Verses 31–54
This final section of the sūrah speaks about prophethood, especially the debates about prophethood and what the idolators (mushrikīn) used to believe about it. Throughout, it dispels their mistaken notions about death and the resurrection. It is linked to verse in the previous section which reads: And We have only sent you as a shield (kāffatan), a bearer of glad tidings and as a warner, but most people know not (). You already have come to recognize that this verse is like a barzakh (intermediary realm) between the two sections speaking of prophethood, and it presents prophethood as an argument for the oneness of God.
Commentary
وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَنْ نُؤْمِنَ بِهَٰذَا الْقُرْآنِ وَلَا بِالَّذِي بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ ۗ وَلَوْ تَرَىٰ إِذِ الظَّالِمُونَ مَوْقُوفُونَ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ يَرْجِعُ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍ الْقَوْلَ يَقُولُ الَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُوا لِلَّذِينَ اسْتَكْبَرُوا لَوْلَا أَنْتُمْ لَكُنَّا مُؤْمِنِينَ ٣١ قَالَ الَّذِينَ اسْتَكْبَرُوا لِلَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُوا أَنَحْنُ صَدَدْنَاكُمْ عَنِ الْهُدَىٰ بَعْدَ إِذْ جَاءَكُمْ ۖ بَلْ كُنْتُمْ مُجْرِمِينَ ٣٢
(34:31-32) And those who disbelieve say, We will not believe in this Qur’an or what came before it. Could you but see when the unjust shall be held standing before their Lord, reproaching each other, while the downtrodden shall say to the arrogant, Were it not for you, we would have been faithful. And the arrogant (al-ẓālimūn) shall say to the downtrodden, Did we turn you away from the guidance after it came to you? You transgressed.
Those who disbelieve (alladhīna kafarū) refers to the idolaters (mushrikūn). What came before it (alladhī bayna yadayh) refers to the divine scriptures, such as the Torah and the Gospel. This is because the idolaters did not believe in prophethood and therefore did not believe in the resulting divine scriptures.
Some exegetes hold that what came before it (alladhī bayna yadayh) refers to the hereafter. However, there is no evidence to support this view. The Qur’an often refers to the Torah and Gospel as what came before it. Furthermore, while some exegetes say that those who disbelieve refers to the Jews, this view is erroneous.
The definite article al- in al-ẓālimūn presumably denotes that the reader or listener can envision the arrogant as a distinct group (lām al-ʿahd). This verse and the next two verses portray the dire consequences of rejecting truth (kufr) which originate from the leaders of kufr misguiding their followers. They will not be able to shake off these dire consequences. They shall regret, but their regret shall be of no avail.Could you [sing.] but see () is addressed to the Prophet privately, since the kuffār were too standoffish to comprehend what was being said.
When the unjust—the unjust are those who reject the book of God and His Messenger who wronged themselves through rejection (kufr).
Standing before your Lord—for accounting and recompense, on the day of resurrection.
Reproaching each other means that they will be quarrelling and disowning each other.
The downtrodden shall say builds on how some of them will be reproaching each other.
The downtrodden (alladīna istuḍʿafū) were those who followed the arrogant (alladhīna istakbarū), who were the leaders.
Were it not for you, we would have been faithful—By this, they mean, “You forced us into disbelief, and kept us away from faith.”
And the arrogant shall say to the downtrodden—This is a reply to the downtrodden. The arrogant deny what they are being accused of; namely, that they forced the downtrodden to disbelieve.
Did we turn you away..?—This is a rhetorical question, meaning, “Were we the ones who turned you away?”
…from the guidance? “The Prophet’s call reached you. This is the strongest evidence that we are not to blame for keeping you from faith. Rather, you yourself chose to believe or disbelieve.”
You transgressed—“You were the ones who persisted in wrongdoing. You erred by rejecting [the truth] when it came to you. We did not force you. Your disbelief is your fault! We are innocent of that.”
وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُوا لِلَّذِينَ اسْتَكْبَرُوا بَلْ مَكْرُ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ إِذْ تَأْمُرُونَنَا أَنْ نَكْفُرَ بِاللَّهِ وَنَجْعَلَ لَهُ أَنْدَادًا ۚ وَأَسَرُّوا النَّدَامَةَ لَمَّا رَأَوُا الْعَذَابَ وَجَعَلْنَا الْأَغْلَالَ فِي أَعْنَاقِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا ۚ هَلْ يُجْزَوْنَ إِلَّا مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ٣٣
(34:33) And the downtrodden shall say to the proud, No, planning night and day, you ordered us to deny Allah and set up likes with Him. They shall hide their regret when they see the punishment. And We will shackle the necks of those who disbelieved. Are they being requited for anything other than what they did?
And the downtrodden shall say to the proud—They are parrying the claim made by the innocent.
No, planning night and day—“You plotted night and day to keep us reject the truth.”
To deny Allah and set up likes (andādan) with Him—“You schemed night and day to weaken us, lord over us and make us obedient to you, so we would do whatever you wanted. We felt we had no other choice but to obey you when you commanded us to reject [faith] and associate partners with God.”
Andādan means “the likes of God” or “similar demigods.”
They shall hide their regret (asarrū al-nadāmah)—asarrū means “hide” or “conceal”—when they see the punishment—when they see there is no escape. They will hide their regret on the day of resurrection, which is a day when all things will be laid bare and nothing will be hidden from God. This is similar to how they lied about God, denied taking partners to God, and swore by God. All of that merely reveals the despicable traits that had wormed their way inside themselves. While alive, they hid their regret lest their enemies taunt them. On the day of resurrection, although all secrets will be made plain, they will still try to dissimulate, for lying is a trait that has become entrenched in their souls; thus, it will become clear that they are habitual liars.
And We will shackle (aghlāl)—the necks of those who disbelieved. Are they being requited for anything other than what they did? Their deeds have turned into shackles around their necks, imprisoning them in the punishment.
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا فِي قَرْيَةٍ مِنْ نَذِيرٍ إِلَّا قَالَ مُتْرَفُوهَا إِنَّا بِمَا أُرْسِلْتُمْ بِهِ كَافِرُونَ٣٤
(34:34) Whenever We sent a warner to a town, those living in luxury (al-mutrafūn) said, We deny what you have been sent with.
Mutrafūn is the passive participle of the verb r-t-f (“to live in luxury and opulence”, thereby literally meaning “luxuriously equipped” or simply “rich”). Together with the next verse, the use of this word implies that wealth can beget arrogance in the face of the truth.
وَقَالُوا نَحْنُ أَكْثَرُ أَمْوَالًا وَأَوْلَادًا وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمُعَذَّبِينَ ٣٥
(34:35) They said, We have more wealth and children, and will not be punished.
They refers to those living in luxury (al-mutrafūn, ). Since wealth and opulence are fickle, people become over attached to them. They see material wealth as the greatest success, whether or not it involves aligning themselves with the truth. They think only of the material world and forget what comes next.
For that reason, God tells us that they boast, We have more wealth and children,” for these are their only measures of success; certainly, they could never harm them.
We… will not be punished—in the hereafter. Heedless, they dismiss the possibility that they could be punished because they see nothing but riches and offspring. In fact, to them, punishment is being stripped of these things! As long as they have these things, they cannot see themselves as enduring punishment.
There is another point here. They were so blinded by their wealth and offspring that they presumed that they enjoyed special honour before God, and they presumed that this honour would last forever. So their words mean: “We have a special place before God, for He has given us so much wealth and so many children. Since we are so honoured, God would never punish us, even if there is a hell in the hereafter.”
In that regard, this verse is similar to:
And if We make him taste mercy from Us after distress that has touched him, he would most certainly say: This is mine, and I do not think the hour will come. If I am sent back to my Lord, I shall have good from Him. ()
قُلْ إِنَّ رَبِّي يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَقْدِرُ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ٣٦
(34:36) Say, My Lord outspreads and straitens sustenance for whom He wills. However, most people know not.
This and the following four verses respond to their claim that We have more wealth and children, and will not be punished (). The reply has two facets. First, God is the one who gives or withholds sustenance from someone, including wealth and children; He does this according to His wisdom and understanding of the greater good, not according to what people desire, and He delivers this sustenance through various channels. However, simply receiving more does not mean that a person is faithful or faithless, or even that a person is prudent or foolish. Sometimes, He gives to one but not the other.
Therefore, there are no grounds to say that simply having wealth brings one [eternal] happiness successful or is a token of honor.
This is the meaning of Say: My Lord outspreads and straitens sustenance…” God is spoken of as My Lord here [rather than their Lord or your Lord] because they did not see God as their lord, and sustaining a person is part of the job of a lord (rabb).
Outspreads (yabsuṭu) means “spreads out”.
Sustenance for whom He wills—For any of His servants, according to His wisdom and understanding of the greater good.
Straitens (yaqdir)—Meaning that He constricts it.
However, most people know not—When people lack something, they attribute it to accidental, material causes, not the true giver. When they attain something, they attribute it to prudence and their own good management. This is true foolishness!
وَمَا أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُكُمْ بِالَّتِي تُقَرِّبُكُمْ عِنْدَنَا زُلْفَىٰ إِلَّا مَنْ آمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَأُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمْ جَزَاءُ الضِّعْفِ بِمَا عَمِلُوا وَهُمْ فِي الْغُرُفَاتِ آمِنُونَ ٣٧ وَالَّذِينَ يَسْعَوْنَ فِي آيَاتِنَا مُعَاجِزِينَ أُولَٰئِكَ فِي الْعَذَابِ مُحْضَرُونَ ٣٨
(34:37–8) Neither your wealth nor your children are what will bring you near Us. Whoever believes and acts righteously shall have a double reward for what they do, and they shall be secure in the dwellings on high. Those who strive against Our signs shall be summoned to the punishment.
This is the second facet of the response to We have more wealth and children, and will not be punished. A person is spared punishment because they are near to God, not because they have wealth or children. Furthermore, wealth and children do not bring a person nearer to God such that they might free their owner or progenitor from Hell. To convey this, the verse employs the rhetorical device of swapping cause and effect. That is, rather than saying “your wealth and children will not free you from Hell,” it says, “your wealth and children will not bring you near Us”.
It means: Neither your wealth nor your children which you relied upon to save you from hell are what altogether will bring you near Us.
Whoever believes and acts righteously—with respect to their wealth and children. If a person spends their wealth in the way of God and raises faithful, righteous children with a religious upbringing, then they shall have a double reward. Perhaps the reward is described as double since they guided others and were guided, and also because good deeds are multiplied up to ten times, or even more.
In the dwellings on high means in lofty alcoves or domes, secure from the punishment, since they will not be punished.
Those who strive against Our signs—who work against Our signs and try to weaken Us or outstrip Us—shall be summoned to the punishment—despite their enormous wealth and numerous children.
Neither your wealth nor your children are what will bring you near Us: Here, the text shifts to addressing all people in general. The principle here is the same for all people, whether they accept or reject faith. People will benefit from their wealth and children if they have faith and direct them towards righteous ends; otherwise, their wealth and children will bring them naught but misery.
قُلْ إِنَّ رَبِّي يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَقْدِرُ لَهُ ۚ وَمَا أَنْفَقْتُمْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ فَهُوَ يُخْلِفُهُ ۖ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ ٣٩
(34:39) Say: My Lord outspreads and straitens sustenance for whichever of His servants that He wills. Whatever you spend, He replaces (yukhlifuhu). He is the best sustainer.
Regarding the meaning of yukhlifuhu, Majmaʿ al-Bayān says:
The phrase akhlafa Allāh lahu/ʿalayhi is used when God replaces what a person has spent or lost.
It can be understood from the text that “spending” here means “spending on a good cause.” It means that whatever is spent on a good cause is not lost; rather, God replaces what has been spent.
Say: My Lord outspreads and straitens sustenance for whichever of His servants that He wills: This indicates that the matter of sustenance is entirely in God’s hands. His wealth neither diminishes nor increases when He gives or withholds it.
Whatever you spend—much or little, and any type of wealth—He replaces—either in this world, or the next. He is the best sustainer—He gives with open hands, whereas people act like businessmen and expect something in exchange. For He is the true sustainer, whereas others are mere intermediaries in delivering His sustenance.
وَيَوْمَ يَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ يَقُولُ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ أَهَٰؤُلَاءِ إِيَّاكُمْ كَانُوا يَعْبُدُونَ٤٠
(34:40) On the day when He shall gather them all, then say to the angels, Were you what they worshipped?
According to the context of the verses, them all (-hum jamīʿan) includes both the worshippers and the ones they worshipped.
Then [He will] say to the angels, Were you what they worshipped? The question here is not really about whether some people worshipped the angels. Were that really the question, the angels would be in no place to deny it, since, in the world, some people did worship the angels, even though the angels abhorred it. Rather, the question is really whether the angels agreed to be worshipped, similar to how God will ask Jesus, the son of Mary:
Were you the one who told people, Take me and my mother as two Gods, other than Allah? ()
Rather, the intention behind the question is to upbraid the idolaters so they despair of hoping for aid from the angels and intercessors whom they had worshipped while alive precisely in the hopes that they would intercede for them.
قَالُوا سُبْحَانَكَ أَنْتَ وَلِيُّنَا مِنْ دُونِهِمْ ۖ بَلْ كَانُوا يَعْبُدُونَ الْجِنَّ ۖ أَكْثَرُهُمْ بِهِمْ مُؤْمِنُونَ ٤١
(34:41) They shall say, Glory be to You! You are our guardian (waliyyunā), not them. They used to worship the jinn; most of them had faith in them.
The angels reply with the utmost politeness. Firstly, they absolve God of any possible blemish (Glory be to You!); this expression includes but is not limited to the declaration that none but God is worthy of worship. Then, they deny that they allowed anyone to worship them.
However, they do not utter such an unspeakable thing directly. Instead, to preserve the sanctity of the divine, they reply by saying that God is the only walī (“guardian”); therefore, they cannot be a walī. By saying this, they imply they did not allow themselves to be worshipped, since, for a being to be worshipped, there must be a mutual relationship of guardianship (muwālāh) between the worshipper and the worshipped. Therefore, by saying that only God enjoys wilāyah (“guardianship”, “authority”), they say that there could not have been any mutual guardianship (muwālāh) between themselves and humans. Therefore, since there was no muwālāh, they did not assent to be worshipped.
They used to worship the jinn; most of them had faith in them: The idolaters worshipped three groups of beings: angels, jinn, and saints. They considered angels and jinn to be the most worthy of worship, even though saints are, by definition, those who have attained perfection, and hence are superior to angels and jinn.
They used to worship the jinn suggests that the jinn were fine with being worshipped.
The jinn that the idolaters worshipped were jinn who they saw as the root of all evil in the world. They worshipped them to stave off evil, just as they worshipped the angels out of greed for their gifts and as a form of barter.
Some exegetes have the mistaken notion that jinn in this verse refers to Iblīs and his descendants and tribe, and “worship” means “obey”. That is, the idolaters used to obey Iblīs and his lot when they incited them to evil. For instance, the idolaters would obey when the evil jinn urged them to worship the angels or commit abominations. However, this view can be countered by considering the word faith. The verse does not say that they obeyed the jinn; rather, it says that they had faith in them.
Similarly, the verse does not say that the jinn appeared to them as angels, such that the idolaters imagined that they were angels and worshipped them. Nor does it say that the jinn used to enter their statues, and, therefore, when they worshipped the statues, they were really worshipping the jinn.
Possibly, the verse says “most of them had faith in them” rather than “all of them had faith in them”, since most of them used to worship the jinn to ward off evil. Some exegetes have erroneously said that “most” really means “all” here; this interpretation is based on the assumption that “worship” means “obey”, whereas you already know that this is not the case.
فَالْيَوْمَ لَا يَمْلِكُ بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ نَفْعًا وَلَا ضَرًّا وَنَقُولُ لِلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا ذُوقُوا عَذَابَ النَّارِ الَّتِي كُنْتُمْ بِهَا تُكَذِّبُونَ ٤٢
(34:42) So, on that day, none of you shall have power over another, either to harm or to help. We shall say to the tyrants, Taste the punishment of fire which you used to deny.
This follows from the angels’ disavowal that they sought to be worshipped. In several places in the Qur’an, those who worshipped others will disavow each other, as in:
And on the Day of Resurrection, they will reject the way you made them partners with Allah. ()
The meaning of the verse is clear.
وَإِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُنَا بَيِّنَاتٍ قَالُوا مَا هَٰذَا إِلَّا رَجُلٌ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَصُدَّكُمْ عَمَّا كَانَ يَعْبُدُ آبَاؤُكُمْ وَقَالُوا مَا هَٰذَا إِلَّا إِفْكٌ مُفْتَرًى ۚ وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لِلْحَقِّ لَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ إِنْ هَٰذَا إِلَّا سِحْرٌ مُبِينٌ ٤٣
(34:43) And when Our clear signs are recited to them, they say, This is but a man who wants to turn you away from what your fathers used to worship. And they say, This is but a lie that is forged. And when the truth comes to them, those who reject faith say, This is nothing but clear sorcery.
This is what some of the idolaters said to each other after hearing the verses rebuking them for pushing people to cling to their ancestral traditions. Describing God’s signs as clear also rebukes them. It is as if it is saying: When these clear, doubtless signs and verses were presented to you, instead of calling your people to follow them, you urged your people to remain chained to their ancestral customs! The -kum which is appended to ābāʾukum intensifies the sense of how ardently they strove to keep the people on the path of their forefathers.
This is but a lie that is forged: This is part of what they say and refers to the verses of the Qur’an (āyāt). They mock these verses by referring to them dismissively as “this” and by calling them mere fabrications about God, instead of saying [as they should!] that “these clear signs descended from God, the Exalted.” They also demonstrate that they have understood nothing from these verses and they think these verses are like anything else.
And when the truth comes to them, those who reject faith say, This is nothing but clear sorcery: When the truth comes means “when it reaches them and becomes apparent.” The phrase those who reject faith (kafarū) itself explains why this happened. That is, although the clear, obvious truth reached them, their commitment to rejecting faith impelled them to dismiss it as sorcery and falsehood.
وَمَا آتَيْنَاهُمْ مِنْ كُتُبٍ يَدْرُسُونَهَا ۖ وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهِمْ قَبْلَكَ مِنْ نَذِيرٍ ٤٤
(34:44) And we did not give them any books to study, nor did we send them before you a warner.
This sentence emphasizes their baseless determination to reject truth in favour of their personal desires. This sentence is an adverbial clause (ḥāl) describing those who reject faith (), meaning the kuffār among the Quraysh.
It means: They treated the clear truth as sorcery, even though We had not given them books to study so they could distinguish between truth and falsehood. Nor had We sent them messengers before to warn them and clarify things to them, such that they might argue on the basis of their divine scriptures or prophets that “this is true” or “this is false”.
وَكَذَّبَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ وَمَا بَلَغُوا مِعْشَارَ مَا آتَيْنَاهُمْ فَكَذَّبُوا رُسُلِي ۖ فَكَيْفَ كَانَ نَكِيرِ ٤٥
(34:45) And those before them rejected [the truth], and they have not yet attained a tenth (miʿshār) of what We gave them. They denied My messengers. How was the manifestation of [My] disapproval (nakīr)!
The first and second occurrences of they/them refer to the kuffār of the Quraysh and those who followed them. The third and fourth occurrences of they/them refer to those who came before. Miʿshār means “tenth”. Nakīr means inkār (“disapproval”, “disavowal”). Here, nakīr means that they shall be seized by divine chastisement.
It means: The predecessors of the kuffār of the Quraysh also denied the truth of God’s signs. And today’s kuffār of the Quraysh lack even a tenth of the power and might that We gave to the ancients! When the ancients denied My messengers, how severe was My chastisement, and how weak were the Quraysh!
The shift from first person plural (We gave them) to the first person singular (My messengers) expresses the enormity of their error and instills terror at being taken for it.
قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَعِظُكُمْ بِوَاحِدَةٍ ۖ أَنْ تَقُومُوا لِلَّهِ مَثْنَىٰ وَفُرَادَىٰ ثُمَّ تَتَفَكَّرُوا ۚ مَا بِصَاحِبِكُمْ مِنْ جِنَّةٍ ۚ إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا نَذِيرٌ لَكُمْ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ عَذَابٍ شَدِيدٍ ٤٦
(34:46) Say: I exhort (aʿiẓukum) you to one thing: rise up for Allah in pairs and alone, then think. There is no madness in your companion; he is but a warner to you, before a severe chastisement.
Exhort is used here in the sense of “advise”. Rise up for Allah means “arise, and stir yourselves for the sake of God and His noble face.” In pairs and alone means to do that two by two or one by one. It is a way of saying that they should rise up separately and not as a mass or mob, since the rabble is senseless and brainless; it often does away with truth and begets falsehood.
There is no madness in your companion (mā bi-ṣāḥibikum min jinnah): This is a new sentence. The particle mā is for negation, as evinced by the succeeding words he is but a warner to you, before a severe chastisement. Mā could also be understood as an interrogative particle or as a relative pronoun linking to madness (min jinnah) and explaining it.
Your companion (ṣāḥibikum) refers to the Prophet. The expression your companion is used to remind them that he has been among them for forty years, from the time he was born until the time his prophetic mission began. In all that time, they never saw him be deluded or weak-minded or in any other mental state that might make one think he had lost his mind.
It means: Say to them: “I advise you to rise up for the sake of God separately, so that you may clarify your thinking and rectify your views, two by two or one by one. Think about my matter [the Prophetic message], for I have been among you my entire life, and have always had sound views. I have always been honest and trustworthy, nor have I never gone mad. I but warn you, in the face of a severe chastisement on the day of resurrection. I advise you sincerely and am not deceiving you.”
قُلْ مَا سَأَلْتُكُمْ مِنْ أَجْرٍ فَهُوَ لَكُمْ ۖ إِنْ أَجْرِيَ إِلَّا عَلَى اللَّهِ ۖ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ ٤٧
(34:47) Say, Whatever reward I have asked you for is for yourselves. My reward is upon Allah, and He witnesses all things.
This is a way of saying that he is not seeking any sort of wage for his prophetic mission. That is, if he were to take a wage and then give it back to them, he wouldn’t really be receiving a wage. Therefore, he is not asking for one. This sentence is to reassure them that his prophetic mission is not an excuse to grab wealth or power.
My reward is upon Allah, and He witnesses all things: This is to stave off any possible objection to the previous sentence, in that some might argue that a rational human being never does anything without a goal. Therefore, he says that he will receive a recompense, but it is for God to give, not for the people to give. God witnesses what he is doing; God witnesses all things.
قُلْ إِنَّ رَبِّي يَقْذِفُ بِالْحَقِّ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ ٤٨
(34:48) Say, My Lord casts forth (yaqdhifu) the truth; He knows the unseen.
Yaqdhifu means “cast” or “throw”. Knows the unseen (ʿallām al-ghuyūb) is either a second predicate of the sentence, or else it is the predicate of a new sentence whose subject is elided. The pronoun He refers to God.
According to the context of the previous verses, “casting forth the truth” means “revealing the Qur’an”, since the Qur’an distinguishes between truth and falsehood. It is the truth, hurled forth from the divine environs, from the One who knows the unseen, smashing falsehood into oblivion. God says:
We hurl the truth against falsehood, and it smashes it, then it disappears! ()
Say: The truth has come and falsehood has vanished; falsehood always vanishes. ()
قُلْ جَاءَ الْحَقُّ وَمَا يُبْدِئُ الْبَاطِلُ وَمَا يُعِيدُ ٤٩
(34:49) Say, Truth has come. Falsehood neither creates nor restores.
From the context of the previous verses, it can be understood that truth has come refers to the revelation of the Qur’an, whose decisive, resounding arguments sever falsehood from its root.
Falsehood neither creates nor restores: Meaning, after truth arrives, falsehood makes nothing new. And once falsehood perishes, it never resurfaces. This is a way of saying that falsehood has been done away with, since it has been severed at its root by the truth (that is, the Qur’an).
قُلْ إِنْ ضَلَلْتُ فَإِنَّمَا أَضِلُّ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِي ۖ وَإِنِ اهْتَدَيْتُ فَبِمَا يُوحِي إِلَيَّ رَبِّيۚ إِنَّهُ سَمِيعٌ قَرِيبٌ ٥٠
(34:50) Say, If I err, I err against my own soul. If I am guided, it is because of what my Lord has revealed to me. He is hearing, near.
This is the legacy of truth. (And “truth” here, as we said before, is the Qur’an.) God has made the absolute truth known. Since it is truth from all angles, it never errs at pinpointing reality from all sides. Otherwise, it would be falsehood from that angle. The revelation guides and never misguides.
For that reason, it emphasizes : Say: If I err, I err against my own soul. That is, suppose I were to err; it would be my responsibility, for error arises from the human soul [rather than the divine]. If I am guided, it is because of what my Lord has revealed to me. He has revealed the truth; it cannot possibly misguide, and it only engenders guidance.
He is hearing, near: He hears prayers, unhindered by distance. The previous verses lead up to this description: God casts forth the truth, since He knows the unseen. Nothing is hidden from Him, and nothing escapes His notice; nor can anything interfere with His will to guide people through revelation. God says:
The knower of the unseen, He does not reveal His secrets to any, except to him whom He chooses as a messenger; for surely He makes a guard to march before him and after him, so that He may know that they have truly delivered the messages of their Lord, and He encompasses what is with them and He records the number of all things. ()
وَلَوْ تَرَىٰ إِذْ فَزِعُوا فَلَا فَوْتَ وَأُخِذُوا مِنْ مَكَانٍ قَرِيبٍ ٥١
(34:51) And if you could see when they shall be terrified. There shall be no escape, and they shall be seized from a near place.
This and the remainder of the verses in this sūrah describe what will happen to the idolaters of the Quraysh after they die.
And if you could see when they shall be terrified—when these idolaters are terrified upon death.
There shall be no escape—They shall not be able to flee God, nor shall they be able to protect themselves or scheme their way out.
They shall be seized from a near place—This is a figurative way of saying that there is nothing to separate them from the one who is taking them. Seized (ukhidhū) is in the passive voice, indicating that they shall be taken before God. Elsewhere, He describes Himself as “near”. What it means for God to be “near” is elaborated on in these verses:
We are nearer to it than you, but you do not see. ()
Closer than the jugular vein. ()
Allah intervenes between a man and his heart. ()
God is closer to us than we are to our own souls; this is the position described as the mirṣād (“watch-tower”) in (your Lord is on a watch-tower). So how could a person think they could flee Him? How could they even think they could escape the honoured angels who take orders from Him directly, with no veil or intermediary between them and Him?
They shall be seized from a near place: This metaphor expresses how near God is to the human being. It is used because the human being cannot comprehend this nearness, since he is trapped in the prison of space and time and forgetfulness and material distractions. Otherwise [were there no need to speak metaphorically] the matter is heavier than this.
وَقَالُوا آمَنَّا بِهِ وَأَنَّىٰ لَهُمُ التَّنَاوُشُ مِنْ مَكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ ٥٢
(34:52) And they shall say, We believe in it. But how can they attain (tanāwush) from a far place?
Tanāwush means tanāwul (“attain”). The pronoun it (-bihi) refers to the Qur’an, according to the context.
A far place is the hereafter: the realm of recompense, the furthest place from the earthly plane, where they could strive and earn. The seen and the unseen have flipped: the worldly realm has disappeared, and the otherworldly realm has appeared (as the next verse indicates).
وَقَدْ كَفَرُوا بِهِ مِنْ قَبْلُ ۖ وَيَقْذِفُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ مِنْ مَكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ ٥٣
(34:53) They disbelieved in it before, and they conjecture over the unseen from a far place.
This is an adverbial clause (ḥāl) describing the pronoun they in how can they attain.
They conjecture over the unseen from a far place means that, while alive, they speculated about the hereafter without any knowledge about it while it was hidden from their senses. They would say things like, “There won’t be any resurrection. There is no such thing as heaven or hell.”
Some exegetes also say that this speaks of how they accused the Prophet of sorcery, lying, concocting, and poetizing.
Here and in the previous verse, both the earthly realm and the hereafter are described as “far places” since each one is far from the other.
Together, the two verses mean: When the idolaters are seized, they will believe in the truth—the Qur’an—but how will their newfound faith save them in the far-off realm of the hereafter? For, when they were in the land of the living, that now far-off, they fancied there was no such thing as life after death, and rejected the idea.
وَحِيلَ بَيْنَهُمْ وَبَيْنَ مَا يَشْتَهُونَ كَمَا فُعِلَ بِأَشْيَاعِهِمْ مِنْ قَبْلُ ۚ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا فِي شَكٍّ مُرِيبٍ ٥٤
(34:54) And a barrier shall be placed before them and what they desire, as was done to the likes of them (ashyāʿihim) before. They were in disquieting doubt.
According to the most apparent meaning of the text, what they desire are the material, earthly pleasures which death severed them from. The likes of them are those who came before them who were similar to them, or who followed the same religious traditions. They were in disquieting doubt explains why these things were done to the likes of them.
It means: Upon death, the idolaters will be torn away from the worldly pleasures they enjoyed, as was done to the ancient idolaters, who doubted the truth—or the hereafter—and merely conjectured about the unseen.
Know that what we have said about these verses is based on the apparent meaning of the text. Numerous Shiʿi and Sunni narrations say that these verses prophesize the rising of the Sufyānī, whose army will be swallowed up by the earth in al-Baydāʾ; this will be one of the signs of the appearance of the Mahdī. However, this is only one of the range of meanings of the verse.
Examining Narrations
- Regarding They shall hide their regret when they see the punishment (), Tafsīr al-Qummī says:
He said, “In hellfire, they shall hide their regret when they see the walī Allāh.”
“[They shall feel] regret in the punishment, when they see the guardian from God (walī Allāh).”
Someone asked, “O son of the Messenger of God! Why should they bother hiding their regret while they are already in hell?”
He said, “They will loathe to be taunted by enemies.”
Author’s comments: This is also related from Imām al-Ṣādiq.
- Tafsīr al-Qummī relates:
A man made a disparaging comment about the wealthy in front of Imām al-Ṣādiq.
Imām al-Ṣādiq said, “Say that not! If wealth is used to maintain family ties or do good to one’s brethren, God doubles the reward for it, for God says: Neither your wealth nor your children are what will bring you near Us. Whoever believes and acts righteously shall have a double reward for what they do, and they shall be secure in the dwellings on high ().”
- Regarding this verse, in al-Amālī by Shaykh [al-Ṭūsi], there is a narration from Imām ʿAlī, part of which reads:
On the day of resurrection, they shall undergo accounting. Then, each of them shall be rewarded ten times, or even up to seven hundred times [for one deed]. God says: As a recompense from your Lord, giving account (); they… shall have a double reward for what they do, and they shall be secure in the dwellings on high ().
- In al-Kāfī, it is related via a chain of narration from al-Sakūnī that Imām al-Ṣādiq said:
The Messenger of God said, “Whoever has faith that God will replace what he spends gives generously.”In al-Kafī, it is related via a chain of narration from Samāʿah that Imām al-Ṣādiq said:
The Messenger of God said, “Whoever is certain that God will replace what he gives spends liberally.”
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, Ibn Mardawayh relates from ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib:
I heard the Messenger of God say, “Misfortunes lurk in every day, so stave off misfortune by giving charity.”
Recite the verses telling of how charity is returned, for I heard the Messenger of God say, “Whatever you spend, He replaces (). If they do not give, how will He replace it?”
- In Tafsīr al-Qummī, it is related from Abū al-Jārud that Imām al-Bāqir said regarding Say, Whatever reward I have asked you for is for yourselves. My reward is upon Allah, and He witnesses all things ():
This is because the Messenger of God asked his people to love his kinsfolk and not to vex them. [It] is for yourselves means that they will enjoy the reward for it.
- Regarding And if you could see when they shall be terrified… (), in al-Durr al-Manthūr, al-Ḥākim relates from Abū Hurayrah—and deems the narration authentic—that the Messenger of God said:
A man called al-Sufyāni shall arise from the depths of Damascus. Most of those who follow him will be from [the tribe of] Kalb. He shall commit slaughter, to the point that he splits open the bellies of pregnant women and kills their children. The tribe of Qays shall rally against him, but he shall leave none of them standing, and nowhere shall be free of his clutches.
Then a man from my household shall arise and meet al-Sufyānī. A contingent of soldiers shall be sent out and defeated. Then, al-Sufyānī and those with him will march towards al-Baydāʾ, where the earth shall swallow them up. None shall survive, apart from those spared to tell people what had happened.
Author’s comments: This narration has been related through many Sunni chains of narration, in full and abridged. It is related through various chains from Ibn ʿAbbās, Ibn Masʿūd, Ḥudyahfah, Abū Hurayrah, and the grandfather of ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb, as well as Um Salamah, Ṣafiyyah, ʿĀʾishah, and Ḥafṣah, the wives of the Prophet. It has also been related from Nafīrah , the wife of al-Qaʿqāʿ, from Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, but without a full chain of narration.
- Regarding And if you could see when they shall be terrified. There shall be no escape… (), it is related in Tafsīr al-Qummī that Imām al-Bāqir said:
By God, it is as if I can see the Qāʾim [the Mahdī] leaning against the Ḥijr [at the Kaʿbah in Mecca], invoking his right before God to the people.
Then he shall say, “O people! Whoever contests me in the name of God, know that I am closer to God. O people! Whoever contests me in the name of Adam, know that I am closer to Adam. O people! Whoever contests me in the name of Noah, know that I am closer to Noah. O people! Whoever contests me in the name of Abraham, know that I am closer to Abraham. O people! Whoever contests me in the name of Moses, know that I am closer to Moses. O people! Whoever contests me in the name of Jesus, know that I am closer to Jesus. O people! Whoever contests me in the name of Muḥammad, know that I am closer to Muḥammad. O people! Whoever contests me in the name of the Book of God, know that I am closer to the Book of God.”
Then he shall proceed to the maqām [at the Kaʿbah], pray two units of prayer, and invoke his right before God.
Then Imām al-Bāqir said:
He, by God, is the distressed mentioned in the Book of God: Who shall reply to the distressed when he calls upon Him, and relieve his suffering, and make you inheritors of the earth?” ()
The first to pay allegiance to him shall be Jibraʾīl, and then, 313 [people]. Those who can walk to him shall walk. Those who cannot reach him shall vanish from their beds [and appear at his side]. This is what the Commander of the Faithful [Imām ʿAlī] meant when he said “they forsake their beds” and is also what is meant by the verse Race towards what is best (al-khayrāt); wherever you are, Allah will bring you together (). Al-Khayrāt means wilāyah. Elsewhere, it says: And if We hold back from them the punishment until a stated period of time… (). This is referring to the companions of the Qāʾim; by God, they will amass in a single hour.
When they reach Baydāʾ, the army of the Sufyānī shall march towards them. So God will command the earth to grasp them by their feet. This is the meaning of the verses And if you could see when they shall be terrified. There shall be no escape, and they shall be seized from a near place. And they shall say, We believe in him—meaning, “we believe in the Qāʾim from the family of Muḥammad.” But how can they attain from a far place? They disbelieved in it before, and they conjecture over the unseen from a far place. And a barrier shall be placed before them and what they desire—that is, not to be punished—as was done to the likes of them before—meaning, those who belied [the truth] and were destroyed. They were in disquieting doubt ().
ʿAllāmah practiced what he preached with respect to his beliefs about sustenance. It is one thing for the wealthy to talk about how God distributes sustenance out of divine wisdom. It is another for someone suffering poverty. ʿAllāmah is said to have lived extremely modestly; when he lived in Qum, he is said to have been so poor that he sometimes could not afford to light a lamp, and the house he rented was too small for his students to visit him, so they had to sit outside at the door. (Trans.) ↩︎
The Latin expression here do ut des – “I give, so that I may get” – is appropriate here and is sometimes associated with the term muʿāwaḍah (“contractual reciprocity”) that ʿAllāmah uses in the text. (Trans.) ↩︎
One of the Imāms. (Trans.) ↩︎
Walī Allāh = “friend of God”; referring to the Prophet or the Imams. (Trans.) ↩︎
This is related via a chain of narration from the Commander of the Faithful (Imām ʿAlī). ↩︎
An arid desert between Mecca and Medina. (Trans.) ↩︎
This is related from Ibn Abī ʿUmayr from Manṣūr ibn Yūnus from Abū Khālid al-Kābulī. ↩︎
Here, Imām al-Bāqir interprets the pronoun -hi in bihi as “believe in him” rather than “believe in it”, as it was translated. (Both interpretations are grammatically acceptable.) (Trans.) ↩︎