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will judge between them in that inwhich they differ. Surely Allh guidesnot him who is a liar, ungrateful.

4 If Allh desired to take a son toHimself, He could have chosen thoseHe pleased out of those whom He hascreated a Glory be to Him! He isAllh, the One, the Subduer (of all).

5 He has created the heavens andthe earth with truth; He makes the

night cover the day and makes theday overtake the night, and He hasmade the sun and the moon sub-servient; each one moves on to anassigned term. Now surely He is theMighty, the Forgiver.

6 He created you from a single being,then made its mate of the same (kind).

And He sent down for you eight of thecattle in pairs. a He creates you in thewombs of your mothers creationafter creation in triple darkness.That is Allh, your Lord; His is thekingdom. There is no God but He.How are you then turned away?

906 Ch. 39: THE COMPANIES [ Al-Zumar

spoken of in the next verse, hold that without the Son they can have no access to God.But undue reverence of created things is a step leading to degradation of human nature.Hence it is that Islm requires sincere obedience to, or worship of, God alone.

4a. We nd the Christian doctrine referred to and refuted in very early Makkan reve-lations, such as the 19th chapter, which was recited by the Muslim refugees in Abyssiniabefore the Negus, in or about the fth year of the Prophets mission. The Qurn refers tothe error of attributing a son to the Divine Being almost as frequently as to the setting upof idols. It is pointed out here that no one holds a relation of sonship to Allh, but that it isHis chosen servants that are metaphorically called His sons, because in being manifesta-tions of the Divine attributes they stand to Allh in the same relation as a son stands to afather, being images of His attributes as a son is the image of a father.

6a. The word anzala (innitive noun inzl ) is not applied only to the actual sendingdown of a thing, but also to making it accessible to men . Inzl means lor iblgh (R),

just as iron (57:25) and clothing (7:26) are spoken of as having been sent down. It is inthis sense that the cattle are spoken of here as being sent down for men. The eight of thecattle are the four pairs spoken of in 6:143-144. The four animals are mentioned particu-larly as being most useful for man.

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7 If you are ungrateful, then surelyAllh is above need of you. And Helikes not ungratefulness in His ser-vants. And if you are grateful, He likesit for you. And no bearer of a burdenwill bear anothers burden. Then toyour Lord is your return, then will Heinform you of what you did. Surely Heis Knower of what is in the breasts.

8 And when distress aficts a man hecalls upon his Lord, turning to Him;then when He grants him a favour fromHim, he forgets that for which hecalled upon Him before, and sets uprivals to Allh that he may cause (men)to stray from His path. Say: Enjoythine ungratefulness for a little, surelythou art of the companions of the Fire.

9 Is he who is obedient during hoursof the night, prostrating himself andstanding, taking care of the Hereafterand hoping for the mercy of hisLord ? Say: Are those who knowand those who know not alike? Onlymen of understanding mind.

SECTION 2: Believers and Disbelievers10 Say: O My servants whobelieve, keep your duty to your Lord.For those who do good in this worldis good, and Allhs earth is spa-cious. a Truly the steadfast will bepaid their reward without measure.

11 Say: I am commanded to serveAllh, being sincere to Him in obedi-ence,

Part 23] BELIEVERS AND DISBELIEVERS 907

10a. The words are a comfort to the Muslims, who were subjected to sufferings intheir own land, and give them the assurance that, if suppressed in one land, Islm willprosper in other lands.

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12 And I am commanded to be therst of those who submit.

13 Say: I fear, if I disobey my Lord,the chastisement of a grevious day.

14 Say: Allh I serve, being sincereto Him in my obedience.

15 Serve then what you will besidesHim. Say: The losers surely are thosewho lose themselves and their peopleon the day of Resurrection. Now

surely that is the manifest loss!16 They shall have coverings of reabove them and coverings beneaththem. With that Allh makes His ser-vants to fear; so keep your duty toMe, O My servants.

17 And those who eschew the wor-ship of the idols and turn to Allh,for them is good news. So give goodnews to My servants,

18 Who listen to the Word, thenfollow the best of it. Such are theywhom Allh has guided, and such arethe men of understanding.

19 He against whom the sentence

of chastisement is due canst thousave him who is in the Fire?

20 But those who keep their duty totheir Lord, for them are high places,above them higher places, a built (forthem), wherein rivers ow. (It is) thepromise of Allh. Allh fails not in(His) promise.

21 Seest thou not that Allh sendsdown water from the clouds, then


20a. This shows that in the Hereafter, and in this life as well, there is an unceasingprogress, for the high places to which the righteous attain have places still higher abovethem.

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makes it go down into the earth insprings, then brings forth therewithherbage of various hues; then it with-ers so that thou seest it turn yellow,then He makes it chaff? a Surely thereis a reminder in this for men of understanding.

SECTION 3: A Perfect Guidance

22 Is he whose breast Allh hasopened to Islm so that he follows alight from his Lord ? So woe to thosewhose hearts are hardened against theremembrance of Allh! Such are inclear error.

23 Allh has revealed the bestannouncement, a Book consistent,repeating (its injunctions), a whereatdo shudder the skins of those whofear their Lord, then their skins andtheir hearts soften to Allhs remem-brance. This is Allhs guidance He guides with it whom He pleases.And he whom Allh leaves in error,there is no guide for him.

Part 23] A PERFECT GUIDANCE 909

21a. The allusion is to the fate of nations; they are brought into existence, made torise, then decay and are swept out of existence. Even the Muslim nations are subject tothe same law, but Islm itself, being a law of life, is not subject to decay. The place of one nation that decays is taken by another. Moreover, nations that decay because of theirtransgressions may again be raised to life by turning to righteousness.

23a. The Qurn is here spoken of as being mutashbih and mathn . The rst wordmeans that which is conformable in its various parts (LL). This claim is by no meansinsignicant. The Qurn was revealed by portions during a period of twenty-three years,

and during this period the circumstances under which the Holy Prophet lived were of such a varied nature that the history of no other man offers a similar combination of vary-ing circumstances. Yet, through all these vicissitudes, the Qurn shows a strict uniformi-ty. The conformability of its various parts, however, signies more than a mere uniformi-ty; it signies that some parts explain other parts. Mutashbih , it should be noted,signies, according to the best authorities, that some parts of it verify other parts . Again,it is called mathn , pl. of mathn , which means repeated or repeating . It is given thisname because it repeats over and over again the most important subjects, especially theUnity of the Divine Being and the accountability of human actions. See also 3:7 a .

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24 Is then he who has to guard him-self with his own person against theevil chastisement of the Resurrectionday ? And it will be said to the iniq-uitous: Taste what you earned.

25 Those before them denied, sothe chastisement came to them fromwhence they perceived not.

26 So Allh made them taste dis-grace in this worlds life, and certain-

ly the chastisement of the Hereafteris greater. Did they but know!

27 And certainly We have set forthfor men in this Qurn similitudes of every sort that they may mind. a

28 An Arabic Qurn without anycrookedness, that they may guard

against evil.29 Allh sets forth a parable: A manbelonging to partners differing withone another, and a man (devoted)wholly to one man. Are the two alikein condition? Praise be to Allh! Nay,most of them know not.

30 Surely thou wilt die and they(too) will die;

31 Then surely on the day of Resurrection you will contend onewith another before your Lord.


27a. The Holy Qurn repeatedly claims to be a complete collection of the bestteachings for the moral and spiritual welfare of man. Here it claims to be a perfect book,as not only containing all the necessary teachings, but also answering all the objectionsof its opponents; see 17:89 a and 25:33 a .

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Part 24

SECTION 4: Rejectors will be Abased

32 Who is then more unjust than hewho utters a lie against Allh anddenies the truth, when it comes to him?Is there not in hell an abode for the dis-believers?

33 And he who brings the truth andaccepts the truth such are the dutiful.

34 They shall have with their Lordwhat they please. Such is the rewardof the doers of good

35 That Allh may ward off fromthem the worst of what they did, andgive them their reward for the best of what they did. a

36 Is not Allh sufcient for Hisservant? And they seek to frightenthee with those besides Him. a Andwhomsoever Allh leaves in error,there is no guide for him.

37 And whom Allh guides, there isnone that can lead him astray. Is notAllh Mighty, the Lord of retribution?

38 And if thou ask them, Who creat-ed the heavens and the earth? Theywill say: Allh. Say: See you then thatthose you call upon besides Allh,would they, if Allh desire to afictme with harm, remove His harm? Orif He desire to show me mercy, could

Part 24] REJECTORS WILL BE ABASED 911

35 a. The Holy Qurn brought about an unprecedented revolution in the world.People who took pride in doing evil deeds now aspired to deeds of righteousness. Theywere thus turned away from the worst deeds to the best. This verse prophetically refersto this great change.

36a. The superstitious Arabs no doubt believed that their idols could do harm tomen who did not admit their authority.

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they withhold His mercy? Say: Allhis sufcient for me. On Him do thereliant rely.

39 Say: O people, work in yourplace. Surely I am a worker, so youwill come to know,

40 Who it is to whom there comesa chastisement abasing him, and onwhom falls a lasting chastisement. a

41 Surely We have revealed to thee

the Book with truth for (the good of)men. So whoever follows the right way,it is for his own soul, and whoever errs,he errs only to its detriment. And thouart not a custodian over them.

SECTION 5: Punishment cannot be Averted

42 Allh takes (mens) souls at thetime of their death, and those that dienot, during their sleep. Then He with-holds those on whom He has passedthe decree of death a and sends theothers back till an appointed term.Surely there are signs in this for apeople who reect.

43 Or, take they intercessors besidesAllh? Say: What! Even though theycontrol naught, nor do they under-stand.

44 Say: Allhs is the intercessionaltogether. His is the kingdom of the


40a. Two kinds of punishment are plainly spoken of, viz., the punishment that willbring disgrace, which is clearly the punishment of this life, and the lasting punishmentthat the wicked receive in the life after death. The rst of these demonstrates the truth of the other.

42a. It is clear that it is not the animal soul that is taken away in sleep; it is the soulthat stands for human consciousness. In death both are taken away. The statement fur-ther makes it clear that the word tawaff is applied to the taking of the soul and not tothe removal of the body from one place to another. See also 21:95 a and 23:100 a .

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heavens and the earth. Then to Himyou will be returned.

45 And when Allh alone is men-tioned, the hearts of those whobelieve not in the Hereafter shrink,and when those besides Him arementioned, lo! they are joyful. a

46 Say: O Allh, Originator of theheavens and the earth, Knower of theunseen and the seen, Thou judgest

between Thy servants as to thatwherein they differ.

47 And had those who do wrong allthat is in the earth and the like of itwith it, they would certainly offer itas ransom from the evil of the chas-tisement on the day of Resurrection.And what they never thought of shall

become plain to them from Allh.a

48 And the evil of what they wroughtwill become plain to them, a and thatwhich they mocked at will beset them.

49 So when harm aficts a man hecalls upon Us; then, when We give hima boon from Us, he says: I have beengiven it only by means of knowledge.Nay, it is a trial, but most of themknow not.

50 Those before them did say itindeed, but what they earned availedthem not.

Part 24] PUNISHMENT CANNOT BE AVERTED 913

45 a. Elsewhere the Holy Qurn says: And most of them believe not in Allhwithout associating others (with Him) (12:106).

47a. What they never thought of signies the overthrow of their power in this lifeand the manifestation of the evil consequences of their deeds in the Hereafter.

48a. The fact that the heaven and hell of the next life are only manifestations of thespiritual realities of this life is stated here in clear language. The evil consequences of what they do are hidden from the eye in this life, but they shall become plain in the nextlife.

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51 So there befell them the evilwhich they had earned. And those whoare unjust from among these, thereshall befall them the evil which theyearn, and they shall not escape. a

52 Know they not that Allh givesample subsistence to whom He pleas-es, and He straitens; surely there aresigns in this for a people who believe.

SECTION 6: Divine Mercy53 Say: O My servants who havebeen prodigal regarding their souls,despair not of the mercy of Allh; sure-ly Allh forgives sins altogether. He isindeed the Forgiving, the Merciful. a

54 And turn to your Lord and sub-

mit to Him before chastisement comesto you, then you will not be helped.

55 And follow the best a that hasbeen revealed to you from your Lordbefore chastisement comes to you allof a sudden, while you perceive not

56 Lest a soul should say: O woe isme, that I fell short of my duty to

Allh! and surely I was of those wholaughed to scorn;


51a. Wonderful indeed is the certainty of the tone in which these prophecies areworded, when all around there was not a single ray of hope for Islm, and its enemieswere in the ascendant.

53a. Stress is laid on the mercy and love of Allh in all religions, but these greatDivine attributes nd their true and nal expression in Islm. No religion gives thesolace and comfort which we nd in this verse. It discloses the all-comprehensive mercyof Allh, before which the sins of men become quite insignicant.

55a. Asan , or best , stands for the revelation of the Qurn. God has ever beenrevealing His will to men, but the Qurn, being the nal expression of His will, is thebest revelation that has been sent to men.

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Part 24] THE FINAL JUDGMENT 915

57 Or it should say: Had Allhguided me, I should have been dutiful.58 Or it should say, when it sees thechastisement: Had I another chance Ishould be a doer of good.

59 Aye! My messages came to thee,but thou didst reject them, and wastproud and wast of the disbelievers.

60 And on the day of Resurrectionthou wilt see those who lied against

Allh, their faces will be blackened. Isthere not in hell an abode for theproud?

61 And Allh delivers those whokeep their duty with their achievement

evil touches them not, nor do theygrieve.

62 Allh is the Creator of all thingsand He has charge over everything.

63 His are the treasures of the heav-ens and the earth. And those who dis-believe in the messages of Allh, suchare the losers.

SECTION 7: The Final Judgment

64 Say: Do you bid me serve othersthan Allh, O ye ignorant ones?

65 And certainly, it has beenrevealed to thee and to those beforethee: If thou associate (with Allh), thywork would certainly come to naughtand thou wouldst be a loser.

66 Nay, but serve Allh alone andbe of the thankful.

67 And they honour not Allh withthe honour due to Him; and thewhole earth will be in His grip on theday of Resurrection and the heavens

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rolled up in His right hand. Glory beto Him! and highly exalted is Heabove what they associate (withHim).68 And the trumpet is blown, so allthose in the heavens and all those in theearth will swoon, except such as Allhplease. Then it will be blown again,when lo! they stand up, awaiting. a

69 And the earth beams with the

light of its Lord, and the Book is laiddown, and the prophets and the wit-nesses are brought up, and judgmentis given between them with justice,and they are not wronged. a

70 And every soul is paid back fully for what it did, and He knowsbest what they do.

SECTION 8: Each Party meets with its Desert

71 And those who disbelieve are dri-ven to hell in companies; until, whenthey come to it, its doors are opened,and the keepers of it say to them: Didnot there come to you messengers from

among you reciting to you the mes-sages of your Lord and warning you of the meeting of this day of yours? They


68a. For the r , see 6:73 b. Here it is stated that the trumpet is blown twice. At therst blowing all swoon, and at the second blowing they all stand up, awaiting to receivethe judgment. A general destruction is thus followed by a resurrection. In the case of thespiritual resurrection, the destruction signies the destruction of the old order.

69a. The beaming of the earth with the light of its Lord in the Resurrection is in ref-erence to the clear manifestation of the consequences of the deeds which remain gener-ally hidden in this life. The laying down of the Book refers to the passing of the judg-ment on the good and the evil according to their deserts. The prophets and the witnessesare brought up, these being the people who sow the seeds of virtue and turn mens mindsto God. Prophets were sent to every nation, and the followers of the ProphetMuammad, who take the place of the previous prophets in turning mens minds to God,are the witnesses spoken of here; they are specially mentioned by this name in 2:143. Adeeper reference to the spiritual resurrection is evident throughout.

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say: Yea. But the word of punishmentproved true against the disbelievers.

72 It is said: Enter the gates of hellto abide therein; so evil is the abodeof the proud.

73 And those who keep their duty totheir Lord are conveyed to the Gardenin companies until when they come toit, and its doors are opened and thekeepers of it say to them: Peace be to

you! you led pure lives; so enter it toabide.

74 And they say: Praise be toAllh! Who has made good to us Hispromise, and He has made us inheritthe land; we abide in the Gardenwhere we please. a So goodly is thereward of the workers.

75 And thou seest the angels goinground about the Throne of Power,glorifying their Lord with praise.And they are judged with justice, andit is said: Praise be to Allh, the Lordof the worlds!

Part 24] EACH PARTY MEETS WITH ITS DESERT 917

74 a. Never was prophecy uttered in clearer terms, nor in more adverse circum-

stances. The day must come, we are here told, when the believers will praise God formaking them inherit the land. Within fteen years of this prophecy they were made mas-ters of Arabia, and within another ve they were made to inherit the Holy Land. Note,further, how the prophecies of triumph in this life are combined with the Resurrection inwhich the righteous are to receive the mighty spiritual blessings in full manifestation.

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