Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 30 Ar-Rum, Ayat 41-53

ظَهَرَ الۡفَسَادُ فِى الۡبَرِّ وَالۡبَحۡرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتۡ اَيۡدِى النَّاسِ لِيُذِيۡقَهُمۡ بَعۡضَ الَّذِىۡ عَمِلُوۡا لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَرۡجِعُوۡنَ‏ ﴿30:41﴾ قُلۡ سِيۡرُوۡا فِى الۡاَرۡضِ فَانْظُرُوۡا كَيۡفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الَّذِيۡنَ مِنۡ قَبۡلُ​ؕ كَانَ اَكۡثَرُهُمۡ مُّشۡرِكِيۡنَ‏ ﴿30:42﴾ فَاَقِمۡ وَجۡهَكَ لِلدِّيۡنِ الۡقَيِّمِ مِنۡ قَبۡلِ اَنۡ يَّاۡتِىَ يَوۡمٌ لَّا مَرَدَّ لَهٗ مِنَ اللّٰهِ​ يَوۡمَـئِذٍ يَّصَّدَّعُوۡنَ‏ ﴿30:43﴾ مَنۡ كَفَرَ فَعَلَيۡهِ كُفۡرُهٗ ​ۚ وَمَنۡ عَمِلَ صَالِحاً فَلِاَنۡفُسِهِمۡ يَمۡهَدُوۡنَۙ ‏ ﴿30:44﴾ لِيَجۡزِىَ الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوۡا الصّٰلِحٰتِ مِنۡ فَضۡلِهٖ​ؕ اِنَّهٗ لَا يُحِبُّ الۡكٰفِرِيۡنَ‏ ﴿30:45﴾ وَمِنۡ اٰيٰتِهٖۤ اَنۡ يُّرۡسِلَ الرِّيَاحَ مُبَشِّرٰتٍ وَّلِيُذِيۡقَكُمۡ مِّنۡ رَّحۡمَتِهٖ وَلِتَجۡرِىَ الۡفُلۡكُ بِاَمۡرِهٖ وَلِتَبۡتَغُوۡا مِنۡ فَضۡلِهٖ وَلَعَلَّكُمۡ تَشۡكُرُوۡنَ‏ ﴿30:46﴾ وَ لَقَدۡ اَرۡسَلۡنَا مِنۡ قَبۡلِكَ رُسُلًا اِلٰى قَوۡمِهِمۡ فَجَآءُوۡهُمۡ بِالۡبَيِّنٰتِ فَانْتَقَمۡنَا مِنَ الَّذِيۡنَ اَجۡرَمُوۡا ​ؕ وَكَانَ حَقًّا عَلَيۡنَا نَصۡرُ الۡمُؤۡمِنِيۡنَ‏ ﴿30:47﴾ اَللّٰهُ الَّذِىۡ يُرۡسِلُ الرِّيٰحَ فَتُثِيۡرُ سَحَابًا فَيَبۡسُطُهٗ فِى السَّمَآءِ كَيۡفَ يَشَآءُ وَيَجۡعَلُهٗ كِسَفًا فَتَرَى الۡوَدۡقَ يَخۡرُجُ مِنۡ خِلٰلِهٖ​ۚ فَاِذَاۤ اَصَابَ بِهٖ مَنۡ يَّشَآءُ مِنۡ عِبَادِهٖۤ اِذَا هُمۡ يَسۡتَبۡشِرُوۡنَۚ‏  ﴿30:48﴾ وَاِنۡ كَانُوۡا مِنۡ قَبۡلِ اَنۡ يُّنَزَّلَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ مِّنۡ قَبۡلِهٖ لَمُبۡلِسِيۡنَ‏  ﴿30:49﴾ فَانْظُرۡ اِلٰٓى اٰثٰرِ رَحۡمَتِ اللّٰهِ كَيۡفَ يُحۡىِ الۡاَرۡضَ بَعۡدَ مَوۡتِهَا ​ؕ اِنَّ ذٰ لِكَ لَمُحۡىِ الۡمَوۡتٰى ​ۚ وَهُوَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ قَدِيۡرٌ‏ ﴿30:50﴾ وَلَـئِنۡ اَرۡسَلۡنَا رِيۡحًا فَرَاَوۡهُ مُصۡفَرًّا لَّظَلُّوۡا مِنۡۢ بَعۡدِهٖ يَكۡفُرُوۡنَ‏ ﴿30:51﴾ فَاِنَّكَ لَا تُسۡمِعُ الۡمَوۡتٰى وَلَا تُسۡمِعُ الصُّمَّ الدُّعَآءَ اِذَا وَلَّوۡا مُدۡبِرِيۡنَ‏ ﴿30:52﴾ وَمَاۤ اَنۡتَ بِهٰدِ الۡعُمۡىِ عَنۡ ضَلٰلَتِهِمۡ​ؕ اِنۡ تُسۡمِعُ اِلَّا مَنۡ يُّؤۡمِنُ بِاٰيٰتِنَا فَهُمۡ مُّسۡلِمُوۡنَ‏ ﴿30:53﴾

(30:41) Evil has become rife on the land and at sea because of men's deeds; this in order that He may cause them to have a taste of some of their deeds; perhaps they will turn back (from evil).64 (30:42) (O Prophet), say: “Traverse in the earth and see what was the end of those who went before you: most of them associated others with Allah in His Divinity.”65 (30:43) So turn your face exclusively towards the True Faith before there comes the Day whose coming from Allah cannot be averted,66 the Day when people will split into groups. (30:44) He who disbelieves will suffer the consequence of it67 and he who acts righteously, they will pave the way for their own good (30:45) so that Allah may, out of His Bounty, reward those who believe and act righteously. Verily He does not love the unbelievers. (30:46) And of His Signs is that He sends winds to herald good tidings68 and that He may give you a taste of His Mercy, and that ships may sail at His bidding,69 and you may seek His Bounty70 and give thanks to Him. (30:47) We sent Messengers before you to their respective nations, and they brought Clear Signs71 to them. Then We took vengeance upon those who acted wickedly.72 It was incumbent on Us to come to the aid of the believers. (30:48) Allah sends the winds that stir up clouds and then He spreads them in the sky as He pleases and splits them into different fragments, whereafter you see drops of rain pouring down from them. He then causes the rain to fall on whomsoever of His servants He pleases, and lo, they rejoice at it, (30:49) although before that they were given to despair. (30:50) See, then, the tokens of Allah's Mercy: how He revives the earth after it is dead.73 Verily He is the One Who will revive the dead. He has power over everything. (30:51) But if We were to send a wind and then their tilth has become yellow,74 they would never cease to disbelieve.75 (30:52) (O Prophet), you cannot make the dead hear,76 nor can you make the deaf hear your call when they turn back in retreat,77 (30:53) nor can you guide the blind out of their error.78 You can make none hear (your call) except those who believe in Our Signs and have surrendered themselves (to Him).


Notes

64. This is again an allusion to the war that was going on between Byzantium and Iran, which was telling on the whole of the Middle East. “What the hands of people have earned” means the wickedness and oppression and tyranny, which inevitably appear in human conduct and character as a result of adopting shirk and atheism and ignoring the Hereafter. “Perhaps they may return” means that Allah shows the evil consequences of some of the acts of men in this world before the punishment of the Hereafter so that they understand the reality, feel the error of their conjectures and turn to the righteous belief, which the Prophets of Allah have been presenting before man since the earliest times, and besides adopting which there is no other way of ordering human conduct on sound foundations. This subject has been presented at several places in the Quran, e.g. in (Surah At-Taubah: Ayat 126), (Surah Ar-Raad: Ayat 31), (Surah As-Sajdah: Ayat 21), (Surah At-Tur: Ayat 47).

65. That is, “The disastrous war between Byzantium and Iran is not a new thing of its kind. The past history of mankind is full of the accounts of the destruction of great nations. The root cause of the evils that caused the destruction of those nations was shirk which you are today being admonished to avoid.”

66. That is, “The Day which neither Allah Himself will avert nor has He given power to anyone else to avert it.”

67. This is a comprehensive sentence which encompasses all those harms which can afflict a disbeliever on account of his disbelief. No list of the harms could be so comprehensive as this.

68. That is, to give good news of the rain.

69. This refers to winds, which are helpful in sailing. In ancient times, sailing boats and ships mostly depended on favorable winds and adverse winds were disastrous for them. Therefore, the mention of these winds after the rain bringing winds has been made as a special favor of Allah.

70. “Seek of His bounty”: To perform trade journeys.

71. That is, “One kind of the signs are those which are scattered in the world around man, which he comes across at every moment of his life, one of which is the system of the circulation of winds, as mentioned in the preceding verse. The other kinds of the signs are those which the Prophets of Allah brought in the form of the miracles and divine revelations and the extraordinary pure characters and their healthy and life-giving influence on human society. Both kinds of the signs point to the same reality, which is this: The Tauhid which the prophets teach is based on the truth. Each of these signs supports the other. The signs of the universe testify to the truth of what the Prophets say, and the signs brought by the Prophets explain the reality being pointed out by the signs of the universe.”

72. “Who committed crimes”: those who remained blind to these two kinds of the signs and persisted in their denial of Tauhid and their rebellion against God.

73. There is a subtle allusion in the mention of the Prophethood and the rain, one after the other, to the reality that the advent of a Prophet is a blessing for man’s moral life even as the coming of the rain proves to be a blessing for his material life. Just as the dead earth awakens to life by a shower of the rain from the sky and starts blooming and swelling with vegetation, so is the morally and spiritually desolate human world quickened to life at the coming down of divine revelation and starts blossoming with moral excellences and virtues. This is the disbelievers’ own misfortune that they show ingratitude, and regard the blessing of Prophethood as a portent of death for themselves instead of a good news of life.

74. That is, a frosty wind or a heat wave which ruins their crops after they started flourishing by the shower of rain.

75. That is, they start cursing God and blaming Him for all their misfortunes and troubles, whereas when God had showered His blessings on them, they had shown ingratitude instead of being grateful to Him. Here again there is a subtle allusion to the theme that when the Messengers of Allah bring the messages of mercy to the people, they do not listen to them and reject the blessing; then when God imposes tyrants and despots upon them in consequence of their disbelief, who persecute them severely, and destroy their humanity, the same people start abusing and blaming God for creating a world full of tyranny and cruelty.

76. That is, those whose consciences have become dead, whose moral selves have become devoid of life, whose selfworship and stubbornness and obstinacy have destroyed their capacity to understand and accept the truth.

77. “The deaf”: those who have put locks on their minds and hearts so that they do not understand anything although they hear everything; then, when such people also try that the message of the truth should not at all enter their ears, and they should avoid and keep away from the inviter, nobody can make them hear and understand anything.

78. That is, “It is not for the Prophet that he should help and guide the blind by the hand to the right way all through the life. He can only show guidance to the right path. But guiding those whose hearts have been blinded and who do not at all see the way that the Prophet tries to show them, is not within the power of the Prophets.”