Surah No. 45

Surah No. 45¹

Merits of the Surah

1. Al-Mawardi mentioned that the whole Surah is Makkan except one ayah (no. 14), which says, “Say to those who have believed to forgive those who have no hope in the days of Allah, that He may recompense a people for that they were earning.” This is said to be Madinan and came down when `Umar had to swallow his anger against a hypocrite who insulted the Prophet (saws). This is also stated by Mahdawi and Nuhhas coming from Ibn `Abbas through Dahhak. On the other hand, Hasan, Jabir and `Ikrimah believed that the whole Surah is Makkan (Qurtubi).

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ حم (1)

(45:1) Ha. Mim.

تَنْزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ مِنَ اللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَكِيمِ (2)

(45:2) Sending down of the Book from Allah, the Mighty, the Wise.

إِنَّ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ لَآيَاتٍ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ (3)

(45:3) Surely, in the heavens and earth there are signs for those who will believe.²

2. To take a quick example, there is perfect balance between the short wave radiation originating from the sun and the long wave radiation originating from the earth. If this balance is minutely disturbed, life cannot exist on the earth. There are signs for those who wish to believe in this phenomenon (Au.).

Sayyid writes, “The signs that are spread in the heavens and the earth are not any less in anything when compared to another, nor change from place to place; so that in whichever direction man extends his sight, he will find signs staring upon him in the universe full of wonders … What is there that has no signs?

“These heavens that include huge cosmi bodies, their various levels of existence, which, although massive beyond imagination, are spread like specks in space .. the space itself so imposing .. so vast .. so beautiful.

“And this earth, so vast by human measure, but less than a mentionable speck in comparison to the huge universe, is, so to say, lost in this vast, expansive space .. lost, if not for the Power that holds it in place and administers it, binding it to the massive universe in which nothing gets lost.

“And, in what Allah (swt) has placed in the earth as its qualities, by placing it in a well-determined position in the space, which allows for the appearance, sustenance and growth of life .. and the earth endowed with the well balanced conditions that alone allow life to flourish on it, without one of which conditions it could not have flourished, (are signs for the people).

“Every little thing on this earth .. every living thing .. and every little part of a whole on this earth is a sign by itself .. And, in being a sign, every little thing is as good as any large thing. This little leaf, of this large tree, or a little plant on the ground, is a sign .. it is a sign in its size and shape, in its color and touch .. a sign in its function and composition. And this hair on the body of an animal or man .. is a sign .. a sign in its specialties, in its size, color and its functions. This feather in a bird’s wing .. is a sign .. it is a sign in the material of its composition, placement and functions. In whatever direction a man may stretch his sight, in the heavens or the earth, he will find signs of all sorts spread all over.

“But! Who is it that sees the signs and perceives them? To whom do these signs announce of their existence? To whom?

“To those who believe!”

“Consider the creation of humans endowed with amazing qualities. It is a miracle; except that it does not strike us as a miracle because of our daily experiencing of it, because of our familiarity with it. Otherwise, every joint, every limb, every organ is a miracle.

“A one-celled ameba is a miracle. (It has more DNA than the cell of a human being: Au.). If an amoeba is a miracle, then what about those biological organisms that are smaller than ameba? And what about the whole of man? And the life organisms around him, each a miracle in its own right.

“Take the world around man. The eagle (which can see a rat on the earth from one km distance in the sky: Au.) is a destroyer of bird life. It lives long but has few progeny. The lion also lives long, but its population is low. Sparrows on the other hand live a short life, but are in millions. Flies live just for 15 days, but are in millions. Who decided on this balance so that neither is the forest filled with just a single animal, nor, if left to itself, any species suffers extinction. Surely, in this are signs for those who wish to believe.”

وَفِي خَلْقِكُمْ وَمَا يَبُثُّ مِنْ دَابَّةٍ آيَاتٌ لِقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ (4)

(45:4) And, in your own creation,³ and what He scatters abroad of animals,⁴ there are signs for those who are of assured faith.⁵

3. Life defies laws of nature. If there was no life, and, if it was suggested by a hypothetical being that life should be created, the answer would be, the laws of nature will have to be altered before any such attempt at plant life, animal life or human life can be made. This is because natural laws do not support life’s emergence. The basic problem is, matter constantly undergoes erratic changes. It is unstable and disorganized. Water turns into vapor, or solidifies. Other materials keep polluting it. On the other hand, life is highly organized matter to which no element can be added. For example, humans are made of 24 elements in all: silicon, phosphate, carbon, oxygen, etc., in certain proportions. No 25th element can be added to the humans. If fed, the body rejects them, or may die out. There can be no life organism which has, e.g., 40 elements in it. Again, there is no chaotic action in the body, as against the chaotic movement of the air or liquids, or even matter. We might take blood circulation as an example, or, movement of food taken in, movement of material within the cells, or movement of cells within organs. All these movements are highly organized. No organelle within the cell’s protoplasm can penetrate into the cell nucleus. These are simple examples to demonstrate how life defies laws of nature prevalent everywhere but not within life systems. In this – and this only one in a million - are signs for those who are ready to believe.

After facing the difficulty with the laws of nature, we come across the question of the “state of the earth” to create life. The present state of the earth does not allow for origination of life. The chemical combinations required for the creation of first life, do not exist anywhere in the earth nor can those conditions be created in which life can originate. For example, oxygen is essential for life. But oxygen is a strong reactant. As soon as those materials that are essential life-elements are brought into contact with oxygen, it immediately reacts to produce another substance. In other words, we need oxygen, but without its characteristics. The characteristics of oxygen should be suspended for a while until life has come into existence, but should be brought back immediately after the combination is made. Thus, life contradicts nature’s laws in many ways and the scientists have no doubt about it that life cannot be created by any means. It can only be replicated from life forms that already exist. These are only introductory remarks for a subject which requires volumes to explain. Are there no signs in this for those who use their reason? (Au.)

4. Just as there is perfect balance between long and short waves, between the laws of nature, or between the distances between the planets revolving around the sun, there is a perfect balance between the animals that have been scattered abroad by Allah. Every forest has a balanced stable animal population. But the scattering abroad has its role to play. Animals that migrate over thousands of miles play their role in maintaining the balance, removing extra living organisms from one place, and providing food to other living organisms in another place. Some birds migrate to places 12,000 km. away and return within the same year by flying back the same 12,000 km. In so doing, they play important eco role. From fishes to butterfly to ants, they all migrate, in tens of thousands, and for no apparent reason. In this scattering abroad of animals are signs for those who have minds that ponder (Au.).

5. “The intricate nature of human and animal bodies, and the life-preserving instincts with which all living creatures have been endowed, make it virtually impossible to assume that all this has developed ‘by accident;’ and if we assume, as we must, that a creative purpose underlies this development, we must conclude, too, that it has been willed by a conscious Power which creates all natural phenomena ‘in accordance with an inner truth’” (Asad).

وَاخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مِنْ رِزْقٍ فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَتَصْرِيفِ الرِّيَاحِ آيَاتٌ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ (5)

(45:5) And in the alternation of night and day,⁶ and in what Allah sends down of provision⁷ from heaven, thereby reviving the earth after its death, and in turning about of the winds – are signs for a people who reason.⁸

6. Alternations are of two kinds: first, that of the day following the night and night following the day, and, second, the alteration in the length of the days and nights (Razi).

7. The allusion by provision is to rains, the prime cause of vegetation (Au.).

8. One notes the various terms in verses 3-5: “Signs for those who believe; signs for those who are of assured faith; signs for a people who reason.” There seems to be an ascending order. There are signs that are easily discernable to one and all, if they have some faith in God. In the second stage, greater signs are visible to those who have firm faith. Finally, armed with firm faith, and knowledge of both the kinds: sacred as well as profane (meaning scientific), coupled with righteous living, a believer is able to discern more subtle signs (Au., with a point from Alusi).

تِلْكَ آيَاتُ اللَّهِ نَتْلُوهَا عَلَيْكَ بِالْحَقِّ ۖ فَبِأَيِّ حَدِيثٍ بَعْدَ اللَّهِ وَآيَاتِهِ يُؤْمِنُونَ (6)

(45:6) These are the verses of Allah that We recite upon you in truth. In what discourse then will they believe - after Allah and His signs?⁹

9. “After Allah and His signs” i.e., after Allah’s discourse and the signs He has spread around (Tabari).

Sayyid adds: “There are innumerable, undeniable signs of Allah around man. The hearts feel them, the soul recognizes them, the mind is awakened by them. These signs speak the language of nature, understood by all - there being such close relationship between man and nature. The Qur’an, therefore, gives the hints and moves on. Yet, and despite these signs apparent to all, if someone will not believe, then there is nothing that can make him believe. He who is not woken up by these whispers, will not be woken up by shouts.”

وَيْلٌ لِكُلِّ أَفَّاكٍ أَثِيمٍ (7)

(45:7) Woe unto every lying¹⁰ slandering sinner.¹¹

10. “Affak” is a habitually lying person, or a big liar (Au.).

11. That is, (a totally corrupt man: Au.): a liar in his words and a sinner in his deeds (Ibn Kathir).

يَسْمَعُ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِ ثُمَّ يُصِرُّ مُسْتَكْبِرًا كَأَنْ لَمْ يَسْمَعْهَا ۖ فَبَشِّرْهُ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ (8)

(45:8) He hears Allah’s revelations rehearsed to him, yet persists arrogantly, as if he heard them not. So give him glad tidings of a painful chastisement.

وَإِذَا عَلِمَ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا شَيْئًا اتَّخَذَهَا هُزُوًا ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُهِينٌ (9)

(45:9) When he comes to know of anything about Our revelations, he takes them in jest.¹² They, for them is a humiliating chastisement.

12. Accordingly, the Prophet (saws) prohibited that one travel with a copy of the Qur’an to a land whose people are at war with the Muslims, in fear that it might fall in the hands of the enemy (Ibn Kathir). The hadith in Sahih of Muslim is as follows:

???

(Sami).

مِنْ وَرَائِهِمْ جَهَنَّمُ ۖ وَلَا يُغْنِي عَنْهُمْ مَا كَسَبُوا شَيْئًا وَلَا مَا اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ (10)

(45:10) Behind them is Jahannum.¹³ What they earn shall not avail them aught, nor will those that they took as protectors apart from Allah.¹⁴ For them is a mighty chastisement.

13. That is, in front of them. We say, “He was planning those cunning movements but his fate was smiling at him from behind him” (Au.).

14. Mawdudi points out that the term “waliyy” has been used in two senses: (1) deities, male and female, whom they think will save them from Allah’s wrath if they devoted themselves to them enough, and (2) those who the people treat as guides and patrons, in whose obedience they would even disobey their Lord. Both these kinds of “awliya’” will avail them not aught.

هَٰذَا هُدًى ۖ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مِنْ رِجْزٍ أَلِيمٌ (11)

(45:11) This is guidance. As for those who disbelieved in the signs of Allah, for them is punishment of a painful, devastating nature.

اللَّهُ الَّذِي سَخَّرَ لَكُمُ الْبَحْرَ لِتَجْرِيَ الْفُلْكُ فِيهِ بِأَمْرِهِ وَلِتَبْتَغُوا مِنْ فَضْلِهِ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ (12)

(45:12) Allah it is who subjected to you the sea so that the ships may sail through it by His command; so that you may seek His bounty and that perhaps you will be grateful

وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمْ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا مِنْهُ ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ (13)

(45:13) And He has subjected to you whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth,¹⁵ all from Him.¹⁶ Verily, in that are sure signs for a people who reflect.

15. “I.e., by endowing man, alone among all living beings, with a creative mind and, thus, with the ability to make conscious use of the nature that surrounds him and is within him” (Asad).

At a simpler level we might add that although the full impact of the whole world subjected to the humans is yet to dawn upon us, the present state of science tells us that in appearance of life on the earth and in its survival, the whole universe plays its role. The balance of various forces of nature allows the earth to remain in orbit, otherwise, there is no reason why it should not fly off into empty cold space (Scientific American) freezing all life. Indeed, apart from the fact that we humans have a part of stars that exploded in the past, and contributed to the elements in our body, the Moment of Inertia prevalent on the earth, which has direct effect on the magnitude of our physical movements and the ability to move materials around, is the direct result of the combined forces of gravity exerted upon us by the surrounding stars and galaxies. The world around us, the near as well as the distant, seems to be subjected to our benefit. Strange though it may sound, the scientific fact is that removal of a single galaxy, however distant, out of trillions that exist, could ultimately result in a complete revolution if not destruction of life on earth (Au.).

16. That is, from Him alone (Ibn Kathir).

قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَغْفِرُوا لِلَّذِينَ لَا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ لِيَجْزِيَ قَوْمًا بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ (14)

(45:14) Say to those who have believed to forgive those who have no hope in the days of Allah,¹⁷ that He may recompense a people for that they were earning.¹⁸

17. That is, the Day of the Hereafter where none but Allah will rule.

In this kind of expression, “ayyam” means days of special significance: those memorable days when important events take place, such as, e.g., “ayyam al-`Arab” meaning important events of Arab history (Mawdudi).

In explanation of this verse Ibn `Abbas and others said that the injunction to forgive them – belonging to the Makkan phase – was abrogated by a later commandment to fight off wrong and oppression, through verses spread over the Qur’an (Tabari, Ibn Kathir).

18. The meaning, as expressed by Zamakhshari, Razi and others is, “So that Allah may reward those who bore the wrongs in patience.”

مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلِنَفْسِهِ ۖ وَمَنْ أَسَاءَ فَعَلَيْهَا ۖ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ تُرْجَعُونَ (15)

(45:15) Whoso works righteousness, it is for his own soul, and whoso does evil, it is upon it;¹⁹ then unto your Lord will you be returned.

19. “Upon it”: that is, upon its soul (Au.).

وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحُكْمَ وَالنُّبُوَّةَ وَرَزَقْنَاهُمْ مِنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَفَضَّلْنَاهُمْ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ (16)

(45:16) Indeed, We gave the children of Israel the Book, the Wisdom²⁰ and Prophethood; provided them with good things, and preferred them over the worlds.²¹

20. Several meanings are attributable to the textual “hukm” such as: knowledge, wisdom, the law (Razi).

21. That is, preferred them over the peoples of the world of their time (Razi, Ibn Kathir), in sending down the message of monotheism, taken to them by Messengers raised from among them (Au.).

وَآتَيْنَاهُمْ بَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ الْأَمْرِ ۖ فَمَا اخْتَلَفُوا إِلَّا مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَهُمُ الْعِلْمُ بَغْيًا بَيْنَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَقْضِي بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِيمَا كَانُوا فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ (17)

(45:17) We gave them clear evidences of the affair,²² but they differed not except after knowledge had come to them - in insolence to each other.²³ Verily, your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Standing concerning that over which they were differing.

22. Asad’s note covers both the ancient understanding as well as modern interpretation: “This, I believe, is the meaning of the phrase min al-amr in the above context (i.e., as Asad rendered it: “clear indications of the purpose [of faith”]), although most of the classical commentators are of the opinion that amr signifies here “religion” (din), and interpret the whole phrase, accordingly, as ‘of what pertains to religion’. Since, however, the common denominator in all the possible meanings of the term amr – e.g.’ ‘command, ‘injunction’, ‘ordinance’, ‘matter [of concern]’, ‘action’, etc. – is the element of purpose, whether implied or explicit, we may safely assume that this is the meaning of the term in the above elliptic phrase, which alludes to the purpose underlying all divine revelations and, consequently, man’s faith in it. Now from the totality of the Qur’anic teachings it becomes apparent that the innermost purpose of all true faith is, firstly, a realization of the existence of God and of every human being’s responsibility to Him; secondly, man’s attaining a consciousness of his own dignity as a positive element – a logically necessary element – in God’s plan of creation and, thus, achieving freedom from all manner of superstitions and irrational fear; and, lastly, making man aware that whatever good or evil he does is but done for the benefit, or to the detriment, of his own self (as expressed in verse 15 above.”

23. Thus, knowledge became the source of differences which is against the norm, it being the other way round. The reason is, knowledge was never gained for its own sake, it was gained for the sake of this-worldly returns. (It made them behave insolently with each other: Au.) - Razi.

ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاكَ عَلَىٰ شَرِيعَةٍ مِنَ الْأَمْرِ فَاتَّبِعْهَا وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَ الَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ (18)

(45:18) Then We have set you upon an open way²⁴ in the affair,²⁵ so follow it,²⁶ and follow not the caprices of a people who do not know.²⁷

24. “It is to be borne in mind that the literal meaning of the term shari`ah is ‘the way to a watering place’, and since water is indispensable for all organic life, this term has in time come to denote a ‘system of laws’, both moral and practical, which show man the way towards spiritual fulfillment and social welfare: hence ‘religious law’ in the widest sense of the term” (Asad).

25. That is, affair of the religion; and the “shari`ah” of the text refers to the obligations, legal punishments, commandments and forbiddance (Ibn Jarir). Also see note 22 above.

26. If the Prophet – the most renowned of Prophets - is directed here to follow the Shari`ah, then, how can any ordinary Muslim imagine that he can set it aside, lead a life divorced of law, and win Allah’s approval (Thanwi)?

Thanwi has those false Sufis in mind who think that they are above the law, rituals and Sunnah (Au.).

27. “I.e., who are not – or not primarily – motivated by God-consciousness and, hence, are swayed only by what they themselves regard as ‘right’ in accordance with worldly, changing circumstances” (Asad).

Mufti Shafi` clarifies an important point. Is the Shari`ah of previous nations a source of law for us? The answer is, as far as articles of faith and basic principles of law are concerned, no, they are not, although these have remained unchanged through the history. We are bound to follow our own sources: Qur’an and Sunnah. However, if there is found to be mentioned (in our texts) a rule or practice of the past nations, which is not accompanied with any criticism, or something that our own texts (Qur’an and Sunnah) confirm or praise, then such elements of the previous Shari`ah can become sources of law in our own Shari`ah. Obviously, in practice it offers several complications, and, therefore, Fiqh books might be referred to for fuller details.

إِنَّهُمْ لَنْ يُغْنُوا عَنْكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئًا ۚ وَإِنَّ الظَّالِمِينَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ ۖ وَاللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الْمُتَّقِينَ (19)

(45:19) Surely, they will avail you not aught against Allah. Surely, the transgressors are allies of one another while Allah is the protector of the pious.

هَٰذَا بَصَائِرُ لِلنَّاسِ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ لِقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ (20)

(45:20) This is an enlightenment for mankind, a guidance and mercy for a people who are of assured faith.

أَمْ حَسِبَ الَّذِينَ اجْتَرَحُوا السَّيِّئَاتِ أَنْ نَجْعَلَهُمْ كَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ سَوَاءً مَحْيَاهُمْ وَمَمَاتُهُمْ ۚ سَاءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ (21)

(45:21) What, do those who commit evil deeds think that We will treat them like those who believed and did righteous deeds – equal their living and their dying?²⁸ Evil is that which they judge.²⁹

28. Asad again, “The reference to the intrinsic differences between these two categories with regard to ‘their life and their death’ points not merely to the moral quality of their worldly existence, but also, on the one hand, to the inner peace and tranquility with which a true believer faces life’s tribulations at the moment of death, and on the other, to the nagging anxiety which so often accompanies spiritual nihilism, and the ‘fear of the unknown’ at the time of dying.”

Yusuf Ali further explains, “Three meanings can be deduced. (1) The evil ones are not in Allah’s sight like the righteous ones; neither in life nor in death are they equal; in life the righteous are guided by Allah (swt) and receive His Grace, and after death His Mercy, while the others reject His Grace, and after death receive condemnation. (2) Neither are the two the same in this life and in the after-life; if the wicked flourish here, they will be condemned in the Hereafter; if the good are in suffering or sorrow here, they will receive comfort and consolation in the Hereafter. (3) The real life of the righteous is not like the nominal life of the wicked, which is really death; nor is the physical death of the righteous, which will bring them into eternal life, like the terrible death of the wicked which will bring them to eternal misery.”

In Mawdudi’s simpler words, “By what logic can the unbelievers expect that they will be treated equal with the believers in this life and next? Is he who subjected himself to moral restrictions, rendered the rights of those they were due, restrained himself from the unlawful pleasures, incurred losses for the sake of truth, equal to another who neither recognized the rights of Allah nor hesitated to violate the rights of the people, but rather, went on to collect the benefits and good things of life in every possible way, lawful or unlawful?”

Ashraf `Ali Thanwi demonstrates the logic. To paraphrase: Had there been no rewards for someone doing good, there could have been no objection. A master deals with his slaves as he likes. He is not bound to reward him. The slave too does not make any claim. But the presence of another who misbehaves, makes rewarding the other and punishing this one imperative. Take an example: there are two servants to a master. One of them hardworking and morally upright, the other lazy and mischievous. Now, if the master does not punish the lazy and the mischievous, then the other can complain that there is no justice. Consequently, rewarding this one and punishing the other becomes a demand of logic and a requirement of justice. The two cannot be treated equal.

29. Masruq reported that a Makkan showed him the place where (at Maqamu Ibrahim in the Haram: Alusi) Tamim al-Dari would do his nightly Prayers. He reported that once Tamim stood a whole night in Prayer repeating this ayah, bowing and prostrating and weeping. Ibrahim b. al-Ash`ath also reported that he had witnessed Fudayl b. `Iyad repeat this ayah and others of the same kind the whole night. Those days this ayah used to be referred to as the “weep-inducing ayah” (Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir and others in parts).

وَخَلَقَ اللَّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ بِالْحَقِّ وَلِتُجْزَىٰ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ (22)

(45:22) Allah created the heavens and the earth in truth so that every soul may be recompensed for what it has earned, and they shall not be wronged.³⁰

30. When Allah said that a believer and unbeliever cannot be treated equal, He cited the creation of the world in truth as evidence. How can the Creator of the world in truth, allow that a pious and a wrongdoer be treated equal? If He treated them equal, then, the created world is reduced to meaninglessness. Therefore, He must establish a Day in which the pious is compensated for his good deeds and a wrongdoer is punished for his evil deeds and beliefs (Razi).

أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَٰهَهُ هَوَاهُ وَأَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ عِلْمٍ وَخَتَمَ عَلَىٰ سَمْعِهِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَجَعَلَ عَلَىٰ بَصَرِهِ غِشَاوَةً فَمَنْ يَهْدِيهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ اللَّهِ ۚ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ (23)

(45:23) Have you then seen him who has taken his base desires as his god?³¹ Allah has led him astray out of a knowledge,³² has sealed his hearing and his heart, and has placed a covering on his eyes. Who then shall guide him after Allah? Will you then not heed?

31. Qurtubi comments as follows: The Qur’an has several passages condemning the following of “hawa” (base instinct, or desire). The following maybe brought to notice:

“And he followed his base desires; and so, his example is like that of a dog..” (7: 176). Or,

“And he followed his base desires and so his affair is ever in excess.” (18: 28). Or,

“And, who can be in greater wrong that he who followed his base desires without a guidance from Allah?” (28: 50). Or,

“And follow not base desires, or they will deflect you from Allah’s path.” (38: 26).

And a hadith of this context says, “One of you will not believe until his base instinct follows what I have brought.”

(But this hadith does not appear in sahih works: Au.). ???

On the other hand we have a hadith which says,

“An intelligent person is he who takes account of himself and works for what is going to be after death, while, weak is one who followed his base desires but fastens good hope on Allah.”

(This hadith is found in Tirmidhi [who declared it Hasan], Hakim [who declared it sahih but Dhahabi disagreed] and in other works: Haythami in Majma`). Yet another hadith on the topic has the following text:

“Three (things) are destructive while three are means of salvation. As for the destructive, they are: a miserliness that is obeyed, a base self that is followed, and a man pleased with himself. As for the means of salvation, they are: justice in anger or agreeableness, moderation in richness and poverty, and Allah’s fear in secret and open.”

(This report – popularly found in many collections, and in variety of texts - is declared Hasan by Albani: Au.).

Accordingly, we have Abu Darda’s statement: “When a man does his morning his base desires, his deeds and his knowledge gather together. Now, if his deeds follow his base desires, that is an evil day for him. But if his deeds follow his knowledge, his day is propitious for him.” Allah said (79: 40-41),

“Then, as for him who feared the standing before his Lord and denied the inner self base desires, then surely Paradise is his abode.”

Quotation from Qurtubi ends here.

32. The interpretation of Ibn `Abbas in reference to “out of a knowledge” is: “in view of His eternal knowledge” or, the “knowledge that has preceded” (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi). Another possible meaning is, “despite the man’s knowledge that devotion to deities is neither profitable nor harmful.”

وَقَالُوا مَا هِيَ إِلَّا حَيَاتُنَا الدُّنْيَا نَمُوتُ وَنَحْيَا وَمَا يُهْلِكُنَا إِلَّا الدَّهْرُ ۚ وَمَا لَهُمْ بِذَٰلِكَ مِنْ عِلْمٍ ۖ إِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَظُنُّونَ (24)

(45:24) They say ‘There is nothing but the life of this world: we die and we live;³³ and nothing but Time destroys us.’³⁴ Of that they have no knowledge; they merely conjecture.³⁵

33. That is, we die and are replaced by our children who live on, and so on it goes (Zamakhshari).

34. (But Time, in the sense of what happens day in and day out, throughout the universe, throughout time, is Allah (swt) Himself: Au.). Says a hadith:

Adam’s son vexes Me. He speaks of Time in evil terms, while I am the Time. In My hands is the affair. I alternate the night and day.” This hadith comes to us from Abu Hurayrah, through several chains of narration (Ibn Jarir, Zamakhshari).

Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir present a few other reports of the same meaning from the Sahihayn and other works. They also point out that (according to Imam Shafe`i and a few others: Ibn Kathir), the Arabs of pagan past used to attribute evil occurrences to Time saying, when they met someone struck by ill-fortune, “O the one struck by evil Time.” But since all that happens is by Allah’s will, to blame Time is to blame Allah; hence the hadith, “Do not speak Time in evil terms.”

At all events, adds Ibn Kathir, Ibn Hazm and a few others are not right in claiming, in view of the ahadith of this nature that “Al-Dahr” is one of the Names of Allah. It is not.

35. Had they said, (as should the scientists of today be saying: Au.), that “we do not know whether there is any life after death or not,” or, “we do not know whether man’s soul is seized by God after death or not,” then, it would have been reasonable on their part. But these are not the kind of answers they give when asked about life after death, or about souls being taken back by Allah. Instead, these people, who seem to be otherwise reasonable and scientific, make statements based entirely on conjecture misleading themselves as well as others (Mawdudi).

وَإِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُنَا بَيِّنَاتٍ مَا كَانَ حُجَّتَهُمْ إِلَّا أَنْ قَالُوا ائْتُوا بِآبَائِنَا إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ (25)

(45:25) When Our clear revelations are recited to them their only argument was to say, ‘Bring back our forefathers if you are truthful.’

قُلِ اللَّهُ يُحْيِيكُمْ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يَجْمَعُكُمْ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ (26)

(45:26) Say, ‘Allah gives you life, then he will deal you death, and then he will gather you together on the Day of Standing,³⁶ about which there is no doubt, but most of the people know not.’

36. When the pagans demanded that their forefathers be brought back to life, this is the answer the revelation gave: “This bringing back to life will not happen now, at individual basis, but rather, the entire humanity will be brought to life on a day which is determined by none other than Allah himself (Mawdudi).

وَلِلَّهِ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۚ وَيَوْمَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَخْسَرُ الْمُبْطِلُونَ (27)

(45:27) To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. And the day the Hour is struck, that day the followers of falsehood shall lose out.³⁷

37. “Mubtil” is difficult to translate in a single phrase such as “indulgent in falsehood.” In its most general sense, it has the meaning of indulgence in anything that is of no benefit, which is devoid of any aspect of being useful one way or another, but has every chance of being untrue in expression. So “mubtil” is someone who deals in vanities, though in this context it has the sense expressed in the translation. Ibn Kathir reports from Ibn Abi Hatim that when Sufyan Thawri visited Madinah and heard that Mu`afiri indulges in what would make people laugh, he told him, “Ya Sheikh! Are you not aware that Allah has a Day in which the ‘mubtilun’ will be in loss?” It is said that the effect of the censure could be seen in Mu`afiri’s face until the end of his life.

وَتَرَىٰ كُلَّ أُمَّةٍ جَاثِيَةً ۚ كُلُّ أُمَّةٍ تُدْعَىٰ إِلَىٰ كِتَابِهَا الْيَوْمَ تُجْزَوْنَ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ (28)

(45:28) You will see every nation on its knees.³⁸ Every nation summoned to its record: ‘Today you shall be recompensed for what you were doing.

38. Dahhak said that this being on the knees will be at the time of reckoning (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi). Ibn `Abbas however said that the term “jathiyyah” means “collected together” (Ibn Kathir, Qurtubi and others). Alusi shows that in classical Arabic times the term was in fact used in the sense suggested by Ibn `Abbas. Another meaning, especially among the Quraysh was “humbled.”

هَٰذَا كِتَابُنَا يَنْطِقُ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْحَقِّ ۚ إِنَّا كُنَّا نَسْتَنْسِخُ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ (29)

(45:29) This Our Book speaks with truth against you. We were indeed recording all that you were doing.’³⁹

39. Ibn Jarir has a narrative from Ibn `Abbas which is so amazingly close to the activities at the genetic level in the cells of living organizations that one finds it hard to attribute it to coincidence. He said in reference to this verse that Allah created the Pen and commanded it to write all that was to happen. Then, after He had created the humans, He placed guardian angels over each of them and guardians over the Preserved Tablet. Every new day the guardian angels copy from the Preserved Tablet everything a man is going to do. Then, when the term is over, the provision is exhausted, and the hour has arrived, the guardian angels reach up as usual to copy down the man’s deeds of the day. The guardians of the Preserved Tablet tell them, “Its all exhausted. We do not find anything here for your man.” The guardian angels of the concerned person return to him and find him dead. Then Ibn `Abbas added, “You are Arabs. Do you not know that “istinsakh” is used for copying from a principal source?” The report is also in Ibn al-Mundhir as well as Ibn Abi Hatim (Alusi).

The above comes close to the activities in the cell where genetic message is time and again delivered by Messenger Genes, commanding what of the proteins are to be manufactured by the cell. The Messenger Genes are themselves copied from the master genes (in the DNA strands) within the well preserved nucleus (Au.).

In any case, whatever the type of recording, whenever done, and by whomsoever, once this recording itself used to be questioned. How could it be done at all? But now, with the unraveling of the mystery of DNA recording evoking incredibility, the mystery of the recording might deepen, but the occurrence cannot not evoke any skepticism. An invisible DNA chain has enough information to build a whole man. If the coded message were to be expanded, the tiny DNA has hundreds of volumes of information for making an individual. As we know pen and paper are not the only means of recording; many other possibilities have widened the scope and method of making records, even if some methods, like employed by the DNA, will ever remain mysterious (Au.).

فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ فَيُدْخِلُهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ فِي رَحْمَتِهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْمُبِينُ (30)

(45:30) Then, as for those who believed and did righteous deeds, their Lord will admit them to His mercy. That is the clear triumph

وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَفَلَمْ تَكُنْ آيَاتِي تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ فَاسْتَكْبَرْتُمْ وَكُنْتُمْ قَوْمًا مُجْرِمِينَ (31)

(45:31) As for those who disbelieved, ‘Were not My revelations recited to you? But you waxed proud.⁴⁰ You were a criminal people.

40. It is matter of remarkable interest that although a proud man receives universal disapprobation, pride is the most common characteristic of today’s man. Although the system of life generated by the Western man brought humanity nothing but disaster, in every branch of life, man is yet not ready to admit the failure and adopt the Islamic way, despite good examples visible to him in his own country and neighborhood, for no other reason but that his racial pride cannot accept that an Arab be his guide, his prophet (Au.).

وَإِذَا قِيلَ إِنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ وَالسَّاعَةُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهَا قُلْتُمْ مَا نَدْرِي مَا السَّاعَةُ إِنْ نَظُنُّ إِلَّا ظَنًّا وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمُسْتَيْقِنِينَ (32)

(45:32) When it was said, "Verily, Allah’s promise is true, and there is no doubt about the Hour," you replied, "We do not know what the Hour is. We only think it is a conjecture. We are by no means certain.’”

وَبَدَا لَهُمْ سَيِّئَاتُ مَا عَمِلُوا وَحَاقَ بِهِمْ مَا كَانُوا بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِئُونَ (33)

(45:33) And the evils of what they were doing became evident to them, and they shall be enveloped by what they were mocking.

وَقِيلَ الْيَوْمَ نَنْسَاكُمْ كَمَا نَسِيتُمْ لِقَاءَ يَوْمِكُمْ هَٰذَا وَمَأْوَاكُمُ النَّارُ وَمَا لَكُمْ مِنْ نَاصِرِينَ (34)

(45:34) It will be said, ‘Today We shall forget you as you forgot the meeting of this your Day.⁴¹ Your abode is the Fire and you shall have no helpers.

41. As a hadith of Muslim says:

“Then He (Allah) will meet with a slave and say, ‘O so and so, did I not honor you, make a leader of you, provid you a spouse, subject the horses and camels to you and allow you leadership to obtain one-fourth (of booty). He will say, ‘Surely yes.’ He will ask, ‘Did you ever consider that you will meet Me?’ He will answer, ‘No.’ He will say, ‘So I shall forget you just like you forgot Me’” (Ibn Kathir).

ذَٰلِكُمْ بِأَنَّكُمُ اتَّخَذْتُمْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ هُزُوًا وَغَرَّتْكُمُ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا ۚ فَالْيَوْمَ لَا يُخْرَجُونَ مِنْهَا وَلَا هُمْ يُسْتَعْتَبُونَ (35)

(45:35) That, because you took the revelations of Allah in jest and the worldly life deceived you.’ So, today, they shall not be removed from it nor shall they be asked to make amends.

فَلِلَّهِ الْحَمْدُ رَبِّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَرَبِّ الْأَرْضِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ (36)

(45:36) So praise for Allah, Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth, Lord of the worlds.⁴²

42. Majid comments: Even so simple a truth as that the earth is a created being stood in the need of special emphasis in view of the widely-spread worship of the ‘Mother World.’ The significant fact, says a distinguished archaeologist, about the Indus civilization is that ‘it was based on a religion precisely characteristic of present-day Hinduism. Numerous effigies of the great Mother-goddess have been found … That same devotion which Indians are now showing to Mother India they have for at least 5000 years shown to the Mother-World – the Mother Universe – which has brought both Mother India and themselves into existence and sustained and inspired them through life. This Mother-World they personified in the time of the ancient Indian civilization as the Mother-goddess, and in more recent times as Kali.’”

وَلَهُ الْكِبْرِيَاءُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۖ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ (37)

(45:37) His is the Majesty in the heavens and earth, and He is the Mighty, the Wise.