32:1. Alif. Lam. Meem.^{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.}

32:2. The revelation of the Book, concerning which there is no doubt, is from the Lord of the worlds.

32:3. Or do they say: He has fabricated it? Nay, it is the truth from your Lord, so that you may warn people to whom no warner was sent before you, in order that they may be guided.

Here Allah te) tells us that this noble Book has been sent down from the Lord of the worlds, Who cares for them and showers them with His blessings.

One of the greatest means through which Allah educated, cared for and guided people is this Book, in which is all that could put their affairs straight and perfect their manners. It is the Book concerning which there are no doubts, ambiguity or confusion. Yet despite that, the disbelievers said of the Messenger wrongfully: Muhammad has fabricated it and made it up by himself. This is the greatest audacity in rejecting the words of Allah and accusing Muhammad (jjjg) of the greatest of lies, assuming that a human is able to produce words like the words of the Creator. Each one of these things is a major offence.

Allah says - refuting those who claimed that he had fabricated it: t°(Nay, it is the truth﴿) which falsehood cannot reach from before it or behind it - it is a revelation from One Who is Most Wise, Praiseworthy

﴾from your Lord﴿ Who sent it down as a mercy to His slaves ﴾so that you may warn people to whom no warner was sent before you﴿ that is, they are in a state of need for the sending of the Messenger (ﷺ) and the revelation of the Book, because there has been no warner before; rather they were wandering blindly in their ignorance and misguidance. So We have sent down the Book to you, ﴾in order that they may be guided﴿ away from their misguidance, and they may come to know the truth and give it precedence.

All the things that Allah mentions here are contrary to their lies about the Qur’an, and require them to have strong faith in it and believe that it is indeed ﴾from the Lord of the worlds﴿ and that it is c﴾the truth﴿, for the truth is to be accepted in all cases, and that *fthere is no doubt﴿ concerning it in any way whatsoever. There is nothing in it to make one doubt, no story that does not speak of exactly what happened, and nothing of which the meaning is unclear and confusing. They are in need of the message, and in the Qur’an there is guidance to all that is good.S'" *

32:4. It is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, in six days, and then rose over the Throne [in a manner that befits His Majesty]. You have no protector or intercessor to deliver you from His [punishment]. Will you not then pay heed?

32:5. He governs all things from heaven to earth, then everything will ascend to Him^{1That is, all things will return to Allah on the Day of Resurrection and He will judge between people. (Ibn ‘Ashoor, at-Tahreer wat-Tanweer).} on a day the length of which is one thousand years by your reckoning.

32:6. Such is the Knower of the unseen and the seen, the Almighty, the Most Merciful,

32:7. Who created all things well and initiated the creation of man from clay,

32:8. Then He made his offspring from the extract of an insignificant fluid.

32:9. Then He fashioned him and breathed into him the soul which He created for him. He gave you hearing, sight and intellect; little it is that you give thanks.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us of the perfect nature of His might by referring to the fact that He created ﴾the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, in six days﴿, the first of which was Sunday and the last was Friday, even though He was able to create them in an instant, but He is Most Kind, Most Wise. c﴾and then rose over the Throne﴿ which is the roof of creation; He rose over it in a manner that befits His Majesty.

(﴾You have no protector﴿ who can protect you and care for you (for intercessor﴿ who can intercede for you, if He decides to punish you

﴾to deliver you from His [punishment]﴿.

﴾Will you not then pay heed﴿ and realise that the Creator of the earth and the heavens. Who rose over the mighty Throne, the only One Who is controlling you and in charge of you, and to whom all intercession belongs, is the only one who deserves all kinds of worship?

﴾He governs all things﴿ and decrees what is to happen and what is permissible, for He is the only One Who controls all things; all these decrees come down from the omnipotent Sovereign,

﴾from heaven to earth﴿, and by means of them He will bless some and doom others, make some rich and others poor, honour some and humiliate others, raise some in status and lower others, and send down provision.

﴾then everything will ascend to Him on a day the length of which is one thousand years by your reckoning﴿.

﴾Such﴿ - namely the One Who created all these mighty things. Who rose over the mighty Throne and Who alone is in control of His dominion,

﴾is the Knower of the unseen and the seen, the Almighty, the Most Merciful﴿. By virtue of his vast knowledge, the perfect nature of His might and His all-encompassing mercy. He created it and instilled in it all kinds of benefits, and He never wearies of controlling it and running its affairs.

﴾Who created all things well﴿ that is, everything that Allah has created. He has created it well, giving it a specific shape and form that befits it and is in harmony with the purpose of its creation. This is general in meaning and applies to all creation.

Then He singles out the human being, because of his honour and virtue, and says: ﴾and initiated the creation of man from clay﴿ - this refers to the creation of Adam (عليه السلام) the father of humanity.

﴾Then He made his offspring﴿ namely the progeny of Adam; He caused them to originate from ﴾the extract of an insignificant fluid﴿ namely the sperm drop, which is regarded as dirty and insignificant.

﴾Then He fashioned him﴿ with his flesh, bones, sinews and veins; He created him well and placed every faculty and body part in the best and most appropriate place, and no other place could be better ﴾and breathed into him the soul which He created for him﴿ by sending to him the angel who breathed the soul into him, and by Allah’s leave he became animate after having been inanimate.

﴾He gave you hearing [and] sight﴿ that is. He kept giving you benefits and all that you need, gradually, until He gave you hearing and sight

﴾and intellect; little it is that you give thanks﴿ to the One Who created you and fashioned you.

32:10. They say: What! When we have been [buried and] lost in the earth, will we then be created anew? In fact, they deny the meeting with their Lord.

32:11. Say [O Muhammad]: The Angel of Death, who has been given charge of you, will take your souls [in death], then to your Lord you will be brought back.

That is, those who disbelieve in the resurrection say, by way of finding it far-fetched:

﴾What! When we have been [buried and] lost in the earthy that is, when we have disintegrated and our remains have scattered and dispersed to places unknown,

﴾will we then be created anew?﴿ That is, will we be resurrected anew? They claimed that this was a most far-fetched notion, and that was because they compared the power of the Creator with their own power.

These words of theirs do not reflect an attitude of seeking the truth; rather it is the result of wrongdoing, stubbornness, disbelief in the meeting with their Lord, and denial. Hence Allah says: tfln fact, they deny the meeting with their Lord﴿ so it is quite clear what the basis and aim of the statement are. Otherwise, if their aim had been to find out the truth, the Qur’an could have given them definitive proof of the resurrection that would make the issue as clear as the light of day.

It is sufficient for them that they know that they were created from nothing, so repeating their creation is easier than originating it. Another proof is the dead earth: Allah sends down rain to it and revives it after its death, and brings forth plants from scattered seeds.

﴾Say [O Muhammad]: The Angel of Death, who has been given charge of you﴿ that is, Allah has appointed him to take people’s souls, and he has helpers, f﴾will take your souls [in death], then to your Lord you will be brought back﴿, then He will requite you for your deeds. But you denied the resurrection, so wait and see what Allah will do to you.(U-\T

32:12. If only you could see when the evildoers hang their heads before their Lord, [and say]: Our Lord, We have seen and we have heard. Send us back [to the world]; we will do righteous deeds, for now we believe with certainty.

32:13. If We had so willed. We could have given every soul its guidance, but My decree will be fulfilled: I will certainly fill hell with jinn and men, all together.

32:14. So taste the consequences of your forgetting the meeting of this day of yours. We, too, will forget you, so taste the eternal punishment for what you used to do.

Having mentioned how they will be brought back to Him on the Day of Resurrection, and how they will be when they stand before Him, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾If only you could see when the evildoers﴿ who persisted in grave sins; that is, you would see something terrible and alarming: people who are losers, who will ask but receive no response, because the time for respite is over.

﴾hang their heads before their Lord﴿ humbled and humiliated, acknowledging their wrongdoing, and asking to go back, saying: ﴾Our Lord, We have seen and we have heard﴿ that is, the matter has become clear to us, for we have seen with our own eyes and we have become certain.﴾Send us back [to the world]; we will do righteous deeds, for now we believe with certainty﴿ that is, now we are certain of that in which we used to disbelieve.

All of this happens by the will and decree of Allah, as He did not protect them from disbelief and sin. Hence He says: ﴾flf We had so willed. We could have given every soul its guidance﴿ that is. We would have guided all people, and We would have united them in following true guidance, for Our will is able to do that. But wisdom dictated that they should not all be guided. Hence Allah says: ﴾but My decree will be fulfilled﴿ that is, it is inevitable and confirmed, and cannot be changed.

﴾fl will certainly fill hell with jinn and men, all together﴿. This is a promise that will inevitably come to pass and cannot be avoided, so the means and causes that lead to that - namely disbelief and sin - must be decreed.

﴾So taste the consequences of your forgetting the meeting of this day of yours﴿ that is, this will be said to the evildoers who are overwhelmed by humiliation and will ask to go back to this world so that they might make up for what they failed to do. But the time for going back will be over, and there will be nothing left but the punishment. So taste the painful punishment for your forgetting the meeting of this day of yours. This forgetting was the result of heedlessness; in other words, because you turned away and failed to strive for that day, it is as if you would never come to it or encounter it.

﴾fWe, too, will forget you﴿ that is. We will leave you to suffer the punishment, a requital that matches your deeds. Just as you forgot, you will be forgotten.

﴾fso taste the eternal punishment﴿ that is, the never-ending punishment, for if the punishment had an end and a set term, that would give some hope of relief. But the punishment of hell - may Allah protect us from it - has no respite and no end.

6(for what you used to do﴿ of disbelief, evildoing and sin.

32:15. Only those believe in Our revelations who, when they are reminded of them, fall down in prostration, and glorify and praise their Lord, and they are not arrogant;

32:16. who forsake their beds,^{1This refers to staying awake to offer voluntary prayers during the night.} calling upon their Lord with fear and hope, and spend out of what We have provided for them.

32:17. No soul knows what is kept hidden in store for them of delight as a reward for what they used to do.

Having mentioned those who rejected His revelations and what He has prepared for them of punishment, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) now mentions those who believe in them and describes them and what He has prepared for them of reward:

﴾Only those believe in Our revelations﴿ that is, belief in a true sense, on the part of those who show signs of faith.

They are those who, *fwhen they are reminded of﴿ the revelations of their Lord, and the verses of the Qur’an were recited to them, and advice came to them on the lips of the Messengers of Allah, and they were called to pay heed, they would hear the message, accept it and submit to it, and they would ﴾fall down in prostration﴿ that is, they would submit and have the joy of knowing Allah.

﴾and glorify and praise their Lord, and they are not arrogant﴿; they are not arrogant either in their hearts or in their actions. Therefore they do not refrain from submitting and acting in a humble manner towardsthe revelations, for they accept them and submit to them, they feel at ease with them and surrender to them, thereby attaining the pleasure of the Most Merciful Lord, and being guided to the straight path.

﴾who forsake their bedsj﴿ that is, they leave their beds and keep away from the comfort thereof for the sake of something that is more enjoyable and dearer to them, namely prayer at night, conversing

Hence Allah says: ﴾calling upon their Lord﴿ that is, in order to attain that which will benefit them in spiritual and worldly terms, and to ward off that which will harm them

﴾with fear and hope﴿ that is, combining these two qualities, namely fear of their good deeds being rejected and hope that those deeds will be accepted; fearing the punishment of Allah and hoping for His reward.

﴾and spend out of what We have provided for them:p of sustenance, whether it be small or great. Allah does not mention how much they spend, or who the recipients are, so as to indicate that this is general in application. It includes both obligatory spending, such as zakah, expiations, and spending on wives and relatives; spending that is encouraged, such as spending on various charitable causes; and spending money in order to be kind to others in general, whether one is showing kindness to rich or poor, relatives or strangers. But the reward varies according to the extent of the benefit. This refers to their deeds.

As for the requital for their deeds, Allah says: ﴾No soul knows﴿ - this includes all souls and indicates that no soul at all knows ﴾what is kept hidden in store for them of delight﴿ namely much good, abundant blessings, joy, happiness and pleasure, as Allah has told us on the lips of His Messenger

«I have prepared for My righteous slaves that which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has it ever crossed the mind of any man.» (Bukhari and Muslim)

Just as they pray at night and call upon Him, and conceal their good deeds, Allah will reward them in a manner that matches their deeds; therefore He has concealed their reward. Hence He says: ﴾fas a reward for what they used to do﴿.

32:18. Is one who is a believer like one who is an evildoer? They are not equal.

32:19. As for those who believe and do righteous deeds, for them there will be gardens to dwell in, as a recompense for what they used to do.

32:20. As for those who rebel and disobey, their abode will be the fire; every time they want to escape from it, they will be driven back into it and it will be said to them: Taste the punishment of the fire which you used to deny!

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) draws our attention to the established principle that two different things cannot be equal, and that His wisdom dictates that they should not be equal.

(fls one who is a believer﴿ whose heart is filled with faith and he has complied fully with Allah’s laws, and his faith has left an impact on his behaviour and attitude, such as refraining from that which incurs the wrath of Allah and deeds that are detrimental to faith, ﴾like one who is an evildoer﴿ whose heart is ruined and devoid of faith, so he has no religious deterrent and therefore he hastens tocommit all kinds of sins as a result of ignorance and wrongdoing, and he turns away from obedience to Allah because of his evildoing. Can these two people be equal?

﴾They are not equals from either a rational or Islamic point of view, just as night and day, light and darkness, cannot be equal. Thus their recompense in the hereafter will not be the same.

﴾As for those who believe and do righteous deeds|°), both obligatory and supererogatory,

﴾for them there will be gardens to dwell in﴿ that is, gardens in which they will find all kinds of joy and pleasure; they will find happiness, bliss, delight, pleasure, eternal life and the sublime joy of being close to the Sovereign and gazing upon His Countenance and hearing His words.

﴾as a recompense for what they used to do'p - for their good deeds, by virtue of what Allah bestowed upon them of His grace, is what enabled them to reach those lofty places that cannot be attained by means of money or by means of troops, servants and children, or even by means of sacrificing lives. Rather they cannot be approached by means of anything at all except faith and righteous deeds.

﴾As for those who rebel and disobey, their abode will be the fire﴿ that is, their eternal abode will be the fire in which are combined all kinds of punishment and wretchedness that will never cease or give them respite for even a moment.

﴾every time they want to escape from it, they will be driven back into \t﴿ that is, every time they want to emerge from it, because the pain has reached such a high degree, they will be driven back into it. Hence they will lose any hope of relief and will become extremely distressed.

﴾and it will be said to them: Taste the punishment of the fire which you used to deny!﴿ This is the punishment of the fire, which will be their abode. As for the punishment that comes before that, it is a precursor to it; this is the punishment of al-barzakh (the periodbetween death and resurrection), which is mentioned in the following verse:

32:21. We will surely cause them to taste something of the lesser punishment before the greater punishment, so that they may turn in repentance.

That is. We will cause the evildoers and disbelievers to taste some of the lesser punishment, which is the punishment of al-barzakh. We will cause them to taste a little of it before they die, either by killing and the like, as happened to the polytheists who were slain at Badr, or at the time of death, as mentioned in the verse in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾...Ifyou [O Muhammad] could but see the evildoers when they are in the throes of death and the angels are stretching out their hands [saying]: Give up your souls! Today you will be recompensed with a humiliating punishment...﴿ (al-An'am 6: 93)

Then the lesser punishment will continue in al-barzakh.

This verse is among the evidence which proves and clearly indicates that there will be punishment in the grave, because Allah says: ﴾We will surely cause them to taste something of the lesser punishments that is, some of it and part of it. This indicates that there is a lesser punishment before the greater punishment, which is the punishment of hell.

As this taste in this world of the lesser punishment may not be immediately followed by death, Allah tells (سبحانه وتعالى) them that He willcause them to taste it in the hope that they might turn back and repent from their sins, as He says elsewhere:

﴾Corruption and disorder have appeared on land and sea because of what people’s hands have earned. Thus Allah causes them to taste the consequences of some of what they have done, so that they may turn in repentance.﴿ (ar-Room 30. 41)

32:22. And who does greater wrong than one who is reminded of the revelations of his Lord, but turns away from them? Verily We will exact retribution upon the evildoers.

That is, no one does greater wrong or commits a worse transgression than one who is reminded of the revelations of his Lord, which his Lord caused to reach him and wants to teach him and perfect His blessings to him at the hands of His Messengers, so that these revelations may instruct him, remind him of what is in his best interests, both spiritual and worldly, and forbid him to do that which is detrimental to his interests both spiritual and worldly, to which he should respond by believing, submitting and giving thanks, - but this wrongdoer responded with the opposite of what he should have done, so he did not believe in them and follow them; rather he turned away from them and ignored them. This is one of the worst of evildoers

This refers to the widespread occurrence of troubles such as drought, fires and floods, poor yield of crops, decline of fish stocks, market stagnation and difficulty in earning a living. That is because of people’s sins, including neglect and abuse of the natural environment.who deserves the most severe retribution. Hence Allah says: Verily We will exact retribution upon the evildoers﴿.

32:23. We gave Moosa the Book, so do not be in doubt concerning the receiving of it; and We made it a guide for the Children of Israel.

32:24. We made some of them leaders, guiding people by Our command, because they were patient and steadfast, and they believed with certainty in Our revelations.

32:25. Verily it is your Lord Who will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that wherein they differed.

Having mentioned His revelation by means of which He reminded His slaves - namely the Qur’an which He sent down to Muhammad (ﷺ) - Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) states that it is nothing new among the divinely-revealed scriptures, and the one who brought it is nothing extraordinary among the Messengers.

For Allah gave to Moosa the Book - namely the Torah - which confirms the Qur’an. Thus it is proven'that they are both true, and the proof of both is established,

﴾fso do not be in doubt concerning the receiving of it﴿ because there is abundant proof and evidence concerning it, and therefore there is no room for doubt.

sfand We made it﴿ namely the Book that We gave to Moosa﴾fa guide for the Children of Israel﴿ by means of which they were guided with regard to the fundamental and minor issues of their religion, and the laws that were appropriate to the Children of Israel at that time.

With regard to this noble Qur’an, Allah has made it a guide for all people, because it is guidance for humankind with regard to their religious and worldly affairs until the Day of Resurrection, because of its perfect and sublime nature:

﴾And verily it [this Qur’an] is in the Mother of the Book [al-Lawh al-Mahfoodh], with Us, sublime and full of wisdom.﴿ (az-Zukhruf43:4)

﴾We made some of them﴿ that is, some of the Children of Israel pleaders, guiding people by Our command﴿ that is, scholars of the law, teaching the path of guidance; they were themselves guided and they guided others by means of that guidance. The Book which was revealed to them was guidance, and those among them who believed in it fell into two categories: leaders who guided by Allah’s command and followers who were guided by them.

The first category was of the highest status after that of the Prophets and Messengers; theirs was the status of the strong and true in faith (siddeeq). They only attained that status by being patient in learning, teaching and calling people to Allah, and putting up with persecution in the course thereof, and by refraining from indulging in sin and giving free rein to whims and desires.

﴾fand they believed with certainty in Our revelations﴿ that is, their belief in the revelations of Allah reached the level of certainty, which is perfect knowledge that leads to action. They only attained the level of certainty because they acquired knowledge in the proper manner and based their understanding of various issues on strong evidence.

They continued to learn about different issues of religion, basing that knowledge on a great deal of evidence, until they reached that level of certainty. Positions of leadership in religion may be attained by means of patience and certainty.

There are some issues concerning which the Children of Israel differed; some of them reached the right conclusion and some of them got it wrong, deliberately or otherwise. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) ﴾will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that wherein they differed﴿. Moreover, this Qur’an tells the Children of Israel about some of the matters concerning which they differed. With regard to the differences of opinion that arose among them, if the Qur’an confirmed one of the two views concerning a matter, that view is the truth and anything contrary to it is false.

32:26. Has it not become clear to them how many nations We destroyed before them, in whose dwelling places they now walk about? Surely in that there are signs; will they not then listen?

32:27. Do they not see that We send water to barren land and We bring forth thereby crops of which their livestock and they themselves eat? Will they not then see?

That is, is it not clear to those who reject the Messenger who guides them to the truth ﴾how many nations We destroyed before them﴿ who followed the same path as them, ﴾fin whose dwelling places they now walk about﴿ and they see them with their own eyes, such as the people of Hood and Salih, and the people of Loot?

﴾Surely in that there are signs﴿ from which it may be concluded that the Messengers who came to them were true, and that the paththat they followed of polytheism and evil was false, and that whoever does the same as they did will meet the same fate as others of their ilk, and that Allah (tfe) will requite His slaves and will resurrect them on the Day of Judgement?

﴾will they not then listen﴿ to the revelations of Allah, and understand them and benefit from them? If they listened properly and understood properly, they would not persist on the path that will surely lead them to doom.

﴾Do they not see﴿ with their own eyes Our blessings and perfect wisdom? For ﴾We send water to barren land﴿ in which there is no vegetation, then Allah sends water which was not there before, either from the clouds or from rivers, ﴾and We bring forth thereby crops﴿ that is, plants of various kinds ﴾of which their livestock and they themselves eat﴿ so food is provided for both animals and humans.

﴾Will they not then see﴿ that blessing by means of which Allah revives the land and the people, so that they might contemplate and be guided by that insight to the straight path.

But they are mostly blind and heedless, so they do not see and understand as they should, rather they look at it in a heedless manner and regard it as something unremarkable, and thus they are not guided to goodness.

32:28. They say: When will this judgement come, if you are telling the truth?

32:29. Say [O Muhammad]: On the Day of Judgement, no good will it do to the disbelievers to believe then, nor will they be given any respite.

32:30. So turn away from them and wait; verily they too are waiting.

That is, the evildoers seek to hasten the punishment which they are promised, by way of disbelief, out of ignorance and stubbornness on their part.

﴾They say: When will this judgement﴿ that will decide between us and you, by punishing us, according to your claim ﴾come, if you﴿ - O Messenger - ﴾are telling the truths in your claim?

﴾Say [O Muhammad]: On the Day of Judgement﴿, on which your punishment will come, nothing will avail you at all. If it was the case that when that day comes, you could be given respite so that you might rectify your situation once you have certain faith, then there could be a point in asking when that day will happen. But when the Day of Judgement comes, the matter will have been settled and there will be no room for tests.

So ﴾no good will it do to the disbelievers to believe then﴿ because that would be faith by compulsion.

('(nor will they be given any respite﴿ that is, there will be no postponement or delay so that they might rectify the situation.

﴾So turn away from them﴿, because their words reflect such a level of ignorance, and their seeking to hasten the punishment has reached such a degree

﴾and wait﴿ and see what is going to befall them, for it is inevitable, but it has an appointed time which, when it comes, cannot be brought forward or put back.

﴾verily they too are waiting﴿ for some misfortune to befall you, but the best end is for those who fear Allah.

This is the end of the commentary on Soorat as-Sajdah.

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