40:1. Ha’. Meem.

40:2. The revelation of the Book is from Allah, the Almighty, the All- Knowing,

40:3. Forgiver of sin. Accepter of repentance, severe in punishment, limitless in bounty. There is no god but He; unto Him is the return [of all].

Here Allah tells us about His holy Book: it comes from and is sent down by Allah, to Whom all devotion and worship is due, because of His perfect attributes and because nothing is like unto Him in His deeds.

﴾the Almighty﴿ Who, by His might, subjugates all creation ﴾the All-Knowing﴿ Who knows all things.

tJForgiver of sin﴿ Who forgives the sinners ﴾Accepter of repentance﴿ from those who repent ﴾severe in punishment﴿ to those who dare to commit sin and do not repent

﴾limitless in bounty﴿ that is. He is generous towards people and His favours reach all of them.

Having affirmed His perfection, which dictates that He is the only One Who is to be worshipped and to Whom deeds are to be devoted, Allah says here: ﴾There is no god but He; unto Him is the return [of all]﴿.

The reason for pointing out that the Qur’an was revealed from Allah, Who is described as possessing these attributes, is that these attributes are connected to all the ideas and meanings that are discussed in the Qur’an. The Qur’an either tells of the names, attributes and deeds of Allah, and those that are mentioned here are among His names, attributes and deeds;

or it tells of past and future events, which comes under the heading of the teaching of the All-Knowing of His slaves; or it tells of His great blessings and favours, and what one should do to attain them, which is indicated by the words ﴾limitless in bounty﴿; or it tells of His severe punishment and the sins that incur it and lead to it, which is indicated by the words ﴾severe in punishment﴿; or it calls upon sinners to repent, turn to Allah and seek forgiveness, which is indicated by the words ﴾Forgiver of sin, Accepter of repentance, severe in punishment﴿;

or it tells us that Allah alone is deserving of devotion and worship, and it establishes rational and textual proof to that effect, urges people to worship Him alone, and forbids them to worship anything other than Allah, establishing rational and textual proof that it is wrong and warning against it, which is indicated by the words (-﴾There is no god but He﴿;or it tells us of His judgement, the reward for those who do good, and punishment for those who commit sin, which is indicated by the words ﴾unto Him is the return [of all]}*.

This summarises all the sublime ideas and concepts contained in the Qur’an.

40:4. None argue against the signs of Allah except those who disbelieve. So do not be deceived by their [uninhibited] movement throughout the land.

40:5. Before them the people of Nooh also rejected [their Prophet], as did the parties [who gathered against their Prophets] after them. Every nation plotted against its Messenger, to seize him, and with false arguments sought to undermine the truth. So I seized them, and how [terrible] was My punishment!

40:6. Thus the decree of your Lord has become inevitable against those who disbelieved, that they will be inhabitants of the fire.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that ﴾None argue against the signs of Allah except those who disbelieve﴿. What is meant by arguing here is arguing with the aim of refuting the signs of Allah and opposing them on the basis of falsehood. This is the attitude of the disbelievers. As for the believers, they submit to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), Who causes truth to prevail over falsehood.

No one should be deceived by the wealth and status of anyone, and think that the fact that Allah has bestowed upon him worldly gain is a sign that Allah loves him or that he is following the truth. Hence Allah says: ﴾So do not be deceived by their [uninhibited] movement throughout the land﴿ that is, their coming and going, engaging in all kinds of trade and business. Rather what one should do is to evaluate people on the basis of truth, looking at the facts and weighing up people within the framework of Islamic teaching, not weighing up the truth on the basis of what people say, as is done by people who have no knowledge and no power of rational thinking.

Then Allah warns those who argue against the signs of Allah in order to refute them, as was done by previous nations, such as the people ofNooh and ‘Ad, and «fthe parties [who gathered against their Prophets] after them﴿, who came together and united against the truth in order to refute it and to support falsehood.

In fact, the matter went so far that ﴾Every nation plotted against its Messenger, to seize him﴿ that is, to kill him, and this is the worst thing that they could ever do to the Messengers, who are the leaders of the people of good and were following pure truth concerning which there could be no doubt or confusion. They wanted to kill them, and can there be any consequences for such transgression, misguidance or wickedness except severe punishment that will have no end?

Hence Allah said concerning their punishment in this world and in the hereafter:

﴾So I seized them﴿ because of their disbelief and their gathering against their Prophets

﴾fand how [terrible] was My punishment﴿ for it was the worst and most terrible of punishments; it was but a single blast, or a shower of pebbles that rained down upon them, or a command to the earth to swallow them up, or a command to the sea to drown them, whereupon they became lifeless.

﴾Thus the decree of your Lord has become inevitable against those who disbelieved﴿ that is, thus the decree of misguidance became inevitable for these people, on the basis of which the decree of punishment was issued. Hence Allah says: ﴾that they will be inhabitants of the fire﴿.

40:7. Those [angels] who bear the Throne and those who are around it glorify and praise their Lord; they believe in Him and pray for forgiveness for those who believe, [saying]: Our Lord, You encompass all things in Your mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who repent and follow Your path, and protect them from the punishment of the blazing fire.

40:8. Our Lord, and admit them to gardens of perpetual abode which You have promised them, and [admit] the righteous among their forebears, their spouses and their offspring. Verily You are the Almighty, the Most Wise.

40:9. And protect them from the evil consequences [of their sins], for whomever You protect from evil consequences on that day. You will indeed have bestowed mercy upon him, and that will be the supreme triumph.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us of His perfect kindness towards His believing slaves, and what He has ordained of means that lead to their happiness that have nothing to do with them, such as the prayers for their forgiveness by the angels who are close to Him, and the angels’ supplication for their well-being in this world and the hereafter. He also tells us of the honourable status of the bearers of the Throne and those who are around it, and their sincerity towards the slaves of Allah, because they know that Allah will accept that from them. Hence He says:

﴾Those [angels] who bear the Throne﴿ that is, the Throne of the Most Gracious, which is the roof of creation and the greatest, vastest and most beautiful of created things, the closest to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), which encompasses the heavens and the earth and the Kursi,^{1According to some scholars, the Kursi is the Footstool of the Most Gracious. However, other scholars are of the view that the Kursi is synonymous with the ‘Arsh (Throne). There is also a third view - favoured by at-Tabari, who narrated it from Ibn ‘Abbas - which is that what is referred to by the word Kursi is the knowledge of Allah. At-Tabari supported this view by noting that a page on which knowledge is written is called kurrrisah and that the scholars may be referred to as karrisi (pi. of kursi), because they may be relied upon with regard to issues of knowledge. (Translator)} Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has appointed these angels to bear His mighty Throne, so undoubtedly they are among the biggest, greatest and strongest angels.

The fact that Allah has chosen them to bear His Throne, and He mentions them first, and has brought them close to Him indicates that they are the best types of angels (peace be upon them). Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾...and on that day, eight will carry the Throne of your Lord above

﴾fand those who are around it﴿ of the angels who are close in status and virtue﴾glorify and praise their Lord﴿. This is praise for them, because of their abundant worship of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), especially glorification and praise; all other kinds of worship come under the heading of glorifying and praising Allah, because it is all a kind of declaring Allah to be far above any worship or praise being directed to anyone other than Him, and it is praise of Him. Rather praise is for Allah alone. A person’s saying “Subhan Allah wa bi hamdihi (Glory and praise be to Allah)” comes under the heading of worship.

﴾fand pray for forgiveness for those who believe﴿. This is one of the many benefits and virtues of faith: the angels, who have no sin, pray for forgiveness for the believers. Simply by believing, the believer attains this great blessing.

As forgiveness has prerequisites, without which it cannot be attained, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us the opening words of their prayer for forgiveness for the believers, without which it cannot be complete: ﴾Our Lord, You encompass all things in Your mercy and knowledge﴿ and Your knowledge encompasses all things, so nothing is hidden from You and nothing the weight of an atom on earth or in heaven, or anything smaller or greater than that, escapes Your knowledge. And Your mercy encompasses all things, so the upper and lower realms are filled with the mercy of Allah, which encompasses them and reaches as far as His creation went.

﴾so forgive those who repent﴿ from ascribing partners to You and from sin

﴾and follow Your path﴿ by following Your Messengers, affirming Your oneness and obeying You

﴾and protect them from the punishment of the blazing fire﴿ that is, protect them from the punishment itself and protect them from the causes that lead to the punishment.

﴾Our Lord, and admit them to gardens of perpetual abode which You have promised them﴿ on the lips of Your Messengers ﴾and [admit] the righteous﴿ who believed and did righteous deeds﴾among their forebears, their spouses﴿ - the word translated here as ﴾spouses﴿ includes wives, husbands, companions and friends ﴾and their offspring﴿.

﴾-(Verily You are the Almighty﴿ Who subjugates all things. By Your might, You forgive their sins, relieve them of hardships and cause them to attain all that is good

﴾the Most Wise﴿ Who does what is appropriate. So we do not ask You, O our Lord, for anything contrary to that which is dictated by Your wisdom; rather part of Your wisdom - as You have told us on the lips of Your Messengers, and as dictated by Your grace - is to forgive the believers.

﴾And protect them from the evil consequences [of their sins]﴿ that is, and protect them from evil deeds and their consequences, because that is upsetting to the one who does it.

﴾for whomever You protect from evil consequences on that day﴿ namely the Day of Resurrection

﴾You will indeed have bestowed mercy upon him﴿ because Your mercy is continuously bestowed upon people, and nothing prevents it except people’s sins and bad deeds. So whomever You protect from evil consequences, you will be guiding him towards good deeds and their good consequences

﴾and that will be the supreme triumph﴿ and there will be no triumph like it, and people cannot compete for anything better than that.

This supplication of the angels is indicative of the perfect knowledge of their Lord, and it is an example of seeking to draw close to Allah by virtue of His beautiful names, by virtue of which people should seek to draw close to Him. The supplication is appropriate to that which they are asking of Allah. Because their supplication is for the attainment of mercy and the removal of the negative effects that result from the shortcomings of human beings, of which Allah is aware, and what resulted from these shortcomings of falling into sin, and other matters of which Allah has full knowledge, it is for thisreason that they sought forgiveness by virtue of the divine attributes of mercy and knowledge.

Part of their perfect etiquette towards Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is their affirmation of His being their Lord, in both a general and specific sense. They acknowledged that they have no control whatsoever; rather their supplication to their Lord emanates from those who are inherently in need in all respects, and there is nothing whatsoever that they could boast about or be proud of before Him (as they have no power before Him). There is nothing but the grace, generosity and kindness of Allah.

Another aspect of their etiquette is that they are in complete harmony with their Lord, loving what He loves of deeds, which refers to the acts of worship that people did and in which they strove hard, and loving whom He loves of those among the believers who strive hard, whom Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) loves from among His creation. Because the angels love them, they call upon Allah and seek thereby the sound well-being of the believers, because offering supplication for a person is one of the clearest proofs of one’s love for him, for a person only offers supplication for those whom he loves.

40:10. It will be proclaimed to those who disbelieved: Allah’s loathing of you is greater than your loathing for your own selves, for you were called to faith but you disbelieved.

40:11. They will say: Our Lord, twice You have caused us to be lifeless^{1The first period of lifelessness is the initial period of development in the womb, which is referred to in Soorat al-Mu’minoon: tjThen We made the drop of semen into a clinging clot, then We made the clinging clot into a lump of flesh, then We made the lump of flesh into bones, and clothed the bones with flesh...}? (al-Mu minoon 23. 14) - until the soul is breathed into the foetus, whereupon it becomes alive. The second period of lifelessness follows death in this world and lasts until the Day of Resurrection. (Ibn ‘ Ashoor; at-Tafseer al-Muyassar)} and twice You have brought us to life. Now we acknowledge our sins; is there any way out [of the fire]?

40:12. [It will be said to them:] This is because when Allah alone was invoked, you disbelieved, but when partners were ascribed to Him, you believed. Judgement belongs only to Allah, the Most High, the Most Great.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us about the shame and disgrace that will befall the disbelievers, and how they will ask to go back to this world and to exit from the fire, but that will be impossible, and they will be rebuked:

﴾lt will be proclaimed to those who disbelieved﴿ - they are referred to in general terms (without stating what they disbelieved in) so as to include all kinds of disbelief, such as disbelief in Allah, in His Books, in His Messengers or in the Last Day. When they enter the fire and admit that they deserve it because of what they committed of sins, then they will loathe themselves greatly for that and will be very angry with themselves. At that point they will call out, and it will be said to them:

﴾Allah’s loathing of you is greater than your loathing for your own selves, for you were called to faith but you disbelieved﴿ that is, when the Messengers and their followers called you to faith and established clear proof that highlighted the truth, you disbelieved and showed no interest in faith for which Allah created you, and you turnedaway from His vast mercy, therefore He loathed you and despised you.

That (His loathing of you) ﴾is greater than your loathing for your own selves﴿ that is, this loathing from Allah towards you persisted, and divine wrath kept coming upon you, until you reached this point. So today you have earned the wrath and punishment of Allah at the time when the believers have attained the pleasure and reward of Allah.

They will wish to go back to this world, and will say: ﴾Our Lord, twice You have caused us to be lifeless﴿ referring to the first death, and the period between the two Trumpet blasts, according to one view. Or it may refer to the period of nonexistence before they were brought into being, then Allah caused them to die, after He brought them into being.

tfand twice You have brought us to life﴿ this refers to life in this world and life in the hereafter

﴾Now we acknowledge our sins; is there any way out [of the fire]?﴿ That is, they will express regret and say that, but it will be to no avail and will not benefit them. They will be rebuked for not taking any measures that could lead to salvation, and it will be said to them:

﴾This is because when Allah alone was invoked﴿ that is, when the call was made to affirm His oneness and strive for His sake alone, and it was forbidden to ascribe partners to Him,

﴾you disbelieved﴿ in Him, your hearts shrank with aversion and you found it extremely off-putting

﴾but when partners were ascribed to Him, you believed﴿. And this is what has led you to this place and has caused you to reside in this abode: it is because you disbelieved in faith and you believed in disbelief; you were pleased with that which was evil and corrupt in the previous world and in the hereafter, and you were displeased with that which was good and sound in the previous world and in the hereafter. You gave precedence to that which leads to doom, humiliation anddivine wrath, and you had no interest in that which is the means of triumph, success and salvation.

﴾f...if they see the path of guidance, they will not follow it, but if they see the path of error, they will take it as their way... j﴿ (al-A ‘ra/7:146)

﴾Judgement belongs only to Allah, the Most High, the Most Great﴿ - He is Most High in every sense, sublime in essence, sublime in esteem, sublime in the subjugation of all others. One aspect of His being Most High in esteem is His perfect justice; He does that which is appropriate and He does not regard as equal the righteous and the evildoers.

﴾the Most Great﴿ to Whom belong pride, greatness and glory in His names, His attributes and His deeds. He is far above all defects, faults and shortcomings. As judgement belongs only to Him, and He has ruled that you are to abide in hell for ever, His verdict cannot be changed or altered.

Ov-tr

40:13. It is He Who shows you His signs and sends down provision for you from heaven. But none pay heed except those who turn to Allah.

40:14. So call upon Allah with sincere devotion to Him alone, even though the disbelievers hate it.

40:15. [Most] Exalted in rank. Lord of the Throne, He sends down His revelation by His command to whomever among His slaves He wills, to warn [people] of the Day of Meeting,

40:16. the day when they will be brought forth, with nothing of them hidden from Allah. [Allah will say:] To whom does dominion belong this day? To Allah, the One, the Subjugator!

40:17. Today every soul will be requited according to what it earned; none will be wronged today. Verily, Allah is swift in reckoning.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) mentions His greatest blessing to His slaves, which is showing them truth as distinct from falsehood, by means of what He shows his slaves of His signs in their own selves, in the universe and in the Qur’an, which are indicative of every sublime aim and which show guidance as distinct from misguidance, so that the one who ponders the signs and reflects upon them will have no doubt about the truth.

This is one of the greatest blessings that He bestows upon His slaves, for He has not left the truth ambiguous and has not left what is correct unclear; rather He has presented various kinds of evidence and proof, and has explained His signs,

﴾...and so that those who chose to perish [by choosing disbelief] might do so after seeing clear evidence, and those who chose to live [by choosing faith] might do so after seeing clear evidence...]i

The more important and significant the issue, the more evidence is available and the easier it is to understand.

Look at the issue of divine oneness. Because it is one of the most important issues - in fact it is the most important - the evidence for it, both rational and textual, is abundant and varied. Allah sets forth examples to make it clear and presents many arguments for it. Hence He mentions it here, and highlights some of the evidence for it, then He says: ﴾So call upon Allah with sincere devotion to Him alone﴿.

Having stated that He will show His slaves His signs, He now draws attention to a significant sign: ﴾and sends down provision for you from heaven﴿ that is, rain, by means of which you earn your provision, and you and your animals live. This indicates that all blessings come from Allah.

From Him come the blessings of religion, which are spiritual blessings, different religious teachings, the proof for them and what follows that of acting upon them. All worldly blessings also come from Him, such as the blessings that result from rain, which gives life to the land and people. This offers definitive evidence that He alone deserves to be worshipped and that devotion should be focused on Him alone, just as He alone is the Bestower of blessings.

﴾But none pay heed﴿ to the signs when they are reminded of them ﴾except those who turn to Allah﴿ by loving Him, fearing Him, obeying Him and beseeching Him. Such is the person who benefits from the signs, for whom the signs are a source of mercy and he increases in insight thereby.

As these signs serve as a reminder, and the reminder leads to sincere devotion to Allah, He says here: ﴾So call upon Allah with sincere devotion to Him alone﴿ - this refers to worshipping Him and asking of Him.

Sincere devotion means purifying one’s intentions and making one’s actions solely for the sake of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) in all acts of worship, both obligatory and recommended, and in all matters having to do with the rights of Allah and the rights of His slaves.

In other words, be sincere to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) alone in every act of worship and in every deed by which you seek to draw close to Him.

﴾even though the disbelievers hate it﴿, do not pay any attention to them and do not let that deter you from adhering to your religion; do not fear the reproach of any reproacher when you strive for thesake of Allah. For the disbelievers have the utmost hate for devotion to Allah alone, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us elsewhere:

﴾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.﴿ (az-Zumar 39: 45)

Then Allah points out some of His sublime and perfect attributes that compel one to devote worship solely to Him:

﴾[Most] Exalted in rank. Lord of the Throne﴿ that is, the Most High, Most Exalted, Who rose above the Throne, which is exclusively His. His rank is so exalted that He is completely distinct above His creation; His esteem is so high, His attributes are so sublime and His essence is so exalted that no one can draw near to Him except through pure deeds that are based on sincerity, which raise a person in status and bring him nearer to Allah, and put him above others.

Then Allah mentions the blessing that He bestowed by sending His message and revelation:

﴾He sends down His revelation﴿ that is to the heart and soul as the soul is to the body; just as the body without the soul has no life and cannot survive, so hearts and souls without revelation cannot be sound or prosper. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) ﴾sends down His revelation by His command﴿ in which there is benefit for people and it is in their best interests

﴾to whomever among His slaves He wills﴿ namely the Messengers, whom Allah favoured and chose to receive His revelation and give the call to His slaves.

The benefit in sending the Messengers is to enable people to attain happiness in their religious and worldly affairs, and in the hereafter, and to protect them from misery and doom in their religious and worldly affairs, and in the hereafter. Hence Allah says:

﴾to warn﴿ that is, so that those to whom the revelation is given can warn ﴾[people] of the Day of Meeting﴿ that is, so that they can alertpeople to that, and urge them to prepare for it by means of that which could save them from punishment. It is called the Day of Meeting because on that day the Creator and created beings will meet, and created beings will meet one another, and the doers of deeds will meet their deeds and the requital thereof.

﴾the day when they will be brought forth﴿ that is, they will emerge from the earth and be gathered together in one plain, in which you will see no depression or elevation (cf. 20: 107), in which the caller can make them all hear and they can all be seen.

﴾with nothing of them hidden from Allah﴿ - nothing of themselves, nothing of their deeds and nothing of the requital for those deeds.

(([Allah will say:] To whom does dominion belong this day?﴿ That is, who is in control of that great day which will bring together the first and the last, the inhabitants of the heavens and the inhabitants of the earth, the day on which no one will own anything or be in control of anything, all connections between people will be severed, and there will be nothing left but deeds, righteous or evil?

Dominion belongs ﴾To Allah, the One, the Subjugator﴿, Who is unique in His essence. His names, His attributes and His deeds. He has no partner who shares in any of that in any way whatsoever, ﴾the Subjugator﴿ of all creatures, to Whom all creatures submit, humble themselves before Him and are subjugated, especially on that day on which all faces will be humbled before the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining and All-Sustaining (cf. 20: III), on which no one will speak except by His leave.

﴾Today every soul will be requited according to what it earned﴿ in this world, of good or evil, little or much

﴾none will be wronged today﴿ by having anything added to his bad deeds or anything detracted from his good deeds.

﴾Verily, Allah is swift in reckoning﴿ that is, do not think of that day as slow in coming, for it is indeed coming, and everything thatis coming is close at hand. He will also be swift in carrying out the reckoning of His slaves on the Day of Resurrection, because of His all-encompassing knowledge and perfect might.

40:18. Warn them of the imminent day, when their hearts will come up into their throats, filled with distress. The wrongdoers will have no close friend or intercessor whose word may be heeded.

40:19. Allah knows the stealth of the eyes and all that the hearts conceal.

40:20. Allah will judge with equity, whereas those on whom they call besides Him have no power to judge at all. Verily Allah is the All-Hearing, All-Seeing.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says to His Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ): tfWam them of the imminent day﴿ that is, the Day of Resurrection which is imminent and has drawn nigh, for very soon its terrifying events, troubles and earthquakes will begin

﴾when their hearts will come up into their throats﴿ that is, because of terror and distress their hearts will reach their throats, and they will stare fixedly, ﴾filled with distress﴿. No one will speak except one to whom the Most Gracious gives permission, and he will speak the truth. They will be unable to express what is in their hearts of great terror and fear.

﴾The wrongdoers will have no close friend﴿ the word translated here as ﴾close friend﴿ may refer to a relative or friend﴾or intercessor whose word may be heededbecause the intercessors will not intercede for one who has wronged himself by ascribing partners to Allah. Even if they did intercede, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) would not be pleased with their intercession, so He would not accept it.

﴾Allah knows the stealth of the eyes﴿ this refers to the surreptitious glance which is not noticed by those sitting with a person, when he steals a glance at something.

﴾and all that the hearts conceal﴿ and do not disclose to others. Allah knows that which is hidden; therefore it is more appropriate that He sees and knows other, visible things.

Allah will judge with equity﴿ because His word is true, His religious decree is true, His judicial decree is true, and He encompasses all things with His knowledge, and records all things. He is far above any injustice, shortcomings or faults. It is He Who issues whatever decrees He wills in the universe, for what He wills happens and what He does not will does not happen. It is He Who will judge between His slaves, both believers and disbelievers, in this world, and will decide the matter between them by causing His close friends and loved ones to prevail.

﴾whereas those on whom they call besides Him﴿ - this includes everything that is worshipped besides Allah ﴾)have no power to judge at all﴿ because they are helpless and have no will or ability to do good.

﴾Verily Allah is the All-Hearing﴿ Who hears all voices, in different languages, expressing different needs

﴾All-Seeing﴿ Who sees what has happened and what will happen, what we see and what we do not see, what people know and what they do not know.

Allah says at the beginning of these two verses: ﴾Wam them of the imminent day﴿ then He describes it in a manner that dictates that we must prepare for that tremendous day, because this description speaks in ways of motivation and warning.

40:21. Have they not travelled in the land and seen what was the fate of those who came before them? They were more powerful than them and made a more impressive mark on the land. But Allah seized them because of their sins, and they had no defender against Allah.

40:22. That was because their Messengers came to them with clear signs, but they rejected them. So Allah seized them; verily He is mighty, severe in punishment.

﴾Have they not travelled in the land﴿ that is, in their thoughts and physically, travelling in order to look and learn, and reflect on the marks left by earlier peoples

﴾and seen what was the fate of those who came before them﴿ of the disbelievers, for they will find that it was the worst of fates, a fate of doom, destruction, disgrace and shame.

﴾They were more powerful than them﴿ in terms of numbers and equipment, and they were bigger in physical stature ﴾and made a more impressive mark on the land﴿ in terms of building structures and planting. Leaving an impressive mark is indicative of the strength of those who made such marks, and it is indicative of their power.

﴾But Allah seized them﴿ with His punishment ﴾because of their sins﴿ when they persisted and continued therein, ﴾verily He is mighty, severe in punishment﴿ (40:22) so their strength did not avail them in the slightest before the strength of Allah; ratherone of the greatest nations in terms of strength was the people of ‘Ad who said:

﴾... Who is more powerful than us?...﴿ (Fu^ilat 41:15)

Allah sent against them a wind that sapped their strength and destroyed them utterly.

Then Allah mentions an example of how the disbelievers treated their Messengers, namely the story of Pharaoh and his troops:

40:23. We sent Moosa with Our clear signs and compelling proofs

40:24. to Pharaoh, Haman and Qaroon, but they said: He is a magician and a liar!

40:25. But when Moosa brought the truth to them from Us, they said: Kill the sons of those who believe with him, and let their womenfolk live. The schemes of the disbelievers are always bound to fail.

﴾We sent﴿ to people of the ilk of these disbelievers ﴾Moosa﴿ ibn ‘Imran

﴾with Our clear signs﴿ that is, Our great signs that proved definitively the truthfulness of the message with which he was sent and the falseness of the path followed by those to whom he was sent, which was the path of polytheism and what is connected to it﴾fand compelling proofs﴿ that is, clear proofs that compel one to submit, such as the snake, the staff and other clear signs with which Allah supported Moosa and the truth to which he called people.

Those to whom he was sent were ﴾Pharaoh﴿ and ﴾Haman﴿, his advisor, ffand Qaroon﴿, who was one of the people of Moosa, who behaved arrogantly towards his fellow Israelites because of wealth that he possessed. All of them responded in the worst manner and ?jsaid: He is a magician and a liar!﴿.

﴾But when Moosa brought the truth to them from Us﴿ and Allah supported him with dazzling miracles that would compel one to submit completely, they did not respond as they should have. At the same time they were not content merely to ignore him and turn away, or even to denounce his message and challenge it on the basis of what they had of falsehood.

Rather their response was so bad that ﴾they said: Kill the sons of those who believe with him, and let their womenfolk live. The schemes of the disbelievers are always bound to fail﴿. Because they came up with this scheme and claimed that if they killed the sons of the Israelites, they would not become strong and they would remain slaves, subject to their control, their scheme was Abound to fail﴿ as they did not achieve what they aimed for; rather they got the opposite outcome, for Allah destroyed them and wiped them out completely.

Note: Think about this point which is often repeated in the Book of Allah:

If the context is a specific story or a specific matter, and Allah wants to give a ruling concerning that specific matter that is not specific to that matter. He mentions the ruling and connects it to the general reason for that ruling, so as to make it more general in application, which includes the story mentioned in that context too, so as to ward off any mistaken notion that the ruling is limited onlyto that specific instance. Hence Allah does not say here “their scheme was bound to fail”; rather He says: ﴾The schemes of the disbelievers are always bound to fail﴿.

40:26. Pharaoh said: Let me kill Moosa, and let him call upon his Lord! For I fear that he will change your religion or cause mischief to appear in the land.

40:27. Moosa said: I seek refuge with my Lord and your Lord from every arrogant person who does not believe in the Day of Reckoning.

40:28. A believing man from Pharaoh’s family who had been concealing his faith said: Would you kill a man merely because he says: My Lord is Allah, even though he has come to you with clear signs from your Lord? If he is lying, he will suffer the consequences of his lie, but if he is telling the truth, some of that [punishment] of which he warns you will befall you. Verily Allah does not guide the lying transgressor.

40:29. O my people, you have dominion today and are prevailing in the land, but who will save us from the punishment of Allah,if it comes upon us? Pharaoh said: I am only telling you what I think is right, and I am only guiding you to the correct path.

﴾Pharaoh said﴿ arrogantly and insolently, aiming to deceive his foolish people: ﴾Let me kill Moosa, and let him call upon his Lord﴿ that is, he claimed that were it not that he did not want to upset his people, he would have killed Moosa, and that he was not preventing him from calling upon his Lord.

Then Pharaoh stated that his motive for killing Moosa was sincerity towards his own people, and his desire to remove evil from the land. Hence he said:

﴾For I fear that he will change your religion﴿ that you are following ﴾for cause mischief to appear in the land﴿. This is very strange indeed, that the worst of people would give sincere advice to his people, not follow the best of people. This is a kind of deception that does not fool anyone but the type of people of whom Allah says:

﴾Thus he made fools of his people and they obeyed him. They were indeed a rebellious and wicked people.﴿ (az-Zukhruf43: 54)

﴾Moosa said﴿ when Pharaoh spoke those reprehensible words to which his arrogance led him, and he felt proud of his power and ability, Moosa said, seeking the help of his Lord:

﴾I seek refuge with my Lord and your Lord﴿ that is, I seek protection in His Lordship, by which He is in control of all things,

?ffrom every arrogant person who does not believe in the Day of Reckoning﴿ that is, whose arrogance and lack of belief in the Day of Reckoning prompt him to commit evil and spread corruption. That includes Pharaoh and others. By His kindness, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) protected Moosa from all arrogant people who did not believe in the Day of Reckoning, and He made available to him the means by which the evil of Pharaoh and his chiefs was warded off from him.

One of these means was this believing man who was from the family of Pharaoh, a member of the royal household, who must have had some influence, especially since he acted as if he was in agreement with them and he concealed his faith, because they were accustomed to showing respect to him in a manner that they would not do if he openly disagreed with them. Similarly, Allah protected His Messenger Muhammad (ﷺ) from Quraysh by means of his paternal uncle Abu Talib because Abu Talib was held in high esteem by them and he followed the same religion as them; if he had been Muslim, he would not have been able to protect him in that manner.

That wise, prudent, guided believing man said, criticising the actions of his people and highlighting the abhorrent nature of what they had decided to do:

t-fWould you kill a man merely because he says: My Lord is Allah﴿ that is, how can you regard it as permissible to kill him when all he has done is to say ﴾My Lord is Allah))? and he did not merely say words without presenting proof? Hence he said: ﴾even though he has come to you with clear signs from your Lord﴿, because his proof was well known to them all, young and old alike.

In other words: such a man does not deserve to be killed. So before you do that, why do you not try to prove that what he brought of truth is wrong, and respond to his proof with proof of your own to refute it? Then after that you can see whether he deserves to be killed - after you defeat him in argument - or not. But as his argument is well-founded and his proof is very clear, then there is no way that it could be permissible to kill him.

Then he presented to them a rational argument that could convince any rational person, no matter how you look at it, and he said: ﴾If he is lying, he will suffer the consequences of his lie, but if he is telling the truth, some of that [punishment] of which he warns you will befall you﴿ that is, Moosa can only be one of two things: either he is lying in his claim, or he is telling the truth. If he is lying, then he is theonly one who will suffer the consequences and he is only harming himself, and you will not be harmed by his lie, because you did not accept his call or believe it. But if he is telling the truth and has come to you with clear signs, and has told you that if you do not respond, Allah will punish you in this world and in the hereafter, then some of that of which he warns you must inevitably befall you, which is punishment in this world.

Because of his mature thinking and his subtle attempts to protect Moosa, this man came up with this response that would not cause any confusion to the people, and he presented the case of Moosa as being one of two things, stating that in either case killing him would be foolishness and ignorance on their part.

Then he - may Allah be pleased with him and make him pleased, and may He forgive him and have mercy on him - moved on to a matter that was more sublime, and explained how close Moosa was to the truth, as he said: ﴾Verily Allah does not guide the lying transgressor﴿ that is, the one who oversteps the mark by shunning the truth and turning to falsehood, who lies by blaming his transgression on Allah and saying that He told him to do it. Allah will not guide such a person to the right path, either in what he is trying to achieve, or in his argument for what he is doing, and he will not be guided to the straight path.

In other words: you have seen what Moosa calls you to of the truth, and how Allah helped him to call people to the truth and present rational proof and divinely-granted miracles to support it. The one who is guided in this manner cannot be a transgressor or a liar. This is indicative of his knowledge, reason and knowledge of his Lord.

Then he warned and advised his people, alerted them to the punishment of the hereafter, and told them not to be deceived by what they had of power and dominion, as he said:

﴾0 my people, you have dominion today﴿ that is, in this world ﴾and are prevailing in the land﴿ over your subjects, controlling them as you wish.

But assume that you achieve what you want (of killing Moosa), which is not going to happen, <fwho will save us from the punishment of Allah, if it comes upon us?﴿ This is indicative of this man’s smartness in debating with his people, as he described it as something that he had in common with them, by saying ﴾who will save us... if it comes upon us?﴿ This was in order to make them understand that he was as sincere towards them as he was to himself, and that he wanted for them what he wanted for himself.

﴾Pharaoh said﴿, objecting to that and trying to deceive his people lest they follow Moosa: am only telling you what I think is right, and I am only guiding you to the correct path﴿.

He spoke the truth when he said: ﴾I am only telling you what I think is right﴿ but what was it that he thought was right? He thought that what was right was to think of his people as foolish, and that they should follow him so that he could be their leader, even though he did not think that he was in the right. Rather he thought that Moosa was in the right, but he denied it even though he was certain that it was the truth.

However, he was lying when he said: ﴾and I am only guiding you to the correct path﴿, because that was the opposite of the truth. If he had only instructed them to follow him in his disbelief and misguidance, his evil would have been less, but he instructed them to follow him, and claimed that by doing so they would be following the truth, and that if they actually followed the truth they would be following misguidance.

40:30. The man who believed said: O my people, verily I fear for you a fate like that which befell the parties [who gathered against their Prophets] -

40:31. like what happened to the people ofNooh, and ‘Ad and Thamood, and those who came after them. And Allah does not intend any injustice to [any of] His slaves.

﴾The man who believed said﴿, repeating his call to his people, without despairing of their ever being guided - which is the way of those who call people to Allah; they keep on calling people to their Lord and nothing deters them from that, for the arrogance of those whom they called does not deter them from persisting in calling them - so he said to them:

﴾0 my people, verily I fear for you a fate like that which befell the parties [who gathered against their Prophets]﴿ namely the disbelieving nations who gathered against their Prophets and united to oppose them.

Then he mentioned those nations by name: ﴾like what happened to the people of Nooh, and ‘Ad and Thamood, and those who came after them﴿, when they disbelieved, and Allah punished them in this world, before the hereafter.

﴾And Allah does not intend any injustice to [any of] His slaves﴿ by punishing them without any sin or wrongdoing on their part.

(rr-rr:

40:32. O my people, verily I fear for you the day when people will cry out to one another.

40:33. the day when you will turn to flee, having none to protect you from [the punishment of] Allah. Whomever Allah has caused to go astray, no one can guide.

Having warned them of punishment in this world, this man alerted them to punishment in the hereafter, as he said:

﴾0 my people, verily I fear for you the day when people will cry out to one another﴿ that is, the Day of Resurrection, when the people of paradise will call out to the people of hell:

﴾(... We have indeed found what our Lord promised us to be true. Have you found what your Lord promised to be true?... The inhabitants of hell will call out to the inhabitants of paradise, [saying]: Send down to us some of the water or other things that Allah has provided for you. They will say: Verily, Allah has forbidden them both to the

When the people of hell call out to Malik:

﴾[... let your Lord put an end to us! He will say: Verily, you will remain [in the same plight forever].﴿ (az-Zukhruf43: 77)

- and when they call out to their Lord:

﴾Our Lord, deliver us from this. Then if we return [to evil], we will indeed be wrongdoers.﴿ (al-Mu’m'moon 23: 107)

- He will answer them:

﴾...Away with you! Be humiliated therein and do not speak to Me.﴿

On that day, it will be said to the polytheists:

. .Call on your [so-called] partners. They will call on them, but they will not respond to them...﴿ (al-Qasas 28: 64)

He warned them of this terrifying day and expressed his worry for them, if they persisted in their ascription of partners to Allah.

Hence he said:﴾the day when you will turn to flee﴿ that is, you will be taken to the fire

﴾having none to protect you from [the punishment of] Allah﴿ because you will have no power yourselves to ward off the punishment of Allah, and no one will help you against Him.

﴾On the day when people’s inner secrets will be examined. Then man will have no power to help himself nor anyone to help him.﴿

﴾Whomever Allah has caused to go astray, no one can guide﴿ because guidance is in the Hand of Allah, so if He withholds guidance from His slave because he is not fit to receive it, due to his evil nature, there is no way he can be guided.

40:34. Yoosuf came to you before with clear signs, but you never ceased to doubt the message he brought you. Then when he died, you said: Allah will never send [another] Messenger after him. Thus Allah leaves to stray those who transgress and are given to much doubting,

40:35. those who argue against the signs of Allah without having any sound proof. [Their disputing] is exceedingly loathsome to Allah and to those who believe. Thus does Allah seal the heart of every proud and arrogant person.

﴾Yoosuf﴿ the son of Ya'qoob (عليه السلام) ﴾came to you before﴿ the coming of Moosa, with clear signs that proved his sincerity and truthfulness, and he enjoined you to worship your Lord alone, with no partner or associate ﴾but you never ceased to doubt the message he brought you﴿ during his lifetime.

﴾Then when he died﴿ it increased you in doubt and polytheism, and ﴾you said: Allah will never send [another] Messenger after him﴿ that is, this was your mistaken thinking, and your estimate that was not appropriate with regard to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), for He does not neglect His creation without giving them commands and prohibitions or sending His Messengers to them. Thinking that Allah would not send Messengers is misguided thinking, therefore Allah says: ﴾Thus Allah leaves to stray those who transgress and are given to much doubting﴿. The description which they gave to Moosa, unjustly and in arrogance, actually fits them, for they are the transgressors who transgressed against the truth and turned away from it, choosing misguidance instead. They were lying when they attributed that to Allah and rejected His Messenger.

Whoever is given to transgression and lying - and is constantly like that-Allah will not guide him or enable him to do good, because he has rejected the truth after it came to him and he recognised it. Therefore his requital is that Allah will punish him by depriving him of guidance, as He says elsewhere:

﴾j.. .So when they chose to deviate [from the truth], Allah caused their hearts to deviate [from right guidance]...﴿ (as-Saff61: 5)

﴾We will turn their hearts and eyes away [from the truth], since they refused to believe in it the first time, and We will leave them to wander blindly in their misguidance.﴿ (al-An‘am 6:110)

﴾... And Allah does not guide people who are given to wrongdoing.﴿

Then he described the lying transgressors: ﴾those who argue against the signs of Allah without having any sound proof}* that makes truth distinct from falsehood so that it becomes as clear as day, but they argue against it even though it is so clear, in an attempt to refute it and prove it false

﴾without having any sound proof﴿ that is, without evidence. This is always the case with everyone who argues against the signs of Allah. It is impossible that he would argue on the basis of sound proof, because no one could prove the truth to be wrong, for there is no way that it can be refuted on the basis of textual proof or rational evidence.

Their argument that attempts to refute the truth on the basis of falsehood ﴾fis exceedingly loathsome to Allah and to those who believe﴿. Allah despises those who do that, because their attempt to undermine the truth implies rejection of truth and belief in falsehood, and describing falsehood as true, and these are things that are exceedingly loathsome to Allah and He hates those who are like that. Similarly, His believing slaves despise that intensely, in agreement with their Lord. These are the elite of Allah’s creation, and their hatred is indicative of the reprehensible and abhorrent nature of those whom they despise.

﴾Thus﴿, just as He sealed the hearts of the family of Pharaoh, so too ﴾does Allah seal the heart of every proud and arrogant person﴿ who is proud of himself for rejecting the truth and for looking down on people, and is filled with arrogance because of his excessive wrongdoing and transgression.

40:36. Pharaoh said: O Haman, build me a tower, so that I may attain the means of access -

40:37. access to the heavens, and have a look at the God of Moosa, for verily I think he is a liar. Thus Pharaoh’s evil deeds were made fair-seeming to him and he was barred from the right path, and Pharaoh’s plan ended only in loss.

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﴾Pharaoh said﴿ objecting to Moosa, and rejecting his call to acknowledge the Lord of the worlds, Who rose over His Throne and Who is above His creation:

﴾O Haman, build me a tower﴿ that is, a great, high structure, the purpose of which is so that I may climb up f(and have a look at the God of Moosa, for verily I think he is a liar﴿ in his claim that we have a Lord and that He is above the heavens.

But Pharaoh wanted to take precautionary measures and see the matter for himself. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says, explaining what made him say that: ﴾Thus Pharaoh’s evil deeds were made fair-seeming to him﴿. His deeds were made fair seeming to him, for the Shaytan kept calling him to do that and making it seem good, until he thought it was good, and he called people to it and argued with others as if he was in the right, when he was one of the worst spreaders of mischief.

﴾and he was barred from the right path﴿, the path of truth, because of the falsehood that had been made fair-seeming to him ﴾and Pharaoh’s plan﴿ by means of which he wanted to undermine the truth and make people think that he was in the right and Moosa was in the wrong

﴾ended only in loss﴿ that is, failure, and it only brought him doom in this world and the hereafter.

40:38. The man who believed said: O my people, follow me; I will guide you to the correct path.

40:39. O my people, the life of this world is but a brief enjoyment, whereas it is the hereafter that is the permanent abode.

40:40. Whoever does an evil deed will be recompensed only with the like thereof, but whoever does righteous deeds, whether male or female, and is a believer - it is they who will enter paradise, where they will be granted provision without measure.

40:41. O my people, how is it that I call you to salvation whilst you call me to the fire?

40:42. You call me to disbelieve in Allah and to ascribe partners to Him of which I have no knowledge, whilst I call you to the Almighty, the Oft-Forgiving.

40:43. Undoubtedly that to which you call me cannot respond to any supplication, either in this world or in the hereafter. We will all return to Allah, and it is the transgressors who will be the inhabitants of the fire.

40:44. Then you will remember what I am telling you now. I entrust my affairs to Allah; verily Allah is fully aware of His slaves.

﴾The man who believed said﴿, repeating his advice to his people: ﴾fO my people, follow me; I will guide you to the correct path﴿ for it is not as Pharaoh is telling you; he cannot guide you except to the path of transgression and corruption.

﴾0 my people, the life of this world is but a brief enjoyment﴿ that is enjoyed for a brief while, then it comes to an end and vanishes. So do not be deceived or distracted from the purpose for which you were created.

﴾whereas it is the hereafter that is the permanent abode﴿ which is the place in which to abide for ever, the realm of peace and stability. So you should give it precedence and strive for it by doing deeds because of which Allah will bless you.

﴾Whoever does an evil deed﴿ such as ascribing partners to Allah, or committing evildoing or sin

﴾will be recompensed only with the like thereof﴿ that is, he will only be requited with that which will cause him distress and grief, because the requital of sin is that which causes distress.

﴾but whoever does righteous deeds, whether male or female﴿ including deeds of the heart (beliefs and attitudes), physical deeds and words uttered

﴾and is a believer - it is they who will enter paradise, where they will be granted provision without measure﴿ that is, they will be given their reward without limit and without counting; rather Allah will give them more than their deeds deserve.

my people, how is it that I call you to salvation﴿ through what I am saying to you

﴾whilst you call me to the fire﴿ by not following the Prophet of Allah Moosa (عليه السلام).

Then he explained that by saying: ﴾You call me to disbelieve in Allah and to ascribe partners to Him of which I have no knowledge﴿ that it deserves to be worshipped instead of Allah. Speaking about Allah without knowledge is one of the gravest and most abhorrent of sins.

﴾whilst I call you to the Almighty﴿ to Whom all might belongs, and others have no control over anything at all

﴾the Oft-Forgiving﴿ Who, even if a person were to transgress beyond all bounds and have the audacity to do that which incurs His wrath, if he were then to repent and turn to Him, He would absolve them of their evil deeds and sins, and ward off that which could result of punishment in this world and the hereafter.

﴾Undoubtedly﴿ that is, certainly

﴾that to which you call me cannot respond to any supplication, either in this world or in the hereafter﴿ so it is not worth calling upon it or turning to it, either in this world or in the hereafter, because it is helpless and imperfect, and it has no power to benefit or harm, to cause death, give life or resurrect.

﴾We will all return to Allah﴿ (سبحانه وتعالى), and He will requite each person for his deeds

﴾and it is the transgressors who will be the inhabitants of the fire﴿. It is they who have transgressed against themselves and shown audacity towards their Lord by disobeying Him and disbelieving in Him, so it is they alone who will be inhabitants of the fire.

He advised them and warned them, but they did not pay heed or accept his message, so he said to them: ﴾Then you will remember what I am telling you now﴿ of this advice, and you will see the consequences of not accepting it, when the punishment befalls you and you are deprived of the generous reward.

entrust my affairs to Allah﴿ that is, I turn to Him and seek His protection, and I delegate all my affairs to Him and put my trust in Him with regard to all that I am trying to attain of good and all thatI am trying to ward off of harm, that may befall me from you or anyone else.

﴾verily Allah is fully aware of His slaves﴿ - He knows their condition and what they deserve. He knows my condition and my weakness, and He will protect me from you and will suffice me against your evil. He knows your condition, so you will not do anything except by His leave and by His will. If He gives you power over me, it is based on divine wisdom and is in accordance with the divine will.

40:45. Then Allah delivered him from the evils which they planned, and a terrible punishment overwhelmed Pharaoh’s family:

40:46. the fire, which will be shown to them morning and afternoon. And on the day when the Hour begins, [it will be said]: Admit the family of Pharaoh to the severest punishment.

﴾Then Allah delivered him from the evils which they planned﴿ that is, Allah, the Most Strong, the Most Merciful, delivered that guided, believing man from the punishment that Pharaoh and his family had planned for him, for they wanted to destroy him because he had initiated a debate with them that they hated, and he had showed them that he was in complete agreement with Moosa and called them to the same message as that to which Moosa called them. This was something that they could not bear, because they were the ones who were in power at that time, and he had angered them and infuriated them. So they planned to harm him, but Allah protected him from their scheme and plan, and caused it to backfire on them.

﴾fand a terrible punishment overwhelmed Pharaoh’s family﴿ as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) drowned all of them in a single calamity.

And in al-barzakh, the fire ﴾will be shown to them morning and afternoon. And on the day when the Hour begins, [it will be said]: Admit the family of Pharaoh to the severest punishment﴿. This is the terrible punishment which will befall those who disbelieved in the Messengers of Allah and stubbornly refused to obey His commands.

40:47. When they argue with one another in the fire, then those who were weak will say to those who were arrogant: We were your followers; can you then relieve us of some portion of the fire?

40:48. Those who were arrogant will say: We are all [suffering] in it. Allah has already passed judgement among His slaves.

40:49. Those who are in the fire will say to the keepers of hell: Call upon your Lord to alleviate the punishment for us for one day.

40:50. They will say: Did your Messengers not come to you with clear signs? They will say: Yes. They will say: Then call upon Him yourselves! The supplication of those who disbelieve is all in vain.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us of the dispute between the people of hell: they will rebuke one another and seek the help of the keepers of hell, but that will be of no benefit to them.

﴾When they argue with one another in the fire﴿, the followers will argue that the leaders tempted them, but the leaders will disavow the followers.

﴾then those who were weak﴿, namely the followers, will say to the leaders ﴾who were arrogant﴿ towards the truth, and who called them to that because of which they behaved arrogantly:

﴾We were your followers﴿ for you tempted us and led us astray, and you made polytheism and evil fair-seeming to us

﴾can you then relieve us of some portion of the fire﴿ even if it is little?

﴾Those who were arrogant will say﴿, explaining that they are unable to do that and that the divine ruling will be carried out on all: ﴾fWe are all [suffering] in it. Allah has already passed judgement among His slaves﴿ and He has given to each his share of punishment, no more and no less. What has been decided by the Most Wise cannot be changed.

﴾Those who are in the fire﴿ namely the arrogant and weak ﴾will say to the keepers of hell: Call upon your Lord to alleviate the punishment for us for one day﴿ so that we may find some relief.

But ﴾They will say﴿ to them, rebuking them and explaining that their intercession would be of no benefit and their supplication would be of no avail:

﴾Did your Messengers not come to you with clear signs﴿ on the basis of which the truth and the straight path, and that which would bring you closer to Allah and that which would distance you from Him, became clear?

﴾They will say: Yes﴿ they did indeed come to us with clear signs, and the definitive proof of Allah was established against us, but we did wrong and we stubbornly rejected the truth after it had become clear.﴾They will say﴿ that is, the keepers of hell will say to the people of hell, refusing to offer supplication for them or to intercede for them: ﴾Then call upon Him yourselves﴿, but will this supplication be of any avail or not? Allah tells us: ﴾The supplication of those who disbelieve is all in vain﴿ that is, it is invalid and worthless, because disbelief nullifies all good deeds and prevents any response to supplication.

(or

40:51. We will surely cause Our Messengers and those who believe to prevail in the life of this world and on the day when the witnesses come forward,

40:52. the day when no excuse will benefit those who did wrong; upon them will be the curse and for them will be a wretched end.

Having mentioned the punishment of the family of Pharaoh in this world, in al-barzakh and on the Day of Resurrection, and the terrible situation of the people of hell, who opposed and fought His Messengers, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) now says:

﴾We will surely cause Our Messengers and those who believe to prevail in the life of this world﴿ that is, by means of evidence and proof, and victory

﴾and on the day when the witnesses come forward﴿ that is, in the hereafter, by decreeing reward for them and their followers, and severe punishment for those who fought them.

﴾the day when no excuse will benefit those who did wrong﴿ when they offer their excuses﴾upon them will be the curse and for them will be a wretched end﴿ that is, a wretched abode that offers misery to its inhabitants.

40:53. We gave Moosa guidance and caused the Children of Israel to inherit the Book,

40:54. as guidance and as a reminder to people of understanding.

40:55. So be patient, for verily the promise of Allah is true; seek forgiveness for your sin, and glorify and praise your Lord in the afternoon and in the morning.

Having mentioned what happened to Moosa and Pharaoh, and the fate that befell Pharaoh and his troops, then describing the general principle that applies to Pharaoh and to all the people of hell, Allah now tells us that He gave Moosa ﴾guidance﴿ that is, the signs and knowledge by means of which people are guided f(and caused the Children of Israel to inherit the Book﴿ that is, We caused it to be passed down from one generation to another. This refers to the Torah.

That Book contains guidance, which is knowledge of religious rulings and other matters. It also contains reminders of good and encouragement to do good, and it points out evil and warns against it. But this is not for everyone; rather it is only for ﴾people of understanding﴿.

﴾So be patient﴿ O Messenger, as those who came before you, the Messengers of strong resolve, were patient﴾for verily the promise of Allah is true﴿ that is, there is no doubt about it, and there is no suspicion or falseness about it, such that it would be difficult for you to be patient. Rather it is pure truth and pure guidance to which people of patience adhere steadfastly and people of insight strive hard to adhere to it.

The phrase ﴾for verily the promise of Allah is true﴿ is one of the means of motivating oneself to be patient in obeying Allah and in refraining from that which Allah dislikes.

﴾seek forgiveness for your sin﴿ that is preventing you from attaining your salvation and bliss. Allah instructed him to be patient, because through patience one will attain what one seeks, and by praying for forgiveness one will ward off that which one does not like. And by glorifying and praising Allah, especially ﴾in the afternoon and in the morning﴿, which are the best of times, at which one would do regular acts of worship and remembering Allah, both obligatory and recommended, that will help one in all one’s affairs.

40:56. Verily those who argue against the signs of Allah without having any sound proof, in their hearts there is nothing but an arrogant desire for greatness that they will never attain. So seek refuge with Allah, for verily He is the All-Hearing, All-Seeing.

Here Allah tells us that if anyone argues against His signs so as to refute them on the basis of false arguments, without proof or evidence, this stems from arrogance in their hearts towards the truthand towards the one who brought it. They want to prove that they are greater than him, by means of what they have of falsehood. This is their aim and their wish.

But they will not attain that goal. This is a clear statement that everyone who argues against the truth will be defeated, and that the fate of everyone who shows arrogance towards it is humiliation.

﴾So seek refuge with Allah﴿ that is, seek protection with Him. No mention is made of what protection is to be sought from, so as to make this idea general in application. In other words: seek refuge with Allah from arrogance which leads to looking down on the truth; seek refuge with Allah from the devils among humankind and the jinn; and seek refuge with Allah from all evils.

﴾for verily He is the All-Hearing﴿ Who hears all voices, of all kinds

﴾All-Seeing﴿ Who sees all that is to be seen, in whatever place or time it appears.

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40:57. Indeed the creation of the heavens and the earth is a greater matter than the creation [or recreation] of humankind, but most people do not know.

40:58. The blind and the seeing are not alike, nor are those who believe and do righteous deeds, and those who do evil. Little is it that you pay heed!

40:59. Verily the Hour is coming; there can be no doubt about it. But most people do not believe.

Here Allah tells us of what is established in people’s minds, which is that the creation of the heavens and the earth, despite their greatness and vastness, is greater and more significant than the creation of people, and that people, in comparison to the creation of the heavens and the earth, are as insignificant as can be. Therefore it is more appropriate that the One Who created the mighty heavenly bodies in such a precise manner should be able to recreate people after their death. This is one of the rational proofs that definitively point to the resurrection. Once the wise man looks at the heavenly bodies, he will reach a certain conclusion, beyond any doubt, that what the Messengers said about the resurrection is true.

But not everyone pays attention to that or reflects upon it. Hence Allah says: ﴾but most people do not know﴿ and therefore they do not learn from that or give any thought to it.

Then Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾The blind and the seeing are not alike, nor are those who believe and do righteous deeds, and those who do evil﴿ that is, just as the blind and the seeing are not alike, so too the one who believes in Allah and does righteous deeds, and the one who is too arrogant to worship his Lord and disobeys Him, striving in doing that which incurs His wrath, are not alike.

﴾Little is it that you pay heed﴿ - otherwise, if you thought of the differences between things and different levels of good and evil, and the difference between the righteous and the evildoers, and you had high ambitions, then you would have given precedence to that which is beneficial over that which is harmful, to guidance over misguidance, and to eternal happiness over this transient world.

﴾Verily the Hour is coming; there can be no doubt about it﴿L The Messengers, who are the most truthful of humankind, spoke of it, and the divinely-revealed Books, which are of the highest level oftruth, also spoke of it. Moreover there is visible proof for it and signs thereof in the universe.

﴾But most people do not believe﴿ despite these things that should lead to a perfect level of faith and submission.

40:60. Your Lord says: Call upon Me; I will answer your prayer. Verily those who are too arrogant to worship Me will enter hell in humiliation.

By His kindness towards His slaves and the immense blessings He bestows upon them, Allah called them to that which is in their best interests in both spiritual and worldly terms, and He instructed them to call upon Him, meaning both the supplication of worship and the supplication of asking for what they need. He promised to respond to them, and He warned them against being too arrogant to do that.

﴾Verily those who are too arrogant to worship Me will enter hell in humiliation﴿ that is, they will be humiliated and despised, suffering a combination of punishment and humiliation, as a requital for their arrogance.

40:61. It is Allah Who has made the night for you to rest in, and the day for you to see. Verily Allah is most gracious to humankind, but most people do not give thanks.

40:62. Such is Allah your Lord, the Creator of all things; there is no god but He. So how could you be turned away [from the truth]?

40:63. Thus are turned away those who deny the signs of Allah.

40:64. It is Allah Who has made the earth a stable place to live in and the heavens an edifice, and He has shaped you and shaped you well, and has provided you with good things. Such is Allah, your Lord, so blessed be Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

40:65. He is the Ever-Living, there is no god but He. So call upon Him with sincere devotion to Him alone, [saying]: Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

Contemplate these verses which speak of the vastness of Allah’s mercy and His immense grace, and highlight the obligation to give thanks to Him; they speak of His perfect might and great dominion, and the vastness of His sovereignty. They tell us that He created all things, and remind us of the perfect nature of His being the Ever Living and of the fact that He is to be praised for all the perfect attributes that He possesses, for all His beautiful deeds, for His perfect Lordship, and for the fact that He is the only Lord. All affairs are controlled by Him in both the upper and lower realms, in the past, present and future. No one has any control of anything or any share of power. From that we learn that Allah is the only One to Whom devotion and worship are to be directed, and no one else deserves anyshare of worship, just as they do not deserve any share of Lordship. If one realises all of the above, his heart will be filled with knowledge of Allah, love for Him, fear of Him and hope in Him.

These two things - knowing Him and worshipping Him - are the purpose for which Allah created humankind, and they are the ultimate aim of His slaves. They are what lead to all good, success, well-being and happiness, in this world and the hereafter. They are the noblest gifts that Allah may give to His slaves and they are the noblest of all pleasures. If one misses out on these two things, he will miss out on all that is good, and everything that is bad and evil will be present with him.

We ask Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) to fill our hearts with knowledge and love of Him, and to make all our actions, both inward and outward, sincerely for His sake and in accordance with His commands, for nothing we ask of Him is too much for Him, and nothing He could give could undermine what He has.

﴾lt is Allah Who has made the night for you to rest in﴿ that is. He has made it for your sake; He has made it dark tffor you to rest﴿ in it from your activities which, if they were to be continuous, would cause you harm. So you retire to your beds, and Allah bestows upon you sleep, which gives rest to minds and bodies. Sleep is one of the human necessities that man cannot do without. Every lover finds comfort in his beloved, and people become focused, and distractions are reduced.

(fand﴿ Allah has made ﴾the day for you to see﴿ by the light of the sun that is running its course. So you get up from your beds and go about your business, both spiritual and worldly. So people may recite dhikr or read Qur’an, or pray, or seek knowledge and study; or engage in trade, or work as builders, blacksmiths and other professions; or travel by land or sea; or go out to till the fields, or to tend to their animals.

﴾Verily Allah is most gracious to humankind﴿, as He bestows upon them these blessings and others, and He averts harm from them. This requires them to give complete thanks to Him and to remember Him, ﴾but most people do not give thanks﴿ because of their ignorance and wrongdoing.

((...But few of My slaves are grateful.﴿ (Saba'34: 13)

There are few who acknowledge the blessings of their Lord, submit to Allah, love Him, and use the blessings in obedience to their Lord and in pursuit of His pleasure.

﴾Such﴿ that is, the One Who did that ﴾is Allah your Lord﴿ that is, the only divinity and the only Lord, because He is the only One Who bestows these blessings, which is part of His being their Lord, and giving thanks to Him is required because of His being divine.

﴾the Creator of all things﴿ this is affirming His Lordship.

﴾there is no god but He﴿ this is affirming that He alone is deserving of worship, with no partner or associate.

Then He clearly gives the command to worship Him alone: ﴾So how could you be turned away [from the truth]?﴿ That is, how could you be turned away from worshipping Him alone, with no partner or associate, after He has made the evidence clear, and after He has illuminated the path for you?

﴾Thus are turned away those who deny the signs of Allah﴿ that is, as a punishment for their denial of the signs of Allah and their hostility towards His Messengers, they were turned away from affirmation of His oneness and sincerity to Him alone. This is like the verse in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾Whenever a soorah is revealed, they look at one another [as if to say]: Is anyone watching? Then they turn away. Allah has turned their hearts away, for they are a people who do not understand.﴿ (at-Tawbah 9 127)

﴾It is Allah Who has made the earth a stable place to live in﴿ that is. He has made it stable and steady, prepared in such a way that it meets your needs, so that you are able to cultivate it, grow things on it, build on it, travel and settle on it.

﴾and the heavens an edifice﴿ that is, a roof for the earth on which you dwell. Allah has instilled in it that which you benefit from of light and signs by means of which you navigate on land and sea.

﴾and He has shaped you and shaped you well﴿ for there is nothing among living beings that is better in shape and image than the sons of Adam, as Allah says elsewhere:

﴾Verily We have created man in the best of conditions.﴿ (at-Teen 95: 4)

If you want to know how precise the make-up of the human being is, and the perfect wisdom of Allah in creating him, then look at him, limb by limb and faculty by faculty: do you find that any of his limbs or faculties would be better located in a place other than where it is? Look at how people’s hearts inclined towards one another: will you find that in any other species? Look at what Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has given only to humans, such as reason, faith, love and knowledge, which are the best of attitudes and are suited to the best of shapes.

﴾and has provided you with good things﴿ - this includes everything that is good, be it food, drink, spouses, appearance, clothes, voice and other good things that Allah has made available to His slaves, and has granted them the means of attaining them; and He has protected them from the vile things that are their opposites, which would cause them harm in body and soul, and would be detrimental to their religious commitment.

﴾Such﴿ that is, the One Who controls all things and bestows these blessings upon you, ﴾is Allah, your Lord﴿.

﴾so blessed be Allah, the Lord of the worlds﴿ that is, may He be glorified, Whose favours are innumerable, the One Who showers all creatures with His blessings.

﴾He is the Ever-Living﴿ to Whom belongs perfect life, which implies that He has other attributes without which His being the Ever- Living cannot be complete, such as hearing, seeing, might, knowledge, speaking and other attributes of perfection and majesty.

﴾there is no god but He﴿ that is, there is none deserving of worship except Him.

﴾So call upon Him﴿ - this includes the supplication of worship and the supplication of asking

﴾with sincere devotion to Him alone﴿ that is, seek the pleasure of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) by means of all kinds of acts of worship, supplication and good deeds, for sincerity is what is enjoined, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

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

﴾Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds﴿ that is, all praise - in words, as when people mention His name, and in deeds, as when they worship Him - is due to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) alone, with no partner or associate, because of His perfect attributes and deeds, and His perfect blessings.

40:66. Say: I am forbidden to worship those you call upon besides Allah, since there have come to me clear signs from my Lord, and I am commanded to submit to the Lord of the worlds.

40:67. It is He Who created you from dust, then from a drop of semen, then from a clinging clot. Then He brings you forth as infants, then [He causes you to grow] so that you may reach your age of full strength, then so that you may become old - although some of you die earlier - and so that you may reach the term appointed [for you], and so that you may understand.

40:68. It is He Who gives life and causes death. When He decrees a matter, He merely says to it, ‘Be!’ and it is.

Having mentioned the command to devote worship sincerely to Him alone, Allah now mentions the evidence and proof for that, and clearly forbids worship of anything other than Him:

﴾Say﴿ O Prophet: ﴾I am forbidden to worship those you call upon besides Allah﴿ of idols and images, and everything that is worshipped instead of Allah.

I have no doubt about the matter I am following; rather I am certain and know what I am doing. Hence he said:

﴾since there have come to me clear signs from my Lord, and I am commanded to submit to the Lord of the worlds﴿ in my heart, verbally and in my actions, for they will all submit in obedience to Him and in adherence to His commands. This is the most important commandment of all, just as the prohibition on worshipping anything other than Allah is the most important prohibition of all.

Then He confirms this affirmation of His oneness by pointing out that He is your Creator, Who created you in stages. Just as He alone created you, so you should worship Him alone:

﴾flt is He Who created you from dust﴿ that was when He created your source and father, namely Adam (عليه السلام)

﴾then from a drop of semen﴿ - this is the beginning of creation of all humans in their mothers’ wombs. Mentioning the first stage draws attention to all stages, from the clinging clot to the lump of chewed flesh, then the bones, then the breathing-in of the soul.

﴾Then He brings you forth as infants﴿, then in like manner you move from one stage to another, as ordained by Allah, until you reach maturity in mind and body, and attain all physical strength, both visible and hidden.

﴾sfthen [He causes you to grow] so that you may reach your age of full strength, then so that you may become old - although some of you die earlier﴿ that is, before reaching full strength tfand so that you may reach the term appointed [for you]﴿ that is, so that you may go through these stages that have been set out for you, and complete the lifespan ordained for you

﴾fand so that you may understand﴿ your situation, and realise that the One Who causes you to go through these stages has full power, and that it is He alone Who should be worshipped, and none other, and that you are imperfect in all ways.

﴾lt is He Who gives life and causes death﴿ that is, He alone has the power to give life and cause death, so no soul dies, with or without reason, except by His leave.

C -No man lives long or has his life cut short but it is [inscribed] in a record; verily that is easy for Allah.(Fatir 35:11)

﴾When He decrees a matter﴿, great or small, ﴾He merely says to it. Be! and it is﴿ and it cannot be put back, repeated or resisted

40:69. Do you not see those who argue against the signs of Allah? How could they be turned away [from the truth]?

40:70. [They are] the ones who reject the Book and the [message] with which We sent Our Messengers. But they will come to know [the consequences of their deeds]

40:71. when, with iron collars and chains around their necks, they are dragged

40:72. into the scalding water, then they will be burned in the fire.

40:73. Then it will be said: Where are those [false gods] whom you ascribed as partners to Allah

40:74. [and you worshipped them] besides Allah? They will say: They are lost from us. Indeed what we used to call upon before is nothing. Thus does Allah leave the disbelievers to stray.

40:75. [It will be said to them:] That is because you used to exult in falsehood on earth without justification, and you used to behave insolently.

40:76. Enter the gates of hell, to abide therein forever. Wretched indeed is the abode of the arrogant!

﴾Do you not see those who argue against the signs of Allah﴿ which are so clear? This is an expression of astonishment at their abhorrent attitude.

﴾How could they be turned away [from the truth]?﴿ That is, how could they be diverted from it, and what direction would they take after this clear explanation? Do they find any clear proof to contradict or undermine the signs of Allah? No, by Allah. Or have they found a specious argument that suits their whims and desires, and use it to support their falsehood?

What a bad deal they have chosen for themselves by disbelieving in the Book that has come to them from Allah, and in that with which Allah has sent His Messengers, the best, most truthful and most rational of humankind.

There will be no requital for such people except the blazing fire. Hence Allah warns them of its punishment, as He says:

﴾But they will come to know [the consequences of their deeds] when, with iron collars﴿ which will prevent them from moving ﴾and chains around their necks﴿ with which they are shackled to their devils ﴾they are dragged into the scalding water﴿ that is, water that is exceedingly hot

﴾then they will be burned in the fire﴿ that will be blazing with great flames, with which they will be burned.

Then they will be rebuked for their ascription of partners to Allah and their lies, and it will be said to them:

﴾ Where are those [false gods] whom you ascribed as partners to Allah [and you worshipped them] besides Allah?﴿ Can they help you or ward off some of the punishment from you?

﴾They will say: They are lost from us﴿ that is, they have gone away and they are not here; even if they were here, they would not help us. Then they will deny them and say: ﴾Indeed what we used to call upon before is nothing.﴿

What appears to be the case is that what they will mean thereby is to affirm the falseness of the gods whom they used to worship, and to affirm that Allah indeed has no partner; rather they went astray and did wrong by worshipping that which is not divine.

This is indicated by the words of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى): ﴾Thus does Allah leave the disbelievers to stray﴿ that is, this is the misguidance that they followed in the previous world, misguidance that is so obvious to everyone that even they themselves will acknowledge its falseness on the Day of Resurrection, and the meaning of Allah’s words:﴾...Those who call upon their [so-called] partners besides Allah follow nothing but conjecture...﴿ (Yoonus 10: 66)

- will become clear to them. This is also indicated by the verses in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾...On the Day of Resurrection they will disavow your having associated them with Allah...﴿ (Fatir 35: 14)

- and:

﴾Who is more astray than one who calls upon, besides Allah, those who will not answer him until the Day of Resurrection...?﴿ (al-Ahqaf 46: 5)

It will be said to the people of hell: ﴾That﴿ namely the various punishments to which you are subjected

﴾is because you used to exult in falsehood on earth without justification, and you used to behave insolently﴿ that is, you used to exult in the falsehood that you were following, and in the knowledge by means of which you sought to contradict the Messengers, and you used to behave insolently and arrogantly towards the slaves of Allah, transgressing and doing wrong, in disobedience to Allah. This is like the verse at the end of this soorah in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾Then when their Messengers came to them with clear signs, they exulted in what they had of [worldly] knowledge﴿ (40: 83);

- and it is like what the people of Qaroon said to him:

﴾...Do not exult, for Allah does not love those who exult [in their

This is a blameworthy kind of joy that is deserving of punishment, unlike the praiseworthy kind of joy of which Allah says: ﴾Say: In the grace of Allah and in His mercy - in that let them

That refers to rejoicing in beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds.

﴾Enter the gates of hell﴿ - each one will enter one of the levels of hell, according to his deeds ﴾to abide therein forever﴿ and never emerge from it ﴾Wretched indeed is the abode of the arrogant﴿ for it is an abode in which they will be humiliated, detained and punished, with punishments varying between extreme heat and extreme cold.

40:77. So be patient, for verily the promise of Allah is true. Whether We show you some of that [punishment] of which We have warned them, or We take your soul [in death, before that], to Us they will be brought back.

﴾So be patient﴿, O Messenger, in calling your people, and in bearing what you suffer from them of harm, and seek help in being patient by means of your faith, t-(for verily the promise of Allah is true﴿: He will grant victory to His religion, make His word supreme and grant victory to His Messengers in this world and the hereafter. Seek help in that also by expecting punishment to befall your enemies in this world and the hereafter. Hence Allah says:

﴾Whether We show you some of that [punishment] of which We have warned them﴿ in this world, then that is all well and good ﴾or We take your soul [in death, before that]﴿ that is, before punishing them,

﴾to Us they will be brought back﴿ and We will requite them for their deeds. So:﴾Never think that Allah is unaware of what the evildoers are doing... )?

Then Allah consoles him and encourages him to be patient by mentioning his fellow Messengers:

40:78. Indeed We sent Messengers before you [O Muhammad]; of them are some whose stories We have related to you, and of them are some whose stories We have not related to you. It was not given to any Messenger to bring a sign except by Allah’s leave. But when the decree of Allah came, the matter was decided with justice, whereupon the followers of falsehood perished.

﴾Indeed We sent Messengers before you﴿ that is, We sent many Messengers to the people, to call them to Us, and they bore with patience the harm the people did to them

﴾of them are some whose stories We have related to you, and of them are some whose stories We have not related to you﴿. All the Messengers followed the commands of Allah, and not one of them had any control over anything.

Not one of them could ﴾bring a sign﴿ - either textual or rational - ﴾except by Allah’s leave﴿ that is, except by His will and decree.

So to demand miracles and signs from the Messengers is wrongdoing, stubbornness and disbelief on the part of the disbelievers, after Allah supported His Messengers with signs that pointed to their truthfulness and the soundness of the message they brought.﴾But when the decree of Allah carnet deciding and judging between the Messengers and their enemies

﴾the matter﴿ between them ﴾was decided with justice﴿ that came at the right time and was in accordance with what is right and correct, by saving the Messengers and their followers, and destroying the disbelievers. Hence Allah says:

﴾whereupon﴿ that is, at the time of the judgement mentioned, ﴾the followers of falsehood﴿, to whom falsehood was second nature, ﴾perished﴿; what they had attained of knowledge and achieved of deeds was false, and their aims and goals were false.

So let those who are addressed here beware of persisting in their falsehood, lest they end up losers as those people did, for they are not better than them and they have no guarantee in the scriptures that they will be saved.

40:79. It is Allah Who made the livestock animals for you, so that some of them you may ride and some of them you may eat.

40:80. and you may have other benefits from them, and so that by means of them you may fulfil your heartfelt need [to reach distant places], and on them, and on ships, you are carried.

40:81. And He shows you His signs. So which of the signs of Allah will you deny?

Here Allah reminds His slaves of what He has bestowed upon them of livestock animals, in which there are a number of blessings, including the following:

• They have the benefit of riding them and carrying their goods on them;

• They have the benefit of eating their flesh and drinking their milk;

• They have the benefit of keeping warm and making various items and furnishings from their wool and hair;

- and there are many other benefits in them.

﴾and so that by means of them you may fulfil your heartfelt need [to reach distant places]﴿, and you feel happy and rejoice when you reach those places and meet the people there ﴾and on them, and on ships, you are carried﴿ that is, you are carried on mounts on land, and on ships on the sea; Allah has made them to be of service to you, so that they may carry you.

And He shows you His signs﴿ that are indicative of His oneness and His names and attributes. This is one of the greatest of His blessings, as He showed His slaves His signs in themselves and in the universe, and His clear blessings, and He listed those blessings for them, so that they may acknowledge Him, give thanks to Him and remember Him.

﴾So which of the signs of Allah will you deny?﴿ That is, which of His signs do you not acknowledge? For it is established in your minds that all the signs and blessings are from Him, so there is no reason to deny them or to turn away from them.

Rather this dictates, for people of mature thinking, that they should strive hard and do their utmost to obey Him, serve Him and focus completely on Him.

40:82. Have they not travelled in the land and seen what was the fate of those who came before them? They were more numerous than them and more powerful, and they made a more impressive mark on the land, but all that they had acquired [of wealth and physical strength] was of no avail to them.

40:83. Then when their Messengers came to them with clear signs, they exulted in what they had of [worldly] knowledge, and the very thing [punishment] they used to ridicule overwhelmed them.

40:84. But when they saw Our punishment, they said: We believe in Allah alone, and we reject that which we used to associate with Him.

40:85. But their believing after they had seen Our punishment could not benefit them at all. Such has always been the way of Allah in dealing with His slaves, whereupon the disbelievers perished.

Here Allah urges those who disbelieve in their Messenger to travel through the land, in the sense of both physical travel and intellectual reflection, asking people of knowledge

﴾Have they not travelled in the land and seen﴿ in the sense of contemplating in such a way as to reach the right conclusion, not merely looking heedlessly and carelessly

﴾what was the fate of those who came before them﴿ of previous nations, such as ‘Ad, Thamood, and others, who were greater than them in strength, more wealthy and left a more impressive mark on the land, by way of fortified structures, beautiful plants and much agriculture.﴾but all that they had acquired [of wealth and physical strength] was of no avail to them﴿ when the command of Allah came to them; their strength did not benefit them, they could not use their wealth to ransom themselves, and they could not hide in their fortifications.

Then Allah mentions their major sin:

﴾Then when their Messengers came to them with clear signs﴿ such as the divinely revealed Books, great miracles, and clear and beneficial knowledge that showed the way to guidance in truth, instead of misguidance and falsehood,

﴾they exulted in what they had of [worldly] knowledge﴿ that was contrary to the religion of the Messengers.

It is well known that their exulting in it indicated that they were very pleased with it and adhered closely to it, and that they were opposed to the truth brought by the Messengers, for they regarded their falsehood as truth. This is general in application and includes all kinds of knowledge that are used to oppose the message brought by the Messengers.

One of the branches of knowledge that most deserve to be included in this category is the field of philosophy, especially Greek philosophy, on the basis of which many verses of the Qur’an were rejected, and it undermined respect for the Qur’an in people’s hearts, regarding its definitive proofs as mere verbal proofs that do not lead to certainty, and giving precedence to the views of foolish people and followers of falsehood over the proofs of the Qur’an. This is one of the worst kinds of distorting the meanings of Allah’s revelations and of opposing them and contradicting them. And it is Allah Whose help we seek.

﴾and the very thing [punishment] they used to ridicule overwhelmed them﴿ that is, befell them.

﴾But when they saw Our punishment﴿ they affirmed the truth at the time when doing so would not benefit them﴾they said: We believe in Allah alone, and we reject that which we used to associate with Him﴿ of idols and images; we disavow everything that was contrary to the Messengers in word and deed.

﴾But their believing after they had seen Our punishment could not benefit them at all﴿ in that situation.

﴾Such has always been the way of Allah in dealing with His slaves﴿, that when the punishment of Allah befalls the disbelievers, if they then believe, their faith will not count and will not save them from the punishment.

That is because it is faith that results from compulsion, because they are forced to believe, and it is faith that is based on seeing (the punishment). The only faith that is of benefit and will save a person is voluntary faith and belief in the unseen, which comes before the signs of imminent punishment appear.

Cf whereupon﴿ that is, at the time of doom and being made to taste the punishment ﴾the disbelievers perished﴿ and lost out on their religious and worldly interests, and the hereafter. It is not the matter of loss only in this realm; rather they will inevitably lose out in the hereafter, which will lead to misery and severe punishment, in which they will abide forever.

This is the end of the commentary on Soorat Ghafir.

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