10:1. Alif. Lam. Ra.° These are the verses of the Book of wisdom.

10:2. Does it seem strange to people that We have sent revelation to a man from among themselves [saying]: Warn the people and give glad tidings to those who believe, that they will have with their Lord the precedence merited by their sincerity? But the disbelievers say: This man is clearly a magician!

ifAlif. Lam. Ra\ These are the verses of the Book of wisdom﴿, namely the Qur’an which includes wisdom and the verses of which establish rulings on the fundamental facts of faith and the commands and prohibitions of Islam, which all of humanity should believe in, accept and comply with.

Despite that, most of them turn away, so they do not understand and they find it strange ﴾that We have sent revelation to a man from among themselves [saying]: Warn the people﴿ of Allah’s punishment and remind them of the signs of Allah, tjand give glad tidings to those who believe﴿ sincerely ﴾that they will have with their Lord the precedence merited by their sincerity﴿ that is, they will have an abundant reward that is stored up with their Lord, because of what they sent on ahead of sincere righteous deeds.

The disbelievers found it strange that revelation was sent to this great man, and that led them to disbelieve in him. Hence ﴾the disbelievers say﴿ of him: ﴾This man is clearly a magician!﴿ that is, the fact that he is a magician is obvious to anyone - or so they claimed. This was indicative of their foolishness and stubbornness, for they found strange a matter concerning which there was nothing strange at all. Rather what is strange is their ignorance and failure to realise what was in their best interests. How could they not believe in this noble Messenger (ﷺ) whom Allah sent from among themselves, whom they knew very well? Yet they rejected his call and were eager to undermine his religion, but Allah perfects His light even though the disbelievers hate it.

10:3. Verily your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and then rose over the Throne [in a manner that befits His Majesty], directing all things. No one can intercede except with His permission. Such is Allah your Lord, so worship Him. Will you not then pay heed?

10:4. To Him you will all return. [This is] a true promise from Allah. Verily He originates creation then repeats it, so that He may justly reward those who believe and do righteous deeds; but those who disbelieve will have scalding water to drink and a painful punishment, because they disbelieved.

Here Allah highlights His Lordship, divinity and greatness: f[ Verily your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days﴿ even though He is able to create them in a single moment, because of the divine wisdom behind that, for He is not hasty in His actions.

Another aspect of His wisdom is that He created them on the basis of and for truth, so that He may be known by His names and attributes, and worship may be devoted to Him alone.

﴾and then﴿, after creating the heavens and the earth, He ﴾rose over the Throne﴿ in a manner that befits His greatness.

﴾directing all things﴿ in the upper and lower realms, such as causing death, giving life, sending down provision, giving the days of various fortune to people by turns, granting relief to those who have suffered harm, and responding to the pleas of those who ask of Him.

He is in full control in all senses; all of creation is subjugated to His might and submitting to His greatness and authority.

﴾No one can intercede except with His permission﴿ so none of them can come forward to intercede, even if he is the best of creation, until Allah grants permission, and He does not grant permission to anyone except one with whom He is pleased, and He is not pleased with anyone except those who are sincere to Him alone and affirm His oneness.

﴾Such﴿ that is, the One Who is like this ﴾is Allah your Lord﴿ that is. He is Allah, Who is the Divine Who possesses all attributes of perfection, all attributes of Lordship, all attributes that reflect His actions.

﴾so worship Him﴿ that is, devote to Him alone all that you can of various kinds of worship.

﴾Will you not then pay heed﴿ to the evidence which indicates that He alone is deserving of worship and praise. Possessor of majesty and honour.

Having mentioned His universal decree, which has to do with controlling all things, and His religious decree, which has to do with His laws and teachings, all of which point to one thing, which is that He alone is to be worshipped, with no partner or associate, Allah then mentions His decree of requital, which refers to His requital for deeds after death:

f﴾To Him you will all return﴿ that is, He will gather you after your death for an appointed time on a certain day.

﴾[This is] a true promise from Allah﴿ that is. His promise must inevitably come to pass

6﴾Verily He originates creation then repeats it﴿ for the One Who is able to initiate creation is able to repeat it. Hence the one who can see that He initiated creation, yet denies that He can repeat it, is lacking in reason and is denying one of two similar things whilst believing in the other. This is clear rational evidence for the Day of Resurrection.

Then Allah mentions the textual evidence, as He says: ﴾[This is] a true promise from Allah﴿ that is. His promise must inevitably come to pass.

﴾so that He may justly reward﴿ that is, reward them for their faith and deeds, a reward that He explained to His slaves, and told them that no one knows what is hidden for them of delights ﴾those who believe﴿ in their hearts, in that in which Allah commands them to believe

(fand do righteous deeds﴿ that is, physical deeds, both obligatory and encouraged.

﴾but those who disbelieve﴿ in the signs of Allah and reject the messages of Allah ﴾will have scalding water to drink﴿ that is, water that is very hot and will scald their faces and pierce their bowels

﴾and a painful punishment﴿ which will involve all kinds of torment

﴾because they disbelieved﴿ that is, as a result of their disbelief and wrongdoing. Allah does not wrong them; rather they wrong themselves.

10:5. It is He Who made the sun a radiant light and the moon a reflected light, and ordained its phases, so that you may know how to count the years and measure [time]. Allah has not created all of that except for a true purpose. He explains the signs in detail for people who have knowledge.

10:6. Verily in the alternation of the night and the day, and in all that Allah has created in the heavens and the earth, there are signs for those who fear Him.

Having affirmed His Lordship and His divinity, Allah then mentions rational evidence in the universe that points to that and to the perfect nature of His names and attributes, such as the sun and moon, the heavens and the earth, and all that He has created therein of all kinds of creatures. He tells us that they are signs tffor people who have knowledge﴿ (10: 5) and ﴾for those who fear Him﴿ (10: 6).

Knowledge will help one to recognise the evidence (in those things) and how to derive proof in the most straightforward manner. Fear of Allah generates in the heart the desire to do good and the aversion towards evil that stem from recognising the proof and evidence, and from knowledge and certainty.

That is because the mere creation of these things in this manner is indicative of the perfect power, knowledge and life of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and indicates that He is the Sustainer.

What we see in them of precision, brilliant design and beauty is indicative of the perfect wisdom of Allah, the beauty of His creation and the vastness of His knowledge.

What we see in them of benefits - such as making the sun a radiant light and the moon a reflected light, through which essential and other benefits are attained - points to Allah’s mercy and care for His slaves, and the vastness of His kindness and blessings.

The variations in them are indicative of Allah’s will which is always done.

That indicates that He alone is deserving of worship, love and praise, Possessor of majesty and honour and of all great attributes. It is not appropriate to place one’s hopes in or fear anyone except Him. It is not appropriate to direct sincere supplication to anyone except Him; it is not to be directed to anyone other than Him, such as created beings that are subject to His Lordship and are in need of Allah in all their affairs.

These verses urge and encourage us to reflect on the creation of Allah, to examine it and seek to learn lessons from it. Thus our insight will deepen, our faith and knowledge will increase, and reason will be strengthened. But neglecting that implies that one is taking this command of Allah lightly, which closes the door to any increase in faith and causes the mind to stagnate.

10:7. Those who do not expect to meet Us, and are pleased and satisfied with the life of this world, and are heedless to Our signs,

10:8. Their abode will be the fire, because of what they used to earn.

﴾Those who do not expect to meet Us﴿ that is, they do not long to meet Allah, which is the greatest and most sublime that anyone could ever wish for; rather they turn away from that and may disbelieve in it altogether f(and are pleased and satisfied with the life of this world﴿ instead of the hereafter; they are content with it and have made it their ultimate goal and aspiration, so they strive for it and focus on its pleasures and desires, regardless of how they attain them, and whatever opportunities they come across, they rush to seize them, and they focus their thoughts, intentions, ideas and deeds on attaining that.

It is as if they were created to remain in this world forever, and as if it were not a temporary realm from which they take provision that will help them to reach the eternal realm to which they, the first andthe last of them, will travel and to attain the delights and pleasures for which people should strive hard.

﴾fand are heedless to Our signs﴿ so they do not benefit from the verses of the Qur’an or the signs in the universe or in their own selves. Turning away from evidence implies turning away from and neglecting that to which it points.

﴾Their abode﴿ that is, the abode of these people and those who are like them ﴾will be the fire﴿ that is, that will be the place where they will settle and remain, and will never depart from it

﴾because of what they used to earn﴿ of disbelief, ascribing partners to Allah, and all kinds of sins.

Having mentioned their punishment, Allah then mentions the reward of those who are obedient:

10:9. But as for those who believe and do righteous deeds, their Lord will guide them because of their faith. Rivers will flow at their feet in gardens of delight.

10:10. Their prayer therein will be: Glory be to You, O Allah. Their greeting therein will be: Peace; and the end of their prayer will be: Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

﴾But as for those who believe and do righteous deeds﴿ that is, they combine faith with doing what it requires of righteous deeds, which includes deeds of the heart (beliefs) and physical actions donewith sincerity and in accordance with the teachings of the Messenger of Allah

﴾their Lord will guide them because of their faith﴿ that is, because of the faith that they have, Allah will grant them the greatest reward, which is guidance. So He will teach them that which will benefit them, bless them by enabling them to do the deeds that stem from guidance, and guide them to contemplate His signs. In this world He will guide them to the straight path and in the hereafter He will guide them to the path that will lead to the gardens of delight. Hence He says: ﴾Rivers will flow at their feet﴿ constantly

﴾in gardens of delight﴿. Allah describes them thus because they contain all types of delight, filling the heart with joy, happiness and cheerfulness; the joy of seeing the Most Gracious and hearing His words, and of attaining His good pleasure and being close to Him; the joy of meeting loved ones and brothers and enjoying their company; listening to delightful voices and pleasant tunes; gazing upon joyful scenes; physical pleasures such as all kinds of food and drink, and intimacy with spouses; and other things such as no one knows and has never crossed the mind of anyone, indescribable pleasures.

﴾Their prayer therein will be: Glory be to You, O Allah﴿ that is, their worship therein will be of Allah, beginning with glorifying Allah and declaring Him to be free of all shortcomings, and ending with praise of Allah. All duties will be waived from them in the realm of reward, and all that will be left for them will be the most perfect of pleasures, one that is greater than delicious food, namely remembrance of Allah in which hearts find rest and souls feel joy. For them it will be like breathing, without any effort or difficulty.

CTheir greeting therein﴿ when they meet or visit one another will be salam (translated here as ﴾Peace﴿); that is, it will be speech that is free of any idle talk or sin. It is described as salam (peace); it was said in the commentary on the words ﴾Their prayer therein will be: Glory be to You... ﴿, until the end of the verse, that when the people ofparadise need food, drink and so on, they will say: ﴾Glory be to you, O Allahand it will come to them immediately. Then when they have finished, they will say: ﴾Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds﴿.

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10:11. If Allah were to hasten the punishment for people as they would hasten their reward, then their fate would have been sealed. But We leave those who do not expect to meet Us to wander blindly in their misguidance.

This is by His kindness and grace towards His slaves. For if He were to hasten the punishment for them as soon as they did that which leads to it, as they would hasten the reward as soon as they did that which leads to it, then ﴾their fate would have been sealed﴿. That is, the punishment would have destroyed them. But Allah Gs) gives them respite, although He does not forget about them, and He pardons a great deal. If Allah were to take people to task for their wrongdoing, He would not have left any creature alive on the face of the earth.

That includes the case of a man when he gets angry with his children or his family or his wealth, whereupon he may pray against them once, and if that prayer were to be answered, they would be doomed and it would cause a great deal of harm. But Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is Most Forbearing, Most Wise.

﴾But We leave those who do not expect to meet Us﴿J that is, they do not believe in the hereafter, hence they do not prepare for it, and they do not do that which would save them from the punishment of Allah﴾to wander blindly﴿ stumbling and confused; they are not guided to the right path and they are not helped to find sound evidence. That is a punishment to them for their wrongdoing and disbelief in the revelations of Allah.

﴾in their misguidance﴿ that is, their falsehood in which they overstepped the bounds of truth.

10:12. When misfortune befalls a person. He calls upon Us, lying on his side, sitting or standing. But when We have relieved him of his misfortune, he carries on with his former ways, as if he had never called upon Us to relieve him of misfortune that had befallen him. Thus the deeds of the transgressors are made fair-seeming to them.

Here Allah tells us of the nature of man as he is: if misfortune befalls him, such as sickness or calamity, he strives hard in supplication, asking Allah in all situations, standing and sitting and lying down, and he persists in calling upon Allah to relieve him of his misfortune.

﴾But when We have relieved him of his misfortune, he carries on with his former ways, as if he had never called upon Us to relieve him of misfortune that had befallen him﴿ that is, he persists in his heedlessness, turning away from his Lord as if no misfortune had ever befallen him of which Allah had then relieved him. What wrongdoing can be greater than this? He asks Allah to meet his needs, then when He grants him that, he does not think of the rights of his Lord; it is as if Allah has no rights over him. This attitude that the Shaytan makesfair-seeming to him is something very strange and reprehensible according to sound reason and common sense.

﴾Thus the deeds of the transgressors﴿ who overstep the bounds c﴾are made fair-seeming to them﴿.

10:13. We indeed destroyed nations before you when they transgressed. Their Messengers came to them with clear signs, but they would never believe. Thus We requite the evildoers.

10:14. Then He made you [their] successors in the land, so that He may see how you will do.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that He destroyed the earlier nations for their wrongdoing and disbelief, after the signs had come to them at the hands of the Messengers and the truth had become clear. They refused to follow it and did not believe, therefore He sent upon them His punishment that could not be warded off from any evildoers who transgress the sacred limits of Allah. This is His way with all nations.

)(Then He made you﴿ who are addressed here ﴾[their] successors in the land, so that He may see how you will do﴿. If you pay heed and learn a lesson from those who came before you, and you follow the revelations of Allah and believe in His Messengers, you will be saved in this world and the hereafter.

But if you do what the evildoers before you did, the same fate will befall you as befell them, and the One Who issues a warning has left no excuse.0 0

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10:15. But when Our clear revelations are recited to them, those who do not expect to meet Us say: Bring us a Qur’an other than this, or change it. Say: It is not for me to change it of my own accord; I only follow what is revealed to me. I fear, if I were to disobey my Lord, the punishment of a momentous day.

10:16. Say: If Allah had so willed, I would not have recited it to you, nor would He have made it known to you. I spent a whole lifetime among you before it came to me; will you not then understand?

10:17. Who does greater evil than he who fabricates lies against Allah or rejects Allah’s revelations? Verily the evildoers will never prosper.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) mentions the stubbornness of those who disbelieved in His Messenger Muhammad (ﷺ), and states that when the Qur’anic revelations of Allah were recited to them, which explained the truth, they turned away from them and demanded, by way of stubbornness, audacity and wrongdoing: ﴾Bring us a Qur’an other than this, or change itp. May Allah curse them for their audacity towards Allah and their wrongdoing and rejection of His revelations.

Allah instructed His great Messenger (ﷺ) to say to them: c-(It is not for mej﴿ that is, it is not appropriate or befitting for me (-﴾to changeit of my own accord﴿, for I am merely a Messenger and I have no control over the matter at all.

only follow what is revealed to me﴿ that is, I can do nothing other than that, for I am a slave under orders.

(fl fear, if I were to disobey my Lord, the punishment of a momentous day﴿. These are the words of the best of creation (Prophet Muhammad [3H]) and his attitude towards the commands and revelations of his Lord. So how about these foolish, misguided people, who combined ignorance and misguidance, wrongdoing and stubbornness, obstinacy and trying to outsmart the Lord of the worlds? Do they not fear the punishment of a momentous day?!

If they claim that their aim is for the truth to become evident by means of the signs that they demanded, they are lying, for Allah has already shown them signs on the basis of which other people believed, and He is the One Who sends signs as He wills, in accordance with His divine wisdom and mercy towards His slaves.

﴾Say: If Allah had so willed, I would not have recited it to you, nor would He have made it known to you. I spent a whole lifetime among you before it came to me﴿ that is, before I recited it to you and before you became aware of it, and it never crossed my mind and never occurred to me.

﴾will you not then understand?﴿ that I never came up with anything like that in my life before, and I never uttered anything of that nature, so how could I come up with it now? I spent my whole life among you and you know me well; you know that I am unlettered and can neither read nor write, and I have not studied or learned from anyone, but I have brought you this great Book that the most eloquent and knowledgeable of people are unable to match. As that is the case, how could I have produced it of my own accord? Is this not definitive proof that it is a revelation from the Most Wise, Worthy of all praise?

If you think on the basis of reason and understanding, and you reflect on my situation and that of this Book, you would reach a levelof certainty, far beyond any doubt, that it is the truth beyond which is nothing but misguidance. But if you insist on stubbornly disbelieving, then undoubtedly you are wrongdoers.

﴾Who does greater evil than he who fabricates lies against Allah or rejects Allah’s revelations?﴿

If I were making it up, I would be the most evil of people and I would never succeed, and my real situation would never be hidden from you. But I brought you the revelations of Allah, yet you disbelieved in them. Therefore you are wrongdoers and undoubtedly you will decline and never succeed, so long as you remain like that.

The words ﴾those who do not expect to meet Us say...﴿ (10. 15) indicate that what prompted them to be so stubborn was their own lack of belief in the meeting with Allah, for they did not expect to meet Him. The one who expects to meet Allah will inevitably submit to this Book and believe in it, for it leads to the best results.

10:18. They worship, besides Allah, that which has no power either to harm or benefit them, and they say: These are our intercessors with Allah. Say: Do you presume to tell Allah of something that He does not know in the heavens or on earth? Glory be to Him; exalted be He far above the partners they ascribe to Him!

c-jThey﴿ namely the polytheists who disbelieve in the Messenger of Allah﴾worship, besides Allah, that which has no power either to harm or benefit them﴿ that is, they (the false gods) do not possess power to benefit them in the least or ward off the slightest harm from them.

﴾and they say﴿ without any proof whatsoever ﴾These are our intercessors with Allah﴿ that is, they worship them so that they may bring them closer to Allah and intercede for them with Him, but this is something that they fabricated and made up by themselves. Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says, declaring these words to be false: ﴾Say: Do you presume to tell Allah of something that He does not know in the heavens or on earth?﴿ That is, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is the All- Knowing, Whose knowledge encompasses all that is in the heavens and on earth, and He has told you that He has no partner or god alongside Him. So do you - O polytheists - claim that He has any partners in the heavens or on earth? Do you presume to tell Him of something that is hidden from Him but known to you? Are you more knowledgeable, or Allah? Can there be any words more false than these, which imply that these misguided, ignorant, foolish people are more knowledgeable than the Lord of the worlds?!

Any wise person will reach the right conclusion simply by trying to understand this statement, and he will be certain that it is false and invalid.

﴾Glory be to Him; exalted be He far above the partners they ascribe to Him!﴿ That is, may He be glorified, for He is far above having any partner or equal; rather He is Allah, the One, the Unique, the Eternal, Absolute, besides Whom there is no other god in the heavens or on earth. All that is worshipped besides Him in either the upper or lower realm is false according to rational thought, religious teaching and common sense.

﴾That is because Allah is the Truth, and those they call upon besides Him are sheer falsehood. Verily, Allah is the Most High, the Most

10:19. Humankind was but one nation, but then they differed. Were it not for a prior decree from your Lord, a decisive judgement would already have been passed between them concerning that wherein they differ.

10:20. They say: Why has no sign been sent down to him from his Lord? Say [O Muhammad]: Knowledge of the unseen belongs only to Allah. Wait then; I too am waiting.

﴾Humankind was but one nation﴿, unanimously agreed on the true religion, but then they differed, so Allah sent the Messengers with glad tidings and warnings, and He sent down with them the Book to judge between people concerning that wherein they differed.

﴾Were it not for a prior decree from your Lord﴿ giving respite to the sinners and not hastening to punish them for their sins ﴾fa decisive judgement would already have been passed between them﴿ that We would save the believers and destroy the disbelievers; this is what made them differ

﴾concerning that wherein they differ﴿ but it was His will to test them, trying some of them by means of others, in order to distinguish the truthful ones from the liars.

﴾IThey﴿ the stubborn liars

﴾say: Why has no sign been sent down to him from his Lord?﴿ What they meant was the specific signs that they demanded, as when they said:^...Why has an angel not been sent down to him, to be a warner with

- and:

﴾...We will never believe in you until you cause a spring to gush forth from the earth for us; or you have a garden of date palms and vines, and you cause rivers to gush forth in their midst; Or you cause the sky to fall upon us in pieces, as you claimed [that Allah could do that if He willed]; or you bring Allah and the angels before us, face to face; Or you have a house made of gold; or you ascend to heaven, and even then we will not believe in your ascent unless you bring down to us a book we can read... p (al-Isra ’ 1 7 90-93)

﴾Say [O Muhammad]﴿ to them, if they demand a sign from you: ﴾Knowledge of the unseen belongs only to Allah﴿ that is, He encompasses all people with His knowledge and He takes care of their affairs on the basis of what He knows about their circumstances and of His great wisdom.

﴾Wait then; I too am waiting﴿ that is, each of us is waiting to see what will happen to the other party and whether he will get what he deserves. So wait and see who will have the best end.

10:21. When We make the people taste mercy after some adversity has befallen them, they hasten to plot and plan against Our revelations. Say: Allah is swifter in planning. Verily, Our messengers [the angels] are recording all the plots you make.

﴾When We make the people taste mercy after some adversity has befallen them﴿, such as good health after sickness, wealth afterpoverty, and safety after fear, they forget what befell them of adversity, and they do not give thanks to Allah for ease and mercy; rather they persist in their transgression and plotting.

Hence Allah says: ﴾they hasten to plot and plan against Our revelations﴿ that is, they strive on the basis of falsehood to invalidate the truth.

4[Say: Allah is swifter in planning﴿. The evil plan can only harm its authors, and what they try to achieve will backfire on them and they will not be free of responsibility; rather the angels are recording against them what they do and Allah is fully aware of them, then He will requite them in full.

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10:22. It is He Who enables you to travel on land and sea. And when you are sailing on ships, and rejoicing in the favourable wind, a stormy wind comes; the waves come at those on board from all sides, and they think there is no escape. Then they call upon Allah, professing sincere devotion to Him alone, [saying]: If You deliver us from this, we will certainly be among those who are grateful.

10:23. Yet when He has delivered them, they spread mischief throughout the land without justification. O people, your mischief onlyharms your own souls. Take your enjoyment in this life; then to Us you will return, and We will inform you about what you used to do.

Having mentioned the general principle with regard to what people do when there comes to them mercy after adversity and ease after hardship, Allah then gives an example to confirm that, which is what they do at sea when the sea becomes rough and they fear the consequences.

﴾It is He Who enables you to travel on land and sea﴿ by what He has made available to you of means of transportation, to which He has guided you.

﴾And when you are sailing on ships﴿ on the sea ﴾and rejoicing in the favourable wind﴿ that is in accordance with their wishes, without causing any annoyance or troubles, and they feel reassured by it. Then whilst they are like that, tja stormy wind comes﴿, blowing fiercely

﴾the waves come at those on board from all sides, and they think there is no escape﴿ that is, they think that they are doomed. At that point all attachment to created beings ceases, and they realise that no one can save them from this predicament except Allah alone. So they call upon Him, focusing their devotions solely on Him, and they make a promise that is binding upon themselves, saying: ﴾If You deliver us from this, we will certainly be among those who are grateful﴿.

﴾Yet when He has delivered them, they spread mischief throughout the land without justification﴿ that is, they forget that hardship and that supplication, and the binding promise they had made, and they ascribe as partners to Allah those who they acknowledge could not save them from hardship or ward off harm from them. Why do they not show sincere devotion to Allah at times of ease as they did at times of hardship?

But this transgression will backfire on them. Hence Allah says: ﴾fO people, your mischief only harms your own souls. Take your enjoyment in this life﴿ that is, the most you are hoping for by means of your transgression and turning away from devotion to Allah is to attain some worthless worldly gains in status, which will soon end and be in the past, then you will leave it all behind. ﴾then to Us you will return﴿ on the Day of Resurrection ﴾and We will inform you about what you used to dob. This is the gravest of warnings to them against persisting in their actions.

10:24. The likeness of the life of this world is that of the rain that We send down from the heavens; by means of it, all kinds of plants are brought forth from the earth, from which both people and animals eat. Then when the land is at its loveliest and takes on its fairest appearance, and its owners think they have power over it, the fate We have decreed for it comes to pass, by night or by day, and We reduce it to stubble, as if it had not been there the day before. Thus We explain the revelations in detail for people who reflect.

This is one of the best kinds of likeness and is an apt description of the way this world is, for one may acquire its pleasures, desires, status and so on, and flourish - if indeed one does flourish - for a short time, then when those worldly gains reach their peak, they soondiminish and disappear, or the one who acquired them dies and leaves them behind; thus he ends up empty-handed, with his heart filled with worry, sorrow and regret.

Hence it is like ﴾the rain that We send down from the heavens; by means of it, all kinds of plants are brought forth from the earthy that is, it puts forth every lovely kind of growth (cf. 22: 5). ﴾from which both people﴿ eat, such as grains and fruits ﴾and animals eat﴿, such as different types of vegetation.

﴾Then when the land is at its loveliest and takes on its fairest appearance﴿ that is, it becomes beautiful in appearance and is a delight to the onlookers and a sign to people of understanding, and they look at it and see an amazing scene filled with colours of green, yellow, white and others

﴾and its owners think they have power over it﴿ that is, they raise their hopes that it will continue and last, because that is all they want and that is the extent of their aspirations.

But whilst they are like that, ﴾the fate We have decreed for it comes to pass, by night or by day, and We reduce it to stubble, as if it had not been there the day before﴿ that is, as if it never existed. This is an exact likeness of the state of this world.

﴾Thus We explain the revelations in detail﴿, giving likenesses to clarify them and make them easy for people to understand ﴾for people who reflect﴿ that is, for those who use their minds in ways that benefit them.

As for the one who is heedless and turns away, the verses do not benefit him and the explanation does not dispel his doubts.

Having described this world and the utmost joy it can offer, Allah then refers to the hereafter, so as to make people aspire for it.

10:25. Allah calls to the abode of peace, and He guides whom He will to a path that is straight.

10:26. For those who do good there will be the best reward and more besides. No gloom or shame will cover their faces. They will be the inhabitants of paradise; they will abide therein forever.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) calls all His slaves to the abode of peace and encourages them to seek it, and He singles out for guidance whomever He chooses and selects. This is His bounty and grace, and Allah singles out for His mercy whomever He will. This is His justice and wisdom, and no one has any excuse after He has made things clear and sent His Messengers.

Allah calls paradise the ﴾abode of peace﴿ because it is free of all problems and imperfections. That is because its delights are perfect and complete, and they are everlasting and beautiful in all ways.

As Allah calls His slaves to the abode of peace, it is as if people’s hearts long for it and want to find out the deeds that will lead to it, so He tells us about them:

﴾For those who do good there will be the best reward and more besides﴿ that is, those who do good in worshipping the Creator, in the sense that they worship Him knowing that He is watching them and showing utter sincerity in their servitude to Him. So they do all that they can of worship, and they show as much kindness in word and deed to the slaves of Allah as they can, such as giving money, physically helping them, enjoining what is right, forbidding what iswrong, teaching the ignorant, advising the heedless, and other acts of kindness.

These are the ones who do good, and for them there will be ﴾the best reward﴿, namely paradise, which is perfect in its beauty ﴾and more besides﴿, which is gazing upon the noble Countenance of Allah, hearing His words, attaining His pleasure and having the joy of being close to Him. Thus they will have attained all that one could wish for or ask for.

Then Allah tells us how harm will be warded off from them: ﴾No gloom or shame will cover their faces﴿ that is, no harm will befall them in any way, because when harm befalls a person, that can be seen on his face, which changes and becomes gloomy.

But in the case of these people, as Allah tells us: ﴾You will see on their faces the radiance of bliss.﴿ (al-Mutaffifeen 83:24)

﴾They will be the inhabitants of paradise﴿ who will abide there ﴾they will abide therein forever﴿ and will never move, leave or change.

10:27. As for those who earn evil, the recompense of an evil deed will be the like thereof, and shame will cover them. They will have no protector from [the wrath of] Allah. Their faces will be covered, as it were, with patches of darkest night. They will be inhabitants of the fire; they will abide therein forever.

Having mentioned the inhabitants of paradise, Allah now mentions the inhabitants of hell, and tells us that what they earned in this world is evil deeds that incur the wrath of Allah, namely all kinds of disbelief and sin.

﴾the recompense of an evil deed will be the like thereof﴿ that is, a recompense that will upset them according to what they did of evil deeds.

﴾fand shame will cover them﴿ and their hearts will be filled with fear of Allah’s punishment. No one will ward it off from them and no one will protect them from it; their innocence and shame will be brought forth from them and darkness will appear on their faces.

﴾Their faces will be covered, as it were, with patches of darkest night. They will be inhabitants of the fire; they will abide therein forever﴿ how great a difference there will be between the two groups.

﴾On that day, some faces will be radiant, gazing upon their Lord. And on that day, some faces will be gloomy, knowing that a great calamity is about to befall them.p (al-Qiydmah 75: 22-25)

﴾On that day, some faces will be beaming, laughing and rejoicing. And on that day, some faces will be covered with dust, overcast with gloom. Such will be the disbelievers, the wicked. ('Abasa 80: 38-42)

10:28. On the day when We gather them all together, We will say to those who ascribed partners to Us: Stay where you are, youand your [so-called] partners! We will separate them, and their [so-called] partners will say: It was not us you worshipped.

10:29. Sufficient is Allah as a witness between us and you: we certainly knew nothing of your worship of us.

10:30. There every soul will come to know what it had done in the past, and they will be brought back to Allah, their true Lord; the [false gods] of their own invention will be lost from them.

﴾On the day when We gather them all together﴿ that is, We will gather all creatures at the appointed time of reckoning, and we will bring together the polytheists and that which they used to worship besides Allah.

﴾We will say to those who ascribed partners to Us: Stay where you are, you and your [so-called] partners!﴿ That is, stay where you are so that your judgement will take place and the verdict between you and them will be announced.

﴾We will separate them﴿ that is, both physically and emotionally, and there will be extreme enmity between them after they had showed them nothing but pure love in this world. That love and allegiance will turn into resentment and enmity.

Their so-called partners will disavow them and say: ﴾It was not us you worshipped﴿, for we declare that Allah is far above having any partner or equal.

﴾Sufficient is Allah as a witness between us and you: we certainly knew nothing of your worship of usj﴿ - we did not instruct you to do that and we did not call you to do it; rather you worshipped the one who called you to do that, and that was the Shaytan, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾Did I not instruct you, O children of Adam, that you should not worship the Shaytan, for he is to you an avowed enemy?﴿ (Yd Seen 36: 60)﴾On the day when He gathers them all together He will say to the angels: Was it you that these people used to worship? They will say: Glory be to You! You are our Close Friend, not they. Rather they used to worship the jinn\ most of them believed in them.p (Saba' 34: 40-41)

The noble angels, the Prophets, the close friends ofAIlah (awliya ’) and others will, on the Day of Resurrection, disavow those who worshipped them and they will deny that they ever called them to worship them, and they will be telling the truth. At that point, the polytheists will feel indescribable remorse and will realise the seriousness of the deeds that they sent on ahead and what they did of bad deeds. On that day it will become clear to them that they were fabricating lies against Allah, for their worship was to no avail and their objects of worship will be lost to them; they will find themselves cut off and helpless.

Hence Allah says: ﴾TherejJ that is, on that day ﴾every soul will come to know what it had done in the past]i that is, it will realise the nature of its deeds and earnings, and that will be followed by requital when each person will be requited according to his deeds: if they were good, he will be rewarded, and if they were evil, he will be punished.

﴾the [false gods] of their own invention will be lost from them﴿ their belief that they were doing the right thing by ascribing partners to Allah, and that what they worshipped besides Him would benefit them and ward off punishment from them, will come to nothing.

10:31. Say [O Muhammad]: Who provides for you from the heaven and the earth? Who has power over hearing and sight? Who brings forth the living from the dead and brings forth the dead from the living? Who ordains all things? They will say: Allah. Say: Will you not then fear Him?

10:32. Such, then, is Allah, your true Lord. And what is there apart from truth but error? So how could you be turned away [from the truth]?

10:33. Thus the decree of your Lord against the wicked is fulfilled; hence they will not believe.

﴾Say [O Muhammad]﴿ to these people who ascribed partners to Allah for which He sent down no authority - basing your argument against them on what they affirm of the oneness of Divine Lordship, to prove what they deny of the oneness of divinity:

﴾Who provides for you from the heaven and the earth﴿ by sending down provision from the sky, bringing forth all types of provision from the earth, and making it available to you?

﴾Who has power over hearing and sight?﴿ Who is it that created them and controls them? He singled these things out for mention by way of pointing out other blessings that are inferior by mentioning those that are superior, because they are so important and beneficial. ﴾Who brings forth the living from the dead﴿, such as bringing forth all kinds of trees and plants from seeds and pits, and bringing forth the believer from the disbeliever, the bird from the egg, and so on ﴾and brings forth the dead from the living?﴿ By doing the opposite of the things mentioned above

﴾Who ordains all things?﴿ in the upper and lower realms; this includes all kinds of divine control. If you ask them about these things,﴾They will say: Allah﴿, because they acknowledge all that, and they know that Allah has no partner in any of the things mentioned here.

﴾Say﴿ to them, so as to establish binding proof, ﴾ Will you not then fear Him?﴿ And worship Him alone sincerely, ascribing no partner to Him, and give up all that you worship besides Him of rivals and idols.

﴾Such, then﴿ is the One Who describes Himself in these terms ﴾fis Allah, your true Lord﴿ that is, the Divine one Who is rightfully worshipped and Most Praiseworthy, Who is caring for all of His creation and bestowing all sorts of blessings upon them ﴾(And what is there apart from truth but error?﴿

For He is the only Creator and the only One Who is in control of all things; people have no blessings except from Him and no one can grant them anything good except Him or ward off bad things from them except Him, the Owner of the most beautiful names and great, perfect attributes. Possessor of majesty and honour.

﴾So how could you be turned away [from the truth]?﴿ That is, from worship of the One Who possesses such attributes, and instead worship that which is non-existent and cannot do anything for itself in terms of bringing benefits, warding off harm, causing death, giving life or resurrecting.

For it does not have even an atom’s worth of dominion and has no partnership with Allah in any way whatsoever; it cannot intercede with Him except with His permission. So may he perish, the one who ascribes partners to Him. Woe to those who disbelieve in Him, for they are lacking in reason just as they are lacking in their beliefs; indeed they are losers in this world and the hereafter.

Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says of them: ﴾Thus the decree of your Lord against the wicked is fulfilled; hence they will not believe﴿ after Allah showed them clear signs and brilliant proof. In that there is a lesson for people of understanding, and admonition for those who fear Allah, and guidance for all people.

10:34. Say: Is there any among your [so-called] partners who can originate creation then repeat it? Say: Allah originates creation then repeats it; how then are you turned away [from the truth]?

10:35. Say: Is there any among your [so-called] partners who can guide to the truth? Say: Allah guides to the truth. Is then One Who guides to the truth more worthy of being followed, or one who cannot find the way unless he himself is guided? What is the matter with you, that you judge as you do?

10:36. Most of them follow nothing but mere conjecture. But conjecture is no substitute for certain truth. Verily Allah has full knowledge of all that they do.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) highlights the helplessness of the gods of the polytheists, and the fact that they possess no qualities that would make them deserve to be taken as gods along with Allah:

﴾Say: Is there any among your [so-called] partners who can originate﴿ that is, initiate

﴾creation then repeat it?]J This is a question which implies both negation and affirmation. In other words, there is none among them who could originate creation then repeat it; they are too weak and helpless to do that.

﴾Say: Allah originates creation then repeats it﴿ without any partner or helper in doing so.﴾how then are you turned away [from the truth]?﴿ That is, how can you turn away and deviate from worship of the One Who is unique in His initiation and repetition of creation, and instead worship those who cannot create anything and are themselves created?

﴾Say: Is there any among your [so-called] partners who can guide to the truth?﴿ by explaining it, highlighting it, inspiring people, or helping them to follow it.

﴾Say: Allah﴿ alone (-[guides to the truth﴿ by means of proof and evidence, and by inspiring and enabling and helping people to follow the straight path.

﴾Is then One Who guides to the truth more worthy of being followed, or one who cannot find the way unless he himself is guided﴿ because he has no knowledge and he is misguided? This refers to their so-called partners who cannot guide or be guided unless they receive guidance. ﴾What is the matter with you, that you judge as you do?﴿ That is, what made you reach this false judgement and think that it is appropriate to worship anyone alongside Allah, after the proof and evidence has become clear that no one is deserving of worship except Allah alone?

Once it is clear that their gods possessed no attributes or abilities that would make them deserving of being worshipped alongside Allah, rather they possess attributes of imperfection that lead to the conclusion that they cannot be divine, then for what reason were they made gods besides Allah?

The answer is that this is an example of the Shaytan making fair-seeming to man the most abhorrent of falsehood and misguidance, to the extent that they believed that and got used to it, and they thought that it was true, when in fact it is nothing.

Hence Allah says: ﴾Those who call upon their [so-called] partners besides Allah follow nothing but conjecture and they do nothing but lie.﴿ (10: 66), that is, they are not really following so-called partners of Allah, for Allah has no partners in the first place, either on thebasis of rational thought or textual evidence. Rather they are only following conjecture,

﴾...but conjecture is no substitute for certain truth.﴿ (an-Najm 53: 28) They call them gods and worship them alongside Allah, but: ﴾They are no more than names you have named, you and your forefathers, for which Allah has not sent down any authority.. (an-

﴾Verily Allah has full knowledge of all that they do and He will requite them for that with a severe punishment.

10:37. This Qur’an could not possibly have been produced by anyone except Allah. It is a confirmation of that which came before it and an explanation of that which is decreed for humankind [of rulings and laws]. There is no doubt about it; it is from the Lord of the worlds.

10:38. Or do they say: He has fabricated it? Say: Then produce a soorah like it, and call upon whomever you can other than Allah [to help you], if you speak the truth!

10:39. Nay, they reject that which they do not comprehend, even before any explanation thereof reaches them. In like manner did thosewho came before them reject [the truth]. So see what was the fate of the wrongdoers.

10:40. Among them are some who will believe therein and others who will never believe therein. And your Lord knows best those who spread mischief.

10:41. If they reject you, then say: My deeds are mine and your deeds are yours. You are not accountable for what I do, nor am I accountable for what you do.

﴾This Qur’an could not possibly have been produced by anyone except Allah﴿ that is, that is not possible and it cannot be imagined that this Qur’an could have been produced by anyone except Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), for it is the great Book which:

﴾No falsehood can approach it from before it or from behind it; [it is] a revelation from One Who is Most Wise, Praiseworthy.﴿ (FussHat 41. 42)

It is the Book which, if all of humankind and the jinn were to come together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could never produce the like thereof, even if they helped one another (cf. 17: 88). It is the Book of Allah which was spoken by the Lord of the worlds. So how could anyone in creation speak a Book like it or even come close? For the words are indicative of the greatness of the One Who spoke them and of His attributes.

If there was anyone who could match Allah in His greatness and perfect attributes, then it would be possible for him to produce something like the Qur’an. If we assume that someone falsely attributed a Book to the Lord of the worlds. He would hasten to send a severe punishment upon him.

But Allah sent down this Book as a mercy to the worlds and as proof that leaves no excuse for anyone.

He sent it down as ﴾a confirmation of that which came before it﴿ of the divinely revealed Books of Allah, as it is in harmony with themand confirms what they mentioned and what they foretold, which came to pass as they had been foretold.

﴾and an explanation of that which is decreed for humankind [of rulings and laws]﴿ that is, what is prohibited and what is lawful, religious rulings and decrees, and other things that He has told us about the past.

﴾There is no doubt about it; it is from the Lord of the worlds﴿ that is, there is no doubt about it whatsoever; rather it is certain truth. It has been sent down from the Lord of the worlds Who takes care of all of His creation by His grace.

One of the most significant ways in which He takes care of them is that He has sent down to them this Book which speaks of their religious and worldly interests and contains all noble characteristics and good deeds.

﴾Or do they﴿, namely those who disbelieve in it ﴾say﴿ out of stubbornness and resentment: ﴾He has fabricated it﴿ that is, Muhammad (ﷺ) has fabricated it and attributed it falsely to Allah? ﴾Say﴿ to them (O Muhammad [$||]), obliging them to produce something like it if they can, in which case it may be possible that their claim is true, otherwise it is false:

﴾Then produce a soorah like it, and call upon whomever you can other than Allah [to help you], if you speak the truth!]﴿ That is, call them to help you to produce a soorah like it. But that is impossible; if it were possible, they would have announced their ability to do that and they would have produced something like it.

But because they were not able to do that, it became clear that what they were saying was false and that they had no proof for it. What made them disbelieve in the Qur’an, which contains truth beyond which there is no other, is the fact that they did not understand it. If they had understood it properly, they would have been humble enough to believe in it. But until now there has not come to them that whichAllah promised them of punishment. This disbelief on their part is of the same nature as the disbelief of those who came before them. Hence Allah says: ﴾(ln like manner did those who came before them reject [the truth]. So see what was the fate of the wrongdoers﴿, which was utter destruction that spared none of them.

So let these people beware of persisting in their disbelief, lest there befall them that which befell the disbelieving and doomed nations.

This indicates that one should be cautious with regard to all matters, and not hasten to accept or reject anything before one fully understands it.

﴾Among them are some who will believe therein﴿ that is, in the Qur’an and what it says

﴾and others who will never believe therein. And your Lord knows best those who spread mischief﴿ - they are the ones who do not believe in Him out of stubbornness, wrongdoing and wickedness; He will requite them for their wickedness with the severest of punishments.

﴾If they reject you﴿ then carry on with your call, and you are not at all accountable for them; each individual is responsible for his own deeds.

﴾then say: My deeds are mine and your deeds are yours. You are not accountable for what I do, nor am I accountable for what you do﴿. This is like the verse in which Allah ) says:

﴾Whoever does righteous deeds, it is to his own benefit and whoever does evil deeds, it is to his own detriment...﴿ (al-Jathivah 45:15)

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10:42. Among them are some who listen to you, but can you make the deaf to hear, if they will not use their minds?

10:43. And among them are some who look at you, but can you guide the blind, if they will not see?

10:44. Verily Allah does not wrong people in the least, but it is people who wrong themselves.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us about some of those who disbelieved in the Messenger (ﷺ) and in the message he brought. ﴾Among them are some who listen to you﴿ that is, they listened to the Prophet (ﷺ) when he recited the revelation, not by way of seeking guidance but by way of passing the time, disbelieving and seeking out faults. This kind of listening is not beneficial and will not lead to attaining anything good. No wonder the door of success was shut in their faces and they were deprived of the benefit of listening. Hence Allah says:

f﴾but can you make the deaf to hear, if they will not use their minds?﴿ This appears in the form of a question but in fact establishes negation; in other words, it confirms that you cannot make deaf people hear, who cannot hear anything that is said to them, even if you shout out loud, especially if they are also lacking in reason.

If it is impossible to make the deaf hear, who do not understand what is said to them, then it is not possible for you to make these disbelievers hear you in such a way that they may benefit from what they hear.

As for making them hear proof (that will leave them with no excuse), they have indeed heard that which establishes the proof of Allah against them. Thus this important means of gaining knowledge is blocked for them, which is by means of hearing.

Then Allah tells us that another means of learning that is blocked for them is the means of seeing, as He says:﴾And among them are some who look at you﴿ but their looking at you does not benefit them, and they do not benefit by learning about you. Just as you cannot guide the blind if they will not see, in the same way you cannot guide these people. If their minds, hearing and vision, which are the means of acquiring knowledge and learning facts, are not functioning, then what way do they have of reaching the truth?

The words ﴾And among them are some who look at you...﴿ indicate that looking at the Prophet (ﷺ) and his teachings, character, deeds and message is the greatest evidence of his truthfulness and the soundness of what he brought; that is sufficient for the one who has eyesight, and he needs no further proof.

﴾Verily Allah does not wrong people in the least﴿ so He does not add to their bad deeds or detract from their good deeds

﴾but it is people who wrong themselves﴿: the truth comes to them but they do not accept it, so Allah punishes them after that by placing a seal on their hearts, hearing and vision.

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10:45. On the day when He will gather them together, as if they had not remained [in this world] for longer than an hour of a day, they will recognise one another. Lost indeed are those who deny the meeting with Allah, and they are not guided.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us of how quickly this world will end, and that when Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) gathers the people and brings them together on a day concerning which there is no doubt, it will be as if they had only stayed (in this world) for a short while, and as if they had never experienced any joy or misery, and they will recognise one anotheras they used to in this world. On that day, those who feared Allah will be the winners, and those who disbelieved in the meeting with Allah will be the losers, for they were not guided to the straight path and the true religion, so they missed out on blessings and will deserve to enter the fire.

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10:46. Whether We show you some of that [punishment] of which We have warned them, or We take your soul [in death, before that], to Us is their return; and, moreover, Allah is witness to all that they do.

That is, do not grieve, O Messenger (ﷺ), for these disbelievers, and do not seek to hasten the punishment for them, for what We have prepared for them of punishment will inevitably befall them, either in this world, so that you will see it with your own eyes and have the satisfaction of seeing it, or in the hereafter, after death, for they will return to Allah and He will inform them of what they used to do, for Allah has kept a record of their deeds but they forgot them, and Allah is witness of all things. This is a stem warning to them, and consolation to the Messenger whose people stubbornly disbelieved in him.

10:47. For every nation there was a Messenger, and when their Messenger came," judgement was passed between them with justice, and they were not wronged.

10:48. They say: When will this promise come to pass, if you speak the truth?

10:49. Say: I have no power either to harm or benefit myself, except as Allah wills. For every nation there is an appointed time; when their appointed time comes, they will not be able to delay it for a single moment or bring it forward.

﴾For every nation)﴿ of the past

﴾there was a Messenger﴿ who called them to affirm the oneness of Allah and follow his religion.

﴾and when their Messenger came﴿ to them, bringing signs, some of them believed and others disbelieved. So Allah will judge between them fairly, by saving the believers and destroying the disbelievers, ﴾and they were not wronged﴿ by being punished before the Messenger was sent and the proof was explained, or by being punished for crimes they did not commit. So let those who disbelieve in you (O Muhammad [$|g] > beware of behaving like those doomed nations, lest there befall them what befell those people.

They should not think that the punishment is slow in coming and say: ﴾When will this promise come to pass, if you speak the truth?﴿This was wrongdoing on their part, when they demanded that of the Prophet for he had no control over the matter; all he was required to do was to convey the message and explain it to the people.

As for the reckoning and the sending of the punishment upon them, that could only be from Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), who sends it upon them when the ordained time comes, the time at which it has been decreed, in accordance with His divine wisdom.

When that time comes, they cannot put it back by a single hour or bring it forward. So let the disbelievers beware of seeking to hasten the punishment, for they are seeking to hasten the punishment of Allah which, when it comes, cannot be averted from the evildoers (cf. 6: 147). Hence Allah says:

10:50. Say: What do you think, if His punishment should come upon you by night or by day, what could there be in it that the evildoers would seek to hasten?

10:51. Or when it comes to pass, then will you believe in it? [It will be said:] What, now [do you believe], when before you would [mockingly] seek to hasten it?

10:52. Then it will be said to the wrongdoers: Taste the everlasting punishment; will you be requited for anything other than what you used to earn?

﴾Say: What do you think, if His punishment should come upon you by night﴿ at the time when you are asleep﴾or by day﴿ at the time when you are heedless ﴾what could there be in it that the evildoers would seek to hasten?﴿ That is, what is good in it that they seek to hasten? Rather what a punishment they seek to bring forward!

﴾Or when it comes to pass, then will you believe in it?﴿ For faith will be of no benefit when the punishment of Allah has come to pass and it will be said to them by way of rebuke at that time when they will claim to believe:

﴾What, now [do you believe]﴿ at the time of hardship and pain? ﴾when before you would [mockingly] seek to hasten it﴿. This is Allah’s way of dealing with His slaves: He forgives them if they ask Him for forgiveness before the punishment comes, but once the punishment has come, it is of no benefit to believe then, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) said of Pharaoh, when he was about to drown: ﴾he said: I believe that there is no god but He in Whom the Children of Israel believe; I am one of those who submit to Allah [in Islam]﴿ (10: 90).

But it was said to him: ﴾What, now [do you believe], when before this you were disobedient, and were one of the mischief-makers?﴿

And Allah says:

﴾But their believing after they had seen Our punishment could not benefit them at all. Such has always been the way of Allah in dealing with His slaves...﴿ (Ghaftr 40: 85)

And here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾f(Or when it comes to pass, then will you believe in it? [It will be said:] What, now)? do you claim to believe, ﴾when before you would [mockingly] seek to hasten it?﴿ This is what your hands have wrought and this is what you sought to hasten.

﴾Then it will be said to the wrongdoers﴿ when they are requited for their deeds on the Day of Resurrection: ﴾Taste the everlasting punishment﴿ that is, the punishment that you will suffer for eternity, with no respite, not even for an hour﴾will you be requited for anything other than what you used to eam?J﴿ of disbelief, rejection and sin.

10:53. They ask you: Is this true? Say: Yes, by my Lord. It is indeed true, and you can never escape it.

10:54. Verily, if every soul that did wrong possessed all that is on earth, it would offer it in ransom. They will conceal their remorse, when they see the punishment. Judgement will be passed between them with justice, and they will not be wronged.

10:55. Verily to Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth. Verily the promise of Allah is indeed true. Yet most of them do not know.

10:56. It is He Who gives life and causes death, and to Him you shall all return.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says to His Prophet (ﷺ): ﴾They ask you: Is this true?﴿ That is, the disbelievers will ask you by way of stubbornness, not by way of seeking clarification and guidance.

﴾Is this true?j﴿ that is, is it true that people will be gathered and resurrected after death for the appointed day, and that they will be requited for their deeds, if they were good they will be rewarded and if they were evil they will be punished?

﴾﴾Say﴿﴿, swearing that it is true and showing clear proof and evidence for it:

﴾)Yes, by my Lord. It is indeed true﴿ and there is no doubt or confusion about it.

tjand you can never escape it﴿. You can never escape Allah, for Allah will inevitably resurrect you. Just as He initiated your creation when you were nothing, similarly He will recreate you so that He may requite you for your deeds.

﴾Verily﴿ when the Day of Resurrection comes, ﴾fif every soul that did wrong﴿ by disbelieving and committing sin ﴾possessed all that is on earthy of gold, silver and other wealth, with which to ransom itself from the punishment of Allah, ﴾it would offer it in ransom﴿, but that would not benefit it at all; rather benefit and harm, reward and punishment, will be in accordance with deeds, whether righteous or evil.

﴾They﴿ namely those who did wrong ﴾will conceal their remorse, when they see the punishment﴿. They will regret what they did, but it will be too late.

﴾Judgement will be passed between them with justice﴿ that is, perfect fairness in which there will be no injustice or unfairness in any way whatsoever.

﴾Verily to Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth﴿. They are subject to His religious and universal decrees and He will requite them (on the Day of Resurrection). Hence Allah says: ﴾Verily the promise of Allah is indeed true. Yet most of them do not know﴿ and it is for this reason that they do not prepare to meet Allah; rather they may not believe in Him, even though there is so much definitive proof and textual and rational evidence.

﴾flt is He Who gives life and causes death﴿ that is, He is the One Who has control over life and death, and has control over all other things, and He has no partner in that.

﴾and to Him you shall all return﴿ on the Day of Resurrection, and He will requite you for your deeds, both good and bad.

10:57. O humankind, there has come to you an admonition from your Lord and a healing for [the ills] in your hearts, a guidance and mercy for the believers.

10:58. Say: In the grace of Allah and in His mercy - in that let them rejoice. That is far better than all they could accumulate.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) encourages people to focus on this noble Book, by mentioning its beautiful characteristics that are important for them: ﴾O humankind, there has come to you an admonition from your Lord﴿ that is, it exhorts you and warns you against the deeds that incur the wrath of Allah and lead to His punishment; it warns you against them by highlighting their negative consequences and evil outcomes, (-[and a healing for [the ills] in your hearts﴿. It is this Qur’an, which is a healing for what there is in people’s hearts of the diseases of whims and desires, which hinder man from complying with Islamic teachings, and the diseases of doubt which could undermine certain knowledge. It contains exhortation, encouragement and warnings, promises and threats, which all form motives and deterrents in people’s hearts.

If one’s heart finds, in the Qur’an, motivation to do good and a deterrent against doing evil, and it is shaped by what one grasps of its meanings when reading Qur’an regularly, that would lead one to give precedence to what Allah wants over what one’s own nafs wants,and that which pleases Allah would become dearer to the individual than his own whims and desires.

Similarly, what it contains of proof and evidence that Allah has presented in different ways and explained in the most eloquent manner will dispel doubts about the truth; by means of that hearts attain the highest level of certainty.

Once the heart has healed from its sickness and has begun to enjoy sound health, all the other faculties will follow suit, for they become sound if the heart is sound and they become corrupt if the heart is corrupt.

fja guidance and mercy for the believers﴿: guidance is knowledge of the truth and acting upon it, and mercy is what one attains of good and reward in this world and the hereafter, for the one who is guided by the Qur’an. Guidance is the most sublime means (of attaining what one wants) and mercy is the most sublime of aims and goals, but the Qur’an will not be a source of guidance and a mercy except for the believers.

If a person attains guidance and mercy is bestowed on him as a result thereof, he will attain happiness, prosperity, gain, success, and joy.

Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) enjoined the believers to rejoice in that, as He says: (-﴾Say: In the grace of Allah﴿ namely the Qur’an, which is the greatest blessing and grace that Allah bestowed upon His slaves ﴾and in His mercy)﴿ namely Islam and faith, and worshipping, loving and knowing Allah

﴾in that let them rejoice. That is far better than all they could accumulated of worldly gains and pleasures.

There can be no comparison between the blessing of faith that leads to happiness in this world and the hereafter, and all that this world contains, for the latter is temporary and will soon vanish.

Rather Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) instructs us to rejoice in His grace and mercy, because that is something that will result in feeling at ease, energisedand grateful to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), and feeling a sense of power and eagerness to pursue knowledge and faith, which will motivate one to seek more of them. This is a praiseworthy kind of joy, in contrast to rejoicing in the desires and pleasures of this world, or rejoicing in falsehood, for that is blameworthy, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

«f...Do not exult, for Allah does not love those who exult [in their

And Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says concerning those who rejoice in what they have of falsehood that is contrary to the message brought by the Messengers:

﴾Then when their Messengers came to them with clear signs, they exulted in what they had of [worldly] knowledge...﴿ (Ghafir 40: 83)

10:59. Say: What do you think about the provision that Allah has sent down to you, of which you then declared some to be forbidden and some to be lawful? Say: Has Allah given you leave to do so, or do you fabricate lies against Allah?

10:60. What do those who fabricate lies against Allah think about the Day of Resurrection? Verily Allah is most gracious to humankind, but most of them are ungrateful.

Here Allah denounces the polytheists who introduced prohibitions of things that Allah had permitted and permitted things that He had forbidden.

﴾Say: What do you think about the provision that Allah has sent down to you﴿ - this refers to different types of permissible animals that Allah had bestowed as provision for them and as a mercy ﴾of which you then declared some to be forbidden and some to be lawful? Say﴿ to them, by way of rebuke for this corrupt action: ﴾Has Allah given you leave to do so, or do you fabricate lies against Allah?﴿ It is well known that Allah did not give them permission; thus it is known that they were lying.

﴾What do those who fabricate lies against Allah think about the Day of Resurrection?﴿ What do they think Allah will do to them by way of punishment? Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾On the Day of Resurrection you will see those who fabricated lies against Allah, their faces darkened...﴿ (az-Zumar 39: 60)

﴾Verily Allah is most gracious to humankind﴿ and He bestows a great deal of blessing, but most people do not give thanks. Either they do not show gratitude for the blessings or they use them for sinful purposes or they regard some of them as prohibited, and they reject what Allah has bestowed of His favours upon His slaves. Few of them are grateful and acknowledge the blessing, praise Allah for it and use it for the purpose of obeying Him.

This verse is quoted as evidence for the basic principle that all foods are permissible, except those concerning which there is a text stating that they are prohibited, because Allah denounced those who prohibited the provision that He bestowed upon His slaves.

10:61. Whatever business you [O Prophet] may be engaged in, whatever you may recite of Qur’an, and whatever deeds you [O people] may do. We are witness over you when you are engaged therein. Not even the weight of a speck of dust, on earth or in heaven, escapes your Lord, nor is there anything smaller or greater than that, but it is [inscribed] in a clear record.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that He is watching and sees all that people do, when they are moving and when they are resting. This is an implicit call to remember that He is always watching.

﴾Whatever business you [O Prophet] may be engaged in﴿ that is, whatever situation you are in, whether it involves religious or worldly matters

﴾whatever you may recite of Qur’an﴿ that is, whatever you recite of the Qur’an, which Allah revealed to you ﴾and whatever deeds you [O people] may do﴿, small or great ﴾We are witness over you when you are engaged therein﴿ that is, at the time when you start it and when you are still doing it.

So remember that Allah is watching all your deeds, and do them with sincerity, striving hard. And beware of doing what Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) dislikes, for He is watching you and He knows what you disclose and what you conceal.

﴾Not even the weight of a speck of dust, on earth or in heaven, escapes your Lord﴿ that is, nothing escapes His knowledge. His hearing. His sight or His awareness

﴾nor is there anything smaller or greater than that, but it is [inscribed] in a clear record﴿ that is. His knowledge encompasses it and His pen records it.

Allah often mentions these two aspects of the divine will and decree together: His knowledge that encompasses all things and His recording of everything that happens. This is like the verse in which He says:﴾Do you not know that Allah knows all that is in the heavens and on earth? Verily, that is [inscribed] in a record; verily that is easy for Allah. (al-Hajj 22: 70)

10:62. Verily the allies and close friends of Allah will have no fear nor will they grieve;

10:63. Those who believe and guard against evil.

10:64. For them are glad tidings in the life of this world and in the hereafter; there can be no change in the words [promises] of Allah. That is the supreme triumph.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)§) tells us of His close friends and loved ones, and mentions their deeds, characteristics and reward.

﴾Verily the allies and close friends of Allah will have no fear﴿ with regard to the future and what lies ahead of fear and terror (on the Day of Resurrection)

﴾nor will they grieve﴿ over what they have done in the past, because they will have done nothing but righteous deeds. As they will have no fear and will not grieve, it is established that they will be safe and happy, and will have much good, such as no one knows except

Then He describes them: they are ﴾Those who believe﴿ in Allah and in His angels, His Books, His Messenger, the Last Day, and the divine decree, both good and bad; and they confirm their faith byfearing Allah and guarding against evil, and by complying with His commands and heeding His prohibitions.

Whoever is a believer and guards against evil, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) will be his ally, and ﴾For them are glad tidings in the life of this world and in the hereafter﴿.

Glad tidings in this world means being spoken well of, praised and loved by the believers. It also includes good dreams, and the kindness that Allah shows to him by enabling him to do the best of deeds and acquire the best of characteristics, and by diverting from him bad characteristics.

In the hereafter, the first glad tidings the believers receive are at the time when their souls are taken in death, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾Verily, those who say: Our Lord is Allah, then remain steadfast, to them the angels will come down [at the time of death, saying]: Fear not, nor grieve; but receive the glad tidings of paradise which you were promised. ﴿ (Fussilai 41: 30)

After that, in the grave they receive the glad tidings of the good pleasure of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and eternal bliss.

Then in the hereafter they will receive the ultimate glad tidings of admission to the gardens of bliss and salvation from the painful punishment.

﴾there can be no change in the words [promises] of Allah﴿; rather whatever Allah promises is true and cannot be changed or altered, because He is truthful in all that He says and no one can go against what He wills and decrees.

﴾That is the supreme triumph﴿ because it includes salvation from everything one fears and attaining everything one seeks and loves. The triumph is limited to that, because there is no triumph except for people of faith and piety.

To sum up: the glad tidings include all the good things and rewards that Allah has connected, in this world and the hereafter, to faith and piety. Hence He spoke in general, not specific, terms.

10:65. Do not let their words grieve you, for all power belongs to Allah. He is the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

That is, do not let the words of those who disbelieve in you, in which their aim is to impugn you and your religion, grieve you, for their words will be no source of honour for them and they will not harm you at all

﴾for all power belongs to Allah﴿ He bestows it upon whomever He will and withholds it from whomever He will.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

tj Whoever seeks honour, then all honour belongs to Allah...﴿ (Fdiir 35: 10)

- that is, so let him seek it by obeying Him. That is based on the fact that Allah says after that: ﴾To Him ascend all good words, and He exalts the good deed﴿.

It is well known that you are obeying Allah, and that power and honour will come to you and your followers from Allah: f(...In fact, might belongs to Allah, and to His Messenger and to the believers... )﴿ (al-Munafiqoon 63: 8)

﴾He is the All-Hearing, All-Knowing﴿ that is. His hearing encompasses all voices, and nothing is hidden from Him.

His knowledge encompasses all things, both apparent and hidden; not even the weight of a speck of dust, on earth or in heaven, escapes Him, nor anything smaller or greater than that.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) hears what you say and what your enemies say about you, and He knows that in detail. So be assured of the knowledge of Allah and His care for you; whoever fears Allah, He will suffice him.

10:66. Verily to Allah belong all those who are in the heavens and on earth. Those who call upon their [so-called] partners besides Allah follow nothing but conjecture and they do nothing but lie.

10:67. He it is Who has made the night for you to rest in, and the day for you to see. Verily in that are signs for people who listen [attentively].

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that to Him belong all that is in the heavens and on earth, as He is its sole Creator and Owner, and all creatures are His slaves; He controls them by means of whatever decrees and rulings He will. They are all slaves of Allah, subjugated to Him and under His control, so they do not deserve any kind of worship and they are not partners of Allah in any sense whatsoever. Hence Allah says: ﴾Those who call upon their [so-called] partners besides Allah follow nothing but conjecture﴿ which has nothing to do with truth ffand they do nothing but lie﴿ and fabricate about such matters.

If they were telling the truth, that they are partners of Allah, then let them highlight any of their qualities and attributes that would make them deserving of an atom’s weight of worship. But they will never be able to do that. Is there any among them who ever created anything or granted any provision, or who owns any created thing or controls the night and the day which Allah ordained for people to earn their living?

﴾He it is Who has made the night for you to rest in﴿ by sleeping and reposing, because of the darkness that covers the face of the earth; if it remained light, they would not be able to settle and relax.

And Allah has created ﴾the day for you to see﴿ that is, He has made it light so that people can see and go about earning their living and taking care of their religious and worldly interests.

﴾Verily in that are signs for people who listen [attentively]﴿ to the revelations of Allah, listening by way of seeking to understand, accept and be guided, not listening by way of stubbornness and rejection. In that are signs for people who listen attentively and take it as evidence that Allah alone is deserving of worship and He is the true God, and that the so-called divinity of anything besides Him is false, and He is the Most Kind, the Most Merciful, the All-Knowing, the Most Wise.

10:68. They say: Allah has begotten a son. Glory be to Him! He is the Self-Sufficient; to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on the earth. You have no proof for that. Would you attribute to Allah something of which you have no knowledge?

10:69. Say: Verily those who fabricate lies against Allah will never prosper.

10:70. A little enjoyment in this world [will be theirs], then to Us they will return, then We will make them taste severe punishment because they disbelieved.

Here Allah tells us of the lies of the polytheists about the Lord of the worlds:

﴾They say: Allah has begotten a son﴿. Then Allah declares Himself to be above that, as He says:

﴾Glory be to Him!﴿ That is. He is declaring Himself to be far above what the wrongdoers say of attributing imperfection to Him. Then He states why they are wrong, based on the following proof:

Firstly, He says: ﴾He is the Self-Sufficient﴿ that is, He is the only One Who is Self-Sufficient in all ways. He is the completely Self- Sufficient Who is independent in all aspects. As He is self-sufficient and independent in all aspects, for what reason would He beget a son? Is it because He needs a son? This is contrary to His self-sufficiency, for no one begets a son unless there is something lacking in his self-sufficiency.

Secondly, He says: ﴾to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on the earth﴿. This is a comprehensive phrase that is general in meaning and does not exclude any being that exists among the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth; all of them are created beings and slaves (of Allah).

It is well known that this general description rules out the notion of Him having a son among them, for a son is of the same nature as his father, so a so-called ‘son of God’ could not be created or a slave. Therefore the fact that Allah owns everything in the heavens and on earth rules out the concept of His having a son.

Thirdly, He says: ﴾You have no proof for that﴿ that is, do you have any evidence or proof to confirm that Allah has a son? If they had any evidence, they would have produced it as He challenged them to do, but they were unable to establish any such proof. Thus it is known that what they say is false and that they were speaking without knowledge. Hence Allah says: ﴾Would you attribute to Allah something of which you have no knowledge?﴿ For this is the gravest of prohibited acts.

﴾Say: Verily those who fabricate lies against Allah will never prosper﴿ that is, they will never reach their goal or attain what they seek. Rather they will enjoy their disbelief and lies in this world for a little while, then they will return to Allah, and He will make them taste severe punishment because they disbelieved.

﴾...It is not Allah Who has wronged them, but they wronged themselves.p (A! 'Imran 3: 117)

10:71. Recount to them the story of Nooh, when he said to his people: O my people, if my presence among you and my reminding you of the signs of Allah have become too much for you to bear, then in Allah I have put my trust, so decide on your course of action, you and your [so-called] partners, leaving no room for uncertainty, then carry out your decision concerning me, and give me no respite.

10:72. But if you turn away, I have not asked you for any recompense; my reward is with Allah alone, and I am commanded to be one of those who submit to Allah [in Islam],

10:73. But they rejected him; We saved him and those who were with him, in the ark, and made them [their] successors; and We drowned those who rejected Our signs. So see what was the fate of those who had been forewarned [but did not pay heed].

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says to His Prophet Recount to your people ﴾the story of Nooh﴿ and his call to his people. He called them to Allah for a long time, and he stayed among them for a thousand years less fifty, but his call only increased them in transgression. They got tired of him and could no longer put up with him, but he never slackened and was never heedless in calling them. He said to them:

﴾0 my people, if my presence among you and my reminding you of the signs of Allah﴿ that is, if my staying with you and reminding you of that which will benefit you

﴾of the signs of Allah﴿ that is, clear and obvious proof; if that is too much for you and you find it burdensome, and you want to cause me harm or reject the truth,

﴾then in Allah I have put my trust﴿ that is, I rely upon Allah to ward off any harm intended to me and to the message to which I call people. This trust is my battalion and my weapon, so bring whatever you can of all kinds of manpower and weaponry.

﴾so decide on your course of action﴿ all of you together, so that none of you will stay behind and you will not spare any effort ﴾you and your [so-called] partners﴿ that is, bring your so-called partners whom you worship and take as allies instead of Allah, the Lord of the worlds

﴾leaving no room for uncertainty﴿ that is, do not be confused about it and do not conceal it; rather do it openly.

Sfthen carry out your decision concerning me﴿ that is, carry out against me whatever punishment and harm you are able to

﴾fand give me no respite﴿ that is, do not delay it for even an hour.

This is definitive proof and a great sign of the soundness of his message, and confirmation thereof. For he was alone, with no clan to protect him and no troops to turn to. But he initiated the argument with his people by declaring their beliefs to be foolish and their religion to be corrupt, and by criticising their gods. Hence they bore grudges and enmity towards him that were greater than lofty mountains, andthey were people of power and aggression. But he said to them: Get together, you and your so-called partners, and whoever else you can, and prepare all that you can of plots, then carry out those plots against me if you can. But they were not able to do any of that.

Thus it was known that he was indeed truthful and they were lying with regard to their claims. Hence he said:

﴾But if you turn away﴿ from that to which I am calling you, there is no reason for you to turn away, because it has become clear to you that you are not turning away from falsehood to truth; rather you are turning away from truth for which all proof has been established, to falsehood which has been proven to be false.

Moreover, ﴾I have not asked you for any recompense﴿ for my call or for your accepting the call. You say: This man has come to us to take our wealth, and you refuse because of that, but ﴾my reward is with Allah﴿ that is, I do not seek reward or recompense from anyone except Him.

﴾and﴿ moreover I did not enjoin you to do something then fail to do it myself; rather ﴾fl am commanded to be one of those who submit to Allah [in Islam]﴿ so I am the first one to do that which I enjoined you to do.

﴾But they rejected him﴿ after he had called them night and day, in private and in public. His call only increased them in aversion ﴾We saved him and those who were with him, in the ark﴿ which We commanded him to build under Our supervision (cf. 11: 37), and We said to him, when water gushed up out of the earth:

.. .Take on board a pair from every species, and your family, except those against whom the sentence has already been passed, and those

And he did that.

Then Allah commanded the sky to send down water in torrents, and caused the earth to burst forth with springs, then the waters met for a purpose that had already been decreed (cf. 54. 12).﴾We carried him on a [vessel] made of planks and nails.﴿(al-Qamar 54: 13)

- that sailed under Our watchful eye. tfand made them [their] successors﴿ in the earth, after the destruction of the disbelievers.

Then Allah blessed his offspring and made his offspring the ones who survived, and He caused them to spread throughout the earth ﴾and We drowned those who rejected Our signs﴿ after they had become clear and proof had been established.

﴾So see what was the fate of those who had been forewarned [but did not pay heed]﴿. That fate was destruction and humiliation, and ongoing curses directed against them by every generation that came after them. You do not hear anyone speak of them but he blames them and criticises them.

So let these disbelievers beware lest there befall them what befell these disbelieving people of destruction, humiliation and punishment.

10:74. Then after him. We sent Messengers to their [own] peoples; they came to them with clear signs, but they would not believe what they had already rejected beforehand. Thus do We seal up the hearts of the transgressors.

﴾Then after him﴿ that is, after Noob (عليه السلام)

﴾We sent Messengers to their [own] peoples﴿ that is, their disbelieving peoples, to call them to guidance and warn them against that which might lead to their doom.﴾they came to them with clear signs﴿ that is, each Prophet was supported in his call with signs that pointed to the soundness of the message he brought.

﴾but they would not believe what they had already rejected beforehand﴿ that is, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) punished them when the Messenger came to them but they hastened to disbelieve in him. So Allah put a seal on their hearts and prevented them from believing after they could have believed, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾We will turn their hearts and eyes away [from the truth], since they refused to believe in it the first time...﴿ (al-Anam 6. 110)

Hence Allah says here: ﴾Thus do We seal up the hearts of the transgressors﴿ that is, We put a seal on them, so no good will enter them. Allah did not wrong them; rather they wronged themselves by rejecting the truth when it came to them and because of their initial rejection.

10:75. Then after them We sent Moosa and Haroon with Our signs to Pharaoh and his chiefs, but they showed arrogance and were wicked people.

10:76. So when the truth came to them from Us, they said: This is obviously nothing but magic!

10:77. Moosa said: Do you speak thus of the truth after it has come to you? Can this be magic? Those who practise magic will never prosper.

10:78. They said: Have you come to us to turn us away from what we found our forefathers following, so that you two may reign supreme in the land? We will never believe in you!

﴾Then after them﴿ that is, after these Messengers whom Allah sent to the disbelieving and doomed people,

﴾We sent Moosa﴿ ibn ‘Imran, the one to whom the Most Gracious spoke directly, one of the Messengers of strong will and one of the great leaders whose example is followed, to whom great and comprehensive laws were revealed.

﴾and﴿ We sent with him his brother ﴾Haroon﴿, as an adviser. We sent them ﴾with Our signs﴿ that pointed to the truth of their message, namely the oneness of Allah and the prohibition on worshipping anything other than Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)

﴾to Pharaoh and his chiefs﴿ that is, the leaders and senior figures of his state, because their common folk followed the leaders.

﴾but they showed arrogance﴿ towards the signs, wrongfully and out of conceit, after they became certain of them. f(and were wicked people﴿ that is, their defining characteristics were wickedness and disbelief.

﴾So when the truth came to them from Us﴿ which was the greatest kind of truth, as it came from Allah to Whose greatness all of creation is subjugated, and He is the Lord of the worlds Who bestows blessings on all of His creation.

When the truth came to them from Allah at the hand of Moosa, they rejected it and did not accept it, and ﴾they said: This is obviously nothing but magic!﴿. They did not stop at turning away from it or rejecting it; rather they regarded it as the worst type of falsehood.namely magic which in essence is a kind of deceit or illusion. Indeed they regarded it as obvious magic when in fact it was clearly the truth.

Hence ﴾Moosa said﴿ to them, rebuking them for their rejection of the truth which no one rejects except the most wicked of people: f﴾Do you speak thus of the truth after it has come to you?﴿ That is, do you say that it is obviously magic?

﴾Can this be magic?﴿ That is, examine it and what it contains, for once you do that you will become certain that it is the truth.

﴾Those who practise magic will never prosper﴿ either in this world or in the hereafter. Wait and see for whom the good end will be and who will prosper, and at whose hands success will be achieved. They came to know after that, and it became clear to everyone, that Moosa was the one who prospered and attained victory in this world and the hereafter.

CThey said﴿ to Moosa, rejecting what he said and citing a flimsy argument:

﴾Have you come to us to turn us away from what we found our forefathers following﴿ that is, have you come to us to divert us from what we found our forefathers following of polytheism and worshipping something other than Allah, and to tell us that we should worship Allah alone with no partner or associate? Thus they regarded the beliefs of their misguided forefathers as proof, and rejected thereby the truth that Moosa had brought to them.

﴾so that you two may reign supreme in the land﴿ that is, have you come so that you may be the leaders and expel us from our land? This was a word of deceit on their part, and an effort to deceive their ignorant folk and incite the common folk against Moosa, and to make them not believe in him.

But this is not an argument or proof. Anyone who knows how things really are and has deep insight knows that an argument cannot be warded off except by means of proof and evidence.

If a person brings truth and his message is countered with such flimsy arguments, this indicates that the one who presents this argument is unable to refute what his opponent stated. If he had sound proof and a sound argument, he would state it and would not resort to saying “your intention is..., your aim is...”, regardless of whether his accusation is correct or not. However, anyone who knew Moosa and was aware of the message to which he called people would realise that he had no aim of achieving supremacy in the land. Rather his aim, and that of his fellow Messengers, was to guide people and show them that which would benefit them.

But the fact of the matter was as they said: ﴾fWe will never believe in you﴿ that is, out of arrogance and stubbornness, not because the message that Moosa and Haroon brought was false, or because they had any doubts about it, or for any other similar reason. It was only wrongdoing, enmity and a desire to reign supreme, which is what they accused Moosa and Haroon of.

10:79. Pharaoh said: Bring to me all the learned magicians.

10:80. When the magicians came, Moosa said to them: Throw whatever you wish to throw.

10:81. When they had thrown, Moosa said: What you have brought is magic; Allah will surely show it to be false, for verily Allah does not allow the work of the mischief-makers to thrive.

10:82. Allah vindicates the truth by His words, even though the evildoers hate it.

﴾Pharaoh said﴿, in defiance of the truth that Moosa had brought, and trying to mislead his chiefs and his people:

﴾Bring to me all the learned magicians﴿ that is, those who are skilled in magic.

So he sent someone to the cities of Egypt to bring him all kinds of magicians, who knew various types and levels of magic.

﴾When the magicians earned to compete with Moosa ﴾Moosa said to them: Throw whatever you wish to throw﴿, I will not specify what you should do. That was because he was certain of victory and was not worried about them or what they had brought.

﴾When they had thrown﴿ their ropes and sticks, they became like moving snakes.

(•(Moosa said: What you have brought is magic﴿ that is, this is real and great magic, but despite its greatness, ﴾Allah will surely show it to be false, for verily Allah does not allow the work of the mischief-makers to thrive﴿, for they intend thereby to support falsehood against truth, and what mischief can be greater than that?

This applies to any mischief-maker who does and plans anything. His deeds will come to naught and fail. Even if what he does may meet with some measure of success at some time, ultimately it will diminish and be destroyed.

As for those who do good, seeking thereby the Countenance of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and they do beneficial deeds that are enjoined, Allah will guide them and refine their deeds, and cause them (their reward) to grow and develop. So Moosa threw down his staff, and it swallowed up everything that they had wrought. Thus their magic failed and their falsehood diminished.

﴾Allah vindicates the truth by His words, even though the evildoers hate it﴿. So the magicians fell down in prostration when the truthbecame clear to them. Pharaoh threatened to crucify them and cut off their hands and feet, but they paid no attention to that and remained steadfast in their faith.

As for Pharaoh and his chiefs, and their followers, none of them believed; rather they continued to wander blindly in their misguidance. Hence Allah says:

10:83. But no one believed in Moosa except some of the youth among his people, despite their fear that Pharaoh and his chiefs might persecute them. Indeed Pharaoh was high-handed in the land and was one who transgressed all bounds.

﴾But no one believed in Moosa except some of the youth among his people﴿ that is, some of the young people of the Israelites who remained steadfast in the face of fear, because faith had become firmly rooted in their hearts.

﴾despite their fear that Pharaoh and his chiefs might persecute them﴿ and try to make them give up their religion.

﴾Indeed Pharaoh was high-handed in the land﴿ that is, he had the upper hand, so no wonder they feared his persecution and harm, ﴾and﴿, in particular, he ﴾was one who transgressed all bounds﴿ that is, he overstepped the limit in transgression and enmity.

The wisdom - and Allah knows best - behind the fact that no one believed in Moosa except some of the youth of his people was that the youth are more accepting of the truth and are quicker to follow it, unlike their elders who grew up with disbelief. Because of whatremains in their hearts of false beliefs, the latter are further from the truth than others.

10:84. Moosa said: O my people, if you [truly] believe in Allah, then in Him put your trust, if you have [indeed] submitted to Him [in Islam],

10:85. They said: In Allah we put our trust. Our Lord, do not make us subject to the persecution of the wrongdoing people.

10:86. And deliver us by your mercy from the disbelieving people.

﴾Moosa said﴿, advising his people to be patient and reminding them of what they could do to help themselves attain that ﴾if you [truly] believe in Allah﴿ then act in a manner that is expected of believers.

﴾then in Him put your trust, if you have [indeed] submitted to Him [in Islam]﴿ that is, depend on Him, turn to Him and seek His help.

﴾They said﴿, complying with that ﴾In Allah we put our trust. Our Lord, do not make us subject to the persecution of the wrongdoing people﴿ that is, do not give them power over us so that they force us to drift away from faith and say: If they were follow ing truth, they would not have been defeated.

﴾And deliver us by your mercy from the disbelieving people﴿ so that we will be safe from their evil and we may adhere to our religion in such a way that we will be able to practise its teachings openly, without anyone objecting or opposing us.•jj—)

10:87. We inspired Moosa and his brother: Provide houses of worship for your people in Egypt, and make your houses of worship face towards the qibla; establish regular prayer; and give glad tidings to the believers.

10:88. Moosa said: Our Lord, verily You have given Pharaoh and his chiefs splendour and wealth in the life of this world so that, our Lord, they may lead people astray from Your path. Our Lord, destroy their wealth and harden their hearts, so that they will not believe until they see the painful punishment.

10:89. Allah said: Your prayer is accepted. So continue, then, both of you, steadfastly on the straight path, and do not follow the path of those who have no knowledge.

﴾We inspired Moosa and his brother﴿ when the persecution of Pharaoh and his people against the Israelites grew intense and they were very keen to make them give up their religion ﴾Provide houses of worship for your people in Egypt﴿ that is, tell them to make houses for themselves where they will be able to hide tfand make your houses of worship face towards the qibla﴿ that is, make them places in which you can pray, because you cannot establish prayer in regular places of assembly or public places;

﴾establish regular prayer﴿ for this will help you in all your affairs﴾and give glad tidings to the believers﴿ of help and support, and the victory of their religion, for verily with hardship comes ease, verily with hardship comes ease. When things become too hard, Allah grants relief. When Moosa saw how hard-hearted Pharaoh and his chiefs were, and how they turned away from the truth, he prayed against them and Haroon said ameen to his supplication.

﴾Moosa said: Our Lord, verily You have given Pharaoh and his chiefs splendour﴿ with which they adorn themselves with all kinds of jewellery, garments, fancy houses, fine mounts and servants ﴾and wealth﴿ in abundance

﴾in the life of this world so that, our Lord, they may lead people astray from Your path﴿ that is, they only use their wealth to mislead people from Your path, so they have gone astray and they lead others astray. ﴾Our Lord, destroy their wealth﴿ that is, take it away from them, either by ruining it or by turning it into stones that are of no use ﴾and harden their hearts, so that they will not believe until they see the painful punishment﴿.

He said that out of anger towards them, because they had transgressed the sacred limits of Allah, spread mischief among the slaves of Allah, and barred people from His way. Because of his perfect knowledge of his Lord, he knew that Allah would punish them for what they had done by closing the door of faith to them.

﴾Allah said: Your prayer is accepted﴿. The word translated here as “your” appears in the dual form in Arabic, which indicates that Moosa was offering supplication and Haroon was saying ameen to his words, and that the one who says ameen has a share in the supplication with the one who is offering that supplication.

﴾So continue, then, both of you, steadfastly on the straight path﴿ that is, remain steadfast in following your religion and continue with your call﴾and do not follow the path of those who have no knowledge﴿ that is, do not follow the path of the ignorant and misguided who have deviated from the straight path and follow paths that lead to hell.

Allah instructed Moosa to depart with the Children of Israel by night, and told him that they would be pursued. Pharaoh sent heralds to the cities to gather troops and said: ﴾These﴿ namely Moosa and the Children of Israel:

t(...are but a small band, and they have enraged us, but we are all well-prepared.﴿ (ash-Shuara'26: 54-56)

So Pharaoh gathered his troops from near and far, and pursued them with his army in a spirit of hatred and enmity. In other words, they set out to transgress against Moosa and his people and to spread evil in the land. When transgression reaches such an extent and sin becomes so deeply rooted, then expect the punishment.

10:90. We took the Children of Israel across the sea, and Pharaoh and his troops pursued them in transgression and enmity and caught up with them, until, when he was about to drown, he said: I believe that there is no god but He in Whom the Children of Israel believe; I am one of those who submit to Allah [in Islam].

10:91. [It was said to him:] What, now [do you believe], when before this you were disobedient, and were one of the mischief-makers?

10:92. So today We will save only your body, so that you may be a sign for those who come after you. But indeed many people are heedless of Our signs.

﴾We took the Children of Israel across the sea﴿ Allah revealed to Moosa, when he reached the sea, that he should strike the sea with his staff. So he struck it, and twelve paths opened up, which the Children of Israel followed, and Pharaoh and his troops drove into the sea in pursuit.

When Moosa and his people had all come out of the sea, and Pharaoh and his troops were in the middle of it, Allah commanded the sea to close in on Pharaoh and his troops, and they all drowned in the sea as the Israelites were looking on.

When Pharaoh was about to drown and was certain that he would perish, ﴾he said: I believe that there is no god but He in Whom the Children of Israel believe﴿, Who is Allah, the True God, besides Whom there is no other god.

﴾fl am one of those who submit to Allah [in Islam]﴿ that is, those who submit to the religion of Allah and to the message that Moosa brought.

Then Allah explains that this faith in this situation was of no avail to him:

4[It was said to him:] What, now﴿ do you believe and affirm the Messenger of Allah?

﴾when before this you were disobedient﴿ and audaciously committed sins, disbelieved and lied

﴾and were one of the mischief-makers?﴿ Believing now will not benefit you. This is the way of Allah: once the disbelievers reached the point at which they have no choice but to believe, belief will not benefit them because their belief is based on what they see with their own eyes, like the belief of one who is resurrected. The only belief or faith that is of benefit is faith in the unseen.

﴾So today We will save only your body, so that you may be a sign for those who come after you﴿. The commentators said that because the Children of Israel were so terrified of Pharaoh, it was as if they could not believe that he had drowned, and they doubted that it had happened. So Allah commanded the sea to cast up his body onto a hill, so that it might be a lesson and a sign to them.

﴾But indeed many people are heedless of Our signs﴿. Hence they may come across signs repeatedly, but they do not benefit from them because they have no interest in them.

In contrast, the one who is alert and focused sees of the signs of Allah that which is the greatest evidence of the soundness of what the Messengers told us.

10:93. We caused the Children of Israel to settle in a goodly land and We provided good things for their sustenance, and they did not differ until after knowledge had come to them. Verily your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that wherein they differ.

﴾We caused the Children of Israel to settle in a goodly land﴿ that is, Allah caused them to settle in the houses of the people of Pharaoh, and caused them to inherit their land and territory.

﴾fand We provided good things for their sustenance﴿ that is, We provided them with food, drink and other things tfand they did not differ﴿ concerning the truth ﴾until after knowledge had come to them﴿ that required them to unite and be in harmony. But they transgressed against one anotherand many of them developed desires and ulterior motives that were contrary to the truth. So dissent arose among them to a large degree.

﴾Verily your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that wherein they differ by His just ruling that stems from His perfect knowledge and all-encompassing might. This is the problem that the followers of the true religion are faced with: if the Shaytan fails to make them obey him by abandoning religion completely, he strives to stir up troubles among them and create enmity and resentment among them, so that there arise differences between them that lead to them labelling one another as misguided and developing grudges against one another, which will delight Iblees.

Otherwise, as their Lord is one, their Messenger is one, their religion is one, and their public interests are the same, why would they differ in such a way that divides them, weakens them, dissolves the bonds between them and thus is detrimental to their religious and worldly interests, and this detracts from their religious commitment?

We ask You, O Allah, to show kindness to Your believing slaves and to unite them, bridge the gaps between them, and bring them all together, near and far, O Possessor of majesty and honour.

10:94. If you [O Muhammad] are in doubt concerning that which We have revealed to you, then ask those who read the scriptures [revealed] before your time. The truth has indeed come to you from your Lord, so do not be among those who doubt.

10:95. Never be among those who reject the signs of Allah, for then you would be among the losers.

Here Allah says to His Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ): ﴾flf you [O Muhammad] are in doubt concerning that which We have revealed to you﴿, as to whether it is sound or not,

﴾then ask those who read the scriptures [revealed] before your time﴿ that is, ask the fair-minded People of the Book and the well-versed scholars, for they will confirm to you the soundness of what you were told (of the Qur’an), and they will confirm that it is in harmony with what they have.

If it is asked: many - if not most-of the People of the Book, namely the Jews and Christians, stubbornly disbelieved in the Messenger of Allah QH) and rejected his call, but Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) instructed His Messenger (ﷺ) to quote them and described their testimony as proof for the message he brought and evidence that it is true; how can that be?

This may be answered by noting the following points:

• If testimony is attributed to a particular group, school of thought, country, and the like, it is only referring to the testimony of those among them who are just and truthful. As for others, even if they are more numerous, they are to be overlooked, because testimony should be based on justice and honesty, and that was fulfilled when many of their rabbis and scholars believed, such as ‘Abdullah ibn Salam and his companions, and many of those who became Muslim at the time of the Prophet (ﷺ), his successors (the caliphs) and after that.

• The testimony of the People of the Book in favour of the Messenger (ﷺ) was based on their Book, the Torah, which they claim to follow. If there is in the Torah that which is in harmony with the Qur’an, and confirms it and attests to its soundness, even if they all, from the first of them to the last.

agree to deny that, it cannot undermine the message that the Messenger (ﷺ) brought.

• Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) instructed His Messenger |) to seek the testimony of the People of the Book to the soundness of the message he brought, and he did that openly, announcing it before the people. It is well known that many of them were the keenest of people to prove false the call of the Messenger Muhammad (ﷺ). If they had possessed anything that could refute what Allah mentions, they would have proclaimed it openly and explained it clearly. As nothing of the sort happened, the fact that those who were hostile could not refute it and those who responded affirmed it offers the strongest evidence for the soundness and truthfulness of this Qur'an.

• Most of the People of the Book did not refute the call of the Messenger (ﷺ); rather most of them responded and submitted willingly. The Messenger (ﷺ) was sent at a time when most of the people on earth followed the religion of the People of the Book, and it was not long before most of the people of greater Syria, Egypt, Iraq and neighbouring regions became followers of Islam, in a region that was the heartland of the religions of the People of the Book, and none were left except people in positions of leadership who preferred that status to the truth, and those who followed them of the ignorant masses, as well as those who were Christian in name only, such as the Europeans who in reality do not believe in the hereafter and have nothing to do with any divinely-revealed religion; rather they claim to follow the religion of Christ for political reasons and as a means of camouflaging their falsehood, as anyone who mixes with them will clearly realise.

﴾The truthconcerning which there can be no doubt whatsoever; hence Allah says: ﴾has indeed come to you from your Lord, so donot be among those who doubt﴿. This is like the verse in which Allah

﴾This is a Book that has been sent down to you [O Muhammad], so do not let your heart be troubled by it... ﴿ (al-A 'raf7:2)

﴾Never be among those who reject the signs of Allah, for then you would be among the losers﴿. In this verse Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)«) forbids two things: doubt concerning this Qur’an and being confused about it.

Even more serious than that is denying it, when it is the clear revelations of Allah that cannot be denied at all. Allah describes the result of that as loss, which means not benefiting at all, by missing out on reward in this world and the hereafter, and incurring punishment in this world and the hereafter. Prohibition of a thing is implicitly enjoining its opposite, so it is a command to believe completely in the Qur’an, be content with it, learn it and put it into practice.

By doing that, a person will become one of the winners who will attain the most sublime of goals, the best of aims and the highest of achievements, and will avoid loss.

10:96. Verily those against whom the decree of your Lord is fulfilled will not believe,

10:97. Even if every sign were to come to them, until they see [for themselves] the painful punishment.

﴾Verily those against whom the decree of your Lord is fulfilled﴿ that is, they are among those who are misguided and doomed to hell; they will inevitably meet the fate that Allah has decreed. They willnot believe even if every sign comes to them; the signs will only increase them in transgression and misguidance. But Allah does not wrong them; rather they wrong themselves by rejecting the truth when it first comes to them. So Allah punishes them by placing a seal on their hearts, hearing and sight, so that they will not believe until they see the painful punishment which they were promised.

At that point they will realise with certainty that what they were following is misguidance and that what the Messengers brought to them was the truth. But that will be at a time when faith will be of no avail to them. On that day excuses will not benefit those who did wrong, and no excuse will be accepted from them. The revelations only benefit the one who has a (sound) heart and who listens with an attentive mind.

10:98. There was no city that believed [after seeing the punishment] and benefitted from its faith except the people of Yoonus. When they believed. We removed from them the punishment of disgrace in this world, and allowed them to enjoy life for a while.

﴾There was no city﴿ among the cities of the disbelievers ﴾that believed﴿ once they saw the punishment ﴾and benefitted from its faith﴿ that is, not one of them benefitted from believing once they had seen the punishment. This is like what Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us about Pharaoh, when he said: ﴾I believe that there is no god but He in Whom the Children of Israel believe; I am one of those who submit to Allah [in Islam], [It was said to him:] What, now [do you believe],when before this you were disobedient, and were one of the mischief-

And it is like the verses in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾But when they saw Our punishment, they said: We believe in Allah alone, and we reject that which we used to associate with Him. But their believing after they had seen Our punishment could not benefit them at all. Such has always been the way of Allah in dealing with

﴾Until, when death comes to one of them, he says: My Lord, send me back, so that I may do the righteous deeds that I have failed to

The wisdom behind it is obvious: believing under compulsion does not constitute real faith, and if the punishment which compelled him to believe was averted, he would go back to disbelief.

﴾except the people of Yoonus. When they believed﴿ after they saw the punishment f(We removed from them the punishment of disgrace in this world, and allowed them to enjoy life for a while﴿ but this was an exception from the general ruling, and there must have been some wisdom behind that which was known to the Knower of the unseen and the seen, but has not reached us, and we cannot understand it.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾Verily, Yoonus was one of the Messengers. ...We sent him as a Messenger to a hundred thousand people or more, and they believed, so We allowed them to enjoy life for a while.﴿ (a<>-Sdffat 37: 139. 147-8)

Perhaps the reason for that is that if the others who were destroyed had been given a second chance, they would have gone back to that which they were forbidden to do. As for the people of Yoonus, Allah knew that their faith would continue, and indeed they remained steadfast. And Allah knows best.' 0:99. Had your Lord so willed, all those who are on earth would surely have believed, all of them together. Would you then compel people to become believers?

'0:100. It is not [possible] for any soul to believe, except by Allah’s leave, and He will cause to disbelieve those who will not understand.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says to His Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ): ﴾Had your Lord so willed, all those who are on earth would surely have believed, all of them together﴿ as He could have inspired them to believe and instilled piety in their hearts, for He is able to do that. But His wisdom dictated that some of them should be believers and some of them should be disbelievers.

﴾Would you then compel people to become believers?﴿ That is, you cannot do that and it is not within your power; no one but Allah has the power to do such a thing.

﴾lt is not [possible] for any soul to believe, except by Allah’s leave﴿ that is, by His will and permission. Whoever is qualified for that, faith will take root in his heart and Allah will enable him and guide him to believe, f(and He will cause to disbelieve﴿ that is. He will leave to go astray ﴾those who will not understand﴿ the commands and prohibitions of Allah, and they do not care about His advice and exhortations.

10:101. Say: Look at what is in the heavens and on earth. But neither signs nor warnings are of any avail to people who will not believe.

10:102. What do they expect but a punishment like that which befell those who came before them? Say: Wait then; I too am waiting.

10:103. Then [in the end] We deliver Our Messengers and those who believe. Thus it is incumbent upon Us to save the believers.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) calls His slaves to look at what is in the heavens and on earth. What is meant by that is that they should reflect, ponder and contemplate what is in them and what they contain, and think deeply about it, for in that there are signs for people who believe and lessons for people who are certain; these things indicate that Allah alone is deserving of worship and praise, Possessor of majesty and honour, and the greatest names and attributes.

﴾But neither signs nor warnings are of any avail to people who will not believe﴿ for they do not benefit from the signs because they stubbornly turn away.

﴾-﴾What do they expect but a punishment like that which befell those who came before them?﴿ That is, do these people who disbelieve in the signs of Allah expect anything after those signs have become clear ﴾but a punishment like that which befell those who came before them﴿ namely destruction and punishment, for they have done the same as those people did, and the laws of Allah are applicable to earlier and later generations alike.

﴾Say: Wait then; I too am waiting﴿ for you will come to know who will have the good end and salvation in this world and the hereafter; that is only for the Messengers and their followers.

Hence Allah says: ﴾Then [in the end] We deliver Our Messengers and those who believe﴿ from the hardships and troubles of this world and the hereafter.

﴾Thus it is incumbent upon Us﴿ and We have made it binding upon Us ﴾to save the believers﴿. This comes under the heading of His defending the believers, for Allah defends those who believe. So according to a person’s level of faith he will be protected from troubles.

10:104. Say [O Muhammad]: O people, if you are in doubt concerning my religion, I do not worship those whom you worship besides Allah. Rather I worship Allah, Who takes your souls [at death], and I am commanded to be among the believers,

10:105. And [I am commanded] to adhere exclusively and sincerely to the true faith of monotheism, and never to be among those who ascribe partners to Allah.

10:106. Do not call upon any besides Allah that can neither benefit you nor harm you, for if you do so, you will surely be among the wrongdoers.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says to His Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), the leader of the Messengers, the imam of those who fear Allah and the best of those who have certain faith:

﴾Say [O Muhammad]: O people, if you are in doubt concerning my religion﴿ that is, if you are uncertain about it, I have no doubt about it; rather I have certain knowledge that it is the truth and that what you call upon besides Allah is false; and I have clear evidence and proof for that. Hence he said: t(I do not worship those whom you worship besides Allah﴿ such as rivals, idols and others, because they do not create anything, they do not grant provision and they have no control over anything at all. Rather they are created and subjected to Allah’s will, and there is nothing in them to justify worshipping them. ﴾Rather I worship Allah, Who takes your souls [at death])﴿ that is, He is Allah Who created you; it is He Who causes you to die, then He will resurrect you so that He may requite you for your deeds. He is the One Who deserves to be worshipped, and you should pray to Him, humble yourselves before Him and prostrate to Him.

﴾and I am commanded to be among the believers, and [I am commanded] to adhere exclusively and sincerely to the true faith of monotheism﴿ that is, make your deeds, both outward and inward, sincerely for Allah alone, and establish all the teachings of Islam, turning to Allah alone and turning away from everything other than Him

﴾fand never to be among those who ascribe partners to Allah﴿ that is, do not be like them and do not be with them.

﴾Do not call upon any besides Allah that can neither benefit you nor harm you﴿. This is a description of every created being: it can neither benefit nor harm; rather the only One Who can bring benefit or cause harm is Allah, may He be exalted.

﴾for if you do so﴿ by calling upon anything other than Allah that can neither benefit you nor harm youtfyou will surely be among the wrongdoers﴿ who will harm themselves by bringing doom upon themselves. This wrongdoing is the ascription of partners to Allah, as He says:

﴾...associating others in worship with Him is indeed grievous wrongdoing. (Luqmdn 31: 13)

He was the best of creation, but if he had called upon anyone alongside Allah, he would have been among the wrongdoers who ascribed partners to Allah, so how about people other than him?

10:107. If Allah afflicts you with harm, none can remove it but He; if He wills some good for you, none can avert His bounty, which He bestows upon whomever He will among His slaves. And He is the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

This is one of the greatest arguments for the fact that Allah alone is deserving of worship, for He is the One Who both benefits and harms, gives and withholds. If He causes any hardship to befall a person, such as poverty or sickness and the like, ﴾none can remove it but He﴿. Even if all of creation were to come together to benefit from something, they would not benefit except as Allah has decreed, and if they were all to come together to harm somebody, they would not be able to harm him with anything that Allah has not willed.

Hence He says: ﴾fif He wills some good for you, none can avert His bounty﴿ that is, no one among creation can avert His bounty and kindness, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:﴾Whatever Allah opens up for people of His mercy, none can withhold it, and whatever He withholds, none can grant it thereafter... )i (Fa/ir 35: 2)

﴾which He bestows upon whomever He will among His slaves﴿ that is, He singles out for His mercy whomever He will among His creation, and Allah is Possessor of abundant grace.

﴾He is the Oft-Forgiving﴿ Who forgives all mistakes, the One Who enables His slave to take the measures that lead to attaining His forgiveness, then if a person takes those measures, Allah will forgive his sins, both major and minor.

﴾Most Merciful﴿ Whose mercy encompasses all things and His generosity reaches all existing beings, and they cannot do without His kindness for even the blink of an eye.

Once a person understands, on the basis of definitive proof, that Allah is the only One Who grants good and removes hardship and distress, and that no one in creation has any control over these things unless Allah causes it to happen at his Hand, he will be certain that Allah is the Truth and that whatever they call upon besides Him is false. Hence, having highlighted the clear evidence, Allah then goes on to say:

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10:108. Say: O people, truth has come to you from your Lord. So whoever is guided, is only guided for [the good of) his own soul; whoever goes astray, only goes astray to his own detriment. I am not your keeper.

10:109. So follow [O Muhammad] that which is revealed to you, and then be patient until Allah gives His judgement, for He is the best of judges.

﴾Say﴿ O Messenger, once the proof has become clear: ﴾fO people, truth has come to you from your Lord﴿ that is, the true message which is supported by evidence, concerning which there is no doubt whatsoever, has reached you from your Lord. One of the greatest signs of His care for you is that He has sent down to you this Qur’an in which there is explanation of all things, as well as all kinds of rulings, divine guidance, and teaching of good manners. This is the greatest care and kindness from Him to you, for He has highlighted guidance as distinct from misguidance, and there is no longer any room for confusion or doubt.

﴾So whoever is guided﴿ and follows the guidance of Allah by knowing that it is the truth, so he understands it and gives it precedence over everything else

﴾is only guided for [the good of] his own soul﴿, for Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has no need of his slaves; rather the benefit of their good deeds comes back to them.

﴾whoever goes astray﴿ from true guidance by turning away from knowledge of the truth or acting upon it

﴾only goes astray to his own detriment﴿ and he does not harm Allah in the slightest, for he only harms himself.

﴾I am not your keeper﴿ -1 do not keep a record of your deeds or call you to account for them. I am only a clear warner to you, and Allah is your keeper, so watch yourselves during the period of respite.

﴾So follow [O Muhammad] that which is revealed to you﴿ by learning it, acting upon it, making it part of your character and calling people to it﴾and then be patient﴿ in doing so, for this is the most sublime kind of patience and its consequences are good. So do not slacken or grow weary; rather persist in that and remain steadfast ﴾until Allah gives His judgement﴿ between you and those who disbelieve in you

﴾for He is the best of judges﴿; His judgement is based on perfect justice and fairness for which He deserves to be praised.

The Prophet (ﷺ) complied with the command of his Lord and remained steadfast on the straight path until Allah caused his religion to prevail over all other religions and granted him victory over his enemies in battle, after He had caused him to prevail over them in terms of argument and proof.

Th is is the end of the commentary on Sooral Yoonus.

All praise and thanks are lor Allah, and may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). his family, and his Companions abundantly until the Day of Judgement.