39:1. The revelation of the Book is from Allah, the Almighty, the Most Wise.

39:2. Verily We have sent down to you [O Muhammad] the Book with the truth, so worship Allah, with sincere devotion to Him alone.

39:3. Verily, sincere devotion is due to Allah alone. As for those who take others besides Him as protectors, [they say]: We only worship them so that they may bring us nearer to Allah. Allah will surely judge between them concerning that wherein they differ. Verily Allah does not guide anyone who persists in lies and disbelief.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us of the greatness of the Qur’an and the majesty of the One Who spoke it and from Whom it came down. For it came down from Allah, the Almighty, the Most Wise, the One Who is the object of worship and love for humankind. That is because of His greatness and perfection, and His might by which He subjugates all creatures, and everything surrenders to Him; all wisdom is in His creation and His command.

So the Qur’an has come down from One Who is like this; speech is an attribute of the speaker, and the attribute is connected to the one who possesses that attribute. Therefore just as Allah is perfect in all aspects, and there is none like unto Him, so too His word is perfect in all aspects, and there is nothing like it. This alone is sufficient to describe the Qur’an and highlight its sublime nature.

But - moreover - in order to highlight the level of perfection of the Qur’an, Allah mentions the one to whom it was revealed, namely Muhammad (ﷺ), who is the noblest of creation. Thus it is known that it is the noblest of books, and what it contains is the truth. It was sent down with the truth, concerning which there is no doubt, to bring humankind forth from the depths of darkness to the light. It was sent down containing the truth with regard to what it tells of the stories of the past and the future, and what it prescribes ofjust rulings. Everything it mentions is the greatest type of truth in all respects, and there is nothing beyond the truth except misguidance.

As the Qur’an was sent down from the true God, containing truth to guide humankind, to the best of humankind, the blessing of its sending is immense, and thanks must be given for that. That is to be done by devoting worship to Allah alone. Therefore He says: ﴾so worship Allah, with sincere devotion to Him alone﴿ that is, devote to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) alone all your worship, complying outwardly and inwardly with His commands. This refers to Islam, faith and ihsan,^{1Ihsan is referred to in the well-known hadith in which it was narrated that ‘Umar said: =} whichmeans focusing one’s devotion on Allah alone, seeking thereby His pleasure and not focusing on anything else.

﴾Verily, sincere devotion is due to Allah alone﴿. The command to focus devotion on Him alone is reiterated, so as to highlight the fact that just as all perfection belongs to Him alone, and all favours and blessings come from Him, for He is kind to His slaves in all aspects, so all worship should be devoted to Him alone, with pure intentions, free from any other motives. That is the devotion that Allah will accept from people and that He expects from the best of His creation and that He enjoined upon them, because it means that one's love, fear and hope are entirely focused on Him, and one is totally focused on Him, so that one may attain what one wants.

This level of devotion is what guarantees the well-being of people’s hearts, and purifies and cleanses them, not associating anything else with Him in worship. Allah does not accept any deeds that are contaminated with the ascription of partners to Him, for He has no

= «We were sitting with the Prophet when a man came to him whose clothes were intensely white and whose hair was intensely black; no signs of travel could be seen upon him, and none of us knew him. He sat down facing the Prophet (ﷺ), with his knees touching his, and he put his hands on his thighs, and said: O Muhammad, what is Islam? He said: To testify that there is no god except Allah, and that I am the Messenger of Allah; to establish regular prayer; to pay zakah; to fast in Ramadan; and to perform pilgrimage to the House (the Kaaba). He said: You have spoken the truth. We were amazed by him: he asked a question then told him that he had spoken the truth. Then he said: O Muhammad, what is faith? He said: To believe in Allah, His angels. His Messengers, His Books, the Last Day, and the divine decree (al-qadr), both good and bad. He said: You have spoken the truth. We were amazed by him: he asked a question then told him that he had spoken the truth. Then he said: O Muhammad, what is ihsan (right action, goodness, sincerity)? He said: To worship Allah as if you see Him, for even though you cannot see Him, He sees you.» This version was narrated by Ibn Majah; the hadith was also narrated by Bukhari, Muslim and others.need of any partner whatsoever. Ascription of partners to Him corrupts hearts and souls, and is detrimental to one’s well-being in this world and the hereafter, for it leads to doom and misery in the worst manner.

Therefore, when Allah commanded people to affirm His oneness and devote their worship sincerely to Him alone, He forbade them to ascribe partners to Him, and condemned those who do so. Hence He said:

﴾As for those who take others besides Him as protectors﴿ that is, by directing their worship and supplication to them, they seek to justify their actions by saying:

﴾We only worship them so that they may bring us nearer to Allah﴿ that is, so that they may take up our needs to Allah and intercede for us with Him; otherwise we know that they do not create or provide anything, and they do not have any control over anything.

In other words, these people turned away from that which Allah had enjoined of devoting worship only to Him, and they committed the greatest of transgressions, namely the ascription of partners to Allah; they compared the One Who has no comparison, the Almighty Sovereign, to human kings, and they claimed - on the basis of their corrupt thinking - that just as human kings cannot be reached except through prominent people, intercessors and advisers, who take the needs of their subjects to them, seek clemency for them and help people to get what they want, then Allah (tte) can only be reached in the same way.

This analogy is one of the most corrupt analogies, for it implicitly regards the Creator and the created being as equal, even though it is established - on the basis of rational thinking, textual evidence and common sense - that there is a vast difference between them. Human kings only need intermediaries between them and their subjects because they do not know the situation of their subjects, so they need people who can tell them about their situation. Moreover, there may be no compassion in their hearts towards those who are inneed, which necessitates the presence of people who will plead for clemency for them and ask them to show kindness to them. Kings need intercessors and advisers, but they also fear them, so they meet the needs of those on whose behalf the advisers intercede, out of consideration towards the advisers and to show kindness to them. They are also in need because they may withhold help for fear of losing their wealth.

As for the Lord (سبحانه وتعالى), Whose knowledge encompasses all things, both visible and hidden, and He does not need anyone to tell him about the situation of His subjects and slaves, He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy, the Most Generous of those who show generosity; He does not need anyone among His creation to make Him show mercy to His slaves. Rather He is more merciful towards them than their own selves and their parents. It is He Who urges them and calls them to that by means of which they may attain His mercy, and He is keen to care for them in ways that they may not want for themselves.

He is free of need and completely self-sufficient; if all of creation, from the first to the last, were to come together in a single plain and ask of Him, and He were to give each one of them what he asked for and wished for, that would not diminish what He owns in the slightest, and it would not detract from what He possesses, except the likeness of what is detracted from the sea when a needle is dipped in it. All the intercessors fear Him, and not one of them can intercede except by His leave, for all intercession belongs to Him.

On the basis of these differences, one may realise how ignorant and foolish are those who ascribe partners to Him, and how audacious they are in transgressing against Him. One may also realise the reason why Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) does not forgive the ascription of partners to Him, for it is an implicit criticism of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). Hence He says - judging between the two parties, those who worship Him alone and those who ascribe partners to Him - and in these words there is an implicit threat to those who ascribe partners to Him:﴾Allah will surely judge between them concerning that wherein they differ﴿.

It is known that His judgement is that the sincere believers who worship Him alone will be in the gardens of bliss, but for the one who ascribed partners to Allah, Allah has forbidden paradise to him, and his abode will be the fire.

Verily Allah does not guide anyone who persists in lies and disbelief﴿ that is, one whose main quality is lies or disbelief, in the sense that exhortations and signs come to him, yet this entrenched quality does not depart from him; Allah shows him the signs, but he denies them, disbelieves them and rejects them.

How can such a one be guided when he has barred the door to himself? His punishment is that Allah places a seal on his heart, so he will not believe.

39:4. If Allah had wanted to take for Himself a son, He could have chosen whomever He wished from among what He has created. Glory be to Him! He is Allah, the One, the Subjugator.

﴾If Allah had wanted to take for Himself a son﴿ as is claimed by foolish people

﴾He could have chosen whomever He wished from among what He has created﴿ that is, He could have chosen whomever He wanted from among His creation, and made him like a son, and He would have had no need to take a wife.

﴾Glory be to Him! ﴿ And exalted be He far above what the disbelievers think of Him and what the heretics ascribe to Him.﴾He is Allah, the One, the Subjugator﴿ that is, He is One (and unique) in His essence, in His names, in His attributes and in His deeds. Nothing is comparable to Him. If He had a son, that would imply that the son would be like Him in oneness, because he would be part of Him. And He is the Subjugator of all realms, both upper and lower. If He had a son, he would not be subjugated, and he would have some influence on his father and would be similar to his father.

The divine attributes of oneness and subjugation are interconnected; if He is One, He cannot but be the Subjugator, and the Subjugator cannot be but One. This rules out any kind of partnership whatsoever.

39:5. He created the heavens and the earth for a true purpose. He wraps the night over the day and wraps the day over the night. He has made the sun and moon to be of service, each running its course for an appointed time. Verily He is the Almighty, the Oft-Forgiving.

39:6. He created you from a single soul, and created from it its mate, and He bestowed upon you livestock, eight in [four] pairs. Hecreates you in your mothers’ wombs, one stage after another, in three layers of darkness. Such is Allah your Lord. His is the dominion; there is no god but He. So how could you be turned away [from the truth]?

39:7. If you disbelieve, verily Allah has no need of you, but He does not approve of disbelief for His slaves. If you give thanks, He approves of that for you. No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another. Then to your Lord you will [all] return, then He will inform you about what you used to do. Verily He knows well what is in [people’s] hearts.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that He ﴾created the heavens and the earth for a true purpose﴿ that is, for a wise reason and aim, and in order to issue commands and prohibitions to His slaves, and to reward and punish them.

﴾He wraps the night over the day and wraps the day over the night﴿ that is, He causes each to encroach upon the other and take its place, so they do not come together; rather when one of them comes, the other withdraws.

﴾He has made the sun and moon to be of service﴿ so that they follow a specific system ﴾each﴿ - both the sun and the moon - ﴾running its course for an appointed time﴿ that is, until this world comes to an end and is destroyed. Allah will destroy its means of life, its sun and moon, and He will create people anew so that they may settle in their eternal abode, either paradise or hell.

﴾Verily He is the Almighty﴿ and nothing can stand up to Him; He is the subjugator of all things and nothing is beyond Him; by His might. He brought into being these mighty creations, and subjugated them to run their course by His command.

﴾the Oft-Forgiving﴿ Who forgives the sins of His believing, repentant slaves, as He says elsewhere:﴾Verily, I am Oft-Forgiving to those who repent and believe, and do righteous deeds, then remain steadfast.﴿ (Ta Ha 20: 82)

He forgives the one who ascribes partners to Him, after he sees His great signs, then repents.

By His might, ﴾He created you from a single soul﴿ even though you are so many and widely spread throughout the earth ﴾fand created from it its mate﴿ so that he might find comfort in her and she might find comfort in him; thus the blessing will be perfected. ﴾and He bestowed upon you livestock﴿ as a mercy to you height in [four] pairs﴿ - they are mentioned in Soorat al-An‘am:

﴾...eight in [four] pairs: a pair of sheep and a pair of goats... [And likewise] a pair of camels and a pair of cattle.. (al-Anam 6: 143-144)

Allah singled these out for mention, even though He also bestowed other animals upon His slaves to serve their interests, because of their many benefits, for man meets many of his needs through them, and also because of their honour, as they were singled out for certain purposes and no other animals can serve in their place - such as the udfriyah, hady and ‘aqeeqah; the fact that it is obligatory to give zakah on them; and because they may be given as diyah (blood money).

Having mentioned the creation of our father and mother, Allah now mentions the beginning of creation:

﴾He creates you in your mothers’ wombs, one stage after another﴿ when you are at a stage where no human hand has touched you and no eye has seen you, it is He Who cares for you in that tight space ﴾fin three layers of darkness﴿ namely the darkness of the abdomen, then the darkness of the uterus, then the darkness of the placenta. ﴾Such﴿ that is, the One Who created the heavens and the earth, and made the sun and moon to be of service, and created you and created the livestock animals for you,

﴾is Allah your Lord﴿ that is, the only One Who is deserving of devotion and worship. Who cares for you and disposes of your affairs.Just as He is the only One Who created you and cares for you, and has no partner in that. He is the only One Who deserves to be worshipped, with no partner or associate.

Hence He says: ﴾His is the dominion; there is no god but He. So how could you be turned away [from the truth]?﴿ After this statement - the statement that He alone is deserving of devotion - how can you turn to worshipping idols that do not control anything at all?

﴾If you disbelieve, verily Allah has no need of you﴿ and He will not be harmed by your disbelief just as He does not benefit from your obedience; rather His commands and prohibitions are purely a favour and kindness towards you

﴾but He does not approve of disbelief for His slaves﴿ because of His perfect kindness towards them and His knowledge that disbelief will lead them to doom and misery, after which they will never know any bliss; moreover. He created them to worship Him, so this is the purpose for which He created them. Therefore He does not approve of them forsaking the purpose for which He created them.

﴾flf you give thanks﴿ to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), by affirming His oneness and devoting worship to Him alone,

﴾He approves of that for you﴿ because of His mercy towards you and because He loves to be kind to you, and He loves for you to do that for which He created you.

Just as He is not harmed by your ascription of partners to Him and does not benefit from your good deeds and affirmation of His oneness, so too each one of you has his own deeds, good and evil (and is not affected by the deeds of others): ﴾No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another﴿.

﴾Then to your Lord you will [all] return﴿ on the Day of Resurrection,

﴾then He will inform you about what you used to do﴿ as He has full knowledge thereof, and it was already decreed and written by His pen, and recorded against you by the noble angels, and witnessedby your own faculties which will testify against you. Then He will requite each of you as he deserves.

Verily He knows well what is in [people’s] hearts﴿ and their qualities of righteousness or evil. What is meant here is to highlight the fact that the requital will be based on perfect justice.

39:8. When misfortune befalls a person, he calls upon his Lord [alone], turning to Him in repentance. Then when He bestows a favour upon him from Himself, he forgets the One on Whom he was calling before, and sets up rivals to Allah, to lead people astray from His path. Say [O Muhammad]: Take pleasure in your disbelief for a little while; verily you will be among the inhabitants of the fire.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us of His generosity, kindness and care towards His slave, and the lack of gratitude on the part of the slave. When misfortune - such as sickness, poverty, distress on the sea, and the like - befalls a person, he knows that no one can save him from this predicament except Allah, so he calls upon Him, beseeching Him, turning to Him and asking Him for help to relieve him from what has befallen him, and he persists in that supplication.

﴾Then when Hej﴿ namely Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) ﴾bestows a favour upon him from Himself﴿ by relieving him from what he is suffering of harm and distress,

﴾he forgets the One on Whom he was calling before﴿ and he forgets the harm because of which he called upon Allah, and he carries onas if no harm befell him, and persists in his ascription of partners to Allah.

﴾and sets up rivals to Allah, to lead people astray from His path﴿ that is, to mislead himself and mislead others, because leading others astray is based on going astray oneself. This verse refers to what results from being misled in order to refer to the fact that he himself is misled.

﴾Say﴿ to this transgressor, who has repaid Allah’s blessings with ingratitude (14: 28):

﴾Take pleasure in your disbelief for a little while; verily you will be among the inhabitants of the fire﴿. Then what you enjoyed will be of no help to you, if your final destination is hell.

﴾But consider this: if We grant them a life of ease for years, then there comes to them that which they are warned of, all the life of ease that they were granted will be of no avail to them, jj (ash-Shu ara '26:205-207)

39:9. [Can such a disbeliever, who is destined for hell, be better than] one who is constant in worship, spending the night prostrating and standing [in prayer], fearful of the hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord? Say: Are they equal, those who know and those who do not know? It is only people of understanding who will pay heed.

This is a contrast between the one who strives in worship of Allah and one who does not, between one who has knowledge and one who is ignorant. This is something that is well established in people’s minds, and it is known for certain that they are different. The one who turns away from obeying his Lord and follows his own whimsand desires is not like one who is constant in worship and obeys Allah by doing the best act of worship, namely prayer, at the best of times, which is during the night. Allah describes him as doing a great deal of the best of deeds, then He describes him as having fear and hope. The reason for his fear is punishment in the hereafter for what he did of sins, and the reason for his hope is the mercy of Allah. Thus Allah describes him in terms of both inward and outward acts of obedience.

﴾Say: Are they equal, those who know﴿ their Lord and know what He has prescribed of religious duties, what He has prescribed of requital, and what He has of reasons and wisdom behind what He prescribes tfand those who do not know﴿ any of that? The two groups are not equal, just as night and day, light and darkness, water and fire are not equal.

﴾lt is only people of understanding﴿ that is, people of clear and smart minds ﴾who will pay heed﴿ when they are reminded, for they are the ones who give precedence to that which is superior over that which is inferior. Therefore they give precedence to knowledge over ignorance, obedience to Allah over disobedience towards Him, because they have minds with which they can see the consequences of their actions. This is in contrast to those who have no understanding or reason, and therefore take their whims and desires as their god.

>j\yu

39:10. Say: O My slaves who believe, fear your Lord. For those who do good in this world, there will be good [reward]. Allah’s earth is spacious. Verily those who are patient and steadfast will be rewarded abundantly, without measure.

That is, call upon the noblest of humankind, namely the believers, giving them the best of instructions, which is the command to fear Allah, reminding them of the reason why they should fear Him, which is because Allah is their Lord, Who bestows blessings upon them, which requires that they should fear Him. Moreover, part of the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon them is faith, which requires them to fear Him. This is like saying: O generous one, give charity, or: O brave one, fight.

Allah tells them of the reward so as to motivate them (to strive hard) in this world:

tfFor those who do good in this world﴿ by worshipping their Lord, ﴾there will be good [reward]﴿ and abundant provision, peace of mind and joy in the heart, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us elsewhere:

﴾Whoever does righteous deeds, male or female, and is a believer. We will surely grant him a good life...﴿ (an-Nahl 16: 97)

﴾Allah’s earth is spacious﴿ so if you are prevented from worshipping Him in one land, then migrate to another land where you can worship your Lord and you will be able to establish your religion.

When Allah says For those who do good in this world, there will be good [reward]﴿, some people may have reason to think, based on this verse, that the text is general in meaning, and that anyone who does good will have good in this world - so what about those who believe in some land and are persecuted and are humiliated, and they do not get that good in this world? Therefore this notion is warded off by the words: ﴾Allah’s earth is spacious﴿. In this regard there are glad tidings, as stated by the Prophet (ﷺ) when he said:

«A group of my Ummah will continue to adhere to the truth, prevailing and not harmed by those who forsake them or differ with them, until the decree of Allah comes to pass when they are like that.» (Muslim)

This verse refers to that and is close in meaning to it, for Allah te) has told us that His earth is spacious, so whenever you are prevented from worshipping Him in one place, then migrate to somewhere else. This is general in meaning, and is applicable at all times and in all places. Anyone who migrates will inevitably find some Muslim community to whom he may turn and a place where he can practise his religion.

﴾Verily those who are patient and steadfast will be rewarded abundantly, without measure﴿ this is general in meaning and applies to all types of patience: patience in accepting the decree of Allah, even if it is painful, so they do not complain about it; patience in refraining from sin and not committing it; and patience in obeying Allah, so that they do it. Allah has promised those who are patient their reward without measure, that is, without limit or counting. That is only because of the virtue and high status of patience before Allah, for it helps in all things.

39:11. Say [O Muhammad]: Verily I have been commanded to worship Allah, with sincere devotion to Him alone,

39:12. and I have been commanded to be the first of those who submit to Allah [in Islam],

39:13. Say: I fear, if 1 were to disobey my Lord, the punishment of a momentous day.

39:14. Say: It is Allah I worship, with sincere devotion to Him alone;

39:15. so worship whatever you wish besides Him. Say: Indeed the real losers will be those who lose their own souls and their families on the Day of Resurrection. That is indeed manifest loss.

39:16. They will have layers of fire above them and beneath them. Thus Allah instils fear in His slaves: O My slaves, then fear Me!

4Say﴿, O Messenger (ﷺ), to the people:

﴾Verily I have been commanded to worship Allah, with sincere devotion to Him alone﴿. This was at the beginning of the soorah, where Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾so worship Allah, with sincere devotion to

﴾and I have been commanded to be the first of those who submit to Allah [in Islam] ﴿ because I am the one who calls and guides people to their Lord, which dictates that I should be the first one to comply with what I enjoin, and the first one to submit to Allah in Islam. This should be the case on the part of Muhammad (ﷺ) and on the part of those who claim to be his followers: it is essential that they comply visibly and outwardly with the teachings of Islam, and that they be sincere to Allah alone in all their deeds, both visible and hidden.

﴾Say: I fear, if 1 were to disobey my Lord﴿ with regard to what He has enjoined upon me of sincerity and submission ﴾the punishment of a momentous day﴿ in which those who ascribe partners to Him will abide for ever, and those who disobey Him will be punished.

﴾Say: It is Allah I worship, with sincere devotion to Him alone; so worship whatever you wish besides Him﴿. This is like the soorah in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾Say: O disbelievers, I do not worship what you worship, nor do you worship what I worship; I will not worship what you worship, norwill you worship what I worship. To you be your religion, and to me my religion.﴿ (al-Kafiroon 109: 1-6)

﴾Say: Indeed the real losers will be those who lose their own souls﴿ as they will have deprived them of reward and incurred the worst punishment

﴾and their families on the Day of Resurrection﴿ that is, they will be separated from them, and they will grieve for them and feel the pain of heavy loss.

﴾That is indeed manifest loss﴿ and there is no other loss like it, for it is ongoing loss after which there is no gain, and not even sound well-being.

Then Allah tells us of the severity of what they will go through of misery and hardship:

﴾They will have layers of fire above them﴿ that is, pieces of fire like huge clouds

﴾and beneath them﴿.

CThus﴿ that is, by means of this description that Allah gives of the punishment of the people of hell, which is a means by which Allah pushes His slaves towards His mercy,

﴾Allah instils fear in His slaves: O My slaves, then fear Me!﴿ That is, He uses what He has prepared of punishment for those who are doomed as a means of calling His slaves to fear Him, and as a means of deterring them from that which incurs the punishment. Glory be to the One Who shows mercy to His slaves in all things, and has made easy for them the paths that lead to Him, which He urges them to follow and encourages them with everything that souls may desire and with which hearts may feel at ease, and He emphatically warns them against striving for the sake of anything other than Him, and mentions that which may deter them from doing so.

39:17. Those who shun false gods and do not worship them, and turn to Allah [alone], for them are glad tidings - so [O Muhammad] give glad tidings to My slaves.

39:18. who listen to what is said, then follow the best of it. They are the ones whom Allah has guided and they are the people of understanding.

Having mentioned the situation of the evildoers, Allah now mentions the situation and reward of those who turn to Him:

﴾Those who shun false gods and do not worship them﴿ what is meant by false gods here is worshipping anything other than Allah, so they shun the worship of them.

﴾and turn to Allah [alone]﴿ by worshipping Him and focusing their devotion only on Him. Thus they drifted away from the worship of idols to the worship of the All-Knowing Sovereign, from ascription of partners to Allah and sin, to affirmation of His oneness and obedience to Him.

﴾for them are glad tidings﴿ the greatness and description of which no one can know except those whom Allah honours with them. This includes glad tidings in the life of this world, in the form of lofty renown, good dreams and divine care, through which they see that He wants to honour them in this world and in the hereafter. And they will have glad tidings in the hereafter, at the time of death, in the grave, and on the Day of Resurrection. And the ultimate glad tidings will be when the Most Generous Lord gives them the glad tidings ofHis eternal pleasure, care and generosity, and granting them safety and security in paradise.

Having stated that they will have glad tidings, Allah now instructs (His Prophet [^§]) to give them glad tidings, and He mentions the characteristics for which they deserve those glad tidings: ﴾so [O Muhammad] give glad tidings to My slaves, who listen to what is said﴿. This refers to all that is said. They listen to all types of speech that they hear, in order to distinguish between that which should be given precedence and that which should be avoided. It is a sign of their prudence and maturity in thinking that they follow the best of speech. The best of all speech is the words of Allah and the words of His Messenger as Allah tells us later in this soorah: ﴾AUah has sent down the best of messages: a Book that is consistent

In this verse there is a subtle point: having said of these people whom He praised that they listen to what is said then follow the best of it, it is as if it were said: Is there any way to know what is the best of it, so that we may acquire the characteristics of the people of understanding and so that we may know that the one who gives precedence to it is one of the people of understanding? So it was said in response: Yes, the best of it is what Allah mentions here: ﴾Allah has sent down the best of messages: a Book that is consistent within ﴾who listen to what is said, then follow the best of it. They are the ones whom Allah has guided﴿ to the best of attitudes and deeds ﴾fand they are the people of understanding﴿ that is, people with smart minds. Part of their understanding and prudence is that they know what is good and what is not, and they give precedence to that to which precedence should be given over all else. This is a sign of rational thinking; in fact there is no other sign of rational thinking apart from that. The one who does not distinguish between good words and bad words is not one of the people of sound reasoning. As for the one whodistinguishes between them, but his whims and desires overwhelm his rational thinking, his rational thinking is subject to his whims and desires, so he does not give precedence to that which is best and therefore he is a man of no understanding.

\'yd j\3

39:19. Can you save one for whom punishment is inevitable, one who is in the fire?

39:20. But for those who fear their Lord there will be lofty dwellings, one above another, built high, beneath which rivers flow. [This is] the promise of Allah; Allah does not break His promise.

That is, can you save one for whom punishment has become inevitable because he persisted in his stubborn misguidance and disbelief? There is no way that you can guide him and you cannot save him from the fire. Rather the ultimate gain and ultimate triumph is for those who fear Allah, for whom He has prepared honour and all kinds of delights, and no one can estimate how great they are.

﴾But for those who fear their Lord there will be lofty dwellings﴿ that is, high and adorned abodes; because of their beauty, splendour and purity, their outside will be visible from the inside, and their inside will be visible from the outside. Because they are so high, they can be seen from afar, like a bright star on the western horizon. Hence Allah says:

﴾one above another, built high﴿, made of gold and silver, and their mortar will be musk.﴾beneath which rivers flow﴿ to irrigate the verdant gardens and beautiful trees, which will produce delicious crops and ripe fruits.

﴾[This is] the promise of Allah; Allah does not break His promise﴿. He has promised this reward to those who fear him, so He will inevitably fulfil His promise. Therefore let them acquire the characteristics and qualities of those who fear Allah, so that He may reward them in full.

39:21. Do you not see that Allah sends down water from the sky, and lets it trickle through the earth to emerge as springs? Then He brings forth by means of it crops of various kinds; then they wither, and you see them turn yellow; then He causes them to crumble. Verily in that is a sign for people of understanding.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) reminds the people of understanding of what He sends down from the sky of water, and lets it trickle through the earth to emerge as springs. In other words. He deposits the water so that it will emerge easily as springs.

﴾Then He brings forth by means of it crops of various kinds﴿ such as wheat, com, barley, rice and other things ﴾then they wither﴿ after they reach their peak, or when they are affected by blight

﴾and you see them turn yellow; then He causes them to crumble﴿ and break up.﴾Verily in that is a sign for people of understanding﴿ by which they remember the care of their Lord and His mercy towards His slaves, for He makes available to them this water and the stores of the earth, according to what serves their interests.

And they are reminded thereby of His perfect might, and that He will bring the dead back to life just as He brings the earth back to life after its death, and they are reminded that the One Who does that is the only one Who is deserving of worship.

O Allah, make us among the people of understanding whom You raise in status and guide by means of what You have given them of sound reason, and to whom You have shown the subtle meanings of Your Book and the beauty of Your verses, that no one before them understood on such a level, for You are the Bestower.

39:22. Is one whose heart Allah has opened to Islam, so that he follows light from his Lord [like one who is hard-hearted]? Woe to those whose hearts harden upon hearing the reminder of Allah [the Qur’an], Such people are clearly misguided.

That is, are they equal, the one whose heart Allah has opened to Islam, so he feels at ease with the commands of Allah and he accepts them and acts upon them happily and joyfully, on the basis of understanding - who is the one referred to in the words ﴾fso that he follows light from his Lord﴿ - and the one who is not like that? That is based on the fact that Allah says:﴾ Woe to those whose hearts harden upon hearing the reminder of Allah [the Qur’an]﴿ that is, their hearts do not soften upon hearing His Book, they do not pay heed toits verses, and they do not find rest in remembrance of Him; rather their hearts turn away from their Lord and focus on something other than Him. These are the ones to whom the stem warning and severe punishment are directed.

﴾Such people are clearly misguided﴿ and what misguidance could be worse than the misguidance of one who turns away from his Lord, when all happiness is in turning to Him, and whose heart has grown too hard to remember Him, and instead he focuses on everything that could harm him?

39:23. Allah has sent down the best of messages: a Book that is consistent within itself, wherein is reiteration. The skins of those who fear their Lord tremble with awe thereat [when they hear it], then their skins relax and their hearts soften towards the reminder of Allah [the Qur’an], Such is the guidance of Allah, with which He guides whomever He will, but whomever Allah has caused to go astray, no one can guide.

Here Allah speaks of His Book that He sent down, telling us that it is ﴾the best of messages﴿ that is, the best of all messages. The best of speech is the word of Allah, and the best of the divinely revealed Books is this Qur’an. As it is the best, thus it is known that its wordings are the most eloquent and clear, and its meanings are the most sublime, because it is the best of messages in its wording and meaning; it is consistent and harmonious in its beauty and is not contradictory in any way whatsoever, to the point that the more a person reflects onit and ponders it, he will see of its harmonious nature - even in some of its ambiguous verses - that which would dazzle those who reflect, and he will be certain that it can only have come from One Who is Most Wise, All-Knowing.

﴾wherein is reiteration﴿ that is, its stories and rulings, and the descriptions of good people and evil people, are repeated, and the names and attributes of Allah are repeated in it. This is a manifestation of its majestic and beautiful nature, for Allah knows how much people need its meanings and ideas to purify their hearts and perfect their character. These meanings and ideas are, for people’s hearts, like water for trees; the less frequently trees are watered, the more they are damaged and they may even be destroyed, but the more frequently they are watered, the better they are and the more beneficial fruit they may bear. In like manner, the heart constantly needs to be reminded of the meanings and ideas in the word of Allah fte), but if a certain concept were to be mentioned only one time in the entire Qur’an, it would not have a strong impact and would not lead to any results.

Hence in this commentary I have followed the same methodology, emulating the example of that on which it is a commentary. You will not find instructions to go back and check something that has already been discussed; rather every time a concept is mentioned, you will find it explained in full detail, without taking into account previous discussions of similar concepts, even though in some places the idea may be discussed in greater detail than others, pointing to more benefits. Similarly, the reader of the Qur’an should reflect on its meanings and should not omit to reflect on the meanings of all verses, (even if the meaning is repeated), because that is a means of attaining much good and many benefits.

Because the Qur’an is of such a majestic and great nature, it had an impact on the hearts of people of understanding who were guided, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:﴾The skins of those who fear their Lord tremble with awe thereat﴿ because of what it contains of verses that instil fear and awe in their hearts

﴾then their skins relax and their hearts soften towards the reminder of Allah﴿ that is, when there is mention of hope and glad tidings for the righteous. Sometimes it encourages them to do good, and sometimes it warns against doing evil.

﴾Such﴿ namely what Allah has mentioned of the impact that the Qur’an has on them ﴾is the guidance of Allah﴿ that is, it is guidance from Him to His slave, and is part of His grace and kindness towards them ﴾with which He guides﴿ by means of that ﴾whomever He will﴿ of His slaves.

It may be that what is meant by the word ﴾Such﴿ is the Qur’an which We have described to you

﴾is the guidance of Allah﴿ and there is no way to reach Allah except through it

﴾with which He guides whomever He will﴿ of His slaves who have good intentions. This is like the verse in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾With which Allah guides all who seek His good pleasure to ways of peace and safety...﴿ (al-Md’idah 5: 16)

(﴾but whomever Allah has caused to go astray, no one can guide﴿ because there is no path that leads to guidance except by the help of Allah and by His making a person turn to His Book. If that does not happen, there is no way to be guided; otherwise there is nothing but obvious misguidance and doom.

39:24. Is one who has nothing except his face to shield him from the terrible punishment on the Day of Resurrection [like one who is saved from that]? And it will be said to the wrongdoers: Taste [the punishment for] what you used to eam.

39:25. Those who came before them also disbelieved, so the punishment came upon them from a direction they did not expect.

39:26. Thus Allah gave them a taste of disgrace in this world, but the punishment of the hereafter is greater, if only they knew.

That is, are they equal, this one whom Allah has guided and enabled him to follow the path that leads to paradise, and the one who will persist in his misguidance and stubbornness until the Day of Resurrection? On that day, he will be faced with the immense punishment and he will try to shield himself with his face, which is the noblest part of the body, and the least of punishment may have an impact on it. He will try to shield himself with it from the terrible punishment, because his hands and feet will be tied up.

﴾And it will be said to the wrongdoers﴿ who wronged themselves by disbelieving and sinning, by way of rebuking and chastising them: ﴾Taste [the punishment for] what you used to earn﴿.

﴾Those who came before them﴿ of the earlier nations ﴾also disbelieved﴿ as these people disbelieved

﴾so the punishment came upon them from a direction they did not expect﴿. It came upon them at a time of heedlessness, at the beginning of the day, or when they were napping.

﴾Thus﴿ by means of that punishment ﴾Allah gave them a taste of disgrace in this world﴿ and they were exposed to shame and disgrace before Allah and before people.﴾but the punishment of the hereafter is greater, if only they knew﴿. So let these people beware of persisting in disbelief, lest there befall them the same punishment that befell the earlier people.

39:27. Verily We have presented to humankind, in this Qur’an, every kind of example, so that they may pay heed.

39:28. [It is] an Arabic Qur’an, free of flaws and contradictions, so that they may guard against disbelief.

39:29. Allah makes this comparison: a slave belonging to several partners who are at odds with one another, and a slave belonging entirely to one master; Are they equal when compared?^{1This is a comparison between the polytheist who believes in many gods and the Muslim who believes in one God, Allah, the Creator.} Praise be to Allah. But most of them do not understand.

39:30. You [O Muhammad] will surely die, and they too will die;

39:31. then on the Day of Resurrection, you will all dispute before your Lord.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) gives all kinds of example in the Qur’an: examples of good people and evil people, and examples to explain affirmation of His oneness and of the association of others with Him. Each example highlights and clarifies the reality and nature of things. The wisdombehind that is ﴾so that they may pay heed﴿ when We explain the truth, and thus they may learn and act accordingly.

﴾[It is] an Arabic Qur’an﴿ that is, We have made it an Arabic Qur’an, with clear wording, easy to understand, especially for the Arabs

﴾free of flaws and contradictions﴿ that is, it contains no flaws or shortcomings whatsoever, whether in its wording or in its meanings and ideas. This implies that it is perfectly balanced and straightforward, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾Praise be to Allah Who has sent down the Book to His slave, and has not allowed any crookedness therein, a Book of unerring soundness...﴿ (al-KahflH: 1-2)

﴾so that they may guard against disbelief﴿ and fear Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), as He has made easy for them the path of piety based on sound belief and practices, by means of this straightforward Arabic Qur’an in which Allah gives all kinds of examples.

Then He gives an example or comparison of the association of others with Him and the affirmation of His oneness: ﴾Allah makes this comparison: a slave belonging to several partners who are at odds with one another﴿ that is, his owners are many and do not agree on anything at all, so he cannot find any rest; rather they are at odds and arguing over him, and each one has demands that he wants the slave to do for him, but the others want something else. So what do you think of the situation of this slave whose owners are at odds with one another?

﴾and a slave belonging entirely to one master﴿ that is, he belongs only to him, and he knows what his master wants, so he is in a comfortable position.

﴾Are they﴿ that is, these two slaves ﴾equal when compared?﴿ They are not equal.

Such is the polytheist, who serves several partners who are at odds with one another. He calls upon one, then he calls upon another, and you see that he does not feel settled or at ease, and his heart does not feel any comfort in any situation. In contrast, Allah has saved the monotheist, who is sincere to his Lord alone, from associating anyone with Him, so he is completely at ease and is in a very comfortable situation.

﴾ Are they equal when compared? Praise be to Allah﴿ for showing truth as distinct from falsehood and for guiding the ignorant.

﴾But most of them do not understand﴿.

﴾You [O Muhammad] will surely die, and they too will die﴿ that is, you will all inevitably die.

﴾We did not grant everlasting life to any human being before you [O Muhammad]. So if you die, will they [the disbelievers] live forever?﴿

﴾then on the Day of Resurrection, you will all dispute before your Lord﴿ with regard to that concerning which you disputed (in this world), and He will judge justly between you and will requite each of you for his deeds;

C-Allah has kept account of it whilst they have forgotten it...﴿ (al-Mujadilah 58: 6)

39:32. Who does greater wrong than he who tells lies against Allah and rejects the truth when it comes to him? Is there not in hell an abode for the disbelievers?

39:33. Those who proclaim the truth and believe in it - it is they who are the righteous.

39:34. They will have all that they wish for with their Lord. Such is the reward of those who do good.

39:35. And Allah will absolve them of the worst of their deeds, and He will surely grant them their reward according to the best of their deeds.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) issues a warning, stating that no one does greater or worse wrong

﴾than he who tells lies against Allah﴿ by attributing to Him that which does not befit His Majesty, or by claiming to be a Prophet, or by saying that Allah said such and such, or issued such and such a ruling, when that is not true. This is included in the verse in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾Say: My Lord has only forbidden... and saying concerning Allah that of which you have no knowledge.﴿ (al-A raf7: 33)

- if one is ignorant, otherwise it is even worse and even more abhorrent.

﴾and rejects the truth when it comes to him﴿ that is, no one does greater wrong than one to whom the truth comes, supported with evidence, but he rejects it. His rejection is great wrongdoing on his part, because he has rejected the truth after it became clear. So if he combines telling lies against Allah with rejecting the truth, then this is wrongdoing upon wrongdoing.

﴾Is there not in hell an abode for the disbelievers?﴿ where scores will be settled with them and all the dues of Allah will be taken from every wrongdoer and disbeliever.﴾)...for associating others in worship with Him is indeed grievous wrongdoing.﴿ (Luqman 31: 13)

Having mentioned the disbelieving liar, and his sin and punishment, Allah now mentions the truthful believer and his reward: s﴾Those who proclaim the truth﴿ in word and deed. This includes the Prophets and those who follow in their footsteps, those who believe in what the Prophet (ﷺ) said, relating from Allah, and the rulings revealed from Him, and are sincere and truthful in all that they do and say.

﴾and believe in it﴿ that is, in the truth, because a person may proclaim the truth but not believe in it, because of his arrogance, or because he looks down on those who speak the truth and proclaim it. So it is essential to mention these two qualities together, namely proclaiming the truth and believing in it. Proclaiming the truth is indicative of knowledge and fair-mindedness, and believing in it is indicative of humility and the absence of arrogance.

﴾it is they﴿ namely those who are enabled to combine these two qualities

﴾-(who are the righteous﴿. All the characteristics of piety and righteousness boil down to proclaiming the truth and believing in it.

﴾They will have all that they wish for with their Lord﴿ of reward, such as no eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has it ever crossed the mind of man. Anything that they want and wish for, of all kinds of delights and desirable things, they will attain it and it will be ready and prepared for them.

﴾Such is the reward of those who do good﴿ those who worship Allah as if they see Him, for if they do not see Him, verily He sees them.

﴾those who do good﴿ and treat the slaves of Allah with kindness.

And Allah will absolve them of the worst of their deeds, and He will surely grant them their reward according to the best of theirdeeds﴿. People’s deeds are one of three things: either bad, or good, or neither bad nor good.

The latter category includes things that are permissible and are not subject to either reward or punishment. The bad category includes all sins, and the good category includes all acts of obedience and worship. On the basis of this explanation we may understand the meaning of this verse, and that the words ﴾And Allah will absolve them of the worst of their deeds﴿ indicate that the worst they did was minor sins, because of their doing of good and their fear of Allah.

﴾fand He will surely grant them their reward according to the best of their deeds﴿ that is, because of all their good deeds.

﴾Verily, Allah does not wrong anyone by as much as the weight of a speck of dust. And if there is a good deed Allah will multiply it, and give an immense reward of His own.﴿ (an-Nisa'4. 40)

39:36. Is not Allah sufficient for His slave? Yet they try to frighten you with those [whom they worship] besides Him. Whomever Allah has caused to go astray, no one can guide,

39:37. and whomever Allah guides, no one can cause to go astray. Is not Allah Almighty, an Avenger?

﴾Is not Allah sufficient for His slave?﴿ that is, is it not part of His generosity, kindness and care of His slave who is carrying out his duties as a slave of Allah, complying with His commands and heeding His prohibitions - especially the most perfect of humankindin servitude to his Lord, namely Muhammad (ﷺ) - that Allah will suffice him in all his affairs, both religious and worldly, and will ward off" from him anyone who intends ill towards him?

﴾Yet they try to frighten you with those [whom they worship] besides Him﴿ namely the idols and rivals, saying that they will harm you. This stems from their misguidance and error.

﴾Whomever Allah has caused to go astray, no one can guide, and whomever Allah guides, no one can cause to go astray﴿ because it is He in Whose Hand is the power to guide or leave astray; whatever He wills happens and whatever He does not will does not happen. ﴾Is not Allah Almighty﴿- to Him belongs perfect might by which He subjugates all things. By His might, He suffices His slave and wards off the schemes (of the disbelievers) against him ﴾an Avenger﴿ - whoever disobeys Him, let them beware of incurring His vengeance.

39:38. If you ask them who created the heavens and the earth, they will surely say: Allah. Say: Tell me about those on whom you call besides Allah: if Allah wills that some adversity should befall me, can they relieve that adversity? Or if He wills that mercy should be bestowed on me, could they withhold His mercy? Say: Allah is sufficient for me; in Him let all that trust put their trust.

That is, if you ask these misguided people who are trying to frighten you with those (whom they worship) besides Him, and youestablish proof against them that is very clear to them, then ask them ﴾who created the heavens and the earth﴿, they will not say that their gods created anything.

﴾they will surely say: Allah﴿ is the One Who created them alone. ﴾Say﴿ to them, affirming the helplessness of their gods, after the power of Allah has become clear:

﴾Tell me about those on whom you call besides Allah: if Allah wills that some adversity﴿ that is, some harm, no matter what it is ﴾should befall me, can they relieve that adversity﴿ by removing it altogether or reducing it somewhat?

﴾Or if He wills that mercy should be bestowed on me﴿ that would bring me some benefit in my religious and worldly affairs ﴾could they withhold His mercy﴿ and prevent it from reaching me? They will say that they cannot relieve adversity or withhold mercy.

So tell them, after definitive proof has become clear, that Allah alone is deserving of worship, and that He alone is the Creator of all creatures, the only One Who can bestow benefit or cause harm, and all others are incapable in all aspects of creating, benefitting or harming. And ask Him to suffice you and to protect you against their harm. ﴾Say: Allah is sufficient for me; in Him let all that trust put their trust﴿ that is, rely on Him to bring that which is in their best interests and ward off that which is harmful to them. The only One Who could take care of me in the fullest sense is sufficient for me and will suffice me with regard to that which concerns me and that which does not concern me.

39:39. Say: O my people, carry on as you are, and so will 1. You will come to know

39:40. who will receive a punishment that will disgrace him, and upon whom will descend an everlasting punishment.

﴾Say﴿ to them, O Messenger

﴾0 my people, carry on as you are﴿ that is, carry on in the way you are pleased with for yourselves, of worshipping that which is not deserving of worship at all and has no control over anything.

﴾and so will 1﴿ that is, I will persist on the same path to which I am calling you, the path of devoting worship to Allah (is) alone.

﴾You will come to know﴿ who will have the best end, and ﴾who will receive a punishment that will disgrace him﴿ in this world ﴾and upon whom will descend﴿ in the hereafter ﴾fan everlasting punishment﴿ that will never leave him and will never cease. This is a serious threat to them, for they know that they are deserving of eternal punishment, but wrongdoing and stubbornness prevented them from believing.

39:41. Verily We have sent down to you [O Muhammad] the Book with the truth for all humankind. Whoever is guided, it is for his own benefit, and whoever goes astray, it is to his own detriment. And you are not their keeper.

Here Allah (is) tells us that He sent down to His Messenger (ﷺ) the Book that contains the truth in what it tells of the past and future, and in its commands and prohibitions; it contains the essence ofguidance and what one needs in order to reach Allah and His paradise. By means of it proof is established against humankind.

﴾Whoever is guided﴿ by its light and follows its commands, ﴾it is for his own benefit﴿.

﴾and whoever goes astray﴿ after guidance has become clear to him ﴾it is to his own detriment﴿ and he will not harm Allah in the slightest.

﴾And you are not their keeper﴿ to record their deeds and bring them to account for them, or to force them to do what you want; rather your role is only to convey to them what you are instructed to convey.

39:42. Allah takes [people’s] souls at the time of their death, and [He takes the souls] of the living when they sleep. He keeps the souls of those for whom He has decreed death, and He sends the others back for an appointed term. Surely in that there are signs for people who reflect.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that it is He alone Who controls people’s affairs both when they are awake and when they are asleep, when they are alive and when they die.

﴾Allah takes [people’s] souls at the time of their death﴿ - the fact that He attributes this action to Himself does not contradict the fact that He has appointed the Angel of Death and his helpers to do this task, as He says elsewhere:

﴾Say [O Muhammad]: The Angel of Death, who has been given charge of you, will take your souls [in death]...﴿ (as-Sajdah 32: II)﴾.. .then when death comes to one of you, Our envoys [angels] take his soul, and they never fail in their duty.﴿ (al-An'am 6: 61)

- because He may attribute things to Himself in the sense that He is the Creator and controller thereof, or He may attribute them to their causes, in the sense that it is His way and wisdom to make a cause for everything.

﴾and [He takes the souls] of the living when they sleep﴿. This is the lesser death. He takes the souls of living when they sleep.

Then ﴾He keeps﴿ - of the two categories of souls - ﴾the souls of those for whom He has decreed death﴿. This refers to both those who die when they are awake and those for whom it is decreed that they should die in their sleep.

﴾and He sends the others back for an appointed term﴿ that is, until they have received their allotted provision in full and their appointed time comes to an end.

﴾Surely in that there are signs for people who reflect﴿ upon the perfect nature of Allah’s might and His ability to bring the dead back to life.

This verse indicates that the rooh or nafs (the soul) is an independent entity, the essence of which is different from that of the body; it is created and controlled by Allah, when He takes it and either keeps it or sends it back. The souls of the living and the dead meet and converse in al-barzakh, then Allah sends back the souls of the living and keeps the souls of the dead.

39:43. Rather they [the disbelievers] have taken [their false gods] as intercessors without Allah’s leave. Say: What, [could they intercede] even though they have no power at all and are devoid of reason?

39:44. Say: All intercession belongs to Allah alone [and no one can intercede except by His leave]; to Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, then to Him you will be brought back.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) denounces those who take intercessors besides Him, feel attached to them, and ask of them and worship them.

﴾Say﴿ to them, highlighting their ignorance and the fact that those intercessors are not deserving of worship at all:

﴾What, [could they intercede] even though they﴿ namely those whom you take as intercessors

﴾have no power at all and are devoid of reason?﴿ That is, they do not possess even an atom’s weight of power in the heavens or on earth, and no less and no more than that. Rather they do not possess any power of reasoning, such that they might be deserving of praise, because they are inanimate beings, such as rocks, trees, images and the dead. Can it be said that those who take them as intercessors are rational thinkers, or are they the most misguided and ignorant of people, and the worst in wrongdoing?

﴾All intercession belongs to Allah alone﴿ because the matter all belongs to Allah, and every intercessor fears Him. No one can intercede with Him except by His leave, so if He wants to bestow mercy upon His slave, he grants permission to an intercessor who is dear to Him, allowing him to intercede out of mercy to both him and the one for whom he intercedes.

Then Allah confirms that all intercession belongs to Him alone:﴾to Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earthy that is, all that is in them, creatures, deeds and attributes, belong to Him. So what is required is to seek intercession from the One Who has control over it, and to devote worship to Him alone, ﴾then to Him you will be brought back﴿ and He will requite the one who was sincere to Him alone with an abundant reward, and He will requite the one who ascribed partners to Him with a severe punishment.

39:45. When Allah alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who do not believe in the hereafter shrink with aversion, but when [gods] other than Him are mentioned, they rejoice.

39:46. Say: O Allah, Originator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the unseen and the seen, it is You Who will judge between Your slaves concerning that wherein they differ.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) describes the situation of the polytheists and the consequences to which their ascription of partners to Him leads, which is that ﴾When Allah alone is mentioned﴿, with the affirmation of His oneness, and they are commanded to devote their worship to Him alone and to shun all that is worshipped besides Him, their hearts shrink with aversion, and they resent that deeply.

﴾but when [gods] other than Him are mentioned﴿ namely the idols and rivals, and when anyone calls people to worship them and praises them.﴾they rejoice﴿ at the mention of their objects of worship, because ascription of partners to Allah is in accordance with their whims and desires. This is the worst and most abhorrent of conditions. But their appointed time is the day of requital, when the score will be settled with them, and it will be seen whether their gods upon whom they called besides Allah will benefit them in any way.

Hence Allah says:

﴾Say: O Allah, Originator of the heavens and the earth﴿ that is, the Creator and Controller of them both

﴾Knower of the unseen﴿ that is hidden from our sight and our knowledge

﴾and the seen﴿ that we do see

﴾f﴾it is You Who will judge between Your slaves concerning that wherein they differ﴿. One of the greatest differences between them is the difference between those who sincerely affirm the oneness of Allah, who say that what they follow is the truth and that paradise will be theirs in the hereafter, to the exclusion of others, and the polytheists who take the idols and rivals for worship besides Him, regard as equal to Allah that which is not worth anything, show extreme disrespect to Him, rejoice at the mention of their gods whilst their hearts shrink with aversion at mention of Allah, and claim - in addition to all that - that they are following the truth and others are following falsehood, and that paradise will be theirs.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾Verily, those who believe, those who are Jews, the Sabians, the Christians, the Magians and those who ascribe partners to Allah - Allah will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection. Verily, Allah is Witness over all things.﴿ (al-Hajj 22:17)

After that, Allah tells us of the judgement between them:

﴾These are two opposing groups who are disputing about their Lord. As for those who disbelieve, garments of fire will be cut out for them,and scalding water will be poured over their heads, which will cause their insides and their skins to melt. They will be lashed with rods of iron. ...Verily, Allah will admit those who believe and do righteous deeds to gardens through which rivers flow. They will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and of pearls, and their garments therein will be of silk.(al-Hajj 22: 19-23)

And Allah (te) says:

﴾It is those who believe and do not mix their faith with wrongdoing who will be truly safe, and it is they who are truly guided. j﴿ (al-An am

6: 82)

﴾j...Whoever ascribes partners to Allah, then Allah has forbidden paradise for him, and the fire will be his abode... ﴿ (al-Ma 'idah 5: 72)

This verse indicates that He is the Creator of all things and has knowledge of all things, and that He will judge between all His slaves; all creation stemmed from His power, and His knowledge encompasses all things. This indicates that He will judge between His slaves. He will resurrect them, and He has knowledge of all their deeds, both good and evil, and the degree to which they will be requited for those deeds. The fact that He is the Creator indicates that He is all knowing.

﴾How could He Who created not know His own creation?... j? (al-

39:47. If the wrongdoers had everything on earth, and as much again with it, they would offer it to ransom themselves from theterrible punishment on the Day of Resurrection. But Allah will show them [of His wrath and punishment] that which they had never anticipated.

39:48. The evil consequences of what they have earned will become apparent to them, and the very thing [punishment] they used to ridicule will overwhelm them.

After Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) stated that He will judge between His slaves and mentioned the beliefs of the polytheists and the abhorrent nature thereof, it is as if one would long to know what Allah will do to them on the Day of Resurrection. Therefore Allah tells us that they will have a ﴾terrible punishment﴿ that is, the worst and most awful of punishments, just as they uttered the worst and most awful words of disbelief; and that, hypothetically speaking, if they possessed all that is on earth of gold, silver, pearls, animals, trees, crops and all kinds of vessels and furniture, and as much again with it, and they offered it on the Day of Resurrection to ransom themselves and save themselves from the punishment, it would not be accepted from them and it would not avail them in the slightest before the punishment of Allah. ﴾The day when neither wealth nor sons will be of any avail, but only he who comes to Allah with a pure heart^{1A pure heart: that is, one that is free from doubt, hypocrisy and association of others with Allah (shirk).} [will be saved],﴿ (ash-

﴾But Allah will show them [of His wrath and punishment] that which they had never anticipated﴿ that is, that which they never expected, of great wrath and anger, when they were expecting something different.

﴾The evil consequences of what they have earned will become apparent to them﴿ that is, they will see things that will distress them, because of their misdeeds﴾fand the very thing [punishment] they used to ridicule will overwhelm them﴿ that is, the punishment will overtake them.

39:49. When misfortune befalls a person, he calls upon Us, then when We bestow a favour upon him from Us, he says: This has been given to me only because of knowledge [that I possess]. Rather it is a test, but most of them do not understand.

39:50. Those who came before them said the same, but all that they acquired [of wealth] was of no avail to them.

39:51. Therefore the evil consequences of what they earned overtook them, and the wrongdoers among these people [Quraysh] will also be overtaken by the evil consequences of what they have earned; they can never escape [Allah’s punishment].

39:52. Do they not know that Allah grants abundant provision to whomever He wills, or gives it in scant measure? Verily in that there are signs for people who believe.

Here Allah tells us about the nature and psychological make-up of man. When misfortune befalls him, such as sickness, hardship or distress,

﴾he calls upon Us﴿ persistently, asking for relief from what has befallen him﴾then when We bestow a favour upon him from Us﴿ and relieve him of that misfortune and remove that hardship, he goes back to disbelieving in his Lord and denying His favours, and

﴾jhe says: This has been given to me only because of knowledge [that

I possess]﴿ or because of knowledge that I have of how to acquire wealth.

﴾Rather it is a test﴿ by means of which Allah tests His slaves to see who will give thanks and who will be grateful ﴾but most of them do not understand﴿ and therefore they regard the test as a blessing, and they are confused between something that is definitely good and something that may be a cause of good or a source of trouble.

﴾Those who came before them said the same﴿ as what they say, namely «[This has been given to me only because of knowledge [that I possess]﴿ (59:49). This attitude continued to be passed down among the disbelievers who do not recognise the favours of their Lord and do not think that they owe Him anything. They persisted in this attitude until they were destroyed,

﴾all that they acquired [of wealth] was of no avail to them﴿ when the punishment befell them.

﴾Therefore the evil consequences of what they earned overtook them﴿ what is meant by evil consequences here is the punishment ﴾and the wrongdoers among these people [Quraysh] will also be overtaken by the evil consequences of what they have earned﴿ for they are not better than those earlier evildoers and they have not been absolved by the scripture (54: 43).

Having stated that they were deceived by wealth and that they claimed - in their ignorance - that wealth is indicative of the sound well-being of its owner, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) now tells them that His provision is not indicative of that, and that He

﴾grants abundant provision to whomever He wills﴿ of His slaves, whether he is righteous or otherwise﴾or gives it in scant measure﴿ that is, He restricts provision for whomever He wills, whether he is righteous or otherwise. So His provision may be given to anyone, whereas faith and righteous deeds are only granted to the best of people.

﴾Verily in that there are signs for people who believe﴿ that is, in the bestowing or withholding of provision, because those who believe know that this matter is connected to divine wisdom and mercy, and that Allah knows best the condition of His slaves. He may restrict provision to them out of kindness towards them, because if He granted them abundant provision, they would go beyond the bounds and spread injustice in the land. Hence by doing that, He is taking care of their spiritual interests, which are the essence of their happiness and prosperity. And Allah knows best.

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

39:54. Turn to your Lord [in repentance] and submit to Him before the punishment comes upon you, for then you will not be helped.

39:55. And follow the best of that which has been revealed to you from your Lord [namely the Qur’an], before the punishment comes upon you suddenly, when you least expect it,

39:56. lest anyone should say: Alas! I neglected my duty towards Allah and I was among the mockers;

39:57. or he should say: If only Allah had guided me, I would have been among the righteous;

39:58. or he should say when he sees the punishment: If only I could have another chance, then I would be among the doers of good.

39:59. [Allah will say:] But My signs did come to you, yet you disbelieved in them; you were arrogant and were among the disbelievers.

Here Allah (ie) tells His slaves who have transgressed against themselves (by sinning greatly) of His immense generosity, and He urges them to turn to Him before they are not able to do so.

﴾﴾Say﴿﴿ O Messenger, and those who follow him in calling people to the religion of Allah, and tell people that their Lord says:

﴾0 My slaves who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning greatly]﴿ by following what their own selves call them to and striving in doing that which angers the Knower of the unseen ﴾do not despair of the mercy of Allah﴿ that is, do not give up hope thereof, lest your actions lead you to doom and you say: Our sins are so many and our faults have accumulated, and we have no way to rid ourselves of them or relieve ourselves of them, then as a result of that you persist in sinning and accumulating sin until it brings upon you the wrath of the Most Gracious. Rather you should recognise your Lord by His names that are indicative of His generosity and kindness, and understand that He ﴾forgives all sins﴿ including the ascription ofpartners to Him, murder, fornication, riba (usury), wrongdoing and other sins, major and minor

Verily it is He Who is the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful﴿ that is, forgiveness and mercy are His attributes, and these two attributes are essential and constant; He is always thus and His mercy is continually manifested throughout the universe. His Hands are constantly bestowing bounties throughout the night and day, and He continually bestows blessings and favours upon His slaves, secretly and openly. Giving is dearer to Him than withholding, and divine mercy takes precedence over divine wrath and prevails over it. But there are means of attaining His forgiveness and mercy, and if a person does not take these prescribed measures, then he will have closed to himself the door of mercy and forgiveness. The greatest of these means - in fact the only means - is turning to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) alone in sincere repentance, calling upon Him, beseeching Him, showing devotion to Him and worshipping Him. So strive hard to take this important measure and follow this great path.

Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) enjoins us to turn to Him and to hasten to do so: ﴾Turn to your Lord﴿ with all your heart ffand submit to Him﴿ in your physical actions. When turning to Allah is mentioned on its own, it includes physical actions; when it is mentioned in conjunction with submission, as is the case here, then the meaning is as we have mentioned.

The words ﴾Tum to your Lord [in repentance] and submit to Him﴿ are indicative of sincerity, because without sincerity, deeds - whether outward or inward - are of no benefit whatsoever.

﴾before the punishment comes upon you﴿ and cannot be warded off ﴾for then you will not be helped﴿.

It is as if it was asked: what does turning to Allah and submitting mean? What does it entail and what deeds are involved? So Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) answered by saying:﴾And follow the best of that which has been revealed to you from your Lord﴿ of what He has enjoined upon you of inward deeds, such as loving Allah, fearing Him, putting one’s hopes in Him, showing sincerity towards His slaves, loving good for them and shunning the opposite of that; and what He has enjoined upon you of visible deeds such as prayer, zakah, fasting, Hajj, charity, all types of acts of kindness, and other things that Allah has enjoined. This is the best of that which has come down to us from our Lord. The one who follows the commands of his Lord with regard to these and similar matters is the one who turns to Allah and submits to Him.

﴾before the punishment comes upon you suddenly, when you least expect it﴿ all of this is urging us to hasten to make the most of the available opportunity.

Then Allah warns them:

﴾lest﴿, if they persist in their heedlessness, there will come to them a day when they will regret it, when regret will be of no benefit ﴾lest anyone should say: Alas! I neglected my duty towards Allah and I was﴿ in the previous world (dunya) ﴾among the mockers﴿ who derided the idea of requital, until I saw it with my own eyes.

﴾or he should say: If only Allah had guided me, I would have been among the righteous﴿. “If’ in this instance is indicative of wishful thinking. In other words: would that Allah had guided me, then I would have feared Him and been among the righteous, and thus I would have been safe from punishment and would deserve reward. “If’ here is not conditional, because if that were the case, the meaning would be that they were using the divine decree as an excuse for their misguidance. But this is a false argument, and on the Day of Resurrection, every false argument will diminish.

﴾or he should say when he sees the punishment﴿ and becomes certain of its inevitability

﴾If only I could have another chancel﴿ and could go back to the previous world, ﴾then I would be among the doers of good﴿.

But Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: This is not possible and it is of no use; this is false wishful thinking that has no basis in reality, because even if he were to be sent back, there would be no further warning after the first warning.

﴾[Allah will say:] But My signs did come to you﴿ that pointed to the truth, beyond any shadow of a doubt,

﴾yet you disbelieved in them; you were arrogant﴿ and too proud to follow them

﴾and were among the disbelievers﴿. So asking to go back to the previous world is of no use; it is a kind of foolishness.

﴾...And even if they were sent back, they would surely go back to that which was forbidden to them, for they are indeed liars.^{1They will not be serious in their promise to believe; rather they will make this false promise out of fear of punishment, not out of sincere faith.}]﴿

39:60. On the Day of Resurrection you will see those who fabricated lies against Allah, their faces darkened. Is there not in hell an abode for the arrogant?

39:61. But Allah will deliver those who fear Him, for they have attained salvation; no harm will touch them, nor will they grieve.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us of the disgrace of those who fabricate lies against Him: on the Day of Resurrection their faces will be darkened, like the darkest night, and they will be recognised thereby by thepeople who are standing on the Day of Resurrection. Truth is bright and clear as day. Just as they tried to darken the face of the truth with lies, Allah will darken their faces as a requital that fits the nature of their deeds.

They will have darkened faces and they will have a severe punishment in hell. Hence Allah says:

﴾fls there not in hell an abode for the arrogant﴿ who are too proud to accept the truth or to worship their Lord, and who fabricate lies against Him? Indeed, by Allah, in hell there is punishment, disgrace and wrath that will have an immense impact on the arrogant, and scores will be settled with them thereby.

Telling lies against Allah includes the lie that He has taken a partner or son or spouse, or saying of Him that which is not befitting to His majesty, or claiming to be a Prophet, or ascribing to Him that which He did not ordain or prescribe.

Having mentioned the state of the arrogant, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) now mentions the condition of those who fear Him:

﴾But Allah will deliver those who fear Him, for they have attained salvation﴿that is because they have the means of salvation, which is fear of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), which is what they have in preparation for every calamity and hardship.

﴾jno harm﴿ that is, punishment that causes them distress ﴾will touch them, nor will they grieve﴿. Allah tells us that they will not be subjected to the punishment, nor will they fear it. This is the ultimate security.

They will have complete security, which will remain with them until they reach paradise, whereupon they will be safe from all hardship and difficulties, and you will see in their faces the radiance of bliss, and they will say:

﴾...Praise be to Allah Who has taken away all sorrow from us. Verily, our Lord is indeed Oft-Forgiving, Appreciative.﴿ (Fatir 35: 34)(vr-tr:J^-otijVj

39:62. Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is in charge of all things.

39:63. To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth; it is those who reject Allah’s signs who are the losers.

Here Allah tells us of His greatness and perfection, which leads to the one who disbelieves in Him becoming a loser:

﴾Allah is the Creator of all things this and similar phrases, which appear frequently in the Qur’an, indicate that all things - apart from Allah and His names and attributes - are created. This is a refutation of all those who say that some created things existed from eternity, such as the philosophers who say that the earth and the heavens existed from eternity, or those who say that souls existed from eternity, and other views that are based on falsehood and implicitly deny the Creator.

The words of Allah are not created things, because speech is an attribute of the speaker and Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), with His names and attributes, existed from eternity; there was nothing before Him. The use of this and similar verses by the Mutazilites to support their view that the Qur’an is created, is the greatest ignorance. Allah, with His names and attributes, has always existed, from eternity; none of His attributes came into being later on, and He was never without any of His attributes at any time.

This is supported by the fact that Allah tells us that He is the Creator of all realms, upper and lower, and that He is in charge of all things. Being in charge in the fullest sense requires comprehensive and detailed knowledge of that of which He is in charge; completecontrol over that of which He is in charge so that He can direct it; the ability to care for that of which He is in charge; and wisdom and knowledge of all different ways of directing it, so that He can direct and control it in the most appropriate manner. Therefore the one who is in charge cannot do his job in the perfect manner except by means of what is mentioned above, and any shortfall in that will affect his capability to direct that of which he is in charge.

It is well known and well established that Allah is far above having any shortcomings in any of His attributes. Therefore His telling us that He is in charge of all things indicates that His knowledge encompasses all things and that His power to control and direct all things, and His wisdom by means of which He does all that is appropriate, are complete and perfect.

﴾To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth﴿ that is, He has knowledge of what they contain and He is in control of it. Therefore:

﴾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.﴿ (Fatir 35: 2)

Having highlighted His greatness in a manner that should fill our hearts with awe and respect, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) now mentions those who do the opposite, and do not give Him due recognition:

﴾fit is those who reject Allah’s signs﴿ that point to certain truth and to the straight path

﴾who are the losers﴿ for they have lost that through which they could attain spiritual well-being and sincere devotion to Allah, through which tongues are rectified by keeping them busy with remembrance of Allah, through which the physical body may be rectified by keeping it busy with acts of obedience to Allah, and they have replaced that with everything that could corrupt their spiritual and physical wellbeing; they have lost out on the gardens of bliss and have replaced them with the painful punishment.

39:64. Say [O Muhammad]: Is it someone other than Allah that you tell me to worship, O ignorant ones?

39:65. It has already been revealed to you, and to those who came before you, that if you ascribe partners to Allah, all your deeds will surely come to nothing and you will certainly be among the losers.

39:66. Nay, but worship Allah [alone] and be among those who are grateful [to Him].

﴾Say﴿ O Messenger (ﷺ), to these people who call you to worship gods other than Allah c-(Is it someone other than Allah that you tell me to worship, O ignorant ones?﴿ That is, this stems from your ignorance, otherwise if you knew that Allah, Who is perfect in all aspects, the Bestower of all blessings, is the only One Who is deserving of worship, and not those who are lacking in all aspects and cannot bring benefit or cause harm, you would not tell me to do that.

That is because ascribing partners to Allah renders good deeds invalid and corrupts well-being. Hence Allah says:

﴾lt has already been revealed to you, and to those who came before you﴿ namely all the Prophets ﴾that if you ascribe partners to Allah, all your deeds will surely come to nothing﴿. This includes all deeds.

According to the message of all the Prophets, ascribing partners to Allah renders all good deeds invalid, as Allah says in Soorat al-An'am, after listing many of His Prophets and Messengers:﴾This is the guidance of Allah, with which He guides whomever He will among His slaves. If they had ascribed partners to Him, all their deeds would have come to nothing.﴿ (al-An'am 6: 88)

﴾and you will certainly be among the losers﴿ in this world and in the hereafter, because ascribing partners to Allah renders good deeds invalid and is deserving of punishment.

Then Allah says: ﴾Nay, but worship Allah [alone]﴿. Having stated that the ignorant were telling the Prophet (ﷺ) to ascribe partners to Allah, and having pointed out how abhorrent that is, Allah instructed him to devote his worship to Him alone: ﴾Nay, but worship Allah [alone]﴿ that is, devote your worship to Him alone, with no partner or associate

﴾and be among those who are grateful [to Him]﴿ for His guidance. Just as Allah is to be thanked for worldly blessings, such as physical good health and well-being, granting provision, and so on. He is also to be thanked and praised for spiritual blessings, such as enabling one to be sincere and to fear Him. In fact it is spiritual blessings that are real blessings. Pondering and realising that they come from Allah and giving thanks to Him for them will protect one from self-admiration that affects many people who strive hard, because of their ignorance. Otherwise, if a person were to understand the reality of things, he would not develop self-admiration because of the blessing which requires him to give more thanks to Allah.

39:67. They have not given due recognition to Allah. On the Day of Resurrection, the entire earth will be in His grip, and the heavenswill be rolled up in His Right Hand. Glorified and exalted be Allah far above the partners they ascribe to Him!

Here Allah tells us that these polytheists have not given due recognition to their Lord, and they have not venerated Him as they should. Rather they have done that which is contrary to that, by ascribing as partners to Him those who are lacking in their attributes and deeds, for their attributes and deeds are imperfect in all aspects; they have no power to bring benefit or cause harm, they cannot give or withhold, and they have no control over anything at all.

Thus they regard these imperfect created beings as equal to the Almighty Lord by Whose dazzling might and supreme power the earth will be seized in the grasp of the Most Gracious on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens - despite their vastness - will be rolled up in His Right Hand. The one who regards others as equal to Him is not venerating Him as He deserves, and there is no greater wrongdoing than that.

﴾Glorified and exalted be Allah far above the partners they ascribe to Him﴿ that is, Allah declares Himself to be far greater and far above their ascription of partners to Him.

39:68. The Trumpet will be blown and all those who are in the heavens and on earth will swoon, except whomever Allah wills. Then it will be blown again, whereupon they will be standing, looking around.

39:69. The earth will shine with the light of its Lord, the record of deeds will be placed [in their hands], and the Prophets and the witnesses will be brought forth. Judgement will be passed between them with equity, and they will not be wronged.

39:70. Every soul will be paid in full for what it has done, and He knows best all that they do.

Having instilled fear of His might, Allah now warns them by telling them about what will happen on the Day of Resurrection, urging them (to seek the path that leads to paradise) and warning them (against the path that leads to hell).

﴾The Trumpet will be blown﴿ - the Trumpet is a great hom, the size of which no one knows except its Creator and those among His creation to whom Allah has given knowledge thereof. It will be blown by Israfeel (عليه السلام), one of the angels who are close to Allah, one of the bearers of the Throne of the Most Gracious.

﴾fand all those who are in the heavens and on earth will swoon﴿ that is, faint or die, according to different opinions. In other words, when they hear the Trumpet blast, they will all be disturbed by its loudness and intensity, and because of that to which they know it is the precursor

﴾except whomever Allah wills﴿ of those whom Allah will make steadfast at the time of the Trumpet blast, so that they will not swoon, such as the martyrs - or some of them - and others. This is the first Trumpet blast, the blast that will lead to swooning and will cause alarm and fear.

﴾Then it will be blown again﴿ - this will be the second Trumpet blast, which will signal the resurrection

﴾whereupon they will be standing, looking around﴿ that is, they will have risen from their graves, for their resurrection and reckoning, having been recreated complete in body and soul,

﴾looking around﴿ to see what Allah will do with them.

﴾The earth will shine with the light of its Lord﴿. From this it is known that the existing lights will have vanished and disappeared on the Day of Resurrection. And this will indeed be the case, for Allah has told us that the sun will be rolled up, the moon will be darkened, the stars will be scattered and the people will be left in darkness. At that point the earth will be illuminated with the light of its Lord, when He manifests Himself and descends to pass judgement among them. On that day, Allah will give people extra strength and will recreate them in such a way that they will be able to withstand His light and it will not bum them. They will also be enabled to see Him, otherwise His light is immense, and if it were to be made manifest, the glory of His Countenance would bum all of His creation, as far as He can see.

﴾the record of deeds will be placed [in their hands]﴿ so that what it contains of good deeds and evil deeds may be read. This is like the verse in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

f(And the record of deeds will be placed [in their hands] and you will see the evildoers filled with dread at what it contains. They will say: Woe to us! What sort of record is this, that leaves no deed, small or great, unaccounted for? They will find all they did recorded there, and your Lord will not wrong anyone.﴿ (al-Kahf 18: 49)

And it will be said to the doer of deeds, by way of perfect justice: ﴾...Read your own record; sufficient is your own soul as a reckoner against you this day.﴿ (al-lsra 17: 14)

﴾fand the Prophets and the witnesses will be brought forth﴿ - the Prophets will be brought forth so that they may be questioned about their conveying of the message and about their nations, and they will testify against them. And the witnesses - namely the angels, people’s physical faculties, and the earth - will also be brought forth and questioned.

Judgement will be passed between them with equity﴿ that is, perfect justice and great fairness, because the reckoning comes from One Whodoes not wrong anyone in the slightest, One Who encompasses all things and His Book - namely al-Lawh al-Mahfoodh - encompasses all that they did. The noble scribes, who do not disobey their Lord, will have recorded all that they did, and the fairest of witnesses will have testified to that verdict. Therefore the One Who issues that verdict is One Who knows the quality of the deeds and the extent to which they deserve reward or punishment. Thus Allah will issue a verdict of which people will approve, and they will praise Allah and acknowledge His justice. Through that verdict, they will come to know of His greatness, knowledge, wisdom and mercy that which had never crossed their minds and cannot be described. Hence Allah says: ﴾Every soul will be paid in full for what it has done, and He knows best all that they do﴿.

39:71, The disbelievers will be driven to hell in groups until, when they reach it, its gates will be opened and its keepers will say to them: Did there not come to you Messengers from among you.

reciting the revelations of your Lord to you and warning you of the meeting of this day of yours? They will say: Yes indeed, but the decree of punishment has become inevitable for the disbelievers.

39:72. It will be said: Enter the gates of hell, to abide therein forever. Wretched indeed is the abode of the arrogant!

39:73. Those who feared their Lord will be ushered to paradise in groups until, when they reach it, they will find its gates wide open, and its keepers will say to them: Peace be upon you; you have done well, so enter it, to abide herein forever.

39:74. They will say: Praise be to Allah Who has fulfilled His promise to us and given us this land as our own, so that we may dwell in paradise wherever we wish. How excellent a reward for those who work [and strive]!

39:75. And you will see the angels surrounding the Throne, glorifying and praising their Lord. Judgement will have been passed with equity among all, and it will be said: Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

Having mentioned His verdict concerning His slaves - who will all have in common the fact that He created them, granted them provision and directed them, and they will all have in common the fact that they lived in the previous world and have been gathered together in the place of standing on the Day of Resurrection - Allah tells us here that they will be separated for the requital, just as they were separated in this world according to whether they were believers or disbelievers, righteous or immoral.

﴾The disbelievers will be driven to hell in groupsjJ that is, they will be driven violently, beaten with painful whips by the harsh and callous keepers of hell, to the worst and most terrifying place of detention, namely hell in which all torments are combined and all miseries are present. All happiness will disappear from them, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:﴾On the day when they are shoved forcibly towards the fire of hell. ﴿)

- that is, they will be pushed forcefully, because of their refusal to enter it. They will be driven to it ﴾in groups﴿-) that is, in separate groups, each group according to their deeds, as the people in each group will be similar in the misdeeds they did. They will curse one another and disavow one another.

﴾when they reach it﴿) that is, when they reach its courtyard ﴾its gates will be opened﴿) upon their arrival, to receive them.

﴾and its keepers will say to them﴿, congratulating them for attaining eternal misery and punishment, and rebuking them for the deeds that brought them to this terrifying place:

﴾Did there not come to you Messengers from among you﴿) that is, of your own kind, whom you knew and were aware of their honesty and sincerity, from whom you could have received the message? ﴾reciting the revelations of your Lord to you﴿) with which Allah sent them, that pointed to certain truth with the clearest of proof.

﴾and warning you of the meeting of this day of yours﴿) that is, this required you to follow them and protect yourself against the punishment of this day, by following the path of piety, but you followed a different path.

﴾They will say﴿), acknowledging their sin and that the proof of Allah was established against them:

﴾Yes indeed﴿), the Messengers of our Lord did come to us with signs and proof; they explained things to us very clearly and warned us about this day.

﴾but the decree of punishment has become inevitable for the disbelievers﴿) that is, because of their disbelief the decree of punishment has become inevitable for them, which applies to everyone who disbelieves in the signs of Allah and rejects the message brought by the Messengers. Thus they will acknowledge their sins and the establishment of proof against them.

﴾It will be said﴿ to them, by way of humiliation and shame: ﴾Enter the gates of hell﴿. Each group will enter from the gate that is appropriate to their misdeeds

﴾to abide therein forever﴿; they will never leave it, the punishment will never be reduced even for a short while, and they will be given no respite.

Wretched indeed is the abode of the arrogant!﴿ That is, wretched is the dwelling place, for hell is the dwelling place, because they were too arrogant to follow the truth. Thus Allah will requite them in a manner that befits their deed, by subjecting them to humiliation, shame and disgrace.

Then Allah speaks of the people of paradise:

﴾Those who feared their Lord﴿ by affirming His oneness and striving to obey Him

﴾will be ushered﴿ by way of honour and respect; they will be gathered in delegations, coming on the best mounts,

﴾jto paradise in groups﴿, rejoicing and cheerful, each group with other groups who are like them in righteous deeds and similar to them ﴾until, when they reach it﴿ that is, when they reach that vast garden with its beautiful dwellings, its fragrant breeze will reach them and its life of eternal bliss will begin.

﴾they will find its gates wide open﴿ for them, by way of honour for the best of people, who will be honoured therein ﴾and its keepers will say to them﴿, congratulating them and welcoming them:

﴾Peace be upon you﴿ that is, you are safe from all harm and evil ﴾you have done well﴿ that is, you did well by knowing Allah, loving Him and fearing Him, and you remembered Him and obeyed Him. ﴾so﴿ because you have done well, Renter it, to abide herein forever﴿ because it is the good abode, and no one is fit for it except those who are good.

This passage indicates that both hell and paradise have gates that can be opened and closed, each of them has keepers, and they are two abodes that are allocated for specific people, and no one can enter either of them except those who deserve to do so, unlike other places and dwellings.

﴾They will say﴿ when they enter it and settle there, praising their Lord for the blessings that He has bestowed upon them and for guiding them:

﴾Praise be to Allah Who has fulfilled His promise to us﴿ that is. He promised us paradise on the lips of His Messengers, if we believed and did righteous deeds, and now He has fulfilled what He promised us. tfand given us this land﴿ that is, the land of paradise ﴾as our own, so that we may dwell in paradise wherever we wish﴿ that is, so that we may settle therein in any place we wish, and enjoy any of its pleasures that we want; nothing we want will be withheld from us.

﴾How excellent a reward for those who work [and strive]﴿ that is, those who strive in obedience to their Lord for a short time, and attain thereby much lasting good.

This is the abode that truly deserves to be praised, in which Allah will honour the elite of His creation and which He is pleased that it should be their reward. He built it in the most sublime and beautiful manner, planted its trees with His own Hand and filled it with His mercy and honour, by means of some of which the heart of one who is grieving may be filled with joy, all feelings of misery and sadness may be removed, and perfect happiness and tranquillity may be attained.

﴾And you will see the angels﴿ on that momentous day surrounding the Throne﴿ to serve the Lord, gathered around His Throne, submitting to His majesty, acknowledging His perfection and absorbed in His beauty.^glorifying and praising their Lord﴿ that is, declaring Him to be above everything that is not befitting to His majesty that the polytheists ascribe to Him.

﴾Judgement will have been passed with equity among alfy that is, between the first and the last of creation c-jwith equity﴿ in which there is no ambiguity and no one who is guilty could deny that.

﴾and it will be said: Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds﴿. No mention is made of who will say these words, so as to indicate that all of creation will speak words of praise to their Lord, and will affirm His wisdom in His judgement of the people of paradise and the people of hell, praising His grace and kindness, and praising His judgement and wisdom.

This is the end of the commentary on Soorat az-Zumar.

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.