35:1. Praise be to Allah, the Originator of the heavens and the earth. Who made the angels messengers with wings, two or three or four. He adds to creation whatever He wills. Verily Allah has power over all things.

35:2. Whatever Allah opens up for people of His mercy, none can withhold it, and whatever He withholds, none can grant it thereafter. And He is the Almighty, the Most Wise.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) praises Himself for His creation of the heavens and the earth and all that they contain of created things, because that is indicative of the perfect nature of His might, the vastness of Hisdominion, the broadness of His mercy, the brilliance of His wisdom and the all-encompassing nature of His knowledge.

Having mentioned creation, Allah now tells us about the angels, that He ﴾made the angels messengers﴿ who execute His decrees and act as go-betweens in conveying His commands to His creation.

The fact that He says that He has made the angels messengers, with no exception, is indicative of the perfect nature of their obedience to their Lord and their compliance with His commands, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us elsewhere that they:

((...who do not disobey Allah in whatever He commands them, and they do whatever they are commanded to do.﴿ (at-Tahreem 66: 6)

Because the angels are the ones who have control - by Allah’s leave - over that with which He has entrusted them, He mentions their power to do that, and the speed with which they travel, as He has made them ﴾with wings﴿ by means of which they fly as they rush to carry out what they are commanded to do.

﴾two or three or four﴿ that is, some of them have two wings, and some have three or four, according to what Allah’s wisdom dictates. ﴾He adds to creation whatever He wills﴿ that is, He causes some to have more than others, with regard to their shape, strength, beauty, additional faculties, and quality of voice.

﴾Verily Allah has power over all things﴿ and by His power, He does whatever He wills, and nothing is beyond His power; that includes His causing some of His creation to surpass others.

Then Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that He alone has control and gives and withholds as He wills:

﴾Whatever Allah opens up for people of His mercy, none can withhold it, and whatever He withholds﴿ from them of His mercy ﴾none can grant it thereafter﴿ this leads to putting one’s trust in Allah L5g) and feeling one’s need for Him in all ways, so that one does not call upon anyone but Him and does not fear or put hope in anyone but Him.6 And He is the Almighty﴿ Who has subdued all things ﴾the Most Wise﴿ Who does what is appropriate.

35:3. O people, remember the favour that Allah bestowed upon you. Is there any creator other than Allah who provides for you from the heaven and the earth? There is no god but He; then how could you have gone so far astray?

35:4. If they reject you [O Muhammad], Messengers before you were also rejected; and it is to Allah that all things will return.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) instructs people to remember the blessings that He has bestowed upon them. This includes acknowledging them in the heart, praising Him verbally and taking physical action to comply with His commands. Remembering His blessings prompts one to give thanks to Him. Then He draws their attention to the basic foundation of the blessing, which is creation and provision, as He says:

﴾Is there any creator other than Allah who provides for you from the heaven and the earth?﴿

Because it is well known that no one can create and grant provision except Allah, this offers evidence for His divinity and that He alone is to be worshipped. Hence Allah says:

﴾There is no god but He; then how could you have gone so far astray?﴿ that is, how can you be diverted from worship of the Creator and Provider, and instead worship those who are created and are provided for?

tf If they reject you﴿, O Messenger (ﷺ), then you have an example in the Messengers who came before you, for ﴾Messengers before you were also rejected Ji, but the disbelievers who rejected them were destroyed, and Allah saved the Messengers and their followers. ﴾and it is to Allah that all things will return﴿.

35:5. O people, verily the promise of Allah is true, so do not let the life of this world deceive you, or let any deceiver deceive you concerning Allah.

35:6. Verily the Shaytan is an enemy to you, so take him as an enemy. He only calls his followers so that they may become inhabitants of the raging fire.

35:7. Those who disbelieve will have a severe punishment, but those who believe and do righteous deeds will have forgiveness and a great reward.

people, verily the promise of Allah﴿ of the resurrection and requital of deeds

﴾is true﴿ that is, there can be no doubt about it. That is supported by textual evidence and rational proof. As His promise is true, you should prepare for it and hasten to fill your precious time with righteous deeds, and do not let anything prevent you from doing so.

﴾so do not let the life of this world deceive you﴿ with its pleasures, desires and other aspirations and goals, for it will distract you from the purpose for which you were created﴾or let any deceiver deceive you concerning Allah﴿.

The deceiver is ﴾the Shaytan﴿, who is your true enemy,

﴾so take him as an enemy﴿ and do not neglect to fight him at any moment, for he sees you although you do not see him, and he is always lying in wait for you.

﴾He only calls his followers so that they may become inhabitants of the raging fire﴿ this is his ultimate aim and goal with regard to those who follow him; he seeks to humiliate them utterly by bringing upon them this severe punishment.

Then Allah tells us that people are divided into two categories according to whether they obey the Shaytan or not, and He mentions the requital of each category:

﴾Those who disbelieve﴿ that is, they reject what the Messengers brought and what the Books indicate

﴾will have a severe punishment﴿ in the fire of hell, where they will abide forever.

﴾but those who believe﴿ with all their hearts in that which Allah calls them to believe in and, on the basis of that faith, ﴾do righteous deeds﴿ by taking physical action

﴾will have forgiveness﴿ of their sins, and as a result troubles and problems will be removed from them,

﴾and a great reward﴿ by means of which they will attain what they seek.

35:8. Is one whose evil deeds are made fair-seeming to him, so that he regards them as good, [like one who is rightly guided]? Verily Allah leaves astray whomever He wills and guides whomeverHe wills. So do not let yourself waste away in sorrow for them. Verily Allah knows well all that they do.

﴾Is one whose evil deeds are made fair-seeming to him﴿ by the Shaytan

﴾fso that he regards them as goocl﴿ that is, is he like one who is rightly guided by Allah to the straight path and right religion? Can these two be equal? For the former does bad deeds and regards truth as falsehood and falsehood as truth, whereas the latter does good deeds and regards the truth as true and falsehood as false.

But guidance and misguidance are in the Hand of Allah (tte): ﴾Verily Allah leaves astray whomever He wills and guides whomever He wills. So do not let yourself waste away in sorrow for them﴿ that is, for the misguided whose bad deeds have been made fair-seeming to them, and the Shaytan barred them from following the truth, for your role is only to convey the message; and their guidance has nothing to do with you at all; it is Allah Who will requite them for their deeds, for ﴾Verily Allah knows well all that they do﴿.

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35:9. It is Allah Who sends forth the winds to stir up clouds, then We drive them to a land that is dead, and He gives life thereby to the earth after its death. Such will be the resurrection.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) speaks of His perfect power and immense generosity and tells us that He ﴾sends forth the winds to stir up clouds, then We drive them to a land that is dead﴿, then Allah sends down rain upon it,﴾and He gives life thereby to the earth after its death﴿. Thus life is restored to the land and to people, and the animals are able to attain their provision and graze on all of these blessings.

﴾Such will be the resurrection﴿, for the One Who gives life to the earth after its death will resurrect the dead from their graves, after they had turned to dust. He will send rain to them, as He sends it to the dead land. He will send it down upon them, and they will come back to life, body and soul, and will emerge from their graves and come to stand before Allah, so that He may judge between them on the basis of divine justice.

35:10. Whoever seeks honour, then all honour belongs to Allah. To Him ascend all good words, and righteous deeds exalt them.^{1Good words will not be accepted and will not ascend to heaven unless they are accompanied by righteous deeds that confirm them.} And those who plan evil deeds will have a severe punishment, and the plans of such people will come to naught.

That is, O you who seek honour, seek it from the One in Whose Hand it is, for honour is in the Hand of Allah and can only be attained by obeying Him. Allah mentions it in the words: ﴾To Him ascend all good words﴿ such as recitation of Qur’an, and words of glorification and praise, proclaiming Allah’s oneness, and all good words. Those good words ascend to Allah and are presented to Him, and Allah praises the one who says them before those on high.﴾and righteous deeds﴿ of both the heart and the physical faculties

The righteous deeds lift up the good words, so the lifting up of the good words is commensurate with the level of the individual’s good deeds, for it is those deeds that lift up his good words. If a person has no good deeds to his credit, then no words of his will be lifted up to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). These are the deeds that will be lifted up to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), and Allah will raise the doer of those deeds in status and will honour him.

With regard to bad deeds, they are the opposite: the one who does them wants to attain high status by doing them, and he schemes and plans, but that will backfire on him and will only increase him in humiliation and degradation. Hence Allah says: ﴾And those who plan evil deeds will have a severe punishment﴿ in which he will be greatly humiliated.

﴾and the plans of such people will come to naught﴿ that is, they will diminish and fail, and will not benefit them in the slightest, because they are plans that are based on falsehood and are made for the sake of falsehood.

35:11. Allah created you from dust, then from a drop of semen, then He made you pairs [male and female]. No female conceives, or delivers, except with His knowledge. No man lives long or has his life cut short but it is [inscribed] in a record; verily that is easy for Allah.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) mentions His human creation and how he passes through these stages, from dust to a drop of semen and the stages that come after that.

﴾then He made you pairs [male and female]﴿ that is He carries on causing you to move from one stage to another, until He causes you to reach a state where you form pairs, males marrying females. The purpose of marriage is to produce offspring and children; although getting married is one of the means of having children, it is still subject to the will and decree of Allah, and His knowledge.

﴾No female conceives, or delivers, except with His knowledge﴿ - the same is true of all the stages of human life, which occur by His knowledge and decree.

﴾No man lives long or has his life cut short﴿ that is, no one lives a long life except with Allah’s knowledge, and no man’s life is cut short from its potential except that is the result of following the path that cut it short, such as committing zina (unlawful sex), disobeying parents, severing ties of kinship and doing other deeds that we have been told are causes of life being cut short.

What is meant is that living a long or short life, whether that was because of a cause or there was no cause, all occurs by Allah’s knowledge, and that is affirmed ﴾in a record﴿ that contains all that will happen to a person at every moment of his life, throughout his life.

﴾verily that is easy for Allah﴿ that is, His knowledge encompasses all of this information, and His record encompasses all of it.

These three points of evidence which offer proof of the resurrection are all rational, and Allah draws our attention to them in these verses. They are: the revival of the earth after its death, the fact that the One Who gives it life will also give life to the dead, and the fact that the human being goes through these stages.

So the One Who created man and caused him to go through stage after stage, situation after situation, until he reaches the stage thatwas decreed for him, is more able to recreate him and bring him back again (after death), and that is easier for Him. The One Whose knowledge encompasses all parts of the upper and lower realms, and all their affairs, both subtle and manifest, what is in people’s hearts, the foetuses in the wombs, and who will live a long life and who will not, and has written it all in a record, is the One for Whom all of that is easy, so bringing the dead back to life is even easier for Him. Blessed be the One Who bestows blessings in abundance and draws the attention of His slaves to that which is in their best interests in this world and in the hereafter.

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35:12. The two bodies of flowing water are not alike; one is fresh and palatable, pleasant to drink, and the other is salty and bitter. From both you eat succulent meat [fish] and bring forth from it ornaments which you wear. And you see the ships ploughing through the waves so that you may seek the bounty of Allah and so that you may give thanks.

35:13. He causes the night to encroach upon the day, and the day to encroach upon the night, and He has made the sun and moon to be of service, each running its course for an appointed time.

Such is Allah your Lord; His is the dominion, whereas those on whom you call besides Him do not own so much as the thin membrane of a date stone.

35:14. If you call upon them, they do not hear your call, and even if they heard, they would not respond to you. On the Day of Resurrection they will disavow your having associated them with Allah. And none can inform you like [the One Who is] all-aware.

Here Allah tells us about His might, wisdom and mercy, for He created two bodies of flowing water to serve the interests of all people on earth, but He did not make them the same, because the interests of people dictated that there should be rivers of fresh and palatable water that is pleasant to drink, for the benefit of those who drink it, and those who plant and grow crops, and there should also be seas of water that is salty and bitter, so that it does not corrupt the atmosphere with the stench of animals that die in the sea; moreover it does not flow like rivers, as its saltiness prevents it from changing, and thus its creatures are better and more delicious. Hence Allah says:

﴾From both﴿ that is, from the salty water and the fresh water,

﴾you eat succulent meat﴿ namely the fish that can be caught from the water

﴾and bring forth from it ornaments which you wear’p such as pearls, coral and other things that are found in the sea. These serve great interests for people.

Another benefit of the water is that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has made it to be of service in that it carries vessels such as ships and boats. So you see them ploughing through the water and travelling from one region to another, from one place to another, carrying passengers with their luggage and trade goods. Thus a great deal of the bounty and kindness of Allah is attained. Hence He says: f(so that you may seek the bounty of Allah and so that you may give thanks﴿.

Another of these blessings is that Allah causes the night to encroach upon the day, and the day upon the night. The more the one comes, the more the other goes; one of them grows longer and the other grows shorter, then they become equal. That serves people’s interests with regard to their health and physical well-being, and it also serves the interests of their animals and crops.

Similarly, Allah has caused the sun and moon to be of service with their light and movements, so that people may go about, seeking of His bounty; the effects of the sun and moon cause crops to ripen, and the sun dries up what needs to be dried up, and they bring about other necessities, the absence of which would cause people harm.

﴾each running its course for an appointed time﴿ that is, the sun and moon are each running in its course for as long as Allah wills, then when the time comes and the end of the world approaches, they will stop running, lose their positions and cease to have any effect. The moon will become dark, the sun will be folded up and the stars will be scattered.

Having spoken of these mighty creations and explained the lessons they contain that point to His perfection and kindness, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) now says:

﴾Such is Allah your Lord; His is the dominion﴿ that is, the One Who alone created the things mentioned here and made them to be of service is the Lord Who alone is deserving of devotion and worship, to Whom belongs all dominion.

﴾whereas those on whom you call besides Him﴿ of images and idols

﴾do not own so much as the thin membrane of a date stone﴿ that is, they do not own anything, small or great, not even the thin membrane of a date stone, which is the most insignificant of things. Describing specifically something that they do not own indicates a general meaning, which is that they do not own anything else either, so howcan they be called upon when they do not own anything in heaven or on earth?

Moreover, ﴾If you call upon them﴿ they do not hear you, because they are either inanimate or are dead or are angels who are preoccupied with obeying their Lord ﴾and even if they heard Ji — assuming that is the case for argument s sake - tfthey would not respond to you﴿ because they do not own anything and most of them are not pleased with the worship ol those who worship them. Hence Allah says:

﴾On the Day of Resurrection they will disavow your having associated them with Allah﴿ that is: they will disavow you, and will say:

﴾...Glory be to You! You are our Close Friend, not they...﴿ (Saba' 34: 41)

﴾And none can inform you like [the One Who is] all-aware﴿ that is, no one will inform you more truthfully than Allah, the All-Knowing, All-Aware. So you may be certain that with regard to this matter of which He has told you, it is as if you could see it with your own eyes, so do not have any doubt about it.

These verses contain definitive proof and evidence that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is the only One Who is deserving of devotion and worship, and none but He is deserving of any kind of worship. The worship of anything besides Him is false and is based on falsehood, and will not benefit the worshipper in any way.

35:15. O people, it is you who are in need of Allah, whereas Allah is Self-Sufficient, Worthy of all praise.

35:16. If He so willed, He could destroy you and bring a new creation [in your stead].

35:17. And that is not difficult for Allah.

35:18. No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another. If a heavily-laden soul calls another for help to bear its load, nothing of it will be carried, even if he is a close relative. You [O Muhammad] can only warn those who fear their Lord unseen and establish prayer, for whoever purifies himself only does so for his own benefit. And unto Allah is the return [of all].

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) addresses all people and tells them about their real situation and that they are in need of Allah in all ways.

They are in need of His bringing them into existence; were it not for His bringing them into existence, they would not exist.

They are in need of His giving them physical strength, faculties and senses; were it not for His giving them these things, they would not be able to do any deeds.

They are in need of His providing them with nourishment, provision and blessings, both visible and hidden; were it not for His bestowing His bounty and kindness, and making things easy for them, they would not have attained any provisions or blessings.

They are in need of His warding off harm from them, averting troubles and relieving them of stress and hardship; were it not for His warding off these things from them, relieving them of distress and removing hardship from them, their hardships and calamities would have been ongoing.

They are in need of His taking care of them in all ways.

They need to turn to Him, love Him, worship Him and devote their worship to Him alone. If He does not help them and guide them to do that, they will be doomed and they will become corrupt spiritually, psychologically and in all their affairs.

They are in need of His teaching them what they do not know and guiding them to that which is in their best interests. Were it not for His teaching them, they would not have learned; were it not for His guiding them, their situation would not have been rectified.

They are inherently in need of Him in all ways, whether they realise some of those ways or not.

But the one among them who is guided is the one who constantly realises and is aware of his need for Allah in all his religious and worldly affairs, and he beseeches Him and asks Him not to leave him to his own devices for even the blink of an eye, and asks Him to help him in all his affairs, bearing this in mind at all times. Such a one is more deserving of complete help from his Lord and God, Who is more compassionate towards him than a mother towards her child.

﴾whereas Allah is Self-Sufficient, Worthy of all praise﴿ that is, He is the One Who is completely self-sufficient in all ways, so He has no need of what His creation needs. That is because of the perfect nature of His attributes, all of which are attributes of perfection and majesty.

One aspect of His being self-sufficient is that He meets all the needs of creation in this world and the hereafter.

﴾Worthy of all praise﴿ in His essence, in His names because they are most beautiful, in His attributes because they are most sublime, and in His deeds because they are based on generosity, kindness, justice, wisdom and mercy, and He is praiseworthy in His commands and prohibitions. So He is praiseworthy for what He is and what He does, and He is praiseworthy for being self-sufficient.

﴾lf He so willed, He could destroy you and bring a new creation [in your stead]﴿. It may be that what is meant is that if He so willed, He could destroy you, O people, and bring other people in your stead who would be more obedient to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) than you. This is a threat to them of destruction and annihilation, and is telling them that His will is not incapable of that. Or it may be that what is meant is an affirmation of the resurrection, and that the will of Allah is always done in all cases, including bringing you back after your death, as a new creation, but there is an appointed time for that that has been decreed by Allah, and it cannot be brought forward or put back.

﴾And that is not difficult for Allah﴿ that is, it is not impossible for Him and is not beyond Him.

The latter meaning is supported by what is mentioned in the following verse:

﴾No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another﴿ that is, on the Day of Resurrection, each person will be requited for his own deeds, and no one will bear the sin of another

﴾If a heavily-laden soul calls another for help to bear its load﴿ that is, if a soul that is burdened with sin seeks the help of another to carry some of its burden,

﴾nothing of it will be carried, even if he is a close relative﴿. No one will carry the burden of a relative, for the hereafter is not like this world in which a person may help his close friend. Rather on the Day of Resurrection, a person will wish that he had some outstanding dues owed by others, even his parents and relatives, (so that he could take some of their good deeds and add them to his own).

﴾You [O Muhammad] can only warn those who fear their Lord unseen and establish prayer﴿ that is, these are the ones who will accept the warning and benefit from it, people who fear Allah unseen, who are the ones who fear Him in private and in public, when with people and when alone. And those who establish prayer are the ones who fulfil all its preconditions, essential parts and obligatory actsin the prescribed manner, with proper focus, because fearing Allah requires a person to comply with the commands for which he fears punishment if he does not do so, and to flee from that for which he fears punishment if he does it. Prayer calls to good and keeps (one) away from obscenity and wickedness (cf. 29 45).

﴾for whoever purifies himself only does so for his own benefit﴿ that is, whoever purifies himself by ridding himself of faults such as showing off, arrogance, deceit, cheating, trickery, hypocrisy and other bad characteristics, and strives to attain good characteristics such as truthfulness, honesty, humility, gentleness, sincerity towards people, being free of ill feelings such as resentment, envy and other bad characteristics, his purification of himself will benefit him, and none of his efforts will go to waste.

﴾And unto Allah is the return [of all]﴿ and He will requite all people for what they sent on ahead and will bring them to account for all that they did; nothing, small or great, is omitted, but it is kept in a record.

35:19. The blind and the seeing are not alike,

35:20. nor are the depths of darkness and the light,

35:21. nor the shade and the sun’s heat.

35:22. The living and the dead are not alike. Verily Allah causes to hear whomever He wills, but you cannot cause to hear those who are in the graves.

35:23. You [O Muhammad] are but a warner.

35:24. Verily We have sent you with the truth as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner. There has never been any nation but a warner came to it.

Here Allah tells us that opposites are not equal, as Allah’s wisdom dictates that this should be so, and people’s natural disposition is also inclined to that view.

﴾The blindwho have lost their vision ﴾and the seeing are not alike, nor are the depths of darkness and the light, nor the shade and the sun’s heat. The living and the dead are not alike﴿. As is well established among you, and you have no doubt at all that the things mentioned above are not equal, by the same token you should understand that it is more appropriate that intangible opposites are not equal either.

Therefore the believer and the disbeliever, the one who is guided and the one who has gone astray, the one who has knowledge and the one who is ignorant, the inhabitants of paradise and the inhabitants of hell, those whose hearts are alive and those who are dead at heart, are not equal. The differences between these pairs are great indeed, and only Allah knows how great they are. If you understand the differences, are able to distinguish between things, and it has become clear to you what you should compete to attain and what is the opposite of that, then the man of resolve should choose for himself that which is more appropriate for him and is more deserving of being given precedence.

﴾Verily Allah causes to hear whomever He wills﴿ - “hearing” here refers to hearing in such a way that one understands and accepts, because Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is the One Who guides

﴾but you cannot cause to hear those who are in the graves﴿ namely those who are dead at heart; just as your call cannot benefit those who are in their graves, it cannot benefit those who stubbornly turn away.Rather your job is to warn and to convey the message with which you were sent, whether it is accepted or not.

Hence Allah says: ﴾You [O Muhammad] are but a warner. Verily We have sent you with the truth﴿ that is, We are only sending you with the truth, because Allah sent you some time after the previous Messengers, after people had lost the path of guidance and knowledge had disappeared, and there was a great need to send you. So Allah sent you as a mercy to the worlds.

Moreover, what we have sent you with of the true religion and the straight path is true and is not false, and what we have sent you with of this great Qur’an, and what it contains of wise exhortation, is sound and true.

﴾as a bearer of glad tidings p to those who obey you, of reward from Allah in this world and in the hereafter ﴾and a warner﴿ to those who disobey you, of punishment from Allah in this world and in the hereafter. You are not the first Messenger; you have precedents among the earlier Messengers.

﴾There has never been any nation﴿ among the past nations

﴾but a warner came to it﴿ establishing against them the proof of Allah,

﴾...so that those who chose to perish [by choosing disbelief] might do so after seeing clear evidence, and those who chose to live [by choosing faith] might do so after seeing clear evidence...﴿ (al-Anfal X: 42)

35:25. If they reject you [O Muhammad], those who came before them did likewise. Their Messengers came to them with clear signs, the scriptures, and the Book of Enlightenment,

35:26. then I punished those who disbelieved, and how great was the change I wrought!

That is, if these polytheists reject you, O Messenger (ﷺ), you are not the first Messenger to be rejected, for ﴾those who came before them did likewise. Their Messengers came to them with clear signs﴿ that pointed to the truth and the soundness of the message they brought, ﴾the scriptures﴿ that is, written books that contained many rulings, ﴾fand the Book of Enlightenment﴿ that is, enlightenment with regard to what it told of true stories and information about the future, and just rulings. So their rejection was not the result of doubts that they had or some flaws in what the Messengers brought; rather it was because of their wrongdoing and stubbornness.

﴾then I punished those who disbelieved﴿ with different kinds of punishment,

﴾and how great was the change I wrought﴿ upon them, for it was the worst kind of change and the worst kind of punishment. So beware of rejecting this noble Messenger (ﷺ), lest there befall you what befell them of painful punishment and utter disgrace.

- As Allah changed the way He had been dealing with them, changing abundance to scarcity and well-being to destruction. (at-Tabari)

35:27. Do you not see that Allah sends down water from the sky, then We bring forth thereby fruits of various colours? And in the mountains there are tracts of red and white, of various colours, and black intense in hue.

35:28. Likewise, people, animals and livestock are of various colours. Among His slaves, only those who have knowledge truly fear Allah. Verily Allah is Almighty, Oft-Forgiving.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) mentions His creation of things and their opposites - of which the origin and substance is one, yet there are variations and differences that are visible and well known - so as to demonstrate to people His perfect might and sublime wisdom.

Among these examples are the following:

• Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) sends down water from the sky, and brings forth thereby various fruits and plants, which is something visible to the onlookers, although the water is one and the land is one.

• With regard to the mountains which Allah has created as pegs for the earth, you will see in a series of mountains, or even in one mountain, various colours; hence you will see tracts of white, tracts of yellow, and tracts of black intense in hue.

• Among the people, animals and livestock there is a variety of colours, types, voices and looks. This is something that is visible to everyone and is witnessed by onlookers. Yet all of them come from one source and one substance.

These variations offer rational evidence for the divine will, which singles out each one to have a particular colour and description; for the might of Allah, as He has created them like that; and for the divinewisdom and mercy, because these variations serve people’s interests and bring them benefits, help people to find their way (through the mountains), and enable people to recognise one another, as is well known.

This is also indicative of the vastness of Allah’s knowledge, and proves that He will resurrect those who are in their graves. But the heedless one looks at these things and others in a careless manner that does not make him reflect; rather the one who benefits from them is the one who fears Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and realises, on the basis of sound thinking, the wisdom behind them.

Hence Allah says: ﴾Among His slaves, only those who have knowledge truly fear Allah﴿. The more a person knows about Allah, the more he will fear Him, and this fear of Allah will make him refrain from sin and prepare to meet the One Whom he fears. This is indicative of the virtue of knowledge, because it prompts one to fear Allah, and those who fear Him are the ones who will be honoured by Him, as He says elsewhere:

﴾...Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. That is for those who fear their Lord.﴿ (al-Bayyinah 98: 8)

﴾Verily Allah is Almighty﴿, perfect in might, and by His might He created these opposites tfOfit-Forgiving﴿ to those who repent from their sins.

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35:29. Verily those who recite the Book of Allah, establish prayer, ansd spend from that which We have provided for them, secretly and openly, hope for a deal in which there will never be any loss.

35:30. For He will give them their reward in full, and will give them yet more out of His bounty. Verily He is Oft-Forgiving, Appreciative.

﴾Verily those who recite the Book of Allah﴿ that is, follow its commands by complying with them and follow its prohibitions by paying heed to them, and believe in what it tells them about the past and the future, and do not give precedence over it to any opinion that contradicts it, and recite its words by studying its meanings. Then after speaking of recitation of the Qur’an in general terms, Allah now mentions prayer in which there is recitation in this specific situation; prayer is the foundation of the religion, the light of the Muslims, the measure of a person’s faith and a visible sign of sincerity in adherence to Islam. And Allah mentions spending on relatives, the poor, orphans and others, by giving zakah, offering expiations, spending in fulfilment of vows, and giving charity in general. ﴾secretly and openly﴿ at all times.

Those who do that ﴾hope﴿ thereby ﴾for a deal in which there will never be any loss﴿ that is, a deal that will never stagnate or be spoiled; rather it is the best, greatest and highest of deals, namely attaining the pleasure of their Lord and His great reward, and salvation from His wrath and punishment. This proves that they are sincere in their deeds and that there are no bad intentions or evil aims behind it.

And Allah tells us that they will attain what they hope for, as He says: ﴾For He will give them their reward in full﴿ that is, the reward for their deeds, according to how much or how little they did, and how good or otherwise their deeds were.

﴾and will give them yet more out of His bounty﴿ in addition to their reward

﴾Verily He is Oft-Forgiving, Appreciative﴿. He will forgive their bad deeds and will accept from them a little of good deeds.

35:31. That which We have revealed to you of the Book [the Qur’an] is the truth, confirming that which came before it. Verily Allah is well aware of His slaves and sees all.

35:32. Then We have caused to inherit the Book^{1This refers to the Qur’an being inherited by the followers of Prophet Muhammad (5^) until the Day of Resurrection.} those whom We chose from among Our slaves. But among them are some who wrong themselves, some who follow a middle course, and some who are, by Allah’s leave, foremost in good deeds. That is the great bounty.

35:33. Gardens of perpetual abode, which they will enter; they will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and of pearls, and their garments therein will be of silk.

35:34. And they will say: Praise be to Allah Who has taken away all sorrow from us. Verily our Lord is indeed Oft-Forgiving, Appreciative;

35:35. Who has, by His grace, caused us to settle in the eternal home, in which no toil or weariness will touch us.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that the Book that He revealed to His Messenger (ﷺ) ﴾is the truth﴿ because it contains a great deal of truth, as the truth is limited to it, so there should not be any reservations concerning it; you should not find it too much or think little of it, for if it is the truth, then everything that it mentions of the divine, matters of the unseen, and other things reflects what is really the case. So it is not possible that what is intended by its verses could be different from what it appears to mean.

﴾confirming that which came before it﴿ of previous Books and Messengers, because they foretold it. When it appeared, this confirmed that what the previous Books said about it was true, for they foretold it and it confirmed what they foretold. Therefore no one can believe in the previous scriptures yet disbelieve in the Qur’an, because his disbelief in the Qur’an contradicts and undermines his belief in the previous scriptures, for one of the things they spoke of was foretelling this Qur’an, and what they said about the past and the future is identical to what the Qur’an says.

﴾Verily Allah is well aware of His slaves and sees all﴿, and He gives to each nation and each individual what is appropriate to the situation. One aspect of that is the fact that previous laws and regulations were only appropriate for their own times. Therefore Allah kept sending Messengers, one after another, until He brought the series of Messengers to an end with Muhammad (ﷺ). He brought this law which is good and appropriate for all people until the Day of Resurrection, and it leads to all that is good at all times.

As this Ummah is the most mature of nations in terms of thinking and reasoning, the gentlest at heart, and the most refined in character, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) chose them and He chose for them the religion of Islam, and He caused them to inherit this Book which confirms the scripture that came before it and supersedes it (cf 5: 48). Hence He says here: ﴾Then We have caused to inherit the Book those whom We chose from among Our slaves﴿, namely this Ummah.

﴾But among them are some who wrong themselves﴿ by committing sin that is less serious than disbelief

﴾some who follow a middle course﴿ by limiting themselves to what is obligatory upon them and staying away from what is prohibited ﴾and some who are, by Allah’s leave, foremost in good deeds﴿ that is, they hasten to do good and strive hard, and thus they surpass others. This refers to those who do what is obligatory, do a lot of supererogatory good deeds, and stay away from that which is prohibited and disliked.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has chosen all of them to inherit this Book, although they vary in status and are of different types. Hence each of them has a share of this inheritance, even those who wrong themselves, because what they possess of basic faith, knowledge of faith and deeds based on faith is part of that inheritance of the Book.

What is meant by inheritance of the Book is inheritance of knowledge thereof, actions that are based on it, study of its words and understanding of its meanings.

The phrase ﴾by Allah’s leave﴿ refers to those who are foremost in good deeds, lest they become arrogant because of their deeds. It is a reminder that they only became foremost in good deeds by the help of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), so they should focus on giving thanks to Allah for the blessings that He has bestowed upon them.

﴾That is the great bounty﴿ that is, inheritance of the holy Book, for those whom Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) chose from among His slaves, is the great bounty, compared to which all other blessings pale into insignificance. The greatest blessing and bounty of all is inheritance of this Book.

Then Allah mentions the reward of those whom He caused to inherit the Book:

﴾Gardens of perpetual abode, which they will enter﴿ that is, gardens containing trees, shade, beautiful gardens, flowing rivers, lofty palaces, adorned abodes, in which they will live forever and ever.

﴾they will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold﴿ this refers to jewellery that is worn on the wrists, according to whatever they like and think is most beautiful. Both men and women will wear such adornment in paradise.

And they will also be adorned with ﴾pearls﴿ on their clothes and bodies,

﴾and their garments therein will be of silk﴿, green garments of Fine silk and heavy brocade (cf. 18: 31).

﴾ And﴿, after they see all this perfect delight and complete pleasure, ﴾they will say: Praise be to Allah Who has taken away all sorrow from us﴿ - that includes every type of sorrow; they will not be exposed to any sorrow because of a lack in their beauty, food, drink, pleasures, or physical well-being, or because of not staying there forever.

They will be enjoying bliss and will not be able to see how it could be increased or improved in any way, but it will continue to increase with the passage of time, for ever and ever.

﴾Verily our Lord is indeed Oft-Forgiving﴿ as He has forgiven us for our mistakes

﴾Appreciative﴿ as He has accepted from us our good deeds and has multiplied the reward for them, and He has given us of His bounty what our deeds did not deserve and what we could not even wish for. By His forgiveness they will be saved from everything that one may fear or dread, and by His appreciation and grace they will attain everything that one could want and love.

﴾Who has, by His grace﴿ and generosity towards us, and not by virtue of our deeds; were it not for His grace we would not have attained what we have attained.

﴾caused us to settle﴿ that is. He has caused us to settle and take up residence; it is not in the manner of one who is merely passing through

?fin the eternal home﴿ that is, in which they will abide forever by His grace, in the place where they will want to remain becauseof its abundant goodness and never ending bliss, with nothing to spoil it.

﴾in which no toil or weariness will touch us﴿ that is, there will be no physical or psychological tiredness due to too much pleasure. This indicates that Allah will give their bodies perfect creation and will prepare for them all that is required in order to have comfort and ease at all times, so that they will always be like that and no toil or weariness, worry or distress, will ever affect them.

This also indicates that they will not sleep in paradise, because the benefit of sleep is to rest and recover from tiredness, but the people of paradise will not need that; furthermore, sleep is a minor death, and the people of paradise will not die. May Allah make us among them by His grace.

35:36. As for those who disbelieve, for them will be the fire of hell. Death will not be decreed for them, so that they might die, nor will its punishment be alleviated for them. Thus do We requite every disbeliever.

35:37. There they will cry out loud: Our Lord, bring us out; we will do righteous deeds, different from what we used to do. [Allah will say to them:] Did We not make your lives long enough for anyone who might reflect and pay heed to do so? And, moreover, the warner did come to you. So taste [the punishment]. For the wrongdoers there will be no helpers.

Having mentioned how the people of paradise will be and the bliss that they will enjoy, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) now mentions how the people of hell will be, and the torment they will suffer:

﴾As for those who disbelieve﴿ that is, those who rejected the signs that the Messengers brought to them, and denied the meeting with their Lord ﴾for them will be the fire of hell﴿ in which they will be punished most severely and suffer the worst of torments ﴾Death will not be decreed for them, so that they might die﴿ and thus find relief ﴾nor will its punishment be alleviated for them﴿). The severity and intensity of the punishments will be ongoing, at all times.

﴾Thus do We requite every disbeliever. There they will cry out loud﴿ that is, they will scream, shout and call for help, saying: ﴾Our Lord, bring us out; we will do righteous deeds, different from what we used to do﴿ - they will acknowledge their sin and admit that Allah has treated them justly, but they will ask to go back at the wrong time.

Therefore it will be said to them: ﴾Did We not make your lives long enough for anyone who might reflect and pay heed to do so?﴿ That is, during that time, anyone who wanted to pay heed would have been able to do some righteous deeds, for We gave you a life of ease in the former world. We showered you with blessings and provided you with all the means of comfort, and We granted you a long enough life, sent you signs one after another and sent warnings to you, and We tested you with ease and hardship so that you might turn back to Us.

But no warning was to any avail and no exhortation was of any benefit; We delayed your punishment until, when your appointed time came to an end and your lives were over, and you moved to this realm, which is the realm of requital for deeds, you asked to go back!

That will never happen, for now it is too late; the Most Gracious, Most Merciful is angry with you, and the punishment of fire will beintense for you, and the people of paradise have forgotten you. So stay in hell for ever and ever, subject to humiliating punishment. Hence Allah says: ﴾So taste [the punishment]. For the wrongdoers there will be no helpers﴿ to help them and bring them out of it, or to reduce the torment for them.

35:38. Verily Allah knows all that is unseen in the heavens and on earth; verily He knows well what is in [people’s] hearts.

Having mentioned the requital of the inhabitants of both realms, and the deeds of both groups. He now tells us of the vastness of His knowledge and that He sees what is unseen in the heavens and on earth, that which is hidden from the sight and knowledge of people; He is the Knower of all secrets, Who knows what is in people’s hearts of good and evil, purity or otherwise. Hence He will give each person what he deserves and a position commensurate with that.

35:39. And it is He Who has made you the successors of others on the earth. Whoever disbelieves will suffer the consequences of his disbelief. Their disbelief only increases the disbelievers in loathsomeness before their Lord; their disbelief only increases the disbelievers in loss.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us about the perfect nature of His wisdom and mercy towards His slaves; He ordained in His prior decree that some of them would be made the successors of others on earth and He would send warnings to each nation, to see what they will do. So whoever disbelieves in Allah and in that which His Messengers bring will suffer the consequences of his disbelief and will bear the burden of sin and the punishment thereof. No one can carry that burden for him, and his disbelief will only increase the wrath and anger of Allah towards the disbeliever. What punishment could be greater than the wrath of the most generous Lord?

﴾their disbelief only increases the disbelievers in loss﴿ that is, they will lose themselves, their families, their good deeds, and their places in paradise. The disbeliever will continue to increase in doom, loss and disgrace before Allah and before His creation, and in deprivation.

35:40. Say: Tell me about your [so-called] ‘partners’ on whom you call besides Allah. Show me what part of the earth they have created. Or do they have any share in the heavens? Or have We given them a book in which they have clear proof [for ascribing partners to Allah]? Nay, the wrongdoers promise^{1The leaders promised their followers that the so-called ‘partners’ would intercede for them with Allah.} one another nothing but delusions.

Here Allah highlights the helplessness and shortcomings of the gods of the polytheists, and the flawed argument on which their ascription of partners to Allah is based.

﴾﴾Say﴿﴿ to them O Messenger:

﴾Tell me about your [so-called] ‘partners’ on whom you call besides Allah﴿ - do they deserve to be called upon and worshipped?

﴾Show me what part of the earth they have created﴿ - have they created a sea, or have they created a mountain, or have they created an animal, or have they created any inanimate thing? They will affirm that the Creator of all things is Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). Or do their so-called partners have any share ﴾in the heavens﴿, in the creation and control thereof? They will say that they have no share in that.

If they did not create anything and they do not have any share with the Creator in His creation, then why do you worship them and call upon them, even though you admit that they are incapable? As there is no rational argument to show the soundness of their worship, this indicates that their worship is invalid and not right.

Then Allah discusses whether there is any textual evidence for that, and states that there is no such thing either. Hence He says: ﴾Or have We given them a book﴿ which speaks of that which they ascribe as partners to Allah and enjoins them to ascribe them as partners to Him and to worship idols,

﴾in which they have clear proof [for ascribing partners to Allah]﴿ in that book that was sent down to them, proving the validity of their ascription of partners to Him?

That is not the case; no book was sent down to them before the Qur’an, and no warner came to them before the Messenger of Allah Muhammad (ﷺ). Even if we assume that a book came down to them and a Messenger was sent to them, and they claimed that he commanded them to ascribe partners to Allah, we can be certain that they are lying, because Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:﴾And We did not send before you [O Muhammad] any Messenger but We revealed to him: There is no god but I, so worship Me [alone].﴿

So the Messengers and the Books unanimously enjoin devoting worship to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) alone,

﴾Although they were enjoined only to worship Allah with sincere devotion to Him, being true in faith to Him alone...﴿(al-Bayyinah 98:5)

If it is asked: if the rational and textual evidence proves that ascription of partners to Allah is invalid, then what made the polytheists do that, when there were among them people of sound reasoning who were smart and intelligent? Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) answers this question by saying: ﴾Nay, the wrongdoers promise one another nothing but delusions﴿ that is, they have no proof for the path that they follow; rather they encouraged one another to follow it by making it fair-seeming to one another, and the later ones followed in the misguided footsteps of the earlier generations; moreover the Shaytan made false promises to them and made their evil deeds fair-seeming to them. Thus ascription of partners to Allah took root in their hearts and became second nature to them, so it is difficult to remove it and get rid of it, with the result that people persisted in disbelief and invalid ascription of partners to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).

35:41. Verily Allah sustains the heavens and the earth, lest they decline, and if they were to decline, there is no one who could sustain them other than Him. Verily He is Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us about the perfect nature of His power and mercy, and the vastness of His forbearance and forgiveness; He sustains the heavens and the earth lest they decline, for if they were to decline no one could sustain them, because the strength and power of any creature would be unable to sustain them.

But He has decreed that they are to be sustained as they are and remain stable so that people may settle, and so that they may be of benefit and a source of lessons, so that people may learn about the great power and might of the Sovereign, which will fill their hearts with respect, awe, love and veneration for Him, and so that they may know the perfect nature of His forbearance and forgiveness, because He gives respite to the sinners and does not hasten to punish them, even though if He commanded the sky to do so, it would pelt them with stones, and if he gave permission to the earth to do so, it would swallow them up. But His forgiveness, forbearance and kindness encompass them, ﴾Verily He is Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving﴿.

35:42. They swore their most solemn oaths by Allah that if a warner came to them, they would be more guided than any other nation. But when a warner did come to them, it only increased them in aversion.

35:43. behaving arrogantly in the land and plotting evil, but the plotting of evil affects none but its authors. Are they waiting for anything other than the fate of the earlier peoples? No change will youfind in the way of Allah, and no alteration will you find in the way of Allah.^{1The way of Allah in punishing evildoers was already established among the previous nations, and will not change.}

That is, these people who disbelieve in you, O Messenger of Allah (swear their most solemn oaths ﴾that if a warner came to them, they would be more guided than any other nation that is, they would be more guided than the Jews and the Christians, the People of the Scriptures; but they did not fulfil this oath and pledge.

﴾But when a warner did come to them﴿ they were not guided, and they did not become more guided than any other nation. They did not persist in the misguidance they had been following; rather ﴾it only increased them in aversion﴿ and in misguidance, transgression and stubbornness.

The oath mentioned was not made for a good purpose or seeking the truth, otherwise they would have been helped to attain that. Rather it stemmed from arrogance in the land towards other people, and towards the truth, and they used elaborate words when they spoke of that with the aim of deceiving and cheating. They also wanted to give the impression that they were people of truth who were keen to seek it, so that some people would be deceived by them and others would follow in their footsteps.

﴾but the plotting of evil﴿ the aim of which is evil and the intention behind which is invalid

﴾affects none but its authors﴿, so their plot backfires on them. In these words and this description of their oath, Allah highlights to His slaves that they were lying and fabricating when they said that. Thus their disgrace became clear and they were exposed to shame, and their evil aims became apparent. Thus their plot backfired on them and Allah thwarted their plans.

Hence nothing was left for them except to wait and see what would befall them of punishment, which was Allah’s way with regard to earlier generations, and this way does not change. Anyone who follows the path of wrongdoing, stubbornness and arrogance towards other people will meet a similar fate, for Allah will exact retribution and take away the blessings that He had bestowed. So let them watch and wait for a punishment like that which befell the earlier nations.

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35:44. Have they not travelled in the land and seen what was the fate of those who came before them? They were more powerful than them. Allah is not such that anything can escape Him in the heavens or on earth, for verily He is All-Knowing, Omnipotent.

35:45. If Allah were to take humankind to task for what they have earned, He would not leave on the face of [the earth] a single living creature, but He gives them respite for an appointed term. Then when their appointed time comes, then verily Allah is well aware of His slaves [and knows who is deserving of punishment or reward].

Here Allah urges people to travel through the land, either physically or by means of contemplation, in order to learn lessons and not merely to look heedlessly. They should think of the fate that befell those who came before them, those who rejected the Messengers; they werewealthier than them, had more children and were more powerful, and they built upon it more than these (people of Makkah) had built (cf 30: 9). When the punishment overtook them, their power did not benefit them and their wealth and children were of no avail to them before Allah, and what Allah decreed for them came to pass.

﴾Allah is not such that anything can escape Him in the heavens or on earth )) because of the perfect nature of His knowledge and power, ﴾for verily He is All-Knowing, Omnipotent﴿.

Then Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) mentions His perfect forbearance and the lengthy respite He gives to leading sinners and great offenders:

﴾If Allah were to take humankind to task for what they have earned﴿ of sins,

﴾He would not leave on the face of [the earth] a single living creature﴿ that is, the punishment would have reached everywhere and even affected animals, who are not accountable.

﴾but﴿ He gives respite, although He does not forget about them, ﴾He gives them respite for an appointed term. Then when their appointed time comes, then verily Allah is well aware of His slaves [and knows who is deserving of punishment or reward]﴿, then He will requite them according to what he knows about them of good or evil.

This is the end oft he commentary on Soorat Fatir.

AH 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.