Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 30 Ar-Rum, Ayat 54-60

اَللّٰهُ الَّذِىۡ خَلَقَكُمۡ مِّنۡ ضُعۡفٍ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنۡۢ بَعۡدِ ضُعۡفٍ قُوَّةً ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنۡۢ بَعۡدِ قُوَّةٍ ضُعۡفًا وَّشَيۡبَةً  ​ؕ يَخۡلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ ​ۚ وَهُوَ الۡعَلِيۡمُ الۡقَدِيۡرُ‏ ﴿30:54﴾ وَيَوۡمَ تَقُوۡمُ السَّاعَةُ يُقۡسِمُ الۡمُجۡرِمُوۡنَ ۙ مَا لَبِثُوۡا غَيۡرَ سَاعَةٍ ​ؕ كَذٰلِكَ كَانُوۡا يُؤۡفَكُوۡنَ‏ ﴿30:55﴾ وَقَالَ الَّذِيۡنَ اُوۡتُوا الۡعِلۡمَ وَ الۡاِيۡمَانَ لَقَدۡ لَبِثۡـتُمۡ فِىۡ كِتٰبِ اللّٰهِ اِلٰى يَوۡمِ الۡبَـعۡثِ فَهٰذَا يَوۡمُ الۡبَـعۡثِ وَلٰـكِنَّكُمۡ كُنۡـتُمۡ لَا تَعۡلَمُوۡنَ‏ ﴿30:56﴾ فَيَوۡمَـئِذٍ لَّا يَنۡفَعُ الَّذِيۡنَ ظَلَمُوۡا مَعۡذِرَتُهُمۡ وَلَا هُمۡ يُسۡتَعۡتَبُوۡنَ‏ ﴿30:57﴾ وَلَقَدۡ ضَرَبۡنَا لِلنَّاسِ فِىۡ هٰذَا الۡقُرۡاٰنِ مِنۡ كُلِّ مَثَلٍ​ؕ وَلَـئِنۡ جِئۡتَهُمۡ بِاٰيَةٍ لَّيَقُوۡلَنَّ الَّذِيۡنَ كَفَرُوۡۤا اِنۡ اَنۡتُمۡ اِلَّا مُبۡطِلُوۡنَ‏  ﴿30:58﴾ كَذٰلِكَ يَطۡبَعُ اللّٰهُ عَلٰى قُلُوۡبِ الَّذِيۡنَ لَا يَعۡلَمُوۡنَ‏ ﴿30:59﴾ فَاصۡبِرۡ اِنَّ وَعۡدَ اللّٰهِ حَقٌّ​ وَّلَا يَسۡتَخِفَّنَّكَ الَّذِيۡنَ لَا يُوۡقِنُوۡنَ‏ ﴿30:60﴾

(30:54) It is Allah Who created you in a state of weakness; then after weakness He gave you strength, then after strength He made you weak and old. He creates what He pleases.79 He is All-Knowing, All-Powerful. (30:55) On that Day when the Hour will come to pass80 the wicked shall swear that they had stayed (in the world) no more than an hour.81 Thus they used to be deceived in the life of the world.82 (30:56) But those who had been endowed with knowledge and faith shall say: “According to Allah's Record you have stayed till the Day of Resurrection. Now, this is the Day of Resurrection. But you did not know.” (30:57) So that will be the Day when the excuses of the wrong-doers will not avail them, nor will they be asked to make amends.83 (30:58) In the Qur'an We have explained things to people in myriad ways. But no matter what Sign you bring to them, those who are resolved upon denying the Truth will say: “You are given to falsehood.” (30:59) Thus does Allah seal the hearts of those who have no knowledge. (30:60) Therefore, (O Prophet), have patience. Surely Allah's promise is true.84 Let those who lack certainty not cause you to be unsteady.85


Notes

79. That is, “The states of childhood and youth and old age have all been created by Him. It is dependent upon His will that He may create whomsoever He pleases weak and whomever He pleases strong. He may give death to whomsoever He pleases before attaining manhood and whomsoever He pleases in the prime of youth. He may grant a long life and yet keep in sound health whomsoever He pleases and bring to a wretched, agonizing old age after a brimful youth whomever He likes. Man may live in selfconceit and arrogance if he so likes, but he is so helpless in God’s powerful grip that he cannot change by any artifice the state that He may place him in.”

80. That is, Resurrection, which is being foretold here.

81. That is, from the time of death till Resurrection. Even if thousands of years might have elapsed since their death they will feel that they had gone to sleep a few hours earlier and then a sudden calamity had roused them from sleep.

82. That is, “They used to make similar wrong estimates in the world. There also they lacked the realization of reality, and therefore, used to assert that there was going to be no Resurrection, no life-after-death, and no accountability before God.”

83. Another translation can be: “nor it will be required of them to please their Lord”, because they will have lost all opportunity for recourse to repentance and faith and righteous acts, and wasted the time allotted for the test and reached the eve of the announcement of the result.

84. The allusion is to the promise made in (verse 47) above. There, Allah has mentioned His way of taking vengeance on those criminals who denied and resisted and ridiculed stubbornly the clear signs brought by the Messengers of Allah, and of helping the believers.

85. That is, “Let not the enemies find you so weak as to suppress you by their uproar, nor to subdue you by their campaign of slander-mongering, nor to dishearten you by their jesting, taunts and derision, nor frighten you by their threats, show of power and persecution, nor allure you by offering baits, nor make you effect a compromise with them on the basis of their appeals in the name of national interests. Instead of this, they should find you so sagacious in the awareness of your objective, so firm in faith and conviction, so resolute in determination, and so strong in character that they should neither be able to subdue you by threats, nor purchase you, nor lure you away by temptation, nor strike any bargain with you in the matter of the faith. This whole theme has been compressed in a short sentence by Allah, saying: “Let not those who lack faith find you light.” Now this is borne out by the firm evidence of history that the Prophet (peace be upon him) proved to be as invincible and indomitable as Allah wanted His last Prophet to be. Anyone who tried his strength with him in any field and sphere was routed, and eventually the Prophet (peace be upon him) succeeded in bringing about the desired revolution in spite of every kind of opposition and resistance put up by the whole of polytheistic and unbelieving Arabia.”