13:1. Alif. Lam. Meem. Ra’.^{1Groups of letters (al-huroof al-muqatta'ah) appear at the beginning of several soorahs. The most correct scholarly view states that we are required to believe in them as they appear to be, without delving into their meaning, knowledge of which we should leave to Allah. We believe that they were not revealed in vain, and that there is wisdom behind them of which we are not aware.} These are verses of the Book. That which has been revealed to you from your Lord [O Muhammad] is the truth, but most people do not believe.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that this Qur’an is verses of the Book which highlight everything that people need to know of fundamental and minor issues of religion, and that what has come down to theMessenger (ﷺ) from his Lord is plain truth, because what it tells of stories is true and its commands and prohibitions are just, supported by definitive evidence and proof. Therefore whoever studies it and learns it will be one of those who know the truth, which makes it obligatory upon him to do that which Allah loves.

﴾but most people do not believe﴿ in this Qur’an, because they turn away from it either out of ignorance and lack of interest in it, or out of stubbornness and wrongdoing. Therefore most people do not benefit from it, because the means of benefiting from it are absent in their case.

13:2. It is Allah Who raised the heavens without any pillars that you can see, and then rose over the Throne [in a manner that befits His majesty]. He made the sun and moon to be of service, each running its course for an appointed time. He governs all affairs, and explains the signs in detail, so that you may be certain of the meeting with your Lord.

13:3. He is the One Who spread out the earth and placed therein mountains standing firm and rivers, and of every fruit He hasplaced therein two kinds,^{1This refers to two types of each fruit, for example, black and white, sweet and sour, small and big, and so on.} and He draws the veil of night over the day. Surely in that there are signs for people who reflect.

13:4. And on earth there are adjoining [yet different] tracts of land, and gardens of grapevines, grains and date palms, growing in clusters from one root or standing alone. They are irrigated with the same water, yet We cause some of them to excel others in taste. Surely in that there are signs for people of understanding.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that He is the only One Who has the power of creation, control, might and authority, which indicates that He alone is deserving of worship, and none should be worshipped except Him.

﴾It is Allah Who raised the heavens﴿ with their greatness and vastness, by His mighty power

﴾without any pillars that you can see﴿ that is, it has no pillars beneath it; if it did have pillars you would see them.

﴾and then﴿ after He created the heavens and the earth. He «frose over the Throne﴿ that is. His mighty Throne, which is the highest of all created things; He rose above it in a manner that befits His majesty and perfection.

﴾He made the sun and moon to be of service﴿ to the interests of people and of their flocks and crops

﴾each﴿, both the sun and the moon, ﴾running its course﴿ under the control of the Almighty, the All-Knowing, ﴾for an appointed time﴿ along a systematic course without slowing down or ceasing, until the appointed time comes, which is when Allah will roll up this universe and move them to the hereafter which is the eternal abode. At that time, Allah will roll up the heavens and change them, and He will change the earth. So He will fold up the sun and moon, and put them together, then they will be thrown into hell so that those whoworshipped them will see that they did not deserve to be worshipped, whereupon they will feel intense regret, and those who disbelieved will realise that they were following falsehood.

﴾He governs all affairs, and explains the signs in detail﴿, in this passage, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) mentions together His combined powers of creation and command. In other words, Allah the Almighty rose above the Throne of sovereignty and He controls all affairs in the upper and lower realms. So He creates and grants provision, making people rich or poor, raising some and lowering others, honouring some and humiliating others. He helps the one who stumbles to get up again, He relieves distress, He causes His decree to come to pass at times of which He has prior knowledge, at the time written by His pen, and He sends the noble angels to do what He has appointed them to do.

He sends down the divine Books to His Messengers, explaining what people need to know of laws and regulations, commands and prohibitions. He explains and clarifies that in detail, ﴾so that you may be certain of the meeting with your Lord﴿. The abundance and clarity of the evidence are among the means of attaining certainty in all that is revealed, especially the fundamental beliefs such as the resurrection and the bringing forth of the dead from their graves.

Moreover, it is known that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is Most Wise and does not create anything in vain, nor does He abandon them without care. Just as He sent Messengers and revealed His Books with commands and prohibitions for His slaves, He will inevitably move them to an abode where they will be requited; those who did good will be requited with the best reward and those who did evil will be punished according to their evil deeds.

﴾He is the One Who spread out the earth﴿ that is, He created it for His slaves, making it spacious, blessed and habitable, and He deposited in it all that they need to help them survive.

﴾and placed therein mountains standing firm﴿ that is, great mountains, lest the earth shake with its people. Were it not for the mountains, itwould have shaken with its people, because it cannot remain firm and stable without the mountains standing firm, which Allah has made like pegs for the earth.

﴾and﴿ He has placed therein ﴾rivers﴿ to give water to humans and their livestock and crops; by means of it He brings forth much good from trees, crops and fruits; hence He says: ﴾and of every fruit He has placed therein two kinds﴿ that is, two types of everything that people need.

﴾fand He draws the veil of night over the day﴿ so the world becomes dark and every creature goes back to its abode and rests from its toil and striving during the day. Then when they have had what they need of sleep, the day overtakes the night, whereupon they wake up and go about their business during the day.

﴾By His mercy He has made for you night and day, so that you may rest therein and seek His bounty, and so that you may give thanks.﴿

﴾Surely in that there are signs﴿ of the divine ﴾for people who reflect﴿ upon them, and contemplate them and realise that what they point to is that the One Who created them and is controlling them and disposing of their affairs is Allah, besides Whom there is no other god and none who is rightfully worshipped but Him, and that He is the Knower of the unseen and the seen, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful; He has power over all things, is Most Wise in all that He does, and He is deserving of praise for what He has created and ordained, may He be blessed and exalted.

One of the signs of the perfection of His might and the brilliance of His creation is that He has created ﴾on earth ... adjoining [yet different] tracts of land﴿ in which there are different types of trees and plants, ﴾fand gardens of grapevines, grains and date palms﴿ and other plants. Among the date palms are some ﴾growing in clusters from one root﴿ that is, a number of trees with one root﴾or standing alone﴿ that is, each tree is on its own. But all of them ﴾are irrigated with the same water﴿ on the same land, ﴾yet We cause some of them to excel others in taste﴿ and also in colour, benefit and deliciousness. For one part of the land may be good, on which a great deal of grass, vegetation, trees and crops grow, yet an adjoining part of the land may have no vegetation at all, as it does not retain water. A third area may retain water, but not produce any vegetation, and another area may produce crops and trees, but not grass and the like. So fruits may vary, some being sweet, some bitter, and some in between.

Is this variation something that is decided by the nature of the land? Or does that occur by the decree of the Almighty, the Most Merciful?

﴾Surely in that there are signs for people of understanding﴿ that is, people who have reason which guides them to that which will benefit them and leads them to understand the instructions, commands and prohibitions of Allah. As for people who do not pay heed, and those who are unwise, they wander blindly in the darkness of their misguidance, unable to find a way; they are not guided to their Lord and they do not understand anything of what He has revealed.

13:5. If you wonder, then you should surely wonder at their saying: When we have become dust, will we then be created anew? These are the ones who disbelieve in their Lord. They are the ones on whose necks will be placed yokes; they will be inhabitants of the fire and will abide therein forever.

It may be that what is meant by the phrase ﴾If you wonder﴿ is: if you wonder at the greatness of Allah and the abundance of the evidence for His oneness; what is even more amazing than that is the disbelievers’ rejection and denial of the resurrection. ﴾When we have become dust, will we then be created anew?﴿ means: this is very unlikely and it is not possible, according to their claim, that after they have become dust, Allah will bring them back to life. In their ignorance, they compared the power of the Creator to the power of created beings. Because they saw that it is not possible for created beings to do such a thing, they thought that it was also impossible for the Creator to do it, but they forgot that Allah created them the first time, when they were nothing.

It may also be that what is meant is: if you wonder at their denial of the resurrection, then indeed that is strange. For a person to see the clear signs and definitive evidence for the resurrection, about which there can be no doubt, then to deny it, is something that is indeed very strange. But that is not strange in the case of ﴾the ones who disbelieve in their Lord﴿ and deny His oneness, even though it is the clearest and most obvious of things.

tfThey are the ones on whose necks will be placed yokes﴿ that will prevent them from being guided, because they were called to faith but they did not believe, and guidance was presented to them but they did not follow it. Thus a seal was placed on their hearts as a punishment for not believing in Him the first time.

﴾they will be inhabitants of the fire and will abide therein forever﴿ and will never emerge from it.

13:6. They ask you to hasten on the evil before the good, even though punishment befell people of their ilk who came before them. But indeed your Lord is forgiving to humankind despite all their wrongdoing, and indeed your Lord is severe in punishment.

Here Allah tells us of the ignorance of those who disbelieve in His Messenger (ﷺ) and ascribe partners to Him, who received admonition but did not pay heed, and against whom proof was established but they did not submit to it; rather they openly rejected it, using as evidence the fact that Allah, the One, the Subduer, was showing forbearance towards them and not hastening the punishment, for them to argue that they were in the right, and they tried to hasten the punishment, saying:

.. .0 Allah, if this is indeed the truth from You, then rain down upon us stones from the sky or send us a painful punishment.﴿ (al-Anfal8:32)

Yet despite the fact that ﴾punishment befell people of their ilk who came before them﴿ that is, the punishments of Allah that befell the disbelieving nations, why then do they not reflect on their situation and give up their ignorance?

﴾But indeed your Lord is forgiving to humankind despite all their wrongdoing﴿ that is, He continues to bestow blessings upon them, sending down His kindness and pardon to people when they are still doing evil and their acts of disobedience are still ascending to Him.

They disobey Him but He calls them to repent; they commit offences but He does not deprive them of His blessings and kindness, and if they repent to Him then they are His beloved, because He loves those who repent and He loves those who purify themselves. But if they do not repent, then He tests them with calamities in order to purify them from their sin.

﴾Say [Allah says]: O My slaves who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning greatly], do not despair of the mercy of Allah, for verily Allah forgives all sins. Verily, it is He Who is the Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful. (az-Zumar 39: 53)

﴾fand indeed your Lord is severe in punishment﴿ to those who persist in sin and refuse to repent, seek forgiveness and turn to the Almighty, the Oft-Forgiving. So let people beware of His punishment of the evildoers, for verily His punishment is painful and severe (cf.

13:7. Those who disbelieve say: Why has no sign been sent down to him from his Lord? You are but a warner, and for every people there is a guide.

That is, the disbelievers demand from you (O Muhammad [$^]) signs that they specify, and they say: ﴾Why has no sign been sent down to him from his Lord?﴿, giving this as an excuse for not responding to the Messenger (ﷺ). But in fact he is no more than a warner who has no control over anything, for it is Allah Who sends down the signs. Moreover, Allah has already supported him with clear evidence that is not hidden from people of understanding, and by it the one who seeks the truth may be guided. As for the disbeliever who - because of his injustice and ignorance - demands specific signs from Allah, these demands are false and fabricated. If any sign were to come to him, no matter what it was, he would not believe and would not submit, because his refusal to believe was not due to any lack of evidence for the soundness of faith; rather it was due to his own whims and desires. ﴾fand for every people there is a guide﴿ that is, a caller who calls them to guidance, namely the Messengers and their followers, who have proof and evidence that points to the soundness of the guidance they have.0

13:8. Allah knows what every female bears, and by how much the wombs may fall short or increase. With Him everything is regulated according to a determined measure.

13:9. He is the Knower of the unseen and the seen, the Most Great, the High Exalted.

13:10. It is the same [to Him] whether any of you conceals his speech or declares it openly, and whether he hides under the cover of the night or walks openly in the light of day.

13:11. For each [person], there are angels in succession, before him and behind him, watching over him by the command of Allah. Verily Allah does not change the condition of a people until they themselves change their own attitude and conduct. But once Allah has intended ill for a people, then it cannot be averted, nor will they find, besides Him, any protector.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us of the vastness of His knowledge and that He encompasses all things.

﴾Allah knows what every female﴿, human or otherwise, Shears, and by how much the wombs may fall short﴿ that is, as a result of miscarriage or not reaching full growth ﴾for increase﴿ that is, when the foetus reaches full growth.﴾With Him everything is regulated according to a determined measure﴿ and it does not go beyond what is decreed or fall short; it only increases or decreases in accordance with what is decreed by His wisdom and knowledge.

﴾He is the Knower of the unseen and the seen, the Most Great﴿ in His essence and in His names and attributes ﴾the High Exalted﴿ above all of His creation, by His essence and His decree and His power.

﴾It is the same [to Him]﴿ in His knowledge, hearing and sight ﴾whether any of you conceals his speech or declares it openly, and whether he hides under the cover of the night﴿ that is, he stays in the place where he is hidden ﴾or walks openly in the light of day﴿.

﴾For each [person], there are angels in succession﴿ who come to him in succession by night and by day.

﴾before him and behind him, watching over him by the command of Allah﴿ that is, they watch over him, body and soul, protecting him from all who want to do him harm and recording his deeds, and they are always with him. In addition to that, the knowledge of Allah encompasses him, for Allah sends these keepers to watch over people, so that nothing of their situations or deeds is hidden and nothing of that will be forgotten.

﴾Verily Allah does not change the condition of a people﴿ in terms of blessings, bounty and prosperity ﴾until they themselves change their own attitude and conduct﴿ by shifting from faith to disbelief, from obedience to disobedience, or from gratitude for the blessings of Allah to insolence because of them; in such cases Allah takes those blessings away from them.

By the same token, if people change their condition of sin, and shift towards obedience to Allah, Allah will change the miserable situation in which they were to one of blessing, happiness, joy and mercy.

﴾But once Allah has intended ill for a people﴿ that is, punishment and hardship, or something they dislike, then His will must inevitably be done,

﴾then it cannot be averted﴿ and no one can protect them from it ﴾nor will they find, besides Him, any protector﴿ to take charge of their affairs, bring them what they like and ward off from them what they dislike. So let them beware of persisting in that which Allah dislikes, lest the punishment befall them that will not be averted from the evildoers.

13:12. He is the One Who shows you the lightning, giving rise to both fear and hope, and gathers up the heavy clouds.

13:13. The thunder glorifies and praises Him, as do the angels, in awe of Him. He sends thunderbolts and strikes therewith whomever He wills, yet they dispute about Allah, Who is inexorable in His power.

﴾He is the One Who shows you the lightning, giving rise to both fear and hope﴿ that is, fear of the thunderbolts and destruction, and other kinds of harm to crops and the like, and hope for its goodness and benefits.

﴾and gathers up the heavy clouds﴿ loaded with abundant rain, which brings benefits to people and the land.

﴾The thunder glorifies and praises Him)*). Thunder is the sound that is heard from the clouds, which alarms people. It is subjugated to the control of its Lord and it glorifies and praises Him ﴾fas do the angels, in awe of Him﴿ that is, they also glorify and praise their Lord, out of fear of Him, for they fear His power and might. ﴾He sends thunderbolts﴿ namely the fire (lightning) that emerges from the cloud fjand strikes therewith whomever He wills﴿ among His slaves, according to His will

﴾f...Allah, Who is inexorable in His power﴿ that is, He is mighty in power and strength. He does not will anything but He does it; nothing can be too difficult for Him and no one can escape Him.

As He alone is the One Who drives the rain and the clouds for people, in which is the substance of their provision, and as He is the One Who controls all things, and to Him are subjugated the mighty creations that people fear and are disturbed by, and as Allah is mighty in power, then He is the only One Who deserves to be worshipped, with no partner or associate. Hence He says:

13:14. To Him alone should all supplication be addressed, for those to whom they offer supplication besides Him will never respond in any way. They are like a man who stretches out his hands towards water, [hoping] that it will come to his mouth; but it will never reach it. The supplication of those who disbelieve is all in vain.

That is, to Allah alone ﴾should all supplication be addressed﴿; this refers to worshipping Him alone with no partner or associate.and sincerely devoting supplication to Him, asking only of Him. In other words, He is the only One to Whom all supplication should be addressed and on Whom all fear, hope, love and repentance should be focused, because His divinity is true, and the so-called divinity of all others is false.

﴾for those to whom they offer supplication besides Him﴿ of the idols and rivals that they regard as partners of Allah

﴾will never respond in any way﴿ that is, they will never respond to those who call upon them and worship them in any way, small or great, whether with regard to matters of this world or of the hereafter.

﴾They are like a man who stretches out his hands towards water﴿ that his hands cannot reach because it is far away

﴾[hoping] that it will come to his mouthy by means of his stretching out his hands towards it, because he is thirsty, so the severity of his thirst makes him stretch out his hands towards the water that is far away and that he cannot reach.

This is the state of the disbelievers who call upon other gods besides Him that will never answer them at all and will bring them no benefit at the time of greatest need, because they themselves are lacking and those upon whom they call are also lacking; they do not possess an atom’s weight of anything on earth or in heaven, and they have no share of anything on earth or in heaven; the one who calls upon them will never receive any help from them.

﴾The supplication of those who disbelieve is all in vain﴿ because of the falseness of those on whom they call besides Allah. Thus their worship and supplication is invalid because the means become invalid if the end is invalid. As Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is the only true Sovereign, worship of Him is valid and the benefit thereof will continue in this world and the hereafter.

This likening of their calling upon anything other than Allah to the one who stretches out his hand towards water, hoping that it will come to his mouth, is one of the best likenesses, because it likens itto something impossible. Just as this is impossible, what is likened to it is also impossible. Making something conditional upon something that is impossible is the most eloquent way of denying that it will ever happen. This is like the verse in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾But as for those who reject Our revelations and turn away from them with arrogance, the gates of heaven will not be opened for them, nor will they enter paradise, until a camel can pass through the eye of a

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13:15. To Allah prostrate all those who are in the heavens and on earth, willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows, in the morning and in the afternoon.

That is, everything that the heavens and earth contain is subjugated to their Lord and they all prostrate to Him

﴾willingly or unwillingly﴿. The former refers to those who prostrate and submit voluntarily and by choice, such as the believers; the latter refers to those who are too arrogant to worship their Lord, but their natural state belies that, because their shadows prostrate ﴾in the morning and in the afternoon﴿ that is, the shadows of all created things prostrate at the beginning and end of the day, and everything prostrates according to its situation, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

.. .There is not a thing that does not glorify Him with praise, but you do not understand their glorification...﴿ (al-lsra' 17: 44)

As all creatures prostrate to their Lord, willingly or unwillingly, He is the true God Who deserves to be worshipped, and the divinityof all others is false. Hence Allah states that they are false and gives proof for that, as He says:

13:16. Say [O Muhammad]: Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth? Say: [It is] Allah. Say: Have you then taken as protectors, besides Him, those that have no power either to benefit or harm themselves? Say: Is the blind man equal to one who can see? Or are the depths of darkness equal to the light? Or do they ascribe to Allah partners who have created [anything] as He has created, so that both creations appear to them alike? Say: Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the Subjugator.

That is, say to these polytheists who ascribe idols as partners to Allah and love them as they should love Him, and do all kinds of acts of worship and devotion for them: have you lost your minds to the extent that you have taken something other than Him as protectors to which you offer worship when they are not deserving of that, for they ﴾have no power either to benefit or harm themselves﴿, but you turn away from seeking the protection of the One Who is possessed of the most perfect names and attributes, the One Who is in control of the living and the dead, in Whose Hand is the power of creation and control, the power to bring benefit or cause harm? Worship of Allah alone and the worship of those who ascribe partners to Him are not equal, just as the one who is blind and the one who can see are not equal, and just as darkness and light are not equal.

If they have any doubt, and they ascribe partners to Him, claiming that these partners can create as He does and do what He does, then remove this doubt and confusion from their minds on the basis of proof that Allah alone is the true God, and say to them: ﴾Allah is the Creator of all things﴿ so it is impossible that anything can be created by itself.

It is also impossible that anything could come to be without a creator. Thus it is inevitable that it must have a God Who created it, with no partner or associate in His creation, because He is the One, the Subjugator, and oneness and subjugation belong only to Allah alone. As for created beings, each created being has another created being above it that subjugates it, and above that one there must be another subjugator, and so on all the way up to the subjugation of the One, the Subjugator. So divine subjugation and oneness are interconnected, belonging to Allah alone. Therefore on the basis of purely rational thinking, whatever is called upon besides Allah has no share in creation and thus worship thereof is invalid.

13:17. He sends down water from the sky and the watercourses flow, each according to its measure, and the torrent carries with it a rising foam. And from that [ore] which they heat in the fire to make ornaments and utensils rises a similar foam. Thus Allah depicts truth and falsehood: the foam is cast away as a worthlessthing, while that which is of benefit to people remains in the earth. Thus does Allah set forth comparisons.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) likens the guidance that He sent down to His Messenger (ﷺ) for the well-being of hearts and souls to the water that He sent down for physical benefits, and He likens the abundant common benefit of that guidance, that is essential for all people, to the abundant and essential common benefit that rain brings. He likens the hearts that carry guidance of varying levels to the valleys through which water flows. The large valley that can take a lot of water is like the heart that can take a great deal of knowledge, and the small valley that takes little water is like the heart that only takes a little knowledge, and so on.

And He likens the doubts and whims and desires that there may be in people’s hearts, when truth reaches them, to the foam that floats on top of the water, or that rises to the top of the ore that they heat with fire in order to purify it and cast it into shape when they want to make adornments from it. That foam continues to float on top of the water, making it dirty and impure, until it disappears, leaving behind that which benefits people of pure water and pure adornments.

In like manner, the heart continues to dislike and resist doubts and desires by means of sound proof and strong resolve, until they vanish and the heart is left pure and clean, containing nothing but that which benefits people, namely knowledge that is based on truth and gives precedence to it, and desires truth, for falsehood disappears and is erased by truth.

﴾...Falsehood is always bound to perish.﴿ (al-lsra 17: 81)

And Allah says here: ﴾)Thus does Allah set forth comparisons﴿ in order to make truth distinct from falsehood and guidance distinct from misguidance.

13:18. For those who respond to their Lord, there will be the best reward, while for those who do not respond to Him, if they had all that is on earth and as much again, they would offer it as a ransom. But theirs will be a terrible reckoning; their abode will be hell, what a wretched resting-place.

When Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) made truth distinct from falsehood. He stated that people are of two types: those who respond to their Lord, and He mentioned their reward, and those who do not respond, and He mentioned their punishment.

﴾For those who respond to their Lord﴿ that is, whose hearts submit to knowledge and faith, and they comply physically with the commands and prohibitions, thus becoming in harmony with what their Lord wants from them. For them there will be ﴾the best reward﴿ that is, they will be in the best state and will have a great reward.

For they have the best attributes and traits, and they will have of reward in this world and the hereafter that which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has it ever crossed the mind of man.

﴾while for those who do not respond to HimjJ after He set forth these comparisons and likenesses for them, and explained the truth for them, they will not be in a good state. Hence ﴾fif they had all that is on earthy of gold, silver and other wealth, tfand as much again, they would offer it as a ransom﴿ to escape the punishment of the Day of Resurrection, but it will not be accepted from them, and how could it be accepted?

﴾But theirs will be a terrible reckoning﴿, for it will be a reckoning that will include all that they did before of evil deeds, and all that they neglected of duties towards Allah and towards other people. All of that has been written down and recorded against them, and they will say:

﴾f...Woe to us! What sort of record is this, that leaves no deed, small or great, unaccounted for? They will find all they did recorded there, and your Lord will not wrong anyone.﴿ (al-Kahf 18: 49)

And after this terrible reckoning, ﴾their abode will be hell﴿ which will combine all kinds of torment, such as severe hunger, painful thirst, blazing fire, the fruit of Zaqqoom (a horrible tree in hell), bitter cold, daree' (dry, bitter and thorny fruit) and all the different kinds of torment that Allah has mentioned.

﴾what a wretched resting-place﴿ that is, the place in which they will settle and abide forever.

13:19. Is then the one who knows that what has been sent down to you from your Lord is the truth like one who is blind? It is only people of understanding who will pay heed,

13:20. Those who fulfil Allah’s covenant and do not break their solemn pledge.

13:21. Those who uphold the bonds that Allah has commanded to be upheld, and fear their Lord, and dread a terrible reckoning,

13:22. Those who patiently persevere, seeking the Countenance of their Lord, and establish prayer, and spend from that which We have provided for them, secretly and openly, and repel evil with good; for them the end will be [best] in the hereafter,

13:23. Gardens of perpetual abode, which they will enter together with the righteous among their fathers, their spouses, and their offspring. Angels will enter unto them from every gate [saying]:

13:24. Peace be upon you because you patiently persevered. How excellent is the ultimate end!

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) highlights the difference between the people of knowledge and action, and the opposite:

﴾Is then the one who knows that what has been sent down to you from your Lord is the truth﴿ and understands it and acts upon it ﴾like one who is blind﴿ and does not recognise the truth or act upon it? The difference between them is like the difference between heaven and earth. Hence it is the individual’s duty to think and reflect as to which of the two groups is better off and will have the better outcome, and then to give precedence to that group and follow their path. But not everybody thinks about what will benefit him or harm him.

﴾flt is only people of understanding who will pay heed﴿ that is, people of sound reasoning and mature thinking, who are the elite of people and the chosen ones among the sons of Adam. If you ask about their description, you will not find any better than the description that Allah gives of them here:

﴾Those who fulfil Allah’s covenant﴿ that He made with them and enjoined upon them, of carrying out their duties towards Him in the most perfect manner, which means fulfilling it completely and with sincerity﴾fand﴿ part of fulfilling the covenant perfectly is that they ﴾fdo not break their solemn pledge﴿ that is, the covenant that they made to Allah and by which they are bound. That includes all the covenants, promises, vows and oaths that people make. No person can be regarded as one of the people of understanding who will have that great reward unless he fulfils his covenants completely and perfectly, without undermining them or undoing them.

﴾Those who uphold the bonds that Allah has commanded to be upheld﴿ - this is general and applies to every bond that Allah has commanded people to uphold, which includes believing in Him and His Messenger (ﷺ), loving Him and His Messenger (ﷺ), submitting in full servitude to Him alone, with no partner or associate, obeying His Messenger (ﷺ), upholding ties with their fathers and mothers, honouring them in word and deed and not disobeying them, upholding ties with relatives and kin by treating them kindly in word and deed, and paying attention to spouses, friends and servants by giving them their rights in full, whether religious or worldly.

The reason that makes a person uphold the bonds that Allah has instructed him to uphold is fear of Allah and fear of the Day of Reckoning. Hence Allah says: ﴾and fear their Lord﴿ that is, their fear of Him and of meeting Him on the Day of Reckoning prevents them from daring to disobey Allah or to fall short in anything that Allah has enjoined, for fear of punishment and in hope of reward.

﴾Those who patiently persevere﴿ in complying with the commands and heeding the prohibitions by staying away from what is forbidden, and in accepting the decree of Allah that may be painful, without complaining about it.

But that is on condition that this patience be based on if seeking the Countenance of their Lord﴿ and not on any other, corrupt, purpose or aim. This beneficial patience by means of which a person restrains himself, seeking thereby the pleasure of his Lord and hoping to draw closer to Him and attain His reward, is the patience which is uniqueto the believers. As for the ordinary type of patience that is common among people, that is no more than showing how calm and tough one may be, which may lead to pride and showing off. This may be attained by both righteous and immoral people, believers and disbelievers; this is not the type of patience that is truly praiseworthy.

﴾fand establish prayer﴿ with all its essential parts and optional extras, fulfilling all its conditions, both outwardly and inwardly ﴾and spend from that which We have provided for them, secretly and openly﴿ - that includes obligatory spending, such as zakah and expiation, as well as that spending which is recommended; they spend as needed, secretly and openly

﴾and repel evil with good﴿ that is, if someone mistreats them in word or deed, they do not respond in kind; rather they respond with kindness.

So they give to those who withhold from them, they forgive those who wrong them, they uphold ties with those who cut them off, and they treat kindly those who mistreat them. If they respond with kindness to the one who mistreats them, then how do you think they would respond to one who does not mistreat them?

﴾for them﴿ that is, those who have these noble characteristics and good traits

﴾the end will be [best] in the hereafter﴿. This is explained in the following verse: ﴾Gardens of perpetual abode﴿ that is, where they will abide forever and never leave or want to leave, because they will not see anything better than it, because of what it contains of delight and joy that is all that one could ever want.

Part of that perfect delight and joy is that they will enter it ﴾together with the righteous among their fathers﴿ that is, their parents, both male and female

﴾their spouses﴿ that is, husbands or wives; the word translated here as Espouses﴿ may also refer to peers, counterparts, friends and loved ones﴾Angels will enter unto them from every gate﴿ congratulating them on being safe and greeting them, as an honour from Allah to them. They will say:

﴾Peace be upon you﴿ that is, you are now safe, and this is a greeting from Allah to you, which means that you are now safe and kept away from anything that is disliked, and you have attained all that you like.

﴾because you patiently persevered﴿ that is, your patience is what brought you to this blessed state and these beautiful gardens ﴾How excellent is the ultimate end!﴿

It is worthwhile for one who cares about his soul and appreciates its value to strive hard in the hope that he will adopt some of the qualities of the people of understanding, so that perhaps he may attain this abode which is the wish of all hearts, where all pleasures and joy are to be found. For such as this let people strive and compete.

13:25. But those who break Allah’s covenant after it has been made binding, and sever the bonds that Allah has commanded to be upheld, and spread mischief in the land - upon them is the curse and for them is a wretched end.

Having mentioned the situation of the people of paradise, Allah tells us that the people of hell will be in the opposite situation:

﴾But those who break Allah’s covenant after it has been made binding﴿ that is, after Allah made it binding through His Messengers and confirmed it, they did not respond by submitting; rather they responded by turning away and breaking the covenant﴾and sever the bonds that Allah has commanded to be upheld﴿ so they did not uphold the ties between them and their Lord by believing and doing righteous deeds, and they did not uphold the ties of kinship or do the duties that were required of them; rather they spread mischief on earth by disbelieving, committing sin, barring people from the path of Allah and making it seem crooked.

﴾upon them is the curse﴿ that is, they are cast far away and condemned by Allah, His angels and His believing slaves tfand for them is a wretched end﴿ namely hell, with all that it contains of painful punishments.

13:26. Allah grants abundant provision to whomever He wills, or gives it in scant measure. [The disbelievers] rejoice in the life of this world, but the life of this world, compared to the hereafter, is nothing but a fleeting pleasure.

That is, Allah alone grants abundant provision and gives freely of His bounty to whomever He will, and He restricts it and gives it in small measure to whomever He will.

﴾[The disbelievers] rejoice in the life of this world﴿, which makes them feel content with it to the extent that they neglect the hereafter, and that is due to their lack of reason.

﴾but the life of this world, compared to the hereafter, is nothing but a fleeting pleasure﴿ that is, it is something insignificant that a person enjoys for a brief while, but then he will leave his family and friends behind, and it will be followed by lengthy suffering.

13:27. Those who disbelieve say: Why has no sign been sent down to him from his Lord? Say: Verily Allah leaves to stray whomever He wills and guides unto Himself whoever turns to Him,

13:28. those who believe and whose hearts find comfort in the remembrance of Allah, for verily in the remembrance of Allah hearts find comfort.

13:29. Those who believe and do righteous deeds, joy will be theirs, and a blissful journey’s end.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us about those who disbelieve in the revelations of Allah and behave stubbornly towards the Messenger of Allah (jit), demanding things from him and saying, ﴾Why has no sign been sent down to him from his Lord?j﴿, and claiming that if a sign came, they would believe. Allah responded to them by saying:

﴾Say: Verily Allah leaves to stray whomever He wills and guides unto Himself whoever turns to Him﴿ that is, seeks His pleasure. For guidance and misguidance are not under their control, so that they can make that dependent upon signs. Moreover, they are lying:

﴾Even if We did send angels down to them, and the dead spoke to them, and We gathered together all things before them [to testify to the truth], they still would not believe, unless Allah willed it. But most of them are ignorant [of this fact].﴿ (an-An 'am 6: 111)

The Messenger (ﷺ) is not obliged to bring the specific sign that they demand; rather if he brings them a sign that is enough to provethat the message he brings is true, that is sufficient and the goal has been achieved. In fact that will be more beneficial to them than their demand for the signs that they specify, because if the sign came to them in accordance with their demand and they did not believe in it, that would result in the punishment being hastened for them.

Then Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) describes the sign of the believers:

﴾those who believe and whose hearts find comfort in the remembrance of Allah﴿ that is, their anxiety and worries are dispelled and replaced with joy and pleasure.

﴾for verily in the remembrance of Allah hearts find comfort﴿ that is, this is their nature and it is to be expected that they would not find comfort in anything except remembrance of Allah, for nothing brings greater pleasure to the heart and nothing is more desirable or sweeter than loving the Creator, feeling close to Him and knowing Him. According to how much the heart knows and loves Allah, it will remember Him to that degree. This is based on the assumption that what is meant by remembrance of Allah is when a person remembers his Lord (dhikr) by glorifying Him, proclaiming His oneness, magnifying Him and so on.

It was also suggested that what is meant by the remembrance of Allah is His Book that He sent down as a reminder to the believers. Based on that, what is meant by hearts finding comfort in the remembrance of Allah is that when the heart comes to know the meanings and rulings of the Qur’an, it feels reassured by them, for they point to clear truth that is supported by evidence and proof. Thus the hearts are reassured, for they cannot find reassurance except by means of certainty and knowledge, which is found in the Book of Allah that is certainly complete and perfect. As for other books that are not based on it, the heart does not feel at ease with them; rather the heart will remain troubled because of the contradictory nature of their evidence and rulings.t[,..If it [the Qur’an] had been from anyone other than Allah, they would surely have found therein many contradictions. [﴿(an-Nisa '4:82)

This is only known to those who are well-versed in the Book of Allah and who study it and other branches of knowledge, for they find a huge difference between them and it.

﴾Those who believe and do righteous deeds﴿ that is, they believe with all their hearts in Allah, His angels. His Books, His Messengers and the Last Day, and they confirm this faith by doing righteous deeds which includes deeds of the heart, by loving Allah, fearing Him and putting their hope in Him, as well as physical deeds such as prayer and the like.

﴾joy will be theirs, and a blissful journey’s end﴿ that is, they will be in a good state and have a good return on the Day of Resurrection, because of what they attain of the pleasure of Allah and His honour in this world and the hereafter. They will attain complete rest and perfect reassurance. The word tooba, translated here as ﴾joy﴿, may also refer to the tree of Tooba in paradise, in the shade of which a person may travel for one hundred years without covering the entire distance, as is mentioned in the saheeh hadiths.

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13:30. Thus We have sent you to a nation before whom other nations have passed away, so that you may recite to them that which We have revealed to you, yet they disbelieve in the Most Gracious. Say: He is my Lord, there is no god but He; in Him I put my trust and to Him I turn.

Here Allah says to His Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ): «fThus We have sent you﴿ to your people, to call them to true guidance ﴾to a nation before whom other nations have passed away﴿ to whom We sent Our Messengers. You are not the first of the Messengers, such that they should find your message strange, and you are not speaking of your own accord; rather you recite to them the revelations of Allah that Allah reveals to you, which purify hearts and souls.

But in fact your people disbelieve in the Most Gracious, so they did not respond to His mercy and kindness - the greatest aspect of which is that We have sent you to them as a Messenger and We have sent down to you a Book - by accepting it with gratitude and thanks; rather they responded by rejecting and denying. Why do they not leam a lesson from those who came before them of nations who rejected their Messengers, and how Allah punished them for their sins? ﴾Say: He is my Lord, there is no god but He﴿; this includes both types of tawheed (oneness of Allah): the oneness of divinity and the oneness of Lordship.

He is my Lord Who has cared for me by sending His blessings upon me since He created me, and He is my God in Whom ﴾I put my trust﴿ in all my affairs ﴾and to Him I turn﴿ that is, and devote all my acts of worship to Him and I turn to Him for my needs.

13:31. If there were a Qur’an with which the mountains could be moved, the earth could be cleft and the dead could be made tospeak [they still would not believe]. But surely all things are subject to Allah’s will. Do those who believe not know that if Allah had so willed. He could have guided all humanity? Calamities will continue to befall those who disbelieve, for their deeds, or to strike close to their homes, until the promise of Allah comes to pass, for Allah does not break His promise.

Here Allah highlights the superiority of the Holy Qur’an over all other revealed Books:

﴾flf there were a Qur’an with which the mountains could be moved﴿ from their places

﴾the earth could be cleft and the dead could be made to speak [they still would not believe]. But surely all things are subject to Allah’s will﴿ and He brings forth the signs that are in accordance with His wisdom. So what is wrong with the disbelievers and what makes them demand specific signs as they do? Do they or anyone else have any control over the matter?

﴾Do those who believe not know that if Allah had so willed. He could have guided all humanity?﴿ So let them realise that Allah is able to guide them all, but it was not His will to do so. Rather He guides whomever He will and He leaves astray whomever He will. ﴾Calamities will continue to befall those who disbelieve﴿ for their disbelief, but they will not leam any lesson or pay heed. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) will keep sending calamities upon them, one after another, which will strike them in their homes or nearby, yet they persist in their disbelief, ﴾until the promise of Allah comes to pass﴿, of sending down an ongoing punishment for which there can be no relief ﴾for Allah does not break His promise﴿. This is a threat and a warning to them that what Allah promised them because of their disbelief, stubbornness and wrongdoing will surely come to them.

13:32. Indeed Messengers before you [O Muhammad] were ridiculed, but I granted respite to those who disbelieved, then I punished them, and how [terrible] was My retribution!

Here Allah says to His Messenger (ﷺ), to reassure and console him: ﴾Indeed Messengers before you [O Muhammad] were ridiculed﴿; you were not the first one to be disbelieved and persecuted ﴾but I granted respite to those who disbelieved﴿ in their Messengers; that is, I granted them respite until they thought that they would not be punished

﴾then I punished them﴿ with all types of punishment ﴾and how [terrible] was My retribution!﴿ It was a severe punishment and painful torment. So these people who disbelieve in you and ridicule you should not be deceived because of Our respite, for they have an example in the nations who came before them. So let them beware lest the same fate befall them as befell those people

13:33. Is He Who watches over every soul and what it earns [like any other]? And yet they ascribe partners to Allah. Say: Namethem; or do you presume to tell Allah of something that He does not know on earth, or is it [just] a show of words? But their contrivance is made fair-seeming to those who disbelieve and they are barred from the path. For those whom Allah has caused to go astray, no one can guide.

13:34. For them is punishment in the life of this world, but indeed the punishment of the hereafter will be harder still. And they will have no defender against Allah.

ils He Who watches over every soul and what it earns﴿, and requites it in this world and the hereafter on the basis of justice and fairness - this refers to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى); can He be like one who is not like that?

Hence Allah says: And yet they ascribe partners to Allah﴿ when He is Allah, the One, the Self-Sustaining, Who has no partner, no equal and no peer.

﴾Say﴿ to them, if they are speaking the truth ﴾Name them﴿ so that it will be known what they are ﴾or do you presume to tell Allah of something that He does not know on earth﴿ for if He is the Knower of the unseen and the seen, and He does not know that He has a partner, it will thus be known that this claim of His having a partner is false, and that you are like one who is informing Allah that He has a partner at the time when He does not know that, but this is the falsest of falsehood. Hence Allah says: ﴾for is it [just] a show of words?﴿ That is, the most that can be said of such a claim is that it is no more than words that you utter.

In reality there is no god but Allah, and no one among creation deserves to be worshipped in any way whatsoever.

﴾But their contrivance is made fair-seeming to those who disbelieve﴿ that is, what they devised, namely their disbelief, ascription of partners to Allah, and disbelief in His revelations﴾and they are barred from the path﴿ that is, from the straight path that leads to Allah and to His paradise

﴾For those whom Allah has caused to go astray, no one can guide﴿ because no one has any control over the matter.

﴾For them is punishment in the life of this world, but indeed the punishment of the hereafter will be harder still﴿ than the punishment of this world, because it is so severe and everlasting. tjAnd they will have no defender against Allah﴿ to protect them from the punishment of Allah, for when He sends His punishment upon them, no one can ward it off.

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13:35. The likeness of paradise, which the pious are promised, [is that of a garden] through which rivers flow; its food is perpetual, and so is its shade. Such will be the end for those who fear Allah, and the end for the disbelievers will be the fire.

﴾The likeness of paradise, which the pious﴿ that is, those who refrain from that which Allah has forbidden to them and do not fall short in that which He has enjoined upon them ﴾[is that of a garden] through which rivers flow﴿ that is, rivers of honey, rivers of wine, rivers of milk and rivers of water that flow without ditches and irrigate those gardens and trees, which bear all kinds of fruit.

﴾its food is perpetual, and so is its shade. Such will be the end for those who fear Allah﴿ that is, it will be their ultimate destination ﴾fand the end for the disbelievers will be the fire﴿ and how obvious is the difference between them.

13:36. Those to whom We gave the scripture rejoice in that which is revealed to you, but there are some groups who reject parts of it. Say: I am commanded to worship Allah, and not to ascribe partners to Him. To Him I call and to Him is my return.

﴾Those to whom We gave the scripture﴿ that is, those whom We blessed with it and with knowledge thereof ﴾rejoice in that which is revealed to you﴿ so they believe in it and they rejoice in the harmony between the Books and how they confirm one another. This refers to those among the people of the two Books who believed.

﴾but there are some groups who reject parts of itp that is, among the disbelieving groups who deviated from the truth there are those who reject part of this Qur’an and do not believe in it.

﴾...Whoever is guided, it is for his own benefit, and whoever goes astray, it is to his own detriment...(az-Zumar 39: 41)

You are but a warner, calling people to Allah.

﴾Say: I am commanded to worship Allah, and not to ascribe partners to Him﴿ that is, to devote worship solely to Allah alone ﴾To Him I call and to Him is my retumj﴿ that is, to Him I will go back, and He will reward me for what I did of calling people to His religion and striving to do what I was commanded to do.

13:37. Thus have We revealed it, a precise Book in Arabic. If you were to follow their whims and desires, after the knowledge that has come to you, you would have neither protector nor defender against Allah.

That is. We have sent down this Qur’an, a precise Book in Arabic; that is, well-composed in Arabic, in the clearest and most eloquent of languages, so that there will be no doubt or confusion concerning it, and so that it alone will be followed without compromise, and that which opposes it and contradicts it of the whims and desires of those who have no knowledge will not be followed.

Hence Allah warned His Messenger (ﷺ) - even though he was infallible and protected from error, which was a great blessing from Allah - so that his Ummah would be subject to the same set of rulings: ﴾If you were to follow their whims and desires, after the knowledge that has come to you﴿ that is, the clear knowledge which forbids you to follow their whims and desires ﴾you would have neither protector﴿ to protect you so that you could attain what you want ﴾nor defender against Allah﴿ to defend you from harm.

13:38. We sent Messengers before you [O Muhammad], and gave them wives and children. It was not given to any Messenger to bring a sign except by Allah’s leave. For everything there is a time ordained.

13:39. Allah erases and confirms whatever He wills, and with Him is the Mother of the Book [al-Lawh al-Mahfoodh]

That is, you are not the first Messenger to be sent to people, such that they could find your message strange.

﴾We sent Messengers before you [O Muhammad], and gave them wives and children﴿ so do not let your enemies criticise you for having wives and children, as your fellow Messengers did. Why should they criticise you for that, when they know that the Messengers before you did likewise, unless it is for their own corrupt ulterior motives?

If they ask you for a specific sign, you have no control over the matter. ﴾It was not given to any Messenger to bring a sign except by Allah’s leave﴿ and Allah does not give permission for such things except at the exact time that He has decreed for it.

﴾For everything there is a time ordained﴿ and it cannot be brought forward or put back from that time. The fact that they are seeking to hasten the signs or the punishment does not mean that Allah has to bring forward something that He has decreed should happen later, even though He can do whatever He wills.

﴾Allah erases and confirms whatever﴿ decrees ﴾He wills﴿, and this erasing and alteration applies to matters other than what Allah has already decreed by His knowledge and written with Hispen, for the latter is not subject to any alteration or change, for it is impossible for there to be any shortcoming in the knowledge of Allah. Hence He says: ﴾fand with Him is the Mother of the Book﴿, namely al-Lawh al-Mahfoodh, which is the reference point of all things, because it is the basis thereof, and everything else branches from it.

Rather changes and alterations may occur in minor issues, such as people’s actions during the day and night that are recorded by the angels, and Allah creates causes for the confirmation or erasure thereof that do not go beyond what is written in al-Lawh al-Mahfoodh. For example, Allah has ordained that righteousness, upholding ties and doing good deeds should be causes for being granted a long life and abundant provision; He has ordained that sins should be causes for loss of blessing in provision and lifespan; He has ordained the taking of measures for protecting oneself against fatal accidents and injury as a means of safety; and He has ordained that exposing oneself to risks is a cause of damage and injury. It is He Who controls all things according to His will and decree, and whatever He controls does not take a course contrary to that which He already knew and wrote in

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13:40. Whether We show you [O Muhammad] some of that with which We have threatened them or We cause you to die [before that], your duty is only to convey the message, and the Reckoning is for Us.

13:41. Do they not see that We gradually reduce the land [in their control] from its outlying borders? When Allah decrees [a thing], none can reverse His decree, and He is swift in reckoning.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells His Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ): do not hasten the punishment of which they were warned, for if they persist in their transgression and disbelief, it is inevitable that that of which they were warned will befall them.

﴾Whether We show you﴿ that in this world, so you have the delight of seeing it

﴾or We cause you to die﴿ before it reaches them, that is not your concern.

﴾your duty is only to convey the message﴿ to people, and explain it tfand the Reckoning is for Us﴿, so We will bring people to account for what they did of their obligations and what they neglected, and We will reward or punish them accordingly.

Then Allah says, warning the disbelievers: ﴾Do they not see that We gradually reduce the land [in their control] from its outlying borders?﴿ It was said that this refers to destruction of the disbelievers and eradication of the wrongdoers, or that it refers to the conquest of the lands of the polytheists, and reducing them in wealth and numbers. And there were other suggestions concerning the meaning.

However what appears to be the case - and Allah knows best - is that what is meant here is that Allah would cause the lands of these disbelievers to be swept by a wave of conquests, and that calamities would begin to strike the outlying areas as a warning to them before the decline began to take effect and before Allah caused them to be struck by calamities of a type that no one can ward off. Hence He said: ﴾When Allah decrees [a thing], none can reverse His decree﴿. That includes both His shar'i rulings and universal laws.

These decrees and rulings that Allah ordains are of the highest level of precision, with no shortcomings. Rather they are based on fairness and justice, so no one can reverse them and there is no way to undermine them. This is in contrast to the rulings of others, which may or may not be in harmony with the truth.

﴾and He is swift in reckoning﴿ that is, so do not seek to hasten the punishment, for everything that is meant to happen is close at hand.

13:42. Those who came before them [also] plotted and planned, but Allah is master of all planning. He knows what each soul earns, and the disbelievers will come to know for whom the end will be [best] in the hereafter.

13:43. The disbelievers say: You are not a Messenger. Say: Allah is sufficient as a witness between me and you, and [so are] those who have knowledge of the scriptures.

﴾Those who came before them [also] plotted and planned﴿ against their Messengers and against the truth the Messengers brought, but their plots did not avail them in anything and did not achieve any goal, because they were fighting and opposing Allah, and ﴾Allah is master of all planning﴿. No one can plot and plan except by His leave and subject to His will and decree. Hence if they plot against His religion, the plot will backfire and lead to nothing but frustration and regret, forAllah ﴾knows what each soul earns﴿ that is, He knows its concerns and thoughts, and all that it does, both outwardly and inwardly.

Plots are inevitably part of what the soul earns, so their plots are not hidden from Allah and therefore it is not possible for them to come up with a plot that will harm the truth and its people and benefit themselves in any way.

﴾and the disbelievers will come to know for whom the end will be [best] in the hereafter﴿ that is, for them or for the Messengers. It is well known that the end will be best for those who fear Allah, not for the disbelievers.

﴾The disbelievers say: You are not a Messenger﴿ that is, they disbelieve in you and they disbelieve in the message with which you were sent

﴾Say﴿ to them, when they demand a witness for that: ﴾Allah is sufficient as a witness between me and you﴿ and His witness is on the basis of His words. His actions and His approval. As for His words, they are what Allah has revealed to the most truthful of His creation, by means of which He confirmed his messengerhood.

As for His actions, that is because Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) supported His Messenger (ﷺ) and granted him victory that was beyond his means and those of his Companions and followers. This was testimony from Allah based on actions and support.

As for His approval, Allah told the Messenger (ﷺ) that he was indeed His Messenger and that people were enjoined to follow him. So whoever follows him attains the pleasure and honour of Allah, and whoever does not follow him is subject to hell and divine wrath. Allah approved of his message; if he had fabricated anything and attributed it falsely to Allah, He would have hastened to punish him.

﴾and [so are] those who have knowledge of the scriptures﴿ - this includes all the scholars of the people of the two Books, for they testify in favour of the Messenger. Those among them who believein the Messenger (ﷺ) and follow the truth proclaim this testimony that they were obliged to give, and whoever withholds it, the fact that Allah tells us that he has a testimony that he is withholding carries more weight than if he himself were to disclose it openly. If he did not have any testimony to disclose, he would have responded that he had no testimony on the basis of proof. His silence proves that he has testimony that he is concealing. The only reason why Allah said that the testimony of the People of the Book should be sought is because they are people who have knowledge of this matter, and testimony is only to be sought from people who have more knowledge of the matter than others. This is in contrast to those who have nothing to do with it, such as the illiterate polytheist Arabs and others; there was no benefit in seeking their testimony, because they had no experience or knowledge of the matter. And Allah knows best.

This is the end of the commentary on Soorat ar-Ra‘d.

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