As-Sajdah السجدة

Alif Lām Mīm

This surah will present signs and proofs for the truthfulness of the Qurʾān, the Prophet ﷺ , and the Qurʾānic message of the final reckoning of deeds on Judgment Day. It will do so by appealing to real life phenomena such as the barren earth becoming fertile again by means of rain. These letters symbolize that. Just as these signs are present inside real-life phenomena that you yourself can see, so is this book composed of the same letters that you are familiar with. Just as life around you, which you can visibly see is a sign for you, so is this book, made up of the same letters that you know, a sign for you.

Many surahs of the Qurʾān start with letters like these. One of the purposes of it is to challenge us. This book consists of the very same letters that you speak day to day in your life. Yet you are incapable of producing anything like it. This is a position held by many scholars.

These letters that Allah uses at the beginning of a surah sometimes carry its entire

theme. For example, every surah of the Qurʾān that begins with the letter ط has the story of Moses inside it. Sometimes a surah will begin with two letters Tua and Sīn;

and sometimes it will begin with three Tua Sīn Mīm. When it is three letters, the story of Moses will be mentioned in much more detail than the surah that starts with two letters.

The surahs that we have so far covered are all short in length. I wanted to cover one which is relatively larger, to show how context, theme and structure flows inside the Qurʾān.

Descent of the Book while there is no doubt in it being from the Rabb of ʿĀlamīn. There are two opinions on the words - no doubt in it. One is that these words act as a

ḥāl and the second that these words are an interjectory sentence. A Ḥāl describes the state of something and the way I translated the verse above is considering it as a ḥāl because this reading seems to me to be consistent with what comes next.

An interjectory sentence is one that is interjected in the middle of an already complete sentence. In this reading, the actual sentence would be “ Descent of the

Book from the Rabb of ʿĀlamīn” with the words -no doubt in it- interjected between and inside it.

The verse does not mention the name Allah, rather it mentions the word Rabb whose meaning we have already covered. ʿĀlamīn comes from the root ʿayn lām mīm which at its root means knowledge and indication. Zamakhsharī pointed out, the Qurʾān calls mankind and Jinn ʿĀlamīn because they serve as a sign of Allah. They indicate that Allah exists.

The reason why Allah uses the word Rabb instead of mentioning his name Allah is to make a significant point. Since Allah is the Rabb, the caretaker, sustainer and the nurturer of mankind and Jinn, it necessitates that He sends down a book that serves to guide them, help them, rectify them, and lead them to the correct path. Lastly the word raib is translated as doubt. Raib is somewhat different from a doubt.

Arabic and Qurʾān have another word for doubt - shakk. Raib is doubt mixed with uneasiness and tension. A doubt that constricts your chest and causes you discomfort. For example, if I told you that I did not drive to my school but walked to it, you can be doubtful about it but it is not something that will disturb you because it’s a minor thing. But consider - God forbid - a spouse has doubts regarding the loyalty of her husband, then this is a doubt that disturbs and constricts the chest. This is Raib.

You cannot have doubts regarding the Qurʾān from being God in a way that they disturb and constrict your chest. People can have passing thoughts that come and go like the wind; but if you study it deeply, no valid doubt- no Raib- will be left.

Yet they say he invented it to cause corruption. Rather, it is the absolute truth from your Rabb; so you may warn a people of binding consequences to whom no warner came before you, so they may seek to become guided.

Despite what came before in the last verse, these people accuse Muhammad ﷺ of

inventing the Qurʾān to cause corruption. The word used here is iftirāʾ which at its root was used for crafting or forming something with the specific intention of causing harm.¹¹⁹ How can the one who is your Rabb; who wants to take care of you, guide you and rectify your lives for good, want to cause corruption and harm? Is this not a necessary action on part of Allah that He sends down a book for your benefit? Yet you accuse Muhammad ﷺ of inventing it?

Ḥaqq is translated as truth. At its root, it means something that is solid, strong and

upright. Truth is something that stands tall and remains firm regardless of what is said and transpires. It is not affected by the opinions of people or even by their rejection of it. Truth stands tall. It remains firm, solid and independent. Allah uses the definite article with the word ḥaqq which creates two meanings. 1. It is the only and sole truth. There is nothing truthful or correct besides it. 2. It is the absolute truth. It is absolutely and perfectly strong, firm and solid. It is firmness of the kind that has no weakness or softness. It stands tall in a way nothing else can. It is firm and solid in a way that nothing else is. Given these qualities, it also means that it will also stand any test, any accusation and challenge thrown at it since it is absolutely firm and solid.

Notice how the surah transitions from Rabb of ʿĀlamīn to Your Rabb in this verse. When Allah mentions the guidance of the entire nation, he says He is rabb of the ʿālamīn and when Allah is defending His prophet ﷺ from accusations thrown at him, He says Your rabb to the Prophet ﷺ .

I translated li tunzira as ‘so you may warn of binding consequences.’ I kept true to the root meaning which was used for blood money or oaths that one binds himself to. The blood money becomes a binding consequence for committing a crime that necessitates it and when you make an oath, you are bound to it and if you break it, there will be consequences.¹²⁰ Simply put, li tunzira means that actions have consequences. You cannot just have your way in life. What you do will have consequences, good and bad. Allah describes this as the purpose of His prophet’s ﷺ mission. His mission is to convey to people that actions have consequences. If you do good, you will receive good and if you do evil, you shall pay the price. The prophet ﷺ serves as a warner to people who do evil that your actions will bear bad consequences for you.

No warner came before you- The word nadhīr is translated as warner. The Qurʾān uses two forms of this word; nadhīr and mundhir. Nadhīr is stronger than mundhir and this is the word Allah uses in this verse. The Arabs did not need a mundhir, but rather a nadhīr, who would strongly, firmly and patiently warn them of the consequences of their actions. The pattern of the word nadhīr implies something that remains constant and stable. The prophet’s ﷺ role is to constantly and consistently warn people. He is to remain a constant source of guidance and warning. His mission is not to simply give a sermon and be done with it. Rather, his mission is to act as a warner; constantly and consistently, at all times and places. A heavy burden indeed.

So they may seek to become guided - So they may desire to do those actions that have

good consequences for them; not bad and so they may desire to take the path to their Rabb who wants to be kind and loving to them. Who wants to rectify and correct their lives.

¹¹⁹ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 3, p. 1648
¹²⁰ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 4, p. 2172

Allah alone created the heavens, the earth and what is between them in six days then established Himself over the throne. You have, besides him, no Wali nor a Shafīʿ. Will you not strongly consider?

After mentioning that the purpose of the Qurʾān is to guide people, Allah mentions the central pillar of guidance; monotheism; as if to say that this is what the center, core and heart of guidance is - that Allah alone created everything and He alone is the ruler.

Six days - There are three possibilities. One is that these are days like our days, second that these are six days where each day equals a thousand years; and the third that these are six stages as opposed to days.

The Qurʾān has stated that one day with God is as a thousand years with us. So six days here could mean six days as in how we experience them or it can refer to six thousand years where each day equals a thousand years. The third opinion is based on the fact that the word youm in Arabic, can linguistically mean any period of time, not necessarily a day. This has attestations in the Qurʾān as well such as in surah 8:16. In this reading, it would mean that Allah created the universe in six stages, one after

the other; stage after stage, realm after realm, level after level, creation after creation. I hold this third position. The Qurʾān has not mentioned how long each stage took and we do not indulge in it either. Each of the six stages could have taken billions of years.

Allah has set a pattern of cause and effect in this world. Allah created the universe with this chain of cause and effect, stage after stage. One stage completes, then another starts and so on. One stage serves as the root and cause of the next stage. This is profound. The previous verse described that the main role of the Prophet ﷺ

was to be a nadhīr. To warn people of this cycle of action and consequence. What we do, good or bad, has consequences. This is a chain of cause and effect. In the same manner, based on this same principle of cause and effect, was this universe created. One stage was the cause of the next stage and so on until six stages were completed. Islam is merely warning you that the same principle with which the universe exists, must also exist inside the Earth and our lives since we are a part of this universe. You are here, you can see the universe, it came into existence under this principle, which applies to you and your actions as well. Since the earth is part of the universe, this principle necessarily extends to this earth and to you. You cannot escape it.

Established Himself Over the Throne - This means what it does. Allah is above the throne. Those who denied this, did so on the basis of philosophical concepts alien to the Qurʾān. We cannot understand the Qurʾān through an outside lens, be it Aristotelian metaphysics or anything else; but rather through its own text. When reading the Qurʾān, we need to take into account two things. The literal meaning of the words and the text, and its contextual meaning. Why does it say these words, in this context?

When Allah has mentioned the creation of the universe in six stages in the Qurʾān, He has mentioned the fact that He is established above the throne because this is an indirect expression (kināyah) of kingship. The throne belongs to the king. The kingdom of the entire universe and all creation, belongs to Allah. This is its contextual meaning and does not override the literal meaning of these words; which is precisely where many mutakallimūn went astray.

You have, besides Him, no Wali nor Shafīʿ - These two words, Wali and Shafīʿ, are closely related to each other in their meanings. The root of the word Wali means closeness, adherence and taking charge whereas the root of the word Shafi’ means pairing, mediating and intervening. Wali is direct, continuous, and binding allegiance while Shafi’ is occasional and intermediary support. You do not have any true Wali- a continuous and unwavering source of support- nor any Shafi’: even an occasional supporter or helper. If you don’t have a Wali, you could have a Shafi because Wali implies constant unwavering allegiance and support. If such support does not exist,

it is possible for an occasional, intermediary support to be available; but Allah negates even that. There is simply no way out. This will be referred back to in verse 20 where the disbelievers will not find anyone to help them inside Hell-fire.

Will you not strongly consider- This is phrased as a question because what is being said is “After knowing all of this, will you STILL not deeply think and ponder over the truth of this book?” Will you not strongly consider this fact and hence, rectify your actions knowing that they will bear consequences for you? Hence, you will see later that the conversation shifts to Judgment day itself.

Lastly, the word تتذكرون - translated as - ‘strongly consider’ - has the emphatic form.

There are two ways to say it, tazakkarun with one ta and tatazakkarun with two ta. Here it has two ta, which implies repetition and consistency. The call is to consider and reflect on this strongly and consistently; not just one moment of reflection.

He does tadbīr of the Amr from the sky to the earth; Thumma it ascends to Him in a span one day of which is thousand years of what you count.

The argument continues. Tadbīr comes from the root dāl bāʾ rāʾ which means the back or extreme point of something.¹²¹

Tadbīr means that Allah determines and ordains something from start to its extreme

end; not leaving any loophole or anything left out in its planning, wisdom, its carrying out, and its result. For example, Allah sent down the Qurʾān. He had determined and ordained the sending down of the Qurʾān, from its start to its last verse completely, the stages in which it was revealed, how it was revealed, when each verse would be revealed, down to its completion, leaving nothing unplanned or left out. Everything was preordained and set, from start to finish and everything happened according to His decree. Allah determines a matter by perfect planning, start to finish, by determining it’s every single point in the best manner possible.

Amr comes from the root hamza mīm rāʾ which at its root means an elevated structure

whose top is thick and pointed while its bottom is spread out like a pyramid.¹²² In this context, amr means something that comes from Allah directly, be it a command, decree or whatever. You can create the image in your head. At the top and above the pyramid is Allah and from Him comes the amr that spreads out below to creation.

Amr is different from creation. Creation happens in stages, like the universe that was created in six stages. Whereas amr happens instantly. It is something that breaks the norms and laws of nature. The she-camel that came into existence from a rock, the creation of the human spirit, the miracles that are given to the Prophets, and the birth of Jesus, all serve as examples of amr.

The Qurʾān clearly draws a distinction between the Khalq (creation) and the amr:

أَلَا لَهُ ٱلْخَلْقُ وَٱلْأَمْرُ ۗ تَبَارَكَ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ

Listen! To Him belongs the creation (Khalq) and the Amr. Blessed be Allah, Rabb of ʿĀlamīn. (17:54) Allah does tadbīr of the Amr- Allah dictates and governs the Amr from start to its

very extreme end. For example, the spirit inside of us, the rūḥ, is an Amr of Allah as the Qurʾān itself says:

وَيَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلرُّوحِ ۖ قُلِ ٱلرُّوحُ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّى وَمَآ أُوتِيتُم مِّنَ ٱلْعِلْمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًۭا They ask you about the spirit (the Rūḥ), Say; The spirit is an Amr of my Rabb and you have been given but little knowledge. (17:85) Allah first created man, then breathed into him the spirit. This spirit gives us life and our purpose with which we live. Allah has done tadbīr of this. The spirit inside of us, the moment it was breathed into us, to the moment it will leave our bodies, to the moment it will come back to join our bodies again on Judgment day, all of this, has been perfectly calculated, set in stone, pre ordained, and pre determined by Allah with precise, perfect and infallible calculation and wisdom. This also includes whatever happens between these stages.

In the next verses, this surah will zero in on man’s creation itself to explain the difference between khalq and amr. Just as Allah created this universe in stages, where each stage led to the other, so did He create us in the same, exact manner. As a case study of creation and the sending down of amr - as Allah did with the entire universe - the surah will explain the creation of man in the coming verses.

Thumma - I left it untranslated. It is normally understood to simply mean ‘ then’, indicating an order in time but this is incorrect. This thumma is for التراخي الرتبي which

indicates the higher status of something. Allah does tadbīr of amr, and even greater is

the fact that it ascends to Him in a span one day of which is thousand years of what you count - Regarding what Allah says of thousand years being equal to one day, I follow the position of Ibn ʿĀshūr:

أنه تحصل فيه من تصرفات الله في كائنات السماء والأرض ما لو كان من عمل : ومعنى تقديره بألف سنة وقد ، أو بقطع المسافات ، فلك أن تقدر ذلك بكثرة التصرفات ، الناس لكان حصول مثله في ألف سنة فُرضت في ذلك عدة احتمالات

The meaning of its being measured as a thousand years is that, within it, there occur acts of Allah’s governance and management concerning the affairs of the heavens and the earth which, if they were the work of human beings, would require a thousand years to accomplish something similar. You may understand this either in terms of the vast number of actions carried out, or in terms of the distances traversed. Several possible interpretations have been presented regarding this.

The question then comes up regarding the word ascend. The ayah says that ‘it ascends

to Him (Allah). What does this mean? What ascends? Many have said that it means that when Allah decrees something, He decrees it a thousand years before it happens. When it finally comes to pass, the angels ascend with its record and what happened towards Allah. I find this plausible but not convincing.

The next two verses will explain this themselves. One of the features of the Qurʾān is that it explains itself. Many times, when things are not clear initially, the Qurʾān will explain them itself. Allah will now immediately shift to mention the creation of the human being and in doing so, Allah will explain this verse itself.

¹²¹ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 2, p. 628
¹²² Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 4, p. 2057

Only He, who did all this, knows the unseen and the seen. The ʿAzīz, the Raḥīm. The demonstrative pronoun in Arabic has the ability to contain qualities inside of it and hence how I translated it above. Most translations will normally translate it as “That is the knower of the unseen and the seen....” but this is incomplete.

Secondly, when two components of a sentence come together and both are defined and definite, it creates exclusivity. Therefore, I added the word “ only” in the translation.

ʿAzīz comes from the root ʿayn zāy zāy which means something solid and unbreakable.¹²³ ʿAzīz is one of the names of Allah it means the entity who is utterly

and completely strong and invincible; who overpowers and cannot be overpowered. Only His will dictates and rules. None can overwrite or stand against Him.

Raḥīm comes from the root rāʾ ḥāʾ mīm which means the womb of a mother and we

have covered its meaning earlier when we understood the word raḥmān. The main difference between raḥīm and raḥmān is that raḥīm denotes constant, stable and eternal mercy, care and love whereas raḥmān denotes Allah’s rahmah in this world, which is temporary.

The verse says that the one who did all this; created the heavens, the earth and whatever is between them in six days or stages, established Himself above the throne; sent down His Amr into the universe which He perfectly pre determined and pre ordained from the very start to its very end, only Him - only this entity - can know what can be seen by us and what cannot be seen. Only such an entity can be allknowing. The fact that Allah is able to do tadbīr means that He possesses all knowledge since He is able to determine something from the very start down to its very last extreme. One must possess all knowledge, from the beginning to the extreme end to do this. Next, one must be ʿAzīz to do this. He must have the power to do it, set things in motion and then bring them to completion with no other entity able to step in and disrupt it. So these two meanings are already indirectly implied by what has come before. Then Allah describes Himself with another quality - raḥīm - which comes from the root that denotes the strongest form of love in Arabic language.

Raḥīm answers the question why. Allah created the universe in six stages, then does tadbīr of the Amr. Everything that Allah did and does, from the creation of the universe in six days or stages, to the tadbīr of the Amr, is rooted in love. Creation is an act of love and kindness as Allah says in surah Hūd:

إِلَّا مَن رَّحِمَ رَبُّكَ ۚ وَلِذَٰلِكَ خَلَقَهُمْ

Except the one to whom Allah showed Rahmah (the same root as raḥīm); and for that did He create them.

All of what has been described and as we will see in the next verse, our creation itself, is rooted in love and kindness. Tadbīr is a continuous ongoing process. The previous

verse used the word tadbīr in the present tense. In Arabic, the present tense not only implies an action being done in the present, but also being done continuously, again and again. Why does Allah do all of this? Because He is kind and loving, more loving than a mother to her child. Raḥīm has the definite article al with it which implies perfection and the highest and perfect form of this love.

This all is coming in response to the accusation of the disbelievers - that we still hear to this day - that the Prophet ﷺ forged the Qurʾān to cause corruption. The Qurʾān is not here to cause corruption. Rather it is sent down from the one who is the most loving of all. This book is an act of love and kindness, not corruption and evil intention. But there is also a warning to these disbelievers. Yes Allah is raḥīm, but He is also al

ʿazīz, the one who overpowers and cannot be overpowered. I am loving and kind and this book is an act of love from Me towards you all, but if you reject it, then I am the invincible, the all powerful who overpowers and cannot be overpowered. I have decided to send down this book (verse 2) and I have done tadbīr of it. I have preordained its start and completion from its very start to its very last letter to be sent down and you cannot overpower Me in that nor do anything about it. Your plots against the prophet ﷺ and the Qurʾān will fail.

¹²³ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 3, p. 1453

The one who did Iḥsān of everything He created. He began the creation of man from wet clay. Iḥsān comes from the root ḥāʾ sīn nūn which means to purify something by removing anything impure from it. From this root comes the word Ḥusn which means beauty. It is a beauty achieved because of intense purity, and it being free from anything impure.

Allah created the universe in six stages, then sent down His Amr with tadbīr - with purpose and direction, preordaining its start and end, setting a path that it takes to achieve that end and then making it follow that path with His wisdom. This is Iḥsān in

creation. When He created things, He sent down His Amr which gave these created beings life and purpose like how our spirit gives our bodies life. Creation is a hollow body and Amr is what gives life and purpose to these bodies. Then He did tadbīr of His Amr, i.e; He also set the purpose of the creation, decreed their end, and their path towards this end. Each creation has a purpose rooted in perfect divine wisdom and Allah decrees this for each creation at the time of its creation. It is all planned, it is all accounted for, it is all pre ordained and pre-decreed. The beginning, the end and the

path it will take towards that end, to achieve the purpose for which it was created. Every single thing, accounted for. This is the purity implied by the word iḥsān. His creations are absolutely pure of all shortcomings such as leaving out details, not accounting for the end, creating without purpose, creating imperfectly, creating things not meant for their purpose, creating things that are inadequate to achieve their purpose, creating things without taking into account their end goal, creating things that are not protected from being altered by anyone other than Him, all of these are examples of impurities - of shortcomings.

Next, the subject shifts to the creation of man. First, Allah described the creation of the universe, then His tadbīr that runs this universe, and now He zeros in on man himself; as if to say that man is the very center of it all. Everything that came before, leads to man, the very center and core of this universe. Allah did Iḥsān of everything He created, and that includes man. The audience of all this is man himself, and hence it is only appropriate to zero in on his creation itself.

He began man’s creation from wet clay - it does not say Allah created man from wet clay but rather He began man’s creation from it. Just as Allah created the universe in

stages, so did He create man, in stages. The first step is his creation from wet clay. Why wet clay? Because it can be fashioned and molded in any shape you desire without breaking the soil apart. Allah molded us into an entity of His desires. What He wanted us to do, what He set our purpose for, He molded and shaped us according to it.

Lastly as we will see, iḥsān also implies - especially in the context of this surah - the fact that Allah has created perfect systems. If you believe that death is the end and there is no reckoning of deeds after death, then this implies that Allah created an imperfect system because then this would be an inherently unjust system. Allah has done iḥsān of everything He has created and this includes the fact that His creations are not void of justice.

Then he made his progeny from an extract taken from disdained water

The meaning is clear. Creation of man began with clay, then his progeny continued through the worthless water - semen. Notice the word sulalah which is translated as extract. It comes from the root sīn lām lām which means something that is extracted

from something else.¹²⁴ The pattern this word sulalah follows in this verse - فعالة - is also used to describe a small substance that is extracted or taken out from a large substance like how we extract the thickest and strongest part of date juice from its thinner version. Allah created all human progeny from a substance that was extracted from disdained water- from semen. The overall theme is to display the humble roots of man. Allah did not even make you from this worthless and disdained water, but from a small part of it. We know that it is the sperm inside semen that fertilizes the egg and only 2-5% of semen is composed of sperm and even among this small amount, a tiny fraction is capable of reaching and fertilizing the egg; but the theme of this verse is to display the humble roots of man and the incredible divine power that can turn this small extract taken from worthless water, into human beings.

¹²⁴ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 2, p. 1044

Thumma, He balanced him by breathing into him from His spirit. He made for you, hearing, perception and emotions. How little are you grateful!

At the end of the surah, Allah will connect this verse with verse 27 that mentions dead earth coming to life. You will see there how Allah connects not only these two verses, but also the whole surah to present a holistic, uniform and complete picture. We covered earlier that everything Allah creates has two parts. Creation ( khalq) and

amr. When describing the creation of man, Allah described his creation from dirt and then from semen. This is khalq. Now, Allah will describe the amr. The creation of man is presented as a case study of how Allah does Iḥsān of everything He creates. The way He creates, khalq and amr, makes it perfect as mentioned in his words الذي أحسن كل شيء خلقه

The one who did iḥsān of everything that He created First, you have the human body, created from dust, then Allah breathed into him His spirit - the rūḥ.

Thumma here is التراخي الرتبي again which is used to indicate something even more important. So, it is better translated as - Even greater; He balanced him by breathing into him....

What is meant by balancing was explained in surah al Shams. After this balancing, Allah says He made FOR YOU, the hearing, sights and emotions. I highlighted FOR

YOU since it is emphasized in the verse itself because of being advanced. Allah made them for you. For your sake, and benefit.

There is one thing to note here. Hearing is singular, while sights and hearts are plural. The Qurʾān is primarily meant to be recited and hence the primary mode of how it was originally preached was through being heard by others. Even today, people often hear about it from others rather than opening it themselves and reading it. Secondly, the word أبصار is different from رأى . Both mean to see but بصر , the word used in this verse, is much deeper. It is better translated as perception and understanding. You can look at something, but when you truly understand it and grasp its nature, this word is used. In other places, this word can simply be used in the meaning of understanding and perception. The Qurʾān itself has used this root in those meanings.

Lastly, there are two words for hearts in the Qurʾān, قلب and فؤاد .

قلب is the standard word for heart. Its root meaning is to flip or turn over. The heart is

so called because of its nature to flip and change its state and feelings. So, the standard word for heart is قلب but when a heart is overcome with emotions, it is called

فؤاد - the word used in this ayah.

So, the word ‘hearing’ is singular, but the words ‘sights’ and ‘hearts’ are plural. As mentioned above, ‘hearing’ here means the Qurʾān. It is the primary subject as in verse 2 you have the disbelievers accusing the Prophet ﷺ of concocting the Qurʾān to cause corruption, which was followed by a divine response to their arguments. When people listen to the Qurʾān, different people perceive it differently, which leads to different emotions in the heart of each person, and which mainly drives how people act. This is why hearing is singular and sights and hearts are plural. A person may hear the Qurʾān and be affected by it deeply and fall in love with it. Others may listen and be somewhat drawn yet skeptical. While others may hear it and outright deny it. While still others may hear it and not only deny it but speak out in hate against it. Different people will perceive it differently. Each of these perceptions will lead to different emotions inside the heart. The one who accepts it will feel peace, the skeptical one will feel doubtful, while the deniers will feel uneasy and some, even hate.

As will come later, the disbeliever demands to see things visibly to believe in them. For something to be true, it must be visible. What passed described khalq and amr. They believe in khalq - the visible part - but deny the amr, which is invisible. The Qurʾān promises them things that are not visible - heaven and hell, so they deny them. By believing in this false notion that for something to be true, it has to be visible, they reject the truth. And by doing so, how little grateful have you become.

This is why the ayah shifts from third to second person. It used the third person in the last verse “Then he made his progeny from an extract taken from disdained water” as well as

at the start of this verse “He balanced him by breathing into him from His spirit”. But now it transitions to the second person”He made for you, hearing, perception and emotions. How

little are you grateful” because it is now addressing those who accused the prophet ﷺ of forging the Qurʾān directly.

You

will see verses 15 and 16 directly referencing

back to this verse.

They said,” When we have disappeared into the earth, are we to be in a new creation?” Rather, they are disbelievers in the meeting of their Master.

Now it again shifts back to the third person. They said, not You said. The natural flow after the words “How little grateful you are” in the previous verse should have been to

use the second person. This is Iltifāt. Because they have been ungrateful to Allah, they are not worthy to be addressed directly by God and have distanced themselves from Him. This is why they are addressed to in the third person, as if they are far away from Him.

To the believers and others, the disbelievers say “When we have disappeared into the earth,

are we to be in a new creation?” but in actuality, they are just in denial of meeting Allah

in the hereafter. The root problem is denial of meeting Allah, not these and other petty arguments they make. It is clear what they are trying to say. How can a person who has died, gets decomposed and vanishes be brought back to life again? This is a stupid argument because the all powerful God is indeed capable of doing it. If God is capable of creating from nothing, then how can He not do it again with the dead?

Their actual problem is that they simply deny meeting Allah in the hereafter. They just come up with simple, stupid and worthless arguments to cover it up. Now what does denying the meeting with Allah imply? We covered earlier in the surah that Allah establishes the rule of this universe that actions have consequences. Just as one stage of the universe leads to another, so do actions lead to their consequences. The Prophet’s ﷺ role was described as being a nadhīr which linguistically means warning of consequences that are inherently tied to actions.

When do people get repaid for their actions? Judgment day; the day they meet Allah; and this is what this verses again mentions. They are disbelievers in the meeting of

their Master. They are disbelievers in the fundamental fact that they will be repaid for what they do.

We can ourselves see in our daily lives that the people most averse to the notion of justice are the criminals themselves. Most criminals deny they deserve to be punished. You will mostly find them trying to justify their crimes. The people most averse to justice are the guilty, those against whom justice stands, who are on the other side of justice. Same is the case here. As mentioned in verse 7, these people denied the Qurʾān not because of a flaw inside it, but because of their crime of neglecting the amr - the rūḥ - inside of them. We normally see, when justice is against someone, you either deny it or make stupid arguments to justify your actions, and this is exactly what they did above.

The disbelievers only believe in the visible aspect (khalq) but deny the invisible Amr. You will see how this surah will revolve around this subject that we so often hear to this day - if I cannot see it, then it is not true.

Say, ‘The angel of death, entrusted over you, will take you. Then to your Rabb, will you be returned.

Again, Allah does not address them directly. He orders His prophet ﷺ to respond to their useless claims.

He does not simply say You will die and then be returned to your Master; rather, He brings to attention the angel of death.

Allah defines what death is. Death is not simply the stoppage of existence. Death is the angel of death taking your spirits out of your bodies. Allah mentioned the rūḥ in the previous verses and now He defines death as the removal of this rūḥ from our

bodies. Which means that it is the rūḥ that gives us life. Take it out and our bodies stop functioning. After the angel of death removes the spirit from our bodies they go to Allah. We covered earlier how it is the amr, that gives life to khalq. Allah is correcting the notion of death that the disbelievers have. Death is not the cessation of existence and you being buried and forgotten forever. It is the removal of the spirits inside your bodies (the very spirits that you reject) to be returned to Allah. Upon death, it goes to Allah to be judged as righteous or evil. Then it is returned back to the grave. Then on judgment day, the body is recreated, joined with the spirit and taken out of the grave. What this means is that we do not remain unconscious when dead. Even inside the grave, our spirit is inside the body. We just live in a

different

state

of

existence.

This

Ḥadīth

describes

the

whole

process.

، عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ يَسَارٍ ، عَنْ مُ مَّحَ دِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ عَطَاءٍ ، عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي ذِئْبٍ ، حَدَّ ثَنَا شَ بَابَةُ ، حَدَّ ثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ

: ” الْمَيِّتُ تَحْضُرُهُ الْمَلاَئِكَةُ فَإِ ذَا كَانَ الرَّ جُلُ صَالِ حًا قَالُوا : عَنِ النَّ بِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَالَ ، عَنْ أَ بِي هُرَيْرَةَ

اخْرُجِي أَيَّ تُهَا النَّفْسُ الطَّيِّبَةُ كَانَتْ فِي الْجَسَدِ الطَّيِّبِ اخْرُجِي حَمِيدَةً وَأَبْشِرِي بِرَوْحٍ وَرَيْ حَانٍ وَرَبٍّ غَيْرِ غَضْ بَانَ فَيُقَالُ . فُلاَنٌ : مَنْ هَذَا فَيَقُولُونَ : فَلاَ يَزَالُ يُقَالُ لَهَا ذَلِكَ حَتَّى تَخْرُجَ ثُمَّ يُعْرَجُ بِهَا إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَيُفْ تَحُ لَهَا فَيُقَالُ

. وَأَبْشِرِي بِرَوْحٍ وَرَيْ حَانٍ وَرَبٍّ غَيْرِ غَضْ بَانَ ، كَانَتْ فِي الْجَسَدِ الطَّيِّبِ ادْخُلِي حَمِيدَةً ، مَرْ حَبًا بِالنَّ فْ سِ الطَّيِّبَةِ :

يَّ تُهَا F فَلاَيَزَالُ يُقَالُ لَهَا ذَلِكَ حَتَّى يُنْتَهَى بِهَا إِلَى السَّمَاءِ الَّ تِي فِيهَا اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِوَ ذَا كَانَ الرَّجُلُ السُّوءُ قَالَ اخْرُجِي أَ

فَلاَ . وَآخَرَ مِنْ شَكْ لِهِ أَ زْوَاجٌ . النَّ فْسُ الْ خَبِيثَةُ كَانَتْ فِي الْ جَسَدِ الْ خَبِيثِ اخْرُجِي ذَمِيمَةً وَأَ بْشِرِي بِحَمِيمٍ وَغَسَّ اقٍ : فَيُقَالُ . فُلاَنٌ : مَنْ هَذَا فَيُقَالُ : يَزَالُ يُقَالُ لَهَا ذَلِكَ حَتَّى تَخْرُجَ ثُمَّ يُعْرَجُ بِهَا إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَلاَ يُفْ تَحُ لَهَا فَيُقَالُ لاَمَرْ حَ بًا بِالنَّ فْ سِ الْخَبِيثَةِ كَانَتْ فِي الْجَسَدِ الْخَبِيثِ ارْجِعِي ذَمِيمَةً فَإِنَّ هَا لاَتُفْ تَحُ لَكِ أَبْوَابُ السَّمَاءِ فَيُرْسَلُ بِهَا مِنَ

” السَّ مَاءِ ثُمَّ تَصِ يرُ إِ لَى الْقَبْرِ

Angels come to the dying person, and if the man was righteous, they say: ‘Come out, O good soul that was in a good body, come out praiseworthy and receive glad tidings of mercy and fragrance and a Lord Who is not angry.’ And this is repeated until it comes out, then it is taken up to heaven, and it is opened for it, and it is asked: ‘Who is this?’ They say: ‘So-and-so.’ It is said: ‘Welcome to the good soul that was in a good body. Enter praiseworthy and receive the glad tidings of mercy and fragrance and a Lord Who is not angry.’ And this is repeated until it is brought to the heaven above which is Allah. But if the man was evil, they say: ‘Come out O evil soul that was in an evil body. Come out blameworthy, and receive the tidings of boiling water and the discharge of dirty wounds,’ and other torments of similar kind, all together. And this is repeated until it comes out, then it is taken up to heaven and it is not opened for it. And it is asked: ‘Who is this?’ It is said: ‘So-and-so.’ And it is said: ‘No welcome to the evil soul that was in an evil body. Go back blameworthy, for the gates of heaven will not be opened to you.’ So it is sent back down from heaven, then it goes to the grave.” (Ibn Majah 4262) Therefore, death is not being buried and to be forgotten. No, you will pay for what you did. The spirit is returned to your grave, where it experiences a new form of life. The body may decompose but the spirit does not. Then on judgment day, Allah will recreate the physical body and the spirit will be put inside the body again as in this

world, and brought before Allah for the ultimate judgment. As it happened inside the womb of our mother, so shall it happen again inside the womb of the earth - the grave. Just as our mothers acted as our womb in this life, the earth will act as our second womb for the next life.

This also shows that it is the spirit that experiences life. Because when the spirit is removed from the body, it stops functioning and dies. Inside the grave the bodies will rot and decompose but the spirit inside the grave will experience a new life. The prophet ﷺ said: “....There is nothing of the human body that does not decay except one bone; that is the little

bone at the end of the coccyx from which the human body will be recreated on the Day of Resurrection.” (Narrated by al-Bukhārī, 4651; Muslim, 2955).

Therefore, the body is not life. It is the rūḥ that experiences it. The disbelievers need to understand this.

Now this is perfectly tied to what has come before. We mentioned that the main role of the prophet ﷺ was to be a constant source of warning to people that their actions have binding consequences attached to them. What you do so shall you receive. If death is the end and there is nothing after death, then this falls on its head because people get away with what they do in this life many times. The Qurʾān itself maintains that people will be repaid in full to what they did. Notice the words ‘ in

full’, they are critical to understand. You may get some parts of what you earned here in this world, not everything. On judgment day, you will receive in full due, the exact recompense of what you did as Allah says

يَوْمَ تَأْتِى كُلُّ نَفْسٍۢ تُجَٰدِلُ عَن نَّفْسِهَا وَتُوَفَّىٰ كُلُّ نَفْسٍۢ مَّا عَمِلَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ

A day each soul comes disputing for itself. Every soul was given in full what it willingly committed. Hence, they shall not be wronged.

Therefore, death cannot be the end. If actions have binding consequences attached to them, then death cannot be the end. There must be a final reckoning after death if this is true.

The disbelievers deny the amr of Allah, which in this case refers to the spirit inside us, yet it is this very spirit that gives us life. Remove it and death occurs. There is simply no denying the amr of Allah. If death is the end of it all, then amr really has no bearing. This is not a small fact. The Jews have wrestled with it just as they continue to do so. Judaism does not have a concept of a final reckoning except for vague texts that are expounded on by the rabbis. What even is the point of life if death is the end? If there is no hereafter, and this world is all there is, then why do the righteous suffer? If this world is all there is, then should the righteous not be rewarded for their

righteousness and the wicked punished in this world? Yet does this happen? The righteous suffer more than anyone. The book of Job wrestles with this question. David wrestles with this question in the book of Psalms. Without the concept of hereafter, righteousness has no merit and evil, no condemnation.

If you could but see when the criminals are hanging their heads before their Rabb. Our Rabb! we have seen and heard, so return us; we will work righteousness for we are certain. You will see the surah coming together from here on out.

We discussed in ayah 10 that the disbelievers were criminals for rejecting the amr of Allah, which in the case of man, is the rūḥ inside us, and so this verse calls them out plainly for it by calling them criminals.

The one being addressed is the Prophet ﷺ himself since he was the one who faced these words regarding the Qurʾān and was being called a liar. It is also for us, especially those involved in the dawah work, who often have to deal with violent and insolent remarks from others regarding the Qurʾān and the Prophet ﷺ .

Hanging their heads -The word نكس is translated as hanging. It comes from the root nūn kāf sīn which was used for an arrow whose feathered ends broke so its top is turned

downwards, for a newborn delivered feet first instead of head first, as well as for a sick person who recovers, but then becomes sick again with the same disease.

The central meaning is for something to reverse or turn back from its normal course.¹²⁵ In this verse, it does not simply mean the criminals lowered their heads, it means a head that is forced downwards in humiliation, contrary to their former state of pride. It is a collapse of their former state of arrogance. In this world, they were argumentative, prideful, arrogant, but now, they are silent, humble and lowly. Before they were deniers and disbelievers; now, they submit and have become believers.

Now pay attention to what they say. First, they call Allah their rabb - their caretaker, nourisher, sustainer and the kind Master, the same word as in verse 2. Now, they recognize that the Qurʾān was not an act of corruption, but of love, kindness and goodwill from Allah, and that Allah meant good for them, not bad.

We saw and we heard -In the 9th verse, Allah had said, He made for you, hearing, sight and emotions.

This verse uses the same words. Except that here sight is mentioned before hearing while the 9th ayah mentioned hearing before sight. On judgment day, the disbelievers will actually visibly see what they had only heard in this world regarding judgment day and its events. They will actually visibly see the consequences of their actions in front of them. Therefore, they put emphasis on seeing reality not hearing it. We have seen what we used to hear.

But this is their problem. They only believed after they had seen. Hearing about it and being reminded of it in the previous life did not make them believe in it. I will only believe when I see it - we hear it today as well. For something to be true, it does not have to be visible.

Now that we have seen with our own eyes what we used to hear in the worldly life -return us; we will work righteousness for we are certain. We have now verified what we used to hear. We see that actions do have consequences, we see that you actually meant good for us, that you wanted to guide us, that the Qurʾān was an act of love from you, not of corruption.

Lastly, the answer to the condition presented is omitted. If you could but see, but what then? What would happen if we could see it? Its answer is omitted so that our imagination can consider all possibilities which itself is the rhetoric here. The actual answer to the condition is; if you could but see when the criminals are hanging their heads in front of their Master, you would see something that is beyond what your imagination

can encompass. When you understand something, your imagination does not need to

wander left and right to consider all sorts of possibilities. It knows the answer, it does not even need to consider other options. But by omitting the answer in this verse, Allah deliberately lets our imagination wander to consider all sorts of possibilities to say that just as your imagination is running wild and not arriving at a definite answer right now, similarly will your imagination fail to grasp the gravity of what the disbelievers will find themselves in, upon seeing the criminals hanging their heads in front of Allah on judgment day.

¹²⁵ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 4, p. 2258

Had We willed, We would have given each soul its guidance. But the great word from Me came true, ‘I will truly fill Hell with such disbelievers among the Jinn and mankind, in great numbers.”

My translation is extremely different from how this verse is normally translated and even how many exegetes explain it. I will explain in detail below. Guidance here means visibly seeing the things the Qurʾān promises regarding judgment day and its events. In the last verse, the disbelievers became certain that what they used to hear in this world of the Qurʾān was the truth after seeing it with their own eyes. So when Allah says “Had We willed, We would have given each soul its

guidance” He is saying that had Allah so willed, He would have made each and every single person see what the Qurʾān promises with their own eyes and then, they would have surely believed in it like the disbelievers in the last verse.

But the saying from Me came to truth, ‘I will truly fill Hell with the Jinn and mankind, all together- Before explaining this, let us first look at a similar passage in surah Ṣād: قَالَ فَبِعِزَّتِكَ لَأُغْوِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ

Iblīs said, By Your might! I will tempt them all to harm!

إِلَّا عِبَادَكَ مِنْهُمُ ٱلْمُخْلَصِينَ Except your honored servants from them. The chosen ones.

قَالَ فَٱلْحَقُّ وَٱلْحَقَّ أَقُولُ Allah said, This is the truth - and the truth I speak لَأَمْلَأَنَّ جَهَنَّمَ مِنكَ وَمِمَّن تَبِعَكَ مِنْهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ I will fill hell with you and with such of them who follow you, together. (Sad: 82-85) Had Allah wanted, He would have forced you to obey the correct path. But He wanted to give you free will for you to prove yourselves to Him, that you will indeed choose guidance even when faced with the choice to not do so. Because this free will exists, there will be a party that follows Iblīs and chooses error over guidance, and hence, my word that I said to Iblīs that I will fill Hell with you and whoever follows you, has come to pass.

So when Allah says -But the saying from Me came to truth, ‘I will truly fill Hell with the Jinn

and mankind, all together -He is saying that had returning them to the worldly life again so that they could perform righteous deeds was in accordance with divine wisdom,

then We would have created them naturally guided in their worldly life, so that they would perform righteous deeds by compulsion and force with no will or desire towards evil. But I did not want that. I wanted to create mankind with free will to choose between two paths of following Satan or of following Me so that they can be repaid in accordance with what they did; due to which, the party who was misled and trapped by Satan will end up filling Hell and becoming its fuel. I wanted to test mankind and Jinn. Will they believe in my promises and choose the path of righteousness by hearing my word rather than seeing it with their own eyes? Otherwise, I could have shown them with their own eyes what they were promised in the worldly life itself.

Now a few grammatical nuances. Notice how the pronoun shifts from We to I inside the ayah.

Allah does not say But My great word came to truth, rather He says the great word from Me

came to truth. He said it this way to indicate the greatness and grandeur of this word.

The preposition من here is for the purpose of magnification and hence why I added the word great in the translation.

Secondly, the definite article before the words Jinn and mankind is ال العهد which refers to something that is already known or mentioned previously. In this verse, it refers to the disbelievers mentioned in the previous verses, who accused the prophet ﷺ of inventing the Qurʾān by himself to cause corruption, who were unaware of the true nature of death, who denied the meeting with Allah in the hereafter. So it is better rendered as “But a great word from Me came to truth, that I will

fill Hell with such disbelievers of the Jinn and mankind, in great numbers.”

Another possibility is that there is an omitted مضاف which would then mean that I will

fill Hell with the disbelievers of the Jinn and mankind, in great numbers” but this, though true, is not contextually consistent.

Now the words Jinn and mankind. The Qurʾān uses two words for Jinn - جنة and جن .

The pattern of the word used in this ayah, contains meanings of generality and of lowliness. It means the great multitudes of Jinn that are lowly, disgraced and humiliated. Same is the case with the word Mankind. The Qurʾān uses two words إنس and الناس . The word used in this verse - الناس - is for the sake of generality and lowliness

as well. A great number of people disgraced, lowly and humiliated. Allah is saying that a great majority of mankind will act in the same manner as these disbelievers opposing the prophet ﷺ .

So taste because you forgot the meeting of this day of yours; We forgot you. Taste the punishment of eternity for what you used to do.

This verse is a direct continuation from verse 12. Verse 13 is actually جملة معترضة - an interjected sentence - between these two verses. The normal flow is as such

If you could but see when the criminals are hanging their heads before their Rabb. Our Rabb! we have seen and heard, so return us; we will work righteousness for we are certain. (13) So taste because you forgot the meeting of this day of yours; We forgot you. Taste the punishment of eternity for what you used to do. (14) When the disbelievers admitted their faults and disbelief, Allah replied - Then taste..... Because you used to deny this meeting, which now you admit by saying “We have

seen and heard”, taste the eternal punishment.

Verse 13 is interjected between this by Allah. Allah does not say those words to the disbelievers on Judgment day. They are interjected. A rather simple example from our daily lives would be: I ate a burger - and it was delicious by the way - at this restaurant. The sentence is actually I ate a burger at this restaurant. You added “and it was delicious by the way” inside a sentence that would have been complete without these words. In Arabic, this is done to state a fact that needs to be known. If you are telling something to people, but in the middle you realize there is something extremely important that you need to say, even if it is not a part of the topic you’re covering, then this is what an interjected sentence does in Arabic.

Verse 13 was an important fact that Allah needed to remind people of. It basically contains a central pillar of our faith in God and His justice. It actually answers major philosophical questions people have long struggled with.

The word “taste” comes two times. In the first sentence, “So taste, because you forgot the

meeting of this day of yours, we forgot you ” it is a complete sentence by itself and is left

open ended. Taste what? Taste the consequences of your actions. It is left open ended because it is implied by the context. Secondly, these people had hung their heads in shame and disgrace in verse 12 which represented a reversal of their prideful state to that of a humble, humiliated servant. So taste also this disgrace and humiliation.

Because you forgot the meeting of this day of yours; We forgot you- it is obvious that they

rejected the hereafter, they did not forget it. These people accused the prophet ﷺ of inventing the Qurʾān, denied resurrection, and had a faulty concept of death that centered on death being the final end. They rejected it, they did not forget it so to speak. As a matter of fact, verse 10 itself says “ Rather, they are disbelievers in the meeting

of their Rabb.”

The answer lies in digging deeper into language itself. The word kufr is normally translated as “disbelief” in the Qurʾān. At its root, kufr means to cover something. We

covered this earlier in surah ʿAbasa. A kāfir- a disbeliever - is someone who buries the seed of faith and good inside him. When something is covered up, it naturally gets forgotten.

This implies that the seed was in fact present inside them. The surah mentioned the rūḥ previously and said that since they neglected their rūḥ, they deny the Qurʾān

and the meeting with God. The rūḥ is already there, present inside them, they can feel it, they can testify to its existence yet they have buried it deep within them; and left it forgotten and neglected. This neglect led them to disbelieve in not only God, but also in the fact that actions have consequences; which is the very central point of this surah. The person who follows his desires and lust, he has no concern for repercussions. Lust, by definition, is the state where desires overpower logic. A person may know that the action leads to bad consequences, yet he still does it under the sheer power and grip of his lust. He is unable to stop himself and does whatever his lust commands him to. Lust does not concern itself with what comes after, but only with what happens then and there; with only the pleasure that it wants to experience in that very moment; and not with what it leads to in the future. Hence, lust by definition, is rejection of the fact that actions bear consequences. Therefore, acting blindly on lust is a rejection of the meeting of God, where all actions are repaid in full with their results.

So because you neglected the spirit of God inside you and buried it under the mud of lust, leaving it forgotten and neglected, you rejected and disbelieved in meeting your God and in receiving the dues of what you earned. Therefore, We forgot you; and left you buried under the mud of shame, guilt, disgrace and humiliation; We neglected your prayer of returning to the world when you said Our Master, we have

seen and heard, so return us; we will work righteousness for we are certain and did not return you.

Therefore -taste the punishment of eternity for what you used to do - You shall not be returned to the world. Rather, you will taste God’s punishment for eternity. Not only shall you be neglected, and buried under disgrace, humiliation and shame in this meeting, you shall be left buried under the fire and boiling water for eternity. You shall be forgotten - you shall be neglected.

What you used to do- Denying the meeting with Allah; and denying the fact that people will be repaid for their actions in the hereafter led them to commit such actions that led them to the fire. Their actions were a natural consequence of their lack of belief in the final meeting with Allah. If a criminal knows he will get away with his crime without paying any price, will he stop? He will commit it gleefully. If he knows he will get away with them, he will only commit more crimes, which is exactly what happened with these people.

The only ones who believe in our verses are those who, when reminded of them, fall down in prostration, and declare His perfection accompanied with His praise. They alone do not seek greatness.

The people described earlier did not believe in Allah nor in His signs. So who believes in them? The only ones who believe in our signs are those who, when reminded of them, fall

down in prostration, and declare His perfection accompanied with His praise.

First, the word “reminded” has the shaddah on it which means being constantly reminded, not just one single reminder. It means - whenever they are reminded.....

Secondly, it is in the passive voice. Reminded by whom? That is not specified to create generality. Whenever they are reminded by anyone.....

But we need to understand the word dhikr (reminded) as well. At its root, it was used

for something strong and sturdy. The male gender is called zakar (from the same

root) because men are physically stronger than women. Dhikr does not mean any reminder. It means a strong and effective reminder. You can teach the Qurʾān to people, but when you do it in a way that has a strong impact on people, you have done dhikr. This is important because the manner of teaching matters and the Qurʾān recognizes it. The Qurʾān itself uses this word here to imply that whenever dhikr of the Qurʾān is done in front of them i.e; whenever they are reminded of the

Qurʾān in an appropriate and effective manner by anyone, it changes them. It is not a random mention or reminder of the Qurʾān.

Thirdly, the phrase the only ones who believe, is in the present tense because it conveys that their faith is renewed and that its strength keeps increasing moment after moment because they are already believers.

Fall down in prostration -The word kharra, translated as fall down at its root means a

complete reversal of the state of something. It is normally used in the Qurʾān for falling over such as when Allah destroyed the habitations of some people causing their roofs - the highest part - to crash on them. Here, it does not simply mean falling down in prostration, it means a reversal and a change. When they are reminded of Allah’s verses, it produces a change in them. What kind of change? Prostration does not simply mean prostrating on the earth as we do in our prayers. It also implies submitting, obeying and humility. Whenever they are reminded of Allah’s verses, it affects them and changes them to become more submissive and humble before Allah. This ties in perfectly with the previous ayah. Remember the word نكس conveyed the reversal of the disbelievers pride and arrogance into disgrace and humility. The believer is he who turns his pride and arrogance into humility and submission to God INSIDE this world while the disbelievers are those who do it on judgment day. The disbeliever of today will be a believer on judgment day but by that time, it will be too late.

Declare His tasbīḥ accompanied with His hamd - Tasbīḥ comes from the root sīn bāʾ ḥāʾ

which was used for a loose garment that hangs away from the body, for swimming above the surface of water, as well as for a horse that gracefully stretches its legs while running etc. Te central meaning is to remain in contact with something that could

engulf while remaining above its surface and not getting engulfed.¹²⁶

A swimmer for example swims above the surface of the water without getting engulfed by it, and the loose garment described above does not cling to the body. It hangs down.

From this concept comes the meaning of transcendence. For something to be above something else. Tasbīḥ of Allah means that Allah is far above everything else. He is

transcendent and above anything unworthy of Him. This goes back to verse 4 where Allah mentioned the istiwāʾ above the throne. Allah is transcendent and above all creation. Creation by definition is defective and flawed because being created implies a beginning in time, with no prior existence. Allah is transcendent and free of all defects and flaws. He is above the throne, distinct and separate from all creation. Everything besides Him is created.

Hamd comes from the root ḥāʾ mīm dāl which at its very root was used for healthy and

nutritious food that gives you energy, strength and contentment.¹²⁷ This root came to be used in the meanings of praise and gratitude because when someone helps or lends strength to another person, the natural reaction is praise and thank him.

Tasbīḥ is declaring Allah to be free of all faults and shortcomings and above all things. The core points of this surah so far have been refuting the disbelievers regarding resurrection and the fact that actions have binding consequences to them. In addition, it also answers their claim that the prophet ﷺ forged this Qurʾān by himself to cause corruption. As explained before, if there is no final reckoning after death where people are repaid for their actions, then there really is no justice. This would imply that Allah is unjust and He created a system which is inherently unjust, imperfect and flawed. So these believers, they do tasbīḥ of Allah - they declare and believe Allah to be free of injustice and declare Him to be perfectly just. How do they do that? By believing in the last day when people will face the consequences that come binding to their actions. Also, the disbelievers accused the prophet ﷺ of forging the Qurʾān to cause corruption. The believers declare tasbīḥ of Allah by declaring and believing Him free of this attribute. Since Allah is the rabb. it necessitates that He sends down a book that serves to guide and rectify people, not to cause corruption. Believers believe that Allah does not cause corruption, rather He only does good, and hence, by believing this and by believing the Qurʾān to be sent down by Allah, not forged by Muhammad ﷺ , they do Tasbīḥ of Allah.

With the hamd of their Rabb- They do tasbīḥ of Allah accompanied with His hamd. Tasbīḥ is the negation of everything unworthy of Allah while hamd is the affirmation

of everything worthy of Him. Together, they complete faith and belief in God. Allah is free from every defect and He possesses every single perfection and blessing. Without tasbīḥ, someone might praise Allah while imagining human-like flaws while without hamd, someone might deny flaws without recognizing His blessings.

They alone, do not seek greatness -Most translations render it as They are not arrogant. The word مستكبر means someone who desires or seeks greatness. Secondly, there is an extra pronoun here which is why I added the word “ alone” in the translation. It creates a meaning of exclusivity. Only these people do not seek greatness. Which means that others do seek it. These people, as opposed to the disbelievers mentioned before who entered Hell, do not seek greatness. Rather, they do tasbīḥ of Allah combined with His hamd. They recognize that Allah is not only free of all defects but also that all blessings and

goodness only comes from Him. They fall down in prostration - they humble and submit themselves before God when reminded of His signs and when the Qurʾān is recited on them. They obey Him, and become

humble before Him; the exact opposite of being arrogant and seeking greatness. The Qurʾān calls us to

obey Allah and submit to Him. Therefore, when someone denies the Qurʾān and disobeys this command, he is seeking greatness and displaying arrogance. He is rejecting the command to serve and be humble before God, which necessarily equates to seeking greatness.

This verse summarizes Islamic belief in God. To do tasbīḥ of Him combined with His

hamd. Without tasbīḥ, someone might praise Allah while imagining human-like flaws

while without Hamd, someone might deny flaws without recognizing His blessings. Obeying God necessarily implies becoming humble and lowly before Him and to deny any and all desire for greatness. When we say all Hamd belongs to Allah, it

means just that. It belongs to Him, not to us. When we do tasbīḥ of Allah it means that

He alone is free from all defects, we are not. Since we do not deserve hamd nor tasbīḥ, we do not deserve to be great, lofty and elevated. The believer in Allah believes in these facts and hence, he is neither arrogant, nor does he desire to be great. He recognizes his reality and submits humbly to Allah. Therefore, denying Allah and the Qurʾān, necessarily implies the opposite; that you deny these facts. Hence, disbelief in Islam is defined as seeking greatness and being arrogant. This is attested to in the famous Ḥadīth:

فَمَنْ يُنَازعُني في ، والكِبْرياءُ رِدَائِي ، العِزُّ إِ زاري : قَالَ اللَّ ه عزَّ وجلَّ : قَالَ رسولُ اللَّ هِ ﷺ : وعن أبي هريرة قَالَ واحدٍ منهُما فقَدْ عذَّ بتُه رواه مسلم

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah ( )ﷺ said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said: Pride is my cloak and greatness My robe, and he who competes with Me in respect of either of them I shall cast into Hell.

It was related by Abu Dāwūd (also by Ibn Majah and Ahmad) with sound chains of authority. This Ḥadīth also appears in Muslim in another version.

¹²⁶ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 2, p. 947
¹²⁷ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 1, p. 492

“Their sides pull away from their beds, supplicating their Rabb in fear and aspiration, and from what We have provided them, they spend.”

There is an interesting word play here. The word تتجافى is translated as “pull away” while the word مضاجع is translated as “beds”. At their roots, تتجافى means for something to pull

away from where it would normally be while مضاجع means for something to come

down or collapse with weight as if being pulled down towards it. It is an image of something pulling away from something it is being drawn to, like a magnet trying to pull away from another magnet despite being attracted to it.

This is a symbol of letting go of desires. Desires are by nature things we are attracted to, which draw us, which pull us towards them yet despite this pressure, force and attraction, a person pulls away from them. This is what it represents in this verse and

them forsaking their beds to pray to God in the hours of the night is an example of this. It not only represents them leaving their beds to pray to God during the night, but also them leaving and pulling away from all prohibited desires. Beds are places where we lie down and rest. Similarly, desires are something in whom we find pleasure. We are naturally pulled towards them due to the pleasure they offer. Next, why does Allah say “their sides pull away from their beds” rather than simply saying

“they pull away from their beds ?” Because this creates imagery. Imagine a person is standing perfectly straight and looking straight ahead while one of his sides is being pulled towards something. Yet he stands his ground without even flinching or even leaning to one of his sides. He remains perfectly straight. It is not that his body does not move towards it; his sides do not. He is facing straight ahead and remains still, perfectly straight despite the strong force of attraction trying to pull him away to one of his sides.

The question now arises, why present this example specifically forsaking their beds? If the intention was to simply convey their forsaking of desires, other examples could have been presented as well.

The answer is that this is perfectly consistent with the theme and context of this surah. This surah earlier placed emphasis on the rūḥ- the spirit inside us. Here, Allah describes the believers as forsaking their sleep to call on Him. What is sleep? It is the sister of death. What is death? It is the removal of the spirit from the body as described earlier in this surah. The Qurʾān has stated that our spirits depart our body when we sleep, and Allah returns them to our bodies when we wake up. 128 This is a representation of death itself. When we sleep, our spirits leave our bodies and when we wake up, they return to our bodies. Similarly, when a person dies, his spirit leaves his body and this spirit will return to his recreated body, when he wakes up on judgment day.

The believers recognize the amr of Allah inside them and elsewhere. If you look at it another way, they prefer the state in which the rūḥ remains inside the body over the state in which it leaves them. They prefer comfort that is attained by having the rūḥ remain

inside them, over the comfort that is attained while it is not inside their bodies, unlike the disbelievers who entered Hell.

This not only describes their literal action, but also serves as an indirect expression of their recognition and belief in the amr of Allah inside them, in the form of the rūḥ. Allah singles out standing up and waking the nights in His worship, as an act that perfectly captures their belief in it.

128 Q. 39:42

Supplicating their Lord in fear and aspiration - طمع is slightly different from رجو both of

which mean hope or expectation. طمع is a feeling created when something you hope

for is within grasp.¹²⁹ For example, let’s say someone really wants to get a job but he has been unsuccessful. Suppose this person gives an interview and it went really well and he sees many signs that the company will accept him. He now feels as if his desire is within his reach and now eagerly anticipates the company to get back to him. This is طمع . He sees his desire getting closer and closer to him in such a way that he starts preparing himself to receive it. This is why this word was classically used to mean preparation.

Supplicating stands for not only calling to Allah but all forms of worship such as the five daily prayers because ultimately all forms of worship are us calling on Allah.

Now the verse does not specify what exactly they fear and desire. From the context, it is apparent that it is in fear of meeting the same fate as the disbelievers whose fate was described earlier and it is in hope of getting close to Allah. They call on Allah worship Him - in hopes of getting close to Allah. When you are accepted by Allah and recognize Him and who He is, you will naturally want to meet Him. Hence, this is how they prepare themselves to meet Allah. By coming close to Him.

From what We have provided them, they spend. - The word نفق is translated as spend. At its

root, it was actually used for a desert lizard that would dig two holes in the ground far away from each other. When a predator would come after it, it would enter the ground from one hole and exit from the other to escape.¹³⁰ The Qurʾān calls a hypocrite a munafiq which comes from the same root. They are so called because when being a believer is beneficial, they believe, but when being a disbeliever comes with worldly perks, they join the disbelievers just like the lizard which enters from one hole and comes out of the other. Now why does the Qurʾān use the same root for spending? To create an imagery. It is as if the one who spends for God, sends it forth via one hole, only to receive it back from the other. Or that he sends it down one hole - this life - and it comes back from the other - hereafter. Whatever they spend in this life, is repaid back to them in one shape or the other as the Qurʾān itself says:

وَمَا تُنفِقُوا۟ مِن شَىْءٍۢ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ يُوَفَّ إِلَيْكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تُظْلَمُونَ

Whatever you spend (same root) in Allah’s path will be repaid to you in full. You will not be wronged (You will receive in full, you will not receive it less than what you spent) (Al - Anfal: 60) This remains consistent with the theme of actions having binding consequences. The disbelievers faced the dreaded consequences of their evil actions, while the believers received the good and joyful rewards for their actions.

When you spend for Allah, you are basically sacrificing your wealth. For the one who does not believe, this is all a waste. He does not believe in the hereafter, he does not believe you will get it back from God. Only the believer, who believes that Allah will in fact reward Him, and that his good actions will bear good fruit for him, will in fact sacrifice for Allah. Allah is singling out those actions that perfectly capture their belief in the hereafter and in the invisible amr.

“Spending” here does not just relate to money. It relates to everything. Your money, time, energy, effort. Your youth, the rest that you sacrificed, the sleep you gave up. This is why it uses ( ما Whatever) instead of الذي which is more constrained and specific.

From whatever Allah has given them, be it their money, time, effort or anything; they use it to get close to Allah; and whatever they do for Allah, whatever they have to sacrifice for Allah, from the smallest of things such as even a few minutes of sleep or rest; to the biggest such as even losing their own lives, will be repaid back in full. The good consequence of their good actions. Actions have consequences. This fact proved to be a curse for the disbelievers, but for the believers, it became a blessing.

¹²⁹ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 3, p. 1355
¹³⁰ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 4, p. 2241

Therefore, no soul knows what was kept hidden for them, of what is the coolness of eyes; as a reward of what they consistently used to do They stayed up late at night and preferred standing in prayer over resting their eyes. Their eyes hurt because of lack of sleep, and to compensate, Allah will cool their eyes in the hereafter with things they have never seen. This also applies metaphorically to other aspects as we discussed in the last verse. They left the comfort of their bodies their desires, and therefore they shall be compensated by Allah with things and in a manner they have never seen or experienced before.

Some grammatical nuances:

Therefore -The letter fa is translated as therefore but it can also be fa al faṣīḥa which

exposes or reveals a hidden sentence that is understood from the context. If we take this to be a fa al faṣīḥa, then the verse would be rendered as - They were rewarded in a

manner above their hopes and expectations and hence, no soul knows what was kept hidden for them, of what is the coolness of the eyes.

They had hopes and expectations from Allah on how He will reward them, but the way Allah rewarded them on judgment not only surpassed their hopes and expectations, it was something they had never even known. They did not even think that the things Allah rewarded them with could even exist. This is why it says “what was hidden from them.” It means something whose existence was withheld from them such that they did not even know about it. This famous ḥadīth perfectly describes this verse:

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ عَنِ ، عَنْ هَمَّ امِ بْنِ مُنَبِّهٍ ، أَخْبَرَنَا مَعْمَرٌ ، أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ ، حَدَّ ثَنَا مُعَاذُ بْنُ أَسَدٍ

وَلاَ ، وَلاَ أُ ذُنٌ سَمِعَتْ ، النَّ بِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ” قَالَ اللَّهُ أَعْدَدْتُ لِعِبَادِي الصَّالِ حِينَ مَا لاَ عَيْنٌ رَأَ تْ خَطَرَ عَلَى قَلْبِ بَشَرٍ

The Prophet ( )ﷺ said, “Allah said, “I have prepared for My righteous slaves (such excellent things) as no eye has ever seen, nor an ear has ever heard nor a human heart can ever think of.’ (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 7498) Soul- The word س ‰ نف - translated as soul- is indefinite which creates meaning of

generality. Any soul that was righteous, not just the prophets or the people especially chosen by Allah; but every single person. Anyone who does any good, will be rewarded for that with such excellent things that he has never seen, nor heard and which have never crossed his mind.

Of what is the coolness of eyes - The normal expected way of speech would have been so no soul knows what is kept hidden for the coolness of their eyes - instead of the way it is phrased in this verse. This creates an Idafah which denotes the meaning of perfection and completeness. For example, if I say; their project will be perfectly completed versus the perfect project will be completed; there is a difference. In the first sentence, perfection

is relative to their plans while the second sentence denotes completeness and perfection in totality. It is the perfect project. There is no other project that surpasses it. Same is the meaning in this verse. The coolness and comforting of the eyes is not relative to each person; rather it is perfect and complete by itself. There is nothing that surpasses such comfort.

A reward of what they consistently used to do -The present tense here denotes repetition

of action. These were consistent actions, almost habitual. Recall that in verse 15, Allah described the believers as those who submitted and became humble inside this world as opposed to the disbelievers who only did so on judgment day. Just as the disbelief in judgment and justice led the disbelievers to commit grave crimes whose consequences they faced on judgment day, so did the humility and submission to

Allah, while alive in this world, led the believers to do such excellent deeds that led them to obtain the perfect and everlasting comfort.

Then is one who was a believer like one who was a Fāsiq? They are not equal. This verse bears remarkable truths if reflected on. It is enough by itself to demolish any belief system that does not believe in a hereafter and in the reckoning of deeds. It is obvious that the believer and the disbeliever are not alike. So why ask this question to begin with?

To start off, we need to look at the word fāsiq. At its root, it was used for a date which slipped out of its skin. The central meaning of this root is for something to emerge out of its boundaries or for it to exceed its limits.¹³¹ Instead of calling them disbelievers as He does earlier in this surah, Allah calls them fāsiq. They are people who transgressed and exceeded the boundaries and limits set by Allah, just as a date breaks out of its skin. This is perfectly consistent with the theme of this surah. Recall that in verse 14, Allah stated that denial of the Hereafter and of the meeting with Allah led the disbelievers to commit such actions that landed them in the Fire — just as a criminal who, if he knows he will not be caught, will only commit more crimes.

The word mu‘min -translated as believer -is beautiful when paired with the word fāsiq.

Muʾmin at its very root means peace and security.¹³² A Muʾmin is a person who remains secured inside God’s covenant and boundaries unlike the fāsiq who escapes and breaks out of them. This parallel will be alluded to in the next two verses so it is important to keep in mind.

To understand this verse, we need to remember that this surah is directed to the disbelievers. Allah is addressing the disbelievers who accuse the prophet ﷺ of forging the Qurʾān, who deny the hereafter and hence believe that death is the end of it all and they will not be repaid for their actions.

This verse is actually condensing this whole surah and what has been stated thus far in it in one sentence.

The disbelievers believe that death is the end of everything and that people are not recompensed for their actions, as mentioned in verse 10. If this were true, would there really be any difference between a believer and a fāsiq? Both would die, be buried, and disappear into the same earth forever. They would have the same outcome, go to the same place, and thus be equal. It would not matter what one did in this life— whether as a muʾmin or a fāsiq—since death would end it all. Actions would be irrelevant, as both would end up in the same place with the same fate. If there is no judgment Day, if there is no resurrection after death, then indeed there is no difference between a believer and a disbeliever.

When Allah asks whether a believer can be equal to a fāsiq, He is simply stating the disbelievers’ belief in the form of a question. They believe death is the ultimate end, so the believer and the disbeliever will have the same outcome and destination, making them equal. Thus Allah asks, “Then is one who was a believer like one who was a

fasiq?”

The disbelievers believe they are equal. What did Allah do in this surah? He refuted them. He showed that death is not the end, that there is indeed a meeting with Allah after death where every person will be repaid for their deeds. He said that disbelievers will enter Hell while believers will be comforted by Allah. Their outcomes will be exact opposite, and thus the believer and disbeliever are not equal.

لَا يَسْتَوُۥنَ

They are not equal The very notion that good and evil will bear the same consequences is enough by itself to demonstrate the false nature of such a belief system. Good and evil, two opposite things, cannot bear the same result. But when you deny resurrection, this is exactly what you believe. Without an afterlife, there would really be no difference between good and bad. They would both lead to the same outcome. How absurd is it to believe that they are the same? How absurd hence, it is to believe that there will be no reckoning of deeds after death.

¹³¹ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 3, p. 1673
¹³² Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 4, p. 2125

Because those who believed and did righteous deeds, will have gardens, the perfect refuge; as an initial accommodation for what they used to do.

This verse continues from the words “They are not equal” in the last verse.

Because those who believed - a believer was contrasted with a fāsiq because unlike the fāsiq who breaks out of God’s limits, boundaries and commandments, a believer remains secured inside them. The same word is used here. آمن - translated as believedand ( مؤمن believer) come from the same root.

Did righteous deeds - the word عمل was used in classical Arabic to refer to hard labor. When referring to actions, it refers to actions done deliberately and willingly.

The word ṣāliḥat is translated as “righteous deeds” but at its root, it means correction,

restoration and rectification as we covered in surah al- ʿAṣr. Ṣāliḥat are actions that rectify and mend our souls.

Will have Gardens; the perfect refuge - The word maʾwā is translated as refuge. It comes from the root أوى which means to join and cling to something for protection. Here it

means the gardens that grant eternal safety and protection from all harms, grief and anything undesirable.

Translations normally render it as “gardens of refuge” and translate it literally but doing so misses the whole reason why it is phrased as such. The genitive construction, combined with the definite article with the word maʾwā creates the meaning of perfection and completeness. We saw this in verse 17 when instead of saying “ for

the coolness of their eyes”, Allah used the genitive construction in “what is the coolness of the eyes” to denote the perfection and the highest degree of comfort obtained in paradise. Same is the case here and hence, it is better rendered as “the gardens of perfect refuge and protection.” This perfection is in all forms; whether related to time or quality because being temporal is a flaw while being eternal is perfection related to time.

Gardens; not garden- Multiple gardens, not just one. This denotes freedom. A believer a muʾmin- is someone who secures himself inside God’s limits and boundaries unlike the fāsiq who breaks out of them. The believers remained confined within God’s boundaries in this world and restricted their freedom to act on their desires and as a result, they gained utmost freedom in the hereafter. They did not gain only one garden to which they are confined, rather multiple gardens and Allah does not even number them. They could be in thousands, perhaps even more. The consequence of remaining restricted inside Allah’s limits in the world is absolute freedom in the hereafter.

As a first hospitality - nuzūl is the first hospitality shown to a guest. At its root, nuzūl means to descend. In Arabic culture and even today, when a guest arrives he is given

his first greetings and salutations when he descends his ride or gets out of his car. Hence, this word came to be used in the meanings of the very first and initial

greetings and hospitality shown to a guest. Allah says that these gardens that offer them perfect and eternal protection from all harms, are just the beginning. They will only be their first greetings and even greater things await them beyond. Now what are these greater things that await them beyond these gardens? Allah keeps them hidden as He says so in verse 17

فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌۭ مَّآ أُخْفِىَ لَهُم مِّن قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍۢ جَزَآءًۢ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ

Therefore, no soul knows what was kept hidden for them, of what is the coolness of eyes; as a .reward of what they consistently used to do Both verses end with the same words بما كانوا يعملون - because of what they consistently used

to do.

“While those who did fisq, then their refuge is only the fire. Every time they wanted to exit it, they were returned in it with these words said to them, “Taste the punishment of the fire which you used to deny.”

Fisq is the verbal noun of the word fāsiq. Because the muʾmin restricted himself in this world to stay within the limits ordained by Allah, they were recompensed with absolute freedom by being granted not one, but multiple gardens. Whereas the fāsiq broke out of the limits set by Allah and roamed freely and acted with utmost freedom in this world and did whatever they wanted. Hence, they were recompensed by having their freedoms taken away by being contained inside the fire where they have no freedom to even move out of it; let alone do anything they want. Hence, every time

they wanted to exit it, they were returned in it.

Notice how it says here “their refuge is the fire” while in the last verse it said “They will

have Gardens, the perfect refuge.”

When Allah said “they will have gardens” He used the lām al milkiyyah which is used for ownership. For example, If I say to someone “ stay in this house” this does not imply ownership, but if I say, “this house is for you”, it does. Allah is the owner of the Gardens

which the believers enter but He uses the lām al milkiyyah to show that the believers

will be the owners and masters of these gardens which implies security. These gardens will not be taken away from them. They will be their property. With regards to the disbelievers, fire is neither a refuge nor a source of protection from anything. It itself is something from which protection is sought. The use of the genitive construction as in the previous verse would be inappropriate because it would denote the meanings of completion and perfection. Since the fire is mockingly called a refuge for them, it is not suitable to use the same language with it. Now the question arises, why even mockingly call the fire a refuge? Look at the next

words. Every time they wanted to exit it, they were returned in it. A maʾwā is a place where you take refuge from a danger you are fearful of but the fire by itself is a danger you want to seek protection from. The disbelievers will do exactly that. They will seek to get out of the fire and try to seek protection from it. They will try to find a maʾwā from it. But they will be returned inside it again. They sought a maʾwā and where did they

land? Inside the fire itself. This is how the fire is their maʾwā. Whenever they try to seek protection from the fire, they are made to cling to it even more.

Whenever they wanted to exit it -Notice the word “wanted” which ties in perfectly with their description of being fāsiq. In this life, they broke out of Allah’s limits and did whatever they wanted. In the hereafter, they get recompensed by not having anything they want fulfilled.

They were returned in it -It does not say that they will be returned to it, but rather in

( )في it. This is because they never get out of it. They decide to go towards the exit, and the moment they move towards the exit, they are forced back into its center.

With these words said to them, “Taste the punishment of the fire which you used to deny.” This

paints a scene that we can picture in our mind. When they try to get out, they experience an overwhelming force that pushes them back into the very center. They look around dumbfounded asking, “What just happened?” Then they hear a voice say, “Taste the punishment of the Fire which you used to deny.” This is why the sentence “they were returned in it” is in passive voice instead of specifying who or what returned them into the fire. They themselves will not know who or what did it. One moment they were approaching its exit, and the next moment - all of a sudden - they are in its midst again.

To make it even worse, “with these words said to them” is in passive voice as well instead of specifying the speaker. They won’t even know who the speaker is, who is speaking to them. The only thing they hear is “ taste the punishment of the fire which you used to

deny” and from a speaker they can’t even see. Helplessly alone and deserted. No one to take pity on them nor anyone to help them. This goes back to verse 4 - “ You have,

besides him, no Wali nor a Shafīʿ.” You have no Wali or Shafi’ to protect you from the decree and punishment of Allah. This also goes back to the words “ We forgot you” in verse 14. We disregarded you completely, such that we are not even near you, you cannot even see us, nor talk to us. The only words you hear from us are “ taste the

punishment of the greatest Fire which you used to deny.”

Which you used to deny- You used to deny that actions have consequences. You used

to deny that you will meet Allah who will repay you for your actions. This fire is the very consequence of your actions. The notion that you had that the worldly life is all there is, with no consequences for their actions, led you to become fāsiq. This fire is

fisq you committed, which you would not have done, had you believed your actions - your fisq -will have consequences.

the very consequences of your actions that you committed; of the

This is why the preposition ب is used with the word tukadhdhibūn (you used to deny) in

the present tense; because this entails repetition. You used to deny it again and again, not just once. Recall that in verse 15, Allah mentioned how the believers, whenever they were effectively reminded of the Qurʾān would submit and humble themselves before Allah. It implied being repeatedly reminded, not just a single, stand alone reminder. This was the same with these people. They were reminded constantly of these verses, but they denied them.

Secondly, whenever a person commits a crime, or fisq; he feels guilt inside of him. Where does that guilt come from? In surah al- Qiyamah, Allah tells us that guilt is our soul berating and admonishing us for committing that crime because it knows it will have to pay the price for it on judgment day. That guilt is our soul pleading with us to stop because it does not want to face the consequences of that crime. But these disbelievers used to deny it again and again, crime after crime, fisq after fisq, even when their own souls testified to its truth. Guilt is not a feeling one can bury. It is a testament to our wrongdoing. Yet, they used to commit fisq after fisq, denying what their own souls were repeatedly testifying to them.

We will surely let such people taste the nearer punishment short of the greater punishment so they may return.

Allah will go on to explain what this nearer punishment actually is. He will create a like by like description of what has come before in this surah, of what happens with

the disbelievers on Judgment Day, with the nearer and smaller punishment that they will experience in this world. He will describe it in exactly the same manner from verse 23 onwards. What has been described thus far is the greatest punishment of Allah. Next, He will describe the lesser - the nearer punishment - inside this earth by mirroring the exact sequence as before.

The sentence “We will surely let them taste” has threefold emphasis; first via the letter

lām then by two nūn. In Arabic, this type of emphasis is placed when addressing someone who denies what you are saying.

This is addressed to the fāsiq. I explained earlier how blindly acting on lust is a rejection of the hereafter, by definition. The obvious incentive to break out of Allah’s limits is to gain immediate pleasure and worldly gain in front of you. People steal to gain the pleasure of money, they lie to gain a certain benefit or avert a harm that may come to them, they fornicate because of bodily pleasure etc. When one is caught up in such pleasures, that is all they can think of as we see around us. They get lost in the world of their pleasures.

Hence, Allah emphasizes to these people that He will take away this pleasure, and punish them as they sit intoxicated under it. ʿAdhāb- translated as punishment- at its

root means sweetness. This root was used in its exact opposite meaning of punishment as it denotes the removal of this sweetness and comfort.

The pleasures they are indulging in, the sweetness that they feel, the comfort they have received by disobeying Allah; Allah will take it away and replace it with regret and emptiness. We see this in our lives. One may be wealthy and well off, have access to everything he wants, but feel miserable and empty inside. This has led some to even commit suicide as we have seen. What appears to the eyes is different from what is hidden inside the chests. A person may display money and happiness, but deep inside he may feel terrible and worthless.

So they may return - so they may realize the folly of these pleasures and desires, and

return to the path they were actually meant to follow to obtain the perfect comfort described in verse 19, not this temporary fleeting pleasure that transforms into guilt. Notice how Allah calls it the nearer punishment with respect to the greatest punishment. Naturally, when coupling these two, we would say the smaller punishment and the greater punishment. Allah did it for two reasons. One, when you say “ the smaller

punishment”, it gives the impression that this punishment is small, meager and hence, it is possible to overcome it. Secondly, it is a threat that it is near and not far.

This punishment will be severe in itself, but an even greater punishment awaits you if you do not return. When a person tastes this punishment, which is immense and severe in itself, he will naturally become afraid of the punishment that is even greater

than the one he is experiencing, and hence this will open the door of repentance for him.

Also notice how Allah refers to these people in third person rather than directly addressing them. Third person pronouns are used for people far away, not present with you. Currently, lost in their desires, they are far away from Allah such that they have to be addressed in third person. Allah makes them taste the nearer punishment so that they may return and become close to Allah, such that Allah can address them directly, just as we address the person present with us, in the second person.

Who is more in darkness than the one who, after the verses of his Rabb were strongly recounted to him, turned away from them? Indeed We, from such criminals, will take revenge. The verses here, refer to the verses of this surah thus far. This verse directly explains verse 12:

وَلَوْ تَرَىٰٓ إِذِ ٱلْمُجْرِمُونَ نَاكِسُوا۟ رُءُوسِهِمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ رَبَّنَآ أَبْصَرْنَا وَسَمِعْنَا فَٱرْجِعْنَا نَعْمَلْ صَٰلِحًا إِنَّا مُوقِنُونَ

If you could but see when the criminals are hanging their heads before their Rabb. Our Rabb! We have seen and heard, so return us; we will work righteousness for we are certain. Zukkira is the same word used in verse 15 which means being effectively reminded.

Allah is saying that what has been mentioned in this surah thus far, is strong, effective and has the potential to change people and their views. These are not just ordinary words, they pack a punch. They carry a strong impact. If someone believes that their actions do not have consequences, then this surah is strong enough to make them change their beliefs.

Yet if despite these extraordinary words, someone turns away from them, who can be more lost in darkness than him? Darkness is a state in which we cannot see. Darkness here implies a person blind of what is ahead, blind of the consequences of his actions, blind of where he is going, blind of what his actions will lead him to, blind of what is right and wrong.

The central theme of this surah thus far has been to establish that actions do indeed have consequences. If someone denies this fact and considers death to be the end of it all, then they will indeed be inconsiderate of the consequences of their actions. A criminal will not stop from his crimes if he knows he will get away with it. A person

who denies judgment day, will be heedless of the consequences of his actions and hence be in darkness and blind of what they will lead him to.

We, from such criminals, will take revenge -The normal way to say it is -We will take revenge from such criminals. The unusual sequence of words is to magnify the gravity of their

crimes. What has come in this surah are no ordinary words and denying them is no ordinary crime.

This verse concludes the discussion on the first part of this surah, and it fittingly ends with these words. You deny actions have consequences and consider death to be the end. This surah shows you the opposite and that death is not the end. If you still disbelieve, then you will actually receive the consequence of denying this surah. The next time, Allah will not prove to you that actions do bear consequences in the form of words, but by actually having you face these very consequences. Hence, the first thing you will say on judgment day when you face these consequences will be:

رَبَّنَآ أَبْصَرْنَا وَسَمِعْنَا فَٱرْجِعْنَا نَعْمَلْ صَٰلِحًا إِنَّا مُوقِنُونَ

Our Rabb! We have seen and heard, so return us; we will work righteousness for we are certain.

We are now certain that actions do indeed have consequences. Now that we are certain of it, we will live our lives knowing this and hence be mindful of our actions, not blind to their consequences. This is why Allah uses the same word to describe these people both in this verse and in verse 12. He calls them mujrim- criminals committing grave crimes.

Yes, we certainly gave Mūsā the Book - so do not indulge in any dispute over His meeting and We made it guidance for the children of Israel. A complete change of subject at first glance but it is not. From here on, Allah will describe the nearer punishment He promised the disbelievers in verse 21 and He will liken it to the greater punishment awaiting them on judgment Day described earlier.

Notice the words do not indulge in any doubt over His meeting . Since this word can also mean to receive, scholars have interpreted it in many ways such as Mūsā receiving the book from Allah, the prophet ﷺ himself receiving the book from Allah, among

others. I disagree with all of these because if you look at what has come in this surah itself, then the answer lies right there.

The “meeting” described in this surah is the meeting of the hereafter. Verses 10 and 14 are explicit. The overarching theme of the surah too makes it clear that this is the meeting of Allah on judgment day.

It is clear to me that the words - then do not be in any doubt concerning His meeting , refer to meeting Allah on judgment day since this is textually and contextually consistent. I am compelled to highlight this because I could not find any notable work inside tafsir literature that holds the same position.

Now how is Allah giving Mūsā the Torah connected to not having any doubts on meeting Allah on judgment day? If you read the Torah, there is almost zero mention of judgment day. In fact, in the whole Hebrew Bible, even outside of the Torah, there are only a few verses that indirectly refer to final judgment. This is why the Jews have historically struggled regarding the final judgment. In Judaism, it is tied to the era of the Messiah who will transform this world and make it perfect. But the notion of a final judgment of deeds, is not mentioned in the five books of Moses - the Torah - at all. It is derived by the rabbis from other vague texts inside the Tanakh as an interpretation such as passages from the books of Daniel, Isaiah and Ezekiel. Later Rabbinical developments on these passages lead to the notion of judgment in the days of the Messiah who will fill the earth with peace and justice, but that is not the final judgment on judgment day. The Torah is completely empty of this notion of final judgment. This is the reason why Jews have struggled with the problem of suffering. What is the point of suffering and why do the righteous suffer? Unless you believe in a final judgment you will continue to struggle with this question. If you say it refers to the era of the Messiah, then what about those who have died before his arrival?

In Islam, we believe in almost the same thing regarding the Messiah. When he comes, he will fill this earth with justice and peace and transform it into a utopia. But the final judgment of deeds is with Allah on judgment day. In this verse, Allah says that just as He gave the prophet ﷺ the Qurʾān, He gave Mūsā the Torah. The Torah of today lacks any mention of Judgment day but do not be in any doubt regarding judgment day still, because this is a result of corruption and changes at the hands of men, not because Allah did not mention judgment day in it.

Now the sentence, so do not be in any doubt over His meeting is actually an interjected sentence. The actual sentence is -Yes, we certainly gave Mūsā the Book and made it a

guidance for the children of Israel. In Arabic, it is used to highlight something important

that the listener must know. We gave Mūsā the Book, which served as a guidance for the Jews, but do not let the current version of the Torah lead you to have any doubt over the meeting of Allah on judgment day that has been established in this surah because the same God who sent down the Torah, sent down this surah and the Qurʾān as a whole. The reason why you do not find any mention of judgment day in

the Torah is not because Allah did not mention it, but rather because men corrupted the text.

The main subject of this verse has now changed to mentioning Mūsā, the Torah and what Allah did with them and hence what He will do to the Muslims, but this was interjected in between this to highlight its importance.

The purpose of mentioning Mūsā and the Torah and not any other Prophet is to create a similarity between him and the prophet ﷺ . Just as Mūsā was a lawgiver, who formed a nation, so is the prophet ﷺ a lawgiver who will form a nation. The Qurʾān has repeatedly likened our prophet ﷺ to Mūsā, calling him a second Mūsā, who will have his life and legacy shaped in the same manner as him. We find this is in surah 75 : 13 explicitly as well as in other places of the Qurʾān. This is the reason why the Qurʾān will repeatedly comfort the prophet ﷺ in times of distress with stories of Mūsā such as surah Ṭāhā to tell him that what happened with Mūsā will happen with him. He is the second Mūsā. This is also why Mūsā is the most mentioned prophet in the Qurʾān.

This is why Allah uses the word book rather than Torah. He uses it to create a similarity. Just as He gave Mūsā a book so has He given the prophet ﷺ a book. The definite article is to denote perfection. We gave Mūsā a perfect and flawless book just as We have given it to you.

We made it a guidance for the children of Israel - It was by the means of the book of Allah

that the children of Israel became a united and guided nation. The same will be the case with the Muslims. By having the Torah as their constitution, they became a great nation. So, will the Qurʾān be completed, and serve as the constitution for the Muslims. The next verse will now mention not only Allah’s promises to the Muslims, but will also draw an explicit connection with what has come previously in this surah.

When they displayed patience, we made leaders from them, guiding with Our amr. They remained firm in being certain of our verses/signs.

This surah was revealed in Makkah when the Muslims were under severe persecution. Allah is telling the Muslims to endure and be patient. Just as He made leaders from the children of Israel because of their patience, He will do the same with the Muslims if they do display patience as well.

The sentence “They remained firm in being certain of our signs” explains “When they

displayed patience.” Even in tough times, they remained firm in being certain of our

signs, of our promises, of what Allah revealed. How did they display patience? By firmly believing that Allah’s promises will come true even in tough times., by firmly believing that what Allah has revealed is the truth, and that Allah will give them victory. Allah has promised the Muslims in Makkah victory and comfort. If they firmly believe in His promise, they will of course remain steadfast and patient in face of the persecution they are facing. They will endure knowing that one day, this will come to an end and God’s help will come. This is what the children of Israel did and Allah not only rescued them from Pharaoh, but He made leaders out of them, who would guide and lead men to Allah.

Just as the believers in verses 15 and 16 endured temporary discomfort by sacrificing their sleep and desires to obtain a greater and perfect form of comfort on judgment day, so will the Muslims achieve a greater form of comfort after enduring this temporary persecution and oppression at the hands of the disbelievers.

They remained firm in being certain of our signs - In verse 12, when the criminals are hanging their head in shame in front of Allah, they said

رَبَّنَآ أَبْصَرْنَا وَسَمِعْنَا فَٱرْجِعْنَا نَعْمَلْ صَٰلِحًا إِنَّا مُوقِنُونَ

Our Master, we have seen and heard, so return us; we will work righteousness for we are certain.

They had to visibly see what they were promised by Allah to become certain. Allah is telling Muslims to be their opposite. Do not be like those who only believe in the promise of Allah when they see it. Rather be certain in His promise of victory and comfort right now, before His help and victory actually come to you. This is what sets the believer apart from the disbeliever.

The disbeliever submitted to Allah on judgment day after visibly seeing the promises fulfilled in verse 12 , whereas the believer submitted to Allah while alive in this world in verse 15, before he actually got to see God’s promises on judgment day. Believers, be like the children of Israel who believed in Allah’s promises without even seeing them, by merely hearing them through His prophet Mūsā just as you are hearing right now through your prophet Muhammad ﷺ . Do not be like the criminals who will believe only when they see the things they are promised with their eyes on judgment day, by which time their faith and belief will not bring them any fruit. If you believe and become certain right now, during these tough times, and endure patiently and hold steadfast, you will not only be rescued, but Allah will make you leaders.

With Our amr -This goes back to verse 4.

ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا فِى سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍۢ ثُمَّ ٱسْتَوَىٰ عَلَى ٱلْعَرْشِ ۖ مَا لَكُم مِّن دُونِهِۦ مِن وَلِىٍّۢ وَلَا شَفِيعٍ ۚ أَفَلَا تَتَذَكَّرُونَ

He does tadbīr of the amr from heaven to the earth;thumma, it ascends to Him in a span one day of which is thousand years of what you count.

Amr is what gives life and purpose. The human body is the khalq while the spirit inside it is an amr of Allah. Allah deliberately said “Guiding with Our amr” instead of “Guiding

with Our book or signs” to draw connection to the fourth verse. Amr here refers to the words of Allah, His book and His promises, which too are invisible.

The disbelievers only believed in the khalq, but not the amr since khalq is visible to the

eyes while amr is not. The Muslims will become leaders as well - which came true. The very fact that the children of Israel became leaders and guided men to Allah, similar to how the Muslims will become leaders and guide the world to Islam, is proof that amr exists beyond khalq because if you only believe in the visible part and believe that death is the ultimate end, wouldn’t your main goal be restricted to this life to avoid suffering while maximizing pleasure as much as you can? Your goals would remain confined within this world. Yet, these believers willingly chose suffering and bore persecution. Patience stands in opposition to pleasure. If this world is all there is, your goals would remain confined to maximizing pleasures inside this world. Hence, anything that goes against it, would be shunned immediately. Yet, by being patient, you endure the suffering, and choose to let go of these pleasures because you realize there exists a bigger reality than this world.

There is a beautiful correlation here. You believed in the promise of Allah only when you saw it. You also only believe in khalq because it is visible. Anything that is invisible to your eyes, you deny. If you want to see a proof of the fact that something does not have to be visible for it to be true, if you want to see the proof that the amr of Allah, and the meeting of judgment day is true, look at the fact that the children of Israel became leaders when they endured and remained steadfast against Pharaoh’s oppression. Now naturally, the response to this is, what happened with the children of Israel and the Pharaoh is invisible as well! So the response Allah gave them is that you will see it happen again with your own eyes. The Muslims will endure your oppression and persecution, they will go against their desires and hence not only be victorious, but become leaders, all because of the amr of Allah.

To the Muslims, Allah is simply saying to be patient. Allah has promised you relief, victory and leadership. Become certain that the promise of Allah is true and that victory, relief and leadership will come BEFORE they actually arrive. Believe in the unseen. Do not be like the disbelievers who only believe when they see it on

judgment day because just as it will be too late for them to believe on that day, so it might be too late for you when the victory and help of Allah come.

“Indeed, your Rabb, He alone will separate between them on the day of resurrection concerning that over which they used to differ.

The reason He uses the word Rabb is tied to the previous verse where Allah promised the Muslims victory and leadership if they remain steadfast. He follows that promise by calling Himself the Rabb of the prophet ﷺ to say that He will indeed take care of you, give you victory, be your helper, and protect you from the disbelievers until His promise comes.

He alone- The extra pronoun هو creates the meaning of exclusivity. Allah alone, and no one else will judge between them. The God who has promised to help you and give you victory, He alone will judge between them. They will be at the mercy of the one who loves you. Therefore, anyone who opposes you, or tries to harm you, will meet his punishment with Him.

The disbelievers will become believers on judgment day, but Allah will separate them from those who believed while they were alive on the earth. Those who believe while in this world, will not be treated the same as those who believe only when they see it in reality on judgment day. Allah will divide them, He will treat them as two separate groups, not as one.

Concerning that over which they used to differ - the differences between the believers and the disbelievers that have come in this surah.

Does it not guide them that We destroyed many generations before them, they walk in whose dwellings? Surely in that are signs. Will they not then listen?

This refers to the ruins of the destroyed nations that lay on the trade routes of Makkans such as:

1. Thamūd - located on the northern trade route of Makkah to Syria.

2. Sodom and Gomorrah - located near the dead sea, also along the trade routes towards the Levant

3. Possibly ʿĀd as well but since they were located in the southern Peninsula near Eastern Yemen and Western Oman.

Now these ruins are seen with the eyes. The reason why Allah says “ Will they not then

listen” instead of seeing, is because these ruins were located near trade routes that only

the members of caravans would see and they would tell their people back in Makkah about them. So the majority of people did not actually see them with their eyes, they only heard them from the select few merchants who would be a part of the caravans.

They have seen the ruins of the people with their eyes regarding whom they hear in the Qurʾān. We destroyed those nations - and you can see their destroyed ruins when they did what you are doing right now. The demonstrative pronoun that, is for the sake of ( تعظيم magnification). In that great

fact, are things that serve as signs that can guide you.

Secondly, there is a twofold emphasis placed inside the sentence “ Surely in that are

signs” which is a way of speech utilized in Arabic to address someone who denies what you are saying. There are great signs in those ruins, though you deny it.

But the demonstrative pronoun that can also be going back to the words “ while

they walk among their dwellings” and this is what I prefer. There are signs for you in the fact that you are walking in their dwellings, that can bring you to the truth, though you deny it. In verse 15, Allah describes the believers as

وَهُمْ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ

They do not seek greatness.

These Makkans used to hear about these destroyed nations in the Qurʾān as it describes them as being arrogant, oppressive, and fāsiq (the same word Allah uses for these disbelievers). They were the same as you in that they sought greatness and were arrogant. Yet here they are destroyed and desolate beneath your feet. Their homes empty, their memories wiped out, and their dwellings destroyed. Their pride led them to become lowly and worthless. They were arrogant and haughty yet they are now disgraced and cursed. You can see what became of their pride. This is a sign - a warning - to you. Pride begets disgrace. Arrogance leads to humiliation. Display

arrogance and you will be humiliated. Submit humbly to Allah and you will be honored.

We see this now with the Makkans who persecuted our prophet ﷺ . Abu Jahl and all his associates are now disgraced, and their graves at Badr have now become a desolate, worthless well. Not a day passes by since the past 1400 years, but they are disgraced and cursed at the tongues of the Muslims. While the prophet ﷺ and his companions, who submitted humbly to Allah, their mention and remembrance has been exalted for eternity.

Have they not seen that We drive water to barren land and from it, bring forth crops from which their livestock eat just as they themselves? Then do they not see? This is the verse that ties this whole surah together.

The previous verse mentioned how Allah gave death to the alive. This verse mentions how Allah gives life to the dead. This first part of this verse goes back to verse 9 while the second part goes back to verses 15 and 16.

You can see the dead nations, you pass by their ruins, you see their pride turned to disgrace beneath your own feet. Now the other side of Allah giving life to the dead, if you want to see that with your own eyes, then look at the barren, dry land which produces crops after rain gives it life.

Why earth though? Why not present any other example? Because it stands for the human being. This does not mean that it is not literally true. Allah does give life to the dead earth by means of the rain. This is a phenomenon that is real and is a sign and example of Allah bringing the dead to life. But notice the words “ from which their

livestock eat just as they themselves?”

As mentioned above, the first part of this verse,

Have they not seen that We drive water to barren land goes back to verse 9

ثُمَّ سَوَّىٰهُ وَنَفَخَ فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِهِۦ ۖ وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلسَّمْعَ وَٱلْأَبْصَٰرَ وَٱلْأَفْـِٔدَةَ ۚ قَلِيلًۭا مَّا تَشْكُرُونَ

Thumma, He balanced him by breathing into him from His spirit. He made for you, hearing, perception and emotions. How little are you grateful!

The earth stands for human beings because that is what we are created from. Allah created Adam from the earth. Just as Allah gave life to the physical body of the human being by means of His spirit, so does He give life to the dead earth by means of water. Just as this water comes down from the sky, so does the spirit come from the sky - from Allah.

The disbelievers want to visibly see what Allah tells them. We never saw Allah breathing His spirit into us but Allah gives a real-life example that works on the same phenomenon that we can visibly see with our eyes. Just as the earth comes to life and brings forth vegetation by means of rain sent down from the sky, so did the human being come to life by means of the spirit breathed inside him from the sky from Allah. What happens to the earth if it receives no rain? The same happens to you if your bodies receive no spirit. It is the amr of Allah itself, that you deny because it is invisible, that gives you life in the first place. How absurd of you to deny it. You can visibly see the dead earth coming to life and producing edible vegetation. You cannot deny this. Yet, you deny the amr of Allah; you deny the spirit of Allah inside you. Denying it is as preposterous as denying life itself for without the spirit you would be dead like the barren land.

This covers the first of the verse of the dead earth or the human being coming back to life. The next part

and from it, bring forth crops from which their livestock eat just as they themselves. goes back to verses 15 and 16

إِنَّمَا يُؤْمِنُ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِّرُوا۟ بِهَا خَرُّوا۟ سُجَّدًۭا وَسَبَّحُوا۟ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَهُمْ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ The only ones who believe in our signs are those who, when reminded of them, fall down in prostration, and declare His perfection accompanied with His praise. They alone do not seek greatness.

تَتَجَافَىٰ جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ ٱلْمَضَاجِعِ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ خَوْفًۭا وَطَمَعًۭا وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَٰهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ

“Their sides pull away from their beds, supplicating their Rabb in fear and aspiration, and from what We have provided them, they spend.”

These verses describe the fruit of the spirit. Just as the earth produces its fruit by means of rain, so does the human being produce his good fruit by means of the spirit. The fruit of the Earth is its vegetation, the plants, the food and crops it produces that

is eaten and which sustains life. Without this, there would be no life. The food chain starts from the earth, takes it out and all life disappears. No life would exist if the earth does not produce any food. Similarly, without the spirit, no life would exist for when the

spirit leaves the body, death occurs.

Now this life given to the earth by means of the water, brings out vegetation that give life and benefit to others. Similarly, these enlightened people, mentioned in verses 15 and 16, give life and benefit to others. Firstly, they themselves are alive and enlightened because they recognize that life goes beyond the part that is visible. But they also preach to others to come to this truth, and to submit to God. They are actually calling people to life, to something that benefits them, that gives them eternal life of the hereafter. This is what the Prophet ﷺ is doing and why he is called a nadhīr. Yet they call him a liar and a fabricator in verse 2.

This also goes back to verse 24 where Allah promised to make leaders from the Muslims. Their hearts, made alive by the amr of Allah, will bring benefit to others just as the earth produces vegetation which benefits men and livestock. Since these people will be a source of benefit to others, they deserve to be appointed to leadership roles.

Just as they themselves -You yourself eat from the produce of the earth. Your own lives

are dependent on it. You would die without it. You cannot deny this, yet you deny the spirit inside you which does the same thing? You would not even be alive had the earth remained dead - you would not even be alive had the spirit not been inside you, yet you - of all people - deny this?

This is why the words ‘with it’ in, “with it, bring forth crops” and the words “from which”

in “from which their livestock eat just as they themselves” are advanced for emphasis. This all happens by means of the water - by means of the spirit.

Do they then not see- Same as what the disbelievers said in verse 12. We have now seen.

Can you not see this? Is this not a sign in front of your own eyes? Life itself is proof. You only believe when you see it with your own eyes, then here is a sign right in front of your eyes. Will you then not accept it?

It is interesting that the Qurʾān uses two words for seeing. رأى and بصر .The word used here - بصر - also means deep understanding. This is a sign right in front of your own eyes. Will you not understand that this is in fact, a sign enough to guide you?

Lastly, Allah promised the Muslims victory and leadership. These Arabs, who are currently living in a desert - a barren land - and whose hearts are similarly barren, will be made the flag bearers of God’s religion and hence, expand and propagate this religion into other regions. Just as people and animals benefit from earth’s vegetation, so will other people benefit from these Arabs. Allah will make the dead hearts of the people of Arabia alive and fertile, and they will preach out the Qurʾān

and benefit others. This is exactly what happened when the early Muslims expanded and conquered the lands God promised to Abraham, fulfilling the centuries old prophecy that the Jews and Christians were incapable of for thousands of years.

They mockingly say, ‘When shall be this Victory, if you are truthful? ‘

The victory promised in verse 24 where Allah promised the believers the same as what He did with the children of Israel, but it also goes back to verse 22 where Allah said:

وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّن ذُكِّرَ بِـَٔايَٰتِ رَبِّهِۦ ثُمَّ أَعْرَضَ عَنْهَآ ۚ إِنَّا مِنَ ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ مُنتَقِمُونَ

Who is more in darkness than the one who, after the signs of his Rabb were strongly recounted to him, turned away from them? Indeed We, from such criminals, will take revenge. They have turned away from the signs Allah mentioned to them of the destroyed generations and the dead earth or humans coming back to life. Hence, Allah will take revenge from them. This shows that Allah will take revenge from them at the hands of the Muslims and this is exactly what happened. The use of the third person pronoun “they” for them also indicates that they have rejected these signs, because it denotes being far away and distant from Allah.

So now they mockingly say, when will this day of revenge and victory be? Based on what has already come in this surah, specifically verse 24, you can already figure out bringing faith on the day when Muslims are given victory, will not bring any benefit. It will be too late then, and this is exactly what Allah says up next.

Say: On the Day of victory their faith shall not profit the disbelievers, nor shall they be respited.

It was not a genuine question they brought up. Firstly, they did it mockingly. Secondly, they asked for it after rejecting clear signs presented to them. Hence, Allah

gave them an answer that befits them. Mock now, reject My signs all you want, you will wish to go back in time on the day I give Muslims victory over you.

nor shall they be respited - this goes back to verse 12 where they said on judgment day: فَٱرْجِعْنَا نَعْمَلْ صَٰلِحًا إِنَّا مُوقِنُونَ

So, return us to act righteously, for we have become certain Just as you will wish to be returned back and given respite on judgment Day when you meet Me, you will desire to be given respite on the day of victory - on the day of Badr or the conquest of Makkah, but I have already told you what will happen. Just as I did not give you respite on judgment day, so will I not give you respite on the day of victory.

You will meet your end then and there. It is interesting that the word ( نظر translated as respite) at its root actually means to look intently with anticipation. Sometimes, a person expresses his wishes by means of his eyes. Like when someone makes a wish that he deeply desires, his eyes express his anticipation and desire for his wish with him. You will look longingly with pitiful eyes to be returned back.

In verse 12, the disbelievers denied what the Qurʾān promises regarding judgment day and only became certain of Allah’s promises after they actually saw them with their own eyes. In verse 28, the disbelievers denied the signs of the destroyed generations and the dead earth coming to life, hence, they will only become certain of Allah’s promise when they actually see the victory promised by Allah. Just as they wished to be given respite and returned back in time on judgment day, they will wish to be returned back and given respite on the day of victory, but just as bringing faith on Judgment Day did not bring them benefit, so will it not benefit them on the day of victory. Just as Allah did not give them respite on judgment day, He will not do it on the victory day either.

So turn away from them and wait. Indeed, they are waiting.

They turned away from these signs, hence, turn away from them and wait - be patient and endure - going back to verse 24 - until help and victory come.

They are waiting - They have refused to believe and will only believe when they see it. So they are waiting to see it, by which time, it will be too late.

It is important to note that the victory promised by Allah can refer to multiple things because the surah does not specify it. It can refer to Badr as well as to the conquest of Makkah among other events. I think it refers to the conquest of Makkah because the Qurʾān uses the same word ( )فتح for it.

When Grief Overwhelms

A Thematic Overview of Surah Ṭāhā

Background The background of this surah is important to know. Surah Ṭāhā was revealed in Makkah, before the migration to Madinah. The 10 years that the Prophet ﷺ spent in Makkah were the harshest and most brutal of his life. He, along with Muslims, underwent severe persecution. Many were tortured, even brutally killed. The makkans imposed a harsh boycott on the Muslims, cutting them off from trade, food supplies and social interactions. Shortly after this boycott ended, the Prophet ﷺ lost his beloved wife and his uncle as well.

This surah consoles the Prophet ﷺ and gives him the remedy and cure to his pain. This is also a message to us. In any difficulty, hardship and grief, you can turn to the cure Allah gives in this surah and be satisfied just like the Prophet ﷺ . Throughout this surah you will notice the word dhikr come up again and again. We

have already covered its meaning in surah al-Sajdah. Pay close attention to it as that word is the key that unlocks the message of this surah.

The surah, like many others in the Qurʾān, is extremely melodious, poetic and rhythmic. This rhythm and style is lost in translations.

طه

Tua Ha Every Qurʾānic surah that begins with the letter tua such as this one has the story of prophet Mūsā and his miracle of turning his staff into a snake without exception. If you look at the letter tua, it looks like a snake coiled around a rod. So from the letter tua we can deduce that this surah will contain the mention of prophet Mūsā and his miracle. Secondly, it will have the word dhikr as its central theme. If I were to give the letters Tua Ha a meaning, it would be “remember Mūsā.”

مَآ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ لِتَشْقَىٰٓ

We did not send the Qurʾān on you to make you suffer This verse plainly shows the context of revelation. We need to remember one thing

though as we move forward. The word shaqiyy (suffering) does not mean any suffering, but rather a type of suffering that drives someone to his utmost limits. For example, this root was used for a camel that had reached its limits by walking constantly under the harsh heat of the desert. This will be referred to at the end of the passage.

إِلَّا تَذْكِرَةًۭ لِّمَن يَخْشَىٰ

Only as a Tazkirah for him who has Khashiya Tazkirah comes from the same root as dhikr which means strength. Khashyah, at its root, was used for: ● Low quality dates ● Dry plants ● Crops blackened by frost 133 It came to be used to mean fear because fear is something that dries you up from the inside. But again, we need to respect the context which is of consoling the grieved and suffering.

The original usages of khashyah were for plants that had withered and become dry. Dates that were once healthy became dry. Plants that were healthy withered. Crops that were once lush became black. The Prophet ﷺ who used to be happy and joyful, has become sad and grieved.

The root meaning of the word tazkirah is strength. This Qurʾān was not sent to cause

you suffering but it was only sent as a source of strength and comfort for the grieved, overwhelmed and for the suffering like the prophet ﷺ .

This is the central point of this surah and it will now live up to this and provide the remedy to grief.

تَنزِيلًۭا مِّمَّنْ خَلَقَ ٱلْأَرْضَ وَٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ ٱلْعُلَى A revelation from the one who created the Earth and the highest heavens ٱلرَّحْمَٰنُ عَلَى ٱلْعَرْشِ ٱسْتَوَىٰ

Raḥmān! Above the throne He established Himself!

We have covered what Raḥmān means.

Allah could have said “Allah! Upon the throne He established Himself!” but instead he uses the word Raḥmān; the strongest possible word in Arabic to denote love, care and mercy.

First, Allah says that he created everything. Now He says that He is Raḥmān, the most loving and caring. More loving than a mother to her child. Just as a mother does not like to see her child in pain, let alone be the cause of its pain, so did Allah not create the heavens and the earth to cause suffering or pain. Rather, it is all an act of love. Allah created everything out of love, not to cause grief.

Above the throne He rose. The meaning of this is well known and clear and we will not

go into different discussions on this topic as this is not our goal. We have covered its meaning in the previous surah. Allah is above the throne and above the seven heavens. Looking at it contextually, we may ask why Allah mentions this here? Because this acts as a declaration of kingship and kingdom. The throne belongs to the king. Allah is the king. The throne is His and He is above it. Everything is under his dominion. He has power over everything. He is above all.

Imagine yourself in a dilemma. Someone is sympathetic towards you, cares for you and wants you to come out of your trouble but as with most people, they do not have the power to get you out of it. The problem is not that people are not sympathetic to you, it is just that they lack the power to get you out. Allah deeply loves and cares about you and He has the power to get you out of your pain as well.

لَهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا وَمَا تَحْتَ ٱلثَّرَىٰ

He alone owns what is in the heavens, in the earth, what is between them, and what is beneath the moist soil

This is again a declaration of his power and kingship but notice Allah mentions moist soil. Why say moist earth? Why not just say soil?

When the soil is moist, it means it has been watered. What is beneath the moist soil? The seed. If the soil has been watered, the water will seep through and make its way to the seed as well. When that happens, a new plant will eventually grow. Above in verse 3, we mentioned the root meaning of the word khashyah had to do with dried up and wasted plants and vegetation. This plant has dried up and is no more but the seed of a new plant is already being watered. He will replace the withered plant with a new one. He will replace your sorrow with happiness. He will replace the dry plant with a new lush green plant; the broken heart with a joyful one. And very soon too; because the soil beneath which the seed of this new plant rests, is already moist. He is already watering it. The soil was mentioned as being moist to tell him that comfort is near.

وَإِن تَجْهَرْ بِٱلْقَوْلِ فَإِنَّهُۥ يَعْلَمُ ٱلسِّرَّ وَأَخْفَى

Though you may announce your word, He still knows the deepest secret and the akhfā When someone is in pain, he sometimes expresses his pain in words but there are some things he is not comfortable bringing to his lips. To Allah, both are the same. If you express your pain He knows it, and if you hide it within you, He still knows it. He fully understands your pain, all aspects of it, what you make apparent and what you hide both. When someone is in deep sorrow, the first thing he desires is for others to understand him and how he feels. By saying that Allah knows both the visible and hidden aspects of your pain, He is saying that he fully understands you; and you do not even have to verbally express your feelings.

But there is more. We would naturally divide such feelings into two parts, one which we announce and one which we keep to ourselves; but Allah by Himself, will introduce a third type, as an act of profound love and care.

The verse says - Though you may announce a word, He still knows the deepest secret and the

akhfā. The word sirr is translated as ‘deepest secret’. It comes from the root sīn rāʾ rāʾ

which was used for the deepest point of a pool or a basin, fine rootlets of truffles that stretch deep underground, and for the crescent moon that vanishes at the end of

the month etc. The central meaning revolves around depth and concealment, and something hidden or concealed deep within is of course a secret.¹³⁴ So the word sirr means a deep and intimate secret, hidden and concealed from

others. But the word akhfā also means a secret! There is only just a subtle difference between

the

two

words:

Akhfā comes from the root khāʾ fāʾ yāʾ which was used for ● Dim flashes of lightning, appearing weakly and intermittently inside the clouds ● The feathers under the wing of a bird.

● A garment worn by a bride over her dress to conceal it.

This root refers to something that becomes hidden or concealed but not entirely. Something weakly hidden, partially veiled and subtly perceptible; like the dim flashes of lightning within the clouds, the feathers under the wing of a bird which become exposed when the bird unfolds its wings, and the dress of the bride which can become exposed sometimes if the garment sways left or right.¹³⁵ Sirr is something completely hidden. Akhfā is something hidden but not completely.

There is another problem. Akhfā is in the superlative. There is something hidden but

not completely. What can be the superlative of such a thing? It is the maximum extent to which you can hide it. There is something that cannot be concealed completely but there is a maximum limit or extent to which you can conceal it. Think of it like hiding something by 99%. It cannot be hidden 100% and so the maximum percentage by which you can hide it is 99%.

So what does akhfā mean? There is pain that you announce. Then there is pain that you keep deeply hidden within you (sirr). Then there is akhfā, pain so intense that you can try your best to keep it hidden and concealed within you but you just cannot. Sometimes, in some subtle ways, it comes out against your will.

It can come out in the form of 2 - 3 tears that come out despite you trying your best to hold them back. In the form of soft groans, sighs, wails, murmurs, gasps, whimpers, or as sadness on your face, or in the way you walk, in the form of dead eyes, or your head hanging down etc. This is a pain that is too much for the person. The reason why the word akhfā is in the superlative is because the person tries his very best to hide it, but it still comes out against his will.

In verse 2, we mentioned that the word used for suffering did not mean just any suffering, it meant a suffering that pushed a person to his utmost limits. Akhfā implies a suffering that one cannot hide even though he tries his best to; the most intense form of suffering. They are both the same.

Allah says he recognizes and knows your pain. He also understands it is getting too much for you. He describes Himself with the qualities of extreme love and care in this passage. By describing Himself as Raḥmān, He is saying that He is more loving than a mother to her child. He understands you and your pain; and He also understands that the pain is getting so much that you cannot hide it even though you try your best to. But the earth is already moist. You have withered and become dry, but He is already watering the seed of a lush new green plant for you. The seed of your comfort and happiness is already being watered, it is already being grown. Allah understands and he will provide you comfort, and comfort is near; He is already watering the seed of relief.

He concludes the passage with this:

ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ لَهُ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ

Allah! There is no god but Him! His are the most beautiful names and descriptions. There is no god beside Him. There is no god who can overpower Him. There is no entity who can override His will. He is already watering the plant of your relief and there is no one who can stop the water flow.

The prophet ﷺ was facing hostility, persecution and pain from the people around him. Allah says there is no god beside Him. There is no one who can stand in His way. He will give you relief and victory and nobody can do anything about it. These people who persecute you are powerless and helpless before Him. So do not be worried. The one who owns all power is with you.

The most beautiful names and attributes belong to Him. He is loving, caring and generous, not someone who wants pain and misery for people. He is not unjust and unforgiving. These evil descriptions do not belong to Him. Rather, the best and most beautiful descriptions belong to Him. He brings comfort to the weak and suffering. He helps the oppressed, comforts those suffering, and brings joy to the sad.

وَهَلْ أَتَىٰكَ حَدِيثُ مُوسَىٰٓ

Did the news of Mūsā come to you?

To say this in the form of a question is again for the purpose of showing kindness and love. It is like the situation when you are sitting down crying, a person comes and sits beside you, puts his hand over your shoulder, comforts you and then lovingly says, ‘did the story of Mūsā come to you?’ It is better than saying ‘listen to the story of Mūsā’ because it is a more loving and kind manner of speech.

There is something in the story of Moses that will comfort you.

إِذْ رَءَا نَارًۭا فَقَالَ لِأَهْلِهِ ٱمْكُثُوٓا۟ إِنِّىٓ ءَانَسْتُ نَارًۭا لَّعَلِّىٓ ءَاتِيكُم مِّنْهَا بِقَبَسٍ أَوْ أَجِدُ عَلَى ٱلنَّارِ هُدًۭى

When he saw a fire, he said to his family “Wait here for I am drawn to a fire. I may bring you a torch from it or find guidance at the fire.”

فَلَمَّآ أَتَىٰهَا نُودِىَ يَٰمُوسَىٰٓ

Then when he finally came to it he was called out - Mūsā!

Later on, When Allah converses with Moses, He will tell him that Allah brought him up and he has arrived to meet Allah at the exact appointed time. This is why the word ‘finally’ is used. When finally, after all of that, did Moses arrive… The verb of calling ( نُودِيَ / “he was called”) is constructed in the passive voice to increase suspense and curiosity about the story. The ambiguity of the caller makes

the listener eager to know who is speaking. Then, when the verse suddenly reveals in the next verse: “Indeed, I alone am your Lord,” the listener realizes that the one calling is Allah Himself — and this realization deeply impacts the soul.

The use of the passive voice also helps vividly portray the scene, where Mūsā is called by an unknown voice, which is why the verb is narrated in the passive form. Through this call, Mūsā understood that the words were being directly addressed to him by Allah Himself — because the voice was unfamiliar and extraordinary.

إِنِّىٓ أَنَا۠ رَبُّكَ فَٱخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ ۖ إِنَّكَ بِٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًۭى

Indeed I alone am your Rabb. Remove your sandals for you are in the holy valley of Ṭuwā There are a couple of interesting things here which I will just briefly mention. First is

the sentence. “I alone am your Rabb.” If I were to get very literal about it, I could translate it as “I am Me, Your Rabb.”

From a linguistic perspective, this verse contains confinement. I alone, none else, am your Lord.

This will again be repeated a couple verses down but there it is even more explicit.

Now this sentence ‘I am Me, your Lord’ does not seem to make sense, but in the

Hebrew Bible, in Exodus 3:14, in the same incident when God speaks to Moses, this is literally what he calls Himself. He calls Himself Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh - I am who I am.

Ṭuwā literally means something to be piled up. It is the valley of multiple blessings; in which blessings are piled up, one on top of another.

The Qurʾān contains many such instances. Sometimes, the Qurʾān quotes the Torah directly. For example, the unique word the Qurʾān uses for “testing” Ibrāhīm in Baqarah has the same dual meaning in both Hebrew and Arabic of testing and also blessing. The Qurʾān will many times translate the names of Prophets and certain other people which are of Hebrew origin, such as Ibrāhīm (where it will quote the passage in Genesis), Dāwūd (surah Ṣād), the mother of Mūsā (surah Qaṣaṣ) among

others. In Āl Imran, it will literally, word for word, quote the Talmud to slam the Jews.

وَأَنَا ٱخْتَرْتُكَ فَٱسْتَمِعْ لِمَا يُوحَىٰٓ

I have chosen you for the good in you - so listen closely - for what is revealed Most translations translate it as “I have chosen you’ but Allah uses the word Khayr which means goodness. When used in this context, it means Allah chose Moses because of the good qualities he possessed. It could also mean that I have chosen you for this good thing or purpose. The latter would be consistent with the theme of the whole passage. I have chosen you for a good purpose, to do a good thing. The prophet ﷺ was in pain and he is being reminded that revelation from Allah is for a good purpose, not to cause suffering.

There is something extremely important to note here.

The normal structure of this verse is as follows: ‘I have chosen you because of the good in you for what is revealed so listen closely.’ So the words “listen closely’ are advanced to create emphasis Furthermore, the pattern of the verb employed is also emphatic. This is why I added the word ‘closely’ after the word ‘listen’ to capture the emphasis placed just in the word itself. So the pattern is emphatic by itself, but by foregrounding this word, there is even more emphasis placed. Something very important is about to be said so listen very closely and carefully.

إِنَّنِىٓ أَنَا ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنَا۠ فَٱعْبُدْنِى وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ لِذِكْرِىٓ

Indeed, I am Me/ I am who I am. Allah. There is no God but Me. So give ʿibādah to me and establish the ṣalāt for my dhikr This is the central verse of this whole surah. This is the main point and answer that we are looking for. The reason why so much emphasis was placed to listen to this in the last verse is because this is the answer we are looking for. How to gain strength and how to endure pain in times of difficulties is answered here.

Again the name of God in Exodus 3:14 is repeated here. When looked at purely from a linguistic perspective, “I am, Me’ or “I am who I am” simply means “I alone am God.” or literally “ ”لا إله إلا الله There is no god but Allah.

Allah commands Moses two things. ʿIbādah and to establish the ṣalāt (the five daily prayers)

ʿIbādah is usually translated as worship but it is deeper than that. This word comes

from the root ʿayn bāʾ dāl which was used for a fragrant plant the camels used to eat. This plant would produce more milk in them but it also made them very thirsty immediately after.¹³⁶ So to produce more milk in them, they have to endure the thirst that comes with it. ʿIbādah does not simply mean worship. It carries within itself the

meaning of patience and endurance. Obeying Allah will come at a cost. Just as the camels had to endure the thirst that comes with eating that plant, so will you have to endure the difficulties that come with obeying Allah. But these difficulties are temporary just as the thirst goes away by drinking water. Obedience to Allah will come with temporary hardships and pain that will eventually go away. This is the concept of worship in Islam.

In this context, Allah is conveying to prophet Muhammad ﷺ that these hardships that he is facing are common to all prophets. The reason why Allah specifies Moses is because the Qurʾān has explicitly stated that prophet Muhammad ﷺ is like Moses. It applies the Deuteronomical prophecy of a prophet like Moses to Muhammad ﷺ , and hence promises him that whatever happened with Moses, will happen with him. Allah is telling his prophet ﷺ to first be patient and endure, and to place his trust in Him.

The second command Allah gives Moses is to establish the ṣalāt, the five daily prayers. The word ṣalāt is quite interesting. It comes from the root ṣād lām alif which was used for heating and softening a bent metal stick so that it could be straightened.¹³⁷ First you heat the bent metal rod to make it soft, then you can bend it back to its original position and then make it firm again. This is the original usage of this root.

The Qurʾān uses this root for the five daily prayers. It is a usage unique to the Qurʾān as with many other words. Just as the metal rod was straightened, so do the five daily prayers set us straight and right. They get rid of the crookedness in us first, and then set us upright.

Notice what Allah says next. Establish the ṣalāt for my dhikr. I said previously that dhikr is the main point of this surah and this word will come up again and again.

1. Moses was on the mountain with God. He actually talked to God Himself. Do you think he would ever forget this? It is by far the greatest thing any human being can experience. There is no way he is forgetting this, but Allah says to Moses, If you really want to remember Me and this meeting, establish the five daily prayers. We all have five opportunities everyday to experience what Moses experienced on the Mountain with God.

2. The second root meaning of dhikr was strength. Establish the five daily prayers for My dhikr - for my strength; to gain strength from me. If you want to be strengthened and comforted by Me, establish the five daily prayers. This is the answer to our pain. When you are in pain, pray to God and you will be comforted, You will find strength and comfort in the five daily prayers. This is the central point of this whole surah. This is the answer God gives to the one in sorrow.

This will be repeated many times in the surah, and in the final passage of this surah, it will be stated explicitly. The surah consistently carries the theme forward by using the word dhikr repeatedly and then in verse 130, in the final passage of this surah, it will explicitly mention in clear words that comfort lies in the five daily prayers. It’s quite incredible as normally we would think that if the thing that causes us pain goes away we will gain comfort; or if the people who cause us pain would just go away; or if only our enemies would be punished or destroyed, our pain will be over. But Allah says none of that will give you the comfort that lies in the ṣalāt. The ṣalāt are your ultimate weapon against pain and your enemies. They are your best comfort in pain.

After this passage, Allah will use the word dhikr again and again in the surah. Verse 34, Moses will say to Allah

﴾ ٣٣ ﴿ كَیۡ نُسَبِّحَكَ كَثِیࣰرا So we may declare much tasbīḥ of You ﴾ ٣٤ ﴿ وَنَذۡكُرَكَ كَثِیرًا And do much dhikr of You

Verse 42, Before sending Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh, Allah will say

﴾ ٤٢ ﴿ ٱذْهَبْ أَنتَ وَأَخُوكَ بِـَٔايَٰتِى وَلَا تَنِيَا فِى ذِكْرِى Go, you and your brother, with My signs and do not slacken in My dhikr Verse 99, after completing the story of Moses, Allah will address our Prophet ﷺ saying:

﴾ ٩٩ ﴿ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ أَنۢبَآءِ مَا قَدْ سَبَقَ ۚ وَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَٰكَ مِن لَّدُنَّا ذِكْرًۭا

كَذَٰلِكَ نَقُصُّ

Thus do we walk you through the prophecies of old. We did give you, from Us, a dhikr What is meant here is the Qurʾān. A strong and impactful word that changes and impacts the soul.

﴾ ١٠٠ ﴿ مَّنْ أَعْرَضَ عَنْهُ فَإِنَّهُۥ يَحْمِلُ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ وِزْرًا Whoever turned away from it, bears on the day of resurrection, a heavy burden. After expelling Adam and Eve from Paradise, Allah will say to them:

﴾ ١٢٤ ﴿ وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَن ذِكْرِى فَإِنَّ لَهُۥ مَعِيشَةًۭ ضَنكًۭا وَنَحْشُرُهُۥ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ أَعْمَىٰ Whoever turned away from my dhikr, then for him is a tightened life. We will bring him on the day of resurrection, blind.

What is meant by a tight life is that whoever turns away from God’s dhikr will live not just a “hard” life — but a tight and suffocating life. A mentally and spiritually compressed life, regardless of material wealth.

Then Allah will conclude the whole surah with this. I will just roughly translate it since we are not diving deep down.

فَٱصْبِرْ عَلَىٰ مَا يَقُولُونَ وَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ قَبْلَ طُلُوعِ ٱلشَّمْسِ وَقَبْلَ غُرُوبِهَا ۖ وَمِنْ ءَانَآئِ ٱلَّيْلِ فَسَبِّحْ وَأَطْرَافَ ﴾ ١٣٠ ﴿ ٱلنَّهَارِ لَعَلَّكَ تَرْضَىٰ

So be patient with what they say- celebrate the praise of your Lord, before the rising and setting of the sun, and celebrate His praise during the night, and at the beginning and end of the day, so you may be satisfied This means the prayers. It does not just mean to verbally say something; rather, what is meant here are the ṣalāt as will come in the very next verses:

١٣١ ﴿ وَلَا تَمُدَّنَّ عَيْنَيْكَ إِلَىٰ مَا مَتَّعْنَا بِهِۦٓ أَزْوَٰجًۭا مِّنْهُمْ زَهْرَةَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ ۚ وَرِزْقُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌۭ وَأَبْقَىٰ Do not gaze longingly at what We have given some of them to enjoy, the finery of this present life: We test them through this, but the provision of your Master is better and more lasting. ﴾ ١٣٢ ﴿ وَأْمُرْ أَهْلَكَ بِٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَٱصْطَبِرْ عَلَيْهَا ۖ لَا نَسْـَٔلُكَ رِزْقًۭا ۖ نَّحْنُ نَرْزُقُكَ ۗ وَٱلْعَٰقِبَةُ لِلتَّقْوَىٰ Order your people to offer Ṣalāt, and offer Ṣalāt steadfastly yourself. We are not asking you to give Us provision; We provide for you, and the rewards of the Hereafter belong to those who keep safe.

This last verse clarifies what is meant are the ṣalāt. This surah started with consoling the prophet ﷺ and now it gives him the remedy to his pain. Offer the five daily prayers and you will not only be pain free, you will be happy and satisfied. It is remarkable since we would normally think that comfort in such a situation would lie in gaining victory over our enemies. If the ṣalāt can not only make us pain free but also make us happy and satisfied in times of extreme and deep pain, is it not a sign of God?

¹³³ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 1, p. 559 - 560
¹³⁴ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 2, p. 981
¹³⁵ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 1, p. 582
¹³⁶ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 3, p. 1391
¹³⁷ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 3, p. 1243