Surah No. 32
Surah No. 321, 2
Merits of the Surah
1. Bukhari and Muslim have reports that say that the Prophet (saws) used to recite this chapter and chapter “Al-Dahr” (no.76) in the Fajr Prayer of every Friday. On the other hand, Ahmad has a report that the Prophet would not sleep before having recited this chapter and chapter “Al-Mulk” (no.67) – Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir, Shawkani.
The report about recitation of these two chapters is also in Tirmidhi, Nasa’i, and Hakim, who declared it Sahih (Shawkani).
2. The unanimous opinion is that this surah is Makkan; although a few have thought that verses 3-5 were revealed after Hijrah.
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ الم (1)
(32:1) Alif. Laam. Meem.
تَنْزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ مِنْ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ (2)
(32:2) The sending down of the Book, wherein there is no doubt, is from the Lord of the worlds.3
3. The translation reflects the understanding of Qatadah as in Ibn Jarir.
أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَرَاهُ ۚ بَلْ هُوَ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّكَ لِتُنْذِرَ قَوْمًا مَا أَتَاهُمْ مِنْ نَذِيرٍ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَهْتَدُونَ (3)
(32:3) Or, do they say, ‘He forged it?’4 But rather, it is the truth from your Lord that you might warn a people unto whom no warner came before you,5 haply that they may be rightly guided.6
4. One has to be a man of poor intellect, who after having read the Qur’an, could hold the opinion that Prophet Muhammad wrote this Book, and started the Islamic movement, depending, for its accomplishment, on his own genius and abilities. It is a matter of common sense, writes Shabbir in effect, that movements are started by men in response to needs and aspirations of the milieu in which they live. When someone presents a new program of action, he does it out of assurance that the public mood – or of a sizable number of them - is with him, that it will provoke an enthusiastic response on the part of a predictable majority. He will never present ideas that go completely against the spirit of his times. The Prophet’s time too, carried its own spirit. His times had been molded by ideas inherited over ages, from generation to generation. This spirit stood entirely in contrast and opposed to the message that the Prophet presented. Not surprisingly, his call was summarily rejected without any serious consideration. Nor did the Arabs contemporary to the Prophet betray any signs of the abilities that the movement required to win good number of followers, and, as it became successful, implement its program of action - such abilities as upon which the Prophet could depend as he launched his movement.
But the problem with the human beings is the phenomenon as puzzling, as commonly observed, that when it comes to religion, the best minds pack off their intellect and begin to talk, think, argue, and behave in a manner that can only be described as ridiculously irrational, and take a position that is hopelessly irredeemable (Au.).
5. The address is to the Quraysh among whom no Messenger had been raised. Until the advent of the Prophet, they were required to follow the Shari`ah as revealed to the ancient Prophets Ibrahim and Isma`il. Thus, the allusion by the word “nazir” in this instance is to a Prophet or Messenger, since, after all, there did appear a few non-prophetic warners among the Quraysh who warned them of the consequences of abandoning one True God in preference to idols and deities. (Mawdudi traces no less than 16 such warners: Au.) Asma’ bint Abi Bakr says she had seen Zayd b. `Amr b. Nufayl resting his back on a wall of Ka`ba and saying, “O Quraysh. By him in whose hands is my life, none of you remains on the religion of Ibrahim except me.” Musa b. `Uqba has mentioned in his Maghazi that he used to reproach the Quraysh over their slaughtering of animals in other than Allah’s name. He himself never ate out of such sacrifices. It is in his person that the Qur’anic truth was expressed which said (35: 24),
{وَإِنْ مِنْ أُمَّةٍ إِلا خَلا فِيهَا نَذِيرٌ} [فاطر: 24]
“There has not been a nation but there was a warner among them.”
That is, Zayd and his kind were merely warners, but not Prophets (Alusi). Perhaps the allusion could be to this class of people among the Israelites, when it is said that so many hundreds or thousands of Prophets appeared among them (Au.).
Nonetheless, Asma’ bint Abi Bakr’s report about Zayd b. `Amr has been judged weak, as stated by Mahdi Rizqallah in his Sirah. But it must also be kept in mind that strict hadith principles of criticism and evaluation cannot be applied to pre-Islamic reports (Au.).
6. If it is said, writes Zamakhshari, in view of the fact that no Prophet was raised among the Makkans, those who went before our Prophet should be absolved of any responsibility for their worship of false gods, the answer would be, yes, insofar as Divine Laws are concerned, the generations immediately before Prophet Muhammad could be declared absolved of any crime for non-conformation. But, as far as the knowledge of Allah and His Oneness is concerned, they cannot be absolved because man’s own reason and innate nature leads him to these fundamental truths.
In their case, they were not left to their innate nature alone, but rather, Isma’il was raised among them, whose message of Allah’s Oneness was not entirely obliterated by the tides of time (Au).
اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَىٰ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ ۖ مَا لَكُمْ مِنْ دُونِهِ مِنْ وَلِيٍّ وَلَا شَفِيعٍ ۚ أَفَلَا تَتَذَكَّرُونَ (4)
(32:4) Allah it is who created the heavens and the earth and what is between the two in six periods.7 Then He assumed istawa on the `Arsh.8 You have no protector besides Him, nor an intercessor. Will you not then be admonished?
7. The rendering of the textual “yawm” as periods is not only following deductive reasoning in the light of several authentic traditions, but also happens to be the direct interpretation by some of the Salaf. Ibn `Abbas for instance, is reported to have said, as in Ibn Jarir, that this and the next verse should be paraphrased in the following manner: ‘Allah created the world in six days, each of which days was equal to a thousand years.’
At this point Ibn Kathir quotes a hadith that he had quoted earlier from Muslim (see Surah 7, note 81). [He mentions it as found in Nasa’i, but it is not in Nasa’i: Au.]. Nonetheless, it is as follows: Abu Hurayrah (ra) says,
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ أَخَذَ رَسُولُ اللّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِيَدِي فَقَالَ: "خَلَقَ اللّهُ، عَزّ وَجَلّ، التّرْبَةَ يَوْمَ السّبْتِ. وَخَلَقَ فِيهَا الْجِبَالَ يَوْمَ الأَحَدِ. وَخَلَقَ الشّجَرَ يَوْمَ الإِثْنَيْنِ. وَخَلَقَ الْمَكْرُوهَ يَوْمَ الثّلاَثَاءِ. وَخَلَقَ النّورَ يَوْمَ الأَرْبِعَاءِ. وَبَثّ فِيهَا الدّوَابّ يَوْمَ الْخَمِيسِ. وَخَلَقَ آدَمَ، عَلَيْهِ السّلاَمُ، بَعْدَ الْعَصْرِ مِنْ يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ. فِي آخِرِ الْخَلْقِ. فِي آخِرِ سَاعَةٍ مِنْ سَاعَاتِ الْجُمُعَةِ. فِيمَا بَيْنَ الْعَصْرِ إِلَىَ اللّيْلِ". (المسلم)
“The Prophet (saws) took me by my hand and said, ‘Allah created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six days. He created the dust on Saturday; mountains on Sunday; trees on Monday; the Makruh(at) on Tuesday; Nur on Wednesday; beasts on Thursday; and Adam on Friday - in the last hours of the day, after `Asr.”
Ibn Kathir combines two narratives here to make one. We take the second part from Hakim who declared it Sahih on the conditions set by Bukhari and Muslim. It says,
خَلَقَ اللَّهُ آدَمَ مِنْ أَدِيمِ الأَرْضِ كُلِّهَا فَخَرَجَتْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُ عَلَى حَسَبِ ذَلِكَ مِنْهُمُ الأَبْيَضُ وَالأَسْوَدُ وَالأَسْمَرُ وَالأَحْمَرُ وَمِنْهُمْ بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ وَمِنْهُمُ السَّهْلُ وَالْخَبِيثُ وَالطَّيِّبُ (الحاكم وقال هذا حديث صحيح الإسناد، ولم يخرجاه).
“Allah created Adam from (various) hues of the earth so that his progeny came out in accordance with it: of them there are whites and blacks, browns and reds, while some of them are in between. Some of them are pliant, while others vicious or yet, decent” (Au.).
Ibn Kathir also tells us that Bukhari, as also others, was not happy with the chain of narrators that goes with this hadith. Nevertheless, as we have stated at an earlier point in this work, notwithstanding the dissatisfaction with the chain, text-wise it reflects modern understanding of the sequence of creation of life and its various forms, culminating in man. Opinions vary between the scientists over the exact time when man appeared: through whatever process they conjecture it happened. Some say modern man appeared about 100,000 years ago; others say a million years ago, while a few recent findings would lead them to believe that he appeared ten million years ago. Our point is, whatever figure we take, when it is compared with the 4.5 billion years since the creation of earth, man’s appearance is indeed in the last hours of the final phase of creation. A scientific work has remarked that if the time-period is one mile long, we humans appeared at the last inch (Au.).
8. For a detailed discussion of the issue of “istawa” see Surah al-A`raf, note 82 and al-Qasas, note 23 of this work.
يُدَبِّرُ الْأَمْرَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ ثُمَّ يَعْرُجُ إِلَيْهِ فِي يَوْمٍ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهُ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ مِمَّا تَعُدُّونَ (5)
(32:5) He directs the affair from heaven to earth, then it rises up to Him9 in a day whose measure is a thousand years of your reckoning.10
9. What is it that rises up to Him? It is the affair (taken up by an angel). Hence a possible meaning is that the affair (whatever it is) rises up to Him in one thousand years (Alusi); and not coming down and rising up in one thousand years, although quite a few have believed that the whole affair of coming down and rising up happens within this period (Au).
Qurtubi sums up: Yahya b. Salam said that the allusion by “it” is to Jibril who goes back to the heaven after delivering the revelation. Naqqash said it is to the angel who organizes the affairs of the earth from the heaven.
It is also said that the verse is saying that the news of the Earthians is taken up by the angels. This was Ibn Shajarah’s opinion. It is also said that the allusion is to an affair, which, after its execution, will be returned to Him after cessation of life on earth, on a day which will be one thousand years long, namely, the Day of Judgment.
Thus the ayah is of the “mutashabihat” (uncertain of meaning to most but not to those who possess deep understanding). Hence we have a report in `Abdur Razzaq, Sa`id b. Mansur, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn al-Anbari, and Hakim, who declared it trustworthy, that `Abdullah ibn Abi Mulaykah said, “I entered upon Ibn `Abbas along with `Abdullah b. Fayroze the freed slave of `Uthman. He asked Ibn `Abbas about this ayah. But Ibn `Abbas seemed to be displeased. He asked him in return, ‘So what about the day ‘“whose measure is a thousand years of your reckoning?”’ He (ibn Fayroze) said, ‘I only asked you hoping you would educate me.’ He (Ibn `Abbas) said, ‘These are two days that Allah mentioned in His Book. He knows best what is meant by them. Should I say in reference to the Book of Allah, something I have no knowledge of?’ Some time elapsed after that incident until I found myself in the assembly of Sa`id b. al-Musayyib. Someone asked him about the same two days (a day to come down and another to rise up). But he did not say anything. In fact, he said he did not know. So, I asked him whether I should tell him what I had heard from Ibn `Abbas? He said, yes. I told him the story. He turned to the inquirer and said, ‘Here is Ibn `Abbas who refused to say anything about them although he was more knowledgeable than me’” (Alusi).
10. Mujahid, Qatadah, Dahhak, `Ikrimah and others are in agreement over the opinion that when Allah (swt) sends down an angel with a command, it takes him, by our reckoning 500 years to descend, and 500 years to ascend back: one day by heavenly measure. This is because (as Prophetic statements tell us: Au.) the distance between the first heaven and the earth is 500 years, by our reckoning.
Another opinion is that the rising of the angel to the heaven takes a day, which is equivalent of our thousand years (Ibn Jarir).
Ibn Kathir mentions that whatever the travel time by our reckoning, the angel takes no more than the wink of an eye by our measure to cover the distance.
A third opinion is that the affair will rise up to Him on the Day of Judgment, which will be one thousand years long for some, while fifty thousand for others.
At all events, this ayah is a clear reference to the relativity of time, stated fourteen centuries earlier than modern scientific findings, and so close in agreement as to strike a chord of wonder. Modern science tells us that measurement of time – and its passage - depends on the speed of an object: the higher the speed, slower the time-travel. At the speed of light, (300,000 km per second) time comes to a halt, that is, it should register any elapsed time as zero. Accordingly, if someone traveled on the back of a photon, for say a few minutes, those that are stationary on the earth, would experience the elapse of thousands of years during those same few minutes of the traveler saddled on the back of the photon. Little wonder then that a day of the angel, traveling at, perhaps faster than the speed of light, could be a thousand years for us. It is another thing that a day of the angel could as well be an instant, and the thousand years of the earthlings actually a tremendously higher figure, since it is the relativity of time that is intended by the verse, and not the exact ratio (Au.).
As this writer revises this work in November 2011, news has arrived that several experiments have consistently yielded the result that some sub-atomic particles travel faster than light and that, Einstein’s equations, based on the assumption that nothing can travel faster than light, have a question mark before them (Au.).
ذَٰلِكَ عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ (6)
(32:6) That is the Knower of the unseen and the seen, the Mighty, the Compassionate,
الَّذِي أَحْسَنَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقَهُ ۖ وَبَدَأَ خَلْقَ الْإِنْسَانِ مِنْ طِينٍ (7)
(32:7) Who perfected everything that He created;11 and who began man’s creation from clay.12
11. The generally accepted meaning of the words “perfected everything that He created” is that whatever Allah created, created to the greatest degree of perfection (Au.).
In Asad’s words, “He fashions every detail of His creation in accordance with the functions intended for it, irrespective of whether those functions can be understood by us or are beyond the reach of our perception.”
Ibn `Abbas (and Mujahid: Qurtubi) had remarked in reference to this verse that surely a monkey’s buttocks are not the best things to look at, but functionally, they are perfectly designed (Ibn Jarir, Shawkani).
It is reported in Tabarani through Abu Umamah that he said,
بَيْنَمَا نَحْنُ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، إِذْ لَحِقَنَا عَمْرُو بن زُرَارَةَ الأَنْصَارِيُّ فِي حُلَّةٍ إِزَارٍ وَرِدَاءٍ، قَدْ أَسْبَلَ، فَجَعَلَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَأْخُذُ بناحِيَةِ ثَوْبِهِ، وَيَتَوَاضَعُ لِلَّهِ، وَيَقُولُ:"اللَّهُمَّ عَبْدُكَ، وَابْنُ عَبْدِكَ، وَابْنُ أَمَتِكَ"حَتَّى سَمِعَهَا عَمْرُو بن زُرَارَةَ، فَالْتَفَتَ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَقَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، إِنِّي أَحْمَسُ السَّاقَيْنِ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:"يَا عَمْرَو بن زُرَارَةَ، إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قَدْ أَحْسَنَ كُلَّ خَلْقِهِ، يَا عَمْرَو بن زُرَارَةَ، إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْبِلِينَ"
“While we were with the Prophet, we met with `Amr b. Zurarah the Ansari. He had a cloak on him which reached his ankles. The Prophet (saws) picked up one end of his cloak. He said in explanation, “Messenger of Allah, I have very thin legs.” The Prophet told him, “O `Amr b. Zurarah, Allah perfected everything He created. O `Amr b. Zurarah, Allah does not approve of those who let down their clothes below the ankles” (Shawkani).
Haythamiyy gave his approval to one of the two chains of narrators of this report (Au.).
12. Within the three or four years that have elapsed since we wrote the lines while discussing verse 26 of Surah Al-Hijr, (note 26 and 27), further biological researches are leading the scientist to the conclusions that add mystery to the question of life’s origins. For example, oxygen is necessary for “continuation” of life. But it is highly unfavorably disposed to “the first formation” of life. Its presence at the origin of life is ruled out because it would have immediately oxidized the newly formed living molecule and disintegrated them into fragments. But, in an oxygen-free atmosphere, ultraviolet-induced radiation would have immediately broken down any DNA molecule, which are highly sensitive to the ultraviolet flux. So, it seems we cannot accommodate (although necessary) oxygen-induced atmosphere at the beginning but cannot do without it later. So we are in a conundrum: we do not want oxygen at the start, but cannot run the life-machine without it later.
There are further twists. E.g., the protein synthesis apparatus in every cell requires energy. But production of energy depends on properly functioning protein synthesis apparatus. The two are interlocked. We cannot have one without the other. This is true of whatever level of organism that is examined and however back we go in earth’s history. Indeed the whole cell-apparatus is so complicated that we do not know where to begin for a clue to how life could have started. Francis Crick, the famous Nobel Prize winner, co-discoverer of the DNA wrote in his “Life Itself”: “An honest man, armed with all the knowledge available to us now, could only state that in some sense, the origin of life appears at the moment to be almost a miracle, so many are the conditions which would have had to have been satisfied to get it going.” (Evolution, a Theory in Crisis, Michael Denton, Adler and Adler, 1996, p. 268).
The idea that all life organisms have risen from previous species is also becoming difficult to assert with complete confidence. Fossil evidences show that probably in many earlier epochs several species have appeared on a sudden out of the blue. This does not sit well with the accepted notion that mutations (resulting in alteration of organs and functions) have to be gradual, leading up ultimately to the appearance of new species: from single-celled animal to multiple-celled organisms, culminating through the evolutionary tree in man. Geologists have found rock layers of all divisions of the last 500 million years but no transitional forms were contained in them: meaning, life forms appeared suddenly, just from nowhere. But the story goes beyond 500 million years. Biologists are now admitting that the simplest cell, e.g. that of a bacterium, “have nothing primitive” about them. Although they appeared very early in Earth’s history, they represent fully formed and highly complex machinery – just as a human cell - without any visible trace of a primitive structure. The plot does not end here either. It gets deeper with every new discovery. For example, an Australian group of researchers have recently reported the remains of a simple type of algae (a form of aquatic life) in rocks at least 3.5 billion years old. This means life appeared very early on the primitive earth without a trace of evolution. This sudden appearance of life has no explanation (Au.).
ثُمَّ جَعَلَ نَسْلَهُ مِنْ سُلَالَةٍ مِنْ مَاءٍ مَهِينٍ (8)
(32:8) Then He made his progeny from the quintessence of a despised liquid.
ثُمَّ سَوَّاهُ وَنَفَخَ فِيهِ مِنْ رُوحِهِ ۖ وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ السَّمْعَ وَالْأَبْصَارَ وَالْأَفْئِدَةَ ۚ قَلِيلًا مَا تَشْكُرُونَ (9)
(32:9) Then He proportioned him and blew in him a spirit from Him.13 And He made for you the (faculties of) hearing, sights and hearts.14 Little it is that you thank.
13. “(This) is a metaphor for the divine gift of life and consciousness, or of a soul..” (Asad).
“… a spirit from Him” is no more than a spirit from Allah (and not of Him). The Christians fasten a lie upon Allah when they say that `Isa was Allah’s own soul, emanating from Him, forgetting that every soul is from Allah (Razi).
One wonders whether there is room for understanding that man has a spirit from God in the sense of possessing some of the attributes that are those of Him – although in limited degree? (Au.).
14. Hearing, sight and heart: the order has been maintained everywhere in the Qur’an, (unless there was some reason to alter it). This is because, a man first hears of a thing, then uses his own sight for confirmation, then he uses faculties of his heart and mind to analyze, deduce, and arrive at his own conclusions and opinions (Razi - paraphrased).
وَقَالُوا أَإِذَا ضَلَلْنَا فِي الْأَرْضِ أَإِنَّا لَفِي خَلْقٍ جَدِيدٍ ۚ بَلْ هُمْ بِلِقَاءِ رَبِّهِمْ كَافِرُونَ (10)
(32:10) But they said, ‘Is it, when we are lost in the earth, are we in a new creation?’ Nay, but they are disbelievers in the encounter with their Lord.
قُلْ يَتَوَفَّاكُمْ مَلَكُ الْمَوْتِ الَّذِي وُكِّلَ بِكُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ تُرْجَعُونَ (11)
(32:11) Say, ‘The angel of death given charge of you15 draws your souls,16 then to your Lord you will be returned.’17
15. Shanqiti comments: “Here, mention is made of a single angel. But at several other places in the Qur’an, several angels have been mentioned as participating in the drawing of the soul. E.g. (16: 28),
الَّذِينَ تَتَوَفَّاهُمُ الْمَلائِكَةُ ظَالِمِي أَنفُسِهِمْ (النحل - 28)
“Those, whose lives the angels took while they were wronging themselves..”
Or (6: 93),
وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذِ الظَّالِمُونَ فِي غَمَرَاتِ الْمَوْتِ وَالْمَلآئِكَةُ بَاسِطُواْ أَيْدِيهِمْ (الأنعام - 93)
“If you could see when the wrong-doers are in the agonies of death, angels stretching their hands.." (Adwa’ al-Qur’an).
A literary implication of the textual word “tawaffa,” as explained by Qurtubi, is: “to reckon (count), and, take (or accept) in full.”
The apparent meaning is that it is a particular angel that is meant, as a hadith would also lead us to believe. Some reports name him as `Izra’il ( عِزرائيل ) [which name means `Abdullah: Qurtubi].
Qatadah and others have said that he has assistants (for his task) - Qutrubi.
A hadith gives us to understand that it is the assistants who draw the soul until it is at the throat, and then `Izra’il takes over (Ibn Kathir).
16. Razi takes our minds beyond the information we receive and store, without realizing the significance. That our souls are drawn by the angels, and left in their custody is known by all and sundry. But our concern ends with death. What about the time our souls (our selves) will be in the custody of the angels? He writes: The clean and purified soul will remain with the angels like someone among his kinsfolk, for the great consanguinity with them (the pure with the pure). As for the wicked soul, it will remain with them like a prisoner, (lonely), not knowing their language, nor they its language, with nothing common between them and it.
Some ahadith lead us to believe that there are other angels to draw the souls of the Jinn, animals, insects, etc. (Alusi).
17. Mujahid has said that the whole earth is no more than a tray for the angel of death from which he picks souls with complete ease (Ibn Jarir, Zamakhshari, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).
Ibn `Abbas is also reported to have made the statement as above. In fact, a hadith says the same thing but it is Mursal (Ibn Kathir).
Those who bear some misgiving about how the angel of death can alone be drawing the souls of the thousands that die every day, may look again at the preceding ayah about relativity of time, although, in this case, in the reverse (Au.).
وَلَوْ تَرَىٰ إِذِ الْمُجْرِمُونَ نَاكِسُو رُءُوسِهِمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ رَبَّنَا أَبْصَرْنَا وَسَمِعْنَا فَارْجِعْنَا نَعْمَلْ صَالِحًا إِنَّا مُوقِنُونَ (12)
(32:12) And, if you could but see when the criminals will be in the presence of their Lord,18 their heads lowered, (saying), ‘O our Lord! We have seen and we have heard. So, send us back that we may do righteousness. We are now indeed convinced.’
18. Out of shame and regret (Ibn Zaid: Ibn Jarir).
وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَآتَيْنَا كُلَّ نَفْسٍ هُدَاهَا وَلَٰكِنْ حَقَّ الْقَوْلُ مِنِّي لَأَمْلَأَنَّ جَهَنَّمَ مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ (13)
(32:13) And, had We so willed, We could give every soul its guidance.19 But the Word from Me came true (that) I shall surely fill Jahannum with the Jinn and mankind, all together.20
19. What is the connection between these words: “Had We so willed, We could give every soul its guidance,” and the previous verse which said, “And, if you could but see when the criminals will be (in the state of) heads lowered before their Lord, (saying), ‘O our Lord! We have seen and we have heard. So, send us back that we may work righteousness. We are now indeed convinced?’” Imam Razi answers that were Allah to send the criminals back to the world for a retrial, they would still remain unbelievers, such stubborn unbelievers they are. The only way they could be led to guidance would be for Allah to lend guidance to every soul whether it desired it or not, sort of force belief on everyone: “Had We so willed, We could give every soul its guidance.” (But that has not been Allah’s scheme. He willed that they be given the free will to choose: Au.).
Nonetheless, Imam Razi further elaborates that the unbelief of the unbelievers is the choice of their Lord who desired that they remain unbelievers. This choice was following His decision that He should create a world filled with good, but adulterated with a little evil. His will - to the effect that some people should remain unbelievers – is following this general design, viz., a few disbelieving, by Allah’s decree, among the rest believing by Allah’s decree.
This however, is a complicated issue, and a controversial one too. A short work of this sort does not afford space for a wholesome discussion (Au.).
Qurtubi offers us reconciliation. The Jabriyyah (those who denied free will) slipped to one extreme when they claimed that people’s guidance is bound with Allah’s will. They depended on the ayah (76: 30),
وَمَا تَشَاؤُونَ إِلا أَن يَشَاء اللَّهُ (الإنسان - 30)
“They do not will except that Allah should will.”
They concluded that both guidance and error are Allah’s own creation in the people’s hearts. On the other hand, the Qadariyyah (who granted free will to man) claimed that man chooses guidance or error freely, following his own will. They substantiated their claim with the verse (81: 28),
لِمَن شَاء مِنكُمْ أَن يَسْتَقِيمَ (التكوير - 28)
“(The Qur’an is a reminder) for whoever of you that wishes to go straight.”
But the truth lies in between, and they were misled (in their understanding of the issue) because they failed to consider that man is both free as well as bound (by destiny), one and at the same time. His hand – when it vibrates - vibrates without his will. But he also enjoys the power - and free will - to vibrate his hand, as and when he will. Those who did not distinguish between an involuntary vibration of the hand, and the deliberate, fell into error.
We distinguish between what the humans enjoy as free will, and what they are forced to do against or despite their will. Our contention, writes Qurtubi, and perhaps over which we all agree is that we are not absolutely bound (robots in modern terms: Au.); so that, if we choose guidance, it is because we are forced to it, and are acting against our will. But rather, we deliberately choose guidance, following our free will. Allah (swt) has said,
لِمَن شَاء مِنكُمْ أَن يَسْتَقِيمَ (التكوير - 28)
“(The Qur’an is a reminder) for whoever of you that wishes to go straight.”
Subsequent to our choice, we are helped on by Allah, an act which He rightly attributes to Himself. He said,
وَمَا تَشَاؤُونَ إِلا أَن يَشَاء اللَّهُ (الإنسان - 30)
“They do not will except that Allah should will,” and the implication is that the belief which is obtained by the believers is following their free will’s choice, although they could not have willed without Allah’s will agreeing with theirs. This explains why Allah said (2: 286),
لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا اكْتَسَبَتْ (البقرة - 286)
“Unto it (the soul) what it earned, and upon it what it earned.”
20. That is, ‘My rule will prevail that I shall fill Jahannum with those who disobeyed Me’ (Qurtubi).
فَذُوقُوا بِمَا نَسِيتُمْ لِقَاءَ يَوْمِكُمْ هَٰذَا إِنَّا نَسِينَاكُمْ ۖ وَذُوقُوا عَذَابَ الْخُلْدِ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ (14)
(32:14) Taste then, for that you forgot the encounter of this your day.21 We have indeed forgotten you; 22 and taste the chastisement of eternity for that you were doing.
21. Imam Razi argues that one can only forget what he knows. How is this applicable to the general lot of the unbelievers (who do not seem to know)? He answers that when the unbelievers were told of the resurrection, reckoning, and retribution, or reward, their minds agreed that the system and the process was reasonable. Thus, they became like those who know. But they chose to forget.
22. The translation follows the general understanding. However, Qurtubi points out, substantiating with examples from Arabic usage, that the “nasi’” of the text can also be understood in the sense of abandonment. That is, “Verily We have indeed abandoned you (in the torment).”
إِنَّمَا يُؤْمِنُ بِآيَاتِنَا الَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِّرُوا بِهَا خَرُّوا سُجَّدًا وَسَبَّحُوا بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَهُمْ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ ۩ (15)
(32:15) They alone believe in Our signs who, when they are reminded thereof, fall prostrate,23 celebrate the glory of their Lord (with) praise,24 and they do not wax proud.25
23. Ibn `Abbas was of the opinion that the textual “sujjadan” is for “ruku’” (deep bow). He argued with the verse (38: 24),
خَرَّ رَاكِعًا وَأَنَابَ (ص - 24)
“He went into a deep bow, and turned (to Allah)” - Qurtubi, Alusi.
Accordingly, the rule with the Hanafiyyah is that if an Imam recites a Sajdah-invoking ayah in a Prayer, and feels that the followers might get confused over whether he went into ruku` or sujud, he might as well go into ruku` at that point, since ruku` and sujud are homogenous acts (Au.).
It is noteworthy that those who receive the reminder go straightaway into prostration, as they stay away from the beds, in devotion to Allah: not in fear and hope, which come later, and whose effects follow afterwards (Razi).
24. That is, they say these words in prostration, ( سُبحان الله وبحَمدِه ) or words of similar nature (Qurtubi).
25. “And they do not wax proud”: this gives us the reason why these people believed while those who chose to forget the realities disbelieved: they were arrogant (Au.).
تَتَجَافَىٰ جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ (16)
(32:16) Removed are their sides from the beds, as they invoke their Lord in fear and hope,26 and out of what We have bestowed, they expend.27
26. Anas thought that the time-allusion by (yad`una rabbahum) is to the `Isha Prayer, while Dahhak thought that it is the time between `Isha and Fajr Prayers (Ibn Jarir). The report about Anas has a good chain attached to it (Ibn Kathir). Tirmidhi in fact declared it Sahih (Shawkani).
But the preferred opinion, writes Ibn Jarir, is that of Hasan, Ibn Zayd and Mujahid who thought that the allusion by the invocation (yad`una rabbahum) is to voluntary Prayers, offered deep in the night, at which time their sides are removed from the beds. That is, they are in Prayers while rest of the mankind is in sleep. This is supported by a report coming through Mu`adh ibn Jabal and others that the Prophet said,
أَلا أَدُلُّكَ عَلَى أَبْوَابِ الْخَيْرِ الصَّوْمُ جُنَّةٌ وَالصَّدَقَةُ تُطْفِئُ الْخَطِيئَةَ وَصَلَاةُ الرَّجُلِ فِي جَوْفِ اللَّيْلِ ثُمَّ قَرَأَ قَوْلَهُ تَعَالَى { تَتَجَافَى جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنْ الْمَضَاجِعِ حَتَّى بَلَغَ {يعملون} – (أحمد)
“Shall I not lead you to the doors of all good? - fasts are a shield, charitable expending atones for sins, and a slave’s standing in the depth of the night.” Then he recited this verse.
Another report, found in Tha`labi (as also in Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Marduwayh, as noted in Kanz: Au.) comes to us on the authority of Asma’ bint Yezid to the effect that the Prophet said,
يجمع الله الناس يوم القيامة في صعيد واحد يسمعهم الداعي وينفذهم البصر، فيقوم مناد فينادي: أين الذين كانوا يحمدون الله في السراء والضراء؟ فيقومون وهم قليل فيدخلون الجنة بغير حساب، ثم يعود فينادي: أين الذين كانت {تتجافى جنوبهم عن المضاجع يدعون ربهم خوفا وطمعا ومما رزقناهم ينفقون}؟ فيقومون وهم قليل فيدخلون الجنة بغير حساب، ثم يعود فينادي: ليقم الذين كانوا {لا تلهيهم تجارة ولا بيع عن ذكر الله}! فيقومون وهم قليل فيدخلون الجنة بغير حساب، ثم يقوم سائر الناس فيحاسبون. – (كنز)
“Allah will gather together the people in one field in a state that a caller will make them hear and the eyes will be able to see all. A caller will rise up and say, ‘Where are those who used to chant Allah’s glory in good and bad times?’ They will rise up – but few they will be – and will enter Paradise without reckoning. The caller will then return (to say), ‘Where are those to whom is applicable: Removed are their sides from the beds, as they invoke their Lord in fear and hope, and they expend out of We bestowed them?’ They will rise up – but few they will be - and will enter Paradise without reckoning. The caller will then return (to say), ‘Let those rise up whom neither commerce nor sale distracted from the remembrance of Allah.’ They will rise up – but few they will be – and entr Paradise without reckoning. It is after this that the rest will rise and taken up for reckoning.”
Qurtubi has a slightly different version to offer. We have presented the version as in Kanz. Shawkani presented this report while discussing the status of those who were not distracted by commerce or sale at verse 37 of Surah Nur. See ch. 24, note no. 88 of this work (Au.).
A report in Ahmad comes through Ibn Mas`ud who narrates the Prophet (saws) as having said:
عَجِبَ رَبُّنَا مِنْ رَجُلَيْنِ رَجُلٍ ثَارَ عَنْ وِطَائِهِ وَلِحَافِهِ مِنْ بَيْنَ حِبِّهِ وَأَهْلِهِ إِلَى صَلاَتِهِ رَغْبَةً فِيمَا عِنْدِى وَشَفَقَةً مِمَّا عِنْدِى وَرَجُلٍ غَزَا فِى سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَانْهَزَمَ فَعَلِمَ مَا عَلَيْهِ فِى الاِنْهِزَامِ وَمَا لَهُ فِى الرُّجُوعِ فَرَجَعَ حَتَّى أُهَرِيقَ دَمُهُ فَيَقُولُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لِمَلاَئِكَتِهِ انْظُرُوا إِلَى عَبْدِى رَجَعَ رَغْبَةً فِيمَا عِنْدِى وَشَفَقَةً مِمَّا عِنْدِى حَتَّى أُهَرِيقَ دَمُهُ (أحمد)
“Our Lord is pleased with two men: a man who jumped out of his bed to pray, leaving behind a warm blanket and a wife. Allah says to His angels, ‘Look at My slave, he jumped out of his bed to pray, leaving behind a warm blanket and a wife, in search of what is with Me.’ And a man who fought in the way of Allah, but they were defeated. He knew what displeasure awaited him if he fled, so he returned seeking what is with Me and lost his life. Allah says to the angels, ‘Look at My slave. He has returned in hope and fear of Me until his blood was shed.’”
Abu Da’ud has a shorter version of this in his Sunan whose chain of narrators was not a happy one for Haythamiyy (Au.).
Imam Ahmad has a report on the authority of Mu`adh ibn Jabal. He said,
عَنْ مُعَاذِ بن جَبَلٍ، قَالَ: كُنْتُ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي سَفَرٍ، فَأَصْبَحْتُ قَرِيبًا مِنْهُ وَنَحْنُ نَسِيرُ، فَقُلْتُ: يَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ، أَلا تُخْبِرُنِي بِعَمَلٍ يُدْخِلُنِي الْجَنَّةَ، وَيُبَاعِدُنِي مِنَ النَّارِ؟ قَالَ: "لَقَدْ سَأَلْتَ عَنْ عَظِيمٍ، وَإِنَّهُ لَيَسِيرٌ عَلَى مَنْ يَسَّرَهُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ، تَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ، لا تُشْرِكُ بِاللَّهِ شَيْئًا، وَتُقِيمُ الصَّلاةَ، وَتُؤْتِي الزَّكَاةَ، وَتَصُومُ شَهْرَ رَمَضَانَ، وَتَحُجُّ الْبَيْتَ"
ثُمَّ قَالَ: "أَلا أَدُلُّكَ عَلَى أَبْوَابِ الْخَيْرِ؟ الصَّوْمُ جُنَّةٌ، وَالصَّدَقَةُ تُطْفِئُ الْخَطِيئَةَ، وَصَلاةُ الرَّجُلِ مِنْ جَوْفِ اللَّيْلِ"ثُمَّ قَرَأَ:"تَتَجَافَى جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ"[السجدة آية 16] حَتَّى قَرَأَ:"جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ" [السجدة آية 17] ، ثُمَّ قَالَ:"أَلا أُخْبِرُكَ بِرَأْسِ أَمْرِ الإِسْلامِ، وَعَمُودِهِ، وَذُرْوَةِ سَنَامِهِ؟ الْجِهَادِ"
ثُمَّ قَالَ: "أَلا أُخْبِرُكَ بِمِلاكِ ذَلِكَ؟"، قُلْتُ: بَلَى، يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، قَالَ: فَأَخَذَ بِلِسَانِهِ، فَقَالَ:"اكْفُفْ عَلَيْكَ هَذَا"، فَقُلْتُ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، وَإِنَّا لَمُؤَاخَذُونَ بِمَا نَتَكَلَّمُ بِهِ؟ قَالَ:"ثَكِلَتْكَ أُمُّكَ يَا مُعَاذُ، وَهَلْ يَكُبُّ النَّاسَ عَلَى وُجُوهِهِمْ أَوْ قَالَ: مَنَاخِرِهِمْ فِي النَّارِ إِلا حَصَائِدُ أَلْسِنَتِهِمْ؟"
“I was with the Prophet in one of those journeys. On one occasion I came close to him while we were riding. I asked, “Prophet of Allah. Will you not tell me about a deed that will lead me to Paradise, and put me away from the Fire?” He answered, “You have asked about something great. But it is easy for him unto whom Allah renders it easy: Worship Allah without associating anyone with Him; establish the Prayers, offer the zakah, fast the Ramadan and perform the pilgrimage.”
Then he added, “Should I not lead you to the doors of all good? Fasts are a shield, charity extinguishes the sins, and a man’s Prayers in the midst of the night.” Then he recited this verse, “Removed are their sides from the beds, as they invoke their Lord in fear and hope, and out of what We have bestowed, they expend. No soul knows what comfort of the eyes has been kept concealed for them as a reward for what they were doing.”
Then he added, “May I not tell you about the apex of the affair, its pillars and its zenith? It is Jihad.”
He further added, “Should I not tell you about something which overarches all these?” I said, “Yes, do it O Messenger of Allah.” (According to other reports, “At that point a rider or a group of them came up. I feared that they will distract him from the topic. So I asked, ‘Messenger of Allah (you said), Should I not tell you about something which overarches all these?’”).
In reply he held his tongue and said, “Keep this under your control.” I asked, “Are we going to be held responsible for what we say?” He replied, “Your mother may lose you. Are the people going to be thrust into the Fire by their faces – or he said by their nostrils – but because of what their tongues reap?” This report is also in Nasa’i, Ibn Majah and Tirmidhi, who declared it Hasan Sahih (Ibn Kathir).
27. One might note how the rights of Allah’s creations always follow the mention of His own rights (Au.).
فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَا أُخْفِيَ لَهُمْ مِنْ قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ (17)
(32:17) No soul knows what comfort of the eyes has been kept concealed for them as a reward for what they were doing.28
28. The pronoun expressed in “them” is for the believers endowed with qualities mentioned earlier, and not the “soul” itself about which Allah said that it does not know what has been concealed for it as rewards for spending the nights away from the beds (Au.).
A report in this context comes through several chains on the authority of Abu Hurayrah:
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ اللَّهُ أَعْدَدْتُ لِعِبَادِي الصَّالِحِينَ مَا لا عَيْنٌ رَأَتْ وَلا أُذُنٌ سَمِعَتْ وَلا خَطَرَ عَلَى قَلْبِ بَشَرٍ فَاقْرَءُوا إِنْ شِئْتُمْ فَلا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَا أُخْفِيَ لَهُمْ مِنْ قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ (البخاري)
“Allah has prepared what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no close angel has heard and no mind has imagined, for those whose sides stay away from the beds. Read if you wish, 'No soul knows what comfort of the eyes has been kept concealed for them as a reward for what they were doing '” (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).
`Abdullah ibn Mas`ud remarked that it is also written in the Tawrah,
لقد أعدّ الله للذين تتجافى جنوبهم عن المضاجع ما لم تر عين، ولم يخطر على قلب بشر، ولم تسمع أذن، وما لم يسمعه ملك مقرّب.
“Allah has prepared for those whose sides stay away from the beds, what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no close angel has heard and no mind has imagined" (Ibn Jarir).
Hasan al-Busri has said, as recorded by Ibn Abi Hatim, that rewards match deeds. Since these people concealed their deeds, they will be rewarded with rewards whose qualities have been concealed (Zamakhshari, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).
We might add that since every rising from the bed late at night causes burning of the eyes, Allah will reward them with what will cool their eyes (Au.).
(But it seems rewards as promised here will be extended to those too who will remain faithful and on righteous deeds): Bukhari, Muslim and Tirmidhi have on the authority of Abu Hurayrah and others that, Allah said,
قَالَ اللّهُ عَزّ وَجَلّ: أَعْدَدْتُ لِعِبَادِيَ الصّالِحِينَ مَا لاَ عَيْنٌ رَأَتْ، وَلاَ أُذُنٌ سَمِعَتْ، وَلاَ خَطَرَ عَلَىَ قَلْبِ بَشَرٍ. (المسلم)
“I have prepared for My righteous slaves what no eye has seen, no ear has heard and no man’s mind has imagined.”
Another report of Bukhari adds, “.. reserved, quite apart from all that you have known (of the pleasures of Paradise).”
And Muslim has on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said,
عنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنِ النّبِيّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ: "مَنْ يَدْخُلِ الْجَنّةَ يَنْعَمُ لاَ يَبْأَسُ لاَ تَبْلَىَ ثِيَابُهُ وَلاَ يَفْنَىَ شَبَابُهُ". (المسلم)
“He who entered Paradise will be in luxuries, will never be deprived, his clothes will not wear out and never will his youth fade."
It is reported on the authority of al-Mughira b. Shu’ba that the Messenger of Allah said:
سأَلَ مُوسَىَ رَبّهُ: مَا أَدْنَى أَهْلِ الْجَنّةِ مَنْزلَةً؟ قَالَ: هُوَ رَجُلٌ يَجِئُ بَعْدَ مَا أُدْخِلَ أَهْلُ الْجَنّةِ الجَنّةَ فَيُقَالُ لَهُ: ادْخُلِ الْجَنّةَ. فَيَقُولُ: أَيْ رَبّ كَيْفَ؟ وَقَدْ نَزَلَ النّاسُ مَنَازِلَهُمْ وَأَخَذُوا أَخَذَاتِهِمِ؟ فَيُقَالُ لَهُ: أَتَرْضَىَ أَنْ يَكُونَ لَكَ مِثْلُ مُلْكِ مَلِكٍ مِنْ مُلُوكِ الدّنْيَا؟ فَيَقُولُ: رَضِيتُ، رَبّ فَيُقُولَ: لَكَ ذَلَكَ وَمِثْلُهُ وَمِثْلُهُ وَمِثْلُهُ وَمِثْلُهُ. فَقَالَ فِي الْخَامِسَةِ: رَضِيتُ، رَبّ فَيَقُولُ: هَذَا لَكَ وَعَشَرَةُ أَمْثَالِهِ. وَلَكَ مَا اشْتَهَتْ نَفْسُكَ وَلَذّتْ عَيْنُكَ. فَيَقُولُ: رَضِيتُ، رَبّ قَالَ: رَبّ فَأَعْلاَهُمْ مَنْزِلَةً؟ قَالَ: أُولَئِكَ الّذِينَ أَرَدْتُ غَرَسْتُ كَرَامَتَهُمْ بِيَدِي. وَخَتَمْتُ عَلَيْهَا فَلَمْ تَرَ عَيْنٌ وَلَمْ تَسْمَعْ أُذُنٌ وَلَمْ يَخْطُرْ عَلَى قَلْبِ بَشَرٍ" قَالَ: وَمِصْدَاقُهُ فِي كِتَابِ الله عَزّ وَجَلّ: {فَلاَ تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَا أُخْفِيَ لَهُمْ مِنْ قُرّةِ أَعْيُنٍ} (السجدة الاَية:) - (المسلم)
“Musa asked his Lord: ‘Who amongst the inhabitants of Paradise will be the lowest in rank?’ Allah said: ‘Of those deserving Paradise, it is he who will be the last admitted into it. It will be said to him: ‘Enter Paradise.’ He will say: ‘O my Lord! How (can I enter) when the people have settled in their places and have taken their shares?”’ It will be said to him: ‘Would it please you, if there is for you a kingdom similar to the kingdom of a king of the world?' He will say: ‘I am pleased my Lord.' He will say: ‘For you is that, and like that, and like that, and like that, and like that.’ At the fifth (time) he will say: ‘I am well pleased my Lord.' He (Allah) will say: ‘It is for you and, ten times like it, and for you is what your heart desires and your eyes are pleased with.' He will say: ‘I am well pleased, my Lord.' (Thereupon) Musa asked: ‘(Which then is) the highest of their ranks?’ Allah said: ‘They are the chosen ones. I shall establish their honor with My own hand and then set a seal over it. (They will be blessed with bounties) that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined.’ This is substantiated by the Book of Allah (which says): ‘No soul knows what comfort of the eyes has been kept concealed for them as a reward for what they were doing’” (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).
Majid succeeds in searching out similar verses from the Old and New Testaments. He quotes: “For, since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, nor hath the eye seen, O God, besides thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.’ (Is. 64: 4).” And, “But, as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath propounded for them that love him.’ (##1. co. 2: 9).”
فَمَنْ كَانَ مُؤْمِنًا كَمَنْ كَانَ فَاسِقًا ۚ لَا يَسْتَوُونَ (18)
(32:18) Is he then, who has been a believer, like unto him who has been wicked? They are not equal.29
29. (Although the application is general, the immediate cause of revelation was, in the opinion of: Au.), `Ata b. Yasar, Suddi and others (who) said that the verse was revealed concerning `Ali ibn Abi Talib and Walid b. `Uqbah b. Abi Mu`ayt (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).
Reports in Abu al-Faraj’s al-Aghani, Ibn `Adiyy, Ibn Marduwayh, Khatib and Ibn `Asakir tell us that when Walid b. `Uqbah b. Abi Mu`ayt boasted his superiority over `Ali (on the day of Badr: Zamakhshari), he retorted by saying, “Shut up. I am a believer, while you are a libertine” (Shawkani).
It is reported of Hasan b. `Ali that he told Walid b. `Uqbah, “How can you speak ill of `Ali when Allah named him a ‘mu’min’ in ten places in the Qur’an, while He named you ‘fasiq?‘” (Zamakhshari).
The report however is unconfirmed. And perhaps by ten places he meant ten such places where Allah mentioned the qualities of a believer (Au).
It might be recalled that this is the same Walid, writes Qurtubi, who was alluded to as “fasiq” (libertine) in the Qur’nic verse of Al-Hujurat (49: 6) which said,
يا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن جَاءكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَأٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا أَن تُصِيبُوا قَوْمًا بِجَهَالَةٍ فَتُصْبِحُوا عَلَى مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَادِمِينَ (الحجرات -6)
“Believers, if there comes to you a fasiq with news, investigate, lest you harm a people in ignorance and then turn up regretful over what you did.” And, this is the same Walid who was found drunk while leading in Fajr Prayers, during the caliphate of `Uthman.
Ibn Kathir, however, does not report the row between `Ali and Walid, and is of the opinion that by the word “fasiq” as appearing in this verse, the allusion is to (any) “kafir”.
That said, some doubt remains about the row between `Ali and Walid because, firstly, this chapter is Makkan, and, secondly, it is reported that at the time of Badr, when the row is reported to have taken place, Waleed was too young, perhaps a boy; although some reports recorded by Ibn Hajr and biographers of the Prophet’s life suggest that he was an adult at the time of Badr (Alusi).
أَمَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ فَلَهُمْ جَنَّاتُ الْمَأْوَىٰ نُزُلًا بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ (19)
(32:19) As for those who believed and did righteous deeds, for them are gardens of (eternal) Abode, 30 as hospitality for that they were doing.
30. Ma’wa of the text is one of the several kinds of Paradise. Allah (swt) said (53: 12-15),
أَفَتُمَارُونَهُ عَلَى مَا يَرَى. وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَى. عِندَ سِدْرَةِ الْمُنْتَهَى. عِندَهَا جَنَّةُ الْمَأْوَى (النجم – 12-15)
“Do you dispute him over what he saw? Indeed he saw him at the time of another descent: at the Utmost Lote Tree. By it is the Garden of Ma’wa.”
And, it is said that this Paradise is so named because souls of the martyrs take refuge in this retreat (ma’wa). It is also said that it is by the right side of the `Arsh (Zamakhshari).
وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ فَسَقُوا فَمَأْوَاهُمُ النَّارُ ۖ كُلَّمَا أَرَادُوا أَنْ يَخْرُجُوا مِنْهَا أُعِيدُوا فِيهَا وَقِيلَ لَهُمْ ذُوقُوا عَذَابَ النَّارِ الَّذِي كُنْتُمْ بِهِ تُكَذِّبُونَ (20)
(32:20) But as for those who acted wickedly, their abode will be the Fire. Every time they wish to get out of it, they will be returned to it.31 They will be told, ‘Taste the chastisement of the Fire that you used to cry lies to.’
31. Fudayl b. `Iyad said, “By Allah, their hands will be tied, their feet shackled, flames raising them upwards, and the angels thrusting iron forks into them” and they will be told, ‘taste the torment of the Fire that you were denying’” (Ibn Kathir).
وَلَنُذِيقَنَّهُمْ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ الْأَدْنَىٰ دُونَ الْعَذَابِ الْأَكْبَرِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ (21)
(32:21) And, (in the meanwhile), We shall give them the taste of lesser chastisement before the greater chastisement,32 haply that they will return.
32. To what is the allusion by “the lesser chastisement?” According to Ibn `Abbas, Ubayy b. Ka`b, Abu al-`Aliyyah, Dahhak, Hasan and others, the allusion is to the sufferings, diseases, and ordeals of life, such as, the defeat at Badr: so that they might repent. As for “the greater chastisement,” the allusion is to that of the Hereafter.
That was the opinion of Ibn Mas`ud, Mujahid and Hasan also (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).
وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ ذُكِّرَ بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِ ثُمَّ أَعْرَضَ عَنْهَا ۚ إِنَّا مِنَ الْمُجْرِمِينَ مُنْتَقِمُونَ (22)
(32:22) And who can do greater wrong than he who is reminded of the signs of his Lord, but turns away from them. Surely, We shall take vengeance upon the criminals.33
33. Ibn Jarir mentions a hadith which reports one of the several ways of defining a “criminal.” It is declared weak by Haythamiyy but differently worded versions are found in other collections also: Mu`adh ibn Jabal reports the Prophet as having said,
ثَلاثٌ مَنْ فَعَلَهُنَّ فَقَدْ أَجْرَمَ: مَنْ عَقَدَ لِوَاءً فِي غَيْرِ حَقٍّ، أَوْ عَقَّ وَالِدَيْهِ، أَوْ مَشَى مَعَ ظَالِمٍ، فَقَدْ أَجْرَمَ، يَقُولُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: "إِنَّا مِنَ الْمُجْرِمِينَ مُنْتَقِمُونَ (رواه الطبراني وفيه عبد العزيز بن عبيد الله بن حمزة وهو ضعيف – الهيثمي)
“There are three things that whoever did, committed a crime: He who pitched his flag on what is untruth, or mistreated his parents, or, accompanied a wrongdoer helping him; he committed a crime. Allah says, ‘We shall take vengeance upon the criminals.’”
Qatadah has said, “Beware of turning away from the remembrance of Allah. Whosoever turns away from remembering Him will be the most misguided, the most in need, and the most guilty of sin. Allah said about such of those who do that, ‘Surely, We shall take vengeance upon the criminals’ (Ibn Kathir).
وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ فَلَا تَكُنْ فِي مِرْيَةٍ مِنْ لِقَائِهِ ۖ وَجَعَلْنَاهُ هُدًى لِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ (23)
(32:23) Indeed, We gave Musa the Book,34 therefore, be not in any doubt concerning the encounter with him.35 And We made it a guide to the children of Israel.
34. “With this passage the discourse returns to the theme enunciated at the beginning of this surah – namely, the divine origin of the revelation granted to Muhammad, which, as the present passage points out, proceeds from the same source as that granted to Moses (the last of the great apostles of God accepted as such by all of the three monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam). Furthermore, the identity of the fundamental truths in all divine revelations, stressed in the above verse, implies an identity of the moral demands made of the followers of those revelations irrespective of the period, race or social environment” (Asad).
Yusuf Ali comments on the word ‘Book’: "The Book’ is not here coextensive with Revelation. Moses had, revealed to him, a Law, a shari`at, which was to guide his people in all the practical affairs of their life. Jesus, after him, was also inspired by Allah: but his Injil or Gospel contained only general principles and not a Code or shari`at. The holy Prophet was the next one to have a shari`at or ‘Book’ in that sense: for the Qur’an contains both a Code and general principles. This Sura is a Makkan Sura. The Code came later in Madinah. But he is given the assurance that he will also have a Code, to supersede the earlier Law, and complete the Revelation of Allah.”
35. Ibn `Abbas reported the Prophet as having said that the allusion is to Musa (asws) meeting with his Lord (Ibn Jarir). The hadith is in Tabarani (Ibn Kathir).
There have been several other interpretations that we have avoided to reproduce because they conflict with the above hadith that Haythami declared trustworthy (Au.).
وَجَعَلْنَا مِنْهُمْ أَئِمَّةً يَهْدُونَ بِأَمْرِنَا لَمَّا صَبَرُوا ۖ وَكَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا يُوقِنُونَ (24)
(32:24) And We appointed from among them leaders guiding by Our command: when they observed patience,36 and continued to have sure faith in Our signs.37
36. That is, when they showed patience (in the face of difficulties) remaining steadfast in religion, We made them leaders in piety. Or, differently understood, it was because they observed patience against the glamour of the world, and its trappings, shunning them, that they earned the right to leadership (Ibn Jarir).
Sufyan has said, “It is not deserving of a man to be a leader until he can shun the world.” Some other scholars have said that it is through sure faith and perseverance that one qualifies to be a leader (in piety) - Ibn Kathir.
37. That is, in a similar manner shall Allah (swt) make followers of this revelation, (who meet with the conditions of perseverance in efforts, and consistency in faith), ‘guides’ for the peoples of the world (Razi).
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ يَفْصِلُ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِيمَا كَانُوا فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ (25)
(32:25) Surely, your Lord - He will judge between them on the Day of Standing, in matters they were differing between themselves.38
38. The allusion is to the perennial religious disputes over Divinity, God’s oneness, nature of Prophethood, or of the Hereafter, Resurrection and Reckoning, and the like (Ibn Jarir in effect).
أَوَلَمْ يَهْدِ لَهُمْ كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ يَمْشُونَ فِي مَسَاكِنِهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ ۖ أَفَلَا يَسْمَعُونَ (26)
(32:26) Does it not guide them: how many nations We destroyed before them amid (whose) dwelling-places they walk about? 39 Verily, in that are sure signs. What, will they not hear?
39. The allusion is to the past communities such as `Ad, Thamud, and others, amidst whose ruins the Quraysh passed by and strolled in, when they journeyed out.
أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّا نَسُوقُ الْمَاءَ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ الْجُرُزِ فَنُخْرِجُ بِهِ زَرْعًا تَأْكُلُ مِنْهُ أَنْعَامُهُمْ وَأَنْفُسُهُمْ ۖ أَفَلَا يُبْصِرُونَ (27)
(32:27) Have they not seen that We drive the water towards dry land devoid of herbage,40 and then bring forth vegetation therewith whereof eat their cattle and they themselves? What, have they not the vision?41
40. This is how the textual “juruz” has been explained by most commentators (Au.).
Ibn Jarir however thinks that it refers to a land that lets nothing settle upon itself, but spoils it, hence Qatada’s definition as “dusty.”
41. “‘The verse begins with ‘do they not see?’ a physical act. It ends with ‘have they not the vision,’ a matter of spiritual insight” (Yusuf Ali).
وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَىٰ هَٰذَا الْفَتْحُ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ (28)
(32:28) And they say, ‘When will this decision42 be if you are truthful?’
42. Although the textual word is “fat-h” meaning opening, or victory, the preferred interpretation is that the allusion is to the decision regarding the promised chastisement (Ibn Jarir).
قُلْ يَوْمَ الْفَتْحِ لَا يَنْفَعُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِيمَانُهُمْ وَلَا هُمْ يُنْظَرُونَ (29)
(32:29) Say, ‘On the day of decision43 their belief shall not profit the unbelievers, nor shall they be respited.’44
43. That is, the day of Judgment (Mujahid – Ibn Jarir).
The literal meaning of “yawm al-Fath” as the day of the fall of Makkah, as some have thought, cannot be accurate because Allah followed up with words, “On the day of decision their belief shall not profit the unbelievers, nor shall they be respited.” That is, their assertion of belief on the day Makkah fell should not have been acceptable. But, in actual fact the Prophet accepted those of the Makkans as Muslims who wished to join Islam after the fall of Makkah (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).
Hakim, who declared the report trustworthy, as well as Bayhaqi, have reported that in the opinion of Ibn `Abbas the allusion was to the victory at Badr, where the faith of the leading pagans did not profit them after their fall (Shawkani).
44. That is, they will not be allowed a return to previous life to amend their ways (Razi).
فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ وَانْتَظِرْ إِنَّهُمْ مُنْتَظِرُونَ (30)
(32:30) Therefore, turn away from them45 and wait; they are (also) waiting.46
45. That is, when the tendency to contend is noticed among the opponents, it is better to turn one’s attention away from them (Thanwi).
46. That is, they are waiting for your demise and destruction.