Surah No. 76
Introduction
Merits of the Surah
1. Since “dahr” is endless, and “heen” a part of it, the term “heenum min al-dahr” implies a considerable length of time; some of the Salaf have said that the allusion is to the event of Adam’s creation who was made of dust and then left alone for a long time before the spirit was blown into him. Until then no one knew in the heaven or the earth what would be made of him (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi); but Man in general could also be in reference (Razi).
However, there is no hadith to the above effect (Au.).
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ هَلْ أَتَىٰ عَلَى الْإِنْسَانِ حِينٌ مِنَ الدَّهْرِ لَمْ يَكُنْ شَيْئًا مَذْكُورًا (1)
(76:1) Did there come upon man a time1 when he was not a thing (worth) mentioning?2
2. It may be noted that the last chapter ended with the mention of the sperm drop while this one continues with the theme of its insignificance (Au.).
It is reported of Abu Bakr that when someone recited this ayah before him, he remarked, “Only if the period (of being in dust) had not ended, so that (there was no creation and) no trial (Qurtubi, Razi). Similar statements are reported of `Umar (Qurtubi), and of Ibn Mas`ud (Alusi).
إِنَّا خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍ نَبْتَلِيهِ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ سَمِيعًا بَصِيرًا (2)
(76:2) Verily, We have created man from a mingled sperm-drop3 that We might try him, so We made him hearing, seeing.
3. Until the development of powerful microscopes in the 18th century, the belief among the biologists was that it is man’s spermatozoa dropped into the womb that alone grows as a man. In fact, illustrations in some biology books of the 17th century depicted a little human being in the spermatozoa. To the Qur’anic statement, 1000 years before the discovery, the Prophet added his own clarification at a time many women did not know that they secreted any liquid at the time of fertilization or contributed an ovum. See Umm Saleem’s hadith in Muslim, no. 738, Kitab al-Taharah (Au.).
إِنَّا هَدَيْنَاهُ السَّبِيلَ إِمَّا شَاكِرًا وَإِمَّا كَفُورًا (3)
(76:3) Indeed, We have guided him to the way, to be grateful or ungrateful.4
4. We have a hadith on the topic of humans choosing their own fate after Allah guided them to both good and evil). Ibn Kathir quotes it:
The Prophet said to Ka`b b. `Ujrah: “May Allah save you from the leadership of the foolish.” He asked, “What about the leadership of the foolish?” He answered, “Leaders who will come after me but who will not follow my guidance, nor my Sunnah. So, whoever testified them in their lies and helped them in their tyranny, they are not of me and I am not of them. They will not come to my Pond. But he who did not testify them in their lies and did not help them in their tyranny, they are of me and I am of them. They will come to my Pond. O Ka`b b. `Ujrah, fast is a shield, and charity obliterates minor errors. And Prayers are an offering, (or maybe he said, “an evidence”). O Ka`b b. `Ujrah, Fire is better deserving of the flesh that grew on the forbidden. O Ka`b b. `Ujrah, people are two types that start off in the morning: He who buys his soul and frees it, or he who sells away his soul and destroys it.”
Haythami declared the above report as trustworthy (Au.).
إِنَّا أَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَافِرِينَ سَلَاسِلَ وَأَغْلَالًا وَسَعِيرًا (4)
(76:4) Surely, We have prepared for the unbelievers chains,5 iron-collars,6 and a Blaze.
5. By which they will be dragged (Alusi).
6. By which they will be shackled (Alusi).
إِنَّ الْأَبْرَارَ يَشْرَبُونَ مِنْ كَأْسٍ كَانَ مِزَاجُهَا كَافُورًا (5)
(76:5) Surely, the righteous shall drink of a cup (a drink) whose mixing will be with camphor.7
7. Asad comments: “The Lisan al-`Arab gives ‘the calyx (kimm) of the grape before its flowering’ as the primary significance of kafur; according to other lexicologists (e.g., Taj al-`Arus), it denotes ‘the calyx of any flower’; Jawhari applies it to the ‘spathe of a palm tree’. Hence, this – and not ‘camphor’ – is evidently the meaning of kafur in the above context ..”
We may be reminded here once again of the statement of Ibn `Abbas that all that has been named in the Qur’an as blessings are but names. In their reality, they have nothing to do with the blessings they will carry in Paradise.
عَيْنًا يَشْرَبُ بِهَا عِبَادُ اللَّهِ يُفَجِّرُونَهَا تَفْجِيرًا (6)
(76:6) A spring wherefrom drink the slaves of Allah, making it gush forth plenteously.8
8. That is, the dwellers of Paradise will be able to sprout forth the springs wherever they want, whenever they want (Ibn Jarir, Zamakhshari).
يُوفُونَ بِالنَّذْرِ وَيَخَافُونَ يَوْمًا كَانَ شَرُّهُ مُسْتَطِيرًا (7)
(76:7) They fulfill the vows9 and fear the day whose evil flies wide.
9. Ibn Kathir reminds that fulfilling a vow is obligatory when it is in Allah’s obedience, otherwise not. Says a hadith of Bukhari:
On the authority of `A’isha, the Prophet said, “Whoever vowed that he will obey Allah, may obey Him, but whoever vowed that he will disobey Allah, may not disobey Him.”
Perhaps with the Prophet’s indirect disapproval of vows (nadhr) Yusuf Ali offers a reminder about the nature of disapproved vows: “The vows must be vows of spiritual service, which of course includes service to humanity, such as is mentioned in the next verse. They are Devotees of Allah, and they must perform all vows and contracts. Vows of the Pagan sort, savouring of a sort of ‘bribe’ to the Deity, are not approved.”
وَيُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعَامَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِ مِسْكِينًا وَيَتِيمًا وَأَسِيرًا (8)
(76:8) And they serve the food, despite it being dear,10 to the needy, the orphan and the captive.11
10. Another possible meaning is that they feed others, in love of Allah (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir). This was the opinion of Fudayl b. `Iyad (Zamakhshari).
Ibn Kathir adds: We have a Sahih report (of Muslim) which says,
“(The best of charity) is that you should spend while you are healthy, fond of wealth, and fear poverty.”
11. Qatadah, `Ikrimah and Hasan have pointed out that the prisoners or captives of this mention were always pagans at the time of the Prophet, whom he ordered to be treated well. However, the term is now applicable to every kind of captive: Muslim or non-Muslim (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir), and every prisoner (Qurtubi). When the Prophet distributed captives among Muslims, he instructed them to treat them well and so, some of them fed them remaining hungry themselves (Kashshaf).
Adds Asad: “The term asir denotes anyone who is ‘captive’ literally (e.g., a prisoner) or figuratively, i.e., a captive of circumstances which render him helpless: thus, the Prophet said, ‘Thy debtor is thy captive, be, therefore, truly kind to thy captive’ (Zamakhshari, Razi, et al.).”
إِنَّمَا نُطْعِمُكُمْ لِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ لَا نُرِيدُ مِنْكُمْ جَزَاءً وَلَا شُكُورًا (9)
(76:9) We serve you for the countenance of Allah, desiring from you neither recompense nor thanks.12
12. It is reported of `A’isha that when she sent gifts to the people, she instructed the messenger to inform her how they reacted. If they supplicated for her, she too supplicated for them in the same words so as to make sure that that the fullest reward remained reserved for her gift (Zamakhshari).
إِنَّا نَخَافُ مِنْ رَبِّنَا يَوْمًا عَبُوسًا قَمْطَرِيرًا (10)
(76:10) Indeed, We fear from our Lord a frowning, distressful day.’
فَوَقَاهُمُ اللَّهُ شَرَّ ذَٰلِكَ الْيَوْمِ وَلَقَّاهُمْ نَضْرَةً وَسُرُورًا (11)
(76:11) So, Allah saved them from the evil of that day and shed over them brightness and blissful joy.13
13. Thus, on that hard day, the righteous will have bright faces and peaceful hearts (Ibn Kathir)
وَجَزَاهُمْ بِمَا صَبَرُوا جَنَّةً وَحَرِيرًا (12)
(76:12) And recompensed them for their patience with a Garden, and silk.
مُتَّكِئِينَ فِيهَا عَلَى الْأَرَائِكِ ۖ لَا يَرَوْنَ فِيهَا شَمْسًا وَلَا زَمْهَرِيرًا (13)
(76:13) Reclining therein on couches. They shall experience therein neither sun nor bitter cold.14
14. We have a hadith in this context. The Prophet said,
“The Fire (of Hell) complained to Allah saying, ‘some of me is eating of my other parts.’ So, Allah allowed it two breathings every year. So, the worst that you find of the cold is from the cold blast of Jahannum, while the worst of heat that you experience is from the heat of Jahannum” (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi).
The hadith is in Ahmad as well as Sahih of Ibn Hibban (Au.).
وَدَانِيَةً عَلَيْهِمْ ظِلَالُهَا وَذُلِّلَتْ قُطُوفُهَا تَذْلِيلًا (14)
(76:14) Down upon them its shades and its clusters hanging low.
وَيُطَافُ عَلَيْهِمْ بِآنِيَةٍ مِنْ فِضَّةٍ وَأَكْوَابٍ كَانَتْ قَوَارِيرَا (15)
(76:15) And, there will pass around them vessels of silver and crystal-goblets.15
15. The textual word for what we have rendered as “goblet” is “kub” which is for an earless (and spoutless: Ibn Kathir) cup, while “ka’s” of the 17th verse is for that glass which has been filled with wine. If it is not filled with wine then the Arabs would not refer to it as a “ka’s” (from Ibn Jarir).
قَوَارِيرَ مِنْ فِضَّةٍ قَدَّرُوهَا تَقْدِيرًا (16)
(76:16) Crystal-goblets made of silver,16 that they17 would have filled to right measure.18
16. Ancient scholars have said that if you beat silver to the thickness of a fly’s wing, you will still not see through it. But the silver goblets of Paradise will be transparent.
17. “They,” i.e., those appointed to serve them (Au.).
18. Filling a glass to the right measure is an art in which hotel waiters receive instructions (Au.).
وَيُسْقَوْنَ فِيهَا كَأْسًا كَانَ مِزَاجُهَا زَنْجَبِيلًا (17)
(76:17) And they will be served drinks therein whose mixing will be with ginger.
عَيْنًا فِيهَا تُسَمَّىٰ سَلْسَبِيلًا (18)
(76:18) A spring therein named Salasabeel.
وَيَطُوفُ عَلَيْهِمْ وِلْدَانٌ مُخَلَّدُونَ إِذَا رَأَيْتَهُمْ حَسِبْتَهُمْ لُؤْلُؤًا مَنْثُورًا (19)
(76:19) There will go around them eternal lads.19 If you saw them you would think they are scattered pearls.
19. That is, the lads will ever stay lads. They will not grow old (Ibn Jarir).
وَإِذَا رَأَيْتَ ثَمَّ رَأَيْتَ نَعِيمًا وَمُلْكًا كَبِيرًا (20)
(76:20) If you saw there, you would see therein bliss and a great kingdom.
عَالِيَهُمْ ثِيَابُ سُنْدُسٍ خُضْرٌ وَإِسْتَبْرَقٌ ۖ وَحُلُّوا أَسَاوِرَ مِنْ فِضَّةٍ وَسَقَاهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ شَرَابًا طَهُورًا (21)
(76:21) Upon them apparels of green silk and brocade. And they shall be adorned with bracelets of silver, and their Lord shall give them a drink, pure.
إِنَّ هَٰذَا كَانَ لَكُمْ جَزَاءً وَكَانَ سَعْيُكُمْ مَشْكُورًا (22)
(76:22) This indeed is a recompense for you, and your striving has been appreciated.
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْقُرْآنَ تَنْزِيلًا (23)
(76:23) We have indeed sent down upon you the Qur’an in piece-meal.
فَاصْبِرْ لِحُكْمِ رَبِّكَ وَلَا تُطِعْ مِنْهُمْ آثِمًا أَوْ كَفُورًا (24)
(76:24) Therefore, wait in patience for the command of your Lord, and yield not to any of them: a sinner or an unbeliever.20
20. “Affairs and events of the world are mortgaged to their Lord’s predetermined Plan. He lends reprieve to falsehood; allows rope to evil, and elongates the period of trial, appraisal, and purification for the believers .. So, be patient .. Until the appointed hour .. Be patient in the face of torture and tribulation .. be patient when faced up with the seemingly triumphant falsehood .. and of course, patiently hold on to what of the truth has been revealed to you .. Hold on in patience; and listen not to the proposals of compromise presented to you: proposals that suggest you meet them half-way, but which can only be at the cost of faith. But, ‘follow not any of them: a sinner or an unbeliever.’ They will never invite you to the obedience of the Lord, nor to any good, neither to virtue. They are, after all, sinners, unbelievers in the Lord of the worlds. They invite you to sin and disobedience when they invite you to meet half-way; when they offer you wealth and damsels, and even power.. After all, this is all that the followers of falsehood can offer the people of faith.
‘Wait in patience for the command of your Lord, and yield not to any of them: a sinner or an unbeliever,’ for there can be no place where you and they can meet; nor is it possible to build a bridge between the huge abyss dividing your and their ways, your thoughts and ideas and their thoughts and ideas, your truth and their falsehood, your belief and their disbelief, your light and their darknesses, your knowledge and their ignorance” (Sayyid)
وَاذْكُرِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلًا (25)
(76:25) And mention the Name of your Lord, morning and evening.21
21. The allusion by “bukrah” is to Fajr Prayers, while by the “aseel” it is to Zuhr and `Asr Prayers (Qurtubi); because “aseel” covers the period between noon and sunset (Alusi).
وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَاسْجُدْ لَهُ وَسَبِّحْهُ لَيْلًا طَوِيلًا (26)
(76:26) At the (early) part of the night22 prostrate yourself to Him, and extol His glory for long during the (later part of) night.23
22. The allusion is to Maghrib and `Isha Prayers (Qurtubi).
23. That is, in tahajjud (Razi).
“This then,” writes Sayyid, “is your provision along the way: remember the Name of your Lord morning and evening .. and spend the night in devotional acts .. This will be your contact-line with the source that sent down the Qur’an and laid the responsibility on you to take the word forward. This remembrance is the fountain of strength and the source of help and aid.. For the way is long, the burden is heavy, and so, the provision has to be plentiful, and the help required much. And it is to be found there: where the slave is alone with his Lord, in nearness and in intimacy, from which contact spring out peace and tranquility .. rest after the hardships .. and which allays the effects of the thorns laid down on the way.
While this is the provision for the Prophet, it is also the provision of everyone who treads this path, those who call to Islam, in every generation, throughout the ages. For this is the same call, with similar situations, similar responses, similar stance, perspective and approach; and similar means. They must all follow the same methodology and go through the same situations.
Further, this call does not accept any adulteration between truth and falsehood: those which the sinning unbelievers suggest. There can be no co-operation between this truth and their falsehood; nor can the two meet in between, half-way down. They are two different paths, in different directions, leading to two different ends.
But what when falsehood overcomes the believers in truth because of the material strength of the former and some weaknesses of the latter? Well, the answer is, they must wait in patience for Allah’s decisions. They must continue standing long hours in the nights, in remembrance, Prayers. This will provide them the provision for the way, the way to their Lord.”
إِنَّ هَٰؤُلَاءِ يُحِبُّونَ الْعَاجِلَةَ وَيَذَرُونَ وَرَاءَهُمْ يَوْمًا ثَقِيلًا (27)
(76:27) Surely, these (people) love the fleeting and leave behind them a burdensome day.
نَحْنُ خَلَقْنَاهُمْ وَشَدَدْنَا أَسْرَهُمْ ۖ وَإِذَا شِئْنَا بَدَّلْنَا أَمْثَالَهُمْ تَبْدِيلًا (28)
(76:28) We have created them and have strengthened their joints;24 and, if We wished, We shall exchange their likes: (in) a complete alteration.
24. A solitary interpretation offered by Mujahid is that the allusion is to man’s anus (Qurtubi).
Had Allah not given the organ its strength, and allowed man control over its functioning, it would have been impossible to develop civilization and culture (Au.).
إِنَّ هَٰذِهِ تَذْكِرَةٌ ۖ فَمَنْ شَاءَ اتَّخَذَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِ سَبِيلًا (29)
(76:29) Surely, this is a reminder. So whoever wished may take a way to his Lord.25
25. Thus, there is the freedom of choice, stated in the earlier part of the Surah, to choose right or wrong (Au.).
وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا (30)
(76:30) But you cannot will, except that Allah should will.26 Surely, Allah was ever Knowing, ever Wise.
26. It is another thing that man is not completely free to choose what he wants in the sense of being able to do what he chooses. Sometimes he may choose a wrong act or attitude, but Allah’s love and mercy intervenes, and he is prevented from acting according to it (Au.).
يُدْخِلُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ فِي رَحْمَتِهِ ۚ وَالظَّالِمِينَ أَعَدَّ لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا (31)
(76:31) He admits whom He will into His mercy. As for the transgressors, He has prepared for them a painful chastisement.27
27. Thus, Allah chooses for His mercy whom he will: him the creations think deserves, as well as him the creations think does not deserve. As for the wrongdoers, if they make a firm decision about choosing a wrong course, and are not interested in their Lord’s mercy, such then, they have the painful chastisement prepared for them (Au.).