It is in this fondness and desire on the part of the people that all the blessings of this night are concealed.
It is evident from all these details that there is no room for the view that this night refers to a night of the month of Sha‘bān or of any other month.
The statement that the Qur’ān was revealed on this night does not necessitate that the whole Qur’ān was revealed in it; it refers to the fact that its revelation began in it. When a task was initiated in a blessed period of time and the decision for its complete revelation was also taken it is as if the task was accomplished in that blessed period of time. This is because no one can change the decisions of God. There are examples found in the Qur’ān in which the Almighty has stated in the past tense a promise which is to be fulfilled in the future.
The undefined form of the expression لَيْلَةٍ مُّبَارَكَةٍ is meant to express grandeur and majesty. Specific days, months and periods of time are regarded as blessed because of the gain and benefit they afford. Just as in our material world there exist various seasons suitable for certain crops and not every season is suitable for every crop, in a similar manner, the spiritual realm also contains times, months and years which have specific characteristics. The worship ritual which the Almighty has prescribed for a particular day and month will afford the desired blessings only when it is vigilantly undertaken at that particular time or day or month; otherwise, just as wheat sown in unfavourable seasons will not bear results, similarly prayer said at the wrong time, the fast observed at the wrong time and the hajj offered at the wrong time will not bear any result, and if they do and it would be marginal. In the twenty four hours of the day, the times of fajr, chāsht, zuhr, ‘asr, maghrib, ‘ishā and tahajjud carry special spiritual blessings. The Qur’ān and Hadīth have explained these blessings. Similarly, Friday occupies special significance from among the other days of the week. Likewise, the month of Ramadān and that of hajj are uniquely important with regard to other months of the year. Similarly, one single night among the last ten nights of Ramadān has been reserved by the Almighty in which He informs His angels deputed to run the affairs of this world of the whole program of one year so that they can implement it at its prescribed time. The Almighty revealed the Qur’ān on one such night so that people could be warned through it and the mercy which was ordained in the advent of a messenger of God manifests itself.
The purpose to refer to all the revelation of the Qur’ān on this night is that its revelation is neither an accidental happening nor a concoction by the Prophet (sws); it is also not ill-suited and inappropriate to the requirements of time nor the product of fancy. On the contrary, it is the materialization of a scheme chalked out by the Almighty to guide His creatures. Thus He has revealed it on a night which is specifically reserved for the distribution of all wise matters. Hence, it is the duty of those for whom it has been revealed to duly honour it; otherwise, they should remember that the Almighty will never forgive their contrary attitude towards something He has revealed in such an elaborate manner. It is not a baseless thing which they can dismiss with a bout of laughter and make it dissipate in thin air. Accepting or rejecting it – both entail serious consequences which are bound to ensue.
The words إِنَّا كُنَّا مُنذِرِينَ state the purpose for which the Qur’ān was revealed: it has remained part of the divine scheme that just as the Almighty conclusively warned previous nations of good and evil before destroying them, similarly, before the Arabs are punished for their insolence, He will fully conclusively inform them. The purpose is to afford an opportunity to those who want to accept guidance to do so and leave others who do not want to do so with no excuse. In other words, the revelation of the Qur’ān and the advent of the Messenger of God are meant to convey the truth in such a manner that the addressees are left with no excuse to deny it. It is an established practice of God that once this is done, no nation is given any further respite. For this reason, every person should decide and act after fully contemplating that he is facing a decisive situation. He has to choose between two things: eternal kingdom or eternal doom.
فِيهَا يُفْرَقُ كُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَكِيمٍ (٤) 4
This verse defines the nature of this blessed night: all wise affairs are distributed in it. If this verse is interpreted in the light of Sūrah Qadr, it will become evident that on this night the Almighty informs His closest angels about all the affairs of this earth, and these angels then pass on this information to the angels deputed on the earth in accordance with the scheme chalked out by God.
The word أَمْرٍ is qualified by حَكِيمٍ to point to the fact that no directive of God is devoid of wisdom. Whenever He decides to punish a nation, it is based on His justice and wisdom, and whenever He is merciful to a nation, this too is based on His justice and wisdom.
This verse, in fact, sounds a warning to the addressees to seriously reflect on each and every aspect of the situation they are facing; if they continue to remain indifferent and do not fulfill the requirements of a divine scheme based on wisdom, then the consequences can be disastrous for them.
أَمْرًا مِّنْ عِندِنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا مُرْسِلِينَ (٥) 5
The word أَمْرًا is declined in the accusative on account of ikhtisās (specification), and the purpose is to highlight the importance and exaltedness of the distribution of affairs implying the fact that whatever happens, happens because of a special divine command; no one else has any say in this matter. Hence it is essential that people accept it in the capacity of a special command from the real sovereign of this universe, and follow each directive with true sentiments of obedience. If they reject them or make fun of them or deny them, then they should remember that this would be tantamount to rebellion against the real sovereign of this universe – the punishment for which is very grave.
The sentence إِنَّا كُنَّا مُرْسِلِينَ is of the same occasion as إِنَّا كُنَّا مُنذِرِينَ. Just as the previous verses say that the purpose of revelation of the Qur’ān is to sound a warning, in the same manner, this verse states that it was pre-ordained in the scheme of God that He would send a Messenger to the Ishmaelites who would be a mercy for them as well as for the rest of the world. This is a reference to the predictions which are ascribed to Abraham (sws), Moses (sws) and Jesus (sws) and which have already been cited earlier in this tafsīr. In other words, what is implied is that this Messenger has been sent in accordance with this scheme and exactly on the night fixed by the Almighty for all such important affairs.
رَحْمَةً مِّن رَّبِّكَ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ (٦) 6
This verse alludes to the purpose of sending the Messenger and the prophet Muhammad (sws) is addressed viz: your Lord has sent you as a great mercy; if people do not duly value you, this attitude will not be of harm to you; it will only deprive them of the greatest mercy of God.
Verse three mentions that a Messenger is a warner and it also says that he is a mercy and bearer of glad tidings. Both these features are two aspects of the same reality: the greatest mercy can become the greatest torment if it is not duly honoured.
It needs to be kept in mind that the aspect of warning is mentioned here first even though the real purpose of the revelation of the Qur’ān is to show mercy to mankind. The reason for this has already been pointed out earlier while discussing the central theme of this sūrah: the real tone of the sūrah is to sound a warning.
إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ (indeed He hears and knows all): one aspect in citing these attributes at the end of the verse is to highlight the fact that the Lord of this universe is a wise and prudent being. He cannot let His creatures go scot-free. It is an essential requirement of these attributes that He keep an eye on the circumstances which befall His creatures and inform them of His directives; if they follow these, He rewards them in this world and in the next, and if they rebel against Him, He punishes them.
Another aspect in citing these attributes is that today whatever the leadership of the Quraysh is doing with the Book of God and his Messenger is fully in God’s notice because He hears and knows all. When everything is in His knowledge and nothing is beyond His power, the Prophet (sws) and the believers should rest assured that whatever is a requisite of His wisdom will definitely materialize; nothing can hinder this.
In order to fully understand the premises put forward by these verses, readers are advised to look up what I have written under verses 45-46 of Sūrah Qasas.
رَبِّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا إِن كُنتُم مُّوقِنِينَ (٧) 7
This is warning to the opponents of the Prophet (sws) and what a severe warning it is. They are told that these warnings and glad tidings should not be considered baseless and as being sounded to bluff them; they are from the Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them. The implication is that when He is the Lord and Master of everything, no one can have the power to impede any of His intentions which He wants to implement. He can seize people if and when He wants to; no one can save them, and if He wants to forgive people, no one can stop Him from doing so.
The words إِن كُنتُم مُّوقِنِينَ are meant to rebuke people: they are told that what is indicated above is obvious and self-evident; however, to believe in something does not require that it merely be obvious and self-evident; equally necessary is the will to believe in it. If this will is not found in a person, he can deny the most obvious of realities and the greatest of logicians is not able to convince him.
لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ رَبُّكُمْ وَرَبُّ آبَائِكُمُ الْأَوَّلِينَ (٨) 8
This verse stresses what is said earlier: there is no god except Him whose intercession can be of any use to them. Life and death are under His control. He is their Lord and also the Lord of their forefathers. If their forefathers worshipped some other deity, it is their foolishness and ignorance; they should not make blindly following them an argument in favour of their attitude otherwise they will end up harming their own selves to benefit others.
بَلْ هُمْ فِي شَكٍّ يَلْعَبُونَ (٩) 9
The verse implies that though these warnings and glad tidings are undeniable realities which no sane person can deny, however, these people are such slaves to their desires that they will not believe in anything they are being informed of unless they see it with their very eyes. For this reason, they are playing about in doubt and making fun.
This verse sounds an assurance to the Prophet (sws) that it is not his responsibility to convince people who have adopted an indifferent attitude in life. These people will only get convinced when they will see torment lashing them; hence the Prophet (sws) should leave these people to themselves.
فَارْتَقِبْ يَوْمَ تَأْتِي السَّمَاء بِدُخَانٍ مُّبِينٍ (١٠) يَغْشَى النَّاسَ هَذَا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ (١١) 10
The verses say that the Prophet (sws) should wait for the day when the sky will appear with a smoke palpable to everyone. It will engulf all and by its very existence declare to everyone that it is a grievous torment.
This is actually a threat of the punishment which people were demanding and were not prepared to acknowledge the warnings of the Prophet (sws) unless they were shown the punishment.
Here the question arises: what does دُخَانٌ مُّبِينٌ refer to? The word دُخَانٌ means “smoke” and the adjective مُّبِينٌ which qualifies it shows it will appear to everyone, big or small, very clearly and no one will be mistaken about it.
One group of exegetes has answered this question by saying that the smoke will appear at the advent of the Day of Judgement. They have also cited a narrative in support of this opinion; however, critics have dismissed it as a tale fabricated by story-tellers. In my opinion, this narrative is also against the context of the verses. Readers will see that the subsequent verses clearly show that this mention is not of the Day of Judgement but of the punishment which descends on nations who reject their respective messengers. Details of such a punishment have been mentioned in earlier sūrahs in the anecdotes of the peoples of ‘Ād, Thamūd and Shu‘ayb (rta).
Another group of exegetes regards it to refer to a famine which in their opinion was inflicted on the Quraysh as a result of a prayer of doom for them by the Prophet (sws). Such was its intensity that people were forced to eat the meat of dead animals, and such was the situation of every person that when out of hunger he would look towards the sky, it would appear to have smoke all over it.
Generally, our exegetes have adopted this second view; however, there are many things which make me uncomfortable about it.
Firstly, it is only this exegetical narrative in which it is reported that the Prophet (sws) prayed for the doom of the whole of his nation; there exists is no other corroborating evidence. The prayer of the Prophet (sws) always remained: رب اهد قومي فإنهم لا يعلمون (Lord! Guide my people because they are unaware).11 The most precarious instance was that of migration to Madīnah. Some other messengers of God have prayed for the doom of their people at such instances but we find not a single word of this sort coming out of the mouth of the Prophet (sws) even at this instance. He is only reported to have said: Makkah! You are very dear to me; but what can I do as the sons of your soil do not allow me to live here.
Even at instances of war when the armies of Muslims and Quraysh faced one another, the prayers of the Prophet (sws) consisted of beseeching God to grant perseverance to the believers and to help them in their cause. If ever a word came out of his mouth against his enemies, it was nothing but a prayer to strike awe in their hearts and make them lose courage. I am unable to recall if at even such instances the Prophet (sws) ever prayed to God to harm his nation.
Secondly, the most precarious instance after migration was the truce of Hudaybiyyah when the Quraysh’s bias to emotional frenzy had become totally evident and the Muslims were stirred up against them to the ultimate extent. At this instance also, the Prophet (sws) did not pray for their doom; not only he this, he even appeased the Muslims and stopped them from waging war and the wisdom which the Qur’ān has mentioned in stopping this war, as shall be explained later in Sūrah Fath, is that if war had ensued there was a chance that harm might have come to people who were Muslims in their hearts but were not able to migrate to Madīnah yet because of compelling circumstances. One should consider the fact that if because of the Muslims who had concealed their faith Muslims abstained from any warfare and the Prophet (sws) entered into an agreement with the Quraysh which was against the general emotions of the Companions, how could he have prayed to God to inflict such a drought on the people of Makkah in which they would be forced to eat forbidden food items? If such a drought had ensued, merely the leaders of the Quraysh and Tā’if would not have been afflicted by it; its real target would have been the poor and the masses of which a great many were Muslims.
Thirdly, here the Prophet (sws) has neither been asked to pray for or against anyone; he has been asked to patiently wait for a day on which the sky will appear with such smoke that will spread over the whole nation and the very existence of this smoke will be instrumental in reminding people of the same painful doom they had been informed of but which they kept making fun of. In other words, the smoke is like a threat and a threat depends on the circumstances which arise. The Qur’ān has repeatedly warned the Quraysh of the punishment similar to the one meted out to the ‘Ād, the Thamūd, the people of Lot (sws) and Shu‘ayb (sws) but such a punishment never visited the Quraysh. This is because the majority of the people of Arabia embraced faith. Very few miscreants persisted in their mischief and were either killed in battles against the believers or submitted to Islam at the conquest of Makkah.
Fourthly, it is linguistically inappropriate to describe a drought with the expression دُخَانٌ مُّبِينٌ (palpable smoke). Droughts are portrayed many a time in classical Arabic poetry. When cold northern winds blew in Arabia, they would cause drought. In certain areas, the situation would become very severe. Arab poets depict very moving scenes of this drought and through various similes, metaphors and veiled references try to portray the whole situation; however, I do not recall any instance in which a poet has called the worst of droughts دُخَانٌ مُّبِينٌ or adopted this style to describe its effects.
For these reasons, even if the narratives which report this drought are true, they cannot relate to this verse. There is a possibility that a drought befell and it is equally possible that it was very severe. It is a known practice of God that in the times of His messengers their people were afflicted with trials and tests to caution and prod them. The Qur’ān contains references to this practice of God. In spite of all these possibilities, this verse does not seem to relate to any drought whose severity was such that it made the sky appear as smoke to everyone.
The expression دُخَانٌ مُّبِينٌ leads the mind to think of the punishment of the hāsib and not of any drought. This punishment had previously visited most nations of Arabia who had denied their respective messengers. The details of this punishment can be seen in the anecdotes of the ‘Ād, Thamūd, the peoples of Shu‘ayb (sws) and Lot (sws) mentioned in the earlier sūrahs. The picture which can be gauged of this punishment from the description of the Qur’ān and classical Arab poetry is very similar to دُخَانٌ مُّبِينٌ. In this punishment, a tall column of smoke is seen rising towards the sky. In this smoke, until the sun is fully hidden in it, the rays of the sun mingle with its particles as a result of which to onlookers it seems as if in some jungle a fire has erupted of which the smoke is rising to the sky. Then when the wind picks up and the storm heads in some direction, it seems as if black clouds are enveloping the place and are about to burst with rain. The storm then takes on a very horrid shape and engulfs whole cities with sand and stones. When the people of the ‘Ād were visited by their punishment they deemed the black smoke overspread above them to be a black cloud. In Sūrah Ahqāf, this smoke is mentioned thus: فَلَمَّا رَأَوْهُ عَارِضًا مُّسْتَقْبِلَ أَوْدِيَتِهِمْ قَالُوا هَذَا عَارِضٌ مُّمْطِرُنَا بَلْ هُوَ مَا اسْتَعْجَلْتُم بِهِ رِيحٌ فِيهَا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ (46: 24) (And when they saw the scourge in the form of a cloud heading for their valleys, they said: “This is a passing cloud that will drench us.” “By no means! It is that what you had been seeking to hasten: it is a hurricane which contains a woeful scourge.” (46:24)). In the destruction meted out to the people of Shu‘ayb (rta), this punishment is called as: عَذَابُ يَوْمِ الظُّلَّةِ. The verse reads: فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَأَخَذَهُمْ عَذَابُ يَوْمِ الظُّلَّةِ (26: 189)(so they denied it, as a result of which they were seized by the punishment of the day of zullah, (26:189)). The word الظُّلَّةِ (zullah) is used for an umbrella, roof and tent and is also used for clouds.
The punishment of hāsib in its initial stages appears to be a rising cloud or smoke. Thus it is quite likely that this be a threat of the punishment of hāsib. This threat had been sounded to the Quraysh by recounting before them the tales of the peoples of ‘Ād, Thamūd and other nations. I have explained in great detail in the exegesis of the previous sūrahs the nature of punishments which visited these peoples. These details will also be referred to in the exegesis of the forthcoming sūrahs. At these instances, I will also inshallāh present the research of my mentor Imām Hamīd al-Dīn al-Farāhī in this regard.
This threat, as is indicated earlier, signifies that divine punishment is conditional on the rejection of the messenger of God. However, it is known that the majority of the Idolaters of Arabia had gradually embraced faith and after the truce of Hudaybiyyah circumstances arose which mellowed down the severity of the opposition. This situation reached the point that the Qur’ānic prediction of people entering the fold of Islam in large numbers mentioned in Sūrah Nasr materialized to such an extent that everyone saw it with his own eyes. It is obvious that there was no need for the threat which was conditional on rejection to materialize after this mass conversion. Thus the Quraysh in their collective capacity remained shielded from divine punishment. Only those of their miscreants who attacked the Muslims were put to the sword while the remaining ones submitted as Muslims at the conquest of Makkah.
يَغْشَى النَّاسَ هَذَا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ (١١) 12
This verse expresses the severity of the punishment: it will totally engulf people and no one will be able to find any escape route from it. The words عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ هَذَا can be spoken or be an expression of the situation: everyone can see that this was not a temporary thing that would come and go; the wrath of God would break the backs.
رَبَّنَا اكْشِفْ عَنَّا الْعَذَابَ إِنَّا مُؤْمِنُونَ (١٢) 13
The implication is that these people are showing great arrogance now and haughtily asking to bring about the punishment. However, once they encounter it, they will cry out: Lord! Deliver us from this punishment; we now embrace faith.
أَنَّى لَهُمُ الذِّكْرَى وَقَدْ جَاءهُمْ رَسُولٌ مُّبِينٌ (١٣) ثُمَّ تَوَلَّوْا عَنْهُ وَقَالُوا مُعَلَّمٌ مَّجْنُونٌ (١٤)14
This is the answer which will be given to these people at that time: after the punishment descends, there will be no time to take heed; God has sent His messenger to them who conclusively delivered the truth to them; however, they arrogantly turned away from it, and went on to blame the messenger that he was being been taught and led by others and was inflicted with a morbid fear of punishment of the Day of Judgement. The time of repentance is now over. It was when the messenger was making his call that they had this time. They squandered that opportunity and now they have no option left.
Such an answer has been cited at many places in the Qur’ān for the arrogant who were about to be afflicted with divine punishment. Some of the arrogant have been given this answer by addressing them. Thus for example, about the Pharaoh, it is said: آلآنَ وَقَدْ عَصَيْتَ قَبْلُ وَكُنتَ مِنَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ (١٠: ٩١) (now you have embraced faith and before this you were among the defiant, (10:91)). At another place, the words are: فَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ رَبَّنَا أَخِّرْنَا إِلَى أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ نُّجِبْ دَعْوَتَكَ وَنَتَّبِعِ الرُّسُلَ أَوَلَمْ تَكُونُواْ أَقْسَمْتُم مِّن قَبْلُ مَا لَكُم مِّن زَوَالٍ (١٤: ٤٤) (So after being seized by the punishment people who have wronged their souls will cry out: “Our Lord! Give us a little more respite, we will respond to your call and follow the prophets.” At that time, they will be answered thus: “Would you people not swear before this that you would never leave your stance,” (14:44)). In the verse under discussion, the same thing is said to them while not directly addressing them. These stylistic changes are governed by the eloquence of the discourse, and for people having a keen literary sense, do not need any explanation. In direct address, there exists sternness and in the indirect address, indifference is evident.
The charge of the Qurraysh that the Prophet (sws) was taught by some other people and it was this which he presented to them in the name of divine revelation has been mentioned at some other places in the Qur’an as well. This charge had been invented by the Quraysh to satisfy those who, after being influenced by the arguments of the Qur’an, were led to think that such an intelligent discourse could not be produced by an illiterate person without divine help. In order to disenchant such people from the Qur’ān, the Quraysh fabricated the story that the discourse was not the product of any divine revelation; it was only a conspiracy of some literate people; it is those people who secretly authored the discourse and this person presented it as divine revelation; the purpose of these people was to divide the nation. While making this allegation, they would also give the impression that some People of the Book as well as some non-Arabs were among the conspirers so that, in this manner, they could successfully incite the nationalistic emotions of the Arabs.
I have already alluded at an appropriate place in this tafsīr to the real reason why they called the Prophet (sws) a man possessed. Briefly restated, the Quraysh in the first place felt that he was so overwhelmed with the fear of the punishment of the Hereafter that all the time he reminded people of it; in the second place, such was the extent of certitude in his tone that everyone being impressed by it would wonder that if he had not been sent by God, why would he forsake his own comfort while grieving for others. In order to dispel this impression in the people, the Quraysh started saying that just as a person becomes possessed with some things and keeps repeating them at every moment and keeps seeing those things everywhere, in a similar manner, this person too had become possessed and insane; he saw in every nook and corner what he imagined; there was no reality in it; it was only a madness and insanity; why and wherefrom could punishment visit them?
إِنَّا كَاشِفُو الْعَذَابِ قَلِيلًا إِنَّكُمْ عَائِدُونَ (١٥) 15
The verse implies that what the Almighty could have done was that on their request defer punishment for them so that they could embrace faith; however, the truth of the matter is that even if God had acceded to their request they would again tread the same path which they were treading before the advent of the punishment. Those who are slaves of their desires adopt this attitude: when they are faced with a trial, they go to great lengths to show their repentance but when the trial ends, they walk away as if nothing had happened; neither had they made a commitment nor will such a thing happen again.
يَوْمَ نَبْطِشُ الْبَطْشَةَ الْكُبْرَى إِنَّا مُنتَقِمُونَ (١٦) 16
The verse refers to the fact that even if they are let off in this world, this should not be any reason for assurance to them. They should remember the day when the Almighty will seize them in a profound manner. This refers to the way they will be seized on the Day of Judgement. Whatever way nations are seized in this world, is nevertheless lesser in extent than how they will be seized in the Hereafter, which will be more abiding. On that Day, the Almighty will take full revenge from all the sinners.
Section II: Verses (17-33)
By citing historical references, the subsequent verses substantiate what is stated in the previous paragraph. In order to warn the Quraysh, the part of the story of Moses (sws) and Pharaoh is briefly recounted which makes it clear on them that the plot which the Pharaoh had contrived against Moses (sws) is the same which the Quraysh are plotting against the Messenger of God. The Almighty punished the Pharaoh and his followers and all their arrogance was brought to nothing. Similarly, these people too will be seized by God if they do not desist from their attitude. Readers may now proceed to study the subsequent verses.
Text and Translation
وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا قَبْلَهُمْ قَوْمَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَجَاءهُمْ رَسُولٌ كَرِيمٌ (١٧) أَنْ أَدُّوا إِلَيَّ عِبَادَ اللهِ إِنِّي لَكُمْ رَسُولٌ أَمِينٌ (١٨) وَأَنْ لَّا تَعْلُوا عَلَى اللهِ إِنِّي آتِيكُم بِسُلْطَانٍ مُّبِينٍ (١٩) وَإِنِّي عُذْتُ بِرَبِّي وَرَبِّكُمْ أَن تَرْجُمُونِ (٢٠) وَإِنْ لَّمْ تُؤْمِنُوا لِي فَاعْتَزِلُونِ (٢١) فَدَعَا رَبَّهُ أَنَّ هَؤُلَاء قَوْمٌ مُّجْرِمُونَ (٢٢) فَأَسْرِ بِعِبَادِي لَيْلًا إِنَّكُم مُّتَّبَعُونَ (٢٣) وَاتْرُكْ الْبَحْرَ رَهْوًا إِنَّهُمْ جُندٌ مُّغْرَقُونَ (٢٤) كَمْ تَرَكُوا مِن جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ (٢٥) وَزُرُوعٍ وَمَقَامٍ كَرِيمٍ (٢٦) وَنَعْمَةٍ كَانُوا فِيهَا فَاكِهِينَ (٢٧) كَذَلِكَ وَأَوْرَثْنَاهَا قَوْمًا آخَرِينَ (٢٨) فَمَا بَكَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّمَاء وَالْأَرْضُ وَمَا كَانُوا مُنظَرِينَ (٢٩) وَلَقَدْ نَجَّيْنَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ الْمُهِينِ (٣٠) مِن فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّهُ كَانَ عَالِيًا مِّنَ الْمُسْرِفِينَ (٣١) وَلَقَدِ اخْتَرْنَاهُمْ عَلَى عِلْمٍ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ (٣٢) وَآتَيْنَاهُم مِّنَ الْآيَاتِ مَا فِيهِ بَلَاء مُّبِينٌ (٣٣)
And before them, We tested the Pharaoh’s people and a gracious messenger came to them with the message: “Hand over to me God’s servants; I am for you a trustworthy messenger and that you should not be rebellious against God; I present to you a clear argument; and I seek refuge with My and Your Lord from you stoning me, and if you do not attest me, leave me to myself.” (17-21)
Thus he prayed to his Lord that they are a sinful people. It was ordered: “Take along My servants with you in the night; beware! you shall be pursued.” And leave the sea at rest; they will become an army drowned. (22-24)
How many orchards, fountains, cornfields, blissful abodes and pleasant things in which they took delight they left behind them! Thus do We deal with the wrongdoers; and what was once theirs We gave to others. So neither the heavens nor the earth shed tears for them; nor were they given reprieve. (25-29)
And We saved the Israelites from a humiliating punishment that is from the Pharaoh. Indeed, he was a great tyrant and a transgressor. And knowingly We gave them preference to all the world, and showed them signs in which there was an open reward. (30-33)
Explanation
وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا قَبْلَهُمْ قَوْمَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَجَاءهُمْ رَسُولٌ كَرِيمٌ (١٧) 17
At a number of places, the Qur’ān has referred to the similarities between the Quraysh and the people of the Pharaoh. Here too, this reference is present. The implication is that just as at the time of the Prophet’s advent, the Almighty has put the Quraysh through a test, He put the people of the Pharaoh through a similar test earlier. Just as the Quraysh are affluent and have abundant resources, the people of the Pharaoh too had the same abundance. Then just as a noble messenger was sent to the Quraysh to conclusively communicate the truth to them, similarly, a noble messenger was sent to the Pharaoh and his people. The purpose of this mention obviously is to let the Quraysh know that they too will meet the same fate as that of the Pharaoh and his people if they adopt the same attitude.
It is clearly evident from these details that whatever wealth and honour nations receive in this world are a trial and test from God. By blessing them with such favours, He wants to see whether they become grateful and serve Him or become rebellious and tyrannical. If they adopt the latter of these attitudes, they are given a little respite after which the Almighty totally wipes them out.
The attribute كَرِيمٌ (noble) which qualifies the word رَسُولٌ (messenger) signifies the fact that since a messenger is an envoy of the God of the worlds, nobility and respect are an essential part of his status; the question whether he is rich or poor or whether he belongs to the royal family of the Pharaoh or to a poor family of the Israelites whom the Pharaoh and his followers regard to be slaves and unworthy does not even arise. The real status of the messenger is that He is an envoy of God and only God is more noble than His envoy; no one else is or can be nobler than him.
أَنْ أَدُّوا إِلَيَّ عِبَادَ اللهِ إِنِّي لَكُمْ رَسُولٌ أَمِينٌ (١٨) 18
A genitive particle (حرف جر) is suppressed before the letter أَنْ. The meaning after taking this suppression in consideration would be: the noble messenger came with the message that the servants of God should be consigned to him. This is the same directive which is given in Sūrah Tāhā by the words: فَأَرْسِلْ مَعَنَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ (so send with me the Israelites, (20:47)). The difference between the two is that in the verse under discussion, Moses (sws) has also mentioned the reason for making this demand: no one has the right to make the servants of God his own servants; thus these servants should be allowed to go with him so that they are able to serve and worship God the way they want to without any hindrance. The question of the destination where Moses (sws) wanted to take the Israelites has been discussed at many places of this tafsīr. Restating it is not required; what is evident is that Moses (sws) wanted the Israelites to have complete freedom to serve and worship God. He was not prepared to give the Pharaoh the right to make them his own servants.
By the words إِنِّي لَكُمْ رَسُولٌ أَمِينٌ, Moses (sws) has tried to assure the Pharaoh and his courtiers that he is not an impostor or a phony; but that he is in fact God’s messenger and is delivering to them with full honesty and integrity the message God has given him to deliver to them. Moses (sws) did not utter these words merely to absolve himself of impersonation; concealed in them is also a threat: if they reject him by regarding him an impostor, the consequences will be very grave. He Who has sent him as a messenger, will necessarily take revenge from them.
وَأَنْ لَّا تَعْلُوا عَلَى اللهِ إِنِّي آتِيكُم بِسُلْطَانٍ مُّبِينٍ (١٩) 19
These words constitute the message which Moses (sws) was required to deliver to the Israelites: they should plainly accept this directive of God. If they adopt a tyrannical attitude, then this tyranny will not be merely against Moses (sws); it will primarily be against God because Moses (sws) is merely an envoy of God.
The words إِنِّي آتِيكُم بِسُلْطَانٍ مُّبِينٍ refer to the miracles of the staff and the white hand given to Moses (sws). In other words, he holds a very clear sanction that he is God’s envoy and shows these miracles to the Israelites so that they are left with no doubt about his veracity. Since Moses (sws) was sent to a very tyrannical and oppressive king, the Almighty from the very beginning armed him with such miracles which could convey his veracity to his opponents.
وَإِنِّي عُذْتُ بِرَبِّي وَرَبِّكُمْ أَن تَرْجُمُونِ (٢٠) 20
These words were uttered by Moses (sws) when his demand to let the Israelites go with him had caused great commotion among the Copts. At that time, his life had also been threatened, and there was a chance that his nation might lose its mind and stone him to death. At that time, he proclaimed to the people that if they intended to stone him, he would seek refuge with his Lord Who was also their Lord. The words وَرَبِّكُمْ (and also your Lord) have a very effective appeal in them, a very subtle call to the truth and a very austere warning; concealed in these words is also the sarcasm that while being led away by the big devil who poses himself as their “great Lord” they should not do something which dooms the whole nation.
وَإِنْ لَّمْ تُؤْمِنُوا لِي فَاعْتَزِلُونِ (٢١) 21
The words imply that if these people are not ready to believe that Moses (sws) is God’s envoy, then at least they should not besmear themselves with the sin of killing or stoning him to death and that they should leave him to himself. They should let him take along the Israelites to wherever he wants to take them; it would have been better if they believed in what he said and professed faith in him; this act would have ensured their success in both this world and the next. If they cannot do this, then at least they should not cause hindrance to his mission.
فَدَعَا رَبَّهُ أَنَّ هَؤُلَاء قَوْمٌ مُّجْرِمُونَ (٢٢) 22
The Copts were not the least moved by this appeal made by Moses (sws). They continued to conspire and plan against him. At last, Moses (sws) pleaded to his Lord thus: “Lord! These people will not listen to and accept my call; they are chronic criminals; only you can save me from their grasp.”
فَأَسْرِ بِعِبَادِي لَيْلًا إِنَّكُم مُّتَّبَعُونَ (٢٣) 23
Moses (sws) made this invocation at the right time, and hence it was accepted forthwith. It was not even deemed necessary to say a few words of immediate acceptance of this invocation which showed that Moses (sws) was as a result directed to do what this verse states. He was directed to take along with him the servants of God during the night, and he was also warned that he would be followed. This warning was given because though the Pharaoh was frustrated at the calamities which befell Egypt because of Moses’ invocation to God and therefore allowed Moses (sws) to take them away for a few days. When Moses (sws) embarked upon the journey with the whole nation, the Pharaoh changed his mind. He realized that he had made a mistake in giving him this permission. He immediately went in pursuit of them, with all his regional leaders, so that he could force them to come back. The Almighty had already informed Moses (sws) of this so that there was no delay in his march with his people and they would be able to cross the sea at the appointed time.
وَاتْرُكْ الْبَحْرَ رَهْوًا إِنَّهُمْ جُندٌ مُّغْرَقُونَ (٢٤) 24
The word رَهْو means “standing still”. The implication is that Moses (sws) should leave the sea before the dying down of the wind which God would use to part the sea and make way for them. As soon as they left the sea, it would become calm and the displaced water would come back to its position. During this time the Egyptians while pursuing them would be within the sea and water would engulf them in a manner that they would neither be able to move backward nor forward.
كَمْ تَرَكُوا مِن جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ (٢٥) وَزُرُوعٍ وَمَقَامٍ كَرِيمٍ (٢٦) وَنَعْمَةٍ كَانُوا فِيهَا فَاكِهِينَ (٢٧) 25
The verse implies that they would become prey to the waves of the sea while being deprived of the orchards, fountains, crop fields, grand mansions and luxury items which had made them arrogant. They reckoned that these things were a guarantee of their success and development, and those who threatened them with destruction were absolutely insane. However, it was proven on the contrary that without the fear of God these things were a prelude to destruction and when destruction came none of these things were of any benefit.
كَذَلِكَ وَأَوْرَثْنَاهَا قَوْمًا آخَرِينَ (٢٨) 26
The words نفْعَلُ بِالْمُجْرِمِيْن are suppressed after كَذَلِكَ because of textual indication. The meaning would be: “We did with them what we do with sinners and thus shall We do in the future.” The next part of the verse means that the Almighty made others the owners of these things. “Others” do not refer to the Israelites. It is not established that once the Israelites left Egypt, they returned later. It is possible that “others” refer to neighbouring nations which the Pharaoh and his companions constantly feared would join hands with the Israelites and occupy Egypt. It is evident from the Torah that the motive of the campaign of killing the male members of the Israelites had been launched for fear that if the Israelites increased in number they might join hands with the enemies and pose a threat for the Pharaoh and his people.
فَمَا بَكَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّمَاء وَالْأَرْضُ وَمَا كَانُوا مُنظَرِينَ (٢٩) 27
The verse refers to the fact that as long as the Pharaoh and his nation remained in power, they thought that they were the pioneers of a great civilization and culture and that the whole world would remain under the burden of their favour, but neither did the heavens nor the earth shed a tear on their destruction; in fact, they heaved a sigh of relief at the extirpation of their filthy existence from this world.
Here it needs to be kept in mind that the heavens and the earth do cry at the death of an innocent being who has been the target of oppression. It is stated in the Torah (Genesis, 4:10) that the blood of Abel cries out to the Lord from the earth.28 However, at the death and destruction of the oppressed and the defiant both the heavens and the earth rejoice – especially at the destruction of the defiant to whom the Almighty has conclusively conveyed the truth through His messengers.
وَلَقَدْ نَجَّيْنَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ الْمُهِينِ (٣٠) مِن فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّهُ كَانَ عَالِيًا مِّنَ الْمُسْرِفِينَ (٣١) 29
The words مِن فِرْعَوْنَ are a permutative (badal) from الْعَذَابِ الْمُهِينِ. In other words, the Almighty has dubbed the Pharaoh as humiliating punishment. The Pharaoh regarded Moses (sws) and all his people to be lowly; however, to God it was the Pharaoh who was not only lowly but a humiliating punishment.
The words إِنَّهُ كَانَ عَالِيًا مِّنَ الْمُسْرِفِينَ express why the Pharaoh is regarded as a humiliating punishment. The Qur’ān says that this is because he was very rebellious and among those who transgress the bounds set by God. People who rebel against God are a punishment for the oppressed and shall stand humiliated before God.
وَلَقَدِ اخْتَرْنَاهُمْ عَلَى عِلْمٍ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ (٣٢) 30
The verse implies that while the Almighty had the Pharaoh and his people drowned, He chose the Israelites – who had been trampled upon by them – for the guidance of the world. It may be kept in mind that a nation who is made the recipient of God’s sharī‘ah is naturally the most capable and worthy of guiding people. However, this position is conditional on the fact that it will discharge with full honesty the responsibility imposed on it by virtue of this position. If it does not discharge this responsibility, the Almighty confiscates this position and consigns it to others. In a particular period of time, the Israelites were given this position but when they did not remain worthy of it they were deposed and the responsibility of guiding people was entrusted to the Muslim ummah.
The words عَلَى عِلْمٍ allude to the philosophy of history: the rise and fall of nations in this world does not occur by chance; it is the Almighty Who selects a nation which meets His standards and those who do not are rejected by Him. The message which can be gauged from this is that those who have been deposed of this position should censure themselves on their own inability instead of blaming others, and those who are sovereign should show gratitude to God instead of being overcome by pride and arrogance and should discharge their responsibilities. The rise and fall of nations which takes place in this world is according to a divine design and its basis depends on the moral conduct of nations. God’s knowledge is inerrant and His wisdom is unbiased.
These verses very sternly warn the Israelites who during the time of their revelation were opposing the Qur’ān and Muhammad (sws). This warning does not require any explanation. If they had only understood that the Almighty chose them on the basis of His knowledge, and now on the basis of that very knowledge had decided that they were no longer worthy of it, they would have saved themselves from the evil fate that they faced as a consequence of their opposition to Islam.
وَآتَيْنَاهُم مِّنَ الْآيَاتِ مَا فِيهِ بَلَاء مُّبِينٌ (٣٣) 31
The real meaning of the word بَلَاء is “trial” and “test”; however, this trial can come through blessings and favours as well as through calamities and hardships. The former trial is to test whether people remain grateful or not and the latter trial is to test whether people remain patient or not. Contextual indications show that in this verse this word is used in the first of these meanings just as in verse seventeen of Sūrah Anfāl it has been mentioned with the adjective حَسَناً. The reference is to the favours which the Almighty granted them in a variety of ways while they were crossing the desert and later in the life they spent in the desert and in the conquest of Palestine as well as in later phases. Their details are mentioned in Sūrah Baqarah.
Section III: Verses (34-57)
In the succeeding verses, the real reason for the rebelliousness of the Quraysh is highlighted: they do not imagine that there is life after this worldly existence; for this reason they are engrossed in the present and unmindful of the future. In order to remove this misconception of theirs, first the intellectual and natural arguments which substantiate the law of reward and punishment are cited. After this, the fate of both the believers and the disbelievers is depicted.
Readers may now proceed to recite these verses.
Text and Translation
إِنَّ هَؤُلَاء لَيَقُولُونَ (٣٤) إِنْ هِيَ إِلَّا مَوْتَتُنَا الْأُولَى وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمُنشَرِينَ (٣٥) فَأْتُوا بِآبَائِنَا إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ (٣٦) أَهُمْ خَيْرٌ أَمْ قَوْمُ تُبَّعٍ وَالَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ أَهْلَكْنَاهُمْ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا مُجْرِمِينَ (٣٧) وَمَا خَلَقْنَا السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا لَاعِبِينَ (٣٨) مَا خَلَقْنَاهُمَا إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ (٣٩) إِنَّ يَوْمَ الْفَصْلِ مِيقَاتُهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ (٤٠) يَوْمَ لَا يُغْنِي مَوْلًى عَن مَّوْلًى شَيْئًا وَلَا هُمْ يُنصَرُونَ (٤١) إِلَّا مَن رَّحِمَ اللهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ (٤٢) إِنَّ شَجَرَةَ الزَّقُّومِ (٤٣) طَعَامُ الْأَثِيمِ (٤٤) كَالْمُهْلِ يَغْلِي فِي الْبُطُونِ (٤٥) كَغَلْيِ الْحَمِيمِ (٤٦) خُذُوهُ فَاعْتِلُوهُ إِلَى سَوَاء الْجَحِيمِ (٤٧) ثُمَّ صُبُّوا فَوْقَ رَأْسِهِ مِنْ عَذَابِ الْحَمِيمِ (٤٨) ذُقْ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْكَرِيمُ (٤٩) إِنَّ هَذَا مَا كُنتُم بِهِ تَمْتَرُونَ (٥٠) إِنَّ الْمُتَّقِينَ فِي مَقَامٍ أَمِينٍ (٥١) فِي جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ (٥٢) يَلْبَسُونَ مِن سُندُسٍ وَإِسْتَبْرَقٍ مُّتَقَابِلِينَ (٥٣) كَذَلِكَ وَزَوَّجْنَاهُم بِحُورٍ عِينٍ (٤٥) يَدْعُونَ فِيهَا بِكُلِّ فَاكِهَةٍ آمِنِينَ (٥٥) لَا يَذُوقُونَ فِيهَا الْمَوْتَ إِلَّا الْمَوْتَةَ الْأُولَى وَوَقَاهُمْ عَذَابَ الْجَحِيمِ (٥٦) فَضْلًا مِّن رَّبِّكَ ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ (٥٧) فَإِنَّمَا يَسَّرْنَاهُ بِلِسَانِكَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ (٥٨) فَارْتَقِبْ إِنَّهُم مُّرْتَقِبُونَ (٥٩)
These people emphatically say: “We shall die only this first death and after this we shall not be raised to life; so bring back to us our fathers, if you are truthful.” (34-36)
Are they better or the people of Tubba‘ and those who were before them? We destroyed them. Indeed, they were a defiant people. (37)
And We did not create the heavens and the earth and all that is between them for amusement. We did not create them but for a purpose, but most of them are not aware of this fact. Indeed, the Day of Judgement is the appointed time for all. On that Day, no relative shall be of any benefit to a relative nor shall they be helped. Except those to whom God shows mercy. Indeed, He alone is the Mighty One, the Merciful. (38-42)
The tree of the Zaqqūm shall be the food of the sinners. Like dregs of oil; it will sizzle in the belly the way hot water sizzles. Seize him and drag him into the depths of Hell; then pour out the punishment of hot water over his head. Taste this! You posed to be very powerful and honourable. This is the very thing about which you remained doubtful. (43-50)
As for the righteous, they shall dwell in a peaceful place amid gardens and fountains. They will be dressed in sundus and istabraq sitting opposite one another. Thus shall be the God-fearing treated. And We shall wed them to large-eyed houris. They shall ask for every kind of fruit, with peace. Here, after their first death, they shall not taste death again and God protected them from the torment of Hell. This will be specially because of your God’s grace. This indeed is great success. (51-57)
Explanation
إِنَّ هَؤُلَاء لَيَقُولُونَ (٣٤) إِنْ هِيَ إِلَّا مَوْتَتُنَا الْأُولَى وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمُنشَرِينَ (٣٥) 32
The verse states that these people very emphatically claim that the threat of the Day of judgement is mere bluff. Death is only faced once – and that is in this world. There is no other death or life after this.
فَأْتُوا بِآبَائِنَا إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ (٣٦) 33
In order to substantiate their claim stated earlier, they would demand of the believers to bring back any of their forefathers to life if they were truthful in saying that there is life after death; if the believers met their demand, they would regard life after death to be a reality. This subject is discussed in Sūrah Jāthiyah in the following words: وَإِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُنَا بَيِّنَاتٍ مَّا كَانَ حُجَّتَهُمْ إِلَّا أَن قَالُوا ائْتُوا بِآبَائِنَا إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ (45: 25) (and when Our clear verses about life after death are recited to them, their only argument is: “if you are true in your claim, bring back to us our fathers!” (45:25)). The Qur’ān has regarded this to be their only argument, and after referring to it has just ignored it and not even refuted it. This is an allusion to the fact that such is the nonsensical nature of their only argument in which they take pride that it does not even need to be commented upon.
أَهُمْ خَيْرٌ أَمْ قَوْمُ تُبَّعٍ وَالَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ أَهْلَكْنَاهُمْ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا مُجْرِمِينَ (٣٧) 34
The nation of Tubba‘ refers to the Tabābi‘ah of Yemen who were very famous in Arabia because of their material might and advancement as well as for their intellectual abilities. Arab poets have eulogized them a lot.
In response to the previously mentioned claim of the Quraysh, the Qur’ān has asked them to speak up if they are superior to the nation of the Tubba‘ viz a viz material might and advancement and intellectual abilities, and if in spite of the superiority of the nation of the Tubba‘ the Almighty destroyed them – neither did their material might benefit them nor their intellectual prowess; so what is the reason for the arrogance of the Quraysh thinking that no one will be able to seize them? When the Almighty destroyed people more powerful than them, why can’t He destroy them? Earlier nations too met with a similar fate. The people of the ‘Ād, the Thamūd and some other nations were superior to the Quraysh in every respect; but when they became rebellious against God, the Almighty destroyed them. So what superiority and eminence do the Quraysh have that they will always remain in favour with God even though they are more rebellious than these ancient nations? What counts for God is character and morality and not material wealth and riches nor grand mansions nor atom bombs and missiles. When nations become morally corrupt, the Almighty destroys them with the very same bombs they made to destroy other nations, and thus they are forced to commit suicide with their own weapons.
Examples of God’s law of retribution are found in this world and are found so abundantly that they are uncountable. So why should such a Day of reward and punishment be doubted on which the Almighty shall reward and punish individuals the way He rewarded and punished nations in this world.
وَمَا خَلَقْنَا السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا لَاعِبِينَ (٣٨) مَا خَلَقْنَاهُمَا إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ (٣٩) 35
In the afore-mentioned paragraphs, historical evidence as well as evidence from the world around man was presented to substantiate reward and punishment. In these verses, argument for the same is drawn from the attributes of God and from what they morally and intellectually entail. The verse states that the Almighty has not created the heavens and the earth and what is between them for amusement; on the contrary, He has created them for a higher purpose and a true objective. It is an essential requirement of this true objective that one day this world cease to exist and after that a day come when the Creator rewards those who spent their lives in accordance with God’s will, and punishes those who remained disobedient. If such a day does not come and this world continues without end or ends abruptly such that neither its pious inhabitants are rewarded nor the evil ones punished, then this means that its Creator, God forbid, is a merry-maker who while sitting in the heavens is witnessing a drama of the oppression and the oppressed, and when gets bored from watching this drama, He will dismantle this world or perhaps this drama will continue unabated forever. Obviously, this notion is such a wrong estimation about the merciful and wise creator of this world that cannot even be imagined. It is strange however that the majority is inflicted with this notion and is absolutely unaware of its consequences.
The fact that this is a deviant notion has been explained in detail in the exegesis of the previous sūrahs. Hence, I will content myself here with this brief comment.
إِنَّ يَوْمَ الْفَصْلِ مِيقَاتُهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ (٤٠) 36
Stated in this verse is the essential outcome of the fact that this world has been created with a true objective: it is against the knowledge, justice, wisdom and mercy of God that this world continues the way it is or ends abruptly; it is essential that a day come in which the Almighty sits in His chair of justice and decides the affairs of all. As a result, those who spent their lives in an upright manner will be rewarded and those who spent their lives in transgression and usurpation will be bear punishment. That day will be the day on which perfect justice manifests itself and no one will escape from it. The small and the big, the rulers and the ruled, the beggar and the king – all will be called to justice and such will be this justice that neither will any reality remain hidden nor will anyone be able to cause hindrance to the justice being dispensed. The word أَجْمَعِيْنَ should be specially paid attention to.
يَوْمَ لَا يُغْنِي مَوْلًى عَنْ مَّوْلًى شَيْئًا وَلَا هُمْ يُنْصَرُونَ (٤١) 37
The word مَوْلًى is used for members of a family and tribe who are related to a person through his blood and lineage and who have mutual feelings of support and unity. The verse states that that day will be of such selfishness that no relative will be of any benefit to another relative.
The expression وَلَا هُمْ يُنصَرُونَ points to the fact that there will be no other source of help either. It is evident from contextual indication that this help refers to the help which the Idolaters of Arabia expected from their deities.
إِلَّا مَنْ رَّحِمَ اللهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ (٤٢) 38
The verse says that on that day only those who are blessed with God’s grace will succeed and only those receive His grace who are worthy of it. God is powerful and at the same time He is also merciful. No one will be able to bail out people seized by Him. And no one will be able to deprive people who are worthy of His mercy. In other words, people should fear Him alone and expect mercy from Him alone as well.
إِنَّ شَجَرَةَ الزَّقُّومِ (٤٣) طَعَامُ الْأَثِيمِ (٤٤) كَالْمُهْلِ يَغْلِي فِي الْبُطُونِ (٤٥) كَغَلْيِ الْحَمِيمِ (٤٦) 39
Earlier, the Day of Judgment was mentioned. Here what will befall the sinners as a result of the verdicts delivered therein is depicted. It is stated that the tree of cactus will provide subsistence to the sinners. This cactus is the cactus of Hell; hence, only God knows what it actually is. We can only vaguely imagine it by drawing an analogy from the cactus of this world. We cannot grasp what it actually is.
People have translated the word مُهْل variously. By giving preference to its etymological construction, I have translated it as the sediment of oil. The verses say that it will seethe in the bellies of the sinners the way the sediment of oil does, and shall sizzle the way water sizzles.
In other words, this food will boil the way the sediment of sour oil boils viz a viz its intensity, heat and bitterness and will sizzle like sizzling water. When oil is heated, it gets very hot but it does not sizzle; when water is heated it sizzles as well. Here in this simile both facets of heating are combined.
خُذُوهُ فَاعْتِلُوهُ إِلَى سَوَاء الْجَحِيمِ (٤٧) ثُمَّ صُبُّوا فَوْقَ رَأْسِهِ مِنْ عَذَابِ الْحَمِيمِ (٤٨) 40
Giving due consideration to eloquence, it is suppressed that the above words will be proclaimed to these people from God. The source of this proclamation is not mentioned; only the proclamation itself is cited. In other words, the wardens of Hell will be directed to seize these people and drag them to the depth of Hell and spill buckets of boiling water on them as a sizzling punishment.
ذُقْ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْكَرِيمُ (٤٩) إِنَّ هَذَا مَا كُنتُم بِهِ تَمْتَرُونَ (٥٠) 41
This statement can be an expression of the situation that will befall these people and it can also be interpreted to be made by the wardens. Each one of them will be told that they posed to be very powerful and honourable in the previous world and as a result arrogantly denied this Day; today they should taste its torment; this is the same thing about which they created all sorts of doubts.
إِنَّ الْمُتَّقِينَ فِي مَقَامٍ أَمِينٍ (٥١) فِي جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ (٥٢) 42
After depicting of the fate of the sinners, the verses portray the fate of the God-fearing: they will reside in a peaceful place; they will neither have any fear there nor any sorrow. They will be amidst orchards and fountains, and they will have no fear that anyone snatch away these blessings from them or that the blessings cease or that they be regarded accountable for any of them.
يَلْبَسُونَ مِن سُندُسٍ وَإِسْتَبْرَقٍ مُّتَقَابِلِينَ (٥٣) 43
Sundus (سُندُس) and istbaraq (إِسْتَبْرَق) are the names of silk cloth. Some people have distinguished between them with regard to their thickness. However, since these fabrics belong to Paradise, such a distinction is unimportant. Only God knows what actually they will be like.
The word مُّتَقَابِلِينَ here refers to the fact that these people will face one another. As per the linguistic construction of the verses, verbs like يَجْلِسُوْنَ (sitting) or يَتَّكِئُوْنَ (sitting while being supported by cushions etc) will be considered as understood to be present here. In other words, they will be sitting face to face wearing attires of sundus and istabraq. Sitting facing one another shows that they will be dear to one another and will enjoy the confidence of one another. Since they gave noble advice to one another in the previous world, its noble recompense will be evident to them. For this reason, they will sit with one another whole heartedly. On the other hand, the disbelievers and their leaders will hurl insults at each other.
كَذَلِكَ وَزَوَّجْنَاهُم بِحُورٍ عِينٍ (٤٥) يَدْعُونَ فِيهَا بِكُلِّ فَاكِهَةٍ آمِنِينَ (٥٥) 44
The verse states that as culmination of their bliss, the Almighty will have them wedded to large-eyed houris, In Arabic literature, this epithet signifies the pinnacle of beauty of a woman.
The subsequent verse says that for them will be all kinds of fruit in abundance. Whatever fruit they want, they will demand from dutiful attendants. Neither will they have any fear of reduction in fruits nor any fear of being deprived of this bliss nor will they have any fear of death. They will be shielded from all fears and enjoy eternal bliss.
لَا يَذُوقُونَ فِيهَا الْمَوْتَ إِلَّا الْمَوْتَةَ الْأُولَى وَوَقَاهُمْ عَذَابَ الْجَحِيمِ (٥٦) فَضْلًا مِّن رَّبِّكَ ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ (٥٧) 45
The first implies that after the death they tasted in this world, they will never taste it again. Both their life and its pleasure will be abiding. They are rid of death and their Lord shielded them from Hell. This is a special favour to them by the Prophet’s Lord, and this, in reality, is the supreme triumph and not the one which the slaves of this world have given their hearts to and have been so infatuated with their love that they think that the life of this world is all that there is; after this, there is no life or death.
Section IV: Verses (58-59)
Readers may recall that this sūrah began with the mention of the Qur’ān’s exaltedness: it is indeed a great favour which the Almighty has blessed the Arabs with. If they duly honour and value it, they will be blessed with great success both in this world and in that to come. However, if out of arrogance they do not duly value it, they should remember that this great favour can become an equally great torment for them, and they will only hasten their own destruction both in this world and in that to come. After this introductory topic, the sūrah went on to state arguments which substantiate the veracity of the Qur’ān. Now at the end, the same subject discussed in the introduction is recalled from a new aspect. It is as if the sūrah ends on the same subject on which it began. Several examples of this style of similarity between the opening and the closing verses of a sūrah can be seen in earlier sūrahs. In the speeches of eloquent orators as well, subtle example of this style can be seen. An orator generally ends his speech by reminding the audience of the topic with which he began it. This is because a complete reminder is sounded to them in the end.
Readers may now proceed to recite the verses.
Text and Translation
فَإِنَّمَا يَسَّرْنَاهُ بِلِسَانِكَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ (٥٨) فَارْتَقِبْ إِنَّهُم مُّرْتَقِبُونَ (٥٩)
Thus We have efficiently adorned this Qur’ān in your own tongue so that they may receive reminder. Wait you then; they too are waiting. (59)
Explanation
فَإِنَّمَا يَسَّرْنَاهُ بِلِسَانِكَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ (٥٨) 46
The letter فَ indicates the affinity with the subject of the previous sections of the sūrah. The aspect in which this affinity exists is already referred to above.
The word تِيْسِيْر means to make something appropriate and suitable for a purpose and to make it firm and sound in all aspects. The expression يَسَّرَ الفَرَسَ لِلرٌّكُوْب would mean to make a horse ready for riding by adorning it with a bridle, saddle, stirrups and other relevant things. The expression يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآنَ لِلذِّكْرِ would mean to adorn the Qur’ān with all that is necessary to make it appropriate for education and reminding. People who have interpreted this verse to mean that the Qur’ān is a very easy and bland book have not been able to grasp the essence of the word. No doubt that the Qur’ān is also an easy book; however, this ease is a reference to its higher objective of teaching and reminding people for which the Almighty has revealed it. This objective has multifarious aspects, and since the Qur’ān comprehensively covers all these aspects as well as their essential consequences, it contains many difficult and intricate aspects. However, to effectively communicate these aspects to the hearts of people, it has adopted such majestic styles which cannot be emulated by anyone. However, these things themselves require deep deliberation because they relate to wisdom, and wisdom requires deep deliberation. I have alluded to some aspects of this issue in the explanation of verse ninety seven of Sūrah Maryam and God willing, I will attempt to shed more light on this issue in the exegesis of Sūrah Qamar.
The word بِلِسَانِكَ refers to the pure and unadulterated language of the Quraysh which was best archetype of eloquent Arabic, and the Prophet (sws) was best exemplar of this eloquent Arabic. This is a reference to a very important aspect of the taysīr of the Qur’ān: to conclusively communicate the truth to the Quraysh, the Almighty has revealed this Book in the language of the Prophet (sws) which is the best exemplar of the language of the Quraysh. If they do not understand the Qur’ān even in this language, then this is no fault of the Book; rather, it is their own fault for which the Prophet (sws) is not responsible.
The words لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ express the purpose of the revelation of the Qur’ān in a very elaborate and thorough manner: to receive reminder. This means that they be reminded of whatever the Almighty has inherently granted their intellect and nature, learn a lesson from the signs which are found within man and in the world outside him and bear in mind the guidance received from the previous prophets, in particular their great ancestor Abraham (sws). The Qur’ān is reminding them of all these things in the best of languages and in the best of styles. Concealed in these words is also the warning that if they are not prepared to be reminded, then they should get ready to meet the fate destined by God for such rebellious people. Moreover, their own history also reminds them of this fate.
فَارْتَقِبْ إِنَّهُم مُّرْتَقِبُونَ (٥٩) 47
This verse clearly expresses the hidden warning that was concealed in the previous verse. In other words, if these people are not prepared to benefit from this Book and insist that they will only believe after observing the punishment they are being threatened with, then like them, the Prophet (sws) too should wait for this punishment. On this punishment hinges the judgement. Readers may take a look at the explanation of verse ten.
By the grace of God, with these lines, I come to the end of the tafsīr of this sūrah. فالحمد لله على إحسانه (so gratitude be to God for His favour)
Rahmānābād,
22nd May 1976 AD
22nd Jumādī al-Thanī 1396 AH
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1. This is Ha Mim.
2. By the lucid Book!
3. Indeed, We revealed it in a blessed night. Indeed, We were to inform people.
4. On this night, all wise matters are distributed.
5. As a special directive from Ourself. Indeed, We were to send a Messenger.
6. As a special blessing from your Lord. Indeed, He it is Who sees and hears.
7. With His mercy Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, if you show conviction.
8. There is no god but Him. He only gives life and death. He is your Lord and also the Lord of your forefathers.
9. Yet they are in doubt, playing about.
10. So wait for the day when the sky will appear with a palpable smoke. That smoke will envelop people. This is a grave torment.
11. See, for example: Al-Suyūtī, Al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 7, 51.
12. That smoke will envelop people. This is a grave torment.
13. Lord! Distance this torment from us; we are now believers.
14. But what opportunity remains for them now to pay heed! An enlightening Messenger had come to them. So they turned away from him and said: “A madman, taught by others!”
15. If We for some time open the torment, you will do what you had been doing.
16. Remember the day when We will grasp intensely; on that day, We will take full revenge.
17. And before them, We tested the Pharaoh’s people and a gracious messenger came to them.
18. With the message: “Hand over to me God’s servants; I am for you a trustworthy messenger;
19. And that you should not be rebellious against God; I present to you a clear argument;
20. And I seek refuge with My and Your Lord from you stoning me;
21. And if you do not attest me, leave me to myself.”
22. Thus he prayed to his Lord that they are a sinful people.
23. It was ordered: “Take along My servants with you in the night; beware! you shall be pursued.”
24. And leave the sea at rest; they will become an army drowned.
25. How many orchards, fountains, cornfields, blissful abodes and pleasant things in which they took delight they left behind them!
26. Thus do We deal with the wrongdoers; and what was once theirs We gave to others.
27. So neither the heavens nor the earth shed tears for them; nor were they given reprieve.
28. See: Genesis, 4:19.
29. And We saved the Israelites from a humiliating punishment that is from the Pharaoh. Indeed, he was a great tyrant and a transgressor.
30. And knowingly We gave them preference to all the world.
31. And showed them signs in which there was an open reward.
32. These people emphatically say: “We shall die only this first death and after this we shall not be raised to life;
33. So bring back to us our fathers, if you are truthful.”
34. Are they better or the people of Tubba‘ and those who were before them? We destroyed them. Indeed, they were a defiant people.
35. And We did not create the heavens and the earth and all that is between them for amusement. We did not create them but for a purpose, but most of them are not aware of this fact.
36. Indeed, the Day of Judgement is the appointed time for all.
37. On that Day, no relative shall be of any benefit to a relative nor shall they be helped.
38. Except those to whom God shows mercy. Indeed, He alone is the Mighty One, the Merciful.
39. The tree of the Zaqqūm shall be the food of the sinners. Like the sediment of oil; it will sizzle in the belly the way hot water sizzles.
40. Seize him and drag him into the depths of Hell; then pour out the punishment of hot water over his head.
41. Taste this! You posed to be very powerful and honourable. This is the very thing about which you remained doubtful.
42. As for the righteous, they shall dwell in a peaceful place amid gardens and fountains.
43. They will be dressed in sundus and istabraq sitting opposite one another.
44. Thus shall be the God-fearing treated. And We shall wed them to large-eyed houris. They shall ask for every kind of fruit, with peace.
45. Here, after their first death, they shall not taste death again and God protected them from the torment of Hell. This will be specially because of your God’s grace. This indeed is great success.
46. Thus We have efficiently adorned this Qur’ān in your own tongue so that they may receive reminder.
47. Wait you then; they too are waiting.