S39. SURAH AZ-ZUMAR

NAME: In the ayah No. 71, there is a mention about disbelievers being driven towards the Hell in the form of ‘zumar’ i.e. in groups, and in the ayah No.73. there is also a mention of the Godfearing being taken to the Paradise in groups. This allusion to Zumar gives the Surah its name.

TIME OF REVELATION: The middle Meccan period.

CENTRAL THEME : Obedience and worship to be made pure and sincere for Allah only.

ORDER OF THE VERSES: In Verses Nos. 1 to 8 this basic teaching of Quran is presented with arguments that religion is purely for Allah only. In Ayat Nos. 9 to 20 the difference between the two groups has been made clear: that the one group is the follower of the pure religion and worships Allah alone and the other group is the worshipper of other deities. Ayat Nos. 21 to 35 describe the characteristics of those who accept the guidance of Quran and the reward they will get for that, and the adverse consequences of those who shun it.

Verses Nos. 36 to 52 present the teachings in such a way that Tawheed comes out prominently and it generates an urge to accept faith.

Ayat Nos. 53 to 63 invite the people who have strayed to return to the path of Allah.

Ayat Nos. 64 to 75 are the concluding verses of the Surah, in which it has been clarified that the stance of monotheism is a strong stance. It also presents a scene of the Day of Resurrection and the deniers and the God-fearing are shown being taken separately in groups to their separate destinations and their fate has been mentioned.

RECITATION OF THE SURAH BEFORE SLEEPING: Tirmizi has quoted Ayesha (R) to have narrated: “The Prophet, Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam, did not sleep until he recited the Surah Bani Israil and Surah Zumar.” - (Tirmizi-Abwa-b-i-Fazailul Quran).

39. SURAH AZ - ZUMAR (THE GROUPS).Ayat: 75

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. The revelation of this Book is from Allah,¹ the Mighty, the Wise.²

2.Verily, We have revealed this Book to you with truth,³ so worship Allah, making religion (devotion and humility) pure for Him (only).⁴

3.Lo! pure religion (devotion) is for Allah alone.⁵ And those who choose guardians beside Him (saying): “We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allah,”⁶ verily, Allah will judge between them concerning that in which they differ.⁷ Verily, Allah does not guide him, who is a liar, an ingrate.⁸

4.If Allah had willed to choose a son, He would have chosen whom He please out of His creation. Immaculate⁹ is He! He is Allah, the One, the Irresistible.¹⁰

5.He has created the heavens and the earth with truth.¹¹ He makes night to succeed day and He makes day to succeed night, and He made the sun and the moon obedient, each running for an appointed term.¹² Lo ! He is the Mighty, the Forgiver.¹³

1.The revelation of this Book to the Prophet is from Allah only. No other person has anything to do with it, neither satan nor man. This is being revealed from the heavens and the Prophet is not its author. This is a very big claim of the Quran, which it has repeated off and on, so that people may not take it to be a common religious book like any other religious book. They should do well to fix it in their mind that this has descended down, revealed from the very presence of Allah, and on this account it has very distinctive character. And it is a fact that no other religious book, except Quran, prefers such a claim before the world with full certainty that its author is Allah, Ruler of the Universe.

2. Allah is Mighty (Aziz), so His plan is bound to be enforced, and His command is acted upon. And He is wise, therefore, His Book has also this wise character, which can very well be observed in this Book itself.

3.Revealed with truth means that it has brought the truth with it. Its teaching is absolute truth and there is no trace of falsehood in it, nor a single statement in it has been made aimlessly.

4. ‘Making religion pure for Him’, In this sentence the word religion has been used to connote devotion and humility, which is supported by the various Ayat of Quran in which it is mentioned that whenever polytheists are confronted with storm, etc., they invoke Allah, making religion pure for Him:

“And if a wave envelops them like awnings they invoke Allah, making their faith pure for Him only.” -(Luqman -32).

Here the meaning of the word ‘Deen’ (faith) used here can only be humility and devotion of the heart, and this is the reflection of the psychology of the polytheists when they face storm, etc. Therefore the meaning of the ayah is that you should worship Allah in such a way that your heart’s devotion, humility and attention should be purely for Allah alone. Not the kind of worship in which the attention and devotion of the heart is somewhere else or for somebody else. Allah accepts only that worship which is offered with the sincerity of heart, with humility and full devotion, purely for Him. In other words there should be no mixture of hypocrisy in that worship nor should there be any of its part for any being other than Allah.

It may be noted that in the dictionary the meaning of ‘Deen’ is given as obedience, but by merely depending on the dictionary the all pervading meaning of the terminologies of Quran cannot be explained. It is necessary that in connection with these words the Quranic usage should also be kept in view and the meaning be fixed according to the reference to context.

5. That is: Such worship which is free of all kinds of polytheism, and is specific for Allah alone. And He alone is worthy of it, and in the meaning and sense of ‘Deen’ (worship), as has been made clear in the above note, that state of humility which is created in the heart the sense of one’s being a slave of Allah is included.

6. The polytheists had made angels their guardians and protectors and they thought that if they worshipped them they would solve all their difficulties. They also thought that to gain nearness to Allah it is necessary to make angels their ‘waseela’, agents or means. And for making angels their agents they used to consider all that which was proper for Allah only proper for them also, e.g. they used to appeal to them, to pray for their needs, to invoke them in difficulties, etc., as all these things are included in worship. They used to explain it by saying that they worshipped angels because they wanted nearness of Allah., i.e. the worship of the angels is the means and ‘waseela’ of Allah’s nearness. In this ayah their deceiving explanation has been declared false and wrong. For nearness of Allah it is not necessary to worship any other being than Allah. By the direct and fully sincere worship of the one and only Allah a man can gain His nearness.

The explanation which the polytheists offer for worshipping angels, the same is offered by the grave-worshippers for their devotion to the saints and peers. They say that they offer them gifts and devotion (Nazr-o-niyaz) for the reason that through their ‘waseela’ (means) they reach God. If they had read these ayat of the Quran, they would not have fallen a prey to the deception of Satan.

7. That is: On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will deliver judgment and enforce it.

8. That is: Those who speak lies concerning Allah, and who conduct false religiosity in His name, and who after receiving His favours and gifts are grateful to others, are deprived of His guidance till they do not give up this wrong attitude of theirs.

9. The concept of Allah’s having sons and daughters is absolutely false. Even if it is presumed that He wanted to have a son, then he would have chosen someone from His own creation, but in that case also the son would have remained His subject and slave, all His created beings are His subjects and all are His slaves. He could not be a part of God, for there is no part of God and nothing departs from His person. None is like Him. Allah has not chosen any of His creation as His son, because it is against the Grand Divine character of God, and it reflects weakness. Allah is above all weaknesses and defects. His grandeur is much more above than the necessity of having a son for Himself.

10. If God has children, then His sovereignty and godhood would also have been divided but godhood is indivisible. He is alone, and His control over all is firm and strong, therefore, no creature can be free from His control. Then what does the concept of His having children mean?

11. For explanation please see Surah An’am, Note No.124, and Surah Yunus Note No.15.

12. For explanation, please see Surah Ra’d Note No.8.

13. He is Mighty, therefore, you should be afraid of disobeying Him, and He is Forgiving, therefore, you should pray for forgiveness for sins to Him.

And when some harm touches man, he prays to his Lord turning towards Him; then when He bestows on him His favour, he forgets that for which He had prayed before and sets up equals to Allah in order to lead men away from His path. Say (to such a person): “Enjoy your disbelief for a while, surely you are of the people of the Hell.”(AL-Quran)

6.He created you from a single being, then from that being He created its mate.¹⁴ and He created for you eight kinds of cattle in pairs.¹⁵ He creates you in your mothers’ wombs creation after creation,¹⁶-¹⁷ in threefold darkness. Such is Allah, your Lord. His is the Soverignty. There is no god, but Him.¹⁸ How then are you turned away?¹⁹

7.If you render no thank (to Him), then Allah is independent of you. And He is not pleased with thanklessness for His slaves. And if you are thankful, He is pleased with that for you.²⁰ No burdened soul will bear another’s burden.²¹ Then to your Lord is your return, so He will tell you what you used to do. ²² Verily, He knows what is in the breasts (of men).²³

8.And when some harm touches man, he prays to his Lord turning towards Him;²⁴ then when He bestows on him His favour, he forgets that for which He had prayed before ²⁵ and sets up equals to Allah²⁶ in order to lead men away from His path.²⁷ Say (to such a person): “Enjoy your disbelief for a while, surely you are of the people of the Hell.”²⁸

9. Is he who worships devoutly during the hours of the night, prostrating himself and standing,²⁹ dreading the Hereafter, and hoping for the mercy of his Lord ³⁰ (like a person who does not ³¹)? Say:³² “Are those who know equal to those who do not know?³³ Only men of understanding receive admonition.”

14. In this ayat the word ‘thumma’ (then) signifies that you should then see the miracle of His might that from that one life He created its mate. For explanation please see Surah Nisa Note No.3 and Surah A’raf Note No.202.

15. Cattle means domestic animals like camel, cow, goat and sheep. Their pairs, male and female, totals to 8 kinds. For further explanation, please see Surah Nisa Note No.261.

For the creation of these animals, the word used here is ‘Anzalna’ (We sent down), which hints at the point that their creation was a blessing for mankind which was sent down from the heaven.

16. Three darknesses means three veils: abdomen, womb and the membrane with which the foetus is covered. It is a proof of the fact that man’s Creator knows open and hidden, shining and dark things, i.e. everything, and the work of His creation takes place in the darkness, too.

17. That is: In these three veils the foetus is caused to pass through various stages of creation, and its form goes on changing. Just now it was a lump of flesh, and at this moment it has taken the form of a man.

18. All this happening which has been mentioned just now is the handiwork of Allah. In this work none other has to do anything, and it is the proof of the fact that He is your Lord and He is also the Ruler of the whole universe. After this, where does the question of anybody else’s being god or deity arise ?

19. That is: Allah’s being One and Only God is a glaring fact, which you observe daily, then what is it that turns you away from this reality ? This hint points at Satan who deceives man and deviates him from the path of monotheism to the quagmire of polytheism.

20. Unthankfulness, in reality, is disbelief. A person who takes benefit of Allah’s favours and there does not generate in his heart a feeling of gratitude for that or he considers these favours or blessings as the gifts of some other being and offers presents and gifts to that being as nazro niyaz, then he is guilty of great ingratitude, which is out and out disbelief. By adopting the attitude of ingratitude, a man does not affect Allah in anyway, but he engenders the means of his own deprivation. Allah Himself is in no need of thanks or gratitude from His slaves, nor is Allah in any way benefited by their thanks, nor any harm comes to Him from their unthankfulness. This reality has been expressed in a ‘hadith-e-Qudsi’ in this way:

“Allah says: ‘O My slaves ! If all your past and future men and jinns become equal to the most God-fearing man, then there would be no addition to My kingdom. And O My slaves! If all your past and future men and jinns become equal to the most evil man, then there would be nothing wanting in My kingdom.” -(Muslim -Kitabul Bir).”

However, a person who adopts the attitude of thankfulness, he adopts the realistic attitude, and Allah likes such an attitude in His slaves. Therefore, there is Allah’s pleasure for those who are grateful.

21. That is: Everybody has to carry the burden of his own sins. No person will take the burden of other person’s sins on his own head. Therefore, every one should realize his own responsibility, and should not commit sin on being prompted by others.

22. On the Day of Resurrection, the entire record of every man’s good and bad acts, will be placed before his eyes.

23. Allah knows the condition of everybody’s heart, i.e. He knows what ideas are in their mind, and whether they have the feelings of gratitude or ingratitude for Allah, and feelings of faith or disbelief, love or hate for virtue.

24. That is: In difficulties and suffering, he invokes his Lord with heart-felt sincerity and prays to Him for relief.

25. When Allah relieves him of his difficulties and suffering, he forgets that he ever was in difficulties and to get relief he had prayed to his Lord. This is the example of his ingratitude.

26. Setting up equals to Allah means dealing with other beings as he would deal with Allah, for example, gifts and nazro niyaz, sacrifice and other rites of worship.

27. That is: He has himself strayed and is now misleading others to go astray.

28. The ultimate destination of such a person will be Hell.

According to this ayah, such a person who is indulging in open polytheism, idolatry and disbelief, and he is not prepared to adopt monotheism as his faith, he should be warned that he is bound to go to Hell, So that the divine message may be convincingly conveyed to him.

29. ‘Qanitun’ here means to be active in worshipping, and to be busy in the hours of night in worship and prayer is the high quality of faith. From this it has also become clear that for a man who offers much salat in the night it is good for his virtuous high-ranking. There is no limit to the number of ‘raka’t’. In Surah Furqan also this quality has been made prominent:

“And who spend their night (in worship of their Lord) prostrating themselves and standing.” -(Al-Furqan-64).

30. That is: In the Hereafter he fears to account for his acts before his Lord, and also hopes to receive His mercy. Therefore he neither lives in wishful thinking and empty hopes, nor is he a prey to disappointment, but he keeps himself in balance.

31. This sentence, according to the Arabic figure of speech, and style of writing is understood, and not expressed, therefore, it has been given here in brackets. The question is: out of the two slaves, one is afraid of Him and also hopes to receive His mercy, and leaving aside his comfort busies himself in offering salat in the night, and the other slave is negligent of Allah, he does not care for offering prayers to Him, and he is also unthankful to Him; then can the two be equal or alike to one another in the matter of their character and their ultimate fate? If not, then how can you, being unthankful to Him, be under the wrong Impression that through some agency or ‘waseela’ you can attain His nearness?

32. That is: Ask these deniers.

33. Here knowledge means recognition of Allah, consciousness about the purpose of life, awareness of divine commands, and comprehension about the reward and punishment of the Hereafter. A person who has this knowledge, and another who does not have this knowledge, how can the two be equal or alike in their attributes and their ends? This realistic and basic knowledge which determines the direction of a man’s life-attaining this is inevitable for everyone. Whoever, being careless of this knowledge whatever material knowledge they attain, live in the darknesses of ignorance, and are unaware of their adverse ends.

34. That is: For understanding these things it is necessary to use one’s common sense and intelligence. By keeping the intellect locked up in a box these realities cannot be understood.

Say: “O My slaves who believe! fear your Lord. Those who do good acts in this world will receive a good reward. And Allah’s earth is vast. Those who patiently persevere will be requited without measure.” (AL-Quran)

10.Say: “O My slaves who believe! fear your Lord. Those who do good acts in this world will receive a good reward. And Allah’s earth is vast.³⁵ Those who patiently persevere will be requited without measure.”³⁶

11.Say: “Verily, I am commanded to worship Allah, making religion (obedience and devotion) pure for Him only.”

12.“And I am commanded to be the first of the Muslims³⁷(who surrender to Him).”

13.Say: “If I disobey my Lord, I fear the punishment of the Great ³⁸ Day.”

14.Say: “It is Allah I worship, making my religion (devotion and humility) pure for Him only.³⁹”

15.“Then worship ⁴⁰ what you will beside Him.” Say: “The losers are those who lose themselves and their family people on the Day of Resurrection. Lo! That will be the manifest loss.⁴¹

16.“For them there will be layers of fire above them and beneath them also⁴² will be layers (of fire). With this does Allah frighten His slaves ⁴³.” O My slaves! So fear me. ⁴⁴

17. And those who keep away from worshipping false gods ⁴⁵ and turned to Allah, for them is glad tidings. So give glad tidings ⁴⁶ to My slaves,

35. It is a hint at the fact that if disbelievers are obstructing Muslims from worshipping their only God and to live a life fearing Him, then in order to protect their religion and faith they can migrate to other countries. His land is not limited to anyone country. It is very vast. And for religion country can be left, but for country religion cannot be left.

It may be noted that in those days the way for migration was open, but in the present day if the migration from one country to the other presents difficulties, then the times have also changed considerably. In the olden days there was no freedom of belief and religion. In the event of giving up the religion of the tribe or the community one had to face violence, but in the present times everyone has the freedom of faith and religion legally, and on account of change of religion one has not to face violence essentially. Therefore, the necessity of migration does not arise or rarely arises, especially in secular states where freedom to propagate religion is also available.

36. By patient people is meant those who remain steadfast on the religion and those who bear the burden of the difficulties and sufferings of treading on the path of right guidance with equanimity. By reward without measure means reward without any limits, a reward whose magnitude cannot be estimated.

This is the significance of patience and Quran stresses its followers to develop such attributes, and narrates great significance of these attributes. But weak and invented hadith have narrated such big rewards for very small virtues that people busied themselves in performing those easy-going virtue, and become negligent of these attributes. It resulted in great imbalance in the matter of their belief and religion. It disturbed the balance established by Quran. This is the price the Muslim Ummah is paying for attaching itself to the weak and invented hadith instead of to the Quran.

37. That is: I have been commanded that anybody may or may not submit himself to Allah but I have to submit to Him first. Muslim means he who has accepted the religion of Allah, Islam and surrendered or submitted himself completely to Him.

38. Means the Day of Resurrection.

39. In the ayah No.8 the Prophet, Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam, was given the command of performing pure and sincere worship of Allah. In this ayah the mention of its having been observed is made.

40. That is: If you do not want to worship Allah sincerely, then worship whomsoever you like, and be prepared for the adverse consequences.

41. The worldly benefits are temporary, and those who ignore the Hereafter and spend their lives obtaining those benefits are trading for a great losing deal, that is, they are trading for the temporary benefits of this world with the deprivation of the everlasting advantages. But such people are under a deception that they are leading a very successful life, and that they have not to face any loss after death. They lead their family folk also to live in the same way, and generally they also follow the same path. Therefore, on the Day of Resurrection their family people will also be ruined along with them.

42. Layers of fire will be from above and also from beneath. Thus they will be totally surrounded by fire.

43. That is: Frightens them from this fate.

44. If you do not want to be confronted with this fate, then avoid adopting the attitude of disobeying Allah.

45. The word ‘Taghoot’ used here has been explained by Imam Raghib, who is the imam of Quranic language, in this way:

“Taghoot means every person that goes out of his limits, and every other deity beside Allah ……… magician, soothsayer, rebel jinn, and one who misleads from the path of righteousness is said to be Taghoot.” -(Mufarridat-e-Raghib, page 307) For further explanation, please see Surah Nahl, Note No.55.

46. Good news is given to those who would turn to Allah, that they have saved themselves from worshipping others beside Allah.

18. Those who listen to My word attentively, and follow its best meaning. These are they whom Allah has guided, and these are they who are endued with understanding.⁴⁷

19. (Can anyone save) him, against whom the decree of punishment has been passed? Can you save him who has been destined to go to Hell?⁴⁸

20.But those who fear their Lord, for them are lofty mansions, with lofty mansions above them built (for them), beneath which rivers flow. It is Allah’s promise. Allah never fails His promise.

21.Do you not see that Allah sends down water from the sky and causes it to penetrate and gather in springs beneath? He brings forth plants of many colours. Then they wither, and you see them turn yellow; then He makes them chaff. Verily, herein is a reminder ⁴⁹ for men of understanding.

22.Is he whose bosom Allah has opened for Islam so that he receives light from his Lord (like him who wanders in darkness) ⁵⁰ ? Then woe to them whose hearts are hardened ⁵¹ against remembrance of Allah! They are in manifest misguidance.

23.Allah has sent down the best Word ⁵²: a Book uniform ⁵³ (and its ayat) deserving repetition ⁵⁴; the skin of those who fears their Lord trembles (for fear)⁵⁵ of it; then their skins and hearts soften to Allah’s remebrance.⁵⁶ It is Allah’s guidance ⁵⁷, He bestows it on whom He will. And whom Allah leaves in error will have none to guide him.

47. Wisdom lies in listening attentively to the word of Allah, and taking its best meaning and sense and following it. The path of guidance opens up for such people. And such people have been given the good news of success. As against this, those who do not listen to the word of God with attention, and leaving aside its best meaning and sense, give it some other meaning, they get involved in discussions, and prove themselves to be unwise. This results in their deprivation from right guidance.

This ayah provides us a guideline that if a word has more than one different meaning, then we must think that wherever that word has occurred in Quran which best meaning and sense it is expressing, for Allah’s word can only be excellent in its meaning and sense.

48. That is: Kafir or disbeliever for whom the decision for punishment has been given, who can save him from punishment? Safety lies in people taking help of their intelligence and commonsense, and follow the word which Allah’s Messenger is presenting before them.

49. Reminder of the fact that this world is not everlasting. It will not remain in blossom always, but one day it will succumb to autumn. Therefore, wisdom lies in not making the glamour of the world a centre of one’s attention, and not falling prey to its attractions, but in making the Hereafter his goal and living a responsible life in the world, realizing that the real and everlasting blessings are of the next world only.

50. Opening the bosom means convincing the addressee. It signifies that whosoever is convinced about the truth of the Islamic faith, and by the guidance of Allah there is no doubt and misgiving in his heart about it, he gets the light of guidance and he traverses his life’s journey by that light. Can such a person be like a person whose heart has become hard on account of prejudice and bigotry against Islam, and who is wandering in darknesses having been deprived of this light of guidance, who does not even recognise his Lord, nor does he know what is the purpose of his life nor is he conscious of his responsibilities, and what would be the effects and results of his acts. If these two different types of persons cannot be said to be equal and alike on account of their different characteristics and opposing attitudes, then how can their fate and ends be the same or alike?

51. Persistence with disbelief and sinning hardens hearts, and then they have no interest in the remembrance of Allah, nor does any sane counsel influences them in any way. They have lost the natural capability of accepting the truth. As water has no effect on the stony ground, similarly the remembrance of Allah has no effect on their stony hearts.

52. Quran is the best composition, for it has the internal and external beauty, it has the beauty of words and of meaning, in it the best thing has been stated in the best style. Its style is so effective that it creates tenderness in heart. Its recitation strengthens determination and belief in the heart, and its simplicity and fluency makes it easy for committing it to memory. The greatest merit of the Quran is that a believer does not get tired by reading it again and again. In the hadith it is stated that the Prophet, Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam stated that:

“The best word is the Book of Allah.”— (Riyazus Saliheen with reference to Muslim).

Therefore, more and more arrangements for the study of this Book should be made, and it should be very well understood that no other book of this world can be its equal.

53. That is: This Word Allah has revealed in the form of such a book that all its parts are identical and well coordinated. Its topics are perfectly harmonious among themselves. The topics of this Book are multi-cornered. Inspite of all this there is no contradiction in its topics and statements, not is its one part un-related to its other part. From anywhere it may be read, the spirit of the saying will be one, and its beauty will be manifest everywhere.

54. An important characteristic of this Book is that its ayah are worth repeating. They may be recited any number of times, the reader does not get satisfied, he wants to recite them more and more, and his keenness to recite these verses increases further. These verses are recited in the salat repeatedly, and every time very pleasant effects are created in the heart and mind.

55. When those who fear Allah recite or hear the Word of Allah, then by the concept of the grandeur and greatness of Allah they are seized by such a state that they feel a sort of trembling in their bodies. This is the great effect of the divine word which creates a fear of God in the heart, and it is this fear of God that makes a man righteous and pious. Fear or awe is created by mere recitation of Quran, but the state of trembling is created when the Quran is read with understanding its meaning and sense. People are frightened by the mention of Allah’s punishment in the Quran and the condition of people receiving punishment for their transgression in it is such that it really creates a state of trembling. But how can this state be experienced by a person who does not read these ayah with understanding them? Contemplate: what great deprivation is caused by the disregard for understanding the meaning of Quran!

This point is clear from the ayah that the high quality of fear of God is a feeling of trembling (goose-flesh), and this is the desired state. As for the state of ‘Wajd’(semi-conscious dance),it is out and out artificial and invention of the sufis. Quran is without its mention, as also the life of the Prophet. The companions of the Prophet, who were so much attached to the Quran, were also unaware of the state of ‘Wajd’. About the recitation and hearing of Quran by the companions of the Prophet, Allama Ibn Katheer says:

“They did not use to shout, nor did they in imitation used any artificial manner of manifesting some state, nay but they were so distinguished in consistency, peacefulness, good manners and fear of God that no other group of people could reach their high place.” -(Tafseer Ibn Katheer, Vol. 4, P. 51).

56. In the Quran where there is a mention of Allah’s being Great and Majestic, there His attributes of being Pardoner and Most Merciful have also been mentioned. Therefore, the state of trembling converts into a state of peace. When the reader comes across the beautiful or kind attributes of Allah, his heart becomes tender and he becomes hopeful towards Allah, and a state of peace takes possession of his body. With this peace and satisfaction, he turns to the remembrance of Allah and does so often. In other words a turning to remembrance of Allah is created by a relationship with Quran, and it continues to grow.

57. This effect of the Divine Word has been termed as guidance. Whoever is influenced by this effect, for him the path of right guidance has been opened up.

And We have given in this Quran all kinds of examples so that they may be reminded; (AL-Quran)

24. Is he who will guard himself with his own face against the awful punishment of the Day of Judgment ⁵⁸ (can be compared with the blessed believer)? And the wrongdoers will be told: “Taste the punishment ⁵⁹ which you have been earning.”

25.Those who have gone before them also denied (their messengers), so the punishment overtook them they knew not from where.

26.So Allah made them taste disgrace ⁶⁰ in the life of the world, but the punishment of the Hereafter will be much greater, if they but knew.

27. And We have given in this Quran all kinds of examples ⁶¹ so that they may be reminded;

28. Arabic Quran,⁶² containing no crookedness ⁶³, so that they may fear Allah.

29. Allah presents an example: there is a man (slave) who has many masters, quarrelling among themselves, and another man, who has only one master. Can these two be considered alike?⁶⁴ Praise be to Allah! But most of them know not.⁶⁵

30. Verily (O Prophet!) You will die, and verily, they will die.⁶⁶

31.Then verily on the Day of Resurrection, before your Lord you will dispute.⁶⁷

58. The disbeliever, to save himself from the onslaught of punishment on the Day of Resurrection, finding his hands tied in chains will try to make his face as his shield, but he will not be able to save himself from the punishment. In this ayah the helplessness of the disbeliever has been mentioned.

59. Every act of a man has its effect and its result. That is why acts have been termed as earning. On the Day of Judgment everyone will feel that whatever good or bad act he had done, it had been his earning, which he is receiving today.

60. Allah punishes disbelievers and evildoers in the world also. In this connection some people have some doubts as to how they can be punished before the Day of Judgment, which is fixed for reckoning and award of reward or punishment according to good or bad acts? The fact is that the question of giving punishment does not merely depend on reckoning of the good or bad acts. Such an arrangement is for the reason that before giving him the final punishment, Allah wants to convey to him convincingly His law of reward and punishment in the Hereafter, so that it should be made sufficiently clear to him that no injustice has been done to him, and whatever punishment he is getting is the fruit of whatever he has earned. But it does not mean that before the court of the Day of Judgment is held he would not get or the criminal will not get punishment. As Allah fully knows that they are disbelievers and guilty, He has been making them taste His punishment in the world itself, which is merely an instalment of their punishment. Similarly their souls are kept under punishment in the world of Barzakh, whose other name is grave. But without insight some people deny the punishment of the grave. They say: how can there be punishment before actual reckoning? For the refutation of their doubt this fact is sufficient that Allah subjects evildoers to punishment in this world also, and this instalment of punishment is received by them before any reckoning and accounting.

61. Giving examples does not merely mean quoting of similar things, but also means narration of those events in which there is lesson for the discerning eyes, e.g. describing the condition of those communities who were given punishment because of their transgression and disbelief.

62. For explanation please see Surah Yusuf. Note No.3.

63. For explanation please see Surah Kahf, Note No.1.

64. This example is of a monotheist and a polytheist. If a slave has many masters and there is a dispute among them, then what will be the condition of that slave? Out of so many whom will he serve and whom will he try to please? As against this if there is a slave who has only one master, then he will have to serve only that master and will have to please him alone. When the condition of these two cannot be alike, then for the person who holds the faith of several gods it would be necessary to worship everyone of them and to please everyone of them, which is a very worrying task, for it is not possible to please every god, especially ,when the imagined power is of various nature, i.e. if one is the goddess of war then another is the goddess of Peace, if one is a destroying god then the other is a creating one, if a goddess brings in sickness the other goddess brings in comfort, if one is a god of fire, then the other is the god of rain. Whom should a man worship and should try to please? In the polytheistic religion of India there are innumerable deities. The people of this religion may worship as many deities, but quite a few will still remain un-worshipped by them. They cannot worship all of them nor can they please all of them. Then how can they have internal peace and satisfaction? As against this for a believer in one God, he has to worship only one God and he has to become the seeker of His pleasure only. Therefore, he is spared the trouble of mental worries, and he gets help in concentration, internal peace and satisfaction.

65. That is: Worthy of praise is Allah alone, who is of blissful attributes, but many people do not know this clear fact, and have belief in other gods and sing their praises.

66. It means that after this clear-cut argument if people are not prepared to accept the message of monotheism presented by the Prophet, then let them go. Everyone has to die, then where will Dawatul Quran 271 S. 39 they go after death? They will have to return to Allah only.

In the ayah, the Prophet is addressed and told that he is to die one day, which shows that even the personality of the prophet is not exempted from death. The Prophet was to die one day and subsequently he died, and death is the name of the separation of the spirit from the body. Therefore, the spirit did not remain in his body. However, in the world of Barzakh his spirit is alive and a very exalted type of life is available for his spirit. When about the martyrs the Quran says that they are alive and living, but others do not have the perception of their life, then a prophet whose rank is much higher then the martyrs, is undoubtedly living in the world of Barzakh. But this life cannot be considered on the line of the life in this world, nor can it be concluded that the Prophet is present everywhere and is seeing everything.

67. That is: On the Day of Resurrection, everyone will present his case before Allah. Monotheists will place their case against the polytheists and disbelievers and the polytheists and disbelievers will try to defend their cases unsuccessfully.

If you ask them who created the heavens and the earth, they will say: “Allah”. Say: “Do you think then that if Allah be pleased to afflict me, would those you call beside Allah relieve me of my affliction, or that if He be pleased to show me mercy, would they withhold His mercy?” Say: “Allah is All-Sufficient for me. In Him trusting people put their trust.”(AL-Quran)

32.Who is a greater wrongdoers than the person who tells a lie about Allah⁶⁸ and denies the truth ⁶⁹ when it comes to him? Is not the home of such disbelievers in Hell?

33.And he who brought the truth ⁷⁰, and he who believed in it ⁷¹ such are the Godfearing. ⁷²

34.They will have what they desire of their Lord’s bounty. That is the reward of the righteous,⁷³

35.So that Allah may remit from them the worst of what they did, and pay them reward for the best they used to do⁷⁴.

36.Is Allah not All-Sufficient for His slave? (Yet) they frighten you with those (gods) besides Him ⁷⁵. He whom Allah leaves in error, has none to guide him.

37.But he whom Allah guides, none can lead astray⁷⁶. Is not Allah Mighty, Capable of Retribution?⁷⁷

38.If you ask them who created the heavens and the earth, they will say: “Allah”. Say: “Do you think then that if Allah be pleased to afflict me, would those you call beside Allah relieve me of my affliction, or that if He be pleased to show me mercy, would they withhold His mercy?”⁷⁸ Say: “Allah is All- Sufficient for me. In Him trusting people put their trust.”

39.Say: “O My people! Act in your position, I am acting in mine. You will soon know

68. To say something concerning Allah which may not be true is accusing Allah of telling a lie, whether it may be about His Being or attributes or about His religion, for example saying that Allah has a son or daughters, or that all religions are equally liked by Him, or that He has granted all the powers to the saints who are also omnipresent and omniscient, and also hearers of people’s invocation for help. In short, whatever falsehood may be invented concerning Allah it is an audacious act, and such a person is extremely wrong doing and most untruthful.

69. Truth here means Quran.

70. That is: Allah’s messenger who brought Quran.

71. Means followers of the Messenger who believed the Quran and the Messenger to be true and accepted his message.

72. Faith, fear of God and good acts are such qualities as, when developed in a person, would help him gain his heart’s desire from God, and whatever he would wish he would get. Such persons will not have any difficulty in obtaining anything. Therefore, their lives will be full of peace, satisfaction, comfort and happiness.

73. The reward for the righteous people has been mentioned. If such a person had committed any evil act, Allah will remit it, and appreciating his good acts will grant him the best of rewards. This point is a great hope of comfort for a person who is leading a virtuous life and evil acts are committed by him accidentally.

74. It should be noted that this promise is not for those Muslims who lead a life of sinning and evils.

The words of this ayah do not in anyway apply to those who are wicked and evil doers.

75. That is: They frighten you with the false deities made by them that they would cause you to suffer and that you would be in trouble. These are nothing but imaginary things, as there is nothing in anyone else’s power. Nobody can harm any person, it is neither in the power of the idols nor in the power of gods and goddesses.

76. Man gets right guidance or misguidance according to the rule fixed by Allah for guidance and misguidance. It is not possible for anyone to rightly guide a misguided person, nor is it possible for anyone to misguide any rightly guided person. Satan may call a person to misguidance but he cannot force him to go astray.

77. Allah is Mighty, therefore, His commands are enforced without fail. He is also the giver of punishment, therefore, wherever truth and justice demand His law of punishment comes into action. It is a warning to the disbelievers and the polytheists that they should not think that Allah will not punish them for their disbelief, polytheism and transgression.

78. When you admit that the Creator of the heavens and the earth is Allah, and not any idol or some other deity, then the Being who can harm or benefit is also Allah. How can those whom you have made deities prevent His commands from being put into operation? When the Being who really benefits or harms is Allah, then how foolish it is to consider some other beings to be the ones to harm or benefit!

40. “Who will receive a punishment that will disgrace and who will be overtaken by an everlasting punishment.”

41.Verily We have revealed to you the Book with truth for mankind.⁷⁹ So whoever will follow the right path will do so to his own advantage, and whoever goes astray will do so at his own peril.⁸⁰ You (O Prophet !) are not a warder over them.⁸¹

42.Allah takes men’s souls at the time of their death and also of those who do not die (yet) in their sleep.⁸² He retains⁸³ that soul for which He has ordained death, and releases the others for an appointed term.⁸⁴ Verily there are signs in this for thinking men.⁸⁵

43.Have they taken others as intercessors besides Allah? Say: “What ! Even though they have no power nor intelligence (will they intercede)?”⁸⁶

44.Say: “Intercession is wholly in the power of Allah.⁸⁷ His the Sovereignty in the heavens and the earth. To Him you shall all be recalled.”

45. When Allah alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Heareafter shrink with aversion, and when others besides Him are mentioned they are filled with joy.⁸⁸

46.Say: ⁸⁹ “O Allah! Creator of the heavens and the earth! Knower of the invisible and the visible! You will judge between Your slaves concerning that in which they used to differ.”⁹⁰

79. That is: The revelation of this Book from Allah is true as also whatever is presented in it is true, word by word. And it has been revealed for the common good of mankind, that all people may receive right guidance from it.

80. The path towards which Quran is inviting is that which if not followed will lead anybody astray, and the consequence of it will have to be borne by him.

81. That is: You are not responsible for their acts.

82. The reality of death is the complete separation of the soul from the body. A state similar to this is found in the sleep, when the faculties of recognition and understanding are suspended. Therefore the state of slumber has been termed as the state of death.

“It is He who takes your souls by night.” -(Surah An’am - 60).

In other words the disappearance of awareness is the disappearance of the soul of man. How does it disappear and where does it go, we are unaware about all this. However Quran informs us that Allah takes it in His possession, and this state of unawareness is like the state of death.

83. That is: Those whose death occurs in sleep, they are not brought to consciousness after their sleep, and it is a fact that quite a number of people die in sleep.

84. That is: Those about whose death the decision has not been taken are brought back to consciousness and they wake up. This return of consciousness is the return of the spirit, which is the manifestation of the miraculous might of Allah.

85. Signs of the perfection of Allah’s might, of His power and supremacy over mankind, of His knowledge and mercy, and also of the fact that life and death are in His hands. And waking up after sleep is also a clear example of coming to life after death. But only those people benefit from these signs who can think and understand, who are contemplative. As for the unthinking people, they will keep on sleeping and they will come to their senses when they will have departed from this world.

86. Means idols, whose worship is explained by their worshippers as if they would intercede on their behalf before God, and would save them from suffering, etc., if they are pleased with their worship. They would also get for them salvation by their intercession. In other words their worship has the position of ‘waseela’ or means. To clarify to them their foolishness they are being asked: how can they intercede when they have no power to intercede nor do they have intelligence, thus being unable to hear anybody’s invocation and interceding for him? How can these idols of clay and stone intercede for anybody!

87. Nobody has the power to save any person, from the punishment imposed by Allah. There is none who can open his mouth for saving anybody from His punishment in His presence without His permission. Where is the question of their being able to make God accept their intercession!

It is the wrong concept of intercession which causes a person to commit polytheism, and he becomes carefree concerning his salvation in the Hereafter. Quran has repeatedly explained that it is not proper to rely on intercession. Salvation depends on one’s acts, Intercession will not be allowed without Allah’s permission, and only those whom He will allow and when He will allow, will be able to intercede for those about whose being interceded He will like. For the polytheists there is no question of being interceded or receiving salvation, for polytheism is a sin unforgivable.

88. This is the mentality of those who believe in more than one god. They have no interest in Allah’s remembrances. When the mention of oneness of God is made, they feel uncomfortable. But when the names of their invented partners of God is mentioned they are immensely pleased. Among Muslims also those, who have given the status of god to the saints and prophets, like to hear the slogans like “Ya Rasoolal-lah!” “Ya Ghauth!” But they do not like to hear that besides Allah there is none who is omnipotent and omnipresent and omniscient.

89. The addressee is the Prophet (S.A.W.) and through him the address is to the people of faith.

90. This is an expression of trust in Allah in the form of a prayer.

47.If the wrongdoers had all (the wealth) that is in the earth, and as much besides, they would willingly offer it ⁹¹ on the Day of Resurrection to redeem themselves from the torment of the punishment; and there will appear to them from their Lord, that with which they had never reckoned.

48.The evil of their acts will become manifest to them, and what they scoffed at will encompass them.⁹²

49.When harm befalls man he invokes Us, and afterwards when We granted him a favour from Us, he says: “I obtained it only by dint of my knowledge.”⁹³ Nay, but it is a test, yet most men do not know.⁹⁴

50.Those before them said the same, but what they earned did not profit them.⁹⁵

51.And the adverse consequences of their earning overtook them. And the wrongdoers from these will be overtaken by the adverse consequences of their earning; they are not going to escape.

52.Do they not know that Allah gives providence abundantly to whom He will, and sparingly to whom He will please? Verily therefore sings in this for those who believe.⁹⁶

53. ( O Prophet !) Say: (Allah says:)” O My slaves ⁹⁷! who have committed excesses against your own selves,⁹⁸ do not despair of Allah’s mercy, Allah will forgive all sins⁹⁹. Verily, He is the Forgiving One, Merciful.

91. For explanation, please see Surah Maidah, Note No. 124.

92. That is; Punishment.

93. That is: with his own ability and cleverness, etc., though he should have said that it was through Allah’s favour and mercy that he got whatever he got. But in the false pride of his ability he forgets his Obligor. If on the basis of man’s ability, a man were to get the good things of life, then many qualified people might have been deprived and several persons like of those who have neither knowledge nor ability would not have got the wealth they have today.

94. Many people are unaware of the fact that good things of life are received by the grace of Allah only, and they are granted to test a person, to see if after getting them man acknowledges the favour of Allah and offers his thanks to Him or not.

95. Past nations also considered their progress to be the result of their abilities and scientific knowledge and were proud of that, but Allah’s punishment overtook them on account of their misdeeds, these abilities and knowledge did not help them a bit.

96. For explanation please see Surah Room Note No.66.

97. ‘O My slaves’ refers to the slaves of Allah and not to the slaves of the messenger and it is also clear from the context, and also from other places in the Quran where Allah has addressed His slaves as My slaves. And it is so because it is the fundamental tenet of Islam that all men are the slaves of Allah and not of anybody else’s. And what is the idea of taking the mankind to be the slaves of the messenger? But in the commentaries of the innovators (Bidati) such absurd things have been mentioned, and with great audacity that all Muslims are the slaves (Ibad) of the Prophet, when in none of the reliable Tafseer (commentaries) of Arabic this meaning has been taken.

In fact the style of Quran is of brevity, Therefore, it omits those words which clinch the subject (argument). But those who want to prove their innovations by Quran, they get entangled in the wordings. They are concerned with the shell and not with the pearl.

The meaning of Allah’s saying is quite clear, and it is this that Allah addresses the Prophet and says that His sinful slaves should be intimated that those slaves of Allah who have committed excesses against their selves i.e. sinned, they should not get despaired from the mercy of Allah.

98. That is: have sinned.

99. This is a very hopeful message for the sinners. However major the sins may be, there is no reason to be hopeless of Allah’s mercy. The gate of repentance is open and the opportunity for reform is there. If after repenting you correct your way of living, then Allah will forgive you all your sins which you might have committed. Therefore change your way of living and be worthy of Allah’s mercy and forgiveness. This sense of the ayah is in accordance with the meaning of the ayat coming hereafter, in which direction is given to turn to Allah, to be obedient to Him and to follow the Quran, and on not doing so warning of punishment is given.

Therefore from the context this ayah cannot mean that man may commit as many sins as he can, Allah will forgive them all. The purpose of the ayah is not to give license to the sinners to sin more, but it is to persuade them to turn to repentance and reform, particularly polytheists and disbelievers, whose lives are full of sins. Allama Ibn Katheer has explained it nicely:

“This holy ayah invites disbelievers and all other sinners towards righteousness and repentance, and informs that Allah will forgive all sins of those who will repent for their sins and will turn away from them, however major they may be, even more than the foam of the sea. But it would not be correct to consider this ayah applicable to those who do not repent, because polytheism will not be forgiven without repentance.” -(Tafseer Ibn Katheer-V.4.P.58)

54.“Turn to your Lord and surrender yourselves to Him, before His punishment comes to you, thereafter you will not be helped. ¹⁰⁰

55.“Follow the best of what is revealed to you from your Lord,¹⁰¹ before His punishment overtakes you suddenly and you will be unaware

56.“Lest any soul should say: ‘Alas for my negligence concerning Allah! and I was among the scoffers!’ ¹⁰²

57.“Or should say: ‘If Allah had guided me, I would have been one of the righteous.’¹⁰³

58.“Or when it sees the punishment, should say: ‘Were there for me a return I would be of the righteous could I but live again, I would lead a righteous life.’¹⁰⁴

59.“(But Allah will say:)”My revelations had certainly come to you, but you denied them. You were arrogant and one of the disbelievers.”¹⁰⁵

60.And on the Day of Resurrection you will see those who uttered falsehood about Allah with their faces blackened¹⁰⁶. Is not the home of the arrogant in Hell? ¹⁰⁷

61.And Allah will deliver them¹⁰⁸ who feared Him because of their success (in the test); no harm will touch them, nor will they ever grieve.

100. From the topic of the ayah it appears that their foremost addressees were polytheists and disbelievers. They have been invited to embrace Islam after repenting (i.e. to be obedient to Allah).

101. Means Quran.

102. If you did not follow Quran, then you will have to be sorry on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever might have neglected his duty towards Allah, he will rue it and at that time he will realise that what an error it was to treat Islam and Quran as a joke.

103. Allah has arranged through Quran guidance of all mankind, so that nobody should say on the Day of Resurrection that if Allah had guided me, I would have become righteous.

104. After seeing the punishment, there will be no opportunity for test, and the desire for returning to the world will no be fulfilled. Therefore, everybody should realise his responsibility concerning Allah and should not hesitate in accepting the truth and following it.

105. On the Day of Resurrection the regretful people will be asked why they did not accept the guidance and why they did not turn righteous, when Allah’s signs (revelations) had reached them; what prevented them from accepting it? They denied them and were arrogant and persisted with denial till the last minute. Therefore, they were responsible for their own acts and they will have to undergo the punishment.

106. Falsehood and that too concerning Allah, it takes away the glowing colour of the face, and on the Day of Resurrection the blackness of this sin will cause the face to become utterly black.

107. Those who instead of obeying the command of Allah insist on following their own desires, they are full of vanity and arrogance, and the home of such people is properly in the Hell, for justice and fairplay demand that the punishment for rebelling against Allah should be Hell only.

108.That is: On the day of Resurrection, He will save them from punishment.

62.Allah is the Creator of all things, and of all things He is the Guardian.¹⁰⁹

63.His are the keys of the heavens and the earth.¹¹⁰ And those that deny His revelation¹¹¹—they will be the losers.

64.Say: “Do you bid me worship other than Allah. O ignorant men?” ¹¹²

65.And verily it has been revealed to you and those who passed before you that if you ascribe a partner to Allah your deeds will come to nothing and you will be among the losers.¹¹³

66.Nay, but worship Allah and be among the thankful.¹¹⁴

67.And they do not esteem Allah as He had the right to be esteemed ¹¹⁵. On the Day of Resurrection the entire earth will be in His grasp and the heavens will fold up in His right hand.¹¹⁶ Immaculate is He and High Exalted above all that they ascribe to Him as partner.¹¹⁷

68.And the Trumpet will be blown, and all who are in the heavens and the earth will fall down fainting, except those whom Allah wills.¹¹⁸ Then it will be blown a second time, and suddenly they will be standing gazing.¹¹⁹

69.The earth will shine with the light of its Lord ¹²⁰, and the book (of records) will be laid open.¹²¹ The prophets and the witnesses will be brought in,¹²² and all will be judged with truth¹²³ (in fairness), and they will not be wronged.

109. That is: Allah has not left the world uncared for after creating it, but that He is guarding over each and every thing, He is keeping an eye on everyone.

110. He is the owner of the treasures of heavens and the earth, and only He has the right and power to use them as He likes. Besides Him there is none who can have any authority over these treasures, neither idols, nor deities nor saints.

111. By ‘ayat’ (revelations) is meant signs of monotheism, and also Allah’s commands and Quran’s verses.

112. This is a stiff answer to those ignorant people who even after getting clear arguments about monotheism insisted that the Prophet should worship their idols. On such fools soft words have no effect. Therefore, the wise policy of communication demanded that they should be strictly warned and the benefit of addressing them as ignorant would perhaps result in their getting a jolt and waking up.

113. The addressee is the Prophet, S.A.W., that Allah had revealed to him and also to the earlier prophets the same message that if they committed polytheism their deeds will go waste and they will be destroyed. Every prophet was emphatically told to shun ‘shirk’, which shows that polytheism is such a sin that no quarters would be given to the guilty of polytheism, “Even if he is a Prophet” This not mean that a prophet is also likely to indulge in polytheism, but it was stated to show that in the matter of polytheism Allah’s law is indiscriminate.

114. It should be noted that only he call be grateful to Allah who worships Him. Idolaters and polytheists cannot be thankful to Him.

115. That is: They could not have the right concept of the greatness of Allah and they could not realise the significance of the High Exalted nature of His greatness.

116. This establishes the right concept of Allah’s greatness. On the Day of Resurrection the earth’s being in His grasp and the heavens folding up in His hand is the manifestation of His ability to do with them whatever He likes. When people will see this on the Day of Resurrection, they will have the correct estimate of Allah’s greatness and power. Here the discussion as to what is meant by Allah’s grasp and hands is useless. Without trying to interpret it, we should try to understand what is the main point to he understood, and the main point is quite clear. So far as our past elders were concerned they used to say that the main point is to inform the people of Allah’s greatness and power. But they did not consider His grasp and hands as physical items, and they used to consider Allah above any physical form (Please see Tafseer Roohul Ma’ni part 24 P. 26).

In fact the problem of belief in the matter of Allah’s attributes is very delicate, and scholars of later generation have made the problem very complicated by indulging in philosophical discussions. Therefore, the safe procedure is to follow the line of the elders of the past, and we should not try to interpret the words which were used for grasp and hands of Allah, and we should try to understand the main point of the wordings.

The purpose of the ayah is made further clear by this hadith which states: “The messenger of Allah read this ayah on the pulpit. He Was opening his fingers and closing them and was addressing his audience: Allah will take the earth and the heavens in His hands and will say: ‘I am Allah, I am the king.’ Abdullah bin Umar says that the pulpit (member) was shaking from the bottom so much so that he feared that the Prophet might fall from it.” -(Muslim Kitab Sifatul Munafiqeen).

117. When the earth and the heavens are under the sovereignty of Allah, then where is the existence of other gods?

118. When the first trumpet will be sounded all the creatures of the earth and the heavens, having soul and intellect will be terribly frightened (as is stated in Ayah No.87, Surah Naml), and all will faint and fall down, and all humans that will be on the earth will die. From the unconsciousness of the Doomsday only those angels and beings with souls will be exempted whom the will of Allah will permit, and only Allah knows who are those beings who will be exempted from fainting on the occasion.

119. The condition of mankind after the sounding of the second trumpet is being stated. On the second sounding of the trumpet all humans will at once get up and will be gazing around them as to where they are. Dawatul Quran 283 S. 39

120. The sun has already been made to disappear, therefore, there will be new arrangement for lighting in the ground of Hashr, and it will be that the whole earth will become bright with the light of Allah’s being. It is difficult for us to ascertain in what way this light is related to Allah, for it will only be mere guesswork, which should be avoided. However it becomes quite clear that when the earth will shine in this light, then everything will be seen in its original condition, Nothing will be hidden and invisible. Man’s sight will also be very powerful, and those realities which were unseen by eyes will now be seen by him.

121. That is: Allah’s court will be held and the Book of records of the deeds of every person, which the angels had been preparing will be brought and kept open.

122. The prophets will attend the Court of Allah and will give witness that they had conveyed the message of Allah to His slaves and they had responded in such and such manner. By other witnesses means the sincere followers of the prophets who had conveyed the message of the true religion to the people; they will also give witness that they had also conveyed the message of Allah to the people.

123. That is: After the presentation of the record and the evidence of the witnesses judgment will be delivered in the case of each and every individual, and this judgment will be with truth and justice.

And those who fear their Lord will be led to the Paradise in groups, till when they reach it, and its gates will be opened, and its warders will say to them: “Peace be to you! You are good, so enter you (the Paradise), to dwell therein for ever.” (AL-Quran)

70.And each soul will be paid in full for what it did. And Allah knows what they do.

71.And the disbelievers will be driven to the Hell in groups ¹²⁴ till, when they reach it and its gates are opened,¹²⁵ and its warders will ask them: “Did there not come to you the messengers of your own reciting to you the revelations of your Lord and warning you of the meeting of this your Day?”¹²⁶ They will say: “Yes surely.” But the word of punishment for disbelievers is fulfilled.¹²⁷

72.It will be said to them: “Enter the gates of Hell and dwell therein for ever.” What an evil dwelling place is for the arrogants!¹²⁸

73.And those who fear their Lord will be led to the Paradise in groups ¹²⁹, till when they reach it, and its gates will be opened,¹³⁰ and its warders will say to them: “Peace be to you! You are good, so enter you (the Paradise), to dwell therein for ever.”¹³¹

74.They will say: “Praise be to Allah,¹³² who has made good to us His promise and given us the earth to inherit ¹³³ that we may dwell in Paradise wherever we please.”¹³⁴ What a blissful reward for the righteous! ¹³⁵

75.And you will see the angels thronging round the Throne (Arsh) glorifying their Lord.¹³⁶ And they will be judged in fairness.¹³⁷And it will be said: “Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds!”¹³⁸

124. These are the last verses of the Surah, in which a scene of that time is presented when the Divine Court would have given its judgment, and when the disbelievers would be driven towards the Hell and the God-fearing towards the Paradise. Quran has presented this scene in such a way as if the picture of the Paradise and the Hell has been unveiled in the world. The state of belief which is created by this is such that a like picture is not possible to present with logical argument.

In view of the topic at the beginning of the Surah and at its end by disbelievers are meant for those people who declined to accept the message of monotheism and to worship sincerely Allah, who used to deny Quran and its messenger, who did not care for the fate in the Hereafter and persisted in their polytheism and idolatry.

125. Hell is a prison whose gates will be opened when the guilty will reach there.

126. The angels who will be manning the gates of the Hell, will ask these guilty people whether the Divine message had not reached them convincingly through His messengers, and whether they were not warned about the presence before Allah on that day. Why then did they persist in remaining disbelievers?

127. They will admit that they had received the divine message through Allah’s messengers, but the punishment was destined for them. And therefore, they had been denying the true religion of God. They will blame their luck for it.

128. The punishment for those acting arrogant before Allah is Hell and that too for good. Hearing about this severe punishment also does not make any impression on them. Such people will come to their senses when they will actually see this punishment with their eyes.

129. The condition of the God-fearing men has been narrated as against that of the disbelievers and the arrogant people. It may be noted that those who fear their Lord, their attitude is quite different from that of the arrogant and proud people. They try to save themselves from every act of sin, while the arrogant people are not careful about sins. When the God-fearing people will hear Divine Judgment, they will be led towards the Paradise. They will proceed in grand style in groups. In other words the procession of the God-fearing people will proceed in the company of the angels towards their destination of eternal bliss in great splendour. What a pleasant scene will it be!

130. The gates of the Paradise will be opened even before their reaching there to welcome them, as if the Paradise has been waiting for them.

131. The keepers or the warders of the Paradise will welcome them with open arms. They will greet them with the salutation of ‘Peace’ and will appreciate them by referring to their purity and goodness. They will ask them to enter the Paradise and to remain there for ever.

132. Those who enter the Paradise will have the words of Allah’s praises on their lips and they will be thanking Allah for His bounty.

133. The earth means the earth of the Paradise and to inherit it means to own it or to be its master.

134. The Paradise will be very vast, therefore, there will be very many chances and Opportunities for them to go out for a walk and sight seeing outside their palaces.

135. About the Paradise there are many people under the wrong impression that it will be gained free of cost, but this ayah informs of this principle of reality that it will be given as a reward to people for their good and righteous deeds.

136. On the Day of Resurrection you will see with your physical eyes that the angels are engaged in worshipping Allah. They will be busy in forming a circle round the Divine Arsh and singing hymns and reciting His ‘tasbeeh’ What a soul-nourishing scene will that be!

137. That is: Judgment in the case of the entire human kind will have been declared, and this judgment will be on the basis of fairness and truth. Whoever will be deserving of whatever is his due according to his acts will get it in return. No injustice will be done to anybody.

138. That is: After declaration of the Judgment of everyone a voice will call: There is Praise for the Lord of the Worlds, for real worthy of praises is Allah alone, and for this reason also that by establishing His court and giving judgments which were based on fairness and justice, And also beside on this occasion not only His grandeur as a Just Ruler became manifest, but his grandeur and majesticity also were seen. He holds attributes of perfect goodness. He holds all the best and perfect attributes.