85:1. By the heaven with its big stars,

(T T -'

85:2. and by the promised day,’

85:3. by the witness and that which is witnessed,

85:4. cursed be the makers of the trench

85:5. who lit a blazing fire in it,

85:6. for they sat beside it

85:7. to witness what they did to the believers.

85:8. Their only grievance against them was that they believed in Allah, the Almighty, the Praiseworthy,

85:9. to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is witness over all things.

85:10. Verily forthose who persecute the believing men and believing women, then do not repent, there will be the punishment of hell and there will be the punishment of the scorching fire.

85:11. But those who believe and do righteous deeds will surely have gardens through which rivers flow; that is the great triumph.

85:12. Indeed the vengeance of your Lord is severe.

85:13. Verily it is He Who originates [creation] then repeats it,

85:14. and He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Loving,

85:15. the Lord of the Throne, the Glorious;

85:16. He does whatever He wills.

85:17. Has there not come to you the story of the [disbelieving] hosts

85:18. of Pharaoh and Thamood?^{1That is, has there not come to you the story of these disbelievers who gathered together in stubborn opposition towards their Prophets, and how Allah punished them? (ash-Shawkani)}

85:19. Nay, those who disbelieve persist in denial

85:20. and Allah encompasses them on all sides.^{2They cannot outwit Him or escape Him, no matter where they turn.}

85:21. Nay, it is a glorious Qur’an,

85:22. [inscribed] in a Preserved Tablet.

That is, by the heaven with all that it contains of the sun and moon, and other heavenly bodies, that are indicative of the perfect might, mercy, vast knowledge and wisdom of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).

﴾and by the promised day﴿ namely the Day of Resurrection, on which Allah has promised to gather all creatures, bringing together the first and the last, near and far; it cannot be changed for Allah does not break His promise.

﴾by the witness and that which is witnessed﴿ this includes everyone who meets this description; that is, one who sees and what is seen.

What is attested to here is the dazzling signs of Allah, His great wisdom and His all-encompassing mercy.

And it was said that what is attested to here is the words ﴾cursed be the makers of the trench﴿, and this is a supplication against them, praying that they be doomed.

These makers of the trench were disbelievers, among whom lived some believers. The disbelievers put pressure on them to enter their religion, but the believers refused to do so. So the disbelievers dug a trench in the ground and lit a fire in it, then they sat around it and persecuted the believers, exposing them to the fire. Whoever responded to their demands, they let him go, but whoever persisted in his faith, they threw him into the fire. This was an example of extreme hostility towards Allah and the believers; therefore Allah cursed them, destroyed them and promised them punishment, and said: ﴾cursed be the makers of the trench﴿.

Then He tells us about the makers of the trench ﴾who lit a blazing tire in it, for they sat beside it to witness what they did to the believers﴿. This is one of the worst types of tyranny and hardheartedness, because they combined stubborn rejection of the signs of Allah with fighting the believers and tormenting them with this heart-wrenching tormentand being present to watch them being thrown into it, when the only grievance they had against the believers was something for which the latter deserved to be praised and through which they only sought to attain happiness, which was that they believed in Allah, the Almighty the Praiseworthy, Who possesses might through which He subdues all things and He is deserving of praise in all His words, attributes and actions.

﴾fto Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earthas He created them and all who dwell in them; they are His slaves, and He controls them as the owner controls what he owns.

﴾and Allah is witness over all things﴿ because He knows, hears and sees all.

Should these rebellious ones who oppose Allah not fear lest the Almighty, the Omnipotent, wreak vengeance, or do they not realise that they are all slaves of Allah, and no one has any power over anyone else except by permission of the Sovereign?

Or is it hidden from them that Allah encompasses all their deeds and will requite them for their actions?

Nay; the disbeliever is deluded and the wrongdoer is ignorant and blind to the straight path.

Then Allah issues promises and warnings to them, and offers them the opportunity to repent, as He says:

﴾Verily for those who persecute the believing men and believing women, then do not repent, there will be the punishment of hell and there will be the punishment of the scorching fire﴿) that is, the severe, burning punishment.

Al-Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Look at this generosity and kindness. They killed His close friends and those who obeyed Him, yet he is calling them to repent.

Having mentioned the punishment of the wrongdoers, Allah now mentions the reward of the believers:﴾But those who believe﴿ in their hearts ﴾and do righteous deeds )j in their physical actions ﴾will surely have gardens through which rivers flow; that is the great triumph﴿ through which they will attain the pleasure of Allah and His paradise.

﴾Indeed the vengeance of your Lord is severe﴿ that is, the punishment of those who commit crimes and great sins will indeed be severe, for He is vigilantly watching the wrongdoers, as He says elsewhere:

﴾Such is the punishment of your Lord, when He punishes the cities that are given to wrongdoing; verily His punishment is painful and severe.﴿ (Hood II: 102)

﴾Verily it is He Who originates [creation] then repeats it﴿ that is. He is the only One Who initiates creation and repeats it, and He has no partner in that.

﴾and He is the Oft-Forgiving﴿ Who forgives all sins for the one who repents, and He pardons all bad deeds for the one who seeks His forgiveness and turns to Him.

﴾the Loving﴿ Who loves His loved ones, and His loved ones love Him with a love that is unmatched.

Just as nothing resembles him in His majesty, beauty, attributes and deeds, the way He is loved in the hearts of the elite among His creation is like nothing else; no other love resembles it.

Therefore love of Him is the foundation of servitude to Him, for it is a love that takes precedence and prevails over love of anything else. If you love anything other than Allah independently of Allah (and not for His sake), then it will turn into suffering.

And Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is loving towards His loved ones, as He says elsewhere:

(1...people whom He loves and who love Him.. .﴿ (al-Ma'idah 5. 54)

What is referred to here is pure love.

There is a subtle meaning here, for alongside His name “the Loving (al-Wadood)” He mentions His name “the Oft-Forgiving (al-Ghafoor)”, so as to indicate that if the sinners repent to Allah and turn to Him, He will forgive their sins and love them, so that it cannot be said that He will forgive their sins but love will not be restored to them, as some erroneously suggested.

Rather Allah rejoices over the repentance of His slave when he repents, more than a man rejoices over his camel on which is his food and drink and all that he needs on his journey, which he loses in the rugged and dangerous wilderness, so he despairs of it and lies down in the shade of a tree to await death, then whilst he is in that state, his mount appears at his head, so he seizes its reins. Allah rejoices more over the repentance of His slave than this man rejoices over his mount, and this is a great joy that cannot be surpassed.

To Allah be praise and pure love; how great is His kindness and goodness, how abundant His grace and favour.

﴾the Lord of the Throne, the Glorious j? that is, Lord of the mighty Throne, which in its greatness encompasses the heavens and the earth and the Kursi.

In relation to the Throne, the Kursi is like a ring thrown into the wilderness, compared to the rest of the earth. Allah singles out the Throne for mention because of its greatness, and because it is the closest of all created things to Him.

The above is applicable if the word majeed (translated here as ‘glorious’) is understood to refer to the Throne.

However, it may be understood as referring to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), in which case it is indicative of how sublime and great His attributes are.

﴾He does whatever He wills﴿ that is, whatever He wills. He does. When He wills a thing, He says to it, ‘Be!’ and it is. No one does whatever He wills except Allah. If created beings want something, they will inevitably find some who will help and some who will resist.but Allah needs no helpers to do His will and there is no one who can resist whatever He wants.

Then Allah mentions some of His deeds that confirm the soundness of that which His Messengers brought:

﴾Has there not come to you the story of the [disbelieving] hosts of Pharaoh and Thamood﴿ and how they rejected the Messengers, so Allah caused them to be among the doomed.

﴾Nay, those who disbelieve persist in denial﴿ that is, they persist in their stubborn denial; the signs do not benefit them at all and exhortation is to no avail

﴾and Allah encompasses them on all sides﴿ that is. He encompasses them by His knowledge and might. This is like the verse in which He says:

﴾Verily, your Lord is ever vigilant.﴿ (al-Fajr89: 14)

This is a stem warning to the disbelievers of the punishment of those who are in His grasp and under His control.

﴾Nay, it is a glorious Qur’an﴿ that is, it is comprehensive in its meanings, and contains a great deal of goodness and knowledge.

(([inscribed] in a Preserved Tablet﴿ that is protected from any change, addition or subtraction, and is guarded against the devils. It is the Preserved Tablet in which Allah has written down all things.

This is indicative of the majesty and greatness of the Qur’an, and its high esteem before Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). And Allah knows best.

This is the end of the commentary on Soorat al-Burooj.

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