| This Surah (Revealed) Meccan, except for verses 40, 94, 95 and 96, which are Medinese; it consists of
109 or 110 verses, and was revealed after [sūrat] al-Isrāâ.(Yânus)
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| بِسْم ِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ | |
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Tafseer
Alif lām rāâ: God knows best what He means by these [letters]. Those, namely,
these signs, are the signs of the wise Book, that is, the Qurâān (the genitive annexation [āyāt al-kitāb] has
the meaning of min [sc. min āyātiâl-kitāb, âfrom among the verses of the Bookâ]), which has been made clear.
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Tafseer
Is it for the people, the people of Mecca (this interrogative is meant as a
disavowal; the preposition [li-, âforâ] and its dependent genitive noun [al-nās, âthe peopleâ] constitute a
circumstantial qualifier of His saying): a wonder (âajaban: read in the accusative as a predicate of kāna; or if read in
the nominative [âajabun] as its subject: its predicate, which is also its subject if read according to the
former [accusative] reading, is [the following, an awhaynā]) that We have inspired a man from among them, Muhammad
(s), [saying] (an, âthatâ, is explicative): âWarn, threaten, the people, the disbelievers, with
chastisement, and give good tidings to those who believe that they have a prior, a preceding, [promise of] truth
with their Lordâ?, that is a [preceding] fair reward, in return for the deeds they have sent forward. The
disbelievers say, âTruly this, Qurâān that comprises all of that [mentioned], is manifest sorceryâ: a variant
reading [for la-sihrun] has lasāhirun, âa sorcererâ, where it is the Prophet (s) to whom they are referring [as being
âa manifest sorcererâ].
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Tafseer
Truly your Lord is God Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, of the
days of this world, that is, 213 in the same measure [of time], since there was no sun or moon then: had He
willed He could have created them in an instant, but the reason for His not having done so is that He wanted
to teach His creatures to be circumspect; then He presided upon the Throne, a presiding befitting of Him,
directing affairs, among creatures. There is no (mā min indicates a relative clause) intercessor, to
intercede for anyone, save after His permission: a refutation of their saying, âThe idols intercede for us!â;
that, Creator and Director, is God, your Lord, so worship Him, affirm His Oneness. Will you not remember?
(tadhakkarūna: the original tāâ [of tatadhakkarūna] has been assimilated with the dhāl).
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Tafseer
To Him, exalted be He, is the return of all of you: Godâs promise, in truth
(both [waâda and haqqan] are verbal nouns, and in the accusative because of the verbs implicit in them).
Truly He (read innahu as a new sentence, or annahu with an implied lām [sc. li-annahu, âBecause Heâ] originates
creation, that is, He began it by originating [it], then recreates it, through resurrection, that He may
requite, reward, those who believe and perform righteous deeds, justly. And those who disbelieve, for them will be
a draught of boiling water and a painful chastisement because they disbelieved.
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Tafseer
He it is Who made the sun a radiance, that is, emitting light, and the moon a
light, and determined it, with respect to its movement, in stations: 28 stations in 28 nights every month,
becoming concealed for two nights when a particular month has 30 days, or [concealed] for one night, when
it has 29 days, so that you might know, thereby, the number of the years and the reckoning. God did not
create that, which is mentioned, save in truth, not in vain, exalted be He above such things. He
details (read yufassilu or nufassilu, âWe detailâ) the signs for a people who know, who reflect.
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Tafseer
Truly in the alternation of night and day, in [their] coming and going,
increasing and diminishing, and [in] what God has created in the heavens, of angels, sun, moon, stars and other
things, and, in, the earth, of animals, mountains, seas, rivers, trees, and other things, there are signs,
indications of His power, exalted be He, for a people who fear, Him, and so believe: He singles these out for
mention because they are the ones to benefit from them [such signs].
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Tafseer
Truly those who do not expect to encounter Us, through resurrection, and are
content with the life of this world, instead of [the life] the Hereafter, since they reject [the truth of] it,
and feel reassured, feel secure, in it, and those who are heedless of Our signs, [of] the proofs of Our Oneness,
neglecting to ponder them,
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Tafseer
those, their abode will be the Fire because of what they used to earn, in the
way of [practising] idolatry and [performing] acts of disobedience.
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Tafseer
Truly those who believe and perform righteous deeds, their Lord will guide them,
He will lead them, through their faith, in Him, by appointing for them a light with which they will be able
to find their way on the Day of Resurrection. Rivers will flow beneath them in the Gardens of Bliss,
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Tafseer
their prayer therein, their request for what they desire in Paradise will be to
say: âGlory be to You, O God!â, so that, lo!, what they request they find before them; and their greeting,
between them, therein will be: âPeace.â And their final prayer will be: âPraise be to God, Lord of the Worldsâ.
214
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Tafseer
When the idolaters sought to hasten [their] chastisement, the following was
revealed: And if God should hasten for mankind evil as they would hasten good, their term [of life] would
already have been concluded for them (read as the passive, with nominative ajaluhum [sc. la-qudiya
ajaluhum]; or read as the active with accusative ajalahum [sc. la-qadā ajalahum, âHe would have already concluded
their termâ]), by His destroying them, but He gives them respite. But We leave those, who do not
expect to encounter Us, to wander blindly in their insolence, hesistant and perplexed.
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Tafseer
If misfortune, illness or poverty, should befall a, disbelieving, man, he calls
upon Us on his side, that is, lying down, or sitting or standing, in other words, in every state; but when We have
relieved him of his misfortune, he passes on, in his unbelief, as if (ka-an is softened, its subject
omitted, in other words [read as] ka-annahu) he had never called upon Us because of a misfortune that befell
him. So, in the same way that supplication during misfortune and abstention [from supplication] in times
of comfort were adorned for him, is adorned for the prodigal, the idolaters, that which they do.
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Tafseer
And indeed We have destroyed generations, communities, before you, O people of
Mecca, when they did evil, by way of idolatry, and, indeed, their messengers brought them clear
proofs, indicating their truthfulness; but they would not believe (wa-mā kānū li-yuâminū: this is a
supplement to zalamū, âthey did evilâ). So, just as We destroyed those, We shall requite the sinning, the
unbelieving, folk.
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Tafseer
Then We made you, O people of Mecca, successors (khalāâif is the plural of
khalīfa) in the earth after them, that We might behold how you would behave, in it, and whether you would take
heed from their example and believe in Our messengers.
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Tafseer
And when Our clear, manifest (bayyināt is a circumstantial qualifier), verses,
[from] the Qurâān, are recited to them, those who do not expect to encounter Us, those who do not fear the
Resurrection, say, âBring a Qurâān other than this, one in which our gods are not denigrated, or change itâ,
of your own accord. Say, to them: âIt is not for me to change it of my own accord. I only follow that which
is revealed to me. Truly I fear, if I should disobey my Lord, by changing it, the chastisement of a
dreadful dayâ, that is, the Day of Resurrection.
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Tafseer
Say: âIf God had willed I would not have recited it to you, nor would He have
made it known to you, [nor] would He have made you aware of it (the lā [of wa-lā adrākum] is for negation,
and is a supplement to what preceded; a variant reading has the lām [sc. la-adrākum, âHe would have made it
known to youâ] as the response to the [conditional] law, âifâ, in other words, He would have made it
known to you by the tongue of someone other than myself). For I have already dwelt among you a [whole]
lifetime, of forty years, before this [Qurâān], not relating to you anything [of the sort], so will you not
understand?â, that this [Qurâān] is not from myself?
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Tafseer
And who, that is, no one, does greater evil than he who invents a lie against
God, by ascribing a partner to Him, or denies His signs?, [denies] the Qurâān. Surely, it is that, the sinners,
the idolaters, shall not prosper, they shall [never] find happiness. 215
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Tafseer
And they worship, besides God, that is, other than Him, that which can neither
hurt them, should they not worship it, nor profit them, if they do worship it â and these are the idols;
and they say, of them: âThese are our intercessors with Godâ. Say, to them: âWould you tell, would you inform,
God of what He does not know in the heavens or in the earth?â (the interrogative is meant as a
disavowal), for if He had a partner, He [Himself] would know it, since nothing can be hidden from Him. Glory be to Him!,
in [affirmation of] His transcendence, and High be He exalted above what they associate! with Him.
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Tafseer
Mankind was but one community, following one religion, that is submission [to
the One God], from the time of Adam to the time of Noah; but it is also said [that this was the case] from
the time of Abraham to that of âAmr b. Luhayy; then they differed, some of them remaining firmly [upon belief
in One God], while others disbelieved. And had it not been for a word that had already preceded from your
Lord, [to the effect] that requital would be deferred until the Day of Resurrection, it would have been
decided between them, that is, [between] mankind, in this life, regarding that over which they differed, in
religion, by the disbelievers being punished.
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Tafseer
And they, the people of Mecca, say, âWhy has a sign not been sent down on him,
on Muhammad (s), from his Lord?â, as was the case with [previous] prophets, in the way of a she-camel,
a staff or a [glowing] hand. Then say, to them: âThe Unseen, that which is concealed from servants, in other
words, its affair, belongs only to God, and it is from this [Unseen] that signs come forth; therefore He
alone can bring them forth: mine is only to covey the Message. So wait, for the chastisement, if you do not
believe. I am waiting with youâ.
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Tafseer
And when We made people, that is, the disbelievers of Mecca, taste of mercy,
[of] rain and fertility, after adversity, misery and drought, that had afflicted them, behold! they have some
plot concerning Our signs, in the way of mockery and denial. Say, to them: âGod is swifter at plotting, at
requiting; surely Our, guardian, messengers are writing down that which you are plottingâ (tamkurūn, is also read
yamkurūn, âthey are plottingâ).
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Tafseer
He it is Who conveys you (yusayyirukum: a variant reading has yanshurukum)
across the land and the sea, until when you are in ships and they sail with them (there is a shift of address
from second [to third] person) with a fair, gentle, breeze and they rejoice therein, there comes upon
them a stormy wind, blowing violently, destroying everything, and waves come on them from every side, and
they think that they are overwhelmed, that is, [that] they shall perish, they call upon God, secure in
their faith, their supplication, only to Him: âIf (la-in: the lām is for oaths) You deliver us from these,
terrors, we shall verily be of the thankfulâ, [of those] who affirm [Your] Oneness.
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Tafseer
Yet when He has delivered them, behold! they are insolent in the earth
wrongfully, by associating others with God. O mankind, your insolence, wrongdoing, is only against yourselves,
since the sin thereof shall fall against them; it is [but], the enjoyment of the life of this world, which you
will enjoy for a short while, then to Us is your return, after death, and We shall inform you of what you used to
do, and then requite you for it (a variant reading [for nominative matāâu] has accusative matāâa, âan
enjoymentâ, in other words [read as with an omitted verb such as] tatamattaâūna, â[one which] you shall enjoyâ). 216
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Tafseer
The likeness, the description, of the life of this world is only as water, rain,
which We send down from the heaven, then the plants of the earth mingle with it, [they mingle] because of
it, attaching themselves one to another, whereof mankind eat, [plants] such as wheat and barley and so on, and
cattle [eat], of pasture, until, when the earth has taken on its ornaments, its splendour of plants, and
has adorned itself, with flowers (izzayyanat, âadorned itselfâ, is originally tazayyanat, but the tāâ has
been substituted with the zāy and assimilated with it) and its inhabitants think that they are masters of it,
fully capable of harvesting its fruits, Our command, Our decree or Our chastisement, comes upon it by night or
day, and We make it, that is, its crops, as reaped corn, like that which has been reaped with sickles, as
though (ka-an is softened, in other words [read it as] ka-annahā) the previous day it had not flourished, [as
though] it never were. Thus do We detail, [do] We make clear, the signs for a people who reflect.
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Tafseer
And God summons to the Abode of Peace, that is, [the Abode] of security, which
is Paradise, by summoning [people] to faith, and He guides whomever He wills, that he be guided, to a
straight path, the religion of Islam.
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Tafseer
For those who do good, by having faith, is the fairest reward, Paradise, and
more, which is to contemplate God, exalted be He, as [reported] in a hadīth by Muslim [in his Sahīh]; neither
dust, soot, nor ignominy, grief, shall overcome, envelop, their faces. Those, they are the inhabitants of
Paradise: therein they will abide.
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Tafseer
And for those (waâlladhīna is a supplement to liâlladhīna ahsanū, âfor those who
do goodâ, so [understand it as] wa-liâlladhīna, âand for thoseâ) who earn evil deeds, by practising
idolatry, [there shall be] the requital of an evil deed by the like thereof; ignominy shall overcome them â they have no
protector, no defender, against God â as if their faces had been covered with, cloaked [in], strips of
darkest night (read qitaâan, as the plural of qitâa; or qitâan, meaning juzâan, âa partâ). Those, they are the
inhabitants of the Fire: therein they will abide.
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Tafseer
And, mention, the day on which We shall gather them, that is, creation, all
together, then We shall say to those who associated others [with God]: âIn your place! (makānakum is in the
accusative because ilzamū, âadhere toâ, is implied [sc. ilzamū makānakum]). You (antum: this emphasises the
[second person plural] subject concealed in the implied verb [ilzamū], and allows for the supplement
[that follows]:) and your associates!â, that is, the idols. Then We shall make a separation, We shall
distinguish, between them, and the believers, as [is stated] in the verse, waâmtāzūâl-yawma ayyuhāâl-mujrimūn,
âNow be separate, you sinners, upon this day!â [Q. 36:59]; and their associates will say, to them: âIt
was not us that you were worshipping (mā [of mā-kuntum, âyou were not ââ] is for negation; the direct
object [iyyānā, âusâ] precedes the verb in order [to accord] with the end-rhyme [of the Qurâānic verse];
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