34:1. Praise be to Allah to Whom belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth; to Him be praise in the hereafter, and He is the Most Wise, the All-Aware.

34:2. He knows all that goes into the earth and all that comes out of it, and all that descends from heaven and all that ascends to it, and He is the Most Merciful, the Oft-Forgiving.

﴾Praise be to Allah﴿ - hamd, translated here as ({praise﴿, refers to extolling Allah for His praiseworthy attributes and sublime deeds. To Allah be all praise, for all His attributes are praiseworthy, because they are attributes of perfection; His deeds are praiseworthy because they are either based on grace, for which He is to be praised and thanked.or they are based on justice, for which He is to be praised, and the wisdom of which is to be acknowledged and recognised.

Allah praises Himself here, because to Him ﴾belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth﴿; He owns them all and they are subservient to Him; He controls them and disposes of their affairs as He wills.

﴾to Him be praise in the hereafter﴿ because in the hereafter He will be praised and extolled in a manner that He was not praised and extolled in this world.

When Allah judges between all creatures, and people and all creatures see His verdict and recognise the perfect nature of his justice, fairness and wisdom, they will all praise Him for that, even those who are faced with punishment and are doomed to enter hell; their hearts will be filled with praise for Him, and they will acknowledge that the punishment is the outcome of their deeds and that He is just in ruling that they should be punished.

As for His praise in the realm of bliss and reward, this is something that is abundantly reported, and all the evidence - both textual and rational - attests to that. In paradise, they will see the blessings of Allah coming one after another, abundant favours and immense generosity; there will be no wish or desire in the hearts of the people of paradise but they will be given more than they wish for or desire. Indeed they will be given good things that they never thought of or wished for, and that never crossed their minds.

So how much do you think they will praise their Lord when they are in that situation, knowing that in paradise all distractions and obstacles will have vanished that kept people from knowing, loving and praising Allah, and that praising Him will be dearer to its people than all these blessings and will bring greater pleasure than all these delights?

Therefore when they see Allah (tfe) and hear His words when He addresses them, that will cause them to forget all blessings; inparadise, dhikr (remembering Allah) will be like breathing for them, and it will be ongoing, at all times.

In addition to that, for the people of paradise in paradise, that which points to the greatness, majesty, beauty and utter perfection of their Lord will be made manifest to them at all times, which will dictate that they should praise Him and extol Him in the most perfect manner.

﴾and He is the Most Wise﴿ in His dominion and control. Most Wise in His commands and prohibitions ﴾the All-Aware﴿ Who sees the secret aspects of all things.

Hence He refers to His knowledge in elaborate detail, as He says: ﴾He knows all that goes into the earth﴿ of rain, seeds and animals c-jand all that comes out of it﴿ such as all kinds of plants and animals ﴾and all that descends from heaven﴿ such as the angels, provision and decrees

﴾and all that ascends to it﴿ such as the angels, souls and so on.

Having mentioned His creation. His wisdom in controlling them, and His knowledge of their affairs, Allah now mentions His forgiveness and mercy towards them, as He says:

﴾and He is the Most Merciful, the Oft-Forgiving﴿ that is, the One of Whom mercy and forgiveness are typical, the effects of which continue to come down to His slaves at all times, according to the actions they do that are precursors to both.

34:3. Those who disbelieve say: The Hour will never come upon us. Say [O Muhammad]: Yes indeed, by my Lord, it will surely come upon you. [He is] the Knower of the unseen; not even the weight of a speck of dust, in heaven or on earth, escapes Him, nor is there anything smaller or greater than that, but it is [inscribed] in a clear record,

34:4. so that He may reward those who believe and do righteous deeds. They will have forgiveness and a generous provision.

34:5. But those who strive against Our revelations, seeking to discredit them, for such there will be a punishment of painful suffering.

Having highlighted His greatness in the way He describes Himself, which makes it imperative to venerate Him and sanctify Him, and to believe in Him, Allah now tells us that among people are some who did not give Him due recognition, and did not venerate Him as He should be venerated; rather they disbelieved in Him and denied His ability to revive the dead and bring about the Hour, and they contradicted the Messengers in that regard.

﴾Those who disbelieve﴿ in Allah and His Messengers, and what the Messengers brought ﴾say﴿, because of their disbelief

﴾The Hour will never come upon us﴿ that is, there is nothing but the life of this world; we live and we die. So Allah instructed His Messenger (ﷺ) to refute what they said and show it to be false. He swore an oath, attesting that the resurrection will surely come to them, and He presented proof for that; whoever accepts it must inevitably believe in the resurrection. That proof is the vast and all-encompassing knowledge of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).

﴾[He is] the Knower of the unseen﴿ that is, things that are hidden from our sight and from our knowledge, so how about that which is seen?

Then Allah emphasises the extent of His knowledge:

﴾not even the weight of a speck of dust, in heaven or on earth, escapes Him﴿ that is, nothing is beyond His knowledge; all things, whether as separate entities or component parts, even the smallest particles, namely atoms, are known to Him.

ffnor is there anything smaller or greater than that, but it is [inscribed] in a clear record﴿ that is, His knowledge encompasses it and His pen has written it and it is included in the clear record, namely al-Lawh al-Mahfoodh.

The One from Whose knowledge not even an atom or anything smaller than that is hidden, at all times, and He knows what the earth consumes of the dead and what remains of their bodies, is surely able to resurrect them. Resurrecting them is no stranger and is not more amazing than this all-encompassing knowledge.

Then Allah tells us of the purpose of the resurrection, as He says: ﴾so that He may reward those who believe﴿, deep down in their hearts, in Allah and His Messengers, with certain faith ﴾and do righteous deeds﴿ in confirmation of their faith. ﴾They will have forgiveness﴿ of their sins, because of their faith and good deeds, by means of which all evil and punishments will be warded off from them.

﴾and a generous provision﴿ for their having done good, by means of which they will attain all that they seek and wish for.

﴾But those who strive against Our revelations, seeking to discredit them﴿ that is, they strive against them because they disbelieve in them and seek to undermine the one who brought them and the One Who sent them down, just as they tried to challenge Him with regard to the resurrection after death.

﴾for such there will be a punishment of painful suffering﴿ that is, it will be painful to them both physically and spiritually.

34:6. Those who have been given knowledge can see that what has been revealed to you from your Lord [0 Muhammad] is the truth and that it guides to the path of the Almighty, the Praiseworthy.

Having mentioned the denial of those who denied the resurrection, and stated that they thought that what was revealed to His Messenger (ﷺ) was not true, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) now describes the situation of those among His slaves who are guided, who are the people of knowledge; they see that what Allah revealed to His Messenger (ﷺ) of the Book, and what it contains of stories of the past and news of the future is true, and whatever is contrary to it or contradicts it is false, because they have attained the level of knowledge that gives them certainty.

﴾fand﴿ they also see that in what it enjoins and forbids ﴾it guides to the path of the Almighty, the Praiseworthy﴿. That is because they are certain of the truth of what the Qur’an says, for the following reasons:

• Because they know of the sincerity of the one who brought it.

• Because it is in accordance with what really happened and with the previous Books.

• Because of what they see with their own eyes of things that happened exactly as the Qur’an foretold.

• Because of what they see of great signs on the horizons and in their own selves that confirm the truthfulness of the message.

• Because it is in accordance with what is indicated by the names and attributes of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).

In its commands and prohibitions they see that it guides to the straight path, enjoining every practice that purifies the soul, brings reward and benefits the doer and others, such as honesty, sincerity.honouring parents, upholding ties of kinship, treating all people kindly, and so on; and it forbids all abhorrent characteristics that are spiritually damaging, nullify reward and bring a burden of sin, such as ascription of partners to Allah, fornication and adultery, usury, and wronging people with regard to their physical well-being, wealth and honour.

This is indicative of the virtue of people of knowledge. The more knowledge a person has and the more he believes in what the Messenger (jig) brought, and the greater his knowledge of the rulings, commands and prohibitions, the more he will be one of the people of knowledge whom Allah has made proof, testifying to the soundness of what the Messenger (ﷺ) brought, and through them Allah will establish proof against the stubborn disbelievers, as we see in this verse and elsewhere.

34:7. Those who disbelieve say: Shall we point out to you a man^{1When visitors to Makkah asked about the Prophet (3||), Quraysh would make comments such as this by way of ridicule and trying to put people off approaching him and listening to his message.} who will tell you that, when you have disintegrated completely and become scattered [like dust], you will be created anew?

34:8. Does he fabricate lies against Allah, or is there madness in him? Nay, it is those who do not believe in the hereafter whowill be subjected to punishment and they are straying far into error.

34:9. Do they not see what lies before them and what lies behind them of heaven and earth?^{2In other words: do these disbelievers not realise that wherever they go, if they look around them they will see Allah’s earth and heaven encompassing them in all directions? So that should deter them from rejecting His signs lest He order the earth to swallow them or the sky to fall on them in pieces. (at-Tabari)} If We so willed. We could cause the earth to swallow them up, or cause pieces of the sky to fall upon them.^{3This refers to a punishment coming from above, such as that which was sent upon the dwellers of the Wood (mentioned in Soorat ash-Shu'ara'), to whom Shu'ayb was sent, when they rejected his message and demanded that he cause pieces of the sky to fall upon them (26:187), and they were overtaken by the punishment of the day of the overshadowing cloud (26:} Surely in that there is a sign for every slave who turns to Allah in repentance.

﴾Those who disbelieve say﴿ by way of disbelief, ridicule and finding it unlikely, stating why they find it unlikely. They say to one another:

﴾Shall we point out to you a man who will tell you that, when you have disintegrated completely and become scattered [like dust], you will be created anew?﴿ They were referring to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), saying that he was a man who had come up with a very strange idea, such that he had become - according to them - a spectacle to be pointed out to people and something very strange to be mocked, for how could he say “you will be resurrected” after you have disintegrated, and your remains have scattered and disappeared?

In other words, they were saying: does this man who brought this message ﴾fabricate lies against Allah]?? Does he have the audacity to do and say a thing, or ﴾is there madness in him]?? In which case itis nothing strange, because insanity is of various kinds and anything could be expected of a madman.

All of this attitude and behaviour on their part is indicative of their stubbornness and wrongdoing. They knew for sure that he was the most sincere and truthful of Allah’s creation, and the most mature in thinking, and because they knew that, they did their utmost to oppose him, making a great deal of effort and spending a great deal of wealth in order to turn people away from him. If he had been a liar and insane, it would not be appropriate for you - O rational yet evil people - to listen to what he says or to pay attention to his call, because it is not appropriate for a rational person to pay attention to anyone who is insane or to take what he says seriously.

Were it not for your stubbornness and wrongdoing, you would have hastened to respond to him and accept his call,

﴾...But neither signs nor warnings are of any avail to people who will not believe.﴿ (Yoonus 10: 101)

Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) said:

﴾Nay, it is those who do not believe in the hereafter﴿, including those who say these words, ﴾who will be subjected to punishment and they are straying far into error﴿ that is, into great doom and extreme misguidance, that is not even close to what is right and correct.

What doom and misguidance could be worse than their denial that Allah is able to bring about resurrection, their rejection and ridicule of His Messenger (jig) who brought this message, and their certainty that what they are following is the truth, on the basis of which they see truth as falsehood, and falsehood and misguidance as truth and guidance.

Then Allah draws their attention to the rational evidence which indicates that the resurrection is not unlikely, even if they deem it so, and that if they were to look at what is in front of them andbehind them of the heavens and the earth, they would recognise the might and power of Allah in the creation thereof, which would dazzle their minds, and prominent people of knowledge are astounded by its greatness. The creation of the heavens and the earth, with their greatness and all that they contain of created things, is greater than the resurrection of people from their graves after they die. So what made them reject the idea of the resurrection whilst believing in something greater than it? Indeed that is something that is unseen until now; they have not seen it, and that is why they did not believe in it.

﴾If We so willed, We could cause the earth to swallow them up, or cause pieces of the sky to fall upon them﴿ that is, as a punishment, because the earth and the sky are under Our control, and if We were to command them to do something, they would not disobey. So beware of persisting in your disbelief, lest We punish you severely.

﴾Surely in that﴿ that is, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and all that they contain of created things

﴾there is a sign for every slave who turns to Allah in repentance﴿.

The more a person turns to Allah in repentance, the more he will benefit from the great signs, because the one who repents and turns to his Lord focuses with all his heart and aspirations on his Lord, and turns to Him in all his affairs. Thus he becomes close to his Lord and has no concern or interest except to strive to please Him. So when he looks at created beings, it is in order to reflect and learn, not with heedlessness in a manner that is of no benefit.

34:10. Indeed We bestowed favours upon Dawood, [saying]: O mountains, echo his [glorification of Allah], and you too, O birds! And We made iron malleable for him,

34:11. [saying]: Make full-length coats of mail, forging links of proper measure.^{1That is, striking a balance, when making the links or rings of mail, between offering adequate protection and being sufficiently light so as not to hamper movement in the battlefield.} And [O family of Dawood], do righteous deeds, for verily I see well all that you do.

That is, and We blessed Our slave and Messenger Dawood (عليه السلام), giving Him abundant beneficial knowledge, enabling him to do righteous deeds, and bestowing spiritual and worldly blessings upon him. Among the blessings that Allah bestowed upon him is what He granted him exclusively, such as His issuing commands to inanimate things, such as mountains, as well as animate beings such as birds, to echo his glorification of Allah (and repeat after him his words of glorification and praise). As this was a great blessing that was unique to him, and no one shared it with him, before or since, this motivated him and others to glorify Allah, when they saw those inanimate objects and animate beings reiterating words of glorification of their Lord, praising and magnifying Him.

Another example of the blessings bestowed upon Dawood (عليه السلام), as many of the scholars have stated, was the voice of Dawood, for Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) had given him a beautiful voice that surpassed all others. When he recited words of glorification and praise in that melodious and moving voice, everyone who heard it rejoiced in it, both human and jinn, and even birds and mountains, and they glorified and praised their Lord.

Perhaps it was so that he could attain the reward of their glorification of Allah, because he was the cause of it and they were following him in glorifying Allah.

Another aspect of Allah’s bounty towards him was that He made iron malleable for him, so that he could make full-length coats of mail, and He taught him how to make them, by forging links of proper measure; in other words, he made the links of a certain size, according to a particular design, then he put them together so that they were interlinked. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾ And We taught him the art of making coats of mail for your benefit, to protect you in battle. Will you then be grateful?﴿ (al-Anbiya’21: 80) Having mentioned the favours that He bestowed upon him and his family, Allah instructed them to give thanks to Him, and to do righteous deeds and remember that Allah is always watching, by ensuring that those deeds were done in the proper manner and by protecting them from anything that could spoil them, for He sees all that they do and is constantly watching them, and nothing is hidden from Him.

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34:12. And for Sulayman [We subjugated] the wind; it would cover the distance of a month’s journey in the morning and a month’s journey in the evening. We caused a spring of molten brass to flow for him, and there were some of the jinn who worked for him, by his Lord's leave; whoever among them disobeyed Ourcommand. We will cause him to taste the punishment of the raging fire.

34:13. They made for him whatever he wanted of lofty structures, images, basins as large as reservoirs, and [cooking] cauldrons fixed [in their places].^{1The basins and cauldrons were for the preparation and serving of a large amount of food.} Strive [in doing righteous deeds], O family of Dawood, in gratitude. But few of My slaves are grateful.

34:14. Then, when We decreed Sulayman’s death, nothing made them aware of his death except a creature of the earth that ate away at his staff. When he fell down, the jinn realised that, if they had truly had knowledge of the unseen, they would not have had to continue their demeaning labour.

Having mentioned His bounty to Dawood (عليه السلام), Allah now tells us of His bounty to his son Sulayman (عليه السلام); Allah subjugated the wind and made it of service to him, so that it would blow by his command and carry him and everything he had with him, and would cover huge distances in a short time, so that it was possible to travel a distance of two months’journey in a single day.

﴾it would cover the distance of a month’s journey in the morning﴿ that is, from the beginning of the day until midday ﴾and a month’s journey in the evening﴿ that is, from midday until the end of the day.

﴾We caused a spring of molten brass to flow for him﴿ that is, We made a spring of molten brass to be of service to him, and We made available to him means of producing vessels and other things from it.

Allah also subjugated the devils and the jinn to him, so that they were not able to disobey his commands; ﴾whoever among them disobeyed Our command. We will cause him to taste the punishment of the raging fire﴿.

They made everything that Sulayman wanted them to make, ﴾of lofty structures, images﴿ that is, images of animals and inanimate objects, because they were skilled in that and were able to do it. They also made for Sulayman ﴾basins as large as reservoirs﴿ that is, large pools, in which they made food for Sulayman, because he needed what others did not

﴾and﴿ they made for him ﴾[cooking] cauldrons fixed [in their places]﴿; they could not be moved from their places because they were so big.

Having mentioned the blessings that He bestowed upon them, Allah commanded them to give thanks to Him:

﴾Strive [in doing righteous deeds], O family of Dawood﴿ this includes Dawood, his children and his family, because the blessings were bestowed upon all of them, and many of those blessings benefitted all of them.

﴾in gratitude﴿ to Allah for what He had given them.

﴾But few of My slaves are grateful﴿ that is, most of them do not give thanks to Allah for what He bestows upon them of His blessings and what He wards off from them of harm.

Gratitude means acknowledging in one’s heart the blessings of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), expressing one’s need for them when receiving them, using them in obedience to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), and refraining from using them in wrongful ways by disobeying Him.

The devils continued working for Sulayman (عليه السلام), building all kinds of structures. They had deceived people by telling them that they had knowledge of the unseen and could see what was hidden. Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) wanted to show people that the devils were lying, so they continued working and Allah caused Sulayman (عليه السلام) to die when he was leaning on his stick or staff; so when they passed by him as he was leaning on it, they thought he was alive, and they feared him. They continued working like that for an entire year, according to what was said, until a creature of the earth came to his stick andkept eating away at it until it broke and fell, then Sulayman (عليه السلام) fell down; the devils scattered and it became clear to the people that if the jinn t﴾had truly had knowledge of the unseen, they would not have had to continue their demeaning labour﴿, which was this work that was difficult for them. If they had had knowledge of the unseen, they would have known of the death of Sulayman, which was something they were very keen for, so that they could escape their situation.

34:15. There was a sign for [the people of| Saba’ in their dwelling place: two gardens, one on the right and one on the left. [It was said to them:] Eat of what your Lord has provided for you, and give thanks to Him; bountiful is your land and oft-forgiving is your Lord.

34:16. But they turned away, so We sent against them a severe flood, and replaced their two gardens with two others yielding bitter fruit, and tamarisks, and a few wild lote-trees.

34:17. Thus We punished them for their ingratitude; would We punish any but those who are ungrateful?

34:18. Between them and the cities which We had blessed. We placed [a chain of] towns, within sight of one another, and We made the distances between them convenient for the travellers: Travel through them by night and day in safety.

34:19. But they said: Our Lord, make the stages of our journeys longer,^{1That was because they grew bored with their life of ease and wanted adventure; this is similar to the attitude of the Israelites, when Allah blessed them with the manna and quails, but they tired of that food and demanded garlic, onions, cucumbers and so on.} and they wronged themselves thereby. So We made them into cautionary tales and dispersed them in all directions. Surely in that there are signs for every steadfastly patient and deeply thankful person.

34:20. Iblees found his expectations^{2That is, he had expected that he would be able to mislead them, as he said: «[...By Your might, I will certainly mislead them all, except Your chosen [and sincere] slaves among them.]» (Sad 38: 82-83)} concerning them to be correct, for they all followed him, except for a group of believers.

34:21. But he had no authority^{3Iblees has no power to compel people to follow him, or any sound argument to convince them to do so; all he can do is whisper to them and make falsehood attractive and fair-seeming to them.} over them, except [what was given to him] for the purpose that We might distinguish those who believe in the hereafter from those who are in doubt about it. For your Lord watches over all things.

Saba’ was a well-known tribe near Yemen; their homeland was a region called Ma’rib.

One of the favours and kindnesses that Allah bestowed upon people in general, and the Arabs in particular, was that in the Qur’an, Hetold the stories of nations who were doomed and punished who had lived in the vicinity of the Arabs, and whose ruins could be seen, and people were familiar with their stories which they told to one another. That made it easier for people to believe these stories and made them more effective as a reminder. Hence Allah said:

﴾There was a sign for [the people of] Saba’ in their dwelling placed that is, the place where they lived. The sign in this case was what Allah had bestowed upon them of blessings and what He had warded off from them of calamities. That required them to worship Allah alone and give thanks to Him.

Then He explained what the sign was: ﴾two gardens, one on the right and one on the left﴿. They had a great valley that received a lot of rainfall, which resulted in abundant streams, springs and so on, and they had built a strong dam in order to collect the water. So when the rains came, they would gather a huge amount of water, which they would distribute to their gardens, which were on the right and the left of that valley. Those two huge gardens yielded fruits and crops that sufficed them and brought them a great deal of joy. Hence Allah commanded them to give thanks for the many blessings that He had bestowed upon them, including the following:

• Those two gardens that provided most of their food.

• Allah made their land bountiful because of its good climate, which was not unhealthy; and because of the bountiful provision that the land produced, Allah promised them, if they showed gratitude to Him, that He would forgive them and have mercy on them. Hence He said: ﴾bountiful is your land and oft-forgiving is your Lord﴿.

• Because Allah knew that for their trade and livelihood they needed to reach a blessed land - what appears to be the case is that it was the outskirts of Sanaa, which was the view of more than one of the early generation, although it was also suggested that it was ash-Sham (Greater Syria) - He preparedfor them the means that helped them to reach that land with ease and safely, with no fear. There was a chain of towns between them and that land, so that they did not need to go to the trouble of carrying provisions and supplies with them as they travelled.

Hence Allah says: ﴾Between them and the cities which We had blessed, We placed [a chain of] towns, within sight of one another, and We made the distances between them convenient for the travellers﴿ that is, distances that they knew well and could plan their journeys accordingly, so that they would not lose their way ﴾Travel through them by night and day in safety﴿ that is, safe and secure during those nights and days, not fearing anything. This was part of the perfect blessing that Allah bestowed upon them, which is that He made them safe from fear.

But they turned away from the Bestower of those blessings and from worshipping Him alone, and they took the blessing for granted and got bored of it, to the extent that they wished that the distances between those towns, between which travelling was so easy, would be longer.

﴾and they wronged themselves thereby﴿ by disbelieving in Allah and being ungrateful for His blessings. Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) punished them by taking away and destroying the blessing that had made them arrogant. He sent against them a severe flood that destroyed their dam and ruined their gardens.

Hence those gardens that had been filled with beautiful plants and fruit-bearing trees were destroyed and replaced with trees in which there was no benefit. Allah says: ﴾and replaced their two gardens with two others yielding bitter fruit﴿ that is, something that produced little food, that was not sufficient to meet their needs ﴾and tamarisks, and a few wild lote-trees﴿ all of these are well-known trees, which matched their misdeeds.

Just as they replaced gratitude with ingratitude, those blessings were replaced with the things mentioned. Hence Allah says: f﴾Thus We punished them for their ingratitude; would We punish any but those who are ungrateful?﴿ That is, would We requite in the sense of punishing any but those who are ungrateful to Allah and take His blessings for granted?

When that punishment befell them, they scattered in all directions after having been all together, and Allah made them a story that was told and a tale to be told at night. They became an example and a proverb, whereby people would say “They scattered like Saba’”, and everyone would talk about what happened to them.

But no one learned a lesson from them except those whom Allah referred to when He said: ﴾Surely in that there are signs for every steadfastly patient and deeply thankful person﴿, who bears with patience the hardships and difficulties that he endures for the sake of Allah, and does not show discontent; rather he bears it with patience and gratefully acknowledges the blessings of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), praising the One Who bestowed them and uses them in obedience to Him.

If such a person hears their story, how they acted and what happened to them, he realises that this punishment was requital for their ingratitude for Allah’s blessings, and that whoever acts like them will meet the same fate. And he will realise that gratitude to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) protects the blessing and wards off the punishment; and that the Messengers of Allah told the truth and that the requital is true, as he has seen examples of it in this world.

Then Allah tells us that the people of Saba’ were among those concerning whom Iblees found his expectations to be correct, when he said to his Lord:

ef...By Your might, I will certainly mislead them all, except Your chosen [and sincere] slaves among them.﴿ (Sad 38: 82-83)

This expectation on the part of Iblees was not certain knowledge, because he did not know the unseen and no news had come to him from Allah that he would mislead them all, with some exceptions.

These people, and others like them, were among those concerning whom he found his expectations to be correct, whom he called and tempted, ﴾for they all followed him, except for a group of believers﴿ who were among those who were not ungrateful for the blessings of Allah; they were not included in those expectations of Iblees.

It may be that the story of Saba’ ends with the words ﴾Surely in that there are signs for every steadfastly patient and deeply thankful person﴿, then a new idea begins with the words ﴾Iblees found his expectations concerning them to be correct﴿, referring to humanity as a whole, in which case the verse is general in meaning and refers to everyone who followed Iblees.

Then Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾But he﴿ namely Iblees ﴾had no authority over them﴿ that is, he had no control or power over them to force them to do whatever he wanted. But the divine wisdom decreed that he should have some power and influence over the children of Adam.

﴾except [what was given to him] for the purpose that We might distinguish those who believe in the hereafter from those who are in doubt about it﴿ that is, so that there would be a test and it might be known who is sincere and who is lying, whose faith is real and steadfast in the face of trials and tests, and when devilish specious arguments are put forth, and whose faith is not steadfast and will be shaken by the slightest specious argument and will falter at the merest call to the opposite. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has made this a test by means of which He tries his slaves and distinguishes the bad from the good.

﴾For your Lord watches over all things﴿ - He is watching over His slaves and their deeds, and He takes care of the requital thereof, for He will requite them in full for all that they do.

34:22. Say: Call on those whom you claim [to be gods] besides Allah. They do not have even an atom’s weight of power in the heavens or on earth, nor have they any share in either of them, nor is any of them a helper to Allah.

34:23. No intercession will be of any avail before Him, except for those for whom He permits intercession. [They will wait in fear and trepidation for that permission to be granted] until, when the fear has been lifted from their hearts, they will say: What did your Lord say? They will say: The truth, and He is the Most High, the Most Great.

﴾﴾Say﴿﴿ O Messenger, to those who associate with Allah created beings that cannot bring any benefit or do any harm, giving them compelling proof that those beings are helpless and explaining to them the invalidity of worshipping them:

﴾Call on those whom you claim [to be gods] besides Allah﴿ that is, those whom you claim are partners to Allah, if your calling upon them will be of any benefit, because they are helpless in all aspects and cannot answer your supplication at all.

They do not have the least power, for they ﴾fdo not have even an atom’s weight of power in the heavens or on earth﴿, either independently of Allah or in partnership with Him. Hence He says: ﴾nor have they﴿ namely those so-called gods of yours﴾any share in either of them﴿ that is, either in the heavens or the earth; they have no share, small or great, and they have no power or share of power.

But there is another argument which says that despite that, they could still be helpers and advisers to the Sovereign, so calling upon them may be of benefit, because - as the Sovereign needs their help - they could meet the needs of those who are connected to them. But Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) rules out this idea of them being helpers or advisers, as He says:

﴾nor is any of them﴿ that is, these objects of worship ﴾a helper to Allah(سبحانه وتعالى), the One, the Subduer; that is, none of them is a supporter or adviser who helps Him in ruling and controlling the affairs of the universe.

So there is nothing left but the idea of intercession, which Allah rules out by saying:

﴾No intercession will be of any avail before Him, except for those for whom He permits intercession﴿. These are the reasons why the polytheists are attached to their rivals and idols, be they humans, trees or anything else. So Allah explained that these reasons are baseless, so as to leave no excuse or argument for believing in the ascription of partners to Him, and so as to rule out this idea completely.

As the polytheist only calls upon and worships something other than Allah because of benefits that he hopes to gain from it, and this hope is what led him to ascribe partners to Allah, if what he calls upon besides Allah has no power to bring benefits or cause harm, and he has no share with the Sovereign, and is not a helper or supporter to the Sovereign, and cannot intercede without the permission of the Sovereign, then this call and this worship constitutes misguidance, according to rational thinking, and it is false and invalid according to religious teaching.

In fact the one who ascribes partners to Allah will get the opposite of what he is seeking, for what he is seeking by this means is benefit.But Allah highlights the invalidity of his belief and explains that it will be of no benefit. In other verses, He highlights the harm that the object of worship will do to its worshippers, for on the Day of Resurrection they will disavow one another and curse one another, and the destination of all of them will be the fire:

﴾When humankind are gathered [on the Day of Resurrection], they will become their enemies and will reject their worship of them.﴿

What is truly strange is that the polytheist is too arrogant to submit to the Messengers on the grounds that they are mere humans, yet he accepts to worship and call upon trees and rocks. He is too arrogant to be sincere to the Sovereign, the Most Gracious, the Judge, yet he agrees to worship that which is more likely to do him harm, in obedience to his bitterest enemy, namely the Shaytan.

f[[They will wait in fear and trepidation for that permission to be granted] until, when the fear has been lifted from their hearts, they will say: What did your Lord say? [The intercessors] will say: The truth, and He is the Most High, the Most Great.﴿

It may be the case that the pronoun here refers to the polytheists, because the context is speaking of them, and the usual guideline is that the pronoun refers to that which was mentioned most recently.

In that case what is meant is: on the Day of Resurrection, when the fear is removed from the hearts of the polytheists and they are asked, when they regain their senses, about how they were in this world and about their rejection of the truth that was brought by the Messengers, they will affirm that what they followed of disbelief and polytheism was false, and that what Allah said, and what His Messengers said about Him, was the truth. Thus what they used to hide before will become apparent, and they will know that truth (divinity) belongs to Allah alone (cf. 28: 75), and they will acknowledge their sins.

﴾and He is the Most High﴿ in His essence, above all of His creation, and He subdues them; and He is Most High in His status, for to Him belong the most sublime attributes.

﴾the Most Great﴿ in His essence and attributes. Part of His being the Most High is that His ruling supersedes all, and all souls are subjugated to Him, even the souls of the arrogant and of those who ascribe partners to Him.

This meaning is more likely to be correct, and it is what is indicated by the text.

Or it may be the case that the pronoun refers to the angels, meaning that when Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) spoke the words of revelation, the angels heard it and swooned, and fell down in prostration to Allah. Then the first one to raise his head was Jibreel, to whom Allah speaks and reveals to him whatever He wants to reveal. Then when the angels recover and the fear in their hearts subsides, they ask one another about the word at which they swooned: What did your Lord say? Then they tell one another: He said the truth - either in general terms, because they know that He does not say anything but the truth, or they say: He said such and such - mentioning the words that they heard from Him, which are true.

In this case, the meaning would be: the polytheists worshipped those gods alongside Allah, whose incapability and imperfection We have described to you, for they cannot offer any benefit whatsoever; how could they turn away from devoting their worship sincerely to the Almighty Lord, the Most High, the Most Great, because of Whose greatness and majesty the humility of the noble angels and those of His creation who are near to Him, reaches such a level that they swoon when they hear His words, and they all affirm that Allah speaks nothing but the truth?

So what is wrong with these polytheists that they are too arrogant to worship the One Who is of such high status. Whose dominion andpower are so great? Exalted be the Most High, the Most Great, above the ascription of partners, fabrications and lies of the polytheists.

34:24. Say: Who provides for you from the heaven and the earth? Say: It is Allah; and verily either we or you are rightly guided or clearly misguided.

34:25. Say: You will not be questioned about our misdeeds and we will not be questioned about what you do.

34:26. Say: Our Lord will gather us all together, then He will judge between us in truth, for He is the All-Knowing Judge.

34:27. Say: Show me those whom you have joined with Him as partners. No indeed [there are no such partners at all]! He is Allah [the only God], the Almighty, the Most Wise.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) instructs His Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) to say to those who ascribe partners to Allah, asking them about the argument for their ascription of partners to Him:

﴾Who provides for you from the heaven and the earth?﴿ They will inevitably say that it is Allah.

But if they do not affirm it, then ﴾Say: It is Allah﴿, for you will not find anyone who will reject this idea. Once it is clear that it is Allah alone Who provides for you from the heavens and the earth, sendingdown to you the rain and bringing forth plants for you, causing rivers to flow and causing trees to bear fruits for you, and He has given you all kinds of animals for your benefit and provision, then why do you worship besides Him those who do not provide anything for you and do not bring you any benefit?

﴾and verily either we or you are rightly guided or clearly misguided﴿ that is, one of the two groups, either us or you, is guided, following true guidance, or is clearly misguided, sinking in misguidance. These words could be said by one to whom the truth is clear and he is certain of the truth that he is following, and of the falsehood of what his opponent is following.

In other words, we have established, on the basis of clear proof, what we have and what you have, by means of which it is known for certain, beyond any doubt, who is in the right and who is at fault, who is guided and who is misguided, to the extent that there is no need to point out who is in the right or otherwise after that.

If you compare the one who calls to the worship of the Creator of all created beings - Who is controlling them and directing them in all ways, the Bestower of all blessings. Who grants them provision, causes all blessings to reach them and wards off all kinds of trouble from them, to Whom belong all praise and dominion, and all the angels and those below them submit to His majesty, humbling themselves before His greatness, and all intercessors fear Him, for none can intercede with Him except by His leave, the Most High, the Most Great in His essence, attributes and deeds, to Whom belong all perfection, majesty and beauty, all praise and glory - and calls people to strive to draw near to One Who is like that, and to strive sincerely for His sake, and tells people not to worship anything other than Him, with the one who seeks to draw near to idols, statues and graves that do not create anything or grant any provision, that have no control over themselves or over those who worship them, and have no power to bring benefit or cause harm, or to cause death, give life or resurrect.rather they are inanimate, unable to think or hear the supplication of the worshippers, and if they did hear it they would not respond to them, and on the Day of Resurrection they will reject their ascription of them as partners to Allah and will disavow them, and they (the worshippers and their objects of worship) will curse one another, and they have no share in dominion and cannot help them or intercede for them with Allah, so he is calling upon one who is like that, trying to draw as close to him as he can, taking as his enemy and fighting those who devote their worship to Allah alone, rejecting the Messengers of Allah who taught sincerity to Allah alone...

...It will become clear to you which of the two groups is guided and which is misguided, which is blessed and which is doomed, and there will be no need to explain that to you, because describing the situation is clearer than making a statement.

﴾Say'p to them: ﴾You will not be questioned about our misdeeds and we will not be questioned about what you doji﴿ that is, both we and you have our own deeds. You ﴾will not be questioned﴿ about our misdeeds or sins, if we commit sin, and we ﴾will not be questioned﴿ about your deeds. So let the aim of both us and you be to seek the facts and follow the path of fair-mindedness. Forget about what we used to do, for that should not hinder you from following the truth, for rulings in this world are based on what one sees, and with regard to these rulings, truth should be followed and falsehood should be avoided. As for the deeds, there will be another realm in which the most just of those who judge will judge them and will settle all disputes. Hence Allah says:

﴾Say: Our Lord will gather us all together, then He will judge between usj﴿ that is, He will pass judgement between us, by which it will become clear who is sincere and who is lying, who is deserving of reward and who is deserving of punishment, for He is the best of judges.

SjSayji to them, O Messenger - and whoever follows in his footsteps (in calling people to Allah):﴾Show me those whom you have joined with Him as partners﴿ that is, where are they? Where is the way to know them? Are they on earth or in heaven? The Knower of the unseen and the seen has told us that no such partner exists:

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

- and:

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

Similarly, the elite of His creation, namely the Prophets and Messengers, do not know of any partner for Him. So, O polytheists, show me those whom you have falsely associated with Allah ﴾as partners﴿.

They cannot answer this question, hence Allah says: ﴾fNo indeed﴿ that is, Allah has no partner, no rival, no counterpart; rather ﴾He is Allah [the only God]﴿ and none is deserving of devotion and worship except Him.

﴾the Almighty﴿ Who subjugates all things, so everything other than Him is subjugated, subdued and under control.

﴾the Most Wise﴿ Who perfected all that He created, and perfected what He prescribed of rules and regulations. If there was nothing that He prescribed in His wisdom except that He enjoined affirming His oneness and showing devotion to Him alone, and He loves that and has made it the way of salvation, and has forbidden the ascription of partners to Him and taking other gods besides Him, and has made that the path that leads to loss and doom, that would be sufficient proof of His perfect wisdom. So what do you think, when we know that everything that He has enjoined and forbidden is based on wisdom?V _a^=’

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34:28. We have not sent you [O Muhammad] but as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner to all humankind, but most people do not realise,

34:29. And they say: When will this promise come to pass, if you speak the truth?

34:30. Say: There has been appointed for you a day which you will not be able to delay for a single moment or bring forward.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that He only sent His Messenger (ﷺ) to bring glad tidings to all people of the reward of Allah, and to tell them of the deeds that earn this reward and to warn them of the punishment of Allah and to tell them of the deeds that incur His punishment. You (O Prophet [3||]) have no control over the matter, and whatever the stubborn disbelievers demand from you of signs, it is not your role to produce it; rather the matter is in the Hand of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).

﴾but most people do not realise﴿ that is, they have no sound knowledge; rather they are either ignorant or stubborn, so they do not act upon their knowledge and hence it is as if they have no knowledge. As a result of not having knowledge, they decided that they should reject his call, because the Messenger (ﷺ) did not respond to what they demanded of signs.

Among the demands they made was their demand that he should hasten for them the punishment of which he warned them. Hence Allah says:

﴾And they say: When will this promise come to pass, if you speak the truth?﴿ This is unfair on their part, for what connection is therebetween him being truthful and his saying when it will happen? Can this be anything but rejection of the truth, foolishness and lack of reason? If one who warns about some imminent worldly danger goes to people who know that he is sincere and honest, and they have an enemy that is waiting for an opportunity to attack them and is preparing to do so, and he tells them: I have seen your enemy marching towards you, aiming to attack you and eradicate you, - if some of them were to say: If you are telling the truth, tell us what time they will reach us and where they are now - would the one who says that be regarded as rational, or would he be deemed foolish and crazy?

That is the case when the one who tells that news may be telling the truth or may be lying; perhaps he saw someone else who was not the enemy, or the enemy may lose their resolve and not attack them, or they may have the power to defend themselves. So how about those who disbelieved the most truthful of people, the one who was infallible in what he said, who did not speak on the basis of his own whims and desires, who spoke of the punishment which was certain and cannot be warded off, and no one can help against it? Is not their rejection of what he told them, on the grounds that the warner could not tell them clearly when it would happen, one of the most foolish things to do?

﴾Say﴿ to them, telling them of the time when it will happen, concerning which there is no doubt: ﴾There has been appointed for you a day which you will not be able to delay for a single moment or bring forward﴿. So beware of that day, and prepare for it.bii»rj sjliljl [)]; 1^-1) 'j'ji* J*1 -Oil,. jiyL& fcJJXi

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34:31. Those who disbelieve say: We will never believe in this Qur’an or in any scripture that came before it. If you could but see the wrongdoers when they will be made to stand before their Lord, hurling reproaches at one another. Those who were regarded as weak will say to those who were arrogant: Had it not been for you, we would have been believers.

34:32. Those who were arrogant will say to those who were regarded as weak: Was it we who prevented you from following right guidance after it had come to you? Nay, rather you yourselves were given to evil.

34:33. Those who were regarded as weak will say to those who were arrogant: Rather it was your efforts to deceive us, by night and by day, for you commanded us to disbelieve in Allah and set up rivals to Him. They will conceal their remorse, when they see the punishment, and We will place iron collars on the necks of those who disbelieved. Should they be requited for anything other than what they used to do?

Having mentioned the time for the punishment of those who seek to hasten the punishment, which will inevitably come on the day appointed for it, here Allah mentions how they will be on that day: If you could see how they will be when they stand before their Lord, when the leaders and those who followed them in disbelief and misguidance are gathered together, you would see something momentous and terrifying, and you would see how they will argue with one another and hurl reproaches at one another.

﴾Those who were regarded as weak﴿ namely the followers ﴾will say to those who were arrogant﴿ namely the leaders:

﴾Had it not been for you, we would have been believers﴿, but you prevented us from believing and made disbelief fair-seeming to us, so we followed you therein. What they will mean by saying that is that the punishment should be only for the leaders, and not for them.

﴾Those who were arrogant will say to those who were regarded as weak﴿, expressing amazement and stating that they are all equally guilty:

﴾Was it we who prevented you from following right guidance after it had come to you?﴿ That is, by virtue of our power and strength, by means of which we compelled you.

﴾Nay, rather you yourselves were given to evil﴿ that is, you chose to commit evil; you were not compelled to do so. Even though we made it fair-seeming to you, we had no power over you.

﴾Those who were regarded as weak will say to those who were arrogant: Rather it was your efforts to deceive us, by night and by day, for you commanded us to disbelieve in Allah and set up rivals to Him﴿ that is, the reason why you impacted us and misguided us was your efforts to deceive us by night and by day, for you made disbelief attractive to us and called us to it, telling us that it was the truth, and you criticised the truth, made it look bad and claimed that it was falsehood; you kept up your efforts and your scheming against us until you misled us and deceived us.

But this argument between them will not lead to any good outcome; rather they will disavow one another and feel deep regret. Hence Allah says:

﴾They will conceal their remorse, when they see the punishment﴿ that is, they will realise that the argument that they tried to use against one another in order to be saved from the punishment is invalid and that they are all wrongdoers who deserve punishment. Hence each one of them will be filled with deep remorse and will wish that hehad followed the truth and rejected the falsehood that brought him to this punishment. But each one will keep this regret to himself, for fear of scandal and shame if he admits that he deserves it.

However, at some stage on the Day of Resurrection, and when they are admitted to hell, they will express that regret and remorse openly; ﴾On that day, the wrongdoer will bite on his hands and say: Would that I had taken a path with the Messenger. Alas for me! Would that I had not taken So-and-so as a friend! He led me astray from the Reminder [the Qur’an] after it had come to me... )) (al-Furqan 25:27-29) ﴾And they will say: If only we had listened or understood, we would not be among the inhabitants of the raging fire. Thus they will acknowledge their sin. So away with the inhabitants of the raging

﴾and We will place iron collars on the necks of those who disbelieved﴿ that is, they will be chained up like a prisoner who is to be humiliated in the place of his detention. This is like the verse in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

((...But they will come to know [the consequences of their deeds] when, with iron collars and chains around their necks, they are dragged into the scalding water, then they will be burned in the fire.﴿ (Ghafir

﴾Should they be requited﴿ with that punishment and those heavy chains ﴾for anything other than what they used to do﴿ of disbelief, evil and sin?

34:34. We never sent any warner to a city but its affluent ones said:

Verily we disbelieve in that with which you have been sent.

34:35. They said: We are more abundant in wealth and children, and we are not going to be punished.

34:36. Say: Verily my Lord grants abundant provision to whomever He wills, or gives it in scant measure, but most people do not know.

34:37. It is not your wealth or your children that bring you nearer to Us; but those who believe and do righteous deeds - it is they who will have a multiple reward for their deeds, and they will dwell secure in the high places in paradise.

34:38. But those who strive against Our revelations, seeking to discredit them, it is they who will be delivered up for punishment.

34:39. Say: Verily my Lord grants abundant provision to whomever He wills among His slaves, or gives it in scant measure. Whatever you spend. He will compensate for it, for He is the best of providers.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) describes the fate of previous nations who disbelieved in the Messengers; it is like the fate that awaits the current audience (namely Quraysh) who disbelieve in their Messenger Muhammad When Allah sent a Messenger to a city, its affluent inhabitants disbelieved in him and became insolent and arrogant because of their life of ease.

﴾They said: We are more abundant in wealth and children﴿-) than those who follow the truth.﴾and we are not going to be punished﴿ that is: firstly, we will not be resurrected, and even if we are resurrected, then the One Who gave us wealth and children in this world will give us more than that in the hereafter, and we will not be punished.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) responded to them by telling them that abundance of provision or scant measure thereof is not indicative of what they claim, for provision is subject to the will of Allah: if He wills. He gives in abundance to His slave, and if He wills. He gives in scant measure.

It is not wealth and children that bring a person closer to Allah; rather what brings one closer to Him is belief in that which the Messengers brought and righteous deeds which are the outcome of faith. It is they who will have a multiple reward with Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), for each righteous deed brings a tenfold reward, up to seven hundred fold, up to many times more than that, which no one knows except Allah.

﴾and they will dwell secure in the high places in paradisethat is, in lofty places, where they will dwell, feeling secure and safe from any stresses or troubles that could spoil the pleasures and delights that they are enjoying. They will be safe from having to leave it or feeling any grief whilst they are there.

As for those who strive against Our revelations, seeking to outwit Us and frustrate Our Messengers, and to show Our revelations to be false, ﴾it is they who will be delivered up for punishment﴿.

Then Allah (is) repeats that He ﴾grants abundant provision to whomever He wills among His slaves, or gives it in scant measure﴿ so that He may follow that by saying: ﴾Whatever you spends of obligatory or recommended spending, on relatives, neighbours, the poor, orphans and others, f(He will compensate for itj﴿, so do not think that spending reduces one’s provision; rather Allah - Who grants abundant provision to whomever He wills, or gives it in scant measure - has promised to recompense the one who spends,﴾for He is the best of providers﴿. So seek provision from Him, and strive and take measures to earn a living as He has enjoined upon you.

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34:40. On the day when He gathers them all together He will say to the angels: Was it you that these people used to worship?

34:41. They will say: Glory be to You! You are our Close Friend, not they. Rather they used to worship the jinn; most of them believed in them.

34:42. [And Allah will say:] So today none of you has the power to benefit or harm another. And We will say to the wrongdoers: Taste the punishment of the fire which you used to deny!

﴾On the day when He gathers them all together﴿ that is, those who worshipped anything other than Allah and their objects of worship among the angels. Then Allah ﴾will say to the angels﴿, by way of rebuking those who worshipped them:

﴾Was it you that these people used to worship?﴿ The angels will disavow their worship, and will say:

﴾Glory be to You!﴿ that is, we declare You to be holy and far above having any partner or rival

﴾You are our Close Friend, not they﴿ and we are in desperate need of Your protection, so how could we call others to worship us? How could we be fit to be taken as allies and partners besides You?

Rather these polytheists ﴾used to worship the jinn﴿ that is, the devils who instructed them to worship us or to worship others, and they obeyed them in that.

Their obedience to them was their worship of them, because worship is obedience, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says, addressing all those who take others as gods besides Him:

﴾Did I not instruct you, O children of Adam, that you should not worship the Shaytan, for he is to you an avowed enemy, and that you should worship Me, for that is a straight path?﴿ (Yd Seen 36: 60-61) ﴾most of them believed in them﴿ that is, they believed in the jinn and submitted to them, because faith is that belief which leads to submitting and following.

When the angels disavow the polytheists, Allah will say to the latter: ﴾So today none of you has the power to benefit or harm another﴿, for the relationship between you is severed and you have nothing to do with one another.

﴾And We will say to the wrongdoers﴿ who did wrong by disbelieving and committing sin, after We admit them to hell:

﴾Taste the punishment of the fire which you used to deny!﴿ Today you are seeing it with your own eyes and entering it as a result of your disbelief, and as a punishment for the consequences of that disbelief, as you did not keep away from that which could lead to it.

34:43. When Our clear revelations are recited to them, they say: This is nothing but a man who wants to turn you away from that which your forefathers used to worship. And they say: This is nothing but a fabricated lie. And those who disbelieve say of the truth when it comes to them: This is obviously nothing but magic!

34:44. although We did not give them any scripture that they could study, nor did We send to them any warner before you.

34:45. Those who came before them also rejected [the truth]. These people [Quraysh] have not been given even one tenth of what We gave to those [earlier nations], yet when they rejected My Messengers, how great was the change I wrought!^{1As Allah changed the way He had been dealing with them, changing abundance to scarcity and well-being to destruction. (at-Tabari)}

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us about the reaction of the polytheists when the clear verses of Allah are recited to them and clear explanations and definitive proofs are presented to them that point to everything that is good and forbid everything that is evil. This is the greatest blessing that has come to them, and it requires them to respond by believing in it, accepting it and submitting to it, but they responded with the opposite of what was required of them, and they rejected the one who brought it to them, saying: ﴾This is nothing but a man who wants to turn you away from that which your forefathers used to worship﴿ that is, this is his aim, when he tells you to be devoted to Allah alone and to give up the customs of your forefathers whom you venerate and in whose footsteps you walk. So they rejected the truth on the basis of the view of misguided people, but they did not bring any proof or even any specious argument to support what they said.

What kind of argument is that, when the Messengers instruct some misguided people to follow the truth, but they claim that their co-religionists who follow the same path are still persisting in that?

This is foolishness and rejection of the truth on the basis of the opinions of misguided people. If you think about every case in which truth is rejected, you will see that it is rejected in a similar manner, for it is not rejected except on the basis of the views of misguided people, whether they be polytheists, those who do not believe in the Day of Resurrection, philosophers, Sabians, and heretics who have passed out of the religion of Allah. This is the pattern of everyone who rejects the truth until the Day of Resurrection.

Having cited the deeds of their forefathers as evidence and regarded that as justification for rejecting what the Messengers brought, they then cast aspersions upon the truth by saying: ﴾This is nothing but a fabricated lie﴿ that is, it was fabricated by this man who has brought this message.

﴾And those who disbelieve say of the truth when it comes to them: This is obviously nothing but magic﴿ and it is obvious to everyone that it is magic. They said that by way of rejecting the truth and so as to deceive the foolish.

Having described the argument by means of which they rejected the truth, and stated that these arguments are flawed and cannot provide any proof, Allah now states that even if anyone wanted to bring proof for their arguments, they do not have any source for such proof: ﴾although We did not give them any scripture that they could studyj﴿ so that it could serve as a reference book for them ﴾nor did We send to them any warner before you﴿ so that they would have a record of his words and teachings on the basis of which they could reject what you have brought to them. Therefore they have no knowledge and no trace of knowledge.

Then Allah warns them by telling them of what happened to the disbelieving nations who came before them:

﴾Those who came before them also rejected [the truth]. These people [Quraysh]﴿ to whom the message is now addressed(fhave not been given even one tenth of what We gave to those [earlier nations], yet when they﴿ that is, the earlier nations ﴾rejected My Messengers, how great was the change I wrought! ﴿ That is, by way of punishing them.

We know what happened to them of punishment, and that some of them He drowned, and some He destroyed with the devastating wind, the blast, the earthquake, by causing the earth to swallow them up, and by sending against them a violent squall of pebbles from the sky. So beware, O disbelievers, if you persist in disbelief, lest you be overtaken by that which overtook those who came before you, and there befall you what befell them.

34:46. Say [O Muhammad]: I advise you to do one thing only: take this matter seriously and reflect upon it, in pairs or singly, sincerely seeking the pleasure of Allah. There is no madness in your companion; he is but a warner to you ahead of a severe punishment.

34:47. Say: Whatever recompense I might have asked of you is yours; my reward is with Allah alone, and He is Witness over all things.

34:48. Say: Verily my Lord hurls the truth [against falsehood], and He is the Knower of the unseen.

34:49. Say: The truth has come and falsehood can neither initiate anything, nor restore anything.

34:50. Say: If I go astray, it is only to my own detriment, but if I am guided, it is because of what my Lord reveals to me. Verily, He is All-Hearing, Ever Near.

That is, ﴾Say﴿, O Messenger (ﷺ), to these stubborn disbelievers who have taken it upon themselves to oppose the truth and reject it, and to criticise the one who brought it:

﴾I advise you to do one thing only﴿ that is, one thing which I am pointing out to you and advising you to follow, for it is a fair path. I am not calling you to follow my opinion or to reject your own without any justification for doing so. That thing to which I am calling you is: e﴾take this matter seriously and reflect upon it, in pairs or singly, sincerely seeking the pleasure of Allah﴿ that is, take this matter seriously and put some energy into it, with the aim of following what is right and being sincere towards Allah, as a group, discussing and debating the matter, or individually, each person thinking to himself.

If you were to reflect upon the matter, in pairs or singly, seeking the pleasure of Allah, then you would think rationally and things would become clear to you, and you would reflect on the character of your Messenger (ﷺ): is he really insane, with the characteristics of one who is insane in the way he speaks, in the way he looks and in the way he behaves? Or is he a true Prophet (ﷺ), who is warning you against that which will cause you harm and what lies ahead of you of severe punishment?

If they accept this exhortation and put it into practice, then it will become clear to them, more than others, that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) is not insane, because his attitude is not that of insane people with their choking, trembling and staring; rather his attitude is the best of all attitudes, and he is the most dignified in the way he carrieshimself, the most perfect in attitude, manners, tranquillity, humility and dignity. He can only be the most mature and wise of men.

Moreover, if they ponder his eloquent words and beautiful speech that fill the heart with reassurance and faith, purify souls, cleanse hearts, make one aspire to sublime attributes, encourage good manners, and deter one from bad manners and attitudes, they will see that when he speaks, people look at him with awe and respect. Could this in any way resemble the mumbo-jumbo of the insane and their errant behaviour?

Anyone who reflects on the Prophet’s character and what he was calling people to, for the purpose of finding out whether he was the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) or not, will - whether he thinks by himself or with others - become certain that he was indeed the Messenger of Allah and was truly His Prophet (ﷺ). This is especially true in the case of those to whom these words were initially addressed, namely his contemporaries who knew everything about him from his childhood onwards.

There is also another matter that discourages people from following the one who calls them to the truth, which is the fear that he may take the wealth of those who respond to him and take it as payment for his call. Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) explained that His Messenger (ﷺ) was far above doing such a thing, as He said:

﴾Say: Whatever recompense I might have asked of you﴿ for your following the truth ﴾is yours﴿ that is, I testify in your favour that that reward is yours ﴾my reward is with Allah alone, and He is Witness over all things﴿ that is, His knowledge encompasses what I call people to, so if I were lying. He would seize me with His punishment. And He is also witness over your deeds, and He is recording them against you, then He will requite you for them.

Having highlighted the proof which is indicative of the soundness of the truth and the invalidity of falsehood, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) now states that this is His way and that He ﴾hurls the truth [against falsehood]﴿ and it crushes it, whereupon it perishes (cf. 21:18), because in the preceding verses He highlighted the truth and refuted thereby the views of the disbelievers, which is a lesson for those who are willing to learn and a sign for those who reflect.

As you can see, the views of the disbelievers were defeated and their lies and stubbornness were clearly exposed; the truth prevailed and shone brightly, and falsehood was proven invalid and suppressed. That was because of the proof presented by ﴾the Knower of the unseen﴿ Who knows what is in their hearts of whispers and specious arguments, and He knows what may oppose that and counter it of proof and evidence.

Thus He announces it to people and explains it to them, hence He says:

﴾Say: The truth has come﴿ that is, it has appeared and become as clear as day, and its authority has been made manifest ﴾and falsehood can neither initiate anything, nor restore anything﴿ that is, falsehood has diminished and has been proven to be invalid; its power has vanished, so it neither initiates anything nor restores anything.

When the truth became clear by virtue of the call of the Messenger (ﷺ), and the disbelievers accused him of being misguided, Allah told them of the truth and explained it to them, highlighting their inability to resist it, and informing them that their accusations against him of being misguided could not harm the truth in any way and could not ward off what the Prophet brought; if he did go astray - which is not possible, but is mentioned for the sake of argument he would only go astray to his own detriment. In other words, the harm resulting from his being misguided would be limited to himself and would not affect others.

﴾but if I am guided﴿, that is not from me or by my own strength and power; rather my guidance is ﴾because of what my Lord reveals to me﴿ - that is the cause of my guidance, just as it is the cause of the guidance of others, for my Lord is ﴾All-Hearing﴿ and hears all words and voices

﴾Ever Near﴿ to the one who calls upon Him, asks of Him and worships Him.

34:51. If only you could see them when they are stricken with terror, but there will be no escape, and they will be seized from near at hand.

34:52. They will say: Now we believe in [the message]. But how can they reach out for it [faith] from such a distant place,^{1This refers to what the disbelievers will say in the hereafter, but the time and place for believing is in this world, which at that point will be far away from them, so it will be too late for them to say, “We believe”.}

34:53. seeing that they disbelieved in it before, and they made farfetched conjectures about the unseen?

34:54. They will be prevented from attaining what they desire, as was done before with others of their ilk, for they were indeed in grave doubt.

﴾flf only you﴿ O Messenger and those who follow you, ﴾could see﴿ the state of these disbelievers﴾when they are stricken with terror﴿ upon seeing the punishment and what the Messengers told them about, but they disbelieved in it. Then you would see something momentous, a terrifying scene and a horrible sight of intense distress. That will be when the punishment becomes due upon them and they have nowhere to flee and no escape. ﴾and they will be seized from near at hand﴿ that is, not far from the place of punishment; rather they will be seized then thrown into the fire.

﴾They will say﴿ at that point: ﴾Now we believe﴿ in Allah and we believe in that in which we disbelieved.

﴾)But how can they reach out for it [faith] from such a distant place﴿ now that they have been prevented from it and it has become something impossible in this situation? If they had believed at the time when it was possible to do so, their faith would have been accepted.

But ﴾they disbelieved in it before, and they made far-fetched conjectures about the unseen﴿, so as to refute the truth. But there was no way they could achieve that, just as there is no way for one who throws something from a great distance to hit his target. By the same token, it is impossible for falsehood to overwhelm the truth or defeat it. Rather falsehood may have the upper hand for a short while, when the followers of the truth are in a state of negligence, but when the people of truth pay attention and resist falsehood, it will be suppressed.

﴾They will be prevented from attaining what they desire﴿ namely physical pleasures, children, wealth, servants and troops, and they will come only with their deeds. They will come singly, as they were created, and they will leave behind all that they had been given of worldly luxuries.

﴾fas was done before with others of their ilk﴿ of the earlier nations, when their doom came to them and they were prevented from attaining what they desired.

﴾for they were indeed in grave doubt﴿ that would lead to uncertainty and anxiety; therefore they did not believe, and if they seek to make amends, they will not be allowed to do so (cf. 41: 24).

This is the end of the commentary on Soorat Saba'.

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